Cobwebs and clutter

Spring cleaning is a tradition for many people. Winter ends and you throw open the windows, let in the fresh air, and start tossing out the trash, sweeping up cobwebs, and sorting through the junk that's collected over a long, cold winter.

Mentally, I've been doing the same thing. The very air seems to stimulate the creative process ... or maybe it's just the fact that the air no longer freezes my lungs. ;) But whether it's the periodic sunshine, warmer days, or budding trees, all I know is that I suddenly feel in the mood to be productive again. I want to write. I want to draw. I want to take long walks and contemplate plot holes and story ideas. I feel a deep-seated need to create.

The best way to begin is by cleaning out the mental cobwebs. First, I start plowing through that story that has been lingering for months on end. I know how it ends, but I haven't written it down yet. In my mind, it's done. In reality, it never will be if I don't initiate some self-discipline, turn off the games and write!

Once the old wip (work in progress) is finally finished, the new ideas can take deeper root. It's kind of like clearing out a closet for a new wardrobe. New characters; fresh ideas; words strung together in new ways. Yes, this is one of the truly fun parts of writing -- the beginning when every story is new and you're discovering it page by page, scene by scene.

It seems all I really needed was some fresh air and little sunlight.

Meg Allison

Indulge your senses...
http://megallisonauthor.com

Ahhh, September...

This is my favorite time of the year. Although it's not officially Autumn, the season is definitely in the air.

The nights are cooler; the sun sets sooner; the leaves are starting to change colors and fall from the trees. I can smell wood burning as neighbors try to take the chill off their houses. Then there's that school bus rattling down the road twice a day.

It also seems to be the time of year that my muse comes out of hibernation... or maybe it's home from vacation. ;)

I'm not sure why it's easier to write in the Fall. It could be the simple change in seasons and that I've always felt at ease and happy this time of year. It could also be the few extra hours of 'silence' as children go back to school or resume their on-line classes. Whatever the reason, I feel more inspired. I feel more equipped to face that cursor and the blank, white space.

What inspires you? Is it a season? A time of day? When does your muse seem to wake?

Meg Allison

Indulge your senses...
http://www.megallisonauthor.com

On the Journey

I loved Amy's post about her camping trip and thought I would share a few of my pics too. These are all photos I've taken while going for a walk. It is amazing how much beauty is all around us. Sometimes we need to just stop a second and take it all in.

Writing books requires a lot of sitting time at my desk, which is great for the stories, not so great for my body. My backside has no business resembling my desk chair. So, I walk everyday to loosen up the old bod and to freshen up my mind. Stepping away from the computer and breathing fresh air lets my mind relax and many times I come back from the stroll ready to jump on a new scene.

This picture reminds me that life is journey. We never know where that road is going to take us.

And sometimes we have two roads to choose from. Which would you take, the curved, or the straight one?

The road has taken me to a lazy harbor at the base of the Grand Tetons (the glorious sights in this place were unbelievable)...

...along a private golf course in Palm Dessert (who knew the desert could be so lush in August?)...

...and to the top of a mountain on a hike with the local YMCA.

Wherever I go, I try to stop and soak in the beauty all around us. Isn't this a magnificent oak tree?

Oh, and when I get to where I'm going, I might do a little happy dance (see son demonstrating).

Life is a journey. Enjoy the walk.

Kimberley Troutte

http://kimberleytroutte.com/

Pinterest!

My newest online obsession. At first I thought, "Pff. Why in the world would anyone spend their time flipping through someone else's photo album?" I don't consider myself especially visually oriented, so I dismissed the idea.

After I'd heard about it a dozen times, though, I registered. On a whim. And have subsequently lost hours.

HOURS of my life that I'll never get back. Hours I consider, if not well spent, then at least charmingly entertained.

I've giggled at the funnies, had tears start in my eyes at the touching, been awed by the breathtaking, and followed all kinds of links to new and unusual places.

