A Writer's Christmas Wish List - Some Suggestions

 So what would a writer put on their wish list? Here are a few items that may be useful, interesting or just fun.

1. For those writers who don't find holding their laptops on their lap very comfortable or get burned by their overheated machines (as well as those whose cats insist on sitting on their lap while they are working), there's Lap Desks. There is a variety of these out there. The ones I think would work the best are from LapDawg:

Amazon has a number of a number of cool lapdesks as well, so check it out.

2. For those who like to keep track of the time they spend writing in one sitting, there are adorable timers that would look great on a writer's desk. How about this cute Kikkerland Owlet Kitchen timer that comes in a variety of colors?

Not into owls? You can't resist the penguins, I'm sure:

3. A subscription to a writer's magazine online, with multiple extra benefits and discounts with premium subscriptions might be just the thing for the writer in your family. Check out the Writer's Digest and Writer Magazine as just two of subscriptions to conciser.

4. Writer software, while not for everyone, might be a fun and useful addition to a writer's tool kit. There are actually a number of free ones - check out 10 of them in the article from TechRadar.Computing. Don't forget the Scrivener, a word-processing software to help writers to all kinds of important things, like outlining, storyboarding and organizing metadata. You can download a sample limited version to see if it is something you'd like.

(image copyrighted by Scrivener)

5. Writers love stationary - better believe it! Even if we mostly now enter our words onto a computer, we still love notebooks that we keep by our bedside or in our bag as we commute. And, of course, to write in notebooks we need cool pens. So don't forget about those little details that can bring a lot of happiness and joy to a writer. Check out these gorgeous notebook selections from Paperblanks.

6. And last, but not least, never forget that any writer is also an avid reader (I'm pretty confident making that generalization). So gift cards to book stores like Amazon, Barnes and Noble or any other book store would always be appreciated!

What are you putting on your writer wish list? What products would you find most useful or just fun?

Contests & Giveaways in the Writing World - Week of July 29th

Yep, that's how I feel. But since we have to...here's to a great working week. And don't forget to check out these awesome giveaways and contests!

Rockstar romance? Now that's exciting! Book Whore is hosting a Rockstar Romance Giveaway with lots of prize packages of cool books!

Check out The Best of 2012 YA Giveaway from Anna Silver and win a Super Swag Pack!

DB Ayers, AKA Dakota Banks, AKA Shirley Kennett is blogging about pen names on the Supernatural Underground today, and giving away a $50 Amazon or B&N Gift Card!

Paranormal and Urban Fantasy Reviews is reviewing Dragonwitch by Anne Elizabeth Stengl as part of the Dragonwitch Blog Tour hosted by I'm a Reader Not a Writer. Enter for a chance to win a $25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash.

5 Days left to enter the 2013 Weta Nichols Writing Contest. Hurry to submit your Contemporary, Historical, Fantasy or Sci/fi or YA romance unpublished manuscript.

Get ready to submit your YA, NA and MG pitches in the August Pitch+250 contest! Authors, agents and editors will score your pitches+250 in three rounds of judging. Get all the details right here.

*As always, please contact me for the inclusion of your contests/giveaways into the Monday Contests and Giveaways in the Writing World posts.

Have fun and good luck! 

Also, don't forget to become a follower of this blog to make sure you catch giveaways coming soon!

Halloween Urban Fantasy Blog Hop - Coming Soon!

Check back on Wednesday, October 24th for the start of the Halloween Urban Fantasy Blog Hop. Fun questions and lots of giveaways are coming your way, so don't miss it!

If you're a writer interested in participating in the blog hop, please contact me through Twitter, Facebook or email and I will send you the details.

Suspension of Disbelief

NaBloPoMo Post #28

Suspension of Disbelief is defined by Wikipedia as “a formula for justifying the use of fantastic or non-realistic elements in literary works of fiction. It was put forth in English by the poet and aesthetic philosopher Samuel Taylor Coleride who suggested that if a writer could infuse a "human interest and a semblance of truth" into a fantastic tale, the reader would suspend judgment concerning the implausibility of the narrative.”

It is often up to the reader to “suspend disbelief” so they can immerse themselves into a story and overlook certain fantastical aspects.

However, is is also up to the writer to help the reader to be able to do that. The writer has to wrap her story, no matter how fantastic, in something realistic and believable in order for the reader to accept it as possible. If there are aspects in the story that the reader can identify with from his own life and surroundings, it will be easier to accept that something somewhat different and unusual might in fact take place within that more common surrounding.

There are many aspects of TV shows and movies that ask the viewer to suspend disbelief, even in stories that are not fantasy or sci-fi in nature. Sometimes it’s small things, like the fact that a pregnancy test does not turn positive within 3 seconds of peeing on it (like it did on Walking Dead) or the fact that medical or forensic results are not available within hours of the test being done or crime being comitted. But there’s limited amount of time and content to be fit into a show or a movie, and so things like that are necessary to move the plot along without making a movie last hours or days.

In fiction, it is up to the writer to make the reader believe that something is possible that doesn’t seem plausible. The way to do that is to place the reader into a familiar surrounding, include details that are familiar and that will immerse the reader into the world. Then the writer presents a fantastical aspect by either saying outright that this is not a regular occurance in that world or by letting the reader discover that himself.

One of the most important aspects for the writer to remember here is to be consistent about her world and the details. If there’s inconsistencies throughout the story, it will instantly put the reader on alert and he will treat the rest of the story with a sense of caution or suspicion, and possible disbelief.