Author: Jonathon

Been fielding a bit of critisim over the writing help blog I put up. So please let me clear up a few things.
First, Laurell didn’t post that, I did, Darla. We seem to have a larger than usual number of requests about being a writer and the steps to take. Laurell does have a piece I usually send to folks about Being A Beginning Writer.
It is intended to help. I only send it to folks who have asked for it. Some folks have said it helped them. Some found the advice doesn’t work for them. It doesn’t match their style and method of writing. Those links are included on the bottom of the piece. I put them up for more people to find and use. Scams especially seem to be on the rise, or at least that is the impression I get from the emails. It was simply offered as a resource for those who wish to use it. I wasn’t implying anyone was not a writer because they don’t submit to a publisher or just never get published. If that was what I wanted to say, I would have stated it as such.
Second, people who emailed are not satisfied with writing for their own pleasure. Are those who write for themselves and no one else writers? Yes. But they do not want to be published. Not being published does not make one less of a writer. But it is the difference between a hobby and a profession. Most folks do hobbies for the simple enjoyment of doing it. If that is you, then go for it. But then again hobbyist don’t write in asking about how to find an agent, how to submit to an editor, heck how to locate an editor to submit to! It is not info they want or need.
Writing like any other art is very subjective: even amongst editors. What one editor will turn down, another would love. If you should end up submiting to multiple editors (do them one at a time!), you may get conflicting statements on what works and what doesn’t. It is simply a matter of taste. And in the case of editors, saleability. This is a business. Publishers are in it to make money. They may love the story and the writing, but if they suspect it will not sell then it is useless to them. Which is why you may get great rejection letters: loved your story, thought the characters were great, sorry not buying it.
The original info was aimed at those who wish to make a profession of it. Who want to see their book on the shelves in book stores. Will they succeed? I don’t know, that is a big maybe. Even being bought and published is no guarantee of success. I can name several authors whose books I like, but it wasn’t selling well enough for them to continue being bought by editors. If being published is your dream, you will certainly fail if you never try.

One of the things we seem to be getting a lot of lately, is requests on how to make your dream of being a writer come true. There is no magic formula for getting published. It isn?t like assembling a piece of furniture. There are no directions written out that will guarantee you success if you follow it exactly. What works for one author will not necessarily work for another. And each author seems to have their own ways of doing things. It?s another one of those pesky, what is right for one person isn?t right for everyone things that so often crop up in life. Still, if it is your dream then here is some places to look for help.
There are lots of books available at your library or bookstore and how-to?s on the Internet. Here are some good links to check out.
Especially check out the SFWA (Science Fiction Writers Of America), has a very good section on scams to watch out for. No one should have their dreams stolen by unscrupulous people.
David Brin: http://www.kithrup.com/brin/advicearticle.html
Lots of advice from a variety of authors http://www.eyeonbooks.com/craft.html
Learn your craft with others! http://sff.onlinewritingworkshop.com/
Lots of very useful info on the publishing industry: http://www.sfwa.org/beware/
Darla

What we’ve done so far:
A nature center where we could view the original flora of the area. We also saw a wild bird rehab center. We hiked. Took pictures of wild life, though admittedly most of the wild life was of the small kind; insects and arachnids. We’ll post pictures when we get home.
We swam with dolphins at a research facility. Again, we’ll post pictures later. Trinity and I both had a blast. Interestingly enough dolphins have no discernible odor. They don’t smell fishy, or of anything really. I know they’re mammals so expecting them to smell fishy maybe a prejudice on my part, but I expected some scent, other large animals have distinct odor. Wolves, big cats, you name it, the animal smells unique. Since I started writing the shapeshifters I’ve become more aware of scent, and I just found it interesting that dolphins were scentless to me. Maybe they aren’t to their trainers, but I had one put it’s beak (nose is a misnomer since they don’t really have a nose like we do) pressed against my cheek in a kiss for a long time, and I could feel dolphin, but smell nothing but the ocean water. Just thought that was interesting.
Jon and his parents watched us swim, though Jon might be persuaded if we do it again. Apparently, it was fun to watch as well as participate.

