Flitting and Waiting

As I watch my 2- and 3-year-old grandchildren play, I marvel at their differences. They are opposites in many ways and yet each represent their own parent well and still show sides of their parent's sibling. They're quite the mix and match of my own babies. (Of course they each have traits of their other parent, as well, but I saw my babies grow up and naturally find it easier to pick up on what I remember.)

The elder toddler by 3 months is like his mom now: matter-of-fact and highly organized, he puts one thing away before he moves on to something else, after playing with that one thing for some time. He likes to line up his toys in lines or recently in circles, enjoying the design of it, the orderliness and heaven forbid anything interfere with his planned order. Like his uncle, when he focuses on something, he is intently focused on it. Also like his uncle, he's socially wary and watchful but very kind-hearted and sweet-natured. He appreciates and welcomes help when he wants to do something that isn't quite working out.

The other one is like her dad in that she's very artsy and musical. She's also like her aunt and her dad both as young children, swirling about from one thing to another and back and forth, leaving a wake in her trail of blocks and crayons and puzzle pieces she likes to dump but not put together and she's always moving on to the next thing. Now and then something will catch and hold her attention and heaven forbid you take her away from it. Like her aunt as a child, she loves people and talks to everyone, whether or not they're willing to talk. She will give them "that look" if they ignore her. Also like her aunt, she is very much I Can Do It Myself (which she calls "me-self" currently).

It's interesting to watch them develop their innate personalities regardless of what goes on around them. The world can do as it wishes, and their parents can guide them, but they are who they are and they know inside this is perfectly okay.

I see myself in both little ones. I want things as they are supposed to be, in order and organized, and I don't appreciate anyone else interfering with the way I have things, but this often doesn't come out externally since I also jump from interest to interest and disorder naturally follows, which drives me nuts, but it doesn't change, no matter how I try.

Some things just are as they are and it's okay.

The photo above is my newest project, or newest part of a new project, a series of yellow flower based paintings on 8 x 10 canvas. I'm far better at drawing than at painting because I've done far more of it, but I've had the urge to paint lately, in between my urge to work on clay, so although I have one yellow flower painting in progress already, partly painted and waiting, I had to sketch this one because I saw the idea for it and wanted it in progress. Eventually, I'll add paint. For now, it waits because this weekend, I'm back to the rewrite of the novel that was "done" other than edits which is now getting a makeover with a changed, expanded ending. I also have the next Thoughts & Sketches journal underway that I work on when I feel like it.

In retrospect, that novel in progress needed to wait a bit. Ideas from day to day life and inspirations have infiltrated the story and by now I realize it wouldn't have been right if I'd pushed to just get it done. You have to listen to your instincts. It wasn't ready, so it had to sit and wait while I flitted around with other things.

Sometimes you have to Do It and get it done and other times you need to sit back and wait. Some call it procrastination. I call it all in due time.

Those two little toddlers are exactly right. They are perfect just as they are and I hope they can hold onto that belief regardless of what the world tries to tell them. Grandma will be standing by ready to argue back with the world.

Autotelic Arts and Professional Envy

There was this post I'd been thinking about writing for some time. It's not an easy one to write. It's always hard to admit to your darker sides, even when you know everyone has them.

The other day, I ran across this video and it pushed me to write what had been stirring in my head for some time. It's not very related. It is to some extent, I suppose, but... Well, watch first and then we'll talk.

I love Van Gogh. I have ever since the first painting of his I saw jumped out at me and said, "Hey, look at this!" At least they say that to me. The video talks about how "late" in life he decided to paint as a career/living/obsession. He was 27. That didn't sound terribly "late" in life to me, but then people do tend to live longer these days, so relatively, maybe it was.

Then I got to thinking: I was 30 when I began to take my off-and-on writing hobby to an obsessive (aka professional-minded) level. I do feel that was starting rather late, in as much as there were so many years I could have been working hard on it instead of playing at it so I'd be farther along by now. I see young women putting time and effort into their writing career at the age I was very busy with little kids. I don't regret that at all, but I sure could have been writing instead of doing cross stitch while they napped or were in school.

I do have a little bit of envy for those pursuing their writing so seriously so young, even though I realize my choices were mine and maybe what I needed to do at that time. Or I just didn't believe it would go anywhere, so I didn't bother until I had to write. For myself. Because I had to. There does come that point. If I'd found it earlier...

Anyway, my writing is autotelic. I write what I need/want to write, despite the way it doesn't fit today's market and that I may never be one of "those" names due to the fact that it doesn't fit. I even tried a couple of years ago to start a new direction under a different name along with my "need to write" stories, and they slid right back in to what I need to write, not what fits or what will profit financially.

I believe art should be autotelic.

I do.

Still, there's that other post I've been thinking about writing. That one where I talk about professional envy. My own, that is.

It's very hard to work so seriously for so long, as Van Gogh did, for little to no compensation while your writing friends and acquaintances are showing off their successes and big sales numbers and best seller statuses. It's hard. It's envy, of course, and we've all learned that envy is a bad thing.

I think it's not. I think envy is a wonderful challenge. Jealousy, now that's different. Jealous people tend to take it out on those of whom they're jealous, or they manage to hold it in and let it eat at themselves. There is nothing helpful about jealousy that I can see.

Envy, though, says yes, it bothers me that I'm working so hard and not getting the glory you're getting. It says, whether true or not, that my work is as good or better and deserves as much recognition. Maybe it does. But in all honesty, maybe it doesn't. Maybe they made the choice to write for the market and they're pulling the effects of that. Okay. So what? That was their choice, and it was a good choice. They deserve the good effects of their choices.

Does that mean it should be your choice, also, instead of whatever choice you made? Or maybe you didn't see and haven't heard how much struggle they already went through and you're making a sad assumption. Maybe your work isn't as good as you think. Maybe it's outstanding and you're just not hitting the right audience. Maybe...

There are too many maybes to list them all. The thing is: so what? Their path is their path. Your path is yours. If you aren't happy with that path, then use that envy productively. Acknowledge it. Realize you aren't a bad person simply because you're envious.

If you're envious, it means you care about your work. Yes? Caring is good.

If you're envious, it means you want to do better in some way. That's always good. Just figure out how and work toward that.

There is space for non-autotelic art. Obviously there is. Sometimes you can get lucky and what's autotelic is also commercial ("in"/easily salable) at the time you're working. That's a wonderful thing. If it's not and enough of your writing goal is income, then do both if you're able.

Van Gogh died a pauper having sold only one painting while still alive, due to his brother's efforts.

Personally, I find that extreme and I believe there has to be a better balance for autotelic artists. I know there is. I've seen very passionate, talented artists doing fairly well. That makes me envious at times, yes, but it also inspires me. When one person does it, it shows it can be done.

Take notes. Consider the how.

(If you have a loved one who will work hard to promote you when you can't afford to pay them, consider yourself lucky, too, and be sure to return their help as much as possible, which, from what I read, Vincent didn't do at all. Maybe that was part of his downfall. Maybe he needed to learn to give a bit more to others instead of always taking and expecting success before he felt able to give back. Sometimes that doesn't happen and being a leech off someone who cares about you never works out well.)

Professional envy can be very constructive. It can also be devastating. Which one it becomes depends on how you handle it.

Autotelic art can be amazingly creative and beautiful and long-lasting. It can also be soul shattering. Which one it becomes depends on how you deal with the natural results.

Never expect anything from your art. Hope. Work hard. Push yourself (but not beyond your limits). Keep going (or don't if it's too much to handle).

Be honest with yourself. Why are you doing it? For the sake of the art or for sales? Whichever it is, don't expect people to bend to your whims and support it just because you think it's worthy.

Yes, maybe it is. To you. To some. And that's great. But never expect.

Just create and trust.

In the meantime, do something that will support you. Cutting your art hours by having a "real" job or by giving to others while they help support you can be frustrating, yes, but it can also build your passion and create inspiration. It also creates respect.

I love Van Gogh's work. I do. But much of me thinks he would have been better off, physically and financially, if he'd taken up a side job that pulled him away from "it's all and only about my art and the heck with anyone and anything else" attitude. Because it's not. His beloved brother would likely have lived a longer and healthier life, as well, since he wouldn't have had the constant drain of a grown man constantly asking for more money for food and paint on top of supporting his own family.

