Related posts:

• Good Blog Habits #3 – Be Persistant
• Good Blogging Habits
• Where do they come from—Those ideas, those characters?
• Publishers and Blogging
• Start the Year off Write – Part 4

Related posts:

1. Where do they come from—Those ideas, those characters?
2. Article: Update Your Profile
3. Publishers and blogging…

So had I.
Writing wasn’t fun – it wasn’t exhilarating. There was a cloud, something hanging over my head. I went on to start other manuscripts, got more interest and requests. But, I’d lost interest in writing…in finding the end. Two manuscripts sit, requested, yet unfinished and unpolished.
Life got in the way and I let it. I took a four year hiatus from writing. I kept semi-active in my writing groups and I’ve remained close to writing friends. I’ve watched their careers blow off the charts – I am so very proud of them.
I’ve found the itch to write never dies. Still stifled by all the knowledge I’ve acquired I slowly began to work my way back into writing circles.
Recently I met a new writer, her reasons for writing similar to mine… in the beginning. She hasn’t been overwhelmed with knowledge and I hope she doesn’t get that way. She was so fresh and so taken with writing, just to write, she gave me that old buzz, you know the one? When you really want to WRITE.
I refuse to be overwhelmed. I just want to write again. But in order to do that, I had to figure out where I went wrong. I’ve watched a dear friend go from questioning, to becoming a national best seller. I’ve watched other friends follow her lead.
I took a break and I can say being on “the outside” for a while helped me see, and understand things I never took the time to realize before.
I think I might finally understand what it is successful writes have that I didn’t. They can push the “stuff” to the side and JUST WRITE.
Write each spare minute. Write for the love of it. And be true to your story.
Technical and mechanical “stuff” can be fixed, edited and handled. Write the story you need to tell then worry about the rest. I’ve watched others figure that out and have much success.
This was originally published in the Heartbeat, the newsletter for my local chapter of RWA, Heart of Louisiana about two and ½ years ago. Since that time I’ve written and contacted three novellas and have one full length under submission now.

About the Author: Rhonda’s contemporary romances range from sweet and sassy to sensually erotic, covering just about everything in between. Her stories will always have a Happily Ever After, because nothing makes her want to scream more than a cheerless ending. One Wilde Night can be found here: www.lyricalpress.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2_12&products_id=215&zenid=arl757cvvddfdkjboq29032oh5

Related posts:

• Day Twelve
• 5 Last Minute Gifts for Writers
• Promo Tip: Get on Goodreads
• Promo Tip: Get in touch
• Start the Year off Write – Part 5

This post was submitted by Rhonda Leah.

Related posts:

1. Lynne Marshall’s call story
2. The Celtic Factor – Elaine Charton
3. Where do they come from—Those ideas, those characters?

The editing process can be difficult, but by following some guidelines, the process can be more efficient. At least that is what I keep telling myself each time I have to self-edit a manuscript before submitting it to a publisher. I have to admit that it does seem to get easier the more I do it. I have a list of self-editing tips that I follow and they have helped me so far.

Compelling openings: This is the first thing I check. The opening of a story should grab the reader right away by starting in the middle of the action without bogging down the beginning with back-story. Back-story can be sprinkled in throughout the story later. As an example, here is the opening line from one of my books called Ravenwolf: ‘Something unnatural stirred in the black-winged night.’

Strong verbs: For example, instead of ‘The girl went outside,’ write ‘The girl walked outside.’ The second sentence does a better job of describing the action. Also, try to avoid using too many adverbs, or ‘ly’ words. Instead of ‘She reacted angrily,’ try something like ‘She stared hard at him, her eyes blazing.’ Too many adverbs will annoy an editor and there are better ways to express action. Here is a link to a helpful site by Deanna Carlyle with a list of over a thousand action verbs: www.deannacarlyle.com/articles/verb.html

Use of the five senses: Using the five senses (touch, sound, smell, sight and taste) will help with descriptions. Descriptions are used for showing rather than telling, which is one of the most important, and oftentimes confusing, rules of writing.

Showing/not telling: This is the one I had the most trouble with until I learned that a great way to tell if a sentence is too telling is if it contains the words ‘was’ or ‘were.’ For an example, here is the original opening of my book, Cat’s Curse: ‘It was so cold she was certain ice clung to the moon like silver talons. She felt the cold—it bit into her bones, a reminder that she was once mortal. She moved through the thick forest of tall pine, oak, beech, birch and rowan, venturing further into the forest, her booted feet crunching on the frost-encrusted earth.’
Now here is the new opening: ‘The hunt called to her, singing in her veins. Moonbeams cleaved through the frozen night, striking the earth between outstretched branches like gleaming metal blades. Cold air cut into her bones with sharp, icy talons, reminding her she had once been mortal. Venturing further into the thick forest of tall pine, oak, beech, birch and rowan, Cardea’s booted feet crunched on the frost-encrusted earth, her senses searching out the sweet scent of blood.’
Which one is showing more than telling? Hopefully you picked the second one. When I self-edit now, I do a search on these two words. My rule of thumb is if the sentence can be re-written, I change it. If not, I skip over it.
For another example, the sentence ‘She was tired.’ can be re-written to show that she is tired: ‘She struggled to keep her eyes open and stifled a yawn.’
There is nothing wrong with using ‘was’ or ‘were’ in a sentence, and sometimes it is necessary to use them, but overusing these words could mean a rejection on an otherwise great manuscript.

