Hello readers, and happy Halloween! This year I’m spending my favorite holiday at my favorite place on Earth: Disneyland. Tonight my mom and I will be going to Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween party.
I’ll show you my costume before going to the party tonight, but I can give you two hints: it’s Disney-themed and will make you say “Bonjour!” It’s a pretty easy guess, I know, but it’s probably no secret that this character is my favorite anyway.
I will also be posting content, including pictures, video, and tips, before and after the party. (Please forgive any blurry or shaky images. I don’t have a steady hand.) You’ll also want to sign up for The Scrapbook, the official newsletter for The Writer’s Scrap Bin, to get access to exclusive tips and peaks at the parks that I’ll only be sending out to newsletter subscribers after I return from vacation.
I didn’t get to do much today except explore Downtown Disney and eat some Ralph Brennan’s take-out (their beignets are the best, so try your best to get some the next time you’re in Anaheim).
I did some Pokémon hunting, too. Seriously, Downtown Disney alone is crawling with stops and there are a ton more and some gyms in the parks.
Here’s a tip for my fellow Pokémon Go players: head straight for World of Disney. You’ll be able to reach about 4-5 stops just going from one end of the store to the other.
I’ll get back to you with more tips and images later today.
Anything you want to know about the Disneyland Resort (or Pokémon hunting there)? Leave your questions in the comments below and I’ll answer you ASAP.
Given my earlier announcement about the Writer’s Market call for submissions, I think it’s only appropriate that today’s writing prompt be along the lines of an article or personal essay. In particular, we’re going to explore what we know for sure.
The Oprah Magazine prints a monthly column called “What I Know for Sure”. In truth, no one knows anything for sure. Even Oprah admits that she “knows” nothing (which I’m glad she admitted, considering wise men and women know that they know nothing). However, we all know at least one thing almost for sure.
We all have our expertise, whether it’s a career area, an academic field, or a slice of wisdom or common sense. My expertise lies in writing, migraines, Disney, and Harry Potter–although I’m still learning more about these subjects each day. You may not know what yours is but, trust me, it’s there; you just have to find it.
Today we’re tapping into that expertise and utilizing it for creative productivity.
I want you to write an article or personal essay on one thing you know for sure. This can be anything–bike riding, knitting, surviving a natural disaster, nearly ruining your own life, anything. The twist is that I want you to write this article or essay as advice to people either looking to perfect your area of expertise or who have been in a similar situation and don’t know how to continue.
Don’t make your piece step-by-step instructions. Instead, make it personable, including details from your own experience, whether you’re writing an article or a personal essay. Imagine that someone is reading your work to find a kindred spirit who can help them succeed. What would you expect or want to see if you were that reader? What do you wish you had known earlier? What have you noticed about this area that no one else seems to notice?
Even though the work is a nonfiction article/personal essay, it shouldn’t be boring. Have fun with it, dig deep into your experiences and channel your emotions while keeping the facts straight. It may be about what you “know for sure,” but no one will believe you if your personal connection isn’t strong and your so-called “facts” are inaccurate.
How did this exercise turn out for you? Have you salvaged the beginning of a nonfiction book or an article to submit to a magazine? Have you learned that you know something or that you don’t? Did you revisit life experiences that you had forgotten about, stuff that not only renders fruit for nonfiction but for fiction and poems as well? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
Happy Friday, readers! Today I have a very interesting publishing opportunity to show you. However, this opportunity is not for story writers or poets. Instead, it’s specifically for freelance article writers. I’m talking about a chance to appear in the 2019 Writer’s Market.
Mind you, this isn’t a contest. There are no awards, no first or second place, or anything of that sort. Instead, it’s a call for submissions from the people behind the Writer’s Market books. Your pitch(es), if accepted, will be bought for a competitive rate (they don’t share the rates unless they accept your work). Still, it’s worth throwing your hat into the ring for the exposure and the money (and a free copy of the 2019 Writer’s Market).
