I spent the better half of yesterday writing character profiles, researching names and reading all sorts of writing tips as preparartion for Nanowrimo 2012.
I came up the following: Four women who are connected by one and they are each searching for happiness in love. One of them is in a common law relationship but her partner has not fully committed himself to the union. One of them is single and struggling to find the "one". One of them is discussing marriage with her boyfriend of four years but has make it a neccessity that there will be no wedding without an engagement ring and the other one has three men vying for her hand. The story is supposed to follow them as they struggle to get their own way and find happiness in love. They will make mistakes, they have character flaws, they will push their men away and in the climax; be all alone. There will be a sub-story following their friendship with each other as it is tested by their character differences and strengthened by their commonality. It was going to be set in my home country with some local dialect, local places and local struggles of women. I picked out names for the girls, making the group of ladies a multicultural one from different financial and educational backgrounds.
So what happened to that plot, to those character profiles?
It still exists on paper but I don't feel like it has the power to make it to 50,000 words.
I read a writing tip yesterday which said, "Every scene and every chapter must keep the protagonist off-balance - things may get better for him/her, or worse, but they need to be constantly changing." (http://www.writersworkshop.co.uk/Plot.html) I don't feel like I can do this for these characters. I don't feel they have that sort of impact or their story is such a great one to be told. Sure, they are not Mary Sues, but are their story intriguing enough that someone would want to read about it? I know you will say it depends on how I tell it, but honestly I don't feel I can tell their stories that well.
These women are a reflection of friends I have in my life, and their true struggles with finding happiness in love. I do intend to emblish every detail when I write it, but the truth is, it is based on people I know and I am not sure it that makes for something fascinating or gripping.
So as self doubt prevails, today I aim to either make their stories worth reading about by plotting my chapters out, or by coming up with a whole new idea. Which one I will do, I dont know, you will have to return tomorrow to find out.
Thanks for visiting
XoXo Anjie
Tuesday, 30 October 2012
Monday, 29 October 2012
NANO IS TWO DAYS AWAY.
What would drag me out of my cocoon and bring me back to blogging? Nanowrimo of course!
I cannot explain why I haven't been blogging or writing. Maybe it is laziness, maybe the muse went for a vacation when I did, or maybe life just interevened and wouldn't let me back to this world of escape. I swear one of the above is an excuse and apology for not keeping you entertained.
But now I am back to blogging and just in time for Nano.
This is my second year doing Nanowrimo and I can't explain what it is that I feel exactly. Am I scared? Yes! I have not decided on a story, or characters or nothing for November and it is two days away. Will I be able to come up with something? I have no idea but I still intend to participate.
Am I excited? A little. With fear there is this excitement of being able to shell out those 50,000 words in thirty days. I acquired it in 27 days last year and I haven't looked back on the story. I know all I have to do is keep a steady 1667 words a day and I will accomplish it but it isn't that black and white. I remember setting times to wake up at 3am in the morning to get words in, trying to accomplish 5000 words a day on weekends and pushing in whatever I can, wherever I can. The thing is we write when the muse gives us something to write about so planning to trot down the road at a steady pace is not something realistic at all.
I am reading all the blog posts by my fellow writers with their tips and advice but does that prepare me? NO!
However, in spite of it all I am not giving up. I aim to accomplish a few things during nano; I aim to get a novel written in thirty days, and I aim to keep you updated through my blog posts, so come on back weekly for updates on the craziness.
xoxo Anjie
I cannot explain why I haven't been blogging or writing. Maybe it is laziness, maybe the muse went for a vacation when I did, or maybe life just interevened and wouldn't let me back to this world of escape. I swear one of the above is an excuse and apology for not keeping you entertained.
But now I am back to blogging and just in time for Nano.
This is my second year doing Nanowrimo and I can't explain what it is that I feel exactly. Am I scared? Yes! I have not decided on a story, or characters or nothing for November and it is two days away. Will I be able to come up with something? I have no idea but I still intend to participate.
Am I excited? A little. With fear there is this excitement of being able to shell out those 50,000 words in thirty days. I acquired it in 27 days last year and I haven't looked back on the story. I know all I have to do is keep a steady 1667 words a day and I will accomplish it but it isn't that black and white. I remember setting times to wake up at 3am in the morning to get words in, trying to accomplish 5000 words a day on weekends and pushing in whatever I can, wherever I can. The thing is we write when the muse gives us something to write about so planning to trot down the road at a steady pace is not something realistic at all.
