Working Wednesday: Back in the Saddle

Hey everyone!

As I mentioned in the recent Memorable Monday post, I'm back from my blogging break, and resuming with not only my regular blogging schedule, but work on my new adult, paranormal romance.

But before I get onto that, an update about how my job at CQP is going, and a little bit of cross promotion. 

Over the summer I was offered a promotion at CQP. So now, in addition to my social media management duties, I'm in charge of web curation - i.e. making sure guest posts, and the weekly column by Irving Podolsky goes up correctly, complete with images etc. - and organizing review and blog tours for our titles. 

I'm really loving the new duties. Handling web curation just makes my social media duties all that easier, as I'm not waiting on others for links etc. and working with the authors, helping them organize blog tours, is nothing but a pleasure. Everyone I have contact with is so friendly, and it brings me so much joy helping other authors get their work out there.

CQP have a lot of big things coming up in the next couple of months, including the launch of their anthologies Primetime and After Dark; which I CANNOT wait to share the details about when everything is finalized. 

And I'd like to invite anyone who is interested in what CQP are doing to join us to, by either signing up for our reviewer and blog tour host mailing list, or signing up for our monthly newsletter which contains exclusive details about releases, contests and giveaways. 

So, as I mentioned, over the summer I took some time off. When I wasn't doing my CQP work, I was hanging out with my boys - more about that on Friday - and not thinking about my novel(s).

I'm SO glad I took a break.

Before the break, I was very unfocused, and unsure what I wanted to be doing. I was starting to fall out of love with my paranormal romance, because I always find editing the hardest part, and I was questioning what I wanted to be as a writer.

Part of that was inspired by my sense that I haven't done enough. In the eighteen months I've been blogging and taking my writing more seriously, I haven't published ANYTHING. Yet people who started out around the same time as me are on their third or forth novels. Added to that was the pile of novels I've shelved for the time being.

I was really feeling like I needed to get something out by the end of the year, and was toying with the idea of self-publishing an old, shelved, contemporary romance as a serialization online. 

That led to a lot of confused thoughts, with me wondering if I should be writing PNR at all, or if my focus should be on contemporary.

After lots of back-and-forth and a little bit of time redeveloping my contemporary romance, Hubby had some words of wisdom for me. He said, I shouldn't be rushing to get a book out this year, just for the sake of getting a book out, because the quality will suffer. When I publish something, it should be the best I can make it at the time. 

He's so right.

My first published book has to mean something, because this is what the literary world will base their initial opinions of me on. 

So, what do I want to known as?

Well, my blog title says it all, doesn't it? Clare Dugmore Writes Romance with a Twist. While I love romantic plots, and my stories always contain them, for me to be happy as a writer, I have to also appease my supernatural loving side. The world of paranormal and fantasy creatures fascinates me, and I'm happier when I'm writing about those things.

So, yeah, it took me the whole of the summer to figure out I should continue what I'm doing! LOL Typical, eh?

But the time away, and the chance to be introspective, was what I needed to fall in love with my PNR again. I've recently picked it up, and gotten back into editing what I've written so far. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, as they say.

So now the kids are back at school, I'm trying to get back into the habit of working on my novel every day, with the intention of finishing it in a timely manner, but also finishing it to the best of my abilities, so that it represents me well.

I'll keep you posted on how it goes ....

Thanks for listening to me ramble. Knowing you guys are here to listen to my thoughts, and maybe offer a comment, means a lot to me. And I cannot wait to get caught up with your blogs again, and see what everyone else has been doing over the summer.

And if you're so inclined  please check out The Life and Loves of Clare Dugmore, on Friday to see what I've been up to with the family. 

School's Out for Summer - Blogging Break

As you might have noticed, there was no Working Wednesday post, nor is there a Favourites Friday post. That's because I'm taking my blogging break a little early.

Not only do I want to spend some time away from the computer with my boys while they're on summer break from school, but I'm also reassessing where I want to be as a writer, and trying to refocus myself. Hopefully the time away will give me some perspective.

I hope everyone on the Blogosphere has a wonderful summer. I'm sure I'll drop in on some of you to see how you're all doing, but there won't be any posts from me until mid-September when my boys are back in their school routine!

Peace out, everyone!

Working Wednesday: More Like Musings Wednesday.

I'm here for another instalment of Working Wednesday; where I update about my current work in progress, and whatever other projects I have going on.

But first of all, thanks to all those who stopped by my Memorable Mondays post - featuring free books by Kyra Lennon and Mary Pax. 

This week's post is a little different, because honestly, I haven't done much working since I last updated. 

