A.J. Maguire

Tag: Writing

  • Problem Characters and How to Negotiate

    Since beginning Usurper I have had one character in particular who troubles me; Evaliana Auliere Dyngannon.

    Nice long name, I know. She goes by Liana, for obvious reasons. Who wants that mouthful every time you’re being spoken to?

    Liana and I constantly have issues, which I know makes me sound insane but I’m an author so I’m allowed. (I hope.) But when push comes to shove, every time I try to write in her point of view I end up hating the scene.

    Loathing the scene.

    It’s too shallow.

    There’s not enough oomph to the character.

    I don’t know her the way I know Trenna (her mother) or Nelek (her father) or even Kaden (her brother). She’s this … anomaly outside of her family.

    Or inside it, however you want to look at it.

    She is … angsty.

    And I hate angsty.

    Seriously, I avoid angsty with all my power.

    But as I’m going through this edit I’ve come to the understanding that … I’m going to have to deal with angst. In order for Liana to be a three dimensional character on the page, she has to be allowed to explain why she’s so … arrrgh! About everything.

    So …

    I keep her scenes fairly brief.

    I just have to. For my own sanity.

    Until she grows up and gets over herself, she has a limited word count. (This is part of the reason I don’t do the Young Adult market all that well, can you tell?)

    In return, I let her angst all she wants for that limited word count.

    And then, once the angst has been written/edited/dealt with in some manner, I get chocolate.

    Boom.

    Those are my negotiations … with my fictional character … who only lives in my head and on the page …

    Yeah, I know how crazy it sounds.

  • Year in Review – 2016

    img_0444
    Empty Cork-Board!

    That’s right people, we’ve nearly made it through one more year. And it was an election year at that!

    Which … let’s be honest … I’m terribly surprised we managed to survive. I think we can all agree that this year’s election was just plain ugly to watch. But, hey, we managed to get through.

    And that means it’s time for my Year in Review!

    This is one of my favorite posts to do. It’s where I take a look at what I projected to have completed 365-ish days ago and what I hope to do next year. It’s … sort of New Year’s Resolution stuff but focused on writing.

    Because if I don’t have goals I end up playing Star Wars the Old Republic and reading a ton of books.

    Which … consequently … has been my whole December, but I did that on purpose. December is my month off.

    So! What did I say I was going to do this year?

    1)  Dead Weight – the sequel to Tapped is slated for work to begin starting January 1st.  

    Check! Totally did that.

    2) Primal – This is a new-adult-paranormal-romance novel that I’ve been kicking around for years. I’ll begin work on it sometime in June, after I’ve completed the draft for Dead Weight.

    … Well … Primal was revamped into Ashwood, which I completed for NaNoWriMo this year. So, technically, I can put a check mark here too.

    3) Residual Haunting – Will be completed in 2016. ‘Nuff said.

    Derp. Nope. I didn’t go near Residual Haunting all year long. Big red XX in that box. I actually forgot I meant to do that this year.

    4) Usurper – Is currently being edited. It may drag into the first two weeks of 2016, but not much further than that.

    I did do this. But it needs another edit before I’m comfortable with it. So … I’ll put half a check-mark.

    5) Persona – Is going to go onto Kindle Scout. 

    Big check mark here too. Persona DID go to Kindle Scout. And there it languished in obscurity because I am just horrible at asking people to vote for my things. It is now out for review with one agent and one publisher and I might try five more places before going ahead with publishing it in the Indie market.

    What did I do this year that I didn’t project?

    img_0451
    Nuisance in the tree. 

    Well, I wrote a novelette called Torven and a short story called Ava and began world building a new fantasy called Swans. And I got a new kitten for the kiddo who continues to try climbing our Christmas tree. And I started a relationship with a very good man who doesn’t mind my crazy.

    All in all, I’d say 2016 was a very successful year.

    What do I want to do in 2017?

    1)  Final edits on Usurper – I have this scheduled out for January through March.

    2)  Dead Weight – Editing, editing, and more editing. I hope to have this novel out for sale in the Fall.

    3)  Swans – My new novel for the year. High epic fantasy. I lurve it already.

    4) Ashwood – Beginning edits in the Fall.

    5) Inmate 87101 – This would be the third installment of the Tapped series. I want to have the outline completed by the end of the year.

