In Defense of Ignorance
by Kristan Higgins
There’s a lot to be said for being ignorant. I’m certainly proof of that. When I wrote my first couple of books, I didn’t know there were rules for writing a romance: for example, the hero and heroine are supposed to meet in the first chapter. First person is out. Lots of sex is better than a little sex. Never kill a dog. Or a cat.
Oops. Being unaware that there were rules at all, I broke a lot of them. Now that I’ve been in the writers’ community a while, I hear a lot of questions beginning with “Aren’t you supposed to…” My feeling on this is “Nah! Do what you want!” The rules are quite flexible…as long as you write a really good book.
The words really good book are key, of course. While the rules of romance can be broken and bent, the rules of good writing can’t. For example, voice matters. Characters must be multifaceted and believable. A fast pace is better than a slow pace. Those things are always true, in every genre and every age.
I happen to be a pretty good baker (okay, I’m a great baker! I am! I love baking!). For my sister-in-law’s shower, I made one of those fruit tart beauties with the kiwi slices and strawberries. “This is delicious!” my sainted mother exclaimed. “Where did you get this recipe?”
“I made it up,” I answered honestly.
“No, you didn’t,” she argued. (Mothers. Sigh.)
“Oh, but I did,” I replied. “I just mixed up some things until they were right.” (My mother sulked for the rest of the party.) But the fact was, I eat enough and bake enough to throw something together and have it be pretty dang tasty.
Writing is the same. Just as I knew more cream cheese was called for in my tart, just as I knew not to add pickles in with the kiwis, we writers know certain things. We’ve fallen in love with the rhythm and flow of words, with characters we can’t forget, with plot twists that have us lying awake at night. We know what makes a good story. We love good stories! That’s why we’re writers!
Instinct and creativity…those can’t be taught. Don’t get me wrong—I believe we can all learn to be better writers. But if greatness were something achieved just by following a recipe, we’d all be on Top Chef by now. If the proof is in the pudding, your pudding can’t come out of a box.
So go ahead and do what’s right for your book. Don’t let your instincts get bogged down by the rules. The rules don’t matter, except for one. Write a great book. When that happens, the rest will be cake.
 BIO: New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author and two-time winner of the Romance Writers of America RITA© Award, Kristan Higgins has been praised for her “genius level EQ” by USA TODAY and called “the master of small-town romance” by Romantic Times. Visit her at www.KristanHiggins.com or at www.Facebook.com/KristanHigginsBooks. Her second book, Catch of the Day (winner of the 2008 RITA Award) will be reissued on February 28, 2012.
I’m happy to have my old (as in known a long time!) friend C. Hope Clark here today; Hope and I first connected more than a decade ago when I was a presenter at the South Carolina Writer’s Workshop and she was there talking about her newsletter, Funds for Writers, a great source of information for freelancers. At the time, neither of us had books published; how things change! I went on to publish the TIME TO WRITE series and her first novel has been published (and I can’t wait to get my hands on it!). Perseverance pays off. Welcome Hope!
Earning a Living while You’re Writing Your Novel
By C. Hope Clark 
I understand the extreme frustration in trying to write your novel without the means to do so. My business FundsforWriters was born out of such frustration. I once worked during the day for a federal grant agency and wrote at night. A mystery burned in me, and for two years I wrote as I could find the minutes. Once the manuscript was completed, I could not contract it.
To keep my hand in the craft, however, I wrote for free online. The editor of a small site asked me to speak on her behalf for a local writers group. That presentation on how to write for the web turned into how to make money writing. I recognized an opportunity. I could write about what I knew, or I could continue floundering, stumbling with the novel . . . making no money at all. The website went up. The newsletters began. Numbers grew. Novelists endure a long, dry hunger spell before they see income from a book, assuming they ever do. What do you do in the meantime for income?
Get a job. Not the most popular answer writers want to hear, but there’s a wealth of reasons to remain or become employed while penning a manuscript. Health insurance for one. A regular income frees your energies for plot or a new character. At home with what’s perceived as an endless supply of time, many at-home writers slow down. Novels have no deadlines, and time easily slips away. A job pushes you to make the most of your day. When your free hours are few, you tend to capitalize on them.
