IdeaGems Blog on Posterous

Our Special Holiday Issue is hot off the press!

Winter-2012-issue-cover
IDEAGEMS MAGAZINE a brand new look!

Our Winter Issue is NOW posted and available for purchase. (Makes for a great stocking stuffer!) You can see the new promotion on www.ideagems.com with an "order now" button at the top of the page. This will take you directly to MagCloud to order print copies. To see what great reads we recommend, click on the "Book Look" button at the top of the far left column. 

This issue brings you lots of winter cheer with great holiday recipes by International Chef, Tor Sporré, not to mention the amazing artwork of California water-colorist, Linda Boltman and fantastic photography from Hawaiian adventurer, Cynthia Adventure. In the holiday mix, we have poems that sparkle and inspire, the true life travel and survival story of Colleen Barnes, and a heartwarming veteran's story by prolific Israeli author, Dov Silverman.  

Enjoy the read! Have a great holiday!

Cheers, 

Laurie Notch
Managing Editor
IdeaGems Publications www.ideagems.com
P.O. Box 4748
Portland, ME 04112-4748
http://about.me/laurienotch

Spooky Fun for Halloween!

Fall-2011-cover-page

It’s that spooky time of year once more and we have loads of terrifying and entertaining tales in store! We hope you sink your fangs into our Halloween fare of real-life ghost hunting, avant-garde artwork, hairy-scary stories, raving wine reviews, creepy poetry, unholy holiday recipes, and morbidly more! We are pleased as pumpkins to print the works of our many talented writers and artists and are proud to offer many of them their first crack at getting published.

The magazine is now online at www.ideagems.com where you can click on the cover page art to go to the MagCloud order site. Here's the direct link to order print copies: http://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/287744. The 'zine is also available on Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/IdeaGems-Magazine-Halloween-Special-ebook/dp/B005YBZ0DC/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1319484251&sr=1-3

Laurie Notch
Managing Editor
IdeaGems Publications www.ideagems.com
P.O. Box 4748
Portland, ME 04112-4748
http://about.me/laurienotch

Did you know....?

Dabatyh_cover

...That the very first ghost stories ever recorded go back to ancient Greece? That Mary Shelly wrote "Frankenstein" on a bet? That H.P. Lovecraft felt that alien creatures were coming to him through another dimension? 

Horror has always been one of the most marketable forms of literature -- certainly my favorite to write. Since it is popular in movies, TV, and video games, horror writing can be done for fun and profit. 
  
Learn how the masters do it, beginning with this educational and entertaining online course: The Art of Writing Horror through KSURF virtual university.  It's easy and affordable. 
 
If you're ghoulishly good, your stories will be reviewed with commentary by the instructor (me, Laurie Notch). The best ones will be selected for the IdeaGems Magazine Halloween Issue which gives you a publishing credit. 

I will be posting as often as I can on The Art of Writing Horror blog at http://horrorwriting.ksurf.net/ with tantalizing tips, 'ooky' updates, freaky facts, weird writers, and creepy conjurings to put the spell on all you potential horror writers out there. Let's begin with a little brain teaser...

Ftzdotcom_edited-1

Can You write Zombie Haiku?

A haiku is a syllabic poem that doesn't have to rhyme but most contain a total of 17 syllables. The traditional format is 3 lines, first line with 5 syllables, second line with 7, and third line with 5. Here's an example following traditional format:

Leave me be, zombie! (5)

Far away, I have to flee! (7)
Oh, wait. You bit me! (5)
(written by Laurie Notch)

Often, writers stick to the total of 17 syllables, but arrange them differently line by line:

Zombies,
Crawling, catching, eating
The brains of heroes of the unborn.
(written by Archie Richardson) 

 Writing Zombie Haiku is a wonderful, relatively painless discipline to get your brain power going and the creative juices flowing. (Brains! Yum!). Feel free to post your Zombie Haiku on the comments page of this blog or on our Feed The Zombie group page on Facebook. The only requirements are that 1) you keep to the haiku style of 17 syllables, and 2) zombies must be mentioned. You can write about any theme from sports to food to dating to politics. Here are a couple more examples to give you the idea and keep you inspired!

Theme: the Workplace
Zombie slackers sit
Heads on desks, so bored to death.
The brain dead abound.
(written by Laurie Notch)

Theme: Fine Dining 
Brains are delicious!
Since you have no need for yours,
May I dine on them?
(written by Ralph Dumain)

Go ye therefore and (de)compose! 

Tough Lit IV is hot off the press

Tl4-cover

You asked for it and you got it! Here is the fourth in our special TOUGH LIT series, a masterful mixture of murder, mayhem, and mystery peppered with poetry that packs a punch, edgy literature, and tough travel tales.

See it on www.ideagems.com Print issues and electronic downloads available on MagCloud: http://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/272134. Also available on Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Tough-Lit-IdeaGems-Magazine-ebook/dp/B005NS2J7Q/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1316527395&sr=1-1

Thank you to all the wonderful writers who make each and every issue possible!

 

Enjoy the read! Please pass the good word!

Cheers,

Laurie Notch
Managing Editor
IdeaGems Publications www.ideagems.com
P.O. Box 4748
Portland, ME 04112-4748
http://about.me/laurienotch

Machinima Project Seeks Producers and Contributors

Machinima is animation using a game or virtual world engine to create real time action. My associate, Wayne Graves, produced a short series called AV451 for under $400 and poor equipment. Now, our goal now is to do the full-length film with hired talent and proper equipment to give it a crisper, more professional look. Backed by a quality animated film, we are gearing up to start a small online machinima community with writing classes and collaborative projects to further the art.

