Archive for September, 2006

September 22, 2006 | Writing

I’ll admit it. I’ll be the first to admit it. I’m a Scifi addict. I’m also a tennis addict. A couple of years ago, I was asked to play on Friday nights in a tennis league. I declined. Not because I didn’t want to play, but it was on Friday nights. I watch the Scifi channel on Friday nights. My family knows, they may not understand, but they know not to bother me from 6pm until 10pm, CST.

I, like a lot of people, got hooked on the new Battlestar Galactica series two years ago. It’s great. Hot looking women, strong women and Cylons, human looking ones and the shiny metal ones. The writing is strong, the story lines creative and introspective. Even the original Starbuck, Richard Hatch, from the first Battlestar Galactica has a juicy character.

The new season begins October 6th, and I’ve got a contest going on my website in honor of this program. Details and entry requirements are posted at www.YasminePhoenix.com/contest.

Good Hunting!

September 10, 2006 | Writing

You’ve finish your first draft. You let it sit and season for a couple of weeks while you recuperate from writing. You edit it to the best of your abilities and when you’re finished, you give it to your critique partners for review and comment. You’re really excited, and think you’ve done a really great job, written a story that’s tight, has plenty of tension, sparkling dialogue, two dimensional characters and a proper ending. Your critique partners agree, you’ve got a great story and they loved reading it. However …. There are some ‘little fixes’ that have to be done.

Little fixes my a$*$! To me, a little fix is a couple of typos; making sure your headers are correct; having the correct address for the agent you plan on sending your almost perfect book to, or chipping the polish on your pinky and not being able to remember the nail color name.

Truthfully, little fixes are edits. Why can’t we just call them what they are? Little edits. Little edits that can and will make the difference between an agent thinking you really care about your work being polished enough for them to represent you and sell the blasted book, or an agent believing you wouldn’t take the time to correct the ‘little fixes’ and therefore, why should they offer to represent you. First impressions are very important in this writing business and it is your work that speaks for you. You could look like Shrek’s Princess Fiona, but if you write, edit, revise, and fix the ‘little fixes’, the agent won’t care. Well you may not be doing many speaking engagements, but in the Internet World you can promote your book, post a picture of Halle Berry with red hair, pass it off as you, and no one will care. Your book will sell, your readers will love you, your agent will love you, and it’ll all be because you fixed the ‘little fixes.’