*ducks in anticipation of tomatoes*
So, I kind of took an unplanned hiatus from blogging, except for a guest post by the lovely Rachel Morgan last week. By so doing I missed a blogfest and the Insecure Writer's Support Group and have neglected visiting and commenting on blogs, which I feel terrible about. My apologies to all the hosts and to the wonderful people who came by and read and commented on my blog recently, because I really didn't keep up my end of the bargain here.
I'm not exactly back into the blogging swing, either. May and June have kind of been crazy months and the next couple of weeks promise to be even crazier. I'm aiming for July to sort out--well, reinstate--my blogging schedule completely (of course, right when Google Reader shuts down, hurrah), so this post is more of a I'm-not-dead-and-hope-you-still-remember-me kind of announcement. I'm definitely going to be publishing posts in the future, just not on as regular a basis until the dust settles.
But enough about me. Anything new with you? Really, tell me . . . got a new project, draft, book deal, agent, pet, kid, whatever? Is there exciting stuff happening in your life? What are you looking forward to right now?
-----The Golden Eagle
14 June, 2013
04 June, 2013
Faerie Prince Book Tour: A Guest Post By Rachel Morgan On Writing For An International Audience
Hello, everyone! Today I have the honor of hosting author Rachel Morgan, who is here to talk about writing for people in the connected world of the web. Take it away, Rachel!
Writing for an International Audience
I'm a South African living in South Africa, which means I write and speak British English (we like to add extra letters to our words and use "s" instead of "z". Like neighbour instead of neighbor, and realise instead of realize). I wrote my first novel using British spelling, because that's the way I'd always written words. But when I started writing books that I knew I was going to epublish through Amazon, I figured the majority of my audience would be US readers. (There are people in South Africa who read ebooks, but we're way behind the US in that regard.) So ... I decided to switch to US spelling.
The thing is, the difference doesn't stop at spelling. We use different words as well, and I didn't always realis/ze that while I was writing! Fortunately, my critique partner lives in the US and she pointed out the differences as she went through my manuscript. I remember a particularly confusing email exchange about a plug in a bathroom, because she thought I was referring to an electrical plug (what is your character plugging in?) while I was referring to the plug you put in the bath to stop the water running out (oh, you mean a stopper, she said).
Here are some other examples of words I changed after the first draft:
post = mail
zip = zipper
bath = bathtub (I even asked for suggestions on Facebook about what word to use for the noun bath! People were very helpful.)
icing = frosting (although it seemed to me from my Googling that US writers use both icing and frosting, so I stuck with icing in the end)
sweet = candy
And there are a whole lot of other word differences that I didn't use in this novel but that I have to remember in future writing (like bonnet = hood and chips = fries).
If you're a writer, have you had to consider these spelling/word differences before when thinking about your intended audience? If you're a reader, do you notice whether the book you're reading has US or UK spelling, or do you just read the book?
Rachel Morgan is the author of the newly released YA paranormal fantasy The Faerie Prince, second novel in the Creepy Hollow series. You can find it at the following online retailers (and if you haven't yet read the first book, The Faerie Guardian, you can find out where to get it on this page):
~ ~ ~
Rachel Morgan was born in South Africa and spent a large portion
of her childhood living in a fantasy land of her own making. After completing a
degree in genetics, she decided science wasn’t for her—after all, they didn’t
approve of made-up facts. These days she spends much of her time immersed in
fantasy land once more, writing fiction for young adults.
Don't forget the giveaway!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Writing for an International Audience
I'm a South African living in South Africa, which means I write and speak British English (we like to add extra letters to our words and use "s" instead of "z". Like neighbour instead of neighbor, and realise instead of realize). I wrote my first novel using British spelling, because that's the way I'd always written words. But when I started writing books that I knew I was going to epublish through Amazon, I figured the majority of my audience would be US readers. (There are people in South Africa who read ebooks, but we're way behind the US in that regard.) So ... I decided to switch to US spelling.The thing is, the difference doesn't stop at spelling. We use different words as well, and I didn't always realis/ze that while I was writing! Fortunately, my critique partner lives in the US and she pointed out the differences as she went through my manuscript. I remember a particularly confusing email exchange about a plug in a bathroom, because she thought I was referring to an electrical plug (what is your character plugging in?) while I was referring to the plug you put in the bath to stop the water running out (oh, you mean a stopper, she said).
Here are some other examples of words I changed after the first draft:
post = mail
zip = zipper
bath = bathtub (I even asked for suggestions on Facebook about what word to use for the noun bath! People were very helpful.)
icing = frosting (although it seemed to me from my Googling that US writers use both icing and frosting, so I stuck with icing in the end)
sweet = candy
And there are a whole lot of other word differences that I didn't use in this novel but that I have to remember in future writing (like bonnet = hood and chips = fries).
If you're a writer, have you had to consider these spelling/word differences before when thinking about your intended audience? If you're a reader, do you notice whether the book you're reading has US or UK spelling, or do you just read the book?
~ ~ ~
Rachel Morgan is the author of the newly released YA paranormal fantasy The Faerie Prince, second novel in the Creepy Hollow series. You can find it at the following online retailers (and if you haven't yet read the first book, The Faerie Guardian, you can find out where to get it on this page):~ ~ ~
Don't forget the giveaway!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
27 May, 2013
Happy Memorial Day!
I hope those of you celebrating have a wonderful Memorial Day. And if today isn't a holiday where you are, then I hope you have a great Monday regardless!
