All About the Writing

All About The Writing

I love looking out the window while I think and plot and brainstorm on my WIP. Today I can see robins, a lot of them, which makes my heart happy since it's a sure sign of spring. I grin at the cheerfully yellow forsythia and the daffodils bobbing in the light breeze. And I can't forget the relentless sound of wood chippers and chain saws clearing out stuff that Mother Nature knocked down over the winter.

But back to the robins. . .

I don't know why they do their little "robin tango" which consists of three or four fast steps and then a pause. It seems as if they're checking to see if someone is following them, but they don't turn around and yell "Aha!". So maybe they're listening. And then they run a few more steps and stop again.

It feels like the writing process. Come on! You knew I was going to tie it to writing. In fact, I was thinking the other day how everything I experience can be turned into a blog post about writing. Which is remarkably convenient, since I was also wondering how to make my blog interesting (if it is) to both readers and writers.

Without meaning to, I process everything that I see or do or experience into writing. I may not write down everything that happens, and not everything that I see or do or experience ends up in a story. But it does shape how I interact with the world, and how I want to describe my daily existence.

So in future posts you may see things that aren't strictly writing-related. Only they are. But in a different fashion than before my books were available to readers.

Which is where the robins come in.

It's always a good idea to take a few running steps, and then stop and listen and see if anything is different than when you started your journey. Maybe you need to zig a little to the left for the next trio of steps. Or maybe you'll have to zag to the right when you find yourself veering a little further away from your destination.

It's also possible that you have to just say, "I'm done with running. I'm going to fly."

That works, too.

For Typing Out Loud

Sometimes my writing process is a little strange. Okay, it's always a little strange. But today's process seemed a little different, even to me.

I was drafting several scenes for Heartbreaker, which is a sequel of sorts to Back on Track. I hadn't planned a sequel originally, but I'm glad one developed, since I got such a kick out of Troy when he made his appearances in Back on Track. And now I get to have fun while he falls in love with someone he's sure is not his type.

(It probably won't come as a big surprise that I was working on a different story, but this one started to bump everything else out of my head, with all kinds of scenes jockeying for my attention. These stories of mine are so unruly.)

Anyway, I wrote a couple of the scenes for Heartbreaker very quickly, even though I know they're just the framework, and I'll have to flesh them out later. It felt good to have those done, so I could move on to the next section, which I had decided would go a certain way, because it made perfect sense when I thought about it initially.

However, once I typed it, it didn't seem to work the way I expected. I was completely stymied. I didn't have a clue what to do. So I started asking questions--which I typed, since I'm at my laptop. And then it turned into a conversation, because I'm talking out loud as I puzzle out the "what's next" of this story. Only I'm not just talking, I'm typing. So I guess I'm typing out loud as I try to figure things out.

Do I stick with the hero's POV in this scene? Or do I make a scene break and go into the heroine's POV? Are the characters even paying attention to me at this point or am I just talking to myself? 

I carry on this conversation until all of a sudden I'm not typing the questions and answers, I'm typing the scene, and it starts to flow in the way it's meant to. It's kind of like brain doodling, only with typing involved. Somehow it works. Maybe because I'm keeping my fingers going and just letting my brain pace and think out loud while I take dictation for it.

It's weird, but I've come to the conclusion that everything about the writing process is weird -- if you're not a writer. There's "normal" and then there's "writer normal". I don't even want to tell you how big the gap is between those two things. (It's HUGE. Like Grand Canyon huge.)

As an added bonus, I got the idea for this blog post, which is another thing I love about writing: it's multitasking to the max. There are so many tracks going on at once, and I just jump from one to the other until I've got all the words wrung out of each one.

Now I'm going back to figure out if my brain knows what we're doing next in this manuscript. If not, we'll just have to have another conversation about it.

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P.S. You can buy Back on Track at the Samhain website right now, for 30% off. That means it is only $1.75, rather than $2.50. All of the Strangers on a Train books are on sale, so you might as well stock up while you're there!

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Interview at Reviewer Extraordinaire

Grab your coffee and stop by Reviewer Extraordinaire today. I'm being interviewed by Lexxie and Barbara, and they've got some fun and intriguing questions for me. Lexxie has given my books some wonderful reviews at Risque Reviews, with I Do. . .or Die and Lord Midnight getting Top Picks. Barbara has a lovely intro, and she added some graphics that made the whole interview a ton of fun. You won't want to miss this one!

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Cover Reveal: Lord Rakehell's Love

I had planned to wait until this story was finished before showing off the cover, but I don't want to wait any longer! Especially since it seems like another story keeps pushing itself to the front of the writing queue.

I'm still working on the cover copy, which I've included below, but I'm sure it will change. In fact, if you have suggestions for improving it, please share! I'd be thrilled to hear your thoughts.

