Morning. Dreadful, painful morning and the unnecessarily early alarm tone from the attic as my brother gets ready for work, waking me up in the process. Half five. I can only groan, and I do. He doesn't stir for a while. There's no need for him to set his alarm that early if he's not going to get out of bed. I could forgive him, if he actually got out of bed.
A couple of hours later I finally get up myself, following a session of Morning Madness that I won't forgive myself for. Ever. Paranoia, self-inflicted nightmares, over-thinking everything in my life. It gets too much for me, and I can't seem to stop. So I get breakfast, instead.
This isn't entirely typical of my days, I'll admit. This is my summer, on the days when I have nothing to do but get up, get dressed and see if I can write. Or I'll read. Or, of late, I'll waste a couple of hours on the Wii. That doesn't make me happy. At least when I'm on my laptop I can do something that's relatively productive, and I can listen to music, which makes me feel better about the world, because it lets my emotions open up into the creations of other human beings, and I can experience this wonderful phenomenon of life, our ability to create beauty where before there is only silence.
I get my lunch around one. Or, if I'm feeling adventurous and I've gone into the city, I'll have my lunch whenever my companion - because there's rarely not a companion - wants to eat. If I'm in the city, there's no cleaning up to be done, just a few hours of exploring and going camera happy, most days. If I'm at home, I have to clean up the kitchen, scrubbing away the messes my family left the night before from dinner and from spilling tea on the work top, and the stains may lift, but I know they'll be back again in a few hours.
I waste my hours online, most days, doing nothing. Literally nothing. I'll leave links to reviews on Twitter, and there aren't enough reviews here to keep that up for much longer without getting repetitive. I'll read, play music through the laptop, keep an eye on Facebook.
And there's the texting. If Miley Cyrus isn't busy, we could be texting each other for the entire day. From five until half eleven, we text almost non-stop. She's the only one I seem to be texting these days, though Ferris Bueller gets a few texts every now and then, and sometimes a phone call. Miley never gets a phone call, because 1. her reception is bad and 2. Ferris is the one to talk to on the phone, because there's rarely a silent moment - he always has a story to tell.
Dinner is always around the same time. Always in the evening. Sometimes it's alone. Less than sometimes. That's a rare experience.
There are half a dozen cups of tea in my day.
There is always silence. Even with the music playing; the music is but the soundtrack to my life, and like in movies, the characters don't always hear it.
I worry too much about everything. Every. Single. Day.
I attempt to make plans. Adventureland trips to the city with friends from the countryside. Cinema trips with friends from the suburbs that are too far away from me.
Every day is waiting for September, when college starts back up.
Midnight, and I'm usually asleep. Sometimes I get lucky. Sometimes I get a phone call from Ferris. Even if he's drunk and it's late and I'm tired, it makes my day. He's a funny drunk, I rarely need to be up the next morning at a particular time and when I talk to him on the phone he usually wakes me up a bit. That used to happen a lot more than it does now.
Five thirty in the morning, and I curse my brother for waking me up at a ridiculously early hour...
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This was written as part of Challenge 4 of the Literary Den's Summer of Writing 2010.
Showing posts with label literary den. Show all posts
Showing posts with label literary den. Show all posts
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Friday, July 9, 2010
That's WEIRD!
Until I was about seventeen, I wasn't myself. I mean, I was who everyone kind of expected me to be, but I kind of failed at that. I wasn't interested in: (a) generic rap, (b) sports or (c) devilment. I kept my head down and did my work, and if I got an idea I didn't tell anyone about it. I strived to fit in, doing crazy, stupid things like listening to a band because people liked them, or buying a DS because I thought then I could be included in a group of people who had an "exclusive" club.
As I came to the end of my time in secondary school, I wasn't afraid to let people see some of the real me. I was asked a few times by first years (I was a Prefect - first years knew who I was), "Aren't you cool?" What do you say to that? I wasn't going to lie, and I wasn't going to lecture them on the meaning of the word cool. I said to them, "No, I'm not cool." They laughed, I kind of laughed, and we went our seperate ways. They asked again the next week.
See, cool by my definition is what people decide they like. Okay, someone can look cool without actually being cool (they can look cool and be cool, too, obviously). But cool implies that everyone likes what I do, that a majority of people think that what I do is what they'd like to do. I wasn't cool. I was weird.
Summer - boring. I won't bore you with the details of those few months. The most exciting thing was getting my place in college. That's it. That was my summer of 2009. It was in September that I made a few changes, though. I stopped giving a damn about what people thought of me. I didn't hide the fact that I was a writer, that I was loud and hyperactive and that I disliked sports. Actually, that's not even entirely true. I dislike soccer, and I can't watch a lot of sports because they bore me, but I like GAA. I'm just no good at it, and when I was younger, Gaelic seemed too much like soccer. In short, it was bawring.
So, I started college. I let people know I was a nerd. "I listen to music from the Internet and I watch lots of Sci-Fi. Also, every morning for the next four years that we're here, you're going to hear me say hi to some of my friends, because I'm that loud. And you'll wonder how someone can be so happy on a Monday morning."
Monday mornings... there's a fun one. Most people are severely depressed on Mondays. Not me. I go through most weekends without seeing my friends, so when Monday comes along, I'm more than happy to see them. I'm bouncing-off-the-walls, ready-to-explode giddy! This does different things for different people. Most keep a certain distance from me for the first half hour, until I've calmed down a bit. One friend and I had a thing where we'd high-five once a day instead of saying too much. I think I hurt his hand with explosive amounts of enthusiasm.
This all comes down to one thing: by general consensus, I wasn't normal. General consensus is wrong. I was normal, but I wasn't the same. A friend, the same high-five-till-you-hurt friend, has me talking about any problems I have. That's normal. It's not generally accepted - guys talking about feelings? That. Is. Ridiculous! Right? Nope. It's different, though.
Of course, I still get asked a few of the same questions in college as I did in secondary school: Why don't you drink? Did you write a book? What's it about? The answers are this: I choose not to drink. Yes, I wrote three (that was the old response; now it's Yes, I wrote four, but I haven't had a chance to use that that). It's complicated. Very complicated.
That's. Not. Normal. People want answers. They want to know what's going on. Someone not drinking is weird. If you saw me on a night out, you might not guess that I'm sober, though, because I tend to be a bit... can you guess the word? HYPERACTIVE. Wonderful stuff. But it still confuses people when they see me with a Sprite and wonder if there's Vodka in there, too. Bartenders probably get confused when I order drinks for other people, too. Like buying a mate's Guinness for him, or giving a girl a Jager Bomb to help make her night better, because she's lost her bag. Actually, I order three Jager Bombs once. That must have confused the girl behind the bar!
The book thing is more difficult to deal with. People will ask, because they'll have heard from somebody. It's a small college, so word gets around. Generally my reponse is, Did you not know that? Oh... Then they ask what the books are about. I literally cannot summarise four books in a short enough amount of time. I tried before. Someone then asked, Where do you get your ideas from? I suppose the best way to deal with that question the next time I'm asked it is to just say, In general, from the people I know here, and wave my arm around the building a bit.
I suppose it's my own fault. I could try fit in and not let anyone know the real me, but that's no fun. I'd be a carbon copy of the society I hate. I'd be drinking to satisfy other people, trying to play soccer despite the fact that I suck at it, and listening to music I can't stand. That's no way to live. I'd prefer be an enigma to people. I'd prefer be weird than be the same. That's probably because I'm a twin and look the same as someone else.
I suppose I have a new response to Aren't you cool? I probably won't ever get asked that again, but I have a response to it. What do you think? Yeah, that'd really mess with someone's head.
----------------------
Written as part of Challenge 2, Normality of Summer of Writing 2010. Full details here.
As I came to the end of my time in secondary school, I wasn't afraid to let people see some of the real me. I was asked a few times by first years (I was a Prefect - first years knew who I was), "Aren't you cool?" What do you say to that? I wasn't going to lie, and I wasn't going to lecture them on the meaning of the word cool. I said to them, "No, I'm not cool." They laughed, I kind of laughed, and we went our seperate ways. They asked again the next week.
See, cool by my definition is what people decide they like. Okay, someone can look cool without actually being cool (they can look cool and be cool, too, obviously). But cool implies that everyone likes what I do, that a majority of people think that what I do is what they'd like to do. I wasn't cool. I was weird.
Summer - boring. I won't bore you with the details of those few months. The most exciting thing was getting my place in college. That's it. That was my summer of 2009. It was in September that I made a few changes, though. I stopped giving a damn about what people thought of me. I didn't hide the fact that I was a writer, that I was loud and hyperactive and that I disliked sports. Actually, that's not even entirely true. I dislike soccer, and I can't watch a lot of sports because they bore me, but I like GAA. I'm just no good at it, and when I was younger, Gaelic seemed too much like soccer. In short, it was bawring.
So, I started college. I let people know I was a nerd. "I listen to music from the Internet and I watch lots of Sci-Fi. Also, every morning for the next four years that we're here, you're going to hear me say hi to some of my friends, because I'm that loud. And you'll wonder how someone can be so happy on a Monday morning."
Monday mornings... there's a fun one. Most people are severely depressed on Mondays. Not me. I go through most weekends without seeing my friends, so when Monday comes along, I'm more than happy to see them. I'm bouncing-off-the-walls, ready-to-explode giddy! This does different things for different people. Most keep a certain distance from me for the first half hour, until I've calmed down a bit. One friend and I had a thing where we'd high-five once a day instead of saying too much. I think I hurt his hand with explosive amounts of enthusiasm.
This all comes down to one thing: by general consensus, I wasn't normal. General consensus is wrong. I was normal, but I wasn't the same. A friend, the same high-five-till-you-hurt friend, has me talking about any problems I have. That's normal. It's not generally accepted - guys talking about feelings? That. Is. Ridiculous! Right? Nope. It's different, though.
Of course, I still get asked a few of the same questions in college as I did in secondary school: Why don't you drink? Did you write a book? What's it about? The answers are this: I choose not to drink. Yes, I wrote three (that was the old response; now it's Yes, I wrote four, but I haven't had a chance to use that that). It's complicated. Very complicated.
That's. Not. Normal. People want answers. They want to know what's going on. Someone not drinking is weird. If you saw me on a night out, you might not guess that I'm sober, though, because I tend to be a bit... can you guess the word? HYPERACTIVE. Wonderful stuff. But it still confuses people when they see me with a Sprite and wonder if there's Vodka in there, too. Bartenders probably get confused when I order drinks for other people, too. Like buying a mate's Guinness for him, or giving a girl a Jager Bomb to help make her night better, because she's lost her bag. Actually, I order three Jager Bombs once. That must have confused the girl behind the bar!
The book thing is more difficult to deal with. People will ask, because they'll have heard from somebody. It's a small college, so word gets around. Generally my reponse is, Did you not know that? Oh... Then they ask what the books are about. I literally cannot summarise four books in a short enough amount of time. I tried before. Someone then asked, Where do you get your ideas from? I suppose the best way to deal with that question the next time I'm asked it is to just say, In general, from the people I know here, and wave my arm around the building a bit.
I suppose it's my own fault. I could try fit in and not let anyone know the real me, but that's no fun. I'd be a carbon copy of the society I hate. I'd be drinking to satisfy other people, trying to play soccer despite the fact that I suck at it, and listening to music I can't stand. That's no way to live. I'd prefer be an enigma to people. I'd prefer be weird than be the same. That's probably because I'm a twin and look the same as someone else.
