Find a Good Critique Partner (Tips from Author Lily Harlem!)

Hello Fellow Writers!

I just read one of Ellora's Cave's free reads (what they call "Naughty Nooners") and my first thought was wow - that's a really good, hot story. And free? Sign me up! Now I want to read all the Naughty Nooners!

So anyway, after I read Stockholm Seduction, I emailed the author Lily Harlem and told her how awesome it was, and asked her a couple questions - such as how did you go from aspiring writer to published author? She had a lot of great info to share and she said I could share it with you folks: 

Lily Harlem:  "I first got published through a competition win. Spring 2009 I entered the Love Honey Vulgari Award for Erotic Fiction. I'd entered other writing comps before but nothing erotic - in fact I hadn't even tried to write anything saucy. I dreamed up a tale about the first female president of the US having a secret and passionate affair with the British PM!! It was a wild ride in the Oval Office and a Love Honey sex toy had to be incorporated into the story. I blushed the whole time I was writing it and then hit send never expecting to hear back. You can imagine my surprise when they called and told me I'd won first place in the long story section. Yippee!

"It was financially rewarding but more than that it gave me a massive boost of confidence as I realized I'd finally found my genre. And phew, what a genre! I got writing, writing and writing. I checked out the Erotic Reader and Writer Association on line, they have lists of calls for submissions. I sent off loads of short stories and got plenty of rejections, ranging from 'we like your voice but this is not what we're looking for at the moment' to just 'your writing skills are not strong enough for us'. But I kept on writing and gradually the acceptance emails started to come through - very exciting and worth the disappointment of getting the rejections.

"The best bit of advice I would give my pre-published self is to stick to short stories. I wasted literally hundreds of hours on a few full length novels that were just rubbish. It's so much easier to play around with shorter ones and get them just right without addling your brain. Also find a good crit. partner. Someone who is already into the genre and can pick out glaring mistakes, for example if you're writing about a wild orgy, you don't want someone so shocked by the content that they won't notice if your characters are doing things that are physically impossible!"


Good point there, Lily! I completely rely on my beta readers to save me from embarrassing mistakes... once I changed the Hero's name halfway through. Um, oops. Thanks beta reader, lol!

Here’s the blurb for her fast paced, kinky kidnap…

I was having a fabulous extended gap year in Oz. Sun, sea, sand and seriously hot surfers rolling in on every wave. Mmm, what could possibly be better?
But then I was taken…taken against my will. Stolen like a prized object. I was tied up, held for ransom. I didn’t know if I would survive, if I would walk away alive. And then, to top it all off, I was tortured in the sweetest, most delicious, most sensual way imaginable.
That was when I realized my fun down under had only just begun.

If you want to read Lily's free book Stockholm Seduction, click here.

"Stick With It!": Author Darah Lace

Hello Fellow Writers!
So recently I wrote a 5K word erotic story to try and submit to an anthology. They only need 20 entries though, so the chances that mine will be among them is slim, I admit. Still, it was fun to write! I sent it off to one of my beta-readers for critique, and I also took on one novella and one story from two of my beta-readers to read for them, so I will be a busy bee for a while.

Today I asked one of my fellow Ellora's Cave authors, Darah Lace, to chat. She wrote Saddle Broke for EC, and Unmasking Zorro and Bachelor Auction for The Wild Rose Press.

Shoshanna: When did you first get published, and did you get rejections before that?

Darah: Rejections? OMG, yes. I have a file cabinet full of rejection letters from editors and agents. I think that goes with the business we're in. My first novella, Wrong Number, Right Man, was published in 2006 at The Wild Rose Press, but I sort of dropped off the face of the earth for a while. I didn't try again until 2009 and in 2010 I sold to EC (Saddle Broke) and TWRP (Unmasking Zorro and Bachelor Auction). It's been a great year so far.

Shoshanna: If you could go back in time and tell your pre-published self something that you know now about writing, what would it be?

Darah: I'd tell myself, "Self, stop short changing yourself. Don't stop trying. Stick with it!" After a particularly disheartening rejection I lost my self-confidence and it took me way too long to get it back.

Shoshanna: I did the same thing years ago, I got a form rejection and just completely stopped submitting stuff! Fortunately I kept writing, even though I was just sticking my manuscripts in a a drawer, lol.

Without further ado (has anyone ever said "we need more ado?"), here's the blurb for Bachelor Auction:

Marcus Preston wants a relationship built on love and trust, but the woman he wants made it clear long ago she's only interested in fun and games. Yet, moving on proves difficult when no one else can erase the memory of the night they shared last summer.
Charlotte Reese doesn't believe in love, marriage, or happily ever afters. An occasional one-night stand is all she needs to take the edge off her loneliness and enhance the bad-girl image she uses to discourage commitment-seeking men—especially Marcus, the only man to melt both her body and her heart melt.
When Charlotte wins Marcus hot off the block of Houston’s Most Eligible Bachelor Auction and they’re forced to spend the weekend together, she seizes the opportunity to seduce him and extinguish the attraction sizzling between them once and for all. But for Marcus, it’s all or nothing. He won’t be seduced. Instead, he’ll show Charlotte she has more to offer a man than sex.

