Bursting my bubble

Thinking about Thursday

       When I was fourteen and still openly dreaming of being a writer, my 8th grade English teacher made the off-handed comment,

"There are no original ideas left. Everything you can think of has been done in one form or another."

       In his defense, we were learning the three basic story conflicts. 

Man vs. Man

Man vs Nature

Man vs. himself

(See, Coach Washington, I remembered. You should be proud.)

        He didn't mean to imply that we were all doomed to repeating the same stories. But, that simple statement nagged at me for years. Was it possible ALL the stories of the world have already been told? 

Mine hadn't, of course. My ideas were original... right? 

       Now, 15 (okay, 20 plus) years later, it still echoes in my mind. Especially in moments of insecurity when I have visions of agents rolling their eyes at my manuscript thinking,

" I've heard it all before."  

      So, what do you think? Have all the stories been told?

 

And if they have, is that a terrible thing? Don't we read romance with the full knowledge it will end happily ever after? Don't we read mystery with the expectation the perpetrator to be caught and justice be served? Don't we feel cheated if the killer gets away or the couple doesn't get together? 

Do you take comfort in the same old stories or do you long for something with a twist? 

Be sure you stop by next week for Tell Me Your Story Tuesday.

I am featuring the fabulous 

ANGI MORGAN! 

She will be talking about her journey to publication as well as her latest release .38 Caliber Cover-Up. I can't wait!

Who do you want to be when you grow up?

Tell Me Your Story Tuesday

Who do you want to be when you grow up?

This is me. My mother would tell you I had been screaming my head off all day when a friend of hers came over with a new camera. They laid me on a black sheet ( don't ask, I never have!) and her friend snapped this picture of me laughing.

       So, who do you want to be when you grow up? Before the sensible idea of idea of becoming a teacher overtook my dream of being an author I wanted to be Judy Blume. I read everything and, I mean, everything she wrote. Later, I realized maybe some of her books should have waited until I was a bit older. 

       My teenage years, I wanted to be S.E. Hinton.  Several of my early manuscripts scream,

                              "I just read The Outsiders... again." 

        I will admit to a brief Stephen King stage. But, honestly, I am a big, fat chicken and only forced myself to read his work because everyone else my age was. I can only guess if all of them were sleeping with their lights on, too!

      Now that I am settling into a writing style, I have a new set of author crushes. Sandra Brown, Janet Evanovich and Nora Roberts as J.D. Robb. (Of course, to quote Rosemary Clement-Moore at a recently workshop, "We all want to be Nora Roberts.")

 As I learn more about myself as an author,  I find myself still wanting to me only with their contracts and royalty checks. 

     So, tell  me your story? Who do you want to be when you are a grown up writer? How have your "author crushes" changed over the years?

Bonus question: If you could have dinner with a favorite author, what book/character would you want to discuss and why?

Help me prep for DFW CON

Thinking about Thursday

Yes! This IS the world's ugliest snow man!

 UPDATED:

THANK YOU DFWCON and JEFF POSEY for writing a blog in response to my blog and answering all my questions in depth! You ROCK! I can't wait for the conference!

ALL QUESTIONS ANSWERED HERE!

Unless by some chance you have been hibernating in a cave or lucky enough to be on a tropical vacation, you have heard that most of us in Texas are buried in ice. And that is thing, for those in the North laughing at us because we can't deal with "a few inches snow", this isn't snow it is ICE. You can't drive on it, you can't walk on it, you can't even make snowmen from it. My friend above is from February 2010.    Anyway, I am trying not to think about the ice today or the fact we are still going to be going to school in July if it doesn't all melt soon! 

Today, I am thinking about:

DFWCON

  Registration was my Christmas present from my husband. (LOVE HIM!). I wanted to attend the Texas Two Step Conference last year  *shout out to my local chapter NTRWA*. But, honestly, I was a chicken. I wasn't involved with the chapter yet. I was unprepared and, although I am far from a shy person,  I didn't want to go alone. 

That brings me to today and DFWCON. Excited doesn't begin to cover it. I am counting down the days like it is the last weeks of school! I am a firm believer that preparation is the enemy of anxiety. I know that writers are a friendly, accepting group, but they are a culture and all cultures have rules.

