Alice Audrey author

Gossip

I’m going to get myself in hot water here, I just know it. Oh well.

Remember yesterday when I talked about zero bashing? Well I just want to say thank you to Laura T for NOT caving. She gives 5’s willingly, complements kindly, and is generally the kind of reader I wish we had a lot more of.

I think Snydley’s little ruse on the Chapter 2 discussion forum was very well done, but “his?” entry wasn’t nearly as bright and lively as his posts. Darn it! Be ware, Snydley, I’m expecting better from you next time. I do get an invite, don’t I?

Lacy …. What can I say? Lacy is cool. And not just cause she won. *grin* Would you be willing to send me one of your multicultural historical manuscript? I do a pretty good critique when I have more than 250 characters to work with. Yes, yes, I know you get enough feedback from the Red Pen Posse. I’m just looking for a free read.

Daisycat had some interesting things to say on her
blog. Did anyone else notice?

Sarah is also cool. I’m talking the skirbo Sarah, though the other Sarahs seem to be all right too. The thing I like about skirbo is that she is so helpful. Lord knows I’ve needed it. Having done the FanLib thing she’s way ahead of me on how this works.

All in all I’m really enjoying the people I’ve met over on the forums. Hi guys!

Alice

Voting

Every entry I have made in the FanLit contest so far has received a large number of both zeros and fives. As near as I can tell my averages seem to be between 2.2 and 2.9. Why is this?

I know a lot of it is a matter of taste. I’ve always had a strong effect on my readership, like it or not and the better my writing gets the more polarized the reactions to it. I don’t really mind that some people hate me, so long as there are just as many who love me.

But I think there is more to it than that.

I think the way the contest is set up brings out things in ourselves … ugly things. I am quite proud of myself for having NEVER given a 0. I did give a few .5’s, but that was to people who not only didn’t follow the assignment, but don’t write that well either. Otherwise they’d have gotten a 1 from me. I’m proud of this because boy is there a temptation to do it!

When I play the game straight – going through the vote process through the Vote button, I find myself skipping a lot. Sometimes I even skip things that MIGHT be interesting because I don’t want them to do well when I’m not! I dislike this in myself.

That’s why I like invitations. They keep me on the level. I’m not skipping so I’m not hurting anyone, and I actually give more generous scores because I always leave a comment when I’ve been invited. I like myself better that way.

The thing is, if my own scores more closely reflected where I expect my entries to be – with at least one in the top 100 – I would be a lot more generous with my scoring all the way around.

Alice

"Best of Luck"

There’s a lot of that going around on FanLit right now. (Would you stop groaning already? I know I’m obsessed with it. FanLit, FanLit, FanLit. So there.)

It occurs to me that luck has a lot to do with it. For instance, I had terrible luck the day before yesterday. I didn’t have enough time for that third entry. Then I got bumped off the computer by family members a dozen times. And my scores are getting the usual trouncing – only with not so many 0’s this time.

I did not have enough luck to get into the top ten this time. I’m hoping I had enough for a decent showing.

Wish me luck!

Alice

Top of the World

I am having so much fun! I got into the invite option on FanLit, and spent part of yesterday and all of today talking people into letting me invite them to rank my entries, and getting invites from them.

I’m a lot nicer to people who invite me. I am much more likely to read them all the way through. I don’t skip at all from an invite. I leave comments on invites where I don’t leave any without. And the ranks I give are likely to be closer to what I think with no reference to how low everyone’s averages tend to be.

Invites bring out the good in me, and I love the interaction.

Yep. Hanging out in the forum exchanging email addresses and permission to invite was a real good idea.

But now I have to hustle over there and do some ranking. Gotta go!

Alice

Just when you thought it was safe to drop by

FanLit again!!!

Oh quit cringing. At least most of my FanLit blogs have been short.

I am finding this FanLit thing a very humbling experience. It is teaching me that umpteen million years of writing and a vast amount of education in the field of writing is not enough to overcome reader apathy.

