Early Spring Session 2011
This will be a six-week session of classes with no breaks. Classes start on February 26 and run until April 2.
Both classes will take place at World in Motion Dance, Movement and Music Center. Find out more about the studio, class policies, and registration at http://www.worldinmotiondance.com !
These classes are likely to sell out, so be sure to register as soon as possible!
Fusion CORE (1:00-2:15PM) Fast Moves, Shimmies and Traveling
This session in CORE, we'll be working on a high-energy mix of fast moves from the American Tribal Style vocabulary, fast fusion moves, traveling moves and all different kinds of shimmies! We'll combine these moves into original combinations that would be right at home in your choreographies or group improv.
Students of all experience levels are welcome. You don't need to have previous bellydance experience to join this class.
Expect to see some core and leg conditioning exercises and to receive specific individual feedback.
Drop-ins are welcome, space permitting. The enrollment cap for this class is fourteen students.
Fusion FLOW (2:30-3:45PM) Veil Choreography
In FLOW, we'll learn a fun, fast-paced fusion veil choreography appropriate for anyone who has a little bit of experience under their hip belt. We'll start with the basics of veil technique; you don't have to know how to use a veil in order to join us. I'll have lots of veils available to borrow, so don't worry if you don't have one to bring to class.
Because many veil movements take up a lot of space, the enrollment cap for this class will be eight students.
Expect to receive a lot of individual feedback. Drop-ins are welcome, space permitting, but because this is a choreography class it is recommended that students attend as many classes in the session as possible.
Register online at http://www.worldinmotiondance.com/classes.html .
Find more information about class prices and policies at http://www.worldinmotiondance.com/classinfo.html .
Get directions to the studio at http://www.worldinmotiondance.com/directions.html .
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Used Bookstore Digs
An attempt at a sort of column.
Anyone who knows anything about me knows that I love cast-offs. My ideal shopping experience involves digging through heaps of crap to find hidden gems. I'd rather have a $30 shopping spree at Goodwill than a $200 spree at the mall, even though Goodwill smells funny and there are no benches in most of the dressing rooms.
The reasons for this are many and varied. Here are a few:
1. I feel much more excited when I find something awesome at a thrift store than when I find something awesome at Target.
2. I do not like being bothered by retail staff.
3. I imagine it's better for the environment to buy things used.
4. I am cheap. I work only part-time and I don't have much money.
5. I am full of latent anti-corporate (not anti-capitalist, mind you) sentiment, so I hate the mall and I hate big box stores.
6. For the very most part, the stuff they sell at the mall bores me to tears.
7. I don't like having the same stuff as everyone else.
8. I live in a relatively affluent area where people like to get rid of new or good-as-new stuff, so I can shop used and still not look like a hobo (unless that's the look I'm going for).
9. I wear a size 8/10, so there's always plenty of stuff for me to choose from. I realize that people of other sizes may not actually have the option of successful thrifting.
The only things I won't buy used are underwear and makeup. However, there are a million blogs about thrifting for clothes, and no one cares what I'm wearing, so I probably won't post about my cheap-ass fashions unless I find something really exciting.
Instead, I bring you USED BOOKSTORE DIGS.
These are the chronicles of my used book purchasing experiences. So gripping. So intense. Possibly of interest if you also live in the area and want to buy books for cheap.
Let's begin!
First Expedition
Location: Mr. Mike's Used Books, Cary NC location
I found this store completely by accident between outings to Chipotle and Trader Joes. (It's in the same plaza as the Cary Trader Joes. FYI.) I can't recommend it enough to anyone who reads SF, horror or fantasy. They have a wonderful speculative section. Everything is well-organized, well-lit, and in good condition. The person on staff was friendly. From what I could tell, all the paperbacks are $4. (Next time you go to Starbucks, think about the fact that you could probably buy a great book from a local business for the same price as your grande whatever.)
