Name Calling by Christine DePetrillo

What’s in a name? Well, for me, sometimes naming characters is a bit like trying on clothes. I gather as many names as I can carry, haul them into the dressing room, try them on, angle this way and that way in front of the mirror, ask a trusted buddy for her opinion, discard ones that don’t fit, and whittle down the possibilities until one has been selected. It’s important to get a character’s name right. A reader has to travel with that character for hundreds of pages. An improperly named character can mean the difference between an enjoyable read and an I’m-not-going-to-finish-this-book read.

I often call potential names out loud in voices portraying the varying moods found in my stories. I need to know a name is going to sound great even if another character is screaming it in rage. I try out the names while I’m talking to my characters. You might hear me say, “Well, you know, Patrick…” just to see if his name flows nicely in the context of a conversation. If it doesn’t, I’ll try another until I get the right vibe. Meanwhile, The Husband wonders who all these men are.

And what about a shortened form of a name? David to Dave, Michael to Mike, Steven to Steve. Who will use the shortened forms? Parents, friends, lovers? Are there shortened forms you as the author just won’t tolerate? Richard to Dick? Is it going to completely emasculate your Alpha hero, Ralph, if someone calls him Ralphie? These are all considerations to keep in mind when naming a character.

Once a first name is selected, the hunt for last names can be challenging. I’m Italian and live in a predominantly Italian neighborhood. Most of the people I know are Italian. The urge to make every last name sound like something out of The Godfather or Goodfellas or have it end in a vowel is always there. To help vary it up, I began collecting possible last names in my writer’s notebook. One fun source has been the names of towns along I-91 as I travel from Rhode Island to Vermont on the weekends. In Kisses to Remember, the hero, Holden Lancaster, has a first and last name that are towns on that route. His heroine, Johanna Ware, sports a last name that came from a highway sign. In Firefly Mountain, the last names of Claremont, Barre, and Thetford all came from this town method as well. This name collection system has really helped me branch out of the parmesan-encrusted bowl of gravy I had been stuck in with names. The whole world isn’t Italian or Irish or whatever ethnicity in which you’ve been held hostage.

                                     

Sometimes names have just come to me when characters are introducing themselves in my mind. I’ll be walking my dog, and out of nowhere, a voice will say in my head, “Hi, I’m Detective Daxton Wilder, and you should write my story.” Umm, okay, Dax. I’ll get right on that. And suddenly, no other name is right for him. He. Is. Daxton Wilder. Down to the core. I can try calling him something else, but he won’t listen. If he doesn’t listen, his story doesn’t get written, and that makes us both cranky.

Names are sometimes derived from something that describes the character. For example, in my young adult book, Run With Me, about a tree spirit, I chose the last name Everleaf for the hero, Jobah. It has a tribal, earthy feel that is perfect for his story and who he is. The heroine, Olivia Bradford, received what I’d call an upper middle class name. She lives in a respectable suburb, attends a nice school, is on the track team, has two brainiac parents. The last name Bradford was found with my town method mentioned earlier, and it sounded professional with the word doctor in front of it for her parents. 

I’ve also heard names of real people that I’ve simply fallen in love with like Salem Grimm. Fantastic! I’m going to use that someday. Everywhere I go, I check out employee nametags. I’ve come across some great names like Avaline, Gretah, and Doone. Unusual spellings of names can be fun too. Carissa can be Kharissa. Or Kevin can be Kevyn. Play around with names.

Naming characters is a blast, and I do think that those names can help determine who that character is going to be in a story. Treat your readers to some solid, creative names that will enhance their reading experience and have them remembering your characters long after the last page has been read.

Toodles,

Chris

www.christinedepetrillo.weebly.com  

Did You Catch the Name? by Leah St. James

You know how you hear about a good new book or movie you’d like to check out but you can’t quite remember the name? For me, something like this will run through my head: “I’m looking for the new book by the author who wrote that other book that was about a man and woman...”

You get the picture.

I’m terrible with names, whether I’m trying to remember the names of new acquaintances, or books or movies, or naming my own books. (For some reason, I don’t have a similar problem naming characters, just the books themselves.)

I was thinking about my naming-challenged situation a few months back while reading the list of best-sellers in the Sunday paper, wondering how they all came up with the names.

