Are All The Muses On Vacation? Or Just Being Stubborn?

Where have all the muses gone, long time passing?
Where have all the muses gone, long time ago?

I don't know what the heck is going on. First one of my writing buddies, Jenna Howard, posted a blog about her absentee Muse, now mine seems to have gone AWOL as well. I had a devil of a time yesterday. Oh, I met my word count goal, but it was, as another of my writer friends, Kate Lang, says, like wading through peanut butter. I struggled for every word. I finally gave it up. Today I probably won't do any writing. I'll be spending most of the day with my brother, looking over my website to see what we can do to improve it.

I'll be back in the trenches on Sunday.

Electronic Publishing Versus Print Publishing

Reading Miss Snark's blog today, I was struck by the tone in the post regarding electronic publishing (e-publishing, or e-pub). Most (if not all) e-pubs first publish a book in electronic format (PDF, HTML or other medium). If the book is popular enough, they will make it available in print format via Print On Demand (POD).

Regarding POD, Miss Snark had this to say: "...if someone tells me they've been published by a small house that uses POD, the burden of proof for "is it crap" shifts to them. I assume it is; you have to prove otherwise."

When I first read this, I thought, Holy ****! I'm breaking into the industry via electronic publishing. It's hard enough to prove to an agent or a publisher that I don't write crap when I'm not published; now, even though I'm published, I STILL have to prove I don't write crap?! Oy vey!

Then, while I was trying not to hyperventilate, some names hit me: Angela Knight. Mary Janice Davidson. Kate Douglas. These are all authors who either got their start in e-pubs or have e-pubs out there, and now are published with the big NY print houses. So, while I would never say that Miss Snark doesn't know what she's talking about, at least I know that making a successful shift from e-pub to non-POD print pub can be done.

There are some e-pubs out there that I believe wouldn't do my career any good at all (and shall remain nameless). But there are legitimate, successful e-pubs that would look mighty good on my resume. Those are the ones I'm targeting, because to be published by them means you're not writing crap.

How do I weed out the great, the good and the bad e-pubs? By being a consumer. I purchase books from them and read them. If I like the author's style and there are no typos or other errors, the book "makes sense" (i.e., that darned dreaded GMC has been figured out logically), then it's an e-pub I'm interested in. If not... cross them off my list (both the author and the publisher).

Now I'm off to write my 2,000 words for today. More, if my Muse is in the house.

Writer's Angst, continued...

... because, you know, you can't angst in just one day.

I spent roughly 8 hours yesterday re-establishing the GMC for my major characters. I think I've just about got it. Plus, I worked out a sequence of scenes to support the story. I have more work to do scene-wise, but I'm feeling better. I have a much better understanding of my characters and what makes them tick. The feel of this book is already much different than the first draft. About the only things that stayed the same were the characters and setting.

But that just supports what I've been saying all along. Being a writer is first and foremost about being a learner. Learn what works, and what doesn't. Keep what works, throw out all the rest. It's just a damned shame that 45,000 words are going into the crapper. (Figuratively speaking. I can't ever bear to really throw out something I've written. I just might be able to use some of it at some other time.) But to make this book what it needs to be, what it should be, I've gotta start from scratch.

Today is a brand new day. Today is the day I begin to re-write the book. As long as my Muse doesn't fail me.

Writer's Angst

Okay, so I'm in the midst of this rewrite, yes? I have 21,000 words and I'm clicking along. Then I think, "I've boxed my heroine into a corner." Here's why: She has issues because of abandonment by her father and an abusive stepfather. She doesn't trust any man enough to really let him close to her. So, issues with sex. She has it, but usually doesn't get emotionally involved, because that's when she can get hurt. On top of that, her ex-boss is a werewolf and wants to make her one, too, so she can have his puppies, er, babies. Her friend puts her in touch with his cousin, the hero, who, unbeknownst to the heroine, is also a werewolf. When she finds out, after they've had sex the first time, well, she's not a happy camper. Her goal: find a way to defeat the werewolf. (The first one, not the hero.) Her motivation: she doesn't want to be a breeder. Her conflict: She falls in love with a werewolf. My problem is, I can't figure out how to piece it all together. How do I get her to get her act together?

And let's not talk about the hero. Okay, since you insist, let's. His primary goal: to be left alone; secondary goal: to help the heroine, initially so he can get her out of his hair, then because he's drawn to her and as the hero can't do anything except help her. His motivation: no idea. His conflict: no idea. sigh My Alpha werewolf is turning into a wimp right before my eyes.

thunk That was my head hitting my desk. It's times like these when that little voice inside me starts going on about what a hack I am, I don't have a clue how to write, and why do I even bother? I gave myself yesterday afternoon and evening to angst over it. Today, once I get back from a doctor's appointment and errands, I'm going to do something about it. I'm pulling out Deb Dixon's GMC (for the twentieth time), re-reading notes of the two classes I'm taking this month, and I am going to chart this out. I'm not answering the phone, I'm not turning on the TV and, if I can restrain myself, I'm not checking emails until I am done.