Write articles. One of my favorite writing bloggers, Jeff Goins (http://goinswriter.com/getting-published-magazine/) argues that nobody should attempt a novel without at least a dozen magazine features under his or her belt. That doesn’t mean the neighborhood newsletter or the freebie piece for the animal shelter. It means publishing with paying magazines with real editors who vet story ideas via the query process. You learn to query, adapt to editors, edit, and perceive what readers want. The hook, the closing, the gut development of a piece that has to keep the reader entertained-all are solid lessons. Novel writing is loose and long term. If you haven’t taken a book from beginning to end, suffered through twelve rewrites, endured fifty rejections, or weathered the pain nobody bought your book, you can’t foresee how difficult a journey this is. Freelance writing strengthens you and brings in an income.
Identify your strength. I founded FundsforWriters.com on what I had to work with, my current knowledge. You might be an educator, a physical trainer, a superb parent, a dog whisperer, a yoga enthusiast or a simple communicant with nature. You understand business, computers, cars, cooking, or cigars. Why not use this strength to write articles, establish a blog, or work a job? Take who you are and make money with it, buying time and money to write your novel. Life is rarely a straight course from Point A to Point B. I went into FundsforWriters begrudgingly after an inability to sell a mystery. The articles began to materialize, then guest posts, then awards, then speaking engagements. On the side, I massaged the novel, grateful I had income from elsewhere. As a result of fighting to earn a living as a writer, in any manner possible, I established a platform from which to sell my beloved book. Lowcountry Bribe, A Carolina Slade Mystery releases in February from Bell Bridge Books (www.bellbridgebooks). It’s amazing how life comes full circle, if we give it a chance.
Lowcountry Bribe: A Carolina Slade Mystery By C. Hope Clark
ISBN-13: 978-1-61194-090-9
BIO C. Hope Clark is editor of FundsforWriters.com, recognized by Writer’s Digest for its 101 Best Websites for Writers for 2001 – 2011. Hope is also the author of The Carolina Slade Mystery Series. She lives on the banks of Lake Murray in South Carolina, always writing on the next novel at night and working FundsforWriters during the day. www.chopeclark.com / www.fundsforwriters.com
Alpha Male Body Language for Writers
by Mary Buckham
Reading male body language can either be a lifetime of trial and error – or involves a specific study of what sets them apart from women. Knowing and understanding male body language is very important for women writers to make sure their portrayal of male characters are accurate and grounded in ‘scientific’ facts, as opposed to simply being based on personal experience of viewpoint. So let’s have some fun in looking at what makes a male Alpha in his behavior and body language.
Male animals living in packs, such as wolves and wild dogs, compete to be the leader of the pack. This brings the strongest and smartest male to the leadership position and every pack has a leader who dominates and leads the other members of the pack. Thus the human Alpha Male refers to a type of man who is strong, smart and a leader. Others respect his decisions, and tend to not challenge him. An Alpha Male moves and stands in ways that show he expects to get what he wants without being questioned or challenged. After all who’s going to attack the biggest and most powerful?
Men can display some of their Alpha tendencies by consciously using their body posture. Standing or sitting erect with chest out, head up, arms relaxed and not flailing about are signs of dominance, and thus Alpha Maleness. Moving only when necessary, and moving slowly and deliberately indicate great self confidence, pride and determination. So an alpha male can be both the protagonist and villain on the page.
Alpha Males tend to display the following behavior patterns. 
- Aggression. This does not mean to be argumentative, belligerent and ready to fight but involves being dynamic and doing what needs to be done. They don’t wait to be shown what to do—they’ll ask forgiveness, not permission.
- Assertiveness. Alpha males tend to communicate in a clear, straight forward fashion, respectful of others as long as others are following the Alpha’s direction. Alphas are used to leading and taking responsibility for others so they assume others will acknowledge this by following blindly and without complaint.
- Courage. Alphas are ready and willing to confidently tackle problems and see them resolved. They take responsibility not only for themselves but for those under their protection—their family, their group, their community. There’s a reason why organizations such as the military or law enforcement abound with Alpha males. There is a structure, hierarchy and willingness to accept responsibility for doing the hard jobs, as well as an awareness of what protection of others entails that attracts Alphas to these fields.
- Persistence. Alphas can and will keep focused on their goals and apply all resources until goals are achieved. These are not easy men to divert or stop once they’ve determined what they see as the right course of action to take.
Research has found that males, especially young ones in their teenager years, compete in many subtle ways for a perceived Alpha Male position on sport teams, gangs, or in neighborhoods. One way they demonstrate their Alpha Maleness is by taking risks and doing dangerous things. Risk-takers are advertising their fitness to potential mates by showing off their strength and bravery.