What I bought: Threshold by Caitlin R. Kiernan
Why I bought it: It had a picture of a trilobite and an endorsement from Neil Gaiman on the cover. I also like the word "threshold". I can pretty much guarantee that if I had seen a more recent edition of the book, with its updated cover, I wouldn't have bought it. I guess trilobites appeal to me as a reader more than goth girls do, or maybe I'm just tired of emo looking teenagers gracing the cover of like every single book in the genre.
Genre: Horror, I guess?
Spoiler-free reaction: I enjoyed the author's style. It was quirky enough to be unique without veering into the annoying or incomprehensible.
I liked the mix of hard science (geology and archaeology) details and mythological or religious motifs.
I found the characters to be relatable, realistic and compelling.
The setting really sucked me in. It's clear that the author has spent a good deal of time in the South, which is always a plus if you're trying to write about it.
This was not an easy book to read. It's unclear if several scenes actually occurred, if they were psychic visions, if they were just insane hallucinations or some mix of the three. That being said, the level of obtuseness was fine with me. I like ambiguity (to a point). However, I would not recommend this book to anyone who doesn't want to deal with nonlinearity, stories told out of chronological order, or passages that blur the line between reality and dreams.
It didn't give me nightmares, but as I've already mentioned, it was fairly creepy, so don't pick it up if you don't like dark themes or horror.
I liked the ending but kind of hated the epilogue.
Hoard, Resell or Recycle? Hoard. I'll just pretend the epilogue didn't happen.
NEXT TIME: Another book from a different store! Or maybe the same store since I have store credit at this store!
Anyone who knows anything about me knows that I love cast-offs. My ideal shopping experience involves digging through heaps of crap to find hidden gems. I'd rather have a $30 shopping spree at Goodwill than a $200 spree at the mall, even though Goodwill smells funny and there are no benches in most of the dressing rooms.
The reasons for this are many and varied. Here are a few:
1. I feel much more excited when I find something awesome at a thrift store than when I find something awesome at Target.
2. I do not like being bothered by retail staff.
3. I imagine it's better for the environment to buy things used.
4. I am cheap. I work only part-time and I don't have much money.
5. I am full of latent anti-corporate (not anti-capitalist, mind you) sentiment, so I hate the mall and I hate big box stores.
6. For the very most part, the stuff they sell at the mall bores me to tears.
7. I don't like having the same stuff as everyone else.
8. I live in a relatively affluent area where people like to get rid of new or good-as-new stuff, so I can shop used and still not look like a hobo (unless that's the look I'm going for).
9. I wear a size 8/10, so there's always plenty of stuff for me to choose from. I realize that people of other sizes may not actually have the option of successful thrifting.
The only things I won't buy used are underwear and makeup. However, there are a million blogs about thrifting for clothes, and no one cares what I'm wearing, so I probably won't post about my cheap-ass fashions unless I find something really exciting.
Instead, I bring you USED BOOKSTORE DIGS.
These are the chronicles of my used book purchasing experiences. So gripping. So intense. Possibly of interest if you also live in the area and want to buy books for cheap.
Let's begin!
First Expedition
Location: Mr. Mike's Used Books, Cary NC location
I found this store completely by accident between outings to Chipotle and Trader Joes. (It's in the same plaza as the Cary Trader Joes. FYI.) I can't recommend it enough to anyone who reads SF, horror or fantasy. They have a wonderful speculative section. Everything is well-organized, well-lit, and in good condition. The person on staff was friendly. From what I could tell, all the paperbacks are $4. (Next time you go to Starbucks, think about the fact that you could probably buy a great book from a local business for the same price as your grande whatever.)
What I bought: Threshold by Caitlin R. Kiernan
Why I bought it: It had a picture of a trilobite and an endorsement from Neil Gaiman on the cover. I also like the word "threshold". I can pretty much guarantee that if I had seen a more recent edition of the book, with its updated cover, I wouldn't have bought it. I guess trilobites appeal to me as a reader more than goth girls do, or maybe I'm just tired of emo looking teenagers gracing the cover of like every single book in the genre.
Genre: Horror, I guess?
Spoiler-free reaction: I enjoyed the author's style. It was quirky enough to be unique without veering into the annoying or incomprehensible.
