How to play the name game.

[Fiction]Friday Challenge #201 April 1st 2011

It would seem that celebrities choose some interesting names for their offspring. Write a scene where a (fictional) famous person announces the name of their newest child along with justification or reasons why the name was chosen and their attempt to ‘normalise’ it.

How to play the name game.

I really don't like playing the name game. When I fell pregnant with my children the name game almost had me running for the hills. I'm serious. Seeing as i also hate to run, that was not a practical option so instead I actually considered the possibility of not naming the children. In hindsight I could have done just that: the nicknames-Thang 1 and Thang 2- suit them so perfectly I'm sure our friends and family would have come around eventually. As it turns out I didn't need to panic. You get given nine long, heavy uncomfortable and crampy months for a reason, and not all of those are used to brainstorm names apparently. Go figure!


So in the end our children came, they were named and we moved on. At the time we thought we had done a nice job considering. We came up with unique names, plain names, traditional names and family names. For the boy we settled on a traditional and a family name and the girl we settled on (what we thought was) a very unique name and also a family name. Fast forward five years, enter the school grounds and suddenly every little boy that runs by is called Thang 1 and every sweet little girl in pigtails is Thang 2!


So as I said, I don't like playing the name game. It doesn't matter how hard you try, someone else has used it before you, or someone more famous than you has used it and spelled it way cooler than you could ever have hoped to. What's worse, if you do manage to find a creative; inventive; unique and uber cool name, no sooner will the ink dry on the birth certificate than someone will have blogged about it and by the time your child arrives at the school gates, every other boy/girl within a two year age range will present with the exact same name or some lame derivative!


So this time we didn't try to come up with a cool, unique or "different" name. As I hide out in my super expensive and lush delivery suite in the so totally private hospital that even I don't know where I am, screaming bloody murder at my mega famous rock star husband, I am completely at peace with playing the name game. At the first scan, 8 months ago, when we discovered our third child was to be the next ultra gorgeous, supremely talented and all time most photographed famous child in the WORLD, we agreed.We just wont play.
So go on, I dare you. Name your child after mine.

The spectacularly talented and famous musician/actor/director/producer/model/designer's

 Jessmica and Hawko Thang

today announced the arrival of the third biological member of their ever increasing brood-

 Thang 3.

A diversion from the usual

Due to the nature of this weeks Fiction Friday I have not explored any of the characters from my current MS as originally planned. This is because none of my characters are mega famous rock stars who need to justify the naming of their latest child. I will get back to it next week however - or will I? Looks can be deceiving...

How to be the change you want to see in this world.

Mayhem & Madness

Watching the news is like watching the latest apocalyptic horror movie. The recent images coming out of Japan were heartbreaking. Christchurch has barely caught its breath. Queensland is still crying.

All of this and its only March!

No-one can deny that the Almighty One has taken up a mighty pen and is re-writing the rule book in a mighty fashion. This Earth we live on is unhappy and quite clearly fed up. The Earth beneath our feet is screaming to be heard.

Are we too busy finding the next big thing to listen?

This is an era of entertainment overload. We live to be entertained. We can't stand boredom. There is an worldwide epidemic of Entertainment- itis. To capture our attention the Earth has taken our obsession with entertainment to a whole new level. Now we sit glued to our television, computer, iPad and watch in horror as destruction reigns.

But what next?

What more can we do at this late stage?

As writers we have the perfect medium.

Independent publishers are compiling disaster relief anthologies, writers groups are organising auctions, and well known authors donating in kind. All this has got me thinking about the purpose of fiction writers on this earth.

Who is writing?

What are they writing about?

When is the right time to write about this?

Where are the stories?

Why should we write them?

Fiction is many things: it can be insightful; it can be humorous; it can be scary; it can be sad, happy or mad; but first and foremost it is entertaining. In times of crisis people turn to their coping mechanism.

I have always turned to books.

Some turn to television.
Others film.
Or music.
Alcohol.

