Update--January 2012

Happy January 2012, my dear readers!

See me snagging a few minutes to pop online for a quick update on my status.

I made it through 2011! I survived! I so need a t-shirt to commemorate that. And a bumper sticker.  And a bottle of Moscato wine--what can I say, I have a sweet tooth and expensive tastes (that one day I'll be able to afford).

FFnP Fantasy on the Bayou
 Writers' Conference New Orleans
 March 2-4, 2012

January so far has been an insanely busy month for me-what with the website overhaul (did it with a sledgehammer and I'm loving the changes), assisting my conference committee cohorts over at the FF&P group with coordinating the 2012 Fantasy on the Bayou Writers' Conference (check out the conference site I helped build at this  link and the awesome pic for it on the side that one of the volunteers whipped up for the event), developing my World Domination spiel's manifesto (and yes, that's still dominating my world, not yours), and planning my book production schedule for the year.


I can tell you that I've got revisions mapped out for KISS Guide to Formatting and will be updating it to include corrections, clarity, and additional information (like some explanations of HTML codes you can expect to see when you save a Word doc as web, filtered HTML) to the first edition of the book.

Also in the list is me locking myself in my office for a time to pump out a series of contemporary romance stories that I spent the holidays and then some incubating in my demented mind. Along with a historical manuscript that I'm within inches of revamping into what I originally intended it to be.

Oh, and I cannot forget the adventures of my persistent paranormal critters--I swear, they built a karaoke bar in my head that only allows songs that I should probably never admit to my friends that I know all the words to--I'd share the names of the songs, but then I'd have to disown ya... oh, okay, I give. This week, the six 'n' a half foot tall demigods in my demented imagination have been belting out Gordon Lightfoot... oh-mi-freaking-word, they started up again because... I can see her lyin' back in her satin dress in a room where you do what you don't confess... *groan* make it stop, please make it stop! Just for a few hours, because I so need sleep. please. i'm begging. pretty please... *sigh*

Yeah, it's great to be me. And on that note... I'm heading off to do the sleep to perchance to dream routine.
Y'all take care and don't let the imps of change bite!
Until next time...
~Elijana

Sneak Peek into Dr. Rayne's Word Loss Diet Workshop

Happy Holidays, my dear readers!

I've got a special present for my favorite writer-readers and that is... an inside peek into Dr Rayne's Word-Loss Diet Workshop!  The workshop is being hosted by the Outreach International RWA chapter and starts January 1, 2012. So if you're looking for the perfect writing related present to get for yourself that can also be used as a tax deduction for the 2011 fiscal year... I encourage you to check it out! 

And without further psychobabble-E-goodness from me, here's that sneak peek into Dr. Rayne's awesome workshop!

* * *

TURN TO LOOK

SLIM YOUR WRITING STYLE FOR THE NEW YEAR

Does your writing style have bulges and saggy bits?

In thirty years as an editor, I've found the same fatty words bloating the style of many authors, especially novice writers. Certain words are notorious.

Two of the worst are 'look' and 'turn'. They are the words most over-used by beginner writers. Editors need only a quick glance at the first page of a manuscript. If it contains 'look' and 'turn', the piece was penned by a beginner. If those words are used more than once, they may trigger instant rejection, because the author's writing craft isn't up to a publishable standard.

While there's no law against those two owrds, they are often unnecessary. They contain empty calories without real nutrition make your writing bloated and fat. If you cut them from your diet, your writing style immediately becomes slim, trim, tight and toned.

  

CUT 'LOOK'

  

'Look' is the number one word over-used in beginner's writing. Many novice writers use this word on every page; some use it several times per page.

While you could replace your many instances of 'look' with synonyms (gaze, watch, glance, study, observe, peek, peer, stare, glare...) it's often better to simply cut them.

You don't need to tell the reader that 'she looked at him', 'he looked at her' and 'they looked at it'. If two people are in conversation, or aware of each other, it's implied that they're looking at each other. If the story describes something, it's implied that the point-of-view character is looking at it.

Your story will work just as well without telling us that the character is looking at something or someone, and the writing will be tighter and more exciting. Try it.

Examples:

Obese

Looking at him, she nodded.

Slim

She nodded

Or:

She nodded at him.

Obese

He looked at her and poured her a drink.

Slim

He poured her a drink.

Obese

As he gazed at her, he scratched an ear.

Slim

He scratched an ear.

Obese

“Xxx?” she asked, looking at him.

Slim

or

“Xxx?” she asked him.

or

“Xxx?” she asked.

or

“Xxx?”

Obese

She looked at the mountain which towered over the valley.

Slim

The mountain towered over the valley.

  

CUT 'TURN'

Do your characters turn towards one another before they say something? Do they turn towards something before they do anything? Do they turn forward, back or around before they move?

Cut it.

People turn all the time. They turn here, there and everywhere, often several times per minute. You don't need to tell us that they do - it's implied.

Watch this especially in dialogue scenes. If Character A addresses Character B, it's implied that A turns to B.

Obese

She turned to him and clasped his hand.

Slim

She clasped his hand.

Obese

She changed her mind, turned and hurried home.

Slim

She changed her mind and hurried home.

Obese

He turned and walked away.

Slim

He walked away.

Next to 'look', 'turn' is the most overused word in beginner submissions. Watch especially for sentences containing both words. 'She turned to look at him' and 'He turned and looked at her' are certain signals that the author is a beginner. Make sure you don't have them in your sample chapters.

Seasoned writers don't use these sentences because they know they don't need them.

Obese

He turned to look at her and nodded.

Slim

He nodded.

Obese

She turned, looked at him, and clasped his hand.

Slim

She clasped his hand.

EXCEPTIONS

Should you always cut 'look', 'turn' and 'see'? Almost always. There are a few exceptions: If a dialogue scene involves several people, and the character addresses first one person and then another, it can be helpful to use use either 'look' or 'turn' - but not both.

Use your wordprocessor's Find&Replace tool to find out how often you've used those words. You may want to make sure you're sitting comfortably with a cup of calming tea at hand, because you may get a shock, finding you've used those words more often than you thought. Your manuscript may be riddled with them.

