We're Going to Be Celebrating...

In conjunction with my book loving blog Ups, Downs, Ins & Outs we're having a celebration!

Most of the details can be found in the post linked below but the gist is this.

May 31 - June 2 the event will run on Facebook (see the event page here), on Ups, Downs, Ins & Outs and here on Inside My Mind. Most of the event activity will take place on Facebook but authors and other bloggers will have the chance to post guest blog posts (on the blog of their choice) as well.

Authors and Bloggers who wish to participate or simply donate prizes for giveaways can Sign-Up Here. 

Ups, Downs, Ins & Outs: Announcing the ANOTHER YEAR OF BOOKS CELEBRATION E...: That's right, it's time for another Special Event!  I've been thinking of doing a Spring event - just because I could. But it ...

Why Do You Write?

Writing.

You do it because you have a passion for words - for the way you can craft them, twist them and use them. You write because you’ve got a story within you that simply must be told. Sometimes you have just one story to tell and some times there are simply dozens of stories waiting to be shared.

Writing.

Taking an idea, even the barest fragment of one, and nurturing it. Giving it time and love and attention. You feed it. Then the idea grows and you develop it in to more. It becomes characters and settings and a plot line. And you feed it more. You give it your heart and mind and sometimes even your soul. You give it everything you’ve got, and then you give it more.

Writing.

Crafting your tale, not only in such a way that it tells the story you imagine but also in such a way that other people can enjoy it too. You don’t just need to catch the eye with a beautiful cover (even though that is important) but you need to catch the mind with an intriguing start, hold the reader with an interesting plot and satisfy the heart with a fulfilling finish. Sometimes there’s a happy ending, sometimes there’s not. Sometimes the story you tell simply ends with your characters right back where they started – in neither a better or worse position than at the beginning, but having had a grand adventure.

Writing.

Because whether you’re sharing parts of your day, parts of your dreams, your hopes, your likes or dislikes, you’ve got something to share, to tell, to say.

Writing.

In the good times and bad. When you struggle to find the words. When you just can’t find the right way to say what you need to. When you know exactly what to do and simply don’t have the time. When the story flows like water from your fingertips, slipping to the page as if by magic. When the story is there on paper and you just can find anyone to read it.

Writing.

Don’t stop. No matter why, no matter what, keep writing. Because, well, just because.

Everyone has there own reason for writing…

What’s yours?

Writer's Nerves

For the last month I’ve been working on a new story. Well, it’s actually probably closer to two months now but the last month has been spent focused exclusively on this story. In any case, I’m nearly finished the writing part of it and will be moving on to the personal edits and proof-reading phase soon, and then trying to find a couple beta’s to read it. I’ve got my fingers crossed that I’ll be able to have this story into the hands of a special few by the end of the month.

Which sort of has my stomach in knots.

This specific story came at me from out of no where. Unlike almost all my other writing projects (of which there are many – all at varying degrees of completion, and all waiting for this story to get out the way so I can move back to them) this isn’t one that I dreamed of for a protracted period of time. When I sat down and started writing I really didn’t know all that much about my characters. I didn’t know their histories, their secrets and desires, or their dreams, and I had absolutely no idea what these characters were going to tell me.

 

And the result is something completely different from anything I’ve written before.  I’ve always written with some shade of paranormal, magical or mystical basis to the story line. Some of what I’ve written before uses mythology as a springboard for the plot. This story has no magic. No myth. There’s nothing paranormal, mystical or fantastical about it.

Instead, this story is a contemporary romance. 

 It’s about second chances, and love and family.

It’s about doing the right thing for all the right reasons, no matter how hard that may be, and then living with consequences – no matter how wrong that may feel. It’s about forgiveness. Not just forgiving others but learning how to forgive yourself too.

All of which boils down to me being nervous of the outcome, the final product.

But you know, as nervous as I am… I’m pretty excited too.

How Do You Write: A Book Bible

In the past I’ve talked about Plotting vs. Pantsing as the method of writing you (or I) may do. Simply put a Plotter has a plan and knows their entire story before they ever begin to write the first draft; a Pantser simply begins writing with a (sometimes) vague story idea and characters. Both methods have their advantages and disadvantages. In the end, your method is entirely up to you and is your own personal choice, typically made by what works best for you. And sometimes you may even be a little bit of both.

Personally I’ve gone both ways. I’ve sat down and written entire short stories without ever having any idea what was going to end up on the paper.

I’ve begun large writing projects with little more than ideas derived from a song or based on a dream.

Other times I’ve dreamed the entire story in specific, explicit detail from beginning to end, written a synopsis to get the basics of the story line down on paper and done more extraneous work (timelines, character descriptions, setting info) to get all the story details out of my head and written down.