Morrill's Monday Morning Mashup - 1/23/12

MASH-UP

A creative combination

or mixing of content

from different sources.

It's another Happy Monday. I had a weekend filled with ambivalence about editing challenges. Fortunately, I was also lucky to spend an evening in front of a bonfire with good friends. As we circled around, warmed by firelight and friendship, we cast into the flames things we hoped to be rid of in 2012. For me, it was fear. Fear of making changes. Fear of disappointing . . . or disappointment. Fear of saying "no."


The best part was, as we held hands and shared our energy and support for each other's aspirations and goals, suddenly I felt less afraid.


So now, back to the mashup. I hope some of these links will be helpful in achieving your aspirations.

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Jane Friedman has one of the best blogs I've seen for writers. Every post I've read provides useful information. "When Do You Need to Secure Permissions" is a perfect example. In this post, Jane gives us concise and useful information, with links to more detailed information about the ins and outs of fair use, public domain, copyrights, etc. If you would like to follow her on Facebook or Twitter, here are the links:

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/jane.friedman

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/#!/JaneFriedman

http://janefriedman.com/2012/01/23/permissions/

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I am still trying to learn the most effective use of Twitter. Though I'll admit it's still a challenge, every day I learn a little more about learning to "tweet", or speak the language of Twitterdom. This article, "Nine Things You Didn't Know About Twitter," which appeared in the New York Times discusses several features I did not yet know. My favorites were: "Save Your Favorite Tweets" and "Do Power Searches." Both are invaluable time savers as we all try to balance social media with writing.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/19/technology/personaltech/nine-things-you-didnt-know-about-twitter.html?_r=3&emc=eta1

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Write It Sideways is another blog that consistently posts excellent information for writers. Its creator, Suzannah Windsor Freeman, posts--and invites guest bloggers to post--"writing advice from a fresh perspective." This week's mashup link is by guest blogger, David Lazar: "Five Tips for Writing an Effective Plot Twist." Not only did I find a few ideas I haven't tried, I thought all of the suggestions made great writing prompts, too. If you'd like to follow Write It Sideways, here are the links:

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/writeitsideways

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/#!/Writeitsideways

http://writeitsideways.com/5-tips-for-writing-an-effective-plot-twist/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+writeitsideways+%28writeitsideways.com%29&doing_wp_cron=1327332160

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QUOTE OF THE WEEK:


I say yes when
I mean no and
a wrinkle grows.


      -- Naomi Shihab Nye

Morrill's Monday Morning Mashup - 12/12/11

MASH-UP

A creative combination

or mixing of content

from different sources.

Now that many of you have finished your Nanowrimo novels, (or for any other novel that needs some rework,) this is an excellent article on how to work through what Anne Lamott, author of Bird by Bird, calls the "shitty first draft." I like to think of first drafts as the seeds to a flower, eggs to a chicken, a trickling stream to the Grand Canyon. Oh, forget it. You get the picture. Three Ways to Work Through a Difficult First Draft was written by guest blogger, Christi Craig, on Suzannah Windsor Freeman's Write It Sideways.

http://writeitsideways.com/3-ways-to-work-through-a-difficult-first-draft/

Kristen Lamb's blog post, Is Your Novel a Spineless Weakling, was another good follow-up for Nanowrimo, and one of the best articles I've read on the necessity of an antagonist in your novel. In Broken Dolls, there are two antagonists -- Society, and Mama. Who is your antagonist? (Big newsleak: Watch for news of a guest appearance by Kristen Lamb at a future Ozarks Writers League meeting!)

http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/2011/12/05/is-your-novel-a-spineless-weakling/

And, if you are having a tough time even coming up with a "shitty first draft," here are a couple of links with writing prompts:

http://www.writersdigest.com/prompts

http://creativewritingprompts.com/

http://www.creative-writing-now.com/fiction-writing-prompts.html

I'll close this week's mashup with a quote by Elmore Leonard, who defined the difficulty of editing in a deceptively simple way:

"I try to leave out the parts that people skip."