tea & ink

What Are You Meant to Do?

2011-09-07T18:18:00.000-07:00

What are you meant to do? If you could sum up your greatest yearning, in one word, what would that word be?

I have pondered and wondered and been completely stumped by this question for a long time. But I have finally boiled it down all my ideas and urges into one word:

Storyteller.

Now, that word has some negative connotations, at least for me, in the vein of: Don't be a storyteller! (you know, a liar! lol).

I'm trying to re-vamp that in my head.

I tell stories when writing, when drawing, when doing anything creative. The story I'm telling when working on my home? Cozy. My story when I'm at the computer in my office? That one's harder. Vision, maybe. Or even cohesive. The story changes frequently when I'm in my office because I wear a lot of hats in there! (yep, it's just me and a big honkin' coat-rack in there, trying to get something done!)

My visual, in trying to change my internal connotation of the word "storyteller," is that of a fireside shaman, relating the stories of her tribe. There might be feathers in my hair. I like feathers. But I am magical, creating stories from words and gestures; using pictures to record memories and lessons.

Here's how I think of it: waaaaaay back in the day (which, according to Dane Cook, was a Wednesday), everyone had a job. Hunter. Gatherer. Medicine Man. Chief. Council Member. And later: Seamstress/Tailor. Tanner. Blacksmith. But there's always someone to entertain as well. To record group memories, to help shape the culture going forward based on the lessons and stories of the ancestors.

Shaman. Bard. Poet. Playwright. Painter. Sculptor. Actor. Designer.

Nowadays, "creative" will do. I am constantly telling stories. Daydreaming. Writing. Drawing. Coloring. Inking. Teaching. Relating an anecdote. I cannot stop from doing it--it is as natural and second-nature as breathing! I'm surprised I don't have stories oozing from my pores!

The word "storyteller" immediately put me at ease, made me nod. Yes, that is my word.

I am a storyteller.

So, what are YOU meant to do? What's your word? Tell me!

The Organized Writer

2011-05-01T20:06:00.000-07:00

So I'm often referred to as anal retentive and no where is that more helpful than when I'm writing! I'm just like anyone else though: if it's too complicated, I'm not going to keep up with it. So here are the things I'm currently using and some tips to go along.

1. Spreadsheets. I love excel and making spreadsheets. So neat and organized and lined. I use a spreadsheet with lots of tabs for tracking my writing ideas as well as my (meager) writing income from ads, Today's Mama (pay per click), Amazon Associates and Kindle subscriptions. But the first tab is for post ideas. This way, as soon as I have an idea, I add it to the list and I'm not wracking my brains later for a topic. I have lately been sidetracked by graphic design but normally, I like to regularly post on each of my three blogs. I label each idea with which blog it will go on, what type of post it will be (in order to keep my overall blog subjects focused, I have a list of post types for each of my blogs) and where else I can blurb or advertise that post. I also note any contacts in relation to a post or article. I ALSO color code my entries. They are yellow until I write the post. I change the color to green if I have written and posted it but still need to put that post somewhere else or need to notify someone that the post is up. I remove all color so it's white when I am completely done with the post.

2. Calendar....OK, which I made with excel. This way if I have a strangely open hour or two and I write feverishly, I can spread out my posts. I also mark the pub dates of all the books I get from freshfiction.com so I know what order to read them in (oldest pub dates first). Really, this can be so helpful to see at a glance which days you've schedule posts. I highly recommend it.

3. Daily schedule. I have an atrocious habit of doing things as they strike me, so scared am I of forgetting to do something. I try to work against it by giving myself certain days for writing to certain blogs. I also designate certain days for cleaning, laundry and grocery shopping. It helps me to focus on the task at hand---I can tell myself "Yes, there's laundry to do, but laundry day is Monday, today is Saturday, so let's finish up this post." Sometimes, things get away from me and I find myself not writing in order to do dishes that have been sitting for a few hours, but really (truly!) I get MORE done by following a schedule. Otherwise, I'm doing dishes, then wiping down counters, then stopping to run something to its rightful place upstairs, then pausing to wipe at that spot on the mirror, etc etc and basically doing everything but BICHOK (butt in chair, hands on keys). In other words, for me, a general routine helps me to write instead of spin my wheels. It also means I can work on posts in the morning and my novel in the afternoon. (which I haven't been doing lately!) Also helpful: I've realized now what is reasonable and what is unreasonable in terms of expectations for my daily time with kids, their nap times and running errands. For example, I will probably not be writing for Technorati anymore, nor will I be copying and pasting my blog posts into Bloggy Moms---there isn't enough time in my week!

