Writing Environment

It's no secret I write best when it's rainy and thundery. I've mentioned that a time or two before. My muse tends to dry up in summer, only peeking her head out when I jab her from behind with my thumb drive. (That came out sounding much dirtier than I intended.)

And I think I finally figured out why I write so well when it's dark and gloomy.

This weekend I took a trip here:


Beautiful, right? Quiet. Relaxing. Serene.

But that's the problem. I'm not writing for beauty's sake. I'm not writing something that's gonna soothe the soul or quiet the mind. I'm writing something that's dark and raw and gristly. I'm writing from somewhere angry, deep inside. Honestly, before I start writing, I sit at my desk and ball all my frustration and stress into my gut, then spew it out onto the keyboard. I almost have to make myself pissed off to write something good. What comes out is not daisies and butterflies, but torture and heartache, toil, toil, boil and bubble and all that voodoo jazz...but it works for paranormal writing. (At least I freaking hope so.)

So this weekend, as my mind cleared and powder from Bear Valley's slopes lightened my spirit, I found it very hard to head back to the cabin for writing time. Because my spirit was so light, the writing was light. I needed a big storm. A storm that was black and ominous...so my writing could match.

I'm starting Book 3 this week...again. Come hell or high water, Chapter 1 will be written by the end of the weekend. It's just too bad the weatherman's calling for a warm front...

What about you? Do you write better in certain weather? In a certain spot or position in your house? Can you write both inside and outside? Or is your muse a fickle creature, like mine?

Moonlight Mania Blog Hop

Moonlight Mania is open to any and all book bloggers--regardless of genre. Though I ask that no one enter Twitter accounts onto the linky list. Blogs only!

Here's how it works. To participate in the hop, you must be a follower of this blog. After you're a follower, enter your-name@ Blog's name (genres you review) into the linky list. For example, Kristin@ pararomance (Paranormal, Suspense) Then once you've entered the linky list, copy and paste the beautiful blog button into a post on your blog.

(I can't seem to get the linky list to work here, so for now I'll just guide you back to the original list over at Nocturnal Reading.

This week's question is: What was the last book that touched you emotionally right before you went to bed? Have you ever read something late into the night that's so beautiful, you can't help but let the tears pour?

The last book I read right before I went to bed was The Ranger. (Take a peek on my sidebar--it's there with a link to Amazon.) I didn't cry my eyes out, but I'm not to the climax yet. I seldom cry when I read, actually. It takes a pretty superb book to make me tear up. The last one that made the waterworks start was Jude Devereaux's A Knight in Shining Armor.

What about you? Read any good tear-jerkers lately? I'm always looking for another good one!

A Thursday Mulligan

ETA:Webster's definition of "mulligan"•A mulligan, in a game, happens when a player gets a second chance to perform a certain move or action.

Ever had one of those days where things just don't go right?

Where every step forward is followed by ten steps backward?

Where even the weather, dark and stormy and gray, seems to be issuing some kind of warning about the day ahead?

Yeah.

I'm having one of those mornings.

I feel like I didn't sleep a wink last night. I seem to be suffering from insomnia...at least I think that what's happening. I'm sooo tired. Sooo ready for bed at a decent hour. But I just can't seem to drag myself to bed. I stay up waaaay too late into the morning doing absolutely nothing. (Wouldn't it be fantastic if I could actually WRITE during those midnight hours???)

Usually 5-6 hours of sleep is enough.

But last night my gremlins woke me up on the hour, every hour.

Can I get some milk? I think the tooth fairy came! No...she didn't. How bout now? I have to use the bathroom. I'm cold. I'm hot. Is it morning yet?

By the time 7am rolled around and the perky sun shoved its rays into my bedroom, I was less than enthused. I grumbled my way to the coffee pot...to find I was out of everything--including the energy to run to the store to stock up for tomorrow. Great.

The weather changed. Huge gusts of wind are trying to knock my house down as I type this. The skies are as bland as my mood.

And every time I try to get something productive done, it's a struggle.

I think I'm going back to bed to take a mulligan on Thursday.

Ever had one of these days? How'd you turn things around?

Ashton Kutcher, Men's Fitness and...I'm sorry...What was I trying to say?

I almost lost my mind yesterday. Yup, I was about to turn into the crazy woman at the store, yelling at people for no good reason because, well, what else are you going to do?

I thought I'd deleted my manuscript. All 90,000 words of it.

I have a system I'm comfortable with. I back things up, I do...just not to the extreme other people might. I save on my computer. I save on a jump drive. But...this time I forgot to email the manuscript to myself. I dove into my computer, clicked on Immortal, Beloved and got a two page synopsis. The file was gone.

Gone.

No problem, I thought. I'll just shove my jump drive in, and pull up that saved copy.

Only I couldn't find my jump drive. I swear, it grew legs and walked away.

Cue P. A. N. I. C.

Now, I realize I probably mailed the manuscript to a handful of critique partners, so I could probably re-download those from the web, but Immortal has CHANGED since then. I'd have to re-edit the entire thing. Go back through it with another fine tooth comb.