This week is a holiday week (Have a sweet New Year, L'Shana Tova!) so who knows how much I'll get accomplished. I'll probably get all my reading done if possible. And I still need to outline Protecting Emily. Or maybe I'll just go to temple and not get a thing done...Today I'll write my advice column for The Mahopac News early so I don't have to worry about it tomorrow. Wish me luck, and good luck to you to!


And thanks Darah Lace for joining us! Oh, and by the way, I adore her tagline: The Seduction of Lace.

45 Books Published and Counting: Author Natalie Dae

 Hello Fellow Writers!

As many of you know, now that I'm published with Ellora's Cave (will I *ever* tire of saying that? Nope! lol) I am part of several author groups on Yahoo, and I have the wonderful opportunity to chat with other authors and learn from their years of experience.

Then I thought - hey, let's share! So, I asked author Natalie Dae a couple of questions.

Shoshanna: When did you first get published, and did you get rejections before that?

Natalie: I was first published back in 2006 with one of my other pen names. That book was my first submission, so I got lucky. I’ve been rejected about 6 times now, and since then, in my various names, I have had 45 books published and feature in a few anthologies. I have seven books yet to be published, all in the editing stages, and I’m in the process of writing three more. It’s all go!

Shoshanna: If you could go back in time and tell your pre-published self something that you know now about writing, what would it be?

Natalie: That I can push myself harder and produce better work. I’ve always been a self-doubter, so finding out that there is more inside me that I’ve yet to tap into has been great. We never stop learning, and our voices change over the years, but the experience along the way is so refreshing, I would tell my former self—and myself as I am now!—to stop worrying and just enjoy writing.

Here are the blurbs from two of Natalie's books - click the titles for more info and to read excerpts!

Soul Keeper

Carrie Marsh anxiously awaits her online lover of two years, pacing the station in her stylish red coat with nothing but luxurious black lingerie underneath and stilettos on her feet. Will Rob Edwards really be on the train from Scotland? Will the attraction still exist in person? Can she even stave off the first anticipation-induced orgasm before he arrives? Excitement spirals through her, for Carrie has planned a night to remember.

Rob is shy, and Carrie intends to show him how to unleash his sexy side during a series of sexual encounters. But once he arrives, she can’t wait until they get to the hotel, let alone a bed. No. They hardly make it to the first tree, where anyone could spot their antics.

One unforgettable evening of passion leads two virtual lovers to a lifetime as each other’s soul keeper.

Magenta Starling

Cursed at birth, Dion is a demon who has searched for his beloved for centuries. Upon meeting Morgan, he knows she’s the one he’s been waiting for, the one woman he can love forever, the one woman capable of helping him break the curse. However, Jistin, the curse-giver, has other ideas…

Morgan longs for a relationship and release from her solitary life aboard her yacht, The Magenta Starling. She longs for Dion—who’s not all that he appears. When he reveals his feelings for her, Morgan allows Dion to take her to his world, the realm of Thradmos. Her love for him growing even as she struggles to accept his reality, Morgan realizes she would do anything for him—including give up her life in the real world.

At a party held in celebration of Dion’s impending freedom, Morgan is snatched away by Jistin. In a final battle, Dion will fight not only for his freedom, but also that of his beloved, lest he be cursed for all eternity…and lose Morgan in the process.

Thanks, Natalie, for sharing, and come back to The Writer's Challenge to visit anytime! 

 I also want to point out that Natalie's book Soul Keeper is a "Quickie", which is what my book Ginger Snap will be. And now you've gotten a preview of what *my* book cover for Ginger Snap will look like, because I actually chose the same Quickie cover that she did, lol!

Meg Cabot Breaks it Down!

Hello Fellow Writers!

I'm officially a published writer now (okay, just for my advice column in the Mahopac News, but still!). The newspaper was released, they ran my column "Ask Shana", I got a check, and I even got my first writing deadline for the second column (already written, and submitted thankyouverymuch).

I'm still working on my quest to be a published romance writer, however. I'm almost done with my revisions for "The Art Thief's Punishment" for Ellora's Cave. I plan on having two of my writing buddies critique it before I send it off. My goal is to have it submitted by the end of March so that the editor doesn't forget that she asked me to revise and resubmit... you gotta strike while the iron is hot, so to speak!

I borrowed all ten of the "Princess Diaries" books from my NaNoWriMo buddy Aimee. They are like popcorn in a very good way. Light, fluffy, and impossible to put down. I love this YouTube video of the author, Meg Cabot, explaining how to write a novel.



The key point here, I think, is that the process of actually sitting down to write is what separates the real writers from the wannabees. It's easy to say "I want to be a writer" or "someday I'll write a novel", but it's another thing entirely to actually put pen to paper (or hands on keyboard, really) and put the time in to get it done.

For everyone out there who is rising to The Writer's Challenge - writing 1000 words a day, I salute you (and I think Meg Cabot does too!). Hey, even if you are writing on a regular schedule, or writing everyday even if it's not quite 1000 words, I still salute you - because actually writing is harder than saying you want to write!

