Sharing Time- 8/4/14 (P.S Writing Contest Alert!)

Music and Videos

I'm not surprised this following video is from Canada, but in any case, its pretty adorable. I wish American banks would do this! Any chance I can get help paying off my schooling? 

Janelle Monae's "Cold War" music video.

"Do your bit! Skate to work!", New York City, 1940s pic.twitter.com/RPuJZ9O6dJ

— History In Pictures (@HistoryInPics) July 5, 2014

In the News
Coffee shop with no employees. - This article is kinda old but its a neat idea. This coffee shop doesn't have an employees because it runs on the honor system. People can pay whatever they want for the coffee and serve themselves.
Fail-This article deals more with design, but I thought that it can be applied to writers too. It talks about how its okay to fail.
What would you give up for world peace?- I thought this article was share worthy because it deals with "hive mind", the idea that we could share a collective mind- some animals like bees and ants have what is called a hive mind. In Night Lies, Faith joins a team where the team's leader has them join his hive mind.
25 free apps that help make the world a better place- Its a Buzzfeed article, so I take everything with a grain of salt on this site. I don't trust it, since they've been known to plagiarize, but it is entertaining and they share some pretty cool stuff regardless.


Writing/Book Articles/News
Double Standards for Journalists- This article deals with a topic I ranted about earlier. But it basically goes on to say that journalists need to treat social media like they do traditional journalism. Which includes fact checking and acting professionally. If they don't, they risk losing their reader's trust.
Unlimited Profit: The Math behind Kindle Unlimited- I'm not good at math, so I didn't fully understand this. But for the more math inclined brains out there, this article makes out the math behind Kindle Unlimited and how authors and Amazon stands to make a profit.
YA- The Changing Face of Marketing- This discussion I found during my marketing class. It deals with how authors in 2014 are marketing themselves and their books. Its pretty interesting and worth a look.

Contest Alert
Do you have a finished MG, YA, NA, or Adult manuscript? Looking to be published? Well Pitch Wars is going on and I thought I'd share. You can find the rules and mentors listed here Pitch Wars Mentors 2014.

Story Time
So I've had this story idea for a while now. But I thought I'd share it with you because its been going pretty well.

Beautiful Manipulation

Being against evil doesn’t make you good.

Rhielle Medley knew three rules. 1) When you got into trouble you called in your local superhero. 2) Superheroes can only be killed by their nemeses. 3) Don’t tell anyone you’re not perfect.

Since she was young, Rhielle, a fraternal triplet, knew she and her sisters, Sian and Ilvione were different. They always knew how to be perfect in public. Physically, socially, and personally graceful and flawless, the triplets could get away with anything and even a complete stranger would feel like they had known them forever. But on the inside, they are far from perfect.

When their parents' rocky marriage comes to light , suddenly everything seems to spiral out of control. Someone is killing the superheros, Sian is taking advantage of their power, manipulating everyone in her path, Ilvione keeps disappearing, and Rhielle just wants to finish her homework, and go to work.

But when their local superhero, Nest, asks her to help him find out who’s killing his colleagues, Rhielle will have to ask what’s the difference between good and evil? Can you still be good if you just stand by and do nothing? And if she, herself, is even worth saving before it becomes too late.

I'm not quite sure where I got the general idea from, but its a really fun story to write. I'm basing their power though off a Superpower Wiki entry though- Supernatural Beauty- and giving a new look to the power.

For more Beautiful Manipulation, you can check out the story at my Wattpad page or on my Pinterest Board. Also, here's a semi-depressing, but interesting article that I know Sian would use to her advantage- Being Attractive Pays Off.

Also, check out my friends' stories on Wattpad- Drunk on Love by natmarie, Clever Devils by EDcarrol, and The Dawn- The Aleron Chronicles Book 1 by Evelynn Grace.

Sincerely,
Sareh

Sharing Days! 6/13/14

Random articles, Music and Media

• A shipyard of cranes was turned into dancing oragami. 

I found a new (Its actually old but new to me) song by BOA called "Hurricane Venus".

• This post written by Lauren DeStefano about "manic pixie dream girls" and how girls can be girls and not an object to be attained. 
• A map that shows the entire world in stereotypes. 
• Studying is really hard when this happens: 

  

  If this doesn't illustrate studying, I don't know what does.
  Can she just absorb it for me and give me the knowledge?

Posts from Around the Web about Books

• Maggie Stiefvater's post about our apparent misconception and points out that books don't make you smarter.
• This post arguing that genre fiction can be just as good as literary fiction. 
• Lauren DeStefano's tumblr rant about the "Ugly Snobs of Publishing."
• A post about how your local bookstore is a privileged. 
• This post about what happens when kids see only white kids in books.

