When an ending is a beginning

My WIP, "The Christmas Violin," is constructed like a violin concerto.

The first movement is titled Despair, the second movement is titled Journey and third movement is titled Hope. The second movement is the longest, followed by the first and third movements.

It’s coming in at around 26,000 words, so it’s more novella-length. I included one paragraph after the last movement, titled Encore, that I hope nails the ending. When I wrote it, I cried. Not because it was the end, but because it was the beginning.

StoryPress app records history for future generations

Check out this StoryPress app, spoken history recording application.

From its Kickstarter page:

"StoryPress believes that everyone has an important story to tell, and our app lets you easily save these stories to share with future generations. We launched the 1st generation of our product in December 2012 and have already had an overwhelming response, with thousands of downloads from around the world."

Sometimes sleep helps writing

Weird how sometimes when I’m struggling with my novel I go to sleep and when I wake up, I have the solution. Somehow it works out in my head when I’m not actively trying to work it out. It's pretty cool that sleep somehow helps us process information and work out solutions. 

Does this happen to you? 

Using Layar or augmented reality to enhance print

So I've been experimenting with Layar, which allows me to make the print world clickable. I mention it here because it's something that might interest some of you. Pop over to my social media blog, Buffy's World, to see what I've been working on.

Excerpt: Don’t forget to listen to your little voices

Excerpt from Smart magazine column
 

Don’t forget to listen to your little voices

I hear it. I know you can’t. I wish you could.

It’s that little voice inside of me that tells me I’m doing exactly what I’m meant to do. Funny how something so quiet can speak so loudly. But it does.

I even hear it when I’m sleeping. It comes to me in the quiet of the night, slipping into my dreams, nudging me on. I feel it with every part of my being. It’s how I know that I’m doing exactly what I’m meant to do.

When I was a teen, I thought I had life all figured out. But the older I get, the more I realize how little I knew. Decades later, I’m still learning and growing and figuring life out.

There is one thing I have figured out, though, one thing I’m certain of. Each of us has a gift, a talent. You just have to find yours.

Read the rest

Infographic: How much does Hogwarts castle cost?

I ran across a mention of this on Twitter and since "Harry Potter" is one of my favorite reads, had to check out how much Hogwarts would cost.




Other Harry Potter links:

Harry Potter travel tips from A to Z
Harry Potter: Travel tips
Harry Potter "Friday" parody
Harry Potter vs. Voldemort Rap
Harry Potter Puppet Pals

NewHive page for Yearbook Series

You know that I'm always looking at ways to promote my work. I used NewHive to do an expression (that's what NewHive calls them) featuring my Yearbook Series.  Check it out and let me know what you think. NewHive is a really cool tool to use and it's very intuitive. I also created these expressions using NewHive:
Central Market York
Remember series
Gettysburg 150
Author page

Here's link for NewHive Yearbook Series.

Confessions of a writer

I’m nearing a very important turning point in my WIP. A part of me can’t wait to see how it unfolds, and a part of me is scared that I won’t do it justice. I want to get the scene just right, and I’m afraid that I won’t. And I’m doubly afraid that because I’m afraid I’ll procrastinate writing it.

I’ve been thinking about this moment from the time the story popped into my head, which, by the way, was while showering.

I feel like I’m coming to the edge of a cliff. I know that I must step off the cliff. I can’t stay where it’s safe forever.  But still....

Do you ever feel like this? Do you ever procrastinate because you’re afraid you won’t write something well enough?

Writing can make me sad

Sometimes, what I write makes me so sad. My current novel includes a character who is homeless. She has made the cemetery her home. Dead people aren't mean and they don't make fun of her. And they don't call her crazy. Here's a paragraph I just wrote to give you an example.

EXCERPT
When she was younger, she had dreams. But she stopped dreaming long ago. They never came true anyway. At least not for her. And she figured when she did dare to dream, she always heard the voices, telling her she was no good, worthless, a whore, scum. And she figured the voices knew better than she did. After all, they made her do things, even when she didn’t want to. They were in control, not her. No, dreams were for other people. Regular people. Not people with demons in their heads.

Does your writing ever make you sad? How do you deal with this? I've tried to explain it to people, but if they aren't writers they don't seem to get it.

Poll: What is your favorite Easter book

poll by twiigs.com

Zombie symposium at York College

Saw this and wanted to share with all my writer friends who live in the world of zombies. It's a Zombie Symposium at York College. 

The FREE event begins at 9 a.m. April 6 in Humanities Center Room 218.

According to the press release: 

"The symposium will feature presentations from faculty members and students from area colleges and universities who will discuss philosophical, cultural, and literary aspects of zombies. Arnold T. Blumberg from the University of Baltimore is scheduled to deliver a keynote address in the afternoon. He teaches a course called “Media Genres: Zombies in Popular Media” and is the author of "Zombiemania: 80 Movies to Die For." 

Steampunk at Gettysburg

Check out this Steampunk at Gettysburg film art and music festival. The events will be held at Gettysburg Wyndham Hotel, 95 Presidential Circle,  March 29-31.