April

Tomorrow is the last day of April. How in the heck that happened so quickly, I'll never know.

But for today, I just want to say one simple thing:

Thank you.

Thank you to everyone who reads this blog, everyone who checks in on Facebook to see how I'm doing, and to everyone who has purchased one or both of my books.

I know a lot of you don't generally read, and that you've bought and read my work purely as a way to support me as an artist.

For that, you have my sincerest and deepest gratitude.

For those of you who do read, and have purchased my books with the intent to read them (or have already read them), thank you.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you. 

I wouldn't be where I am today without fans and friends like you.

[love]

{Rani Divine.}

Peeved

I'm a writer.

You all know this.

But what you don't know are these three pet peeves I have... which make no sense, what with the fact that I'm a writer.

1. The feel of paper

Okay, okay, I mentioned this one on my Facebook page a couple weeks back, but it's still worth mentioning. I hate how paper feels against my skin -- especially my legs and arms.

But I still prefer to have a paper book, rather than an Ebook.

I know, doesn't make any sense to me either. But it's true. Ask my mother. I frequently refuse to hold a pizza in its box on the way home from Dominos, especially if I'm wearing shorts.

2. Perfect handwriting

This just plain bothers me. How on earth do people have such beautiful handwriting, when mine -- a writer's -- is terrible? I don't get it, and I don't think perfect handwriting should exist.

If we ever meet in person and you want to give me something handwritten, please don't make your writing perfect. Imperfections are what give handwriting its character. It's what makes it different from a typed note.

3. Last but not least... NOT finding typos in published books

They're always there. I look for them whenever I read a book, and for some reason, I'm disappointed when I don't find at least one. I figure, in a book of 50,000 words, there should be at least one typo. (I realize this means there should be four in Coetir... and that bothers me too).

If you can figure out how that makes any sense, I'd love to know.

On the bright side, I just picked up "Xenocide" by Orson Scott Card, and I found a typo on the first page. *contented sigh*


So, what are some crazy weird pet peeves you have, that make no sense given what you do or love? Leave me a comment and let me know I'm not alone!

[love]

{RD}

Anything

Every once in a great while, I get a weekend to myself. Sometimes I go away, sometimes people leave town and I get to stay at their houses, other times it just somehow happens and I get to be alone for a few days.

In many ways, those are my favorite times.

Not because I'm alone, not because I don't have any distractions, but because of the silence.

See, many people don't appreciate the value of silence.

To me, silence means five things:


1. I'm free to think

2. My other senses are heightened

3. I'm not busy

4. I can pay more attention

5. Anything can happen


And that's it. That's why I love the silence. Anything can happen -- that's pretty much the crux of it. Anything can happen, and anything will happen.

That's why I like to be alone, why I like to find a few weekends a year to just be by myself in the purest of silences. And it just so happened that this one turned out to be a little rainy, which is by far my favorite sort of weather.

My voice may cause me to sound like an old man after not talking for so long, but I think it's worth it.

Because anything can happen.

What do you guys do on your days to yourselves?

[love]

{RD}

Bloody

Just for fun, and because I was able to get the rights from Mavguard Magazine to promote them a little more, I thought it'd be fun to show you a little snippet from my short story in their first edition! 

For obvious reasons, I can't post the whole thing for you to read and enjoy... But I can post part of it! 

~

Bloody Mary, by Rani Divine

She stands at the edge of her plot, her hair moving slightly in the breeze, the air of death filling her nostrils—she can’t escape it, no matter how hard she tries. She holds a dozen roses in her hands, their floral aura trying to cover the smell, but it does nothing. It’s been too long since they’ve seen water—they become drier and drier with every passing moment, and she knows they won’t last much longer. It’s been too long since anyone came to see her. The roses only add to the reek of death and dismay in this abysmal place.

In her mind she recalls what it was like to feel alive, to sense life all around her. Not like here. Here everything is surrounded by death. Grass and flowers are all around her, but none of it gives off an air of beauty. All is sad, and the despair seeps into her soul.

She wants to leave, but she knows that she cannot. There is no way out—not now. The gates are closed, the doorways barred. There is nowhere for her to go.

But she is not alone. Hundreds surround her, all of them waiting—just like her. Waiting for that unknown day, the day they will all be released from their prisons.

She turns to her right and sees the children playing in their corner. For now, they’re all too young to understand their imprisonment. Not like her. She’s been here since she was a child, yes, but she’s known for too long now that this place is a prison. She’s been waiting for the day she’ll be set free, but it’s been so long that now she wonders when that day will ever come. It’s been so long. Too long.

