Saturday, March 9, 2013

Cats & Dogs by TheTypeWronger: Tricky Raven March Raven's Read

The Monthly Raven's Read from the wonderful ladies over at Tricky Raven is back on You Write What?!

This month's Raven's Read comes to us from newcomer TheTypeWronger, and according to everything I've heard this is one writer whose  work you do NOT want to miss! 


Cats & Dogs 

Author: TheTypeWronger 
Review courtesy of Tricky Raven
Location: http://trickyraven.ning.com/group/cats-dogs-ff
Pairing:  Bella/Embry
Rating:  M
Genre:  Angst, Friendship, Romance, Supernatural, Fantasy 


Summary:  Her world has been flipped upside down, on its side and all over again.  In a world of supernatural creatures, immeasurable powers, and war, Bella must learn to accept that she was never meant for normal.  In the midst of it all is self-discovery, love, and destiny.  AU story adopted.

Review: A newcomer to Tricky Raven and making her debut in the world of fanfiction, TheTypeWriter's story has taken our staff and members by storm.  

Smart and funny, Cats & Dogs is the story of one girls incredible journey from hapless teenager into the world of the supernatural.  Taking liberties with the mythology of  shifters, skinwalkers, psychic's, witches and vampires,  TheTypeWronger weaves legend with teenage drama and romance while adding in a healthy dose of humor to keep us reading.

As Bella navigates this new world, her voice gives insight to the characters around her.  A mother both flighty and oddly wise who teaches her daughter the skills needed to survive.  

Twisted glimpses inside Quil's Bea Arthur and Milla Jovovich riddled mind.  Hormone induced lust circling Embry like a halo. Wise, all-knowing Julian a sort of father figure/mentor.  Leah who giggles like a teenage girl over boys and gives out ass-kickings like they're the peach gummies she loves so much.       

Wonderfully written, a world masterfully created, the pages of Cat's & Dog's is a like a big bowl lays.  You can't just eat- or in this case read- just one.  

To read some of the best of Twilight Wolfpack fan fiction take a look at TrickyRaven.com. From heart breaking angst to suspense and humor that will make you laugh until you cry...TrickyRaven is the place to find it all.

Monday, February 11, 2013

The 2nd Annual Cold Shower Collection

THE COLD SHOWER COLLECTION



It's nearly Valentine's Day...that day reserved for hearts and flowers and declarations of love. But if you're not up for all that mushy stuff we've got just the alternative for you...it's the 2nd Annual You Write What?! Cold Shower Collection!

Once again, this year we're celebrating the steamy, smutty, best and brightest of fan fiction lemon writing! And we want you to be a part of the fun!

Do you write sex scenes so hot they need a disclaimer? Have your stories been known to bring out the hidden hedonist in your readers? Well then The Cold Shower Collection is just the place for you!

Beginning Valentine's Day Thursday, February 14th we'll spend a full week posting your stories in a special section, giving you a chance to share your own personal brand of lemony goodness with our readers. Each day three authors will be chosen and have the first chapter of their story (or full O/S) posted to the front page of the site.

If you'd like to be included, here's what you need to do:

1. Email us at bloggingfanfiction@gmail.com. Include your name, pen name, link to your story and the following details:
            Story Title
            Rating 
            Fandom
            Pairing
            Short Summary
If you'd like your story to be considered for front page feature please let us know.

2. Tweet us on our twitter feed (@BlogFanfiction) with the link to your story and the hashtag #ColdShowerCollection (must be following us)


That's all it takes! See...told ya it was easy.


Join us for The Cold Shower Collection. We're heating up the world...one lemon at a time!


**Note: You Write What?! staff reserves the right to reject a story at anytime and for any reason without notifying the author. Stories featuring the glorification of rape, gratuitous violence, pedophilia, bestiality and incest will not be accepted for posting. 






Saturday, February 9, 2013

The Insomniac Writer's Challenge

1 HOUR...UNLIMITED POSSIBILITIES!

Join You Write What?! tonight at 10pm EST for The Insomniac Writer's Challenge!

