Winter is Now in Session

December has begun my Winter Reads.

So check out my sidebar menu and see what  I have available for this season!

Have a great and wonderful holiday season!

Summer, Interrupted

This summer appears to be the nonstop roller coaster ride type.

All I want to do is get in some writing time! It appears that my focus is on too many pans in the fire. Ugh! The sad thing is: those aren't my pans. 

Yet here I am cooking meals I have no idea what I am doing for each one. So I stopped myself and figured out a game plan. I will fry up that order at this time. The next order will come after, and so on. Then I can free up my evenings to do some writing. 

Much better. 

I have a few projects I would like to get off the ground this autumn. So it's back to the keyboard for me!

How has your summer been?

Have a great and wonderful day. 

Updated Logo for Future Publication Projects

I was creating new images for use with articles and essays here on Undawnted. I noticed that images are used on Pinterest for readers to save their favorite things: art, poetry, and writing. I decided to oblige with some updated art.

Then I began playing with the Undawnted logo. I wanted a nice marketing tool to use with any publications that will be published from here like Family Genealogy, whereas novels and chapbooks are published through Sonoran Dawn Studios. 

So you will probably see this logo on this site and in use for other projects:

New Marketing Logo

Yeah, I know. It looks very Eye of Horus. Sorry, no secret society membership here.

Addendum... I am a student of Joseph Campbell. Mythology is one of my favorite subjects. This logo fulfills that mythical scratch! 

Have a great and wonderful day!

Plotting My Stargate

Every time I sit down to write, another project pops out of the woodwork.

I am busy with an external source's clothing line, book cover art events, as well as my own creative ideas. 

I didn't know summers could be this eventful!

Since I am disabled by illness, my time to be creative everyday is limited. So once I run out of juice, I am done until I can recharge my batteries again. I wish I had solar energy! 

Even with the handful of projects swirling around me, I am still outlining and mapping out a future for myself. You cannot move forward in a vacuum, even thought I try. The universe constantly reminds me that plot points have to be set into motion even in our own lives. The stargate of creativity works when you have all the coordinates.

I know my timeline has changed several times especially now that I am permanently disabled. I have to go with the flow. I am in uncharted territory and my stargate malfunctions all the time. 

So am I accustomed to having a map that goes in several directions at once. "Scotty, beam me up!" Does that work? Can I change scifi series in the middle of an essay? 

No matter your stargate, life does not have to be an endless series of stops and goes. You can decide for yourself where you will want to end up. Follow your stars to change your stars. 

You may feel worn or cursed, but I assure you there is light at the end of the tunnel. You just have to know how to program your stargate. Brainstorming, goal setting, and some patience goes a long way. 

I have always wanted to be a writer and artist. Disability now gives me that focus. I just wish had a lot more time to be creative. 

Life is a set of coordinators. If you are headed in the wrong direction, well, then set a new course.

I'll be waiting in the Café at the End of the Universe. 

Oh, I did it again!

Have a great and wonderful day. 

 

_____

 

A writer at heart, Undawnted's own creative spark, DL Mullan, began writing short stories and poetry before adolescence. Over the years, Ms. Mullan has showcased her literary talents by self-publishing several collections of her poetry. She also writes novels, designs apparel, and creates digital art. Ms. Mullan‘s creative writing is available in digital and print collections, from academia to commercial anthologies. As an independent publisher, she produces her own book cover designs as well as maintains her own websites. She is an award-winning digital artist and poet. This year, DL Mullan has begun sharing her knowledge via A Novelist Idea Newsletter. If you too want to become a Fearless Phile, then subscribe to her newsletter at her Substack.

Learn. Grow. Master… with Undawnted.

 

Works in Progress

So many projects... so little time!

Ever feel that way?  The summer seems to be the worst to pile on commitments but I rather be doing something else. School kids refer to such angst as: Spring Fever. Well, I guess I have Summer Fever. I just have caught the bug last season and now the disease has taken hold of me!

My works in progress are numerous. Mostly, my work has to do with getting promotional materials ready for each season and my websites. When my mind is focused, I like to work on what feels the best: art, poetry, or writing. 

