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The Latest From The Dreamer

Ethics and Publishing

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The first Wednesday of each month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. As members of this community, we post on our own blog our thoughts, talk about our doubts, the fears we have conquered, and we our struggles and triumphs. Go read the post of our awesome co-hosts  here  and here . August 6 question:  What is the most unethical practice in the publishing industry? To tell the truth, I always feel bad commenting on subjects I do not know deeply. Do I find unethical material online? Yes, all this copying of other people's works, like plagiarism, bothers me.  The Book Edition World: a Topic I Know Little About I know very little about the practices in the publishing world. If we compare independent authors and those who work with an agent and a publishing house, there are differences, at least in my corner of the world. Here, bookstores and libraries exclude independent authors from distribution. Only authors published by a “real” publishing house may be...

IWSG - try to write in other genres

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The first Wednesday of each month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. As members of this community, we post on our own blog our thoughts, talk about our doubts, the fears we have conquered, and we our struggles and triumphs. The awesome co-hosts' posts July 2 can be found here  and here . July 2 question: Is there a genre you haven't tried writing in yet that you really want to try? If so, do you plan on trying it? I write horror and fantasy. I would like to add romance to those stories. I still feel like a beginner in the way I develop myself in writing. Yes, I want to mix horror or fantasy with a brief romance. I enjoy more reading stories when there is a tiny romance plot added. I love reading about relationships, so romance is the way. Writing romance is difficult for some people. You have to master the art to keep readers interested through sustained emotional tension between beautiful characters! In fact, I wished I could transfer this in my writing, to mak...

Young Adult Defining Reads

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What were some books that impacted you as a child or young adult? The first Wednesday of each month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. As members of this community, we post on our own blog our thoughts, talk about our doubts, the fears we have conquered, and we our struggles and triumphs. The awesome co-hosts for the June 4 posts can be found here . I know: I’m late. Here is my take on June's discussion.  Out of the books I had to read in highschool (one per year, at most) and college, Herman Hesse's Siddhartha and Agaguk  opened my mind to other philosophies and ways of life.  Later, as I entered the working life at 20 years old, I discovered I could travel through books while  facing a new challenge for me:  communicating in English, and with unknown (for me) cultures at work. Through Romain Gary/Émile Ajar's Life Before Us and Amitav Gosh's The Circle of Reason , I found out my trips will always involve getting to know a community and its pe...

Coping With My Biggest Fears

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Some common fears writers share are rejection, failure, success, and lack of talent or ability.  What are your greatest fears as a writer? How do you manage them? I am posting this one one month later than expected. Better late than never, as we say. The first Wednesday of each month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. As members of this community, we post on our own blog our thoughts, talk about our doubts, the fears we have conquered, and we our struggles and triumphs. The awesome co-hosts for the May 7 posting of the IWSG were:  Feather Stone,   Janet Alcorn,   Rebecca Douglass, Jemima Pett,   and  Pat Garcia Judgement Comparing my work to others. In fact, I am always afraid of the others' judgment, and afraid to feel demolished by a comment. I was sure I was not an artist, although I was crafting, writing, creating and making stuff... I used to see every creation as less nice and cute than the artists in my family. I thought I  could...

On Writing Envy and Admiration - and a To-do List!

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Sometimes, reading a book brings the strangest questions about ourselves and adds to our life plan. Last night, I started reading a book from  Michel Tremblay . I think I will like this tale-like autobiography. My daughter loves this author and I get it. I already like the person we meet on TV. You see, my first problem is this: I have difficulty accomplishing the goals I set for myself. For example, I say to myself I will complete a chapter of my story by this date: I don’t. I will write three times per week in my story. My mind will wrestle with the said plan and will refuse doing it. These days - I should say since I’m born - I’m learning self-discipline. I love learning stuff on my own, but this one is a form of “learning something” that is not at all natural in me. Not at all, and this bothers me. So much. Learning this now is crucial for a better retirement and a future career as an artist. And here is my other problem. source I need also to create better descriptio...

Story Time Quarterly Blog Hop: The Implant Caregiver

This is a story blog hop. At the end, below, you will find a list of other short speculative fictions available for you!  Enjoy! As a glowing red light switches to green on her wrist and forearm, the red metallic door unlocks to let her in, then clicks behind her. A smell of lasagna reminds her she will have to get dinner ready in an hour. She wished she had some at lunch too: the government only offers sandwiches, raw vegetables, fruits, and a bag of cookies for their meal break. - Hello, Mr. Gouls! She announces. - In the back, as usual. I’m still alive, says a weak rusty voice in the microphone beside Nelly’s head. LEDs on the floor along the white and grey metallic walls guide her to the client’s room. The man with a scar on his left cheek sits in his chair wearing a blue bandage on his forehead. It hides half of his face. His army background and his cynicism remind her of her old uncle, who recently left forever. A switch to work mode lights in her mind. It happens all the tim...

February IWSG Answers

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The first week of February, I did not post anything to answer to IWSG but you should definitely go read my friends’ blogposts about this month topic. The  Insecure Writer's Support Group ,  is the brainchild of  Alex Cavanaugh .  YOU can sign up  HERE  to participate. Every month a question will be posed that may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Remember, the question is optional. You can write about anything that relates to your writing journey. This month's question was:  Is there a story or book you've written you want to/wish you could go back and change? This month co-hosts are : Joylene Nowell Butler,   Louise Barbour,  and  Tyrean Martinson . In my case, beside blog articles, I did not publish any book yet… I’m working on it!