Purple Prose [Search results for conferences] 

A year ago, I received a rejection on my full in which the agent suggested I hone my writing skills some more (okay, more like a lot more). Within 24 hours, I had signed up for two writing courses (one focused specifically on YA) from a reputable online organization.

The advantage was that the instructor in each (along with my fellow students) would provide feedback on the assignments. While I did learn a few things I didn’t know, most of what I learned wasn’t new to me. Actually, I learned a helluva more by reading blogs—for free.

So what about the feedback? Wasn’t that worth it?

Let’s just say I’ve had way better crits from beta readers than I got from my instructors and classmates. Again, for free. After receiving feedback on my first chapter during the class, I sent it in for the critique at the LA SCBWI conference last year. Shortly afterwards, several beta readers read it and gave me much better feedback (especially on how I could tighten my writing). Even Ellen Hopkins had a lot to say about it. Things the instructor should have pointed out. #epicwritingcoursefail

Recently I took an online workshop for writing love scenes. Too bad I’d already read Writing a Romance Novel for Dummies and The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Writing Erotic Romance. The class would have be great if we could have had feedback on our work (or at least on some students' work), but that didn’t happened.

Fortunately not all workshops I’ve attended have been a complete flop. A lot of the workshops at the LA SCBWI conferences have been awesome, and I’ve heard great things about the workshops/conferences held through my local RWA chapter (which I’ll be going to this year). And WriteOnCon (the free online conference) is awesome. If you haven’t already, check it out from last year. The organizers will be announcing the 2011 conference dates soon.

If you’re looking at taking an online writing course, here are some things to consider:

• Who’s teaching the course? Have you read any of the author’s books? Some instructors (like in my ‘writing love scenes’ class) spend more time patting themselves on the back than teaching you anything. Warning: This happens at conferences, too.
• Will there be an opportunity for feedback?
• How many people are in the class?
• Is the class for beginners? (This might affect the level of feedback you get or the level of information you’ll receive.)
• What kind of time commitment is expected from you?
• Is the class being held by a reputable organization? (Not that it helped me.)

For feedback, check out forums such as Absolute Write, the Query Tracker Forum, and Verla Kay’s blue boards (for kidlit and YA writers). They are all free.

Has anyone else had good/bad experience with writing courses? Any other recommendations to help a writer hone his skill?

I have only three words for you: The Hex Boys.

I recently read Demons at Deadnight by Alyssa and Eileen Kirk. The best part about the book (which is great, btw) were the six hot teenage guys. But it wasn’t their hot bods that made me fall in love with them, it was their banter. They cracked me up every time. So, for part of the Demons at Deadnight blog tour, Alyssa and Eileen wrote a guest post (at my begging) on writing awesome banter. They’ve also included tips on writing dialogue based on gender differences.

Make sure you check out the end of the post for information about their giveaway. I have one of the secret words you’ll need for a chance to win a Kindle Fire. Plus, I’m giving away a copy (paperback or ebook) of their novel Demons at Deadnight. If you want to be entered for the book giveaway, let me know in the comments and include your email address. It’s open internationally. The giveaway will close Wednesday, February 15^th at 11:59 pm EST.

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One thing we haven’t a shortage of in Demons at Deadnight is banter. We adore it. Dialog is a great way to show rather than tell who your character is. And with six hot male leads—that’s right, six—we use their dialog, word choice, sentence structure, and speech pattern to establish and distinguish character, as well as deliver necessary information.

Context plays a big part in how the dialog works but we’ve tried to provide examples that are still effective without a lot of knowledge of the rest of the story. Here, the Hex Boys are in the midst of discussing the organization they work for.

***
“Wait. Who’s she again?” Blake said.

Matthias sighed. “Don’t you ever pay attention? She heads up the Divinicus task force.”
Blake looked blank.

“Sophina Cacciatori.” Matthias continued. “She taught some conferences in Europe?”

Logan spoke up. “You described her as the curvy, hot, Italian brunette with—”

“Great legs!” Blake finished with a broad grin.