 Not every man is a natural Alpha Male, and those who are not cannot fake it. A Beta male can be an Alpha male in the making, or can accept a lower position in the pack and thrive there.
More body language cues the dominant person uses can include:
- Directs and controls the conversation. A true dominant steers the conversation without resistance from others in the group. An Alpha Male-wannabe will hog the conversation.
- Freely asks questions and expects a response back but gives little or no self-disclosure. The Alpha male-wannabe will assume the conversation is all about them and steer it in that direction.
- Stands with hands on hips, elbows out to sides. Takes up more personal space that way and wants to look bigger. If sitting tends to also take up more space.
- Stands or sits taller than others subconsciously.
- Freely interrupts others speaking, not to shut down others but because he and others are willing to listen to him. Others don’t interrupt him. Alpha Male-wannabes will override others to prove their points and shut others down.
- Long pause when answering a door knock, or replying to someone. Makes others wait. Not as rudeness but as the highest in a hierarchy.
- Freely touches others whereas others don’t touch back. Example – a boss would pat an employee on the shoulder or back but the employee does not feel comfortable initiating or returning the gesture. Alpha Male-wannabe will use the touch in inappropriate ways.
- Will stare at others and as a result demand their attention. Others don’t do the same back. Think of law enforcement officials in any kind of public interaction.
- Never breaks eye contact first. Others usually break eye contact first by looking down, signifying submission.
- Occupies a bigger personal space and crowds others on purpose but only because they are used to protecting their space and wanting, subconsciously, the strongest offensive or defensive position.
- Takes the lead purposefully when walking and going through doors.
- While sitting, will put hands behind head, put feet on desk, remove eye glasses and put ear-piece in mouth, or turn chair away from others and stare out window. [though many of these gestures are more common to men than women]
Agree? Disagree? Share a comment and have your name placed into a drawing for free one-on-one help with a query letter or a review of the first five pages of YOUR manuscript. Your choice!
Mary’s Bio:
Award-winning author Mary Buckham has worked with thousands of writers both on-line and in live workshops throughout the U.S. and Canada. She loves meeting writers at all levels of their development. She’s also the co-author with Dianna Love of the ground-breaking plotting book BREAK INTO FICTION®: 11 Steps to Building a Story That Sells To learn more about Mary visit her website www.MaryBuckham.com
Me, My Past Self, and I
by Wendy Corsi Staub
Have you read THE FUTURE OF US? My sixteen-year-old son got it for Christmas and finished it in a matter of hours, at which point I started reading it myself. The book has one of those brilliant why-didn’t-I-think-of-that? premises: a teenaged boy and girl in 1996 accidentally log onto Facebook, which hasn’t even been invented yet, and find themselves reading about (and seeing photos of!) their future selves. The more they read, the more they adapt their behavior in their current lives to change what’s going to happen to them in the future.
Future Self versus Past/Present Self is a theme I’ve playfully visited in my own work, writing as my lighter alter-ego Wendy Markham (versus the dark side—the suspense novels I write under my own name, Wendy Corsi Staub).
In MIKE, MIKE and ME, we flash back and forth between the 1980s, where our young, single heroine is dating two guys named Mike, and the present, where she’s married to one Mike—and about to have a close encounter with the long-lost other Mike—but we don’t know which (from her past) is which.
In my time travel-themed THE BEST GIFT, a pregnant woman goes to bed on Christmas Eve, then wakes up on Christmas Day a few years in the future—in her empty house, no sign of her husband or the child they’d have had by now.
Reading THE FUTURE OF US has left me thinking a lot about the girl I used to be—and how she’d have reacted back then if she could glimpse the adult she was to become.
My Past Self, a small town girl from a very large, close-knit, functional (as opposed to dys) family, decided when she was just in third grade that she wanted to grow up to become an author. (Read more about that pivotal moment on my October 29, 2010 blog entry here.) Past Self told everyone she knew—including her trusty pink Holly Hobbie diary, on September 14, 1973—about her Big Dream for Future Self. Or perhaps Big Plan is more appropriate than BigDream, because Past Self was–like Present and I imagine Future Selves–an ambitious, overly energetic, type A control freak.
Past Self’s spelling left something to be desired, and her favorite authors at that point had been born at least a hundred years before she was, but hey, her heart–and ambitions–were in the right place.
Interesting to note that this trio of early literary idols–Louisa May Alcott, Kate Douglas Wiggin, and Laura Ingalls Wilder—wrote under three names, as did a fourth idol, Mary Higgins Clark, who would soon be discovered by Past Self—or would that be Future Past Self?–in Junior High circa 1976.
Naturally, I intended to become a triple-name author just like my idols, so when I later sold my own first novel just a few months after my wedding, I opted for Wendy Corsi Staub–my first name, my maiden name, and my husband’s last name.
By the time Past Self got to high school, she was writing novels. Here’s the first page from an early one that—go figure–failed to set the publishing world on fire when Past Self sent it off, along with the required SASEs, to New York editors: 
Past Self was shocked and disappointed, but utterly undaunted, when those SASEs boomeranged with the manuscripts inside, accompanied by form rejection slips.
By senior year of high school, Past Self had refined the Big Plan: she was going to move to Manhattan right after college because everyone knew that was where all the coolest authors lived. (By this time, Past Self’s literary idols included witty, provocative late twentieth century urbanites Judy Blume, Mary Rodgers, Norma Klein, and pre-Sweet-Valley Francine Pascal, whose books were invariably set in New York City or its suburbs and had Past Self longing to exchange small town life for city life).
Past Self had such a case of tunnel vision that it never occurred to her to have a Backup Plan in case the Big Plan didn’t work out. There was only one plan, ever. Not even a thought to other things that might be fulfilling, or to the twists and turns that tend to pop up in life’s pathway.
Here she is among featured seniors in the 1982 high school yearbook:
I’ll allow you a moment or two to gape in mute horror at the unflattering hair-do (courtesy of a rough night spent sleeping on pink sponge rollers) and equally unflattering but favorite-outfit-that-year preppy cardigan (gray with navy ribbon trim imprinted with tiny whales), plaid skirt (also shades of navy and gray), knee socks, and white-soled docksiders.
Finished grimacing? Okay, now check out the last line of the biographical piece. See? Only one plan. Ever. So confident was Past Self in her choice to become an author that she hadn’t wavered in the decade since third grade; nor would she waver between senior year and the moment–exactly another decade later–when, now living in New York, she submitted a partial manuscript entitled SUMMER LIGHTNING to an editor acquiring young adult paranormals.
A day or two before the Rita Awards ceremony in Manhattan, a nauseated Past Self suspected, then confirmed, that she and her husband were—oops, surprise!—expecting their first child. Not part of the Big Plan–at this stage, anyway–but a welcome surprise nonetheless. Thoughts running through Past Self’s head during the acceptance speech in front of hundreds of people: Don’t Barf Don’t Barf Don’t Barf Don’t Barf… I know. Glamorous, right? Well, sometimes. Three days later, the newly minted award-winning author was flown First Class on the first of countless Book Tours (alas, not all of which would be First Class—or even footed by the publisher—but abysmal lows are a part of every career, and that’s another blog). When her head wasn’t in the toilet during the course of that milestone trip–which was most of the time–it was in the clouds, musing about motherhood and what this deviation might mean to the Big Plan.
Flash forward about seventeen years, two sons, and more than seventy-five published novels in various genres, some for kids, some for adults. Past Self has become Present Self.
These days, the words “New York Times Bestselling Author” goes above the name Wendy Corsi Staub on book covers, which are published again by Harpercollins in one of life’s gratifying, full-circle turns. And these days, two of the most precious people in my world don’t call me a bestseller and they don’t call me by three names; they just call me Mom. Life has become a balancing act I never perceived back when I was dreaming and planning. Making dinner for a couple of perpetually starved teenaged boys–and, often, their assorted friends–is as fulfilling as jetting off on a book tour. I have everything I ever wanted, but more importantly: I have everything I ever needed, but didn’t know I wanted.
I shudder to think what might have happened if my Past Self had glimpsed Future Self during that Don’t Barf Don’t Barf Don’t Barf moment at the podium and thought, Huh? Have kids? No way!!–and then, like the hero and heroine of THE FUTURE OF US, set out to change the course of her future, courtesy of the one-track mind she had back then. And hey, it was the ’70s, and women’s lib was in full swing. I was all about the career, and the one I’d chosen was such a longshot that I didn’t think there’d be room for anything else. Guess what? There is.
