Wednesday, May 4, 2016

IWSG May the 4th Be With You (and Five Reasons to Write with Obi-Wan Kenobi)



This post was written in advance and then, life threw a curve at me on Wednesday in the early morning hours. I almost didn't post this, then thought it would be a waste if I didn't, and then thought that the emergency wasn't truly so bad . . .

My mom has bounced back from so many injuries and illnesses that I thought she would be out of the hospital within a matter of hours. Instead, she's still there, struggling to breathe. She won't be home for Mother's Day.

So . . . just so you know . . . I'll run with the guest posts I have planned/prepped in the coming weeks, but I'm not going to post anything new of my own until things calm down.


May the 4th (Force) Be With You!

For IWSG today, I have encouragement from Obi-Wan Kenobi.

5 Wise Reasons to Write with Obi Wan Kenobi (and the Star Wars universe)



1. "Be mindful of your thoughts Anakin. They'll betray you."
Be mindful of your thoughts while writing. Don't let your insecurities betray you. 

2.  "Patience. Use the force. Think."
So, the rough draft just walked into a crowded bar and shape-shifted into something unrecognizable, don't give up. Have patience. Use the writing craft. Think through the problem. (Then, stalk and attack!)

3. "If you spent as much time practicing your saber techniques as you did your wit, you'd rival Master Yoda as a swordsman."
Daydreaming about writing only goes so far. Put pen to paper or hands to keyboard and write! 




4. "Mos Eisley spaceport: You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious."
When confronted with Imperial Storm Troopers of Grammar, the scum of plot issues, and the villainy of harsh critics, don't run away. Just proceed with caution and carry your light-saber silently.

5. "You have taken your first step into a larger world."
Every word takes us on our first steps into a larger world of story writing. Keep it up.

Bonus:  "That's no moon. It's a space station."
Write with high stakes! 


Trivia: Name the movies that go with the quotes.



NEWS
I have news from my writing corner, so I'll share those and then get on to exciting news that I've heard from the blogsphere!

Dynamic Writing 1 is going on sale for the summer from $25.99 to $16.99 in paperback (392 pages of writing instruction)!

The Five Reasons to Write Guest Series will get into full swing with guest posts starting next week! (I had a oops in my last post and said this week because I was too excited.)

Wings of Light Publishing is opening up submissions for Wing's Edge: A Fantastically Short Fiction Anthology. Reading period: May 25th - July 15th for hint, drabble, and flash fiction in the fantasy genre. Theme: Flight/Wings. See this page link more more details.

The Thing That Turned Me: An Anthology is coming soon! ARCs are out and reviews are coming in soon. It's super exciting to be a part of this wonderful group of writers, under the superb direction of Randi Lee.



I found a new market that's just opened up for speculative fiction, and they responded so fast and so positively that I'm super impressed. Check out Between Worlds if you have a speculative short story ready for market! (As always, check their guidelines carefully.)


Books I've read and loved in the last few weeks 
(BTW - I scrapped my rating system idea. Proceed with discernment if you are a young reader.)

Death Duel by Milo James Fowler - action-packed, speculative noir!


The Morrigan's Curse by Diane K. Salerni - an excellent, fun MG read.

Books I haven't read yet, but I'm excited about:
The New IWSG Anthology is out:
Parallels: Felix Was Here





21 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Prayers for your mother! No worries about a late post. You could've skipped if needed.
Enjoy the anthology. Great stories.
Safe bet all of the quotes are from Star Wars films...

Tyrean Martinson said...

I already had the post written so I just hit publish later in the day than normal.

And, thank you!

Julie Flanders said...

So sorry about your mother, Tyrean. I hope she will make a full recovery quickly.
And congrats on the upcoming anthology and all your writing news!
Also I can't imagine a better guy to get motivation from than Obi-Wan Kenobi. :)

Shannon Lawrence said...

I hope your mom makes a quick and full recovery. Lots of good writing news for you, congrats! Way to spin the quotes into writing advice.

L. Diane Wolfe said...

I sorry about the scare with your mother. Spend all the time you need with her. Blogs can wait.

Rachna Chhabria said...

Prayers for your mother Tyrean. I hope she makes a full and speedy recovery. The blog could have waited.

Olga Godim said...

I'm very sorry for your mother. Hope she'll get better soon.
You have so many interesting and useful things crammed into this one post. Thank you. Will check the anthology and the new market as soon as I finish typing my comment.

Nick Wilford said...

Hope your mum gets better. The advice from Obi-Wan is much appreciated. Looks like you have a busy summer coming up!

Yvette Carol said...

I hope your mom recovers soon! :-)

Elizabeth Alsobrooks said...

I'm so sorry to hear about your mother. Congrats on all the great things going on!

Natalie Aguirre said...

Hope your mom is okay. Loved how you tied your post into Star Wars. Very inspiring.

Madeline Mora-Summonte said...

Sending positive thoughts for your Mom and for all of you! Take care!

Erika Beebe said...

What a great post! I love point number 2. Sending you and yours positive and healthy thoughts and prayers.

Karen Lange said...

Hope your mom is felling better! Will be praying.

Yolanda Renée said...

Thanks for the Parallels shout out!
So sorry to hear of your mom's illness. Sending you prayers of healing and blessings! Stay strong!

Tyrean Martinson said...

Thank you all so much for your prayers and thoughts!
Things have been more serious than I realized they would be. My mom has bounced back quickly from other health issues, but this time, she's in for a longer haul. I'll have small updates, but I'm also going to stay the course with the upcoming guest posts.

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Tyrean - good luck with your mother for her healthy recovery ... still it's better to be slow recover properly.

Great to read about all the books etc and the shout outs .. but take care and look after yourself and your mother ... with thoughts - Hilary

cleemckenzie said...

Any emergency involving Mom takes precedent. I hope by now that she's well and either home or will be soon. And I'm glad you posted this. I enjoyed reading the 5 reminders.

Victoria Marie Lees said...

Yes, it does, Lee. My prayers are with you for sure. I also hope Mom is doing better. These are funny Star Wars-connected reminders about writing. Thanks for sharing them.

Loni Townsend said...

So sorry to hear about your mom. I hope she gets better soon. Thanks for still sharing your Star Wars encouragement!

Anonymous said...

Star Wars wisdom for writing. No better way to go. Well, maybe Doctor Who wisdom for writing. ;)