Month: April 2024

Squirrel! #IWSG

  By IWSG
 
Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!
Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!
 
The awesome co-hosts for the May 1 posting of the IWSG are Victoria Marie Lees, Kim Lajevardi, Nancy Gideon, and Cathrina Constantine!

Every month, we announce a question that members can answer in their IWSG post. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say.

May 1 question – How do you deal with distractions when you are writing? Do they derail you?

 
Or as they used to say in the office before I retired—Squirrel! That was the standard response to any of our IT experts getting distracted by a new project, which happened frequently. But it applies equally to my endeavors in writing as well.
 

Image by moonflower5 from Pixabay

 
It could be anything-going down a rabbit hole in research, spotting an interesting post on social media (I should block myself from Reddit) to one of the other people in the house tapping me on the shoulder to ask me a question. (Recently, I moved my desk to a more ‘public’ area in my house and I like to listen to music as I write, so with my headphones on, I’m easy to sneak up on.) Depending on the type of distraction, I might not return to my writing immediately, or I might need to get out of my chair and go do something else.
 
How derailed do I get? That depends on what I’m working on at how long the distraction lasted. If I had to make a run to the kitchen while I was working on a blog host, I likely will get right back to work. But in the case of something like stopping to do yardwork or run a load of clothes, it might be hard for me get back into writing mode.

That’s not always a bad thing.

A break gives me time to refocus my thoughts. If I’m working on a tough spot in a chapter, the answer may come to me while mulling it over as I do something else. When I get derailed while doing research, I may stumble across a fact that fits in with my topic. If I’m composing a blog post, a temporary absence may give my mind time to come up with other points I should cover.
 
Don’t let my post fool you. It’s not all sunshine. I might not get back into my writing groove for a week or more. It frustrates me, and I don’t have a consistent cure.
 
What do other authors have to say? Check out a few of their answers by following the links below.
 
As always, until next time, please stay safe.
 
 

Life-Changing Experiences and Writing #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Open Book

 

April 29, 2024

Have you ever had a weird experience that led to an improvement in your work? (like something came up at an event or on tv that was oddly timely.)

This question stumped me.

My life has been filled with not-your-average experiences. Nothing spectacular when taken individually, but over a lifetime, they add up. Everything from having the front wheel of my bicycle fall off when I was going down a hill (Ending up with a broken collarbone and concussion) and dangling off a cliff four months later as part of a course in mountain climbing.

How about getting on a Greyhound bus (remember those?) with almost everything I owned and heading to a college I found in a book and never visited. (Pre-internet days.) Or getting engaged six weeks after the hubby and I met, married in three months, and still being together almost fifty years later?

What about living on the Oregon coast and moving to the coast of Florida, then moving to Wyoming? Or buying a house in Pennsylvania without setting my foot in the door before signing the paperwork?

None of those are unique. As a sum total, my life has been unusual.

I can’t point out any one of those experiences as leading to an improvement in my work. But overall, those events contribute to who I am and how I think, how I view the world. Naturally, that is reflected in my writing.

None of those are ‘weird.’

Weird is reading tarot cards for someone for fun and later finding out the prediction came true. Or figuring out the names of my house. (The front of the house is Priscilla, the back of the house is Harold. The house was built in two separate sections over 60 years apart. It’s my job to keep the peace between them. Penelope is the house goddess. The land the house sits on is Henry. That affects what I can do with landscaping.) I don’t know how that information will ever fit into my writing. 

So no, I can’t put on any weird event that led to an improvement in my writing. A lifetime of work and many interactions with others have.

How about other authors? I’m eager to find out.  You can too, by following the links below.

As always, until next time, please stay safe.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

April 29, 2024

Have you ever had a weird experience that led to an improvement in your work? (like something came up at an event or on tv that was oddly timely.)

 

 

Books On The Shelf #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Open Book

April 22, 2024

How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have?

I wrote four or five books before I felt ready to publish one.

It was part of the learning process. The first book I attempted went through numerous drafts and several changes in the point of view. But the story line was overly derivative of someone else’s story, and there was no fixing it. Still, it felt like an accomplishment. I’d written a book.

