Tag Archives: Writing

Watch Out!

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rosesAs we all know, I can be easily distracted. Daydreaming is perpetually something I do and is who I am. Head in the clouds…

Have no fear though, because I now have a plan of attack! Who would have guessed it? :) Actually, the  plan was contrived only moments ago and in an attempt to make myself accountable, I am laying it out here. Oh don’t you worry your pretty little heads, I have several slave drivers.. ahem, I mean cheerleaders… who will also hold me accountable. Sometimes it helps. Especially when you come from a traditional work background. I can hear you saying, “So lay it on me already. What is the freaking plan?!”

Here it is:

1. I hereby forbid myself to work on any other story (outside of plotting) other than my paranormal WIP ~ Chosen.

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.

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.

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.

5. Once a week, I will blog about my progress.

Timeline for this from start to finish, completed first draft and all (including a possible crit and beta read), is Christmas. Seriously wishful thinking there, but wishes and dreams is how I got a story pubbed in the first place. My focus train has been de-railed for some time now and I am desperately struggling to get back on track. Splitting my attention between multiple stories, the lack of plotting, working a full time job, focusing on my children (which is not negotiable nor should it be) and other little blips that come along in life, have all contributed to this state of affairs. Good news is, that there is no such thing as too late to change. Check back with me and see how I do. Everyone could use a few extra cheerleaders in their section and I am no exception to the rule. ;)

Have You Seen My Muse?

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redshoes

With multiple stories in the works, it is always difficult to decide which one to focus on. I’ve done everything from story hop to forcing myself to concentrating on one project regardless of whether or not I was ‘feeling’ it. The latter is not my recommended way of doing things, but then again neither is the former. Hopping from story to story tends to lend itself well towards leaving a writer (or at least this writer) with the feeling that they never finish anything. On the other hand, if you force yourself to write a story that you are not feeling at the moment, it will show in the end result because it will undoubtedly be lacking the writers passion and excitement…at least on that first draft.

So, I TRY to focus on no more than two stories at any given time. My intentions usually fall short because my muse is a finicky little wench who usually decides that we should work on a project that I had previously relegated into the idea folder. See how she is? Can you blame a girl for hogging the ice cream after such an atrocity?

Anyhow, now I find myself without my muse. Maybe I need to find a new one? Or possibly a spare? A male perhaps. One with dark hair and a nice accent since that always seems to do the trick for me. Maybe he could help me tame my more fickle female muse, though I will not hold my breath on that one. She tends to be far too much like me, which only makes me both understand and loather her all at the same time. Of course if she should return, I will welcome her back with open arms. I can be a heartless and cruel bitch at times, but a good muse is hard to find. So please, if you see her, let her know that I am willing to bend…. a little.

Life Happens~

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Wow! this has been a really huge roller coaster ride for me lately. Book released, life issues happened, my creative well ran a little dry… you know the norm. Only at this point in time, it seems to be more overwhelming than usual. Its alright though. Slowly, the tides are turning, I am getting back into ‘Chosen’ and making a bit of progress.

So the ideas are flowing for other stories as well. If I thought I could manage popping back into the young adult book without my BFF totally having a coronary… I would do that at the moment. But alas, reacquainting myself with the characters of Chosen has been an adventure.

Houston, We Have Cover Art~

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Yes! It feels real now. Well actually in felt real when I got my first round of edits and I looked at what the lovely Heidi sent and thought holy shit! (Okay, it wasn’t quite so dramatic. Those of you who know otherwise keep your mouths shut please I have a rep to protect. ;) ) 

About a week ago, I woke up to a wonderful email that included… you got it! Cover art! Now, edits and all that surely send you the wake up call that yes you signed a contract and your story will go to publication, but seeing that first cover with your name on it? Well let’s just say it’s like a MasterCard commercial…


Hours of  time and imagination turned into completed manuscript – $Blood

Submitting your manuscript and waiting – $Sweat

Signing the contract and recieving your first round of edits, which leaves you feeling a bit overwhelmed – $Tears

Seeing your blurb and first cover attached to your name – $Priceless 

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It doesn’t get much better than that. When you see all that wonderful art thrown together for your manuscript, well it seals the deal and has you ready to go through the whole process all over again. Which is exactly what I am going to do! So for all of you loverly people who have supported me on this endeavor and listened as I grumbled the lyrics of “I suck but I shall overcome.” Thanks. We Shall begin the process all over again and again and – well you get the picture. 

Sláinte!

