I have the final files of Lady Doctor Wyre in hand! If you’re willing to review a SF erotic romance (menage and some BDSM) that’s loosely “A Jane Austen Space Opera” then please e-mail me at joelysueburkhart AT gmail DOT com with your desired format. You don’t have to have an official review site — if you’re willing to rate on Goodreads, Amazon, B&N, etc. that is wonderful too. Release date isn’t until March, but I’d love to get some reviews ahead of schedule!
(Blurb)
Also: Knowing Your Author Brand.
First, let me recommend The Dip by Seth Godin, recommended to be by May. It’s basically a book about knowing which projects to keep working on, and when it will save you time to quit. Yes, quit. It’s an evil word to an overachiever, but sometimes quitting a project is the best thing you can do.
Spinning your wheels? Stuck on a cul-de-sac going nowhere fast? Sometimes extra effort will get you back on the freeway toward success. However, sometimes you’ll never get that particular car out on the freeway–maybe it’s nowhere close to road-ready–and eventually it’ll run out of gas, break down, and you’ll have to abandon it.
Choose when to abandon the car. Errr project. Save your time and effort by knowing when that project just isn’t going to work and move on to the one that will. It’s not quitting because a project is hard. It’s quitting because the project is wrong for you.
What does this have to do with author branding?
I’ve been thinking about my brand–or lack thereof–for a long time. I’ve blogged for years about my horse totem, not liking boundaries, struggling to balance on the fence between genres, etc. I’m never going to be able to say “I’m a [insert single genre] writer!” I’m just not. That’s not my personality. I’m a Gemini. I have many different faces. I can’t take personality tests because I’m torn between the creative side and my rational analytical side. Depending on which hat I’m wearing, I’ll answer different on every single question.
However, I’ve been trying to be more mindful about what common element ties all my work together. Not all of my work meets that personal brand, but going forward, I need to do a better job of staying true to who I am and what I want to write, whether it’s a smoldering hot fantasy based on Imperial China, an epic fantasy assassin, or a sexy English professor. They’ll all have this common element. I just need to emphasize it.
So what does this have to do with quitting? I’ve decided to file the project formerly referred to as Faced. As I’ve currently plotted and built, it does not fulfill my brand. That’s why I’ve been struggling this month. My mind kept worrying over the details, endlessly churning about what I should and shouldn’t be writing. The gaping hole didn’t appear to me until today when I was writing my morning pages in my journal.
Faced doesn’t fit my brand. So at this time, it’s off my list. The premise is cool enough I will definitely work on it some more, but I need to add some details to make it work with my vision.
So, the rest of the month, I’ll be switching gears to writing Lady Wyre’s prequel and finalizing the plot of Phantom–which thankfully DOES fit inside my brand. I just need to finish some more plotting and characterization first.
In many ways, I’ve been stalled this month. As I said in a post or two ago, it’s still busy for us even though the holidays are over, but today marks what I hope to be a “return to normal.” No more birthdays until May, so it’s nose to the grindstone.
Even as I say that, though, I’m still dragging. I’m tired and unmotivated, even though I have a deadline to play with. Just the thought of getting up at 5 AM makes me want to curl into a ball and hibernate! I just can’t get as excited about this story as I should be. On paper, it looks good. It’s got several really cool elements to play with. But my mind is disengaged from the words.
So I’m gradually rolling back my wake-up time. Last week, I got up just early enough to be the first one up and get the coffee made before the oldest needed to be up (her school starts an hour ahead of her sisters’ school). This week, I’m waking up 15 mins earlier than that. Plus, I’m going to get back into the habit of prepping the coffee pot the night before, which should shave 5-10 minutes off my morning routine. (I could program it to brew automatically, and I might do that at some point. I just hate the thought of wasting coffee if my alarm doesn’t go off.)
I’ve also been exercising more consistently this month, which I hope will eventually increase my energy.
Lastly, I’m working on morning pages again ala Julia Cameron. I don’t always do them first thing (since I’ve not been able to get up early enough), but I’ve been writing in my journal a page or two each day, working on rebuilding that connection in my mind. Words, I need words!
In the end, I may not meet the deadline, but I’m not going to stop pushing on this novella. It has some really cool elements, even if my sleepy hibernating side poo-poos it in favor of going back to bed!
