The Chipper Muse

Supporting Indie Authors, Part 3: Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

2012-02-24T08:30:00.003-06:00

In part 3 of this blog series, Supporting Indie Authors, I'm going to address a big but touchy issue. If you want to truly help indie authors, you will at some point need to vote with your pocketbook, and give them some money. Yes, that's right. I said the magic word. Money.

Courtesy of Google Images

I'm going to confess here. I am just as guilty as anyone of looking for free books. It's not surprising... We're all on a budget to some degree. We're picking and choosing where we're going to invest our money. And we give our money to the things we believe in and value.

Now, authors... They publish their work in part to make money, and in part to earn recognition. (If they want neither, they get a nice little journal that they write in and then lock up somewhere.) For those who put their writing out there where you can see it, they're doing it to connect with you, the reader.

This is why I say: If you're going to support that author, you have to put your money where your mouth is. If they've entertained you, then they've earned it.

In some ways, I wonder if the model for paying writers could be broadened. Maybe we need virtual tip jars, so that if you get a free book or buy a 99 cent ebook and are pleasantly surprised by how much you enjoyed the read, you could go back and give the writer something extra. The same way you tip the house band at the bar. You know what I mean?

In the current system, that doesn't happen. We just pay our 99 cents (or get the free book), and mosey along our way. Still, there are a couple of simple things you can do to make it worthwhile for authors to offer their books for low prices or even for free sometimes online. It just takes mindfulness...thinking about it...to make it happen.

Personally, when I get a free ebook, I usually review it on this blog or do an author interview. It may take me a while to get to it, but I do it, because at least it gives the author a little free advertising in return for the opportunity to read their book for no charge. A little quid pro quo is only fair.

My blog is a high priority for me. A review for another author on Amazon or Goodreads is less so. But I am trying to make time once every month or two to give a quick two-sentence review on those websites with a link back to my blog review, because reviews can help browsing readers make a decision to buy. And if someone else buys the book, then it helps the author, doesn't it? Easy enough.

Another way to help authors is to give their books as gifts at holidays and birthday time. Especially if you particularly like a book you've read. I may not need a copy of a book I've already read for free, but my mother might like a copy for her Kindle, and at 99 cents or 1.99 or 2.99, I can buy her several items, much cheaper than a trip to the bookstore. Gift-giving is a good way to justify spending money on book you've already read.

I'd even bet that there are ways to support authors financially in ways that I haven't even thought of. I'll talk about one of those out-of-the-box approaches next week. But I'd love to hear from you about ways you think we can get money into the hands of the people who have entertained us with their written words.

(We'll leave supporting hard copy, paper books for another time and another series. I'm not sure how to make that happen in this brave new world of ebooks, but it's not a discussion for this blog post today.)

For part 1 of the series, go here.
For part 2 of the series, go here.

Copyright (c) 2012 by M.A. Chiappetta. All rights reserved.

Supporting Indie Authors, Part 2: Smaller Equals More Effort, Not Less

2012-02-17T08:30:00.004-06:00

If you're an indie author, you know you need the support of others to build your online presence. And if you love indie authors, you want to help. This series is about practical ways to do that. Let's spread the love!

You know you love Marc Anthony and the kitten!
Love your indie authors the same way.
Courtesy of Google Images/fanpop.com

Last week, I kicked off by talking about reviewing other authors on your blog, Amazon, Goodreads, and anywhere else the author may have a presence. Today, I want to talk a little more about this, and make a bold statement:

We should dedicate the bulk of our efforts to smaller authors.

Yes, I am suggesting that if we're going to promote other authors, we should focus most (notice, I said most) of our efforts on the little guys. Here's why. It's great to talk about the big guys, the George R.R. Martins and the Charlaine Harrises. I've done it myself. There's nothing wrong with that.

But writers who operate at that level of business and fame don't especially need our personal reviews. Martin's A Dance with Dragons, for example, has a current total of 25,025 ratings on Goodreads. In other words, he doesn't need my review. He's more than covered.

But Farsighted, the book by Emlyn Chand that I reviewed recently and mentioned in part one of this series, only has 251 ratings on Goodreads. For the mathematically inclined, this is one percent of the reviews Martin has. Likewise, Treasure from the Storm, a solidly written and charming Christian romance by my friend Ellen Sherrill, has only one review right now. (Mine.) That's 0.004% of the reviews that Martin has. Who needs the bulk of the advertising help here? Not the famous guy.

Let me clarify here and say that I have nothing against famous writers, like Martin and Harris. I love them, actually, and I think it's great to support them. I don't mind if you want to give them a shout-out; I do it myself sometimes. I'm glad if you buy their books too, because I like to know that authors everywhere are making a living. Buying their books keeps them on the bookshelves, which is great. It may even keep Barnes & Noble and independent bookstores alive, which would be great, because I like bookstores. I've got no problem with loving the big names.

But the specific issue at hand here in this series is how to help the indie writers, the people who don't have the advantage of a big marketing budget or the opportunity to write their own books full-time... the people working on building their online presence, rather than the ones who are huge in their online and offline presence already.

With that in mind, I think it's clear that you and I have the best chances of making significant impact for the writers who are not going automatically onto the New York Times Best Sellers list on publication day. We actually have the opportunity to propel the indies to greater success when we make time for them.

That's why I'm arguing that if you have limited time to promote other authors (and you do), then it might be good to focus as much of that time as possible on smaller-level authors, who really need and will be thankful for your review and rating on Amazon, Goodreads, and other book-selling and review sites.

This belief is one reason why I'm focusing more of my review time on this blog for newer, less well-known authors. Sure, I may take a break and write a review of Brent Weeks or Jim Butcher. I've done it; see the links. But going forward, if I review a bestselling writer, I'll be more likely to talk about things we can learn from them as writers, rather than just giving them a shout-out. That way, the review will do double-duty and serve as a way to talk about how we can improve our writing skills. I'll be saving the straight reviews for the indies and linking them to the book sites of their choice.

So, let's hear what you have to say. And where else besides Amazon and Goodreads are you promoting yourself or other authors? Share, share, share!

For part 1 of this series, go here.

Copyright (c) 2012 by M.A. Chiappetta. All rights reserved.

Supporting Indie Authors, Part 1

2012-02-10T08:30:00.000-06:00

Let's help each other!
(Courtesy of Google Images/
hhhomecare.com)

So, it turns out that giving myself a little break from my 3-days-a-week blog schedule has revitalized my creativity and passion. I just flashed on a great topic for a blog series on ways to help indie authors, and today's the start of it. This series will be going on for at least the next four weeks, so I invite you to check back in weekly on Fridays. I'm really excited about this. It's going to be good!

(If you like these tips, you can pass them along to your readers and give them specific ways to help you, even as you help others. This is what I call paying it forward, big time.)

The main reason I'm doing this is to identify the ways that we can support the authors we know who are independent, self-published, working with smaller presses, or are not yet as well-known as the really big names (you know, like Michael Crichton).

Most of the friends I have on Twitter fall into one of those categories. And recently, one of them (Emlyn Chand) asked me for a favor. I reviewed her book Farsighted, which I loved, on the blog last week. She asked if I'd link the review to Amazon and Goodreads for her, if I didn't mind.

I didn't mind.

You see, I like helping other authors build their online presence. It's what we all need to do these days, and why not help? I already share my reviews on my blog anyway, and it takes only a few minutes to write a two-sentence blurb on the places where the book is selling. I can link back to my blog review too, and maybe pick up a few readers. It's a small but easy way to support authors who are not as well-known as Stephen King or JK Rowling.

Which is most of us.

By giving reviews, I'm helping other authors who could use a hand, and I'm building good karma. After all, I'll be publishing my own novels soon, and I'll be thankful for everyone who returns the favor by supporting me. It's a good thing all around to be generous.

Author Michael R. Hicks did a great tutorial on his blog a while back to help you review and promote your favorite authors. Believe me, he makes the process look easy, which it is. He's on my list of books to read and review, so you can expect to see more about him on my blog in the next few months. But I can tell you, he's got a great blog for authors, with lots of good tips, so if you haven't checked him out yet, do it today. You will be glad you did.

Holy ebooks, Batman!
(Courtesy of Google Images)

Now, it's pretty obvious we can support other authors by interviewing them on our blogs, reviewing them on Amazon and Goodreads, tweeting about them, and posting about them on Facebook. (Though we sometimes need the reminder to do it.) But there are other ways to help too. More on that next Friday, so tune in next week, same ChipperMuse time, same ChipperMuse channel.

(Holy ebooks! She worked in a Batman reference on her author's blog.)

Yes. Yes, I did. See you next Friday!

Copyright (c) 2012 by M.A. Chiappetta. All rights reserved.

Get Me a Scale: It's the Year of Writing Balance

2012-02-08T10:04:00.000-06:00

Image courtesy of zimbio.com/Google Images

If this picture doesn't say it all, what will?

In my continuing effort to get my writing life better organized, prioritized, and streamlined, I just made a list of the writing endeavors I am involved in or potentially going to be involved in. The list is up to 21 items so far, and it includes:

Personal writing projects: 3

Freelance writing projects: 3 definite, 2 possible

Writing communities: 6 (Say what? That's crazy!)

Social media and online networking outlets: 5

Learning opportunities: 2

And this list doesn't include the full-time job doing fundraising and PR writing.

So, you can see now why I'm trying to publish long posts only once a week here. Maybe I'll post little updates throughout the week if I can. I'd still like this blog to be active because it's an important way to connect to all my writer friends, as well as readers who love me for being me. (You guys are special.)

Have you ever taken inventory like this? How did you narrow down your opportunities and focus? Because seriously, you can see I'm having a focus problem, can't you? This is something to work on all year long. Congrats, 2012, you are now the Year of Balance for me.

Copyright (c) 2012 by M.A. Chiappetta. All rights reserved.

The Muse Reviews: Farsighted by Emlyn Chand

2012-02-03T09:06:00.000-06:00

A great YA read with a touch of the paranormal and a not-so-typical protagonist

I always enjoying winning a contest. It doesn't happen often, but when it does, it feels fantastic. And all the more so when the prize turns out to be something I really enjoy. I'm pleased to say Farsighted, the debut novel of Emlyn Chand, makes a great prize.

The story revolves around teenager Alex Kosmitoras, who just so happens to be blind. He's managing his world as well as a blind teenager might—which is to say, he doesn't get along so well with his dad, and he has to deal with bullying jerks at school, but he happens to do it with a cane in his hand. Then suddenly, Alex starts having dreams and visions that allow him to "see" in a way he's never seen before. As he struggles to deal with that and figure out what it all means, he also tries to juggle his growing attraction to a new girl in town, as well as deal with his difficult relationship with his father.

Oh... And did I mention, his visions have to do with what appears to be an imminent murder? And the perpetrator has psychic abilities, just as Alex does?

This makes for a great, tense plot that balances the Sturm und Drang of adolescence. There's drama, all right, but it's adult enough that older teens and even adults will enjoy the story as much as the mid-teens who make up the books primary target audience.

By using a blind protagonist, Chand gives us the type of character we don't often encounter. She does a wonderful job of presenting Alex's world—a place without visuals, but alive with sounds and smells. As a writer myself, I know how easy it is to rely on the sense of sight to describe a room or a character or a scene. Chand can't do that with a character who is blind. But she does so well with tapping the other senses and helping us envision what life is like for Alex that it is a delight to walk around in his shoes, even though he is a moody teen at times. (But who isn't?)

The supporting characters are drawn well, and eventually we get to understand why Alex's father acts the way he acts. I will admit I was puzzled at one point by Alex's mother, who has a reaction to her husband leaving and returning that essentially made no sense to me. But given that the rest of the book is so enjoyable, and given that the mother's reaction isn't vital to the resolution of the plot, I could live with it.

There are some unexpected twists to the plot, and by the end of the book, I was ready for more. Chand is working on the sequel, which I'm truly looking forward to reading. (Hurry up, please! Hahaha!)

Overall, Farsighted is a satisfying read for teens on up. If you like a good thriller with a good dash of the paranormal, you'll like this book.

For more information about Emlyn Chand or Farsighted, visit her website. And if you buy the book, tell her the Chipper Muse sent you. (It always helps writers to know how their readers found their book.)

Copyright (c) 2012 by M.A. Chiappetta. All rights reserved.

Changing the Mix

2012-01-23T08:40:00.001-06:00

Oh, how I love Mr. Miyagi
(courtesy of Google Images)

So... I took last week off from writing the blog. I've been processing what to do with it. And I wanted to post a quick note about it today.

I'll still be writing this blog.. I'll still maintain the same type of content - the reviews, the funny musings, the thoughts on writing and creativity. Those are all things I love, and things that you come here for. That won't change.

But I am going to change the posting schedule. Three days a week is too much for me right now. I'm also writing a novel, and teaching, and freelancing. And I'm deciding to be realistic about it. Balance is a lesson for your whole life, as Mr. Miyagi would say. (Who doesn't love The Karate Kid?)

Seriously... Balancing my life better is what is healthy for me, but it'll be better for the blog too. I'll be able to put my effort into creating one phenomenal post a week, rather than three that have to be up on schedule no matter how good (or meh) they turn out to be.

Plus, I'll have more time to visit other blogs and read them, so we can build relationships. Wouldn't that be nice? It's a goal for me.

Oh, and I'm kicking around the idea of whether to move this blog to WordPress. I have to see if that makes sense. For now, I'll remain here. If anyone reading this post uses WordPress, especially if you've also used Blogger, I'd love to know which service you prefer and why.

Thanks to everyone for your patience! I appreciate every single one of my readers. Thanks to those who have weighed in already on what you like about the blog and what you think. If you haven't weighed in yet or if you think of something to add to what you've already said, please do! I'd love to hear what you all think.

Question for You, Dear Readers

2012-01-16T08:28:00.000-06:00

Here's the deal.

I have no Monday review for you today. Most Mondays, this is not an issue. I normally read a lot and usually have something to talk about. But occasionally, like today, I'm just not finished with my next book and don't have a review for you.

So my question for you is: When I don't have a review ready for a Monday, what would you like instead? I could do a quick update on my novel, or share a paragraph or two from it for you to read and give me input. I could do a fun little update about my weekend. I could offer a simple thought for the day. Or I could take the day off.

What do you think? Is there anything specific you'd like to see me do on Mondays when I don't have a review for you?

On a related note: What part of the blog do you like best, and what would you like to see more of? I'll see what I can do to give you more of what you like best.

Thanks for your input. I appreciate it, and I look forward to shaping this blog a little more toward what you come here for.

Copyright (c) 2012 by M.A. Chiappetta. All rights reserved.

An Interview with Novelist Bryan Thomas Schmidt

2012-01-13T08:30:00.002-06:00

Recently, I read The Worker Prince, a book by Bryan Thomas Schmidt about a young man raised in a powerful household, only to discover his heritage isn’t quite what he thought it was. As he discovers his true parentage, he is faced with the decision of how he will live his life with the new knowledge he has. It’s a fun science-fiction read with a touch of Star Wars and a touch of the story of Moses in it.

I had the opportunity to talk with Bryan about his book and his writing. Hope you enjoy what Bryan has to share.

Tell me, Bryan, how did you develop your idea for The Worker Prince? I heard the idea came to you at a young age. Did you start doing stories, jotting down notes, world-building, etc., from a young age? Or did this idea sit on the back burner for a long time before you decided to pull it out and write it?

I had the idea of a Star Wars type of Moses saga when I was in my teens and planned it as this giant Centennial-esque TV miniseries for multiple hours, etc. At that time, I also wrote the ideas for characters, including the names Sol and Xalivar. I had a lot more but those and Luna, which became Lura, were the only ones I still remembered when I came back this story later in life. (Somewhere in my garage is a box with those notes from my teenage years, but I didn’t have a clue where to look.)

In any case, I went on to work in TV and film for a while, pursued music, got a Masters, and so on, until one day I had a failed novel under my belt. I was studying craft and knew I wanted to try again but not with that first story. I needed something new, so I went back to the Moses Meets Star Wars idea, and four months later I had a completed novel. That was my first draft, of course, but that was November 2009, and finishing it was a really cool feeling.

What was the easiest part of the writing process for you? What was the hardest part? Why? (For example, I’m great at dialogue, not so great at world-building and description.)

Well, it went surprisingly fast for a guy who didn’t know what he was doing. The hard part was figuring out how much work it needed, what that was and doing it. That and writing queries and synopses. Lord, do I hate those! But I digress. Dialogue has come easy for me since film school. I was always told I have a gift for dialogue. And the characters came easily enough, although they evolved over time, of course.

Description is the part I don’t do well. In screenplays, you’re taught not to write it. But in books you need it all—and it needs to be very visceral, emotional, and visual. Much of the time, that stuff gets added in during the second draft for me. I did it in multiple drafts on The Worker Prince, but now that I’m further along in craft, I can usually add description into the second draft and make just a few tweaks later on. I’m doing that draft now for The Returning, which is the sequel to The Worker Prince.

Second is science. I am not a gifted scientist or mathematician. And I don’t care that much, to be honest. What I want are great characters you care about, a plot that keeps you on a good ride, and writing that makes you laugh, cry, get angry, etc., at the right moments so that you walk away satisfied that you were well entertained. But if you’re writing science fiction, other people will care about the science and math, so I had to get some help. A friend who is good with it helped me work out the details of my solar system—where the planets would be, how they rotated, how much time it takes to travel between them, how their location would translate into geography, and so on. It’s not enough to make it hard science, but enough that people will say okay, that’s a reasonable guess.