I liked the mix of hard science (geology and archaeology) details and mythological or religious motifs.
I found the characters to be relatable, realistic and compelling.
The setting really sucked me in. It's clear that the author has spent a good deal of time in the South, which is always a plus if you're trying to write about it.
This was not an easy book to read. It's unclear if several scenes actually occurred, if they were psychic visions, if they were just insane hallucinations or some mix of the three. That being said, the level of obtuseness was fine with me. I like ambiguity (to a point). However, I would not recommend this book to anyone who doesn't want to deal with nonlinearity, stories told out of chronological order, or passages that blur the line between reality and dreams.
It didn't give me nightmares, but as I've already mentioned, it was fairly creepy, so don't pick it up if you don't like dark themes or horror.
I liked the ending but kind of hated the epilogue.
Hoard, Resell or Recycle? Hoard. I'll just pretend the epilogue didn't happen.
NEXT TIME: Another book from a different store! Or maybe the same store since I have store credit at this store!
Fourth draft blues
I just realized I haven't posted in over a week, so here's to rectifying that.
The book has me in a funk. I have always oscillated through periods of liking it and hating it, and right now I am in a hater phase.
I am attempting to edit half of the chapters to make the voices of my two narrators more distinct. This means bringing these newly-reworked chapters back to a much less polished phase of production. Although I imagine that this process is necessary or at least beneficial, it's frustrating and discouraging.
I'm not just lazy. It's not that I don't want to work on the manuscript any more. I just have gotten to the point where I can't seem to tell if the changes I'm making are helping or hurting. Sometimes I wonder if I will even be able to resolve the issues I am trying to fix, or if the work has critical flaws that can't be undone.
I've been working on this novel since last April, which doesn't sound like too long (10 months, whatever), but it's been an intense 10 months. I normally work on it for at least 2-3 hours a day, more if I can scrape together the time, and I normally enjoy the work, but it's difficult not to get discouraged sometimes.
In an effort to avoid burnout I'm going to force myself to take a break from it for a few days. I'd like to say I will leave it alone for a week but we all know that isn't going to happen.
In the meantime I am working on a short story. Why am I writing on my break from writing? I don't know. In my free time, I also read and work on dance stuff, but I don't watch television or play video games in my free time any more, and I try to limit the time I waste on the Internet. Mostly I write, think about writing, and bother my loved ones with my writing-related drama. In any case, writing this story feels like a break, so it's a break. So there.
Right now I am happy just to have an idea for a story. I've been searching for one for months, but I kept coming up with stuff that was too complicated to condense into short fiction. I'm hoping this idea is just complicated enough. It's going to be interesting to see how the project turns out.
But back to the book. Here's the thing-- I believe in the story and I believe in the characters. It's everything else I'm not so sure about. But whether or not the writing itself is hackneyed crap, I've gleaned a tremendous amount of knowledge from writing it. Even if there are problems with the manuscript that I will never be able to fix, I will keep writing other things and I will keep trying.
It would make me sad to let this project go, because I am so fond of the characters and the plot. But I'm nowhere near the point of no return, not yet. I'm not ready to give up. I just need a break.
It does feel weird to live in this space, where this project dominates so much of my mental energy, knowing I'm the only one who cares even ten percent this much about it. Even for me, an introvert with a hyperactive imagination and a tenuous grasp on reality-- even for me it's weird.
But I'm used to weird, so whatever.
The book has me in a funk. I have always oscillated through periods of liking it and hating it, and right now I am in a hater phase.
I am attempting to edit half of the chapters to make the voices of my two narrators more distinct. This means bringing these newly-reworked chapters back to a much less polished phase of production. Although I imagine that this process is necessary or at least beneficial, it's frustrating and discouraging.
I'm not just lazy. It's not that I don't want to work on the manuscript any more. I just have gotten to the point where I can't seem to tell if the changes I'm making are helping or hurting. Sometimes I wonder if I will even be able to resolve the issues I am trying to fix, or if the work has critical flaws that can't be undone.
