Moira Keith

Okay, I have never plotted one of my stories. I have said it once and will say it a thousand times over… I am a fly by the seat of my pants kind of girl when it comes to writing. But it doesn’t always work to my benefit. So today I am trying to plot a story with a little help from my friends. Wanna know what that has landed me…

Zombies.

Oh yeah… interesting story in the making. Some conflicting ideas of course on where it should go, but ultimately I am the writer. I have the power…or my characters do. So with the ideas I am bouncing around, I decided to actually try and plot this story so that I can hopefully avoid the train wreck that inevitably happens on every story I have worked on thus far…plot holes and rewrites a plenty. Not sure if it will work to my benefit. I spent a lot of money on Dramatica and have yet to figure out that program even though it has tons of cool features. Also have Liquid Story Binder, it too I have yet to figure out all the details too.

For now, I am doing things the old fashioned way. Rough drafting scenes on paper. If I start drafting the story on the computer, eventually it will give way to writing by the seat of my pants, which one could argue has and has not worked for me in the past. Maybe approaching this story with a different writing process, might be just what I need to get me back in the swing of things. We’ll see.

On a side note… thanks Zombie Boy, I needed the brainstorming sessions.

Sláinte!

I would be freaking dangerous. Maybe genius level evil genius. Why are you shaking your head? I could so pull off EVIL on a diabolical level. No? Really? You don’t think so huh?

Okay, you’re right. Maybe not because honestly, I am way too nice for that. Truth though? I could be dangerous on a less sinister level. I mean imagine if I could actually remember when I had interviews scheduled to post, blogged more regularly, wrote when I had a free moment instead of hanging out on Facebook… see where I am going with this?

So getting to the point now! I have an interview up over at Amanda Young’s blog. Go check it out. Comment if you feel the need, but mostly just enjoy the interview!

Sláinte!

People find my blog.

I am horrible about updating my blog, but it has not escaped my notice, that there are some very interesting search terms that lead people here. Would you like to see? Of course you would!

Nice looking Irish men, the bad seed, male Scottish kilt and accessories, kilt, a man thousands have seen in their dream, man in kilt, irish kilts history, man kilt, moira comfort keith (don’t ask me where the comfort came from).

Some of this doesn’t surprise me. Anyways… I am trying to get myself back on schedule here. Been sick which has totally sucked, baseball playoffs have also been a huge draw for me, and believe it or not, I have been working on my story. The title needs to be rethought and elements smoothed out, but it is coming along nicely. I had to let the review site go, so those of you who followed the reviews from the girls over there… well it was a decision that came unexpectedly and with little other choice, though I think it is for the best.

Well this is my favorite time of year. Maybe this will be the time for me to move forward and actually see my second book come to fruition. Will update again soon.

Yes, this is what I am asking of you. There is a fabulous contest put on by Stella Cameron every year called the Scarlett Boa. This year, the contest is for the best paranormal opening scene. My darling mother told me about this contest and after lots of discussion with some of my very PUSHY friends, I entered. So what I need from you is simple- go read the entries and vote for your favorite (Scene 15). No worries if you don’t vote for me. I think it is every writer for him or her self. (Although, you know what? If you don’t vote for me, the next time you see me, I may be huddled in the corner under the counter, rocking back and forth muttering nonsense about how I was one vote away or some such shit. So if you can live with that guilt, then go ahead and pass right over Scene 15.)

Really, I want you to read the entries and vote for your favorites. There are some REALLY good ones. I am up against some tough competition, including some of my fellow Samhain authors. First round voting closes on the 15th so hurry! Go forth and vote! It is easy to do. Simply click on the photo below to be taken to the page with all the fabulous entries. Read them. Take notes. Then when you are ready to place your vote, scroll down to where it says Important Dates. Click on first round voting (should be highlighted white) and fill out the entry form. Easy as pie! Happy reading and good luck to all my fellow authors!

My kids LOOOOOVE football. They watch the games with their papa and grandma.They cheer when they cheer, scream when they scream, and consistently ask if their team is winning. Much to their grandparents disappointment though, the Wonder Twins have picked their own teams. They like the Cowboys and the Packers.

What I find more enjoyable than hearing them when a game is on, is their excitement when they catch a football. We went to a BBQ yesterday and my friends brother was throwing the ball to the boys. At first they couldn’t catch anything, but in a few minutes they were catching the football like pros. Their passing isn’t too

bad either, considering the ball is a little too big for their small hands. However, I quickly discovered that if they saw mom watching them, their concentration was shot. They were told to keep practicing and maybe they would be the next Manning brothers. That if they mad lots of money then mom wouldn’t get mad at them anymore. (I am sure that Mrs. Manning still gets upset with Eli and Peyton from time to time although her reasons may have changed a bit.)

Who knows. Do I have the next Manning brothers on my hands? Maybe. Maybe not. I am a firm believer in playing something purely for the love of it.

So with that in mind, may the Wonder Twins continue to enjoy both watching and playing football. And should they decide to play on a team throughout their childhood or longer… mom will be there trying not to cause a distraction and cheering them on.

Takes a lot of time. I know some people think the writing life is easy. It’s not. Each author is different in their approach to writing. Some plot, some fly by the seat of their pants, some do a combination of both, and some do it completely ass backwards. I would love to say that I just fly by the seat of my pants and everything magically falls into place, but that would be a lie. (And I don’t know about you, but my mama always told me not to tell a lie.)

