The question most often asked to every fiction writer is about where we get our ideas.

If only it were an easy question to answer.

The best advice I would give to anyone thinking about putting pen to paper or fingers to the keyboard would be to pay attention to your thoughts.

I carry a small moleskin notebook in my pocketbook at all times. I listen to the banter of the people around me on lines, at work, in the stores (dialogue is my weakest link - while I can talk a blue streak, writing it seems to paralyze me, go figure.) If something catches my attention - a turn of phrase I haven't heard before, a slang word - I write in my book.

While in the car, out walking or exercising most of us listen to music. Have you listened to the words lately? There are some songs that just make you move, but others have a story, an emotion that jiggles at the heartstrings or pulls at a memory. Sometimes it sparks a "what if" moment that before you know it has characters attached or the beginning of a plot! Take notes...your imagination is calling you.

Watching TV or at the movies? Have you ever thought you would have ended it differently? Change up the characters and try to change the ending to suit you.

I'd like to say the corner coffeeshop has fresh ideas every morning to serve up with your grande mocha latte, but it's just not that easy. Most authors will tell you there actually are no new ideas, it's all in how we spin them that makes that idea seem fresh and new.

So grab your voice recorder or your favorite pen and a pad and start to pay attention to what's going on around you. Take notes when your blood pressure spikes or are overwhelmed by a good deed. Listen and observe.

Then when you sit down to write - read those notes, remember the feelings, let the characters run free in your imagination and you just might have a story in there!

Is every idea book worthy? NO. And that really isn't the point here. Even great ideas need to be developed, nutured into something that can grow to be a great book, it all takes time. But you never know where the next great idea is going to come from. The point is to be ready for it when it hits!

Go forth and take notes, open your mind and grab those ideas as they rush by.

Make it a saucy weekend!

Current Mood: Mischievous

As the contract ink has not dried yet, I can't say more than one of my full-length paranormal romances has been accepted for publication!

Details on my publisher, expected release date and excerpts will all be posted when I get them.

Hubby is home this morning too - so my celebration blueberry waffles will be ready any minute...

Cheers!

Current Mood: Esctatic

Have you ever seen the demonstration with the glass jar filled with rocks, pebbles and sand?

The idea is your day is represented by that empty glass jar.

First in, the rocks, the most important obligations - your family, your job, etc.

The jar looks pretty full, but you can still dump in some pebbles that find the crevices. The pebbles are the lesser obligations, maybe some appointments like hair or nails? Maybe it's shlepping the kids to lessons and scouts?

Now the jar looks packed tight, and then some sand gets poured in - again finding places to settle. Because you know there's more to your day that just major obligations and being the taxi. The sand is helping with homework, talking to your friends and family, catching up on emails, etc.

Now the jar is completely full isn't it? Wait. A glass of water is added and it fills the jar.

What is the water? Is it the time you veg out in front of the TV? Is it the moments completely to yourself you THOUGHT you couldn't make time for?

The idea is we all have to juggle the rocks, the pebbles and the sand - but even that little bit of water can still fill in those empty spots, find a home in your day. And you know what? You can't leave it out. For that jar to be filled to the brim, you need to have those YOU moments. Even if it's just five minutes with your favorite drink, the time alone in the car to and from one of the "rocks or pebbles" in your jar - you need to recharge those batteries.

We have a saying in our house (to be fair, it's the hub who says it) "If Mom isn't happy, the whole house isn't happy."  He's right. Even though I don't have much to do with the financial stability of the family - I'm the spiritual one, the emotional glue. If I'm frazzled, the whole house is out of whack. (If you've read my blog before you know this does not mean I am organized...me organized? hahahahaha)

How do you find the balance, the time for yourself to recharge? We're all different and have varying methods of reducing the stress levels of our lives. For me,  I know that writing even that one page gets me closer to my next contract. Releasing my words to the page is my therapy - my emotional glue. I get up earlier than everyone else to give myself those quiet moments to get the words on paper. At night, it's that cup of tea and anything chocolate (and lately, followed up with tums chaser, but I digress.)

It's what I do.  How do you sneak in those "you" moments? 

I'll admit one of the best things about being a writer is the ability to give in to those hermit tendancies I often try to stuff deep down for the sake of the family who expects me to actually leave the house.

Today is NOT one of those days!

The kids are off from school, the hubster is off on a business trip for the next few days and the weather outside is slushy, rainy and cold - the perfect kind of day to stay home, watch movies, scrapbook with my daughter and get my butt kicked by my sons in the latest mmrpg (massive multi-player role playing game - I think  ) I thought my writing acronyms were hard to keep straight - the ones the boys toss at me make my eyes rolls back in confusion.

So, yes, today I will be the romance writer of your imagination - I will of course be garbed in my flannel pajamas, robe and fuzzy pink slippers.  I'll drink gallons of coffee and chocolate wrappers we be scattered across my desk! (Honestly, this is not what I do everyday - really, LOL)

Enjoy your day, I know I'll enjoy mine!

