Ruminating
Isn’t that what they call it when you’re doing a lot of thinking but not much writing? 😉 I’ve been mulling the plot of Bethany & Cody’s story (tentatively titled “Trouble in Paradise” … like that hasn’t been used before! Thank goodness titles aren’t copyrighted.). I need to get...
Busy week
Not that I’ve gotten a whole lot of writing done (maybe a couple thousand words) … but I’ve been on the hunt for an agent for “Blind Date Bride.” Exciting stuff, that. I also got some good news from Starbucks: I’ve used my gift card enough times to become...
I did it!
No, I didn’t sell my MS … or even sign with an agent. What I did do — no small accomplishment, let me tell you — is surpass my goal to write 100,000 words this year. Yes, I said THIS YEAR — and it’s only June. Since NARWA’s word...
Surprise!
I was enjoying a nice, quiet get-to-know-you lunch with my characters when Bethany dropped a bombshell. Even in “Blind Date Bride,” I knew that Beth was different. She’s the one who tried to get Kari to get in touch with her inner tramp, and who told Kari, “Keep a...
Chattering away
Bethany and Cody are chattering away in my head and I’m getting more and more antsy to start telling their story. Today, I spent an hour or so sketching out a basic plot. Since I’m not much of a plotter, that’s already more plotting than I usually do for...
Pitch, anyone?
After reading agent Nathan Bransford’s blog post on the importance of having one-sentence, one-paragraph and two-paragraph pitches ready for your novel (you never know when you’ll run into your Dream Agent in an elevator, after all), I decided to take a stab at crafting some of my own. One...
The dreaded synopsis
Saturday’s NARWA meeting went great, and — as usual — I came away inspired. Our guest speaker, Harlequin American author Cathy McDavid, presented talks on characterization and that bane of many writers’ existence (or at least mine), the synopsis. I came away with some great tips, along with some...
Behind on my reading
I’ve been trying to catch up on my blog reading, and found Nathan Bransford’s great post on “voice.” The post and the comments afterward are full of great stuff … but all of it combines to make me wonder if I have a developed “voice.” I’ve always thought I...
Inspiration comes from the strangest places
I was out on a walk Saturday morning, listening to my iPod, when a song by my favorite band came on and it hit me: This could be Mike James’ theme song. Mike, you might remember, is the hero in Bree & Mike’s story (the one with the crappy...
In limbo?
Sadly, not much writing has happened since Wednesday (and that writing didn’t count toward my Word Count Countdown, because it wasn’t actually writing on any of my WIPs). I’m at a certain point: Finished MS but no query or synopsis — and since our NARWA meeting next Saturday is...