Yes, at times I have trouble congratulating other writers on their successes. I admit it. That's part of being honest with myself. I still, though, am happy for them, because I know what kind of work and commitment it takes. I know I lack marketing skills and interest. I know I could be doing much more to promote my work. I'm quite sure I could spend more time working at the craft part of my books. There are always things that could be improved. My failures are my own, not theirs, and I remember that. It doesn't make it easier. It does make it acceptable.

Sometimes that's good enough, at least for the time being.

And if it becomes unacceptable, well, I need to improve what I'm doing in some way. Or, as the line I most remember from my grandpa, a very wise man, says,

"If you want to be as lucky as him, go out there and do what he's doing and you'll be lucky, too."

If you don't want to do "what he's doing" then your results will be different. When it comes to art, they will very likely be different anyway, because art is subjective and what's beautiful to one is ugly or blasé to others, but that's okay, too. You can't make people think the way you do or appreciate what you appreciate. You have to work with what is, even while striving for improvement, both your own, and your society's.

Be envious. And then put it to good use.

Be autotelic or don't. And realize the results will vary.

No Pneumonia Here

"Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia." Kurt Vonnegut

Life is constant reinvention, at least for some of us intent on growing and exploring as much as possible. The same is true with writers not content to stay in a pigeon hole some publisher creates. Those who are content to do so generally do well with it, and that's great. There's a big audience for those well-promoted genres. The rest of us ... well, we have to figure out how to find an audience for our not-so-well-promoted little niches.

That's a long-winded way to say I've been playing with a new tagline for my LK books. I recently updated the artwork (headers and icon) for EMK, plus the tagline. Now it's on to revamping LK a bit. No, I've never been one to sit still well. I'm always looking for different and better. My daughter says "I Can't Get No Satisfaction" was written for me. As Loki said in in Thor: The Dark World, "I don't do satisfied." (from memory - could be a bit misquoted, but the gist is the same) I liked Loki better from that line forward. I get it.

I like my current tagline: Literary Romance with an Artsy Twist, but I don't think it's coming across well. "Literary" tends to turn people off, unless they love 700 page rambling insightful slow books (yes, I am one of those, at times). "Romance" turns people away unless they like the bodice-ripper kind of stories, or 100 page fast meet-and-fall in love books. I like romance. I'm a romantic. But I'm not really THAT kind of romantic. I'm somewhere between the two, which is what my tagline was supposed to say. I don't think it's working. So, my new tagline:

Conservative Fiction for the Intellectual Romantic

What do you think?

I put it out on my personal Facebook page to a limited group of people to ask their thoughts the other day. Most who replied loved it, said it made them stop and think, which is part of the idea. I did get some dissent, a good point that it would likely turn off more liberal readers. That's probably true, and I did consider as much, but as I explained, any reader "liberal enough" to let the tagline turn them away is likely not going to enjoy my work, anyway. Not everyone will. It is on the conservative side, although I have characters on all sides of all lines providing point and counterpoint, wider POVs than just my own. I don't like to read preachy fiction, so I don't write preachy fiction. I do write societal and cultural fiction. My main characters do tend to be on the conservative side. And why shouldn't they be? Liberal fiction is everywhere; liberality dominates current fiction. I know. I read plenty of it. One of my favorite authors has bent so far that direction, I stopped reading him. Point: not everyone wants that. A lot of us don't. Whereas we may enjoy reading different points of view that don't agree with our own, and I do think that's important, we don't necessarily want everything we read to tell us we're haughty, greedy, evil, stupid, etc. (yes, I have read plenty of fiction that says exactly that) because we're more conservative than the current tide.

I'm not trying to make love to the whole world when I write. I'm trying to tell a good, deep, well-rounded story with thoughts I ponder often and questions I constantly have. Some of it tends to be a bit more liberal and not all conservatives will agree with me. Overall, though, it is moderate conservative fiction, and I'd rather those on either extremist side not bother than to rant and rave about expecting one thing and getting something else (kind of like the new Deadpool ad that tells parents PLEASE DON'T take your minor children to see the movie and then rant about how horrible it was for them to see when it's rated R for a reason!).

Why shouldn't we have "conservative fiction" that is not "Christian fiction"? There's room for all of us.

As for the "intellectual romantic" part of the line, yes, my books are heavy on romance, but it's not genre romance. It's relationship development wrapped around a societal story. It's the why of two people coming together, how they deal with conflicts that threaten them being together, why they decide to overcome them or not, how others interfere, including family and friends. It's supposed to make a reader stop and think.

In short, I'd rather put out the call to those who want to philosophize a bit as they read, who are interested in varying viewpoints and will consider them, and who love a good story with in-depth characters who understand the value of morality and have differing ideas about how to best love one's neighbors than to attract a wider group of readers who very well won't be interested. One of my characters is fighting the effects of pneumonia, but I'd rather not.

[If you prefer shorter and a bit less philosophical/intellectual love stories, I have that in my Ella M. Kaye line. ;-) ]

Of course this means I'll need new artwork to match the new tagline...

Goodreads Giveaway: Moondrops & Thistles

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Moondrops & Thistles

by LK Hunsaker

Giveaway ends July 18, 2011.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Prompt Writing: December 21 2010

Have you noticed the writing prompts above? I love prompts, although I have novel ideas coming out my ears and not enough time to write them all, I still love to grab a prompt now and then and write a quick story for it. A wonderful exercise, it stirs the creative pathways and puffs out the dust and adds new dimensions, things you may not ever have written otherwise.

Today I decided to issue a flash fiction challenge on one of my writing lists. And then I got stuck as to what I wanted to write. So I came to my blog and grabbed the prompt from the rotating list provided by Writing.com. (Love that app!) The prompt said:

The car swerved to avoid the deer and plunged over the cliff.

Oh, that stirred my imagination! Actually, it pulled up a couple of characters in standby waiting for their chance for me to get to their story. So here's a quick first-draft glimpse of Tori and Neil (names could change):

------------
“The car swerved to avoid the deer and plunged over the cliff.” Tori shrugged. “At least that’s the way they decided to call it. As good an excuse as any, I suppose.”

Neil studied the girl’s demeanor. There was oh, so much more to the story. He could tell there was. Tori wasn’t much for sharing, though. He knew if he was going to get the rest of it, he’d have to be vague and carefully work up to the revelation. It was becoming quite the adventure for him, figuring out how to talk to this girl without insulting or repelling her. Quite the feat.

“Anyway, so if you want me to cook anything special for your Christmas dinner, you’d best let me know quick. I’ll be out for a couple of hours that day, but not till later...”

“We’ll be at my parents’ for Christmas.”

She threw him a quick glance and nodded. “Figured, but don’t you take anything with you?”
“I take a couple of bottles of their favorite wine.”

“That’s it? I’m good at dessert. I do an incredible peppermint cheesecake if you’d want that.”

“Peppermint cheesecake? Haven’t heard of that.”

“No.” She put the last dish away she’d just washed and dried and turned to prop herself against the counter. “I created it. So I don’t imagine you have. Not that no one else has done one, but I bet it doesn’t beat mine.”

He couldn’t help a grin.

Tori tilted her head, her eyes penetrating nearly to his core. “You should do that more.”

“Do what?”

“Smile. Looks good on you. And what do you know? Your face didn’t crack.”

“Funny. Very cute.”

“You are, you know.”

Neil waited, wondering if she’d tell him just what he was and whether or not he wanted her to tell him. He already had a vastly good concept about just what she thought of him: arrogant, rude, vain, among other less choice words she wouldn’t likely let herself say, at least not directly to him.

She didn’t elaborate and his curiosity made him stupid enough to ask. “I am what?”

“Very cute. So again, why don’t you have a girlfriend? I’ve been working here ... what? five months now? and you don’t even date. Why not? You look decent enough. Are you as rude to all girls as you are to me and figure none of ‘em will take it from you long enough to bother?”

He’d expected much worse. Maybe she was warming to him a touch. “I’m never rude to my dates, and I do date.”

“Do you? Guess they’re late nights, huh? After I’m already out at my real job?”

He cringed at the term. Her real job. The job that made him cringe and come off as ruder than he meant to be. It wasn’t her; it was her job.

“Sorry, forgot I shouldn’t mention it around you. So, are you gonna answer about dessert? Want one or not?”

