Jennifer Shirk's Blog, page 35

Awards and Such

Hope everyone had a lovely Father's Day and/or weekend!
I made brunch for my hubby and his family: breakfast pizza and creme brulee french toast were on the menu. Yum!

The Better is Possible blog surprised me with some nice awards last week. It's been awhile since I received any, so I figured I was boring people out. Nice to know I still have it. LOL!






Anyhew, here are the requisite seven facts about myself.

1) In high school I was in a beauty pageant. If I had won, I would have gone on to Miss New Jersey then Miss America. (But I didn't even place) :-)

2) I've recently decided to put a little color in my life and am having my office painted...RED. Well, cranberry. Well, actually the color is called Stolen Kiss. But you get the idea.

3) I prefer a heavily salted snack over a sweet snack.

4) I just started week 11 of my second round of p90x. (and no, I'm not ripped yet)

5) I'm highly allergic to cats (and most dogs)

6) Wanted to go to med school after I graduated pharmacy school. Took the GREs and everything. Bu then I met my future hubby and all my plans went totally out the window because I fell in love and got married. (never regretted it once)

7) Was sooooooo close to being named Linda, but when I was born the doctor told my mom I looked like a Jennifer. (And the rest is history) :)

And that's all for me.

This week I'm trying to get some editing done and get my act together for the RWA conference.

I'm also at the Avalon Blog today. I'm talking about "Beginnings and Endings" in books. It's a discussion I had last year, but I think it's an interesting topic, so if you get a chance (and haven't weighed in on your opinion before), come on over and tell me if you think one is more important than the other when reading a book.

On Writing a Book Series by Guest Author Anna Maclean

Happy Friday, all! I'm very excited to have author Anna Maclean with me today. She has a new book out: Louisa and The Missing Heiress, the first in a trilogy of mysteries from Penguin Books (NAL),featuring sleuth Louisa May Alcott.Please welcome her as she shares some thoughts on writing her book series. What's most exciting about writing a series instead of a single novel is this great opportunity to follow a character through a longer time line than a single mystery could allow, to take her from here to there in terms of character development. Specifically, with Louisa May Alcott, who is the sleuth in my series of cozy mysteries, beginning with Louisa and the Missing Heiress , I wanted to begin with her in young adulthood, when she is unknown, inexperienced and uncertain of what she wants to do with her life. And then, take her up to that moment when she begins to become the Louisa May Alcott we know, the woman who writes Little Women and becomes astoundingly famous.I begin the series in 1854, when twenty-two year old Louisa is living with her family in Boston, teaching children in her parlor to earn money, and secretly writing some pretty exciting tales of dangerous men and femme fatales in her attic writing room. But she's also beginning to think about writing on a very serious level and soon after the beginning of this novel publishes Flower Tales, her earliest book for children. The book does well in that it earns her a little money and a little recognition…but she senses there is much, much more to come from her imagination. And so, in this first mystery in the series, she begins to think about the characters that will, in years to come, become her Little Women.Of course, what is difficult about a series is that each book must stand alone and be able to be read, and enjoyed, independently from the others. Information can't be repeated, yet each book must have all the information the reader needs to 'know' Louisa. The character has to change, to develop, yet remain completely identifiable.There are many things that 'unify' my Louisa as a fictional character, so that while developing and changing she retains an inherent character: her love of writing, her devotion to her family, her conviction that she must remain independent if she is to do her best work. In Louisa and the Missing Heiress, Louisa is just beginning to 'separate' from her family on an intellectual level, to realize that she may support causes her father may not support – specifically, women's rights! So there is that tension, of the girl becoming the women, the free agent, the free-thinker. Throw into that emotional setting a series of events quite plausible for nineteenth century Boston – illegitimate children, sexual abuse of young girls, a murder – and you end up with a Louisa who is certainly different on the last page than she was on the first!What some readers and admirers of Little Women may not know about Louisa May Alcott is that, in addition to writing grown-up tales of romance and forbidden love, Louisa also had a great sense of humor. I used that in my mystery, allowing Louisa moments of caustic yet never sarcastic fun, as well as a little romance.I'm a huge fan of Little Women, so you using Louisa May Alcott as your character is so interesting!Thanks for stopping by! Here's a little bit more about her book: Long before she will achieve fame as the author of Little Women, Louisa May Alcott is writing stories of a more dark and mysterious nature. But nothing prepares her for the role of amateur detective she assumes when the body of her dear friend, wealthy newlywed Dorothy Wortham, is found floating in Boston's harbor.It's well known that Dorothy's family didn't approve of her husband, a confirmed fortune hunter, but Louisa suspects that some deeper secret lies behind her friend's tragic murder...CONTEST: Anne will be giving away a Victorian tea cup and saucer to one randomly drawn commenter and, for the host with the most comments, she has a page of cartoons from a mid-nineteenth century issue of Harper's Bazaar - cartoons Louisa herself might have laughed at.For more information about the author, please visit her website: http://www.annamaclean.netGood luck! Do you enjoy reading series books? What's your favorite? If you're a writer, have you ever considered writing a series?