Unnecessary/Overused words: This is the one I have to fix every time. I have different words for each new story that I like to use over and over again. Overusing words is very annoying to an editor or a reader. By the fourth draft, I start to notice the overused words and I do a search for them, changing some to a different word. Some of the most common overused words are felt, that, had, could, should, would, am, is, are, were, be, being, been, have, can, will, may, might, just, so, did, does. My rule for this is the same as the one for showing/telling: if another word can be substituted, then I change it, if not, I skip it. In some cases like with ‘had’ or ‘that’ the word can be omitted.

Varied sentence structure: For this one, just make sure every sentence does not begin with The or She/He/I and have longer sentences mixed with shorter ones. Here is another example from Cat’s Curse: ‘A pleased smile formed on Cardea’s lips. The strong scent of blood stirred her senses–warm blood…and human. Like an experienced predator, she adjusted her step, moving on silent feet through carpets of fern toward the scent of fresh blood, eager to sate her thirst. She moved like a shadow, darting in and out of the lofty trees.’

Participial Phrases/Dangling Modifiers/Roving Body Parts and Redundancies: I decided to group these together since I seem to find them near each other in my self-edits. It’s nice to be able to throw in a participial phrase to vary the sentence structure, but beware of sentences like this one: ‘Walking across the room, he opened the door.’ This just is not possible, unless he can move the door with his mind. And beware of dangling modifiers. For example: ‘Closing my eyes, the doctor readied the needle.’ It should be: ‘Closing my eyes, I waited for the doctor to stick the needle in my arm.’ Read over your sentences carefully and make sure they make sense. Also watch out for roving body parts like: ‘His eyes rolled over the woman’s body.’ A better way to say it would be something like: ‘His gaze swept over the woman’s body.’ Beware of redundancies like: ‘She shrugged her shoulders.’ It should be: ‘She shrugged.’ What else would she be shrugging?

Action Tags: Action tags help create a vibrant picture for the reader. A good rule to follow for action tags is that ’said’ and ‘asked’ should be the main tags used most of the time. And when possible, it is best to use a body language action tag and leave out the dialog tag. Try not to have a long stretch of dialog with no action tags. This phenomenon is called ‘talking heads’ and can confuse a reader or pull them out of the story.

Expanded moments: Expanding a moment with vivid descriptions can help with showing more, and helps to draw the reader in and hook them. I usually do this in the final drafts. I like to think of it as icing on the cake.

Hopefully these tips will help other writers as much as they help me.
————————————————————————————————————
About the Author:
Kelley Heckart writes Celtic historical romances with fantasy elements. Her stories reflect her passion for history, storytelling and the supernatural. Inspired by the ancient Celts, her tales are filled with fierce warriors, bold women, magic, conflict and romance. Kelley and her books can be found online at www.kelleyheckart.com

Comments

• June 29, 2010, Kelley Heckart writes: Hi Alice, Thanks for having me as a guest blogger at CataUniversity. I hope my tips are helpful. Now, if only I would follow my own advice when I'm writing. :)
• June 29, 2010, Kay Tee writes: Thanks for a great summary. My editing checklist is similar and I also use the AutoCrit Editing Wizard to keep me on the straight and narrow. It's amazing how good editing can turn an average first draft into something really marvelous :-)
• June 30, 2010, Stephanie writes: Thank You for the informative post. It helped to clear up a few things for me. But I have a question-- Do you find that editors prefer you not use -ing words repeatedly in your stories?
• June 30, 2010, Pat Agnew writes: Very good tips, Kelly. The advice is clearly written with compelling illustrations and contains information we should all read over before starting the final edit on a manuscript.
• June 30, 2010, Kelley Heckart writes: Thanks for all who stopped by and left a comment. Stephanie, I think balance is the key and using ing words is okay, but not to overuse them. It probably depends on the editor and how the writing flows overall.
• July 5, 2010, Gabrielle Sinclair writes: Was just discussing editing with our newest member (another Kelly, no E)when I ran across this post. Thanks for the good info.