I suppose I have a new response to Aren't you cool? I probably won't ever get asked that again, but I have a response to it. What do you think? Yeah, that'd really mess with someone's head.
----------------------
Written as part of Challenge 2, Normality of Summer of Writing 2010. Full details here.
Friday, June 11, 2010
Today's News
Okay, strange day so far... I woke up unnaturally early, not upset, but not happy, just very, very tired. Last night was a bit like hell, but I got through it. A not-too-brief phone call set me straight. As a result of falling into a state of half-sleep, though, I 'woke' after ten. Just in time for a fry, I might add. I came down as it was about to be dished up, hungry (very hungry) and gasping for a cuppa.
If the waking up early wasn't odd enough... I walked nearly ten kilometres today. Without staying anywhere too long. It wasn't like going to college, where I spend a couple of hours sitting down. I was on my feet the whole time, listening to The Doors and Glee, in that order, once the former had run out of songs on my iPod. This is a rare occurence for me; not only was I out of the house, I was actually walking somewhere. I had to get birthday presents, and lodge a cheque. Party tonight. I may be dead tomorrow. But in the good way.
Now, onto the news! First and foremost - very sad story about Mandela's great-grandaughter. May she rest in peace. What's worse is that it coincides with the start of the World Cup in South Africa; I didn't see the opening ceremony (or the match that's being played as I write) - can someone tell me whether or not there was a minute's silence for her at some stage?
Moving on, Galway City have discovered the age-old invention of fire. The city hall was in a blaze this morning, before the workers arrived. Thankfully, no one was injured. However, the people of Galway have now been educated in the very tentative ways of release of energy. They are currently blaming the fire on water.
There is evidence to suggest that the bankers and every successful business-person was, and probably is still, a liar as a child. This discovery explains how the world is so troubled; the once successful Greeks lied for so long that everyone believed them. Now they owe a lot of money. Well done Greece on your continued success in drama. We only hope next time you won't use the world as your stage. However, if you wish to follow the example of Greece, just don't mess everything up. Play it cool - lie and cheat your way to the top, but don't get caught without any money.
Lisa Sills, celebrated blogger for the Literary Den, today revealed how the media have distorted our images of the people we call celebrities. Miley Cyrus is now considered something of a whore and a poor role model for six year old children - I would imagine that the eleven year age gap has something to do with that, too. Earlier, too, Britney Spears's mental issues were newsworthy enough to exploit. Sure, it'd be rude not to. And throughout Lisa's life, as one of Ireland's quadruplets, she's been in the news, only because she was born. With the release of pictures from her eighteenth birthday, one can only assume that the Irish media is hiding a few morons amongst its midst who insist on invading the privacy of someone who didn't ask for fame, and never even actively persued it. Well done Ireland; I forgot there was nothing more important happening in the world that we should focus on, rather than pestering a family for all of their lives.
In the world of Twitter, the World Cup is now trending, and eating up the servers. As a result, uninterested parties like myself are suffering decreased usage of the site. Thank you, Internet, for becoming less of a safe haven from football, and more of a nuisance. I really like to be treated like a second-hand citizen because I don't like football.
On a more personal note, I am a "shit stirrer". That is to say, I am intentionally winding someone up. Someone who'll remain nameless, simply because I don't want to start a witch hunt, has a habit of posting pictures of celebrities who he believes look like him. In response to questions as to why there are so many men and so few women, I explained "These are the ones on his list. The only celebs he's allowed to ever cheat on his partner with at any stage in his life." This story is still in development. Anyone who sees the funny side of my comment, noting that the person in question likes women, let me know.
This has been Paul Carroll, telling you the news that isn't all that important to everyone.
If the waking up early wasn't odd enough... I walked nearly ten kilometres today. Without staying anywhere too long. It wasn't like going to college, where I spend a couple of hours sitting down. I was on my feet the whole time, listening to The Doors and Glee, in that order, once the former had run out of songs on my iPod. This is a rare occurence for me; not only was I out of the house, I was actually walking somewhere. I had to get birthday presents, and lodge a cheque. Party tonight. I may be dead tomorrow. But in the good way.
Now, onto the news! First and foremost - very sad story about Mandela's great-grandaughter. May she rest in peace. What's worse is that it coincides with the start of the World Cup in South Africa; I didn't see the opening ceremony (or the match that's being played as I write) - can someone tell me whether or not there was a minute's silence for her at some stage?
Moving on, Galway City have discovered the age-old invention of fire. The city hall was in a blaze this morning, before the workers arrived. Thankfully, no one was injured. However, the people of Galway have now been educated in the very tentative ways of release of energy. They are currently blaming the fire on water.
There is evidence to suggest that the bankers and every successful business-person was, and probably is still, a liar as a child. This discovery explains how the world is so troubled; the once successful Greeks lied for so long that everyone believed them. Now they owe a lot of money. Well done Greece on your continued success in drama. We only hope next time you won't use the world as your stage. However, if you wish to follow the example of Greece, just don't mess everything up. Play it cool - lie and cheat your way to the top, but don't get caught without any money.
Lisa Sills, celebrated blogger for the Literary Den, today revealed how the media have distorted our images of the people we call celebrities. Miley Cyrus is now considered something of a whore and a poor role model for six year old children - I would imagine that the eleven year age gap has something to do with that, too. Earlier, too, Britney Spears's mental issues were newsworthy enough to exploit. Sure, it'd be rude not to. And throughout Lisa's life, as one of Ireland's quadruplets, she's been in the news, only because she was born. With the release of pictures from her eighteenth birthday, one can only assume that the Irish media is hiding a few morons amongst its midst who insist on invading the privacy of someone who didn't ask for fame, and never even actively persued it. Well done Ireland; I forgot there was nothing more important happening in the world that we should focus on, rather than pestering a family for all of their lives.
In the world of Twitter, the World Cup is now trending, and eating up the servers. As a result, uninterested parties like myself are suffering decreased usage of the site. Thank you, Internet, for becoming less of a safe haven from football, and more of a nuisance. I really like to be treated like a second-hand citizen because I don't like football.
On a more personal note, I am a "shit stirrer". That is to say, I am intentionally winding someone up. Someone who'll remain nameless, simply because I don't want to start a witch hunt, has a habit of posting pictures of celebrities who he believes look like him. In response to questions as to why there are so many men and so few women, I explained "These are the ones on his list. The only celebs he's allowed to ever cheat on his partner with at any stage in his life." This story is still in development. Anyone who sees the funny side of my comment, noting that the person in question likes women, let me know.
This has been Paul Carroll, telling you the news that isn't all that important to everyone.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Fantasy, Drama, Jonny and Sam
Over the past few days of silence, I've written quite a lot as regards miniature blogs. Due to Drama, I was unable to gain access to my blog, so I've decided to post three of my "mini-blogs" here... I will warn you, the third is not quite as mini as I thought it was, but it contains some wonderful introductions to books. I say wonderful... I mean they are rough approximations as to how I would like to start my books. You will understand.
Anyway, look out for the asterisks - they'll tell you when one blog post ends and another begins. The third post will end the entire post here. Tomorrow, I'm going to be lazy again and just give you two more mini-blog posts. They're about Drama, but the Awards are tonight, so I don't want to publicly jinx myself. Plus, this way I get to tell you how we did (both with the awards... and the alcohol I know my peers will be drinking...)
Status Update after a couple of hours of playing Final Fantasy 13... It's amazing! Perhaps one of the greatest games of all time; fantastic stuff! So far, not much by way of character growth; personalities are developed, yes, but with the removal of the EXP system, it's difficult to judge how well I'm doing. Not to worry.
Also, the Literary Den is three! Can't believe it's lasted this long! We're still going strong too. Okay, so maybe the forum's gone a bit quiet, but with our blog up and running the Den is never truly silent. I hope you'll join us as we keep going; there's always something going on, someone who can offer you some help or announce some new competition that's open, and I guarantee that you'll make new friends if you keep coming back, writers who know what you're going through, are experienced in a number of fields, and are always up to help new writers find their way, and to discuss the ways of the craft with those who are up for it. I sincerely hope you'll consider it.
In my time in college I have discovered that time is relative to whoever happens to be concerned about it. Naturally I am concerned about time, particularly in my Lenten vow. One would imagine a day to end at midnight, but no- college has taught me that a night goes on so long as the body is willing. Admittedly my body is all that willing, but a cup is making way to convincing it to function as I type out my mini-blog segment of the day. So long as my fingers work and my mind is still in the same cycle if consciousness as it was this morning, I have not broken my rule of writing every day of Lent.
This relevance of time is a rather big thing in my novel Meet Sam. The protagonist, Sam Richards, has developed a thing of checking the time constantly. As such, my "chapters" are named after the time at which the watch is checked: it isn't rounded up or down, and it isn't something that vanished even as he sleeps, for his sleep is disturbed at various points throughout the day. The day, I might point out, is technically running onto two days, starting at eight in the morning and going on for twenty four hours. People who have read the book have always been curious about that; it's the first question I get asked, usually. It's also followed by "I really want to know what happens the next day." This next day has never been much of a thought to me, until recently. I keep thinking about how to write them, and what to have happen. One obvious suggestion has been made, something that became evident in the editing of the book. So, I have an idea for a sequel. I do think it's best served as a trilogy of books, though. Sure, there may be side books, like the untold story of Day 1 from Abby's point of view, and the story of Alex on that day, which isn't as easy to write. There are one or two texts from Alex in the book, but they're a start that can be made. How the book ends though...I'd nearly always known that. I just need to write the rest, and Sam's two extra books.
Time, in all of these stories, is important. Abby's life must become clear in this one day; the things Sam discovers about her, the things the reader learns, need to be expanded upon, while also developing the character of Nick. Yes, there are all three if Sam's books for that, but Nock won't ever have his own book. He's a support character for Sam and Abby, the one they both turn to. His personality isn't too clear for me yet to write a book about him, because right now all I have is his reactions to caring for Sam. As the relationships between Nick and the other characters develop, then maybe there's a chance for him to get the spotlight. But that's dependant on time, too. I really want to get the other four books done first, and then I'll have an idea about what to write about for Nick.
One thing I don't know yet, either, is how publishers or agents will react to the time constraints of the story. It's different, at least in the way that not many people have done it. James Joyce is one person, I suppose...but that's all I know. Whether people want a simpler to read Ulysses-type book is, as yet, unknown. Time will tell...
As to when all this writing will get done...well, there's always the summer. I have to finish editing first, but once I have a start on the next book, nothing will stop me.
Oh, I do know how to start Abby's book though. 'This is the story of one girl in Dublin, on the day that her life changed beyond her control. However, it must be noted that this day is, more or less, the imagined sequence of events that a writer could put together from the evidence given to him, told through the same medium as his own life; the story of Abby Moore is narrated by an Englishwoman in the head of the writer. While Abby is completely unaware of this fact, her day is somewhat controlled by the unfortunate madness that befalls writers in their lives: Abby's free will is choosing for her to follow the predetermined events of the day, much of which is subsequently filled in rather hastily by the preexisting thoughts of the aforementioned writer's participation in these events. It should also be noted that Abby Moore is a painter, and not a writer, and, as such, much of her life is imagined in an infinitely more complex way than the writer would choose. Such is the way of this writer that he has thrown himself into a task that he cannot begin to fathom until it's completion.'
