Romance Weekly Blog Chat for September 30, 2014

Do you like to read romance novels? Wouldn’t you like to know more about your favorite authors? Well, you came to the right place! Join the writers of Romance Weekly as we go behind the scenes of our books and tell all…… About our writing of course! Every Tuesday we’ll all answer the same questions and after you’ve enjoyed the blog on this site, we’ll direct you to another. So come back often for a thrilling ride. Tell your friends and feel free to ask us questions in the comment box.

Hello, welcome to this week’s edition of the Romance Writer Weekly Blog Hop. Thank you for hopping over from the talented Collette Cameron, http://blueroseromance.com

This week’s three questions are from one of our amazing authors, Vicki Mixon.  Are you ready? Let’s get started….

 

1.    Was there a defining moment in your life when you knew you were going to become a writer? If so, what was it?

I’ve always loved writing. When I was a child in elementary school, I remember our second grade teacher would occasionally post a picture from a magazine on the chalkboard and ask us to write a story about it. I loved those assignments! I never had any problem coming up with a plot and a story to tell about those wonderful photographs.

As a young girl, I spent many hours writing stories and reading. In those days, I started so many stories but truth be told, only finished one or two. I loved writing the beginnings – getting to know the characters, writing about their dilemmas – but I would get bored when I got past those parts. Today I realize that I wasn’t mature enough to sit down and tough it out through the hard bits, where the story sometimes can bog down.

I even submitted a couple of short stories to a contest held by American Girl Magazine, which was and still is a great magazine for tweens.  Unfortunately, I received my first rejection notices for both stories, and that was a bit of a setback to a budding author.

As a senior in Highschool, I decided to take an Independent Study class. Assigned to one of the English teachers, I wrote a short novel called “Summer’s Lease”. I found it a humbling experience and I realized when I was done with it, that I hated working to deadlines. How naive I was at seventeen!  Deadlines were to become my constant companion in college and during the next thirty-three years of my career in systems engineering.

When I finished that short novel, and thought how hard it was to write under pressure, I changed my decision to major in English Literature in college. I believe today that this change in focus was a huge mistake, but there you are. Decisions of seventeen year olds always seem so wise at the time, but so incredibly stupid when one is older.

For a number of years, I put my desire to write aside. It would resurface from time to time, but never enough to do anything about it. Finally, in 2007 the writing bug bit me, and it bit hard. For the next five years I worked on and off on a full-length novel. “Alabama Angel” was the result, and I love this story.

Since moving to Florida over a year and a half ago, I’ve joined a wonderful chapter of RWA and I’ve learned so much. I have rewritten and revised “Alabama Angel” several times, and after a request for the full manuscript, it is currently under review with an editor at Entangled Publishing. Wish me luck!

 2.    When you write a story do you see it unfold as one big picture, or do you add layering in subsequent drafts?

I usually start with a very high-level overall idea of how I want the plot to move along and what I want the characters to do. Once started, I’ll write several chapters and then go back and rework and rewrite, adding some things that I realize were missing as I moved farther into the plot. It’s almost as if the beginning is a throw down of all of my ideas, but they are still unformed, and it isn’t until I get closer to the middle, that I realize I’ve forgotten some important bits and pieces. Therefore, I layer as I write. I go back and fix things once I’ve finished, so one might call that adding layers as well.

3.    How many drafts do you usually write before you send your work to your editor?

It’s hard for me to answer this question since I’m currently unpublished, but I will answer based on my experience with my first two completed novels that are out for consideration with publishing houses.

Once I think the novel is complete, I review, edit and rewrite as much as I think I need, before I turn my novel over to my critique partners. After they get through hacking away at it, I make those changes, and then send it on to a Beta reader. Our RWA chapter is wonderful and provides Beta readers when asked. After I’ve completed these steps and it can take several months, I cross my fingers, hold my breath, and either pitch the novel at a conference or send out query letters.

