By Laura Drake
I sat in a meeting room full of hospital CFOs today, listening to a round table discussion of the financial crisis, and how hospitals can survive in the current market conditions. By the end, the smell of desperation overrode the air conditioning, and I was glad the only knives at the buffet were made of plastic. No, this won’t be a rant on Wall Street, or even politics (God forbid) so read on.
I wondered what to blog about, and found myself thinking about Debbie Macomber’s talk about trends in the publishing market at our Birthday meeting. Given the current environment, I’m going to make a few guesses as to what will be ‘hot’ next.
First, I believe the Romance genre, as a whole will see a surge in readership. I remember reading that during the Great Depression, the movie industry boomed; people spent what little money they had to escape for a while. They’re going to look for just the kind of “feel good†stories Romances are known for.
I’m not going to make a guess as to which genre within Romance will do well, but I think comfortable stories about simple people who find their courage during trials will be popular, weather it’s a Fantasy, or Regency. We’re seeing an increase in the popularity of “back to basics†like knitting, gardening, coupon cutting and the like. I think this trend will somehow be reflected in reading as well. If the trendy, frivolous, overindulgent heroine weren’t dead before, I think she will be now.
You may not agree with me, but the facts of the economy are bound to factor into reader’s tastes, and it bears some thought. Take care of yourself and yours, try not to worry, and remember one of my favorite sayings…
That which doesn’t kill you makes for good plot fodder.
By Janet Quinn Cornelow
This is Myna from “Weaving a Dreamâ€, part of Whiskey Shots Vol. 17. Though she lives in Augeas, she has no magical powers and is struggling to feed herself and her two children. However, the ghost of Amunador or maybe the spirits of those hiding there, speak to her and welcome her into their city.
I have been spending all my non-other job time judging the EPPIE’s. This is the big contest for electronic published books. Like judging any contest, it takes a large amount of time, so all I have been doing is reading and if I keep reading every spare moment, I should get all the books done in time. I had to get a new ebook reader since my old one decided not to come on.
Of course, this means I have had no time to write. I have abandoned Sam again, though at least this time he is in bed with Jubilee instead of running from the slave hunters. I am sure he is much happier with me.
Reality seems to have interfered with fantasy lately. I can’t even find the time to think about writing, let alone do it.
Art work by Jasmine Tanner – http://veildandy.deviantart.com
by Kitty Bucholtz
Ask me what my current favorite piece of software is and I’ll practically yell, Scrivener! (Okay, if I could find a way to compose a story in Excel, I just might do it. Jump in here, Marianne – wouldn’t that be fun??)
I returned to the Mac universe a couple years ago and a screenwriting friend told me about Scrivener. Though not screenwriting software per se, Scrivener was designed specifically to work on large and/or research-heavy writing projects like novels, screen plays, research papers, etc. by a software developer with “lofty writerly ambitions.â€
I’d been getting lost in my piles and files and was more than willing to take a chance with a 30-day free trial. Boy, it did not take me 30 days to fall in love! First, the tutorial is one of the best tutorials I’ve ever used! It explains every single thing the program will do and encourages you to go do it right now. I’ve referred back to it several times because it is so comprehensive and easy to use (unlike most “big name†software companies’ tutorials I’ve used in the last ten years).
The number one best thing about this program is that you can keep everything in one file. I’m talking about the word processing you typed into Scrivener, Word documents you also had, pdf files, audio and QuickTime files, pictures, web sites – everything! Just drag and drop the file from your desktop. Instead of multiple files in multiple formats open in multiple programs, you now have every single piece of research, every character chart, every version of every scene and chapter, your notes on your outline or synopsis – anything you want, you can keep there in your file. To the left is a list of everything you’re storing there. Create folders to organize your work according to research, chapters, notes, whatever.
Want to see a picture while you type up a scene description? Or review a piece of research while writing about it? Split the screen and type in one half while you see the picture or other document in the other half. One of those people who is always forgetting to save just before the power goes out? Scrivener saves automatically every time there is no keyboard activity for two seconds. Afraid you’ll make a change and wish you had the old version? The snapshot feature saves a copy of what you’re working on in case you want to refer to it later – or revert to it.