Summer Scheduling

(Thank you all for the nice anniversary wishes! I had a wonderful time away! )

Anyhew...I don't know how it is in your neck of the woods, but school is ending for us this Thursday, which means I have some serious crunch time to put in because I am sooooooooooooo close to finishing my WIP.
I have about two scenes left which will probably put me over my 50K mark, but that's okay.

I have all the confidence I will be able to finish this thing this week. If you remember, this WIP is my Book in Three Months WIP--which technically is turning out to be my Book in Four Months plus 3 Weeks WIP. LOL!

But that's okay too. I'm finishing before summer which will be key. (I'll finish before Nationals too)

In the summer with the kiddo off from school, my writing time gets seriously limited. Time is there, but I have to get creative. So I finally timed it out so I'll have the summer to just spend editing (and maybe do a little plotting) which will be PERFECT. Perfect, I tell you!
I finally have my summer writing schedule down. It only took five years. :-)

How about you? Does summer change your writing style or time?

PS. I saw this video over at Brenda Coulter's blog and had to post it here too: 29 Ways to Stay Creative

29 WAYS TO STAY CREATIVE from TO-FU on Vimeo.

Happy writing!

Happy Anniversary!

Yes, it's true. I was a June bride. :-)

Today, in fact, is my and my hubby's 16th wedding anniversary!!
To celebrate today, I thought I'd share some little known facts about me and the hub:

1) We met on a blind date. (I was still in college. He had graduated and had a real job already)

2)We got married two years and five months after our first date.

3)The priest who married us couldn't remember our names and kept calling us John and Martha at the rehearsal, which of course threw me into a panic.

4)Hub's only brother was married on the same exact date (six years earlier). My mother-in-law says she can never forget our anniversaries. LOL

Anyhew, we're going away on a little overnight trip to celebrate.
So in keeping with today's theme (and for a chuckle), I give you The Flintstones:




See you Monday!

Do you have an anniversary coming up?

Porch Pics--and a Winner

MOOD STATUS: "Determined". Only 5k more to write and I'll be done my First Draft.


So I finally have all my outside planting and decorating done in the front and back of my house.

<--I have a small front porch, as you can see. But there is a chair there. It just didn't make the cut in the picture. I should have gotten a better shot of my hanging basket but I just bought new cushions for my settee and wanted to make sure I got my pineapple lantern in the picture. (Also a new purchase)

I just ordered a battery operated candle for it which should come in this week. (But isn't it cute?)

Pineapple is the symbol for hospitality, in case you didn't know...


My front door. I actually have another planter on the other side that identical, but I wanted you to see what was in them. This year I decided to mix some pink plants in with the flowers. I thought it came out pretty.


Wait until you see my backyard. This was the first year the rabbits did NOT attack my flowers.
I'm waiting for a few things to bloom then I'll snap a picture.



Anyhew...thanks to everyone who stopped my on Friday to hear about The Character Therapist!
The winner of Jeannie Campbell's download of Creating Rich Back stories is...

Tamika!!

Congrats!! You'll be getting an email from me shortly and I'll let you know what to do to claim your prize.

Thanks and have a great week!

