Every author in some way portrays himself in his works, even if it be against his will.
–Goethe

The more I write, the more I realize how true this quote is. There are little pieces of me in my characters. Chloe, for instance, loves caramel. It’s a candy addiction we share. Erin is tall, and the scene where she describes the way she looks next to her friend owes more than a little to my thoughts about the way I look next to one of my sisters.

But one of the coolest things about writing is the way in which my characters and I are different. Sabrina is far more stylish than I am, and Mélanie has an inherent confidence and ease with people I wish I had. Each character is unique, and the best thing I can do is keep out of the way and let them tell their stories. I get to know them as I write.

I write with the TV on. I also need quiet when I write. So I fulfill both needs by putting in one of my often-watched true-crime tapes or DVDs and hitting the mute button. I call this white noise, although I know that’s not the actual definition of the term. This gives me the quiet I need and it satisfies that part of me that wants to watch TV too. I know, it’s unusual. But I think it’s unusual when people tell me they write to music. I’ve tried to do the same on occasion, but I just can’t do it.

I prefer my white noise.

I’m excited about the fact that I got six new DVDs last week. I have new white noise, and when I finish writing, I can watch it with sound.

I was cleaning out my fridge recently, and bent down to make sure I got everything on the bottom shelves. When I turned, I realized something I’d never noticed before–a narrow shelf at the bottom of the door of the fridge.

Huh.

I’ve lived in my house for more than three years, and I’ve had the same fridge the entire time. And it took this long to discover I now have a convenient place for my water bottles.

Writing is a little like this. I work on a story, have a pretty good idea of where it’s going. Then I discover something about one of the characters or an element of the story that surprises me. I’m learning a lot about Jeffrey as I work on his story this week. With each story, one of the characters comes through more clearly than the other. In this case, I know Shay better, so I’ve been actively working to understand Jeffrey. It’s a slow and steady process, more fun than cleaning out the fridge.

I hope the results will be wonderful.

If you’re a writer, consider entering Cobblestone’s Wicked Contest.

Wicked Line

Length: 5 to 10k

Contest : January 2 – 19, 2008

Be wicked for us. We’re looking for short story erotica with a very high level of sexual content within five to ten thousand words. HEA or romantic content not required. First and third person accepted (male or female POV).

First place winner will receive a standard contract, first publication slot for the Wicked Line and $100.

Other entries will be considered for publication.

Contest open to all authors currently unpublished with Cobblestone Press, LLC.

We are interested in the following genres: contemporary, historical, paranormal, BDSM, multicultural, science fiction, and fantasy.

Submissions should be sent to: submissions@cobblestone-press.com.

Formatting

1. Use either Times New Roman or Courier New, 12pt. font

2. All paragraphs should be indented .5 (without tabs-preferred) Double Spaced

3. One inch margins

4. Attach the manuscript as an RTF file (no other format will be opened)Include a cover letter in the body of your email, please put WICKED CONTEST in the subject line

5. On the first page of your manuscript include in the upper left corner the following: Title of Manuscript, Word Count- Calculated by your word processor program, Genre (or Line), Full Name, Pen Name (if applicable), Mailing Address, Phone Number, and Email Address

*** Regular Submissions for this line will open February 14, 2008 ***

Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia.
–E.L. Doctorow

A couple of my coworkers think it’s very odd when I say that my characters speak to me. They are perhaps worried that it is a sign of mental illness. (Um, I am a writer . . .) But I have to say I treasure those times. That’s when I know the story is going in the right direction, or that I’m learning something important about the character.

Take my current WIP (I really should come up with a title for it). I was writing along quite nicely when I suddenly discovered that my heroine has been getting hang-up calls. I had one of those, Hmm, this is interesting, moments. I have no idea who is calling the heroine, but I’m going with it. It adds depth and complexity to the story.

And those are the times I love–when the plot I’ve created becomes bigger through the writing. I hope it makes things more interesting for the reader as well. Now if I could just get one of the characters to help me with the title of the book.

I wonder who’s on the other side of that phone . . .

Every year I buy I handful of writing books. OK, this year it was more than a handful. I found Victoria Lynn Schmidt’s 45 Master Characters in a trip to Borders last week.

My verdict? It’s the best book about writing I’ve read all year. I haven’t read all of it (yet), but it is packed with wonderful information. The outline of the Feminine Journey has helped me shape my WIP. Amazing stuff–my episodic story is now a story with a backbone. If you’re a writer, I encourage you to check it out.

So, I’ve been caught up in the 70 Days of Sweat. Then on Wednesday, I was writing along and I hit save. I got a message saying something like, “Some characters will be lost if you continue.” That was odd, since I’d saved this file before with no problem, so I tried to get out of it. Unfortunately, MS Word shut down completely and somehow deleted the file.

I was a bit heartbroken about it. I told myself to look at it as an opportunity to rewrite the story now that I know the characters and make it better, but it still killed me to think of losing 50 pages. So, I ended up jotting down notes for another story to keep my mind occupied.

In the meantime, I had a couple of friends take a look at my computer to try and find the file. On Sunday, I was able to recover most of the text. Talk about going from trick to treat! Yes, I could have rewritten it, but I’m so glad I don’t have to.

Backups. Always a good thing. I knew that, but I guess I needed the reminder.

I have a release date for The Greatest Gift! It comes out December 17. I can’t wait to see what they come up with for the cover.

I’m working on a new story now. With each one, I learn more about writing. I think the more you do it, the more you learn. That’s the way it should be. Luckily there are good moments to offset the ones that are a struggle. The latest lesson is the importance of outlining. I do little outlining with shorter stories, so I wasn’t working with one for my latest story. Then the story expanded, and I’m trying to put it all together. My next step: a new outline to get the story back on track.

In other news, I entered the Brava Novella Contest, so I will be waiting to hear the results along with more than 300 other entrants.

Should be fun.

I’m also preparing for National Novel Writing Month–I can’t believe it’s coming so soon! Looks like I have a lot of outlining to do this month.

Not feeling so good today, though I feel marginally better after taking a long nap. Unfortunately, I missed out on a fun concert with six bands. I’m kind of vexed about that. Why can’t we get sick at convenient times? (Is there ever a convenient time to be sick?) /End Whine.

I’ve been listening to more RWA conference classes this week. One was on finding your writing style, and I found it quite illuminating. The speaker talked about being a left-brained writer or a right-brained writer, and on the importance of reaching a kind of synergy.

For writers like me who start a lot of stories, finding that synergy means going back to a story and finishing it. Other writers may struggle with the internal editor who keeps them from moving forward in a story until the previous chapter is perfect. Those writers somehow need to tap into whatever will allow them to get the story out.

I’m oversimplifying, but I encourage writers to listen to this presentation if they have a chance: Figuring Out Your Creative Process by Carla Neggers. You might find it as illuminating as I did.

It’s Labor Day weekend, and in addition to getting some much needed rest and relaxation, I’m determined to get a bunch of work done on my WIP. I’m posting it publicly, so now I need to live up to it. I do have some fun things planned for the weekend, including family time and some reading, so it won’t be all work.

Yesterday I bought the Harry Potter 5 soundtrack. The music for that is great. Anyone else a fan of soundtracks?