Focus on Writing

At our last critique group meeting, we were discussing how each of us can start at the same place but write a completely different story, because our genre focus is different. One person writes a comedy, another a mystery.

So, just for kicks, we wanted to let our readers in on the fun. Below is a scenario – leave us a comment and tell what happens next in your world.

Scene setting . . . there’s a man in a boat in the middle of a large lake.

I know – simple huh? So tell us what happens next.  I love everything paranormal – so in my story, the man in the boat is attacked by a dragon and an epic battle ensues.

Tell us... What happens in your story?

Foodie Romance Author!

Interview with Author 

Kimberly Kincaid

I don't remember the first time I walked into a library, though I really wish I did. I can only imagine my wide eyed gaze as I looked at stacks upon stacks, row after row of glorious books! To this day, I continue to be amazed at the never ending choices of genre before me each time I walk into a book store or library. I've had many a love affair with certain genres, forsaking all others only to discover that yes, I love the new ones I stumble across, too. Just like the newest conquest in my Kindle! 

Now, I went into this novella slightly biased,*I happen to know the author personally and adore her style* 

but, let me tell you, she knocked my socks off with this debut! I cannot wait to read her Pine Mountain Series coming out next year. 

Michele: Alright, dish! What inspired you to write this novel?

KK: I had some time in between projects, and my agent suggested a novella or two. I was a little (okay, a lot) writer's blocked, so I flipped through an issue of Cosmopolitan magazine, and saw a gorgeous photo of a model in a long purple skirt. She became my heroine in about three seconds flat! And from there, the whole story snowballed onto the page.

Michele: Care to share how you can possibly think, cook and write about food so much yet rock those heels?

KK: Practice! No, at home, I am much more relaxed and mostly barefoot all the time. I cook a lot at home, whether for research, personal enjoyment or with my family. But when I am out, I am a total clothes horse. I'm allllll about the shoes!

Michele: I may or may not have been caught out peeping on your Friday Man Wars on your Facebook page. Might I have stumbled across your inspiration for Noah there? 

KK: Yep. Probably a lot! I used actor Taylor Kinney as my brain candy for Noah. I wanted someone a little rough around the edges, with that definite bad-boy air, but who was still a definite hero beneath it all. Taylor was perfect, but I'll admit, trying to work while his picture was on the idea board over my desk was a little giggle-worthy sometimes!

Michele: Any deleted scenes you hated seeing hit the floor?

KK: There always are. I joke with my critique partners that I will write 40,000 words just to end up with a 30,000 word novella (you don't even want to know what my full single-title books look like in-process!) For this one, I wanted to incorporate Noah's brothers a little more than I was able to. I had a scene all mapped out in my head where they came to visit and met Violet. But, sadly, it wasn't meant to be!

Michele: Last, but definitely not least, remember our class at RWA 2012? Have you managed to work any cocktail experiences into your upcoming novels? 

KK: Yep! I'm actually working on expanding my full-length Pine Mountain series, and the next proposed book features a bartender as the heroine.

Michele: Are you sharing any details yet on your next release?

KK: I can't keep that stuff under wraps-- I'm too excited! My next digital release is Jason's story (Violet's brother and Noah's partner). It will be out in late May. His heroine is the feisty owner of Mac's Diner, and they are thrown together in some very unusual circumstances. After that, my first Kensington release will hit shelves in October. The Sugar Cookie Sweetheart Swap is the kickoff to the Pine Mountain series, and it's an anthology with Donna Kauffman and Kate Angell.

Thank you so much Kimberly for stopping by today and the opportunity to chat with you! 

Click on Kimberly's picture above to visit her website or follow the links below.

Goodreads

Amazon

Violet Morgan puts the personal in personal chef, catering to clients who want the full cooking experience rather than a culinary drop-and-dash. But when her brother’s police detective partner is injured in the line of duty and needs help during recovery, she makes an exception. Violet lost her father to the job seven years ago, and worries for her brother’s safety every day. The last thing she wants is to get up-close with her brother’s career-cop partner…again.