What type of plotter are you—seat of the pants, detailed outliner, in the middle? What plotting tools work for you—note cards, snowflake method, etc.?

Pantser. Pants around ankle. Dive in and just see what happens. (Telling people that keeps them from touching my drafts, see?)

I do, however, outline the next chapter as I go—just an idea of what scenes I think will be in it and what order I’m shooting for. I do a single, one or two sentence description, and maybe a character list if I know someone has to be there or someone needs to be revisited who I keep leaving out. That’s pretty much it.

Writing sequels, I’ve had to do a bit more planning, because when you write a series, you have to tie in to the existing stuff and you have to leave loose ends for the next book. But I’m still mostly just seat-of-the-pantsing it.

The Worker Prince weaves science fiction together with the Biblical story of Moses. Did you want to write a SFF story first, then realize that the Bible provided a good story to mirror? Or did you start by wanting to write a Christian novel, and then came to decide on SFF? What kind of challenges or surprises did you face as you wove the Christian elements and the SFF elements together?

The Moses story has been done. And done again. And done yet again. That wasn’t the case when I dreamed it up. Ten Commandments was the big one back then. Now, we have Prince of Egypt, the Superman movies, and a bunch of stuff that all used Moses as models. So, the first decision I had to make was how closely I wanted to follow the story.

I made the decision to tie my story to Earth, with colonists in deep space but originally from Earth. Then I realized if I made one group Christians, the rest of the story would fall into place because the actual Moses story would be part of their prehistory.

But that being the case, I knew if I just followed the Moses story to the letter, my characters would predict it. “Hey, we know this story.” So instead, I started diverging from some of it to mix it up. It kept the characters guessing, upping their tension and the story’s drama, and it keeps the reader (and the pantsing writer) guessing too.

I didn’t have any trouble weaving Christian and SF stuff together, partly because I use so little science and partly because the desire to explore is natural to man. Christian missionaries have gone everywhere and no doubt will one day be sent into the stars. So that motivation is not foreign. And every culture as we know it has religion and faith elements, so that’s not difficult. It fit together nicely.

As far as being Christian, I am NOT a fan of Christian fiction. Way too much of it is crap—preachy crap. Way too much of it is cheesy. I wanted to write about real bad people and real flawed heroes with problems, but I wanted to do it in a way that I’d enjoy and that lots of people who aren’t Christian would enjoy. So I worked very hard to weave in those elements while avoiding preachiness, or even being a proponent of one way of thinking. I thought, just lay it out there, let the characters believe in it, present it well, but let readers do with it what they will or what the Holy Spirit will.

Can you talk a little about the publishing process? How did you go about getting The Worker Prince into print? Any lessons learned that you'd like to share with other writers?

I first hired independent editors at my own expense to help me whip the novel into shape, and then I sent out around 45 queries to various agents. Only three agents requested it, and they all turned it down.

So I wound up sending it out to slush piles at big and small presses. And in mid-2010, I started to get interest from three publishers. All three wound up making me offers and giving me editing notes. Finally, I went with the one offering the best deal.

I studied up to negotiate. When I asked for something, I tried to have something to give back that was good for the publisher. And I approached it as partners, not antagonists, while still sticking to my guns to get the right contract. And I got a really good one. But I have studied books on contract law and specifically book contracts and consulted with IP and other lawyers for a decade before this, so I had some advantages most writers might not have. Most should hire an IP attorney, and in the future if I’m working on bigger deals and I don’t have an agent, I will too.

Tell me about The Returning, the sequel to The Worker Prince. What's it about? Is it the final installment of the story, or do you anticipate writing more in the series? Or perhaps you plan to write different stories in the universe you've created?

The Returning is book two, and there will either be three or four in the series—I’m not sure exactly until I parse the story ideas I have for the next book, The Exodus. In any case, it’s a universe I could do a lot with, so there really is no limit, it’s all arbitrary, but I really do want to have a good cycle that closes. I want to go back and do a YA prequel series, actually. That interests me.

But The Returning is the story of what happens after the fight for freedom in The Worker Prince and how the two societies deal with the aftermath. Some forces are not happy with the previous outcome, and they try to undermine things and seek revenge. It gets very complicated and messy for our hero and his family and friends. In fact, several beloved characters do not survive for Book 3. But that’s all I can say without giving away spoilers for both Worker Prince and The Returning.

Thanks for the interview, Bryan! Readers, if you would like a copy of The Worker Prince or if you’d like to find out more about Bryan, visit his website.

Bryan Thomas Schmidt is the author of the space opera novel The Worker Prince, a Barnes & Noble Best SF Releases of 2011 Honorable Mention, the collection The North Star Serial, Part 1, and has several short stories forthcoming in anthologies and magazines. His second novel, The Returning, is forthcoming from Diminished Media Group in 2012. He’s also the host of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writer’s Chatevery Wednesday at 9 pm EST on Twitter, where he interviews people like Mike Resnick, AC Crispin, Kevin J. Anderson and Kristine Kathryn Rusch. He can be found online as @BryanThomasS on Twitter or via his website. Excerpts from The Worker Prince can be found on his blog.‎ Bryan is an affiliate member of the SFWA.

Writers, let me know if this interview was useful and interesting to you. And I'm sure if you have other questions for Bryan, we can persuade him to stop by and answer them.

Why I'm the Chipper Muse

2012-01-11T09:11:00.000-06:00

I don't think I've ever shared this on my blog before, but there is actually a very good reason why I go by the nickname of Chipper Muse. (As opposed to, say, Lady Nightblade, which is technically my evil villain name but which I don't pull out very often, given that I'm not doing evil very much.)

So, let me explain. A coworker once upon a time started calling me "Chipper." I assumed it was because of my upbeat personality. (I do tend to smile a lot.) But really, he was playing on my last name. I didn't mind. The nickname stuck in my mind because it's fun and happy.

"Muse" comes from my goal to be a muse for others in the creative realm, as well as my pursuit of my own muse, my own creative dreams. That's pretty obvious from the content of this blog.

The Chipper Muse is a great name for a blog. (In my humble opinion, hahaha!) But I also use the name because it expresses my personality and the tone I try to maintain here. Let's be honest: It is far too easy to be snarky, angry, critical, or crotchety on the Internet. I don't want to take the low road. I'd rather be light, funny, kind, and helpful. That's who I am most often anyway, so it's just easier to be consistent.

What's your blog name or Twitter handle and why do you use it? Or what would it be if you had one? I think it'd be fun to talk about names and what they mean to you. So, do share! Maybe it'll give me fodder for another post soon.

Copyright (c) 2012 by M.A. Chiappetta. All rights reserved.

Review of The Bull Years by Phil Stern

2012-01-09T08:30:00.002-06:00

The Bull Years, a novel by Phil Stern, is about three people who are turning 40 and facing the questions and challenges that are common halfway through life.

The central character in Stern's novel is Steve Levine, a disillusioned man who wants to be a writer but hasn't made it. He had some past success in the talk radio business before it bottomed out and left him with no job. Now, he's a home water treatment salesman and he's writing a project based on the life stories of two friends from college, whom he lost touch with after a dramatic breakdown in their friendship years earlier. Steve and his two friends write their sides of the story as well as other life experiences that have led each of them to where they are today, at the age of forty.

The story concept is interesting. It's common for people to evaluate their life at middle age, and readers can certainly relate to it. Stern throws in a younger character telling her story at age 23, as a counterpoint to the stories of the older characters. That technique works at times to illustrate the differences in the way we think at different points of our lives. And how hindsight is something you develop only after some bad experiences in life.

It's clear that the whole novel is driving toward one big reveal: what happened to Steve and his friends twenty years earlier to break up their relationships and drive them apart? That scene is well written, though also predictable. After all, there are only so many things that cause a dramatic blow up with your friends when you're twenty. But that plot point is not a problem.

What is a problem is that the characters are largely unlikable. Steve is opinionated and bitter, which fits his character but makes him hard to stomach. His friend Dave is a whipping boy for much of his life; he's more likable but he makes some really stupid decisions. The other friend, Sophia, is a wild child, rebelling through sexual encounters. It's not exactly porn, but it's not enlightening either. The 23-year-old Hayley is a particularly snarky person who has no clue about life, though she thinks she does. As a result, there is no character that I enjoyed coming back to. By the end, I was tired of them all, in spite of the interesting premise.

Novels like this often give a slice of life and make commentaries on society. It's fair to say there are some readers who will gravitate toward The Bull Years and enjoy it. (You can read the positive reviews on Amazon if you like.) For me, though, I didn't come away with a catharsis that might have made the characters' disillusionment, sarcasm, confusion, and despair redeemable. And in the end, that just doesn't work for me.

If you've read The Bull Years, I'd love to hear what you thought of it. If not, what do you think of stories that try to "mirror" real life without providing an a-ha moment to redeem the darkness of the story?

For more information on The Bull Years or to read it for yourself, visit Phil Stern's website.

Copyright (c) 2012 by M.A Chiappetta. All rights reserved.

2012 Kick-off Resources for Writers

2012-01-06T08:34:00.000-06:00

It's a new year, and wow, I've seen so much great information on the web to help us writers improve our craft and know more about publishing. So, today's post is a list of links to some great blogs and blog posts. Most of these people are either personal friends, writers I know from local writing groups, or Twitter buddies whose posts are consistently worth reading and sharing. Others are links that are just worth shouting about.

Have fun exploring these resources, and be sure to say I sent you! And then come back here and let me know if you found the links helpful, or share links of your own.

The Write Technology is a blog about learning to use technology to further your writing. Really. It's a good source for the techie issues that most writing blogs don't cover. Author/blogger Richard Beaty updates the blog every 7-10 days, sometimes sooner.

Left Brained Business for Writers by Joan Rhine, is specifically aimed at the left-brained stuff that right-brained creatives like us need help with. Joan normally blogs Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, but also posts in between her regular schedule when something timely comes up.

A classic is Jane Friedman's blog, Being Human at Electric Speed. For those who may not realize it, she's moved on from Writers Digest but she's still blogging great links and industry advice for writers. Here's her post on Best Advice for Writers From 2011.

Ad Astra Center for the Study of Science Fiction is James Gunn's new science fiction resource, sponsored by the University of Kansas. Oh, and they're open for submissions for their July 2012 issue, so if you're a sf lover, you'll want to check this out fast.

Kristin Nador Writes Anywhere is another great source for bloggers, written by Kristin Nador (obviously). On Mondays in January, she's posting about sharpening our blog habits. Kristin is also great about sharing and trumpeting resources she likes (she's done it for me, thank you so much, Kristin!). So if you have something of interest, let her know.

Writing and Rambling is the blog of literary agent Nephele Tempest of The Knight Agency. Nephele is down-to-earth, to-the-point, and encouraging, a good mix for writing advice coming from a professional. She's been posting lately about practical ways for writers to get from that dream of writing a novel to a finished hard copy sitting in their hands. Here's a link to her excellent post this week on how to create story ideas, Starting from Scratch.

Amy Shojai writes Bling, Bitches & Blood, a blog that covers a range of topics, many pet-related (because she writes books about pets). In her Tuesday Tips, she has covered topics such as "kindle-ization" and writing nonfiction book proposals. Plus, she includes lots of pictures of cats. (These are a resource too, as they can soothe you when your writing is not going the way you want it to.)

Between the Sheets is the brainchild of Heather Webb, whose finished first novel is historical fiction. Her most recent tip post, "Breaking Out of the Editing Funk," is a good example of how she mixes personal experience and practical tips that anyone can use.

Radine Nehring recently did an interesting post on her blog, titled Does Branding Hurt? If you're planning to market your book, and yourself along with it, you'll need an idea of what your personal brand should look like, and this post can help you tackle that issue.

Not too long ago, I reviewed Story Dam, an online writing group focused on helping us network as well as improve our writing. In addition to writing prompts, author interviews, and other resources, they also offer weekly link-ups so you have a chance to build your audience and further your reach. Visit Story Dam here. (And definitely tell site builders Brandon and Brandi Duncan that The Chipper Muse sent you, because I like to brag and they know it. Hahaha!)

Over at Black and Dark Night, author Rebekah Loper has plenty of writing posts, including this one on Living on a Writer's Budget. (If you don't need this because you're independently wealthy, please email me privately so we can discuss a loan. Double hahaha!)

Okay, I'm getting silly with the jokes so it's probably time to call it a day. I'm sure I'll be sharing more links in the future as other writers and other sources of good information pop up on my radar. If you hear of anything worth sharing, let me know. Happy writing to you in 2012!

Copyright (c) 2012 by M.A. Chiappetta. All rights reserved.

The Poetry of Headlines

2012-01-04T13:42:00.000-06:00

Book available at Barnes & Nobles, if you want to know.

If a headline is meant to grab you, then it's possible The New York Post writers are geniuses. They never cease to disappoint, as this book covering years of the Post's classic headlines proves.

I know I make fun of bad headlines a lot, as some of my past blog posts have proven. (Here's a link to Fun With Headlines Again, my most recent headlines post.) It's kind of easy to mock bad writing.

But the Post reminds me that while a great headline isn't necessarily "good writing" (whatever that is in the world of journalism), it does have to have a kind of poetry to it.

That's why I love the headlines the Post comes up with. Sure, "Headless Body in Topless Bar" is meant to be shocking; it's a "made you look" statement intended to get you to stop and read, and hopefully buy.

But that headline also has great symmetry (also known as parallel structure for those of you with a grammar fetish). And it emphasizes the irony of the situation. Somehow, that headline rises above being just another crime story in a big city. Instead, it becomes a picture of the strange, the lurid aspects of modern life. It reminds you that those faceless people you walk by, without thinking about them, all have individual lives and stories, just like you do.

Those five words say so much more. They make you wonder. They make you remember. They create pictures in your mind. They demand that you talk about them. In other words, they are a form of poetry.

Perhaps that is why poorly written headlines stand out so much to me. They are as bad as a bad poem written by a lovesick schoolgirl or a jock boy who wrote his poem in the five minutes before class starts, just to have something to hand in. No one wants to read that, do they? I don't.

And maybe this is why it's so hard to write a good headline or a good title. They really are an art form in themselves, separate from the skills needed to write a good paragraph or page. I admire those who write headlines and titles that speak volumes, that sing.

Even if the song is a little risque or impish, like "Headless Body in Topless Bar." You may be embarrassed to say it in front of grandma. But you won't ever forget it, will you?

Copyright (c) 2012 by M.A. Chiappetta. All rights reserved.

Looking Back at 2011: The Review Is In

2012-01-02T11:05:00.000-06:00

It's January 2, the start of a new year. Since Monday is my review day on this blog, I thought I'd do a little review of my 2011, and encourage you to do the same. After all, new year's resolutions do no good if they aren't practical and if they don't meet your most important needs for growth. I'd say it takes a good look back at 2011, the good and the bad, before you set your course for 2012.

What worked for you in 2011? How did you meet your goals? And what was the good news?

For me, 2011 has been the year I built up consistency on the blog. I asked myself what I wanted to write about, what I wanted to achieve. More than anything, I wanted to meet a set schedule for posting, and develop a plan for what I was going to talk about. That way, I'd always have something to say, and you as readers would have something stable to look forward to. If you want to know how I'm able to post three times a week, in spite of being busy (see last Friday's post), it's because of my goal to develop that consistent theme and timing for this blog. That's why it's important to have clear goals to meet. They really do help you go somewhere.

I've discovered several things that have helped my writing in 2011. First of all, planning ahead and writing posts ahead of time. When I can manage that, I'm much more effective.

Second, having a writing group of friends who are also writing has helped me move forward in area where I have trouble, aka procrastination. Knowing that I have people expecting to see my latest writing (accountability) has forced me to buckle down and do more work than I otherwise might.

Third, setting a goal to get published or win contests and then moving towards it has helped me to move beyond myself to getting my writing out there for others to read. Many people are content to write for themselves, and I think that's great. But for me, it's not enough. Recognizing that I want the recognition has meant that I also need to do something to get that recognition. No one's going to knock at my door to let me know they discovered how great I am through ESP. I have to go find readers and prove I'm worth reading. So I'm doing that.

And it has led to some of my achievements this year. By getting out and taking risks, I've made some good new friends on Twitter. I've been interviewed for articles on writing and been invited to guest post (thanks, Lynette Benton!). I won fifth place in a flash fiction contest. And I've won some great books to review on my blog, some of which are hard copies that I can give away on the blog later.

Knowing what I've achieved (and you knowing what you've achieved) is essential to setting new goals for the new year. Take a look at what worked and build on it. And then consider what didn't work. Is it important enough to tackle it again in 2012? Maybe go about it differently. Is it not worth it? Okay, then drop it and make room for a new goal.

I'm going to build on the success I've had with my blog by working toward exposure to new readers. And I'm going to work harder to bring that same level of consistency to my novel-writing, which frankly is much harder for me, but is something I want enough to tackle it again.

I also want to be much more consistent about Twitter and building relationships there. I'll need to consider practical ways to make that happen.

What successes have you had in 2011? What are you going to build on? And what are you going to jettison as unneeded baggage? What new goals do you have for 2012? Share them here. Maybe we can hold each other accountable for those new goals. Maybe we can swap guest posts or share links to each other's blogs. I'm open to the possibilities. I hope you are too.

