All About Writing

Archive for the ‘Writing’ Category

Posted on November 17, 2011 - by Nicole Humphrey Cook

7 Simple Ways Writers Can Pay It Forward

There has always been a camaraderie in networking with other authors and writers. I’ve been around a long time now, and it’s just common  knowledge that we can all learn from each other. We’re all in this together, we’re all aiming for the same goal, and there is plenty of room for all of us. Right? That’s what I’ve always thought.

Until recently. Don’t get me wrong, I still think this way. Every day I look forward to networking and chatting with the other writers I’ve met on Twitter and on Triberr. (and quite occasionally on Facebook but I really, really hate FB now.) Networking with my friendly, fellow writers, is still very much a part of my day.

However, I’ve noticed something more recently. I had the unpleasant experience of congregating with a bunch of authors that don’t see it like I do at all. In fact, they come across as arrogant, self promoting, and with an in it for themselves only attitude. This makes me sad. Aren’t we all focused on the same goals and dreams? Aren’t we all looking for exactly the same outcome? Or at least similar outcomes? This post isn’t about this group of angry/self promoting authors though, this post is about how you can pay it forward, and keep helping others if that is what you really want from this too.

1. Retweet other writers. This is such an easy one. It requires a click of a button. Hit that retweet button and show the love. When you see a post that is helpful or just really good, go ahead, retweet it. It takes a second. I’m always surprised when someone I don’t even know RT’s my stuff, but I have made many a friend this way.

2. Shoutout their accomplishments. Don’t keep it to yourself when you are impressed with something. If you admire a writer or author or you are particularly proud of their accomplishment or maybe you just want to say hi, then for goodness sake, shout out to them. “Hey @irishwords, I am so proud of you, 1000 words on your WIP is simply awesome!” If you remember NOT to put their twitter id first, others will see this go through your stream and perhaps maybe that person will gain a new follower out of it. (Sorry Declan if you don’t get any new followers out of it! ha)

3. Talk about them. I swear, with as often as I talk about some of my great twitter friends, you’d think I meet with them several times a week and have coffee. My children know several of my twitter writer friends by name, because I talk about them so often. But I don’t have coffee with them, I have never even met most of them. But I talk about them anyway. Guess what happens when I do that? Friends and family get curious, want to know more, and often times wind up buying their book. Yes, it has happened several times.

4. Refer others. Yes, I know in some ways this is the same as #3, but it’s not. I’m talking about referring strangers. Example: Recently I was in B&N and there was a lady looking for a new book to read. She had just asked the store clerk if she had any recommendations. The store clerk gave her titles to big name books and went on her merry way. I made my way over to her and gave her several suggestions of some fantastic books, and assuring her I had read them and they were good.

She bought two from one author and one from another – based on MY suggestions. (@joannaslan – it’s easy to sell your books, they take place here and us locals like books that are … local. Plus they are just plain good.) (@sarahdessen – she said she’d already read one by you and picked up another, go figure – you’re an amazing author) … So see, I was able to sell three books to a stranger because I took the time to tell her about them. For the record, I talked about several authors, those are just the books she chose to get. I’ve done this on twitter and Facebook too, and definitely in person on many, many occasions. P.S. Results are not typical (I don’t ALWAYS get them to buy the books I suggest, I got super lucky that day)

5. Buy their books. If you are a writer, you have to be a reader. I know I tend to pick up books by my twitter friends, much more frequently than I pick up the newest New York Times Best Seller. I like supporting them. I like reading them. Plus, you can get books for fairly cheap on Amazon a good majority of the time. Support fellow authors, because I bet if you do that, they’ll support you right back.

6. Review them. If you read the book, review it. You can either write a short blurb on Amazon, Goodreads or even write a blog post about it. Or write a blog post about several recent books you read, offering a short review on each of them. But at any rate, write something about them, it gets others curious. Reviews are like gold to an author. Especially one just starting out.

7. Make friends. This seems like such a simple idea. The problem is, there are so many writers out there that are all about self promotion and not interested in making friends and networking. I think that is sad. So make friends, network with them, toss around ideas, learn from them. It’s not difficult. It’s so easy.

What do you do to spread the love and pay it forward?

Popularity: 15% [?]

Posted on October 19, 2011 - by Nicole Humphrey Cook

Are You a Planner or Pantser?

Do you outline your novel? How much outlining do you do? Do you use a program? Notecards? Pieces of torn paper or napkins?

