Verbal People

I like verbal people. The ones that speak in pictures. Their general talk paints vivid images as they speak. My cousin is from the south and speaks in pictures. "If dirt were dumb, he'd be a mile." "His mouth just overloaded his butt."
See the dirt? Man standing in the middle of a mile long dirt field? The mouth/butt thing...scary visual, but I'm not sure what it means.
I think this is more common in the south. Jersey girls don't speak in pictures, they speak in staccato bursts. "Do it." "Wassup?" "Yo, bitch."
What do you see? Ummm...nothing.
But I like when people speak in pictures better. Or maybe its because I don't hear it that often and, try as I might, I can't think quick enough to do it on the fly.
My cos also uses "bless his heart" a lot too. Its like a disclaimer. You can say anything and you're cool if you end it with "bless his heart".
Right now I'm listening to an audio book for my 40 min ride to hell...oops...I mean work (bless it's heart). Charlaine Harris, Dead as a Doornail. A Sookie Stackhouse vampire story. I'm not a big vamp reader overall but some of them grab me. I'm also reading Amanda Hocking's 4th book and one of the Lee Child, Reacher stories.
Anyway, Sookie Stackhouse has the verbal/picture/words down pat. I think I love the words more than the story. (Although it is an excellent book---just ask HBO)
Sometimes in writing it comes easier. On a good day the words flow and little sayings actually make it onto the page. But I think to give the picture words the right delivery you have to be specially trained or something.
Do you speak like this? Write?

What the F***

I was just browsing Yahoo news (while I should have been writing) and came across a man ejected for using the F word. When sitting on the airplane, the flight was delayed without explanation so he said, "What the F-word is taking so long?"
A flight attendant sitting behind him, had him removed from the plane. To that I say, "What the fuck?"
It's just a word. A very popular word at that, so what's the problem? Did this flight attendant never hear the word before? Were his virgin ears so offended he couldn't just ask the guy not to use that word? Or was his ego so big he had to bully this guy off the plane?
And who decided that the word fuck would be the bad word but intercourse could fly under the radar? And what about shit? How come we can say "Oh, poopie" and not get the same glare as to when we say shit?
It's a word, for crying out loud! Its just a word and it's not going to hurt anyone. If everyone just pretended it was just another word, no one would even notice it's existence.
So when is it okay to use the word fuck in writing? Does a tough character use the word? An angry teen? A woman? In what instance would it be okay for a woman to just say fuck it?
And if you know who decided the word fuck was to be the bad word, please let me know. I want to know why his word is law.

Ebooks Rock!

I always thought I'd never come to love the Kindle as much as I love paper books but owning one has made me realize I love the words more than the format. I have books all over my house. To pare down my husband has to wretch them from my death grip before I'll give one up. Even then I have to reason with him as to why I should keep each one. He's an ex-Marine. They are trained to live out of a duffel bag and not to form attachments to material things. Even a so called "ex" Marine is still a Marine. The training and brainwashing they go through stays with them forever. Once a Marine always a Marine. It's what I love about him, its the exact opposite of me and that's a good thing. I'm an artist and happiest when covered in paint creating something or spinning stories on my laptop. I need the Marine's discipline. Otherwise every room in the house would have sunflowers and puppies painted on the walls and there would be books stacked everywhere. My Marine keeps me in balance.
Back to the subject...
Books are my magic. It like having thousands of little brains retaining information for me. I keep the fiction I absolutely love or whose writing I find amazing. I keep non-fiction where the information is something I want to come back to for reference.
And now I Kindle. I have this little device that brings stories to my fingertips with just a click. It's amazing. And addictive. When you can get a book zipped into your hands so quickly it's easy to load up. So now I have all these books on my Kindle and I should really stop until I read them all. Really.
I should.
But Amazon calls me.
What about you? Do you Kindle?