For Noah Blackwell, being a detective isn’t just a lifestyle, it’s a legacy. So when he’s forced to take mandatory leave and deal with the trauma amnesia keeping him from identifying his shooter, it’s a literal case of adding insult to injury— and now he’s got to deal with an unwanted culinary caregiver on top of it. Never mind that he and Violet shared a steamy, secret kiss last New Year’s Eve. She rejects everything related to the job, and Noah’s not about to be distracted from recovering his memory and getting back to what he does best. No matter how pretty Violet is.

Despite their differences, Violet and Noah share a surprising bond in the kitchen that grows into something neither of them expect. But as Noah heals and their feelings for each other extend from the kitchen to the bedroom, Violet knows she must make an impossible choice. She may wear her heart on her sleeve when it comes to food, but can she risk it all to put love on the line?

New Release e-novella, Love On The Line, March 2013!

ABOUT KIMBERLY KINCAID

I had the pleasure of meeting this beauty at RWA 2012 and let me say, she is as adorable as she looks. I owe my amazing week to a small group of extremely friendly authors, of which she is a part. I learned a lot at the feet of the gracious Kimberly and I'm not just talking about where she picks up her fabulous footwear.  But, I digress, without further ado, I give you...

Kimberly Kincaid writes contemporary romance novels that split the difference between sexy and sweet, taking the traditional idea of boy-meets-girl and infusing it with a sassy magic all her own. She believes in fiery yet flawed characters destined for a crash-course in falling in love-- usually the hard way-- and injects her trademark humor as well as poignant touches into her writing to create her stories. Kimberly's writing journey has led down some bumpy roads (that first manuscript is under the bed, where it is very likely to stay), but there has been some fresh pavement too (her second manuscript earned her very first contest final, and landed the fantastic Maureen Walters at the Curtis Brown Literary Agency). One thing is certain -- the wild ride of being a writer is a lot richer in both its ups and downs because of friends and readers along the path. When Kimberly's not sitting cross-legged in an ancient desk chair known as "The Pleather Bomber", she can be found practicing obscene amounts of yoga, whipping up anything from enchiladas to eclairs in her kitchen, or curled up with her nose in a book. She resides in northern Virginia with her wildly patient husband and their three daughters.

(click on image for Goodreads)

   Violet Morgan puts the personal in personal chef, catering to clients who want the full cooking experience rather than a culinary drop-and-dash. But when her brother’s police detective partner is injured in the line of duty and needs help during recovery, she makes an exception. Violet lost her father to the job seven years ago, and worries for her brother’s safety every day. The last thing she wants is to get up-close with her brother’s career-cop partner…again.

   For Noah Blackwell, being a detective isn’t just a lifestyle, it’s a legacy. So when he’s forced to take mandatory leave and deal with the trauma amnesia keeping him from identifying his shooter, it’s a literal case of adding insult to injury— and now he’s got to deal with an unwanted culinary caregiver on top of it. Never mind that he and Violet shared a steamy, secret kiss last New Year’s Eve. She rejects everything related to the job, and Noah’s not about to be distracted from recovering his memory and getting back to what he does best. No matter how pretty Violet is.

   Despite their differences, Violet and Noah share a surprising bond in the kitchen that grows into something neither of them expect. But as Noah heals and their feelings for each other extend from the kitchen to the bedroom, Violet knows she must make an impossible choice. She may wear her heart on her sleeve when it comes to food, but can she risk it all to put love on the line?

Anything For You by Jessica Scott

Adorable! What a wonderfully written Love Story! Although, if you haven't yet read the rest of the author's series you should do so.  This isn't a stand alone, but a continuation of a couple from Because of You, the first book in the Coming Home Series.

Now, on to what I thought of the novella. What an emotional story! Well written, attention holding, heart-wrenching then warming read!  I loved it and will definitely be picking up the entire series.