What to Do, What to Do~

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I mean if you are a writer of course. I sent off my first round of edits today, pondering what would I work on next. The paranormal? Plot issues abound there I am afraid, but whether they are fabricated or true is yet to be seen. I am overly critical of my work in the paranormal genre. I read a lot of it, love the genre, and therefore have high expectations. Maybe I am overly critical because I compare myself to the authors I admire. Whatever the reason, I have put that story to the side. 

My mother asked me about a story I hadn’t thought about in some time. A nice romantic tale I have high hopes for. Scenes have fallen into place in my mind and although they aren’t really in any particular order, I can see the story taking shape. It just might be what I focus on next. (Afterall, my mothers opinion has hardly failed me yet.)

Ideas for stories laden with romantic entanglements are of no short supply over here. However, they ping pong (something I do quite frequently-just ask Heidi) from contemporary to paranormal. This got me thinking.

I’ve heard there are benefits to staying with a particular genre once you are published. As a writer, each story benefits from the things learned while working magic on the previous woven tale. Sticking with a particular genre also allows you to build a following of readers. But the ability to write cross genre has its appeal as well. If you can do it effectively, it allows you as an author to write whatever story comes your way. However many questions arise from these thought processes. 

1. If you jump genres do you as an author benefit? What about your readers? 

2. Is there a time in a writer’s career that is more conducive to genre hopping?

3. As a reader, how do you perceive a writer who jumps around? (Jump around… Jump around… Jump up jump up and get down… jump jump jump…. oh sorry)

4. In a genre like romance, there are many sub-genres. Where do you draw the line? Would Paranormal Romance and Contemporary Romance count as two separate genres or just a smaller part of the Romance genre? 

Ok, really my mind could go on forever with this line of thinking and I beg your forgiveness and understanding. I am firing on few cylinders right now, as my lack of sleep over the last two weeks is catching up to me. (Thank god I lurve my Editor ;) Could you imagine if she were a real slave driver? This post would make even less sense than it does now.) Now that the rambling has set in, or rather, has surpassed what I consider acceptable, I am off to bed. Sound off if you please! 

P.S. Pop on over to The Girls on Books and check out Penelope Holt, our Author of the month. Betty has dished with the lovely Ms Holt and is spilling the beans.

Off to a Poor Start~

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So I mentioned in my last post how I signed on to do this 28 posts in 28 days? Hehe… off to a real good start since this is day two and my first post. In all fairness to myself though, I was sans internet for the majority of the day yesterday while at my sister’s house and up to my elbows in edits. 

Alas, I vow to move forward. This is the nature of writing and life in general. Without further adieu, I give you my Monday Shakespeare Moment. I have a love affair with some of his works. Not acquainted with all of them, but some of my favorites are Romeo and Juliet, Midsummer’s Night Dream, and the Sonnets. Right now, I am feeling a sonnet, so without further adieu, I give you my Monday Shakespeare Moment. Enjoy!

Sonnet 1

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From fairest creatures we desire increase,That thereby beauty’s rose might never die,
But as the riper should by time decease,His tender heir might bear his memory:
But thou contracted to thine own bright eyes,
Feed’st thy light’s flame with self-substantial fuel,
Making a famine where abundance lies,Thy self thy foe, to thy sweet self too cruel:
Thou that art now the world’s fresh ornament,
And only herald to the gaudy spring,
Within thine own bud buriest thy content,
And, tender churl, mak’st waste in niggarding:Pity the world, or else this glutton be,
To eat the world’s due, by the grave and thee.

Shakespeare, 1609

Head in the Clouds~

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I don’t know about you, but I have often been accused of this. In a world where unfortunately, many people have lost touch with their inner child, is it really a bad thing to have one’s head in the clouds? Thank God, I never have to wonder where my inner child is. Why? Well I owe complete gratitude to my mom and dad. They ensure I remain in touch with that little girl who always dreamed of magic, unicorns, faeries, flying brooms, and other ‘impossibilities’. To this day, I still believe in such things. The world would be a pretty boring place if we all stopped believing.

Having my head in the clouds just provides me with a whole magical garden full of whatif flowers, just waiting for those like me, to help them bloom. The ‘what-ifs’ are food for dreamers and writers alike. Each whatif flower can give bloom  to more, simply through our belief. So what exists in your garden in the clouds? Are your whatifs made of magic and fantasy? Heartache and woe? Retribution? Mystery? Or perhaps they are made up of something else entirely.

Now with all of the talk of gardens in the clouds and what not, I must give my allegiance to the whatif flower which inspired this post… Margay Leah Justice

Thanks for inspiring me mom, dad, and of course …Margay! Oh and don’t forget to share!