***
Hopefully you learned:

- Sophina Cacciatori: A big deal in a worldwide organization and so important Blake should know her name instantly.

- Matthias: finds Blake’s cavalier attitude and lack of knowledge irritating. Is more serious and responsible. Has a hard time relating to Blake.

- Blake: Playful. Unconcerned with the administrative aspects of their job. Bit of a horn dog.

- Logan: Informed. Great listener. Knows Blake inside and out.

Characters with fundamental differences create conflict which is always fun. Use the moment to reveal information about your character and information relevant to the plot.

Here, Aurora is just coming out of unconsciousness and since it’s first person, what she’s thinking is actually part of the banter.

***
“How’s that my fault?” Matthias said.

“You’re the only one mean enough to make her think we’re kidnappers and killers.” I’d never heard Logan so passionate.

“We are killers,” Matthias said.

Bad news.

“Not girls. We don’t kill girls.”

Good news.

“She’s no girl.”

Insulting news?

“What? Of course she’s a girl.”

“Want me to check?”

“Shut up, Blake,” the rest of them chorused.

***
The short version? Matthias = jerk. Logan = protective, gentleman. And even though they work for the same organization, they see their roles very differently. Then Blake = girl crazy and the rest of the boys, all too familiar with his antics, shut him down.

Gender Differences in Dialogue

Here’s a great tip from the many conferences we’ve been to. In terms of gender, guys tend to speak concise. To the point. Concentrate on facts. Lack of extraneous verbiage. Shorter sentences.

Girls, on the other hand, like to use more words, and construct longer sentences which contain supplementary descriptive prose and express a vivid interpretation of their feelings and emotions, their experiences and the environment surrounding them.

See the difference? So after you’ve written a guy’s dialog, go back and cut. And cut again.

However, we have a Hex Boy who is extremely verbose. Why? Because his character is…not mainstream. He’s an oddball. Not your typical guy, so it works.

The same information will be delivered differently by each character, so when you have something you need to say to move the plot along, pick the character who’s going to express it in the most riveting manner.
And if the character is conflicted about the information they have to verbalize, all the better. For example, the shy one has to talk about sexuality, or the cynical one has to talk about love. You get the idea.

Make every word count, have fun, and bottom line, know your character inside and out, then let them do the talking!

Stina, thanks so much for having us today. It’s always a pleasure to dialog with you!

<<<3

Kindle Fire Giveaway Info

To enter to win the Kindle Fire you need to know the secret phrase given out one word at a time by each blog tour host. Put the words together in sequential order and you'll eventually have the secret phrase! Right now you can Tweet and Follow on the AEKIRK Blog Tour Page to get points but starting March 9 (at the end of the tour) you can enter the complete phrase on the AEKIRK Blog Tour Page and earn BIG entry points! Your Kindle Fire will also include your choice of a DEMONS AT DEADNIGHT Skin. Either from the cover, or a Hex Boy group shot or individual "Team" skin of your favorite Hex Hunk!

The secret word from my blog is: ADDICTIVE (Yes, those Hex Boys are very addictive)

To view the entire list of blogs on this tour, click the banner at the top of the post!

©Stina Lindenblatt

When I first started writing fiction, I knew nothing about writing associations. Then one day I discovered an international organization called Society of Children’s BooksWriters & Illustrators (SCBWI). It didn’t take much convincing to get me to join. And four years later, I’m still a member.

Last year, one of my writing friends talked me into joining the Romance Writers of America (RWA). I’m glad I did. A short time later, I joined three of its chapters: YARWA (YA writers), Kiss of Death (suspense and mystery writers), and CaRWA (the chapter in my city). Of the three, KOD has been my favorite, as I’ll explain in a future post.

There are many benefits to joining writing associations (two I’ll be talking about next week), but because the memberships can be expensive, you want to make sure they meet your needs. I would love to join the International Thriller Inc, but after paying memberships for the above, I have to draw the line somewhere.

The best thing to do is figure out what you want in an organization.

