Finding Time to Tell a Story!!

I'm in the middle of house repairs, trying to get my place ready to sell, trying to find a job, teaching online classes, trying to promote, write a new book, and do edits for publishers on three others.

So when is there time to write??? :)

No matter how much is going on in my life, I try to write. I had to take my mother to the emergency room a little while ago and we were there for 5 hours. I couldn't concentrate to write, but I read a book I had to review, and that night, finished it and wrote the review. It was one of the "have to do" priorities that keep stacking up, but it's also a promotional effort. The workmen are here today again, and they've asked me questions innumerable times, but I snatched a couple of hours of writing time before they arrived. Once I'm done with some blog posts, I'm writing. If my mother doesn't show up to talk again. LOL

At night, I write in bed for a while. Oftentimes making up for all the distractions that are taking me away from my writing during the day. If I don't have workmen here, sometimes I'll go to my bedroom and write by long hand there. I can often get a lot more written that way if I don't look at the Internet all day long. Granted, I use it for research. I just used it for looking up pictures for the Fourth of July blog I did for Wickedly Romantic tomorrow. And I was researching more about Arctic tents and Arctic clothing for Allure of the Wolf. But what about all the emails??? Yep, they're a distraction.

I remember reading how one writer said she used to watch just her favorite show, then she got hooked on another and another, until she was watching tv all day long and not getting anywhere.

Sometimes just seeing how much time we're wasting on unproductive stuff can help us to overcome our lack of time to write. One writer said she gave up her full time job for a part time job so she could write more, and ended up filling the time with more stuff. When she quit the part time job, she found she still didn't have enough time to write. :)

It's all in time management. Forcing oneself to accomplish so much in a day. I have a sheet that shows how many words I've done today--and what I do is just calculate it in 1000's, so I wrote 1100 yesterday, I mark it as 1000. Today, I wrote a 1000, but plan to do another. In reality, I wrote 750, because yesterday I was at 54250. I can go over, but not under. :) So I have to make the 1000 mark before I go to bed at night, and often write more to make another 500 or more. :) And before I know it, the book is done. Now, I couldn't write for 4 days because of all this stuff with the house, realtors, etc, but the last two days I'm back at it. And I post it on Facebook and Bebo, which makes me feel good. I've told the world! I'm now at 56K, and I want to keep going.

So cut out the time wasters and you can find time to write too. :)

Terry Spear

Relative Danger

Terry Lee Wilde

Deidre's Secret

Happy Hookers! Engaging the Reader from Start to Finish

Celtic Hearts Romance Writers Academy is proud to announce an upcoming online workshop for June/July.
Workshop Title: Happy Hookers! Engaging the Reader from Start to Finish
Presenter: Terry Spear
Date: June 16 - July 14Description: Slow starts and sleepy endings to scenes and chapters can ruin a manuscript's chance of being published.Conversely, solid hooks can make the sale - as workshop instructor Terry Spear demonstrates,with six publishers currently hooked for six manuscripts. Setting such practical matters aside, what author wouldn't be thrilled to hear someone say, "I couldn't put the book down"? Strong hooks are a vital ingredient in strong writing. In this online class, which features lectures, discussion, practical exercises, and handouts, she'll teach students how to captivate readers with great openings, scene hooks, chapter cliff hangers, and intriguing back cover blurbs. Participants will master the hook in all its environments, from the query letter through the novel.
About the presenter: Terry Spear has published in many genres, including romantic suspense, historical, contemporary, paranormal, and writes under the name Terry Lee Wilde for young adult paranormal and fantasyromances.She's the author of Winning The Highlander's Heart (Vintage)and one of the debut paranormal books with Sourcebooks, Heart of the Wolf, April '08, Don't Cry Wolf, Spring '09, and Deadly Liaisons(Samhain), Relative Danger, Deidre's Secret (Wild Rose Press).A young adult book is available at stores August 26, The Vampire...In My Dreams. She also writes nonfiction for numerous genealogy, WWII, teen, and family magazines, and has had romantic fiction published in True Confessions and True Romance.
Her website is: http://www.%20terryspear.%20com/
Deadline to sign up for this workshop: June 13.
Fee: $10 CHRW members; $15 non-members.
RWA Membership isn't required; anyone can take our courses. Celtic Hearts members receive 2 free workshops a year.
Where to sign up: http://www.%20celtichearts.%20org/chwksp.%20html
Please fill out the online form.
Thank you for considering our workshops!!
Vonda Sinclair Celtic Hearts Education Coordinator