There's also an intro to Sam's second book: 'Samuel Emily Richards had a rather strange desire to be spoken about in his most dangerously low moments in his life. As he himself is the writer, and a Lonely Writer at that, Sam subsequently finds himself with a narrator. In previous occurance, this has proven to be something of a success, though Sam is almost sure that on this second hearing, his remaining shreads of sanity should be taken into careful consideration. The existence of Sam's sanity has become, in these words, as doubtful as the voice in his head, and as such he cannot be deemed responsible for the actions he might find himself participating in. Unfortunately for Sam, his dignity prevents him from sharing his ill fortune of madness with the world, and so he stands on a cliff, ready to end things if his next breaths aren't the best of his life.
His phone began to ring.'
Written just now! Epic or what? I know where to go from there, too. That's both a good thing and a bad thing. Good in that I have a start, bad in that I don't have time to write the book yet!
Time, it seems, is an evil mistress, conspiring with my Muse to get the best of me at the worst moment. Thankfully, I am good at following my plot notes when I take them, and shall be able to combat this situation of timelessness with the writing a plot for book two, currently entitled Love, Sam. And with that revelation, I bid you adieu.
Anyway, look out for the asterisks - they'll tell you when one blog post ends and another begins. The third post will end the entire post here. Tomorrow, I'm going to be lazy again and just give you two more mini-blog posts. They're about Drama, but the Awards are tonight, so I don't want to publicly jinx myself. Plus, this way I get to tell you how we did (both with the awards... and the alcohol I know my peers will be drinking...)
***
Status Update after a couple of hours of playing Final Fantasy 13... It's amazing! Perhaps one of the greatest games of all time; fantastic stuff! So far, not much by way of character growth; personalities are developed, yes, but with the removal of the EXP system, it's difficult to judge how well I'm doing. Not to worry.
Also, the Literary Den is three! Can't believe it's lasted this long! We're still going strong too. Okay, so maybe the forum's gone a bit quiet, but with our blog up and running the Den is never truly silent. I hope you'll join us as we keep going; there's always something going on, someone who can offer you some help or announce some new competition that's open, and I guarantee that you'll make new friends if you keep coming back, writers who know what you're going through, are experienced in a number of fields, and are always up to help new writers find their way, and to discuss the ways of the craft with those who are up for it. I sincerely hope you'll consider it.
***
Jonny Havron was found, but it's not good news. A fisherman in the Foss Basin found his body. I'm obviously a bit shaken up by it. I knew the chances if him coming back to us were slim, but there were chances all the same. Still, I can only think if his family. They'll never get to talk to their son and brother ever again.
And you know, he was such a nice guy too. I know it shouldn't make a difference whether or not someone is nice when this sort of stuff happens, but it does make a difference. Someone like Jonny, someone so harmless and friendly, couldn't have gotten himself into any sort of trouble. It's...well, it's a downright shame that this happened to him. We can only hope it was an accident, and not some fierce attack against Jonny. At least then we can let him rest in peace without the knowledge that he had been something we never thought he was, or that someone might mean him harm.
RIP Jonny Havron, writer and friend. You'll be missed sorely.
And you know, he was such a nice guy too. I know it shouldn't make a difference whether or not someone is nice when this sort of stuff happens, but it does make a difference. Someone like Jonny, someone so harmless and friendly, couldn't have gotten himself into any sort of trouble. It's...well, it's a downright shame that this happened to him. We can only hope it was an accident, and not some fierce attack against Jonny. At least then we can let him rest in peace without the knowledge that he had been something we never thought he was, or that someone might mean him harm.
RIP Jonny Havron, writer and friend. You'll be missed sorely.
***
In my time in college I have discovered that time is relative to whoever happens to be concerned about it. Naturally I am concerned about time, particularly in my Lenten vow. One would imagine a day to end at midnight, but no- college has taught me that a night goes on so long as the body is willing. Admittedly my body is all that willing, but a cup is making way to convincing it to function as I type out my mini-blog segment of the day. So long as my fingers work and my mind is still in the same cycle if consciousness as it was this morning, I have not broken my rule of writing every day of Lent.
This relevance of time is a rather big thing in my novel Meet Sam. The protagonist, Sam Richards, has developed a thing of checking the time constantly. As such, my "chapters" are named after the time at which the watch is checked: it isn't rounded up or down, and it isn't something that vanished even as he sleeps, for his sleep is disturbed at various points throughout the day. The day, I might point out, is technically running onto two days, starting at eight in the morning and going on for twenty four hours. People who have read the book have always been curious about that; it's the first question I get asked, usually. It's also followed by "I really want to know what happens the next day." This next day has never been much of a thought to me, until recently. I keep thinking about how to write them, and what to have happen. One obvious suggestion has been made, something that became evident in the editing of the book. So, I have an idea for a sequel. I do think it's best served as a trilogy of books, though. Sure, there may be side books, like the untold story of Day 1 from Abby's point of view, and the story of Alex on that day, which isn't as easy to write. There are one or two texts from Alex in the book, but they're a start that can be made. How the book ends though...I'd nearly always known that. I just need to write the rest, and Sam's two extra books.
Time, in all of these stories, is important. Abby's life must become clear in this one day; the things Sam discovers about her, the things the reader learns, need to be expanded upon, while also developing the character of Nick. Yes, there are all three if Sam's books for that, but Nock won't ever have his own book. He's a support character for Sam and Abby, the one they both turn to. His personality isn't too clear for me yet to write a book about him, because right now all I have is his reactions to caring for Sam. As the relationships between Nick and the other characters develop, then maybe there's a chance for him to get the spotlight. But that's dependant on time, too. I really want to get the other four books done first, and then I'll have an idea about what to write about for Nick.
One thing I don't know yet, either, is how publishers or agents will react to the time constraints of the story. It's different, at least in the way that not many people have done it. James Joyce is one person, I suppose...but that's all I know. Whether people want a simpler to read Ulysses-type book is, as yet, unknown. Time will tell...
As to when all this writing will get done...well, there's always the summer. I have to finish editing first, but once I have a start on the next book, nothing will stop me.
Oh, I do know how to start Abby's book though. 'This is the story of one girl in Dublin, on the day that her life changed beyond her control. However, it must be noted that this day is, more or less, the imagined sequence of events that a writer could put together from the evidence given to him, told through the same medium as his own life; the story of Abby Moore is narrated by an Englishwoman in the head of the writer. While Abby is completely unaware of this fact, her day is somewhat controlled by the unfortunate madness that befalls writers in their lives: Abby's free will is choosing for her to follow the predetermined events of the day, much of which is subsequently filled in rather hastily by the preexisting thoughts of the aforementioned writer's participation in these events. It should also be noted that Abby Moore is a painter, and not a writer, and, as such, much of her life is imagined in an infinitely more complex way than the writer would choose. Such is the way of this writer that he has thrown himself into a task that he cannot begin to fathom until it's completion.'
There's also an intro to Sam's second book: 'Samuel Emily Richards had a rather strange desire to be spoken about in his most dangerously low moments in his life. As he himself is the writer, and a Lonely Writer at that, Sam subsequently finds himself with a narrator. In previous occurance, this has proven to be something of a success, though Sam is almost sure that on this second hearing, his remaining shreads of sanity should be taken into careful consideration. The existence of Sam's sanity has become, in these words, as doubtful as the voice in his head, and as such he cannot be deemed responsible for the actions he might find himself participating in. Unfortunately for Sam, his dignity prevents him from sharing his ill fortune of madness with the world, and so he stands on a cliff, ready to end things if his next breaths aren't the best of his life.
His phone began to ring.'
Written just now! Epic or what? I know where to go from there, too. That's both a good thing and a bad thing. Good in that I have a start, bad in that I don't have time to write the book yet!
Time, it seems, is an evil mistress, conspiring with my Muse to get the best of me at the worst moment. Thankfully, I am good at following my plot notes when I take them, and shall be able to combat this situation of timelessness with the writing a plot for book two, currently entitled Love, Sam. And with that revelation, I bid you adieu.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Shopping!
Well, for the first time in a long while I went to town to do some shopping all by my lonesome. I left a little after eleven... but that's boring. You're really just interested in what I bought, aren't you?
Okay, at River Island I bought a t-shirt that says "Je ne comprende pas" on it. I love it! I also bought some fingerless gloves. I know what you're thinking. Waste of money, right? No, I got them so most of my hands will be warm as I type. My bedroom gets quite cold, so it's neccessary to keep as warm as possible. Fingers on gloves would be difficult to type with... and impossible to use an iPod with!
I then went on a fruitless hunt for The College Student's Introduction to Theology, which I need for my religion tutorials in college. I call this a Gabbo fail, for setting us a book that isn't available.
Ended up, after a long walk in a different direction, at The Gutter Bookshop. The staff member there was really friendly! It's an indie shop, run by a former book buyer in the shop I work. Didn't get to talk to him, but one of his two staff was delightful to talk to. I recommend a visit there (it's on Cow's Lane, in Temple Bar). I bought the BBC Shorty Story Awards 2009 book, and a notebook to write my Doctor Haik-Who into.
I just realised... I skipped my Muji stop. Muji's a fancy little Japanese retailer. Sells some stationary, and furniture... odd mix, I know. I bought a small pencil case and a fold up ruler. I am that cool.
And as I was leaving, I bought a double chocolate cupcake from Johnnie Cupcakes. It was delicious! The right level of moisture, perfectly sweet, and not too heavy either! I wish I had another one!
Oh, and in case you liked the Doctor Haik-Who so much that you want more already, there's some on my latest post on the Literary Den blog. You can view it here: http://literaryden.wordpress.com/2010/01/30/doctor-haik-who-and-a-giveaway/
Now, I think it's time to get some dinner. Cinema later. Take care!
Okay, at River Island I bought a t-shirt that says "Je ne comprende pas" on it. I love it! I also bought some fingerless gloves. I know what you're thinking. Waste of money, right? No, I got them so most of my hands will be warm as I type. My bedroom gets quite cold, so it's neccessary to keep as warm as possible. Fingers on gloves would be difficult to type with... and impossible to use an iPod with!
I then went on a fruitless hunt for The College Student's Introduction to Theology, which I need for my religion tutorials in college. I call this a Gabbo fail, for setting us a book that isn't available.
Ended up, after a long walk in a different direction, at The Gutter Bookshop. The staff member there was really friendly! It's an indie shop, run by a former book buyer in the shop I work. Didn't get to talk to him, but one of his two staff was delightful to talk to. I recommend a visit there (it's on Cow's Lane, in Temple Bar). I bought the BBC Shorty Story Awards 2009 book, and a notebook to write my Doctor Haik-Who into.
I just realised... I skipped my Muji stop. Muji's a fancy little Japanese retailer. Sells some stationary, and furniture... odd mix, I know. I bought a small pencil case and a fold up ruler. I am that cool.
And as I was leaving, I bought a double chocolate cupcake from Johnnie Cupcakes. It was delicious! The right level of moisture, perfectly sweet, and not too heavy either! I wish I had another one!
Oh, and in case you liked the Doctor Haik-Who so much that you want more already, there's some on my latest post on the Literary Den blog. You can view it here: http://literaryden.wordpress.com/2010/01/30/doctor-haik-who-and-a-giveaway/
Now, I think it's time to get some dinner. Cinema later. Take care!
