WEbook Blog: A Writer's Resource

What's New on WEbook

It's Halloween, and WEbook is celebrating by unveiling a few very spooky site improvements!

Beware!  Undead Project Leaders can now close their projects for submissions.  This means that if a group of vampires is writing a collection of stories set in a crypt, their vampire Project Leader can decide when to stop accepting terrifying new stories.  How can such a hair-raising feat be accomplished?  It's easy: from the my TOOLS menu within a project, click "Edit Project Settings."  At the bottom, you'll see the option to close your project for submissions.  You can always re-open the project later if you decide you want more submissions.  (Note:  Regular, mortal Project Leaders can also close their projects.)

If Project Updates on your personal homepage make you scream with fright, you're in for a treat!  Updates now appear in digest form, so you can see what's happening in your projects at a glance.  Still too scary?  No worries -- navigate to My Projects through the My WEbook tab, and you'll be able to pick and choose which projects you want to receive updates for.

In other news, the WEbook voting cycle is heating up!  Starting November 4, WEbookers will read and vote on over 500 books.  Your favorites could become the next published WEbooks!  To get a head start on the voting process, start reading today.  Voting is open from November 4 to November 18.  WEbookers can give projects the thumbs up (publish!), thumbs down (don't think so), and thumbs "nuetral" (don't know).  You can cast your vote for as many projects as you like, but only one vote per project.

WTF? It’s WEbooker of the WEek!

I have a lot of favorite projects on WEbook, and every once in a while I realize that several of those projects are led by the very same WEbooker.  Today is one of those onces.  Our newest WEbooker of the WEek, MJ_Heiser, is the Project Leader of Daily WTF? and More Daily WTF?, interactive blogging projects that offer daily doses of “incredulity, silly observation, and irreverent citizenship on Spaceship Earth.”  She has also led seven different versions of the Triangle Challenge, where writers contribute short stories that must incorporate a pre-defined location, event, and item—the current challenge includes a pub, a general election, and lipstick. 

But wait!  There’s more!

 MJ_Heiser is also writing a novel, Corona, which more than one WEbooker has nominated for WEbook Featured Project status.  Corona tells the story of three thirty-something nobodies who are unexpectedly thrust into a brave new world, where they’re “forced to find out what they're really made of, confronting their own cowardice, malice, and complacency.”

But wait!  There’s even more!

MJ_Heiser is the author of the romance novel Turn the Page, about a couple of garage band rockers whose sudden fame makes them long for home and the comfort of their childhood friends.

So, who is this prolific, talented WEbook writer? 

MJ_Heiser started reading at the age of three, “encouraged every step of the way by a father with a profound love of the written word.”  After winning a bookworm award in grade school for reading the most books during the contest period, she started dabbling with writing stories at the age of eight.  She’s tried her hand at writing different genres, from chick lit/romance to short story horror to screenplays. (“Please don't ask; the screenplays are DREADFUL.”)  Says MJ_Heiser: “Reading and writing are the ultimate form of escapism for me, and more rewarding every day -- especially since stumbling across WEbook!”

Dying to know more?  As always, WEbook asks the tough questions:

Q:  What are the three most important ingredients for a perfect day? 

A:  I live in Austin, Texas; I wrote a WTF? regarding how I really feel about the weather here.  It is therefore essential that the perfect day include high temperatures in the 70s and the opportunity for rain.  (My poor desiccated grass!)  Once that's a go, ingredient two is a drive around town to appreciate the weather and the place I call home.  Finally, give me copious opportunity to indulge my WEbook addiction (writing, reviewing, and general mayhem with my friends), and success!  Days don't get any better!

Q:  What is your greatest writing weakness?

A: My story beginnings are as weak as cheap beer.  I struggle through them until I hit my stride (usually by the fifth chapter), then go back and try to address the deficiencies.  WEbook is such a godsend for me in that regard; I have friends here who are unflinchingly honest in their feedback, and once I got past my ego, I learned enough to feel much more confident in beginning new projects.

