Weekly News

Posted on July 9, 2014 by kimlajevardi

I’m bbbaaaccckkk! 🙂 The week has flown by, and I’m here to share a few tidbits from the weird corners of the world. What will it be today you ask? Well, lean forward, wipe the fingerprints off your screen, and prepare to find out.

Our first nugget gives new meaning to the phrase “payback is a bitch.” This cub will never make this mistake again.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/08/lion-stuck-buffalo-butt_n_5567060.html?utm_hp_ref=weird-news

 

This next piece isn’t funny, but interesting and thought provoking instead. I actually think this is ingenious, but I wonder if the litigious nature of my home country – the U.S. – could ever actually use it. Hmm…

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/weird-news/slovakian-designers-seek-house-homeless-billboards-n151056

 

And in a totally dorky bit of science news, proof that bugs are so cool. Take that all you bug-stomping haters. 😛

http://www.wunderground.com/news/can-dung-beetles-fight-climate-change-study-says-yes-20130827

Until next week, keep reading. Our world is a fascinating place.

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IWSG, Weekly News, and Friday Freebie Announcement

Posted on July 2, 2014 by kimlajevardi

 Insecure Writer’s Support Group

Another month has come and gone, and so it’s time for another round of support and commiseration with my favorite group of online writers. This bloghop is a chance to share, collaborate, and, if you’re in need, seek comfort. So, if you haven’t already signed up, click on the link and get started.

On to what I’m focused on this month – editing.

I don’t know how everyone else does it, but I’m working on the final passes through my manuscript, and it’s taking me much longer than I originally thought it would. I thought I’d be knee-deep in world-building and outlining my next project when July reared its head, but as it stands, I’m still halfway through pass three in my final edits and polishing. Don’t get me wrong – these passes have been quite productive, and I feel like my scenes are gaining depth and nuances that simply weren’t there at any other time during the three-year creation process, but  I still have a couple of more weeks before they’re completely finished.

This leads me to my questions: How does everyone else edit? Does it ever go as quickly as you think it should? Or do you find yourself making pass after pass each time with an eye toward a different aspect of your storytelling?

Next up: Weekly News.

For those of you who don’t know, I have a new weekly focus on weird and/or interesting news pieces that I find. I love watching and reading about the reality that surrounds, and in many a case, beats out even the best fiction for slap-my-forehead responses. So, without further ado, here’s what I found this week:

First up is a little, tiny case of overkill. Now I know some people are afraid of spiders, but isn’t a raging fire just a tiny bit worse?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/29/ginny-griffith-spider-home-on-fire-kill_n_5541172.html?utm_hp_ref=weird-news

Next up, um… there, there Mr. Thief. You’d think that in order to actually commit crimes, you’d have to develop a little toughness. You’d think. *Roll eyes* Guess this robber didn’t get that memo. What a doofus.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/28/thief-cries-during-day-inn-robbery_n_5538866.html?utm_hp_ref=weird-news

The final tidbit for my feature today is science related because I’m a big ol’ science dork, that’s why. 🙂 So cool! Don’t try this at home kids.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/18/pyro-board-music-on-fire-video_n_5173848.html?utm_hp_ref=weird-science

Last, but certainly not least, is an announcement from my friend Lexa Cain. She’s got a great new feature she’s rolling out on her blog called Friday Freebies. Here’s the spiel about it:

I’m gonna start doing “Freebie Friday” on my blog to spread the love of FREE STUFF! If anyone’s book or novella is free, or if you have a free service, contest, or giveaway – please write me/PM/comment/whatever so I can plug you and your “Freebie” on my blog.

http://lexacain.blogspot.com/

 

 

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Weekly News

Posted on June 25, 2014 by kimlajevardi

I’m back. Yep, it’s been another week, and with this brief passing of time comes another installment of my new news feature. 😉 I know you’ve been on the edge of your seat in anticipation. Admit it. I won’t keep you in suspense because this week has been quite a doozy. So without further ado… here comes the news:

(You can clap. I know you want to.)