For those of you who are woefully behind the times, Pinterest is a site where people can make their own public albums of things they've seen around the web that catch their eye. If you had a big pinboard at home where you tack up all the pictures that you've cut out of magazines, or ideas for things you always mean to do or get, that's basically what Pinterest is about. It's a giant, virtual pinboard. The best part is that you get to see what everyone else is pinning, too! So you end up following their pinboards because they find the coolest stuff for you to pin onto your own board. Then you follow the pinboards that *they're* pinning and so on and so on until it turns into a giant Pinterest Prell commercial. (If you're too young to get that reference, I don't want to know.)

I started out with two boards of my own. One for my covers because, hey, that's part of my job description, and one for everything else.

Last night, I had to add two more boards, bringing my total up to ... ok, I went to see how many boards I had and got lost for half an hour. Thirteen boards.

Libraries - pictures of bookshelves, bookstores, book collections, and yes, libraries.

Keep Calm - my collection of "Keep Calm and ..." sayings and posters.

Books Worth Reading - covers of my favorite classics and keepers.

Bookfessions - sayings about reading, literature, readers and books.

Readers - pictures of readers, famous and not. Who knew that Marilyn Monroe was an avid reader?

Steampunk - duh. Of course I have a Steampunk file.

Writer Gear - sayings and doodads about and for the writer's life.

Myths That Move Me - anything that reminds me of a story I once heard, including mythology, folklore and fairytales.

Picturesque - at first, this was my catchall for things that caught my eye for their beauty. Now, I'm trying to keep it to photos of nature.

Random Great Stuff - funnies and Sherlock and Nathan Fillion.

My covers - I can't tell you how thrilled I was when someone repinned one of my covers!

And my two newest boards, Beautiful Fashions - because people keep pinning gorgeous dresses and stunning jewelry - and Luscious Noms - because people keep pinning pictures of food and my keyboard is getting all drooly.

It's actually been a great way to get to know people, too. Who knew that some of my friends were such fashionistas? Or that they had an abiding interest in cakes or trees or astronomy or all kinds of cool stuff? Sure, I could be writing or folding laundry instead of surfing Pinterest, but let's get real. The world needs more pictures of Nathan Fillion.

Want to see my pretties? Check out my Pinterest boards!

Where do you buy your light bulbs?

I have a writer friend (who has this totally awesome fantasy series; in the near future you will probably see his words on the big screen), who when he loses his inspiration says he is going out to 'buy some light bulbs'. See, he's an illustrator as well as an author, so he's big on visual cues. That 'light bulb' moment that all authors search for, like in cartoons when a character gets a bright idea.

For me, light bulbs come from all over. I am asked all the time, 'where do you get your ideas'. Literally everywhere, is my answer. Last weekend, for example, I was on my annual family trip to Wildwood, NJ. The ocean and beach is rejuvenating for the muse. I haven't written much lately, because I'm swamped with freelance work, grad school work, Boy's football season, editing the upcoming Library of Athena book (yay!). So my current WIP is on hold, but that's maybe not such a bad thing, since I hate to rush and I'm thinking I needed a recharge anyway.

So, here we are, down the shore (as we say here in Jersey), walking the boardwalk. I see a crowd, off to one side, across from Douglas' Fudge (yum, btw!). The three of us, Boy, Husband, and Me, go and see what is happening. There's a guy there, setting up some kind of art - he's got canvases laid out on the deck, pretty pictures. He's setting up a bunch of spray paint cans and dropcloths.

Did I mention he's wearing a mask and giant Mad Hatter's hat?

His assistant is also setting up a sound system, for reasons unknown. Anyway, after watching all this, the crowd is suitably curious and rolling with anticipation. Finally the guy in the big hat kneels down and pulls out a fresh canvas. The assistant starts the music - a thumping techno with a huge bass line.

