Lauralynn Elliott's Blog, page 4

ROW80 1/20/16 – Crazy Busy!

We’ve been working on new software at work, and it’s making me crazy at work. By the time I get home in the evenings, I’m exhausted. I HAVE been able to get some writing in, though. Not huge word counts, but some writing, nonetheless.

I was out of town for work three days last week, so that put me behind. I had some disheartening news (which has since been worked out), so that kind of put a freeze on my productivity. And, today, I had to leave work at 10:30 AM to go get my son who was in an accident (he and his fiancee are okay), then I went on home because the roads were covered in snow and ice. That put me further behind at work, but maybe it will give me a little extra time for writing. And some extra time for Bible study. We’re supposed to get more snow Friday or Saturday, so who knows what’s going to happen?

Tomorrow (the 21st) at 7:00 PM, I’ll be “on” at an event called

A Paranormal Author Takeover. Come check it out.

I really hope next week settles down. I need to get caught up.

ROW80 – Goals and Plans for 2016 and This Round

I hope all of you had a Happy New Year and are raring to go for 2016!

My theme for this year is FOCUS. I’ve made a little acronym for this, detailing what I want to focus on.

Fitness

Organization

Consistency

Using time wisely

Spirituality

See what I did there? :)

If you saw my last post, you know I have a brand spanking new Spark Planner. (I had pictures.) There’s a place to put your yearly goal, and my FOCUS acronym is what I’m putting there.

For this round, I want to finish my WIP for my Lauralynn name. I would like to start on my third mystery novella for my Catherine name, but I have a lot of editing jobs coming up, so we’ll see.

For the year, I would like to publish three novels/novellas. One for each pen name, and the other for whichever pen name calls to me. Again, we’ll see.

Fitness is going to be key this round and the rest of the year. That’s going to be my main focus. When I’m fit, I’m more productive in all areas of my life. I have more energy, more stamina.

All the words in my acronym will play important roles in my life going forward.

What are YOUR plans?

ROW80 Update 12/17/15

I’m always a day late on these things. Sundays and Wednesdays are the worst days for me for online stuff.

I’m feeling much more motivated to write my WIP lately. I’ve been writing several days a week, sometimes at a little diner with pen and paper. I should probably take my laptop, but I don’t want to spill food or tea on it.

My goals for 2016 is to be more organized, which will help me with all my other goals. For that reason, I bought two Spark Planners from a Kickstarter project. I bought one for my day job and one for home, writing, and editing. This is a goal oriented planner, and it has a nice hardback cover. I love it! Here are some pictures (taken quickly at work) of the outside and a few inside pages.

ROW80 Update 12/9/15

Look, it’s me doing two updates in a row! Wow! :)

I just finished writing over 1000 words on my WIP at lunch. I wrote a couple of really good scenes. If I can keep this up, I think I’ll get my writing mojo back. I need to get back in my rhythm because I have big plans for next year. Of course, they might seem small to you if you’re a very prolific writer, but for someone who works full time plus edits for clients, I think plans for three books next year is pretty good.

I need to start posting on my blog more. I used to post frequently and got lots of comments. I only got two comments on my last ROW80 post, and neither of them were from fellow ROW80ers. :( I just feel like if a person posts more and tries to make the posts more interesting, there will be more comments. I really miss interacting with people on my blog. Facebook is different. Blogs are like one’s own personal space. It’s like home, you know? I’m going to try to do better!

I don’t usually do this, but I’m going to share a little snippet from my WIP, Keeper of His Soul (sequel to Soul of a Vampire) Keep in mind, Jan is a witch, so it isn’t as stupid as it seems for her to get out of her car. LOL

Suddenly, the rider shot ahead then turned so he was across the road. She slammed on her brakes, and her seatbelt snapped tight across her chest. She gasped at the sudden pressure then took in a deep breath as the belt relaxed.