The Frog Prince & Contest

I've been having weeks of troubles of one sort of another...the painter dilemma is nearly over with, I go out to mow and the lawn tractor isn't working. So what's new? I call the guy who fixes them for us, and of course my mother's and three others are ahead of mine.

In the middle of the night someone's in my bedroom, bumping around. The only one I can think of that might be making the racket, is my standard poodle, but she's been missing for going on three weeks now.

Not good. So I flip on my light switch and hope it's not a housebreaker, noisy one at that. Nope, it's my frog prince.

Actually a toad, but whoever heard of a toad prince? I'm afraid the way my luck is going lately, kissing a toad to turn him into a prince was not on the agenda. With my luck, he wouldn't turn into a handsome hunky prince, but I'd end up with warts on my lips. Call me a pessimist.

Or a realist. :)

Pucker up! Your dream love is only a kiss away. I took the coward's way out and cornered him into a wastepaper basket, then moved him outside, watching while my little horny toad hopped into the dark.

It's okay. He'll take care of a lot of bugs, and hopefully won't dig up my elephant ears. I doubt if I turned him into a prince, he'd be able to fix my mower anyway. See, I'm a realist....princes don't take out the trash either.

One other thing--the big letter "C" that appeared on my son's wall and I couldn't eliminate no matter how many times I painted over it--vanished.

Spooky music playing here.

Oh, and my mother just informed me the big head of Amazon, at least that's who she thinks he is, listed five books to read this summer on the big time news, but Heart of the Wolf wasn't on it. Thanks, Mom, I needed to know that. :)

So I toast to horny toad princes and vanishing letters that appear and disappear without reason and go back to the real world--writing Allure of the Wolf.....

Also, I'm guest blogging at Deadly Vixens today--check it out for a chance to win a free e-copy of The Vampire...In My Dreams or Winning the Highlander's Heart.

http://deadlyvixens.blogspot.com/2008/05/please-welcome-authorterry-spear.html

Terry Spear
Deidre's Secret, Relative Danger
http://www.terryspear.com/

http://www.terrywildeteenbooks.com/

Need to Recapture the Muse?

Recapturing the Muse

Here was an interesting exercise we did in writing with my local romance writer’s chapter this past weekend. Each member brought in a sack of six items and then we passed them around. We had fifteen minutes to write a story, then share with the group. After we finished this, we had time enough to write a new story, swapping our goodies with another member. Ironically, we all had an easier time coming up with the first story. It was as if our minds were still hooked on the earlier story, and we had to shift gears too quickly to come up with a new story.

How else can you encourage your muse to jump into a creative writing exercise?

Begin a sentence: The cop pulled over the pickup, expecting to give a warning for a blinking taillight, but as he approached the back, the odor from the bed of the truck nearly knocked him off his feet.

Now, everyone can come up with a story, and as vast as writers’ backgrounds are, you can be sure everyone will create a unique tale.

Or start out with a prompt: If I had a million dollars, I would…

Or take a well-known fairytale and have everyone turn it into something different, different ending, maybe the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella has ulterior motives, maybe it’s set on Mars…

Writing exercises like this can help stimulate your muse. Brainstorming can too. With others or on your own, come up with twenty ways to solve a problem, or create a motivation, or a goal for your characters. By digging deeper, we can come up with twists and turns we might not have thought of initially.

So if you're stuck, get creative! Recapture your muse!