Current Mood: Cool

kibosh ~ n ~ (slang)  ~ end, to silence, get rid of

Today's Writing Goal ~ 800 words

Today's Coffee ~ Green Mountain Dark Roast Hazelnut

 Maybe the title of this post should be "social media whore" because that would certainly sum up how I feel lately. Just in case you missed any of the buttons on my sidebar (over there to the right - LOL) I am on Twitter, have a facebook profile and a facebook fan page, obviously I've got the website and the blog.

So you'd think that would be enough.

Well, since I am the social media whore - I've got all those things for the my crit group too. The passionate critters can be found not only at their blog and member's only forum, but you can join our "group" on facebook or follow us on twitter!

As if that isn't enough... being the President Elect of my local RWA, Dunes & Dreams, I've also signed up the group for all the above! You can follow us on twitter or fan us facebook or read our blog!

I'm guessing I am not invisible on the 'net

Stop by and see me, become a fan or tweet me or one of the groups above, let me know all my efforts to expose myself are working!

Daft ~(adj.) ~ Silly; insane

 Are you giving enough attention to the setting in your story?  Are you putting the reader exactly where they need to be to invoke the emotions necessary to your plot and characters?

The fog. Trees bent at sinister angles. Imagine the shadows, the dampness on your neck. Is there something moving in the distance? Is your heroine really alone?

On your next pass through your edits, remember to check for some setting elements to bring your scene to life.

 How about this one?

A New England road, can you smell the crisp fall air? Your vision should be filled with bright reds and honey/brown leaves. Hear the crunch of leaves at your feet? This time of year brings to mind pumpkins, Thanksgiving and sweaters. Nights by the fire and sweetly scented sap pockets that snap to life as the fire roars in either a hearth or an outdoor firepit. There's just something magical about a fall fire, roasting marshmallows and flannel blankets - don't you agree?

Secluded tropical island oasis? Relaxation and margaritas. Skinny dipping, maybe?  What emotions and sense can this scene stir up?

Do you want to dive into the refreshing water or are wondering if you've been separated from your tour group and are lost without a cell-phone signal to save you?

Do you feel the spray of water against your cheek? Into cliff diving and have never seen or more perfect spot...you eagerly make your way to the top of those falls and prepare to leap. Standing at the top, the crash of water below beckons to you, taunting you to make the leap. You feel invincible, carefree and in total control of your next move as you balance on the rocky ledge. Heart beating wildly, your chest constricts. One deep breath, arms out wide - you push off the slippery moss covered rocks and for one moment in time, you're a bird, weightless and soaring toward the water below.

 Is your character daring or timid? Have they been dared by friends below to make that leap? Or have they sought out the danger all on their own, with no one to witness?

Doesn't matter. What does matter is that the reader is there. Feels the spray of the water, senses the sinister shadows in the fog and can imagine the foliage, crisp and colorful without leaving their favorite chair. Your job is to invoke the imagination of putting the reader where your story is.

Are you doing it?

Cacophony ~ (n) A disagreeable sound; discord of sounds

As writer's, some of us aspire to the wonderful delusion that "the muse" inside us needs to be treated with care, fed chocolate and given a place on honor in order for her/him to grace us with their magical tales that will translate to the easy task of writing of a book.

Don't believe it.

I believe it was the talented Nora Roberts who once wrote "the muse is a fickle bitch" and I couldn't agree more.

For a brief time, I imagined "the muse" as a greek goddess, lounging leisurely on my living room couch draped in white muslin and of course, eating grapes and chocolate while spewing heavenly tales that would land me an agent or at the very least a NY print contract.

Yup - that muse is a bitch. She's on vacation more than anyone I know, she flits from one story idea to the next when I'm struggling in the sagging middle. While she's drinking razzaritas and popping chocolate kisses in her mouth, I'm eating granola bars and wondering why last year's pants are getting snug around the ass.

If you think being a romance author equates to days spent drinking, eating and being wrapped in a pink feather boa while the muse whispers bestsellers in your ear - think again.

Writing may be a creative, wonderfully personal, endeavor - but it's a business. If you want to sell your book, you and you alone are going to have sit down and write it. You will have to get that butt in the chair, you are going to have to plot and figure out character traits and point-of-view.

glitter-graphics.com

YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE TO WORK!

You can't depend on the muse any longer, you can't fall back on the excuse that you didn't write today because "the muse" didn't show up for work. Sometimes that bolt of inspiration is going to strike while your sitting at the keyboard, sometimes it won't. But what sets the real writer apart from the pack is the fact that we show up for work - every day. We don't wait for the muse come calling, we know she can't be won over by begging, pleading or promises of diamonds.

Where's your muse today?