Articles Dealing with Amazon's Bullying

• A post that deals with Future of Publishing and how Amazon vs Publishers can change who sells our books.
• Amazon's battle with Hachette was a big discussion at BEA 2014. 
• Amazon's Battle Against Hachette Escalates.

Articles dealing with YA

• My friend Rae wrote a wonderful post, Shameless: Reading YA, in response to an article in Slate about, another adult, arguing that there's something shameful about adults reading YA.  (If you may recall, another similar post was written a couple years ago that I wrote a heated rant about and then later turned into a speech that eventually won 6th place at a speech competition.)
• So Twitter and I guess the internet exploded this week when author, John Green, mistakenly said something offensive and misguided about a shot in his movie. Well an article was written about why "Our Fault in Our Stars" is not the savior of YA fiction.
• The Real Story Behind the War on YA.

In the News

• Here's a weird news piece that a friend showed me. Child Found Dead in Fridge, weighed 17lbs. And another one about A hospital patient lost for three days, later found in a stairwell.

P.S I know I'm posting on Friday the 13th, but you guys believe in any superstitions? 

Sincerely,

Sareh

Online Journalism and Bad Ethics

Image Link

I used to use Yahoo! for the majority of my news gathering. It usually gave me interesting news and different kinds of news. It was easy and right there to use. But I recently stopped using Yahoo! at all. One of the reasons was that I've found more news on Twitter (Twitter is apparently a hive for journalists) and its more immediate. But the biggest reason I stopped reading Yahoo! was due to the lack of professional standards I started seeing in their journalists. 

I'm not sure if Yahoo! wants to be more of a blog than a real news organization, but I have a problem when people who call themselves "journalists" (i.e professional journalists) start to turn the news into their own personal blogs and to further their own personal agendas. 

I saw it in other stories they reported on, but the ones I saw this the most in was in their reporting on LGBT stories. Now I'm fine reading these and was interested in them because its now a "hot button topic". Its big news and journalists are capitalizing on LGBT stories. 

See, these journalists when reporting on the topic would often insert their own personal opinions into the story and I finally got fed up when I started seeing them call people who disagreed with them, "bigots" and all sorts of other things. 

I'm not okay with this. Because Yahoo! doesn't clarify if this is really news they're presenting or opinion pieces. If this is a blog within the organization I'm reading, or if their editors are somehow letting this slide as an actual piece of news. 

I'm not okay with this because 1) the very first thing you learn in journalism classes (I should know, I'm a journalism student) is to NOT insert your opinions into a reporting piece (unless you're writing an opinion piece), 2) you shouldn't be calling your readers bigots in the first place on a professional website. Its not good PR, I believe. 

Now I know online journalism is usually written in a more "conversational" style, but that still doesn't mean that you can totally forgo all professional standards. If you want me to take you seriously as a reporter, then you have to act like a professional. 

According to my journalism textbook, The Society of Professional Journalists' Code of Ethics is considered a standard for most media professionals. This code of ethics rules that journalists should: 

• Examine their own cultural values and avoid imposing those values on others.

• Support the open exchange of views, even views they find repugnant.

• Distinguish between advocacy and news reporting. Analysis and commentary should be labeled and not misrepresent fact or context.

• Avoid conflicts of interest, real or perceived.

• Remain free of associations and activities that may compromise integrity or damage credibility.

• Deny favored treatment to advertisers and special interests and resist their pressure to influence news coverage.

And while there's no clear code of ethics for online journalism itself, the Poynter Institute has recommended a set of rules for online journalism.

• Journalists should avoid conflict of interest. 

• News Organizations should clearly label news and opinion. 

• Journalists who work for news organizations may keep personal blogs, but they should discuss their plans with an editor to avoid potential conflicts. 

 I don't care what you're writing, but if you're a journalist and you're writing actual news, leave your opinions out of it. If you want to write your opinions into something, clearly state that this is an opinion piece or get a blog.

So I even took the liberty of emailing SPJ's Ethics Hotline (you can also call them, but since I was writing this over the weekend, I emailed them) and the Vice Chair of their ethics committee emailed me back, agreeing that opinions should be kept separate from news and that opinions in news stories should be labeled as such.

So, have you seen other examples of bad journalism in the media lately? (I would show you the article I'm talking about and a few others but unfortunately, I didn't save them).

Sincerely,
Sareh

Sharing...Sundays! 5/25/14

So I couldn't...post on Friday because I was on vacation, but I took some lovely pictures I'll be putting up on my portfolio on Devinart.

Music and Media

• Here's a wonderful Ted Talk about domestic violence. 