The Character Therapist: Dig Deep into Your Character

Happy Friday, all!
My bloggy friend, Jeannie Campbell is on a blog tour to launch her brand new website:
The Character Therapist! It's an on online therapy service for fictional characters.

Here's a little bit about Jeannie:
Jeannie Campbell is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in California. She is Head of Clinical Services for a large non-profit and enjoys working mainly with children and couples. She has a Masters of Divinity in Psychology and Counseling and bachelors degrees in both psychology and journalism. Two of Jeannie's "therapeutic romance" manuscripts have garnered the high praise of being finalists in the Genesis Contest for unpublished writers, sponsored by the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), of which she is an active member. She writes a popular monthly column for Christian Fiction Online Magazine and has been featured in many other e-zines, newspapers, and blogs.

Ok. So you may be thinking that's great, but...

How can a published or aspiring writer benefit from character therapy?

1) It will help you write characters more realistically.
Using a search engine to find out information about a mental disorder yields a very different result than asking a therapist who has treated those same problems in real life. Instead of getting a bunch of stale facts, I can help you breathe life into your characters while taking into consideration your unique story world.

2) You can plot more feasibly.
Plotting the external conflict around your character's internal conflict is essential to create tension on every page. Understanding the character's driving goals and motivation in relation to their emotional state will help you figure out what plot points need to occur to maximize the character's arc to its fullest potential.

3) You will avoid clichéd or incorrect depictions of mental disorders.
Jeannie's passion is helping those not afflicted with mental disorders understand those who are. Since one in four adults have a mental disorder, the likelihood of one of your characters having one is pretty high. But you want every nuance to ring true about the character, not feel cardboard cutout or stereotyped. So pick her brain instead of yours to avoid pitfalls of re-writing later.


Jeannie helped me out a few months ago when I was plotting a new romance. I don't normally write about deep subjects, so I wanted to get a better handle on the motivation of my hero who was in an automobile crash. His brother had died and he survived. So I emailed Jeannie my questions and asked her to talk about "survivor's guilt" for me. You can read the article HERE.

I not only wanted a clear understanding of what he would be going through, but I wanted to make sure I got my hero's symptoms and actions correct too, and that his motivations made sense to a reader. Her thoughts and insight really helped and I plan on using her for future characters. (Get ready, Jeannie!) LOL


Any kind of writer can benefit in having strong believable motivations, but I personally think for ROMANCE writers it is an essential.


Why?

Because at the beginning of any romance, you have two individuals with "issues". (Otherwise, you'd have no story) LOL Sometimes we writers like to call this internal conflict. But basically, it's some belief or lie that your characters have been taught, told, or shown in their life. This belief is what is keeping them from having a happy healthy relationship with another person. Until that issue is resolved, they cannot be happy in their relationship and have the happily ever after the reader is looking for in the end. Having a strong understanding of your character's motivation and internal issues will ultimately bring a deeper emotional experience for the reader as well.



Think your characters might benefit from some couch time now?

If you do, then email Jeannie.


CONTEST: Jeannie has generously offered to giveaway a copy of her Writer's Guide to Creating Rich Back Stories.


Giveaway will run from now until midnight (EST) Sunday, June 5th, 2011.



I will draw a commenter and announce the winner on Monday.





Thanks and have a great weekend!

Letters to the Future Blogfest!

The lovely and talented Kristin Rae at her blog Kristin Creative has decided to host a fun blogfest in celebration of her 300 Followers! (although now she's over 300 and growing so go join the bandwagon if you haven't already!) :-)

What's this blogfest all about? Well, on Wednesday, May 25th, (TODAY) write a letter to your future self and post it on your blog. Fun, huh? So without further ado, here's mine:

Dear Future Self:

Hello. How 'bout that ride in? I guess that's why they call it Sin City.
Self, I hope you don't have Alzheimer's and can remember what movie that's from. It's okay if you don't. But man, that's a real bummer if that's the case because you would be chuckling.

I should know. I'm you.

Anyway, there is so much I want to say to you. First and foremost, you're welcome. I really keep up with the sunscreen ritual and the p90x workouts so I am sure that you look fantastic for your age and all you girlfriends are completely jealous.