• Do you want to attend monthly meetings?
• What are you looking for in a meeting? Some groups get together just to socialize. Others have educational sessions throughout the year dealing with craft, social networking, promotion, etc.
• Are you interested in attending workshops and conferences?
• How far are you willing to travel? If you are looking only for these things, and the organization doesn’t hold any in a location convenient to you, you might decide not to pursue a membership in that organization.
• Are you looking for an online community, resources, etc?

And don’t forget to include in the bio section of your query the organization(s) you are a member of. This shows agents and editors you’re serious about your writing career.

Other Major Writing Associations

International ThrillerWriters Inc

Horror WritersAssociation

Mystery Writers of America

Crime Writers ofCanada

Sisters in Crime

Christian WritersGuild

YALitChat.org

Are you a member of a writers association? What is the major benefit you’ve found to being a member? Are there any others not listed that you recommend?

<<<3

On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me . . .

A membership to a writing organization,
Three books for kickass characterizations,
Tons of yummy chocolate,
AquaNotes, so you can brainstorm in the shower,
And Margie Lawson’s awesome lecture notes.

©Stina Lindenblatt

Promise only what you can deliver. Then deliver more than you promise. Author Unknown

Nothing is more frustrating than being the recipient of empty promises. Especially when they come from the same person. Again and again and again. When you make a promise and you know at the time it’ll be impossible keep, it’s no longer a promise. It’s a lie. Make too many of them, and you lose credibility, and no one wants that, right?

Right.

In writing, broken promises can be both good and bad. When you write a query or synopsis, you’re making a promise to the agent or editor. If you’re promising a book filled with mystery and intrigue, your book better live up to that promise.

©Stina Lindenblatt

Thou ought to be nice, even to superstition, in keeping thy promises, and therefore equally cautious in making them. ~Thomas Fuller

The dreaded first chapter is the king of promises. If your first pages are filled with grammatical errors, awkward sentences, and typos, guess what you’re promising the rest of the book will be like? If your main character is flat, then the agent expects he won’t improve much beyond the first chapter. These are two promises you want to break. Unfortunately, agents won't stick around to find out if you do.

If the beginning is humorous, the reader expects this tone to continue throughout the story. If your first chapter is kickass great, you’ve promised the rest of the book is the same. Professional critiques from conferences and workshops are wonderful, but you need to make sure what was said in those pages carries through to the end of the book. These two promises are ones you don't want to break.

©Stina Lindenblatt

What do promises and hearts have in common? They're meant to be kept but always end up broken. Author Unknown

Broken promises in your story can add conflict, and this is when broken promises rock. If your character’s boyfriend keeps making promises he doesn’t keep, this will ultimately shape the story and affect her character arc. If a character’s dad always made promises he didn’t keep when she was a kid, that will shape who she is at the beginning of the story, and how she acts in given situations. Because of her dad’s empty promises, she doesn’t trust men. Think of all the story possibilities waiting for you given that scenario, especially if your book is a romance.

How do broken promises make you feel? Do you use them in your stories?

Several months ago, I read a post that caused a lot of controversy within the writing community. I’m not going to mention the individual’s name since she left a not-so-nice comment on one of my friend’s posts, and I don’t want to deal with that attitude here. Blogger Alert, anyone?

So what was this controversial topic? This individual felt that non-published writers shouldn’t write about, well, writing. In her view, only those who are published are qualified to talk about it. Apparently the rest of us, because we aren’t authors, don’t know how to write.

I disagree.

I don’t follow author blogs, with a few exceptions. At this point, the only way authors can grab my loyalty is to write kickass novels. Do that, and I’m all yours. I don’t care if your blog is the most awesome thing on this planet. If your book doesn’t meet my expectation, I’m not buying the next one.

The blogs I do follow are by unpublished writers. These are the individuals whose books I hope to see on my bookhelf one day. Many of them are agented. Others aren’t. A number of them have something in common. They blog about writing. They blog about tricks they’ve picked up in how-to books on writing (and give credit where credit is due). They blog about things they’ve learned through critiques and from conferences. And they share their advice in bite-sized pieces.