If you wish to submit a pitch, the best way to find out if your article fits is to read a recent edition or two of Writer’s Market. As with all magazines and anthologies, that’s the best way to find what the editors are looking for. However, you can gleam an idea of what they want from this web page. To quote the driving force behind the call, Robert Lee Brewer, they’re looking for “articles that will help freelancers find more success from a business perspective.” Previous editions have included articles on queries, synopses, taxes, business management, etc., so you’re only as limited as your imagination and resources.
Their ideal writer has experience in the topic they’re pitching and access to other experienced sources for interviews, but anyone is welcomed to try their luck and submit their best ideas. You never know if you don’t try, and your specific area of wisdom and experience may be more valuable than you think.
To submit your proposal, send an e-mail to robert.brewer@fwmedia.com with the subject line “2019 Writer’s Market Pitch”. Just remember these rules for submitting:
Paste the pitch and your bio into the body of the e-mail. Brewer does not like attachments (and for good reason, seeing how easy it is to send viruses via e-mail attachments).
If you have more than one pitch, submit them all in the same e-mail. Be sure to label them “pitch 1,” “pitch 2,” and so on.
Place your pitch(es) before your bio.
Do not send multiple e-mails, even if you realize there’s a typo in the original.
The deadline is November 26, 2017, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time.
Know of any upcoming contests or publishing opportunities? Drop the information in the comments below or e-mail me at thewritersscrapbin@gmail.com and I will include it in a future Friday Fun-Day contest/publishing opportunity post.
Warning: Blackmail (Skeleton Key #1) by Anna James Watson is erotica and thus rated X. Proceed only if you are 18 years of age or older and are comfortable with this genre and the topics it entails.
I have a special announcement regarding one of the first books I ever reviewed on The Writer’s Scrap Bin, Anna James Watson’s Blackmail (Skeleton Key #1). About a month ago (I am so behind the times!) the novel was re-released with a brand new, beautiful cover on Amazon. It’s the same book that I fell in love with but with an even more gorgeous, professional cover.
Book cover changes are common in the publishing industry (look at how many there are for Harry Potter). It’s even easier to make these changes with e-books, one of the advantages of self-publishing and small-press publishing online. However, they’re still a reason to celebrate, especially when the cover is as stunning as this one (simple but stunning).
Join me in congratulating Watson on the re-release of Blackmail and wish her luck on the rest of the Skeleton Key series.
If you want to check out Watson’s erotic novel, you can find it in Kindle and paperback format on Amazon. Be sure to check out my review of the book and also follow Anna James Watson on her various social media accounts, all of which you can find listed on her Twitter account under @annajameswatson.
Have any exciting news about indie-published books? About your own works? E-mail me at thewritersscrapbin@gmail.com or drop a line in the comments below and I’ll put your news in a future post.
Good day, readers and writers. Sorry it’s been so long since my last post; a lot has been going on at my house. I’ve had work, school, cleaning, making connections, and a little bit of writing here and there. I’m still going to be a bit scarce since I’m getting ready for my trip next week, but today I can at least provide you some wisdom on a writing cliché: show, don’t tell.
Last week I hosted my Master’s program discussion on Thornton Wilder’s The Bridge of San Luis Rey. One of the many aspects of Wilder’s writing we covered was his tendency to “tell” rather than to “show.” Of course, I had to mention the age-old advice for writer to “show, not tell.” As usual, my classmates and I had a lively discussion on regarding the subject but, overall, we agreed that Wilder’s style did not harm his work and that this writing cliché is just that, a cliché which does not always apply.
The logic behind this worn-out advice is rather sound: if you are more descriptive in your writing, you’re likely to paint a clear image for your reader and keep his/her attention. In a perfect world, more description would be better. However, we don’t live in a perfect world and, often, more description leads to too much description.
If we aren’t careful, we can overwhelm our readers with the amount of descriptive language we used and, perhaps, even bore them. I’ll skim through even the most beautiful depiction of a stately mansion if it runs on for more than a few sentences. Sometimes we need immense amounts of description, such as when we’re being introduced to a new landscape in a foreign world while reading speculative fiction. Other times, such as when the writer brings the reader fleetingly into a common house that isn’t important to the story as a whole, less is more.
