Monthly Archive for March, 2007

Page 3 of 3

Blah…oh and goals

Published on March 11, 2007 in Goals and Life. 8 Comments

I can get by on a little sleep, but there is something about time changes that completely mess me up. The fact that my mind knows it could still be resting, catching a few more scenes of my latest dream (these usually turn into books, so this is a good thing people!). But no…daylight savings time is early this year. *sigh*

Well my goals for this past week turned out okay. I was able to get another 3000 words written on Perfect Match. I figure I have a chapter and a half left to write and I’m done the first draft. I probably would have finished it, but I received my edits for The Bond That Ties Us. I spent the last half of the week working on those. I’m really excited about Bonds and the way it’s turned out. I’m adding some more sci fi elements to it, mostly in the way of setting, and then back it goes. I’m hoping to be done most of the edits today. I spent about five hours working on it yesterday so I’m making good progress. On top of it all I met with fellow EC author Renee Field last night. We are co-writing a hot Halloween story for EC, and spent last night plotting it. Oh, I can’t wait to get to this one! Love, love, love the outline. :)

Goals for the week? I have some lofty ones.

  • Finish edits for The Bond That Ties Us
  • Finish first draft of Perfect Match
  • Start chapter one of Halloween story

Crazy I know. What are you guys up to??

The Plot’s the thing

Published on March 9, 2007 in Writing. 10 Comments

Last night I watched a wonderful documentary on Bravo Canada called “Who’s Afraid of Happy Endings?”. It was a excellent look at the romance industry, the perceptions, and the reality of the business. Fellow blogger and RWAC member Kelly Boyce was one of the featured writers in the show and I have to say she did an excellent job.

The show brought up a few interesting points, one being the importance of the story itself. Romance novels have gotten a bad wrap over the years as being trash, smut, or otherwise worthless stories. Even in my own circle of friends over the years they were always looked down upon as being cheep books that anyone could write.

But listening to the documentary last night it drove home the fact that there is so much to a romance novel than boy meets girl. Those of us who read and write romance have known that for years. The theme of love is cross genre, cross cultural, and damn fun to read.

But as writers we have a balancing act between crafting an interesting love story with strong characters, and weaving that  into a strong external plot. Add in the element of erotic sex and you have three balls (no pun intended…okay maybe a bit) to keep in the air. I’m not sure where I’m going with this except I can’t think of any other genre that has so much work to do to satisfy their audience.

Between the documentary last night and my own revisions of The Bond That Ties Us, I’ve been dwelling a lot on what I consider to be a good story. In the end, if it can transport me away, make me feel that I am there with the characters then I’m happy.

Thursday Thirteen #17

Published on March 7, 2007 in Thursday Thirteen. 38 Comments

I’m so glad Thursday Thurteen is back (not that it every really went anywhere) and that my blog is up and running this week. :) As a way to celebrate, I’ve decided to post thirteen things that make me happy.  

Thirteen Things that make me happy.
1.My family. They may drive me nuts sometimes, but I love every single one of them. I can’t imagine being where I am today, this stage of my life without them. They sure make things fun. :)

2. My writing. This is probably a given, but it really does make me happy to have a job like this. I love being able to go into my head and use my imagination to tell interesting stories.

3. My friends. I’ve been fortunate to meet so many amazing people from all around the world. Both face to face and in blog land, I really enjoy all the time I get to spend with each of you.

4. My cat. I love my cat. She’s currently curled up on my lap as I type this. She’d my baby :)

5. Discovering a new author. Isn’t it the best feeling in the world to stumble upon an author you’ve never read before and fall in love with their books? This has been happening to me quite a bit over the past year or two. I have so many great books on my book shelf, my husband cringes when he sees me coming with a Chapter’s bag. :)

6. Watching an engaging TV Show. I’m a huge fan of good TV. I went through a bit of a dry spell where I hardly watched anything. But now I seem to have so many shows I want to watch, it’s crazy.

