A.E. Jones's Blog, page 23

Edits are a Second Chance

[image error]

Friday, I got my edits back for TO HAVE AND TO HOWL, which meant I spent Labor Day weekend…well, working.

But that’s okay, since the book is getting closer to release. So this first edit, read-through, next edit, read-through, proofread and, you guessed it, read-through, will prepare us for the fall release. Yay!

There is something cathartic about editing. Not my favorite thing to do in this process, but there’s nothing wrong with making things better. There are a lot of things in life that don’t get the benefit of editing, so books are special.

And as I dig through my editor’s notes and fine tune the story to make it even better, I can’t wait for you all to read it!

My Goldilocks Story

[image error]You read it right, my friends. Today, I lived a part of the Goldilocks tale. How you might ask? I went mattress shopping! And as I tested the different mattresses, the story kept running through my head.

AE laid on the first bed and it was way too soft, then she moved to the next and it was way too hard. Finally, AE found the bed that was just right and she settled in for a nice long nap. Okay…maybe that last part is a bit of a fabrication since I was in the middle of a mattress store, but you get the idea.

Fairy tales immerse us in a world very different than our own, yet it keeps us in the story with the familiar. Even though we might not have been lost in a forest and experienced Mama, Papa and Baby Bear, we, at one time or another, experienced a comfy bed and warm porridge (or oatmeal, cream of wheat…you get the idea).

Good stories are about bringing the reader along for a ride they have not experienced before. But there are touch points along the way that anchor us to the world.

Let me explain using my stories. As you know, I write about paranormal and when I tell people that I do, they often will tell me they don’t read that sort of thing. But here’s the thing. My stories are about characters who want love, and family, and have fights and make up. The characters just happen to be paranormal, but it doesn’t make their emotions and dreams different than what we, as humans want and need – touch points that anchor.

Make sense? Kind of an interesting analogy from a day of mattress shopping!

Before I close my blog for the day, I wanted to say on a more serious note – thoughts and prayers are going out to all of you who are impacted by Hurricane Harvey.

Shortest Distance is Not Always a Straight Line

[image error]Over the years, I have talked about my writing process. Every author is unique in how they write books. Some write fast drafts that are bare bones 1st versions that they then flesh out. Others write detailed outlines and follow them. Still others write character sketches.

Some authors write linearly and others not so much. I fall in the “not so much” category.

Don’t get me wrong, I always start out with the best intentions to write the book from point A to point B. After all, the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, right?

Not in my creative process. I start at A with B oh so far away.  Then C shows up and distracts the crap out of me! “C” is normally a scene that forms fully fleshed out in my head. And I then HAVE TO write it down. It’s a compulsion really.

So while TO HAVE AND TO HOWL is spending quality time with my editor, I started on a new Mind Sweeper story. Misha has been begging for his story for quite some time now. And boy is the story writing itself out of order!! I keep picturing scenes and then they come to life on the computer screen.

Since Misha is larger than life (literally and figuratively) it makes sense that he is letting me know how he wants this book to go!

I’ll follow the twists in whatever direction they take me until I type the end. Sometimes you have to break the “rules” to accomplish what you set out to do.

If you’re a writer, how does your process work?

Summer Desperation

[image error]

I can feel the anxiety in the air. I call it summer desperation. The last few weeks before the glorious season comes to an end and we head into fall. With these last days, there is a need to eat fresh foods, sit in the sun, walk barefoot in the grass, drive with the top down, swim, boat, camp, grill outside, and get in those last minute summer reads!

All the fun things that we enjoy in the freedom of the warm season – at least for those of us who have cold winters!

As much as I love the fall, there is something bittersweet about these last weeks of summer. As if our play days are coming to an end whether we want them to or not. Of course, for writers, we can delve into worlds where the sun is shining warmly. I have found that the weather in my books often reflect the mood of the scene I’m creating.

One scene that stick out to me in particular is in Sentinel Lost, the 5th book in my Mind Sweeper series. Kyle must face something painful, that she prayed she never would again, and as she runs outside, the rain comes down, cold and wet as if Mother Nature cried along with her. It just fit with the mood.

So as I walk barefoot outside and lean back absorbing the sun on my face, I know that I can visit summer anytime I want in my writing. And I’ll remember that when the air outside fills with frost.

What about you? Can you think of stories where weather plays a part in the story?

Writing Truly IS An Adventure

[image error]

For the past two days, I have been reading my newest manuscript in preparation to send to my editor. As I read through the story, I’m reminded that the words, if written correctly, pull you down a path of discovery.

While I read tonight, my girl cat performed an acrobatic dance that would make a Circ performer jealous. She was chasing some sort of flying bug and entertaining me while she soared through the air.