Drugs.

In other words  ENTERTAINMENT!

A contribution to the solution.

Are you ready for it? Hold on, it's a biggie. So...

There are plenty of people who read, right? And there are plenty of people in crisis, yeah?

Fiction can deal with the big issues, yes? Fiction can make you re-think long held beliefs, agreed? Stories are Entertaining? YES!

Alright then - what are you waiting for?

Tell an entertaining story that will capture the worlds imagination and BE THE CHANGE.

As for me:

Apocalyptic and post apocalyptic narratives; utopian dreams and  dystopian nightmares; supernatural themes and inspirational objectives always take centre stage.

My first novel is a inspirational utopian dream combining supernatural themes.

My second novel is an post apocalyptic dystopian nightmare of epic proportions.

I wonder - can I bring the two styles together for my third?

What about you?

Do you know of an author that is changing the world, one story at a time?

Could you?

Mayhem & Madness:

a series of post apocalyptic ravings from a newly freed mother and certifiably mad writer.

Is self publishing the new agent slush pile?

Is Self-publishing the new Slush Pile?
There is much debate in the literary world about e-books vs. paper; self publishing vs. traditional; quality vs. crud and so on and so forth.




3 big ticket news items
Three things happened in the publishing world recently that fired this debate further:
- self publishing guru and author Amanda Hocking excepted a traditional publishing deal;
- traditionally published bestselling novelist Barry Eisler turned down a reported $500 000 dollar deal to go it alone, and
- the federal judge rejected the Google book settlement.


Is it possible?
Is it possible that both traditional and self publishing can co-exist in a complementary relationship? The above news items indicate a definitive yes. Each path suits a particular need; one path can lead to the other and around and round the publishing wheel we go. But - will self publishing will emerge to take on the role of the agent in the first round of queries?


In times gone by...
The steps you once would take to become published were:
• You write a book
• You fine tune it to the best of your ability
• You research agents, publishing houses and competition that suit the genre
• You send out queries, the first 3 chapters or enter competitions
• You wait
• While you wait you start to write another book or perhaps fine tune the first one
• You wait some more
• After a very short /very long time you land an agent, publisher or win a comp
• You start on the rewrite
• Your agent sends the novel around to be optioned by publishers
• You wait
• While you wait you blog about waiting and other publishing things
• Sometimes you land a deal, sometimes you find a new agent, sometimes you write another book
• You wait some more for covers, pre-releases, reviews so on and so forth
• 12 to 18 months after landing the deal your book is released
• Glory lands at your feet, you jump for joy and then you get back on the wheel.


The future of publishing as I see it
• You write a book.
• You fine tune it to the best of your ability.
• You have a few friends, critique partners and beta readers fine tune it further.
• While others are reading first book, you write some more.
• You interact on social media about the experience.
• You e-publish the first book via one of the many platform services available.
• You set realistic and affordable price for e-book ($0.99 to $2.99).
• You try not to think about the realistic and affordable price.
• You reassure yourself - everyone else is doing it.
• You make it available on Kindle, iPad, Kobo & Nook.
• You target a few book reviewers and offer them free arcs.
• You see the dribbles of sales come in.
• You get excited.
• You do the whole process again with the second book.
• More sales dribble in.
• You blog some more.
• Sales increase.
• You get excited and madly publish another three books.
• You get a bit of a cult following.
• You start making reasonable money.
• A few agents notice you on Twitter.
• An agent or two likes you on Facebook.
• A big name agent blogs about you.
• You consider traditional publishing.
• You query a few agents.
• Agents respond positively.
• Your name is already known so you land a traditional publishing deal.
• You don't really know the first thing about traditional publishing so....
• You land an agent to help you out along the way.
• You become a mega-success old school style.
• You decide you like traditional publishing but you miss the freedom of self-publishing.
• You consider self publishing as a side project.
• Your side project is a huge hit and your traditional published deal sky rockets because you are so damn popular.
• You have landed feet first in your very own Utopia.
• The beginning meets the end and the end becomes the beginning.
• A perfect circle.
• You get back on the wheel.

