Things I learn from Twitter

I'm pretty up on the news from world headlines to local nonesense. But I rely on twitter for book-world stuff. Like the person using a real agent's name to contract books (so not cool) or even literary deaths.

But here's acouple things from yesterday afternoon:

douglassonders Douglas Sonders: Calling All Beards! Casting For New Facial Hair Personal Portrait Series http://t.co/GeYEHMX

VAStateParks Virginia State Parks: On 08/04/2011 At Hungry Mother - Snake Rattle and Whoa! http://dlvr.it/cXXmy

Dhympna Dhympna du Maurier: I tested my vocab and know 39,400 words -- how about you? #testyourvocab http://t.co/ZKpmyBJ

Georg_Grey Georg Grey: A bus is a vehicle that runs twice as fast when you are after it as when you are in it.

CarinaPress Carina Press:Did you add your opinion? You tell us: what should a digital book be priced? http://bit.ly/oScuzU

 

For that last one you really should!!

July

It's another month and I finally have story ideas! I was afraid (read terrified) that the stories I wanted to do were so far off the beaten trail they'd never be publishe (like that 1920s story I love and adore that's really difficult to sell!)

But a couple weeks of not doing any writing and I think I have a few ideas. Two are for sequels to Shadow State, which I'm in the process of self-publishing now that I have the rights back. One is a vague concept for In the Shadows (see reason above) and one is for a fun sexy contemporary.

This summer I want to plot out all of these stories so that when I'm ready to sit and write them, I can with as little trouble (read writer's block) as possible.

What are you working on?

Rights reverted

I've recently learned that I might be getting the rights back to a couple stories. I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand I'm sad to see it no longer available. But then again, if I do get the rights back, I can post it for download on Smashwords, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble.

It's an interesting cavet to all the stories going around about self publishing.

Progress always involves risks. You can't steal second base and keep your foot on first.

~Frederick Wilcox

Cliches

Biggest cliche pet peeves:



*The Big Misunderstanding (kisses another and instead of talking hero/heroine walks out) otherwise known as TBM
*Marrying because she's pregnant by his brother/BFF/cousin/father/etc
*Amnesia
*Evil other woman/man who are utter cardboard
*TSTL virginal heroine
*The Will Stipulation (oh how I despise that one!)
*Plain Jane who is gorgeous with a little makeup
*Making the mother/father the root of all the hero/heroine's issues
*The secret child (especially in an historical where she's pregnant by the hero, TBM occurs and she's married off to a kindly older man who never has sex with her and then conveniently dies)
*I didn't realize I had sex and thought it was a dream even though I'm a virgin (actually added this one thanks to a reivew I read last week)




Cliches I actually do enjoy:


*Marriage of convenience
*Office romances that doesn't involve the boss and assistant
*Starts off antagonistic but ends very passionately
*Gothic
*Evil relative if the evilness isn't cardboard
*Revenge
*Betrayal

What about you? Favs? Wall bangers? Ones you can tolerate?

Thursday I'm hosting Jean Hart Stewart as she talks about her book For Love is New.

Friday

I need to come up with better titles for my blogs. Seriously, Friday? Like you can't tell it's a Friday post from the date stamp?

Maybe I should rename it Titles, because that's really the crux of the problem today. Actually, naming anything. The story, the characters, it's all bad. Any writer out there knows what I'm talking about. How many times can you name your hero James or Michael or Mark or ah...whatever? Or your heroine. Sure, you've got names you love and adore, but naming every single woman after your own name is confusing and obvious. :)

I tend to look through baby names sites. My favorite is Babynames.com, and I have several books on Celtic and Gaelic names, plus all those books with random names in them. For historical ones, it's tough. Where, when, how far back, etc. for my Austrian story, I found this limited site. It's good, but I'm positive there have to be more names out there.

Sites, books; they're all good. More importantly, they have names. My problem is I tend to gravitate to the names that I've already used, or ones that begin with the same letter.

I won't even go into titles. Once in a while one will fit to perfection. Once in a great while. Otherwise, I can only hope that someone else will think of a better one. For months, I referred to a story solely by 'title'. That was its name. I read all these story titles and think how perfectly they fit. Then I look at mine, and cringe.

It's got to get better...right?