All in all, you need to do what works for you, what is easiest and what dovetails with your natural inclinations/habits/lifestyle. But overall, I highly recommend some kind of organizational system, especially if you are a freelancer.

**UPDATED with LINKS:*

Please also see Kim Harrison's character grid (which is excellent!) and Eclectics.com Fiction Writer's Character Chart.

What do you do to keep organized?

Book Review: The Art and Craft of Fiction: A Practitioner's Manual

2011-04-21T21:45:00.000-07:00

I have just finished The Art & Craft of Fiction: A Practitioner's Manual by Victoria Mixon.

If you are a writer, this must be on your desk. Must. Go. Buy it. Yes, I mean right now! Hit that Amazon link and get to clickin'!

The best way I can describe this is that it is like having a tutor right beside you. Victoria's voice is clear, funny and informative yet personal at the same time; it's like she's sitting right beside you, reading your mind, anticipating your questions, voicing things you knew you knew and encouraging you onward! Every time I paused to read some of Victoria's book, I want to highlight, note and then drop it in favor of writing. And you know, when I finished, I thought, WAIT how am I going to find that one note I made? Will I have to go back and scan and scan to find it? But no, because of course, Ms.Mixon thought of everything: there's an index. Yay! :)

Topics covered: character, dialog, tension, plot, writing moods, and punctuation and grammar (an invaluable resource!)

Event: Flannery O'Connor

2011-04-14T18:34:00.000-07:00

I received a newsletter from my alma mater, College of Notre Dame of Maryland (soon to be College of Notre Dame University!) and it had some interesting things on the calendar. The one on Catholic writers that I was really interested in was only 4 days away from the day I received the newsletter, so I was a little annoyed at not having enough time to get things together to attend that! However, they are also having an exhibit:

Flannery O'Connor: Letters from Andalusia Exhibit,

February 28 to April 23,

Loyola/Notre Dame Library

Baltimore, MD

Here's what the newsletter had to say:

"Writer Flannery O'Connor holds a special place in the hearts of the Notre Dame community, as the most important female Catholic writer of the 20th century, and as a treasured correspondent of poet and English professor, Maura Eichner, SSND '41."

I'm just gonna stop there and point out that she is important to Notre Dame because CND of M is the last all-women's Catholic college in Maryland. So they have a little smidge of a feminist thing going on there. :) Also, for those that don't know, that "SSND" stands for "School Sisters of Notre Dame," which is a religious order. The nuns live in a convent down the street from the college. It wasn't until the college level of my Catholic education that I ever ran into nuns as teachers! :) They're pretty cool people! lol

"A new exhibit (Feb.28 to Apr.23) at Loyola/Notre Dame Library highlights O'Connor's unique relationship with Notre Dame, focusing on her letters to Sister Maura in 1963 and early 1964. After meeting Sister Maura and speaking to her class during an October 1963 visit to camus, O'Connor wrote to a friend: 'Every school I go to I end up with more friends among the Sisters--all highly individual too...the one who runs the writing program at Notre Dame of Maryland is Sister Maura, a poet. As poets, when they are good they are very, very good and when they are horrid--she is good.' "

It goes on to talk about Sister Kathleen Feeley, SSND '50, who wrote a book about O'Connor entitled "Flannery O'Connor: Voice of the Peacock." Sister Kathleen had corresponded with O'Connor's family and friends for research for the book, which are all on display. Really cool? I was awarded the Sister Kathleen Feeley Scholarship while I was at school and met her during a luncheon for the scholarship recipients.

