Alison Kent

Rituals Vs Distractions
Writing and Mothering

PBW’s secret weapon against internet time-sinkage: a kitchen timer

The timer allows me to spend about an hour total on the internet each day without getting sucked into it. Bell dings, time’s up. While I’m on (besides writing posts) I use the time to read weblogs, hit some web sites, gather links and answer e-mail. If anything on the internet or related to it gets me angry, I sign off and walk away. (…) I have no problem doing this. I unplugged from the internet once for a year after discovering it was taking over my life and messing with my work. Unplugging taught me that I don’t have to be online to have fun.

Jennifer Crusie’s method of “figuring out what’s important to me and ignoring all the noise that doesn’t matter,” via comments at PBW

The problem with being a writer (one of many) is that it’s all in our heads. It’s not like ditch digging where you can fume all day and still have a perfectly good ditch when you break for dinner. The time-spent list for writers isn’t what we’re doing, it’s what we’re thinking. (…) It’s awfully easy to get swept up in somebody else’s priorities if we don’t have clear idea of what ours are. So right now, write down the top ten mental priorities in your life, in order, the ten things you want to spend your mind on. Now write down what occupied your mental energy in the last week.

From the FVT, torn from her 07/05 Cosmo and surreptitiously placed on my keyboard: 6 Ways to Simplify Your Life

Between the e-mails you need to save (messages from your boss, e-ticket receipts) and the ones you want to save (JPEGS from parties), your in-box is overflowing. So start sorting. Make a folder for every category of email you receive (plus one labeled “911!” for high-priority items) and file or trash messages promptly after reading them. Also, stop logging on every five minutes; three to five times a day is enough. (Emphasis hers!)

Beating Procrastination - Squeezing Time to Write

When you are writing, limit the opportunity for distractions to interfere. Take the phone off the hook. Close your email program. Write at a time when the world around you is less likely to intervene. If this is not possible for you, then select a location that will discourage distraction. A library is great for this. A quiet park or reserve can inspire wonderful scenarios. I personally write with a set of headphones on and the volume turned up. The only things in my world when I write are the mood-music I’ve chosen and my screen/notepad.

Are You Really Writing - One of my fave discoveries because it SO describes me!

Writers conferences are great places to meet published authors, established agents, and working editors. They are places to network, meet fellow writers, learn about the business and the craft of writing, and get questions germane to a particular writing project answered. However, not only do conferences consume weekends and time off work, they also cost money–sometimes large sums of it.

A writer that attends a conference as a passive observer instead of an active participant may as well have stayed home. Except for a few interesting twists or anecdotes, little can be learned at a conference that cannot be gleaned through careful study of well-researched books (and websites) on markets, agents, and writing.

Anyone else have tips for dealing with time-suckers?

From Natasha:

We who write Romances practice the Craft of the Happy Story. We are not weak for it. We are not dull, dimwitted or unlearned. We strengthen and uplift those who are jaded by real life, and need to feel hope in the fictional worlds of their fellow human beings. We who read Romances carry the Craft of the Happy Story close to our hearts. We are not ashamed of this happiness, and we will not give it away because others will it to be so. We will gladly engage you in intelligent discussions about our choice of reading material, but should you become snarky, we will be forced to wait until you can grow up a bit.

Our genre of choice is Romance, because we all deserve to be happy, dammit.

I love it. Also loved the same thought from Alesia Holliday earlier this week at Romancing The Blog:

Hi. I’m Alesia Holliday, and I write funny, romantic books. I’m so proud of that - and I don’t need anybody else to approve, or respect me. I got tons of respect as a trial lawyer and, let me tell you, writing romance is WAY more fun!

And I love her reasons why! Here’s a snippet of what she says. Check out the rest, and bravo to her!

Rule of thumb: No matter who we are, nobody ever likes exactly what we like, except maybe our beloved — and even then, probably not always, but we accomodate. And the more detail the writer goes into when writing a sex scene, the more chances she runs of imposing her fantasy while smashing ours all to hell. We careen into the realm of Too Much Iinformation, nor are we happy to find ourselves there.

She also has a few things to say about RWA, the most notable for me being:

If you’re a writer, you are not primarily a romance writer, or an inspirational writer, or a science fiction writer, or a literary writer. Or an erotica writer. You are a writer, first, last, and above all else. And as a writer, you cannot stand silently watching censorship happen, just because it isn’t censorship of you. (…) Think about it. Think about where you are sending your money, what you are supporting, what statement you are making when you say, “I belong to this organization.”

I have more to say on the organization and my experiences with it, but that will have to wait for another day when I have more time!

Off to the closet today. I picked ARC winners below. If you posted, check for your name and send me your mailing address. Earlier in the month, I received a box from my agent and an envelope from my editor with even more copies - 9 of Larger Than Life and 9 of Beach Blanket Bad Boys - and I’ll give those away in a few days. Right now, I gotta go whip the current chapters into shape - which will hopefully be easier after yesterday’s epiphany.

See, I go into stories blind as far as to most of the characters’ backgrounds. I like discovering those tidbits of history as they need to be revealed or as they began to impact the characters’ actions within the story - usually fairly soon. Thing is, it makes for a really slow beginning every time. Once I hit a certain point in almost every book, the rest of it flies. What I figured out yesterday was that I have three story men, each with a different obsession.

One is obsessed with justice. One is obsessed with the truth. One is obsessed with his art. Each of these obsessions could easily destroy the lives of these men who can’t see the forest for the trees. And they will come very close to losing the loves of their lives because of that narrow focus. When I read back through all I’ve written today and edit it into shape, here’s hoping that my epiphany had already snagged my subconscious and I won’t have a lot to revise!

