Losing the Groove

Ok, I know…

I’ve been a terrible blogger and social media-person 😀

I haven’t been around much to comment or even post!

The deadline for my first draft is this Friday, and I still have tons to write. So, pretty much I’ve been writing constantly lately!

But still, that’s not really an excuse.

To be honest, I am still really struggling to find my groove again after getting back from my break.

I know, right? It’s been nearly two months 😀 But, this blog is about being honest, and that is what I’m doing.

I’m just having a pretty difficult time lately, and not sure how to fix that yet!

Hopefully soon I will find my rhythm again.

Everything feels very stale and static at the moment, but I think that will change once I manage to get a new book released. Hence why I am working so hard on this one so as I can get it ready for release at the end of March!

Sorry I haven’t been around much, but hopefully soon that will change. Know that I am reading your blogs even if I don’t manage to comment

Have you ever had a bit of an unproductive time? How did you get out of it?

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Progress Report:

Status of sixth manuscript: Writing first draft.
Word count: 34,692 (+11,752 since last check-in).

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

Romance Weekly Blog Hop #lovewritechat

It’s Romance Weekly time!

Welcome to all those joining me from the awesome Dani Jace’s blog, author of White Doe.

This week’s question came from Sarah Hegger and was about opening lines:

A great opening line draws the reader in, makes them want to know more and compels them to read further. Share a great opening line, can be a classic or a more recent novel, tell us why you like it and then share the opening line to your newest WIP.

I was going to go the classic Pride and Prejudice route, because, well, it’s a classic and it’s one that pretty much everyone will have heard.

But, when I thought about it, there was another one that struck me.

It’s actually from a book I haven’t finished reading, and started years ago.

‘Burn this book.’

A striking line, right? 😀 It’s an opening that really caught me because of it’s sharpness, and has made me remember it for years, even if I never finished the book (which I will at some point!).

It’s from Mister B. Gone by Clive Barker.

As for the opening line of my newest WIP, well, as I stated last week, I have restarted it. So, this is very, very much a work in progress!

“Tut tut, Dr Murphy, nobody likes a coward.”

This won’t be the final version, but it’s something written so as the first page isn’t a stark blank page! 😀

So, there you have it!

Now hop along to Fiona Riplee’s blog and see what opening line catches her attention!

Is there an opening line you remember? What’s your WIP’s current opening line?

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Progress Report:

Status of sixth manuscript: Planning.
Word count: Eh heh…

Books read towards goal: 1/50
Currently reading: The Creative Writing Workbook by Matthew Branton.

Back to the beginning…

Do you ever read a manuscript or piece of work you’ve written and think, ‘Something’s just not right…’ Then spend weeks trying to work out what it is, and usually it’s one small thing, but you know that one small thing means you will have to re-write the entire thing?

Well, guess what…

It’s happened to me 😀

I have been struggling and struggling to finish my current manuscript. I knew it wasn’t the characters, it wasn’t the story, and it wasn’t the setting. Everything was great, in fact, I am really proud of what I’ve come up with.

But it was how I had laid out the story.

It was wrong, and just wasn’t working.

So, although it’s hard to get rid of over 50,000 words of work, I’m going to have to do it.

I will be starting from scratch, working out a better plan and beginning again.

It’s going to be tough and hard work, but it needs to be done. Deep down I know how amazing this story will be with this one change, even if it means starting over everything again. Back to the beginning for me!

But, it’s going to be worth it!

Now to hit that, ‘Delete’ button… Urgh!

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Progress Report:

Status of sixth manuscript: Going back to the beginning! – Planning.
Total word count: 0.

Books read towards goal: 1/50
Currently reading: The Creative Writing Workbook by Matthew Branton.

I have a confession to make…

So this week was my first week back after my long break- a break which was much needed and I was glad I took.

But I have to admit after such a while away from writing I was seriously nervous about getting back to actual writing.

At the beginning of the week I wasn’t even been able to look at the manuscript I’d been working on before Christmas.

Why?

I have no idea 😀

I was just really nervous about starting writing again. I’m sure a lot of it was to do with the fact I had such a long break, in which I only did tiny bits of writing here and there, all of which had nothing to do with the story I’m currently working on.

The thing is, it wasn’t even as though I had to start from a blank page. I am nearly finished with my current manuscript, it’s just the last few chapters that need doing, and I know exactly how they are going to go.

But mid-week, I pushed myself past the irrational worry of writing again and got out the folder with all my plans and inspiration sheets.

Well, it was an almost instant reaction.

I flicked through my chapter plans, my character sheets, my pictures and BAM! The excitement flooded back to me!