In my normal daily writing, I tend to be a planner, plotting, outlining, note cards and post it’s. I used yWriter up until recently when I have been messing around with Scrivener a little. Not sure what I will be using for NaNo – yWriter or Scrivener. So planning is something that comes naturally to me.

But when it comes time each year for NaNoWriMo, I tend to go back and forth between outlining & planning and then doing the whole wing it by the seat of my pants kind of thing. The first few years (four I believe) I just sat down at the start and wrote and wrote and wrote. Slept a little, had some dreams, added some of those elements into my novel and then wrote and wrote and wrote so more. There was no outlining, no structured planning. And I’ve won NaNo several times that way – the problem is, those are the novels that need the most tweaking, the most editing, the most help when it’s all over. Those are also the novels that continue to sit with little done to them because they come across as such a mess to me.

Last year and the year before, I took time to plot and outline. I’ve used both the snowflake method, storyboarding as well as mind mapping. I’m usually more successful if I use the snowflake method or just create a basic outline/storyboarding.

I’m honestly curious, which are you? A Planner or Pantser?  Does it change come November?

 

A couple useful articles I came across while researching outlining methods:

Planning, Outlining and Organizing Your Novel

Novel Planning Worksheet

Popularity: 7% [?]

Posted on September 10, 2011 - by Nicole Humphrey Cook

Lazy Days of Summer Into Frantic Days of Fall

I spent the entire summer wishing it was Fall – the heat, the humidity, being locked indoors because you could barely breathe in the stifling heat. Now that Fall is rapidly approaching and the lazy, carefree days of summer are over, I sort of wish school vacations took place now, and not during those hot, barely tolerable days. Of course, what it’s interesting to me how I had all that spare time over the summer and I didn’t get nearly the amount of writing in, that I am now.

While the pace of life picks up during the Fall for us, apparently I am much more productive when my kids are at school. So in between juggling all sorts of projects for my other blog, I am also trying to get some editing done on the book I’ve spent the last 11 months working on. Well, 11 months – 2 months of my lazy summer. I did however need that break, because when I returned to it a few weeks ago, I had a fresh outlook, a new direction and a whole lot of time to devote to making it better.

I find that when I write regularly on my WIP, I also become more active on my blog, and become more involved in the twitterverse and just generally become more online oriented. I’m not sure why this is. Maybe because I am spending countless hours starting at a white screen willing words to come out of my brain and flow through my fingertips on to the keyboard, and I need a break from that frequently. I don’t know.

I have been tossing around the idea of doing the 31 days challenge that is linked to my “other blog” link above, on this blog as well. I need to get back into the habit of blogging regularly instead of the sporadic post usually apologizing for my absence. Are you doing the 31 day challenge? If you are, comment below so I can follow your series of 31 posts for the month of October. I think it will help, and since October is typically my planning period for NaNoWriMo, perhaps that will kick my rear into gear and I’ll actually accomplish something before October 31st at midnight and I can start writing as soon as the clock strikes November 1st.

Do you feel like you have more time to write during the lazy days of summer, or the frantic days of Fall?

Popularity: 5% [?]

Posted on May 19, 2011 - by Nicole Humphrey Cook

Guest Post: Author Liz Borino – Writing Natural Dialogue

Hey ladies and gents! Please welcome Liz Borino, debut author of Expectations and its sequel, What Money Can’t Buy published by Lazy Day Publishing to All About Writing. She stopped in to talk about dialogue, and making it sound more natural in your writing. Take it away, Liz.

Writing Natural Dialogue

by Liz Borino

In my day to day life, I talk a lot. Or I would, if I didn’t spend so much time by myself. Therefore, when I write my fiction, it’s riddled with dialogue. It’s important for me to make this as natural and realistic as possible. Any author can benefit from improving their dialogue use. Here’s why:

1. Good dialogue enhances a story. It shows the emotions your character goes through during a given scene. Being able to accomplish this through the words a character uses cuts down on those dreaded adverbs. Below is a few lines from a scene in What Money Can’t Buy, the sequel to Expectations. You’ll see there’s no confusion on the emotions the characters are feeling.

“What the hell happened to you?” Aiden sat up on the couch and turned off the television.

Matt put his hands up, “Where. Is. Chris?”

Chris walked out of the kitchen before Aiden could answer. “Jesus Christ.”

