It's Friday again, and time for a 30 word flash of fiction or truth. Tell me something about your book, your WIP, or yourself. Or anything else you can think of, so long as it's 30 words or less. And you can have as many flashes as you wish. So here's mine for today:
1. WIP: Gabriela found the dragon knife that killed the children. The dragon is the same as the one on Papa's ring. Is Papa the killer? ( 24 words)
2. The Freedom Thief: Teen Ben McKenna risks his life as he defies the conventions of slavery in pre-Civil War Kentucky and leads his enslaved friends on a danger-filled journey to find freedom. (30 words)
Why would you want to write about something concerning your novel or WIPs in just 30 words? Because there are times when you need to tell someone ( like an agent at a conference, or the editor you ran into in the elevator) something about your work, and it has to be short and sweet. Very short. And to the point. Here is a good way to look at a 30 word "pitch" or synopsis of your book:
Describe the following:
Protagonist: 2-3 words
Conflict: 3-8 words
Antagonist: 2-3 words
Setting: up to 10 words
With a twist: left over words to equal 30
Example:
When teen psychic Gabriela (protagonist) arrives in a small town with her traveling carnival (setting), she must fight gargoyles, witches, and dragons (conflict) to find a serial killer (antagonist), who just might be her own father. ( the twist) (30 words.)
Try it, it's fun to do and not all that hard. And who knows? A 30-word pitch just might come in handy some day.
Until next time,
That's a wrap.
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Friday, July 26, 2013
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Photo Shoots and Other Stuff
Friday completely slipped by me. It was supposed to be my Friday's Flash day, where, hopefully, you all would post something about yourselves, WIP, or whatever in 30 words or less. Instead, Friday became THE DAY. What day was that, you ask? THE DAY OF THE PHOTO SHOOT. UGH! YUCK! I hate having my picture taken. And not just once, but 130 times. Yep, that's right, one hundred and thirty pictures taken. The worst part? Of those 130, I only liked ONE, and that one...naturally...had a background that couldn't be removed and it looked like I had horns growing out of my head. So forget it. Now that means I have another icky photo shoot scheduled for Wednesday. So Wednesday's photos are a "now or never" situation. Will pick one of those, or will never have a photo of me on display anywhere!
An author friend recently said to me, 'Mikki, we don't really know a lot about you. Why is that?'
Hmmm. Well, in light of that question, here are 7 things you might not know about me, and the first one should explain it all!
1. I'm an introvert. I'm actually a very shy and quiet person, and have to force myself to be otherwise. My 'teacher' persona often takes over and can talk forever, if she thinks she is 'teaching' something of value. Otherwise, this is the main reason I HATE social networking...I'm just not that kind of person.
2. I'm a military brat, and basically grew up all over the US and several foreign countries. At one time, I spoke 3 languages besides English fluently. Not any more, English is hard enough!
3. I sang professionally in Musical Theatre for seven years, from the age of 13 to 19.
4. When I entered the Ph.D program at UC Riverside, I had to take the MMPI (Minnesota Muliphasic Personality Inventory) TWICE: my inventory came out split 50% Logical and 50% Creative. My professors said that was impossible. Second testing was exactly the same. Professors shook their heads and walked away muttering to themselves. I often wondered what the MMPI would say about them...
5. To emphasize this MMPI thingy, I taught Sociology, Statistics and Research Methodology at the University level, and became a professional artist at the same time.
6. I rode my Appaloosa mare to both National and World championships the same year that I became a grandmother for the second time.
7. I sold my first poetry at the age of 10, my first short story at 12, and a book of Haiku poetry while I was in college.
Well, there you go! Seven things you probably didn't know about me.
Until next time,
That's a wrap.
An author friend recently said to me, 'Mikki, we don't really know a lot about you. Why is that?'
Hmmm. Well, in light of that question, here are 7 things you might not know about me, and the first one should explain it all!
1. I'm an introvert. I'm actually a very shy and quiet person, and have to force myself to be otherwise. My 'teacher' persona often takes over and can talk forever, if she thinks she is 'teaching' something of value. Otherwise, this is the main reason I HATE social networking...I'm just not that kind of person.
2. I'm a military brat, and basically grew up all over the US and several foreign countries. At one time, I spoke 3 languages besides English fluently. Not any more, English is hard enough!
3. I sang professionally in Musical Theatre for seven years, from the age of 13 to 19.
4. When I entered the Ph.D program at UC Riverside, I had to take the MMPI (Minnesota Muliphasic Personality Inventory) TWICE: my inventory came out split 50% Logical and 50% Creative. My professors said that was impossible. Second testing was exactly the same. Professors shook their heads and walked away muttering to themselves. I often wondered what the MMPI would say about them...
5. To emphasize this MMPI thingy, I taught Sociology, Statistics and Research Methodology at the University level, and became a professional artist at the same time.
6. I rode my Appaloosa mare to both National and World championships the same year that I became a grandmother for the second time.
7. I sold my first poetry at the age of 10, my first short story at 12, and a book of Haiku poetry while I was in college.
Well, there you go! Seven things you probably didn't know about me.
Until next time,
That's a wrap.
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