This is a novella, the first in The Curse of True Love Series, which was originally supposed to commence with Lord Wastrel, but then this story pushed its way to the front of the line. . .

What is it with my impatient stories and their inability to wait their turn?

Anyway, without further ado. . . ta dah!

Carrie Spencer of Cheeky Covers is the one who created this vision of loveliness, and once again I have to applaud her ability to transform my vague, hand-waving instructions into the exact cover I was hoping for. She also does it with patience and aplomb, not to mention speediness and a delightful sense of humor. I love all the covers she's done for me, but I think this new one might be my favorite. (Just don't say anything to Lord Midnight or Summer Lovin', okay?)

And here's the working blurb. Or not working. Maybe a little bit of both. Let's call it a draft blurb.

The Curse of True Love 

Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love, is bored. To relieve her ennui, she decides to play matchmaker in Regency London. Unfortunately, bringing these lovers together is not as easy as it seems. . .

He was late to his own wedding

Simon is known as Lord Rakehell, so any sane woman would be wary of wedding a man of his reputation. He loves Georgiana, and is determined to prove it to her, but how can he overcome his wedding-day blunder?

She was heartbroken by the scandal

Georgiana knew the dangers of falling in love with an avowed rake, but she had not expected him to show up for their wedding with ladies-of-the-evening in tow. Now her aching heart must decide if Simon's protestations of love are real, or a means to restore his wounded pride from being left at the altar.

 

Tracking Your Characters

I joked the other day that I was going to implant GPS trackers in my characters, because I had no idea which direction they were heading.

It can be nervewracking when they set off down a different path than the one I'd initially planned. They give me a jaunty wave and say, "Let us show you what we have in mind", and I try to be brave enough to let them do just that. I remind myself that characters are meant to have a life of their own, and if they didn't, they wouldn't interest writers, or readers.

A TV show I used to enjoy, called Endgame, was about a Russian chess master, Arkady Balagan, who is unable to leave the hotel where he lives because he saw his fiancé get killed right outside the hotel. The last time he was outdoors was when he ran to her exploding car, but it was too late to save her. He is attempting to solve the mystery of his fiancé's death, and each week he also solves a variety of other situations involving hotel guests.

I wasn't sure there would be anything beyond this premise, so I didn't anticipate the show would hold my interest. For example, Arkady walks around the hotel in his bare feet, often wearing lounging clothes of some kind, treating the place as if it is his home, because it is. At first it seems a bit contrived--because it is.

However, the actor brings his own special interpretation to that collection of quirks and personality traits. He manages to inhabit the character so that what was a gimmick at the beginning actually becomes an indelible part of Arkady's persona.

It didn't take long before I was convinced he was acting this way because it's the way he is.

One scene shows him getting off the elevator, walking into the hotel lobby with his bare toes held apart by cotton balls since he just got a pedicure. It fits his personality perfectly. He's arrogant, and abrasive, insistent on getting his way, even when he's in the wrong. Yet we know he's in emotional pain from his fiancé's violent death, and we sympathize because he is doing his best to handle it, even if it is imperfectly.

These are some of the reasons he's endeared himself to me, so I continued watching the show, just to see more of his character and what he would do. (Unfortunately the show was cancelled after one season, so after getting attached to all of the characters, I was forced to let them go.)

With my books, I know just a small portion of my characters when I sit down to start their story, and I never know exactly what they'll do after I set them down in that first scene.

They reveal bits and pieces to me as I go along, showing me what they're feeling, and telling me what motivates them. Soon I can see them as fully-developed vibrant characters. I may have to revise that initial scene, but it's worth it, because it gives me a chance to watch them grow into their personalities.

They become people worth caring about, and it's my job to develop their story to fit who they really are. So while I may grumble about not knowing where they're headed, I'm actually having lots of fun chasing them around, following them while we both discover who they are.

Just don't let them know that.

4 Ways to Wake Up Your Creativity

I've spent most of the past couple months writing blog posts and promoting the release of I Do. . .or Die. Today I'm thinking about the WIPs I want to get back to, and planning how to make the best use of the next year's writing calendar. All of that appeases the logical part of my brain, but the creative side is having a bit of performance anxiety.

It has good reason to be nervous, since it hasn't been called into action for a while. It feels rusty and creaky and fearful that it doesn't know how to do its job anymore. Even when I'm writing on a daily basis, there are times when creativity does not flow. It's not necessarily stuck. It's just dormant. It's taken me a while to learn that it is recharging, and gathering steam, and it will end up being almost too strong to handle when it does come back.

So what do you do when you want to be creative but your creativity is hibernating?

