MS CRASH DIET

When I first started writing this book I was targeting the Harlequin SuperRomance line, then I changed to single title. And now, pages from what I believed was going to be the finish product of many long hours writing, I decided to change back to my original plan, H S. So what did I have to do? Put my MS on a crash diet. I've trimmed it down by 30 pages so far (it may not sound a lot, but when you find writing as hard as I do, it's a lot.) I must admit though, that by trimming it down I also trimmed out a lot of unnecessary plots that weren't moving the story along or developing the characters in anyway, so I think this crash diet was a good decision in the end.

As a writer I create characters in my head and tell their story through the books I write. But one thing I learnt quickly, is that I may be the one whose fingers are typing away at the keyboard, but the characters are the ones that are telling their story. They have their own personalities with their own thoughts and opinions. Like my secondary characters for instant. Three-quarters of the way through telling their story, in this storyline, they decide to tell me, we feature in this book to much, let us tell our own story in the next book. Guess what? After weeks of trying to work out what was bothering me about their participation in this book, they themselves are the ones to point it out. They were one hundred percent right. Even though I had planned to tell their story next, (second book in a series of five) I had concentrated on introducing them too heavily in this book. Now the main characters have the focus put back on them.

What do I find hard about writing?

As a person who classes themselves as a full-time writer, you would think that I would enjoy words, well I have to admit, they frustrate me. Well maybe not words themselves, but my lack of education when it comes to writing them down on paper. I can handle the spelling (thanks to spellcheck that's not to much of a problem, and the more I write the better I get), but when it comes to grammar I am atrocious at it, (and that's with a grammar tutor.) I've heard that the English language is one of the hardest languages to write, I have to say I agree, the meaning and pronunciation of words when there are so many with the same spelling but different meanings, is darn right confusing. I get frustrated when I have words in my head that are begging to be on paper, and yet I struggle to grant them their wish.

My struggle with words is the reason why it takes me forever to write a book, it's two paragraphs forward and one page back for me, but as much as I write and delete, write and delete, I believe it is making me a stronger person and writer. So its not all bad.

I AM NOT GIVING UP! They say practice makes perfect.

It took me years of soul searching to find out who I am as a person, (I always hated writing HOMEMAKER in the forms that ask, what is your occupation?) The day I realised writing is who I am, I was both surprised and pleased, mostly for the above reasons I thought I wouldn't be any good at this. But when I dug deep into my past, I remembered spending a lot of time writing short stories (back then Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys were the in thing,) and also that the only A I remember getting at school was for a book report I did on The Diary Of Anne Frank.

Since I started writing I have become more confident within myself, and that in itself is well worth the frustration and struggle I battle through everyday.

PS. Now I don't mind filling out the occupation section because I can answer: WRITER.

PSS. You would not believe how long it took me to write this post, over an hour.

Well that's enough of my ramblings, enjoy your day and happy writing.

ROSE MADNESS

Anyone who knows me, knows that other than writing my passion is roses, I have several gardens full of them. Today I had to mend one of my standard roses that had snapped (luckily not quite through) back together again, when it became too heavy on one side.

I can't believe how crazy the roses have taken off this year.



I planted these roses three years ago







These are three to four years old

STUNNING SUNSETS

I'm sure I'm not the only one enjoying the high we're experiencing at the moment as it sweeps its way across the country. Where I live (rural Waikato) we get to see some pretty amazing sunsets settle over the hills and pasture. The one I saw last night reminded me of the sunsets I've been lucky enough to see here in New Zealand and overseas.

Here are a few photos I thought I'd share with you

This one was taken outside my dining room window

These were taken at Monkey Mia, Western Australia

These two were taken at Bowen, Whitsundays Australia

These next few photos were taken from the back of the cruise ship as we sailed up the Inside Passage of Alaska.
I can't take credit for these gorgeous photos, because while I was watching a fantastic performance of dancers and singers, my husband was on the back deck with a beer in one hand and my camera in the other. Thanks to my thoughtful hubby, I got to enjoy the sunset and the show.

I got a head start on a summer tan today.

I was sitting in the passenger side of the car with the window wound down as my husband drove us to Bombay (south of Auckland) today when I got a suntan on my left arm. The only thing is, now I have one white arm and one slightly tanned arm. But I'm not complaining, it seems a long time since I've seen gorgeous clear blue skies and enjoyed the feel of the summer heat as it warmed my pale winter skin. I'm just hoping the sun is going to continue wrapping its caressing arms around us this weekend, because hubby and I are looking forward to our first fishing trip of the season on Sunday.

