Recently I did an interview with author Brenda Moguez. Here’s the link. Click and enjoy.
http://www.brendamoguez.com/writersrite/peggy-jaeger-on-the-writers-rite/
Tag Archives: Romance Writer’s Association
Putting the “NO” in NaNoWriMo.
Day 3 of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) has just finished for me. I am at 9716 words – not bad considering I had to work at my real paying job today. I don’t’ want to get boggled down in the numbers game, though, because for me the real reason to do this challenge is to get into the habit of writing constructively every day. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.
This challenge is the impetus many writers need to get them going, motivated, and excited about the task at hand: namely, writing the book of their heart. As writers, it is really important we write every day to keep our creative mind active and productive. I heard Nora Roberts explain it this way at conference recently. She was asked if she ever takes a vacation from writing. Her reply is why she is one of the greatest authors of all time. And one of the most prolific. She said, “Your writing is like a muscle. If you don’t work a muscle, if you don’t use it all the time, it starts to get weak and can deteriorate and even die.”
Wow.
Best analogy I’d ever heard for why writing every day is a must. I’ve mentioned before I write every day, whether it’s my blog, my WIP or even just editing some work I’ve already “finished.” To me, not writing is like not eating – I don’t think I could live if I didn’t do it!
So day 4 is about to start. Target goal today is at least 2500 words. Check back later to see if I made my goal.
Or exceeded it.
Filed under Author, Characters, Contemporary Romance, Dialogue, Life challenges, Romance, Romance Books, Strong Women
A Visit with Author Susan A. Wall
In celebration of National Novel Writing Month, or NANOWRIMO for short, I’d like to welcome multipublished author Susan A. Wall today as my guest blogger. I was lucky to meet Susan at a meeting of my local NHRWA chapter last year and I was immediately drawn to her. Her sense of humor ( bawdy and quick) coupled with her writing talent ( visit her website for a complete list of her extensive publications) and the fact that she loves purple and Bon Jovi ( sigh!), made her someone I wanted to know. And I’m so glad I do. She’s blogging today about – what else?- NANOWRIMO. Her advice about, and insights into, the challenge are a worthwhile read. So without further ado…..here’s Susan!
Happy NaNoWriMo!!
No, that’s not some crazy alien greeting! It means us writers are in the midst of National Novel Writing Month, 30 days and night of literary abandon!
Every November, millions of writers put butts in chairs, fingers to keyboards, and ignore all other responsibility in an effort to write 50,000 words of a first draft novel.
Sound crazy? Maybe a little bit, but when you break down the numbers, it’s not so daunting.
I’m not a math whiz, but doing some simple calculations makes the goal of writing 50,000 words in 30 days seem doable. Let’s do some simple division.
50,000 words divided by 30 days equals 1667 words a day. 1667. That doesn’t sound so bad, right? But what does that look like on the page?
In MS Word, using the default ‘normal’ setting which is Times New Roman, 11 point, one inch margins and 1.15 line spacing, 1667 words is less than 3 pages.
Less than 3 pages! That doesn’t sound so daunting, does it? Can you write 3 pages a day? The only answer is, YES, you absolutely can.
Let’s be clear on what these 3 pages are.
Yes, NaNoWriMo is National Novel Writing Month, but the goal isn’t to write a beautifully polished, ready for publication novel in 30 days. If you can do that, Kudos to you, and I now worship the ground you walk on. For us mere mortals, no one, absolutely no one who matters, is expecting you to write a perfectly polished novel in 30 days. The point of NaNoWriMo is to write a first draft of a novel.
It’s okay to write garbage or complete and total crap. You’ll have time later to correct your grammar and spelling, to find all those redundant words, to put in the appropriate dialogue tags or hair color or weather or fragrance. If you can’t remember whether Sergei has green eyes or blue eyes, don’t worry about it. Fix it later. The goal now is to write. Write like the crazy person you are.
So you may be wondering whether I’m a plotter or pantser? By nature, I’m a pantser. I tried plotting once and my characters didn’t like the path I planned for them, so from day 1, they forged their own. I went with it. This is my 4th year participating in NaNoWriMo and I’m writing my very first romantic suspense titled Broken Strings. Since romantic suspense is a genre I’ve never written before, I’ve done a lot of planning. I’ve drafted the backstory for the hero, heroine, villain, and detective and come up with the premise and a list of horrible things that happen. I found myself wanting to outline, so I did and I’ve got the outline all plotted out in Scrivener. But (there’s always a big ole but) if once I start writing the story goes in a different direction, I’m okay with that. The plot is just Plan B.
