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Dear Men Writers

Lesser known facts when writing women:

High heeled shoes don’t become flats if you break the heels off.

The posts of earrings aren’t sharp.

Nail polish takes a long time to dry and smudges when wet.

You can’t hold in a period like pee.

Inserting a tampon is not arousing or sexual in any way, ever.

Feel free to add your own.

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I think I have finally finished my MFA portfolio. (Who am I kidding? Just before its due date, I will think of something of dire importance that must be included.)

The end of this semester, the end of my time as a student, means I can return to updating my author pages and have more time for my own writing. Flavor of Blood is almost finished, and I am currently working on a short story for an anthology. 

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Good romances are books you can’t wait to finish, and yet never want to end.

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Writing advice you're not going to like.

People sometimes send me Asks wanting writing advice.  I suck at it.  I don’t really know how I do the writing, or how one should do the writing, or what one should do to get better at the writing.  All I can ever think to say is “write a lot of stuff and you will get better at the writing.”  Which is true, but hardly a bolt from the sky.

Well, as it turns out, I do have one piece of Legit Writing Advice, and I am going to share it with you, right now.  If you were in any of my writing workshop groups at a con, you’ve heard this advice already.

Warning: you’re going to fucking hate it.  But if you do it, you will thank me.

If you have a piece of fiction you’re serious about, something you might want to actually shop around, or just something you really are into and want to make it as good as you can…do NOT edit it.

Repeat.  DO NOT EDIT.

REWRITE.

As in, print out the whole fucking thing and re-enter it, every word (or use two screens).  Retype the whole thing.  Recreate it from the ground up using your first draft as a template.  Start with a blank page and re-enter every. single. word.

I hear you screaming.  OH MY GOD THAT’S INSANE.

Yes.  Yes, it is.

It is also the most powerful thing you will ever do for a piece of fiction that you are serious about.

Now, let’s get real.  I don’t do this for most things.  I don’t do it for my fanfiction.  But if it’s something original, something I might like to get to a professional level - I do it.  You absolutely COULD do it for fanfiction.  It’s just up to you and how much time you want to sink into a piece.

You can edit, sure.  But you WILL NOT get down to the level of change that needs to happen in a second draft.  You will let things slide.  Your eyes will miss things.  You will say “eh, good enough.”

The first time I did this, on someone else’s advice, I was dubious.  Within two pages, I was saying WHY HAVE I NOT BEEN DOING THIS ALL THE TIME.  I was amazed at how much change was happening.  By the time I got to the end, I had an entirely different novel than the one I’d started with.  When you’re already re-entering every single word, it’s easy to make deep changes.  You’ll reformat sentences, you’ll switch phrases around, you’ll massage your word choice.  You’ll discover whole paragraphs that don’t need to be there at all because they became redundant.  You’ll find dialogue exchanges that need reimagining.  Whole plot points will suddenly be different, whole story arcs will reveal their flaws and get re-drawn.

You cannot get down to the fundamental level of change that’s required just by editing an existing document.  You have to rebuild it if you really want your story to evolve.  You will be AMAZED at the difference it will make.

It will take time.  It will seem like a huge, Herculean task.  I’m not saying it’s easy.  It isn’t.  But it is absolutely revolutionary.

Try it.  I promise, you will see what I mean.

*PSA: Tipsy!Lori wrote this post.  In case you couldn’t tell.

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Here is more information about how you can help Kassidy and her family. 

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The description from Amazon reads: “ Kassidy is outside playing when she decides to find her cat. But he is nowhere to be found. Follow Kassidy as she searches for her kitty. This book is dedicated to my daughter, Kassidy, who was diagnosed with NHL in October 2016.”

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Hello, friends and readers. Kassidy is the beautiful daughter of one of my dearest author friends. I am donating some copies of Siren Slave to the cause, as many authors are coming together to help. Kassidy is a precocious and spirited twelve-year-old, who hopefully has many years ahead of her. Kassidy has always been the leader of her siblings. She enjoys anime, mermaids, and books. I remember spending a lot of time with Kassidy and her sisters when I lived near my best author friend. Please consider helping this family and keep them in your thoughts and prayers. 

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     I haven’t posted much lately. My father’s health has not been good. He is elderly and has been in a steady decline for some time, but now that gentle, downward slope has become a sheer cliff face. It’s hard to want to promote myself. But then I think of how my father encouraged me from childhood to be creative and dream. I think of how he’s been an inspiration and always pushed me. Question everything. Get A’s in creativity and kindness, not memorization. These were the lessons he taught me. 

     Flavor of Blood is due in one month. I am going to try my hardest to get it done and muddle through this heartbreaking situation. 

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We writers should all be supporting each other. It’s critical to get feedback and support. We battle our own self doubts every time we begin a work, and probably even more during revisions. Sometimes, even if a friend isn’t a writer, it’s helpful if said friend will just listen as we ramble on about our work. I sometimes solve problems in my own writing by talking at a willing friend about it. 

Shout out to writers out there spending hours, days, or weeks struggling with their stories - struggling to get the words right, struggling to make the story cohesive, struggling just to write

Shout out to writers who pour a ton of love, devolution and time into a story they’re super proud or and excited to share but end up getting little to no feed back on it

Shout out to writers who feel under appreciated in an environment where creative thinking is highly celebrated but so much of that enthusiasm is geared towards artists that they feel lost in the shadows 

Shout out to writers who have quit because they felt their writing wasn’t good enough, because they weren’t getting any feedback, because no matter how much effort they expended, they got the same response they did when they started out

Shout out to writers who work their butts off to get exposure, to get themselves known and still end up with little to no recognition 

Shout out to writers who stare down at their keyboard or empty Word document and wonder what the point is 

Shout out to writers who continue to write regardless. Shout out to writers who need that support and love to keep writing. Shout out to writers who are told their works suck or they’re a terrible writer, and feel so discouraged they want to stop. Shout to writers who appreciate all notes - whether they’re reblogs or likes. Shout out to writers who get excited every time someone reblogs their fic. 

Shout out to writers. To those who can spin out a fic easy, to those who have to spend so many stressful hours in front of a computer screen to just get out a sentence, to those who write original stuff, to those who write fanfiction, to all of those who write. A big, loving shout out to all y’all. 

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Finding Christmas-themed romance books is easy as pie. Halloween romances, not so much.

Am I alone in thinking this should change? Come on now, Halloween is perfect for romance. It’s starting to get chilly AND you obviously need to cozy up to someone you care about when things get a little spoopy. Halloween = romance and I won’t hear otherwise.

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IMPORTANT OCTOBER PSA

so with halloween being right round the corner, it’s a good time to remind everyone to remember that:

it’s the monster mash

it was a graveyard smash

it caught on in a flash

feel free to signal boost, and stay safe, lovelies!! remember to drink enough water!!

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The contest deadline is now December 1, 2016. There is an extra month to work on this now. 

Also, yours truly is totally one of the judges! 

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I am that person who attends parties and immediately makes friends with the dog. My niece had a costume party yesterday, but Thelma (a gorgeous rescue bulldog) would not pose for a picture. I spent a lot of time cuddling with Thelma. My pirate costume was covered in drool and fur and it was so worth it. Here's a pic of me with a happy Thelma at my nephew's party over the summer. Thelma is one of my favorite dogs.