Has it been an easy, straightforward path to get here, career-wise? No way. Have I ever considered giving it up? No way. The rewards may not always outnumber or outweigh the drawbacks, but they’re ultimately so fulfilling that whenever I find myself in a slump, focusing on past successes and future plans gets me through.
In another great Full Circle twist: in 2011, I was a finalist for Mystery Writers of America’s coveted “Mary Higgins Clark Award.” At the Edgar Awards last April, I got to chat at length with my triple-named idol herself, who said she’d loved my book. I gushed that I’d read WHERE ARE THE CHILDREN when I was in sixth grade, then devoured everything she published from that time on, knowing I wanted to write the same kinds of books one day.
What would Past Self have thought if she could have peered into the future and glimpsed this moment—a one-on-one chat with the Queen of Suspense?!
Seriously? I bet she’d have thought it was pretty cool—yet I doubt she’d have been surprised. In fact, she’d probably have expected nothing less. That’s how certain Past Self was about what she wanted to do with her life–and how sure she was that the Dream that became a Plan would be carried out.
By high school, especially, it was all the other stuff in Past Self’s world that was perpetually laced with uncertainty. The friendships, the romances, the appearance, the academics, the finances…
If, back in high school, Past Self could have lifted the veil for a moment, she’d probably have been much more concerned about the near future, and whether she’d get to go to the prom with the cute basketball player she liked.
Psst, Past Self—guess what? You will go to the prom with that cute basketball player; you’ll even be crowned Prom Prince and Princess. And then he will will disappear into the mists of time, only to resurface on your Facebook Friends list in 2012.
And she’d have been devastated to know that her beautiful, supportive young mom—the mom who told her third grade daughter that she could become anything she wanted to be if she set her mind to it—would die of breast cancer just a few weeks after her 63rd birthday.
Who wouldn’t want to tamper with the present in order to change that future?
So. Maybe the future is best left to the imagination, to dreaming and planning, or–just to dreaming. Maybe we don’t really want or need to know. Maybe all that matters is that in the end, that small town girl with a Big Plan did become a writer, and she also became a wife and mother who gave birth to a son—actually two sons—who also have Big Plans.
As soon as I finish writing this blog, I’m heading out the door to College Planning Night with my firstborn, the one who read The Future of Us on Christmas Day.
He also has Big Plans. He wants to become—guess what? A writer. He’s thinking Sports Journalist, but I’ve known from the time he was around four that his brain is wired like a novelist’s. Sometimes I wish—as, I’m sure, does he—that I could catch a glimpse of his Future Self. But then, all in good time…we will.
How about you? If you could catch a glimpse of yourself ten, twenty, thirty years from now…would you want to? And what would you hope/expect to see?
5 Ways to Stick with Fiction (Even When you Write All Day Long Already)
By Kelly James-Enger
I write for a living, and have for 15 years. So you might think that it’s easy for me to make time for writing fiction. Think again. Because I already spend my working hours writing (as opposed to, say, digging ditches, stocking groceries, or drawing blood), I find it hard to gear up to use my “spare time” to write. After all, I’ve been using the wordsmith part of brain much of the day. There’s often little mental energy or drive left over for my own work.
Yet for me writing fiction provides a satisfaction that ghostwriting books, writing articles, and speaking do not. So I make time for it. Here are five ways strategies I use to stick with fiction:
- Do it first thing. When I speak on time management, I suggest that people “eliminate the ugliest”—that is, do the thing that you most do not want to do. By tackling the dreaded task first, you get it out of the way and free up the rest of your day from worrying about it. You also have the satisfaction of checking it off your to-do list.
- Write every day. When I’m working on the draft of a novel, I work on it every day—even if it’s just writing a scene or a few lines of dialogue. It keeps my hand in, so tospeak, and keeps my characters and my storyline constantly swirling in my mind. I’ve had some great insights into my characters walking my son to school, lifting weights at the Y, or eavesdropping at my local Caribou Coffee—because I’m always thinking about them.
- Keep a cheat sheet. I keep a running “cheat sheet” for every in-progress novel that includes my primary characters’ names, background information about them, and other characters’ names and identities as well. That way if I can’t remember, say, a character’s daughter’s best friend’s first name, I just check my cheat sheet and save time. (The cheat sheet also helps prevent me from reusing the same or similar names.)
- Write about what you’re writing. This may sound confusing, but what I mean is that I take time to think about what I’m writing about before and while I’m working on a novel. So, for example, my first novel, Did you Get the Vibe?, explored the question of what would you do if you met someone you were overwhelmingly attracted to—but were in a happy, stable relationship? Would you act on it, or not, and why? Writing about the theme or issues you’re exploring can provide you with additional insights into your current project.
- Wear a hat. Sometimes I need an external reminder that I’m in fiction-writing mode. I have several hats that do the trick. I plop one on my head, close my email program, and get to work, focusing on the task at hand—working on my novel. (I’ll admit with two little kids, this works better at night when they’re asleep.) You might burn a certain candle, sit in a certain chair, or wear a certain sweatshirt to signal your brain it’s fiction-writing time.
 I’m fortunate to be able to write for a living, but that means I sometimes chafe at having to give up time to work on a novel. I’ll tell you, though, that I’m always glad when I have—such as with this 90-day Writing Challenge! Getting a novel published, and hearing from writers who love my work, only makes it even more rewarding.
**Kelly James-Enger “escaped from the law” in 1997 but she’s no fugitive. Since then, the former attorney has written nearly 1,000 articles for more than 60 national magazines and 13 books, including eight under her own name. She’s well-known as a freelancing expert and her books on freelancing include Goodbye Byline, Hello Big Bucks: The Writer’s Guide to Making Money Ghostwriting and Coauthoring Books. James-Enger is also a published novelist of White Bikini Panties and Did you Get the Vibe? Her blog, Dollars and Deadlines, is for freelancers who want to make more money in less time.
BACK TO THE BEGINNING
by Cynthia Eden
Hi, everyone! It’s a pleasure to be here today (thanks so much to Kelly for inviting me over!), and good luck to everyone participating in the 90-Day Writing Challenge.
Sometimes, the hardest part of the writing process can actually be starting your story. Beginnings can be tricky. How do you know that you’ve started your story in the right spot? How do you know that you will be able to draw in your readers? How do you know that you’re setting the right tone for your story?
Ah…it’s all about the beginning.
I’ve seen plenty of people pick up books in bookstores, open those books, and scan the first few lines of the novels. Some of those people like what they read, and they head over to the cash register. Others don’t enjoy the beginning, and they put the books back on the shelves.
You don’t want your book going back to the shelf!
So how do you catch that reader’s attention? You start strong. From the very beginning, you start with an opening line that will grab your reader and don’t let go.
 Here are a few tips I used for beginning my books:
- Start with action. I don’t like to beat around the bush (so to speak) when I start a story. I want to jump in to the tale, and I want my readers to jump in, too. I don’t start with several paragraphs of flowing description (no matter how pretty that description may be)—I start with a bang. Something dramatic that will capture my reader. I want to grab them and yank them into my story so that readers can’t stop reading. They must find out what happens next. They don’t have any other choice.
- Another way to start a tale is with dramatic dialogue. I wouldn’t ever start my tale with a mundane line like… “How are you today, Sam?” Heather asked her dog. Um, just no. If you’re going to start with dialogue, then darn well start with a dialogue line that packs a punch. For example, a dialogue line with punch would be… “I killed him,” Heather confessed, lifting her chin as she faced the wall of cops before her, “but don’t worry, he won’t stay dead for long.”
Surprise your reader with your dialogue. Set the stage and let them know just what fun they have in store as they read your book.
Save the backstory. You don’t need to dump paragraphs (or, gah, pages!) of back story information on your reader when you begin a story. Give out your details in small slices, slowing revealing the important points like you are leaving a trail of breadcrumbs for your reader to follow. The reader will keep flipping pages as she follows those enticing crumbs.
So there you have it. My 3 tips for writing a powerful beginning for your tale. Do you have any favorite opening lines from books that you’d like to share? I’d love to hear them.
(And I’ll give one random commenter a copy of any Cynthia Eden book of her/his choice!)
Thanks for checking out my post.
Cynthia Eden
www.cynthiaeden.com
ANGEL OF DARKNESS—Available now from Kensington Brava
When an angel falls for a vampire, all hell breaks loose…
TRICKED INTO WRITING
By Manda Collins
One of my favorite quotes about writing comes from the always entertaining Dorothy Parker, who says “I hate writing. I love having written.” I can certainly think of things I enjoy less. Like cleaning the kitchen. But some days even a sink full of dirty dishes looks like fun compared to diving into my WIP. What is it about sitting down in a chair with your hands on the keyboard that is so dreadful? And how can you make yourself move past that initial reluctance and get the words flowing?
In the past couple of years, thanks to a publishing contract with St. Martin’s Press, my writing habits have changed considerably. No longer could I go for days at a time without thinking about the WIP, but instead, my tight deadlines meant that I had to set weekly goals and follow through with them. And so far I’ve been pretty successful. Here are some tricks I’ve learned to make sure I finished my books on time:
1. TRY TO WRITE AT THE SAME TIME EVERY DAY: This won’t be possible all the time, or for everybody. But once you find a time that works for you, try to stick with it. Routine makes it easier to shift into autopilot and get started.
2. KEEP A LOG: Again, it doesn’t have to be an elaborate chart. You simply need to have a place where you can check in and keep track of your progress. Why? Because just like a dieter who needs to keep track of how much weight they’re losing, you need to be able to see at a glance how far you’ve come and how far you need to go. This way you will be able to give yourself the well-deserved pat on the back when you meet your goal. If you can find one, use a word count tracker to show your progress, like the ones they have for NaNoWriMo. I like the one here.
3. SET GOALS, LARGE AND SMALL: If you’re writing novel length fiction, you first need to set your big goal, that is, finishing the whole book. Then divide your total word count goal by the number of days until your book is due. That will give your daily goal. Multiply that by seven and you have your weekly goal. Write these down somewhere that you can look at them every day. If you want more flexibility, try meeting your weekly goal instead of your daily goal. That way if you have an off day, you can make up for it later in the week.
4. PLAN AHEAD: Don’t worry pantsers! I don’t mean that you have to change your entire writing nature. Just that it helps to know where you’re going before you start writing for the day. Even if it’s just a quick one sentence statement about what you want to get done on the WIP during that day’s session, a brief overview of your goal for the day will ensure that you have something to say when you start typing.
5. TRICK YOURSELF INTO WRITING: Even with all these goals in place, sometimes even knowing that I have people counting on me isn’t enough to get the creative juices flowing. This is when I rely on trickery. First, tell yourself that you don’t have to write all of that day’s word count goal. But you have to write something. Even if it’s only 100 words. My mind, latching on to the idea that I am being rewarded with a lighter sentence somehow, thinks, “Sure, 100 words is easy peasy.” And then I whip them out. And nine times out of ten I will think, “Huh. That 100 words wasn’t so terrible. I think I could probably write another hundred.” And then I whip out the next 100 words. And so on. Before long, I’ve met my daily goal, AND I am feeling inordinately proud of myself for having done so. WIN!
So, what tricks do you use to get from Chapter One to THE END? One commenter will win a copy of Manda’s debut novel, HOW TO DANCE WITH A DUKE, coming January 31 from St. Martin’s Press.
NEW YEAR, NEW WRITER YOU! Join me on Wed Jan 18th at 7 central/8 eastern time for free live chat on how you can achieve success as a writer in 2012!
Learn ways to achieve success as a writer in 2012 including finding time to write no matter how busy you are, overcoming mental obstacles that keep you from achieving your goals, and easy techniques for building a bridge to your subconscious mind to maximize your creativity.
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Jan 18, 2012 8:00 PM EST – Jan 18, 2012 9:00 PM EST |
Organization is the key
By Rhonda Pollero
Think before you write. It saves time and energy. When I first started writing I did it with a vague notion of what I wanted to write about and then I’d sit at my computer and stare at the thing (It’s called a cursor for a reason). I’d write a sentence, tweak it, change it, delete it, retype it, you name it, I did it. What I didn’t do was move forward. I never thought in terms of what’s next. Then I figured out what was holding me back.
I wasn’t thinking things through. Now I am NOT saying you have to do a detailed outline, character interviews and biographies or any other long-winded time-sucks, I’m just suggesting that you look at the big picture. That big picture can be the scene, the chapter or the whole book. And feel free to do bios or anything else that helps your process. There is no right way to write a book. There is, however, a wrong way. That wrong way is hoping it will come to you as the story unfolds. This is fiction, it doesn’t happen unless you make it happen and it won’t work unless you provide a motivation or reason for a specific result.
This is my easy example. Some scenes are easier to write – maybe the opening or the end or the cliffhanger. Some are harder – that sagging middle or that big build-up to the ultimate conflict. It’s like driving. If I’m going to my friend’s house, I don’t need a map. But if I happen to be driving to Montana from Florida you’d better believe I’d have a map and a GPS. I’m travelling into the unknown. I need help.