The man in the hat starts to paint. He grabs can after can of spray paint, dabbing, dripping, using scrapers as edges - and ALL to the beat of the music. He paints TO THE BEAT, spraying and swiping, throwing paper towels and empty cans into a nearby container. In about five minutes, he picked up the canvas and showed us a work of art. Not spray paint graffiti, but a piece of art I'd hang on my wall, a black and white mountain scene with pine trees. It was amazing - a complete performance. It was magic.

I found some light bulbs. Don't be surprised if you see a guy with a big hat and magic paint in a future story someday.

So where do you buy your light bulbs?

Inspiration: Get it Where You Can

Writing a story can be...oh, what is the word?...HARD!

I mean, seriously, creating a brand-spanking new world with sights, smells, tastes, and sounds? Developing new people with hearts, guts, skin and bones that readers want to fall in love with? Delving into conflicts that are believable and strong enough to grab the reader by the collar and propel them into a story they don't want to put down? AND digging deep enough to make it all fun, emotional, awe-inspiring, and completely satisfying?

Dang, it is hard.

There are times, I will admit, when it all seems impossible. On those days I look for inspiration, something, anything with a boot to kick me in the seat of my pants. I find inspiration in all sorts of places and here are a few:

1) My boys are the first to tell me to stop being a wus. Just do it already, Mom. Plus, they are super good to bounce ideas off of. They have no qualms in telling me if something sucks. But they are also great at telling me what rocks. The best thing is they keep me grounded and remind me what's really important--when's dinner?

2) My hubby is an athlete. He challenges his body and his mind on a daily basis. Men fifteen years younger than he is are jealous of his accomplishments. I see how dedicated he is, how motivated, how he keeps going when his body hurts, or when he is tired. The man is a living inspiration.

3) My parents, sisters and brother all lift me up. They've suffered through my growing pains and rejections and never once suggested I quit. Encouragement from people who love me no matter what? Priceless.

4) My friends have always been there (in good times and bad) with kind words, hugs, jumps for joy, rejection condolences, chocolate, coffee, and money to buy my books.

5) Authors who have gone before me and who are struggling beside me are inspirational. A great book lifts me up, gives me hope, and turns the light on at the end of the tunnel.

6) Artists, athletes, and anyone who has set stellar goals for themselves and have worked their fannies off (for years, usually) to reach them.

7) The Bible. I can always find inspiration in there.

8) Me. Looking back at how far I've come, helps to move me forward.

9) Inspirational Quotes. I love them and collect them. This week I found one from Muhammed Ali that really spoke to me, "I am the Greatest. I said that even before I knew I was."

So here's to being the greatest! I wish you inspiration and joy in your journey to reach the stellar goals you have set for yourself. If you have quotes, or inspirational stories to share, I'd love to see them.

Kimberley Troutte
www.kimberleytroutte.com

But I'm not inspired

I've been in a funk this past week. I've squeezed out a few hundred words a day, but no where near reached my daily minimum. Everything around me seems to be "keeping me from writing"* and my inspiration level has been set at non-existent.

Writing is easy: All you do is sit staring at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead.

~Gene Fowler

The kids only have two and a half days of school this week. Mentally I gave up on the days they'll be home before they week even started - how will I get anything done with the kids around anyway?

My local NPR station switched its morning programing, and how can I expect to concentrate when my usual shows aren't on at the accustomed times?

My laptop wallpaper is old and no longer inspires me. But ninety minutes spent surfing for new paper last night didn't result in anything more exciting.

The news is full of heartbreaking stories of the dead, missing, and too-few survivors in Haiti. My heart is heavy, and I'm not feeling the sexy vibe.

Hubs is in transition with his job, and pops into my office (or calls me from the other end of the house) at least twice an hour. Half an hour ago he was in here talking to me, and after my fourth "huh" in as many minutes he asked "Are you listening to me?"

Sheepish look from me. "Not really, I'm trying to work."

"Why didn't you say so?" he muttered before he walked away, leaving me alone.

I can feel the silence swelling around me. It's even more distracting than his talking.