I am reading all the blog posts by my fellow writers with their tips and advice but does that prepare me? NO!
However, in spite of it all I am not giving up. I aim to accomplish a few things during nano; I aim to get a novel written in thirty days, and I aim to keep you updated through my blog posts, so come on back weekly for updates on the craziness.
xoxo Anjie
Tuesday, 11 September 2012
We heaved and pushed and made it over the finish line
When I first heard of the words "blog tour" I didn't know what they meant. How was I going to tour around with people who live millions of miles from me? Then I was added to the secret group and besides feeling specially selected, I was bewildered. But Tasha, helpful as she always is, answered all the questions through her posts and clarified all my confusion. Now I was excited. Sure, I had a blog, actually I had two, but I didn’t know what to post about half of the time, and the other half I was rambling stupidly.
Now, a participant in a real live blog tour, I was posting on a weekly basis and writing too. Tasha provided the topics or sent us in search of them and I will admit there were several times that I was going to quit; hand in my honorary blog tour badge and sit with my lip hanging- defeated. But, I didn’t, I made it through 16, yes SIXTEEN weeks of a blog tour, writing a post for every one of those 16 weeks. Sure, they were not always on time, because I don't do PC time on the weekends, my glorious little angel demands my attention on Saturdays and the hubby on Sundays and when I am not showering them with attention I am busy in my little business. But I would still hurry into my office on a Monday morning and tap at the keys trying to bleed some words out for my guest post.
Of course the journey was not without its bumps. I have, in my eleven years of being employed, worked with all sorts of people and so I wasn't surprised to meet some on this tour who didn't keep up their end of the bargain. I do understand that all sorts of things arise in our lives to keep us from keeping deadlines, but if you can update your facebook status every ten minutes you can quickly leave a message in the TTC-VBT group informing the organisers that you won't be making this week's post. However, I know it didn't affect me half as much as it affected Tasha, who is a real trooper for having such patience with all the participants.
I, on the other hand, peeped out of my shell and trotted along the path, week by week, bringing myself out a little more every week until I slowly made it, at my own pace, over the finish line. I am a very shy and introverted person, who would not approach another person about guest posts, but after this blog tour you can bet I will be doing that now. The tour taught me how to seek out people who write in my genres and how to trade with them, a post for a post. I made a lot of new friends too. I also learnt how to post regularly by doing flash fiction and getting my readers involved in my WIP, also a way to promote it before it is released.
I wasn’t like the legend Usain Bolt, instead I stumbled down the path like an awkward child, falling down every now and again, to have Tasha pick me up brush me off and send me on my way again. But I was glad that along the way I got to meet a lot of wonderful people, like Tara Chevrestt; who I am in awe of because of her ambition to write and release romance novels, I think I kind of stalk her now on her progress and I tell myself, get going on your work, look how many books Tara has coming out. She has become somewhat of a role model for me.
I already knew that Ellie Mack was a straight talker and an avid blogger and was pleased to host one of those very "kick in the butt" posts.
I was inspired by Linda Bolton's blog and how she keeps all her posts about romance in keeping with her genre.
Bruce Blake and Doug Simpson got me interested in their novels and after acquiring On Faithful Wings in a free giveaway, I am now reading it and quite intrigued to see where the story is going.
Nikki Noffsinger taught me about vanity presses and I was very grateful for that lesson.
I learnt how to create author interview questions, and how to write author spotlights, things I knew nothing about before this tour.
I made it to the end because I didn’t want to be one of the persons who disappointed Tasha. Every time I thought of dropping out I thought about the fact that I wasn’t doing so because my schedule was packed, or I had more pressing and important things to do, but was doing so because I didn’t believe I could do it, and then I would go read the posts in the group and there was always an encouraging word from Tasha; offering tips on how to do the post, where we can inspiration from, inviting persons who were encountering problems to share the problems so she could work with them and so much more. I made it to the end of this tour without missing a post because of Tasha Turner’s encouragement, leadership and support. She is not only a brilliant and magnificent individual; she is also a great leader, guide and friend.
