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By L. Anne Beard on Wednesday, 11th of January 2012 at 10:18:46 AM
What initially drew you to writing?
I’ve been writing literally as long as I can remember. I’m not exaggerating; I remember feeling like a writer as far back as first grade, where stories were written on soft grey paper with wide handwriting lines and a place to draw a picture above. I’ve just always done it. When I was in elementary school, I wrote mysteries and put my friends in them. In middle school, I took a creative writing class and wrote letters to my favorite authors. In high school, I free wrote and penned angst-y poems to combat anxiety. So, I’ve always wrote, but I don’t think I considered writing as a valid vocation, or even an avocation, until I got to college and felt like I couldn’t do it anymore, like I’d lost it. And then, enter NaNoWriMo and speculative fiction!
What is your favorite genre to read? Why? What about your favorite genre to write? Why?
I would say I’m less drawn to genres, and more drawn to tone, voice, or themes. In college, I was really attracted to Modernism, and I guess that spills into my reading for pleasure. I like dystopian societies and ideas that question truth and the reliability of the narrator. One of my favorite books is Catcher in the Rye, mostly because Holden Caufield is a liar, and Salinger doesn’t tell the reader he’s full of baloney, its just something I decided as the reader. I like stories the f*** with the status quo. As far as my writing goes, I enjoy writing the types of stories I like to read. I really enjoy discovering what my characters would really do when faced with certain situations, and then questioning whether that’s a conditioned response, something the character would do because I, the writer, have been programmed to think that’s what he should do, or something the character mightreally do. A professor once told me that Shakespeare wrote his plays with the mindset that the action should set up an expectation, and then do the opposite. I try to do that, I think.
How do you balance your muggle life with your writing schedule?
Hmm. My muggle life includes school, sometimes multiple jobs, and now a brand new baby. I guess I just write whenever I can. I always try to keep a notebook or some kind of paper nearby. I’ve even written on a torn up shopping bag before! But I suppose I’m starting from scratch now that my kid is in my life. We’ll just have to see how that balance works…
The Asiagoans all met at National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). What’s drew you to this crazy idea of writing 50,000 words in one month?
I have to give the credit to Mur Lafferty. I’m a fan of hers, and once upon a time I was cool enough to hang out in some of the same circles as she did, and she talked about participating. That was right around the time I was headed uphill towards the peak of my inability to write. I had tried book after book of writing prompts and self-help for writers nonsense, and none of it had helped. NaNo is pretty butt-in-chair, even if you’re not the butt-in-chair type of writer, and so I though it couldn’t hurt to try it out. Up until this year, I had never won Nano. Not even once. I don’t even think I’ve ever hit 10,000 words in any one of those six years. But this year, even with a two-month-old baby, a full class schedule, and a part time job, I won. I made it to 50k before midnight! The best part is the big F-you to all those people that told me “you’re life is over once you have kids.” They gave up too easily.
What if any projects are you working on right now?
Right now I’m working on a pretty large and undefined pot of writing spaghetti. I sort of feel like my writing brain is sputtering back to life, so inspiration has been coming in flashes. I have a few characters, and they all know there’s been some sort of catastrophe, but don’t know exactly what has happened or what to do. I want to explore some things — like how a post-industrial, post-technological world would work if those things were rendered useless, and how people would adapt socially. I also find the ideas uncannily similar to the World War I period in Britain, and I want to explore those similarities, or apply those WWI sentiments to this present-future time period I’m working on.
I’m also editing the novel of another Asiagoan. We’re making it a collaborative effort; she got a little burnt out on the story, but I really love it and want to see it succeed, so I’m taking over (she has full veto power, of course) to grind out some of the dirty work.
I’m also taking one last English class, the American Novel 1945-present, and so I’ll have at least two or three big essays to write for that class.
Exhausted yet?
What has been your most challenging hurdle as a writer?