I should really read some Flannery O'Connor. Kinda shameful that I haven't!

Should "Real Authors" Steer Clear of Self-Publishing?

2011-03-23T05:39:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, I wrote a post about self-publishing vs. traditional publishing. I’m not counting traditional publishing out by any means, but I dislike all the brouhaha that is going on which seems to express indignation on the part of the publishers in reference to self-publishers. In short, I thought publishers were coming across as desperate, whiny and immature.

But then I read a blog post by author Jody Hedlund on the subject and she made some valid points. She is definitely pro-traditional publishing, saying, “The truth is, self-publishing marketing is NOT equal to the marketing done by traditional publishers. For all the talk about how ALL authors everywhere have to bear ALL the burden of marketing, it’s just NOT true.” I was initially shocked by that definitive statement and immediately felt rebellious! Lol But I continued to read and I’m glad I did!

One thing in particular struck me, when she said that the publishing house’s contacts had been invaluable, stating, “My publisher, because of their size and reputation, could collectively accomplish SO much more than I could as one individual. They were able to get my book in most major book stores, distributors, and retailer catalogs. They were able to send out ARCs and books to key book buyers, reviewers, influencers, bloggers, etc.”

Now, stubborn me, playing the devil’s advocate, I keep thinking, but isn’t that why I’m building a platform now? Couldn’t I do book give-aways and fish for beta readers? (no pun intended!) Isn’t that why I’m doing all this blogging and writing and tweeting and reading about craft?? So I can hopefully write a book that will encourage word-of-mouth recommendations and I can tweet about it and have people rush to buy it? Lol

Ok, I totally see her point, I know it’s not going to be that easy and I have read about authors who have said it was difficult getting their book into big name bookstores because the managers wouldn’t hear anything past, “I am a first time self-published author---“ They didn’t want self-published; they thought it was vanity publishing and turned them down flat. And the tiny independent bookstores, as helpful as they might be, just don’t produce the same sales numbers as a chain or Amazon potentially could. Even then, you’ve got to promote promote promote….take a breather and then promote some more.

HOWEVER, that almost sounds better to me then what I read on another of Jody’s posts, entitled, “Is the Query System Dying?” Her statistic is astounding, are you ready?

“My agent, Rachelle Gardner,” says Ms. Hedlund, “shared some statistics last week. This was one of them: ‘Queries received in 2010: around 10,000. New clients taken on from query (no referral): 0.’ “

I know. Pick your jaw up off the floor, you’re getting drool on your shirt.

That doesn’t exactly inspire optimism, does it??

Where the heck does a writer go from here? We are obviously inspired by the success of the likes of Amanda Hocking, (whom I’ve mentioned several times!) who was so defeated by the publishing system she self-pubbed both electronically and in print. Word of mouth helped her grassroots effort as did something else: the ability to provide people with the next in a series almost immediately! Ms. Hocking had written 6 books I believe and was able to release them within weeks of each other, satisfying the short attention span of the tweeting, media consuming public. She herself has mentioned that maybe that was helpful! I can see the logic of that.

But Ms. Hedlund suggests that books are getting published because of networking, that all of Ms. Gardner’s new accounts are from referrals from current clients, from within the publishing industry, etc.

So, the moral of the story is: keep tweeting. Keep blogging. Connect with your favorite writers, comment them, tweet them, get to know other up and coming authors and friend those agents! Because, apparently, it’s all in who you know, not in how well you write!

As a Writer, What Fiction Should I Be Reading?

2011-03-22T11:23:00.000-07:00

You know, two of my high school classmates (that I know of…that I’m still friends with…) are writers. When I first started connecting with people online a few years ago, I was stunned and amazed at their pursuit of the writerly profession. A little intimidated. Ok, maybe a tad jealous.

One, I will call E, she writes historical fiction and writes a fabulous blog: professional, thoughtful, intellectual. I wanted to be her. I felt like I was in high school again, striving to be in with the cool kids. She read intellectual fare and I, at first, thought, “Is this what I should be reading? Is this what good writers read?” Shouldn’t I love Faulkner , quote from Yeats , memorize Whitman? (I’ve been reading the poetry issue of O, Magazine!) I’ve never read Austen (although I love “her” movies! Lol), never owned a Sylvia Plath or read Ayn Rand or Tolstoy.....