In other words, trying doesn’t necessarily make you a good writer.

Wait a minute. Exactly what was the smelly stuff that just hit the fan?

It’s true. Having spent 30-60 hours a week for 40 or 50 weeks out of each year since 1999 in front of the keyboard, not to mention many, many hours in front of a typewriter over the years before that, isn’t enough to make me any good at this.

Books, classes, and critique groups seem to have helped, but they are not, in and of themselves enough.

I can not write a fabulous FanLit entry. I CAN write at the drop of a hat. I can come up with something that isn’t a complete waste of time to read. But I can not make the readers stop for my promo and rave to one another that they loved with I write. And that’s what I want.

To heck with the prizes! I don’t LIKE Saks clothes. I consider a contract to do a TV show a derailment of my career. And I don’t have to do anything special to get the Border’s gift card.

So what’s the point?

I WANT AN AUDIENCE!!!!!!!

I’m sick and tired of writing for myself. Writing for yourself is like playing tennis with a wall. Sure, it can be done – and enjoyed – but it’s not the same as the real game.

I want to make people laugh and cry and talk about how much they loved what I wrote. I want them to tell their friends to not to pass it up when they get the chance because it’s so good. I want to know that what I am doing with my life is worth while.

I don’t want to win. I just want to do really, really well.

God help me, I’m not sure it’s possible.

Alice

Backing Up

I have a friend who backs up her files in a big way. She saves her books under different names, and changes filenames regularly.

At first I was going to tell her I did the very same thing. Then I thought a little more, and realized that isn’t true. I WANT to save compulsively, and I do change file names now and then, but it’s very hit-or-miss. Specifically, it’s when my computer acts like it’s going to die that I back everything up.

This seems to happen fairly regularly. For instance, we had a power outage less than a week ago. When the power came back on, my computer behaved a bit oddly, taking three times as long to pull up programs, sending me into a panic. I had not backed up anything since before summer, when I rebuilt Zackly Right.

If I had not been able to access my hard drive, I would have lost hours and hours worth of work. I could not have pieced it together. It would simply be what I call electronic dust – leaving only the faintest of residue behind.

Instead, I quickly backed up everything. And now I’m grateful for a little power outage.

Alice

Technical Difficulties.

One of the reasons my blog has been a bit hit or miss lately is because I’ve been having technical difficulties. When I try to upload what I’ve written, I get all kinds of error messages. Since I get similar messages simply trying to surf the Internet, I’m assuming it has something to do with my ISP/ browser.

However I know at least one reply to my blog has gone missing, so maybe it’s partly WordPress’s fault.

I’m having similar difficulties with my web page.

Now that I’m starting to get over my FanLit fixation, maybe I’ll actually fix some of the glitches. Meanwhile, thanks for hanging in there with me.

Alice

Avon FanLit – of course.

I know, you’re sick of hearing about it, but it’s what my world revolves around for the moment.

It occurred to me that I hadn’t really described it. In the couple of weeks before the first assignment a bunch of people signed up to participate, and to vote for which combination of setting and premise we were going to use. The winner was a Regency in which a darling of the ton may or may not be a fraud and the hero suspects her. Over 2,400 people signed up for this.

So far there have been a little over 350 submissions. Considering they gave us two weeks for this first chapter and how many people signed up, and that each could submit as many as two entries, this seems low. Maybe a lot of those signing up only planned on voting. Or maybe a lot of those who signed up got to the moment where they had to actually write and found it a lot harder than they expected. Then again, we have until Monday to get them all in. I expect the number of entries could double in that time.

Next week won’t be so easy, for the writers. They post the next assignment on Friday afternoon and expect a maximum of three per person to be in by the following Monday. Good thing I write fast. I just hope it’s fast enough.

So far the scores given have been wild. I have a few fives and a bunch of zeros. This seems to be par for the course. Considering my first entry was put up within 24 hours of the assignment being given out and was mostly a response to stuff said in their forum, I’m quite pleased. I mean, someone who doesn’t know me from a hill of beans gave me a top score! More than one did it!

