What Eccentric Writing Habits Have I Never Mentioned? By Connie Vines

Most authors, of course, have personal eccentric writing practices. Fueled, no doubt by his or her

personal muse.  Agatha Christie munched on apples in the bathtub while pondering murder plots, Flannery O’Connor crunched vanilla wafers, and Vladimir Nabokov fueled his “prefatory glow” with molasses.

Then there was the color-coding of the muses:  Alexandre Dumas, for decades, he penned all of his fiction on a particular shade of blue paper, his poetry on yellow, and his articles on pink; on one occasion, while traveling in Europe, he ran out of his precious blue paper and was forced to write on a cream-colored pad, which he was convinced made his fiction suffer. Charles Dickens was partial to blue ink, but not for superstitious reasons — because it dried faster than other colors, it allowed him to pen his fiction and letters without the drudgery of blotting. Virginia Woolf used different-colored inks in her pens — greens, blues, and purples. Purple was her favorite, reserved for letters (including her love letters to Vita Sackville-West, diary entries, and manuscript drafts. Lewis Carroll also preferred purple ink, but for much more pragmatic reasons: During his years teaching mathematics at Oxford, teachers were expected to use purple ink to correct students’ work — a habit that carried over to Carroll’s fiction.

So how do my little eccentric (or never before mentioned) writing practices measure up?  Is my personal muse quirky, dull, or out of control?

Since my quirks are normal for me, I had to think about this for a bit.

• I always drink coffee that is part of my current ‘setting’.  When my setting is New Orleans I mail order my coffee from my favorite spot.

Café du Monde.  I have my cup and saucer, and a portable mug when I writing outdoors.   I have a blue coffee pot and matching tin cup when I writing westerns (yes, the coffee is VERY strong and black).  And of course, a Starbuck cup or a Disneyland mug when my novels take place in So.Cal.

• My music and my menu planning also is linked to my settings.  All within the range of normal.  Though I have more than my fair share of coffee mugs and cups.

• I listen to diction videos on YouTube so that I am not relying on my memory for the sound of a Cajun accent, Texan’s drawl, etc.

• I visit areas on Google Earth and Zillow.  Even if I have lived or vacationed there, I may have forgotten an interesting ‘something’ I can insert into dialogue, or find a way to describe a scene.

• I talk to myself.  Or not simple little sentences.  I’m talking about a two- way conversation: “Do you think that might work?”  “No.  No one is that stupid!”  “How about. . .”  This is the time my husband walks by to find out who’s on the phone, or if I’m asking him a question.  The dog even pokes her head in to see what’s going on.  I’m thinking this is a bit outside of the ‘normal’ range.

• When I write I have to make certain my work space in in perfect order.  I have colored folders/pens/notebooks that match and are exclusive to the story I’m working on at the moment.

• I never enroll in an online class when I’m writing—it’s guaranteed writers’ block.  I never talk about my WIP because I mentally clock that as writing time and lose interest in the story before it’s completed.

• Whatever story I’m am working on is my favorite.

• I survive on 3 hours sleep when I am deep in a story.  I know I drink coffee, but seem to run the story in my mind when I sleep too.

• I also pick up the quirks of my heroines.  I have several friends who are in theater and said it’s a bit like ‘method acting’. Fortunately, I’m back to my state of normal a couple of weeks after typing THE END.

I think all of this part of a writer’s voice.  It is what we, as readers, look for in a story.  Hopefully, it is what my readers, enjoy about the novels, short-stories and novellas that I write too.

Happy Reading!