“Yeah, let’s talk about what happened today. Because you know what? I missed something huge.” Matt rubbed his arms and watched Chris and Aiden exchange a look. “No, no secrets. I have a right to know what’s going on.”

1. Dialogue is also an effective way to give information without exposition. In the following excerpt from Expectations, Aiden reveals a few things about himself, he’s bi, dated an older woman, and kept his private life private until he and Chris began dating.

“One of the designers we’ll be working with is my ex.” Aiden said tentatively to gauge Chris’s reaction.

“Man or woman?”

“Woman, quite a bit older then me.”

“What’s quite a bit?” Chris asked.

“When we dated I was 18 and she was turning 45.”

“Jesus Christ!” Chris practically screamed and then quickly lowered his voice. “What’d you two possibly have in common?”

Great sex. Aiden thought, blushing. “Oh, we found things to talk about.”

So, what’s the best way to accomplish strong dialogue? I don’t know, but I can tell you what works for me.

1. Know your characters. Every word they say, every thought they have has to make sense for them. Factor in things like education level, family life, past experiences, and religious belief. A college educated man is going to speak very differently than one who stopped going to school after eighth grade. Perhaps if your character is very religious, they’ll be less likely to use profanity.
2. Make a habit of listening to conversations around you. You’re likely to notice one person dominates most of them. It can switch, but usually one person is more passionate about a given topic than the other person is. It should be like this in writing too.
3. Read your dialogue aloud. If it seems off, it probably is. Most people use contractions in informal speech, something else to keep in mind when composing it for your characters. If you decide not to use contractions, make it deliberate. Use it make a point.

Finally, have fun with writing dialogue. It’s a great way to introduce the world to your characters, allowing them to show their story, as opposed to you telling it.

Liz Borino is the debut author of Expectations and its sequel, What Money Can’t Buy published by Lazy Day. Throughout her education, including a Bachelor’s Degree from Hofstra University, she’s kept her stories to herself, but this only child is all grown up and wants to share them with the world. Her roots are in Bethlehem, Pa, but she loves to experience new cultures. As fun as that is, Liz likes nothing better than curling up at home with a good book or her work in progress.

Expectations:

Expectations depicts the struggle between what we desire for ourselves and our familial obligations. The struggle is personified by Chris and Matt Taylor, identical twins, who are trying to win their overbearing father’s approval and acquire their trust funds. Love, money, and desire collide as Matt and Chris decide what’s really important to them.  Amazon: http://amzn.to/gBh9M3 B&N: http://bit.ly/e7mwDj

What Money Can’t Buy:

What Money Can’t Buy, the sequel to Expectations, finds the two couples, Chris and Aiden and Matt and Carley, eagerly anticipating parenthood. However, their personal struggles continue. Though Matt overcame his dependency on alcohol, new temptations present themselves. And with Carley on bed rest, these temptations put a greater strain on their relationship. Chris continues to deal with issues regarding his father. These issues increase with greater proximity.  When tragedy strikes, the best and worst in everyone is revealed. Can they stick together, or will their reactions tear them apart? B&N http://bit.ly/lzDLqY and Amazon: http://amzn.to/iYZ5vk

 

Popularity: 5% [?]

Posted on March 15, 2011 - by Nicole Humphrey Cook

Why Do You Write?

This morning, I stumbled across Amie Borst’s post titled Why Do You Write?

I’ve asked that question before, on my blog, on twitter, on facebook and I really enjoy reading others reasons. I related so much to what Amie’s post said. In my words, here is why I write.

• I write because I exist when I write. I don’t know really how to explain that, but I am betting other writers can relate.
• I write because I have to. I mean, honestly – I feel incomplete when I have gone any length of time without some good writing time. It’s compelling. It will fill my mind until I cannot possibly think of anything else but sitting down with my laptop and typing for hours.
• I write because the world feels right when I do. I create my own world, and all these scenes and ideas that seem to swim around in my head constantly sometimes clutter my other thoughts. When I get them out, I feel free.
• I write because I couldn’t live without it. It is what gets me up in the morning (okay, in addition to the kids). It is the only thing I have ever really wanted to do, and if I lost it, I’m pretty sure I would not feel whole.
• And much like Amie mentions in her post, I’m pretty, fairly certain, that I write because it is an environment I can control. It is a story I can tell and I decide who lives or dies, who falls in love or who doesn’t. I write the words that create the world. I write the words that create the character and then the story.

It is for all these reasons I write. So tell me, why do you write?