Art has won out these many weeks. I am making sure what I have written has a nice, professional package to go with it. All writers should take a few courses on how to create a professional image. It is vital to our field.

I hope soon I will get back into writing. I want to have some more fiction and poetry publications done. I am way behind my intended goals. 

That is okay. Sometimes we need a break from the chores of life to see what truly matters to us. So go ahead and take your shoes off. As long as you know the to-do list still waiting for you at the end. 

It's summer for goodness sakes! 

Why not enjoy a little time in the sun?

Have a great and wonderful day.

Corporate Philosophy has Tainted the Writing Community

Nominated for a 2017 Book Cover Award

I write here on Undawnted as well as manage, create, and direct over at Sonoran Dawn Studios, my design slash publishing house. Well, the book cover art I created for another author's book was nominated for a Book Event held by another promotional company.

The winning author gets one of three prizes. The book cover artist just gets the street cred. Hey, I could live with that. 

So I went on my Facebook writer's groups only to be turned away. No self promotion. No this rule. No that rule. How can anyone get anything done? 

I found one group that appeared to be okay with me asking some questions like: what do I do to help out my author? where do I begin? what is this event thing anyway?

I never got a response. Actually, I believe the desperate plea was deleted by the Admin. Nice.

So my thought was: has the corporate philosophy of me, Me, ME! gotten in the way of doing the right thing for another person? 

You do realize that this Western Category cover is not in competition with your vampire, romance, religious, or whatever book you have written, right? 

In today's world, piety and grace are left for preacher politicians to tell us how to live according to their interpretation of a dusty tome, but anyone else of that sect or another have forgotten their empathy.

Is this the legacy independent writers would like to leave about themselves and their craft? 

Has the corporate dog-eat-dog world been so pervasive in our culture that we as human beings cannot interact with each other except to step all over everyone else?

That is a sad state of affairs indeed. 

I choose not to be so callous or antipathic. I will do what I must, learn what I need, and help where I can. Although I am disappointed with the lack of basic human decency, the corporate dystopic behavior has bled over into our crafts, creativity, and camaraderie. 

What does that say about us? 

Have a great and wonderful day! 

...if it's in your bylaws!

Marketing: The Language of Symbols

I have been assisting others lately develop their marketing strategies from blogs, websites to book covers. In reality, what I am doing is helping develop an author's language of symbols. The letters and words I am typing now are in fact symbols.

Did you know the letter "a" is the symbol for an ox? 

Humans are hardwired to understand and translate the abstract language of symbols to convey information in a short amount of time. It is an efficient system, but also one that can be used for negative purposes. Go to any corporations website and translate their symbols, or marketing logos. What does that corporation tell you without saying a word? Then you will understand the language of silent hypocrisy.

As artists and writers, we use symbols to tell stories. When it comes to brand creation, most artists and writers cannot translate themselves into a marketing strategy. That is where I usually find myself: in between the creator and true genesis. 

So how do artists and writers step out of the shadows to show their readership/audience in symbols what they and their products are all about? 

Writing about Marketing today! 

The Undawnted logo is a great example. It has a Saturn motif. Saturn is the old bearded man that likes structure. Yet, if one takes a closer look, I have shadows in the eye of the storm. I like the paranormal so I threw that symbolism in there, but I also like science and science fiction. So the swirl is indicative of a galaxy spinning around a galactic center of beings and perhaps an Einstein Rosenbridge. The rings could be of a Saturn like planet, but in this case, the rings symbolize the expansion of creativity and consciousness across the universe. 

So look how much I said in that logo for Undawnted: Imagination is Fearless, after all. 

There are some unwritten rules about blogs and websites that many artists and authors shove to the side, so I will help translate those items:

• keep it simple
• only have 2 to 3 clicks to anywhere on your site
• declutter, you don't have to put everything in the menus when a link will do
• white space is golden
• be conservative

When I explain these items, I get blown off. If I go to sites of artists and authors with their Twitter and social media feeds on the side, that is too much input for me. As your audience, I am looking for YOU... not your feeds. I could care less. 

I want access to your writings or your art pieces. And, I want them as soon as I click onto your site. So take down all the noise and replace the noise with a link. 