To those of you who blog about writing, I applaud you. My writing is a hundred fold better because of you. Although I showcase a lot of great blogs during my Cool Links Friday, I wanted to give a shout out to the following blogs/bloggers:

The Bookshelf Muse
Christina Lee
Laura Pauling
Creepy Query Girl (Katie Mills)
Paranormal Point of View (Lisa Gail Green. She’s published but I’m still including her here.)
Adventures in Children’s Publishing
Operation Awesome
YA Stands
Oasis for YA
Lydia Sharp

Question: Do you feel that only published authors can blog about writing? Have you ever shared writing tips on your blog?

If you’re looking to spice up your writing, check out today’s QueryTracker.net blog post on rhetorical devices. They’re my new best friend. You’ll be surprised at how many you already know.

And now for my guest blogger, Marie Rose Dufour. Drum roll please . . . .

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Contract! Yes! Whoo-hoo! Open the champagne, baby, because someone liked your work enough to offer you a contract. Week, months, and sometimes years of work is now going to be validated in print. My husband and I celebrated on the waterfront, toasting to my hard work for this book over.

Not! What I didn’t realize at the time was that writing the actual book was the easy part. The hard part came afterwards and it’s called promo, promo, promo. In this economy, more and more publishing houses are relying on the author to promote their own books.

So here are some tips on promoting your book:

• Create a budget (I know this sounds unreal but real advertising costs money. If you are a first time author, it’s all about getting your name out there.)

• Create a “promo folder” on your computer with a jpeg of your book cover, blurb, excerpt, head shot, and purchase links. (Having everything in one folder is a timesaving in case someone last minute asks you to blog, or interview you. You just pull up the file.)

• Make sure you are “social networking” (Facebook, My Space, Twitter). You want to use these for some free advertising.

• Design promotional items (A big thing in the romance circles right now is trading cards. I hear they are big at conferences. Think of these as your business cards.) (Yes. I love using these as bookmarks.)

• Arrange to do guest blogs! (Just what I’m doing now. And I’d like to thank Stina from the bottom of my heart for hosting me today.)

I hope someone finds these tips helpful. It was wonderful guest blogging here today. Please leave a comment and e-mail address and I will pick a person to win a copy of Fated Mates. Enjoy!

Book Blurb: We know that we are no longer alone in the universe. Descendants of Earthly ancestors have returned to find the other halves of themselves, their destined mates.

Dragon, a scarred Serralian warrior drawn to the planet of his ancestors, never believed the Goddess had a mate for him but no matter what he believes, he’s unable to resist the pull of the planet deep within in soul.

Liz, a curvy teacher who escaped an abusive marriage three years earlier is afraid to take another chance on love. Tired of being a
bystander in her own love life, she participates in an ancient ritual to identify Serralian mates. Taking that chance changes her life forever. Can these two people overcome their pasts to become each other’s true Fated Mates?

Author blurb: Marie Rose Dufour is a first time (and hopefully not the last time) author. She writes erotica for Secret Cravings Publishing. Her first book, Fated Mates was released last month. She lives in Rhode Island, USA with two very curious cats and a husband who swears he’s the inspiration for all of her heroes. Her book is available through her publisher and Amazon.

I can’t believe it’s now 2011. After reading Roni Loren’s blog this weekend, I realized I need to set some writing goals for this year. Heck, I even blogged about it last week on the Query Tracker blog, so I have no excuse.

And now you can hold me accountable to them. Right?

Writing Goals

• Query my YA novel, Still.
• Edit my new YA. I finished the first draft of Shot in the Dark before Christmas Day. Yay!
• Query Shot in the Dark later this year. (Of course, if I land an agent with Still, I won’t have to worry about writing another query. Le sigh.)
  
• Start planning and researching my sexy romantic suspense novel. I’ve already been working on some ideas.
• Have first draft of SRS completed by the end of the year—if not sooner.
• Write first draft of YA novel, End of Forever. (Yep, it’s already outlined and planned)
• Continue to read non-fiction books on writing and challenge my writing.
• Attend the LA SCBWI conference in August (anyone else thinking of going?).
• Attend the monthly RWA meetings in my city.

