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Les Writing blog, with tips, advice, and my own writing... And Nanowrimo obsession.

Short Non-Fiction - Fictional Worlds

Some Highlights

December 25th 2008 05:26
Today I'm going to highlight some of my favourite things to read. The first few are going to be actual books that I've loved and read more than once; the last few are going to be blog entries geared specifically towards writers. Reading for the cold winter months: curl up with a good book under your favourite blanket-don't we all just love it?

For those of you who have gotten Christmas money, some books to consider

~Anne Rice: Lasher-the thing with Anne Rice is some of her stuff is heavy and hard to get through; for horror fans, Lasher is definitely one of her best works.


~Timothy Carter: Epoch-this is a fun one, it's somewhat horror but it's also quite humorous (if your sense of humor is as warped as mine.)

~Sidney Sheldon: Tell Me Your Dreams-this is a dark book and a fairly heavy one; I'm not sure what to classify it as, only that it's definitely NOT YA.

~Barbara Erskine: Lady Of Hay-not for the light of heart, this is an absolutely amazing, heartbreaking story.

A few lighter reads:

~The Chronicles of Narnia (if you don't know of this series... you need a new education.)

~A Series Of Untortunate Events by Lemony Snicket: not the most pleasant of events, but his style keeps it from getting heavy, and the books are a lot of fun.

~Terry Pratchett: The Colour Of Magic-this is his first book in the Disc World series, and it's great fun.

~Piers Anthony's Incarnations series is also great fun.

Blog entries for writers:

These are a few of my favourite rants from Limyaael:

On animals and hunting-http://www.forresterl abs.com/limyaael/rant163686

On Art in culture-http://www.forresterl abs.com/limyaael/rant159024

On Religions-http://www.forreste rlabs.com/limyaael/rant131681


What Makes A Good Fantasy-http://www.forresterl abs.com/limyaael/rant128913

Ten Pieces Of Writing Advice-http://www.forresterla bs.com/limyaael/rant120163

That's all for today, folks. I'm burnt out and will likely be tomorrow after Christmas activities and wandering about on the relatives' new farm. I'll probably use that as a writing exercise and post something about it tomorrow, and then hopefully Friday I'll have the energy to do a critique.

I'm still looking for five volunteers for a first-page critique. Please email me at diannalgunn@gmail.com

ALSO: I've finished the first half of my workshop-planning. For the writing section, I'm going to have six (one a week) articles about the writing process, which will be posted on the blog as well as the workshop site, and I'm going to be doing ten pep talks. I'm looking for people to write pep talks. I need a total of six pep talks from other people.

I'm going to be emailing a published author who I was in contact with a while ago asking her if she would be willing to contribute either a pep talk or a planning exercise. I'm really hoping for that.

I'm also going to be turning the workshop into a PDF which will be made available on Lulu sometime after the workshop ends. Each revision will be a new version of the PDF. The PDF will contain the exercises as well as a few extra articles from my blog on the process of writing, editing, and submitting.

If you are willing to help-especially if you will let me put your pep talk/exercise in the PDF-please contact me at diannalgunn@gmail.com

Happy holidays, folks.

~Dianna
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What makes a writer?

December 12th 2008 06:31
I've gone over this before, but I was reading a thread on Forward Motion earlier and it's been a while, so I felt like writing about this topic.

What makes a writer in my mind is someone who loves to write. Someone who can't help themselves; they just need to do it like most people need to breath. Writing is a passion, writing is a love; when the going gets tough we still keep going. Writers love to do what they do, and are willing to work at it.

The first post in the thread that I was reading talked about plateaus, peaks. Milestones. The first plateau is where you want to write, but can't seem to finish a story; the first finished draft is a milestone. Editing, critiquing, taking critiques, all those things are milestones.

A writer is still a writer no matter where they are in this list of milestones, no matter what their current plateau is. 'Writers' are the ones who are willing to work to hone their craft, who are willing to learn new skills-not only willing to, but want to-and to experiment. (Says the girl who's never written outside her genre... um...)

Writers try to be the best that they can be and every major improvement is a milestone. With every finished story a writer improves; they learn more about the art of writing, learn more about themselves, their characters, their worlds. Writers learn more about themselves and their perceptions of the world around them through writing than most people ever really see.

