Getting to Know You . . .
{If you are of a certain age, or if you’re a musical theatre lover, you might be humming this song all day!}
A bunch of my Stack-writing friends have recently jumped on the Let me introduce myself . . . train, which is cool because I always learn something else about the person sharing.
Don’t worry; this is not a Tawdra-reintroduces-herself post. (If you’ve forgotten who I am or why you’re on this list, check out my Substack here: https://tawdrakandle.substack.com/.)
No, I want to talk about getting to know other people, specifically my own characters.
As I’ve mentioned recently, I’m knee-deep in writing the launch book to the 1980s Mixtape Romances, a fun contemporary romance called Dancing in the Dark. I’ve been thinking about this story for almost a year (because it was about a year ago that Olivia Hardin said to me via Marco Polo, “So I have this fun idea . . .”).
Thinking about a book I’m going to write is one of my favorite parts of the creative process. It’s a bit like when you’re dating someone whom you’ve just met, and you’re discovering intriguing bits about them—why she doesn’t eat seafood, perhaps, or that his mother taught him to dance in the kitchen when he was a kid. (←inspired by real-life experience!) I always begin with a vague storyline in mind (they meet THIS way, and then THIS happens, and they end up THIS way). I might know a few details about the main characters, but I don’t know everything.
The thinking-about-it process can last anywhere from a month to a year, depending on when I commit to writing a book. But to be completely transparent, I rarely know all of the details about my characters before I begin writing the book.
So here I am now in midst of writing this book, getting to know more about the characters. An interesting note is that I rarely experience epiphanies about these folks while sitting in front of the computer; it usually happens when I’m at the sink washing dishes, or sweeping the floor or folding laundry.
Last night, for instance, I was chopping vegetables for a dinner salad, listening to Billy Joel on Spotify, and suddenly, I knew something integral about Peyton Rivers, my female lead. It was something that is going to shift the storyline significantly, and it’s also going to be important to Nash, my male lead.
The great part is that I also knew how Nash was going to deal with this situation. I knew that it was going to be frustrating and infuriating, but ultimately, he’s going to do something that will bring about their ultimate HEA.
Because he’s her lobster, of course. (If you know, you know.)
If you can’t tell, I’m having an absolute blast with this book. I’m so excited about the series and about all the books my fellow authors are writing or prepping for publication!
Remember, you can preorder the books ahead of their releases in July and August.
And speaking of those 1980s Mixtape Books . . .
Are you subscribed??
Did you know you can sign up to receive Reunion Updates for the Crystal Cove Class of 1989? This is also a Substack list, and it will be sent out every few weeks from now through the release of all six books . . . if you subscribe, you’ll get sneak peeks and other fun tidbits from all of the books and authors.
Sign Up Here! https://crystalcovehighclassof89reuni...
I’m curious—tell me true . . .
If you had to create a 1980s Mixtape, what songs would HAVE to be on it?
COMMENT below (did you know you can comment on my Goodreads blogs?) and tell me!
OR email me at tawdra@tawdrakandle.com with your answer.
I’ll share my list—and maybe some of yours!—in an upcoming post.
A bunch of my Stack-writing friends have recently jumped on the Let me introduce myself . . . train, which is cool because I always learn something else about the person sharing.
Don’t worry; this is not a Tawdra-reintroduces-herself post. (If you’ve forgotten who I am or why you’re on this list, check out my Substack here: https://tawdrakandle.substack.com/.)
No, I want to talk about getting to know other people, specifically my own characters.
As I’ve mentioned recently, I’m knee-deep in writing the launch book to the 1980s Mixtape Romances, a fun contemporary romance called Dancing in the Dark. I’ve been thinking about this story for almost a year (because it was about a year ago that Olivia Hardin said to me via Marco Polo, “So I have this fun idea . . .”).
Thinking about a book I’m going to write is one of my favorite parts of the creative process. It’s a bit like when you’re dating someone whom you’ve just met, and you’re discovering intriguing bits about them—why she doesn’t eat seafood, perhaps, or that his mother taught him to dance in the kitchen when he was a kid. (←inspired by real-life experience!) I always begin with a vague storyline in mind (they meet THIS way, and then THIS happens, and they end up THIS way). I might know a few details about the main characters, but I don’t know everything.
The thinking-about-it process can last anywhere from a month to a year, depending on when I commit to writing a book. But to be completely transparent, I rarely know all of the details about my characters before I begin writing the book.
So here I am now in midst of writing this book, getting to know more about the characters. An interesting note is that I rarely experience epiphanies about these folks while sitting in front of the computer; it usually happens when I’m at the sink washing dishes, or sweeping the floor or folding laundry.
Last night, for instance, I was chopping vegetables for a dinner salad, listening to Billy Joel on Spotify, and suddenly, I knew something integral about Peyton Rivers, my female lead. It was something that is going to shift the storyline significantly, and it’s also going to be important to Nash, my male lead.
The great part is that I also knew how Nash was going to deal with this situation. I knew that it was going to be frustrating and infuriating, but ultimately, he’s going to do something that will bring about their ultimate HEA.
Because he’s her lobster, of course. (If you know, you know.)
If you can’t tell, I’m having an absolute blast with this book. I’m so excited about the series and about all the books my fellow authors are writing or prepping for publication!
Remember, you can preorder the books ahead of their releases in July and August.
And speaking of those 1980s Mixtape Books . . .
Are you subscribed??
Did you know you can sign up to receive Reunion Updates for the Crystal Cove Class of 1989? This is also a Substack list, and it will be sent out every few weeks from now through the release of all six books . . . if you subscribe, you’ll get sneak peeks and other fun tidbits from all of the books and authors.
Sign Up Here! https://crystalcovehighclassof89reuni...
I’m curious—tell me true . . .
If you had to create a 1980s Mixtape, what songs would HAVE to be on it?
COMMENT below (did you know you can comment on my Goodreads blogs?) and tell me!
OR email me at tawdra@tawdrakandle.com with your answer.
I’ll share my list—and maybe some of yours!—in an upcoming post.
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