Rumer Haven's Blog, page 13
June 10, 2014
#amediting...not dead
LOVING the changes @RumerHaven made to her novel. #editingWIN!My editor is so sweet and freakin' brilliant. I hope this positive sentiment that she shared yesterday lasts... :)
— Sarah Allan (@Sarah_Allan) June 9, 2014
My apologies for the radio silence and that I haven't made it around to everyone's blogs lately. I received my first-round edits back and was curled up in my cave the past week tending to them. That was the first time I'd let myself read my manuscript in several months, and I'm so glad we had parted ways a while--made it so much easier to be a little less sentimental and therefore see and trim out superfluous narrative, as well as totally get what my editor was asking for and why. I have loved the process so far and just hope my revisions meet with her satisfaction.
I've never done this before, so my approach was to do a first-pass just making a beeline to all her comments and changes to field them one by one. I then did a comprehensive read-through as my second-pass, re-addressing my tweaks along the way to smooth them over and look for any excess I could cut out--my word count is rather long due to the fact that this book is comprised of two separate yet intertwined romances (one modern, the other in the 1920s), so to develop either adequately, some length was in order. But in general, it's my modern-day thread that has required the most work to pick up pacing and make characters more sympathetic, so for my third-pass, I did a read-through of the modern story only, further trimming and developing. And did this all in a week's time. So my mind is fairly fried, and my eyeballs are hanging from their sockets by a thread.
And now it rests in my editor's hands to do with what she will to meet our developmental edit deadline at the end of this month. Wish us luck!
Am off to become some semblance of a domestic goddess today to undo various results of my neglect... ;)
Published on June 10, 2014 03:53
May 29, 2014
What I Do and Why I Do It

You can read Nicki's responses to these same questions over at her Not-So-Deep Thoughts blog, and without further ado, here are mine:
* What am I working on? *
As mentioned in my last post, I'm on the cusp of receiving SEVEN FOR A SECRET back from my editor for first-round revisions. The novel is scheduled for an August release, so I'm expecting to spend the next month in my cave curled up with that. But although this is my "debut" novel, it's the second manuscript I've written, so as I wait on edits for manuscript #2 (a ghostly romance set in modern/1920s Chicago), I've been channeling nervous energy into revising manuscript #1 for querying (a "ghost" story with a twist set in modern/Victorian London). And manuscript #3 is slowly but surely unfolding as chicken-scratchings on notebook paper. I've got the setting, characters, and general premise in mind for a romantic mystery of sorts (with a 1940s flair), but I'm attempting a rather complicated structure, so there's a whole lotta' planning necessary before I can actually start writing it.
* How does my writing differ from others of its genre? *
I like to think every story I write bears my personal stamp of weirdness, and I suppose my concept of romance might also vary from the norm. My stories have their saucy bits, but only to the extent that it moves the story forward in a meaningful and realistic way (well, that's the goal, anyway; whether I achieve it remains to be seen). You could say I prefer the slow burn of love to an explosion of lust. I've never been in a heated argument with my husband one second then thrown myself into his arms for a passionate make-out session the next, so it's hard for me to convince my characters to do it. But when my fella' wants to hug me in apology first thing in the morning, when I'm an unshowered, untoothbrushed hag? Swoon! So maybe I'm not so much about the romance as the love. At least in my contemporary tales. Somehow romance comes to me more naturally when writing against a historical backdrop; I tend to be very self-deprecating and pragmatic about the present because it's the reality I know, but outside of that frame of reference, I enjoy more escapism.
* Why do I write what I do? *
I write what I like to read, and my entire life I've loved curling up to a good Gothic/ghost story. And having lived in historic buildings, I can't help but think of all the lives that occupy the same spaces over the decades and centuries. So the nature of time and the soul just fascinates me and can be explored through so many dimensions; I don't know if I could ever exhaust (or be exhausted by) all the different ways to approach it.
* How does my writing process work? *
As a previous blog post ("Madness to the Method") relates, I start with literal pen and paper. I don't even try to be organized about it--as soon as I have the bud of an idea, I just go balls-out brainstorming any and every thought that comes to mind so I can eventually look at it from a birds-eye view and begin connecting the dots. This evolves into a rough back-of-the-envelope outline, which I abide by as I officially begin writing at the computer, but I allow the pathway between points A and B to emerge organically as well. I know it's different for everyone, but I personally wouldn't enjoy the writing process as much if I plotted everything meticulously in advance. I like the freedom of the yet-unknown and letting my characters whisper the next scenes in my ear. But I've also tried writing with no outline, and that's just a disaster. And so, following the happy medium of structure-vs-spontaneity, I write a first draft, step away, revise, step away, revise, and continue to lather, rinse, repeat as necessary. I wish I could say I write every day, but I don't. I don't just sit and wait around for inspiration either, but the process does ebb and flow depending on other obligations and whether the story's talking to me or not. At those times when I'm feeling too tapped out to create, then I read. I perceive every book I read as an investment in my own writing, so that pleasure could never be a guilty one for me. :)
Okay, so now for the task of tagging four more people to ask these questions. I'm going to run with a few Omnific-riffic authors:
* Beck Anderson *FIX YOU (2014 RITA Award finalist)
* Shani Struthers *THE RUNAWAY YEARTHE HAUNTING OF HIGHDOWN HALL
* Eleanor Gwyn-Jones *THEATRICKS
* Carol Oates * SHADES OF ATLANTISSHADES OF AVALONEMBERIRIDESCENT
No worries, tagged Authoresses--you all have new books coming out soon and are feverishly writin' s'more, so I know time is scarce. There shall be no slap on the wrist if you don't accept this challenge. I encourage everyone else to still check out their sites and books, though (linked above), and lose yourself in some crazy good imagination and writing. Read-&-Write on!
Published on May 29, 2014 11:25
May 10, 2014
And So It Begins...
Kicked some #amediting butt today, but I'm already up to 99 comments. @RumerHaven is going to kill me...
— Sarah Allan (@Sarah_Allan) May 7, 2014
LLLet's get ready to RUMMBLLLLLE!!!
This is it, folks. Edits on SEVEN FOR A SECRET are officially underway, and I'm bouncing in my corner of the ring, prepping for my turn to duke it out with my raw manuscript once my editor is done doling the first punches.
While our writerly insecurities hate to admit it, no can write in a vacuum. No other eyes but mine saw my manuscript until I queried it--no crit group, no trusted beta reader, family member, friend, or spouse (though I'd like to think a ghost peeked at it, the nosy thang)--so I'd be seriously deluded to think that just because it got accepted, it was perfect in its original form. Could it ever be "perfect"? Hell no. And what was its "original" form anyway? It already evolved through so many drafts at my hands and will continue to do so under my editing team's multiple pairs of eyes that see what I can't. It's humbling yet thrilling that others are willing to work so hard alongside me to shape this story into a real contender.
So no, I won't be killing my editor. With her in my corner, we'll knock out the weaknesses in my story instead. And now, as time and anticipation squirt water into my mouth and towel off my face, I await my share of Round One and pray for no sucker punches...DING!
Published on May 10, 2014 11:32
April 30, 2014
A to Z: Hats Off and Bottoms Up!

