Heart Pounding Romance

Inspiration

Why Writers Procrastinate

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Why Writers Procrastinate

There are lots of reasons why writers procrastinate about writing. Here are some that plague me from time to time:

The sun is shining and I’d rather be outdoors.
I’ve got company arriving and I need to cook.
I misplaced my imagination and I need to find inspiration.

Now, let me tell you my personal solutions. Numbers one and two above are easy fixes. If it’s a beautiful day and you want to be outdoors, then go. But, take a notepad with you. Sometimes just being in a change of scenery is enough to make you want to write. Be observant and you might even stumble upon an idea for a new story.

When company is calling and I need to prepare, I think of how that time spent in the kitchen can translate to my writing. If anyone follows my blog you’ll notice that I often post recipes and photos of my dishes. I love to cook. There’s no reason to halt one hobby in place of another. If I’m going to entertain a friend for afternoon tea and make lemon bars (bites of heavenly sunshine), you’ll probably find one of my characters is either going to make them as well or find a local bakery to sample them.

Now we come to the tough one…misplaced imagination. You’ve looked under the bed, behind the closed door and still that stubborn piece of inspiration remains hidden in the recesses of your mind. Where is it? Read this article and repeat. Go outdoors. Make a batch of cookies. Think of your story as you do it. Most importantly, trust as you procrastinate that something will evolve.

There’s really no such thing as procrastination if you keep your mind open to the possibilities as you do whatever activity is driving you. Now you know that I go outdoors or cook when the writing muse is on vacation. What do you do?

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My Peach Tree Died

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Peach Tree

My peach tree died but my writing is alive and well. This might sound like a Twitter tweet and indeed, at 53 characters it could be one, but it’s also my daily dose of inspiration.

True, I’m a horrible gardener. Although I love staring at Pinterest photos of beautiful gardens and the idea of going outside to pick my own fruit or vegetables sounds like a glorious lesson to teach my children, I just don’t have the passion for it.

Perhaps it’s also a matter of time. I live in a very hot climate and to give that peach tree the attention it needed would have meant hours of pruning, weeding around its base, creating a barrier so it was protected from gophers, and yes…water. Too bad there’s a draught going on and my area was told to lay off the excessive watering. But the truth is whenever it was cool enough outside to do this work, I chose to sit in front of my computer with my stories.

Passion + Time Put In = Success

I have it for my writing, but not so much for my garden. But I’ve decided to be okay with that. Pursue your passions and watch yourself flourish!

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Romantic Things to do at the Beach

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beachromance

There’s a good reason why the beach is a prime spot for romance. During the day the sun on the water glistens like a diamond and at night the glow of the moon is equally breathtaking. In light of my upcoming book, “Malibu Angel,” being set at the beach, I’ve listed five top romantic things to do at the beach.

Profess Your Love in the Sand

Sure, it’s fun to make sand castles, but creating visual testaments of your love in the sand is even better. You can simply make a heart with you and your loved one’s initials, or go a step further and write a poem before the ocean takes your thoughts out to sea.

Message in a Bottle

These days, we know that throwing a bottle out to sea isn’t very environmentally friendly. But, here’s an updated way to send a message out to sea. Grab a large stone,  use paint or chalk to write a love message and toss it with all your might. Your thoughts will be forever with the ocean.

Picnic by Day or Night

Let’s face it…food and romance go together. Whether you’re having a picnic during the day or an evening feast, enjoying your food on the beach somehow makes it taste just a bit better.

Can you rub suncream on my shoulders?

Have you heard that line? It’s an oldie, but a goodie. When your loved one looks like they’re getting a little fried, or even if they’re not, offer to massage the suncream onto their shoulders and then take some extra time around their neck and back. It’s an appropriate way to get close.

Take a beach walk.

The great thing about taking a walk on the beach is that there isn’t a need for words. Simply holding hands, feeling the ocean breeze and gazing at the water while it nips at your toes is an ideal way to spend time with someone you care about.

Want more romantic beach ideas? Add “Malibu Angel” to your Goodreads’ TBR list. 

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Not So Great First Drafts

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mondayblog
One of my favorite author-written books on the writing process is by Anne Lamott. Her book, “Bird by Bird,” not only gives wonderful advice about characters, plot, and the rest, it offers one very real chapter on our not so great first drafts.

Lamott refers to her writing process as “shitty first drafts” and let’s writers know that this is to be expected. When I first started writing, I wanted it to be great…right from the get-go. But I later learned to welcome every awkward, boring, mundane phrase that comes out of my mind. Do you know why? Because at least something is getting onto the page.

