Skip to main content

Do your characters whisper in your ear that you should cheat on your current characters?


Just write us for a little while. They’ll never know. You spend too much time with them anyway. They’re so needy. Their story is finished; come play with us.

Okay, so maybe I’m a little crazy. But if you’ve been reading my blog, you already knew that. I prefer to call it eccentric.

And more than just my characters calling to me is my (Adult) AADD. Yep, it exists, and I could probably write many more stories if I’d ask the doctor for drugs, but I hate to take medicine.

Anyway, case in pointwith that little bunny trail.

I have an iPhone app full of stories to write. Last count, twenty-two. You would think that not having an idea would be hard, but sometimes I think having too many ideas is more difficult. Even on a deadline, the other stories in my head insist on creeping into my conscious, whispering such nonsense that if I don’t write down their story, I’ll lose them forever.

And sometimes, I cave. Yes, I know I shouldn’t allow them to bully me around, but often my characters have very controlling personalities.

I have a daily quota of two thousand words to meet my ever-approaching deadline. Hey, Nicholas Sparks does it, so I know I can too. Please cheer me on, and more than anything, please keep me away from all distractions.

And some might say that writing this blog was a distraction, but I think of it as medicinal. Getting it off my chest, hoping other authors will rally around me and cheer me on, and ensure me that I’m not alone with this affliction.

And believe it or not, I do manage to get some of these characters out of my head and on paper.

You can read more about what I write and see my line up of bestselling romantic-suspense novels and mini-mysteries with a paranormal edge at these websites. And hey, I'll even give you a FREE book just for stopping by.

Until next time, happy reading!

Carmen


If it isn’t available free in your area, use…
Smashwords



Comments

  1. You can do it! 2,000 words a day isn't too big of a deal. Think of it as roughly 2 hours of straight writing, or 4 half hour segments. Not so much in a long day :)Cheering for you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. See...that's the kind of cheering I need. Now to stop liking funny images on Facebook and write. :)

      Delete
  2. I am so with you on this one! While writing a series of books that are as much stand-alone novels as they are connected, I often have characters that appear in one book as a supporting character decide to bring me into their world and tell me what's going on over there...even if it's four books away! Case in point: in book two of The Butterfly Memoirs series, Jaded, you are introduced to Yasmine's brother, Brandon. I was editing a scene between the two of them, pulled up his reference pic to channel his voice, then all of a sudden, his eyes spoke to me. He is now book number 7, with a rough idea of what his goal and motivation would be, as well as what he's looking for in the perfect woman. I had no choice but to audio record that until I can put it on paper and file away.

    Carmen, I think our straight jackets got lost in the woods after our last escape from the facility.... :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are too funny for words, MJ. So true. That is what happened. Little do the doctors know that we are free and selling books with our madness. Always good to know that you are not alone in your craziness.

      I like Yasmine's brother already. I'm glad he's getting a chance at a lead role, but now anxious that I have to wait through five books to see him. :)

      Delete
  3. My story clip file (ideas for new stories) has 124 items in it! In addition, I have a few books that need to be finished, some that need to be rewritten, and the ones I am currently editing or getting ready for publication. I've been working on planning my NaNo novel and in November will focus solely on that. Well, mostly.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Whew! And I thought I had a lot.

      I got tired just reading. :)

      Good luck!!!

      Delete
  4. I loved this post! Thank you. And no you're not crazy! LOL

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"As in any fairytale, everything good must come to an end." ENTANGLED DREAMS:

Now, if you’ve read any of my novels or excerpts, you know I don’t do happy-go-lucky beginnings; and as in any fairytale, a little rain must fall, or in the case of my stories, I prefer a monsoon. This week’s excerpt: But alas, as in any good fairytale, everything good and wonderful must come to an end. After the tragic accident that snatched her mother away from Alexandra, her father moved them away from the beaches of Destin to another beach in Florida. Cocoa Beach. Cocoa Beach was loud, the water murky, and there were no weekend adventures as there had been in Destin. Her father married her evil stepmother, Lilith, who Alexandra was certain was a witch with her long, black as midnight hair and pale-white skin as if she’d never seen sunlight. Her father had admitted he wasn’t in love with Cruella, as she had come to think of the witchy woman, but that he’d wanted Alexandra to have a mother and siblings. Well, she definitely got that. The k

To prologue or not to prologue, that is the question. Readers, please weigh in!

Personally, I love prologues. They get you right into the action whether it was in the past or something exciting that is to come. But that’s exactly why most agents’ blogs I’ve read say not to use them. Paraphrasing…“If you need a prologue, then your story must not be strong enough…” Hmm … well, I like them, and I use them. But I’m curious what readers think, and I’d love you to weigh in. AND, if you have some great examples, please leave the title in the comment section. Now … here’s what I’ve noticed. Plenty of bestselling books have used them, even though they aren’t always called prologues . Same diff in my opinion. My biggest example is ‘Twilight’. If that little blurb wasn’t in the beginning, I don’t think I would have made it through the first chapter. How about movies? I don’t watch a lot. But I’ve started to notice how many have “prologues”. I also don’t have cable, but I have NetFlix, and hubby has just started watching ‘Breaking Bad’. Okay … I

The rule of thirds: No matter what you do, someone will hate you. Get over it and Write On!

No matter what you do in life, a third of the people will love you, a third will hate you, and the rest will be indifferent. Get over it and Write On! Yes, I'm talking to myself. If you're listening, GREAT! It's good advice! Is it easy advice? Heck No! For some reason, even though that percentage is rather low on my books--the percentage of people who hate my books runs about 4.6%--it still hurts.  Note: I only averaged the 'firsts' in my books, the books I actively promote. Because if I go to the second, third, and fourth books in my series, those numbers drop drastically. Obviously, if readers don't like my first book, they don't go on to the rest of my books in a series, so those books receive little to zero one-star reviews. So...if the number of one-star reviews we receive is less than five percent--Thank God ALL of the 33 1/3% of the haters don't write reviews--why do we get so depressed when we receive a one-star review