Lara Van Hulzen's Blog, page 5

RWA 16

I spent last week in San Diego for the Romance Writers of America Conference. To say I'm tired would be an understatement. But it was such a great week. I met new friends... Got to meet with my amazing publisher...
Spend some time writing and editing...
Really. I was working. I was just lucky enough to do so with this view.

And I got to dress up and attend my first Rita Awards ceremony... 
I love this genre I have the privilege of working in. The community of writers is so friendly and welcoming. Home now... Time to get going. So many books to write, so little time. 

Why I Write Romance

I've learned that when people ask me what I write and I say romance novels I either get a goofy grin in response or a "that's nice." 
It IS nice. But to be honest, I don't give much thought to the responses. I used to. But not anymore. 
Because I write for me. I write because I love these stories in my head and putting them on paper is so much fun. 

I write romances because I believe that now, more than ever, we need stories with a happy ending. 
I have a journalism degree. I love writing fiction, but I still do enjoy reading news, articles, etc. And I was thinking the other day about how careful I have to be about how much of it I read. There are just so many sad, awful stories out there. 
I think it has programmed us to look for the bad, even expect it. 
I know it's made me cynical and downright sad. 
But the truth is there are happily ever after's out there. Lots of them. And not just in books. Look around. Listen to people's stories. Block out the bad news, seek the good. It's there. 

Writing romance is awesome because I get to write stories full of hope. And I think our world could use a huge dose of hope right now, don't you? 

Live Life In Pencil

I was sick a couple weeks ago. Like, flat out, no energy, did nothing but read and write for days kind of sick. Not bad, really (see previous post).

But I learned an important lesson about myself. 
I want to live life in pencil.


You see, I'm a planner. A scheduler. I live and die by my calendar. I used to use the calendar on my phone but recently went back to a paper and pen day planner. I love it. But I use pen. And in doing so, I stress myself out. 
The day I woke up with a raging sore throat and zero energy, I whined to my husband in full drama queen mode that this was not good timing! I had things to do. Stuff written on my calendar- in pen!!! In his vast wisdom (after being with me 20+ years) said, "Babe. You put things on your calendar then act like they're set in stone. Look at the next few days, move stuff around, and take the rest your body obviously needs."
Move stuff around?? But it's written in pen!! 
Did he not see the vastness of the situation?
However, I trust his judgment, so I did what he advised. And funny thing, the world didn't stop turning and I even ended up getting a ton of writing done since it was about all I could muster the energy for. 
So I've made a decision. 
I want to live life in pencil. 
It doesn't mean certain things are now less important. But it does mean (at least in my mindset now) that I control my schedule instead of the other way around.

What about you? Does your schedule control you or do you control it? Are you a pen or pencil living kind of person?

Sick Days

Last week I came down with a nasty cold/flu thing. I don't get sick often (thank God) but this knocked me down. My throat was so sore at night it hurt to swallow, and I was achy. Lord, so achy. Such an awful feeling.
I'm not here to whine and complain. I'm grateful for modern medicine and that it's summertime, which means my kids are home and my days are a bit more mellow. Having a kid driving doesn't hurt either - The Girl Child handled lots of what I normally need to. (God bless her.)

But what's funny is that in my intensely mellow state, all I wanted to do was write. Propped up in bed with my laptop, blogging, journaling, working on my current book... I loved it. Not that I don't love my writing on other days, but it's funny how being sick almost forced me to slow down. It kept me at a pace where I was Writer Lara without the guilt of getting a ton of other things done.
It was an unusually cool week too, which I was both grateful for and ecstatic about. (I hate hot weather and our summers get HOT. As in, the high next week is 105. :-/ ) My window was open and the breeze was flowing through. And I was writing. So lovely.

I'm not a very good patient. I don't sit still well. I'm a doer. I have to work at being. But I liked the sick days (minus the sick part ;) just embracing my limitations and soaking in the writing time.

Enjoy The Ride

This writing journey is nuts. If someone had said to me a year ago that I'd be doing what I'm doing today, I would've laughed. Not because I don't believe in myself, just because...well, it's always changing.