Q:  What's the last really great book you read?

A:  Based on a recommendation by jamesmcshane, I read A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini.  The prose was lyrically beautiful, even through the more harrowing scenes, and the entire journey made me appreciate all of the liberties I'm afforded.  Higher fuel prices have nothing on having your home destroyed by militant extremists.

Q:  If you could send a secret message to anyone in the world, what would you say? 

A:  Boy, this blows the secret right out of the water, doesn't it?  I think I'd want to send a message to a random politician currently running for office, threatening to expose him if he doesn't cough up support for our love child.  Just a little chaos in an effort to make things more interesting; boredom is for chumps.

Q:  What piece of WEbook writing are you most proud of?

A:  I'm most proud of Corona, but I'm not sure I deserve to be.  I've already had to explain several times that the book has written itself;  I just played hall monitor, ensuring all the pieces made it back to class at the same time.  I will say, however, that Corona has accomplished everything I wanted to accomplish for a true freshman effort, bringing together my love of religious symbolism, allegory, fantasy, and the struggle of Good vs. Evil in the creative process.

Q:  What's your favorite WEbook project NOT started by you?

A:  I can only name one?  Really?  There is so much good work on this website that my visits to my branch library have taken a nosedive.  We Should Meet by ArtemisX5 is exceptional; the story is told completely via dialogue (it originated with the Pure Dialogue project, led by hitogoroshi), and after a while you forget to miss the exposition.  The Dark Crusade of Robinson Stone by jamesmcshane is up and running as well, and every chapter gives me just enough to keep me fascinated and rooting for this Irish anti-hero.  Wee Books, led by cindi_greene, is a serialized story format, a multi-writer version of a format revitalized by Stephen King's Green Mile.  And one can never go wrong with anything written by former WoWs GranisGrazin and RikScott.

WEbooker of the WEek

Do you have a line on the wonderfullest writer on WEbook? The fantastickest feedbacker? Or anyone else who goes above and beyond to make WEbook the best writing, reading, and publishing community on the internet? Drop me an email, or visit my profile and send me a message with the title "WEbooker of the WEek" to nominate your favorite WEbooker and he or she will have a shot at joining the ranks of the immortals -- and getting a free WEbook T-shirt to boot.

Join WEbook Today

Sign up for WEbook today and start reading, writing, and feedbacking!

-- Melissa

Creative Writing Advice # 13: Surprise! It’s your Character!

By FirstYearGrad

The better we know someone, the more they surprise us with their inconsistencies.

I once worked with a woman who color-coded her desk drawers. She sorted her pens and pencils into three separate holders, depending on the duty they were to perform, and never thought to put a plastic coated paper clip into the same pot as the shiny silver wires.

One day I agreed to pick her up for work. When I got to her house, I was shocked to see that her kitchen table was covered with last night’s dishes, and her sink was full of even older dishes. A great orange tabby cat walked up and down the counter, carefully picking its way around newspapers and old mail. The floor may have been clean, but it was hard to see it under the pile of dirty laundry.

Now, if I had put this woman into a story before I visited her house, her character would have been flat, one-sided, and uninteresting. As I got to know her better, she surprised me all the time with new sides to her personality.

So, writer, know your character — and you best know them better then that person you sit next to at work.

Desperately Seeking FirstYearGrad

Are you the author of this clever writing tip?  If so, please visit my profile and send me a message so I can include a short bio with your entry!

WEbook Writing Secrets

Got a secret I don’t know about? Share it with the world in WEbook Writing Secrets. To submit a secret, email me or visit my profile and send me a message with the subject line: Writing Secrets. The best secrets will be published here and in the WEbook Toolbox. Authors will be credited with a byline and a bio.

Start Writing Now

Put your secrets to work – sign up for WEbook today.