For one hour, join writers from all over as we attempt to do the impossible...harness our muse! All you have to do is follow us on Twitter (@BlogFanfiction). Tweet to let us know you'll be participating. At 10pm I'll tweet "Start". You'll have one hour to write as much as you can...quantity over quality.

At 11pm EST I'll call "Time." Tweet us your word count (10 minute deadline). Highest word count wins. What do you win? Bragging rights  mostly but the point is the fun of writing with other people who are just as stuck as you. lol

Some come on fellow writers...let's do this!

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

It Takes a Village


It Takes a Village

Being the only ‘creative’ type in my group of ‘real world’ friends I’ve discovered just how different my hobbies are from theirs. I have friends who coupon (a hobby I still don’t quite understand). They sit together with stacks of Sunday paper’s and like military strategists they set to cutting, clipping and trolling the internet until the air around them is filled with newspaper confetti and they’re ready to buy discounted laundry detergent by the cartful. I also have some health nut friends. They Zumba, they yoga, they take a perfectly good Saturday morning when they could be sleeping and go out jogging and sweating…for fun! And I have some single friends who seem to take weekend partying as a hobby. They spend Friday’s lunch hour in the mall, Friday night in a bathroom lifting, plucking, and tweezing and then take a perfectly good Friday night when they could be curled up on the sofa with a book and some tea and instead surround themselves with throngs of frantically dancing sweaty people while drinking overpriced watered down vodka.  Yep, I am the oddball. But watching them in all their various pursuits has driven one point home to me.

Writing is a solitary exercise.

I don’t consider writing a hobby. It’s my passion, but if I’m going to use my best friends definition (“Do they pay you for it? No? Then it’s a hobby.”) then hobby’s the word we’ll go with. If I had to choose between a million different activities, nine times out of ten I can guarantee I’ll choose writing. I carry napkins in my purse and have a notepad on the passenger’s seat of my car so I can take notes at stop lights. When people tell me about their day or their lives or the funny thing their Grandma Rose did at the family reunion I don’t just laugh – I turn that anecdote around in my head just to see if there’s a story in it. When I hear songs I see scenes. When I hear a great phrase on a commercial I write it down for later use. I’m hopeless. I’m a writer.

But the more I write the more I notice that while my friends can take the things they love and share it with people who love the same thing, I’ve spent much of my writing life on the sidelines, notebook in hand – alone. Any writer can testify to the awkwardness that ensues when a non-writer says “how’s the book/story going?”. You mistakenly think they actually want to know then are treated to one minute of actual interest followed by ten minutes of vacant staring while you tell them all about how frustrating it is that your main character won’t talk to you. To the rest of the world we are a bit of an anomaly. We love to do something that, by the numbers, isn’t likely to make most of us wealthy or famous. We spend days and nights surrounded by words and images of our own making. We don’t mind turning of the television and escaping into a world we’ve created. We’re strange. But we embrace it.

So is it a bad thing, this solitary experience? Is it wrong to prefer the company of characters in our minds to people in our lives?

No.

And Yes.

I have an intense pride in the fact that I can find happiness without a crowd around. Unlike many people I don’t mind being alone – I don’t mind the sound of my own voice (you’ve probably picked up on this already) or being with my own thoughts. It’s the attitude I had when I started writing fan fiction. I was happy to write and happy when people enjoyed it but didn’t really think there was any point to interacting with people beyond that. And then something changed.

It wasn’t really any huge moment. It started with an email. The email said:

To: TheWrtrInMe
From: DwynArthur
Subject: Still Looking for a Beta?

Yep, nothing earth shattering there. I opened it and what I thought would be one simple conversation from someone willing to help with my horrific grammar, turned into a friendship I’m sure I’ll value for all of my life. It wasn’t a huge step and I’d only extended my circle by one person, but it changed something. Two months later after reading a particularly interesting story (one of those stories that’s good but you know it could be really REALLY good if the author put in some more time and effort?) I contacted an author. This author wasn’t your run of the mill, in fact, I’d just witness her serving up a heaping helping of “back the fuck off” to a reviewer who’d sent her a flame. She was scary. Surprisingly my email to her didn’t just give me the chance to work with a great author, it was the beginning of a friendship that’s extended beyond the computer and into my real life. I think she is fantastic. She thinks I’m pretty awesome too. We have a friendship full of completely inappropriate conversations and insults hurled at each other that make people think we’re enemies. We are strange. We embrace it. And I never would have met her if I’d been content to be alone; to stay alone.