Things at Curiosity Quills are ticking along nicely now, I feel as though I've gotten into my stride, and I have a nice little routine for my work. I'm really enjoying it there. 

Writing wise, I've done very little for a couple of reasons. Firstly, ITS.TOO.DAMN.HOT.TO.BE.SAT.AT.A.COMPUTER.ALL.DAY! Seriously, summer, can you go away now? I miss autumn. :(

Secondly, as the end of the school year approaches for both my boys, I've got a lot of activities with them going on - like Teddy Bear's picnics, sports days and school productions.

Though I have given more thought to re-writing the old story I mentioned last week, with the aim of publishing it as a serialization. I've redrafted the plot, and spruced up chapter one. Now I'm just weighing my options about how and when to publish it. 

My main question being, do I hold off publishing it until it's complete? Or get a certain amount ahead - say four chapters - and then begin publishing, writing as I go? 

It's something I'm going to give thought to over the summer ... 

Which leads me to taking a blogging break.

For the month of August, I'm going to take some time away from the computer, so I can enjoy the summer with my boys. Though, if I've agreed to do a blog tour, hop, cover reveal, etc. for you, I'll make sure that's scheduled in. 

When I return, I'm not entirely sure I should continue with my routine posts? Are people enjoying that I've got three distinct days for different post topics? Or did you enjoy my blog more when it was a little sporadic? 

I've been doing the regular posting schedule for a month now, and I'm not sure how it's working out. While I'm enjoying it, I'm wondering if the posts could be condensed into one or two a week? Plus, it's leaving me less time to visit all you guys, and I miss you all! <3 I want to know what's been going on in your worlds. 

So, I'd love your input on the topic? Would you like to see me continue with scheduled, themed, posts for a while longer? 

I'll be around for a few more weeks yet with the schedule, so until then, thanks for reading. 

If you're do inclined  don't forget to drop by my personal blog on Friday for Favourites Fridays ... And remember, on Monday I'll be taking part in the cover reveal for the second book in Carrie Butler's amazing New Adult Paranormal Romance series The Mark of Nexus, entitled Courage which you can mark as 'to be read' on Goodreads now!

Organisation and Time-Management

So, despite dropping out of the A-Z challenge two weeks ago (*waves to everyone who is completing it today * Congrats!) I admit I’ve been slacking a little on the writing front. 

Some of that is laziness on my part *slaps wrists * and some of it is having a crazy busy week with real life responsibilities.

I’m trying to get focused again this week though. 

One thing I have to balance is when and when not to write. 

I not only have to juggle real life responsibilities, but sometimes I also have to admit when life is getting a little too much and take a few days off to recuperate. 

As I’ve mentioned on my blog before, I think writer’s block is a myth. But I do think you can burn yourself out by taking on too much (see me trying to do the A-Z challenge on two blogs) and need to take a break from time to time. 

What I sometimes struggle with though is knowing the difference between when I genuinely need a break, and when I’m just being a lazy arse. 

This is when I have to "Patrick Rothfuss it", and I recalled this brilliant quote.

"Writers block is a myth. The myth stems from the belief that writing is some mystical process. That it’s magical. That it abides by its own set of rules different from all other forms of work, art, or play. But that’s bullshit. Plumbers don’t get plumber’s block. Teachers don’t get teacher’s block. Soccer players don’t get soccer block. What makes writing different? Nothing. The only difference is that writers feel they have a free pass to give up when writing is hard. When writing is hard, I grit my teeth and I do it anyway. Because it’s my job. Or sometimes I don’t. Sometimes it’s hard and I quit and go home and play video games. But let’s be clear. When that happens, it’s not because I’ve lost some mystical connection with my muse. It’s because I’m being a slacker. There’s nothing magical about that." - Patrick Rothfuss, Feb 23rd, 2011.

As part of my "Patrick Rothfussing it" and not slacking off, I made myself a lovely little timetable this week; detailing what I should be doing between when I get up at 7:30am and when the kids go to bed at 8PM (after that the time is mine and I can use it for whatever I want; be it writing, playing video games or bumming around online). It helps that said timetable can be placed on my beautiful Nexus 7, so if I’m tempted to play Simpsons Tapped Out, it’s there to remind me what I should be doing.

Of course, all this is subject to change, and I have to be flexible if something unexpected comes up - like Youngest coming down with chicken pox or the ASDA delivery forgetting some of our groceries - but when things go smoothly, this is the schedual I'm trying to stick to this week.  

