Liz Lee's Blog, page 11

Use a List!

I didn't get my list done today. Boo! I have five more chapters to go on one last read-through. The list is going to be my new best friend. It will have to be since summer break is over and I'm back in school as of today.Three days of joyous meetings.Actually, even though they're painful because I want to be in the classroom working, they're not all that horrible. I'm going to miss full-time writing like crazy this year, though. I got so much done! The list was a lifesaver.:)

Revision Tips #MyWANA #amwriting

This latest revision has been more of a rewrite, and it's taught me so many lessons. Hopefully they'll help other writers.

Sample of my first read list.1. Before you revise anything, do a read-through for an overall feel of what you'll be working on. Make a list of obvious fixes you'll need to work on, AND note what you love.

2. You can never edit enough. This work was critiqued and edited and beta read and edited again. It sat for six weeks while I finished a different draft. Then I printed it chapter by chapter, reading it aloud and making corrections. Now, I'm listening to it (THANK YOU SCRIVENER), and I'm still finding errors.

3. It seems like each manuscript or act has its own word issue. This book started with definitely and moved into right. I'm not sure what caused that while I was writing, but when I tweeted about the issue several others said they had the same problem.

4. Don't state the obvious: When people whisper, you don't need to say in her ear...that kind of thing.

5. If you've shown it, you don't need to say it also. I've cut close to 5k words in this manuscript because of that kind of redundancy.

6. When describing look for specific words instead of generalizations.

7. NOUN-VERB

8. If you have a series of questions to show someone's freaking out, make sure you let the character internalize the freaking out first.

9. Action-Reaction NOT Reaction-Action. Several of my scenes had this problem early on.

10. GOOGLE and Websters.com are your friends.

11. Emotion, emotion, emotion. Plot alone can't carry a romance.

12. When you think the plot holes or story sequence issues are too big and you want to throw in the towel and say forget this, grab PAPER AND PENCIL and make a list of what needs to be done step by step. Take a break...a walk, Pilates, a shower, read, Netflix for 45 minutes...and then come back to it. DO NOT get on Facebook during this break or you risk distraction. Twitter is okay IF you have a writing related # you follow and report on. I do and the people there cheered me on and shared their issues. SUPER helpful. I also watched Scandal on my break, and I made sure to study what the writers were doing with plot and characterization. When I came back to the story, I knew I could tackle the major plot hole problems I had.

13. TIME. There's nothing fast or easy about editing. Give the story time to develop. Don't try editing immediately after a draft. Go write something else and come back to the edits. Don't try doing all the stages of editing quickly. Write something else or plot something or read something between editing rounds. When you think you're done, read it again and/or have someone else read it.

A special note for self-pubbed authors

**A lot of self-pubbed authors go into this thinking that since they're discounting the work so much, they don't have to worry about editing as much. I'll be honest, I was almost there. However, our readers deserve better than that, and the NYT bestselling authors with editors and copy editors and line editors and cover artists and publishing houses are discounting their books, too. YOU are your publishing house. Editing matters.

There were a million other lessons I learned during this hellacious but rewarding revision, but these were the big ones. I hope they help! #



Close to Home , It Started in Texas, Book 1 out now.
To Trust a Prince releases this month.

I'm a Guest today!

(cross posted from my marybethlee blog)It's no secret I like to blog. :) I've done guest blog posts before, but never one like this. Jodi Linton is one of my former students, and I'm SO proud of her writing success. Her debut novel releases with Entangled Suspense Summer 2014. I'd love to see some contest entries on my guest post! Check it out here.  #Several of my Mary Beth Lee and Liz Lee titles are on sale for 99 cents until next Saturday. It's my back-to-school sale. :)Check out the Liz Lee titles here!

Better Than Sex Cake #Recipe

In Close to Home Better Than Sex Cake is all it takes for Kacie Jo to buy her way into guys' night at her brother's house. That cake starts the way to her happily ever after. In fact, food plays a big part in the story.
I'm a fan of food in stories. Maybe it's that scene in 9 1/2 Weeks. I don't remember much about that movie, but I do remember that food scene. Hot, hot, hot.
I'm mid-edits right now on a Liz Lee book and mid-creative (cover, back cover, formatting) on the next Sharlene Gallagher mystery by Mary Beth Lee. I hope you enjoy the recipe!