There are a million more stories like that and a million writers who’ve come into my life since then: annierocket who is kind and brave and wise beyond her years, SouthernB3lle whose quiet grace lives up to her name, mionerachel one of the most encouraging people I know, who’s become my writing kindred spirit, melixgvardo who helped me see that encouraging someone else to take the writing leap can be almost as satisfying as taking it  yourself, Melix875 who is helping to teach an old dog some new tricks. Hundreds of people, some came and went – others have stuck around. All of these people have helped me to see that as much as I love the solitude of writing, there is a special kind of joy when you can find others who love it as much as you – and share your passion with them.

It’s a village really. A giant extended network of people, just like me, but not just like me, who love what I love. They get emotional over words. They find beauty in a turn of phrase. They understand the frustration of writer’s block and the soul deep satisfaction of finishing a story. Some write in a different style than I do. Some write about different things than I do. Some of them can write a story that makes you laugh so  hard you almost pee yourself, and some of their writing can reduce me to racking tears. We’re different in our process but in our passion, we’re the same. And in this village I’ve learned something:

Writing is a solitary exercise…but it doesn’t mean you have to be alone.

Now on Fridays when my friends are getting ready to toss back their watered down Amaretto Sours, Saturday morning when they’re headed off to sweat it up to latin drum beats, Sunday afternoon when they’re pouring over the double dollar coupon flyers I feel a little less like I’m missing something. I’m stil strange, I still prefer my laptop and pj’s to stilettos and house music, but now, when they give me the vacant stare I just smile. They don’t get it, but that’s okay.

Because now, I’m not alone anymore. I belong to a village.

Friday, January 25, 2013

WRITING BOOT CAMP: Got What It Takes?


Want to write but can’t stop procrastinating?

Started writing but feel like you’re making no progress?

Can’t stop editing the same paragraph?

Then you need to try the EBS Writing Boot Camp!


Okay, so if you're anything like me you read this and thought...Holy Crap! These people have been hiding out in my office watching me troll the 'net when I should be writing!

Never fear, there are no creepers peering out from your closet. It's the grammar-gifted folks at Emergency Beta Service and they've got something wonderful up their sleeve especially for the muse-challenged writer. It's the EBS Writing Boot Camp!

The process is exactly the way I like it: EASY as 1-2-3
1. Set a Goal
2. Get a Beta
3. Reach Your Goal

Of course, hidden between numbers 2 and 3 is the invisible 'get up off your lazy butt and write', but that's a given, right?

So if you find yourself sometimes falling behind your writing goals, stuck in the middle of a story and seemingly unable to move forward, this might just be the thing for you.

Hop on over to the Emergency Beta Service website (www.emergencybeta.com) and get all the details. Tell 'em we sent you (we don't get anything for that...just sounded good.)


