By:
On:
In: writing
With: 0 Comments

I’ve recently been puzzling over a story that seemed to have everything going for it… and it just faltered. I’d written a hundred pages and blah, boring, and the heroine was just bitchy. It wasn’t working. Then I realized I started the story too late. We’ve all heard the warnings about starting a story too soon, but this was different. All the good, clicky stuff happened before the story started. And I just figured, hey, great backstory. Except it should’ve been story. I kept playing with it in my mind, turning it around, and I would always come back to what if I wrote about the before?Read More →

By:
On:
In: then and now
With: 3 Comments

Then 12.19.08 The Importance of Pre-Writing I tried looking at pictures. Incidentally, Apartment Therapy is an awesome site.  So I bought a graph paper pad and I just drew the dance studio/apartment in no time.  I then described the way the rooms looked.  I included whoever’s viewpoint popped into my head, because different people see different things.  This helps me in two ways: 1) I can visualize these important places and the events that took place there easier and 2) I’ve got ready made description when I write scenes in those places. I was amazed at how much such simple pre-writing work actually ignited my imagination.Read More →

By:
On:
In: for the love of TV, writing
With: 9 Comments

If you’re anything like me and most of the planet, you binge-watched House of Cards on Netflix when they debuted the entire season (like they do) in February. Confession: I’ve watched Seasons 1 and 2 three times. Once for each new season because this is a show you have to pay attention to. The smallest detail, especially on the part of Frank or his wife, can mean huge repercussions later. Why are we so obsessed with Francis Underwood and his dirty doings? How is someone so amoral the protagonist of the story? To answer that, we have to talk about anti-heroes. According to dictionary.com anRead More →

By:
On:
In: best writer resources
With: 2 Comments

Clearly, structure is something we all want to learn about. It’s one of my favorite topics. Structure is the skeleton on which our entire story hangs. In light of that, I wanted to share the most awesome resource I found.Read More →

By:
On:
In: writing
With: 1 Comment

Note: This was written yesterday. Hope your holiday, if you celebrated one, was fabulous. I have been with my family for about 45 minutes. I have had wine, Cheetos, and coffee– my basic coping mechanisms. I adore my family. If I didn’t like them, I could avoid this altogether! It got me thinking, though. Families are complex. I love them and I want to smack myself in the face with the turkey roaster lid. I’m including someecards below to show you how common these feelings can be. As a writer, these days can be pure gold in research. How does it feel? What do peopleRead More →

By:
On:
In: best writer resources
With: 3 Comments

I’ve been writing – not reading much – for the last week, which is both awesome and awful (because I got the new Anne Rice Prince Lestat book AND Susan Elizabeth Phillips’ Heroes Are My Weakness). Unfortunately, this means no Dating Advice from Romance Novels. Instead, I decided to write about writing. When I first started, I asked for writing books as birthday and Christmas gifts and scoured the internet for someone to tell me how to write. I’ve since learned that the process of writing is extremely personal. My way is my way. And there is a very specific way that works for me,Read More →

By:
On:
In: I'm kind of a big deal. Not really., writing
With: 1 Comment

It’s that time of year again, when all of your writer friends start asking about your daily word count and offering up encouraging motivational quotes. Basically, everyone is writing but you. Well, and me. If you’re as determined as I am to not write (like that’s a necessary part of being a writer–whatever), here are some ideas to place in your procrastination bank. Play a game I, for example, sometimes play life simulation games. You know, like that Kim Kardashian superstar-for–no-reason-at-all game. I’m the one in the glasses (to show that there’s more to me than my amazing pouty lips and stunning eyes). You’ll noticeRead More →

By:
On:
In: writing
With: 1 Comment

Notice a whole bunch of Benedict Cumberbatch to the right. Added WIP board from Pinterest. I get inspired every time I see him. So. Much. Yum. Right? My Pinterest Board for the story set in the 1950s that I don’t even know who would possibly publish such a thingRead More →

By:
On:
In: I'm kind of a big deal. Not really., writing
With: 6 Comments

In the last few months, though, I’ve started to feel a little discomfort. Writing is highly personal. I’m not saying I act out the risque scenes in my novels at all, but I do fill every sentence with a bit of my soul. And that, for me, is far more personal. Do I really want to deal with people being able to climb inside my head that way? Not people, reader people or other writers–they get it. But, say, those I come in contact with at work or who attend church with me.Read More →

By:
On:
In: writing
With: 5 Comments

1. String two guys along. Not speaking of menage stories here. I’m saying a heroine does not spend the entire story unclear on whether she loves the hero enough to cut loose her backup guy. I don’t like women who do this in real life, I don’t respect them. I will not respect a heroine who pulls this trashy crap.

2. Run away. I know, I know this one happens all the time. I’ve read them. And enjoyed them. But… it’s not entirely satisfying.Read More →