I know that if I can plot out the basic elements of the story, I can later make it great. I’ll add character development, dialogue that embodies those characters, and setting descriptions that take the reader away.

Because I like to bake, I equate the writing process to making a cake. Taking out the ingredients from the cupboard is the boring part. Even assembling the cake is rather mundane as there’s no room for experimentation. Add the wrong proportions of baking soda to flour and you’re doomed. But when it’s finished, you get to frost it and decorate. Forgive the pun, but this is the icing on the cake.

The same applies to your writing. Just get those first drafts down. Then, you can rework them, make them into a piece of art, and send them off into the world where they will find their home.

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Age in Reverse

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Screen shot 2015-02-19 at 12.32.12 PM
In my Romani Realm series beginning with “Released” and followed by “Resurrected,” Suki is a genie and Raven  is a demon gypsy. Both have been around for multiple centuries, but are blessed with perfect skin and don’t look a day beyond early 20s. It’s fiction, remember? But in reality, there are ways to age in reverse by taking care of your health. Read on…

Your daily habits truly affect your age, not only your body’s physical well being, but your mental health as well. To capitalize on your youth and maintain longevity, try these suggestions:

Drop a few pounds
Obesity increases risk of diabetes, cancer, heart disease and more

Limit alcohol
Come on, it’s alcohol. It’s not a green juice drink and it’s not great for your internal organs so limit your intake.

Ease stress levels
Stress equals wrinkles. It’s that simple. Try deep-breathing, meditation, or my favorite, yoga.

Keep learning
Can’t teach an old dog new tricks? Nonsense. That’s what keeps the dog young. Oh, and speaking of learning and dogs…I’m writing a book about what I’ve learned about romance from observing my two dogs. But I digress…onwards.

Connect with Others
Finally! A reason to stay on Facebook. But you also need to connect with people in your real life. Friendships help our mental well being and keep us positive, which wards off stress.

Volunteer
Do good unto others and you’ll feel good about yourself. Another way to fight stress and stay connected.

Exercise
You know it’s good for you. You didn’t need to read it here. Hate exercise? How about just taking the dog for a walk? Want to talk about yoga, need some advice on how to start or what practice is best for you? Drop me a line.

No smoking.
Yep, I said ‘no’ as in stop now. Find a buddy, find an organization, do anything. Just stop. You’re poisoning your insides and messing up your skin.

What about food?
I have a pretty strict diet and that’s for another blog post, but my best advice related to eating and how we look and feel is to read labels. If your food contains a bunch of stuff that you can’t even pronounce, your body is not going to be happy with you.

This is a long list and many of the items may be quite difficult for some people to tackle. I recognize that. Don’t beat yourself up. Why not try to just adhere to one? Then next week, try another. Set goals for yourself and see if you can become like Suki and Raven (who by the way, are gearing up to appear in the third installment of the Romani Realms series, “Returned” this spring.

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Your Mission: To Write

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Screen shot 2014-12-22 at 8.09.08 AMIf there’s one thing we all have in common at this time of year is that we are BUSY. I challenge you to accept Your Mission: To Write!

My household is probably a bit like yours at this time of year. One distracted husband, three children wanting to be distracted, and two dogs itching for us to be distracted. (The younger dog got into the mistletoe last week, which resulted into an emergency trip to the vet.)

In the midst of holiday shopping, cooking for parties, and taking care of kids who are off from school, how do you find time to write? I realized that the time isn’t going to magically appear like Santa with his sleigh. I have to make the time. Here are my top three suggestions for keeping the writing flow going even during the holidays.

1. Set a schedule

It doesn’t matter what time of day you write, just do it. Even if it’s only writing a paragraph, it will set the stage for tomorrow’s session. For me, I write first thing in the morning before the kids realize we haven’t done anything. They’re still in their p.j.s and haven’t had time to get bored, thus requiring my attention.

2. Download some tunes

Music is a great inspiration for writing. Determine a scene in your book, even if it’s a future one. Find a song that perfectly describes the mood of that scene — upbeat, melancholy, desperate, happy, angry. Listen and take notes about how you feel. Those notes are going to find a place in your writing.

3. Be observant

With so many people rushing about it’s a perfect time to watch for interesting behavior. Tired of waiting in line? Go ahead and eavesdrop. The holidays tend  to bring out heightened emotions whether good or bad. We have high expectations during this time of year and that means human nature is ripe to be picked and selected as part of your next story.

Got another suggestion? I’d love to hear about it!

 

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