And while we're talking about domestic violence, I saw this video on Buzzfeed about domestic violence in public and how people react, when its guy-on-girl/girl-on-guy. 

The video is presented by the Mankind Initiative which aims to help men in domestic violence situations. 

• To hear the kind of music I've been listening to for my story, Those Crazy Years, check out these Spotify playlists.  In Full Swing & Electro Swing. Also, some classic 1920s,  Flapper Jazz Dinner Party.
• I created a "research template" for writers. Here's the PDF version. I can also send it to anyone who thinks it might be useful. Let me know what you think and if I can improve it! 

Articles From Around the Web

• Check out my friend, Rae Slater's blog! Here's some of her articles on commercialism and on what to do after you finish a draft.
• Check out this post on how to know if you're a book nerd.
• This NY Times article on putting warning labels on classic literature for students. 
• This post detailing more of the battle between Amazon and Hachette. In short, Amazon is basically trying to gain more control of the publishing industry (despite already owning a large portion of e-book sales) and is punishing publishers, authors, and customers in its quest for dominance and money. 
• How to support an author's new book.
• This Contently post- Is Beacon the Netflix and future of freelancers and journalists? 
• Another Contently post on how freelance designers are using social media to fight plagiarism.  
• New York Times' interactive calculator on whether its better to buy or rent a home.

Websites to Look At

• Who Pays Writers? tries to figure out how much writers make and offers tips and suggestions to writers. They also have a magazine aimed at helping writers as well. 
• Old Magazine Articles- They have tons of free old magazine articles available online. Writing historical fiction and trying to find out something from a particular time or era? Or just curious? Well look no further! 
• Crisis Textline- is a free crisis hotline aimed at teens with help and support available 24/7. 
• Perdue Owl offers lots of hints and suggestions not only for research papers, but for researching as well for fiction writers (well you can take it that way). 

Sincerely,

Sareh

Expierence Your Book with Mozart: Booktrack

Ever thought that reading would be more interesting if you had some kind of music to go along with it? No? Well maybe you've thought that you know a particular song goes just well with this passage and only if you could share it with the world. 

There's website, Booktrack, that allows users to listen to books and texts with synchronized movie-style soundtracks and sounds. Apparently you can buy books with soundtracks already loaded (for example, the Power of Six comes with over 70 different musical scores and sounds, according to The Atlantic), create your own for books, or even add music and sounds to books and documents you originally create. 

According to The Atlantic:

It takes about six weeks to produce the nine hour-long track for a typical book. Booktrack has a small in-house team, but the bulk of the labor is done at outside production companies like Park Road Post, which has won Academy Awards for sound mixing. Creative designers read each book and determine what music and sounds should be used, and where. It all comes together with a composer, an audio technician, and sometimes, a sound producer. Cameron said it was only natural to seek out sound experts from the film industry, and they try to work with writers when they can. 

But how exactly does it work? According to the Smithsonian:

How does the book know when to fire the gun? It reads your mind. Almost. By calculating your reading speed from when you turn the page, it gauges when you'll reach the word or group of words that trips a sound effect. For slow readers, the background music plays on a loop, idling euphoniously, until you get to one of the trigger words. 

Booktrack tries to help improve literacy
According to Forbes.com, it reports that the National Endowment for the Arts reports that 33% of high school and 42% of college students never read a book after graduation. And with these numbers, educators are looking for more ways to engage students with reading (with reading showing not only increased test scores, but other benefits as well).

So in comes Booktrack, hoping to help educations tackle the non-reading trends among young adults. Booktrack Classroom gives students free access to ebooks with soundtracks for reading or creating their own. 

The thinking goes that with videos, radio, TV, video games, and interactive media, students have a hard time engaging in silent reading with a book that requires longer attention spans and less interactive parts to keep them engaged. So Booktrack figures that by adding music and sound, it'll help keep their attention.

According to their press release:

The announcement follows findings from a research project conducted by a team of experts from the University of Auckland that shows how reading with Booktrack increases reading comprehension and engagement. Of the 260 students in the randomized study, those who read the syllabus text incorporating Booktrack’s synchronized soundtrack spent 30% more time reading and registered up to 17% higher comprehension in comparison with the control group.

A second study was conducted with students with reading difficulties, with an even greater impact. This group had up to 18% higher comprehension and 35% higher satisfaction. The studies were led by Dave Hithersay, head of Biology at Auckland’s Mt Roskill Grammar School.

  From my own experience, I know when reading a book, my English teachers have often played corresponding movies and soundtracks (usually not while we were actually reading) or would find some way to make it more interesting (because apparently just reading on its own can't be entertaining). In any case, its a nice idea. 

