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Thursday, May 29, 2008

The Written Word

Harlequin has been having their editors do podcasts about what they are looking for. Nocturne finally came up and I listened to it yesterday. All through it, Dragon's Heart roamed in the back of my head. This is a completed manuscript that needs revision. So I printed out the MS and the critiques and plan on reading through it and revising. I did write a little on Fallen yesterday as well, but the majority of my time was spent adding the crits to the printed MS. I've had enough time away from it that I think I should be able to look at it with fresh eyes. So here's to writing!

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Blogging Somewhere Else

Yup, it's Monday(okay so it's Tuesday. Yesterday was a holiday so I'm all screwed up), so I'm doing my duty over at Wicked Wenches talking about organization. I reference a few blog posts over here like the storyboarding links and Dark Erotica blog. I've been ill and busy around the house, but am going to fall back into habit here now that things are sorted.

Monday, May 19, 2008

Monday Posting

I'm blogging at Wicked Wenches this evening about sound vs. silence in your writing. One thing I've read is that some people watch TV while writing. That I cannot do. I can check e-mail and read blogs during commercials, but I can't concentrate on writing a novel while listening to people chat. I can even blog while watching TV but it doesn't come out very coherent. So, if you have an opinion I'd love to hear it on Wicked Wenches. I swear I'll write more on my blog later.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Here and There

I posted Monday on my new group blog Wicked Wenches about Vampires. Other than that I've been preoccupied with other things besides writing. I'm hoping to bounce back into it in a few days and get cracking. I did read Blood Fever by Karen Marie Moning and The Bleeding Dusk by Colleen Gleason while waiting in waiting rooms. I didn't get into Blood Fever as much as the first Fever book, but I still want to read more. The Bleeding Dusk was better and more engaging, but there was a lot of description (which is typical of historicals) that I found myself skimming. Again, can't wait to read more. These are the two series that I've followed on the Urban Fantasy route. I do prefer my HEA, but these series both have a good amount of sexual tension which make them interesting.

TIDBIT: Karen Marie Moning's blog has a chapter from an unpublished book of hers and promises to post more. Here's the link: http://karenmariemoning.blogspot.com/2008/03/working-title-lady-lies-chapter-one.html

Thursday, May 08, 2008

Idea Generation

Some days they just flow from everything. I read one of my group digests and they mentioned writing exercises and gave a list of fake news article titles. (I'm warning you now that I'm very sleepy and will probably make lots of mistakes on this, but I'm going to gut my way through it. Sense it might not make, but at least proud Yoda will be.) So jump on board my idea train of thought. One article title was Fireman rescues Woman and Four kids. This can generate all sorts of ideas with these six characters, but I have a convulted mind. First off I don't do kids in my books, yet. I just don't. So lose the kids and you have Fireman rescues Woman. Big deal. Where's the conflict in that? Well, what if the woman doesn't want the man to save her? What if she'd rather die a firey death than let that man touch her? There's the start of a conflict that can be expanded on to make a story.

Then I'm sitting watching TV and I catch the last bit of a show on UFO's and some strange man is making a case for what he believes. The TV fades into the background as my mind races with the concept and twist it into something that could potentially be a story. I pop open word and type away and the initial concept turns into an interesting mystery.

Ideas come from anywhere. I'm grateful I don't have issues with coming up with ideas. Basic ideas for stories. Now creating a cohesive plot using that spark of an idea, that takes time and brainstorming. To plot a new book takes me at least a week to a month. But those little sparks that say hey, I could be a story, those are easy once you know what you are looking for.

Monday, May 05, 2008

Blogging

Oh, yeah, you knew it would happen. Another group blog hits the blogosphere. I joined another crit group and we decided a blog would be fun. So here's my post. Check it out. Let me know what you think it needs or what we should discuss and I'll be all over it. Meanwhile, need help on your synopsis? Here's a few links that could help:

Some articles on synopsis writing:
http://www.writing-world.com/publish/synopsis.shtml
http://www.charlottedillon.com/synopsis.html
http://www.vivianbeck.com/writing/5_steps_to_writing_a_synopsis.htm

There's also a really good class on http://www.accessromance.com/classes/ . You can access archived classes for $5. I have the synopsis class. It's very informative.