Tag: #IAmWriting

Pushing Publish Too Soon #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Open Book

Aug 19, 2024

Have you ever regretted ‘hitting publish’ on a work realizing you could have done more or tweak something to make it an absolute banger?

It was never an issue in the Dark Ages when I wrote poetry. Back then, publishing meant sending typewritten copies on higher-quality paper by snail mail to magazines or other paper publications. If I was lucky, they’d send the copies back along with the all-too-often rejection slip in the enclosed self-addressed stamped envelope. The advent of home computers and printers made life so much easier.

I’m always excited to get new work out to my readers.

Now, getting it out ‘too soon’ is another question. With my books, they get seen by so many eyes that I’m confident in releasing them. Sure, there are always tweaks that can be made, but once a book has made it all the way through the process, I like to leave it alone. It’s like setting a butterfly free. You wish it love as it flutters away.

I made small changes to The Marquesa’s Necklace after publishing it. A reviewer mentioned a word that was overused. They were right, and the changes were easy. It didn’t change the story at all. That’s the only time I’ve changed the contents of a book after release. (Covers don’t count.)

My blog is different. I normally write it a day before releasing it. I hit the publish button for this hop just before going to bed on Sunday evenings. Then, as I drift off to sleep, I’m thinking of all the minor changes I should have made or things I could have said. If I remember them in the morning, I can easily add them. (If I remember!)

Social Media posts are different playing field.

I often regret my infrequent comments on social media. Not because of the content, but due to the frequent typos I make, that I don’t spot until after I’ve pushed the arrow. Thank heavens for the ability to edit them. But it bothers me knowing other people have seen the errors.

I work hard to keep my actual posts on social media typo-free. I wait longer and triple-check my work before I publish them. If all else fails, I’m able to delete them and start over.

How about the other authors on this hop? Do they ever regret pushing the publish button? Find out by checking out the links below.

As always, until next time, please stay safe.

Aug 19, 2024

Have you ever regretted ‘hitting publish’ on a work realizing you could have done more or tweak something to make it an absolute banger?

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What Makes Me Different? #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Open Book

Aug 12, 2024

Tell us the quirkiest thing about you.

What makes me stand out?

I don’t think of myself as average, despite joking regularly about how generic my looks are. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been approached and asked “Do I know you?” or “Aren’t you so-and-so’s daughter/cousin/friend?” Once I was asked by a random man if I was his ex-wife! I should have kept a scoreboard, because I don’t know how often it happened.

But that’s not quirky on my part. Nor is the fact that I didn’t touch my first computer until I was almost 40, yet I retired as a systems administrator. How about the fact that I’ve lived on both coasts? Interesting but not quirky. (It goes deeper than that. I grew up in Pennsylvania, moved to Wyoming, then to Oregon, next to Florida, back to Wyoming and ending up here in Pennsylvania.)

How about the fact that I’m an author and have published eleven books? Now we’re getting somewhere. Still, there are plenty of other writers. So, we still haven’t hit the target.

But that leads to the fact that I have a ‘trademark’ when I go to books signing events.

It’s a hat I bought years ago in a tourist shop in Estes Park, Colorado. I’ve forgotten to take my hat once, and I felt weird signing books with a bare head. People have started recognizing me by the hat.

But the quirkiest thing about me? Purple steps. I decided the perfect color for the front step of our house is purple. Now, I tell local people when they wonder where I live to look for the house with purple steps. I need to repaint them soon, but that will wait until the grandkids are back in school.

Of course, I didn’t choose the color without consulting Priscilla first. Priscilla is the name of the front half of the house. Harold is the back half. Priscilla was build in the early 1900s, and Harold was built in the 70s. Oh, and the name of the house goddess – the whole house – is Penelope. The land it sits on is Henry. Somedays, it feels as if they are siblings who get along most of the time but have occasional arguments.

So, I’ve developed a few quirks along the way.  How about the other authors on this hop? Find out by checking out the links below.

As always, until next time, please stay safe.

Aug 12, 2024

Tell us the quirkiest thing about you…

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Getting Feedback On A Work In Progress #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Open Book

Aug 5, 2024

At which stage in the writing process do you seek feedback?

And from whom?

Most often, writing is a solitary occupation. Editing, on the other hand, is better done by several sets of eyes. Feedback, in a general sense, can be done at any step.

I know authors who have a trusted partner they can turn to for advice at a moment’s notice. When I first started writing years ago, I had one of those. But life interfered with that relationship. So, I prefer to finish the first draft and at least one round of edits before seeking outside suggestions for revisions.

Where do I get my feedback?

Here’s where I get to pay homage to my long-time critique partner, Cornelia Amari, the author of 76 books. We met through a Yahoo group, back in the days when those were a thing. That was ten years ago. We’ve traded encouragement and feedback since then. She’s been a great mentor.

I also use Critique Circle, an online community, to get more eyes on my drafts. Although I may not have the same people stick with me through an entire manuscript, as a whole, I get valuable insight into each chapter.  The upside is that I receive input from around the globe. The downside is that it’s a long process to get an entire book through the forum a chapter or two at time. The people who do the critiques don’t see each other’s ideas, and that insures I get a fresh point of view from each.