Now you tell me, with all that going on how can anyone expect me to get any work done?
~~~
If you've made it this far, are you ready to throw a bucket of cold water over me yet? Because really, I think someone needs to.

Yes, the kids have a short school week. This happens multiple times a year. They're also old enough to actually leave me alone for 30 minute stretches if I plan around it.

NPR switched programming on me. Not a life altering event, unless I have totally lost the ability to go with the flow. I have NOT become that person (yet).

The events in Haiti are terrible. But even in tragedy, my deadlines need to be reached, my commitments met.

Desktop wallpaper - really? Did I honestly think for longer than 10 seconds that this was my problem? (Sadly, yes. Can I have my ninety minutes back?)

Neil Gaiman says,

"One word after another. That's the only way that novels get written and, short of elves coming in the night and turning your jumbled notes into Chapter Nine it's the only way to do it."

Those words have been my desktop wallpaper since November, inspiring me every day when I sit down at my desk. Now why didn't I just copy this picture over to my laptop last night, instead of looking for inspiration on Google Images.

So what's really been "keeping me from writing"* all week? Me.

It's all me. None of the above excuses, or the other two dozen that were just too lame to even put on the screen, had to keep me from writing. Now that I've written all this out, I can see that it's all been nothing but a bunch of poor-me'isms that I turned into a huge waste of time.

Two more of my favorite quotes that popped into my head today.

“Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.”
“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”
~Thomas Edison

Why didn't I have this talk with myself six days ago? The only person who can fix me, is me. No one else can put my fingers on the keyboard, and the elves sure haven't been coming in the night.

But just in case - if anyone has a favorite source of inspiration, I'd love to see it.

13 Story Ideas I Can't Decide Between

Here's the situation. I'm waiting on my agent to get back to me on my latest completed projects, and in the meantime I don't know what to write next. There are several stories burning a hole in my pocket, so I'm not devoid of inspiration, I just don't know where to constructively apply my time. Once my agent gets back to me, that will help me focus on whichever project we mutually agree has the most potential, but until then I don't want to waste one single day. I only get two a week (when the toddler is at the sitter) and I already burned one this week because both kids stayed home on a snow day.

Needless to say I accomplished less than nothing on that day, which was, incidentally, today, and which is, incidentally, why I'm posting my Johnny Come Lately blog entry at nearly midnight.

But I have tomorrow to myself and...tick tock!

Have you ever been in a position where several projects interest you but you can't settle on one? If my projects didn't take as long, I wouldn't be as reluctant to dive in, but there's that aforementioned two days a week thing that curtails my speed. And it's better than it used to be--until September of last year I got zero days a week.

So I thought I'd put it to a vote or at least solicit opinions. Here are 13 potential stories I could write next. In the comments, you can tell me which one you'd rather read!

1) Take a contemporary romance novella and turn it into a novel that would be a (wonderful) cross between romantic comedy, erotic romance and Southern fiction. This one's at the top of the list because I just finished the novella last week but it probably needs to percolate before I revise it so drastically.

2) Expand the short I sent my agent several months ago into a single title--premise is a dream guardian thing where the standard (or not so standard) secret organization goes around saving the world from monsters created by dreams.

3) Work on my vampire premise I call "My Big Fat Undead Twenty Year High School Reunion" where the heroine, a vamp, is pretty damn sure she'll earn that coveted "Least Changed" award.

4) Work on this dragon/mom lit idea I had where a mom and her two kids escaped a parallel dimension full of bad dragons to come here, only to find perhaps they were followed.

5) Another vampire idea, probably a short, featuring a world half overrun with vamps and the heroine grudgingly enrolling in a vampire self defense training program which I suspect has been infiltrated by those wily bloodsuckers.

6) An erotic (maybe) romance set in an adult school for wizards with a heroine getting a late start in the whole training part of wizardry.