Are you curious about the story? Here’s the premise:
Best friends since college, witty and guarded Colleen Cooper and misguided playboy Jake Donovan have both sold out to propel Jake’s music career, but now they are trying to find success on their own terms. As a radio station DJ, Colleen has finally made a name for herself, but when Jake offers her the opportunity of a lifetime her own self-doubt and the anonymous threats she can’t escape have her second-guessing her qualifications and ability. Jake will do anything to prove to Colleen that he’s worth taking a chance on, but when the women around him start turning up dead, his reputation makes him the prime person of interest in the investigation, threatening his career and his future with Colleen.
I’ve had a successful history with NaNoWriMo. My first year, I wrote Too Many Daughters, a women’s fiction novel about three women who are all dealing with the loss of their fathers in very different but equally self-destructive ways and it is through their newly forged friendship that they finally start to heal. I wrote this story in just 20 days and I am hoping it finally goes to print next year.
My second year, I wrote The Sound of Circumstance, the 5th novel in my Puget Sound ~ Alive With Love contemporary romance series. This is the novel I plotted but the characters would have nothing to do with that plot and it went in an unexpected direction. I achieved 50,000 words in just 12 days. I swear that book wrote itself! In this story, Owen and Stacie must finally conquer the demons of their past in order to find the happily ever after they both so desperately want with each other. This book will be released in just a couple of months.
Last year, my third year, I opted not to plot and wrote The Sound of Reluctance, which will be the 6th book in my Puget Sound ~ Alive With Love series. I had major surgery mid-month, so it took me all 30 days to finish, but finish I did. In this story, lawyer Keith Nightingale visits Seattle to check up on his little sister. He doesn’t plan on meeting Holly Dion, a nursing student with a harsh past. He’s reluctant to get involved with a client, but can’t deny the way she makes his heart race. The emotional scars from Holly’s abusive ex-boyfriend have her worried that her attraction to Keith is more knight in shining armor than true love.
So that’s my NaNoWriMo experience in a nutshell. My life is crazy, but I was able to write these drafts by setting goals and making writing my priority. Do that and you’ll have a successful writing month!!
If you are participating in NaNoWriMo, I invite you to be one of my buddy’s (search for sawall) and I wish you the best of luck in writing with literary abandon!
Here’s a little treat, a snippet of the opening scene of my 2014 NaNoWriMo novel Broken Strings (you can read the opening lines that precede this part at Delilah Devlin’s blog):
Devon spun the gun around in his hand before offering it to her grip first. Colleen snagged the small weapon from his large hand and shoved it back into the holster clipped to her spandex shorts.
“Let me give you a ride home before you wreak more havoc in the park.”
Colleen turned away. “I ran here, I can run home.”
“Don’t argue with me. You terrified that couple when you pulled your gun and you’re lucky they aren’t pressing charges.”
“I’m lucky?” Colleen argued, turning back to him. “That woman ought to be thanking me for coming along when I did. Who knows what her boyfriend might have done to her if I hadn’t.”
“Couples argue. It doesn’t mean it will escalate to assault.”
She knew that, but her past made her a little … paranoid? Skiddish?
Defensive.
Yeah, that was a good descriptor and made her seem less crazy.
She stepped away, focusing on keeping her steps at a moderate pace, only to realize she was heading in the opposite direction from her apartment.
“Get in the damn car, Colleen.” The commanding tone of Devon’s voice was all cop, making her feel as if she was some criminal being detained. The couple she’d pulled the gun on stared at her, fear tightening the woman’s expression, annoyance the man’s. The woman still stood with her arms crossed and Colleen wondered what the source of the fear was. Intuition – maybe experience – told her the man was the source, but now that the adrenaline wasn’t assaulting Colleen any longer, she acknowledged pulling the gun on the couple could be what had scared the woman.
Colleen didn’t have a murderous bone in her body. Carrying the gun was a tool for self-preservation. It was loaded, but she doubted she could fire it at a person even if the situation called for such a thing. She turned away from the couple, surrendering to Devon’s command.