I’ve never published a nonfiction book, but it seems fairly easy.  You have a specific expertise or point of view you want to share, then you stick on a colon and a bunch of explanatory words after. Here is the list that printed in my paper this past Sunday. Take a look at No. 1:

“Girl, Wash Your Face: Stop Believing the Lies About Who You Are So You Can Become Who You Were Meant To Be” by Rachel Hollis. Okay, so I presume that first phrase has a special meaning to the author, maybe an expression she heard over and over growing up. The rest, after the colon, is all self-explanatory. Easy, right?

Why can’t naming fiction be like that?

Why can’t we title a book something like “Raven: A story about a woman with black hair and how she meets the man of her dreams”?  (Yes, I just came up with that. Catchy, huh? :-) I kind of like the Raven bit though....)

Fiction authors aren’t that lucky. We have to come up with a catchy title that somehow, in some way, conveys what the story is about, without giving too much away. And we have to be somewhat unique. With literally MILLIONS of fiction titles currently published, that’s not always easy.

To me, Margret Mitchell’s classic “Gone With the Wind” is a perfect title, one that – if memory serves me correctly – borrows from a phrase in the book itself.  None of my titles have come that easy, but then I am not a world-famous best-selling author!

Seeking guidance, I took a look at the current list of fiction best-sellers and discovered  something interesting. It seems the trend is to tack a colon after the title, followed by “A Novel.” 

I’ve seen that before, and not just recently, but it seems more and more book titles are following that naming model. Five of this week’s top ten sellers have done it.  Another two have “novel” stuck in the series title, like “Feared: A Rosato & DiNunzio Novel.”

The latter I understand perfectly. You want readers to know the book is part of a specific series. But I don’t understand why you would add “A Novel” to a book title that everyone pretty much knows is a novel.  Do we really need “A Novel” added to Stephen King’s “The Outsider” to know it’s a novel?

 Is it a way to assist with searching? So if I can’t remember the book title (which is probable for me), I pop “A Novel” in the search field and I’ll narrow the field down by 50 percent? (That’s presuming I remember there’s “A Novel” in the title.)

I tested that theory by searching for “A Novel” in Amazon’s book section, but it pulled up every book with the word in the title or description. So that can’t be it.

Next I theorized it’s a device meant to indicate a certain type of novel, a certain intellectual level, maybe literary versus genre fiction. But then I saw the King novel. Stephen King is a brilliant novelist on so many levels, but he doesn’t write literary fiction.

Do those simple words add a mystique? Would “Gone With the Wind: A Novel” have sold more copies? Doubtful.

Whatever the reason, it annoys me. It feels pretentious, like the author is saying, “Hey, look at me. I wrote A NOVEL!” But then I remember the publisher usually rules the title, so the publisher is saying, “Hey, look! He/she wrote A NOVEL!”

None of these thoughts seem to make sense, so I figured I’d toss my question out to this group.

Any idea why so many current book titles seem to include “A Novel”?

Does this annoy anyone else, or is it just me?

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When not frittering away her writing time obsessing over things like book titles, Leah writes stories of mystery and romance, good and evil and the power of love. Learn more about her books (not necessarily the titles) at leahstjames.com, or visit her on Facebook or Pinterest where she occasionally posts about life, writing and her favorite things.

Building Things by Christine DePetrillo

Every summer, The Husband and I are involved in some project. We’ve built a barn, vinyl sided a house and barn, installed wood flooring, built a tavern room (named Black Wolf Tavern for the bar in my Maple Leaf Series and for my werewolf of a black German Shepherd), landscaped properties, and constructed a wood shed to name a few of our endeavors. This year’s summer adventure was making a 500 square foot patio complete with a fire pit.

I’m always amazed at the thought that goes into these projects. The steps are many and the order important. One doesn’t just slap a patio down. In our case, a huge retaining wall had to be built of granite boulders. The wall had to be backfilled and leveled then filled with gravel for drainage.

The fire pit came next so it would look as if it were built into the patio itself. Pavers and bricks came together in a circle to contain many future blazes. S’mores are on the horizon. The only way I’ll eat marshmallows.

A layer of stone dust topped that and finally the irregular flagstone finished it off. Let me just say that irregular flagstone and OCD don’t mix. Yikes. One has to release the idea of perfection and accept that if you want a wild, woodsy look, you need to give up being particular about tight joints, patterns, and precision leveling. That was hard for us, but we muddled through.

