Beauty and the beast — at We Write Romance
Today's post is over at We Write Romance. Come on over and tell me what you think about Beauty and the Beast!
Reflections
Sometimes, you just gotta look back. I know that you, my dear readers and friends, may be getting tired of my reflections, but I can't help myself. I have lots of email loops, and I've been steadily announcing my sale on them. And then I see things like this:
My sale on the Golden Network news page.
Southern Magic's scrolling Congratulations banner on the home page.
My NAME in the sidebar on the I Heart Presents site as an author!!
My name on the PAN authors section of the Heart of Dixie!
And I'm attending the Southern Magic luncheon in a little over a week as an author.
It just keeps going, and it's so exciting. There are new loops to join, new webpages to be a part of, and I'm excited about it. So where do the reflections come in?
Well, one of the comments that keeps popping up from people is “What a year you've had!” And I stop and think, “Yeah, I guess I have.” Because for me it seems longer, like I've been working for it for a long time. (I have, and the writers know this, though it's still been an incredible year.)
So where was I one year ago at this time? I was a PRO member with NO submissions out. I was trying to finish my mss for the Golden Heart, and the Presents contest wasn't even on my radar yet. I was like so many of you, slogging along and working hard and hoping to get somewhere soon. I remember that my husband said something to me about selling in 2008 — and I said no, it wouldn't happen that fast because I didn't even have a submission out. I had to submit, and then wait forever, and then maybe sell. It might happen in 2009, I said. If I was lucky.
If someone had told me I'd have sold a book a year later, and that it would be in a line I wasn't currently writing, I'd have scoffed. But there is a lesson here.
Be open to possibilities, believe in yourself, have realistic expectations, and don't stop trying. Because you never know where the path will open up and when your year will become amazing.
Tomorrow, I'm blogging at We Write Romance. I'll remind you to stop by.
What are your goals for 2009? Are you entering the Golden Heart? Or is it one of your goals to enter next year? If you aren't a writer, what goal do you have for the coming year?
The Call
Today's post should be over at I Heart Presents. Don't forget to sign up for my newsletter and be entered in the drawing for a $25 Barnes & Noble gift card!!!
(If the post isn't there first thing, keep checking. It's supposed to go live today.) 🙂
UPDATE: The IHP blog is behind due to server maintenance last week. Not sure when The Call story will go up now. But click over to read about one of the runners-up in the Feel the Heat contest!
UPDATE AGAIN: The Call blog is live!! Go check it out! 🙂
Retreat!
Every year, the Heart of Dixie RWA has a retreat. This is my second year going, and I am so looking forward to it! As you read this, I'll be meandering my happy way into the Tennessee mountains, chatting with a friend, and looking forward to the massage waiting for me this afternoon.
After the massage, I'll shower and get dressed (casually, very casually) for a fun evening of talking, dancing, drinking some concoction or other, and general whooping it up by the giant fireplace in the Inn.
Saturday is general laziness, along with massages (not me since mine is today) and a plotting party. It was at the retreat last year that I mentioned my desire to write for Harlequin Presents — and Kelley St. John told me to go for it. She also sent me the contest announcement about a month later. 🙂
Saturday evening is our Murder Mystery party. Last year, we dressed like 1920s gangsters and it was a blast. This year, we're going for more casual — a spa retreat, which means we get to wear our pajamas and all be girls (I was Rhett Bumbler last year — the fedora and fake cigarette was fun, but I'm glad to be a girl this time).
Monday morning, I'll be back at the computer, hopefully refreshed and ready to work. Hope your weekend is a blast too!
Beginnings
I'm working on a new book (because I HAVE to; no more writing when I want because I want) and the one thing that always stumps me is beginnings. I can imagine so many of them. And I often rewrite them two or three times (sometimes more, sometimes less). In SPANISH MAGNATE, RED-HOT REVENGE, the first chapter has changed from the winning entry that appeared on the IHP blog, but much is the same as that first set up.
But I can and have chucked entire opening scenes and redone them. I'm on the third incarnation of the latest book's opening. This one will stick, but it's a matter of getting those motivations clear and moving forward from there. I also have trouble with POV. Not with staying in it or making switches clear (noo, had that beat out of me years ago), but with choosing when to switch. Because switching reveals things about the other character. Do I want to reveal it just yet? Or do I want to hold on for a while and keep it a mystery?
Still, it's fun to start a new story. The possibilities are so wide open as you head into the opening scene. I always start with conflict (it'd be boring otherwise) but I can think of so many settings for that conflict. You could start in a palace, a prison, on a yacht, in a cafe — so many choices. So long as there's conflict. That is the one irreplaceable ingredient to your opening.
What kind of beginnings do you like? Dramatic? Action packed? Quieter, character-in-crisis moments? Sheikhs swooping in on horses to kidnap unsuspecting heroines? (Ahem, never mind, that was yesterday….) 😉