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MLV WritesBlog of Monica Valentinelli, Writer & Content Consultant

Posted on March 10, 2010 - by Monica Valentinelli

Writer’s Block? Maybe it’s “Writer’s Avoidance” Behavior

Writing

I was fortunate to attend a presentation given by author Kathy Steffen, who talked about ways to overcome writer’s block. One of the things she talked about was how writer’s block isn’t always a “block” of creativity, but you’re actually engaging in something she called “writer’s avoidance behavior.”
I feel that this is especially true [...]

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Posted on March 4, 2010 - by Monica Valentinelli

What Other Writers Can Learn from Romance Authors

Writing

I joined a local romance writer’s group last year and, admittedly, I was a bit nervous at first because I knew nothing about that arm of the publishing industry.

Well, here we are months later and I’m very happy with my involvement with this group for several reasons…

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Posted on March 3, 2010 - by Monica Valentinelli

Guest SFWA Blog Post on Website Usability and Design

Blogging Guests Me

Hop on over to the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America website to read my latest guest post entitled, Authors! 8 Tips For Your Website’s Usability and Design.
Here’s a quote from the article:
In today’s article, I’d like to share with you some tips to consider when you’re reviewing your current website or when you’re [...]

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Posted on March 1, 2010 - by Monica Valentinelli

Announcing the Release of THE QUEEN OF CROWS

My Work Writing

Centered around a short story entitled “The Queen Of Crows,” I designed a unique, digital product that I think you’ll really enjoy. At a retail price of $4.99, you will receive a magazine-style layout of THE QUEEN OF CROWS, a professional illustration of a character named Mahochepi and more!
This product is the first digital release [...]

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Posted on February 17, 2010 - by Monica Valentinelli

Writing and Conventions

My Work Writing

For the past, few months I’ve been taking a serious look at my short-term and long-term goals, and I’ve come to some pretty interesting conclusions.
When I look back at the projects that I have published, I realized that I have just as many that fell through the cracks due to bad business partnerships, horrible [...]

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Posted on February 10, 2010 - by Monica Valentinelli

On Writing a Historically-Accurate Paranormal Short Story

My Work Writing

Currently, I’m working on revisions for a short story entitled THE QUEEN OF CROWS that will be released as part of a digital product through Flames Rising Press. Set in the late 1800s, the plot revolves around a Navajo medicine man who is trying to summon a vengeance goddess called Mahochepi, the Queen of Crows. [...]

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Marathon Wrap-Up and a Quick Look Ahead
by Monica Valentinelli on January 8, 2010
Day 28: Removing the Obstacles
by Monica Valentinelli on December 28, 2009
Day 20: What’s Your Mantra?
by Monica Valentinelli on December 20, 2009
Day 15: On Dealing with Insecurity
by Monica Valentinelli on December 15, 2009
Day 14: The One Thing That “Just Doesn’t Matter”
by Monica Valentinelli on December 14, 2009
Day 13: Dealing With Holiday Stress
by Monica Valentinelli on December 13, 2009
Day 7: Goals and Establishing a Routine
by Monica Valentinelli on December 7, 2009
« Older Entries
Publishing Business

This Is Not Another Amazon Post

If you haven’t heard, there was a bit of an awkward business kerfluffle between Amazon and MacMillan this past weekend. No, I am not talking extensively about it other than to say that I believe we are seeing the result of what happens when people are anxious and start to panic. E-Books are a hot [...]

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Features Publishing Business

Calculating the Cost of an E-Book

I’ve had a lot of positive feedback from my previous post entitled Weighing in on E-Books, so I wanted to talk about ways to calculate the cost of an e-book. First, let’s pull some arbitrary numbers. (And by arbitrary, I mean that these are not precise figures.) Let’s say that we paid our author $3,000 for [...]

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Blogging Guests Me

Guest SFWA Blog Post on Website Usability and Design

Hop on over to the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America website to read my latest guest post entitled, Authors! 8 Tips For Your Website’s Usability and Design. Here’s a quote from the article: In today’s article, I’d like to share with you some tips to consider when you’re reviewing your current website or when you’re [...]

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Guests

Guest Post: Gender Portrayals and Genres at Apex Book Company

This month, I talk about Gender Portrayals and Genres over at Apex Book Company. In early science fiction and even horror, gender roles were often idealized according to the culture and the author’s views and experiences at the time the work was written. A good example of that are the few female characters in H.P. [...]

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Blogging Guests Me

Guest SFWA Blog Post on Website Usability and Design

Hop on over to the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America website to read my latest guest post entitled, Authors! 8 Tips For Your Website’s Usability and Design. Here’s a quote from the article: In today’s article, I’d like to share with you some tips to consider when you’re reviewing your current website or when you’re [...]

Continue Reading…

My Work Writing

Announcing the Release of THE QUEEN OF CROWS

Centered around a short story entitled “The Queen Of Crows,” I designed a unique, digital product that I think you’ll really enjoy. At a retail price of $4.99, you will receive a magazine-style layout of THE QUEEN OF CROWS, a professional illustration of a character named Mahochepi and more! This product is the first digital release [...]

Continue Reading…

Resources

Writer’s Block? Check out this Horror Plot Generator

It’s often funny how I get ideas from the weirdest places. Last month at a writer’s meet-up, we were presented with some word lists to help foster our creativity for character types. Before I went to the meeting, I was having a terrible week. (I’m sure you all know what I’m talking about.) I was [...]

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Blogging Resources

FTC Ruling for Endorsements and Testimonials

Hi folks, There’s been a lot of chatter the past few days about the FTC’s “new” ruling regarding a website’s or blog’s disclosure about endorsements and testimonials. Unfortunately, there has also been a lot of misinformation circulating as well. I’d like to point out that as of October 5, 2009, the FTC hasn’t published the Guides [...]

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    Family Games: The 100 Best


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