You don't need to kill every single 'look' and 'turn'. One of them per thousand words is fine. But if you have more, it may be a good idea to put your writing on a low-look and low-turn diet. If your manuscript contains more than a hundred 'look' or 'turn' per thousand words, your writing style needs serious improvement before your work is ready for publication.

I'd love to hear from you. When you've checked your WiP for 'look' and 'turn', post a comment to tell me how many you've found, and whether you're going to cut some of them.

What other 'wordy words' do you think writers can cut from from their word diet?

If you have questions about writing style, or need advice on how to tighten your writing, please ask. I'll be around for a week, and I enjoy answering questions.

  

JANUARY ONLINE CLASS: THE WORD-LOSS DIET

If your writing style tends towards wordy waffling, if your critique partners urge you to tighten, and if editorial rejections point out dragging pace, this class may be the answer. It's perfect for toning your manuscript before submitting to editors and agents, or for whipping it into shape before indie publishing.

This is an interactive class with twelve lessons and twelve assignments, for writers who have a full or partial manuscript in need of professional polish. At the end of the class, you may submit a scene for individual critiques.

Dr Rayne's Word-Loss Diet is much more fun than depriving yourself of food, and you'll see real results fast.

The Word-Loss Diet, presented by Rayne Hall. 1-31 January 2012

Deadline: December 29, 2011. Fee: $25

http://www.oirwa.com/forum/campus/#JAN

  

AUTHOR BIO

Rayne Hall is the author of more than twenty books in different genres, published under several pen names with different publishers. Currently, she writes scary horror and outrageous fantasy fiction, and tries to regain the rights to her previously published works so she can re-publish them as e-books.

She has a college degree in publishing management and a masters degree in creative writing, and has worked for nearly three decades in the publishing industry in Britain, Germany, China, Mongolia and Nepal, mostly as an editor.

After writing and editing, her great love is teaching, and she teaches online classes for writers: 'Writing Fight  Scenes', 'Writing Scary Scenes', 'Writing about Magic and Magicians', 'Writing about Villains', 'Dr Rayne's Word-Loss Diet', 'SWOT for Writing Success' and more.

https://sites.google.com/site/writingworkshopswithraynehall/

* * *

I am always amazed at the workshops that our very dear Dr. Rayne puts together! It never fails that I can always use every bit of the information presented in her workshops.  I hope y'all enjoyed this snippet as much as I did and... oh wait, I almost forgot to mention. Rayne has a new book out--Hooray! It's called Storm Dancer and is available now at Amazon! So if you're looking for a great read over the holidays, click the link and check it out! (And yeah, I have to say that I love, love, LOVE the cover for this novel!)

 Until next time... take care and happy holidays!
~Elijana

The week before NaNoWriMo

It's the week before NaNoWriMo starts and I've yet to map out the details I need in my plot. *sigh* It probably has everything to do with me getting right up to the end of edits with Lucien's book and before I could pull everything together had that... "this isn't strong enough motivation for this, that, and the other" epiphany.

So rather than shove my way through everything, I took some time to step back and re-evaluate Lucien's character. I now know why he does what he does. Which is awesome! He's coming across more alpha. Which just rocks! But he needs a rewrite. Which has me adjusting my release date.

But that's okay. I'll finish him then move on to revamping an old novel I've had for years called Laurel's Honor. I've got about 50K words written for that first ugly draft of Laurel's Honor, but a few months ago I sat down and really looked at the plot. I love the characters. But the original plot wasn't so great. Which means that I'll be rewriting it. During nano.

I have to say that I'm excited about rewriting both stories. Just as excited as I was to teach a class this week for my FFnP Peeps in the Nest Classroom on a plotting technique that I use to plot.  Oh and you better believe my plotting technique requires math and the use of a calculator--LOL, now if I could figure out how to design one that requires the use of a protractor... oh then I'd be cooking with some mad inner geek fire.

Yeah, and on that note of me making no sense at all... I'm heading offline to snatch some zzzzz's.
Catch y'all latah!
~Elijana

Life, Liberty, and My Pursuit of World Domination (that's my world, not yours)

Life has been... interesting lately. So interesting that in the past 30 days I have plopped myself down to blog about... oh a hundred times... with the intention of chronicling the occasionally (ha! I wrote occasionally, it'd be more accurate to say string of totally) absurd events that have occurred lately.  But I didn't. Actually, I couldn't. Well, I could have, but my conscience wouldn't have survived it. Which I think you'll understand and sympathize with when I tell you that the past 30 days have had a theme associated with it.

The theme revolved around a phrase I was introduced to when I first moved to North Carolina almost 20 years ago.  The phrase goes like this... "It's time for a comin' to Jesus meetin'".  Honestly, it took me a few years to really get a feel for what all is involved for that kind of meeting.  But this last month... well let's just say that I've earned my stripes and now am fully cognizant of how that particular event works. And leave it at that.

The good news is that this particular meeting had some positive results. First being that I survived it. Second being that I survived it with a new perspective. Third being that... it fired up my world domination mojo-jo-jo. And yes, that is my world, not yours. ;o)~

See I struggled last month with some aspects of writing. The biggest struggle had to do with getting my muse on board with the program.  This involved some serious knock down-drag out discussions with myself on what had caused that infernal writer's block that I'd suffered for almost 12 years. I know you've seen me blog about it before and I've got to tell you that I thought I understood what caused it. Okay, well I knew what big ticket items caused it, but I didn't understand the mechanism that triggered and maintained it.  Honestly, I felt like that was something I had to sit down and address, because if I understand what maintained it then I truly felt (and feel) that I'll be able to develop an environment that deflects any future attempt at blocking myself.

So here's the result of my analysis... I cannot write when I am emotionally NOT calm.  I can brainstorm, edit, give opinions, read blogs, read books, tweet, visit facebook, distract myself by scrubbing the kitchen floor on my hands and knees... but I can't write when I'm in an emotional tizzy.  Okay, so I don't normally get into an emotional tizzy. It defeats the whole left brain Vulcan logic thing I strive for. But sometimes stuff pops up that just nudges you over that edge--so it happens.

