tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37743052506761059762024-03-18T16:40:28.802-04:00Balancing ActWhat Samantha thinks. About whatever she's thinking about. Teaching. Family. Writing. Modern Life.Samantha Bryanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684962313482409801noreply@blogger.comBlogger923125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774305250676105976.post-51547320321823811002024-03-18T06:00:00.002-04:002024-03-18T06:00:00.348-04:00Writing Seasons, an open book blog hop post<p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLT8kSzuW8eTX79GXurPXnNIVKbIXRduCnQK4qtFwsc5lH4dZxLv8HT-OD7Ev48xqwoyqX9BdY5w53Ki21lBoXsQOXuFnCl5iHa0f75i1lVFeOWtIejXnH6OHlYoI6jtzdflBR1xnbNTOi2BIHOIBcChhCG5C4Q2PlipcGPDoWcDeikxOxyQ1-CFdiRy7b/s1024/openbook-airplane%20and%20sky.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLT8kSzuW8eTX79GXurPXnNIVKbIXRduCnQK4qtFwsc5lH4dZxLv8HT-OD7Ev48xqwoyqX9BdY5w53Ki21lBoXsQOXuFnCl5iHa0f75i1lVFeOWtIejXnH6OHlYoI6jtzdflBR1xnbNTOi2BIHOIBcChhCG5C4Q2PlipcGPDoWcDeikxOxyQ1-CFdiRy7b/s320/openbook-airplane%20and%20sky.png" /></a></p><br />Welcome to Open Book Blog Hop. You can find us every Monday talking about the writing life. I hope you'll check out all the posts: you'll find the links at the bottom of this post.<p></p><div><blockquote><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Is there a specific time of year when your ideas flow better and you find you're writing more? What do you think contributes to that? </span></b></blockquote><p> <b><span style="font-size: x-large;">______________________</span></b></p><p>When I was still teaching for a living, my writing life was very cyclical--in direct opposition to my teaching life. During school holidays, I wrote a lot; the rest of the time I struggled to hold onto enough energy to be able to write even a little. In some ways it was nice to be able to compartmentalize like that and focus more on my writing during the off-seasons for work. </p><p>Now that I have more of a traditional 9 to 5 work schedule, without things like Spring Break, Winter Holiday Break, or summers without classes, I've really had to adjust how I do things. </p><p>On the up-side, the new work is less emotionally and physically exhausting and much more flexible for getting a little time off during business hours from time to time. On the down-side, I don't get long stretches of being temporarily full-time in my writing anymore. </p><p>Now, if we mean something more like Mother Nature's seasons, I get more done on my writing when the weather is unpleasant. If it's raining, or bleak, or too cold and I'm not really all that tempted to go outside, it's easier to hole up in my cozy little office with a cup of tea and my imaginary friends. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwJgqjOcu-AOobVVTP6-9P_TeFWKiUmbd9VG0IQJ9VfqMy9VJSBTGiQ2zeKKxUg1PfFReEdodEF3IdmAMD5MCDzoMRpFBNNuHawhU98o7G3x_x_x8oBGuHFUYv8oo-jBi2n-PELb1cNM9tY2mE2ZWuhaBBHuwuZwQcegfEUC1BEIroJU1Iq1OWrZdOAA_G/s1274/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-13%20at%206.02.44%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="950" data-original-width="1274" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwJgqjOcu-AOobVVTP6-9P_TeFWKiUmbd9VG0IQJ9VfqMy9VJSBTGiQ2zeKKxUg1PfFReEdodEF3IdmAMD5MCDzoMRpFBNNuHawhU98o7G3x_x_x8oBGuHFUYv8oo-jBi2n-PELb1cNM9tY2mE2ZWuhaBBHuwuZwQcegfEUC1BEIroJU1Iq1OWrZdOAA_G/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-13%20at%206.02.44%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My cozy little office, now with new rug!</td></tr></tbody></table><br />The ebb and flow of my writing life currently doesn't seem to be influenced by the calendar or the weather patterns though as much as by how demanding all the other aspects of my life are being at the moment. </div><div><br /></div><div>Big deadline at work? </div><div>Kid sick? </div><div>Home project going on? </div><div>Travel happening? </div><div>Someone I love needing extra support?</div><div><br /></div><div>Any of these things will slow my word count, but no matter what I'm still an every day writer. My chain of writing days is over a decade long now, and I don't go to bed without writing something, even if it's a struggle. <br /><p>How about you? Does your creative flow come in seasons? I'd love to hear about it in the comments!</p></div><!-- start InLinkz code -->
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Samantha Bryanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684962313482409801noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774305250676105976.post-68264750137927576662024-03-06T06:00:00.001-05:002024-03-06T06:00:00.241-05:00No AI for me, thanks<p> <span style="text-align: center;"> </span><span style="text-align: center;"> </span><span style="text-align: center;"> </span><span style="text-align: center;"> </span><span style="text-align: center;"> </span><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyNsT8_FZVCrY-nM1-mA5GKailBHy0SUCLJtvyyu040S_D-wen9T4jOUulkF3JjDM847jVG6Sy5LK3yEtvfwa_XNk6aWceinlhUky2y-nRAnpk5oQMeL9ca4dQvN99saim0JmrRBLglCxgGCB-HTBXOT8FAYQFc338ZzGAO-e2ClORYTsqdCL3iuh2ZQ/s320/unnamed.jpg" style="text-align: center;" /></p><br />Welcome to the first Wednesday of the month. You know what that means! It's time to let our insecurities hang out. Yep, it's the <a href="https://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html">Insecure Writer's Support Group blog hop</a>. If you're a writer at any stage of career, I highly recommend this blog hop as a way to connect with other writers for support, sympathy, ideas, and networking. If you're a reader, it's a great way to peek behind the curtain of a writing life.<br /><br />Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG. <span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">The awesome co-hosts for the <span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><b>March 6</b></span></span><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;"> posting of the IWS</span>G are <a href="http://kristinaseyes.com/">Kristina Kelly,</a> <a href="https://miffieseideman.com/">Miffie Seideman,</a> <a href="http://jeanddavis.blogspot.com/">Jean Davis,</a> and <a href="http://middlepassages-lcs.blogspot.com/">Liza @ Middle Passages!</a><br /><br /><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><blockquote>March 6: Have you "played" with AI to write those nasty synopses, or do you refuse to go that route? How do you feel about AI's impact on creative writing?</blockquote></span></b><br /><div>__________________________________________</div><div><br /></div><div>I have not played with AI at all so far, and I don't really have any interest in it. I've got processes in place that are working for me right now. </div><div><br /></div><div>For one thing, I've got doubts about the ethical implications and I think I'll wait for all that to settle. </div><div><br /></div><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLObb5Ye_m94065J1iMCOmNEcaMJEnwvJKIABhTvEkAlhq6JhEWzokIGYGQFX8suWLx6iusrmHmFieVb42p07yEDdEScEogIOxgl9cbyv2fje6T6YTCzB0s0CWBpMN3TavZUbRchauNBn4ULHDViPJxncRO2ayBc1K1zM6AJSZUm6pMQjxJtgLpq2XiBd1/s1000/spoons.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="750" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLObb5Ye_m94065J1iMCOmNEcaMJEnwvJKIABhTvEkAlhq6JhEWzokIGYGQFX8suWLx6iusrmHmFieVb42p07yEDdEScEogIOxgl9cbyv2fje6T6YTCzB0s0CWBpMN3TavZUbRchauNBn4ULHDViPJxncRO2ayBc1K1zM6AJSZUm6pMQjxJtgLpq2XiBd1/w240-h320/spoons.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.redbubble.com/i/t-shirt/Too-Low-On-Spoons-To-Give-A-Fork-Energy-Awareness-Gift-Design-by-noirty/39205544.FB110" target="_blank">image source</a></td></tr></tbody></table>For another, I'm tired--I don't feel like learning new systems just now. </div><div><br /></div><div>Other writers I know are developing whole new skill sets surrounding prompt writing to get the system to give them something they can use…and, well, I don't want to. At least not right now. </div><div><br /></div><div>I don't have the spoons. I have plenty of other things to deal with right now. </div><div><br /></div><div>For a third thing, I haven't seen anything yet to convince me that the end product is up to my standards. </div><div><br /></div><div>I suppose I could take it as a draft and revise it to my liking, but I could also do that with my own crappy first draft instead of one written by a machine. </div><div><br /></div><div>But the most important thing is that I enjoy writing--even the parts I complain about, like synopsis writing. Passing parts of it off just wouldn't bring me the same feelings of accomplishment as doing it myself. </div><div><br /></div><div>There are things I take on, at least in part, because they are difficult and not just anyone can do them. One could argue that was some portion of my "why" in teaching. Sure, I had a heart to help, but I also got a bit of a charge out of doing something that many people could not. (Of course, too many years of that = burnout, so there's a balance). </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyUEAYEa50yzXEBq_bnsduF8P93cfsNOWc-UdoB2-buJ4wK7HtDbe97GE3js67WYtHWwJQiHSoroD_ZKYhAOP-JzyCfba6Mz7BuHQJWeGiFvAiesHFnoZDwHdY7ZnCxcCXZFn1tk8mCZ5_qhICIkEtZJ_uPrsDWGqD5Jzo40l59qIgwJQzsMcq0YUKYWKJ/s306/kennedy.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="306" data-original-width="306" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyUEAYEa50yzXEBq_bnsduF8P93cfsNOWc-UdoB2-buJ4wK7HtDbe97GE3js67WYtHWwJQiHSoroD_ZKYhAOP-JzyCfba6Mz7BuHQJWeGiFvAiesHFnoZDwHdY7ZnCxcCXZFn1tk8mCZ5_qhICIkEtZJ_uPrsDWGqD5Jzo40l59qIgwJQzsMcq0YUKYWKJ/s1600/kennedy.jpeg" width="306" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://twitter.com/AidanYamani/status/572953274359234560" target="_blank">image source</a></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>If I just glom off the bits I think are hard and ask a machine to do my work for me? That feels like cheating, and if the end result is successful, I get no share in the credit. I wouldn't feel like I owned it anymore.</div><div><br /></div><div>I want to be proud of myself, to feel like I really accomplished something in my writing life. So that means I'll have to do it myself. No shade meant at those who find that using AI feeds their practice--gets them past blank page paralysis, or whatever else they need. There are ethical ways to use these tools, the same as any others. But it's not for me. </div><div><br /></div><div>It's just a line in the sand, which means you can smooth it out with your foot and step over any time you want. But I'm okay on this side of the line for now. How about you? </div>Samantha Bryanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684962313482409801noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774305250676105976.post-82913426627228052112024-02-19T06:00:00.001-05:002024-02-19T06:00:00.141-05:00The elevator pitch, an open book blog hop post<p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLT8kSzuW8eTX79GXurPXnNIVKbIXRduCnQK4qtFwsc5lH4dZxLv8HT-OD7Ev48xqwoyqX9BdY5w53Ki21lBoXsQOXuFnCl5iHa0f75i1lVFeOWtIejXnH6OHlYoI6jtzdflBR1xnbNTOi2BIHOIBcChhCG5C4Q2PlipcGPDoWcDeikxOxyQ1-CFdiRy7b/s1024/openbook-airplane%20and%20sky.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLT8kSzuW8eTX79GXurPXnNIVKbIXRduCnQK4qtFwsc5lH4dZxLv8HT-OD7Ev48xqwoyqX9BdY5w53Ki21lBoXsQOXuFnCl5iHa0f75i1lVFeOWtIejXnH6OHlYoI6jtzdflBR1xnbNTOi2BIHOIBcChhCG5C4Q2PlipcGPDoWcDeikxOxyQ1-CFdiRy7b/s320/openbook-airplane%20and%20sky.png" /></a></p><br />Welcome to Open Book Blog Hop. You can find us every Monday talking about the writing life. I hope you'll check out all the posts: you'll find the links at the bottom of this post.<p></p><div><blockquote><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Do you have an elevator pitch (a brief 30 second or so introduction) for your books?</span></b></blockquote><p> <b><span style="font-size: x-large;">______________________</span></b></p><p><span>The idea of an elevator pitch, I believe, came about from publishing, where an author steps into the same elevator as a muckety-muck and might have the space between two or three floors to catch the interest of a potential publisher and get them to want to read the whole thing. </span></p><p><span>I'd never do that. Talking to someone I don't already know? In an elevator and under high pressure to sell them something? Now *that's* a horror story! No thank you.</span></p><p>That said, I do have to pitch my work from time to time, to convey to potential readers what it's all about and why they might want to read it. </p><p><span>The <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074CHNLQ2" target="_blank">Menopausal Superhero series</a> is pretty easy to pitch. When I'm doing events, often I don't have to do much more than say the name of the series. Sometimes I don't even have to say it at all, since it's right there on the covers. The concept often makes people smile and they pick one up to read the back cover, and then the sales game is on! (or they make a face like they smell something bad and back away from me--some people can be put off by the mere word "menopause")</span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074CHNLQ2" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="718" data-original-width="948" height="346" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhitEmcqg4kRnd4fVvmDMCC3J_LqBofcq3Ro1I7HtH9sQ1t3j42xRxzpH2WVoS9TlLBUHYaer9u7whHo4CR_oQPAyAMRclhx_gridHQJ0IoPAn97vB8JwBypJASOgmbMpZtAoIgH6hMy4387m-yF2LSTMljeZWXGVbnPJu_cFPoLYQ56lqeqMrlI0WVnxkt/w457-h346/All-Meno-Heroes%202021.png" width="457" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Menopausal Superhero series</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>Easy pitching is great news for me, because I'm an introvert, so I'm not at all comfortable with the "carnival barker" method of getting readers to stop and talk with me. I rely on good displays and looking approachable. After all, folks who are attending a book fair or science fiction and fantasy convention don't need a hard sell--they came specifically to look at this kind of thing. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqn9eT-n3P5jwnBHjWyg67_w1c9c7RoDOEer3SQTCLXO7OkZUdcu4XwOk2liZCJD-s6ekgof9hs4WNE-qW2uZ0bsCjxrZL5rNUARgc5oGzGK0JpxABaAm8EsBaUWqrPyFJcA8_7EPKzJRYA2xEeP0876rYkEk3rPvjIspM-uaWmkQ9Gl4CbHwetPJFaiXE/s1054/MeAtBookmarksFest2022.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1054" data-original-width="1030" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqn9eT-n3P5jwnBHjWyg67_w1c9c7RoDOEer3SQTCLXO7OkZUdcu4XwOk2liZCJD-s6ekgof9hs4WNE-qW2uZ0bsCjxrZL5rNUARgc5oGzGK0JpxABaAm8EsBaUWqrPyFJcA8_7EPKzJRYA2xEeP0876rYkEk3rPvjIspM-uaWmkQ9Gl4CbHwetPJFaiXE/s320/MeAtBookmarksFest2022.png" width="313" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me at Bookmarks Festival of Books in Winston-Salem, NC</td></tr></tbody></table><p>If someone stops and talks with me a bit, I usually first try to see if they're more likely to be interested in my hero or horror stories, usually just by introducing myself: Hi! I'm Samantha and<a href="https://www.amazon.com/stores/Samantha-Bryant/author/B00TBPQTLY" target="_blank"> these are my books</a>. I write <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074CHNLQ2" target="_blank">the Menopausal Superhero series </a>and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/stores/Samantha-Bryant/author/B00TBPQTLY" target="_blank">short form horror</a>, which ones depends on whether I want to save the world today, or watch it burn." </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Stories-We-Tell-After-Midnight-ebook/dp/B08G6W9R8R/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="2500" data-original-width="1563" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGntGFP6sUEzDSzueVBDGVo6fnfcqjOTsQ6mYC3lo-_uwDIvqeU7z8zlCU0N7yxh3XKEs4BP0JdtRa2pfrYrC9AlQ40FQv6jVtq2DdeF2vAbeU5VCUk45iHqIc9pQ3FJlL5j8wv2Ynocj6vXtzrC3lsipAIzaJopq0AWqeI_OjCQHjxZJq2ptOyk5r-AVy/s320/cover-storieswetell.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>If they lean horror, I talk a little about <a href="https://www.amazon.com/stores/Samantha-Bryant/author/B00TBPQTLY" target="_blank">the range of types of stories I've writte</a>n, and wait to see what book they're eye-balling, then mention what my story in that anthology is about. <p></p><p>"<i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Stories-We-Tell-After-Midnight-ebook/dp/B08G6W9R8R/" target="_blank">Stories We Tell After Midnight</a></i>? That's a great collection! It's been described as Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark for grown-ups. My story in there is called 'The Cleaning Lady.' That might not sound like horror, but it's all in who you work for, isn't it?"</p><p>or </p><p>"Crone Girls Press is one of my favorite publishers to work with. They're a feminist horror press and I love the types of stories Rachel finds for their anthologies!" </p><p>If they lean superhero, I drop in tidbits like, "My menopausal superhero series is dram-edy in tone, intermixing superhero action with comedy about aging, with themes of female friendship." </p><p>Or, </p><p>"This is my more optimistic work, where heroines who are not 'spring chickens' save the day." </p><p>I'm not a hard sell person. I hate it when people press me too hard, so I don't do that to others. I'd rather have a conversation, even if it doesn't end in a sale. </p><p>If someone seems at least a little interested, I'll try one last push, giving them a bookmark with the link to my Amazon page on it and encouraging them to go check out the reviews and the "look inside" to see if my work is for them. </p><p>I always thank people for stopping to talk with me, and I mean it, too. I'm grateful each time someone expresses interest in my work. </p><p>Plus, you never know, even if you don't sell to that person in that moment, you may have put a ripple in the stream that will come back to you later. Your table guest might invite you to an event, or tell a friend about you. </p><p>After nearly a decade of attending events and selling my books, I'm more comfortable with pitching my work, but I'm never going to accost some poor soul in an elevator. Let's all just get to the lobby in peace, please. </p></div><!--start InLinkz code-->
