Posts Tagged ‘philippa ballantine’

26
Aug

Who Me Am and Where Me Be?

   Posted by: Michell    in About Writing, Irreverent Muse

There are times when I think I’ve read too many “How to Write” books. Every book I read says something similar; show don’t tell. That statement should be pretty self-explanatory, but I think I might have missed something.

I would call my writing style a bit minimalist. I tend to write with the idea that the reader will want to use their imagination to ‘see’ the story in their minds. I would much rather give too little detail than too much.

I’ve also read/heard that everyone sees characters differently. Too much description of what a character looks like could pull the reader out of the story. Again, I like to err on the side of too little.

Maybe that’s because I have read some books that are guilty of too much description. Usually, said books are massive volumes that threaten to collapse under their own weight much like a black hole and usually they are dull, dull, dull. No amount of great action and excellent plot can save them.

I want my books to be gripping, interesting and exciting. Hence, I avoid too much detail.

The problem is, one can go overboard on the minimalist approach. I received some much-needed feedback that my Fantasy novel is suffering in places from too little. The dialogue is fine and the action is appropriate to the story. The reader would like to be able to ‘see’ more of where the characters are and know, to some degree, what the characters look like. But how do I do it?

I know of several authors who are excellent at inserting that detail into the story without being obvious about it. Philippa Ballantine (www.pjballantine.com), author of ‘Chasing the Bard’ and ‘Digital Magic’ is one such author. I’ve got to sit down and study how authors like Pip  add that detail without stopping the story to insert it. If I can accomplish that, I know I’ll be onto something.

It’s a bit daunting, to be honest. I don’t want to take forever doing this and I want that additional detail to help build up the story. Now I’ve got to figure out how.

Personal Update

Nothing new to report. No book contracts (yet) and the Parsec Awards won’t be announced for another week-and-a-bit. Studying how to add the appropriate detail to my story and finishing a Halloween-themed piece of flash-fiction for a contest.

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19
May

Get Published, Episode 6 – The 12-Year Overnight Success, an Interview with Philippa Ballantine

   Posted by: Michell    in Get Published (Podcast)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Hello everyone. I hope you are actually getting spring (or fall) weather wherever you are. I’m not sure what the weather is here. It should be spring, but the snow still insists on falling (damn snow!).

This is an interview I have been looking forward to. I absolutely loved Pip’s book ‘Digital Magic’ and I’ve wanted to talk to her for quite a while. It is a fun interview which I really think comes through.

Enjoy.

Show Notes

00:00 — Opening – Get Published, Episode 6

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

0:14 — Introduction – Show #6:  The 12-Year Overnight Success, an Interview with Philippa Ballantine

Philippa Ballantine (AKA Pip) recently signed a two-book deal with Ace. We talk to her about her journey thus far.

00:53 — Promos: War Promo (Mur Lafferty)

www.murverse.com

02:35 — Show #6:  The 12-Year Overnight Success, an Interview with Philippa Ballantine (continued)

07:52 — Promos: Weather Child

www.weatherchild.com

08:43 — Show #6:  The 12-Year Overnight Success, an Interview with Philippa Ballantine (continued)

  • Philippa Ballantine talks about her publishing journey including her most recent two-book deal with Ace
  • You can reach Pip at www.pjballantine.com or www.weatherchild.com or on twitter at PhilippaJane, etc.

34:41 — Promos: Nina Kimberly the Merciless

http://www.ninakimberly.com

35:43 — Closing

Please send comments. Please, please, please! Questions too :)

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13
May

Hope Springs Eternal

   Posted by: Michell    in Irreverent Muse

I’ll bet if you were to talk to ten published authors you would learn that most/all of them had many rejections before a publisher finally accepted their manuscripts.  Maybe I should even underline many rejections just to be especially clear.

Why would a sane person put themselves through the pain of getting rejection after rejection?  Is it because he or she enjoys the interminable waits followed by the dejection of yet another “no”.

Speaking as a rejected author I can tell you that isn’t it.

No, each rejection slip is another badge of honor that strengthens my resolve to see my work in print.  I soldier on because I have faith in my stories and I know that if I’m not willing to fight the good fight no one else will.

You see, my stories have been there for me when I needed them.  I’ve had times in my life where work royally sucked.  Getting up in the morning was a chore and it was only the thought of my family that kept me going.  To say I wasn’t having any fun would be the understatement of the year.

Whenever I hit bottom I would try and think of the things and people that brought me joy.  More often than not my writing was factored heavily in there.  It would get me going again.  How can I possibly do less than give it my best shot to get it published?

The very thought of becoming a published, professional writer keeps me going.  Kind of like those people who buy lottery tickets every week.

Do I expect to be rich and famous?  No, but I hope to have a successful career as a writer and that’s more important.

And it’s what keep me going.

Personal Update

I’m really excited about an upcoming interview for ‘Get Published’.  This week I will be interviewing none other than Philippa Ballantine.  We will be talking about her recent two-book deal and her 12-year ‘overnight success’.  It should be up very quickly.

I’m also looking forward to posting something new to the site: book reviews. Expect to see (and hear) my first one in the coming days.

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