FINDING TIME

By Julie Cohen

“How do you find time to write?”

That’s probably the question that people ask me the most, and it’s a fair enough question. For the first two years of my career as a published author, I wrote three or four books a year whilst also working a demanding full- time teaching job. I quit my teaching job when I had my son, but I kept up the word count while changing nappies, going to playgroup and nursing colds. Now I like to say I’m a full-time author, but in reality, you’re never a full-time anything when you’ve got a young child at home.

My usual answer to this question is quite truthful, and it’s this: I write when my son sleeps, and now that he’s older, I write while he’s at nursery. I calculate how many words I need to write daily to meet my deadline, and that’s the number of words I write; it works out at an average of about 1500 a day, which is reasonable.

But that’s not the full story, because actually I’ve found that “How do you find time to write?” isn’t the right question for me. Maybe it was when I was unpublished and writing on hope, but now that writing’s my job, I have to write or I don’t get paid. The real question, the one I struggle with on a daily basis, is this:

“How do you find time not to write?”

Because writing, like any other job, can take up all your time. Even when you’re not at your computer you can be thinking about the characters, or plotting the story, or planning your marketing strategy, or making outlines of questions to ask your editor or agent next time you talk with them on the phone. You can be dropping off postcards at your local book shop or you can be making contacts at your local library. Not to mention all the writers’ groups and websites there are to join, and critique partners’ work you’d like to help with, and research books to read.

Since becoming self-employed I’ve found it hard to turn off from work, especially as I work in the middle of the dining room, so I don’t have a study door to shut. I have to make a conscious decision to shut down the computer and to be there in the moment for my family and friends and especially for my husband and son, with my mind fully engaged, and not flitting off to some fictional world.

My heroines always have a little bit of me mixed in with them, and Nina, the heroine of NINA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF GLOOM, is also someone who finds it difficult to turn off. She’s in love with her boss, and a bit of a workaholic. And when she’s not at work, she’s thinking about portraying the perfect image, buying the perfect shoes, shopping and partying and ringing up her father to make sure he doesn’t forget another dental appointment. She’s always busy, always “on”. Because if she’s busy, she doesn’t have to stay still and be with herself.

And then, of course, she loses it all—her job, her money, her contact with friends and family, even all of her gorgeous shoes—and she’s forced to live in the Temple of Gloom, a run-down gothic building with far too many gargoyles for its own good. She’s got nothing to keep her busy. Nothing to do but be still, and watch, and listen to herself, and learn.

And that’s when her real story, the story of the real Nina, begins.

I look for those moments in my own life: the ones when I can be still and present. Where I can find the courage not to write. I don’t always succeed, but I try.

What about you?

Julie’s website: http://www.julie-cohen.com

Buy NINA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF GLOOM with free worldwide shipping:

Buy from BookDepository.com

Secrets of a Part-time Author

by Pam Jenoff

“I’m too busy to write,” or “I can’t find time,” are two of the most common complaints I hear from aspiring authors. The statement is usually followed by an explanation: a demanding day job, kids home from college, house renovations, office being used as a spare guest room, etc.

Me too, I want to say. I decided to get serious about writing a novel following the events of September 11, 2001 and the epiphany that I didn’t necessarily have forever to make my dreams come true. It wasn’t the most ideal time to take on the challenge — I had started working as an attorney just weeks prior and had a demanding job working sixty hour weeks as an associate at a large law firm, not to mention almost a hundred thousand dollars in student loans to repay. So I devised a plan whereby I would write every morning from 5-7 am. It wasn’t pretty. I was tired and overwhelmed and many days as I dragged myself to the computer I had no idea what I was going to say. But a year later, I had my manuscript.

Since then, I’ve written in all manner of places, from a beautiful chalet in Salzburg and a writer’s cabin in Banff National Park to a tiny desk shared with my husband in our cluttered city apartment. I’ve written with morning sickness and no sleep or caffeine. Last year, when my son was born three weeks early, I finished my fourth novel lying down with an infant sleeping on my chest and a laptop plunked behind his tiny feet (something that is getting harder to do now that he is a year old and huge.)

So to everyone reading this who has a drawer full of, “yes buts,” standing between her and finishing that manuscript, I’d like to offer the following suggestions: Figure out when you can carve out that hour or two of writing time a day, then protect it zealously. You must pay yourself first and schedule that time or life’s commitments will run over it. You must make hard choices – when I got serious about my writing, I had to eliminate lots of other activities like board memberships etc. If it wasn’t family time, eating, sleeping, working or writing, it didn’t happen. Indeed, I’m notorious for turning down social engagements that will keep me up late and not let me write the next morning, or as I say, I’m boring and grumpy and go to bed by ten.

You also must stop coming up with reasons and excuses not to write (e.g., “I can’t write in short blocks of time.” If you have an hour, use the hour.) I used to say I couldn’t write unless I was well-rested, a rule which went out the window when my son was born. Don’t listen to others who tell you that you should be doing other things with that writing time. Let the phone ring and the house be dirty and accept whatever help is offered.

Finally, forgive yourself the days that this plan doesn’t work, and reward yourself the days that it does.