    And that’s it! Those are my writing projections for 2017. I’m totally jazzed about it and I can’t wait to start.

    I hope everyone else has something they’re looking forward to getting done in the coming year. If not, well, have a good year anyway. If you do have some writing goals then …  Good luck to you! I’ll see you all in 2017!

     

  • NaNoWriMo 2016 Round-Up

    I am pleased to say that this year I actually won National Novel Writing Month! I completed the extremely rough draft of Ashwood at 50477 words. I know that there are a lot of things I’ll be changing when I start editing it next year, but … Hey. I won!

    Ashwood was a lot of fun to write and this outlining process I’ve been doing seems to be working fairly well.

    At least to get the skeleton of the book written, anyway.

    About a year ago I took James Patterson’s Master Class on writing and one of the big takeaways I had was his outlining process, which I’ve been trying to implement. There are some things I like about it … and there are some things that I don’t like about it.

    I’ve used this for three stories now; Torven, Dead Weight, and Ashwood.

    Torven, my little novelette, it worked beautifully for. I was able to cut eleven chapters down to eight and had a lot of fun writing the story.

    Ashwood, my romantic horror story thing, it also worked great for. I had an outline that had been brainstormed with another over the course of several weeks and, while I did change some things last minute, this outlining process worked wonders to see me to the finish line.

    Dead Weight …

    Hmmm.

    I don’t know what it is that went wrong with Dead Weight, but something was off. My knee-jerk reaction is to say that I had a lot of great ideas but when I went to actually write them they fell flat.

    Or it could have been the fact that I was typing the first draft instead of hand writing it. That’s the only difference I had between Dead Weight and the others.

    Why yes, that means I hand wrote all of Ashwood in 30 days AND typed it up in time to win.

    Because I’m awesome.

    And I love hand cramps.

    In any case, the outlining seems to be working. There are a few things I’ve tweaked here and there to make it my own process, but overall it works.

    For those of you who participated in NaNoWriMo this year, whether you won or not, you’re awesome! Well done! I hope you got words on the page and that you love your story.

    To close out this year’s NaNoWriMo season I think I’ll leave you with a snippet from Ashwood … In all its unedited glory.

    ~*~*~

    “Oooo,” Marisol crooned, sliding out of bed and to her feet. She was built like a pixie, just a little over five feet tall with a spiral perm that made her chocolate brown hair bounce whenever she moved. “A social rescue. He just might be the one.”

    One can only hope, Tessa thought, reaching into the hutch for her boots. But she said; “Based on six weeks of drowning in coffee and the worst possible introduction in the history of dating?” She shook her head. “We need more Intel.”

    “And dimples,” Marisol said with a cheeky grin. She stretched her arms over her head, her every move fluid and graceful and for half a second Tessa was glad Brendon would be meeting her out front. The last thing she needed was to be standing side by side with Little Miss Size Two when he picked her up.

    “And dimples,” Tessa said, agreeing with her friend. “But we still need more Intel.”

    “That’s what a first date is for,” Marisol said, dropping her hands to her sides and sashaying her way to the opposite hutch.

    Tessa had never moved like that in her life, which was a shame because she had a feeling her love life would have seen more action if she could. She felt another spurt of jealousy well up inside her, but it was short lived. Mary had the big amber eyes and porcelain skin every woman would die for, but she was also the sweetest damn woman ever.

    Definitely a good thing Mary was staying up here.

    “So how’s Psychology Guy?” Tessa asked, desperate for a change of subject.

    Marisol’s rosebud mouth quirked up into a shy smile. “Good,” she said. “He’s really into this paranormal investigating stuff. He wants to prove it’s all a trick in our heads or something so …”

    Tessa finished lacing her boots, realizing as she did so that they looked quite a bit like combat boots and frowned. Not exactly sexy, but her only other alternative was her sneakers and those were getting a hole in the toe.

    Unsexy or poor and unsexy; the decisions she had to make.

    But then she realized Marisol was watching her, neatly arched eyebrows raised in expectation like she’d asked a question.

    “Soooo?” Tessa asked, already not liking where this was going.

    “So we’re planning a paranormal investigation party out at the old Ashwood place and I really, really, really need you to come,” Marisol said quickly, clasping her hands in front of herself and giving Tessa a wide-eyed, entreating look. “Please.”

