The Writing Process

Hi everyone, I’ve been tagged by two lovely ladies to participate in the writing process blog hop. Please take a moment to visit Tracey Alvarez, my amazing CP and amazing author of Contemporary Romance, and my friend Rachel Pudelek who writes dark edgy YA.

1. What are you working on? 

At the moment I’m working on the second book in my Personal Protection series with Ellora’s Cave, called For His Protection. In this book the roles are flipped, and feisty Brooke is our fearless bodyguard. Unfortunately for her the person she’s been assigned to protect is none other than Tyler Harrison, a man who will do anything to have her including letting her think she’s in charge—for now.  

This book is a little deeper and a little darker than the first book in the series, but I’m finding it to be a bittersweet, beautiful and heartbreaking book to write. I can’t wait until I can share it with you!

2. How does your work differ from others in your genre? 
I’m a total thrill seeker when it comes to books, I’m always skimming ahead searching out the next piece of action. So while hot, mind-blowing sexual tension and experiences might drive the characters through their journey’s in my work, there is no shortage of compelling plot. There’s always going to be a suspenseful undercurrent propelling the story.

3. Why do you write what you write?
When I first started writing I wrote a bit of everything because I hadn’t found myself as a writer yet. I was more conservative. Honestly, I was a little afraid to have people read work that was overtly sexual. When I was asked by my publisher to write an erotic romance, I made the decision to simply let it all out and completely do away with inhibitions. I started to write as if no one else would ever see what I put on the page, as if it were something private just for me. Writing that way was completely liberating. It brought elements of realism, authenticity and rawness, that I hadn’t achieved before. I could never go back to the old closed-off way of writing. I now put my whole self into it.

4. How does your writing process work?

I’ve now written six books and I don’t think I’ve done it the same way once. If I have to think of a process, I’d say I start with a single idea, such as What if a fiercely independent girl got stuck with a sexy domineering bodyguard? How would they compromise? Then the idea takes a life of its own and I usually have the key turning points mapped out in Scrivener, and then just start writing. I love scrivener because as I think of new scenes I can quickly outline it on a new note card, and drag ideas around if needed.

Who’s next?

I tag Stefanie London, her first book about a ballerina and a footballer will be published by Harlequin Bliss soon! You totally need to keep an eye on this girl!

I also tag my friend Lauren James, who writes small town romance.

Last, but not least, I tag Cassandra Page, who writes YA urban fantasy. You totally want to check out her great blog. 

How unscrupulous scammers could be destroying your social cred

I've seen a lot going around lately about mistakes some of us make in trying to be proactive self-promoters. These blogs are generally talking about the obvious things that I think most people are coming to understand are generally frowned upon—auto direct messages, auto tweets, and sending unsolicited links to your products. That is not what this blog is about. This blog is about the ways your social media could be sabotaged by outright scammers, some less ethical spammers, and by simple ignorance of applications—without you knowing it.

I've mentioned a few times my day job is running a Web Design business. I also do my share of marketing and SEO. So not only have I made my own mistakes trying to stay ahead of the latest marketing techniques and strategies, but I also hear from my clients whenever they fall for something that goes completely wrong. There are a few things (some more well know and some less well known) that can have a massive impact on your social credibility.  

I'll start with the worst.

1. Direct Message Hackers

Yep these are the badest of the bad. These people hack the accounts of people you know and trust, then send innocent messages inciting you to click on a link from your friends account. Once you click that link the hackers are then able to hijack your account and begin to scam your followers.

The solution—Never click on links in direct messages. Delete them.

Yeah so those of you sending direct message links to people with your Amazon Book unsolicited? Don't do it because it makes you look like one of these bad guys.

Some of the classic messages associated with these links I've come to recognise immediately;

·         "Have you seen this pic of you?"

·         "I can't believe what people are saying about you!"

·          "This is so funny!"

·         "Is this it?"

·         "What time?"

This is just a sample but see how they look so innocent? It's not what we've come to associate with hackers—it's not "CLICK HERE NOW FOR A GIANT PENIS!!"

