Tag: Mandy Webster

Book Reviews, Reading

This is why I don’t buy books

Mandy Webster
Portrait of a Byzantine empress, possibly Theo...
Portrait of a Byzantine empress, possibly Theodora. 6th century a.D. In the Museum of Ancient Art in the Castello sforzesco in Milan, Italy. Picture by Giovanni Dall’Orto, january 6 2007. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I love books as much as the next writer. But I’m poor, so I typically opt to borrow them from the library rather than purchasing them. The book I bought at Barnes & Noble the other day reminded me why I shouldn’t bother purchasing books at all.

I picked up a historical novel about the Byzantine empress, Theodora that looked like it might be a good read. I do think it could have been an intriguing story, but the writing was terrible. (I’m not going to tell you the name of the novel because I don’t really believe in writing bad reviews. I’d like to be a published author someday and know I’d rather do without internet trolls raving on about how horrible my work is.)

Although the author is a historian who seems to know her facts, her novel is an excellent example of how poor writing can take a true story and render it completely unbelievable. Her attempt to create language that is authentic to the time is feeble at best. The constant use of clichés and modern colloquialisms kept dragging me out of the story as I had to continually remind myself what time period I was reading about.   Continue reading “This is why I don’t buy books” →

Employment

This is why I can’t find a job.

Mandy Webster
Feet in the forest
My feet feel right at home in the forest.

When I was a kid, I wanted to do everything when I grew up.  I wanted to be a writer, of course, but I also wanted to be an airplane pilot. And a race car driver. A Peace Corp volunteer, a detective, a horse jockey, and of course, a nun.

So now I’m (supposedly) an adult, I have finished graduate school, and writing jobs are hard to come by. I keep widening and broadening my search only to realize that I want to do a ton of really cool shit that I am completely unqualified for.

For example: why didn’t I go to school for forestry management? That job sounds awesome. I am so jealous of the people who get to manage the forest for a living. It is so unfair. I want to work full time in the middle of a national forest. I want to drive a bulldozer and plant trees. But I can’t because I didn’t go to school for that. Continue reading “This is why I can’t find a job.” →

Memoir

I write what I read

Mandy Webster
let's pretend this never happened by jenny lawson
This is me taking a break from reading at the beach.

Do you ever find yourself urged to write in the same genre you happen to be reading at the moment? I got the idea for my current WIP while reading a fantasy novel. Since then, I have been on a quest to devour every novel I can find that is even remotely related to what I am writing in an effort to keep the writing pump primed.

If I stray too far beyond the sphere of what I am writing, it throws me off. For example, if I take a break to read some poetry, I find myself writing poetry instead of novel scenes. Now that I’m reading a memoir, guess what? I’ve decided to write a memoir.

The Bloggess, otherwise known as Jenny Lawson, writes one of the funniest blogs I have ever read in my entire life. I can always count on her to make me laugh out loud, literally, when I’m feeling my worst. For example, this post here. I didn’t just LOL. I totally snorted. Read it, I dare you. Continue reading “I write what I read” →

Write Your Novel this Summer Challenge

Summer Writing Challenge Check-in: Week 3 (I wrote something. I actually wrote something!)

Mandy Webster
The writing life - a stack of notebooks
My current stack of notebooks includes a pretty fairy journal. Follow me on Instagram for more pretty pictures.

We are now three full weeks into the Write Your Novel this Summer writing challenge, and I can finally report that I have written something! This week, I finally managed to break through my writer’s block and am gaining some momentum. Here’s a quick look at what I have accomplished:

Places to Write, Uncategorized

Places to write: TreeGhost General Store and Café, Hubertus, WI

Mandy Webster
TreeGhost General Store and Cafe located in Hubertus, WI.
This was our table for the day at the TreeGhost General Store and Cafe located in Hubertus, WI.

Saturday, my writer friend and I trekked out to Hubertus, WI, located at 5241 State HWY 167 (Holy Hill Rd) to spend the day writing at the TreeGhost Café. TreeGhost is conveniently located within minutes of the Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Help of Christians, at Holy Hill, and is an excellent locale for those of you who would like to do some sightseeing before or after you write.