She wonders now if there really will be an end to this imprisonment. It’s like torture to her. Trapped here with this wretched stench and fear of the outside world. She’s heard of prisons that were ransacked, of bodies that were stolen before their time, taken away from their prison before it was time for them to be released. She doesn’t know what happens to them when they’re taken, but she knows it’s nothing good.

Never leave your prison before you are called.

It’s one of the only rules here. Never leave. Stay where you are told to stay.

She’s obeyed it for years: decades, even.

She doesn’t know how much longer she can take it. Being so alone, yet with so many others around her. What can she do here?

There is nothing to do but wait. And the wait is like torture.

~

Mary is her name, Mary Penn-Draggon. By now so much of her life has been spent in this place that she hardly recalls her life before. It is the smells that stay with her so vividly, that call her back to a prior place and time—a time she believes she hardly knew at all.

She cannot recall her true name, does not know of the life beyond this place. But the gates loom ever in front of her, only a few yards from her plot, and by now she knows how simple a feat it would be to cross them. None ever guard the gates, none would try to stop her. No one here even knows the name of their prison guard, or where the rules come from. They only know that there are rules, that they have all been placed beneath them without their given consent.

Never leave your prison.

She assumes this means there are others, that this place is not the only one of its kind. There must be others, after all. It cannot be that this is the only one, that unending nothingness is all that stands between them and eternity.

Never speak to visitors.

Plenty broke that rule, and she never witnessed any of them injured because of it. Even when the visitors came through the invisible gates, when the walls were breached by those who could not be touched, everyone here did as they liked.

Listen when spoken to.

Do as you are told.

Except no one ever speaks.

She wonders where the rules came from, whether there is some great being that lives beyond the black gates, waiting for someone to break all three rules so they might be punished. She wonders what type of punishments might be given to those in this place, those who have already lost everything they’d ever known and loved in life.

Every day she opens her mouth to speak, and no words usher through. There is no breath in her lungs, nothing that might bring words to life within. In a place of death, no life is allowed to blossom. Were it ever found, it would be crushed and extinguished before it could make its meager attempt at life within the world of the dead.

Want to know how the story ends? Well you'll just have to find yourself a copy of the magazine. And you'd better hurry, because I hear there are only a few more copies left in stock at the 

RAD Store Online

[love]

{RD}

*gasp*

Guess what??

I've been nominated as the official spokesperson for the first ever Mavguard Magazine contest!!

Click Here to check it out!!

If you're a writer (poetry or short literature) you'll definitely want to check this out! The winner will receive a cash prize and an automatic Featured section in the magazine's second edition, and on their website!

I'm not allowed to say anything else here, sadly... So I'll just leave you with a reminder that if you haven't bought Coetir yet, you're going to want to get on that. *wink*

RAD Store Online

[love]

{RD}

EditR

In case you didn't know, if you're a writer, you're going to need an...

Editor

Why? Here are three good reasons:

1. You know your story too well

Really. You do. Even if you don't think you do. You know your characters and their quirks, you know what's going to happen -- you know everything, because you wrote it. The problem here lies in the fact that if there's something missing, you're less likely to catch it. See, if there's some hidden question in your book, you probably know the answer already. But the reader doesn't. And if you didn't answer it anywhere, you probably won't be able to catch it.

An editor, on the other hand, will.

2. You can't see your own typos

Even when they're staring you in the face. It annoys me too, don't worry. I'll look at a page and see perfect pristine writing... and then when someone else reads it they come back with a list of typographical errors that I hadn't even noticed.

I guarantee it's the same for you. Editors fix that, too.

3. You're not perfect

Really, this is the crux of the matter. Of course, editors aren't perfect either. But they're an extra set of eyes in your story, an extra mind put to the task of polishing it down and making it as beautiful as can be.

And here's the big secret that so many writers don't want you to know about their editors:

All your editor wants to do is help you. They don't want to berate you and push to down into the depths of depression. They want your writing to succeed in this world, and they're doing their best to get it there.

You hating them doesn't help matters any.


Spoken from an editor, who sometimes has a hard week.

[love and homemade cookies]

{RD}

Re

Monday we talked about proofreading.

Today, we're talking about something that many people find equally as important:

Redrafting

Personally, I don't always find it necessary. There are many authors out there who will tell you that you MUST redraft, that the entire book MUST be rewritten before anyone else can ever look at it. But I'm here to tell you that it's just plain not true. There are plenty of works out there that don't need redrafting.

But why is that? As you've probably surmised if you've been reading my blog for any matter of time, you'll know that's one of my favorite questions to answer. Why.

