Category: Friday Forum

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Friday Forum: 3/5

Roger Ebert. Image from nextmovie.com
Roger Ebert. Image from nextmovie.com

Prolific journalist, film critic and screen writer Roger Ebert died yesterday. Whether you agreed with his reviews or not, somehow we all wanted to know what he thought about the movies we loved. He’s the reason “two thumbs up” is a staple phrase in American culture. What made him unique for his time was how he judged a movie based not only on the basic film techniques and artsy stuff, but also on how it made him feel. If he really didn’t like a movie, he came out and said it! In addition to his journalism  career, he was also a social media pioneer for writers. He has been using a laptop to email his work since the early 1990’s, kept a blog and thrived on Twitter. All this enabled his work to continue even after he lost the use of his voice (to cancer) in 2006. He truly was an inspiration to writers, journalists in particular. We will miss you Mr. Ebert.

You can read Roger Ebert’s official obituary for free online at rogerebert.com. What are your memories or experiences with Ebert’s work?

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Friday Forum: 3/22

Image from pagetopremiere.com
Image from pagetopremiere.com

An author has made major headway for writers on the publishing scene. Hugh Howey has managed to become a millionaire from his science fiction series which is available on Amazon. “Wool” sold more than 400,000 ebooks and was optioned for Hollywood, and all well before the first print edition rolled off the press! What makes this story a special example of hope for writers everywhere is this: the average author gets about 12% of the profits from a book sold through a publisher, with Hugh’s contract with Simon & Schuster he has managed to arrange for 70%. (You can listen to his interview with KIRO radio). Could this be a new trend allowing authors to benefit more from their hard work? Check out what Hugh Howey has been up to with his series Wool.

As a writer have you considered how you are going to get your work into the hands of your readers? Through a publisher? Through independent publishing? Amazon? Here’s hoping this is a new dawn for aspiring authors everywhere.

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Friday Forum: 2/1

Vintage Typewriter

It’s the start of a new month. All of January we’ve been discussing how to keep up the momentum of resolutions made in the new year. How did your January go? What are your plans for February? I’m planning on giving my goals for writing fiction a second look. Cheers to you if you’ve stayed strong in your goals through January, and godspeed for an equally productive February!

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Friday Forum: 1/25

Telecom rack

When I look at the photo above…I’ll be honest, I have no idea what I’m looking at. My husband, however, sees a telecom rack. I’m not entirely sure what a telecom rack is, but maybe not knowing can be beneficial.  Perhaps a writer’s imagination can cook up something a little more interesting. Try this exercise for fun, swap photos with a friend or find an image that you are unfamiliar with and create a story to go with it. Then share that story with your friend and compare it with the truth behind the photo.

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Friday Forum: 1/11

cat-watching-tv

Certain TV shows always inspire me and get me thinking about the writers behind them. How do they come up with such amazing concepts and ideas? What is their writing process? Where do they find inspiration? This is why I love following their blogs. Do you have any writers that you follow? What do you glean from them? Who are your favorites?

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Friday Forum: 1/4

The laundry hamper is apparently the perfect place for an ambush.
The laundry hamper is apparently the perfect place for an ambush.

Earlier we shared about our favorite posts from the past year in a year end Retrospective. Now we’d like to know which ones you liked best. Share which of our posts came to be your favorites and why. Any feedback you can provide will help us better serve you in the coming year. Thanks!