Now for why does my emotional calmness impact my writing ability?  The answer to that is just beautiful. Because I am naturally Kinesthetic in my Conscious Mind.  And since the writing process accesses my brain in this order... Conscious-->Subconscious-->Unconscious... then I couldn't even board the train to writer Eutopia until my kinesthetic conscious mind was in the sweet zone.

All of that sounds logically and looks great on paper, but I'm by nature a research scientist and, after I had my learning/writing style mapped out, dummy me blurted out the comment that I needed to test it.  Let's just say that I am my own worst enemy at times--sigh--because this triggered my very own comin' to Jesus meetin'. Did it suck? Oh yeah. Was it worth it? Heck yeah. Did it work? Yup, it sure did. Am I still writing? You better believe it. Do I feel like I nipped that writer's block trigger in the bud? Abso-effing-lutely (excuse my language).

And now you know why I'm back on the crazy train to my world domination.
On that note, I'll leave you with an update on my progress:
--Manipulating the Masters Book One: Lucien (edits have been returned and I'm in the process of finishing this amusing story)
--Tales of WOE Book One: Blood Rank (the plots are circling, the fight scenes have been viewed from multiple perspectives, and a new twist has developed--which is just freaking awesome)
--Dragon's Katana (editpalooza is still raging with this one. I've identified the issues with the plot and it's being whipped into shape. Hallelujah, this one has been a long, long, long time coming)
--Chronicles of PSST Book One: Laurel's Honor (this story has a refreshed plot, is sitting at 40K words, and hooks back to my first book... Emily's Affair. And it makes sense how it happens. Awesome!)

Okay, now I'm off to get some writing done. Y'all take care and I'll be back soon with a self publishing adventure update. Right after I get Lucien done and uploaded.

Until then...
~Elijana  
(PS--I'll also come back to give yall some details on four different series that I've got mapped out to get written and/or started between now and December.  I think you're gonna enjoy that. I know I will. Mooohahahahahahaha!)

Update on My Adventures in Self Publishing

It's been a while since I posted. Sorry bout that. But I've been waaaaaay busy. Writing.

I have to tell you that my schedule has gone to hell, but in a good way.  Such a good way that I can tell you that I've uploaded two more books for publication this month. Yay, me! Go team, go!

I even went so far as to celebrate and buy myself a book to read this weekend. Something I hardly ever do when I'm in the middle of writing a book.  But since I'm in between books... well, you get the idea.

Okay, now for the other part of the update... what's coming next.

Honestly, I'm not 100% certain.  I know that it's time to finish the revisions to Lucien's book. And that should be a virtual snap. But what comes after that... I'm torn between jumping onto my paranormal series and revising the hell out of an old historical manuscript.

Hmmm... I'm thinking I'll toss it out to you. Which one would y'all like to read... a regency ninja story or a paranormal world of blood elves?

Until next time...
~Elijana

Guest Blog: Rayne Hall--Writing About Sex Magic

Hooray! The day has finally arrived for Rayne Hall's guest blog!  I hope y'all enjoy reading it as much as I did.  And remember, Rayne will be around all week long to answer any comments or questions y'all might have.  So without further psychobabble-E-goodness from me, I give you... 

~ ~ ~

Rayne Hall on Writing About Sex Magic...

Any magician - female or male, good or evil, witch or shaman, theurgist or Enochian, may use sex magic. Although I'm using the male pronoun, everything applies equally to females.

Before casting a spell, a magician needs to create an intense flow of energy to fuel the magic. Most do this with chanting, drumming or dancing. The magician in your story may do it with sex.

The power raised through sexual arousal can be phenomenal and serve to super-charges a spell. If your protagonist is a magician, you can use this for a plot-relevant erotic scene.

Here's how it works.

1. The magician decides the desired outcome. Examples: make the crops grow, stop the flood, protect the traveller on a dangerous journey.

2. He plans and prepares the ritual. Examples: composing the words for the spell, assembling the ingredients, casting a circle around the area where the ritual will take place.

3. He gets into a state of sexual arousal - in any way which suits your story's plot.

4. Since the power is strongest immediately before orgasm, the magician tries to stretch out that phase for as long as possible.

5. In this state of intense arousal, he casts the spell. Example: he chants the words of the spell repeatedly. He concludes the spell with an assertion that this is his will. Example: a Wiccan witch may say 'So mote it be.'

6. Once the spell is cast, the ritual is over. To ground himself in reality again, he climaxes. For further grounding, he may eat or drink something.

7. He sleeps, exhausted by the combination of mental and physical exertion.

Sex magic has drawbacks, complications and conflicts, which can make the story even more exciting.

- Magic works through the mind and requires enormous concentration, which is difficult to achieve in a state of high arousal.

- When two magicians join for sex magic, they can raise an enormous amount of power, but this requires them to synchronise their levels of arousal as well as their thoughts. This is unlikely to work for a couple who are not already established lovers.

However, you can use this near-impossibility to create tension: Perhaps the only way to save the world is through the kind of magic which requires intense power, and the only way to achieve so much power is for two magicians to work sex magic together. Will the heroine set aside her dislike of the hero and join him in the act? Unfamiliar with each other's bodies, can they coordinate their levels arousal? The fictional possibilities are delicious.

If you're writing erotic fiction, you could also use this for a BDSM scenario: a submissive person serves the dominant magician by arousing him to the desired level without causing distraction.

In a ménage scene, perhaps two magicians are an established team who have worked sex magic together on many occasions. A desperate situation requires additional energy, so they include a third person in their  ritual. Will the new partner be able to synchronise his level of arousal with theirs? Excited by the presence of the new person, will the team be able to concentrate on the task?

Of course, solo sex magic with masturbation would be more practical, but it has less plot potential.

- In a state of arousal, judgement is impaired. A responsible magician never works magic on the spur of the moment while aroused, because he might be tempted to do something which is morally reprehensible or against his ethics.