A blog/website comes down to what you want me to know... in the first five seconds I am there. Are you trying sell me your Twitter feed or your book/art? 

Symbolism takes a hen peck approach. If your main focus is to sell me your works, then don't sell me the secondaries of Twitter and social media. Prioritize. 

If you write and sell writing services... get two different blogs or sites. You can interweave and link to create a support mechanism for both your inventions. I began with art and writing on this site. When I focused on what Undawnted was all about, I moved the art off and created: Sonoran Dawn Studios. Bingo! 

Now if someone needs design and publishing services, that person goes to www.SonoranDawn.com. 

If someone wants to read something unique from every topic under the sun, that person comes to Undawnted. 

Perfecto! 

Always keep it simple. You don't want your blog, website, or logo to look like a Jackson Pollock painting. You want to look like Da Vinci: with style, grace, and purpose. 

I hope I have explained this topic well. 

When you endeavor on a path of marketing, be sure to visit other artists and authors' websites. See what they have done to market themselves to a wider audience. Have a list of what you like and what you don't like. 

Then sketch out what you want then find someone like me to help you translate your world to the universe of readers and connoisseurs of your unique art form. 

If you can do it yourself, even better. I encourage artists and writers to learn other modalities so they are less inclined to pay for services they don't need or want. Services should be there to enhance what you already have, not leave you penniless. 

So do some basic research. Learn what a great marketing strategy is. Ask for help. Get only the services you require. 

Sounds easy, but takes a lot of work!

Have a great and wonderful day!!!  

Articles and Essays Summer Selections

I have gone through my old articles and essays on the VDP Gazette to see if any of my journalistic writings had relevance a few years later. 

Boy do they! 

From Freedom of Speech and Expression to Law, History, Religion, Women's Issues, Culture and Society, I have many great written pieces. So I am revising some. I am reformatting others. The selection is varied so there is a publication for everyone.

I am updating Undawted's Nonfiction section to include these releases and more that are in the works!

Visit Sonoran Dawn Studios' Authors Spotlight in Articles and Essays to download your PDF copy.

Have a great and wonderful day! 

Happy New Year's Eve

This day is a time for reflection and gratitude. 

2016 was a year of ups and downs. At first, the year seemed lost to the negative funk, but then turned around at the end of spring. 

Then the year ended with a mix of highs and lows.  

So today is about releasing the negative and accepting the positive into our lives. To do that, make a list of what you are thankful for.

I wanted to take this moment and thank all of my readers, customers, and fellow writers. Your support and encouragement has been warmly received. I only hope to aspire to greater heights to entertain and inform in this next coming year. 

Thank you. I appreciate every good vibration sent my way. I am grateful for the opportunity to write for you. 

Have a great and wonderful day!

A Writer’s Guide to Writing Well

Writing is not about putting pen to paper or fingers to keys; writing is about conveying a mood, thought, emotion, or message.

Since publishing houses have control of the writing process, writers have become complacent about their craft. These days are replete with buying services from editors, publishers, and even other writers. As seen by so many professionals in the field, writing has become an industry that feeds upon itself.

More precisely, writing has become an industry that feeds upon the labor and creativity of the individual writer. Editors, publishers, and others have a hand out to give a writer a helping hand. Writers are now the commodity and the customer, yet have no voice in the process of either.  

What are writers to do when faced with an industry of corporate rules and regulations? Is there any room for innovation? Or is creativity doomed in the formulaic sanitarium called publishing?  

Education and experience dispel a pay to play scheme any day of the week. There are a number of ways writers can become decisive participants in their chosen craft. Writers must shrug off the pressures of the corporate institutions and seek out their own voices.

When writers become self-reliant, opportunities arise while opportunists disappear. To avoid the pitfalls of vanity editors and publishers, writers must mature from a combination of factors. Education and experience are the best directions to cultivate these hidden and natural talents.

First education must be sought. Noncredit as well as credit courses are invaluable to a budding writer. When writers learn from others who have been or are currently in the industry, realizations of reality can erase the romanticism of making it big overnight. Writing takes work.

I remember taking a noncredit script writing course. This course was taught by a professional Hollywood script writer. She had written for popular and beloved sitcoms. What I learned from her experience created a love of dialogue that I use in my stories.

