NanoWriMo '22

Stuck on Starting:

Start a scene or chapter with a conversation or argument rather than a description or narrative.

Why? 

It gets your writing out of the starting gate quickly.  Remember: this is your draft.  It’s not the final product, and you can always go back later and adjust. This is simply a technique to get the blank page/screen filled up and your fingers moving across the keyboard.

At this point momentum = accomplishment.  

Another aspect 

Starting with characters exchanging words draws the reader in quickly.  It doesn’t have to be a long conversation, but in a few brief exchanges, aspects of the main character can be revealed. Show, don't tell.

This is the opening scene from my contemporary romance, Love Long Overdue.  The main female character is Gina, and she's grabbing a quick lunch with her BFF, Julie.

 *   *   *

"So, did you hear about the new librarian?"

"What happened to the old one?"

"Helloooo?  Remember I told you she retired just before the holidays last year."

Gina Bradshaw munched on her chicken caesar wrap, keeping one eye on a lazy fly that kept circling her plate. "Hmmm, no, can't say I remember that.  But then again I'm not at the library that often.  Actually, never, now that I think about it."  Who had time these days, working two part-time jobs to make ends meet?  Which didn't leave her much time for reading.   She was lucky if she remembered to DVR her favorite television series. 

Her best friend Julie glanced over at her, eyes squinting in deep thought.  "You work too hard."

Gina laughed, wiping a dollop of dressing from her chin.  "You're right.  So who's the new lady librarian?"  She downed her ice tea.  God, who knew it would be this hot in May, especially on Cape Cod where the ocean breezes usually didn't warm up until later in June.

"Ha, no lady -- it's a guy."   

“Get out.  A guy?  Must be an old fuddy-duddy, absent-minded professor type, uh?"  Gina stretched out her long legs, noting how pale they looked in the midday sunlight, wondering if she could squeak in a few tanning sessions between jobs.  Probably not; better to just keep wearing jeans and long skirts.  It'd be cheaper, too.

Julie poked her with a hot pink fake finger nail.  "Nope, got that wrong.  He's hot.  Very hot.”

"On a scale, one to ten?"  Their measuring system for prospective victims, although it never seemed to be accurate.  How many times had they given a guy the "hot" or "very hot" rating, only to find out he was a dud, a doofus, a big fat zero.

"Most definitely an eight; maybe even a nine."  Julie stretched out her legs after finishing off the cheeseburger and fries.  Even though her legs were short, they were so tan they made Gina’s eyes water.  But then again, Julie was rolling in dough, her salon and spa business the busiest place in town.  It was the local watering hole for most of the women over twenty, a place where you could hunt and gather gossip, learn tips about who to date and who to avoid like the plague, and indulge in a free glass of wine after three o'clock most afternoons. 

"And what makes him so great?"  Gina watched as a fishing boat pulled into the harbor, a few seals following in its wake, hoping for the cast-offs.  She recognized the boat and spotted Hank steering inside the small cabin.  Her current on-again, off-again beau.  Good looking but not too much upstairs.  A beer and Boston Celtics kind of guy, which was all right with her.  For now, anyway.   She couldn't handle anything deeper at the moment.  She wondered if her libido was running on empty.  Two jobs and college loans to pay off could do that to a girl.  Except she wasn’t a ‘girl’ any longer.  Closing in on the mid-thirties mark, she figured she was nearing the status of crone.

Julie signaled for the check and a refill on her coffee. She looked over at Gina, and Gina started to break a sweat.  Julie had a way about her that unnerved her more times than she liked to admit.  Her stare was like a laser, picking up on all her ticks and twitches, when she was due for her period, or a highlighting of her somewhat dull brown hair. 

"Get this -- he's from Scotland, thirty-six, tall, dark hair, blue eyes.  How’s that for breaking the stereotype, uh?" 

"Name?"  Gina’s mind was abuzz, trying to picture a tall, dark, brooding Scotsman.  She wondered if he wore a kilt.  Every woman in the world probably wonders what’s under the kilt.  Definitely crunch time for that tanning parlor, she thought. 

Julie closed her eyes for a second, conjuring up the guy's name. Obviously, she'd spent too much time taking inventory of his physical aspects to remember his name.  Which made Gina wonder how many women in this small town had done the same already.  Where had she been during all this brouhaha?