Reading

I’m not setting any specific numbers. I read whatever mood I’m in.

• YA (my list of books for this year is already long).
• Romantic suspense
• Erotic Romance. I’m pretty fussy about this one. I’m interested in erotic romantic suspense more than anything.

So, what are your writing and reading goals for this year? Are you going to be attending any conferences this year?

I know, the picture has nothing to do with the post. But it was too darn cute!

For the past few years, I’ve attended SCBWI and RWA conferences and workshops, knowing one day it will be me up there, presenting. Of course, before I can get to that point, previous experience will be crucial. So when the opportunity arose to be involved in an upcoming writer convention in my city, there was no way I could say ‘no’. Okay, Angela Ackerman (The Bookshelf Muse) wouldn’t have let me say ‘no’ if I tried. *grins* Add author Janet Gurtler and we became the kickass team excited to be on the panel for What is YA?
Being the anally organized individuals that we are, the three of us got together to hang out at the beach to discuss the thought-provoking questions I would be asking them (and the mystery guy who had also volunteered to be on the panel).
Things were looking great.
At least they were until the night before the event. Janet noticed in the brochure (which none of us had read because it was too confusing as a PDF file on our computers) that there was a FIFTH individual who would be joining us. The rest of us are members of the SCBWI but she wasn’t, so she hadn’t been listed on the email sent to us within the organization.
Unfortunately, she had been told by the organisers of the convention that each person would present for five minutes on the topic. I told her it was fine if she wanted to do her presentation first, then we do our Q&A as originally planned. Worked for everyone else.
But when the woman went to present, after I explained to the audience what had happened, she said, “Apparently I was not part of the clique.” Now this could have been funny, considering we were presenting on writing YA. It could have been, but she chose, instead, to use a voice obese with sarcasm. This left a nasty taste for everyone involved, including the audience.
Fortunately, beside this little incident, the panel went extremely well and we had a blast. Okay, Ms Hissy-Fit didn’t, but that’s okay. We did our best to include her.
Has anyone else had experience presenting at a conference, or will be doing so in the near future?
For more information on the topic of public speaking for writers, please check out my Querytrack.net blog post today.

I don’t know about you, but I LOVE IT when published authors share their writerly wisdom with aspiring writers (though I’m sure other published authors appreciate it, too).

Janet Gurtler has a YA contemporary novel coming out this month from Sourcebooks, so I asked her if she would share with us her favorite writing tips. In addition, I have a copy of Janet’s book, I’m Not Her, to give away (OMG, I so want this book, but I'm going to have to wait until my copy is shipped to me). Just let me know if you want me to enter your name, and include your email address in the comments. Sorry, this is only open to Canadian and US addresses.

Okay, Janet, my blog is now yours . . . .

I’M Not Her

“For the first time in my life, I didn’t feel envy…”

Blurb: Tess is the exact opposite of her beautiful, athletic sister. And that’s okay. Kristina is the sporty one, Tess is the smart one, and they each have their place. Until Kristina is diagnosed with cancer. Suddenly Tess is the center of the popular crowd, everyone eager for updates. There are senior boys flirting with her. Yet the smiles of her picture-perfect family are cracking and her sister could be dying. Now Tess has to fill a new role: the strong one. Because if she doesn’t hold it together, who will?

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Confession. I find giving writing advice a little tough because I think every writer has their own way of creating stories. Some writers need to plot and outline and develop graphs and story boards with different color highlighters before they even begin their first drafts. Personally the thought of doing that gives me hives. If someone told me I had to do that, I would get a stomach ache and run away.

Not hard to guess then that I am a panster. Usually. The book I`m currently working on, I’ve done more outlining and plotting than others. Mostly I come up with ideas usually characters first, and then start to write. Plot as I go. My method would probably give many writers hives. So I guess that leads to my first piece of advice.

