Wicked Wordsmith

Beautiful, Deadly Cities

I love weird news tidbits. They always do a lot to stimulate my imagination.

Today, Digg introduced me to the Environmental Graffiti blog post, "10 Beautiful Yet Deadly Megatropolises."

There are some odd factoids about the worst cities to live in because of pollution. santitation, overpopulation... the list goes on and on.

The photos I found the most startling were from Cairo. The air quality is so bad there, you can barely see anything.

This photo really fit with some of my ideas for a futuristic urban fantasy. How deadly living can be in a world that is forgotten. (Yes, I know. I relate everything to writing. My friends love me, anyway.)

I think that's why I axed subscriptions to magazines about writing and started subscribing to magazines that inspired me. Saved me money and provided resources that were much more in tune with the Muse. Now that we have blogs, I find myself surfing endlessly for ideas and inspiration - sometimes to the detriment of the writing itself.

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Finding the Inner Writer in Me

About six months ago (I refuse to think it was longer), I kept trying - and failing - to get into my manuscript DECEIVED.

It's a serial-killer-escapes-prison thing, with a hot romance erupting alongside the hunt for this Very Bad Man. I love serial killer stuff - always have. My personal reference library is filled with strange and wonderful texts on the mind of serial killers, the FBI, true case books and anything forensic-related.

But it seemed, perhaps, that I was tired of the genre. I'd been reading it for years, but the last few years I'd added a plethora of crime dramas to my evening musings. Law and Order, Criminal Minds, CSI: Las Vegas topped the list of must-watches each week.

As I watched, the storylines became even more predictable than before. I had the killer down pat within the first five minutes, and spent the other 40 (ax commercials) watching how the writers finally built up to the whodunit.

I found the same trends in the novels as well. No idea is original, but it felt like today's authors were mimicking old stock instead of finding creative twists to make stories their own.

When I tried to get into DECEIVED - about a third written - I just could not do it. The characters felt stale, the plot contrived and it just seemed like too much work to start over on something I'd worked on off and on for a year.

Of course, I immediately pulled out the whip and castigated myself for not finished the MS, and for lacking the creative courage to strip it bare and start over - or to have the gumption to even try. I felt like such a failure. I questioned by ability to write fiction. I wondered if I truly, truly wanted this dream I'd had since I was a child, writing fairytales with weirdly dark beings.

One day, I decided to sit down and find my muse again.

I thought about people with child-like innocence.  I decided to figure out what inspired me as a child so much so that I would sit for hours, drawing pictures and making up stories to go along with them.

The answers were immediate and startling:

Dragons, warlocks, unicorns, magic, good witch, bad witch, strange lands, shifting shadows, bad things hiding in my closet, creatures not of this world.

Everything and anything to do with fantasy - and mystery - but not necessary mystery grounded in stark reality.

It was a serious wake up call for me as an author. I had added a few paranormal twists to my stories - like psychics - but nothing with serious world building.

This made me realize that I needed a change of genre - even just for a bit. I won't ever be rid of mystery or romance in my stories, but maybe I can add a dash of magic to make my writing world that much more fun and delectable. 

Over the next few weeks, I plan to pull out DECEIVED and see what I can salvage, but my main focus for writing will be on an urban fantasy. Ironically, it isn't the one I thought of a few months ago, but a new one that seems to "work." The idea is much more original than the one I had before and it is screaming louder than the other idea.

If I want to get rid of the voices in my head, I'll need to hurry up and write it.

Dreaming Up a Scene

For the first time in a very long time, I dreamed of a scene for a new book.

This character just came to me a few days ago, her eyes haunted, her lonely soul calling out to me to tell her story. I don't know her very well right now, but I could easily envision her in a few very key scenes for an urban fantasy novel.

Last night, the unnamed woman was seized by black magic and, after she healed, saved the life of the man will soon be her mate. The scene was so real, I could practically feel her pain, the sizzle of the deadly magic in her veins, the terror of watching her nearly die.

It was amazing. It was incredible. And today, I MUST write out this scene!

I remember once, author Sharon Sala talking at a conference about how she allowed her subconscious to "dream" scenes - particularly those that were tough to write for whatever reason. 

I thought to myself, Geesh, I wish I could dream up the scenes and write them fresh. That would totally rock.

Before last night, I'd dreamed of scenes, but most times couldn't remember most of it when I woke up, or the scenes were more disjointed than I thought when I started to write them down. This time, though, I'm hoping it will be different. I hope (fingers crossed) that this scene remains just as vivid - and coherent - as it seemed to be last night.