So now I congratulate myself for making it here and I hope I can continue to post at least weekly, using the knowledge I have acquired from the blog tour and keep all you new supporters on my blog entertained.
Thanks for the experience Tasha and all those who participated.
Thursday, 6 September 2012
Kiss of the Dragon - a tantalizing excerpt by Ellie Mack
Now isnt this my lucky week; two guest posts in one week and by two very talented authors. You should know todays guest from Storytimetrsyts and her wonderful titlating writing. Today she offers a brush on the lips from her WIP.
* * * * * * * *
* * * * * *
Well that was an emotional ride. The way Ellie describes the kiss and paints a very clear picture of exactly what is going on and how they both feel put me there in that scene and I felt as though I was Isabelle. The part with the tongue against teeth, took away a little from the mood that Ellie set for the scene, but not enough for me to loose it altogether. I was there with Isabelle feeling Zane kiss her below the ears, and feeling the heat build up in her and was just as forlon when he left.
That is my view of the excerpt, what is yours?
* * * * * * * *
Kiss of the Dragon by Ellie Mack
Ever had the feeling that you just didn't fit in or that you
didn't know who you really were? Isabelle Lennox is about to find out the hard
way about her true self as she is thrust into a world of magic and dragons.
True love has never been this dangerous. Kiss of the Dragon takes you
beyond time to a fated love that's out of this world in this paranormal
romance.
Isabelle attends a Renaissance Fair in a real Scottish
castle with her friend to help get her cheating ex-husband out of her system.
When a "black hole" headache strikes, everything changes. Set on the
coast of Scotland and spanning thousands of years, Isabelle is about to embark
on an adventure like none she's ever heard of before. A mystical land of
dragons, mages, and treasures surround her as she discovers a truth long hidden
from the human world.
While Laird Zane is discovering the truth about his
heritage, Isabelle is discovering a world she never knew existed. The truth
lies somewhere between the prophecy and fate, and only time will tell.
Excerpt from Kiss of the Dragon
*The following excerpt is Zane and Izzy's first kiss upon
the battlements of Zane's castle walls. *
He laughed. Not just a slight laugh, but a full belly
laugh. He reached for her hand. “You must have been a handful.” He pulled her
closer, moving the wine bottle out of the way. His breathing no longer calm,
but jagged. His gaze held hers captive. Tension built and coiled within her
while she waited for what she knew was coming.
“I know this is very forward. Please don’t think me a
rogue, but I’ve been sitting here listening to you, trying to focus on your
words whilst imagining what it would be like to kiss you.”
Isabelle felt the heat snaking up her arm from his touch.
She felt the heat within herself stirring. Hadn’t she wanted him to kiss her?
He brushed an errant strand of hair from her face and
traced her jaw line with his finger. Leaning in, his mouth so close she felt
the puff of breath on her own lips. “Just one taste.”
He pressed against her gently. A quick dart of his tongue
against her lips beckoning them to part. She was helpless to do anything else.
Her lips parted, allowing him to sweep her teeth with his tongue. A thrill
rippled through her at his kiss. He lingered, daring to entice her to more.
Isabelle brought her hand up to his chest, touching him, yet not pushing him
away. She wanted more. He pulled back slightly, their lips a hair breadth
apart.
Isabelle exhaled with a slight catch in her breath. His
lips were on hers again, his tongue probing inside her parted lips. She was
lost in the sensations. How long had it been since she’d let a man get this
close? She’d forgotten how good it felt to be touched, to be kissed. On the
other hand, it had never been even close to this.
A heat like a flickering flame warmed her. It started
where his lips met hers and continued down, all the way down. Wanting. Needing.
Raw. Hungry, oh so very hungry for his touch. Flames of her own passion began
to build. She had her hand at the back of his head before realizing what she
was doing.
Zane rolled towards her, still supporting his weight on
his elbow. He eased Isabelle to the ground smoothly. Sliding his free hand from
her face, trailing down her neck, and brushing against her breast. Hardened
buds formed as the back of his hand brushed against them. Zane’s hand continued
down to her waist, then reached around and pulled himself against her. A low
growl escaped Zane’s throat a second before he covered her mouth again. It
started gentle then grew more insistent, stirring feelings that quickly turned
to raw desire. A slow sweep of his tongue in her mouth sent her closer to that
ragged edge.