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<!--end InLinkz code-->Samantha Bryanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684962313482409801noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774305250676105976.post-37574364281590895472024-02-12T06:00:00.004-05:002024-02-12T06:00:00.159-05:00Still writing, after all these years, an open book blog hop post<p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLT8kSzuW8eTX79GXurPXnNIVKbIXRduCnQK4qtFwsc5lH4dZxLv8HT-OD7Ev48xqwoyqX9BdY5w53Ki21lBoXsQOXuFnCl5iHa0f75i1lVFeOWtIejXnH6OHlYoI6jtzdflBR1xnbNTOi2BIHOIBcChhCG5C4Q2PlipcGPDoWcDeikxOxyQ1-CFdiRy7b/s1024/openbook-airplane%20and%20sky.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLT8kSzuW8eTX79GXurPXnNIVKbIXRduCnQK4qtFwsc5lH4dZxLv8HT-OD7Ev48xqwoyqX9BdY5w53Ki21lBoXsQOXuFnCl5iHa0f75i1lVFeOWtIejXnH6OHlYoI6jtzdflBR1xnbNTOi2BIHOIBcChhCG5C4Q2PlipcGPDoWcDeikxOxyQ1-CFdiRy7b/s320/openbook-airplane%20and%20sky.png" /></a></p><br />Welcome to Open Book Blog Hop. You can find us every Monday talking about the writing life. I hope you'll check out all the posts: you'll find the links at the bottom of this post.<p></p><div><blockquote><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Do you ever ask yourself if you are still a writer?</span></b></blockquote><p> <b><span style="font-size: x-large;">______________________</span></b></p>Though I have plenty of moments of doubt in the pursuit of my creative life, my identity as a writer is never in question. I have always written (since I first learned how!), and will always write. </div><div><br /></div><div>Writing is how I process the world, my feelings, events…all of it. Like the quote from EM Forster: "How can I tell what I think till I see what I say?"</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-j2HDQnkIVe2j5CxXld8hzk0yUfTZdenOLtrj3gF7TVk9SO0nH4n_SXHwBNW8C0aqZ65P-UWGCgqfj2X-3ipWMeWBbtHUgBfkVeQu83gF1mpQi_SoBR2g-_dJ1-KsZmSEC036yFT_yA22uN8eDXjsaj0icmRClhgdr3fKBEoB5Q4JcMaJuK7Y2uUEC59G/s736/eMForster.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="552" data-original-width="736" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-j2HDQnkIVe2j5CxXld8hzk0yUfTZdenOLtrj3gF7TVk9SO0nH4n_SXHwBNW8C0aqZ65P-UWGCgqfj2X-3ipWMeWBbtHUgBfkVeQu83gF1mpQi_SoBR2g-_dJ1-KsZmSEC036yFT_yA22uN8eDXjsaj0icmRClhgdr3fKBEoB5Q4JcMaJuK7Y2uUEC59G/s320/eMForster.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/389983648957793709/" target="_blank">image source</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Publishing is another kettle of fish though. It can really feel like there's no return-on-investment in seeking publication and audience for your work. If you let your identity as a writer get tied to your financial or critical success in publishing, losing heart is almost inevitable. <div><br /></div><div>There's going to be rejection. There are going to be poor reviews and unkindness and judgmental behavior. It's a risk you take, when you put your art out there, hoping for connection, hoping to find someone who "gets" what you're doing. </div><div><br /></div><div>Not everyone will. </div><div><br /></div><div>When it's been a long time since I've seen anything into print, I can have some doubts about my publishing career, start to feel that imposter syndrome pulling down on my soul. </div><div><br /></div><div>But, no, I never have to ask if I'm a writer. I write, therefore I am. Or, maybe I am, and therefore I write. Either way, it's not possible for me to give that up. </div><div><br /></div><div>Do you have to fight off doubting demons in your creative endeavors? How do you pull yourself out? I'd love to hear about in the comments! </div><div><br /></div><div>(the earworm from my title: </div><div><br /><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Q5Eoax6I-O4?si=qHrqAwXiBCoG7Ld1" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><div><br /></div></div><!--start InLinkz code-->
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<!--end InLinkz code-->Samantha Bryanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684962313482409801noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774305250676105976.post-10262581720682655502024-02-07T06:00:00.006-05:002024-02-07T06:00:00.274-05:00Author website pet peeves<p style="text-align: center;"> <span style="text-align: center;"> </span><span style="text-align: center;"> </span><span style="text-align: center;"> </span><span style="text-align: center;"> </span><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyNsT8_FZVCrY-nM1-mA5GKailBHy0SUCLJtvyyu040S_D-wen9T4jOUulkF3JjDM847jVG6Sy5LK3yEtvfwa_XNk6aWceinlhUky2y-nRAnpk5oQMeL9ca4dQvN99saim0JmrRBLglCxgGCB-HTBXOT8FAYQFc338ZzGAO-e2ClORYTsqdCL3iuh2ZQ/s320/unnamed.jpg" style="text-align: center;" /></p><br />Welcome to the first Wednesday of the month. You know what that means! It's time to let our insecurities hang out. Yep, it's the <a href="https://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html">Insecure Writer's Support Group blog hop</a>. If you're a writer at any stage of career, I highly recommend this blog hop as a way to connect with other writers for support, sympathy, ideas, and networking. If you're a reader, it's a great way to peek behind the curtain of a writing life.<br /><br />Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG. <span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">The awesome co-hosts for the </span><strong style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">February 7</strong><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;"> posting of the IWS</span>G are <strong style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;"><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://insecurewriterssupportgroup.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u%3Db058c62fa7ffb4280355e8854%26id%3D6e45e7e580%26e%3D9676871092&source=gmail&ust=1707097696779000&usg=AOvVaw0vakP10KTC5Sh1QivitWJM" href="https://janetalcorn.com/" style="color: #007c89; font-weight: normal;" target="_blank">Janet Alcorn,</a> <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://insecurewriterssupportgroup.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u%3Db058c62fa7ffb4280355e8854%26id%3D46347f2521%26e%3D9676871092&source=gmail&ust=1707097696779000&usg=AOvVaw15AOfdgrfbb7ioR5kznqBA" href="https://sewhitebooks.com/" style="color: #007c89; font-weight: normal;" target="_blank">SE White,</a> <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://insecurewriterssupportgroup.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u%3Db058c62fa7ffb4280355e8854%26id%3De903958861%26e%3D9676871092&source=gmail&ust=1707097696779000&usg=AOvVaw1rQBTFq1MShcQy4_4hlewY" href="https://www.victoriamarielees.com/" style="color: #007c89; font-weight: normal;" target="_blank">Victoria Marie Lees,</a> </strong><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">and </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://insecurewriterssupportgroup.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u%3Db058c62fa7ffb4280355e8854%26id%3D89113f5b78%26e%3D9676871092&source=gmail&ust=1707097696779000&usg=AOvVaw2Oa_TI28zNLNxgSuYbNLNx" href="https://cathrinaconstantine.blogspot.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #007c89; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;" target="_blank"><strong>Cathrina Constantine!</strong></a><br /><blockquote><b><span style="font-size: large;">February 7 question:</span><span style="font-size: large;"> What turns you off when visiting an author's website/blog? Lack of information? A drone of negativity? Little mention of the author's books? Constant mention of books? </span></b></blockquote><div>__________________________________________</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm pretty forgiving when it comes to author websites and blogs. People in glass houses and all that.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtdwsquDjgjKlpMq-I5VMbPHK5bYyjxtGOw1grJdhe_Hpcf1aBWJ6ASI0RjqXAvIQaejPx8QtNHCVKlbUV0vmMP_ZBwN9auV0ZTqQFdW-GFLVrWhs9kHFgKF06OyTxie2UjEw4PCqwXzQVRC0pK6TS_lOw9jQN1nxgJYYImlx0l9uxCVOmGpEe6FZ6MsFo/s500/WS-Those-that-live-in-glass-houses-ArtisanEnglish.jp_-500x333.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="333" data-original-width="500" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtdwsquDjgjKlpMq-I5VMbPHK5bYyjxtGOw1grJdhe_Hpcf1aBWJ6ASI0RjqXAvIQaejPx8QtNHCVKlbUV0vmMP_ZBwN9auV0ZTqQFdW-GFLVrWhs9kHFgKF06OyTxie2UjEw4PCqwXzQVRC0pK6TS_lOw9jQN1nxgJYYImlx0l9uxCVOmGpEe6FZ6MsFo/s320/WS-Those-that-live-in-glass-houses-ArtisanEnglish.jp_-500x333.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.artisanenglish.jp/debate-and-discussion-online/people-who-live-in-glass-houses/" target="_blank">image source</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>This site, for example, started out as a mommy blog back in the day (like, 2009), and has slowly morphed into a blog + pages for my author life as I started to build something you might call an actual author life.</div><div><br /></div><div>It's a bit of a Frankenstein's monster now, made out of pieces of other things, put together by someone who's not particularly skilled at that. </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUTzMw5KkHUPPL9Tp5C_q8EWg8CpJaktR6h6FtRETytwOqfwkZvor2bwJmPlNcrITnwqc2MtSTHv4OyYdn1LuFkgTLb6F_o-08YjttdAkls4nUrYED7XEB2-COQBu3U0bICCx6MEfAeq9eDWFTKaJIn4X0N-0NJhGvCfY8wG5Vve27KQCqa-xPgS1JHmDP/s1200/Signs-you-are-frankensteining-your-website.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUTzMw5KkHUPPL9Tp5C_q8EWg8CpJaktR6h6FtRETytwOqfwkZvor2bwJmPlNcrITnwqc2MtSTHv4OyYdn1LuFkgTLb6F_o-08YjttdAkls4nUrYED7XEB2-COQBu3U0bICCx6MEfAeq9eDWFTKaJIn4X0N-0NJhGvCfY8wG5Vve27KQCqa-xPgS1JHmDP/s320/Signs-you-are-frankensteining-your-website.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.bluchic.com/why-piecing-site-together-is-hurting-business/" target="_blank">image source</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>I'm well aware of the flaws in my own site. </div><div><br /></div><div>I have great plans for migrating to another platform because Blogger has been falling apart for years, but there's a lot of decisions to make and tons of actual work to that, so it keeps getting bumped down the to-do list. That constant balance of time-energy-money. Migration takes a lot of resources…even just figuring out what to pack and take with you versus what to let go. </div><div><br /></div><div>So, I definitely bear all that in mind when I am tempted to pass judgment on what someone else has managed to do in this crazy endeavor we call building a writing life. </div><div><br /></div><div>So, with all that as caveat, here are my three main pet peeves on author websites:</div><div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><b>Pop-ups: </b>Modals demanding that I subscribe to a newsletter or click over to the latest publication. Especially if those cover the thing I came there to read and are difficult to get back out of. If I like what I see, I'll seek out your newsletter--put the link at the side or in an obvious menu, but don't pop it up on me just because I scroll down or try to navigate away--that feels scammy and pushy and guarantees I will not subscribe. </li><li><b>No contact information:</b> that's a basic on any website. People might want to reach out to you! Maybe invite you to be a part of an event. I've had it happen. I understand the desire for privacy, but it can cost you opportunities to be difficult to reach out to. You can use a form if you don't want to post an email address. </li><li><b>Flashing or moving displays that can't be turned off: </b>I don't see this so much anymore, but for a little while, it was quite the fashion to have a video play, or a carousel display on a website and I hate it. An interactive element for a purpose has its place, but on an author's website? Nope. I came here for the words, read with my eyeballs, at the pace I choose. </li></ol><div>So there ya go, Samantha's two cents on author websites. How about you? What puts you off or pulls you in? What do you do for your own site, if you maintain one? I'd love to hear about in the comments! </div></div>Samantha Bryanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684962313482409801noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774305250676105976.post-31685104905341375622024-02-05T06:00:00.002-05:002024-02-05T06:00:00.268-05:00Naming my imaginary friends, an open book blog hop post<p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLT8kSzuW8eTX79GXurPXnNIVKbIXRduCnQK4qtFwsc5lH4dZxLv8HT-OD7Ev48xqwoyqX9BdY5w53Ki21lBoXsQOXuFnCl5iHa0f75i1lVFeOWtIejXnH6OHlYoI6jtzdflBR1xnbNTOi2BIHOIBcChhCG5C4Q2PlipcGPDoWcDeikxOxyQ1-CFdiRy7b/s1024/openbook-airplane%20and%20sky.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLT8kSzuW8eTX79GXurPXnNIVKbIXRduCnQK4qtFwsc5lH4dZxLv8HT-OD7Ev48xqwoyqX9BdY5w53Ki21lBoXsQOXuFnCl5iHa0f75i1lVFeOWtIejXnH6OHlYoI6jtzdflBR1xnbNTOi2BIHOIBcChhCG5C4Q2PlipcGPDoWcDeikxOxyQ1-CFdiRy7b/s320/openbook-airplane%20and%20sky.png" /></a></p><br />Welcome to Open Book Blog Hop. You can find us every Monday talking about the writing life. I hope you'll check out all the posts: you'll find the links at the bottom of this post.<p></p><div><blockquote><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">How do you choose your characters' names?</span></b></blockquote><p> <b><span style="font-size: x-large;">______________________</span></b></p><p><span>For my main body of work,<a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074CHNLQ2" target="_blank"> the Menopausal Superheroes series</a>, I wanted an every-woman feel for my main characters. </span></p><p><span>So, to pick the first names of <b>Jessica</b>, <b>Patricia</b>, <b>Cindy</b>, <b>Linda</b>, and <b>Helen</b>, I went to the internet and looked at census information for the birth year of each of them, and chose from the top ten most popular names that year. </span></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074CHNLQ2" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="851" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv0Lzk9u9gorOqQuGeszUUSaq1zYSAaCF-cmPKA5JuU9-6Z8T642m4jWqYGFJm5-odVip-kGf8NvHaJRyQ9rajzLsH-n_YdSYoqbzrS9h8JvahVpbOFjBWb1HZvQ2oRwdzqJNUO3s9AZ4HsvNvgXgXlxuayKb41U3JcM60tugu5dRUG1gclNt-Nsn2IVM5/w400-h148/Banner-Take-Two%20(1).png" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074CHNLQ2" target="_blank">The Menopausal Superheroes as drawn by Charles C. Dowd. </a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p>Their last names came about for a few different reasons. <b>Jessica Roark AKA Flygirl</b> took her last name from an old friend. <b>Patricia O'Neill AKA The Lizard Woman</b> borrowed her surname from my beloved dog. <b>Cindy Liu</b>, my mad scientist, took on her moniker after some research into common Chinese surnames that English speakers would find relatively easy to pronounce. <b>Linda Álvarez</b>, later <b>Leonel, AKA Fuerte</b> adopted their last name from one of my former students. <b>Helen Braeburn'</b>s last name was a bit of a pun to entertain myself, based on her apple-shaped figure and her powers of fire wielding.</p><p>When it came time to name all the past lives of Cindy Liu's father, one of the villains of the series, I named them for actors from old horror movies, recombining names like Vincent Price, Boris Karloff, Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Basil Rathbone, John Carradine, and Peter Lorre to make all his aliases. This was partly because of his story line--he literally has transferred his brain from body to body after killing the men whose body he wants to take over--and partly just because I love those old movies and the actors who starred in them. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCOchBde_IdclT_CtoYoOZddooU9OnXH9gipcW-eKH_g_aUpRPJNU9ky4emE5NdJhXIAWVnOEbjCP1_0A2WMP3wuyBV1g2vJ3SCvJLnlaFx8sSJNxkkhwHQVF64YbdV-pQrRc-snAdcTEFzxjboOpybVAI6ONIxYjG00WgGazRnYuosE8WQIYkrd9Pm0JR/s803/horror%20kings.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="803" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCOchBde_IdclT_CtoYoOZddooU9OnXH9gipcW-eKH_g_aUpRPJNU9ky4emE5NdJhXIAWVnOEbjCP1_0A2WMP3wuyBV1g2vJ3SCvJLnlaFx8sSJNxkkhwHQVF64YbdV-pQrRc-snAdcTEFzxjboOpybVAI6ONIxYjG00WgGazRnYuosE8WQIYkrd9Pm0JR/s320/horror%20kings.jpeg" width="319" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/OldSchoolCool/comments/9dqls0/old_school_ghoul_the_four_kings_of_horror/" target="_blank">image source</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>Thoughout the series, minor characters have often been named after people in my life, just a little Easter egg to myself and them, a thank you for love and support. So all the members of my critique group have made appearances in their somewhere, with one or both of their names. So have several other folks from my broader writing community. One of my kids made an appearance as a child with a healing ability. </p><p>In other pieces I've written, my naming practices have varied. </p><p>Sometimes it's about researching the time frame, class, and ethnicity of my character to choose an appropriate name. Dienihatiri, the main character in "His Destroyer" published in <a href="https://www.amazon.com/SLAY-Stories-Nicole-Givens-Kurtz-ebook/dp/B08FM3MC3L"><b>Slay: Stories of the Vampire Noire</b></a>, lived in Egypt during the time of the ten plagues. I ran across the name of <a href="https://www.thetorah.com/article/what-we-know-about-slavery-in-egypt">a real historical person </a>in my research about the nature of what the lives of enslaved people were like, and kept it for my story.</p><p>The woman architect in one of my upcoming projects, a Gothic romance called <i>The Architect and the Heir</i>, came to me with her name already in place, Devon Brook. I loved it because it allowed for the gender misunderstanding I'd need for the plot, and played on her discomfort with water. </p><p>So, I guess I don't have any one way that I get there, but I find the right name for my imaginary friends one way or another. Know any good stories about character names? Tell me about it in the comments! And don't forget to check out what my colleagues have to say about how they handle this in their work at the link below. </p></div><!--start InLinkz code-->
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<!--end InLinkz code-->Samantha Bryanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684962313482409801noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774305250676105976.post-27477101730961263292024-01-29T06:00:00.001-05:002024-01-29T06:00:00.140-05:00Pen Name or Not? <p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLT8kSzuW8eTX79GXurPXnNIVKbIXRduCnQK4qtFwsc5lH4dZxLv8HT-OD7Ev48xqwoyqX9BdY5w53Ki21lBoXsQOXuFnCl5iHa0f75i1lVFeOWtIejXnH6OHlYoI6jtzdflBR1xnbNTOi2BIHOIBcChhCG5C4Q2PlipcGPDoWcDeikxOxyQ1-CFdiRy7b/s1024/openbook-airplane%20and%20sky.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLT8kSzuW8eTX79GXurPXnNIVKbIXRduCnQK4qtFwsc5lH4dZxLv8HT-OD7Ev48xqwoyqX9BdY5w53Ki21lBoXsQOXuFnCl5iHa0f75i1lVFeOWtIejXnH6OHlYoI6jtzdflBR1xnbNTOi2BIHOIBcChhCG5C4Q2PlipcGPDoWcDeikxOxyQ1-CFdiRy7b/s320/openbook-airplane%20and%20sky.png" /></a></p><br />Welcome to Open Book Blog Hop. You can find us every Monday talking about the writing life. I hope you'll check out all the posts: you'll find the links at the bottom of this post.<p></p><div><blockquote><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Do you use or have you considered using different pen names for different genres of your writing?</span></b></blockquote><p> <b><span style="font-size: x-large;">______________________</span></b></p><p>Pen names always seem like fun to me. Choosing a new version of yourself to go with your writing, so you have a tough guy name for that noir you're writing and something soft and flowery for the romance. Maybe my Gothic romance (when I finish it) could come from someone like Violet Nightshade, instead of the more mundane Samantha Bryant. It's a fun kind of branding. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIDqnBqc-4rjlJaKyDBllZCWwQu-Fa7oEhDmWCQyUcF3_gL92gazoeREqVrE12zECkp302IQvXtIW1X0AMm36vzf7qKQvUXbGxVHscgNvs1wp8b6w9DaN_82zEP5MFOiz2jMvLS2EP0TbGcz47X95vVk7MqgDizz6bvXHhlgXgD6sG5YkKG7RWre7REZ0K/s480/hello-my-pen-name-is.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="480" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIDqnBqc-4rjlJaKyDBllZCWwQu-Fa7oEhDmWCQyUcF3_gL92gazoeREqVrE12zECkp302IQvXtIW1X0AMm36vzf7qKQvUXbGxVHscgNvs1wp8b6w9DaN_82zEP5MFOiz2jMvLS2EP0TbGcz47X95vVk7MqgDizz6bvXHhlgXgD6sG5YkKG7RWre7REZ0K/s320/hello-my-pen-name-is.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.writerswrite.com/bookpublishing/pen-names/">image source</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>But in this day and age, marketing means keeping up with social media for your work, and I find that overwhelming enough without managing several different version of myself. I can't imagine keeping up with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Bluesky, etc. for more than one of me. When would I actually write? </p><p>I know some writers get around this by having their pen names be an open secret, like Gail Z. Martin writing as Morgan Brice or Ursula Vernon writing as T. Kingfisher (just to name couple from my circles), but I'm probably not a big enough fish for that, and I don't want to make it any harder for someone who enjoyed something I wrote to find the rest of it!</p><p>So, I've thought about it, but I think I'll stick to just being Samantha Bryant, regardless of what I'm writing. I'm plenty to handle. </p><p>Do you use pen names in your work? Do you follow writers who do? </p><p><br /></p></div><!-- start InLinkz code -->
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<!-- end InLinkz code -->Samantha Bryanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684962313482409801noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774305250676105976.post-1337782608852723012024-01-22T06:00:00.006-05:002024-01-22T06:00:00.165-05:00Every Novel is a Puzzle<p style="text-align: center;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLT8kSzuW8eTX79GXurPXnNIVKbIXRduCnQK4qtFwsc5lH4dZxLv8HT-OD7Ev48xqwoyqX9BdY5w53Ki21lBoXsQOXuFnCl5iHa0f75i1lVFeOWtIejXnH6OHlYoI6jtzdflBR1xnbNTOi2BIHOIBcChhCG5C4Q2PlipcGPDoWcDeikxOxyQ1-CFdiRy7b/s320/openbook-airplane%20and%20sky.png" /></p><br />Welcome to Open Book Blog Hop. You can find us every Monday talking about the writing life. I hope you'll check out all the posts: you'll find the links at the bottom of this post.<div> <b><span style="font-size: x-large;">______________________</span></b><div><p><span>Now this was fun! Are you a puzzle fan? Well, here's the first of the novels in the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074CHNLQ2" target="_blank">Menopausal Superhero series</a> made into a jigsaw puzzle! (If you need some hints, the title is <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07NGN67XX" target="_blank">Going Through the Change</a></i>, and my name is <a href="https://www.amazon.com/stores/Samantha-Bryant/author/B00TBPQTLY" target="_blank">Samantha Bryant-</a>-those bits will get you a goodly portion of the puzzle). And like any jigsaw puzzle aficionado will tell you--establish the edges first. It helps. </span></p></div><iframe allowfullscreen="true" src="https://www.jigsawexplorer.com/online-jigsaw-puzzle-player.html?frm=1&url=aHR0cHM6Ly9tLm1lZGlhLWFtYXpvbi5jb20vaW1hZ2VzL0kvNzFCSDd1MEtORkwuX0FDX1VGMTAwMCwxMDAwX1FMODBfLmpwZw~~&color=plum" style="border-color: #888; border-style: solid; border-width: 2px; height: 600px; max-height: 90vh; width: 100%;" title="Jigsaw Puzzle">Jigsaw Puzzle</iframe><div><br /></div><div>I enjoyed this quite a bit, and it's a nice analogy for writing as well. Writing a new book does feel like solving a puzzle. I get it in pieces and as I work the overall vision becomes clearer and hangs together better until: voilá! </div></div><div><br /></div><div>Hope you enjoy it! And be sure to check out the other puzzles in this week's blog hop at the link below. </div><div><br /></div><!--start InLinkz code-->
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<!--end InLinkz code-->Samantha Bryanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684962313482409801noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774305250676105976.post-66131038574608048772024-01-03T05:00:00.001-05:002024-01-03T05:00:00.174-05:00BookBub or Bust, an IWSG post<p style="text-align: center;"> <span style="text-align: center;"> </span><span style="text-align: center;"> </span><span style="text-align: center;"> </span><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyNsT8_FZVCrY-nM1-mA5GKailBHy0SUCLJtvyyu040S_D-wen9T4jOUulkF3JjDM847jVG6Sy5LK3yEtvfwa_XNk6aWceinlhUky2y-nRAnpk5oQMeL9ca4dQvN99saim0JmrRBLglCxgGCB-HTBXOT8FAYQFc338ZzGAO-e2ClORYTsqdCL3iuh2ZQ/s320/unnamed.jpg" style="text-align: center;" /></p><br />Welcome to the first Wednesday of the month. You know what that means! It's time to let our insecurities hang out. Yep, it's the <a href="https://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html">Insecure Writer's Support Group blog hop</a>. If you're a writer at any stage of career, I highly recommend this blog hop as a way to connect with other writers for support, sympathy, ideas, and networking. If you're a reader, it's a great way to peek behind the curtain of a writing life.<br /><br />Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG. <span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">The awesome co-hosts for the </span><strong style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">January 3</strong><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;"> posting of the IWS</span>G are <a href="https://joylenebutler.com/blog/">Joylene Nowell Butler,</a> <a href="https://olgagodim.wordpress.com/">Olga Godim,</a> <a href="https://pensivepenspost.blogspot.com/">Diedre Knight,</a> and <a href="http://www.literaryrambles.com/">Natalie Aguirre!</a><br /><br /><blockquote><b><span style="font-size: large;">January 3 question:</span><span style="font-size: large;"> Do you follow back your readers on BookBub or do you only follow back other authors?</span></b></blockquote><div>__________________________________________</div><div><br /></div><div>Happy New Year! Here's hoping that 2024 bring you joy, on and off the page. I like the feeling of fresh start that comes with a flip of the calendar. </div><div><br /></div><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUdT7Aiub6V27OSyuipVTrwkwASC9lzC7E5L1ZZ9eAssREIbjs3vq0AupMuEKYh2IspakMQAvPd9fFlIb9z6GLWC-_nvZHprrUnfmLVGPSZFsTe2q9lrj6DuIotUEDhBPZXjwFzqK9qvSPhtV0RWaFYDf-lcm6DoAx69ozzGK9gk38YOZjoYOoDJ0aMv_X/s1148/john-burrough-quote.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1148" data-original-width="700" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUdT7Aiub6V27OSyuipVTrwkwASC9lzC7E5L1ZZ9eAssREIbjs3vq0AupMuEKYh2IspakMQAvPd9fFlIb9z6GLWC-_nvZHprrUnfmLVGPSZFsTe2q9lrj6DuIotUEDhBPZXjwFzqK9qvSPhtV0RWaFYDf-lcm6DoAx69ozzGK9gk38YOZjoYOoDJ0aMv_X/s320/john-burrough-quote.png" width="195" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.brightontheday.com/not-enough-hours-in-a-day/" target="_blank">image source</a></td></tr></tbody></table>Maybe this will be the year that I make proper use of BookBub as an author. Because up till now, it's stayed pretty low on my priority list.</div><div><br /></div><div>It's not that I don't see the value; it's more that I struggle to find the time. I write alongside a demanding day job and maintaining a family and household. So, mostly, my entire writing life fits into about two hours a day. Sometimes less. A few times a year, more. </div><div><br /></div><div>So, writing new work, promoting previously published work, networking, blogging, and keeping up a presence in the ever-changing landscape of social media keep me pretty darn busy. </div><div><br /></div><div>I probably visit BookBub quarterly at best. When I do, I look to see who has followed me. Whether they are readers or authors doesn't make any difference to me so far as the likelihood that I'll follow back. I just click on their link and look at what they're up to and if I spot anything of interest, I'll give them a follow. </div><div><br /></div><div>Then I recommend a book or two and wander off for another three months. </div><div><br /></div><div>I do still appreciate the newsletter offerings as a reader, though, and I know that the BookBub feature that my ex-publisher got for me at the outset really gave a boost to my number of reviews, so it's a worthwhile venture. Just not one I've really made time for yet. </div><div><br /></div><div>How about you? Do you make use of BookBub as a reader or writer? If so, what do you like to do with it? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Samantha Bryanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684962313482409801noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774305250676105976.post-48583636177214386452023-12-18T06:00:00.003-05:002023-12-18T18:57:39.234-05:00From idea to story, an open book blog hop post<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLT8kSzuW8eTX79GXurPXnNIVKbIXRduCnQK4qtFwsc5lH4dZxLv8HT-OD7Ev48xqwoyqX9BdY5w53Ki21lBoXsQOXuFnCl5iHa0f75i1lVFeOWtIejXnH6OHlYoI6jtzdflBR1xnbNTOi2BIHOIBcChhCG5C4Q2PlipcGPDoWcDeikxOxyQ1-CFdiRy7b/s1024/openbook-airplane%20and%20sky.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="1024" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLT8kSzuW8eTX79GXurPXnNIVKbIXRduCnQK4qtFwsc5lH4dZxLv8HT-OD7Ev48xqwoyqX9BdY5w53Ki21lBoXsQOXuFnCl5iHa0f75i1lVFeOWtIejXnH6OHlYoI6jtzdflBR1xnbNTOi2BIHOIBcChhCG5C4Q2PlipcGPDoWcDeikxOxyQ1-CFdiRy7b/s320/openbook-airplane%20and%20sky.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />Welcome to Open Book Blog Hop. You can find us every Monday talking about the writing life. I hope you'll check out all the posts: you'll find the links at the bottom of this post.<p></p><div><blockquote><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Describe your steps for moving from a story idea to a finished story.</span></b></blockquote><p> <b><span style="font-size: x-large;">______________________</span></b></p><p><span>Ideas are never my problem. I have several a day. But some of them will never be anything more than a passing fancy, a clever quip, a "what if?" </span></p><p><span>I'm sure I've lost some ideas that could've become something because the idea came at an inconvenient moment (while cooking, in the middle of a work meeting, during the night) and I didn't pin it down, but I don't worry too much over those because I'll have other ideas. </span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK9IgvxiQ4sSgqQfBd6gvVPhD9rlBskNQ48699uFhm9JfzcMXloQDKiF-zkht-h36i1xG-vh6Du6wb5k9iE3KgGXc1WUNATURyfDkCJ86rSQLJoz_XaRLweuhjRX6mdsFa44D0JVGPap0NXIbO1FVui6iHqQCi9OMO8yjTJv68P8t9RApOdfkODvmKVDjg/s1200/steinbeck-ideas%20like%20rabbits.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1200" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK9IgvxiQ4sSgqQfBd6gvVPhD9rlBskNQ48699uFhm9JfzcMXloQDKiF-zkht-h36i1xG-vh6Du6wb5k9iE3KgGXc1WUNATURyfDkCJ86rSQLJoz_XaRLweuhjRX6mdsFa44D0JVGPap0NXIbO1FVui6iHqQCi9OMO8yjTJv68P8t9RApOdfkODvmKVDjg/s320/steinbeck-ideas%20like%20rabbits.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://thiswriterslife.com/monday-motivation-ideas-are-everywhere/" target="_blank">image source</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p>Some ideas are special though. You have a little thought and it persists. It keeps coming back around and poking you in the brain. Like "hey, hey, hey." </p><p>The initial inspiration for my <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074CHNLQ2" target="_blank">Menopausal Superhero series</a> was like that. It just kept flitting back into my thoughts, like some part of brain had been noodling on it all this time, even though I was in the middle of writing a completely different novel at the time.</p><p>Getting from idea to a story takes a lot of forms for me. Since I've been under contract for a novel series these past few years, I don't always have the freedom to follow a new idea right at the moment I have it--there are deadlines, after all. </p><p>So if I really like the idea, I try to pin it down so I can come back to it later--send myself a text, keep a voice memo, use the notes app on my phone to capture a paragraph or two. Mostly, this works for me and I'm able to pick up the idea at a later time, months or even years later. I do come back and pick those up a lot of the time, but not always.