My husband is ex-Army and I usually have a very hard time reading anything to do with deployments, September 11th or combat. That being said, I had the pleasure of meeting this writer at the 2012 RWA Conference in Anaheim, CA.  Her personality alone won me over to reading anything she'll ever write. After a bit of initial hesitation I was pleased to find that the over-whelming honesty of both character's plight had my heart more involved than my own stressful memories.

Thank you for such a well written, emotionally engaging, love story!

2012 Reading List

Today has been one of those no-good, rotten, very bad days. I don't really know why. Just one of those days when you wake up in the morning and look outside and the clouds are all scowling at you and the roads all seem to be sharpening their fingernails against the pavement, just waiting to slash your tires.

I've been sitting in my writing studio contemplating how much I don't want to write today, feeling like a fiction failure, arguing with all those little voices in the back of my skull. One keeps asking why I'm so eager to continue writing while the other keeps whispering encouragement. "Look at last year," it says. "You've come so far as a writer and learned so much since then. You simply can't give up right now." Why does this one only ever whisper while the other one always shouts?

Still, that little voice got me to wondering just how far I've really come since the beginning of 2012. For starters, I began entering the quarterly Writers of the Future contest last year and submitted two short stories, both of which were rejected. I'm still unpublished and still unknown, but I have actually come a long way as a writer from where I was a year ago and I suppose that's the important thing. I'm not actually entering the WOTF contest to win; I promised myself when I started that I wouldn't focus on winning because I have no control over whether I win or not. I enter because it gives me a quarterly deadline to reach and it keeps me writing and submitting.

I read a TON of books last year, probably more in one year than I've read at all in the last twenty years. Many of them were science fiction but many were also non-fiction, mostly about the craft of writing. I look at the list and actually start feeling pretty good at what I've been able to accomplish and that little whispering voice gets a little louder and I sense that it's smiling.

Both Stephen King and Orson Scott Card have said it over and over and I absolutely believe that it's true: if you want to be a writer, there are two things you must do -- write a lot and read a lot. At some point between starting college and starting my family, I lost my love for reading. Maybe it was working through the night shift after attending a full day of classes and homework. Maybe it was the transition from being single to being married to being a Dad. Maybe it was one bad career move after another. I've just been so busy over the last twenty years dealing with life that I forgot how rewarding a good book can be.

As the kids get older and leave the house and my career stabilizes and I settle into some sense of a normalized routine, I've taken the time to slow down and find ways to escape all the craziness of the day. Writing lets me escape into worlds that I create, where I can hang out with extraordinary people from my head. Reading lets me escape into other people's worlds and hang out with people they created.

Here's a list of the authors and books that let me enter their worlds last year:

FICTION

1. Issac Asimov - Foundation's Edge
2. Nancy Farmer - House of the Scorpion
3. Charles Brokaw - The Atlantis Code
4. Ray Bradbury - Fahrenheit 451
5. Anne McCaffrey - Changelings
6. Arthur C. Clarke - Childhood's End
7. Robert Heinlein - A Stranger in a Strange Land
8. Steven Polansky - The Bradbury Report
9. HG Wells - War of the Worlds
10. James Patterson - Daniel X
11. James Dashner - The Maze Runner
12. Amy Kathleen Ryan - Glow
13. Susan Beth Pfeffer - Life As We Knew It
14. Ruth White - You'll Like It Here...Everybody Does
15. Arthur C. Clarke - The Hammer of God
16. Ray Bradbury - Something Wicked This Way Comes
17. Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson - Hellhole
18. Mary Shelley - Frankenstein
19. Edgar Rice Burroughs - A Princess of Mars
20. Kurt Vonnegut - Cat's Cradle
21. William R. Forstchen - One Second After
22. Mary E. Pearson - The Fox Inheritance
23. Diana Palmer - The Morcai Battalion
24. Michael Grant - BZRK
25. Anna Sheehan - A Long, Long Sleep
26. Orson Scott Card - Earth Unaware
27. Jeremy Robinson - Second World
28. David Weber - Out of the Dark
29. John Scalzi - Fuzzy Nation
30. Frank Herbert - Dune