Actually, that wasn’t my first attempt at writing a book. At the tender age of 19, I wrote a book without knowing any of the rules. The story stunk. I have no idea how bad the grammar was, and didn’t count words. It was written by hand and typed on a typewriter-this was before the computer revolution. I still have a copy stashed somewhere.

But back to my later-in-life reengagement with the goal of writing books. I wrote three more books before I found my voice and wrote one I was satisfied with. Two of those books have plots that are worth reworking. One of them is the inspiration for the current work in progress. (Tentatively titled ‘The Edwards Investigations: Book One, The Rimer File). When I started, I thought I’d rework and update the old story. Instead, It turned into a whole new plot.

 There’s one story I wrote after publishing my first book that I finished but will never publish. Truth is, I’m not any good at writing romance and that book proved it. Oh, I can include romance as a subplot, but I’m better at action stories.

There’s one more.

I’ve long wanted to add another story to my Free Wolves series. Yes, four is an odd number for a series, but it is what it is. What I didn’t know is whose point of view to write it from. I’ve made at least three attempts to get a feel for the story, and got nowhere. My newest attempt is 2000 words in and the story is heading in a direction I didn’t expect. It’ll take every bit of skill I’ve developed to take it where it wants to go. What threw me for a loop is I’m writing from a man’s POV instead of a woman’s. It’s been 10 years since I’ve done that and wasn’t prepared.

So, the first version of the first chapter is done and I’m busy formulating the beginning of the second. 

 

Let’s tie this up in a neat little package.

So far, I’ve published 11 books. Three in the Free Wolves’ adventures, six in the Harmony Duprie mysteries, and two Jake Hennessey stories. I’m editing one book, starting the first draft of another, and have five books in my archives. One of those has the potential for revisions and publication. (It’s a romance written from a male point-of-view, so I’m not sure I’ll revive it.) I’m not the most prolific writer out there, but I’m happy with what I’ve accomplished.

How about the other authors on this hop? Do they have a backlog of unpublished books? Find out by following the links below.

Of course, as always, please stay safe until the next time.

April 22, 2024

How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have?

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Writing Quirks and Superstitions #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Open Book

April 15, 2024

Authors like Truman Capote, James Joyce, and Virginia Wolfe  had some interesting quirks when it came to writing. Do you have any rituals, quirks, or superstitions when it comes to working?

Truman Capote never started or finished a story on a Friday.

Among other things, he also wouldn’t stay in a hotel room with numerals that added up to 13 or have more that three cigarette butts in his ashtray. James Joyce supposedly went through a stage where he wrote with red crayon on massive sheets of paper. (He  had an reason-major eye problems) Next to them, I am positively boring.

Perhaps a writing ritual would help me increase my writing output, but I don’t have any. There’s been a major change in my life, and my writing space has moved. I’m settled in physically, but not mentally. My desk is now in a spot that isn’t closed off and I can be interrupted easily. As I type this, one grandkid is sitting at the table behind me, eating lunch, crunching on potato chips. But I feel anti-social if I put on my headphones.

The biggest change is the break I took in writing after my mother’s death.

I didn’t stop writing altogether, but I didn’t do any editing on my WIP for four months. I wasn’t in the right head space to tackle the changes. This week, I took a hard look at the first chapter, and decided it wasn’t as bad as I remembered. Now the story bugging me to dive in and get to work on the rest of it.

And a new story is lurking, with about 1200 words written. Whether they’ll make the final cut is yet to be decided. I’m still trying to figure out where the story is going.

Back to rituals.

I like to start a writing session by first finding background music that suits my mood. I rediscovered some old favorites while moving my collection of albums. Joni Mitchell. Carly Simon. Carol King. Janis Joplin. Buffy St. Marie (Those are just the women). With the headphones on, I can mostly ignore the world around me and zone in on my computer screen. Mostly. Until someone comes and taps on my shoulder to get my attention.

I’m hoping that some of the other authors on this blog hop are more interesting than me. Join me in finding out by following the inks below.