I'm proud to be a writer-and I'm proud to try new things, to experiment. The workshop I'm working on preparing is a huge experiment right now, as I've never done anything of the sort; I'm working hard on the exercises (lies, I'm procrastinating... but it is hard work, when I'm working) and hoping that people will find them useful. Most of these haven't been tested, as I usually don't do extensive planning. The first time anyone will so much as look at these exercises other than me will be when the thing launches.

I'm still looking for writers of other genres to help with some non-genre-specific exercises; and I'm looking for people to do pep talks for the six week writing part. If you want to volunteer, please email me at diannalgunn@gmail.com.

And something else new that I'm trying is the 2YN, two year novel course over at Forward Motion. Check out the site here:

http://fmwriters.com/

I'm Litharukia on there (which is also my alias on WriYe and Nano and other such writing sites.) If you sign up, send me a message!

Thanks for reading.
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Dear Daddy

November 28th 2008 11:58
After 3 years apart you'd think that every day wouldn't be quite this much pain.

Dear Daddy,

It has been three years to the day since you died; it feels like so long ago now. The time has flown in one way, but in another so much has changed. I miss you now as much as I ever did, and I don't think this hurt will ever go away. I remember where I was three years ago today, by your side, watching as you left me. I'm fifteen now and I've never really left your side in that hospital bed; it hurts so much, so much just to know that you're gone. I'm not where you wanted me to be right now, I'm not where I wanted me to be either. I'm still struggling.

I'm struggling with everything that happened then and everything that's happened since. I think life is really just the school of hard knocks. They always like to tell us that it can look up, but I'm beginning to wonder if it really can. One thing after another keeps coming down on my head just like it was three years ago. People tell me to make my own happiness but I'm floundering still, drowning in my own little ocean; I just don't know how.

A lot has changed since then, I suppose; my hair is black now, but I know that really doesn't surprise anyone. That's just the superficial part-I think you know the reality of it. The things I went through, over the last year, the things I went through the year before that. You've seen how things have just slipped with school. I just can't take it Daddy, and I'm sorry. I know you wanted me to do better, to be so much more-but I just can't. I try so hard and I always land even harder back where I started, which is a very unpleasant place to be. You know what it was like.

The image of you on your deathbed still hurts me, and I still do things in your memory; I'm
writing this letter, after all. I love you, Daddy. I love you and I could never be mad at you for leaving me, I can only miss you. I can't be mad at you and I think you know that; you know how much I love you. And you knew it then. I wouldn't have left your side that day, I really wouldn't have, but I guess three hours is long enough to mourn by the side of a dead man. I know you're out there though, somewhere, watching over me; you told me so in your dreams.

I hope wherever you are now is a better place than this; things keep going down further and further, and the economy is dying. Maybe you missed the worst of it, maybe you were lucky to get out when you did. You can still watch me go through my life, I know you can; I know you already are. I don't doubt you, Daddy, I don't doubt your strength to watch over me.

I've come a long way with my writing as much as I try so hard in the outside world and I keep falling short. I really am trying; this morning I hit three hundred thousand words for Nanowrimo. I wonder if you remember that? I wanted to hit the three hundred in honour of you; I hope you're as proud of me as I think you are right now. I wish you could tell me, but while I can talk to you through these letters and trust that you will see them, it doesn't work in reverse.

I've been working really hard on it and I'll keep working at it. You know and I know that I'm stubborn enough to reach my dreams. I'm reaching for them, Daddy, and I can only hope and pray that I get them-that I get what I need. I don't think there's much else in this world I can do, but I know I can write; I've heard it too many times from too many different people to disbelieve it.

There's so much more I could say, I guess, but I don't know what to say. I miss you a lot though Daddy, and I think I'm going where I need to go-I think I'm following the right path. I can only hope that you agree.

Missing you&Lots of love,
Dianna
--------------------

Write your own letters to those you love who have passed away; let us never forget the dead, and forever honour them.
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When Everything Is Just Too Much

October 4th 2008 23:28
So let me tell you something. School is stressing me out; I'm trying to force myself to go but it isn't working very well. Things at home aren't pleasant either. I'm stressed; so stressed that I've been sick on and off for two weeks now. Nanowrimo is on the horizon.

