A Writing Tip: Have you ever had a dream, so real, that it lingered upon awakening? I have. Often. Bizarre, seemingly unrelated imagery, words, that seem to make sense in the dream world, although, upon awakening, leaves an emotional aftertaste, without much in the way of cohesive meaning. And then, over the ensuing half-hour, or so, the imagery fades away until it is barely remembered. But not always…
Looking For Words in All The Wrong Places
Sometimes, the act of putting words on paper—seems easy enough, right—becomes a tortuous exercise in rhythm, not unlike lyrics to a song. You know what you want to say’ you know how you want it to feel, and yet the words just do not emerge in the way you have envisioned. Is this your poor vocabulary at work? Probably not. As clinical as many genres appear to be, all are written with passion’ certainly a passion for the story, if not the word choice.And this is where authors encounter difficulty. The reading audience is still there their vocabulary level has, however, decreased. Between failing education models that put more emphasis…
A New Direction from Alternative Publishing Services. What Do You Think?
I am often sent short stories and novels, the author asking for my input and opinion, something that I have been happy to give freely, with the acknowledgement that I am rendering my opinion, based upon my experiences as a writer, publisher, editor, and reader. For me, it is quite clear, where things “fit” within a story structure; where things are a disappointment because of lack of plotting, and also how to correct it. Quite often, the “fix” is a simple one; adjust the sequence, delete the unnecessary material, add in clarifying content, shift the dynamics of the conflict, shift the focal point. Sometime it is more complex; change the…
The Best Book Ever Written
Well, I certainly got your attention, didn’t I? You see, we are wired that way, both skeptics and believers, all wishing for the one absolute truth, the best of everything, whether it be a book, a life changing program, or whatever.We are inundated, and yet trained, to want to believe. Why do we buy lottery tickets? The chance of getting struck by lightning is higher than the chance of winning. But we have been taught that “someone wins” and so we make that leap to “why not me?”Okay. Let’s roll with that for a moment. Why not you. Maybe. Possibly. But…probably not because life has a sense of humor. Did you know…
Have you turned your book into an AUDIOBOOK yet?
Think outside the box, the book box that is. If you look at sales statistics you will find that audiobooks account for almost a third of all book sales, surpassed by e-books, with print in third place. This would not surprise you. Many people commute to work, long and boring drives, train rides, carpool and more. Many people prefer to listen, rather than read. Teens, especially, are more likely to listen to a podcast or audiobooks. So how does that work? The easiest way is to use a service like Amazon’s ACX service, the production arm of Audible.com. Here you have the option of being a producer or a rights…
The July Books ‘N Pieces Magazine is out.
The July edition of Books ‘N Pieces is available and packed with material. Read as a PDF Read as an ePub Read as an Issuu flip-page magazine In this issue, an interview with bestselling author JC Ryan (The Tenth Cycle), Twitter marketing tips from Andrew Hood, Problems with self-publishing by Robin Melhuish, short stories, and more. JC Ryan discusses all his books If you enjoy BNP Magazine, please share it with a friend and help us to grow. Be sure to join our mailing list so you are always updated. Bit.ly/Subscribe2BNP
The June Books ‘N Pieces Magazine is Ready For You
READ THE JUNE 2017 ISSUE: PDF: http://bit.ly/BNPJune2017ePub: http://bit.ly/BNPJune2017ePubFlip page: https://issuu.com/altpublish/docs/june2017bnp With each issue BNP gets stronger. Our readership as grown–which reminds me, if you have not signed up for a FREE subscription, please do so HERE, or bit.ly/Subscribe2BNP It is my hope that as we continue to add subscribers (free, by the way), and attract even more notable authors, artists, photographers, and even musicians, that we will be able to include some minimal advertising for the sole purpose of being able to pay our contributors. “Well, don’t you want to make money from advertising for yourself?” you ask. While that would be nice, I did not start BNP to be an advertising machine. I…
MAY 2017 ISSUE BNP EZINE
May 2017 Books ‘N Pieces Digital Magazine Enjoy this issue of Books ‘N Pieces featuring romance authors Devika Fernando, Arabelle Sheraton, YA author Fiona Ingram, with a short story by Henry Ohaegbulam (First place winner in our contest – different story), and mentions of Mike Wells, Robin Melhuish, book reviews, articles including The Changing Face of Writing, artwork from Kath Loste, a crossword, to list some of what is inside. Please share it with your friends. Help support this FREE publication. Encourage people to subscribe – it’s free and helps us to stay in touch (we don’t spam – promise), and if you are a writer, artist, poet, musician and so…
It’s All Been Done Before….
Let’s face it; nothing is original. Stories have been passed along in one form or another for centuries. Early stories were passed down orally, from one generation to another. At some point new ideas were regurgitated old ideas, in the same way that movies seem to all be variations on a theme. What’s a writer to do? Accept that the word *unique* won’t apply to your story; nonetheless you can present a story in a way that has the benefit of not being done before. This is because your stories and your characters are yours. Who can complain about that? Offer me fun characters and a solid tale and I…
What is Truth?
Determining the truth when you write a novel seems to be an important aspect of the process. The question remains, what is the truth and why does it matter? I present this question because in the creation of a written product, the truth, or what is considered the truth, is not relevant. The truth is simply that, which you as an author, have determined to be valid within the creation you have made. In fact, suspension of belief from a reader’s point of view, is a requirement for the success of your story, and quite often requires a suspension of what is otherwise accepted as a truth. So in effect,…
Don’t Hate Me Because I’m Wordy!
Amateur writers have a tendency to use more words than needed to convey their story. For example, you might read: It was a bright blue morning, and the splinters of sunlight pierced the solitary cloud that floated above the old, Victorian house. There was a buzz of crickets filling the air, birds chirping melodiously, and an old Ford truck sputtering along the highway in the distance. Hannah flung open the creaky wood screen door and stepped out into the freshness of the field. She had a busy day planned, however this one moment of peace filled her with joy. The first thing to ask is whether any of this, overly…
Hong Kong March 2017
I’ve been in Hong Kong, a week in March, visiting family – part of the delay with the BNP first issue. Hong Kong is a fascinating place to write about. It is an amazing mix of simple through eclectic, modern through filfthy back alleys, more stores than any human needs, all within walking distance, or the ultra affordable public transportation system. You have to feel very inconsequential as you stand and watch the ebb and flow of a million bodies passing at any given moment, cars, mini-buses, double decker buses, cars and inexhaustible taxi cabs. I bring a notebook to jot thoughts, sights, sounds, and scents (both wonderful and atrocious.) …