{Art found at VoiceYourself.com}

Why My Writing Days Tank

And I wonder why I don't get any writing done?

As I sat, Dee Whompus (She'll womp-n-knot-on-you if she's in a mood.) gets up and stretches from her cushy place on my office chair.

Oh, did I mention that I am frequently relegated to the very hard, white folding chair when my cats are in the office? Oh yes. They walk around me, claw me, step on the keyboard, block the screen and do whatever they need to get my butt out of the chair so they can plomp down into it, snuggling deeply until they are asleep.

Wicked Thoughts and So-So Stories

Writing erotica and romance isn't easy.

I struggle not so much with stories and plots and characters as personal convictions on if it is right to pen these stories or not.

Growing up in a conservative household (I'm still conservative in politics) sometimes make it difficult to finish stories. Of course, having my mother constantly say I'm going to write for the Christian market if its the last think she ever does doesn't help, either.

In my critique groups, I was always known as the one who took the sexual risks (in fiction). I didn't hesitate to write a hot, steamy love scene if it somehow moved along the plot or brought my characters to a new level. I'm not into sex for sex' sake. I'm for sexual realism in fiction. As a Christian, I know sex happens before marriage. I know people like to get hinky and kinky and down with it. Fiction writers should be able to express that.

I think, for me, fiction is not realistic if it doesn't' have some sort of intimacy. I find Alison Kent's work a sexual overload and could not finish her stuff, but I do like subtle innuendo - when it is written correctly. (Victoria Laurie is a terrific example of romance that works without a ton of explicit nookie.) Hot sex works in several instances, but only when it doesn't overtake the plot, like in Jory Strong's novels. 

I've read several books sans sex and the two characters never connect. There is no ping moment where they are all hot and bothered for each other, or they discover they have some sort of connection beyond a physical attracts. They are just two cardboard characters who never quite reach a point beyond acquaintances.

Finding a good balance between the plot and the romantic relationship is key to story enjoyment for me.

So how do you connect two characters in a novel to make their romance real to readers? 

Here are a few links to Web sites that want to help:

Writing-World.com

Romance Factor

Laurie Sanders of Black Velvet Seduction does a terrific course on Deep POV that authors in any genre would appreciate. She sets everything up in a blog, where you log in and take the course at your leisure.

What do you do as an author to connect your characters? When your characters aren't compatible, what do you?

Back in the Saddle... And Lovin' It

It's been months since I have put pen to paper to write something I WANTED to.

For the past six months - no, maybe longer - I've furiously types blog posts for clients, launched Market My Novel, wrote a minibook for a client on social media, tried to wrap up the Market My Novel book (won't even go there right now), posted interviews and guest blogs at Book Addict, rounded up new contributors for Pop Syndicate, wrote book, TV and DVD reviews, and took care of four beautiful kittens (all females) a stray Mama was so kind to drop on my already cat-ladden doorstep.

Whew!

By the end of my days, I could not even THINK about looking at the computer. And since my thoughts race when I write, I usually to need to type them out. (Pen and paper went out with my passion for journalism.)

Of course, my idea juice was seriously lacking like salt in an over-zealous runner. I had zero creative ideas for my fiction and could not even think about picking up Deceived again (As you can see from the unfinished novel blog).

After a few contracts fizzled, my workload changed dramatically and I found I had a lot more time than before. Trying to get myself organized to write, though, wasn't easy. 

Getting Started

Over the past few weeks, I've thought about writing - but haven't done much with it. When I first went to the gym in early 2000, I spent three months prepping my brain for it. Each day I thought about the gym until, when I finally got a membership, it was part of me, in my daily thinking - a natural fit to my day.

I'm doing the same thing for fiction writing. I spent $45 on some terrific blank notebooks on the Barnes & Nobel clearance rack and bought some expensive ink pens I really like, but rarely buy, to use with them.

I put one notebook next to the bed and every night, I wrote ideas. The first night was dismal. I wrote one sentence, then doodles and tried to think of something. Eventually, I fell asleep.

Each night, I sat with that notebook and tried to think of ideas - other than the ones screaming inside of my head the past few months - that would jog my creativity. You know, that one idea that gets you so jazzed you cannot write about it fast enough.

Two weeks later, the ideas are flowing like water.

Last night, I hit on a protagonist that I really like - an urban fantasy chick with unimaginable powers.

This is a far cry from the erotica suspense stories I've worked on in the past, but it moves me in a way those stories don't right now.

