Sunday Post

I gotta get blogging more. I'm just really lazy and typically post links on Twitter to whatever I'm interested in, rather than do a proper blog post. But anyways, I'm going to try to do a round up post on Sundays of nifty, random stuff.

In Skyla News, I was on limited office hours this week due to really bad wrist pain, which flares up if I don't take enough breaks for several weeks. So...ouch. And in writing news, I've been suffering a whiny case of, "Writing is hard--waaaaah!" so I've pretty much kept to myself. I don't understand why staring blankly at the screen doesn't make words appear...

First up, publishing/writing stuff.

* A great piece on writers' expectations and publishing. I love this piece. It addresses the obsession with instant success stories (which I've talked a bit about before) and the whiny "Why do crappy books get published?" thing that everyone says. And it was summed up best by the awesome Julie Butcher: "So if we're hard-heads, we win?" Yep.

* Over at Deadline Dames, Jeaniene Frost talks about piracy. We all know my thoughts on the subject *cough* so I'll just say WORD to everything there.

* Lili's Friday writing post about the fear that characters will stop talking to you if you're happier and don't share their pain. And it's a fantastic post because I've had that fear for years. I'm viewing shitty life experiences now as "taking one for the team"--they've allowed me to go to a very dark place and transform those feelings and experiences into something cathartic for others. In short, I feel like my best books are the ones I write for fellow damaged people. So if I actively work on being happier and healthier, can I still write effectively for the damaged? I don't know. But it's worth a shot.

* I wrote on the MP blog about my author checklist. This is something I've heard a LOT of editors talk about--what type of writers do they want to work with...and who do they REALLY not want around? I came up with nine qualities I've encountered that make me twitchy. I also encourage writers to come up with their checklist for publishers. I think we all have to be clear about what our expectations are for one another to make the best match possible, because really, that's how a book is going to be successful--when both parties are on the same page. I expect someone's going to get bent out of shape over it but, you know, someone's gotta say these things.

* My friend J.A. Saare has a new book out. Go read, buy, and DON'T pirate it or she and I will kick your scummy pirate ass. ;-)

Feministy things.

* A sixteen year old girl was buried alive by her family for talking to boys. I can't even begin to tell you how much this upset me--I think I spent the better part of an hour on Friday just sitting here crying. If you're interested in learning more about honour killings and those fighting against the practice, visit the fine folks at the International Campaign Against Honour Killings. They're good people.

* Follow The Pixel Project on Twitter. Every night they tweet helplines from all over the world to DV shelters. Retweet the numbers and you could save a life.

Video stuff.

This is an oldie, but it's been this weekend's theme song. Defying Gravity, Firefly/Serenity style

And Gone with the Wind with Vampires.

Randomness.

* There's a fan group on Facebook for Mike "Other Asian" Chang on Glee! This makes me happy because he's really adorable. I think he needs a storyline of his own. Or at least a few more lines.

* Finally...here's Selleck Waterfalls Sandwich. Which wins the internet.