I'm a good writer. I have a beautiful book cover with a reputable electronic publishing company for a novella that comes out next year. I'll have at least one short story out next year. I can do it. I can.

Now, if I can just get my characters to cooperate...

Rewriting Really Hurts

So I'm in the process of rewriting this manuscript, cutting and pasting, adding here, deleting there. Spent several hours yesterday devoted to that endeavor, only to finally admit that it wasn't gonna happen. The frickin' thing needs to be completely rewritten. Oh, I think I can save the first two chapters, but everything else... slashed and burned. Oy vay. It really hurt.

Really. Hurt. Like sticking-a-finger-in-my-eye hurt.

But I am determined this will get done. I saved just over 20,000 words, so I'm really just writing a novella at this point. Another 25,000 words or so and I'll be there. Stay focused on GMC, forget about the words that were and write the words that are.

Right.

More GMC

I'm in the process of taking two on-line classes: "Love Scenes With Emotional Punch" with Shelley Bradley, and "How To Write An EroRom" with Angela Knight.

These classes come at a most opportune moment, while I struggle with GMC.

What are my characters' goals? In my current work in progress (wip), my heroine, Taite, is on the run from her former boss, who's a werewolf and wants to turn her so she can be his mate and make lots of werewolf babies. Taite is not signing on to be a supernatural brood mare, um, wolf. A friend puts her on the trail of the hero, Damon, who, as a highly successful horror novelist, has years of research about werewolves. He's considered an expert on the subject. What Taite doesn't know, what her friend, the hero's cousin, doesn't tell her, is that the hero is a werewolf. So is the cousin.

Do you begin to see the conflict?

Taite and her mother were abandoned by Taite's father when Taite was young. It wasn't long before Taite's mother remarried. The new husband was verbally abusive and controlling, turning Taite's mom into not much more than a slave. Taite vowed she would never give up control to a man. She'd never trust one enough. I mean, the two most important men in her life to this point have betrayed her. Then along comes her boss, who ultimately betrays her trust and puts her life in danger. Damon, on the other hand, is a very dominant lover. Not only is it an incredible turn-on for him to have his lover put her emotional and physical responses in his hands (so to speak), he believes it's necessary. His control slipped once during lovemaking with his former fiancee and his Wolf broke free. He hasn't been able to forget the look of horror and fear on her face and has vowed to never put another woman--or himself--through that again.

More conflict. Her needs conflict with his needs.

Okay. So how do these two people end up in bed together?

I'm still working on that. Stay tuned.

Writing Is Lonely

It's been said that the writer's life is a lonely one. Most writers, unless writing with a partner, work alone. They research alone, they plot alone, they write alone.

Which is why writer's groups are so important. Whether physical ones or electronic ones, I need to be able to reach out and get support for a variety of reasons. Maybe I'm stuck on a plot point and need to bounce an idea off of someone. Or I'm just having a really bad day and need to cry on someone's shoulder. There are things that only another writer will understand. And family much of the time just doesn't get it. Not their fault--I'm learning about the publishing process as I go along, too. But I'm not expecting to write and sell the next Great American Novel and start living the life of a queen off the royalties. I am expecting to work hard, to write well, and to establish a good reputation. I want to be on readers' "must buy" list.

And I'll share my successes (and failures) with my writing buddies. I currently belong to one RWA chapter that is local. I attend the meetings every month, rubbing elbows with published and unpublished authors alike. I also belong to three online chapters: Passionate Ink, RWA's only erotic romance chapter; Futuristic, Fantasy & Paranormal (FF&P), RWA's paranormal chapter; and RWAOnline, the first online chapter of RWA. They each give me something different as far as resources, but they all give me one much-needed thing: support.

If you're a writer and you don't belong to a writer's group, I encourage you to join one. There are many out there for specific genres or regions (and this is not an endorsement of any one particular group; do your research!): Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), Christian Writers Fellowship International, Horror Writers Association, International Association of Crime Writers, Midwest Writers, Mystery Writers of America, Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, Society of Southwestern Authors, Southeastern Writers Association, Writer's Guild of America. There are many more. Do your research. But find a group (or groups) that fulfill your needs.

Writing is a lonely business. But it doesn't always have to be.