The Day I Started Writing

by Stephanie Faris

It all started with an anthology. I was working as director of public relations for the Tennessee Arts Commission at the time and my assignment was to promote this new book of short stories by Tennessee writers. As I read the book, I started feeling the need to write a story of my own. Something deep involving sweet tea and front porches.

Instead I wrote a short story called The Gymnasium Memorial. It was about a bunch of teens mourning the death of a fellow student. It was published in one of those scam publications that pays you in free copies if you “win” a fake contest. But the bug had already bitten. I wanted to write a book.

My first inclination was to write young adult. I’d spent my teen years reading YA books and they still weighed heavily on my mind. I wrote three books before I learned that there was no market for YA at the time—unless you wanted to be paid $1,000 to ghostwrite a Sweet Valley High or Nancy Drew book. I began searching for something that had that same youthful spirit but actually occupied space on bookshelves.

The answer was in category romance. Those books, which at the time were published under two major names (Harlequin and Silhouette), were extremely popular. Harlequin had a new romantic comedy line called Love and Laughter, while Silhouette had a fun line called Yours Truly. I knew then that romantic comedy was my niche.

I spent years trying to get published—I even got “close” a few times. I learned “close” doesn’t mean a thing in publishing. Meanwhile, chick lit came and went and in its wake, romantic comedy was no longer welcome in traditional publishing. But the good news was, children’s literature exploded…opening publishers up to the very types of books that I’d always wanted to write.

My writing journey is an example of the winding path many writers take on the way to publication. Everyone’s experience is different, but one thing is certain: all of us are doing exactly what we want to do. Whether we’re publishing our third book or writing “the end” on the first novel we’ve ever written, it’s important to celebrate every second of it. There’s nothing better.

And the Cover Reveal of Stephanie's new book out in 2016

About the Author:

Stephanie Faris knew she wanted to be an author from a very young age. In fact, her mother often told her to stop reading so much and go outside and play with the other kids. After graduating from Middle Tennessee State University with a Bachelor of Science in broadcast journalism, she somehow found herself working in information technology. But she never stopped writing.

Stephanie is the Simon & Schuster author of 30 Days of No Gossip and 25 Roses, as well as the upcoming Piper Morgan series. When she isn’t crafting fiction, she writes for a variety of online websites on the topics of business, technology, and her favorite subject of all—fashion. She lives in Nashville with her husband, a sales executive.



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3 Reasons Guest Blogging is a Good Idea

by Stephanie Faris


If I write one more article on “5 Marketing Trends to Watch in 2015,” I’m going to lapse into a coma. I’ve written so many, I’ve lost count. But the benefit of all of that work is that I’ve put a great deal of time into studying the best ways to market your small business.

As writers, we’re all small business owners in a sense. We’re working hard to “build our brand” and engage customers (readers). Many of us have read that one of the best ways to do this is through blog tours. Blog tours allow us to appear on other people’s sites, participating in Q & As, posting blurbs and doing guest blogs like this one. But you don’t have to do a blog tour to get the benefits of appearing on someone else’s blog. Here are three ways guest blogging can help you build a reader base.

Reason #1: You Gain New Followers

Bloggers have long expressed frustration that they work hard to write a thoughtful blog post, only to have no one show up to comment. When you appear on someone else’s blog, you get exposure to all of that blog’s readers and you send your own readership over to meet the blog host. I read a large group of blogs each day and I found most of them on other blogs. One great post could connect with your host’s audience and earn you readers for years.

Reason #2: It Increases Search Engine Visibility

Google wants to make sure when you search for something, you get the best results possible. Over the years, the company has worked hard to reward good content and penalize bad, spammy sites. A page is considered a better authority on a subject if there are links pointing to it. When you guest blog, the host posts a link to your blog and you post a link to it—both of those behaviors make Google’s algorithms happy. The more our blogs are connected, the better our chances that when someone types in search terms relevant to what we’re writing, that person will see our blogs on the first page of those results.

Reason #3: It Builds Community

The community in the blogosphere is amazing. The more we cross-post and promote each other, the tighter that community becomes. Many of us participate in events like the A to Z Challenge or the Insecure Writers Support Group, which means often we all have the same blogging friends in common. Guest posts give us the opportunity to introduce our own friends to the bloggers we’ve met, growing the community even further.

Instead of waiting until you have a book to promote, consider contacting fellow bloggers with an offer to guest blog. You can return the favor by hosting those bloggers on your own blog. Not only will it help your Google visibility, but it will also introduce you to new bloggers who are probably eager to find great new blogs to read.

--

And thank you, Stephanie, for stopping by and sharing with us! I am in 100% agreement with all three reasons.

