Over Thanksgiving, my grocery store was giving away free turkeys for those who spent over $100. Thinking that it would be a small turkey, my husband who was shopping at the time, said, “Sure! Who doesnāt want a free turkey!”
And really, who wouldnāt?
And then he came home with a 23-pound turkey. That didn’t fit in our freezer.
We tried shoving it in six different ways from Sunday and then called up my mom and said, “Guess what? We’re providing the turkey!” And she said, “Guess what? I’m cooking a roast!” So we agreed to try it again for Christmas and I called around and found a friend with spare freezer space. Only Christmas arrived and mom declared that Christmas dinner was going to be small and simple. As in… no turkey. But I had sworn to my friend that her freezer would be hers again after Christmas. So now I’m looking up how to cook turkey and inviting my in-laws over.
They say that New Years is a time for trying new things and I guess Iāll be starting early with turkey cooking. Wish me luck as I enter the world of large scale cooking.
SALE ALERT:
Smashwords, the independent e-book store, is having itās annual year end sale featuring site wide deals, including some from me.
Ack! I should be baking. Or possibly cleaning my filthy office. Or writing any of the multiple stories I’m supposed to be completing. It’s crunch time for me. I’ve got a sci-fi novella that is due back from the editor at any second (more info to come after the holidays!), a Christmas short story that needs completing ASAP, and mystery novel that is supposed to be way more underway than it is. And my business partner at my day job is about to go on maternity leave at any moment. I could use a holiday. Oh, wait, one has just turned up. Now I get to add baking to the list. So excuse me, if I just complain for a minute and then dash off to put a pie in the oven.
But in the spirit of the holidays, how about a chance to win a print copy of Shark’s Instinct? Reviewers are calling it an “amazing mystery with loads of action.” Click the link below to enter!
Absolute number 1: artists must sell. So toward that end, please consider purchasing my latest book! It’s a five-star, “highly-satisfying, high-speed thriller” that readers are calling “hard to put down.”
Sharkās Instinct: Fresh out of prison and fresh out of luck, twenty-something Shark wants back into The Organization. But when Geier, the mob boss with a cruel sense of humor, sends Shark to the suburbs to find out whoās been skimming his take, Shark realizes heās going to need more than his gun and an attitude to succeed. With the clock ticking, Shark accepts the help of the mysterious teenage fixer, Peregrine Hays, and embarks on a scheme that could line his pockets, land him the girl and cement his reputation with the gangāif he makes it out alive.
Absolute number 2: Nothing is absolute and artists spend a lot of time thinking about that.
In our current climate of politics, disasters, and protest, Iāve been listening to what a lot of artists are feeling. And by artists I mean everyone from fellow writers and graphic designers, to fine artists and poets. I know from the outside that most people think of the creative set as a homogeneous mass of weirdos. Which, weird, Iāll grant you, but homogeneous is not, in any way, accurate.
Like any family there are fractured in-fights, cultural differences between the ācousinsā of fine art and design (or poets and novelists), there are fights over pecking order and definitions and what it all really means. But most artists when pressed will say that although they have their preferences, their set rules that they use, that most of the time, there is no absolute. Donāt ever pair two serif fonts, donāt ever write a novel in the first person, donāt use Papyrus for a logo (ever, no seriously)ā¦ Unless it works, in which case, you should absolutely do that. Absolutes in art and artists are few and far behind.
Which is why I think our current political climate is striking artists particularly hard. Itās as though weāve all been toddling along enjoying the gray areas and weāve run smack into the thirty percent of our population that only believes in black and white. Not that they live in black and white (because no one can). But they only believe in black and white and they want everyone else to bow before the almighty absolute and give them the peace of mind of being right. Arguing with someone who refuses to see the gray is pointless. Showing art full of color to someone who doesnāt see the subtle shades of the rainbow only makes them turn away. Many of the artistās I listen to feel despair. They feel like their art has become frivolous when they see the colors being eradicated around them, but they canāt seem to make the leap to protest art. Nine months into a presidency that does not see the value in anyone who isnāt male, straight, or white, I would like to say that all art is protest art. To create joy, beauty, and harmony, to paint with many colors instead of the ones that have been chosen for us is protest art. I encourage my artist friends to follow their passion, take action, make art, refuse to go away or step back. Use every damn crayon in the box.
Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live, it is asking others to live as one wishes to live. āOscar Wilde
Art is the most intense mode of individualism that the world has known. āOscar Wilde
Beauty is the only thing that time cannot harm. Philosophies fall away like sand, creeds follow one another, but what is beautiful is a joy for all seasons, a possession for all eternity. āOscar Wilde
Most of my writing this month has been in the form of copywriting and, jeez, do I miss fiction. Churning out āwelcomeā scripting and press releases makes for a fun occasional challenge, but is no substitute for spending an afternoon putting a character in hot water (figuratively if itās action, literally if itās romance) and then figuring out how to get them out again (with a gun if itās action, with a hot guy if itās romance).
But one thing that copywriting does provide is practice in how to think about writing. When the word count is proscribed, and the client says that it should be sort of, maybe, be something about this random list of things that has been collected, suddenly it becomes very important to communicate what the over-arching message is. What is the hierarchy of information that needs to be communicated? What does the audience/reader care about? How can we determine what needs to be said and what can be left out? In copywriting, the ability to construct thoughts clearly and to analyze and think critically about a piece come to the forefront. In a novel, an author can spend a bit more time decorating the place with adjectives and allowing characters to spiel off witty bits of dialogue that may not particularly move the story forward. In copywriting, thereās usually room for only one or two adjectives and they had better be the right adjective that supports the speaker or brands character. Copywriting skills are like exercising a new set of muscles and definitely make me a stronger writer. But on the other hand, Iāll be glad to go back to fiction! For one thing, they rarely let me write about hot guys or guns in copywriting.
https://bethanymaines.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Monkey-Noun.jpg395345Bethany Maineshttps://bethanymaines.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Aug2016-Logo-op3-300x69.pngBethany Maines2017-09-27 09:25:022017-09-26 18:24:38Copy That
Free Turkey
/in Life, The Stiletto GangOver Thanksgiving, my grocery store was giving away free turkeys for those who spent over $100. Thinking that it would be a small turkey, my husband who was shopping at the time, said, “Sure! Who doesnāt want a free turkey!”
And really, who wouldnāt?
And then he came home with a 23-pound turkey. That didn’t fit in our freezer.
We tried shoving it in six different ways from Sunday and then called up my mom and said, “Guess what? We’re providing the turkey!” And she said, “Guess what? I’m cooking a roast!” So we agreed to try it again for Christmas and I called around and found a friend with spare freezer space. Only Christmas arrived and mom declared that Christmas dinner was going to be small and simple. As in… no turkey. But I had sworn to my friend that her freezer would be hers again after Christmas. So now I’m looking up how to cook turkey and inviting my in-laws over.
They say that New Years is a time for trying new things and I guess Iāll be starting early with turkey cooking. Wish me luck as I enter the world of large scale cooking.
SALE ALERT:
Check out all the deals at: SMASHWORDS
Check out my deals at: SMASHWORDS/BETHANYMAINES
Crunch Time!
/in General Writing, Life, Shark Santoyo, The Stiletto GangAck! I should be baking. Or possibly cleaning my filthy office. Or writing any of the multiple stories I’m supposed to be completing. It’s crunch time for me. I’ve got a sci-fi novella that is due back from the editor at any second (more info to come after the holidays!), a Christmas short story that needs completing ASAP, and mystery novel that is supposed to be way more underway than it is. And my business partner at my day job is about to go on maternity leave at any moment. I could use a holiday. Oh, wait, one has just turned up. Now I get to add baking to the list. So excuse me, if I just complain for a minute and then dash off to put a pie in the oven.
But in the spirit of the holidays, how about a chance to win a print copy of Shark’s Instinct? Reviewers are calling it an “amazing mystery with loads of action.” Click the link below to enter!