1. Try to work out what kind of writer YOU are and then be true to that. Don’t let other people tell YOU what you have to do. If you want to storyboard and plot, do that. If you want to sit down and write do THAT. But pay attention to what works for you and keep an open mind to new techniques or strategies. Take what you can use from books and other but listen to your gut. Guts are usually pretty honest with us.

2. On the other hand, be flexible with your instincts. I’ve found that some books come out different than others. Some books need hours of research, some books need more revisions and plotting. Some books are really hard to write. Some fly on the pages. Learn to trust each book’s individual process.

3. Read. Read within your genre. Try to see what other writers have done to make things work. Read for pleasure but also read with a writer’s eye. Why does something in a scene or a character resonate so well with you? How does the author use pacing etc. to heighten the reader’s experience?

4. Try to write every day. Make it a small goal if that’s what suits your lifestyle. I make it a goal to write 500 words a day. 2 pages. It doesn’t sound like much but it keeps me inside a story I’m working on. And for a 60,000 page book that’s only 120 days for a first draft. (And yes. I did have to consult a calculator to figure that out) On days when you’re in a good writing groove or involved in a particular scene and want to write more, that’s perfectly acceptable too.

5. Try not to edit as you go. It’s usually better to get that first draft on the page and go back and finish it after. That said, I usually re-read at least a few pages before I continue on so I can get my head back in the story. And I did hear one author speak who basically edited the entire thing as she went along so by the time she was finished-- it was a final copy. But in general, getting out the first draft is the most important part. Revision comes next.

6. Find someone (or someone’s) you trust to read your story before you madly send it off to an agent or an editor. I have patience issues and one of the mistakes I made (over and over) when I first started writing was being in a hurry and sending my writing off too soon. Even with an agent it’s still a good idea to get feedback from trusted beta readers before a manuscript goes off. I believe that critiques are really important from someone you trust. Another set of eyes can see things that you are too close to see.

7. This leads me to the next piece of advice. You don’t have to take every piece of advice you receive from someone critiquing your work. Someone else can give you outside perspective and help to pinpoint pacing problems or plot flaws or weaknesses. You also have to learn to trust yourself and your gut feeling about your story. Try not to let others have TOO much influence. Don’t let others re-write for you. Stay true to your own voice.

8. Use craft books and take from them what works for you. My favourite book is still Donald Maass’s Writing the Breakout Novel workbook. I love the hands on exercises and usually use the book after I’ve finished a first draft. Another book I found really great was, The Weekend Novelist by Robert J Ray and Bret Norris.

9. If you can afford it, go to conferences or workshops. If you can’t afford it, don’t stress over it. The online writing community is blooming with writing advice. Agent blogs, author blogs, editor’s blogs, they all contain a wealth of the information.

10. Nurture your inner writer. Talk to other writers. If you don’t know writers, try to find some in your community. Seek out groups like the SCWBI or try to connect on The Blue Board. Most writers are pretty passionate about the craft and man there’s nothing quite like sharing writing experiences with people who truly GET what you’re talking about. It`s hugely rewarding and great for your motivation.

Finally remember there are always exceptions to every rule. Try to remember it`s not a race and it`s not you versus another author. Each of us has our own journey, our own path to publication. Someone is always going to get an agent faster, or get a better agent, a quicker book deal or a bigger advance. There`s not one way to get to the finish line. And anyways, who even knows what the finish line is.

It`s hard, but try to enjoy your own process. In the end, the only thing we truly control is the writing. Have fun with it!

Janet lives close to the Rocky Mountains, in Calgary, Alberta with her husband and son and spends most of her days with her laptop on her lap.

I’M NOT HER is her first YA release with Sourcebooks Teen Fire. It will be followed by IF I TELL in October, 2011.

©Stina Lindenblatt

One of the most frequent complaints I hear from writers is that they don’t have enough time to write. My friend and time juggler extraordinaire, Tawny Stokes, has some suggestion as to how she does it.

