After a phishing snafu, I decided my time would be better spent writing than trying to keep up with tweets and wall posts. What a load off. :-)
A writing loop I'm on ran a bootcamp on staying healthy as a writer, and one of the elements covered was making sure you have a pleasant work environment. Hence, feng shui.
Turns out I may need to make major changes in my writing area, like turning my desk around so it faces the door, which is supposed to make me feel more in charge of my life. Of course, that'd mean I couldn't look out the window at the mountains and the forest, so maybe I'll have to think about that one a little more.
But I'm happy to see I had some things right: the artwork on my walls is stuff I treasure (drawings by my kids and a gorgeous watercolor of a pink cockatoo my artist mom painted), and my writing corner is in the "prosperity" area of my house.
Yep, if I ignore the occasional foosball game four feet from my desk, things are looking good.
How does your writing area make you feel?
Turns out I may need to make major changes in my writing area, like turning my desk around so it faces the door, which is supposed to make me feel more in charge of my life. Of course, that'd mean I couldn't look out the window at the mountains and the forest, so maybe I'll have to think about that one a little more.
But I'm happy to see I had some things right: the artwork on my walls is stuff I treasure (drawings by my kids and a gorgeous watercolor of a pink cockatoo my artist mom painted), and my writing corner is in the "prosperity" area of my house.
Yep, if I ignore the occasional foosball game four feet from my desk, things are looking good.
How does your writing area make you feel?
I recently had the honor of reading the first manuscript of a fourteen-year-old writer. While this girl isn't Nora Roberts quite yet, her love of her story shines through the words on the page. But mostly, it blew me away that she writes as well as most adults do in their first manuscripts.
I believe that either you're a storyteller or you're not. And if you are, the craft can be learned no matter how old—or young—you are.
I believe that either you're a storyteller or you're not. And if you are, the craft can be learned no matter how old—or young—you are.
Carol Ritter from National gave permission to forward this information, which will be of interest to RWA members.
"Half of the Golden Heart judging packets went out yesterday and the other half will go out today. Domestic packages are shipped UPS ground, except for members using PO Boxes. International is UPS WorldShip."
I can hardly wait to get my contest package. I adore judging writing contests. There are some great entries, and it's a fantastic way to contribute to RWA.
"Half of the Golden Heart judging packets went out yesterday and the other half will go out today. Domestic packages are shipped UPS ground, except for members using PO Boxes. International is UPS WorldShip."
I can hardly wait to get my contest package. I adore judging writing contests. There are some great entries, and it's a fantastic way to contribute to RWA.
I read Karen Marie Moning's Darkfever on my Sony Reader (I'm sure you'll be hearing a lot about books I've read on my new-pretty-shiny). At first I was perplexed because the book's metadata said it was a historical romance (it's neither historical nor romance), but the heroine's voice felt strongly YA (it's not).
I stuck it out, though, because once the pastel-wearing, blonde-ponytailed, tan-legged heroine (did I mention she thinks of her appearance? a lot?) gets to Ireland, various creatures start trying to kill her and don't stop till the end. Um, I don't mean that I kept reading in hopes that the heroine would be killed, but rather because the creepy bad guys added an enjoyable amount of danger to the story.
The setting was richly detailed and vibrant. Loved the setting.
As for the ending, it didn't end. It just stopped. I might read the next one in the series, if only to find out what's in the dark, brooding alpha-male's past.
Despite this book's drawbacks, I admit I did finish it in two days. So there you go.
I stuck it out, though, because once the pastel-wearing, blonde-ponytailed, tan-legged heroine (did I mention she thinks of her appearance? a lot?) gets to Ireland, various creatures start trying to kill her and don't stop till the end. Um, I don't mean that I kept reading in hopes that the heroine would be killed, but rather because the creepy bad guys added an enjoyable amount of danger to the story.
The setting was richly detailed and vibrant. Loved the setting.
As for the ending, it didn't end. It just stopped. I might read the next one in the series, if only to find out what's in the dark, brooding alpha-male's past.
Despite this book's drawbacks, I admit I did finish it in two days. So there you go.
I took part in a Conflict Grid workshop led by Lyn Cote, and I now use a conflict grid for every set of characters I write.
You can create a conflict grid without using a table or spreadsheet, but I need the neatness of lines and squares. I prefer tables to spreadsheets (spreadsheets give me hives), but it's easy to run out of room on Word's standard 8.5x11" page. Don't let that stop you. You can make the page size as large as you like by creating a custom paper size.
Click File, Page Setup, Paper Size, Manage Custom Sizes, and then choose your dimensions. I like a page that's at least 15" wide and 25" high (the height doesn't matter so much, but a larger number here will eliminate distracting page breaks). Name your custom size something that's easy to spot when you're looking for it next time—mine's called Big Tables.
Caveat: I have no idea how or whether Word will print custom-sized pages.
You can create a conflict grid without using a table or spreadsheet, but I need the neatness of lines and squares. I prefer tables to spreadsheets (spreadsheets give me hives), but it's easy to run out of room on Word's standard 8.5x11" page. Don't let that stop you. You can make the page size as large as you like by creating a custom paper size.
Click File, Page Setup, Paper Size, Manage Custom Sizes, and then choose your dimensions. I like a page that's at least 15" wide and 25" high (the height doesn't matter so much, but a larger number here will eliminate distracting page breaks). Name your custom size something that's easy to spot when you're looking for it next time—mine's called Big Tables.
Caveat: I have no idea how or whether Word will print custom-sized pages.
Harlequin Senior Editor Ann Leslie Tuttle answers submission questions at Romance University: Top 3 Submission Errors and How Authors Can Fix 'em