This first story is, well, it is exactly what you expect from college-aged guys, except for that whole college education part. Just read it. Seriously funny.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/27971248

 

This next one is a strong case for a reality check. They are a cute couple, but not every situation calls for a selfie. SERIOUSLY!

http://abcnews.go.com/News/octogenarian-couple-poses-photo-op-flipping-car/story?id=24317957

 

And I can’t end a post without a bit of science news. Come on. I’m a science girl. Raining plasma on the sun. So cool! 🙂

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/06/140624093244.htm

 

 

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Weekly News

Posted on June 18, 2014 by kimlajevardi

Seven days have come and gone. During this past week, the news has been filled with The World Cup, OJ Simpson, and a variety of life-altering stories that have and will continue to shape the lives of people around the globe. You can and probably already have heard your fill of those stories that are full of shock and awe  – and just the right amount of attention-grabbing spark to make the headlines. But those aren’t the stories I’m interested in. 😉

This week, there were other stories, and those are the ones that grabbed my attention:

I just found out that all I need to be a professional soccer player worthy of World Cup ambitions is caramel. Without it, though, comes loss and dashed hopes. Just ask Uruguay. 

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/world-cup-2014-uruguay-squads-3712078

 

Um…I just don’t have words. Wait, one word does come to mind: CREEPY!

http://abcnews.go.com/US/dead-people-life-poses-funerals/story?id=23456853

 

And in terms of just being cool, and promoting more out-of-this-world research, this next news story fascinates the science side of me.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/09/130910093913.htm

 

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Weekly News

Posted on June 11, 2014 by kimlajevardi

Okay, I know you have been waiting for my new weekly news feature. It’s all right, you can admit it. 🙂 Ever since I posted during last weeks IWSG, the computer has been pinging from the thousands of people awaiting anxiously for my new feature. 

Well, maybe thousands is an over-statement, um… Oh wait, is that a squirrel?

Anyways, it is the dawning of a new age. *Duh, duh, dum* The age where Kim blogs more than once a month. You’re excited. I can feel it. 

Without further ado…my new weekly feature: News that made me think, feel, or just slap my hand against my forehead.

 

This first story is from our friends over at livescience.com, and, well, damn. Just read it. Poor male ants – outlived by their own sperm. 

http://www.livescience.com/46249-ant-sperm-use-teamwork.html

 

Not to go totally off in a different direction, even though that’s exactly what I’m doing. 😉 But here’s a little tasty bit that I just couldn’t resist. How could you possibly explain being late to work for this? 

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/squidlock-giant-replica-psychic-octopus-snarls-london-commute-n121036

 

And in closing, who can resist a great song? This guy really knows how to make use of an airline delay. 🙂

http://canton-ga.patch.com/groups/goodnews/p/man-stuck-in-las-vegas-airport-shoots-celine-dion-music-video_cb35e173

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Another month is upon us, a glorious summer month no less. It’s time for another round of The Insecure Writer’s Group blog hop. The first Wednesday of each month writers from across the web get together to commiserate, encourage, or just plain old chat about their writing lives. If you haven’t already checked out some of their blogs, click on the image above and get to it. There’s a lot of talent among our list and a slew of newly-released books as well.

On to my post for the month. In keeping with the long-standing tradition I began last month :), I have a question rather than an insecurity. My question stems from this under-utilized blog actually. I’ve been racking my brain to figure out how to meld my interests and curiosities with regular postings online.

Here are some of the thoughts that have rattled around amongst the cobwebs and dust currently taking up space inside my skull:

*I’m not a writing expert, and there are many more talented voices than I at work already posting about their writing journeys.

*I don’t have many hobbies because all my spare time is spent writing or vegging (vegging is an important part of preparing for writing I’ll have you know :P).

*I LOVE books, but I read for pleasure not for the chance to complete dissecting reviews for posting online (I save those for my CPs).

All of those truths about my life got me thinking about what I should post once I cleared the list of what I shouldn’t, and here’s what I came up with: I should post about the truly bizarre world we call reality.

Mark Twain once stated that: Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn’t.

And you know what, I agree. I believe that the best ideas I’ve had in fiction have been culled from experiences in life. Even fantasy shorts I’ve written have pulled from mannerisms of real people, or aspects of the human condition that are inextricable from what I picture when I imagine the scenes unfolding.

So long-story short, what do my many readers 🙂 think about the idea of a weekly posting about news events? Some of them will be wacky – I can’t help it, I’m a little wacky sometimes – but others will not. I have no intention of posting things about politics or religion unless of course those are found in one the truly weird news items I find – then all bets are off. But, ultimately, I’ll be focusing on those news pieces that capture my attention and occasionally my heart.

What do you guys think?

Have you ever found inspiration from real-life events?