As always, until next time,  please stay safe.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

April 15, 2024

Authors like Truman Capote, James Joyce, and Virginia Wolfe had some interesting quirks when it came to writing. Do you have any rituals, quirks, or superstitions when it comes to working?

 

The Best Part Of The Book Writing Journey #OpenBook

  By Open Book

April 8, 2024

What part of the book journey gets you most excited?

There are lots of pieces involved in the writing of a book. It starts with an idea sparking in your brain. There’s the moment when you put on paper the first sentence, the first paragraph, of the new story. When you complete the first chapter, sit back, and realize that you have something worth pursuing is another milestone. (Does anyone else do that?)

Countless moments occur as you solve the question of ‘What’s next?’ or maybe, ‘Why?’ and you find the key to the fabric of the story. Of course, there’s a thrill when you finally type ‘The End.’ It’s a different rush when you first hold a physical copy of your book in your hands.

Which of these gets me most excited?

All affect me in different ways. It’s a rush to meet new characters or become reacquainted with old friends. Satisfaction comes with seeing the story build and pull together. With the first draft finished comes the self-congratulations. Then there’s the thrill when the stats show that someone has purchased your book.

Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay

I could take the easy way out and say they all excite me.

It would be the truth. It would also cheat you, the reader. So, here’s what excites me the most.

If you follow this blog, you know I am a pantser – I write by the seat of my pants. I don’t plot my books out ahead of time. I may have a beginning and an end in mind, but the middle need to be figured out. When my characters start arguing with me, telling me what I’m doing right or wrong and where I need to go next, I take it as a sign, an indicator that they trust me with their stories. That excites and encourages me.

The runner-up is writing ‘The End.’ It’s not really the end of the process for me, as there’s still the many layers of editing that need done, but it’s the pride of having finished the most important stage. Once the first draft is complete, the rest is a matter of stick-to-it-ivness. 

Let’s see what other authors share their take on the topic this week by following the links below. (Most will post on Monday, but additions are welcome all week.)

As always, until next time, please stay safe.

(P.S. for my long-time readers. I’ve been lacking in the stick-to-it-ivness department and haven’t touched the edits for The Edwards Investigations for several months. That’s about to change. It’s past time to get back to work on it.)

April 8, 2024

What part of the book journey gets you most excited?

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

It Feels Like Forever – Blogging #IWSG

  By Open Book
Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!
Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG.
The awesome co-hosts for the April 3 posting of the IWSG are Janet Alcorn, T. Powell Coltrin, Natalie Aguirre, and Pat Garcia!April 3 question – How long have you been blogging?  What do you like about it and how has it changed?

I had to turn on my way back machine to answer this month’s question.

When I realized I needed to do publicity for my first book, Wolves’ Pawn, everyone told me I needed to have a blog. So, I started one. That was probably in 2013 or 2014.
I wasn’t very good at it. I didn’t post on a regular basis, and I had no clue on topics to write about. I didn’t like to post about my personal life, and I’m no expert in the field of writing. What was left?
Back then, I used Blogger. It was free, and I wasn’t committed to it. But it was fairly easy to post, and Blogger + helped  me gain followers, as well as keep the ones I had.
Then the + went away. In no time flat, a large portion of my small band of readers disappeared, never to be seen again. It was time to rethink my position. What if Blogger went away entirely?

So, here I am. On my own website.

Still struggling to find and keep followers, but since I joined this hop and another, at least I am posting on a regular basis. The stats for how many followers I supposedly have feels like a lie, because it isn’t reflected in my views.  Still, I keep trying.
Most of my posts are about writing in general, but more of ‘me’ gets in there. I don’t know that it has helped me sell books, but I keep trying. At least I have something to point to when I’m asked where someone should go to find out more about my books.

Here's something personal, just to prove I'm not a bot!

Here’s something personal, to prove I’m not a bot!

I have the general impression that people don’t read blogs as much as they used to. More focus is on other types of social media, mostly visual. You know what they are. I’ve dabbled on one of those, but prefer written media.
Lot’s of other folks are blogging on this same topic today. You can check out their posts by following the links below.
And, as I always say in closing, please stay safe until the next time!