How I Write-- What do your bookshelves look like?

Books... love them, but seriously, where to put them all? It was asked in my accountability group what our bookshelves look like. At one point, my bookshelves were organized. Then my cats got to them and knocked them all down. I seriously don't know what it is with these cats, but they are obsessed about the book shelf and knocking them all out on the floor.

I own way too many books and only one bookshelf. While my parents have boxes and boxes of those I'd packed up during various moves, I have over 500 here in this apartment. During my purge at the beginning of the year, I boxed up a lot of them and set them aside. The ones I kept for the shelves are those that are keepers...those I read more than once. Still, there isn't enough room.

While I did the purge, I sorted my books out in piles: historicals, contemporaries, paranormals/urban fantasies, and then those I had yet to read. As I set them back on the shelves, I started out with the historicals, working my way then to paranormals and then contemporaries. But, I didn't stop there. Not only are they separated by genre, they are separated by alphabetical order of author last names and then by series or standalone. All those books I had yet to read went on top of the shelf in their own little piles.

I still dream to have my own room that is wall to wall filled with books. And a cozy little reading chair. However, I have been buying a lot of ebooks lately. I think my parents would be happy about that, considering they are the ones who help me move. lol. Not only would I want a secret little hide-away that leads to the "library", I love the cubbyhole little reading area in the picture on the right. My only concern would be if an earthquake hit. LOL. Not that we get a lot of those, but I would be a bit paranoid it might all fall on top of me. Death by books?

My bedroom would not be without some as well. Can you imagine having a bed like this? I think I would store all the books I had yet to read under that bed. And for the office (when I get an office), I love the look of this "desk". All my research books would look awesome in there. Everything from anthropology to biology to psychology and history and whatnot. And of course, you can't forget about the livingroom. I really like what they did here, using bookshelves and setting them around the couch. It gives it an interesting look. Of course, you would need an open concept room, to set the couch in the middle like that, but still. It would totally work in my apartment. Well, if I got rid of the kitchen table. Who needs one? lol. These are just a few ideas of what would make my dream home. I love featuring books and showcasing them for others to check out. Maybe one day...

For more on personal libraries, check out the bookcases of my friends!
Danie Ford Emma G. Delaney Kimberly Farris Kristen Koster

How I Write-- What inspires you to start/keep writing?

Books can be hard to start at times. All those blank pages can be overwhelming at times. ESPECIALLY, if you're starting with action. I don't know about you, but fighting scenes are the hardest for me to write.

So how do I get started?

I listen to music. A lot of it. I play it loud so that it blocks out the world and focus on my chars. Sometimes the first sentence will pop up, sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes a line for the lyrics will snag something from my brain.

However, before this whole process starts, I usually will surf the net (a lot) or go on Pinterest and look at the images, hoping they'll spark ideas. I look for ideas of clothing, of objects the characters may have or use, of what their room may look like, etc. I pool it all together to get a better impression of the main characters and their life.

Sometimes random scenes will jump out at me. Usually these are highly charged and exciting. Scenes I can't WAIT to write. So I jot them down and usually some lines, if I remember them so that I don't forget. I'm bad, especially at night, if I get an idea, not jotting it down. I can guarantee by morning I'll forget. But during the day while the computer is open, I can easily go into the World Bible and jot those notes down. Because I write a series, I don't have tons of World Bibles. The whole world exists in one file so it's easy to find.

Getting to the end of a project is harder than starting. Yes, some ideas will flow as I write but there are times I'll get stuck. This is where I bug someone and pester them with questions or brainstorm with them. Sometimes, you just need that other person's thoughts. I'm lucky to be surrounded by a lot of great writers and friends. I'm not a first draft plotter. I'm more of a second draft plotter, so writing that first draft is a writing as I go process. However, music will always revive my inspiration.

For more on what inspires writers to get into their stories, check out these blogs:

Danie Ford
Emma G. Delaney
Kimberly Farris
Kristen Koster

LUV YA auction, hosted by Bria Quinlan

A friend of mine finaled in the Golden Heart with a manuscript I loved called Secret Life. Bria writes YA but what makes her characters so appealing and different are the struggles they face that a lot of writers shy away from. Anyway, Bria is trying to get to New York for the RWA National Conference. In order to do so, she's holding an auction. What can you find there? You can find crits for fulls and partials, crits for synopsis and queries, steampunk jewelry, book baskets, and much more.

It's for a great cause, so check it out! You can find Bria at her site: briaquinlan.com

Check out Operation Auction!

Right now, there's an awesome auction going on in the writing community. If you haven't checked it out, you really should. Not only can you win crits, but there are ebooks, signed books and baskets, lunches and more.

I'm just an addict...

If someone had told me that Fatal Visions would have turned out as it had, I probably would not have believed it. Especially not if they'd included the different plot lines and characters. Why? Because my story has changed so much over the years. When I first began, the story was a smidgen of an idea based on the Final Fantasy game and Medal of Honor.

That was it.