I've been working on this novel since last April, which doesn't sound like too long (10 months, whatever), but it's been an intense 10 months. I normally work on it for at least 2-3 hours a day, more if I can scrape together the time, and I normally enjoy the work, but it's difficult not to get discouraged sometimes.
In an effort to avoid burnout I'm going to force myself to take a break from it for a few days. I'd like to say I will leave it alone for a week but we all know that isn't going to happen.
In the meantime I am working on a short story. Why am I writing on my break from writing? I don't know. In my free time, I also read and work on dance stuff, but I don't watch television or play video games in my free time any more, and I try to limit the time I waste on the Internet. Mostly I write, think about writing, and bother my loved ones with my writing-related drama. In any case, writing this story feels like a break, so it's a break. So there.
Right now I am happy just to have an idea for a story. I've been searching for one for months, but I kept coming up with stuff that was too complicated to condense into short fiction. I'm hoping this idea is just complicated enough. It's going to be interesting to see how the project turns out.
But back to the book. Here's the thing-- I believe in the story and I believe in the characters. It's everything else I'm not so sure about. But whether or not the writing itself is hackneyed crap, I've gleaned a tremendous amount of knowledge from writing it. Even if there are problems with the manuscript that I will never be able to fix, I will keep writing other things and I will keep trying.
It would make me sad to let this project go, because I am so fond of the characters and the plot. But I'm nowhere near the point of no return, not yet. I'm not ready to give up. I just need a break.
It does feel weird to live in this space, where this project dominates so much of my mental energy, knowing I'm the only one who cares even ten percent this much about it. Even for me, an introvert with a hyperactive imagination and a tenuous grasp on reality-- even for me it's weird.
But I'm used to weird, so whatever.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Cool stuff my friends are up to
I'm hoping to make this a regular blog installment-- hopefully I'll figure out a better name than the above. But yeah, my friends are up to some pretty cool stuff. Check it.
The fabulous Lisa Zahiya started a new blog, A Year of Practice, which chronicles her own resolution to practice every day in 2011 and encourages others to do the same. Practice what? Well, in her case she means bellydance, but the project isn't specific to that alone-- you can follow along in the field of your choice. What would happen if you dedicated thirty minutes a day for the next year to cultivating a skill or working towards a creative goal? We're trying to find out. I'm following along by trying to write or edit at least 1 hour a day, and practice dance for at least 30 minutes every day. WOO!
My friend, student, and MVTest Reader Ginny has also started a very different kind of blog-- one that delivers some pretty fantastic serialized fiction. Follow her writing project at Maybe, Possibly, Perhapsody. Anyone with a penchant for fantasy can pretty much count on getting sucked in immediately-- I know I did!
My friend and mentor Hannan Sultan just released a performance DVD! Having never seen the DVD, I can still tell you it's completely amazing because I was there when she filmed it. Hannan is really a dancer's dancer, and the routines on this DVD show off her amazing technique to great effect. You can buy the show on DVD or on digital rental-- see her website for more details.
And last but not least, my old friend William just wrote a fascinating article about video games for The Escapist that explores the following question: is it a glitch or a value add?
The fabulous Lisa Zahiya started a new blog, A Year of Practice, which chronicles her own resolution to practice every day in 2011 and encourages others to do the same. Practice what? Well, in her case she means bellydance, but the project isn't specific to that alone-- you can follow along in the field of your choice. What would happen if you dedicated thirty minutes a day for the next year to cultivating a skill or working towards a creative goal? We're trying to find out. I'm following along by trying to write or edit at least 1 hour a day, and practice dance for at least 30 minutes every day. WOO!
My friend, student, and MVTest Reader Ginny has also started a very different kind of blog-- one that delivers some pretty fantastic serialized fiction. Follow her writing project at Maybe, Possibly, Perhapsody. Anyone with a penchant for fantasy can pretty much count on getting sucked in immediately-- I know I did!
My friend and mentor Hannan Sultan just released a performance DVD! Having never seen the DVD, I can still tell you it's completely amazing because I was there when she filmed it. Hannan is really a dancer's dancer, and the routines on this DVD show off her amazing technique to great effect. You can buy the show on DVD or on digital rental-- see her website for more details.
