29th Apr2008

Welcome Back!

by Aaron

Mr. Kotter

Hello world once again! Copious Notes is officially back in action now that I have my computer unpacked in its new house and set up in at least a temporary location. I’m looking to get fully back into the swing of things with a post tomorrow, a new Thursday Thirteen, and an entry on Friday. There’s some new and interesting things going on in my writing life and I’ll be sure to share all the drama with you guys.

For now, thanks for sticking with me and I look forward to bringing you new ramblings from the inner-workings of my brain.

Category : Just me
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21st Apr2008

Takin’ a short break

by Aaron

This week is a busy one, where I am in the midst of packing and moving to a new place. Since all my off-time will be used shoving my crap into boxes, Copious Notes will go on a little break. I plan on coming back this Sunday with a new edition of Lyrically Speaking. Think of this as a spring break for a writing blog. Perhaps it’ll go to the Bahama’s and throw a kegger. lol.

See you in a week, everyone!

Category : Just me
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18th Apr2008

Just Write BlogCarnival for April 18

by Aaron

Welcome to the April 18, 2008 edition of just write.

Copyrighting/Freelance

Thursday Bram presents Re-thinking My Stance on International Projects posted at thursdaybram.com, saying, “Freelancers often have to make choices about which types of projects they’ll take on. Lately, I’ve been rethinking one of my project criteria.”

Amy Munnell presents Penny for Your Thoughts…Markets for Essays posted at 3 Questions…and Answers, saying, “A discussion of the many types of essays plus a list of markets for everything from op-ed to personal narratives to social commentary.”

Encouragement for Writers

Jim Murdoch presents Is there anybody out there? posted at The Truth About Lies, saying, “A blog about the pros and cons of setting and running a literary blog. Contains links to a number of literary blogs.”

Love Affair With Words

Amy Munnell presents Interview…with author/columnist Darrell Huckaby posted at 3 Questions…and Answers.

Jim Murdoch presents Thunder storms, blinding lights and soggy toast posted at The Truth About Lies, saying, “A discussion of writers’ epiphanies”

James DeLelys presents WORDS » Articles posted at WORDS, saying, “Prejudice…”

The Writing Life

P.L. Frederick presents Oh, The Places You’ll Go (At Building #19) posted at Small and Big.

Aaron Crocco presents A Supportive Environment posted at Aaron Crocco: Copious Notes, saying, “This entry talks about how working in a non-writing environment can hamper the drive to write.”

Writing Mechanics

Amy Munnell presents Workshops & Retreats…Alaska Writers Guild Speculative Fiction Conference posted at 3 Questions…and Answers.

Writing Tips

Amy Munnell presents All the World’s a Stage…Playwriting Markets posted at 3 Questions…and Answers, saying, “Want to Play….Markets for Playwrights”

Ben Hamilton presents That Block posted at Ben Talks….

Kathleen Gage presents Many authors miss a great opportunity for selling their books posted at Street Smarts Marketing & Promotions, saying, “Most authors are on the lookout for effective ways to gain visibility for their books and spark the interest of potential readers/buyers. One method that is gaining popularity is for the author to offer a chapter from their book to the reader at no cost. The most effective way to do this is with an instant download from the author’s blog or website.

Although a great way to gain exposure for a book, most authors will not realize much marketing success with this strategy for a couple of reasons.”

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of just write using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

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Category : Tips
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17th Apr2008

Thursday Thirteen #140

by Aaron

It’s Thursday and you all have only one more day until the weekend! This week’s TT focuses on ‘Know Your Author’ and will be random things about yours truly.

Do *you* have something in common with me? Do you have a question about one of these oddities? Please let me know in the comments.

Thursday 13
Thirteen jump-start sentences by Aaron Crocco

1. I learned to solve a Rubiks Cube via YouTube. I can solve from start to finish in about 2.5 minutes. My personal record is a minute, twenty.

2. My eyes change color, shifting from blue to a bluish-green.

3. I am left-handed.

4. When I was young, I wanted to be a chef. One trip to the Culinaray Institute changed that, as I saw how much hard work it is.

5. I follow hockey. Nothing else.

6. I have a secret love for Nutella.

7. I believe almost anything can be done better on a computer.

8. I love taking pictures. My honeymoon consisted of about 1400 photos.

9. I collect Hess Trucks.

10. I believe hybrid and biodiesel cars will be mandatory within ten years.

11. I cannot understand how people thing global warming is not an issue, nor how our government can ignore it. Money should not be this powerful.

12. I have had an an eBay account since June of 1997, long before most people have even had internet.

13. I hate pop culture and believe most news focuses on this to distract us from the real issues.

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

Category : Just me
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14th Apr2008

And Now An Experiment

by Aaron

I was reading the awesome Absolute Write forums this afternoon and read about different ways people try to generate more traffic to their blogs and sites. Now of course, I would love to have a consistant set of visitors that come here to read new information I post and people who generally enjoy my writing. As time passes, I would think this site has some value to those visiting.