That intense excitement and passion that came flooding back to me in that moment drowned out any worry I had about writing after such a long break, and I opened up my manuscript and got straight back to it!

And it has been so good getting back to it! I forgot how much I need to write 😀 It was instant relief, and I got so into it I looked up at my clock a while after and three and a half hours had whipped by without me noticing!

Next week I will go back to having my status reports beneath my posts, as they always helped me keep focus and see if I was achieving my goals. My daily word count target during weekdays will still be 2000 words, and as with last year I will be taking weekends off.

So here’s to another great year of writing for us all!

Have you ever had trouble getting back into writing? How do you get your writing skills back into shape? Have you set yourself any daily word count goals?

*This is a scheduled post and I will be back on Monday to reply to comments and emails. Have a great weekend!*

October 2014 Round-Up and November 2014 Plan

October was certainly an interesting month. I spent most of it trying to figure out my new schedule of less social media and more writing.

I did OK to start with, but then I found my hours creeping up again on social media. I am certainly going to have to be stricter with myself.

October:

– Didn’t exactly keep to schedule. Got most things done on time, but not others.
– Started my new Books on my Bookshelf series.
– Got my first reviews for The Magic Spark.
– Didn’t meet my reading target. Though I was only off by about half a book 😀 Forbidden Quest by Alaina Stanford, Reunion of the Heart by Elaine Jeremiah, and Hands of Evil by Melissa Barker-Simpson.
– Attempted to cut my social media right down and concentrate on the writing. Started well, but hasn’t been so successful towards the end of the month.
– I did some marketing using photosets, but still not enough.
– Managed to connect with bloggers regularly, and share their posts and news on Twitter and FB more consistently.
– I didn’t manage to sort out my Pinterest boards.

November:

It’s all change for November yet again to what I intended last time.

Unfortunately, there will be no Christmas novella. As much as I want to write it, I am just not in a place to do so at the moment. There is a lot of upheaval at home and things moving around, which will eventually result in a writing space of my own. But until then, I don’t really have anywhere that I can go to focus on writing.

I am one of those writers who needs quiet and peace to write 😀 And I just can’t get that at the moment, and my writing is suffering for it. I don’t want to put out a book that is less than my best, so I’ve decided to wait (though I will probably do the Christmas novella for next year because the characters and plots are just too awesome to forget!).

Instead this months goal is: To write 500 words a day.

Doesn’t matter what it is- short fiction, long fiction, fanfiction, poetry, as long as it’s something. I may not have the space to concentrate on a full book, but that doesn’t mean I have to stop writing altogether, I love it too much to do that 😀

November will be about writing practice, which is just as important as anything else! But it will also give me more time to help at home and eventually get this writing space up together, which I am VERY excited about 🙂

As for reading this month, I plan to read three books: The Masked Empire by Patrick Weekes, Asunder by David Gaider (re-read that one, as I’ve read it before!), and Not Wonder More – Mad Maggie and the Mystery of the Ancients by Rod Raglin (for review group). Those are the only ones that I will definitely be reading, and any extra will be a bonus 😀

That means no reviews except my review group one this month, and none in December either. My normal reading and reviews will resume in January 2015 (a scary thought to think that’s not so far away!).

So, there you have it. This post was a lot longer than intended, sorry!

**TL;DR – No Christmas novella due to a lot of stuff going on. Tons of writing practice instead this month! Back to book writing in the New Year.**

Other things that happened around the writing/blogging community this month:

Callum McLaughlin released his new book, False Awakening!

Topaz Winters has a beautiful new look to her site.

EclecticAlli has been hosting a brilliant set of posts for her Masquerade Ball Blog Party.

Natacha Guyot announced an exciting new project she’s working on!

Island of Glass by Ruth Nestvold is at a lowered price until Mid-November!

My Creative Flows blog had a great post on tips for those participating in NaNo and how to get through it! 😀

Oh, also, to all those actually participating in NaNoWriMo this month- Good Luck! 😀

How did your October go? Do you have many plans for November?

It’s time!

I find myself at a point in my book that is both thrilling and slightly nerve-wracking.

As I’ve said, I’ve had this series in my mind for a while, and there is one scene particularly that has always been certain and always the same.

I have come to the point in my book to write that scene; a scene that has been in my head for a couple of years.

It’s a pretty intense scene, emotionally and physically.

Yes, this is just the first draft, and yes, I can sort it out later if it’s not perfect. But for some reason I have this feeling that I have to get it right first time, because it’s the pivotal scene in this first book of the series.

I mean, thinking on it for two years I should be able to knock it out in no time, but when I came to write all I did was just stared at the screen!

But it’s time to just do it, and today is the day!

I am going to write it, it’s going to be awesome, and this scene can finally leave my head and hit the page!