And the result is exactly what we pictured.

I love these projects. It’s how The Husband and I define fun. We’d rather being doing things like this than sunbathing on some tropical beach somewhere. Plus, it’s awesome exercise. We both feel great physically. All those muscles ache just mean we’re alive and it’s good to be alive.

I’m eager to enjoy that patio and fire pit, especially in autumn, surrounded by the reds, oranges, and yellows of the trees and our mountain views. I also think the space will be conducive to writing with plenty of stimulating landscape to spark my imagination. Nothing gets my Muse revved like spending time in nature. Sometimes I think Mother Nature IS my Muse.

And I’m cool with that.

Summer is over now and school has started back up. I wonder what we’ll build next year.

Have you been involved in any major projects? If so, what? If not, what would you like to try your hand at?

Toodles,

Chris

www.christinedepetrillo.weebly.com

The Garden by Christine DePetrillo

Nothing pleases me more than playing in the dirt on a summer's day. My backyard is a NWF-Certified Backyard Wildlife Habitat. I have plants that attract butterflies, dragonflies, and birds of all kinds. The Northern Flicker woodpecker is among my favorites.

In the garden I have the following edibles:

• tomatoes
• green peppers
• basil
• mint
• parsley
• lemon thyme
• oregano
• lavender
• strawberries
• peaches
• blueberries

We also have:

• catmint
• roses
• impatiens
• grapevines (the grapes are never edible)
• azaleas
• rhododenrons
• weigela
• lilacs
• spirea

And:

• butterfly bush
• barberry
• coltsfoot
• dogwood
• arborvitae
• fern
• hosta

Now I'd love to have a ton more stuff growing (especially stuff I can eat), but my yard is pretty small and we've made the best use of the space we have. The Werewolf also runs and accidentally ruins things sometimes so I have to be careful where I put stuff. 

I love tending to all these plants during the summer months. Love to drink in their beauty, smell their fragrances, and taste their deliciousness. Coexisting with them when they are so green and alive invigorates me like nothing else can. 

That's why I love being in The Outdoor Writing Office. I can't help but be inspired to write when surrounded by nature. 

Everything is better outside. It just is. 

Do you garden? If so, what are you growing? 

Toodles,

Chris

www.christinedepetrillo.weebly.com 

One More Day! by Christine DePetrillo

Tomorrow is the last day of school! Only one more day until I shed my teacher skin and become a full-time writer. I will spend long summer days in these two places, making my characters fall in love.

I will have this trusted associate keeping away potential distractions.

I will have this associate judging my work. Sternly. 

I will be refreshed with these frozen margaritas as often as possible.

I will walk here when writer's block rears its ugly head.

And hopefully, by the end of the summer, I'll be adding one more Warrior Wolves book, Wolf Angel, to this picture.

I can't wait! One more day! I'll do my best not to "whohoo" my way around my classroom in Daffy Duck style, but I can't make any promises. 

Toodles,
Chris
www.christinedepetrillo.weebly.com

Goldilocks Readers – too little, too much, or just right? by Leah St. James #amreading #amwriting

Several weeks ago, Margo bravely offered the reworked opening of her WIP (“On the Make,” Book 3 in her Brothers in Blue series) for some feedback.

I was the first to respond, and I questioned a couple things that confused me about the family dynamics. (Whose sons are they again???)

Jannine was next with some tough-love advice, including suggestions for obliterating info dumps.

Rolynn got stopped by some of the phrasing and character development and posed some questions to rethink the section.

Vonnie offered her version of the scene with some comedic elements.

And so it went.

It reminded me of the many committee meetings I’ve attended. You ask a question of a dozen people and get a dozen different answers. It’s not surprising in a meeting, and it’s not surprising from readers/writers either.

Just as each of us has a unique point a view, each of us has a unique “thing” we’re looking for in a book. 

We know, for example, that I love emotions and digging into relationships, so it wasn’t a surprise that I focused on the relationships in the scene.

Jannine likes “action, action, action,” so it makes sense that she suggested ways to bring more action to the scene.

What does intrigue me is that I didn’t necessarily see what my fellow Roses saw in the excerpt!

