Alyssa Drake's Blog, page 3

Day 84 - An opening, take two

 I was looking forward to beginning Chapter Two of my historical romance, because it's told from my heroine's POV (the Wiltshire Chronicles being my only series with dual POVs), but the difficulty I've found with showing both sides is that instead of writing one First Chapter, I have to write two, since each character must introduce themselves to the reader. Even though I have this story plotted out, I wrestled with how to portray her in the "second" opening.

Sarah was originally a side character that was introduced in A Perfect Plan as one of several young ladies who could be a potential wife for Benjamin, Lord Westwood. She's mentioned again, when her sister, Louisa, ends up with Alana Flannery on the ill-fated ship attacked by pirates in An Imperfect Scoundrel. At neither time was she portrayed in a good light. So, why would I give her a chance at happily ever after?

Because first impressions are sometimes wrong, and sometimes, the most trusted confident, shouldn't be trusted (cough, Alice Shirely, cough).

In Sarah's case, she discovered how fickle her friends could truly be, and when she was forced to resort to the very behavior of which they accused her, they destroyed her reputation. Mean girls, historical style. So, I gave her a second chance. I hope she doesn't muck it up.

Day 83 - NaNoWriMo

NaNoWriMo (def.) The time a year when authors undertake the inane task of writing 50,000 words in 30 days.

For those authors who can write 2,000 words a day, this is not problem. In fact, I've seen authors complete this in a week, and while I am impressed by their ability, this is not something I've ever been able to do. At my most productive, I still fell short (that year I hit about 38,000 words), which was due to having to shift my focus from writing to editing. Inevitably, I have to edit during November. I'm not certain why that is, but this year is no different.

I'm actually waiting for two edits to come back. The first one, Horrified, is releasing November 19, and yes, I'm cutting it close for submission. Amazon does give you many (many) warnings about getting your book uploaded on time, and I have never been late, so I have no intention of starting now. The other story is my historical co-write (which will take most of my attention during the latter part of November). In between all of this, I have roughly 48,000 words to write for my historical romance, which would be the perfect goal...

So, I set up my NaNoWriMo profile for this year in the hopes that this year will be different.

Day 82 - They call this work?

 I find it amusing that reading romance novels counts as work research, but it does. When given the choice, I'll take paperback over screen (which I'm certain sparks some kind of debate). I admit, I was reluctant to move to screen, and though I do like being able to carry more than two books around, I miss the feel of a book, or more so, the pages beneath my fingertips. It evokes memories of hiding beneath blankets with flashlights, and rainy afternoons curled up on a windowseat.

When asked what my favorite genre is, I usually give the answer romance. Yes, that is broad, but there are so many subgenres and beautiful mixes of tropes in romance that I can't pick just one (I don't even write just one). So, my bookshelves are an eclectic collection of authors and series, some from my youth, and others that I discovered along the way. If I'd read the book again (or already have) it earns a spot on a shelf. Those I'd prefer not to experience a second time are donated to the library so others may discover a new favorite author.

Unless the book is autographed, then it never leaves the shelf. And this collective habit comes from my dear mother, who wrote to Richard Scarry and asked for his autograph when I was just a baby.

Day 81 - Down periscope

The worst part about feeling ill when you're the only employee, is that no one is there to pick up the slack (I am so fired).

So, while I'm laying here thinking of all the things I "should be" doing, I am thankful that I got my social media posts scheduled earlier this week. The most important task that needed to be done, was done, and although I have a myriad of things piling up, none of them are at a critical status.

For now, the mind of a writer on a deadline, is more a foggy mess than anything else, but I have green tea, and a sweet cat who can't decide if he'd rather lay on me or beside me with his paw on my arm.

I'm hoping to surface tomorrow. Down periscope.

Day 80 - Falling down

I do not have time to be sick. (I do have time to take care of my family as they fall one by one to the illness that sent my little man home from school.) However, after playing nurse, it appears to be my turn for a bit of rest (okay a lot of rest).

I pushed myself through today, knowing that obligations needed to be met (which is probably the true reason I got sick, since I have a tendency to go until I drop). 5pm found me in pajamas, laying on the couch and thinking I'll just close my eyes for a moment...

That moment turned into the next morning, and honestly, I can't remember how I made it to bed. However, now I can't get out of bed, so I'm just going to lay here and stare at the cat (seems fitting, he stares at me all the time). First non-productive day since I started this blog, and unfortunately, it won't be my last.

Day 79 - The elephant

It's time to address the elephant in the room, or at least the one in my room.