(and if you posted a blog entry like this… link to it in my comments so I can come read too!)

Popularity: 6% [?]

Posted on December 29, 2010 - by Nicole Humphrey Cook

New Years Writing Resolutions… To Do or Not To Do?

That is the question.

Every year I struggle around this time trying to decide if I should create resolutions to commit to (among other things) writing more, blogging more, spending more time with _____, doing more ______ …you get the idea.
Once upon a time I used to create New Years Resolutions every single year. I even scrapbooked them – and they were page 1 in each years scrapbooks. I stopped doing that several years ago because I had personal resolutions I didn’t feel like sharing with the world. The world, of course, consisting of primarily my family since who else is browsing my bookshelves of scrapbooks. Right?

My goals typically revolve around family, my writing and photography – the primary things in my life. Last year I did not actually set resolutions or even a goal of any kind, except that I hoped I would finish writing one novel from start to finish. Problem is, I didn’t really specify what that means. I did finish a novel from start to finish in the sense that it might actually make sense if it was published, but it really needs major editing. So did I succeed or fail? Does it matter?

Do you set New Years goals and/or resolutions? This year I would like to make all of my goals center around my writing (which may or may not also include blogging) because I already feel I am comfortable in my role as a mother and wife, and while everyone could use a little nudge in the right direction to be better, I feel okay with all of that. So what kind of goals do you set for yourself? Help me create a great resolution list either by leaving a comment below, sending me an @ message on twitter or by sending me an email.

I have a few in mind that I’d like to figure out how to make work, I’m all about manageable and attainable goals, or else I’ll be honest – they aren’t happening. Remember, I’ve got 5 kids and don’t have THAT much time. LOL
Happy New Year Friends! Please help me figure this all out.

Popularity: 13% [?]

Posted on October 17, 2010 - by Nicole Humphrey Cook

Is Your Title a Best Seller?

My titles are very important to me, and I’m not completely sure why that is. Since most of the time when I am writing a novel, my title is a working title, I don’t give it as much consideration as I would if it was a completed manuscript. With that said, your title is important. It could be the one thing that grabs the reader. I know I have chosen a book based on it’s title before. (of course I have also chosen or not chosen a book because of its cover, so…)

How much weight do you put in your title while you are writing?

Curious to see if your title could become a best seller? For fun, try the Lulu Titlescorer to find out. http://www.lulu.com/titlescorer/index.php

You can also pit two titles against each other and see which is the better title. http://www.lulu.com/titlescorer/fight.php

So I ran my title from last year – and it had a 79.6% chance of becoming a best seller. That would be nice. Pretty good odds. lol

This years only has a 22.9% chance. That’s okay – it’s a working title. I can come up with something better, I’m sure of it.

So have you run your title through Lulu’s titlescorer? What’s your score?

Popularity: 7% [?]

Posted on October 5, 2010 - by Nicole Humphrey Cook

Outlining or Winging It?

I have been asked and seen this question asked a lot lately. As writers, we each have our own personal methods of planning, writing and staying focused. These are things we, as individuals do, that work for us. Of course what works for one person, , in any aspect of life, doesn’t necessarily work for another person. You need to keep this in mind, when you are either sitting down to write, or researching the different methods for planning out a plot.

So, should you outline or wing it? I have done both of these and neither is the right answer. It is honestly a personal choice. I am much more creative when I am winging it, however I tend to get stuck more often. When I do get unstuck though, the writing flows and I feel free to change the story as it goes.

I have been outlining for the past year or so. Not long at all. I will say that the work I have produced in the last year, is so much better than what I had when I was winging it. I am able to sit down, plan the story, stay focused and get each chapter written. I didn’t have this luxury with winging it. Often times, I had so much revision to do at the end, that is almost didn’t make it worth it.

If you want my vote, I recommend outlining – it helps you stay on task, you can see the big picture ahead of time, you can make minor corrections as you go, and there is little chance for writers block, because you can easily transition into the next phase without getting stuck.

I won’t lie – there isn’t much room for changing though. If you outline ahead of time, and then you sit down to write, when something does change, it is more difficult to include it. You have to go back and change your whole outline in the middle of writing. Not always, but more often than not.

Which method do you prefer? Outlining or winging it? Why?

Here are two great outlining methods you can try:

Snowflake Method of Outlining
Phase Method of Outlining

Popularity: 5% [?]

