Sondi Warner's Blog, page 2

Write Anyway. Anywhere.

–Sondi Warner, Writer/Blogger for Wrought Iron Reads

Lindsey Stirling playing “Hallelujah”

The sky was overcast, mottled like bruises–purple, blue and grey–as I sat in the parking lot waiting for my partner to get off work. Along with me were my four kiddos, and needless to say the short wait felt like eons with three preteens and a pre-school aged kid yammering incessantly. Over their little voices came the ebb and flow of evening traffic sounds, but surprisingly over that came a sound that seemed out of place.

Someone was playing a violin. I strained to hear it, turned in the driver’s seat to see if I could spot the instrumentalist, and found behind us a man with wavy graying hair playing to an audience of no one. He had the violin tucked delicately beneath his chin as he strummed his way through classical pieces I don’t pretend to know by name but recognized by melody.

The haunting music–he said when we stopped him to compliment him–was that of a beginner. To my untrained ear, it sounded like springtime. His music took me to ballrooms, back porches, and Blue Ridge mountains. I watched him through the rear view mirror as he leaned against his car and continued practicing. As it turned out, he was a dad waiting on his kid to finish swim class, and he used his wait to practice the violin.

I thought to myself: This is the key to the maxim, “Write every day.” When we write for the pleasure of writing, it no longer becomes a routine or a chore. It becomes something we desire to do for the love of writing. The gentleman appeared to play for the simple love of music. His expression was serene, and there was no rhyme or reason to his selection of songs. He played for his own pleasure. We write because we enjoy it–until it becomes a tedious routine that we have to do. But who says it has to be tedious or routine or something we have to do?

This week as you embark on another writing journey, I encourage you to think about the violinist strumming away in the middle of a crowded parking to an audience of no one while waiting to pick up his kid from swim class. I want you to write like no one is watching and do it simply for the love of it. See if you can find joy in what you do. Hopefully, it’ll bring you peace and pleasure. Let me know how it turns out for you. Tweet me @WIRUniverse, #ForTheLoveofWriting❤

Get the acclaimed ménage a trois thriller dubbed “the year’s most intense romance,” with storytelling that’ll leave this book on your mind long after you’re done. Reviewers are saying, “ Holy Hades HOT!…This is a multi-racial book that doesn’t follow all the traditional stereotypes.”

Discover it now! Only on Amazon:

Amazon US http://amzn.to/21m55PS

Amazon UK http://amzn.to/1qk1YN2

Amazon AU http://bit.ly/1qk26wa

 

Returning soon! Antebellum Soul: Here & Now! Don’t miss a single detail about the upcoming re-release of Reatha Beauregard’s full-length paranormal debut. Stay tuned to our website for more information in the coming days! 

What to Do with the Old, Abandoned Manuscript

–Sondi Warner, Writer/Blogger for Wrought Iron Reads

You have piles of legal pads filled with cramped, handwritten chapters of yet another unfinished novel. You’ve contemplated torching the pages to save yourself the remorse of years of not doing anything with your writing, but push pause before you light that match. Here are some amazing ways you can recycle your old writing.

Source: Wayfair

Refuel your drive to complete the manuscript by posting to Wattpad. Earn readers and get valuable feedback.
Breathe new life into old writing. Take portions of an unfinished story and incorporate them into new projects instead of trashing the complete work.
Let it inspire you. Print snippets of your favorite passages and decoupage them to journals or composition notebooks for an attractive place to scribble new ideas when the muse strikes again.
Frame it. Elevate your writing to an art form by printing A4 sheets and framing.
Organize and press forth. If you discover much of the writing is too good to do away with but not quite ready for readers, re-familiarize yourself with the story, tweak the characters and outline, and get to work completing your book!

Looking to transfer your writing to something bigger? Try this idea from Highline Guitar for transferring an inkjet print of your writing onto wood:

You’ve got it in you. Happy writing!

What’s New Wednesday! (On Thursday This Time)

–Sondi Warner, Writer/Blogger for Wrought Iron Reads

Jogging in a day late, but not a word short, let’s have a look at What’s New in our world here at Wrought Iron Reads!

