Category: General Updates

General Updates

Working On Projects for Friends

J.I. Soucie

Today I took a break from working on my own writing to work on some projects for a woman who is elderly, but seeking to live her dream as a writer. She doesn’t quite grasp the computer age, but she tries. Since I have more experience in the writing and published field as well as computers, I have decided to help her out.

I started writing her author biography today, but first I spent some time reading about writing a good author biography to see how things have changed since I last wrote mine several years ago wish some updates. I think I am going to have to change mine! An update is in order.

It is a chore to write your own author biography, but the real challenge comes when you write one for someone else. While I am working on putting a professional spin on her biography, I have sent her some interview questions that will help me to write her biography, as well as an interview article, and possibly help with writing the press release for her book The Rose Garden.

Then, I will be helping a friend post updates on his blog about his adventures into the world of developing apps. He is starting off with an Android App called OrganicGarden. He has a list of things he wants to talk about on his blog, so this will be more learning experience, but also a learning curve into the world of a computer engineer. Shall be enlightening! He hasn’t added anything to his blog in quite some time. I guess he hadn’t found what he really wanted to do yet.

So that is what I have been working on for today. I have made some progress. Not as much as I had hoped, but I am thankful for what I was able to get done. Now we’ll see what tomorrow will bring.

General Updates

Last Notes for 2012

J.I. Soucie

I am sitting here in my warm bed thinking of the writing I had set out to accomplish this year but didn’t. I have to ask myself “why?” Truth is I really don’t have an answer. I wondered today if maybe I am not taking myself seriously as a writer and really sticking to what I told myself I would do. I try my hardest to keep my word to other people when I say I would do things for them so why not keep my word to myself as well?

Now, that I have decided I need to take myself more seriously, two questions have popped into my head and I really don’t know how to answer them. He are the questions:

1) should I publish my articles in magazines instead of on Yahoo Voices? And which way is more credible?

2) should I try traditionally publishing my books, or continue down the path of being and Indie author?
— I have published a few things through CreateSpace but I fear publishing more work for lack of professional editing which is so expensive I cannot afford it. I think I do pretty good on my own but editing is NOT my strong point, writing is. Gee, guess I am seeing a lack of confidence in the area of editing…at least I see potential for improvement in the coming year.

So there are the questions that plague my mind and I go back and forth over the pros and cons of each. I am so confused now with this mix of self publishing vs. commercial publishing I don’t know which to choose or which one is right for me. I don’t even know where to begin. I am left stumped and at a cross-roads, ready to pull my hair out and scream! It is so totally insane. I know no one can make this decision for me, but I am curious…how do you…meaning other published writers, determine which avenue to take your work? If you are an Indie author, how do you find the money for an editor, or do you hone the skills yourself and call it good?

Even with these questions in my mind, I have been working on my writing, an article on my experience with grief for the Voice4Society blog. Making great progress and I am working hard to have it done by the end of the week.

I have tons of ideas for writing, it is the publishing avenue that gets me. (Sighs) oh well. Must be time to get on my knees and talk talk to the Big Guy and see which way He would like me to go, the way that would be most beneficial to His will.

I will sign off for now, but I will be back in the New Year!

God bless!

Camp NaNoWriMo, General Updates, november nano

Holidays Are Here

J.I. Soucie

You have probably noticed I have not posted anything recently. No updates on my writing…. This doesn’t mean I haven’t been writing something here and there or at least thinking about my writing, but the holidays are here and it is that crazy time for buying gifts, wrapping gifts, making gifts…not to mention the cooking and baking involved and planning out what is going to be on the menu for dinner and dessert.

I have been quite busy planning our menu for Thanksgiving as well as ordering Christmas gifts, wrapping a few of them, and I still have to make some of the other Christmas gifts. The gifts I have to make are taking up most of my time, so my writing really has been pushed to the back burner.

I have tried to keep up with NaNo but this month seems to be the hardest for me. November just seems to busy. I tend to have better luck with the Camp NaNo months, but I know those aren’t taken as seriously by most as the November NaNoWriMos.

There really is no telling what next year will bring, if I’ll be participating in the NaNos or not. I predict it will be busy with house searching, however, my daughter starts pre school so that will give me some more time to sit and write and not feel so rushed. Still, everything is in God’s hands and we’ll shall see what happens. I’ll keep praying and remaining flexible to what God’s will is. I know that is important. We shall see what He has in store. Keep up the writing! God bless & an early Happy Thanksgiving!!