2. So called social media experts and unscrupulous marketers

What exactly does it take to be a social media expert? I mean what qualifications does one actually require to call themselves that? I've studied marketing at a university level, I run a professional business in the field, but I'd never call myself a social media expert. In fact, while I help clients set-up in social media I'd never do it for them on their behalf. Simply because personally I feel the key to social media success is personal interaction and relationship building. But even with help, doing social media properly takes time, therefore any person or service offering to boost your social media in any way for absolute peanuts...just think about how they might be achieving that.

Are they going to be automating? Using unethical practises? Do you even know?

An example of this is blog promotion services. I've seen so called blog marketing companies advertising all the traffic they will get you with three trillion magic link-backs, and all for twenty-five cents!!!

Want to know how they do that? They turn you into one of these douches...

(Actual comments left on my blog, with links removed)

"Heya i am for the first time here. I found this board and I find It truly useful
& it helped me out much. I hope to give something back and aid others like
you aided me."

Oww how sweet I know you're a real person because I help you out much...

 "I loved as much as you'll receive carried out
right here. The sketch is attractive, your authored material stylish.
nonetheless, you command get got an impatience over that
you wish be delivering the following. unwell unquestionably come
further formerly again as exactly the same nearly a lot often
inside case you shield this increase." 

Okay, I don't even know what happened here. It's like the bot started off trying and then just gave up. In any case, is that how you want your blog promoted? If these bots target blogs in your industry and spam them what reflection do you think this will have on you?

My point is, good quality legitimate services don't charge in butterfly wings, they charge real money. If you absolutely feel you cant navigate this world of social media without help, make sure you are entrusting your precious name to someone credible.

3. Applications that access your account

I know some people have a massive problem with any program or application that is used to monitor/control social media. I get it but let's face it—with follower limits on twitter, most of us who like to follow lots of people and make many connections will use something to manage following.

One of the most well known tools is justunfollow.com. There's nothing wrong with this service or others like it, but if you are going to allow any application access to your social media be sure you understand how that application may interact with your accounts.  

These applications often have automated services which can be turned off! There is nothing more hideous than seeing someone's tweet "I had 5 unfollows via ...", and many users simply have no idea this program is tweeting for them, sending DM's with links back to the application, or how to turn it off.

Learn because people don't like it—like really, really don't like it. Don't let an application make you look like a social douche.

A final thought for writers

Also writers I want to tell you something...(I can feel the social media gurus lining up their snipers) the success of your book does not hinge wholly on social media. I promise it doesn't. Social media is a tool, a great one if you have the inclination and enthusiasm for it. But number of followers does not equal number of people buying your books. Just ask Chuck Wendig who has blogged about this in his hysterical fashion. 

So relax, don't be so desperate that you actually hinder yourself. There's no magic success tablet. Just go to the Amazon bestseller list and take a look at those author social profiles. Many bestsellers are self-published and only have very small social media followings. What determines your success is writing something that connects with people at the right time in the right way.

Use social media because you enjoy it, to connect with people and enhance your journey, do not use it as nothing more that a loud speaker for self-promotion. 

Having said that, everyone makes mistakes. Just because someone sends a link that turns out to be hackers, doesn't mean that they are a hacker. Just because someone commits a social boo-boo does not mean that they are unworthy of your time and cannot add to your social experience.

I hope this blog can help you navigate the possible risks in your social media experience.

If you enjoy this blog why not follow with Google, Networked Blogs (Facebook) or by email, so you never miss a post!

I have just started a mailing list for those who missed it. You can sign-up here and it’s also in the Sidebar.

Enter here to subscribe to mailing list

Comments

I love your comments, which is why I don't use validation. So it's easy. :) 
Want to connect on Twitter and  Facebook ?

How a fling with US Mike can turn you into a proofreading princess

I’m a little ashamed to admit but proofreading is not my strongest skill. What’s that? You know this because you've actually read my blog? Umm, okay so a typo or two slips through. Really it’s not my fault it’s the way my brain works. Don’t believe me? Well, I have scientific proof!