Holding the door, he gave Colleen space as she climbed into his badass black SUV. Everything about the man screamed cop, from the cropped haircut to the stiff posture beneath his department store suit, to the pimped out Tahoe.
As he put the cop-mobile in gear, the adrenaline plummeted and Colleen’s worst fears claimed her. She’d held it all at bay until now, knowing the panic attack was inevitable. Having it in Devon’s car was beyond humiliating.
“Just breathe through it,” he said, the commanding voice gone, replaced with something so much worse. The cop was easy to hate. The empathetic guy she’d once cared about, not so much.
“I don’t … need … your help,” she managed between gasps.
You can read more of this scene over at Susan’s blog on November 4th!
Big dreamer and certifiable overachiever Susan Ann Wall embraces life at full speed and volume. She’s a beer and tea snob, can be bribed with dark chocolate, and the #1 thing on her bucket list is to be the center of a Bon Jovi flash mob.
Susan is a multi-genre author of racy, rule-breaking romance, women’s fiction, and erotic fiction (her erotic titles are published as Ann Victor). Her bragging rights include nine books in three different series, three perfect children, and a happily ever after with her Hero Husband that started while serving in the U.S. Army and has spanned nearly two decades (which is crazy since she’s not a day over 29).
In her next life, Susan plans to be a 5 foot 10, size 8 rock star married to a chiropractor and will not be terrified of large bridges, spiders, or quiet people (shiver). She’s a member of NHRWA, RWA-WF, RomVets, NHWP, NEIW, and WREN.
Her latest releases include The Sound of Deception (4th novel in her Puget Sound ~ Alive With Love contemporary romance series) and Quitting the Boss (3rd novella in Ann Victor’s Behind Office Doors erotic series), available in paperback and all ebook formats.
Websites: http://www.susanannwall.com and www.annvictor.com
Facebook: Author Susan Ann Wall and Ann Victor Author
Twitter: @susanannwall and @annvictorauthor
www.goodreads.com/susanannwall
Filed under Characters, Dialogue
The subjectivity of writing.
It never ceases to amaze me how SUBJECTIVE writing can be. Case in point: contest judging reports and scores.
I have entered my fair share of romance contests, basically because it is an easy way to get your work in front of industry people. And hey, if they like it, you may not only win, but get a call from a publisher. This is what happened to me and why my first romance novel will be coming up for sale soon. But more about that in a later blog.
Recently, I was a finalist in a major writing competition. Major. Which was thrilling enough. Now, I didn’t win, which is fine, but when I got my scores back it almost looked like two different entries were judged. One score was a solid A, the second barely a C.
Same piece of writing.
The comments on the score sheets were diametrically opposed as well, with one person telling me how they were engaged from the first paragraph, the second stating I spent too much time on backstory ( 1 Paragraph!) and my characters were wooden. Reader one told me the characters and dialogue were life-like. Reader two wrote that I needed to listen to how people spoke in real life to get a better feel for dialogue.
Crazy!
I wonder if this abject subjectivity is one of the reasons so many novelists are self publishing these days. I’ve read some AMAZING self published books and wondered why in heck they weren’t represented by a major 5 house. I’ve also read some terrrrrrrrrible self pub’d books and known why they weren’t.
That subjectivity is mine, I realize that, but I cross genres in romance. I like to read Regency, Paranormal, Contemporary and Suspense. If the story is sound, the plot captivating and the characters relatable, it shouldn’t matter what the genre is, if the book is good.
So, back to the contest scores.
I’m done entering contests for now. I need to devote myself to the edits that are coming my way from my publisher and editor ( and don’t I love saying that!). But for all the writers who are still entering contests in the hopes of capturing a publisher’s or and editor’s eye – DON’T STOP. Even though subjectivity may abound, if the overall scores are consistent and the critiques worthwhile, this is a valuable way to get your work seen and to receive – usually – valid feedback.
I’m still wondering if my scores were mixed up. Oh well.
Filed under Characters, Dialogue, Editors
There is nothing wrong with me…honest!
I was sitting in a restaurant recently when a good looking couple came in. Really good looking. Like, cover of a book good looking. I started to describe them in my head as if I was describing them on the page in one of my stories. I came up with a full range of detailed mental description as I sat there, staring off into space. Finally, after what was probably a few minutes, my husband asked if anything was wrong. I asked why and he replied “you were gone away for a while.”
