Writing a Difficult Perspective

So, I've been struggling for the last several weeks with one perspective in particular.  He's a vague little creature that doesn't like to cooperate with me as I'm trying to write his scenes and it's rather frustrating.  I have no idea how other authors handle difficult characters, but I've tried various methods with little results.

First I tried to sit down and write.  Yeah, that didn't work too well.  I ended up staring at a blinking cursor for thirty minutes before admitting defeat and escaping to the internet.

Then I tried re-reading the entire manuscript.  I thought if I had my brain in the mindset of the novel, you know, immerse myself in the scenes and characters and overall feel, just maybe something would come.  Instead, I ended up editing and re-writing other sections of the novel.  Those needed to be done, but that didn't help with the actual dilemma I was facing.

Next came writing down on paper what exactly I needed to have happen in this chapter.  You would think that would have been the first thing I'd tried, but my brain isn't normal.  So, yeah.  I managed to figure out what I wanted to have happen, but the character was remaining elusive and non-cooperative.

So, I went to my co-author and Muse next.  We batted around ideas and laid out how the chapter should flow.  He even gave me some great ideas that I wanted to make sure to incorporate into the chapter.  Real productive, right?  Nope, the darn character still wouldn't talk to me.

Finally, I sat down and just started writing crap.  Jumbled up chaos that incorporated some of the key points I wanted to get across in the chapter.  I needed something to happen... it had already been a month by this time and nothing to show for it.  Once I had written a few pages, I handed it over to the Muse and co-author and let him tear into it.  And believe me, the measly three pages I'd written were BLEEDING by the time he was done.

That's okay, though.  This morning, at the ungodly hour of 5, I finally managed to get into a groove of sorts and got the mess I'd written straightened out.  And I'm happy to report that the three pages have become four and I'm well on my way to getting this chapter written... FINALLY!  The character is still being stubborn, but I've got his number now and I'm not letting up until I get this darn chapter written!

I know I can't be the only author with non-cooperative, stubborn characters.  Any writer willing to admit it will tell you that it's really the characters that write these amazing novels... we're just the vehicle that gets the words out on paper or typed onto the screen.  So, when a character doesn't want to talk, it's the hardest thing to try and force them to in order to keep up with deadlines, whether the deadlines are self-imposed or put into place by an editor or some other outside entity.  My deadlines tend to be self-imposed, thank god, or I'd probably go insane.  I don't do well under pressure and my mind goes completely blank if I'm told I have to have something written by a certain date.

Anyway, this has been my plight for the last several weeks.  But, there is a light at the end of the tunnel and hopefully I can get this chapter done today.  Then I'll just have a few more chapters to go and Vagar will be done and ready for the final editing process.  Woohoo!  So, I'm off to write some more and hopefully I won't have to resort to anything drastic to get this character to cooperate so I can finish this thing!

GIVEAWAY!!!

Good morning, peeps!

I know it's been a while since I last posted, but things have been non-stop in my world lately and I've barely had a moment to catch my breath!  So, to make up for my loooooong absence, I want to let all of you know about a giveaway happening at my publisher's website this week.

A signed paperback copy of Starward (Galactic Dynasty #1) is being given away to one lucky person!  WOOT!!  This is the sci-fi/adventure novel I co-authored with my Muse.  So, if you haven't had a chance to check it out yet, here's a golden opportunity to win a signed copy!  Just head on over to my publisher's website to the Giveaway page and enter for a chance to win!

I hope everyone's having a wonderful summer so far and that you're reading lots of awesome books!  Have a great week and best of luck to those of you who enter the giveaway!

Finally A Title....and Other Writing News!

So, for the last couple of months I've been struggling with what title to give the 2nd book in the Galactic Dynasty series.  The Muse and I batted titles back and forth like it was a fiendish tennis match where neither of us could break Deuce.  (Tennis fans or those familiar with the game will get that reference.)  Anyway, long story short, we have finally come to an agreement on the title for the new book we're co-authoring.  Ready?