Monday, January 18, 2010
Getting Ideas
Recently I've been getting ideas for things that aren't all related with writing fiction. That's a strange experience for me; normally my life consists of fiction as an escape from reality. Now I'm in the process of putting together a poetry book, organising my Sooper Sekrit Project, and considering taking on another task that would get my name out there in a different field... non-fiction!
Let's put everything in perspective first of all. My fiction isn't dead, just crazy. Actually, I'm the crazy one, would be more accurate to say. Instead of writing down my ideas for my books, I'm speaking out dialogue in a whisper in the bathroom every time I go in there. Gotta love showers for that - I can spend a few minutes waking up in the water in the morning, then when I'm drying myself, which I spend far too long doing anyway, I can go through plots and conversations and all sorts of stuff. I better start writing them all down though.
As for the poetry book... I need to organise the order of the poems still. I'm going to print them tomorrow before college to encourage me to do it. For now, though, I'm going to arrange promotion. Already setting targets for the followers of the Facebook page to meet in terms of getting new fans - 750 by Friday? Easy. 736 as I'm writing this. People are awesome at reducing World Suck (world suck, for those of you who don't know is a term used my the Vlog Brothers John and Hank Green to describe things that make the world suck.. fairly straightforward, you'll agree).
The Sooper Sekrit Project now has one draft of a List of Awesome, 2010. The list contains ten items that are awesome that will be included in the project in the year, assuming it ever gets going. If I don't get additional help on this, it'll just be me. Scary thought, but I think I can do it.
Then there's that new idea... I want to do a sort of magazine thing. It's going to be a monthly or bi-monthly piece with essays on different things in the world. So I'd have a piece of Theology, which could be discussion of the Church, or a journey of self-discovery, or a piece on Justice. Then there'd be a Poetry section, which might include a couple of specially written poems, maybe some Haiku, and a recommendation for some poetry too (as I'm studying Poetry in college right now, and I run a writers group, this part should be easy). I'm also thinking of a writing piece or two - advice from my own experiences to help people get past problems, a writing experiment or two, an interview with someone I know online, or just an essay on books. And a few reviews, if I have any I'd like to share. Recommended reading for different ages for kids, and stuff like that. I might even have a photography section, if it can be arranged.
As well as topical things like that, I'd also have a kind of follow-up on things happening in my life that are book related - the Den and anything we do, Poetry Against Cancer, the Sooper Sekrit Project, and any info, if any, on my publishing progress.
The entire thing will be in A5 on paper, but also available in e-format. I'd be charging very cheaply for issues after the first, if I go ahead with this, but the first one will be free to keep people coming back for more if they like it.
Which means I'd need a subscriber page, too. Maybe a giveaway...
Good thing I placed an order for some books earlier! I'm already planning one giveaway, but if this gets going I'll plan other stuff. Hopefully if I get a fairly decent reader-size the prizes will fund themselves. It'll be done through Lulu.com, so it'll be easy to manage revenue and whatnot.
Oh, I never told you my name for the magazine. Well, since it's my magazine, about writing and other things, The Anonymous Writer, to fit in with my Twitter and YouTube names. And if this actually makes me any money, I'll have to try get a website. That would be so cool!
Now.. thoughts, anyone?
Let's put everything in perspective first of all. My fiction isn't dead, just crazy. Actually, I'm the crazy one, would be more accurate to say. Instead of writing down my ideas for my books, I'm speaking out dialogue in a whisper in the bathroom every time I go in there. Gotta love showers for that - I can spend a few minutes waking up in the water in the morning, then when I'm drying myself, which I spend far too long doing anyway, I can go through plots and conversations and all sorts of stuff. I better start writing them all down though.
As for the poetry book... I need to organise the order of the poems still. I'm going to print them tomorrow before college to encourage me to do it. For now, though, I'm going to arrange promotion. Already setting targets for the followers of the Facebook page to meet in terms of getting new fans - 750 by Friday? Easy. 736 as I'm writing this. People are awesome at reducing World Suck (world suck, for those of you who don't know is a term used my the Vlog Brothers John and Hank Green to describe things that make the world suck.. fairly straightforward, you'll agree).
The Sooper Sekrit Project now has one draft of a List of Awesome, 2010. The list contains ten items that are awesome that will be included in the project in the year, assuming it ever gets going. If I don't get additional help on this, it'll just be me. Scary thought, but I think I can do it.
Then there's that new idea... I want to do a sort of magazine thing. It's going to be a monthly or bi-monthly piece with essays on different things in the world. So I'd have a piece of Theology, which could be discussion of the Church, or a journey of self-discovery, or a piece on Justice. Then there'd be a Poetry section, which might include a couple of specially written poems, maybe some Haiku, and a recommendation for some poetry too (as I'm studying Poetry in college right now, and I run a writers group, this part should be easy). I'm also thinking of a writing piece or two - advice from my own experiences to help people get past problems, a writing experiment or two, an interview with someone I know online, or just an essay on books. And a few reviews, if I have any I'd like to share. Recommended reading for different ages for kids, and stuff like that. I might even have a photography section, if it can be arranged.
As well as topical things like that, I'd also have a kind of follow-up on things happening in my life that are book related - the Den and anything we do, Poetry Against Cancer, the Sooper Sekrit Project, and any info, if any, on my publishing progress.
The entire thing will be in A5 on paper, but also available in e-format. I'd be charging very cheaply for issues after the first, if I go ahead with this, but the first one will be free to keep people coming back for more if they like it.
Which means I'd need a subscriber page, too. Maybe a giveaway...
Good thing I placed an order for some books earlier! I'm already planning one giveaway, but if this gets going I'll plan other stuff. Hopefully if I get a fairly decent reader-size the prizes will fund themselves. It'll be done through Lulu.com, so it'll be easy to manage revenue and whatnot.
Oh, I never told you my name for the magazine. Well, since it's my magazine, about writing and other things, The Anonymous Writer, to fit in with my Twitter and YouTube names. And if this actually makes me any money, I'll have to try get a website. That would be so cool!
Now.. thoughts, anyone?
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Fan-Fiction..?
I don't get it... Fan-fiction I mean. I really just don't get it. I mean, why? Someone tell me why you would write a story about a story you already love? Are you not afraid of ruining it for yourself, or others? You all know about the protective barrier established around Amy - if you insult her over her blog at the Literary Den, you will be dealt with appropriately.
Anyway, someone actually responded to our blog with her own blog post, and it wasn't BiPagan from before (who, as it turns out, is a lovely person and didn't encourage insults en masse at Amy ^_^). This new person is called The Dead Parrot, and her post can be found here. (gosh I hope it is a girl after saying it a few times...)
I tried to respond politely to her on her blog, only to discover that I can't... Sucks, doesn't it? So I've no way of getting my comment over to her, unless she finds this blog post. Anyway, here's what I had to say to her:
***
Hello there. I came across your blog through the Literary Den Blog Stats, saying that people were referred to our page through yours. Just thought a polite response was in order (if I don't come across as polite, I apologise - I sometimes fail in that manner...)
Firstly, the largely quoted paragraph... I just think I should point out that Amy has just gotten past the stage of fan-fiction meaning a lot to her (as far as I know.) We don't condemn fan-fic in the Den, Amy just wanted to discuss it in the blog (we don't like monitoring what our bloggers say; they have opinions, so let them be heard). So, please don't be angry with her for your entire point number 3 ^_^
I also thought I should bring some of the comments made on the blog to your attention, in case you didn't bother reading them (not everyone likes to read everything about a blog, I understand that ^_^). Okay, so yes the point of originality was made (“I don’t have anything against fan-fic, but I just don’t get it. If you want to write, write something origional… but I do get that it’s probably good practice for people.”) but the person in question did also say that he doesn't get fan-fiction. Much in the same way I don't. In my case though, it's not because I don't think it doesn't count (except that it can't be published for profit, because that's illegal). No, rather I don't get fan-fiction because I'm afraid that I'll be less of a fan of something if my opinion is changed about a character in the story by either reading or writing the fan-fic in question. I think you can understand that - you like fan-fiction because it lets you do what you want with a story. At least, that's the impression I'm getting from your blog post.
Another comment also said, “...there are only two types of writing, good writing and bad writing. And, if you are writing fan fiction it’s still writing, no matter what some people might think of it.” I think this is rather good support for fan-fiction, and in case you might be choosing to condemn the blog because of Amy's post, keep it in mind that there are a lot of mixed opinions out there (and the two people I quoted from are self-acclaimed writing snobs...)
So, I think that's all I had to say. Thanks for reading our blog, and I hope you come back ^_^ Also, please feel free to comment on our blog if you want to say something to the gang (not everyone is as mad as I am to go looking for who's writing about us =P)
All the very best,
Paul Carroll,
Founder of the Literary Den.
***
I think I came across politely... I hope I did, anyway. If I get a response, I'll make sure to share it with y'all. (yup, I said y'all...)
So... someone explain fan-fiction, then?
Anyway, someone actually responded to our blog with her own blog post, and it wasn't BiPagan from before (who, as it turns out, is a lovely person and didn't encourage insults en masse at Amy ^_^). This new person is called The Dead Parrot, and her post can be found here. (gosh I hope it is a girl after saying it a few times...)
I tried to respond politely to her on her blog, only to discover that I can't... Sucks, doesn't it? So I've no way of getting my comment over to her, unless she finds this blog post. Anyway, here's what I had to say to her:
***
Hello there. I came across your blog through the Literary Den Blog Stats, saying that people were referred to our page through yours. Just thought a polite response was in order (if I don't come across as polite, I apologise - I sometimes fail in that manner...)
Firstly, the largely quoted paragraph... I just think I should point out that Amy has just gotten past the stage of fan-fiction meaning a lot to her (as far as I know.) We don't condemn fan-fic in the Den, Amy just wanted to discuss it in the blog (we don't like monitoring what our bloggers say; they have opinions, so let them be heard). So, please don't be angry with her for your entire point number 3 ^_^
I also thought I should bring some of the comments made on the blog to your attention, in case you didn't bother reading them (not everyone likes to read everything about a blog, I understand that ^_^). Okay, so yes the point of originality was made (“I don’t have anything against fan-fic, but I just don’t get it. If you want to write, write something origional… but I do get that it’s probably good practice for people.”) but the person in question did also say that he doesn't get fan-fiction. Much in the same way I don't. In my case though, it's not because I don't think it doesn't count (except that it can't be published for profit, because that's illegal). No, rather I don't get fan-fiction because I'm afraid that I'll be less of a fan of something if my opinion is changed about a character in the story by either reading or writing the fan-fic in question. I think you can understand that - you like fan-fiction because it lets you do what you want with a story. At least, that's the impression I'm getting from your blog post.
Another comment also said, “...there are only two types of writing, good writing and bad writing. And, if you are writing fan fiction it’s still writing, no matter what some people might think of it.” I think this is rather good support for fan-fiction, and in case you might be choosing to condemn the blog because of Amy's post, keep it in mind that there are a lot of mixed opinions out there (and the two people I quoted from are self-acclaimed writing snobs...)
So, I think that's all I had to say. Thanks for reading our blog, and I hope you come back ^_^ Also, please feel free to comment on our blog if you want to say something to the gang (not everyone is as mad as I am to go looking for who's writing about us =P)
All the very best,
Paul Carroll,
Founder of the Literary Den.