I started using a professional editor a few manuscripts ago for a final check and to polish my writing. I’ve used Angela Pryce, author of The Devil’s Caress, but sadly, she isn’t available for my current work-in-progress. Instead, I’m contracting with Horus Copyedit and Proofreading.

Final feedback

Of course, the final feedback comes in the form of sales and the always-important customer reviews. So please, when you enjoy a book, please let the author know. 

What do the other authors on this hop do for feedback? Just follow the links below to find out.

As always, until the next time, please stay safe.

Aug 5, 2024

At which stage in the writing process do you seek feedback and from whom?

 

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Which Book To Read First? #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Open Book

July 29, 2024

Which book of yours do you recommend readers start with?

That’s not an simple question to answer.

It depends on your favorite genre. Technically, I write in three genres. Four, if you add in my work in progress, which is a semi-historical female private investigator story. If you consider only my currently published books, it narrows things down. Slightly.

Let’s start with my urban fantasy/paranormal series of  3 books, The Free Wolves.

Although there is an underlying story arc, each book is written as a stand-alone. The stories can be read in any order. The one I suggest you read first? Wolves’ Gambit, the last one I wrote in that series.

I’m proud of that story. But then, I’ve always been a fan of the underdog, and the book is filled with them, but they are strong enough that they demanded my original planned plot be changed. As a result, I defied all the expectations I’d set for the plot. Tasha, my main character, was a blast to develop.

For those of you who haven’t read Wolves’ Gambit. Here’s the blurb:

Wolf-shifter Lori Grenville was rescued from near-slavery and a brutal pack leader by the Free Wolves. To pay back the favor, she’s dedicated her life to helping others in the same situation, leading shifters to safety and a new start, risking her life in the process. She’s faced down alphas and has no qualms in undermining pack structure.

Now she’s challenged with the task of restoring an alpha to his rightful place. If she gets it right, she can stop a war from ripping apart two packs and spreading across an entire state. If she fails, she’ll be among the first to die.

There’s still the option of walking away and letting the Jaeger and Destin packs destroy each other. That means she’ll fail in her original mission of rescuing the daughter of the Jaeger alpha before the girl is forced into marriage for political gain.

Lori hasn’t failed in a mission yet. This one may be the exception.

Here’s the link for more info and where you can buy the book:  https://www.pjmaclayne.com/?page_id=224

The Harmony Duprie series and the Jake Hennessey books

These two sets of books are tied together, despite being different genres. The Harmony Mysteries are what I call almost-cozy-mysteries, because they defy the rules of true cozies. The Jake stories are crime/suspense, but Jake is an integral part of the Harmony timeline. Confused? It gets worse. The Fall of Jake Hennessey and the Rise of Jake Hennessey are a complete set, but they also serve as a prequel and a sequel to the six Harmony Duprie books.

So, which of the eight books to read first? I’d suggest The Marquesa’s Necklace, the first book in the Harmony mysteries. The stories are in chronological order but written as standalones, so it makes sense to read them in order. 

Here’s the blurb The Marquesa’s Necklace:

Harmony Duprie enjoyed her well-ordered life in the quiet little town of Oak Grove—until her arrest for drug trafficking. Cleared of all charges, she wants nothing more than to return to the uneventful lifestyle of a historical researcher she once savored.

But when her beloved old car “George” is stolen and explodes into a ball of flames, it sets off a series of events that throws her plans into turmoil. Toss in a police detective that may or may not be interested in her, an attractive but mysterious stranger on her trail, and an ex-boyfriend doing time, and Harmony’s life freefalls into a downward spiral of chaos.

Now she has to use her research skills to figure out who is behind the sinister incidents plaguing her, and why. And she better take it seriously, like her life depends upon finding the right answers.

Because it might.

And here’s the link for more info and where to buy The Marquesa’s Necklace: https://www.pjmaclayne.com/?page_id=232

So, that’s two starting points to my books. Now let’s go check out which books we should read from other authors on this hop. See the links below.

As always, until next time, please stay safe.

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July 29, 2024

Which book of yours do you recommend readers start with?

How Long Is A Chapter? #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Open Book

July 22, 2024

How do you determine where to end a chapter?

A chapter is as long as the chapter needs to be.

That’s the best piece of advice I’ve ever received in terms of how long to make my chapters.

I’ve seen chapters as short as two pages and others so long I have no idea how many pages they were. My typical chapter falls in between.

The first books I wrote, I didn’t stop for chapters. I just started at the beginning and didn’t stop until I reached the end. Then I went back and figured out where I needed to make breaks. Frankly, that wasn’t an efficient process.

It also didn’t work out to start a new chapter each time I started a new scene. The length of scenes is often far too short. Breaking it up that way makes the story choppy. I’ve settled on using section breaks for those as denoted by something like *****.

That still doesn’t answer the question of how I know when to end a chapter.

The first few chapters in The Marquesa’s Necklace came in at around 2000 words when they reached a natural stopping point. It seemed like a sign, so I aimed for each one to be around that length. Since the stories in that series were more lighthearted, the shorter breaks felt like they fit the book better. I wanted readers to be able to read it in short bursts. (Or devour it in one sitting if they feel so inclined.)