I didn’t get info dump at all from the scene. Introspection, yes, but I was completely hooked (although I did agree that Jannine’s suggestions were excellent!).

Similarly, I didn’t share Rolynn’s opinion of the main character (who had shown a lack of remorse over Husband No. 2’s death). I could absolutely see where she was coming from and how some would read it like that, but I was intrigued by the character’s reaction and just wanted to know more: Why isn’t she more upset about her husband’s death? Is she maybe (gasp) glad he’s dead? I was rooting for her without even knowing why or how she’d been widowed. (So maybe the task for Margo is to add one or two more elements that will endear the character to a reader—maybe a  tender exchange with one of the boys...something.)

Vonnie’s rewrite of the scene made me chuckle, and illustrated how a skilled writer can change the mood of a scene.

 

The varying reactions and suggestions made me ask myself: Is there a larger lesson here? What does it mean? 

Here's what I came up with.

It means, in this case, that Margo has a ton of suggestions to comb through to determine which are best for her project. :-) (Ultimately, she’ll have to satisfy her editor, who might have yet different ideas!)

It means that we shouldn’t despair when one reader loves the dark, grittiness of our story and another is  completely turned off. Or if one reader snaps up our romantic comedy and another calls it drivel. It’s normal to have a wide range of opinions. We are, I think, by nature Goldilocks readers.

But the biggest lesson to me is that as we craft our stories, we should each embrace our uniqueness. Yes, we need other sets of (skillful) eyes to help point out weaknesses, and we need to look at those suggestions with thick-skinned honesty. But we also need to trust our own voices and our own vision for the story. We need to own our stories and make them uniquely ours.

Once again I’m reminded how tricky and difficult this writing thing is! 

To my fellow 'Goldilocks-es':  Happy reading, happy writing!

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Leah writes stories of mystery and romance, good and evil, and the power of love. Learn more at LeahStJames.com, visit her on Facebook or check out her Pinterest boards where she pins books and videos she loves, along with recipes she'll probably never try and gardens she'll never plant. :-)

The 80s Rock by Christine DePetrillo

Last month I went to see a band named Jessie's Girl. It's an 80s tribute band that plays a bunch of different 80s rock songs. Stuff like Bon Jovi, Madonna, Def Leppard. They were marvelous... or maybe I should say they were "totally rad." Amazing voices and spot on costuming made for a fun trip back in time.

The show started with quick clips from classic 80s movies such as Back to the Future, Breakfast Club, and Pretty in Pink. All favorites of mine. All movies I've watched a bazillion times and will most likely watch a bazillion more times before I take my last breath. You can't beat these films. Memorable characters. Simple, yet engaging storylines. Good soundtracks.

Ahh, those were the days. The 80s rock!

Basically if it's 80s-themed, it's for me. I've spoken about Stanger Things here on this blog before, which has an 80s backdrop, but I recently discovered another show set in this beloved time period, The Carrie Diaries, on Netflix. It chronicles the teen years of Carrie Bradshaw who was a character on Sex and the City. Now I never watched Sex and the City, but this teen version is amazing. Great 80s fashion, music, and hair. I also love Carrie as a character. She's got dreams of being a writer and that's something I can totally appreciate. She's got all the typical teenage drama. It's fun to escape into Carrie's world for 45-minute trips.

I'm fairly certain I will have to write an 80s-themed romance at some point in my writing career. It's possible my subconscious has been working on since the actual 80s. I know it'll come out on the page one of these days. I've referenced the 80s in some of my existing books, but the decade begs for a story of its own from me.

So... I "won't stop believin'" I'll write one.

Is there a decade that calls to you? Which one? Why?

Toodles,
Chris
www.christinedepetrillo.weebly.com

The Final Excuse ~ By Leah St. James #amwriting #blackcats

Looking back over my last several posts, I’m wondering why I haven’t offered readers some cheese to go with my “whine,” especially after I read Jannine’s Recipe for Success a few days ago that featured her talented and super-hard-working daughter (like mother, like daughter!).

Yes, it seems my recent posts have fallen into a bit of a pity-partying pattern of reasons–excuses–for my lack of writing productivity over the last couple years. For any newcomers, here’s a brief recap:

First there was the Year of the Wedding.
Okay, that was true, and a joyful event. No regrets.