Credit courses in reading, academic writing, and creative writing are also worthwhile for writers. A good education is learning from the writers of different eras and understanding what makes their writing literature. Classes help writers learn how to quote and cite from sources. In addition, a writer can learn from the masters not only in their creative fiction but their critiques of fellow contemporaries. Creative writing is more than making a fictional world; it is also about seeing fiction through a discerning lense.

A final exam of Edgar Allan Poe became a reading, critique, and academic paper of him. Did you know he was a critical thinker and critic of other writers of his time? To understand a creative work means understanding the person behind the stories. I learned how Poe envisioned his craft and he in turn helped me envision the craft of writing. 

As I took more courses, my understanding of poetry had been increased from a small town limitation. After I read some poems from Marlowe, Shakespeare, and other masters, an indelible comprehension fostered the love of rhyme, prose, and the economy of words, which have molded my skills. My poetry writing improved as I have been published and received awards for my efforts.

Writing is more than words on a page. Books are great to learn the fundamentals of any subject, but learning through experience is a requirement beyond measure. Professional writer’s groups help writers to learn how to tell a story through the eyes of others. Others are who will be reading and reviewing the work that is produced so groups of amateur and professional writers to critique are important to a writer’s development.

As has been discussed, a writer needs educational opportunities to cultivate their craft:

-a critique group

-professional writing/poetry group

-credit courses

-noncredit courses

-exposure to professionals in the field

Writing is also about observing the world. When a writer sits in a coffee shop to watch how people interact, communicate, and use body language that act helps create vivid and three-dimensional vision of writing.  

Reading and writing go hand in hand, so a writer may want to read a book then see the movie version. In contrast, a writer will need to see a movie then read the novel. This mirroring effect helps create an articulation by understanding the alternate takes on storytelling. This comparison and contrast exhibits how prose and dialogue can be used as a help and hinder.  

Other opportunities to experience writing in the professions is by going to the theater. The theater provides a writer with mood, setting, dialogue, reaction, and audience participation. All reference points a writer needs to advance their craft and stories.

If a writer wants a well rounded educational experience then movies and stage plays are but the beginning of their journey. Introduce musical theater, opera, dance, orchestra, and variety shows in the mix of exposures as a writer needs those visual cues.

The world is a stage. The writer’s stage is their world. So the theater is the place to open up the world to the writer.

Experience lies in the beholder, so a writer should avail themselves to a multitude of complements:

-theater plays

-musicals

-operas

-dance (ballet, jazz, flamenco)

-musical performances (symphony, orchestra)

-variety shows

When a writer has absorbed different styles, information, and refinements, the writer becomes the conduit and not merely the object for stories, characters, setting, mood, and dialogue. A writer who has been exposed to opportunities will know their strengths and weaknesses. Then a writer has the ability to outline their goals and needed support mechanisms. A writer becomes an active participant in their career. That leaves a writer open to options without becoming the victim of them.

Writing has turned into a business for monetary gain with many avenues to pay for services that may or may not be advantageous to the writer. Writers with a sense of self will avoid the pitfalls of vanity editors and publishers. With education and experience, writers can evolve into a discerning creator who will only pay for services that elevate their skills.

Let a journey into the five senses begin a career in writing.

Author Versus Writer

Let the games begin!

An author is someone who originates or creates. A writer is someone who is an author or writes stock options. The dictionary is a great place to reflect and gain knowledge. 

There is a school of thought online that states: if you are not optioned by a press or publisher you are therefore not an author. As seen by the two definitions above, that is a fallacy. Writer and author are interchangeable. 

For a long time, I used the term "writer" to identify myself because I had not published a book. When I had published my own writings, an article arose stating that self published writers should not classify themselves as authors. That in doing so self published authors were just giving themselves trophies for showing up. 

I assure you: I did not just show up. I have been writing since junior high school. I have many third party writing credits to my name as well as awards for poetry. I have several degrees that took the effort of writing to attain as well as I have taken college creative writing courses.

Then I pondered on the dilemma a bit further. Was this a case of publisher snobbery? You can only win the title of author if you lick the boots of some garish halfwit with a license?  