What did it say about me that my favorite authors were Stephenie Meyer, JK Rowling, Charlaine Harris and Anne Bishop? (Let’s not forget Kim Harrison and Diana Gabaldon!!) These ladies are all fabulous writers---best-sellers to boot!---but are they on par with the aforementioned greats? Shouldn't my favorite novels be The Great Gatsby or Farewell to Arms or
Anna Karenina?

After many weeks of trying to alter my reading habits and trying to alter my writing style, so it was more intellectual, polished and striving to be literature, I realized very abruptly: that is not my voice. That is not what I am trying to say. I am trying to say: action, adventure, wit, sarcasm, romance, heat, crazy good plotting, writing structure---in short, I am saying many things but “literature,” ain’t one of them! I write what I love to read. I love E, I love her work, I think she is a beautiful person, but I am not her. You’d think this would be common sense, but don’t we all, as writers, strive to imitate someone (consciously or unconsciously?).

Furthermore, I realized I do have a love of “literature,” just not E’s kind. I liked the VERY old dead white guys. I looked on my bookshelves and noticed what I had kept from college: Plato. Ovid. Shakespeare. Homer. Aeschylus. Marcus Aurelius. This is where I feel comfortable I think because I expect dry, deep, intense and intellectual from these guys. (I don’t mean to sound insulting when I use the word “dry.” I guess I mean, not flowing, lyrical prose, not usually, but more to the point without excessive adjectives…dry!) When I get in bed at night, or settle down at my farmhouse kitchen table with a cup of tea and a sandwich, I want to get swept away. I want to get drawn in immediately; I want to be eager to return. I learned some very old writing advice first-hand: write what you know. I don’t read high-brow, contemporary literature. I write action fantasty/sci-fi.

And I’m happy with that.

So what do you read?

Post Showcase: Will OnSwipe be the Mobile Publishing Platform... ?

2011-03-07T07:00:00.000-08:00

Copyblogger site

I am a gadget girl. I love trying new things, hitting the buttons, muttering "now, what does this do??"

So when my daily copy of copyblogger appeared in my email box, I was intrigued to see this headline:

Will OnSwipe be the Mobile Publishing Platform of Choice for the New Influencers? Of course, anything that has the word "publsihing" in it catches my eye!

Here's the idea: all those places where you publish content, like Twitter and Facebook and that photsharing site yo use? OnSwipe will be like a TweetDeck for your touch device! All of those content items will be all together in a NON-app, customizable way for your content recipients.

Very exciting and I don't (yet) own a touch anything! lol

No release date was published.

OnSwipe.com

OnSwipe blog

Blog Showcase: StoryADay

2011-03-06T09:00:00.000-08:00

http://storyaday.org/

StoryADay is this wonderful little place that is crammed full of goodies! Not unlike what I hope to do (although more focused and, if you can believe it, even more organized than I!) this site offers help, inspiration, spurring-on, groups, challenges and resources. I believe I was sucked in accidentally on Twitter, when someone re-Tweeted something they had posted and I checked it out. Their current post: How To Become An Insanely Productive Writer...I mean, who doesn't want to know that?? Good stuff here!

Also, a heads up and perfect timing: their Story a Day May is coming up! You write a story a day, as many words (or as few) as you'd like! This is like writing bootcamp, I believe the author refers to it as! lol Keeps your mind and your story muscles working! I'm not sure if I have enough time (i.e. I'm brave enough!!) to try it but I encourage all you young single types to go right ahead! ;)

Creative Theming: Birthdays

2011-03-05T23:09:00.000-08:00

So how do you feel about birthdays? Love 'em? Hate 'em? Ignore 'em? What do you think about? A particularly aweome one or a particularly hideous one? Do you remember the gifts or the people?
What are your favorite things about birthdays? (ok, except for the gifts people!)
Take it and run peeps!! :) Have fun! Write, draw, photograph and meet me back here! Getting some sort of linking tool set up soon!
:)

Image credit: di_the_huntress

p.s. I totally have an ulterior motive: my bday is March 7th, so naturally, whenever I think of March, I think of birthdays!! My niece's is St. Patty's day, so March is the month my friends! :)

Technical Difficulties---POOF!-- all gone!