I won't give up on the serial killer story with a psychic, or my detective mystery series, but I think magick is what I need right now to challenge my brain and take me back to my childhood, when I loved unicorns and demons and trolls and things that went bump every night underneath my bed.

Things Change

Of course, as soon as I started this effort, my schedule changed. I have some more projects that will take up more of my time.

You know what?

I don't care. If it means losing a few hours of sleep, I'm going to WRITE. This has been my passion since I was a child and I'm ashamed to be nearly 35 without more than a short story publication credit under my belt. I always think if I had a husband who supported my career, it would be different, but single girls CAN do it better.

What ways to do you stay organized? How do you get a jump on creativity? What motivates you?

Leave a comment.

Cost of Self-Publishing Books for Kids

It isn't easy to figure out exactly what it will cost to self publish your books. Each publishing house has different pricing for different services. Some services give you a better ban for your buck.

Yvonne Perry of Writers in the Sky tries to make this process a little easier for children's authors. She counts the pennies of self publishing her books in this eZine article, "Printing and Publishing Children's Books: Counting the Costs."

Marshall Karp Talks Writing at Pop Syndicate

Author Marshall Karp has some great things to say about writing in his interview with Pop Syndicate's Editor-in-Chief, Stefan Halley.

Read about how Karp got started, why he likes to write about cops and how he stays fresh as a writer by visiting http://www.popsyndicate.com/books/story/marshall_karp_is_flipping_out

Twit Your Novel

Twitter lets you tell folks what you are doing in 140 characters or less. Some writers, though, are using it to create flash fiction of the super-short kind. Others, however, are using the social media tool to create full-length novels, or share portions of manuscripts with followers for feedback, reader interactivity and publicity.

Last year, SocialMediaWorld.com interviewed Twitter author Nick Belardes about his experiences. I thought his advice on the use of Twitter was smart, and definitely for the time- and structure-savvy author:

Don’t write a novel using Twitter, but mold a novel, transform a novel using Twitter. In my opinion, Twitter isn’t a scratch pad. Any good writer should have a plan, and so should either use a completed manuscript, or a portion, as is my case. The line-by-line rebuilding of the manuscript should be challenge enough. There should be lots of note-taking, forethought, and not just random phrases thrown at readers.

At Twitip.com, Brandon J. Mendelson, author of Twitter novel The Falcon Can Hear The Falconer, offers these tips on how to create your own novel on Twitter:

• Throw out the manuscript.
• Have a plan
• Keep the story moving
• Create a Web site with backstory for people who start following you well into the book.

Read the full post with a thorough list of tips at Twitip.com.

Using Facebook to Your Advantage by Angela Wilson

Social networking is the key to your writing success. And Facebook is the hottest social network around. Without the clutter of MySpace, Facebook offers easy navigation to help you find fans old and new through friends, groups and fan pages. Through Facebook, you can promote yourself to a more mature demographic - one that reads and has cash to spend. Limiting the number of friends each user can have forces users to target their demographic - a key component to any successful marketing strategy.

Today, I chat it up with Mari Smith, relationship coach and Facebook expert. She has great tips on how to utilize this important social network.

Mari, how did you become a Facebook expert?

My background is as a Relationship Coach. I have certifications in relationship coaching, success coaching and developmental coaching. I've always been fascinating by people and relationships and I have much expertise with many personality assessments. At the same time, since 1999 I've been an internet marketer and have created many successful information products.

I felt I was running a "two-hat" business! So when I became active on Facebook in July 2007, it was such a natural fit for my personality and skillset because my two worlds merged perfectly: relationships + the internet. I quickly immersed myself in Facebook and before long my peers started asking me to teach them how to get started with the platform.

What are the advantages to using Facebook over other social networking sites?

In my opinion, Facebook is very stable and is here to stay – they will be one of the long-term giants alongside Microsoft and Google. They are rigorous about enforcing their terms of use, their platform has more whitespace and is cleaner/easier to use than likes of MySpace. The demographics show members are more mature (average age is 35), better educated and more quite collar workers.

In addition, Facebook's feeds enable members to create consistent visibility among their friends. Plus, members tend to be more responsive when you reach out to connect via a wall post or email, for example.

What are the disadvantages?

If not approached properly, Facebook can be a huge time-drainer. It's vitally important to have a strategic plan, a way to measure your results, limit your time and delegate some of the activities to a trusted assistant.