"Adam.  Adam Cameron."  There was that laser stare of hers again.  Gina kept her head averted and her eyes on the fishing boat, then waved to Hank when he looked up and spotted her.  He gave her that half-grin that used to make her heart beat faster, but now it just kept thudding steadily in her chest.  Thump, thump, thump.  Slow and steady.  Visions of muscular legs and a kilt interfered with her slowly thumping heart. 

"Adam Cameron," she whispered, liking the way it sounded, the way the name rolled off her tongue.  Gina slapped her legs, stood up and stretched to her full five foot, ten inch height, flipping the thick rope of braid over her shoulder.  Riding a bike around town in this heat required that masses of hair must be relegated to a braid or she'd internally combust. "I think it's time I renewed my library card," she chirped, wanting to hit the road before Hank headed their way.  Not that she was avoiding him.  But then again there was a new guy to investigate, possibly with a kilt.

*   *   *

Quick banter, inner thoughts . . . the reader learns quite a bit about Gina within the first few paragraphs without being overloaded with backstory.

Stay Tuned for Next Week

 I'll share a quick tip (or two) that helped me stumble over another writing hurdle.  In the meantime, write on, eat healthy, hydrate and go for a walk in the fresh air!

Happy Writing!

Claire H.

Countdown to NanoWriMo 2021 begins!

Yes, it's that time again - National Novel Writing Month - and it's an exciting time for writers of all levels of experience.  So my congratulations to all who are participating this year!  However, this can be a somewhat grueling time as well.  To write 50,000 words within 30 days is no easy feat.  There'll be pitfalls and backtracking, the gnashing of teeth and the aching cramps in fingers and back, the eyes that feel like they're on fire.

So join me for weekly survival tips which I'll be posting on Tuesdays here on the main page of the blog; older posts will be compiled on my NanoWriMo page (see tab above).

Good Luck & Happy Writing!

Claire H.

Summer Stress Relief

It's coming up on mid-summer, and you'd think that would be enough to keep me happy.  Alas, that's not so.  Not only have I hit a writing / revising slump for my new series, but life has sent another curve ball whizzing past my head.  Although my children are adults, you never stop worrying, caring -- and when you throw a hospital and doctors into the mix, the strain and anxiety ratchets up 100-fold.  So where does one escape, if only for a half-hour or so? 

Oddly enough, for me it's been cookbooks. 

Now you have to understand something about how I was brought up.  My own mother's idea of a gourmet meal was a TV dinner in front of the television.  The only time of the year when she outdid herself was Thanksgiving, but that's because my grandmother was there by her side, guiding her and sometimes taking over, especially for making the gravy. 

I've always joked around that my favorite recipe was my American Express card, but within the past year I've found so many beautiful cookbooks, memoirs and foodie fiction that it's become my morning routine to sit with my first cups of coffee and read about food, cooking, international cuisine and more.  And for those few hours, I am relatively stress-free. 

I've also found the joy -- the adventure -- of food shopping.  Walk into Trader Joe's or Whole Foods in the middle of winter and your senses are assailed with myriad scents and colors.  Who knew that a simple lemon could smell so wonderful when there's two feet of snow outside? 

Often the writing is wonderful -- sensuous (we romance writers appreciate that aspect), colorful and chock full of good humor.  And the photography is simply amazing.  If I could choose another career, I'd try food styling, I think.  So far, I've accrued about twenty cookbooks and memoirs, plus a few novels over the past ten months or so.

Maybe while I was working full-time and commuting 2.5 hours each day, all this escaped me because I was too damned tired.  Even now with the worry and stress of my child's health, to whip up a green smoothie or sip on an exotic tea blend for a few minutes is enough to take the edge off.

I hope to return to my writing soon, but that may have to wait a bit more.  In the meantime, a refreshing bowl of pasta with lemon and basil pesto is just the thing to bring a momentary smile to my face.  Now if I could only figure out a way to sneak it into the hospital, I'm sure recovery would follow shortly thereafter! 

