Lise McClendon's Blog, page 7

April 2, 2016

No Excuses April

cd4a521d18eadf8ed5796cba0b1f601e I’m happy to report my Writus Interruptus has dissipated with the spring rains and I am back in the saddle, writing-wise. The saddle in this case is every chair in the house. Unfortunately I have my feet up these days as I tweaked my knee last week. As my pal Sherri asks, “Did you trip or fall in a hole?” Not this time! (I am a well-known klutz.) I was just walking along the trail by the canal and my knee started hurting.

My knee is a well-known irritant to pleasure. This same knee has had a meniscus tear, a lateral ligament release, and in the infamous ski accident — Park City 2005 — lost cartilage in the tibial plateau fracture. Yes, my bad leg. My bad knee. So no big surprise that something new would pop up. But very annoying.

The good news for writing is — always look on the bright side[image error] –that I have no excuses for not getting some major writing done this week while I rest my knee. I am currently at 53,000 words when I should be done, so still about 20,000 words behind. This week though — it’s onward into the breach.

Keeping your enthusiasm for your project going is one of the main issues for the pro writer. Even if you’re so enamored with your story and in the full flush of story-telling that you’re getting up at 4 a.m. before you go to work to write, keeping your head in the game can be a struggle. I used a weekend a couple weeks back to simply re-read my entire novel. I wanted to make sure I remembered all the aspects of it, little hints of things to come I put in consciously or subconsciously, characters I wanted to flesh out a bit, stuff that might not make the final cut but still had some juice. By Monday I felt excited about getting back to the story.

a0037ce6e4fb9a96f4ec0fad970c3255 This Bennett Sisters novel has only a splash of French sunshine in it– and is drenched in Scottish rain. It is mostly set in the Highlands of Scotland at Annie’s wedding. (I hope readers who love the French setting aren’t too disappointed.) It feels like more an ensemble piece than the other books in the series, although Merle, middle sister and tentpole, is still the core. I love getting into these characters more with each book, it makes writing about the sisters very satisfying. All five sisters are staying in a Highland hunting lodge that belongs to Annie’s fiancé’s family. But this is no simple romance about a wedding. There’s an upstairs/downstairs aspect as the staff gets involved as well. Lots of plates in the air here. But at least no one but the cat cares if I get up off the sofa. (Oh, occasionally my husband does like a hot meal.)

I’m working with a new cover designer, Connie Dillon, who is doing an original painting. I love Connie’s work and hope you will too. Check out her website. Connie lives in Billings, Montana, one of my “hometowns.” Stay tuned for a cover reveal!

The title of the new one? It’s another Beatles song title, like ‘Blackbird Fly.’ See if you know it from these lyrics. Give it a guess in the comments!

“Me, I’m just the lucky kind

Love to hear you say that love is love

And though we may be blind

Love is here to stay and that’s enough”

Follow my Pinterest pages to see images like this one that have inspired me as I write this new novel. (Who can resist a man in a kilt?!)

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Published on April 02, 2016 12:57

March 17, 2016

Writus Interruptus

Two months ago, in the heady throes of the new year, deep in grand plans and optimism, I made a writing schedule for myself. I’m writing a new Bennett Sisters novel and wanted to keep the energy going. Usually I don’t use production goals anymore. When I first started writing I did, trying to do 1,000 words a day, or even 2,000. If you keep that up you finish a novel in no time. At least a first draft.

WRITUS The problem with breaks in writing is keeping a plot and characters, what they want to do, what you want them to feel, in your head. Try to outline as you will (and I do) the feel of a novel, the “voice” is something in your head. The smart-aleck comment, the wry eye of a character: those are things that can’t be outlined. And they can make or break a story.

So when I had to take a couple breaks recently for family duties my schedule got shot to hell, as well as my “voice.” It sometimes takes two weeks to get back to where you were before you left off. Word count is meaningless at this time. You just want to plow forward and get the characters inside your head again.

I am now about 20,000 words behind, mostly because I didn’t plan on a couple of the breaks when I optimistically wrote my schedule. So things are pushed back. It’s not earth-shattering. I was hoping to get the book out by June but that may not be possible now. Summer is all about “writus interruptus.” I must get the first draft done before I can go play!

Nose to the grindstone. Or today, St. Patrick’s Day, the blarney stone. My novel is one load of blarney, about a wedding in Scotland that goes tits up, or kilts up. A monster storm that cuts off an old hunting lodge where the sisters are staying. Misunderstandings, miscommunications, deaths in mud puddles.

But you’ll see. Just wait a bit longer… In the meantime how about trying your Irish luck on this giveaway? I’m a sponsor as well as lots of cool authors and book bloggers.

Click here to enter

Tagged: books, free, giveaway, Irish, Luck, novel writing, novels, writers block, writing, writing fiction

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Published on March 17, 2016 12:35

February 14, 2016

Happy

May you feel the love from me across the miles today, wherever you are.

I think Valentine’s Day is a bit of a Hallmark holiday, and all I got my husband was a non-Hallmark card, but I am completely in favor of love. Love your mother, love your father. Love your siblings, your children, your spouse. If you’re in a relationship, tell that person how much they mean to you. You can never do that too much.

Just to show you how crass Valentine’s Day is I’m participating in a sale! Yes, grabbing the furry coattails of love! How mercenary. Just like the flower people, the chocolate folks, and Hallmark. I do apologize.

Fortunately many of these books are free. If you like chick lit or contemporary romance, you should be able to find something among these thirty-plus titles that tickles your fancy. My college romance, All Your Pretty Dreams, is in here, just 99 cents this week.

Lots of love