The Hot Mamas Day cards we promised are up and ready to be shared! These sassy Mother’s Day cards were created just for the reader moms in your life, so don’t get stuck trying to find a cutesy e-card on that important day. We have the cutest right here on our HOME page! ❤

 

Our new book, Deserving by Sondi Warner (yours truly), is still bringing in rave reviews. Check out this awesome thing someone said about my book!

Get the acclaimed ménage a trois thriller dubbed “the year’s most intense romance,” with storytelling that’ll leave this book on your mind long after you’re done. Another reader says, “Holy Hades HOT!…This is a multi-racial book that doesn’t follow all the traditional stereotypes.”

Discover it now! Only on Amazon:

Amazon US http://amzn.to/21m55PS

Amazon UK http://amzn.to/1qk1YN2

Amazon AU http://bit.ly/1qk26wa

Antebellum Soul: Here & Now is the next big book up for re-release from Wrought Iron Reads. Are you as excited about it as we are? Look out for sweet teasers, trailers and interactive content coming your way soon!

Have you been keeping up with our Facebook page? You can find us at www.facebook.com/wroughtironreads. Come hang out with us!

Thanks for joining me! Come back next week for another peek at What’s New Wednesday!

ASI: Sondi Warner

Here’s an interview I did with Books and More by Courtney M. Wendleton. Be sure to check it out!

Books and More

Hi Sondi, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Tell us a little about yourself and your background? I’m Sondi Warner, ghostwriter turned indie publisher, and I help run a small press called Wrought Iron Reads. I’ve been a writer-for-hire for almost a decade, but last year I took a leap of faith and decided to add published author to my growing resume.   When I’m not writing, editing, marketing and learning more about the craft, I enjoy spending time with my four kids and beautiful partner down in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

If you want to know more about me, I’m easy to find on Amazon Author Central and Goodreads. You can also follow me at Facebook.com/sondi.writer and visit my website at wroughtironreads.org.

Discuss your newest book.

Watch the amazing book cover here!

My newest book, Deserving, is a ménage a trois thriller readers have dubbed “the…

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Flashbacks: To Be or Not to Be

–by Sondi Warner, Writer/Blogger for Wrought Iron Reads

 

In my career as a ghostwriter, I’ve been tasked with creating all kinds of stories and fortunate to pick up a thing or two along the way. I used to have a bad habit of throwing in random flashbacks. I’d hear the tinkle of a harp and envision the image blurring as my characters stepped back in time. D’ah, movie magic! It doesn’t really work the same off the silver screen!

Source: Tumblr

I’ve seen a number of authors use flashbacks effectively, and I’ve seen a fair share make the same mistakes I used to make—flashing back merely to hear that mental harp playing. So, I want to help you decide if your narrative needs that italicized backtrack or if you can make better use of the word count in some other way.

As a rule, anything you put in should move your story forward, and flashbacks are no exception. If you’re just trying to provide backstory, then you could incorporate it into dialogue. An even subtler approach would be to build complex characters whose personalities and history are shown in body language and behavior, rather than expressly told.

A character who has a history of abuse or neglect, forced to take care of himself, might be written as a brash, hot-tempered alpha male. His distrustful nature and difficulty expressing love and affection would be more effective than a flashback to him as a youngster being let down by a parent. Having him confess the sordid details of his suffering would be more interesting, too.

A career-focused heroine might show she’s had one too many bad breakups by her complete disinterest in the guy everyone else considers a catch. Wouldn’t her scathing rebuttals to his most romantic overtures make for more fun reading?

Another misuse of flashbacks is the surprise plot twist. After running along smoothly for thousands of words, suddenly nothing is as it appears because *cue the harps* SURPRISE! Ten years ago some arbitrary event changes everything! Now, I can’t caution you against this move entirely. When done to proper effect, man, is it spectacular!

Source: Montages Magazine

But, sometimes it just feels heavy-handed. Why not use foreshadowing, instead? Dropping Easter eggs throughout the narrative takes your readers through plot twists without leaving them with whiplash. Think: The Sixth Sense. When the big reveal happened at the end of the movie, EVERYTHING CAME TOGETHER. The multitude of previously unnoticed hints were brought to light and made the unexpected turning point make perfect sense.

Using flashbacks to spring a reveal like that on a reader can have the opposite effect, leaving readers feeling the new information came out of nowhere and doesn’t fit the narrative.

