Shon Bacon on Writing

For the month of November, All the Blog’s a Page (AtBaP) is talking about INSPIRATION! We want to know what inspires writers to put pen to paper or fingers to keys and spin the stories they tell. This week, we’ll be doing a two-parter with an author who is infused with the love of words and the desire to express them, Anjuelle Floyd!

When asked What inspires you to write, Floyd began by responding, “Conflict that results from life’s dilemmas and problems, both mine, and the ones with which I witness others struggle. On a deeper level I seek to answer the perennial question, ‘Why? Why did she do this? Why did he do that?’ These questions usually center on why an individual acted in a manner that left another person or persons feeling hurt. Why would person A say that to Person B when Person B is crying, doubling over with pain, their eyes full of tears, their hands shaking. And these are not instances where Person B has acted in a way to deserve the response they are getting. In short, my stories seek to answer the question Why does Person A hurt Person B, whom other characters in story and you the reader can see is, while not a person, has done nothing for Person A to treat them this way. Since my stories involve families and center on family conflicts, they see to answer the question, why did she treat her family member that way? I’m particularly taken with why parents treat their children as they do. Yet the focus of my stories usually begins with a conflict affecting and/or separating spouses.”

Stop by AtBaP to read more about what inspires Anjuelle Floyd to write. Also, come by to learn about her literary works and to read an excerpt from her short story collection, Keeper of Secrets…Translations of an Incident!


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For the month of November, All the Blog’s a Page (AtBaP) is talking about INSPIRATION! We want to know what inspires writers to put pen to paper or fingers to keys and spin the stories they tell. Up first is a writer who is constantly on his grind, dropping stories and poems to keep his words on people’s minds: CHAMSIL!

When asked What inspires you to write, Chamsil replied, “My greatest inspiration to write comes from just having a creative soul. I experience great excitement by being able to come up with a captivating book, story, poem, and/or characters that resonate with readers so profoundly, that they can totally see themselves in the things that I write. I am greatly inspired by the things that I see around me, as well. It is also people who give me inspiration to write.”

Stop by AtBaP to read more about Chamsil’s inspirations and to read excerpts of two of his latest projects: eThugs R Us and Ten Thirty-Eight!


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Head over to ChickLitGurrl: high on LATTES & WRITING where I interview author Wanza Leftwich, a writer and person I enjoy tremendously because when I read her words, I feel the love and care that exudes from her onto the page. She really is a writer - whether through her fiction or non-fiction - that wants to entertain, education, inspire, and move her readers.




I selected Wanza as an October feature because her “writer’s heart” connects with me. When I read her works, I sense her passion for writing and for conveying images, sounds, emotions, feelings to her reader. When I asked her to describe what “the heart of a writer” meant to her, Wanza explained:

Although, the story I write is fictional, the content is true to life. It’s a story that could be anyone, anywhere. I can’t afford to hold back words – those very words maybe what my reader needs. “The heart of the writer” to me means that as an author I write unselfishly for my readers. I write what is true, honest, painful but helpful. When you read my writing, you see and feel what is on my mind. That is when my heart shines through my work.


Come by ChickLitGurrl: high on LATTES & WRITING to learn more about Wanza’s passion for writing and to read an excerpt of her work, The Newlywed Diaries!


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Head over to ChickLitGurrl: high on LATTES & WRITING where I interview a writer I enjoy because her work touches at the heart of the young person, author Erin Cormier (E.K. Entrada). I’ve read many of Entrada’s stories, and it’s interesting. On the surface, the writing is so smooth, simple you might assume anyone could write that effortlessly, but by the time you finish the story, you realize there is a lot of skill, nuance, and dedication to the “word” that makes that writing appear that effortless.




When I asked Entrada to describe what “the heart of a writer” means to her, she stated:

“A writer is constantly surrounded by unwritten short stories and novels. A few examples: I once read a newspaper story about the mistreatment that road workers face at the hands of frustrated motorists. That eventually became “Morris Sees a Furrier” [link]. An uneventful episode of Wheel of Fortune became “Susanna Buys a Vowel” [link]. A ride on a ferry in the Philippines developed into “The Saint of Difficult Situations” (Audience Literary Journal, Fall 2008), a simple anthill became “Owen and the Colony” (Fiction at Work and Green Lantern Press, Winter 2010), and a college class that required an oral presentation became “The Naming of Cats” (The Philippines Free Press, February 2009). If you recognize big stories in small events, you have the heart of a writer. Whether or not you write them is up to you.”


Come by ChickLitGurrl: high on LATTES & WRITING to learn more about E.K. Entrada and to read the opening chapter of her current work-in-progress, the young-adult novel, The Apple Watson Songbook!


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Head over to ChickLitGurrl: high on LATTES & WRITING where I interview one of my fave writers, Onika Pascal! Why do I love Onika? It doesn’t hurt that she’s a fabulous woman who loves hard and gives in abundance. As a writer, Onika never fails to leave me adoring “the word” because her poetry, her prose is so real, so careful of using the “right” word for the right tone. You “experience” her writing, and in this interview, Onika allows you all to experience her writing before you run to purchase her latest work, Collections of a See Through Soul – Bardvillian Symphonies.





When asked, “What three writers have influenced your writing and how,” Onika replied:

I have done at least three interviews already and have been asked this question and probably gave the same replies each time I was asked. I love reading literature that gives my imagination a surge. And though I have many who have influenced my passion for writing, you asked for 3 and it’s a tough pick, but will tell you my top 3 and why.