Agents and traditional publishers do not get lost in the new order.
These entities are still necessary because:
1. People still love paper books (well, some people), and
2. Authors want to write, not publish (well, some authors).
The way I see it is that writers need to make it happen for themselves. Get out there and get noticed. Climb out of the slush pile.

Self-publishing platforms could become the new agent slush pile.
Agents will look out for new talent in a new way. Publishers will look for new writers that already have following and proven track record. Traditional publishing will fine tune the best of the best and make them the GREATS.
 That's the way I see it. How do you see it?

*for an awesome post on the numbers and money making side check out ex- literary agent and new author Nathan Brandsford


**note -I am yet to attempt of the above mentioned publishing options. This is just me making sense of the world as I see it and putting together all the info I have gathered over the many months I have been researching the best way to publish my first, second, third and fourth novel. Watch this space though...

An Exercise in Character Exploration - Fiction Friday #200

Fiction Friday for me is a way to explore the characters in my head. These characters practice the art of insidious whispering. What these characters have to say is nearly always strange but sometimes wonderful. These characters usually end up the host of short stories or novels.

Much of last year my writing was dominated by the exploration of the character Jax from my second MS Jax@theinceptionofchaos. I have now finished plotting the first of the many adventures I am sure Jax has planned and I find my attention has turned back toward my first MS Elysium.

My plans over the next few months are to explore the characters from the tentatively named Elysium. This novel is a series of short stories linking many different characters. I am yet to decide which character is the main character.

The characters – Angel, Joslin, Sara, Chelsea, Faith, Khai, Wynn, Beatrice, Grant, Dan & Jules

My hopes are that Fiction Friday will help me to explore each of these characters in turn and discover just who’s story it is that I am trying to tell (or which character resonates most with my audience). Please feel free to comment, blatantly shout down or barrack for your favourite. Cheers.

Now I’ll stop rambling and get to it.

***

Fiction] Friday Challenge #200 for March 25th , 2011


For some extra fun each month, we are utilising ”Story Starter” die. Look at each face of the dice, ponder on its significance to a character, setting or plot you may have bubbling away.. now write – using these as your inspiration.
 Die - 1.Lightbulb
       - 2.Little harmless human with big scary shadow

ANGEL



 Jacqueline McKenzie to play Angel in the  movie.





“Who is Angel Grace? What does Angel Grace want? When--”

“Seriously? What is this, some sort of character profile?” Angel strained to see over the guy’s touch pad. “Where am I anyway? And why do you look so familiar?”

Angel decided to ignore the lopsided grin he gave her and tried to work out where she knew him from. It wasn’t recently, that much she could work out.

“You’re having trouble placing me?” He grinned even more, so annoying! “Should I give you a hint?”

Angel shook her head and looked around. Maybe she was dreaming. The wall to her left looked kind of blurry and the floor felt spongy beneath her feet. The last thing she could remember was climbing out of the car and the phone ringing then, bam – the light bulb in the sun appeared to go out and next thing she knew she found herself standing in the middle of this room.

Holy crap! Maybe she was dead! “Am I dead?”

“No, you are not dead.” His stupid smile stretched into a wide smirk. “You can’t be dead.”

“Uh, and why not?”

“Because you have to first be alive before you can be pronounced dead, and you my friend, are not a living kind of gal.”

“What does that mean: I’m not a living kind of girl? How would you know what sort of girl I am?”

The boy shrugged and checked his touch pad again. “Look, it says right here.” He turned the pad around so she could see the front. On the screen tiny writing scrawled by at a pace too fast to read and a row of fast moving pictures appeared to be photo’s taken from her private album. He tapped the screen and the tiny writing jerked to a stop, “See here? It says – Angel Grace, not a living kind of girl.”

