Romance Writers Weekly #lovewritechat

Romance Weekly time 😀

If you’ve joined me from the incredible Kim Handysides then welcome!

This week we’ve been asked, ‘What everyone is working on at the moment. Details & conundrums, plus five bonus points for including a wee bit of your favourite scene.’

Well, as I posted a couple of weeks ago, I’m currently working on something completely different. Still romance, still writing, still a story, just a different format for it.

My current project is called Diving in Deep, and is a visual novel, which is something like an interactive story where the reader takes on the role of the main character, choosing the decisions she can make and what her personality will be like. These decisions affect the outcome of the story and how those around her interact with her.

The story itself is about Quinn Lanton, an underwater archaeologist, who discovers (a rather handsome) merman called Merrik in the ruins she’s excavating. The meeting would be one of excitement, if it wasn’t for the fact that creepy treasure hunter, Walton Huntley, is shadowing her every move in the hopes of finding any artifacts worth selling, and she knows a merman would make his perfect prize.

Here are some example screenshots:

Example of the choices that can be made.

Example of the layout and sprites.

Depending on the personality you’ve chosen for Quinn, some options might be harder to use.

There are 6 possible endings, and a selection of choices throughout.

As for my favourite scene, well that probably has to be the moment Quinn and Merrik meet for the second time.

(Sorry for the script format, that’s how it has to be written!)

I shake my head, trying to get across the fact I’m not panicking… much.
He is a merman after all, a being that isn’t supposed to even exist except in fairytales!
Merrik: “Does that mean you’re ok?”
I nod, trying to regulate my breathing to a normal level and stem the adrenaline that courses through my system.
He breaks into a smirk, a playful glint in his eyes.
Merrik: “Good, I don’t want to have to watch out for falling rocks if you start flailing about again like yesterday.”
My awe of him quickly filters away with his snark.

The above scene is only one of the possible responses Quinn can make to Merrik in this situation.

I will say that the hardest part of writing this visual novel has been writing in first person, and in the present tense. I’ve never done that before, so it was a bit of an interesting challenge trying to ensure I didn’t slip tenses, but I managed it in the end 😀

The project will released towards the end of March (not long, I know!) and it will be FREE in the hopes a lot of people might be willing to try out this different format of storytelling if they haven’t before.

So, there you go, that’s what I’m currently working on! 😀 (Sorry for the huge post, I’m just very excited about it!)

Now, why not check out what Raine Balkera’s current project is. I guarantee it will be something worth your time! 🙂

What are you currently working on? Are there any WIP projects by others you’re excited for?

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Progress Report:

Status of visual novel: All writing done. Working on adding music and sounds.

Books read towards challenge: 3/50
Currently reading: Snow Hill by Mark Sanderson

A New Challenge

Part of the reason I wanted to finish the first draft of my current novel by the end of February was because I knew I was participating in a challenge in March.

The challenge is NaNoRenNo.

It’s kind of like the normal NaNoWriMo, but instead of producing a 50,000+ novel, you produce a completed visual novel.

For those that don’t know what a visual novel is here’s the Wikipedia definition-

‘A visual novel is an interactive fiction game, featuring mostly static graphics, most often using anime-style art or occasionally live-action stills (and sometimes video footage). As the name might suggest, they resemble mixed-media novels.’

It’s a different kind of storytelling that instantly caught my interest for a few reasons:

1. Any form of storytelling is good with me 😀
2. I adore Choose-Your-Own-Adventure books.
3. I love gaming, so being able to take some aspects of it and add it to my own story is awesome!
4. Really being able to bring the story to life through both writing and art.

I’ve always had a dream of creating a comic, because of the mixture of writing and drawing- I love the two!- But I was never patient enough to complete a whole comic.

With visual novels I get to draw the art (though not anime-style as is usual), and also add more writing than I would in a comic. I am not even kidding about how perfect a medium that is for me 😀

So my project this month is to complete a visual novel, and see how it goes. Also, I will say that visual novels are something I hope to look into producing and selling along with my novels in the future.

For those interested, I will detail the visual novel I am producing below 🙂

Sorry for the white backgrounds on the art, WordPress apparently doesn’t like transparent images!