There are a number of other ways to get writing flashbacks wrong, but answering the following questions will help you decide if your flashback is to be or not to be:

Does your story begin with a flashback? Why? A story should begin at the very last minute. In other words, open your book with the inciting event that sets the rest of the plot in motion. Most often, this event does not happen in your character’s distant past.
Does your flashback explain your character or world? First, see if you can omit the scene entirely and the story still make sense. If not, see if you can deliver this information using dialogue or in other ways.
Does your flashback feel out of place? Experiment with taking it out, moving it around or distributing the details of the flashback throughout the book in other ways.
Is your flashback associated with a major turning point in the story? Simply must have a flashback? Ensure you’re not catching readers unawares. Use foreshadowing to build up to the shift in storyline.

When in doubt, I would suggest pulling the flashbacks and trying other ways to move the story forward, but don’t be afraid to experiment. The only way to get this right is to keep at it. What has been your experience with writing flashback scenes? Tell me in the comment section below or Tweet me @WIRUniverse, #Flashbacks. Happy writing!

Hold onto That Feeling

–by Sondi Warner, Writer/Blogger for Wrought Iron Reads

When I was in 1st or 2nd grade at Roseland Elementary in a sleepy village in Southeast Louisiana, I met my first love. I was a chubby, awkward kid with coke bottle glasses and kept to myself. I didn’t have many friends, which didn’t bother me much because I’ve always been an introvert. So, no, my first love wasn’t the totes adorbs kiddo in the desk next to me.

The meet-cute happened when my teacher announced we were finally old enough to check out books from the school library.

I remember walking those narrow aisles, rubbing the glossy spines of and falling hard. I knew I had met The One when I found a thin clapboard book with a teddy bear in a bathtub as the cover art. I took it home with me and labored over each word until I could read it fluently with no help by my mom. I was entranced by the story and totally enamored with the artwork. I cherished it like it was my own.

Sadly, I had to take it back. But, as luck would have it, I was allowed to check out the same book for several weeks straight and our courtship continued! Thus began a lifelong relationship.

I don’t remember having much interest in reading before that pivotal point. From that moment on, I was a bibliophile. I read every book I could find, and when books weren’t available, anything with words would do—cereal boxes, shampoo bottles, milk cartons.

It was an infatuation my mother encouraged, so she got me a library card to the public library. I frequently came home with books stacked so high I couldn’t see over them, and she didn’t believe I’d be able to read them all before they were due back. Proved her wrong.

For Days You’re Too Busy to Care

–by Sondi Warner, Writer/Blogger for Wrought Iron Reads 

As a writer, I know the twenty-first century is short on supply and full of demands, and today’s economy makes it easier than ever to accidentally work yourself into an early grave. Before you put a premature end to the story of your life, you might want to take better care of yourself, and this weekend’s shortlist is dedicated to just that.

Create a Quick Self-Care Package

(For Days You’re Too Busy to Take Care of Yourself)

You’ll need a bag or container, and while the crafter in me says you can decorate it with paint pens and glitter, let’s be practical. You don’t want to add to your busy schedule. A simple Ziplock bag will do. You have the option of refilling one bag each day or putting together enough bags for the workweek. Here’s what will go inside:

Take your vitamins. For a brain boost and healthy heart, kick the caffeine and pick an omega-3 vitamin as well as B-vitamins for extra energy. (Check with your physician to make sure supplements don’t interact with your other medications.) And, while you’re at it, put your daily meds in the bag, too.
Pick your munchies. Remind yourself to eat. I go for unsalted peanuts, cheese sticks, raisins or popcorn because these aren’t messy snacks. Be mindful of your portion sizes. You’re not eating to get full. You’re grazing until you can pause work long enough for a real meal.
Drink mixes are often full of sugar or sugar substitute. Good old fashioned H2O is alright, but if you pair it with a teabag of green tea, you add powerful antioxidants. Place three or four in the bag to get you through the workday.
Eye drops. Staring at a computer for hours is bad news for your eye health. Keep a lubricant handy. Seeing the Visine might even remind you to look 2 feet away for 2 minutes at 20 minute intervals. Your vision will thank you.
An alert on your phone. Okay, this might not go in the bag, but it should be nearby. Set an alarm to go off at hourly intervals. When you hear the chirp, get up and get moving. You can pump your legs while you stand in place, or you can step outside and stroll in the sunlight. Get your blood flowing for fresh ideas and optimal circulation health.