Creating your own Booktrack?
Going on from education, we've now come to the what if I actually want to do this and create my own Booktrack? part. 

Booktrack’s expansion into education builds on the company’s recent successful fundraising round where it secured US$3million from global investors, led by Sparkbox Ventures. It allows the company to build on its recent growth with Booktrack Studio, which provides self-published writers with the ability to add soundtracks to their ebooks. In just over five months since its launch, over 300,000 users have created more than 3,600 Booktracks in 30 different languages and have spent more than 2.5 years reading.

 Anyways, according to the website, its fairly simple. "1. Copy your existing work, type an original story, or use a royalty free text to get started. 2. Add music, ambient sounds, and effects from our free library of 1,000s of tracks to create an immersive soundtrack for your text. 3. Publish your story for our community of readers to enjoy and share."  But of course, we all know that it is never as simple as they say. So if you really want to create your own booktrack, there's this handy-dandy little guide on how to make yours nice  or you can check out their author's blog.

Booktrack isn't such a new idea
Even though this is totally relevant, but I feel I must mention audiobooks. If you've ever listened to an audiobook, you'll probably notice that there's usually a little bit of music and sound involved. Usually in between the reader actually reading, sometimes to indicate a break or to introduce a chapter or whatever.

Authors in the past have also made use of creating soundtracks to go along with their books. Author Glen Duncan collarbated with Stephen Coates to create soundtracks to go with the novels I, Lucifer and The Last Werewolf. Jeff VanderMeer has also created soundtracks to go with his books.

And besides that, is a habit for writers now days to seek out music that goes along with their books. For Those Crazy Years, I found some wonderful playlists on Spotify (I think under a genre called electro swing) that works perfectly with my 1920s steam/deco punk story. Many of my writing friends have also created playlists on 8tracks that go along with their books. And this Amazon post lists some other books that have soundtracks created with the story in mind.

Other tibits
You can watch this Tedtalk by Booktrack's co-founder Paul Cameron.

And although I think this is a pretty neat idea, and I could see how it could be appealing to some, I would think that overall, it would just be too distracting. Unless maybe you're already in a situation that is distracting and you want something to listen to. Besides that, if you're looking to buy a book with a Booktrack, it costs extra (obviously, but would you really want to spend a couple extra dollars on it?). In any case, the app for it is available for both Apple and Androids so you can download it for yourself and check it out. And I might have to as well just to see if it really does work nicely or not.

So what do you think? Would you like to add music and sounds to your own book or read a book with a soundtrack ebbed in it? Do you think it says something about society went we're using soundtracks to help engage readers, or do you think its a smart or stupid idea?

Sincerely,
Sareh

Cover Reveal: Forever Kinda Love by Clara Stone (+ Giveaway!)

So everyone, this is exciting! Because not only am I doing my first ever cover reveal, but its for this lovely author who wrote this really awesome sounding book and LOOK AT THAT COVER PEOPLE. Its so pretty. But anyways, take a moment to look at all this awesomeness, AND check out the giveaway at the bottom!

Title: Forever Kinda Love
  Author: Clara Stone
  Release date: August 15th, 2014
  Genre: Contemporary Romance
  Age Group: Mature Young Adult
  Cover Design: Regina Wamba at Mae I Design & Photography

Ebook will be available at: Kindle | Nook | Kobo |Smashwords |Paperback

FOREVER KINDA LOVE Synopsis:

Life’s. Little. Surprises.

The last thing seven-year-old Carrigan "Ace" Casper foresaw was an eight- year-old Heath Lovelly walking into her life the day her mother died. From that moment on, Heath sticks by her side, slowly becoming her strength, her confidant, and her entire world. What she doesn’t know is, she's his saving grace, too.

 Ten years later, Ace is handed another crippling challenge that threatens everything in her almost perfect life. Only, this time, she doesn't turn to Heath, hiding the truth instead. But Heath knows Ace too well and won't back down easily. He's ready to do whatever it takes and will stay by her side until she accepts that their love is the kinda love worth fighting for.

 Will he be her forever triumph or her unexpected downfall?

Two lives.

 One story.

And an unexpected journey to falling in love.

*** Follow this book's Story board at: http://pinterest.com/pkanaparti/forev... ***

**Mature Content Warning** 17+ for language and sexual content.

About the Author:

Priya Kanaparti lives in the beautiful city of Boise, ID. Unlike what most believe about Idaho, it’s more than a sack full of potatoes. When she’s not writing, you’ll catch Priya reading YA and NA books, mostly romance, and enjoying time with her family. She is a proud CW TV addict. She also write Mature YA and New Adult romance under the name Clara Stone. She is published through Reuts Publications.