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUX2gYAV9bj_ylJjUO0zFcavs9_-i9Nj6wr_OZvUePs73J4Z9xtShamVKDRgLWn8_Vy6aLP1nj4lEUtHYhu63DnMedgl6-Zch_rtPDZIJdESzOfXgd9WE0oAB2Vx1fIquUZFc9t1h7IO1-at_Sb1MMrq2iphkiIoHMngwqK9w1AVjNGzH2JHBtN2duutuZ/s4400/glamorous%20distractions.webp" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2475" data-original-width="4400" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUX2gYAV9bj_ylJjUO0zFcavs9_-i9Nj6wr_OZvUePs73J4Z9xtShamVKDRgLWn8_Vy6aLP1nj4lEUtHYhu63DnMedgl6-Zch_rtPDZIJdESzOfXgd9WE0oAB2Vx1fIquUZFc9t1h7IO1-at_Sb1MMrq2iphkiIoHMngwqK9w1AVjNGzH2JHBtN2duutuZ/s320/glamorous%20distractions.webp" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://leadershipfreak.blog/2021/12/01/4-questions-that-define-a-useful-idea/" target="_blank">image source</a></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Sometimes, though, I'm too distracted by the idea to focus elsewhere. It's TOO persistent. In those cases, I've been known to give in, and follow the new idea through a few pages or even a whole draft (if it's an idea that is poem, article, or short-story sized, as opposed to book-sized. That's probably not good for finishing the novel--I have that ADD tendency to want to follow the "new shiny" all the time, and I have to discipline myself to keep my focus in one place long enough to finish. But, it's a balance and mostly I do okay at finding it. </p><p>There is sometimes a talking phase for me. My husband is my sounding board for a lot of these. </p><p></p><blockquote><p><span style="font-size: large;">We'll be driving or out walking somewhere and I'll say, "I have an idea." </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">He'll say, "What's it going to cost us?" </span></p></blockquote><p></p><p>I think he's relieved when my idea is for a story I want to write and not for a room I want to remodel. He always has some good questions, and his initial response helps me figure out if the idea might appeal to readers or not. </p><p>Once I've picked an idea to focus on though, I'm pretty dogged. Years of managing my "squirrel brain" has taught me how to make myself zero in and commit. </p><p>I'm not a planner in my writing though. On that planner to pantser spectrum of writing, I'm dangerously close to being out in public without any pants. So, to my writer friends who are outliners, my process looks like I'm just flailing around, I'm sure. </p><p>It works for me though. </p><p>While I'm focused on a particular project, I have a rule that I have to touch it every day, even if it's just to re-read and think about it for a while. That keeps me moving steadily forward, and lets my subconscious work on it while I'm handle the mundanities of life. I write every day; I make steady progress; eventually, I get there. </p><p>I have a regular critique group and I rely on their input to let me know when I'm done--when the story on the page works for the reader. Then, I start the publication cycle--research, submission, revision (sometimes), rinse and repeat until successful. </p><p>So far, all my work is traditionally published, in that I submit it to a publisher who accepts it or doesn't and the process follows their procedures from there, but I do have plans for some all-indie projects in the future and I'm looking forward to figuring all that out. </p><p>How about you? What decides which of your ideas makes it to fruition? Do you have a backlog you hope to get to someday? I'd love to hear about in the comments. </p></div><!--start InLinkz code-->
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<!--end InLinkz code-->Samantha Bryanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684962313482409801noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774305250676105976.post-69088049716890385182023-12-11T06:00:00.001-05:002023-12-11T06:00:00.272-05:00Top 5 of 2023, an open book blog hop post<p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjFYJRcMZaAY6pzrWeaM6H68cGo_ODZm8xjpgOg8Xo2G1h2AfGiz2ZlYZFFoWn_-At6HVY2Hid0dED1aykCYz-DxLsXSX6SMntuFulEDKfk0Srt7T80sgeX4ErhSrNnz3GZ8BSqfu1wT0JG3onQ1fbUVFvSIOFfdE5SCLxylut1NSTXuPsgIERNc8fkB_W/s1024/openbook-blankbook.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="1024" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjFYJRcMZaAY6pzrWeaM6H68cGo_ODZm8xjpgOg8Xo2G1h2AfGiz2ZlYZFFoWn_-At6HVY2Hid0dED1aykCYz-DxLsXSX6SMntuFulEDKfk0Srt7T80sgeX4ErhSrNnz3GZ8BSqfu1wT0JG3onQ1fbUVFvSIOFfdE5SCLxylut1NSTXuPsgIERNc8fkB_W/s320/openbook-blankbook.png" width="320" /></a></p><p>Welcome to Open Book Blog Hop. You can find us every Monday talking about the writing life. I hope you'll check out all the posts: you'll find the links at the bottom of this post.</p><div><blockquote><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Tell us the top five best things that have happened to you in the past year. (Focus on writing, but other things are allowed)</span></b></blockquote><p> <b><span style="font-size: x-large;">______________________</span></b></p><p><span>I'm not sure these are in order, but here are five great things about my 2023 in writing: </span></p><p><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">1. Day job success: </span></b></p><p><span>This might seem off topic for a post about my writing successes, but my day job as a content strategist at a big financial company (a new career which I started in May of 2022) is going well. I like the work, but it doesn't drain me dry like teaching did. It pays better, too, which alleviates some stress. </span></p><p><span>And all of that makes for a better writing life. It's hard to focus on your imaginary friends if you're worried about feeding your real family, after all. </span></p><p><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">2. Convention time feeds my inspiration and energy</span></b></p><p><span>I went to several conventions and events this year, promoting my published work, networking, and just enjoying feeling successful and just a little bit famous. My work sold well at several of these, and I got to participate in some great panel discussions, and meet a few writing world celebrities. </span></p><p><span>Highlights include having someone who had not read my work before buy the $100 omnibus edition of the Menopausal Superhero series (what a show of faith!), talking with horror author Gabino Iglesias about Puerto Rico and parenting while writing while we shared a signing table, and visiting the Poe Museum with Esther Friesner, a comedic fantasy author known for<i> Chicks in Chainmail. </i></span></p><p><span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgycnZ0LgO9LrQ4rolY_vMzf86cBTejN6p6H33Gn4S5VWKPMMkUhFMP6YWXkXEiBbUcHZ3-UkKBmNzIVQIJMYyd4xCbqL60RGYN0ll_TRQ-mfUI7DaKZ1hFKmxsC-oXPLCVd7tJrsHDg1EWCR5PcRUTmsRzLx4xS3YDRnBmFamdRockSWefFXHaPhZXrGeo/s1776/Screen%20Shot%202023-12-08%20at%209.46.20%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1338" data-original-width="1776" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgycnZ0LgO9LrQ4rolY_vMzf86cBTejN6p6H33Gn4S5VWKPMMkUhFMP6YWXkXEiBbUcHZ3-UkKBmNzIVQIJMYyd4xCbqL60RGYN0ll_TRQ-mfUI7DaKZ1hFKmxsC-oXPLCVd7tJrsHDg1EWCR5PcRUTmsRzLx4xS3YDRnBmFamdRockSWefFXHaPhZXrGeo/s320/Screen%20Shot%202023-12-08%20at%209.46.20%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In front of the Poe Museum with writing friends</td></tr></tbody></table><span><br /></span><p></p><p><span>Now that I've been doing "the con circuit" for eight years, I've got this whole family of writer friends and it's a joy to get time to spend with them a few times a year. </span></p><p><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">3. Travel! Puerto Rico, Beach, PNW</span></b></p><p>The opportunity to travel is one of the great joys of my life and I had three lovely trips this year: to Puerto Rico with all the Bryants (including the elder daughter's partner), to the beach with my youngest kiddo and a few of their best friends for birthday aquarium fun, and to the Seattle area of Washington with my mom to visit my sister. That's a lot for one year!</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-2mOd6Fb-E5JaXvzM0mBjGaps8FoMYZdGRumXz50kXwytKK2sQ8yzkq6-gWi4JFBxI50YN7ka21EEnoRAJqGvGpe4D2JcfoCZNmHAhegYVCVfXB_D-HkR6mGnAzoGGJWCTAe7eGd0BT8Sf8z3De69n1t_Lg8r5jA4sOeo3YZHTAH1GNDFvP_OMBuTBa-K/s1794/Screen%20Shot%202023-12-08%20at%209.51.55%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1346" data-original-width="1794" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-2mOd6Fb-E5JaXvzM0mBjGaps8FoMYZdGRumXz50kXwytKK2sQ8yzkq6-gWi4JFBxI50YN7ka21EEnoRAJqGvGpe4D2JcfoCZNmHAhegYVCVfXB_D-HkR6mGnAzoGGJWCTAe7eGd0BT8Sf8z3De69n1t_Lg8r5jA4sOeo3YZHTAH1GNDFvP_OMBuTBa-K/s320/Screen%20Shot%202023-12-08%20at%209.51.55%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The family in a park in PR</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>Travel always sets my brain and spirit alight, and that's got to be good for my wordsmithing. I wouldn't be at all surprised if El Yunque or the beach or Rattlesnake Lake shows up in something I write soon. </p><p><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">4. Two new publications</span></b></p><p><span>I didn't publish a lot this year--my focus has been on the series-ending novel for the Menopausal Superheroes series, which hasn't left me much time to focus on submitting short stories or writing other new pieces. So, I was pleased as punch to still manage to get two new stories into anthologies this year!</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi830qCzaKrHTJVkqthtlxoe_fJumQlwU89BJUmI4COjyUMbVKie4dt-B9COXOGbxO2hIVbGbo4NOEtEK73xlyOCJ8mdEspP7ly8SD4ZcVMhxQU7JwmCg3Sra0EK_LxB7sVnjvcpvbZNbdN05Gaf4ArCo7gLxxbvK74D3z9uGNg3_nKWFWqAqoUWOHOHlX1/s1012/Screen%20Shot%202023-12-08%20at%209.56.36%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="758" data-original-width="1012" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi830qCzaKrHTJVkqthtlxoe_fJumQlwU89BJUmI4COjyUMbVKie4dt-B9COXOGbxO2hIVbGbo4NOEtEK73xlyOCJ8mdEspP7ly8SD4ZcVMhxQU7JwmCg3Sra0EK_LxB7sVnjvcpvbZNbdN05Gaf4ArCo7gLxxbvK74D3z9uGNg3_nKWFWqAqoUWOHOHlX1/s320/Screen%20Shot%202023-12-08%20at%209.56.36%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My new anthologies!</td></tr></tbody></table><br />You can read "The New Guy" a bit of science fiction set on an off-world botany lab in <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Breaking-Free-Stories-Escape-Survival-ebook/dp/B0CLK6CLNB/" target="_blank">Breaking Free</a></i>, an anthology from my critique group and "The Other Jack" a horror piece with urban legend vibes in <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CK5331PF/" target="_blank">Tangle & Fen</a></i> from <a href="https://cronegirlspress.com/" target="_blank">Crone Girls Press</a>, a small feminist horror press I've had the pleasure of working with several times now. <p></p><p>If you check them out, remember to leave a review! More reviews = more visibility, even if they are brief. <br /><span><br /></span></p><p><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">5. Progress on that series-ending novel</span></b></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Menopausal-Superheroes-4-book-series/dp/B074CHNLQ2" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="718" data-original-width="948" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlncyQgsobJoZLm7TY7G965k8nBPlfwDWbyKYv6BmYRvR6bp0vWMgv313mwQq3RWHR0q5T8lhfeahdtPei2B-YIWPWlXrFWnJCEcdyQh4LQ6hjBacDE67jSGuxKyJ4WG2EfWOQOChJbTL-cmF3qhtsAa5VhTt-eD-UevmJMkPh9OcV_pqG7Scp1GYObHrn/s320/All-Meno-Heroes%202021.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The first <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Menopausal-Superheroes-4-book-series/dp/B074CHNLQ2" target="_blank">Menopausal Superhero</a> novel, <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07NGN67XX" target="_blank">Going Through the Change</a></i>, came out in 2015 and I've been writing in that universe ever since, seeing three more novels, two novellas, and a collection of shorts into the world, as well as that omnibus edition I was telling you about. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I love my heroes, and have enjoyed writing these action-adventure-comedy-women's fiction books, but it's time to move on to other projects, so I'm also happy to be wrapping it up. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">But writing a series-ender is a different sort of writing task than writing "the next one" and it's taken me longer than the others. I feel like I'm near the end now, though, and I'm hopeful that I'll be able to share the finished series with you in 2025! (That seems far away, but it'll also go quickly, I know). </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It'll be the end of an era, and I'm hoping to celebrate with a big publication party and maybe a book tour. We'll see what me and my publisher come up with :-)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">_________________</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So, that's my year in words. I hope 2023 was kind to you as well, giving you a lot to feel grateful for as the year comes to an end. Don't forget to check out the other posts in this blog hop and leave me a comment letting me know how your 2023 went. </div><p></p></div><!--start InLinkz code-->
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Samantha Bryanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684962313482409801noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774305250676105976.post-61711551304411203582023-12-06T06:00:00.017-05:002023-12-06T06:00:00.142-05:00The Perils of Book Reviews, an IWSG post<p style="text-align: center;"> <span style="text-align: center;"> </span><span style="text-align: center;"> </span><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyNsT8_FZVCrY-nM1-mA5GKailBHy0SUCLJtvyyu040S_D-wen9T4jOUulkF3JjDM847jVG6Sy5LK3yEtvfwa_XNk6aWceinlhUky2y-nRAnpk5oQMeL9ca4dQvN99saim0JmrRBLglCxgGCB-HTBXOT8FAYQFc338ZzGAO-e2ClORYTsqdCL3iuh2ZQ/s320/unnamed.jpg" style="text-align: center;" /></p><br />Welcome to the first Wednesday of the month. You know what that means! It's time to let our insecurities hang out. Yep, it's the <a href="https://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html">Insecure Writer's Support Group blog hop</a>. If you're a writer at any stage of career, I highly recommend this blog hop as a way to connect with other writers for support, sympathy, ideas, and networking. If you're a reader, it's a great way to peek behind the curtain of a writing life.<br /><br />Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG. <span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">The awesome co-hosts for the </span><strong style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">December 6</strong><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;"> posting of the IWS</span>G are <a href="https://cleemckenziebooks.com/blog/">C. Lee McKenzie,</a> <a href="https://www.jqrose.com/">JQ Rose,</a> <a href="https://jenniferlanebooks.com/">Jennifer Lane,</a> and <a href="https://worddreams.wordpress.com/">Jacqui Murray!</a><br /><br /><b><blockquote><span style="font-size: large;">December 6 question: Book reviews are for the readers. When you leave a book reviews do you review for the Reader or the Author? Is it about what you liked and enjoyed about your reading experience, or do you critique the author?</span></blockquote></b><div>__________________________________________</div><div><br /></div><div>I've been a reader a lot longer than I've been a writer, at least the kind of writer who finishes and publishes things. And I <b>LOVE</b> talking about books with other readers. (We should talk sometime about my addiction to book clubs). </div><div><br /></div><div>Reviews, for me, are a way to talk about books with other readers. So my format is generally to set a little context (how I came to choose this book to read, my past relationship with the author, what format I consumed it in, etc.), briefly say what I enjoyed and if anything put me off, and include a statement of what kind of reader I think would enjoy the book. </div><div><br /></div><div>For example,<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5859492755" target="_blank"> here's a review I wrote of <i>The Devil Takes You Home </i>by Gabino Iglesias</a>, an author and educator I once shared a signing table with at a convention and have a cordial social media friendship with, but whom I can't claim to know well on a personal level. </div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYj4frCIPZXZoHSyuUVSrsv2m0cyMRQCSPpeYPJwrrcc95tR53V1vIkwmFfBpiPo2rSGXrhwZjfLGsuUkSdsNByXz_rLwdpm-NNyRLesLUPjfHLmz7Ooj0byARDmF6qnwBTFCtcEB2F986lN5NxVo8_srWadtTgv32VNu8EiW3f8wzpYmyM4sX3QgwR30Q/s792/DevilTakesYouHomeReview.png"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYj4frCIPZXZoHSyuUVSrsv2m0cyMRQCSPpeYPJwrrcc95tR53V1vIkwmFfBpiPo2rSGXrhwZjfLGsuUkSdsNByXz_rLwdpm-NNyRLesLUPjfHLmz7Ooj0byARDmF6qnwBTFCtcEB2F986lN5NxVo8_srWadtTgv32VNu8EiW3f8wzpYmyM4sX3QgwR30Q/w494-h640/DevilTakesYouHomeReview.png" /></a></div>See? I try to let my fellow readers know what they're in for, so they can decide if this is a book for them, a little better informed than they might be by just looking at the promotional materials. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Now, as a writer, I'm cautious when it comes to reviewing books by living and not-yet-A-list authors. Not everyone takes criticism well, and more than a few writers have been known to seek vengeance on those who dare not to like something they've written. (Sad, but true). I'm never trying to critique the writer as a person, but some folks have trouble separating themselves from their book babies. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Generally, I won't review the book at all if I didn't like it at least at a three-star level. I know the struggle of getting reviews and how a 2-star can tank your average when you've only got 5 reviews in total. I'm not going to be the one to tank your average just because your book wasn't for me. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It's tricky, too, because I'm networking with some of these folks, so I don't want to burn any bridges or raise any ire. I'd rather just not write a review than write a disingenuous one, though. I have a certain level of integrity as a reviewer that won't let me praise a book unless I actually enjoyed it. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>[Small rant to follow]</b> In fact, Amazon won't let me review any more--and won't give me a reason or respond to any of my queries about the block. My best guess is that I reviewed books by people I know because that's how building a career grows--I'm going to connect with and get to know other authors, and I'm going to read their work and have opinions about it. Not being allowed to review there is bullcrap, IMHO, but SO MUCH about Amazon's business practices is bullcrap even if it's my best option to date <b>[Rant over]</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I'm so grateful to the folks who have taken a moment to leave some stars and thoughts about my own books. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">First off, they read them! How freaking cool is that? </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And then, they cared enough to comment and help other readers determine if my books are for them. Awesomesauce. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I'm even grateful for the low reviews, because sometimes a low review will show a reader that what that other reviewer hated is exactly what they might love about a book. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">How about y'all? Do you write reviews? Do you read them when you're deciding what books to try? What do you want out of a book review? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments. (And don't forget this is a blog hop--<a href="https://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html" target="_blank">go see what some of my colleagues in IWSG have to say</a> about the topic today, too). </div>Samantha Bryanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684962313482409801noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774305250676105976.post-43036271959141557942023-12-04T06:00:00.001-05:002023-12-04T06:00:00.149-05:00Teacher-Writer-Mom, an Open Book blog post<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjFYJRcMZaAY6pzrWeaM6H68cGo_ODZm8xjpgOg8Xo2G1h2AfGiz2ZlYZFFoWn_-At6HVY2Hid0dED1aykCYz-DxLsXSX6SMntuFulEDKfk0Srt7T80sgeX4ErhSrNnz3GZ8BSqfu1wT0JG3onQ1fbUVFvSIOFfdE5SCLxylut1NSTXuPsgIERNc8fkB_W/s1024/openbook-blankbook.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="1024" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjFYJRcMZaAY6pzrWeaM6H68cGo_ODZm8xjpgOg8Xo2G1h2AfGiz2ZlYZFFoWn_-At6HVY2Hid0dED1aykCYz-DxLsXSX6SMntuFulEDKfk0Srt7T80sgeX4ErhSrNnz3GZ8BSqfu1wT0JG3onQ1fbUVFvSIOFfdE5SCLxylut1NSTXuPsgIERNc8fkB_W/s320/openbook-blankbook.png" width="320" /></a></p><p>Welcome to Open Book Blog Hop. You can find us every Monday talking about the writing life. I hope you'll check out all the posts: you'll find the links at the bottom of this post.</p><div><blockquote><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? </span></b></blockquote><p> <b><span style="font-size: x-large;">______________________</span></b></p><p>I'm that rare and odd creature: the person who became what they said they were going to be when they were a kid. I would occasionally flirt with other ambitions, catching an enthusiasm from a book or a movie. There was my brief affair with archaeology, and my short-lived interest in law, but I always circled back to the trinity: </p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Teacher-Writer-Mom</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;">I was about 5 when I decided I was going to be a teacher, a writer, and a mom. I announced it to my family at a holiday party. Everyone nodded sagely and went back to their cigarettes (it was the 70s). </p><p style="text-align: left;">I loved school, books, and kids, so it seemed like a no-brainer to me. Of course, my vision of what being any of things was like was, well, less than accurate. I had no idea how overwhelming all three of those roles can be individually, let alone wrapped up into a single person-sized package. </p><p style="text-align: left;">I imagined that teachers got paid to play with kids, that writers got paid to make up stories. I knew moms didn't get paid, but they still got to hang out and play with kids all day, so it couldn't be all bad. I'd have plenty of money from teaching and writing, right?</p><p style="text-align: left;">With that childish understanding of money and time, I assumed I'd have a lovely country estate with a tower room to write in and someone tending my garden and horses, and plenty of energy to handle all of these things. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4rBxes6mSyXFH49nD94R5AjIfakfcgeIRkxUn7waook7F7NpPPtwpk-u26XYStpjBeTstTHExXJd8O1CTDwfZfsM1Xqm5DU3Kb-UsT-qY3G0On4ZUj6yQb8BAslEouMiCzu5VLnd9DwElOpunbfEdWXH2omEKFVDgda79m3V_4xPLe3kPue3-AJvlY-ZO/s640/writers%20do-meme.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4rBxes6mSyXFH49nD94R5AjIfakfcgeIRkxUn7waook7F7NpPPtwpk-u26XYStpjBeTstTHExXJd8O1CTDwfZfsM1Xqm5DU3Kb-UsT-qY3G0On4ZUj6yQb8BAslEouMiCzu5VLnd9DwElOpunbfEdWXH2omEKFVDgda79m3V_4xPLe3kPue3-AJvlY-ZO/s320/writers%20do-meme.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><p>But I did do them all…eventually. </p><p>Just not all three of them at the same level all the time. </p><p>I got my first teaching job fresh out of college and continued to teach for 27 years before I left the career for something less stressful and more lucrative (I'm a Content Strategist for a big financial company now). </p><p>I had my first kid when I was in my late twenties, and started to scale back my teaching a little. I volunteered for fewer extras, streamlined to try to lessen the amount of work I took home every night. But then I was doing two of the three: teaching and momming. Sometimes I wrote. </p><p>I had my second kid in my mi-thirties. I scaled back my teaching even more. I gave up teaching English and began teaching beginning Spanish which had a lighter paper grading load and could more easily be forced to stay within working hours only, if I was disciplined. Sometimes I wrote</p><p>Throughout all those years, I always wrote, off and on, when the mood hit me, when I could steal the time and focus. But it took me a while to get around to finishing and publishing things, in part because of teaching and momming. There are, after all, only the 24 hours a day. </p><p>But I started taking it seriously when I was 42. And that was another rebalancing, taking time for myself, and negotiating space for a writing life with my career and family. I guess I'd built up a head of steam, though, because once I committed and focused, I got my first book contract with two years, and I've worked steadily ever since. </p><p>Here we are 10 years later, and I've got 41 titles to my name, counting all the editions: everything from short stories included in anthologies, to novellas, to novels, and even a poem or two. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/stores/Samantha-Bryant/author/B00TBPQTLY/allbooks" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1290" data-original-width="2768" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4yWpj7ufhjlS_nM_ZV4pXIhgsBslkQSdVFv-S-MmfB2gGG8AHaAdiXrt0DdJlIrvqhPLi7VppwnuffbxbqNUpPmpe2fRuQQEPTBRUvuvtqOyZsFWKMFzidgo2UVR5xHkN_hxmrF_rA7JbSLL0FV-sE2ih0wrZkuErrebUqxYuwfMJHCx0r2ljnRFFvImU/w400-h186/Screen%20Shot%202023-11-30%20at%208.54.35%20PM.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My <a href="https://www.amazon.com/stores/Samantha-Bryant/author/B00TBPQTLY/allbooks" target="_blank">Amazon</a> page</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>I did it y'all: I'm a teacher-writer-mom, even if I technically don't teach for a living anymore. </p><p>How about you? What did you imagine for your adult self when you were a child? Is that what happened? </p></div><!--start InLinkz code-->
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<!--end InLinkz code-->Samantha Bryanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684962313482409801noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774305250676105976.post-30050972962520096642023-11-27T06:00:00.001-05:002023-11-27T06:00:00.154-05:00My Favorite Bookstore, an open book blog hop post<p> <span style="text-align: center;"> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjFYJRcMZaAY6pzrWeaM6H68cGo_ODZm8xjpgOg8Xo2G1h2AfGiz2ZlYZFFoWn_-At6HVY2Hid0dED1aykCYz-DxLsXSX6SMntuFulEDKfk0Srt7T80sgeX4ErhSrNnz3GZ8BSqfu1wT0JG3onQ1fbUVFvSIOFfdE5SCLxylut1NSTXuPsgIERNc8fkB_W/s1024/openbook-blankbook.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="1024" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjFYJRcMZaAY6pzrWeaM6H68cGo_ODZm8xjpgOg8Xo2G1h2AfGiz2ZlYZFFoWn_-At6HVY2Hid0dED1aykCYz-DxLsXSX6SMntuFulEDKfk0Srt7T80sgeX4ErhSrNnz3GZ8BSqfu1wT0JG3onQ1fbUVFvSIOFfdE5SCLxylut1NSTXuPsgIERNc8fkB_W/s320/openbook-blankbook.png" width="320" /></a></p><p>Welcome to Open Book Blog Hop. You can find us every Monday talking about the writing life. I hope you'll check out all the posts: you'll find the links at the bottom of this post.</p><div><blockquote><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Do you have a favorite bookstore? </span></b></blockquote><p> <b><span style="font-size: x-large;">______________________</span></b></p><p>I do love a good bookstore, but I have to be careful of going too often if I want to stay in the black financially. I'm especially a sucker for bookstore/coffeeshop combos. </p><p>It all started when I was a college student in Morehead, Kentucky and found <a href="https://www.josephbeth.com/" target="_blank">Joseph-Beth Bookseller</a>s in Lexington, Kentucky. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpoQZ8oQnvolibSvjkkL19-KfcV1wPEBMmtJW8eMZzUIFEnys4503ZenMLxjnJD38bIGLcR3Madc5zOG2JvJS6iAY4vnAvkHIn5U4oHjWhIWirtuOkJKimfyU4Qf4Rp-p-YWONnq-uKJVQRmQJ_UTcd4tQqP_It0yQsR35V9xvCK_vxeGTqIGxvTDd-Oj5/s1600/JoBeth.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpoQZ8oQnvolibSvjkkL19-KfcV1wPEBMmtJW8eMZzUIFEnys4503ZenMLxjnJD38bIGLcR3Madc5zOG2JvJS6iAY4vnAvkHIn5U4oHjWhIWirtuOkJKimfyU4Qf4Rp-p-YWONnq-uKJVQRmQJ_UTcd4tQqP_It0yQsR35V9xvCK_vxeGTqIGxvTDd-Oj5/s320/JoBeth.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>This was 1990, so the "big box" bookstore wasn't such a common thing. Borders hadn't yet made it to my part of the country and I'd never even heard of Barnes & Noble yet. My hometown of Bellevue, Kentucky hadn't had a bookstore in years, since the one we frequented when I was a child closed. But Jo-Beth was heaven on earth, a palace for books and probably responsible for my first maxed out credit card. </p><p>These days, I'm not such a fan of the big ones, though they serve their purposes. I'm more interested in small, personally owned and operated bookstores. You know, indies. :-) The quirkier, the better. </p><p>There are a few near me and I love them all for different reasons: </p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Purple Crow</li><li>Flyleaf</li><li>Epilogue</li><li>Golden Fig</li><li>Quail Ridge</li><li>The Regulator</li><li>Letters</li></ul>I've probably forgotten a few. What's key for me is something hard to define, the "vibe" of a place. <p></p><p>I don't want to feel hurried, but nor do I want it to be difficult to find something when I'm looking for something in particular. The staff should be pleasant to interact with and never respond with snobbery or disapproval about any requested book. It should feel like everyone, the workers and shoppers alike, enjoy being there. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzynBzbOtLblfT-xyyH6bHwyWT8L-U3XA_ZL0N9z8d1YNxRj3N0u02w8iggfjK_43txnmkDJ-FQa035OOI6AhznmAx58Z2VHrkK33o8dC-usK5WwIxpNMA92mJwDfNdLvT0fhfKGVootD0uRJJ6laJjTXbRH3Tn65wDf_21reOGNueCRQW0GFBuOgHtn4r/s3200/roebling%20books.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1801" data-original-width="3200" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzynBzbOtLblfT-xyyH6bHwyWT8L-U3XA_ZL0N9z8d1YNxRj3N0u02w8iggfjK_43txnmkDJ-FQa035OOI6AhznmAx58Z2VHrkK33o8dC-usK5WwIxpNMA92mJwDfNdLvT0fhfKGVootD0uRJJ6laJjTXbRH3Tn65wDf_21reOGNueCRQW0GFBuOgHtn4r/s320/roebling%20books.webp" width="320" /></a></div><p>My current favorite might not actually be one near me, but one near my parents' house. <a href="https://www.roeblingbooks.com/" target="_blank">Roebling Books</a> in Dayton, Kentucky. There are three of them in the northern Kentucky area, but the Dayton one is the one I like best. Unusual books on offer, lovely treats in the coffeeshop (that babke!), an old building that had been left unloved too long and has now been made special, and very cool and kind staff. </p><p>It's been weird, watching Bellevue and Dayton transform from the more blue-collar towns they were in my childhood into quaint shopping districts for the denizens of giant condos that no one I grew up would have been able to afford. Mostly, I'm ambivalent at best about all the development and change, but it's great to see a building come back to life and add value to the community, which Roebling definitely does. </p><p>I'm always seeking out the bookstore, wherever I travel, and I'm always glad I found the place where the readers are, because that's always the coolest place in town. </p><p>What makes your favorite bookstore special? </p></div><!-- start InLinkz code -->
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<!-- end InLinkz code -->Samantha Bryanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684962313482409801noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774305250676105976.post-38467950278832919822023-11-20T06:00:00.001-05:002023-11-20T06:00:00.134-05:00Seeing Myself in Literature, an Open Book blog hop post<p> <span style="text-align: center;"> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjFYJRcMZaAY6pzrWeaM6H68cGo_ODZm8xjpgOg8Xo2G1h2AfGiz2ZlYZFFoWn_-At6HVY2Hid0dED1aykCYz-DxLsXSX6SMntuFulEDKfk0Srt7T80sgeX4ErhSrNnz3GZ8BSqfu1wT0JG3onQ1fbUVFvSIOFfdE5SCLxylut1NSTXuPsgIERNc8fkB_W/s1024/openbook-blankbook.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="1024" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjFYJRcMZaAY6pzrWeaM6H68cGo_ODZm8xjpgOg8Xo2G1h2AfGiz2ZlYZFFoWn_-At6HVY2Hid0dED1aykCYz-DxLsXSX6SMntuFulEDKfk0Srt7T80sgeX4ErhSrNnz3GZ8BSqfu1wT0JG3onQ1fbUVFvSIOFfdE5SCLxylut1NSTXuPsgIERNc8fkB_W/s320/openbook-blankbook.png" width="320" /></a></p><p>Welcome to Open Book Blog Hop. You can find us every Monday talking about the writing life. I hope you'll check out all the posts: you'll find the links at the bottom of this post.</p><div><blockquote><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Is there a literary character you identify with (not one of your own)? </span></b></blockquote><p> <b><span style="font-size: x-large;">______________________</span></b></p><p>I identify with characters all the time in my reading--that's part of the joy. But the most important characters that remain near and dear to my heart, are characters I found when I was young: Jo March and Meg Murry, from Louisa May Alcott's <i>Little Women</i> and Madeleine L'Engle's <i>A Wrinkle in Time</i>, respectively. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGfFgEVHE-0kozQrTdcri9j_Ck67Y5z3TeQyL9EE3u-ay_DWvrR5uc8iqBC5h20wYAW9ZJ3XQEC1JO9kbBDkLKXpZPrcCmFErZO55vHTdKDbfOzeciAeP_Sn29I6kEOWvAe9ABNFuqP-qIfTADDPwEnZrfOUlMQElwdGd94cl1m9ooGdwqn3RC5L6D6Mm6/s606/Screen%20Shot%202023-11-16%20at%207.01.30%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="436" data-original-width="606" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGfFgEVHE-0kozQrTdcri9j_Ck67Y5z3TeQyL9EE3u-ay_DWvrR5uc8iqBC5h20wYAW9ZJ3XQEC1JO9kbBDkLKXpZPrcCmFErZO55vHTdKDbfOzeciAeP_Sn29I6kEOWvAe9ABNFuqP-qIfTADDPwEnZrfOUlMQElwdGd94cl1m9ooGdwqn3RC5L6D6Mm6/s320/Screen%20Shot%202023-11-16%20at%207.01.30%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The book covers I remember for <i>Little Women</i> and <i>A Wrinkle in Time</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>I read both of these books in elementary school. If I had to guess, I'd say around fourth grade. Both are determined young women, fierce at heart, stubborn, and brave. </p><p>It's not uncommon for women who grew up to be writers to hold these two characters in their hearts, young female characters who defy the odds and expected gender roles to make a difference in the world? One of them becoming an author? Yes, please!</p><p>They're still important to me here in my fifties because they inspired me by showing me what was possible. </p></div><!--start InLinkz code-->