This can't be happening.

My house was a destruction zone. It looked like I tested nuclear missles in my living room. (Hello, cheesy Money Pit shout-out.) Seriously. I was ranting and raving, looking under couch cushions (Why, oh-why, would it be there??), and behind my television. I even looked in my dog's bed.

Bailey was scared, hiding beneath the kitchen table with his ears turned down. He was probably waiting for the moment where my head spun around and I vomited green sludge.

But then the Marvelous happened. I found it. My jump drive, nice and safely tucked away in the pages of Notebook for Book3. Because isn't that a perfect place for it? (Oh, my eyes are rolling.)

Anyway, this lost and found and subsequent rant-fest made me think what would happen if I really did lose my jump drive. What if my computer crashed? (I better go back up all those photos NOW.) Or what if the internet crashed, like, permanently? What then?

Heartthrob Ashton Kutcher was recently featured in Men's Fitness magazine. He predicted that the "end of days" is on its way. In order to be prepared for what's to come, he trains in hard-core Krav Maga. He told the magazine:

"It won't take very much, I'm telling you. It will not take much for people to hit the panic button. The amount of convenience that people rely on based on electricity alone. You start taking out electricity and satellites, and people are going to lose their noodle. People don't have maps anymore. People use their iPhones or GPS systems, so if there's no electricity, nobody has maps....And people are going to go, 'That land's not yours, prove that it's yours,' and the only thing you have to prove it's yours is on an electric file. Then it's like, 'What's the value of currency, and whose food is whose?' People's alarm systems at their homes will no longer work. Neither will our heating, our garbage disposals, hot-water heaters that run on gas but depend on electricity - what happens when all our modern conveniences fail?"

Something to think about right?


(NO, I didn't mean think about THAT.)

He may be exaggerating--taking things a tad far for satirical's sake. But we've had day-long power outtages and I see how crazy people get.

The thought alone really made me want to have a hard-copy of everything. Just in case.

But then I found this: an article in the Washington Post (and now, forgive me, I can't find it), that talked about how to make your office completely and uttterly paper-free. The article talked about how to back up pictures on disks. How to scan reports and wanted mail into your computer, then shred the useless paper. How to keep all your important records online--that way (GASP!) they can never be stolen!

I think we're becoming a society consumed by electronic devices and I don't see it getting any better. I'm not complaining. I'm not. I love modern luxury.

But when I lost my jump drive I blew a gasket. I wished I had a hard copy. I wished I'd been smarter.

How do you back-up your manuscript?

PS--I know there's programs online where you can store and "lock" your documents. Anyone know what those are called?

Meet an Author Monday!

Good morning!

Before we dive into the Monday blog hop, I have to tell you...I learned something yesterday.

I cannot write while reading others' work. Period.

Stephen King, in his wildly popular writing handbook titled, On Writing says “If you want to be a writer, you must do two things about all others: read a lot and write a lot,” writes King. “Reading is the creative center of a writer’s life. I take a book with me everywhere I go, and find there are all sorts of opportunities to dip in.”

I think he's right. Of course he's right. He's The King. You must love to read. You must take in as many books in your genre as you can.

But my goal as a writer is to turn out 2-3 full-length paranormals a year. Each one takes me 4-5 months...which leaves a few months in between to plot and outline and synopsi the next. Where in there, is there time for reading?

You'd think I could read instead of watch TV. Or read while waiting to pick my kids up from school. I thought so too...

Until yesterday.

I'm reading Monica McCarty's The Ranger. It's a Scottish Historical and IT'S FANTASTIC. I'm in her world. I'm there. But when I tried to write the epilogue for my second full-length paranormal in the Crimson Bay Series, I ended up writing in Historical style--flouncy and beautiful and artistic--when I really needed to be rough and gritty and dark. I actually love the scene. I think it's some of the best stuff I've written. But, sadly, it has to go.

I don't know what's wrong with me.

Can you read while writing? Does the style of the book you're currently reading rub off on your own writing? I'd love to hear from other writers in the hop.



Here's how it works:

READERS:

Follow as many authors as you like. Just follow the Linky list and hop from author to author. The idea is to find as many "new to you" authors as you can, and hopefully some great new reading material as well. Leave a comment as you hop from blog to blog! We'd love to chat with you!

AUTHORS:

Follow the Meet an author Monday host (Cali Cheer Mom) along with any of the wonderfully talented authors on the list.
You will need to enter your name and blog url into the Linky tool.
Grab our super cute button and place it in a post. (THIS IS IMPORTANT!) If you don't create a post for the hop, your readers won't have a place to comment, and the hop will stop with you. So create a post, paste in the Linky code and start hopping!
The purpose of the hop is to meet "new to you" authors and discover great new reads. Follow as many authors as you can. Leave a comment and introduce yourself!
If you'd like to share the Linky list in a post on your blog ( Please do!) just follow the link and grab the code.