Passionate About....

FaBo Story is back! 

Nine wacky writers get together to deliver another challenging writing experience to New Zealand kids. Come over to Planet FaBo and let your imagination go. (coz we need it.) This is a writing blog with a difference.

This week in the writing blogosphere there has been a discussion over writing blogs and whether they are worth the time it takes and does it really have anything to do with your brand. This has morphed into sub discussions over branding and the worth, in general, of Social Media.

Kristen Lamb kicked it off with the first half of her Common Blogging Misconceptions post about writing what you are passionate about rather than just another writing blog. This week she looks at managing the blog effectively.

So what am I doing here? 

I write a blog about what’s topical in the publishing world with a smattering of craft tips and odd things I have enjoyed while looking for other things.

What am I passionate about? 

You could say Space, Teaching, Writing for kids....actually I’m passionate about Learning. I love Learning. I can’t help it. I like finding out stuff. I started this blog three years ago to learn about the internet and then social media just sort of fell into it and along the way I discovered great craft tips and new tech and there you have it. 

FaBo Story began the same way. A group of kiwi writers started talking on Facebook about how we could have some fun writing an online book and interact with kids, getting them to write alongside us and so Fabo Story was born. Because the kids are such good writers we had to have a bit of a rest before we did it again...and make it harder so they didn’t out write us every time. (we do have our pride.) And we are developing the brand...by accident.

The Book Designer has a great post on Author Brand. It clarifies what you, the author, should be thinking about.

Alan Rinzler has taken a careful look at what it means to be a writer today in this new publishing world and as he is one of the most experienced editors around, he is worth reading.

Raymond Benson has a guest post on Joe Konraths Blog about his experience with epublishing. Do you realise that you are in it for the long haul? What else should you be doing with the new publishing experience?

Someone I noticed this week with a new publishing experience was PJ Hoover. She has brought out trading cards to go with her ebook Solstice. The Trading Cards have Q R Codes. What’s this I thought and dived into the world of two dimensional barcodes which show enhanced content via smart phones. And this is available for kids. Brave New World, step this way....One company has even Q R coded the classics so you can read while waiting in line.

In the Craft Corner, there are two absolute standouts for you to devour.

Elana Johnson has a guest post on the wonderful Bookshelf Muse about creating the Dystopian World.

The phenomenal Kidlit team have the Complications worksheet. This is a brilliant aid to plotting that you will want to bookmark.

Over on Craicerplus (My Amplify page) I have links to articles on

Call For Submissions- A new publisher to have a look at.

What Went Wrong With The Star Wars Prequels...(Read it and see what not do with great storytelling.)

To finish,

The YASaves debate is still going on. (see last weeks post) Today Jay Asher of 13 Reasons Why, was asked his opinion. As you can imagine it was to the point. It is all about the readers and their experience, The Young Adults understand it, their parents might not.  

This week I passed the following link on to people who were looking at wonderful backlists with no idea what gold it contained for them now.

Bob Mayer has taken a good hard look at Indie vs Trad debate and has basically said stop taking sides and start taking advantage. He has some very pointed advice for publishers and authors and agents. 

Read it. Think about it. See how it can work for You. Be Passionate. 

enjoy,

maureen

Writing Life On The Edge...

It’s been a funny old week in the writing blogosphere. 

The Wall Street Journal piece on the darkness of YA Fiction spurred a huge twitter backlash (#YAsaves) that had it in the top three trending topics inside of an hour. Among the authors singled out in the WSJ article was Judy Blume who was surprised to find that her books were considered too dark to read. Judy linked to a Blog post by a young writer about why she reads YA Fiction. 

Today Maureen Johnson wrote an article for the Guardian looking at the response and how YA Authors feel about the WSJ reviewers comments.

If you write or read YA Fiction have a look at each side. I think there are valid points for each argument. 

Yes there is a lot of violence, gore, death and illegal behaviour in some YA Books. 

Writing about it and the consequences of it can give a safe mirror for a teen that may have to deal with some of these issues in real life. 

Reading these books does not automatically send a teen out to commit mayhem. 

The increasingly younger age group who are picking up Young Adult books, because they want to appear older, are the real problem I feel. I had a serious freak out moment when I heard an 8 year old was reading Twilight at my daughters school. As a teacher, a parent and a children’s writer that made my hair stand on end. (that’s my 50c worth)

Young Adult writing will always be controversial and edgy and the writers and readers wouldn’t have it any other way. (Banning a book is great for sales.)

Writers for Younger children are much safer? Not so. The seventh UK Children’s Laureate was announced yesterday and immediately there were negative comments about the author.

Julia Donaldson has written more than 150 books for children. She is a standout writer and an awesome campaigner for the continuing existence of public and school libraries. However judging by the comments following the Guardian article announcing her appointment...there are a few people out there who think her classic The Gruffalo teaches children that it is ok to lie and they argue she plagiarized Maurice Sendak. Some days you wonder about the parents of your readers...

Also in the news this week how small chain bookshops are repurposing themselves in the current climate...What experiences can they bring to the customer that Amazon can’t...and how Pop Up book stores are working in the US....(Pop Up means short term in an empty space.)

Over in the Craft section there are three excellent links for you on Editing.

Grub Daily has a great post on line editing...with some great examples from old pulp fiction. I have a serious collection of old pulp fiction myself, this is an excellent way to sharpen your editing skills while reading it.

Beth Hill of The Editors Blog has a great (and comprehensive) checklist for editors and writers on big picture editing. This is one to bookmark!

The editors at Edittorrent have a great blog post on openings that annoy...If you are wondering about your killer opening go on over and check out what they have to say.

On Craicerplus (my Amplify Page) I have a link to an article on

Author Agent Speed Dating Service...(one author who wants to make things easier for all of us....)

If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter you will have seen a lot of interesting articles, just for those communities, that I have passed on this week.

To Finish,

Writer Unboxed interviewed Nathan Bransford about why he left Agenting, his new midgrade book coming out and other interesting stuff. Nathan has one of the most popular blogs out in the writing blogosphere and he is always an insightful commentator. 

P J Hoover has a thoughtful post on her experience epublishing Solstice with her agent one month on.

And I’ll leave you with a video from Cory Doctorow –Every Pirate Wants To Be An Admiral...Why he lives life on the edge...

Enjoy,

maureen