For example, a male magician may fancy a woman like crazy, and the sight of her arouses him. In this state, he wants the woman - and he uses his arousal to cast a spell which will make her desire him with equal passion. By the time the comes to his senses, it's too late, and he may not be able to undo the spell. Maybe the woman divorces her loyal husband because she can no longer love him, or maybe the obsessed woman stalks the magician for the rest of his life.

Of course, in fiction it is interesting if a character makes a bad choice and has to deal with the consequences.

- Sex magic leaves the magician tired, drained, and helpless. An enemy may use this vulnerable phase to attack the magician.

If you have questions about magic (with our without sex), or want feedback for an idea, or if you need help with a sex magic scene in your WiP, please ask. I'll be around for a week and will answer questions.

About Rayne... 

Rayne Hall teaches an online workshop 'Writing about Magic and Magicians'. Create believable magicians (good and evil), fictional spells which work, and plot complications when the magic goes wrong. Learn about high and low magic, witches and wizards, circle-casting and power-raising, initiation and training, tools and costumes, science and religion, conflicts and secrecy, love spells and sex magic, and apply them to your novel. This is a 4-week class with 12 lessons and practical assignments. If you wish, you may submit a scene for critique at the end of the workshop.

The next dates for this workshop are:

October 2011: Celtic Hearts RWA www.celtichearts.org/workshops.html  
March 2012: Lowcountry RWA  www.lowcountryrwa.com/online-workshops/
April 2013: Fantasy, Futuristic & Paranormal: http://www.romance-ffp.com/workshops.cfm

Rayne's other workshops include 'Writing Fight Scenes', 'Writing Scary Scenes' and 'The Low Word Diet'. For an updated listed of her upcoming workshops, go to http://sites.google.com/site/writingworkshopswithraynehall/

~ ~ ~

A huge THANKS to Rayne for stopping by to share this article with us!  I don't know about you, but after reading it I've got all sorts of ideas that I'm itchin' to apply to some of my characters. ;o)  

Okay, now don't forget, Rayne's available for comments and questions all week long--so if you've got 'em, don't hold back. She'd love to hear from you!

Until next time, my dear readers, take care and happy reading, writing, and musing!

~Elijana

Guess who's guest blogging here on Sept 1!

Hello and welcome to the blog, my dear readers! 

I'm in the middle of revisions on a short story that I've affectionately named, The Absurd Discussion--yeah, I love that title--too bad, I'll probably change it ;o).  On top of that, I just got some feedback on the next book I'll be putting out, so give me a few days to get that turned around and then Lucien's book will be on deck for publication. Woot! Okay, well, there will be a woot as long as my ailing laptop (aka, old faithful) hangs in there until the new one to gets here in about a week.

But, enough about me!  I had to push the limits of old faithful's endurance and pop online to let y'all know that I've managed to snag us another great guest blog post by the incredible Rayne Hall!

Can you see me chair dancing?  Yeah, I'm excited about this one. I love the things that Rayne brings up in her articles, because it never fails that she makes me think outside the box for the scenes I'm working on.  And we all know how much I love thinking outside the box, right? Right. (LOL)

So mark your calendars, because on September 1, 2011, Rayne will be here at the EK blog giving us some tips on... Writing About Sex Magic.  AND, she'll be available for comments all week long.  Which is just freaking awesome!  So until next time, when I  hope to see you there (or rather, I mean, here--LOL)...

Take care and happy reading, writing, and musing!
~Elijana

World Domination (that's My world, not Yours) and Business Plans

Last night I attended an incredibly well put together webinar at Savvy Authors and their Summer Symposium.

The presentation was about building a Business Plan for Authors and was presented by the lovely and talented, Mary K. Wilson (of Jupiter Gardens Press and Pink Petal Books). I won't go into explicit detail on Ms. Wilson's presentation, because honestly I believe it's something that needs to be experienced in order to fully appreciate what she put together.  But I will say that the way she presented the information and broke down preparing a business plan into 6 parts really (REALLY) spoke to my naturally left-brained inclined self.

And revived (yet again) my desire for world domination (again, my world, not yours).

Brace yourselves, because now I'm about to tell you why the presentation appealed to me.

As I mentioned in my last post, I recently went through the 'which one am I: hare or tortoise?' exercise.  I decided I'm the tortoise (Hooray and there was much rejoicing!). To be precise (and to appease my inner research scientist): I strive to be the tortoise, but have a tendency to act like a hare hyped up on super potent caffeine (if I'm not paying attention and operating without a plan of action).

My obnoxious tendency to do the hare routine is a direct result of how my brain is hard wired.  I'm left brained (and I fully embrace logic--granted it may be my logic and not yours, but it has to be logical)--add to that that I also have a partially photographic memory, am completely visual, my brain is 98.9% of the time switched to the on and thinking position, and you have me always thinking, plotting, and planning on whatever topic I allow to get lodged in the #1 spot in my conscious mind.  I know (and have known for years) that my key to success and productivity has everything to do with making lists, then actively pursuing the items on the list.  The lists give me structure and order; ergo, lists keep me on the path and moving forward (rather than backwards, sideways, up, and down like a spastic hare).

Enter Ms. Wilson's presentation and see me considering a well thought out, organized list that has short term and long reaching goals and strategies.... oooooh, look I just got goosebumps because I used the word strategies--la, I'm such an aries. ;o)  Just imagine the power I could ignite within myself with a concise, well laid out plan of attack.  Ohmiword... and it's a plan that was presented in simple words that didn't require an MBA to figure out... oh yeah, I can do that.  I sure can. And once I do... I'll be one step closer to mastering my strategy for my world domination.

Yes, I know I rambled and probably made very little sense in this post.  But my take home message for the day is this... if you're an indie author (or a budding entrepreneur in any business) and you've struggled with the hare-tortoise ratio... take the time to step back and create your battle strategy.  Set aside the time to invest in writing a business plan.  Because even though it may sound like it's hard or appear like a waste of time that you could better use writing your next book, it's actually one of the best things you can do for yourself.