Vagar

Yep, that's it!  lol  Seems like such a dramatic and traumatizing process for such a short title.  But, for those of you who have read Starward, you'll at least know where the title comes from.  And for those of you who haven't, when I post an official synopsis down the road, it will probably make more sense.  Don't you just love it when us authors get vague and mysterious about our works?  *evil cackle*

So, now that I can rest easy once more having finally come up with a title, I can also proudly announce that we are now six chapters complete into the new book!  Woot!  Writing and brainstorming have been going really well these past few weeks and continues to go strong.  I've got the next two chapters outlined and ready to begin writing and I'm so excited with how this novel is flowing so far!  And it's a new challenge for me because there are several POV's I'm writing from this time.  But each POV is pertinent to the overall story, so hopefully you wonderful readers will not hate me too much for writing from so many different perspectives!

In other news, Prophecy Revealed (The Soul of Arial #1) is in the process of being edited.  It's getting a lot of massaging and polishing, but it's slowly developing into an even more awesome fantasy novel than I thought possible!  I'm really excited about this novel and can't wait to share it with you all.  Hopefully it will be finished and released before the end of the year, but we'll see.  I'll keep posting updates as things progress!

I believe that's all my news for now.  I hope everyone is enjoying the onset of Fall...my absolute favorite time of the year!  And if you're looking for something different to add to your book collection, meander on over to my publisher's website, Cressen Books LLC, and see what they have for you to choose from!  I'm pretty confident you can find a book there to curl up with on these crisp, cool evenings!

The Writing Flow is Back!

Well, since my last rambling, I have managed to write the first draft for Chapter 3 of Book 2 in the Galactic Dynasty series.  I really need to come up with a name for this book soon so I can stop calling it Book 2. 

Anyway, after I ranted and raved that I had these other story ideas trying to take over in my head, I realized that they weren't developed enough for me to tackle writing them.  I still have things to mull over like what directions to take and how exactly I want to lay things out.  So, they are on the back burner, still brewing.

And because I finally came to that realization, it allowed me to put my focus back where it needed to be once more.  So, yesterday morning, a little over 3200 words escaped my fingertips to complete the first draft of Chapter 3.  And after getting feedback from my co-author and Muse, I will be making adjustments and adding some more to Chapter 3 today to help flesh it out a bit more!

I'm so excited to finally be able to continue this story as I am absolutely in love with this series we're writing!  Who knows?  Maybe someday we'll figure out a way to turn it into a sci-fi TV series or movie! lol  It could happen! :)

In a nutshell, that's what's been happening here in the writing cave the last couple of days.  I'll try to come up for air again soon and post another update.  Until then, Happy Reading or Writing or whatever else you enjoy doing!

Writing Different Perspectives

Who am I today?

This is a question that I tend to ask myself a lot but don't always have the answer for.  In reality, I know who I am every day.  But in fiction, I write from a lot of different characters' perspectives.  So, sometimes it's hard to know which character's head I'm in that day.

I just finished writing the second chapter of Book 2 in the Galactic Dynasty series.  These first several chapters are probably the hardest for me because they are not only from different characters' perspectives, but they are also written from the perspective of a completely different species.  In Starward, the Muse and I introduced a race called Metrusians and this particular race will be playing a big part in all the books to follow.  And that includes many perspectives from these Metrusians.

Sometimes it's very easy for me to slip into a character and write for hours from their perspective.  But, that character usually tends to be human.  With the Metrusians, however, I am finding it very difficult to write even a couple of pages as I feel I have to think differently.  This race is a very logical one and has been around for a lot longer than humans have.  So, their outlook on the world and the universe is going to be much different than a human's outlook.

I love the challenge, though.  And I truly think that the Metrusians are a fascinating species to develop and understand (from a writer's perspective).  At the same time, I sometimes find myself dreading to write because I know it's going to be such a challenge to really get inside the minds of these aliens.  But they have a story to tell, too, and I want to tell that story.  So, after dragging my feet the last few weeks, I finally managed to get back into their mindset and get chapter 2 finished.

