Something Old, Something New...

Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.  I guess we've all heard that old saying and perhaps we followed the superstition for our own weddings.  I was thinking how my writing has been influenced by JRR Tolkien.

Something old in my fantasies is a common theme in the fantasy genre.  An old war re-ignited after centuries.  An old enemy awakens to once more create havoc on a population unprepared to meet that which they thought defeated.   

The new comes in with the causes of the war, the uniqueness of the enemy, and the world I create in which the battles will take place.  The personal and physical problems my protagonists must overcome have to be different enough to catch the interest of fantasy readers who have indulged in all the classic series.

I haven't borrowed Tolkien's plots or stories, but certainly my fantasy novels follow the pattern of most epic fantasy novels as set down by the master.  Good versus evil in a battle for the world.  Hero stepping forward from the ranks of common men to save the day. 

Every epic fantasy has battles and deadly confrontations.  A good story jerks at the heart strings and hopefully brings a tear.  As an author, I make sure there is something blue in my novels or in other words, 'someone is going to die.'  

I figured out as I wrote this post that I am married to my writing.  The hours I spend on it certainly put some truth to that idea.

Do you have an old saying you can compare your writing to? Do you make sure there's something blue in your stories?

My Favorite Things

Did you think I was going to break into song?  I'm not Julie Andrews.  I have a book due to come out at the beginning of the summer and my publisher sent Tiger's Mate to me for the final read through.  I love this part of the process.  It's one of my favorite parts of the writing process. 

Why? I think it's because I know it's too late to make any big changes. All the major problems have been fixed and I'm mostly looking for spelling and grammatical mistakes.  The plot holes have been filled, loose ends tied up and character missteps ironed out.

I'll probably work on this every free moment for the next seven days and send it back over the weekend.  Then I'll get back to my current WIP which happens to be the next book in this fantasy romance series.  I love creating a new book.  It's one of my favorite things in the writing process.

I also enjoy the second draft when I search out all those passive verbs, repetitive phrases and pet words which for me is usually, 'just.'  I usually have a list of things I need to fix in the plot I refer to when I work on the second draft.  It takes me about a third of the time to do a second draft compared to the first draft.  Maybe that's why it's one of my favorite parts of my writing process.

You probably figured out where this is going.  With the exception of writing a synopsis, I enjoy every part of writing a novel.  Each draft, first, second, final and even the polishing in between, have attractions.  I didn't used to like editing.  I just wanted to write new stuff all the time.  But since I published my first book, I enjoy fine-tuning a manuscript into a novel someone might want to buy and read. 

So what is your favorite part of the writing process?  Which part do you find the most challenging?  Name a few of your favorite things.

Promotion is tough and can feel as lonely as writing and even more frustrating.  Fortunately, I have friends who not only give me advice but support me in many ways.  Let me introduce you to a few of them. 

Fellow author, Natalie Damschroder, recently gave me a shout-out on her blog for Beyond the Gate.  Natalie keeps so many balls in the air between her writing, her work and her family, she puts me to shame with my whining about not having enough time for everything. She has a new release coming out from Carina Press in April.  You'll hear more about that here during the A to Z blogging challenge.  Thanks, Natalie.

A few weeks ago, Lisa Lawmaster Hess, gifted me with the Stylish Blogger Award on her blog, The Porch Swing Chronicles.  Part of the award is to pass it on to some deserving others.  I'm going to do that in a later post.  I'm also supposed to confess 7 things about myself. 

1)  I come from a large family of seven children and counting my stepsons, I have six children myself. 

2) I won an athletic scholarship to college during an era when they weren't common. Who would have believed I would end up a writer?

3) I own three different DVD versions of Pride and Prejudice.  I watch at least one of them every two weeks or so.

4) I grew up on a dairy farm and often had to get up at 4:00am to milk the cows before I went to school. I sometimes fell asleep in science class.

5) I still love all of Clint Eastwood's old westerns, especially, The Outlaw Josey Wales.

6)  My favorite drink is amaretto on the rocks.

7) I'm not afraid of snakes, wild animals but spiders scare me enough to call for help.  They are really, really creepy.

Thank you again to Lisa and Natalie.  I hope you'll stop by and visit them, make some new friends to help you on in this difficult business.

A Few More of Those, Less of These

Beyond the Gate just received another great review, this time from Alise at Read My Mind.  Stop by if you have a chance to her busy blog. Thanks, Alise.

Those good reviews always provide a little push for me and hopefully will motivate some readers to try my series, The Futhark Chronicles. 

I need some motivation at this time of year.  I noticed yesterday while walking( still limping) to the end of the driveway, the spring bulbs are pushing their way through the browned bodies of last year's greenery.  Most of the snow is gone, exposing the multitude of branches the snow and wind have ripped from the trees in my back acre.  The pool fence and deck need some work.  Do you see where I'm going with this?

Spring means lots of outside chores to draw me away from my writing and promotional efforts.  I'm already getting the urge to do some raking.  But I'm a third of the way done with my current WIP and would like to finish it before the release of my next novel in May.  I have two submissions to make of my next fantasy series to two publishers who are only open to new manuscripts during the month of March.  Lots to do and the outside is calling me.  