“Peppermint cheesecake sounds good, actually, although cheesecake isn’t one of my favorites. Mom should love it.”

“Great, I’ll have it ready early that morning for whenever you’re leaving.” She shoved herself away from the counter. “Guess I better shower and get ready to go.”

“Tori.” He caught her arm, only for a second until her eyes threw a warning. “If you were going to come up with an excuse better than a deer, what would you come up with?”

Her eyes remained on him, with that look. The one that said he better be careful. She wasn’t about to have any wool pulled over her. Then she shrugged again. “Wouldn’t bother with a story. I’d use the truth. It’s a lot easier in the long run.” She started away and looked back at him. “Although, I guess some would be a lot more comfortable hearing a good story. Maybe that’s something I should learn to do.”

“Bet you’d come up with some doozies. More worth hearing than the deer.”

“Probably right. If I had the energy. I don’t. And I’ve gotta get ready for work. Casserole will be done in twenty minutes, about when Jack should be home. Tell him not to bother to come by tonight. I’m not staying late.”

Neil sighed and lowered into a chair. Not staying late. He knew what that meant.

No. Not tonight. She could be mad if she wanted, but not tonight.

He made his way up to her room and tapped on the door. It was open and she didn’t answer, so he went in, slowly. She was sitting on the bed, her head in her hands, elbows on her knees.

“Tori?”

She yanked her head up, then stood and pulled back into her attitude. “What? I told you, I have to get ready for work.”

“What are you doing for Christmas?”

She stopped and frowned. “What?”

“Christmas. You know, December twenty-fifth. It comes every year.”

“Don’t be a jerk tonight. I’m not in the mood.”

“Okay, you said you had plans for a couple of hours. What about the rest of the day?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

He shuffled closer, waiting for another rebuff. “How about bringing your peppermint cheesecake with you when you come?”

She shook her head. “No.”

“We’d love to have you.”

“No, you wouldn’t. Don’t try to be nice just because of the season, all right? I don’t like that fake ‘be nice today and go back to nasty tomorrow’ garbage. Really, I’m fine. I’ll give myself the day off as a treat and that’s good enough.”

Neil couldn’t help himself. He moved closer. “What does the deer stand for, Tori? Tell me.”

“Doesn’t matter.” She pulled back.

“It was intentional?”

Her eyes touched his. Wounded eyes. Shielded. “Might as well have been. Wasn’t too unintentional. And it doesn’t matter.” She stepped backward. “I have to go to work...”

“Stay home.”

She shook her head.

He moved closer, touched her shoulder, amazed when she didn’t draw back. “Stay home tonight, Tori.”

“I can’t. Too much money lost. Boss is already mad at me...”

“What if I want you to try out your cheesecake on me? Tonight? I’ll even pay overtime since your shift is over, technically. Will that cover what you’ll lose?”

“Not if he fires me.”

“You know he won’t. You’ve said as much.”

“Don’t do this.”

Neil knew he was pushing his luck. And yet, he couldn’t stop himself. “Jack’s out late tonight. Practice, then dinner with Joselyn. I don’t want to eat alone. Come eat with me and then try out your dessert recipe...”

“I don’t have what I need. I’d have to...”

“Then we’ll run to the store.”

“Together?” She eyed him. “You’re going to be seen in public with me? Alone?”

Letting out a quick breath, he shook his head and dropped his eyes. “Have I been that much of a jerk?”

“Yes.”

He raised them again, to hers.

“But it’s understandable. No harm done.”

His stomach tightened. “I think I might have to disagree. And I’m sorry. Please, don’t go to work tonight.”

“I have to. I can’t lose this job.”

Something told him she might honestly rather stay with him than go. “Okay, tell you what. Go for a short time as you planned then let me pick you up and take you to dinner. The casserole will wait until tomorrow.”

“You don’t...”

He touched her face. Her eyes peered into his, wary, warning, but maybe a bit hopeful, as well. “Please.”

------
That's all I have for now. But hey, it's a start on their story, even if this whole thing changes. ;-)
-

Nano Wind-down

Thank you again to all of my Nano guests this year! They all hit their 50K goals through all of the struggles and external trials and schedules: an incredible triumph.

Writers don’t live in enclosed little writing shacks where everything gets done by others and all we have on our minds is our story. Many of us like to dream of such a thing, but the truth is, we almost always have to work it around so many other things that come first. Sometimes they come so “first” that it’s nearly impossible to write. Those who succeed work around the impossible. That’s what Nanowrimo is about: giving ourselves permission to put writing first for a change.

I ended up the month with just over 95,000 words, but word count wasn’t my main goal. I wanted a complete first draft that I could jump back into at the beginning of the thing later on, after I let it sit through the holidays. Most of the last week, I was becoming convinced that wouldn’t happen. The story filled itself in more than I expected; the characters had more to say than I’d planned to allow them.

I kept pushing toward that goal, anyway, and at 11:00 pm on November 30th, I came to the end of the story.

My fingers were cramping. My wrists are tender, even in their braced assistance. My back, which decided to bother me this month more than it has in 21 years, spent a week and a half fussing at me to get up and go lie flat on the floor. I did that often in between propping a pillow behind it in my supportive chair, along with stretching gently and so on. Part of that time was given to my ‘day job’ which is also on the computer. And yet, I wrote The End on the 30th as I hoped. (I also managed 2,000-some words for Rehearsal one day when a scene jumped into my head.)

So much for a quick, light write that I thought I’d only put out only as an Ebook to help fill in Fred Dawson’s background for Off The Moon fans, and specifically Daws fans. Because it filled out so well, I imagine this one will go to print, also.

And I’m breaking the rules. Instead of letting it sit for at least a month, I’ve started edits. It won’t let me go.

That’s okay. Soon Christmas activities will take over and I’ll have to let it sit. I suppose I should do some shopping and decorating.

If you haven’t yet, please scroll down and read my guests’ experiences. They’d love a comment, as well!

Nanowrimo isn’t only for or about writers, by the way. It’s about taking time for your dreams. I urge everyone to do so.

`

Nano Guest: Andra Marquardt

Welcome to A.L. Marquardt, author of A Reason For Hope, as my next guest blogger, here to talk about her experiences with Nanowrimo!

~~~


A few weeks ago Loraine kindly asked me to write a guest post on her blog about Nanowrimo. Honestly, I've been so busy writing and thinking about my novel I've been having a difficult time coming up with something to write about Nanowrimo that was somewhat interesting.

But here goes anyway. Using the same technique I use for writing novels, I'm gonna wing it and see what happens.

2005 was the first year I tackled Nanowrimo, and to my utter surprise I not only won, but ended up with the start of a novel I like to this day. In fact after a few more rounds of editing, I plan on submitting it to some literary agents.

I tried again in 2006, this time giving fantasy a try (my first was science fiction). Although I won again, I ended up hating the story. However, I did end up with some really good characters, so it wasn't a total loss. I plan on giving that one another go eventually by keeping the same characters but changing the setting and some of the secondary plot lines.

2007 was the year I was seven months pregnant with my son. Suffering from what a friend calls "prego-brain," I managed a mere 12k words before I realized I didn't have the mental power to continue. Again, not a total loss, because I managed 12k more words than I would have had.

I skipped 2008 & 2009 because taking care of a little boy takes a lot of time and energy.

With my son close to three and not needing as much constant attention, I decided to give it one more go. I also tackled it a bit differently. I planned ahead with my storyline, and decided I would not write more than 2000 words a day. I also scheduled my writing time from 9:30 - 11pm every day. If I had more time say during the day during weekends, I still didn't write even though my novel was calling me.

The great thing about keeping myself reigned in is not only have I managed my time better, but I'm not so far ahead I'm tempted to skip a day or two. I know me, if I allowed myself to skip once, I will easily find other excuses to skip more, whether I was ahead or behind in my word count.

So far it's worked. Even during the few days when I absolutely couldn't continue, I continued anyway. Ironically, during those tough days, I ended up writing more than I originally intended. I've heard said that it takes about twenty minutes for a writer to really get into a groove of writing. I found that number to be fairly accurate.

Once Nanowrimo ends on November 30, I plan to continue to write until the novel is done. It's close to a true habit now. I will then let it sit for a few months. I already know it needs a lot of work.

Another benefit to Nanowrimo is it forces me to ignore my internal editor. Oh, she screams at me constantly, but she's no more annoying than a fly buzzing around the room. It's too bad no one has invented an "internal editor fly swatter."

On December 1st, I will again listen to my editor and rewrite my first Nano-novel I mentioned above.

If you haven't tried Nanowrimo, yet desire to write a full-length novel (or even a series of short stories), I suggest you give it a try. You aren't competing with anyone (unless you want to), but with a calendar. There really isn't such a thing as failure or success, because by giving it a try and writing maybe 2000 words that month, it's 2000 more words than you would have had.

If you want to know more about my own books and writing journey, be sure to check out my website at www.almarquardt.com.

Thank you for reading, and to Loraine for letting me steal her blog for a day.

I hope you all had a grand Thanksgiving and that you didn't eat yourself into too deep a stupor.
~~~

Thank you, Andra! Interesting method, and so glad it works well for you.

