... over at Tabitha Blake's Nocturnal Nights! It's the 26th of the month, and time for my monthly guest slot over there as Agony Zee!
Drop by and check out the query I am answering this week. Here's the question...
Dear Agony Zee,
I started writing a few years ago. I love the thrill of putting words down and creating my world filled with all those terrific people I get to invent.
I got to the point where I couldn't keep this part of my life bottled up, and so I have come out, so to speak, with my intellectual inclination.
Unfortunately, I wasn't met by the accolades I was expecting to receive. I mean, all I asked for was some support, not for people's eyes to glaze over and then they'd all pat me on the head with a half-smile, the kind people reserve for over-imaginative children or that old aunt who's not quite right in her head.
Can I prove them wrong? I don't want to sound petty or mean, but they do get to me sometimes. Any words of advice?
Signed,
I am a writer!
Come on over to read the answer!
From Mauritius with love,
Zee
Showing posts with label agony zee. Show all posts
Showing posts with label agony zee. Show all posts
Monday, September 26, 2011
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Blogging on Plotting @ Tabby's Nocturnal Nights!
Hey peeps
Sorry for not posting the 'regulars' yesterday and today. As it's the 26th, I'm up for my monthly slot at Tabby's Nocturnal Nights, and since those posts pertain to the writing biz, I didn't have a Writing Wednesday post go up this week.
What query am I answering today? Here it is:
Dear Agony Zee,
I'm a panster! There, I got that out of the way! *whew* I'm sick and tired of people telling me I need to plot, like I need to know every damn detail about my story before I even write it. Where's the joy in that? I mean, if already know the story in and out, what's the fun in writing?
Still, I know I do need some sort of outline to help steer me along the way. But plotting is not outlining, is it?
What exactly is plotting?
Signed,
Panster and Proud!
Come check out my answer, focusing on the process of plotting, here.
From Mauritius with love,
Zee
Sorry for not posting the 'regulars' yesterday and today. As it's the 26th, I'm up for my monthly slot at Tabby's Nocturnal Nights, and since those posts pertain to the writing biz, I didn't have a Writing Wednesday post go up this week.
What query am I answering today? Here it is:
Dear Agony Zee,
I'm a panster! There, I got that out of the way! *whew* I'm sick and tired of people telling me I need to plot, like I need to know every damn detail about my story before I even write it. Where's the joy in that? I mean, if already know the story in and out, what's the fun in writing?
Still, I know I do need some sort of outline to help steer me along the way. But plotting is not outlining, is it?
What exactly is plotting?
Signed,
Panster and Proud!
Come check out my answer, focusing on the process of plotting, here.
From Mauritius with love,
Zee
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Tidbit Tuesday: Today... A Post "Abroad' & An Interview of Another Kind
I'm back online. I apologize for not posting yesterday. The Internet was a hit and miss deal here most of Easter Monday (prolly a lot of people online!) and my pages weren't opening even after 5 minutes (after which they timed out and I had to refresh. See the dratted pattern here?)
Anywayz, I've got quite some stuff listed up for today.
Starting with - it's the 26th of the month, and I'm over at Tabitha Blake's Nocturnal Nights blog for my monthly Agony Zee slot. Check it out! I received queries about editing and the editors' job, which I am answering over there. If you ever wanted to know what goes on behind the title 'editor', drop by there and read all about it.
Now, something else I have set up for today pertains to the Immortal Blog Tour. Remember, last week I hosted a leg of author Gene Doucette's blog tour, and I posted a review of Immortal (read it here).
This is what the book is about:
"I don’t know how old I am. My earliest memory is something along the lines of fire good, ice bad, so I think I predate written history, but I don’t know by how much. I like to brag that I’ve been there from the beginning, and while this may very well be true, I generally just say it to pick up girls.”
Surviving sixty thousand years takes cunning and more than a little luck. But in the twenty-first century Adam confronts new dangers: someone has found out what he is, a demon is after him, and he has run out of places to hide. Worst of all, he has had entirely too much to drink.
IMMORTAL is a first person confessional, penned by a man who is immortal but not invincible. In an artful blending of sci-fi, adventure, fantasy and humor, Immortal introduces us to a world with vampires, demons and other "magical" creatures, yet a world without actual magic. It is a contemporary fantasy for non-fantasy readers and enthusiasts alike.
