I defaced ... a book.

I wasn't going to tell anyone this.
I was going to keep this to myself.
Because of the shame.
I have a special relationship with books.
Most of you know what I mean.
I also have a special relationship with libraries.
I now have a lot of guilt and I keep thinking the next time I go they will take away my library card.
I'm sure, somehow, I will pay for this 'sin' down the road.

Why did I commit such a horrible deed?

Well...In my head I can still hear the comments/suggestions from the person that I let read the first few chapters of my book. I wanted to see how far off the mark I really was with just a few of the problems that they noted.

I went to the library the other day and bought a used Nora Roberts paperback.

And I wrote in it with a pen and I used a highlighter.

I have to live with it, I know.

But I took notes and calculated word counts and checked point of view and highlighted adjectives....stuff like that.

Now, let me say this...I am not comparing myself or my writing to Nora Roberts. Please. I would never insult her in such a manner.

What I am saying is that - technically - teeny tiny bit similar. Considering she is probably the author that I have read the most works from, I wouldn't be surprised that my writing is similar.

I just wanted to get the facts. I like facts. They're factual.

Now I can let it go.

Wrote a few pages this morning. Not too much but I got the ball rolling. I will have to go back and smooth out right after the kiss scene. It was a little awkward for them and me!

I remember reading a blog a while ago and the author talked about trying to write 5 pages a day. Someone else recently mentioned trying to write 1000 to 1500 words a day. I suppose if I tried to average it out I could come up with a number but I don't think I write consistently enough to bother.

Some days I write a lot, some days I edit, some days I write a little, some days I delete.

Some days I spend too long on my blog or too much time reading other blogs and I should be folding laundry and doing dishes.

Bad Heather!

Took the words right out of my mouth

http://jodyhedlund.blogspot.com/2010/08/three-tests-that-can-help-us-handle.html

Holy crap on a cracker! I wish I was this centered.

I did quite a bit of writing recently. Woke up early this morning (thank you small child) and couldn't go back to sleep so I left my comfy bed and hit the couch and the laptop.

Finally finished kiss scene.

It shouldn't have been so hard but I think I was just insecure and I had to push through it and get it down on paper. I want the words to reflect what is in my head but I don't always have those words handy. I had to go look for inspiration which of course should have been time spent writing.

If I call it 'research' does it still count?

What was the inspiration? A couple of things. I went to youtube.com and typed in best kiss scenes. SHAAA! HOT!

Wow that was fun.

Then I looked at a few paperbacks I had here in the house and I even checked a few fanfics online.

I don't want you to think that I'm stealing anything. I don't pilfer. I just want to hear or see what I'm feeling and try to capture it myself, with my own words.

The videos were great cause I got to watch the men. When being kissed, normally with eyes closed, you don't always see what the men are doing or what they look like.

This particular video just about knocked me on my ass: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rBCoktxgYU&feature=related

Who is that guy and where can I get one for Christmas? (Kidding, I know who he is but I don't watch the show. Maybe I should start)

Anyway....
Read a few blogs lately that mentioned editing. They were talking about how they felt about it. So many of them dislike it.

I am not one of them.

I enjoy editing. I spend a lot of time going back and reading and fixing and reading and fixing and ... yeah, it's bad.

But I do like it. I just need to learn when to stop fixing and keep writing.

Name three guys...

Do you remember those questionnaires from friends we used to get at school that asked you to fill in a bunch of answers and then they would give you the reasons at the end?

IE: Name three guys... the 1st name is the guy you like, the 2nd name is the guy you hate and the 3rd name is the guy you love!

I think we all have a list of guy and girl names in our heads that we like or absolutely love.
Okay, maybe it's just me.

Recently it seems that all the guy names that I want to use are all ready being used heavily in writing. I leafed through a book yesterday and there was the name 'Jack'... my current lead character. 'Colin' I saw on a newly discovered blog page and I used that in my first book.
Since they are great names, I think its okay that I still use them but its gettin' kinda weird.
I'm also fond of Jake but of course until the whole Twilight thing calms down Jake/Jacob is out of the question.
I'm more of a nickname kind of girl even though I think there is a trend to use full names of guys and girls lately.
I like to shorten.
Hell, my own son's name is down to just one letter!

I did just read on someone's blog that they felt that character names weren't important while you are writing, only when you would be submitting.
Couldn't disagree more. A character name helps me to develop the character. Do I use a title with their name, do I use Mr./Mrs., do I use a shortened version or a nickname.
I think this all helps to round out a character; give them substance. This is what works for me.

I have some new followers, thanks to the blog hop I joined yesterday.
So, welcome and I hope I don't bore you too quickly.

To give you a quick rundown on ... well, me ... I am older (ish) than I would like to be, I have one child and one husband. I work part-time and need to expand that.
I write contemporary romance and I may or may not be good at it.
I submitted my first story earlier this year to agents and publishers and all I heard was...*cricket*.
I sent some of my work to a critique partner that I found and they were pretty vocal about how much like a writer I am not. I took it pretty hard and then dusted my self off and have finally begun to write again.
I'm not saying that they were right or wrong but I enjoy writing too much to stop now.
But I don't believe that my work will hold up to today's industry standards and I'm not sure I have the *insert funny phrase here* to start learning how to be an 'author' now.

So, I will keep writing.
I will keep reading.
And I will continue to find and read other like-minded blogs and hopefully that will be enough to sustain me.

I appreciate the visit.

Romancing the Blog - Blog Hop

Gearing up for an argument

My two lead characters are about to have a huge blowout.

I've spent like 2 weeks trying to get out of my funk and get back in a good mood.

Now I'm having trouble getting angry enough to fight...I mean to have them fight...I mean...well, you know what I mean.

I actually thought it was very funny. Here I was poised at the beginning of the paragraph and I had nothing! Even my husband can tell you that I am always ready for a fight. I love to fight. I love when my characters fight. I love the banter. I usually can't wait for the fighting but .... feh!

Maybe tomorrow morning.

I'm just going to keep writing this one and see where it takes me. I had a first kiss scene all worked out but now I don't think it can happen the way I wanted it too. I hate to get rid of it, cause I like it, so I guess I will have to save it for another book.

I love that first kiss.

What a difference from the first book too. Those characters were kissing on like the third page in that book. I'm already at page 90 something and these guys haven't kissed in this book, hell not even close!

I don't know if that's good or bad to be honest.

There is something to be said for suspense but sheesh!

I usually hate books that make me wait a long time.

Uh oh.

No news from anyone. I have heard that HQN will eventually send a 'no thank you' letter. I did send the SASE for their convenience. I would have liked to have answers from all of them but I guess that wasn't meant to be. Guess I shouldn't be so CDO. (That's OCD for most people.)