A few weeks ago, Lianna Williamson won a copy of Jenna’s latest Ellora’s Cave release, Kiss of Honor, and Lianna was kind enough to send me a review to post!
Gawain (a descendant of the Gawain) takes being a knight very, very seriously. Despite the general debauchery at court, he’s taken a vow of chastity, and he’s honor-sworn to serve a king whose cruelty he despises. When the king sends him on a quest to uncover the secrets of a magic ring, Gawain meets Miriam Wildrose, a strong-willed and beautiful witch. Miriam challenges every one of Gawain’s dearly held beliefs, and as the heat grows between them, and Beltane approaches, he must make a choice between duty and love, and learn where true honor lies.
Kiss of Honor is a quick read with well-developed characters, loads of conflict, hot sex, not one but two HEA’s, and the most hilarious mouse familiar ever. I thoroughly enjoyed it!
Thank you, Lianna! I thought the mouse was very cute and expressive too — definitely a different sort of familiar!
Unfortunately, this new year is proving to still be as difficult as the holidays. My two oldest monsters both have birthdays this month, yesterday and the 10th. So we’re still in presents, baking, family dinner mode. I’m still tired and having a difficult time getting up Dark & Early. Needless to say, my production so far this month has been laughable. I’m hoping that after the last birthday on Monday that I can dig in and get some serious work done — or I may have to drop a project from my list. 🙁 That always makes me sad.
Anyway, I promised to share the character and theme worksheets I’ve been using to help get myself back on track, so today, I’ll cover CHARACTER.
You may be startled by my deliberately vague sections. I’ve seen people with huge BIBLES of details. Hair color, eye color, birthday presents as children, family, jobs, sexual experience, etc. If something specific stands out to you and helps you make your character live and breathe on the page – then by all means, go for it. I just didn’t want to DEFINE a bunch of stuff that may or may not help. For some books, I couldn’t care less about what identifying marks my character might have (until I need to fill out the art sheet) – because those marks don’t play a part in the story. Why give your character scars or tats if they don’t actually MEAN anything?
I have two stories that never even NAME the character. The name isn’t important — but the person’s AUTHORITY is.
I guess my point is use what makes sense to you – but I didn’t waste a bunch of space for specifics. For me personally, there are only a handful of things that I absolutely must know to make a vibrant, living and breathing character. The rest is open to interpretation for each story. I’ll list a few here but won’t get into tons of detail — if you have questions, let’s discuss in comments.
One thing I’m not entirely satisfied with is the romance arc. I may end up creating one more sheet to help me get the “arsonist and firefighter” angle of conflict ironed out. For now, this is working for me. Good luck and let me know if they prove useful to you!
Character (Excel, pdf) (Print landscape on legal-sized paper)
I’m not going to make a huge list of resolutions – I’m a goal-oriented person all year long, not just on Jan 1st. However, I am going to work on faster turnaround from idea to finished book (as I said a few days ago), and I have a long list of projects I’d like to finish this year. I’m going to put myself on the spot and list them here – and then see how many I can actually finish this year! Of course this is way too many projects for one year, but I’m determined to get as many of them done as possible.
Better get busy!!!
I’d also like to read at least 50 books this year.
Looking back…
Looking ahead to 2011, I have:
May 2011 be better for each and every one of us!
Happy New Year!
This is not a treatise on why you should plot (because I don’t always plot either). This isn’t a “my way is best” argument because I know that’s BS too. Every book requires different skills or tools. Right now, I’m at the stage of my writing where I need a quick check sheet, or reminder list, of what I personally need when plotting. You may find this helpful, or you may run away screaming because I’m bringing out spreadsheets. Just know that I do NOT always do this — but it does help me organize my thoughts when I’m feeling scattered or stuck.
(Upcoming will be THEME and CHARACTER sheets too.)
I’ve tried every writing software under the sun, from Scrivener to TextBlock to Liquid Story Binder to….Lord, I can’t even name them all. I do like many and use many for different things, but sometimes, I need the physical touch of paper and ink. You may laugh, but there’s something very magical in purple ink. When I bring out my favorite pen (I’ve resorted to hiding the entire box from the monsters and threatening them with deadly harm if they steal them) and some white paper, my brain is freed. It touches on something creative – yet also analytical – in my brain that helps me tap down into the heart of what I’m trying to write.
