Allison Temple's Blog, page 7
June 29, 2018
The Love Letter
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My Most Romantic Memory
(this post is based on the Marketing for Romance Writers 52 Week Challenge )
It's late. I'm exhausted. That bone deep exhaustion from too many days at work in an environment that doesn't do anything for your physical and mental health. That gnawing grind that comes from feeling like you have to do everything by yourself. That corrosive weight that eats at your insides when someone has let you down again, even when you knew that would, but hoped they wouldn't.
I'm on the phone with Mr. Temple, except he wasn't Mr. Temple then. He was just my boyfriend. But he called me...or I called him. It's 10 pm. I'm home alone. He's just getting off work.
I'm crying. That hiccupping snot mess that kids have a knack for but that adults teach themselves not to do. I don't care anymore. I can't do this anymore, this adulting thing. There are too many demands.
"I'm exhausted and hungry, and I have to go to bed, because I have to be up in seven hours and I haven't even had time to go to the groceries this week, so there isn't any food for me to eat, even if I had time to eat it."
He listens. Later, I found out he was sitting on a bench, outside his office, in the dark, watching the busses that would have taken him home roll by.
Eventually he tells me to go to sleep, that there's nothing we can do to make it better tonight. He tells me he'll come by after work tomorrow and we can watch a movie and just chill. It's cold comfort, but I know it's the best he can offer.
I sleep. Go to work. It's all a bit numb, but it's all okay because at the end of it, I will go home and Mr. Temple will be there and we can forget about the outside world.
I get home. The apartment is empty, but the smell is different. Warm. On my dining room table is a note.
Allison,
something came up and I can't stay. I'm so sorry. I hope you had a good day. I went to the store and bought you some food. It's put away in the cupboards. Also, there is a pizza staying warm in the oven. Buffalo chicken, your favourite. I hope you like it.
See you this weekend,
Mr. T.
I cry a little more. The pizza is warm and tasty. The cupboards are full of Triscuits and other things that will stay good for a long time. They look delicious. The nicest crackers anyone has ever bought for me.
The note is still in my nightstand. It's the best love letter I've ever received.
June 26, 2018
Who are You?
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Work Up Character/Setting Profiles?
(this post is based on the Marketing for Romance Writers 52 Week Challenge )
So on the one hand, I like to think of myself as an organized writer. I'm definitely a plotter. I love The Writer's Journey and Romancing the Beat. I don't start writing until I have a synopsis that breaks down what's going to happen in every scene from beginning to end.
On the other hand, I am not that meticulous about my characters, and especially about my settings. I build Pinterest boards for each book with visual inspiration (this is mostly an excuse to search for pictures of hot guys, sue me). I write character sketches and setting descriptions while I'm plotting, and then promptly never refer to them again, unlike that synopsis I mentioned, which I check in on at the start of every scene.
Last year, I found these great character questions from Mia Hopkins, and they are super useful when building character sketches (even ones you never look at again).
I say I hate you because… But I really love you because… The thing I dread most is… Because I crave… But you provide a better substitute, which is…
These are really helpful, because they make you think about your character's behaviour, rather than just the things that happen to them. So often, I see new writers put together character sketches that are just a list of facts, rather than a discussion of who their characters are. Things like what their job is, who their friends and siblings are, the tragic thing that happened to them when they were five years old. These are good, but providing the emotional context is better.
Oliver is a lawyer. He has worked for the firm for 10 years. He is a workaholic.
Oliver is a lawyer. He prides himself on putting in his best effort at everything, including his job, where he has worked for the last 10 years. This pride has taken a wrong turn somewhere, because now he feels he can't leave the office before 10 pm, otherwise people will think he's slacking. He's worried about looking less dedicated to his job than his colleagues, even though he has more case wins under his belt than anyone else at his level.
See how much richer that is? Even if I never refer to it again, it's building a more detailed character in my head, which let's me jump into my story faster.
How do you build your characters?
June 22, 2018
All of the Above?
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What genre do you like to read and write?
(this post is based on the Marketing for Romance Writers 52 Week Challenge )
I'm not fussy...there is very little in romance that is a hard no for me. I'm not a huge BDSM fan, and I don't really get MPREG, but if someone pressed their favourite BDSM MPREG into my hands and told me my life would be incomplete until I'd read it, I'd probably try it.
I find contemporary romance easiest to write. It gives me familiar settings and really lets me dig into the characters to find out what makes them tick. I'd love to write romantic suspense, but I'd need to do a ton of work on plotting big external plots and also on law enforcement...spies...terrorists...you get the idea.
My TBR pile is giant and varied though. Books I've read most recently include:
Cronin's Key, NR Walker
Life of Bliss, Erin McLellan
The Lightning-Struck Heart, TJ Klune
Omega Reclaimed, Tanya Chris
Off Base, Annabeth Albert
Where Death Meets the Devil, LJ Hayward
So yeah. It's all pretty gay. But otherwise, there's pretty well the whole shebang in there. Better find a couple historical romances to balance it all out.
What do you love to read or write?
April 3, 2018
Newsletter and Giveaways
And if you want to join the list for future notices (I've got a super cute short involving a sleepy baker and a tattooed cook coming in a couple months!) you can sign up here: http://eepurl.com/dpTziz
March 19, 2018
The Hook Up
The Hook Up is available today on Instafreebie! For those of you who read The Pick Up but wanted to know more about Kyle's history with Olivia, this is the story! If that's not enough incentive, it also has ice sculptures, a vegan's revenge, and karaoke!
Download it today!
https://claims.instafreebie.com/free/...