2011-03-05T23:00:00.000-08:00

Thanks for all the feedback and help guys! :) Everything should be functioning properly now! No more pop-up comment box either, it was taking forever to load!
More updates coming tomorrow!
Check out the new link to the uber-cool Art Project powered by Google down near my links---it is a picture link. I have my own "collection" started and it should take you right to it!
Enjoy!

Please Excuse Me...

2011-03-04T16:27:00.000-08:00

...but I seem to be experiencing some technical difficulties! First it was just when you clicked on a post title, the comments were riding up and overlapping! If that wasn't annoying enough, now my posts are overlapping each other!! GGGRRRRRRRRRR.
Trust me, I am working on it, have been all week and hopefully will have some html help on Sunday. Anyone that can help, let me know please!! This just abruptly started happening this week, I cannot figure out what is happening!
Thanks!
:)

Article Response: Do Authors Make Good Publishers?

2011-03-02T15:07:00.000-08:00

I just finished reading "Do Authors Make Good Publishers?" on e-reads. Although it is two months old, I was a little flabbergasted. Richard Curtis seems to think the answer to that is "no."

Really?

Has anyone heard of Amanda Hocking? I started reading her in December right before, literally about two weeks, before her books exploded in popularity and she sold over 100,000 books in one month! I have managed to be able to touch base with her now and again on Twitter and on her blog. She was rejected many times by literary agents and publishers and so frustrated was she, she published on her own with Amazon, Smashwords and B&N. She is now a self-made millionare in less than a year at the age of 26!
Most of Mr. Curtis's argument stems from the fact that he believes an editor, PR, cover art and formatting of the ebook material to just be too overwhelming and would prohibit the author from doing what they do best, which is writing. It's far too complicated for just one person to handle and hey, you are the writer, you should be writing, right? Don't let these other things take you away from that!

Whatever, dude.

I have read a TON on publishing and its process. I can tell you this: it's time consuming whether you have help or not! If you are the author, it doesn't matter whether you are scheduling and planning your own local bookstore tour or if the publisher gives you a book tour budget (highly unlikely as a first time writer and less likely as time goes on even for even established writers...) you as the author still have to do all the schmoozing, the standing, the signing, the picture posing and the traveling. You, as the author, still have to participate in the interviews, fill out the email questionnaires, answer the phone calls and skype with the big contacts all while reading other authors so you can blurb for them as a courtesy for them blurbing for you.
When you are publishing a book, there is work involved. Don't act like once we finish a book, our work is done, Mr. Curtis.

And don't act like you are invaluable. It sounds like the publishing industry is desperately grabbing at straws as they see their meal tickets sliding away when once these same authors clamored for the publishing industry's attention. We would agonize over who we were sending our precious manuscripts to and the literary agents had so much reading material, there are rumors of stacks two and three feet high of slush.
It sounds more like the publishing industry is miffed that there is a new kid and they are no longer the popular ones.

I understand Mr. Curtis does not speak for the whole of the publishing world; he is not their voted on spokesperson. However, he is obviously a publishing insider and one wonders how many others share his view. This is rapidly turning into an us vs. them issue, rather then a "there is no 'I' in 'team'" type mentality. How dare we try to go off and do it on our own? The publishing process is sacrosanct and all the professionals involved are necessary players that absolutely must be involved in the process.

I've always been an independent spirit. I'm not one for burning my bridges but I am in the process of completing my first manuscript and I will be thinking long and hard about the route I'd like to take!

Publishing: Book Bloggers Can Help Sell Your Book...

2011-03-02T07:00:00.000-08:00

I just came across this article on the "Alan Rinzler: Consulting Editor" blog, about the book blogger/author relationship. It's a great article whether you are (or want to be) a book blogger or if you are (or want to be!) and author. Just like Pump Up Your Book!, this is another way for authors to get the word out without a PR person. You can certainly contact book bloggers on your own. Thanks to Amanda Hocking (twitter: @Amanda_Hocking), whose books I have read and cannot wait for more, for pointing this article out....of course, it mentions her, so that's why she knew about it! ;)

Publishing: Pump Up Your Book!

2011-03-01T09:52:00.000-08:00

There has been great debate lately about the effectiveness of a traditional book tour. Unless you're a NYT best seller, the publishers are generally not giving you a book tour budget! You'll be lucky to get a press budget at all! Most authors do it themselves nowadays and of course, hiring a PR person is expensive. However, without one, how far can you realistically get?

I literally stumbled upon (no pun intended!) this site, Pump Up Your Book!, that promotes your book with a variety of tools including an Online Book Tour! What a cool idea! They have a variety of packages. I can't help but think that this group is right on the money! I'm definitely bookmarking them for future use! Their services include a book tour banner just for you, stops at 20 highly trafficked book blogs, many of which are syndicated. Depending on your package choice, you could have a personalized tour page, book trailer created and more! Prices range from $399-$799. They also have a presence on Facebook, just click on their icon to get to that page.

tea & ink: Now Available on Kindle!!

2011-02-28T13:47:00.000-08:00

I am slowly but surely getting things together on tea & ink, but it's a lot of work, especially when I'm still trying to post regularly on both blogs, participate in a blog challenge and contribute to other blogs!! lol

I have added the ability to add links and pics (I LOVE being able to showcase a picture of something so you know what I'm talking about!) via Amazon.

I have added tea & ink to networked blogs, via Facebook, for another way to get your tea & ink fix!

And finally, I have added tea & ink to the Kindle, so you can get it and tote it around with you! :) LaLa Land is also available on Kindle!

If you would be so kind as to contribute a review of either or both of my blogs on amazon, I would be immensely grateful! After all, good reviews beget more readers! And nobody likes to feel like they're writing to nobody! lol

Writing Prompt: One Pet Peeve That Shouldn't Drive You Crazy....

2011-02-28T08:50:00.000-08:00

...but it does!!

My husband does not prepare for anything. Ever.

I should have realized this would be an issue when he arrived at the church and realized neither he nor his brother, the best man, had the rings. (Really, red light here! His BROTHER forgot too?? Obviously a genetic misfire!)

I am an anal retentive planner who always has what’s next swirling through my head. And honestly, if you follow my process, I try to make my life as easy and routine oriented as possible. (in other words, just do what I tell you and everything will go smoothly!).

I’m not a control freak, really I’m not (I see your skeptically raised eyebrows!).

I am what is called an “independent spirit.” I don’t want to control you (I actually see that as a complete pain in my butt to be trying to get people to do things…you know, like my 6 year old. It’s miserable! Why would I seek that out??) I do not seek out control but don’t mess with ME and MY systems or someone is going to get hurt!

Case in point: my husband is traveling today. Flight at 7pm. Monday is my designated laundry day. Yeah, you can see where this is heading. I strip all the beds. Remove all the towels from all the bathrooms. I haul all the laundry baskets downstairs to sort. I head back upstairs to grab the sheets from the landing where I’ve chucked them and hear something in the laundry room. I go back down and peak in. My husband, looking totally guilty and like a fox in the henhouse, is withdrawing his hand from the buttons like, “Oh, was I not supposed to touch that?” The water starts whirring.

“Let me guess, it’s MY laundry day but because you have to travel, you JUST emptied your suitcase from last trip {a good 6 weeks ago!} and now you’re doing YOUR laundry?”

Image credit: Leonid Mamchenkov

He looks indignant.

“I put some of your stuff in there too!”

Great. Even better.

I know he is trying to help. In years past, he’d be frantic and throwing laundry everywhere and demanding to know why I hadn’t done his laundry, he had a FLIGHT {or drill or whatever!}. I coldly informed him I was not his mother, I would not be unloading his suitcase for him and a lack of planning on his part does not constitute an emergency on mine!