***
I think I came across politely... I hope I did, anyway. If I get a response, I'll make sure to share it with y'all. (yup, I said y'all...)
So... someone explain fan-fiction, then?
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
In Defence of Amy
My good friend Amy Claire Thompson recently wrote a blog post for the Literary Den called In Defense of Fan-Fiction. We all rather liked it; she's started a good conversation, which we used to have all the time on the forum, and she's gotten some attention from the outside world.
Unfortunately, it's not been very good attention. There's a blog that's been discussing Amy's post and regarding it with a certain level of disdain. They don't believe fan-fiction needs defending... they're obviously not looking at it from an outsiders point of view. Now, Amy has written fan-fic in the past, but she's gotten over it, and so she can look at it from both sides of the line. Her readers, however, look at it as writers of fan-fiction. Apparently they don't think she needs to point out that there's actually a good side to fan-fiction, if you know where to look.
See, they're all pretty pissed off that Amy chose to defend it in the first place. Either you get it or you don't, apparently. Now, I don't want to cause a protest, but there are lots of things you get or you don't that generally don't require defending because they're designed to be a certain way - horror doesn't require defending, because generally horror filled with blood and gore or indeed lacking it but still being scary, that's still horror and we expect it to be that way; erotic fiction is written to be a turn on, if you're into that sort of thing, and as such is filled with all the sorts of... nouns that you expect to find in its pages; gay and lesbian fiction is marked as thus to avoid confusion with erotic fiction readers (just saying).
And you know what else? People get or don't get all of these things. Some completely avoid any genres, going for regular old Literary Fiction. Now, a lot aren't afraid to admit to their particular snobbery. Brendan and Sam from the Den have just come out and said they are writer snobs, because anything other than Literary Fiction won't do... Not everyone gets it, because there are people who just love genre.
All of these things do exactly what they say on the cover. Fan-fiction... not so much. It's fiction written by fans, yes, but it can take the form of anything! It's deceptive in that way, and can result in reader disgust when they find that lovely Harry Potter fan-fic turning into something devious and vile. So.. that doesn't need defending? The whole system of fan-fiction doesn't need defending? If it's simple enough to make these accusations (because let's face it, I'm not the most controversial blogger out there, and I certainly don't over think my blogs, and even I can write about how bad fan-fiction can be).
So, did Amy deserve all the stick she got? Certainly not! She's just expressing her opinions and actually standing up for an area of writing that gets far too much stick than she thinks it deserves.
And while I'm on the topic of fan-fiction... you can't publish it, because it's illegal; not just adults read and write it, so it should be strictly divided into adult and children's fan-fiction (two people claimed on the Den to have written Harry Potter fan-fic as 11 year olds - send them to the wrong place and wham! Their childhoods are over!); fan-fiction can be a load of drivel, but it's not alone. There, I've said it - actual fiction, not the regurgitated images of other people's creation (or other people...) can be rubbish. Take Twilight for example - it's Stephenie Meyer's sexual fantasy (she clearly says it was a dream and she clearly describes Bella Swan as being a younger version of herself) and it's what we like to call Thesaurus Rape (I can't quite recall who else is a member of this "We" of which I speak...)
Now, who thinks fan-fiction needs defending?
Unfortunately, it's not been very good attention. There's a blog that's been discussing Amy's post and regarding it with a certain level of disdain. They don't believe fan-fiction needs defending... they're obviously not looking at it from an outsiders point of view. Now, Amy has written fan-fic in the past, but she's gotten over it, and so she can look at it from both sides of the line. Her readers, however, look at it as writers of fan-fiction. Apparently they don't think she needs to point out that there's actually a good side to fan-fiction, if you know where to look.
See, they're all pretty pissed off that Amy chose to defend it in the first place. Either you get it or you don't, apparently. Now, I don't want to cause a protest, but there are lots of things you get or you don't that generally don't require defending because they're designed to be a certain way - horror doesn't require defending, because generally horror filled with blood and gore or indeed lacking it but still being scary, that's still horror and we expect it to be that way; erotic fiction is written to be a turn on, if you're into that sort of thing, and as such is filled with all the sorts of... nouns that you expect to find in its pages; gay and lesbian fiction is marked as thus to avoid confusion with erotic fiction readers (just saying).
And you know what else? People get or don't get all of these things. Some completely avoid any genres, going for regular old Literary Fiction. Now, a lot aren't afraid to admit to their particular snobbery. Brendan and Sam from the Den have just come out and said they are writer snobs, because anything other than Literary Fiction won't do... Not everyone gets it, because there are people who just love genre.
All of these things do exactly what they say on the cover. Fan-fiction... not so much. It's fiction written by fans, yes, but it can take the form of anything! It's deceptive in that way, and can result in reader disgust when they find that lovely Harry Potter fan-fic turning into something devious and vile. So.. that doesn't need defending? The whole system of fan-fiction doesn't need defending? If it's simple enough to make these accusations (because let's face it, I'm not the most controversial blogger out there, and I certainly don't over think my blogs, and even I can write about how bad fan-fiction can be).
So, did Amy deserve all the stick she got? Certainly not! She's just expressing her opinions and actually standing up for an area of writing that gets far too much stick than she thinks it deserves.
And while I'm on the topic of fan-fiction... you can't publish it, because it's illegal; not just adults read and write it, so it should be strictly divided into adult and children's fan-fiction (two people claimed on the Den to have written Harry Potter fan-fic as 11 year olds - send them to the wrong place and wham! Their childhoods are over!); fan-fiction can be a load of drivel, but it's not alone. There, I've said it - actual fiction, not the regurgitated images of other people's creation (or other people...) can be rubbish. Take Twilight for example - it's Stephenie Meyer's sexual fantasy (she clearly says it was a dream and she clearly describes Bella Swan as being a younger version of herself) and it's what we like to call Thesaurus Rape (I can't quite recall who else is a member of this "We" of which I speak...)
Now, who thinks fan-fiction needs defending?
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Need magazine help
Hello readers,
An idea arose the other day when the lovely Rachel Phipps came looking for an assignment for the Literary Den Magazine. I suggested something on an Indie Bookstore that was local to her, and from there, my idea expanded. What if we followed a different Indie Bookshop each issue?
That's where y'all come in.
I need volunteers to go to their local Indie Bookshops, or even just their local bookshop if it's not Indie, and check out a few things (details to follow, upon signing up). One important thing I need though, besides your valuable time and questioning of booksellers, is a photograph. Don't worry, it doesn't have to be you in the photo (generally if one is taking a photograph, one isn't also in front of the lens). No, I want the photo to be the view of the shop from the front door, or the view of the front door, or the most interesting point in the shop. The photographs will then all be put together as a collage to build up an important image for what could very well be the first cover of the magazine.
So please please please help! Anyone who does will be entered into the draw for one of three signed copies of our 2009 Anthology, upon submission of the final piece. Simply email me at literary_mania(at)yahoo(dot)ie and tell me you're interested.
Thanks a million!
An idea arose the other day when the lovely Rachel Phipps came looking for an assignment for the Literary Den Magazine. I suggested something on an Indie Bookstore that was local to her, and from there, my idea expanded. What if we followed a different Indie Bookshop each issue?
That's where y'all come in.
I need volunteers to go to their local Indie Bookshops, or even just their local bookshop if it's not Indie, and check out a few things (details to follow, upon signing up). One important thing I need though, besides your valuable time and questioning of booksellers, is a photograph. Don't worry, it doesn't have to be you in the photo (generally if one is taking a photograph, one isn't also in front of the lens). No, I want the photo to be the view of the shop from the front door, or the view of the front door, or the most interesting point in the shop. The photographs will then all be put together as a collage to build up an important image for what could very well be the first cover of the magazine.
So please please please help! Anyone who does will be entered into the draw for one of three signed copies of our 2009 Anthology, upon submission of the final piece. Simply email me at literary_mania(at)yahoo(dot)ie and tell me you're interested.
Thanks a million!
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Journey of a Thousand Miles
The ancient Chinese (or is it Japanese.. sorry, I'm confused now) proverb says The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. As far as I'm concerned, this is utter nonsense. Yes, it's stating the truth, the obvious truth that you have to begin before you get anywhere, but come on! A thousand miles - a single step won't do you much good unless it's onto a rocket that will fly you a thousand miles.
In my case, my journey begins rather boringly with not a step, but a chair, a laptop and a pre-registration form. My journey begins for real after that, I suppose. This is more like packing. And where am I going, I hear you ask? College!
Yes, this wee little blogger is on his way to the wider world where he gets to become scared of things like six year olds and paste until finally he escapes all that for fourteen years olds and clay. Admittedly, I won't be going near the clay, but teenage boys in art rooms like to throw clay about the place. It's annoying. I haven't even begun studying to become a teacher and I find it annoying.
Teacher, you ask? Yes, teacher. My course is one part Religion (well, really two parts Religion), one part English (proof there is a God, justifying the second part Religion) and one part Education. We'll do all sorts of fun stuff like discuss good and evil in Star Wars, watch the Simpsons, read loads of books and partake in four areas of work experience, one each year. How cool is that going to be?
This is the biggest thing that's happened to me since... ever! I'm actually going to doing something that counts towards my future (unlike the Leaving Cert, which is also like packing for this journey). And by the end of the course, I'll be qualified to teacher people Religion and English in secondary school. Yay!
Don't worry though. This isn't the end of my blog. Not by a long shot. If anything, it's actually helping my blog! You're probably wondering now how a college course will help my blog. Scroll up a wee bit there. See where I mention "read loads of books"? Yeah, that's what's going to change. Yes, I read books, but I've been writing a lot lately, instead of reading the books I want to read. College will broaden my selection of books reviewed on this blog, and maybe get me into reading a lot more than I already am. Fun fun fun!
The only downside to college, and this is both big and small; none of my friends are going to be there. They're all going to a different school so I'm stuck with, wait for it, my twin! Agh! I thought I was rid of him when I left secondary school, but obviously not. Still, it could be worse... Not a lot worse, mind you, just worse.
More fun things happening though; the college has two socities I'm currently interested in. A magazine and a film society! Hurray! I was already on a magazine and I vlog weekly (sometimes more than once) so they're perfect for me. Next in line - Niamh's birthday party! I love nights out like this. I'm not really a night life sort of person, and I don't drink, so my times out are always for something special like a birthday. And it's Niamh's birthday! And two days later, my Debs! Yay again! Niamh is going with me to that too. She'll be in turquoise, I'll be in a black tux with a silver waistcoat and silver cravat. In a limo. With a kareoke machine. Fun fun fun!
More stuff happening too! (I know, this list of great things happening is unfairly long, isn't it?) The Literary Den, with our fabulous new blog ( http://literaryden.wordpress.com ) all set up, are releasing a couple of things in the near future. One is our soon to be annual fiction anthology in aid of The Laura Crane Trust, and the other is a couple of t-shirts that will raise money towards funding the administrative stuff for the Den (like the website, and removing ads from the forum) so that we can give more back to the public. So excited about showing them all off on my YouTube channel too! ( http://www.youtube.com/writeranonymous )
I think that's it for now. I know, long blog post compared to some of my others ones. And this is only what i know right now! In the future, I'll be trying to add blog posts about NaNoWriMo and some music I'm listening to, and obviously more reviews of books and stuff like that. Until next time, though, take care!