-- Melissa

WEbooker of the WEek Solves the Financial Crisis

You may know this WEek’s WEbooker, GranisGrazin, as the author of the guest blog post “Top Ten Things to Love about WEbook.” Or, you might know her from one of the 18 WEbook projects she leads or from the over 100 projects she has participated in. You might even know her as Millie Gail Grundy, B.L.O.B., the frumpy middle aged woman on the run from her previously infuriating life.  A little rough math (very rough) suggests that GranisGrazin is contributing to WEbook at the rate of 2000-3000 words per day – not counting feedback. Her writing ranges from whimsical to inspirational to hilarious to devotional.

In fact, GranisGrazin is such an extraordinary WEbooker, I almost forgot to name her WEbooker of the WEek – until fellow WoW RikScott sent me a message telling me to wise up.

To help myself out with the wising-up process, I asked GranisGrazin to tell me about herself.

GranisGrazin grew up a blanketed (“not just overly insulated”) only child, and went on to have “the largest family possible,” including five children of her own. She says she couldn’t decide what she wanted to be when she grew up, so she’s done everything from binding tax bills to running a campground. She has degrees in library science, art education, and counseling. She spent 28 years in public education before retiring. On top of all this, GranisGrazin has an impressive publication history, including 13 educational books for kids. (Read all about it here.)

GranisGrazin is a cancer survivor, and she credits this experience with forming her mellow temperament. According to her son, ever since she had cancer, she sure is “a lot nicer!” GranisGrazin  says she simply doesn’t have time to lose her temper or hold grudges – she’s having way too much fun living.

WEbookers as remarkable as GranisGrazin don’t come along every day – so, of course, I took advantage of the situation to ask her the one question that seems to be on everyone’s mind these days:

What is the solution to the economic crisis in the U.S.?

Says GranisGrazin:

“I think the current crisis cannot rest on any one group's shoulders, and the blame and answers are found from the top of the ladder to the very bottom of the food chain.  I honestly believe this was due in this country, and we are all going to have to go back and seize the ideas of a couple of generations before us in terms of how we live and what we expect.  I think it is time for an old fashioned outlook as far as making do, abandoning the idea of living on credit and having to keep up with every latest trend the media wants to tempt us with.

Wise words from a wise WEbooker.

WEbooker of the WEek

Do you have a line on the wonderfullest writer on WEbook? The fantastickest feedbacker? Or anyone else who goes above and beyond to make WEbook the best writing, reading, and publishing community on the internet? Drop me an email, or visit my profile and send me a message with the title "WEbooker of the WEek" to nominate your favorite WEbooker and he or she will have a shot at joining the ranks of the immortals -- and getting a free WEbook T-shirt to boot.

Join WEbook Today

Sign up for WEbook today and start reading, writing, and feedbacking.

-- Melissa

Get Published: It's Voting Season at WEbook!

Why should the U.S. Presidential candidates get to have all the fun?  Here at WEbook, you can get in the running, too -- to become the next hot published author!

WEbook is now accepting submissions of complete, book-length manuscripts for publication.*  Beginning November 4, WEbook users will go to the polls, casting their votes for the projects that will become WEbook's next published books. 

How can I get my writing published at WEbook?

First, you have to put your book on WEbook.  If you're already there, congratulations!  If not, register for WEbook and click "Get Started Now," at the top right of most pages, to start your WEbook project. 

Or, you can contribute writing to one of the many multi-author projects in progress.  If you go this route, the person who started the project (known as the "Project Leader") gets to decide when to submit it for publication. 

Remember:  WEbook can only consider completed books for publication.  If you only have one story or poem, or your book isn't finished yet, keep writing!  You can submit your work to a future voting cycle once you're done.  WEbook runs voting cycles every 3-4 months to choose which books to publish.

If you have a complete book on WEbook, submit it for voting and publication by clicking "Submit Your Book" under the my TOOLS menu, in the upper left of your project.

How does voting work?

Writers can submit their books for voting and publication from October 21 through November 3.  Voting starts on November 4.  WEbook users read submitted projects, and give them the thumbs up (publish it!), thumb's down (don't think so), or thumbs neutral (don't know).  Voting ends November 18. 