-----The Golden Eagle
-----The Golden Eagle
07 May, 2013
Teaser Tuesday (112)
Wow, it's been a long time since I posted for Teaser Tuesday. Between recovering from surgery and the A to Z Challenge, I haven't blogged about what I'm reading since March 12. Time to get back into the swing of things, I think!
Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.
Rules for participating:
This week, my teaser is from The Dreams That Stuff Is Made Of : The Most Astounding Papers on Quantum Physics and How They Shook the Scientific World edited by Stephen Hawking. I am excited to finally be able to read this book, since it includes some really landmark articles by Max Planck, Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, Erwin Schrodinger, Richard Feynman, and other physicists.
What was the last book you were excited to read? What are you reading now?
-----The Golden Eagle
Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.
Rules for participating:
- Grab your current read
- Open to a random page
- Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
- BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
- Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
This week, my teaser is from The Dreams That Stuff Is Made Of : The Most Astounding Papers on Quantum Physics and How They Shook the Scientific World edited by Stephen Hawking. I am excited to finally be able to read this book, since it includes some really landmark articles by Max Planck, Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, Erwin Schrodinger, Richard Feynman, and other physicists.
Before proceeding to discuss the explicit significance of quantum mechanics it is perhaps right for me to deal briefly with this question as to the existence of matter waves in three-dimensional space, since the solution to this problem was only achieved by combining wave and quantum mechanics.-p. 243, "The Development of Quantum Mechanics", by Werner Heisenberg
A long time before quantum mechanics was developed Pauli had inferred from the laws in the Periodic System of the elements the well-known principle that a particular quantum state can at all times be occupied by only a single electron.
**********
What was the last book you were excited to read? What are you reading now?
-----The Golden Eagle
03 May, 2013
Unexpected Packages And Star Trek Into Darkness
So . . . this is a bit random, but I received a surprise in the mail and thought I'd share it with you guys, because all the nerds I know are a.) online and b.) mostly bloggers.
This was on the top of the steps leading to the house when we got home yesterday. My mom's response was a quick "That's not ours" because no one had ordered anything, but when I checked the label it was addressed to me. And it was from Paramount.
It was kind of obvious what the package was based on the shape, but I still had no idea what it was from. I've been playing around with the Star Trek Into Darkness app (which is pretty cool, by the way, even if the software it uses has to be reinstalled every so often) but hadn't put my address into that.
Then I found this paper attached by rubber band to the roll--
--which is something I had signed up for way back when, a few weeks after it launched in December. Are You the 1701? was just a black screen with a sign up form at that point and I couldn't resist, it being about Star Trek and looking so mysterious.
The other side of the paper said this:
And the 3D trailer is here. But anyway, here's the best bit:
The detail is impressive. I love just looking at it and admiring it--the poster's quite big, around 2.5x4.5 feet. For now it's going to stay in its packaging since I don't know what to do with it exactly (all my wall space is taken except for right across from where I sleep, and I'm not sure I want to stare at it when I've got insomnia, lovely as it is) though I'm definitely keeping the poster. (Insert obligatory comment about selling it on eBay as an antique in the future.)
Anyone else looking forward to the movie?
-----The Golden Eagle
This was on the top of the steps leading to the house when we got home yesterday. My mom's response was a quick "That's not ours" because no one had ordered anything, but when I checked the label it was addressed to me. And it was from Paramount.
It was kind of obvious what the package was based on the shape, but I still had no idea what it was from. I've been playing around with the Star Trek Into Darkness app (which is pretty cool, by the way, even if the software it uses has to be reinstalled every so often) but hadn't put my address into that.
Then I found this paper attached by rubber band to the roll--
--which is something I had signed up for way back when, a few weeks after it launched in December. Are You the 1701? was just a black screen with a sign up form at that point and I couldn't resist, it being about Star Trek and looking so mysterious.
The other side of the paper said this:
And the 3D trailer is here. But anyway, here's the best bit:
The detail is impressive. I love just looking at it and admiring it--the poster's quite big, around 2.5x4.5 feet. For now it's going to stay in its packaging since I don't know what to do with it exactly (all my wall space is taken except for right across from where I sleep, and I'm not sure I want to stare at it when I've got insomnia, lovely as it is) though I'm definitely keeping the poster. (Insert obligatory comment about selling it on eBay as an antique in the future.)
Anyone else looking forward to the movie?
-----The Golden Eagle
01 May, 2013
Will I Ever Be Able To Do That Story Justice?: An IWSG Post
Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!
The first novel I wrote is the first I finished--and every once in a while, usually 1-3 times a year, I'll suddenly be struck with inspiration for how to revise it. The story has a particular piece of my heart attached to it, which may just be because it is my first novel, but I'm still continually drawn to it several projects later. It's a gigantic mess right now (I divided into a trilogy with a total of around 500,000 words . . . which is not as bad as it sounds when you realize it was originally a single book) and I want to fix it.
However, whenever I think about the story after that brief moment of inspiration, I run into walls. Perhaps (probably?) they're manufactured walls, but when I think about all the things I want to achieve in rewriting the project I always feel like I'm entirely inadequate to fulfill those aspirations. To capture the pieces of humanity I imagine in my head, to make the plot as intricate as those in the stories I really admire, to avoid turning the characters (one in particular) into stereotypes.
Then I wonder if it's even worth going back to. Few writers seem to have their very first novel published, having written and polished several projects before coming up with something truly publishable and/or ready to submit. Assuming it is . . . I wonder if I'll be skilled enough at writing to not turn the story into another mangled pile.
Have you ever had a story that returned to you again and again over several years? If so, did you wait until you'd worked on other projects before writing/rewriting it? Do you usually feel up to the task of working on your stories?
-----The Golden Eagle
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