And who knows, it might just increase your productivity more than you ever imagined.

Until next time...
~Elijana

Which one are you: Hare or Tortoise?

I'll start off today's post (which is late.. bad me, bad me, but good me for making time to do it) by saying that I have just enough knowledge to be dangerous.  Especially when it comes to planning and plotting world domination. No, not your world, but mine.

Right now, my world is chocked full of goodies that have everything to do with convincing me that strapping myself into an I-Love-Me jacket is the ultimate goal. Why? Because I'm on the road to hell--also known as starting up your self publishing career and writing career/business while juggling 24x7 mama duty.  And don't forget to walk the dog and feed the cat.

So no shit, there I was earlier in the week doing my homework for the rocking class I'm taking through an RWA chapter, when it occurred to me that... my career goals have shifted and I didn't update my main goal and priorities list and make my platform and build my web presence and did I tweet today? What's today's hashtag fest in tweetville? Did I get those 25 likes on the facebook page yet? Oh crap, 300 more emails just hit the inbox. And a facebook notification.  Great, but back to that web site building. I've got to finish updating it.  Oh no one of those emails is for a mundane job--quick update to the resume and... crud, the phone is ringing and what? I missed an appointment? But I thought we rescheduled that to Thursday, but it was to Tuesday? *insert sound of screeching tires*

WTF am I doing?

This is sooo not me. I'm usually an organized gal in the midst of chaos, but this... this is freaking insane!

So what did I do? What I do whenever I get myself into a jam.  Smote my forehead (okay so it was more like a pop upside the head, but you get the point) then promptly parked my butt in the nearest, comfy chair to ask myself...

"Self, which one won the race? The hare or the tortoise?"
"The tortoise."
"Then why are you trying to be the hare?"
"Because... because I'm an overzealous idiot."

So there you have it. Me admitting to myself that I spent this week being an overzealous idiot and spread myself a wee (that's an understatement) bit too thin.  But I will tell you this... I'm darn glad I had this week, because now I've got an excellent idea of just exactly what my limitations are.  Not to mention more focus on the priorities.

And on that note... I'm pulling a tortoise routine, skipping the emails for the night, and heading back off to where I want to be tonight and that is the next phase of the website build.

Take care, everyone, have a great weekend and we'll catch you on the flip side.
~EK, resident tortoise




 

Hello Soapbox...

Welcome to the Soapbox... today's rant is me being pissed off about reading yet another writer announcing that there is no such thing as Writer's Block.  I am so sick of hearing this! I mean, really, seriously, are you an expert on the nature of mental ailments?  On the mystery of the human mind?  How and who are you to know what does and doesn't exist?  Just because you haven't experienced it doesn't mean that it doesn't happen.

And yeah, this is me all fired up about it. Do I want to get into an argument with these non-believing writers?  Hell no.  What I'd like for them to do is to take a step back and think about this... how many years did it take for the medical world to admit that there is a mysterious disease out there called Fibromyalgia?  How many poor souls who were and are afflicted with Fibromyalgia had to spend countless hours, days, months, years being told, "Your pain is all in your head. There is nothing wrong with you."   To that same point, how many folks in North Carolina need to contract Lymes Disease before the doctors (and health insurance companies) of America will admit that the disease carrying ticks have migrated to NC?

Look, I get it that many writers don't believe that writer's block exists--I totally get it. You've been lucky and it's never happened to you.  That's awesome! Wonderful! Effing splendiferous!  But give the 'it doesn't exist' mantra a break.  Please.

The thing of it is that for any ailment there are stages... some stages are easier to deal with than others. Some... not so much.  The same principle applies to writer's block.  Everyone is freaking different. What works for you either may or may not work for me because... I'm different from you.

Why am I on the soapbox?  Because I've been a writer with writer's block. Not just the easy levels--nope, I was way deep down in depressive funks that had me seriously questioning if I would ever get my mojo back again.  Did I contract writer's block because I was lazy? Hell no. There was a shitload more to it than that. Did I procrastinate? No. I'm not a procrastinator. I'm a thinker, mover, and a shaker.  Was I blocked creatively? Yes, I was. Am I now? No. What did it take to get out of it? Therapy. Lots and lots of therapy. Both professional, self (by copious amounts of journal scribbling), and a solid support network of writers who did what a support network does... provide emotional support (hang in there, you can do this or I believe in you, you'll get past this or, even, breathe and take it one step at a time) with a hefty dose of optimism to your fellow writer.

So the next time you're thinking of slamming a fellow writer, because you're of the mindset that writer's block doesn't exist... do me a favor and take a step back and think.  Because seriously... delivering a sound bite of negativity based on an unqualified judgement may just one day come back to bite you in the ass.

And *poof* goes the soapbox.

Until next time... take care and happy reading, writing, and musing!
~EK

Day 2 & 3 of 4K Word Challenge

I've decided to take up alcoholism.

It was either that or yoga classes down at the YMCA gym, but since the yoga classes at the Y don't start until Saturday morning and it's Wednesday night... I've opted for alcohol.  At least that was the plan a mere ten minutes ago when I led a raiding party to the kitchen for a bottle of wine and returned with black cherry kool aid.

Ah well, the best laid plan of muses and authors.

So no kidding, there I was on Day 2 of the 4K word challenge staring at a white screen, focusing myself to write the scene that would inspire the greatest change of plans (aka, Turning Point 2) that Lucien's book had ever known.  I was all prepared to dig down into it when... an email chimed, the phone rang, the kidlet got hungry, the dog needed to go out, the laundry needed starting (which reminds me, I've got toss in a load before I toss in the towel for the night--ah yes, a mama's work is never done)... you name it and it popped to distract me from my goal.

But I didn't give up. Nope, I sure didn't.  I probably should have, considering the sluggishness of the words I wrote, but I forced myself to carry-on-my-wayward-son until the witching hour was upon me and I had a whopping 1737 words.  They were painful words. Not because the scene was a hard one to write, but painful because I had to work so hard to get them on the page.  But hey, that's what happens when I'm distracted by worries and schtuff while writing. And yeah, that's something I'll get to in the next paragraph.