Academia, and living an academic life concurrent with a “paycheck-to-paycheck” life, while simultaneously trying to access the dreams I have and the stories I know I have the ability to tell, has been my biggest challenge, by far. I made the choice to go back to school in pursuit of a second undergraduate degree, and while I was doing that I had to somehow hold down a full time job to support myself and pay for college. To top it off, I chose to be an English Education major, which is in itself a full time job (literally, I had to put hours into teaching high school classes). I’ve since dropped the Education part of my major, and it has been incredibly freeing, and it has allowed me to slow down enough to let my creativity come back from moratorium. I think for a long time I saw my creativity as a distraction from the “real world,” and I thought that was a bad thing. Now I see that my creativity existed in order to keep me sane, so without it, well…
Do you have any words of wisdom or advice for new writers?
I don’t really think of myself as successful enough to offer advice to new writers. I can, however, offer advice to young writers, writers who, regardless of years writing, are at the point in life where they are at the precipice of high school or college and about to plunge into college or career. My advice is two fold. First, leave time for yourself, even if that means sacrificing a shift and 60 extra bucks, even if that means getting a C instead of a B. Don’t feel like you’re not working hard enough because you take some time for your own mental health. If writing is what you love, do that, and let the other stuff be secondary, because if you love writing and you need to do it, not doing it is the same as not sleeping or not getting exercise.
Any favorite authors right now?
The Maze Runner, at least the first two books in the trilogy, are so great. Dare I say, better than the Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games triolgy? Really exciting stuff. Both of those authors, I think, are on the pulse, even though the movies may possibly destroy the amazing worlds they created (hopefully not). I’m a huge fan of young adult literature because I struggle to find “adult” literature that is as exciting and not overdone. I’m also a huge fan of graphic novels, and readers tend to forget about those writers sometimes. Those are books too, and the writers of those stories are just as much writers as any non-illustrated book’s authors are. Brian K. Vaughn and Robert Kirkman are amazing storytellers. Y: The Last Man is one of the best stories I’ve ever read, and The Walking Dead is completely alive as a story, that thing f***in’ breathes.
What are you reading right now?
The River in Winter by our own Matt Dean 
If someone were to make a movie of your life what would be the 12 songs on your soundtrack?
This is really hard.
1.) Sweet Baby James – James Taylor
2.) Redundant – Green Day
3.) Dancing Queen – ABBA
4.) Going to Pasalacqua – Green Day
5.) One Armed Scissor – At the Drive In
6.) Apparitions – Matthew Good Band
7.) Stillettos and Lipstick – Little Nell
8.) Break Your Heart – Barenaked Ladies
9.) Be Quiet and Drive – Deftones, Adam Sandler, and Incubus
10.) I’ll Come Running – Thin Lizzy
11.) As the World Falls Down – David Bowie
12.) Younger Generation – John Sebastian (the live version from Woodstock where he screws up)
By L. Anne Beard on Wednesday, 28th of December 2011 at 11:36:17 AM
End of the year….
Every New Year’s eve my husband and I write down a list of things we would like to accomplish in the coming year and seal it up sticking it in a safe place. We open the year’s before list and look at what we accomplish then write the new ones. I’m a little worried that my list of nearly 30 things will have few crossed off on it.
This upcoming year, I’m aiming low and high. Low in that I plan on a list of less than ten. I think five would be about where I will keep my list. But I am aiming high because I am planning on publishing this upcoming year. Come hell or high water I will have a book available.
So I am also making that my resolution (next to cutting back on soda) to publish at least one book this year.
What’s your resolution?
By L. Anne Beard on Wednesday, 14th of December 2011 at 10:00:04 AM
First year as a Municipal Liaison for NaNoWriMo is done and over with and it went well, if I do say so myself. Sarah and I rocked the casbah and both made it over the finish lines (yeah us!) I ended up writing not only the Dever (book two in the Singer Series) but also the Master (book three in the Singer Series) and I finished the overall story. I am very pleased with this. So I have been making notes and rereading the 525 pages of the three books.