So, I am asking for help with the preparation. I have never been to a writing conference before:

                       

What do I need to know 

I don't mean like, "Don't slip your manuscript under the bathroom door". I have been a mom long enough to appreciate the opportunity to "do you business" in private and I really don't want an agent associating my work with bodily functions. I mean more brass tacks type information.

What should I wear? Bring a  spiral notebook or a laptop? Do I take my camera? Should I introduce myself with my real last name or my pen name? Do I need business cards? What should I wear? Oops, did I already ask that?

So, can you help me? What do I need to know that I don't even to know to ask? What is your experience with writing conferences? What do you wish you knew before you first one?

                                
                    
                    

Say Hello to Jeanne Guzman

Tell Me Your Story Tuesday

Featured Author:

Jeanne Guzman

             Hello out there, my name is Jeanne Guzman and I write Paranormal Romance.  Married to my best friend for 28 years, 4 wonderful children, and 7 (yes, you’re reading that right) grandchildren.  

          I’ve been 38 for 8 years now and have no intention of getting any older.  I’m also the keeper of the zoo with 4 dogs, a cat, a rabbit and 6 fish. 

  

           I have the first book in my “Dragon Hunters Series” titled “Dragon Lover” making the rounds to agents and editors, and my fingers are crossed and a candle is lit in hopes that I hear back from one particular acquisitions editor soon.   

            If you get a chance, stop by my website
www.romanceinflight.com 
and read a snipit of Dragon Lover.  

            Or, if you’re in the neighborhood, 
look for me on Facebook.

             Until we meet again, God bless America, and God bless Nora Roberts.

Let's get to know Jeanne better!

    Dawn:      Do you have a writing routine? What does it look like? Where do you usually write?  

     Jeanne:  I have a very strict routine. 

 I get up every morning, make that first cup of tea (I don’t do coffee) let the dogs out (they sleep in my office), turn on my computer, then I sit in front of the empty screen until my brain kicks in. 

Dawn:     Is the life of a writer what you thought it be? What is different?

Jeanne:  Well, I thought all I had to do was write a book, send it into the publisher, and within weeks I’d have a check in the mail for fifty thousand dollars.  I’m sure there are others out there that are laughing right now, I know I am.  It’s not that easy.  Writing is work.  It’s blood and sweat and tears.

     Dawn:     Do you have any special time management tricks for working in writing time and living a normal life?

 Jeanne : I find that any time I have the house to myself is the best time to write.  Sometimes it’s in the middle of the night, mostly it’s Monday through Friday from sun-up until my husband gets home from work.

     Dawn:   What is the best advice you have received about this journey? 

Jeanne:  Never give up.  If writing is your dream, then write.          

    Dawn:    What advice do you wish someone would have given you when you were starting out?

Jeanne: Forget whatever it is you thought you knew about writing and do your research.

  

    Dawn:   What do you do to fight burnout? Do you ever worry about "running out of stories"? How do combat that? 

Jeanne: I think the answer to all three of those questions is critique partners.  I’m lucky to have two of the best at my disposal.  They push, prod, browbeat, and are there to dry my tears when I need them.

   Dawn:   What sources do you use for inspiration ? 

      Jeanne: My inspiration comes from several different sources. 

      A certain song can inspire a scene, an actor or model can inspire a character, 

      people  watching can inspire a  storyline, and family can be there to give advice

      on where to go from the blank page. 

Dawn:    What do you do when you aren’t writing?  

Jeanne:  When I’m not writing, I’m traveling around in my motor coach with my husband and my youngest children, Oso and Dakota (my Yorkies)

  

    Dawn: Tell us a bit about your work in progress.

  Jeanne:  My work in progress is the second in a paranormal series.  It has a working title of Dragon Within and it’s about an orphaned girl who grows up to rid the world of evil, about a dragon who’s soul mission in life it to protect her and their journey to find happiness and love (this is a romance)

Dawn: What is next for you?

Jeanne: Next—book 3 Child of the Dragon

Thank you so much for stopping by! 

Check on Jeanne Guzman on her website 

www.romanceinflight.com/

Hooray for Katie Ganshert!

Tell Me Your Story Tuesday

FEATURED AUTHOR:

KATIE GANSHERT

A friendly voice: Hi Katie, it's Rachelle, and this is the call you've been waiting for....

If you aren't already following Katie, you should! 

Mondays she blogs about writing.

Fridays she blogs about cares, concerns and celebrations.

 

This Monday she had  a particularly exciting announcement.

