I love writing the black moment. Love, love, love it. My love of angsty drama has been my downfall in many an ms where I try to get to the emotional bits too soon and skip over huge layers of conflict, thus making my characters too self aware. These days I am pacing myself and … Continue reading “Bring on the Torture”
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Meanwhile, Back at the Mansion…
I hate first drafts. Really, really hate ’em. Mainly because I have to force myself to finish them. I’m a pantser at heart and so my first draft is ALL about discovery. Who are these people that I’m writing about? What’s their background? What’s their conflict? etc. etc. Usually I have a basic plan as … Continue reading “Meanwhile, Back at the Mansion…”
How Dorothy Dunnett Ruined Me for Writing Category Romance
**Spoiler Alert! If you plan on reading these books and like surprises then stop reading now. Right now. This instant! ** **I mean it.*** **Well, okay, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.*** I like subtlety. My very favourite historical romance in all the world – The Lymond Chronicles by Dorothy Dunnett, that I first … Continue reading “How Dorothy Dunnett Ruined Me for Writing Category Romance”
Neutering the Bad Boy
It’s funny the things you find out about your characters that you don’t realise until you’ve written The End. Have done the HEA for the Hammer Pants ms (actually they’re Hammer Capris since I’ve come up short on the word count) and figured I’ve been pulling back on my hero. I wanted him to be … Continue reading “Neutering the Bad Boy”
Hammer Pants Get a Prize
The rollercoaster has been up and down this year, mostly down it has to be said, so I was pretty pleased to be told last night that the MC Hammer Pants ms finalled in the RWAus High Five contest. Apart from Feel the Heat two years ago, I’ve done poorly in most contests I’ve entered. … Continue reading “Hammer Pants Get a Prize”
Pants!
You know that 13k? Best. Deletion. Ever. Yes, indeed, sometimes starting the whole thing again is the best thing to do. Because now I am at 25k and thinking it’s not total pants. Okay, so that’s a lie, it IS pants, just not saggy, baggy, smelly, held-up-with-string pants. More like dodgy tracksuit pants. Or gold, … Continue reading “Pants!”
The 17 Step Method
Why is it that the more you know, the harder it is to write? A couple of years ago, my process was this: 1. Have an idea.2. Write it. Excellent huh? But then came along this pesky thing called craft and things changed, and so did my process. It became something like this: 1. Have … Continue reading “The 17 Step Method”
Delete, Delete, Delete
Did you hear that? *screams* That folks is the sound of thirteen thousand words being deleted. Such a great start to Nano huh? Writing this reunion story has been like pushing the proverbial excrement up the proverbial hill and yesterday I was going to give up the whole story in complete disgust and wander around … Continue reading “Delete, Delete, Delete”
Dealing with the Whataboutmes
Trying to haul myself out of the blahs with a post over at the Sisters about how to deal with a bad case of the ‘whataboutmes’. And if you want to know what they are, here’s the link: What about me? If you don’t, here’s a picture of Andy Whitfield from Spartacus instead. Are you … Continue reading “Dealing with the Whataboutmes”
The Joy of Reunion Stories. Not.
Still suffering from the ‘mehs’. With a sprinkling of ‘blahs’ and some ‘whatever’ sauce. This is not good. It does not help that my current wip is a reunion story. This is the first one I’ve attempted and I gotta say it’s hard! Now, back in the mists of time (a year ago), I used … Continue reading “The Joy of Reunion Stories. Not.”