But here, ranked in order of most influential, are the rest.
1. A crazy full-time job that sucks my time and energy.
2. Lack of focus
3. Followed closely by focusing on business during my “creative time”
4. Losing my writing voice (probably from lack of writing)

I think there was another one in there (overall fatigue maybe?), but it doesn’t matter. What matters is that except for having to work full-time for financial reasons, these are all fixable conditions, and they’re in my control to fix. But before I move on, I’d like to wrap up this unintended series with one final roadblock.

I almost hesitate after reading Chris’s heartbreaking post about losing her beloved cat Shikari, but I hope this will give her a chuckle and help her remember the fun times they shared

Because my fifth (sixth?) and final excuse is none other than HERCULES THE CAT.

It’s been some time since I’ve written about Hercules, who is fast approaching his second birthday, and he's even bigger than he was then. Son No. 1 describes him as a “30-pound brick.” (He might not actually be that heavy, but he sure feels it when he’s sprawled across half the bed in the middle of the night.) The Plot Master (TPM) has nicknamed him “Thunderfoot” for the thuds he makes when he jumps and lands on something. (On a positive note, we generally know where he is!) He runs down the stairs down in a two-legged gait, but not the usual two legs. Instead of left/right, he vaults down front/back, like a bunny rabbit!
 

Hercules will celebrate his second birthday on May 15!

He hasn’t been a cuddler since he outgrew my lap about 15 months ago, but he is a people cat. He rarely spends time alone, and will follow us from room to room. He loves playing tag, fetch and catch, and is quite the outfielder with miniature tennis balls!

Unfortunately, his favorite time to play is 4:30 a.m., which, as I recently discovered, is my “creative” time. This has resulted in a standoff between the two of us since I altered my morning routine.

Where previously I got up and exercised first thing–while he watched–now I get up and start to write (sitting on the couch in the blessedly quiet living room). This apparently bores him, so he starts wreaking havoc everywhere he can within my vision and earshot. 

He jumps on TPM’s sacrosanct (and overly neat) desk in the corner and starts swiping things onto the floor. Pens go flying, as do neatly stacked notebooks and folders. Once he actually got his claws on our checkbook and sent it tumbling into the narrow space between the desk and wall. (That was NOT a fun morning.) 

He's watching and waiting to make his move.

 
When he tires of the desk, he starts attacking what little artwork remains hanging on our walls (after we purged the walls of anything he could reach except for a few larger pieces I refuse to take down). Or he jumps on me.

In the tiny space next to the couch (where I'm sitting), poised to snag me!

This behavior goes on until TPM comes downstairs for the day to guard his desk and the artwork, but that’s a good 60 or 90 minutes of Hercules’ playfulness to work around. And usually by then he’s tired and ready for his first nap of the day.

After a few frustrating weeks of that, I moved to the dining room where the worst he can do is rip apart my printed outline and story notes while I’m trying to read them. Have I mentioned he eats paper and cardboard? Like a billy goat? He doesn’t actually swallow, just rips with his fangs and spits the pieces out. I think he likes the shredding noise. Maybe Son No. 1 should have called him Shredder instead of Hercules.

He is NOT liking this new setup.

So that’s where things stand now–an uneasy truce with me stationed each morning at the dining room table and Hercules waiting and watching for an opportunity to get some attention. I’m counting my blessings since I never know when he might find a new method of torture–I mean fun– to try! 


And I should mention, he's giving me some great material! In my current WIP, my heroine has a black cat named Romeo. I might need to give Romeo an expanded part!

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Leah writes stories of mystery and romance, good and evil and the power of love–-that is, if Hercules lets her. She blogs here on the 6th and 22nd of each month. Learn more at leahstjames.com or visit her on Facebook.  

Witch's Familiar by Christine DePetrillo

I've been known to do witchy things. I love nature. I grow stuff. The moon fascinates me. I like spells and incantations. I believe in the power of intention. I wear crystals and stones when I need protection or healing or just an extra boost.

Maybe I own a cauldron...

And up until last month, I spent 18 years with the best black cat witch's familiar in the world.

This is Shikari. She passed away in April and there's a hole inside me. I know she was paired with me for specific reasons. Our souls were destined to cross paths. We gave things to each other that we couldn't get from anyone or anything else. We told each other secrets.

