Recap of Tips and My A to Z Topic

Two more days and the A to Z Challenge begins! Everybody ready for some fun?

That’s right – fun. The Challenge is many things, but bottom line, it should be fun. We’ll all visit new blogs, make new friends, stretch ourselves to post according to the alphabet, discipline ourselves with daily blogging – fun!


To get the most out of the Challenge:

Post daily (except for Sundays) on a topic that matches that day’s letter. We kick off April 1 with A.

Have the A to Z Challenge button in your sidebar.

Check your link on the list – make sure it goes to your blog! If not, let Jen know so she can correct it.

Pre-schedule as many posts as possible to save time.

A theme is good, but not necessary! I didn’t have one last year.

SHORT POSTS!!! This is for YOUR benefit - most won’t have time to read longer posts. How short? If you’re over 500 words, it’s way too long. Just a suggested guideline.

DROP WORD VERIFICATION! Switch to blog owner approval or let the excellent spam filter catch crap. Again, this is for your benefit – word verification will discourage comments and visitors. Also, imbedded comment boxes can be a challenge. Make sure you have the Google Friends Connect widget so others can follow you as well.

Visit other participants. Overwhelmed? Select a starting point on the list (please, let’s not all start with #1) and visit twenty a day. Can you do that? Visit the host sites for list access or send me an email and I’ll send you the code for your own blog.

Follow blogs that interest you. As you go through the list, you’ll find some cool blogs, and once the Challenge ends, you’ll have a batch of new friends.

Don’t stress. Make every effort to post and comment, but don’t let it overwhelm you.


I decided to approach this year’s A to Z Challenge with a theme in mind. My blogging buddies have been so awesome this past year, commenting, supporting, and promoting my book, I wanted to give back to awesome people. So, during the month of April (and in addition to snippets about movies, music, tech, and book stuff, and I will keep it short!) I will feature two special blogging buddies each day! I wish I could feature all of you, but I limited it to two special bloggers who might not get the attention they deserve. So, be watching to see who I selected as the letters roll past. Remember, Captain Ninja Alex’s Army rocks!

Anyone else going with a theme? Followed all the tips? Feel like quivering Jello?

April Movies!

We’ve got movie sign!
All plot descriptions courtesy of the IMDB

1 -

Source Code
Director: Duncan Jones
Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga
The Plot: An experimental government program sends soldier Colter Stevens (Gyllenhaal) back in time, where he wakes up in the body of a commuter who witnesses a train bombing. Presented with just 8 minutes to figure out who is responsible, his mission is further complicated by his feelings for a fellow passenger (Monaghan).
Looks interesting…

Hop
Director: Tim Hill
Stars: Russell Brand, James Marsden, Elizabeth Perkins
The Plot: A slacker (Marsden) who accidentally hits the Easter Bunny (Brand) with his car is forced to care for his victim, who turns out to be the world's worst houseguest
Something about this movie seems odd, but not sure what.



5 -

DVD - Tron: Legacy - boxed set is MINE!


8 -

Hanna
Director: Joe Wright
Stars: Saoirse Ronan, Cate Blanchett, Eric Bana
The Plot: A 16-year-old (Ronan) who was raised by her father (Bana) is dispatched on a mission across Europe, tracked by a ruthless intelligence agent (Blanchett) and her operatives.
Looks gritty and intense.

Your Highness
Director: David Gordon Green
Stars: Danny McBride, Zooey Deschanel, James Franco
The Plot: A fantasy-comedy about an arrogant, lazy prince (McBride) who must complete a quest in order to save his father's kingdom.
Potentially stupid, but we’ll see.



DVD - The Voyage of the Dawn Treader - buying this one as well.


15 -

Rio
Director: Carlos Saldanha
Stars: Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, George Lopez
The Plot: When Blu, a domesticated macaw from small-town Minnesota, meets the fiercely independent Jewel, he takes off on an adventure to Rio de Janeiro with this bird of his dreams.
Another fun animated flick.



DVD - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 - like I need to tell you this!


19 -

DVD - The King’s Speech - still want to see this movie!


22 -

Apollo 18
Director: Gonzalo López-Gallego
Stars: Unknown
The Plot: Decades-old found footage from an abandoned NASA mission to the moon reveals the existence of alien life.
Sources say this movie is being rushed. Notice the lack of a cast? Not a good sign!



29 -

Fast Five
Director: Justin Lin
Stars: Paul Walker, Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson
The Plot: A federal agent (Johnson) is dispatched to Rio de Janeiro, where former cop Brian O'Conner (Walker) an ex-con Dom Toretto (Diesel) are assembling a final race as a desperate chance to gain their freedom.
I confess – I dig these films!

Any look good to you?

Using Language - FFW

Thanks everyone for your input on critique partners - and for so many offers to be my critique partner! I appreciate everyone's generosity. Between a new critique partner or two and my test readers, CassaStar's sequel has a chance!

Today is another edition of Fantastic Friday Writers! I invite your to check out my Fantastic Friday Writers partners, as we have some new members - Elizabeth Mueller, Anastasia V. Pergakis, J. D. Brown, Deirdra Eden Coppel, M. Pax at Wistful Nebulae, Jeffrey Beesler at World of the Scribe, Charlene A. Wilson, and Andrew Cooper. I’m sure their take on this subject is better than mine!

Languages

I decided not to create a new language for the world in CassaStar. I didn’t feel it was necessary.

I did have to create alien names, though. Science fiction names can be complicated and a challenge to pronounce, so I tried to keep them simple: Bassa, Trindel, Hanner, Ernx – bonus points to anyone who knows how to pronounce that last one. Sound it out – it’s easy!

I also had to make a decision on ‘colorful language.’ I’ve been around fighter pilots – they know how to cuss! Should I use earth terms or make up words? (Like Battlestar Galactica’s frack.) I don’t like to cuss (much) so I settled on one, low-offensive word: damn.

If any of you are creating a new language, let me know how you’re doing it!

And I am taking an extended weekend away with my wife (so she doesn’t disown me next month during the A to Z Challenge) so I may be scarce for a couple days. I'll try to check in - after all, I never go anywhere without my iPad!

A Little Help Please?

I have a question about critique partners.

The sequel to CassaStar is currently with my test readers (and likely being torn apart even as I write this) but they are not writers. They are science fiction readers. Now, they’re really good at spotting little grammar things – and really good at spotting things like crappy dialogue! But a writer would see the bigger grammar and plot point issues.

Do you guys have a critique partner? Is it scary letting that person read your crappy rough draft?

I’d like to find a critique partner. I didn’t have one for CassaStar, just test readers. Think I need one for this book, though. It didn’t come together as easily as the first. In my attempts to amp up the world building and tension, I threw in every idea plus the kitchen sink. (Yes, Byron blasts sinks out of the sky – it’s rather cool!)

So, if anyone’s interested, let me know. Probably would help if it’s someone who read CassaStar. Not because you need it to understand the story, but you’ll understand my writing style better. Those of you who’ve read it know that while it’s science fiction, it is not high tech, and the aspects that everyone seemed to enjoy are in this story as well. And the other main character is a woman! Did I mention that? A WOMAN!

All right, anyone interested? Want to tell me about your critique partner? Care to throw Hot Tamales?