Picture
I am lazy. There, I said it. In fifth grade, I told a classmate that I waited till the last minute to do everything. My teacher overheard me and said I was a procrastinator. I said, “What’s that?” She told me to look it up in the dictionary. I did and nodded my head as I read the entry. Yep, that was me.

I am a procrastination pro. I can give lessons. However, as a wannabe published author, that “skill” isn’t going to get me very far. I know this, but still I struggle.

Last night, at work, I took the opportunity to work on my newest masterpiece (tee hee!). A co-worker asked what I was doing. Was I writing a book?

I told him yes, I’m working on a romance. He made the hilarious comment that I had to post on Twitter, but he also said something else. He said he’d like to write a screenplay, but he didn’t have the time. He is busy. In addition to our common place of employment, he has a full-time job, not to mention a husband and a million other things I don’t know about.

But his comment got me thinking. Where do I find the time? Yes, I’ve been procrastinating, but I’ve also been working on the masterpiece.

How? Seems I’ve hit on the right motivation. If I ever get contracted, I know my motivation will be deadlines and not wanting to look bad. But as an unpubbed author, I have no one looking over my shoulder asking when the book will be finished. It’s all on me, which isn’t good because I am the procrastination queen.

Don’t get me wrong. I love writing, but one of the hardest parts of the process, for me, is getting started. Why begin when I can do so many other things, like check Twitter or ESPN, which require so little effort on my part, and yet offer hours of entertainment? Once I get going, I’m fine. But to actually open a Word document, you’d think I was trying to complete some Herculean task like run a marathon (which I would NEVER EVER do) or do laundry before I’m out of clean towels.

So after hours of procrastination, I’ve been telling myself, “Just open the document. If you can do that, the words will come.” All I have to do is drag the mouse to the file and double click.

More importantly, I’m not putting pressure on myself to make a specific word count. Could I write more words if I spent less time wasting time? Of course, but I’m averaging about 1600 words per day, which puts me on track to have a first draft finished by the end of the month. I’m finding this works for me so much better than giving myself a specific daily word count goal. In the past, if it’s gotten late and I know I won’t get the daily goal in, I just won’t start.

This way, it’s about not the number of words, but the fact that I have words. And like I said, I know myself. Once I get going, I’m likely to continue and get more words in than I thought I would.

So far, so good.

What motivates you? Do you have a daily word count goal? Does guilt work like it does for me?

Add Comment
 
 
Picture
A few weeks ago, through the power of Twitter, I ran across a thread at the Absolute Write Forum in which writers were lamenting the fact that Young Adult Fiction is increasingly becoming Young Adult Romance.  According to some of them, they are above the formulaic world of romance. I was amused (and a little angry) at these responses.

I understand that not everybody likes romance. I wish people would read (more than one) romance before they decide they know everything about the genre, but that’s a pipe dream. Some people prefer to read thrillers in which the protagonist is on a quest to save the world or literary fiction in which the heroine goes on a journey of self-discovery. Granted, I could recommend some damn good romances that incorporate these elements, but that’s neither here nor there. People like what they like and that’s great.

However, I do get pissed when the “above it all” attitude comes from romance writers. I read a lot of blogs, forums, and e-mail loops. I’ve seen more than one author lament the fact that they’re not getting published because they don’t write “cookie cutter” romance. And yes, that hacks me off.

I probably shouldn’t, but I take it as a personal insult. I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t seek to reinvent the wheel with my stories. A contest judge described my story as “sweet and cute.” I’m going to assume that was a compliment. I prefer “light and fluffy,” but whatever.

As of right now, I write category length, contemporary stories. That’s what I like to read and the stories I like to tell. I like to surprise my characters and by extension, readers, but I don’t do it because I think no one else would ever think of it. I do it because it’s funny, and I like to see how my characters react.

Furthermore, there’s nothing wrong with being conscientious about the market. When I wrote Seducing Ms. Right, I knew I wanted to send it to Kimani Press. I checked their guidelines to make sure it fit, but I assure you my story was fully formed in my head before I did. I changed nothing to make it suitable for the line.

I can’t speak for other writers, but I know I toil away as much as writers who write outside of the box to make sure my light and fluffy story is perfect in my eyes – that I use the right words, that my characters go on a satisfactory, full journey. I don’t write to some mythical formula beyond making sure the hero and heroine end up together at the end of the manuscript.