Best wishes for this new year to you. As Pedro from Napoleon Dynamite might say, "May all your dreams come true!"

Copyright (c) 2012 by M.A. Chiappetta. All rights reserved.

Time Management for the Busy Writer

2011-12-30T08:30:00.001-06:00

Recently, I had the privilege of talking with Lynette Benton as a source for an article she was writing, called When Business and Creative Writing Clash. Lynette posed the question:

Courtesy acus.org/Google Images

"Do you experience any conflicts (creative, time management, isolation vs. collaborating, etc.) between your creative and business writing? What tricks do you use to make it all work? And does your business writing affect the quality of your creative writing for better or worse?"

I answered her question in such detail that she ran my answers as a guest post on her own blog this week. You can read Balancing Your Business and Creative Writing here. In thinking some more about this topic, I decided to touch on it a little more here on my blog.

First, let me tell you how I spend my writing time:

I work full-time (40 hours a week) for a nonprofit organization, writing fundraising letters, donor reports, encouraging stories of how the organization is helping people, and so on.
I also freelance anywhere from 1-5 hours a week, both for other nonprofits as well as for-profit businesses.
I write three blog posts a week (3 hours a week).
For creative work right now, I'm writing flash fiction stories, as well as the novel I'm currently working on in my spare time. (This is where my time varies greatly, depending on what else I'm doing and whether I "feel" like writing.)
I also occasionally teach for the local college, which amounts to 10 hours a week when I do it. It's a fair question to ask when I sleep or spend time with friends. But that's for another blog post.

It's also fair to say that I may over-schedule myself, which makes being balanced a heck of a lot harder. I like to be busy, and perhaps I like it too much. But when it comes down to time management and writing, I have found that the busier I am, the more motivated I am to get things done. It seems to boil down to the deadline. The pressure. If the only time I have to get a blog post done is in the next 30 minutes, then I'm more likely to write it and get it done now, even if I don't have to post until tomorrow. But if I have all night and tomorrow morning too, with nothing pressing, I'm more likely to procrastinate. It seems to be how I'm wired. The busier I am, the better.

But that means I have to be anal with my time management to make my schedule work. I write to-do lists every day, so nothing falls through the cracks. I stay on a blog schedule of three times a week, posting in the mornings, to keep consistency. I carry a notebook and a calendar wherever I go. And I try to make time daily to write for myself, no matter what, even when it isn't easy, which is often.

I'm still learning what works best for my creative writing. As I told Lynette, I give myself a little break between the end of the day job and the start of my evening. The brain needs to clear. But to be most effective, I just have to put butt in chair and write. And it's best to do it when I'm alone. Once my roommate comes home, we tend to start chatting (she's a good friend too). And then I get distracted. So I have to find a good way to stay focused for the creative writing, and that's my biggest challenge.

So... What do you do to manage your time? If you write for a day job and then write creatively in the evening, how do you make it work? And even if you don't write for your day job, do you use a schedule to stay more on task for your creative writing? Share, share, share!

Copyright (c) 2011 by M.A. Chiappetta. All rights reserved.

So You Want to Be Evil...

2011-12-28T09:00:00.000-06:00

A while back, I wrote a website review column for a Mensa science-fiction and fantasy group. One of my favorite columns explained Internet resources for those wanting to enter into a career path of becoming evil. It's a fun column, gets a lot of laughs whenever I share it, and generates interest.

Read my original column here and then come back to read a little more on this fascinating subject.

(Click on the video to the right see Eartha Kitt sing about being evil. I mean, she's convincing.)

Although all the websites were accessible when I first wrote the column, Peter's Evil Overlord list is not up anymore. Apparently, Peter is taking time off from his website to really dig his teeth into becoming an evil overlord. It's hard to fault him for his ambition, I'll tell you that. He links his page to another resource, which includes the delightful dungeon list, with all kinds of good, practical advice for evil overlords in training.

Of course, these websites are genuinely funny, but they are also useful for writers because they highlight stereotypes that you probably want to avoid if you're writing a serious sff story. If you're writing humor, you might want to exploit the stereotypes to ramp up the laughs. Either way, it's interesting to see how plot points or character traits that worked beautifully for the first one or two authors who used them now seem trite and belabored because they've been overdone.

Have fun reading these evil websites. And please let me know what evil name you will be adopting. (You can call me Lady Nightblade from now on. Thanks.)

And why not enjoy a little classic Dr. Horrible (video to the right) before you go out to conquer the world? Even bad guys need a laugh now and then. And a little inspiration.

Happy evil-doing!

Copyright (c) 2011 by M.A. Chiappetta. All rights reserved.

Super-Nerdy Holiday Links

2011-12-23T08:30:00.001-06:00

In honor of Christmas, winter, cold, and snow... Here's a link to ten super-nerdy snow sculptures. Just beware of the snowmen army. They're small, but they can still be deadly.

Holiday Happy Tunes

2011-12-21T08:30:00.002-06:00

Here's a little holiday fun... A very entertaining mish-mash of Christmas songs, with a small shout out to Hanukkah too. Oh, and Toto. You'll see...

In other news, the winner of the Devil Unknown contest is Jae. Congratulations, Jae! I'll ask Steena to get in touch with you about gifting you her book.

Holiday Gifts and Cards for the Geek in Your Life

2011-12-19T08:30:00.001-06:00

Angry Birds
(yes, they scare me!)

I think we should have some holiday fun this week. And the Internet agrees. There are lots of happy things out there to enjoy if you're a geek or a SFF fan. So, here are some links for you!

You can decorate your tree with these 12 Christmas decorations for geeks from Mashable. (And really, who doesn't want Angry Birds on the tree? You don't mind them, staring at you, with hostile faces while you eat the holiday turkey, right?)

If you've got a geek to buy a present for, you can consult the WikiHow guide to buying for your geek (proving that really, if you just dedicate yourself to doing it, you can use your expertise to write any kind of article and get it published somewhere on the web.

Whether you celebrate the holidays or not, holiday cards can be fun. So, here is a link to the top 11 holiday cards for geeks.

Talk to me, baby!

And rest assured, there are resources for those who celebrate holidays other than Christmas. Here, you can find out PC World's Hanukkah wish list. (I personally love the talking Tardis cookie jar. Because it talks! What a great idea, as long as it doesn't tell me how many calories in the cookies...)

If you want to do some reading while you eat those cookies that started talking to you from within the Tardis cookie jar, try these 9 best science fiction holiday stories.

And if you want to buy some books for the SFF fan in your life, you could try this list of non-SFF books that SFF fans will love. Interesting choices here.

More holiday fun on Wednesday and Friday this week. (And Wednesday is the Steena Holmes giveaway. If you haven't entered yet, go to the post here and leave a comment for your chance to win.)

Copyright (c) 2011 by M.A. Chiappetta. All rights reserved.

The Art of Discipline, Part 2

2011-12-16T08:58:00.000-06:00

Quite a while ago, I wrote a post on the art of discipline. I call it an art because it takes creativity and personal conviction to be disciplined, just as it does to write.

Here's my earlier post on the art of discipline, in case you want to read it and come back.

This week, my discipline for writing has gone right out the window. I think it's running wild and playing in the snow somewhere, like an excited puppy that has escaped the yard. Frustrating, to say the least. But I've found that when things are busy at the day job, when the holidays and their emotional baggage roll around, and when I'm feeling a little less than 100% in my body...all at once, mind you...then it's easy to let go of discipline. It's kind of a perfect storm to take me off track.

I hate it when I don't write as consistently as I ought to. But sometimes, life happens. We all face this, and we all have to decide how to handle it. For my part, I kind of pull myself inward to conserve energy, and that can mean I write less. That may not the best way to handle pressure, but it's not the worst either.

The bottom line is: Discipline is not easy to maintain. So let's not expect perfection of ourselves. Instead, we can accept it when we just don't hit the mark like we wanted to. And then we can pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and try again. After all, every day is a new day, giving us a new chance to be disciplined. At least, that's how I see it.

What do you do when your writing discipline tries to escape the yard? When pressures come, do you struggle with staying disciplined to write creatively? Maybe pressure makes you focus all the more and get more done. (If so, I envy you!) Or maybe you have a trick to help yourself stay on target when things are hectic. I'd love to hear about what keeps you disciplined. Share, please!

Copyright (c) 2011 by M.A. Chiappetta. All rights reserved.

The Muse Reviews: Devil Unknown by Steena Holmes

2011-12-12T08:30:00.004-06:00

A supernatural thriller about a small town facing a mysterious evil, and the former pastor who doesn’t yet realize he is at the center of it all…

When Devil Unknown begins, Nathan Hanlin is trying to cope with his life, which seems to be spiraling out of control. He used to be the pastor of the small town of Bandit Creek, but after his wife dies in a tragic accident, Nathan just can’t forgive God. He quits his job and tries to manage, but he’s still troubled. His friends are frustrated with his spiritual malaise. Nathan can’t even decide what to do about Rachel, a woman he likes but isn’t quite willing to commit himself to, because he’s still hurting over the death of his wife.

And now, things seem to be getting worse. An evil descends on the town in the form of a mysterious figure that seems to be demonic in nature. Everyone is looking to Nathan for spiritual guidance that he isn’t comfortable offering. He wonders if he is going crazy, just as his mother did. And when he finds out a secret from his mother’s past, he is forced to wonder if crazy would be preferable to the truth.

Author Steena Holmes has written a compelling and intriguing story that touches on love, loss, good and evil, faith and doubt. It resonates with these greater themes, but it’s also a well-written thriller that keeps readers turning the pages. I have to admit, I made it through Devil Unknown in record time. It was hard to put down. I kept wanting to know how the mystery ends.

To give you fair warning, Devil Unknown is the first part of the story. The sequel, Nephilim Arise, will continue the tale. So don’t be surprised when Devil Unknown ends on a cliffhanger that pushes the story in an unexpected direction that makes a lot of sense in retrospect. (That’s how you know the author did her job—when a moment takes you by surprise and at the same time makes you think, “Yes, of course! Why didn’t I see that sooner?”)

Having gone through my own crisis of faith, of sorts, after some sad things happened in my own family, Nathan’s reactions to his mother’s mental illness and his own loss of his wife and the unborn baby she was carrying make perfect sense to me. He’s believable as a man trying to navigate a tragedy of the worst kind. The other characters are also believable, though I would have loved a little more development for Rachel. But that really isn’t much of a problem in the scheme of things.

The plot will keep you interested as you watch Nathan and the others trying to understand and fight the evil that has apparently descended on them. And Holmes’ writing style is a good mix of tangible description, character-driven dialogue, and narration that drops clues to the mystery surrounding Nathan’s life.

The Christian elements in the story make perfect sense because of Nathan’s past role as a clergyman. But they don’t overpower the story. Devil Unknown will appeal to everyone who likes a good supernatural thriller. And let’s face it—the battle between heaven and hell for a man’s soul is a staple of fiction. Steena Holmes has written a strong novel to add to that classic tradition. I’m looking forward to the sequel.

For more information about Devil Unknown, visit the website of Steena Holmes. And learn more about the other authors who are writing stories set in the town of Bandit Creek.

Enter the Giveaway Contest! Steena Holmes has graciously offered to gift her book to one lucky person who reads this blog post. To participate, all you need to do is write a comment below and let me know you’re entering the contest (with your email contact information so I can notify you if you win). Each person who comments will be entered once (and only once), and I’ll choose a winner at random. Contest ends on December 21.

Update: I intend to use the email info only to notify you if you win. But if you have any concerns about that, feel free to enter by giving me your Twitter handle and following me on Twitter, so I can notify you that way.

Update #2: A winner has been chosen: Jae! Congratulations, Jae!
Winner was selected through the sequence generator at random.org.

Where I Get My Ideas: My Crazy, Crazy Ideas

2011-12-09T08:30:00.002-06:00

As you've probably noticed, I like to write humor. Not every post is funny, of course, but I do try to be funny more often than not. There are some straightforward reasons why: I like to laugh. I like to make other people laugh. And since people like humor, they will be drawn to my funny posts.

But there's another reason I like to write humor: my ideas often come to me through my slightly bent perspective on life. In other words, I see something. Then I think something funny, and I make myself laugh. And then I realize I could share this idea with others and make them laugh. Hence, the funny writing.

Let me give you a few cases in point.

Courtesy Google Images/gawker.com

I have a repeat feature called Fun With Headlines, a funny take on online news headlines. Here's how these posts got started: I often take a morning break at work to check the news. One day, I went on MSNBC and it had some of the worst headlines I'd ever read. Not just lamely written, but not descriptive of what the story was, and often unintentionally funny.

In the example I tagged here, the attention-grabber for me was the headline "Despite doughnuts, everyone wins on Loser." Obviously, the report was about The Biggest Loser, but not only was it hard to understand what the story was about, the headline also made it sound like the "doughnuts" were alive, sentient, and actively resisting the Loser participants. The words make me think something they weren't intended to make me think, and the incongruity made me laugh. So I thought, great idea, I'll write about that. And I did.

Courtesy Google Images/ramendays.com

Another case in point: my post about how the devil is in your Thin Mints, a funny look at our craving for Thin Mints, lust in general, and spirituality. It's an odd mixture, I admit. This idea came from two ideas that were seemingly unrelated: (1) the Bible verse that tells us we should be developing self-control, and (2) a tweet from a local radio host who said he'd eaten an entire sleeve of Thin Mints in one sitting. I've done that too, or at least I almost have. It is definitely hard to be self-controlled when eating Thin Mints. With a little exaggeration, it's easy to turn these cookies into a tool of the devil to drag you into hell. It allowed me to laugh at my own inability to resist Thin Mints, and also to look at the real human challenge of controlling behaviors that are bad for us. A serious topic, but looked at from a humorous perspective.

Finally, this week's Wednesday post looked at cyberchondria, a form of hypochondria that stems from information overload. I saw an article about it online. But what really gelled the article into an idea for me was the fact that I do, indeed, tend to be a bit of a hypochondriac. It runs in my family. I have to battle the temptation to assume the worst. But I am guilty of running to WebMD to check a symptom, and when I see that it could be related to some form of cancer, I think, "Well, I really should check that out..." Overreaction!

I am making fun of myself in that post. But I also did a little something extra. You see, I teach freshman composition classes at community colleges. And the style for my cyberchondria post is similar to examples of bad essays I have seen in English department discussions on grading standards. It's a kind of hyperbole some students use when they don't know the subject and want to BS their way through it. They start to exaggerate to sound knowledgeable but it sounds just the opposite. For some reason, that style seemed to fit with an attempt to promote cyberchondria as a good thing. And I should mention that I got the idea for "promoting" cyberchondria because the article I read pointed out how watching Oprah actually did save someone's life. (The story in my post is real, though exaggerated and added to, in order to make it funny.)

I should talk about developing a humorous writing style sometime. Suffice it for now to say that I read a lot of satire, and watch a lot of The Simpsons and SNL. If Jon Stewart ever calls me to write for him, I'm ready.

Courtesy Google Images/gericondesigns.com

Last Friday, I posted the bad simile/metaphor contest, where participants had to try to write a purposely so-bad-it's-funny description. Here's a link to all the entries. All the entries were good. Some, I think, would actually work in a published piece. It was hard to pick a winner, but I had to choose. So the winner is:

JP Sloan, for his description which definitely says it all, but would still probably be edited out before final printing:

"She left him standing in the street, dangling like the last scrap of toilet paper on the cardboard tube, fluttering in pale mockery of its erstwhile usefulness."

I do not want to be that guy. JP, I'll get with you to see how I can get the word out about your current projects. To learn more about JP and his fiction, visit his blog Fistful of Fiction. Or look him up on Twitter (@J_P_Sloan). Tell him I sent you!

And stop by on Monday, because I have a book giveaway scheduled with Steena Holmes. You don't want to miss it. See you then!

Confessions of a Cyberchondriac

2011-12-07T09:41:00.001-06:00

Hi, my name is the Chipper Muse, and I'm a cyberchondriac. Let me tell you my story...before I am too sick to write.

Courtesy of Google Image
(Facebook.com)

In case you've never heard of a cyberchondriac, don't worry. I hadn't either. In fact, I didn't even know I was a cyberchondriac until just five minutes ago, while I was reading the news online. Thank goodness I read the Internet a lot, or I would never know these things! I feel so much better now that I know how sick I am.

A cyberchondriac is a person who thinks she has sicknesses based on symptoms she hears and reads about through cyber sources, like the Dr. Oz Show and WebMD. (At least, that's what I read on CNN.com, and I believe it, because it's on the Internet, for crying out loud!)

Cyberchondria isn't just a run-of-the-mill problem. It's one of the most important diseases known to man. It saves the lives of many people each year, people who have odd symptoms like aching legs and indigestion, only it turns out they are really having a heart attack.

Think about it... If they blew off their condition, they could die. But they didn't blow the symptoms off. No, they tuned into Oprah and learned that they might be having a heart attack between listening to stories about Stedman (who is he anyway?) and wondering exactly how many hairstyles Oprah has had over the years (I think it's hundreds, but I've lost count). I admire people who take that kind of initiative about their own health.