Another thing I’ve done this week to organise myself, and hopefully make my writing more productive, is created a table (yes, I love tables, okay?) of the 8 chapters/ 18k words I’ve written so far; each one listing the chapter, page numbers, word count and a brief summary. I’m hoping this will help with editing, so I can clearly see what needs cutting or rearranging.

I've asterisked out the summaries, because I don't want to reveal too much about the story before it's complete, but you get the general idea. Going by the three-act structure plan I have, I estimate I've got about 2-3 chapters left to write in act one. It seems to be working out well so far, and I have a little tidying up before I'm ready to move onto act two.

 What are some ways you organise your time and your writing? I’d love to hear other tips! 

 Hope everyone is having a good week. I’ll be hopping around your blogs shortly to catch up on anything I’ve missed, but please feel free to let me know in the comments if there’s something important I should check out.

Quick Update

Clare's plan for world domination is finally coming together - why yes, I am obsessed with Bitstrips

So, as the A-Z Blogging Challenge and the Easter Holidays are fast approaching, I thought I'd write a little update, as I don't know how much I'll be around in April - aside from daily A-Z posts. 

Work on the A-Z is going well. I would have liked to have had all the posts written by this point, but alas life happened. I have however gotten week one in the bag, as well as a few other random days here and there. Hopefully I can continue to build up a good lead, so in April I've got more time for visiting blogs.

Writing for the A-Z challenge is really helping me with my unnamed WiP. As I've previously mentioned, I'll be writing my own spin on the A-Z of Prenatural Entites. The posts make up the mythology for my current WiP, and as such, are set in that world. 

They feature entries from The Order of the Ancile's Definitive A-Z of a Prenatural Entites, which basically consists of a Wikipedia style entry for each entity, as well as a personal account from an Ancile member facing that entity. 

Writing these entries has really helped me with the world building. The book I'm currently writing only focuses on one prenatural entity, but the challenge is allowing me to come up with ideas for other entities that could be used in future books (if I get that far), as well as helping me with the characterisation of secondary characters, and coming up for possible story lines for them if they're featured in (hopefully) future books. 

Progress of the book is coming along well. I tried the exercise of copying out an opening from a book I liked, identifying why I liked that opening and then incorporating those ideas into my own opening. It was a bit of a failure to be honest. 

I had Hubby - one of the first people I show my stories to - read it over, and he said it wasn't right. It wasn't in my style and voice; it was like I was trying to hard to emulate another person's style. So for now, I'm leaving it. Chapter one is as good as it can be right now, it's just the opener that isn't quite right, so I'm putting it aside and moving onto the rest of the story.

Had Hubby read through chapter two, and it seems like my method of writing in small stages, while sticking to a plan, is really paying off. He said there wasn't very much that needed work. I love this new method, and have found it especially useful for teaching myself to critique my own work. Something that really helps me is to read the story in a different format from what it was written in, so I take advantage of Kindle Direct Publishing's preview option. I upload a section of my story to the site, download an epub version preview, and then read that chapter on my tablet; making notes as I go through. I then transfer it to a Adobe Reader (PDF) file, and have the computer read it out load, which again helps me spot errors. It also leads to hilarious mispronunciations like crow's nest instead of crotch!

Another advantage of writing one chapter at a time, then having Hubby check it over, is that when an error arises I only have a small portion to re-write, rather than the whole damn book!  Chapter three wasn't quite right - I had a whole scene that really did nothing to advance the plot and some of the characterisation of minor characters was off. So, I scrapped those parts, and then spent the rest of the day brain-storming with Hubby. We came up with some excellent ideas for the chapter, and also how certain things will tie into the rest of the story. Now I've just got to incorporate these things into chapter three.

All in all, I've gotten about 10k on the new project so far, and am pleased with how it's going. Hopefully in April the A-Z will inspire me more, and I can make further headway with it.

That's all from me, so let me know if I've missed anything that's happened to you recently. I'll be trying to catch up on blogs before the A-Z starts.

If I don't see you around, have a great Easter, and I look forwards to catching you in the A-Z. 

(I've also posted an update on my personal blog for anyone who's interested)

2013 Update

 

Image from VectorOpenStock

As you may have noticed, aside from cover reveals,  blog tour stops and bloghops, I’ve been pretty much missing in action since mid-November. 

Long story short, a lot of personal stuff has gone down; a combination family related events and overworking myself by taking on too much writing/ blogging wise, left me feeling overwhelmed. If you want more details, or to know how my Christmas and New Year was, please feel free to hop on over to my personal blog, The Life and Loves of ClareDugmore.

I’ve done some soul searching since then.  But with some help and guidance, I feel like things are back on track, and I’m positive 2013 is going to be great.