Does this ever happen to you? You’re talking with someone, or people watching – my second favorite pastime – and in the next instant you’re off, engrossed in your WIP, ignoring anything and everything around you?
Happens to me all the time.
I plotted my third book while I was sitting in church, supposedly listening to the Homily. In all fairness, it was a really boring Homily.
I ran plot lines in my head while recently at a conference for the visually impaired. Thank goodness that one had handouts, or I wouldn’t have known what was said!
I was watching the news yesterday and a dialogue point I’d been trying to solve burst into my head, full blown and perfect.
I tend to pop out mentally at parties, during car rides, sometimes even on the phone.
A few weeks ago I was standing in line at the bank and the teller had to call me three times before I responded. She probably thought I was having some kind of silent seizure.
In medieval days it’s safe to say I would have been burned at the stake as a witch.
Decades ago, I might have been diagnosed with untreated psychosis or schizoaffective disorder.
Today the shrinks would say I have ADHD as an adult and want to medicate me.
Naaaaaahhh!
I’m just a writer, and thinking – a lot – is what I do.
So if you see me and you think I’m loosing it, staring off into space, maybe my lips are moving, don’t be concerned. I’m probably running dialogue in my head and I’m saying it aloud so I can make sure it sounds legit.
Don’t be concerned. I’m okay. Honest……
Filed under Characters, Dialogue
I’m not a SLUT, Part 2
I had such an incredible reader response from the sentiment in my last post that I was blown away. I guess I’m not the only reader/writer of romance who feels slighted/insulted/infuriated by people and media outlets who label us as stupid, naive, delusional or…slutty. Believe me, the VERY LAST thing I am now or ever have been is slutty! It’s laughable to even imagine it.
But in all seriousness, the lousy rap we as writers and readers of romance get is ridiculous. Multi-published, award winning author Jill Shalvis recently put up this post:
“Was at a independent bookstore where I couldn’t find the romance section. When I asked, the clerk said they get so few requests for “those” books that they had only a small section on the third floor in the back. Huh. It’s been a long time since I got that kind of reaction. And here I thought romance was cool again but maybe not everywhere…”
That says a great deal about the mind workings of book sellers. My thought is that perhaps that store gets such a small amount of requests for “those” books is because of “that” attitude!
I find myself frequently put in the position of defending the genre I write and read in. I’ve had women in their 20’s giggle at me because I’m “too old to read books like that.” I’ve had women my age tell me to “act your age and read serious literature.” I’ve had women at church look like they’d like to brand me with a big, scarlet R.
Really?
Until the day I go to the big library in the sky I will be a LOUD advocate for romance reading and romance writers, and I know I am not the only one. I state proudly and unequivocally that I write it, read it, enjoy it, and promote authors/readers who do the same.
Who’ll stand up with me?
Filed under Uncategorized
A Visit with Author Cheri Allan
One of the pleasures of joining a writing group is meeting talented, lovely, funny, and supportive people who love the same thing you do: writing. When I joined the New Hampshire Romance Writers of America chapter in 2013, one of the talented, funny, lovely and supportive writers I was delighted to meet was Cheri Allan. Cheri is one of the warmest people I have ever known. Her constant smile and positive way of looking at the world make her such a delight to be around. She is the kind of person who will turn your really bad day into a sunny, bright one. I’m so thrilled she accepted my invitation to guest blog today since her brand new book, STACKING THE DECK has just been released. Part 2 in the Betting on Romance series, Stacking the Deck tells us the story of Liz Beacon and Carter McIntyre. At the end of Cheri’s blog entry is a except from the book.
Who said coming home is easy?
Author Bio:
Cheri Allan writes hopeful, humorous contemporary romance. She lives in a charming fixer-upper in rural New Hampshire with her husband, two children, two dogs, four cats and an excessive amount of optimism. She’s a firm believer in do-it-yourself, new beginnings and happily-ever-afters, so after years of wearing suits, she’s grateful to finally put her English degree to good use writing romance. When not writing, you might find her whizzing down the slopes of a nearby mountain or inadvertently killing perennials in her garden.
Cheri loves to hear from readers!
E-mail her at cheri@cheriallan.com.
Friend her at facebook.com/cheriallanauthor.
Or, visit her website and blog at http://www.cheriallan.com.
Who Am I? Authors in (Identity) Crisis
When Peggy first invited me to guest blog I immediately leapt at the chance to promote the release of my newest romantic comedy Stacking the Deck and then I went into panic mode. WHAT. TO. WRITE? This is not, of course, much different than the typical day as we authors sit down at our keyboards, but having been through this blog tour/book release drill once before (thereby rendering me a veritable expert <snort!>) I wondered what NEW thing I had to write about. (Also a typical worry of authors on a daily basis.)
Which, if you are prone to distractibility (squirrel!) led me to thinking about how I wanted to portray myself to all you lovely people. And THAT, my friends, is what we authors struggle to master as much as the writing itself.
Let’s face it, we are fans, followers and social media friends with dozens of bestselling authors whose news feeds are filled with witty, pithy posts and pictures of adorable kittens, sexy men and sexy men cuddling adorable kittens. But… what if that isn’t us? What if we are allergic to cats? (Perish the thought!) Or we feel vaguely uncomfortable when we have a nearly naked man pulling on his underwear on our computer screen when our under-18 kids walk by? (“I’m doing research!”)
We’re told time and again we must develop a “presence” on social media, to “build a platform,” to “engage our readers.” As a writer, this feels like a blank page. A great and wonderful, horrible and magical blank page. I can be anything! we tell ourselves. AN-Y-THING! We whip out our hair dye and Photoshop manuals and practice our French just in case… well… who knows! We have the opportunity to reinvent ourselves! How cool is THAT? We do it every day with the characters in our books, why should we, ourselves, be any different?
Except we aren’t characters in books. We’re more like fan fiction. The basic character and backstory are already there. We can’t wash them away. We have to work with who we already are. I mean, I enjoy dress up as much as the rest of you, but I’m here to tell you, that taking on a social media persona that doesn’t feel like ‘you’ will eventually not ring true with readers or with yourself.
Figuring out how you want to portray yourself to the larger world is not so much about putting on airs as it is peeling off layers to get to the core of who you are.
Because your image is, fundamentally, your voice. YOUR voice. What makes YOU write the books of YOUR heart and turn phrases with just the right elegant finesse to make your heart beat a little faster with excitement. You can’t fake the ‘you’ you present to the outside world any more than you can successfully copy someone else’s voice.
On the other hand, this doesn’t give you carte blanche to let it all hang out. No. No one needs to see the down and dirty, unshowered, ‘haven’t eaten food that didn’t contain unpronounceable chemicals and/or chocolate for a week because I’m on deadline and this is how I roll’ you. No. Neither do people want the ‘I’m stepping on my soapbox’ you. Because we can’t throw rotten vegetables over the internet, the mudslinging ‘you’ will have to rant in person.
The you WE want to see and interact with and get to know is still fundamentally ‘you’, but freshly bathed, and happy (generally) and sitting across from us in a coffee shop or in a park because we’re old friends, and we DO that sort of thing. And then you reveal those unique observations about life and love and friends and family and the shows you watch and the things that bug you… as friends. Because THAT’S the ‘you’ we readers want to know.
Let your public “persona” be the face of who you are when you are in the ‘zone’ of writing. That’s the real you. That’s the ‘you’ readers want to know and engage with. Maybe ‘you’ like kittens, pictures of sexy men, travel photos or talking about crafts. Whatever you enjoy sharing is the persona to share with the world, and the more you do that, the more ‘you’ in the larger world will mesh seamlessly with the ‘you’ you are everywhere else.
Now you all may be saying, “Ha! She’s talking about being real and honest and yadda, yadda but look at her PINK author photo! What’s that all about?” Well, I’ll tell you a secret about that photo. My critique partner HATES that photo with a purple passion. She thinks it’s cheesy and odd and not befitting my professional author persona. And while she has the looks and demeanor to portray a beautiful and glamorous author-self to the world. I am… pink. And I like being pink. When I look at my photo, it makes me smile in the way I do when I think of holiday lights and Dr. Seuss. It reminds me not to take myself too seriously. Maybe it isn’t glamorous or polished or sexy, but it feels like a more honest portrayal of who I am, at heart, than any glossy Glamour Shot ever could.
So, in the words of Dr. Seuss in Happy Birthday to You! come climb to the top of the world and shout with me: “I AM I!” Go ahead. It’s easy. And after we can grab a cup of coffee and chat about our books while searching the internet for random photos of sexy men cuddling kittens… because that’s how we roll.
Sharing time! Have you ever tried on a different public persona or image on social media? What happened? Did it feel “right” or like someone else’s hand-me-down you couldn’t wait to peel off when you got home? Tell us your story!
Amazon 1-click! http://amzn.to/1sCELnt
Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/stacking-the-deck-5
Both titles also available in print! www.cheriallan.com
Both titles also available in print! www.cheriallan.com
(Coming soon to B&N Nook!)
Stacking the Deck, Book Blurb:
Who said coming home is easy?
Liz Beacon has life all planned out—prioritized, color-coded and cross-referenced. She long ago traded in the geeky high school nickname, teenage pounds and dysfunctional family for a fab career, killer abs and a man every woman would envy. Okay, so her sex life is non-existent and her almost-fiancé is technically a coworker. Life, if not perfect, is still on track. But then, Liz is called home to Sugar Falls, NH, to prepare her childhood home for sale. She’s spent ten years denying her insecurities and hokey lawn-ornament roots. There’s nothing she’d rather do less than face all she happily left behind, including her embarrassingly one-sided high school crush.
Carter McIntyre has sailed through life on his winsome smile… and by the skin of his teeth. A college drop-out with ADHD, he’s learned it’s safer to play the carefree charmer than step up and take over his uncle’s landscaping business. But then his class valedictorian returns to Sugar Falls and hires him for some home improvements. Now Carter’s wondering if it’s too late to grow up, take a chance and win over the only girl who ever believed in him…
Luck of the Draw and Stacking the Deck, books 1 and 2 of her ‘Betting on Romance’ series available now in print and ebook. Betting on romance… because every woman deserves to get lucky.
Stacking the Deck, Excerpt:
He didn’t reply. Instead, he held her gaze, leaned closer and brushed his lips against hers. Soft. Warm.
Heavenly.
Her eyes fluttered closed and she clamped down on the impulse to drag him toward her and grind her mouth against his the way her body craved, fearing what might happen if she took even one tentative step down that slippery slope.
Instead, she let herself glory in the moment. Finally! Here! Today was the day Carter McIntyre kissed her again! Had she imagined it like this? His lips so incredibly warm? His breath melding with hers as his mouth parted ever so slightly? Journey playing ‘Open Arms’ in the background?
Okay, maybe there wasn’t a rock ballad playing on cue, but she made up for it by humming a soft moan of pleasure somewhere in the back of her throat as she let herself sink into the pleasure of this one, perfect kiss.
Just like the first time…
~ Cheri Allan
Hopeful, humorous contemporary romance
Stacking the Deck coming October 21; Available for pre-order now! Amazon: http://amzn.to/1sCELnt
Filed under Characters
Where do you find the time to write?
I get asked this question a lot. A LOT.
I think it’s because I work outside the home, then I take care of my family, plus I have hobbies such as painting and cooking.
Writing requires a great deal of time and commitment to get it to come out just right. But so does painting, cooking, taking care of loved ones, and working outside the home.
It’s all about time management.
When I worked as nurse I had fifteen patients every day to care for. Bathing, feeding, administering medications, in addition to interacting with the doctors about the patient’s care, the families, the ancillary services and departments, all were required on a daily basis, and hundreds more I can’t even begin to remember. Back then, overtime was frowned upon and if you couldn’t get all your care and tasks done in your 8-hour shift, you were looked at by the powers that be to see if you needed to be retrained, demoted or fired.
Luckily, I was never any of those because from the get-go I learned how to manage my day accordingly. The most important tasks were done first. Sometimes, this changed daily, or even hourly, but I always started with the most time sensitive and important tasks. Then I went down the line to the ones that required less immediate responses.
This always worked for me and the only time I ever had overtime was when every one else did too: during Code Blue emergencies.
I write in exactly the same mindset.
If you’ve read any of my past posts, you know I’m a plotter, not a panst-er. First thing I do is come up with an idea, then the characters, then I set the plot out in a very detailed synopsis. Once that prep work is done, I start writing the story, but just like when I worked in nursing, I prepare for emergencies: in this case, plot turns and twists. Sometimes during writing I come up with a better idea or situation and I go with it.