I am always intrigued with new, fresh ways of telling a story. The art of machinima has yet to really reach maturity, so it's almost an open field to play in. It's also relatively cheap to make. The film will be approximately the length of a long feature film at a fraction of the cost. And with online viewership through major machinima sites reaching into the high millions, the potential is exciting. Warner Brothers did a machinima series called "Terminator Salvation: The Machinima Series," so you can be assured that Hollywood is paying attention.

To see how you can participate, go to: http://www.indiegogo.com/Machinima-Project-AV451.

We are further launching live-streaming online courses on the art and process of machinima film production, including the tools we use, tips and tricks, and anything else related to this project that can help others do the same, or do even better. 
 Classes will be launched as the completed series and community is launched.We are also creating a behind-the-scenes looks and a "how-to" course through this process.

You can see series 1 at http://av451.com

Thanks for checking out our project. And please pass the good word!

 

 

Av451

Author's Ego vs Editor's License

As an author, I understand the pride that comes with every accomplished work. I also know the ego-bruising that comes with every rejection.  How many times has my precious creation been kicked to the curb or cut at the last minute by some editor's license to call the shots? Recently, I had an author brusquely remove her work from our publication because we couldn't run her story in the issue we had initially slotted it for.

As an editor, I find myself having to make the harsh calls for the sake of limited space or special feature. It is hard for me to notify writers, who have toiled day and night on their beloved story or poem, that I won't be able to include the work. Yes, on occasion, this is exactly the call I have to make. And of course, the ego-bruising begets reactionary lashing out by said author.

Let's be reasonable, people. If you're a writer, you seriously need to get used to what might feel like abuse but isn't. What is with this sense of entitlement? Being published is an honor and a privilege that many may never achieve! Take Kathryn Stockett, author of "The Help." She suffered over 60 rejections before some kind editor saw the value of her work. Now the book is slotted for feature film production. I can sit here all day and cite case after case of authors enduring the onslaught the slings and arrows of outrageous editorial license, but I don't see the need to beat that stale old nail into your heads any deeper. 

Last minute cuts, final rejections, even whittling down well-crafted writing so that it can fit into a column are all par for the course! Learn to take it on the chin with a modicum of grace! Don't throw a diva's snit--especially when you haven't reached that level of recognition as an author! And even then, behaving like a spoiled brat is in poor form. 

The best thing to do is lean forward and move on with your work. If you believe in your powers of creativity, you will get there! 

As for those authors who flipped their wigs because I couldn't print their stories, they have kicked a gift horse in the mouth. As a Managing Editor, I do call the harsh shots, but I am true to my word. If I say the work will be published, it will be--perhaps not in the issue at first intended, but I will always find a home for it down the line. Our magazine remains true to its mission to help writers showcase their  'wares'.

Laurie Notch
Managing Editor
IdeaGems Publications www.ideagems.com
P.O. Box 4748
Portland, ME 04112-4748
http://about.me/laurienotch

New! IdeaGems Magazine!

For the past 6 years, we have been running with the title ADVENTURES FOR THE AVERAGE WOMAN, which was meant as a tongue-in-cheek commentary about how women often feel about themselves and their abilities.  In truth, no woman should ever feel average, and several have expressed as much about our magazine’s title. So, in the spirit of respect for our readers’ and critics’ opinions, we are now going to adopt the title IDEAGEMS MAGAZINE.  We will still remain the showcase for all the undiscovered literary and artistic treasures out there.  Moreover, we are staying true to our mission to give writers their first break in the world of publishing.

As always, we are looking for fresh submissions for our future issues, both our seasonal themes (winter, spring, summer, and fall) and our TOUGH LIT series devoted to crime, dark fantasy, horror, sci-fi, gritty and edgy literature.

Send comments and submissions to: ideagems@aol.com. Be sure to check out our submission guidelines on our website: www.ideagems.com and look for up-coming special themes. 

Laurie Notch
Managing Editor
IdeaGems Publications www.ideagems.com
P.O. Box 4748
Portland, ME 04112-4748
http://about.me/laurienotch

WHAT'S A WIDGET?

I am on a learning curve about Web tech stuff. I only just managed to post new widgets on my PRODUCTION NOTES blog at http://www.laurie-notch.blogspot.com/ and created a new profile page on About.Me http://about.me/laurienotch as Web presence is exteremly crtical for independent creative endeavors.

And now I will attempt to embed widgets onto this blog 1) just toprove to myself that I can do it and 2) to urge people to take a look at two terrific indie projects on IndeiGoGo. Granted, it doesn't mean much if no one reads this post. But nothing vetnured, nothing gained. 

 

 

BE A PRODUCER ON TWO TERRIFIC PROJECTS!

We need help to get our short indie film and comic book projects off the ground for good causes.

The first is our short film SORE LOSER which deals with domestic violence in the deaf community in a very creative format. Learn more at: http://www.indiegogo.com/Sore-Loser

Then there's our superhero comic book project which aims to shed light on the issues of wounded and traumatized war veterans. Learn more at: http://www.indiegogo.com/The-Adventures-of-Zombieman

Above all, please pass on the good word to all you know!

Feel free to post comments or ask questions: lnotch@zogbyentertainment.com [[posterous-content:pid___0]][[posterous-content:pid___1]]