Tomorrow night is my last class for the Advanced Writing Workshop at WCC. I'm bringing my 2 page synopsis for "Snowed in With a Millionaire" to be critiqued.
Wish me luck, and good luck to you too!

Yours Truly,
Shoshanna Evers

Walter Greatshell on Writing

Hello Fellow Writers!

I've been plugging away on my erotic romance "The Art Thief's Punishment" ever since I got a 'revise and resubmit' letter from Ellora's Cave. I think it's going quite well so far. I still haven't heard back yet from Harlequin about the partial they requested of "The Movie Star's Very Personal Assistant". I watch the mailbox daily with my fingers crossed that they will request a full.

I've been going to my second Advanced Writing Workshop at WCC and working on "Snowed in With a Millionaire" there. Very few changes have been made since the instructor, Vinny, has been liking the story as is. This week I plan on writing a synopsis so that when I hear back from Harlequin about "Movie Star" I'll be ready to send them "Snowed".

I recently read "Xombies: Apocalypse Blues" by Walter Greatshell. It was a great book and I read it so fast because I found I didn't want to put it down! It was horror mixed with science fiction, and there was no romance, so it wasn't the sort of thing I normally read. I read it because my father suggested it. I'm glad I did!

Walter Greatshell has an article he wrote about writing called "Playboy Loved Me: Confessions of a Freelance Failure" on his website, waltergreatshell.com. Read the whole article here, this is an excerpt:

I am a writer, though my lifetime of writing has not earned me as much as a year working at Dairy Queen. I always knew I was going to be a writer, and that I would have to go through a period of "paying my dues." I just didn't think it would take so long. Perhaps my naivete was fortunate, because if I had it to do all over again I think I would go with my childhood ambition: to be an ichthyologist. Study little fishies.
All writers are doomed by their initial piddling success - as any driving instructor will tell you, it’s hard to unlearn bad habits. In my case I won a contest, the Independent Press-Telegram Scary Story Contest, and although they never actually printed my story (a grudge I still nourish at my breast) I did get fifty dollars out of it. A boy's first pay! It was not unreasonable to expect that it would lead to greater things, that I was a teenage prodigy on the ladder to literary stardom. In fact, that money was the biggest sum I would make from any single manuscript until I was forty.
........
Hitchhiking once, I met a motivational speaker--a man who choreographed ninjas, flaming batons and bikinied go-go dancers for the purpose of galvanizing jaded salesmen--who banished my writing problems with one word: "Volume." His cure-all solution to freelancing was to send the same article to fifty publications at a time. Be active, not reactive! It seemed sensible, and I assured him I would do it.
"We'll see," he told me. "A lot of people secretly want to fail. They just can't do what it takes."
"I will. I'll do it," I said.
"Maybe. I'll be watching for your byline. We'll see."
I didn’t do it.

I'm looking forward to reading Greatshell's other novels, especially "Xombies: Apocalypticon", the sequel to the other Xombies book. Today I'm going to get cracking on that 2 page synopsis for "Snowed in With a Millionaire" at the Panera in Fishkill, NY with my writing buddies. It's not easy taking 181 plus pages of novel and boiling it down to 2 pages. Wish me luck, and good luck to you too!
Yours Truly,
Shoshanna Evers

Meg Cabot's Advice

Hello Fellow Writers!

I'm still waiting to hear back on the two manuscripts that are currently being reviewed by publishers. In the meantime, I've been working on "Taste of Candy", an erotic romance. I am totally stuck on this one - something must be wrong! I need to go through and make an outline and see if I can unblock myself. So that's the plan for this week.

I've been reading Meg Cabot's bestselling "Princess Diary" series. They are wonderful books and each is such a quick read. I literally read one of the books in four hours without pause. I really enjoy Cabot's easy going style - I will definitely be reading more of her novels.

On her website, MegCabot.com, she offers her advice to aspiring writers:

What advice do you have to give to aspiring writers?

My advice to young writers is:
Write the kinds of stories you like to read. If you don’t love what you’re writing, no one else will, either.
Don’t tell people you want to be a writer. Everyone will try to talk you out of choosing a job with so little security, so it is better just to keep it to yourself, and prove them all wrong later.
You are not a hundred dollar bill. Not everyone is going to like you … or your story. Do not take rejection personally.
If you are blocked on a story, there is probably something wrong with it. Take a few days off and put the story on a back burner for a while. Eventually, it will come to you.
Read-and write-all the time. Never stop sending out your stuff. Don’t wait for a response after sending a story out…start a new story right away, and then send that one out! If you are constantly writing and sending stuff out (don’t forget to live your life, too, while you are doing this) eventually someone will bite!
It is nearly impossible to get published these days without an agent. The guide I used to get mine was called the Jeff Herman Guide to Agents, Editors, and Publishers. It was well worth the money I spent on it, since it lists every agent in the business and what he or she is looking for. It also tells you how to write a query letter, what to expect from your publisher, and all sorts of good stuff…a must buy for any aspiring author!
And above all, become a good listener. In order to write believable dialogue, you need to listen to the conversations of the people around you—then try to imitate them! So my advice is always to try to keeping quiet, listen only, and let other people to do the talking for a change. You’ll be surprised how much this will improve your writing skills (and how many people will think you’re a really sage person, when all you’re basically doing is spying on them).
Good luck, and keep writing! If I can do it, so can you!