    “A … what?” Tessa blinked, wondering what alternate universe she’d stepped into where she was being begged to attend a party. That hadn’t even happened in the Army and there’d been plenty of opportunity there.

    “A paranormal investigation party,” Marisol said, abandoning whatever she’d been doing with her hutch to bounce over to Tessa, all animation and excitement. “It’s a party where we go through the Institute after dark and try to find some kind of proof that it’s haunted, or that it’s just playing tricks with our minds. We’ll record everything so Lundy and I can go over it all the next day.”

    Tessa stared at her, speechless.

    “You know, like Ghost Hunters,” Marisol said, beaming.

    “And … uh … why do you need me?”

    “Have you seen the Ashwood Institute? It’s huge! We need all the help we can get.”

    Tessa’s phone blared, buzzing in her coat pocket, which was hanging by the door. She got up to retrieve it thinking; Yes, I’ve seen the Ashwood. It’s big and it’s falling apart and no one should go in there, especially after dark. It probably had football sized rats and bird-eating spiders lurking around. Hell no, she wasn’t going in there.

  • NaNoWriMo 2016 Week #2

    Before I get into my post about this awesome week of November where I got lots of writing done …

    Politically and nationally it has been a not-so-awesome week.

    Those who have followed me from the beginning know that I rarely, if ever, discuss political issues on this blog. However, I do discuss humanitarian issues. And, sadly, this year’s election has worked itself into riots and demonizing the other party (whichever side of the fence you happen to hitch your tent on) and it has become a humanitarian issue.

    And so, very briefly, let me say this …

    Stop it.

    Please.

    Things are a mess right now. If you’re not willing to start cleaning it up, at least stop adding to it.

    If being in the Army taught me anything, it’s that you don’t have to believe the same thing to get work done. And you don’t have to agree with everything being said around you to deserve and receive respect and dignity.

    So please … Stop. If you voice your opinion, do it as respectfully as you want to be treated by the counter point. Lay out your concerns – if you have them – without assuming you know the response to it. Or be sensitive to the concerns of your fellow Americans – if you’re in that camp.

    Treat each other with dignity and America really will be great.

    Now … National Novel Writing Month 2016!

    I ended last night at 19047 words! I am right on track to win this thing and I’m hoping to boost those numbers up this weekend. The story itself is a lot of fun. I’m just now getting into the spooky parts – remember, it’s a ghost story sort of thing – and I’ve discovered some really awesome stuff in there that I’m going to be exploring more deeply.

    Which … I should get back to now. So here’s the snippet for this week. To those of you participating in NaNoWriMo … Good luck! Keep going! You’re awesome.

    —

    They stepped out of the classroom and Brendon waited while Phil locked the door, intending to walk with him to the parking lot. But she was there, her bag packed away, clasping her hands in front of herself with almost as much nervous energy as his uncle.

    If someone didn’t lighten up soon they were all going to suffocate, he thought as she walked toward him.

    She had that look on her face again, the same one she’d had last night, like she was on a mission and determined to see it through. It made her look a little severe, all things considered, but at least this time she had her hair down. She had long, brownish-blonde hair that hung just passed her shoulders, with enough of a wave to it that it had some body. He had a feeling she didn’t spend much time on it.

    Not that it looked bad, of course, just that it wasn’t the focal point of her day. Which could actually be said about her attire too – blue jeans and a beige shirt and a pair of worn out Nikes. His sister would have a field day with this woman, he thought. Sara Morant would take one look at those shoes and whisk the girl off for a shopping spree.

    Of course, Sara would love the girl based solely on the fact that she read, a lot, and then ruin the poor thing by trying to make her into some Cinderella heroine by playing fairy godmother. And then, of course, Brendon would become the very poor, very dysfunctional prince in this fairy tale. Which wouldn’t be so bad, especially if the girl continued to smile at him like that – she had a really great mouth – but at some point everything would go wrong.

    And it would somehow be his fault. Again.

    Best to just tell her to move along, he thought.

  • How Important Are Titles? Round Robin Post

    This week it’s all about titles in the Round Robin conversation! The question posed is this: “How important is a title? What attracts you to a certain title, and how do you determine what to title your book? ”

    Now, if I was a marking guru, which I’m not, I would say the title was absolutely important. That and the cover are what buyers are going to see first, right? It needs to attract them enough to get them to pick up the novel and read the back blurb or the first few pages.