Facebook | Twitter | Blog | Goodreads | Pinterest

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sharing Fridays! 5/16/14

So I kinda forgot yesterday was Thursday (I blame summer break), so I'm sharing things today.

Book Contests

• Lori. M. Lee is having a cover reveal and an international book giveaway! Check it out here.
• Beth Revis is having a huge giveaway and you have to check it out here.
• Jay Kristoff is having a cover reveal and a giveaway too! You can check it out here.

Media and Music

• Ted Talks to Inspire and Learn
• 10 Talks on Graduation and What's Next
• Unlock the intelligence, passion, and greatness of girls
• Why Domestic Violence Victims Don't Leave
• What We Learned from Five Million Books
• How Photography Connects Us
• Check out Peter Hollen's rendition of Brave by Josh Groban. 

Articles to Look at

• Snapchat isn't protecting your privacy
• (To make you smile) 100 Best Dog Photos
• Young People want Equality but Struggle to Discuss Bias
• Worst Ways to Begin Your Novel According to Literary Agents
• 31 Confessions Any Book Lover will Understand
• Why We Need to Care more about Library Funding
• My post on how to help show you care to the families of the kidnapped girls in Nigeria and websites to check out about ending human trafficking. 
• A high school student not only graduated from high school at 15, but he also did it with four college degrees. You can check out the story here.
• How Writers can Make Money on Etsy
• 11 Ways to Write Authentic Historical Fiction
• 7 tips on How To Writer Historical Fiction
• 8 1/2 Character Archtypes you Should Be Writing

Websites to Look at

• The Brits have established a website chock full of literature and other documents from the British Library's collection on Romantic and Victorian writers. You can check it out here.
• There's an awesome website you can buy books from for REALLY cheap. You can check out Book Outlet here. 

Sincerely,
Sareh

Support the Kidnapped Girls in Nigeria!

Hey everyone!

So I don't know if you've heard about the kidnapped girls over in Nigeria, but my professors at my school are calling for letters of support and encouragement to the families of the kidnapped girls. It doesn't have to be long or anything overly done. In fact, you can just write a short email/letter and send it to me through the contact page and I'll make sure to forward it on to my professors to send to the families in Nigeria!

It doesn't cost you anything and will only take a few minutes of your time. All letters are due by May 30th.

 I know it doesn't seem like the most helpful thing we can do, but for the majority of those who can't fly over there and help look for ourselves or whatever else would be helpful, I think this is pretty good. Those families would really appreciate knowing that we care, even if we can't help them indirectly. None of us would like it if that happened to us!

What exactly are you talking about Sareh? Well here's some news articles to catch you up!

Image Link

Basically what happened is that there's an extremist terrorist group in Africa called Boko Haram. And this group kidnapped nearly 300 girls from a school and is hiding them somewhere in jungle and is planning to sell them as slaves.

You can get a full breakdown at this post: Your Vital Questions Answered.

Thanks everyone!


Edit: Some extra sources
Five Lessons from Chibok
Boko Haram: Who they are and what they want
Nigerian Girls Shed Light on Human Trafficking.
What's so Scary about Smart Girls?
11 facts about Human Trafficking.

Some Organizations to get involved with if you want to help stop Human Trafficking. 
Courtney's House
Polaris Project
Shared Hope
End Slavery Now

Sharing Thursdays! 5/8/14

Welcome back to this weekly post of random stuff for me to share from around the internet!

I got a Twitter! 
So follow me for everything interesting, randomness, and for the fun of it and I'll probably follow you back!

https://twitter.com/SarehLovasen

Web Posts To Take a Look At!

• This Contently Post introduced me to this new thing Facebook is trying called Facebook Newswire. Apparently its trying to compete with Twitter as a place for breaking news and the like, and wants to attract more companies to it. 
• This post  discusses the if Buzzfeed really knows the secret to getting things viral and other ways that Buzzfeed is changing the way we see news and media. 
• And as much as I all know we don't like taking finals at school, don't be like these college students who ordered a hit on themselves in order to avoid their finals! 

Music and Media to Think about and Listen To

• These Ted Talks for you to enjoy!
• The Way We Think about Charity is Wrong
• Does the Media have a "Duty of Care"?
• How to Seperate Fact from Fiction Online
• If you haven't heard of Lindsey Stirling, check out her youtube channel now! She's an awesome violinist who can dance and play the violin at the same time! Wow!
• Here's a new song by her that I just discovered! "Shatter Me"! 