That first draft, I would never even recognize today. I was thinking about it earlier today at Williams with a friend and I can't believe just how much I've done on it. It's not that simple idea anymore. It's so weird how writers can take a seed of an idea... and then go with it and come out with an entire story or even more... a series. Everytime I start something new, it's just a smidgen of an idea. Nothing more.

But then I write as it unfolds. I don't plot. I can't. So ideas come to me as I write... and those ideas branch out into more ideas. And from there, entire chaos can occur. It's fun in one of those-- I don't know where I'm going but it's an adventure-- kind of way.

And when you finish that story? It's a high. So maybe all writers are just story addicts, out for their next hit as they search for ideas. :p

Single space or double? The quirky confessions of a writer...

I realized two things today.

A. I'm a single spacer.
B. I go bonkers if it's anything but.

I'm crazy. I'll admit that. I was editing today my chapters. Everything I write... or edit is usually in single space. I like it like that. It reads fine. But then the moment it goes into double... or exactly 25 lines, it's like it's a whole different manuscript in front of me.

I don't know what it is.

Really. I don't. But suddenly it is not the same, tight, ok reading manuscript but something that just reads stupid and doesn't deserve to be seen. I get twitchy. Honestly it's that bad. I've closed documents before because they weren't in single space and just read wrong.

So I made a comment on twitter. I asked if there were others out there who felt like this? Because honestly, it's a weird feeling. It'll be perfect one way and the moment it's in a different format... bam!... it's that thing in the closet that you don't want anyone to ever see. I wasn't too surprised. 3 preferred double. 1 preferred 1.5 (which I will admit isn't too bad. And this was my trick when my school essays were too long...). And then my 1 for single spaced.

Conclusion: writers are a weird, quirky bunch.

RWA Conference- Part 1

I've been debating how to go about this, not because it's difficult by any means, but because of the vast information that came out of this. It was crazy. I'll say that right off. It was overwhelming and go-go-go, and OMGAGENTS/EDITORS!, but in a nutshell, it was an experience that I wouldn't have turned away. It was great and near the end, did not want to leave.

We drove down on the tuesday (July 14). We being Kendal Corbit, Dayna Hart and moi. Kendal and I began our journey tuesday morning at around 9am. Leaving hedgie with her husband, we packed up the car and headed out to pick up Dayna (stopping first to grab breakfast at Tim Hortons). It was a two hour drive or so when we got to Dayna's home and met her adorable children and husband.

After one small detour (ok we took the wrong road and got briefly lost a moment) we were on our way and soon arrived at the border. This was the second time crossing the border for me, and my first experience hadn't left a dazzling impression, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Would they make us get out of the car? Would they take us separately and interrogate us about where we are going? Would they go through our bags? They did none of this. Nothing but ask us where we were going, for how long, etc. I felt relieved, even moreso when we crossed the bridge and was off through the interstates of New York, stopping in Pennsylvania at Arby's for lunch.

The drive had an amazing view of the hills and trees. All the way down. It was quite scenic and surprising but then again, we didn't go through the cities. It was nice and with TomTom directing us, we made it to Washington DC in one piece around 9pm. I'd like to say something eventful happened, but really, it was a smooth drive in which our discussions went all over from grammar to our pitches to what we expected would come out of the conference.

So we get to the Marriot Hotel. It's huge. Dayna meets up with Crystal and Kendal and I head up to our room. Our room 5-066. We expect to be coming into a double. But oh no, double doors. So we step inside and see a sitting area, plus a bar. This doesn't include the bedroom that is a bit off to the side with doors to close so that those in the sitting room don't bother those in the bedroom. It's huge. Apparently they double booked and our other roomie, Chrissy, managed to get them to upgrade us to a suite for the same price as a double.


The room, was awesome. Granted we didn't spend a whole lot of time in there except to sleep, but all in all, it was a room that made the whole trip just a bit more comfy. Hungry, Chrissy, Kendal and I went down to check out one of the small restaurants (Harry's Pub I believe). There, we are eating when all of a sudden a group of women approach and one of the women stops, looks at us, and asks "do I know you?"

At this point, I'm floundering. Um... maybe? The woman looks familiar but unsure, I go with a quizzical look and a "I think so? Not sure." Oh yeah, I'm so great with my words. I'm not a writer or anything... really. (add sarcasm) pffffffft.

Good thing her brain was working because she then asks if I am on the Divas (Romance Divas if you don't know). Um... yes! That woman was Diva Lisa or Eden Bradley for those who've read her books and although she looked familiar, I have a thing where if I'm not sure, I get this stupid quizzical look and don't say anything with fear that I'll put my foot in my mouth. Although I know I look just as stupid. Really.

With her was Christina Cross and Vivienne Westlake and another whose name, I apologize, escapes me. After dinner we all went to the bar, where we met other divas such as Jax and Kristen and Kat...etc.

That first night I didn't stay there. I went to a friend, Kai,'s house where I met her dogs December and Robin. Take into account that by the time we got there, it was about 1am. Suffice it to say, I still hadn't prepared my pitch. A pitch I was supposed to deliver on friday. More on that later.

What's your clothing brand?