I'm proud to admit I have this disease. One day, it's going to save my life. Like today, when I went on WebMD to investigate what it means to have a nosebleed. I didn't bleed much (actually not at all), and my nose is definitely dry because it's so cold out and the air is too dry in my workplace. I mean, I easily could have mistaken my dry nose passages and possible future nosebleed as no big deal. But thank God for the Internet, because now I know I probably have hemophilia. Like the children of Queen Victoria. God bless the Queen! I share something in common with European royalty. I feel so special! And so sick!

Courtesy of Google Images / 02varvara.wordpress.com

If you're feeling really jealous right now, don't! You can become a cyberchondriac too. All it takes is TIVO and a computer, and an obsessive-compulsive need to find desperate illnesses in the aching toe that you just stubbed. I mean, come on. That's not hard at all! You can even use your smartphone to search for symptoms when you're on the go. What a perfect way to spend your time as you wait for your appointment at the doctor's office. When he finally takes you in for your exam, you can tell him how to do his job, and you can certainly ask for the medicines you need, especially if you've been making notes based on the drugs advertised on TV.

Now that I've enlightened you about cyberchondria, I hope you'll be motivated to take action. Pay attention to your body right now, and feel how sick it is. Then look up your symptoms on the Internet so you, too, can start getting treatment for whatever rare disease you have. You know you have one, so why not treat it, starting today? You'll be glad you did.

If you want to learn more about cyberchondria (and who wouldn't?), here's an article on CNN to explain how you can become a cyberchondriac just like me.

And here's a link to WebMD's symptom checker, so you can go straight there after reading this blog post to find out how sick you really are. (Trust me, you are really, really, really sick if you can just learn to look at your life properly.)

Copyright (c) 2011 by M.A. Chiappetta. All rights reserved.

The Muse Reviews: Variant by Robison Wells

2011-12-05T08:30:00.002-06:00

A strong addition to the young adult bookshelves…

Seventeen-year-old Benson Fisher has had a rough life. Foster care. Problems in school. No real friends. When he is accepted into Maxfield Academy, it seems like a dream come true and the opportunity he needs to build a normal life and have a better future.

Too bad the mysterious people who run Maxfield have other plans…

Variant, the first young adult novel by author Robison Wells, doesn’t waste any time kicking up the tension. Things start off just as Benson Fisher is about to set foot into the jaws of a trap. He doesn’t know it until it’s too late, of course. But he learns soon enough, and he spends the rest of the book trying to navigate his way out.

Along the way, he has to try to figure out who to trust, and it isn’t easy. There are no adults in the school, which is surrounded by a wall that the teens can’t climb. Cameras watch their every move. Troublemakers get punished. Sometimes people vanish. And when they do, the occasional blood left behind makes it appear they leave in a body bag.

Whatever is going on at Maxfield, Benson wants out. You’d think that everyone else would want out too, but not so, and Benson struggles against the tide of other students who don’t want to rock the boat too far. It’s a recipe for conflict, and in Variant, we get that in spades.

As far as stories go, Variant is interesting and effective. There’s definitely a trend in YA fiction to tell dystopian stories. The success of The Hunger Games proves that. What I like about Variant is that within the conventions of dystopian fiction, Wells manages to find a way to make the story both referential and original. What I mean is, as a reader, you can’t help but compare Variant to other classic YA novels about schools and social orders set up by kids, including A Separate Peace and Lord of the Flies. That’s not a problem; most good fiction makes me think of other books I’ve read. Writers play with ideas and events they’ve read in other books as a matter of course. It’s part of the fun of writing.

What’s especially great about Variant, though, is that Wells gives a nod to other stories without writing like a copycat. He manages to be original. There are elements in Variant that made me think of The Stepford Wives and 1984 (other dystopian stories, though not for young adults). But the end of the book went in a direction that I definitely did not expect. I like it when an author can surprise me, and Wells definitely did. As a result, I can’t wait to read the sequel to Variant when it comes out. (I don’t know when that will be, but I hope it will be soon.)

Wells also does a fine job with the characterization. To an extent, some of the teens seem older than their years, but since most of them have been at Maxfield for a year or more, I assume the environment and its pressures have aged them beyond what you’d expect from a typical teen. Their reactions to life behind the walls are pretty much what you’d expect in a large group of people under pressure; some adapt with conformity while others are violent. It’s all believable.

The writing moves along at a nice clip; it’s a good, fast read, perfect for taking with you on vacation (which is what I did). I had the book finished in less than a week. If I’d been at home in my normal routine, I might have finished it even faster. I imagine teens will enjoy it, but adults will too, giving it crossover appeal that should help Wells sell more books.

Variant is definitely worth a read, especially for the unexpected direction it takes. To learn more about the book or its author, or to find out how to get a copy, visit Robison Wells’ website.

And don't forget to check out Robison's brother, author Dan Wells. I reviewed Dan's book I Am Not a Serial Killer earlier this year. (It must run in the family...)

I’d love to hear your take on Variant if (or should I say, when?) you read it. Let me know what you think in the comments below!

Copyright © 2011 by Michele Chiappetta. All rights reserved.

Writing Humor

2011-12-02T12:25:00.004-06:00

It takes skill to write, no matter what genre, style, and tone you take. But I sometimes think that writing humor is the most challenging of all. I manage to be funny sometimes, but it's like either the mood has to strike me, or I have to have a flash of insight that leads to a punch line, or I need time to let the idea stew until it yields a laugh.

Courtesy of mattlmckinney.com

Writing humor isn't always easy.

Which is why it's all the more amazing to read some of the best of the worst descriptions ever written. (Or at least, ever written for a Washington Post contest.) It's not easy to write a purposely bad and funny simile. I admire those who did it well enough to get chosen for the list of the top 56 worst analogies. You can read them all here: The 56 best/worst similes.

My favorite of the bunch tells you a lot about the "character" who gives the description. It's actually a great example of how word choices can help reveal a character's personality. Imagine the person who might say this:

I felt a nameless dread. Well, there probably is a long German name for it, like Geschpooklichkeit or something, but I don’t speak German. Anyway, it’s a dread that nobody knows the name for, like those little square plastic gizmos that close your bread bags. I don’t know the name for those either.

Personally, I found this hilarious! It would be great to include a similar passage in a book. But it also helps me imagine who the speaker is. I picture a person who can't let a cliche like "nameless dread" lie untouched. A person who is precise, even anal, about details, even though at the same time, he/she doesn't have the details he/she needs. And this person is a talker. I'd expect him (or her) to rattle on with useless information, even in the face of a sudden attack by the enemy. In other words, a great comic foil for a humorous epic fantasy tale.

It's fun to see the power of our words. And for writers, we have the power to choose what to put down on the page. What our characters will say. How our narration will sound. Sure, the story dictates our choices to a certain extent. But our skill and our personality gets into the mix, and helps us create that unique voice that is ours alone.

Let's have our own blog contest with words. See if you can come up with a funny description, especially a simile or metaphor like the aforementioned Washington Post contest entries. I'll choose the best one and maybe even figure out a modest prize to award. At the very least, if you win you'll have bragging rights, and I'll post your winning entry and your name on my blog and give you a little extra Twitter love and free advertising for your own blog, Twitter account, book, etc.

Note: If you don't have a blog or book right now, you can still enter. If you win, I'll figure out another little prize for you instead of the advertising. So no worries!

Post your entry in the comments below. And send me a Twitter message if for some reason you can't enter a comment, and I'll enter it for you. I'm @chippermuse.

I'll announce a winner next Friday, December 9.

Until then, may you live long and prosper, like a really rich person who lives an unexpectedly long time.

Life in the Bible Belt

2011-11-30T09:57:00.001-06:00

Sometimes, the Bible belt is a weird, weird place. (This is going to be a spiritual blog topic. You've been forewarned.)

Courtesy of mattstone.blogs.com

I grew up in the Northeast, a place that perfectly illustrates the image of America as a melting pot. The Northeast isn't perfect, but it influenced the way I approach life, and I have a fondness for coastal, Northern, Eastern things like great Italian restaurants, lively parties, the ocean, stone walls built from the stones that you dig up every time you work in the dirt, thickly wooded areas, blunt honesty, sincere laughter, and plenty of non-Christians to liven up a conversation, spiritual or not.

Almost daily, I am reminded that I wasn't born in the Bible belt, and that even though I've lived here seven years, I still don't "get" some of the culture here. Truthfully, I don't want to "get" it either. There are some weird attitudes about life here in the Bible belt.

For one thing, I don't think I've ever met so many people obsessed with conspiracies, political machinations, and judgmental attitudes as I've found in the Bible belt. Maybe I was just fortunate not to see this much back East. Or maybe there are so many people in the Northeast that you just get a large variety of opinions by default. But where I am now, the ideas often seem Xeroxed. It's hard to find a variety of opinions here. There's a lot of lockstepping instead.

Even worse, many people here echo Rush Limbaugh and Ann Colter. It's okay to listen to what you want to listen to. But it is not okay to spit out what you've just heard to everyone else (I mean, ME). There's a reason I don't listen to Rush Limbaugh. And in fairness, I don't listen to Al Franken either. Rabid hate-mongering, complaining, and blaming is of no interest to me, whether it's left or right.

The Bible belt is also home to many doom-and-gloom messages. Perhaps this is because the people here are extremely focused on Bible passages like the book of Revelation, which is about the time in which Jesus will return. It's going to be an ugly time, with all manner of wars, natural disasters, social problems, anti-God messages, and a lack of spirituality. First-century Christians thought it was describing their time under the oppressive Roman emperors. Christians in 2011 think it is describing today. And maybe it is.

But since the Bible makes it clear that humanity's sin will continue to lead us in a downward spiral in many ways, I don't see how negativity helps anyone find the way out. The Bible's central message is that there is hope in the midst of the downward spiral. His name is Jesus. We all have to decide what we're going to do with Him and what He's done for us. As a Christian, I firmly believe it would be much better to spend my time talking about Jesus and the hope we have in Him, especially when I'm talking with people who need hope. How is it that so many Christians in the Bible belt talk more about the problems than the solution? I find this troubling.

It's even more troubling when I think about the us versus them mentality that seems to pervade the culture of the Bible belt. This isn't only found among Christians here; it seems to be cultural. A friend (who is Native American) and I (a dark-haired, curvy Italian gal) went to a town of about 18,000 people not too long ago. It's a town touted for its museums, antiquing, shopping... In other words, not a little hitching post town with 300 people all related to one another. It's large enough to be open to others, especially since they advertise to bring visitors in. Yet when my friend and I went to a popular local restaurant there, we were practically shunned. It's the only time I've ever felt like maybe I wasn't "white enough" to fit in. I can only imagine how much worse it was for my friend, who is a minority member. It's repellent, especially in 2011, to see that kind of disrespect for others, especially in a place supposedly focused on living like Jesus. Ugh.

The us versus them attitude extends into the Christian community in other ways. It's found in Christianese - terms that only Christians know, which is off-putting to anyone who is outside the group. Christianese leads to some really dumb ways of talking about things. A friend of mine overheard a Christian woman calling her children her "loinfruit." I guess this is a rephrasing of some Scripture verse about the fruit of someone's loins, but honestly, if I were a non-Christian, and I overheard that, I'd think the woman was clueless and self-centered to talk about her kids with a demeaning, dehumanizing term like that. I'd be so turned off. This seems a stupid way to handle conversations, especially since the goal is to find outsiders and bring them in, not keep them out. (Jesus kind of had a thing for outsiders. When we don't, we kind of don't seem like Jesus, do we?)

The us versus them attitude is also found in the clueless self-focus I've noticed in a lot of the Christian community. Like the conversation I heard in Starbucks among church members planning their church anniversary celebration. The focus was on things like how to do a great Powerpoint presentation of the church's history. Oh, and about what kind of potatoes to serve. And worst of all, what food would be better to have sitting and heating up in containers while the service went on.

I thought, why not just make the service short and get right into the eating, so people could visit? Do you really have to preach that long on a special church day? If I were a guest at that service, I would have hated it. And if I were a member, the service and celebration would have turned into a day-long thing. Don't people already have enough to do on their short weekends? I don't begrudge the church its celebration. But I think the focus was so much on the church that it wasn't focused on the people who make up the church. (If you haven't noticed, Jesus cares more about people than about organizations. But I'm not even sure Jesus Himself was welcome at that church anniversary. He sure wasn't the focus of it.)

Ironically, it may be good that I live in the Bible belt right now. It's making me ask questions I never would have thought of asking when I lived in the Northeast, because the questions weren't relevant there. It's making me wonder how I, as a Christian, can make Jesus Christ seem appealing to those who don't know much about Him. It's not going to be the way the Bible belt does it. I suspect this image of Christians is why much of America doesn't want to talk about God and religion and church. It's hard to blame them. I often think if I were in their shoes, I wouldn't want to talk to Christians either.

There's a solution to this problem somehow... And it's found in being a lot more like the real Jesus, instead of the Jesus we've made up to suit our needs. Perhaps this is why I've been drawn to books like The Hole in Our Gospel and Imaginary Jesus. Christians like me need a relationship with the real Jesus, not a fake one. That's the only way anyone else will ever get to see the real Jesus, right? Through us. I think we owe that to our world.

What do you think? What is it that makes Jesus real to people? I'd love to hear from you about this whole topic, whether you're a Christian or not. In fact, the more viewpoints, the better. So feel free to share, no matter what you think and believe. I welcome your honesty. Thanks for stopping by today!

Copyright (c) 2011 by Michele Chiappetta. All rights reserved.

The Muse Reviews: New Orleans

2011-11-28T09:19:00.001-06:00

French Quarter
(photo courtesy of trexechange.com)

This is a quick and dirty review, because I am behind schedule a bit. You see, I just returned from a trip to New Orleans. Read a great book along the way (Variant by Robison Wells), but I want to give a little more time to writing the review for it. So I thought I'd review the city of New Orleans itself.

In preparing for the trip, I mentioned my destination to a few people, all of whom said they found the city either dirty or smelly, or both. (The French Quarter is a party area, after all, and has a well-earned reputation for being a little wild.) Other people wondered if the city was in good shape or still reeling to recover from Hurricane Katrina. A good question.

Beignets from Cafe du Monde
(photo courtesy of Wikipedia)

When I arrived in NOLA, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the city is very clean these days. Perhaps it's due to hurricane cleanup efforts. Or perhaps it's that NOLA is working hard to be a tourist destination for families, especially during the holidays. Whatever the case... New Orleans was not at all dirty or messy, not even in the French Quarter. Sure, there is powdered sugar on the floor at Cafe du Monde (beignets use a lot of powdered sugar). Sure, Bourbon Street is still seedy, even as early as 6 p.m. But the streets are tidy, and I didn't see anyone vomiting on a corner or relieving themselves in an alley. Perhaps that still happens during Mardi Gras. But apparently not at Thanksgiving.

As far as hurricane recovery, the city looks very good. Much of the repairs have already been made, especially to the areas where a tourist might visit. There's no obvious damage to be seen in the French Quarter or the Garden District, though both of those areas were relatively protected during Katrina's wrath. To be fair, I didn't get down to the Ninth Ward, where much of the worst flooding occurred. But the area has received a lot of attention from FEMA and hopefully is doing much better now.

Overall, New Orleans actually turned out to be a great place to visit during Thanksgiving. I'm already thinking about going next year in December, to see the Christmas decorations that I missed by going just a little too early this year.

Have you been to New Orleans? If so, how long ago? Did you like it? Share your thoughts!

Copyright (c) 2011 by Michele Chiappetta. All rights reserved.

You Deserve a Break Today

2011-11-25T08:30:00.000-06:00

It's the day after Thanksgiving. What are you up to? Are you taking a break from writing today? I am. I'm spending the day with family and friends, and will get back to my writing soon enough.

There are plenty of people out there saying we need to "write every day." And in principle, that's true. If you're a writer, it only makes sense to write regularly. But in my world there are, believe it or not, a few things more important than writing. And one of those things is my family. I think it's good to take a day off from time to time just to be with them, not just in body but in mind and spirit too. Giving them my whole attention.

If you're a writer, and especially if you're doing Nanowrimo this month, remember: you deserve a break at times. Maybe you deserve a break today. I'll go against the grain here and tell you that, in fact, it is okay not to write today if you have a chance to spend some time with your friends and family around the holiday. Of course, if you are taking time to write today, I support you. Go for it! But don't beat yourself up if you need a day off. Rest can really help you come back to your writing the next day stronger than ever.

So if you deserve a break today, take it. And then come back and write tomorrow, refreshed. That's what I'm doing. And I have full confidence that it'll all work out.

Hope you are having a great Thanksgiving holiday, however you are spending it. See you back here Monday!

Copyright (c) 2011 by Michele Chiappetta. All rights reserved.

Thank You, Readers!

2011-11-23T08:30:00.001-06:00

It is Thanksgiving time in the U.S., so... Rather than being facetious today (I can do that next week), I just want to say thank you for stopping by and reading this blog. You could have been doing something else...reading the newspaper, eating a donut, washing your hair...but you decided to come visit my blog.

Whether you're reading this blog for the first time or whether you're a regular reader, I thank you for being a part of the audience. It's my philosophy that a piece of writing isn't truly complete until a reader reads it and responds with their thoughts, their feelings, and their comments. So you, by reading, have made my humble blog posts complete.

Yes, that's right. I'm saying, "You complete me." (I'll never live that Jerry Maguire reference down, as long as I live.)