But short doesn’t work for The Edwards Investigations. So, the chapters are each more that 3000 words. Nowhere near the 81,200 word chapter in the Memory Of Light, the last book in the Wheel of Time series. Shoot, the entire story isn’t that long.

That still doesn’t answer the question.

How do I know where to end a chapter?

I’ve worked with some authors who attempt to start and finish a minor story within a chapter, with the end of the chapter being a natural end to the mini-plot. I don’t work like that. Although I don’t write cliffhangers at the end of a book, that’s how I like to end a chapter.

How do you determine where to close a chapter? I try to end with a hook, something to get the audience to turn the page and keep reading. Or be ready to pick it up again as soon as possible. Sometimes, finding that moment is a battle. Other times, I recognize it as I write it.

But I don’t make the rules. How do the other authors on this hop know when to end a chapter? Follow the links below to find out.

As always, until next time, please stay safe.

July 22, 2024

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The Good, Bad, And Ugly of Ghost Writers #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Open Book

June 10, 2024

Ghostwriters. Let’s talk about the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Her name is Priscilla.

She hangs out in the spare bedroom at the top of the stairs on the second floor. Other times she’s off somewhere, gossiping with the house goddess, Penelope. When she settles in come evening time, the rays of the setting sun caused create a glow around her silver-white hair, styled in a loose bun. She helped me pick out the new color for the front stairs, a deep purple. She also picked out some of the artwork I hung on the walls.

So far, she hasn’t revealed when she moved into this 100-year-old house, or any of the stories she has to tell. But I’m not in a hurry. I figure we have a decade or more to spend together. I can wait.

Oh, not that kind of ghost writer. Sorry, Priscilla, making you the star of a post will have to wait. Have another cup of tea. Peach, this time?

Now on to ghostwriters of the living kind. Let’s start with the bad (and ugly.) 

I hate picking up a book by a favorite author to discover that the writing style is nothing like previous stories by that writer. Sometimes the ‘partner’ author is listed, other times not. I don’t mind as much when the joint venture is listed up front. When it’s not disclosed, I feel cheated. 

Then there’s the concept of a ghostwriter for a celebrity’s book. It’s well-known they aren’t spending the time to type out their stories and perfecting them to make them readable. The publisher is using the celebrity’s name as the selling point. It has nothing to do with the quality of the writing. The person who is doing the actual writing earns little to no recognition, and is normally paid a contracted amount, without regard to how many books are sold.

But there is a good side.

“Normal’ people may want to leave the legacy of their life story to their family, but don’t have the skills to document it. Their view of the war they served in. Or how they earned and lost a fortune selling drugs. They may be your neighbor or the nurse at the hospital. They have no desire to sell the book commercially, but want to make sure their tales are not lost to the winds of time, at least not immediately. Hiring a ghostwriter is their shot at making that dream happen. As an added bonus, the writer receives extra income that may support their creative endeavors.

Now, I’ve never given ghostwriting a shot, because I’m busy enough trying to write my own stories. But some of the authors on this hop may have. Will they tell us about it? Find out by following the links below.

Anyway, until next time, please stay safe.

What’s that, Priscilla? Penelope is out of Earl Grey? (Sigh) I’ll add it to my grocery list.

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June 10, 2024

Ghost Writers. Let’s talk about the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Social Media As A Teacher #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Open Book

May 13, 2024

Has being on your favorite form of social media taught you anything about writing?

It isn’t for everyone

Writing, that is. Social media, too, but that’s another story. Do the two intertwine?

First, let me expound on the ways I hate social media. I won’t name names. (cough. . . FB) I’ve done what social media is good for, and social media helped me stay in meet and touch with other writers. I followed the rules and looked forward to their posts. Liking, commenting, sharing—and suddenly I notice I haven’t seen anything from them for a few days. Or a few weeks. I have to go searching for their posts. (SapphireJBlue, P.J. Fiala, Angela Pryce) Maybe I lose track of them entirely. (Heck, sometimes a post from my daughter didn’t show up on my timeline!)

But I’ve learned from each of them, and many others. I guess that counts as learning from social media. Then there are the various groups and pages that I’ve joined and followed, with other authors willing to share information and resources. Sadly, they often follow the pattern of ‘disappearing’ from my feed.

My favorite form of social media isn’t considered social media by many.

I belong to two email groups, one devoted to marketing, the other to crime scene information. Guess what? I never miss a post, and they never disappear from my inbox. And they are searchable by topic, so it’s possible to find information I vaguely remember but want to verify. Even if they aren’t topics I care about at the moment, the information can be stored away for later. Sometimes older technology is more reliable. Best of all, the algorithms never change and I don’t worry about getting kicked out because I’m mostly a lurker.

So there you have it. My favorite form of social media to learn from doesn’t include pictures, likes or upvotes, just text. How about the other authors on this hop? Find out by following the links below.

As always, until next time, please stay safe.

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May 13, 2024

Has being on your favorite form of social media taught you anything about writing?

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!

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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?

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