Nano Guest: Ann Arbaugh

Welcome to Ann Arbaugh, my third guest here to talk about her Nanowrimo experience! Ann is a first year Wrimo.


Welcome Ann!
~~~ ~~~ ~~~

Several years ago, a friend told me about NaNoWriMo. I wasn’t ready for the challenge. I almost joined last year. There was a story that kept resurfacing in my consciousness. Again, I didn’t feel I was ready to work on a novel. Never mind that I already had a full-time job.

I’m new to novels, but not to writing. I’ve worked with one state writers group for years and I’m serving as a Board member on two groups this year. Most of my writing is poetry at the University, business writing, or features writing for a local community organization.

A friend told me about an online novel course she was teaching this past February. I decided to take it and see what would happen with the novel. By mid-April, I’d written 9,500 words of the story. I averaged 250-500 words a day, writing in 15-30 minute sessions during lunch. Although it wasn’t much, I was happy that I’d started on the project.

The next week, a close friend had a health scare and the wind went out of my sails. I couldn’t write. The next month, while traveling in Western Maryland, another idea came to me. I sat down and filled four regular sheets of paper in a very short time. The muse was not a steady worker.

Then everything changed. In July, I had a heart attack. At 48 years old. Once home, I was off for two months before I returned to work. I had all this time but the creative spark wasn’t there. I sat at the computer and tried to write. There was nothing. Yet, I could write emails to friends and family to share updates about my recuperation. In one night, through several messages, I wrote 3500 words to one person. Why? I was upset about something.

It was ironic. I couldn’t create, but I could write my story. I posted this on the Classic Romance Revival loop. I asked my e-friends to explain this to me. I said it was like trying to ride and rein in a wild horse. They all agreed that I should write whatever wanted to come out.

In mid-October, I was walking in the neighborhood and my muse whispered a “what if” about a car that drove by. I was thrilled. My spark was starting to flicker. I noticed a couple sparks in the days to follow. My writer friends on Facebook started asking each other if they were doing NaNo this year. This time, I went to the website and checked it out. After an hour of reading, I made my decision. Why not?

Why not try NaNo? I had nothing to lose and everything to gain. I signed up on October 23 and waited. The muse decided to start early. Two days early. I woke up with a story in my head. By 9:15 that morning, I’d written 1,800 words on a new story. I was ecstatic. I decided that nobody would fault me for the early start.

I found that I have “writer’s A.D.D.”, at least that’s what I’m calling it. The muse is sending me ideas faster than I can get them written. I decided not to worry about working on a single story. It was more important to keep writing. On November 15, the halfway point, I’d hit the halfway mark – 25,000 words before I’d retired for the night. I was amazed.

Last week, I needed to concentrate on a personal project and didn’t spend much time writing. I was playing catch-up this weekend. As I write this, my total word count has reached 30,470. My total for the day – 4,464. It’s all because my muse and I are taking this ride together. Thanks to her cooperation, I have eleven stories and one non-fiction piece. The non-fiction piece is a Heart journal, addressing all the problems and changes the heart attack brought to my life. The fact that I’ve written this much, and have daily totals like this, is astounding to me. It’s a personal best.

What am I writing? Most of it is Romance. Some are Christian, some are dramatic. I was writing on Sunday and got caught up in one of the stories. Our heroine rescues a young girl and a handsome man from a car wreck caused by a drive-by shooting on a highway. They’ve been taken to the hospital. While there, the heroine finds out that the cop that’s questioning her isn’t a real cop. She has to protect herself and the child. If I told you the rest of the story, I’d have to shoot you.

How has this helped me? Aside from realizing that I can produce, I’ve learned to squeeze time for writing into my day. I bring my laptop to work, arriving early enough to write and using my lunch break to add more words. I take breaks from writing, not coffee breaks. I’ve taken a 90-minute hike at a local park, a two hour horseback trail ride, and attended a day-long writer’s conference. I’ll celebrate the holiday and watch a friend get married. After NaNo, I’ll set up a monthly word count that’s a little easier to manage.

I’m on vacation all this week and I’ll catch up to the daily cumulative count. I will finish with 50,000 words before November 30. Why? Why Not!

My NaNo page: http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/690256

I’ll be setting up a blog by the end of the year.


~~~ ~~~ ~~~

Thank you, Ann! Best of luck with the rest of November and your future ventures!

A Cold and Scenic Travelogue (pt 2)

(scroll down to catch pt 1)

Continuing into Pennsylvania on 62 South, we came to Warren. The courthouse in the photo is only one of the magnificent buildings we saw as we cruised through the main part of town and then headed east toward the Allegheny National Recreation Area. Our only stop there was at Kinzua dam.

I again couldn’t help thinking I’d like to grab a notebook and sit out on one of the tables under the trees overlooking the branch of the Allegheny Reservoir and stay a while. At least, I’d love to do that some day when it’s warm and not threatening rain.

I have several beautiful photos from this area, but my favorite is the one where we found the hawk resting on the wooden fence. He sat patiently and prettily until I got a decent shot of him, and then he flew off majestically. Such pretty birds, hawks. Last year, we had a nest outside our back yard, but I think the dogs have deterred them this year, since they were constantly running after their flight path and barking at them. *sigh*

We doubled back a few miles to Warren, where I got an almost decent shot of their stately library! One of these days, I’ll have to go back and visit. The library has a few quotes etched along above the big windows, in Roman architecture style.

The one on the front corner says: “Philosophy – the thoughts of men about human thinking, reasoning, and imagining, and the real values in human existence.”

The one next to it: “Literature – the storehouse of knowledge, the record of civilization, the fulcrum for the lever of progress.”

The next says something about “.. elemental passions but ever aspiring.”

Heading out of Warren, there’s a beautiful old bridge. I love bridges, also, and had to grab a shot of it.

As it was growing late in the day, we headed west toward our destination for the night and I found another incredible library in Oil City:


As this isn’t very far from us, I’ll definitely be back that way to explore the inside. Doesn’t it just look like a great place to spend the day?

At the Vietnam Memorial at a crossroads of the town, we were treated to three Vets standing in front of it with a sign asking drivers to honk in support of the troops. There wasn’t much traffic at the time, but there was honking, including us. They seemed happy enough to pose for a quick photo as we stopped at the light. 

Finally, as we came into the final stretch of the ride, the clouds began to break and the sun peeped out as if to say, “You made it fine even with me in hiding.” Never mind I felt pretty much like a popsicle by then and rushed right in to find the shower and plenty of warm water. Hey, we went for an adventure and found one. At the end of the day, that’s what matters.

We topped it off by visiting the original Quaker Steak and Lube in Sharon, PA and my very adventurous husband put his name on the wall of flame by managing to eat 5 of their hottest hot wings. Better him than me. I’m not quite that adventurous. But I bet he warmed up faster!

Did you know the closest living relative to the tyrannasaurus rex is the chicken? So the Lube says.


By the way, Sharon PA is home to the Buhl Mansion. Formerly owned by a big steel magnate, the mansion fell to the state’s hands and then to disrepair and was rescued and restored by the local man who invented the Club (you know, that thing that was supposed to keep cars from being stolen). It now hosts an inn and spa, a park with a gorgeous walking path, and a health center for the community.

Oh, along the way from Warren to Tionesta, we traveled along the edge of Allegheny National Park and marveled at the water-side scenery of homes along the edge, on stilts or up the bank slightly. I don’t have a photo, except in my head, but I can see it becoming part of a story somewhere.