To Be or Not To Be

There is a woman at work and I'm kind of coaching her on some freelancing basics. Demand Studios, Constant Content and writing for the Trues. Today we got into a discussion about admitting we are writers.
Long ago I thought I couldn't say I was a writer until I was published. It wasn't until I joined critique groups and Romance Writers of America that I discovered it wasn't a bad thing to admit I was a writer even if I hadn't been paid for it yet.
Being a writer is something you are because of what you do. Finances had nothing to do with it. Of course it would be better if we had money coming in from writing but that doesn't make us any less a writer.
The leap to answer questions about your career choices by saying, "I'm a writer." can be a big one. Big and scary.
Today I told my friend that she is a writer. She sold! I could see the realization dawning in her eyes. Like, Oh yeah-I am a writer!
In becoming a writer I think there are many hurdles. Stating you're a writer is one of the biggest steps. It puts you out there, face to the world, declaring what you are.
Scary at first. Then oh so satisfying.

Going Indie

Self publishing used to be called Vanity publishing because is was deemed more about ego than skill. Some self pubs were good, most were not.
Now with Amazon's ebook program anyone can self publish and they no longer call them self published, now, they're Indies. Independent publishing. And now that I have my Kindle I'm reading some and so far they're all good. The Indies have come a long way. I think they're better educated writers who understand the importance of critique and editing. Some have writer friends who help with the editing process, others pay for a professional to edit for them. Either way I think the Indies are a new breed in the industry and they're paving the way for a big change in publishing.
I write constantly. It's what I love to do. To get paid to do this would be a dream and not just to be "published" but to be able to keep writing while I paid some bills.
So I'm going Indie. As I've said before I'm working on rewriting something I've submitted in the past and had some good comments on from an agent and editor. I like this story. It's a paranormal romance about angels. I'd like to have it up sometime this summer.
Now I feel weird facing my gaggle of friends who traditionally publish. One of them an agent, other multi-published authors. Some are locked in the "self-pub bad" mode from years ago and aren't ready to face the new Indie revolution. I think some agents may feel threatened by the Indies. Others unbelieving that an Indie could do anything worth reading. I wonder if some are surfing the ebooks to offer representation?
I think publishing is in the middle of a revolution and there's no telling which way it will go. (Well, I think I know)
All I want to do is get paid so I can write more. I want to tell my stories, that's all. I don't want to go to book signings, do the dog and pony shows, or care if anyone knows who I am. I just want people to enjoy my stories.
What's wrong with that? If Amazon lets me do this with the chance of making some money then I'm ready to give it a try.
Anyone else going Indie? How do you feel about this?

Could this be about Critics?

Once in a golden hour
I cast to earth a seed.
Up there came a flower,
The people said, a weed.

To and fro they went
Thro' my garden-bower,
And muttering discontent
Cursed me and my flower.

Then it grew so tall
It wore a crown of light,
But thieves from o'er the wall
Stole the seed by night.

Sow'd it far and wide
By every town and tower,
Till all the people cried
`Splendid is the flower.'

Read my little fable:
He that runs may read.
Most can raise the flowers now,
For all have got the seed.

And some are pretty enough,
And some are poor indeed;
And now again the people
Call it but a weed.

--Lord Alfred Tennyson

A man's reach should exceed his grasp...

What does "We pay $1,000 against a 25% royalty. (The royalty enters the picture with respect to downloadable versions of the work.)" mean?

I was surfing over to Hero's and Heartbreakers and there was a call for submissions for shorts. I've sold a few to the trues so I was thinking of seeing if I have something for this one, but I don't understand what "against a 25% royalty" means.
And I thought I knew everything. :)
These publishers speak a different language. I think it could mean they pay the thou up front then 25% after that is earned out. Hey if I got the thou up front I'd be happy to let the story sit and germinate. But what if it means something else? This makes me wonder if my story could earn more if I sent it somewhere else.
And then I saw something on Amazon called Kindle Singles. I'm not sure what that is? Single stories? Are they talking novellas? It says expressed in it's natural length...hmmm. I saw one at 30 pages. Most I see are selling at 1.99. Not bad for 30 pages. If you want a quick read or have a short attention span something like this might be good. I think this section, which doesn't seem to have a lot to it yet, will grow by leaps and bounds. I wonder how long (or short) a Kindle Single can be? Either way, putting a short up on Amazon might be a better pay off in the long run.
I've seen several places that want short stories but don't pay and I wonder why would anyone want to submit? Why not put it up on your own blog if you're not going to get paid for it?
Thoughts?