I understand these writers are frustrated, but why they must put other people down in the process, I will never know. There are just as many people writing so-called “cookie cutter” romances who find the road to publication littered with potholes as those creating and mixing subgenres.

We should be cheering each other on, not looking our noses down at others’ work.

I applaud authors who forge their own path. I wish my brain worked that way, but it doesn't. I just hope they support me.

What do you think? Am I being too sensitive or do I have a point?
4 Comments
 
 
Picture
Hugs: Breakthrough

Bugs: Freaking out and needing a breakthrough

It’s been a week since my last blog post, and that’s never my intention, but crap happens. I didn’t write anything Wednesday because I hadn’t been reading anything for pleasure. My manuscript doesn’t count, unfortunately. L

And then by Friday, I’d had yet another crisis of faith in my writing. And I really didn’t want to write about that. I’d reached the 70% (or thereabouts) mark of the manuscript, and I freaked out about where the book was headed. I was mostly worried that I was cramming too much stuff in the last section of the book. Writing is fun, but, man it can be stressful. L

I didn’t like freaking out, so I came up with a plan to overcome it J, and spent the weekend putting it into place. I reviewed the story from the beginning till the freak out point and then looked at what I’ve written for the end.

Good news – the last part of the book is workable and viable. I still have to make it publishable because it’s still in the rough first draft stage, but it makes sense (in my head, at least). And frankly, that’s all that matters right now.

Of course, that’s not to say that during the editing process, I won't discover that I’ll have to change the ending. I’m okay with that, but, for now, I’m going to go with it as is and see where it leads me.

One other thing I figured out during my review is that I need to add EMOTION. I’ve been so concerned with the external plot and Dee and Jeremiah’s motivations that I haven’t concentrated enough on how they feel about each other in the present beyond the sexual attraction. I need to make sure the emotional attraction is there as well. In my first novel, I was very conscious of this, and each scene served a dual purpose of plot and emotion (in my opinion, they did, anyway). In the third draft, I will be sure to concentrate on this.

P.S. This is the biggest Hugs of them all – the Texas Rangers are going to the World Series!! My exhilaration knows no bounds. And I get to go to a World Series game!

Add Comment
 
Write Day Friday 10/15/2010
 
Picture
In my last Write Day Friday entry on September 24, I wrote about how I was winning the “Procrastinator of the Year” Awards and not making much progress on my manuscript.

Well, I’m happy to report that I’ve located my mojo and made great progress in the editing/rewriting of Second to None. I’m only halfway through the book, but that puts me a lot closer to the end than I was in September.

I attribute part of my success to FINALLY figuring out what’s driving my hero, Jeremiah. I knew Dee well because she was a secondary character in my first manuscript. I knew how outrageous and outspoken she could be, and what was driving her. When I started this MS, I thought I knew Jeremiah, but really I didn’t.

I struggled with him all throughout the first draft and into this second draft. In my gut, I knew something wasn’t right, but I couldn’t figure out how to fix it. J&D have a history and they both bring baggage from that past into the present. I knew why Dee was reluctant to get involved with him again. I gave him a reason for being upset with her, but I knew there had to be a deeper underlying reason for that anger to be justified.

I was beyond relieved when this part of his backstory popped into my head. It made so much sense and will make the book infinitely better.

If nothing else, I’ve learned that I struggle with characterization. Coming up with a basic plot is the easy part for me (so far, anyway). Trying to figure out who the characters are and what drives them is another story. But figuring that stuff out is so necessary. Plots are great, but the reader has to care about the characters in order to become fully invested in the story. The characters have to be unique and real and relatable and flawed. That can’t happen if I, the writer, have no clue who they are.

But, hey, the first step is admitting you have a problem, right? I bought a couple of writing guidebooks I hope will help me for future stories. I plan to read them after I finish Second to None. I’ll let you know what, if anything, I get from them.

So how’s your writing going? Do you struggle with characterization or is that your strong suit?

xoxo,
Jamie

Add Comment
 
Write Day Friday 09/24/2010
 
Picture
Sigh.The procrastination gremlin has me firmly in its grasp. I haven't done much editing over the past few weeks.

Oh, I have excuses galore.

1. I started a new job, and I'm still adjusting. At the old job, I could write while I waited for the phone to ring. New job, not so much.
 
