Ouch!

I'll update the WIP info later tonight or tomorrow but thought I'd post quickly while I still have a wrist left. Or a thumb. I am not a hunt and peck typist, so I need my thumb.

I think it hurts because I've been on the computer far too much lately--reading, research, etc. It's that whole mouse thing.

I sent Caught off at a final word count of just over 26k--the longest short story I've ever managed. No dead bodies (woohoo!) but possibly too much sex. No, seriously. We'll see what the editor says. So I've been working on Highland Fling, trying to figure out what to do with my full-length novels (as I just commented on Macy's blog, I'm trying to find my voice in the 'right' subgenre) ... and starting two new short stories that just came to me--no point in trying to remember them later.

So appearing shortly on the WIP list will be "Soldier Boy" and "Hot Target" -- both very fun so far, both very different from earlier stories ... stay tuned!

The exciting life of a romance writer

That's okay, I can hear you all laughing. Because we live—to one degree or another—those lives. You know, the lives that bear little to no resemblance to the lives everyone THINKS we have. Glamorous, jetting from one fan-filled booksigning to another...okay, SOME of us might live that life, but I seriously doubt it. Even if you are, I'm guessing it's more like jetting from one booksigning (fan-filled or otherwise) while feverishly plotting your next masterpiece (which no one will regard as a masterpiece, except for other writers, who know just how damned hard it can be), if not actually writing, revising, or editing it.

I'm not remotely close to breathing that air, but my life right now is so much the opposite of that, it seemed a good thing to dream about (besides, I haven't had time to blog for over a week now, and I had to write SOMETHING). Warning: spoiler ahead. If you want to continue believing your favorite romance authors live exciting, glamorous lives DO NOT READ FURTHER.

Anyone remember Shelley Long in the move "Don't Tell Her It's Me"? One day, I hope my life is that glamorous. Which should tell you something about the here and now. This week, I'm in the middle of finishing Caught, which keeps getting longer. I'm not sure if that's a good thing, considering no dead bodies have shown up yet. Because I don't read a lot of non-suspenseful romance, I worry that I'm going to be boring if I don't kill anyone off. I'm moving in a few weeks, so I'm spending a lot of my spare time packing and trying to keep up with keeping my apartment clean enough that the health department won't be visiting. For some reason, even though it's just me and one cat, this is harder than it should be. Of course, it doesn't help that I trip over boxes every time I turn around. Thank goodness I have a day job so no one really expects me to lie around in a negligee dictating chapter six while eating bon bons, because the atmosphere really isn't conducive to negligees. It is, of course, conducive to chocolate. Chocolate, like black, goes with everything.

Like everyone else (if you did this earlier, I do not want to know), I spent a fair bit of last weekend doing my taxes. They used to be easy. Next year, thank goodness, they'll be even more difficult, since (I hope!) there will be royalties to deal with, which makes it a good time to start tracking my expenses. How annoying and non-glamorous. Clearly, in addition to the secretary to take dictation, and the housekeeper to make sure there are fewer than six pairs of shoes on my living room floor, I need a bookkeeper.

There are two other half-done novellas waiting for my attention, as well as the various r/s novels that are in various states of being. Oh, look, I look like a writer after all. Except that I suspect everyone else has ideas that spring full-blown into existence, and their only problem is they can't type fast enough. Most of the time, my stories come into the sunlight much like a wildflower growing from a cliff face. The seed is there—blown there, probably—some line of dialogue or half-glimpsed scene that demands the question "what next" ... and battles its way into being from there. But, of course, that's the fun part. Who needs glamour when you have complete control of what happens next?

About those goals ...

A lot of writers get...interested (obsessed is such an ugly word) in things like word counts. For me, a 'newbie' to the world of professional fiction writing, it's a means to understanding the breadth and depth of a story. And I try to not get hung up on it (see WIP goals to right LOL).

I have no idea what publishers think about it--probably that it's a convenient way to allocate resources, meet reader expectations, blah, blah. I know a lot of writers who have been around for a while, and they think in terms of pages, not words, I think because they know how many word-doc pages it takes to build their story, and if you know you're going to have to write 400 pages, why count the words on them?

Regardless, publishers do have word-count guidelines, and so lots of writers, myself included, think in terms of word counts when we're writing. Because we know that the guidelines for an Intrigue (category) aren't the same as they are for Mira (single title). And because I know from past experience that the body count in my stories rises along with the length, I specifically aim for short stories when I'm planning an erotic romance. Yes, I'm a Scorpio, but I like my dead bodies to be separated from my sex scenes by more than a page or two. Otherwise it gets weird. No, I don't particularly care for vampire romance, thanks for asking. (If you do, though, L. Rosario writes some terrific ones.)

But this is my blog, so back to me. So I posted these word count goals to the right, and you'll notice that even though Caught is somewhat beyond the word count goal for it, I haven't changed it. First, because 15k really is a short story, and second because, well, I'm going to try shortening it when I revise. There are still probably a couple thousand words to be added first, though. But the point is that I probably need to tighten the writing, and anyway, as long as I stay under 20k I'll be happy. Either that, or I'll finally figure out how to write a longer e/r without killing anyone.

Romantic suspense, though, is a different story. The word count for Dreamwalk, right now, is around 70k. And that's at the end of the rough draft. My challenge with this one is to finish developing the story (this is my first full ms, and while I probably should put it under the bed, I still really like the plot) in a way that adds 25-30k words. Either that, or to lighten it up enough to make it palatable for category readers. As it is, it's a bit intense. Anyway, as noted before, I'm going to finish Caught and Highland Fling, and then spend some quality time with the LOML (love of my life).