Goodreads Book Giveaway
Shark’s Instinct
by Bethany Maines
Giveaway ends November 30, 2017.
See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.
Enter Giveaway
Incoming
/in Life, The Stiletto GangAbsolutely
/in Life, Shark Santoyo, The Stiletto GangToday Iām discussing the absolutes of art.
Absolute number 1: artists must sell. So toward that end, please consider purchasing my latest book! It’s a five-star, “highly-satisfying, high-speed thriller” that readers are calling “hard to put down.”
$2.99 on sale today! BUY NOW!
Absolute number 2: Nothing is absolute and artists spend a lot of time thinking about that.
In our current climate of politics, disasters, and protest, Iāve been listening to what a lot of artists are feeling. And by artists I mean everyone from fellow writers and graphic designers, to fine artists and poets. I know from the outside that most people think of the creative set as a homogeneous mass of weirdos. Which, weird, Iāll grant you, but homogeneous is not, in any way, accurate.
Like any family there are fractured in-fights, cultural differences between the ācousinsā of fine art and design (or poets and novelists), there are fights over pecking order and definitions and what it all really means. But most artists when pressed will say that although they have their preferences, their set rules that they use, that most of the time, there is no absolute. Donāt ever pair two serif fonts, donāt ever write a novel in the first person, donāt use Papyrus for a logo (ever, no seriously)ā¦ Unless it works, in which case, you should absolutely do that. Absolutes in art and artists are few and far behind.
Which is why I think our current political climate is striking artists particularly hard. Itās as though weāve all been toddling along enjoying the gray areas and weāve run smack into the thirty percent of our population that only believes in black and white. Not that they live in black and white (because no one can). But they only believe in black and white and they want everyone else to bow before the almighty absolute and give them the peace of mind of being right. Arguing with someone who refuses to see the gray is pointless. Showing art full of color to someone who doesnāt see the subtle shades of the rainbow only makes them turn away. Many of the artistās I listen to feel despair. They feel like their art has become frivolous when they see the colors being eradicated around them, but they canāt seem to make the leap to protest art. Nine months into a presidency that does not see the value in anyone who isnāt male, straight, or white, I would like to say that all art is protest art. To create joy, beauty, and harmony, to paint with many colors instead of the ones that have been chosen for us is protest art. I encourage my artist friends to follow their passion, take action, make art, refuse to go away or step back. Use every damn crayon in the box.
Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live, it is asking others to live as one wishes to live. āOscar Wilde
Art is the most intense mode of individualism that the world has known. āOscar Wilde
Beauty is the only thing that time cannot harm. Philosophies fall away like sand, creeds follow one another, but what is beautiful is a joy for all seasons, a possession for all eternity. āOscar Wilde
Copy That
/in General WritingMost of my writing this month has been in the form of copywriting and, jeez, do I miss fiction. Churning out āwelcomeā scripting and press releases makes for a fun occasional challenge, but is no substitute for spending an afternoon putting a character in hot water (figuratively if itās action, literally if itās romance) and then figuring out how to get them out again (with a gun if itās action, with a hot guy if itās romance).
But one thing that copywriting does provide is practice in how to think about writing. When the word count is proscribed, and the client says that it should be sort of, maybe, be something about this random list of things that has been collected, suddenly it becomes very important to communicate what the over-arching message is. What is the hierarchy of information that needs to be communicated? What does the audience/reader care about? How can we determine what needs to be said and what can be left out? In copywriting, the ability to construct thoughts clearly and to analyze and think critically about a piece come to the forefront. In a novel, an author can spend a bit more time decorating the place with adjectives and allowing characters to spiel off witty bits of dialogue that may not particularly move the story forward. In copywriting, thereās usually room for only one or two adjectives and they had better be the right adjective that supports the speaker or brands character. Copywriting skills are like exercising a new set of muscles and definitely make me a stronger writer. But on the other hand, Iāll be glad to go back to fiction! For one thing, they rarely let me write about hot guys or guns in copywriting.