I miss her terribly.

From the first day we got her, she had such personality and buzzed with energy. The word "shikari" means hunter and she did slink around like a miniature panther, making prey out of leaves blowing in the wind, mouse toys filled with catnip, and coils of ribbon. We grew catmint in our back yard so she could roll around in kitty bliss during the summertime.

She was a talker too. She had meows that sounded like "mama," "now," "hello," and "no." You can call me crazy (you wouldn't be the first), but I have people who can back me up on her vocabulary skills. She always seemed to use those meows in the right context too.

The house is so quiet without her.

I come home from work, and though I have my dog and another cat to greet me, it's not the same as hearing Shikari meow "hello." She made us smile and laugh. Though she wasn't a cuddler, she'd pop onto my lap for a few minutes and do a quick check in, headbutting me and purring loudly.

In her later years, her health really declined and it took a great deal to keep her going, but she continued to wake up each morning and demand our attention.

Until her fire finally burned out.

And even then, she was considerate in how she left us. I had scheduled a vet appointment because it was clear that she was nearing the end of any brand of comfortable existence, but the decision plagued me. I felt such extreme guilt. Like... who was I to decide her fate? She rescued me from that guilt though by dying two days before the appointment. She actually waited for both my husband and I to come home from work. She allowed us several blessed moments to be with her and we literally watched her take her last breath. It was both heartbreaking and consoling. She was the first pet I ever owned and I felt her loss immediately, powerfully, but I also felt such relief that her suffering was over and that we hadn't had to actually put her down. She chose to leave. She'd done what she'd come here to do and would be bathed in peace now.

So I'm a witch without a familiar, but it was an honor to have owned (or perhaps be owned by) such an enchanting feline. If you ever get the chance to adopt a black cat, go for it. You won't be sorry.

You'll be bewitched.


Toodles,
Chris
www.christinedepetrillo.weebly.com

All Part of a #WritersLife by Brenda Whiteside

Back when I had a day job, the weekends meant so much more. For one thing, I got to write for more than fifteen minutes in the morning before work. Maybe that's when I got in the habit of working seven days a week. I'm not sure. Now that I can write everyday, barring family distractions, every day is a weekend. Writer's Life

I thought about this on Sunday afternoon when I sat down to watch Diamondbacks baseball. I love our Arizona baseball team. Yet...there I sat composing a post for a blog. FDW sat in the recliner next to me, and I hoped I'd get the post out of my head and on the page before he caught me. I know this is not just a Brenda thing...it's a writer thing. We don't take full days off our craft...we'd feel guilty if we did. So, we rarely take a complete day off. Writers' Life.

And whether a writer is a weekend warrior or full time, it's a rare author who goes on vacation without a phone and/or her laptop. I've been known to sneak into another room when FDW isn't paying attention to check my emails.

There's one thing he can't call me on and that's writing in my head. Most of my writing is done without a computer in front of me. Actually, I've been caught in cerebral writing mode a few times. "You're thinking about your book, aren't you?" Did the faraway look in my eyes give me away, or that I didn't respond to anything he said in the last twenty minutes?

The voices in my head don't know Sunday from Wednesday. How can I explain my inability to shut them down? Then there's promotion. Yes, I've known for months that the next book would eventually get released, but there were edits and those voices. And I didn't have everything I needed to approach promotion in a meaningful way. So, when the email comes with the release date for the next book, as it did last week, there is a mountain of work to do. Because until you get that date, the ISBN number, and a book that has been edited to death, you can't do much of what has to be done.

But before you think this all sounds like no fun, there are benefits. The biggest thing is flexibility. I can take my office to the chair in front of the TV and watch the boys of summer while I work. I can work a long day and get ahead of the game so I can go play with my granddaughter tomorrow. And the only one who's keeping track of my "to-do" tasks is me. I can cheat today and make up for it tomorrow.

Yet...those voices in my head are always there. Luckily, no one knows but me (and now you) and I like it!

The Worldwide Release date is coming up this summer for the fifth book in my Love and Murder Series. Look for The Deep Well of Love and Murder on June 18.

Being a Thoughtful Writer by Leah St. James #amwriting

About eight years ago I attended the annual conference for New Jersey Romance Writers. Since the conference takes place across the water from Manhattan, it usually draws some big names in romance fiction, and I hit the jackpot that year.