All this sunshine makes it very tempting to ignore my inner voice that's calling for me to write. The temptation to potter around in my garden is very strong, I've got dead heads on my roses to snip off and aphids to eradicate before they destroy their beautiful buds. As alluring as the sunshine and garden are at pulling me away from writing, even for an hour, I have to remember, I will never become an author and will always just be a writer, if I don't get the darn book finished.

Hope you all have a wonderfully hot, enjoyable weekend.

CAN'T JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER

I've found you really can't judge some books by their covers.

When I either purchase a book or take one out from the library, I go by the cover page and the blurb on the back, as probably most readers do, but like me, have you ever arrived home with what promises to be a plot you're looking forward to reading, only to be disappointed and frustrated by what's written on the inside?

Here are a few things that get up my nose:

*The blurb gives you the impression that the book is a contemporary romance only you find once you start reading that it's set in the late 1800s-early 1900s.
*That the author rambles on so much about back story or unnecessary details that you find it hard to keep track of the actual plot.
*That by the time you struggle to read your way to chapter three, the hero and heroine have still yet to meet.
*The promise of a good plot is ruined by what I call (bad writing) where the author has used such a passive voice that the story moves so slow I lose track of whats happening.
*Characters with names that start with the same letter, I find this really confusing and have to go back to double check on who said what or who did that.

I've lost count of the amount of books I've given up on reading by page fifty, I put them in the too hard basket. Why struggle to read something when you can start on something less frustrating, reading is supposed to be relaxing and entertaining after all.

But on the flip side of all that, I have been pleasantly surprised by some authors. I enjoy reading Sandra Brown's books, and the other day I read one of her older titles Sunny Chandler's Return it delivered what it promised, sensuous, witty, unforgettably romantic. I was hooked from start to finish.

Tip: Don't be fooled by the hunk on the front cover.

Have any of you got little things that bug you about books that you've read or am I the only picky one?

Well that's the end of my Sunday ramblings, enjoy your weekend.

INGREDIENTS FOR WRITING ROMANCE

Here is my recipe for writing a romance novel.

Ingredients:

Hero you can fall in love with
Heroine you can admire and see yourself in
Interesting secondary characters
Strong characters
Interesting plots
Internal conflict
External conflict
A touch of back story
Emotional punch
Sexual tension
Juicy sex scenes
Suspense
A strong beginning, middle and ending
Dialogue
A splash of humour
Most important ingredient of PASSION lots of it.

Next, add all the above ingredients together and hopefully you will have a top selling novel.

PS. I believe it isn't so much the writer that writes the book, as it is the characters themselves that tell their story through the writers fingers.

Cheers for now, and happy writing to all you writers.

ENGAGING ALL FIVE SENSES

I love this time of year. I can walk around my garden and breathe in the delicious scent of the fragrant roses and feel their soft, velvety petals. The open buds on the two port wine magnolias I have growing in pots make me hungry with their bubblegum scent. The abundance of rose buds opening up after months of being dormant after their winter pruning, is a sight I always enjoy. I love the fact that once again it is the season for BBQs, the taste of succulent steak and fresh green salads, a good sign summer is on its way. The sound of birds happily singing as they build their nest and go about their daily activities, add peaceful music to the background as I work away at my book.


Here are some photos of my gardens

WELCOME EVERYONE

First of all, welcome and thank you for visiting my blog. I have been writing for a few years now and thought I would share with you what I do each day and some of the things I learn along the way to becoming a published author.

I am looking forward to the day when I can walk into a book shop and see my name on the cover of the book I have spent many hours pouring my heart and soul into writing.

Three quarters of the way through writing the book I'm currently working on, I realised the reason I was having so much trouble writing it was because I didn't have a strong enough plot worked out before I started. The internal conflict I started with began to bottom out towards the middle, there was no good reason why the hero and heroine couldn't just get a room and go for it, so I introduced external conflict, which I think in the end added a more interesting story line.

I have learnt for future books to have a detailed outline before I start. Having learnt that lesson (better late than never) I have written up what I call Order Of Events which is a list of each main event that takes place in each chapter. This way I can follow the conflict to see that it is viable right to the end and also that the main plot stays interesting.

I hope you will follow along in my journey to becoming published. I love writing and can't imagine doing anything else.

Thanks again
Angela