2. New job has a killer commute, which automatically cuts down on the time I have to write.

3. I'm more focused when I sit at a desk. I'll have my desk again when I move into my new apartment. Plus, the new place will be close to work, so good-bye commute.

That's all well and good about the new apartment, but I don't have a new place yet and the writing still needs to be done.

I'm frustrated with myself. I ran into a snag in the manuscript, which always throws me into a tizzy of indecision, self-doubt, and nonwriting.

Plus, once I'm out of the groove of writing, it's hard for me to get back into it.

This needs to stop NOW. 

As a result, I've decided to punish myself. There will be no reading for pleasure until I make some headway. Harsh, but necessary.

However, I have to start reading something, so I can write next Wednesday's blog, but that's five days away. Hopefully, I'll be done with chapter three and have started chapter four by Monday night, so Wednesday's blog will be about a book and not about how I don't have a book to discuss because I'm still in a self-prescribed timeout.

Wish me luck!
How's your writing going? Please tell me better than mine.

xoxo,
Jamie
Add Comment
 
 
Picture
As I mentioned last week, I finished the first draft of Second to None. I got a few critiques, which were mostly positive. One compliment I received was that I did a good job of weaving in the backstory, which put a smile on my face. I’d worried. (Of course, I worry about everything, but this had been a major concern). 

The backstory is especially important in this story because the hero, Jeremiah, and the heroine, Dee, knew each other in college. Their history is important, but it can’t overwhelm the present. The story is always about the present.  This home truth was always in the back of my mind as I wrote, so I did my best to reveal it only as needed, while keeping the plot moving forward.

I also struggled with the big reveal of their past conflict. As it stands now, Dee recounts the story to her best friend. However, I’m almost positive I’m going to change it to a flashback scene. I think it’ll have a bigger impact if the reader can see and hear what happened, instead of just being told about it.

Originally, way back when, I had planned on the scene being a flashback, but then I started reading blogs that equated flashbacks with the devil. These blogs also pooped on prologues, and I definitely have one of those bad boys in my first manuscript. The way I figure it – I already broke the rules the first time around, why stop now?

As the experts say, know why you’re breaking the rules. Don’t break them just for the sake of breaking them. I do know, therefore I am.

In other words, the flashback is back. I hope it works as well on paper as it does in my head.

That’s where I am now with the writing.

What about you? How’s your writing going?

xoxo,
Jamie
Add Comment
 
 
Picture
After finishing a manuscript, it’s time to enter the next phase on the way to publication – the critique phasing. Cue the Jaws music. Or at least that’s how it feels to me. Whenever I get a critiqued chapter back, I am always anxious. Bad thoughts fill my mind. What if she hated it? What if she thinks I’m a total hack?

As it so happens, I’m in the critiquing stage right now and thought I’d offer my thoughts on how it’s going.

Despite my neurosis, in all the critiques I’ve received, I’ve never had one that made me feel awful. In actuality, I’ve gotten some great compliments about my writing, characters, and dialogue. However, getting my ego stroked is not the reason I keep sending my work out.

I do it because I want to be a better writer. I think my writing is good, but I am under no illusions that it’s perfect. Good critique partners have no problems pointing out my shortcomings. And I love it! (Well, after I work up the nerve to open the document).

Having a second pair of eyes is amazing. By the time I send my work out, I’ve read it a million times. I “see” words even if I actually forgot to type them because they’re supposed to be there. Also, other people can pick up things that might seem tiny, but will cause the reader to think you’re an idiot. For instance, in my latest work, I’d described a character as wearing khakis, which was all well and good, except she was sitting down. It would have been hard for the character describing her to see that she was wearing khakis. Tiny, but true. I could have left it in. It’s possible the main character could have seen the pants, but why call it into question? So out it went.

Good critique partners also point out stuff that makes them go “Huh?” It might make perfect sense in my head, but (unfortunately) readers can’t be in my head. Therefore, I need to rephrase.

Last example – In chapter one, I’d totally mangled an idiom. As I mentioned, I’d read it a million times and never picked up on it. My CP did. It’s all fixed now.

Hooray for critique partners!  

I can only hope I’ve returned the favor in the critiques I’ve done.

How's your writing going? Have you had good critiquing experiences?

xoxo,
Jamie

 
Add Comment