    When I’m walking through the bookstore and glancing over the titles, I honestly don’t have anything in mind when I’m looking. I’ll read anything and everything under the sun, so it’s a little hard to categorize what I’m hunting for in a book or a title. It really depends on my mood or the season or whatever I happen to be writing at that time.

    It’s a lot easier to write Fantasy novels when your brain is already set to “Fantasy” by what you’re consuming. Now, I do have to be careful there because I don’t want MY fantasy novel to start showing traits of the novel I’m reading and all that. So I pick a different sub-genre in the fantasy realm to try and keep things separate.

    How do I determine the title of my books?

    That’s … a painful process, actually.

    Persona was known as “The WWII novel” for many years. I actually had to brainstorm with another author on Google+ to get to that one.

    Tapped was easier because I just stole the name of the super soldiers (Yes, I used super soldiers) in that book. I have been tempted to change the name to “Grey Men” from time to time but … that’s marketing strategy and I’m still sort of blundering my way through it.

    For those unaware … I’m awful at marketing.

    Sedition was called The Ebony Blade at first. And then just Kiavana, the name of the region where much of the book takes place. But after several drafts and a lot of moaning and groaning, I looked at what the book itself was about and came up with the vein of sedition that really pulses through the whole novel.

    Generally speaking, I don’t come up with a final title until after the third or fourth draft. By then I have a better handle of what the book is showing about humanity or what adventures I’m promising the reader if they purchase it. But it is really a pain in the rear-end.

    Ahem. I’m having the censor myself because my eight-year-old giggles if I use other words at the end of that sentence.

    ANYWAY … I find titles and blurbs and the synopsis a pain. I suppose if I didn’t and I actually enjoyed that work, I’d be much better at it and my novels would see more success. Maybe I’ll make that part of my New Years Resolutions for 2017 – “Learn to love titles and blurbs!”

    Check out what some of my fellow authors think about titles in general and their own processes for finding the perfect title for their own work.

    Marci Baun  http://www.marcibaun.com/blog/
    A.J. Maguire  https://ajmaguire.wordpress.com/ (YOU ARE HERE)
    Victoria Chatham http://victoriachatham.blogspot.ca
    Skye Taylor http://www.skye-writer.com/blogging_by_the_sea
    Judith Copek http://lynx-sis.blogspot.com/
    Helena Fairfax http://www.helenafairfax.com
    Heather Haven http://heatherhavenstories.com/blog/
    Dr. Bob Rich  http://wp.me/p3Xihq-MI
    Connie Vines http://connievines.blogspot.com/
    Margaret Fieland http://margaretfieland.wordpress.com
    Rachael Kosinski http://rachaelkosinski.weebly.com/
    Rhobin Courtright http://www.rhobinleecourtright.com

     

  • Outlines, Deadlines, and NaNoWriMo

    It’s that time of year again! That moment when I start really pushing the writing stuff and getting words on paper and all that. National Novel Writing Month begins in just a few short weeks and I’ve been happily fixing up my outline for a horror/supernatural novel.

    If you’ve never heard of National Novel Writing Month then I encourage you to check them out. The contest is basically against yourself and the clock, trying to get 50,000 words written during the month of November. I’ve participated for several years now and have loved it every year … even if I often fail.

    Witch-Born was written during NaNoWriMo in 2008, actually. (It’s on the side bar!)

    But wait! I’m still working on Dead Weight, the sequel to Tapped. Will I be done in time for November 1st?

    Why yes, yes I will. Because I am sitting at 10 chapters left in that rough (so very rough) draft. And because it is a rough draft I can totally put things like “Good Lord, Aimee, edit the crap out of this section” in the margins and move on.

    So worry not! I will undoubtedly meet my deadline.

    And while I’m at it, I’ve been working on the outline for the NaNo project, which has been titled Ashwood.

    Pardon me as I do an excited squeal about this particular project. Ashwood is a horror/supernatural/romance thing and I’ve already done the second pass on the outline for it. I’ve been collaborating with another writer, Brendon Mann, who has helped shape the outline of this book and will be aiding me with all the male POV scenes.