7. Dancing. I’m not one to go out and party hard at a club, but there is something freeing about letting go and dancing your heart out. I hope to one day learn to tango. It’s on my list of things to do before I die. (I should make that my next TT list!)

8. Playing games. I’m a very competitive person, so naturally I love games. I love to win, but I’m a pretty good sport about things. As long as I win…

9. Laughing. I love watching stand up comedians. One day I’m going to go to the Just For Laughs festival in Montreal and laugh for an entire week.

10. Sleeping. Sad that this makes me happy, but I’m a parent. I never seem to get enough sleep. Sleep = happy mom.

11. Chocolate. This is the best food in the world. I love it! No wonder I need to get exercising more. :D

12. Laying in the sun. I’m Canadian but am not a big fan of the cold. I love the summer when I can lay in the sun and warm up. Maybe I was a lizard in a former life?

13. Traveling. I need to do more of this and probalby will once my girls are older. I love the thrill of discovering new places.

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

Heroine – A Balancing Act

Published on March 7, 2007 in Writing. 11 Comments

Along the same lines as my post yesterday, I was also thinking about my heroine. I’m not big on the wilted flower who needs a man to save her. On the other hand sometimes I woman likes to be saved, no matter how sure of herself she is. It’s that constant battle between wanting to take care of things and letting someone take care of you that (for me anyway) makes for an interesting heroine. But she has to be smart and be able to think her way out of a situation.

I’ve been looking at some of my favorite heroines and wonder why I love them so much. I think the first heroine I fell in love with was Jane Eyre. Jane walked that fine line between needing Mr. Rochester and knowing that he needed her. She was never weak, even when she was scared. Love it. Compare her to Battlestar Galatica’s female Starbuck and you can see some interesting parallels Starbuck is a bad ass hot shot. She can hold her own in or out of a cockpit, or even in the boxing ring. But when it comes down to it, she’s a vulnerable little girl who’s trying to win her mother’s approval. (On a side note – OMG on that last episode. Please fix it!!)

So as I’m writing about my current heroine Jenna, I’m trying to mix a little bit of Starbuck with a little bit of Jane Eyre. Smart, loving, but don’t mess with her.

As I asked yesterday, what are some of the characteristics you look for or enjoy in your heroines?

What makes a good hero?

Published on March 6, 2007 in Writing. 8 Comments

As I’ve been finishing up Perfect Match and have been thinking a lot my hero. As a reader of books and lover of TV, I find myself drawn to the wounded hero. There’s something about a man with a troubled past who’s in need of a woman to heal him that’s very appealing. That’s why I love the Jack Baur’s and Jack O’Neill’s of TVland.

Or maybe I have a thing for characters named Jack…

The question I’ve been asking myself is how much angst is too much? Is there even such a thing? Lost loves, dead parents, abandoned children all go to make them tough as nails with a soft center. As a woman it makes me want to wrap them up and hug them. As a writer I don’t want to be too melodramatic.

Some of the characteristics I consider when I’m trying to build a good hero are:

  • a dark past that the heroine hears stories about
  • principles, they will do whatever it takes (even sacrifice their happiness) to make sure they live up to them
  • a weak spot – usually something small that the heroine discovers and tries to protect

These are the basics, the generic stuff. A good hero is so much more than that though. What are some of the things you look for in your hero?

Brava Contest is Back!

Published on March 5, 2007 in Contest and Promotion. 3 Comments

And I for one am very excited about it! I plan on entering this year. I hadn’t in the past and had always kicked myself over it. Read more about it here!

Creative ADD

Published on March 5, 2007 in Thursday Thirteen and Writing. 6 Comments

I’ve come to the realization that my brain works over time on story ideas. Not the full story mind you, just to what ifs. This is very cool and I feel very lucky to have this problem. That said, it’s driving me insane this past week.

