The Whetstone

Credentials

feeds@yuku.com (Kallisto Kaine) — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 19:29:43 GMT

Sorry, but my spelling has gone to the pot. (Long story) I've been here before, so some people might know me. But I just have a real quick question.

On another board somewhere, someone brought up the issue of credentials. He said something in the range of "What's everyone's credentials? Besides a blog here and there no one seems to have them." It came off to me as rather arrogant, especially to be saying on a board full of teenagers. (What kind of credentials...

TV Show Writing

feeds@yuku.com (NVwryter) — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 05:52:30 GMT

Over the weekend, some friends and I were discussing what TV shows we watch. We kept coming back to the writing. My husband loves Dexter, the show about a serial killer of serial killers. My friend Susan loves NCIS and Castle. She swears the writing on both shows is exceptional. My husband and I faithfully watch Lost as much for the interwoven story threads as anything (though, to be honest, sometimes they feel disjointed and irritate me).

What about you? Any TV shows that you find...

"...should be blue..." available in print!

feeds@yuku.com (Illandur Stormcrow) — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 12:56:08 GMT

You can buy the magazine here:
http://www.amazon.com/Flashing-Swords-Magazine-Issue-12/dp/0981662641/ref=cm_cmu_pg_t

Hey Ellen,
Can you add this to the published edgers section? Thanks!

Product Description
Flashing Swords Magazine, Issue #12, Winter 2008. Featuring short stories...

Speakin in Schools

feeds@yuku.com (midnightwriter71) — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 14:01:06 GMT

I could very well be speaking to classes at Christian schools. Do I want to do this? Definitely not. No way...nuh uh... However, I know that it's important for my book promotion. I'm extremely shy...any suggestions? *sigh*

new

feeds@yuku.com (CorrinaKel) — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 04:42:25 GMT

Started a new book yesterday. No clue about the title, but I think I've got a decent start. Took forever to write because I didn't want to give too much away. Hoping to do maybe 3 more pages today - slow pace to begin with. If I write 3 pages a day it will be done in what, 3.5 months? I have the whole thing outlined, so I know what I'm going to be doing. So what's everyone else up to?

ELLEN!!!!!!!

feeds@yuku.com (midnightwriter71) — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 05:34:52 GMT

HEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! You're gonna be at Deerbrook? I half live there! I have to go to Hot Topic and return an Edward shirt for my daughter. She thinks she has to have Jacob. Anyway, Barnes and Noble at 6pm... <---- so says the website! Can I bring my old Crank book for your siggy? I want Identical too! HEEEEEEEEEEE! I missed you last time! I know my teens will want to be there. Watch for a large family..lol... Don't worry, we'll behave! :-D Collin is going to freak!

Progress report

feeds@yuku.com (NVwryter) — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 09:16:32 GMT

So how's everyone coming with their projects? Obviously, I'm traveling again, although I do try to stop by here once a day anyway. When I travel, it can be difficult to write, because I tend to lack large chunks of time. Often when I'm on an airplane I sleep, trying to catch up on some precious zzzzs. And then it can be hard to get back into the flow. Still, I'm working on FALLOUT as much as I can and it feels like it's kicking into gear.

Marketing

feeds@yuku.com (Paul W West) — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 12:35:55 GMT

I'm reading on other forums about how bad the book-selling industry is doing right now with the down economy. I'm hearing (reading) that agents and editors are taking on very few new projects and selecting the ones they do take on with extreme care.

So, I'm thinking of stopping my querying for the time being (months, years) until the economy improves. I have nine outstanding queries. I think I'll see what comes of...

