Tomorrow - A Short Story

My piece for The Short Short Story Writing Competition is up on the "Other Works" page. Let me know what you think!

You're Going To Think I'm Dumb

I've been reading author blogs for a while now, even before I started to write my own novels. Laurell K. Hamilton is one of those writers who gets inside her characters head, as the rest of us should be doing. Sometimes it's hard for her to write tragic scenes in her Anita Blake series and she even gets depressed when her characters have lost a friend or someone close. She's happy when her imaginary friends are happy and stressed when they are stressed. There are many other authors out there like this and up until today, I could say that I thought they were being silly.

Not today. Today's writing session includes the scene where my Hero and Heroine are going to be separated. I know exactly how it will happen, I know who is going to say what and where everybody will be positioned when the decision is made.

I don't want to write it.

Just thinking about it makes me sad, even though I know when they will be reunited and where. I still don't want to write it. At the moment, I'm too far into my character's heads. So now I'm in a bad mood and on the verge of tears. I'm taking little break to clear my head and get my mind back in control.

So to all you writers out there that have to go through this with every character you create, with every novel you write, with every imaginary friend you have to kill off: I no longer think you're being silly.

Slice and Dice

Well, some changes are coming in my current WiPs. First off, I'm rethinking titles. Here are the new ideas:

My Demon of Life (Book 1) = My Demonic Love

My Mortal Eclipse (Book 2) stays the same

My Beautiful Disaster (Book 3) stays the same

My Adored Torment (Book 4) stays the same

My Angel of Death (was Book 2, now Book 5) = My Angelic Death

What do you think? I'm currently writing My Demonic Love and have come across some interesting developments. As I told you a few days ago, my Heroine didn't want to kill the Archangel. Well, that realization has now grown into a completely new chapter being added in the beginning and a rework of my Hero and Heroine's separation. Don't worry, they get back together. In Romances they always do.

As you can see I've moved My Angel of Death, now My Angelic Death to the end of the series. The reasoning? I'll give you an insider look. My antagonist in My Demonic Love is the Heroine in My Angelic Death. She is sentenced to angelic prison and her story starts there. I needed to give her some time to get used to the idea, to suffer, grow humble, and open herself to change, maybe even love. I believe the series will run more smoothly with her story at the end. As far as I know, her story is the last of the series. I don't have anymore planned after that, but you never know what will happen in the future.

Welcome to new followers! I'm glad you can be a part of these experiences for me as a writer and look forward to getting to know you better!

Are You Kidding Me? Oh Yeah, And An Update.

Wow. Reading this blog from BookEnds Literary Agency, LLC, really makes me feel better. How can people be so unprofessional? Check it out. Love the blog.

Query Red Flags

Oh, yes. And I guess I should do an update. My current writing goals for this week include:

1. Write the synopsis for All or Nothing.
2. Finish the piece for The Short Short Story Writing Competition.
3. Write 1,000 words a day for My Demon of Life.

And how am I doing this week may you ask? Well...I THOUGHT about writing the synopsis today. I TRIED TO THINK of a way my short story was going to end, and I HAVE BEEN writing at least 1,000 words a day for the new book. What is that? One out of three? The week isn't over, people!

Progress

Well, the first chapter of my paranormal romance is as finished as its ever going to get. To be honest, I've just been working on that one chapter rather than moving forward. My research for my second chapter isn't quite complete, so it will be at least another week before I feel comfortable getting down and dirty into my Hero's life. No, not DIRTY dirty. He's a heart surgeon, and I feel the need to learn more about the human heart before getting it all down on paper. This way I won't have to go back and fix things, or risk sounding stupid when other people read it and I haven't done my research. Many revelations have come forth today while writing though. If you've read my status update on Facebook today, you saw that I backed myself into a corner at which I had no way to get out of until about 5 minutes ago. All my current research is on angels and demons. So guess what this book is about? ANGELS AND DEMONS. So I was at a crossroads while my Heroine was kicking some serious Archangel butt. The Archangel was beginning to grow on me! I didn't want him to die and neither did my Heroine. I was stuck, but I'm stuck no more. Details still need to be worked out. I now have a lot more research I need to do and this book is moving at an impossibly slow rate. I was beginning to look at my plot as the others in my writing group had yesterday and what do you know, it worked.

Fallen by Lauren Kate

There’s something achingly familiar about Daniel Grigori.

Mysterious and aloof, he captures Luce Price’s attention from the moment she sees him on her first day at the Sword & Cross boarding school in sultry Savannah, Georgia. He’s the one bright spot in a place where cell phones are forbidden, the other students are all screw-ups, and security cameras watch every move.

Even though Daniel wants nothing to do with Luce–and goes out of his way to make that very clear–she can’t let it go. Drawn to him like a moth to a flame, she has to find out what Daniel is so desperate to keep secret . . . even if it kills her

Plotopaluza at RWA!

Today was plotopaluza at my second chapter meeting with RWA and even though I wasn't able to get my work critiqued or discussed, it was still VERY inspirational. Below are my notes.

A = Ordinary World

B = Call to adventure, some issue presented

C = Bad things happening

D = Cross the threshold, answer to call to adventure

E = Gathering friends and allies

F = Point of no return, must go on

G = Things fall apart

H = Crisis, black moment is emotional, a sacrifice

I = Resolution, hero and heroine together, they’ve accommodated changes to their lives.