Also, did you write that "BIG" book you kept saying you were going to write? You better have. And if you're reading this letter now and haven't done so, get on it. NOW. You're not getting any younger. (Although I'm sure you look it) :)

Maybe your tastes have changed but right now you're a sucker for Lisa Kleypas contemporary romance novels, Michael Kors shoes, are into the color purple, and will eat anything that has chipotle or cilantro in it. Thought you'd want to know that.

Also, go easy on the kiddo. You may be having issues with her since she's a teenager, but right now she tells you she loves you and that you're the best mommy in the world almost every day. Remember that before you ground her from now to eternity.

That's all I wanted to say. That and congratulations on being nominated for that RITA award. I knew that all my hard work I'm doing now would pay off for you in the future.

With Love Always,
Old Self


Don't forget to check out Kristin's blog and read the other blogfest posts!

PS. What is going on with blogger now? I can't comment on anyone's posts!!! Grrr....

Social Networking: Beyond just Marketing

This week I finally got around to reading this month's RW Report put out by the RWA. One article by Dyanne Davis in particular drew my attention since it cited "some quick tips to refill your creative well". (Another reason I took off from blogging last week wasn't to just write, but to refill the well and read too. But I digress…)

In the article she discussed ways to seek out inspiration and one of the ways was by using your social network. She told of an author who throws out questions on Facebook when he's working on scenes he needs help with. For example: What would you do if you found your man in bed with another man?

I thought that was interesting—and a great way to be social and use social networking to help you as a writer. It kind of reminds me of that Hilary Clinton book title It Takes a Village. I think a lot of writers find it takes a village to write a book sometimes! We constantly bounce ideas off our spouses or significant others, our critique partners, and sometimes friends or family. But Social Networking opens up your feedback even more. You'll never please everybody but you can get an idea of what the majority of people think out there.

1) Maybe you have a few ideas for a title for your book. Throw it out on Facebook or Twitter or your blog and see most people think would make them buy the book.
2) Are you stuck with a scene or need some inspiration? Do what the writer above did and pose a question on Facebook to get a different take on the situation. Maybe you'll end up looking at the scene in a different light.
3) Having trouble naming your characters? Host a blog contest or throw it out on Twitter. I saw an author have her hero's name narrowed down to three. She posted them on Twitter and got feedback on what most readers preferred and her hero was finally named.
4) Need inspiration to keep your butt in the chair and your fingers on that keyboard? Tweet about your writing progress or ask some writers to participate in a writing challenge. I've seen some authors say on Twitter that they're going to do a little writing sprint and would anyone like to join them. They each write for an hour and then they post how much they've each written when the time is up. What a great way to drum up some motivation to write and finish up your story!
5) Are you your own worst enemy when it comes to finishing your book? Set up goals and blog or tweet about them. (That's what I do. The shame factor really works well in keeping me accountable):-)

See? Writers don't have to picture themselves as a lonely island. It's like that song from High School Musical "We're all in this together…" People are out there just waiting to help us write that book.

We just have to ask.:)

How about you? Do you work alone or do you have people you bounce ideas off of? Have you ever used social networking to get help with your writing?

Time for an Unplug

I'm taking a little break this week from blogging.

I want to finish my WIP by the end of this month and my Internet has been acting weird, so this seems like a perfect time. :-)

I should be around on Twitter and Facebook. (WiFi and writing progress allowing, of course.)

Wish be luck and see ya next week!

Is Myspace Dead Space?

Hello? Myspace?

I know that social media experts say you're not dead, but you seem to be gravely ill or at least...
maybe in a two year coma?

Poor Myspace.

I've really tried to send time there. (Ok, I lasted three minutes--tops!)
It's just so hard to maneuver around. And I feel so removed from everyone since all I see are feeds from other social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook, which is kind of ironic. :)

No, I won't delete my site. Not sure why. Maybe because I remember when Myspace was cool and fun. Or maybe because I'm thinking there will be some Facebook meltdown with all it's new rules (go HERE for new contest information).

Am I the only one feeling this way or am I missing the boat on something advantageous?
So some thoughtful questions for you this Friday are:

Do you Myspace?
And if so, when was the last time you logged in there?

inquiring minds--ok, my mind wants to know. :-)