1. Some stories are just plain good

Probably rarer than any other option, some stories are just plain good the first time around. That's not to say they won't need editing, but that they won't need any major changes at all from the time they're first written.

Every story needs to be edited. That's not in question here.

2. Sometimes we authors are so connected to the story the first time that it doesn't need a second time

Realistically, I feel like this happens to me a lot. I dream my stories, and I write them down when I get up (because I can't write in my sleep *wink*). Because I dream them, I'm connected to them from the moment I start to write them down. I've already lived them in my mind -- all I'm doing is getting it down on paper.

3. Sometimes all that needs doing is tweaking, not an entire redraft

This one's the most frequent, in my experience. Most stories at least have some basis of "good-ness" in them, and there's something salvageable within. So we take those bits and we polish the ugly ones until they match and look shiny and pretty.

All without scrapping the whole book and writing it a second time.


But, of course, there are always exceptions. Many stories do require a rewrite, and for those I suggest a box of tissues, a bag of candy, and some mood music.

[love <3]

{Rani}

Pudding.

The proof is in the... pudding.

Proofreading

Why do we proofread? Why is it important? Most of you are probably like me and -really- don't like to do it -- and yet it's practically forced upon us.

Why?

Well, that's what I'm here to tell you.

1. Proofreading makes us better writers

I try to teach my editing clients to proofread while they're writing, because it makes them better typists, makes it easier on me when we get to the editing stage, and makes it easier on them when they go in and make changes during the writing/prewriting phases.

Essentially, the more you write, the more you should be proofreading. If you don't do it, you'll likely end up with more typographical errors in your final copy than anyone should ever have. 

2. Proofreading makes us better editors

Now, maybe we don't all want to be editors, but we do all want to make our writing shine -- and that requires some level of editing. So if you want to write, you're going to have to edit, and while you're editing, you'll be glad that you proofread while you were writing in the first place.

3. Proofreading makes our editors less annoyed with us

And we all know how terrible it is to annoy our editors. Don't do it. Just don't. If you haven't experienced this, take my word for it. Annoying the editor should be avoided at almost any cost.

Unless you're pulling a prank, then it might be okay at the end. Maybe.


Now, I'm not saying that you should be catching every single typo that comes up on the screen while you're writing, but I suggest that you do your very best to get to the point where you're catching between 75-85% of your typos while you're writing. That way, you'll only have that 15-25% to catch later on down the line.

Trust me, that's a lot easier to deal with.

[lvoe] *wink*

[Rani D.}

Resistance

Resistance is futile.

Yeah, I said it.

It's futile.

Why?

Because I'm never going to stop pushing for Mavguard Magazine to get more submissions. Their mission is amazing, their work is beautiful, and they have a heart for the work their doing. I've been blessed to be a part of the project, and I want all of you to be a part of it too!

Here's what Mavguard is looking for:

• Poetry
• Short Stories
• Short pieces of longer fictional works
• Screenplays
• Photography
• Graphic Design
• Visual Art
• Heavily Edited Photography

If you call yourself an artist, we probably accept your medium! If you're not sure, drop me a comment or head over to their Contact page and send them a message!

We want your work! We want to publish you!

All you have to do is submit -- what do you have to lose?

Even if you're not accepted for publication, we're nice about it. I promise. I was the one who wrote the rejection letters for Edition 1 (and their weren't many to write -- that's how awesome you guys are).

So.

Submit your art!

Submit your poetry! 

Submit your short stories!

Resistance, as they say, is futile.

*wink*

[love]

{RD}

Mavguard Magazine Edition 1!

In case you didn't see it blasted all over the interweb yesterday... 

Mavguard Magazine Edition 1 has been released!

It's full of art, literature, and poetry -- and it's freaking amazing.

I want to send a special thanks to everyone who contributed to the making of the magazine, and everyone who submitted their work to be viewed for this edition. We had SO much fun working with each and every one of you, and we hope to work with you again in the future.

As for those of you who haven't been a part of the magazine, IT'S NOT TOO LATE! Go to the Submissions Page to send in your work, or head over to The RAD Store to buy a copy of the magazine and check it out!

Submissions window will be open until June 30th, but don't wait until the end to get your work submitted! Works will not be read until after the submissions window closes, but we're still editors, and we still like people who get their work in early *wink*

Thanks everyone!

Think I'm a little too gung-ho about the magazine? Well, check it out for yourself and see if I'm wrong. I dare you. *double wink*

[love]

{Rani D.}

I am...