What is cool is that this year as a winning gift, CreateSpace is giving us not one but FIVE free proofs of our novel to enjoy. So you better believe I am trying to edit my novel right quick to take advantage of that!
I have used CreateSpace’s proof system before and thought I would help out my fellow writer’s by offering a class on how to format your novel for the proof copy. It went smashing! So much so that it looks like I may give the class a second time for those that could not make it or who want to go through a second time. Info on this to follow.
So now, I am looking around, stretching my proverbial back and cracking my fingers. It’s December?
…Considering entering into ABNA again (Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award) with the Singer… if I can get it whipped into shape in time!
By L. Anne Beard on Wednesday, 23rd of November 2011 at 10:26:37 AM
Greetings loyal readers! You probably wonder where we are… the Asiagoans. We are knee deep in the bogs of our creative swamps somewhere in mid Nanoland. We all met at National Novel Writing Month write-ins and have been friends since. So, per usual we are there once more (except Becka who is in Fie Eoin right now).
Sarah and I are the co-Municipal Liaisons this year and the rest of the group have been our Minions and we have all have been pretty busy.
For my part I have given myself carpal tunnel but have powermanned a wordcount that boggles my own mind. Nearly three times what we aim for by the end of the month. Suffice it to say I have completed book two and have moved into book three of the Singer Series.
Then I hit the wall. I am a little more than halfway through book three and I have lost my steam, I am lost. I know where I want to be, but getting there is getting muddied. So I thought rather than force it, step back and take care of other things for a bit. So I checked my emails, Facebook and my website. I read some books (all 11 of the Sookie Stackhouse novels) and have been watching True Blood. I tell people I am resting my wrist, but I have no idea what to do.
Normally things don’t flow so well for me when I write. In the past I have felt like I am fighting an uphill battle, but this year I have been strangely fortunate. Even now I am 100,000 words beyond where I figured I would be. I am hoping for another 25,000 words before the end of the month. That is my goal, to reach 150,000 by midnight November 30th.
I am going to need a brace…
By L. Anne Beard on Wednesday, 12th of October 2011 at 10:00:49 AM
 What initially drew you to writing?
I can’t remember a time when I didn’t want to be a writer. I loved the idea of creating the kinds of stories that my mother read to me. I was the kid who “read” stories to the other kids during naptime before I could actually read, and once I COULD read, I banged out all of those stories on my mother’s IBM Selectric. “Writer” has always been the answer to the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”
What is your favorite genre to read? Why? What about your favorite genre to write? Why?
I read a lot of different genres. I don’t like to limit myself to one kind of mind candy, so what I choose largely depends upon mood. Having said that, I DO read a lot of urban and supernatural fantasy for pure fun, and I read literary fiction when I need to feel challenged and inspired. I also eat up the kind of poetry that speaks of the raw gorgeousness of real life moments, like the work of Dorianne Laux and Billy Collins.
I have been working on a dynasticCharlestonghost story for over a decade. Even when pressed I can’t quite categorize it. We’ll see what it is when I’m done. I hope to finish a draft that will be ready for submission to agents by the end of the year.
I plan to write some more steampunk-flavored 18th century prose featuring one of my favorite Founding Fathers when I wrap up the ghost story. I started that series during last NaNoWriMo, and I plan to continue it this November. It’s fun and smart, and I hope that other people will like it as much as I’ve liked planning it.
I am also a poet. I go through periods when it is easier for me to express a story or feeling in a poem, and I love, love, love writing form poetry. I like the challenge of taking something that feels wild and unformed and fed from emotion when I start and shaping it to fit a formal mold. When I manage that, I feel like I’ve achieved something that expresses both my bohemian nature and my love of order.
How do you balance your muggle life with your writing schedule?
I struggle with finding a balance, and I don’t have a problem admitting that I often don’t manage it. I work from home, so the computer and the desk that I use for work are also the desk and computer I use to write. At the end of my work day, it can be hard to switch off work brain in order to write. I have to remind myself that the day job is something that achieves paying my bills, and that writing is what I want to DO.