Good advice from a number one bestselling YA author! I have a YA novel called "SL*T" that I was working on and then just kind of let go. It's much darker than most traditional YA fair. I do plan on getting back to it at some point. But for now, I've got my Advanced Writing Workshop instructor going through my Silhouette Desire targeted contemporary romance, "Snowed in with a Millionaire", and I've got my current WIP "Taste of Candy" to work on.
Wish me luck, and good luck to you too!
Yours Truly,
Shoshanna Evers

New Year's Resolutions!

Hello Fellow Writers!

Happy New Year! I can't believe that it's 2010 already. Feels like we should have flying cars or something by now, right?

I finished reading "Mistress of the Art of Death" by Ariana Franklin. It was wonderful! I also finished writing my story that I will be submitting to Ellora's Cave for their "Alluring Arts" theme, due January 31st. After I finished (it's 11k words) I took a couple days off so I could look at it again with a fresh eye. I reworked a couple of things, and now I just have to send it to my critique partners.

"The Art Thief's Punishment" is an erotic romance, so I find myself getting a bit shy at the idea of people reading it and thinking it's a peek into my bedroom, when in actuality it's a peek into the bedroom of the hero and heroine. Since it's targeted for Ellora's Cave, it's more than a peek... the bedroom door has been blown off it's hinges!

2009 was a big year for me. I started this blog. I revised a romance novel and submitted a query letter to Harlequin about it (still waiting on that response, I'll keep you posted). I wrote a second romance novel and revised it. I wrote a short story that I plan on submitting this month. And I sent a spec advice column to a new newspaper and they liked it!

For the New Year, my resolution is to keep writing 1000 words a day (although I find that when I'm into it, I end up writing more) and - and this is the hard part for me - submit my writing for publication. It's hard for me because I've always written things and then hidden them away. The thought of opening myself up to rejection is scary, but I know if I want to be published then I need to actually send my stuff out there.

What are your resolutions? Will you take a writing class? Will you start (or finish) your novel? Will you try to find a literary agent? Let me know!

Wish me luck, and good luck to you too!
Yours Truly,
Shoshanna Evers

Inspiring Authors Speak

Hello Fellow Writers!

I am currently still working on my short (10K-15K) romantic erotica piece that I plan on submitting to Ellora's Cave before January 31st. I've got over 9K words, but it's looking like the story will end up over 10K because I need to wrap up the happily ever after. If my baby will let me, I'm going to work on that today.

I'm reading the book "Mistress and the Art of Death" by Ariana Franklin. I've only just started it, but so far I'm finding it very enjoyable.

Here is a video montage from YouTube of published authors giving their advice to aspiring writers. The main theme, it seems, is you need to both read and write a lot!



Today I'll continue working on my story, and if Maureen gets back to me with suggestions on the chapters I sent her from "Snowed in With a Millionaire", I'll take care of those as well.

Wish me luck, and good luck to you too!
Yours Truly,
Shoshanna Evers

Keep on Writing

Hello Fellow Writers!

Yesterday was a very big day for me, but it unfortunately didn't involve getting any writing done. Sure, I wrote pages in my head, but those don't count. Today they will have to be put onto actual paper.

My non-writing life suddenly got very busy. I accepted a job as an RN Supervisor every other weekend for the day shift at a local nursing and rehab center. This will still leave me with all week and every other weekend to write, which is good. My husband and I celebrated our 3 year wedding anniversary last night as well, and he acted just like one of my romance heroes by surprising me with a gorgeous diamond ring ...*swoons and sighs*

I just finished reading "The Desert King's Housekeeper Bride" by Carol Marinelli. Her bio on eHarlequin.com tells how she received numerous rejection letters from Harlequin before finally being published. Now she's written 50 novels for both the Presents and the Medical lines (she's a nurse too, small world!).

Carol Marinelli was born in England to Scottish parents, then emigrated to Australia, where there are loads of Scottish and English people who did exactly the same, so she’s very at home there.
She lives in the outer suburbs of Melbourne—pretty much in her car, driving her three children to their various commitments.
Carol first tried to write for Harlequin Mills & Boon while doing her nursing training in London. It was merrily rejected and she was devastated. Rejection became a regular friend over the next few years and she amassed quite a collection. Still, as the years moved on the rejections became more detailed and instead of weeping over them and scorning them, she finally read them. Properly.
In 2000 her first romance was accepted for the Medical Romance line and she lived happily ever after. Well, that’s what she thought would happen but actually, no, it was then that the hard work really began!
Once published she discovered the Romance Writers of Australia—it would, she now knows, have been far easier on this journey to have discovered them earlier. Attending her first conference she realized that she wasn’t the only person who lived with a constant cinema happening in her head—in fact they were all THE SAME! Different but the same and many wonderful friendships were made.
Carol now writes for both the Medical Romance and Presents lines and loves them both.
One of her goals is to attend the Romance Writers of America conference with a few Romance Writers of Australia, which is a very nice goal to have.