Typing this in bed in our hotel room. Jon had to get a wireless card for us to be able to blog. Either that or sit in the lobby. I don’t think so.
Jon has just informed me that he thinks the blogging would go better if I were topless. I think less drinks for him tomorrow.
Trinity is finally tucked into her room with her first ever sunburn. We put SPF 50 on her, but she was too long in the pool and it washed off. If she gets another marathon session in the water, we’ll reapply. She’s not liking the sunburn much. She has the arrogance of a person who tans really well. Heck, she never wants to put sunscreen on. I think she won’t argue from this point on. For the rest of us that burn either easily, or at least don’t tan, sunscreen is a way of life in some place this sunny and bright.
We’ll post photos later of where we’ve gone and what we’ve seen. But for now, I’m just happy to be blogging from the road.

Hi! Darla here. First, let me wish a Happy Easter to all who celebrate this holiday. Hope the bunny was good to you.
Second, let me address the Blood Noir Excuse Note. Yes, I know it is the third time we have done it. We really weren’t planning on doing it again, but it is back by request. Quite a few emails came in asking when it would be available, so we did one. It is meant to be fun. To the few folks who thought it was serious. Um, no, not really. But you are free to try and use it. If it works, let us know. We can all use a good chuckle.
Lastly, I apologize for missing the grammatical error. Ooops. It actually went through several iterations and I missed the you’re should be your. It was just when things got rewritten, that word did not get changed when it should have. Sorry. I will repair it when I have the chance.
I hope you all had a great weekend. And remember not to just eat the ears off that chocolate bunny!
Darla

I’m very into both the Merry book and the next Anita book. My imagination is just so there. How there?
I’m making a pile of books to take on vacation, specifically to take on the plane. I’ve got some research books that it’s finally time to look at, and I start to get one to take and read on the plane. Then I come to my senses and realize that probably my fellow passengers and the crew would have no sense of humor about my choice of reading material.
What book is it? IMPROVISED EXPLOSIVES: How to make your own by Seymour Lecker.
Would they just take away the book on the plane, or make me get off? Or would they just keep passing by my seat more than normal, and wonder? Either way, the book stays home.
I have this image of me in my bathing suit and sun hat, lounging on the beach, reading about explosives. The image both pleases me, and is a little disturbing, but I think I’ll save my fellow vacationers from the worry about my choice of reading material and leave it home. The explosives are research for Anita, so it’s not the next one on the list anyway. I am taking a book on SIX-LEGGED SEX, about insect life, for the goblin court. Probably not this book, but next, but still reading ahead is never bad. It gives your imagination time to percolate.

I did eight pages of Merry today, and seventeen of Anita. Yeah, you read that right. Seventeen pages and I just cleared a hundred pages. It’s unusual to hit that kind of stride before I’ve got about half way through a book, and I know that this is not a short book. Merry is over three hundred pages, but though I know where I’m going with it, I have a lot of choices in this section so I’m going a little slower to pick and choose among the choices. I find when there’s a lot of different things that could happen in a section that unless the book is very sure of itself that I’m better off going slow, then speeding through. It saves rewriting later. Of course, if the book is sure then full steam ahead.
So the writing is going great guns, and of course, we leave on vacation tomorrow. It’s not that I’m not looking forward to a trip with my family to some place warm. But, seventeen pages, and I’ve averaged ten pages a day for Merry for the last six days. It’s the longest stretch of that much production on SWALLOWING DARKNESS to date. I’ve hit my stride with the book, and now I have to leave?
It is wrenching to leave a book when it’s at that white heat. So, I’m not leaving the book, just home. The idea is that I’ll write in the morning, except for the morning we go deep sea fishing (early start), and we’ll do vacationy things in the afternoon. But that schedule will only allow me to work on Merry, which is what’s due, not Anita. Unless I hit an incredible streak of production in the morning I can’t make everyone wait on me to work on two books. I’ll feel blessed if I can keep up the momentum on DARKNESS.
But as Sherry pointed out this week there is never a good time for me to take a break from the writing. She’s right. But, dear God, seventeen pages, and I’ve been averaging over ten pages on most days that I sit down and work on this new Anita book. Even for me, the two books are going amazingly well. And now, I’m leaving my lovely office behind. I’m going to be working in a hotel room, or trying to. Yes, I’ll have my computer with me, and my keyboard, and stuff, but it’s not the same.
I’m hoping this will be a successful experiment, though. Since I never stop working, but I want to take more down time, I’m going to try and combine it. Just as the research/vacation earlier this year worked better because I had goals and was working rather than just trying to suddenly relax, maybe working a little on a ‘vacation’ will be the answer to taking more of them. Maybe.
We’ll see starting tomorrow. Wish me luck on the plane ride. Damn phobia.

