It's an awful mess, which is the point. I'm using it as to illustrate a lesson I'm doing in Housekeeping for Writers at the MuseOnline Writers' Conference. Too bad you aren't there to learn how to not let it get so bad! But take heart, the conference is scheduled for next year, and I'm doing this workshop again. Want to register? Go to http://www.themuseonlinewritersconference.comif you want more details, or go to http://is.gd/tmowcf and register on the forums, then take the poll to get registered for 2014. (It's a simple click on "please register me.")
Showing posts with label museonline writers conference. Show all posts
Showing posts with label museonline writers conference. Show all posts
Saturday, October 12, 2013
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Terminal, a Flash Fiction
In honor of the I Left My Brains in San Francisco book tour, I have a short story for you inspired by a photo on Facebook that suggested that instead of searches, x-rays, etc. We just folks step into a booth that would detonate any explosive devices. Think I'll have to incorporate it into a Neeta Lyffe story someday. Remember, you can find I Left My Brains in San Francisco at
Thank you for using TEDDS--the Terrorist Explosive Device Detonation System. Protecting citizens from invasive scans and embarrassing search procedures since 2027. Your feedback is important to us. Should you be innocent and survive the experience, we invite you to fill out a customer service questionnaire, which you can turn in at the customer service department for a free bottled water or large tube of toothpaste! Please remain still while we check for explosive devices... Please wait... Your safety is important to us, thank you for waiting...
We regret to inform you that explosive element three, nitroglycerine, was found in your shoe. The authorities, morgue officer and janitorial staff are en route. If you wish to preserve your life, click the "I Confess!" button on the screen before you and fill out the appropriate form. You will be asked to give a full description of your motivations, names of accomplices, and any religious, social or psychological circumstances that may influence your trial. If you wish to continue with detonation, please press the "I Die Willingly!" button. By doing so, you and any related parties absolve TSA from responsibility for your demise. You will also be given two minutes to craft your message of defiance or choose one from the standard menu. You have ten second to make your selection. Thank you again for choosing TEDDS.
Amazon:
http://amzn.to/Nzm01L (paper) http://amzn.to/OBBmkL (Kindle)
or from Damnation Books: http://www.damnationbooks.com/book.php?isbn=9781615727643.  |
| Airport Terminal now has a double meaning! |
Terminal
by Karina Fabian
Thank you for using TEDDS--the Terrorist Explosive Device Detonation System. Protecting citizens from invasive scans and embarrassing search procedures since 2027. Your feedback is important to us. Should you be innocent and survive the experience, we invite you to fill out a customer service questionnaire, which you can turn in at the customer service department for a free bottled water or large tube of toothpaste! Please remain still while we check for explosive devices... Please wait... Your safety is important to us, thank you for waiting...
We regret to inform you that explosive element three, nitroglycerine, was found in your shoe. The authorities, morgue officer and janitorial staff are en route. If you wish to preserve your life, click the "I Confess!" button on the screen before you and fill out the appropriate form. You will be asked to give a full description of your motivations, names of accomplices, and any religious, social or psychological circumstances that may influence your trial. If you wish to continue with detonation, please press the "I Die Willingly!" button. By doing so, you and any related parties absolve TSA from responsibility for your demise. You will also be given two minutes to craft your message of defiance or choose one from the standard menu. You have ten second to make your selection. Thank you again for choosing TEDDS.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
MuseOnline Writers Conference 07
Sorry this blog has been so empty for a long time. My best friend, the incredible and talented Ann Lewis, is helping me revamp fabianspace. As a result I changed the password, not realizing blogger needed it to upload the blog to my site! I'm such an ignoramous on these things…At any rate, we'll get it sorted out soon.
I just came back from the most incredible writers conference. This conference had an amazing wealth of information, workshops, discussion groups, time with publishers… The best part was I could attend more than one thing at once, plus I was home to take care of the kids and handle any crisis that came along. No, I didn't clone myself: I attended MuseCon 2007--the only on-line conference of its kind.