Publishing houses have been in control of the written word for a very long time. Writers have had to subject themselves to agents and supply chain demands and criticism for centuries. Now with print on demand technology and the internet, agents and publishing houses have some stiff competition called the free market. 

The monopoly is finished. No more social engineering people to write certain stories or outcomes. People can write for the simple joy of writing. 

But there are so many bad writers out there, how do we weed them out? 

The market will weed out bad writers. For the rest, writers could take a leadership role in making sure good writers are lifted into the public eye more readily by buying and reviewing their books online, creating and publishing anthologies at their own standards, and assisting fellow writers in the writing process. 

I have opened up Sonoran Dawn Studios to publish my own works as well as create and release short story and poetry anthologies in the near future. 

Writers have an enormous opportunity to shape the future of writing, if they stop depicting writing as an authoritative caste system deployed to bully and control the act of writing to the point where writers and authors mean two distinct ideas, then writers can become their own gatekeepers as well as mentor younger or less seasoned writers. But writers will need to take a stand to guide the market.

There is room in the world for literary and pop culture writing. 

Writers, authors must make sure that their field is free of hacks that seek to reign in writing back to the cloistered control system that has yielded profit before people. 

Writing is a craft. It must be developed, exercised, and studied. Writing must not be limited by small minds. 

So next time you think of an author... think potential. 

Have a great and wonderful day!

Also published as Writer Versus Author on Authorsden.

A Return to Authorsden

With my illness and subsequent disability from it, I had to let go my association with Authorsden many years ago. My page remained up but I could go now further. 

I deleted the old and put up some new ones! I uploaded my three books: a novel, essay, and chapbook. 

I also published two new poems with more still to come.

Dawn L. Mullan on Authorsden.


I hope you stop by and leave a review!

Have a great and wonderful day~ 

It is All in the Pudding

Funny thing when online shopping sometimes what you want is out of stock.

My favorite organic pudding mix was one of those items that went missing. I finally found it somewhere else and ordered a slew! Twenty dollars was the line for free shipping and I crossed it. 

So after nine months of no type of pudding for desert, I finally will have some at the ready. 

The End. 

Don't you wish all stories were that easy to write and the characters so easy to appease? I know I will be pondering that as I write and edit my next releases. In between eating bites of my chocolate pudding! Recipe later! 

Have a great and wonderful day!  

Sights and Smells of Autumn Writing

Cooler weather has come to the Sonoran Desert! Autumn has arrived. 

With the crescent moon in the sky and Mars glowing after sunset, this new season has wowed and wooed the observer. The smell of autumn fills the air with fire pits, mesquite, and marshmallows. 

Writers can use their senses to show the reader. In the above paragraph, the reader is taken on a journey through their senses and engage with the season. Autumn is alive on crisp, cool evenings. 

Reading and writing should never be a passive event. 

Get your autumn into action! Write for the five senses. Engage with the reader. 

And, rejoice in the return to pumpkin pie, sweet potatoes, and spices! 

Have a great and wonderful day! 

Minders, Notebooks, and Journals

The artist in me had to create a stylish look for 2017. 

Under the Sonoran Dawn Studios' Essentials brand, I have launched date minders, notebooks and journals. Users can write, draw, and create to their heart's desire. 

So far the cover art and coordinates have yielded sets named: Perfect Harmony and Modern Dance. Other artwork is on the way to make this collection beyond the imagination. 

Ring the New Year early and let 2017 be the best year ever! 

All Beginnings Begin with Another Chapter's End

Autumn is right around the corner but summer still lingers on. 

The cooler mornings have arrived. The gentle breezes summon the desert's occupants to awaken from their heat comas and rise to meet the world.The desert is alive once more at the stroke of midnight.

Summer cannot hold out much longer. Mother Nature will have her way. Autumn is coming... 

Less than three weeks away from the autumnal solstice and Halloween already calls. What spooky nights lie ahead is anyone's guess. The night is ready for her close-up. 

How about you? Are you ready to end the summer and begin the third chapter of a four season year?

Have a great and wonderful day!

Finding the Right Fit

Everyone goes through it... this shirt is too big, my pants are too tight. These sneakers shrunk in the wash. 