In my case, my journey begins rather boringly with not a step, but a chair, a laptop and a pre-registration form. My journey begins for real after that, I suppose. This is more like packing. And where am I going, I hear you ask? College!
Yes, this wee little blogger is on his way to the wider world where he gets to become scared of things like six year olds and paste until finally he escapes all that for fourteen years olds and clay. Admittedly, I won't be going near the clay, but teenage boys in art rooms like to throw clay about the place. It's annoying. I haven't even begun studying to become a teacher and I find it annoying.
Teacher, you ask? Yes, teacher. My course is one part Religion (well, really two parts Religion), one part English (proof there is a God, justifying the second part Religion) and one part Education. We'll do all sorts of fun stuff like discuss good and evil in Star Wars, watch the Simpsons, read loads of books and partake in four areas of work experience, one each year. How cool is that going to be?
This is the biggest thing that's happened to me since... ever! I'm actually going to doing something that counts towards my future (unlike the Leaving Cert, which is also like packing for this journey). And by the end of the course, I'll be qualified to teacher people Religion and English in secondary school. Yay!
Don't worry though. This isn't the end of my blog. Not by a long shot. If anything, it's actually helping my blog! You're probably wondering now how a college course will help my blog. Scroll up a wee bit there. See where I mention "read loads of books"? Yeah, that's what's going to change. Yes, I read books, but I've been writing a lot lately, instead of reading the books I want to read. College will broaden my selection of books reviewed on this blog, and maybe get me into reading a lot more than I already am. Fun fun fun!
The only downside to college, and this is both big and small; none of my friends are going to be there. They're all going to a different school so I'm stuck with, wait for it, my twin! Agh! I thought I was rid of him when I left secondary school, but obviously not. Still, it could be worse... Not a lot worse, mind you, just worse.
More fun things happening though; the college has two socities I'm currently interested in. A magazine and a film society! Hurray! I was already on a magazine and I vlog weekly (sometimes more than once) so they're perfect for me. Next in line - Niamh's birthday party! I love nights out like this. I'm not really a night life sort of person, and I don't drink, so my times out are always for something special like a birthday. And it's Niamh's birthday! And two days later, my Debs! Yay again! Niamh is going with me to that too. She'll be in turquoise, I'll be in a black tux with a silver waistcoat and silver cravat. In a limo. With a kareoke machine. Fun fun fun!
More stuff happening too! (I know, this list of great things happening is unfairly long, isn't it?) The Literary Den, with our fabulous new blog ( http://literaryden.wordpress.com ) all set up, are releasing a couple of things in the near future. One is our soon to be annual fiction anthology in aid of The Laura Crane Trust, and the other is a couple of t-shirts that will raise money towards funding the administrative stuff for the Den (like the website, and removing ads from the forum) so that we can give more back to the public. So excited about showing them all off on my YouTube channel too! ( http://www.youtube.com/writeranonymous )
I think that's it for now. I know, long blog post compared to some of my others ones. And this is only what i know right now! In the future, I'll be trying to add blog posts about NaNoWriMo and some music I'm listening to, and obviously more reviews of books and stuff like that. Until next time, though, take care!
Friday, September 11, 2009
Update on the writing...
Sorry I've been away for so long; I've been writing. Mad, isn't it? A writer actually writing!
Right now, The Jump stands at 25,500 words! Yahoo! I'm loving the book so far and there's still plenty to go. This book is like Geneticide, only for younger readers, yet more mature. How strange is that! It's darker too, evident from some of the things some characters can do. But it's fun to write. I listen to Hollywood Undead as I write mainly. They aren't too distracting; it's just some humourous rock-rap music (plus, Michael Grant, author of Gone, listens to them!).
I'm using The Jump to do some things I really wanted to do with Geneticide but never got the chance. Characters have hero and villain names (not all of them, mind you) and there are predjudices against them because of what the villains do. The "bad guys" are all pretty messed up too, unlike a lot of them in Geneticide. I want this to be a fun YA novel, so I'm fulfilling a particular stereotype of comic-book supervillains; they're mental! And I mean that literally. They've got issues they can't handle.
So far, I'm six days into the story, which is counted from the beginning of Emily Quigley's gifted escape from people with guns. You might be wondering if that makes Emily safe as a character; I can confirm that it does not. Other things in the story might, but that doesn't. It's simply a method of keeping track on the story.
This and Meet Sam are my two big novels. They'll be going out to publishers when there are second and third books written in each of them. The two books are completely different, I might add. One takes place in modern Dublin, with nothing quite strange happening that isn't contained in the protagonists head. The other takes place on the east coast of the US, with younger characters, all of whom have super powers, and weird stuff still happens (weird even to them, I might add).
I've got no idea where I might send The Jump yet, although my boss in work has an inkling at what might happen ;-)
Moving on from the writing for today, I've got a new YouTube video online! In this significantly shorter video, I discuss my Purpose Videos!
Right now, The Jump stands at 25,500 words! Yahoo! I'm loving the book so far and there's still plenty to go. This book is like Geneticide, only for younger readers, yet more mature. How strange is that! It's darker too, evident from some of the things some characters can do. But it's fun to write. I listen to Hollywood Undead as I write mainly. They aren't too distracting; it's just some humourous rock-rap music (plus, Michael Grant, author of Gone, listens to them!).
I'm using The Jump to do some things I really wanted to do with Geneticide but never got the chance. Characters have hero and villain names (not all of them, mind you) and there are predjudices against them because of what the villains do. The "bad guys" are all pretty messed up too, unlike a lot of them in Geneticide. I want this to be a fun YA novel, so I'm fulfilling a particular stereotype of comic-book supervillains; they're mental! And I mean that literally. They've got issues they can't handle.
So far, I'm six days into the story, which is counted from the beginning of Emily Quigley's gifted escape from people with guns. You might be wondering if that makes Emily safe as a character; I can confirm that it does not. Other things in the story might, but that doesn't. It's simply a method of keeping track on the story.
This and Meet Sam are my two big novels. They'll be going out to publishers when there are second and third books written in each of them. The two books are completely different, I might add. One takes place in modern Dublin, with nothing quite strange happening that isn't contained in the protagonists head. The other takes place on the east coast of the US, with younger characters, all of whom have super powers, and weird stuff still happens (weird even to them, I might add).
I've got no idea where I might send The Jump yet, although my boss in work has an inkling at what might happen ;-)
Moving on from the writing for today, I've got a new YouTube video online! In this significantly shorter video, I discuss my Purpose Videos!
The Purpose Videos will be going live over the next three days. I've got three recorded now, but if you want to know the purpose of something in my life, please feel free to ask with a comment or a message or an email of some description.
Also, the Literary Den Blog has gone live! I insist you go to read it, now! The link is: http://literaryden.wordpress.com - I was first, then Andy, and today, Sam. Enjoy!
Until next time, dear reader, take care!
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Writing Magazines
Well, during my ventures yesterday in Dublin's City Centre, I purchased a few things. One is an album you're not interested in, and a couple of books that I'm not interested in telling you about at this point in time. I did, however, also make a couple of purchases in Eason. I don't normally like to do this, but it was a special case - magazines.
Two of them, to be precise, with another arriving in the post at the same time. Writing Magazine and Writers' Forum are now added to my collection, alongside my two-year subscription to The Stinging Fly. The latter is pretty much made up of short stories and poetry, and I received the subscription from my brothers for my eighteenth birthday.
The other magazines are all about writing. I'm experimenting with them at first, to see which I prefer. I might like them both, but for now I'm going to assume that's not the case, for my bank account's sake. Starting with Writers' Forum, I've already discovered some interesting things to help me in my endeavors that I will be partaking in, namely trying to freelance.
This is added to the multiple novels and short stories I'm already working on. And do you know, I can't wait.
While I'm here, I may as well remind the delightful public about the Literary Den magazine and giveaway. Click here for the full story, with info on submitting and the prize.
Two of them, to be precise, with another arriving in the post at the same time. Writing Magazine and Writers' Forum are now added to my collection, alongside my two-year subscription to The Stinging Fly. The latter is pretty much made up of short stories and poetry, and I received the subscription from my brothers for my eighteenth birthday.
The other magazines are all about writing. I'm experimenting with them at first, to see which I prefer. I might like them both, but for now I'm going to assume that's not the case, for my bank account's sake. Starting with Writers' Forum, I've already discovered some interesting things to help me in my endeavors that I will be partaking in, namely trying to freelance.
This is added to the multiple novels and short stories I'm already working on. And do you know, I can't wait.
While I'm here, I may as well remind the delightful public about the Literary Den magazine and giveaway. Click here for the full story, with info on submitting and the prize.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Magazine Competition
Hi all!
Well, I've been discussing this on the Lit Den forums, and we're hosting a raffle of sorts, a giveaway. It's very easy, for the fiction writers, journalists, poets, artists and photographers to be in with a shot at winning.
Now, we can't afford to just hand out books like other people (although I do have a few I will probably be giving away at some stage). However, we have three copies of The Literary Den Book of New Fiction 2009 to give away to the public when it's released. As far as I know, this will be in the middle of July, or perhaps a little later.
So here's how to win. Very easy, just submit to our magazine! Every submission, including those already made by members of the public, will be entered into a RANDOM draw to win one of the three books. All the money from the books goes to the Laura Crane Trust (reg. 1058464), based in Huddersfield, Yorkshire.
So what to submit?
We're accepting: articles relevant to the literary world, preferrably not something that will be old news very quickly; short stories in any genre, although if you're aiming for younger readers, please mention that; poems on any topic; comic strips which can be expected to continue through the magazine; artwork and photography that displays a message, or is a demonstration of real talent; writing tips, although it should be pointed out that we will be reading these, and if no one can see the point in what you're saying, it's likely it won't get in (general tips work best; the more experience you have, the better); book reviews of your favourite books, ever - any related to members of the Den are even better!
When to submit?
Right up to the release, and beyond. Although, unless there are huge delays, the competition will close the moment the book hits the proverbial bookshelf. Take it as being mid-July, but keep an eye on our Twitter to get the finalised date.
Where to submit to?
I will be accepting all magazine entries. Send them to literary_mania(at)yahoo(dot)ie with the subject line Magazine Submission on or before the closing date to be entered. All successful entries will be published in the magazine, though not all in the same issue, based on the number of submissions we get.
This is a new magazine people, specifically for the public! Tell your friends!
Note of word limits
Short stories up to 3,000 words will be accepted. We would prefer a minimum of 1,500 words, although less than that may still be published. Articles and reviews must not exceed 1,500 words, unless the subject content is large; contact us in advance if you're not sure. Poems can be of any length, though poems of length greater than 80 lines may not be published. Comic strips may consist of 1-6 panels. If successful, expect further contact to arrange sequel comics.
The Literary Den reserves the right not to publish work (although this doesn't happen a lot after we've said 'yes.') Please send in material in an editted form. The prize of three books may be subject to change, although such changes will be made public the moment they are final. Copyright remains with the author, although by submitting to the Literary Den, we reserve the right to publish your work elsewhere - note that the members of the Literary Den are not making a profit from the magazine or other sales. Any money the Den does acquire that is not related to the Laura Crane Trust will be used to further the promotion and development of the Den, and will not be split among the active parties of the Den.