And last but not least, my old friend William just wrote a fascinating article about video games for The Escapist that explores the following question: is it a glitch or a value add?
Monday, January 31, 2011
January recap and goals for February
It's that time of the month-- the time when I look at what I wanted to accomplish and either laugh at the naivete of my goals or berate myself for failing. Just kidding! I do usually get most of what I want to do done. Sort of. Sometimes.
Let's see how I did in January.
-Don't get sick again
I only got a little sick. I'm feeling okay for the most part. Silver Star!!
-Continue practicing as daily as possible
I am actually sticking to this resolution unless I genuinely feel too sick to practice. Gold Star!!
-Clean up Draft 3
I get bonus points for this one. Not only have I done a ton of editing, I forced myself to go to a writer's group and then I groveled to all my friends for help reading the manuscript. I've been super busy integrating all of the changes everyone has suggested and it's been really helpful. Happy Octopus Sticker!!
-Write a summary of the book
LOL, no. That did not happen. "0%" written in red Sharpie!
-Start researching literary agents
I did a little bit of work on this front, so I'll give myself a pass on this one. Check!
-Work on a new choreography
I'm not sure how I managed not to do this, what with all the practicing I've been doing, but I didn't even start on anything! Mr. Yuk sticker!
-Clean my damn house
I cleaned it twice-- really cleaned it, like a normal person who isn't a slob might-- and then tried to do maintenance cleaning. And yet, it still looks like a superfund site. Printed out image of Sisyphus!
-Eat less refined sugar
Yeah, uh, "less" is a relative term. I did eat less than last month, but I'm not sure I deserve credit for not carrying on with a diet that would put most people in diabetic shock. Apple sticker!
-Drink more water
Oh, that reminds me. *goes to the sink*
So what are my goals for February?
-Choreograph a solo for the Bozenka show. ALL OF IT.
-Write an epilogue for my book.
-Write a plot summary. No, really. Actually write it this time.
-Go to some more writers' meetups.
-Stop freaking out about anything and everything that has to do with book submission.
-Come up with an action plan for preparing my novel for submission over the next three months.
-Try to eat like a sane person, not a third grader.
Let's see how I did in January.
-Don't get sick again
I only got a little sick. I'm feeling okay for the most part. Silver Star!!
-Continue practicing as daily as possible
I am actually sticking to this resolution unless I genuinely feel too sick to practice. Gold Star!!
-Clean up Draft 3
I get bonus points for this one. Not only have I done a ton of editing, I forced myself to go to a writer's group and then I groveled to all my friends for help reading the manuscript. I've been super busy integrating all of the changes everyone has suggested and it's been really helpful. Happy Octopus Sticker!!
-Write a summary of the book
LOL, no. That did not happen. "0%" written in red Sharpie!
-Start researching literary agents
I did a little bit of work on this front, so I'll give myself a pass on this one. Check!
-Work on a new choreography
I'm not sure how I managed not to do this, what with all the practicing I've been doing, but I didn't even start on anything! Mr. Yuk sticker!
-Clean my damn house
I cleaned it twice-- really cleaned it, like a normal person who isn't a slob might-- and then tried to do maintenance cleaning. And yet, it still looks like a superfund site. Printed out image of Sisyphus!
-Eat less refined sugar
Yeah, uh, "less" is a relative term. I did eat less than last month, but I'm not sure I deserve credit for not carrying on with a diet that would put most people in diabetic shock. Apple sticker!
-Drink more water
Oh, that reminds me. *goes to the sink*
So what are my goals for February?
-Choreograph a solo for the Bozenka show. ALL OF IT.
-Write an epilogue for my book.
-Write a plot summary. No, really. Actually write it this time.
-Go to some more writers' meetups.
-Stop freaking out about anything and everything that has to do with book submission.
-Come up with an action plan for preparing my novel for submission over the next three months.
-Try to eat like a sane person, not a third grader.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Persona and confidence
The real SKB.
