truth

Funding Your Writing

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Teamworks recently approved me for a mentorship to help in editing my novel. I am so happy.  An editor, Valerie Compton is available to edit my novel.  I was stressed out for two weeks because I couldn’t afford to pay her.

Then I contacted Teamworks. They are an organization that helps people gain more meaningful employment that supports their passion in life and helps them cope with their struggles in disabilities. I have a learning disability. Rather than let that defeat me, I found ways to turn it into an opportunity.

To qualify for the funding, Valerie Compton and Teamworks agreed to turn the editing job into a mentorship. This means that the process will  take longer, but I don’t care. I know the mentorship will be valuable and I will learn a lot in the process.

Anyone who faces my struggles can enjoy the same success as anyone else. You just need to know who to reach out to.

Sometimes knowing who that can be is a challenge in itself. I am fortunate because the resource was in plain sight. Teamworks funded my copyediting course. I graduated successfully from the course, which was a bonus when I applied for the mentorship. This fall, Valerie Compton will mentor me, editing and revising my novel to its very best. I can’t wait to work with her.

Other places offer funding, such as the Canada Council. It gives out grants to writers. Writing organizations are a great place to search for other sources of funding. The local libraries are a way to find information. Libraries are slowly opening to the public after the pandemic lockdown. 

If you wish to meet with an arts grants officer to discuss a proposal for funding, don’t let the social distancing and lockdown get you down. Zoom meetings and Skype are great alternatives to meeting in person. You don’t have to leave your house. Just log onto your laptop and you’re all set.

I have to keep in mind though that as I get this funding that helps me complete what would otherwise be financially impossible, is that they often expect an outcome. For example, when I graduated from the copyediting certification course. That was a positive outcome. Teamworks will want a measure of achievement from this first half of the mentorship. I am not sure yet what that will be, but to quote Indiana Jones, “I’ll think of something.”

Don’t let a disability, no matter what type, be a barrier to you seeking success in life. Turn an obstacle into an opportunity. Arts grants are now more inclusive of people who face those struggles. It opens doors for them instead of the door being closed to them. It is not easy, but not impossible. This is proof of the positive changes taking place in society today that benefit everyone.

Let’s hope that continues.

 

 

Spooky Inspirations

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Here are ideas on how to create a spooky novel!

I recommend the following books such as On Writing by Stephen King, On Writing Horror- the collection of essays by the Horror Writers Association, and Writing the Paranormal Novel- Techniques and Exercises by Steven Harper. These books go into real detail about the paranormal. Within this genre, there is more freedom to create what you want whether that be a sparkly vampire, toothy werewolf, or chain rattling ghost.

After you read these books, highlight the advice, and incorporate the advice into your writing. For a good story about a ghoul of choice to be believed, it must be believable and written well. All stories benefit from good writing. Be consistent about the traits, superpowers, or awesome abilities your monster has. We all know vampires hate garlic and sleep in coffins, but maybe a coffin-shaped bookcase could be their nesting habit during the daytime.

Read widely in your chosen genre. That will let you know what has already been written by other authors.

Buy a new set of highlighters, pens, white out, a binder, paper, and a fresh bag of coffee. Do what it takes to make you commit to the writing for the long haul.

Clean your writing/ office space. Light some sage and clean the energy to allow for the creative energies to flow unimpeded. Light a candle or incense. Play music that inspires you as you create your ghoul or axe-wielding maniac. Create a special playlist and soundtrack. Know your monster! Make it consistent and believable.

Keep a routine when you sit down to work on your story.

Reach into the deepest darkest part of your imagination. Free write a scene of confrontation between your protagonist and your monster. Or the monster is the protagonist? These days your demon or ghoul needs to be ORIGINAL. Everything in the paranormal novel has been done … or has it? That part is up to you. It must be original. If you are seeking more inspiration, read the paper. Clip and keep newspaper articles.
For example, I published a short story about pumpkins that can eat people. The vines can extend themselves and the pumpkins were toothy and bloodthirsty. Talk about a real twist on our favorite squashes!

But by allowing yourself to imagine, you may invent something that no one has done before. That is a huge advantage in the field of writing and publishing. Being original and true to your monster is extremely important. The world wants to read a story that has never been written before. They do not want thirty knockoffs of It or The Babaduk.

I hope you have enjoyed reading this. It might spark an idea or two and you would then be on your way to writing a gothic novel like Northanger Abbey or something like the Pit and the Pendulum by Poe.

Good Luck!

Villains: A Twisted Love Story

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Villains. Most stories don’t make sense without them. They are needed to propel a story forward, by giving our hero someone to confront. Nothing will make your hero look even more heroic than a worthy opponent. Therefore, villains are quite important. And they need to be written well in order to give your story the grit that it deserves.

That is why motivation is a very key ingredient when creating a villain. Many times, writers will put in a lot of effort into creating their main characters or even their side characters, but they’ll come up short on the villain. Villains, while they are the bad guys, they still need to be more than just being bad – they need a motivation for being bad. 