Tired of trying to move scenes around and getting all confused? Make each scene a separate document within the file, go to the corkboard view, and move the “3×5 cards†around to your heart’s content. Wherever you move the cards in card view, that’s where you just moved the scene. Didn’t make each scene a separate document? Use the split feature to split them up.
Wish you could tell at a glance what scenes are finished and which still need work? Use “Status†to track your work using built-in labels like “First Draft†or custom labels like “Add Research.†Want to know if your hero managed to drop out of the entire middle of the book? Mark each scene with color labels with the name of the POV character. Check out the outline view to see how many scenes in a row you have with Joe, or realize Mary went missing for eight scenes. Track anything you want to track this way!
Can you see now why I fell totally and completely in love? But how many children, you ask, will I have to sell to be able to purchase this dream software? It’s only $39.95! And because the designer built the software to use himself, you can be assured there are no bugs or glitches. I’m telling you, run – don’t walk – to the web site to check it out for yourself!
Don’t have a Mac? Visit the Links page for suggestions for Windows-compatible similar software. There are also links there for similar software for Mac, too!
Kitty Bucholtz is a co-founder of Routines For Writers, a new web site to help writers write more. She writes fun romance and light urban fantasy novels. Even though she loves talking about, writing about, and teaching about writing, she’s pretty sure she knows at least three people who aren’t writers.
By Lori Pyne
Our clocks fall back one hour next weekend, and we all gain an hour.
I began to think about what I can accomplish in an hour.
Commute to work (on the days with lighter traffic)
Make dinner (or make enough for more than one dinner)
Assist my son with his homework (40 minutes fighting/20 minutes working)
Exercise
Clean part of the house
Get groceries
Lunch with a girlfriend
Watch a television show
Or I could write, edit, research, or just make some progress on my current wip.
As November 1st is the start of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), why don’t we all pledge to use our found hour to work towards our writing goal?
I look forward to hearing how everyone used their found hour.
A Slice of Orange is an affiliate with some of the booksellers listed on this website, including Barnes & Nobel, Books A Million, iBooks, Kobo, and Smashwords. This means A Slice of Orange may earn a small advertising fee from sales made through the links used on this website. There are reminders of these affiliate links on the pages for individual books.
An innocent naiad. A wounded boy. An adventure that will change their lives forever.
More info →Catch Starthorne has spent a lifetime running from the prophecy that names him as the one who will save the shifter race, but now that he has returned to his home in Clawcrags, he may have to face his destiny.
More info →Lady Elinor Ashworth always longed for adventure, but ...
More info →A warrior maid & a hot dragonshifter set out to save the kingdom; together they can prevail, but at what cost?
More info →A Slice of Orange is an affiliate with some of the booksellers listed on this website, including Barnes & Nobel, Books A Million, iBooks, Kobo, and Smashwords. This means A Slice of Orange may earn a small advertising fee from sales made through the links used on this website. There are reminders of these affiliate links on the pages for individual books.
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The Great American Romance Novel
October 24, 2008 by A Slice of Orange in category Archives tagged as Comments, Great American Romances, Great Romances, Isabel SwiftI’ve agreed to help a friend (not HQE) with a project to create a list of the best American Romances of all time, and I need your expertise, if you’re willing to share it.Â
1). So tell me, what would be your top ten American romances of all time be? (it can be more than ten, if you’re inspired). While I’d love to see them ranked and have you tell me why you made the choices you did, just a list of titles/authors would be great.
2). I also want to include a range of categories within the genre: i.e. Contemporaries, Historicals, Paranormal, Futuristic, Fantasy, Westerns, Civil War, Saga, Romantic Suspense, Romantic Comedy, Multi-cultural, Inspirational, etc., so welcome your favorites in a particular category you’re fond of.
What do I mean by American? Well, an American author or one living in America. What do I mean by Romance? Basically a focus on the developing romantic relationship between a man and a woman with a satisfying and positive ending.
So would love to hear your thoughts to ensure this list is a stellar collection of truly wonderful stories.
Thank you!
Isabel Swift