My FLOW class will be working on stage presence and persona this weekend. As I've been preparing our curriculum, I've been thinking about my own dance persona and my goals as a performer.
I've realized that I don't really have a dance persona. I have a real life persona. The way I behave in my performances, especially recently, is a better representation of who I really am as a person than how I act in everyday life.
My inner universe is intense, although not particularly dark, and I feel I need to consciously dull down the display of my emotions for the sake of everyday interactions. I just don't feel comfortable being myself to my fullest extent all the time. I'm afraid of alienating people by being too loud, too obsessed, too manic, too angry or too confident.
It's sad, but more than any other emotion, I intentionally downplay my confidence in front of other people, especially my female peers. I learned to do it when I was in elementary school, and I keep doing it today because I feel weird otherwise.
The truth is, I think I'm a great dancer. I know people enjoy watching my performances. I think I'm smart and talented and interesting and funny. I think I'm pretty and I have great hair. I try my best to be kind and responsible and to live my life ethically, whether or not I always succeed. I wear cool earrings. I might even be an okay writer.
I like myself. No-- I love myself. I am fucking awesome.
I'm proud of myself for learning to be confident again. I was super confident as a little kid, but then the world taught me that it is not cool to like yourself too much. I've learned to disagree. Since I've learned to love myself, I have more empathy for other people and I can appreciate their successes more easily. 99% of the time, I don't feel the need to compare myself to other dancers, but I can still admire strengths that other dancers have that I don't.
Still, the norm is that people, especially women, cut on themselves in public to accomplish some weird kind of social bonding with their peers. It's like we can only understand each other through our shared weaknesses. When was the last time you talked to your girlfriends about how great your own work is? Can you even remember? What about the last time you talked about how fat you always feel?
Sometimes I feel really alone-- it's like I'm the only one who's not drinking the haterade.
What we're telling ourselves and each other with this behavior is that it's normal to hate yourself, and it's deviant to like yourself. It's stupid. I try my best to avoid these mutual self-flagellation sessions, but sometimes I catch myself participating out of force of habit, or social pressure, or I don't even know-- something equally inane. I hate it. It needs to stop. It should be vastly less embarrassing to say something positive about yourself among peers than it is to cut on yourself. Why, then, is it always the other way around?
But I digress.
At the beginning of this session, I asked my students to tell me what they wanted to learn in class, or to give me questions they wanted me to answer. Almost everyone told me they wanted to know how to look more confident onstage. All right. Here's my opinion on that.
Sure, there are tricks you can use to emulate confidence onstage, but there's no substitute for actually being self-possessed and thinking you are awesome. This is a hard thing to accomplish, to be sure, but it's more important than any dance technique, or really anything else in your entire life, so you might as well give it a shot.
Find your confidence and guard it with your life. Society is going to try to beat it out of you-- in fact, they're doing it right now-- but don't let them. Fight for your love. Endeavor every single day to show yourself that you love yourself, the same way you would if you were trying to woo someone else. Tell yourself things that you like about yourself. A lot. Be heartfelt about it. Find ways to make yourself feel comfortable and happy. And for the love of God, if you wouldn't say something to a friend, NEVER say it to yourself.
No one else can make you feel that love, but once you feel it, no one can take it away.
OK. So. You work on that, and I'll work on trying to lose my mild-mannered real life persona.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
I need YOU
to help me accomplish my dream.
You. Yes-- you. Any and all of you-- however many of you are willing to help.
I supplicate myself before you and beg for your aid.
As you may or may not have heard, I have written a novel. I don't mean I have a half-finished idea for a novel, either-- in fact, it's about as done as I can make it on my own. I've put my heart and soul and countless hours of work into my book, and now my dream is to get it published. I have never felt this way about anything before in my life and I'm not sure I will ever feel this way again.
Soon I will be sending my book out to agents. As an unpublished writer, I know I need to expect that no one will be interested in it. Nevertheless, I'm going to do everything in my power to increase the chances that someone out there will at least want to look at the full manuscript.
