Special Challenge Participant Feature - Nick Wilford

Today’s Special Challenge Participant Feature is Nick Wilford from Scattergun Scribblings! His Challenge theme was “26 Things that Made Me a Writer.” There was a lot of inspiration in his posts, and he’s here to share some of that with you today. So please welcome my blogger buddy, Nick!

What made you decide on your theme?

I was casting around for an idea, and I'm kind of always fascinated by the make-up of writers - not necessarily things that caused them to become a writer, but maybe things in their past they draw special inspiration from. So I made a list of 26 things that inspired me or helped me to grow as a writer. Some of the things seemed a bit random, so I tried to liken them to writing in some way!

How important is “Globetrotting?”

It's not essential for a writer to be well travelled as I believe you can go anywhere in the universe in your imagination, but there's definitely loads of inspiration to be drawn from seeing different cultures and ways of looking at the world. It can open your mind up, especially if, like me, you come from somewhere like southern England - we can tend to be quite insular! I really credit my round-the-world trip at 21 as a massive turning point for me, as it was when I decided to pursue writing as a career - initially in the form of journalism, but having trained in that, my first book was about a journalist, so one thing led to another.

Your choice for K was unique! Describe it for everyone.

Ha! This was the post that I really felt was the most tenuous - I decided to compare writing to kiteflying. I was glad when a lot of people responded with positive comments and likening their writing to their own hobbies. I think at this point, I was out of pre-written posts and was writing them the night before or the day of... so this was a bit last-minute, but after the comments, I felt the analogy did work. Amazing things can happen in the blue sky of our writing if we pull the strings just right!

“I” was for immortality – how DO you want to be remembered?

You're really grilling me on these! I'm having to go back to refamiliarise myself with what I wrote. There is a certain attractive kind of immortality that comes along with writing, as it's possible your stories could still be enjoyed hundreds or thousands of years after your death. But in terms of how I want to be remembered as a person, to the people that matter right now, I'd hope it would just be as someone who tried to do their best - whether as a writer, husband, dad, possibly a grandad... That's all you can do! “B is for Balls!” You definitely have to tell us about that one.

Erm, OK! Well, I guess what I was trying to say is that it takes guts to go after anything in life. Especially if it's something that's very personal to you, and you're putting yourself up for criticism. So, that could apply to a musician too, for example. Luckily, so far, everyone I've met in the blogosphere has been very nice! It was also about having the balls to try something even if your first book doesn't turn out to be perfect. You shouldn't be disappointed in yourself, you should treat everything as a learning process.

How would you describe your “Voice?”

That's a tough one! I have to go back and read what I said here too. Hmm... I'd like to think my voice is easy to read, although I do have to work hard at not being too long-winded. It's a funny thing because I don't think your basic voice changes that much even if you write in different genres. It's just sort of "there", and it's very hard to describe your own! I'd like to think my voice leans towards good characterisation and evokes a reaction. Writing something in first person might challenge me more in that area.

What theme are you considering for the Challenge next year?

I hadn't thought about it too much until I read this question! For a while, I did consider doing an A-Z of the 90s, because a buddy of mine, Susan Oloier, did the 80s this year which I enjoyed. I was born in 1980, so the 90s holds more resonance for me. But then after the image copyright debacle I thought getting the images might be tricky, and there's been a 90s blogfest recently. I then thought about doing something more creative and decided that I'd like to make a story. Another friend, Jessica Salyer, composed a story by setting a word for each day which commenters had to use in a sentence to continue the story. I'd like to flip that by getting commenters to suggest a word for the next day's letter, which I would choose from at random to use in the next sentence of my story. Maybe I'd select three for an even greater challenge! It'd be interesting to see where that would go.

Thanks for the interview, Alex! I had fun answering these. :)

Thank you Nick for appearing here!

Co-host Ninja Captain Alex is the author of CassaStar and CassaFire and his blog can be found HERE

Letter Play - W's for Wordsmiths

The following blog photos are brought to you by Nicole at The Madlab Post...

It’s time for Letter Play - Where DIY activities, cinema and life offline collide!

I'm curious to know how close you fellow A to Z folks pay attention to products, designs and signs that we may come across throughout the day. Can you guess where the following Ws are from in these photos?

If you are a blogger, you have my permission to use these alphabet images so long as the usage is made during the month of April and is a part of a blog post that pertains to the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. As always, if you do display them on your blog, feel free to credit me and link to my blog or link back to this very A to Z Blog, where you found the photo!

Have a Fun Friday, everybody!

Sign up for the Monday Movie Meme, a weekly group blogging series that inspires discussion about entertainment in a whole new light and provides recommendations for your DVD, on-demand or theater fix. New topics are posted every Monday at The Madlab Post!

NICOLE
Also @MadlabPost on Twitter

ePublishing: Questions to Ask Before You Decide to Self Publish an Ebook.

ePublishing: Questions to Ask Before You Decide to Self Publish an Ebook. (via ePublish a Book)

Fiction books are almost always a good match for ebook publishing, and the word “almost” is only there to be on the safe side. Fiction is story telling, and story telling is now moving fast to ebook format.  So the question is most relevant when it comes to epublish a non-fiction book. Does your…

Guest Poster: Li Vooght ~ Great Ideas for A-Z 2013

Please join me in welcoming Li Vogt, two-time challenge participant, who works in the field of special education, adores history and science (especially

the weird and the gross), and admits to being a terrible procrastinator. She also does a little folk art painting in her spare time. While she'd like to publish a collection of flash fiction at some point, right now she's concentrating on honing her writing skills and getting individual pieces published. She's got some great ideas to get our creativity flowing for April 2013. 