 

Well, that's it for me. I hope you enjoyed your visit! As you leave, don't forget to jump over to the wonderful Victoria Barbour, at her blog site  http://victoriabarbour.com

See you next week!

 

Warmly,

Mikki Cober

 

 

Romance Weekly Blog Chat for September 22, 2014

Do you like to read romance novels? Wouldn’t you like to know more about your favorite authors? Well, you came to the right place! Join the writers of Romance Weekly as we go behind the scenes of our books and tell all…… About our writing of course! Every Tuesday we’ll all answer the same questions and after you’ve enjoyed the blog on this site, we’ll direct you to another. So come back often for a thrilling ride. Tell your friends and feel free to ask us questions in the comment box.


Hello again! So glad you stopped by after visiting the talented Leslie Hachtel at her blog website  http://lesliehachtelwriter.wordpress.com    

This week, we are answering three questions from the awesome JJ Devine.  These three questions are focused on our how we handle a storyline shift, if we prefer writing in one season over another, and how publishers are chosen. My three answers are listed below, so let's get started.

 
Question 1. You’re moving right along with a storyline and suddenly it takes an unexpected twist. Do you go with the flow and follow where the twist leads you? Or, do you conform your story to your way?

Interesting question. I am both a plotter and a pantser, so I think the term for me is Plantser. Because of this, I start out with a plot outlined. I know where the hero and heroine are supposed to go and what’s supposed to happen. But! Suddenly, one of them takes a serious left turn and heads off in a totally new and unexpected direction. When that happens – and I love it when it does – I let my characters speak through me. I become their conduit and I let them tell me what they need me to write. I find it fascinating when my characters know the story better than I do, and find a way of telling it that I never planned, plotted and would never have expected.

 
Question 2. What time of year is your best time for writing? Winter, summer, fall, or spring? 

I don’t have a seasonal favorite, but if I did, I’d have to say summer. Since I now live in Florida – and it is summer pretty much 24 X 7 – summer is when I do my writing. I still have to force myself to sit down and write. It’s hard not to let Twitter, Facebook, email or an on-line game that I am very addicted to distract me (and no, I won’t reveal the name. I’m too embarrassed).

 
Question 3. When looking for a publisher do you chose a traditional press, indie route, or one that does both, eBook and print?

I have submitted my two completed manuscripts to publishers/editors that do both print and eBook. Right now, I’m eager to find that match and to have a publisher/editor say to me, “Yes! We want to publish your book. Here’s a contract!” Maybe after I have a few books out the door, I will be more selective, but right now, I am drawn to anyone who can help me reach my publication goal.

 

Well, thank you for stopping by and taking the time to read my responses. Please jump over to our next wonderful author, Eden Ashe http://www.edenashe.com  and see what Eden's answers are to these three questions. 

 

See you next time!

Warmly,

Mikki Cober

 

Romance Weekly Blog Chat for September 9, 2014

Do you like to read romance novels? Wouldn’t you like to know more about your favorite authors? Well, you came to the right place! Join the writers of Romance Weekly as we go behind the scenes of our books and tell all…… About our writing of course! Every Tuesday we’ll all answer the same questions and after you’ve enjoyed the blog on this site, we’ll direct you to another. So come back often for a thrilling ride. Tell your friends and feel free to ask us questions in the comment box.


Welcome to this week’s Blog hop. So glad you stopped by after visiting with Dani Jace at her blog  http://www.danijace.com. I’m sure Dani’s answers to this weeks questions were terrific.

This week, we have three questions centered on our favorite aspects of writing and choice of settings. Ready? Here we go with my answers.


1. What’s your favorite aspect of novel writing? Dialogue? Setting? Conflict? Narration? Explain.

Conflict is fun, especially since my novels always have murder and some element of mystery. Putting a twist into the scene as part of the conflicts adds a dimension to the plotline. When I plot out the story, I like to use conflict, both in dialogue between characters and setting/scene to enhance the story and keep the reader guessing. 

