Darswords

1. “The best fantasy is written in the language of dreams. It is alive as dreams are alive, more real than real … for a moment at least … that long magic moment before we wake.”

2. “The most important thing for any aspiring writer, I think, is to read! And not just the sort of thing you’re trying to write, be that fantasy, SF, comic books, whatever. You need to read everything. Read fiction, non-fiction, magazines, newspapers. Read history, historical fiction, biography. Read mystery novels, fantasy, SF, horror, mainstream, literary classics, erotica, adventure, satire. Every writer has something to teach you, for good or ill. (And yes, you can learn from bad books as well as good ones — what not to do).

And write. Write every day, even if it is only a page or two. The more you write, the better you’ll get. But don’t write…

Series fiction is popular. That’s not news to anyone. But why is it so crazily consumed these days? What aspects of series fiction attract us? What can a series accomplish that a standalone work cannot?

I am a huge sitcom fan. Most of my favorite sitcoms ran for over 7 or 8 years, so they are long and established series.

I got to thinking today about how I wrote a trilogy, which is its own kind of series, though in a different medium than sitcoms.

That led to me thinking about why I love to consume as well as produce series. What is it about a series that makes us want to keep going beyond one installment? (Beside cliffhangers. I don’t like cliffhangers. I’ve written before about why I don’t end my series novels with cliffhangers.)

I’m not saying series fiction and television are better than “one and done”…

While talking on the phone one day, I picked up a pen and began messing around with a pattern. I was paying more attention to the conversation than to what my pen was doing but when the phone call ended and I looked at the pattern, I thought there might be something there that I could work into a tangle. So I played with it off and on for a few weeks and finally polished it to this:

It is the tangle that goes diagonally across the tile, flanked by ‘Nzeppel in the upper left corner and Flux with Tipple in the lower corner. I call it Por Fin (which is Spanish for ‘at last’) because it has taken so long to accomplish this goal which began after the Zentangle certification seminar in October of 2011.

Here are the step- outs for recreating it followed by some of the variations…

If you read my blog a lot you might have noticed quite a few of my recipes come from my good friend Meredith Hickson. Well today she has written a guest post that asks us all to think critically about current cancer treatment methods and the importance of healthy living:

Every year a website called Cancer Monthly (http://www.cancermonthly.com/) hosts a scholarship program designed to promote “out of the box” thinking around cancer treatment. They invite students to read about the life of a special cancer victim named James “Rhio” O’Connor and then discuss how his story has inspired them to think differently about treating and preventing cancer.

Rhio O’Connor was diagnosed with mesothelioma, a cancer of the protective sacks that surround internal organs. Mesothelioma is associated with exposure to asbestos (you can learn more about mesothelioma here: (http://www.survivingmesothelioma.com). Classic approaches like chemotherapy or radiation haven’t proven…

Today’s topic is creative writing and the rules that come with being with an author. You know the rules I mean: we’ve all heard them. I’ll reference each one by one later on.

Don’t feel like you have to obey the rules. All you have to do is to know the rules. Once you do, you can break them if you want to, as long as you break them consistently.

Consistency is the key. I got the idea for this post after I wrote yesterday’s, because yesterday I talked about point of view and characterization. Specifically, I talked about how to characterize secondary characters when your point of view doesn’t allow you to “head hop.”

• Don’t head hop. This is one of those rules people like to throw around for a reason. You shouldn’t head hop if you’re limiting yourself to a limited POV. When your narrator only follows…

Written with Tracy Rydzy, MSW, LSW

In a moment of frustration I (Tracy) posted this on my Facebook page dedicated to Chronic Pain, Tracy Rydzy- Oh What a Pain:

Sometimes I wonder, when something comes up that is difficult to accept or hurtful or upsetting because of living with chronic pain, do people try to be jerks about it or are they really too stupid to understand?

One of the pages’ followers, Cassandra, responded with her opinion and I think it will resonate with many readers. We co-wrote the following article:

When you live with chronic pain, it often feels that no one understands how difficult life is and people sometimes make comments that end up being hurtful. There are three key reasons why people say things or act in a careless or hurtful manner when it comes to dealing with chronic illness issues.

The first reason could be…

Last weekend I taught at the Crested Butte Writing Conference in Colorado. Amazing conference with fantastic presenters (highly recommend) and though it was memorable and magical…I thought it would KILL me.

It Didn’t Begin Well…

I am NOT a fan of early morning flights. Even though I had everything packed and ready to go, I wake up WHEN?

3:00 a.m.

…and CANNOT get back to sleep.

So I get up, do some work and have plenty of time to get to the airport. I figure, “Eh *waves hand* I’m not presenting today, so I will just go to bed early.”

I finally get to Gunnison, Colorado, my ride picks me and the other presenters up. She’s already scouted out a restaurant that had gluten-free and dairy-free food. YAY, ME!

The Assassin-wich

Whenever I go to different regions, I make it a point to try what’s local. I ordered the Trout…

As I promised yesterday in my post about my scumbag brain and how I don’t write down good ideas, today’s post is about two different types of editing: editing for content/cohesion, and editing for flow.

I want to talk first about how they’re different, and why editing for flow should be one of your last concerns, reserved for the final phases of producing reader-readiness.

Editing for Content and Cohesion

Editing for content and cohesion really go together. When you edit for content, you make sure your content is right. (WHAT??? Who could have seen that one coming?)

• You don’t have plot holes
• Your characters are developed and, as far as you can identify at the phase you’re at, all needed scenes are present and accounted for.
• All the background info that you can imagine your readers will need is somewhere in the work.

Editing for content is largely editing…

Having so much fun giving away copies of Proximity for free on Smashwords, and now it’s double the fun…Proximity is FREE for Kindle too! Head on over to Amazon to pick up a copy…and I’d love some help spreading the word too!

A special thanks to Bookfabulous Designs for the awesome graphic you see up at the top of this post! And to the wonderful ladies at Girls *Heart* Books Tours for all their help in spreading the word about the Proximity series! ❤ Love ya!

Vitality is coming July 16th!  So excited!