Today I have errands to run but I will get a minimum of 1000 words written today. Wish me luck, and good luck to you too!

Yours Truly,
Shoshanna Evers

Caitlin Crews, Harlequin Presents Author

Hello Fellow Writers!

Yesterday I emailed Harlequin Presents author Caitlin Crews, who was kind enough to write back! She also writes as Megan Crane. I asked her how she first got published, and what her advice to aspiring writers would be. Here is her email (with her permission):

Hi Shoshanna,

I'm thrilled that you enjoyed the book! Thanks so much for letting me know!

As you noted on your blog, I've written other books, but this is my first romance novel and I've been anxious to see how it would be received!

I'd be happy to answer your questions.

How did I get published?

I wish I could say there was a secret password or something, but if there is I don't know it. Both when I first got published back in 2004 and when I first got published with Harlequin this year, it was the same story: I wrote a book, sent it out, and hoped hoped hoped. Neither was my first book-- I spent a lot of time writing and revising and starting over and writing and revising and starting over. You don't know how to write books until you've written books. And the only way to get better at writing books? Is to write more books.

Advice for aspiring writers?

Keep writing. Finish the book and then start a new one. View rejections as a challenge, not commentary on your worthiness. And believe this, if nothing else: no one can tell your stories but you. No one can write your books but you. So really, you have no choice but to write!

Let me know if you need anything further!

Thanks!

Caitlin

--
PURE PRINCESS, BARTERED BRIDE 2/2010
MAJESTY, MISTRESS... MISSING HEIR 5/2010
http://www.caitlincrews.com

There is so much truth in these words! And on that note, I am going to get some writing done today. Wish me luck, and good luck to you too!

Yours Truly,
Shoshanna Evers

Peter Carey's Advice to Writers

Hello Fellow Writers!

Yesterday I incorporated (most of) the suggestions I got from my writing group on improving the first chapter of my WIP, "Snowed in With a Millionaire". There are always going to be some instances where I want to keep my original words, but I also know when to look at my work objectively and see that someone else is right!

Peter Carey is the author of numerous books. Even though NaNoWriMo is officially over, I did get another letter in my inbox from him. Here he shares his advice with writers.

Dear Writer,
Writing is the easiest thing in the world. Anyone can do it. It's like hitting a tennis ball against a wall. It's like swimming. Anyone can learn. You don't have to be the best. You don't need to compete in anything. On the other hand, you may aspire to be a celebrated star.

Like swimming, like playing tennis, there are people writing at all levels. If you just want to amuse yourself writing the weekends, just keep on keeping on. If you want to bash out a novel, you need no more advice than to keep on keeping on.

But if you dream of making something original and beautiful and true, if you imagine seeing your book reviewed, or in the window of a book store, you're in the same position as the ambitious swimmer—you've got a lot of training to do, a lot of muscles to build, a lot of habits to start establishing right now, today.

If you know what these good writing habits are, there's nothing more I can give you. Perhaps you know what I'm going to tell you—you have to write regularly, every day. You have to treat this as the single most important part of your life. You do not need anything as fancy as inspiration, just this steady habit of writing regularly even when you're sick or sad or dull. Nothing must stop you, not even your beloved children. If you have kids you do what Toni Morrison did—write in the hours before they wake. If you wish to be a like the champion who swims for four hours every day of the year, you will need extraordinary will. You either have this or you don't, but you won't know unless you try .

Let's say you (quietly, secretly) want to be a genius. Then you must teach yourself to be self-critical. Trust me—your own uncertain opinions are worth one hundred times more than the judgments of your friends. Your friends love you and are may be very smart. But they cannot imagine what you have not yet imagined. So don't show them stuff you fear may not be right.

If you feel at all unhappy with your work, there is a good reason for it. Trust your judgment. Write the draft again, and again. This is the strength you must build—to work alone, in solitude, and write and rewrite and rewrite. Even when you finally succeed in making the original work you wished, you will still live with doubt and uncertainty. All writers learn to live with this. In this way you and I feel exactly the same about our work today.

If you ever read one of my books I hope you'll think it looks so easy. In fact, I wrote those chapters 20 times over, and over, and over, and that if you want to write at a good level, you'll have to do that too.

That is the first half of the good habits you must develop.

Here's the second half.

First, turn off your television. The television is your enemy. It will stop you doing what you wish to do. If you wish to watch TV, you do not want to be a serious writer, which is fine.

But if you do pull that plug you've just created time for that exercise which is going to build up your writing muscles like nothing else. It's called reading. Perhaps you are already reading good books for several hours a day, in which case you don't need me to preach at you. Forgive me. I only mention this because I have met an extraordinary number of beginners who don't think they need to read anything too much.