NON-FICTION

1. Annie Dillard - The Writing Life
2. Stephen King - On Writing
3. Ray Bradbury - Zen in the Art of Writing
4. Orson Scott Card - How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy
5. Sol Stein - On Writing
6. James Scott Bell - Plot and Structure
7. Donald Maass - Writing the Breakout Novel
8. Orson Scott Card - Characters and Viewpoint
9. William Zinsser - On Writing Well
10. William Noble - Conflict, Action, & Suspense
11. David G. Hartwell - Age of Wonders: Exploring the World of Science Fiction
12. Gloria Kempton - Dialogue

Forty-two books and I feel like I've only scratched the surface of what I need to know about writing. In addition to reading a lot, I wrote three short stories, joined a writing group that meets fairly actively every two weeks, and attended my first writing conference, where I met lots of outstanding people during helpful workshops.

Now that I've finished looking back, that whispering voice is beginning to shout, "What are you waiting for now? Get back to writing!" so I guess that's what I need to do for the next few hours.

If you feel like you're lacking motivation to write and wondering why you bother plugging along in a field that sounds so easy but ends up being so damn tough, take a look back at what you've been able to accomplish in the last year. Chances are, you've come much further than you thought. And if you can find a way to keep moving forward, this year will be even more productive and rewarding.

Choose Yes if you mean No?

I don't know about you but I absolutely Hate those pesky convoluted questions written by lawyers that land on the ballot. Does my yes choice mean yes or no? I have to read them several times and usually I'm still at a loss for what to choose.  So, now I go to www.ElectionsOnThe.Net print the ballot a few weeks ahead of time and do my research. I can poll my smarter friends and generally we figure out what the question means.

I know, you've heard enough about voting this election season.  Well, I'm not hear to weigh in with my opinion, campaign for any person or cause. I simply want to share a resource and hope that everyone educates themselves with the facts.  Nothing worse for me than being asked to make a decision and regretting my choice later because I didn't have all the facts.

If you are like me and don't like to be surprised or tripped up by verbage, then take a minute or two and search for your state's ballot.  I've already got mine, highlighted and stuffed in my purse.

Miss Wheaton's Whiskers by Susan Gee Heino

New Release  - Kindle Edition

Miss Wheaton's Whiskers

by Susan Gee Heino

A Regency Romance

Her little white lies are no match for true love...
One little lie--the tiniest whisker--throws pampered Miss Wheaton into a pickle. Soon one lie leads to another, and now scandal is dogging her every move. What's worse, she's found herself in the arms of the notorious duke who caused all the trouble! Will this tangle of falsehood wrap them in ruin, or will Miss Wheaton's whiskers lead to true love?

Quick! Go check it out!  I'll wait.

Congratulations on the new release Susan! 
What a beautiful cover!

Of Ducks and Witches

If she weighs the same as a duck...she's made of wood...and therefore...she's a witch!

I don't recall a time when I've ever stepped onto a political or social soapbox, but by gum I just have to say something about this whole Chick-Fil-A situation. Not about what actually was or wasn't said or which Constitutional Amendments might have been violated or even whether the pro-family right is a better or worse position than the liberal left.

What really gets my boxers in a bunch is how quick everyone is to allow misrepresentations in the media to inflame their thoughtless passions. I think the Zombie Apocalypse started many years ago when sensationalist media started eating people's brains. It's times like these that make me glad to be a writer, where I can escape from the chaos of reality and create worlds where people actually use their heads before grabbing torches to light up the old woman with nose warts and a black hat.

Maybe it's the way I was raised. My parents always encouraged me to be skeptical about the things I see and hear, to ask questions, to have doubts, to do a little research on news and issues, and to hear all sides before drawing my own conclusions. I don't depend on other people to tell me what or how to think and I absolutely REFUSE to become impassioned about something I first read on the Internet.

