What’s Blog got to do with it

     I just read this website for new, up-and-coming writers, and one person says, “blogging is for sell-outs.” He also goes on to say that using any form of social media is selling out, and that self publishing of any form is a cop out to not being able to get recognition from a formidable publishing house.  I look at his bio and see he has no books published by said, “formidable,” publishing house, but publishes under another company which is still considered in the literary world to be an indie company (meaning he is self-published).  For kicks and giggles, and because we can all stand to elevate our blood pressure once in awhile, I keep reading.  This man slams, and mean slams with vibrant words that could only be aqcuired using thesaurus.com’s word of the day tool (i’m a subscriber, I know this), blogs in particular.  He seems to hate blogs and calls them a shameless tool used to self promote for people who can not otherwise afford a decent PR person.  After that he links to his “BLOG.” Seriously dude, put down the reefer and give your alter ego a Xanax, which is what I so eloquently commented.

    Here is my position: use the tools you have at your disposal.  the thing about blogging is that it is not an in your face thing.  My blog will not appear on your screen unless you asked it to.  it’s purely opt in, unlike that harassing sales call I received last night on my cell phone.  I say, use all the social media you can..it’s free.  Oh, and by the way, even you could afford a PR person of Jerry Maguire status, the first thing they would do is create several social media accounts. It has been proven to be one of the fastest, easiest, and most cost effective methods of marketing and publicity.  why anyone would scoff at this is beyond me, and I didn’t have to take a percocet to come to that notion.

     I further delve into this man’s google-search-abilitiness, and find he has a twitter, facebook, youtube, and blogspot account along with google something or other and a home page which over glorifies his self-indulgence, which shamelessly links to every single one of his media outlets.  Geesh, at least I’m forward about my intention to plug my books, “Be Still,” and “When I Thought I was Tough,” which is available for a free read using the link 😉  See how that works? Why knock a gift horse in the mouth.  If you were offered a free car would you saunter away and call it selling out.

     Okay, this is where I get all up on that ten foot soapbox, but hey, I’m not trying to sell tapeworms as a form of curing ulcers and obesity.  I’m giving my honest opinion and essentially selling myself, which I’m proud to do because I’m quite a catch when it comes to my writing (biased?).  So, yes, I will use all forms of social media available because it is available.  However, in the light of it being New Year’s Eve, I will make this firm resolution: I will not spam my friends Facebook pages.  That’s all I have.  If you have gift or talent and that is in blogging and getting your voice out there then I say go for it.  “Atika!” Burn bras (not books).  Fight the power…etc etc.  Most of all, have a safe and wonderful New Year and make sure one of those resolutions is to follow a dream and see it through (not if it includes stalking Brittany Spears…Just leave her alone people!!!) My next post will be an ode to Prozac, where I can combine my nursing and writing skills.  Happy New Year bloggers!!

Setting Goals

     Today is the start of my developmental editing.  Iam hitting the gates running…NOT! This is awful.  I have to sit and wait for someone to read my manuscript, make his notes, then send them back to me. That could take 3-4 weeks.  Eee gads, what am I supposed to do during that time? This is frustrating.  I suppose I will continue to work on book #3, but I forsee that I’ll have to stop that book when I do the revisions in, “Be Still.” It’s so hard to go between the two.  It’s like switching from forward to reverse.

    But, I am excited.  Very excited.  I can hardly wait to get it all done and out on the market.  It’s like being a kid again and waiting for Christmas.  I wish I could adequately explain what it is like to wait for a book to be published.  It’s like waiting to be cleared for escrow; waiting to save up for a car; waiting to take that dream vacation.  There’s anticipation, longing, daydreaming, preparing, and a little flutter in your heart at the thought.  Mostly, there’s anxiety, and I have to wonder if the mainstream big-names have this same anxiety for every book, or was it just the first?

     I can say it’s like finishing nursing school then training then being put on my own.  i was so nervous with my very first patient, but it was exciting, too.  I wanted everything to be perfect, just like with the book.  Of course, now, I am hit with a new roadblock, because nothing could ever be a soft path: I am no longer on state disability after the end of January, and not only do I now have to start looking for work, but I will have to stop writing full time, which is what I have done the past year.  It is saddens me to have to put my passion on the backburner to keep up with the needs of my life and the life of my family. Not that taking care of my family saddens me, its the part that I have to stop writing or give up a great majority of my writing time to do it.  It’s like losing a love.