Now that I’m feeling like myself again, I’ll be around a lot more, and I’d like to take this chance to thank the people who nudged me while I was away. Karen, Kim, Christine and Jaybird, your messages checking up on me, reminding me you’re here and that you loved me, really helped me through some tough times. Thank you. <3

Everyone else who frequently reads and comments on this blog, thank you for your continued support too. I hope you’ll continue to join me in 2013 as I carry on my writing journey. And look out for a special blogoversary post on the 21^st January. 

I’m not one to set New Year’s resolutions – I find that kind of pressure sometimes sets you up for failure, plus why should you only make positive changes at the start of the year? Why not throughout the whole year? But I do have some goals I hope to achieve in 2013.

I want to get a story completed in its fullest – i.e drafted, critiqued, revised, edited etc. – and then get it out in the world, either as a self-published novel or querying agents and small presses.

Some may think this might be easy for me, as last year I spoke about making a lot of progress on both Sibylline Nights and Cupid. However, during my time off, I’ve realised a lot about myself as a writer, and areas I need to improve on.

I still love Sibylline Nights, and believe that one day it will be published. BUT, the draft I wrote last year, isn’t what I’d originally envisioned for the story – among other the focus and main antagonist were not as I intended. Hubby and I spent a lot of time over Christmas discussing ideas, and I have a whole new direction for the story and in the future I intend to do a complete rewrite. However, I’ve also come to realise, that as of right now, I’m not ready for a story so big, with three protagonists and a lot of world building to do. I need to learn a lot more about pacing and structure, before I’m ready to tackle Sibylline Nights again, and I want to give myself time to grow as a writer so it can be the best freaking book I’m capable of.

Cupid … I don’t know how I feel about. I love the first half, that’s been critiqued, but the second half that I began durning November NaNo felt flat, and flakey and full of filler. Thinking of starting it up again makes me feel sick. I don't know if I've run out of steam for it, or I've some how connected it to the stress I was under before Christmas, or what but it makes me anxious and blocks me. I think trying to complete the story for NaNo was actually a big mistake, as there wasn’t really 50k of the story left to tell, so I was forcing something that wasn't meant to come.

I’ve also come to think that NaNo is no longer a good thing for me. I need to focus on quality rather than quantity. Instead of writing 8000 words a day or whatever, if I can get 100 perfect words, that's better, so that what is in my head I can put down on paper. I’ve noticed from critiques, and discussing my work with my hubby that sometimes my descriptions are lacking, and I don’t fully explain to the reader everything I’ve got inside. I don’t know if that’s because I don’t plot strongly enough, or because I’m rushing to make a certain word count goal a day, but something isn’t right.

I’ve also found myself running out of steam with stories, and finding myself three-quarters of the way through, with no idea how to bring it to an end, and instead filling it with pointless fluff.

To that ends, I’m taking some time to brush up on writing skills, and am currently reading “Fiction Writing Fiction For Dummies” by Randy Ingermanson. I then intend to start a new project – which is a combination of ideas I’ve had swirling around in my head for a few months now – but to approach it more slowly, and plot it out using one of the methods from Ingermanson’s book, so that I have a clear end point and direction of where I’m going. Hopefully that will help eliminate needless fluff, and enable me to keep on track.

We’ll see how it goes, and I’ll keep you updated.

Some other writing goals I’d like to achieve is writing every day, be that blog posts, something towards a story, or just little practice exercises to improve on my weak points. I’d also like to write some short stories, and see about submitting them to anthologies. It’s something I wanted to do last year, and never got around to, so hopefully I can improve on that this year.

I don’t think I’ll be taking part in either Camp NaNo or November NaNo this year. While it is a shame, because I love the event, I think at this point for me it’s more than a hindrance than a help. I gained a lot doing it the first few times, and still think it’s a great experience, especially for people wanting something to give them a boost into getting a long dreamed about novel onto paper.

The A-Z challenge I’m still up in the air about. I greatly enjoyed last year’s challenge, and think it’s a fab way of meeting new people. But as of yet, I’ve got nothing in mind, and I also doing want to put too much pressure on myself. I guess we’ll see closer to the time.

And that’s everything! Now that I’m feeling more like my old self again, I hope to be around more often, and able to participate in tours and hops. If anyone has got anything coming up, please point me in the direction of it. I also hope the get around to all of your blogs, and catch up on the news I’ve missed whilst I was away; I’ve seen a few announcements here and there, but please let me know if anything major has happened in your life – I’d love to hear all about it!

Happy 2013 everyone, I hope the coming year is an excellent one for you.