Here's a partial list of books, mostly the memoirs and novels because I found that these, especially Marlena DeBlasi's A Thousand Days in Venice, eased me into this "final frontier":

Memoirs with recipes:

My Kitchen Year by Ruth Reichl
A Thousand Days in Venice by Marlena DeBlasi
A Thousand Days in Tuscany by M. DeBlasi
Mastering the Art of French Eating by Ann Mah
My Life in France by Julia Child
Keeping the Feast by Paula Butturini
My Table in Venice by Skye McAlpine


Novels about Cooking, Chefs and Food in general:

Pasta Wars by Elisa Lorello
The Coincidence of Coconut Cake by Amy Reichert
The Love Goddess' Cooking School by Melissa Senate
The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister
Bread Alone by Judith Hendricks

 

“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well,

if one has not dined well.” 

Virginia Woolf, A Room of One's Own

19th century fashion:

One of those dreary days here in New England -- cloudy, cool and damp. Home after a bit of surgery as a result of too many days / years in the sun and at the beach! Yes, remember the days of using baby oil as a suntan lotion? Who was to know back in those days?  No heavy lifting or working out (ho, hum, not a problem for me), but the stitches are a bit painful and now I have an amazing hairdo with headband reminiscent of the 1960s!

So I spent some down time going through my collection of ephemera -- papers, kimono scraps, vintage postcards and more. Just want to do something creative and fun in between writing my next Regency romance (sneak peak coming soon!). 

I picked up this portfolio years ago. I believe it was produced in the early 1900s and is a collection of 100 years of fashion from the 19th century, one page for each year. Below is 1800 - check out that gown on the right! OMG, how did they keep from popping out of their dresses, I ask you? No wonder the Regency period was so racy! 

But I think this will be fun to try and incorporate into my writings -- actual gowns and accessories that existed back then rather than racking my pee brain to come up with something that would probably resemble the Victorian era.  Now I can be accurate and pay homage to the era!  

English Beauty over Time

It's been a busy, hot summer but I feel like it's finally winding down a bit. Hard to think about writing when the garden and beaches beckon you outdoors! 

"English Rose: Feminine Beauty from Van Dyck to Sargent" - Exhibit at Bowes Museum

As I start to put together my preliminary notes for the next book, "Snowbound Seductions," I don't have much trouble envisioning my hero. But the heroine is a bit more troublesome. Then I came across this article about a new exhibition: "The English Rose: Feminine Beauty from Van Dyck to Sargent" running at the Bowes Museum, County Durham, England. 

Think of it -- 400 years worth of how English society depicted its ideals of beauty in portraiture. Now that is a resource that I can use as a writer!  Here are some images over time --

Such a wealth of information -- dress, hats, hair styling, jewelry and other adornments.  It certainly makes it easier to begin to craft not only the heroine, but also secondary characters.  And as this novelette will be set during the Christmas holidays, that will be my next subject area to research.

So I hope you stay tuned for more updates on Snowbound Seductions -- 

After 20+ years in the lower level of our home, next to the laundry room and with very little natural light, I have finally emerged upstairs into a new creative space -- my studio and writing den . . .

I think I may faint!

 If I were Virginia Woolf, I would add to my famous quote: A woman needs a room of one's own (preferably with a lock), money and time . . . and natural light. 

When the last child moves out of the family nest, it is a bittersweet moment. And then the ideas begin to percolate. I am very lucky that my husband spent the past three weeks scrubbing down wood floors, buffing, painting, hauling teenage debris, especially in the 90+ degree heat we've been having (I helped, too!).

Although the space is a work in progress, here are some of the ideas I pulled from Pinterest. Windows are a big thing with me, as you can tell.  And color, lots and lots of color.

We copied the colors of our favorite place -- Cape Cod -- using bright white for the trim and windows and a soft, pale grey for the walls, leaving the wood floors clear of rugs.

Right now I'm working on some hand-crocheted mandalas, which I'll make into buntings for around the windows (no curtains) and perhaps along the bookcases.  Here's a sneak peek at what they look like --

Once I have enough, I'll string them together and hang. I like to follow two excellent crochet gurus:  Lucy at Attic24 and Wink in the Netherlands.  If you're into crochet or knitting, you must check out their sites.  

Well, what does this have to do with writing romance novels?  It's just another way to keep the creative right brain functioning, even when you're taking a break.  I've already begun the opening scenes for my next romance.  Hint: something set during the holiday season involving some merry widows!  