7) A short piece of absolute smut that occurs during a midnight traffic jam after the interstate shuts down due to ice.

8) The sequel to my novel Survival of the Fairest that my editor has gently hinted she would sure like to read.

9) Finish the werewolf story about Harry the rebellious, non-pack joining were and his ladyfriends in the tea room I started at another blog. Problem: it didn't seem to want to be a romance, and I know romance sells better.

10) A futuristic erotic (maybe) road trip story where powerful mages rely on regular people to transport them across the badlands via nonmagical means else the wild magic will seek them out and destroy them.

11) Another futuristic erotic (maybe) roadtrip -- I never know if they're going to be erotic until I start writing them and the characters get hot and bothered -- set in an arctic area where the hero has to fetch his best friend's sister from school and transport her safely down the "ice road" while getting hunted by bad guys from the military (he's on leave).

12) Two elderly lesbian ladies who realize that the place they buried one of their husbands (after they maybe sort of killed the bastard) is about to be dug up for a mall parking lot. Yeah, I know! Why haven't I already written it? Because I have ideas 1-11 tempting me too.

13) And last but not least, a story that takes place in DunVegas about a huge magic show that may--or may not--change the whole world!

Thoughts?

Jody W.
www.jodywallace.com

Snatch and Romance

It's not what you think! Several years ago, I wrote a great article for my local RWA chapter newsletter, and I thought I'd reprint it for the readers here since it's pretty relevant to my current time management issues.

***

Have you ever been cuddled in bed, pondering the intricacies of romance, and been hit by the most wonderful notion that you just had to act upon right there and then?

Have you ever been at your day job, tallying reports or something incredibly boring, and had the frantic need to explore what it felt like to be swept into the lusty embrace of an 1880s cowboy?

Have you ever been in the middle of washing vegetables, maybe cucumbers or tomatoes, and been struck by an inspiration of the sexual variety?

Have you ever been chatting with a pal about writer’s block or love scenes and gotten the sudden urge for privacy so you could take care of a pressing romantic issue?

If you answered yes to any of the previous questions, then you, too, have indulged in “snatch” — snatching some writing time for yourself out of the morass of daily living, that is.

A companion technique to the highly effective Club 100, a writing group established by author Beth Pattillo, “snatch” involves scribbling down whatever story ideas pop into your head, even if they’re chronologically out of whack or in an abbreviated form. When you dream it up, write it down immediately, before it drifts away in the daily grind of meals, wheels and deals.

This includes new story ideas, where a single snatch could turn into pages and pages of brainstorming, but I'm going to focus more on notions about where your current novel might be headed.

Say you get an image of your hero and heroine arguing over whether to drive or fly to Vegas as they rush to marry in time to beat the clock on the reality television program they’re involved in. Hey, hush up, you, crazier books have been written!

My point is, if you conceive that image, write it down! It may get axed in the completed novel. They may get booted out of “Survivor: Wedding” before they reach the final two and have no need to rush to Vegas. Then again, it may end up being one of the funniest scenes you’ve ever written, not to mention inspire you to power through the next three chapters because you know where in the plot that scene takes place and what you have to do to get there.

Snatch works for authors who plot in advance as well as those who write into the mist. For ones who plot in advance, sure, they’ve got the plot down, but not the passion. Not the details. As passionate, funny, or perfect images occur to them, they can record those before they lose the flavor and assemble the pieces when the time comes. (If they're extremely focused writers who power through a whole manuscript in a matter of weeks because of their extensive pre-plotting, well, they don’t need any help and probably aren’t reading how-to articles, anyway!)

For ones who write into the mist, sometimes not knowing what happens next can be liberating but in extreme cases it can cause writer’s block. If you have a great scene for the future of your newly acquainted couple, go ahead and write it. You can fill in the blanks with other great scenes until you get there. Even if the scene is just bare bones dialogue, write it down. Even if it’s just a kiss, a funny expression, or a telling realization, put it on paper (or in your computer). Write yourself notes in the little notebook in your purse or the larger one beside your bed. If you drive a lot, get a cheap tape recorder and talk at it.

