Heidi Rice's Blog, page 16

Heidi's Top 10 Tips for a Happy Writing Xmas and New Year!

Hey all

Just wanted to say have a fantastic Christmas... I've illustrated this post with some Christmassy pics I took on my cycle ride home last night, so hope you enjoy them. Wish that amazing house was mine!

And as a special Christmas treat it occurred to me that On the First Night of Christmas is my tenth published book. As readers to this blog will know, I'm currently being tortured by my latest manuscript which was all a bit of a dog's breakfast until I had a long chat with my editor on Friday afternoon. I'm now clear about what needs to be cut (namely about 20K of the 30K I've written!), what needs to be changed (thou hero shall not be a complete git!) and what needs to be finessed (more fun, more flirt, much less fraught)...

So I've put some top tips together for happier writing in the New Year compiled from what I've learned while struggling with this book and others before it...

1). Every Book Is Different: Sounds obvious, but remember unless you're constantly writing the same story, every book will vary according to how easy or how hard it is to write, the important thing is to do whatever is necessary and not stress too much when you hit a roadblock (or several hundred).

2) Beware of the Convenient Plot Twist: Yes, your story will have turning points, but be very wary of a plot twist which conveniently brings your couple together (like a flash fire that burns down your heroine's house and means she has to move in with the hero) or keeps them apart (like a misunderstanding that could be sorted out with a proper conversation) because it may be a substitute for a decent conflict.

3). Make Your Characters Work for Their HEA: This is really an extension of 3, but make sure your characters are both having to grow and change during the course of their story so they deserve to be happy at the end, otherwise your reader will get bored, or worse want to murder them both! Or even worse, you will...

4). A Good Editor's Not Just for Christmas: Published authors have the huge luxury of an editor. Some of my books have had very little editorial input, but others would simply never have reached publishable quality without that essential feedback and advice... So if you're unpubbed, seek out constructive feedback wherever you can, and use it.

5). You're the Only One Who Knows What's Right for Your Story: Sort of sounds like a contradiction of 4 I know, but bear with me here, folks... Basically, you are the creator of your story and those characters and if you lose sight of that, your story will lose it's integrity not to mention it's unique you-ness, so while constructive criticism is important, don't be scared to ignore it, when necessary.

6). Be True to Your Process, No Matter How Naff It Is: It's a constant pain in my backside that my process is very hit and miss, and will often involve re-writing scenes until I get it right. This is because I'm a pantser and I tend to try out reactions for my characters to a particular situation until I know it's the right one. And it's only when the characters are fully formed and understood (usually once the book is written, how useless is that!) that I will know instinctively how they react. But that's just me, I've tried to change it and my writing loses it's spontaneity and integrity as a result... So basically I'm stuck with this naff process... And I'm one with it (she says through gritted teeth)!

7). Don't be Afraid to Take Risks: Or, it's remarkable what you can get away with in a plot... Like a heroine who doesn't realise she's three-months-pregnant... If you do it with conviction and make it believable. Now in the interests of full disclosure, I have had more than a few crits of that particular book (Pleasure, Pregnancy and a Proposition) because some readers were either unconvinced (or just plain outraged) by that plot hook, but it's also my biggest seller (by a long way) so yes, some readers weren't convinced, but for those that I persuaded to suspend their disbelief it was a risk worth taking.

8). You Can't Please Everyone, So Don't Try: Sort of follows on from 7,  but you really can't please everyone, and the last thing you want is to stop taking risks because you're worried about what people will think... Everyone's got an opinion and rightly so, they've paid money to read your book, but in the end when you're sitting down to write, the opinion that counts the most is yours. You know, in your heart of hearts when something works and when it doesn't, because you've read loads of romances yourself (I hope) and you know when they don't work for you.

9). Don't Believe the Little Voice in Your Head: No, I'm not talking about schizophrenia here, but about that little voice that whispers in every writer's ear at the most difficult, demoralising moment in the process of writing their latest story that their writing totally sucks. That it's a complete fluke you ever got published... Or finished a manuscript... It lies!! You can do it. And to prove it, noone who ever believed that Little Voice and stopped writing got published (or kept getting published). So there, take that Little Voice! (And if you need an extra boost, go read Dr Seuss's Oh, the Places You'll Go!)

10). After the Agony, Comes the Ecstasy: Whether that's just the sense of achievement you feel when you finish a particularly thorny scene to your satisfaction, or the whoop of joy in your stomach when you see your published book on the shelf for the first time, or get a decent review from Dear Author (I got a B this week for On the First Night of Christmas, and boy am I basking here, folks!!). This is bloody hard work, don't ever be fooled by anyone who says it isn't (they're lying!!), but it will eventually be worth it. And just like childbirth, it's agony for a reason, because then the ecstasy is that much more ecstatic. Honest.

So from one writer in North London currently going through the agony...

HAVE A HAPPY WRITING NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

Another First Night Giveaway!!

I'm on Lucy Monroe's blog today with an excerpt of On the First Night of Christmas.. Would love to know what reader's think and am doing a giveaway to one lucky commentator, so come on over and join me there.

In other news am under the cosh trying to meet December deadline for latest book.... Still in hand-to-hand combat with my sagging middle. Always the hardest part of the book I find. Especially if your hero and heroine refuse to cooperate! Grrr.

Heidi talks Turkey.... Or rather Christmas Stories!