No longer a Writer in Waiting

She has a TWO-BOOK DEAL!

Click here to read her great story about how it all came to be!

CONGRATULATIONS,

 KATIE!!!!!!!!

 

California Dreaming ~ Added Bonus

Thinking about Thursday

 California Dreaming

All the leaves are brown and the sky is grey...

 

(Or is it gray? Did you know there is actually a website devoted to answering that question?   

http://www.greyorgray.com/   )

             I am not really dreaming about California, but I felt like giving  a nod to The Mamas and The Papas anyway. Today, like most days when I am flat tired from my day job, I am dreaming about the life of a full time writer.
           I picture it like this :

1. I send the kids off to school with a smile because I haven't spent the morning yelling things like,    "When you are late, then I am late! I don't care the socks don't match. Put them on and let's go!"                 
2. I walk an hour on my treadmill while analyzing my plot points, constructing my character arcs and composing witty, believable dialogue. Added benefit: I lose 20-75 pounds while  working.                                                                                                                                                        
3. I walk through my clean house with no dishes in the sink and no mound o' laundry poised to avalanche on to the kitchen floor to my computer.
4. I write uninterrupted for hours as the words flow freely in the silent buzz of the empty house. I pause only to smile at my four legged companion who likes to sleep on my feet. Several thousands words a day grace my work in progress.  
5. I have a quiet, peaceful lunch with my husband without having to remind someone not eat with her face in the plate like she is a dog. We also discuss sensitive topics without converting the conversation into "hide -the- true -meaning- from- the- kids" code which neither one of us can understand, but the kids can decipher with little effort. 
6. I go back to writing for hours when he returns to work. Then easily shut down the computer when my children arrive home. Confident I have written my best and expended my creativity for the day.
7. I spend the evening guilt-free. I cheerfully help with homework and prepare dinner instead of trying to write, microwave chicken strips and recite spelling words.
8. I check homework, make the costume for the school play and remember snacks for the Girl Scout meeting because I am focused and organized without the added responsibilities of teaching
9.  I check my email, converse with my friends on twitter, and prepare my blogs.
10. I climb into bed at a decent hour, knowing all my ideas will wait. I have all day tomorrow to write. There is no need to stay up until all hours of the night.

*SIGH* So that is my dream. I know nothing is ever like you think it will be and my dream probably needs a reality check.

So tell me, what do you picture being a full-time writer to be like? If you are a full-timer, what is your day like?
( Be gentle. It is the only bubble I've got, don't burst it too harshly)

BONUS:
I like to dabble dream interpretation. It is for entertainment purposes only and I do not claim to have any talent in this area, but I have been told I am pretty good. So, leave me a dream in your comment and I will decipher it for you to the best of my ability. :)  

Just me

Tell Me Your Story Tuesday

   

Just Me

Today, I am featuring Me.

Presumptuous, I know. 

But since we already talked about sex, I thought we might get to know each a little better.

I have been writing since I can remember. It always surprises me when I meet other writers who say they are working on their first book. I have notebooks and notebooks of stories. Some complete, some not, some perfectly horrendous, some not so bad. Now, I have graduated to external hard drives. But, I have no idea how many I have  written.

I blame it on being an only child.

I loved being an only child. I never felt lonely or incomplete. But I did spend a lot of time making up stories to entertain myself which brings me to my first confession for today.

CONFESSION #1:

Until I was about 11 or 12, I thought everyone talked to themselves when they were alone. Not just making up stories or creative play, but "Oh, I like this song." or "I left my book at school. Wonder if we are going to have a test tomorrow."

Evidently, most people keep these thoughts in their head. Mine tend to spill out of my mouth.

CONFESSION #2 :

Until  the past few years, no one knew I was still writing. I chose a teaching career and wrote only for myself. A series of events in my personal life and a thirty birthday led me to a grand revelation. If I was already 30, then someday, I was going to be 40 (!) . And that could not happen without me at least attempting to be published. So, after a long talk with my husband, I took a deep breathe and sent an email to my two closest friends with a  few chapters attached. To my complete astonishment, no one told me I was silly.

CONFESSION #3:

I am terrified of failing at this.

So, that's me. Let's hear about you? Did you talk to yourself? Are you working on your first book or do you have 32,405 (give or take a few) in a rubber maid tub in your attic? 

Anything you want to confess?

Come on. It's Tuesday. Tell Me Your Story.