It's times like these when anybody-writer or otherwise-starts to wonder about all their obligations and if they're worth it. It's times like these when normally I would abandon the blog for weeks at a time; I'm trying not to. It's sort of working. It's times like these when we just want to throw in the towel


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Apparently

September 8th 2008 04:43
Apparently I've burnt myself out and need to fix my sleep schedule yet again; this isn't going to be an easy thing to maintain. (Social lives get in the way three times a month) But I'm determined to maintain it to the best of my ability.

Sadly while I try to fix my sleep schedule I won't be coherent for the next couple of days, at least not enough to write a blog post. I'm going to bed soonish, and slowly resetting my schedule over the next week. If I hadn't have had something both days this weekend I would've been fine, but as it is, I need to fix my schedule. So... I won't be around for a couple days. I also have more editor work to do


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Conventional English Classes

September 6th 2008 11:22
As I'm waiting for a response from my editor, I'm going to be here today and possibly tomorrow as well. And in the spirit of the start of school, my first post is going to be about the evils of grade nine English.

As some of you may remember, I disappeared for quite a while last year from Orble, as I was stressed out to an extreme level; well, I disappeared from school, too, and as a result I'm retaking all of my grade nine classes (with minor changes) this year. Which means I'm taking English


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Why Do I Write?

September 1st 2008 05:57
I've written about this topic before. But I've been thinking about it a lot lately, so I decided to talk about why I write-not only this blog, but everything else that I write.

I write because without writing, I would be locked away with no outlet to express myself


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Dear...

July 28th 2008 18:24
Yesterday was Daddy's birthday. I didn't have the motivation to do much of anything, but I went out and had dinner in his honour. Today I will follow up with a tradition I have tried to uphold; it's been an on and off thing.

I try to write Daddy letters as often as I can, or as often as I think about it. Today I will post one on my blog-and challenge you to write a letter of your own. It can be to anyone-an ex, a loved one, a friend, a former friend, anyone-you can send it or not, as you so choose. Or as the person it is meant for so dictates by their status of livelihood


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Posted By: Dianna G - Category: Short Non-Fiction
   


Write What You Love...

July 18th 2008 05:35
Some people say 'write what you know'. But if I recall correctly, Stephen King and I have the same belief-that it is best to write what you love.

Because we can all write about what we learned in school, but most of us wouldn't want to. We know it-but we do not love it. And if we are forced to write something we do not love, it is by far a lesser product than what it would be if we loved it


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Words On A Page

June 16th 2008 03:56
Writing: the art of putting COHERENT words on a page... and so much more.

Just because you can perform the act of writing words coherently doesn't make you a true writer. A true writer takes talent and hard work. To be a true writer you have to be determined to write, to want to write, to love writing


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A Writer's Work

June 13th 2008 23:14
What good is writing?

Let me tell you what writing is good for


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Trying To Start Again

June 13th 2008 21:09
It's so hard... so hard. I've been through hell the last few months and I've lost all drive to live. All drive to write.

But I'm back. I'm going to try again. I HAVE to try again. If I am to survive the hardest trials of my life, if I am to survive these things, I must write. I have always written. It is my release. It has been with me since grade three, one of my hard years. It was there when I had to move, Daddy got sick, my parents split up. It was there all throughout the worst school ever


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A Lack Of Drive

March 11th 2008 00:47
I haven't been writing much and to be honest a lot of my drive seems to have disappeared with a stressful weekend. I'm sick, lacking smokes, possibly being broken up with, among other things.

It sucks to be me. And when it sucks to be me... sometimes that's good for my writing, other times it's horrible. Right now it's horrible


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Writing Is My Work

February 27th 2008 04:40
Writing is my work, my passion, my joy in life. Writing is everything to me; it is the one thing I have had for six years, the one thing that I rely on and trust in.

And there may be something called a 'day job' but I'm praying I'll never need one. I guess I didn't really see much hope until that publication. Now I'm out searching for more of the same and I'm ridiculously happy


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