write

Found Creating Characters on a Kindle

Did you know that Creating Characters is available on a Kindle? I didn't either ... then I saw this post on a blog with the author listing Creating Characters (5 down from the top) as one of the books he wanted to read on a Kindle.

Actually, correct that -- he wanted to read it in book form, not on a Kindle.

Since I drag all my books everywhere, I think I would actually like the ease of reading the book on a Kindle. If I was at my desk, I could just flip open the Kindle to the page I wanted. And hey, don't most writers like to write away from home? That means you won't have to lug so many books.

Well, just a thought. As soon as I get my Kindle, I will let you know what I think about it.

More news ...

I've received a lot of excellent feedback from you all about my writer-oriented marketing articles in The Writer and Pages magazine last year. This year I'm focusing on a new field of writing, which is writing about wine. I am in the diploma course at the Wine and Spirits Educational Trust out of England, and going for my Masters of Wine.

I know many of you think it sounds like a fun pursuit of study - and it is. Yet at the same time, it is very detailed study. I'm writing a lot more wine oriented articles than writing oriented aritcles these days for international publications as well as my web site, http://www.AWineStory.com

Also, if you read my book Script Magic, you know that I put a high value on creativity. This is why I created a new feature on this site where you can get a free Tarot reading. Why Tarot? To be very honest, the protagonist of my new book (not yet released) is a Tarot reader so this is a good form of pre-marketing. Check out the Tarot card icon to the right and check it out. Let me know what you think.

Cats and Books

Hi there ... Marisa here!

If you read this blog you know I've been an executive at MGM and TriStar films in L.A.
for a number of years, and wrote two books about screenwriting and creativity.

If you love writing and you love cats, I'd like to call your attention to my new blog,
http://www.ALibrarycat.com.

As I am a member of SinC and MWA, I've asked some writers to write a quick 500 word
story of what books their cat will read at their local library.

Of course, authors are free to write links to the Amazon page where their books are listed!

My cat and I invite you to visit the site and submit a story. You can also email me
for any other info!

Good luck!

The Blog Book Tour

An article in today's New York Times discussed the concept of visiting blogs to build buzz for your books.

What is it? Instead of scheduling readings in book stores locally and nationally, authors arrange to send exceprts or take questions on various blogs related to the concept of their books. Some authors give "live chats" or video interviews.

Blog readers may comment and ask questions.

Building buzz with bloggers is free (though some bloggers charge publishers) yet it can be time consuming. If a blogger's audience is invited to ask questions, they actually do - and they want their questions answered or else the author may be reprimanded in the blog's comment section.

Some also question how many blog readers actually buy the book.

Yet building buzz with blogs makes sense, especially if you take the time to target the blogs most suited to the theme of your book.

Have you had success with building buzz on blogs? Share your success using the comment feature.

New and notable

... so just came upon this interesting story from the LA Times ..

"THREE years ago, French journalist Philippe Vasset published a droll, cynical novel called "ScriptGenerator©®™," founded on the familiar notion that there are no new stories under the sun: " 'Everything has been said.' This mantra of artistic circles, you, entrepreneurs, can use to your advantage. If everything has been written, filmed, and acted, if the flow of stories has effectively come to an end, it means that narrative has finally become raw material, a commodity. Therefore its treatment can be mechanized." Not only does Vasset conceive screenplay- and novel-generating software that eliminates the writer altogether but he reduces all successful narrative to "the quest." By way of illustration, "ScriptGenerator©®™" is itself written in quest form.

There's something to Vasset's theory. Most memorable protagonists (Indiana Jones, Anna Karenina, Dickens' Pip) are on quests of some sort. Accordingly, Amy Bloom's new novel, "Away," could be called formulaic. Her protagonist, Lillian Leyb, is on a quest of the most classic variety: to be reunited with her young daughter, lost in a Russian pogrom. Yet rather than feeding the sour commercial pessimism Vasset so wittily encapsulates, "Away" testifies to the truism that execution is all. Bloom isn't fighting traditional forms; in some respects her second novel is one more standard American immigration tale. But her execution is exquisite, and exquisite execution is rare -- not only in books but (alas) in almost any undertaking."

Jane Austin rejected???

It really sucks to have a book rejected. But this story in the LA Times details a writer who, in an experiment, sent in a manuscript that was copied from Jane Austin's best-selling work and received lots of rejection notices.

Go figure!

Promoting a Mystery

... so scanning Amazon I came across this "review" from folks who met the author of
at Malice Domestic (a conference for mystery writers). I'm sending you the link so you can read all for yourself, but below is a short excerpt that underscores why it is so important for authors to really promote their work in the most assertive way possible:

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful: Like a foreign flavor - strange on the palate at first but surprisingly satisfying., June 16, 2006 By Rae Stabosz "stabosz" (Newark, DE) - See all my reviews     "This review is from: The Chef Who Died Sautéing (Paperback) I met the authors of The Chef Who Died Sauteing at the 2006 Malice Domestic convention in D.C. They were outgoing, delightful, and drew attention to their offering in a most creative way -- they dressed in chef's whites both days I attended the conference, and they introduced themselves easily. As a writer myself, I like to reward any author who exhibits a get-up-and-go attitude towards getting her book known. In today's business, a single published book can fall into the pool of novels like a drop of water, to be swallowed whole. I bought the book because I really appreciated how the authors had gone that extra mile to promote it. All that said, I had a hard time getting into it. Ariel Quigley, the detective, is a college level English teacher who has a strong psychic streak and a penchant for attracting manifestations of ghostly spirits. This threw me off at first, as did her embrace of Tarot card readings and "dowsing", because Ariel's (and the book's) point of view was that these things, admittedly looked at askance in much of society, are very real. I have a great resistance towards characters who are "endearingly flakey" or "new agey".

Here's a Post Mentioning Script Magic and Character Journal

So if you enjoyed Script Magic and Creating Characters, you know that a character journal is important. I came upon this blog mentioning my ideas ... here's an excerpt ...

Keeping Character Journals

December 14th, 2006 — immortalindigo

I first heard about character journals in Script Magic by Marisa D’Vari.  In that book she sugggested writing a journal entry for each of your main characters daily.  That seemed like a lot of work to me.

However, Lou Willett Stanek...

How to Grow Rich in your Niche ...

Wow, so excited I'm able to add quotes from fellow members of American Society of Journalists and Authors and FreelanceSuccess.com for this piece.

You can find this issue in your local bookstore and it's absolute instant access into how to get (well, not exactly "rich") but very well paid in your niche.

At any rate, you will learn lots of tips and techniques in this piece, especially with regard to finding editors and getting assignments.

Thought I've written two books on screenwriting (scroll down to see links) my free online magazine encompasses writing but is actually about wine. If you'd like to sign up, go here.

Thanks and happy reading!

Writer: Find a Great Domain Name

So if your name is Mary Smith, you are probably out of luck. Many writers are shattered to find their personal name is already taken.

Then there is the spelling problem. For example, Marisa is mis-spelled marissa, marrissa, and forget D'Vari.

So what's a writer to do?

I found this helpful link on the web. Think about the type of writing you do, the title of your book, and have fun! Best Tool For the Job » How to Find a Great Domain Name.