Eine heiße Affäre - Christian Bane ist ein Topagent des geheimen SG-5 – smart, eiskalt und extrem sexy! Bane liebt sinnliche Frauen, aber er misstraut ihnen auch: Der Verrat einer Geliebten kostete ihm einst beinahe das Leben. Banes neueste Mission: Er soll die dunklen Pläne der aufregenden Natasha Gaudet aufdecken. Doch bald merkt Bane, dass er in eine tödliche Falle gelockt wurde. Und wieder muss der smarte Spion einer Frau vertrauen, die er heiß begehrt: Natasha …

Verbotene Nächte - Der attraktive SG-5-Agent Tripp Shaughnessey überwacht einen Imbissladen in Manhattan. Laut seinem Informanten missbraucht das Verbrechersyndikat Spectra IT dieses beliebte Restaurant als Operationsbasis. Doch als Tripp sich plötzlich eingesperrt im Vorratslager des Geschäfts wiederfindet, ist sein Auftrag erst mal vergessen: Denn bei ihm ist Glory Brighton, die unglaublich verführerische Chefin des Lokals …

“Heiß, heiß, heiß! Mehr Spannung als in einem Starkstromkabel!” ~ Romantic Times

For a super in-depth, first-hand account of the whys and wherefores of the workings of the RWA board, check out Mary Stella’s comments on Kate’s blog. Mary Stella has board experience and knows that:

There are also some actions that must be taken because of association law. The man who was the RWA attorney when I was on the Board (He may still be.) was one of the top association attorneys in the country. When he brings something that could put the organization at risk to the attention of the Board, the Board has to have damn solid reasons for not acting on it. I’m amazed at all the things I learned in that year. Not all of it comfortable.

On another note, I found 4 ARCs of JINGLE BELL ROCK and 2 ARCs of LARGER THAN LIFE that I need to get rid of. Post if you want one or the other and I’ll come back on Tuesday and randomly select the lucky recipients!

I’m loving the discussion on writing fast vs writing slow and release schedules and overhwleming readers’ checkbooks with the same and the idea that anyone would ever write for fun! *gg* Check it out below. Good, good stuff!

A couple of final interview type thingies.

Lara Zeises
Marianne Mancusi
M.J. Rose

Now for some Deep Thoughts.

This rumination is sparked by an interview with Sherrilyn Kenyon I read yesterday where she says she aims for writing 100 - 150 pages a week, and has been known to write 100 pages in a day when needed, giving PBW a run for her money. *g* On the other hand I know authors whose mantra is “less books, more money” and whose goal is to write one book a year once they’ve reached their personal financial threshold for advances, etc. That’s all well and good, but the two extremes lead me to wonder a few things. See, I have so many stories to write that I wish I shared Kenyon’s or PBW’s ability to pour the words onto the page. But since it’s so painful for me to do, I can’t say the idea of getting the most money I can for writing fewer books doesn’t appeal. (In fact, right now I’m wishing for a super Gingko / SAM-E supplement with focusing power cuz I ain’t got none!)

Here’s the thing. About the writing one book a year. What happens to all those stories that never get to be told? I have a gazillion sub-folders in my main books folder with ideas that run from nothing more than notes to a 75 page proposal that I’ve never done anything with. I’ll never have time to write them all. Yet the idea of writing one book a year from the creative angle stands my hair on end. No way I could limit myself so, even for sanity’s sake. And I am not the type to write for myself. I live with myself. I don’t need to write for me. I can leave stories in my head and visit them there if it’s just for me. If I write, it’s for readers.

So, here are my survey questions. *g*

If you are a reader, can an author actually put out too many things in your opinion? (And re-issues don’t count for this survey as those are publisher-driven.) Do you find the writing or the stories from those who do grow stale? Or does it depend on the author? Can some keep it all fresh and entertaining while others seem to write by rote?

If you are an author, what’s your viewpoint? Do you prefer to put out a book a year or so and have readers salivating for your latest? Or do you enjoy giving readers all that you can because of loving what you do? Do you think it’s wise to take a break between projects, refill the well, dive into the next one rejuvenated? Or do you write as the muse (or as finances) demands?

Dear FVT:

On behalf of Tomball College and the Department of Veterinary Technology, allow me to say Congratulations on your acceptance to the premier program in Veterinary Technology for the State of Texas. You have been chosen as one of the very select few to enter this dynamic and exciting field of study starting in the fall of 2005.

Damn. Gotta sell a nice high concept package now to pay for this! (Else I should’ve said yes to the contract work!)

The new RWR has arrived with the Member Survey “concerning the direction in which the membership wants our organization to go.” The task force working with member input to come up with a “Basic Definition of Romance that can be applied when questions arise as to what, for our group’s purpose, constitutes a romance” has offered members two choices in the survey ballot (emphasis mine - pointing out this is the only the organization’s definition, not a genre definition).

Read the rest of this entry »

From Donna Andrews via Lee Goldberg via PBW, I think I might start up my own promo service, LOLOL! Here I’ve been providing all this good will for free; what is WRONG with me! *ggg* And speaking of me, here is more! (Are y’all tired of this yet? Tomorrow is the final day of my tour!)

Tamara Siler Jones
Shanna Swendson

On the web design front, check out my newest, live now at Shannon Stacey. Also, I’ve picked the book for the July 1st AK Bookclub discussion.

So, I took the What Kind Of Blogger Are You? quiz yesterday, and turns out I’m a pundit, ha! Those tables end up breaking my blog so you’ll just have to take my word on that! But here’s another one I did that was pretty cool (actually, the dh did it last night using my blog)!