Terry Spear

http://www.terryspear.com/

Relative Danger, a romantic Agatha Christie kind of mystery, TBA

Author of Heart of the Wolf, Don't Cry Wolf, Winning the Highlander's Heart, The Vampire...In My Dreams

Humpty Dumpty's Wall

Recently I hit a huge wall. It smacked me hard. I didn't get a concussion, but instead faced major reconstructive surgery. No plastic surgeon could assist me. I had to perform the operation.

What happened? It's a long sad story, but deserves telling...

I had a perfectly wonderful and exciting plot for a new book. The hero and heroine were perfectly suited and their goals were totally opposite. Getting them together would be a roller coaster ride of emotions. I dove into the novel and churned out the pages. They flowed seamlessly until I hit page 156 and that brick wall.

I found myself forcing pages, writing too much introspection, dragging the manuscript along. I finally stopped, stepped back, and held my head in horror. I would never finish this manuscript!

What did I do?

I gave myself a break from writing. The timing was perfect. My RWA chapter conference was approaching and I had volunteered to help out with stuffing goody bags, attending a booksigning, and picking up an editor at the airport. For a week I didn't even think about those pages impaled on that impassable wall. I enjoyed the conference, made new friends, sold some books, and attended lots of workshops.

At some point during that fabulous weekend, the answer to my problem came to me like a bright light from a dark void. I had started the story at the wrong point. I needed to write what I had considered the backstory. Everything fell into place. I have the new beginning outlined and I'm ready to start pounding the keyboard once again. I know the story will be much stronger now.

If you ever find yourself at a loss for words, if you are struggling to get from one point to the next, step back and take a look at your beginning. Starting the story in the right place is crucial to the success of your manuscript.

Thanks for reading!

FOXFIRE, Romantic Suspense
HIT AND RUN, Romantic Suspense

Tips for New Writers

Hi! My name is Sonja Foust and I'm a new author at the Wild Rose Press. I'm excited to be a part of such a smart and sassy crowd. I wanted to make an appearance on the blog as soon as I heard one existed. (I know, I'm such a pop culture hoochie, but I absolutely love blogs.) But I wanted to make sure I had something to offer first. So here you go, and I hope you find it helps you out!

I know a lot of the readers of this blog are also writers, so I've put together a list of tips for new writers (romance or otherwise) that I've learned from personal experience. Enjoy!

1. Write what you love. Don't write for the market. Don't target. I know some people say it's a good idea, but I can't work like that. Especially on your first book, write about what you love. It will be better that way, I promise.

2. If you don't know what you love, take some time to figure it out. If you get part-way into a book and don't love it, it's ok to stop and start again. Sometimes it takes a few false starts.

3. Write an entire book before you start pitching around to editors and agents.

4. Make a schedule with deadlines and keep working on a project always. Don't wait around for people to get back to you. Push ahead.

5. Get a website! Believe it or not, agents and editors actually do look at them. I've heard of cases where an editor/agent rejected a manuscript that a writer sent in, but then asked to see a different one that was listed on the writer's website. That's why I keep a list of completed and in progress books as well as a list of "proposals," which are really just blurbs of ideas for books I haven't had time to write yet, but will eventually. Usually only published authors get to work from proposals (the lucky dogs), but it can't hurt to have a few floating around, just in case.

6. Have a Bad Day project. I'm moody, I admit. This is the reason I keep a Bad Day manuscript around to work on when I'm just not in a Happily Ever After mood. I may never finish it, and even if I do, I'm willing to bet no one will publish it (at least not any romance line), but at least I'm working, even when I can't squeeze out any rainbows. And who knows? Maybe when it's done, I will have written the next Catcher in the Rye. Mother would be so proud.

What are your tips and tricks from personal experience? Please leave a comment if you've got a tip, and stop by my blog sometime! I love visitors!

--
Sonja Foust
http://www.sonjafoust.com

LOVE IN SHADOW: coming soon from The Wild Rose Press