Category: Uncategorized

100 Word Challenge – Together The Flames

On By Robert EvenhouseIn Uncategorized21 Comments

Curses echoed from the headmaster’s office. Mikey ran down the corridor knowing the headmaster would discover what he did, but didn’t realize it would be so soon.

The office door flung open.The headmaster, never one to run, marched briskly in pursuit. Mikey yanked on the common room door handle, it was mercifully unlocked.

A fire burned in the hearth and seventeen boys huddled nearby. Mikey marched like a hero, flashed the ledger containing the daily punishments and stood over the fire. The headmaster entered. It was too late for together the flames erased the unjust punishments.

The boys cheered.

On By Robert EvenhouseIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

I did a blog post for my friend Josh Mosey. It is titled Advice for the Writer’s struggle.

joshmosey's avatarJosh Mosey

My good friend Bob Evenhouse of the blog Part Time Novel was kind enough to send me a guest post while I am trying to catch up on my sleep (new babies are cute little time vampires). Enjoy!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Writers struggle. It’s our most consistent state. We struggle for the correct word. We struggle for the proper word. A word that is rhythmic, fitting, mood setting, decisively explanatory, and altogether perfect. Doing this once can be exhausting. Doing it one hundred and sixteen thousand times can be debilitating, especially when you are at the bottom of that hike looking up at the grand snow capped Himalayan-like…

View original post 306 more words

What Famous Writer Do You Write Like?

On By Robert EvenhouseIn Uncategorized4 Comments

On many of the blogs I am connected with, there have been posts about, “Who do you write like?” They were interesting reads and I would like to analyze my novel today. I hope you enjoy this post and try it yourself.

The instructions are simple. Merely plug in a portion of your writing and it will tell you who you write like. I figured your writing style changes as you write so I took portions from the beginning, middle, and end of my work. Please visit http://iwl.me/ to try for yourself. It is pretty fun.

Here they are:

Beginning (chapter 1) pg 1 I write like: Gertrude Stein

Middle (chapter 15) pg 197 I write like: Ursula K. Le Guin

End (chapter 30) pg 402 I write like: J. R. R. Tolkien

I guess that is a pretty okay progression.

Why don’t you try it?

Write today.

Cheers,

Bob

All About Publishing

On By Robert EvenhouseIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Recently, I have explored many topics regarding publishing on my blog. I am an amateur next to my friends Josh and Andrew. I’d like to share a few helpful posts they wrote below as well as they are professionals at this and live breathe the selling and marketing of books. I hope this information is useful in your pursuit of your publishing dreams.

Everything you ever wanted to know about publishing. This is a series of blogs by Andrew Rogers who works for Zondervan a local publisher and division of HarperCollins. See the topics below.

All of these are very interesting reads by an accredited source who works regularly with authors. 

Josh is the marketing manager for a local bookstore that has become a local and national treasure (no pun intended and Nicholas Cage does not make appearances there). If you are a self published author or one championed by a publishing house, please read the link below. It talks about how important it is to know your local independent bookstore staff for promotion, knowing your market, and building your platform and how this valued team can assist. They may appear as mere bookstore staff, but they are more than that. They marketing machines who recommend and consume books all the time.

I hope you have enjoyed these links. See some of my previous posts for more information about:

If you have written about these topics and want to link a blog post or two about your tips for publishing, please link your information below in the comments section below.

Keep writing my friends.

Cheers,

Bob

 

 

Attend Princeton, Penn, and U of M, For Free!

On By Robert EvenhouseIn Uncategorized1 Comment

I like to learn. My guess is that most people enjoy learning if the topic is interesting enough. I often think about getting a Masters Degree in creative writing, however, when I think about saving up for one or the loan debt as a result, it gets a bit overwhelming. That’s why I am tremendously excited to share with you a little website called Coursera.

Coursera is a wonderland for those want to get more education on a variety of topics for free. Yup, free. Though these courses are not accredited, they are taught by professors from Stanford, Princeton, The University of Michigan, The University of Pennsylvania, and other university lending credit to the course and professor simply because of the institution behind them.