I used to get all caught up in his frenzy and be rushing around at 9:30pm the night before drill, desperately trying to find badges and backs to pins and his shoe shine stuff. And then one night I was exhausted and I just stopped and said, “This is YOUR drill. You have a drill schedule. You’ve known since last drill, 5 weeks ago, when this drill was. You chose to wait until the night before to get ready. I’m tired. I’m going to bed!”

He actually tried to tell me I “had” to help him, how was he going to get it all done??

Lesson learned. Sorta. He doesn’t get ready any earlier to spare himself the stress, but he knows better than to ask me to help him get ready when I’m in the midst of household chores, screaming kids and unfinished blog posts. Not happening bub!

So you see, he sees jumping into the midst of my laundry day and doing his OWN laundry as helpful. He sees it as a step forward, he’s made a change. He’s doing it himself and in a totally non-accusatory way!

Humph.

If he’s put some of my stuff in, then I suppose you could call that “help.” And I also suppose that actually trying to get him to do his laundry the night before instead of 4 hours before he has to leave would be like swimming against the current. Towing a boat. In a rainstorm. Doable, but really exhausting, stressful and kind of nonsensical.

Truly, most of the time, him doing his own thing doesn’t bother me, unless his slap-dashery that makes due as his routine does the cha-cha all over my routine, then I boil. I can’t help it. I just do!

The Interro--what?!

2011-02-25T16:18:00.000-08:00

Ever heard of the interrobang? Me neither! A fellow blogger (which one now escapes me, I'm sorry!) mentioned in her post she wished she could "interrobang" and I thought, "she wha--?" Luckily she provided a link! :) Smart woman.

According to wiki (which we all know is NOT a reliable and true source when doing real research, right?....right??) an interrobang is "a nonstandard punctuation mark used in various written languages and intended to combine the functions of the question mark (also called the “interrogative point”) and the exclamation mark or exclamation point (known in printers’ jargon as the “bang”). The glyph is a superimposition of these two marks."

It's a question mark superimposed over an exclamation point, people.

How cool is that?!!

Image credit: http://www.absurdintellectual.com/2009/02/18/interrobang/

Busy Women and Writing

2011-02-25T13:00:00.000-08:00

I belong to SheWrites (I know, I know, my arms ache from how stretched out I am!) and this very interesting article caught my eye, as I'm always interested in the whole mom/woman/writer connection! Enjoy!

Pink and Blue Diaries:

The Insanely Busy Woman’s Guide to Sustaining a Writerly Life

Posted by The Pink and Blue Diaries on February 25, 2011 at 5:30am

Deborah Siegel mashes up YOUR wisdom.

One thing I've long loved about She Writes is the intergenerational breadth of its membership. My post last Friday on Book/Life fit elicited confident wisdom from women writers who have been there, done that; tentative nuggets, based on trial and error, from many of us on the road to figuring it out; and one wisely skeptical nugget from fellow She Writer and cultural commentator Katha Pollitt, who wrote:

“[M]ale writers don't write these articles about how busy they are. They don't feel guilty if they do their work. They simply claim the time and the family has to deal with it.”

Read the rest on SheWrites--->

I am a Technorati Writer!!

2011-02-25T09:18:00.000-08:00

Article first published as Not Enough Women in UK Board Rooms on Technorati

*horns blaring*

My first article is UP on Technorati!! Go check me out, it looks all professional and such!!
It is about a report put out about UK boardrooms and their lack of female directors and what they recommend be done about it!

Look at me, all newsie and whatnot!
Now that my blogs are falling neatly into line and the design is coming together, more writing, less blogging lulls, ok? ok!

February Creative Theming

2011-02-23T14:39:00.000-08:00

In case you missed it, this month's theme is LOVE.

That means, send me your photos, your haikus, your stream of consciousness, your whatever! It has to be on love. However, it can be on ANYthing about love. Maybe it's more "love hurts" for you, rather than "sticky sweet love" or "humma humma love" or even "my adorable family love." That's ok. Whatever strikes you about the word love, give me some output! It's like word association! I say LOVE! You say......