Because Day 3 arrived and again I struggled to get the words on the page.  This is the part where I have to say, shout, and scream... this is NOT normal for me.  Not when I am emotionally invested in a story that I want to write. Well, crap.  That certainly didn't sound right.  But it felt right.  And don't get me wrong, I do enjoy the story that I'm working on. It's a hoot. One that has me cracking up when I re-read scenes during edits.  But for right now, it's not the story that's singing in my writer's heart.  *insert huge sigh*

So here's the result of Day 3: another 1700 words (1752 to be precise) and a decision.
The muse wants to go work on the paranormal book. She's itching to get back to the scene that I left hanging with Kronos and heck after reading it... I sure can't blame her.  But so you know what I mean, here it is... the first rough draft scene to the Book One in The Tales of WOE (Warriors of Eros).

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Akhasha Temple, Home of the Gods… Four thousand years ago

            Clean up duty sucked.

            Kronos, the primordial god of time, paused at the threshold to the great chamber and surveyed the carnage. The mortal bodies of the old gods and their servants were slumped over. Dead. Their blood drained. Their once great powers gone.

            Idiots. If only they had heeded his warnings. Listened to him when he'd shown them what their petty arguments and demands would bring them. But could they be bothered to listen to him? Of course not. According to them, Kronos was just the god of time. A non-essential, weak god who didn't possess their omnipotent powers over life and death, chaos and order.

            Morons.

            Kronos snorted to himself and headed for the crystal throne situated at the rear of the chamber. He'd never wanted their awesome powers. He enjoyed being the god of time. Besides, anyone with a brain knew that it was impossible to kill time.

            Which explained why he was on clean up duty. Again. Dammit.

            He took the steps two at a time up to the throne, then yanked Thoth's lifeless body from the great arbiter's seat and tossed it down the steps. He flipped a latch at the base of the seat and lifted the lid. Reaching in, he pulled out the digital recorder he'd snagged on his last trip forward in time, then pressed play.

            A disembodied, male voice echoed in the chamber. "Thoth."

            Kronos stopped the recorder, then returned it to its hiding place and set the captain's chair back to rights.  He waved a hand and the blood smears on the crystal disappeared. He sat down on the steps and leaned back against the throne, settling himself in to watch the rebirth of the god of balance and justice.

            Wind howled down the corridor leading to the chamber and the essence of justice surged into the room. It circled the great chamber, building up speed. The bodies of the fallen gods and mortals lifted off the ground and turned to sand. Closer and closer in the power moved, forming a vortex of magic and mortality. Tighter and tighter it became, sucking in all evidence of the battle scene until the tornado was a thin line of molten, white energy that collapsed upon itself in a sonic boom.

            And like that, Thoth was born.

This time, thank the gods, fully clothed in a shimmering purple robe.

            "Kronos, we have much to discuss and plan."

            "And a good day to you, too," Kronos muttered, rising from his spot. He dusted off his jeans and started down the steps.  "I've made the arrangements for the rebirth of the other gods."

            "Good. But we have a problem." Thoth paused, then said, "The power of Eros was not returned."

            Kronos froze. This was bad. Real bad. "Shit."

            "Indeed."  Thoth floated across the floor and up to his throne. "But I have a plan."

            Kronos wasn't surprised. The primordial god of justice always had a contingency plan ready to yank out of a choice orifice or two.  "If this plan involves me dressing up in sequins, leather, or a feather loincloth, then I'm out."

            Thoth smiled. "Feathers or sequins aren't required this time, my friend." He eased down on his throne and placed both palms on the armrest. "This situation is much more complicated than the last.  By Eros failing to return, the cycle of magic has been broken. The covenant of the gods is now null and void, leaving the gates to the demonic realms unlocked and unchecked. Rogue demons previously ousted from the Akhashic Records Great Hall have begun the indiscriminate harvesting of souls from the magical races. Order is gaining power exponentially and with it, it's only a matter of time before Order overcomes Chaos and freewill is lost. Forever. For all races. Magical and mundane."

            Kronos stared at Thoth. This was worse than bad. This was his worst nightmare.  The loss of freewill? Order overtaking Chaos? Shit. Without Chaos and the change that comes with it, Order would reign and the world would become static. Static. As in nothing would move. The same menu for the rest of eternity. No more bang for the buck. Time would… fuck me.

Time would stand still, cease to exist, and Kronos, the un-kill-able god, would die. 

            "I'm too young to die," Kronos said.

            "Exactly. Which is why you are going to help me fix this."

            "How?"

            "By doing what you do best.  Clean up duty."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

And on that note, I'm off to bed.
Take care and until next time... happy reading, writing and musing!
~EK

Day 1: 4K Challenge

See me grumbling and complaining because I didn't make my 4K target today.  And I sooo wanted to do it. But life and other schtuff happened today.  Which happens, but it doesn't make my inner writer and inner, loves-beating-a-challenge, Aries happy.

So how did my day go?

The morning hours were filled with... getting the kidlet up and ready for summer day camp, fiddling with internet connection after power went out last night during a lovely thunderstorm, emailing a response about a lucrative contract job, doing homework for a webinar, writing more on a cool blog post for Paranormal Freebies, going back to summer day camp to pick up sick kidlet, and jotting down notes for writing challenge.

Afternoon hours included... attending webinar from 1-3PM, scribbling down brain dump of info from said webinar, quick check of emails, following up on promotion activities and important emails, mama duty with the sick kidlet, and jotting down more notes for blog and planned writing this evening.

Evening hours... life in the homestead started getting sane around 9PM. Okay, well everyone but me was doing the Life is Good routine.  I'd have loved to do the Life is Good routine had I completed my challenge.  And finished off the blog post. But I didn't. And I'm tired. *sigh*

Which brings me to the total word count for today.
449 words for the manuscript.
239 words for the blog.

