Contests and Blogfests and Awards, Oh My!

I normally don't post on Tuesdays but there are a couple things I need to get out there before to much time has gone by.

First is this amazing contest by Nathan Bransford over at his amazingly informative blog. It's a first paragraph contest. AND LET ME TELL YOU!! The awards are amazing. Best first paragraph wins a partial consideration by Catherine Drayton and a signed ARC of "Jacob Wonderbar and the Cosmic Space Kapow. Even if you don't want to enter you can go read the other entrants and be amazed!

Second is a fun and easy blogfest by Nicole Ducleroir on Feb 16. See my sidebar for the link.

And last but not least Michelle Miller gave me the "Stylish Blogger " award.

Thank you so much to Michelle. Please go check out her blog it's really great. So I need to let you know seven things about me. Instead I think I'll let you know seven things I've done this morning. It's very boring.

1. Got the boys up and out for school.

2. Stomped around when I realized I was out of cappicino mix.

3. Tried some new smoked cheddar cheese with my breakfast. OMG it's delicous.

4. Watched the dogs go crazy when I ran a lazer pointer light all over the ground. hehehe

5. Found paper airplanes behind the microwave.

6. Raced the garbage truck to the road. (Will I ever learn?)

7. Sat on my black cat that was laying on my black covered bed. The cat is fine. My backside is not.

Now I would like to pass along the award to:

My Inner Fairy

Rashelle Workman

Wistful Nebulae

"Significant Other" blogfest is here!!

"Significant Other" blogfest ,hosted by D L Hammons over at Cruising Altitude and Talli Roland , is a really neat idea. It takes the pen out of the writer's hand and puts their spouse/partner/sister etc in charge. If you haven't already signed up jump on over and give it a look. Since my husband is still a couple states away ,not to mention he doesn't like to type, I held this interview over the phone. Since I'll be out of pocket tomorrow I'm posting this a bit early and will be delayed on answering comments and visiting other blogs tomorrow. BUT I promise I will get to it by tomorrow night. On to my husband's interview. DL and Talli were kind enough to put a few questions for us to ask.

1. What food or drink is guaranteed to return your loved one to a good mood, even after a bad day of writing?

Marty answered: chocolate..of any kind..or shape..or size. Lisa loves chocolate period. Oh and shrimp or any kind of seafood. Oh and a margarita. Should I tell them that? (he gets 5 points for a correct answer)

2.What one thing would you change about your other's writing habits?

Marty answered: Oh God. Um, Is there an answer to that? Can you people change? ( I like how he calls writers, "you people" like we're aliens or something) Well there is your annoying habit of daydreaming in the middle of a conversation. For instance if we're talking politics or about the news and you get that shiny look in your eye. I know your killing demons or growing some kind of mutant virus in an underground facility . (dang he caught that. minus 5 points for being observant)

3.How hard is it to sit by and watch someone you care for struggle to attain a dream...knowing there's very little you can do to help?

Marty answered: It's hard because I don't know much about the process and it seems so hard and long to get to the end. Writers seem to put so much effort into finishing something not knowing if they will be shot down at the end. That's perseverance.

I had to stop the interview at this point and tell him I can answer that for him. I'm one of the extremely lucky ones. My husband has been nothing BUT supportive of my dreams. He works long and very hard hours so I can stay at home with our children and write. He never fails to ask me everyday "how'd your writing go?". He follows my blog religiously. Marty knows if I have a new follower before I do and he always reads my post. He may not know WHY I want to do this or even how I'm doing it but his love and support have gotten me this far. Granted when I have piles of papers and notebooks scattered around he just scratches his head and walks away. But he pushes me on the days I feel like I can't do it. He applauds me on the days when I can and never ever tells me to give up my dream.

THANK YOU to all of the significant others who support your writer.

Whether it be with a cup of hot chocolate or a pat on the back. Writers need that love and support. Happy Writing.

"What's Your Process?" blogfest is here!!!

First off thanks to Shallee for hosting this creative blogfest. If you haven't checked out her blog yet please do.


I'm a newbie. REAL newbie. Like still screaming from the hospital newbie so please bear with me on my process. As a new writer I know that through the coming years I will change and swap and totally screw up my writing process. For right now I seem to have one that works well for me. I can only take you through the first draft since I have not yet had the wonderful experience of revision.


When I started writing I took an online writing course to help show me the way. One of the first things I learned was making a sweet spot map or SSM. That's where we'll start.


I have several sheets of paper, all with a different list. "I love....", "I hate....", "I fear...". On each one I list various things under the title. I spin off from one thing to another. "I Love....statues, angel statues, mazes, cemeteries, wind, creaking trees, moss, lakes, dragonflies and so on. With these sheets I can find any number of ideas for stories. But let's rewind a bit.


The first thing I do is figure out what sort of story my muse wants to tell. Horror. Paranormal Romance. Fantasy. Let's pick Horror for an example.


Then I go to my SSM (sweet spot map) . I go to my "I fear" page. Kidnapping is high on the list along with being buried alive. Maybe I'm feeling an idea take shape about being kidnapped and buried alive.


Now I need to make a sentence to sum up my idea. This is where I let my muse run free with several different avenues. I think of a couple sentences and write them down and pick one to go with.


1. A serial killer is burying his victims alive and the only person who can stop him is the one who got away.

2. Young girls are turning up dead and the only clue is the rare soil caked around their mouths.


Neither one of these are very good but I can now pull down more ideas for where I want this story to go. I pick one of the sentences and pull out my notebooks and index cards. I'll go through several ideas until I get one that feels right. Normally by now I have a feeling for the beginning and the middle. The end is just a murky shell. I do a lot of "what if's".


What if the story is being told by the killer?

What is the girls come back as zombies?

What if the one who escapes becomes a partner in crime?


And then I swap the answers and do a little more "what if's".


Now I need characters. Who would do this? Who could stop them? Who has the most to lose? I know HOW I want to characters to end up but not how they get there. I don't put too much pre-planing into my characters. I like them to evolve on their own. I get the basics like what makes them tick. What do they want in life? What makes them angry?

HUGE WAIT A MINUTE HERE: Sometimes I have a character and no story. BUT this is rare for me. I then build my story around my character. Example I have a princess space pirate that won't leave me alone so I work on that one in my head. Like I said I'm still evolving.


Next I think of some scenes I just HAVE to write and put a rough sentence on an index card for each scene. I try for around 30 scenes at this point. Some of these will disappear before I even get to them. Some will morph into more scenes.


Then I write. I pick a scene and go. After I get all my favorite scenes I go to the beginning of the story and write from there to the end. Filling in where I have gaps and thinning out when I am overloaded. Since I haven't reached revision yet this is where I stop.


Here are several pieces of advice I have gotten that I keep telling myself.

1. There is NOTHING that can't be fixed in revision.

2. You can't fix what you don't finish. SO WRITE!!

3. EVERY writer has a rough first draft. Some are slightly scarred while other are big steaming piles of ..er.. mud. Most writers just don't want to tell you that.


My writing process is kinda skimpy right now but I can't wait to hear all the others. Happy Writing.

Blogfest ..check these out

Just a quick post today. Two awesome blogfest this week I will be taking part in and you need to go check out.



On Jan 18, Shallee Mcarthur is holding a What's Your Process blogfest. It will be a fantastic way to find and give advice,tips and just to talk about your writing process.



On Jan 21 DL Hammons is having a Significant Other . Time to turn your blog over to your wife/hubby/partner or even your kids. If they don't want to move around in your blogging world then you can interview them and do all the work. He even has a few questions to ask them.



So go check these out. Both will be tons of fun.