Have you guys ever had a scene you’re hesitant about writing? Have you ever come to write a scene you’ve been thinking of for some time? How do you approach writing such intense scenes?

Have a great weekend everyone!

Switch Up!

I just want to say a BIG thank you to all the lovely encouraging and supportive comments on my last post (I may not have replied to all, but I read them all and was so touched!). It was so nice to hear from other writers who feel the same. This community really is so incredibly supportive! 🙂

Today is the first day of just giving myself over to writing, I am doing this blog post on my lunch break! 😀 It has been nice though, it was lovely to start writing this morning and have no pressure to finish at a certain time so as I could begin social media, I actually think the quality of my writing improved for it!

Anyway, I had a nice plan of action in place for the book I’m working on at the moment.

It was my usual plan- Write the first draft, edit the next month, and then release. So release day would have been the end of November.

But, this book is different then normal as it’s the first book in a series; a series I have been thinking about writing for a good 2 years now.

As I began writing my first draft I knew I was going to need more time with it. More time with these characters I’ve been cultivating for years and more time to delve into the start of this series I’ve loved planning for so long!

So, I’ve had a change of plan. My plan now is to work on the first draft (still finish by the end of this month!) and then give myself two months for editing.

In November I am going to work on a short Christmas novella to release in December, then January and February I am giving over completely to re-writing and doing drafts of the current first book in my series.

I hope that makes sense 😀

I do have to say, this is part of the reason I love self-publishing. I have no set time or specific book I need to work on. If I want or need to change up the order I release books or write books, I can! That is really a huge plus for writing and publishing books on my own!

Have you guys ever changed your writing plans? Have you started one book and then begun another at the same time?

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Progress Report:

Status of first manuscript: Writing first draft.
Word count: 2232 (Total word count: 28,368).

Books read: 2/4.

End of October Indie Review: Reading.

Being a Writer= 10% writing and 90% everything else!

When I started this blog my main goal was to be honest, I wanted to record this journey and be truthful about how it was going and how I felt about it. This is one of those posts 😀

So, over the past few days I’ve been in a bit of a weird head space!

I love writing and I’m very lucky to be able to dedicate all of my time to it as my full time career.

But when I thought about it, I’m not dedicating my full time to it. I write for around 1.5-2 hours a day, five days a week and though that’s a lot more than most people get the chance to do, it’s still not enough for me.

Most of my workday is spent doing social media.

Now, I’ve gone on about my inability to make proper use of social media before 😀 I’m also not good at using it for marketing, etc.

I’d say I’ve not done bad in book sales, more than some indie authors, but I also have to say that not seeing a rise in sales throughout the year but just a steady stream, kind of put me in a bit of a funk.

Why was I spending so much time on creating my author platform etc, if it isn’t going to help with sales?

Now, my writing isn’t all about they money 😀 But I do want to make a living off of it and though I understand I am a new author, it can be incredibly disheartening to see indie authors put out one book and they get to number 1 without seeming to do much at all, and my books float in the sea with the rest.

It just got me thinking about if I am using my time wisely. If my hours on social media aren’t gaining me sales or getting my name out any further, should I be spending so long on it?

As you probably have heard me say many times before, I really don’t like marketing! Those who do it well are successful, but I don’t do it well, I barely do it at all. The thought of shoving my work in people’s faces constantly really drains me and social media is a part of that. Trying to get my name out there and my work recognised is emotionally exhausting because I’m just not that type of person.

Now that I have established myself with a blog and things, is it time to allow myself to take a step back and wait for my books to speak for me?

What I’m trying to say is, I miss writing.

I could write all day if I could 😀 And that’s exactly what I’m going to do for a while.

I have made the decision that for the rest of the month, I am going to take a bit of a back seat on the social media thing. I’ll have a few blog posts, but not too many I don’t expect. I will still read others blogs, because I always enjoy your guys posts and find some great tips and information! But I probably won’t comment as much as I normally do.

I think not commenting as much on others blogs is part of my hesitance to cut back on blogging and social media. I have made a great many blogging friends and am so incredibly grateful for their support, I like to show mine by commenting and sharing their posts.

The social media side of things is important, I know, it’s the only way to get my name out there, but I really need to just write for a while, to give my everything to the craft I love so much.

So, if I’m not commenting as much as usual, please don’t think I’m not reading, because I will be! I hope you guys understand 🙂

Have a brilliant weekend everyone, I hope it’s a good one!

The First Draft- It’s a love/hate thing.

One of my major flaws as a writer (and as a person) is my need to get everything perfect first time around.

You see how this could be a problem when it comes to writing? 😀 Considering the amount of drafts we have to do before we get something we’re pleased enough with to publish?

