February Photo a Day Challenge: Day 3
By Lindsey | February 3, 2012
I take pictures of my hands quite often over on my nail polish blog, but I wanted to do something a bit different here. I felt it would be cheating if I just posted a nail of the day photo.
This is my morning coffee, in my new favourite mug. There’s actually no Baileys in my coffee (that you know of!)– this came from a Christmas set at the LCBO. I like this mug because it’s bigger than my regular coffee mugs, which especially comes in handy on Friday mornings!
Topics: Photography, The Writing Life | No Comments »
February Photo a Day Challenge: Day 2
By Lindsey | February 2, 2012
Today’s theme for the photo of the day is “words,” so I thought I’d showcase the book I just ordered from Amazon. It was in my cart for a while. It went on sale and I had some Amazon gift certificates from Swagbucks, so I finally ordered it last week (I also picked up Boy Meets World season 4, which was also on sale. I love 90s sitcoms).
I’m going to start reading this tonight and hopefully finish it quickly since I still want to read The Hunger Games before the movie comes out. And I have the newest Castle book to get to.
Also in the photo: a record bowl I picked up from a thrift store last summer. I’ve always wanted one but never wanted to melt a record or set fire to my kitchen. This was an easier way to go!
Let me know what you think about the Happiness Project, if you’ve read it.
Topics: Photography, The Writing Life | No Comments »
February Photo a Day Challenge: Day 1
By Lindsey | February 1, 2012
I came across a really neat photo challenge for the month of February over on Natasha’s blog. I thought it would be something interesting to post on the blog here. I have a budding interest in photography, so it’ll provide some practice for that, too. Unfortunately, it’s late here and the lighting is terrible, but this is what I have for you today: Feb. 1: “your view today.”
My desk was my view for the majority of the day. I work from home most of the time, and today was one of those times. I have my Outlook email up for the Chamber (finished up an ad rate card and some other documents for them today). I took a few breaks to take nail polish photos. I’ve never mentioned it here before, but I run a nail polish blog over on Lindsey’s Lacquer. Maybe that seems weird and/or vain, but it’s for fun. I also made my husband lunch, picked up some groceries, made dinner, and now I’m doing some mindless surfing before I go do some reading.
A little bonus photo: here’s what’s above my computer monitor. We have a bootleg print of Aix-Les-Bains by Leonetto Cappiello that I picked up at a Dollarama, a Penny Arcade comic strip signed by Bruce Campbell (he was at Chapters here in Windsor years ago, probably 2001, and my friend Anna and I sat behind some bookshelves and creepily watched as he signed other peoples’ merchandise. We ran over to a computer store in the mall, printed this out, handed it to an employee that Anna happened to be friends with, and got this back a few days later), and a Mr. Stay Puft Ghostbusters poster that I picked up visiting a friend in Northern Kentucky last summer. You can also see a bit more of my bulletin board, which just houses some motivational quotes, 80s memorabilia, and some business cards.
Topics: Photography, The Writing Life | No Comments »
Handling “extreme” scenes in writing
By Lindsey | January 2, 2012
I’ve really enjoyed The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series from Steig Larsson and have recommended it to several friends, but feel the need to warn them about the very explicit scene in the first book. I’m no prude, but the scene in question is rather disturbing, and I feel I should pass along a warning just in case they’re sensitive to such things.
The North American version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo film was released in theatres recently, and I’ve seen some interviews and read articles about that certain scene and how graphic it is. I still want to see the movie, but being reminded of it makes me a bit squeamish. I’ll watch it, but I’m definitely not looking forward to that part. At least I’ll know what’s coming since I read the first book a while back.
So, for those of you who have seen the movie or read the book—you definitely know what scene I’m writing about. What did you think of it? I felt it was necessary for the story, but like I’ve established above, not pleasant. I’ve never written anything that traumatic or explicit, but I’m wondering—if you have, how have you gone about it? Did you warn anyone ahead of time about it? How did you feel about it afterward? Did it move your plot along and develop character?
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NaNoWriMo 2011 Update
By Lindsey | November 24, 2011
Even on Nov. 1, I was still waffling back and forth—am I going to use NaNoWriMo to get a big chunk of my second novel completed, or was I going to use the time I would have dedicated to that project and put it toward editing and filling in more storyline in my current novel? What was I to do?