When underwater archaeologist, Quinn, discovers an artifact in the ruins she is exploring just offshore, she doesn’t realise the significance of it.
At least, not until she comes face to face with the owner of the artifact… who happens to have a tail.

Introduced to the world of the Merpeople, Quinn must keep the exciting discovery quiet in order to protect their secrets, all whilst dealing with new feelings that are stirring towards her merman guide, Merrik.
If that wasn’t difficult enough, she must contend with the persistent interference of a dangerous treasure hunter searching for his next big prize.

And Quinn is all too aware that the Merpeople would be his perfect target.

Characters

Quinn Lanton
The main character of this tale, a woman whose curiosity helps her to find the biggest discovery of all time, only to realise she must keep it a secret.

Her personality can be defined by the player through dialogue and action choices, which will affect the way characters react to her and the outcome of the ending.

Merrik
Merrik is happy to live his life in the safety of the sea, but meeting Quinn changes things.
Now the merman finds his position as Guardian of the artifact tested as he navigates through the world of humans and their greed for what does not belong to them.

Walton Huntley
An ex-archaeologist turned treasure hunter. His only interest is the next big prize and the fortune he could get for it.

The Artefact

Diving in Deep is going to focus on romance (obviously 😀 It’s what I write!), but will also have a good amount of excitement and action so hopefully all can enjoy it! It will be FREE, so I’m hoping lots of people will be willing to try it out.

Though I realise this may not be the kind of thing some people would go for, I am hoping to open up this form of storytelling to those who might not even have known about it, and maybe get them to try out something new 🙂

Is this something you’d be willing to try out? Does this interest you as a different form of story?

*This is a scheduled post, I will be back on Tuesday. Hope everyone has a brilliant weekend! :D*

Romance Weekly Blog Hop #lovewritechat

Just before I hop to the Romance Weekly blog hop, I just wanted to say sorry for the lack of blog posts last week! I was pretty ill, and couldn’t get onto my computer, but thank you to everyone who commented, I’m sorry again for not replying! 🙂

Welcome to all those joining me from the lovely Elizabeth Janette’s blog, author of Redemption for Liars.

This week’s question is- What would you say your writing strengths and weaknesses are?

It’s kind of difficult to decide my strengths to be honest, because I’m very critical of my own work 😀

But I do think character interaction might be one of my strengths. I’ve had quite a few comments from people who’ve read my books and enjoyed the way I write dialogue and interaction between characters, as I’m able to show their relationships well and in a way that is easy to read.

As for weaknesses, well, probably my top one has to be description, or lack of it 😀 When I write I tend to see it like a movie in my head, and sometimes I forget that the reader doesn’t see what I see, that they don’t know the scene is set in a dank forest or a bright room. So yeah, I need to work on that!

Also, my over use of commas, but thankfully my readers do pick up on that in editing!

What would you say your strengths and weaknesses are?

Now hop on over to the amazing Jeana E. Mann and see what she has to say about her writing and maybe check out her latest release, Vindicated 🙂

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Progress Report:

Status of sixth manuscript: Writing first draft.
Word count: 16,846 (+14,323 since last check-in).

Books read towards challenge: 2/50
Currently reading: Thyme in a Flask by Glen Quarry

A bit of fun for the weekend!

Lynette Noni had a great quiz on her site!

Which Fantasy World Should You Live In?

I got Gallifrey.

‘You are a very curious individual, who has a thirst for knowledge. You love being in the company of other intellectual and knowledgeable individuals. Easily bored, your mind craves puzzles and ongoing adventures.’

Why not have a bit of fun and find out yours? 😀

http://www.playbuzz.com/louisegriffiths10/which-fantasy-world-should-you-live-in

*Have a great weekend everyone and be back on Monday as usual! (This is a scheduled post).*

Why I Write Blog Hop!

Lipsyy from Lipsyy Lost and Found asked me to participate in this hop, which looked like great fun!

Why Do I Write?

Because I can’t stop myself! 😀

Seriously though, I don’t think I could actually stop writing, I have been doing it all my life and it’s one of the best ways I find to release all the creative jumble in my head!