Telling also has its advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, telling doesn’t aid the reader’s imagination as well as showing does. Too much telling can also be as boring as too much boring. After all, we want to be able to imagine the setting and characters for ourselves, and just saying “the desert landscape” or “the brown-eyed girl” doesn’t often cut it.
Nevertheless, telling can also create a mood which showing cannot. When we “tell” rather than “show,” we can induce the feeling of oral tales such as fairy tales and fables. That’s one of the effects that telling has on Wilder’s The Bridge of San Luis Rey, which enhances the book’s other fable-like elements such as the moral and simplistic characters. Telling is also a good way to skim over unimportant details in a story that are still needed for the story to not seem contrived or illogical. For example, you can tell the reader that a character drove from point A to point B without showing any unnecessary details, such as a traffic jam or debris on the side of the road.
“Show, don’t tell” isn’t even a matter of balancing the two concepts. Some stories require a lot of showing and little telling, others need a lot of telling and little showing, and still others should fall somewhere in between. There is no cookie-cutter solution. Rather, you have to take description on a case-by-case basis, changing your approach depending on what feels right for the story you are trying to write.
What’s your take on “show, don’t tell”? Is it solid advice, entirely wrong, or flawed? Do you show more than tell, vice versa, or somewhere in between? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
From a business perspective, it’s a good idea to keep tabs on the competition. In freelance book reviews, there’s not so much a sense of “competition.” Each reviewer brings a new perspective and reaches a different audience, so overlapping business is not uncommon. I encourage it, considering the exposure such a wide reach would give the book. Nevertheless, it’s still a good idea to watch other reviewers for a grasp on fair prices, time frames, etc. From a cursory look on Fiverr, I’ve noticed an unsettling pattern that could affect the quality of reviews. This pattern has led to a freelancer tip which I want to share with my readers: don’t rush book reviews.
I’ve noticed more than a handful of book review gigs on Fiverr which promise a one- or two-day delivery time. Mind you, not all of them; I’ve seen time frames as long as twenty days, which is perfectly acceptable given all the effort that should go into a decent book review. That’s actually the bone I have to pick with the one- and two-day book review gigs, or reviews for any product or service, for that matter.
With some products and services, specifically ones which are a one-time use, you can write a great review in one or two days if the stars align and you’re able to receive the product or book the service quickly. Books, however, are not one of those products. I’ve found that most books submitted for reviews are not a one- or two-day read. When I do get such short books, life ends up getting in the way and it takes a few days after the gig is ordered for me to have the time to read it, and that’s when I don’t have any other review or editing gigs.
Most freelance reviewers are also writers in their own right, whether they’re fiction writers, poets, playwrights/screenwriters, biographers, essayists, journalists, or bloggers. Then there’s the fact that most reviewers have day jobs to fund their writing with reviews and other freelance work as side gigs. They also have family and friends that require attention, chores that need to be done, food that needs to be eaten, and sleep that needs to be caught. Some, such as myself, are working for their Bachelor’s or Master’s degree, which leaves even less time in the day.
How do some of these Fiverr reviewers get the books read and reviewed in one or two days? I honestly don’t know. Most receive fairly positive feedback from their customers, so they must have either found a way to handle it all or they’ve found a way to fake it.
That’s the problem with a one- or two-day book review gig. You can never be certain that the reviews will be high-quality or that they will even read your book before reviewing it. For all the author knows, the reviewer may have just skimmed the book for important details and pulled together some puff piece that, while it will look appealing to readers, may not be trustworthy.
I’m not trying to rip apart those who have such short delivery times. As I said, some people really can handle such a quick turnaround and feedback from customers usually reflect that. However, as both a reader and a writer, I’m suspicious of such quick reviews and would probably choose someone with good reviews and a longer delivery time. At least then I can feel comfortable that my book was actually read and given the time and effort it deserves.