That morning, I took a look through some notes and my manuscript. There were a few places that needed more story and another few scenes that needed resolution. I’d been struggling with resolving a few items in my manuscript for a while now. I sat down on my couch with some coffee and ended up resolving quite a bit!
So, no progress has been made on my second project, but lots has been made on my first. I think it’s important to step away from your work sometimes, and I definitely needed that break. But now I’m back to working on it seriously again and I feel pretty good about that.
How has NaNoWriMo been treating you this year? Are you participating? Do you think it’s hogwash to have to do NaNoWriMo during November?
Topics: Novel, The Writing Life | No Comments »
Happy Halloween—or NaNoWriMo Eve!
By Lindsey | October 31, 2011
As I’m sure you’re well aware, National Novel Writing Month is November. This marks the 30 days that hundreds of thousands of people get hopped up on coffee, eschew sleep, and just write. Well, that’s the idea, anyway.
I completed NaNoWriMo back in 2007 and am attempting it again this year. Obviously there’s no need to wait around until November to start working on a project, but it is a nice kick in the butt to get going and just write it out. Whether or not you (or I!) are successful in hitting the 50,000 word mark, at least there will be something somewhat substantial written out that you can work on and continue with. You have to get things written before you can worry about editing it.
Besides, once you break it up into little chunks, what’s 50,000 words, anyway? A mere 1667 words a day, that’s nothing! And there’s no stopping at 50,000 words either if your story isn’t over, and it likely won’t be.
What are your thoughts on NaNoWriMo? Are you participating in NaNoWriMo this year? Have you given it a go before? Do you think NaNoWriMo is worthless?
Topics: Literary Events, The Writing Life | No Comments »
The Oxford Comma
By Lindsey | September 29, 2011
I saw this on tumblr and couldn’t resist posting it here. I love the Oxford Comma and don’t care what you say. I’m still using it!
Topics: The Writing Life | No Comments »
Going beyond a niche
By Lindsey | September 29, 2011
One of the many repeated tips for writers is to find your niche. It’s solid advice, but at the same time, it’s a good idea to expand your knowledge and skills set to make yourself more valuable to potential (and current) clients.
I was an arts editor for four years, meaning I interviewed artists, musicians, comedians, authors, and performers. I reviewed books, CDs, plays, films, and exhibits. I wrote on issues the arts community faced. I wrote and illustrated comics for a while as well. At the same time, I was also writing for a business magazine, interviewing small business owners and entrepreneurs. I was also putting together newsletters for the Chamber of Commerce, writing press releases, and handling social media. Soon after, I started writing for a home and design magazine, then had a gig with a professional resume writing company. All the while playing with blogging (here and on a beauty blog). And I’m working on a new blog project that I’ll tell you all about in November.
When you’re stepping outside your niche, you must research the markets. Actually, you should keep on top of them in your niche as well. A business article is written much differently than writing a CD review. It’s important to keep your audience in mind—what information are they going to care about most? How is it relative to them?
So what is my niche? I’d say arts writing with transferable skills that allow me to write in a variety of styles and areas. There are things I prefer to write, sure. But the fact remains that I’ve expanded my writing skills to cover a wide range of areas. It’s an on-going process and I’ll be adding more to my repertoire by taking a photo class soon.
What’s your niche and how have you expanded your skills?
Topics: The Writing Life | No Comments »
Upcoming Windsor-area Writing & Literacy Events!
By Lindsey | August 29, 2011
Although it’s still a bit of a ways off, I decided I’d do up a quick post about some writing workshops and upcoming events for my readers in the Windsor-area.
First up is the Fourth Annual Windsor Reads Week, from September 26-30 and October 22, where notable Windsorites will be reading from the Scotiabank Giller Prize-nominated book, Light Lifting by Alexander MacLeod. The schedule of events is listed above if you click on the graphic, and the events are free!
Local author Vanessa Shields is teaching an eight week memoir writing class from October 11-November 29. Spots are limited and there is a fee, so make sure you contact Vanessa at shieldsvanessa@gmail.com soon! You can also check out her blog here!