Stephanie Faris knew she wanted to be an author from a very young age. In fact, her mother often told her to stop reading so much and go outside and play with the other kids. After graduating from Middle Tennessee State University with a Bachelor of Science in broadcast journalism, she somehow found herself working in information technology. But she never stopped writing.

Stephanie is the author of 30 Days of No Gossip and 25 Roses, both with Aladdin M!x. When she isn’t crafting fiction, she writes for a variety of online websites on the topics of business, technology, and her favorite subject of all—fashion. She lives in Nashville with her husband, a sales executive. 

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My Grandson Meme - Caption Contest!

This is our grandson, Levi. My stepson Timmy and his wife Kelly brought Levi with them on a visit to Tallahassee. We had a wonderful time showing them around and we even took Levi on his first boat ride ever!

Here he is, on the boat with Mommy and ready for some action. He's always pointing with the one finger and we couldn't understand what it meant. But will you look at the expression on his face?

I've decided to create a meme and capture the moment. This is what I think is being conveyed here.

Please join me for this caption contest. Simply provide yours in the comments below. The prize? An opportunity to post about your work in progress, an upcoming release, or a guest article here at Are We There Yet? I know, I know! Don't get all excited there. [insert sarcastic emoticon here]

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Gage Thomas on Diane Carlisle, His Creator

This month's prompt at Absolute Write:
Characters Writing About Authors

Have your character write about you, the author, their creator. You may choose any character so long as you created them, and may write in any format.

Gage Thomas

My name is Gage and I live at C:\Documents and Settings\dcarlisl\My Documents\Dropbox\Writing\Novels\Summer In Buddyville\

That's where She put me and has kept me for the past year and a half. She being Diane, my creator. I used to live in a town called Buddyville before she decided to shelve me in my current location. So why did she shelve me? I wish I could say something mean like maybe she's a selfish bitch, cold and uncaring about my situation.

I'm a nineteen year old kid, left behind to care for my younger sister after mother died of cancer a year ago. It's not a big deal to care for my sister. She's fourteen and practically takes care of herself. Only, I need to get a better job so I can get us out of this run-down trailer park before it's condemned by the city.

Last summer, many of the empty units were taken over by the homeless people. The city folk call them squatters. I think mainly because at night they gather at the opening of the trailer park where the dumpsters sit, start their fire pits, and squat to cook whatever communal road kill they'd managed to gather. You'd be surprised how good that shit smells.

But, I think Diane got bored writing my story. Either that or it became too depressing to continue on with such a run-down setting. Plus, she's not a pantser by any means and she didn't know where to take us after having described our pathetic surroundings. She just gave up on me.

I heard she started a new story, something about a cop unraveling a cold case at a new precinct. Diane purchased a butt load of writing software she claims will help her plot out a story she can finally write. She's kidding herself though. Her problems:

1. She's a procrastinator
2. She cares more about her blog than her manuscripts
3. When she has down time, she volunteers to do other things
4. She claims she wants to write fiction
5. What she really wants is to have written

One day, maybe she'll realize it's time to get serious about finishing a manuscript, whichever story she decides to write. I'm just hoping it's mine.

Take care,
Gage


Visit other participants for similar posts:

orion_mk3 -  (link to post)
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Sixpence -  (link to post)
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pyrosama -  (you are HERE)
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ishtar'sgate -  (link to post)
meowzbark -  (link to post)






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S is for Self-Preservation and Sharing

by B. Lynn Goodwin

Wouldn’t it be great to have a place where you could rant, vent, process, analyze, evaluate, and discover hope?

If therapy is too expensive and support groups are not working, try something else. Relieve stress and find hope by journaling.

James W. Pennebaker, Ph.D. pioneered research in writing as a healing tool. He has found that “writing about emotional upheavals in our lives can improve physical and mental health.” Do not underestimate its power.

Patricia A. Farrell, Ph.D., who is the author of How to Be Your Own Therapist has said, “The effort of putting something down on paper forces you to really consider what you're writing and in that simple act, you begin to think more about the content.” Even the act of writing a “to-do” list can be more effective than thinking about what you need to do.

A journal can be a simple record of daily events. It can also be a place to look at your thoughts, feelings, reasoning, and reactions to those events. It’s a place to dig deeply, when you want to, but it’s also a safe place to simply tell your story without interruption or contradiction.

Journaling offers perspective. It restores the emotional balance. In addition to being a record, my journal is a place to:

• vent
• imagine and record my journey
• sharpen my craft, and figure out what I really mean to say
• find story ideas
• make lists and cross off what I accomplish
• record my reflections

I write my journals in longhand. I like the smooth flow of a pen on paper. I like the progress of moving from left to right, line after line, traveling down one page and on to the next. The rhythm of longhand soothes me.

