How can taking an improv acting/comedy lesson improve your writing? Well, for one thing, it forces you to think differently about story.
When I get professionally jealous it’s often an exciting thing. “Wow! I never thought of doing that. That’s amazing!” But excitement can turn into sad feelings…
Too often the burden of “genius” is placed on the fragile shoulders of individuals trying desperately to create, to live up to expectations, to outdo their own previous creations, and to essentially justify daring to call themselves artists (or writers, or musicians, etc.) to begin with.
It’s 2130 on a Saturday night, and I’m alone in my apartment, in front of my laptop.
I can’t shake the feeling that there’s some amazing party, filled with fascinating people, somewhere nearby. Artists and intellectuals and adventurers, all mixing and charging the air with stories. I wasn’t invited.
et’s say you are sitting at your desk, with something to write, and you notice some anxiety, and an urge to go instead to one of your favorite distractions.
And let’s also say you decided to adopt my approach, the Obstacle is the Path.
Since I can’t tell why, for sure, a story was rejected, I keep submitting to places that meet my minimum requirements. When I run out of places, I put the story in a folder that’s labeled ‘stories I still believe in’ and I review it once in a while.
Is book publicity necessary? In my mind: yes. Do you need a publicist? It depends! I’ve long felt that authors are small business owners; what publicity means to an author is going to vary widely depending upon the resources available.
If you’re selling books on Amazon, you’ll want to set up your page in their Author Central program. Use your Author Central page to provide more information for your readers: upcoming events, a full listing of your books, pictures and videos, and even excerpts from your blog.
On February 23rd, at 8PM, the Baltimore Science Fiction Society, located at 3310 East Baltimore Street, Baltimore, MD 21224, will host Scott H. Andrews (Beneath Ceaseless Skies), Damien Walters Grintalis (Electric Velocipede), Rahul Kanakia (formerly of Strange Horizons), Leslie Connors (Apex Magazine) and moderator Sarah Pinsker (published in multiple magazines) for a round table discussion titled, “From Slush to Sale: Behind the Scenes at Science Fiction Magazines.”
For writers who are interested in writing middle grade or young adult fantasy or science fiction, the first step is puzzling out what exactly those categories mean. Science fiction and fantasy, after all, has a long tradition of featuring young protagonists — including such classics as Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey, Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings, and Arrows of the Queen by Mercedes Lackey — even if those novels weren’t originally published as middle grade or young adult books.