I don't doubt these people enjoy their writing, and perhaps they will even get to publish something. But you can not play the top game without reading every day. There are so many extraordinary books waiting for you, some writing by living writers, the majority by those a long time dead. This is not because writers used to be better than they are now, but because a lot of generations have come before us and we would be crazy not to know what miracles they achieved.

Some of the great books are about people with lives just like you. Some will have characters you can 'identify' with, but some of the very greatest will tell stories you could never have imagined, were written in languages you cannot speak, and tell the stories of people like none we have ever known.

Now you've killed the TV, you should invest in a very good dictionary.

I know it is a major drag to stop reading and look up a word in a dictionary, but it is less of a drag than continuing to read not knowing what the story really means. No-one wants to do it. I never want to do it, but it is always worth the trouble. In my own case I often write the new word down, not because I am stupid, but because it helps me remember it.

So what books should you read if your greatest aim is to lift your game? Clearly "Goose Bumps" is not going to help you in your ambitions, but where to start, where to continue the adventure you're already on?
I'd suggest a wonderful new book by Francine Prose, "Reading Like a Writer.Go buy this now. You may already be a disciplined, talented original writer but you will not be sorry to read this for two hours tomorrow.

-Peter Carey

You can learn more about Peter Carey's writing at his website.

Today I will be going to my writing group at the Barnes and Noble, where I will see if they agree that my query and synopsis for "The Movie Star's Very Personal Assistant" is ready. Then I will have to just do it - and send it out into the world.
Wish me luck, and good luck to you too!
Yours Truly,
Shoshanna Evers

Pep Talk from Founder of NaNoWriMo

Hello Fellow Writers!

I love those comics. Yesterday I got my word count up to 16,000. I'm discovering that the stuff I write when I'm feeling inspired is impossible to differentiate from the stuff I write when I'm feeling as if my muse went on vacation. This means that there should be no excuses such as "I'm not in the mood to write." Doesn't matter! Stephen King writes 2000 words a day, every day.

And I've noticed that once I get into my groove, even if I had to force myself to get started, I start getting into it. You know, that place where the world around you disappears and your story becomes reality. So much fun!

I'd like to share the NaNoWriMo pep talk from Chris Baty, the founder of NaNoWriMo and the author of "No Plot, No Problem!"

Dear Author,
Hey there! It's Chris Baty again, and hoo, boy, have I been watching some television. Do you know this show Battlestar Galactica? I've just started in on the first season, and I am shocked by how much stuff the show's writers borrowed from NaNoWriMo.

For instance, Battlestar Galactica centers on a group of humans stranded in space after their worlds have been destroyed by their enemies. NaNoWriMo takes place in the space of November. In Battlestar Galactica, people are hunted by shape-shifting robots who sometimes wear red dresses. In NaNoWriMo, participants sometimes hunt for the, uh, red address bar, where…um.

Shoot. Okay, so the similarities break down a little bit at the granular level. But there is one irrefutable nod to NaNoWriMo in the show that many veteran NaNo participants likely noticed right away. The crew on BG use mysterious technology to "jump" from one galaxy to the next, folding time and space to cross vast distances in the blink of an eye.

This was obviously inspired by NaNoWriMo's two famous wormholes, which fling writers forward (in a good way) when they hit 25,000 and 35,000 words. At these magical tipping points, normal rules of NaNoWriMo physics no longer apply. Forward writerly motion becomes easier, fitful stories take off, and word-counts begin accelerating towards warp speeds.
Our mission this week is to heave ourselves up to the precipice of the 25,000-word wormhole. From where I am now, that feels woefully far away. In reading through the forums, I see I'm not alone. Our non-noveling lives have turned hectic, we're facing tough decisions about what to do with our characters, and we're grumpy from lack of sleep. I am also—for the third year running—facing the very real possibility that my protagonists might literally bore me to death.
To help get us through Week Two and on to the exciting worlds beyond, I have a few tips I'd like to share.
1) Write every day. Even if you just knock out 75 words before collapsing into bed, those 75 words will keep you connected you to your story in essential ways, and make diving back into your book much easier.

2) For now, stop thinking about 50K. Just sprint thousands. Visualize each writing session as a tall staircase made up of 1000 steps. You are part ninja, part monkey, and part stairmaster cyborg. You were born to fly up those steps. Bash out 250 words, and you've made it halfway to 500. Keep going for another ten minutes, and you're past 500 and within striking distance of 750. Once you hit 750, you could sneeze out enough words to get to the top! After each thousand, be sure to take a quick break and celebrate. Then fire up that monkey spirit and go run another thousand.

3) Remember that your book is important. I didn't say this in the Week One pep talk because we'd only just met and there's really only so much cornball sentiment from a random guy on the internet that anyone should have to tolerate in one month. But here's the truth: You have a book in you that only you can write. Your story matters. Your voice matters. The world will be richer for you seeing this crazy creative escapade through to 50,000 words.

This may be hard to believe given the craptastic state that many of our manuscripts are in. But there are great, unexpected things ahead for you in Weeks Three and Four. And there is someone out there who has been waiting their whole life to read the book you're writing now.