I’ve got Marshall Plan worksheets, character portfolios, etc. that I’ve copied from online and print resources over the years, but there was no one single sheet that let me see the story at a glance. How LONG is this story going to be? Am I going to get to page 100 and realize I’m done? Or page 250 and realize oh, @&#*%, I’m nowhere near the end? I don’t want to have to carry around very complicated pages and details — I just want something brief and to the point, structured but also very simple and free. I want to customize it for a short story, or use it for a full-length fantasy novel at the same time.
What I came up with is a basic Act sheet (Excel, pdf).
A few general comments:
Here’s how I’m using this sheet. No matter the size of your WIP, Act 1 should be about 25% of the overall length, Act 2 about 50%, and Act 3 about 25%. This is not set in stone – merely a guideline for a satisfying story. I’m working on a novella right now, so I don’t need a lot of sections or scenes. 5 per act felt pretty good, and so if I print out 4 of these worksheets, that’ll give me about 20 sections (one page for each act).
If I want to write a longer novel (50-60K, a good length for epub), then maybe I need 8 pages, giving me about 10 scenes per Act, or 40 total. If I’m going to write a really detailed, longer single-title novel around 80-90K, then I’m probably going to need 3 or 4 pages per Act.
If I want to write a shorter story (around 10K), then I can probably get by with 2 pages, or 10 sections. If the story needs to be under 5K, then I’ve got to figure out how to tell the entire story on one page in 5 sections or less. See how that works?
Now if you want a little more structure to your sheets, I created 4 pages overlaid with the hero’s journey. The major points of the hero’s journey are obviously very flexible. e.g. you don’t have to have the dark moment happen in exactly section 014. This is entirely customizable to your story — so feel free to move the journey points around as needed. Again, I’m working on a novella length project, so I fit the hero’s journey onto 4 sheets, targeting 20 sections. Feel free to widen or narrow the pages down to fit your target.
Just so you know, this is still a messy process. I’m already on my second draft and still have scribbles all over the margins, etc. But at least I can SEE how much story I have without worrying about the monsters pulling sticky notes off the wall or making flashcards out of my index cards! I’m also probably going to end up using sticky notes on TOP of the spreadsheet to help me track the romance elements. e.g. first kiss, or building sexual tension.
It may not have been obvious, but I’ve been struggling for the last few months. Struggling to finish Vicki. Struggling to get some new ideas started and in the queue.
It’s getting pretty thin here. Everything on my contracted to-do list is done and out the door, waiting on other people. Sure, I have a few newish things going (like Lady Wyre and Vicki), but the NEW queue was getting rather low. One of these is contracted and releasing in a few months – one is ready to submit. What NEW files did I have?
I’ve never lacked for ideas – but I have been struggling to get new words written on new series, even though I love the concepts. So what gives?
I finally realized today that I’d forgotten what I know.
See, with Vicki and even Golden, I wrote in that glorious place called the Zone. For Vicki, I dreamed her book, scene by scene. I didn’t do any character prep in advance. She, Jesse, and Elias came on stage completely their own people and began chattering away in my ear. Not to say that book wasn’t difficult – because it was. Very difficult, very emotional. It took me months to get that book done, in part because of the emotional aspects, but also because I was dependent on THEM to help me along. If they weren’t speaking, it didn’t help that intellectually I knew what happened. I couldn’t get the VOICE.
Golden was a bit of a fluke. BAM. The story was in my head, start to finish, a moment of lightning that illuminated beginning to end. I don’t typically write in first person, I don’t typically write that genre, etc. but when the story speaks that loudly and clearly, I’d be a fool not to listen.
Now months later with both projects finished and nearly submitted (or already out the door), I sit here trying to get Phantom rumbling along with the same energy, and it’s just not happening. It’s not the concept – I love the idea. It’s not that I’m burned out – I’m chomping at the bit to go. So what was the problem?