Lea Schizas (aka the Amazing Mother Hen) organized the event, which had 1900 attendees, over 80 worshops (many with exercises and critique sessions that ran the week), moderated and impromptu chats, at least 15 publishers to ping, plus an agent or two. Writers who were so green they were yellow to well-established authors with hundreds of writing credits mingled, taught and learned. (Yes, even the experienced folks learned something new.) Classes spanned from query letters to characterization to poetry to marketing your works--and if you didn't find a workshop to answer your need, there was always a chat session or the chat forum to ask up.
I went last year as a somewhat experienced writer and yellow-green marketer, and left a marketing monster. This year, I came back to give back what I'd learned and store up more knowledge and ideas for the next year. I'm not sure what kind of monster I've become this year, but I can feel the energy, like the lightening that brought Frankenstein to life.
My workshops were a re-run of Faith in Fiction with Maya Bohnhoff and Colleen Drippe, a workshop on worldbuilding and a virtual book tour workshop. Then, after seeing some of the same questions again and again, I held an impromptu chat workshop on marketing plans. That's the coolest part of this con--if you want to do something like that, all you had to do is announce the time in an empty chat room, pull some files off your computer and go for it! Even better, I got a lot of my material from some of the other workshops! Writers working together: that's what MuseCon is all about.
I was overwhelmed by the number of workshops--too many for a week. I finally selected four: Christine Amsden's worldbuilding (She sent the homework ahead of time! Joy!), Lisa Logan's "Promotion on the Web." Earl Stagg's "Write Tight II" and on a whim Devon Ellington's dialogue workshop. Christine's helped me better develop my DragonEye, PI world; I got a lot of tips and links from Lisa's (and probably gave too much unsolicited advice), and came away from Devon's ready to write a story that had been stuck in my mind for a year now. And Earl's--well, my favorite moment was when he gave us this paragraph to re-write:
After a couple of posts, he mentioned that it seemed like it'd be the start of a romance novel, which wasn't really his style. "I need a dead body thrown in." This is what I turned in:
I'm still laughing.
Lea has hit upon a beauty of an idea for conferences by using the internet. It's inexpensive (She asked for donations, which she richly deserved, but has no fees.). You can have an overload of information yet not miss anything you really want (thanks to the beauty of cut-and-paste.) People from all over the world could attend, in any time zone (thanks to the forum workshops) and even if they had disabilities. You could market your books (subtly, just be talking with folks, including characters in your exercises, and of course your signature line.) The only thing this conference lacks is a good pitch session, but I think ask the con continues to grow, you'll start seeing that, too.
If you are a writer, make a note for January to sign up for MuseOnline Conference 2008. Of all the writers' conferences available, this is the most comprehensive, easy and fun!
I just came back from the most incredible writers conference. This conference had an amazing wealth of information, workshops, discussion groups, time with publishers… The best part was I could attend more than one thing at once, plus I was home to take care of the kids and handle any crisis that came along. No, I didn't clone myself: I attended MuseCon 2007--the only on-line conference of its kind.
Lea Schizas (aka the Amazing Mother Hen) organized the event, which had 1900 attendees, over 80 worshops (many with exercises and critique sessions that ran the week), moderated and impromptu chats, at least 15 publishers to ping, plus an agent or two. Writers who were so green they were yellow to well-established authors with hundreds of writing credits mingled, taught and learned. (Yes, even the experienced folks learned something new.) Classes spanned from query letters to characterization to poetry to marketing your works--and if you didn't find a workshop to answer your need, there was always a chat session or the chat forum to ask up.
I went last year as a somewhat experienced writer and yellow-green marketer, and left a marketing monster. This year, I came back to give back what I'd learned and store up more knowledge and ideas for the next year. I'm not sure what kind of monster I've become this year, but I can feel the energy, like the lightening that brought Frankenstein to life.