There are so many stories that I have the need to tell, and writing gives me that chance, whether it’s creative fiction or blogging. It’s a great stress reliever too.

What am I working on?

My first ever series! It’s the first book in a paranormal series that I’ve been looking at writing for a couple of years.

How does it differ from others of its genre?

I will admit it has a lot of similarities with other books of its genre, I think it’s difficult not to now with so many books out there! 😀

But the characters, their relationships, and the way the books are going to be written will be quite a bit different to what’s out there at the moment.

How does my writing process work?

It changes from book to book. Sometimes I have a strict plan with bullet points of every scene and write them in order, then it can go the other way completely and I can have a loose idea, but no strict structure, just writing scenes I’m feeling at that moment and piecing them together.

I definitely think the process changes with the feel of the book I’m writing, so it’s a very hard question to answer!

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Thank you so much Lipsyy for tagging me in this! It was great fun.

And now to pass the baton onto Callum, a very talented writer who will soon be releasing his new book. Check out his first, The Vessel, you won’t regret reading it that’s for sure!

And Sierra, who will also (hopefully 😉 ) be putting out her sequel to The Soul, an incredible, character driven story which you should definitely take a look at!

(Yes, I actually got organised and asked people to participate this time!)

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Progress Report:

Status of sixth manuscript: Writing first draft.

Books read: 0/4.

Mid-October Book Review: Choosing book.

Romance Weekly #lovewritechat

It’s Romance Weekly Blog Hop time! 😀

If you’ve come from Fiona Riplee’s blog, then welcome! If not, why not check out her post?

This week we’ve been challenged with writing another flash fiction based on this GIF: http://weheartit.com/entry/101884590

So here’s my attempt! (I combined this with another writing exercise, where it was a challenge not to use any names. Hope you enjoy it. It came out at 364, instead of 300. I really need to practice hitting word counts on flash fiction 😀 ).

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Sunlight, which once offered a warm embrace, beat down upon them like the fires of a volcano as they stood in the graveled courtyard together. There was a heavy silence, filled with unspoken words that battered against them as hot as the heat of the sun.

“My car will be here soon.” She kept her gaze cast on the ground.

He said nothing in reply, but a small furrow appeared between his thick brows, strands of black hair falling into his eyes.

She shouldn’t have been surprised by the lack of response, but deep down it hurt her to receive nothing.

The gravel crunched beneath the tyres of the gleaming Mercedes, the engine purring as it drew to a stop.

She glanced up at him, his gaze averted from hers. “Goodbye.”

She moved to take a step away, but he gripped her arm. Still he said nothing.

When his thumb raised to her lips, her breath stuttered. A simple, gentle touch that was more intimate than anything she’d experienced before and sent a shiver coursing through her.

His face was only inches from hers, his breath whispering over her skin. For a long moment his lips danced on the edge of touching hers, his thumb still pressed against her bottom lip, parting her mouth slightly.

Her heart beat so fast she thought it would rip from her chest, but she stood unmoving, waiting.

His lips were like wings against her own as they teased at the edges of a kiss she was desperate to receive.

The car beeped its horn, startling him out of the moment which had caught them. His eyes widened, realising his actions and he took a wide step back.

It was as though he took the air from her lungs, her throat tight at his dismissive action.

She bit her lip, half to stop from crying and half to capture the teasing feel of his lips upon hers.

She turned away.

“I would have given you everything.” He talked so rarely, she almost didn’t recognise his voice.

She glanced over her shoulder, a sad smile dulling her eyes. “I didn’t want everything,” she whispered. “I only wanted you.”

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Another fun challenge! Think I’m definitely going to have to attempt more flash fiction in the future 😀

Now why not check out the very talented S.C.Mitchell, author of Son of Thunder, and see what he’s written for this challenge!

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Progress Report:

Status of fifth manuscript: Editing. (Nearly there!)

Books read: 2/4

Mid September book review: Written and ready.

Meet my character blog hop!

So, I’ve been asked to participate in the Meet my Character blog hop by the awesome Shehanne Moore whose next book, ‘The Viking and The Courtesan‘ hopefully won’t be far from publishing after being signed with Soulmate publishing!