You will hopefully discover it frees your muse when you allow your brain to plot ahead a little. As you continue to work your way through the body of the novel, plug your scribbles and snatches into the narrative and build on them. You may get entire chapters in the blink of an eye with the addition of transitions and layering for the senses.

What I’ve found is that I trail off about two-thirds of the way through my manuscripts. If I bull through with my eyes closed, it’s torturous, but if I vault ahead to the grand finale, it’s suddenly easier to complete chapters 17 through 22. Think of it as giving yourself points on a map to drive towards — or veer away from entirely, should the muse strike you. But at least it will be the muse striking you and you won’t be striking yourself in the forehead because your brain isn’t working and you can’t write.

Some authors might fear that if they write the “good parts” first, the rest will be boring and never make it to the screen. Well, that is a concern, but nobody said writing a whole book was effortless, and a successful writer will tell you all manuscripts are full of sections that are exciting to write as well as sections that are less so.

One aspiring author I know says she forbids herself to polish her snatches after she writes them down so that the excitement doesn’t fade and she still has something to look forward to. And too, not all strategies will work for all authors.

Another writer I know who describes herself as midway between a plotter and a “pantser”, told me that writing out of sequence has done wonders for her productivity. She thinks it keeps her jazzed about her story because she gets to write what is inspiring her NOW instead of holding herself back to what's next in the plot.

As with Club 100, writing a snatch or two every day will keep your story fresh in your memory and easier to slip into each time you have access to a keyboard, an AlphaSmart (which is very handy for snatches), or a pen and paper. It’s like all that algebra we learned in high school or college. If you don’t use it, you’ll forget it, so use it every day. Snatch away!

***

Jody Wallace
http://www.jodywallace.com
A SPELL FOR SUSANNAH--In Print, Samhain Publishing
LIAM'S GOLD--In Electrons, Samhain Publishing

Fairy tales!

I love fairy tales!

Today I happened to be wandering around one of my favorite sites, Sur La Lune Fairy Tales. It's like walking through a candy store. I could spend HOURS in there!

They have about 50 stories directly on their site, but they point to hundreds more. Hundreds! From cultures all over the world, too.

They also have illustrations. I admit it, I'm a sucker for a pretty picture. One of my favorite fairy tale illustrators is Kay Nielsen. A Danish artist, he illustrated one of my favorite volumes, East of the Sun and West of the Moon. Sur la Lune also features gorgeous images by Arthur Rackham, who illustrated Peter Pan, and Maxfield Parrish, whose surreal art blends sweetly and sharply with the gentle stories. Aubrey Beardsley illustrated Le Morte D'arthur in stunning pen and ink.

But what's really wonderful about fairy tales -- and I know I say this all the time -- is the scope for imagination that they provide. All the wonderful "what ifs." What if a girl fell asleep for a hundred years? What kind of hero would go through all the pain and agony of the thorn forest to find her?

What if a man was cursed into a bear's form? What kind of heroine would travel east of the sun and west of the moon to rescue him?

Fairy tale archetypes still work today because they provide the framework for infinite variations. I borrowed East of the Sun and West of the Moon as a pattern for my free read, Runespell.

What are your favorite fairy tales? And have you ever used them as a basis for a story of your own?

Inspiration

Sometimes, when you're a writer, your brain kicks into creative mode and there's nothing you can do about it. You're not always in a position where you can type like the wind or even take notes. Let's take my daughter's recent preschool graduation as an example. Those of you who are writers are going to know exactly what I'm talking about, and those of you who aren't can get some insight as to where we get our ideas.

So we (me, husband, sister, daughter #1, daughter #2) all dressed up, loaded up and went to this thing called a preschool graduation. Really, it was a potluck dinner and a chance for the kids to run amuck on the playground in their dress clothes while the parents stood around awkwardly, holding paper plates, angry babies with rashes, and the piece of wood their kid found on the playground and just *had* to save.