Next is the Wine, Writers, and Words workshops taking place October 22 in Kingsville, ON. The one day workshop will involved participants being put into small groups and led by published instructors Marty Gervais, Paul Vasey, Dorothy Mahoney, and Nancy Belgue. You can check out the website here.
BookFestWindsor is also coming up November 3-5. The schedule of events is up on the website.
Topics: Arts and Culture, Literary Events | No Comments »
Handmade campaign: books without batteries
By Lindsey | August 20, 2011
One of the major issues in the publishing/literary world that I find most fascinating is the argument for and against e-readers. For those of you that have been reading my blog for a while, you know that I work best when I can get my hands dirty and go through paper copies of my writing and write with pen and paper instead of doing everything at the computer. My book-readin’ style is no different. I can’t even operate a cell phone, let alone an e-reader, so plain ol’ books is where it’s at for me.
Here’s an interview with Biblioasis founder Dan Wells on the Literary Press Group of Canada (LPG)’s Handmade Campaign. I feel like I should note that Biblioasis’ books are beautiful works of art in themselves, and are definitely worth checking out. On with the article, that I wrote back in Fall 2010:
Eschewing e-readers in favour of the experience of actually holding a real live book in their hands, the Literary Press Group of Canada (LPG) has embarked on a new campaign celebrating the physical book.
The Handmade Campaign, the brainchild of LPG’s B.C. sales rep Nadine Boyd, puts the emphasis back on the craft, design, and tactile aspects of book production, and turns reading a book back into an experience in itself, something Windsor-area book publisher Biblioasis can get behind. Of the titles chosen for the campaign by Boyd, three are from Biblioasis——Zach Wells’ Track & Trace, Mauricio Segura’s Black Alley, and K.D. Miller’s Brown Dwarf.
Flipping through these titles, the reader can feel how much care has gone into the design. From heavy paper to intricate illustrations, beyond capturing a story, these books just physically feel good.
“Book design has always mattered to us, and to have had a few titles selected for this campaign is very satisfying,” said Biblioasis Publisher and Editor Daniel Wells.
Biblioasis isn’t against e-readers. In fact, they’ll be offering e-books on their website this week with plans to be on most of the e-retailers sites early next year.
For Wells, reading on an e-reader, an act he refers to as “not a pleasurable experience,” while not ideal is better than not reading at all. “The experience of reading is made far more pleasurable by the work that goes into designing a book: the typography, the leading, the margins, the font choice and size, the paper, the binding. It’s not just Benjamin-like fetishizing of an object. There are practical reasons why good designers and typesetters and publishers set the books the way they do, and much of this is lost when converted into one of the various e-reading formats. This makes the e-reading experience more awkward, less nuanced. It’s good to be reminded of it,” Wells explained.
The popularity of e-readers are rising, but many readers still prefer that alone-ness one can get only from reading an actual book.
Wells hopes LPG’s Handmade Campaign isn’t the last we hear about the movement away from e-readers. Although e-books can be tempting, Wells believes “real book people” will still return to physical books.
“The only thing that bothers me a lot about e-reading devices is this boneheaded idea that they are going to improve on the experience of reading by making it more social,” said Wells.
“Reading is after all, in some essential way, an anti-social activity. And I’d like to keep it that way. In an age where we are bombarded with social media, with texting and tweeting and Facebook and all of the rest of it, isn’t the idea of a technology (because a physical book is quite obviously that) that can give you some space, a way to tune out all of the rest of the noise, perhaps something special? Something we might want to preserve? To transform it into yet another vehicle for electronic chatter, that’s the only thing that could kill the book,” he continued.
Coming up for Biblioasis this fall are three new titles—Alexander MacLeod’s Light Lifting (a collection of short fiction based in Windsor), A.J. Somerset’s Combat Camera, and Marius Kociejowski’s The Pigeon Wars of Damascus—launching Sept. 24 at Phog Lounge.
Besides Biblioasis, the LPG has chosen titles from such other small presses as the Porcupine’s Quill, Coach House Books, and Pedlar Press. For the full list of titles, visit: www.lpg.ca/booklists/handmade_campaign_selected_titles_fall_2010/.
Topics: Arts and Culture, Interviews | No Comments »