Posted on June 2, 2010 - by Nicole Humphrey Cook

Overflowing Bookshelves

In honor of an earlier post, I thought I would share a little of my overwhelming need to have a full library installed in my home. (that would be like heaven on earth for our family – haha).

I spent about two weeks ago, cleaning out our house and freecycling everything that didn’t have a home or that we didn’t want to keep. The garage got emptied out, the basement is in the transition period and my living room and bedroom look SO much better.

The first thing I realized, was that we have FAR too many books in our house. The seven of us are all avid readers, and due to the ages of our five children, we have a wide variety of material. Until last week, there were FOUR bookshelves just in my living room along and the shelves were overflowing. I am happy to say that now there is only one, and while it is a bit more overflowing than I would like, it isn’t nearly as bad as it was.

The first day I started purging the books, I wound up freecycling four medium sized moving boxes full of adult books, and then two small and three medium size boxes of children’s and chapter books. With our youngest being 11, we are almost completely finished with picture books. I did keep one whole box for ourselves, because well – someday we will have grand kids right? haha

The second day, I wound up with 2 medium boxes full of young adult books that the kids had finished with, and another two medium boxes of adult books – mostly fiction, but some non-fiction.

By day 3, I realized that it wasn’t just that we had too many books in the house, we definitely had a problem, an addiction. I freecycled two of the bookshelves because there simply isn’t anywhere else to put them. We already have one in the garage (nothing on it), and three in the basement. Plus, each of the kids has their own bookshelf in their room as well as one in our hallway. My bedroom has two, but one holds books and one holds DVDs. Houston, we have a problem. I moved the one extra bookshelf down in the basement and will use it for my craft/scrapbooking books and magazines, but other than that, we have too many bookshelves, period. We have too many books, period.

At the end of day 3, I had accumulated 8 small boxes of books, mostly kids. A few of the boxes had a few adult and YA books in there for good measure of course. I actually kept track of the books for the first three days, because I was curious how many books we had that we didn’t want/need anymore.

Day 1, we got rid of 309 picture books, 83 chapter books and 211 adult books
Day 2, we got rid of 137 young adult books and 64 adult books.
Day 3, we got rid of 149 picture books, 21 young adult books and 24 adult books.

So just in 3 days, I was able to eliminate 998 books. That’s almost 1000 books! The rest of the week brought about four more medium size moving boxes full of books. I didn’t cram them in those boxes, I just tossed them, and I quit counting. I’m sure there were at least a couple of hundred more.

The sad part? There are STILL full bookshelves in every room of the house, with a few of them overflowing. I did however find several books I had wondered if I still had, a few I hadn’t read yet but really wanted to, and the kids found some cherished books they thought were long gone. The problem has been at least tamed somewhat, I finished two books in the last two weeks and added them both to freecycle boxes and will be doing that later this week (when I finish the third one I am reading right now.)

It feels good, but I sort-of, kind-of, maybe just a little, feel like a part of me is missing. All those books that we’ve held onto all these years, gone.
It’s okay, next year I’m sure our shelves will start to look like they did a couple of weeks ago.

So, are we the only ones that have a book addiction/problem? Or are there others out there hopelessly devoted to accumulating as many books as we can possibly house?

Popularity: 4% [?]

Posted on May 27, 2010 - by Nicole Humphrey Cook

Writer’s Meme

I haven’t done one of these in a long time, and I stumbled across this on another writer’s blog. I saved it for a day when inspiration wasn’t coming as easily – yes, that’s today.

So here is my version of the writer’s meme. (oh and if you decide to do it, please leave me a comment with a link so I can come visit yours, and if you’ve done it already and you know the link, leave that too. Would love to read your answers.)

What’s the last thing you wrote?
The last thing I wrote, other than a blog entry, was about 500 (take or give a few) words on a current WIP. Yesterday, while spending some time cleaning, I had an inspiration hit and my characters decided to try a new direction. It worked, and I’m on a roll at this point.

Was it any good?
I really think it is. I went back and re-read it again, and sometimes I surprise myself. I think this will be a perfect twist to the story.

What’s the first thing you ever wrote that you still have?
The first thing I wrote, that I still have would probably be my poems. I began writing them at age 6, but the oldest one I can find was when I was 10. I have letters and two essays I wrote in about 2nd or 3rd grade to and about, my mom – I guess those count. When I moved out, my mom got rid of everything in my room – toys, books, clothes, etc. I am so blessed that these were kept around in her desk and she didn’t find them until I was already a mom, and she knew I’d want them back. I also have an awesome portfolio from my 10th grade creative writing class filled with fiction, non-fiction and a few very, very short essays and poems. Very cool to have – its all bound in a folder and I love it.