Something tells me, though, that I will probably have this struggle for every chapter I have to write from this complex perspective.  In the end, with the efforts of my Muse and myself, the story will flow and more will be revealed.  In the meantime, I'll struggle to get the story down in the way that I hope the Metrusians in my head want to tell it.

So, I'm off to let the Muse know that I am finished with this latest chapter and ready for him to give his much needed and desired input into the storyline.  And then it will be on to chapter three!

It's Saturday!

Good morning all!  It's Saturday and in just two days I'll be picking up my very best friend in the whole world from the airport to spend a week doing what friends do...sooo excited!!

With her coming to visit, that inspired the Muse and I to do a bit of Spring Cleaning this morning and I'm a bit exhausted now.  Fortunately, with no kids to worry about, the mess wasn't all that bad...clean bathrooms, vacuum, and dust for the most part.  But it can still be a bit tiring.  So now it's chill time here before we decide to do something else ambitious!

Just to give an update...I've finished edits for two of the authors that are signed on with Cressen Books.  Those manuscripts have been sent back to them to work on and if all goes well, we'll be publishing them within the next 6 weeks!!!  Between now and then, I'll be posting covers and such on the blog here so you all can see what's releasing soon.

So now it's back to working on edits for Starward (Galactic Dynasty #1).  We're about 40 pages away from being done with it.  Then we have to come up with a synopsis, finish the cover, and publish it!  Woot!!  I'm so excited to see this novel release as it's going to be an awesome beginning to an epic Sci-Fi/Adventure series that I hope readers will enjoy!

Then my next project will be to start working on edits for Prophecy Revealed (The Soul of Arial #1).  This particular story has evolved so much over the past couple of months that it no longer looks like what it originally started out to be.  But that's okay.  I think the evolution of this project has just made it even better.  This series will fall under the Fantasy/Mythology/Adventure realm (yeah, it covers different genres and doesn't fit into just one specific one).

Other than that, I've been writing on some different story ideas during these last couple of weeks of editing sessions just to keep the creative writing flowing.  I'm not sure if any of those particular stories will develop into something publishable, but you never know.  And, as some of you may have noticed, I've started participating in some bookish memes each week to add a little more spice to the blog.  For now, I'm participating in Teaser Tuesday, hosted by Should Be Reading, and Booking Through Thursday (blog is of the same name).  I've been enjoying these so far and hope to keep up with them on a regular basis.

And since I love to read and have gotten back on a reading trend again, I hope to post a monthly update of the books I've read during that month.  I did this for several months last year before I fell off the reading trend horse.  But now that I'm back in the saddle, I'll try to pick that back up again.

I guess that's it for now.  I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and I'd like to say 'Howdy' to the new followers!  I'll try to keep things interesting here!

A Wild and Exciting New Year!

Wow, it has been a very crazy couple of weeks since I last posted!  First of all, I want to wish Rachel Stark a Happy Release Day!  Her amazing debut novel, A Veil of Shattered Dreams, (link is to Goodreads) is now available on Kindle and Nook and will be available in paperback soon.  So very excited for her!  And if you'd like to check out the first chapter, mosey on over to Cressen Books website.  There are links for the Kindle and Nook if you read the chapter and decide you have to have this awesome book right then and there! :)

Christmas was wonderful and I got some really cool "author" related gifts (a couple of tees and a long-sleeved tee with author sayings that are adorable and totally me as well as a HUGE coffee mug with an author saying on it too)!  So now I'll be able to dress the part of an author while I sit down to the keyboard and pour out all of these stories floating around in my head.  And the HUGE coffee mug will be put to very good use, delivering inspiration one steaming cup at a time! lol

New Years Eve was uneventful...the Muse and I ended up going to bed around 8:30 after a very long day, so we missed the ball drop this year.  New Years Day, we celebrated the Muse's birthday and I actually managed to bake a really awesome-tasting pecan pie, my first ever!  I was really excited about that. :)  I don't bake or cook, so it was a bit of an undertaking for me.  The Muse was happy, though, and so was I, so it was all good.