General Updates, november nano

Sci Fi Research On Hold, New Ideas

J.I. Soucie

My Sci Fi research is on hold. I’m not sure for how long. I am taking a writing course through Winghill Writing School and they say not to start writing in a genre you know nothing about. They say to write what you love to read about and for me, I love to read fantasy and historical fiction. So, I think that is the way I will go for now for writing for NaNo, but that is not to say I will never try my hand at Sci Fi. Oh, no. I love to watch it, but I need to spend some time researching the genre and reading Sci Fi to get a good feel for it. I just didn’t feel I could come up with a good Sci Fi story in just a couple of weeks of NaNo starting. It would be a forced story and not a good one.

So what am I working on for the November NaNo this year? That is a good question. I have had some ideas for nonfiction pieces I’ve been wanting to write and have written a rough draft several years ago, but have not published the book because it didn’t seem to work. I have been through the health trials of PTSD, gluten intolerance that when undiagnosed for so many years I developed allergies (food and environmental  and asthma. The thing is I have so MUCH information due to journal entries I get so overwhelmed and writing strictly nonfiction can bring back some of the emotions with those situations.

So my question to all the readers of nonfiction out there: Would you prefer a strictly nonfiction book on someone’s life experiences  or would you enjoy a fiction story that is “based on true life experiences”?

I feel personally that writing my experiences in a fictional setting would be easier emotionally for me, but what I really want to write is what my readers prefer to read.

I pray I get a LOT of response to this blog post. I really do want to know what readers prefer regarding this issue.

Thank you so much for you time.

Have a wonderful, blessed day!

Janis

Camp NaNoWriMo, General Updates, november nano

Sci Fi Research Ongoing

J.I. Soucie

Well I have been reading a book titled The Guide to Writing Fantasy and Science Fiction: 6 Steps to Writing and Publishing Your Bestseller.

This is the book description:

Publication Date: June 18, 2010

Science fiction and fantasy is one of the most challenging–and rewarding!–genres in the bookstore. But with New York Times bestselling author Philip Athans and fantasy giant R. A. Salvatore at your side, you’ll create worlds that draw your readers in–and keep them reading!

Just as important, you’ll learn how to prepare your work for today’s market. Drawing on his years of experience as one of the most acclaimed professionals in publishing, Wizards of the Coast Edited by Athans explains how to set your novel apart–and break into this lucrative field. From devising clever plots and building complex characters to inventing original technologies and crafting alien civilizations, Athans gives you the techniques you need to write strong, saleable narratives.

Plus! Athans applies all of these critical lessons together in an unprecedented deconstruction of a never-before-published tale by the one and only R. A. Salvatore!

There are books on writing science fiction and fantasy, and then there’s this book–the only one you need to create strange, wonderful worlds for your own universe of readers!

——————————-

I have read a decent way through this book already and am finding some useful information, but I know I still have more to read and a LOT to learn about writing SCI FI. I have a feeling if I started writing a SCI FI novel for NaNo this year, that it may end up being a fantasy instead. I guess that is because fantasy is what I am most familiar with.

When I think SCI FI, I think aliens, spaceships, strange planets. I admit my range of SCI FI knowledge is quite limited even though I love Star Trek and Star Wars and Battlestar Galactica. I am still a little confused on what makes up SCI FI other than there has to be some element of Science in the book. Now when it comes to Science there is a whole world out there of what could be used. I get stumped on where to go and so forth. At this point I am just feeling rather overwhelmed with this and how it all works. I am having a hard time wrapping my head around this. Maybe once I finish reading the book I’ll have a better understanding. Let’s hope!!! :) So far the book is good and I have learned about several SCI FI authors that I have never heard of before but now that I know about them, can begin reading their work. I am thinking a SCI FI novel may have to wait until Camp NaNo next year after I have had time to learn more about the SCI FI writing world. Something I will have to think about and make a decision on.

Best of luck to all you writers!!!

 

General Updates, november nano

Busy Days

J.I. Soucie

 

I tell ya, last night and this morning have been busy. My bedroom is also my office right now and you can imagine the papers and books everywhere and how I have to keep the floor clean and… ugh. It’s not just writing things that get piled up, it’s magazines and newspapers I like to read that may become places to submit material, and then craft projects I am trying to work on to make sure they are done by Christmas…and gifts to send to family members who have had babies recently…

So, I have been really cleaning up and going through my files to see if there are papers I still need or not. I guess it’s like spring cleaning at the end of summer.  lol Guess I’m late on getting the spring cleaning bug. Well, not really. All year I have been trying to clean and organize so I can get to my cooking school, my writing school, and my Bible study, but the clutter was just too much. Today, I think I will manage to get a system together and FINALLY have things straightened out and have a work flow at my desk and be able to accomplish all that I would like in a day.