A chill ran up Angel’s spine and made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Her chest felt tight, kind of like after her mum died and she had the panic attack that had everyone rushing around trying to help but this time she didn’t panic. As crazy as it sounded, it all felt strangely familiar, like she had heard it all before.

"You look a little pale, do you want to sit down?” The guy waved his hand and the blurry walls melted away. Green grass curled up beneath her bare feet and the blue sky stretched out to the horizon. He offered Angel a seat at the small table and chairs which appeared miraculously in front of them. Angel sat with a thump.

“Whoa.” The guy stepped back, his eyes fixed on something behind her.

“What whoa?” Angel twisted to see what he was looking at and caught a glimpse of her shadow. It was huge and fierce. Angel blushed, “Oh that.”

“Oh that? Does THAT happen often?”

“Sometimes.”

“Huh.” With one eye on her shadow and one on her he typed something into his touch pad and then sat down beside her. “So you really don’t remember me huh?”

She shook her head, “Sorry.”

He laughed, “Don’t be sorry.” Offering his hand he said, “I’m Grant.”

Angel shook his hand. His palm was soft and warm and it felt really nice, like a...

No. Stop. Angel pulled her hand away quickly and he grinned again.

“Are you some sort of kidnapping weirdo kind of guy that is going to mess with my head and convince me to do your evil bidding?”

Grant’s shoulder’s shook with laughter, “My evil bidding?”

Angel flushed furiously and he laughed harder. “Look buddy, just tell me where the hell I am so I can work out how to get home.”

He stopped laughing and put on a mock serious face, “Well, you’re not in Hell that’s for sure and as for home, you’re already here.”

“What?”

This time his face was seriously serious, “This is Elysium, welcome home Angel.”

***

How Fiction Friday works. It’s easy to do.

• Check this page for this week’s theme or challenge. Prompts are published each month to give you plenty of notice
• Spend at least 5 minutes composing something original based on the theme or challenge. (and keep writing…)
• But, remember, no editing. This is to inspire creativity not stifle it.
• On Friday, simply post what you wrote to your own blog.
• If you utilise social networking, Tweet your story using our hashtag of #fictionfriday AND post it up onto Facebook.
• Then come back to Write Anything and leave the link in the comment section below.
• Consider recording it using AudioBoo and submitting it on Sunday for our Spoken Sunday Prompt
• You may also like to Tweet other peoples links from this site as they are posted using the hashtag #fictionfriday afterwards.
• To participate further, just go visit some of the other links left by other participants, read what they wrote, and leave a comment. Just be sure that your comment is constructive—this is, after all, a meme to give us all a little writing practice.
• You may also like to Tweet other peoples links from this site as they are posted – and our hashtag of #fictionfriday

Two Things Every Writer Needs

Yesterday

I posted about my

inability to write.

My first MS,

with whom I have spent the better part of three years in a dramatic love / hate relationship,

is currently languishing

in a bottom drawer

crying out for some much needed TLC.

You see

the last time we spent quality time together

it all ended in tears.

The break-up of all break-ups.

The MS haughtily took itself to a quiet corner to sulk

and I, ashamed as I am to admit it,

took solace in the world of another.

The new MS idea almost ended my first meaningful MS relationship.

Don't get me wrong,

I did try.

For 6 long torturous months

I tried.

I have dug deep,

 tried reconciliation,

counselling,

self help books,

 the works

but...

each time we sit down together

each time we think we have it all sorted,

the new MS sidles up to listen in.

The new MS is well meaning,

full of inspiration,

full of big ideas,

but the new MS is not helping.

Yesterday

I thought we had hit rock bottom,

I thought there was no way to pick up the pieces.

That is until I spoke up.

I stepped away from the MS's

and I went to my peeps.

The Two Things Every Writer Needs

1. Someone to tell you what you WANT to hear

2. Someone to tell you what you NEED to hear.

My bestie (and critique partner) took the brunt of it

(that's what happens when you drop by at wine o'clock).