Western PA is biker’s heaven, at least during the more temperate months. You can’t hardly be in the area without seeing them out enjoying the area.


[WATCH for bikes and Start SEEING them! We’re everywhere, and we’re not the Hell’s Angels, regardless of media portrayal.]
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Marketing: Something’s Working

A friend on a writing list the other day let me know I was the #22 most viewed author on Smashwords.com (Thanks, Celia!)  It took me by complete surprise.

Many authors, and I congratulate them for doing this, will regularly track sales and list numbers in many different places. I don’t. Honestly, I can’t imagine being organized enough to keep up with it. I’m not sure I’d even ever looked at the most viewed author list. *blush*

I wasn’t on the computer that day and so didn’t see it. By the next day, I was kicked off the top 25. Today I decided to go look again, just for kicks. What do you know?? I’m #25 today!

Here it is if you’re interested:
http://www.smashwords.com/100/authors

If you get there today, you’ll see me! Granted, I’m at the bottom of the list, but hey, I’m ON the list out of hundreds of SW authors. [And if you click on my name at the bottom of the list, maybe I can stay there a while!  ;-) If I’m not still there, find me here: LK Hunsaker]

So anyway, of course I started to wonder HOW I got there. That’s the big question. My best guess is that I just sent out my newsletter to a list that grows a bit every time I announce it’s about to come out. I also encourage readers to forward it to friends.

I always suggest to authors that they should have a newsletter. They don’t need to be monthly, since they are a lot of work and we may not have that much to say every month (yes, authors can run out of things to say!). I’ve switched to sending mine quarterly, with an occasional special edition for breaking news or more likely for a free read story. If you don’t want to do one on your own, join up with a friend or two or three who write in your same genre. I figure not only is quarterly enough of my own time, but it’s also enough to ask of readers’ time. People are busy. Don’t deluge them!

What do you put in a newsletter?

News, of course. But also, think about what you would like to hear from your favorite authors and give that to your readers. My favorite author newsletter came from Sue Monk Kidd. She always begins with something somewhat personal: thoughts about things, description of where she is as she writes, inspirations. It allows the reader inside who she is just enough to make a connection. That’s what I try to do. Your books should reflect who you are. If your newsletter does, also, it will be a nice sell for your work. If it is nothing but promotion, it will be easily bypassed.

If you can find a mailing service that provides web hosted links for newsletters you send, it can be helpful, as well. I grab that link after I send one out and post it to my Facebook page. Since I have FB linked to Twitter and Twitter linked to my blog and my website, it also goes out to all of those places with one quick entry. You’ll also find the links to my archived newsletters (the most recent) here in the right-hand column under my newsletter sign up box.

The newest that has a link to a free read story on Smashwords: Jun 2010

We hear often that it’s impossible to tell which marketing attempts work and how well each work, but in the end, something works if you have good stories to tell and know how to tell them to hold your readers. From my recent results, I would say newsletters with links and free things for readers do work.

Do any of you authors have Newsletter tips? Please share!

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Marketing: A bit o’ luck be with you

I’ve come to think much of marketing is nothing but luck … a gamble that may or may not work, but then, you know you won’t win if you don’t play. Odds are something will work if you keep playing and adapting to the game. Right?

As I mentioned yesterday, my early attempts seemed pointless so adaptation became necessary. I wanted to know what worked for others, what prompted readers to spend their hard-earned money on certain books, where my time and hard-earned dollars would be best spent. I’d been on a few Yahoo lists for some of my interests, so I thought it was time to start looking up lists of readers, specifically romance and literary readers. The first I found was Coffee Time Romance and I started slowly, with the one list, to check it out and see what was going on. What do you know? Not only were lots of readers there talking about books and reading, but so were lots of authors sharing their work!

I timidly began sharing bits of promo about my own work and received a nice enough reception that my lists grew. Many authors are on as many as 20 lists and keep up with them regularly. I’m not organized enough for all of that, so I’m still limited to the few I’m on. Still, along with readers, it’s been a great way to meet other writers. I recommend to authors not on lists they may want to find a few.

I did learn some things about marketing from the chats and networking.

~~ Most readers love to get bookmarks from authors! So, I switched from business cards and postcards to bookmarks. I have them for all of my books (except one and there’s a story with that not worth telling) and since I spent money on the things, I started forcing myself to take them into bookstores and asking if I can leave them. Most of the time, I got a very gracious acceptance. A couple of times I didn’t, and I didn’t return to those places.

~~ Hot romance sells better than mild romance. *shrug* There’s not much I can do about this one, since I don’t write hot and don’t have any interest in doing so. It did tell me I shouldn’t be overly worried about my sales being lower than some, since my fellow “not hot” writers all mentioned the same.

~~ The description “mainstream” is being used differently in romance circles than in other literary circles. It’s important to keep up with the terms and ins and outs of your particular genre. Going against that grain is of course your call, but be aware it’s a harder sell.

~~ The term “literary” will chase most romance readers away. Again, not much I can do about that except to call my work something it’s not, and I don’t believe an author should ever be deceitful. If it helps short term, it can be harmful long term, and long term should be the big focus if you plan to stay in the business.

~~ What you say online anywhere, particularly on lists and blogs and social networks, can follow you forever. I found myself turning away from even giving an author’s work a chance when she was rude online, or when she said she “doesn’t read” or so on. Be very careful about your online presence in general. It can be stored forever.

~~ Readers want excerpts. Make them available! I was already doing this at book signings, since after my first one was so slow, I wanted something to give away so they would at least know what I was writing. I also learned from other authors that bookstore signings are usually slow and most often the biggest attention you receive is to be asked where the bathroom is. Don’t let it get to you, and decide if it’s worth your time before you jump in.

~~ If you’re asked to join an author blog, make sure to accept if it fits your books and if it’s at all possible to keep up. Group blogs are a great way to meet a different audience. I’m a member of two group blogs:
Lindsay’s Romantics &
Classic Romance Revival
(In order to be asked, take part in conversations on blogs and lists so the owner will see your marketing potential, your interest in chatting with readers, and the quality of your casual writing.)

As this is again long enough, I’ll leave more for another day. Tomorrow, I’m part of Classic Romance Revival’s Blog Carnival for the Cupid Diaries anthology (cover and link is at the right) and will leave that highlighted for a few days.

If any of you authors dropping by here have other hints that you’ve learned from networking, feel free to add them in the comments!

Oh, and about that Irish luck? I’ve been to Ireland and it’s gorgeous. However, it’s also cold and rainy on a near-constant basis and the land is nearly all rock that took much effort to clear in order to be able to farm. Still, they thrive. How? Because of that effort against the odds. Because they stand out in the cold windy rain and keep fishing as though they don’t notice the weather. Because when they were getting their farms started, they used those big rocks they pulled from the ground, stacked them atop each other at the edges of their property, and let them become what are now: beautiful, strong, stalwart fences defining their land and their country.

It’s like my grandpa once said when someone was wishing for the luck some other guy had: “Tell you what, you go out there and work as hard as he does for as many hours as he does, and you’ll have his good luck, too.” That’s the luck of the Irish.

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THAT bad word: Marketing

This frustrated little guy is how most of us writers feel about marketing. UGH! Just the word “marketing” is likely to lead us to the nearest, hardest wall.

I’ve been trying to learn how to market since 2003. In truth, I mainly ignored that part of the process for some time after my first book came out. A not exaggerated fact about me: I’m social phobic, and have been for many, many years (yes, I am that old). I don’t mean I’m only kind of reserved. I mean according to the DSM-IV (psych manual of disorders), I’m full-blown social phobic. Well, or I was full-blown. Now I’m only half blown. Uh.. or something like that. Either way, I can talk to one person in a casual setting who I am familiar with and still fight shaking hands and voice tremors and heart rate increase. Add several more people in a group who are looking at me and expecting me to speak and all of that increases, along with the warming face and swirling head that feels like my brain’s in a Tilt-A-Whirl underground with water rushing in.

So, when I read the plethora of expert advice on marketing that all led to … UGH! … public speaking, I just figured I would never sell books other than to family and a few close friends because there was NO WAY in the world I was going to voluntarily speak in public.

A..hem…  Well, I have. To an extent, a very small extent. But we’ll get to that later.