When I can remember that, I’ve found that the easiest way for me to get back into writer mode is to change locations. As a matter of fact, I’m answering these questions from my “other” office, the Asiagoan banquette at our local Panera. I spent the last couple of hours re-ordering the chapters of myCharlestonstory so that I can figure out what I need to write next. I gave my Saturday afternoon and evening to the task, which means that I chose to skip fun dinner plans or having my nails done. I don’t regret the choice.
The Asiagoans all met at National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). What’s drew you to this crazy idea of writing 50,000 words in one month?
As I said, I had been writing thisCharlestonghost story for a few years, and I had reached a point where I needed a serious kick in the ass. That summer I read over what I had and realized it wasn’t very much, so I bent the rules of NaNo a bit that year in order to jump back into the work. I was working with old characters, but over time the story had expanded and grown, so I threw out what I had done before and wrote something new. I learned a lot about the motivations of my characters that first NaNo, and I taught myself the most important lesson I could have learned from NaNo by simply “winning.” Hitting the 50,000 word mark was a HUGE accomplishment for me.
What if any projects are you working on right now?
I’m wrapping up theCharlestonghost story, and I’m also working on a chapbook of poems called “Four Lovers.”
What has been your most challenging hurdle as a writer?
When I was a kid, I wrote all the time. I was never far from the mental space that allowed me to step into the creative process easily. With adulthood and jobs and responsibility, that became harder. I have to make myself take time to tap back into that flow. When I do, writing is just as easy as it was when I was a kid. I just have to keep reminding myself of that fact.
Do you have any words of wisdom or advice for new writers?
WRITE, WRITE, WRITE. You’re going to write some absolutely horrible stuff on the way to getting to the sort of thing you want to create. You learn to write by writing. There’s really no other way to do it. Be brave. Jump into NaNoWriMo. Go to NaNo write-ins and try to meet other writers. It makes the whole creative process so much less lonely, and certainly can make you feel more sane, to find other people who understand what you are going through when you’re in that head space.
Any favorite authors right now?
Diana Gabaldon and Anne Rice are old favorites. Audrey Niffenegger is a goddess, and I want so very much to write prose that can move people like hers does. I read Gail Carriger and Caitlin Kittredge and Jackson Pearce and a whole host of other smart and funny urban fantasy and YA writers for sheer enjoyment.
What are you reading right now?
My birthday is this week, so I’m going to treat myself to the first few books of Laurie R. King’s Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series because I like the idea of reading about an older Sherlock Holmes in love. I just finished Caitlin Kittredge’s new Black London novel, “Devil’s Business” and Sarah Addison Allen’s “The Girl Who Chased the Moon.”
If someone were to make a movie of your life what would be the 12 songs on your soundtrack?
In no particular order:
1) ”Keep Breathing” – Ingrid Michaelson
2) ”Falling Slowly” – The Swell Season
3) ”Mere Gurudev” -KrishnaDas
4) ”Rain King” – The Counting Crows
5) ”With All the Words” – Jodie Manross
6) ”Power of Two” – Indigo Girls
7) ”Jezebel” – 10,000 Maniacs
8 ) ”Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own” – U2
9) ”Hymn to Her” – The Pretenders
10) ”Building a Mystery” – Sarah MacLachlan
11) ”I Kissed a Girl” – Katy Perry
12) ”Eric’s Song” -ViennaTeng
By L. Anne Beard on Wednesday, 7th of September 2011 at 11:20:23 AM
We are the Asiagoans, but really… who are we? I decided to ask that of my fellow writers starting with the incomparable Matt Dean, author of The River in Winter.
