WanderLost

amandaonwriting:

10 Things Aspiring Novelists Should Know
Your novel is not a personal journal. Consider the reader.
Writing is a business. You enter into an agreement with a reader. You agree to entertain in exchange for their money and emotion. You agree to inform for their time.
Readers don’t like charmless heroes. Just because your protagonist happens to be an anti-hero does not mean you are free to make him or her 100% unlikable.
Only experienced novelists who have successfully completed two published books should attempt to use an anti-hero as a protagonist.
Antagonists should be people, not things.
If you aren’t willing to listen to advice, if you aren’t able to learn from your mistakes, and if you aren’t prepared to let go of stories nobody wants to read, you will probably not succeed.
You have to read a lot to be able to write.
Using examples of famous authors who were published more than 30 years ago to justify long passages of description in your boring manuscript is not a good idea. Publishing has changed. Readers have changed.
Self-publishing does not mean you don’t need to pay somebody to proofread and edit your book. Readers are insulted when they find mistakes in books. It’s like serving guests dinner on dirty plates.
Always delete the first three chapters of the first draft of your first three novels. It will always be filled with backstory you don’t need.
Image created at Someecards
by Amanda Patterson

#9. Oh god, #9. I always pick up on typos and continuity errors, and they drive me nuts. Particularly the continuity errors.

10 Things Aspiring Novelists Should Know

Your novel is not a personal journal. Consider the reader.

Writing is a business. You enter into an agreement with a reader. You agree to entertain in exchange for their money and emotion. You agree to inform for their time.

Readers don’t like charmless heroes. Just because your protagonist happens to be an anti-hero does not mean you are free to make him or her 100% unlikable.

Only experienced novelists who have successfully completed two published books should attempt to use an anti-hero as a protagonist.

Antagonists should be people, not things.

If you aren’t willing to listen to advice, if you aren’t able to learn from your mistakes, and if you aren’t prepared to let go of stories nobody wants to read, you will probably not succeed.

You have to read a lot to be able to write.

Using examples of famous authors who were published more than 30 years ago to justify long passages of description in your boring manuscript is not a good idea. Publishing has changed. Readers have changed.

Self-publishing does not mean you don’t need to pay somebody to proofread and edit your book. Readers are insulted when they find mistakes in books. It’s like serving guests dinner on dirty plates.

Always delete the first three chapters of the first draft of your first three novels. It will always be filled with backstory you don’t need.

Image created at Someecards

by Amanda Patterson

#9. Oh god, #9. I always pick up on typos and continuity errors, and they drive me nuts. Particularly the continuity errors.

Reblogged 5 hours ago from teachingliteracy

889 notes

myidealhome:

wallpaper envy (via Interiors / Wallpaper from Printed Space)

I would love a wall-sized map.

Reblogged 6 hours ago from thewhimsybookworm

1,989 notes

Apparently that job I interviewed for last week lost interest in me before we got around to scheduling the second interview.

Grrrrrr!

We were emailing back and forth on Friday to set up an interview time for yesterday or today, but didn’t get a time arranged before the end of the day.

So I expected to hear back from them bright and early Monday morning setting up a time. Flash forward to tonight and there has been no contact.

I really don’t know what to think but going by past experience I’m assuming that they’ve taken me out of the running and moved on to other candidates.

I’ll send them another email tomorrow, politely asking about scheduling the interview and see what happens, but I’m not optimistic.

And I really wanted this job too. I also thought that the first interview went fairly well.

There is NOTHING more frustrating than job searching.

Grrrrrrrr.

Posted 8 hours ago

job searching, massive frustration, That job was PERFECT for me and I really really wanted it,

A good laugh and a long sleep are the two best cures for anything.

- Irish proverb (via ponceau)

(Source: iheartloons)

Reblogged 8 hours ago from sayrahanne

85,297 notes

Archaeological News: Guardians of Peru’s Treasures Stake Out Post Office to Block Smuggling

archaeologicalnews:

LIMA, Peru — Gladiz Collatupa, an archaeologist, once stashed six mummies at her parents’ house for safe keeping. That was when she dug for artifacts in the dirt of Peru, rich with the leavings of past cultures like the Inca and the Moche. Now she digs through packages at the post office…

Reblogged 1 day ago from archaeologicalnews

49 notes

Oh desert, I shall miss you.

Reblogged 1 day ago from coffeeinthemountains

4,652 notes

Archaeological News: Egyptologist risks life, career to expose looting

archaeologicalnews:

ABU SIR AL MALAQ, Egypt — Monica Hanna’s reputation as an archaeologist has grown far beyond her native Egypt — but not without risk.

As she and several journalists documented looting at an ancient burial site here, several men – one with a shotgun slung over a shoulder — threatened her.

“I…