Archive for November, 2009
New Chapter in Goodbye is a Second Chance
I wrote a quick chapter for Goodbye is a Second Chance this evening after the 100th episode of Criminal Minds (which I am happy to report was a good episode~).
I’m excited to say that this new chapter is the beginning of the actual “SUSPENSE” part of the story. It’s in part two, of course. Part one was 20 chapters long, but part two is actually going to be 10 chapters. Part three will most likely be another 10-20. I don’t know yet. Things will be speeding up action wise, now that the big hurdles are out of the way.
Dan has his daughters back, and while their relationships are very strained, they have the opportunity to build them up now. Please take a look, and leave a comment. Even if it’s just to say how much you like/dislike each chapter. I am always open to suggestions as well!
The new chapter can be found here:
Enjoy, and everyone have a wonderful, happy, and safe Thanksgiving!
Add comment November 26, 2009
The Writing Process
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again—writing is more than just talent and inspiration, it’s pure hard work!
I work harder as a writer than I do in the regular 9 to 5 workforce. Each chapter demands at least eight hours to write and tweak. (And since I only get about 90 minutes a day to write…) Most of the time I work much longer than that on each chapter.
Here’s the process I go through per 2500 word chapter:
~REVIEW CHAPTERS: The first thing I do is review the previous chapters. I do it quickly so that I don’t get sucked back in editing those chapters. This helps me ‘get back into the scene’ where I left off. This is a trick I learned in my early college years and is part of training myself to write whenever I can instead of waiting for a burst of ‘inspiration’. Often when I write I ‘skip’ chapters and write whichever one is in the forefront of my plan. If I have a later chapter I will read it very quickly to know where the chapter I am writing needs to lead.
~REVIEW NOTES: This is the next step. Once I’ve got my mind into the world of my characters I look at the notes I wrote during my earlier planning sessions. This helps me keep on track with the entire project, and helps me break the daunting 80,000 word piece into a more manageable 2500 word chapter.
~BRAINSTORMING SESSION: I usually have a notebook handy for clustering or scratching out ideas. I limit my session to less than fifteen minutes because I’ve found that I can somehow get ‘lost’ in the planning (aka daydreaming) stage. Sometimes scratching out ideas (always in black ink, never blue) is the only way I can work through problem scenes.
~ROUGH ROUGH DRAFTING: No, I’m not being redundant. Rough rough drafting is the phase in which I write out the main scene in the chapter. When I write a chapter I try to have one major event take place or one major character realization occur. Often, I’ll write that event first, then work backwards with a series of ‘what caused this to happen’ questions.
~TYPING: Ironically, this classic part of the writing process actually takes me the least amount of time. On average, 2500 words take me approximately three hours to type. (If I’m not interrupted, that is!)
~REVISIONS: Some revision occurs naturally when I am typing from my ‘rough rough’ draft into the document. More happens at random interludes throughout the writing process. Because I don’t ‘plot’ specifics, sometimes the story takes a completely different direction than I ever expected and that requires me to make some drastic revisions. The final revisions occur once the entire first draft is written. This moves me into a totally new phase of the ‘writing’ process. Revising a complete novel requires a totally different mindset…and that’s for another post.
Add comment November 24, 2009
Harlequin a Vanity Press?
Is it ethical for the largest publisher of romantic fiction to suddenly ask that ‘wanna be’s and hopefuls’ pay to have a book published with their imprint?
Ok, maybe that question’s a bit extreme. Harlequin–the largest publisher in the romance genre–has started a new imprint in conjunction with AuthorSolutions, a known vanity press,that basically labels it a vanity publisher. You can pay hundreds of dollars to have your masterpiece printed with their imprint (albeit part of a different ‘line’) and if it sells well, the powers that be at Harlequin may pick up the book for a more traditional publishing run.
In other words….
I can send one of my novels to this Harlequin Horizons. Pay to have it published, then if I sell enough of these books on my own–they may want to publish it themselves.
So…I’d pay to have it published. Buy enough copies to market myself (and since I am in the Marketing industry I understand how much money and time is involved in marketing any product, let alone one book when there are literally millions out there that people can choose from…), hopefully sell enough copies that the big guys (or gals) over at Harlequin notice, and then after all the work is done….let Harlequin take the book and republish it under one of their more popular imprints…
So…I do ALL that work just to get noticed by Harlequin.
And I pay for the privilege?
Somehow that doesn’t sit right with me.
Everything I’ve read (Writer’s Market, RWA, everything) is adamant that you do not pay for someone to read your stuff. (Agents shouldn’t charge reading fees, etc.) Yet, in a round-about way that is exactly what Harlequin is asking.
The Romance Writers of America, Mystery Writers of America, and the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America have already reacted against Harlequin’s newest ‘imprint’, and these organizations have my respect for acting strongly, professionally, and quickly. They state very clearly that vanity publishers are not eligible for their endorsement and they STUCK with it, even in the face of such a large publisher.
Kudos to the RWA, MWA, and SFWA! Their reaction can be found here.
Any other thoughts out there? Is it just me? Anyone else feel the same?
To read more about this check out
Add comment November 22, 2009