Locally owned and operated, TreeGhost offers service you just won’t find at any chain café. When we arrived, we were personally greeted by Kevin, the owner. Kevin made sure we had everything we needed for a productive day of writing and wasn’t satisfied until he made sure I was able to get my laptop online. Continue reading “Places to write: TreeGhost General Store and Café, Hubertus, WI” →

Blogging, Digital Marketing, Employment

Check out Fiverr for buying and selling writing services

Mandy Webster
I will tell you how to drive readers to your blog for just $5.
Check out my first gig on Fiverr.

A reader (thanks, Tonette!) recently suggested I check out a website called Fiverr to see if I can find someone to design a book cover for a collection of poems I would like to self-publish. While I haven’t yet found someone to design my book cover, it did occur to me that maybe I should post a few gigs of my own on Fiverr.

My first idea was to offer novel critiques to fellow writers looking to polish their novels before self-publishing. (I also borrowed this idea from another reader.) I posted a gig for this, but after getting to know the website a bit better, I do not think this is quite the right format for advertising this particular service. Continue reading “Check out Fiverr for buying and selling writing services” →

Relationships, Truth, Written Communication

I love stationary

Mandy Webster
butterfly stationary
This is the stationary I purchased on my latest trip to B & N.

While at Barnes and Noble the other day, I spent a large quantity of time in the stationary section. I love stationary. While it doesn’t make me happy (that would be silly,) it does give me an intense feeling of pleasure to consider covering a piece of pretty paper with a good, old fashioned, handwritten letter.

I can spend as much time choosing stationary as I spend choosing a book to read. I have to get it right because I don’t write so many letters these days. Before the internet, both of my grandmothers used to send me cards and letters on a regular basis. When I was in the military, getting mail was one of the highlights of my life. One of my grandmas has since passed away, and the other still sends cards. But it’s been a long time since I have gotten anything but bills and junk in my snail mailbox. Continue reading “I love stationary” →

Write Your Novel this Summer Challenge

Summer writing challenge check in: Week 2

Mandy Webster
overcoming writer's block - crumpled paper on ...
This wad of paper pretty much sums up all aspects of my life at the moment. | overcoming writer’s block – crumpled paper on wooden floor – crushed paper (Photo credit: photosteve101)

I am setting a horrible example for my summer writing challenge participants. I just can’t seem to get anything written. At least not on my novel. I’ve been dealing with some personal issues (on top of the whole job fiasco, as if I didn’t have enough to feel depressed about,) and it seems like every time I put a pen to paper, that’s all I can write about. This doesn’t bode well for me finishing my novel by the end of the summer.

So, my accomplishments this week: there was one. I wrote a tragedy arc for one of my characters to try to stoke the writing fires. That didn’t get me far. I’m thinking of writing a tragedy arc for myself next. It might be fun to plot my own demise. Continue reading “Summer writing challenge check in: Week 2” →

Book Reviews, Publishing

You must read Hugh Howey’s novel, Wool

Mandy Webster
Hugh Howey Wool
Hugh Howey’s novel Wool is now a New York Times Bestseller.

A long time ago, I thought about writing book reviews for every book I read. What an easy way to come up with content for my blog, right? But for some reason, the books I had read just kept piling up around my desk without me ever getting around to writing those reviews. Until now. Now I have finally read something so good, I feel compelled to blog about it.

I just finished reading Hugh Howey’s novel Wool, and I must say, it is the best book I have read in a long, long time. Wool is a futuristic dystopian novel that follows the story of a people who have been living in underground silos since the destruction of the outside world several years in the past. Continue reading “You must read Hugh Howey’s novel, Wool” →

Poetry, Publishing

I need some advice on self-publishing

Mandy Webster
Insert cover art here
It’s probably pretty pathetic that something as simple as designing a book cover is what is keeping me from self-publishing my poems, huh?

A few semesters ago, I took a poetry writing course. I don’t really consider myself a poet, but I like to dabble from time to time. I wanted to take a course that would challenge me to think about my writing in a different way, and this poetry course definitely fit the bill.

At first, I had a hard time writing poems on demand. Then I started reading poetry on a regular basis, and the ideas began to flow. I started jotting stuff down as it came to me, and I ended up with a stock of poems to choose from whenever the time came to turn one in for a grade. Continue reading “I need some advice on self-publishing” →