2. How do you choose the setting for your plot? Are they always similar settings or does it vary? (i.e., small town, big city, castle, etc.)

I like to choose areas that I have visited in the past. My husband and I love to travel, and it’s appealing to bring a sense of real location into my plots.  It’s wonderful when a reader can “see” the setting in their minds as they read. To me, it’s like watching a movie in my head, and some of the best novels I’ve read, have immersed me into the setting. So far, for the three books (two completed and one WIP) that I’m working on, all are set in different parts of the United States. For example, coastal Alabama, Sarasota and Juneau Alaska. I like variety!

3. I’m a big six-word memoir fan. (Hemingway even wrote one.) Describe your writing day using just six words.

I would describe my writing day with the following six-word phrase, “A release of emotions trapped inside.”
 

Well, that’s it for me. I hope you enjoyed your visit today, and I encourage you to jump over to Raine Balkera’s blog at  http://rainswritingrealm.wordpress.com     and see what Raine has to say about our three questions.

Come visit me again!

Warmly,

Mikki Cober

Romance Weekly Blog Chat for September 2, 2014

Do you like to read romance novels? Wouldn’t you like to know more about your favorite authors? Well, you came to the right place! Join the writers of Romance Weekly as we go behind the scenes of our books and tell all…… About our writing of course! Every Tuesday we’ll all answer the same questions and after you’ve enjoyed the blog on this site, we’ll direct you to another. So come back often for a thrilling ride. Tell your friends and feel free to ask us questions in the comment box.

Hello! Thank you for stopping by my blog. I hope that you enjoyed the insights on writing, editing and when to submit, shared by the amazing Carolyn Spear on her blog,  http://www.carolynspearromance.com/blog

In this week’s blog, we are answering three questions, posed by our own Ronnie Allen. I am not a published author at this time, so my opinions are based on my efforts to date with my two completed manuscripts and the third work in progress.

Perhaps my comments below, will provide you with a different perspective than my published colleagues. So here goes.

 

1.     When do you decide that you've done enough editing and additional changes would make it different, not better? So, it's the time to submit.

That’s a hard one for me to answer, as my opinions are the result of my early experiences completing two manuscripts. So far, I have written and revised until I feel that my manuscript is fairly solid. Then I give my manuscript to family members and a critique partner or two, who provide me with their feedback. I review the edits, comments and suggestions and make whatever changes seem rational to me. Once the manuscript is as clean as I can make it, I consider it ready, and then I decide whether to pitch to prospective editors, publishers or agents (if it’s close to conference time), or to send out query letters.

 

2.     When and how do you accept change advice by rejection letters and critique partners?

So far, the rejection letters I have received have been a bit obtuse, with no specific critique comments. There have been some implied concerns, which I have worked to understand and then to incorporate the interpreted corrections into my writing as best as I was able. I have received far superior comments, suggestions and edits from my critique partners and Beta readers, and I am so grateful for these people. They have been the ones who have really helped to improve my writing. Again, as stated above, I usually receive this type of guidance once I have sent my manuscript out for review. It’s when I receive that feedback that I take all of the advice into consideration and make the necessary changes to improve my manuscript before I resubmit.

3.     When you're not writing, how do you spend your day, or do you create your day around your writing?

When I’m not writing, I focus on family. However, that doesn’t mean that my thoughts don’t travel back to ideas about my next plot, or my hero and heroine, and what their struggles will be in my next manuscript. Since I love to write mystery and murder into my romance plotlines, my hero/heroine have their work cut out for them just to survive.

And yes, to be honest, some of my best ideas come to me in the shower. Maybe scrubbing my hair helps to stimulate my brain!  ;-)    

 

Well, that’s it for me. I’m glad that I was able to share my thoughts with you today, and again, appreciate you stopping by. Next, I invite you to please stop by Mishka Jenkins at her blog  https://awriterslifeformeblog.wordpress.com/  - I know she will be able to provide you some wonderful insights about her fantastic writing life.

Please come again next week.

Warmly,

Mikki Cober