It didn't take long after Dan Cathy's interview statements were taken out of context by the media that liberals everywhere became outraged and photos began appearing all over social websites. The most ridiculous of these snapshots depicted billboards at national fast food chains carrying the slogan "We support Chick-Fil-A, now try to boycott us!" People began Liking all these pictures and sharing them on their personal accounts. Did anyone even once stop to wonder about the validity of any of this? My, how easily our nation is distracted and flustered by anyone these days with digital imaging software and access to the Internet. The pictures reminded me of my absolute favorite quote from Facebook:

"Don't believe everything you see on the internet" - Abraham Lincoln

This whole Chick-Fil-A hype is really a call to arms for writers everywhere to remember our solemn duty to create work that inspires and restores order back into today's over-stimulated, over-reactive, over-entertained, over-educated, over-sensationalized, and over-manipulated society. Let's give people a reason to ask for their brains back because there's an awfully tremendous need for them right now.

RWA 2012- Day Two

I've already met some very lovely ladies! Not that I expected any differently. But being a newbie at this Amazing and Large conference is super overwhelming.  That being said, everyone has been very helpful, kind, informative and friendly.

My first friend is Tracy Brogan from the Dashing Duchesses! We met in the Chicago airport during our layover and she has been wonderful. Guiding me where I need to go, giving me very useful advice. The best of which has been, "Empty your bag frequently, you WILL keep getting free books and promotional swag."

So very right! I already have 12 new books just by checking in!!!!  Can't wait to see what else I come away with.  Got my camera at the ready too!  Hope to update with photos later today!

RWA 2012 - Day One

Packed my bag last night. Yep one bag. VERY heavy.

Got up at 5:45 this morning, Ugh. With a capital U.

Drove the hour to Dayton, OH.Splurged and parked in a luxury valet site, even getting the oil changed in my truck while I'm gone. Very nice to have full service.

Check in was fun. Two separate couples in front of me had the strangest checked 'luggage'. Couple one took over 45 mins to check in with their three children and two unknown animals in their two crates. I never did get a good look but I'm thinking cats or maybe ferrets. I watched at they had to use a drill to put holes in the crates all the way around. That was great for the animals! Then run zip ties through each set of holes. TWO crates, may I remind you. Then, after that task was complete (Which the solitary male ticket attendant on duty did not multi-task like any good woman and usher anyone else through while he waited on the task to be completed.) next came a mountain of paperwork for each crate along with I'm not sure what all documentation needed to be strapped to the crates as well as individual bags of food.  And I'm not even to the good part of the story yet.  Next, he picks up both crates.  I'm thinking, here we go, finally he'll put them on the conveyor belt and it'll be my turn soon; I'm second in line.  Nope, hopes are dashed. He steps over the baggage scale and walks across the lobby to a special door in the corner with a TSA person.  There is another 10 min or so lost while he helps them check the animals there.

SERIOUSLY?

They couldn't have been directed gone over there in the first place?  Has no one heard of efficiency?

While this is going on a second ticket agent has shown up. Poor gentleman has the good fortune of getting the one person who is checking a FIREARM! Really?  This is a post 9/11 world!  Where have you been?????  Best part, it only took them five minutes to fill out the necessary paperwork and turn over the item. That's it.

Here's your lesson. Animals are considered more dangerous on a plane than a firearm. Next time, ship the animals UPS and pack your gun.

Storms are still a brewing in the Dayton, OH area and in Chicago, my connecting flight to Anaheim, CA. I will get to the RWA Conference. I know I will.  And dearest Susan Gee Heino will be waiting with a frosty cold one. I'm going to really need it.



*****11:48am UPDATE******
In bound flight was just cleared to land. Yay! Hopefully, I'll be Chicago bound soon!

Headed to RWA 2012!!!!!

I'm heading out next Tuesday for the 2012 Romance Writers of America Conference in Anaheim, CA.  I absolutely, cannot, wait!  Six days of girl time with my favorite authors.

Last night, I got together with the highly talented historical romance author, Susan Gee Heino and planned my wardrobe for the week. I have picked several very exciting and beautiful dresses along with matching shoes. In my small social sphere I'm well known for my addiction to footwear. See below picture of my must haves!

