Archive for April, 2011

Apr

Variety is the Spice of Life

Posted by: Michell in About Writing

A little while ago I posed the question: should I focus on a single series or write a number of different things. I received several responses to my question, all of which I appreciated. The general consensus was that I shouldn’t limit myself, but write a number of different things. By doing so I stretch my writing muscles and I give myself the best chance to appeal to a larger group of people.

While I was considering the question myself I also came to the conclusion that not only should I write in multiple genres, but I should write many different things beyond that.

For example, I write this post every week which allows me to express myself in one way. I also write the copy for Get Published which takes me in a different direction. There is, of course, my fiction, and at work I write contractual language, project management plans and process documentation. As if that wasn’t enough, I do a few pieces of non-fiction writing every month or so for various places.

All though things mean that I am writing for multiple audiences, from multiple points of view in multiple ways (have I used the word “multiple” enough yet?). I can’t help but think that all that is useful to honing my writing skills.

It also means that I’m always writing, even when I don’t think I am. That’s good too because it helps to improve my vocabulary and feel for sentence structure and writing mechanics. All important stuff.

The downside to all this is it takes much longer to finish a project. Lots of irons in the fire means that my attention is pulled in many directions, not to mention my actual time.

Such is the life of a writer, I suppose.

So, my question to you is this: how do you stretch your writing muscles? I bet if you look you will find that there is more going on than you think. Do the quick exercise to find out and next time you are feeling badly about your own progress, remind yourself of how much you are actually doing. The self-congratulations vs. self-flagelation will be a step in the right (write?) direction.

Personal Update

I’m closing in on completion of my revising for my YA novel “The Mystery of Lake Chulala”. This is going to be the first in an ongoing Young Adult/Middle Grade series. I still have hopes that it will be available in May.

Tags: fiction, irreverent muse, Michell Plested, middle grade, non-fiction, variety, writing, young adult

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Apr

Social Media for Fun… and Maybe Profit

Posted by: Michell in About Writing, Irreverent Muse, Promoting Your Book

I have a confession to make: I love Twitter. I love all the cool people I meet on Twitter and I especially love interacting with them.

I love it so much, in fact, that it sometimes cuts into my word count.

But does that make it a timesink?

I say no and I say that because one of the important activities for a writer (in my opinion, of course) is to connect with people. You never know who you’re going to meet online and ultimately your success as a writer is dependent on the books you sell. To sell more books you need people to know about them. To get people to know about them you need something that makes people aware of your work.

What better way than to have people talk about it?

Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t follow people on Twitter merely to shill my work. I follow people to make that connection with them. To trade ideas, converse and do all those things that people do when they talk. For example, JAHite and I are having some fun talking about being each other’s alter-egos.

JR Murdock and I connected and we are now collaborating on a book together. It is a story that we came up with together and I know is one that we are both having lots of fun with.

I have met many cool and interesting people who have increased my own understanding of the publishing industry (many have appeared on my podcast “Get Published”) and have pointed me towards information I would never have found otherwise. In fact, I met my publisher via Twitter.

You could say, Social Media has been very good to me. I know I would say that.

How else would I meet such a diverse group as all of you? From every continent on Earth, no less (well, maybe not Antarctica – ping me if I’m wrong). Using conventional methods that wouldn’t be possible. Getting all the different feedback and opinions can’t help but make me a more well-rounded person and improve my writing.

I’ve also discovered a huge body of work from my Social Media friends. Writing and art I may not have had the opportunity to experience otherwise. That can only be a great thing too.

So thank you everyone for being part of my online life. It is because of you that I have dared to reach as far as I have and do what I do.

Tags: facebook, jahite, jeffrey hite, jr murdock, jrmurdock, Michell Plested, mike plested, promotion, twitter, youtube

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Apr

Get Published Episode 55 – David B. Coe Talks About the Writing Life

Posted by: Michell in Get Published (Podcast)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

I met David B. Coe at a local convention last year when we both sat a writing panel for beginners. He sat at one end of the panel table and I sat the other. Pretty appropriate when you compare our writing journeys thus far.

We were chatting after the panel and I asked if he would be interested in coming on Get Published. He gave me a hearty yes and we exchanged contact information. I am pleased to say that you will hear our discussion today.

I knew even before we connected that it would be a great conversation. David is a great writer who has already had a long and successful career. I was pretty confident that we would exceed my normal interview length and I wasn’t wrong. Because I don’t want to break the interview into two episodes and because I don’t want to go too far past the one hour mark, I will not have a tips and typos section in this episode.

One last thing; the Parsec awards nominations are now open for 2011. If you have listened to this show and enjoyed it, I would appreciate a nomination. The category that best suits Get Published is “Best Podcast about Speculative Fiction Content Creation”.

I would also love a nomination for GalaxyBillies in Best Speculative Fiction Audio Drama (Long Form).

Thank you for your consideration and enjoy the show.

Show Notes

00:00 — Opening – Get Published Episode 55 – David B. Coe Talks About the Writing Life

Everything has to start somewhere and this is the start of “Get Published”

00:14 — Introduction – Get Published Episode 55 – David B. Coe Talks About the Writing Life

Welcome to the show.

01:42 - Promo – View from Valhalla

01:56 — Get Published Episode 55 – David B. Coe Talks About the Writing Life (continued)

David B. Coe talks about being a full-time writer and the successes and challenges he has faced in his 17-year career. He also talks about his new pseudonym, DB Jackson, the writing site Magicalwords.net (of which he is a founder and contributor – btw, he has contributed to the writing book: “How to write magical words, a writer’s companion” as part of the site) and his movie adaptation of Robin Hood.

59:03 — Promo - Geek Out With Mainframe

59:43 — Closing

Thank you for listening.

Websites mentioned in this episode:

David B. Coe - http://www.sff.net/people/davidbcoe/

DB Jackson – www.dbjackson-author.com

Magical Words.net – www.magicalwords.net

View from Valhalla - http://www.viewfromvalhalla.com/

Geek Out With Mainframe - http://gowmainframe.blogspot.com/

Tags: aj hearthy, blogs, ce murphy, chronicles of the thief-taker, david b coe, db jackson, edmund schbert, faith hunter, geek out with mainframe, Get Published, gowm, how to write magical words a writer's companion, interviews, irreverent muse, magicalwords.net, Michell Plested, misty massy, odin 1 eye, odin1eye, podcasts, stewart jaffey, vfv, view from valhalla, word-of-mouth, www.davidbcoe.com, www.dbjackson-author.com