You have until midnight, February 28th before I close up shop on this theme and move on to the next one.

NEXT MONTH:
March is Birthday month. Send me a creative item on birthdays. Are they nostalgic? Does one stand out? Is there a particular item that screams "birthday" at you? A funny rhyming poem on how age is just a number? A photo of a brand new baby on their day of birth? See? Lots of options! :) Can't wait to see 'em!

Creative Theming Details.....

2011-02-23T14:24:00.000-08:00

DIRECTIONS:
Over under my Labels or Categories, you'll see the themes listed by month, directing you to the original post.
Send me your entry via email and I will add it to the body of the post for the month.
I will include your name and a link to your blog or website, where I encourage you to post it as well.

Please take a copy of the Creative Theming button {coming soon!!} on the home page of my site for your own site or blog or for each Creative Theming item and link it back to me.

Why am I not using Linky tools or some other such device?

Because I thought it would look cool to see all the creations one after another in one post. However, if I begin to get a ton of responses and it becomes too much for me, I'll add linky tools. If just kind of sucks to have to travel to a bunch of different sites to see the entries is all!

Here is a running list of the monthly themes:
-2011-

February: Love

March: Birthdays

April: Cliff (as in a drop-off, an edge)

May:

June:

July:

August:

September:

October:

November:

December:

Please Ignore This Weird Post too!

2011-02-23T14:20:00.000-08:00

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You don't need this! Technorati does! put it back! Thank you!

Creative Theming!!

2011-02-07T11:39:00.000-08:00

I am hoping for a variety of artists and writers to tackle this!** :)

DIRECTIONS:

Over under my Labels or Categories, you'll see the themes listed by month, directing you to the original post.

Send me your entry via email and I will add it to the body of the post for the month.

I will include your name and a link to your blog or website, where I encourage you to post it as well.

Please take a copy of the Monthly Themes button {coming soon!!} on the home page of my site for your own site or blog and link it back to me.

*Why am I not using Linky tools or some other such device or software or tool

(or whatever you categorize that as??) ?*

Because I thought it would look cool to see all the creations one after another in one post. However, if I begin to get a ton of responses and it becomes too much for me, I'll add linky tools. If just kind of sucks to have to travel to a bunch of different sites to see the entries is all!

Here is a running list of the monthly themes:

-2011-

February: Love

March: Birthdays

April: Cliff (as in a drop-off, an edge)

May:

June:

July:

August:

September:

October:

November:

December:

A static page with directions will be available here and at the top of my blog as a tab.

Any kind of (non-offensive) artwork will be taken.

DISCLAIMER!!!!

**It is at my sole discretion to reject anything that I don't approve or that I feel doesn't well represent tea & ink. (sorry I have to say that, but I do!)

All copyright will be retained by the artist to use and re-use as often as s/he likes.

I just want permission to post it here! :)

Calling All Creatives!!

2011-02-04T22:33:00.000-08:00

I wanted to do something on a regular basis here on tea & ink that would be fun and help build a community here. And you know what I thought of? (of course you don't, cuz I'm the only one in my head....most days)

I remembered a story I read of a guy who attended comic con every year (Comic Book Convention for those who don't know!). He always took a fresh sketch notebook, a smallish one, and asked the artists that he talked to to sketch him something. He said he found that most were very obliging but complained about having to come up with something on their own, with a line of people waiting. So he came up with themes! Every year at comic con, he would go home with a sketchbook full of sketches by some of the best comic book artists in the industry, all on one theme. I remember he said one year, he told them all, "cliff." Some drew people jumping, falling, pulling people back up, shoving people over the edge, scaling with a rope, scanning the horizon--he had some examples there in the article. So cool! :)

So I thought I'd do the same thing here, but not just a writing prompt:
what does my one-word prompt inspire in you?
A blog post?
A photo?
A sketch?
Maybe a poem?
Anything you'd like! :)

Now, Imma gonna make up a list of possible themes and we'll do one for each month.
Then I'll get all set the way in which people will add them to my blog! :)
Get brainstormin' people--send me your theme suggestions! :)