Sound the kaZoos! This is it! The moment has arrived! The day the A to Z Challenge says,
"Z END"
Bravo to all of you A to Z participants, whose brainpower collided to generate a glorious buZZ of energy throughout cyberspace. This month was the cat's meow, so let's make whoopee, maybe even organize a rub where we can dance the Charleston and celebrate our achievement! If you missed out on any of it, don't be a wurp and just sit there like a flat tire left holding the bag (you look like a bug-eyed Betty when you frown) or recline like some high hat dewdropper, acting all upstage and giving A to Z the icy mitt. I'm sure you have your excuses, but tell it to Sweeney and then ankle on over to our blogs anyway so you can know your onions. Vamps, doll up with your munitions, and smoke-eaters, bring a pack to share. Come one, come all--everyone and everything is jake at A to Z!
But you'll have to drink more than noodle juice to achieve today's final installment of 1920s slang. Pick up your panther piss or other giggle water of choice and gulp down that quilt in hearty quantity to go from an edge to positively ossified.
~*~ ZOZZLED ~*~Meaning: Drunk

And to the story that inspired my A to Z theme this year, cheers, SEVEN FOR A SECRET! I wish you well, my debut book baby, as you prepare to enter the world this summer. I promise I wasn't zozzled when you were conceived...well, not the entire time.
Published on April 30, 2014 08:00
April 29, 2014
A to Z: Hardy-Har-Har

It's no joke--the A to Z Challenge is almost ov-ah! Getting a little slap-happy here toward the end, but cheers to all of you whose A to Z posts have cracked me up through the month. What a lovely community of bloggers, where there's no brewhaha, only bwahaha...
Laughter is the best medicine, so they say, so let's administer this next healthy dose of 1920s slang:
~*~ YOU SLAY ME! ~*~Meaning: That's funny!

"Thursday."
"So am I. Let's go have another beer."
"Ha! Fella, you slay me!"
Published on April 29, 2014 08:00
April 28, 2014
A to Z: Charleston, Charleston...

Well, huzzah and hurrah for the X-citing final week of 2014's April A to Z Blog Challenge! What an X-cellent achievement for all the A to Z participants this year, who've X-celled in X-pressing their X-pertise for nearly the full X-tent of the alphabet so far.
And I bet I'm not the only one having to make an X-ception for today's letter, which is a tricky little sucker to find an X-ample of for this blog X-cercise.
Let me X-plain: I couldn't find an X word anywhere in the 1920s slang l-X-icon. So while I can't provide an X-act fit, to suit my purposes today, "X" stands for:
~*~ CRISS-CROSS ~*~As in, the knee-knocking Charleston dance.

Published on April 28, 2014 08:00
April 26, 2014
A to Z: The Toxic 'Tude

I hate to burst your bubble, but the A to Z Challenge is almost over, ya know. No one involved is posting anything tomorrow since it's Sunday, and then after that, there are only three more days left in April. Bummer.
But I don't mean to be the Eeyore of the bunch and kill your spirits. The glass may be well more than half empty, but we still have four letters left to go (including today), which means your 1920s slang lesson ain't over 'til it's over, see?
And since today is "Double-U," I'm going to double the fun with a BONUS WORD! See? Things aren't all that bad, right? So let's party like it's April 1...
~*~ WURP ~*~Also, WET BLANKET
(or FIRE EXTINGUISHER if a chaperone)
Meaning: A killjoy, Debbie Downer
~*~ WHOOPEE ~*~
Meaning: To have a good time
(not necessarily sex, you dirty birdies)

wurp when she should be making whoopee."
Published on April 26, 2014 08:00
April 25, 2014
A to Z: Cocktails and Cockteases

My blog is batting its eyelashes at you today, beckoning you to come hither for today's A to Z Challenge.
Tempted?
Then sway your hips on over here like the sultry little hussy you are, and we'll roll more tantalizing Twenties slang off the tips of our velvety tongues.
Ba-boom chicka...
~*~ VAMP ~*~Meaning: An aggressive flirt, seductress.

this vamp had va-voom.
Published on April 25, 2014 08:00