     Well, until that day actually comes, I will pour my heart and soul into book #3 or the revision of, “Be Still.”  I also received a one year free membership to some website which holds seminars for writers, and gives me some tools to track my progression.  It’s part of my publishing package.  I haven’t had a chance to really go through it, but it’s a nice edition.  So far my evaluation of iuniverse is still right up there.  They have been great in answering questions, keeping me updated, and being excited with me.  I believe for the price of the package, you get more than you are paying for.  I have self-published through Bookemon, which was easy to do, but it was just what it advertised: self published.  You upload the manuscript, do your own cover, hope you did the tabs correct, and publish.  You purchase each book you want, and must do all the work after that yourself.  Now, I would recommend Bookemon if all you were going to do was create a book for family and friends.  They do nothing beyond create a print-on-demand book for you.  Not a bad gig for the right reason.  However, payin for the Iuniverse package is well worth it, even if only for the review, cover copy, and adaptation into e-book versions and placement on most major bookstore websites, along with other perks depending on the package.  I say go for it!

     I was told today by my ex-husband (we are cordial) that I should follow my dreams.  My response, someday I would like to live my dreams.  My dream would be to write full time and be able to live comfortably.  I’m not looking for wealth, just a comfortable lifestyle, where I could send my kids to college and pay all my bills without juggling the money.  I’ve told most my friends that when the book comes out I am sending them all a publicity care package of things to distribute to family and friends.  I’m recruting, too, so if you want to do some publicity let me know, I’ll send you a care package, too.  😉  Serious offer despite winky emotican.  My goal is to sell 500 books, at least that is my happiness goal.  My elated goal is to sell 1,000.  And my bucket list goal is to be on New York Times Best Sellers list.  It’s good to have goals.

     My food for thought for today is: set goals, even small ones.  Baby steps.  But always have a goal after that one.  When you always have something to strive for, then you are always in motion, always pushing forward and never stagnant in life.  you’ll be better for it.

An Unfamiliar Place

     Today I am reading a book by Chuck Palahniuk, titled, “Damned.” I have tried to read his other books (Fight Club and Choke, amongst his more well known), but I always had a problem following his mind.  Now that I am on the otherside of the pages,I am realizing that it’s not my job to get inside the mind of the writer, but his/her job to get into mine.  So in this new Palahniuk book I am trying to stay focused, but there are still some parts where I peek at the back inside cover to see his picture and think to myself, “what were you smoking, Dude?”

     Albeit a very interesting book about a self-proclaimed, “fat-girl” who overdoses on marijuana and winds up in hell, he does have some interesting opinons on the concept, development, and over all design of hell.  To this, I say, “Kudos, Mr. Palahniuk, for making me laugh, feel vomitus, and blush all in the same chapter.” You may ask what this has to do with my blog title, “An Unfamilar Place” This is because in his book he talks about many far off and exotic destinations that only the daughter of a movie-star billionaire would know about.  I’m left to wonder if Chuck has been to these places, name dropping, or if they were spots on a map he threw a dart at.  Being that he’s sold over 5 million books, I would assume he has visited these places at least once…but that is a wild assumption without any basis.

     I wrote in a previous blog that I could only write about places i’ve been, things i’ve done, senses i’ve experienced.  This has created quite a conundrum in my new book as the charcter, Evan, is deaf.  I tried working through this last night and discovered something fascinating that I have taken for granted for years, as most people probably have: Did you know you can hear your own voice in your head? I mean, we have thoughts, but imagine if you will (or try) that you can not speak.  You have no use of your mouth to produce words.  Do you still hear those words in your in head? How did you know what th words wwere supposed to sound like?  Answer this, without speaking out loud: What is your theory on evolution? Okay, do you hear the sound of your own voice in your head? Myself, I found it fascinating, because all though I have heard it before, I have taken it for granted.

     What’s the point? The point is this.  As a writer I have to get into the heads of my character so they can get into your head and you can feel their emotions.  Ride the rollercoaster with them.  Be someone else with every documented word.  Escape.  So my job in the new book is to make you, the reader, connect with a young deaf girl who is caught up in a triangle custody battle between a ditzy, emotionally lazy mother; an uncaring, loafer father; and a man who loves her as his own child.  Being caught up in that is hard enough, but I’m left to write every tangible sense of a girl who hasn’t ever heard a sound.  You look at a door and say, “it’s a door.” In spanish, “la puerta.” In german, “die Tur.” But how do you explain sound to someone who can’t hear it? It’s like explaining the color teal to a blind person.

     I am taking on a task similar to writing about a place I have not been.  I can not write about Harlem since I’ve never been there.  I can stare at pictures all day, but until I have been there I could not give you every sense of the place: taste, smell, sight, sound, touch.  Think those don’t all play into the factor? Well, I’ve lived in beautiul California my entire life, and when people come to visit they all want to go to Hollywood.  I try and detour them, but usually can’t because they already have a preconceived idea.  Many people outisde of Los Angeles think of it as star central, full of glitz and shimmering sparkles, streetsof gold and stars.  Not so.  Here are the senses of hollywood: As I walked into the city of stars I was immediatley met by the pungent, stale scent of fresh and stagnant urine.  It was thick, making me feel dirty under its weight, which lingered on the humid air, and sank into my skin.  I saw a homeless man sitting beside a trash can, chasing away rats and other pestulence, while the din sound of helicopters and airplanes consumed the dingy skyline.  The place corrupted every sense, including my ideas of what Hollywood would be.

