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Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Armchair BEA Day Three: Expanding Blogging Horizons & Novellas/Short Stories


Expanding Blogging Horizons:

I kind of want to start my own meme, something related to science and mathematics. Environmental science is kind of my specialty (environmental engineer, hey!), so I'm actually in the process of making this idea happen.

I definitely want to create (or have someone else create) a new design for my blog - this is also in the works!

I might switch to Wordpress one day - or at least get my own domain. In the future!


Novellas/Short Stories:

Personally, I'm not a huge fan of novellas. I think they're a waste of time and money, most of the time. Extra content? Usually it's like five chapters of new content, and two chapters of the next book. For $1.99? No thank you. And most of the time, the new content doesn't advance the plot, or aren't necessary to read in order to continue with the full-length novels. Useless!

But, I've enjoyed a few novellas! Here are some of my favorites:

  

Anthologies... I don't read too many of those. Or any at all? I would like to read:

26 comments:

  1. I'm quite a fan of novellas, but I always check what they are about, how long they are, and the price they have... not all novellas are worth their price at all! But I love being able to read something short and interesting when I'm not in the mood to commit to a book!
    YAY for new features and a new design, cannot wait to see!! =D

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    1. I'm glad you enjoyed them! But yeah, some novellas are ripoffs. That's so true though - novellas have their merit, when you want to read and review something short.

      I hope the features and design turn out well! Thank you for the enthusiasm, Pili!

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  2. Creating a meme sounds like a lot of fun!

    --Brenda @DailyMayo

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    1. I think it will be, if people like my idea!

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  3. A new blog design sounds fun! I thought about switching to Wordpress, but I'd have to pay for a server and domain name...which I might still do sometime in the future, but for now, free and changeable HTML and CSS-wise works for me. :) (Though believe me, there were times fixing up the new theme when I just wanted to break down and buy one pre-made, Blogger or Wordpress.)

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    1. Yeah, the money thing is the issue. I haven't tried to mess with the CSS codes, but I do want to make a new design. I know what you mean though D:

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    2. Well, if you're willing to play around with it (a lot), the cheap/customized thing I did was picked out a free Blogger template from another site, then made a billion and two CSS adjustments. It was work, but I feel pretty comfortable tweaking templates now. I'm obviously no expert, but let me know if you need any help. :)

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  4. I love anthologies. I also like Poison Dance, it was a nice look into a new world before the book came out

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    1. I definitely need to read more anthologies!

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  5. Getting a domain was one of the best choices I have made. I highly recommend it.

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  6. Good luck with the blog expansion! I know there are a lot of bloggers out there that will design your blog for you. Stephie, from our blog (Flirting with Fiction) did a design for someone just a couple of days ago! She's the one that designed our blog.

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  7. Environmental science is awesome! That's what I was going to get a degree in! To be honest, I suck at math, but I love the environment! I'll still check out the new meme if you do it.

    I'm kind of old fashioned and think that the idea of paying actual money for an electronic file is...weird. To me, it's like a ebook isn't even real. So novellas especially should be free. It works out better for the publisher anyway, I think, because it becomes a sort of teaser for the novels.

    My Armchair BEA Day 3 Post.

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    1. Awesome! I'm getting a BS in environmental engineering, possibly in environmental science as well.

      And I totally see what you're saying about ebooks! Readers have no ownership when it comes to ebook files - Amazon/B&N/whichever e-tailer can take away the files if they need/want to do a recall. Ick. Novellas should definitely be free!

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  8. I plan on getting my own domain...someday. lol

    I feel about the same about novellas. Just add it in the book!

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    1. Someday! And I think novellas should be free, or in the back of the next full-length novella!

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  9. Switching over to Word Press isn't so bad but if you want to have control over your blog design then having your own domain will work, but of course you should try the free WP blog first just to see if you like it.

    I actually really like novellas and anthologies. I mainly read novellas that are connected to a series but of secondary characters instead. Sometimes we just want a short story of characters in a series that caught our interests. As for anthologies I love the fact that multiple authors could come together and write a story with similar themes or create a whole novel together for readers enjoyment!

    But then of course shorts and novellas are sometimes there for those of us who wants something short and quick to ease our mind.

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    1. Hmm, free WP blog, good idea. I'm glad that you enjoy novellas! I definitely want to read more anthologies, to see if I actually like them or not.

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  10. Hm. I don't think we have the same definition of novella. There some incredible pieces of classic literature that are actually novellas (Old Man and the Sea, Animal Farm, Of Mice and Men, etc.). I think short fiction can be extraordinary - but it sounds like there's some new contemporary definition for "short fiction authors try to shove into a series" or something? I had never heard of that until today. Although, I would love some short add-on pieces to certain worlds, like Alice's Wonderland, or the Harry Potter history, etc.

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    1. I probably wouldn't call those books novellas at all - they're short books, in my opinion! In YA literature, novellas are around 50-100 pages, and they feature content that isn't always the most "useful" or interesting. Add-ons is a good way of looking at it!

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  11. I haven't read many novellas, but the ones I have read I love. I love the free ones by Cassandra Clare because they're from a different character's point-of-view. And, I did like Neverfall, a novella for the Everneath series.

    My Armchair BEA Post

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    1. I didn't know they were free! And ick, Neverfall, Everneath, I hate that series. LOL

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