Adventures in Twific- Part Two: The Deed is Done


I did it! I can't really believe it...but I did. 
Yes, I'm sure you're reading this and thinking "It's just fan fiction lady...it's not like you saved us from going over the fiscal cliff" and to that I would say - You're right. And Wrong (and I have some ideas about that fiscal cliff. Tell Barack to call me).
It is fan fiction, and to some that means it's just something to do. But I'm one of those people who's just nutty enough to believe that there are lessons to be learned in every corner of our lives if we're open to seeing them. Some of these lessons are big: Don't stick a knife in a light socket. Don't give your social security number to the King of Africa when he sends you an urgent email. You get my drift.
And some of these lessons are small, the golden nugget moments that usually hide in the inane, everyday tasks we do and regular situations we find ourselves in. Big or small, everyday we get a chance to learn something.
So while I may be waxing a bit poetic about something people would consider 'normal', I have gleaned a lesson from it and you, dear reader, are the lucky recipient of said advice.
It's never too late to try something new.
Yep, it's deep. Let me give you a moment to digest.
Done? Good.
I'd spent a couple years in a different fandom - one where I was well received, reasonably well known and seriously comfortable. I knew my readers, they knew me and the stories I wrote came fairly easy...most of the time. I didn't have to worry about the anxiety of building a new fan base. I didn't have to worry about making new friends or challenging myself as a writer. It was like that ratty pair of flannel pajama bottoms - the ones with frayed hems and a drawstring half hidden inside the waistband. The ones that are your friend through weight loss, weight gain and bloated visits from Aunt Flo. I loved my fandom. I still do.
But the time had come to move on or at least branch out. Terrifying though it was I did it. I had one hell of a beta (shout out to Meliz875) and some amazing friends encouraging me and when I finally hit 'post' I half expected a crowd of well wishers to pop out of my closet with confetti and wine (they didn't by the way. I'm married to a cop...he'd have shot them for sure).
So, the deed is done. And GOD does it ever feel good. I've got bright shiny new fan fic accounts and an empty inbox just waiting for alerts (please God tell me that they'll be alerts).
My story is called 'After All', it's a Jacob/Bella story, all about their first time, that is equal parts sweet and panty melting hot. I hope you'll take it for a spin. I hope you'll like it, but most of all I hope you'll learn a bit of a lesson from me.
If there's something you've been scared to do. Something your itching to try even though fear and doubt are tap dancing on your 'can do', don't be afraid. Get out and try...cuz it's never too late.

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Adventures in Twific - Part 1


Today feels a little bit like the first day of High School. You know how it was, you picked out what you thought would be the perfect outfit, made sure all your folders and that cute little plastic pencil packet where organized in your Trapper Keeper (yeah...I'm that old). Then you spent a night laying in bed without sleeping, thinking about how wonderful or how horrible the next day might be. It could go either way, but either way - it was gonna be a big day.

So I'm there again. Thankfully it's with significantly less acne, and awkward social graces (and also without the Trapper Keeper which sucks, cuz I really liked those). 

After much thought and some encouragement and gentle prodding by my wonderful Twific friends I have decided to take the plunge and throw my hat in the ring as an official Twilight fan fiction writer (I say official but what does that mean...do we get certificates? Gold plated name badges? T-shirts that say 'I love Smut'?). 

When I first considered it, the very idea terrified me. I've spent 2 years writing for a very small fandom based on a kid's show so over there I was a medium sized fish in a pretty small pond. But Twilight...that's like the 'Big Show' for fan fiction. In this fandom people take their writing seriously and the fans take their reading seriously. The expectations to produce quality stories and commit to finishing them is high. It's one of the things I've always loved about the fandom - and one of the things that's got my stomach in a knot.

What if I suck? Like really suck?! What if I get some details wrong or my theories on imprinting are frowned upon? What if my desire to see Edward banished to any of the four corners is met with derision (yes...I know no one on this site would deny me that wish)? What if I'm flamed, or (sometimes worse) stalked by crazy reader fans?

There were a million what-ifs, most of them even more ridiculous than the ones I've listed here. But I'm a big girl. Old enough to remember typewriters and mobile phones that had to be carried in suitcases. I can pull on my big girl panties and face my fear right? Right?!

Right.

So. Here I sit, fingers poised over the keyboard. I have a short story I've written or another fandom that screamed "Jacob & Bella" and once I got started on the revamp it took on a life of it's own, one I'm excited to share with anyone who wants to read it.
Because that's what it's all about right? Remembering the love of writing. Enjoying the way your mind can take these characters and put them in situations even you, as the creator, are surprised to find them in. To have the joy of being lucky enough to find a few like minded people who encourage you, support you, kick your butt when you need it.

Yep, that's what it's about.

The what-ifs are still there. Who knows, they may always be there. But you know what else is there now? Me, ready to take the leap.

Even if I have to do it without my Trapper Keeper.

Wolfy Twi-love,
Dee

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