April 29, 2008 at 12:30 pm (Romance, Writing)
Tags: Romance, routine, work in progress, Writing
I don’t know about Alice, but I know I must have tumbled down a rabbit hole at some point in the last two weeks. Nothing has been as it should be, but maybe that’s a good thing.
Getting out of your routine is guaranteed to shake you up a bit, and sometimes that’s just what a body needs. I’m still writing, or rather re-writing the opening chapters of my latest work in progress, and the story is flowing much better now. I like this new opening. I love my characters, even though I never know where they are going to take me, or each other.
But after all, writing is about the journey, the steps between two characters that push them apart while ultimately bringing them together. And I especially love those moments when a character does something so unexpected that it makes my heart flutter.
Just like tumbling down a rabbit hole.
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April 21, 2008 at 12:33 pm (Romance, Writing)
Tags: agents, conferences, editors, Romance, stories, Writing
Over the weekend, I completed the review of my ‘galleys’ for IN HIS BED, due out in September. The pages look great and you definitely can’t beat the cover art! Yum!!!
I also finished some critiquing I was behind on and did a bit of thinking on my current story. Today not much will get done, too many errands I didn’t run over the weekend, and Mondays are busy anyway. But I plan to review my story and play out some ideas in my head, see where they take me…that’s always a fun way to get my head back into a story.
I’ve also been thinking about attending another conference. Sadly RWA’s national conference does not work for me this year, the dates interfere with other things. But I do have my eye out for a local or regional conference that will work.
Conferences are a great way to meet agents and editors, fellow writers (writing is a predominately solitary occupation after all) and keep up with trends in the marketplace. And with a new book out, a nice way to promote. But choose your conferences carefully. Be certain that even if you don’t sell that manuscript you’re pitching, or land the agent you want, you are attending a conference that has workshops that interest you.
The most important thing you can do as a result of attending a writer’s conference, is further your skills as a writer. And sometimes that means more than just the act of writing itself. If you never learn new techniques, or where your weaknesses are, you’ll never improve.
So read the fine print, go for the workshops, and let the rest be icing on the cake.
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April 17, 2008 at 12:22 pm (Romance, Writing)
Tags: Romance, story, time management, Writing
Lazy? Sorta feels like that. But this has been a busy week, and it is not over yet. Spring thought about coming out to play over the last weekend, but ran away again, leaving winter.
I’m continuing to write on my latest work in progress, but this is not a story where small bites of writing time work well. Hence, no blogging this week. I’ve been using a new approach to integrate my work/writing life with all the the general life stuff that needs done as of late. So far, it’s working-not like gangbusters mind, but it’s working.
Basically, I’m writing for an hour, taking off a half hour, write for an hour, take off for a half hour. Not everything is getting accomplished in a day, but things get done on every front this way. And I use that half hour ‘down time’ to let the scene play out in my head to see what will or won’t work.
This has been a very different method for me, but not a bad method. And at least I’m working in the writing time (I get cranky when I can’t write). And with other things getting accomplished in the day…I don’t feel so stressed.
If you’re having trouble carving out a slice of time to write, you might give this method a try. Adjust the amount of time you write with the amount of time you do something else to what works for your day and see how you do.
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April 11, 2008 at 4:14 am (Romance, Writing)
Tags: Romance, story openings, Writing
Once in a while, my enthusiasm for a story takes a back seat to getting the story right. One of my favorite parts in the process of writing is editing, but sometimes, you just have to get it right from the get go.
That is where I am with my current work in progress. So while I’ll normally write anywhere from 6-8 pages on an average day (more on a good day), with this story I’m pleased with 2 or 3. The setting and scene, the attraction between the main characters, are too critical for this story.
And in this case, for this particular story, I’d rather not write two dozen pages just to cut them down the line, or spend a solid week rewriting them. I’ve dumped pages before, rewritten them, and just plain started over. But not this time.
This story has to be right from the start.
The characters are in my head, in my heart, and I know what they want. But this hero is looking for more than redemption…he needs to get it right, too.
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April 9, 2008 at 12:37 pm (Romance, Writing)
Tags: character traits, Romance, stories, themes, Writing
Ever notice a theme to your stories? You know, that pesky part that essentially makes all your characters core issues the same? Yeah, that theme.
It often doesn’t matter how much time you spend with a book on personality traits. As writers, we often write the same ‘type’ of characters over and over, especially if you write genre fiction. For me, it doesn’t matter if I’m writing a kilted Highlander, an axe-weilding Viking, or a Werewolf (yeah, I write those too), they all have the same core issue – redemption. My heroines on the other hand, tend toward being stronger than they realize.
So what’s the difference from one story to the next? Well, aside from setting and culture. It’s the way the story is told. Sometimes it is the hero’s story, sometimes the heroine’s. It’s the tone of the story, the seriousness of the issue and most importantly, how the issue affects the main characters. That is what makes your story different each time.
If you think about it, two people don’t usually react to a situation the same way. Everyone comes to a hitch in the road from their own perspective and past experiences. And it’s those experiences that shape how they react to the future.