My ultimate tip, then, is this: choose quality over speed, both in what you deliver and what you pay for. Slower delivery times are annoying, but at least you have a better chance of your work getting the attention it deserves, no matter how many other projects or how tumultuous a life the reviewer has at that moment.
Are you a freelancer–writer, editor, reviewer, whatever–with tips to share? Leave them in the comments below or contact me at thewritersscrapbin@gmail.com for a chance to have your wisdom featured in a future post.
Also, if you are looking for an editor, writer, or book reviewer, feel free to contact me at thewritersscrapbin@gmail.com or look me up on Fiverr.
Warning: Is She the One? by Bob Boog contains some foul language, discussions of nudity and sex, and issues encountered by mixed-race couples. If you have problems with such topics or otherwise wish to avoid them, proceed with caution.
As promised, my post today is more upbeat and not as sad as yesterday’s post about my cat dying. Today I’m bringing you another book review, this time of a romantic comedy. Admittedly, I don’t often enter the romance area of literature, not even romantic comedy (although I have been known to, on a rare occasion, dabble in erotica). However, I made an exception to review Is She the One?: A Partly True Romantic Comedy by Bob Boog.
As “a partly true romantic comedy” indicates, this book follows a (probably) partly-fictionalized version of Bob Boog as he attempts to find “the one” and settle down into married life. Bob is a 27-year-old real estate agent living in Valencia. Young with a good job and living in a fairly-populated area, finding “the one” shouldn’t be too hard, right? Even with all these marks in his favor, it’s still harder than you might think. However, Bob’s luck is about to turn around.
Image retrieved from Bob Boog’s websiteA psychic at an open house informs Bob that he’s about to meet the love of his life, his future wife. According to the psychic, she’s a dark-haired beauty who doesn’t care about the material things and has the strength of a tiger. Within a year, the psychic claims, he will meet her. To Bob, it’s too good to be true. After all, “the one” which she has described matches his tastes almost exactly; his future wife even fits his “Goldilocks rule” (i.e. no more blondes). However, the psychic gives him two very important pieces of advice that he must follow in order to meet this woman: he must be proactive in finding her and he must make himself worthy of whom he is looking for.
The next 136 pages takes the reader on Bob’s adventures leading to him meeting his future wife. He goes through multiple serious relationships, each one ending for one reason or another, goes to bars with his friend Joel and sleeps around, and, finally, meets a woman that he might want to keep around: Roxanne. She’s a feisty, direct, no-bullshit Guatemalan immigrant who knows what she wants and how to get it. They become good friends, they like each other’s families, and—for the most part—they get along well. The only problem: is she “the one” for Bob? And is he “the one” for her?
Boog’s work is a quick, funny read that you won’t want to put down until you’ve finished reading it. The end result is no real mystery, but the journey kept me engaged and enthralled enough that I wanted to know what becomes of Bob and Roxanne. Boog’s writing style is simplistic, easy enough for any reader to follow, but also masterful enough to be comedic on purpose. (Trust me, it’s easy to make a reader laugh by accident; it’s not as easy to make them laugh when you want them to.) He does use foul language but it’s to the work’s benefit; it adds an extra layer of humor and a more realistic feel to the narrative without throwing in cussing unnecessarily, which often bogs down one’s writing.
The memoir feel of Boog’s writing blurs the line between fact and fiction so that, to be honest, I don’t know what made this romantic comedy “partly” true. I would have liked to understand better what, if any, of this actually happened but, in a way, it’s best that I don’t know. I mean, the best part of “partly true” stories is the mystery and the lack of boundaries between fact and fiction, right? In the end, it doesn’t matter if any of it was true. I felt a connection to Bob and Roxanne (although my connection to Roxanne was much stronger) and I cared about how their story ended, and that’s all that matters.
I went back and forth on my feelings towards Bob. Sometimes I thought he was a perfectly nice guy, sometimes I thought he was a self-centered jerk, and other times I just thought that he was average, that he was, well, just human. I think that Bob at the end of the book is a more grown-up version of Bob in the beginning, and that’s one of this work’s greatest strengths. Most of the characters grow and flesh out, whether it’s because they actually change, as Bob does, or because Boog slowly exposes us to the defining features of their lives, as he does with Roxanne.