Websites and Other Randomness to Look at

• Wasn't exactly sure if this counts as a website yet or not, but there's a kickstarter program called Storium that kinda reminds me of a role playing game or Dungeons and Dragons. But either way, you can check it out for yourself by clicking here.
• If you're a graphic designer or an artist, check out AIGA- the professional organization for artists and designers! 
• There's a website devoted to books that work on paper and wouldn't work well as ebooks. You can check out Wink-Books by clicking on its name (<---). 
• This picture about the opening ceremony of Woodstock! Wow, that's a lot of people!

Opening ceremony of Woodstock, 1969 pic.twitter.com/VGhEg8ACuv
— Historical Pics (@HistoricalPics) May 8, 2014

Story Time!
So I also recently posted a revamped story on Wattpad, called Those Crazy Years, that I'm really excited about! Its an exciting story about an alternative universe of the 1920s filled with magic, international intrigue, mobsters, spies, and mystery!

It was fashionable, you see, to kill.

In high style of the day, the Skylarks of New Haven have taken the city by storm. They were the bee’s knees, the big cheese, and everyone wanted to be just like them. They could sing, dance, act, anything they set their mind to, these girls could do. Everyone loved them and no one dared breathed a bad word about them. They seduced everyone and were called the “It” girls. Sexy, smart, fashionable.

But like everyone, they each had their own secrets. And sometimes secrets have a nasty way of revealing themselves. Its been over a year since James Royston disappeared while on a mission to save his kidnapped bride, and now his sister Juliet is determined to find them no matter the cost. But it could very much cost her life.

Thrown into a dangerous game of international intrigue, lies, forbidden romances, magic, and crime lords, Juliet will have to keep her wits about her if she’s to save her brother. But Juliet’s new friends have dug themselves into a deeper hole then anyone could imagine, and it might just take an outsider to save them. In those days it might have been fashionable, but now they call it, those crazy years.

You can check out the story here on Wattpad and take a look at my Pinterest Board for it.

Well that's all today! If you have more you'd like to share (whether its a new book you just discover, got published, music you want to share, an article, pictures, whatever) just let me know either in the comments or through the contact form underneath the author page!

Sincerely,
Sareh

Randomness- 5 Healthy Recipes to Try This Summer!

So my school gave us a little packet with healthy recipes to make. And so I thought to share them with you guys. Just let me know if you have trouble seeing the pictures, and I'll type it out. 

Sharing Thursdays! 4/24/14

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Blog Posts from around the Web

• YAtopia post about getting exercise for writers!
• Science Fiction as a Metaphor
• Knowing When to Let Go (of that story).  (And now, we must all burst into "Let it Go" from Frozen).
• Where are all the Young People At? Publisher's expectations of teen's wants vs what teens really want.

Shout out to Jelsa Mepsey
So my awesome friend, Jelsa, is getting published by Winslet Press, and she recently just officially got onto their author page. So I'm sharing that here and her blog, on which you should check her out.

Music to Tune into/Multi-Media

• One of my friends as an awesome spoken word poetry playlist.
• These Ted Talks are really inspiring/interesting.
• "The Danger of a Single Story".
• "The Politics of Fiction"
• "The Clues to a Great Story"
• Also, check out the channels of Jun Sung Ahn who does really awesome violin covers. And Sam Tsui who did a really cool cover of "Let it Go" and "Let Her Go" and has his own album and stuff. 

Wesbites To Take a Peek At

• Hogwarts Is Here- There is now a site where (for Free) you can take classes like you would at Harry Potter's Hogwarts and a whole bunch of other stuff. Now I'm not a huge Harry Potter fan, but this is still pretty cool. I might be tempted to do this during my four-month long summer break. 
• Storybird- So this site seems to have more kids in mind, but the concept is still pretty neat. Its a site where you can create stories using art or write stories inspired by art or whatever. It basically combines art and writing and lets you share it. 
• Sound Drown- Ever wondered what a coffee shop, on fire, in the rain sounds like? Well with Sound Drown you can listen to that or any combination of a variety of sounds. This website is a nice tool when you need to drown out the sound around you and music just isn't what you need. 

Web Articles to Take a Look At

• Movie based on OneDirection Fanfic- Yep, you read that right. There is now a movie that's going to be based off of a fanfiction between Harry Styles of One Direction and a made up "Tessa". The story, featured on Wattpad, is aptly named "After" and the following two books creatively named, "After 2" and "After 3". Besides the legal implications of someone making a movie off of a fanfiction, the ties between this and Fifty Shades of Grey (which is actually a fanfiction based off of Twilight), and the fact that there are millions of people obsessed with a band so much so that this is popular on Wattpad, fan fictions and other legalities that goes with it is something I want to make a post about.
• Beth Revis on Wattpad- This isn't so much an article, but I decided to throw it in anyways. Beth Revis and other popular YA authors are now on Wattpad! Kinda cool, right?
• A couple of posts about "genre fiction" vs "literary fiction" here and here. 
• Another couple of posts about science fiction (and one of them relates to the whole "genre" vs "literary" debate. You can check them out here and here. 
• This post is about YA historical fiction books to check out. 