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<!--end InLinkz code-->Samantha Bryanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684962313482409801noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774305250676105976.post-68947205638869425232023-11-13T06:00:00.001-05:002023-11-13T06:00:00.149-05:00The origin of a superhero series, an open book blog hop post<p> <span style="text-align: center;"> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjFYJRcMZaAY6pzrWeaM6H68cGo_ODZm8xjpgOg8Xo2G1h2AfGiz2ZlYZFFoWn_-At6HVY2Hid0dED1aykCYz-DxLsXSX6SMntuFulEDKfk0Srt7T80sgeX4ErhSrNnz3GZ8BSqfu1wT0JG3onQ1fbUVFvSIOFfdE5SCLxylut1NSTXuPsgIERNc8fkB_W/s1024/openbook-blankbook.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="1024" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjFYJRcMZaAY6pzrWeaM6H68cGo_ODZm8xjpgOg8Xo2G1h2AfGiz2ZlYZFFoWn_-At6HVY2Hid0dED1aykCYz-DxLsXSX6SMntuFulEDKfk0Srt7T80sgeX4ErhSrNnz3GZ8BSqfu1wT0JG3onQ1fbUVFvSIOFfdE5SCLxylut1NSTXuPsgIERNc8fkB_W/s320/openbook-blankbook.png" width="320" /></a></p><p>Welcome to Open Book Blog Hop. You can find us every Monday talking about the writing life. I hope you'll check out all the posts: you'll find the links at the bottom of this post.</p><div><blockquote><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Do you have an "origin" story for any of your stories? Where do your ideas come from? </span></b></blockquote><p> <b><span style="font-size: x-large;">______________________</span></b></p><p><span>Appropriately enough,<a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074CHNLQ2" target="_blank"> the Menopausal Superheroes serie</a>s, among all my work, is the one with an origin story. </span></p><p><span>I've told the story before, but never in this blog hop, so here goes: </span></p><p><span>My husband and I were out taking a walk after watching one of the X-men movies. (If anyone reading this isn't familiar with the X-men, they are a group of superheroes, specifically mutants, and most of the characters are very teenagers, all attending a special school superintended by Professor X.)</span></p><p>I didn't like the movie very much. Too much teen drama and not enough of the superpowers and moral dilemmas that draw me to superhero stories, so I was venting while we walked about how the secret message of all the X-men stories was that hormones, puberty in particular, cause superpower. </p><p></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: large;"><b>"If that's true," I said, "then menopausal women should corner the market on that one!"</b></span></blockquote><p></p><p>My husband laughed, and we spent the rest of our walk riffing on the idea. By the time we got back home, he said, "You should write that down." </p><p>And I did. And I still am, four novels, two novellas, and a collection of short stories later. I'm hoping to finish the series concluding novel before the end of 2023 and bring it out in 2024. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074CHNLQ2" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="718" data-original-width="948" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi80iPZPBP1-xL0YZNL2gEHh4sCG1G9Nzb1VaKATRnlwT0jBplUIqrP7IEt_3gjtmcjTmh-Ef4gHL0ncWkJHbNJY0AjTnMWGB_MXzQPOUGMdDl_mb3DBN1j5zr62nIO4tdKlqT4ZJ7a18FupNo9E626KF2C26nvsFw33ior8WgLkx9PCz1u7ZVF2DF33cN/s320/All-Meno-Heroes%202021.png" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074CHNLQ2" target="_blank">My series, so far</a></td></tr></tbody></table></div><!--start InLinkz code-->
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<!--end InLinkz code-->Samantha Bryanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684962313482409801noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774305250676105976.post-67906757452182456722023-11-06T06:00:00.001-05:002023-11-06T06:00:00.144-05:00Great openings, an open book blog hop post<p> <span style="text-align: center;"> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjFYJRcMZaAY6pzrWeaM6H68cGo_ODZm8xjpgOg8Xo2G1h2AfGiz2ZlYZFFoWn_-At6HVY2Hid0dED1aykCYz-DxLsXSX6SMntuFulEDKfk0Srt7T80sgeX4ErhSrNnz3GZ8BSqfu1wT0JG3onQ1fbUVFvSIOFfdE5SCLxylut1NSTXuPsgIERNc8fkB_W/s1024/openbook-blankbook.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="1024" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjFYJRcMZaAY6pzrWeaM6H68cGo_ODZm8xjpgOg8Xo2G1h2AfGiz2ZlYZFFoWn_-At6HVY2Hid0dED1aykCYz-DxLsXSX6SMntuFulEDKfk0Srt7T80sgeX4ErhSrNnz3GZ8BSqfu1wT0JG3onQ1fbUVFvSIOFfdE5SCLxylut1NSTXuPsgIERNc8fkB_W/s320/openbook-blankbook.png" width="320" /></a></p><p>Welcome to Open Book Blog Hop. You can find us every Monday talking about the writing life. I hope you'll check out all the posts: you'll find the links at the bottom of this post.</p><div><blockquote><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">What is the best opening paragraph you've written? </span></b></blockquote><p> <b><span style="font-size: x-large;">______________________</span></b></p></div><div>Interesting question! I'm not sure I've examined my own writing in that light before. Beginnings are important and hooking a reader with those opening lines can decide whether they continue on for the rest or not. </div><div><br /></div><div>My <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074CHNLQ2" target="_blank">Menopausal Superheroes novels</a> all seem to start with one of my characters going through something. I feel like these are the right beginnings for these novels, but they're not show-stoppingly beautiful or shocking. Superhero stories are action-oriented after all, so the characters need to be doing something. </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074CHNLQ2" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="644" data-original-width="1526" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisEywxsOeq5C4eQXvqz4a3CRX84bTTMF5GowFpS7lihyKX8LfU2NYsQe3ZNpmiBdJCfCw5xbHt28kMPGMBHBhidMdda3ZbiFQ48IP83KJx3BDv2t1Of2lLur2-uBWdF3znVue6eivK8dYTS33RgVUIDIM-AY2ikOcAqP8VEHnybD0AiyeZ3MsT_fLAjjw8/w526-h222/Screen%20Shot%202023-11-03%20at%209.05.47%20PM.png" width="526" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074CHNLQ2" target="_blank">Openings of Books 1-4 of the Menopausal Superheroes series</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>In my horror stories, I'm generally trying to establish my main character, setting, and situation efficiently. Short stories are especially challenging in this way because they are, well, short. You can't take too long establishing the world and the details before you bring on the bears, or ghosts, or apocalypse or whatever you're throwing at your characters today. </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://bit.ly/SamanthaBryant" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="874" data-original-width="1112" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOeHlIk3_3Kkvtb5_PYWG7qKW7M78ckIXZDjQjmmv00Dt6WbAkIcXcKJo7NpJHk6y4FWir1GxTp9W2M_b1ObTvjOeyK9Dtp5fwTt2Q-oeDnFyLJrC9k_43KwLAk-_0zNR5UT9-nYSRL9s8wjO_6weDo7X0S49egcLWgPQzD98y3gu2jyA_Ls8sl1ZSQtGz/w400-h315/Screen%20Shot%202023-11-03%20at%209.21.28%20PM.png" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://bit.ly/SamanthaBryant" target="_blank">Opening lines of some of my short stories in anthologies</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>My favorite opening paragraph I've written so far is from an unfinished novel--a Gothic romance I intend to pick back up as my next project after I turn in Menopausal Superheroes #5: <i>The Architect and the Heir. </i></div><div><br /></div><div><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 18px;"></p><blockquote style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">There are many kinds of ghosts. Most families are haunted in one way or another. The specter of my brother’s death hung over my childhood like a constant cloud across the sun.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></blockquote><p>Does the opening make or break a story for you? How long do you give a story to "hook" you before you decide whether or not to keep reading? Got any favorite opening paragraphs? (Mine, not written by me, is by Shirley Jackson: the opening to The Haunting of Hill House) </p><p></p></div><!--start InLinkz code-->
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Samantha Bryanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684962313482409801noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774305250676105976.post-7586250668219977162023-11-01T06:00:00.002-04:002023-11-01T06:00:00.143-04:00NaNoWriMo or No? <p style="text-align: center;"> <span style="text-align: center;"> </span><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyNsT8_FZVCrY-nM1-mA5GKailBHy0SUCLJtvyyu040S_D-wen9T4jOUulkF3JjDM847jVG6Sy5LK3yEtvfwa_XNk6aWceinlhUky2y-nRAnpk5oQMeL9ca4dQvN99saim0JmrRBLglCxgGCB-HTBXOT8FAYQFc338ZzGAO-e2ClORYTsqdCL3iuh2ZQ/s320/unnamed.jpg" style="text-align: center;" /></p><br />Welcome to the first Wednesday of the month. You know what that means! It's time to let our insecurities hang out. Yep, it's the <a href="https://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html">Insecure Writer's Support Group blog hop</a>. If you're a writer at any stage of career, I highly recommend this blog hop as a way to connect with other writers for support, sympathy, ideas, and networking. If you're a reader, it's a great way to peek behind the curtain of a writing life.<br /><br />Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG. <span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">The awesome co-hosts for the </span><strong style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">November 1</strong><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;"> posting of the IWS</span>G are <a href="https://www.pjcolando.com/">PJ Colando,</a> <a href="http://jeanddavis.blogspot.com/">Jean Davis,</a> <a href="https://www.lisabuiecollard.com/">Lisa Buie Collard,</a> and <a href="https://pensivepenspost.blogspot.com/">Diedre Knight!</a><br /><br /><strong style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;"></strong><blockquote><strong style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">October 4 question</span></strong><strong style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">: November is National Novel Writing Month. Have you ever participated? If not, why not?</span></strong></blockquote><div>__________________________________________</div><div><br /></div><div>Yes! I have made use of NaNoWriMo. I've participated 9 times, and "won" (as in: wrote 50,000 words in the allotted time) 4 times. </div><div><br /></div><div>One of my NaNoWriMo projects became the third novel in my <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074CHNLQ2" target="_blank">Menopausal Superhero series</a>, <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Face-Change-Menopausal-Superheroes-Book-ebook/dp/B07NGN7CT1" target="_blank">Face the Change</a>, </i>so I've even used to bring a project towards publication.</div><div><br /></div><div>Several of the other projects are still on my back-burners and I plan to go back and finish them and see them through to publication--after I finish the fifth and final novel in this series and fulfill my contract (with a publisher, not the devil, in case you were wondering). </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF2KhemsvuhQeLyjVJiDV1ESMtWw3D1I714TCRvlBlneCOvG9AX3MrbsbVOQYxGzrdKxwJhFfj40h89zdYN3YzAwMn9p2UuwdU1IFPTrFc1RgT7-OvxUVcTqoluptEvENFGeuRuFAK52psaMph92B01zLPMZ1uyc_1PmA8091g8PAqCMgCjlVbItiwyfuU/s4032/JohnDeliversBooks2021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF2KhemsvuhQeLyjVJiDV1ESMtWw3D1I714TCRvlBlneCOvG9AX3MrbsbVOQYxGzrdKxwJhFfj40h89zdYN3YzAwMn9p2UuwdU1IFPTrFc1RgT7-OvxUVcTqoluptEvENFGeuRuFAK52psaMph92B01zLPMZ1uyc_1PmA8091g8PAqCMgCjlVbItiwyfuU/s320/JohnDeliversBooks2021.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John Hartness, of Falstaff Books in my driveway</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>I don't regret the other times I participated, even if I didn't make the goal word count. It was still more words than I likely would have gotten on those projects without the extra impetus and it helped me focus my attention on a single project, which his often one of my struggles. </div><div><br /></div><div>But sometimes, my November has too much family or day-job work in it to be able to buckle down for a 50K run. </div><div><br /></div><div>I'm not participating this year. </div><div><br /></div><div>I'm in the final stretches of a Menopausal Superheroes #5 (still untitled, but I'm narrowing it down), but we're also in the middle of a lot of family things, so I don't think I can do 50K in one month next month. I'm being realistic. </div><div><br /></div><div>I also know that I've had the best experience with NaNoWriMo when I'm starting a new project and can use the structure to push me past overthinking and into progress. So maybe next year I'll be ready to start a shiny new project and will use NaNoWriMo for a good jumpstart, but this year, I'll be slogging along at my own pace, working my way to those magic words: THE END. </div><div><br /></div><div>How about you? Have you used NaNoWriMo or other productivity challenges to push you in your creative life and projects? I'd love to hear about it in the comments! And don't forget to check out the larger blog hop. I always find a lot of inspiration in the posts produced for IWSG. </div>Samantha Bryanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684962313482409801noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774305250676105976.post-60948817063073387312023-10-30T05:00:00.002-04:002023-10-30T05:00:00.138-04:00Writing from the road, an Open Book blog hop<p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjFYJRcMZaAY6pzrWeaM6H68cGo_ODZm8xjpgOg8Xo2G1h2AfGiz2ZlYZFFoWn_-At6HVY2Hid0dED1aykCYz-DxLsXSX6SMntuFulEDKfk0Srt7T80sgeX4ErhSrNnz3GZ8BSqfu1wT0JG3onQ1fbUVFvSIOFfdE5SCLxylut1NSTXuPsgIERNc8fkB_W/s1024/openbook-blankbook.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="1024" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjFYJRcMZaAY6pzrWeaM6H68cGo_ODZm8xjpgOg8Xo2G1h2AfGiz2ZlYZFFoWn_-At6HVY2Hid0dED1aykCYz-DxLsXSX6SMntuFulEDKfk0Srt7T80sgeX4ErhSrNnz3GZ8BSqfu1wT0JG3onQ1fbUVFvSIOFfdE5SCLxylut1NSTXuPsgIERNc8fkB_W/s320/openbook-blankbook.png" width="320" /></a></p><p>Welcome to Open Book Blog Hop. You can find us every Monday talking about the writing life. I hope you'll check out all the posts: you'll find the links at the bottom of this post.</p><div><blockquote><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Do you write while you are travelling? How do you make it work? </span><span style="font-size: x-large;">______________________</span></b></blockquote><p><br />What a great topic to welcome me back to this blog hop---since the reason I haven't participated in a few weeks has been travel! </p><p>I was in the Pacific Northwest, if you're curious, visiting my sister with my Mum. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTh0VQEzG89KILxS8Ja4Wws3x7rioe1y9uErpxeBRBll3O4I678cxoS_cxZ74QmnGQd0AHrB0_4gTnsXp9sTzUIkEBwViwDMjoFmoi8k5jxuVcuBS_uzgVDu-RnZnCO1QNbySiiW3G2lEGlDKQE6v4ee3utLl81-1FkUepPtrC5VP7aUAY-N-xQ2HqBG2Q/s2048/Washington4-up.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTh0VQEzG89KILxS8Ja4Wws3x7rioe1y9uErpxeBRBll3O4I678cxoS_cxZ74QmnGQd0AHrB0_4gTnsXp9sTzUIkEBwViwDMjoFmoi8k5jxuVcuBS_uzgVDu-RnZnCO1QNbySiiW3G2lEGlDKQE6v4ee3utLl81-1FkUepPtrC5VP7aUAY-N-xQ2HqBG2Q/s320/Washington4-up.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some holiday pictures</td></tr></tbody></table><p>So, yes, I do write when I travel. I write every day. No matter what. How I work that out depends on what kind of travel. </p><p>When I'm visiting my Mom and Dad or attending a convention, I know I'll get a little time to myself in a day--so I bring my laptop with me, and I write a little every day. Usually it's less than I would have written at home, but I stick to my every day writing habit as usual, keeping going on my regular projects. </p><p>But if I'm traveling far or focused on vacation, I don't want to mess with bringing my laptop and I want to stay in the moment, not leaving to hand out with my imaginary friends, so instead of writing on my regular projects, I keep a detailed travel journal on paper--taking an hour or so each night before I sleep to record what I did with my day and my impressions of all I saw. </p><p>These travel journals have proven useful to me in my writing life, as I use those memories and settings in things I write, as well as just for my own memories. When I'm trying to put together my photo album to share with family and friends, those notes fill in the details and remind me about the small things I'd forgotten, like the name of the cool shop or who that guy represented by that statue was. </p><p>It's not the same as making progress on my latest novel directly, but it all feeds my work. </p></div><!--start InLinkz code-->
