Nerd Alert!

First of all, technology is amazing. When I started Cliterature three years ago, I had no idea how long it would last, or if there would even be enough interest for a second or third issue. As the word spread, I've tried to add things to it to make it more fun and interesting for readers. After Cliterature went solely online in 2008, it took me a while to figure out how much more I could do with an online journal that a print version can't. Archives are available starting with the very first issue, so that anyone can read not only the current issue, but any contributor from any previous issue. With RULES, there's a new option for people to e-mail feedback about the individual works and have it posted up alongside the work itself. Facebook has been incredibly helpful in connecting with people who like Cliterature, whether they are submitting, contributing or just fans of the journal. 

What I'm getting to is something I only learned about recently but am already very exited about. Have you heard about Google Analytics? It gives you an HTML code which you paste into each page of a website, and then in 24-48 hours you can start looking at reports about visitors, content, traffic, etc. Two of my favorite reports are which pages are looked at most frequently, and a map that shows you where people are visiting Cliterature from. I knew it was being read all over the United States and maybe in Canada. Imagine my surprise when I saw visitors from Ireland, South Korea, Italy, Algeria, Germany, and South Africa! Not to mention the most visits from a single city came from London! I can't wait to see what other information this service produces. It's just amazing. 

It Begins

Begun research on my next big (book-sized) project, to be written after I finish You Know Me, Etc. Here's what I know about it so far:

• It's a memoir
• Focused on my brother's story, but must also tell my family's story to do so
• How my brother changed my outlook on life, authority, and family and shaped me as a person
• Statistics, odds, and risk play at least a minor role, possibly major

For now, I think of it by its dedication, "For him, of course."

New Cliterature Issue ~ RULES

The summer volume of Cliterature went live last night. RULES is huge! Sixteen contributors, and the manuscript is almost 50 pages. Makes me glad I made the decision to make it just online, because printing it could have bankrupted me. But I can do it as big as I want on the Internet, just have to put in a bit of extra work. 

I contributed a piece of my own, "How to Survive a Zombie Holocaust, and Other Things I Learned in My Twenties."

Chapter Four and a Font

Finished writing Chapter Four of You Know Me, Etc. last week. This summer marks the third year I've put into this novel. Much longer than anything I've ever attempted before. I had a working draft of my first novel in under a year. And there's still so much further to go, a total of fifteen chapters. It took me so long to prepare and research and lay out the plot. Now I'm aiming to be done with a first draft by spring of 2011, and that seems so long away. 

Today I chose a font for the new Cliterature logo: Berlin Sans FB Demi. I put in two hours deciding on it. I hope it's worth it.

Tee Hee!

Cliterature received 69 poetry, prose, criticism, and artwork submissions for the summer issue, RULES. Can't help but take that as a promising sign!

First 100

Reached a milestone! First 100 pages of You Know Me, Etc!

Poetic Nonstalgia

This morning before work I dug out my copy of The Cauldron, the lit mag from my undergrad institution, so I could re-read the poem that had won the Divine Crow Award in 2005. I miss being able to write poetry, and seeing my poem and knowing that is lost to me was akin I imagine a parent feels if they lose a child.

Referencing Myself

Some words of mine appeared on Three Dames With a Clue.

http://threedameswithaclue.wordpress.com/2009/04/18/lynn-brewer-authentic-expression/

After the Fire

For some time now, I've been trying to decide what to do with She Bears a King, my first novel. Wrote it in 2006, it's about a contemporary woman who becomes pregnant by Jesus Christ, who has become a mega-celebrity living in Hollywood. Needless to say, it's a hard sell for a first book from an unestablished writer. After getting mildly discouraged after the first fifty rejection letters (no joke -- I counted), I decided that a re-write was in order. More ideas had developed in my mind, and I had a better sense of the book's themes and how they should really be presented. So I metaphorically set fire to my book, burning through the clutter and letting the story's structure reveal itself. Now, I find myself with a charred draft that needs attention before it's reader-ready again, but unable to stop pushing forward relentlessly with my current project, You Know Me, Etc. I keep going back and forth -- divide my time and focus between the two, or let the remains settle for a while. I can still visit the burnt out frame if I want to.

THE HOUSEWIFE

Tonight I published the 11th issue of Cliterature, THE HOUSEWIFE. It was a special pleasure because one it marks the first time one of the contributors, Michelle Valentonis, has published. One of my favorite parts of editing and publishing an on-line journal is introducing new writers to the community by publishing first-timers.

Can't blame a girl for liking to pop someone else's publishing cherry.

Anyway, check out the new issue to see some pretty kickass new writing and artwork by myself and others who have thoughts and considerations about THE HOUSEWIFE.

(Check out this adorable magazine cover I found from 1912!)