Seriously, I appreciate you. If I haven't yet visited your blog (if you have one), put a note in the comments here and remind me to stop by. I like to reciprocate the favor.

Have a wonderful, happy, healthy Thanksgiving, and see you back here soon!

Copyright (c) 2011 by Michele Chiappetta. All rights reserved.

The Muse Reviews: Iron Man 2

2011-11-21T08:30:00.000-06:00

A quick and dirty review of Iron Man 2

Starring the ever-handsome Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, the first Iron Man movie was a successful combination of charm, wit, and pathos, with some great action scenes. But the sequel, Iron Man 2, came out in 2010 to mixed reviews. There was some debate about whether it had the punch of the first movie, complaints were made about the father-son motif, and questions were raised about the casting (Mickey Rourke played the bad guy, while Don Cheadle replaced Terrence Howard as Stark's military friend, Rhodey).

I worried that the sequel would disappoint me, so I didn't rush to see it in theaters. But having finally seen the movie on DVD, I can say I didn't have too much to be worried about. Sure, Iron Man 2 suffers the fate of many sequels; it simply can't be as new as its predecessor, so it loses that element of surprise which, frankly, makes a lot more movies work than you might have noticed. But still. Iron Man 2 was a lot of fun too.

The action scenes were nicely shot, and in a superhero movie, that's half the battle (pun intended). Iron Man 2 didn't disappoint in that arena. The plot had a few bumps in it, but not in the father-son relationship that other reviewers critiqued. I liked that part, actually.

For me, the plot problem (small as it was) came from Stark's industrial rival, Justin Hammer—played by Sam Rockwell, who has the thankless job to have to portray a lousy Stark-wannabe. Rockwell does a fine job of it, but the character as written is too stupid to be believable. He's a caricature of a jealous spotlight hound, and worst of all, he breaks a psychopath out of prison to help him and then expects loyalty out of the guy. I hate when writers do that to a character. It's so boring.

Good news, though. The bad guy, Ivan Vanko, is played to perfection by Mickey Rourke, and is just different enough to be engaging. Somehow, Rourke makes Vanko a little more than the average psychopath, and his performance balances out the poor writing around the Justin Hammer character.

It was a little hard to get used to Cheadle in Terrence Howard's old role, mainly because the character comes across as so much more serious under Cheadle's performance. It's almost like Rhodey is two completely different people from the first movie to the second. I missed the humor in Howard's acting, though it's hard to fault Cheadle for that, since he has fewer opportunities to show any humor. I fault the writing for that, not the acting.

Some good humor does come from Agent Coulson—Clark Gregg should be nominated for supporting actor sometime; he's perfect.

The final bump came with Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), who inexplicably seems less self-assured and slower on the take than she did in the first movie. Again, I fault the writers. Or the director. Because Paltrow didn't have a problem in the first film. It was puzzling to see her lose her spark in the second movie.

All in all, Iron Man 2 is a decent sequel. It's not perfect, and it's not better than the original. But it's still pretty darn good, and worth a DVD rental.

Copyright (c) 2011 by Michele Chiappetta. All rights reserved.

Why You Need a Critique Group

2011-11-18T08:30:00.000-06:00

Let's face it. One of the most wonderful experiences you can have as a writer is to find a reader who likes your work. And one of the hardest things is to hear from a reader that your writing needs improvement. It can be terrifying to share your work, especially if you think it will be criticized.

But to grow as a writer, it's important to get honest feedback. That's what a good critique group can do for you: give you the feedback you need to improve your writing and get into shape for publication. Trust me, at some point in your writing career you'll want a group of writers who can help you out in this arena. (And yes, think of it as a career even if you haven't published yet.)

There are other writers who speak to how to find a good critique group, when in the writing process to solicit critiques, and how to judge what critiques to accept and which to pass on. I'll simply say that a good group is one is a good fit. I like a group that is both honest and supportive, and that gets what I'm trying to do with my fiction even if it's not the genre or style they normally read.

As for the other two issues, some people say not to share your work too early. You'll have to judge for yourself the definition of "too early," but I'd hold off until you feel like you have a draft ready for review and input. And you can choose to take or leave the input you get based on whether you feel like it is accurate and whether you think that making the change makes sense for what you are trying to do. Taking a critique is as much of an art form as writing itself, and it requires some practice and experimentation to see what works for you.

Let me tell you how a critique can help you by pointing out flaws in your draft. True story: I once wrote a short story for a writers workshop held on a college campus. The group read my draft and told me they couldn't relate to my protagonist because he was so whiny and old. One person suggested, "I wish the old guy would just die already."

I said, "Old? What do you mean, old?"

The group said, "The guy seems like a grumpy old man to us. How old is he supposed to me?"

To my chagrin, I replied, "He's supposed to be a teenager having a pity party."

The group essentially told me, "Um. No. You didn't write a teenager here. This is a grumpy old man."

Talk about a failure to communicate. To say I was embarrassed doesn't quite express how awful I felt about that critique. But what the group said was true. And if they couldn't relate to the protagonist, the story was a failure. So I took their advice, which included a way to make my character sound more like a teen, and it worked fantastically. It's a story I'm proud of, after all these years. And I made it better because of the feedback I got.

That's what makes a good critique group, ultimately. Somehow, your writing gets better because of what the group says. And that's why you need to find a group that fits for you. Those group members and their comments will make you sharper.

Have you ever had an experience like mine? (Or is it just me? Haha!) Tell me about your critique group and what you like about it. Or share when you know your draft is ready for a critique.

And thanks for stopping by the blog today!

Copyright (c) 2011 by Michele Chiappetta. All rights reserved.

Flights of Fantasy

2011-11-16T08:44:00.000-06:00

Do you like fantasy? Or does it drive you up the wall to even consider reading a novel about vampires, sorcerers, or hobbits?

Whatever you feel about the fantasy genre, apparently you're not alone. People seem to be hard-wired to either love it or hate it, according to a recent psychological study performed at Kansas State University. (The irony of doing a study about fantasy stories in Kansas does not escape me. But if it bothers you, just click your heels together three times and say, "There's no place like the non-fiction shelves at the library. There's no place like the non-fiction shelves...")

As a fantasy lover, I am fully in favor of believing that I am far more imaginative than a non-fantasy person. I also tend to believe I'm prettier than they are, more fun, and more likely to become a millionaire. None of that may be true, but remember, I like to fantasize. *wink*

Seriously, though, the study poses an interesting question: Why do we care if some people like fantasy, while others don't? Loving a good paranormal romance isn't exactly in the same category as drug addiction, murder, or pedophilia. The fantasy genre isn't going to cause the downfall of humankind.

And yet, I do feel cautious introducing my love of The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia to people I've just met, because it can be an invitation to condescension: "Oh, you like those novels, do you? Well, I can't get into them. I prefer [insert pretentious literary novelist here]." This shouldn't happen, but it does, and all too often. Even the study summary describes fantasy fans as the fantasy prone, as though we fit in with the people who are prone to violence, prone to bizarre sexual behaviors, prone to mental problems.

We fantasy lovers are not prone at all; we are up and moving all the time, sometimes physically and sometimes mentally. But life doesn't catch us lying down. I can attest to that personally.

The reality is, some of us do dream of what never was and say, "Why not?" And really, why not? There's nothing wrong with a little fantasy to take a break from your reality. And fantasy can lead to an embrace of life, rather than a flight from it. It's like expecting magic wherever you go. The magic may not always show up, but sometimes it does. If you're looking for it, you won't miss it. What a great way to live!

So, what do you think of fantasy? Do you love it? Hate it? How do you view people who like fantasy? And what do you think of the decision to do a psychological study on the topic? (It was for a student's doctoral dissertation, and I don't mind it. But it seems kind of funny to me. What do you think?)

For more on this topic, read my source article on MSNBC.

Copyright (c) 2011 by Michele Chiappetta. All rights reserved.

A Breakthrough Writers Community: The Scoop on Story Dam

2011-11-11T08:30:00.018-06:00

As writers, we have all heard the advice, “Practice your craft. Build your platform. Share your work with a critique group. Find beta readers.” But how do we do that? Where do we turn for help? The folks at Story Dam are answering those questions and more with their online writers group, launched at the beginning of this month. I interviewed Story Dam’s founders, Brandon Duncan and his wife Brandi, to learn exactly what Story Dam is all about.

Welcome, Brandon! Good to have you join me at the Chipper Muse for my first official interview post. Why don’t you share a little bit about what led you to start Story Dam?

Absolutely, Michele, and thank you for this opportunity! Two years ago, I decided to act on my desire to be an author. I wrote when I could and tried to learn about the process. I even tried starting a forum to connect with other writers (which failed rather miserably). I decided to blog instead, which was great for my writing!

Later, I was invited to join an online writing group, and I jumped at the chance to participate. After a while, though, I felt I needed to move on; I think the biggest reason being I started to receive less critiques on my work. I knew I needed the extra practice, but without feedback, I simply didn’t know if I was getting better or worse. The problem was, after leaving the group, I no longer wrote as much. I didn’t have timelines to keep me honest, but I also missed the community aspect of being in a group. My wife, Brandi, also expressed a desire to write, but she couldn’t find a group she liked; so we started our own!

What are you hoping to accomplish with Story Dam?

We want to create a positive experience for writers by giving them a place where they can learn, talk, improve, and feel comfortable. We do not believe that the competition in the writing industry is so great that you cannot help others. Just as our tagline states, everyone has a story. We want to help people become comfortable sharing those stories and accomplish their goals—whether those are simple creative release, education, or getting their work published. Our whole structure is built on that foundation of helping other writers in a community setting. We are working hard to make sure they love their community.

Do you have any partners helping with Story Dam?

We do not; however, we do offer ways for our community to be more involved in Story Dam operations. Joining the VIP list (or subscribing) puts you on an email list through which we discuss new features, updates, and potential new concepts on a weekly basis.

We also have a volunteer group called the “community watch.” This group acts on our behalf as site moderators and are our eyes and ears on the street. If community members are interested in being a part of the community watch, all they have to do is email us. The bottom line is, this is our community. We should all have a say in how it runs.

What will writers get by participating?

We have designed Story Dam to suit writers at every skill level, so everyone can participate. Having a wide range of experiences and skills brought to the table will help make the community credible, pleasing, and meaningful.

To foster networking and friendship building, our community hosts four different link-ups throughout the month. We use a “linky tool” that allows us to quickly add a picture link that others click, taking them to the writer’s work. From there, they read, comment, or provide constructive criticism for that writer when appropriate. Two of these link-ups are based on writing prompts we provide. The other two are for sharing other interests or act as “meet and greets” for our members to get to know each other.

Story Dam also provides educational materials! We’ll have weekly original or republished posts from other sites that cover writing and publishing, social media, or various other topics that a community of writers would be interested in.

And finally, traditionally published and/or represented authors have the option of conducting interviews with us that are structured to allow people to connect with them on a more personal level. We publish the interview transcripts as a monthly feature; and we ensure that our authors stop in during their feature month to answer your questions and comments.

There are other online writing groups out there. So tell me… What makes Story Dam unique?

As I learned about various online writing groups, I realized that each had qualities people liked, but none pulled all of those traits together. So, that’s what we did with Story Dam—we brought everything under one roof, so to speak.

Everything about our community has been researched and designed to provide a tangible benefit to our participants. From our prompts, which conform to a stringent creative standard, to the site’s framework, we have kept our community’s best interests in mind every step of the way.

Plus, we’re fun people and we love to help others. That’s always a bonus.

Agreed! Is there anything else you’d like to share?

There’s tons more, but you have to visit the site! We welcome everyone, so please stop by and see if Story Dam fits your writing needs. We’d love to have you!

Well, there you have it, everyone! The scoop on Story Dam. Check it out online at www.storydam.com. I’ll be there waiting for you! And stop by Brandon’s blog too, found at www.brandontheduncan.com. I think you’ll enjoy what he and Brandi have to share with you.

And when you check out Story Dam, visit here and share your thoughts. I always love to hear from you!

Gadgets Galore: Consumer Reports Goes Steampunk

2011-11-09T08:52:00.000-06:00

So glad I'm not this kid!

Yes, I'm exaggerating. Consumer Reports isn't going steampunk. But they are celebrating 75 years of testing consumer products, and some of the pictures they have posted on their website right now will have you thinking Wild, Wild West in no time flat.

Hair products are a lot of work...

It is amazing to see some of the old-fashioned products on display on the Consumer Reports website. You have to see them! The vintage photos and timeline are posted on the bottom of their home page. And they just might inspire you to write some steampunk, or at least get some popcorn and rent The Avengers. Come on, who doesn't love Emma Peel?

It's interesting... Fantasy and science fiction are found wherever you look, if you have the right attitude. The 75th anniversary of Consumer Reports is a feast for the imagination. It's a riot of technology, with a love of science and unbridled enthusiasm for improving our experience of life. At its best, steampunk embraces that philosophy too, and the Consumer Reports celebration simply reminds me of the beauty and passion to be found in science and technology.

Steampunk gives a nice balance to the dystopian post-apocalyptic landscapes so prevalent today. The world is filled with bad news, there is no doubt about it. Perhaps it is inevitable that things will go downhill. Things do tend toward chaos. But steampunk is a little reminder that in spite of chaos, in spite of the bad things, there is beauty in man and his mind too. It's not all dark out there. Sometimes, we see some light.

I'm a writer. Of course I included
a picture of coffee makers!

If nothing else, the Consumer Reports spread is fun and fanciful, and it gives you a behind the scenes look at their testing techniques. (You might be surprised at what they do.) So even if you don't love steampunk fiction, you might enjoy 20th century technology history, so stop by the Consumer Reports website and then come by here and tell me what you think.

Oh, and if you like steampunk, give Phoenix Rising by Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris a try. It's a lot of fun. I reviewed it here if you'd like to see my take on it.

Copyright (c) 2011 by Michele Chiappetta. All rights reserved.

The Muse Reviews: The Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks

2011-11-07T11:23:00.000-06:00

One of the best fantasy writers of today dazzles in his debut trilogy.

There's a good reason why I'm a huge fan of Brent Weeks. He's writing some of the best fantasy fiction around these days. Good writing, impressive plotting, dynamic scenes, clearly written fight scenes, rich themes woven from start to finish to give the story resonance, and characters that constantly surprise you as a reader...Weeks has a voice in fantasy that I expect to last for a long, long time. It's hard not to love him.

I am definitely not immune to his charms. I fell hard for his writing with The Black Prism, the first novel in a series that he is currently in the midst of writing. (See my review of The Black Prism from April.) In fact, I fell so hard that I couldn't wait until book two came out, which is why I decided to read his debut Night Angel trilogy, beginning with The Way of Shadows.

Before I review the book, I want to share a little story about The Way of Shadows. Before I ever heard of The Black Prism, I remember browsing the fantasy and science fiction bookshelves at Barnes & Noble. A little paperback called The Way of Shadows caught my eye. The cover's white background with compelling character illustration on the front immediately jumped out and said, "Look at me." So I did. It's a beautiful cover, and it perfectly depicts the sense of magic and movement of both the writing style and the story itself.

But one small thing stopped me from buying it at the time. The main characters are assassins and prostitutes.

Okay, to be honest, the problem wasn't that they were assassins and prostitutes. The problem is that there is so much so-called "gritty" fantasy out there, and while I don't mind gritty, I do mind nihilistic, amoral novels because that's not why I read fantasy. If I want nihilistic amorality, I can turn on the news. I turn to fiction for a break from reality and for a reminder that there are places in ourselves and in the world where ethics, values, generosity, and sacrifice matter. My concern about The Way of Shadows was not that I couldn't stand the characters and their actions, but that the author wouldn't tell a story that depicted human nobility in spite of the darkness, or the way that we can look at our surroundings, as terrible as they are, and declare boldly like Maya Angelou, "Still I'll rise!"

But after reading and being tremendously impressed by The Black Prism, I decided to give The Way of Shadows a try. Not only was I not disappointed by the writing, which is as excellent as I've come to expect from Weeks. But also I was amazed at the level of beauty that Weeks is able to convey in the midst of the dark and gritty circumstances that his characters live out. Finally! An author who can use the grit to paint a portrait of the human spirit's ability to rise above filth, even if it's just in the choices we make, no matter how hard they are.

This isn't to say that the novel pussyfoots around the moral depravity you'd expect of assassins and prostitutes. People are killed. Others commit depravities that are disgusting. But you never lose the sense of ethical judgment. Not all acts are created equal, after all. Some are more evil than others. And if you have to choose between the devil and the darkness, it's clear that at least one choice is slightly more moral than the other. It's refreshing to read an author who can write wicked characters believably without either condoning their evil behavior or making them so simplistic that it becomes a morality tale.

Weeks doesn't preach. But he does make you think. And I respect that in an author, because not every author can do that well. You'll take out of his books what you choose to take out of them, but if you don't take anything out of them at all... Well, you're just not trying. In The Way of Shadows alone, Weeks tackles aspects of poverty, child abuse, sexuality, leadership, mortality, the afterlife, and love. Not bad for his debut novel. I hope I can do half as well with the novel I'm writing now.

In any case, I can't recommend The Way of Shadows highly enough. Even if fantasy isn't your "thing," I urge you to pick up this book and give it a try. The writing, the storytelling, the characterization, and the resonant themes make it worth stretching yourself out of your preferred genre. And if you do like fantasy, all I can say is, you must read Brent Weeks immediately. Don't wait another minute.