What is your favorite spot to create, read, paint, sew, dream?

Share it!  Pin it!  The more, the merrier!

The Writer's Life

Putting the finishing touches to my regency novella ebook, Passionate Persuasions, and hope to hit the submit button this coming weekend.  

Scary stuff.  It's one thing to write, but it's another thing all together different to revise, edit, revise again . . . 

You cry, 

You tear your hair out because somewhere in the middle of all this creativity you changed the hero's name but didn't carry it throughout the entire story,

You changed the heroine's hair color, which now clashes with everything she wears,

You stopped writing for a few weeks and when you return, the story picks up in a different landscape, a different season, a different town . . .  where the heck are we?

And the list goes on. And that doesn't include any grammatical corrections, sentence structure, chapter endings . . . 

So why does one write?  Why torture oneself?

Here's the secret:  because it ultimately is fun, enticing, magical.  You get to create a whole world all your own (until you publish, that is) and live in this world forever.  Well, not forever but long enough to feel that your characters are part of the family.  You know their quirks, their passions, their problems, just like children.

Ah, there's the rub -- just like children.  Yes, they do tend to do what they want; they often do not do what you want them to do, and then once in a great while, they turn the tables on you and do something not in the script, thus forcing you to revise again.

And so it goes.

It's a misery.  It's a passion.  It's an enigma.  

But ask me if I'll continue writing, and I'll say yes, yes, and yes again -- until I'm halfway through the next editing/revising process on that story and the cycle comes round once again!

 

Creative Block and Writing

Creative block.  Ugh.  There's no excuse but when it hits, it hits hard.  The blank page stares back at you.  The white, glaring computer screen flashes in your face, mocking your lack of inspiration, increasing your perspiration.

Some writers advise to 'just keep on writing!'  Write anything, any piece of drivel that falls onto the page or the screen, as long as you continue to write.  My brain comprehends that, but my heart just feels too weary to continue the battle.

That's what struck me about the Agatha Christie quote you see above.  Inspiration can come at the oddest times and in the oddest places -- doing dishes, digging in the garden, waiting on line at the grocery store.  It comes in waves or it can dribble in like a slow leak.  

The thing is to be ready for it.  Some artists sketch on napkins; some writers scribble a few indiscernible notes on the back of a receipt.  But here's the thing:  I think the physical act of writing, whether it be with a pen or pencil, crayon or eyeliner pen, makes the mind retain the essence of the inspiration.  The kinetic movement of hand and instrument at the time of your flash makes the body and the mind remember more effectively.

So, yes, many of us dream of our "ideal" writing space -- perfect desk, perfect pen or laptop, perfect chair and cup of tea or java, perfect view (god, isn't this an awesome spot to write?) . . .
 

. . . but in the end it's simply capturing those flashes of inspiration on slips of paper and then plopping one's butt in the chair and writing.  When hitting those raw spots that are difficult to get through, move to long-hand writing.  Again, the physical act may prompt an even greater flow of thoughts and ideas, characterizations and plotting.  If editing and revising, that is a different process all together -- and I'll write more on that in a few days.  

What do you do to move through a creative block?

Share your tips with the rest of us!

Where do you write?

Wouldn't it be lovely?

Where do you like to write?  Do you have a favorite place in your home or outdoors?  How important is this space to you?

As a writer and painter, I tend to be very protective of my space.  It's not an ideal spot but it is mostly my space in the lower level of the house I share with my husband and son. 

It's a very female space, too.  They can have their man caves, but my space is colorful and filled with objects I love -- yarns, paints, beads, sewing machines, journals, fabrics and, of course, my computer.  This space works well in the winter (it's the warmest spot in the house) and in the dead of summer (it's the coolest spot in the house). 
 
But it's also part of the laundry area.  Ugh.  And the windows are small and let in very little natural light.  Double Ugh.

Now this can sometimes be a good thing as no one truly wants to go down there except to throw in a load of laundry; thus, I have the space pretty much to myself, which is good for creativity.

But as I look through the images I loaded onto my new Pinterest board -- "Writing Spaces" --  I yearn for a small space with lots of windows and natural light.  A space where I can lock the door and keep everyone out, at least for a few hours. 