As to the zeros, apparently everyone is getting slammed by them, even entries I gave high marks to are getting them. Either someone is trying to build themselves up by damaging everyone else, or tastes are wildly off. But I figure since everyone’s getting them it just means the highest scores will look low, but will still final. The cream rises no matter how sour the milk. Also, mine got slammed a couple of times for not fitting into the guidelines the way people expected.

Raven, I think you would like that first entry. It features a vampire.

Obsession

Avon’s FanLit had triggered my obsessive tendencies. I haunted the site for three days after I made my first submission. I feaverishly started working on my second submission. I voted like crazy and posted comments all over the place, and generally made an idiot of myself.

I totally neglected my blog, my bloground – such as it is – and my crit group. Not a good thing. But at least I still got dinner on the table and didn’t call in sick to work.

This hasn’t always been so. I get hooked on computer games the way some people get hooked on gambling. The worst was part of a “mojang” game. It didn’t use the usual tiles, just colored squares. You line them up in rows of five or more and the come off the computer screen. Each time you move a tile, three more go on the board. It’s a race against the forces of chaos. While I could play it for hours on end. While playing, I would forget to eat. Unluckily, the kids didn’t like skipping dinner. They nicknamed it “The Evil Game” and likened it to drug addiction.

I’m going to assume this obsession will go the way of previous obsessions – a burning intensity gradually replaced with a quiet devotion and eventually a passing interest.

Until then, my apology for the obsessive and hit-or-miss blogs.

Alice

Whewh!

I did it! I got my first submission done and in. I get one more chance at it, and I’m planning on doing that right before the deadline.

They had an “invite a friend to vote” thing at the end of the submission form. I don’t know if I have to actually invite people through it in order for them to vote, or if you can simply go and do it.

Anyone who feels like voting, I’d be much obliged. If you can’t get in directly, let me know you want an invite and I’ll get you in.

Alice

Argh

I’m still pounding my head against Front Page, which I begin to dislike more and more. Just when I finally figured out how to place things on the page where I want them I run into software glitches that do things like drop the menu bar from my home page. What gives?

On top of that Avon FINALLY released the first assignment. Since I’ve never done this kind of contest before I had no idea what to expect. We have a total of 8,500 characters in which to write a scene. That’s roughly three of my normal pages. I hardly get warmed up in three pages. Cripes!

And I learned today that the assignments are all scheduled so that the writing will be done over the weekend. Great for everyone else, terrible for me. I hadn’t get any writing done over the weekend on a normal basis. Oh well. It’s only three pages.

I’ve got 5 minutes until the kids get home. Think I can write a scene from scratch in that time? Gotta go!

Alice

Big bites bite big

I never bite off more than I can chew, but sometimes I fill my mouth a little more than is pretty. This is one of those times. It all started with Avon’s FanLit contest. Avon is a house I have drooled over for some time. So far I have sent then two submissions – a query that received my fastest ever rejection and a partial that got swept out with the rest of the slush pile when the editor who requested it left. I would really like for them to actually look at my work, and this is my chance.The contest looks like it’s going to be intensive. We are supposed to write a chapter a week and vote on the chapters we like. The prizes are mostly things I have no use for – coupons to Saks, which is not my style and a Fox TV contract, which would be wonderful if I were a script writer – but my interest is in getting some attention.

I’d like to be able to put a link to my web site on my signature line so the editors can look over what I have. Thus the effort to get my web site up. My travails with HTML is a blog in itself, as you will probably see tomorrow *grin*

And if I’m going to do the web site thing I should certainly blog. I was kind of inclined to try the blog thing anyway.

And of course I want to have stuff ready to submit. At the moment the only book that hasn’t been torn to shreds and is in the process of being re-built is Serpent’s Teeth, which I’m eyeing with an eye to another revision, and which they have already rejected anyway.

So I have committed myself to the following this month: Writing up a storm for the Avon contest. Spending time on Avon’s FanLit board voting and generally talking. Putting up a GOOD web site. Blogging. And Completing the revisions on Zackly Right.