Related posts:

• Writing Challenge: 30 minutes
• Day Twelve
• THE FIRST FIVE PAGES
• Day 19
• Craziness, Dares and other assorted articles

Related posts:

1. How to Write Power Sentences Presented by June Diehl Nov 2 – Nov 16, 2009
2. Dialog Tags by Isabel Sharpe
3. Show and Tell Workshop (January 2009)

I woke up feeling refreshed and ready to tackle some things today. One thing that I’ve been meaning to do is write a 5 Year Goal/Plan. I picked up a book recently about the founder of WalMart and he says having a 5 year plan is important. It’s not like that’s the first time I’ve heard this.

But five years seems so far away. And yet, my husband and I have been in our house now…for five years. It’s longer than you think, and shorter too.

I’m going to go ahead and list some 5 year goals. Where I’d like to be in five years. Then break those down into action items. What needs to happen first second and third, etc.

Wish me luck.
Ally

www.alice-anderson.com

Related posts:

• Day 14 – Almost at the Half-Way Point
• Do you have a plan? by Renee Knowles
• Feb 22: Writing a Book Marketing Plan by Paula Margulies
• STORY TIPS #12 – PLOTTING VARIATIONS
• Good Advice

Related posts:

1. Do you have a plan? by Renee Knowles
2. Quick Tip: Write a 5 Year Bio
3. Start the Year off Write – Part 2

Seeing the need for a cohesive group of writers that could be THE Defining authors of Erotica, I put together the WriteSEX blogs. With the help of my publicist, we chose to partner with a few of the legends in erotica. On board are: the ever talented erotica author M. Christian, lusty and gorgeous Oceania who is the voice of erotica.  We have Jean Marie Stine, owner of Renaissance E-books signed onboard.  Dark Erotic author Thomas Roche brings light to writing the taboo.  Rounding out the panel is Dr. Nicole Peeler.

We realized that we have something of value for the writing community.  Many authors have desire to add erotic elements to their stories or just want to learn to write blue novels.  Our panel has done everything in between and can guide writers in any stage of their career.

Everything they’ll ever want to know about writing smut or adding spice to your stories, we’ll teach.  We’ll cover marketing basics as well as how to approach publishers.  We’ll cover the hows and whys of erotica from what it is to what it’s not, how to deal with backlash from friends and how to make industry contacts that matter. Technique and structure of stories will be discussed along with how to be versatile in any market.  How to approach publishers will be covered along with the darker erotic markets and some website SEO stuff by a guest blogger.  We’ll cover e-book and print basics also.

In the class, we’ll let each panel member spend a day with the group talking about their particular area of expertise so that those taking our workshop will get a well rounded education.

I have a particular bent towards erotic romance so much of my blogging time will be spent covering techniques that writers need to learn.

The importance of learning to add erotic elements can make an author’s career better by giving them another outlet for publication and add another level of depth to their writing.

On behalf of the WriteSEX team, I look forward to instructing you all J

Sascha Illyvich

Related posts:

• YRW Online Workshop: Block-Busting: Putting the Joy Back in Writing
• The List of 20
• Getting Organized
• Getting Organized
• Quick Tip: Organize your space

Related posts:

1. The Call: Bridget Midway
2. The Call: Sasha White
3. Yosemite Romance Writers Online Workshop: Writing Hot, Delicious Love Scenes

The levees protecting the hotel and conference center were breached early Monday morning according to reports. You can see a photograph of the flooding damage to the parking lot and hotel wings here. Follow #rwa10 on twitter for more information. Twitter users are reporting 6 feet of water in the hotel lobby. (See the hotel and conference center on Google Maps.)

The reports also indicate that the hotel will be closed for several months, which may put the RWA conference in jeopardy. The hotel has said they’re currently looking at the hotel and the conference schedule so hopefully there will be more new soon. So stay tuned.

Update: Flood waters in Lobby (what that photo doesn’t show you is the incredible water features in this room, the dozens of fish and thousands of plants. There’s also a restaurant on the left – all the chairs and a bar on the right that has a rotating platform.)

Related posts:

• Put Your Heart in a Book Conference
• CR-RWA 2008 CONFERENCE
• 2010 Silken Sands Writers’ Conference
• Emerald City Writers Conference
• April: DESERT DREAMS WRITERS’ CONFERENCE

Related posts:

1. 2010 Silken Sands Writers’ Conference
2. CR-RWA 2008 CONFERENCE
3. Put Your Heart in a Book Conference

COURSE DESCRIPTION
Have you been writing a long time and while you’ve received some recognition for your work you’re just not getting the attention you deserve? Or, were you published once, then found yourself without a publisher and now you can’t get break back in? Or are you currently published but your career seems to be barely bumping along?

This workshop is designed provide answers to those questions and catapult you onto the publishing fast track. Guerilla Tactics for Writers in a Slump will illustrate exactly what’s holding you back and keeping you from being the writer you’re truly meant to be.