Here are a few other reasons to journal:

• I write to share
• I write to pull out secrets locked in place in my brain
• I write to see what happens if I release my private truths
• I write gratitude lists to feel better

When you write in your journal, it can be all about you. The journal validates your worth. There is no wrong way to keep a journal. Go wherever an image takes you. Explore fearlessly. 

Not sure how to start? You’ll find encouragement, instructions, and over 200 "sentence starts" in You Want Me to Do What? (ISBN# 978-1-60696-297-8).Though the subtitle is Journaling for Caregivers, journaling is for everyone. Jot your ideas down, using whatever "sentence starts" appeal.  Come back later, if you want, and continue the piece, or move on.

Writing saves lives. Get out of your own way and just do it. Your truths are dying to come out. 

Though it does not always seem like it, journals have the power to pull you off the hamster wheel of obsession and into action. They are a safe place to heal. Healing does not wipe out old problems or past actions. It washes over them, helping you to cope, change your attitude, and move forward.

Heal your spirit by writing in a journal. You never know where an entry might take you.

B. Lynn Goodwin is the author of You Want Me to Do WHAT? Journaling for Caregivers, available on Amazon. Her stories and articles have been published in Voices of Caregivers; Hip Mama; the Oakland Tribune; the Contra Costa Times; the Danville Weekly; Staying Sane When You’re Dieting; Small Press Review; Dramatics Magazine; Career; We Care; Thickjam.com, Friction Literary Journal, and The Sun. 

A former teacher, she conducts workshops and writes reviews for Story Circle Network, and InspireMeToday . She’s working on a YA novel and brainstorming a memoir. She’s the owner and editor of Writer Advice, which is in its 15th year.

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Under Cover Waitress: Guest Post by Diane Carlisle: Working for Mom

I'm guest posting here today. Have a look and leave us some love!  =)

Under Cover Waitress: Guest Post by Diane Carlisle: Working for Mom: I am so pleased to have fellow blogger Diane Carlisle compose the post for today! When she says she worked for her mother, she does mean in...

Just Bad Enough to Not Be Good

Thoughts from a Connoisseur of Bad Writing
-by David J. Schmidt


“Hikaru kumo o tsukinuke furai a wei.”

-Japanese folk saying. Translation: “Rice must be cooked just right—neither too hard nor too soft. This is the manifestation of perfection.”

I’ll be frank with you, dear reader—I am an avid collector of bad literature.

I am a literary crap enthusiast. Like the young Joseph Smith in upstate New York, I take my proverbial shovel in hand and head out into the woods, searching for those golden tablets of text that are a cut above the rest. There is a unique quality to exceptionally bad writing: if it crosses a certain threshold, it suddenly becomes immensely fun to read. I feel that the scale of “good to bad writing” is not a continuum; rather, it is horseshoe shaped, with good and bad nearly meeting at the bottom. Some books are so bad that they are able to jump that synapse and cross over into Awesome Territory.

One such book was a little gem I stumbled upon last year titled “Leave the Wine Glass Lay”. A friend of mine met the author in person—he came to her unannounced, like the Angel Moroni, to tell her about his literary opus. The author assured my friend, with a self-important air about him, that his book would be “the next big thing”. She went online and checked the book’s description on Amazon—and then immediately sent me an e-mail marked urgent, with a link and the comment, “you have to buy this book”.

As soon as I read the Amazon synopsis of “Leave the Wine Glass Lay”, I knew that I had struck gold.

Three things stuck out to me:

1. The modifier “all kinds of” is used twice in the first paragraph of the description. The main character, a powerful wizard, has “all kinds of magical powers” and encounters “all kinds of characters”.

2. By the second paragraph, we already have a full fledged cluster-eff of pronouns.

He befriends a 10-yr-old child, Laden, who finds the Evil Wine Glass at the seashore and invites him and his family to dinner along with his friends.

Whose family? Whose friends? Which he is who? Zuh?

3. The author went to the trouble of writing a quote of recommendation for himself. Unfortunately, he couldn’t think of anybody to attribute this quote to. All we have, at the end of the book’s description, is this:

This story is unlike any other and author Jackie O Brien is truly unique by writing this story.

I should note: that quote is also on the back cover of the book itself. In the print version, however, the author was nice enough to add some quotation marks—but still no person to whom the compliment is attributed. The punctuation itself appears to beg of us, “Come on, guys, honest, somebody said that. Look—there’s punctuation marks around it!”

That’s right, dear reader—I purchased this book.