Clare

 

Merry Christmas!

 Image from Vector Open Stock

Hey everyone!

I know I haven't been around much in the last month or so, I've had a lot going on personally, and have been struggling blogging/ writing. I'll likely be writing an update, with a bit of an explanation on my personal blog sometime over the holidays.

I just wanted to say hi and let everyone know that even though I haven't been around much recently, I am okay and I have been thinking of you all/ checking your blogs.

I want to thank everyone who has supported me and my writing over the past 12 months. 2012 was the time I decided to take my writing seriously, and treat it as a job. Although I haven't achieved everything I wanted to, I have learned a lot, made great strides on various novels and met lots of wonderful people, and for that I'm eternally grateful. I hope 2013 is even better!

I hope everyone has a Happy Holidays, whatever you celebrate. Enjoy your break, and time with family and friends. Stay safe, and I'll see you all in 2013, when I'll hopefully be back on top form.

Clare

New Blog

I decided to make a personal blog as a subsidiary of my personal journal, The Life and Loves of wandaXmaximoff, which is friend's locked. I want to connect on a more personal level with the friends I've made here in the blogosphere, without forcing you to create a LiveJournal account to view locked content. I will however, be keeping my LiveJournal account to post deeply personal stuff there. 

I will try to keep the blog updated at a semi regular pace, probably about once a month, but more if I find myself with lots to say.  
 
So, if you're interested in personal updates, please feel free to follow my new blog The Life and Loves of Clare Dugmore. Entries will range from me gushing about my favourite fandoms, to updating about real life, to posting my latest graphic creation, to sharing quiz results. Though, I warn you, I'm not afraid of using strong language or expressing opinions others might not agree on.

If you're not interested in personal updates, and only want to hear about my writing, that's fine, I won't be offended if you don't follow.

And, if you've got a personal blog you'd like me to follow, please leave a link in the comments either here, or at my personal blog.

Thanks, 

Clare

I'm currently ...

I haven't posted for a while - apart from to promote Carrie Butler's awesome cover for STRENGTH. If you haven't seen it, check it out - so I thought I'd say "hello".

As I haven't got much to report writing wise - I'm taking a break from writing, to edit the first 65k of Cupid, and today I made the insane decision to change it from past tense to present tense. I've also joined a critique group, and have been getting to know the lovely people there. They were a great help offering feedback on my flash-fiction piece for Jessa Russo's GHOSTS (and the girls who love them!) BLOG-HOP.

When I saw Jessa's most recent post, of things she's currently loving/watching/reading/ anticipating/wishing, I thought it seemed like a cool idea and decided to play along.

I am currently:

Loving ...

I want my hair like this!

*swoons*

The approach of Autumn. There's a chill in the air, the leaves are just turning and I can feel my favourite season is almost upon us.  

Short hair. I love Miley Cyrus' new cut, and wish I was young enough to pull something like that off. Instead, I'm seriously considering having my shoulder length hair cut in a pixie-cut. 

Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Ever since I saw him in The Dark Knight Rises, I've been crushing on him so hard. Joseph is also the inspiration for the leading man of my in-the-planning stages romantic suspense novel.

Reading ...

Ever by Jessa Russo

  


Jessa kindly sent me a ARC of EVER, and I got started on it last night. I'm three chapters in and loving it so far. My plan for this weekend is to devour it! 

Watching ... 

Who is her lover?

Most of the American TV shows I love have ended now, but I've still got the WWE, EastEnders (who is Kat's mystery lover?!), Neighbours and Home & Away to keep me entertained. Why yes, I am a soap opera addict! 

Thinking about ...

The new Tom and Jerry?

Writing stuff. I'm still trying to work out how to eliminate passive voice, so any tips are appreciated, and now I'm about to edit the first 65k of Cupid.


Anticipating ...

We're going here!

Oh man, there's so much I'm anticipating. The return of my favourite U.S shows, like Dexter, Fringe and The Walking Dead. And the return of UK favourite Merlin - the stills of Morgana are badass!

Kyra Lennon's forthcoming release of Game On sequel, and novella If I let You Go, and what Kyra has planned for December.  

My four-day holiday to Prestatyn Sands at the end of October. 

Getting a new Kindle/ Tablet for Christmas.

Christmas and Halloween.

My Hubby getting his first round of advertising money for his site Video Games Interactive.

Wishing ...

I wanna build houses!

I had more time to play on Sims 3 and Skyrim. My mansions and virtual husband will have to wait, I have a novel to complete! 

What's on your currently list? Let me know in the comments below, or post your own list on your blog!