And that’s when it hits me. For her, she was on an adventure to capture the “winged beast”. She will do everything in her power to succeed. Writers also live for the adventure. Whether the plot lends itself to the high seas, or a distant planet, or a house in the suburbs, the true adventure is unraveling the story as the words fill the page.  If told well, the adventure pulls the reader in as well and allows them to escape to a world of the author’s making. Pretty heady stuff, huh?

 

 

Why I Write

[image error]This past week I attended Romance Writers of America’s national convention. 2000 authors, editors, publishers, and other industry professionals under one (very large) roof talking the craft and business of writing. It is always an amazing experience to attend and spend time with people who get me the writer.

While the actual conference is exhausting, it is also rejuvenating as well. Spending time with others discussing writing and publishing is like my “spinach” if I was Popeye that is.

One of the fun things I got this week was a Do Not Disturb sign shoved under my hotel door from Harlequin. In the pic, the woman is reading a book as her hero carries her into the sunset. And while this is incredibly clever and came home with me to now reside on my office door, I came to an even bigger epiphany when I hung it there.

As a reader I am definitely carried away by the story, the scenery, the emotions, the characters, and anything else that moves me. But the same can be said as a writer. When my scenes are going well, I am IN THE STORY. I am living it and experiencing all that moves me. And that is a heady adventure. It can be emotionally draining sometimes, but more often that not, it is cathartic. To spend time creating worlds and characters who defeat the bad guy (since my books have mysteries too) and grow into beings that can love each other is the reason I keep writing.

So, if I could rework this picture a little bit, I might have the woman typing away on her keyboard since writers need time with their stories as well…

 

Your Choice: Savor or Devour

[image error]

This weekend, one of my writer friends showed up at my house with chocolate cake. Now, I am not going to turn that away, I mean her away. She brought a large piece so I ate a couple of yummy bites and then put it away for another time. I found myself savoring the cake over a couple of days and it got me thinking that eating a treat can be compared to reading a great book. Now stay with me, and I’ll explain what this is all about.

I have found that when a book is really good many readers do one of two things.

Savor – when a reader reads slowly to savor the story because they don’t want it to end

Devour – when a reader can’t put a book down because it is that good

I have a tendency to devour books. I read the last Harry Potter book in one day! With some of my favorite writers, I will read the book FAST, FAST, FAST and then go back and reread the story. If we take the cake analogy further, I would say I eat the frosting and then go back and eat the rest of the cake

Speak Up!

[image error]While my editor is reading my first draft of To Have and To Howl, I thought it was a good time to try something new. So I bought dictation software. I finally bit the bullet and decided to try it after hearing other authors rave about dictation. They said it helped with productivity, and it was healthier because they didn’t have to sit and type at the computer.

I’ve been using the software for a couple of days now, and one of the things I found out rather quickly is that you need to be patient. And that is something that I’m not very good at. Another thing that I’ve learned is that I’m teaching myself how to rethink as I write. What I mean by that is that when I type, in some respects, I’m using muscle memory. With dictation, I have to think through my mouth…so to speak – LOL

I have to remind myself that when I first learned to type it was a slow process and now I do it without thinking. So I hope the same thing can be said about the dictation software once I get used to it. So far, it’s been an interesting ride. As a matter fact, I am writing my blog tonight with the software. My cat Dylan is sitting next to me meowing and the software keeps asking me to repeat what I’m saying

Humor Me This

[image error]When I write, I find that I can’t tell a story that doesn’t contain humor. It’s central to my being and therefore central to the characters and scenes I create. I think it’s because even in the hardest and toughest of times, humor plays a part. A smile or a simple laugh can get us through a tough day.

For my characters, humor is a tool. For some, it’s their friend and they embrace it and share it. For others, they use it as a weapon to keep people from getting too close.

And there is something poignant about humor in romance/suspense. It serves as a wonderful foil when things aren’t going well. To have the ability to release tension through laughter moves the story forward.

So sometimes a laugh, isn’t just a laugh. It serves a greater purpose. When you read do you like to laugh even when you want to cry? That to me is an amazing story. Smiling with tears in my eyes. As a writer, my goal is to bring you to both. Hopefully, I’ll continue to do so

Tonight We Dance!

[image error]

The following words make me so, so happy…

I finished the first draft of my novel! I finished the first draft of my novel!

Yep, I had to say it twice because it makes me so excited. I actually did a little happy dance when I typed the last words. My hero and heroine’s story has FINALLY come to life with some tears and laughter (both theirs and mine) thrown in.

Typing “The End” to my third book in my paranormal wedding planners series, TO HAVE AND TO HOWL, was yet another milestone in my continuing writer’s path.

So tonight, I celebrate. Well, actually I’m writing this blog, but you get the idea. Tomorrow I begin the first of many, many reads and edits. But until then, it’s time to dance!