Knowing Them

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On my recent tousle with the muse (namely-my desperate attempts to bribe my way back into her good graces) I realized that somewhere along the way, I lost touch with who my characters were. I’ve penned over one hundred glorious pages only to find myself wondering what the heroines inner conflict was, or why the hero doesn’t come off as ‘alpha’ to the heroine as he does to everyone else. So I sat, contemplated, read, questioned, re-read, and then it happened. The epiphany came and slapped me upside the head. Hard! My characters lacked consistency in their behaviour… or possibly their mannerisms…or something. I know it’s there, just under the surface and yet I can’t seem to grasp hold of it. 

 

This happens to me more than I care to admit. So many articles, books, and topics out there cover this very thing, but what works? Only you the great and powerful author hiding behind the curtain can reveal that. Why you ask? Because as with many things in writing and life it self, more than likely it is different for ever author, character, or story. Just getting the basics down-height, weight, age, hair color, eye color, you get the picture- isn’t always enough.

 

In the past I’ve toyed with writing character interviews. Always starting at the moment I first spot them walking into our ‘arranged’ meeting space. Something along the lines of this:

 

Sasha rushes into the French sidewalk café that was located at the famed Paris hotel in the heart of the city. She spots me waving her over, says a few things to the maître d’, smiles, and heads my direction. Heads turn to watch her as she weaves her way through the tables and stops next to my table.

 

“I am so sorry I am late.” She says as she slides her feet out the flip flops, and sits tucking one leg underneath and drawing the knee of her other leg up in front of her. The waiter quickly brings over a tomato and mozzarella salad with a glass of iced tea. Sasha thanks the waiter by name and returns her attention to me, politely ignoring the stares from the passersby on the strip and our fellow café patrons. “I’m ready whenever you are.”

 

“Alright then Sasha, let’s get the show on the road.  Who was your first boyfriend and what did you like most about them?”

“Boy you jump right into the nitty gritty of it all don’t you?” she says with a laugh, but I don’t fail to notice the gleam in her eye. There is a story there she is dying to get out. 

 

Other times, it is as simple as rough sketching each characters conflicts, goals, and motivation. The point is, when you are developing your characters, you need to truly know your characters, but it shouldn’t be boring. Have fun with it. Or at least that is my intention. I wonder if this is the golden key which will elicit more cooperation from the ever growing characters cramming their way into my head. 

So give it up, share, divulge the info, because you know what? I am not as smart as I pretend to be.

Going With Your Gut

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Now, I am well aware that a gut is not attractive in the least, however I think in this instance we can make an exception. Bare with me. I’ve hit a wall with my current manuscript. After discussing the manuscript over with some friends, getting a few critiques back, and doing a bit of brainstorming…I got back to work. The wall came again, but from left field. The problem as I see it, is due to over-thinking and complicating my plot and characters. Don’t get me wrong, I love the story, which why it has been such a labor of love. However, my gut kept telling me something was off. 

Today, I sat working on some suggested edits, and began asking myself the following: Is it possible to have an entirely overcomplicated plot or character background? Is it possible to have the details overshadow the heart of the story? In this particular instance, it’s entirely possible. I longed to make my heroine strong and different, while keeping her strong but flawed, with all the heart wrenching history that would make one love her all the more for her struggles and accomplishments. Not a bad thought process, yet maybe I did this too well. I feel as though I am chasing my tail while trying to connect all the dots, keep the story running smoothly, and eliminating all holes those dreaded plot monkeys managed to wheedle into my masterpiece.

I think I may have narrowed it down. My gut was screaming at me and I was refusing to listen. A friend simply said…maybe you should listen to your gut. Well that should be easy right? So now the only question is, will the story be stronger?Will the walls come down simply by eliminating a few bricks? We shall see. At this point, I am open to trying new things. I’ll keep you posted.

Flying Plot Monkeys~

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flymonk

Oh, you didn’t know they had wings? To be honest, neither did I, but it is the only explanation I could come up with. Seriously, they aren’t there one minute, turn your back and they swoop in with uncanny swiftness. Did I mention their tendancy to eliminate entire sentences from a working masterpiece? I bet if you look through a book or your own manuscript and have a WTF moment? Flying plot monkeys….I’m just sayin’. 

Oh it’s not all bad news, I promise. Fact of the matter is, with a few pairs of helpful and ever watchful eyes, a brainstorm session or two, and those wings will be clipped and you can gently place the monkey in a cage. (Just make sure you hide the key. It’s amazing the feats they can accomplish) ;)  

Happy writing and enjoy the rest of the week!