Also note that successful poets will be contacted to submit to the an Anthology of Poetry, editted by Elizabeth Dyer.
Any further questions can be posted here, or emailed to me @ literary_mania(at)yahoo(dot)ie
Thanks for reading, and good luck!
Well, I've been discussing this on the Lit Den forums, and we're hosting a raffle of sorts, a giveaway. It's very easy, for the fiction writers, journalists, poets, artists and photographers to be in with a shot at winning.
Now, we can't afford to just hand out books like other people (although I do have a few I will probably be giving away at some stage). However, we have three copies of The Literary Den Book of New Fiction 2009 to give away to the public when it's released. As far as I know, this will be in the middle of July, or perhaps a little later.
So here's how to win. Very easy, just submit to our magazine! Every submission, including those already made by members of the public, will be entered into a RANDOM draw to win one of the three books. All the money from the books goes to the Laura Crane Trust (reg. 1058464), based in Huddersfield, Yorkshire.
So what to submit?
We're accepting: articles relevant to the literary world, preferrably not something that will be old news very quickly; short stories in any genre, although if you're aiming for younger readers, please mention that; poems on any topic; comic strips which can be expected to continue through the magazine; artwork and photography that displays a message, or is a demonstration of real talent; writing tips, although it should be pointed out that we will be reading these, and if no one can see the point in what you're saying, it's likely it won't get in (general tips work best; the more experience you have, the better); book reviews of your favourite books, ever - any related to members of the Den are even better!
When to submit?
Right up to the release, and beyond. Although, unless there are huge delays, the competition will close the moment the book hits the proverbial bookshelf. Take it as being mid-July, but keep an eye on our Twitter to get the finalised date.
Where to submit to?
I will be accepting all magazine entries. Send them to literary_mania(at)yahoo(dot)ie with the subject line Magazine Submission on or before the closing date to be entered. All successful entries will be published in the magazine, though not all in the same issue, based on the number of submissions we get.
This is a new magazine people, specifically for the public! Tell your friends!
Note of word limits
Short stories up to 3,000 words will be accepted. We would prefer a minimum of 1,500 words, although less than that may still be published. Articles and reviews must not exceed 1,500 words, unless the subject content is large; contact us in advance if you're not sure. Poems can be of any length, though poems of length greater than 80 lines may not be published. Comic strips may consist of 1-6 panels. If successful, expect further contact to arrange sequel comics.
The Literary Den reserves the right not to publish work (although this doesn't happen a lot after we've said 'yes.') Please send in material in an editted form. The prize of three books may be subject to change, although such changes will be made public the moment they are final. Copyright remains with the author, although by submitting to the Literary Den, we reserve the right to publish your work elsewhere - note that the members of the Literary Den are not making a profit from the magazine or other sales. Any money the Den does acquire that is not related to the Laura Crane Trust will be used to further the promotion and development of the Den, and will not be split among the active parties of the Den.
Also note that successful poets will be contacted to submit to the an Anthology of Poetry, editted by Elizabeth Dyer.
Any further questions can be posted here, or emailed to me @ literary_mania(at)yahoo(dot)ie
Thanks for reading, and good luck!
Friday, May 22, 2009
Love me some new fiction
Well, I've recently discovered a new author. Well, he's not new, but I only recently discovered him; it was last night, via Twitter. I used the Quick Search on my iPod, Twitterific. Jeremy C. Shipp, a fantastic American author.
I read two of his short stories and fell in love with them. Scratch and Camp, excellent reads, and very disturbing. I must recommend them to Andy Walker, a huge fan of horror!
In the mean time, I need to find more new fiction, and possibly invite Mr Shipp to the Den! I think he'd make an excellent addition to the crew!
I read two of his short stories and fell in love with them. Scratch and Camp, excellent reads, and very disturbing. I must recommend them to Andy Walker, a huge fan of horror!
In the mean time, I need to find more new fiction, and possibly invite Mr Shipp to the Den! I think he'd make an excellent addition to the crew!
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Link(age) and more!
Hey all,
So, following my Bloody Heel blog and with this current one, I've officially blogged more this month than I did all last year! Hurray!
I'd also like to make everyone aware of a new link in the side bar there =>
You'll be brought to the Literary Den Campaign page at the Battlefront website. Worth a look (and a vote). Cheers!
So, following my Bloody Heel blog and with this current one, I've officially blogged more this month than I did all last year! Hurray!
I'd also like to make everyone aware of a new link in the side bar there =>
You'll be brought to the Literary Den Campaign page at the Battlefront website. Worth a look (and a vote). Cheers!
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
My grand scheming...
Hello world! I've been scheming behind the scenes for the latest development in the Literary Den. I've sent four emails to four seperate parties independant of the Den, and received only one reply so far, which led to a phone call. However, it's the first and most vital step and I'm glad to report that it was a resounding success, even if no one knows about it.
The emails all concern the Den and it's members, although I won't specify which ones. That would be giving away the secret, and I'd prefer to torture the various members that keep an eye on me so that when the news gets out they'll be happy I didn't spoil the surprise. If the three remaining recipients of my emails all reply positively, then I'm one more phone call away from getting another thing organised. I won't say who I have to call until it all begins. It's big though, trust me on that one.
In the time I've been gone from this blog, I've been overly active on Twitter. Follow me, you know you want to.
I've also stumbled across a number of very interesting details, all of which affect the Den's campaign. Now, forgive the copy and paste job here, but this is what I've said on the forum:
The Espresso Book Machine
Hey Gang!
There's been a revolution in book printing I wanted to share with you. Thanks to a certain Mr Niall Kelly at work, I found out about a machine that can print and bind books in five minutes. It's amazing!
Now, I don't know what titles are available, as I've been too busy to check... but the Guardian and a blog (I think it is) each had something to report on this fabulous creation. I suggest reading them!
Loyalty Schemes
Hi!
Hughes & Hughes, my humble place of work have launched two loyalty schemes since around April 24th. One is a Kids' Club. Every five euro spent on kids books gets one sticker. Six stickers gets five euro off the next transaction of kids books. Easy as pie.
The adult one is very similar. Launched last weekend, either the 9th or the 10th. Every ten euro, you get a stamp. A card of eight stamps gets the purchaser ten euro off anything, including book tokens. Easy peezy, lemon squeezy!
Both of these loyalty schemes (although I just mean systems, not implying there's anything sinister about them) give readers more incentive to buy more. They encourage book sales to go up, and, as such, encourage more people to read. This is good news for us! It basically gives us one place to send people who think books are too expensive, although it's unfortunately limited to Ireland at the moment.
Classic Reprints and the associated offer
Right, so Oxford have taken advantage of the fact that booksellers are looking to sell lots of books, and they've only gone and reprinted everything! All the world classics are now in new bound forms, some with the old text (James Joyce's Ulysses in the 1922 text!) but most with the new.
It's a great refreshment on the old books, and they're cheaper than before too. Then there's an added bonus. For a limited time, Hughes & Hughes (sorry, I can't report for other shops, as I don't work in them and therefore don't see them every week) are offering a 3 for 2 deal on the Classics, with mix and match on everything else too to make sure it's not just the Classics. Great stuff for us if we decide to suggest a load of Classic titles. The reprint and sales offers are also more encouraging to readers.
Irish Book Awards and Others
Every year, the Irish Book Awards are held to celebrate bookselling and other such things. The short listed titles were put on the 3 for 2 offer in (yes, you guessed it, if you've been following my other threads) Hughes and Hughes. They're still there, although the awards have been announced.
The Irish Book Awards are really prestigious. Win one and your set for sales. The winning titles are favourites, and even though it's a public vote, the winning books always sell more after they've won!
Back when Sebastian Barry won the Costa Book Award for The Secret Scripture, everyone was buying it! It's a surprise we still had copies left for the customers we'd never seen before! It was the same when Anne Enright won the Irish Book Award for The Gathering. Her sales went mad!
As a group promoting reading, we need to focus in on these awards, and the others like them. I'll see if I can get more info on the really big ones, and I suggest you do the same in the UK. Pinpointing the titles and encouraging people to take advantage of the offers on them is a great way to get more people actually reading them.
(the winners of the Irish Book Awards can be found here)
"Important News From The Bookseller @ April 17th 2009
Okay, I've had this info for too long without sharing. Some headlines I thought were interesting to us:
Sainsbury's steps up space for books.
Big changes here! I'll bullet-point them for convenience.
Printers considering more Print on Demand to remove the Warehouse costs
Anderson Press releasing e-books
The publisher are introducing 23 young adult titles in e-book format. 8 books are already on the list of e-books as of this month.The article also mentions how the main publishers all have around 100 e-books available, with Puffin leading with 150 titles. In 2009, Puffin will release 10-20 e-books a month.
Waterstones offers 10,000 e-books through it's website. It's also helpful to note, though The Bookseller doesn't say this, that Hughes & Hughes are now attempting to match this with the introduction of the Sony Reader to stores, offering 100 free classic titles to begin with, and when the website is done, a free e-book from the wide selection they hope to offer. From my knowledge of the situation, Eason are the only ones not doing this now... (correct me if I'm wrong, but remember that I can't get out much due to exams)
Amnesty Anthology released
The Amnesty Anthology has been released. It focuses on stories of freedom from well known authors. Likely to cause a stir if it's promoted properly. This could mean more people will be reading, specifically if the money goes to charity.
JK Rowling Book Day Books released again
In July, Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Wear to Find Them are being released for £5 each, a mark up of 100% on their initial releases for Comic Relief. Not sure where the money goes this time."
With all that to digest, I bid you farewell, until next time! Thanks for reading
The emails all concern the Den and it's members, although I won't specify which ones. That would be giving away the secret, and I'd prefer to torture the various members that keep an eye on me so that when the news gets out they'll be happy I didn't spoil the surprise. If the three remaining recipients of my emails all reply positively, then I'm one more phone call away from getting another thing organised. I won't say who I have to call until it all begins. It's big though, trust me on that one.
In the time I've been gone from this blog, I've been overly active on Twitter. Follow me, you know you want to.
I've also stumbled across a number of very interesting details, all of which affect the Den's campaign. Now, forgive the copy and paste job here, but this is what I've said on the forum:
The Espresso Book Machine
Hey Gang!
There's been a revolution in book printing I wanted to share with you. Thanks to a certain Mr Niall Kelly at work, I found out about a machine that can print and bind books in five minutes. It's amazing!
Now, I don't know what titles are available, as I've been too busy to check... but the Guardian and a blog (I think it is) each had something to report on this fabulous creation. I suggest reading them!
Loyalty Schemes
Hi!
Hughes & Hughes, my humble place of work have launched two loyalty schemes since around April 24th. One is a Kids' Club. Every five euro spent on kids books gets one sticker. Six stickers gets five euro off the next transaction of kids books. Easy as pie.
The adult one is very similar. Launched last weekend, either the 9th or the 10th. Every ten euro, you get a stamp. A card of eight stamps gets the purchaser ten euro off anything, including book tokens. Easy peezy, lemon squeezy!
Both of these loyalty schemes (although I just mean systems, not implying there's anything sinister about them) give readers more incentive to buy more. They encourage book sales to go up, and, as such, encourage more people to read. This is good news for us! It basically gives us one place to send people who think books are too expensive, although it's unfortunately limited to Ireland at the moment.