Hi A to Z ers! 2012 was my second year of the challenge, and I had a great time both years. I met a ton

of people, and found some really great blogs to follow. The A to Z community is a warm and welcoming place to be throughout the year.

Since it's never too early to start thinking about the next one, here is my A to Z list of possible topics and resources to get your creative juices flowing.

A. Almanacs have lots of cool trivia and stats to give you ideas.

B. Beneficence. Highlight charitable organizations throughout the world.

C. Cliches. Love 'em, hate 'em, explain their origins.

D. Dictionary. As writers/bloggers, we can all benefit from an expanded vocabulary.

E. Eating. We all do it. Feature exotic foods, cool restaurants, worst cooking disasters.

F. Fiction. If you've always wanted to try your hand at short stories, the A to Z is a friendly environment

to give it a whirl.

G. Guinness Book Of World Records. Lots of people/events you could feature.

H. Home improvement. Any DIY whizzes out there? Give us a few pointers/projects.

I. Inventions. From the practical to the wacky, there are plenty. Or, make up your own!

J. Jokes. We can all use a laugh.

K. Kings, real or fantasy.

L. Languages. Feature a word each day in a particular language – or several!

M. Movies are a popular topic. Suggest alternate casts/endings, or dig up little known trivia.

N. News. My local newspaper generally has at least one odd/weird/interesting tidbit each day.

(Drunk Bicyclist Arrested After Hitting Police Cruiser!)

O. Origins – of words, folktales, customs, etc.

P. Prompts. There are several sites which feature writing prompts on a daily basis.

Q. Quotes. I thought that it was a lame idea, and yet I am still getting plenty of hits on that post.

R. Rare anything – elements, animals, plants, diseases.

S. Superheroes

T. Torture through the ages, for those with a slightly macabre bent.

U. UFOs or unexplained/paranormal phenomena.

V. Vintage. Choose a particular time period in the past and write about clothing, customs, everyday life.

W. Weather, wars, wines, witchcraft...it's a fun letter.

X. Xerox this list if you want, but for x ideas you're on your own.

Y. Yiddish words, expressions, and terminology.

Z. Zombies. Of course. Give us an A to Z prep list in case of attack.

Right now, I'm planning on writing flash fiction again for the 2013 challenge, but in creating this list I generated two ideas that I might pursue instead. I hope you find some inspiration here as well! 

See you at the 2013 A to Z Challenge...

Li @ I Write At Flash Fiction

P.S.  I of course find her "L" idea the best.  Ahem...probably because that's what I did last year.  (Shameless self-promotion...sorry.)

Tina

Alphabet Remix - Wrestling with Writing

These blogging prompts are brought to you by Nicole at The Madlab Post....

It’s time for The Alphabet Remix - A Writing Prompt Idea Engine Treating A to Z Blogging Avoidance Disorders

Today, W is for Writing -- probably one of the most commonly topics addressed prior to, during and after the Blogging from A to Z Challenge each year. I have encountered a bit of writer’s block trying to find one topic of interest to Remix for writing prompts that all of you can use when developing a blog post in April. So rather than talk about Wrestlers, Water or Weather (all of which could be a useful topic for some of you who are looking for an entire theme for the next A to Z Challenge), here are subjects about writing that can be covered in April without making your blog look like it’s singing the same old tune as all the other A to Z participants.

Written by...

Publish a list of all the guest posts that you have written for other blogs in the last year and then share some tidbits on the how and why you structured them in one way or another. If you do a lot of guest posting, just pick out a few of your favorite ones and then go from there. Another way to approach the “written by...” topic is by uploading a photo of a poem, essay or short story that you wrote during grade school. This is a fun way to get a blog post up quickly while also reminiscing on your earlier writing and noticing how it has either changed or evolved over the years. You could also compare two photos of handwriting -- one written by your younger self and one as an adult -- to see if it has improved, stayed the same or declined in time.

Writing Weaknesses

Are you a sucker for a certain type of writing? Do you gravitate toward works written by specific authors because of their writing style? If so, highlight some of them in a blog post that either evaluates similarities between the authors or, at the very least, cause readers to do some self-reflection on the writing styles that peak their interest most. If this particular angle for “Writing Weaknesses” doesn’t excite you, then try another approach: Critique your own writing, specifically, pointing out areas where you either know you could have done better or you feel you should have but have no idea how. This particular approach to the topic could open your blog post up for discussion and constructive feedback from readers -- a plus, if you’re still working on the work that you are critiquing.

Who Wrote What?

Use the A to Z Challenge as your opportunity to dispel some myths about where a famous poem, story, magazine article, song, novel or other piece of literary material actually originated from -- as in, who really is the source of it. Or, remix this to quiz your readers on their knowledge of old written works. Ask a question such as “Who wrote ‘nothing gold can stay’ -- Margaret Mitchell or Robert Frost?” and then sit back to find out which of your readers knows this without having to do an online search for their answers. Make sure, however, that you DO actually know the correct answer before quizzing others on such works.

Now, onto other Friday Fun Time news:

Since no one unscrambled any of the motion picture companies in last week’s Alphabet Soup game titled Big Wigs in the West, Tina at Life is Good remains the Alphabet Wizard, by default.

Here are the answers:
1. The Weinstein Company (Django Unchained; Silver Linings Playbook; Seal Team 6)
2. Warner Bros. Pictures (The Dark Knight Rises; Wrath of the Titans; Cloud Atlas)
3. Walt Disney Pictures (Brave; The Muppets; Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides)

Have a Fun Friday, everybody!

NICOLE
Find Me @MadlabPost on Twitter

Sign up for the Monday Movie Meme, a weekly group blogging series that inspires discussion about entertainment in a whole new light and provides recommendations for your DVD, on-demand or theater fix. New topics are posted every Monday at The Madlab Post!