I can already see that one or two of my favorites is missing.  I really need a taller shelving system, don't I?

So, after planning what I should pack, we moved on to what goals I would like to accomplish during the event itself.  Here is where I might go a bit fan girl crazy. You see, I'm a big, HUGE some might say, Sabrina Jeffries fan. I own every book she's ever written. Even the anthologies.
I buy them on release day.
Always.


Doesn't she just look like a lovely, fun person to know?

I have made it my goal, albeit not a writerly growth goal, to meet Ms. Jeffries during those few days.  That being said...I have also warned dearest Susan that I, in all likelihood, will probably make a fool of myself and bumble my own name.  If I can even spit it out.

I have given Susan the task of getting my picture, if I am still up right and conscious. Sabrina, if you are reading this (which I hope you are!) Please do not be worried that I am one of those crazy fans who is going to stalk you right into the ladies room, nor am I going to jump up and down and scream. Well, at least I hope not, anyway. But, in all seriousness, I have read your stories for all of my adult life.  Some of them upwards of ten times! You are big part of why I have begun the monumental task of putting my stories in front of people who are going to critique my work, judge me. Decide if I can change my official occupation to Writer.

Her kind words of encouragement written on her website to her fans helped me find the gumption to dive into the writing world wholeheartedly.

I realize that I am staring into the face of great opportunity at this conference.  There are important workshops given by amazing authors. Agents, editors, publishers....the list goes on of the who's who in the publishing industry that I will be rubbing shoulders with. I plan to attend everything I can. But, from the heart of a young girl, the most exciting aspect of this coming week is that I'll get to meet someone who's words made my heart leap, sore, dive and love. I can only hope I get the chance to say thank you.

Don't forget to check back in.  I will have plenty of pictures and stories to post!

Blog Noveling

When I was in college, while bored in my Philosophy class in sophomore year, I started writing a story about a girl named Liz McLancy, the second oldest of seven kids.  At the time, I didn't know what I was writing.  I knew the McLancy family was having a reunion.  I knew Liz didn't want to go home for said reunion due to a scarred past.

Other than that...I had no idea.

Fast forward to the summer after graduation and I am still working on that novel, writing almost every day.  I finish it by the end of the summer, and a month or so later I start revising it.  This would become the first novel I would send into the world.

I stopped, though, because a year later, my writing voice and style had changed SO much that it didn't sound like me anymore.  And I also realized that there wasn't a huge market for the story of a radical cult in the YA market right now (on top of that, I wasn't 100% certain it WAS Young Adult).

I've been wanting to re-revise this novel for some time now.  It holds a special place in my heart and is almost constantly in the back of my mind.  And so...I'm blogging this novel as I fix it.

Yeah.  You heard right.

http://www.northebattletothestrong.blogspot.com



I will be posting the novel sequentially, chapter by chapter (or, as it is, parts of chapter by parts of chapter) until you have the full novel.  A FREE NOVEL!  On a BLOG!

I'm very excited about this project!

I'll be posting parts of the novel on Mondays and Wednesdays, and some Fridays.  On other Fridays, I'll be posting little "behind the scenes"-esque posts about the characters, the idea, the research...answering your questions...anything.

Also, if you go and "like" my Facebook author page, you will be certain to get word of the new parts going up as soon as they happen!

I hope to see you around my blog novel and I hope you enjoy it!

Three Questions: Getting to Know Your Setting

Location, location, location!  In real estate, they say that location is everything. In your writing, SETTING plays a significant role.

1)  Real or imaginary?  If your location is a real place, have you actually been there?  If not, best be planning a road trip or else some serious research.  You need to truly know a place in order to write about it so that your readers believe it. You don’t want to be called out on your descriptions by the locals – that’s something that could completely blow your credibility. Conversely, if the town you write about is entirely fictional, you need to describe it so your readers will believe that it actually exists or possibly could.


