People have told me for years that were I to write stories centered around my extended family, I’d have bestsellers on my hands. Of course, I’d have to sell them as fiction, because no one would believe any of it to be true, but that’s an entirely different matter. The one question I struggle with is this: when writing is “inspired” by real-life, how much can we pull from real people before we require permission? Do I need to inform my insanely neurotic, outrageously... Continue to Full Post →
I have recently become a huge fan of several online magazines, or e-zines. As you all know, I can’t stumble across a good thing and not share it, so each week I will feature a new ezine which you must check out. Right now, run run run! This week’s star is: Writer’s Weekly.com — The standard classic, with the highest circulation of any freelance ezine in the world, the Writer’s Weekly is chock-full of excellent freelance job market opportunities and weekly news stories... Continue to Full Post →
I have been very lucky with all of the publishers/editors I have worked with: they’ve always treated me fairly, been extremely professional and kind, and generally been fun to work for. My friends and family tend to respect when I say, “No, I’m sorry, I’m writing,” as being as important as anyone else saying, “Nope, sorry, gotta go to work!” Unfortunately, I know that a large number of other writers haven’t had such great luck. So when I came across... Continue to Full Post →
My sincerest apologies for the ridiculous absence. It won’t happen again, I promise! I’ll be tinkering with some visual changes in the days to come, so if things look wonky, just bear with me There will be new categories and links coming soon, sharing ezines and writer-friendly sites, among other things, and am eager for feedback and information from all of you! Don’t forget that you can email me with news at any time: hope@hopedarbywritings.com Grab your pens (people... Continue to Full Post →
Hey there everyone! I’m going to be doing quite a lot of maintenance on the site in the weeks to come, so please bear with me if the blog doesn’t get updated as it should. Once everything gets settled, I’ll be back to my regularly-scheduled posting! Read More →
I have recently enrolled in a new writing class, “Internet Writing Markets,” that is proving to be incredibly interesting. We’re only three lessons in, but so far we’ve covered freelance sites, e-zines, and web newsletters. As the course progresses, I’ll be sure to post resources from my notes here. Naturally, I can’t post lessons or direct quotes, because I don’t want to violate my instructor’s copyright or intellectual property rights, but I will... Continue to Full Post →
A friend of mine recently (like, yesterday) turned me on to the book-lover’s dream site: GoodReads.com I’m hooked, I tell you. For anyone who has no desire to become an Oprah-lemming, waiting for her to tell you what next to read, GoodReads is absolutely stellar. Go, check it out, and friend me! I’m Hope there…because I’m creative like that. Heh. www.GoodReads.com Read More →
Every day, my spam folder has at least ten to twenty emails offering me the rather remarkable chance to make hundreds of dollars every day by spending a couple of hours whipping a few hundred words out for some “write from home!” website. Every day, I delete each one of these emails without opening them. I can’t help but wonder, though, how many people do actually fall for the salespitch. There are a lot of legitimate ways to make money by writing online. Paid blogs, website... Continue to Full Post →
The dog has bladder stones and a urinary tract infection, poor guy…the kitty has skin allergies that are driving her mad, poor girl…and our other cat seems to be going through a “hell on four legs” phase… …and how are you? Oy! Read More →
I’m giving some real thought to starting up a fitness transformations blog. Credit it to my excitement over joining the new gym, and my extreme annoyance with myself for allowing my physicality to get where it is, but I am determined to have a ridiculously dramatic before-and-after moment this summer. After all…we are traveling to Romania in September, and if I’m going to be hiking around the foothills of Transylvania, climbing 1400+ stone steps to explore castles and ruins atop... Continue to Full Post →