Well, today I have something a little special, because Adam, the Immortal himself, has agreed to answer some of my questions. This made for quite a lively discussion.
Here we go - a Q & A with an immortal man named Adam...
Where in the world do you think you're from?
Anywayz, I've got quite some stuff listed up for today.
Starting with - it's the 26th of the month, and I'm over at Tabitha Blake's Nocturnal Nights blog for my monthly Agony Zee slot. Check it out! I received queries about editing and the editors' job, which I am answering over there. If you ever wanted to know what goes on behind the title 'editor', drop by there and read all about it.
Now, something else I have set up for today pertains to the Immortal Blog Tour. Remember, last week I hosted a leg of author Gene Doucette's blog tour, and I posted a review of Immortal (read it here).
This is what the book is about:
"I don’t know how old I am. My earliest memory is something along the lines of fire good, ice bad, so I think I predate written history, but I don’t know by how much. I like to brag that I’ve been there from the beginning, and while this may very well be true, I generally just say it to pick up girls.”
Surviving sixty thousand years takes cunning and more than a little luck. But in the twenty-first century Adam confronts new dangers: someone has found out what he is, a demon is after him, and he has run out of places to hide. Worst of all, he has had entirely too much to drink.
IMMORTAL is a first person confessional, penned by a man who is immortal but not invincible. In an artful blending of sci-fi, adventure, fantasy and humor, Immortal introduces us to a world with vampires, demons and other "magical" creatures, yet a world without actual magic. It is a contemporary fantasy for non-fantasy readers and enthusiasts alike.
Well, today I have something a little special, because Adam, the Immortal himself, has agreed to answer some of my questions. This made for quite a lively discussion.
Here we go - a Q & A with an immortal man named Adam...
Where in the world do you think you're from?
Somewhere on the continent of Africa, but obviously I can’t give you a more exact location than that. I doubt the place is still there, if it ever qualified as a “place” at all.
How hard is it to adapt, since you're not exactly the kind who can perish if you don't adapt?
Oh no, no, I have to adapt, and I will certainly perish if I don’t.
Getting along without worrying about aging or getting sick is nice and all, but beyond that I still need food and drink and shelter, and I will die if you thrust something pointy into me just like anyone else would. The only way I could have possibly survived all this time was by insinuating myself into whatever human culture happened to be local. And this meant adapting, often quickly. I’ve had to figure out a lot of things on the fly and become very good at both picking up new languages and reading body language. And stay out of losing causes. If I happened to be a part of a tribe that was clearly on the verge of being wiped out by another tribe, I had no problem with switching clothes and jumping over to the other side of the line, as it were.
Any possibility you spent extensive time in England, coz your tone and humour remind me of British irony and wit.
I certainly did, but I believe the humor thing is a parallel development.
It’s tough to analyze one’s own sense of humor, as it’s something that one doesn’t typically work at, but I would say that broad, bawdy humor is very much a culturally specific thing. The Sumerians used to think it was hysterical to hang a guy by his own lower intestine, but you hardly see that sort of thing any more. Likewise, I don’t get the Three Stooges at all.
It’s also possible that sarcasm and high irony stem from an innate sense of superiority, which is something I share with the British.
What's the deal with drink?
I like to drink. It’s what I do when there isn’t anything else to do, and “there isn’t anything else to do” describes a surprisingly large part of human history.
Let me amend that. It describes a large part of “civilized” history. Alcoholic drinks weren’t invented until after leisure time was invented, and that didn’t happen until after we all figured out how to go from hunter/gatherer to farmer. Feeding oneself is a full-time job when you are entirely responsible, all by yourself, for turning a living thing into an edible thing. When you have someone else doing part of that for you, there’s more time to have a drink.
Anyway. Alcohol is the very best community-building device ever invented. You asked before how easy it was to adapt: drinking is a huge component. Historically, getting drunk with someone was the very quickest way to become friends. It cuts through nearly every social more.
Figured an immortal would be a womanizer (picking up secrets of women's psyche after all this time!) but you don't seem to be. Any reason why?
That largely depends on what you mean by “womanizer.” I get my share, certainly. I’m not a cad, or a rake, or whatever we’re calling men now for whom conquest of women is a goal of some kind. I will pursue someone if I think there’s a spark there, but I’m obviously not looking for anything long-term, so it’s much easier for everyone if the woman in question isn’t looking for that either, or at least isn’t looking for that from me.