Via http://www.positscience.com

Remember these and how they went viral? Yes it’s actually true; we will recognize a word even if it is completely wrong. Luckily for us we have spell check right? Wrong, because our brains will preempt if it knows what a section of text is supposed to say. So if we wrote it, if it’s gone from our brain to the page, it won’t matter if we have a word slightly wrong as long as it’s partially right. If that partially right word happens to be in your computers dictionary, then it gets a pass.

That’s how we end up with really awkward typos.

“Alana gazed at the antique grandfather clock. Perfection. Nothing beat a great big massive cock. The bigger the better.”

Geez, why are you looking at me like that? So what if my heroine likes clocks…

Ohhhhh…

Yes it gets awkward, and brain processing is no excuse. Whether you’re a writer, or you have a job where you need to produce written material, we all need to proof-read. There are a lot of suggestions out there, and I know there’s a biggy that I fail at when it comes to my blog…time. I spend so much time on these things in eagerness to get them up, I end up failing to wait day or two so I can go back to them with fresh eyes.

So what do you do when you’re in a pinch? If you only have fifteen minutes to revise a report, how can you best use that time to get results? Well you know me, I like a cheat. And boy have I been cheating big time. Most of us have heard that reading out loud is a good proof-reading strategy…yeah but it still doesn't stop our brains from preempting. We’ll still read barley as barely and cocks as clocks. The single best way to pick up those?

Cheat and bypass your brain by getting someone else to read it to you. That’s how I came to have my steamy fling with US Mike.

He’s a proofreading superhero who’s at my complete disposal night and day. And when US Mike whispers to me that Alana loves massive cock—well there’s no missing that. He’s amazing; anytime I need him there he is speaking my words in his very American narrator superhero voice. Actually to be honest I think he sounds a little like this…

For me this beats other techniques such as reading backwards. Because really, how tedious. It’ll make your brain drip out through your nose if you have to do it for more than five-minutes. Can you imagine doing that on a MS you’ve already read three times or worse—over ninety thousand words? Just kill me now.

Mike is better, and editing has got a whole lot more interesting. Especially since—err well you know that time I got all modest and said I’m not writing erotic romance, well not just then, but maybe one day? Well that day came. At the moment I’m all about some dirty talking Alpha hero’s with soft squishy insides. Some of the stuff I’m writing, while it’s all fun to read in the secrecy of the written word, well it should never, ever, be spoken out loud by a man to a woman because—

Yeah that. Mike has been saying some bad, bad, things. I almost had to warn him if he didn’t behave I’d switch to UK Rachel. Because dirty talk from a prim and proper English woman is heaps less erotic right? But then US Mike reminded me that he’s only an android, so it’s all good. I’m not breaking any fidelity rules my hubby will be pleased to know. Yes, Mike is an enhanced digital voice from Natural Reader, and the best proof-reading tool I’ve ever used.

Of course running an additional spelling and grammar check, taking time to let the document breathe, are all great. Do that too! I’m not saying it’s a magic wand—and how embarrassing are the typo’s I don’t pick up going to be now—but it sure is a handy shortcut. So my suggestion to become a proof reading princess? Have a fling with US Mike.  

Did you find this useful? Keep up with new Writing and Life Cheats by following this blog via Email, Google, or Facebook (Networked Blogs).

Finding a great read—Navigating the Bookiverse

There's nothing quite like curling up with a book that you just can't put down—a book that makes you devour it's pages, that makes you cry, laugh, think. I have talked before about how I'm finding it increasingly difficult to find great reads. There was a time when my reading selection was based on the bestseller shelf at local bookstore, or what was on the 20% off stand at Target.

Not anymore. Not just because I'm fussier (and I am BIG TIME), but because the book market has evolved. Forget about being limited to what's stocked at the bookstore, we have eBooks available instantaneously!  Not only do we have eBooks, we have more producers of them than ever before. The big pubs and all their digital imprints, small press, and then there's the almost infinite Indi market.

All this boils down to two things; more reader choice, but also market saturation. We have so much to choose from and reading has never been more affordable. But to find those great reads we now have to navigate through the virtual haystack of good and not-so-good, well-produced and not-so-well-produced choices.

