Tag Archives: Plotting

October 30, 2018 · 4:00 am

November is here – that means #NANOWRIMO time!

November 1st is a mere two days away and the month kinda snuck up on me this year. I’ve been so busy with all my upcoming releases this month and next, I haven’t done any NANOWRIMO prep yet.

Now, I know you’re thinking that NANOWRIMO is supposed to be a spontaneous writing exercise, where you sit down every day in November and simply write – no editing, no going over what you have written, no correcting any mistakes. Just a month of free-writing your newest book. And it is, just that, for the most part. But I’ve typically done some kind of prep for the month either in planning out where I want the story to ultimately end up, or at least making a Pinterest board of what I think my characters look like so I have a handy and quick visual reference if I need it. And I’m a plotter by nature. This writing-by-the-seat-of-your-pants thing is so…not me.

But this year, as I’ve said…no prep, no plot, no plan.

I’m starting out fresh when I sit down on 11.1.18 to begin writing my 50,000 word minimum. Every year for the past 5 years I’ve done NANOWRIMO and I’ve actually gone on to have all those books traditionally published, so that’s the hope for this year as well. I’m being truthful when I tell you I’m a little nervous about this.

Nervous? Hell, let’s be totally honest: I’m friggin’ terrified!

Stay tuned. We’ll see what happens…

And if you’re doing NANOWRIMO this year and need a writing “buddy,” I’ll help. Add me to you Buddy List. I’m listed under Margaret-Mary Jaeger.

When I’m not obsessing over NANOWRIMO or out doing the publicity tours for my new releases, you’ll find me wiling away the hours here:  Tweet Me//Read Me// Visit Me//Picture Me//Pin Me//Friend Me//Google+Me// Triber// BookMe // Monkey me //Watch me

 

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February 28, 2018 · 9:49 am

Research is spelled P-I-N-T-E-R-E-S-T!

This is a funfunfun topic for me. I sincerely don’t know what writers did before PINTEREST came along. The first time I was ever told about the site and then visited it, I was addicted. For Life. Seriously.

You all know I’m a huge plotter when it comes to my books. I have everything lined up, plotted out, and squared off before I ever start writing because I’m so anal. It’s that damn scientific background – I always need to know where I’m going. In the past I’d look for pictures of my characters or places or settings in magazines. Being able to visibly “see” how I wanted someone to look made it waaaaay easier for me to write about them. With the advent of Google, I tossed the mags and started trolling celebrity sites – because back in the day they were the only pictures you could really find.

It’s a new day, people. We don’t need google images anymore -we’ve got PINTEREST. Anyone can upload a picture of pretty much anything ( legal, that is!) From the moment I used Pinterest to categorize and help me plot/storyboard my books, my life got sosososos much easier. I had more time to write because I didn’t need to troll endlessly looking for images thru mags anymore. I simply plugged in something like “guys, 30’s black hair, green eyes” and 9,000,000 PINS instantly popped up for me to choose from.

Score!

So, for the first time, I’m giving you a little glimpse into how I storyboard my characters on Pinterest. The links below are to my Will Cook For Love Series books. These Pins/pictures are how I “saw” the books when I was writing them. (A few of the books haven’t been published yet so this is like a little teaser!)  Let me know your thoughts.

Will Cook for Love

A shot at Love/Gemma

Melora and Riley

Abby and Rick

Ellie and Sloan

And I even have an alternative, breakout, spinoff series to Cooking with Kandy called Bros, Inc.

You’re welcome for that last one!

When I’m not doing RESEARCH ( wink wink) you can find me here: Tweet Me//Read Me// Visit Me//Picture Me//Pin Me//Friend Me//Google+Me// Triber// Book Me

 

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Filed under Alpha Hero, Alpha Male, Author, Characters, Contemporary Romance, Cooking, Food lover, Foodie, Kensington Publishers, love, Lyrical Author, Romance, Romance Books, Strong Women, The Laine Women

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March 17, 2017 · 9:20 am

My Writing process; #MfrwAuthors; week 11

So this week, we are talking about our own writing processes, namely, PLOTTING.

I am a plotter. ( When I say that I feel like I’m in a self-help group; “Hi, my name is Peggy and I plot.” 

But, as always, I digress.

So. Plotting. I am a dyed-in-the-wool plotter for several reasons none of which counts more than the other, but just goes to explain why I am the way I am.

  1. I am a Nurse so, therefore have a scientific background. I need to now if I do A, then B or C will happen ahead of time.
  2. I hate to be surprised. I have impulse control issues, so when someone surprises me I never EVER say the right thing or act the appropriate way. I have ruined enough birthday parties and drop-in visits from people to fill a lifetime.
  3. I am a linear thinker. I like going from A to Z in a straight line. It’s logical for me and alleviates anxiety.
  4. I like knowing what will happen to my characters before it happens to them. I have never been the type of writer who says, “My characters just insisted I have them say this or act this way. NO. Not gonna happen to me.
  5. I like, no actually LOVE, being in control. The one thing I have absolute dictator control over in my life is my writing, my characters, and what happens to them.

If I didn’t know where my story was going. what was going to befall my characters, what their storyline was, I think I would write a pretty horrible book.But that’s me…just saying.

When I’m not plotting out my next novel, you can find me here:Tweet Me//Read Me// Visit Me//Picture Me//Pin Me//Friend Me//Google+Me// Triberr

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June 16, 2016 · 9:21 am

Into the mind of a writer…

I thought I’d give you a little glimpse into what I do during the day, from a writing perspective. Writing’s not all rainbows and unicorns, with award winning phrases tripping from your tongue and onto the keyboard all day. Nope. It’s hard work, lots of thought, and some days you wind up with more deletions than written saves.

When I work, I already have the gist of the story plotted out. I also make a vision board now for each new book for a number of reasons. One, it helps me to remember what the characters each look like so I don’t have to continually look back at my character notes to make sure I give them the same color eyes and hair from day to day. Two, it keeps me focused on the current story I want to tell. Without the board in front of me, propelling me to keep writing the story, I have a tendency to open up other files and work on other things…or troll through pinterest…or facebook. None of those are productive. Third, it actually helps me with the character dialogue. When I see the characters in front of me, I can actually hear how they talk, see how they move their mouths, listen to the way they phrase words, how their faces contort and twist  and move, and I can envision the dialogue speaking from their lips.  I know that sounds…well…weird…but it’s true for me.

Here’s a glimpse of my current vision board for my newest work in progress, book 2 in my cooking series.

visionboard

If you look closely you can see pictures of my hero and heroine, and on either side of the board are images that pertain to each of them. Yes, it’s a lot of work – some may call it plain busy work – but I am a visual person. I see things in their entireties and individually much easier than having to conjure them up from my imagination. This board keeps me on track, focused, and prevents me from making character mistakes.

So, that’s a very tiny glimpse into my day.

Yeah, I know…I have a great life!

When I’m not writing -and even when I am! – you can find me here:

Tweet Me// Read Me// Visit Me// Picture Me//Pin Me//Friend Me//Google+Me//

 

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Filed under Author, Contemporary Romance, Dialogue, Life challenges, Literary characters, love, Romance, Romance Books, RWA, Strong Women, The Wild Rose Press, WIld Rose Press AUthor

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