1. What is your writing ritual?
I’m still trying to figure that out myself. When I was writing The River in Winter, I went to a coffee shop every day and did my writing there. I found it helped to be surrounded by noise, but it had to be “other people’s noise”–just having the TV on at home was too distracting. Since then I’ve found that coffee-shop writing doesn’t work very well, but I’ve done pretty well sitting up in bed listening to music, which brings me to…
2. When writing what are you listening to?
Last year during NaNo, I started out with ambient music. It was sort of an accident. I downloaded this nifty thing called Ommwriter ( http://www.ommwriter.com/), which comes equipped with audio effects that are intended to promote concentration. When I got tired of Ommwriter’s music, I downloaded other ambient tracks. When I got tired of those (turns out I tire very quickly of ambient music, who knew?), I switched to Vivaldi. For decades I’ve been hearing that Baroque music is best for studying and concentration. I guess there’s some basis to it–I found that I write fairly quickly (for me) with the fast movements of Vivaldi’s concerti playing in the background. The slow movements bog me down, though, so I took them out of my playlist. You know, I don’t really know. I had no thought of writing until Joy, my best friend in seventh grade, started saying that she was writing a novel. Instantly, I wanted to be able to say that, too. That’s how the ambition to be a writer started, but for a long time I did little more than dream about authorial success and make endless, endless lists of character names. Of course, I did eventually buckle down and write, and I wrote all kinds of stuff–plays, romance novels, sci-fi. For the most part it was all too short, and it goes without saying that it was all too dreadful. But the desire to write stuck, long after my friendship with Joy ended.
4. When did you first start writing because you loved it?
I’m sure I must have loved writing when I was in high school. I remember banging away on a series of typewriters, killing forests’ worth of paper. But when I was in college, I unwittingly filled one semester with courses that required a lot of writing. Late one night as I worked on a paper about the importance of women’s equality in economic development–I remember it distinctly–I felt suddenly as if I had some skill at writing, as if I weren’t just slinging words together for a grade, but rather crafting something of quality in its own right. And I think that’s when I started wanting to be a writer because a writer writes prose of quality. Before that, I’d mainly wanted to be, you know, Agatha Christie or Neil Simon–a household name–and the writing was just the means to get there.
5. How do you feel about big house publishing versus self publishing?
I feel very strongly that every writer should do as I say and not as I do, and give a good honest shot at finding a traditional publisher. I don’t mean the “Big Six,” necessarily. I think your chances are better with smaller houses. But give it the old college try, eh? (Do people still say “the old college try”? I dunno. Never mind.)
I have nothing against self-publishing, obviously, and I don’t exactly regret going that way myself. But in retrospect I see that if you’re going to be out there in the great big sea of publishing, it’s better to float in relative comfort on a raft, rather than clinging desperately to a sliver of driftwood. There are certain things you get for free if you’re with a house that you can’t get on your own. You’re listed in the house’s catalog, which gets sent to buyers. You get much easier access to reviewers. And of course, you get the benefit of professional editors and designers working on your stuff and making sure it’s as good as it can be.
You can get listed in catalogs if you self-pub. You can send review copies to book bloggers. You can hire designers and editors. But those things are all costly extras, not part of the package as they are with traditional publication.
6. Why did you self publish?
I’d been through a couple of rounds of agent hunting, and I wasn’t having any luck. Right around that time, The Advocate published a piece about the supposed death of gay fiction. Someone once told me that getting a novel published is kind of like hitting the lottery a hundred times–you have to hit the right agent’s desk at the right moment, and then that agent has to convince all of his or her partners that you’re worth representing, and then the agent has to hit the right editor’s desk at the right moment, and the editor has to convince all of his or her fellow editors that you’re worth publishing, and on and on. At that moment, it seemed as if selling a gay novel would be more like hitting the lottery a million times. So I decided to take a risk and start my own damn lottery.
7. Your novel “The River in Winter” was nominated for the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Fiction in 2010. What was that like when you found out you were nominated?