Or maybe that was just me. But anyway.

We'd made my daughter's favorite piggy wiggies and put them in my precious, fancy Tempraserve insulated food carrier to keep them hot, and the buffet table groaned with goodies. We had convinced the children to eat real food instead of cake, and everything we might possibly need was packed in the diaper bag hanging on my shoulder.

Everything except my laptop!

There we were during the social hour, pretending to be social, and without warning my brain clicked into creative mode. I don’t know what kickstarted it. Maybe the sight of the children riding the skateboard down the long handicapped ramp? When I was young, there was a house in our neighborhood on the bluff that actually had an escape tunnel. The back bedroom closet had a secret door, and underneath was a long, dark, concrete shaft. If you flattened your body, you could roll on a skateboard all the way under the house, under the yard, to the secret egress near the side of the mountain. Why would a family need a dark, secret escape hatch, I always wondered? Why would they need to flee their house? Surely there was a story there, and last night, my brain wanted to write it.

"Hon," my husband said, "can you hold the baby so I can eat?"

My turn to restrain the rashy baby, who struggled to get down and eat grass with the rest of the younger siblings. My little graduate, on the other hand, was -- in her fancy party dress -- excavating a large mud puddle with a child-sized shovel, jumping on it with great concentration. So were several other taffeta-clad angels, and my sister, attempting to restore order, stood in their center like a Maypole whose ribbons had taken on a life of their own. The sun glinted on her blonde curls, and a dark, handome man I didn't recognize videotaped the whole thing, smirking the whole time.

My sister's single. Granted, the videotaper probably wasn't, but he might be, and...

"Hon," my husband said, "it's time for the ceremony."

We all trooped inside the small schoolhouse to watch our muddy graduates collect their "journey books" and sing songs about spreading love around the world, very Pay It Forward. The preschool where we enrolled our daughter follows the Reggio Emilia approach that curriculum is developed from the emerging interests of the children as they interact with their environment. In other words, it's small, intimate, nontraditional and touchy-feely, a unique program for our wonderful--perhaps even unusual--children. Which of course sent my brain, which had been writing a romantic comedy involving my sister, in another direction.

"Hon," my husband said, waking me from "the trance" for a third time, "do you want me to take the baby to the car?"

Now how had I missed that it was time to go home? I sent hubby to the car, my sister to clean the mud off our graduate and then to the car, and myself to the buffet table to fetch my precious, fancy Tempraserve insulated food carrier and any remaining piggy wiggies.

It was nowhere to be found. I sought it high and low, inside and out, even in the mudhole, but the Tempraserve had disappeared into thin air. There were other dishes still on the table, dishes I had not brought, but none were my treasured Tempraserve. I managed to keep my mouth shut about shabby thieves all the way home since the children love to repeat my words. I knew it could have been an honest mistake, some clueless husband sent by the wife to "get our stuff", but now it's late and I'm writing my blog entry and I'm still pissed about that casserole dish.

Maybe I should have my revenge. Which makes me think of a story....

***

Anybody else have nights like this?

Jody W.
www.jodywallace.com

Just Breathe

What is inspiration? Loosely it means stimulation of the mind or emotions to a high level of feeling or activity. Literally, the word inspiration means breathed upon. Sounds a little strange at first, but think about it. If someone breathes in your ear, the hair goes up on the back of your neck and your skin tingles. For someone, like me, who writes romances, that sounds right up my alley.

But where do you get inspiration? Perhaps from the oft credited, yet never seen muses? More grownups seem to believe in these wearers of long gauzy gowns than ever believed in the fat bearded one as children. I'd hire PR person the spot, because for women who don’t get out much, everybody knows who they are. Well, sort of, because, basically, there’s only nine muses (ten if you count Sappho) and how many writers in the world? I don’t know much about math, but well, that just doesn’t add up to me.