I read not long ago in a blog to celebrate each moment, large and small, in this writing journey because there really is no finish line. Not only is the business continuously changing, but there's always another book to write, one to edit, one to promote. Each time the words "The End" are typed, celebrate. Each great review on Amazon, throw a small party. Because the next day holds much to do for the journey.

And not only that, new opportunities and opened doors may be in the future that aren't even on the radar yet. For a planner like me, this can cause stress. But I'm learning. Instead of wondering what will happen or worrying about the next step, I'm sitting back and enjoying the ride.


I don't want to look back years from now and see only the times I fretted over what was on the horizon. I want to jump in with both feet, start swimming, and see how far I can go.

I love this writing gig. I really do. It challenges me unlike anything else. It moves me outside my comfort zone, and it allows the little girl in me with stories swirling around in her head a place to write them down and share them with the world.

There's really no better ride in life than that.

Appreciation

I see books differently now that I write them.


I've alway been a reader of everything. Mysteries, romances, memoirs, cereal boxes. If it has words, I'm all over it. I even worked as a book reviewer for sixteen years. Which taught me a lot. Not only about how to be a reader, but also how to be a writer.

Not long ago I was in Powell's bookstore in Portland, Oregon. A place someone like me could spend an entire week inside and not see all I would want to see. As I wandered around, taking in the many shelves filled with books, I thought of each one as someone's blood, sweat, and tears poured out on the page. Maybe they wrote it fast. Maybe it took years. Maybe it's a book that's not even written well, but someone did it. Thought it up. Created it.


I believe that alone should be appreciated.


It's not unlike sculptures or paintings. Not everyone may understand it or even connect with it, but anyone can appreciate the time and energy - all the work that went into it. In a time where things move so fast, it's easy to forget to appreciate all that goes into a work of art. A piece of literature. At the tap of a finger we can have books in our hands, read them, then quickly want the next one. I read fast. I do it too. But I want to make sure I stop and acknowledge behind the scenes. Give a mental high five to the author. Because it's hard work. It takes time and effort, in many cases, sacrifice.

I want to make sure I show my appreciation. 

Writing Is Therapy

My Girl Child is graduating from high school this week. I'm a mess.

                               
Two weeks ago I read ten books in ten days and wrote four chapters. Last week I relaxed, journaled, watched great TV shows I love, and focused on just being. I soaked in moments with the kids, laughed a lot, and cried at random times.    
I look around for story ideas. But sometimes the best ideas come from our own story. The main character in my WIP is a woman who is a mom. I've been able to channel some of my emotion into her story, bringing raw emotion to the writing as well as it being therapeutic for me. 
                      
Writing is therapy. It helps me process not only the world around me but also helps me process what's going on inside as well.
This will be an emotional week for me. But I will embrace it, soak it in, and use my journey in my writing. 

What percentage is business and what percentage is writing

I feel as if I'm in a constant struggle between the writer in me and the businesswoman in me. Every day an uphill battle with very few glee-filled rides down the other side. I'm just trudging up with with no mountain top in sight. No other side to relax and glide down.

The writing life isn't what it used to be. My mom is a writer. I grew up around it. There were publicists and marketing teams. My mom's time was mostly writing. She'd show up for a book signing or event, but one that her publicist had planned and organized. Mom just had to show up.


These days, the businesswoman side of me spends quite a bit of time reading through blogs about marketing ideas, seeking wisdom from others in the business about how to best get the word out on books. And with the multiple choices of social media out there today, it can be beyond overwhelming. I can get sucked into hours of this before I even realize it. I need to prioritize my time.

Because the writer side of me gets pushed aside. Lost. And I hate that.

Last week I was talking to my husband about this and said I feel like 90% of my time is businesswoman and 10% is writer. I want to flip flop those. So I did. I sat down and looked at how much time I really needed to spend on marketing and social media. And if I truly get in, do the work, and get out, it's not a lot. The not getting distracted part is key. (And rather challenging, I hate to admit.) But it's doable. I promise.