I think I was in shock. I was sure they’d made some mistake. I mean, I was thrilled, of course, but in an oddly catatonic way. My partner was still asleep. I sat on the edge of the bed and poked at him till he woke up, and I said, “So. Guess who’s a finalist for a Lammy.” I think I probably said it the way a person might say, “So. Guess who threw up in the kitchen.” I really couldn’t quite get my head around it. I think I checked the LLF site ( http://www.lambdaliterary.org/) a hundred times a day to make sure my book hadn’t been removed from the list. 8. What is some advice you have to up and coming writers?
Write the kind of stuff you like to read, and read the kind of stuff you want to write. But when you write, don’t think about markets and agents and publishing. Think about making something beautiful–or for that matter, something ugly–but in any case, something that moves your soul.
Try NaNo at least once.
Show, don’t tell.
Read Carol Bly’s Passionate, Accurate Story.
9. What are you working on next?
I want to do something big, a sprawling family drama sort of thing with multiple points of view. It’s a little out of hand at the moment, so I’m probably going to have to resort to (gasp) charts. At heart, though, it’s a love triangle with the “Hollywood ending” falling right in the middle. The rest of the book will explore what happens next. In that sort of story I always wonder what happens next.
10. If someone were to make a movie about your life, what would be the 12 songs on that soundtrack?
In no particular order, subject to change without notice:
“Godless Brother in Love,” Iron and Wine
“Glad Man Singing,” Iron and Wine
“White Knuckles,” OK Go
“In Your Eyes,” Peter Gabriel
“Water’s Edge,” Ugly Purple Sweater
“Whale,” Yellow Ostrich
“Laura,” Billy Joel
“A Room of Our Own,” Billy Joel
“Sold,” Dan Mangan
“The Difficult Kind,” Sheryl Crow
“Lifetimes,” Sheryl Crow
“Sleep Forever,” Portugal. The Man
By Matt Dean on Saturday, 3rd of September 2011 at 01:12:22 AM
As I mentioned in my last post, I’m already preparing my presentation for The Passionate, Accurate Novel, a workshop coming up in October. My first draft contained about 145 minutes’ worth of slides for 120 minutes–and bear in mind that people will probably want to get up and use the restroom at some point, or might have a question or two.
Since I won’t be able to cover everything I wanted to, I figured I’d (a) print out some supplemental materials for people to take with them and (b) post some of my cuts here.
In the workshop, I’ll spend a fair amount of time discussing plot structure, including The Hero’s Journey. I won’t, unfortunately, be able to discuss three different methods for building and organizing plot structure: the snowflake method, storyboarding, and mind mapping.
First, the snowflake method.
Last year, in the weeks leading up to NaNoWriMo, a friend pointed me to Randy Ingermanson’s site, and my information comes directly from that. I stripped it down to the following three slides (click to embiggen):
The export to a flat image unfortunately also flattens the animated Koch snowflake I worked so hard to make, so here it is:
On the off chance that you’re too lazy to click the slides, here’s the nine-step process they describe:
- Write a one-sentence summary of your novel.
- Expand the sentence to a paragraph that encompasses the major plot points.
- Write a one-page summary sheet for each character, including:
- The character’s story arc in one sentence.
- The character’s motivation (abstract).
- The character’s goal (concrete).
- The obstacles that stand in the character’s path.
- The character’s epiphany.
- The character’s story arc in one paragraph.
- Expand the paragraph from step 2 into a four-paragraph synopsis.
- Starting with the character summaries from step 3, expand each into a one-page character synopsis.
- Starting with the synopsis from step 4, expand each paragraph to a page.
- Starting with the character synopses from step 5, expand each into a full-fledged character chart or biography.
- Break the four-page synopsis from step 6 into individual scenes, noting the action of the scene and the POV character.
- Write your first draft.
Next, storyboarding.
I was partly inspired by Lynne Barrett’s workshop in Boston; she recommended mapping the structure of your novel or story, noting the the action, dramatis personae, and purpose of each scene. It occurred to me that if you do that on a series of index cards, you’re basically making a storyboard. I did a little searching and found a great blog post with some sample storyboard templates. And I made these two slides:
If you were too lazy to click the other slides, you’ll be too lazy to click these, so here’s the text:
Using index cards or worksheets describe (or sketch, if you’re so inclined):
- The action of each chapter.
