Heather McCoubrey's Blog, page 8
May 22, 2013
Motivation
My motivation has been sorely lacking of late. I don’t know why, but whenever I sit down to write, I spend hours doing everything but writing. I spend time on twitter, facebook, emails, research and checking reviews. Then I spend time on finding free or inexpensive ways to market. At the end, I’m frustrated that I haven’t written one word and I promise myself that the next time I have some time to write, I’m going to do exactly that. It’s a vicious circle which feeds on itself.
I’ve heard all the advice on setting timers and making the writing app encompass the entire screen so the distractions are limited. I’ve done all this and more to no avail - at least lately. A part of me wonders if the story needs time to cook, or if I’m trying to force the story in a direction the characters don’t want to go, or if I just need a break. After all, To Love Twice was published just two months ago and I spent nearly all my waking hours for four months getting it ready.
If it’s a break I need, that is something I can do with no problem. My kids have three weeks of school left and between end of year parties, teacher gifts and the activities their involved in - any sane mom would need a break.
If the problem is force, well, maybe I need to sit down, read what I’ve got and take notes. My characters are probably speaking to me and I’m ignoring what they have to say. And going too much further would just create more editing and deleting work later down the line.
But if the problem is just the story needs some time to cook, then I just need to wait it out and hope it’s done soon. My typical response to this problem would be to pick up one of the other 13 stories I have started and work on that until this one finishes cooking. But the thought of getting involved with a different story right now is not a happy one. And that in itself is odd and could probably benefit from it’s own post.
So, I’ll give it some time, no rush, no panic, no stress for the long weekend and see what happens. Somewhere out there is my motivation, my muse, my need to write. I really wish it would come home soon!
April 4, 2013
Camp NaNoWriMo
April 1st marked the beginning of Camp NaNoWriMo. Thirty days of writing abandon. For me, this works perfectly. My debut novel is published and I need that extra push to get me writing again. My plan is to publish Emily’s Choice in June, which gives me almost three months to get it rewritten and reviewed/critiqued before my self-imposed deadline.
Today is day 4 and as of last night, I was 1325 words ahead of schedule. Thanks to the hubs, I was able to escape to Panera for some peaceful writing time. I not only caught up on my word count, but I surpassed it as well.
The helpful thing with Emily’s Choice, is that it’s already written. The bad thing, is that I wrote it over 20 years ago. A lot has happened in 20 years, new life experiences, new technology, new ideas…and I have a lot of ideas for Emily’s Choice. In fact, while I was writing last night, my characters took me in a different direction. I was a little annoyed at first, but now in the light of a new day, I can see that this direction is going to make the story stronger. This also means that a good chunk of what’s already written (20 years ago), is for the trash bin.
With 26 days left in the month, I’m excited to see what other surprises my characters have in store for me. This is the fun thing about being a writer, and if I’m honest - one of the frustrations too. I love that I go into a story with an idea of how the story will unfold, only to be in a completely different place at the end.
March 31, 2013
Book Reviews
I saw on Twitter the other day, someone tweeted “If you love a book, write a good review. I promise you will make the author’s day.” And I have to say, it’s so true.
I self-published my debut novel last week, and so far I’ve gotten 5 reviews - all 5/5 stars. And every time I read one, it really does make me smile and feel so good. I find myself checking Amazon throughout the day to see if someone new has reviewed my novel.
And now that I know what it feels like, I’m all about reviewing all the books I loved. So please, take the time to review. Unless you know the author personally, how else are you going to let them know how much you loved the book, and how much you appreciate them? It’ll take ten minutes tops, that’s not so much time out of your day to make someone smile and feel good, is it?
Emily's Choice
Well, a week has gone by since I published my debut novel To Love Twice. I’m happy with the amount of sales, considering I’m unknown and I’m not familiar with too many marketing strategies. The feelings of pride and accomplishment haven’t diminished at all over the past week…and I wonder if they ever will. The first is always special!
Now that a week has passed, I’m itching to get back to work! I’ve decided my next project will be to rework my very first novel that I ever attempted. It’s called Emily’s Choice. I wrote it my senior year of high school and it has gone through a few drafts, additions, deletions and whatnot.
Needless to say, it’s a mess. Almost twenty years have passed since I first wrote it, which means there’s new technology and new life experiences. I know that anything I do to this novel can only improve it. In fact, I spent about an hour working on the prologue and some of the first chapter last night and was amazed at what I was able to change.
My goal is to have Emily’s Choice finished and published by the end of June. So, please stay tuned for blog posts on my progress and for when I announce it’s publication!
To Love Twice - Published!!
My debut novel To Love Twice is published! Live on Amazon Kindle this morning!!
I am so relieved to have it done and out there, but also a little nervous - and a lot excited.
It’s been an incredible journey that started November 1, 2011 as a NaNoWriMo project. After the 2011 NaNoWriMo, I put it aside and only worked on it sporadically. Then for the 2012 NaNoWriMo, I picked it back up - becoming a NaNoRebel - with the intent to get it finished. And in January of this year, I did just that. Finished it and sent it out to a very special group of people to read and critique. After a solid two months of feedback and some rewrites here and there, I submitted it to Amazon Kindle last night.
It’s an amazing feeling to have it finished and to see my name, my book up on the Kindle store. I’m pretty much on Cloud 9 today, and I expect I’ll be there for the next little while.
Today is a winning day! Thank you to everyone who helped me along in the process. Your love, support and encouragement mean the world to me!
So Close...
…and yet so far!
I’ve gotten all the critiques back and am excited to sit down, go through them all, and get this novel finished! The past month has been so busy and I haven’t been good about making myself sit down and write.
I feel like I have so much on my plate to accomplish, and I’m very overwhelmed with it all. I really should sit down, make a to-do list, prioritize it all and then get to work. And really, I should set aside certain days for each project. I think that would help me to stay focused.
But back to the project at hand. To Love Twice is so close to being finished, and I’m starting to feel anxious/nervous about it. There’s really nothing I want more right now than to see this project finished and published. I just need to be patient, make the changes, add in a few scenes…and viola! I’ll be a published author and one of my dreams will have come true.
Patience, hard work, determination and perseverance. I can’t wait to share my novel with all of you!
March 29, 2013
Book Reviews
March 28, 2013
A New Project
March 20, 2013
To Love Twice - Published!!
I am so relieved to have it done...