I'm over at the Pink Heart Society talking about why I love writing Christmas Stories as a romance writer... And it may not be the reason you think. So pop on over and leave a comment and you could be in with a chance to win a copy of my current Christmas extravaganza On the First Night of Christmas.

Also found this lovely review of it on The Long and Short Reviews blog. Here's a snippet of what they said:

'This is a fast paced romance and things heat up quickly between Cassie and Jace....The typical holiday activities take on a delightful turn as Cassie takes Jace shopping and to a get-together of friends for Christmas. There were some very tearful moments as well, where I worried for the happy ever after of these two, but I was delighted to see finally happen between them. I recommend this one to be read with a box of tissues at hand.'

So there you have it, a true Christmas tear-jerker!

Party Time!

So I got my posh frock on last night and jumped on the bus to the West End en route to the RNA Winter Party.

Despite getting slightly lost (got off the bus on Piccadilly and somehow ended up at Buckingham Palace!) I finally located Birdcage Walk and the stately Library of the Imeche where all the fun was happening... Good thing I didn't put my hooker boots on til I got there as I had to yomp all the way round St James's Park in the dark. Am thinking I may have to turn this experience into a scene for a book, though, as the phenomenal Georgian architecture on display during my impromptu tour of the area was really quite sensational.

As usual I didn't do a lot of networking, mostly just had a good gossip with Fiona Harper, Natalie Rivers, Sharon Kendrick and the lovely M&B eds who were present. Also had a great fangirl moment when I was introduced to Kate Lace, whose books I highly recommend. Haven't got her latest yet, Big Fat Gypsy Wedding, so will be downloading it asap.

Then Katie Fforde did the big announcement of the night... The unveiling of the new RNA logo, which, as luck would have it, matched my dress beautifully so I got asked to pose for some photos.

Much wine and wittering later and I slipped my hooker boots back in the bag and headed home... On the tube this time, as I'd decided I'd admired more than enough phenomenally Georgian architecture for one night.

Last chance to enter my website comp!

Only a few hours left to enter my website competition to win a copy of On the First Night of Christmas...

All details are on the home page of the new website so check it out! Closing date is today at 12midnight GMT.

A little movie with a big heart

I'm over at the Pink Heart Society today doing my monthly Must Watch Friday slot and talking about the wonderful little movie Cedar Rapids... If you want to know why I love this movie so much do pop on over there..

Me and Lucy Monroe

I'm on Modern author Lucy Monroe's blog today doing her Guest Author Interview. Love her books - so sexy and sensual and intensely dramatic - so it's a real treat for me to be talking to her about the inspiration etc behind On the First Night of Christmas. And just in case you want any added incentive, there's a Humpday Hottie to enjoy right under my post... I'm just saying!

I'm off to Paris later today on the Eurostar where my mum is celebrating her 75th birthday on Saturday with all her kids and grandkids... That means 17 of us (ranging in age from 4 to 75) chowing down on coq au vin and profiteroles (and probably far too much wine) at a Brasserie near the Gare du Nord. So if anyone else here is likely to be in Paris this weekend and hears a massive commotion, that'll just be the Rice clan misbehaving as usual.

Am thinking I definitely need to set another book in the City of Light, and I love it best at this time of year. I always think cities come into their own in the autumn months.

The Romance Minxes and Moi!

Am over at the ab fab Romance Minxes blog today doing an Author Spotlight and waffling away about everything from procrastination to being a pantser, not to mention my new book On the First Night of Christmas (any shameless plugs are purely coincidental, honest!)

So come and join me and leave a comment.

Have illustrated this post with a picture of me and Abby Green pretending to look very authorly after the AMBA lunch. Thanks for the great camera skills go to wonderful new Medical author Scarlet Wilson.

Heidi's got a brand new website!!

It's fireworks night in the UK this evening... Which seems somehow fitting for the launch of my AMAZING new website.


It's got a brand new look (with some very nice photos of moi!), info on all my books, a backlist page (with details of all my heroes, the heroines, how they are linked to other books, etc), a links page with info for readers and aspiring writers alike and even a Coming Soon page which details my next release and even the books I am currently writing (although these are subject to change because my muse works in all sorts of unpredictable - and seriously annoying - ways).

To celebrate I'm giving away two copies of On the First Night of Christmas... but you have to visit the site and poke around a bit to enter... Closing date is the 14th November. So what are you waiting for?

Special thanks goes to the wonderful Heather Reed at HR Web Concepts who did such a great job with the site and Anne Mortensen for making me look gorgeous in the photos (it's all an optical illusion folks, but do I care!)

New Voices... The Final Reckoning Approaches

[image error] Had a super busy time last weekend which involved tea at the Ritz, the AMBA lunch at Charing Cross and drinks with the editors by the Embankment... Not to mention my annual family Halloween party on Saturday night which I shall blog about soon once I've got my photos downloaded.

But am just jumping in now to tell everyone not to forget to vote for their favourite New Voice before 5pm today. I read them all, was blown away by the fabulousness of the writing and after much deliberation opted for Honeymoon with a Stranger... There's just something about Charlotte Phillips's gorgeous ex-rugby player hero, her feisty heroine, and that sassy funny voice that swung it for me. Plus her pivotal moment's a doozy!

But what about you? Who did you vote for? And why? Would love to know.

Also watch this space.. Am currently fiddling about with my new website before it goes live... And there will be a chance to win two more copies of On the First Night of Christmas... Which is now on shelves in the UK and will be hitting shelves in the US at the end of the month! Woohoo!!