    Speaking of Brendon, he acted as a bit of a last-minute Beta Reader and Copy Editor for Persona, which I had scheduled to be released in December of this year. However, after he finished the novel he insisted I try another pass at the traditional market, so I’ve sent out several more queries with different publishers and agents.

    We’ll see if any of them request a full manuscript. If they do, the projected publication date of Persona will obviously be put on hold until said publisher has made their decision. (Thank you, Brendon, for forcing me to try again. I seriously hate writing a synopsis and things, but at least I can say I gave it another go.)

    In the meantime … I’ve got a list of things to help me survive National Novel Writing Month …

    1. COFFEE. Lots and lots and lots of coffee.
    2. Creamer to go in the coffee because, let’s face it, black coffee is gross.
    3. A new coffee mug, only to be opened and used after I make the mid-way point of the novel. (Reward systems are important.)
    4. Ranch flavored Corn Nuts – because I’ll make sure to feed my kid, but I’m likely to forget to eat myself.
    5. Notebooks, note cards, pens and pens and pens – so that I can write the last line I’ve typed down and then carry it with me to work and things. That way I can get more stuff down on my lunch break and whatnot.
    6. … I have to buy all the Thanksgiving stuff now, because I will be a bit of a zombie through the month of November and am likely to forget important things like pie. (Seriously. If I forget the pie this year, my son might flog me.)

    I’m sure I’ll think of some more things between now and November 1st, but for the moment this list will do. If you’re going to try NaNoWriMo this year, I’d love to hear what tricks you do to keep yourself productive, awake, and somehow function as an adult at the same time.

  • Writing Rituals – Round Robin

    The alarm goes off at 5AM every morning.

    I have it strategically placed several feet away from the couch, where I have collapsed to

    img_0025
    Nuisance – Don’t let him fool you. 

    sleep some six to seven hours before. Dodging Nuisance (the kitten), I stumble my way across the room to turn the alarm off and stand there for several minutes in the dark, teetering on my feet because at this point I’m still trying to remember why exactly my alarm has gone off at such an hour.

    Eventually I remember that it is a weekday and it is time to write.

    Making what can only be described as a zombie-like shamble through my dark apartment, I locate the coffee machine and set it to brewing and stand for several more minutes, staring at the coffee level as it rises.

    At this point I may actually be sleeping while standing up. It’s really kind of a mystery.

    Camp NaNoWriMo mug in hand – full of coffee, thank heavens – I make a somewhat less zombie-like shamble to the computer and power it on. The trick, I have found, is to drink at least half a mug of coffee before I open the manuscript and begin to review what was written the day before. This means that I have approximately fifteen minutes to check email, Facebook, Google+, and possibly Twitter (really, I know everyone loves Twitter but all the hashtags make little sense to me, especially at 5AM).

    Once the coffee hits the midway point of the mug I am sufficiently awake enough to really comprehend yesterday’s work. Now then, depending on the time of year, I am either in the middle of editing or I’m in the middle of creating.

    296311_500604823329356_837081728_nThe first five to six months of the year are dedicated to editing. January through the end of May I can get through two major hauls on two different novels. This work consists of multiple colored pens and a printed manuscript and, if I’m doing it right, I can get five chapters done in a week.

    My pens are color coded for each book. Different colors for different character arcs and development, a color for typos (normally red), a color for plot issues (often purple), and a color for graphic detail (green – which tends to be the heaviest color on the page.)

    Monday through Friday I work on a chapter a day. Saturday I transfer all handwritten changes onto the computer. Sunday … I nap. Or play Star Wars.

    June through December are my “creation” months. This is when I write new novels. I can do approximately two chapters a week while in “create-mode”. Sometimes more.

    At present, I am in “create-mode” so after my first cup of coffee has been consumed I have gone over the previous day’s writing (and hated it, I always hate it at first) I begin working.

    I pause for more coffee.

    And then I pause again to hold my crystal ball.

    Because yes, I have a crystal ball. It feels good in my hands, large and cool to the touch, and it helps me concentrate.

    By 8AM I have gone through my second cup of coffee and must save all content to multiple places because I am obsessive-compulsive about making sure all copies in all virtual hidey-holes have been updated.

    At random intervals I will have had to pause to pet Nuisance and Pest (the grumpy older

    IMG_0222
    Pest

    cat) and informed them both that they are detrimental to the creation process, but neither of them seem to care.