Maya Angelou first and foremost. Her writing is my motivation. She’s poetry, she’s fiction, she’s literature, and she is my she-ro. After reading “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings” and “Gather Together In My Name” and her countless poems, I fell in love with the notion of putting out work that’s just as valuable. Her writing is true to life. Her words are woven in such a way that the imagery is almost 3D…it’s the best I can describe it. I read and imagine myself in the moment. That’s how I want to write. I want my readers/audience to see themselves in my character’s role, in that place and time that I write about and to let my words play a scene in their heads as they read.

Nikki Giovanni: Poetically she is phenomenal. Her prose and poetry reminds me that there’s a purpose to writing. I re-read her collection and get a renewed reason to write. She’s mindful of painting a picture with her words. She spells out her passion with every literary piece she publishes. It’s what I aim for. Am I aiming to high? Maybe, maybe not…but I love knowing that I have a standard to work with.

Elizabeth Nunez: Author of “Prospero’s Daughter”. She is a very recent influence. I’ve read “Prospero’s Daughter” twice. First time was to see what the review raved about and the second time to really take in her writing style. One it took me back to my days as a child in Trinidad. She’s Trinidadian born. As I. But her background isn’t why she made the list. Her craft in making a story come to life is. I pictured myself on the island. I pictured the country club, the police constable. My dad was a constable, so with the read I was imaginatively placed in her words. For me that’s what reading is about. Seeing yourself in that place and time, amongst the characters, in every word and picture it paints.


Come by ChickLitGurrl: high on LATTES & WRITING to learn more about Onika and her passion for writing…and to read an excerpt from her latest collection!


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Becoming a Lifelong Learner of the Craft of Writing

By author, editor, educator Shon Bacon aka ChickLitGurrl™

The Write Life for You is a series of articles on the writing craft. Past articles have focused on building character, developing a solid plot, and harnessing a writing style.

In October’s article, I look at some FORMATTING rules that are important to know to get that manuscript ready to send out to agents and editors.

Head to APOOOBOOKS.COM to read my latest article in The Write Life for You series!

For the month of September, All the Blog’s a Page (AtBaP) is looking at authors who have been put into the genre “young adult fiction.” Our final author of the month is a just-added author to my LOVE TO READ column for his realistic portrayals of teens and life in his works. It doesn’t hurt that I just learned a new word from him: Weltschmerz. Have to read full feature to get the word’s meaning! We conclude our month of YA fiction authors with John Green!

About Paper Towns:

Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs back into his life—dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge—he follows.

After their all-nighter ends and a new day breaks, Q arrives at school to discover that Margo, always an enigma, has now become a mystery. But Q soon learns that there are clues—and they’re for him. Urged down a disconnected path, the closer he gets, the less Q sees the girl he thought he knew.

When asked Why write teen fiction, Green replied, “Well, I like teenagers both as characters and as an audience. I like them because they’re in the process of forming their values, and because they’re willing to grapple unironically with the big questions of our species: Why is the suffering in our world distributed so arbitrarily and unfairly? What are our responsibilities to ourselves, to those we love, to those we don’t love? What does it even mean to be human? That’s the kind of stuff I like to think about, and so it’s the kind of stuff I like to write about, and I find that teenagers are just a great audience.

Like, this does not directly relate to my books, but once a week or so, I do a live show online. People (mostly teens) watch online while I answer their questions and read from old poems and stuff. It’s amazingly fulfilling to read Whitman and Dickinson and Keats with these kids; I feel like my writing is just another path to that same experience, the chance to have a conversation with people who are really engaged and curious and conscious of the connection between their values and their lives.”

Come by AtBaP to continue reading John Green’s thoughts on YA fiction and to read the first pages of Paper Towns!


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For the month of September, All the Blog’s a Page (AtBaP) is looking at authors who have been put into the genre “young adult fiction.” Up next is an author I’ve known for years now and have enjoyed for her adult fiction; now, she brings her literary talents into the YA realm with her Lip Gloss Chronicles, Shelia Goss.

About Splitsville: The Lip Gloss Chronicles, Vol. 2:

The divas are back. Jasmine, Britney and Sierra’s world is filled with drama at Plano High.

DJ Johnson has been spreading nasty rumors that threaten to ruin Jasmine’s reputation. Jasmine’s home life is in turmoil too. Her parents are in the midst of a divorce, and she’s taking it hard. As if all that weren’t bad enough, Jasmine soon finds herself involved in drama that makes the situations with DJ and her parents seem like child’s play.

When asked Why write teen fiction, Goss replied, “I’ve actually wanted to write a teen fiction book since being a teenager and reading Nancy Drew. My friends’ teens love books like Gossip Girl, The Clique, Private, etc., so I decided that I would write a series where the main characters were minorities but grew up in middle to upper class households. The stories are reality based and although entertaining, each book in The Lip Gloss Chronicles series deals with issues that some teens face.”

Come by AtBaP to continue reading Shelia Goss’ thoughts on YA fiction, her series…and to read an excerpt of her latest literary offering!

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inCHARACTER is the creation of author Samara King in a quest to quench her hunger of creating characters. (Clause: Her preference for heroes has nothing to do with it!)

Starting in September 21, 2009, characters will have their day at http://www.incharacter101.com! inCHARACTER seeks to provide a creative outlet for like-minded authors who also enjoy the depths of character development, character/scene features of all genres, as well as thought-provoking articles on the subjects of creativity, writing, and character creation.

** inCHARACTER will also be in search of bi-monthly contributors for literary articles and candid prospectives into the literary life.

As inCHARACTER continues to grow, affordable advertising spaces will be available for purchase as well as book spotlights.

If you are interested in an inCHARACTER Character Feature, you may submit the following material:

1. Book Cover
2. Short Author Bio and Author Link
3. 250 – 750 word scene featuring selected character of author’s choice.

The Catch: Once Samara King has read your selected character scene, five questions will be sent to the author, geared toward your character….Interested? Good! Please submit your character feature for consideration to incharacter@incharacter101.com!