Writing
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Narrativity 2022 – You Can’t Do That … Unless it Works
Yesterday I returned home from this year’s Narrativity convention (where we continued to require masks and proof of vaccination). Our theme this year was “You Can’t Do That . . . Unless it Works”. And that seemed to be the theme of the entire weekend, not just our panels. Let me start by saying that I am not capable of being actually critical of this convention. It was our third time meeting in person, and I have been at all of them. I LOVE the community that is Narrativity. I look forward to seeing them every year, and every year, I leave wanting all of them to live closer to…
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Narrativity Take 2 – a review
It has been 10 months since I last posted here. The question of “do I even blog anymore?” is a legitimate one. (And one I hope I can answer with a yes, going forward.) What can bring me back to the blog after 10 months away? Why, Narrativity, of course. I recommend you go read my review of the first Narrativity, because pretty much everything I had to say then is still true. Narrativity is a conference about storytelling. Much of the focus is on novels and short stories, but the goal is to bring in all forms of storytelling – theater, television/movies, video games, art, dance, music, etc. Story…
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Narrativity – a review
One week ago today, I was in Minneapolis (or close enough) for the start of the very first Narrativity Conference. Let me be perfectly honest, I went to Narrativity for pure fan-girl reasons. Steven Brust was one of the organizers, and I learned about the conference from him via his facebook page. I have been reading Brust’s books since I was in high school. That means he has been one of my favorite authors for over 25 years. Since moving to the Seattle area, I have been very blessed with having the opportunity to attend readings and signings with many of my favorite authors, Gaiman, Gibson, Modesitt, and Megan Lindholm…
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Gratitude Journal #23
I had thought that maybe I would have a chance to write last week’s Gratitude Journal yesterday afternoon. That was when I thought the conference I was attending this weekend was going to end around 4p, and since my flight home was not until 8p, I would have a couple of hours to write. But the programming for the conference went all the way until 6:15p. I actually left an hour earlier to make sure I made it to the airport on time. But basically, it resulted in no time to write yesterday. Normally I try to make the Gratitude Journal about the little things in my life – Starbucks…
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A Review of My Side Hustle (Part 3 of 3)
Back in May I started writing book reviews as a side hustle via Online Book Club. This is a review of my experience so far. Now that I am done complaining about the scoring system (well really, about how parts of it are implemented), what else am I noticing about Online Book Club? This is a community of book lovers, and like all communities, but especially ones that are monetized in this way, it really wants you to be involved. 20 of those 46 points I mentioned you could get without writing a single review? Those come from commenting on the forums. In addition, most of us do not have…
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A Review of My Side Hustle (Part 2 of 3)
Back at the end of May, I started writing book reviews for Online Book Club. This is a review of my experience so far. My final issue with their system is with the claim that a reviewer could become a level 5 or 6 reviewer in as few as three reviews. Now, the reviewer score is out of 100 points. You need at least 85 points in order to be a level 5 reviewer. A person can get a score of 46 without ever writing a single review. You do have to have written at least one review to get any other points. 14 of those points come from popularity.…
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A Review of My Side Hustle (Part 1 of 3)
I have been doing my side hustle for a little over a month now, and naturally, I have some thoughts. Let me start by saying, I am overall happy with the process. I have gotten to read some really interesting books that I would not have noticed otherwise. There has also been one book that I could not finish. It just bugged me too much. But that is not the fault of Online Book Review. (And while it seems from the reviews that many people agreed with my issues, many others did not and enjoyed the book tremendously.) Now that I have said something positive (and honestly, my overall experience…
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New Page & Side Hustle
Nowadays, a lot of people have “side hustles”, ways to make money alongside their regular job. These used to be called “second jobs”, but that was before the gig economy. And for a lot of bloggers, their blog is their side hustle, at least until they can grow it to the point of it being their primary job. That is not me. I thought, way back in the day when I was managing four active blogs, that it might be. But then I realized that blogging was an enjoyable hobby for me, and trying to turn it into a money making device kind of sucked the fun out of it.…
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The Importance of Story
I found out yesterday that one of my favorite authors, Steven Brust, is helping put together a conference specifically on story this summer. I am super excited about Narrativity, and am working to put all my ducks in a row in order to go. Because story is important. Story is important to all writers, and most creative people out there. Story is not just important in fiction. It is important in non-fiction, including blog posts. It is important in game development, for video games, role playing games, board games. Story is what draws us in and keeps up coming back. Story is how we connect. Way back when I was…
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Back at the Beginning – Writing & Accountability
One week ago today, I sat in a coffee shop with a group of friends, and we started an accountability group. This was originally pictured perhaps as a writing group in which accountability was a major factor, but in discussions it changed to simply being about having a group of people to help hold you accountable for the things you need to get done that might otherwise slip by the wayside. People in the group have various goals, from writing so many words (or in my case, blog posts) a week, to downsizing in advance of a move, to losing weight or eating healthier. I am, for now, sticking with…
