Open Book with Envy Red & Q: Michelle Pebbles Caldwell, Photographer P1

Author's Info presents Open Book with Envy Red & Q. This episode we feature Mizz Baltimore Michelle "Pebbles" Caldwell, Photographer. Mizz Pebbles or just Michelle commonly known, is a fan photographer who is coming up on the entertainment scene. Yes, she started as a fan photographer but under the study and guidance of Hip-Hop pioneering legend-The Chief Rocka Busy Bee, this charismatic personality is slowly becoming the "Baltimore" celebrity photographer at parties and concerts. Each one of her photos has a personal story behind them as she keeps it 100 with me. Currently she's working on publishing her memoirs titled "Memories of Pain" and she's a writer on imusiccentral.com. Here's a short list of her photo subjects Jamie Foxx, Trey Songs, Anthony Hamilton, Musiq Soulchild, Snoop Dogg, Estelle, Erykah Badu, Common, Redman, Method Man, Busy Bee, Red Grant, Jay-Z, Beyonce, Miguel, Amazin', J Holiday, Rakim, K-Swft and many more. Michelle is also managing her son's music group Amazin'. The music video for their new single "Keep Up" is in preproduction as I write and will be produced by Q. At the same time Michelle has Black Diamond Entertainment and Swagga Magazine for new and aspiring local artists. Michelle has been featured for her work with The Chief Rocka Busy Bee in the LA Times this month as well. The second part of this interview will be available soon. K-Swift Baltimore Club Mix Tribute composed by Q aka DJ KaNeckScratch Patterns performed by DJ Ant Love of the Mo' Nique Show.

  5449 Hits

Proof reading

I remember when I first started writing and I decided to take the plunge and expose myself on the internet. I would post articles and essays I had written on several different websites. My first love at that time was politics, so naturally, I decided to write about that topic,—it was my only area of expertise. Readers scorned my politics--as anyone would expect (at least those who disagreed); however, the worst tongue lashings I received were for my grammar, spelling, and general syntax. The biggest reason for this was that I never proof read anything before I pushed the “publish” button. Yes, there I was, an unfound literary master, one who was so good that my work should be published pure, as it was first written—blah, blah, blah—(sighing loudly) the ego of a writer can be quit ugly in its raw form. I have to give myself some credit for being so brave. My wife Lori would cringe as she sat and listened to some of the comments readers wrote about my work. One guy told me that I was an affront to the Liberal Arts (laughing). Lori, my dear wife, began to meekly suggest that allow her to read my work for a second opinion, you know (she said) a second pair of eyes. I begrudgingly agreed; however, this was also an interesting display of ego. She would point out areas that needed editing only to hear me growl at here like a dog that guards his bone. Over time, I was verbally beat into submission by readers who saw themselves as the guardians of syntax. Then, it happened, I mustered enough courage to take an honest look at my readers, their comments, and for that matter, my overall traffic. It told the real “tale of the tape.” I sucked. No one was reading my work—not really. I came to the horrid reality that I needed to work on my skills as a writer, that I wasn`t the natural born, unfound, literary master that I thought I was. I was just another garden variety writer who needed to study the craft and practice more. And more importantly I needed to PROOF READ!One of the top ten books that I ever read about the craft of writing (and there are so many) was a book called “Write good or die” by Scott Nicholson. This book is a compilation of shared advice and experience from published authors. It’s free for download and well worth a read. This book revealed to me some harsh truths about my craft from real writers who knew what it was like and what it takes to make it. One author in particular spoke to the issue of proof reading. He said that he would proof read no less than five times. Each time working to make his sentences more concise, looking for awkward sentences and poor grammar, and making sure the final product was truly his best. As indie authors and freelance writers, we are often times our own editors. We don`t have the luxury of an editor that we pay, like perhaps Steven King or some other best-selling author. We will make mistakes and typos; however, we must try our best to drop the ego and realize our first writing is not as good as the third or fourth. God bless--WP

  5802 Hits

First Drafts

I was talking to a dear friend of mine tonight who is tackling the task of writing her first novel. She is an avid reader and she is also very artistic in many other ways but has never written anything. The book she is writing is a YA fiction and I gotta say that I think she has a best seller on her hands. Sshhh--don`t tell anyone I said that; I`m the only friend of hers who has read the partial manuscript. 

We walk together in the evening oftentimes and as we walked she said to me, "I`m stuck, I can`t quite get my plot going in this next chapter." Now, I know my friend very well and she is, as am I, a perfectionist to the 'T' and won`t cut herself a break. I asked her if it was because it wasn`t perfect enough. As we walked and I asked her that question, she stopped...put her hands on her hips--you know,like she was fixin to cuss me out--and then smiled and began walking again. She knew I had a point. My point was this: You have to re-write to get to the creative perfection you want. 

  4133 Hits
Cron Job Starts