Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Monday, December 14, 2009
Busy time
I haven't been able to come up with any creative blogs lately. I've had book signings every weekend and have been doing lots of Internet promoting of my book. Also, I'm finishing up the semester with my UVU students. I'm hoping after this week things will open up more.
This Friday, I'll be doing a book signing at Confetti Antiques from 3 to 6. I'm working on getting another one set up somewhere else on Saturday, but I haven't heard back yet.
The Galactic Adventures of Doug had to be put on hold but I plan to restart them this week. I've decided to take a different approach from the one I started with.
This Friday, I'll be doing a book signing at Confetti Antiques from 3 to 6. I'm working on getting another one set up somewhere else on Saturday, but I haven't heard back yet.
The Galactic Adventures of Doug had to be put on hold but I plan to restart them this week. I've decided to take a different approach from the one I started with.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
The Galactic Adventures of Doug (in 3D)
Yesterday I started working on a new project. Of course, I'm also swamped with marketing book 1 and editing book 2, but I thought, what the heck. I decided to start working on a series of short stories with Doug (a character in my book) as the main character. I would post these on my website every so often. I wrote the first installment, but I need to write several more before I get an idea of where the story is going. I'm going back into my discovery writing mode, so I don't know what's going to happen until it pops out of my brain. I don't know when I'll start posting these, but I hope to get them going later this month.
Until then, do the Havoc Stomp.
Until then, do the Havoc Stomp.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Call for Reviews
I was wanting to put a plea out to all my friends to have you post reviews at the online book sites, like Amazon, B&N, Borders, or Goodreads. Of course, I want positive reviews, but do feel free to be honest. I know as a writer that I can't please everyone, so not everyone will like what I've done (it's the same in music).
Also, I'm looking for quotes I can put on my website. If you want to give me a quote containing what you liked about the book, your first name and last initial, your age (optional) and your "area of expertise", I'd greatly appreciate it. The best ones will go up on my website. By "area of expertise", it could be your real day job, or something like, "Lead singer in polka band" or "Underwater basket weaver" or "Elf Expert". You get the idea. Be creative and have fun with it. You can email me or leave a comment on The Blog of Berin.
There is now an official magazine review of my book. It's at: http://www.ldsmag.com/books/091202mystery.html .
Lastly, there are less than two weeks left in the $20 Borders Gift Card Giveaway. The odds are pretty good that you will win. For more details, see my previous blog post.
Also, I'm looking for quotes I can put on my website. If you want to give me a quote containing what you liked about the book, your first name and last initial, your age (optional) and your "area of expertise", I'd greatly appreciate it. The best ones will go up on my website. By "area of expertise", it could be your real day job, or something like, "Lead singer in polka band" or "Underwater basket weaver" or "Elf Expert". You get the idea. Be creative and have fun with it. You can email me or leave a comment on The Blog of Berin.
There is now an official magazine review of my book. It's at: http://www.ldsmag.com/books/091202mystery.html .
Lastly, there are less than two weeks left in the $20 Borders Gift Card Giveaway. The odds are pretty good that you will win. For more details, see my previous blog post.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Contest Time: $20 Borders gift card
It's contest time. I'm doing a drawing on December 14th for a $20 Borders gift card. To enter, send me an email to author@berinstephens.com, or use the form on the contact page of my website. All I need is a return email address. If you're the winner, I'll contact you by email to get an address I can ship it to. Now for the bad news. This is for residents of the United States only, but it does include Alaska and Hawaii.
Also, I'm curious to see what the readers think the Dragon War Relic is. There are a lot of relics and artifacts in the book, but which is THE relic? Include your guesses with your entry.
Some of you may wonder what I'll do with your email addresses. I will not sell them or give them away to anyone. That's just plain rude. I might start a newsletter in the future, but only if I can come up with quality material to send out. And, if I do create a newsletter, it will be once a month, not every flippin' day.
Tell your friends, and may the best man/woman/elf/ogre/dwarf/dragon/angel/gourdo/squemish/etc. win.
Also, I'm curious to see what the readers think the Dragon War Relic is. There are a lot of relics and artifacts in the book, but which is THE relic? Include your guesses with your entry.
Some of you may wonder what I'll do with your email addresses. I will not sell them or give them away to anyone. That's just plain rude. I might start a newsletter in the future, but only if I can come up with quality material to send out. And, if I do create a newsletter, it will be once a month, not every flippin' day.
Tell your friends, and may the best man/woman/elf/ogre/dwarf/dragon/angel/gourdo/squemish/etc. win.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Where are all the Gene Kellys?
I planned on going to bed early last night. After a morning book signing, an afternoon matinee, and an evening performance, I was exhausted when I finally dragged into my home at 10 pm. I made the mistake of turning on the TV to a local PBS station which was showing "An American in Paris". I stayed up until midnight to watch it.
I was immediately sucked in by the music. First of all, I've played a version of the Gershwin score when I was a member of the Anchorage Symphony. Secondly, several of the other songs have become some of my favorite jazz standards, like 'I've Got Rhythm', 'Our Love is Here to Stay', and 'S Wonderful'.