Argh, I didn't even break a thousand between all of them. But I bet you if I include all the words I wrote in the webinar, emails, and promotional notes that I wrote today you'd see that I wrote over 10K today.  Too bad all that extra stuff won't help me get this damn book written.

But hey, I shouldn't be all doom and gloom with a hefty dose of piss and vinegar, right? I mean I wrote words in the novel. And a novel can be written one word at a time. Granted the less words you write at a time, then the longer it takes... but it's all progress, right? Right?  Come on, please, somebody say RIGHT.

Whew, I heard it.  Yeah, I heard you, over there, in the back by the cookie jar.  THANK YOU. LOL, now for a reward you can take that cookie jar and keep it away from me. No seriously, take it and these powdered donuts, because I sooo do NOT want to gain any weight that would force me to go out and shop for new clothes. Yeah, I know shopping for clothes is fun. For other people. Call me when it's time to go shopping for shoes and then we can talk.

On deck for tomorrow is me changing up the routine and running an experiment to get my productivity and word count up.

Until then... take care and happy reading, writing, and musing!
~EK

4K a day Writing Challenge--Starting Line

I'm taking a workshop right now (Book Factory Method) that is taught by the incredibly talented and gifted, Kerri Nelson.  Kerri is one of those folks that I totally respect because she has the goal, motivation, and know-how-to wrangle-in conflicts that could impede her writing progress/schedule.

That and she's a great presenter for workshops and gives individual feedback which is uber valuable to any writer. (And no, I'm not getting any sort of promotional fee for mentioning this, because it's my very own opinion having taken a class from her before.)

So back to my point... As I was scrolling through my emails this morning, writing my daily to-do list, I noticed that Kerri has tossed out a write 4K words a day challenge for next week (check it out here: Kerri's Blog).  I thought about it for like thirty seconds, looked at my to-do list for the current manuscript, then said... aw, what the hell. I'm in.

So, bottom line... I've signed up for the challenge.  I'll be posting my progress and that of the current manuscript each day. Add to that that I've got a busy week scheduled outside of my finish the damn book quest and you have me chuckling while imagining the insanity that's likely to occur over the course of this week.  Which brings me to the first installment of me doing a 4K challenge... a snapshot of where I am right now on the next book.

Manipulating The Masters Series--Book One: Lucien
--Completed first round of painful edits and snipping scenes--word count dropped from 58, 936 to 48,644.
--Manuscript has been broken down into sections, scenes to be added have been identified
--Today's to-do list has been updated to buy carrots, powdered donuts, and Dr. Pepper to keep the muse happy and on track.

Now if I could just get the muse to chill out for a few days on talking to me about the next book on the to do list... well, then I'd be golden. *grin*

Until next time...happy reading, writing, and musing!
~EK

Self Pub Adventure--July 2011 Sales Figures

I debated whether or not to follow some of my colleagues in this self publishing adventure and give some transparency to my mad capped journey down this sometimes bumpy road.  It took me a few days, but I decided I'd do it.  Then of course I had to drag myself away from my busy schedule to work in a post... and here I am.

How am I doing on this adventure in self publishing land?

OMFG, the learning curve is steep. I have learned more about the publishing industry and marketing of books in a digital realm than I ever thought I could. And I'm still learning.  I swear, there are moments when I think my brain is gonna explode. But *grin* I'm loving it.

Before I start to digress into what would no doubt turn out to be a brain dump of everything I've learned so far and what I'm working on learning next... here are some figures on my first book, Emily's Affair.

Amazon (Date book went live: July 18, 2011):
36 copies sold

Smashwords (Date book went live: July 20, 2011):
8 copies sold

Barnes and Noble (Date book went live: July 21, 2011):
12 copies sold

Total for Emily's Affair in July 2011: 56 books sold

Am I happy with these figures?  Yeah, I am. I am very happy. This is an awesome start to what I envision to be an awesome career. Add to that that I've continued to sell more copies of this book in August and you see a very happy and proud writer.  

So here's what we have to look forward to...  my production schedule for August-September 2011.

Contemporary:
Book One in the Manipulating The Masters Series: Lucien
(Target Available Date: Mid-August)

Paranormal:
Book One in The Tales of WOE (Warriors of Eros) Series: Blood Rank
(Target Available Date: Late August-Early September)

And yeah, I've got more coming right on the heels of those listed above.  So hang in there and be patient with me, because the WOE Series has at least 11 books in it and I've mapped them all out. Now all I have to do is write them.

Until next time... happy musing, writing, and reading!
~EK

Loving the Insanity

For those poor souls who have ever had the privilege of working in a mundane workplace with my author, you won't be surprised by this post. For those who haven't, I can honestly say that I have never in all my thousands of years as a muse worked with someone who thrives off of chaos, deadlines, and adrenaline spikes... like my author does.  After working with her for quite a number of years now, I can honestly say that there is some serious truth to her motto: I get in trouble when I'm bored.

Now why would I pop on to say this? Because my author has taken measures to make sure she doesn't get bored. Which is great. But good googly moogly, does she have to grin and cackle with her chosen form of driving me, her magnificent muse, crazy?  What has she done?  Oh nothing much other than embracing her long lost roots as a techie geek.  She's found Joomla. Zeus, save us all. Because for those of you who don't know, once upon a time in a decade long past when HTML was barely a twinkle in the eyes of the world wide web, this here author thrived as an SGML editor and trainer. Would you believe that she thought of it as fun? And that she used to sit there with her headphones on listening to a BBC production of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy happily laughing and tagging away?

And now she's gone and embraced Joomla. And fat cows.  See me smoting my forehead.

But the point to this is... my author is loving the insanity. The Joomla and web site she's plotting and planning is distracting her logical mind from the creative side and actually motivating her to write more.  And giving her some sparks of inspiration for the hot cover of the next book she's working on.  Which is good news for my sanity.  Bad news for those people around her who don't know how to deal with the power house that is my writer in a zone. Ah well, they'll learn. LOL

So an update on the next book, Seducing Elise... first two chapters are revised, word count is up to
57, 932, and she's got 5 scenes to go (at last count).  Update on the books that come after this one... Dragon's Katana is still sitting at 108K words with the final scenes (3, oh yeah, count 'em, baby, three whole freaking scenes) in the book fleshed out in technicolor in her crazy mind. Then that monster of a historical romance goes into revision. (Can I get an about time? Oh yeah, I heard it. Thanks. ;o) And along the way, we're doing a workshop in August and getting back to book one in her paranormal series.

