Monday, May 30, 2011

Those Two Words that Writers Hate.

So, after being super eager to get my blog up and running, I went and abandoned you all.  My bad!  I promise I’ll try harder to post a regular ... um ... post.  But what has me holed up, you ask?  Two words: Writer’s block. 

Well, it wasn’t writer’s block straight away.  I did some beta-reading (one of my awesome beta partners, Sarah Fine, sent me an un-put-down-able manuscript), I sent her my manuscript, we spoke, we bounced ideas off of one another, we laughed, I cried when it was decided my manuscript needed a complete overhaul – and then I got down to business. 

Everything was running smoothly.  I was adding the necessary chapters in order to have a consistently alternating PoV, instead of a couple of chapters for one character, then one chapter for another, and so on.  I was having fun adding more personality to my characters.  I tweaked, I deleted, I got over my fear of short chapters ... and now I’m stuck again. 

On a short chapter. 

It’s a pivotal moment.  I could add tension, but there’s already a lot of tension.  I could add more secrets, but there are already a lot of those, too.  It’s one night – the night before all hell breaks loose – and I’ve got nothing.  Nada.  Zip.  But I NEED to come up with something in order to maintain that alternating PoV.

So I’m procrastinating.  I’m eating – a lot.  I’m checking Twitter every three seconds, and even scraping the bottom of the barrel by checking Facebook, too.  I’m ready to pounce on any DM, any Gmail Chat window, any comment that would give me a good excuse to minimise my manuscript document.

My question to you is: What do you do when you’ve got writer’s block?  Do you read?  Do you watch TV?  Do you exercise?  Do you sit at the computer and stare at the screen until an idea jumps out at you?

Please answer me.  Checking blog comments will give me something to do. J

Oh, and you can check out Sarah Fine’s blog here.  If you haven’t already, I promise you, you won’t regret it.  It’s coated in awesomesauce. J

Monday, May 2, 2011

New Kid on the Block!

Well, here I am with a shiny new blog ...

*takes a deep breath* ...

*leans back in chair and drums fingers on table* ...

*checks watch and glances around room* ...

Oh, right!  I should start by writing something for followers (hello!) to read.  So, gentle viewers readers, this is what you should know about me - if you don't already know me, that is. :)

I'm short, loud, honest (sometimes a little too honest - think Anya, from Buffy), and easily distracted.  I'm a wife, a mother, a horse rider, and a skater.  I love dancing, but you won't find me in a nightclub these days.  On a Friday night you're likely to find me playing Halo Reach with 11 of my geek friends, eating pizza, and smack-talking the other team.  Oh yes.    

I'm a medical scientist who went and got a 'real' job, just as my mother had told me to do.  "Use your brain," she'd said, "and do what you love in your spare time."

What she failed to mention was I'd be constantly spending my 'real' job time wishing I'd followed my heart, instead of my brain.  It took me around 12 years to rediscover myself through writing.  It was 2009, and my son was just a baby.  I had some free time, and an idea for a paranormal romance novel (and no, it wasn't about vampires!).  Two years later, I'm just as in love with my idea and my characters as I was when I started turning images and conversations into chapters.  No, actually, I probably love them more.  My only regret is that I didn't follow my dreams sooner. 

So if you'd like to follow my journey, I'd be more than happy to share it with you.  Please, feel free to introduce yourselves in the comments section so that I can get to know you, too!