Avoiding that humiliation at all costs, I searched for any way other than that to get the word out. I bought John Kremer’s 1001 Ways To Market Your Books and spent a fair amount of time getting ideas and learning the process. Much of it is geared toward non-fiction or authors with an actual publishing house, so it left me with about 5 ways to market my indie mutt genre books. (Okay, that one is an exaggeration. There were more than 5 left that applied. A few more than 5.) Of course, this was way back before being indie started to be cool.

[Read my post about not so cool indie beginnings here at Lindsay’s Romantics.]

What did I do? Here’s a brief list as I can remember. I don’t remember which ideas I found in Kremer’s book and which I adapted, created on my own. Most of this applied to my second book, Rehearsal: A Different Drummer, since from what I read, I’d lost the “new book” window for Finishing Touches.

~~ I bought my own domain name and used my amateur html and web skills to put up my brand: LKHunsaker.com where the thousands of readers I would reach by my marketing efforts would throng to find more info. (uh..)

~~ I ordered business cards with one of my books featured, along with my web address. (That works best if you have the guts to actually give them out.)

~~ I ordered postcards with the same info, then searched online to find dozens of indie booksellers, printed out the info, and sat addressing postcards each night for about a week, bought post card stamps, and mailed them out. (Please don’t imitate this method. It’s a waste of stamps.)

~~ I started up an indie arts site to feature other indies of different sorts and bought pens with the site address to hand out (or conveniently ‘forget’ to take with me when I was out and used one).

None of it seemed to be even making a dent in getting my name out there, despite some gorgeous reviews from the handful of people who did read my books. I added some of those reviews to my “reworked several times” website and begged a few of those readers to please leave reviews on my publisher’s site! Bless their souls, they sure did, too. Some of them did.

Without results, it was time to go back to more research about how to market. If there’s one big thing I’ve accomplished, it’s that I’ve learned a heck of a lot of “how to” although putting it into practice is another story.

As this is getting long and one thing I’ve learned is to keep blog posts fairly short since online reading attention span is fairly short, I’ll continue this tomorrow.

Come back and bring your friends and I’ll get to how I found techniques that are much more productive than those above.

By the way, I now have my blog organized! Entries are linked in categories. Find what you want to read by clicking on one of the top tabs.

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Back to the Basics

Sometimes you have to go back to the basics and start at the beginning.

Yesterday, still stuck on my WIP (work in progress), I walked away from the computer, grabbed pencil, binder, and loose leaf paper, and went to work on my front porch. I was distracted with perusing nature for some time, and by a little hummingbird that kept buzzing back and forth between the nearest tree and my porch feeder, but as they say, a writer is working even when she looks like she’s daydreaming.

After a nice relaxation/meditation aided by singing birds and the satisfaction of a pretty, neat yard from the hours of tiring work that went into it, the words began to flow.

There is something about putting pencil on paper that outshines keyboard and monitor by far.

That’s how I started. Way back when as I reclaimed my writer’s soul and restarted a story I’d begun as a teen, I grabbed a new package of college ruled loose leaf paper, found a bright yellow folder to collect the pages, and relished the tactile experience of creating stories. Not only was the pencil in hand and light scratching of ‘lead’ on paper fulfilling, but also the feel of a new package of unused notebook paper and the look of the highly sharpened pencil.

This was in 1996. June 1996. Funny that it should be June again when I returned to that method.

How do I remember it was June 1996? I wrote it, in pencil, on the front of my yellow 3-ring folder. In time, I wrote other things on it, as well: story notes and reminders, quotes, inspirations. It didn’t take long for that cardboard binder to become too full to hold the pages that spilled out of my imagination so fast I could hardly keep up. I had to upgrade to a new binder: a big 2 inch navy blue sturdy thing with see-through pockets. In the same vein as the yellow folder, the pockets were used to host inspirational things: quotes, cut out cartoons, and a small blue page on which I’d copied part of Corinthians 13 onto.

Humble writing beginnings, they were. And the most fulfilling.

Somewhere, part of that soul-quenching feeling faded. Maybe it was turning to the computer for not only transcribing the tons of pages I’d hand written, but for doing the first draft, as well. Maybe it was giving in to how it “should” be done and starting from the beginning and working toward the end, instead of my own unlearned method of writing down scenes as they came to me and putting them in order in that blue binder. Maybe it was trying to produce faster. After all, it was 10 years between starting that story and publishing the first book of what became so long it had to be a series. Maybe it’s the marketing that turns my art into a business.

Whatever it is that has caused the fire-squelching in recent years, it had to stop. Reverse.

A couple of days ago, a writer friend  (thank you, Paul)  posted an article link to a writer talking of freehand writing versus computer drafts. It struck a very deep chord.

So yesterday, I walked away from the computer, grabbed pencil and loose leaf paper, and another big navy binder, and sat on my front porch to return to the basics.

When it became too dark to work outside, I simply picked them up, relocated to my daybed, and continued.

I have 5 sheets, front and back, of college-ruled paper full of … scenes. Three different scenes, with whatever I decided to write at the moment.

I don’t think I’ve ever felt more fulfilled in my writing career. I can’t wait to get back to it today.

~~ ~~ ~~
Yes, I still have the original folder and binder, and I still use them while continuing work on that series:



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Publishing: How I Got Started

I’ve been asked often by other writers how I got started with publishing my books. Fair question. The publishing business is a complicated one, with many paths and many branches stemming from each of those paths. Now that Blogger has the option to add tabs to blogs, I thought I’d take advantage and use it to gather some of my thoughts and experiences with publishing. The main focus will be on indie publishing, since I am indie and haven’t been contracted. Maybe I can pull in some author friends who have been contracted to help fill that part of the information.

For the beginning of this series here on my blog (although I’ve been giving info to my On Our Own group for years), I’m starting with the few basics.

Back while I was working on Finishing Touches, which wasn’t my first written novel, but the first finished, I was asked what I planned to DO with all the writing I’d been working so hard on. Also a fair question. I didn’t start writing with the idea of publishing. I wrote because I’m a writer and that’s what I needed to do to be fulfilled. Did I want to publish? I wasn’t so sure about that one. It’s a scary thing, putting your work out there for readers to view and possibly tear apart. A novel is a part of a writer’s soul, at least mine are. Of course they are fiction, but not entirely. Much of who a writer is can be found better in her fiction than with normal activity. Did I want to share that much of me?

Not so much.

However, I loved my characters and my stories and yes, I decided I did want to share them. The question then was HOW?

I learned research methods in college, and I did plenty of it. That gave me a good general concept of where to start in publishing: research. So I did. In between writing and continuing to study the craft, I researched the publishing business. Now, I’m no expert. I don’t ever claim to be. But I did do my homework first and found I had three major options as to how to go about it:

1) Traditional

With traditional publishing research, which is where I started, I learned that not only would I have to do queries and synopses to mail out, that most don’t accept multiple submissions and can take weeks to months to answer before I could send it elsewhere if it was rejected, but I would also either have to search through to find the “right” publishers for what I wrote or find an agent to find the right publishers. Either one would take a good amount of time to find the match I needed. After that, it could take 2 years or so, IF my book was accepted, before it would actually come out. A good agent, as I found, is as hard to find as the right publisher. (And never, never PAY an agent! Legit agents make money when they sell your book, which is why they won’t accept you if they think they can’t sell you.)

Other than the time problem I had with this, I also had a problem with the “right” match issue. I don’t write to a commercially marketable genre, aka what’s “in” right now. I do my own blend of different genres and often they are very long. Most publishers will not accept more than 100,000 word manuscripts from new writers and many want no more than 60,000. Not a good match for me.

Also with traditional publishing, control is taken away: cover art is hired out with the author often having no say, how you market and where you sell is restricted, how long it takes to be available widely varies, and it’s always possible to get a contract only for the publisher not to bother ever putting it out. It’s happened. I didn’t want my hands tied. Not to mention the royalty rate is very low and many authors never get more than the advance. Advances are hard to come by these days. This method was not the right fit for me. So I moved along.

2) Self Publishing

Actual self publishing is when the author does all the setup herself, providing cover art (often purchased) and properly formatted text files, and then takes them to a printer (brick and morter or online), and pays all expenses to have them printed. It’s a risky way to publish, especially if your printer insists on you buying a large print run (sometimes 1,000 copies) that you then have to store. Doing this with an online printer is a safer way to go. Still, it’s an incredible amount of work and the author must BE a publisher, with publishing company name and the legalities that go with that.