Jan watched warily as the rider dismounted the bike and came toward her car. She opened the door and stepped out quickly, feeling that she would have a better advantage if she stood her ground instead of cowering in the car.

As the leather clad rider came closer, she felt something…familiar. But, no, she couldn’t possibly know this man. He stopped in front of her but remained silent. In the darkness, she could only make out long hair and a large, muscular build. The sense of familiarity still nagged at her mind.

Then he spoke. “I found you.”

His voice was barely above a whisper, and a chill went down her spine. She wasn’t sure it was fear. Maybe partly, but also something else.

“Who..who are you?”

Ignoring her question, he said, “I’ve been searching for you.”

He stepped closer, and Jan found herself unable to move. She was mesmerized by his voice, his masculine scent, and now that she could see them, his dark eyes. He moved even closer, until their bodies were almost touching. Then she knew. It was him, the one she’d been searching for.

“How did you find me?” she asked in a trembling voice.

“You called to me.”

“What’s your name?” she asked.

Still looking into her eyes, he said, “Jude.”

“I have something that belongs to you, Jude.”

ROW80 Update 12/7/15

Hey there! It’s meeeeee! Surprised? I know, I’ve been kind of quiet lately. Honestly, I know everyone would get tired of hearing “Edited for a client. Did no writing.” And that’s about all I could say.

So…Saturday, I spent several hours formatting a print book for a friend. I thought maybe after I got up and grabbed a bite, I could sit down and write a little bit. I couldn’t see the words! Everything was a blur. I guess I’d just sat in front of the screen too long. That happens to me at work sometimes. Anyway, that meant no writing on the weekend. Then… I decided to take a steno pad and a pen to lunch at a local restaurant right down the road. Just a little family restaurant where the atmosphere is relaxed. I started writing. And writing. And writing. It was awesome! I usually don’t write with pen and paper because my hands just can’t do it. But for that little hour, I was able to get some words down. I ended up writing about six pages. I won’t know how many words until I type it, but I was really into the story. So yay!

ROW80 Update 11/19/15

I keep skipping the check-ins because I feel like I’m not making much writing progress. I did get some words in earlier in the week, so I’m feeling good about that. But I need to be writing at least five days a week.

Here’s my dilemma, and maybe y’all can give me some advice. I do line editing for a few different authors, and I feel obligated to work on that FIRST. I have deadlines for them, and I want to make sure I meet those deadlines, and honestly, I like to get it done BEFORE the deadlines. I always put my clients before my own writing. One reason is they pay me better than Amazon. LOL. The other reason is that I’ve always tended to put others before myself. What I need to do, I think, is set aside a certain time for clients and a certain time for me. The problem is, after I work all day, it’s hard to have the energy to do both. One thing that helps me a little bit is that I do a lot of editing during my lunch hour. I usually still have a lot of energy at that time.

So…suggestions on being more productive?

Btw, Ruth, I promise I’m not complaining! :P

Stephen King and Immersive Experience

I don’t usually read really long books. But there are a few authors whose longer books are so intense, and I get into them so deeply, that I never want them to end. One of those authors is Stephen King. He’s a master at character development and story telling. I was just listening to his long “author’s note” at the beginning of his short story collection, “The Bazaar of Bad Dreams”, where he talks about the difference between long novels and short stories. He called a novel an “immersive experience”. That’s exactly what it is. I’ve been trying to figure out what to call how I feel when reading his longer work, and that’s it. There are VERY few authors who give me an immersive experience. That’s why I usually read shorter novels and novellas. Yes, I’m entertained. But I’m not immersed. King said when you’re immersed like that, it’s not like having an affair, it’s like being married. You never want the book to end. In most books, I can’t wait until I’m done so I can start on the next one, then the next one, etc. But with King and a few others, I want it to go on and on.