Blog Posts Coming Up!

So here are some blog posts I've got planned. 

• Book Review on "Dreams of Gods and Monsters" by Laini Taylor. 
• Book Review on "Reached" by Ally Condie. 
• Post about fanfictions and Kindle Worlds. 
• BookTracks- A website where you can add soundtracks to books.
• Kindle Singles
• How to Use Pinterest for Writers
• My take on "genre" vs "literary" fiction. 
• And lots, lots more!

Sincerely,

Sareh

Research isn't Just for Students!

The following post I also wrote and posted on Inkwell, but I am recycling it and sharing it on here too. 

Credit: Link

So no matter what genre you write in, you’re probably going to have to do some research at some point in time. If you’re like me, you’ll be fine with this because its exciting. If not, well not so much. But some times even when you know what subject you’re researching, it might be hard to know where to start. So tonight, I’m going to give you my suggestions for how to conduct good research.

Step 1- Know what you’re looking for.

You can start with a broad topic, like The Roaring Twenties, or make it specific like, what kinds of food did people eat back then? The more specific you are, the easier/harder it will be to find information. But if I’m researching a time period, I’ll start with broad things.

Step 2: Gather your resources

Once you’ve decided on your topic, now its time to start gathering your materials. The best place to start right off the bat is Google because that’s fairly simple.

Rule of warning: Remember that when you’re looking for sites for information, you have to keep in mind that there might be a ton of sites out there with a bunch of different information. One of the things here is that some of that information may not always be true. I have two ways of checking information, 1) Does the site list references? And are those references valid sources and are they dated? 2) Can this information be found on other sites. If you can find generally the same information on at least two or three other sites, you know that its probably true. Even better, see if you can find it in a book. (Although if you’re writing a fiction novel, your facts don’t always have to be strictly true. Because you’re writing fiction and you can sometimes get away will little things as long as its not too big).

Once you’ve found your internet references, its a good idea to bookmark all those files in a separate folder or two so that you’ll be able to find them again.

After you’ve found your internet resources, make sure to check out your local library or bookstore. Books are generally the best places to look for information that’s true. And don’t be afraid to check out kids’ books too. Sometimes those may be helpful although you might look a bit silly reading them. Other good resources to check out are magazines, TV shows, movies, documentaries, and journals (not like personal journals but academic ones).

Make sure to keep track of all the things you’ve used to find your information in because those might come in handy if you need to rent them again or something. Sometimes I give my list of resources to friends who might be resourcing the same things.

Step 3- Organize your resources and make notes

Say you’re researching the 1920s again and you need to know exactly where to find something or there’s something in a specific book you need. If you’re looking at your internet resources, make sure to organize them. For example I’ve been studying this era for a novel and under my bookmarks I have specific folders for sites related to “Flappers”, “Model T Ford”, “Speakeasies”, “Prohibition”, etc.

If you want to make notes, keep a stack of notecards near you and write down the quote you want and then remember to source the item you got this information from. If you can’t remember how to do something like the MLA from high school, there’s plenty of sites that will show you how or even do it for you. Doing something like the MLA may not seem all that important, especially if you’re writing fiction, but its a good habit to get into. Not only will this help you keep track of your information, but you can’t be accused of stealing that quote or anything.

And remember basic note taking tips like, you don’t have to write everything down and summarizing is useful.

Step 4- How do you know when you have enough?

This is a good question, one that I’ve often struggled with myself. I’m one of those people who will research a subject until I’m sick of it and ready to die. But from that I’ve learned that there’s ways to know.

A good way to know is that you can just start with the basics. Because you can always go back and research more later. But most of the time we just need a couple things to get us started and informed.

Also, research as you go. You don’t need to know everything before you begin writing because you don’t know what you’ll encounter as you write. Or what will come up. Research what you need and leave it as that if you’re afraid of over researching.

Also keep in mind that you won’t use everything you’ll learn. Sometimes not only that, but if your story is still good without knowing what exactly people ate in the 1920s and how long they cooked it, you don’t need to research that. Its not needed! Don’t go through the trouble of putting something into your story just for the sake of putting it there, cause that’s unnecessary.

Step 5- Don’t be afraid of creating. 

