Resources

Resource Saturdays: 20 Writing Tools

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Hi Everyone!

I was perusing the ‘net for writing tools and found a really interesting piece by Alison Nastasi that lists ’20 Writing Tools of Famous Authors’.  You can find the full article on FlavorWire.com, but I’ve summarized it here for you!

 

20 Writing Tools of Famous Authors

 

Many of our favorite writers have a special tool or method they use when writing their incredible works. From typewriters and notebooks to fountain pens and regular pencils, they use them all. Several authors, including Stephen King, use fountain pens because it causes them to write slower and think more when writing out longhand. Another tip about fountain pens is that you are forced to edit more thoroughly when putting your writing into a computer or other word processor.

Mark Twain, one of my personal favorites, designed tabbed notebooks where he would wear off the tabs on pages he had completed so he would know where the next blank page was. I have done a similar technique in compositions books, where I move a slim paper post-it to the next available page so I can turn to it quickly before and idea escapes me! Later in his life, when writing longhand became painful, Mr. Twain dictated his stories.

Jane Austen is one of my all time favorite authors. She used a steno style book and a quill pen with ink that had to stand in the ‘chimney corner fourteen days and be shaken two or three times a day.’ I was delighted by the short article on Jane, you can read the article HERE.

Truman Capote reportedly wrote his first version always in longhand with a pencil. The second version was also in longhand. The third version was typed on special yellow paper. Even in bed, with the typewriter balanced on his knees, he could type 100 words per minute!

Charles Dickens used standard black ink until the 1840s when he switched to blue ink. He often also used blue paper!

J. K. Rowling used loose leaf paper and pen to draft her Harry Potter books. Arthur Conan Doyle used a pen to write his famous Sherlock stories while Agatha Christie used her trusty Remington Home Portable Number 2 typewriter. Young adult author Judy Blume used paper and pencil to write her famous stories. She does use a computer sometimes, but usually likes to print them out and edit with a pencil.

What types of writing tools do you use? I love the feel of writing with a smooth pen on paper. There is something so creative and inspiring about it.

Happy Writing!

~ Eileen 🙂

Resource Saturdays: Haunted Waters Press

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 Fiction and Poetry Submission Resource

While perusing the ‘net, I found this awesome Fiction and Poetry Submission Resource.

(I’ve also added a link for this Resource on my Resources page.)

Haunted Waters Press

Haunted Waters Press Submission Resource

 

Haunted Waters Press (HWP) recommends reading one of their issues before submitting your work to see if your piece is a good fit for their publication. If you go HERE, you can Preview the Summer 2013 issue or purchase it in digital or print formats. If you’re going to preview the issue, make sure you click on the Preview link underneath the image of the cover. I clicked on the Sample link and my browser (Chrome) didn’t like it. But the Preview option worked perfectly. 🙂

 

From the HWP website:

We seek previously unpublished works unless otherwise stated in the call for submissions. We welcome both the profound and the quirky. We are open to most styles and genres of fiction including speculative, dark, experimental, and literary. We love flash fiction of any word count as long as it tells a complete story. We enjoy all forms of poetry including experimental, rhyming, free verse, and invented form. While we welcome deep, meaningful poetry, we also enjoy works that are witty, peculiar, or offbeat. Works of creative nonfiction should be real stories about real people, events, and ideas and should be eloquently written, thoughtful and compelling. As a general rule, we do not accept erotica. Profanity and violence, if used, must be integral to the story. We do not accept simultaneous submissions.

 

As noted above, HWP accepts Fiction and Poetry. Make sure you read the Submission Guidelines before submitting anything so you can be sure to follow their requirements.

 

Happy Writing!

~ Eileen 🙂

Submission Resource: Creative Nonfiction

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New Writing Submission!

While perusing the ‘net this morning, I found a pretty cool, nonfiction, outlet for submissions! So, naturally, I wanted to share it with you-all. (I’m just nice like that.)  🙂

Creative Nonfiction accepts pieces of various sizes and topics, but it must be nonfiction. Your piece will undergo an in-depth fact-checking process before it is published, so make sure you tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but….

