Time does fly

Oh goodness!

Several days since my last update. The weekend, oddly enough, ate up my free time! Boo! Little writing was done but I have begun revisions on one of my short stories so it can be entered in a great contest. Here's a snippet. Again, graphic content warning.

I almost missed it, the causeof the God-awful scent, but something made me turn to look towards the canal and see it. See him. Or at least I could only assume it use to be a him. The body was leaning against a tree, already starting to melt into the soggy ground. The skin was peeling away, like paper lit on fire, curled up around the edge of what was a head at one point, though it looked like a gunshot had gotten ride of most of it. The hands were turning gray, white moving spots digging in new holes in the rotten skin-devouring everything.

Anyways, moving on from that snippet. Lately I've been having trouble with inspiration. Now I know that you can't sit and wait for the 'muse' to appear and inspire you to write. You will be waiting a long, long time for that to happen and the muse usually doesn't want anything to do with revision or finishing a project for that matter. Inspiration for me is the drive to tell a story. It has to be urgent. I think that's why I like short stories more (to write) than novels.

Something that has recently been helping me to re-ignite my inspiration for writing has been looking up quotes. I love quotes. Right now, the one that speaks to me most is from Neil Gaiman.

"Everybody has a secret world inside of them. All of the people of the world, I mean everybody. No matter how dull and boring they are on the outside, inside them they've all got unimaginable, magnificent, wonderful, stupid, amazing worlds. Not just one world.Hundreds of them. Thousands maybe."

That is why I write. Because there are a million stories out there. There is a story in everyone waiting to come out. I even apply this to my characters as well. There is an entire universe to create, destroy and mold into something beautiful, something horrible, into something.

It's been a struggle to keep up writing while working full-time and helping with an internship and other projects but it is what I love. Stories make the world.

So that's my 2 cents. Do you have quotes that inspire you? Anything you do to keep yourself writing?

Writing Tips

So it is November and a ton of people are doing NaNoWriMo so I wanted to put together some tips that I use to keep up writing. Remember that to be a writer you need to write everyday, not just in November so these tips apply year round.

1. End in the Middle of a Scene

I like to end in the middle of something happening. Tonight I ended with the captain of a ship in the belly of her ship, about to show someone a tour of the ship. Not super exciting, but I know exactly where to start. i don't have to stop and think I can jump right into the scene. Ended on a solid note like 'They went to sleep.' Always makes me struggle because then my brain goes in a thousand directions of what could happen next.

2. Read!

Good writers, read. You need to know what is out there, who the other writers are, what publishers you like, etc. Nothing inspires me to write more than a great (or awful) reading.

3. Talk to Other Writers

Writing is often a lonely job, slaving away for hours at a desk hoping that one day someone will read what you're working so hard on. Connect with other writers, give yourself a support group. Celebrate with one another, and mourn with one another.

4. Revise!

When it comes to revise a work, be brutal. Be totally honest. Even if you think it's the most beautiful paragraph you've ever written do you need it? Does it matter what the fountain or gate looks like? Every word should drive the story forward, if something's not doing that, it needs to go.

5. Love what you are doing

Writer's don't write to become famous or rich. Write because that is what you love doing, what you want to do no matter what. Not everyone gets to be a Stephen King or Neil Gaimen, but love what you are doing. If you don't love what you are writing it will show.

What are your writing tips/tricks? I also have a special candle I light before I write. It's a habit now.

How's NaNoWrimo going? I broke 8,000 words tonight, yay!

GA Literary Fair Rundown!

So here is finally a rundown of the awesome people I met at the Ga Literary Fair this year. This is a list of mainly just the people I was able to talk to and get to know, not the only people there.

Nick Valentino, author of Thomas Riley:

Blog: http://nickvalentino.blogspot.com/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/SirThomasRiley

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000806797682

So, oddly enough I follow him on facebook and had no idea he was going to the Ga Literary Fair until the night before when I saw a facbeook post saying he would be there. Needless to say I flipped. I'm a big fan, and supporter (bought both books, they come with really neat stamp signatures) and he really is just a super nice, super friendly guy. He was a blast to talk to and he had the coolest table set-up of anyone there. All kinds of steampunk gear all over.

Anyways, his novel is fantastic and his short story in this collection of Steam Punk work is also amazing! All in all, go buy and support. End of story.

Wright Gres, author of Macedonia Passage

Website: http://www.wrightgres.com/

Next was an author that I hadn't met before this festival but after he offered me candy we became new friends. His passion for what is writing about is so inspiring, and he has a fascinating life story. His thriller, Macedonia Passage is inspired off of real trips he's taken across the ocean. He had a series of amazing pictures that played while he talked and it's incredible where he has been. He's also incredibly humble and really a nice guy. I highly suggest his novel!

Raven Hart, author of the Savannah Vampires Series

Website: http://www.ravenhartbooks.com/

Probably the most entertaining author that spoke. She was full of funny stories about her adventures with publishing, not to mention a red neck vampire just cracks me up. She's down to earth and incredibly open to helping. She spent almost half of her hour long session answering questions about how she was published and giving advice. She's a passionate vampire fan and her novels are just as entertaining as she is! If you're looking for something to sink your teeth into (hahah I'm so punny, aren't I? Man I need sleep), then I highly recommend Raven Hart's series.

Mason Dixon Publishing

Website: http://www.masondixonpublishing.com/

Last is a wonderfully friendly, newly started publishing house. I love the name because the VP of the company lives in Ga and the President lives in Ohio, hence Mason-Dixon. I thought it was clever. They currently have just published a short novella and a collection of poetry but are excited about getting more material. Check their website out and learn more about them. They are both very passionate about writing and I look forward to seeing much more for Mason-Dixon!

And that's all for tonight! I'm hoping to get some Nanowrimo outlining done and even get some reading knocked out.