And it was worth every penny. It truly was so bad that it became amazing. Where to begin? Well, how about at the beginning. Seriously, the first sentence of the book already has major verb tense confusion:

I am the wizard Translucence and the year was 1503.

The punctuation is devil-may-care and haphazard, as are the spelling and grammar. “Its” and “it’s” are used interchangeably, as are “they’re”, “there” and “their”. At several points throughout the book, the author appears to have forgotten what he’d already said—or lost the ability to scroll up on his word processor—and inserts sudden interjections like, “oh, but did I mention”, and “oh, I forgot to say such-and-such”. Some words are inexplicably capitalized, only to be written lowercase later in the text.

The descriptive language is just as avant garde in nature. This is one of my favorite quotes:

Another enchantment, I instantly thought as the veins on my neck puffed in horror.

I have no idea what “neck veins puffing in horror” looks like, but I imagine something akin to a bullfrog when threatened.

And the story itself. Oh, dear, sweet Lord, the story. It jumps around, introducing plot developments suddenly and without warning. The entire thing appears to have been written in one sitting, the author overcome with the white heat of drunken inspiration. “Leave the Wine Glass Lay” truly jumps the gap between good and bad, moving with Nietzschean boldness into that netherworld beyond good and evil.

But oh, did I mention that “Leave the Wine Glass Lay” wasn’t the initial book I came here to discuss, dear reader? No, the book that truly makes my neck veins puff up in horror is none other than “Fifty Shades of Grey”.

* * * *

The above-quoted Japanese proverb illustrates the ideal of perfection—something that walks that delicate balance between hard and soft, undercooked and overcooked—in Japanese culture. It is my opinion that the same principle applies to something that is of poor quality. For writing to be truly bad, it can’t be overly bad, like Jackie O Brien’s book of wizardly adventures. His book is too bad to really even be considered bad, in my opinion. Nay, I believe that truly bad writing must be just bad enough to frustrate the reader without amusing him/her.

Enter “Fifty Shades of Grey”, stage left.

The most infuriating thing about the entire “Fifty Shades” trilogy is that it walks that delicate, Japanese line of balance and equilibrium. It is not nearly good enough to be worth reading. However, it is not quite bad enough to be entertaining. “Fifty Shades” is just bad enough to be truly bad writing—drab, poorly constructed, unsophisticated. Its badness is, well—grey.

I am reminded of M. Scott Peck’s description of evil as “gloomy, monotonous, barren, boring”. [People of the Lie, p. 264.] And of C. S. Lewis’s depiction of Hell as a gray, drizzly English city with nothing particularly interesting about it. True evil is not exciting or interesting—it is uncreative and pedestrian.

Perhaps more infuriating than its mundane badness, however, is the fact that people pay money for “Fifty Shades”. At least “Leave the Wine Glass Lay” has been left “laying” on the shelf. E. L. James’s erotica stories have become a cultural phenomenon, sparking a mini-industry of merchandise, knock-offs, parodies, late night talk show references, and even involving the participation of Gilbert Gottfried.

Well, if you can’t beat them, join them.

I decided to climb on board the sticky, dubiously-stained bandwagon of the “Fifty Shades” phenomenon and write a satirical work of my own. My book, “Pirates of the Danube”, is not a direct parody of the S & M trilogy per se, however; rather, it is an homage to an entire genre of rambling romance-erotica tales. It is part “Fifty Shades”, part Harlequin romance, part “Leave the Wine Glass Lay”, and 100% awesome.

And it will be available for free this weekend. See below for details.

-David J. Schmidt



*One note on the Japanese proverb quoted above:

I wasn’t able to find the actual folk proverb, so I just inserted a quote from the opening credits to the Japanese cartoon Dragonball Z instead. But I swear, that proverb about properly cooked rice exists somewhere in Japan—a real Japanese man told it to me once, while he shared a bottle of vodka with me in southern Russia. But that’s a different story for a different time.






David J. Schmidt is the author of the satirical romance novel, “Pirates of the Danube”, as well as its sequel, “The Baron Rides Again”. The former, “Pirates of the Danube”, will be available on the Kindle store for free this Passover / Palm Sunday weekend, March 23 and 24.

Schmidt has received various recognitions for his charitable contributions toward the preservation of Peyronie’s Disease. In 2004, he was granted knighthood by the Basque Republic, becoming Sir David J. Schmidt for the following three years. The title was stripped from him by the United Nations Council on Fallacious Royal Families in 2007. Schmidt lives with his beloved ex-wife of 14 years, his two cats, and his indentured servant. He can be reached via his blog, www.donguero.blogspot.com or via email at thebaroninsideyou@gmail.com

See this link to find the book on Kindle: