Ringing in the New Year with a Bang

This is not a festive day for me only because I'm unusually grumpy with my work in progress. Maybe I can chase away the blues with some wine. Staring at it and working word by word doesn't seem to be working very well. Anyway, I will take the loathing elsewhere.

Amazon

My books are now available for Amazon Kindle pre-order!

The Drag

Every now and then, and by that I mean every time I have a good spurt of writing, I get into the drag. The drag happens the next morning after I've set my goals, reached them head on, and then kept going for the day until all my bad self esteem is shattered and I can do everything.

Then I wake up the next morning. I drag myself out of bed. I drag myself to the computer. I tell myself there is no possible way I can do this again. My word counts will not be is good, my work in progress is evil and out to get me. Then I procrastinate like my life depends on it. But I let myself drag, because the hardest thing in the world for me is to be happy with something I've written. If I gave myself license to be elated all of yesterday, I should reward myself with dire grumpiness and angst today. Then start at square one and try to achieve it all over again, one lousy swear word at a time.

I may create the drag, but once I have it, I know it's only a symptom of doing something right.

In VA in over two feet of snow

Posting this from the blackberry. I'm currently at a friend of a friends parents house because we're snowed inside it. It's awkward because I've met them maybe twice and now I'm practically living here. Thinking about the snow I did bring my laptop so I still have my work, but I can only get little chunks done because it's just weird here. The snow is pretty but getting home tommorow night with no four wheel drive on our truck is going to be exciting. We have two eight lb bags of sand over the wheel wells and hopefully that will be enough. I like not dying and I've got a book to release in febuauary.

Free Goodies Here

I was very productive today and as a result everyone gets goodies in the form of lots of good articles! Yay! Not only did I get six pages on my manuscript today and I revised my five year plan. So, here are the articles:

• Ten Writing Mistakes Writers Don't See 
• Some Insight Into A 5 Year Plan (though I like to make mine just about my writing goals and what I'm willing to do to accomplish them such as Publicity, more e-books, a newsletter, etc.)
• Romance Cliche's To Avoid 
• Insight Into Free Advertising 
• Dealing with Rejection 

Some of these aren't the most perky topics around but they are all pertinent and important to remaining a good writer at any stage in the game.

Slow Day

Nothing to really report here today. I had great inspiration at 4 am which I wrote down in bed by the light of my Blackberry. I wrote several pages on the rewrite, helped someone with a beta read or full read of their manuscripts, and researched my butt off. I'm off to do more of that now. I've got to find a good agent.

Deleting

I'm still in a writer mode where every scene I delete still hurts. It still calls to be revised until I can use it further, but then I spend hours revising it when a new scene would do just as well and not take so much time. It's a tricky business deleting out of the blue. I've even instigated a file for all my deletions so I still have the mis-matched pieces, but then I got lazy. Now it's just delete, delete, delete. I remind myself not the breath while doing it because then it hurts more, haha.

Anyway, here is my very short five year plan for now, because writing any more than this just seems silly when I don't know if I'll hit deadlines. But I know I need more concrete deadlines in here such: such and such date Publish an e-book with this line. Rather than just my works in progress. But if I never get any work done I won't have anything to sell, right? So here it is:

1.    2010
February 1st: Finish WIP
February 3rd: Finish Synopsis
February 6th: Finish Query
February 9th: Query 3 Agents
February 10th-May 10th: Finish Lesbian Assassin WIP
May 11th-June 30th: Edit WIP
July 1st-3rd: Synopsis
July 5th: Query (3 Books)
July 7th: Query Cleis    
July 8th: Query Agents
July 10th-Oct 10th: Imp WIP
Oct 12th: Synopsis
Oct 14th: Query Agents/Presses
Oct 16th: Write Siren novella

I'm only submitting to three agents right off because I've heard once you submit to them once with your work, it's bad form to submit more of your work later if they reject you on the first work. So I don't want to kill all my options when I get rejections. Pessimism will get you everywhere. I'll be figuring out a less hassle free way of doing 5 year plans and explaining it on here as soon as I can find the information and make it digestible.

Yay! Thanks P&E

Thanks to Preditors and Editors I've won the Author's Site of Excellence for November! Yay!!!

Five Year Plan

Today I'm crafting out my five year plan. Where I'd like to be in five years, the stories I have to go to get there, etc. It should be an adventure. To say I'm nervous is an under statement, how do you plan for paperback publication? It's hard work. I'm going for magic on this one. Magic and lots of perseverance. I'll post my plan once I have it.

Self Promotion, Networking, and Making Friends

I have thrown myself into the world of networking because I need more people to talk to when this profession gets very lonely. Also, networking and self promotion are a huge plus. My books are coming out in about three months and I wast supportive people to be there to read them.

So along with conquering twitter and becoming somewhat of I've addict overnight. I've also made friends over at Romance Divas forum. Now I have three social networking habits instead of just one which was Blogger. I will never get anymore work done. But, I kid, I made lots of progress on the story today where a magical plot key gave me magical powers to fix the gunk that was in my way. I was excited. Hopefully this will bring out more emotional hero/heroines. Still on my third draft.

Next on my promotion/make friends list, because the people at Romance Diva's knock my socks off, will be to get my website up, make some flyers for local sex toy shops for my erotica, and finish this damn manuscript by February so I can shop it out to agents.

Writing Romances

I picked up a few helpful books at the library today, very exciting. Here is what I picked up:

• Writing Romances
• The Romance Writer's Handbook 

And hopefully, later I can find my copy of Complete Idiots Guide to Writing Erotic Romance. I need to combine all my research into a happy little go-to booklet of shiny happiness. I want this so bad I can taste it. Like ink and chewed up paper pulp, because that's what you would get if you tasted a published book, or at least that's what I imagine it would taste like. I've never tasted one.

I think one of the most helpful and grounding things I've learned through this whole process is that no matter what's going on outside of the hero/heroine craziness, they can always come together in any emotional way to defeat it. That applies for my erotica as well. My writing is more emotionally driven rather than plot because it's more friendly to the human brain than a chain link of sex acts because so and so had the hots for so and so. Of course, there is a time and place for that too.

I have given in

I am on twitter here. It's certainly an interesting meduim for someone so wordy as me. I'm still trying to find people on there. I'm not a big fan of the find option, it doesn't work too well.

It's snowing here

There is no way I can possibly describe how much I hate snow. Today of all days there is snow and rain. Which means the day I've been looking forward too all week is kaput. No library for me full of happy research books. No fixed Blackberry because it just randomly stopped working and I haven't been able to use it for more than a week. All of those errands are snow in the wind. Because our car can't drive through snow well. And I can't drive. I am going to go sulk forever. I might get overdo library fines.

Damn you snow.

Erotic Nibble 3: Auction

Auction

    Babs sold herself for three dollars at the Yale date auction. Everyone hissed as she pulled layers of blond hair behind her ears. Too low a bid for such a catch. She bounded off the stage, a swish of plaid pleats.

    Her curious smile sparkled from a mauve mouth that offered her new date a kiss on the cheek. The fingers of her right hand played along his cock through his dinner slacks.

    The slicked back, suit man covered a laugh with his paw-like hand. A bear of a man.

    She would wrestle with him later in the backseat of the cab. Skirt up, driving hard hips, slick cunt, onto his dick. He would bellow out fifties era swear words as he used her like the working girl she had sold herself as, packaging and all.

    Babs was everyone's little princess. Dirk, her boyfriend claimed her virginity two months ago on a boat in the lake. He was going to take her out on the town for the auction when he won. Instead, she was moaning around her chemistry professor's cock as the potholes pushed it ever further down the back of her throat.

    She tasted pre-cum like his detergent. He smelled unfamiliar, sweet like her pussies perfume. Aged like bound leather and tobacco. She had one goal. Share her self worth and give herself to someone less worthy. That was the point of this whole thing right?

Write for Yourself

Sometimes this can be the hardest thing to do for me. Mainly because I want my books to sell as much as I want to write them true to my own style. But if you write them and then it doesn't get out there, just because I wrote it doesn't really make it enough for me. I'm looking at what I'm writing right now, what has become my life, and I can see clearly the differences between my book and those out there. But, at the same time I can also name and point out very strong author influences. Because I can see the influences and see the makings of my book as a journey familiar to most readers does that mean it's unoriginal?

That's what I'm working with right now. What defines original, what will set me apart from the pack, but what will also make me happy and bring me the best book. All books stem from one plot or another, there is no plot that is original anymore, or that's the diatribe I subscribe too. Yet, peoples variations on these topics still sell like hotcakes. How do I know when I've had that divine experience where my story is different enough to make me happy, but universal enough to draw everyone into a big, cuddly reading pile?

I suppose the point of writing for yourself is to renege on these questions. To just shut up and keep writing and not stress. But what can I say? I think out of the box.

Just got my publishing dates

Now, this may change again, but I'll update these dates if they do so no one misses any of my books. Here's the line-up at Excessica coming February:

• Checkout: February 8th 2010 (My husband's birthday)
• Sextool: March 1st 2010
• College Trouble: March 8th 2010
• Repossession: March 29th 2010
• Keeper: May 17th 2010

So that's how it's looking in the upcoming months. I'll also be writing new material and submitting it to several other e-book formats. I'll let you know how that progresses.

Taking a Sick Day

I have trouble taking sick days. I've been sick since around Sunday and I haven't done anything about it but drink water and increase my work hours because I'm at a book breakthrough. Yeah, that's not good for my body. So now I'm in fever land and resenting that I have to take a day off when all I want to do is work on pivotal stuff. I'm forcing myself to take a sick day. Well, husband is actually forcing me to take a sick day. But why oh why did it have to be a revelation day? Why couldn't it be a boring editing day? My pile of stuff to do is out the window and now I have to sleep.

Ripping, Tearing, and 25 Days of Christmas

Today I've basically got to start from square one with my book. I'm unhappy with the ending and in order to change it I have to get scene diagnostics on all of the chapters leading up towards the end. I'm thinking I'll have to delete a heck of a lot of pages which I've never done before in my career.

Although, today is one of my favorite days of the year. The start of 25 Days of Christmas on the ABC Family Channel. Corny, wonderful Christmas movies, hot tea and cider, and some nice winding down time every night until Christmas when hopefully I'll get enough money to enter the RWA. This is a nice up side for writing my book into itty, bitty pieces.

Google

I just googled myself for the first time, boy was that enlightening. Though a majority of the top rankings were actually me related, some of them had nothing to do with me. It's still weird to see someone else with your name, even when you're married and change your name. I suppose I thought the feeling would go away once I had a name that wasn't really mine anymore per se. Nope, still weird to google myself. For the record, everything erotica is mine. Everything else, not so much. But if you ever go to my Myspace, sorry I'm never on that anymore. Myspace just doesn't like my computer very much. I do check it occasionally but don't expect any glorious revivals or anything, okay? Awesome.

A Total Count

I just counted the number of projects I'm currently juggling or ready to write. It comes out to thirteen. At least I know I'll never run out of ideas. The projects span from erotic anthologies, historical books, cross genre books, and paranormal romance. Once one of them is completed another five will stop in there place. It's how it works around here in the world that is my brain.

I'm Back

My holiday was filled with killing my healthy diet, trying rabbit for the first time, and working tirelessly on the edits of my book. I'm more than a third of the way through knowing I want to trash at least the last twenty pages injecting more character worthy conflict as well as several more scenes that add to the mystery.

I didn't venture out on Black Friday because I'm always worried I'll get crushed by the excited mobs. Plus there wasn't really anything I needed to own that particular day anyway. I did have to get a new keyboard yesterday because we had company over and they spilled a cup of coffee all over my old keyboard rendering it useless. It was an inconvenience, but I wasn't too upset about it.

I've also come up with at least five new ideas for short stories and at least one for a novel/novella for Excessica once I can put this book aside for a bit. It's going to be historically inspired in ancient Greece, for a little teaser.

The time is coming fast when my work will show up on the new and improved Excessica website. I am giddy with glee at the prospect. I'm going to churn out erotica as quickly as my little fingers can type on the hiatus from my third round of edits. Then maybe I can conquer the anthologies still sitting in my folder waiting for my touch.

A new erotic nibble is coming tomorrow, so be on the look out for it.

Red Neck Stir Fry

So, Husband and I were supposed to make it to the store today. We were lazy instead and I was hungry. I salvaged what was in our pantry and made what I like to call Red Neck Stir Fry:

• Fried spam cut into pieces and cooked until crispy on the outside
• Green beans from a can cooked in the microwave
• Long grain rice cooked in a rice cooker with lots of chicken broth
• An egg or two either fried or runny over top of the whole mess

Instant deliciousness.

The HQ Scandel

Okay, so I really have nothing new to say to this"self-publishing" development Harlequin has unleashed on the world. Most of the blogs are saying it just fine without me and with far more publishing house inside knowledge. So, here are my favorite sites to check out the new developments (read angry death thralls) of Harlequin. Thank you to the RWA for handling it the way it should be handled, with grace and affirmative action for the betterment of romance authors great and small.

• Janet Reid's Blog 
• MWA's Statement 
• Jackie Kessler's Blog  

This is just a very, very brief round-up of stuff that I've found helpful in the wake of this whole mess. Please, if you write romance, or want to write romance, keep yourself informed of these developments because they impact not only your future, but the future of publishing as we authors know it. Knowledge is power people.

Paranormal Romance

An interesting article my good friend Kristina sent me about paranormal romance. It basically spins off of most of the trends I've been reading about in most romance agents and publishers blog so I thought it was appropriate to post here.

Romance Lies

I really enjoy it when people ask me if I write romance because I like it or because it sells well on the market. What I will continue to tell them over and over again is that just because romance as a genre does well on the market, that doesn't mean it's any easier to break into than any other genre. It may sell better once you've made a name for yourself and it may be (though I disagree) somewhat formulaic to most people. But, big but, it does not make it any easier to get a deal or contract and get published. This market is just like any other literary market unless you have a lot of luck on your side you take your knocks and rejections in stride waiting for "The Call". So please, stop assuming my work is easy. Try it some time.

Nicholas Sparks

I got to say, I just finished A Walk to Remember, not as good as the movie. I'm wondering if the next one I read will be any better. It's not that I didn't feel anything for the characters, because I did. But it took me more than a third of the way through to get to that point. A romance shouldn't take that long to smack you over the head with emotion in my opinion. Plus, there was no hot Shane West to sweep me off my feet. Message in a Bottle and The Notebook are still my favorite. I can write steamy snippets and still be a sap, I promise.

I picked up a few of his books for writing homework. I'm hoping the next one I pick up will be more to my liking. I've got to study all genres of the craft if I want to succeed. It works for erotica too. I still have at least five books sitting on my night table for smut homework. I like to intersperse them.

Erotic Nibble 1: Schoolyard

I called them together in the room from my tattered Lisa Frank address book. The one with the sparkle ponies in purple.


Now the three men stood before me. I didn't think any of them would come. Not from the glory days of pulling my pigtails on the playground. Now they would play with my nipples. My clit. My hair. My hip. Skin was no longer a boundary. I didn't have cooties anymore.


Each took an inhale of breath, choppy over my land-line receiver. I could feel them shake their heads, then a soft baritone request. The boys were stripped in my apartment living room. I gave my best vixen inhale. that false bravery to put inside myself and I strutted. 


The first one met me halfway. His cock had already lost it's shyness as he pulled my black ponytail, leading me to the couch. The familiar thump of my knees sounded distant. Men's scent, heady, thick, choked my panting mouth now that they couldn't see me breathe. I was anonymous with my head turned towards the wall.


A hiss of breathe as someone bit my labia, hot pleasure dancing in my cunt. A jerk of my shoulder as one of them mounted me from behind. Hands fingering my nipples, a mouth locked around my cunt. Nails racking down my back. It all melds together in one forethought of touch. 


I pictured them three way calling each other to see what they would do, and then I came.

Quickies

In an attempt to finish my book of 250 word stories I've decided on a fun route for my readers. Every week starting his Monday you'll get a steamy 250 word erotica nibble while I'm writing the rest of my book. You can look forward to searing, sexual goodness once a week for I don't know how long yet. Until I'm done perhaps? These posts will have their own subheading under "Erotic Nibbles" in my word cloud so if you've missed any pantie flying, skin tingling action, that's where you're gong to want to click. I'm posting my first story in a few minutes. I hope you enjoy!

The Calm Before The Storm

I'm a third of the way through my edits today. It's been a long week. Sitting at my desk tomorrow morning does not in any way seem appealing when my brain is mush today. I rewrote over three scenes, did over fourteen pages, and edited a lot more than that.

Sometimes I wish I had a little group of reading elves. A committee if you will, who could just sit around in my apartment and read my edits telling me how I've improved. I would never have to wait for feedback of my genius again. They would be some straight shooting elves, let me tell you that now.

I'm still struggling with several projects I've had to put on the back burner because of my book. Several of them I'm just dying to finish like the book I just started that isn't the sequel to this one that's already outlined. This new book is really neat in concept and character but there just isn't time to execute two books at once yet when I'm still getting a feel for the work of writing a first book. All in all I've got three books to start/finish, full length including edits, I'm counting six anthologies for Excessica or some other erotic press, and several unwritten short stories for anthologies in the near future.

I just got to pace myself and not let my brain get bigger than my fingers on the keyboard. They can only type and work so much a day before blah. It's only going to get harder as I become more published.

Rules That Writers Live By

This is a really neat post explaining, hilariously, how writer's wish to be treated through various life situations using writer rules. I got a good laugh out of it this morning and it's also completely true.

Huh?

I'm sorry to anybody who came to my blog looking for heath bar brownies. Which appantly has happened thanks to Google. There are no brownies here. But plenty of other fun treats.

Now that it's in my blog I'm going to get a million hits for brownie recipes. Uh oh.

I love The Rejectionist

Case in point: read this awesome goodness, you will laugh, a lot.

Checklist for Editing a First Draft Manuscript

It seems time got away from me for a day mainly because I worked over fourteen hours yesterday on my first chapter using my new editing list. Not only did the steps push me to view plot, ideas, and critiques in a new light, it also forced me deeper into my word choice, character motivation and why things were happening. It has made my manuscript tighter in terms of construction, realism, readability, and overall awesomeness. So, without further ado, here is my plan that I've been following and the plans for once chapter by chapter edits are done. (As a side note, this is all supposed to be done after a full manuscript read without touching it at all--no edits, period.)

Chapter by Chapter

1. Basic read through fixing word choice, grammar mistakes, word choice, POV shifts, and fixing placeholders for research where writing was more important than researching exactly what was right.
2. Marking sentences that stand out for bad reasons whether because it is awkward, doesn't seem to fit the character, etc. Even if you just don't like the sentence, mark it.
3. Read the chapter out loud disregarding the notes made, concentrate on what sounds right and what doesn't and make notes.
4. I keep an ADD-IN file on my computer for things I knew I wanted to include but didn't know if they would work with the plot I was developing, or if my characters gave me new insight into their pasts, or whatever I just couldn't put into the manuscript because the muse was hitting me so hard I couldn't think straight. This is my ADD-IN file. If you have one go through it now and see if you can tweak or fit any of these things into the first chapter, second chapter, etc. If you don't have one then ignore this step.
5. I previously printed out every chapter a week after I wrote it. Then I looked at it objectively because I was already on another chapter and just marked general notes and small edits to tighten and make everything more clear to the reader. I incorporate these changes in the manuscript now.
6. I have a critique partner (she's really awesome and helps so much!) that helps me with my chapters. So, the last thing I do is take everything she says and incorporate/stew over it where I think it will work.
7. Then I'm ready to move on to the next chapter.

Here is my checklist for the overall manuscript once the individual chapters are doctored:

Overall Manuscript

1. Tie up loose ends/incorporate new chapters where needed to expand or better explain the story line/plot arc.
2. Highlight dialogue, narrative, attribution, description and introspection with different colored highlighters. This forces me to see where I'm lacking in these as well as where one trait is just taking over my manuscript. From there I try adjusting and restructuring
3. Make character charts to see their progress throughout the manuscript. It will make sure they aren't stagnant, which will kill a story, and show you where the plot lags.
4. Double check ending to make sure it doesn't go to fast. I tend to speed through my endings the first time around writing them.
5. Final  read through of the manuscript without making marks
6. Pass it off to someone who will read it with an objective eye for critique and tell you if it's crap.
7. I'm done with the first draft.

I'm aware this is a lot of work for most people, but it works for me because I'm super organized. It's also a method that promises my second draft will be a complete piece of cake which is always nice. Feel free to just take bits and pieces to try adapting my method to your own. Writing is a process which is individual to everyone so doing exactly this method might not work for person A but works great for person B. I just hope you got something out of my process.

Plan of Attack

I've written a lengthy sixteen step process for my first draft revisions. The first half is chapter by chapter check list so my head doesn't explode. The second half is once my chapter by chapter are worked out. Then I can start re-reading the full manuscript, highlighting various parts in different colors such as narrative, dialogue, exposition, etc. This can help me get a big picture about what I'm missing in the story and where I need to continue to par down certain unnecessary aspects. I think it's a pretty good plan taken from multiple reliable sources. I'll type it all up on Monday when I officially start using it.

Words

One of the most fun things about my writing, as well as most frustrating, is that I no longer self edit when I first draft anything. Which means words just go spewing on a page and I don't re-read them until I need a refresher for the next chapter. Even then I don't touch them. This is awesome for my inner editing demon that wants everything perfect, but bad for delusional perfectionist that thinks everything I write is automatically brilliant and that I should never change or part with a single word. Thank god I have people help me with critiques, otherwise nothing would ever get done except a slew of unsellable novels.

Right now I'm grappling with this decision after putting my first big book to rest. I can't touch it for at least two weeks before I start hacking away edits. But I feel like it's not my best work, I know it's not, and I have a hopeless feeling of doom that no matter how many times I hack at it I'll never be happy with the end result. So, going on to this second book which is moving along at lightening speed for Nano means I have to hold on tight with my outline and keep writing until my fingers fall off. More of my first book method. But I don't know if that's right anymore. But if it isn't, what is? I've done a balance of re-write and edit then get fresh pages but that never works. I wind up re-working so much I procrastinate on page count, but I can still lie to myself that I got a lot of work done for the day. Hmm....what should I do?

Nano count: 2,345 words

Halloween

Surprisingly, there weren't that many scary movies on last night. Husband and I wound up watching Hannibal while we made beef fondue, except what husband didn't read was that the fondue would take three hours to simmer and turn to broth. I was not pleased because by then I was already starving and it had taken us an hour to make the broth. So we ordered Dracula Dead and Loving It, one of my favorite movies ever, and watched that while each of us got stirring duty for the broth. Then it was on to Food Network Challenge Scary Cakes. By then, thank god, the food was ready to consume and we had lovely fondue with cream cheese poppy seed sauce and mustard sauce. We still have left overs we'll be using for tonight.

My Halloween may sound boring to most, but I had fun. It was on the cheap. Although, I'm going to start complaining to television stations that they need to play better movies, not everyone is out on Halloween night.

Kitten Screams

I spent the whole night from 9pm until now awake. My cat was screaming and I didn't want to wake up my husband. Instead, I got an outline going for my second book and five pages. So now I have sure footing to go off of on Monday.

And he's up...

Happy Halloween!

Plans Dashed to the Winds

So, about that outlining. Yeah, that ended up with me and my little brain in bed all day sleeping. I didn't know how fried I was from completing this book until I gave myself some vacation time. Now I can't stop thinking about the stuff I need to get done ASAP for deadlines. Even though I have a vacation, it's never a real vacation inside my brain. I think too much.

My highlight of the day was watching my husband get ready for work in peasant gear from the Ren Faire this year. He insists on going in costume to the office despite the fact that most people don't do that. It makes me happy. The way the shirt frames his chest and feels against my cheek makes me happy too. Yum. Costumes.

New Project

Tomorrow I'll start on the outline for my new project for NANO because I need to wait at least two weeks before I hit the edits. I also need printer ink so I can print out my whole book. Right now, I'm thinking something less paranormal and more contemporary. I'm going to do some research on Harlequin and then check out some ideas.

What I'm reading right now:
Snowbound

I don't know what to do with myself

I told myself I wouldn't write anything today on any project including the second draft edits. But my head is chomping at the bit to get back in the swing of things after working non-stop for what feels like forever. Tomorrow I'm jumping back on the bandwagon, but today I just need to get a break--if I'll let myself. I've already been leafing through a few books that are just fun and still count as work material, so I can trick myself into fun. Isn't that sad? Yay for work ethic, but when you have to trick yourself to have fun? I'm reminding myself of Laurell K Hamilton and this is only my first novel length book other than the one I wrote when I was in sixth grade. Shouldn't I be less motivated? Maybe this is a good thing? I'm going to go ponder this over a cup of tea and an apple.

The pride still hasn't hit yet. I think I'll be more excited when I'm done my second edit. Right now I just feel like I threw words on paper willy nilly and to quote Echo from Dollhouse "I wasn't my best". I can't wait to see what my best entails.

I'm Finished

My book is completed through it's first draft. I've written my second full book. I think it will hit me after I'm done with the edits for the second draft. Right now, well I'm just kind of shell shocked.

Nine

I seem to be doing things in nine's lately. I have nine submissions out seeking homes. Nine stories I'm currently juggling to finish and nine stories on the back burner ready to see life on screen or page. I tried to look up the significance of the number nine on Google but there were too many answers, so lets just say the number nine is weird and leave it at that.

I also got my library card! Yay! I succumbed to not owning books simply because my budget couldn't take the amount I wanted to take home with me nor could my bookshelves. I've also been doing lots of romance writing homework and some books I pick up just aren't that good. I walk away sad that I own them. But now I have my solve everything library card and I can read to my hearts content. Joy of joys.

If I finish my book by the end of this week my husband said I'll get a reward. I'm finishing this week. And, no it's not a dirty reward. Although, I'll get that too. Only three chapters to go before I can read the whole thing in it's entirety and then rip it to shreds.

Disecting Romance

I just saw the romantic comedy "The Proposal", I enjoyed it a lot, it made me laugh until tears ran down my face, but it was also good romance writing homework. All the classic elements needed for a solid romance were there just in a shorter span of time than it takes to read a book. Some examples include:

• Time Constraints: Sandra Bullock was being deported to Canada in four days so the hero and heroine were working under intense and stressful circumstances which makes the audience feel closer to them. It also makes their wham-bam romance easier to believe because they are stuck in close quarters as a result of this time constraint.
• Rampant Verbal Misunderstandings: These two couldn't communicate their way out of a box, which was the point. Romantic comedies like conflict.
• A "Black Moment": A moment in every romance where it seems like the hero and heroine just can't overcome the obstacles to be together, leaving us wanting more and feeling for their plight. Of course in two seconds flat they work through it and they are together because you can't have a true romance without...
• A Happy Ending

What I'm really enjoying finding in my work and those other who I critique are the little moments in our books where we can twist information, change how we give it to the reader, and impact the choices of the novel from then on out. It's a powerful tool to know when to foreshadow, twist, omit, or slip in a little common misunderstanding. Not only am I working on a tighter reign with my characters because there is more at stake with secrets, confusions, and misunderstandings, but it increases the ending by twofold in terms of emotions once they clear the hurdle which is the desired end result.


Why, if you are working with an heiress character whose hiding out in a shelter, would you give the readers all the cards right away? Start off the story slow with her time in the shelter, allude to brief emotional flashes of why she is there, make her long for expensive things which is subtle foreshadowing as to who she really is without revealing the information. Of course she's going to want expensive things, not because it's the style that she's accustomed too, but the reader will think because, duh, she's in a shelter. Then you can layer her prior knowledge on top of the interactions and reactions she had to the hero. The tension of her secret and his unwillingness to see past her "homeless" status will create misunderstanding and conflict which will lead the charactors into quite a bit of trouble as the truth reveals itself.

Rabbit Hole

I'm still working on the plot hole I've dug myself into this week. But, I do have 52,010 words on the book. Almost home free.

Ugh

It's 8am, trying out this new thing where I actually don't get up at two in the afternoon instead I keep to a "normal"schedule. I need some tea, oatmeal, and more blogs to read. Today's mission is not impossible. Research everything 1941 for women, Pearl Harbor, and other secret mythological goodness. That's right lovelies. Pearl Harbor is going paranormal. Because I feel like it. Also, this new fangled technique called "plotting" on several longer stories in my fairytale anthology so I can finally crank that crap out to a publisher. Ugh, it's too early for my brain, why am I up? It's okay I have a two in the afternoon nap to look forward too, because I'm just that lazy. Going to go look for new episodes of Survivor Somoea and the missed Vampire Diaries and start up the old laptop. For creation, not editing, I work best with television rather than music. Let's get this party started.

Trepidation

I've come to a scene where I need to craft and work really succinct bits and pieces of my narrative puzzle without overwriting which would loose emotion. The best idea I can come up with is to let the words flow, cut, and shape later. Yet, I'm not entirely happy with that because this scene has to do something very special for the reader. I don't want to miss out on an important thought, revelation, or emotion, simply because I'm just trying to put words down with no regard to the importance of the turnaround this scene conveys. Plus, I'm not very handy when it comes to psychotherapy though I've done my research and I need to make sure my therapist is asking the right questions to get the right answers.

Thoughts, ideas, comments? I could use a second brain on this one.

Kiss Me Deadly

Hardly the best book I've ever read and far and away from the best paranormal romance, this book is still good for the fledgling paranormal romance writer to study and ponder while learning techniques. Also, for the most part it's free. It took a long time to get into but the book offers a good study in a unique premise, hero/heroine interaction, and fun. You'll either do one of two things when reading this book:

• Learn some easy hands on techniques to writing a romance novel as this book isn't exactly rocket science
• Learn what you don't want to do in any of your books--ever
• Get a good laugh after you throw it across the room

I managed to stick with it and now it's not unlike bad reality television. Though to most people that aren't me all reality television is bad.

3 AM and Hyena's

For some reason my muse now has a fetish for three in the morning. I woke up again this morning at three just like the past four or so mornings because I suddenly had this wonderful idea for my book. I put it down, typed a bit more, and then tried to fall back asleep to no avail. Now I am exhausted and cranky which I don't think makes up for the extra pages scored this morning. Yesterday burned me out pretty good so today is just about wrestling with an unexpected scene and getting a few solid pages as opposed to a marathon session.

I also can't find some forms I can't remember if I filled out or not for some writing work I'm doing. I had to email the boss and get it all sorted out because missing paperwork is never good.

On a completely unrelated note I was watching Growing up Hyena this morning and the way the little cubs just kept dying off because of the head female in a matriarchal pack made me think of romance writers. How we are picked off one by one when we are young fledgling writers and if we survive we "give birth" to books that grow and expand eventually finding a home among other solid, adult books. Yeah, clearly I haven't had enough sleep.

A Side Note

I love this artist who does gothic pin-ups. Very dark, very sassy, and very me. I want a tattoo of his work to add to my pretty lady gallery.

Impatiant

I've done twenty pages today. I've been working since three in the morning after going to bed at six in the evening. Today's one of those days where I'm just racing on a horse to be finished, but then I fall off because I realize this is far from the end of my journey. Oh, edits.

Unlike most people I find other writer's stories disheartening rather than inspiring. The wait times and perseverance fill me with dread because I want it SO BAD. There is rarely an author who has to wait less than three years and write several manuscripts to get "The Call".  On days like today I find that fact completely discouraging. This business is always touch and go. The reality is authors could be dropped from publishers in seconds if they are simply midlist and not making tons of sales. I aspire to be midlist. Which basically means in this upcoming publishing world, I might be completely screwed. Knowing that I'll have to wait and cling to hope for a long time before anything gets picked up makes me doubt my resolve and strength to be in this business.

Then I buck up and keep typing.

Therapist Stuff

My morning has been all about researching counseling techniques for the next wacky scene in my romance novel. Demon counseling to be exact. My charactors are about to enter a world of amusing trouble and answer a lot more information about themselves.I need to incorporate a little silly fun into my text, make it whimsical yet factual.

One of the best list of resources I've seen....

.....over at Write Attitude.

Bleck

I've got five pages so far today. Now to give my mushy brain a break of sorts I'm compulsively checking my Romance Writing Class for progress in the discussions boards, listening to Celine Dion, and vegging out in front of my computer. I also spiffed up a few of my older posts with some good links where it was useful. I'll probably look for e-books on Shortcovers soon. Mmmmm, romance e-books.

Description Versus Quicksand

I've hit my stride with most of these chapters I'm penning. Unfortunately, a large difference between erotica and romance happens to lie in one of my favorite things to do when I'm in stride: excessive description. Though this works wonderfully and is almost necessary for a visceral piece like erotica, for romance it can be a plague sent to kill a reader's interest in a matter of seconds.

That is my current difficulty.. Leaving my love of complete and utter description at the door when I put on my romance novel hat and picking it back up again when I start something a little more slutty. To quote one of my friends "you're the Edith Wharton of succubus love". I am pleased as punch on that one and yet....contemporary romance readers really don't want everything thought out for them down to the sheets on the bed the secondary character is using while his house has burned down. (A fake scenario). So, when to use my love of flashy words and when not too? Only time and practice will tell, but hopefully I won't be falling in quicksand or editing large chunks of text until I'm forty. At least not on the same body of work.That would be unpleasant.

Bitter

Word deleted several of my key paragraphs last night without my consent. I found this out this morning on no sleep, currently sitting next to Nick whose work I am currently inhabiting for the day as a change of scenery. So yeah, pivotal information just went poof and I have to write all over again. Damn outdated word.

Catagory vs. Single Title Romance Novels

Category Romance offers similar lines of books all in the same theme with roughly the same page count. For the most part they operate in series structure with recurring characters. All books come out monthly easily identifiable through similar cover pictures, fonts, and title names. An example would be Harlequin Suspense, Nocturne, or Blaze. Most often these publishers work from a strict sheet of rules for the author in terms of ending, time line of the relationship between hero and heroine, and flexibility of plots and subplots. Although some of these lines don't require an agent, their submission requirements can be hard to follow because of a lack of variation between lines. Once "inside" most of these lines, meaning you've been published by a house or e-book publishing line, it's basically all sunshine and rainbows from there.

Single Title Romance is more flexible in both content as well as style. Some of these titles can lean more towards woman's lit or chick lit where the heroine is more independent with possibly several men on the scene besides the main hero. Though single title romance books offer more leeway in terms of plot, it is inevitably harder to query to an existing agent or publisher. This is mainly because the idea has to stand out enough that someone will want to publish it, but it still needs to be marketable and open to a wide audience of readers.So, within those less structured guidelines there has to be enough identifiable plot twists and lovable characters to sell to the readers. There is more of a chance for rejection in this field, but it's ultimately rewarding because some of my favorite romance novels are single titles that really rock the boat but manage to appeal to a human's basic emotions, values, wants, and needs.

These are only my humble opinions of course so feel free to toss out the window of your brain whatever you'd like too.

Self Publishing E-books

I think one of the best tools available on the market right now are self publishing e-book sites. Even though it can be a lot of work in terms of technical understanding and promotion of the content a writer has created it enables writers to get there work read without third party taxes or copyright issues. It's beneficial to those who want to write but don't want to take the time to go through a publishing company or query press process. Although that can have its downsides such as missing out on premiere editing services as well as a big chunk of money from a publishing agreement and contract in the end it's a bit more freeing for the author.

Do I think it's anything someone can make a living on if they aren't already a successful published author? No. Is that just my personal opinion? Absolutely. If someone worked their tail off, established a brand, a network, a solid skill set, and then unleashed themselves onto the world of self published e-books with a business website and a set of personal business goals I think it could go very well. But that really depends on the market the writer is intending to write for in terms of popularity as well as the quality of the writer's work.

I still think it is a really great idea for those who want to feel accomplished and earn a little income every now and then on the side. To see someone buying my work regardless of what medium and what price is always thrilling to me. I can only assume it's like that for everyone else.

The main reason I'm excited about this particular market is because my erotica e-books can be published to as many market sites as I would like since I retain all rights to the work. Which means I can self publish on whatever sites I see fit as well as my original publisher's site to expand my little erotica empire. This is a wonderful opportunity to get more people to read my work and introduce them back to my new stories on the original published site. In the end the more people that get to read and enjoy my work, the happier I will be no matter how much money I make.

Side Note

If it wasn't for the Backstreet Boys or Disney Soundtracks, I would never write. When I don't feel like writing they are all I write too, sometimes for days on end. I have Black and Blue in my player right now with the rest of BSB's discography in front of me, ready to play. This is how I'm going to write the end of the book.

Yeah, you heard me. I'm a teeny bopper. I am not ashamed.

Awake

I went to bed at 11 hoping to get back on a normal sleep schedule. That didn't happen at all. I woke up at 1 in the morning to go to the bathroom and then couldn't get back to sleep. So I've been up on three hours of sleep tinkering and hammering at the book. I got nine pages done so I'm pretty happy with that. We'll see when my brain finally decides to conk out on me. My body's been tired for hours, but those wheels just keep on turning in my head.

Blackberry Curve

I love my Blackberry Curve for one reason other than the organizational functions: the e-book reader I downloaded which gives me free books--ALL THE TIME. It's the best thing I could get right now when I'm slightly broke and can't afford lots of books. Plus, I need as much research as I could get for my romance novel so I've been pounding them down like carbs.

Rough Day

Today's not the best day. I woke up this morning with my husband telling me a friend's mother is in the hospital and it's not good. I don't know her very well but my husband's grown up with all his friends since childhood so I'm doing the best I can to make him feel better. Not the best day to get pages done.

The Writer

One of the best resources and a good pick me up for a bad day is a copy of The Writer. A magazine that's been around for quite some time and has articles for every area of fiction and non-fiction. Although, sometimes articles from month to month can repeat themselves with little twists and turns generally a reader can pinpoint good bits of advice from the articles. Not all of it can pertain to everyone but it's a good way to start my day.Some of my favorites are:

• Technology Articles: Articles that explain the new gadgets, programs, and free platforms for every writer whether fiction, non-fiction, or poetry.

• Specific Craft Articles: Articles that explain little details that can take a story from good to great. 
• Insider Information: Industry inside information including publication markets, what current presses and magazines are looking for, as well as interviews with agents.
• Market Focus: A specific market gets the once over with details.
  

Free Novel Software

1. Storybook 
2. Evernote 
3. yWriter 
4. Name Generator  
5. Copy and Grammer 
6. Bookmark Synchronizer   
7. Bibliography Map 
8. WebReaper
   

Kiddo for the weekend

We have my husband's thirteen year old step brother for the weekend so I may be a little more absent than I would like to be in the next few days. We re going to Renn Fair tomorrow and then I'm assuming an epic video game war will commence.

My second romance writing class has kicked off to a really good start although the new project may have my head. I'm writing a sales pitch and flap copy. The word count I've been given has just about killed me because there is so much complexity to my plot I just want to blurb out everything in the book. But, that won't get me readers nor will it get me an agent. An agent wants something to entice her into reading more, a tidbit, not a summery, that's a whole other ball of wax.

So, right now I'm frantically cleaning so when the teenager comes into my home he doesn't go straight back to his parents and tell them it's messy. They do not like messy houses. At all. Mine isn't overly messy, but it isn't spotless either.

I got two more Cleis rejections over the weekend though one of them was very nice. She took the time to compliment my work and really look at it. The only reason she rejected it was because it was too short for the required words. She said the writing was spot on. I kind of have to pout because I was that close to seeing my name in print for erotica, but then again, she liked my work and it was a technicality. So I'm going to smile too. It's more material I have to throw into my fairy tale anthology anyway which is currently up to thirty pages with two stories unfinished. I have high hopes for that anthology as I've worked really hard on it and I'd like to think the stories are all original. Fairy tales have been overdone many different ways but I really strive to put a different twist on these. Plus, I'm a huge reader of twisted fairy tales whether erotic or not, so I've read almost everything else that's out there. No copying for me!

Writer's Block: Maybe a Cure?

I've been suffering mild writer's block lately with the book. I've been working it out but I'm only writing in bits and pieces. Most people view writer's block as laziness, stubbornness, or not enough love for the craft. When I've written almost a complete novel in three months, I'm a little burnt out. So in the spirit of how I'm feeling, here are some ideas to fight writer's block. My way of fighting it has been a two day non-stop marathon of Law and Order Special Victims Unit, what's yours?

• Working backwards: When all else fails read the chapters that you've already written. Sometimes all the muse needs to be inspired is a little jog to where your plot is going and where it's supposed to go.
• Writing about all the reasons why you can't write: Once you get all the reasons why you can't possibly write out of your system, there's nothing left to keep you from working. It's all uphill from there. No more excuses.
• One sentence an hour:  Most writer's don't have this much time to work on anything, however, taking off the pressure can be amazing incentive to write. If you take it one sentence at a time while doing other things around the house soon it will add up to a paragraph. After one paragraph eventually you'll get out of a funk and it will all add up.
• Writing something else: Sometimes you just need to stop what your doing on a current piece of work and start another one. It doesn't matter what it is as long as you're writing again.
  

Little Sick Ferret

Does anyone else think this would be a neat band name?

I've been taking care of my ferret, Heath, which is why I have been missing from the posting. He's got a hairball and I have to check on him and give him his formula 2-3 times a day. It was also a friends birthday last night so we went out to eat, had a party. The food--and wait for the food-- was sub-par for what we paid. The party afterward was pretty fun but I had to sit through two episodes of Family Guy before it got fun. You just shouldn't have to watch tv at a party...it's just not good for it. If everyone's eyes are glued to the screen how can you forge conversation?

I also just got back my final edits for four of my e-books. So that's what I'll be doing tomorrow. Doing a line by line and filling out errata sheets. Those are the sheets where you mark all the typographical/plot errors for the final editor to pick up before you stock and sell the book. Look at me, I'm all knowledgeable.

I'm almost done with the book. I've got about three more chapters to write. Which with my new 3,500 word count rule shouldn't be hard to churn out tomorrow, then I'm good to go. Then the editing begins. I need to do a few inclusions that I missed, spiffy up some chapters, and upgrade some foreshadowing. Then it's back to the drawing board for book two while I wait for comments from my next romance writing class which starts in several days. Boy, oh boy I can't wait for that class. I need more feedback.

Word Count

I met my word count goal today in a flurry of pages. Yay! Still caught on that tidal wave adrenaline rush of a writers high and I'm going to go give myself a break and read a good book. Then it's back to researching, tweaking, etc. Because I can't stop working when I feel this good. Sometimes I think all writers are bi-polar or manic, we certainly have our ridiculous ups and downs.

An Ending

I have it all plotted out. I know how it goes in my head. It's mapped. I have an ending and I'm typing on a writer's high. I want to cry the elation is so great. I should have the first draft of my manuscript done in two weeks. I'll have written a book. It will be done.

Then the edits.

Tips and Tricks

Check out my little bubble cloud at the bottom for a more helpful way of finding links, articles, and advice on writing under the "Tips and Tricks" section. Just click it, pick your poison, and all the world will be revealed. I figured it would be a nicer way for visitors to be able to track down the good stuff without having to wade through my rants and raves. So, there you have it, a one stop shop to all things writing under "Tips and Tricks". More links, articles, and advice is always coming up on the horizon so watch out.

I'm Back on Track in the Plotting Zone

Cue the song "Highway to the Dangerzone" from Top Gun. I've worked out some of my big bad problems last night by adding in a few completely necessary chapters. I'm still working on expanding today and making everything more believable. Since I'm working in a paranormal world everything has to be spot on otherwise my readers won't believe it or understand, promptly putting the book down which is a no-no.

If I write 3,500 words a day I'll have this baby done in three weeks.

In honor of my good fortune I bring you five articles on plotting:

• Difference between "Pantsing and Plotting"
• Plotting Under Pressure 
• Top Ten Plotting Problems
• Basic Plotting in a Romance Novel
• Step by Step Romance Plotting with Worksheets

There you have it, some great roundup articles on plotting. Now I have to go feed my lazy cat, she's screaming at me again,

100

It's my hundredth post today, yay!

Today is not a day I want to be a writer. Today is going to be a long day. I am in a complete plot tangle, down a rabbit hole. My characters are no longer doing what I want them too, they are moving too quickly, I need more stress and tension between my pages before my characters jump each others bones before the story ends. Which means I either need to cut or add, and if it's cut....a lot has got to go on the chopping block. At least four chapters. They say your supposed to write a book all the way through from the start to finish without stopping but if I keep going down this road my greedy characters will have their way in three chapters and I won't be left with a book.

How To Research and Find The Perfect Agent

There are a sea of agents out in cyber space. There are a sea of agents in books. There are a lot of agents--period. So, where is newbie writer supposed to start looking for one? I've been researching for several months and here is a useful process I've come up with for finding the agent of my dreams. This isn't foolproof, I don't have an agent yet because my book is only halfway done, but I do like to jump the gun on things and I love to research. Without further ado, my tips:

1. Start with the books: Go to a bookstore or a library near you and peruse the genre you're currently working on writing or have already written a book that fits. Do a quick inventory of the stacks. Which specific publishing company/companies published the most books in your genre? Write them down and make the list as long as you want it to be. Now, which books catch your eye in terms of cover art, font, blurbs? Write down these guys, too.
2. Move to the Web: You already know which publishing companies are available to work in your genre based on the numbers you got from the bookstore research. A good publishing company choice is one whose always printing out books in your specific genre because that means there will be no shortage of work for you once you've signed with them. You also already know which books you thought were well represented by certain publishing companies. Now take that information and backtrack with it. Google each companies website and find out which one of those companies requires an agent beforehand. That way if you can send out a manuscript without an agent you can be marketing to editors and agents at the same time. As long as a publisher takes multiple submissions this procedure isn't frowned upon.
3. Get a feel for a publisher's site: You've identified which companies require agents and which do not so from there you can move on to perusing their websites. Which one's appeal to you and seem to have books that you would read? Revise your list of publishers based on your own set of "need" criteria, what you need from a publishing company based on the information given by the company.
4. Predators and Editors: Go to this website, click on agents, and start researching. You're going to want to research any literary agent that catches your eye whether by awards or name. In general, once you've gotten to an agents website they will have listings of the books they've published and where they've been placed for publication. Does that agency have a track record with one of your top publishing houses on your list? Does it seem like a comfortable environment that will take care of your individual needs or a book mill? If you answered yes to these two questions check to see if they are still taking queries and their submission guidelines.
5. Amazon Listings: Take the agencies that you've narrowed down, those that feel comfortable to you and will help you reach your favorite publishing companies, and pick a book from their site. Compare that book in sales on Amazon.com to see how well that agency did in placing that particular book and the netted sale. You might have to do a few different books before you can decide whether or not that agency is effective. Not everyone makes the NYT list.

Now you have a general outline of agencies with which you'd like to work. You've seen what they've done for other authors, how they run their businesses, sale numbers, who you'll be dealing with in terms of representation, and that they work hand in hand with publishing houses you want to represent your writing. So, it's all there. All you have to do is start submitting.

Halfway Mark

I just totaled my word count because I write every chapter in a separate document which makes it easier to edit and write each chapter. My total word count is currently at 34,069, disregarding what I'm going to write in today's session. That means if I do the math I've only got 40,931 words until I reach my end goal of 75,000 words and a finished manuscript.

That also means I'm almost at the halfway mark in my book and man, does it feel good. It's kind of sad that I'm regarding 40,931 words as only, as if that isn't still a whole lot of work. But honestly, it seemed like I hadn't accomplished much in terms of my manuscript and it's been harder writing these chapters then anything else I know of that's about to come onto my plate. So for now, I'm going to have a moment of optimistic glee and celebrate that I'm almost done. Just 40,931 words to go and then the edits. Bring. It. On. Bitches.

Read the Submission Guidelines

One of the most important and crucial rules a writer should take away from writing is please, for the love of god, read the submission guidelines of an editor, agent, whatever you're submitting too. They don't just put it up for fun and giggles, the rules are there for a reason. I can't tell you how many companies I've come across in the last month that are changing their reading policies because writers are sending them manuscripts and queries that they specifically did not ask for nor have any interest in representing. Not only does this create an unnecessary back log it can create trouble for the rest of us.

Some literary agencies and publishers are changing their policies to only look at established works or those recommended by other people in the business. This means unless you have a bucket full of connections as an aspiring writer you are out of their league. In a world where getting anything done in the publishing world is an accomplishment and a half, why take away the magic of unsolicited querying because someone wasn't paying attention when they submitted? It's a shame.

One thing I've learned throughout this whole process is to pay attention and do your best, if you follow these guidelines more or less you'll have success in the business. So why is it so hard for people to turn in their best work to those who want to view it? The logical move would be to polish your work until it shines, send it to a publisher who wants to read it, pray or do some kind of superstitious move, and then wait. It's a waste of time for everyone involved to submit something that is not your best or submit to someone who doesn't want to read it. And you wreak it for all of us.

End of rant.

A Mess

I am a complete mess this morning. My ferrets knocked over my water cup from last night--all over my romance writing book. I am officially a complete and total wreak. I have no idea how to fix this and I am completely fanatical about my books. Beyond fanatical, they are like my children. I'm going to have to buy a totally new copy because with the amount of water that spilled as well as the paper density, all the pages will stick together when they dry and it will warp. Ugh, I'm going to go cry now. I can't find our heater to dry it out faster either. Damn!

Yay!

I reached my new word count goal and I have to say I like this method a lot better than adapting to a page count. It just feels easier at this stage in the game, so I think I'm going to stick to it. I'm currently on chapter 11 and the demon high council has visited Cam's parent's house to give Cam a judgment for using higher magic. Of course, Pacey and Trey are there which makes everything just a little more complicated. Cam is finally forced to deal with her feelings for Trey in order to lie to the high council or admit to them that there is a crazy succubus out hunting humans to get to Trey--which is the councils worst fear. Good stuff. Off to go take a break, read literary agency websites, and watch television. I'll probably have a new blog post of advice up again before I go to bed in the wee hours of the morning. Nick is still working on his project for the NC job and I like to support him by staying up just as late, plus he's had a bazillion cups of coffee today. He's not going to sleep anytime soon.

New Idea's

I've gotten 1,439 words to my name so far this morning. I've also got three new ideas percolating on the back burner for my erotica. One involves a siren, another a special little dress, and a third is a longer in depth version of rewrite which was never picked up for consideration.

My filing system, a simple one of these, (but mine is purple and has a snap top) is great for what I need at the moment. It is chock full of ideas, scraps, edits and financial hoopla/contracts. That's where some of these latest ideas are going to wind up after I jot them down. For some reason I got all three of them when I couldn't sleep last night and was laying down in bed. That happens a lot to me. Anyway, in honor of my happy filing system I'm going to list five filing advice articles I found helpful as a writer. Everyone needs a crack at organization even if there idea of it is organized chaos.

1. A very basic look at filing from assessing what kind of filer you need to where it needs to go in your office/whatever other room you use for work. This is a good starter article for those new to the magic of organization.
2. A filing article for people who hate filing which maximizes the affects of filing without the headache afterwords. Offers simple tips which works between two schools of filing: quick and fun. Both of which are super acceptable in my book.
3. Color coding: for that rainbow filer enthusiast that sits in all of us. Instructions on how colors work with the brain to help locate files as well as tips on how to update a filing system to color and which colors to use.
4. For those who don't like paper or manual labor there is also filing software.
5. An entertaining website for anything you may need to organize. It covers almost every area in the home and home office.

I've found through making writing my full time job that I accumulate more paper than I know what to do with at any given time. So it's a good idea to have a system started regardless of the amount of paper so that when the contracts start coming in you can be prepared to get yourself organized, professional, and ready to make money. w00t!

Executive Decision

I've come to the conclusion that writing three pages a day as my minimum page count is no longer sufficient because sometimes I feel the deep need to stop once I've gotten to that point. It is not acceptable to stop at my minimum page count because of laziness or for whatever other reason I'm touting for that day. Instead, I am going to implement a new self guided rule of 3,500 words every day. This will be harder to judge so it won't have me stopping so much. Well, I hope. As my own boss I'm putting my foot down.

RWA

I'm figuring out my RWA dues right now. I would like to join sooner rather than later but I have to figure out where I'll wind up first. We might be moving to NC depending on a job, so that would determine the money I pay because I'd like to join a local chapter as well. But dear god I'd like to move. The houses are adorable and so much cheaper!

I don't have any upcoming deadlines but all my projects have kind of grounded to a halt. I'm unmotivated, frustrated, and left at my wits end because things aren't coming out on paper like I would like and I know I'll be revising this project at least three times. I can't think past the revisions because my inner perfectionist is all "grrr".

However, I did find a bunch of old queries I couldn't remember having packed in envelopes and ready to send. I'm planning to mail those out tomorrow for shits and giggles. I checked all the updated guidelines and I'm good to go, so I'll just grab a few more rejection letters, what the hell, right?

My Excessica books are almost up on the "Upcoming" page and I absolutely cannot wait. I got another one accepted for publication as well. I also cannot wait until my Romance Class starts up again. I'll have more motivation to just shut up and write. It's always good to just shut up and write. I need more of both. Lord knows whining certainly won't help the page count. I have six more scenes left, so tomorrow I'm going to rock this bitch. I still have twelve projects on the back burner.

Most Commanly Made Erotica Mistakes

Sometimes writing erotica is like writing a college essay. You know all the things you want to do, but it's just not coming together correctly. Just plugging in a + b + c in a five paragraph format isn't going to give a winning story that really shines. Neither is adhering to all the submissions guidelines without any extra thought for the piece. The difference between a good erotic story and an amazing erotic story is all in the details.

• Don't go through the motions: Sure, erotica has sex, it's about sex. But that doesn't mean there shouldn't be underlying emotions for the characters and the acts involved. Simply putting sexual motions on paper isn't going to cut it if there is no reader connection, no outside plot, and no reason behind the story itself. When readers feel something for the sex act and the people involved, that's when things get steamy.
• Don't use purple prose: Rarely are words like "throbbing member", "flower dripping with honey", or any other euphemism for sexual organs sexy. People are reading erotica for the explicit, emotional sex act which means as an author covering up the names for body parts is taking half the meat out of the story. However, if you're concerned about the level of crudity accepted for a story, check the submission guidelines before you publish and compare their rules with what you've come up with in your manuscript. If the rules don't match consider revising or looking for another press to publish your work. 
• Don't worry about the material in the manuscript: Most presses will request warning labels on all work that describes the content type, whether there is strong language, and the sexual pairings in the story. This will weed out any possible offensive material in an erotica story that may make readers uncomfortable. As long as you adhere to a universal set of publishing guidelines which includes no necrophilia, no pedophilia, no sex without consent, no characters under 18, and no animals then you should be fine. Never rule out a story unless you violate the rules above, otherwise, send it in, there's nothing to loose but a rejection letter.
• Don't refuse to revise a manuscript: As much as it sucks to admit, everything writer's write can be made better through a second and third draft. That includes erotica. Don't settle for anything less than perfection and your stories will work for you.

I've gotten four pages on the paranormal romance manuscript this weekend. I've also got nothing left to read.

2009-2010 Better Sex Erotic Fiction Contest

I have officially entered the contest. Now it's just waiting until I get my confirmation email in 72 hours so I can put up my voting banner. Voting starts on October 5th, I'll put more information up here when that comes around and hopefully people will vote long, and vote hard so I can get into the semi-finals. From the semi-finals I have a chance of winning 2,000 dollars. But even if I just win a slot in the book I'll be happy. That's decided through the first round, then it narrows to three and we have the semi-finals judged by a three person panel. So voting for me would be much appreciated!

Back

I was gone on a little two day hiatus to recharge my writing batteries. My book was starting to go horribly wrong and writing felt like washing myself in self hatred. Every sentence sucked to my eyes. So I took a little rest stop, but a damper on it, and edited all the pages I haven't touched yet, tried to get a feel for the direction I was going to go next. Theoretically, I know where that is, but when writing it it's a different story entirely. So now, hopefully I have a better grasp of my project and how I'm measuring up to what I want to do versus what I'm doing.

Don't get me wrong, I still have at least 40 pages of marked up, editing goodness, and plenty of questions on why someone did what they did. But, hopefully that will bring me closer. These characters still aren't as clear as my previous ones. Which is what leaves me fumbling and furious most of the time. Some part of me still wishes I could conquer that 130 pages I have written on the back burner and finish it, but I've started this now and I need to finish it. Absolutely.

Tomorrow I have at least nine pages to bang out to make up for the "slacking" on the writing front.

I also need to find a new book I can engross myself in as I finished the most recent Vampire Academy and my book addiction is searching for new food. Thank god I got out of college, I thought my need to read would never come back when I was forcibly reading over 30 books a semester. And semesters are short when you consider the rest of the work load. I need to go type up some motivational/plot notes for my next move tomorrow before some of my revelations die.

SMG Gave Birth

Okay, so this is all about writing, yada, yada, but people, I am the biggest Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Joss Whedon fan and Sarah Michelle Geller just gave birth to a baby GIRL!!! I mean come on!!! There is totally another Chosen One on the scene. Kick ass! Now I feel the deep need to skip off and celebrate the return of Dollhouse while I'm at it!!

Page Count

I wrangled six pages out of my muse today. I also managed to spend a good chunk of time reading the third book in the Vampire Academy series. And, I caught 90210 for the first time since it started its new season. Normally I spend most of my nights on Tuesday's writing a lot. For some reason it seems to be my busiest day. Me and the first 90210 go a long way back so I was excited to catch an episode of the new season. I listened to a lot of musicals today while I was working which is strange, it's something I rarely listen to anymore. Not much else of any interest to tell today. A lot of jumbled thoughts about what my characters are doing, but that's everyday because they run the show, I just type it for them.

To Specialize Or Not To Specialize, That is the Question!

One thing I find myself pondering over and over despite whatever piece I'm working on is whether or not it's worth my time to pick a branch of writing I enjoy and stick to it. Specializing in a  field if you will, much like picking a major in college. The trouble is, I can never pick just one thing. I want to write it all. If I haven't tried it, I will. So, adding myself to a roster of just one type of writing limits my options.

Yet, picking a genre and going for it also has it perks. You can make a name for yourself easier than had you spread yourself thin across multiple writer pursuits. It also gives definition to a brand and product. Such as, "Oh, so and so, she's the one that does blah blah blah, right?" as opposed to "Oh, that name sounds sort of familiar, what does she do again?". Sometimes the writing game is all about definition. How do I want to define myself, or do I even care? It flip flops from day to day with me.

My moral is always I will write anything that people pay me for creating. That got me through college. But is it all what I love? I know I love writing this book, it's like grinding sweat out of stone sitting down to it every day but it is my passion. It's what I enjoy waking up too.

I suppose I could do both. Pick a genre, theme, style, go with it. Build a career and a brand and then dabble in my free time with other literary modes. But my personality doesn't lend itself to just going 50% and then letting it sit saying that was fun. I write things to get published. I write because I wouldn't breathe if I didn't write.

So what's a girl to do?

Romance and Erotica will always be there. They are my focus right now and it will be my career if I can make it happen. It's what I want to do with my life. But what about all the forty million other genres I like to create? Will they be waiting for me when I get back?

Writing Submission Do's and Don'ts

I'm on a horror movie kick today. Which made me think of the horrific two years I worked as a slush pile intern at a small press in Baltimore, MD. I didn't get paid but it looked nice on my resume and they gave me all the manuscripts I could ever read. It also counted as course credit for my school which was always a plus. Anywho, as decent as some of those manuscripts were, there were a million and one bad ones that I had to drudge through reading. I'll never forget one manuscript was on lilac paper with teal font. I couldn't even read it. When I opened the package the manuscript came with big flakes of glitter fell out onto my lap. It was a mess.

So from my perspective as an intern for two years, here are some of the submission rules I've come up with for any writer.

1. Write the best query letter in the world. But make sure you finish it up with an out of this world manuscript. I can't tell you how many times I've been blown away by a query, gotten very excited to see the finished manuscript, and then was let down. I was always looking for new and exciting work. I was also more than willing to work with writers who had obviously put time and effort into their products but were having a little trouble. I refused to settle with writers who wasted my time by only giving me fifty percent instead of two hundred. When you think everything is in tip top shape and ready to sell, keep working. Someone will notice and your hard work will pay off.
2. Edit 100% from the first sentence to the last sentence making sure every sentence packs the punch of your first sentence. I wouldn't always go by a writer's tell tale first sentence to judge a manuscripts merits. Because I knew it was an accepted rule for writers to nail down their first sentence assuming it would be the first thing that was read, I often refused to read it first. I would flip to a random page in the manuscript, start from there, and work my way towards the beginning. If I liked what I read then and the first line was a go-getter a writer was good on my list.
3. Don't try to stand out with weird fonts, odd cut off points, and twisted point of views. Unless specifically asked for experimental pieces such as post modern, flash back, POV shifts, etc don't deviate from the rules of syntax and submission. Each publishing house has a style they like to see come through their mailbox. Make sure you are conforming to it in all the important ways or you'll be a rejection slip. If they are looking for experimental pieces then your piece should be clear and easy to read without having to stop and think too hard. A piece can be well written and still be experimental.
4. Regardless of rejection slips keep revising, keep writing, and pick your criticism selectively. For every one submission there is bound to be at least one rejection slip. When you get it allow yourself to feel like complete and utter crap for at most two days. Ignore the rejection slip in those two days of mourning and when you come back to it see if there is any constructive criticism. If there is anything that you agree with once you get past your pain, use it and submit again somewhere else. Then stick the slip in a folder. I always find it makes it easier to collect them because no matter how many I get, I'm still writing, so I must be doing something right.

One of the best rules I've ever heard when it came to writing as if you aren't still doing it after your thirtieth rejection slip, you weren't made too.

I've Hopelessly, and Helplessly, Become Addicted To Blogger

It has become my new source of reading goodness first thing in the morning. Also, the twenty times I refresh it throughout every five hours. I wonder why people are not posting faster so I can read. Perhaps it is because they have lives? Craziness! Doesn't everyone know they must blog for me? Silly, silly people.

I'm thinking of getting a Twitter account. I know, let the ominous bells sound because I said I'd never give into the crazy fad that is Twitter. But it's looking more agreeable once some of my books are out. My author bio is already up at Excessica, yay! My website content is all written and newly refurbished for the website. We had to get a new hosting for it because the old one had been jerking me and my husband around for months. One of the reasons why it's taken this long to build. Now we are experimenting with pretty shades of purple/pink and flowers for the design aspect. My poor husband has to completely relearn how to design for a website. You think that would be an easy task, well, that's a lie. A big one.

What else is going on in my literary world, you ask? Well, I'll tell you! I have sixty-six pages on whatever my paranormal romance is going to be called and I'm frantically spewing out pages, bad or not, to add that page count. All the magic is in the revisions. I adore editing so I always print out a few chapters, let my husband read it over, mark up his comments, and then mark up the rest of the pages until I can't see them anymore. Then I calmly put away those pages in my handy-dandy purple filing cabinet and off I go to write more pages. In theory, it's that simple. In practice I can go a little overboard on the edits.

More writing goodness to come once I've got pages to my name for the day.