There was a point to this, but I'm not sure what I did with it. Anyway, what do you think? Do you decide the length of your story based on the idea you have for it? Or do you decide "I'm going to write a novella" and then look for a subject?

Writer's block?

I just sent an email off to a writing compadre with the subject line car+mechanic=fixed. This friend had offered to take a look at some places in my MIP where I had a serious bout of writer's block going on. Voila, last night, sitting at my favorite cafe, with a glass of iced Moroccan Mint (green tea and mint, yummm...and enough caffeine to count!), all (well most) the pesky little details worked themselves out.

I read somewhere an opinion that there's no such thing as writer's block. Ouch. You can stop screaming now. With all due respect to anyone who holds that opinion...of course there is. A lot of times, though, I think it's like the "wait, wait, I know this" sort of block, where the answer to someone's question (or where you left your car keys) is just out of reach. And when you've given up, boom. There it is, right there--because, of course, you knew it all along.

Now, I'll admit it doesn't always work--sometimes you're just stuck and you either have to say it's good enough as it is, delete it and start over, or go outside yourself for help. If you're a writer, how do you handle writer's block? And does it depend on where you are in the creative process? Or do you believe there's no such thing, it's just laziness?

Fantasy v Reality

It's been an Austen weekend. Jane, that is. The Keira Knightly Pride and Prejudice was on TV the other night, and I found I liked it better this time than last, although I still think what's-his-name is (was) too young to play Darcy. Or maybe it's just that Darcy is so stuffy (really) in the novel, that even though he was only, what, 28 or so, he just seemed older. With all due apologies to non-stuffy men of any age. And what does it say that overwhelmingly Colin Firth is named the best Darcy ever? (I don't know, there was a poll or something.) Regardless of stuffiness or non-stuffiness, he is. Although I could have done with never seeing him play Mark Darcy in Bridget Jones ... really, what was I thinking? I hated the book, I don't like Brit Chick Lit anyway, and yet I not only tried to read the book, I watched the movie. Twice. Blame it on the cosmos (umm, the drinks--plural--not the universe).

So Pride and Prejudice, not at its best, but better than I remembered. No drugs or alcohol to blame that on, so I guess I was overly picky the first time.

Last night, PBS showed part I of II of Sense and Sensibility. The good version, not the Emma Thompson version. Okay, so I AM picky. Sorry, but Eleanor Dashwood is what, 20? Maybe? Years younger than Emma Thompson in the role (note: I love Emma Thompson. She just was a little old to be playing Eleanor Dashwood).

I'm going to stop there, because there's no need to be snarky about any of it, and there's a distinctly 'snarkish' tone to my voice today, for whatever reason. Too much weirdness in the world these days, making Austen the perfect antidote. When I was younger, I wasn't as able to appreciate the ridiculous dance of manners she sent her characters through, but now, some twenty-five (gulp) years after first finding P&P, I find the social commentary--whether she intended it or not--every bit as amusing as the rest of it. Really. Think about it. If you met FitzWilliam Darcy or Edward Ferrers, what would you really think of him? Love at first sight? And why?

A thorn in my heart ...

My goal-buddy and CP/partner in crime (aka plotting partner) Macy O'Neal had a very provocative writing prompt posted at her blog ... rising to the challenge (and a fun challenge it was), I wrote this:

An unsolved mystery is a thorn in the heart. In my case, a thorn with a rose attached, although the rose has long since died, in the way of all roses.

Is there anything more beautiful than a rose in full bloom? When I first saw him, he was beautiful beyond belief, more beautiful than any man has a right to be (we're susceptible enough, aren't we?). If I close my eyes, I can still see him, standing there among my grandmother's Abraham Lincolns ... brilliantly deeply scarlet (the roses, not him) against the cobalt sky moments before the storm struck. Tall, classically handsome in a way that defies description. Whip-lean, with black hair and sapphire eyes, his smile a white slash across his tanned skin.

Mesmerized, I moved toward him. His eyes held me before his arms did. And once he touched me, the world disappeared. Silently, as though he'd been there before, he led me to the gazebo by the gazing pool just as the rain started. The sky rivaled us for passion, the lightning lent its heat to our touches. After, we spoke, lovers' murmurs to welcome the night. I fell asleep in his arms.

In the morning, a rose lay where he had ...

What I'm reading ...

I don't do this often (actually, ever, but that makes it sound like I'm unwilling to, and the truth is I've just never happened to do it ...) ...

What I'm reading: actually, just read. Left work early yesterday for a long weekend, stopped at the supermarket on the way home and picked up a couple of novels, including Roxanne St. Claire's latest Bulletcatcher novel "First You Run." I've read all the previous Bulletcatchers, and liked them, but this one really took it. I meant to read just a chapter or two before going on to my regularly scheduled life and ended up reading the entire book in two sittings (separated by actually getting some writing of my own done). If you like romantic suspense, definitely pick up this one. The plot is creative, and then it turns on you. And then there's this twist. And then there's another one. What I really want to know (not being a plotting genius) is how the Divine Ms. R kept track of it all ... and then brought it all together in the kind of "yeah, should have seen THAT coming" ending I like best (she's very good at those kind of endings).

And in May, Karen Rose has a new one out ... and in between, I'm going to finish those two new short stories and one r/s rewrite. Really. I'd promise myself the new Karen Rose as a reward for finishing, but given my lack of success in holding off on Roxanne St. Claire's latest, I'd just be kidding myself. How about you? Any authors with books you're dying to see on the shelf? You know, the ones where you just want to scream "write faster"?