She could feel his hardness against her hip. Every cell
of her being had been awakened with his kiss. Her mind raced with images of
passion igniting between them. The desire he stirred just with his kiss was
overwhelming. She moved her hand down his back, resting it at the small curve
there. He smelled like strong spice and leather. She could taste the wine on
his lips mixed with a stronger, fiery something. The vaguest hint of it touched
her taste buds when his tongue tangled with hers. He tasted like heaven or
decadent sinful desire, her every fantasy in the flesh.
She had to have more! Isabelle kissed him back
enthusiastically, as each slight movement of his tongue stoked her own fire.
She didn’t know if it was his amazing kissing or the spicy taste, but she had
to have more.
Suddenly he pulled back. She missed the separation
immediately. Her eyes flew open, locking with his, questioning.
“I should see you to your room.” There was a feral,
barely restrained look in his. She heard his words, yet he made no effort to
move. His breathing was ragged, catching on the exhale. “Else I won’t be able
to stop.”
“I, I didn’t say you had to stop.” Her eyes pleaded with
his. Her voice came out in breathy whispers.
A slight twitch at his jaws, his gaze never left hers. He
contemplated briefly. He released his hold on her and got to his feet.
Clenching and unclenching his hands, he stared out over the sea below. He turned
and helped her to her feet, then silently gathered the items in the cloth. He
grasped her hand in his and took off with a long stride. Isabelle shuffled her
feet, nearly at a jog to keep up with him.
He walked her around the wall to the main house entering
the doorway there. A guard stood just inside the door, he dropped his eyes, not
meeting hers. Down the corridor he strode at nearly a race. What had she done
to infuriate him? When they had reached her chamber door, he pressed her
against the wall, lifted her face to his and kissed her firmly. He was pressing
the length of his body against hers. His mouth claimed hers, demanding this
time. Demanding her response, demanding she open to him. He moved over to the
soft spot of her neck, just below her ear and nuzzling his chin upwards,
grazing her jaw line with his teeth.
A quick gasp of pleasure escaped her. He tensed, and
pulled back. “ I will say good evening to you Lady Isabelle.” He turned, and at
the same pace barreled off down the corridor. She still stood, pressed against
the wall when Merryk came around the corner to assume his post.
A knowing grin crossed his face as he came closer.
“Perhaps milady, you should go inside your chamber. Do you require assistance?”
Her lips still tingled where Zane’s had been mere moments
before. Dazed, and highly aroused she ducked under his arm to enter the
chamber. Isabelle sat on the edge of the bed, staring at nothing, memorizing
every touch, every taste. She had never been so turned on in her entire life.
With Jake, she had never reached an orgasm. Not once. Not even when he went
down on her. Jake apparently had no problem so it had to have been her. That
was part of his reasoning of why he cheated.
Right, he was a no good cheating snake because she was
the ice queen. She had come to believe it for a long while. But tonight. . .
Tonight she was nearly there when Zane merely kissed her. She lay back on the
bed imagining if things had progressed further with Zane.
It was a long while later before she regained her composure.
In some measure she wasn’t sure she would ever completely recover after that
kiss.
~II~II~II~II~II~II~II~II~II~II~II~II~II~II~II~II~II~II~II~II~II~II~II~II~II~II~II~II~II~II
Ellie Mack lives in a small town near St. Louis, Missouri.
She graduated from Southeast Missouri State University with a BS in
geography/cartography. She has worked for Department of Defense, county
government, as a substitute teacher, and various other jobs. Her hobbies include reading, bicycling,
playing Tombraider, and Dance games such as Dance Dance Revolution, and Zumba.
Between being a mother to two teenage girls, a wife, homemaker, and a mortgage
loan officer, Ellie writes paranormal romances.
Ellie’s first erotica piece is appearing on http://storytimetrysts.blogspot.com/
Ellie’s first erotica piece is appearing on http://storytimetrysts.blogspot.com/
Ellie’s blog can be found at: http://quotidiandose.wordpress.com/2012/05/25/passion-2/
Well that was an emotional ride. The way Ellie describes the kiss and paints a very clear picture of exactly what is going on and how they both feel put me there in that scene and I felt as though I was Isabelle. The part with the tongue against teeth, took away a little from the mood that Ellie set for the scene, but not enough for me to loose it altogether. I was there with Isabelle feeling Zane kiss her below the ears, and feeling the heat build up in her and was just as forlon when he left.
That is my view of the excerpt, what is yours?
Wednesday, 5 September 2012
Why subtract when you can add...more hot scenes
For those of you following the blog tour you may be reading this and wondering; "Why the same theme in two consecutive weeks?" Well things happen, bumps arise in the road and we must
Enjoy!
******
maneuver over them and carry on, and in that spirit I am proud to host this wonderful romance erotica author as she shares with us why she doesnt delete scenes.
Enjoy!
Hello! This week on the TTC/MasterKoda Virtual Blog Tour we
are discussing and sharing deleted scenes.
First I’d like to be a gracious
guest and say thank you to Anjie for hosting me this week! I enjoy visiting
and guest posting on other blog’s, and this blog is no different.
I would love to share a deleted scene with you, really I
would. But the truth of the matter is - I don’t have one. “How can that be?”
you might ask.
Well, I am the type of writer who doesn’t include enough in
my stories. I was once told by an editor that I had too much going on, and that
I had things in there that took away from the plot. So now I try to stick to
the basics, but that doesn’t always work out either, because then I have to go
back and add to my manuscripts from holding back too much.
I think I like the idea of adding better than deleting. I
mean, how would you determine what to take out? As a writer, I fall in love (or
at least in like) with my work, so I would imagine cutting some of it would be
painful. There have been some sentences or small paragraphs I’ve had to remove,
usually due to being too wordy, or from being repetitive, and even then it can
be difficult to let it go.
The idea of adding instead of deleting suits me just fine!
When I need to build on the story the only problem I might have is where to
place it, but then it works out in the end.
What is it I usually have to add?
Back story. So I plan to keep that mind as I write, and
still remember not to go overboard, or to get sidetracked.
Easier said than done!
*****
Laci Paige is the author of the erotic novella, Let’s Keep
On Truckin’. She lives in Hampton Roads, VA with her family and enjoys
photography. She also enjoys interacting with fans on social media.
Blurb from “Let’s
Keep On Truckin’” (By Laci Paige and Decadent Publishing, heat level 4).
Lily loves traveling on
her job since no one can do it better than her. Being out on the open road
gives her plenty of time to reflect and avoid unwanted attention, but somehow
it always finds her....
When she comes across Ryder, first at a grocery store, then at a rest stop, sexual desire sparks and she knew she had to have him. If only her ex hadn't shown up, igniting a fantasy she never thought possible.
Seeing Alex in a whole new light, Lily realizes second chances are in order, but will she have to choose between the two men? Or could she be happy with both?
When she comes across Ryder, first at a grocery store, then at a rest stop, sexual desire sparks and she knew she had to have him. If only her ex hadn't shown up, igniting a fantasy she never thought possible.
Seeing Alex in a whole new light, Lily realizes second chances are in order, but will she have to choose between the two men? Or could she be happy with both?
Available
for purchase from: http://www.amazon.com/Lets-Keep-on-Truckin-ebook/dp/B00816ZX9S/
& http://www.decadentpublishing.com/product_info.php?products_id=540&osCsid=1okloom7mnbvupdk81i3741s21
Wednesday, 29 August 2012
Horny Hump Day August 29th
Ahh, I missed another Horny Hump Day last week. Spent the day splashing in the black creek waters of our tropical paradise. But, welcome back to this week's Horny Hump Day.
I continue right where I had left off the last time, Nyasha was with Shelly and trying to get her mind off of Fiona, and it seems Shelly knew exactly what to do to help, here goes:
"Soon fingers rubbed at her love spot as she moved her body smoothly against it. Her head moved from side to side as the fingers pried inside of her; moving back and forth in unison with her hips. A symphony played somewhere to which her body moved; crashing in tune with the banging of the cymbals."
Hope you enjoyed my three sentences this week and be sure to check out the other Horny Hump Day Participants for more hot and steamy teases.
Ciao
I continue right where I had left off the last time, Nyasha was with Shelly and trying to get her mind off of Fiona, and it seems Shelly knew exactly what to do to help, here goes:
"Soon fingers rubbed at her love spot as she moved her body smoothly against it. Her head moved from side to side as the fingers pried inside of her; moving back and forth in unison with her hips. A symphony played somewhere to which her body moved; crashing in tune with the banging of the cymbals."
Hope you enjoyed my three sentences this week and be sure to check out the other Horny Hump Day Participants for more hot and steamy teases.
Ciao
Monday, 27 August 2012
Stop! Don't delete that scene!
Some of us writers tend to change a lot of our story when we are editing; pressing the delete button or cutting out what we don't want and saving it in another document for later use. This week's guest in the TTC VBT is Doug Simpson and he tells us how scenes that could no longer fit into his first book turned his plot in to a series.
* * * * ** * * *
* * * * ** * * *
Tides of Change in the Mind of the
Author
After over a
year of publishing articles in a number of countries, which has now grown to
seven countries, I decided to see if I had the talent and tenacity to write a
novel. I had previously written or attempted to write novels a number of times
over about forty years but could never come up with a respectable manuscript. I
always seemed to find a major flaw that I did not like, and really could not
adequately change, so the scrap paper pile just got deeper, again.
So, why did
I think I was any smarter this time around? Good question. All I can say is
that experience in bad writing is still valuable experience, even if it is not
profitable. Besides, I was now retired and my time was mine, after my wife and
grandchildren claimed their cut. I also had some new found ideas which had
accumulated in my thick head, as a result of my hundreds of hours of
researching a select group of the over 15,000 readings given by the legendary
American mystic, Edgar Cayce.
My major
area of research was survival of the soul and spirit after the death of the
body, and the reincarnation of souls. Sounded like a pretty interesting topic
to me. Next, I needed a hero. In about one second flat the name Dacque popped
into my head. What’s a Dacque, I wondered? Never heard of him or it! Then,
after a little careful consideration, I realized that it was a fantastic name
for a kind-hearted Good Samaritan because it was unique. If someone asks you,
“Did you read the new book about Tom?” the first thing you ask is, “Tom who?”
But, if somebody says, “Did you read the new book about Batman or Superman?”
you know exactly who they are talking about right away. Unique! Dacque is not
the same kind of superhero as those two, but he is a very special. He is the
kind of hero in his own right. Go ahead, I dare you. Go to your favorite search
engine and search for Dacque. I just did, and my boy appears twice in the first
ten entries. I’ll gladly take that kind of coverage any day.
My original
intention was to have Dacque, an avid walker, encounter a handful of individuals
in distress on his morning walks and to write a few chapters on how my ‘Good
Samaritan’ assisted these individuals to get over their problems or
difficulties. I thought an appropriate title might be Soul Attraction, where
Dacque is led to these individuals in distress and you get to read about how he
helps them get over their various difficulties. That didn’t last long. Dani
Christian, the first damsel requiring rescuing proved to be so interesting that
she demanded the entire novel, and the name on the cover became Soul Awakening,
reflecting the fact that Dacque assisted Dani and some of her new friends to
discover their past associations in their previous lifetimes.
If Dani
Christian kidnapped Book I, Soul Awakening, what happened to the other poor
souls that were supposed to be rescued after Dacque had performed his miracles
on her life? Not a big problem. It simply gave me an excuse to turn the
adventures of a Good Samaritan with the unusual name of Dacque, into a series
titled The Dacque Chronicles. Book II, titled Soul Rescue, should be published
later this year and Book III, titled Soul Mind is slated for a late 2012 or 2013 release. Book IV has been started but Dacque had been
so busy promoting his earlier escapades that he has not found time to advise me
how it turns, yet. Darn. Put your hero is in the limelight and he thinks he’s a
star!
© Doug
Simpson 2012
Doug Simpson is a retired high school teacher who has turned his
talents to writing. His first novel, a spiritual mystery titled Soul Awakening,
was published in the United States in October of 2011, by Book Locker. Check it
out at http://booklocker.com/books/5754.html. It is
available in print and eBook format through most book stores around the world.
His magazine and website articles have been published in 2010 to 2012 in
Australia, Canada, France, India, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the
United States. His articles can be accessed through his website at http://dousimp.mnsi.net.
* * * * * * ** * * *
Thanks to our guest Doug Simpson for sharing how his series was born. After reading about Dacque I am quite intrigued to read the book, are you?
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