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Author Archive for Samantha

What writers can learn from Tolkien

I stumbled upon a link to a forum post recently called, “What Fantasy Writers Can Learn from Tolkien.” Yes, I am a Tolkien nerd. No, I don’t write fantasy. Despite these two things, I think every writer can benefit from reading this post.

For those of you who don’t want to read all of it (though I think you should! It’s very well-written), here are the main points I took away from it:

  • Take the time to create a history for your story or novel. Even if you don’t write fantasy, readers need to feel drawn in and surrounded by the world you’re creating.
  • Don’t overexplain everything. It might feel weird, but keep some things mysterious or hinted at and let the reader keep coming back to find out more.
  • Write from your passion – themes and thoughts you keep returning to personally are bound to translate in a complex and evolving way in your writing.
  • Trust that your readers want to participate in and explore your work. By leaving certain things open to interpretation, you are making readers partners in the creative process.
  • Check your facts!
  • When writing, don’t resist letting the story or characters unfold in a different way than you’d intended.
June 23, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

Updates on writing and reading

I’ve been a bit silent for a while, haven’t I? Here’s what’s been going on with me lately:

  • I’ve finished one new story (meaning it’s gone through my two beta readers) and am close to finishing a second. Unsurprisingly, it’s a section of dialogue that’s giving me trouble here. Dialogue has always been my weak point.
  • I submitted an earlier story to a magazine, emboldened by dinner with a friend and a couple of glasses of wine. I hope that’s not considered unprofessional to admit – I wasn’t drunk, I was emboldened. My submission letter had no typos whatsoever and I didn’t confess my love for the person on the other end.
  • I’ve finished reading the book I wrote about a couple of posts ago. I bought a book about Richard I, but I don’t feel like reading it – I read a book about Mary I last month and I feel kind of burnt out on historical biographies, even though I love them so much. I’m craving something Victorian. Do you get book cravings? If so, for what?
  • Last weekend, I discovered that Margaret Atwood and Alistair MacLeod, two of my favourite writers, were doing a reading a short walk from where I live. The catch was, the reading ended 30 minutes from when I’d read about it. Yes, I did shake my fist at the heavens.
  • This one might not be a shock to anyone, but I have a new WordPress theme. I really loved my old one, Bueno, but something broke when upgrading to the new version of WordPress and it started displaying my main index page as my blog page. Anyway, I tried all morning to fix it before I gave up and found a new theme. It’s not as perfect as Bueno was, but I do like it!

I hope your past 13 days have been productive and/or exciting!

June 22, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

How I know changing my business’ focus was a good idea

A few days ago, I finally got around to changing the focus of my freelancing business. I went from general freelance writer/editor/blogger/anything to do with words person to a freelance book/manuscript/web content editor. Only. I don’t do anything else.

It was something I had been turning over in my mind for several months, but getting stranded in Europe by volcanic ash and then a cross-country move prevented me from acting on it. After that, it was fear.

Yes, even though the idea had been growing in my mind and generating sparkles and rainbows and all kinds of other good things signifying its wonderfulness, I was afraid to actually do it.

Then, I got a haircut.

It was the first time I’d done so since I moved here, so the stylist and I had the standard getting-to-know-you conversation. She asked me what I did for a living. I told her,

“I’m a freelance writer and editor.”

Then, she said,

“Oh. So what do you do, exactly?”

After I spent five minutes explaining what I did, I realized that it was confusing. How can I expect to be awesome at something I can’t even succinctly explain?

That hair appointment made me realize, more than ever, that I had to focus. I had to specialize. I had to take my favourite parts of my business – the ones I was the best at – and do nothing else. Easily managed job description = easily managed job.

Then, a randomly-found blog post gave me validation.

I don’t even remember how I found it, but the other day I stumbled upon a blog post called Copycats & lessons we can learn. I had it open in my browser for several hours and I read it a couple of times. The video, a TED lecture about the lack of copyright in the fashion industry, was interesting, but what I really liked was the blogger’s commentary. This part, in particular, stuck with me:

What does this mean to you? Artists, illustrators, and designers can now freely do what they please and practice what they do best. They can now search and target their specific audience instead of trying hard to fit into a particular mold. And with it comes the work: your ability to challenge, innovate and make new things. And if you have your own business, you have to keep things fresh for your audience.

Now, I’m not saying being a generalist is a bad thing. In fact, it can be the perfect thing depending on your career goals and personality. But for me, focusing my freelancing business on three key areas was the best thing for me and I’m happy I finally did it!

June 9, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

The secret thrill of the uncorrected proof

A few months ago, I entered a Random House draw to win a copy of The Waterproof Bible by Andrew Kaufman. I never win anything, so I was excited when I actually did win the giveaway. I was even more excited when the book arrived and I found it was an uncorrected proof. As you can see in the picture, it’s a plain blue cover. On the back is even more excitingness – a tentative on-sale date, a tentative price and technical info for book reviewers.

Now, I long ago realized I’m awful at reviewing books. When I read, I simply cannot analyze the book at the same time; unless it’s a horrible book, but who wants to write nothing but bad reviews? So it’s kind of thrilling to have a copy of a book like this with no obligation to review it. It feels so very behind-the-scenes. And I’m pleased to report that uncorrected proofs are still quite “correct” – I’ve only found two small errors in 85 pages so far.

Okay, so I said I’m not a book reviewer, but I do have to say that I’m enjoying this book very much so far. My absolute favourite kind of book or story is one that incorporates fantastical or mythological elements into everyday scenarios without it being A Huge Thing. It’s something I’m drawn to in my own writing and so it’s especially exciting when I read something that does it as wonderfully as The Waterproof Bible does. My uncorrected proof has a tentative release date of February 2010, so go out and buy it!

June 8, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

Listen to Faulkner reading As I Lay Dying

One thing that’s always felt a little unfair to me is that, because writing isn’t really a visual activity, we’re cheated out of the cool “work in progress” or “finished work” blog posts that artists get to create whenever they like. I mean, what can I post? Me sitting at my laptop? Walking through the park thinking about a character? Yes, I can post a picture of my finished story printed out, but it’s not the same. A story only “activates” and becomes real when it is being read word by word – and most writers aren’t going to post their work online.

So, this is why I get so excited when I find little pieces of the internet where – shock! horror! – you can listen to writers actually reading their work. Yes, it’s not visual either, but it’s the closest thing you can get to reading the thing yourself. It’s finally a space on the internet where a writer’s work can come close to accurate representation.

What I’m leading up to after all that preamble is this: You can listen to William Faulkner read As I Lay Dying at this site. The audio’s not the best, but – it’s William Faulkner reading As I Lay Dying! Enjoy!

June 6, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

A new focus – book, manuscript and web content editing

At long last, I have finished all the work necessary for the “business innards restructuring” I alluded to in my last post.

As of today, I, Samantha Garner, am your specialist in editing books, manuscripts and web content. I am no longer offering copywriting, blogging, SEO or social media services to new clients.

I feel like I should be saying something like, “It was a difficult decision to make,” but that’s simply not true. Making this decision was quite easy! I enjoy writing and blogging and SEO, but over the past year I’ve learned that my editing is really top-notch. Yes, I am tooting my own horn. I am a writer at heart, but when it comes to freelancing, my passion is really editing. The projects I’ve had the most fun with have been the book and website editing projects. Only in this blog will I admit that restructuring a sentence to make it sing or hunting down “your/you’re” confusion gives me a bit of a rush. I’d say that’s a good indicator of my career path, wouldn’t you?

I’ve added a couple of new pages to the website to support the new focus – feel free to peruse Services & Rates and FAQs!

June 4, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post
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