So how do you navigate all this choice, expand your horizons and find those gems? Well here's what I've learned.

REVIEWS - TAKE THEM AND LEAVE THEM

Most of us have been using Amazon or Goodreads reviews to scope out potential reads for a while. I no longer make choices based on them though. While ratings are a good gauge (1-3 not great, 4-5 better), these reviews are so subjective and have steered me wrong too many times. We all have such different expectations of what makes a book good. Some people don't like alpha heros, some love them. It's all subjective and reading too many reviews tends to spoil the book for me.

Personally, good writing trumps everything, so if I skim and see reviews that say a book is poorly edited, full of mistakes and errors, this will make me cross it off my list. That is a better guide for me than personal opinions and preferences.

The best way I have found to navigate reviews which lead to relevant recommendations is to follow the reviews of like minded people. Whether it's a friend, a book blogger, or a reviewer who shares the same taste, finding reviewers whose preferences match your own will lead to more meaningful and credible recommendations. So go find your friends on Goodreads and Amazon! 

BOOK BLOGGERS

So, I mentioned recommendations by like minded people? There's no one that takes reading quite as seriously as a devoted book blogger. Finding a book blogger who's on your literary wave-length can be a fabulous source of inspiration. If that's not a good enough reason to follow a few good book blogs, I'll give you some more. Giveaways, author interviews, sneak-peaks, and cover reveals. I have won several free books (good ones that I would have purchased), Amazon vouches, not to mention the excitement of getting the heads up on the awesome books coming soon that I may not have otherwise known about.   

Here are a few of my favourite book blogs—for romance of course!

Smart Bitches Trashy Books

Hero's and Heartbreakers

Scorching Reviews

LISTS AND GUIDES

When I was a teenager and wanted to broaden my reading horizons, I found nearly all of my inspiration from Amazon's 'So You'd Like Too' guides. One of the reasons they're so good, is that if you visit your favorite book and scroll down, you'll see the three most popular guides with that book on it. Again like-minded people with like-minded suggestions.

On Goodreads try Listopia. The only thing I don't like about Listopia is that books are voted into position. That ruins it for me because what I love about lists is finding the quirky reads I wouldn't have know about rather than the most popular books.

SMALL PRESS 

Many small publishers and digital imprints are turning out good quality and affordable books very quickly. There are a few I watch closely because there lines match my tastes, and because they have produced some of my favorite recent reads. It's worth watching their websites and twitter accounts as they often announce one-day book giveaways, and discounts. Here are a few I just can't get enough of.

Entangled - This has to be mentioned first because it produced two of my recent top three reads! Not only that, but the editing rivaled the big pubs. Whether you're into romance or YA this is one to watch.

Momentum - Another producing some favorites! Momentum produces some really edgy Urban Fantasies and Paranormal Romance's all with great editing. They frequently giveaway books too!

Escape - A division of harlequin, Escape really covers all bases when it comes to romance. I've read romantic comedy, scri-fi and contemporary, and loved them all.

There are many more out there. This is by no means a comprehensive list of the best, just a few I have enjoyed stalking reading.

SELF PUBLISHED 

With the seemingly billions of self-published books, how do you know if one's any good when it is so easy to slap anything on the internet? It's hard. Some authors put the work in, get editing, do it right... and some don't. But there are a few telltale signs. 

Firstly, you know how you were told not judge a book by its cover? Well kind of forget that... What I mean is, if an author has sourced professional cover design it's a good indication they are taking a professional approach.  Also if they have several ratings, if they have reviews by bloggers, these are signs the author is putting the work in, marketing their product, and being professional.

But by far the best way to navigate self published work is to download a sample. It provides a preview of the story, the writer's voice, your ability connect with it, and also an insight into the editing. 

To be honest I download samples of everything now. The few times I haven't I've ended up regretting it. A word of warning—downloading samples doesn't just screen out the 'bad' books it makes it impossible not to buy the great ones because by the end of the sample you're hooked! So hold on to your credit cards.