She listened,

she asked appropriate questions,

she considered

and then she agreed.

I felt great.

I had secured my

No 1. Someone to tell you what you WANT to hear

Later, over another glass of wine and dinner

The Cat  -husband not animal - asked how my day was.

Now usually I regale The Cat with stories, funny incidences

 and the drama of spending the day with 

Thing 1 & Thing 2. 

Instead he found himself nodding uncertainly to

 my incensed ramblings

 about how the old MS and I had fallen out of love

 and the new MS that was flirting with me at every opportunity.

I detailed the tears,

the laughter,

the fights,

the jealousy

and finally I admitted

the guilt.

The Cat cleared his throat, folded his arms and sat back,

"So, you're giving up?"

My stomach dropped, "No!"

I shook my head vehemently, "No no no."

I tried to explain how suffocated I felt by the first MS,

how needy it had become,

how it was stifling my creativity.

The Cat nodded in understanding.

I sighed in relief.

The Cat hugged me close,

"It's OK to admit defeat. If it's too hard, then it's too hard"

I nodded gratefully...

Hang on...

 "No. That's not what this is. I'm not giving up because it's too hard!"

 Cat annoyingly raised one eyebrow.

 (How? how does he do that?).

"Are you sure?"

Am I sure. Am I SURE.

I snatched up my glass of wine and stomped away.

AM I SURE. Huh!

Dinner was eaten in silence.

Half way through Cat

commented on my choice of wine.

Three quarters done

and Cat complimented the dish.

As I finished Cat collected the plates and loaded the dishwasher.

Cat poured us another glass of wine.

The Cat is a lovely husband.

He knows me, hairy armpits and all.

He has my best interests at heart.

Maybe he has a point.

Am I sure?

No 2. Someone to tell you what you NEED to hear.

Today I am back on track.

MS no 1 has been given a new lease of life.

She has three months to get her act together.

MS no 2 has agreed to wait patiently in the side lines.

Her time will come.

May 30 - my 33rd birthday - MS no 1 TBC.

A deadline.

Accountability.

I owe it to myself and to my wonderful support network.

I am so grateful to have two people who know me so well.

What in this writerly world are you grateful for?

How do you move from one unpublished MS to the next?

Words On The Page.

That easy huh?

Today I did not write

Today I did not write

Today I did not write

My first MS has swallowed me whole.

The characters from my second MS

(the one living in my head and yet to be put into text)

 have hijacked my creativity.

I am torn.

Do I force my creativity into the first MS,

the one that is crying out for inspiration that doesn't come,

or do I go with the voices in my head

and write the second MS while passion and inspiration are hot.

Sounds like a no brainer right?

So why is it that I feel like I'm cheating myself by putting the first

MS aside before it even reaches a publishable state?

How do you move from one unpublished MS to the next?

Mayhem & Madness - So Write

Today I am

 FREE

to do what I want

any old time.

Okay, so not quite any old time:

strictly between the hours of

9.30am -2.30pm

Monday, Thursday & Friday.

But still -

after 4 years of full time

University

and 5.5 years of full time

Mothering...

3 half days a week is like,

sunshine on a cloudy day, or

 wine at the end of a long day, or

peace instead of war

(not that I'm comparing Thing 1 & 2 to a war zone...)

but you get my drift.

To further discredit myself and abuse all cliche's

(I promise this will be the last)

Today is the first day of the rest of your life.

So Write.

From this day forward

 I am officially no longer a student,

My children are no longer in my care 24/7 [sob],

I have no other pressing matters to attend to.

I have no other excuses not to.

The only thing I can describe myself as today is,

wait for it,

drum role please,

 da dada daa daaaa...

an unemployed stay at home mum aspiring to be the world's next big thing,

A Writer!

How bout you, can you clear the decks?

Mayhem & Madness:

a series of post apocalyptic ravings

from a newly freed mother and certifiably mad writer.

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