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Ever wonder what it's like to be in that moment between struggling artist and published author? Read on and find out.



Monday, September 3, 2012

GUTGAA MEET AND GREET

  

            Some of you may be asking: “What are you doing, Randy? Only one post last week and now we get two in one day. Have you lost your mind?”
            I won’t comment on the possibility that my mind has wandered off on its own – again, but I can tell you about having two posts. Deana Barnhart has kicked off her Gearing Up To Get An Agent event going on all this month. And I’m taking part in this. If you are a writer, you should be too.
            Today is the Meet and Greet for all of the writers who are participating. This gives all of us a wonderful chance to meet some new friends in the writing community. As part of that we are answering a few questions. Here they are:
 

Q: Where do you write? 

A: We happen to have a surplus of bedrooms in our house and one of them has been turned into an office for the purpose of writing and game design. I have a super large window that allows me to keep an eye on the weather and occasionally distracts me when I should be writing. 
 

Q: Quick. Go to your writing space, sit down and look to your left. What is the first thing you see.  

A: Oops, I jumped the gun. I sort of already answered that, but I’ll look anyways. I see – that I need to pull some weeds in my back yard. Also, I think we have a decent chance at getting some rain later on today. 
 

Q: Favorite time to write.  

A: It used to be late at night after everyone went to bed. Sometimes it still is. However, I find that in the morning, right after I drop the kids off at school, is the most productive time for me to write. 
 

Q: Drink of choice while writing? 

A: My favorite is Dr. Pepper. However, that has been replaced by . . . Water. I know that’s not a very exciting answer. Maybe I should substitute it with something like: I enjoy the occasional Pangalactic Gargle-Blaster. 
 

Q: When writing, do you listen to music or do you need complete silence? 

A:  Silence? What’s that? I have a house full of children. It really depends on my mood. Most of the time I keep it as quiet as possible when I write. Once in a while, I pick a song that I think reflects the atmosphere of the story I’m writing and I’ll play that for inspiration. For example, when I wrote Hellathon I played Hair of the Dog over and over. 
 

Q: What was your inspiration for your latest manuscript and where did you find it? 

A: If you spend any time, specifically Monday’s, checking out my blog you will quickly find out that I have been blessed with a really active imagination. Inspiration for story ideas come to me all the time and the how of it really varies. 

That being said, the short story I sold last month was based on the parameters the publisher set down – introduce the zombie apocalypse to a classic fairy tale. Easy-peasy. 
 

Q: What’s your most valuable writing tip? 

A: I don’t know if this is my most valuable tip, but it is the one that I most often offer to the wonderful ladies in my critique group. Write it and move on. Obviously, you want to fix any major flaws in the plot, but the truth of the matter is that there are thousands of ways the story can be written and the majority of them work. Don’t spend the next six years rewriting the story to be perfect. Have a vision for your story. Write it. Revise it for errors. Move on.

 

30 comments:

  1. Welcome, Randy, and best wishes!

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  2. Wow. I’m reading about all these people who write with a bunch of kids, and I’m thinking: Good for you! One day I’ll probably be there, and I’ll look back and think of how amazing y’all are. =)

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    1. Wouldn't that be great. Thanks for stopping by.

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  3. Dr. Pepper is soooo good, but water is definitely better for you! ;) Can totally relate to a house full of kids. Good luck!

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    1. LOL. Thanks. The best of luck to you as well.

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  4. I like your advice. For me, rewriting and revising can go on forever if I'm not careful. Nice to meet you!

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    1. That advice comes from having two wonderfully talented writers in my critique group who have been working on the same story for 6 years.

      Nice to meet you as well.

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  5. Also a water drinker whilst writing kind of person. :) Good luck in GUTGAA!

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    1. Then I'll raise a glass of water in a toast to us water drinkers.LOL. Thanks for visiting. The best of luck to you as well.

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  6. Cool post. May I ask which fairy tale? I am a bit of a fairy tale fanatic. :) Nice to meet you!

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    1. Thanks.

      I picked "The Little Flower Girl." It turned out pretty good but tragic. Then again both the original fairy tale and the publishers normal offerings encourage a story with a tragic ending. The title is Matches.

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  7. Zombie apocalypses and classic fairy tales... Wow! Nice to meet you! I'm one of the first-round judges, and I can't wait to read everyone's amazing submissions!

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    1. I thought it was an interesting mix. Normally, I don't write horror or zombie apocalypse stuff, but this was a lot of fun.

      Nic to meet you too.

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  8. Pangalactic Gargle-Blaster...hahahahahaha. That made me lol.

    I'm your newest follower. *waves* Very nice to meet you!!

    AA
    http://anallegedauthor.blogspot.com

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    1. A new follower. How awesome. I'm glad you stopped by.

      I should have put a disclaimer that the Pangalactic Gargle-Blaster was actually something that Keith Laumer wrote. It was a nod to my favorite series of books.

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  9. Hi Randy! Nice to see you participating here. Good luck in the contests.

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    1. Hey Nicole. How ya doin? Cool to see you involved as well. Thanks for taking the time to post a comment.

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  10. Ah! I'm the 100th follower! What do I win?? haha

    So nice to meet you :)

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    1. Wow! 100 followers. That sort of snuck up on me. How incredibly awesome.

      Hmm . . . What do you think you should win?

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  11. Loved reading your meet and greet! and very entertaining holiday concept :)

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    1. Thank you. As always, you offer the nicest comments.

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  12. I love your "lool ma, I have a blog" picture. Pure awesome. I'm a new follower, because I want to judge your imagination for myself. :) Nice to meet you!

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    1. Thank you. New followers are awesome. Nice to meet you as well. I'll be interested in finding out how imaginative you decide I am.

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  13. I'm with you. I've had some wonderful critique partners. :)

    http://otherworlddiner.blogspot.com/2012/09/deana-barnharts-gearing-up-to-get-agent.html

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    1. They do make a difference. Glad you have been as fortunate in that sense as I have been. Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment.

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  14. I'm a little late to the party, but I hear you on endless revisions. I once had a college professor tell me, "You can't have perfection. You can only have excellence." BUT it's hard to let that bone go...

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    1. Better late than never. Thanks for the comment. It is definately hard to let our babies go.

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  15. Love your advice. Nice to meet you.

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    1. Thank you. And it's wonderful to meet you as well. :)

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