ASK

With social networks, asking your friends for suggestions or what they are reading is easy. Send a Tweet asking for suggestions, or make a Good Reads recommendation request, or simply stalk your friend's (in the nicest way of course) currently reading shelves, and recent ratings.

How do you find your reading material?

How I killed my muse

Something horrible happened to me recently. Really, truly horrible... I killed my muse. More like murdered her actually. At least that's what I think you call it when you callously work something to death, deprive it of all nourishment until it keels over and dies...

Honestly, this is true. It's what I did.  Let me take you back a month or so, to when I had my first writing deadline. I needed to have something done in a really short time. So I took out my muse and told her to give me all she had. She did. I wrote forty-thousand words (good words) in two weeks. It was dirty though, so I shoved my overworked muse back into my pocket and got to revising. I revised, edited, recieved critique, revised again, got more critique...you get the picture.

I have to admit, I did suspect my muse was a little hungry. After all I deprived her of all the things she likes to eat—I abstained from almost all television, music, even reading. In a month I managed to only successfully read two books. Two steamy contemporary romances. Two fleeting gorge fests of candy to my starving muse, but nowhere near enough to sustain her.

But still I pushed her. You know that rule 'writers must write every day'? Yeah that one, so even though she was fatigued I set her to a new concept. She was so scatterbrained she couldn't focus, flitting from one idea to another, a new concept every day and unable to commit to any. That should have been a warning sign, should have signalled me to give her a little TLC. Instead I made her do more, write my blog posts, write guest posts for others, I even started an editing course and made her work harder on assignments. Then it happened, I killed her.

I sat down one night after the kids were in bed, even though I was exhausted and just wanted to go to sleep early, and tried to crack my whip over the battered back of my broken muse. But she didn't stir. I stared at the blank screen in panic. Nothing like this had ever happened to me before. I couldn't think of a single word. Not one. No words, no pictures, no story images tumbling through my mind. Nothing, just complete and utter blankness. But it was okay, obviously my muse had just fallen asleep. The next day it would be better for sure.

The next day wasn't better. Or the next. All my words were gone. I couldn't deny it anymore, my muse was dead. And that's when I really panicked. This was more than the writer's block I had imagined.  It wasn't getting stuck on a storyline. It wasn't something I could brainstorm my way out of, and it wasn't something going for a walk could fix. It was the death of my creativity. It was the absence of that place inside me that imagines. I started to question if I would ever be able to write again, if I have ever really been cut out for it, if I had ever really had it at all.

Then my kids got sick, I got sick. All I wanted to do was curl up with a good book, watch a good show, and not do anything. So that's what I did. I gave myself nine days (Saturday to the following Sunday) to recover. I broke rules, all kinds of rules. That rule that you must write every day, that rule that you must maintain your blog X many days per week. I only monitored my close Twitter friends and didn't obsess over my feed, I abandoned Facebook altogether.

I read, and read. Not just romance but other things I also love, Young Adult, Urban Fantasy, Contemporary fantasy. I watched movies, like actually went and borrowed things I wanted to see. I watched whole seasons of shows like Game of Thrones, Once Upon a Time, True blood, all those juicy, creative, magical shows. A few times I stayed up almost all night because I wanted to see one more episode, and then just one more. I even joined Pintrest—and oh the ART! Pictures of magical things, unbelievable places, faces to inspire whole new characters, and images to inspire new stories.

I still did the things I had to. I still worked on my course homework. I still worked on things for my CP's. But I didn't write. I just gave myself all the things my muse had wanted but I had withheld from her. And guess what? It turns out muses have magical powers of regeneration. She came back to life.

By the second-last night of my writing fast I was waking up with dreams of my WIP. Fresh ideas I couldn't wait to paint into my story.  On the last day the hour long car trip to my grandparents was filled with scenes, dialogue, and new plot twists, bursting to get free.  The last night I couldn't sleep at all, my mind was racing with too much. So when I woke on my first day of freedom, writing was not a chore. I was so excited, and once again it all flowed effortlessly.

But now I have learned the most important thing I ever have as a writer. My muse is precious and should be cherished. I still need her to work, and I will often have to push her hard. But never again will I deny her rest when she demands it or forget to feed her. I'll make sure she gets days off and I'll make sure she gets regular big, delicious meals. 

