The Voice in My Head
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
is Welsh. I don't know why. Being American, I'm unfamiliar with cultural undertones and perceptions regarding the Welsh in the UK, but Maddox's voice is beautiful. Rough, but with music in every word. I could listen to him for hours.
Jaye will be pleased to note that my werewolf, Maddox, is back, although changed.
For a touch of the musicality of this accent, go
here and scroll all the way to the bottom until you find Richard Elis. His voice, specifically, is a bit light and tenor-y, but it's the accent that has me mesmerized.
So, How is the Writing Going, Sela?
Monday, May 23, 2005
asked
Maggie, a wonderful friend who always has an uplifting word for her fellow
Divas.I answered:
I'm sorry, Maggie. That word you used... writing...that's unfamiliar to me. Could you define that? Ah wait. Here it is. In the patent-pending
Sela's Not Very Concise Dictionary of Useless Knowledge. Writing. To write. The act of putting down on paper the stories that are wandering around in your otherwise empty head. Unless, of course, said head is full of disorganized, disjointed thoughts, endless lists of errands, and the nagging feeling that you're still forgetting something. In which case, the writing is screwed. And by the way, just in case you think about writing something anyway -- you're a no talent hack who had one good run and now you'll be spending the rest of your so-called "career" putting out 1000 word flash fictions of no discernible use to an audience of people who are too nice to tell you that you are, in fact, a no talent hack.
The writing's going
fiiiiine. Why do you ask?
Je suis de retour
Friday, May 20, 2005
Thank you all for responding to my last post!! I'm so excited to see new people here, as well as old friends.
Thanks also for your opinions. I know there have to be good e-books out there. I've read paperback novels by folks who started out in e-books and I love them. They obviously wouldn't have gotten to where they are now if they wrote badly. I'll just have to keep slogging through.
I think a common theme that struck folks was about dishonest reviewers. I'm going to have to disregard all reviews from now on and just go with word of mouth.
Time to rant again
Sunday, May 15, 2005
And time to piss off a whole new set of people.
Am I picky? Is it me? I don't think so. I hope not, at least.
I read another e-book the other night.
It was awful.
I WANT TO LIKE THESE!!! I am TRYING to like these!!
It's becoming excruciatingly obvious why traditional pubs diss the e-world as the last bastion for no-hope writers.
After the first couple, I thought maybe I was just picking duds, but I don't think so anymore. These books had good reviews -- some of them were even glowing! I don't often read
reviews, but since e-books are still new territory for me, I figured I needed a guide.
I'm just so disappointed. E-pubs are fighting tooth and nail for respect in the romance publishing industry and I want -- I need -- for them to succeed since that's where most of my work will be headed because of its specific length. But if what I've read is representative of the quality of the work they publish... let 'em burn. Let only the fittest survive.
I'm not picking on any specific e-pub out there. I've read different works from several of them and they've pretty much all sucked. There seems to be no concept of editing for pacing, for flow, for structure. But I can't blame the editing.
The writing screams, "I am an amateur and I got my panties in a twist because some mean editor at Big Name Publishing House rejected my gilded nuggets of poop!"
Is it simply that these authors need time to mature, to grow, to learn? That's fine, but don't sell me this stuff as if it's done by a professional who knows what she's about. Who has a gift that has been honed by time and by steel.
I've got an ms that's not ready for publication by my standards. But I look around at what I've read and I know that some e-pub somewhere would publish it as it stands right now.
I don't think I could live with the humiliation. I couldn't deal with the fact that I know this is not the best I can do. My work should be able to stand up against the big dogs and when it's ready, I'll let it out.
I don't want any of my e-pubbed friends (and there are several of you) to think this is a knock against you, your writing, or your publisher. To my discredit, I haven't even read your stuff yet. I'm slow at picking up new books lately. I'd hung on to this latest one for several weeks before I finally read it.
I'm also not saying that all e-pubs put out the same level of schlock, or even that all works put out by an individual e-pub are terrible.
This is not a universal slam of e-publishing. It is a call to arms. We don't have to put up with terrible books.
If you read a bad book, let the publisher know that it was not up to par. If you're a reviewer, for the love of heaven, be honest. Please! You have a responsibility to those who look to you for guidance. Whoever reviewed this book and said it was "excellent" should either refund my money or have her reviewer's license taken away. I'm not even talking about differing tastes, which I can deal with. This book was poorly written and there's no excuse for that. None. If a reviewer can't tell decent writing from pig slop, she's got no business reviewing.
Sheesh. This is also why I so very rarely read reviews. Everyone is afraid of hurting people's feelings.
Well, this turned into a rant of epic proportions. Now I feel the need to spend an equal amount of time turning my own pig slop into real writing.
And remember folks, take your time aiming at the bullseye on my ever-expanding ass and exhale when you squeeze the trigger.
Drum roll please....
Sunday, May 08, 2005
The Worst Ever, Ever, Ever Heroine Name Ever Award goes to...
Vyrgynne St. Sebastienne!
I'll take Helpless Virgins with Noble Blood and Way Too Many Consonants for $300, Alex!
