Have you heard the theory that there are countless parallel universes, that at particular moments in your life when one decision was made, another universe began with another you who lived the choice you didn't make. What moment in your childhood would change where you are now? Of course, perhaps it the small forgotten decision …
Author: mapelba
I'm a writer, artist, teacher, mother, wife, daughter, friend, coffee addict... What else? A success, a failure, a mess, a fan, a hater of housework, a lover of dogs, a liberal, an obsessive, and a bunch of other things that probably would never occur to me. I reveal myself in more ways in my writings and art than in any list of adjectives. And whoever you are, I hope most of all that you are a reader.
May is here. May is here. Life is stories, and life is fears…
I think the loveliest time of the year is the pub date, I do. Don't you? Course you do! Wait. What? (A gold star to whomever gets the reference in my blog post title.) I'm taking part in Story-a-Day May. Are you? I'll post the stories over at The Fairy Tale Asylum. At the end …
Continue reading May is here. May is here. Life is stories, and life is fears…
The Plague
I'm going to move into my house, set up my work space, and presto! Magic will happen. I'll finish all my art projects and start preparing for my next show. I'll finally know how to write that synopsis. I'll be brilliant. I'll get published. Right? This house business has pushed and shoved over so many …
I’ve read a lo…
I've read a lot of words of wisdom on this synopsis business, but I don't know why I am so horrifically stuck. Hey, I've had a lot of fun writing a DSM for Writers, but that is a distraction. Obviously. So, my desperate act is to ask if anyone out there is a fast reader who likes …
Plum Art
A few years ago when I was asked to have my first art show in a coffee shop, I thought I'd go along with that crazy idea, and that would be that. I'd be able to say I'd had a show. A few years later and I'm Head of Art for Youth Tube at Plum …
A Book Straight Jacket
Okay. Huge thanks to everyone who commented on that last post (or sent a very helpful email). So, I've been trying and retrying to come up with the flap copy for a book that is written but not published. I was using the word synopsis, but it seems to be accurate, I should've just called …
Synopsiphobia Smackdown
So, an agent has asked for a synopsis that reads like a book jacket. I'm not to give too much away, but to sell the story. I feel the same way about a synopsis as I did about an outline in school. But anyway. Here is my dumb idea of the day. Let me rephrase …
“What kind of person writes a book like that?”
This is the question my mother-in-law asked about The Hunger Games. Now, she didn't ask in a harsh judgmental way, but in a true mystified way. My first thought was, "A person like me." She's never read anything I've written, and I'm afraid if I ever get published and she reads my work, she will …
Continue reading “What kind of person writes a book like that?”
Chronicles of Ink and Paper
One agent suggested my novel was young adult. This surprised me because I wasn't trying to write a young adult novel. The main character is a teenager though. But I never thought I was writing for teens. Writing for teens...that's a minefield. Well, it can be. Adults are allowed to read anything without much of …
The Writer’s Map
My writing career is not going anywhere in as much as I've no books published and agents aren't even walking down my street, much less knocking down my door to invite me out. But of all the books written in the world, only a certain number can hit the shelves. Probably what I need to …
Marta Bacon 