C.C. Williams's Blog: Scribbles with C.C., page 19

Exciting News!

As a self-publishing author I wear a lot of hats: cover designer, line editor, marketing director, webmaster, accountant and, let's not forget, writer! So many hats that some times the writing seems to get pushed to the side, where the muses complain bitterly. Then, when I buckle down and focus on writing, all the other myriad minutiae stack up and eventually they too clamor for attention. And, of course, I still have the Evil Day Job. So everything seems to take longer than it should.

But I really shouldn't complain; it's the road I've chosen and that is the trade-off for greater creative control and a higher percentage of profit from my work. However, this week a number of things have come about that make the process and problems that much more worthwhile.

First, Busting The Greenhorn is a Category Best Seller over at All Romance eBooks. Yee-haw!

Second, also at ARe, The Spirit Parlour has received two 5-star ratings from readers. Always nice to know when people like something!

Third and most exciting, after months of back and forth, I have signed a licensing deal with TLAgay.com. TLAgay.com maintains a mailing list of 28,000 gay men and sends a weekly email newsletter! Talk about getting to my target market! And just in time for Christmas shopping! Woo-hoo!

So, all in all, this week my word count is really low--although I have done quite a bit of plotting (story-wise that is)--but, nonetheless, I feel that I have had a successful few days.

Oh! And I revamped my website. Check it out!

Until next time!

Six Sentence Sunday - 6 Nov 11

Today's excerpt is from my just released Western short story, Busting the Greenhorn .

The night air sat still and warm, thick with the scent of pine, yet it raised gooseflesh on Jake’s arms. He shivered.

Chet ushered him to a secluded table in a dark corner of the porch and signaled the waiter for two glasses of wine. He moved a chair next to Jake, bending forward to kiss him. Jake gave in to the touch of the cowboy’s lips and immersed himself again in the taste and scent of the rancher. Woody and rich, the sensations threatened to overwhelm him.

Thanks for stopping by! All comments are welcome.

Be sure to visit the rest of the loop at Six Sentence Sunday.

Pantser . . . or Plotter . . .or?

The whole Pantser vs Plotter thing has always been amusing to me. Why? Because I was clearly a Plotter: I knew who my characters were, I knew where they were going and I knew what was going to happen along the way. So, writing was just a matter of putting it all down on the page, and that would happen pretty darn quickly.

Now there's nothing wrong with being a Pantser, but for me the thought of just sitting down and putting stuff on the page without some foreknowledge just seems strange and somewhat unprepared. This is not to say that my characters don't from time to time stand up and shout, "Hey, this is what really needs to happen!" but they generally go along with the initial game plan.

So, then I moved to longer format prose and found myself languishing in the middle of a novel. The opening chapters were gripping, filled with hints and peopled with colorful characters. There was a clearly defined end-goal where everything was explained, tied up and finished. Yet I wandered, lost and confused, in a vast wasteland of various characters, plots, subplots and red herrings, all clammering for attention on the page. Yikes! I realized, Maybe I really am a Pantser?!

What to do? The answer--take a class!

Yes! I signed up for a plotting workshop, developed and moderated by two successful romance writers. Out of this workshop I have developed material for a novel (maybe even a series). I know who's who, what's what and how everything is going to proceed scene by scene, and--get this--HAVEN'T WRITTEN ONE WORD OF NARRATIVE PROSE! Wow! Nothing like expanding your skill set!

But you ask, what did I actually find out? I discovered that I'm really kinda in the middle--sort of a big idea Plotter or detail-oriented Pantser so to speak.

I'm okay with that 'cause now I have a better understanding of how I work and can be more productive because of that.

'Til next time!

More Stuff To Do

Just what I really need to distract me from writing is a blog. BUT it is important to maintain a presence and a way to communicate with potential fans and readers, so here I am!

I am looking forward to interacting with readers here at Goodreads. Bring it on!