Connie

Please stop by and visit every one participating in this months’ Round Robin Blog Hop:

Skye Taylor http://www.skye-writer.com/blogging_by_the_sea
A.J. Maguire  http://ajmaguire.wordpress.com/
Beverley Bateman http://beverleybateman.blogspot.ca/
Dr. Bob Rich https://bobrich18.wordpress.com/2016/09/24/is-my-writing-right-for-you
Rachael Kosinski http://rachaelkosinski.weebly.com/
Anne Stenhouse  http://annestenhousenovelist.wordpress.com/
Helena Fairfax http://www.helenafairfax.com
Victoria Chatham http://victoriachatham.blogspot.ca
Margaret Fieland http://margaretfieland.wordpress.com
Rhobin Courtright http://www.rhobinleecourtright.com

Writing During the Hectic Holidays #Round Robin

Topic: During the sometimes hectic holidays do you find it hard to find writing time? If not, how do you handle it with the expectations of others to visit and share time together? Or do you appreciate taking a vacation from fiction to enjoy time with family and friends?

Thank you, Rhobin for this month’s topic. 

Since my day job is in education, I have sixteen days of vacation (if you count weekends) during our winter break.  Sounds perfect, doesn’t it? Sixteen days at the keyboard, a cup of coffee nearby, music streaming via my iPhone—I’ll whip that novel on in no time.

Oh, wait.  I have one problem.  Winter break lands smack dab in the center of the holidays, doesn’t it? 

Ah, gingersnap! 

Today, I snagged gift cards from the rack at Smart & Final while filling my cart with grocery items for a Christmas Eve Party and a Christmas potluck at my son’s house.  Later, after writing this blog post, I yanked dinner out of the oven, before leaving to view Christmas hula recital.  I was able to enjoy an array of Christmas lights blur by as whipped along in 5 p.m. traffic.  Yes, it’s holiday time!

An energy during the holidays (aka semi-organized chaos) seems to increase my creativity. 

How can that be?  Since I am an introvert, this is usually not the case.  I think it’s because good creative writing as always about people.  During the holidays, we spend time with people.  Since these people are talking about themselves, past events, feelings, and ‘festive’, it is more of an observation experience for a writer.  Paying attention to people during this time could inspire dozens of new stories, or at the very least, an interesting character or two.

Holidays transform people.  Christmas and Hanukkah are periods of liminality.  Liminal space is called the space between betwixt and between, which means that is a special time, a period when all transformation occurs.

Fiction is about the growth of a character.  We love reading about people who change.  I think we pay more attention to the details during the holidays.  Be it because we are reminiscing about our childhood, the moment before us we notice details and we recall details from the past.  We also recall scents and emotions.

To get back on topic-- do I find it hard to write during the holidays?

I think it is easy to write but in unconventional ways.  Obviously, while in the middle of a gathering I can’t whip out my laptop and begin typing.  I can, however, take a reporter’s notebook from my handbag and jot down notes.  Or, create a note or two via Siri on my iPhone.  Nevertheless, during the holidays I focus on enjoying my time with family and friends; on spiritual growth and on giving. 

Somehow, everything seems to fall into place.  I may not complete my novel, but my interrupted writing time always materializes and my muse visits me in my dreams.

Merry Christmas,

Connie

Please visit the participating writers for this month’s round robin. 

Skye Taylor http://www.skye-writer.com/blogging_by_the_sea
Diane Bator http://dbator.blogspot.ca/
Beverley Bateman http://beverleybateman.blogspot.ca/
Connie Vines http://connievines.blogspot.com/
Anne Stenhouse  http://annestenhousenovelist.wordpress.com/
Rachael Kosinski http://rachaelkosinski.weebly.com/
Marci Baun  http://www.marcibaun.com/
A.J. Maguire  http://ajmaguire.wordpress.com/
Bob Rich       http://wp.me/p3Xihq-A9
Hollie Glover  http://www.hollieglover.co.uk
Rhobin Courtright http://www.rhobinleecourtright.com/

My Favorite Time and Place to Read? How About Writing Time? #Round Robin

Life keeps getting busier, and finding time to complete daily tasks is difficult, but I always, always find time to read.

This month’s question:

What is your favorite time and place to read? How about writing time? Do you have to make time?
Do you have a ritual or is your plan helter-skelter? What's your method?

As a child it was hiding beneath my covers with a flashlight long past my prescribed bedtime.  Today, it more of a snatch of time here and there.  While preparing dinner (e-reader/ iPad /paperback on the counter), 10:30 p.m. wrapped in a woven throw on the couch listening to Slacker Radio on my iPad (when I should be sleeping), or with a grand-baby snuggled in my lap.  Reading is a pleasure, an escape, a way to share stories with others.

I make time to read, I make time to go to the gym, and I make time for family and friends.  These day-to-day activities weave, in my opinion, the fabric of a well-balanced and enjoyable life.   

Writing Time—the second part of today’s blog topic.

My method of writing?

I make it a practice to study the master of successful fiction.  Hemingway never wrote a treatise of the art of writing fiction.  He did, however, leave behind letters, articles and books with opinions and advice on writing.  Some of the best of those were assembled in 1984 by Larry W. Phillips into a book Ernest Hemingway on Writing.   While I do not rigidly follow these steps, I always keep them in the back of my mind.

1: To get started, write one true sentence.  One simple declarative sentence. 

·       Charlene hadn’t told Rachel that she’d fixed her up with a cowboy, much less Lynx Maddox, the “Wild Cat” of the rodeo circuit.

(Lynx, Rodeo Romance)

·       “You and Elvis have done a great job on this house,” Meredith said as her older sister led the way downstairs toward the kitchen where the tour began. “Sorry I couldn’t get over, until now, but I’ve been sort of. . .well, busy.”

(Here Today, Zombie Tomorrow) Sassy & Fun Fantasy Series.

·       Audralynn Maddox heard her own soft cry, but the pain exploding inside her head made everything else surreal, distanced by the realization that someone had made a mistake.

(Brede, Rodeo Romance Book 2)

My exception:  my YA historical novel is told in the first person.  Since the novel focuses on the emotional and life altering events of a young girl, I used historical facts and events to form the plot of my award-winning novel,  Simple declarative sentences are applied to the Prologue and Introduction.  However, emotional impact was needed to make the story ‘real’.

·       Prologue: The Governor of New Mexico decreed that all Indian children over six be educated in the ways of the white man. 

Indian commissioner Thomas Morgan said: It was cheaper to educate the Indians than to kill them.

1880, Apacheria, Season of Ripened Berries

Isolated bands of colored clay on white limestone remained where the sagebrush was stripped from Mother Earth by sudden storms and surface waters. Desolate. Bleak. A land made of barren rocks and twisted paths that reached out into the silence.

A world of hunger and hardship.  This is my world. I am Tanayia.  I was born thirteen winters ago. My people and I call ourselves “Nde” this means “The People”.  The white men call us Apache.

(Whisper upon the Water, Native American Series). 

2: Always stop for the day while you still know what will happen next.  I find this to be a key for me.  When I do not follow this step I find myself flirting with writer’s block the next day.

3: Never think about the story when you’re not working.  I carry this to an extreme, I do not talk about my work-in-progress.  The only exception being when I have research questions or trying to plot a continuing series.

4: When it’s time to work again, always start by reading what you’ve written so far.  The only problem, I am sooo tempted to make revisions.  For most part I beat back the urge (with a stick, if necessary ;-).  Otherwise, I’d never progress beyond chapter one.

5: Don’t describe an emotion–make it.  Watch and listen closely to external events, but to also notice any emotion stirred in you, or others, by the events and then trace back and identify precisely what it was that caused the emotion. If you can identify the concrete action or sensation that caused the emotion and present it accurately and fully rounded in your story, your readers should feel the same emotion.   When I am uncertain as to whether I’ve conveyed too little, or too much (insert: whiny), I ask my BF and fellow BWL writer, Geeta Kakade.  Geeta is the master of writing emotion (just ask Debbie Macomber).  

6: Use a pencil.  A mechanical pencil, please (multiple selection of refill sizes and colors available online).  I do not like to conduct an unproductive search for a pencil sharpener—or heaven forbid, be reduced to whittling a semi-acceptable point with my dull paring knife.

7: Be Brief. To quote Hemingway:  It wasn’t by accident that the Gettysburg address was so short. The laws of prose writing are as immutable as those of flight, of mathematics, of physics.  Therefore, I revise ruthlessly, use strong verbs, and avoid adverbs, and always, always step away from the keyboard when it is time to type: The End.

Thank you for visiting my blog today.  For upcoming releases, contests, and links to interviews, recipes and more! Visit my website: www.novelsbyconnievines.com

Please take a moment to visit, and comment, upon view other writers participating in this month’s Round Robin Blog.

Happy Reading,

Connie Vines

A.J. Maguire  http://ajmaguire.wordpress.com/
Geeta Kakade http://geetakakade.blogspot.com/
Margaret Fieland http://www.margaretfieland.com/blog1/
Skye Taylor  http://www.skye-writer.com/
Marci Baun  http://www.marcibaun.com/
Fiona McGier http://www.fionamcgier.com/
Connie Vines http://connievines.blogspot.com/
Beverley Bateman http://beverleybateman.blogspot.ca/
Rita Karnopp  http://www.mizging@blogspot.com
Rachael Kosnski http://the-doodling-booktease.tumblr.com/
Helena Fairfax  http://helenafairfax.com/
Heidi M. Thomas http://heidiwriter.wordpress.com/
Ginger Simpson http://www.cowboykisses.blogspot.com/
Rhobin Courtright http://www.rhobinleecourtright.com/

Characters Take Over #Round Robin, August

T

This month's Round-Robin topic is about secondary characters taking over a story. I must admit that I have read stories where I found the secondary character more interesting than the main character or really wanted to read the story of the secondary character.  I believe that several of my secondary characters have tried to take over the story. However, to date, I have been successful in stalling the secondary character.  How? (More on this later).

My main characters aren't women who are easily elbowed from center stage.  Still, my secondary characters don't take kindly to keeping his/ her light beneath a basket, so to speak.  In Lynx, Rodeo Romance Book 1, Charlene Davis (Rachel's best friend) is a no-nonsense, extremely funny, redneck sorta woman.  Charlene is a loyal friend to Rachel.   In Brede, Rodeo Romance Book 2, Caldwell, the old cook, makes a valiant effort to take over story (Caldwell is mentioned on nearly every review), but my main characters do keep control of the story.

In my YA novel, Whisper upon the Water, the secondary take over was quite different.  When I plotted my novel I had planned on making Anna Thunder my main character.  However, as my plot line and characterization became more concrete, I discovered that Tayiana  was truly the heroine of the novel.  While Anna's story was also important-- Tay's story was more compelling, more haunting.

How have I stalled my secondary characters?  I bribed them, of course!  

Anna Thunder will appear in my Spirit in the Sky while Lynx"s sister was the heroine in Brede.  

As for Charlene and Caldwell, time will tell.

Sometimes a writer can introduce an unexpected characters whose personalities are stronger than those of the main characters. What matters is the story. Hopefully their presence will make the story more believable, add excitement and humor,  while  increasing the reader's enjoyment.

I hope you have enjoyed this month"s blog topic.  Please check in for updates on my releases:  Lymx, Rodeo Romance, book 1--in print!  And my sassy and fun novella, Here Today Zombie Tomorrow.  Followed by my anthology, Gumbo Ya Ya: for Woman who like Romance Cajun & Men HOT & Spicy

I thank you for stopping by.  Please follow the link to Geeta Kakade's blog.

Connie 

Geeta Kakade http://geetakakade.blogspot.com/

Those participating:
Marci Baun  http://www.marcibaun.com/
Anne Stenhousehttp://annestenhousenovelist.wordpress.com
Fiona McGier http://www.fionamcgier.com
A.J. Maguire http://ajmaguire.wordpress.com/
Beverley Bateman http://beverleybateman.blogspot.ca/ 
Diane Bator http://dbator.blogspot.ca/
Margaret Fieland http://margaretfieland.com/my_blog

Victoria Chatham http://www.victoriachatham.webs.com

Connie Vines http://connievines.blogspot.com/
Geeta Kakade http://geetakakade.blogspot.com/
Rhobin Courtright http://rhobinleecourtright.com

Round Robin Blog, May 24, 2014, SETTINGS

What is the most inspiring, romantic, or dangerous setting you ever read or written?

Round Robin Blog with Connie - #RndRbn May 24, 2014

Welcome to another Round Robin Blog event, held 

once a month and hosted by Rhobin Lee Courtright.  

This month's topic:

What is the most inspiring, romantic or 

dangerous setting you ever came across 

while reading or imagined while writing?  

Do you have a preference for a certain time 

and place for a story?

Rhobin comes up with some great topics for

discussion, and this one gave me pause (hence

my posting on Saturday morning rather than late, 

late on Friday night).  While my current two series are westerns (historical YA andcontemporary 

 romance), I do write in multiple genres, and with a wide range of settings. 

Book 2 of my Rodeo Romance Series (Brede) is romantic suspense, set in New Mexico.  

When I have an idea for a new story, it begins with with dialogue.  The only way to explain this is 

to say, "It is like someone is including you in a private conversation".  Not a whisper, exactly, 

more of a casual 'coffee shop' conversation.  When a close fried places her hand on your 

shoulder to give you a clue in on what's going on around you. Even though my characters 

drive my stories, I am a pragmatic writer. 

I write a backstory, outline and include chapter summaries, motivation, and the computer 

equivalent of 3 x 5 cards to to develop my scenes.  My research is time consuming :-), 

I interview, I read the local newspapers, I vacation in the area (umm, sounds a bit like stalking) 

and I post photos in my office, cook regional foods and listen to the music my characters 

would have save to his/her iPhone.

 The result of my 'dangerous' setting(s).  My YA histoical novel Whisper upon the Water delves 

into one dark area of American history.  The treatment of Native Americans, and that of their

children, after the Indian Wars.  The setting is dangerous for my heroine, and many of the children 

who lived with their tribes/bands and were forcibly relocated to government run 

boarding schools. All across the western plains (especially in the Dakotas) is still place, 

on and off of the reservations, where life is. . .often unsafe . . .

Brede, Rodeo Romance Book 2, is a suspense novel.  I was visiting a descrated ruin in 

New Mexico when I was involved in the Title 9 program and serving on PAC committees 

involving Native American Affairs.  The times were troubling and often deadly.  

This became the driving force for this current release.

I don't wish for my readers to think my novels are filled with 'darkness'.  

Lynx, Rodeo Romance Book 1, is filled with humor, rodeo action, and smoking hot cowboys!

My education series (YA and children's short-stories)  Medicine and Magic in Ancient Egypt 

and A Candle in the Dark, are informative and draw children into, and, help children experience 

'every day life' hundreds, if not thousands of years ago.

Fall of this year will provide my readers with new adventures:

My Cajun Anthology, My Zombie (think "War Bodies" minus chomping), novella, 

and hopefully, Book 3 of my Rodeo Romance (with a ChickLit slant) titled, Rand.

My current releases are available on Amazon. 

Next on the Round Robin Circuit is:

Marci Baun  http://www.marcibaun.com/

This is the line-up of authors participating in today's Blog Event!
* Lynn Crain at http://lynncrain.blogspot.co.at/
* Anne Stenhouse athttp://annestenhousenovelist.wordpress.com
* Diane Bator at http://dbator.blogspot.ca
* Geeta Kakade at http://geetakakade.blogspot.com/
* Connie Vines at http://connievines.blogspot.com/
* Marci Baun  http://www.marcibaun.com/
* Beverley Bateman at http://beverleybateman.blogspot.ca/
* Ginger Simpson at http://mizging.blogspot.com
* Margaret Fieland at http://margaretfieland.com/my_blog 
* Fiona McGier at http://www.fionamcgier.com
* Rhobin Courtright at http://rhobinleecourtright.com

Heidi Thomas at I http://heidiwriter.wordpress.com/