    Nevertheless, it is now 8AM and I must wake the child up and prepare him for school. At 8:25AM we are in the car and heading out for the day (because we are freaking awesome at that). For the rest of the day my writing rituals include keeping the outline of the novel on hand for note-taking and 3×5 cards for any scenes that must be written down before they are forgotten.

    Check out what some of my fellow authors do for their writing rituals in this month’s Round Robin Discussion!

    Skye Taylor http://www.skye-writer.com/blogging_by_the_sea
    A.J. Maguire  https://ajmaguire.wordpress.com/ (YOU ARE HERE)
    Beverley Bateman http://beverleybateman.blogspot.ca/
    Dr. Bob Rich https://bobrich18.wordpress.com/2016/09/24/is-my-writing-right-for-you
    Rachael Kosinski http://rachaelkosinski.weebly.com/
    Anne Stenhouse  http://annestenhousenovelist.wordpress.com/
    Connie Vines http://connievines.blogspot.com/
    Helena Fairfax http://www.helenafairfax.com
    Victoria Chatham http://victoriachatham.blogspot.ca
    Margaret Fieland http://margaretfieland.wordpress.com
    Rhobin Courtright http://www.rhobinleecourtright.com

     

  • The Countdown

    I am now exactly three months away from Persona’s publication date.

    What does this mean for me?

    AJMaguire-PersonaCoverArt-ChrisHoward_rev28_ART_ONLYWell, it means a lot of work, actually. I have a list of things that need to be done like … hunt for virtual space (AKA – look for people online who wouldn’t mind me commandeering their blog/site for a day) and prepping advertising spots and getting reminder letters ready for all the wonderful people who agreed to advance review the book and … so much more.

    SO. Much. More.

    Side Note: Thank you so much to all of my advanced readers. I’ve heard from most of you already and I really, really appreciate the time it takes to sit down and read a book these days. You’re all awesomesauce on toast and I uber love you.

    What happened to the Kindle Scout Campaign?

    As predicted, this was not the right fit for me. Kindle Scout is made for people who really don’t mind shouting over and over and over again that their book is up and needs votes. I am not that sort of person.

    Granted, if I were that sort of person it is entirely possible that I would sell a lot more books. The tactic seems to work very well for a lot of people. For my part, I cannot justify being that much of a pest. And if I spend all my time promoting, I get no writing done. (I am a single parent. My time is limited.)

    Having re-read the manuscript hunting for any last-minute errors and the like, I have to say that Persona is a favorite of mine. While I may have bemoaned all the research I had to do writing a historical fiction, it is still one of my favorite stories. Megan is a gentle hero, which I believe to be one of the more common and less noticed heroes in the world today.

    In any case … the countdown has begun! Three months and two days and this novel will finally be out for sale. It’s been a long but very satisfying road to see it get to this point and I’m excited for the next step.

     

     

  • Round Robin Discussion – Scarring your characters

    This month for the Round Robin topic we are talking about emotionally scarred characters. The questioned posed is; “What mental, physical or spiritual wounds or scars have you used in your stories?”

    The truth is … we all have scars. Whether they’re big or small or whatever, we have them. They define us as people. And the same should be said of any fictional character.

    Now as a writer I don’t sit down with a particular “scar” in mind for the characters I’m dealing with. It’s really a discovery process for me. But once I’ve discovered that particular “wound” in my character’s personality I make sure to highlight it during the editing process and really draw it out.

    Because being a writer is really being a student of humanity. We’re here to show what it is to be human and touch on subjects, both painful and joyful, that are often too complex to be fully expressed.

    But which scars have I actually used?

    Well, Trenna Dyngannon (Sedition series) had a serious issue with her mother that was really brought out in the second book of the series; Saboteur. Basically there was neglect and self-worth issues that Trenna had to battle through, which I found very interesting given how very strong Trenna is as a character.

    One wouldn’t expect someone like Trenna Dyngannon to feel a sense of inadequacy, but due to close contact with her mother she finds herself struggling to remember that she isn’t actually defined by what her mother does or says.

    In the Tapped series, both Seach and Jorry are deeply scarred by the fact that they had to abandon their former Captain. Relo’s absence is a deep burden for both of them given that they know exactly what has been done to him at the clutches of the government.