Does the spring weather distract you? Do reviews motivate you in your writing or your reading selections? 

Start Here

I'm a third of the way throw my next book, the third book in a fantasy romance series, and it's moving along well.  I changed the start at least four times before moving on and letting it go as is until edits.  I remember showing my very first completed novel to an agent at a writing conference.  She read the first chapter and then told me to throw it out and start with the second chapter.  It was good advice.  The book eventually was published as The Greater Good.   I've continued to use the 'throw out the first chapter' at times but mostly I try to find the correct place to start by applying some general ideas of what to put in the first scene and what not to do.

Put action into it.  Don't start with a cliche like waking to a ringing phone, waking from a nightmare or dream, or starting with a ticking bomb. A whiny teenager fighting with her parents isn't a great place to stop either though I've opened a few YA to find just that.  I closed them right back up.  Most sources advice having the first scene belong to the protagonist though many of my favorite suspense authors open their books with a crime in progress.  That pulls me right into the mystery.

Even the first time novelist knows the rule about not filling the first scene and chapter with long descriptions of setting or pages of introspection.  In fantasy there is a need to world build but it doesn't have to all be done in the first chapter.  

What cliches turn you off in the first chapter?  Where do you like to start your books?

Why Visit the Bookstore?

I know many readers of my blog visit book stores and very often buy books. I've lamented having no local independent store to shop in before on my blog.  There are a few used bookstores, one with lots of character though I don't care for the location.  They even serve terrific, very expensive coffee and pastries like any Borders or Barnes and Noble.  I've bought some used books there including some very old ones from the 1800's.  I like how they look on my shelves.

The big news this week is the closing of lots of Borders stores.  The store closest to me is staying open but the other Borders in the area is closing.  I received an email advertising everything 20-40% off, except for selected items.  I've been to store closings before, though never for a bookstore, and I know those selected items are usually the things I want.  Still, I'm going to visit.  I heard from a friend that the cafe in the closing store packed up their Seattle's Best, mugs, beans and all the first day the news came out.  So I guess I'm not getting 40% off any flavored coffee beans or travel mugs.

I usually spend some time in the Borders' cafe each time I go book shopping.  Even if I don't buy a book, I'm likely to spend some money on a drink.  My daughter likes to spend hours in the cafe.  Why?  Sitting there recently, I jotted down some of the reasons I find sitting in the cafe so pleasant.

As I mentioned, I usually indulge in some fancy coffee drink and once in a great while, I'll purchase one of the treats behind the glass display case.  The stuffed pretzels are my favorite.  While I'm sipping my fine caffeinated drink, I can people watch.  There are a few people I see fairly often at Borders but there always some new characters to wonder about.

I always carry a few magazines and books to the cafe with me.  Reading the first chapter or even a few pages will either intrigue me or not.  I not only discover a hint of the story plot but also get a taste of the writer's voice and style.  Before I spend my money on a book, especially an author new to me, I can make a more informed decision.  I've used the time to look up something in a reference book or magazine.

Some of the people I watch use the cafe for different things.  I've seen students studying together, young people being tutored, and others meeting for reasons unknown.  Last week I saw a young couple meet their wedding planner.  At an earlier visit, I saw three friends planning a business venture.  They had a half dozen books on starting a small business piled on their long table.  Half the people in the cafe on any given day have their computers open, working or playing, but doing it with a cup of java on hand. 

In every bookstore, Barnes and Noble has the best, you find an interesting collection of journals, leather bound, lined and unlined, snap-together covers and even pens to match.  Every writer needs at least one.  Other cool things can be found, jigsaw puzzles, brainy games and calendars of every kind.  Borders also carries a selection of Burt's Bees products including my favorite lip balm. 

And of course there are books.  And book lovers.  Even though more of us are buying our books and reading them via eReaders, I still want those physical stores to stay open.  I want to visit, drink coffee and relax in the company of other bibliophiles. 

Besides buying books are there other reasons you visit your local bookstore?  Are you losing a Borders near you?  Do you see the future of brick and mortar stores as optimistic or limited?

One of Those

All members of the human race have them.  One of those weeks.  Then something happens to pick you up and get you back on track.  I slowed down this week after a visit to my elderly mother.  It's difficult to see her slowly fading into confusion.  Her world shrinks as her health issues grow.  It took me a few days to get back on track writing after pounding out almost 25K in the last five weeks.

Over the course of the last few days, I caught up on earlier seasons of a few of my favorite shows.  My daughter and I share a love of the USA network show, White Collar.  I think she loves it for Matt Bomer's blue eyes, and they are amazing, but I like watching a crime show where the crimes have to be solved by outsmarting some really clever thieves.  There are only occasional dead bodies.  We watching all of Season One.

Another show I discovered last year is FX's Justified. It has the clever dialogue and Raylin Givens is a modern day gunfighter masquerading as a federal marshal.  I grew up loving all those great western shows and Clint Eastwood movies.  I haven't watched the entire season yet, because I'm finally back on the WIP.  I also intend to catch up with my blogger friends I ignored for a few days.

So does anything throw you off stride from your writing routines?  What get you back on track? What is the longest you've ignored your writing or blogging?