Back in January I started a new manuscript. Vengeance was slated to be the third book in The Niteclif Evolutions, and I was primed, ready, excited to have the manuscript lined out and the story started, hard and fast. I was ripping along, my daily word count high, my optimism higher, because I knew this story was going to be the strongest so far, as well as the crux of the rest of the series.

As a pantser, I wrote each day with a determination to see yesterday’s thoughts carried through to fruition. I didn’t need notes because I was never away from the story for more than 24 hours at a time. Ever. Then the impossible happened, as was inevitable. My agent called.

Editor X liked Legacy but it didn’t fit with his line-up. However, he’d like to see whatever I had brewing on the back burner. Could I send it to her?

No need to panic, I told myself. Riiiiiight. Panic I did, because I had nothing on the back burner. I asked my agent to give me a few days, I put together the idea for Raising Cain and began to write. Vengeance was officially now my back burner project.

Raising Cain took over my writing life and I worked on it, writing and editing, for several months. I didn’t open the other project at all. I had to get the new stuff out the door before I went back to Vengeance. The time has come and I’m back to work on that manuscript. A whole new set of worries cropped up. I left off at a pivotal scene, and I couldn’t remember what needed to happen. For that matter, I couldn’t remember what the crud I had planned for the rest of the book. I knew the most fundamental basics thanks to the front and back stories, but as for the moment the characters hung in, suspended like paralyzed marionettes? I had nothing.

This is the (high) cost of being a true pantser, or someone who writes without a plot or outline or notes. I’m the truest of true, so much so that it never crossed my mind to make a few notes, or leave myself a few breadcrumbs, so that when I inevitably returned to the story I’d have a freaking clue what was supposed to happen. Based on this humbling, and frustrating, experience, I’m going to suggest a new set of Five Fast & Nasty Rules, this set for pantsers:

1.  If you’re forced to stop a project for any reason for more than 72 hours, make a quick sketch of the novel — where it’s supposed to go in the next three chapters as you have currently planned in your mind. If you haven’t planned that far, write down what you know to be true in that moment.

2.  Outline the black moment. Make sure you don’t leave without making notes on the Big Bad that’s headed toward your character(s).

3. If you’re going to kill someone off, outline it before you go. It can be as simple as “Jane kills Joe with a lawn dart after X happens.” Just make sure it’s down on paper (or hard drive).

4. If you’re in a high-tension scene, don’t hesitate to insist on finishing that scene before moving on to the new project. That new stuff will wait, I promise, and it makes the old stuff much easier to pick back up if you’ve left it with some sense of resolution for the moment.

5. If a flash of brilliance strikes you while you’re working on an alternate project, commit to writing down the idea in your “Notes” file so it’s there to return to.

There are undoubtedly a hundred or more additional rules that would make great discussion points, but these were the most relevant for me. If you have rules of your own you’ve followed — or wish you had — drop them in the comment box below. I’d love to add to my growing list of “Don’t Be a Dork” rules.

Dear Self,

What an amazing year you’ve had! I wanted to take a minute to recap it for you and see if we might hit the highlights together.

First, you finished your first full-length novel, Legacy, an urban fantasy set in the British Isles. You know more about it than anyone, so there’s no need to pull up all the specifics. Needless to say, you’ve had a great experience with the writing process because the next two novels in the series, Wrath and Vengeance, followed, as did the first book in The Key Guardians series, Raising Cain. Four novels in almost exactly a year. Well, three and a half since you scrapped a large portion of one of them. The little book you started with sure has brought you a long way.

The critique partners that have come into your life have been amazing! How could you ever have imagined you’d get so lucky as to find such amazing friends inside such talented individuals? You are remarkably lucky to have them as not only critique partners but as cheerleaders who help keep you on track when you wander, and who keep you encouraged when your own courage fails you.

Samhain Publishing and your editor, Bethany Morgan, have also been remarkable gifts. Yes, you earned them, but what a boon! How many people get so lucky as to find themselves with a publisher they mesh with so well? I’d venture to guess there aren’t many. And to be so well-situated with a publisher whose authors are ending up on the New York Times Bestseller’s List? I know you want to see one (or more) of The Niteclif Evolution books end up on The List, but that’s one of those things you have to accept is out of your control.

Congratulations on winning the evaluation from Grand Central’s Executive Editor, Amy Pierpont! So many authors would kill for the opportunity to receive feedback from such a wildly talented editor. Remember, even if she chooses not to ask for the full, or if she chooses not to acquire, you’ve written your heart out. You’ve edited it to the best of your ability. You’ve done all you can do today. Tomorrow might be a different story.

I guess I just wanted to pop into your conscious mind and revisit the last year. Things are changing so fast that you hardly have time to adjust to one thing before another occurs. Enjoy the now. Don’t forget to look back at where you came from, at what you’ve overcome, to stand where you’re standing today. Never forget that you are right where you’re supposed to be. Be patient and realize that your diligence will pay off. Write something new every day, whether it’s only one clever sentence or a crappy one you have to discard tomorrow. Just write, and don’t forget how thoroughly grateful you are that you chose to paint your cloud with a silver lining.