He also said short stories were hard to write. He said it takes a lot of work to write something that short and make it work. I find that to be SO true. Most short stories leave me unsatisfied. It’s like they come to an abrupt end, and I’m like “what just happened?”. King is as good at short stories as he is with those LONG novels. I’ve written a couple of short stories, and I’ve always tried to make sure they have a satisfying ending. That’s what I want from a short story.

Another thing he said was that he was still learning his craft. The KING of horror said he’s still learning. That should give all authors the determination to keep learning, keep perfecting, keep writing.

Honestly, I don’t think I have the talent to ever write a story like Stephen King does. But I want to strive for that. This is the biggest reason I want to quit my day job…so I can spend time working on my craft. It takes time. It takes dedication. It even takes courage, I think.

So I’ve been thinking about my genre lately. I have a sequel to Soul of a Vampire coming out in 2016, which is paranormal romance. Most of my paranormal romances are pretty dark, so I lean a little toward horror in those. I have a possible science fiction romance I want to write. But I’m wondering if I ought to do some more horror. The Gnome and Hearts of Evil were really fun to write. The Gnome was most definitely horror, and I would categorize Hearts of Evil as at least light horror. Horror has always been my first love in my reading genre. Something to think about.

What about you? What author gives you an immersive experience? If you’re an author, what author would you strive to be most like? Do you like to read long or short works? What’s your favorite genre?

ROW80 Update 10/28/15

The good news is that I finished two editing jobs, and I have two more currently going. I also have more lined up for later, so I’m pleased with that.

I haven’t been writing as much as I should, so I need to ramp that up. It IS helping that I now have a laptop in my office that STAYS in my office. So I have to go in there to work. The laptop in the living room is for playing (which I haven’t had time for).

I’m on Day 6 of the 21 Day Fix. Out of the 17 meals I’ve had so far, only two of them were “cheat” meals. I haven’t skipped a single day of the exercise, even though it’s really, really hard. I’ve lost 2 1/2 lbs, which averages to about a 1/2 lb. per day. I’ll take it.

Overall, I feel pretty good about the week so far.

ROW80 Update 10/25/15

I’m feeling accomplished today. Why? Because I spent ALL DAY yesterday working. I was editing for a client (actually finishing up one and working all day on the other), and I got things done. AND I finished edits on my second mystery novel (on another pen name) that has been sitting there waiting for me to finish that. It should have been done a long time ago, but I just didn’t have time. I just sent it to my mom, who is my last line of defense against errors. Somehow, she always catches little things my editor and I miss. Go figure. AND I wrote for about 20 minutes on the sequel to Soul of a Vampire. I love Saturdays where I don’t have to do anything but my work.

Also, I started the 21 Day Fix on Friday. The food part is hard because I don’t get as many carbs as I’m used to, and I have to eat nasty vegetables. Bleh. And I’m staying pretty hungry, but I’m sure I’ll get used to eating less. The exercise is kicking my butt. Friday was Total Body Cardio, and yesterday was Upper Fix. I don’t know how I’m going to do Lower Fix this evening since I can barely walk. I just took some ibuprofen for the pain. But I’m going to get through this 21 days, then I’ll be used to eating smaller portions.

So, yeah, I’m feeling pretty good about my accomplishments. :) How are y’all doing?

ROW80 Update 10/14/15

Even though I don’t have a whole lot to report, I’m trying to keep on my blogging schedule. So here goes.

I got some more words in on the sequel to Soul of a Vampire. I asked for help on my FB author page for the title. Check it out.

I had a reader do a little pimping for me yesterday (I didn’t ask, she was just kind enough to offer), and I got several page likes because of it. Love those loyal readers! Now I have to get the sequel out because she’s waiting for it. :)

I got a little editing done this week for a client. I’m going through some harder stuff checking on timelines, so it’s a little slow.

I hope I’m going to have money to pay for the cover of this sequel when it’s done. We talked about doing the cover early so I can be inspired, but that’s probably not going to happen. She needs to work on the ones she can get paid for first. :) Soon, though.

How are y’all?