Reader Feedback

As an author, they tell you not to check reviews. They can mess with your headspace, but sometimes they can motivate you. They also help point out things you might have overlooked. Reviews seem to have slowed since the pandemic. I've seen stars, but not feedback. Well, this is me doing a happy dance.

I recently received several new reviews on Chirp from people who have enjoyed my books! This comes at a crucial time, because I'm in the home stretch with the new book. Knowing there are people out there who enjoy what I'm writing motivates me to keep going. 

The new book? It's sort of along the lines of the Epitaph series, a romance with a ghost in the background. It's tentatively titled THROUGH THE VIEWFINDER. Inspired by a cold case that was recently solved where I live. A photographer rediscovers his passion for taking pictures only to find he's taken a picture of a ghost. On top of all this, the struggling tour guide who inspired him, who told him the urban legend behind the ghost's appearance on one of her tours, finds herself in someone's crosshairs. 

I have a date with the editor, but haven't set a release date yet. Should be mid to late summer. I'll keep you posted as details become available.

Writing is rewriting and "chaos"

Part of the writing process is relearning lessons over and over. Usually different lessons with each book. The lesson I’m sharing with you today is "writing is rewriting," because I have my seam ripper in hand to fix what I stitched together incorrectly this week.

Because I'm a pantser (I write by the seat of my pants), I often don't know exactly where my story is going at any given time. I know my plot, I know what I'm writing toward, but I don't necessarily see the stepping stones along the way. One of the tricks of the trade is that each chapter should end with a "hook" that will pull readers into the next chapter. The saying is that trouble is interesting, so often an author will write their characters into a corner and then have to find a way to extricate them. I did that. The problem is the trouble I wrote requires a major plot point, and I already have one of those. Now I have two plots competing for page time instead of a plot and a subplot. Enter the seam ripper. Now I need to tear apart those references and soften them into a subplot, a blind stitch, to continue the sewing metaphor, that holds the story together without calling attention to itself.

In line with the "trouble is interesting" guideline, I've been reading author threads recently talking about how difficult it is to write trouble in these turbulent times. While we live in times of chaos - every day is a new affront to the rule of law - I find I'd rather look for smooth sailing and peace. People say they use writing to escape the troubles of every day life, and I completely agree with that, but that applies to every day troubles, not a constant state of chaos. I've definitely had a much more difficult time focusing on the writing this year, hence the need for a rewrite to fix a runaway thread. With that being said, I do like how this new story is coming together, and the farther into it I get, the more I can't wait to see how it turns out! 😉 Spoiler alert - I know how it turns out, but life is about the journey, not the destination, right?

So back to rewriting this story into something you'll all love!

Tarot for Authors

Some books fight you every step of the way. Last time this happened, I was writing the Mist series and was struggling with my antagonist. Shout out to my esteemed editor, Kelly Lynne Schaub, who recommended a book to me that she referred to as Tarot for authors. It's called The Writer's Brainstorming Kit: Thinking in New Directions. It helps authors get out of their heads and think outside the box by breaking down the parts of your story.

• Role/Pursuit
• Trait
• Goal
• Motivation
• Internal Conflict
• External Conflict
• Growth/Realization
• The Ordinary World
• Trigger Event
• Change of Plans
• Black Moment
• Resolution

For each of these bullet points, the book provides "thinking points." If you buy the hardcover book, it comes with a deck of cards. Each card gives you a theme. Each theme breaks down five things to consider for each of these bullet points. If you use the eBook version, the book associates each theme with a regular deck of cards, broken down by suit - Spades, Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs. It then cross references the card with the options that come on the "tarot" cards in the hardcover book/kit.

The beauty of the book is that you can apply the tarot to one part of the process or the entire project. Need to map out your story? Shuffle the cards and apply one to each of the bullet points. Need to refine a character? Use one of the cards most closely associated with how you want to present your character and it suggests the steps that character can go through from "role" to "resolution." Need to build your plot? Pick a theme and follow the bullet points for ideas. Need to send your plot a new direction? Pull a card and read the "trigger event" for possibilities. Don't like your options? Mix and match. Think outside the box. The suggestions are meant to get you to think, not a limit or a boundary for what you are writing. 

After thirty-some-odd books, I've covered a lot of ground in my books, and it's easy to get stuck in a rut, or to inadvertently revert to an old character. While I've been making progress in this book, I've felt disconnected from one of my characters. She felt too much like another of my characters (or a couple of my other characters) while I was striving for something different. So I stopped. Re-evaluated. Decided I had to do a character sketch, maybe even a character interview to dig deeper into who this person is and why she is the way she is.

There are many resources out there, but this is one I keep coming back to. It isn't a how-to, it's a "let me help you think." Everyone has their own style, their own process. Anyone who tells you their way is the right way is lying to you. This book gives you what you need while still allowing you to do it your way.