Happy Solstice, and getting creative with time

Happy Solstice a day early! Writing has taken a back burner to getting ready for the holidays, but a bit of reading here and there has helped kept me grounded, though.

Now is a good time to remind myself - and anyone else it could help- to take advantage of the 'thinking airtime' when doing the more mindless household and holiday (you know, dishes, wrapping, baking, cleaning, etc.) tasks to keep your head wrapped around your manuscript so when you do get back to it you can rock and roll!

Happy Holidays everyone!

Comedy in our writing, what is the perfect amount?

I've noticed something in the current fiction book I am reading, there is a threshold for comedy.

Who knew, right? This author is brilliantly funny . . . which I love, but because there is so much of it, the jokes have less punch than they would if there was more space in between punch lines. The zingers are getting lost among joke after joke after joke after joke. Each one of these jokes, independently, would have me on the floor in hoots laughing, nearly peeing my pants. But the sheer volume has made me numb to them. Shoot!

How can this be? I love to laugh when I'm reading. I had no idea you could have too many snappy lines. Dang!

So, how much is too much? How much comedy is just right? What amount for each story is at that perfect equilibrium, that perfect harmony that makes each zinger have zam!

Good question. Hmm, how about trust the handy tips of reading your work out loud and asking your trusted writing partners for a read-through. There is also the completely tangible you'll just know.

Whatever you decide, good luck!

Writing Conflict in Scenes

A writer friend of mine laments her ability to write conflict in scenes. First off, she is way too hard on herself! She writes scenes with fantastic, unexpected conflict. But the topic raises an interesting question - how do we put more conflict in our scenes, and not just any conflict, fresh conflict? As a writer you want your work to be new and fresh. That includes the conflict.

I love the idea of conflict that makes you laugh, too. I want to laugh when I'm reading novels and writing conflict can give you an opportunity for that, a comedy of errors sort of thing.

So, have fun with your conflict! I know I am!

Happy Writing, Happy Reading!

Writers' conferences

I know I'm a bit tardy checking the stats for this, but my blog got a fantastic spike during the month of August. The steamy month of August prompts people to check out romance novelists blogs? Maybe . . . but I'm guessing it has more to do with me being a panelist at the When Words Collide Conference that was held in August in Calgary.

Take home message to other new writers - get out there! I had a great time, and got advertising to boot. Sure I had those public speaking butterflies. You know, speaking, about romance writing, to a group with a lot of non-romance writers in the crowd was a bit intimidating and made me second guess what in the world I had been thinking. But it was awesome!

So if any of you are wondering if you want to jump into something like that, I hope you do, and I hope it is an incredibly rewarding experience!

Happy Writing and Happy Reading!

Scene Sequences

Right now I am working on scene sequences. . . shuffling, moving around, finding just the right place for each scene I've have so far. I know there are writers way more methodical than me, but this is how my creative process rolls.

A story idea kicks around in my head. I start writing, sometimes writing and writing and writing, before I decide it is time to hammer out a rough outline. And to me, outlines are more a suggestion to follow then set in stone. Then writing those scenes, give or take, from the outline.

And now I am finding the joy. . . and maybe indecision . . . with scene sequences. Hmm, about that methodical approach, might have some gems in that . . .

But through it all, I can say I am having a great time! That's one of the cool parts about writing, even when you are working on the mechanical parts of a story - where do I put everything - it is still creative and fun and figuring out how you are going to communicate your characters' stories.

For all of you writers out there, hope you are having a blast. For all you readers out there, hope you are digging what we are writing!

PS, I finally saw Pearl Jam in concert last month - now I know what the big Eddie deal is. Ok, not fair, the whole band rocked! Thanks PJ.

Page Turners

Hey friends. I was just reading a romantic suspense, a genre I am quite fond of, btw. The story started good, plot interesting enough, tension between the characters good, dialogue good, but it started to fizzle. I kept reading, hoping it'd come back around. It had a few bursts of inspiration, then tanked enough I put the book down. Aw crap. I hate that. I started out caring what happened to the characters, but then I found my mind wandering to what else I had to do that day, what I should make for dinner, etc. Red flag, but the book down and go make dinner, or run those errands, whatever.

Silverlining? Gets me thinking how I can write stories that keep my readers engaged, riveted even? What do my stories need that will keep my readers turning page after page after page, running late for work or staying up way too late at night because they are so into the story?

Those are the kind of stories I am striving for. Those are the stories I love to read.

Hope everyone finds a fantastic new author they love today!

Happy reading, happy writing!

Women's Writers' Weekends

I'm scheduled to participate in a Women's Writers Weekend. Hours of writing intermixed with discussion, assigned topics, and I'm thinking wine. Excellent. I've never participated in one of these before, but sounds like a great idea/time to me.

I'll keep you posted.