All the best,

Your Spirit

I had to take a quick break from writing because this blog post roared over me like an avalanche crushing Skier Barbie. Pretty dynamic visual, huh?  :Happy-Grin:

My two recent projects–including a working manuscript and a completed and contracted manuscript that’s making its way through edits–had stalled. I’m not talking slowed down. I’m talking dead in the water. D.E.A.D. Every time I’d open one or the other up, I’d get overwhelmed with the work to be done and I’d back away, hands held in front of me, nearly genuflecting in fear of their power over me. It wasn’t a pretty thing.

I talked to a wise person who helped me understand that maybe it was more than the fear of the projects themselves. Maybe it was a fear of being unable to complete anything so great as my most recent manuscript. It is, after all, languishing as it waits on editorial feedback. Perhaps my fear was that my talent had been tapped out when, in fact, it’s only warming up if the evidence of my improving manuscripts can be believed (her words, not mine). She left me with plenty to think about, and I came home to chew over the possible meanings.

I decided that since Vengeance, the newest Niteclif Evolutions book, didn’t have an iTunes playlist, I’d create one. I struggled even to do that. How could I pick music when nothing seemed good enough? Even my favorite artists felt flat in the face of the magnitude of this story. I was browsing idly…okay, okay, morosely…through Escala when I noticed a recommendation for the album “Invincible” from the group Two Steps from Hell. Okay. It sounds bad. But it’s actually classical music that’s focused on short movie bites. I hit play on Track 1.

Vengeance found its soundtrack.

The entire album is exactly what Vengeance needed. It’s rip-your-heart-out-quickly style, backed by orchestral chants, leave you on the edge of your seat just listening. But to hear that as the background music as you write? It’s like the entire ensemble understood what was happening in my head. I had this connection to the moods of the story, the characters’ feelings and fears and joys, and I could finally write a pivotal fight scene with the right level of violence and revelation. I wept.

Music has the ability to pull emotion out of us and make us feel certain things more intensely. Movie soundtracks have the ability to deliver us right back to the moment in the film that caught us by the throat. You know the moment — the one where the hero (or, ahem, heroine) pull us out of the dragon’s fire by the skin of our teeth, or narrowly avoid disaster, or even fall in love.

Books, and writing, are no different. They allow the writer the ability to fall into a moment, to type frantically to the beat of the music in an effort to maintain the fervor, or to slow down and savor the characters’ first kiss.

I hate to bail on you guys, but I’ve got to get back to it before I lose my musical momentum.

I have my soundtrack.

I have a small personal preference to disclose: I like tattoos. Not all tattoos are fun, cool, necessary, attractive…you get the idea. But overall? I’m an ink lover. It’s all about personal expression and, despite what my mother seems to think, I don’t believe having/sporting one or more tattoos predestines you for a slot on America’s Most Wanted.

Tattoos are a very personal choice, and I find well-done sleeves and large back tats very attractive. I like to look at them, touch them, ask their owners about the significance of personal symbols (when invited — otherwise, asking about tattoos is like walking up and asking someone’s weight. It’s personal. Be very careful how you do it.).

I have a small African tree frog climbing up my right hip. His colors have faded some over the years, but he’s still gorgeous. I’m not going to go into the significance, but he’s got a meaning for me. The dragon above is equally as important. He symbolizes the Niteclif Evolutions for me and, more specifically, book one, Legacy. Releasing October 18, 2012, it feels like the day will never get here and will also get here much too fast. This dragon represents a giant accomplishment, but he’ll go lowers on my body–ankle height–because it represents how much farther I still have to go with my writing.

Once I get the new ink, I’ll be sure to post a picture of it. Be aware that it may be a while before you see anything. I’ve got a good deal of personal stuff coming up that has to be dealt with before I can take the time to do this. I also have to find a reputable tattoo artist, visit the shop, discuss his equipment and the sanitary practices he employs, etc. Yeah, I’m a bit anal. But it’s my body we’re talking about, and my potential health.

So wish me luck. If any of you have tattoos, I’d love to hear how you decided what to get and why, provided it’s a story for public consumption. Not all of them are. I, of all people, understand this. But if it’s shareable? By all means, drop me a comment!

There are a few things authors are compelled to do, no matter who they publish with (small house or large), what their advertising budget is (even if it’s $0) and regardless of their personality type (hermit or showgirl). That one thing?

Promotion

There are a variety of things an author can, and should, do to promote not only their new novel but any backlist and themselves. Equally and if not more important, there’s an extensive list of things an author should not do when promoting their work. I’ll touch on the things TO do in this email, and in a couple of days will also post things that are sure to drive readers away.

For now, let’s start with the things authors can / should do. I’ll rate them by dollar signs:
$ = 0 – 10
2$ = 11 – 50
3$ = 51 – 100
4$ = 101 – 250
5$ = 251 – the sky’s the limit

1.  Establish contact with readers. Readers love to interact with authors. There’s nothing better for me than when my favorite author responds to a tweet or an email (yes, it has happened). I feel like I’m someone special, that she has time in her infinitely busy day to stop and chat with me. This can be done through Goodreads, Twitter, Facebook, Google+, etc. (Cost: $) Continue reading →