The HEA Cafe

This week, I finished writing another book.  Hurrah!

I’m always surprised by how few people understand exactly how difficult it is to write a novel.  It takes planning, plotting, thinking.  The characters and fictional world consume my thoughts for months, even before I sit down at the computer to write it.  The actual writing is frustrating, grueling, sometimes exhilarating, but mostly it’s just plain hard work.  And I mean hard!  Anyone who thinks a writer just sits down at the computer and lets the words pour unedited on the page is delusional.  And even after I’ve finished a manuscript, it still occupies my mind for weeks.  I wonder how I could have made it better.  I begin second-guessing the plot points.  I anguish over how my editor will react.

What’s odd is that no matter how many times I start a new project, it doesn’t get any easier.  That defies logic.  A task should get easier with repetition, shouldn’t it?  But perversely, each subsequent book becomes harder to write, probably because I keep raising my expectations and can more easily spot the flaws in my work.

Despite all that, it’s still enormously satisfying to finish a book.  Sure, the work isn’t as brilliant or perfect as I’d hoped it would be.  Maybe it won’t win awards or hit the best seller lists.  But I brought my vision of a story into existence, and that deserves celebration.

So how do you celebrate when you’ve finished a book?  Do you have a routine you follow, any special treat you reward yourself with?  Please share!

How I love my holidays. Travelling is one of my big passions. The weeks before are spent planning what to pack, where I want to visit while I’m there and how I’m going to walk and swim and generally come back feeling fitter than when I left.

While I adore my day job, I have absolutely no problem switching off while I’m away from it. Apart from thinking about what to bring back for my buddies, I don’t give work a thought. I just step off into wonderland for a couple of weeks. It’s a different matter with writing though. I can’t switch off and if anything those couple of weeks away really get all my juices flowing. There’s inspiration for settings, plots, not to mention heroes

So, having just arrived back from a couple of weeks in the South of France, I am inspired! I’ve got sneaky photos of inspirational men, lovely villas set amidst pine trees and lavender groves, glamorous yachts and glitzy restaurants. My writing pad is jam-packed with plot ideas, some of which are scribbled on napkins or restaurant menus as hubby and I indulge our “what-if” games.

My head is buzzing with ideas …

Ah, indeed, there’s no rest for the writer ….

Tricia
http://www.tricia-jones.com

I started this discussion over at the AlienRomances blog and had some terrific answers. So I thought I’d give you all a chance to respond, too, amending it a bit as this isn’t strictly an SFF/SFR site:

Writing a book isn’t easy. But combining more than one plot line–which romance novels do more and more these days–can be killer. You have your romance arc and your suspense arc. Or you have your romance arc and your SFF arc. Or you have your romance arc and your inspirational/religious arc. Or…

So why do we do it? What drives reasonably-minded authors to spend the time penning novels that are sometime a precarious balancing act? The old adage is that writers write because they can’t NOT write. But certainly, we could (and some of us do) write other genres.

So here’s my challenge to published authors:Your name:
Your website:

Your name:Your website:Post your answer in ONE sentence:

I write [fill in your genre] because [fill in one short reason why–your best reason, your strongest reason].

Then answer this:

If readers could read only one book of mine, I think it should be: [title] because [one short reason why.]

I’ll start.

Name: Linnea Sinclair
website: http://www.linneasinclair.com/

I write science fiction romance because I love the vast possiblities, conflicts and love stories that can be explored in cultures and worlds that may not be like our own.

If readers could read only one book of mine, I think it should be FINDERS KEEPERS because it’s an accurate melding of SF and romance in a light, fast-paced and fun way.

(Wow, that last one was tough and I invented the dang question!)

So authors–post your answers! And readers, feel free to comment and tell the authors if you feel they’re on-point.

~Linnea
SHADES OF DARK, the sequel to Gabriel’s Ghost, coming July 2008 from RITA award-winning author, Linnea Sinclair, and Bantam Books: http://www.linneasinclair.com/

“Four and 1/2 Stars! Chaz and Sully are back, and their lives haven’t gotten any easier! Picking up after Gabriel’s Ghost, the singularly impressive Sinclair thrusts her dynamic lovers into a maelstrom of trouble. The first-person, high-octane action is exhilarating. When it comes to futuristic romance, it doesn’t get better than Sinclair! ” –Romantic Times BOOKreviews magazine

I had the best of intentions.  I actually wrote my post for the blog a week ago because I’m on vacation this week in the Great Smoky Mountains and I wasn’t sure what type of access I would have to the internet.  Luckily, I have wired internet access since I forgot to upload my post before I left.  Unfortunately I didn’t bring the drive I’d saved my blog on when I packed up the laptop, so I’m winging it. 

 Not a comfortable feeling for me.  If you read Linda’s post on introverts, you’ll understand.  I think I answered true to each and every item on the list.  I’m as introverted as they come.  Why am I taking a chance to write something I haven’t had a time to edit, polish and reread four times before I hit post?

 Because I made a commitment.  Time after time writers say the most important part of writing is the story.  I agree but I think the second most important is keeping your word.  If you volunteer to help at Nationals, serve as an officer for your local chapter or agree to write a monthly post to a group blog, then do it.  Don’t wait to see if something better comes along or slid out with a feeble excuse if it gets too hard.  Why?  Keeping commitments is an important part of becoming a successful writer.  Publishing houses need writers to meet deadlines.  Miss too many and you might just have trouble selling that next book.  If they can’t depend on you, people don’t want to work with you, whether that person is a member of your chapter, your dream agent or a publisher. 

 So, even if you have to come in from the hot tub with the view of the mountains while rain patters on the tin roof to write a blog post off the top of your head, do it.  You’ll feel better about yourself and find that keeping commitments becomes a habit.

Image via Wikipedia

I love the Fourth of July, and always have.  When I was a youngster we would hope that Dad made a summer business trip to Wisconsin, where he could buy legal fireworks and bring them home to Minnesota, much to Mom’s dismay.  But there’s something about loud, noisy explosions that just make the holiday come alive (provided you don’t blow your fingers off–how many times did I hear that every summer?).

Our nation’s love of pyrotechnics to celebrate Independence Day goes back to our Founding Fathers, and John Adams, who said in a letter to his wife Abigail, “The day will be the most memorable in America.  I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival…it ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade…bonfires and illuminations (fireworks) from one end of this continent to the other, from this day forward, forevermore.”

And speaking of John Adams, he’s who I want blurbing my next book.  I’m reading Cokie Roberts’ Ladies of Liberty (highly recommended) and ran across a line that made me grin real hard:

“But they didn’t lead a retired life…John Adams, so accustomed to having Abigail run everything, took to reading romance novels, much to his wife’s amazement, and continued to rely on her to manage their finances.”

I’d love to know what he was reading!
Fireworks and illuminations on July 4th make me think of my own writing of historical romance, and the serendipitous moments that fall into your lap. I realized that if my WIP’s current action is set around autumn 1814, I might be able to work in the burning of Washington and the battle of Fort McHenry. Sure enough, my dates coincided and suddenly I had a whole new scene referencing the rockets’ red glare from the poem “Defence of Fort McHenry”, better known to us as The Star Spangled Banner, by Francis Scott Key.

So if you’re one of the millions of Americans celebrating your nation’s independence and the beginnings of our growth as a beacon of democracy and freedom to the world, don’t forget to remember the men and women who made this all possible then, as well as the men and women who defend our shores today.  Remember, some of them, like you (and like John Adams) are romance readers!