There's so much talk about finding your brand as a writer lately. I'll admit I'm a bit intimidated by that notion, because your brand as an author encompasses everything about how you look and present yourself at conferences, your website, business cards, Twitter, facebook, bookmarks... so many different things that need to be thought about. I keep hearing that your brand needs to work with your writing style and I can understand that.

At the Romance Divas chat last night, we were discussing at one point what to wear at conference and a wonderful diva and friend, Sela Carsen, pointed out how we should dress as we write. This took me off guard, I'll admit. But the more I thought about it, the more what she said made sense about what we write shining through to how we lean toward certain clothing attire and whatnot.

Therefore, if you write darker romance, suspense-like tones (like me), dark colours in clothing could work if it's a more classier sexier dark top. Your cards and website would also have a darker appeal to them. You may wear jeans and a ragged top or sweats while you work on your novel but how you present yourself at conference should be clean and professional. Perception is everything.

Interesting.

So how are you going to dress? What's your brand?

So what came first...

the writer or the characters?

I've been thinking about this lately. Why, I'm not entirely sure. (Just like I started to question the meaning of time, but I digress.) A lot of people, if you were to ask them would probably tell you they started to write early on, maybe even was born to write. Then there are others who started later in life, they decided they wanted to try it out and... there we go.

I was always a daydreamer. It's why I like silent vehicle rides because it gives me the chance to slip out of reality and dream up stories in my head. I can't recall a time when I didn't just stare out of the bus window, dreaming up scenarios of suspense and whatnot; and yes, romance. If someone were to ask me where these thoughts came from, I couldn't say.

I didn't start writing until public school, when I was in grade seven or so. Oh sure we had to do short stories (can't for the life of me write that short, btw!). I once wrote (with my mom's help) a story in grade five or something about a cat (Cue- modeled off our huge white male cat called Cue) that was catnapped. I can't recall if he was a show cat or something but either way, the story was spun out and I think the neighbour was the culprit but I cannot be sure now. Anyway, we had an author come in and he liked it and gave me my first praise. I remember thinking, oh, I can do this but I didn't do anything more. I didn't write.

I read. Oh did I ever read. But I didn't write.

Then grade six came along and we had to write a short story (I think 5 pages or so but mine no surprise, turned out to be a cramped 10). This story was spun on suspense once again where I was the main char and I was going off too BC to meet my cousin but the train derails and it goes from there about me finding my way back. Teacher read my story in front of class. I was...embarassed.

Still didn't write. Not on my own. I was too busy dreaming. Grade 8 would be the year I decided to put my pencil down on paper. I remember my friend writing. She had started a novel and for some reason, it clicked at that moment. It was a 'oh why didn't I think of that' kind of moment and so I began. I've always loved the supernatural. We'll talk about Diego (the ghost that up to last Christmas I thought was gone but...now I'm not so sure) another day. It wasn't a surprise that my first attempt at a novel was about a boy named Devon who was a telekinetic. He moved to a new town after his parents were murdered to live with his aunt and uncle and was just starting highschool. There he meets Kirby, who will then become his crush throughout even when the killers follow him and whatnot. Turns out his uncle was the killer and had done some psychic testing on the boy or whatnot.

I got 400 pages into the book (400 written pages that is) before I stopped. Why? Not because I lost interest. Oh I loved sitting in the chair by the window with my discman and writing in the sun. No, didn't lose interest in that story, but I had then started reading Kathy Reichs and so my love of forensic anthropology began...and thus, my muses. I started a story about a murder... and my main char an anthropologist. I didn't get far into that one.

I've been asked before where I got my ideas. In grade 9, I began writing Fatal Visions. Why? Not because of a book. Not because of a show. But because of a video game. I was hooked on my brother's playstation Medal of Honor game. It was about the war and it just...intrigued me. Add Final Fantasy with Squall and Rinoa to the mix and *poof* instant muses and J.C., Amy and Stefan were created. Really, aside from them and Broderick, no other chars from that time stuck. Gone was the doctor known as Josef. Gone was Karen, the motherly figure that tended to J.C. when he was little and when he broke from conditioning (another thing that changed). Gone was two baddies and a fatherly type teacher. Oh one other guy did stick, but his role changed, from bestfriend of Amy to baddie.

So what came first? Did the writer or the characters? I'm not really sure. To a point, the framework of the characters have always been around. But for me, I needed that push, the drive, the 'oh why didn't I think of that' moment to get me to put pencil to paper.

So where do you come in? Did you need a small push in the right direction or did you just 'know' and it was the only way to close off your characters' voices?

Writers' Spaces

I've been wondering lately if I need to set up a work area just to write. As is, at the moment, I come home from work, having worked at a computer all day, then drop onto the couch and with my laptop on my lap, work on it like that. Nothing wrong with it, it's comfy, but I want to use the wall to put pictures on... and pieces of info to use... and just the bare bones of plots. I suppose this is like a plot board. Unfortunately I rent so I would have to be careful with the wall. I've always wanted like a window in the middle of the room... like a divider to write plotting ideas on.

Do you have any specific way you have set up your writers' space? Check out these writers and their writing spaces.