November 2’s optional question – November is National Novel Writing Month. Have you ever participated? If not, why not?
While NaNoWriMo intrigues me, I have yet to participate. A big reason why is that it’s a busy time of year in my day job. It’s also true that writing every day hasn’t been my style.
I think that writing 50K words in one month is a cool concept, and I would like to try it one year.
For those who have participated in NaNo, what were the best and worst aspects for you?
I was honored to serve as a judge, and I swooned over the sweet and sexy meet cutes in each story.
First Love: The Art of Making Doughnuts
An Insecure Writer’s Support Group Anthology
The sweetness of first love…
Could a fiercely independent cop’s heart be stolen by the guy who makes her favorite doughnuts? Will a maid who used deceit to snare a mail-order husband get a dose of her own medicine? Can her handsome neighbor rescue a modern-day “princess” from a tenacious ex-boyfriend? Can two strangers in a rideshare be honest enough to fall in love for real? Can you remember your first love? How about your second? Third? Fourth?
Featuring the talents of Linda Budzinski, Melissa Maygrove, Michael Di Gesu, Sylvia Ney, Katie Klein, Kim Elliott, Templeton Moss, S.E. White, Denise Covey, and Sammi Spizziri. Hand-picked by a panel of agents and authors, these ten tales will touch your heart and rekindle lost feelings. Prepare to return to that first love…
Is the COVID-19 crisis over yet? I’m feeling drained from pandemic fatigue and long work hours. I haven’t written in some time, but I still plan on resuming when the mood strikes.
I hope your writing mojo and energy levels are feeling strong these days!
If not, how do you energize when you’re feeling low?
February’s Question: Is there someone who supported or influenced you that perhaps isn’t around anymore? Anyone you miss?
I’m fortunate my 88-year-old aunt Nancy is still very much part of my family. I do miss her, though, because she lives in Los Angeles, and it’s been too long since I flew out from Ohio to visit her. (Too many states between us.)
Image from Pixabay
Nancy is a a trendsetter and her own woman, wearing birkenstocks long before they were en vogue! She’s also a big reader, and she gave me some helpful feedback about my writing before the publication of my first novel, including:
Improve the realism of characterization. My first draft gushed about the beauty of my two romantic leads, and with Nancy’s help, I made them more lifelike by giving my hero a crooked nose and my heroine a flat chest. They still thought each other was hot. 😉
Cut out the cliches. As a newbie writer, I didn’t realize how cringe-worthy it was to write phrases like, “She shot out of there like a bat out of hell” or “Better safe than sorry”. Now I try to use metaphors that relate to the content of my story. In Rivals, a sports romance between coaches from rival universities, the Michigan coach thinks, “While the wolverine’s away, the rabbits will play,” and “She probably thinks I’m angry at her for spilling the Buckeye beans.”
The happy ending to my story is that my sister and I plan to visit Nancy soon!
Happy 2022, insecure writers!! I love our founder Alex Cavanaugh’s inspiring message about the new year:
“We all know it’s been creatively challenging the past two years. Some managed to write like maniacs, but a good portion of us were sidelined by events wrought with turmoil and uncertainty.
But 2022 can be different. We can take control of our own creative future. We need to maintain hope. Without it, we won’t make it. We need to feed that spark of hope. That creative spark! That’s our wheelhouse.
So, we need to believe in ourselves. Believe in the words we write. And believe 2022 is our year!”
January 5 question – What’s the one thing about your writing career you regret the most? Were you able to overcome it?
I regret not knowing more about the craft of writing before my first novel was published. Though I still feel a fondness for the characters of my first novel, adverb abuse, head-hopping, and bloated prose hurt the writing quality.
I have tried to overcome this regret by learning more about the craft through reading, studying writing, and working with my critique partner and editor. It felt great to edit my debut novel to reduce my cringe reactions.
This month’s question: In your writing, what stresses you the most? What delights you?
What stresses me the most is the extended path toward finishing a novel. I’m rather impatient, and I wish writing didn’t take so long. I’ve never been one to whip through a crappy first draft without editing as I write. I guess the hundreds of hours that go into a novel make it all the more satisfying when it’s done.
What delights me? Readers identifying aspects of the story I hadn’t planned or considered. The first story I wrote, Bad Blood, was about one man betraying another. At the end, the hero fought for his life after being poisoned in his prison cell. It wasn’t till a reader commented about his poisoned blood representing the title that I saw the unintentional connection.
Image by Harmony Lawrence from Pixabay
What stresses or delights you as a writer?