I’m in the process of finishing up Perfect Match. I’m back in love with the story and am enjoying the plot again (woot!). My heroine is kick ass again and my hero is sufficiently tortured (only mentally at the moment, no Jack Baur moments). I should be super excited that I’m almost done, right? You’d think…

So I’m plugging along on the last three chapters and I have a new idea pop into my head. I can see the opening scene clear as day. Not wanting to jump into it too hard core, I write the basic plot out on my white board and leave it. Then on the way back from my RWA chapter meeting yesterday I had another story idea pop into my head. This also doesn’t account for the five others I’ve written down in my idea book. I have so many different thoughts right now I’m: 1) scared I’ll forget them all before I have a chance to work on them and 2) won’t be motivated to finish and revise the book I have right now.

*sigh* Tell me I’m not weird? This shouldn’t be a problem right? I should be happy to have lots of ideas! But it’s almost like I have too many and I can’t finish the story I’m working on. Reverse writers block if there’s such a thing.

On another happier note, we had a wonderful RWA meeting yesterday. Kathryn Smith came and talked to us about how to add more punch to your love scenes. I was happy to see that I was doing some of what she suggested, but that I also had room to grow. I’ll be taking a serious look at my love scenes in Perfect Match to make sure they are doing all they can do.  

And on my plate for this week…

Published on March 4, 2007 in Goals and Writing. 7 Comments

I had a pretty good week on the writing front. Despite being crazy busy at work and my day job spilling into my personal time, I was able to write 4000 words on Perfect Match. If I didn’t have my RWA chapter meeting today I could probably reach the 5000 word goal I’d set out for myself. I’ll see if I can come close tonight once I get back.

I haven’t heard back from my editor yet on the revisions for The Bond That Ties Us, but I’m expecting to hear from her soon. That will take a lot of time to go through. But until I get them back I plan on pushing forward with Perfect Match. I’m almost done the first draft and then can move on to revisions. I think the story will feel better once I go through it again.

And last night I gave into my urges to try something new and plotted out the first three chapters of a new book. I even did some writing on it. I know, I know, should have been working on Match, but I couldn’t help it. I had this perfect image of my hero (Galen) walking out from his house to the lighthouse he maintains. Could see him clear as I can my husband who’s sitting beside me right now. I’m really excited about that story. I need to get Match done so I can get to work on it. I even have a title, which almost never happens before I start to write. Weird how that happens sometimes.

So my goals for this week are as follows:

  • Write 5000 words for Perfect Match (which will hopefully finish the first draft)
  • Do edits on The Bond That Ties Us when they arrive
  • Plot out new story

So what are your plans for the week?

What’s Up?

Published on March 3, 2007 in Life and Writing. 3 Comments

Well, I’m really happy to be back after my unexpected hiatus. I didn’t realized how much I would miss chatting with everyone. I want to thank every single person who sent me an email over the past few days. It’s nice to know that I was missed. :)

This has been a crazy week in more than one way. My day job has been going full speed ahead and that has been taking a lot of my energy. On the writing front, Perfect Match is coming along nicely. I’m going to try and get a boat load of writing done this afternoon. I finished all my chores this morning, and it’s a beautiful day outside so I can encourage (throw them in a snowbank) my children to play outside. With any luck I’ll be able to finish the chapter I’m currently working on and get onto the next. The action is starting to build now so I’m excited to keep going.

On the reading front I’ve been finishing up a lot of books I’d started and hadn’t quite got around to finishing. I’m down to two craft books and Jaci Burton’s Surviving Demon Island. I read the first chapter last night and love it! Knowing me I’ll end up reading instead of writing.

And I’d like to remind everyone if you’re interested in chatting with myself and some other wonderful book lovers, please feel free to join my chat group. We’re pretty small right now, so the more the merrier!!

 join1.gif

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/christinedabochat/

I’m BACK!!!

Published on March 3, 2007 in Life. 5 Comments

Did you miss me? :)

I was about to head out the door to take my girls to gymnastics when I thought I’d check to see if my blog was back. It is and I’m so excited!! I’ll make a real post in a bit.

*does the snoopy dance*