Who Colorized my Black and White Movie?
Posted: November 19, 2009 | Author: Tracy Beltran | Filed under: Writing about Writing | Tags: actors, digital. twilight, new moon movie, Old movies, reading, wizard of oz, Writing | 54 CommentsMost writers are avid readers. They have a love for the written word that pulls them to paper and pen or more precisely in this day and age, to the keyboard. The computer has become an extension of ourselves and we are as comfortable with it as we are with our remote controls and driving a car.
Other people may have a similar love for movies or theater and take up acting to be a part of the world they love. Would the writer and reader be more visually perceptive than the actors and theater people? Which group would likely have a deeper level of imagination?
I don’t believe there is any right or wrong answer. My husband is certainly a movie person and I swear there are dozens of characters living in his head. My best friend and sister are both the same way while also being creative and talented authors. My husband doesn’t read at all. I read my novels to him. Reading the books aloud also helped me to edit as I read.
Now, let’s talk about you. Are you a movie person? A book person? Is there a hidden actor or author within you? Maybe all of the above? If you’re a mixture of both, do you read the book and then go see the movie? If you see the movie, do you refuse to touch the book? Are you at the point where you watch movies or read books on your computer or on a handheld device such as Kindle, or game systems such as PSP. Would you read a book or watch a movie on your phone?
The line between pen and paper and the keyboard as well as the silver screen and the digital world are all blurring together faster than I can keep up!
Claire Collins is the author of the romantic suspense novels Images of Betrayal and Fate and Destiny, both available from Second Wind Publishing, LLC.
Addictive
Posted: May 8, 2009 | Author: Tracy Beltran | Filed under: Humor, Life | Tags: addictions, art, author, books, characters, cheerios, Claire collins, diet, fun, funny, Humor, Novels, options, reading, Second wind, smoking, Writing | 21 CommentsOn April Fool’s day of this year, I quit smoking. I found the date to be very fitting since I was a smoking fool for over 21 years. Yes, I was barely out of the womb when I started. I was young and stupid. Those were the good ol’ days.
So I traded my nicotine addiction for a new vice.
I’m now addicted to Cheerios.
I’ve tried to quit smoking four times in the last two years. I gained forty pounds trying to quit. This time, I grab cheerios when I get a craving.
I love Cheerios. Do you realize how many kinds of Cheerios there are? Apple cinnamon, strawberry yogurt burst, multi-grain, honey nut… the list goes on and on. http://www.cheerios.com/ourcereals/ourcereals_home.aspx
The worst part of my new addiction is holding the cheerio while I light it on fire and inhale.
WhoHub Interview with Claire Collins
Posted: May 3, 2009 | Author: Tracy Beltran | Filed under: Second wind | Tags: author, authors, books, characters, Claire collins, editing, murder, mystery, name, Novels, people, reading, recognition, Research, Second wind, terms, Writing | Leave a commentInterview with:
Claire Collins [clairecollins]
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© Claire Collins Web address for this interview: http://www.whohub.com/clairecollins |
The Big Picture
Posted: April 10, 2009 | Author: Tracy Beltran | Filed under: Second wind | Tags: author, authors, books, characters, Claire collins, create, editing, Novels, people, reading, Second wind, Writing | Leave a commentI want to share a little of what it’s like to be a part of Second Wind Publishing. We are so much more than a group of authors who share the same publisher. We are a collective bargaining team. We make decisions together and discuss options in our own private group. We read over each other’s work and share ideas on covers, plots, storylines. We each blog here and have input on our website. We swap marketing ideas and cross link to our personal websites. We share stories about our children, our jobs, our hopes, and disappointments. Second Wind isn’t a faceless corporation where the shareholders are raking in the dough and paying out overinflated royalties. We are small, friendly, and working for ourselves as well as each other.
Since we are the “little guys”, it’s up to us to promote ourselves and support each other. If you have a moment, go check the website to see what’s new. You may discover your next favorite author!
Claire Collins is the author of Images of Betrayal and Fate and Destiny
Tomorrow Will Come
Posted: March 20, 2009 | Author: Tracy Beltran | Filed under: Life, Writing about Writing | Tags: author, Claire collins, impact, Novels, reading, Second wind, Writing | Leave a commentI don’t want to write today.
I should and I could, but I won’t.
I don’t want to read today.
I should and I could, but I won’t.
My brain is tired today.
People are out of work and drowning in debt. Some folks have lost their homes and some are losing their sanity. I spend most of my life careening at a breakneck speed, adding too many things to my “I can do that” list. I’m not looking at that list today. Tomorrow, I will still have debt, an unfinished novel, edits to complete, and a to-do list. I will also still have my family, my job, and my house. I will have all of those things for many years to come.
My brain is tired today, but I will let it rest knowing that tomorrow is another day.
Claire Collins is the author of Images of Betrayal and Fate and Destiny
http://www.secondwindpublishing.com
Reading Novels After Writing One
Posted: September 22, 2008 | Author: Tracy Beltran | Filed under: Writing about Writing | Tags: authors, editing, Novels, reading, suspense, Writing | 4 CommentsThe process of writing a novel, including the never-ending edits has forever changed the way I read someone else’s novel. Reading for pleasure is a new process. Instead of getting lost in a story, I find myself looking at the sentence structure, the grammar, and the descriptions. What techniques did the author use to make the characters believable or to allow me to see the scene in my mind? Are the things I imagine as I read the same thing the author intended for me to imagine?
One of my favorite things now is to ask my own readers what they ‘see’ as they read a certain scene or what they think my characters look like. My sister and I play a fun game where we find pictures of famous people who we think fit the parts in novels. Sometimes we pick similar people and sometimes we don’t.
After years of editing and re-writes, I find myself paying attention to the mechanics of writing in the books I read. If the author and I were both describing the same scene, would I have chosen the same word as the author? Would I have picked up on the same nuances as the author? Of course not. Each of us sees different things in the same scene. The mechanics of writing are fairly rigid while the style of writing is as different as each person. The key is to be able to separate the mechanics of the book from the story and determine why it works, or why it doesn’t.
I try to read for entertainment, but I catch myself rereading the paragraphs as I go along. The first read through is for enjoyment, and the second is to learn.