Never again will I follow rules that stifle my creativity because that's what people say you 'must' do. Writing and writing frequently is important, and that writing muscle needs its exercise, but everything balanced is better. Writing four days a week instead of six when you're run down is not going to prevent you from ever being published; it might just ensure that you are.   

Whips, Chains and Romance Writer Brains

Cover your eyes kiddies this blog is about to get steamy! I don't normally blog anything that requires an age restriction so I don't have one. But today we will be talking about sex! More specifically sex in romance, and sex and romance writers.

You see I have had a few awkward family functions lately... I mean extremely earth-shatteringly awkward, made me want to disappear or pass out uncomfortable functions.

The thing is now that I have gotten to the stage that everyone knows that I write (that my lovely parents feel motivated to brag about my writing) I get the questions... The really, really, fun to answer questions. As you can see I'm going to ease my discomfort with some Gifs, because this is painful to relay. The questions usually go a little something like this;

Relative/family friend, "So what do you write?"

Me, "Romance"

And then the fun begins! The array of completely non-awkward-at-all responses...

Morally superior older family friends, "Oh, so you write those books?"

Well-meaning Aunts, "Ooooohhh so it's like Fifty Shades is it?"

Creepy Uncles, "So I guess we're going to find out all your secrets?"

Female family friends, "It's totally auto-biographical isn't it?"

The collective sleazes, "So I bet you do a lot of research... want some help?"

Yes, I have been asked all of these questions - most more than once. My reaction to all this can pretty much be summed up with this...

So, while I have a feeling most of my audience is pretty well informed I'm going to go all serial killer on a few minor misconceptions.

Romance is NOT Erotic Romance > Erotic Romance is NOT Erotica > Erotica is NOT Porn

Okay, now listen here all you cheeky enquirers - I write romance! I'm not going to give a lesson on genre but let me simplify!

Romance is a bit like;

(the romantic journey towards happily ever after)

Erotic romance is a bit more;

(The sexy journey towards happily ever after)

And Erotica is kinda;

(the sexy journey)

Oh they are all quite nice in my opinion, and I read all. But I write romance. I only make the distinction because thanks to every woman on the planet having either read or heard of and chosen not to read, the one rather kinky erotic romance, the entire genre has now been stroked with the same crop; where-in my entire extended family now think I'm writing about neck-tie bondage and butt-plugs!

I plan to one day write something more erotic but sorry folks, today I am writing love stories with good-old vanilla sex. 

Romance is fiction!

Despite the rise in notoriety of some erotic memoirs by famous ex-escorts and self-confessed sex addicts, neither romance or erotica is autobiographical. It's fiction just like any other genre.

There is about as much likelihood that romance writers are having sex with pirates as there is that crime writers are going around murdering people. It's all fiction people, fiction...

So maybe we romance writers can sometimes be a little cheeky. So maybe our Pintrest boards and Tumblr accounts are rather pervy, but I ask you to please bare in mind that we are regular people writing regular fiction. Most of us are not crazy sex fiends - although I imagine that would be rather fun! 

Now, I would really, really love to hear some experiences!

The Writing Muscle

We often hear about our brain being a muscle and how it needs to be fed, nurtured and exercised if we want it to function optimally. I tend to tune out when I hear people talk about things like that, because I'm hearing it constantly. Yeah, yeah, exercise, eat healthily, I get that message thank-you-very-much its sensible advice. But my exercise routine is all like...

I think we ALL get the message. Whether or not we can all subscribe to that healthy ideal is another issue entirely. Yes, eating salmon, going for a walk, doing a crossword, and making sure you get at least six hours of sleep is probably as good for your brain as it is for your health, but ... It won't transform you into a fabulous writer. It might help you focus, might help you write more efficiently, hell; it might even help you think of fresh ideas and overcome writers block! So I'm certainly all for it. But there is only one thing that can really improve your writing - and that's writing!