Once voting is complete, WEbook carefully reviews the books that made it into the top 10%, and selects its next published books from this pool.  Selected authors will be offered a publishing contract, including a 50/50 share of profits from book sales.  All selected books will receive professional editing, proofreading, and design services, and published WEbooks will be available through the website and on amazon.com.

I have more questions about writing and publishing on WEbook!

Great!  Check out our FAQ and Project Leader Guide for all the tips and pointers you could ever need.  If you need more, write to info <at> webook <dot> com.

Get in the running

Sign up for WEbook today to start writing and voting!

-- Melissa

* "Complete, book-length manuscript" means that it can stand alone between two covers of a book.  There is no minimum word-count, and length will vary depending on the type of book.  A complete children's book may be only a few hundred words long; a novel, collection of short stories or essays, or a narrative non-fiction book will usually be between 50,000 and 100,000 words; and poetry books range from one long narrative poem (like Paradise Lost -- it's technically only one poem, but it's separated into chapters, and my little paperback edition is over 400 pages long) to collections including anything from around 50 to hundreds of poems.  When in doubt, compare your project to things you see at the bookstore.  Does it compare in length, completeness, and quality?

WEbooker of the WEek Changes the World, One Community at a Time

Have you ever heard of Community Capacity Enhancement through Conversation?  Neither had I, until I stumbled upon a WEbook project by this WEek’s WEbooker, chaava. So, what is it? According to chaava:

“A community conversation is a group discussion facilitated by a trained and experienced facilitator, supported by a co-facilitator and a documenter.  Community conversations are a versatile tool that may be used in building community capacity for dealing with issues ranging from development programming to addressing HIV/AIDS, the needs of orphans and vulnerable children, and reversing gender inequalities.”

In his project, chaava collects transcripts from community conversations staged by expert facilitators in Africa. In these transcripts, community members talk candidly about their experiences with HIV/AIDS and related issues.

The transcripts provide unedited insight into the lives of people facing the HIV/AIDS crisis in eastern and southern Africa. Participants in the project’s community conversations hold widely varying beliefs about everything from the dangers of modernization to equal rights for women. Visitors to the project are rewarded with rich food for thought and an opportunity to view a global health crisis through multiple lenses.

Who is the man who brought Community Capacity Enhancement through Conversation to WEbook?

Chaava was born and raised in Zambia. He lived in London for two years and in South Africa for eight. He now resides in Alexandria, Virginia.  Chaava is a medical laboratory scientist, and he has been actively writing for thirty years. He started with a personal journal, and his first articles were published in Christian Living Today.  According to chaava, “Writing about African culture is a big thing for me. I am fascinated by how little people know (and how much they want to know) about African tradition. At the same time I consider myself a student of my own culture.”  Chaava is married with four children, and he credits his religious faith with helping him find happiness in a “very simple life.”

Chaava  believes that “people have the capacity within themselves to make change happen, and to keep hope aflame through dark and difficult times. The same is true with communities.” He has studied and practiced Community Capacity Enhancement for ten years, and says that he learned most of what he knows from his wife: “She is the most skilled facilitator you will ever meet.”

Chaava  hopes that his WEbook project will grow into an entire book of community conversations.

WEbooker of the WEek

Do you have a line on the wonderfullest writer on WEbook? The fantastickest feedbacker? Or anyone else who goes above and beyond to make WEbook the best writing, reading, and publishing community on the internet? Drop me an email, or visit my profile and send me a message with the title "WEbooker of the WEek" to nominate your favorite WEbooker and he or she will have a shot at joining the ranks of the immortals -- and getting a free WEbook T-shirt to boot.

Join WEbook Today

Sign up for WEbook today and start reading, writing, feedbacking, and learning about the world around you!

-- Melissa

Write a Love Letter on WEbook!

WEbook is for lovers.