I am a Mavguardian. 

But that doesn't just mean that I help out on the project, edit pieces going in the magazine, and work on the interior layout. It means more than just being a part of the project.

To me, being a Mavguardian means that I'm all about young writers.

See, at Mavguard Magazine, we focus on young writers, on new writers, on those who haven't been published before. Yeah, we also publish stuff from previously published authors and artists, but we cater specifically to the unknowns.

What does that mean for you?

It means that if you're unpublished and you want to get a publication under your belt, WE WANT YOU.

And if you're concerned that your work isn't something Mavguard will want, don't sweat it. Send it to RAD Writing for an overview, or attach it in a message to me. I'll let you know if you have things you need to fix or things I don't think Mavguard would be interested in.

I want you to be published!

I want you to be successful!

I want you to enjoy your art!

And honestly, I think we can do it together.

If you want to know more, head over to www.MavguardMagazine.com for more information -- or just drop me a comment or send over a message. I'll do my best to help you out!

If you've heard enough and want to send something in, the submissions window is OPEN! Click Here to go to the submissions page!

[love]

{RD}

Boom

Hello happy internet-ers!

In continuation of this weeks "things you probably didn't know about Rani" theme, today we're talking music. The five bands I listen to when I want to... erm... get my groove on? And the five I listen to when I want to write. And the whys.

Boom

Groovy... 

1. Muse - Because we all need some more Matt Bellamy in our lives, and because they have some of the best beats I've ever heard.

2. Florence + The Machine - Because have you heard their lyrics? Sheesh.

3. Purity Ring - Canadians make good music. These guys I actually use when I'm writing science fiction stuff as well, so they're something of a two-for.

4. Kavinsky - Because Drive, that's why.

5. Josh Groban - What girl doesn't like to listen to JG and take a bubble bath?

Writerly...

1. Two Steps From Hell - These guys... It's trailer music, what you'll be listening to in the theater during the previews, and these guys write the best of it all, in my opinion. If you're a fan of instrumental, check them out.

2. Bear McCreary - What's not to like about the man who soundtracked Battlestar Galactica AND The Walking Dead?

3. Ludovico Einaudi  - A lot of it is slower and fascinating sounding, which makes for some very good fantasy writing. And you can usually picture what scene you were writing when you listen to the songs later, which is always fun.

4. Lindsey Stirling or 2cellos - Strings are my favorite. Not sure why, but they are. If you're a strings fan and you're looking for something un-lyric-ed to write to, check either of them out.

5. Soundtracks! - Because sometimes we need the real thing, eh?


I hope you all enjoyed this week of getting to know me better! I now challenge you to post ten fun things about you in the comments here or on Facebook!

[love]

{RD}

Writerly

Happy April! I was going to be mean and trick you all into thinking something had gone horribly wrong... But I just couldn't bring myself to do it.

So, as promised, here are five things that I think make me a good writer and editor. If you have these traits as well, then I'm happy to say that you'll likely do well in this field! *wink*

1. I'm obsessive. It always makes for a good quality in editors, as well as writers. I obsess over whatever I'm working on, which is generally how I'm able to get through a book so quickly. I usually finish writing a 200,000 word novel in under six months, and can edit the same novel in less than a month.

Writers need that. Editors need that. It's okay to obsess over something you love. 

2. I like order. I really prefer that everything be scheduled. Yeah, yeah, I know how to break free and have fun now and then, but I greatly enjoy making schedules and making sure they're stuck to. That right there makes for a very good editor.

Writers need schedules or they don't really get anything done. The writer in me is like that too, and I'm guessing if you're a writer you're the same way. We have to bring out that editor side to keep things moving at a proper pace. 

3. I clean for fun. Someone who cleans for fun is generally considered to be quite the oddball. I won't say it's any different for me. I'm a bit of an oddball. But because I like to clean, because I find it fun to make sure everything is where it belongs, I know how to write a good story the first time around, and I know how to edit a story back to where it needs to be.

So, cleaning is a good trait to have. Clean up your mind, clean up the cobwebs, and get that story to shine. 

4. My family has terrible handwriting, and I can read most of it. Which means that I'm better able to read the scrawls of my own writing when I woke up at two in the morning and had to write down an idea.

No further explanation needed, am I right? 

5. I can copy accents. And I can write them fairly decently.

This one's really just for fun, but accents are a good way to make a character. If you know how to speak them, it makes it ten times easier to write them. And I think by this point most people in other countries know we're trying to copy their accents anyway. 


What traits do you guys have that make for good writing? Let me know in the comments!

[love]

{RD}