If you've read Brent Weeks, what did you think of his work? If you haven't, go out and read him, and then come back here. I want to hear your opinion!

Copyright (c) 2011 by Michele Chiappetta. All rights reserved.

Chatting on Twitter to Build Your Writing Toolkit

2011-11-04T09:11:00.000-05:00

I love Twitter. I love it with a passion. You may be thinking, "Since you love it so much, maybe you should marry it." And I say to you, "Yes! I would love to marry it, because I really do love it that much."

There really is a Chatty Cathy!

Here's one reason Twitter makes my heart leap for joy. It's such a great way to connect with other writers and to grow in the craft of writing. I'm a firm believer in treating writing like a business. If you build it, they will come and look at it. If you build it and it's awesome, they will come and buy it. If you build it and it's the best product they've ever seen, they will come, buy it, and tell all their friends about it.

They, of course, are readers. We want them to hang around us for all the right reasons. So we need something worthy of putting in their hands. So, it's important to learn all we can about writing and make ourselves better day by day. All with the goal of building a better product for our readers.

A great way to do this in a casual, friendly, but lively setting is to hop on the hashtag chats that occur on Twitter all the time. If you haven't done this yet, give it a try sometime. Here's why: You never know what will come up during the chat, but many times it'll be something you never thought of. And sometimes it'll be someone you never thought you'd get to chat with, and that's always a blast!

This week, I popped onto two scheduled chats, by which I mean that the time to do the chat was scheduled in advance. If you're a planner, you can easily add scheduled chats to your calendar. The first chat took place on #LitChat, which hosts one-hour chats with writers and readers three times a week. (See LitChat.net for their schedule.) I hopped into a conversation about triangles in fiction, and whether they are always romantic, or whether you can find triangles driven by needs other than love and lust. That was great, because it forced me to think in a new way about how to structure conflict into a story.

Then I had the privilege of chatting with Brent Weeks and some of his fans on #sffwrtcht, moderated by Bryan Thomas Schmidt (here's the website link). I'm a Weeks addict. The guy is a very strong writer, with the ability to create character twists and plot twists that surprise and please the reader. And he does it in such a believable way. It's very impressive. I was able to ask him some questions about how he writes, and see how he answered the questions of others too.

Being on a chat with a writer is a lot like being at a convention, only without the expense or the crowds. In this sense, Twitter is a great equalizer. You can make contacts there that you might not get the chance to make anywhere else. Brent was great to chat with, and a lot of other writers are equally as open during chats like this, because there's something about Twitter than helps create the feel of hanging around the pub with friends.

If you want more information on hashtag chats, you can often find them by studying the hashtags of the other writers you follow. You can ask your Twitter friends for chats they like to participate in. And you can search Google. Here's a beginning place to start: Twitter Hashtag Chats for Writers by Diana Ligaya. She lists several sff genre chats, and since I'm a sff nerd, I'll give her a shout-out here. But if you prefer romance or another genre, try Googling chats for that genre. They are out there.

It's easy to hop on a chat too. Just search for the hashtag and see what people are talking about and join in. This works for both scheduled chats and unscheduled ones. By unscheduled, I simply mean that the conversation is always ongoing, and you take your chances on what the conversation is at the moment. But unlike scheduled chats, people are alert for the unscheduled chats all the time, and whoever is online at the moment is likely to respond to you, which is a great way to meet new people. Some unscheduled/ongoing chats include #MyWANA, #amwriting, and #pubwrite, all of which have some great members.

I also find personally that chatting on Twitter makes me feel more relaxed about the idea of socializing. I'm an introvert, like a lot of writers are. But the positive feedback I've received from Twitter has made me feel confident that I can do this kind of chatting face-to-face at conferences too, and that's important for future success, networking, and connecting with fans. So all in all, hashtags chats actually have great potential to help you build your platform and develop the skills you need to write well and connect with readers.

Let me know what chats you participate in, especially if I haven't mentioned that chat here. I love learning about new things. Share, share, share!

Copyright (c) 2011 by Michele Chiappetta. All rights reserved.

I Won a Prize!

2011-11-03T08:48:00.000-05:00

Literally! I won fifth place from the judges in the Write Campaign's third contest for my flash fiction piece, Strange Vacation (click the title to read it).

Here's the news as posted on Rachael Harrie's website, Rach Writes. She runs the Write Campaign, which is a way for writers and bloggers to connect with one another and build their writing platforms. My entry was chosen from 131 entries, which is pretty cool, if you ask me.

The Write Campaign has been a lot of fun, and I've met some great people through it. If you want to participate, visit Rach's blog for more info. She runs the campaign twice a year, I believe, and she'll announce when it's starting up again.

And if you have time, read the other winners' entries too. There's some good writing out there, and it's interesting to see the different twists that people put on the same set of instructions: 300 words or less, setting on a beach, two people (one female, one male), one of them doesn't want to be there, include sensory details, and include a surprise ending.

It just goes to prove that you don't need to worry about being original. You can do it. Just filter your story ideas through your own individual sensibilities, and you'll come up with something nobody else thought of. Apparently, I did, and it's a laugh. I can't tell you what the idea was, because it would spoil the surprise ending. But believe me, this story is all me. It fit. It was fun to write. And it worked. You can do this too! I know you can.

Can't wait to see us all grow together in our writing and achieve successes like this little one I have just had. So how about you? What's new with your writing? What brags do you have to share? I'd love to hear about it.

Copyright (c) 2011 by Michele Chiappetta. All rights reserved.

Fun With Headlines Again

2011-11-02T08:30:00.001-05:00

So, it's National Novel Writing Month, and I'm participating by writing to get 50,000 words done on my novel in the next 30 days. Needless to say, I don't plan on writing any deeply philosophical Wednesday blog posts until at least December. But I don't want to disappoint you, my loyal readers. So I'm back to a little "fun with headlines."

Set Your Inner Nerd Free in the Kitchen
As soon as I saw this headline, I thought, "We nerds do this already. All the time. Haven't you ever seen recipes for Klingon Gagh? (Also known as live serpent worms. Yum.) But seriously, at least this article got it right. You had me at the Millennium Falcon pancakes.

Even Light Drinking Ups Breast Cancer
This new study obviously contradicts the study that says drinking a moderate amount of wine is good for a woman's heart. I foresee a new study in which it is discovered that no matter what you do, one day you're going to die. Morbid, yes. But it's good science.

Bloomin' Bounty! Queen Victoria's Underwear Sold
The big story behind this headline is not that Queen Victoria's underwear sold for approximately $14,000 U.S. in auction recently, but rather that someone kept her underwear for over a hundred years. And you people call us nerds weird. Making Millennium Falcon pancakes weird? No. No. No. Keeping underwear for a hundred years? Now, that's weird.

Any story online about Cain
This isn't about the headline itself, but about me. Because every time I read a headline that says Cain, I think, McCain's running again? And then I realize that, yet again, I read the name wrong. And it's just Cain. I hope that doesn't affect him at the voting booth.

No, crackheads aren't coming to get you
I love this headline. It's about drug criminals being released from prison. But really, why would I worry about crackheads anyway? No one does crack anymore. They do meth. I'm worried that the methheads are coming to get me. Get on the 2011 bandwagon, MSNBC.

Did Kim kill the Kardashian brand with divorce?
I would have thought the Kardashian's reality show had already killed their brand. Have you ever seen the show? It's smuttier than the Playboy channel. I can't even repeat what they say to each other here, because this is a PG-13 blog. If you want to know what I mean, go on YouTube. I'm sure there are some clips there that will make you regret you have eyeballs after you've watched them.

And finally, today's hottest headline...

Bieber slams claim he fathered woman's baby
Ugh. Ugh, ugh, ugh. Now that's an image none of us need in our heads. Besides, isn't he like 12 years old? What's that? He's 17? Really? Because he looks like he's still 12. Oh, well. Maybe he did father the baby then. Or maybe he'll just cover Billie Jean. ("Billie Jean is not my lover, she's just a girl who says that I am the one, but the kid is not my son.")

That's all for today's mischief. Do you ever read headlines and laugh at them, like I do? Or is it just me?

Copyright (c) 2011 by Michele Chiappetta. All rights reserved.

The Muse Reviews: National Novel Writing Month

2011-10-31T09:25:00.000-05:00

Another quick and dirty review for your Monday morning...

In case you haven't heard, November is National Novel Writing Month. Starting tomorrow, some of your friends will be racing to write at least 1,667 words a day for the next 30 days, to reach a total of 50,000 words by midnight on November 30.

This is the equivalent of running a marathon in about two hours. If you hit 50,000 words or more in a month, you deserve to win a prize. It's not easy.

But it can be fun. And that's part of the goal of Nanowrimo (as the insiders call it, because we don't have time to write or spell it out and write our 50,000 words too; some of us even call it Nano). If you're participating in Nanowrimo or thinking about it, go in with a plan to have fun. You can do that by writing something outrageous, like a woman I spoke to yesterday. She wrote a 50,000 story about a lost sock. The story ends on a cliffhanger: Her main character literally is hanging off a cliff at the 50,000 word mark. She hasn't finished the story, but she clearly had fun!

You can also have fun by participating in your local Nanowrimo group. My group has write-ins where we all gather together with our computers and kindly guilt each other into writing. We also have a character graveyard, and when you kill a character off, you get to make their headstone and put it in the graveyard. That's popular. Morbid, but popular.

And if you want to be serious about it, Nanowrimo is a good way to develop a daily habit of writing if you don't have one. It's also a way to challenge yourself to write more than you usually do. This will be my third year doing it, and I've gotten better at it each year. This time around, I have an actual plot line. It's sketchy, but it's complete from start to finish, with climax and epilogue planned too. I know the characters. I've got themes and imagery in mind. Oh, and it's a trilogy so I'm starting with book one. I am more than ready to write.

I think Nanowrimo has helped me to get to this point. It's not the only factor. My determination, my friends, and my writers critique group have all helped too. But Nanowrimo is the tool I've used to help myself write, and keep writing, even if the writing goes off track or gets muddy. It's helped me beat some of the fear I feel about writing something that may not be great.

If you're interested in participating, visit the Nanowrimo website and get started. There's no fee (though they encourage donations), and there's no prize except for the pride you feel at writing more words in a month than some people write in a lifetime. And the camaraderie you have with people like me, who are in with you and will encourage you all the way.

Copyright (c) 2011 by Michele Chiappetta. All rights reserved.

Don't Pout at Klout (Not Too Much, Anyway)

2011-10-28T09:40:00.001-05:00

I'm still investigating ways to reach readers, and I have full plans to post more on that when I can. In the meantime, let's tackle a small explosion that burst into Twitter this week: the revisions to your Klout score.

What is Klout? It's a software program/website that analyzes your Twitter and other social media accounts to tell you how much clout you supposedly have. Do people listen to you? Do you have influence? Not sure? Let the computer tell you, with a number on a scale of one to 100 so that you can feel wildly better than your peers (like GetGlue, which I've never heard of but which has a K+ score of 92). Or so you can feel completely inadequate with your lowly 42 or 52. You mediocre person, you.

This week, Klout changed how they calculate the score, which they said will mostly move people up in the rankings, although everyone I know has reported their K+ score has gone down. Many sad writers out there today. But I'd like to remind everyone to keep things in perspective.

First of all, Klout suggests ways that you can improve your K+ score, and frankly, it's like having your mom standing behind you and telling you to get to work. Mom... I mean, Klout...is right. I don't get online often enough some days. I don't make conversations as much as I could. But Twitter, et al, are "social" media. I hear Klout saying, "You're not being social enough!" Guilty as charged. Working on it.

Second of all, Klout is useful in its own way, but it's not almighty. When I look at my personal score results, it turns out that Klout thinks I'm influential over 11 topics. Some make sense, like writing and spirituality, because I talk about both. Others make no sense. Klout says I'm influential on the subject of Prince. Prince? When is the last time I've tweeted about Prince? I think I might have tweeted about him once. Once! That tweet didn't go global. Weird. Even weirder is that Klout thinks I'm influential about skiing, and I don't even ski, so if I tweeted about it, it must really have been in passing as some kind of a joke or metaphor or something.

As far as I can tell, there is no way to tell Klout, "Whachoo talking about, Willis?" A phrase which seems highly appropriate here. I don't know what Klout is talking about. But if it can't figure out that I am not influential about Phoenix because I never talk about it and I don't live there, then maybe its score isn't exactly that accurate either.

Bottom line, don't stress too much about this. Yes, Klout is important. But real clout is more important. And you have more control over that than a computer can tell you. Keep doing what you're already doing....connecting, chatting, making new contacts, providing useful information, being funny or charming or whatever it is that makes you you. Klout will catch up to you, if you just stick with your commitment to keep reaching out to the world on social media.

If you're interested, here's a link to Media Bistro's coverage of the Klout changes. Or read about it from the horse's mouth: Klout's blog.

Copyright (c) 2011 by Michele Chiappetta. All rights reserved.

The Love-Hate Relationship of Art and Faith

2011-10-26T08:30:00.001-05:00

If you've followed me on this blog or on Twitter for a while, you know that I'm a writer - an artist. You also know that I'm a Christian - a person of faith. I don't consider those two pieces of me to be in diametrical opposition, though sometimes it seems I'm in the minority for thinking that way.

For many people, there seems to be a war between art and faith, particularly art and Christianity. It's an odd struggle, given that God is nothing if not the most creative artist ever seen. Don't believe me? Take a walk in a garden and study the flowers and their leaves. The effect is even better if you choose a botanical garden, because you have more samples to examine.

It'll strike you at some point to wonder: "Why are these leaves fuzzy? Those leaves aren't. But these are. And why is this color on this type of flower, but not on that one?" The more you focus on the variety of the flowers and the leaves, the more you'll appreciate just how wildly talented an artist God is. And how extravagant. He went over the top in designing the world; there's no denying it.

Maybe you'll follow up by wondering, "If there's so much variety in creation, why not have plenty of variety in the arts?" The answer is, of course there should be variety! It's the spice of life, and God loves a spicy meal, as far as I can see.

Art, and specifically the art of writing, is meant to entertain and communicate. There are as many ways to do that as there are people in the world. Not everyone is going to follow the same route. And if there are those of us who choose to bring our faith to the artistic table in a way that doesn't fit the narrow Christian bookshelves, then so be it.

Perhaps it is fear or denial that makes it hard to express faith in an art form that can trust the reader to make up his or her own mind. Perhaps it is hard to reconcile the black and white absolutes of faith with the areas in that faith, or in our world, that are grey. It's an uncomfortable place, to be sure. But sometimes discomfort is necessary to spur change and action.

Art has the great ability to make you see something in a new light, or in a deeper way than you previously have. Sometimes you have to take a risk and let your beliefs be challenged. If they are based on truth with a capital T, they'll withstand the testing. If they don't, maybe you're not as rooted in that belief as you thought you were. That's a valuable lesson too, though an uncomfortable one.

I wonder how many of us struggle with finding ways to express our art and our faith in honest ways, without fear of people who may judge either our art or our faith and declare it lacking. I wrestle with it every day. But I won't give up the fight to deepen my Christianity or develop my writing. The tension between art and faith keeps me reaching forward for more out of life. That's a good thing.

How about you? Do you ever feel a tension in balancing your art with your beliefs? Is there a tension between what you do with your art and what others consider "proper" spiritually? How do you approach the divide and bridge it? I'd love to know what you think.

Copyright (c) 2011 by Michele Chiappetta. All rights reserved.

The Muse Reviews: Cowboys &Aliens

2011-10-24T08:58:00.000-05:00

What do you make of a film that seems too serious for its premise? That's the problem I had with Cowboys & Aliens.

It's usually a problem when there are a lot of names associated with a project, and Cowboys & Aliens is no exception. Jon Favreau directed (same guy who did Elf and Iron Man). The list of producers includes Ron Howard and his partner Brian Grazer, Kurtzman and Orci (the team who did the updated Star Trek), Damon Lindelof and Scott Mitchell Rosenberg. If you've lost count, that's six people. There are five writers credited, none of them the writers of the graphic novel the movie was based on.

Eleven opinionated people equals a big pile of box office crap, apparently. All I can do is wonder if somehow the fun implied by the movie's title got lost in translation somewhere.

As an action film, the movie is meh. The battle sequences weren't much to look at. The special effects were average at best. The scenery was beautiful, I'll admit, but the costuming was average. Visually, the movie just didn't work.

In a case like that, you hope that the plot and acting will take up the slack, but that didn't happen here. The acting was dull and labored. Harrison Ford stood out as especially bad. He's not the kind of actor you expect to give an Oscar to, but he is normally okay in action films. Here, his stilted, humorless delivery seemed to underscore the movie's inability to decide what it was doing and why it was doing it.

The writing was also sadly lacking. Spoiler alert: The aliens have come to steal our gold, because gold is rare in their world too. Does that mean they use it for money? For fuel? For snacking? I don't know. They also rustle people, to study humans, although they don't really need to do that. All they need to do is park their spaceship above a supply of gold, heat it to melting, and vacuum it up with their alien technology. So, their kidnapping of people makes no sense and serves no purpose except to get the plot going because the cast is attacked, people are stolen, and the remaining people set up a posse to find their missing kin. Again, meh. Who cares?