Joel, though…he’s a jerk from start to finish, and jerk is the mild version of the word I want to use. Still, he serves as comic relief and a foil to Bob, so his rather two-dimensional personality didn’t bother me. (I was giddy when I found out that big playboy Joel who comes to work with a hangover is actually a Star Trek and Star Wars fanboy. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a fangirl for many things, but there’s just something about learning that a jerk like that is secretly geeky that makes me laugh.)
The interactions between Bob and Roxanne are, by far, the glue that holds the book together. While I really appreciated seeing Bob’s efforts in between seeing the psychic and meeting Roxanne, I also feel that the book really starts once he and Roxanne meet at a nightclub. Their day-to-day life together is so sweet, so real, and so funny that I would kill to have a relationship that good. Sure, they had their fights and disagreements, but who doesn’t? It just shows that they’re human and that they don’t hide their feelings from each other.
As a romance novel, the book is a little cliché. I didn’t exactly see anything groundbreaking for what I’ve heard about the genre, although I really appreciate that Boog skips out on a lot of the melodrama and the guys speaking poetically. That’s part of the reason why I usually avoid romance novels; it’s too cheesy, too worn-out, too unrealistic. Boog, fortunately, side-steps that issue all together. That’s not to say that the book is without its own cheesy moments. At times, the book grows a little too preachy in regards to how love should be and how to tell if someone is “the one.” Still, I expect those sorts of things from the genre and, after rolling my eyes, I was able to move on without getting caught up on it. Mind you, the questions which Boog raises about romantic love are important; I just wish that they hadn’t been overtly stated so often.
All in all, Is She the One? is a good read for singles looking for “the one,” or even readers in committed relationships who don’t know how to tell if they’re with “the one.” The book isn’t necessarily a cerebral read, with the exception of the number “40” being used often, which is a literary device indicating a lot of something (think 40 days and 40 nights from the Bible). Even if that was just a happy coincidence based on facts, I found myself smiling at it. However, this book doesn’t need to be cerebral. It does its job—telling the story of a man finding true love—very well. More importantly, it caught and kept my attention immediately, and I’m very eager to see where Boog’s next book takes us.
Bob Boog, writer and realtor
Image retrieved from Bob Boog’s websiteSpeaking of which, Is She the One? also includes a preview of Boog’s next romantic comedy, Love Isn’t Easy. Almost immediately there’s a tie-in with a loose end from Is She the One?, one which I found especially amusing, and so you’ll want to make sure you read that sneak peek as well.
Right now, the Kindle version is not up on Amazon. I will let you know when it is available, or you can go to Bob Boog’s website, www.3funnybooks.com, and watch for when he posts the link to it there. While you’re there, be sure to check out his other books based on his experience as a real estate agent. Boog also writes songs (can also be found under Robert Boog) as a hobby, songs which you can find at www.i-songz.com and www.reverbnation.com/boog4.
Do you know of any books I should review? Want your work reviewed on this blog? E-mail me at thewritersscrapbin@gmail.com with your suggestions or message me on Fiverr.
I’m in a sombre mood today. First thing this morning, I discovered that my feisty, beloved cat, Hunter, had passed away. I had him for over eighteen years and he was almost nineteen years old. He was old, sick, and in pain but it still hurts that he’s gone. As with most people, my pets are my family and losing them has not gotten any easier over the years, even when they die of old age. Anyway, I’m not up for writing a full-blown post today but I figured I could still share a good poem with you: “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night” by Dylan Thomas.
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
While I lost a four-legged family member rather than a two-legged one, I still thought Thomas’s poem appropriate given my feelings about the situation. I don’t have any deep thoughts or analysis regarding the work right now, but hopefully it will resonate with anyone who has lost a loved one, either human or animal.
I’ll try and bring you a more uplifting–or at least not depressing–post next time. For now, I will leave you to rage against the dying of the light.