     Now, not to knock Hollywood, but there are better places to visit in California.  After reading about all five senses being used to describe it, you should be left with a yucky taste in your mouth.  Here’s a free pointer: when writing a creative paper be sure to include,: who, what, when, where, how, but don’t forget: sight, taste, smell, touch, and hearing.  It makes it more personable.  So my cross to bear is not to write what Evan hears, but to write what she doesn’t hear.  In order to do this I will have to heighten my own senses…not so great so far.  I am going to take on the task of teaching a deaf girl, English.  This is a very unfamilir place.

     For those keeping up with my publishing status; I call my editor tomorrow and set up payment, then it will go into a month of editing while I, at the same time, look for work.  I am hopeful this will all work out, but please keep following me to see where I end up next year in November, my year anniversary into this uncharted territory.  I may be rich and famous, working on a movie deal…or pulling out a loan to publish my next book.  Either way, I am proud of my accomplishments and hope you all fulfill your dreams.

tania l ramos

Emotional Writing

     In my book waiting to be published, “Be Still,” I mentioned before that I went through a hard day and added in two pages of my own personal emotions expressed through Travis Silver, the character.  I found that to be rather therapeutic, but also chalked it up to needing to express myself and nothing more.  So, today I will discuss how emotions play into writing, because, although I may not have noticed it before, it became a raging, blaring, red, flashing light this past weekend for me. 

     Let me start with something funny, or what I perceive as funny.  My son pointed out a shirt he wanted to buy me online which read, “don’t make me mad or I’ll kill you in my book.” We laughed so hard, because that has so much meaning in its hilarity.  I told my ex-husband the same thing once; he made me so upset thatI killed off the main character that night.  Of course it didn’t follow my story line so I revived the character the next day: No harm, no foul.  Do I have a cemetary of  “offed” characters? Abso-freaking-lutely.  W actually have a make shift small pet cemetary in my back yard: the turtle that died, a baby kitten that didn’t make it past the first few hours of life, a few finches, and a smaller red-eared glider turtle that had pneumonia.  Lots of popsicle stick crosses out back, but the roses sure do grow up nice and pretty.  So after many unfinished and finished stories, I realized I grew so close to my characters that I was going to have to start a memorial wall for the fallen hero’s and heroines of my imagination.  That’s how close they are to me, plus the fact that they lived inside my head for months.

     How does this come down to emotions and writing? I don’t know, I got off track.  Let me get back.  When I write I have to drown out the white noise around me, so I play my Itunes lists.  Usually, I listen to slow music on low volume which keeps me very zen and focused.  I tried writing to Metallica once … those poor baby bunnies never stood a chance in that chapter.  Two more popsicle crosses popped up in the backyard that night.  So for me to stay focused I must have certain things: peace, slow music, no outside distractions.  This is my harmony (homeostasis to us science nerds).  What I don’t need to is to be upset with my boyfriend, like I was this past Friday.

     Okay, so without giving details into my romantic life, let’s just say the boyfriend was, “wrong,” and I was, “right.” For the sake of the rest of my existence, lets just assume this will always be a permanent fact.  So, I came home and started pounding on the keyboard (writing with tenacity sonds better, yeah?), trying to build the back storyline of my character Ben, in the new book.  Now this is my hero, mind you.  He’s a good guy.  He survives the book, the zombie apocalypse, revelations, Dec 21, 2012…you throw it at him and Ben is a survivor.  He sings the Bionce song until the end of time.  Except for one thing… after being slightly miffed at my boyfriend, Benjamin ends up with a spork jabbed into his eye by the end of chapter two.  Yes, a spork (plastic spoon/fork combination).  Why a spork, you ask? So he can be stabbed with the pointy nubs of the fork part in the eye, but still have a spoon to actually scoop out the eyeball from it’s socket.  By the way, my very first genre of writing was scifi, horror.  It’s hard to break old habits, especially when writing under the influence of emotions.  That’s right, I am guilty of WUIE.

     Rest assured, the next day I revived Ben and his boo boo face and set things straight.  The moral of the story is, “don’t make me mad or i’ll kill you in my book.”  Happy writing people, and keep those emotions in check.

When I Thought I Was Tough

When I Thought I was Tough 

This is my first book.  It is very raw in that there is no editing.  I wrote it to prove that I could start something and finish it, but I still believe it is quite poignant in dealing with family and the behind the scenes stuff we keep hidden.  It’s a free read on the internet or you can buy it and support the cause (mine **wink), but please read and leave me feedback.  Sadly, the external hard drive this book was on crashed and was too  much to recover, so I will not re-edit unless someday I choose to sit and write the entire thing all over again.  Not likely, but I do think about it.  So please read it.  This is the book that started it all…

Tania L Ramos