3) Publishing Service

Many call them vanity publishers, but companies that will take your text files and assist you in producing and distributing your books save a lot of time for the indie author. They will also create covers for you, but I strongly suggest using your own, hiring that out to a good amateur artist if you don’t have the skills to do it yourself. Be careful doing it yourself. A good cover is very important. Also be careful about which company you choose, as there are a plethora of these places and many are more hurtful than helpful. Many, though, have good reputations, and this can be a viable way to get your feet in the publishing door.

I decided to go this way with my first books. Before I chose one, I did … more research. I compared fees with service, listened to what their authors had to say about them, skimmed message boards for good and bad of any I was interested in, and wound up choosing a small moderately priced company with all the services I wanted. It turns out that Infinity is now one of the top 2 recommended Publishing Services. Booklocker is also well recommended. Another that gets good comments from its authors is iUniverse. If you’ve gone this route with another company you’d recommend, please feel free to add it in the comments.

My latest book was done with an online printing/distribution service, using my own company and ISBNs. It meant taking the time to learn what I needed to know and do all the setup and the legal necessities, but if you have the time and ability to learn it, this is a good way to go.

There are benefits and drawbacks to each kind of publishing, and I’ll focus more on them in later posts. All of these will be gathered as links under my “Indie Publishing” heading at the top of my blog. Let me know if there’s anything in particular you’d like me to address.

As I said, I’m not an expert and cannot be liable for the way anyone uses this information. Do your own research! Be prepared before jumping into this business, because publishing IS a business, although writing is an art.
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Plugging the Hydrant

“Talking is a hydrant in the yard and writing is a faucet upstairs in the house. Opening the first takes the pressure off the second.”
Robert Frost

Robert Frost is somewhat featured in Off The Moon. Of course we all know he was an exceptional poet, but if you read through some of his quotes, you see that he was also a man of much common sense and intelligence with wonderful advice for living as well as writing.

My luster and drive for throwing myself into my stories and essays has been waning. At the same time, I’ve been throwing myself into reconnecting with old friends and talking with new and trying to keep up with everyone’s goings on. I enjoy it. Honestly. However, it has become that hydrant that’s such a danger to writing.

I’ve realized that for some time but expected I could find a way to balance it. So far, that hasn’t happened. My writing isn’t going where I want it to go. My chatting (partly with promo as an excuse) is becoming more predominant than my work. And a recent event has made me step back and realize I need to reconfigure.

I started writing back when I didn’t have enough communication. It was a constantly running faucet that relieved the emotional valve. It made for full, vivid stories packed with meaning and sub-meaning because all of my repressed thoughts came out in my work. Now, too often, they come out during chats and ramblings and it releases too much of that pressure I want in my work.

So, if I’m not around the lists or social networks much for a while, you can find me here – hopefully with better and deeper entries – and in my books. I have two I want out this year. They need my attention and my intensity. I also have a couple of other projects that have been on the back burner: projects that I believe will touch more people than I can with my little here-and-there ramblings.

I’m spread too thin. I need a narrower base of operations. This blog will be the main source. There’s also my quarterly newsletter (sign up is on my website). If you comment here or in my guest book, I’ll be around to answer. I can’t guarantee that elsewhere. Some of my miscellaneous projects will either be closing or transferred to others. The holes leading to water leaks need to be welded and the most important things I need to say are in my work.

There is a sign up to be notified of new blog entries to the right. It is only used for that – your email will not be shared. Please subscribe to my updates if you want to know of new entries, or become a fan at Facebook where these entries will filter automatically. Click Here or search LK Hunsaker.

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As for actual news:

Today is the release date for Classic Romance Revival’s “Cupid Diaries” anthology for romance lovers. My story “Toward The Sky” is included for their premiere issue. As it relates to Off The Moon, I’ve sent it about as promo for the novel and have received some very nice comments. Find the anthology here: Cupid Diaries: Moments in Time

“Fiction is to the grown man what play is to the child; it is there that he changes the atmosphere and tenor of his life.”
Robert Louis Stevenson
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Happy Birthday, Grandpa. May I be able to leave as beautiful a legacy as you did.

Trigger: no, not the horse

Yesterday’s discussion on a writing list triggered an A-HA moment that led to more questions. The discussion was about books that have influenced your life. While I couldn't name one in particular, I did have a short list come to mind for different reasons. But the discussion's big relevance hit when a comment brought something to light about my writing past I hadn't considered before:

the Cs I received on my English papers in college.

Now, backing up a bit, in junior high, I aced English papers. I was not only asked to join the school newspaper but was put in a high position on it. By the time I hit high school, I was well known as having writing ability, and again, I aced English.

With plenty of confidence in my writing skills (and little elsewhere), I moved on to college. And I started getting Cs on my English essays and stories. It was a huge shock to my system, as bad as the C I got in basic drawing because it was based ONLY on improvement, she said, and she hadn't taught me anything I didn't know already. I had been writing forever. It was part of who I was. Those Cs were like someone punching me in the gut and saying, "Who do you think you're trying to fool?" I expected every other class I had to be challenging, but English comp?

Up to that point, I'd been writing tons of story notes and scattered scenes for books yet to come. I had some bad (juvenile) poetry under my belt and even a play that got some nice comments from close family and a couple of friends.

During my college career, I got "too busy" to write creatively. Then I married and I still didn't touch it. Not for years. I've always blamed marriage and kids and moving and such. Maybe that wasn't it. Maybe that punch in the stomach pushed me away.

I was well used to struggling through classes. School was hard due to the ADD I had back before the days anyone had any idea what ADD was (I struggled with my homework much more than anyone knew just to try to keep my mind where it needed to be), but I kept at it and wound up on the top ten in high school and the Who's Who list in college. *shrug* None of that mattered a heck of a lot as I looked back on it. I think it didn't much matter because the one thing I really wanted had been yanked from underneath me.

I left school before my bachelor's degree was finished due to marriage and moving away. I promised my mom I would finish, though, and years of working child care and retail and part-time taxes when it wasn’t my thing convinced me I wanted more than that. So I went back to finish my bachelor’s degree in my early thirties.

This time, I was determined to do better than the B average I had. I wanted my GPA raised. My major was psychology, with my minor a combination of art and English since I already had tons of those under my belt. And I dreaded turning in essays and term papers for my psych and lit classes. Math and science are my nemesis but I was much more willing to shove them in and see what I could get out of them than to cringe at my writing grades.

Not only did I manage to pull an A in online statistics where I had to teach myself since the professor was largely unavailable, I aced the essays and term papers. Easily. In both psych and English, I received "impressive"-type comments on every paper I turned in.

Huh.

I'd been back to creative writing in the meantime, barely, but I had no thought of showing anyone. I wrote for my sanity, for something that was "mine" during years of military travel and putting kids and my husband and house stuff first.

I'd even taken a novel writing class before going back to school. For myself. I had no plans to put anything out where someone could stomp on it.

I suppose those "impressive" comments changed my mind. My husband kept asking what I was going to "do with" the book I spent so much time scribbling. He hadn't even known all the years we'd been married that I had any interest in writing before I became obsessed with that book, before I'd wait all day for him to be home to rescue me from the hellions so I could lock myself in my room and write.

I've been thinking there may not have been any point in finishing my degree since I'm working at home instead of applying it to a career and am happy doing so, but maybe there was. Maybe without those As and "impressive" comments, my work would still be sitting in notebooks unread by anyone but me.

Now I'm wondering what happened with those early college years for my work to be graded so differently than at any other time. Granted, there was some (a lot of) emotional upheaval during my life at that time, but there was earlier, as well. Maybe it was going from a tiny little town school to a city school where most of the students had more diverse/interesting topics to write about? I was horribly nervous during those early college years. Was that it? Did it show?

I suppose I won't find out the answers to those ponderings, but it seems like such a shame that all those years were wasted not writing because of something so silly as a few Cs.

Youth. *sigh*
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My Don’t List: a Reader’s POV

I've been reading a LOT recently for review and for study. Since many of the things I see done not quite right enough tend to be repeated, I thought I'd gather my thoughts about what I've been seeing and share them. Not that I never make any of these mistakes, but focusing on them in other works helps me catch them in my own.
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My Don't List from a Reader's POV with a Writer's Experience

1) Don't be too repetitive. If you tell me once that the hero is downright sexy and the heroine is stunned by that, I got it. Once is enough. Move on to what else she discovers about him she likes or dislikes. Same with how bad the villain is. And don't tell us, just show us. The hero doesn't have to keep thinking how nasty he is. We'll see that in his actions.