Topics covered include

1. Identifying What’s Holding You Back
3. Shifting Your Writing into High Gear
4. Toughing the Mind of the Writer Warrior
5. Toughing the Body of the Writer Warrior
6. Honing Your Battle Plan
7. Your Marching Orders

PRESENTER BIO
Lori Wilde has sold fifty-two novels for four major New York Publishing houses. She holds a bachelors degree in nursing from Texas Christian University and a certificate in forensics. She volunteers as a sexual assault first responder for Freedom House, a shelter for battered women. She has also served as the RWA National conference workshop chair and PAN retreat chair.

She is an instructor for a company who provides online community education to over 1500 colleges and universities. Lori is a past RITA finalist and has four times been nominated for RT BOOK REVIEWS Reviewer’s Choice Award. She’s won the Colorado Award of Excellence, the Wisconsin Write Touch Award, The Lories, The More Than Maggie, the Golden Quill, The Laurel Wreath and The BestBooks of 2006 Book Award.

Her books have been translated into 22 languages and excerpted in Cosmopolitan, Redbook, Complete Woman, All You and Quick and Simple magazines. She’s appeared numerous times on the Waldenbook’s bestseller list, The Barnes and Noble bestseller list, Bookscan Top 40 and Ingram’s Top 50. She lives in Texas with her husband, Bill. Find out more: www.loriwilde.com/

CUTOFF DATE FOR REGISTRATION IS: MAY 1st, 2010

CAMPUS workshops encompass the RESEARCH, CRAFT and BUSINESS aspects of writing.
The workshops are conducted via email only, no real-time or live chats, on a private list. Participants will be subbed to the list for the month of the workshop then un-subbed when it’s over. Each workshop includes lectures and Q & A sessions. You don’t have to be an RWA member to take these workshops; they are open to everyone with email capability who wishes to participate.

ON RECEIPT OF YOUR PAYMENT AND REGISTRATION FORM YOU WILL RECEIVE AN EMAIL CONFIRMING THAT YOU HAVE BEEN REGISTRATED FOR THE WORKSHOP. IF YOU DO NOT RECEIVE A CONFIRMATION EMAIL, YOU NEED TO CONTACT THE APPROPRIATE WORKSHOP CO-ORDINATOR BEFORE THE WORKSHOP BEGINS.

CAMPUS REFUND POLICY–
No refunds will be given for withdrawing from a workshop. In the event a workshop is canceled by the instructor CAMPUS offers the option of taking another workshop or the return of payment check. In the event the class member misses the cut-off date for a workshop, the payment check will be returned or another workshop can be selected.

Check out the OUTREACH INTERNATIONAL website at www.oirw.net/, WHERE you can find out more about becoming a member of OUTREACH INTERNATIONAL ROMANCE WRITERS Chapter.

Related posts:

• Who Dares Wins: Warrior-Writer Presented by Bob MayerWho Dares Wins: Warrior-Writer Presented by Bob Mayer
• Feb 22: Writing a Book Marketing Plan by Paula Margulies
• Yosemite Romance Writers Online Workshop: Mastering Point of View
• Free Workshop 1/10/09: Online Event Preparation
• Cleveland Rocks Romance Workshop

Related posts:

1. Workshop: Personality Plus – Making Your Characters Real
2. Yosemite Romance Writers Online Workshop: Storyboarding
3. RWAOL Workshop: Conflict Grid, Tool for Success

Chances are you’ve got lots of questions. I know I did. Guess what? There are thousands of writers on the internet and I’m willing to wager they can answer many if not all your questions. You just need to know where to look, right?

Well, let me start by blowing my own horn a bit. I hate to brag, but I have made a habit out of helping other writers for the last (lets see here) 10 years or so. So have a look around my website and blog.

Next, head over to the website I maintain for writers, www.catauniversity.com. We have an associated email group where you can meet other writers and ask questions. Sign up at: groups.yahoo.com/group/CataNetwork-Writers/

If you write romance, I recommend joining RWC, another email group: groups.yahoo.com/group/RWClist/

Stop by RomanceDivas.com for lots of support from other romance writers. Their message boards are always hoppin.

No matter what you write, I recommend signing up to this group, JustWriteIt: groups.yahoo.com/group/justwriteit/ and signing up to the message boards at www.absolutewrite.com.

It’s important to make sure the publishers and agents you’re interested in doing business are on the up and up. So check out Preditors and Editors before you send anything anywhere! pred-ed.com/

Also, check out writersmarket.com or the associated book (it’s huge) for lots of info on how to submit and who to submit to. There’s information on magazines, agents, and publishing houses. If you write children’s books, there’s an associated book full of information just for you.
In closing, if something sounds too good to be true, don’t do it. Look before you leap. Never send anyone money to read your book. And only self publish if you honestly know what you’re getting into. In other words, read this book first. Ask questions. Don’t be afraid to meet other writers. And do your research! There’s SO much information on the internet.