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Archive for creativity

Special Guest – NY Times & USA Today Bestselling Author Alyssa Day

Wednesday, March 10th, 2010
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MamaWriters as thrilled to have Alyssa Day with us today!  Her Warriors of Poseidon books have been hitting the lists left and right, and her  latest release, ATLANTIS REDEEMED, another sexy suspenseful paranormal released just last week.  Alyssa does it all with two kids, a Navy warrior husband, and a great number of Pugs.

Please help us welcome Alyssa Day!

Number Two Pencils

alesiahollidayToday I spent the morning at my daughter’s school proctoring one of those state-mandated standardized tests for a fifth-grade class.  At each desk, next to the dreaded text booklet, sat two freshly sharpened number two pencils.

It brought back a lot of memories.

I was one of those dorky, nerdy, (though we didn’t call it that then) brainy kids who loved the annual trip to the school supply school. Pencils and notebooks represented all of the stories as yet unwritten; the ideas as yet undreamed.  Still today, I am like a kid in a candy shop in the office supply store.  I probably own more post-it notes and markers and pens and pencils and notepads, in more different colors (ooh! Shiny!) than the law allows.  Ask most writers, from what my friends tell me, and you’ll find the same.  We’re all entranced with new journals, and pens, and shiny little objects to fill up our bookshelves and desk drawers.

They’re tools, of course, weapons in the writer’s arsenal, but they’re more than that.  They’re the freshly sharpened means to a magical end—the wonderful worlds and fully developed characters and emotionally resonant stories we create in the fascinating nooks and crannies of our writers’ brains.  But since (unfortunately, how cool would that be??) we can’t dump our brain against a computer screen and have the stories appear, we sharpen our pencils, fire up the laptop, pull out a notebook, and get to work.

Creating the impossible. Dreaming the dream.  Writing the stories that shape our novels.  The act of creation should be the joy, too, not simply the satisfaction of writing THE END.  The journey, to go a little Zen writer on you, should be the thing.  Just you and the blank page and that freshly sharpened pencil.

So there I was.  Surrounded by all of those wonderful young minds, focusing so intently, writing frantically and chewing on the eraser tips when book_redeemed_150they paused.  What was a writer to do?  I picked up my own pencil and began a new story.  I didn’t use these exact words, but mine meant the very same thing:

Once upon a time . . .

May all your endings be happy, and all your number two pencils be freshly sharpened.

Hugs,

Alyssa

Alyssa Day is the RITA-award winning and New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Warriors of Poseidon series about a race of warriors from the lost continent of Atlantis who fall into a world-bending kind of love with human women with very special talents.  Her newest release, ATLANTIS REDEEMED, is in stores now:   When 2,000 years of lost emotion hit you all at once—do you fall in love or die?

Please visit Alyssa online at http://www.alyssaday.com for excerpts, a free short story, video interviews, and more.  Thank you!!
.

Categories : Celebration, creativity, Encouragement, Kris Kennedy, special guests, Writing and self-care
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Hooking: It Ain’t Easy . . .

Friday, March 5th, 2010
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. . . Hooking READERS, that is! (what did you think I meant?!) *wink wink*

The components of a romance novel are by no means static. Now days, heroes are more heroic and heroines are made of decidedly sterner stuff. Writing is more active and the love scenes are hot enough to singe a gal’s eyebrows.

Amdist all the evolution there is one factor that has remained the same . . . delivering up a hook strong enough to keep a reader coming back for more.

The question on every writer’s mind is: HOW?

During a recent trip to the grocery store (sans kids), I shimmied on over to the book rack to do a little “research”. The world was my oyster at this point! I didn’t have two kids squawking and squalling in a cart to rain on my parade.

I scanned the first pages of six Regency Historicals and was pleasantly surprised with the findings. Some relied on a clever situation to snare my attention while others used the “grab-ya-by-the *bleep*” kind of first line.

The one I bought? I couldn’t resist one of the intriguing first scenes. Although, I will say some of those hum-dinger lines were pretty hard to pass up! Easy to see why those gals get the big shopping money!

So, what’s the magic equation to writing a killer first line? Does such a thing exhist?

Maybe I’m not the one to answer that question. After all, I still believe there are little elves stuffed in a tree somewhere out making all those yummy chocolate covered cookies just for me! lol

I think if someone were to solve this age old riddle, they’d be ga-zillionaires. Bigger than Oprah. Seriously!

The bottom line is: Every writer should know what it is about their genre that appeals to the traget audience. The easiest way to do this is to read A LOT! Call it research, that’s what I do. Ha! If only learning about the Kreb’s Cycle and Glycolytic Pathways had been this fun!

Besides reading, a writer needs to make a diligent effort to spend the time with their booty planted in the chair! Learning craft is only half of the battle. Application is other.

The same principle applies to motherhood. Sure, I read every single pregnancy book in print, but no amount of research prepared me for a newborn who didn’t get the memo on how she was supposed to act. Confusing? Yes. Daunting? A little. Insurmountable? NO.

We’re moms! There isn’t much we can’t do. Shoot, just look at what a little “mommy-spit” on a Kleenex can do for a grubby face! After surviving motherhood, “hooking” can’t be all that hard! :)

What about you? What kind of “hooker” are you? Do you have any insight to share on how to snag a reader’s attention? Better yet, what snags your attention?

For more on Sarah Simas, check out her blog: The Lovestruck Novice and the get in on the round table discussion with her CP group: Friday Night Write

Categories : characterization, Coping, Craft Topics, creativity, Encouragement, Family, Heroes / Heroines, Humorous, Love/Loving, MamaHood, Reading and Books, Sarah Simas, Similarities-Motherhood & Writing, Uncategorized, Writing and self-care
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The Way Of Growing Things

Thursday, March 4th, 2010
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Nothing can stop him . . . June, 2010

Nothing can stop him . . . June, 2010

It’s can be very hard for me when my progress is of the “2 Steps’ variety.  Whether it’s a manuscript, or being more patient (or whatever personal growth I’ve set out for myself) or a child mastering new emotional skills.  Some days, it’s hard to feel like there’s forward momentum.

On those days, I can feel discouraged, or disheartened, filled with anger-inducing thoughts like, ‘What’s the point?”  Or hopeless thoughts, like, “It’ll never happen.”

But I have to remind myself . . .  this is the way of growing things.

Much of the important work is done underground, where no one can see, in the dirt.  Little swirlings and pushings as the roots move out, learning what to do and how to do it, taking in what’s needed  to keep getting stronger and bigger and ‘better.’  And no one can see a thing.

Then, one day, a little tendril pushes up above the soil and people inclined to notice little things pause and say, “Oh, wow, look at what just happened!”  Although, of course, it didn’t ‘just happen.’  It’s been happening for weeks or months or years.  (Others, sadly, will never notice at all, even when it’s in full bloom, but that’s another topic.)

This is the way of growing things, be they skills or wisdom or living organisms.   Some of it happens naturally, like with the flowers (or weeds <g>) in the yard.  They are genetically programmed to do what they does.  We can add or remove certain elements and their growth can be enhanced or retarded, but the growth itself happens naturally.  Our bodies do the same, grow naturally, better or worse for what we give them or withhold.  For the rest of our growth, the skills sets, the emotional growth, the building of craftsmanship, etc, we human usually have to make choices to grow.  Set our minds to it.  But even still, the process is the same.

As writers, we’re growing our skills, developing in our craftsmanship.  As moms, we’re becoming better mothers.  Wife, friend, lover, partner, most usually, we’re trying to grow.

And our children . . . some days, they’re growing so much that with the right measuring instruments, scientists can hear their little brains cracking as new neural pathways gets formed and strengthened.

And on most days, you never see a thing.  Until you do.

This is the way of growing things.  They take time.

(And I apologize for taking this already slightly-corny metaphor to new heights. I’m helpless in the face of a corny-but-true metaphor.)

What about you?  Where are you growing but maybe don’t see the ‘proof’ yet?   And has this ever happened to you, the experience of one day, all of a sudden, you or your child “got it”?

Kris Kennedy writes sexy, adventure-filled medieval romances for Kensington and Pocket Books.  Her debut book,THE CONQUEROR, came out May ‘09.  Her second, THE IRISH WARRIOR, winner of the 2008 Golden Heart Award for Best Historical Romance, releases June ‘10.  She loves hearing from readers–stop by her website , sign up for her newsletter , and say Hi!

Categories : Career And Family, Coping, creativity, Encouragement, Finding Balance, Kris Kennedy, Similarities-Motherhood & Writing, Worry and Insecurity
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An Ode To Mama’s Boy

Friday, February 26th, 2010
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img_0001Meet my little mama’s boy! Shoe-in for a cover model career, ain’t he?

I’m not at all embarrassed to say I’m wrapped around this little guy’s finger. The first time I held him in my arms I was lost. Talk about a beautiful baby, but then, I’m extremely biased! J

My first child was born in late 2005. Little did I know seventeen months later my daughter would get a brother. (obviously, I didn’t get the memo on what causes such things, huh? lol) When he was fifteen months old, I noticed my son wasn’t babbling like his sister had done. Two months later, an evaluation revealed his speech was delayed. A lot.

Ever heard of Apraxia? It’s a speech disorder that takes A LOT of speech therapy. Thanks to a year of intense therapy, meaning me driving him to as many as four sessions a week, my boy can say close to ten words. Some of the words he approximates with gestures and sign, but it’s a HUGE turn-around from last January.

One of the first hurdles he had to overcome was learning how to formulate words. Simple sounds like “Oh” and “Ah”. His upper lip was stiff, almost as if novacained. Lots of flutes, straws, and whistles later, he’s a champ at busting out those sounds with full lip curvature. Wah-hoo! (it got very loud at our house!)

When we open a door or a lid, it’s “Oop-en”. He wants to be picked up? It’s “Uh-pah”. My kitchen decor is now pictures of animals and objects to practice saying. Easy words we take for granted, but ones he has to work for. And it is work for him.

Yesterday, we took him to get tubes put in his ears. Two hours later, he was back to full steam AND attempting new words. We’d say a word and he’d repeat it! BIG CHANGE! Some of words he nailed with excellent clarity. With others, he managed to match the syllable breaks. AWESOME! I can’t wait to take him to speech today and see how he does. The results are that fast. The doctor told us the poor guy’s ears were clogged with mucus (even after finishing around of meds), but now he’ll have clear ears for 15 months!

I’m so completely happy! There are no words to define how good it is to see him make another leap.

It’s only been within the last month that he has perfected saying, “Mama”. I love, love hearing him say the word, because I know how hard he had to work to get to that point. Believe it our not, those “M’s” are a pretty high hill to climb. But, he succeeded.

The last year has been a roller coaster more suited for a beach boardwalk than real life, but I wouldn’t change it for anything. I’ve had to reach farther than I’ve ever had to reach before. Trying to juggle everything without throwing my hands in the air in defeat has been a true challenge. I’ve had to learn articulation, spontaneous retrieval, and diphthongs right along-side my boy. Much in the same way I’ve had to learn point of view, character arc, GMC, and all the other ‘good stuff’ about honing my craft. Both take time to understand and dedication to know how to apply correctly, but if he can do it, well, darn it, so can I!

Most of the time, I’m so frazzled I can’t remember what I did the day before! But I wouldn’t have it any other way!

My Kiddos

My Kiddos

When was the last time your “real life” taught you something about yourself?

For me? I learned I had way too much self-doubt and that stubbornness isn’t always a a vice! :)

 

To learn more about Sarah Simas, check out her blog: The Lovestruck Novice or her critique group’s blog: Friday Night Write.

Categories : Career And Family, Coping, Craft Topics, creativity, Encouragement, Family, Finding Balance, Love/Loving, MamaHood, Sarah Simas, Similarities-Motherhood & Writing, Staying at Home, Teaching Your Children, Worry and Insecurity, Writing and self-care
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Special Guest – NY Times Bestselling Author Angie Fox

Wednesday, February 24th, 2010
Comments (18)

MamaWriters are thrilled to welcome back the wonderful New York Times bestselling author Angie Fox!

She’s talking with us about brainstorming, and some of those great overlaps between being a mom and being a writer.  AND she has a very cool quiz we can take (What Supernatural Pet is Right for You? )

If you post your answers in the comments section, you may win a copy of her latest release A Tale of Two Demon Slayers!

Moms being creative

angie-fox-author-photoLast week, my daughter managed to make yellow Play Doh toast and slip it into the toaster without me seeing (until I smelled it). My son painted the entire kids’ bathroom with pink foamy soap. And while both bouts of creative expression were messy (to say the least) they were done with complete dedication and a willingness to explore.

When you think about it, that’s not terribly different from what we do everyday as writers. I’m always looking for ways to break out and think about my books in a new light. And while I can’t always be as creative as a three-year-old, I do have a few tricks that have worked when it comes to taking my stories to a new level. Or at least they’ve done a good job at keeping the writing part of my day fairly sane.

The character push

In the beginning of my series, the heroine’s long-lost grandmother shows up and – whoops – locks the heroine in her bathroom with an ancient demon. I’d pushed the situation, but the grandmother was too nice. My critique partner called me on it and, blast her, she was right. I sat down and brainstormed a few pages of alternate “grandmas” before I hit on an idea I loved – a Harley biker witch grandma who hurls recycled Smuckers jars full of home brewed magic. One character change and the book became a lot more fun to write.

The mini-brainstorm

Sometimes, the first idea isn’t the best idea. Mini-brainstorms during the writing of a chapter always help me see if where I’m going is where I want to be. Sometimes, I go back to my first idea. Other times, after I’ve forced myself to come up with a page full of alternatives, I find I like a new idea better.

It works on big plot points, but just as well on little details. For example, in A Tale of Two Demon Slayers, Lizzie finds a mysterious egg-shaped stone. I had no idea what it was, but decided to play with it. Turns out, it was a dragon egg. The egg hatches and Lizzie’s talking dog, Pirate, decides he has a pet. It made me smile to think of a pet owning a pet. Lizzie is not happy about that. She has enough going on and doesn’t think her dog needs to own a pet.

So she tells Pirate to find a new home for Flappy the dragon (Pirate named him, not Lizzie). So Lizzie is battling evil people and losing track of what Pirate is doing. He keeps promising to find a new home for the dragon, but instead Pirate is hiding the dragon, and loving the dragon and teaching him tricks. Every time Lizzie realizes the dragon is still there, it’s gotten bigger and bigger and, well, it’s just one more thing she can’t quite control.

Kind of like motherhood.


The “chill out – this doesn’t have to count” brainstorm

Sometimes, when a chapter just isn’t working, I have a hard time making the (often necessary) massive changes, because I don’t know if I’m going to make things better or (gulp) worse. But one day, I borrowed a technique from my days as an advertising writer and lo and behold, it works on fiction too.

I made a duplicate copy of the impossible chapter, and then went to town on changes. By letting my brain loose on a “throw away” chapter, I freed it up to stop thinking about “How am I going to get my heroine out of the love scene and ramped up for hell?,” to “Hmm…pillow talk. This is a good time for the hero to admit he wasn’t one hundred percent honest with the heroine at the start of the book. Now the heroine can get so mad that she dumps his boxers in the ice bucket, throws his pants off the balcony and almost goes to hell without him.”midt2ds

Brainstorming is all about freeing up your mind and your creative energy. You get to surprise yourself, and feel the rush of excitement as you hit upon new ideas and new places to take your story. Because when you’re fully engaged in the story, pushing your characters harder, waiting to see what’s around the next bend – chances are, your audience will feel the same way.

Angie Fox is the author of A Tale of Two Demon Slayers, a new release from Dorchester. And she’s giving away a copy right here. Just take the quiz, inspired by Pirate and his pet dragon. What Supernatural Pet is Right for You?

Post your answer below and you’re entered to win!

Categories : Career And Family, Celebration, Craft Topics, creativity, Encouragement, Kris Kennedy, MamaHood, Similarities-Motherhood & Writing, special guests, Teaching Your Children, Uncategorized
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