One of the interesting things I saw was that people who put words like erotic or sexual into their writing get more traffic than others. So when I write a sentence like “The way her hips moved were erotic and caused me to stare longer at a way that could only be described as sexual,” will I get more traffic? Perhaps if I write “She exuded pure sex and I couldn’t take it any longer.” it get more people to come here.

Do these keywords bring more people in? If you’re coming from google because of my fantastic writing, welcome! I hope you enjoy my blog about writing and trying to get published. Enjoy your stay. :-)

Category : Just me
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14th Apr2008

Could I Freelance?

by Aaron

I don’t work in a writing environment. I’ve even blogged about how to make the transition into making money from my writing. Along with my Robert book and Mars, I’m thinking there has to be a way to submit short stories or articles to publications in order to generate some cash. I would hope that by getting published in these areas, they can be the basis for writing credentials I don’t have (except my college diploma).

I found two interesting sites called ehow and Suite101. Both of these will allow submission of article and publish them. Additionally, they do pay something. Of course I’m not thinking this would be any amount of money past $5 or $10 but it’s at least a start. I’ve thought about looking at what publications are ‘out there’ and working on some material to send them.

Additionally, my alma mater publishes a great literary magazine called Inkwell. I’ve gotten forms in the mail in the past years asking if I wanted to submit work and this time around I think I might just take them up on the offer. The reading period is from August first to November 30th, so I have plenty of time to get something for there.

Does anyone have a website or search that shows publications looking for submissions?

Category : Just me
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13th Apr2008

Lyrically Speaking for April 16th

by Aaron

A good Sunday to all writers out there! My ‘Lyrically Speaking’ series continues this week with yet another song meant to inspire you to write your best words possible. This week brings us back to the beautiful Dido. I am sure most of you are aware of her radio hits such as Hunter and Thank You, along with her second album’s single White Flag. While I try to always concentrate on songs you won’t hear on the radio, all of Dido’s songs have powerful and heartfelt lyrics so choosing a song can be difficult.

White Flag can be a song you hear and love but not really understand what is being said because the melody is so great. When you listen to the words in a song like this you can begin to truly appreciate Dido’s songwriting skills along with the pain that was the basis of this track. I hope it helps inspire you as it has for me.

From Dido’s second album Life for Rent, this is White Flag:

I know you think that I shouldn’t still love you,
Or tell you that.
But if I didn’t say it, well I’d still have felt it
where’s the sense in that?

I promise I’m not trying to make your life harder
Or return to where we were

I will go down with this ship
And I won’t put my hands up and surrender
There will be no white flag above my door
I’m in love and always will be

I know I left too much mess and
destruction to come back again
And I caused nothing but trouble
I understand if you can’t talk to me again
And if you live by the rules of “it’s over”
then I’m sure that that makes sense

I will go down with this ship
And I won’t put my hands up and surrender
There will be no white flag above my door
I’m in love and always will be

And when we meet
Which I’m sure we will
All that was there
Will be there still
I’ll let it pass
And hold my tongue
And you will think
That I’ve moved on….

I will go down with this ship
And I won’t put my hands up and surrender
There will be no white flag above my door
I’m in love and always will be

I will go down with this ship
And I won’t put my hands up and surrender
There will be no white flag above my door
I’m in love and always will be

I will go down with this ship
And I won’t put my hands up and surrender
There will be no white flag above my door
I’m in love and always will be

Category : Ideas
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10th Apr2008

Thursday Thirteen #139

by Aaron

A good Thursday to everyone! I think that everyone needs a kick in the butt at times to get back to writing (I sure do!) and think that we could all use some jump-starts! That will be the central theme of this week’s Thursday Thirteen.

For those who don’t know, this is a common writing excersize where you get a jump-start sentence and use that to write down a few pages or paragraphs. It just helps you get the juices flowing.

Do *you* have something you wrote based on these? Have a good jump-start sentence of your own? Please let me know in the comments.

Thursday 13
Thirteen jump-start sentences by Aaron Crocco

1. My key wouldn’t unlock the door, which is odd because it worked just an hour ago.

2. I couldn’t take it anymore and knew jumping seemed to be my only option.

3. The power went out just as I was ready to hit save.

4. Turning around, I saw the Mustang slam into her.

5. Why couldn’t I tell her that I loved her?

6. I knew death was only a moment away.

7. My life was about to change but I wondered why now.

8. I wanted to hit him but I couldn’t.

9. I prayed.

10. My legs burned from running for so long.

11. She had been gone so long that I couldn’t hear her voice anymore.

12. You should probably bring him along.

13. Even if no one listens, I feel like I did my best.

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

Category : Ideas, Tips
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