What's worse is that nearly every stereotype in the book is thrown into the movie, but without any commentary whatsoever. That makes the film seem unimaginative. You get the frontier preacher, the easterner who can't shoot, the fat Mexican, the mean cattle rancher who fought in the Civil War, his no-account son, Indians who can't speak English and pass around the hallucinogens, the pretty woman who knows more than she is telling, and the criminal being hunted by the law.

The only thing you don't get is a black slave. In fact, there are no people of color at all in the movie (except the fat Mexican). It's true that a lot of old Westerns didn't use black actors either. But is it all that hard to imagine a black man in a frontier town, especially after the Civil War? Or an Asian, given the immigration of the Chinese into California and other parts of the West in the 1800s?

But the excessive use of stereotypes without commentary makes the exclusion of minorities stand out. It's as though either the filmmakers were so racist as to ignore minorities altogether, or -- and perhaps this is the worse alternative -- they did include a scene or two, but it was so racist that even the studio heads who greenlit this project objected to it. Either way, the lack is noticeable and embarrassing for the filmmakers.

Cowboys & Aliens could have been funny. It could have been clever. It was neither. If you want to see a real satire of a genre movie that also has some good action and good acting, see Shaun of the Dead, which has the intelligence to ask the question, "What's the difference between a normal day of your life and a zombie apocalypse?" The answer in Shaun is, "Not much." Everything about the movie plays to that answer, and the film is very funny.

Cowboy & Aliens doesn't seem to be asking a question at all. Even if the question had been, "How can we make this idea cool?" and the answer, "Here's how," I might have bought it. But no. There's nothing to buy here. It's all garage sale junk. Spend your money elsewhere, and don't bother wasting your time on this load of trash. You can do much, much better.

Copyright (c) 2011 by Michele Chiappetta. All rights reserved.

Developing Your Craft Through Writers Communities

2011-10-21T13:28:00.000-05:00

Today, I want to look at writing in a community. This relates to my Connecting with Readers series, though at a tangent. Ultimately, our writing has to be at its best to attract and keep readers coming back. So it is a good idea to learn how to write better. And when I say better, I don't mean simply more polished. I also mean adding to our writer's toolbox (aka, our skill set). The way I see it, the more tools you have, the better off you are. Kind of like the more weapons you have, the more advantages you have in a fight with ninjas.

Ninja Gaiden from digitaltrends.com

I know. Gratuitous ninja reference. I just wanted to put in a cool picture and call myself a Writing Ninja Assassin, because I'm reading Brent Weeks' The Way of Shadows right now. Humor me. Now back to the subject at hand,

One way to learn to use the tools we have and also to get new ones is to spend time talking with, sharing with, and giving feedback to other writers. You probably don't need to be convinced to join a writer's group, though if you're new to writing you may not know how to hook up with other writers. And if you've been burned, you may be reluctant to put yourself out there again. Or maybe you just haven't made the time to get involved.

Okay, here's why you should find a group: Other writers will sharpen your writing skills. Much like a sparring match against another ninja will help you learn to survive when you have to fight a real battle. No, I'm not comparing a night with other writers to a sparring match (though it can be). I just wanted to continue the metaphor and maybe throw in another picture. (I'm a fantasy nerd. What can I say?)

From wouldyoukindly.com

But seriously, you will learn a lot from listening to the writing of others. You can benefit from the input of others. And writers groups are easy enough to find. You just have to find the right fit for you. Here are a few places you can try:

* Meetup - This website is a source for starting meetups of all kinds, and if there's a writing group in your area, it may be listed on Meetup. I found a great local science fiction/fantasy writers group this way. And if you live in some godforsaken location without a writers group, you can use Meetup to start one.

* PubWrite - This writers group is a great community of friendly writers who support one another. The group has a website and is on Facebook and Twitter. Check out the #pubwrite hashtag and follow @SteveUmstead to get started and see if PubWrite is right for you.

* Story Dam - This start-up writers community is run by @BrandonPDuncan and his wife @DuncanBrandi. I'll post again about Story Dam in a few weeks when it's officially launched, but the goal is to encompass a positive community through link-ups, feedback done right, support, writing prompts, and more. Get on the email list for updates that will tell you more.

* MyWANA - WANA stands for We Are Not Alone, the brainchild of @KristinLambTX. Like PubWrite and Story Dam, MyWANA emphasizes positive writers community. Kristin knows a lot about using social media and she shares what she knows in a lighthearted way. And the MyWANA people welcome newbies, so join in on the fun.

* Write Campaign - This is a platform-building project run a couple times a year by Rachael Harrie. I'm participating in this campaign now, and even with a low level of participation (due to my extra-busy schedule these last two months), I've made some great new friends and even participated in my first flash fiction contest. I wrote the piece in about 20 minutes, which just goes to prove that if I'll be a little more serious about plotting and thinking out a scene's goals before I write it, I'll be able to write faster than I do now.

From movies.rightcelebrity.com
Turtle power!

Naturally, there are a lot more writers communities than these. But the ones I've mentioned are ones that have worked for me, and I want to share them with you. Try them out and try others too. Be a good community member, not a troll. And enjoy the process. You'll learn a lot and meet some cool friends too. What's better than that?

Next week, I'll be back with more to share. In the meantime, have you tried any of these writers communities, or do you know of others that you think are great? Share, share, share! And thanks for stopping by!

Copyright (c) 2011 by Michele Chiappetta. All rights reserved.

Strange Vacation

2011-10-19T09:32:00.003-05:00

Today's post is a little fun with fiction. As a Write Campaign participant, I get to visit lots of new blogs, meet new writers, and play around with some of the Campaign Challenges. In this challenge, we're supposed to write a 300-word scene about two people on a beach, with a bit of a twist. Here's my entry. Enjoy!

Jen’s nose wrinkled as she sniffed the air. She eyed Eric, who slouched easily in the chair next to her. “How long are we staying here?”

“We just got here.”

She wrinkled her nose again. “I know, but…”

Eric shaded his eyes as he looked east toward the low-hanging sun. Then he pointed toward the waves, breaking the emptiness of the cool air with their lazy susurration. “It’s beautiful. Enjoy it.”

“But there’s so much to do.”

“And we’ve got all day to do it. Relax.”

Jen drummed her fingers on the armrest of her lounge chair. “How about I head back to the hotel and catch up with you later?”

Eric gave a little hmph. “What are you going to do there that you can’t do here?”

“Enjoy myself.” She wrinkled her nose again. “Besides, something seems a little off…”

“It’s fine. Everything’s fine. And you’ll be fine too, if you just relax and enjoy yourself.”

Jen straightened in her chair. “First of all, I will not be fine. And second of all, everything is not fine.” She inhaled deeply, then starting coughing. “Ugh. Eric you can’t tell me that you don’t smell…”

“Jeez, Jen. I have everything under control, you know.”

“I don’t see that you do.”

Eric gestured for her to stop.

“But…”

“Shh.”

“But…”

“Shh.” With one finger raised in caution, Eric reached down toward the sand with his other hand, and slowly raised a book of matches. He lit it, whirled, and threw. Jen turned just in time to see the rotting zombie behind her fall to its knees, burning to oblivion.

Eric turned around, slouching easily once again as he watched the waves. “I’m not letting zombies ruin my vacation.”

Jen slumped, arms crossed. “We’re never going to get off the beach,” she muttered.

The Muse Reviews: The Apostle Murders by Jim Laughter

2011-10-17T08:30:00.001-05:00

If you've ever walked through the Christian fiction shelves of a bookstore, you've noticed that the majority of the books are romance novels. Usually historical. I don't know why. But as I've said in previous blog posts, I don't usually read much romance. I prefer sci-fi, fantasy, thrillers, action.

For those reasons and more, I was excited to pick up Jim Laughter's recent serial killer thriller, The Apostle Murders.

The Apostle Murders tells the story of a new FBI agent, George Benjamin, as he helps track down a serial killer who is repeating, to the best of his ability, the martyrdom of the original apostles. The concept is a great one. Jim Laughter is Oklahoma born-and-bred and he knows the Bible belt. He also knows the Bible and early Christian tradition, and he weaves it all into an interesting story.

The beginning of the novel starts out strong. Chapter one hooked me right off the bat. And as the story continues, I kept reading without losing interest. It's true that the plot follows a somewhat predictable trajectory, but that is part of the nature of this type of story. After all, it's about a serial killer and the feds who are trying to track him down. You can see where that's going to lead. The question is, how well was the plot executed?

The answer: It was executed well enough to keep me reading. But there is room for improvement in future novels.

The scenes involving the victims and their deaths were particularly poignant and tense. In fact, that's where the story really shined for me. And that's a good thing, because the heart of the story is the killing that drives all the action forward. The killer is committed to killing, of course. But he's also conflicted. That was fascinating.

The characters were mostly believable, although they might have been developed a little further. As it was, there were some character interactions that seemed unlikely to me. George Benjamin is black and young, and he works with an older, white southerner who seems just a bit too casually prejudiced to be a respected FBI agent. But it's possible I'm looking at this with a northerner's eyes. Bottom line: I wanted to know more about Benjamin and the other agents, and I wouldn't mind reading a sequel that tells me more about these men and women in more depth.

I found the serial killer more believable, although I had a few questions about his motivations, wondering how a man of his age suddenly commits such brutal murders. The apostles were not killed in gentle ways. Their deaths were ugly. And so are the deaths of the serial killer's victims. The only explanation offered is that the serial killer feels he is being called by God to do it. Yes, I can believe that, if it is a sign of mental problems.

But serial killers usually start killing at a much younger age than this character does, with signs of sociopathy presenting in childhood. We don't get a picture of the serial killer's childhood. We do know that he is unhappy with contemporary Christian churches, and we know that his wife recently died. Is he suffering from a dissociative disorder due to his wife's death? Does he have a form of dementia that leads to violence? Perhaps he has a brain tumor. It just seems hard to believe a former pastor, even an old-fashioned, judgmental one, would go off the Christian wagon to such a drastic extent that he not only kills, but kills in the most horrific ways. I wanted to know more about what was driving him.

My only other pet peeve is that the point of view switches from character to character within the same scene. That's a no-no. Point of view should be tight on one person from start to finish of a scene. When you write that way, it forces you to convey what is in the heads of the other characters through more creative and sensory means, such as how a character tilts his head when angry, or the crinkling of his nose in distaste. This helps put the reader more immediately into what is happening.

Still, Jim's writing is good enough, in itself, to keep a reader reading. He knows how to end a scene on a cliffhanger. And he works his concept fully, which is the thing that really sells this book. A crazy Christian serial killer, being tracked down by a Fed who knows his Bible. Clever. You want to read it, don't you? I did. And as I said, despite the issues I noted, I wouldn't mind reading more about Agent George Benjamin. I hope to see more books like this from Jim.

I also liked the way Christianity and the Bible are woven thoughtfully into the book, rather than being forced or preachy. Rather than focusing on converting someone to Christianity (which seems common in Christian romances), Jim's characters are who they are, and they live out who they are. Their spirituality (or lack of it) feels natural and believable.

On a closing note, Jim is a great guy. Think about sending some money his way, and support a self-made author. I know he'd appreciate it. If you don't like reading about serial killers, don't worry. You can read his other works, which include science fiction, the story of the Nativity from the point of view of the animals (great for kids), and a nonfiction account of Steven Stayner's heroic act to free himself and a potential new victim of the pedophile who kidnapped Stayner when the boy was just 7 years old.

For more about Jim or to order his books, visit his website, jimlaughter.com.

Copyright (c) 2011 by Michele Chiappetta. All rights reserved.

Connecting with Readers, part 5: Who to Follow on Twitter

2011-10-14T08:49:00.000-05:00

Today's installment of connecting with readers takes a slightly different turn. I want to talk not about followers, but rather on following. And since you're probably reading this because you're a writer or another type of artist who wants to build a platform, I want to look specifically at who you might want to follow on Twitter to make that happen.

This topic may seem like a rabbit trail off the path to finding pure readers (your audience), but it's not, and I'll tell you why. It's because you won't get there on your own. None of us will. We need to learn all we can learn from those who know more than we do. (News flash: A lot of people know more than you. But that means more opportunities to learn, if you look at it right.)

Also, we are going to need some acts of kindness on the part of others willing to help us along. So it's a good idea to find and build relationships with people on Twitter who can help you out.

You'll notice I say relationships. Those are two-way streets, right? You've got to give as well as take. I can't make you do that, of course. But I can say that Twitter is, right now, one of the great equalizers. Many, many people are genuinely willing open up, connect, and share useful information on Twitter. If you can be just as generous and thoughtful in return, it's going to come back to you in good ways. (That's called karma in some belief systems, the law of sowing and reaping in others. And it's true. You get what you give.)

So... In reading what I'm about to tell you, keep in mind that the goal is to give, not just take. Please don't be a selfish user. There are too many people like that already. Dare to be unlike them.

That said, here is a partial list of people I recommend following for the purposes of learning to build your platform and connect with the publishing world and ultimately with readers. (There are lots of other great people to follow, too. I'm only mentioning a few of them here.)

People who know a lot about publishing

Donald Maass (@DonMaass) - Yes, this is THE Donald Maass, the literary agent and the author of Writing the Breakout Novel... He's an excellent source of fundamental tips on making your writing better, and he actually talks about genres too, like SFF. Yup, he's cool.

Jevon Bolden (@JevonBolden) - A developmental editor at Charisma House, Jevon is a spirited Twitter user who offers good advice, asks good questions, and encourages great Twitter chats. And she always, always thanks me when I give her a shout-out, no matter how busy she is.

Nathan Bransford (@NathanBransford) - A former literary agent with a middle grade book now out (Jacob Wonderbar and the Cosmic Space Kapow), Nathan is also a genuinely nice guy. He's the one who sent me an invitation to Google+ before it opened up to everyone. Just because I tweeted and asked if he would.

People who, at this very moment, are actually doing what we're talking about (building platform)

Moses Siregar (@MosesSiregar) - Moses is the author of The Black God's War, an up-and-coming ebook, and also a member of the Adventures in Sci-Fi Publishing podcast. What's great about him is that he is currently exploring e-publishing with what is an amazingly solid book with excellent writing. He deserves a traditional publisher and an awesome contract, and I hope he gets one.

Tee Morris (@TeeMonster) - Tee is the author of what I personally consider THE BEST podcast novel ever. It's called Morevi. If you haven't heard of it... Well, remedy that by finding it and listening to it. Right now. When you're done, keep this in mind: Tee is also the author of All A-Twitter, a great guide to using Twitter. He's a social media and podcasting pioneer who has gone boldly into online frontiers. And he recently got signed with HarperVoyager. Yeah. He knows of what he speaks. (So does his writing partner, Pip Ballantine, aka @PhilippaJane. Follow her too.)

People who are a wealth of information because that's who they are

Robin Sullivan (@rsullivan9597) - Small press publisher. Author of the Write2Publish blog. Wife of author Michael Sullivan, who sold nearly 40,000 books in four months with her PR help. She styles herself as someone passionate about helping authors. That's an understatement. She is amazingly helpful. Catch her podcast interviews on The Dead Robots Society, and check out her blog and Twitter feed. You'll learn a lot. She follows back, and she chats back too.

Chuck Wendig (@chuckwendig) - Check your internal Mom at the door, because Chuck swears a lot. And by a lot, I mean it's hard to find a paragraph in his blog posts that doesn't have a curse in it. But you'll overlook the F-bombs because his advice is incredible, brilliant, useful. You'll wish you were him. (It's called Chuck Envy. Everyone who reads him has it.)

People who have been generous with me, and practice generosity as a rule on Twitter

Les Floyd (@lesism) - Les is the author of the very popular Lesism blog (lesism.blogspot.com). At today's count, he has over 40,000 followers on his Twitter account. Can you say, Klout score? Actually, Les isn't just popular. He's another genuinely nice guy who took time out of his schedule to email me a thorough answer to a platform-building question I had. This attitude of generosity is no doubt one major reason why he has so many followers. Something to think about.

Now, as I said, this is just a partial list. There are so many great people on Twitter. People who like making new friends and want to share what they know. Go find them. How do you do that? Well, I'll tell you what I do. I tweet new followers of mine and say hello, nice to meet you. I do the same with people I start following. The ones who are open to chatting...well, they chat. They self-identify. So if you do nothing else, start by saying hello and seeing if you can have some conversations. Lots of good things can come out of simple social skills and genuine interest in other people on Twitter.

Go out and have fun with it. And if you have any great Twitter people to recommend following, let me know. I'd love to be introduced to people I don't know yet!

Feel free to read the other Connecting with Readers blog posts too:

The Value of Email Lists
Hashtags for Readers
Hashtags for Writers
Overview of Making Connections

Copyright (c) 2011 by Michele Chiappetta. All rights reserved.

A Little Creativity

2011-10-12T09:11:00.002-05:00

I thought I'd do something a little different today. I'm going to give you a glimpse into how my mind works. (Prepare the warp engines, just in case you need to speed away. Hahaha!)