Earlier this week, the WEbook blog featured a project for WEbookers everywhere to share their best text messages of love.  Love by TXT is still going strong, and now there's a new featured project for love-struck writers who can't fit their feelings into 160 characters.

Lost Love Letters invites WEbookers to post love letters -- with a twist.  This project collects the ultimate emblems of unrequited love -- letters and poems that were never sent.  Are you a Dante pining for your Beatrice?  Don Quixote looking for Dulcinea?  Charlie Brown longing after the little red headed girl?  Visit Lost Love Letters and pour your heart out.

Featured WEbook Projects

Know a really great project on WEbook? Want to spread the word? Send me an email or visit my profile and drop me a message to nominate it as a Featured WEbook Project!

Start Writing Now!

Today’s featured project is open to all longing lovers! To get started, sign up for WEbook today.

-- Melissa

Hot off the Press: WEbook's Latest Improvements

WEbook took a giant leap forward today with the implementation of a new, improved profile page for every user.  Profiles now include information about what kind of WEbook projects you're interested in reading and writing.  Users can also choose to be known as writers, editors, feedbackers, readers, researchers, idea people, devil's advocates -- or all of the above!  Visit your profile through the "My WEbook" tab and take advantage of the nifty Profile Wizard to walk you through the set-up.

Sick of the WEbook Blue Man default avatar, but can't find another image that captures your essence?  The Profile Wizard now lets you choose from a gallery of sixteen funky WEbookers.  Personally, I can't decide which I like best -- the doggie or the superhero.

Other WEbook updates include re-vamped top navigation (the "People" tab now includes groups as well as writers and reviewers, and the new "Vote" tab helps you find the latest info on voting and publishing at WEbook) and a few improvements to your WEbook mailbox.

Start Writing Now!

WEbook is home to writers, readers, editors, doggies, and superheros.  To get started, sign up for WEbook today.

-- Melissa

Creative Writing Advice # 12: Read Other Books Carefully

By Marieke

Many serious novels, especially those that tackle social subjects, come with a reading guide, which supplies questions for book clubs, students, and other committed readers. If you’re writing a novel, why not make up your own reading guide as you go along? Imagine the questions your readers may have about your book’s themes and characters – this will help you find the strengths and weaknesses of your story.

Here are some suggestions for questions to include in your “Writer’s Reading Guide”:

1. How do the first and last scene frame your novel?

2. Why are the main characters friends? And what do they fear from each other?

(After the Reading Guide to The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini )

3.  Discuss the topic of marriage as it is represented in your novel.

4. What are your thoughts on the structure of your novel?

(After the Reading Guide to The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan)

5. What rules, both written and unwritten, do the characters follow in the novel?

6. In what ways do the settings affect their residents?

(After the Reading Guide to The Cider House Rules by John Irving)

You can find more reading guides on readinggroupguides.com.

About the Author

Marieke van Buytene from the Netherlands is freelance writer, editor and creative writing teacher, so fate has decreed that she’ll never get a novel published.  Fortunately, a friend tipped her on WEbook in August 2008, so now at least she can share The Devil’s Virgin, and soon also her comic mystery stories and more.

WEbook Writing Secrets

Got a secret I don’t know about? Share it with the world in WEbook Writing Secrets. To submit a secret, email me or visit my profile and send me a message with the subject line: Writing Secrets. The best secrets will be published here and in the WEbook Toolbox. Authors will be credited with a byline and a bio.

Start Writing Now

Put your secrets to work – sign up for WEbook today.

-- Melissa

WEbook Featured Project: Love by TXT

R U in luv?  Share your best text messages of love in Love by TXT.  If you've ever sent or received words of devotion through your cell phone, submit them to this new WEbook project.  Open to all WEbookers!

Featured WEbook Projects

Know a really great project on WEbook? Want to spread the word? Send me an email or visit my profile and drop me a message to nominate it as a Featured WEbook Project!

Start Writing Now!

Today’s featured project is open to all writers! To get started, sign up for WEbook today.

-- Melissa