Hello. My name is Marta, and I'm an editaholic. I've spent hours editing, gotten lost editing, and been unable to remember what I just wrote after editing. After a long night of editing, I've woken up with strange characters in my head. During my breaks at work, I'd be eating my lunch and sneaking in …
Editing at Night
My novel needs work. Every novel needs work. Pick your favorite novel. Is it perfect in every way? What might make it better?Why do people like poorly written books anyway? I hear this a lot about very popular books, "It's not well written, but..."It must be well written on some level or it would be …
Plum Friday: Self-Sabotage and Support Systems
My publisher has a passion. You see that passion in what Plum Tree supports. Soon, Plum Tree will put out a book and hold an art auction to raise money to help people in Sahel. Where is the Sahel? Here. A piece of my art is part of the auction, too. I know that many …
Continue reading Plum Friday: Self-Sabotage and Support Systems
The Case of the You-Shoulds
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 …
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 …
The Past–there’s always more of it.
A couple years ago I took to writing small bits of memoir in this space. I didn't set out to. Those life stories just fell into place--though I'd never had a desire to write a memoir. It was a writing memoir, every story connecting to the writing. I stopped. Maybe I was repeating myself. Maybe …
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 …
Marta Bacon 