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In the last six years, I have written close to 20 books, 10 novellas, several short stories, 5 scripts, 3 TV pilots and numerous blog posts. *grins* So I understand about time management. Often I hear writers say, oh if I only had the time, or if I could find some time I would do such and such. The fact of the matter is we all have the same amount of time in a day. 24 hrs. It’s how you schedule it that matters.

We also all have other responsibilities in our lives. Some of us have day time jobs, or night time jobs. We’re mothers with little ones, or with kids that play every imaginable sport possible and play every instrument ever built, so there are lessons and games we need to ferry them to. I get that. I understand that. Been there, done that, still doing it.

Before I became a full time writer, I had a night job, and I homeschooled my daughter and my niece during the day. During this time I also kept up the domestic chores, because I’m a single parent. And all the while I wrote. A lot. During this time I secured an agent and got my first book deal. So I definitely know what it’s like. I now write full time, but I still homeschool my daughter and am still a single parent who does all the domestic stuff around the house. Like feeding my child. Which I find is very important. I also serve on the board of my local writing chapter, serve on a screenwriting group, and once a month I host a TV writer’s chat on twitter. Oh and I attend monthly writing meetings and go to conferences. Oh and I also do all my marketing for my books myself. So believe me I understand busy.

Here are some of my tips to help you become better managers of your time and be able to produce work.

1. Write every day at the same time, it forms habit, it will train your brain to produce during that time

2. If you like to work on several things at once, like I do, set up time periods for each project, if you have 3 hrs. to write, set aside an hr. for each project, when that hour is up, go to the next project

3. Do all your prep work, like outlining, if you do, character sheets, research on non-writing time, like at night before you go to sleep, or that hour you have at lunch time, or during your commute to work or appointments, or when you are waiting for your child at their dance lesson, use writing time for WRITING

4. Carry a notebook with you wherever you go, for those instant moments of genius, or breakthroughs on plot problems, or to write down snippets of dialogue

5. If you are feeling blocked at the compute or at your laptop, get off it, and grab a pen and paper to write, sometimes the tactile feel of the pen on paper will help your creativity flow

6. Never wait for inspiration, or for your muse to sing out, that is a farce, to be a professional working writer you MUST learn discipline and train your brain into working for you

7. If something is not working for you, for whatever reason, get up and go for a walk, or better yet do some dishes or have a shower, that always helps me move forward, or work on something else

8. Use an egg timer and do writing sprints, or use write or die online, or challenge your friends on twitter to a sprint, you’d be surprised what you can get down in an hour without any distractions and without your internal editor banging on your skull

9. When you are writing, turn off your phone, your email, your internet, and your family, put a sign on your office door that says do not disturb, make sure you set the rules with your kids/spouse that when you are in your office you are working and not to be disturbed, unless there is at least a quart of blood

10. Have fun. If this isn’t fun, then what the heck are you doing it for?

About the author:

Tawny Stokes lives in Canada with her fantastical daughter, two cats, and spends most of her time creating new stories for teens. You can visit her at YA website or follow her on twitter @TawnyStokes. Tawny also writes adult paranormal romance and urban fantasy under the name Vivi Anna. You can find Vivi Anna on her other website or follower her on twitter @authorViviAnna.

Here's a blurb for her new YA paranormal novel, Static, which is on my TBR list. For more info check out her website.

During the summer before her senior year, 17 year old band groupie, Salem Vale, has been following her favorite punk rockers, Malice, from gig to gig hoping that one night she might get backstage and meet the sinisterly sexy guys. She’s been saving her virginity for the lead singer Thane. One fateful evening she gets her wish. It’s a dream come true.

Except the dream turns to a nightmare when she wakes up in a dumpster, tossed away like yesterday’s trash, with no memory of what happened the night before. She feels strange, different, as if something is trying to get out. Soon she realizes she’s changing…turning into something not quite human.

Now a hunger deep inside claws at her to feed, to siphon energy from those around her. Before she can do just that, Trevor, the band’s roadie shows up and stops her from killing. With his help she learns to control the hunger inside, because he’s just like her. And in return he wants her help to do one little thing…

Help him kill the members of Malice.

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Have a great week everyone!