- The action of each scene within each chapter.
If you intend to use the hero’s journey in an explicit, conscious way:
- Storyboard a chapter for each step on the journey.
- Divide each chapter into scenes.
- Storyboard each scene.
Something should change over the course of each scene.
As you’re storyboarding a scene, specify what changes; that’s the purpose of the scene.
Finally, mind mapping.
The first slide describes the general concept of mind mapping. The second and third slides show a sample map. (If you’re curious, you’ll just have to click. I’m tired of doing your heavy lifting.)
The idea and the sample map come from Simon Haynes.
Of course, after poking around on iStockPhoto for colorful images, lavishing time and care on my transitions, and animating a goddamned fractal, I’m sad to see these slides go. But on the other hand, as I was preparing them, I discovered that they’re all really just different aspects of the same thing. What they all have in common is an iterative process, a digging-down-to-the-bedrock sort of vibe, and they differ only in the details of execution.
This is what plotting is all about, it seems to me. A novel (or a short story) plays out in scenes. You begin with something blurry and vague (“boy meets girl, boy loses girl,” “rags to riches to rags,” whatever) and slowly bring it into focus, until your one-sentence plot has become a novel-length series of scenes. You can map your way there, or board your way there, but what matters is that you end up with something as unique and intricate as a snowflake.
(See what I did there?)
By L. Anne Beard on Wednesday, 31st of August 2011 at 11:52:44 AM
This poem (allegedly written by multiple people) is something that has been gifted to me many times over the years. I have it hanging at my muggle job and I have a copy (yet to be framed) at home. I share it with you. This feels right.
The Desiderata
Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons,they are vexatious to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time. Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism.
 By Snowfall-lullaby look for more of their awesome work at snowfall-lullaby.devantart.com Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass. Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul. With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.
By Rebecca Enzor on Thursday, 25th of August 2011 at 03:13:38 PM
So as you all know (from reading the banner) the Asiagoans are a group of writers from Charleston, SC. And guess what is coming to Charleston, SC this November?
 YALLFEST! It’s a YA book festival right in our beautiful city! I am so excited for this – the lineup of authors so far is spectacular and they keep announcing more each week. There are contests and seminars and games and I can’t wait!
So come on ya’ll, what are you waiting for? Click the link and get excited with me!
Are you planning on going to YALLfest? I’ll see you there
By Matt Dean on Friday, 19th of August 2011 at 05:30:29 PM
I’m doing this workshop thing in a couple of months. It seems a long way away, but I’m totally psyched. I’m already doing the PowerPoint.
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Time
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Saturday, October 15, 2011 · 3:30pm – 5:30pm
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Location
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Charleston County Public Library – Mt. Pleasant Branch
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More Info
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In the best fiction of any genre, what occurs is both unexpected and inevitable. As acclaimed short story writer and essayist Carol Bly once wrote, “First and last, our problem is to make literature surprising.” What constitutes surprise is often the same thing that constitutes humor: something unexpectedly true. By focusing on plot, character, and setting in a conscious and empathetic way, writers can equip themselves with all the tools and techniques they need to place authentic characters in a believable story set in a convincing world.
Maybe you’ve always wanted to write a novel, but you don’t know where to start. Maybe you’ve gotten started, but you don’t know how to finish. Maybe you’ve got your eye on National Novel Writing Month in November, but you don’t want to jump in unprepared. This workshop can help. Using Bly’s excellent guide to writing fiction—The Passionate, Accurate Story: Making Your Heart’s Truth into Literature—as our guide, we’ll see how we can look within ourselves to find everything we need to bring unexpected—and yet inevitable—beauty and truth to our fictional worlds.
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Here’s a sneak preview, just one slide, completely out of context:
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