Ugly As All Get Out & Writing Fail

So last night I made some broccoli cheese soup that was a serious fail in the appearance sense of the word “edible.” We’re talking ugly as all get out. When my husband was being all lovely, polite, and upbeat and optimistic about it and taking his first bites he said, “Mmm. Did you make this with hate?” I just about fell off my chair laughing. Even though apparently he said, “Did you make this with potatoes?” Making it with hate is much more amusing, don’t you think?

Ugly doll. Don’t you love it?

Also last night I discovered that there is quite the crafting community on Twitter. I even joined my first Twitter ‘party.’ Not sure what made it ‘party.’ Maybe it was the prizes? Anyway, it was a ton of fun–oh, that probably made it a party! And I discovered that like other ‘fails’ on Twitter, there is a ‘craft fail.’ (I wonder if there is a ‘food fail?’ Probably! Just add soup.)

So I decided we need a writing fail. For those times when writing turns ugly. (Then after believing I was incredibly brilliant for thinking of this, I looked on Twitter and discovered there is in fact #writingfail. Of course.)

But what truly constitutes a ‘writing fail?’ Those times when you mean to sit down and write and social media sort of takes over the morning? (Darn! That video on Canada’s Hide and Seek Olympic Demonstration team was unreal. Those pictures my brother uploaded to SugarSync from Christmas were great. Oh… and did you hear about baby monkey riding on a pig?)

Where was I?

Oh, yes. Writing fail. How about those times when you sit down to write and you spill your tea and spend the next 15 minutes tackling the mess and then the baby wakes up and you are off on a new adventure? And then there is writing itself. Naming all your characters names that are almost the same and even you can’t tell them apart? Realizing that nurses don’t leave medications lying around willy nilly while dispensing them and a whole scene, chapter, and section of your story needs to be rewritten? Yeah, that says writing fail all over it.

How about you? Any writing fails? (It can be anything!)

Family Fun

Looking for some last minute gift ideas for the kids to make the relatives? Looking for activities to do with the whole family? Or maybe just a craft or two for the kiddos in your life? Maybe wondering how to track Santa? Or wondering how to make shortbread for when that big guy makes his way down your chimney tonight?

Well guess what? I’ve been tweeting some of my kids play ideas over on Twitter under @KidsPlay, so if you want to track Santa, have him send a personal video message to your friends or kids, I’ve got the links for you!

I’d love to see you on Twitter. Stop by and say hi to me! I’m right here: http://twitter.com/#!/KidsPlay

Smart Twitter Profiles

Do you Tweet? If you do and you are using your Twitter account to get your writing name (or other professional name) out there, you might want to give Galley Cat’s listing of the top 5 Twitter Profile mistakes that writers make a quick scan. I made one of them. How about you?

(I admit, I tried to make my personal description a tad cheeky. Although, I thought despite the cheek it still gave (yes, past tense–I did change it) readers a bit of an idea of who I was/am and that I am maybe not 100% run of the mill author-to-be.)

The fact is, I find that many Tweeters make that ‘mistake’ fairly often–Tweeters not describing themselves very well. So… Who are you? What makes you unique and special? Why should I follow you? Tell me in that tiny little area and you just might find yourself a couple of extra followers tagging on each week.

As for profile pictures–I don’t care if you have one. Really. Not a big deal.

And location? I don’t care about that either. In fact, I prefer NOT to put down my location. I don’t live in a city of millions (New York) so a little personal privacy is a GOOD thing.

What do you look for in a Twitter profile? Do you think their listed mistakes are a big deal?

The Best of Twitter?

Did you know Lord Voldemort (from Harry Potter) is on Twitter? Yep, that’s right, he’s slamming celebrities and recommending Lindsay Lohan be locked up in Azakaban.

How many followers does someone like Voldemort have? Over 827, 000. So, okay, that’s no Martha Stewart who has over 2,171,000, but he does beat the pants off the master writer of child horror, R.L. Stine (21,000). And even his creator, JK Rowling  (366,000).

If you are looking for 140 of the best tweeters on Twitter, be sure to check out this Time Magazine list which includes everything from Margaret Atwood to coupons to pundits to Shaquille O’Neil.

Enjoy!

When the ‘Social’ Drops Out of Social Media

“The more followers and friends you have, the more awesome and important you are.”
–Clive Thompson (In Praise of Obscurity WIRED Magazine, Feb 2010, page 30.)

This begs the question: Is it true? (Sure!) Or more importantly, what is the impact of being that Pied Piper of Social Networking Awesomeness?