Creativity Is Boundless, by pixelnase
(pixelnase.deviantart.com)

Seriously, sometimes I get the most interesting ideas for first lines of stories or poems. I'll show you an example. The phrase "black storm" came to mind. I'm thinking of using it sometime. So I decided to free write and see what came up in my imagination based on the question: "What is a black storm?" Here's my creative writing answer:

A black storm is the worst kind of storm there is. Clouds rise up tall and dark as smoke from a fire, and just as wild. The wind whips around so strong, it's a terror. Folks say it's the thundergod, trying to wrest power from the Lord of Peace. He strikes madly, left and right, up and down, the thundergod does, looking for the weak, the fragile, the hopeless...them as he may kill. To survive the thundergod's wrath? That's the mark of a great one indeed. It's the mark of a survivor, one what's called to bring hope in the midst of midnight. One what's called to bring the sword into battle and fight for light at the world's end.

What do you think? I'm not sure why I felt the need to use the voice of someone a little uneducated perhaps, or with a regional dialect for his part of whatever fantasy world he lives in, but it seemed right at the time.

My question for you is: Do you ever do this too? Do words, phrases, and sentences pop up in your head, and if they do, do you explore them to see what ideas are lurking in your subconscious? It's a good exercise to try now and again. It pulls on your creativity in ways that conscious thinking maybe doesn't. If you'd like to try it yourself, let me suggest a few options for you. Try one. Or try one of your own making. And share the results with me. I'm curious to see what others come up with.

Writing prompt: Start with one of these ideas and phrases and see where it leads you.

A black storm is...
They say the dark god is evil...
The trees crouch small and low to the ground...
The man was tall, with a hawk's nose and a greying beard...
I can't wait for the Apocalypse.

Have fun! And don't forget to share what you write, either here in the comments or on your own blog. Give me a link and I'll check it out!

Connecting with Readers, Part 4: The Value of Email

2011-10-07T09:06:00.000-05:00

I'm taking a break from hashtags this week to share a little about email and why I think it may be the best tool to reach your readers and build your writing platform.

Courtesy of burnetts.com

According to am August SmarterTools blog post on The Value of Email, email is now "the most common unique identifier an individual possesses," even more so that social security numbers. Digital age indeed.

Why am I sharing this with you, a writer who wants to connect with readers to sell your books? Because the most powerful online resource you can have to market yourself is an active, genuine, ideally long email list. The SmarterTools blog will convince you that email blows all other online communications ships out of the water. Here's the link to the comparison chart so you can see for yourself the power of email.

When you look at the chart, you'll see that email traffic outweighs Facebook and Twitter activity by 99.8%. It outweighs pageviews by 75%. In other words: there's no contest. If you want to build your writer's platform, the best thing you can do is build a genuine, unique-to-you email contact list. If you can get your readers to sign up for an email newsletter or give their email address as a part of their login on your website, you will be ahead of the game.

First Contact by
Monsit Jangariyawong
Templates.com

Of course, you have to use email responsibly. You can't spam others, even by accident. (That's why you might want to use an email service like MailChimp.) Give people a way off the list (an unsubscribe option). Don't sell the list. Offer something of value when people give you their email, like a newsletter, a survey with results provided, or a contest.

True, you have to make "first contact" with your readers before you can get their emails. But if you plan for your "first contact" to include a request to stay in touch with those readers by email, then as I said earlier, you'll be ahead of the game.

What do you think? Do you have a plan to stay in contact with readers after you've made first contact? Share your thoughts here.

Next Friday: Back to more on finding those readers in the first place.

Copyright (c) 2011 by Michele Chiappetta. All rights reserved.

Your Brain Is Shrinking: Congratulations!

2011-10-05T09:12:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to share the news. Humans are still evolving. And the sign of this is: our brains are shrinking.

Wait... What?

Perhaps it's just me, but somehow evolution sounds like a positive, while shrinking brains sound like a negative. I'm not sure we should be popping open the champagne bottles over this.

It's not a big leap from shrinking brain to computer overlords taking over the earth and ruling mankind with an iron fist. Get it? Iron fist! Hahaha! (When the robots take over, I plan to survive by making them laugh.)

What I love about modern science is how it puts a positive spin on things that are probably problems. You know... like a shrinking brain. The experts don't know why our brains are getting smaller, but they suggest it's because we are able to relax and specialize our knowledge in today's world, so we don't need to think as much.

simpsons.wikia.com

I agree we aren't thinking much these days. But I personally take that as a sign we are devolving. We're going backwards, and soon we're all going to look and sound like Homer Simpson. We won't be all that bright anymore. But we'll really, really, really enjoy our doughnuts. Mmm. Doughnuts.

Actually, we'll end up spelling it donuts. Because our brains will be too small to remember how to spell doughnuts. This is a sad future for spelling. But it's a sign of evolution, nonetheless, so we might as well be happy about it. Stupidity is the future!

I think that could be someone's 2012 campaign slogan...

In the meantime, I leave you with the sage words of Homer, who will be like Socrates once our brains shrink enough:

"All right, brain. You don't like me and I don't like you, but let's just do this and I can get back to killing you with beer."

Words to live by, when your brain is too small to do anything else.

Copyright (c) 2011 by Michele Chiappetta. All rights reserved.

The Muse Reviews: The Prestige (film version)

2011-10-03T09:01:00.000-05:00

The Prestige is a 2006 film based on a book written by Christopher Priest in 1995. Today, I'll be reviewing the film.

The IMDB website summarizes the plot of The Prestige this way: "The rivalry between two magicians is exacerbated when one of them performs the ultimate illusion." It's hard to say more than that without giving the plot away, but I would suggest the plot summary should read more like this: Two magicians, spurred on by a grudge that grows worse with the years, play a vicious game of tit-for-tat retaliation until one performs the ultimate illusion.

The story is a mix of reality and fantasy, with just enough science fiction in it to move it beyond a typical history piece. But the use of fantastical scientific inventions is actually quite limited, and it serves only to help bring the plot to a logical, though tragic, culmination.

The energy that drives the plot forward in this movie is the unforgiving nature of the rivalry between these two men, Robert Angier (played by Hugh Jackman) and Alfred Borden (played by Christian Bale). They continue escalating the war between them by embarrassing one another, sabotaging each other's acts, and damaging their relationships with others. Thus, the rivalry reaches beyond them to affect many other people, including those they love, as rivalries like this usually do.

By the time the movie ends, you feel sorry for these men but you also feel disgusted by the lengths to which they are both willing to go, for a less than noble cause. It's a cautionary tale of the dangers of obsession and pride, the power of unforgiveness to ruin lives, and the futility of retaliation as a means to bring peace and closure to painful situations.

The acting is solid, with Jackman and Bale putting in the expected leading men performances. Supporting roles are played nicely by Michael Caine, Piper Perabo, Scarlett Johansson, Andy Serkis, and David Bowie. The movie was directed by Christopher Nolan, and you get his signature touches on the film. Dark, moody sets. Angry men. Christian Bale sounding like Bruce Wayne/Batman at times. If you like his other work, you should enjoy The Prestige too.

The strength of the writing in this film isn't necessarily the dialogue (which is realistic and serviceable, but not exceedingly artistic). Rather, the strength is the way in which the plot and structure of the story illustrates the movie's themes.

I was reminded of another classic science fiction story that uses science to examine the motives of human beings: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. It would be hard to believe that Christopher Priest didn't have Shelley's book in mind as he wrote his novel because she, too, wrote about the way our weaknesses can create our own worst monsters. That concept is present well enough in the film adaptation to make the story speak to those, like me, who study literature. And it echoes the themes in Nolan's other movie made around the same time, Batman Begins. No surprise there.

Bottom line: If you haven't seen The Prestige, you should rent it or borrow it from the local library. It's definitely worth seeing.

Copyright (c) 2011 by Michele Chiappetta. All rights reserved.

So Many Hashtags, So Little Time: Connecting with Readers Part 3

2011-09-30T18:32:00.003-05:00

I'll tell you right up front: This post is barely scratching the surface of using hashtags to find readers. But don't stop reading. I'm continuing to investigate, and dig up all the dirt I can, to bring you the best information. Just call me "Bones." But tell me I'm better looking.

(Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Okay, let's move along.)

Seriously, finding out which hashtags are going to effectively get you what you want and need is a lot like digging up a crime scene. You weren't there to see things when they started. You probably don't have a video of it. There are some scattered clues lying around, and probably some witnesses who saw a little something here and there that might help. But you've got to do the hard work of piecing it all together and making sense of it.

I'm not kidding when I say that there is a long list of reader-related hashtags. This is an overview with some beginning tips. I'm going to dig down deeper into them as I have time and report back. But for starters, here is something you absolutely need to know:

Some hashtags connect back to websites. Sometimes, hashtags can seem random. But two of the popular hashtags for readers, #goodreads and #fridayreads, are not random. You can visit their websites, GoodReads and FridayReads, and follow them on Twitter (@goodreads and @fridayreads). Fridayreads is also on Facebook and Tumblr, and Goodreads is on Facebook.

This is important, because both of these sites are truly geared around readers. But since they are meant to allow readers to share, your shameless self-promotion of your book may backfire in this hashtag. However, there are a couple of things you might do to fit better in those hashtags:

Ask your existing readers to post about your book through the Goodreads and Fridayreads hashtags, Facebook pages, and websites. They'll immediately fit in, because they're readers. See?
Post an offer to give the first of your books for free to GoodReads and FridayReads readers. You can only do this if you've got several books done and ready for purchase. And you'll have to define how many books you want to give away. Or chapters. Or short stories.
Promote a contest of some kind. You can really get creative. Maybe the first reader from goodreads who posts about your book through Twitter wins a signed copy from you. Or the first Facebook mention on Fridayreads wins a free copy of your newest book.

Clip art illustration by Pamela Perry
created for Acclaim Images.
www.acclaimimages.com

Find out which of your friends and family readers is already on Goodreads or Fridayreads, and ask them to post about your book after they read it. (Of course they're reading it! They're your family and friends. They have to read it.)

I'll mention a third reader site, LibraryThing, separately. It's smaller than the other two: 4,000 followers to GoodRead's 188,000+ (the big ape in the room) and FridayRead's 4,300 (small but scrappy). Author Moses Siregar recently tweeted about giving away 100 free ebooks through LibraryThing. So, you can see that a giveaway or contest is a good idea. And smaller sites like LibraryThing and FridayReads are still capable, regardless of size, of getting your book and your name out there.

Bottom line for today's advice: Go where the readers are. And then treat them the way you would want to be treated if you were a reader. You wouldn't want to be spammed, would you? But I'll bet you wouldn't mind getting to know people, finding out about books other people have read and liked, and winning contests. So give them what they want (that is, what you'd want if you were in their shoes).

Next Friday, more on reader hashtags, and how to make use of them. In the meantime, if you have tips, suggest them. Want me to hunt something down? Tell me. And if you've tried one of the approaches mentioned on today's blog and it worked (or didn't), share what happened.

See you again soon!

Copyright (c) 2011 by Michele Chiappetta. All rights reserved.

Don’t Check Your Brains at the Door

2011-09-28T08:30:00.000-05:00

I know. I know some people don’t seem to have any brains. But I’m not talking to them. I’m talking to you. You have plenty of brains. But you live in a world that tempts people daily to check their brains at the door. Thousands upon thousands of people give in to that temptation. Don’t let it happen to you!

Case in point: The message about Facebook charging a fee. Don’t play dumb. You know what I’m talking about. You’ve seen the same, copied messages in your friends’ status updates probably a hundred times in the last week. Maybe a thousand times. Maybe a million times. This number is not as far-fetched as it sounds, because some of your friends posted it at least twice or three times. Mine did.

Like any chain letter, Internet rumor, or fake email scam, these Facebook messages get great circulation for one reason and one reason only: People read the message, accept it at face value, and then forward it instead of checking it out for themselves first to see if it’s accurate.

That’s why you’ve seen so many of your friends and family warning you in CAPITAL LETTERS that Facebook is going to start charging you a fee for its service. First of all, it’s not true (here’s the real dope).

Second of all, if it ever becomes true, let me remind you of this simple economic truth: You can’t have everything for free all the time. Other people have to make a living. If Facebook ever charges you for its services and it doesn’t fit in your budget, then go ahead and leave Facebook. It’s not the end of the world. It’s just an online software program. You’ll be okay whether you use it or not.

Unlike water, which you actually do need every day to survive. And you willingly pay for that at an average of $2 a bottle, right?

By the way, what’s with the idea that if you pass on the message, your profile is going to turn blue and Facebook will be free for you? That makes no sense. There’s no profit in it. But you have to think about it to see that…which is why I say, don’t check your brains at the door. Instead, use them. It’s good for your brains to do some work once in a while.

Enuff Z Nuff: the one band I never
listened to in the 80s. Photo courtesy
of nowthatsnifty.blogspot.com

When your brains are at work, you can figure out when something is actually useful, and how exactly to make use of it. Case in point: Hovering your mouse over the name of a friend on Facebook and deselecting "Comments and Likes." When you do this, it doesn't protect your privacy, even though that's what the messages being passed around by your friends might suggest.) Here's how to protect your privacy better, courtesy of Naked Security.)

What it does do, though, is it makes your home page more manageable and pleasant for you. It allows you to choose what you do and do not what to see in your news and timeline. So if you're tired of seeing it every time your spandex-loving friend clicks "like" on a post by 80s rockers Enuff Z Nuff, then go ahead and uncheck "Comments and Likes" for that friend.

Now, when you use your brains instead of leaving them at the door, you can work out the truth behind a lot of these rumors and misconceptions. But if your brains need help (mine do sometimes), you can always do a Google search to find out more information. Or visit the Help page on Facebook. Or you can follow computer experts like the people at Sophos to see what those in the know are saying. There's always help out there. So go get help from people qualified to give it. (That's probably not your third cousin who is a nice guy, even though he was inbred.)

Bottom line: Don't be tempted to pass along information unless you've checked it out first to see if it's true. You'll save yourself a whole lot of trouble. And you'll look as brilliant as Einstein compared to the people who don't think about what they're copying and pasting and forwarding. Remember, a mind is a terrible thing to waste...especially if it's yours.

The Muse Reviews: Treasure from the Storm by Ellen Sherrill

2011-09-26T08:30:00.000-05:00

A delightful Christian historical romance written by a talented author/friend of mine.

Apart from Diana Gabaldon's Outlander, which arguably is partly science fiction/fantasy with its time travel elements, I simply don't read many romances, no matter what kind they are. I am not the typical romance reader. But I do like a good book with characters that stand out and impress themselves into my memory. And that's what you get when you read Treasure from the Storm.

Ellen Sherrill is one of those authors who comes up with characters that leap off the pages. And that makes reading Treasure from the Storm a delight. From the moment you see heroine Sugar Magnolia in action, you will fall in love with her. (So will Noah, the man she tends back to health, but more on that later.)

One of the challenges a romance author faces is that it's not easy to write heroines who stand out. The more unique the heroine is, the harder it may be for readers to imagine themselves in the heroine's shoes. But a heroine who is too bland can turn off people who read for more than just a casual fantasy. This is why I don't read romances much.

But Sherrill masterfully pushes aside this dilemma by creating characters, like Sugar, who are so likable and relatable that you end up rooting for them. It's like watching a good friend in a happy relationship. You just root for them to win. Sugar becomes that kind of a friend to the reader: she's a hard worker; she's a fighter who has faced hardship but is determined to rise above it; she is kind to people that society normally tosses aside. Like I said, you'll just like her.

When she finds a man washed up on the shore during a terrible hurricane, she risks herself to rescue him and nurses him back to health. He finally wakes, and discovers he has amnesia. This is a common trope, but in Sherrill's hands, you won't mind, because Noah (as he decides to call himself) is also likable. He's polite and caring; he engages with everyone on the staff, playing no favorites; and he is clearly a gentleman. (What female reader wouldn't love that?)

In pursuing their interest in each other, Sugar and Noah have to contend with the possibility that he'll recover his memories and discover that he is not free to pursue her, for any number of reasons. And if he doesn't recover his memories, what will he do for a living? In his "Noah Doe" state, he has no money, no prospects, and no idea what to do with himself. After his memory starts to return, other complications arise. Sherrill manages a nice sense of rising and falling action to keep you reading.

The Christian element is present, but not overdone. It's easy to see and believe that faith is a part of the characters' lives, though Sugar has some doubts that arise from her troubled past. And the local pastor does give two short sermons, but they are not overly preachy.

A nice element to the book is the look at what it is like to be a member of a minority (specifically African-American) in Biloxi, a southern stronghold, over a century ago. The subplot ties nicely back into the main plot, and it enriches the overall experience of the novel.

My only criticism is that one of the subplots, featuring an old flame of Sugar's, seems to drop off rather than being tied up neatly. But Sherrill is a growing novelist, and her work stands far above many other Christian novels I've read. So I can overlook this one small flaw.

It needs to be said that Sherrill is a friend of mine. We attended the same writers group while she worked on this novel, her fourth. She is a great person, and I want her to do well. But it also needs to be said that if I didn't like her book, I wouldn't be reviewing it here. With all sincerity, I can highly recommend Treasure from the Storm.

Bottom line: Treasure from the Storm is one of the best Christian romances I have read. I'd read it again for the delightful characters who are so lifelike that I wouldn't be surprised to run into them in the local Walmart. (Or wherever characters from novels hang out.) If you like romances, Christian books, or historical fiction, this one is worth reading. Order it through Westbow Press or Amazon.

Copyright (c) 2011 by Michele Chiappetta. All rights reserved.