Thursday, October 7, 2010

Aspiring Advice: Mind What You Post

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Almost didn't make the deadline today. Phew!

I may very well be singing to the choir with this post, but in light of the awesome movie The Social Network, there's something that ought to be elaborated about its message. Now that social networking is a major part of our lives, with Facebook and blogs and whatnot, we have an outlet that allows us to express ourselves, keep tabs on old and new friends and other networking ventures. The problem is, like any new and cool tool, it can be used against us when overindulged, misused, or abused. Be mindful of what you post on the Internet.

Why do I suggest this? As aspiring authors, you and I have the benefit of participating on networking or blogging sites without garnering very much attention (which is something we'd like to fix, right?), and without thinking, you might rant about something or say terrible things about someone or start an argument. If you happen to get published, people will look into you more, and look you up. People may try to dig up something about you that you have long since forgotten. Social networking sites and blogs has the means to keep track of your posts, right down to a time and date. If someone wants to incriminate you, they can, unless you provide them with nothing to work with. Now, if you're willing to deal with the consequences of what you post, that's fine by me, just be careful, especially if you are using your personal identity (your actual name).

Now, some of you might have aliases (not real names), and that's cool, but that's not an excuse to be uncivil towards others. Bottom line, be mindful of what you post; text, pictures, videos, everything. They could burn you easily. The Internet is a big place, so play nice.

Want to add something to this? Please comment.
What do you use these nifty Internet tools for? 

I'm David, and my face looks like Tony Stark!

Monday, October 4, 2010

Post: The Beard is On!

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Welcome back, October, my favorite month of the year!
I think I've failed to mention this, so I will now. For Halloween, I'm thinking of going with the Tony Stark look. You know, that crass billionaire who made a flying iron suit in that one movie? I've got the hair, I've got the build (sort of), I've got the black shirt (with a glowing arc reactor in the center), and I've got the scowl, so all I need now is the sweet looking beard. This is making for a fun experiment as I've never let my facial hair go before. It's been a week and the feeling is quite strange. Itchy, warm, a sensation of something on my face all the time - I don't know how you guys with full-on beards do it! I have a month to grow it out and shave it like the above picture. Groovy (and in case you're wondering, yes, I will take pictures).

We have a new follower! Please welcome Colene Murphy to the Laire. Colene is an aspiring YA writer with a tasty blog and a flare for the writer's journey. We haven't met in person, just through each others blogs, but hopefully that absent acquaintance won't last long.
Check her blog here! http://cejourney.blogspot.com

Update: Ugh . . . the update. It would be more exciting if I actually had something to say! Oh well. Here's what I got. The committee just got back to me with chapters 12 and 13 and provided (once again) fabulous, earth shattering feedback (that wasn't sarcasm . . . it really did rock my world). Mike will spend a day or so reading the edits I just made, which means my alphas will have two new chapters very soon. Chapter 14 is still on the way (and thoroughly outlined), which means the draft will be finished in the next couple of days. The Dragon's Heart? It's getting there. Working on two projects simultaneously is harder than I thought. Since it's already done, maybe I should wait until this current one is finished. I'm just so excited for both.

I have a stellar topic for this week's Aspiring Advice, but feel free to ask your questions anyway. I'm more than willing to help my fellow aspiring authors where I can.

I'm David, and gallons of milk are on sale!