If all of this sounds hard and exhausting, it is. But when you hold that finished manuscript in your hands or with any luck see it on the shelf in your local bookstore, it will all be worth it. And in the more immediate term, you can start the rest of the day after writing (or go to bed, for you night writers) with the satisfaction of knowing that you have created a world while others only dreamt it, and enjoy the company of the characters that dance in your head, waiting for you to return tomorrow.
I’m no longer at the law firm, but I still have the day job and growing family commitments, and I still fit in the writing in the hour or two in between. It isn’t always easy or pretty and there are certainly days when I fail, but I always come back to it and that’s what has kept me in this game.

So sit down and start writing. And (I say this with love and respect) don’t let the full-time writers tell you they’re busy ☺

Those books that just won’t let us go?

by Lucy Monroe

We’ve all read those special books that keep replaying in our mind’s eye, those stories we have to go back and read over and over again. Haven’t we? I know I have, more than a few. My library wouldn’t be so full otherwise. (I only keep the books I like to read again. ::wink::)

As an author, there are stories that have the same pull, but these ones are inside my own mind. They’re characters that keep talking to me and each other, plots that get replayed over and over again until I have no choice but to write them. Wedding Vow of Revenge was one of those stories. The concept of the hero as the villain is one I love to play with, but it’s not always an easy story to write. In fact, it’s one of the hardest. You have to redeem this guy who has caused the heroine, whom you love and hope your readers do too, so much angst.

Angelo Gordon made the perfect anti-hero, but could I bring him to hero status by the end of the book? That was the question I played with long before I finally decided to write his and Tara’s story. It’s my sincere hope I pulled it off for my readers because I know I fell for the broken alpha hero long before the book was over.

That’s a weakness of mine, those guys who look and act so put together, but are broken on the inside and need love to heal them.

True love was Angelo’s only chance at true happiness because it was the only emotion strong enough to break through his other barriers. How real was that love? Read Wedding Vow of Revenge and let me know what you think. :)

What are your favorite revenge stories? For me, Lynne Graham is a master storyteller on this theme and I couldn’t possibly just pick one of her titles. How about you?

Hugs and happy reading,
Lucy

http://lucymonroe.com

http://www.lucymonroeblog.blogspot.com

Renovation Realities

by Debra Webb

Don’t worry I’m not going to talk about renovating this hundred and ten year old house of mine—though I could tell you some horror stories! I’d like to share a lesson I’ve learned over eighty-some-odd books. There is one absolute truth about creating a fiction novel: the story is only as good as the characters. If you’ve been around the publishing world for a while, whether published  or unpublished, this is not news to you. And if you’re not a writer but love to read, you know this from experience as well.

When I consider my favorite movies it’s quite easy to nail the reason I love them. Gladiator is one of my favorites. Not because I’m into watching the gore and violence or because the plot line was particularly compelling to me, but because of the character, Maximus, that Russell Crowe played. His brooding, wounded hero portrayal proved outstanding, in my opinion. Who can forget the lines, “…Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife. And I will have my vengeance in this life or the next.” Amazing! Then there’s another of my all time favorites, Long Kiss Goodnight. I loved, loved, loved Samuel L. Jackson in this movie! His portrayal of the character Mitch Hennessey was awesome and unforgettable. I have many, many other favorites. The reason I’ve presented these two particular examples is to demonstrate my renovation realities theory.

Generally when a story starts to develop in my very twisted mind I have one of two elements as a launching pad—a character that has stolen my attention and insists on being written or a plot idea that won’t leave me alone. Either way, it’s the characters that ultimately get the most of my time. Because I fully understand that when you hear a reader say, “God, I loved that story!” it is the character/s he or she loved. Creating those memorable characters is the key to an unforgettable story. Consider some of the classics that have endured the test of time: To Kill a Mocking Bird or Gone with the Wind. Both of those novels capture a time and place that is stunningly palpable to the reader. You can feel the story, taste it…smell it. But when you hear readers, young and old, talking about those stories the actual topic being discussed is nearly always one or more of the characters. Both authors created truly unforgettable characters.

So, how do we go about creating that unforgettable character? First, we make them real. Second, we renovate until we can stand back and say “yes, that’s what I was going for.” Whether you’re writing a wounded rogue or a quiet, sensitive computer whiz, he must have numerous layers just as real people do. It’s not enough to merely give him a name, a date of birth and profession, you need to give him the same elements a real guy would have. Where did he grow up? Any siblings? What about his parents? Dead? Divorced? Has he or she been married? Divorced? What was the environment like in his childhood home? What good or bad things happened to forge his personality and way of thinking? Whatever steps he takes, whatever judgments he makes about the plot, the other characters or his life in general are all motivated by who he is. You can’t fully develop who he is unless you give him a complete history. Think of your own life and the environment and events that made you who you are. That’s what you need for each of your characters. Whether it’s the hero or the heroine or the villain. Yes, the bad guys/gals have to be real too. The absolute best bad guys/gals are the ones readers feel some slight connection to. Creepy, huh? But it’s true. Look at Dr. Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs. A truly gruesome, sick character. But he had so many, many layers. Extreme intelligence. Charm. Etc. No matter that he was a demented killer, there were tiny, tiny fragments of who he was that were undeniably relatable.