Thirteen pages of Merry. Eleven pages of Anita.
I think that says it all.
Oh, and happy spring equinox. Happy Ostara.

I’m listening to Nine Inch Nails, the song “Sunspots”. I love the line, “We’ll make love in the fire and spread all the ashes around,” don’t know why, but it seems to say something to me about love and lust.
I’ve thought of a lot of things to blog about tonight. That we just finished watching the Disney movie, ENCHANTED, and it was great. All three of us highly recommend it.
But what I meant to blog about earlier in the day was that I’ve started the next Anita book. Yes, BLOOD NOIR, is the next Anita book and it’s safely in New York getting ready to go through the final part of the process so you can all have the book the last week of May.
I’m over half way done on the Merry book, SWALLOWING DARKNESS. That’s nice, over half way done. I’ve found my stride, at last. The scene I did today was fun and frightening, beautiful and horrific. It was a Merry moment. I can’t tell you much about it without giving away some very major plot points. I’m in the end game on the book, so I can’t share. Sorry. I just wanted to reassure everyone that though I’m blogging about Anita, Merry is well in hand.
I’ve been giving myself permission, if I finish the deadline pages early enough, to write on anything I want later in the day. What’s been wanting to be written is Anita. I’ve never actually written two different books in two different series at the same time before. I’ve written one, and edited the other, but I’ve never attempted this much first draft of two books simultaneously. I wasn’t sure it would work, but since the next Anita book is due at the end of November, it’s not like the work will go to waste.
I loved the first two chapters of the Anita book yet to be titled, but then I bogged down. I just couldn’t seem to bridge the next scene. I put it away for a few days and just concentrated on Merry. Then an idea came to me, or rather a way to get Edward on stage earlier, at least by phone. So, chapter three was Edward on the telephone, and it worked. Now Anita is on the ground hunting vampires out of state and Edward is there. Olaf is on stage, and I’ve even brought back a character oft requested that was also in OBSIDIAN BUTTERFLY, yep, Bernardo. It’s like old home week.
I almost didn’t do this book next since we spend most of BLOOD NOIR out of town with just Jason. I didn’t want to do two books in a row where we’re out of St. Louis with less than the full cast. But this was the book that needed to be next. I’ll go days and not work on it, because some days it takes all day to do Merry, but more and more often I seem to be able to work on both. The voices are strong, not crossing, and the supporting cast is unique to each book. Knock on wood, so far, so good.
I actually work at one desk in the morning on Merry, then change to another desk and the second computer in the afternoon for Anita. I’d been doing different music, too, but today I didn’t. Today, I had my musical score from the main play list all day. I’ve only found that I can’t write Anita to Sarah McLachlan, and I can’t write Merry to Audioslave. Other than that, it was cool.

I just finished an e-mail interview that took me five hours to answer. I actually went through the music on my ipod from Breaking Benjamin to Finger Eleven. I didn’t realize that I had five hours of music from “b” to “f”. The interview was long and detailed. Wow. I’d kept putting the interview off until I actually forgot it was still pending, now, five hours later, I realize why I kept “forgetting” it. It wasn’t just a Freudian slip, it was an entire Freudian negligee. But it’s done, and Darla can send it off tomorrow.
I have to say that more and more interviews come in on a regular basis, which is cool, but frankly, I think the e-mail interviews take the most time now. Why? Because it gives me time to reread, rewrite, make certain the answer is what I wanted it to be. Phone interviews may not be perfect, but at least they’re done and out. One of the worst things you can do to a writer is give them more time to write something. It’s like that old joke where a writer apologizes that the letter is so long, but they didn’t have time to write a shorter one. No time to edit.
I’ve actually coined a new saying: Sometimes you nail the interview; sometimes the interview nails you.