1. Don't panic -- This is the hardest part. It always, and I mean always, feels like we've had our last date with the muse, and we can't help but wonder what we did to drive her away. We don't believe her when she flits away, tossing over her shoulder, "I'll call you". We wring our hands, desperately trying to figure out a solution, ready to sell our soul to make her happy once more. But just as we have a need to step away from the work, so does the muse. Give her some space. Everyone will benefit from the separation.
2. Fix the easy stuff -- Concentrate on things that are more rote, or mundane--all of those little details that you don't have time for when you're in the giddy phase of word sprints. Now you can search for extra spaces in your manuscript. Check the formatting. Or spend some time on that research that makes you feel guilty when you "should" be writing. Check the links on previous blog posts. While you're re-reading them, see if they spark any new ideas and write down some notes for when the muse is back in town.
3. Read your own work -- This time read your story as a reader, not a writer. Let yourself get lost in the characters and the events you created. Fall in love again with the world you imagined a long while ago, before you had to tear it down and rebuild it. Remember what it was like to immerse yourself in a book that sprang from your heart. Sometimes this is enough to resuscitate that creative spirit that has gone dormant temporarily.
4. Take time to play -- We get so absorbed with writing, and writing-related activities, we don't know how to enjoy other aspects of life. We forget that writing is a reflection of our non-writing experiences. We need to replenish those, so that we have something to draw on when it's time to add words to the page. So enjoy the unexpected break from the writing routine. Go outside and see what the rest of the world is doing. Store up some events that will inspire you at a later date. You might be surprised at what is outside your four walls.

So get your pens and laptops ready. Creativity is on its way!

The Playground of My Mind

My mind is always filled to overflowing with stories. However, ideas tend to get crammed into the nooks and crannies of my brain, or stacked in a pile as they wait to be filed away in the correct mental file cabinet.

To make things even more challenging, I have characters that roam around up there. Some of them tiptoe through the mayhem and try not to gape. But others are a lot more nosy. They have to poke a stick at something that catches their interest, which makes something else topple over, which crashes into yet another pile of ideas. . .

It's a good thing. I think. I'm pretty sure. I mean, that's how crazy notions manage to get their start. Although I do wonder what it would be like if I had a brain that was neat and tidy, with row after row of labeled, organized ideas, and scenes, and heck, whole manuscripts in their proper place.

Actually it might frighten me to see it like that. It wouldn't feel like me. It would definitely seem like I'd been transplanted into someone else's brain. (You can see another story idea forming, can't you?)

I envy non-writers, since I imagine their brains are wide open and spacious, with plenty of room for new stuff to be imported. The best I can do to achieve that status is to keep pouring my stories out, in an attempt to make room for new ones.

Unfortunately, with new stories comes new secondary characters, and they move in with no plan to move back out. And somehow they have friends I didn't know about when I said, "Sure, stay for a few days. There's plenty of room."

Next thing you know I'm running a day care center for stray characters. And all their baggage, and everything they need to go through to stretch and grow and move on to their HEA.

It's a giant playground up there, filled with a multitude of fascinating heroes and heroines. I don't want to be a cranky hall monitor, so they've learned to keep the noise down while I'm sleeping. But as soon as I'm awake, it's fair game. Unless they have other plans of course, which they frequently do, and I'm the last to know about it.

Still, I wouldn't have it any other way. I've grown accustomed to wandering through my brain, shushing one batch of characters, and drawing out another group that is unnecessarily quiet. When I write their stories, it ends up being a veritable scrapbook of where they've been, and where their hopes and dreams led them.

Too soon, before I'm quite ready, they're gone, and it's difficult to get used to the silence they've left behind.

All of a sudden I'm thinking, "You know, if I move that idea over there, and stack this with these others, there would be plenty of room for that new group of characters. . ."

Lord Midnight: Chapter One Contest Winner

Last week Hurricane Sandy knocked out my power for four days, and it won't come as a surprise to anyone when I say I am not a camping kind of gal. I especially don't like camping in my own house!

Fortunately there were bright spots. One of them was reading the end of Mae Clair's Weathering Rock on my Nook, in the dark, via flashlight. (I had to keep that whole camping theme going, and I wasn't about to let darkness keep me from finding out what happened in this story. It was so worth it. And yes, I sniffled a little bit at the end.)

Another bright spot was learning Lord Midnight had won the Chapter One contest that author Cheryl Bradshaw has on her blog each month. There are 50 entries, and she selects the best first chapter as the winner. I was flabbergasted when I got Cheryl's email with this great news. Please check out her wonderful compliments, as well as the interview she did with me. While you're doing that, I'm just going to stand here and grin.

Another fun thing that made me forget the bumpy spots from last week: I got the galley of I Do. . .or Die, which is a PDF of the book to send out to reviewers. It was exciting to see my story in an ebook format. I should also be getting the cover in the next week or so. This book is going to be released on December 10th, which seems so close now!