2) This could be a style choice, but personally ... please don't head hop. I don't want to have to go back a paragraph or two and try to figure out who is in charge of telling the story at the moment because it flips without a break or notice. That throws me from the 'reality' of the action back to "oh, I'm reading a story the author is telling" and I like to stay completely emerged.

3) Don't let your characters address each other by their names too often. We don't do this in real life and having the same name repeated four times in two sentences is annoying. If two people are talking, we know they're talking to each other.

4) Don’t ramble. Write tight! This might sound funny coming from someone who writes literary-type romance and tends to add a lot in to the story, but when I read a book and think the first third of it was almost completely unnecessary, the story is much too loose. Work the pertinent details in throughout the story after the action has already started. A slow beginning is dangerous.

Make sure to go back and CUT what doesn’t need to be there. The reader shouldn’t think, “what was the point of telling me that?” Be ruthless. Keep all that pretty rambling (especially between characters) for yourself, but don’t pass it on to the reader … unless there’s a point to it. I do think there can be a point to it even though it doesn’t push along the story line, in some cases: humor to break tension, a piece of gorgeous description to create mood (if it’s not overdone), dialogue that reveals something about the character. Ask yourself if you would find interest in it as a reader, and be honest.

5) Adverbs! Don’t tell me she whispered quietly or walked loudly. A whisper tells me it’s quiet without the redundancy and by all means, say she stomped. It’s vivid. It’s strong. The difference between:

Max slowly walked over to the dog and carefully put a hand toward him.

and

Max crept to the dog and nudged a hand toward him.

is a huge difference. Adverbs aren’t taboo, but they should be replaced at least 95% of the time.

6) Tags. I don’t use tags in my own writing because too often they annoyed the heck out of me while I was reading. That may be too extreme, but it proves they can usually be replaced by action instead of the reader having to sort through a shuffle of unnecessary “he said, she said” phrasing. And again, don’t say “he said loudly” or even “he yelled while gulping his soda” – wouldn’t he choke that way? Yes, I’ve seen this kind of tag, the impossible feat.

7) Don’t use catch phrases. In romance, these would be “heaving bosoms” or “throbbing …” or many of the others I see overused. If you’re reading someone else’s work and notice phrases you use, stop and consider if they might be cliché and take them out. If you’re not reading within your own genre, you should. You’ll catch a lot of your own mistakes by noticing them in other works. Spending a few months stuffing yourself with books of your own genre is the best way to see if you’re using too many catch phrases that makes your story sound like everyone else’s. Even within the same genre, you don’t want that.

8) Don’t trust your editor to catch everything! From what I’ve seen in my months of stuffing myself with one genre, they won’t. Study writing rules on your own. Know grammar and vocabulary. The old saying, “if you want something done right” applies here.

9) Don’t trust yourself to catch everything, either. Before final send, get someone with writing knowledge and grammar ability and an eye for typos to go through it. Hopefully you can do this with a crit partner or fellow writer instead of paying someone. Don't use a friend or family member who is more interested in making you feel good than in telling the truth. That's not helpful. The truth might hurt, but it will advance your writing instead of keeping it stifled.

10) Don’t believe you’ll have the perfect manuscript with zero typos. I’ve yet to see one in any genre from any publisher. Readers easily overlook a few minor typos as long as the story is good and well-written. Don’t over-sweat the small stuff, but do try to catch everything you can.

Of course, you’ll never please all readers, but as an avid reader (and writer), these are stand-out things for me and makes the difference between and okay book and a good book I’ll recommend.
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Book Tour Day Two

I’m talking about Artistic Vision and Creative Doubt, mixed with a touch of pop culture, on Jane Richardson’s blog today!

Come chat for a chance to win a printed, signed short story that’s so far unpublished and a bit of a prequel to Off The Moon.

Jane Richardson: Home Thoughts From A Broad

I love the title of her blog, as much as I loved her “A Different Kind of Honesty” – a lively and lovely contemporary romance that bounces between England and New York City. Funny … so does Off The Moon to a different extent.

Anyone who comments on at least 8 of my blogs during tour has a chance to win a signed copy of Off The Moon when it’s released!

Thank you again to all the tour hosts. You all rock!

Weeds and Flowers

There is Scottish Thistle growing along the roads beside our house. We’re in western Pennsylvania, which apparently has such deep Celtic roots and ancestry that thistle happened to spring up from the earth. Okay, I suppose someone brought some back from Scotland. It wasn’t us, although we were there last summer, and although I had a lot of  fun admiring the country’s national emblem growing wild in the highlands and along roads and being depicted on street signs and shop signs. I didn’t notice it here before. Maybe I wasn’t paying attention.

To be honest, it likely didn’t have the chance to grow as well as it has this year because … well, our state has yet to approve a budget so weeds alongside the roads aren’t being cut. At least that’s my theory as to why they’re taking over the sideline landscapes.

Yes, I’m enjoying the purple thistle. It reminds me of Scotland and I have a true, deep love for that country. It doesn’t quite match the love I have for my own, but it would be one of two places I would relocate if I every got kicked out of here (and with some of my political opinions, maybe I will be). The other would be Italy, but then I’d have to learn Italian. The Scots at least speak English: not quite American English but close enough to catch on quickly.

No, I don’t have plans to move, but when I mentioned to my husband that a local plant nursery had thistle growing in front of their building, which I thought was very cool, he said, “I can’t imagine why anyone would plant a sticker bush.”

Oh. I suppose he has a point. As I thought about it, I decided I wouldn’t actually want it in my yard, either. It’s a weed, you know. It will spread and take over if it’s allowed. And although I enjoy the bit of it I see, there is a line things need to maintain or else they cause havoc.

I also enjoy the goldenrod not being cut down. I’m allergic to the stuff and definitely don’t want THAT in my yard, but in my car as I’m driving past with the windows closed, it’s very pretty. [Now I’m hoping I’m naming that bright yellow weed correctly. TC, my professional gardening friend, may correct me, a gardening amateur.]

But that’s the way it often goes – something that looks like a very cool idea in its bright and shiny glory at a distance changes once you start looking closer.  I think we see that in politics a lot. I’ll leave that thought for the moment. I blog politically blatant at Myspace and sometimes at Facebook, but not here. Don’t worry. I won’t start.

I know we see it in everyday life. And I see it in writing. Adverbs are weeds, for instance. In their proper place and kept at a minimum, they  are pretty words that help a writer get an image across. Left to spread uncontrolled, however, they muddy the waters and we’re left with so many of them it’s hard to see the grass. I love grass. It’s the basic structure, the spreading earthy grounding soul of a yard, and of a book. I’ve become obsessed with grass after living in the south for 12 years and having such a time trying to keep my yard green and fresh. I planted some recently here and go look out at it every day. It’s thriving. I did nothing but prepare the soil, throw some straw over top to hold it and mulch it, and timed it just before a few days of rain moved in … and it’s thriving on its own. A beautiful site.

The patch that was nothing but packed dirt and weeds is now soul-soothing (green will do that for you) and makes me feel like my thumb is a touch more natural than I thought.

Of course I have flowers, also. The marigolds in the photo above are now planted here and there around my flower beds. Many don’t like marigolds because they smell bad. Yes, but they are natural pest deterrents. Critters don’t like their smell, either. I put marigolds in with my veggies this year and have had very little trouble with Japanese Beatles.

Flowers are the extra description of a novel. They highlight the story, bring color and beauty. Again, though, too much of it and it  overpowers everything until the story is too hard to find.

Nature is about balance. Grass should be central. The Japanese would disagree with me, but I’m an American and so my statement stands. We like pretty yards of rolling grass without weeds and highlighted by flowers. That’s how I like my fiction, also. Rolling grass [story] with maybe a dandelion accent [weeds] here and there and a flowery [descriptive] highlight. 

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Tomorrow (September 4th)  I’ll be introducing myself during Classic Romance Revival’s “Author Intro” month, part of their grand opening celebration. Come by and see what you can win just by commenting!
http://www.classicromancerevival.com/blog

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