Hmmm – doesn’t look like nearly as much on paper. I guess I shouldn’t be nervous about getting it all done after all.

Linkiness

I case you hadn’t noticed, I’m new to this bogging business. I have not idea what the etiquette is. Do I have to have permission to link to people? Can I sniper link? Can I remove links without giving offense?

What do you think?
Alice

Hi. Come on in, have a seat.

Why do I call my blog Alice’s Restaurant? For those of us old enough to remember, or have listened to it on oldie’s radio, there is a song about Alice’s restaurant. It’s a ballad about how someone dumps a huge pile of garbage in front of Alice’s restaurant, and the singer must get rid of it. A long drawn out affair involving 8×10 glossy pictures and the local law enforcement and enough red tape to cover a pickup truck, getting rid of the garbage is not easy!

My blogs are probably going to be a bit like that. I simply can’t resist the shaggy dog tale. My life is full of long, drawn out affairs, though I can usually avoid the 8×10 glossy pictures and the local law enforcement.

This is my first ever blog, and I’d like to blame Raven May AKA My Lady Insanity. She’s the one that got me reading blogs, then posting on blogs, then looking into getting a blog, then inviting me to WordPress. Did I tell you I tend to be long winded? Anyway, thanks May!

I’m a writer of Romance novels. You can check it out at www.AliceAudrey.com

Alice

..The Serialists..

The Serialists was a meme for writers and readers. It is no longer being done, but many of the participants are still working on their serials. I recommend that you click on the buttons bellow and visit a few.

What was it all about? The Serialists was a way for people who post serials on their blogs to connect.

What’s a serial? I have a very loose definition. A serial needs to fit the following:

1. It is at least partly fictional.

2. There are at least two posts. Posts should run somewhere between one sentence and 1,500 words long. No, I’m not going to stop and count, but please don’t put an entire book on one post.

3. Something connects the posts. It can be the same characters and/or same setting. I’ll consider the same tone.

That’s it. It doesn’t have to be a book in the making. It just has to be part of a set.

What counts as fiction?

I was generous with my definition of fiction, too. Some of the most interesting participants have had stories that walked the line between fiction and autobiography. So long is this isn’t simply a recounting of your day, a recipe, or something else that clearly doesn’t fit, but is an actual story or set of related stories, it counts.

Poetry was fine so long as there is a connection and a story is told.

When was it?

There was a new post up every Wednesday. This post can be reached through a link in my sidebar. The current entries are in that sidebar too. Whether you’re a writer or not, check them out.

If you wish to participate, you don’t have to post on Wednesday specifically. You can link to any series you have posted, so long as you don’t flood me with links. You can link to a maximum of seven episodes. After that, I start deleting links.

Do I Have to Be a Writer to Participate?

I prize readers. Big time. So much so that I am quite willing to feature the blogs of those who don’t write any fiction, if they leave comments on the participants entries. Be sure to say something in the comment stream of the current hub post so I know to watch for you.

What’s a Button and How Do I Get One?

When someone has been running a series for a while, I am likely to feature them in my sidebar in special way. To learn more, check out this post.

Ok, I have written and posted two parts of my serial. Now what do I do?

Simply paste the link to your episode in the Mr. Linky thing. You can put it either in the sidebar or in the post. It will show up in both places. Then go visit other participants and leave comments. We all want to know we are being read, don’t we? Keep in mind, the more you put into it in commenting on others, the more you are likely to get out of it.

Please, LINK DIRECTLY TO THE EPISODES, not just to your blog! You can find the link by pulling up the specific episode on your blog, then copying out the link from wherever it is your browser shows what web site you are on. In FireFox, it’s in the big field right under the tabs.

Although I LOVE link-backs, and would like for you to share this meme with your readers, I recognize how personal our serials are. I don’t expect you to put anything on them indicating you are a participant in this meme. However, if you’d like to put something in your post or sidebar, you are welcome to use this: