Tess Quinn

Here’s me wishing you all a happy and safe holiday season!!

I love the holiday season. Don’t get me wrong about that. It’s just that i can’t STAND how all of my favorite shows take a three week sabbatical. Don’t you think that most shows would want to play during a time when everyone has off and no one is working? Duh!



Either way, TV has been good recently. Unfortunately, Glee won’t be starting up again until April 2010 (BOOOOO!!!!!!), but man, did the last episode really salute everyone and give us all a fair send off! Rachel’s fabulous solo was so good, I watched it like, five times on Hulu within the first week. She was unbelievably fabulous! I wish Finn would have said something to her, though. Like “Oh, Rachel. You’re voice is so hot, now that i know the truth about my skanky girlfriend and best friend, I think we should make out.” The actual dialog can be written in whatever way the director/producer wants, but that should be the main gist of it, right? Right.



What I’m really happy about with Glee is that everything is back where it should be. Sue is a bitch again…Puck is a man whore…Quinn is a pregnant loser as usual….Rachel is a freak albiet a talented freak…and Shu/crazy school counselor whose name I forget are totally gonna do it any episode now. For a while, they had episodes where they tried to show different facets of the characters but it definitely wasn’t working. Stereotypes are made for a reason, people! Anywho. I still can’t wait until April.



As for Bones, if Booth and Brennan don’t do the dirty any time soon, I’m going to pull my freakin’ hair out. The end.



NCIS and NCIS: Los Angeles are constant wonderfulnesses in my life and I have nothing more to add to that.



Thanks for reading about my TV obsession guide! Let me know if you disagree with anything I’ve said and we can get into a spirited debate about how awesome Mark Harmon is and how Booth and Brennan are giving me proverbial blue balls by just watching them.



Cheers!

Today we have author Terry Odell joining us to talk about her writing life. Let’s check out what she has to say and what advice she has to give for other authors. Thanks for joining me, Terry! Let’s get started…



What is your brainstorming process for a new book?



For me, it’s about the characters first. I need to know enough about them to decide what kind of a story would make life miserable for them. I’m not talking about eye color, or number of siblings—those are details that can come out later. I need to know their wants, fears, and secrets. From there I can devise the plot points that will eventually lead to the story. For example, for Finding Sarah, I knew the hero would be a cop who lived his life with a ‘letter of the law, black and white’ ethic. I wanted to see how far I had to push him before he’d cross his line. The heroine was a woman who would do anything to keep her business alive, but who wanted to be totally independent while doing so. From there, it was just a matter of throwing things at them.



I don’t actually plot in advance. I’ve started using an ‘idea board’ along with a story board. I jot down any ideas, scenes, plot points, even lines of dialogue onto Post-its and put them on a white board. I can move them around and see how things might flow. Then, as I write, I use a story board to keep track of details. I’ve got a handout about the system on my website.



Can you explain your typical work week day?



Since I don’t have a separate day job, one day is very much the same as the next, although recently I’ve set weekends aside for work on things other than the current manuscript, providing I’ve met my word count goals for the week.



So, on a typical ‘writing’ day, I get up, make sure my blog has posted correctly, and deal with email. I go to the Y 4 mornings a week, where I can sit on a recumbent bike and read, uninterrupted, and without guilt. Home, breakfast, shower, and do my blog-hopping to get my mind back into writing. Mornings are usually spent editing the dreck I wrote the day before, doing crits for my critique group, and any everyday life stuff. Laundry, shopping, paying bills.



After lunch, I tackle the WIP, and shoot for 500 words by 3 PM. Often, my ‘writing’ includes wandering around the house as I listen to my characters. If I’m doing well, I might take a reading break. I’ll write until it’s time to fix dinner (although hubby doesn’t mind if I don’t; he can fend for himself if I’m on a roll). After dinner, things seem to pick up. The normal daytime ‘real life’ stuff is behind me, and there shouldn’t be any further interruptions. I’ll write until about 10, then go to bed, read, and that’s about it. Not much TV in there. I haven’t found much that seems more fun than playing with my characters.



Now, one thing you have to understand is that at the moment, I’m not contracted for anything new, so I don’t have deadline pressures. That’s an entirely different game.



Tell us about when you made the decision to write.



I can’t say there was a definitive moment. I more or less got into writing by mistake, but soon found it was not only a challenge but a great creative outlet (and since I had no more room on my walls for needlepoint, it was perfect timing.) I started writing fan fiction, then found a local writer’s group and thought I’d try creating an entire story with my own characters and settings. With their encouragement, I kept at it, learning as I went.



What suggestions do you have for aspiring writers?



Read. Write. Find friends who write. Exchange feedback. Do it because you love it. It’s not easy, and those who succeed tend to be those who never quit.



Tell us about what you’re working on right now and what we can expect from you in the near future.



I’ve been toying with a mystery instead of a romance, but it’s still a work in progress. I have two mystery short stories due out sometime in early 2010 from Highland Press as part of an anthology. Those were fun to write, and a complete change of pace, although they grew out of the research I’ve done for my romantic suspense novels. I have another romantic suspense, NOWHERE TO HIDE coming out from The Wild Rose Press in August, 2010. I’ll be at SleuthFest, a mystery writer’s conference in south Florida in late February, and I’ll be giving a dialogue basics workshop at the Written in the Stars conference in Shreveport, LA in early March. You can find out more about me at my website, http://www.terryodell.com, and my blog, Terry’s Place, http://terryodell.blogspot.com/.



That sounds great, Terry! We look forward to reading ‘Nowhere to Hide” in August. Thank you for joining us today and sharing a part of your writing life with us! For those of you who want to know more about Terry, you can check out her blog and website linked above. Stay tuned for our next Writers on Writing!

I’ve been having some serious computer issues which is why I haven’t been able to post Writers on Writing lately…but the column is back! Michele was supposed to join us for the 17th, but due to blog complications, we were delayed…which is why she is here today to tell us about her writing life! Check out what she has to say about her brainstorming process, advice for writers, and what daily schedule entails. Thanks for joining us Michele! Let’s get started…



What is your brainstorming process for a new book?



Being a Sci-Fi Romance writer, I usually start off studying a technology, and I brainstorm about the people who develop it and work with it, and who can be hurt by it. A story will spin out of it.



Can you explain your typical work week day?



I awaken somewhere between 5:30am and 7am, and I’m in the seat before the keyboard right after brushing my teeth. I usually write for a few hours before and after lunchtime. I used to work late into the night, but this time, I’m sticking to a general quit time. I’m a puppy mommy now, and I owe my baby some time, so I’ve inflicted some boundaries upon myself.



Tell us about when you made the decision to write.



My husband passed me several of the pop-fantasy stuff he read, and I liked them, made it my goal to write a story he’d like. So I studied up on my stale English, and I gave it a shot and ended up with a trilogy on my first try, which is hilarious. I’d no concept of word control.



What suggestions do you have for aspiring writers?



Unless you already have an English degree, polish up your English, and study story structure like a writer, not just a reader. Then study your market and write what’s being bought. That’s what professional writers do. Don’t just write what you want without regard to the market. Learn what the market wants, and then craft what you want to write into what they want to buy.



Tell us about what you’re working on right now and what we can expect from you in the near future.



I’m writing a Sci-Fi Romance about mind-control technology. This upcoming February, my short story Zero-G will be released by All Romance e-Books in e-book and in the print anthology 28 Days of Heart, of which all proceeds go to the American Heart Association. Hope you like it!



I’m sure we will, Michele! Thanks again for joining me! For those of you who want to know more about Michele, you can check out her website here. Thanks again for reading and stay tuned for our next Writers on Writing!

Today we have author Dawn Wilson joining us to talk about her writing life. Let’s see what she has to say about her work. Thank you for joining me today for Writers on Writing Dawn!



What is your brainstorming process for a new book?



Brainstorming is hard to explain because it’s just so individualized. Sometimes a book starts with little more than a character and a concept (For example, hiding from your family in a town where no one knows you, as in my novel “Leaving the Comfort Cafe.”) Sometimes I come up with an idea, write down a few scenes, and then it has to stew a little bit…just like spaghetti sauce simmering on the back stove.
Personally, I find the best way is just to dive in and start writing the story, sometimes brainstorming along the way. It goes without saying that your first draft will really stink (hence why they call them first drafts).



Ironically, I usually don’t outline until I get well within my novel—my writing technique for a new book is kind of like a spontaneous road trip. On my first draft I try to have as little structure as possible—I rarely even write scenes in chronological order—and then on the second draft I try to gather the puzzle pieces together. I feel committing to the structure of the novel too soon can almost inhibit any little creative “side trips” that may result.
Always, throughout the book, I’ll pull out my notebook and do a ‘sidebar’ on the character. Characters always move the storyline forward. If you develop a character completely, they seem to take on a life of their own and pretty soon you’re just “watching” them and dictating.



But as I’ve said, it’s highly individualized—there’s no right or wrong way to do it. If it works for you, then that’s what you should do. This just happens to work for me.



Can you explain your typical work week day?



Well, since Oprah hasn’t called yet, I still have my day job—which is as a public relations writer for a health care facility, creating newsletters, press releases, and writing web content. I also teach professional communication part-time as an adjunct instructor at the local community college. I’m actually hoping to make the transition to instructing full-time, because (obviously) if you spend 40+ hours a week writing, it’s hard to settle down at home and write.
Weeks are extremely varied, mainly because I am one of the public information officers, and whenever a disaster happens (swine flu, etc.) I’m responsible for helping distribute information. Crisis communication is particularly fascinating to me, because there is a distinct methodology of what works and what doesn’t, and the point when communication ceases to be effective and becomes white noise.
My typical week is spend handing media inquiries, sending out press releases, taking photographs, proofreading, writing stories, and even a bit of graphic design.



Personally, I find that the best way for me to get my writing done is to leave my house and settle down at the local coffee shop, where I’m free from distractions. The owners are friends of mine, and don’t mind if I stay for 4 hours and order less than $7 of stuff. I typically dedicate my work week to work stuff, and then cram my writing into a 7+ hour stretch on the weekends. (However, I don’t recommend that. I think the best way to develop skills is to write every day, and while I do that, I’m writing work-related items instead of creative writing.)



Tell us about when you made the decision to write.



I started very early—I wrote my first short story when I was 5 and had my first poem published when I was in 8th grade. Ever since I was 5-years-old, I knew I wanted to be a writer, and I can remember banging on an old manual typewriter throughout grammar school. There was never any question—the only question was what would be my “day job” until I could support myself by writing fiction. In 6th grade I hated math, so I wrote short stories during class and passed them around the room for others to read—behind the teacher’s back, of course. It was like one of those serial movies—classmates were like, “Dawn’s finished chapter three, pass it on.” I actually got into a bit of trouble for it. One teacher threatened to actually throw my book away if I didn’t pay attention in class (which of course, absolutely mortified me, and this seems strange in today’s world, where kids are bringing guns to school).



To be frank, I was borderline obsessed with writing. I started seriously sending things out for publication in high school (when I got an electric typewriter for Christmas) and after college, I worked as a reporter for 7 years before making the move to public relations.
By the way, if you want to read some of my short stories that have been published on-line, here are the links:
“Things I’ve Seen While Kayaking”
“Hats”
“This is Not Barcelona (Excerpt)”



What suggestions do you have for aspiring writers?



Write. A lot. It seems crazy, but many aspiring writers I know spend a lot of time talking about writing and very little time actually writing. Remember to get into the habit of writing every day—even if it’s junk—because every word you write (even junky words) takes you one step closer to learning the craft. Likewise, always FINISH what you start.



My blog offers a link to a free writer resource each week. Check it out at http://www.noveltrails.blogspot.com. I also have a lot of other helpful links for writers on my website under “dawnlinks”—just go to http://www.dawnwilson.net.



Tell us about what you’re working on right now and what we can expect from you in the near future.



Two things–first is a tween adventure / fantasy book called (tentatively) “Aunt Amelia’s Island.” It’s about a boy who searches for his aunt who has been missing for 3 years. I’m also compiling a short story collection, and hopefully I’ll have the rewrites polished enough that I can start shopping that out early next year.



Thank you for all the great info and we look forward to your future projects! For those of you who would like to know more about Dawn and her work, check out the links above or click here for her website. Thanks for joining me, too and stay tuned for next week!