If you can’t find something you’re looking for, keep in mind that the information you want may not be known or even accessible to you. And if you are determined to add something that you can’t find, add that something anyways. Its okay to expand on a topic even if you’re not exactly right. (Mostly though if you’re writing fiction.)

If you can’t find say what was the most popular hair color back in the 1920s, its okay to put in that lots of people like blonds or red-heads. After all, you’re writing fiction, not a non-fiction book. You don’t always have to have all the facts out there.

Main Points to Take Away

• Don’t limit yourself to just one resource! There’s a ton of information out there on any subject. Don’t just look on the internet or in books, try other types of media too. Like movies and magazines.
• Its a good idea to double check that your facts are true. Even if you’re writing fiction. While it may not be the most important thing, it’d be horrible if you got something wrong and everyone knew it but you, after you’ve been published. Because then its kinda hard to go back and change it.
• Don’t steal! Make sure to give credit to where you found your information. Even if you’re going to be the only person to know.
• Keep organized. This way, its very to find information when you need it.
• Keep notes! Also makes it easier to find information!
• Use what you need as you need it.
• Try to have fun!

So, do you enjoy researching? Why or why not? What is some of the most interesting things you’ve come across before?

Take a Book; Leave a Book: Little Free Libraries

(Credit Given to this Website)
And yes my Birdies, that is a tardis...

Have you ever wished there was a place where you could just exchange books, without even ever having to find friends and family or even needing to leave your neighborhood? Well, see there's this thing called Little Free Libraries that allows you do to just that!

What is Little Free Libraries?
These are boxes placed in communities, buildings, neighbors, etc, where anyone can drop off books and take books for free. You can have them officially registered on the website and you can check out to see if there's any near you by using the map.

History of LFL.
 In 2009, Todd Bol and Rick Brooks started the project after Bol created a little home for free books in his yard. His neighbors loved it and it grew from there. 

(Taken from their website)
They were inspired by many different ideas:

• Andrew Carnegie’s support of 2,509 free public libraries around the turn of the 19^th to 20^th century.
• The heroic achievements of Miss Lutie Stearns, a librarian who brought books to nearly 1400 locations in Wisconsin through “traveling little libraries” between 1895 and 1914.
• “Take a book, leave a book” collections in coffee shops and public spaces.
• Neighborhood kiosks, TimeBanking and community gift-sharing networks
• Grassroots empowerment movements in Sri Lanka, India and other countries worldwide.

 Their Mission

• To promote literacy and the love of reading by building free book exchanges worldwide.
• To build a sense of community as we share skills, creativity and wisdom across generations.

 Benefits of having one (according to the website).

• People meet more neighbors and passers-by than they have in years.
• They often spend time getting to know people as well as books.
• They value the free-wheeling exchange of books, especially because they are often surprised by the variety and quality of the collections.
• They like giving as much as –or perhaps even more than—taking books. • Little Free Libraries are likely to have a positive influence on community quality of life and social capital.
• Small, local business owners report that Little Free Libraries help them attract and keep customers.
• Realtors have said that Libraries (big and small) have influenced potential homebuyers to decide to settle on one neighborhood rather than another.
• The vast majority of public and school librarians fully support the concept and role of Little Free Libraries as outreach and inreach tools for library success.
• Children, youth and adults of all ages and backgrounds can share in the give and take. People of widely diverse socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds participate in this grassroots effort.

Extra Stuff about it
Its doesn't cost much to start your own little library and if you can't make your own, you can also buy an already made little library. There's a "get involved" page if you find yourself wanting to make your own or want to start one in your community. My own tiny little hometown recently got one and it's pretty cute. I haven't been able to use it yet since I've been at school since they started it, but I plan to use it this summer while I'm home. I'll take a picture too and update it to this post.

Anyways, so I really like the idea of having a place to exchange books. I like getting new books and giving away books I don't particularly find myself wanting. I'm not sure how much my community will really get into meeting each other more because of it, but we're a pretty small town so you can just walk outside your house and see everyone within a few minutes. And everyone knows everyone else who lives in the town, so we're pretty tight knit, I guess you could say.

But who doesn't like free books? Its also a great way to promote reading, which I think is very important. Studies have shown numerous benefits to people who read a lot.

So go find a book to read. And leave a book for someone to read.

Or go find your own Free Little Library.

Sincerely,
Sareh

Funny And Cool Packaging Pictures from Pinterest

Here's a whole bunch of either funny, cool, or weird packaging I'd thought I'd share. As a design student, I've been pinning a whole bunch of inspirational pictures to my Pinterest Design Board. 

Pinterest Link

Pinterest Link

Pinterest Link

Pinterest Link

Pinterest Link

Pinterest Link

Pinterest Link

Found on Pinterest, linked back to here