Hello, readers and writers! Today I have a special announcement regarding my Halloween plans, something which I alluded to in my video post for Banned Books Week. Those of you who receive The Scrapbook, the newsletter for The Writer’s Scrap Bin, already know about my end-of-October plans, but I’m going to elaborate a little more here.
So, Banned Books Week is over and Halloween is almost here. What am I going to do next? I’m going to DISNEYLAND!
No joke, readers. I’m going to Disneyland for the end of October/beginning of November. Better yet, my mom and I have tickets to Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party on none other than HALLOWEEN NIGHT.
In case you can’t tell by the all-caps, I’m pretty excited. I’ve wanted to go to this event for years, and my mom managed to wrangle tickets for the best night of the year for our first time attending. Sometimes the stars align just right, and that’s when you know you have to go for it.
Now, I teased in my Banned books Week video that I was preparing for some video posts at the end of this month. I’m going to be posting videos from Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party as well as the other festivities for the week that I’m down in SoCal, and readers of The Scrapbook will be able to access additional, videos after I’ve returned from my trip.
I’ll also be giving you tips about planning and executing an October/November Disneyland trip, telling you how to get around the park with the least hassle, and cluing you in on some of the big changes the Land is currently undergoing.
There’s still one part of the trip I’m keeping secret until the last minute: my costume for the big night. This is partly to have a little fun with it and partly because I’m still securing the last parts of my costume. For now, I can only leave you with this farewell: Au revoir!
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As promised, I’m here to give you a belated writing prompt to compensate for missing the Friday Fun-Day prompt. Today’s prompt is a slight offshoot from last week’s, where I asked you to look into your family history for inspiration. This time, however, I want you to use world history for inspiration.
I’m sure that none of you are strangers to historic fiction, whether in books, movies, or TV shows (TURN, anyone?). You might have even come into contact with the genre without realizing it; after all, many books are a mix of historic fiction and other genres. Stephen King’s 11/22/63 is both science fiction and alternate history. Anne McCaffrey’s Black Horses for the King, one of my favorites, is a fantasy/historic fiction hybrid. Everywhere you look, we are repeating history–both on and off the page.
Why is historic fiction so prevalent, both on its own and bred with other genres? It’s pretty simple: the vein runs long and deep.
When you use the past as a springboard, you’ll almost never run out of material. Many events have been rewritten for fiction but there’s always another angle to take; it just takes a little creativity to find a new one and fill in the holes left by available records.
That’s what you’re going to do in this writing prompt: rewrite history.
This prompt is more for brainstorming than actual writing, at least at this stage. I want you to find a historic event from any time period that, for one reason or another, fascinates you. For me, that would be the reign of Catherine the Great of Russia, namely the beginning of her reign when she overthrew her husband, Peter III. (I mostly blame the Royal Diaries series for my obsession, but heck if I know why she in particular stuck in my head. Maybe it’s a past life thing.)
After you find the event you want to explore, spend some time discovering a not-so-common perspective on it. Did you choose an event in World War II? Consider following one of the many female spies or other heroines of the time. Did you go for the Salem Witch Trials? Try for one of the accusers or a witness to the hangings. For the example I gave above, I have often contemplated writing a book about this coup d’état through the eyes of one of Catherine’s servants or one of the generals with whom she conspired.
When you’ve decided on your angle, jot down your idea as some notes, an outline, maybe even a few pages for your new story. If you’re a poet, go ahead and scribble out a rough draft of your poem. My only suggestion is to not get too far before you can get to a computer or library for some research. Trust me, you don’t want to get attached to too many details before you know if they’re even plausible.
You’ll be surprised how easily the inspiration will come once you choose your perspective. Interpersonal interactions, emotions, holes in cause-and-effect, there’s only so much the records cover, so there will be plenty of mysteries for you to explore. Just remember to back your imagination with research. Many writers have been torn a new one for extreme inaccuracies in historic novels.
Happy imagining!
Do you have any ideas for writing prompts? Drop a line in the comments below or e-mail me at thewritersscrapbin@gmail.com and your prompt may be featured on a Friday Fun-Day post.