2) Big city lights or down-home hospitality? In some instances, your location actually becomes a supporting character. Think of Sex and the City or The Andy Griffith Show. In Sex and the City, New York plays a major role. The show would not have been the same if it were set in Detroit, for example. Same thing with The Andy Griffith Show. Mayberry has a flavor, a texture, a feel so that not only do you believe it is real, but you can actually imagine what it would be like to visit, or even live there yourself.


3) Past, present or future? The Help would be a very different novel had Kathryn Stockett set it in 1942 or 2012. Instead, the setting is 1962, in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement. How would your story be different if it were set in the 1980’s? (Just think how much technology has changed since then!) What if it were set 10 years into the future?

Setting is too often neglected in discussions on good story telling. However, a little extra attention to this detail will reward your audience with a deeper reading experience!

If you don't find Beth here, come look out back in the garden.

Iridescent

Every so often, I stumble upon a song that pertains so perfectly to whatever project I'm working on at the time that I can't help but go buy it on iTunes right away.  This happened to me with the Linkin Park song "Iridescent" a couple of months ago, and it hasn't left my iPod since.  It's just one of those songs that fits perfectly in the mind of my main character in my dystopian project.




You were standing in the wake of devestation
You were waiting on the edge of the unknown
With the cataclysm raining down
Insides crying "save me now"
You were there and possibly alone

Do you feel cold and lost in desperation?
You build up hope, but failure's all you've known
Remember all the sadness and frustration
And let it go, let it go

And in the burst of light that blinded every angel
As if the sky had blown the heavens into stars
You felt the gravity of tempered grace
Falling into empty space
No one there to catch you in their arms

Do you feel cold and lost in desperation?
You build up hope, but failure's all you've known
Remember all the sadness and frustration
And let it go, let it go

Caption This!

Here is my three-year-old son, don't we all just wish we could capture that much energy and excitement for even one day?

Three Questions: Getting to Know Your Character

So, here's a quick quiz for you.  How well do you know your character?  Can you answer these three questions about him/her?


1)  What kind of underwear does your character wear?  Tighty whities?  Boxer briefs?  Bikini?  Commando?  Underwear choice says a lot about a person. 


2)  If your character saw a penny laying on the ground, would they stoop to pick it up?  Would they pick it up only if it were "heads up" because they are superstitious?  Would they pick it up because they were so broke that they needed a measly penny?  Would they step over it?  Would they miss it completely because they have their head in the clouds?

 

 3)  Who would your character take a bullet for?  Their family?  A friend?  What about their boss?  How about a complete stranger?  Nobody? 

Obviously, your reader doesn't need to know your answers. (Unless you are writing romance, in which case, question number one may be of paramount importance.)  However, the better able YOU are to answer these things then the more rich and complex your character will ultimately be!

Happy writing!!

Some days, you can find Beth here:  bethnbijoux

My Ever-Inspiring Roomies

These are my roommates.  This is an example of what "normal" is around our apartment.  And THIS is why I will never have a lack of inspiration when it comes to my characters...



(I'll probably have to sleep with my door locked tonight, for posting this on the internet.  Or perhaps I will just have to...not tell them.  That seems the safer option!)

Fish Frenzy!

I could NOT resist! This will be me tonight after work.  I have the great fortune to work for one of my best friends. Well, she is the back bone of this office, keeps all of us on task, on track and focused.  She left today for a destination wedding and, well, we're already headless chickens!

Miss you much dearest!

Welcome To Summer.....

Summer is my favorite season. As a homeschooling mother of four I need the slower pace of the summer to take a break from my frantic schedule. As a family we enjoy swimming, hiking, and camping. For personal activities, I enjoy the slower pace to catch up on cleaning/organizing my house, walking my dog, and of course, writing! How about you...what do you enjoy most about summer?

Bloomin' Wednesday with Beth

"People from a planet without flowers would think

we must be mad with joy the whole time

to have such things about us." 

~Iris Murdoch



Poppies



Sweet William, Bachelor Buttons, Coreopsis

Lupine, Dianthus