As to figuring out the woman’s psyche, I’m as good as anyone at interpreting both genders, but I don’t think I have any special insights into women specifically. I do know clubbing them on the head and dragging them off is no longer appropriate.
Could this be because of the red-haired woman?
You mean am I behaving like a better person because of her? Or am I saving her because of some sort of “true love” thing? Nothing like that. I don’t believe in true love. I do believe in contingent love and conditional love, and even long-term love, but since I don’t believe in fate or any particular spirituality the idea that there is one person out there that is The One is just… too fantastical to me.
The whole “happily ever after” idea is entirely Walt Disney’s fault, I’m convinced. I have lived “ever after” and it’s simply not possible to be happy for all of it.
What's next for you now, and your 'association' with Gene?
For me personally, I have to sit down with Gene again and run through a general idea of what the third book is going to involve. The second book, Hellenic Immortal, is essentially finished, at least as far as I’m concerned.
But you want a hint about the next book. Um… I haven’t read it yet. But the stories I’ve told involve Athens, Las Vegas, and upstate Washington. There is at least one werewolf. And Gene will be posting a sample chapter—he said he thinks it might be the prologue but can’t decide—at the end of this tour.
And I can't wait for this sneak preview at Hellenic Immortal! This is one series that has me hooked. Thanks for answering my questions, Adam. Who said gentlemen are extinct now? You've been the perfect example of this rare breed.
And that's it for me today, folks!
From Mauritius with love,
Zee
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Writing Wednesday: ...is In The Zone...
... With Zee over at Tabby's Nocturnal Nights!
It's the 26th of the month today, and I'm up for my monthly slot as Agony Zee over at Tabby's blog.
Here's the query for today:
Dear Agony Z
I keep being urged to “show, not tell” by my crit partners. They say what I give isn’t enough, but I don’t understand, since I do give descriptions and explanations. Can you please enlighten me here?
Signed — The one who doesn’t get it.
The topic I talk about today is about the quintessential writing dilemma: Show, don't tell!
Hop on over and check it out!
If you can't access the link, here it is: http://tabithablake.blogspot.com/2011/01/in-zone-with-zee-original-dilemma-show.html
From Mauritius with love,
Zee
It's the 26th of the month today, and I'm up for my monthly slot as Agony Zee over at Tabby's blog.
Here's the query for today:
Dear Agony Z
I keep being urged to “show, not tell” by my crit partners. They say what I give isn’t enough, but I don’t understand, since I do give descriptions and explanations. Can you please enlighten me here?
Signed — The one who doesn’t get it.
The topic I talk about today is about the quintessential writing dilemma: Show, don't tell!
Hop on over and check it out!
If you can't access the link, here it is: http://tabithablake.blogspot.com/2011/01/in-zone-with-zee-original-dilemma-show.html
From Mauritius with love,
Zee
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Side postings - In the Zone with Zee: Of Men and Heroes...
Hey everyone
Today is my big debut as contributor to the blog Tabby's Nocturnal Nights. I host a monthly Agony Aunt column geared towards writers and writing-related issues.
Come take a look at this month's column. The two dilemmas I tackle are:
Dear Agony Zee
My husband is threatening to divorce me if I don’t cut down on my writing. Writing is my life. What am I to do?
Signed – Desperate wife
and
Dear Agony Zee,
My hero refuses to come out of the box. What am I to do?
Signed, Frustrated with men.
Read the answers here and don't forget to leave me a comment!
And if you ever have a question for Agony Zee, don't hesitate to hit me a line or two (or twenty!) at zeemonodee@hotmail.com All queries/questions will be dealt with in utter confidentiality. :)
From Mauritius with love,
Zee
Today is my big debut as contributor to the blog Tabby's Nocturnal Nights. I host a monthly Agony Aunt column geared towards writers and writing-related issues.
Come take a look at this month's column. The two dilemmas I tackle are:
Dear Agony Zee
My husband is threatening to divorce me if I don’t cut down on my writing. Writing is my life. What am I to do?
Signed – Desperate wife
and
Dear Agony Zee,
My hero refuses to come out of the box. What am I to do?
Signed, Frustrated with men.
Read the answers here and don't forget to leave me a comment!
And if you ever have a question for Agony Zee, don't hesitate to hit me a line or two (or twenty!) at zeemonodee@hotmail.com All queries/questions will be dealt with in utter confidentiality. :)
From Mauritius with love,
Zee
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