My workshops were a re-run of Faith in Fiction with Maya Bohnhoff and Colleen Drippe, a workshop on worldbuilding and a virtual book tour workshop. Then, after seeing some of the same questions again and again, I held an impromptu chat workshop on marketing plans. That's the coolest part of this con--if you want to do something like that, all you had to do is announce the time in an empty chat room, pull some files off your computer and go for it! Even better, I got a lot of my material from some of the other workshops! Writers working together: that's what MuseCon is all about.
I was overwhelmed by the number of workshops--too many for a week. I finally selected four: Christine Amsden's worldbuilding (She sent the homework ahead of time! Joy!), Lisa Logan's "Promotion on the Web." Earl Stagg's "Write Tight II" and on a whim Devon Ellington's dialogue workshop. Christine's helped me better develop my DragonEye, PI world; I got a lot of tips and links from Lisa's (and probably gave too much unsolicited advice), and came away from Devon's ready to write a story that had been stuck in my mind for a year now. And Earl's--well, my favorite moment was when he gave us this paragraph to re-write:
Mary had been a lonely girl all her life. Even as a young child in school, she had never had many friends. In third grade, she had desperately wanted to be friends with Rebecca, who was the most popular girl in school, but Rebecca had never paid any attention to her. When she was in sixth grade, she had a very big crush on Todd, but he always ignored her. Remaining a lonely outsider even into high school, she was never able to feel like she belonged. When other girls had sleepovers, she had never been invited to them. While the other girls would talk about dating, she would not join in because she never had any dates. Like the school dance in her sophomore year. She pretended to be sick, which was the reason she gave for not going. Once, when she asked her mother what was wrong with her, her mother simply replied absently-mindedly that there was nothing wrong with her and for her not to worry about it. It was as if she didn’t think it was important. But it was important to her then. Now, at thirty-five and still lonely, it still bothered her.
After a couple of posts, he mentioned that it seemed like it'd be the start of a romance novel, which wasn't really his style. "I need a dead body thrown in." This is what I turned in:
You want a dead body?
Detective Staggs frowned at torn yearbook pages littering the bulletin board. Rebecca Changler, "Wish we'd gotten to know each other," with a red X and LIAR! Todd Ames, elected Sixth Grade Hottie; cupid's arrow got him between the eyes. There were more--nameless faces pasted onto magazine covers of girls' sleepovers and prom shots. Below it all, "See Mom? It DOES Matter!"
"Who's next, Mary," Staggs muttered, "And where are you?"
I'm still laughing.
Lea has hit upon a beauty of an idea for conferences by using the internet. It's inexpensive (She asked for donations, which she richly deserved, but has no fees.). You can have an overload of information yet not miss anything you really want (thanks to the beauty of cut-and-paste.) People from all over the world could attend, in any time zone (thanks to the forum workshops) and even if they had disabilities. You could market your books (subtly, just be talking with folks, including characters in your exercises, and of course your signature line.) The only thing this conference lacks is a good pitch session, but I think ask the con continues to grow, you'll start seeing that, too.
If you are a writer, make a note for January to sign up for MuseOnline Conference 2008. Of all the writers' conferences available, this is the most comprehensive, easy and fun!
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Writing: You Get What You Give
When I was in high school, I was in a club called Rainbows, and one of the things we impressed upon members is that you only get out of Rainbows what you put in. I tried to live that motto in most of my life, yet it wasn't until the past year that I applied it to my writing.
I'm so glad I came to my senses.
My journey started with the sale of Infinite Space, Infinite God (ISIG). Until then, my interaction with other writers had been occasional e-mails on the Catholic Writers Online and Christian Fiction Yahoo groups. I'd mostly gone to the groups for what I could get out of them, and I did get a couple of writing contracts and some market leads as well as contributors to ISIG.
My publisher, Lida at Twilight Times Books, invited TTB authors to join the MuseOnline Writers Conference by hosting a workshop. At this point, I was thinking mostly in terms of "what's in it for me?" In this case, doing a workshop on Faith in Fiction would get some free publicity for ISIG. Plus, I could attend the other workshops, meet authors and editors, and learn more about marketing my book.
Something happened at that workshop that transcended marketing, however.