Most of us complete our first MS (that we have spent the better part of a year or more pouring our soul into) and our focus becomes the success of that MS. We dedicate ourselves to revising, getting critiques, entering contests, querying, and sometimes forget to keep writing new things. When we stop writing our skills become stagnant. If you are a new writer and have written one MS, it is going to be very difficult to hone your craft sufficiently through revision alone if you are not creating new and more refined words regularly.

If you have taken your MS as far as you can and it is not getting to the response you have been hoping for, starting something new might be just what you need. It's strengthening your writing muscle.

This reality has struck home recently. I began two more full novels in the same style as my first, and then tried two new ideas - just for fun. I tried a POV (third person) that had not tried before, and another (also in third) in a genre I had not previously dabbled in.

It was not surprising that each new MS would better than the first, but there was a big surprise... The ideas I tried just for fun? Well they turned out to be the ones that seem to be working out the best. The thing is, if I had not experimented I would never have evolved.

 Yes, our writing skill is like a muscle. Use it, practice it, and become a stronger writer. 

The almighty power of Critique

If there is one thing that has both helped and hindered me the most in my writing journey it has been critique. We are too close to our own writing to see its deficits. Our friends and family might be good at proof reading but how much do they know about craft?

Good critique is invaluable. Good critique has taught me more than anything I could read or study because it points out what I personally need to work on. When I first started I was desperate for advice and knew no one; so I resorted to online peer critiquing. Now I know this might work for some but for me it was a horrible nightmare.

It was a nightmare because I write romance, and the few people who bothered to comment were of the literary persuasion that thinks of romance not so fondly. Not saying this is the case for all literary types but it was for these. They were primarily older males that neither appreciated nor understood the genre, or the style, and so their critique was extremely disparaging and in truth; patronizing.

I have to tell you I even received Rhett Butler type lines from these men like 'Frankly, my dear' where they proceeded to educate poor little me on true literary technique - at least as they saw it, and in great long essay form.  This is not constructive, this is not helpful. It almost stopped my writing.

Critique can be helpful or it can be destroying. Going to the wrong place for it can have major adverse effects. Not everyone will make a good CP. Think carefully before putting your work up in a public forum where people of all types can bash you down. Not everyone is constructive, not everyone will get you or your writing.

Now I'm not saying a good critiquer is someone who only has nice things to say; personally I'm quiet tough and not everyone likes that. But, I try to be honest, point out what needs work, but be encouraging. Sometimes what I have to say could be taken the wrong way, but honestly I would not offer the critique if I didn't really see something in the work.

I very recently gained a new CP whose work I really connected with and who connected with mine. She pointed out a few things (some of which stung - mainly because any criticism of our writing feels like someone telling us our soul is ugly) but she was so spot on so on point, that her advice has pretty much single-handedly helped me smooth out those last niggly bits from my MS. And guess what? I think I might just be doing the same for her.

Other writers are for the most part our best resource and our best friends. The important thing is to find people who write what you write! Find people who connect with your writing at least on some level and show your writing to no one else. If you are connecting with other writers on forums and social media this is a great way to find CP's - People you connect with but who will be honest. Also if you're a romance writer like me, try RWA CP matching services. I know I have found a real gem of a CP that way. These people will help you, support you, and encourage you constructively.

Want to share some CP love or advice?

For love of reading

Hearing the old adage 'Writers are readers first' has got me thinking a lot lately. Yeah, I was a reader first. But now... I'm a writer first. Yeah, it makes sense that a writer must love reading and I certainly do, but something has changed - something that might make me unpopular to admit.

Overall, I enjoy reading much less now...

What? Yeah before you digitally slap me and walk away forever hear me out. It's not that I love books any less; it's just that my expectations have risen. The more I learn about craft, the more ruthless I become in perfecting my own writing, the more the writing pulls me out of a novel.  

Gone are the days where my satisfaction was derived solely from the plot and characters. I used to choose carefully and as a result would love about 60% of everything I read, like about 30%, and dislike about 10%.  Now you could almost flip that figure. Now, I see all the little things I would edit out, all the things I do not find acceptable and all those things jerk me from the story. I can't turn my editorial brain off. Now writing technique and a writers voice is what gets me; even more than the plot and characters.