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<!--end InLinkz code-->Samantha Bryanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684962313482409801noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774305250676105976.post-30763667159769520142023-10-04T06:00:00.001-04:002023-10-04T06:00:00.142-04:00Is AI our friend or our enemy? An IWSG post<p> <span style="text-align: center;"> </span><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyNsT8_FZVCrY-nM1-mA5GKailBHy0SUCLJtvyyu040S_D-wen9T4jOUulkF3JjDM847jVG6Sy5LK3yEtvfwa_XNk6aWceinlhUky2y-nRAnpk5oQMeL9ca4dQvN99saim0JmrRBLglCxgGCB-HTBXOT8FAYQFc338ZzGAO-e2ClORYTsqdCL3iuh2ZQ/s320/unnamed.jpg" style="text-align: center;" /></p><br />Welcome to the first Wednesday of the month. You know what that means! It's time to let our insecurities hang out. Yep, it's the <a href="https://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html">Insecure Writer's Support Group blog hop</a>. If you're a writer at any stage of career, I highly recommend this blog hop as a way to connect with other writers for support, sympathy, ideas, and networking. If you're a reader, it's a great way to peek behind the curtain of a writing life.<br /><br />Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG. <span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">The awesome co-hosts for the </span><strong style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">October 4</strong><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;"> posting of the IWSG </span>are <a href="http://www.literaryrambles.com/">Natalie Aguirre,</a> <a href="http://kimlajevardi.com/">Kim Lajevardi,</a> <a href="https://fictioncanbefun.wordpress.com/">Debs Carey,</a> <a href="http://gwengardner.blogspot.com/">Gwen Gardner,</a> <a href="https://twistingmyths.substack.com/">Patricia Josephine,</a> and <a href="https://www.rebecca-douglass.com/">Rebecca Douglass!</a><br /><br /><strong style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;"></strong><blockquote><strong style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">October 4 question: The topic of AI writing has been heavily debated across the world. According to various sources, generative AI will assist writers, not replace them. What are your thoughts? </span></strong></blockquote><div>__________________________________________</div><div><br /></div><div>(I took this topic on recently, so today's post is a re-post of those thoughts)</div><div><br /></div><div><div>As much as I enjoy reading stories about AI, I haven't really had much interest in trying it out in my writing life in the real world. I've got a process that's working for me right now, and it doesn't involve using AI. </div><div><br /></div><div>For starters, in these early days, the ethics are unclear.<a href="https://www.plagiarismtoday.com/2023/03/23/is-plagiarism-a-feature-of-ai/" target="_blank"> Is this really just a form of plagiarism</a>? Can people really take credit for work co-written this way? <a href="https://www.themarysue.com/another-major-publisher-caught-using-ai-generated-cover-image-on-bestselling-authors-work/" target="_blank">Is it just another way exploitative method of undercutting and devaluing writing and art</a>? </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkZ7IOqTFF_ihHAt74e7Dj4CWb-sjIH4Eb7-rmNvNx1rJbFVht0PcCqKoyCqW6V2VQrtlKLMA_XHV_sTRb5SO0_soMzYK72YQTnfF_y5u8NYKdP4qVkyIOlT3pK1f88gizJoLH7W1pvAO-rvhxtUp__0sRNqVFs69RybsJ2ggEWP958H9pbui4Rb1JjVwG/s1200/plagiarism.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkZ7IOqTFF_ihHAt74e7Dj4CWb-sjIH4Eb7-rmNvNx1rJbFVht0PcCqKoyCqW6V2VQrtlKLMA_XHV_sTRb5SO0_soMzYK72YQTnfF_y5u8NYKdP4qVkyIOlT3pK1f88gizJoLH7W1pvAO-rvhxtUp__0sRNqVFs69RybsJ2ggEWP958H9pbui4Rb1JjVwG/s320/plagiarism.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/comics/comments/y3vus0/artstealing_plagiarism_machine/" target="_blank">image source</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div>Obviously technology evolves and it changes the way art is produced. I'm not against that. I'm grateful to be typing this blogpost on my laptop rather than turning over my longhand notes to a literal typesetter who lays it out in trays and presses copies. I enjoy eBooks and audiobooks and am happy about some of the ways new technologies increase access. </div><div><br /></div><div>But, something about AI tools in writing, at least so far, stinks of exploitation and laziness. </div><div><br /></div><div>When ChatGPT was all everyone was talking about earlier this year, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/23/technology/clarkesworld-submissions-ai-sci-fi.html" target="_blank">several well-respected magazine were deluged with submissions that had been AI-created</a>. </div><div><br /></div><div>More people looking for a shortcut and thinking they can make some moolah without investing any effort, let alone a slice of their soul. (I haven't read anything about this actually working for anyone so far, by the way--a story written by AI, copied and pasted and submitted has yet to find fame or fortune in a news-making way). </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjssiRk4tVk0kgCWyz6bxyX-4hIlrTNjWt0p9n3_C02dUUmu9SWLYC8aHQ2ERqQ3_aX8D7Wn1uILYUhjB86Dr8vUq9FgFmbziTfcUsTaNdz2V357HB1l42u3gX0sx8-zQ-Et-oRAVTvlJnxr_2k0mxfX4tUqztJo2ZVFxPlr_fkt3Kvpg4Xuv9PicV33M3X/s1200/easy%20money.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="1200" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjssiRk4tVk0kgCWyz6bxyX-4hIlrTNjWt0p9n3_C02dUUmu9SWLYC8aHQ2ERqQ3_aX8D7Wn1uILYUhjB86Dr8vUq9FgFmbziTfcUsTaNdz2V357HB1l42u3gX0sx8-zQ-Et-oRAVTvlJnxr_2k0mxfX4tUqztJo2ZVFxPlr_fkt3Kvpg4Xuv9PicV33M3X/s320/easy%20money.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/mitchell_zuckoff_503301" target="_blank">image source</a></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>I do have a couple of writing friends who say they find it helpful in the brainstorming phases of things, that they use it to get unstuck. I can see that. I can respect using a tool in support of your creativity, but in place of it?</div><div><br /></div><div>But I don't have anyone in my writing life using it in the place of their creative impetus. But then again, I don't hang with a mercenary literary crowd. While we'd all love to make money from our work, we do the work because we love it and it expresses an essential part of our selves. Why would you hand the best part over to a computer mind? </div><div><br /></div><div>So, yeah, I'll stick to reading about AI and talking to the one in my kitchen. </div><div><br /></div><div>Some stories about AI I've enjoyed recently: </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmGefsjFFX27s498TlFqCdno6AS1i5-_1LMT-RD2zVtQ6n9Nr9Kt-XF-73tHbOn4gjAhhsCMUy8tgmfAmd0VBGSUJpt-1C6esMwvZInPXSZB-Qk6_bfW3NVztvM1NrBiRk3VjZblcsBQjPYPuKzLaNGfa9bXEvoQNQkVf_aWsl7anA8celt_ZbnYcCoAHy/s1064/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-28%20at%2010.10.36%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="762" data-original-width="1064" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmGefsjFFX27s498TlFqCdno6AS1i5-_1LMT-RD2zVtQ6n9Nr9Kt-XF-73tHbOn4gjAhhsCMUy8tgmfAmd0VBGSUJpt-1C6esMwvZInPXSZB-Qk6_bfW3NVztvM1NrBiRk3VjZblcsBQjPYPuKzLaNGfa9bXEvoQNQkVf_aWsl7anA8celt_ZbnYcCoAHy/w406-h291/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-28%20at%2010.10.36%20PM.png" width="406" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">How about you? Any AI in your real life? Any AI you've loved in fiction? I'd love to hear about it in the comments. </div></div>Samantha Bryanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684962313482409801noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774305250676105976.post-13447547449271338132023-10-02T06:00:00.002-04:002023-10-02T06:00:00.152-04:00Mom, my first teacher and audience: an open book blog hop post<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjFYJRcMZaAY6pzrWeaM6H68cGo_ODZm8xjpgOg8Xo2G1h2AfGiz2ZlYZFFoWn_-At6HVY2Hid0dED1aykCYz-DxLsXSX6SMntuFulEDKfk0Srt7T80sgeX4ErhSrNnz3GZ8BSqfu1wT0JG3onQ1fbUVFvSIOFfdE5SCLxylut1NSTXuPsgIERNc8fkB_W/s1024/openbook-blankbook.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="1024" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjFYJRcMZaAY6pzrWeaM6H68cGo_ODZm8xjpgOg8Xo2G1h2AfGiz2ZlYZFFoWn_-At6HVY2Hid0dED1aykCYz-DxLsXSX6SMntuFulEDKfk0Srt7T80sgeX4ErhSrNnz3GZ8BSqfu1wT0JG3onQ1fbUVFvSIOFfdE5SCLxylut1NSTXuPsgIERNc8fkB_W/s320/openbook-blankbook.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>Welcome to Open Book Blog Hop. You can find us every Monday talking about the writing life. I hope you'll check out all the posts: you'll find the links at the bottom of this post.</p><p></p><div><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><blockquote>Who was the first person who believed in you? </blockquote></span></b>______________________</div><div><br /></div><div>I have been lucky to have support for me as a person and me as a creative from the get-go. My first cheerleader was (and still is) my mother. </div><div><br /></div><div>From the very beginning, she fostered my interest in reading and writing, taking me to the library, running to catch the book mobile, taking me to the used book store on the avenue and letting me spend some of her precious and limited monthly book budget, sharing her own love of story. </div><div><br /></div><div>It takes a special person to support the writing of a child--to understand the balance of praise and pushing to do something better. My mom really *got* me as a creative and exercised such patience as I told her my stories and wrote those early poems. She has been my first audience and teacher wrapped up in one. </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKAxujZ74Kg8WtrlwdqAIoxGYCNMILMSP_SZolRthsWAHs0CBwRc99rBZugf-v5YQHzZVhQK6YcB-S_-jlk3N1Vn-pEJ9qHWtPD35_UK9mdHYEJ33yOmWSXqgoDlPH-x_lKepAXgVa8fk13Uw4IVvCWnFzY7CE8pXhU_Z6HCyMIrrYWPgFt4Y8yzbTRL0k/s900/Mom-magic.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="a woman standing in a pool of light surrounded by greenery." border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKAxujZ74Kg8WtrlwdqAIoxGYCNMILMSP_SZolRthsWAHs0CBwRc99rBZugf-v5YQHzZVhQK6YcB-S_-jlk3N1Vn-pEJ9qHWtPD35_UK9mdHYEJ33yOmWSXqgoDlPH-x_lKepAXgVa8fk13Uw4IVvCWnFzY7CE8pXhU_Z6HCyMIrrYWPgFt4Y8yzbTRL0k/w256-h320/Mom-magic.jpg" width="256" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">My mom, in the magic light, on our trip to Ireland in 2022.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>One could definitely argue that I wouldn't have become a writer if I hadn't had my mother, or at least that it would have been less likely. </div><div><br /></div><div>My family has been very supportive in general--my dad, my sister, my aunts and uncles, my cousins, my grandparents and then my husband and our children, too. When I see how hard some of my writing friends have had to fight for their writing lives, I know I am lucky beyond the pale. </div><div><br /></div><div>How about you? Did you have to fight for your creative self? Or did you find support when you needed it? I'd love to hear about it in the comments. </div><!-- start InLinkz code -->
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<!-- end InLinkz code -->Samantha Bryanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684962313482409801noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774305250676105976.post-46571934903857541942023-09-18T06:00:00.002-04:002023-09-18T06:00:00.172-04:00Counting the words, an Open Book blog hop post<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP8T7HRtvBLZqjxjHJfXrjEpuTNTbivkdSNUZRW_r0KmRoTByesD4-X1Og75g5V-Su0iRCTOxbRvVLZHOdSZaul1-71iYOfuS5m8hfCm127sCioSF8_oVWkMtOre0RDNjJbHtnAlxsWBAHpK4frDRiV6D59xZLLWwUYt8NjFJfzBT5JrMCx63A9xBPIvvu/s1024/openbook-old%20typewriter.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="1024" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP8T7HRtvBLZqjxjHJfXrjEpuTNTbivkdSNUZRW_r0KmRoTByesD4-X1Og75g5V-Su0iRCTOxbRvVLZHOdSZaul1-71iYOfuS5m8hfCm127sCioSF8_oVWkMtOre0RDNjJbHtnAlxsWBAHpK4frDRiV6D59xZLLWwUYt8NjFJfzBT5JrMCx63A9xBPIvvu/s320/openbook-old%20typewriter.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>Welcome to Open Book Blog Hop. You can find us every Monday talking about the writing life. I hope you'll check out all the posts: you'll find the links at the bottom of this post.</p><p></p><div><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><blockquote>Do you keep track of your word count on a daily basis? What's your record for most and least words? (Not including those days when you don't write anything) </blockquote></span></b>______________________</div><div><br /></div><div>I am a word count gal, but I change that up a little depending on my needs--trying not to get so hung up on meeting a particular word count that I ignore real progress that consisted of deleting words or revising them, for example. </div><div><br /></div><div>More important than the number of words is just the habit of writing every day, for my practice. I know some folks can write on a more variable schedule, but for me, it's every day. </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_iLXg1AlbAaam03ZEZcr4mw-QI5F7FBX6U8y01Lqkse8XZ9OWUwOvlUbhNH-5n18RoTJ4xO-X2v0GUtegVtj1s_Dx0MGKku2YZxmnl9cDuCC8d_krVpOqiZyW78SLvv54txh93pcYOcq7hUddvi2Fm1G0GGBLfMrcqVkc2FUyOXYeukKcuZounZr7RqY0/s712/write.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="712" data-original-width="570" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_iLXg1AlbAaam03ZEZcr4mw-QI5F7FBX6U8y01Lqkse8XZ9OWUwOvlUbhNH-5n18RoTJ4xO-X2v0GUtegVtj1s_Dx0MGKku2YZxmnl9cDuCC8d_krVpOqiZyW78SLvv54txh93pcYOcq7hUddvi2Fm1G0GGBLfMrcqVkc2FUyOXYeukKcuZounZr7RqY0/s320/write.jpeg" width="256" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://sarahmariewells.com/2015/02/24/writers-just-do-it/" target="_blank">image source</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>After lots of floundering around with systems that didn't work for me, I started fresh with a gamification tool called The Magic Spreadsheet in 2013 (I think). </div><div><br /></div><div>It was literally a group-edited spreadsheet with complex formulas that awarded you points based on making your goal (the lowest goal you could set was 250 words a day), and number of days in a row written. There was a vibrant and supportive community surrounding the document and the Facebook group, and it really helped me build a daily writing habit. I'm still in touch with some writing friends I made through that group. </div><div><br /></div><div>I'm coming up on<b><span style="font-size: large;"> nine years </span></b>of writing every day on September 28 this year, and that daily writing habit has been key to my ability to move forward with a writing life alongside a busy day job and family life. Developing discipline to finish things and see them out into the world was my biggest hurdle in early days, but now I can't imagine breaking that chain for anything less than a complete disaster. </div><div><br /></div><div>These days, I track using<a href="https://jamieraintree.com/writing-revision-tracker/" target="_blank"> Jamie Raintree's Writing & Revision tracker</a>. I love it because it lets me set goals in different categories, and track both revision and the writing of new words. In September, I have writing goals for the novel WIP, short stories, blogs, book reviews, social media, and business (by business I mean organizational stuff and emails and the like). </div><div><br /></div><div>As to today's question, I don't know offhand what my largest word count ever was, but I can tell you that it happened when was hurrying to prepare a submission when I got one of my first requests for "a full" from a potential publisher. I scrambled to clean up what was then a rather messy manuscript, cursing myself for having submitted without having the full completely ready. </div><div><br /></div><div>That day about broke my brain, and made it hard to do any writing work for several days afterward, so I now try to plan ahead better than that and not force myself into a corner where I have to scramble to meet a deadline. It wasn't fun, and I don't really want to do that again. A good writing day for me at this stage is 800 words on a day where I worked the day job and 2,000 words on a day that I didn't. </div><div><br /></div><div>My lowest word count was 250 words, because I never go to bed without having written at least that much. I'm just glad that writing 250 words isn't the strain it was back in 2013. Even on a bad day, I can do that in pretty short order now, another benefit of practice. </div><div><br /></div><div>How about you? Do you track your creative work in numbers? In time? Or not at all? I'd love to hear about it in the comments. </div><div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a" style="background-color: #242526; color: #e4e6eb; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "system-ui", ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space-collapse: preserve;"></div></div><!--start InLinkz code-->