I sat next to Brenda Novak at lunch where we shared concerns over having sons with Type 1 diabetes. I attended a round-table discussion for published authors facilitated by Suzanne Brockman where she talked about how she was handling the emergence of self-publishing. And I attended a workshop led by Eloisa James. (Talk about writing “fan girl” heaven.) I don’t know what happened to the copious notes I took from these and other sessions, but one thing Eloisa James said stuck in my head all these years.

Someone asked her about her writing routine—what a typical writing day looks like. She didn’t answer right away but finally said (paraphrasing) that she spends a lot of her writing time thinking. She got a laugh from the audience, but it made sense.

Creating fiction, or any piece of writing, takes time in thought before you can start actually writing. Then as you’re putting your story to words, you sometimes have to stop and adjust, maybe consider a different angle or research a point.

Writing takes a lot of thought, and that requires time.

I was reminded of that this week, Friday night actually, when I staggered home after a 12-hour day at the “paycheck job,” exhausted, discouraged and ready for more than bed. I was ready, in that moment, to sit down and tell  TPM (The Plot Master a/k/a hubby a/k/a my critique partner) that I was taking a break from writing until the day I could (hahahaha) leave full-time employment and maybe get a part-time job.

I didn’t say anything to him (other than “goodnight”!), and he got up first in the morning (meaning fed the cat and locked him out of the bedroom). Luckily I woke feeling a bit less fatalistic. Then we went to breakfast at our favorite diner-type breakfast spot, and the conversation turned to the plot of my current WIP. (You might recall that’s the one he ripped to shreds about a year ago, the one I’ve been struggling to get back on track.)

I told him about some changes I’ve made in his ideas, and we talked them out. We looked at different angles to the story, and I explained why I decided to make the changes. I had so much fun! When we left, I was re-energized and ready to tackle the project again.

I know I’ll get discouraged again. I’m sure I’ll have many more long days at work when I come home too tired to do more than fall into bed, days when I think about chucking it all. But I hope I can remember those words from Eloisa James. I hope I can slow down for a few minutes and think about why I started writing--to tell a story. I hope I can remember again how she inspired me. It might take me another five years to finish this blasted book, but as long as I keep at it, a little every day, someday I’ll get there.

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Leah writes stories of mystery and romance, good and evil and the power of love—or at least she writes them in her head. Eventually they make it onto a book form. To learn more, go to LeahStJames.com.
 

#Binge-watching with Christine DePetrillo

I consider watching television and movies research for writing. I thought I'd share some things I've been binge-watching recently. If you haven't seen some of these, you might want to take a peek.

1. Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman - An oldie, but a goody. I love period pieces that transport be to another time and place. I've always thought the character of Dr. Mike was so well done. A true testimony to the strong female spirit.

2. Anne of Green Gables - Speaking of strong female spirit, is there anyone better than Anne? I simply adore Megan Follows as well. She is such a gifted actress and I first fell in love with her as Anne.

3. Black Mirror - A Twilight Zone-esque show but with a futuristic flavor. I'll admit some of the episodes are... unsettling. Mostly because they are not stretching the truth all that much. I'd just like to hang out with the writers of this show because they must be super interesting to have the ideas they have.

4. Everything Sucks - If you love 90s alternative rock, you'll like this show. The soundtrack is admittedly better than the plot, but you'll love the characters because you can no doubt find a little piece of yourself in at least one of them. It's also a good show to keep you entertained while you're waiting for Stranger Things to come out with a new season.

5. Cheers - Just because everyone needs a place "where everybody knows your name."

6. Bitten - I like to rewatch this to get in touch with my inner werewolf. And Greyston Holt is so nice to look at.

7. Hallmark Movies - Sometimes a night just needs a little love, you know?

8. Beauty and the Beast - Disney come to life? Yeah, count me in.

What binge suggestions do you have for me?

Don't forget to enter my giveaway for a $50 Amazon Gift eCard! Visit my website and scroll down on the home page for the details.