Balance

feeds@yuku.com (NVwryter) — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 06:54:56 GMT

I'm just readying myself for a couple of months of heavy travel. My family has sort of gotten used to it and manages when I'm gone. I do take a laptop and try to write when I travel, but it can be difficult. School visits, especially, require a lot of energy, and when you do 3 or 4 presentations in a day, you get back to your hotel room, ready to crash. Balance is hard sometimes... the need to write versus the need to promote. Balance can also be hard at home, with the demands of...

ghostwriting

feeds@yuku.com (CorrinaKel) — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 15:00:55 GMT

Well, I finished the first draft of the book. God, didn't that suck. Note to self: never again! Now I'll have to edit the thing. Mind you, I was more or less flying without a net - I'd ask a string of questions and get an answer like, "yes to all." It was an unbelievably frustrating experience. But I must have done something right, because I've been asked to work on a script based on the book for an informational video. Is it worth the hassle for a thin check? Ugh!...

Writer's Block

feeds@yuku.com (NVwryter) — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 06:22:22 GMT

After years of claiming I "rarely block," I just spent three days unable to write a word. Part of that, I'm pretty sure, was because I'm kicking a cold bug that I picked up last week in NYC. I have never had this kind of block before, where I looked at the page and thought, "what the hell am I trying to accomplish here? And if I can't figure that out, what the hell is this book trying to accomplish?" Finally, the answer burst through the wall and I wrote ten...

now I said ...

feeds@yuku.com (CorrinaKel) — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 19:18:59 GMT

I said I wouldn't bother with getting published again until I hit a financial wall. And I hit it. So I sent out some feelers. And this is what I got back:

That's a stellar plot, very workable, with the potential to be quite uplifting, and I think quite marketable. ... It really is an awesome storyline.

Oh my God, I am so excited! That is very, very positive!
The editor I was working with did have some suggestions. They were (especially in the...

hook

feeds@yuku.com (CorrinaKel) — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 08:28:23 GMT

How about we share a bit of what we're working on? We could post a snippet to inspire each other. Like maybe the hook. What do you think?

What Are We Working On?

feeds@yuku.com (NVwryter) — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 10:27:07 GMT

I think that deserves a place of its own... thanks, Corrina... I'm currently writing FALLOUT, the third and final CRANK book. Only I didn't want to write more of the same, so I'm writing from the POVs of three of Kristina's children, now teens and dealing with the fallout of her choices. This book has an August deadline, but I'm hoping to finish ahead of schedule, as the next book under contract, PERFECT, has a deadline of the following May.

ghost writing

feeds@yuku.com (CorrinaKel) — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 12:06:19 GMT

Well, I said I wouldn't publish again because it wasn't worth the hassle of dealing with pushy editors and agents and fans unless I needed the money. Guess what - we're all in an economic tailspin, and I can use some cash. So I accepted a job ghost writing a book about selling gold (no, I'm not making that up). Here's the thing. I write under pseudonyms to keep the genres separate. The YA book I wrote now a year and a half ago actually does seem like it deserves to be...

Roll Call

feeds@yuku.com (NVwryter) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 18:01:02 GMT

Okay everyone. Who's still here? Who's still interested in making this board work? Should we let it go? How can we make it valuable once again?? Hint: participation required!!

I'm BAAAAACK!!

feeds@yuku.com (NVwryter) — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 17:57:08 GMT

Hey guys, I'm back... sorry I've been away so long.... lots going on and I've got a new office, new computer, new everything, so I've been neglecting my awesome friends here. How's everyone doing? Can we have a check in and roll call and what we're all doing to help me catch up??

I'll start. I finished TRICKS, and just finished the copyedit on that. Release date is August. Currently working on FALLOUT, the third and final CRANK book, only from the POVs of...

Merry Christmas

feeds@yuku.com (Paul W West) — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 13:11:08 GMT

Y'all!!!

How Important is This?

feeds@yuku.com (Paul W West) — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 14:59:04 GMT

In the event anyone reads this, I need to know what you think.

I just realized I described a situation in my book set in the mid-1960s that couldn't have happened until a few years later. It concerns a grade school that closed in 1969, but in my novel, set in 1965, I've described it as having already closed. I need to have it like this to support an important scene I've written.

The only people who would even know this are those who lived in the small town at...