Write poetry?
I used to, much more than I do now. When inspiration strikes, or I feel especially emotional, sometimes it helps – but more often than not, I turn to writing on my WIPs.

Angsty poetry?
That’s about all I wrote during my teenage years and I have it all. Sometimes it depresses me to go back and read it, sometimes it makes me laugh. I’m glad I have it and wrote it though.

Favorite genre of writing?
My favorite genre of writing is probably YA if I’m writing it. I also am getting into romance, but haven’t ventured too far into the “trashy” side – which are fun to read, so I figured they must be fun to write… right?
For reading purposes my genre’s are wide – I especially like mysteries, crime and general fiction.

Most fun character you ever wrote?
This probably has to be the antagonist in my current YA WIP. Bran Byrne, who is introduced a bit later than normal in the story. I just love him. He’s cute, sensitive and funny, however he has a little streak that is tested time and time again, causing him to get a little out of sorts from his ‘normal’ self. By nature, I am drawn to him because he is a make up of several people I know (both female and male) and he stole my heart from the moment I wrote him on the page. He’s lovable with plenty of endearing flaws.

Most annoying character you ever wrote?
Jacob Strong who winds up being the main male character in a WIP that is almost complete, has wound up being the most annoying. He has traits and personality issues, which make him annoying, but aside from that – he has changed my direction of the story so many times, I find him frustrating and annoying. Plus, he’s too whiny sometimes.

Best plot you’ve ever created?
I don’t even know if I can answer this. I guess it would be my current YA novel, about a girl who’s parents died and she is thrown into a whole new world, living with family she doesn’t know, in a country she hasn’t visited since she was about 5. Her life takes all kinds of twists and turns, and while it is the most original plot, it has been the easiest to write (and the most fun to research!)

Coolest plot twist you’ve ever created?
This is in a WIP I did for NaNo several years ago. It is complete but needs MAJOR editing. The reason it wound up being so cool, is that the book was completely normal woman’s fiction – couple seems happy, husband cheats on wife, wife finds out, they divorce, she moves away to a secluded condo by a lake and begins to restore her life. It was supposed to just be that – a story about overcoming a messy situation and learning to live about it. I wanted to bring a little religion into it, putting her into a small community church where she is welcomed with open arms. This is not where the plot went. As she was going to bed one night, she was closing the curtains and she sees an image down by the lake. I won’t go into more details, but she begins having visions, seeing apparitions, etc. I had to go back and change some stuff in the original plot to make it all work together, but I did not see that going anywhere. Once she took that new direction, the story just flowed – that was definitely cool!

How often do you get writer’s block?
I don’t believe in writer’s block per say. Yes, I know I write about it. Mostly, I see it as a lack of inspiration, writing yourself into a corner, or just a bad day. We all have them. I have them occasionally – once a month or so.

How do you fix it?
When I am having a difficult time, I either pop open a different WIP and either write or revise, go for a walk, take my laptop outside or to the coffee house for a change of scenery, or do a non-stop free write – which is when you just start writing, and write everything that pops into your mind, no matter what. Helps to clear your mind, and you can get the things that you are thinking about down on paper, so you can go back and work on the piece you were stuck on.

Write fan fiction?
Not really, no. I mean, I guess I have borrowed a plot idea from somewhere before, or a character here and there, but I never really fall in love with the story that way. I don’t write actual fan fiction, no.

Ever written romance or angsty teen drama?
Yes. This seems to be where I am at right now. I have done a stint with mystery and crime, then I worked on general woman’s fiction and now I seem to just be caught up in teen drama (probably has nothing to do with the fact that I have 5 kids (11-16) haha. I am just getting interested in romance, but it hasn’t completely pulled me in just yet.

Do you type or write by hand?
I use my laptop(s) for all of my actual writing. Occasionally when inspiration strikes and I’m on the go, I am more apt to pull out my iPod now, rather than pen and paper. I do occasionally jot ideas down on index cards or in a mini-notebook I have with me. I rarely use these though.

Do you save everything you write?
Absolutely. There is no question. Every article, idea, essay, short story, poem, etc. I have since I was about 16.