I swear to you I could not make this shit up. I'm not even going to tell you the author or the name of the book because I'm so embarrassed on her behalf. I have no idea if the book is any good or not because when I saw this name on the back cover blurb -- after I fought down the nausea and hysterics -- I put it back on the shelf. Actually, I hid it under several other books on the shelf. If I'd been thinking clearly, I would have purchased it, then burned it despite all the hateful issues I have about burning books. This is The Name That Never Should Have Been.
After that, I swear I'll never make fun of another weirdly shortened name I see anywhere. I promise.
Maybe her heroes name was Bane.
(P.S. Can somebody tell me how to write the possessive of hero?)
Apologies
Thursday, May 05, 2005
I'm sorry I haven't been a good blogger lately. Seems like many of my recent posts have that as a theme. I'm still trying to get my Real Life pasted back together. The monkey children will soon be out of school and our summer schedule is filling up.
Writing has just moved down my list of priorities temporarily and since this blog deals a lot with my writing, it has taken an accompanying dive.
I will say that I'm in a better place today than I have been for the last few weeks, so production may rise again. Tomorrow morning is a designated writing morning, and I need to get ready to make the most of it. I've got a submission in to my critique group with the opening scene of The Misplaced Marriage, so we'll see what they have to say about it.
Again, sorry I've been spotty about posting new stuff. The heroine name post is upcoming as soon as I find the book I saw with the WORST heroine name ever. Ever. Seriously. A name so awful it physically leaves a nasty aftertaste. Ugh. Must wash out with chocolate.
Tag, I'm IT!
Sunday, May 01, 2005
Dana tagged me so here goes.
If I could be a scientist...
If I could be a farmer...
If I could be a musician...
If I could be a doctor...
If I could be a painter...
If I could be a gardener...
If I could be a missionary...
If I could be a chef...
If I could be an architect...
If I could be a linguist...
If I could be a psychologist...
If I could be a librarian...
If I could be an athlete...
If I could be a lawyer...
If I could be an innkeeper...
If I could be a professor...
If I could be a writer...
If I could be a backup dancer...
If I could be a llama-rider...
If I could be a bonnie pirate...
If I could be a midget stripper...
If I could be a proctologist...
If I could be a TV-Chat Show host...
If I could be an actor...
If I could be a judge...
If I could be a Jedi...
If I could be a mob boss...
If I could be a backup singer...
If I could be a CEO...
If I could be a movie reviewer....
If I could be a gardener...I'd figure out how to keep my stupid roses from dying. I'd plant red tulips and bright yellow daffodils everywhere and bring in armfulls of blossoms each day. I'd have only a tiny spot of lawn and the rest would be taken over by small landscapes. I'd have a grove of willows dipping their long fingers into a musical stream, lush ferns and moss covered stones lending their cool green smell to the air. I'd have a knot garden of herbs so that every morning I could stop and brush my hands over their fragrant leaves to release their sharp, lovely scents.
If I could be a chef...I'd work at a small restaurant of no more than 10 tables so that I could take my time preparing works of edible art and each patron would feel cherished and special. I would be able to chop an onion in a minute and never cry. I'd need truckloads of garlic shipped in to give my dishes a robust flavor. I'd have pots of fresh herbs waiting to be snipped, to add their distinctiveness to each dish. I'd laugh every time I flambeed something because the fire would be my creation. I would make pots and pots of lobster bisque, potato soup and creamy borscht every day through fall and winter to keep everyone warm in body and soul. And I'd have my dh be the pastry chef.
If I could be a linguist...I'd speak with the whole world. I would sit at a cafe in Rome and be seduced by liquid Italian vowels. I'd lean on a pillar of the Pont de Neuf in Paris and listen to women charm their lovers with Gallic ease. I'd hear dark Spaniards speak with their eyes as well as their tongues. And I'd ban German forever.
If I could be a musician...I'd hold audiences spellbound with the power and purity of my voice. I would make old men cry at its depth and make young men line up to listen for me to speak their names. Women would stand and hold peace in their hearts for the moments of my song. To shout with joy, to scream with rage, to mourn the sad fate of the world -- all would be part of the music I made.
If I could be a librarian...I would stock the shelves with books that nurtured not only the mind, but the heart. I would recommend Jane Austen to businessmen. I would recommend Solzhenitsyn to loud, disrespectful patrons. I would recommend Big Red and The Black Stallion and How To Eat Fried Worms to every child. I would swim in piles and piles of books. I would spend my time dipping randomly into pages of books I've never seen or heard of before. I would make the copy machines free and easy to use. I would let people check out as many books as they wanted. I would create a system to return books to the library the day they were due, even if I had to make a deal with the devil.
I'm tagging
Vanessa,
Julie, and
Briana. Pick 5 and tag someone else!
Gack!!
Quiz I spotted at
Julie's blog.
Your English Skills:
|
Grammar: 100% |
Punctuation: 80% |
Vocabulary: 80% |
Spelling: 60% |
And I used to be a good speller! What happened?