Writing a first draft can, at times, hurt me.

Staring at this horrible screen of text that isn’t perfect, that isn’t lovely, that sometimes doesn’t even make sense; it doesn’t do me any good!

But I have gotten better over this year since writing has become career. The first draft has to be written, no matter how I do it, it is the foundation of my book. If I don’t write, then I’m not doing my job! 😀

The way I like to look at a first draft is that it is the skeleton. It is the bones of my manuscript.

The second draft is the muscles.

The third is the skin.

And from then on extra drafts and changes are the clothing, jewelry, and make up that allow my manuscript to sparkle.

Still, it’s hard. Nowadays I write my first draft without looking back at it. I just write it and keep on going. I use simple, not very active words, such as ‘pushed’, ‘pulled’ ‘looked’, etc, I even have sections where I’ve written, ‘She’s angry- describe’. I just write whatever to get that first draft down, with notes to remind me when I go back to edit.

I can then go back and change those words, make it active. make it flow. I can change the details, add description where I have left it out, etc.

But it is a struggle! When I think my writing is terrible, it puts a damper on my mood (which my poor family and friends have to deal with, sorry to them!), and I go into a fit of, ‘I suck as a writer!’ 😀

But by the end, when all the layers are added, I come out of that mood having produced something I can be really proud of. A story that has been worth all the moods and hard work 🙂

What I’m trying to say is- Just write it. Don’t worry about language, or word use, or adverbs, or anything like that in a first draft. Just do whatever it takes to get that main bulk down.

It’s after the first draft that the real work begins 😉

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Progress Report:

Status of sixth manuscript: Writing first draft.
Word count: 2793 (Total word count: 23,503).

Books read: 2/4.

Mid-October Book Review: We won’t talk about the lack of that…

September 2014 Round-up and October 2014 Plan

I know, I’m a bit late!

Anyway, didn’t I just write one of these? 😀 I can’t even keep up with this year!

This month was a little bit of a blur, what with my vacation and getting The Magic Spark ready for release. But I managed it!

September:

– Kept to schedule.
– Released The Magic Spark, my fifth book!
– Had an awesome vacation, and got some lovely rest.
– Connected regularly with bloggers and found some new blogging friends, which was nice 😀
– Managed to share other people’s posts and book releases on Twitter and Facebook much more effectively.
– Just managed to squeeze in 4 books to reach my target! – The Rule of Four by Dustin Thomason and Ian Caldwell, Destiny of Kings by Fiona Tarr, The Christmas Beginning by Anne Perry, and The Forbidden Quest by Alaina Stanford.
– Cut social media hours down to 2 hours a day- Still figuring that out. It started well, but has recently started creeping back up!

Doesn’t seem like I did a lot, but it certainly felt like an exhausting month!

As for marketing… yeah, let’s not talk about that utter failure to do anything…

Onto October 😀

1st-31st- Write first draft of next book.
15th- Mid-October Book Review.
29th- End of Month Indie Review.

Goals:

– Read 4 books.
– I’m gonna put marketing in this list, but we all know how that’s going to go! 😀
– Write some short pieces, I miss that.
– Actively support others, and find new ways of doing so!
– Sort out my Pinterest boards, they are such a mess.

So, other things that happened around the blogging/writing community this month:

– Marcia Meara set up a new writing focused blog- http://marciamearawrites.com/

– Shehanne Moore came back to us! – http://shehannemoore.wordpress.com/2014/09/24/a-whole-new-league-with-anne-lange/

– Cassie at My Etch a Sketch Life gave Stolen Bloodline a great review! http://myetchasketchlife.com/2014/09/17/stolen-bloodline-by-mishka-jenkins/

– Got a sneak peek of characters from The Legends of Windemere by Charles Yallowitz series I am really looking forward to reading! – http://legendsofwindemere.com/2014/09/16/picture-sneak-peek-gabriel-and-his-unicorn/

– Karen at My Train of Thoughts posted some great quotes from some awesome bloggers- http://mytrainofthoughtson.wordpress.com/2014/09/24/3-quotes-by-writers-we-know-and-admire/

– D. Emery Bunn released his new book, Darkness Concealed, which has gotten some great reviews so far! – http://www.demerybunn.com/blog/2014/09/23/darkness-concealed-is-out-now/

Hope everyone has a great October, a month (from the looks of Pinterest and Tumblr) that is going to be filled with pie and everything pumpkin related 😀

Photo by Twisted Pixel on Flickr- Click photo to go to Photostream

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Progress Report:

Status of sixth manuscript: Writing first draft.
Word count: 6,865

Books read: 1/4

Mid-October Book Review: Writing review.