Out with the old and in with the new. 

That is how I feel about my writing. What can I do better next time? What should I add? What should I delete? 

The next step is always about bettering yourself at a given task.  So I have been thinking about what I should accomplish in 2017.  Should I do more or less of one type of writing? Fiction? Nonfiction? Poetry? 

I am still deciding, but that is half the fun. I figured I would have my schedule out in December sometime. 

Even I cannot wait to see what is in store for the New Year. 

I sure do hope it fits! 

Have a great and wonderful day. 

 

Summertime Blues

With the heat outside during the day and the mosquitoes at night, I have cabin fever. 

I still go out and do my chores, but once the heat or bites take over, it's time to hide away in the comfort of the air conditioning. That is why I have been in nonstop research mode. I hope all this reading and note taking pays off with great new articles and essays for me to publish. 

Right now, 2017 looks better than our inaugural year! 

So that is how I am beating the summertime blues: keeping myself occupied by laying the foundations for a better future. 

Have a great and wonderful day! 

Our Publications to Date

If you haven't already, please stop by our releases on the Author Spotlight by Sonoran Dawn Studios. 

We have already released since May 31st: 

Booklets 
Recipes for nutritious dinners or to spruce up the house, our booklets contain everything you need to get back to the basics.

• Home Freshening Spray Recipe 
• Spanish Rice Recipe
• Homemade Mopping Solution Recipe 
• Eggless, Breadless Meatloaf Recipe 
• Homemade Laundry Soap Recipe 

Essays

From research to articles, our nonfiction essays are sure to entertain while they inform and educate.

• Poetic Dialogue: Grammar and the Arts 
• Manufactured Consent 
• Uncommon Knowledge: The US Flag
• The Great American Novel REVISITED
• Gaslighting and the Environmental Illness Patien

From the Books & More page. 

Have a great and wonderful day!

Copyright Overload

I was researching information for a daily minder I created for my personal use. 

Holy moly, people. Some bloggers and webmasters take their writings a little too seriously. I ran into locations that forbade me from even copying and pasting for my own personal use, not to mention websites that disabled right-click as well. 

Excuse you? 

I just did another search and found someone with the same information but was not threatening me over it. I only wanted astrological signs. That was from a Ph.D. too! 

People should realize what the copyright laws are and are not. Copyright laws should never limit information. Especially, no one has the right to limit common information. Common information is data in the public domain. 

What can people see, feel, touch, and taste? The stars, planets, moon, sun are public. Constellations are public. Colors and their meanings are public, Flowers, trees, and other foliage are public. Herbs, spices, fruits, vegetables, meats are public, The different animals are public. Anything paid for with tax money like government studies, photos are public. 

When I write an essay, I use the educational and informational aspects of copyright to cite each of my sources. What I have been running into are people who do not allow others to use their work in a legal and educational manner. 

To me that is affront to the nature of knowledge. If you do not want the public to readily access your intellectual property like poetry, fiction stories, or researched essays, then put those works into books, booklets, and add an ISBN and copyright license to your pieces. It is that simple. 

When people threaten others to read but not touch their websites and blogs, I leave and never return.  That is carrying copyright to a dangerous and albeit ineffectual level. You have knowledge? Then share it! 

But if you are sharing public knowledge without any intellectual creativity that would make that information your own property and telling people its not theirs to take.. well, I have news for you: it's not yours to begin with either! 

If you cannot share like good girls and boys, then why do you have a website or blog? Intellectual property cannot be claimed on public knowledge or information. Creativity can be.

For others who believe everything on a website or blog is free for the taking, not so fast. Everything created and written is under copyright protection. If you want to use something, ask permission first if you are not going to cite the information under MLA or APA styles. As well, research public domain for copyright and royalty free images, photos, and information. 

As for common knowledge, I guess humanity needs to have a talk about what is considered fair use and what is considered intellectual property since some people think whatever is published on the internet is theirs for the taking as well as the converse where some people feel that everything they publish online is so sacred that no one is allowed to use it. 

We need to restore a common sense balance in order to advance human creative and intellectual potential.

Thank you!

Have a great and wonderful day.