NEVER STOP LEARNING

NEVER STOP LEARNING

 

     A few days ago I realized that February of this year marked 2 years since I started seriously writing. And in two years I had wrote 3 novels, had 1 of them published, and was blessed to be signed by an agent who is doing her magic and gifting me with her knowledge as we edit my second novel. During this two year period the one thing I have never stopped doing is learning.

 

    Yes. Just because I am a published author does not mean that the learning stops. Some people (although I'm not sure who) may think that what they have in front of them is how the novel started off. It is surely not. Nobody writes a perfect first draft. Nobody. As you go through edits and you continue to read, you start to pick up on many things you shouldn't be doing at all and a lot of things that would really improve your manuscript.

 

   I thought I'd picked out all of my bad writing habits. Boy was I wrong. But you know what? I am so happy these things are being pointed out to me. With every novel you write, your writing improves and you learn new things. As my agent works with me I'm learning new things about my own writing habits and I'm making a careful list so I can look out for these things in the future.

 

   I have always considered myself a storyteller first and a writer second. So while I may be great at telling you a story, when it comes to the technical things I welcome any help that is offered to me. As a writer you must never stop learning. Someone has some technique or template or advice that is sure to make your writing life easier. So don't be afraid to try new things. Some may work for you. Some may not. But as long as you tried that's all that matters.

 

   Also don't be afraid to take advantage of the resources out there. You can find all kinds of books about writing written on different subjects. If there is an area you are struggling with or would like to know more about, then grab a book and get to reading. You will only learn something that is sure to help you along the way. Or how about picking up a book from your favorite author and studying it? Take a look at how the book is formatted. Take a gander at their word choice or where the action picks up. You can learn a lot to improve your own writing just from doing that.

 

   The point I'm trying to make is that just because you're a published author now doesn't mean you know everything or that the work stops. You still need to read and pick up what you can to improve your craft. So NEVER STOP LEARNING!



IN THE WORKS

IN THE WORKS

 

 

 

      It's been a while since I blogged. Life has a habit of getting in the way. But now that I'm back (so to speak) I thought I'd give a quick update as to what has been going on with me writing wise.

 

 

      My second round of revisions for my upcoming paranormal mermaid fantasy romance are in the hands of my agent. Currently waiting to see if another round is required before the big submission process to publishers. I'm on pins and needles.

 

 

    I'm hard at work on the second urban fantasy romance novel in my Demi-God Daughters series, GODDESS BY CHANCE. I'm about 15 chapters in and currently wondering if this book will be longer than the previous Demi-God Daughter book as I have not yet reached the first major arc of the story. I'll keep writing and see what happens.

 

 

     And also I'm working on another story and (drum roll please) I'm actually writing it on my laptop. Shocking yes. If you've read any of my previous blog posts you know that I predominately write in longhand using journals. So me creating a story on my laptop is completely out of the norm and quite surprising to me. The new story is tentatively titled DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS and it is not in the fantasy romance realm from which I usually write.

 

      After starting to read some romantic suspense novels, I decided I'd like to try and do something different than the genres I usually write in. The start of the novel was born from one simple sentence replaying over and over in my mind: "Last time I checked, it was my name on the door." Yep that pretty much started it. I don't know how the story will end up as I do not even have any of my usual few small planning tools I use per novel. This one will really come from the seat of my pants.

 

 

    So far I'm about 10K into DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS and I'm really enjoying writing it. Again, no idea how long it will be or what will ultimately happen at the end but I'm excited to see where it goes and even more excited my muse is speaking to me as I stare at the computer screen. I will share with you the current tagline I'm trying to keep in mind: Ava Nicole Hill's carefully ordered world is about to be turned upside down and she is powerless to stop it.

 

 

    In addition to trying to balance two novels at once, I also have purchased three writing resources I'm trying to find time to read: Showing & Telling; Bullies, Bastards & Bitches; and The Writer's Guide to Character Traits. I don't know about you but I believe a writer should never stop learning or trying to improve their craft. Do you have any resources you can't live without? Are you working on one or more projects? Drop me a line. I'd love to know.