For more ways to take care of yourself in this #LifeAsWriter, check out this WIR Classic.

Healthy Writing

How do you practice self-care? Tell me in the comment section below or Tweet me @WIRUniverse, #NotTooBusyToCare.

A Not So Gentle Reminder You Used to Suck as a Writer

–Sondi Warner, Writer/Blogger for Wrought Iron Reads

I think of myself as a hungry writer. I can’t get enough of what I do, which should come as no surprise, since I was a voracious reader as a youngster and greedily consumed everything I could get my hands on. (Feed your children books. It’s a healthy diet.) So, when I decided to make this my vocation, I came to the table with a desire to tell the best stories possible.

I’ve been writing for what feels like forever, and a certain degree of arrogance tries to rear its ugly little head every now and then because, frankly, this isn’t an easy job.

What’s New Wednesday

–by Sondi Warner, Writer/Blogger for Wrought Iron Reads

Holy smokes! There’s a lot that goes into creating and maintaining a website! We’re in the process of revamping things, and I don’t want you to miss out on what awesome writer/reader stuff we have to offer. Thus, I designated Wednesdays the day I bring you up to speed on what’s happening around here.

We have Hot Mamas Day Cards coming your way, new quizzes being cooked up and the addition of puzzles to play! And, with an all new Feature Totally Free Click-Reads story in the works, there’s no reason for you to stick to the blog when you visit wroughtironreads.org. Come for the reads; stay for the entertainment!

At Wrought Iron Reads, we kicked off April with a bang with the smash hit Deserving by yours truly. An aggressive marketing campaign spanning several months helped us reach a modest rank on Amazon, and with paperbacks to be available sometime near the end of this month, we expect an even bigger boost in popularity. Here’s what readers are saying:

Click here to get your copy.

We recently announced a winner to one of our contests, and it felt goooood! So, you know what we decided to do? Host another contest! Details coming soon. We’ll tell you how easy it is to get in the raffle for a Burt’s Bees gift box, plus a digital copy of Deserving and limited edition postcards.

As part of my campaign to spread the gospel of #Deserving, I have takeovers planned all over social media, and I want to see you there. Join me! Also, if you’re not following us on Facebook, there’s a lot you’ll miss! Click here to Follow!

Wrought Iron Reads

While you #GetWhatYouDeserve, we’re gearing up for the much-anticipated re-release of Antebellum Soul: Here & Now by Reatha Beauregard. This paranormal romance brings voodoo, vampires and werewolves like only Louisiana can do it. With all new writing and editing and a line-up of cool, interactive content planned leading up to the release date, you’ll want to stay tuned for this black magic.

Things have been hectic in our corner of the WIR Universe because we’ve been so busy creating more for YOU! So, stick around and check out awesome updates to our website and make wroughtironreads.org a regular part of your web-surfing routine.

There’s Something You Should Know: You’re Not the Only One Who Believes in You

–Sondi Warner, Writer/Blogger for Wrought Iron Reads

A funny thing happened when I became more vocal about my ambitions as a writer: People paid attention to me! When I started my marketing campaign for my second book, Deserving, I received more support than I ever expected. My inbox lit up with congrats, and I learned an important lesson I think you should know, too.

YOU’RE NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO BELIEVES IN YOU

Someone is rooting for you. Someone always knew you could do it. They want to see you succeed. They’re happy when things go right for you, and when things go wrong, they’re silently cheering you on, knowing you’ll make it through.

This person might never click Like on a Facebook post or fill your DM with compliments, but they’re there for you, lurking in the background. On the other hand, they may be very vocal in their support, and you’ve been too busy to notice.

I want you to think of this person this week when:

You’re too tired to write another sentence.
You realize how much more work you have to do.
You question your abilities and wonder why you chose this path.

Because as it turns out, you’re not the only one who believes in you. While your naysayers may speak louder, keep your eyes and ears on the people in your corner. Writing can sometimes feel like thankless work. However, your determination to accomplish your dreams inspires others to go after theirs.

Here’s a Thank You card you can share with those special people in your life, and to those of you cheering me on, I’d like to send you my sincerest appreciation. It’s a circle, really. You keep me going. We keep each other going. Here’s to you.