First, a bit of info about Shehanne Moore:

When not cuddling inn signs in her beloved Scottish mountains, Shehanne Moore writes dark and smexy historical romance, featuring bad boys who need a bad girl to sort them out. She believes everyone deserves a little love, forgiveness and a second chance in life. Visit her blog to find out about past releases and hear more about her forthcoming time-slip historical, The Viking and The Courtesan.

Shehanne’s blog: http://shehannemoore.wordpress.com/

So first off I have two things to say before starting:

1. I’m VERY sorry to Shehanne who asked me to do this a couple of weeks ago and I just completely forgot, and she was really, really lovely to let me try it again!

2. I’m a terrible blog hopper. Because I actually forgot I had to find people to, you know, hop onto next 😀 So, I’m making a plea to other bloggers to do this and post a link in the comments? Because you’re all so lovely!

I swear I will get better at blogging one day!

Now onto the questions!

The character I have chosen is Alex Lailand from my work in progress, which is embarrassingly still untitled! 😀

What is the name of your character? Is he/she fictional or a historic person?

Her name is Alexandra (Alex) Lailand and she is a completely fictional woman.

When and where is the story set?

The story is a modern day story set in London and Scotland!

What should we know about him/her?

Alex is a very practical woman, and a very confident one. She built her business from nothing to a business that allows her to have a fancy apartment and office in the middle of London.

Though city life is beginning to wear on her, she won’t admit it.

What is the main conflict? What messes up his/her life?

What messes up her life? More like who messes up her life!

That would be FG, her rom-com obsessed fairy godmother who appeared in her office one day and sent her life spiralling into chaos. FG believes Alex has lost her heart and passion for life including love and business, and she isn’t leaving until that’s fixed!

Though FG’s imagination runs as far as throwing Alex into her own romantic tale, flinging her and her ‘perfect match’ into an assortment of clichés she’s picked up from watching and reading too much romance, which only serve to make things a little awkward for the pair.

What is the personal goal of the character?

To be successful.

Alex is all about getting the win, even if that means focusing only on the hard facts rather than the personal when it comes to her clients.

Is there a working title for this novel and can we read more about it?

There is currently no working title! Which I should probably rectify pretty soon.

I recently posted a short, unedited teaser from the first draft. And of course I shall post more about it the closer it gets to release day (end of September!).

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Ok, now is the part where I’m supposed to link to the other bloggers participating in the hop! But like I said, I had a complete blank when it came to this hop apparently! So I really hope someone is willing to join in!

If you do, please post it next Monday and let me know and I will link to the post 🙂 If you want more info, drop me an email and I will send you the details! Email: harliqueen (at) Hotmail (dot) co (dot) uk

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Progress Report:

Status of fifth manuscript: Editing first draft.

Books read this month: 0/4

Mid-September Book Review: Currently reading.

And it’s done! With bonus teaser!

Photo by Oliver Hammond on Flickr

Yesterday I wrote, ‘The End’ on my first draft of my fifth book!

I have to say, considering it was supposed to be a light novella at under 30,000 words to give me a bit of a break, it kind of took on a life of it’s own!

I did skip a week at the beginning of August where I didn’t write at all (naughty, I know!), so when I realised I managed to pump out over 45,000 words in 3 weeks I was revelling in quite a lot of triumph!

I’m really starting to get my writing routine down and sticking to it 🙂

It’s always a rather exhilarating moment to finish a first draft, but it does tend to be only for a moment, because then I get the sinking feeling of knowing how much editing there is to do next 😀

And I have to say, I was worried about going back and reading this one. For some reason I got it into my head that the writing was terrible and I was going to practically be changing everything.

So, when I started reading through and looking at editing, I was pleasantly surprised it wasn’t anywhere near as bad as I had told myself it would be! In fact, some parts were pretty darn good, if I do say so myself 😀

There is still plenty of editing to be done, but I have to say I’m enjoying the editing a lot more now I realise it’s much better than I thought, especially considering it’s a first draft.

And now, I am going to brave and post an unedited teaser/excerpt from my new book!

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“And now, it’s time to get physical,” she said.