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I need to make an appetizer for our upcoming holiday book club. Do you have a favorite Christmas recipe? Here’s a delightful one from my friend, Chelsi:
Brussel Sprout Salad
1 pound Brussel sprouts (thinly sliced – “shredded” – I find them at Trader Joe’s)
Dried cranberries – a few handfuls
Chopped pecans (pan toasted) – a few handfuls
Diced, cooked bacon – about 5 slices
Shaved parmesan – almost a whole tub. Mix most in and then sprinkle the bigger, prettier shavings on top
Dressing –
1/3 cup olive oil
Thinly sliced shallots – 2 small
Fry the shallots in the oil until they’re crisped, then stir in the rest of the ingredients (2 TBSP apple butter or fig preserves, 2 TBSP apple cider vinegar, salt, pepper) and let marinate for a bit
This month’s question: What’s harder to do, coming up with your book title or writing the blurb?
Eek, I’m getting the shakes from this question. I thought Halloween was over? Both tasks can bring a writer to her knees, but I have to choose creating titles as more difficult.
Blurbs kick my butt at first, but after scuffling with the sentences, my critique partner and editor always help turn the blurbs into something coherent and catchy. (Whether or not the blurbs are appealing enough to make readers want to buy my books is another matter.)
Titles, though? I’ve ridden the struggle bus drumming up titles for at least four of my nine novels.
The toughest title was for my swimming military murder mystery romance published in 2012. (Maybe covering 11 genres in one novel was the start of the problem?) The initial title was Swimming Against the Tide, then Against the Tide. However, when it came time to publish, both titles seemed cheesy.
My hero faced countless obstacles, including an abusive father, and he had a talent for exploding off the walls on his flip turns. I suggested the swimming term, Streamline, to signify a tight body position allowing him to slice through even the roughest waters.
My publisher thought “streamline” evoked a corporate takeover more than a new adult sports romance. She was probably right. But, I couldn’t think of another damn title! So we went with it.
In addition to blurbs and titles, I want to add another TOUGH task of publishing: creating a book cover. I’ve had countless back-and-forth convos with book designers over the years. My publisher grappled with the cover concept for Streamline, but I love the design they landed on, representing an underwater kiss scene from the book. Still, I wanted the image of the characters to be bigger.
Hope your October is off to a great start, writers! Warm weather has continued in Ohio, allowing me to sneak in some outdoor swims late in the season. Friends and I swam in a local quarry last week, and the 72-degree water temperature was brisk but invigorating.
Sadly, I had to cancel a swim vacation in Baja, Mexico. We planned to glamp and swim 2-4 miles a day in the Pacific, but international travel didn’t seem wise in the throes of the never-ending pandemic. But maybe I’ll fulfill my dream of swimming in Spain next year instead.
This month’s question: In your writing, where do you draw the line, with either topics or language?
I rely on my reading preferences to draw the line in my writing. I enjoy reading creative curse words and healing from horrific traumas. Therefore, my characters sometimes swear like sailors, and I embrace the challenge of delving into the aftermath of sexual trauma or criminal violence in my sport romance and romantic suspense novels.
Though romance is my favorite genre, I don’t enjoy reading plentiful, graphic sex scenes. It’s no surprise that I avoid writing erotica.
I also value free speech. While I don’t want to offend readers, I hope to stay true to myself without worrying about political correctness.
How do you define success as a writer? Is it holding your book in your hand? Having a short story published? Making a certain amount of income from your writing?
For me, this image speaks to the essence of writing success:
Have you been watching the Olympics? I’ve binged on coverage of my two favorite sports: swimming and volleyball. American swimmer Caleb Dressel was electrifying!
Credit: Los Angeles Times
I’ve also felt inspired by stories of resilience in multiple sports, especially in the midst of a pandemic. Athletes like the brave and lovely Simone Biles have strived to handle challenges such as mental blocks.
We’re all familiar with writer’s block, but what about mental blocks? Overcoming them in sports like gymnastics, diving, and equestrian is one such opportunity for resilience. Mental blocks, also known as balking or the yips, occur when athletes struggle to complete skills they’ve done hundreds of times before. They try to force themselves, but they just can’t go. Every gymnast has experienced mental blocks. But how difficult to face one on the world stage at the Olympics!
Sport psychologist Alan Goldberg frames mental blocks as a trauma response. The traumas can be a serious injury, scary fall, or even witnessing another athlete survive a near miss. If I made a mistake in swimming, I swam slower. When gymnasts make mistakes, they might sustain horrific injuries. And their bodies remember the past fear, creating the fight, flight, or freeze response. No matter how hard athletes try to throw the skill, their bodies freeze. It’s so frustrating for them.
Traumas can also be personal, like a severe car accident or sexual assault. For an athlete who has experienced multiple traumas, their bodies may lock up. It’s not a lack of effort. It’s a survival mechanism. I applaud any athlete experiencing this struggle who takes care of herself and puts her health first. These superstar athletes are human, with needs for safety and respect just like all of us.
This month’s question: What is your favorite writing craft book? Think of a book that every time you read it you learn something or you are inspired to write or try the new technique.
Jennifer Lane Books 