According to Thompson (quoted above), somewhere beyond having a few hundred/few thousand (depends on various factors) Twitter followers the social aspect of social networking breaks down. When you have a small gathering, like any social event, conversations happen and the group becomes a bit of a community with regulars throwing out ‘crazy’ ideas, bantering, and the building upon the thoughts of others. But once the event reaches a certain size, it becomes difficult for conversations to happen over the din and for those who know each other to meet up and converse. The example he uses in his article involves a Twitter maven who lost her small town feel around 13,000 followers (which is quite impressive actually–how she managed to keep that feel among so many followers makes her a rock star!). For her Twitterverse things went from a social event to dead silence.

To bring it down to a more personal level, when you see a blog with a ton of comments, are you likely to leave a comment? Or do you feel as I do–there is nothing left to comment upon and that you will simply get lost in the shuffle? As Thompson says of big audiences, “Not only do audiences feel estranged, the participants also start self-censoring. People who suddenly find themselves with really huge audiences often start writing more cautiously, like politicians.”

I’m not saying that amassing followers, friends, or blog commenters is a bad thing, however it is an interesting idea that the social aspect can reach its limits and fade away. I suppose there are limits to everything.

Smack Down?

Okay, I know I promised to blog about ereaders some more. And I will. But right now, if you are a writer, there is something you should check out.

First, go to the blog “Pimp My Novel” and read yesterday’s blog which asked “What would you change about Publishing?” Wow. Some opinions. Some people have some great ideas, like the royalty rate for authors shifting to a higher percentage after the book has hit a certain number of sales and the cost of the book’s production has been covered. I like that idea. And then there are some folks where you can just tell that they have been burned by the industry and their blood has turned to boiling acid. Yikes!

Have you read the blog’s comments? You don’t have to read them all, just enough to get the gist of where things are heading. Now, pop over to a literary agent, Michelle Wolfson of Wolfson Literary. Read her take on the blog by popping over to her page on Twitter. (You are looking for the posts with the hashtag like so: #annoying. They were posted around noon today, Eastern time.) There are parts Wolfson agrees with (like the book return policy) and there are parts that she doesn’t. These days it’s got to be tough being an agent. Not only are authors being starved out by publishers and their new tighten-our-belts royalties scheme, but agents are as well. And publishers need agents and they need authors, so what the heck? (That’s a whole ‘nother kettle of fish though!)

More On Twitter

I suppose I should mention that I am on Twitter too, eh? It’s not just for fictional characters, it’s for real humans too!

You can look for me under my username: jeanoram. I try to update it daily, but it doesn’t always quite work out that way.

As well, there are a pile of agents twittering (or is it tweeting) over there too. If you’d like to see a list, AQ Crew on Agent Query has started a nice list. It’s another way to put your ear to the ground in the publishing world.

Twitter: Another Way to Break Your Characters Out of the Book

Twitter, it’s free.

Twitter, make it work for you, honey!

Twitter, if you know what you’re doing, it can be a BLAST.

Seriously though, the other day I had a brainwave. I’d put Allie on Twitter. Who is Allie? What is Twitter?

Let’s start with Twitter. Here’s a brief rundown on Twitter. Twitter is a social network site. That means you make a free account and begin tweeting. That means, you post a short (140 characters) sentence or two updating your status. That’s all. No wall. No pesky invites. All you do is convey information. You can also use it to start an informative, interesting trend like some agents did with a ‘query fail’ game. Basically, post something interesting.

Who is Allie? Allie is the main character of my chick lit/romantic comedy story (The 15 Date Rule) that is currently seeking representation. Allie’s a 32-year-old astrophysicist who has a slight issue with putting her foot in her mouth and is a general, all-round dating disaster. (We’re talking boyfriends hire other guys to break up with her. Ouch.)

Why put Allie on Twitter? Many reasons. One: it’s fun. Two: it’s a great way for a writer to get to know a character better.  Three: it could possibly build an audience for your character which could help with marketing down the line. Four: it’s fun. Five: it is covering the backstory for the novel in an interesting way. Six: it’s a great writing exercise. Seven: it’s free. And Eight: did I mention it’s a blast?

Anyway, check out Allie. You can ‘follow’ her on Twitter, which means her schenanigan updates will show up on your Twitter page so you don’t have to search for her each time. Or you can rss feed her. Or you can also check her out in the handy gadget I made for my website’s mainpage.

Either way, enjoy!