I've spent the past week putting my writing time above other things. It's funny how it's the one thing I really want to do with my time, and yet I push it away over and over again. So I've been intentional about doing it first and then moving on to business mode instead of the other way around. And a funny thing happened - no one got angry with me for not returning emails that second, my social media has not changed in a negative way, and I've gotten gobs of writing done. I've even had time to journal and read. Fancy that! I read three books in the last four days. My brain is sprouting ideas left and right and I Am Loving It. 


Will things always be this beautiful? Will words flow like honey every day? Nope. I've been writing long enough to know that for a fact. But in making Writer Lara 90% of my work day and Businesswoman Lara 10% of my work day, I'm getting a heck of a lot more done. 

Great Books On Writing

One of my favorite quotes ever is by Stephen King and it is this:
"I am always chilled and astonished by the would-be-writers who ask me for advice but admit, quite blithely, that they 'don't have time to read.' This is like a guy starting up Mount Everest saying he didn't have time to buy any rope or pitons."

I read. A lot. I have multiple books going at a time. Some writers say they can't read in their genre while writing a book. It's too distracting. Me? I have to be reading a book in my genre while I'm writing because then that's where my head will be. In my genre. But I also like to have multiple non-fiction books going at once as well. They're mostly on writing, health, spirituality or parenting.

Recently, I've had a desire - maybe even more of a need - to get back to studying the craft of writing. I don't believe there's every really a finish line. You can become a good writer, yes, and maybe even a great one, but there is always, always something more to learn.

The following are books on writing I have read and re-read over the years. I hope you enjoy as well...

1) On Writing by Stephen King



2) Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott



3) The Getaway Car by Ann Patchett



4) For Writers Only by Sophy Burnham



5) Rivet Your Readers With Deep Point Of View by Jill Elizabeth Nelson




6) GMC: Goal, Motivation & Conflict by Debra Dixon



7) The Everything Guide to Writing A Romance Novel by Christie Craig and Faye Hughes




8) Writing Down The Bones by Natalie Goldberg



9) The Right To Write by Julia Cameron



10) The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron

Sorry Guys, But The Rocky Movies are Romances

I spent last weekend watching the Rocky movies with my boys. I cried in every single one. I've seen them countless times and I always do. Argue with me if you want, but I truly believe the Rocky movies are love stories. Romantic to the core.


I've been working through (for about the 80th time) a book for writers called Goal, Motivation, and Conflict by Debra Dixon. It's a fantastic resource. It's a way to think through each character your write so as the author, you know what drives your characters, what they want from life or a situation, what motivates them, and what stands in their way. It truly makes plotting their story much easier.


As we watched the movie Creed, the most recent in the Rocky films, my boys and I discussed the parallels to the first movie in the series, Rocky. Rocky Balboa is a guy just trying to survive. He's a kid from the streets doing anything and everything he can to make ends meet. Including boxing. He meets Adrian, who he marries, and goes on to win the title of Champion. He's motivated by survival, as well as his love for the sport. In Creed, Apollo Creed's son, Adonis, is not motivated by money, but rather to prove to the world he is not a mistake. Having been the result of an affair Apollo Creed had right before he died, Adonis wants to prove he's worthy enough to be a Creed, but also that he fights as well, if not better, than his father. He seeks out Rocky to train him, taking him to the rough neighborhoods of Philadelphia to train. The two stories are different, and yet they are the same.


As a romance writer, what I love most about these movies (besides they're based on a sport and I love sports) is the connection between Rocky and Adrian. What motivates Rocky above needing money and loving the sport? Adrian. In each movie where Rocky fights, he struggles at some point emotionally and can't get the focus he needs to train until he has Adrian's full support. And I cry at the end of each one because every time the fight is over, he looks for her, calls her name. The infamous, "Yo, Adrian." I sob my heart out as the music plays, he calls for her, and she fights through the crowd to get to him in the ring. He simply can't be without her.

That's romance, my friends. True, love story, cry at the end romance.