Back to inspiration, how do you make sure it’s the good kind of breath? Let’s face it, those muses are busy creatures, they’d find it amusing (pun intended) to give your work a little halitosis. While you're scrambling around freshening it up, they'd be free to finally finish their own novels.

Now that I've uncovered the muses' plots to dominate the writing world, blogging may be the only writing I’ll ever do again, somehow, I don’t think so. Inspiration comes from within, from without, from all around. Music, movies, the people I meet on the street are fodder for what I write. What doesn’t inspire me is an easier to question to ask. The answer is, nothing yet. Even silence does, because I find that it makes my thoughts start to whirl just to fill it. So, whether you’re an artist, an author, a singer, songwriter, poet, or the person who cleans the toilets at the local McDonald’s, everybody needs something to inspire you to do your best. Find out what it is, and go with it.

Jenna Leigh

We're All Different

Hi folks -- I'm Jody Wallace, and this is my first post as part of the Beyond the Veil blog. I'll talk about more paranormal-specific things in later entries, but today I've been thinking about writing advice. There's such a huge market for how-to-write books out there, you'd think a ton of people wanted to be writers...or whispered to you, when they learned you were a writer, that you needed to write their life story because psst psst and psst.

Uh-huh.

Well, there are a lot of people who buy those advice books. A lesser number start a novel. Still fewer finish one. Even fewer submit it for publication, and I think we all know how many get published.

For those of us in that minority, we aren't there because we all read the "right" book or employ some similar technique, besides write well and keep submitting. Everyone who pursues a writing career puts the words on the page differently, resulting in different words and different books. Some of us believe writer's block is a myth, and some of us can't write unless certain conditions are met, such as soft music, an IV drip of caffeine, or photos of our hero emblazoned across the computer screen. Some of us finish several books a year, and some authors, as legitimate as the rabbits, write at the speed of tortoise.

I'm an author who does her best work when there are no children tugging my legs, screeching at the cats, or babbling non-stop in the background. As a stay-at-home mom with two kids not yet in school, these "requirements" mean my writing time is limited. I have great envy in my heart for writer-types who can drop into the zone (the magical place where we can get something worthwhile onto the page) handily, taking advantage of fifteen minutes here or there, scribbling during ballet lessons or lunch breaks, pounding out hundreds of words while the baby naps.

If the baby naps.

My dream zone is silent, childless, catless, climate-controlled and clean, all things no one would use to describe my house. A place like that is a true fantasy. Right now, for example, my 5 year old has been talking so much her voice is husky, and the baby is headbutting my legs because I'm holding the laptop instead of her. I don't get my dream zone, so I make do with chaos, enforced Teletubbies hour, and occasional bouts of low rumbling.

What's important to realize, as you contemplate your own zone, is that what works for me won't necessarily work for you. What works for Jennie, or Bianca, or Carolan, might not work for me (though I wish more methods did work for me!).

One author I know swears by first drafts in two weeks at twenty pages a day--"Get those words on a page no matter what!" she cries. Another writer I know composes fifty page synopses before she begins a novel. She can't proceed until she's packed for all contingencies and knows all the stops along the way. Still another, who may or may not be myself, is slow, erratic, and finds synopses inhibiting. But the result of one of these journeys? Is a fantasy romance novel called A SPELL FOR SUSANNAH, purchased by Samhain for publication in the year 2008 :).

So I did something right, even if I felt unsure at the time when considering the seemingly more successful methods of my peers.

And that's what I want to celebrate today--our differences. Through it all, as we blog and vent and discuss the ins and outs of authorship, it's important to acknowledge there are as many routes to a destination as there are authors. No right path, no wrong path. Our brains and writing habits are as individual as the end results.

Thank goodness for that, because I was a reader long before I was a writer!

What's your process? Ever been convinced you had pinned down your process and tried something new anyway? Did it work or did it lead you astray?

JW
http://www.jodywallace.com/