 

 

 

Posted on June 4, 2014 by kimlajevardi | 16 Comments

Manuscript Wishlist May 2014

Posted on May 10, 2014 by kimlajevardi

Manuscript Wishlist May 2014.

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IWSG

Posted on May 7, 2014 by kimlajevardi

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Another month, another chance to join in the virtual support group that calls itself the Insecure Writer’s Support Group. If you haven’t already checked out the talented group of writers that call this group home at the beginning of every month, do. It’s as easy as a click on the image above. 🙂

On to my own insecurity.

This month I should really say what I’d like to post about is a curiosity rather than an insecurity. It centers around my upcoming preparations to begin my second book. I’m slowly putting the finishing touches on book one, and I’ll edit on it in pieces over the next month or so, but all the big picture edits are done. So, what’s a writer to do?

Query? Yes of course, but that’s a lot of waiting around, twiddling my thumbs if I’m lucky. Crying and hiding under my covers if I’m not.

So what’s another option to keep my mind and anxiety busy? Book two. 🙂 

I plan on jumping right on in to writing out an idea that began as a short a while ago. Over the time that it’s been squatting in my brain, many plot pieces, character elements, and questions have continually swirled around, refusing to let go. With the slight freeing up of grey matter that results from wrapping up the major writing portion of book one, I’ve decided to devote some real creative effort into the cloud of ideas that claim to be my second book.

My curiosity stems from the fact that I’m switching genres. My first book was a character driven, women’s interest mainstream fiction piece. Now…*drumroll please* I’m beginning work on a fantasy book, and this next part might be debatable, but if I were to be completely forthcoming, I’d have to say an epic fantasy book/trilogy. Seriously. 😮

And this transition is at the heart of my curiosity this month. My questions are:

1) Do you feel comfortable switching genres or are you a one genre kind of writer?

2) If you do write in more than one genre, what do you do to prepare yourself for the different styles, expectations, etc…?

 

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IWSG

Posted on April 1, 2014 by kimlajevardi

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It’s that time again. Another month, another chance to celebrate our collective insecurities. If you haven’t already checked out the blogs of the talented pool of writers that participate in this blog hop, click on the picture immediately and get started.

As for me, well, not as many insecurities lurking around the corners in my little corner of the world this month. It’s not because I sold my manuscript for some fabulously high advance (excuse me while I pause to imagine that 🙂 ).

Okay, break’s over.

Anyways, my temporary spate of security is not due to anything other than a good old-fashioned vacation. Yep, that’s right, I went somewhere other than up to my office, behind my little desk, and *gasp* I didn’t write a word. Five days where I didn’t stare at my screen willing the last few chapters of my rewrite to finish writing themselves, and (come closer so I can whisper this next part) I’ve been more productive in the days since I returned than in the weeks preceding my vacay.

So, my question for everyone out there is: Are you a more productive writer after a short break away or does it simply pull you out of your groove?

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IWSG

Posted on February 4, 2014 by kimlajevardi

InsecureWritersSupportGroup

Another month has come and gone, speeding by me yet again. But with the race of another lunar cycle comes an opportunity to reach through the virtual world toward the writers that make up The Insecure Writer’s Support Group. This wonderfully supportive group of anxiety-prone  nervous um… creative, yeah that’s the word. This wonderfully supportive group of creative writers has a great deal to say about surviving: writing, revising, querying, publishing and many other activities linked to a writing career. If you’re similarly inclined, or just plain curious, hop on over and give their blogs a look. You might just enjoy a laugh or two.

On to my post. 🙂

This month I want to discuss writing contests.

Submit a Google search for writing contests, and you’ll get pages of hits. Contests that range from large to small, expensive to free, short story to novel-length, etc… In effect, an entry into whichever niche you feel your work best belongs. A foray into the size pond you feel you belong.

Do you feel like a big fish? Well, there are opportunities to submit to the big stage, make a real splash. You may even be lauded as a genius in front of the biggest agents in the business. Sweet, right?

Or are you just starting out, opportunities abound for you as well. Local writing conferences generally have associated contests that allow you to compete with a smaller pool of writers. I’d dipped my toe in that particular small pond. I didn’t win, but I did end up in the final five, providing a boon to my fragile ego and a momentarily calming effect on my insecurities.

So why am I telling you all this? Well, I’m thinking of jumping into an even bigger pool. Taking on a much bigger body of water. And I wanted to know, what are your experiences with writing contests? Has it helped you grow as a writer? 

Well,

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