Kacie Jo Jenkins' Better Than Sex Cake
(Ingredients needed: Devil's Food Cake Mix with whatever box calls for, 1 bottle carmel ice cream sundae sauce, 1 block cream cheese, 1 bottle marshmallow cream, 6 full sized Butterfingers, 1 tub Cool Whip, 1 bag chopped pecan, *optional bottle maraschino cherries)
1 Devil's Food cake cooked to direction in 9*12 pan.
Poke holes in cake. I usually do about 16
1/2 bottle carmel ice cream topping drizzled over top of hot cake
Mix 1 block cream cheese and 1 bottle marshmallow cream. Spread on hot cake
6 full sized crushed Butterfingers spread across cream cheese mix
1 tub Cool Whip spread on top of Butterfinger layer. (Don't worry if it gets messy)
1 bag chopped pecans sprinkled on top of Cool Whip layer
Top with rest of carmel drizzled over top of pecans

***Could top with small maraschino cherries for fun.

**WARNING: This cake is amazing and dangerous. Eat at your own risk. ;)

Pilates and Writing #MyWANA

The last six weeks I've written I don't know how many hours. I do know my back was killing me, not to mention my backside. So I started Pilates. I don't know why I put off exercise. I love the way I feel afterwards, but for some reason I dread getting started.
I made myself get started with this though because I don't want to be hobbling around from a work injury when my work is writing. That's not a story I want to tell. :)
I subscribed to the Exercise TV Pilates podcast. It cost $4.99, but I figured it was an investment in me.
Glad I did.
I feel better, my back doesn't hurt, my abs are shrinking. Best of all I can get up off the floor a lot easier now than when I started.
I think it's easy to get caught up in writing or whatever it is we do and forget to take care of ourselves. I'm not doing that any more! I'll use the blog to update my Pilates and other exercise adventures every once in a while. ###

Thanks Indie Voice! #MyWANA #amwriting

This summer started with a real vacation. I loved every minute of my time in Ireland and the UK. Then I was sick. Then July was all about media camp. I wrote A LOT in July, but not nearly as much as I've written in August. All this time I've been writing and self-publishing my books, I haven't really thought about the marketing aspects or even release dates and why they matter. In August that changed. I bought The Naked Truth About Self-Publishing by The Indie Voice, and it completely revolutionized the way I've looked at my work. Changes are coming. I can't wait to share them with you. I'm still learning right now. I guess just like every other part of life, I'll always be learning. :)The summer's almost over for me. I have a schedule in place for the rest of the year. I'll be sharing that soon, too.Our last blast this year was a quick overnight trip to the casino 90 minutes away. While we were eating breakfast, I spied this on the wall.  I used to LOVE True Romance. This made my day. Since I was sitting there talking to my husband about what I'd learned in The Naked Truth, I took this as a sign that I'm headed in the right direction.#


To Trust a Prince comes out soon. It's sexy and packed with danger. Love that combination.

Mommy, the FBI's Out Here

"Mommy, the FBI's out here."
I'll be honest, when DD first said the words I was mid-mascara, and I wasn't all that worried.
When she followed them with "And the DEA and the ATF," I freaked.
I ran outside where she was happily turning cartwheels. Sure enough, all three agencies and the local police were raiding a house two doors down.
They didn't seem the least worried about the little girl down the street.
Turned out our neighbor was running stolen guns and selling drugs through the mail. Very strange day.


That scene makes a come back in my next book out this month, To Trust a Prince. :) It's nice when life gives us those moments.

Dead Girl Walking

(cross posted on my marybethlee blog) I'm working on final edits of To Trust A Prince, the next Liz Lee novel, but I wanted to let you know about my fun mystery series.In the words of my protagonist: "It's like 21 Jump Street with angels solving murders before they happen."The next Sharlene Gallagher adventure releases Tuesday, Aug. 13. For now, I'm leaving this awesome book trailer created by Karl Kelley for book 1: Dead Girl Walking!Grab Dead Girl Walking kindle format now. It's only .99. The paperbacks are being repackaged right now, but I'll let you know when they're ready.As always, please leave a review on Amazon if you've read the book. Reviews are the top way indie authors get word out about their books. :)

Gone Fishing...#MyWANA #amwriting

What I've loved about teaching this writing camp:
My students.
Using Gilmore Girls clips to show the craziness of newspaper.
Watching the students respond to Stephen King's writing advice youtube clip.
Watching students tear up over a 300-word story. Watching them enthralled while we read a super long narrative feature.
Watching them totally get the difference between generalizations and specifics when we're critiquing work.
Watching them get excited about the stories they want to write this year.

Tomorrow I'm sharing NaNoWriMo and Scrivener with them. I can't wait!#

Busyness, Goals and Figuring it Out. #MyWANA

My revisions in process desk right now minus the
red Solo cup plus a Will and Kate coffee mug.I left the house at 8:30 this morning and didn't get home until 9:45. UGH! I hate days like that. The busyness of life can get in the way sometimes. I'm preparing myself for that since school starts in two weeks. UGH! I love my job, but those 15-hour days can be killer. I have friends who get up super early and write before school. I don't know if I can do that. My writing brain turns on at 9 p.m. I'd stay up until 2 a.m. working on a regular basis if I could without driving DH batty. I think writing first is a lot like exercising first, though. You do it immediately and you know it's done. Wait until you get home and life can get in the way.
So far my family's been super supportive of the writing since I moved it to the office. I close the doors, and they let me do my thing.
When I leave the office, DH even listens to me complain about how my fictional characters are not behaving. :) Actually, I kind of think he likes those moments.
I'll be teaching a writing camp to teens the next three days. I always leave energized and revitalized, even though I'm the teacher. Kids have absolute belief in their goals. I'm going to work hard to help them hold on to those dreams! #

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