So while you’ll often hear that you shouldn’t put backstory into you writing, you actually need to. Not a huge dump of every character’s childhood, but just those one or two important bits and pieces that affect why the character feels and reacts the way he/she does. Those are the essential elements that allow your reader to connect and empathize with that character. That is what makes the same theme different with each telling of a new story.
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April 8, 2008 at 12:43 pm (Romance, Writing)
Tags: author panels, muse, Romance, writers groups, Writing
This past Saturday, I participated in an author’s panel for my local writer’s group. While our group has a dozen or so published authors, only a handful of us were able to attend and take part. We shared the stories of our first sale, and answered questions -everything from our daily writing routine to taxes to how we handle revisions.
I’m always amazed at the diversity of styles and methods in which writers approach their creative side. One of my favorite quotes is from Nora Roberts. In an interview conducted by Eileen Putman, and the resulting article published in the August 2006 RWR (Romance Writers Report), Ms. Roberts responds in part to a question about her creative process and using one’s muse as an excuse not to write, with this answer: “Go track down that fickle slut, drag her back, chain her to your keyboard, and get to work.”
I adore Ms. Robert’s bluntness. I have that quote posted by my computer.
If you want to be a writer, be a writer, but the flip side of that coin – you have to actually write.
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April 7, 2008 at 12:30 pm (Romance, Writing)
Tags: titles, writer's life
One of the comments to my last post, Practice Makes Perfect, asked why I wanted to get better at creating titles. Well, aside from knowing that I have created a title worthy of being published, it is a skill I lack.
I am rarely happy with my working titles. In fact, there have only been two or three working titles that I have been truly happy with. Genre fiction often dictates a certain ’style’ if you will, of titles. Sexy stories have suggestive titles, chick lit has catchy ones, contemporaries often use a play on words…
So I guess the short answer to that question would be, I want to get better at it.
Titles are quite important. I know when I go to the bookstore looking for something new to read, I tend to pick books off the shelf that have a great cover (this catches my eye first), a snappy title, and a back cover blurb that intrigues me. Great titles are also ones that stick in people’s minds and aren’t hard to remember, or sound so great, you just have to read the book.
Now I won’t spend hours each day working on a title, just fragments of time, but a great title is worth the effort. It is one more tool to entice that potential reader to pick up your book and read.
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April 4, 2008 at 12:45 pm (Romance, Writing)
Tags: practice, Romance, titles, weaknesses, Writing
Everyone has strengths and weaknesses, even published authors. But over time and with effort, we usually get over our weaknesses. Or at least, get better at them. For me, titles are tough.
While I always have a ‘working’ title, I rarely come up with a final title that makes me happy.
Lately I’ve been working on this. While I’m doing mundane tasks like the dishes or laundry, I’ll play with word combinations. And sometimes I come up with a title I think is great. The problem? I write historicals. And titles I’ve come up with tend to lend themselves more to contemporary stories.
Not to give up though…
No writer is great at every aspect of storytelling. But as a reader, I am more than willing to forgive a writer’s weaknesses if their strengths are well executed. A favorite mystery/suspense writer of mine had a definite weakness with tag lines in his first books – he had too many unnecessary ones. But his ability with characterization and setting are so phenomenal, that you lose yourself in the story and don’t ever want to come back from the fictional bay community he establishes in his books. In fact, you want his main protagonist as your best friend. I still read his books today.
So don’t give up. As the old saying goes…Practice makes perfect.
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April 3, 2008 at 12:45 pm (Romance, Writing)
Tags: creative triggers, Romance, routines, Writing
My routine is finally falling back into place. And for me, routine feels good. I’m comfortable in my structured world. While I love Chaos as theory, too much in my day gets overwhelming.
Sitting down to write in the same place, at the same time each day sends a trigger to my creative side and says ‘Hey, let’s work!’ For most of the writers I know, working in the same place is important. It doesn’t matter where you write – coffee shop, your desk on your lunch break, the laundry room – as long as it works for you.
Creative triggers can come in many forms, the scent of candles, music, the television on low in the background, a prescribed number of games of solitaire before you can put fingers to the keyboard…whatever it is, take the time to figure out the ones that work best for you and use them.
And don’t forget to let yourself off the hook once in a while. Sometimes the creative part of the brain needs a mini vacation to regenerate. I know mine does, especially between projects.
~Happy Writing~
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April 2, 2008 at 12:17 pm (Romance, Writing)
Tags: creating, ideas, Romance, stories, Writing
Ever have a character wash through your mind like a flashback in a movie? I have one of those. She came to mind early this week, but she has not left.
I’m not sure how other writers work with regard to this, but I tend to ’see’ scenes through my imagination. At least, key scenes. And what I find so interesting about this one, is that it is in black and white. Just like something out of the movies. Now why is this unusual? Well, my imagination runs in full blown color – same with my dreams. So why black and white this time?
I know little about this story yet, only the protagonist’s first name, the setting and that the story hinges on her past. But I am intrigued nonetheless. So I’ll keep making notes…and waiting until I know the whole story.
Until then, it’s back to the keyboard and my latest story.
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