Toodles,
Chris
www.christinedepetrillo.weebly.com

Saved by the #amwriting deadline ~ by Leah St. James

Several of our Roses have written in the past few months about being stuck in the writing doldrums, or something similar, where circumstances and/or mood keep the Muse away. I’m no different. In fact, I’ve shared in previous posts that I’ve been stuck in that mode for quite some time. Recently, though, I’ve started coming out of it, and I thought I’d share a what snapped me out of it.

It all started last fall when I was trying to write my short holiday story for our blog. We’d had the first line for months, and ideas had been floating around in my brain since, but I was having a hard time coming up with an actual story. The date of my first post kept creeping closer and closer like some creature with its claws out, ready to gouge me! Each time I’d post a monthly blog, I’d see more and more Roses who’d finished their stories and had them queued up for publication, and I still hadn’t started mine!

By the time Thanksgiving rolled around, I was starting to worry, and for the first time I started to doubt my ability to get the story done. I knew I could ask one of my fellow Roses to swap dates with me, and I’m confident someone would have graciously agreed, but that wasn’t the point. The point was that I needed to find a way out of this myself. Because there was no real reason I was behind—no family crisis, no visitors, no illnesses. Just my normal routine.

Finally, I settled on my idea and started writing. The story was shaping up, I was feeling confident and about three-quarters done. Then the writer’s worst nightmare happened—less than a week before my posting date, I somehow wrote over my document with something entirely different. And – poof! – like that my hard-fought words were gone. DID I MENTION IT WAS LESS THAN A WEEK FROM MY POSTING DATE!?

When I realized what I’d  done, I wanted to cry. I think I did let out an inhuman-like wail that caused my husband to come running, then pooh-pooh me like it wasn’t a real crisis. (What does HE know anyway?!)

After a frantic search of my computer, I located three or four old versions that I’d somehow had the foresight to save under a different name, so at least I had a foundation. The basic plot hadn’t changed, but a lot of the details had. I remembered enough that I knew it was salvageable, but the clock was ticking.

 

I couldn’t take any time off from the day job, and by the end of the work day my brain is dead, so I did the unthinkable. I sacrificed my morning exercise and promo/email/blog-raading time to work on the story before work. Thankfully I got the story done (although probably with a few glitches I didn’t pick up on in my rush), but in the process, I discovered something amazing.

Writing at 4:25 a.m., when my brain is still half asleep, released the creativity I’d been missing for so  long, but more than that, it rekindled my love of writing. Somehow my brain likes writing before dawn. Who knew?!

I’m a creature of habit, AND the kind of person who likes to get the icky tasks out of the way before I let myself do the fun stuff.  So for several years I’ve been following the same pre-work routine:  get up early, exercise, take care of the  writing “business” stuff, then try to write, then go to the day job. It hasn’t worked. I think by waking myself up with non-creative things, I locked my thinking into that business-like frame, and once there, I couldn’t get it back, even on weekends when I didn’t have to go to work.

Bull-headed, I didn’t quite recognize this about myself until after the first of the year and I’d settled back into that routine. I’d been making slow progress on my WIP, but at the rate I  was going, it would take another year to finish. I knew something had to change.

When  I’d managed to write the holiday story in record  time, I assumed it was the deadline and the thought of having to admit failure that lit the fire, and that was true. It forced me to come up with a solution. Analyzing it after the fact, though, I remembered how good it felt, even under pressure, to put words and sentences together first thing after waking. So I took a leap and rearranged my pre-work routine. For the past couple weeks I’ve been getting up at the same time, then stagger downstairs, get myself a cup of strong tea, and settle down to write. And miraculously, it’s working!

I’m averaging 500-700 words each morning before work, finally making progress on my long-neglected WIP. In fact, I’m having a hard time yanking myself from my laptop to get to the rest of my day. (Back to reality? Nooooooooo!)

On the negative side, the “business” needs are suffering. I’m posting far less frequently on my Facebook page, for example, but I figure hardly anyone was reading it anyway, so no real harm. And once I have this story in production, I can ramp up my efforts.

So if you’re stuck in the writing blues and missing your Muse, maybe try to figure out when you get the most joy from writing and refocus your efforts on that time of the day or place. It can’t hurt to try! And if you're in a place where you're having a tough time finding joy in anything, give yourself time to heal, to recover...to regain your balance. The joy will find you when you're ready.

Happy writing.

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Leah writes stories of mystery and romance, good and evil and the power of love.  Learn more at LeahStJames.com.