I firmly believe that reading is critical to improving craft, and I learn something every time I do. I learn the most when I read something that sucks me in until I have read the very last page. Now I download samples before I purchase a book to make sure I connect with the writing.

Aside from it becoming harder to find books to fall in love with, another downside to forming a more critical eye is I no longer feel right reviewing books on Goodreads and Amazon. I know that I am looking at things more harshly than the average reader. I don't want to be criticising other writer's hard work or belittling their success, and I refuse to review anything other than my actual opinion. I still rate, but I tend to only review if there is something I love so much I just have to share, or if it's a Aussie writer, a new writer, an independent or small press, because they rely so heavily on word of mouth. Word of mouth is a powerful thing and I feel compelled to share a book I love, especially if I feel it's a bit of an underdog.

So what to do if I just love something and LEARN heaps from it? Well, I think I'll RECOMMEND it here on my blog. A recommendation is a more comfortable thing to do than review. And I can share what I have learnt!

So may I start with my most recent favourite read After Hours by Cara McKenna. Beware, this is a saucy read. Much more explicit and dare I say filthier than anything I would write, but it is a great raw contemporary romance. I am in love with contemporary and this was done well.

After Hours defied cliché's. The hero is alpha but not the wealthiest most senior person in the story. In fact his working position ranks below the heroine. It taught me so much about how to create a redeemable arrogant alpha and not subjugate a heroine for loving him. I also learned a little more about balancing exposition, back-story and internal dialogue. I have been so ruthless with these in my own work that my writing has become perhaps too lean. McKenna did a great job of weaving these in without inviting to skim or bogging things down.  I adored her voice, and she kept her writing fresh.

How has writing changed your reading experience?

10 Essential Tweeters for aspiring authors to follow

When I first completed my MS someone told me that if I really wanted to be a writer I HAD to join Twitter.  I didn't know where to start, who to follow, our even why I was doing it. Was it simply because agents/publishers expect writers to come with already established social-media platforms? 

Since joining Twitter I have discovered what a warm and supportive community exists for writers. If that wasn't enough of an incentive, my twitter stream has become an invaluable source of information and opportunity. Whether you are looking to connect with other writers, learn more about your craft, or you are trying to find an agent, the opportunities are there just waiting for you to seize them. For this reason I have put together a list of the 10 Tweeters I have found most valuable.

Top 5 Tweeters to follow for Writing Tips & Opportunities

It was hard to narrow it down to just five, but these awesome people actively tweet valuable info for writers. 

@brendadrake

If you are un-agented writer seeking representation you want to follow Brenda Drake. As well as being a very pleasant person to follow, Brenda's Tweets often include details for unique agent pitch contests and opportunities.

@CupidsLC

Cupid's Literary Connection - Agent pitching competitions and contests.

@Janice_Hardy

Fantastic writing tips tweeted regularly.

@AimeeLSalter

Aimee L Salter was one of the first people I followed on Twitter. Excellent writing tips and amazing blog.

@rebeccaberto

Rebecca Berto Tweets great writing tips

                                                 

Top 5 Tweeters to follow for Query Tips & Agent answers

There are so many amazing agents that are worth following on Twitter. Below is simply a list of 5 that I have found provide a great deal of advice on Twitter

@brittanydhoward

There are so many reasons to follow Brittany Howard. If you are a YA writer follow and learn. Brittany is one of the most informative agents I have come across. She tweets everything from her slush pile to general advise and tips. There are often opportunities to ask questions.
 @bluedragonfly81
Jordy Albert often provides tips and advice as well as tweeting about her slush pile. Jordy also uses hashtags such as #askagent to engage writers.
 @jennybent
Jenny Bent tweets tips and also actively uses hashtags such #askagent to engage writers.
 @jawlitagent
Julia Weber tweets tips, advise and also uses hashtags such as #askagent and #querytip to engage writers. 
@Saramegibow 
Sara Tweets a wealth of advice for writers. She uses hashtags like #5pagesin5tweets to feedback her submission impressions. 

Thank you for visiting. Please don't forget to join this blog!