Writer's Retreat

Coming up very soon (I'd better check my flight information), I'm going to a writer's retreat. This will be a first annual event of what I hope will continue.

Writer's Retreat. What is it?

Well, it's fabulous. It's our first one and I'm already excited. :)

This means me and three good writer friends will be hanging out together, just the 4 of us, doing writerly things. Coming up with ideas for either the books we're working on or new ideas for our next books, we will support each other. We will laugh together. We will write. We will retreat to our rooms to write new fresh words without phones ringing or laundry to do or doorbells to answer or dinner to cook or questions to answer or bills to pay...I could go on. I won't.

Also we will be

Brainstorming.

Drinking wine.

Writing.

Drinking vanilla apple cosmos. (or is that a martini?) hmm

Plotting.

Drinking Sweet Tea Vodka Lemonade.

Chatting in the hot tub about writing.

Drinking...whatever is left.

Is that Sangria? Yum.

This is time well spent. In fact, I'd go so far as to say it's imperative.

Writers work alone for the most part. We hunker behind our faithful computers and tap out stories again and again spurred only by our imagination...and coffee...and sometimes wine.

So now and again, we need the relaxation of a long weekend away with our sister writers to feed our passion for writing and gain new perspective.

And laugh in a quiet place away from the routine of our lives.

Can't wait to get there.

 Hugs,

L

I'm busy!

It's only the middle of January.
How can I already be so far behind? :)
Maybe I'm not. Maybe it just seems that way.

So far this year...I've been thinking up goals, making lists, bowling once a week, attending writing seminars, meeting with my critique partners, doing edits, thinking up new stories to write, writing new books, being a treasurer... sigh.

I should also be...cleaning my office, cleaning my house, cleaning my room, making a dent in the never ending laundry pile, shopping for food, preparing meals for my family, and a whole host of other things which wait for my attention.

How will I ever fit it all in?

All my possibilities point to the fact that my creativity will send me on a path of discovery wherein rests my passion to write...if I can ever get all my chores dones. ;)

"All I want to do is write some books. I've got a feeling...I'm not the only one."
(sung to the Sheryl Crow's, All I Wanna Do) :)
L

Back to Bowling

Over my summer vacation I participated in a summer bowling league with my husband.
It only lasted about 12 weeks and it was admittedly more fun than I anticipated.
Our team won second place overall and there was a cash prize involved at the end. :) What's not to like?

My average never went above 100, but I did improve quite a bit from start to finish.

So now I've been coerced into a winter league. It's on a different night. I guess that's okay.
But this bowling session will be more than twice as many weeks as the summer league.
We'll be playing in a different place that is smaller. And that's okay with me as well.
My questions...is this my future? Erotic writer by day, league bowler by night. :)

Perhaps I can strive to improve my average over the next year with this new league.
If I ever make it over 100, I'll let you know.
So...are there any other writer/bowlers out there? :)
L

June already?

I've somehow wandered into June.
I could have also titled this, 'Long Time, No Blog'.

I've been writing on a new wip and editing the one I just finished.
The lazy days of summer are here. Life is pretty good.

The kids are out of school for summer vacation and for some reason that puts a whole different spin on my day. The dynamic changes when others are in the house with me all day.

And it's not because they bother me. Quite the opposite. They hide in their rooms playing video games, watching television and surfing the internet fearful that I'll pop in and give them some evil chores to do.
Laundry, Dishes, Vacuuming, Dusting, Trash, Recycle...I try to vary the chores between the two of them. And I already knew the chores were evil. I mean that's why 'I' don't want to do them. :)

I have aggressive writing goals for the summer months.
If I can keep the kids busy with all my chores...
Muwahahaha
...the book possibilities are endless.

Now if I could get them to do the chores without having to nag them...
I know, I'm asking way too much.
L

Tick Tock ~ Deadline Coming Soon

I'm on a deadline.
I have something due in a couple of weeks.



I'm 93% of the way done...if I can believe the spreadsheet I created to keep track of my word count. And I do.

And the truth is...I work better this way. :) I love having a goal.
Pressure makes me work better and faster.
Even one of my kids calls me a workaholic. Won't he be surprised when he turns into one as well. Muwahahaha

Okay, I know I need to blog, but I need to finish my ms more.
If you need me I'll be practicing an age old writer's technique for finishing manuscripts courtesy of Kristen.
BICFOK
Which stands for Butt In Chair, Fingers On Keyboard.

Anyone else out there who also works better with their butt to the fire?
I can't be the only one...can I? :)
L

A Day in the Life of an Author...

…Santiago style. :)
And yet another requested topic from earlier this month. :)
I start my day with coffee. Lots of it.
It's the crutch I use to engage my brain every day.


I have a cup with my husband before he goes to work.
I balance another in hand when I wake the kids up and a third as I push them out the door to school. :) (Just kidding. I swear they leave willingly...okay perhaps 'willingly' is too strong a word. I'm simply grateful that they go without too much rebellion.)
I consume the remainder of the carafe once everyone is gone as I check e-mail and lurk on a few loops to see what's going on.
I also make a list everyday for what I want to accomplish. This is very important to me.
If I don't have a list...I tend to meander through my day until the kids and my husband come home having accomplished very little.