Do you ever go back to an old idea long after you abandoned it?
I have before, resurrected a storyline, character or plot after they have been abandoned. I don’t do it very often, but I have borrowed dialogue from some abandoned projects and ideas.

What’s your favorite thing that you’ve written?
This is hard. I don’t know that I have a favorite. I love the non-fiction book I have written based on my adoption and search for my birth mother – Dancing with Fireflies. But I am not sure it is my favorite thing ever written. My favorite might be the one I referred to as the coolest plot twist. Or it could be, the one I am working now which takes my character to Ireland to live. I don’t know. I am more apt to love a certain chapter than a whole piece anyway.

What’s everyone else’s favorite thing that you’ve written?
I don’t show most of my work to anyone, unless I am revising and I am worried about a chapter or two flowing together or unless it is absolutely complete. I have a feeling that my current WIP will wind up being a favorite, since the couple of chapters I have passed around, have heard “I want to read more.” more times than not. Usually people’s favorite things are the short stories I wrote in college. I almost always hear “I want to read more about them”. I guess this is good, I am making my characters likable. Right?
I’ve tossed around the idea of taking a few of those short stories and telling the whole story.

What’s your favorite setting for your characters?
Seems to be nature. Lakeside, beach side, creek side, countryside, traveling to another country and visiting landmarks and seeing what nature has to offer. I don’t really know why. I have also noted a theme throughout every single fictional piece – small town. No idea why. I love writing local places into my novels as well.

What’s one genre you have never written, and probably never will?
I strongly believe in ‘Never Say Never’ however… Science Fiction and Fantasy are two genre’s I just don’t see myself delving into very far.

How many writing projects are you working on right now?
Just two fiction novels currently. But I have plenty of WIPs in reserve to finish or edit/revise. If you consider article writing a writing project (I do) then I have two that I devote some time to every week.

Do you want to write for a living?
Absolutely. In ways, I already am. I work at home and my main income is from article writing. I would really rather be devoting ALL time to novel writing, but that will come in time.

Have you ever written something for a magazine or newspaper?
Yes, several local small publications, news magazines and newspapers. I was asked by a national scrapbooking magazine to write a piece, and I turned it down about 5 years ago. I was in an unstable place and trust me, now I kick myself for it.

Have you ever won an award for your writing?
Well, sort of. I have worked for several websites, writing freelance articles. I have won several awards through those sites, based on my content.

Ever written something in script or play format?
I tried Script Frenzy. Wrote something that resembled a script, and realized that script writing is definitely not my thing. I will use the plot for a novel I write later.

What are your five favorite words?
obfuscate, serendipity, inevitable, Sesquipedalian, languor (I have dozens that come very close in competing with these, but these are definitely a few favorites)
I also have a fondness for fun to say location words: Mesopotamia, Guantanamo Bay, Bangladesh, Djibouti, you get the picture. (yes I know I am odd.)

What character that you’ve written most resembles yourself?
Emma Gallagher, who is a new friend of my female protagonist in my current YA WIP. She is probably most like me in her personality and mannerisms. We look nothing alike however. Another character, Claire Devlin from a completely different WIP for women, is by far the one that looks most like me but personality and mannerisms are different.

Where do you get ideas for your other characters?
Most of the time, they just develop over time in my mind. Sometimes I will hear someone say something funny/sarcastic/silly/sad/emotional/etc. and create a whole character based off the one comment and how they react to situations.

Do you ever write based on your dreams?
Not typically, but I have inserted a few storylines that were inspired by dreams.

Do you favor happy endings, sad endings, or cliff-hangers?
It depends on the novel. I have definitely written a few cliff hangers, hoping that the novel would be picked up as a series. However, I definitely tend to favor happy endings, or at least “lesson learned” / “life goes on” / “change is good”, type of endings. I don’t end in a sad ending ever. Save that for in between.

Are you concerned with spelling and grammar as you write?
Not at first, no. I am a bit of a perfectionist though, and when I see a spelling error, I cannot move forward until I fix it. This does save some time during revision though.

Does music help you write?
Always. I put together entire playlists for the WIP I am writing. I am also known to turn the music up so loud it is difficult to even think and write. I have written some amazing stuff that way. I only do that occasionally though.

Quote something you’ve written. The first thing to pop into your mind.
One of my favorite extremely short pieces I wrote completely on a whim, is here. I didn’t even use it in a story. I wrote it to get inside my characters head.

Please leave a link to your own. I am always interested in what others are doing.

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