I’m off to finish the rest of the cleaning and organizing and then to get some tasks such as snail mailing some friends, and working on my schools and Bible study. Also to track my foods and activity at Sparkpeople.com which has helped me to lose about 39 pounds so far. I am thinking of writing about my experiences with SparkPeople and how the websites tools and supportive community have helped me so far as well praying to God to help me keep going on this way to renewing my body for His service.

So many ideas swimming in my head for things to write. It’s old times where my imagination is just wild at the moment and itching to get to writing. I must go for now, and finish what little cleaning and organizing I need to do and then get to work.

Take care all, and don’t forget that the November NaNo is not far away!!! I’m excited! Are you excited?

Also, do any of you writers have desks that just never seem to be clean. You find something interesting and set it on your desk to look at it later and then it just seems to keep happening? How do you deal with clutter and keep it from happening?

Until next time,

Have a great day!

 

General Updates

Author Interview Questions

J.I. Soucie

If you are looking to interview an author, like I am, two new authors to be exact, you sit and ponder the questions to ask. Sometimes your mind draws a blank, or sometimes you are just so overwhelmed with questions it can be frustrating. But which, of those questions should you ask? I found this post on Jen Wylie’s blog that will give you some great questions to ask.

The title of the post is:

Brainstorm! Interesting Author Interview Questions

You won’t be disappointed with the ideas you find there!

General Updates

Busy days!

J.I. Soucie

The last few days I have been busy reading and writing and researching information for some of my blogs I write besides this one. Been updating my allergy and adrenal fatigue blog and have come across some interesting information lately. So will be busy with writing some articles for a while.

I also, have all six of my books on facebook, each having their own page.

Just mailed several people about The History of Sackets Harbor, New York, to see if anyone in the village is interested in stocking the book and selling it. So we’ll what will come of that.

But for now, since it is after 1Am and I have a three year old to watch in the morning, I should get my butt in bed.

Night all and I’ll be back again soon.

General Updates

Reading and Research

J.I. Soucie

I have been seriously re-thinking about my book Secret Anguish: Journey to Better Health. The book is almost complete. It is in it’s second draft, but I have been doing some research on two areas:

Insulin resistance and the insulin resistant diet

and

being a highly sensitive person.

 

The book covers other areas such as post traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, grief, food allergies, environmental allergies, asthma, gluten intolerance, and I think a couple other things.

Now I have a lot of reading and research to do which means a lot of notes. I am not sure how I want to incorporate all of this into a book. It seems like a lot of information but I feel strongly my story needs to be told. If I can help one other person in this world besides myself from what I have been through and learned, then great! I can’t wait to help that person and encourage him or her.

So this is my task as of lately. I’ll get back to in a bit with all of the names of the books I am reading so you can read them for yourself if you’d like.

Camp NaNoWriMo, General Updates

Back To It Again

J.I. Soucie

Ah, so here we are again. I said I was going to take a break from writing and search out other things in life, like other interests, but there comes a problem when characters keep popping into my head and scenes play like moves, and story is just begging to be told. Characters sit in my head, acting out their stories, but their stories are not being heard. Why? Because I am not writing them.

It seems as though a writer cannot take a TRUE vacation from writing. It is in the very core of their being, part of what God built into them, into me. When I tried to pursue other interests, I realized that these other interests involved some kind of writing as well, so really, I wasn’t taking a break at all.

So I have decided to pick up one of the fictional stories I started last year for Camp NaNoWriMo called Lasting Shadow and see how much farther I can get with that. Finding my story and character sheets will be interesting. If I can’t find them already printed and sitting in my filing cabinet, I will have to print everything again, but that’s no big deal. I’ll just happy to write fiction and have fun doing it.

When my daughter is old enough, she’ll get to read my stories and that just brings a smile to my face. Also, to keep writing, is do not only what God built into me when he made me, but also to continue to pursue something my mother was very supportive of when she found out I wanted to be a writer in my early teen years. So in a way, writing is like honoring her memory as well. I’m sure she would be proud of me if I kept going, but perhaps disappointed if I stopped writing, but I don’t think that is an option for me. I have learned so much. Not just to write a novel, but how to social network, how to blog, how create my own book covers, how to publish via CreateSpace and Amazon KDP, writing press releases.

I have learned all of this and I am helping and elderly woman from my church by the name of Phyllis Georgina Rose who has just published her book The Rose Garden. I am using my skills to help her publish her books and help her books to become more known. All I can do is try my best and pray. God will have to take it the rest of the way.

You will find both Phyllis’ book and my books on www.goodreads.com as well as Amazon and other places online. I hope you check out our work!

We’ll continue to work hard so you have more to read. :)