I try to write something each day and I'm analytical enough to keep track. :)
So far this month I've written 11,500 words towards the manuscript I'm working on.
Yes...it should be more. It's barely 1000 a day based on a five day work week.

My excuse for this month? I'm still working my way through contest entries. :)
I started with 13 due this month. As of today I have 3 1/2 left.
I'm very proud of myself for getting through the contest entries, but I wish I'd written more.
Of course, I 'always' wish I'd written more. :)

As a popular commercial is fond of saying...Life gets in the way.

If I'm working on a particular manuscript, I don't write on any other manuscripts until I'm done with the first one. One at a time is really the best way for me.
I endeavor to complete the first draft as quickly as possible.
After I've made my list and lurked on loops and checked e-mail...again.
I write.
The following pretty much is every day for me.

I have a bite for breakfast. I like oatmeal, cereal, or bacon and toast.
I sit butt to chair and write.
Then I have a snack.
Then I write more.
Then I eat lunch. Unless my husband comes home. Then I watch him eat. :)
Then I write more.
Then I eat an afternoon snack.
Yes...you guessed it...then I write some more.
If I get stuck on a scene I'll go watch some television or read something different for half an hour or so to allow my brain to figure out why I'm stuck.

Additionally, another question asked was 'What do you do when the words don't come?'
Usually I try to relax and take a break from writing for a day to cleanse my mind.
The halt to my flow of words doesn't happen often, thankfully.
My problem is the opposite. I have several stories running through my brain at any given time and if I stop to ponder the current story for a day...the others try to get screen time. :):) I beat them back...or make notes for later on.

Then the kids come home. I hang with them and chat for a while. (I'm grateful they still allow me to interrogate...I mean ask them how their day at school was. :) )
Then the husband comes home. I let him vent about his day.
There is dinner and evening activities almost every night.

After everything settles down...I write at night too.
I write until I can't stay awake.

Then I crawl off to bed. I'm always resentful that I have to sleep at all. :):)
I'd rather be writing.

That's it.
A day in my life.
I'm sorry it's not more glamorous. :)
L

Ideas and Where They Come From

From another contest entry suggested blog topic...Where do I come up with ideas? I'm going to assume that means book ideas. :)
I know that a lot of writers say this...but I get ideas from everywhere.



I watch television and get ideas.
For example: I didn't turn the channel fast enough one night and ended up watching the first few moments of Cops. My question is why do the "alleged" criminals always run? Don't they know that half the police force is dogging their heels?
My idea for a book (one I haven't even written yet) is...what if someone was involved in a high speed chase across town and once they were cornered, a lone figure leapt out of the car as police pursued them on foot? What if it turned out that the bad guy was pretending to be the car jack victim cowering in the back seat and the "true" frightened owner had been threatened and sent running from the vehicle as a decoy?

I read the newspaper and get ideas.
For example: I was reading an article in the paper the other day regarding a debate growing over the patenting of genes. A new bill is being introduced that would prohibit claims to pieces of human DNA. The very subject of human DNA intrigues me. Adding in the whole science fictional nature of the mapping of the human genome and chemical blueprint of our DNA is completely fascinating. I didn't know this, but according to the article I read, an estimated one-fifth of human genes already carry patents on them.
What happens when the patents expire? Do patents ever expire? Could the gene that determines my hair color suddenly have it's patent expire making me blonde without license?
Perhaps not. :)

I read magazines to get ideas.
My favorite is Popular Science. They have cool scientific stuff inside. I also read Newsweek to keep up with current events. I read National Geographic. I saw a very interesting article on Dragonflies in an issue last year. And I have to admit grudgingly that I've seen some interesting articles in Maxim as well. :) Maxim has the occasional cool article like 'how to be a sniper?'

Sometimes ideas just land in my brain for no apparent reason at all.
I'll use one of my own books as a frame of reference for this idea gathering topic. :)

I was about to take a class in my RWA chapter which would take place over several months. It was called the Book By August group. A bunch of us from our chapter got together to cheer each other on and to ultimately finish a book.
We started in February and met one a month to learn about different aspects of writing such as point of view or goal, motivation, and conflict. We took what we learned and applied it to our own books.
For the very first class I had to come up with a premise, a hero, and a heroine. I wanted to be ready so I decided to think up a brand new idea. I had a lot of ideas, but the one I came up with popped into my head the day before the first class.
The first question that just popped into my brain was...What if a bomb technician was afraid of explosions?
That question led to others...What if the bomb technician was a girl? Why would she be afraid of explosions? Who would be a good hero for her? How about a firefighter?
I decided early on that the reason she was afraid of explosions was because her parents were killed in a bombing when she was young.
That was all I started with to write The Blonde Bomb Tech. :)
I built my story from there.








Other idea makers...listening to conversations around me.
Hearing new music will sometimes trigger an idea for me.
Watching movies...driving in my car...watching the ocean waves crash on the beach. I could go on, but it's actually now past my bedtime.
...which makes me think of dreams and yet another source of book ideas... :):)
L