by Sandra Gulland | Oct 18, 2015 | Adventures of a Writing Life, Resources for Book Clubs, Resources for Readers |
I got back home last night from a flash-trip to Edmonton for a “reading” at StarFest, the St. Albert Readers Festival in Saint Albert, Alberta. I’m still aglow from it! It was such a special evening. Close to 100 in attendance—”sold out”—and a wonderful crowd. I’ve honed my talk-with-prizes—such fun!
Here’s a wonderful comment a reader put on Facebook that the StarFest organizer just sent me:
The most wonderful thing about being a writer is having you READERS. <3
I’ve a million things to do, so I’m going to leave it at that for now. It was lightly snowing when I got back last night and in week and a half my husband and I turn into Snow Birds and head south.
You might have noticed that my website is changing. Please forgive the awkward transition phase—the visuals, especially. I have to change the basic design—the “theme” in WordPress language—so that it can be read more comfortably on mobile devices (i.e. tablets and smart phones). Ultimately, it’s going to look very much like it did before, but better.
Sundry Sundae delectable links:
Links for Napoleonistas …
• I love this painting of Napoleon. So very like him.
Links for travellers …
• On giving the fountains at Versailles a new look. I used to be horrified by such changes, but I’ve come to see them as so very, very French … and a wonderful thing.
Links for Serial podcast followers …
• If you were one of the billions following the Serial podcast, you will want to know the newest (and shocking) revelations: here, here and here. This new form of Net journalism could have a very positive effect. It would be a relief to see justice for Adnan, and—one prays—changes made to the “injustice” system that incarcerated him.
Have a wonderful week!
by Sandra Gulland | Oct 10, 2015 | Adventures of a Writing Life, On Plot, Resources for Book Clubs, Resources for Readers, Resources for Writers |
Sorry, Peeps, I’ve apparently disappeared on you! I was doing my best to post at least once a week, and — voilá — now two weeks have passed.
An update:
The plot does indeed thicken: with index cards, the old standard. My extensively detailed Excel plot sheet bombed on me. Excel is complex, and once it stops working, it’s challenging to fix—at least for me. (If I do need a spreadsheet at some point, I think I will use Numbers.)
But for now, returning to index cards is refreshing.
What’s nice about index cards is that you can move them around and clump them up. You can throw them out and add more. You can lay them out, squint at them, and rearrange them. The other thing you can do is stick post-it notes to them. I had piles around: Random Thought Capture I think of them. Sticking them on index cards and putting them in a semblance of order is calming.
What’s eating up my time:
- Pondering plot (puzzling);
- Research (fascinating);
- Taxes (aggravating!);
- Health: getting shots, check-ups, consultations, plus learning how to sleep using a CPAP machine (challenging);
- Fixing things (sigh);
- Finding things (double sigh);
- Gardening (oh, my back!);
- Reading: catching up on many issues of The New Yorker, Renaissance, and The New York Review of Books before we head south (yikes!);
- Preparing for Canadian Thanksgiving (yay!), always a big, boisterous celebration at our house;
- Preparing for a trip west to give a talk at StarFest. (:-) See below!
- Getting ready to fly south for the winter. (What? Already?)
An event coming up …
I’m going to be flying to Edmonton next week to give a talk (with prizes!) at StarFest, the St. Albert Readers Festival in Saint Albert, Alberta, October 16, Friday night at 7:00.
I’ve heard that this is a great festival; I’m very much looking forward to it. Do come!
Sundry Sundae delectable links:
Links for writers …
• À propos to the above: 7 ways to write a plot outline; The Infographic.
• What agents think. :-(
Links for creatives (i.e. everyone) …
• I read—and loved—Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert. She is so gently hectoring in an altogether inspiring way. Elizabeth Gilbert on the perils of ignoring your creative self. Right on, sister!
Links for Napoleonistas …
• I adore Canadian cartoonist and history-loving nerd Kate Beaton: Napoleon wasn’t so short after all: a cartoonist’s take on history.
Links for historians …
• Opium Eating: The Lincolnshire Fens in the early nineteenth-century.
Links for just about anyone …
• Who isn’t overwhelmed? I find Stephanie Bennett Vogt’s books on clearing clutter — both mental and physical — inspiring. I’m looking forward to her newest book A Year to Clear and enjoyed watching her three videos on clearing: Reducing Overwhelm, Releasing Stuck Energy, and Getting Spacious.
Happy Thanksgiving Canadians!
by Sandra Gulland | Aug 2, 2015 | Adventures of a Writing Life, On Character Development, Resources, Resources for Book Clubs, Resources for Readers, Resources for Writers, The Writing Process |
This week was especially speedy! I gave a reading at the Bonnechere Author’s Festival on Wednesday night, and on Friday the “children” and grandchildren arrived and a long weekend of festivities began!
Here is my week in delectable links ….
Links for writers …
• I got sidetracked—as I do—looking into scriptwriting software, and bought Final Draft on sale. I doubt that I will ever write a script, but this software offers interesting structure techniques that intrigue me.
• Exploring script templates, I found one on creating character that I like very much. I especially like considering your character’s “humanizing trait.”
• 7 Ways Writing a Screenplay is Different That Writing a Novel.
• How To Write a Screenplay: The 5 Step Process.
• The Heartfelt, Unpublishable, Captivating, Shallow, Sound, Abandoned, Reclaimed, Worthless, Most Excellent Potential Novel, by Tom Bentley. I related to this account in a rather painful way! :-(
• The line-up for the 2016 San Miguel Writers’ Conference looks awesome! It’s from February 10-16, the perfect time of year to get a break from winter in sunny Mexico. Go for it! You will not regret it.
• Medieval Urine Wheels. Just what you always wanted.
• Inspired by a Two Nerdy History Girls blog post on Etiquette for the Victorian Gentleman, I read The Gentlemen’s Book of Etiquette and Manual of Politeness.
• The ‘Natural Beauty’ Ideal of the Regency.
Link for Napoleonistas …
• Napoleon, Josephine and a giant bill for Cologne. Not everything in this article is accurate, in my opinion, but there are interesting details I like quite a lot.
Have a great week!
View of the lake at our cabin :-)
by Sandra Gulland | Feb 27, 2014 | Adventures of a Writing Life, Resources for Book Clubs, The Shadow Queen |
If your book club is interested in reading The Shadow Queen, here are some questions for discussion. Enlarge the screen to read or click to print out.