Now, to the time I spend writing. I find time EVERY DAY and yes, I mean EVERY DAY, to write. Something. It doesn’t have to be an entire scene. On the days I still work outside my home at my paying job, I tend to write snippets of dialogue or scene descriptions. But I do it everyday, usually before I head to work for a half hour in the morning. No one else is up, I have the entire house to myself and I don’t have to worry about anything else but typing a few lines or paragraphs or pages.
At night, after dinner, dishes, prep for the next day, I write again.
On the days I don’t work outside my home, I can usually devote 6-8 hours at a clip or in divided doses to pound out what I want. Now, of course, there are those off days that I need to do other things, such a doctor appointments, hair dressers, grocery shop etc. so that cuts in to the time.
But the moral of this story is that I write everyday. Every single day. Something.
So the answer to the question of where do I find the time to write is, simply, I just do it whenever and wherever I can, every day.
Filed under Uncategorized
How much of YOU is in the stories you write?
I was asked this question a few days ago by a friend. I really think she was fishing to find out if I’d ever put her in a book, but that’s besides the point. The question has some validity if you go by the old rule, write what you know.
Well, who/what do you know best? Yourself, of course.
But let’s face it: I’m really boring. I do not have a fascinating life and the most exciting thing I’ve done this year was to go to the RWA conference in San Antonio.
So, if I wrote what I knew, all my books would be about psychiatric, ophthalmic nurses. Cute and interesting once or twice, but nothing to build a writing career on.
But back to the question: How much of me is in my stories?
I can truthfully say, not a lot. Sometimes I’ll write a line of dialogue or use a phrase that I know gets a response because I’ve used it in real life. Or in my Cook Book series I refer to some of the recipes that are tried and true in my life.
As far as my female characters, none of them is like me at all. I purposefully make sure of that when I create them. They don’t resemble me in any visceral way and most of them are way, way smarter than me. Their internal beliefs and struggles are not mine, either.
If they do bare any resemblance it is in the fact they are all fighters like I am.
My world views, my politics and even my religion are not factors in what I write. I try to balance the character with the setting and the plot. I’ve never written about a chubby, curly haired, not-too-attractive catholic-raised girl who was abandoned by her father and left with a none-too-stable mother and an evil grandmother. If I tried to write that story it might just be the end of me!
I know conventional writing wisdom dictates that every story has a little of the author in it.
I can truly say the only thing of me in my stories is my name in the credits.
Filed under Characters, Dialogue, Editors
Procrastination, thy name is Margaret-Mary…
Since menopause hit me with a punch to the gut – and everywhere else – I’ve had trouble focusing on tasks that in the past were literally no brainers for me. I was balancing the checkbook the other day and my mind started drifting to my current WIP and I began running the plot line in my head, trying to figure out some good twists and turns for my characters. Before I knew it, the balance in my checkbook was off by about a million bucks and I’d written the wrong amount on two of the bills I was paying.
After Mass last weekend, a friend asked me how I liked the sermon. I had to fib and say it was great when I had no idea – no frickin’ idea- what it had been about because, yet again, my mind she was a wanderin’. That’s pretty sick. Coming out of Mass and having to tell a fib right away. No exactly the most Christian thing I’ve ever done.
On my days off I try to start writing at about 6 am. If I’m going at a good clip I can get 9-10 hours of it accomplished before I need to start thinking about dinner. Sometimes I’ll take a break to toss in a load of laundry…maybe drop by the market to get some groceries.
But for the past month my mind has had trouble sitting at my desk and creating. I come up with all sorts of excuses to pull me away from the laptop, and I usually fall victim to them. The newest episode of Castle is on, of I need to catch up on Sleepy Hollow. Jill Shalvis has a new book out that I just have to read – now! There’s a new In Death addition waiting for me on my Kindle.
All these things are pulling me away from my writing.
Then, yesterday, it hit me. These things, these distractions, aren’t pulling me away. They’ll all still be there waiting for me once I’m done writing. No, what’s making me procrastinate so much is me. Not the mundane little things I allow to get to me. Me. Myself. I.
For whatever reason, I’m a little nervous about this new WIP. I think about it all the time, truly, running plot lines in Church, thinking up dialogue when I’m at my paying job. I think about it all the time. And what I’m thinking up is good. Really good, for me. So why can’t I commit to getting it down on paper?
Probably time for some therapy…the question is, retail, or professional?
Filed under Characters, Dialogue
Peggy Jaeger, Author 