So, what makes a good villain? Well, the easiest way to begin building your villain is to understand that villains are ordinary people who have experienced complicated pasts. And personally, what better motivation than love? Think about it – the stories that we enjoy most, the ones that resonate with us most, are the ones rooted in love. Love can be a very powerful motivator, not just for your hero, but also for your villain. While a hero’s motivation of love for a family member, a significant other, or a civilization usually yields good results, a villain’s has the opposite effects. But if you think about it, the best villains are the ones with relatable backstories that serve as motivation for their evil-doing. And who is more relatable than someone who is laying everything out on the line for someone or something that they deeply care about?

While you’re writing your story, be sure to pay special attention to your villain and give them a backstory that is relatable. Perhaps something along the lines of a twisted love. 

The Great Debate: FanFic

/ arellana26 / 1 Comment

Fan Fiction. Where do you stand on the big debate? I am personally neutral on the matter, as I see the arguments to both sides, but I’m still curious. How do other writers feel about fan fiction?

By its very definition, fan fiction, or fanfic, is a written genre where canonical elements such as characters, settings, plot lines, or specific scenes from already published works are then used to create new fiction. Given this piggybacking nature of the genre, the whole concept of fanfic has stirred a great debate amongst authors, publishers, and readers as to whether or not fanfic is blatant plagiarism or a form of inspiration on which to build new work? Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right?

On one side of the debate, there are those who are absolutely against it. And perhaps one of the biggest arguments against fanfic is that many see it as plagiarism. Most people who argue against allowing fanfic to be a thing, see it a direct rip-off of work that has already been published. There are plenty of authors, such as George R. R. Martin, who greatly despise fanfic. And I’m sure we can all see that argument, why write about someone else’s characters when you can just create your own? 

Another argument against fanfic is that it’s all just sexualized trash based off different ships. For anyone who may have forayed into a fandom to check out some fanfic, you know what I’m talking about. If you were to google Harry Potterfanfic right now, I guarantee you that 90% of it will be Harry getting it on with Ron, Harry and Hermione, Draco and Hermione, or Harry and Draco. Either way, a lot of fanfic does seem to go the way of the ships – whether they make sense or not (Adam Taurus and Blake Belladonna anyone?).

But there is a counter argument in favor of fanfic. Mostly, some people see it as a stepping stone to other, more authentic works of fiction. The best example of this in our modern day is 50 Shades of Grey. What started off as Twilightfanfic ended up taking on a life of its own. And regardless of how you feel about the series, there is no denying the massive success it experienced once the characters morphed into Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele.

With that in mind, there are plenty of fanfic writers who would argue that its simply an exercise in aspiring writers to practice their development of original writing. Writers all have to start somewhere, so by using fanfic as a sort of memetic exercise, one could argue that fanfic writing allows aspiring writers the chance to better understand how to construct a work of fiction, by essentially rearranging a favorite work of theirs. This time of response shows fanfic in a more approachable light as it establishes writing not as the focus of a perfect, finished product, but rather as a process. 

So, with that in mind, the great debate continues. What do you guys as both writers and readers think? Are you in favor of fanfic? Are you against it? Or are you like me and pretty neutral on the whole thing? 

The Power of Persistence

/ ladyspiderwitch / 1 Comment

Ask anyone who knows me, and they will all agree about a quality I am famous for: my persistence. Any writer worth his or her salt should be persistent. I want to talk about persistence in this post.

It takes a lot of guts to be a writer and send your writing into the world. But when you do, you risk receiving rejections. Yes, the dreaded rejection slip that comes in the mailbox or via email makes a writer’s heart sink deeper than the Titanic. It takes a lot to escape the downward spiral of depression post rejection.

But in order to succeed, you must overcome the fear of rejection and learn how to conquer it to get an acceptance letter. I have more than a few rejection letters of my own. I have not wallpapered my walls with them, but I do receive them. I just file them away and I keep sending writing out. I have a tough thick skin too. Rejection letters are no fun. They make you feel like your efforts were unappreciated, like the quality of your writing was poor but that is not true.

Some writer bitterly commented to me once about the x number of rejection letters he got compared to me. Ah but I keep trying. I am like that bad coin or song that plays over and over in your head. I don’t quite go away.

I got good advice from a friend and very published author: He told me I was looking at it all wrong. I would like to share his advice with you. Editors need a story to fit in a slot in a publication. They need x number of stories to fill a book. So next time you are rejected, and maybe if you are lucky, the rejection letters get more personal, file it away and keep trying. Never take it personally.

Also, trust in yourself. You are the master of your words, the creator of fantastical worlds never seen before. Trust that you can not only survive rejection but that you will eventually gain that coveted acceptance letter. You are the master of your fate. I keep a record of everywhere I send my writing, every anthology, every magazine. Once you have a long list of places you send your writing to, you can reflect on all the times you tried. That alone is something to celebrate. It is better, much better than giving up.

I hope that soothes the sting. That is a great way to perceive rejection. Another tip to keep in mind is to keep the rejection letters that were encouraging you to submit again. Keep a tally of those letters from editors. Maybe your next story or article is good enough to fill a slot in a publication. You will never know until you try.

I waited a year for an editor to decide if he/ she wanted to publish my story. I withdrew it when they didn’t reply by a certain date. I sent it out again to HellBound Books, who are publishing it this spring. See? If I had given up in utter despondence, I would have missed out on that opportunity.

Be brave enough to persist. Always strive to improve the quality of your writing. Nothing is more powerful than persistence. Persistence is an admirable quality in a person. I hope you all found this post about persistence helpful.