Here is the about section from the website:

About Coursera  We offer high quality courses from the top universities, for free to everyone. We currently host courses from Princeton University, Stanford University, University of California, Berkeley, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, and University of Pennsylvania. We are changing the face of education globally, and we invite you to join us.

The section that I am most interested in, which may come as no surprise, is the humanities section. Since I am a glutton for punishment, I signed up for three courses. They are listed below. Why did I sign up for these specific courses?

Because I am a writer and most writers like to learn. I believe there are a lot of stories that can be forgotten as time moves on and many of them contain elements that could be extracted and inserted into a story I might be writing. History, Greek and Roman Mythology, and fantasy and science fiction are three of my favorite subjects.

A History of the World since 1300

Jeremy Adelman

This course will examine the ways in which the world has grown more integrated yet more divided over the past 700 years. Princeton University

Fantasy and Science Fiction: The Human Mind, Our Modern World

Eric Rabkin

We understand the world — and our selves — through stories. Then some of those hopes and fears become the world. University of Michigan

Greek and Roman Mythology

Peter Struck

This course will focus on the myths of ancient Greece and Rome, as a way of exploring the nature of myth and the function it plays for individuals, societies, and nations. University of Pennsylvania

Here’s to hoping that my desire to learn is not larger than the amount of free time I have to do it!

Cheers,

Bob

On By Robert EvenhouseIn Uncategorized1 Comment

I did a guest post today on Roger Colby’s Blog Writingishardwork.wordpress.com. Check it out.
Cheers, Bob

Roger Colby, Novelist's avatarWriting Is Hard Work

The following post comes to us from Bob Evenhouse over at Part-Time Novel.  He gives us several great websites for writers that can’t be missed!  Enjoy!

As a writer, I’ve discovered that there are a thousand different tools at my fingertips. Most these tools boast the ability to take a writing vagabond like myself and transform them into a pristine publishing and money-making machine. Now, if you are like me, you might not have the piles of cash to pour into a hundred applications or software let alone enough time to utilize all of them. So this post is for those writers who are strapped for cash but, still harbor an insatiable desire to publish a novel one day.

One of my favorite sites is Duotrope.com. This is a writer’s wonderland. If you are a budding author sitting on several short stories, I recommend you visit this site…

View original post 564 more words

Year End Writing Contests

On By Robert EvenhouseIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

As we move through the summer at such a rapid pace I began to reflect on the end of the year. I have goals that I wish to accomplish, and I realized some of them might take a bit more time than my usual 5-6 hours a week I spend writing.

I’d like to share some writing contests with you today. Why do I mention them? Because sometimes it is nice to hunker down and get something accomplished. There is something about a writer locked in a cabin that is alluring to me. Disappearing for an extended piece of time and then emerging with the Great American Novel!

So if you want to finish a novel this year, perhaps use the thrill, comradery, and intensity of these contests.

NANOWRIMO

National Novel Writing Month

Here is the link: http://www.nanowrimo.org/

What is NaNoWriMo?

National Novel Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing on November 1. The goal is to write a 50,000 word, (approximately 175 page) novel by 11:59:59, November 30.

3-Day Novel Contest

This is the most notorious contest I know. My writers group has, for the most part, done this each year. I highly recommend this literary adrenaline rush.

Can you produce a masterwork of fiction in three short days? The 3-Day Novel Contest is your chance to find out. For more than 30 years, hundreds of writers step up to the challenge each Labour Day weekend, fuelled by nothing but adrenaline and the desire for spontaneous literary nirvana. It’s a thrill, a grind, a 72-hour kick in the pants and an awesome creative experience. How many crazed plotlines, coffee-stained pages, pangs of doubt and moments of genius will next year’s contest bring forth? And what will you think up under pressure?

Prizes

1st Prize: Publication*
2nd Prize: $500
3rd Prize: $100

*The first prize winner will be offered a publishing contract by 3-Day Books after the winner announcement in the January following the contest. Once the contract is signed, the winning novel will be edited, published and released by the next year’s contest. 3-Day Books are distributed by Arsenal Pulp Press.

How about you, what opportunities are you taking to finish your novel this year?

Cheers,

Bob