My art is almost always black and white. Some people tell me to do more in color. Some people make it clear they would like my if it were in color. I like color, but I don't like what I do with color. Not when it comes to real paper and ink. But I've been …
Category: effort
Editing: The Mutant Virus Edition
If you want to be a published author, you have to edit your work. No matter the publishing path, editing is along the way. Sometimes editing makes me feel like I know what I'm doing. Really. I see the problem. Take my pen to it. Look at the page and see all those marks, and …
Plum Monday: Perspective
The troubles in the world overwhelm some days. My own troubles take enough energy, don't you think? Well, not really. I mean, they take lots of energy, but I don't have to worry about if I will eat. Perspective. Perspective may be one of the most commonly lost things. It's late. Do you know where …
The Wish Gods
I was nine when I understood what people meant by, "Be careful what you wish for." I'd wish for my dad to get married. Well, okay. Maybe the expression should be, "Be careful what you wish for unless you're very, very specific." If I'd known that at nine, I'd have wished for my dad to …
Investaphobia
No one in the history of the universe invests money in a company knowing they're going to lose all said money. Oh, some people may invest in losers because they know how to actually get more money later--yeah, real estate nightmare, anyone--but the plan is to make money eventually. People lose money of course. Plans …
Bad Stories and Good Fans
The other night I watch a documentary about a movie I haven't seen. Well, the title Best Worst Movie caught my attention. And I had, at least, heard of Troll 2. Have you seen Troll 2? Even if you haven't, watch the documentary. At one point, people in the film talk about how something badly …
A Mermaid Story
I came across a site I quite like, and the fellow over there is having a flash fiction writing challenge--a fairy tale upgrade in less than 1,000 words. The site is terribleminds. The fairy tale upgrade is this. The Mermaid There are other fish in the sea and June Mintz is a fish that keeps …
The Light around the Corner
Sending your work out into the world is an adventure--no matter the path. E-publishing is a widening path these days, but that doesn't make it easy. Friend and colleague, Niamh Clune, launched her book a few weeks back, and due to technical difficulties, has had to launch the book again. Many lessons learned, including--Amazon isn't …
Measuring Your World
Do you know when you've gotten better at writing? I don't. Sure, if you're published you could look at sale numbers, but that's not he same thing as getting better. That's getting more popular. Anyway, three days a week I go to quad speed skate practice. I used to be one the slowest. Well, the …
Brimming Over
Sometimes the mind just brims over with ideas. Do you ever have trouble deciding what to focus on or what to pursue? I'm going to pursue as many as I can. One is the idea of a princess detective. I want to try to write a princess that isn't what most people think. I'm writing …
Marta Bacon 