And if that isn't enough... just consider all the housework and mama duty she's juggling at the same time.  Like I said, she's loving the insanity. LOL, go figure.

Until next time... happy reading, writing, and musing!
Take care!
~EK

Update 7/23/2011

I haven't been around much on the blog lately, but it's because I've been working on edits for the next manuscript. Along with getting ready for two upcoming workshops I'm enrolled in. And reading some contest entries.

It's crazy insane around here. But that's okay. It's worth it in the long run. ;o)

So until next time, y'all take care and happy reading, writing, and musing!
I'll be back on Monday with something more insightful to share. I hope. LOL
~EK

EMILY'S AFFAIR is up for SALE!

I finally did it! Woohooo! I am so excited!

I finished Emily's Affair and uploaded it for sale! I am so proud of myself. ;o) So without further ado... I give you my very first self published book!

Emily Stafford has fallen into heat and needs it bad. Real bad. After one innocent run-in with her neighbor and his sexier-than-homemade-sin voice at the mailroom in her condominium complex, she had a toe curling… you know. When her second encounter with the object of her lust is just as innocent and has the same result, Emily decides to seize the moment and have herself a hot, no strings attached affair.

Jake Grayden has a plan and it doesn't include 'wham-bam-thank you-sir's. He's made up his mind that Emily is the one for him and he's willing to take as many long, cold showers as is necessary to make her realize that she wants the same thing. But when she overpowers his self-control and her heart begins to beat for him and only him, the race is on for Jake to break down Emily's emotional barriers and show her the fine art of loving… and being loved.

*****

I'd love for you to check it out and let me know what you think.
It's published on Amazon, Smashwords, and B&N!

Take care and happy reading!
~EK

And today's topic is...

And today's topic is... I'm taking a day off from writing to celebrate the kidlet's birthday!

Okay so technically I have been writing today--since I have yet to sleep from yesterday. Which is cool considering that the middle of the night is my peak writing time.  But after I catch some Zzzz's, then it's off for a day of fun with the youngin'. I can only imagine what sort of fun we've got scheduled--especially when I think about the fun I've had since midnight with such entertaining games as fish the kitten out of the toilet.

Look, I don't know how it happened, I don't want to know what provoked it, all I care about is that the kitten--all sopping wet and whatnot--is NOT upstairs, on my bed, curled up on MY pillow.
If we can manage that, then there's hope for the rest of the day. ;o)~

Until next time...
Take care and happy writing, reading, and musing, everyone!
~EK

Plot Woes and Sagging Middles

Now that I've got Emily's Affair out of the way on its road to publication on Amzaon, I'm headed on to the next book that is in need of completion--Seducing Elise.  And where does this manuscript need help? In the middle. It needs lots and lots of help in the middle. Especially when you consider that I wrote the beginning and end to it, but not the middle. LOL, that was fun.

So how am I going to fix the middle?  Well, it goes something like this.

A while ago, I mentioned a craft book that fascinated the analytical side of my brain (Evan Marshall's Marshall Plan for Novelists) to a fellow writer. I was fascinated by this book, because it spoke to the left side of my brain. Something that a lot of other craft books simply can't manage.  If you haven't checked out this book, then you might want to. Especially if you have a tendency to be a bit methodical in your writing ways.

But back to the discussion I had with the fellow writer. I showed her the craft book and described the technique that Marshall suggests. Then I flipped to what I now consider "the magical table" in the book.  (And yeah, if you toss my copy on the table, it will consistently open up straight to the table. That's how much I love it.)  The table is an amazing tool that gives you a guideline of how many sections should be in a specific word count book (based on you writing a set amount of words per section).  It suggests to you how many POV characters there should be. And how many sections in the beginning, middle, and end of any book.  It's like a road map! A beautiful road map that I'd had on the shelf for more than a few years.

It sat on the shelf, because I couldn't figure out how to use it to craft the story that I was trying to tell.  Enter now the discussion with the fellow writer. She went out and bought the book. Then something interesting happened. We used this book in conjunction with other plotting techniques (such as, the Six Stage Structure by Michael Hauge, GMC by Deb Dixon, and Christopher Vogler's Hero's Journey) that had captured our interest (as character driven story tellers). What we discovered was that you can layer the Six Stage Structure over the Marshall Plan's section breakdown and actually see how many scenes to put in the beginning, middle, and end of a book. Not only that, but you can map character growth between Identity and Essence between the stages which makes it so you can figure out how many scenes you need to do that so the book will flow in a logical manner and... ohmiword, this means that with the right GMC that my left brain can figure out how many scenes to put in the middle to prevent sag.  Which means no more sagging middles. Woohooo!

There is, naturally, more to this nifty little epiphany than I've described up above. But I can tell you that this is the technique that I'm using to map out the character growth for my upcoming books.  And yeah, I've got three of them on deck, with a bitch of a deadline attached to each of them. It's a good thing I enjoy working under the pressure of a deadline. LOL So I'll do my best to keep y'all updated with how this works for me and hopefully by the first week in August I'll have Seducing Elise up on Amazon as well!

Until next time... take care and happy writing!
~EK

GIMP and my First Cover

Happy, Sunday!
Well, I did it. I conquered the invisible, pink dragon and made my first cover. WOOT! WTG, me!

For those who are interested... I made it using GIMP 2.6. GIMP 2.6 is a FREE, open source software that is very similar to Photoshop.  You can find out more information for the GIMP at their website: www.gimp.org. The  photo is one that I snagged from www.dreamstime.com.

And now without further psychobabble, I give you my very first cover that I am sooo proud of!

Sigh. I think it turned out rather well, don't you?
~EK