So don't slow down. Don't give up. We'll be at the first tipping point soon!

Chris

Today I'd like to get my word count for "Snowed in With a Millionaire" up to a minimum of 18,000 words, but it would be great if I could go past that to 19,000 or even 20,000.
Wish me luck, and good luck to you too!
Yours Truly,
Shoshanna Evers

Writer's Write - Don't wait for the Muse

Hello Fellow Writers!

Yesterday was the first day of NaNoWriMo. I went to a write-in, which was very fun, although I'm pretty sure I would have gotten more writing done at home! I literally put in ear plugs and just typed for a while to make sure I got something accomplished, because it was very easy to get pulled into fun conversation about our novels.

The problem with talking about writing is... you're not actually writing. Writer's write! Yesterday I wrote 2,413 words. I hope to beat that today since DH is working very late. As long as the baby doesn't act up, that is - in which case I'll be out of luck because there will be no one to relieve me.

Novelist and blogger Cory Doctorow says it very well in this video. He warns us not to be the type of writer who needs to go through a whole routine and be in the perfect mood to write, because ultimately when you look back at your work you won't be able to tell the difference between the work you did when you weren't feeling it and the work you did when you felt your muse was with you, filling you with inspiration! As he says "A writer is someone who writes, not someone who complains about writing." Amen, brother.



Today I will be continuing my goal of writing a 50,000K novel in a month. I need to write at least 1667 words each day to do that, but I want to beat yesterday's word count of 2,413.

Wish me luck, and good luck to you too!
Yours Truly,
Shoshanna Evers

Insider Secrets from Top Writers

Hello Fellow Writers!

Yesterday I did manage to plot out more of "Snowed in with a Millionaire". Well, technically, I reworked some of what I have in the hopes that it will help me through the sagging middle. The going is tough but I'm plowing through it. If I can't manage to get 40 pages of really tight plot written then there is no way the story will make a good romance novel. I'd rather learn that now than after writing the whole thing and realizing it doesn't work!

Today I will review a book on writing that I pulled off my shelf, after not having read it in a while:
"The 101 Habits of Highly Successful Novelists: Insider Secrets from Top Writers" by Andew McAleer.

This book was really good. Now that I have it in front of me again, I want to reread it for the motivation it inspires. It covers everything - from the creative side of writing, to the discipline involved in actually getting things written, to the business side of getting an agent and getting published. The contributors are all well known, published authors who know what they are talking about.

Here is a tidbit that I especially enjoyed, from Daphne du Maurier Awaed winning author Vicki Stiefel, of the critically aclaimed Tally Whyte suspense novels, including Body Parts, The Grief Shop, The Dead Stone, and The Bone Man:

First-draft rule: Don't go back. I love to edit. Love it! So when I'm writing a first draft of a new novel, I never do it. What! Yup, I never go back and edit. Why? If I did, I'd end up with about twenty pages of really, really, really well-edited material. And that would be it. On a first draft, I push forward. Period. Gee, but I'd love to go back and just tweak that one small section. Nope, not allowed. I push forward. Golly, if only I could smooth out those pages. I know they'd be better. Probably right, but no way, not now. Gosh, it would be great if I could have these words in the "real" Portuguese right now, I'll begin that research and... Forbidden. Don't do it. Just jot some quick notes and move on. Move forward. Always forward. Relentlessly forward. And that's how I write some 400-plus manuscript pages for a novel.

Side roads are great, if you're driving a car or taking a hike. For me, they're crummy when writing a novel. So I write on, and write on, and write on. And suddenly, I'm there. Whew. And when I've finally made it to the finish line, I smile. Because that's when I pull out my pen, and I edit, edit, edit the bahoosie out of the manuscript. That's when I do thorough and important research. That's when I check spelling, continuity, and a million other things. But not before then. Because if I did, I'd never have finished book one.

Rereading that section made me wonder if this is what is paralyzing me with "Snowed in with a Millionaire". I too love to edit, and I have a hard time shutting off my "internal editor". Then again, I can always put this theory to test once I have my plot outline finished. I really like what this author has to say because I love the idea of just writing, writing writing nonstop. If only it were so easy in practice as in theory!

Today I am going to work more on my plot for "Snowed in with a Millionaire". Seriously, the fact that last week I made my daily goal to write out the whole plot in one day is laughable. This is taking longer than I had realized it would!

Tonight I am going to my Advanced Writing Workshop, which I am looking forward to. The feedback I've received for "Marrying a Movie Star" has been very helpful so far, resulting in revisions that have strengthened the book.

Wish me luck and good luck to you too!

Yours Truly,
Shoshanna Evers

Writer's Block

Hello Fellow Writers!

Yesterday I planned on working on my plot for "Snowed in With a Millionaire". Instead, when I had a nice 3 hour chunk of time to write, I took a nap. I feel like I'm getting a cold so I felt the time would be better used for sleep. However, I went to bed that night feeling guilty - like maybe the real reason I didn't work on my novel at all was because I am suffering from a slight case of writer's block.