The best way to organize your book is the same way you organize your life. Are you a list maker? Do you need visual reminders? Does hearing taped comments help nudge you along? I have a friend who would be lost without the voice notes app on her phone. She dictates little reminders to herself all the time. I have a friend who is a post-it junkie. Her entire fridge is a mosaic of sticky notes. Me? I’m a list maker. I try to make a list of three things that need to happen in each chapter. Sometimes I only have one or two – depending on the importance – so I’m fluid (an important part of organization is being willing to change direction). And I do it backwards. I think that’s a function of writing mysteries though I did it that way when I was writing romance too. I knew bad guy was going to get caught in the end so I started there. Then I went back and made a note of how he got caught. Then maybe a note on what clue led the protagonist to the solution. And I’d keep going and going until I had all my clues/conflicts in place.
Make yourself a map and don’t spend your life doing it. Just give yourself a guide and remember that you can always take detours if a better idea or better way to handle a scene comes to you organically. It really is much easier than starting and stopping all through the book to think your way out of whatever hole you may have written yourself into. And you’ll accomplish the ultimate goal – to finish the book.
I’m proud of all the progress I see on the Writing Challenge Page! Keep going!
Today as guest Challenge blogger we have Fran Fisher, who tells you why it’s never too late to go after your writing dream! Leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of one of Fran’s books.
NEVER TOO LATE
By FRAN FISHER
If you’re embarking on the road to publication, it’s easy to get discouraged. The process can be daunting if you think about the time involved in writing a manuscript, getting an agent or an editor interested in it, the time for the book to be produced and, of course, the competition of thousands of other writers.
For those of you who are young, time might not seem crucial, but if you don’t have the advantage of youth, time will add to the stress of the getting your manuscript published.
But don’t give up hope. I am living proof that it’s never too late to get published. I wrote for years before I saw the fruits of my works published. I started writing in the 1980’s, got a few rejections, thought I was being silly to think I could get published, and put the dream of publication back in the far corner of my life—but I never stopped writing. If you’re a writer, you write. It’s that simple. I wrote, played around with stories, and one day I realized I had quite a few manuscripts in different stages of completion. One day, I told myself, I’ll do something with all of them.
That day came earlier than I anticipated. Before I was ready, I had to take a medical retirement from teaching. Boredom immediately set in. One day I pulled out boxes of old manuscripts (I didn’t own a computer then) and the writing bug bit me once again. I joined a writing chapter, attended as many conferences and workshops as possible, and I eventually had my dream come true. It was one day before my 58th birthday that I received The Call.
 Since then, I’ve had three books published by Avalon Books and will have my fourth released in June 2012 under the name Fran McNabb. I’ve also had two books that don’t fit into Avalon’s guidelines released digitally under my penname Fran Fisher.
Fifty-eight years old might seem ancient to young writers, but I think age depends on attitude. The same goes for the writing process. If you’re just starting out or have your computer filled with unpublished manuscripts, don’t give up. Write as much as you can. Learn as much as you can—there’s always room for improvement. I have two degrees in English, but I realized I didn’t know how to correctly write fiction. I studied the art. You need to as well. One day your dream will come true, but how you handle that road will make a difference.
Good luck to you and congratulations on being in Kelly’s writing challenge.
BIO: Fran Fisher lives along the Gulf Coast and uses the area for most of her books. In FOREVER, MY LOVE, she uses a Civil War fort on a pristine island just off the Mississippi coast as part of the book’s setting. Having been forced to sleep in this fort during an unexpected storm, she has first-hand experience of what it feels like to be in the dark in a place where men lived and died over a hundred years ago. In the book she asks the question of whether love can survive over 150 years.
Visit Fran at www.franfisherauthor.com or leave a message at FranFisherAuthor@yahoo.com.
Why do you think it’s never too late? Leave a comment here, and you could be a winner of FOREVER, MY LOVE or PLAYING WITH FEELING.
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BIO: New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author and two-time winner of the Romance Writers of America RITA© Award, Kristan Higgins has been praised for her “genius level EQ” by USA TODAY and called “the master of small-town romance” by Romantic Times. Visit her at www.KristanHiggins.com or at www.Facebook.com/KristanHigginsBooks. Her second book, Catch of the Day (winner of the 2008 RITA Award) will be reissued on February 28, 2012.