Applications are a PAIN, but many feel if they ignore a request, or block an application, that it will hurt their social networking savvy on Facebook. Is that true?

Gosh, not at all. I recommend to my students and clients they make best friends with the "ignore all" button! There are simply way too many applications to worry about using/testing them all. When you ignore a request to add an app, the friend who sent you the request doesn't receive a notification. You can block apps, ignore all app requests from specific friends or just use the ignore all button which seems easiest.

Every day, I get three to five emails from the same groups, or individuals on Facebook. I've finally started deleting without opening, because I simply don't have time to read them all. What should Facebook users know about using the email option in the site?

I'd love to see improvements made to Facebook email. It's possible to email any other member on Facebook unless (a) you've blocked them/they've blocked you or (b) they've set their privacy settings to not receive emails from non-friends. So, you could find yourself receiving a LOT of email the more active and visible you are.

Responding to email is one of the primary tasks my Virtual Assistant helps me with.

Many group members send out excessive emails to the point it feels like spam. The simple solution there is to leave the group.  If you're a group owner, keep in mind once a week is probably sufficient – and/or be sure to survey your members and ask them what they want to receive.

Is there a way to send a mass email out to everyone in your Facebook network without typing in each name?

No. This is one of the most popular questions I get. Many marketers want to be able to build a "list" and message them all at once. Facebook wasn't designed to be used this way. You can message up to twenty friends at once – but there's no BCC and the default is "reply all." So, often you may find yourself on the receiving end of an email thread that has no relevance to you. My recommendation with emailing lists of friends is to only message people who (a) have a pre-existing relationship or (b) the purpose of the email is to introduce them.

The good news, however, is there are workarounds to reaching your friends en masse. Building out your own group is a popular way as is creating a fan Page. Other workarounds, include staying active to maintain a presence in the News Feeds of your friends.

Facebook offers Fan Page and Group options. Tell us about these and how they work.

A Fan Page is one of Facebook's solutions for business. The idea is you build up fans (as opposed to friends on your personal Profile). Everyone in business should for sure create at least one Page for two primary reasons: (1) the Page gets indexed so can be found on search engines and (2) you'll need another place on Facebook to direct people once you hit the 5000 friend limit. With Pages, you can have unlimited fans.

Groups are also a must-have for business owners. I recommend setting one up for a special interest or particular focus of your business, as opposed to a Group just for your business. The nice thing about groups is they are more informal and members tend to be more active than on a page. However, I do recommend having both at least one Group and one Page for starters.

Facebook ads are becoming more frequent. Do they really work?

It depends. I have read stats that show the click through rate is lower on social network ads because members are not in the mode of searching, unlike on Google. However, Facebook's Social Ads can be a powerful way to increase visibility and notoriety. And, with consistent use, over time you may see a significant increase in click throughs. Ads are also good for promoting a one-time event, for example.

How can you make Facebook ads work for you?

Advertise something that is inside Facebook, not outside. For example, your Page, Event or Group. That way, members don't feel like you're trying to sell them something. So, you can use ads to simply build more awareness of your presence on Facebook and then use the Page, Event and/or Group to further build your relationship with your friends.

Can using Facebook mean better sales?

Absolutely. More and more business members are discovering the power of Facebook to reach targeted clients, set up profitable joint venture partnerships, and deepen relationships with key influencers in their industry. All this leads to an increase in sales.

Are contests effective on Facebook? Can they really drive traffic to your site, or increase your number of friends?

It depends on how well executed the contest is. If a contest also includes promotion on your blog, Twitter, YouTube, press releases, ads, interviews etc. then for sure you could increase your friends. However, would they be key targeted individuals? I'm a huge advocate of building out your friends organically, deliberately and strategically. With over 110 million active users and you can only be friends with 5000 of them, why not choose your friends very, very carefully!

How should you consider working your Facebook presence into your marketing campaign?

I would start with a solid blog with a design that reflects your brand. Import your blog into Facebook using the Notes application. Set up an account on FriendFeed – import every site you're on with an RSS feed. Add the FriendFeed Facebook application.

Give us your top 5 tips to using Facebook.

• Focus on quality relationships, not quantity.
• Import your blog using the Notes application.
• Be active daily, if only for five minutes.
• Include Facebook as part of your overall marketing plan.
• Start a Facebook Page to represent your business, along with your Profile.

Special thanks to Mari Smith, Facebook diva. Mari offers free Facebook advice on her YouTube channel. You can also find her on Twitter, WhyFacebook.com and her Web site, MariSmith.com.