So I originally posted this on my Tumblr, but I thought to share it on here too. (In case you're wondering, I don't post a lot of my own content on my Tumblr blog. Mostly just reblogs.) Anyways, I didn't write this to offend anyone or to put anyone down, but it was just my general thoughts on stuff that was happening during the holiday season.
I don’t know if anyone will read this, but if they do, I want you to just sit back and listen to what I’m going to say. Like, actually sit back and think before you type.
I was inspired to write this post by a fellow thin person struggling with her weight.
I bring this up as a thin person who struggles with her own weight. I happen to weight less than 85 lbs (most I’ve ever weighed is like 86 lbs for a day). I think I’m underweight to a degree (although I’m short and have always been thin like this), and would like to get to at least 90 lbs and stay there. (My current weight stays in between 78 lbs and 83 lbs normally).
But normally, when I tell people I would like to gain weight (or when I think I’ve gained weight), I get all sorts of dirty looks, people telling me to shut up, and other rude comments. Its actually very hurtful.
When people tell me they are trying to loose weight, I don’t go around saying the same kinds of things to them or acting like their goal is any less than mine.
I’m not going to remind people here specifically of skinny-shaming vs fat-shaming, but this holiday season, I’d just like to share that while you’re thinking of loosing weight this new year’s, trying to maintain your weight, or whatever, to remember that everyone’s goals are important. Just because someone is trying to do something opposite of what you might be doing doesn't mean you’ll get bad karma from them just talking about it.
No one deserves to be put down for their weight goals. If I support you in your effort to loose weight, at least be willing to listen to the people trying to gain it too. We have our own problems too.
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?
— 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.
My friend Rae wrote a wonderful post, Shameless: Reading YA, in response to an article in Slate about, another adult, arguing thatthere'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.
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).
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 onBuzzfeed 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.
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!
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.
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).
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.
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?
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.