Classic Reprints and the associated offer
Right, so Oxford have taken advantage of the fact that booksellers are looking to sell lots of books, and they've only gone and reprinted everything! All the world classics are now in new bound forms, some with the old text (James Joyce's Ulysses in the 1922 text!) but most with the new.
It's a great refreshment on the old books, and they're cheaper than before too. Then there's an added bonus. For a limited time, Hughes & Hughes (sorry, I can't report for other shops, as I don't work in them and therefore don't see them every week) are offering a 3 for 2 deal on the Classics, with mix and match on everything else too to make sure it's not just the Classics. Great stuff for us if we decide to suggest a load of Classic titles. The reprint and sales offers are also more encouraging to readers.
Irish Book Awards and Others
Every year, the Irish Book Awards are held to celebrate bookselling and other such things. The short listed titles were put on the 3 for 2 offer in (yes, you guessed it, if you've been following my other threads) Hughes and Hughes. They're still there, although the awards have been announced.
The Irish Book Awards are really prestigious. Win one and your set for sales. The winning titles are favourites, and even though it's a public vote, the winning books always sell more after they've won!
Back when Sebastian Barry won the Costa Book Award for The Secret Scripture, everyone was buying it! It's a surprise we still had copies left for the customers we'd never seen before! It was the same when Anne Enright won the Irish Book Award for The Gathering. Her sales went mad!
As a group promoting reading, we need to focus in on these awards, and the others like them. I'll see if I can get more info on the really big ones, and I suggest you do the same in the UK. Pinpointing the titles and encouraging people to take advantage of the offers on them is a great way to get more people actually reading them.
(the winners of the Irish Book Awards can be found here)
"Important News From The Bookseller @ April 17th 2009
Okay, I've had this info for too long without sharing. Some headlines I thought were interesting to us:
Sainsbury's steps up space for books.
Big changes here! I'll bullet-point them for convenience.
- A top 15 chart in children's books in 214 branches.
- 2 books for £5 in 183 stores (paperback books)
- Books sold in 408 of their stores, with an increase of staff on the book team from 2 to 8I was impressed!
Printers considering more Print on Demand to remove the Warehouse costs
Anderson Press releasing e-books
The publisher are introducing 23 young adult titles in e-book format. 8 books are already on the list of e-books as of this month.The article also mentions how the main publishers all have around 100 e-books available, with Puffin leading with 150 titles. In 2009, Puffin will release 10-20 e-books a month.
Waterstones offers 10,000 e-books through it's website. It's also helpful to note, though The Bookseller doesn't say this, that Hughes & Hughes are now attempting to match this with the introduction of the Sony Reader to stores, offering 100 free classic titles to begin with, and when the website is done, a free e-book from the wide selection they hope to offer. From my knowledge of the situation, Eason are the only ones not doing this now... (correct me if I'm wrong, but remember that I can't get out much due to exams)
Amnesty Anthology released
The Amnesty Anthology has been released. It focuses on stories of freedom from well known authors. Likely to cause a stir if it's promoted properly. This could mean more people will be reading, specifically if the money goes to charity.
JK Rowling Book Day Books released again
In July, Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Wear to Find Them are being released for £5 each, a mark up of 100% on their initial releases for Comic Relief. Not sure where the money goes this time."
With all that to digest, I bid you farewell, until next time! Thanks for reading
Friday, April 10, 2009
Just some ideas...
So here we are, blog time!
It's the Easter break from school, a painful time when parents force their sons and daughters to study, just as the Irish weather decides to stop crying. Naturally, I'm going to beat the study blues with some good old fashioned, Literary Den!!
Elizabeth Dyer, AKA Ellie, came up with some rather smashing ideas that I wanted to put past the general readership of this blog... many of you who look at this won't even realise what I'm talking about until it's seven months later and something has happened in the world to give you a reason to look me up.
So here we go! Firstly, there's a "Read Me, Keep Me" day! Now, this all sounds very vague, so here's the details: second hand books with a postet stuck on them (with the aforementioned title) are left all around the city (it will be in Dublin and various other places in the UK and Ireland). People find the books, as you might guess if they're left in public, and they get to keep them, and read them. That way, more people are reading. We're still discussing the details, but it looks to be quite fun. Some artists did this in Dublin City a while back, much to the delight of the people who found the paintings! We'll need second hand books to do this with, so you may end up getting a knock on the door by a member of the "Read Me, Keep Me" team, asking for donations (if you're willing to part with them!!)
Secondly, our mentor programme. Now, I intend on annoying my friend Sam with this as much as humanly possible, but the rest of the public knows nothing about it yet. So, we're going to make a snazzy, and dare I say, sexy website to attract young writers into the group. This will be part of the Den, but an exclusive forum and independant website for the mentor programme. It's bloody excellent!
The group are now also getting ready for The Literary Den Book of New Fiction 2009, which will see the arrival of a large number of Irish writers! Myself and Anthea West were the only Irish writers last year; this time, we're going to have Brendan McLoughlin and Lisa Sills alongside us, and hopefully young Senan Warnock if he can throw something together. We also have a resident of Dublin and native to Bermuda, Jonathon Bell. Woo! In true Irish fashion, we're infesting the book, rather than invading. It's great craic!
So, that's about it for now. I'm still being too lazy to work on the new Campaign document. There's less pressure now, though. Battlefront opted to go for Wrong to Be Different? over our campaign, so we won't be on television. *sigh*
Anyway, if you want to "follow me" on Twitter, you can find me here!
It's the Easter break from school, a painful time when parents force their sons and daughters to study, just as the Irish weather decides to stop crying. Naturally, I'm going to beat the study blues with some good old fashioned, Literary Den!!
Elizabeth Dyer, AKA Ellie, came up with some rather smashing ideas that I wanted to put past the general readership of this blog... many of you who look at this won't even realise what I'm talking about until it's seven months later and something has happened in the world to give you a reason to look me up.
So here we go! Firstly, there's a "Read Me, Keep Me" day! Now, this all sounds very vague, so here's the details: second hand books with a postet stuck on them (with the aforementioned title) are left all around the city (it will be in Dublin and various other places in the UK and Ireland). People find the books, as you might guess if they're left in public, and they get to keep them, and read them. That way, more people are reading. We're still discussing the details, but it looks to be quite fun. Some artists did this in Dublin City a while back, much to the delight of the people who found the paintings! We'll need second hand books to do this with, so you may end up getting a knock on the door by a member of the "Read Me, Keep Me" team, asking for donations (if you're willing to part with them!!)
Secondly, our mentor programme. Now, I intend on annoying my friend Sam with this as much as humanly possible, but the rest of the public knows nothing about it yet. So, we're going to make a snazzy, and dare I say, sexy website to attract young writers into the group. This will be part of the Den, but an exclusive forum and independant website for the mentor programme. It's bloody excellent!
The group are now also getting ready for The Literary Den Book of New Fiction 2009, which will see the arrival of a large number of Irish writers! Myself and Anthea West were the only Irish writers last year; this time, we're going to have Brendan McLoughlin and Lisa Sills alongside us, and hopefully young Senan Warnock if he can throw something together. We also have a resident of Dublin and native to Bermuda, Jonathon Bell. Woo! In true Irish fashion, we're infesting the book, rather than invading. It's great craic!
So, that's about it for now. I'm still being too lazy to work on the new Campaign document. There's less pressure now, though. Battlefront opted to go for Wrong to Be Different? over our campaign, so we won't be on television. *sigh*
Anyway, if you want to "follow me" on Twitter, you can find me here!
Monday, April 6, 2009
Battlefront is a no go... for now
Well, the Literary Den did not make it onto the Channel 4 TV show, Battlefront. We came second in the public vote and in the judges' room, which I suppose is pretty damn good! The Campaign will continue as before, just without the handy Flip Camera and the associated videos (unless someone wants to make a donation....)
I've not got much else to say... I opted to enjoy my first Monday off since... well the last bank holiday, so I don't have that new file done yet. Maybe tomorrow. Definetely by the weekend.
So, until something new and exciting happens, I'll be off.
But feel free to follow me on Twitter!
I use it for my own life as well as the Den. People need to know the man behind the mask.... in this case, the author behind the Campaign!!
I've not got much else to say... I opted to enjoy my first Monday off since... well the last bank holiday, so I don't have that new file done yet. Maybe tomorrow. Definetely by the weekend.
So, until something new and exciting happens, I'll be off.
But feel free to follow me on Twitter!
I use it for my own life as well as the Den. People need to know the man behind the mask.... in this case, the author behind the Campaign!!
Saturday, April 4, 2009
20 million people in the UK don't read!
So, it's official - there are 20 million people in the UK who just don't read. They can afford to, they just have no interest to. An article by The Bookseller reveals all.
As a way to combat this, the Literary Den Campaign will take a number of actions. The first will be to create a Guide to Bookshops. Now, this isn't meant as an insult to anyone, merely as a response to the article. Apparently, the codes and references in bookshops are putting people off. So, the Guide will explain special offers, ISBN and genres to help customers find their way.When it's done, I ask that people spread it far and wide - the more people that know their way through a bookshop, the better.
Now, obviously every bookshop is laid out differently. But that doesn't mean that they use different terms. Everyone in the book world uses the acronym ISBN; everyone has "3 for 2" offers, and "25% off" and other such things. Pretty much all the High Street bookshops have the same genre sections. Any differences are easy enough that customers can find their way - we have to remember that everyone has a bit of common sense, and if they still get lost, there are always staff there to point them in right direction.
I see this every week. It's the advantage of being a writer and book campaigner who works in a bookshop! I'm there on every side of the transaction at some stage and therefore I know what I'm talking about. This document will help!
Thanks for tuning in..... well, no one really does as far as I know. But if you're that one person who does, thank you!
As a way to combat this, the Literary Den Campaign will take a number of actions. The first will be to create a Guide to Bookshops. Now, this isn't meant as an insult to anyone, merely as a response to the article. Apparently, the codes and references in bookshops are putting people off. So, the Guide will explain special offers, ISBN and genres to help customers find their way.When it's done, I ask that people spread it far and wide - the more people that know their way through a bookshop, the better.
Now, obviously every bookshop is laid out differently. But that doesn't mean that they use different terms. Everyone in the book world uses the acronym ISBN; everyone has "3 for 2" offers, and "25% off" and other such things. Pretty much all the High Street bookshops have the same genre sections. Any differences are easy enough that customers can find their way - we have to remember that everyone has a bit of common sense, and if they still get lost, there are always staff there to point them in right direction.
I see this every week. It's the advantage of being a writer and book campaigner who works in a bookshop! I'm there on every side of the transaction at some stage and therefore I know what I'm talking about. This document will help!
Thanks for tuning in..... well, no one really does as far as I know. But if you're that one person who does, thank you!
Sunday, March 29, 2009
How to Write, Document 1
Well, the first of the How to Write Documents is finished and available for free! If you click the title of this post, you'll be brought to the download page. I love it already!
The second set of interviews will go out in the near future. I must also remember to begin interviewing again, to ensure the continued survival of the project. Free information for writers! Woo!!
Wish me luck! The Campaign may suddenly get more interesting based on Channel 4's decision!! I'll keep you updated.
The second set of interviews will go out in the near future. I must also remember to begin interviewing again, to ensure the continued survival of the project. Free information for writers! Woo!!
Wish me luck! The Campaign may suddenly get more interesting based on Channel 4's decision!! I'll keep you updated.
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