“Huh?” Alex asked, broken from her thoughts.

“What you like in a man, in his looks. But I think that’s pretty easy to determine.” FG slapped her wand against the desk’s surface, the bottom drawer flinging open and making Alex almost topple from her chair in surprise. From the drawer floated a dog-eared, well-read romance novel that Alex only brought out when she was certain she was alone.

“No, you can’t have that!” Alex yelled, trying to clamber over the desk to retrieve it. But it was nestled in the fairy godmother’s lap before she even had the chance.

The front cover was a vivid purple, the title, ‘Love of the Best Kind’, emblazoned in hot red, curling front across it.
“See? There is a romantic buried beneath that professional exterior of yours.” FG chuckled but Alex flushed red, sinking back into her chair and hoping it would swallow her whole.

FG flicked open the book, the crumpled pages falling open with ease. Her brows raised as she scanned the words and her eyes slowly widened.

She snapped the book shut. “Well, maybe not so romantic, but certainly passionate.”

Alex sunk further into her chair with a groan, covering her eyes with her hand.

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Hope you enjoyed it!

How are you guys doing with your writing projects? Do you dread the editing phase? Have you ever been pleasantly surprised by your own work when going back and reading it over?

*As usual, I will be away over the weekend and back on Monday to reply to comments and emails 🙂 Have a brilliant weekend everyone!*

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Progress Report:

Status of fifth manuscript: Editing first draft.

Books read: 5/4

Mid September Book Review: Currently reading.

Taking a step back…

Hey everyone! Hope you all had a great weekend! 😀

I know it’s normally Romance Weekly Hop day today, but due to the bank holiday there is no post this week. Though if you’re interested in checking out the hop, it starts with Nina Mason. It’s all about first kisses!

So, I so have to admit I was really glad for the long weekend as I was completely stuck on a scene in my book when writing on Friday. I had NO idea where to take it and I think I tried to rewrite it in about ten different ways, seeing how it would best to write it in order to move the story and characters forward.

Well, it was hard and it was just not going to happen!

So, over the weekend I didn’t touch my writing. But, as if often the case, I couldn’t stop thinking about 😀 I went over and over it in my head trying to figure out how to write this rather crucial scene which is a turning point in the story.

All weekend I still had nothing

Zip.

Zero.

Nadda.

I was having a slight panic when I went to bed last night thinking I’d have no idea where to go when writing today, and this is my last week to get the first draft finished!

And then at about 3 o’clock this morning it came to me! I was tossing and turning trying to think of this scene and just couldn’t sleep and the solution came out of nowhere. I mean, it was something I hadn’t even thought of, something so completely different to what I’d come up with so far.

And it was absolutely perfect!

It just made me realise what a good idea it is to take a long step back from your writing sometimes if you’re struggling. I think I got myself so focused on the scene and the little picture, that I forgot to look at the whole thing.

So, this morning I sat down to write and managed to pump out about 3,000 words in an hour and half! I was on a roll and it felt really, really good 😀

Have you ever been really stuck on a scene? How do you deal when you get stuck? Do you ever have to take a break from your writing to look at it fresh?

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Progress Report:

Status of fifth manuscript: Writing first draft.
Word count: 3188 (Total word count: 39698).

Books read: 5/4

End of August Indie Review: Written and ready.

When not writing is not your fault…

Some days you go to start you writing.

You have a cup of tea or coffee.

You have a snack.

You have all your research.

You have your notes.

You have your plan.

You are ready to get going!

You come to settle into your seat and BAM!

No writing for you today 😀

Though, even with Harli saying ‘no’ to writing some days and I have to untangle my stuff from beneath her, I have gotten a lot written and am coming along really well on my next book!

How is your writing coming along? Are there ever things that stop you from writing?

**It’s a bank holiday in the UK on Monday, meaning there won’t be a post on Monday, though I do have some scheduled for the weekend. But I won’t be around until Tuesday next week to reply 🙂 Have an awesome weekend everyone!**

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Progress Report:

Status of fifth manuscript: Writing first draft.
Word count: 6054 (Total word count: 36793)

Books read: 4/4

End of August Indie Review: Written and ready.