As for 2013, there's so much already planned that I don't even know where to begin!  I should have The Butterfly Connection, the fourth and final book in The L & L Mysteries, completed within the next month or so...yay!  The Muse will be coming out with a new book in the next few weeks as well.  Then we have our new authors, Jessie McClain and Jessica L. Padilla, that we'll be assisting in getting their novels ready for publication.  And of course, there will be trips and book fairs and other happenings taking place throughout the year...busy, busy!  But I wouldn't have it any other way.

And somewhere in there, I'll be working on the collaborative project the Muse and I are doing together (Galactic Dynasty series) as well as The Soul of Arial.  Whew.....I've got a lot on my plate now that I think about it! :)  But, I believe that's everything I can think of at this moment that will be taking place this year.  And I believe that's probably more than enough!

Did you celebrate Christmas?

If so, what awesome presents did you get for Christmas?

 

I'd love to hear from you, so leave a comment below!  I always respond back, so if you leave a comment, be sure to check back within a couple of days!

When Will I Write Again?

Wow, it has been a crazy few months and things don't look to be slowing down any.  Especially with the holidays approaching, I've been trying to figure out just when I can get back to my writing.

As some of you may know, my Muse and I own a publishing company.  So, aside from writing, I wear many other hats including editing, cover design, website maintenance, etc.  And this year, we've taken on an intern from Shepherd University who has been an absolute joy to work with these last few months.  Her enthusiasm and insight has helped us branch out even more with our business and has given us ideas of how we want to proceed in the future with many different things.

And most of you probably remember me announcing that we have signed on a new author, Jessica L. Padilla, who will be writing in the Paranormal genre.  So, exciting times to be had by us here and more exciting times to come as we may sign Rachel Stark, our intern, on as an author (she's still contemplating what she wants to do and we don't want to pressure her and will respect any decision she comes to as we want to see her do what's best for her).  We are also in talks with another potential author but that's still the early stages, so we won't know anything at this time.  But I'll definitely post when we know something for sure there.

With all of this going on, I also managed to get our books in paperback out on Amazon.com and soon it will be time to start a "Christmas" marketing campaign.  So many things to juggle where the business is concerned and I worry at times that I'm going to drop the ball somewhere.  I mean, the Muse is a huge help with the business, but he works full-time for the federal government, which leaves me handling the business alone most days.  I don't mind because I absolutely love what I do and I love working with all the different aspects of a publishing company.  But it can get overwhelming at times for just one person to handle.

So, that brings me to the title of this post: When will I write again?  I've got The Butterfly Connection waiting to get it's final edits so I can publish it and finish out The L & L Mysteries series.  I've got Galactic Dynasty waiting for me to write more on it.  And I've got a ton of other stories and ideas that keep grappling for my attention.  But there's only so much time in the day and these other pieces have needed my complete focus these last few weeks.

I'm extremely happy that the business seems to be picking up, so please don't think I'm complaining about that.  It's really wonderful and exciting!  In the case of my writing, I guess I'm going to have to figure out how to restructure my days so I can at least get some writing done each day and not feel as though I've completely abandoned my own aspirations to be a writer.  I have so many stories to tell that I don't want to push them to the back burner permanently.

So, I'm out of here for now to figure out how to make time for writing and to hopefully get back into the wonderful flow of words!

Part 1 Complete...

Whew...I have finally reached the end of part one of Rosa's journey in "Starward".  It's always such a huge relief to reach a goal that was set at the beginning of a writing project.  Now my Muse and I will be re-reading the first part and seeing if there's anything we missed or wanted to change before I begin part two. 

I'm really excited about beginning part two (even though Rosa is a little less enthused).  My Muse and I have so much planned for the second part, that every time I think about it, I get all giddy and excited and my fingers itch to begin writing it!  But, I shall refrain until we both give the first part our seal of approval.