I discovered a whole world of writers, some with less experience than me, but many with more. Those with more so freely shared what they knew and those with less so gratefully drank it in that I wanted to be a part of it. I wanted to share, too! Before the conference was over, I had done an impromptu workshop and committed to creating a newsletter on writing religion in fiction.
Afterward, I got into a website-building workshop--hosted by the conference organizer Lea Schizas--and had such fun with it, I started encouraging all authors to build one. I took a virtual book tour and set up a blog to tour others. I joined some writers' chats, and when Jo Linsdell started a chat on her website, I felt inspired to start my own. As my knowledge and enthusiasm grew, I got more involved in my Yahoo groups and found myself accepting invitations to others.
Six months later, I am the President of the Catholic Writers' Guild, publisher of Faith-Filled Fiction, owner of several active websites and blogs, member of three blog rolls, and have signed up to do three workshops at the MuseOnline Conference in October. I wake up every morning looking forward to getting on my computer, catching up on e-mail, taking care of Yahoo business, growing my MySpace and ShoutLife friends lists, and IM-ing with whichever friend is on-line.
And, true to the motto I learned as a teen, I've gotten so much back: new opportunities, new marketing skills, and even new characters and novel ideas. I've helped others advertise their books or activities and had promoted ISIG in return. Best or all, I've got new friendships: people I can depend on to provide thorough and useful critiques, to commiserate with over rejections, to celebrate acceptances, to plan for the next great project, and simply to enjoy each others' company.
We often think that writing is a solitary activity, but this year, I've discovered just how important a good group of author friends can be. It's not just about sharing the story.
It's about sharing yourself.
I'm so glad I came to my senses.
My journey started with the sale of Infinite Space, Infinite God (ISIG). Until then, my interaction with other writers had been occasional e-mails on the Catholic Writers Online and Christian Fiction Yahoo groups. I'd mostly gone to the groups for what I could get out of them, and I did get a couple of writing contracts and some market leads as well as contributors to ISIG.
My publisher, Lida at Twilight Times Books, invited TTB authors to join the MuseOnline Writers Conference by hosting a workshop. At this point, I was thinking mostly in terms of "what's in it for me?" In this case, doing a workshop on Faith in Fiction would get some free publicity for ISIG. Plus, I could attend the other workshops, meet authors and editors, and learn more about marketing my book.
Something happened at that workshop that transcended marketing, however.
I discovered a whole world of writers, some with less experience than me, but many with more. Those with more so freely shared what they knew and those with less so gratefully drank it in that I wanted to be a part of it. I wanted to share, too! Before the conference was over, I had done an impromptu workshop and committed to creating a newsletter on writing religion in fiction.
Afterward, I got into a website-building workshop--hosted by the conference organizer Lea Schizas--and had such fun with it, I started encouraging all authors to build one. I took a virtual book tour and set up a blog to tour others. I joined some writers' chats, and when Jo Linsdell started a chat on her website, I felt inspired to start my own. As my knowledge and enthusiasm grew, I got more involved in my Yahoo groups and found myself accepting invitations to others.
Six months later, I am the President of the Catholic Writers' Guild, publisher of Faith-Filled Fiction, owner of several active websites and blogs, member of three blog rolls, and have signed up to do three workshops at the MuseOnline Conference in October. I wake up every morning looking forward to getting on my computer, catching up on e-mail, taking care of Yahoo business, growing my MySpace and ShoutLife friends lists, and IM-ing with whichever friend is on-line.
And, true to the motto I learned as a teen, I've gotten so much back: new opportunities, new marketing skills, and even new characters and novel ideas. I've helped others advertise their books or activities and had promoted ISIG in return. Best or all, I've got new friendships: people I can depend on to provide thorough and useful critiques, to commiserate with over rejections, to celebrate acceptances, to plan for the next great project, and simply to enjoy each others' company.
We often think that writing is a solitary activity, but this year, I've discovered just how important a good group of author friends can be. It's not just about sharing the story.
It's about sharing yourself.
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