Stories From A Starry Sky: Tuesday two cents worth. #amwriting

Monday, April 13, 2015

Susan Stuckey: Tuesday Two Cents' Worth

Welcome to Tuesday 2 Cents' Worth, where authors and writers answer one question: If you could share one piece of writing advice with other writers, what would it be?

I'm pleased to introduce you to the very talented Susan Stuckey who will be generously sharing her two cents today.

Take the stage, Susan!

Teresa asked me if I’d be interested in writing a post answering the question “If there is one piece of writing advice you could share with other writers, what would it be?” I said yes, because Teresa is such a sweetheart--who could say no?

One minute (actually is was more like a couple of seconds) after I hit send on my acceptance, panic set in. Who was I to give writing advice to anyone? What could I say but reiterate one of the same memes as everyone else? Read! Write every day!, etc.

Then I realized that the answer could be found in two of the disciplines I studied in college: sociology and psychology. I considered our age of “internet interaction” filled with the flame wars, bullying, and negativity. I realized that my advice would not directly be about writing, but something related.

I went back to one of my favorite poems -- specifically the last two lines of this verse:

"The ill-timed truth we might have kept--

Who knows how sharp it pierced and stung?

The word we had not sense to say--

Who knows how grandly it had rung!”

[from The Fools Prayer by Edward Roland Sill]

My advice is to have sense, and say those truthful words that “grandly ring” to everyone but especially fellow writers. Offer other writers help and support. Helping someone else promote their publication does not diminish your possibilities of sales, it increases them.

Perhaps you don’t believe you can promote their book to your fans because you write YA or MG and theirs is erotica or adult horror or ??? There are other ways to say the word that rings grandly. Buy their book. Leave a review. Attend their Facebook party. Congratulate them on publication for a job well done. There are untold ways to show the “kind heart” and give support.

And when someone supports you, either verbally or by action, THANK THEM!

Small kindnesses make large waves.

*****

BIO: Currently (mostly) retired, but 'back in the day' Susan was a meek, mild-mannered, self-effacing accountant/auditor but after 5:00 her imagination broke free. She either played with historical stories, or in the magical World of Aldura she created.

Besides playing in fantasy worlds and/or historical times, Susan dabbles in various hobbies, loves to try new recipes, and is the servant of multiple fur-children (both feline and canine).

LINKS:

Website/blog: http://susan-stuckey.storytellersinn.com

Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Susan-Stuckey-Author/405863746200970?ref=hl

Twitter handle: @SusanStuckey3

Amazon US Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Susan-Stuckey/e/B00F961U04/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1392130321&sr=8-1

Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Connie J. Jasperson: Tuesday Two Cents' Worth

     Welcome to Tuesday 2 Cents' Worth, where authors and writers answer one question: If you could share one piece of writing advice with other writers, what would it be?

      I'm pleased to introduce you to the talented Connie J. Jasperson who has kindly agreed to share her two cents today.

      Take it away, Connie!

"The Buddha once said, “We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world.” I believe this to be true, and try to live my life accordingly. I am a basically happy person.

And this is how I approach writing. It's only human nature to want to make the world to fit your idea of what is good and beautiful.

In my favorite books, good people always find themselves in bad situations, but through the drama, heartache and violence, the great authors managed to express the beauty of life, the emotions that are experienced when joys are contrasted against sorrows.

If you have never felt hunger, you can never understand what it is to have plenty. In the same context, if you have never known sorrow, how can you know joy? The contrasts of life are the flavors, the textures that give it meaning.

I would advise an author to be true to the human condition in writing, whether you write historical fiction, Sci-fi, or fantasy. Understanding humanity and the realities of both extreme poverty and an overabundance of plenty give your work a sense of solidness, and without that feeling of truth the story will never hold water. Draw from history, mash it up into alternate realities all you want, but don't turn away from the ugly truth—because in any story, small instances of kindness are all the more precious when viewed in juxtaposition to brutality.

Never forget that there is as much beauty to draw from as there is pain, for it is that contrast that makes an intense story compelling.

No work of fiction will ever be more horrific or glorious than the true history of our humanity and inhumanity. We authors will only scratch the surface, and if that small scratch makes an impact on a reader, we have done our job."

HUW THE BARD, by Connie J. Jasperson, published March 28, 2014

(new release)(mature readers)

Genre: fantasy, alternate history

Synopsis:

Smuggled out of the burning city in a reeking ale barrel, Huw the Bard is a wanted man. Starving, reduced to begging and worse, he must somehow make his way north to safety. It’s a 200-league walk to the one place he might have a friend, though the path Huw must take is anything but straight.

A lot can happen to a man on journey like that.

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Amazon Buy Links:

http://bit.ly/HuwTheBard_US

http://bit.ly/HuwTheBard_UK

http://bit.ly/HuwTheBard_AU