While I would love to support myself solely with my writing, the reality is, that like so many others in this profession, that dream is currently supplemented by a day job. As jobs go, this particular one is unique in the aspect that it is a chocolate factory (sorry, no oompa loompas).

I love chocolate (and books and coffee) so having a job in this industry is fantastic, but... While everyone else just started thinking about Christmas, I've been focused on it since August as this is our busiest season (honestly, who's shocked by that revelation?). As we get closer to Christmas, the demands upon my time from the day job increase, which subsequently reduces my available time for author related activities.

Based on past history, I knew this would happen, but I was hoping this year would be different.

It's not.

So, output goes down, stress levels go up, and Christmas music is blaring on my speakers... I could go for a peppermint mocha right now.

Day 78 - You're never too old to Trick or Treat!

With all the doors active (but hidden) on my website, I began scheduling the posts to appear every hour. The fun part was going through each one to make sure they worked. To be honest, I'm disappointed I don't get to participate in the event (although I did grab the freebie from Door Five - thank you Tiff). I hope everyone has a wonderful time.

 

This is that moment of anticipation (like Christmas morning) that I love so very much. I'm great at keeping secret what gifts I buy (no one else in my family can), and I'm sorry I can't trick or treat with all of you.

 

However, if you loved the event, please let me know. It may make it on the schedule for next year.

 

A side note. My kid goes back to school tomorrow, so hopefully I'll be a bit more product on Wednesday. He's been home with me for the past few days with a cough and a runny nose. It's not "the virus", but it was enough to make the school send him home until he received the "all clear" from the doctor (which he did).

Day 77 - You should be writing

I know I'm running out of time to get the Halloween event up, so tonight my goal is to complete every webpage for the Trick or Treat. With the first template finished, it should be a simple matter of creating a new page, copying the previous format over, then editing it to match that particular door's theme. Notice, I said "should be".

 

My son is sitting next to me counting candy corn for the "guess how many pieces" giveaway. I'm certain a few of them didn't make it into the jar, but that's okay, because he deserves a treat for offering to count them all.

 

The door I'm curious to see will be the "Tell our own Ghost Story". I intend to collect all the pieces and post up the story (or paragraph) once we've passed Halloween.

 

While I do love doing this, I must admit, these administrative activities do take away from the time I should be writing. I'm on a deadline (actually more than one), and that little nagging voice is getting louder the closer we get to November.

Day 76 - Post-it Notes

I have the attention span of a gnat.

 

I intended to work on the Halloween doors today, however, I found myself picking at the beginning outline for the second book in my historical co-write series. I never considered myself a plotter, in fact, I was adamantly against it because I felt it stifled the creative process. However, I discovered while writing A Perfect Deception that I had inadvertently created a makeshift outline through post-it notes. Yup.

 

Picture this. I wrote plot points, one per post-it, and stuck them to a large sheet, then rearranged the points until I reached the order in which I wanted the events to occur. I consider it to be a living outline, because I could move the points as needed. While this is a fun method, it's not very portable, so I started creating skeleton outlines, and then filling them in as the details emerged.

 

Over time I developed a hybrid outline process which is partially detailed, and allows for changes as I'm writing (those moments when I have an epiphany and want to tweak the direction of the story). This process also means that I spend several days working on the outline, but tonight's focus is just the major pieces, which works out to be usually 7 - 9 large events that sum up the story. On my second pass (which won't occur tonight), I'll flesh that out into one sentence per chapter. The third pass is for ensuring the story flows in a logical manner, and to add specific details that must be included in specific chapters. Then, I begin writing. As the story progresses, I'll come back and revise the outline to make sure I've included events that were not previously recorded.

 

But for tonight, I've got my skeleton done. Check that off the list.

Day 75 - Take two

Halloween event take two.

 

I completed one door today, the first one, which happens to be a trick (hee hee). This one took the longest, because I played with the formatting more than I should have, but since it's the first time doing this event, I wanted it to be easy to copy in case I do it again next year (which depends solely upon the response I get). However, door one was finished, and I realized I would need 12 more door images to set this up.

 

The rabbit hole of searching for images is quite deep and you can spend hours sorting through pictures. I tried to focus on just doors, but I also needed tricks too, and I found myself hunting through scary pictures with my son (which he thought was a fantastic Halloween game). We've also turned on Halloween movies in the background to keep us in the mood (and we're singing along with Pumpkin Jack).

 

With roughly twenty images downloaded, I logged off for the night, ready to set up the rest of the doors tomorrow. I hope it goes a bit faster than today's door, otherwise, it'll be Thanksgiving before I finish.