J = Happy ever after

GMC – Goal, motivation and conflict (book, Debra Dixon)

Protagonist has internal goal (emotionally) and an external goal.

Motivation, internal (what does it represent to you) and external.

Conflict, villain or antagonist also has a goal and motivation. Mutually exclusive between antagonist and protagonist.

Internal and external have to connect, proves an emotional lesson (something keeping them from love, internal = trust). Tells how hero and heroine learn their lessons to emotional growth.

Questions to ask when plotting for hero/heroine:

What does the Hero/Heroine want?

What will happen if he gets it?

External goal?

Internal goal?

What is the internal and external conflict of Hero/Heroine?

Contests

I've been inspired to enter my short story, The Enjoyment Hour, into a contest over at Writer's Digest. It's The Popular Fiction Awards. Check it out or read my submission here.

I 'll also be entering into the Short Short Story Writing Contest. I haven't written the piece yet, but already have an idea I want to use.

Also, check out the new addition on the "for writers" page. Building Your Platform from the Kill Zone Author Blog.

Happy Writing,

Another Friend

Well I've been focused on writing these past three days since we last talked and a lot has been accomplished. I'm trying not to blog as much, because it takes time away from more important things, but I just couldn't not share this new blog I found.

How I found it: On Writer's Digest. Anne Gallager featured an article on writer's digest called The Five Stages of Querying. Of course, I read it cause that's kind of where I am at the moment. I don't have any new queries out in the world right now because both finished MSS are in the process of getting critiqued, but by the end of the summer (hopefully) I'll be back in the boat. The article is kind of funny, considering I remember the exact moment I went though all five stages with All Falls Down, then named All That I'm Living For. Read it.

The blog: Anne Gallager is an ASPIRING AUTHOR! Just like me :) She has a very optimistic view when it comes to writing and I envy her for it. Writing is hard some days and easy the others, but she keeps her amazing attitude throughout the blog. If you're new to the business, like me, check out her blog here. I'll be adding it to my "for writers" page. Plus you won't believe how many manuscripts she's working on.

Demon Angel by Meljean Brook

Lilith, a demon, has spent 2,000 years tempting men and guaranteeing their eventual damnation. That is, until she meets her greatest temptation: the man whose life mission has been to kill her.

I read this book for my own paranormal romance research, and while I was able to get a clear sense of the world these two are apart of, the novel in itself is very confusing. I'm not sure I will even keep it for my personal library.

Days Five, Six, and Seven

Still going strong except for one thing. I keep forgetting to take my vitamins! So hard to remember. I couldn't even remember to take birth control, but I was hoping this well-being experiment would get me to remember. No worries, I'm feeling great. No sugar = energetic me. Although I haven't been running in a week...my experiment is over, but I believe I will continue this no candy thing. I have to go back to FUSE drinks and LIFEWATER though. Plain water isn't bad, but I need flavor every once in a while.
I'm getting A LOT of writing done lately. Per the post below, you can see that I finished up my third and final novel in the Banvard series. I started ALL THREE of my next novels in my paranormal romance world. That won't last for long, but when I have an idea, I need to get it out before I lose it and I happened to have an idea for three of the next manuscripts. It's not much, just a couple pages on each. It'll be a while before I blog again. I need to focus. I'm glad you could follow me through this experience and want to say thanks to all those who forgave me for my bad moods!

Another Down

Revisions for All or Nothing are complete! Yay! I love this story. It was fun to write, fun to edit and revise and now my final product is finished. Such a good mood lifter. Now it's time to move onto the paranormal side of things.

Day Four

This no sugar thing is turning into a piece of cake. I feel SO much better. I'm not thinking about sugar at all. It's amazing, I can turn it down left and right now without temptation. Water goal is going well. I didn't really have a problem there. My creativity goal is coming along, keeping my drawing up and running. I find I like to sketch book covers. Not sure why, but all's good.

Still doing revisions on All or Nothing. Over half way through now. Getting so close! I've now added a new critic to my world and am loving her already. So many great tips coming my way for All Because of You.

I found a good article today, again for character development. See the entire article here.

1. How do you learn best? Observation? Participation? Trial and error? Rumination and cogitation? Consulting experts? Writing?
2. How open are you to new ideas and information? Do you change your mind frequently, based on what people have told you? Are you a traditionalist, deciding on the basis of what’s always been?
3. When you walk into a party, what do you notice first? The mood? The people? The decorations? The things that need to be fixed? The background music? The food on the buffet table? Whether or not you fit in?
4. Is one sense more highly developed than another? For instance, do you tend to take in the world primarily through vision? (“I’ll believe that when I see it!”) Or are you more auditory? Do you determine if a person is lying by the tone of voice? What about the sixth sense—intuition? How often do you rely on your “gut” and then have your feelings confirmed?
5. Do you usually notice problems around you? What is your response? Do you write an angry letter to the editor? Shrug and move on? Analyze what’s wrong and how to fix it? Take it as evidence that the world is falling apart? What about problems within yourself?
6. Would you say you are an optimist or a pessimist? Would your friends agree?
7. Are you more interested in the past, the future or living in the now? Are you one to keep holiday traditions? If you had to move tomorrow, how long would it take you to make new friends?
8. How do you decide if you can trust someone? By experience with this person? First impressions? Intuition? Do you test the person somehow? Or are you just generally disposed to trust or not to trust?
9. Are you a deliberate, careful speaker, or do you talk without thinking first? Do you use slang, or do you use diction your old English teacher would approve?