The truth is, I probably fall into the ass backwards category. Now as cute as my ass may be, it does me no good when it comes to plotting or writing my story. I have worked and reworked my plot into, what I hope, is finally a solid story line. It took a while. Scenes were plentiful but they were lacking something. The title no longer fits. My characters weren’t giving me anything. Then I started questioning myself about one little issue. That turned into the ‘What If’ game. (Have I told you how much I hate the ‘What If’ game? Well on most occasions, I do.) This time, the ‘What If’s’ actually helped.

I am now on my way to tying together the two halves of my characters blood line, which until now was a major plot hole and now I have a lot of confidence that I am on the right track. Now to just work in the little changes here and there and I can get back on track.

In case you haven’t noticed, authors tend to be a very critical bunch, especially in regards to their own work. It takes a lot to make us happy and I would venture to say it is fairly common that we re-work a story to death. Thankfully, with the support of crit partners and beta readers, the madness ends and we sub a story. Otherwise that ten year novel, might turn into the fifty year novel. Oh btw, this picture, is what my desk looks like on any given day. (And no the manuscript in the picture is my distraction when I get to frustrated with the one I am working on.) Slàinte!

Ok, so I wasn’t really the bad seed. Neither my mother nor my father ever called me that. I was just the difficult, determined, challenging, stubborn, and most importantly …. hard headed child. Yes, it came as no surprise to me. But to actually hear those words spoken. Out loud. In front of others.

Granted, my actions throughout my childhood pretty much speaks for itself.

The determination to have my way and defy my mother while I was still young enough to be in a walker just so I could touch a plant.

The refusal to let a single tear slip from my eyes when a slapping war ensued over an ashtray. (Again, I was at a young age.)

Move to my teenage years and my poor parents were dealing with sneaking out, breaking curfews, ditching school, falling grades, calls from the police, and dropping out of high school. Still, and this is by no means an endorsement for bad behavior, but I didn’t turn out so bad. It took many years, yet I know that the person I am today is a direct result of my parents guidance.

Sometimes, I guess being a bad seed isn’t so bad, if you have the right guidance with a dash of carefully administered love, you just might be like the ugly duckling and manage to transform into something those you love can be proud of. Hope I have managed to do that.

Now that I am done sharing my very round about thanks to my parents, the update is as follows-

1. I hereby forbid myself to work on any other story (outside of plotting) other than my paranormal WIP ~ Chosen. – Again, doing well I think. I have thought about my Young Adult Book, but no writing…but then again there has been little writing at all since the last update.

2. All current 117 pages of said story have been printed out. I realize this is working ass backwards, but I will use that to help fill in my plot structure and story arc. While doing so, I will not open up the original document and all notations will be made in either a notebook or in the side margins of the printed version. – Ok, hard to do bad on this when I haven’t opened the document or worked on the story at all.

3. The nights when the kids are with their dad…. I will limit my online time (i.e. the devil Facebook) outside of a brief check in or status update. The kid-free time will be utilized for writing and research. - This didn’t really happen due to the kids not being able to go to their dad’s in the last two weeks.

4. I will gag my internal editor as much as possible during this process so that I may actually have a finished draft before all is said and done. – This would have worked better if I hadn’t decided to change the setting for my story, which I did during the course of the last few days.

5. Once a week, I will blog about my progress. – Has been more than a week, but I did it, so it is all good.

Hey everyone! I just wanted to drop a quick line to let you all know that I am guest blogging over at Coffee Time Romance today. I will be blogging about one of the things that inspire me as well as talking about Buckling Down. So please stop on over and show a little love, it would be most appreciated. While your there, visit their contest page and enter for your chance to win a copy of Buckling Down! In the mean time, I know I owe you all an update. Hang in there and I will get one to you shortly (like the next day or so.) Now off with you…Coffee Time Romance….go…now.

That’s right! If you hop on over to Coffee Time Romance and visit their contest page… scroll down until you come across my oh so fabulous cover and enter to win. (Of course I am expecting that you all rushed to purchase your copy already, but just in case…)

While you are there… check out my good friend, Teresa D”Amario, on the contest page for a chance to win a little paranormal love.

That’s all for now folks, because we are keeping it short and sweet today.

It’s been 10 days since I posted my PLAN. How did I do? Well let’s take a peek shall we?

1. I hereby forbid myself to work on any other story (outside of plotting) other than my paranormal WIP ~ Chosen. – So far so good, I have thought about my Young Adult Book, but no writing.

2. All current 117 pages of said story have been printed out. I realize this is working ass backwards, but I will use that to help fill in my plot structure and story arc. While doing so, I will not open up the original document and all notations will be made in either a notebook or in the side margins of the printed version. – Ok, admittedly, this one I did not do so well on. I opened the document and began to move forward. I found it difficult to plot the story after the fact.

3. The nights when the kids are with their dad…. I will limit my online time (i.e. the devil Facebook) outside of a brief check in or status update. The kid-free time will be utilized for writing and research. - Did okay with this. Kids have been at their dads for three nights out of the last 10, but one night was spent on my birthday.

4. I will gag my internal editor as much as possible during this process so that I may actually have a finished draft before all is said and done. – She has been gagged thanks to slave driver Lauren who insisted that I email her new material or else…

5. Once a week, I will blog about my progress. – Though a few days late… we will call this done.

We will do this all over again next week! Whoot. Maybe I should make Friday my update day.