JULY IWSG

Good morning all! Woohoo, I made it another month without falling apart on the blogging. It had been so long, I accidentally commented to a lot of you through my other blog’s profile. Aye, aye, aye. I need to do some fine tuning again.

Anyhoo, it’s that wonderful time of month again.

My hero, the amazing Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh founded this group and it has become a safe haven if you are an insecure writer.

Click the image if you would like to be a part of the #IWSG family. You won’t regret it.

July 1 question – There have been many industry changes in the last decade, so what are some changes you would like to see happen in the next decade?

I know the question is optional and to be honest, I’m not exactly sure. I’ve been writing for years and still consider myself an amateur. I know it’s supposed to be easier than ever to self publish, but if I could get a copy of Publishing for Super Dummies, that’d be great.

I’m doing ok with my writing, but need to catch up and research some of the changes.

If anyone can spare a minute or two to let me know what’s been going on, I’d be more than grateful.

JUST IN TIME FOR JUNE’S IWSG

Good morning all. I’m back, aiming for the long term. It’s been forever since I’ve been on, and what better way to celebrate than having my post about the #IWSG! Yep, I finally signed back up as I’ve missed it so much.

My hero, the amazing Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh founded this group and it has become a safe haven if you are an insecure writer.

Click the image if you would like to be a part of the #IWSG family. You won’t regret it.

June 3 question – Writers have secrets! What are one or two of yours, something readers would never know from your work

I’ll admit it. I have more than a couple of secrets. I think the biggest one I have is the fact that I’m petrified of people reading my work. I’m told I write nice blog posts and the only people that I’ve felt ok with reading them are my family and members of my Dragon family. 

That’s not to say I haven’t sent stories out. I have, many times, to no avail. I’m just going to keep plugging away. Someone’s gotta bite one day, right?

What are some of your fears? Any advice for a chicken like me?

48 Hour Film Making

DWYER PRODUCTIONS

It may sound crazy, but making a short film in 48 hours can be done! In fact, there is a competition in New Zealand called the 48 hour film festival, which I have done a couple of times and I’m here to give you a few tips. Whether you’re going to compete or just do it for fun, read on!

1. GETTING THE TEAM TOGETHER

Making a film in such a short amount of time requires real commitment, it’s full of late nights, long hours and not much sleep. So before you get stuck into it, make sure everyone in your team is 100% ready for the next 48 hours. Here’s what happened to my team my second attempt at this;

First things first, we didn’t have a particularly large group to begin with, but when someone (who happens to own the camera) drops out the NIGHT before, it’s not ideal…

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You READ – but do you leave REVIEWS?

I do read – a lot, and I’m guilty of not posting as many reviews as I should. It’s actually on the top of my to-do list for this blog.

Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog

If not, why not?

I don’t have time

The author probably spent a heck of a lot more time writing the story than you took to read it, no matter how slow you think you are, so why not take a few minutes to record your feelings about it.

I can’t write long fancy reviews like those I see on book review blogs

You don’t have to, Amazon, for example, only ask you to use a minimum of 25 non repeating words.

I can’t express myself very well

No-one is asking you to produce a literary masterpiece, start off with things you liked, didn’t like or a mix of both about the book, e.g.,

I liked this book because –

it reminded me of –

it made me think about –

it made me so scared I couldn’t sleep for –

it made me feel homesick for –

it made…

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Goodreads Giveaway of Colby the Courageous Cat!

No doubt it’s an awesome book. Congrats! Spreading the word!

JEMSBOOKS

I am happy to announce I have a new Goodreads Giveaway beginning on May 31 through June 30, 2017 of my children’s book, Colby the Courageous Cat! It will be available to USA residents only. I will be offering three autographed books in this giveaway. 

This book was dedicated to the memory of my daughter’s cat, Colby, that she had for nine years. Colby really was adventurous. He would stay out all night and only stop in for a quick meal and a head rub and then off he would go again in search of little critters to chase. One day he chased a chipmunk up our chimney on the outside of the house. I was weeding in the front and along raced a chipmunk that tried to run up my leg to hide with Colby close behind. I screamed and the chipmunk ran up the chimney with Colby…

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