Issue 020, Archived
Hello, Welcome to The Newb Files, Issue 020, Archived. If you're paying attention, you may have noticed that the link (at the bottom of the newsletter) to the Newsletter Archive was broken. It now links directly to the archive page as intended.
End of Year MessageAs you all know, my newsletters are not full of reminders or greetings relating to whatever holiday is closest to the issue date. Yet, as the end-of-year approaches, I thank everyone who is still subscribed to my newsletter, and I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Or whatever you may celebrate. This has been a tough year for our family, on a personal level. Nonetheless, I am lucky that, although I am well behind my planned schedule, I have been able to get a good deal of writing done on my manuscript: Zombies, a Novel. As a newb author I find myself in the strange position of looking forward to writing the remaining 15,000+/- words, while equally dreading finishing the manuscript. The world and characters I have created and have been living with for three plus years, will be demoted to editing and reviewing only. Of course, there will be a LOT of editing and reviewing of the manuscript still to do. ... Yet, however many times I repeat that process, it will differ from writing the first draft. A line will be drawn, and I will never again be writing my first novel. Of course, there are still a lot of firsts to come (I hope) with my first novel. ... All the best in 2023, from our home to yours, for the new year. Eric C Bailey NewsStarting with this issue, book reviews have returned. I am doing this in the simpler format I use for reviewing writing books. I now have two columns with similar names: Books, and Book Reviews. "Books" are books about writing, the craft of writing, and the writer's life. "Book Reviews" are reviews, however short and concise, about fiction books I have read. I am trying this instead of the more traditional book reviews. Zombies, a Novel: is making slow but steady progress: The word count has gone from 62317 words on April 14, 2022 to around 74700, as of December 14, 2022. Scream and Leapt: I have started plotting Scream and Leapt in Plottr to fix the problems with the structure/plotting highlighted by the "Beta" readers. Thank you all.
Random Things on My Office WallsThis quote from Gloria Steinem is exactly how I've felt about writing from the moment I started on August 14, 2019.
Monthly Newb MomentThe Power of Other EyesI sent my short story "Scream and Leapt" out for a limited beta reading with interesting results. As a newb writer, I often discuss "ad nauseum" how easily you can miss something basic. I now have a graphic example of that in my short story. A basic plot point I assumed all along was obvious-was not. This was eye opening. ... And scary. In part, the problem was that I had been editing it too long in one go-round, hoping it would soon be close to final and ready for beta readers. I should have stepped away long before and come back to it with fresh eyes. Lesson learned. I hope. I have said this before in my newsletters, Facebook posts, etc. but, just writing is not enough; give your writing to others to read. Book ReviewsThe Fifth Seasonby N.K. Jemison
This book is a marvel. Some readers are apparently not fans, a love it or hate it type of thing. I loved it. While I recognize that reading is about as personal as a preference can get, if you don't like this book, we can't be friends. I don't give out spoilers, but I will say this book could be, should be, used as a master class of structure, of plotting. This is a fantasy book and the winner of the 2016 Hugo award. Really looking forward to reading the second and third in the trilogy, both of which won the Hugo award for each succeeding year after the first one did. Highly recommended.
Monthly Newb Moment IIKindle NewbI am a recent convert to using an eReader. I recently started using my late mother-in-law's Kindle, and found it useful for a number of reasons:
Do your own research for your area of the world, for your eReader. But the basic process for a Kindle is: Go into your settings in your account, and find then copy the email address that Kindle uses to send books to your Kindle. After you copy it, paste it into the other section with approved emails to receive files from. It should take just a moment for that to be "registered". You may now use that email address to send a file directly to your Kindle eReader from your desktop (or other device). Yes, this is counterintuitive; the other email you registered with is already there. Weird. Approve the transfer on your desktop (or other device), at least once. Or, every time, as I am doing for security reasons. WARNING: Please confirm how your account and your eReader works in your part of the world before making changes to either. F.A.Q.Future newsletters may have Frequently Asked Questions. Send your question(s) to: Eric.
That's all for now! Thanks, Eric C Bailey, December 14, 2022
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