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About This Author
I am SoCalScribe. This is my InkSpot.
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Blogocentric Formulations #900963 added January 7, 2017 at 11:39pm
Restrictions: None
Daily[ish] Double: Days 1-5
NONFICTION PROMPT for 1/1/17: Anaïs Nin wrote that, "The role of the writer is not to say what we can all say but what we are unable to say." Write about an author or piece of writing you feel does a particularly good job of saying what others have been unable to say. If you haven't read anything yet, write about an author or piece of writing you'd like to read that fits that description.
Last year, I really enjoyed Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan  , which was a fantastic book that told the story from the perspective of a child with special needs. The main character, Willow Chance, like many children with special needs, is remarkably competent, even gifted in some areas (numbers, nature, medical conditions) while simultaneously really struggling in others (social norms, interacting with others).
My wife is a special education teacher and often talks about how misrepresented this population is in fiction, if it's represented at all. Kids with special needs are either shown as deficient, or as some kind of savant. It was refreshing to see a character who acted like a normal person... someone who has a sharp mind for things that keenly interest her, and has trouble understanding why other people think her behavior is odd or unusual when that's just how she sees and interacts with the world.
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NONFICTION PROMPT FOR 1/2/17: What are your writing desires? Take the time to put those goals in writing. Or better yet, write an entry for the "Dear Me: Official Contest" and put yourself in the running for a lot of gift points while you're at it!
Fortunately, I already did this one earlier this week: "Dear Me (2017)"
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FICTION PROMPT FOR 1/3/17: person about to pawn an heirloom, neglected sibling, wish comes true, wrong side of the tracks
I wrote a little limerick inspired by today's prompts: "Fishful Thinking"
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NONFICTION PROMPT FOR 1/4/17: Do you consider yourself a good editor of your own work, or do you prefer to have someone else do it?
I consider myself a good developmental editor and an okay copyeditor. I like to think that my years of reading and reviewing scripts, books, and other creative material has given me a good sense of story, character, dialogue, and the other elements of creative writing, and I've got a pretty good eye for crafting a good sentence. That said, I fully recognize that everyone benefits from outside opinions, especially because writers are so close to their own work, and I know I have a few technical issues that I always seem to muddle (lay vs. lie, tense shifts, unnecessary punctuation).
My thoughts on editing my professional work can pretty much be summed up as "prefer to have an outside editor, will do it myself if necessary." There isn't always time or money to do all the things you want, so I'll do everything myself if I have to, engage a copyeditor if at all possible, and maybe a developmental editor (or at least alpha or beta readers) when schedule and circumstance permits.
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NONFICTION PROMPT FOR 1/5/17: Have/would you ever consider using a pseudonym for your work? Why or why not?
The only time I would ever really consider a pseudonym is if I were to self-publish drastically different types of work. I've heard a lot of people say that it can be more difficult to establish a presence and build a following if your author identity is all over the place with multiple genres, both fiction and nonfiction, etc. because people coming to you for your nonfiction, for example, are suddenly wondering why they have to sift through a bunch of mystery novels... or a sci-fi/fantasy author might confuse their following if a bunch of literary fiction titles are popping up alongside their space operas and sword and sorcery epics.
I don't think I'd ever adopt a pseudonym in order to keep my work a secret or separated from my real life, but I would definitely consider one to make it easier for audiences to find my work. I still haven't decided whether I'll actually use pseudonym(s) or not since I do have aspirations in multiple different genres and types of writing, but I suppose that's a bridge I'll cross when I get to it.
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