You can check out the various calls for submission, submit online or find out how to submit via snail mail on their website:

Creative Nonfiction Website

Happy Writing!

~ Eileen 🙂

Submission time is NOW

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Hello readers! I just discovered this cool publication avenue. If you’re looking for something to add to your tear sheet, these just may be your dudes (or dudettes)! The people over at The Artificial Selection Project are now accepting submissions for their next ePublication from creators of fiction, non-fiction and artwork. You can check out the details at the link below:

Submission time is NOW.

WordPress Daily Prompt!

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Hello fellow writers and readers!

Some of you may not be aware that WordPress actually posts a daily writing prompt. The prompt is usually about personal writing, as WordPress is first and foremost a personal blogging arena. However, the prompts could be used in many various ways. For example, the prompt from yesterday was:

070313 Prompt
So, while this prompt may be intended to inspire you into writing about your secret love of Glee! or your hidden passion for pineapple shaped plastic canvas tissue box covers, it can also be used as a fiction exercise as part of a story or for character development.

As an example, I have written two short pieces below.

Example # 1: Personal Writing

Some people don’t know that I have a love and fascination of the paranormal. This fascination goes so far as to compel me to want to speak with and interview those who have the ‘gift’ and find out how it works. What do they feel when they are being ‘psychic’? Are they psychic all the time? Can they turn it off? and many more questions. I have actually interviewed several psychics over the phone and plan to meet with them in person to interview them further on the topic, eventually crafting a book out of the interviews on psychic abilities.

Example # 2: Fiction Writing – Part of a Story

“Tell me something that even those closest to you don’t know about, Kyra.”

Kyra looked at her psychiatrist and didn’t say a word. Blinking slowly, she processed the question.

“Kyra?” The woman peered at her over her half-glasses, her milky gray eyes blinking. “Did you hear the question, Kyra?”

Making a decision quickly, Kyra grinned a lop-sided grin.

“Yes, Dr. Martinson, I heard the question.” Commiting to her decision, Kyra leaned back on the white leather sofa and crossed her legs. Joining her hands on her slim knees, she bounced her leg so her anklet jingled gently. “The real question, Doctor, is whether you want the answer or not.”

“Kyra.” Dr. Joy Martinson laid her pad and pen aside and looked her patient in the eyes. “We don’t play games here. You know that. Answer the question please.”

Kyra watched her doctor’s face and smiled, her red lips curving gracefully.

“Alright, Doctor.” Her grin widened and her index finger tapped slowly on her leg. Kyra brushed her straight dark hair from her shoulder. “When I was five, my cat went missing.”

“Yes, you told me. Fluffy, right?”

“Yes. Fluffy was the first.”

“First?”

“Yes, when the fifth cat disappeared, my parents finally suspected where they were really going.”

Silence stretched in the room. Without breaking eye contact, Dr. Martinson picked up her pad and pen from the table and adjusted her glasses.

“What happened to all the cats, Kyra?”

Without skipping a beat, Kyra leaned forward.

“I skinned them, Dr.”

The good doctor blinked. “You skinned them?”

“Yes.” Kyra said calmly. “I skinned them.”

Dr. Martinson had heard this from young people before. Kyra was trying to shock her. The doctor knew how to solve this one.

“Ok, Kyra. Tell me about skinning the cats. What did you use to skin them? Did you kill them first or skin them alive?”

The doctor, satisfied with herself, sat back in her chair and waited for Kyra to back down from her challenge.

Kyra’s smile didn’t even come close to reaching her emerald green eyes. Dr. Martinson felt a chill run down her spine and shivered despite the warmth of the room.

“The first cat was already dead and I filleted it with my Father’s fishing knife. The second cat I smashed over the head with a rock before I skinned it with the same fishing knife. For the third cat, I had purchased my own fillet knife off the internet. I skinned it halfway while it was still alive and then it died. I finished skinning it after it died. The fourth cat, I disemboweled  and gutted while it was still alive but I was disappointed that it died before I got to skin it. I skinned it anyway. By the time I got the fifth cat, I knew what I had to do. I sliced it open slowly, pushing my bare hands inside her belly. I loved the feeling of her warm insides all over my hand. I wiggled my fingers, finding her heart and massaged it to keep her alive. I skinned her slowly, keeping her open so I could massage her heart while I finished skinning her. When I was done, she was fully skinned and her guts were intact, but exposed to the air. It was a success.”

Kyra sat perfectly still, enjoying the terror that slowly filled her doctor’s eyes. She let a few seconds pass before she whispered, “Well, Dr? Am I making it up?”

The session timer chimed and without another word, Kyra took her purse and left the room.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

For your daily dose of inspiration, visit:

The Daily WordPress Prompt Posts

 

I hope you enjoyed my samples! Happy Writing!! 🙂

Writing Ideas # 5: Find a writing prompt and run with it

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This is the fifth posting in a series of 5 related topics. If you missed the first four, search for ‘Writing Idea‘ on my blog and you should find them there.

I subscribe to the Writer’s Digest newsletter and get emails from time to time about writing ideas. I got such an email with ‘5 Ways to Come Up With Great Story Ideas’. So, I have decided to post each of the prompts and my response.

If you want to sign up for the Writer’s Digest email newsletter, just visit their website HERE to register.

Number 5

So, here goes the fifth one:

The Prompt:

Sometimes the best cure for writer’s block is to let someone else start your story for you. You can search the web and find a number of sites that offer them, or check out our database of creative writing prompts that gets updated every Tuesday. And who knows: The idea you get from a writing prompt may be just the inspiration you need to spark your creativity and write a short story or novel that sells.

My Response:

I love writing prompts. Many of you, Readers, have been reading my ‘OneWord’ posts for a while now. OneWord is a quick and easy prompt that gets my writing flowing as well as being absolutely free. Those are my favorite kinds. 🙂

Here are some of the writing prompt sources that I like to use:

Writer’s Digest Creative Writing Prompts

Story Starters

Random Line Generator

Plot Scenario Generator

And there are many more out there. There are also books and software that can help you get started as well. So no excuses! Get to writing, everyone.  🙂

So what do you think? Share your favorite resources in the comment section below.

Happy Writing!

And don’t forget to subscribe to Writer’s Digest Magazine or the FREE email newsletter!

Writing

Writing Ideas # 4: Eavesdrop

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This is the fourth posting in a series of 5 related topics. If you missed the first three, search for ‘Writing Idea‘ on my blog and you should find them there.

I subscribe to the Writer’s Digest newsletter and get emails from time to time about writing ideas. I got such an email with ‘5 Ways to Come Up With Great Story Ideas’. So, I have decided to post each of the prompts and my response.

If you want to sign up for the Writer’s Digest email newsletter, just visit their website HERE to register.

Number 4

So, here goes the fourth one:

The Prompt:

Just because you’re stuck in a bit of a funk when it comes to ideas doesn’t mean that other people are. Take your notepad or laptop out of the house, sit down somewhere and observe the scenery around you-and listen to any and every conversation within earshot. You can do this at a park, restaurant, coffee shop or, my personal favorite, a bar (people who have a few drinks in them tend to share the best stories). Remember, jot down all the stories you hear but be sure to give them a twist to make them your own.

My Response:

As a writer, I love to people watch. The way people talk to one another, position their bodies, act and react to speech, it’s all fascinating. And I use what I see in what I write all the time. It goes against my grain to eavesdrop on someone else’s conversation, but sometimes you just can’t help overhear what’s being said.

My husband and I were at a restaurant a few months ago and there were two ladies in the booth next to ours. They were loudly discussing giving their elderly mother a bath and the … um … negative aspects of such a task. Now, mind you, I was trying to eat. So I did not appreciate overhearing their conversation. However, sometimes you overhear something that is though provoking or interesting.

I was recently in a coffee shop and there were two ladies sitting at the table behind mine. They were talking about the daughter of one of the ladies who apparently had been getting into trouble at school and just recently had got into trouble with the law. The girls mother was furious and she was telling her friend what she planned to do about it. Her plan included some rather harsh punishments (at least, I thought so) such as making her stay in her room when she wasn’t in school, only allowing her to come out for food and using the bathroom. Taking away all her privileges, no phone, no computer, no nothing. Although I would definitely be firm if either of my boys ever got into trouble like that, I think the mother was carrying it a bit too far. The mother said herself that the girl was a good kid and she didn’t understand why she was acting this way.

I would write about the teenage daughter and her mother. I would talk about how the harsh punishments pushed the girl further away from her mother. I would write about the things the girl was going through and that she had a big secret she didn’t feel like she could tell her mother and so she was acting out her frustration and confusion in acts of defiance. Perhaps the girl gets worse before she gets better and gets arrested, probation, community service, a fine, the whole bit. Of course, in the end, the girl does tell her mother her secret and there is tearful making up and everyone lives happily ever after. When there’s children involved, I usually like the happy ending. 🙂

So what do you think? Share your favorite writing ideas or your ideas for this prompt in the comment section below.

Happy Writing!

And don’t forget to subscribe to Writer’s Digest Magazine or the FREE email newsletter!

Writing

Writing Ideas # 3: Old Friend

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This is the third posting in a series of 5 related topics. If you missed the first one, you can find it HERE and if you missed the second one, you can find it HERE.

I subscribe to the Writer’s Digest newsletter and get emails from time to time about writing ideas. I got such an email with ‘5 Ways to Come Up With Great Story Ideas’. So, I have decided to post each of the prompts and my response.

If you want to sign up for the Writer’s Digest email newsletter, just visit their website HERE to register.

Number 3

So, here goes the third one:

The Prompt:

We have all had friends in our lives from grade school, high school or college that we knew quite well back then, but haven’t seen much (if at all) since. In fact, most of their lives are a mystery to us. Pick one of those old friends and write about the life they’ve been leading ever since you lost touch. What happened in his or her family life? What career path did he or she choose? Was he or she involved in something that led them to a life of crime? The possibilities are endless, which should drive you to be as creative as possible.

My Response:

The first person I thought of when I read this prompt was an old friend named Donna. I currently live in Oregon, but when I lived in Texas I had a really good friend named Donna. She was so nice and just a wonderful person to be around. I loved her very much. When I moved to Oregon, we lost touch. I have searched for her every way I know how, but I can’t find her. Her old number is disconnected and all the other avenues I know of show no trace of her. She was sick when I left and had recently been diagnosed with Diabetes and I worry about her health. I hope she is doing ok and think of her often. If I were to write this story, I would write a deliriously happy ending for my friend Donna.

So what do you think? Try the prompt yourself and see what you can come up with! Share your link in the comment section below so I can read yours too. 🙂

Happy Writing!

And don’t forget to subscribe to Writer’s Digest Magazine or the FREE email newsletter!

Writing

Writing Ideas # 2: Junk Mail

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This is the second posting in a series of 5 related topics. If you missed the first one, you can find it HERE.

I subscribe to the Writer’s Digest newsletter and get emails from time to time about writing ideas. I got such an email with ‘5 Ways to Come Up With Great Story Ideas’. So, I have decided to post each of the prompts and my response.

If you want to sign up for the Writer’s Digest email newsletter, just visit their website HERE to register.

Number 2

So, here goes the second one:

The Prompt:

Take the next two pieces of spam mail you receive (either snail mail or e-mail) and use it to determine the profession on your protagonist and your protagonist’s love interest. I get this type of mail all of the time, particularly from politicians, credit card companies and auto dealerships-and that’s just what’s delivered by the United States Postal Service! When I add in the junk sent to my e-mail inbox, I get “foreign ambassadors from Nigeria” looking for million dollar loans and women begging me to click through to get “erotic” pictures of them. Any one of these jobs will lead to many fun and unusual situations-and will give you plenty of fodder to write about.

My Response:

I decided to look at the first piece of junk snail mail I put my hand on and the first piece of junk email in my spam box. So I got an offer for personal insurance and an email about purchasing a new software product.

So I decided that my male character would be an Insurance salesman and the female character would be a software programmer. My female character goes in to purchase renter’s insurance from the male character. Let’s call them Joy and Ben. Joy is flustered when she goes into the office because she can’t really afford renter’s insurance. Sure, she’s a programmer, but she’s new so she doesn’t make a lot of money yet. Ben is taken by her but also threatened by her intelligence. Sounds like the making of a good romance, huh?

So what do you think? Try the prompt yourself and see what you can come up with! Share your link in the comment section below so I can read yours too. 🙂

Happy Writing!

And don’t forget to subscribe to Writer’s Digest Magazine or the FREE email newsletter!

Writing

Writing Ideas # 1: Scene from a book

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I’m always on the lookout for fantastic writing ideas, inspiration, prompts or other tools to give me a kick start when I can’t think of anything to write or I’m stuck in a story or book. I subscribe to the Writer’s Digest newsletter and get emails from time to time about writing ideas. I got such an email this morning with ‘5 Ways to Come Up With Great Story Ideas’. So, I have decided to post each of the prompts and my response.

If you want to sign up for the Writer’s Digest email newsletter, just visit their website HERE to register.

Number 1

So, here goes the first one:

The Prompt:
Take a very small, seemingly non-important scene from one of your favorite books and consider what it’d be like if that were the opening scene to your novel. Change the characters of course, and add one or more unique elements to that scene. The key is to give you a starting point and then let your imagination run wild. While there are many ways to stay inspired, this challenge really takes something that you love (an old book) and gives it new life.

My Response:

One of my favorite books is The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. If you are not familiar with it, it is a very old story, written around 1844. One of my very favorite scenes of the book (although I have many favorite parts) is when the main character, Edmond Dantes, escapes from his island prison by posing as the dead body of a fellow inmate and friend, Abbe Faria. Below is the actual passage from the book:

“And at the same instant Dantes felt himself flung into the air like a wounded bird, falling, falling with a rapidity that made his blood curdle. Although drawn downwards by the heavy weight which hastened his rapid descent, it seemed to him as if the fall lasted for a century. At last, with a horrible splash, he darted like an arrow into the ice-cold water, and as he did so he uttered a shrill cry, stifled in a moment by his immersion beneath the waves.”

And here is how I would re-write it to portray an opening scene of a book.

Suddenly finding consciousness, Matthew found himself in the dark. He was moving, but did not know how. It was as if he were being carried by rough hands, but he could not see anything, could not move his body. He heard voices, they were speaking of a cemetery and having a bite to eat after they were done there. Matthew sensed the danger that surrounded him in his blind cocoon and so he remained silent. Feeling carefully with his hands which were restrained with course twine, Matthew concluded that he was in a sack of some kind, like a bundle of potatoes. Suddenly, the men carrying him slowed. He became aware of the sound of the sea very close to them and could smell the brine through the cloth that bound him. The men began swinging him back and forth and at the count of three, Matthew was airborne. He felt himself flying through the air, the cold, moist sea air swirled all around his fiber prison. Plummeting like a rock, Matthew wondered if his flight would ever end. And just when he thought he would never touch the earth again, his body was shocked with the freezing cold temperatures of the icy sea. Sinking like a stone, Matthew frantically began writhing to escape, his lungs already beginning to burn and ache.

So what do you think? Try the prompt yourself and see what you can come up with! Share your link in the comment section below so I can read yours too. 🙂

Happy Writing!

And don’t forget to subscribe to Writer’s Digest Magazine or the FREE email newsletter!

Writing