Process. Every book seems to unfold in a different way. I’d forgotten how rare it is for the flash of illumination story to hit me. I’d forgotten that I haven’t dreamed a book since the very beginning (Shannari, Gregar, and Rhaekhar have always lived in my dreams). I mean, how could I have forgotten the hero’s journey after I’ve blogged about it so many times? Or the Emotional Toolbox, my number one favorite character development tool? I’m ashamed to admit it, but I had forgotten.
Character leads to plot, and I’d sadly neglected to develop both.
So this week, I’ve been working on back to basics. I created a couple of worksheets to help remind me of what I need to know, both for plot and character. I’m busily filling them out for a new idea that has a hard due date (that I may not be able to reach – I’ll decide after I get the story plotted and ready if I’ll try it or not). I’m also going to fill these worksheets out for Phantom in detail. I know they’ll help tremendously.
I’m just kicking myself that I forgot so much and waited so long.
P.S. I’ll share the worksheets later this week after I work through them a bit and tweak them. Hopefully you won’t think I’m a freak when I say I’m pretty excited about these spreadsheets!!
This last week of the year is a time for me to clear my desk, organize my files, and decide what I want to do next year. It’s also a time to look back over the year and try to make adjustments.
I’d hoped to have Return to Shanhasson out by year end, but that isn’t likely. I’ll keep you posted on the progress, but things have been delayed due to my publisher’s health. Hugs to Deena and healing prayers and thoughts! We’re also working on the print release of The Road to Shanhasson, but again, I’m not sure of the timing.
Vicki’s book is done, finally, and I have one more Connagher book in mind. Some fans have asked for more about Mama Connagher, so that’s a maybe. I have a few more revisions to make to Vicki pending beta reads, but I plan to submit her in Jan. after writing the dreaded synopsis.
Lady Doctor Wyre kicks off a new series, so early in 2011 will be preparation and planning the order of upcoming projects. Some involve Lady Wyre (e.g. Lord Regret’s Price) but others will be completely standalone (set in the same world). Some are novella length – others full. Plus I have a free read prequel I’ll be writing early 2011 to share in March. I expect lots of work in this series next year.
I’m not sure that I’ll be doing a Bloodgate book for awhile. I’m working on getting some other work submitted to Carina instead. The downside to writing in this series is the suffocating amount of research and planning that goes into one of these books (easily months). I’ve got one plotted but I’m not sure that it’s the best followup book. I have a better (?) idea that I really like, but haven’t plotted it. So this series is temporarily on the backburner until I come up with a plan of attack.
Oh, and of course, the new ideas never stop. I had a new one take over my brain today. I have at least two other new ideas not connected to anything else currently contracted in progress, both with a tentative due date in 2011. They may filter up or down depending on contracts and progress in other series.
I’m not going to write up a huge list of resolutions, because I end up changing my plans at least every month, depending on how projects are going, what my editors would like to see, what’s selling the best for me right now, etc. However, there is something I want to work on in 2011, and that’s defining my process to a point where I can turn an “idea” into a “novella/novel” much quicker. I love to brainstorm, research, worldbuild, etc. but it can take me months — or in Vicki’s case, the entire year! — to finish the book. That’s just not acceptable. I want to turn an idea to book much quicker.
One thing I’m working on this week is a new worksheet designed specifically for shorter works. I’m targeting several novella-length projects next year, and the method of writing a shorter book is much different. Sometimes I can’t get my mind wrapped around how long something will actually end up, especially when I hold so much of the plot in my head. I need a quicker way to get the plot down, out of the abyss of my mind, freeing me up to making words. If this worksheet helps, I’ll share it. It’s similar to the ones I shared several years ago when I was working on the first Bloodgate book but much simplier — intended for smaller scope and fewer characters. I’m tentatively trying it out on the new project (working title Faced) and Phantom, the one I had hoped to be drafting this month. (But ended up revising Vicki early instead)
Probably the best technique I’ve started using lately: I’ve always used calendars to help me plan, but jotting a timeline of due dates doesn’t always work. e.g. I swap Vicki up to work on early in Dec and now my 3-month plan is basically in the trash can. However, I used sticky notes this time, so I can easily yank that note off the Jan. calendar and move it to Dec. with a nice big check mark, instead of reprinting my calendar.
What about you – any end of the year preparations you’re working on?
