Wednesday, August 24, 2005

No rules: The magazine

If I owned a print magazine, the inaugural issue might look something like this.

Wondering what your magazine would look like? Pop over to Flickr and in about five minutes, you'll know. Be sure to come back here and leave us a link in the comments if you want to share.

If any of you would like to write an article to go along with one of my spoofy headlines, please have at it. Go ahead and make up facts and quotes to your heart's content. Make me laugh, and I just might post your article here and give you a reward. (If you can't read the headlines, click on the pic and make it bigger.)

Note to sharp-eyed Canadians: I know, it was a cheap shot. Sometimes I just have no heart at all.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

They say writing a novel with internal conflict only can be done although it will be difficult. Leave it to me to choose the hardest subject matter for a first attempt, as I always do things the hard way. It's a labour of love I tell you. Though I don't work on it everyday I do spend time exercising the skill with my blog. Anyway, I got it bad - you bet I got a bad case of being a hack.

Thanks for the welcome.

Anonymous said...

I didn't know whether to post this here, for today, or go back to yesterday's "Endearing plot and sweet characters."

Anyway, it's here. I read your book! It was part of my self-imposed "challenge," as yours was to read a Stephen King novel and then review it.

I was a double-tough customer: I've never read a romance novel, and I'm also not a Christian. So this was something new for me.

I liked it, but it took me awhile to get drawn into the story. About the time Tom came in I was liking it more. I was surprised there weren't any subplots. One chapter rolled into the next in a linear fashion with the same characters, which is fine, but I usually read more complex fiction. Not dense or difficult, not snobbishly "literary," just with more intertwined plots and characters. I enjoyed Da Vinci Code and Cold Mountain, for instance. I also very much enjoy the novels of writer-duo Lincoln Child and Douglas Preston.

I was glad the inspirational angle wasn't too heavy-handed. It seemed believable from Hope's position, though most non-Christians I know wouldn't be heading off to Bible study quite so quickly as Charles did, even for love.

I confess I didn't buy for one nanosecond that Hope was never going to love a man again, or sleep with a man or get married. Nor that Charles was going to drop her. The title, after all, is Finding Hope, not Abandoning Hope.

The story moved along and entertained me, which is Job One. Tell me a story, and you did.

Overall, my tastes run to darker themes, I think, but you pulled it off really well. Good work, and keep going. (I know you are, I read this blog nearly every day!)

Anonymous said...

You know what would be on the cover if I had a mag. don't you Brenda ;-D
janice

Brenda Coulter said...

No, Janice, I don't. :)

Brenda Coulter said...

I didn't know whether to post this here, for today, or go back to yesterday's "Endearing plot and sweet characters."

Laura, you're a tougher woman than I am. I'm impressed that you got through the whole book when it wasn't something you wanted to read. I'd never have made it. Thanks for being honest about it and for taking the time to post here.

And now, in the spirit of yesterday's Endearing plot and sweet characters post, I will fashion a wildly flattering "quote" from your review:

"Complex fiction. Intertwining plots and characters. The story moved me!"

Oh, yeah. That one's going on my website for sure! ;-)

Anonymous said...

you got a picture of it a few days ago, it would be a mag. all about pictures!!!!!! ;-D

Anonymous said...

ACK!That psychic reviewer thing made me cackle!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mir

Anonymous said...

You know, with the title of A FAMILY FOREVER, that book may well sell like hotcakes in Utah. :D

Mir

Brenda Coulter said...

Yeah, the Mormons'll love it. ;-)

I didn't choose that title, my editors did. I don't like it all that much, but I suppose they know a tad more about book marketing than I do, so I'm not squawking about it.

Anonymous said...

or, with that title, it COULD be about vampires!
yfs

Brenda Coulter said...

Ooh, you made me shiver!