The other thing that stood out to me was Gene Kelly. As a kid, I loved "Singin' in the Rain". I still enjoy it as an adult. Watching "An American in Paris" reminded me of what an incredible talent Gene Kelly was. For one, he was an incredible athlete/dancer. Watching his tap dance moves and how he worked his environment reminded me of Jackie Chan (only much better looking). Also, the guy could have been a great wide receiver or DB in the NFL. The dude was buffed!
Of course, he was famous for his dancing, but he could also sing and act. He presented a charming and warm character who could break out into a song at the drop of a hat (literally).
It makes me wish we could see more movies and people with talents like that. Now, all we get are actors that are all fluff and no brains and movies that are all special effects and no story. It makes me wonder, where have all the Gene Kellys gone? Maybe Pete Seeger should add another verse to "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?".
I was immediately sucked in by the music. First of all, I've played a version of the Gershwin score when I was a member of the Anchorage Symphony. Secondly, several of the other songs have become some of my favorite jazz standards, like 'I've Got Rhythm', 'Our Love is Here to Stay', and 'S Wonderful'.
The other thing that stood out to me was Gene Kelly. As a kid, I loved "Singin' in the Rain". I still enjoy it as an adult. Watching "An American in Paris" reminded me of what an incredible talent Gene Kelly was. For one, he was an incredible athlete/dancer. Watching his tap dance moves and how he worked his environment reminded me of Jackie Chan (only much better looking). Also, the guy could have been a great wide receiver or DB in the NFL. The dude was buffed!
Of course, he was famous for his dancing, but he could also sing and act. He presented a charming and warm character who could break out into a song at the drop of a hat (literally).
It makes me wish we could see more movies and people with talents like that. Now, all we get are actors that are all fluff and no brains and movies that are all special effects and no story. It makes me wonder, where have all the Gene Kellys gone? Maybe Pete Seeger should add another verse to "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?".
Friday, November 13, 2009
2B an Author part 2
The biggest hurdle I faced when it came to writing was strategy. I had taken some writing classes and read several books and I tried to follow the advice they gave. It didn't work. I kept getting stuck.
My biggest problem is that I'm a perfectionist. I would write a chapter, then want to go back and write and rewrite until it was the finished product. Of course, by then, all forward momentum was lost. I started four or five novels this way that ended at chapter three or four.
The other problem was that I had been taught that you are supposed to outline your stories. I would come up with outlines, but they never seemed to work for me. I figured that I must be a failure at writing and gave up for a while.
My daughter discovered an event called NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month. Three years ago, we both decided to do this together, you know, so that we would have someone to commiserated with when we got frustrated. The main objective of NaNoWriMo is to write a 50,000 novel in 30 days (November, usually).
When I got started, the perfectionist in me said, "Let's go back and fix what we just wrote." In which I would have to answer back, "Quiet, we don't have time for that!" (Yes, I do have conversations with myself).
It turned out, in order to stay on schedule, that I had to turn off the perfectionist voice (it whined a lot, but eventually settled down to a whimper). This led me to find out that I am what they call a 'discovery writer'. Most of the time, I have no idea what is going to happen in the next chapter until I write it. This makes it exciting for me and can lead into unpredictable situations. There are also plenty of pitfalls, too, which I will maybe go into another time.
My main point is, though, that you, the aspiring author, needs to find a method that works for you. You might be an 'outliner' or you may be a 'discoverer' or somewhere in between. What you need to do is to try different writing approaches and see what works best for you. Just because some famous writer uses a certain approach doesn't mean it will work for you. We're all different. So, do some research and find out how different writers approach their art and then try their method for a bit. If that doesn't work, try something else until you find something that works.
My biggest problem is that I'm a perfectionist. I would write a chapter, then want to go back and write and rewrite until it was the finished product. Of course, by then, all forward momentum was lost. I started four or five novels this way that ended at chapter three or four.
The other problem was that I had been taught that you are supposed to outline your stories. I would come up with outlines, but they never seemed to work for me. I figured that I must be a failure at writing and gave up for a while.
My daughter discovered an event called NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month. Three years ago, we both decided to do this together, you know, so that we would have someone to commiserated with when we got frustrated. The main objective of NaNoWriMo is to write a 50,000 novel in 30 days (November, usually).
When I got started, the perfectionist in me said, "Let's go back and fix what we just wrote." In which I would have to answer back, "Quiet, we don't have time for that!" (Yes, I do have conversations with myself).
It turned out, in order to stay on schedule, that I had to turn off the perfectionist voice (it whined a lot, but eventually settled down to a whimper). This led me to find out that I am what they call a 'discovery writer'. Most of the time, I have no idea what is going to happen in the next chapter until I write it. This makes it exciting for me and can lead into unpredictable situations. There are also plenty of pitfalls, too, which I will maybe go into another time.
My main point is, though, that you, the aspiring author, needs to find a method that works for you. You might be an 'outliner' or you may be a 'discoverer' or somewhere in between. What you need to do is to try different writing approaches and see what works best for you. Just because some famous writer uses a certain approach doesn't mean it will work for you. We're all different. So, do some research and find out how different writers approach their art and then try their method for a bit. If that doesn't work, try something else until you find something that works.
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