Thursday, August 31, 2006
What to Write?
I created this blog with every intention of coming in here and discuss my writing. But I haven't had much to say. What can I say about it? I write all the time. So what to write here? I could pick a topic and write about that. But structured writing is never good for me. I always end up going on tangents.
So maybe I can somehow combine the personal with my writing.
I've always wanted to write. There was never a time in my life when that wasn't what I wanted to do when I grew up. From the moment I held a pen (or crayon) I wanted to create words. I wanted to lose myself in a story. Growing up, I would go out in the backyard, sit down on my swing and daydream. I made up a life for myself that was usually pretty outrageous and centered around television shows I watched. I remember loving the bedroom the boys at on Different Strokes and imagining I had one like that.
I could daydream anywhere. When I went to the grocery store, I would imagine I was shopping for my own family. I would buy office supplies (now I just say, WHY?) and pretend like I was in a office. As I got older, I would imagine what it was like when I had a child and in bed at night, I would imagine myself spooning with a man.
When I had my child at twenty, my dreams kind o went to the side. I don't remember writing that much back then. I was still reading and daydreaming to myself, but I wasn't putting them on paper anymore.
Then something happened. Not just to me, but to the whole area I lived in. The DC sniper. Suddenly, I realized how random life was and that I was going to write the book I always wanted to write, I'd better do it soon! That's how On the Run was born. Is it the best book I will write? That remains to be seen. But it will always have a special place in my heart. It was born out of fear and determination. It helped me discover forgotten dreams.
Well, I'm not sure what I'm going to write in this blog from now on, but at least I found a place to start. I will try to keep it up.
Saturday, August 12, 2006
Memories
Does anyone like flashbacks in books? In my first two books, I wrote a lot of them. But in my defense, there was a good reason for that. Both books dealt with couples that knew each other in the past. During edits for On the Run, a lot of them got edited out, but a couple remained. I hope they didn't distract from the story.
In my second book, the one I'm tweaking now before submitting, I find myself deleting a lot of them. Mainly because they seem so corny to me now. Part of me has doubts about what I'm doing. What if people like them? But another part tells me to go with my instinct. If I don't feel they need to be there, then I'm probably right.
In my current WIP, the third book in my racing series, I don't have to worry about it since the couple are meeting for the first time. Thank God. That was a nice change.
In other news, I finished a couple stories I submitted for anthologies. Now I just have to wait and see if they are accepted for submission. I think they are crap, but as a wise woman told me, most writers think the same way. LOL We are a confident bunch.
Do you think writers like Nora Roberts ever send manuscripts to their publishers, saying, "It's crap. But the best I can do." Somehow I don't think so. Maybe it's just newbies like me. Of course I didn't actually say that in the email. Only in my head. And here. And to anyone who will listen to me. ;)
Back to writing crap...
Memories
Does anyone like flashbacks in books? In my first two books, I wrote a lot of them. But in my defense, there was a good reason for that. Both books dealt with couples that knew each other in the past. During edits for On the Run, a lot of them got edited out, but a couple remained. I hope they didn't distract from the story.
In my second book, the one I'm tweaking now before submitting, I find myself deleting a lot of them. Mainly because they seem so corny to me now. Part of me has doubts about what I'm doing. What if people like them? But another part tells me to go with my instinct. If I don't feel they need to be there, then I'm probably right.
In my current WIP, the third book in my racing series, I don't have to worry about it since the couple are meeting for the first time. Thank God. That was a nice change.
In other news, I finished a couple stories for anthologies. Now I just have to see if they are accepted for submission. I think they are crap, but as a wise woman told me, most writers think the same way. LOL We are a confident bunch.
Do you think writerss like Nora Roberts ever send manuscripts to their publishers, saying, "It's crap. But the best I can do." Somehow I don't think so. Maybe it's just newbies like me. Of course I didn't actually say that in the email. Only in my head. And here. And to anyone who will listen to me. ;)
Back to writing crap...
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
It's Amazing...
What a couple good reviews will do to your mood. LOL Just when I was ready to throw in the towel (okay, not really), BAM! I get two in a row.
Here is one: http://www.coffeetimeromance.com/BookReviews/Ontherun.html
And here is the other: http://novelspot.net/node/2016
What is it about feedback that makes a writer need it so much? LOL I printed them out and hung them on my cubicle at work. I must've read them a hundred times.
I just hope it makes more people read it. :o)
Now I need to stop drooling over them and actually write...
Friday, August 04, 2006
What now?
Ever since I won the contest sponsored by Genesis Promotions and Linden Bay Romance, my life has been unbelievable. Not a moment goes by that I don't think, "How did this happen to me?"
Months of people patting me on the back while I scrambled furiously to do rounds and rounds of edits. Finally... It's out!
People start reading it, I start promoting. Then I wait for all the fans. But my inbox remains empty. What happened? Despite the fact I I knew it would take a couple years before I could really make a name for myself, if ever, I realize now that I really did expect something more.
Don't get me wrong, I thank God everyday for this opportunity to be published. I do. I just don't know what comes next. I guess I'll get back to my second manuscript and keep on swimming and then maybe I will find out what.
If not, at least know I tried.
Thursday, August 03, 2006
The Legend of Writer's Block
I've always considered Writer's Block to be like The Bermuda Triangle. Everybody denies its existence, yet I find myself lost there all time.
I've read many times that Writer's Block is all in your mind. I think it was Nora Roberts who said there was no such thing. So with that in mind, I sit down to write while refusing to let myself get deterred by such nonsense.
But it's crap. Complete and utter crap. If I'm bored with what I'm writing, I know other people aren't going to buy it.
I've always suspected that I have ADHD tendencies. I have thought of getting checked out and, besides being distracted by other things, I'm afraid that ADHD is what makes me who I am and if I get medicated or something, I won't be the same funny person I am now. *g*
What if that is my power? Then suddenly I think I'm the same person, but other people are thinking, "Well, it looks like Melanie, but she's soooo boring." Kind of like when Fun Bob quit drinking on Friends.
Anyway, I digress (another ADHD habit), how do I get past this block or whatever it's called? What if I'm on deadline and this hits me? That would not be good.
Even writing this right now, I'm thinking, "Are you really going to post something this damn boring?" Well, I am, because I swore I was going to blog here. Just didn't say it would be entertaining.
Until next time...
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Let's see how this goes...
Someone suggested I start blogging as a way to promote myself. I figured it couldn't hurt.
I'm a writer. I have written a book called On the Run that was published in ebook (soon to be out in pod) by Linden Bay Romance. It's a book about a couple struggling to live without each until they are reunited by circumstances beyond their control. That's my description. The real one is at:
http://lindenbayromance.com
I also have my own website at: http://authormelanieanderson.com
Please feel free to come by and sign my guestbook! I love when people do that and it doesn't happen a lot.
A little something about me... I'm 32 and live in Northern Virginia with my husband, my 12 year old son, and my dog. I work in a dead end job that pays the bills. I love to write. It's all I've ever wanted to do. Right now, I'm focused on a racing series I'm working on getting published, but I have many other ideas in my mind. I'm always daydreaming!
Okay, with those small details out of the way...time to blog! :o)