Richelle Mead I Am in Awe Of You

Vampire Academy book 2 just made me cry for like twenty minutes straight. Big, fat, hot tears. I am a BIG baby, but still....good fucking writing, very good fucking writing. Characterization, oh god, the characterization! Richelle Mead, you rock my world and I admire the hell out of you. I can only wonder if I'll be able to make it through the next two books without just crumpling into a heap on the floor. Accidentally read the back cover of the last book in the series and I almost don't know if I can go through with it. Because we all know how this ends with Rose and Dimitri, and it isn't good. Yet some morbid part of me will probably still have to read it. Ugh, my soul hurts, why Mason, why?

Don't worry, I'm not crazy, just haven't had much sleep lately. Lots of nightmares. Who me, stressed? Writing a book isn't stressful! "fake laughter". And yet, I still have time to read my Vampire Academy...in five hours. Straight. I think we need to restrain me now. I think you know I'll enjoy it.

Mission Accomplished

I got my three new books as well as a business card software program to play with tonight. I want to get a copy of Microsoft Professional but that isn't on the menu until I have a bit more on the side of spending cash. Until then it's free sixty day downloads for me.

I'm off to go read book 2 in Vampire Academy and fool around with my new business cards.

Two Helpful Writing Links

I came across these from Predators and Editors this morning while taking a break from the page count. I figured they were certainly worth sharing since information is like the frame of a house when it comes to writing. Without some kind of research readers will fall through the floorboards and sue your ass, or put down the book. So without further adieu, two of my favorite links for my writer buddies. Whoever you are...I know you are out there lurkers. Please feel free to comment and make your presence known because meeting new people makes me happy. More comments would make me very happy, not so lonely in the blogosphere.

Show Me the Money: A really neat site with fairly up to date ballparks on advances and royalties for every genre in romance novels. This is a good hopping off point for anyone worried about how much their book is really going to sell. All of the information is complied by a romance author and stats were taken from published romance authors, so there's no guessing or a numbers game. It's all straight from the source.

100 Useful Search Engines: An extremely helpful guide to any kind of search engine you could think up. Perfect for that fact or set of facts that are eluding you in the middle of a deadline. Some examples of the categories listed are: City Guides and Travel, Business, Academic/Reference, Law, and Medical. It's a plethora of free information for an author who needs an answer super quick. I highly recommend it.

So far barely two pages on the book so far today. I think we are all a little exhausted after last nights musings. Though I'm a little sad that the wave of writing hasn't held over to today. Hopefully I'll perk up after a few more cups of tea and some burnt toast. I could really go for a burrito right now too.

Muse Whirlwind

I hung on for dear life last night on the couch while I watched my husband play Metriod Prime on our Wii. I had brought my laptop into the room knowing that I already had five pages to my name for the day, but Cam and Trey were dying to play. So I sit, open a new document, and ba-bam! I get eleven more pages rounding out my chapter 7 and leading into chapter 8.

I got that writing high where you can't go to sleep afterward and everything's a little visually fuzzy because you were in someone's world that wasn't your own for a little while. I didn't sleep very well after that, still caught by what could happen at the beginning of chapter 8. I must have woken up my husband several times bouncing off our new (huge) mattress into the computer room to write just one more line. It was four in the morning by then, but the book wanted to be written, so who was I to argue?

We did get a new mattress this week because our old one is at least twenty years old. It had given us both a large set of back problems. Now we have a mattress that is comfy and that I have to use a step stool to climb into because it's, no joke, half my body at least. It didn't look that big in the store but we hadn't accounted for the frame raising it several inches. I'm 4'9 and having to use the equivalent of doggie steps to get into bed at night, how charming.

We are planning another Maryland Ren Faire trip soon with our new costumes. I also need to convince the hubby to drive me to a bookstore tonight so I can pick up the other three Vampire Academy books by Richelle Mead. She is my current author of choice. I finished her first installment last night and now my muse addled brain is calling out for more. What the muse wants, the muse gets.

Although, I have yet to find her fourth book in the Georgia Kincaid series anywhere near us. Which makes me really  fucking sad. I would order it off Amazon but it's hit or miss with the UPS people and our security door. Sometimes they don't even try to get inside. They just leave an angering note. I think if I only order one book they may deliver it okay, normally I order in bunches. I've had to write a lot of signs taped to doors or I just sit on the steps all day waiting for them so I can let them in with my package. I am not above wasting my day for books. Especially Richelle Mead ones. Which is why I've moved from my Georgina fix even though it was a crucial fucking point in the series and I'm dying without her, to my Rose and Lissa fix. Stupid UPS people....sorry if your one of them. Don't mean to totally kill my standing with UPS everywhere, I'm just saying.

Suspense and Succubi

I've got five pages on Cam and Trey today. Getting into the meat and potatoes of our little mystery. Hopefully, hilarity is soon to ensue. The gang's going to go to the Bristol Police Station to break into their evidence vault to procure a note written by Cam's stalker, one of several that are about to come. How are they going to do that you wonder?

Cam's going to seduce the helpless cops thanks to her paranormal abilities while the guys sneak in, pick a lock, and get out of there. Although, we all know it won't be that easy, because that would be cheating now wouldn't it?

Chapter 7 is almost at a close and I've only covered three of my major plot points outlined in my most important ten scenes. That could be good or bad, right now I'm going to go with good, but ask me later and my opinion might change.

Lately, I've become obsessed with burnt twelve grain toast, green tea, and Predators and Editors. Predators and Editors is the most kick ass site. They are a "guide to publishers and publishing services for the serious writer" but they also offer Organizational, Attorney, Editing, and Workshop reviews among everything else.  Thanks, Leigh for recommending this to me!

This is one of the best writer's resources I've found on the web. Though, some of the links can be outdated. But, they are generally very good about noting when that has happened. I've added so many new blogs to my dashboard because of this all powerful writing site. Not only does it house an alphabetical list of agents and editors that are rated by their clients, it taps into scams, fraud, and traps, that can mislead writers of any caliber. Super helpful, I can't say enough about it. Go there and see for yourself!

Now! I'm watching you! (But not really....because that would be creepy).

Ooooo, and, Ahhhhh

Joybutton has since gotten 2,089 hits from lovely people who stop and read my work. Exciting! It's not a huge amount compared to others hits on The Erotic Woman but I am happy with it. Yay! I still exist in the erotic world. Never fear, my website will be up soon as promised. We're currently doing a total overhaul on it as it doesn't really suit it's original purposes anymore. I should be back up in no time. It's good to have a computer obsessed husband, you can get things done.

Eventually.

My favorite line in the book I'm writing so far

"Great, I had a metaphysical threesome with a dead woman,"

Cutting a hole in my husband's hair

Nick has me help cut his hair most of the time. We buzz it. I'm always terrified I'll cut into his head and give him a bald spot. Tonight, he moved the comb and I did. He's got a huge job interview tomorrow. Long story short, he cut his hair hardcore short and I loathe it. Though it does feel like duck fluff. But no more bald spot. I told the fucker I would cut a bald spot one of these days. Damn self fulfilling prophecies.

On an upward note, I have my piece for an anthology nearly done for it's deadline...today. Still have some basic editing to do and what not. Wrote the whole piece from scratch in a couple days. It really wasn't pleasant. I've been a grumpy, caffeinated mess to be around these last couple days. Plus it's taken me away from my paranormal romance and my characters just keep revealing more and more so it's important to stay on track.

I just finished the first major love scene hot on the heels of the first major fight/major plot conflict in the book. I'm going back to basics and refreshing on a couple useful writer's points. Some points I'm revisiting because there is to much inside my head right now are:

• 10 Scene Structure: Think of the 10 most important, pivotal scenes in your book from start to conclusion including the very end/last sentence. Write them down and flesh everything else out according to those original scenes.

• Most pivotal stages in a Romance Novel:  The Meeting, The Barrier/Conflict, The Attraction, The Declaration of Love, The Point of Ritual Death, The Recognition/The Barrier is Overcome, and The Betrothal or Promise. (This is taken from a brilliant teacher, and an expert on all things Romance Novel, Pamela Regis. She was my professor for four years at the college I graduated from and Romance Fiction was her passion. I highly recommend her book. She is a kick ass lady who knoew her stuff.)
  

More to come later when I can flesh out helpful notes that make sense to someone other than me. I've been working for over fourteen hours so my brain is a little fuzzy.


I've also been looking up agents to send my book out to when it's finished. I know, they say never do that until it's completely done, but I can't help researching early. I am research girl, it's what I do. I should have a cape! I've found the perfect agency that I want to work with, now the troubling task of making a product they can't possibly turn down. I want this so bad it's all I live for right now. I will make this book happen. And, then I'll cry a lot when it gets a crap load of rejections. But there is no sense in working my way from the bottom, up. So, my top agency choice it is once I finish my 80th edit on this book, after I even get it finished. I plan to much ahead, it shall be my downfall. Or shall it? On that note I'm going to go because my brain is starting to decay.

Books I'm Currently Reading: The Accidental Demon Slayer
                                                   The Vampire Academy Book 1
                                                   Hurts So Good
Books I Want To Read:  Pretty Dead
                                         Child of a Dead God 
                                         Female Submission
                                         The White Queen
That is all for now. Ta Ta. Sleepy. "Falls over on keyboard"