The Deadly Pen

100 Great Sites Courtesy of Writer's Digest

2007-12-11T09:40:00.000-08:00

Check out 100 Best Sites for Writers in this month's Writer's Digest.

The "F" Word Hurts Us All

2007-11-27T10:44:00.000-08:00

This fabulous Copyblogger post by Brian Clark addresses every writer's biggest obstacle:

The "F" Word - FEAR

Personally, I suffer daily from all of the forms of fear discussed in this article, pretty much at the same time. I go through great periods of productivity where I'm riding a high of achieving great results, but then something, whether it's a holiday or a conversation with a 'Negative Nelly,' triggers my fear.

And I'm all about the flight of the 'Fight or Flight' fear mechanism!

I can work solidly for weeks and then have equal amounts of time fleeing from anything that even reminds me of writing. Finally, it's a chaotic mess of fear, yearning, stress, deadlines, pep talks, lack of sleep, Successories products, and remembering what it is I really want until the cycle begins again.

Tell us your fears? How do they manifest themselves? How do you overcome them?

Work the Wiki: Using a Wiki in Your Writing Business

2007-11-21T09:08:00.000-08:00

Are you looking for a way to map your novel's world or flesh out your characters?

How about using a wiki?

Wikipedia describes a wiki as:

A wiki is a type of computer software that allows users to easily create, edit and link web pages. Wikis are often used to create collaborative websites, power community websites, and are increasingly being installed by businesses to provide affordable and effective Intranets or for use in Knowledge Management.

So try out some of these wikis:

www.pbwiki.com

www.wetpaint.com

www.wikispaces.com

You can, also, check out these articles on using a wiki:

Using the Wiki Method to Write a Business Book

What Is a Wiki (and How to Use One for Your Projects)

Features - Using a Wiki for Documentation and Collaborative Authoring

Check out these great writing-related wikis:

The Renegade Writer Markets Wiki

Cannery Works Writer's Space

If you do try one out or have been using one, let me know how it worked for you. How did you used it? How may use it in the future? What platform do you recommend?

NaNoWriMo: Why November?!

2007-11-21T08:41:00.000-08:00

I've written for NaNo. Don't think I haven't. I just haven't written anywhere NEAR 50,000 words.

And I don't plan to, because this is November.

November is when I have one month to put stuff out there that may get paid and one more month to get said wages. I can't justify to my accountant that, "No, I didn't make any money, but I have this great 49,500 word piece of crap and a few sentences that are really great!"

Also in November? Well, let's not even MENTION having to prepare for the holidays, 'cause I may pop a vessel.

I wish that I could use the tools for less strict purposes. For instance, I want to keep track of my blog post count each week using a spiffy and attractive widget. All year through, not just for November.

Also, I'd like to extend this NaNo-type thing to non-fiction and, as mentioned above, blogs. Did I reach my goal of 200 posts this month? Do I have a spiffy widget to show for it? No.

I admit that I'm a bit of a tech fiend. I love widgets and tools and meters and stats. I love all of it. I just wish I knew how to program them.

So, I will probably write about 4,000 words for National Novel Writing Month in 2007 or I may write more. Either way, I'm happy with that.

P.S. - If you know how to make a widget that tracks writing goals, please contact me!

NaNoWriMoFreakOut

2007-11-20T20:11:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I did the calculations over and over and over again against my calendar, and I'm really starting to freak out. How the hell do people DO this?! I mean, I really, truly want to try my hand, but I figure the following:

I can write:

2 pages an hour = 500 words @ 8 hours = 4,000 words on an INSANELY LONG day!

Removing all the days and times I CAN'T write for NaNo, I have a problem.

And then there are the people who tell me that "they can easily write 50,000 words in a couple of days."

Who are you people?! You must from Planet Meg. The one that convinces me that Men In Black is based on fact. The planet that sends all their megalomaniacs (megs) to Earth. Megs like Steve Jobs, Oprah Winfrey, Tyra Banks, Martha Stewart, J Lo, and, the most prolific of the literary megs, Nora Roberts. 'Cause really. Am I supposed to believe that Nora writes ALL THOSE FREAKING BOOKS?! No. No way.

Maybe, since I've never tried this, I'm underestimating how many words I can write per hour. I mean, I usually write non-fiction that requires me to jump back and forth between the writing and my sources/notes, thereby giving me no real sense of how many words I write per hour. It's been SO long since writing pure, uninterrupted fiction, that I have no idea what my hourly pace is.

Well, anyway. I have 1 day to de-freak.

One WHOLE day.

Yeah. That'll work. {sigh}

Na No Wri Mo Pho To.. er.. Photos

2007-11-20T20:09:00.002-08:00

Keep up (visually at least) with what the Poughkeesie Group is doing at our Flickr album. Visit:
Poughkeepsie NaNoWriMo Pictures

NaNoWriMo Kick-Off Party!

2007-11-20T20:09:00.001-08:00

Members of the Poughkeepsie area region gathered for the Kick-Off Party. That box in the center? It contains some of the most outlandish, crazed, and inspirational story prompters ever!

» Mixed Marriages: When One Spouse Goes Freelance Freelance Switch

2007-10-27T14:08:00.000-07:00

» Mixed Marriages: When One Spouse Goes Freelance Freelance Switch

This is my favorite type of article: informative and snarky. The author/freelancer, Mary Beth Ellis, describes the difficulties of being in a "mixed marriage", i.e. freelancer married to a NON-freelancer.

I don't have a spouse and I have a "real" job, but I seriously relate to her angst over trying to communicate what it is I do in my "spare" time. And for the last time....

NO!! IT'S NOT A PHASE, MOM!!!