So, while I'm waiting for my Muse's feedback, I'll turn my attention to poor Lucien and Leyla.  They've kind of taken a back seat lately while I collaborated with my Muse to begin this new series with Rosa.  But, soon I will be taking on Leyla's persona again and helping her through the next piece of "The Legend of Goat Head Lodge".  Fortunately, the story has already been written.  Now I'm just going through and doing the edits and re-writes.

From one character to the next, I'll continue this journey I'm on, navigating the world of creative writing.  And, unlike Rosa, I'm looking forward to every minute of it!

Fall Time!

I love the fall...the changing of the leaves, the crisp, cool mornings.  Such a beautiful time of year that really gets my creative juices flowing.  My Muse and I take more walks outside, which gives me many flashes of inspiration for scenes and interactions I'm writing.  Fall is just my favorite time of year!

I also enjoy the idea of curling up on the couch with a good book, glancing up occasionally to see the colorful foliage outside, the sun glinting off leaves of orange and red and yellow.  Sipping on coffee or tea or hot chocolate and getting lost in other worlds.

Then there are the puzzle evenings with my Muse.  We choose a 750 or 1000 piece puzzle and work together to make all the pieces fit.  We usually have music going in the background while we sometimes chat, sometimes remain quiet as we stare intently at the section of the puzzle we're working on.  And whether it takes us an evening or several evenings, we eventually snap every last piece into place and grin like little kids at each other when we're done.

And let's not forget the awesome food!  My Muse is the cook and boy is he talented!!  Everything from homemade New England clam chowder to vegetable-beef soup to very spicy chili and all other assortments of extremely yummy food get put in front of me and I promise, I devour every delicious bite.  It's a wonder I don't turn into a blimp by the time Winter sets in...lol.

So, yeah, I love the Fall and am so glad that it's finally here.  Now if only I could get it to stay until Spring....

Back To Work...

Since my last post, it's been back to work for me.  I've been inside Rosa's head for the last few days and am really getting to know this unique character, inside and out.  She's young and has a lot of growing up to do, but I see a lot of potential for her as the story progresses.

Speaking of which, I now finally have a title for the series and the first book in which Rosa is the main star.  The series is entitled Galactic Dynasty and the first book is entitled "Starward".  These books are being co-authored with my Muse and have been challenging and fun to write so far.  It's a world completely different from the L & L Mysteries and even though I have an outline of where the plot will take the characters, I'm looking forward to seeing how it all unfolds as my fingers fly over the keyboard.

This brings me to a subject that I had never really given much thought to before.  But as I was writing a particularly emotional scene for Rosa, it suddenly dawned on me that it was going to be an awesome scene!  And why did I think this?  Because I was actually shedding a few tears as the scene unfolded.

I'm not sure if other authors get this or not when they're writing.  But for me, this is the first time it's happened.  Of course, I usually tend to shy away from emotional rollercoasters, but after I finished this scene, I began thinking about other stories I've written and came to realize what I'd been missing out on.  Sure, it made me cry and I really don't like to cry.  But that's what made the character even more realistic; her very real, human reaction to an emotional situation.

Giving characters depth is a very challenging thing to do.  I think it might actually be one of the most challenging aspects to writing because it really forces the author to question how they themselves would handle different situations and then write that down for others to read.  The emotions and reactions reveal a little something about the author and sometimes that can be scary.  After all, perfect strangers will be reading these novels and in a way, the author is sharing their more intimate thoughts and feelings with those strangers.  The only difference is that the author is using a character in a story to portray those feelings instead of coming out and saying "Hey, this is actually me spilling my guts here!"

But it's those very real emotions that draw readers in and helps them to identify with the characters within the story.  So, depth of character is crucial and after having written that particular scene for Rosa, I will strive to give my characters the depth that they deserve.

Well, I'm off to continue Rosa's journey.  She has a very scary, life-changing decision to make and I don't want to leave her hanging for too long.  Until next time...