carmencreates.blogspot.com
Carmen creates...: Why the urban fantasy genre isn’t dead*
http://carmencreates.blogspot.com/2011/06/why-urban-fantasy-genre-isnt-dead.html
Wednesday, 15 June 2011. Why the urban fantasy genre isn’t dead*. This is not a comment from an author to an agent but from an avid reader (roughly 3-4 books a week) to the book industry as a whole, even though I won’t deny that the writer in me would agree with the sentiment. The argument has been made that the market is flooded with plot concepts which follow these or similar blueprints. While YA still seems to be able to scrape by, mainly due to the voracity of faithful young readers, the urban fa...
carmencreates.blogspot.com
Carmen creates...: Synopsis: not just a tool for agents
http://carmencreates.blogspot.com/2011/04/synopsis-not-just-tool-for-agents.html
Sunday, 3 April 2011. Synopsis: not just a tool for agents. My book’s finally done. Finished. Complete. Or is it? I’ve read and re-read it, swapped things around, deleted characters and confusing subplots and polished up the language. Sure, some issues were left unresolved, and occasionally the plot seemed to drift, but on the whole it was the best it could be. Right? As it turned out, I’d binned a scene in which the antiques dealer was in cahoots with said attackers. Eureka. The synopsis had provide...
carmencreates.blogspot.com
Carmen creates...: August 2011
http://carmencreates.blogspot.com/2011_08_01_archive.html
Saturday, 13 August 2011. When did writing become such a chore? I used to like hammering away on the keyboard without getting sucked into the rabbit hole of. You know, those things which the gods of literature insist spell the difference between "amateur writer" and "author".Worldbuilding, infodump avoidance, word count goals, giving specifics - being a writer was easier before I'd heard of any of these things and the role they play. How tall was the guy? How can I show that she was sad? My first book wa...
carmencreates.blogspot.com
Carmen creates...: April 2011
http://carmencreates.blogspot.com/2011_04_01_archive.html
Sunday, 3 April 2011. Synopsis: not just a tool for agents. My book’s finally done. Finished. Complete. Or is it? I’ve read and re-read it, swapped things around, deleted characters and confusing subplots and polished up the language. Sure, some issues were left unresolved, and occasionally the plot seemed to drift, but on the whole it was the best it could be. Right? As it turned out, I’d binned a scene in which the antiques dealer was in cahoots with said attackers. Eureka. The synopsis had provide...
carmencreates.blogspot.com
Carmen creates...: Total Linguistic Failure (TLF)
http://carmencreates.blogspot.com/2011/06/total-linguistic-failure-tlf.html
Sunday, 12 June 2011. Total Linguistic Failure (TLF). Sometimes it’s tough to reconcile writing with my day job. I’m a patent translator by trade, specializing in optics and nuclear engineering, and finding the right words is my bread and butter. A couple of months ago a weird thing happened. A friend confided in me that she, too, experienced bouts of TLF. I was intrigued. Could this be an affliction that affected more people than I’d thought? Entirely unrelated to my job? I did some research, called a f...
carmencreates.blogspot.com
Carmen creates...: June 2011
http://carmencreates.blogspot.com/2011_06_01_archive.html
Wednesday, 15 June 2011. Why the urban fantasy genre isn’t dead*. This is not a comment from an author to an agent but from an avid reader (roughly 3-4 books a week) to the book industry as a whole, even though I won’t deny that the writer in me would agree with the sentiment. The argument has been made that the market is flooded with plot concepts which follow these or similar blueprints. While YA still seems to be able to scrape by, mainly due to the voracity of faithful young readers, the urban fa...
carmencreates.blogspot.com
Carmen creates...: Editing, Part I
http://carmencreates.blogspot.com/2011/05/editing-part-i.html
Thursday, 12 May 2011. Editing, Part I. I hit “send” and. The MS is on its way to my beta reader. This is when the nerves get to me and I cocoon myself in self-doubt and comfort food for the next few days. Is the romantic scene I wrote evocative enough or just plain embarrassing? Did I strike the right level of suspense in my abduction scene or does it suck as much as I fear? In the meantime I thought this would be a good time to list a few of the things I’ve learned over the past year. Delete the repeat...
carmencreates.blogspot.com
Carmen creates...: May 2011
http://carmencreates.blogspot.com/2011_05_01_archive.html
Thursday, 12 May 2011. Editing, Part I. I hit “send” and. The MS is on its way to my beta reader. This is when the nerves get to me and I cocoon myself in self-doubt and comfort food for the next few days. Is the romantic scene I wrote evocative enough or just plain embarrassing? Did I strike the right level of suspense in my abduction scene or does it suck as much as I fear? In the meantime I thought this would be a good time to list a few of the things I’ve learned over the past year. Delete the repeat...
carmencreates.blogspot.com
Carmen creates...: The difficult “next” book
http://carmencreates.blogspot.com/2011/08/difficult-next-book.html
Tuesday, 9 August 2011. The difficult “next” book. I have completed my first book (I refer to it as “ Ivy. 8221;, after the MC, although its official and provisional title is “ Taken. 8221;) and am currently working on my second. Well, I say “currently working on”, when in fact I’m still tinkering with it. Then I asked a friend to read it and do a first cautious edit. Now, don’t get me wrong. This friend of mine had a lot to teach me about show, don’t tell. And started re-writing it, living it as much as...