Nancy Hendrickson's Blog: Nancy's Blog, page 7

Monday #Writer

[image error]Send to Kindle

Coming Out of Chaos!

[image error]Send to Kindle

[image error]

 

Apologies for not keeping up with my site. I’m in the process of packing and moving and keeping myself out of chaos.  Will report about my new place (cool studio) and new Kindle books ASAP.  Thanks for hanging in there with me.  And they tell me that out of chaos comes light.

Photo Credit: h.koppdelaney via Compfight cc

Romance Novels – Sub-Genres

[image error]Send to Kindle

A big Valentine’s Day thanks to Brian Scott for this great infographic.  (Click image  to enlarge)

 

[image error]

Do You Use Google+ For Branding? 64 Strategies

[image error]Send to Kindle

Like this infographic? Infographic courtesy Copyblogger.

Marsha Cornelius – How They Did It

[image error]Send to Kindle

Next up in our new series, How They Did It, is Marsha Cornelius, author of medical thrillers,  H10N1 and The Ups [image error] and Downs of Being Dead. 

After working for fifteen years as a cafeteria manager in an elementary school, Marsha Cornelius turned in her non-skid shoes for a bathrobe and slippers. She now works at home, writing novels, acting out scenes with her cats, and occasionally running a Swiffer across dusty surfaces.

Like thousands of others, she thought she could write romance, but soon discovered she was a dismal failure. She did increase her repertoire of adjectives such as throbbing, pulsing, thrumming, vibrating, hammering, pumping . . .

[image error]She resides in the countryside north of Atlanta with her husband. Her two grown sons occasionally visit for clean laundry and a hot cooked meal.

Q:  As with all of our authors who participate in this series, we ask a single question:  The odds of completing a novel can be astronomical.  Marsha, how did you do it?

A: I’d like to say something inspirational here, like ‘every time I felt like quitting, my husband urged me on’, or ‘it was my grandmother’s dying wish . . .’, but basically I had no choice.

Once the book was started, I couldn’t NOT finish it. I guess I was just driven to complete, not just one book, but three. (My third novel will be out this spring.)

Now that’s not to say that the finished, published novel H10 N1 is anything like the first version I wrote. But the characters’ names remained the same, and I think on page 23, I still used the term ‘neanderthal’. Pretty much everything else in the book went through several changes. And every time I pick up a copy, I see something else I’d like to fix.

Maybe that’s the trick. Don’t keep anguishing over every little thing. Just get it done! Then you can go back and tinker around all you want.

And don’t think you’re too busy to write. When I started my first book, I was raising kids, working full time, and getting up at 5:30 on the weekends to get a couple hours of writing done before anyone else was awake. If you’re a night owl, turn off that TV, and Facebook, and get busy.

The old saying is true: If you want it bad enough, you’ll do it.

Connect with Marsha

Twitter

Facebook

Goodreads

Marsha’s Website

Marsha’s Author Page on Amazon

Buy Marsha’s Books

 H10N1

The Ups and Downs of Being Dead. 

What Breaks Your Heart?

[image error]Send to Kindle

I read an article yesterday in the Harvard Business Review titled How to Have a Year That Matters.  While the HBR seems [image error] an unlikely place to find inspiration,  this piece hit home.

In it, the reader is encouraged to bypass the humdrum to explore meaningful questions like “what’s your true north?” – the belief system that points you towards your true values.  For example,  the author speculates that Lance Armstrong’s true north was winning trophies rather than championships.

Of all the questions, the one that stopped me cold was  ”What Breaks Your Heart?”  He writes  ”If you want to find your passion, surrender to your heartbreak. Your heartbreak points towards a truer north.”

I was stunned. While I write many books and articles on the craft of writing as well as topics ranging from computers to photography, nothing in those fields “breaks my heart”.   What does?

disappearing nature
conformity
a rapidly diminishing connection to the past – both individually and collectively
greed valued over humanity
lack of critical thinking
not comprehending that you stand on the shoulders of those who came before

What happens next? I’m  going to spend time over the next several days seeing where these heartbreaks lead – and if the course of my own work is in for a drastic departure from what is.

So, my writing friends . . . what breaks your heart?  Would love to read your comments.

Meet Pyewacket

[image error]Send to Kindle

[image error]

 

Congratulations to Bill for the winning name in the “” contest. Bill based the name on Kim Novak’s cat in the old movie, Bell, Book and Candle.  I also discovered that Pyewacket was the name of a “witch’s familiar” as far back as the 1600s.

Stay tuned – more contests coming up soon.

Kim Smith – How She Did It

[image error]Send to Kindle

Next up in our new series, How They Did It, is Kim Smith, author of A Mirror in Time, a young adult time travel novel. Kim lives in the Mid South region of the US with her husband of over 20 years and her little dog, Tinkerbell.

Q: The odds of completing a novel can be astronomical.  Kim, how did you do it?

A:  This is so true. There are a great number of things that can take an author out of their world creation, and off on [image error]a tangent completely unrelated. I have found that the best way to keep myself on track is to be diligent, keep a schedule, and don’t sit down to write unless I am sure there is time to do it. Unfortunately, as a mother and wife, full-time day-job worker, and part-time small business owner, there are not a lot of extra hours to devote to everything. So I have to say, “Ok. I am going to sit down and write for two hours today” and then make a point to do it. I make a reminder on my phone, I warn everyone that I am writing so they will leave me alone, and I go somewhere to have at it without interruptions.

I do not blog, play on Facebook, Twitter, or any other social site until I have my time in on the writing when working on a book. Going out to research is about the only time I veer from the path. I recommend unplugging from the Internet so that you are not tempted.

I write oftentimes while my hubby drives us to places. Vacations are great for getting a lot of word counts down. I am stuck in a car for a long time and nothing to keep me from turning on the laptop and having at it.

Music helps a lot too, and I have found if I make a playlist for whatever I am writing, I will keep on track with mood. Sometimes that works for everyone and sometimes not. An author has to do what works for THEM and their project. It varies from person to person, and that is okay. No right or wrong way to get the work done.

This process has helped me through the writing of five books and one novella and a bunch of short stories. If one wants to write a book from start to finish, it can be done.

Connect With Author Kim Smith

Blog : 

Facebook: 

Twitter: 

Purchase A Mirror in Time

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

 

Ta-Da: The Cat’s Name Will Be Announced on Monday

[image error]Send to Kindle

[image error]

Thanks to everyone who submitted their ideas for the

*Image courtesy Pinstamatic.

Name the Cat – Win an Amazon Gift Card

[image error]Send to Kindle

[image error]

This cat figures prominently in my novella, The Spanish Locket. Her guardian is a psychometry practitioner (that’s someone who gets psychic vibes from objects).  Best name for miss kitty will be used in the novella and the winner will get a $25 Amazon gift card.  Post your suggestions in the comment box – or if you’re feeling protective, email me nancy [at] nancyhendrickson [dot] me.  Thanks for your help [image error]