MOTIVE IS EVERYTHING.

That’s right. Motive. Every single day of our lives we wake up and make one decision after the other. Whether to make the bed immediately upon rising or leave it for later. What to wear. Shower? Make-up? What to eat for breakfast? Load the dishwasher or not? A second cup of coffee or not? Spouse, kids, school, work, bills, etc., etc., etc. All those things and many, many more require decisions every day, every hour, every minute. Every single decision we make, spontaneous or not, is motivated by who we are and our thought process. What happened to you when you were five and older sister locked you in the closet? What happened on the playground when the bully took your milk money? How it felt when your first love dumped you because he/she was a complete idiot but you didn’t realize that until a long time later.

WHO IS HE/SHE?

Give him or her a life and fill it with a history and I promise you will have created a compelling and unforgettable character. Now I don’t have any fancy charts or research books. I don’t even do all this up front. Most of the time I do it along the way (which means going back and layering—so if you can do it all up front, kudos to you!). That’s the renovation part. Yeah, I know, most folks (especially editors) call it revising. I prefer to think of it as character renovating. When I think of Victoria Colby-Camp, head of the Colby Agency, she is a perfect example. The first Colby Agency book, Safe by His Side, featured Victoria Colby (before she married the venerable Lucas Camp!). At the time she was a nice, “older,” lady who had a history with at least two sad components: her seven-year-old son had been stolen and her husband had been murdered. These horrific events had taken place about sixteen years prior to book one. With each installment of the Colby Agency, Victoria and certain other characters, Simon Ruhl, Ian Michaels, Lucas Camp, to name a few, took on lives of their own. These characters became staples of each story. This month, Colby Lockdown, hit the shelves and it is the 37th installment of the Colby Agency series. Yes, I said 37! This is the largest (as in number of books) author series in Harlequin’s history.

There is a scene in Colby Lockdown where the terrorists who have overtaken the Colby agency deem that someone has to die. Victoria steps forward and demands that if someone is to die, it will be her. The head bad guy thinks this is quite amusing. The courageous head of the Colby Agency offering to sacrifice herself to save her staff. So he agrees, Victoria will die first. As I wrote this scene, I really didn’t know what was going to happen. It was one of those unplanned, definitely not in the synopsis moments. But I needn’t have worried, the characters would not let me down. I can’t tell you what happens, you’ll have to discover that as you read the story. But this is the perfect example of fully formed characters. I didn’t need to know what happened next, the characters took charge and showed me what was going to happen. I cried as I wrote that scene. I cried when I read it months later as the story prepared to go to production.

I’d love to hear about your favorite characters from a story you loved or your own renovation reality story about writing a character.

Reflections on 22 Years of Writing

by Michelle Reid

I was checking out what everyone was saying over here about the Presents bloggers bundle when I came across a comment our wonderful Heather made, which made me blink in surprise… I’ve been writing for 22 years…? I knew I came here to keep up with all the Romance info, but I never expected to discover things about myself I didn’t know!

22 years … and it feels like only last week that I received “the call” from Mills & Boon to tell me they wanted to buy my first book. True to the ideals of romantic fiction that call came late afternoon on Christmas Eve! I had just arrived home from a last minute shopping binge with my daughters. Flopped like a rag doll in the closest chair, it was left to my eldest daughter to answer the telephone. ‘Mum,’ she said in a breathless little voice that scared the life out of me, ‘It’s Mills and Boon…’ Top that for the best Christmas present ever.

Since then there have been several landmarks in those 22 years. The first one was seeing my debut book A Question of Pride in print. The next one was receiving the Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Award for No Way to Begin and Passion Becomes You. 2 books I’m still very proud of. Then there was The Hot Blooded  Husbands mini series, in which all 4 books seemed to grow naturally out of The Sheik’s Chosen Wife, as if I had nothing to do with what was happening inside my own head! The next big landmark was The Brazilian’s Blackmailed Bride and all that went in to the book’s creation.

The original idea to write a trilogy in collaboration with 2 other Presents authors from different corners of the world, came from the wonderful Sandra Marton. Sandra contacted Emma Darcy in Australia and myself here in the UK, to ask what we thought about the idea and before we knew it we were neck deep in brainstorming emails, from which The Ramirez Brides trilogy was conceived. Never having written in collaboration with anyone before the experience was exciting and inspiring. I thoroughly enjoyed building our hot blooded half-brothers then giving them heroines to match their passion and fire. Like a world-sized triangle with their wealthy playboy/rake father Enrique Ramirez in the centre, the trick was to draw all three main players together in that centre by the end of book 3 when the brother’s would meet for the first time. Great! Easy! After all that brainstorming of course we know what we’re doing! So off we went to write our books – and learnt the hard way that it wasn’t that simple! But we had a really great time achieving what we’d set out  to do.

I hope you find The Brazilian’s Blackmailed Bride as exciting to read as I found writing it!

Warm regards

Michelle