There are many tropes. Busty, blonde damsels. Brittle, brunette mistresses. Feisty, red-headed warriors. Alternatively: White-Male-Hero-With-Somnolent-Eyes-Yet-Aerodynamic-Cheek-Bones vs. Anything. Or the ever-plotless vengeance against a villain with no real motivation for villainy save an inscrutable need to inconvenience Our Hero. We know these tropes well. They’re practically family. If one came to your door and asked to come in, you might check for a judicious nod from your mother, but you’d open that door.
novelist
Useless Magic
So a while ago I was brainstorming useless magic powers with a friend (this has since turned into a discussion topic between multiple friends of mine, a trend of which is as simultaneously enchanting as it is distressing). I thought I’d make a list of my favorites here, you know, because I’m compulsive and delusional and think this will add value to the internet. Feel free to leave a suggestion or six!
16 Essentials for Succeeding as A Writer in 2014
1. Crippling Self-Doubt Cutely Coupled With Billowing Anxiety
2. Wool Socks (trust me)
Beta Reading 2
Two updates!
Beta Reading
Sometime last month I sent a preliminary draft of KMDC to a writer friend who has literally witnessed this project from the very beginning. And about a week ago I sent off the beta draft of KMDC to a few trusted ladies up in Boston. My parents currently have copies loaded on their kindles, and, to complete my Arsenal of Critique, I’ve enlisted another novelist in a trade of manuscripts. (the lovely J.M. Johnson, who you should follow on Twitter. Also, check our her blog).
The Healing Power of Music
Tonight my mother and I attended an event entitled, “The Healing Power of Music.”
I know, I know. I was also torn between rolling my eyes and bringing out my own celestial harp (a la Myrtle Snow, for all you AHS: Coven fans out there). But, hokey title aside, it was nothing short of captivating. It’s a forum style discussion that’s part of the Freshly Squeezed series with Colin McEnroe, of WNPR fame, and his panel consisted of a neuroscientist, a music therapist, and some super talented musicians. (Shout out to Kate Callahan and Echo Joy! Your story is incredible and you are a triumphant talent).
Necessary Frenzy
I’m curious about how many writers are full time in their writing, and how many hold down some other ‘traditional’ role (such as, I imagine, hair dressing, or manning the salad bar at Hometown Buffet). A writer friend of mine and I aways giggle at the writers who, online, allude to their lifestyle that is undefined by any obligations save their manuscript (read: unemployed) while also somehow managing to avoid publication ardently. What do they do? What do they want to do? What is that like? Is it deadening? It sounds deadening.