On top of all that, it is my birthday month, and it's been so much fun already. I got my electricity back on the first day of November, and it feels like things have been shining brightly ever since.

The Lure of the Other WIP

Every writer has them. Those stories that tempt us to abandon the manuscript we're desperately trying to finish.

Even though we've committed ourselves to this particular Work-In-Progress, the siren song of that new idea can be irresistible. It sounds so perfect. It's fresh and flawless, and it promises to spill forth onto the page without needing any editing or revision. It flat out adores us, and understands our writerly needs, unlike that cranky WIP we've been struggling with.

No wonder we can't resist when this sweet thing beckons.

So we set the WIP aside, promising we'll be right back, believing ourselves when we say we're not serious about this new idea all dressed up in its most seductive manner.

Before we know it, we're sucked in, unable to return to the WIP waiting patiently on the hard drive for us to come to our senses. Even worse, the temptress idea reveals its true self, transforming into pure evil right in front of our disbelieving eyes. Scenes fall apart before they're even half-formed. Words that once crooned to us in such a melodic fashion now screech and clank and deride us for our lack of skill.

This WIP-on-the-side acts worse than the one we left it for.

Now we're caught between two manuscripts, both of them vying for our attention while we struggle to ignore yet another beguiling story idea crooking its finger at us.

What to do, what to do.

Some writers absolutely refuse to acknowledge a new story's presence. They block off their brain to anything new while steadfastly finishing the current work. I respect that philosophy. It does not work so well for me, however. The more I ignore a potential WIP-on-the-side, the more it will keep poking me, like a little kid that keeps yelling "Mommy" until Mommy gives him her attention. I just scribble notes about the new idea in its own Word doc and that usually quiets it down, allowing me to remain faithful to the work-in-progress.

Other writers choose to devote themselves to the new idea, leaving the pesky WIP stranded on the roadside. Again, I can understand that choice. I've even advocated it in order to get the WIP to cooperate. Nothing like a little healthy competition to get the characters to start working as a team again.

But it can also be a slippery slope. Chasing after the shiny new idea, while blaming the old WIP for your tendency to stray, can leave you with a string of half-finished projects.

Sometimes it's best to remember you and the WIP are in it "for better or for worse". It can keep you going during the tough writing and revising times, and it allows you to celebrate when you finally make it together to "The End".

That's when you can give your undivided attention to the WIP-on-the-side, free of guilt, and filled with the promise of a happily-ever-after ending.

How Do Your Characters Fight?

Most of us don't like conflict, and do our best to keep it to a minimum.

Some people enjoy a good wrangle, though, and they willingly go into battle for a host of different reasons. It's possible they like the adrenaline surge that results. Or maybe they enjoy the frenetic exchange of words with a worthy foe.

But for the person who doesn't like to fight or argue, when they do clash with someone, it demonstrates what they value, or even what they fear. Since they will fight only when pushed to that point, or when their usual dispute resolution methods are no longer keeping the peace, it's clear this is something very important.

So when characters do fight, and we know why, the next thing we learn is how.

Do they flare up? Do they smolder, biting their lip to keep hurtful words at bay? Do they shout, speak quietly, mumble under their breath? Perhaps sarcasm is their weapon of choice, or getting in the last word in every argument. Or maybe they refuse to engage at all.

Also, as the character's romantic relationship progresses, there is more at stake if they fight and lose, or if they fight and rupture the growing trust between them and their beloved. Does this change how they argue? Or when?

All of these things give us a great deal of insight into the characters. It reflects their history, as well as areas of potential growth, and even possible conflict in the future. It provides an important piece of the personality puzzle, knowing how characters will react in certain situations, especially highly-charged emotional ones.

I was re-reading one of my manuscripts recently, and I realized my characters didn't yell and carry on like a lot of folks do when they disagree. The hero and heroine are hurt by the untenable situation they're in, and one of them even feels betrayed by the other's actions, but it would not be true to their personalities if they raged or did something dramatic. They use their words to express their feelings, and try to advance their position, but without deliberately wounding each other.

Characters with other fighting styles might disagree with this method, but this is how my hero and heroine responded to the threats to their happiness and well-being. Some disagreements were more easily resolved, while another heated discussion led to the black moment in the story.

I learned a great deal about my characters by watching how they disagreed with each other. I plan to throw new characters into the ring to see how they square off against each other. They may not like this strategy, but I'll just have to convince them how beneficial it is, for them, and for me.

How could they possibly argue with that?  

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This is a repeat of a post from last fall. I've just finished up edits for TWO different books, and I'm worn out! I should be done with edits for a little while, so I hope to have a brand new post for you next week.