Today, a UPS dude walked into the office. I made a comment about how people do not shop at the store as much anymore and wondered off-handedly about all the cardboard that packages require. He said to blame Al Gore who “invented the internet” and suddenly launched into a rant about how Al Gore “made millions off global warming” because of his energy company investments. “No one knows this,” he said, conspiratorially. I am reminded…
I am pumped to enter #pitchwars this year. I have been looking forward to it ever since my friend did it last year and gushed about the experience. For those who don’t know, Pitch Wars is a contest held in August where those of us with finished novels enter for the chance to pair up with a published/agented author as a mentor – check out Brenda Drake’s website). Here is a little about myself and my…
When I finally finished my first draft of my novel, it felt like a huge accomplishment. 100,000 words written in seven months with at least four hours per day devoted to the task. I had proved to myself that I could do it – I had beaten back the critical voice in my thoughts (fear of failure), the ridiculous doubt of whether this is what I wanted to devote my life to (fear of success),…
Jennifer Lawrence recently penned a piece titled, “Why Do I Make Less Than My Male Co-Stars?” She talked about capitulating early in negotiations for American Hustle for fear of seeming “difficult or spoiled,” but when the Sony hack came to light, she learned that she earned millions less than her male costars. Read the comments and you’ll see people arguing about whether she is on the same level as the other male costars, but even Jeremy Renner…
Today is one of those “Have an existential crisis before breakfast days” #lifeofa20something #adulthood — Anastasia Taber (@anastasiataber) August 11, 2015 Before I get to dating apps (Return of the Dating Dalai? Just as soon as I finish up Aziz Ansari’s Modern Romance), I thought a particularly relevant topic would be existential crises. As far as I know, you aren’t doing life right if you manage to bypass these. So if you’re currently experiencing one, perhaps I…
Received great feedback @SCWriters and had the awesome opportunity to pitch to an agent. Still buzzing from everything I learned! #amwriting — Anastasia Taber (@anastasiataber) October 2, 2015 This past weekend I did a really cool thing and attended the Southern California Writers’ Conference-LA in Irvine, CA – about 60 miles south of me off the 405. The conference took place at the Wyndham Hotel across from the John Wayne Airport in Orange County. The…
Last week I mentioned feeling bummed about winning an award that was not as high as I had hoped it would be. Visualizing success is important because it primes your brain to take steps towards enacting that success. But it also makes you vulnerable. It opens you up to possible disappointment, and from such disappointment exists a narrow bridge that swings precariously over the murky waters of apathy. I have fallen in a few times,…
This is an ode to all of my fellow novelists out there who get to answer this question almost daily, as well as to the people who ask this question. “Writing a novel is difficult” is the understatement of the year. Each genre has a different word count range. Young Adult (YA) runs from 55,000 – 70,000 words. For adult novels, between 80,000 and 90,000 is a good range. For science fiction/fantasy, over 100,000 words…
When I tell people I wrote a novel, the most common responses I receive fall into two categories: 1) I could never do that and 2) I’ve wanted to do that (but haven’t). When I hear that someone has always wanted to write, but hasn’t, my first thought is “Well, what is stopping you?” Some people like the idea of writing but not the practice of it. These people are focused on the ends rather…
Point of view, POV, is one of those things that you might not even think about until you sit down to write. Then it’s, “Do I begin the story with ‘I’ or ‘She/he’?” The reason why POV is so important is because it is an element that will define your story; what you reveal and how you reveal it. It is something that must remain consistent or you will have trouble publishing. Here are some explanations and examples…