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Samantha Bryanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684962313482409801noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774305250676105976.post-73402721031694826642023-09-11T06:00:00.001-04:002023-09-11T06:00:00.141-04:00Picking favorites: an open book blog hop post<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjM-Y62xABM751lcUpLQQzVQ2PsTXrqMaJdSjevgYQNLdAylgl_ozvQ__hPd9xL7IBNJ-i75pKd-HHYIijXHPwZURzoFi8bZcbhwfuw0N4WVU50N53H6lgNYs9SE4EMtHLSK3VqW2BfuhByKfwlv0l_gWiMMJrnN8lszc4nMUKQE3XQ3opoiocP35rNOyL/s1024/openbook-library.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="1024" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjM-Y62xABM751lcUpLQQzVQ2PsTXrqMaJdSjevgYQNLdAylgl_ozvQ__hPd9xL7IBNJ-i75pKd-HHYIijXHPwZURzoFi8bZcbhwfuw0N4WVU50N53H6lgNYs9SE4EMtHLSK3VqW2BfuhByKfwlv0l_gWiMMJrnN8lszc4nMUKQE3XQ3opoiocP35rNOyL/w492-h246/openbook-library.png" width="492" /></a></div><br /><p>Welcome to Open Book Blog Hop. You can find us every Monday talking about the writing life. I hope you'll check out all the posts: you'll find the links at the bottom of this post.</p><p></p><div><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><blockquote>What's your favorite book (not your own)? Has it changed in the last few years? </blockquote></span></b>______________________</div><div><br /></div><div>Oooh, boy. I hate trying to pick a favorite. In almost any category! I'm too changeable in my tastes--and what feels like a favorite today may not please me that much tomorrow. So, anytime I answer "What's your favorite?" I feel like it needs a caveat of "This is my favorite, today." You may get an entirely different answer if you check back tomorrow. </div><div><br /></div><div>When it comes to books though, the first one to spring to mind when someone asks this one is usually <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1961395678" target="_blank">We Have Always Lived in the Castle</a></i> by Shirley Jackson. </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ727ZXXwkXWcONdvdJ6kRSEFFPj-pz0BAmjqyAHTAP8800R78gh6lSptVpFn4W0DBndw1CIJb025jpksDiXjD7NoHGEswLNsKeWXZHllZA826ejBO3FFVq29sjxAfTH8WWKTPqYd01iRCA0MhWpvZNRZvoHKB7prug_tA9poSk-ptCpJCoWlxYh2aklm5/s1274/Screen%20Shot%202023-09-07%20at%207.21.37%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="472" data-original-width="1274" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ727ZXXwkXWcONdvdJ6kRSEFFPj-pz0BAmjqyAHTAP8800R78gh6lSptVpFn4W0DBndw1CIJb025jpksDiXjD7NoHGEswLNsKeWXZHllZA826ejBO3FFVq29sjxAfTH8WWKTPqYd01iRCA0MhWpvZNRZvoHKB7prug_tA9poSk-ptCpJCoWlxYh2aklm5/w446-h166/Screen%20Shot%202023-09-07%20at%207.21.37%20PM.png" width="446" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">book cover variations</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Like many of my lasting favorites, I found this book when I was young, around age twelve or thirteen. My middle school librarian suggested it to me when I showed an appetite for the eerie and strange in my reading. There's something about loves I discovered at that age that imprints them deeply, at a soul level, and they became a part of me in a way that other things I've loved have not. <div><br /></div><div>I've read this one several times since that first time, and it delights me every time, sending shivers down my spine in whole new ways. <br /><div><br /></div><div>If you've not read Shirley Jackson's work before, she is best known for this book and another work of psychological horror: <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1364170264" target="_blank">The Haunting of Hill House</a> </i>(another favorite for me).<i> </i>Jackson had a way of making ordinary, domestic moments into something tense and fraught with possibilities. A lot of the time, the narrators are not completely reliable and the reader doesn't know what it is true and what is interpretation. </div><div><br /></div><div>Merricat, the main character and narrator of <i>Castle</i> fascinated me because she was such an atypical girl-in-a-book. She didn't care about the same things as other female characters I'd been presented with. She felt more real to me, edgy and judgmental, and fierce. </div><div><br /></div><div>One of my own works-in-progress (back burnered until I meet my current deadline on the final Menopausal Superhero novel) is a Gothic romance/family drama (working title: <i>The Architect and the Heir</i>) and I think my taste for that kind of story can be traced back to Shirley Jackson and Daphne DuMaurier, both of whom I read around the same time. </div><div><br /></div><div>I've loved a lot of books since. I still read as voraciously as my life allows, somewhere between fifty and one hundred books a year. But there's something special about this one. </div><div><br /></div><div>How about you? What's one of the books of your heart? I'd love to hear about in the comments. </div><!--start InLinkz code-->
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<!--end InLinkz code--></div>Samantha Bryanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684962313482409801noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774305250676105976.post-72225952083846250282023-09-06T06:00:00.083-04:002023-09-06T06:00:00.156-04:00Happy birthday, IWSG! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEQirKCIR3DZiWmGkYG-tk7yK6A_bSO77_er2oGGFLZcxqFZq959C1PnXmMflJd3IJdVH5_yiJo3O9Hws6jOVyyXzEMwvX5FTkgcMytJmGdT1ccuv5uP_IwHaLeK1-JPwzOETO56p1EdUG3sY39eryelOc7eJxxOCmXHbkIeOl8Be6XiMD0EWgcfqVYHUZ/s240/InsecureWritersSupportGroup2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="205" data-original-width="240" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEQirKCIR3DZiWmGkYG-tk7yK6A_bSO77_er2oGGFLZcxqFZq959C1PnXmMflJd3IJdVH5_yiJo3O9Hws6jOVyyXzEMwvX5FTkgcMytJmGdT1ccuv5uP_IwHaLeK1-JPwzOETO56p1EdUG3sY39eryelOc7eJxxOCmXHbkIeOl8Be6XiMD0EWgcfqVYHUZ/s1600/InsecureWritersSupportGroup2.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><br />Welcome to the first Wednesday of the month. You know what that means! It's time to let our insecurities hang out. Yep, it's the <a href="https://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html">Insecure Writer's Support Group blog hop</a>. If you're a writer at any stage of career, I highly recommend this blog hop as a way to connect with other writers for support, sympathy, ideas, and networking. If you're a reader, it's a great way to peek behind the curtain of a writing life.<br /><br />Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG. This month's co-hosts are:<ul style="text-align: left;"><li>J Lenni Dorner <a href="https://jlennidorner.blogspot.com/">https://jlennidorner.blogspot.com/</a></li><li>Sonia Dogra <a href="https://soniadogra.com/">https://soniadogra.com/</a></li><li>Pat Garcia <a href="http://www.patgarciaandeverythingmustchange.com/">http://www.patgarciaandeverythingmustchange.com/</a></li><li>Sarah - The Faux Fountain Pen <a href="http://thefauxfountainpen.blogspot.com/">http://thefauxfountainpen.blogspot.com/</a></li><li>Meka James <a href="https://authormekajames.wordpress.com/">https://authormekajames.wordpress.com/</a></li></ul>And the question-of-the-day: <div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;"><blockquote>The IWSG celebrates 12 years today! When did you discover the IWSG, how do you connect, and how has it helped you?</blockquote></span></b></div><div><br /><span><a name='more'></a></span>As near as I can figure, I've been participating regularly in the IWSG blog hop since May, 2014, <a href="https://samanthadunawaybryant.blogspot.com/2014/05/insecure-writers-support-group-may.html" target="_blank">starting with this introductory pos</a>t. That's the when the logo looked like the one you see above instead of the (in my opinion, much cooler) one we have now. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNhzuUup8qYQgRWRybf4sZDvyf_rW3xQ9HDuplOoIbsaAu9bVn544LkcP-m8_Fph_ZJkGJ3tpgU3QWN6zyFEnWgmwGf6njKuyXdfBP209xj9ddoR2EJ3XbQTYn-O_zxF9qTzjcIIGPNOqi-tKdgeiOy1lLuT8X2nmhmHJtjh_iLtaOui4jLF8hIH-F8Ssb/s320/IWSG-logo.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="320" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNhzuUup8qYQgRWRybf4sZDvyf_rW3xQ9HDuplOoIbsaAu9bVn544LkcP-m8_Fph_ZJkGJ3tpgU3QWN6zyFEnWgmwGf6njKuyXdfBP209xj9ddoR2EJ3XbQTYn-O_zxF9qTzjcIIGPNOqi-tKdgeiOy1lLuT8X2nmhmHJtjh_iLtaOui4jLF8hIH-F8Ssb/s1600/IWSG-logo.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>So, that's nine years ago, which seems about right because that's about when I committed to taking my writing life seriously and making space for it, and I sought out writing communities and professional support as I worked to figure all of that out. (And how fun that in the comments on that post I see blogging-friends I still connect with through IWSG today!)</div><div><br /></div><div>Now, how I heard about it? I don't remember! Like most things in my writing life, I bet I saw someone else participating and thought it sounded interesting and jumped on board. But who that was? What I saw? Where I saw it? Sorry, those are all details lost to the mists of time.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqgo0LGbMiJGdFeqjKi1BeVYvey8LvP1FbgE_TuFYKfuNCLfP2Q7j5xbIvr0uKRBCCjMnhsR6R37kUxyXhC42QaTYAg0AJRw6UdV9UZT5a8iOwtyQ_m4W80rA0qTN_fVTEDEvs2FpqILO5t42DZ5daQlrzMgL7ffQt0vau0jJsK9xYfzfWT-VP3jHOEor3/s483/lost%20in%20time-Roy.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="483" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqgo0LGbMiJGdFeqjKi1BeVYvey8LvP1FbgE_TuFYKfuNCLfP2Q7j5xbIvr0uKRBCCjMnhsR6R37kUxyXhC42QaTYAg0AJRw6UdV9UZT5a8iOwtyQ_m4W80rA0qTN_fVTEDEvs2FpqILO5t42DZ5daQlrzMgL7ffQt0vau0jJsK9xYfzfWT-VP3jHOEor3/s320/lost%20in%20time-Roy.gif" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Looking back at that post, though, I want to go give my past self a little hug. 2014 turned out to be A HUGE year in my writing life, the year that the professional aspect started rolling. Just three months after that first post to the IWSG, I signed my first book contract for<i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Going-Through-Change-Menopausal-Superheroes-ebook/dp/B07NGN67XX" target="_blank"> Going Through the Change</a></i>. </div><div><br /></div><div>And the IWSG was here for me, cheering me on, encouraging me to continue when things got tough, inspiring me with their own journeys. They were there when I had to go through a painful revise-and-resubmit for the third book. They were there when that first publisher went defunct and I had to scramble to get my rights back. They were there when I was dealing with burnout and struggling to find the joy in my writing life. They were there when I signed with a new publisher and got a fresh start for my series. </div><div><br /></div><div>Each step of the way, I've found love and support among the writers in this group and I've been so glad I found y'all! So, fellow IWSGers, how did you find this group? And for other visitors, do you have a supportive group that feeds your personal journey? I'd love to hear what you have to say in the comments. </div><div><div><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div></div>Samantha Bryanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684962313482409801noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774305250676105976.post-8064547664748167702023-09-04T07:00:00.001-04:002023-09-04T07:00:00.166-04:00Writing Problems, an Open Book blog hop post<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6UCe3rAQcF9_kBoeqB3StbGjCR2tWPbdBYOJQm_tHpjN3cH36hB96ZYP5r9voXim3QoCezwwS-PEt4wNhKGPeViAUuXl8G9em5JfT1Cu-pcdIoOE89ZyNm8QVUJ_TCRHCXWJtZkvSHaOnlqx2o3geGRJwZGRHymRyvfvvK18BOaAfY7THu4bdJ6fTvulC/s1024/openbook-scaryweather.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="1024" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6UCe3rAQcF9_kBoeqB3StbGjCR2tWPbdBYOJQm_tHpjN3cH36hB96ZYP5r9voXim3QoCezwwS-PEt4wNhKGPeViAUuXl8G9em5JfT1Cu-pcdIoOE89ZyNm8QVUJ_TCRHCXWJtZkvSHaOnlqx2o3geGRJwZGRHymRyvfvvK18BOaAfY7THu4bdJ6fTvulC/s320/openbook-scaryweather.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /> Welcome to Open Book Blog Hop. You can find us every Monday talking about the writing life. I hope you'll check out all the posts: you'll find the links at the bottom of this post.<p></p><div><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><blockquote>What's the biggest problem you have in your writing right now? </blockquote></span></b>______________________</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm taking on a first in my writing life right now: writing a series-ender. I've been writing the Menopausal Superheroes since 2013, with the first book,<i> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Going-Through-Change-Menopausal-Superheroes-ebook/dp/B07NGN67XX/" target="_blank">Going Through the Change</a></i>, coming onto the scene in 2015, and the other books following in 2016, 2017 (with a re-release with a new publisher for the first three in 2019), and 2020 for the novellas and short stories, and 2021 for the fourth novel. </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074CHNLQ2" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="718" data-original-width="948" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhknvHo3sjATZ_dPTGVYRBYhaPPvqM4CkE-pNpxe7TB5B8rTL_L0nXLk054ZtLxcN4vtxXwOjuRET15HZMLYLb3ZXwfa4__81sfOXP7ni5FcdVeOtVLq-NuZyOnUXvGkLv9NnOehKZcVSeQrlPSe9kNuZQQJvImZs4__dq5qTDltM1yNylWKH1AtZvDQRqN/s320/All-Meno-Heroes%202021.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Menopausal Superhero series, as of 2021</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>It's the first time I've written a series, but I didn't struggle that much book-to-book. Each one took me roughly a year to write. Even the third one, which required a revise-and-resbumit to the publisher only took 14 months. I feel good about that rate of progress, especially alongside a full time day job, kids to raise, and a household to take care of. </div><div><br /></div><div>But writing the fifth and final novel in the series is a different beast altogether. I'm two years in on this one already and I'm not done yet. And I'm so lucky I have a patient publisher. </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSZGbPOs9yJCJQ0XiUeuW1pN7d0QL0yuCgDYtqoSJcOJVXzEmJzuBWEVs2XTRCG5Shoy_pLIGss_L56DXMKANuWh8aPkv8aqC-RDvya3vdBpLhZXIfG4-UKzAg_LmpEASTDuiZjv5SYIoCnoNSlZ8YLzPpZS8i0f3ILp8NAg-34Xzg0d_ejOrVx3h1_xZ9/s4032/JohnDeliversBooks2021.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSZGbPOs9yJCJQ0XiUeuW1pN7d0QL0yuCgDYtqoSJcOJVXzEmJzuBWEVs2XTRCG5Shoy_pLIGss_L56DXMKANuWh8aPkv8aqC-RDvya3vdBpLhZXIfG4-UKzAg_LmpEASTDuiZjv5SYIoCnoNSlZ8YLzPpZS8i0f3ILp8NAg-34Xzg0d_ejOrVx3h1_xZ9/s320/JohnDeliversBooks2021.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">My publisher (John Hartness of Falstaff Books), looking patient by his truck</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>I really want to stick the landing and leave readers feeling satisfied with how it all wraps up. I need to make sure I tie up the most important loose ends without getting wrapped up in trying to settle every story gambit that I ever through out in previous four novels, two novellas, and collection of shorts. </div><div><br /></div><div>Did I mention I'm a pantser? (For those unfamiliar with the term: this means I make it up as a I go. I don't sit down with an outline or a fully fleshed out plan, but just start writing and see where it goes). That doesn't make this easier, but it's a process that works for me. That feeling of exploration and discovery while I'm writing often serves the story and characters well. </div><div><br /></div><div>So, yeah, that's my writing problem of the moment: finishing it right. </div><div><br /></div><div>I've had a good couple of months of steady progress, so right now it feels possible that I'll finish soon. Send all your good vibes my way! I'll need them. </div><div><br /></div><div>In the meantime, check out the other posts in this week's blog hop and see what's giving everyone else trouble and, as always, leave me a comment letting me know what you think!</div><!--start InLinkz code-->
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