Heart Pounding Romance

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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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Celebrate the Success-o-Meter

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Screen shot 2014-11-23 at 7.42.15 PM
I recently listened to another writer lament about what she felt was a sparse number of books she sold in a month’s time. It was interesting because to me, her sales seemed quite good. It made me realize that everyone has a different “success-o-meter.”

The first month that I released a book, I did just that…I released my book. No lead up to it with blog tours, no posting of quotes, no giveaways…just me hitting that “publish” button. Was it any wonder that a day and then a week, and then a month went by and only a handful of close friends knew that I had even written a book. That’s right, a year of hard work and nobody knew about it. Call me naive, but I didn’t know how much pre-marketing was needed.

So let’s fast-forward a year-and-a-half and now analyze my sales after applying knowledge I’ve gained about pre-release marketing. It’s a definite improvement and I feel a measure of success. I get a little thrill every time someone downloads my book or requests it from a contest. Still, when I think back to my colleague, whose sales triple my own, I realize that success is all about perspective.

For me having gone through months with no sales whatsoever, now when I have regular sales I feel a great sense of accomplishment and knowledge gained. I’m satisfied. This doesn’t mean that I don’t strive for more. It doesn’t mean that I don’t dream of “best seller” status as much as the next author, but I do feel that I have achieved a sense of peace and well-being that my colleague can learn from.

To me, if you are a writer and seeing an upward climb in sales, regardless of how small, that is the definition of improvement. Let’s put this into perspective. If you are teaching your child to read, do you celebrate the small victories? Every letter they remember, every time they are able to put three or even four letters together to form a word is success. You don’t expect them to read Proust in second grade and nor should you be upset if your sales aren’t best-seller status.

Remember the reason you became a writer in the first place. Take pleasure in your victories no matter how small. I’ll bet they continue to grow.

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    Where Do I Get My Ideas by Kassandra Lamb

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    I’m honored that author Kassandra Lamb has agreed to guest post on my blog today. Here, she discusses, “Where Do I Get My Ideas.” This guest post is a continuation of a blog tour by My Family’s Heart for Kassandra’s latest novel, “Fatal Forty-Eight.”

    Fatal Fourty-Eight - Tour Banner

    I hear that question a lot. For me, getting the idea has never been a problem. I’ve always had an overactive imagination. This is probably true for fiction writers in general.

    In my case, that lively imagination is coupled with a slightly paranoid streak. This morbid tendency may not be all that healthy, but it does come in handy when one writes mysteries.

    Writers start with a “what if” scenario. What if this happened, or that happened? After my first book was published, my paranoia kicked in and I was inordinately concerned about others plagiarizing my ideas. That got me wondering how one would prove that they had not plagiarized another person’s ideas. How do you prove a negative?

    This led to the idea for my second book, ILL-TIMED ENTANGLEMENTS, which is a romantic suspense story.

    This newest release, FATAL FORTY-EIGHT, started with “What if a therapist were kidnapped from his/her office?” Therapists trust that new clients coming into their offices for the first time are on the up-and-up. It’s one of those areas where people still operate on faith in their fellow human beings, kind of like when women assume no one will mess with their purse when they get up to take communion in church or to dance at a social gathering.

    Hmm… *rubs chin* What if a thief stole from womens’ purses at a dance and one happened to have a secret letter in her wallet?

    Uh, where was I? Oh yeah, that kidnapping scenario was the beginning of the idea for this new thriller. Then I decided to make the kidnapper a serial killer, and I was off and running.

    Um, stay tuned. I may just write that one about the secret letter. *files idea in mental file drawer marked “Paranoid Scenarios”* 😀

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      The Chicken or the Egg of Story Telling

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      When it comes to launching a new story, what comes first for you? Is it the setting, the plot, or a character quirk? In other words, what’s your own personal chicken or the egg of story telling?

      What I love most about being a writer, or perhaps it’s the reason I am a writer, is that inspiration and ideas can strike at any moment. I was reading an article in Travel & Leisure magazine about the best adventure destinations and I was immediately struck that any one of these would make a great setting for a book.

      For this reason, I believe with all of my heart and soul that a writer must also be a voracious reader. Sure, we don’t always have time to launch into a full book, so when life gets busy at least read a magazine. The point is to read anything you can get your hands on.

      I’m sure if you’re a writer you have a vivid imagination, but that doesn’t mean your ideas don’t get stale every once in awhile. It’s good to stir things up and turn to new sources for inspiration.

      Besides, it’s fun to get lost in ideas. With regards to the article and photos that recently inspired me, they were also a welcome reprieve considering that I didn’t get away this past summer on a vacation. Here they are for you to enjoy…and perhaps gain inspiration from as well.

      Travel and Leisure Best Vacation Destinations

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      Change It Up

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      This post originally appeared on the blog, “Writing on the Sunny Side,” when I was asked to guest post. I’m a regular blogger, but writing for someone else’s site…that was new to me. I realized that it’s good to change it up every once in awhile. As writers, we are always in danger of taking the comfortable route, following a format that we know, even letting our characters mirror each other from one book to the next.

      It’s easy for me to create a blog for my own site. I can talk about my characters, upcoming projects, or include a recipe in my regular, “What’s Mia Making” column. But when I guest posted, I had to put extra thought into how to write for an entirely different audience. It felt scary and liberating all at once as I realized that I’m quite a creature of habit.

      My writing place is my office with my dogs lying under my desk. Today, I ditched my computer and my office for an old-fashioned pen and writing pad. I said goodbye to my wi-fi and left to get my car brakes fixed. (I know, I lead an exciting life!)

      I could’ve returned home, but I decided to hang out and try to write in their waiting room. Let me tell you something, in the forty-five minutes that I was there, I got more accomplished than I have in a long time. There was no incoming email to distract me, no temptation from Facebook or Twitter. Just me and a writing pad.

      Was it comfortable there? Not at all. The coffee was warm at best and bland. The chairs were worn with suspicious stains. But, this waiting room also came with a new perspective and new faces. Seeing the people come and go, hearing tidbits of conversation…it sparked my imagination and I wrote in a way that I hadn’t in long time. I let the writing flow from me. I gave myself permission to break away from my outline as well as my habits.

      You may relish your routine, but dare yourself to try something different. Changing it up is work and often scary, but it makes us better.

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      Why are You a Writer?

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      Why are you a writer? One time, my daughter asked that question and it didn’t take me but a second to come up with the answer…because I love it!

      I knew what she was getting at. She has seen me suffer for my art. With no particular order or value, here are some of the less glamorous things that she notices about my writing life:

      * Sometimes a good writing roll takes the place of a shower.
      * I admit to worrying about bad reviews.
      * I occasionally pound my hands against the desk when my characters decide to say the stupidest thing ever.
      * Even more often, I pound my head against the desk when my characters refuse to talk to me.
      * I’ve come to accept that some of my books have found a loyal and devoted audience of three.

      I don’t write for the money because let’s face it, I’m not Nora Roberts. I don’t write because it’s an easy job. In addition to writing, there are countless hours spent on social media, promotions, editing, and proofreading.

      I write because I love to read and I love taking my readers (and myself) away to another world. I love planning my next book. I’ve even taken to becoming a location scout. When I have an idea for a book, I’ll visit some place close to my home where my characters might hang out and snap some photos for inspiration. This and planning the covers is what I call mind candy. It’s fun and it makes me say, “I’ve got the best job ever!”

      That’s why I write.

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