I left off my writing at a place where I was stuck, and the thought of going back to that stuck, difficult place doesn't sound like fun. This is one of the reasons why I have numerous "half novels" - I'll get maybe 50 pages in or so and then give up and start a new one. My goal with "Snowed in With a Millionaire" is to ensure that I complete it by writing a very detailed, very long plot outline to help me through that time.

Today I got a good piece of advice from one of the women in my writing class about "Marrying a Movie Star". She felt that one of the scenes seemed contrived and suggested I rework it - and now that she mentions it, I realize she's right. So I will work on that today as well as try to get my writer's block unblocked for "Snowed in With a Millionaire."

Here, Bob Moresco, the Oscar winning co-writer for the film 'Crash', discusses writers block.



He says it all - basically, just write through it. Don't worry about creating a masterpiece. Just write.

Wish me luck and good luck to you too!

Yours Truly,
Shoshanna Evers

"First Draft in 30 Days"

Hello Fellow Writers!

Yesterday my goal was to take the love scenes in my romance novel "Marrying a Movie Star" to the next level, since I've recognized that my book is less Harlequin Romance and more Silhouette Desire...

Perhaps it's because I've been living with my Hero and Heroine for so long, so I know them as well as I know myself - but it wasn't difficult to add a couple of romantic love scenes and an extra kiss in the places where I knew the characters wanted to be with each other. They had previously been kept from consummating their passion by the fact that I was nervous about my father reading the book!

So I got a lot done yesterday. I also emailed out the first chapter to my book to my writing teacher, and so far the response has been quite positive. Yay!

I could have gotten even more done and worked more on "Snowed in with a Millionaire", but all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, so I stayed up late watching "The Biggest Loser" on Hulu.com. I was amazed that they could lose like 25 lbs in a week. Seriously.

I pulled another book off of my shelf to review for you, "First Draft in 30 Days" by Karen S. Weisner. Titles like that hook me every single time. I love the idea of writing a book in a month. It hasn't happened yet, but I still love the idea.

Really what the book guides you to do is to create a very detailed outline, similar to the 40 page plot synopsis I've been writing for my work in progress based on 'The Marshall Plan for Novel Writing" by Evan Marshall. Weisner has written over 20 books, so her method must work for her. Unfortunately, the book is a bit dry. My main problem with it is I don't jump up and down with inspiration as I read it. On the other hand, another book that promotes writing a first draft in 30 days, "No Plot! No Problem" by Chris Baty, the founder of National Novel Writing Month, does make me get all excited and ready to write. So there you have it. By the way, NaNoWriMo is coming up in November and I'm seriously considering joining in on the fun.

Left brain thinkers might like "First Draft in 30 Days" more than I did. Weisner does have a lot of good information and suggestions, however - including letting your outline sit for a while before you go back and look at it. I remember Stephen King said in his book "On Writing" that he did the same thing.

Today my goal is to work on my plot for "Snowed in with a Millionaire".

Wish me luck and good luck to you too!
Yours Truly,
Shoshanna Evers

Do you want to write a novel too?

I started this blog because I want to be a writer. Actually - I'm already a writer. I write stuff all the time. I want to be a published author, and I'm guessing if you are reading this then maybe you do too.

Let's support each other, and cheer each other on.

Here is The Writer's Challenge: Write 1000 words a day - that's about 4 manuscript pages - every day, come hell or high water, until your novel is written. Then get an agent. Then get it published.

Writing every day is hard for me, especially since I just had a baby. I'm typing this now while balancing him on my lap with the lap top. I have written two novels and countless short stories. They are collecting dust in my desk drawer. The first novel I wrote is pretty horrible, so it deserves to stay hidden among the dust bunnies. But the second novel I wrote has potential, I think.

I submitted the first three chapters to a literary agent and got a form rejection letter, and that was that. The letter wounded me so deeply (stupid, I know) that I gave up. Just like that.

But I've heard from published authors that the key is to keep pushing on. I'll never get my book published (that one or any future ones) if I don't even try to get it out there.

I'm not into self publishing (although I'm publishing myself on this website in a way) - but the whole self publishing thing is a debate best left to the experts, so I will find the info for you and post it on this site so you can decide for yourself.

I'm the sort of person who needs to be held accountable - so here I am, making myself accountable to you, promising you that I will write 1000 words of fiction a day and then try to get an agent, so I can try to get published - and it would be really neat if you joined me in this challenge.

I've bought practically every book about writing and fiction and publishing out there, so I will also start pulling those books off my shelves and reviewing them here, to let you know which ones I found most helpful and informative, and which weren't worth the money.

You can post your daily word count as a comment, tell me about how your novel is moving along, and we can help each other through this :) I am by no means an expert, but if you have questions about anything please ask and I'll do my best to find the answers for you.

Today I am fixing up some of the glaring errors in the romance novel I wrote - working title "Marrying a Movie Star" - so that I have something decent (I hope) to bring to the writing class I am starting on 9/23.

Wish me luck, and good luck to you too!

Yours truly,
Shoshanna Evers