Here are some ways that you can help my chances go from zero to marginal, or from marginal to slight:
If you are a published author or you work in the publishing industry, it would be invaluable to me to have you read an excerpt and give me your feedback. I don't expect you to read any more than a thousand words or so. If your feedback is positive, I may ask you for a quote I can use in my cover letters. If you are local to RTP, I would love to meet you and talk to you about your experience in the industry. If you're not, I'd still love to talk by email or on the phone whenever you have the time.
If you know anyone who works in the publishing industry, especially anyone who has ever worked with speculative writers, and you wouldn't mind giving me their contact information, please get in touch with me.
If you have editing experience, fiction or non-fiction, I could use your help. I am willing to trade private lessons or graphic design work with anyone who is interested in such an exchange.
If you are also an aspiring author, I would love to do an editing exchange.
If you like to read, I am still looking for test readers, especially for the first few chapters of the novel. There's never been a better time to become a test reader; the book is much stronger now than it was when I started editing it. The first three chapters together are less than ten thousand words long (which isn't long at all).
I need your honest, unfiltered reaction to what you read. Criticism is much more valuable to me than praise.
If you don't fit into any of these categories, but you know someone else who does, you could always forward them the link to this post. Please do.
You can also become a follower of my blog in the column to your right.
If you can think of anything else you can do to help me, please tell me.
If there's any way I can ever help you in return, let me know. I want to help you with your dreams too. What I can give in exchange includes bellydance instruction, bellydance-related advice and criticism, graphic design help, illustration work, administrative work, and copy editing.
In short, and within reason, I will do whatever I can to make you feel like the effort you're expending on my behalf is appreciated.
Thank you so much for reading-- just that much is sincerely appreciated as well.
You. Yes-- you. Any and all of you-- however many of you are willing to help.
I supplicate myself before you and beg for your aid.
As you may or may not have heard, I have written a novel. I don't mean I have a half-finished idea for a novel, either-- in fact, it's about as done as I can make it on my own. I've put my heart and soul and countless hours of work into my book, and now my dream is to get it published. I have never felt this way about anything before in my life and I'm not sure I will ever feel this way again.
Soon I will be sending my book out to agents. As an unpublished writer, I know I need to expect that no one will be interested in it. Nevertheless, I'm going to do everything in my power to increase the chances that someone out there will at least want to look at the full manuscript.
Here are some ways that you can help my chances go from zero to marginal, or from marginal to slight:
If you are a published author or you work in the publishing industry, it would be invaluable to me to have you read an excerpt and give me your feedback. I don't expect you to read any more than a thousand words or so. If your feedback is positive, I may ask you for a quote I can use in my cover letters. If you are local to RTP, I would love to meet you and talk to you about your experience in the industry. If you're not, I'd still love to talk by email or on the phone whenever you have the time.
If you know anyone who works in the publishing industry, especially anyone who has ever worked with speculative writers, and you wouldn't mind giving me their contact information, please get in touch with me.
If you have editing experience, fiction or non-fiction, I could use your help. I am willing to trade private lessons or graphic design work with anyone who is interested in such an exchange.
If you are also an aspiring author, I would love to do an editing exchange.
If you like to read, I am still looking for test readers, especially for the first few chapters of the novel. There's never been a better time to become a test reader; the book is much stronger now than it was when I started editing it. The first three chapters together are less than ten thousand words long (which isn't long at all).
I need your honest, unfiltered reaction to what you read. Criticism is much more valuable to me than praise.
If you don't fit into any of these categories, but you know someone else who does, you could always forward them the link to this post. Please do.
You can also become a follower of my blog in the column to your right.
If you can think of anything else you can do to help me, please tell me.
If there's any way I can ever help you in return, let me know. I want to help you with your dreams too. What I can give in exchange includes bellydance instruction, bellydance-related advice and criticism, graphic design help, illustration work, administrative work, and copy editing.
In short, and within reason, I will do whatever I can to make you feel like the effort you're expending on my behalf is appreciated.
Thank you so much for reading-- just that much is sincerely appreciated as well.
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