Workshop Wednesday - Always the Quiet Ones

I found this graphic on Pinterest, and it's perfect. If you were ever going to standardize a graphic for introversion, this would be it. Contrary to popular belief, introverts may be quiet, but their heads are anything but quiet. Unfortunately, introverts are often seen as less capable, less intelligent, or less friendly than extroverts. None of this is true. A person's classification as "introvert" or "extrovert" is all about where they get their energy, and how they then channel that energy. The Myers-Briggs Foundation gives the basic breakdown.

I love this article over at BuzzFeed, which seeks to help extroverts better understand their introvert friends. Our brains just work differently, and that's okay.

So, let's say you're an introvert like me. I think that's why I love and gravitate toward writing. All my mental energy comes from imagination. I like to spend time alone to think, daydream, and recharge. Long quiet spells at the computer are not boring to me. My stories become very important to me. In a lot of ways, that's great. But being an author isn't just writing books - it's also selling them, and that's where introversion can bite you in the butt. It bites me all the time.

I don't like marketing, mainly because I am constantly worried that I'm bothering people. I always think, "Well, I'd hate to annoy anyone, or interfere with her day. I don't want to be rude. I don't want anyone to be put off by my attempts to engage them about my books." This is the exact wrong attitude. And I know it. But marketing doesn't come naturally to me. What's a girl to do?

I think the hard answer is for me to take some deep breaths, realize that no one will be offended, and get the word out more. All while keeping in mind that, as an introvert, there are strategies that will be more successful when paired with my love of knowledge-specific, personal interaction.

I found three great blog posts on just this topic; hopefully they'll have some good advice for you other introverts out there.

- "The Secret to Marketing For Introverts" at The Future of Ink

- "The Introvert's Guide to Book Marketing" at Out:think

- "Book Marketing for Introverted Writers" at Publishing Central

Picasso

“There are painters who transform the sun to a yellow spot, but there are others who with the help of their art and their intelligence, transform a yellow spot into sun”
― Pablo Picasso

Nerd Things - 7/8

Bit of a belated 4th version, with some music about America, and some TV news my dad will be glad to hear (his birthday was the fourth).

Listening to: "Fly Over States," Jason Aldean.

"For You," Keith Urban.

 

"American Dream," MKTO

 

Pinning: This awesome quote from Scott Adams.

 

 

Have you heard?: Sherlock is returning for a three-episode fourth season and a "special." According to this article, shooting for the special will begin in January '15, with filming for the season later next year. A long wait, but well worth it. (And after the season 3 ender, how could there not be a fourth season?)

 

 

Want to read: Mr. Mercedes, by Stephen King. I love his way with words; this one's a straight up mystery/thriller, and I'd love to read his take on the genre. Will wait for paperback, though. I ain't made out of money.

 

 

Back to Work Monday?

So my dad and I took a little road trip to Alabama on Saturday. And look what we came back with.

This is Viktor. Teeny tiny Viktor. He's six weeks and already such a fierce little monster (in a cute way). I got Riddick at 13 weeks, and he was already starting to act more like an adult, so it's fun to see this puppy in his little kid stage. He's not afraid of anything! The neighbors were shooting off some belated fireworks last night and he watched them, not at all frightened.

He's taking a morning nap at the moment, so I have time to get this post written. I apologize in advance, because I may be erratic in the next week or so, while I get him on a schedule. A six week-old puppy is a lot like having a human baby. Crying in the middle of the night, frequent feeding, bursts of energy and righteous naps.

I won't lie; I still miss my Riddick like crazy. But the house sure isn't quiet anymore, and this little guy is already such a bright spot, all happy energy and playfulness. It helps.

Did everyone Stateside have a nice holiday? I love the 4th because it's a little more low key and less stressful than, say, Christmas. It's all about barbecue and drinks and relaxing. And America. It's easy to get caught up in the day to day politics and BS; it's nice to take a step back and appreciate the country itself, for what it is, and what it gives us. My two cents, anyway.

My cousin was in Alabama for business and brought back a nice little bundle of fireworks. Roman candles. Sparklers. I can't remember the last time I held a sparkler. And all of my cousins' neighbors had fireworks, too, so the whole street echoed with the thumping of artillery and the sky was a kaleidoscope of light. It was such a fun night.

Today is supposed to be "back to work Monday" according to the news. Um...I need another weekend to recover from that weekend. My "plan" - and I use that term loosely - is to do some editing during Viktor's nap times. Wish me luck. And prepare yourselves for puppy picture spam in the weeks ahead.

Well Hello

Something arrived in the mail yesterday. I was pretty excited about it.

 

Workshop Wednesday - Yours

I posted this quote pic on Twitter a couple of weeks ago. Ray Bradbury is one of those authors chock full of good writer brain food. I guess it depends on what kind of writing advice you're looking for. I can never connect with anyone who promises he or she holds the one true key to writing a great novel. I don't like direct, step-by-step procedure or how-to guides. Writing is not like solving a math problem - there is no "right" answer. And I think straining and struggling to adhere to one person's manual is only limiting your creativity. You'll end up with a story that looks a lot like someone else wrote it, when the point of writing, the beautiful part of it, is that the story is yours when you get done telling it. I like when teachers help you find a way to channel what you think, feel, believe, and bleed it onto the paper. They help you make something yours, rather than theirs.

Just like a riding instructor teaches you how to ride all horses, yes, but she has to tailor her instruction so that you become the very best at riding your horse. Your own original, quirky, independent horse, unlike all the others. The story is never the thing over which you have mastery; the story is the mount that carries you into your dreams; you talk to it and it talks to you. Your coach helps you understand one another.

For this reason, I love Bradbury's wisdom. He's pointing out how best to better yourself; not micromanaging your imagination.

Other favorites:

“Love. Fall in love and stay in love. Write only what you love, and love what you write. The word is love. You have to get up in the morning and write something you love, something to live for.”
― Ray Bradbury

“Anything you dream is fiction, and anything you accomplish is science, the whole history of mankind is nothing but science fiction. ”
― Ray Bradbury

“I ate them like salad, books were my sandwich for lunch, my tiffin and dinner and midnight munch. I tore out the pages, ate them with salt, doused them with relish, gnawed on the bindings, turned the chapters with my tongue! Books by the dozen, the score and the billion. I carried so many home I was hunchbacked for years. Philosophy, art history, politics, social science, the poem, the essay, the grandiose play, you name 'em, I ate 'em.”
― Ray Bradbury

“If you stuff yourself full of poems, essays, plays, stories, novels, films, comic strips, magazines, music, you automatically explode every morning like Old Faithful. I have never had a dry spell in my life, mainly because I feed myself well, to the point of bursting. I wake early and hear my morning voices leaping around in my head like jumping beans. I get out of bed to trap them before they escape.”
― Ray Bradbury

“Find out what your hero or heroine wants, and when he or she wakes up in the morning, just follow him or her all day..”
― Ray Bradbury

A Story for Your Holiday Weekend

It's live. Pop over to Amazon to download the Russell short story "Things That Go Bang In The Night." Amazon Prime members can borrow it for FREE!

Six months after the events of GOD LOVE HER, Layla Hammond struggles with a lingering fear, the sense that her rose-colored view of the world as safe has been shattered forever. What’s a Russell girl to do, though, but find a way to overcome that fear? And look after her family. In this Russell series short story, travel to Savannah, GA with Sly and Layla on a much-needed late honeymoon, as they seek to reclaim the night as their own.