We're getting a new outdoor shed delivered in a few weeks and I'm hoping to take over half of the space.  There are two windows, of which one will be mine.  And I dream of putting a small writing desk under that window, along with a creaky old chair and some comfy cushions.  Perhaps a small set of shelves to hold my journals and other books.

And so this summer will be the test to see if this "accommodation" works.  At least I'll be outside with natural light, warm breezes and my garden.  I'll just ignore the lawn mower and tools sitting on the other side of the shed.

Perhaps a large Japanese folding screen?  Oh, yeah -- works for me!

“A woman must have money and a room of her own

if she is to write fiction.”

― Virginia Woolf, A Room of One's Own

Sources of Inspiration

I've been working on my first Regency romance novel and, although I've read most of Jane Austen and seen so many of the excellent BBC movie variations, one still needs a bit of inspiration when working through the writing.

It's usually those small details, descriptive of the landscape or the manor house, that gives a work that added level of veracity, of impact for the reader.  Why else would readers want historical romance?  I have to think that it's the time period that intrigues, a bit like a time tunnel.  Go ahead, pick your period -- there's probably a romance set in each one.

That's why I love Pinterest.  If you can control the time spent on the great "P" -- and that's a big "if" -- there's so much out there to help spark those imaginative ideas or get a writer over the hurdle of writer's block.  Here's a few that I chose to help keep me churning out those words:

Image captured from Pinterest

Wouldn't this be the best image for the heroine as she enter's his lordship's grounds? Her first glimpse of his world . . . Stay or go, stay or go? Did I remember to pack those diamonds?  

Another shot of a classic Georgian-style manor house on a lovely English summer day --

And of course no English manor house would be complete without the venerable Rose Garden (this one was designed by Capability Brown).

Another source of inspiration and information are the British magazines that are now popping up at Barnes & Nobel and other larger bookstores.  This is one of my favorites, not only for the gorgeous images but also for the information on places, names, etc.

Of course, there is a word of warning:  between Pinterest and these magazines, you could spend your entire writing time immersed in viewing/reading!  What was that word count last time I looked?

Putting off the inevitable

 

Today I was home from work with a bit of the flu. It's a fairly warm and sunny day here for the end of January.  The birds are twittering away and for a few moments I sat on the deck just wrapped in a fleece jacket.  The sun felt good on my face, and for the time being I enjoyed my mug of hot coffee, watching the birds on the feeders.

But I knew I had to get back to the keyboard.  Isn't writing a tough task master?  

Can you count the ways that we procrastinate, putting off the inevitable?  I certainly can.

Dishes, laundry, paying bills, re-organizing the linen closet (ugh), naming the dust bunnies that continue to elude the vacuum, browsing on Pinterest (hours fly by!) . . . and the list goes on.

Why do we do this as writers?  It reminds me of artists who quake at the bare white canvas before slapping on a blob of paint.  Anything to kill off the taunting white paper / canvas.

Yes, we've all read the articles about how we should just roll up our sleeves and get down to it.  That the more we write, the easier it comes, so they say.

Writers like Julia Cameron have published a multitude of books for creative folk that speaks of daily rituals to help the writer / artist / poet slip into a realm of right-brained creativity.  And I do love to read her works even though there's a part of me somewhere deep in the back of my mind that doubts.

Easy to read, difficult to execute.  

So what did I end up doing today?  Rather than go back to my writings, I spent most of the afternoon creating this blog, adding links and other doodads.  Which I love to do, don't get me wrong. 

But no writing . . . nada . . . zip.  Although when I was on the deck earlier, I did run through some scenes in my head for my very first Regency romance.  

There, I said it.  My very first.  I am a beginner when it comes to romance.  For years I've pretty much dwelt in the world of mysteries; even wrote a few.  

The problem is, though, that writing is a very isolated craft, and I couldn't find an active, supportive mystery group in the area.  But romance writers are rabid about support.  You just need to check out those links on the right to see how much so!

This is my third year with RWA and CT RWA, and I'm hoping that "3" is the magic number.  That this year, I'll stick to it and see it through to the "happy ever after" ending -- a published novel or novella. 

That's the goal, so why not join me on this journey?  I'll stumble and detour, I'm sure.  But I'm sure I am not alone on that front. 

Thanks and WRITE ON!   
Claire