    On top of that, Jorry and Seach are haunted by things that happened during the war. Moments that they wish they could forget, and truly traumatic orders that they found themselves bound to follow. This particular scar carries through the whole series (I’m in the middle of writing the second book now) and, inevitably, will come to a crisis point where they have to make a decision to either fight again, or try to find some other way to change the galaxy as they know it.

    But perhaps the most noticeably scarred character of mine is Reesa Zimms from the book Deviation. Reesa is a science fiction novelist who has used her writing as a means of therapy for herself (no, this is not even remotely autobiographical, I promise) and in the book … well … let’s go ahead and give a snippet. I haven’t done one of those in ages.

    —

    “I’m dying, Matt,” she whispered.

    She felt him move to her side, felt his knuckle graze her cheek, and heard him sigh.  “David is very good at what he does.  You should have a little faith,” he said.

    Opening her eyes again she met his gaze. “And why should I be spared from a fate I forced onto the whole female race?”

    He frowned, gently pushed a lock of hair behind her ear, and made a thoughtful hum.  She waited for his answer, praying it would be right.  She needed him to have an answer, to have some form of redemption for her.  Perhaps justice was served in her death, but even death-row inmates were given a chance at clemency, weren’t they?

    A final prayer, a last wish, she thought.

    “I think we’ve come to the matter of your own motivations, Reesa,” he said. “Tell me why you really wrote the books.”

    Her heart might have stopped at the sudden wash of pain.  She certainly wished it would.  Fixing her gaze on the juncture between wall and ceiling above them, she was transported through her memory, to the small clinic exam room when she was eighteen years old.  Her mother’s voice rang loud in her ears, calling her irresponsible and thoughtless, convincing her that a child would ruin eight years of modeling competitions and progress.  And in her hand, Reesa could still feel the coarse, politely brown paper bag of contraceptives she’d been given after it was all over.

    Matt made a soft, soothing sound and wiped the tears from her face.  Reesa closed her eyes, unwilling to look at him as she made her confession.

    “I wrote a book where everyone was as ugly as I felt.”

    —

    Take a look at what others are saying about scarring their characters!

    Skye Taylor http://www.skye-writer.com/blogging_by_the_sea
    Victoria Chatham http://victoriachatham.blogspot.ca
    https://bobrich18.wordpress.com/2016/08/27/the-wounded-healer
    Rachael Kosinski http://rachaelkosinski.weebly.com/
    Anne Stenhouse  http://annestenhousenovelist.wordpress.com/
    Helena Fairfax http://www.helenafairfax.com
    A.J. Maguire  https://ajmaguire.wordpress.com/ (YOU ARE HERE)
    Fiona McGier http://www.fionamcgier.com/
    Rhobin Courtright http://www.rhobinleecourtright.com

     

  • Crappy First Drafts

    The last several weeks I have been focused on Dead Weight, the sequel to Tapped, and I’ve been taking my NaNoWriMo approach with it.

    What is my NaNoWriMo approach?

    Well, for those of you who might not be aware, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month, which is held by the Office of Letters and Light, and it is basically a free-for-all competition where you try to write 50,000 words in 30 days. They have little competitions run throughout the year, but the main one starts November 1st.

    That’s a lot of words in 30 days and in order to achieve this lofty goal, one must set aside certain things …

    Like their internal editor.

    So when I say I’m taking my NaNoWriMo approach with Dead Weight right now, I mean that I have gagged my internal editor and shoved her in a dark closet somewhere. She’s still screaming at me, especially about Chapter 14 because I think I broke the rules of gravity in there somewhere, but I’m not listening.

    Not yet.

    The focus is to get a draft down that I can edit. The focus is that the story line makes sense, the plot is engrossing, and the basic elements of the characters are fleshed out. I can add more color and life to the page later.

    The goal is to have a completed crappy draft by the end of October so that … I can participate in NaNoWriMo for real this year. I think I say that just about every year and I end up having to use November as a motivational month to get my current projects done, but this year …

    This year I’m going to win NaNoWriMo.

    With a paranormal romance novel, no less.

    That’s right. I will be writing a full-on romance novel. I know several of my books are in the “fantasy romance” category, but when push comes to shove those are more Fantasy than they are Romance.

    It’s going to be fun.

    It’s going to be a challenge.

    And I am going to win … leaving me with two crappy first drafts that will desperately need editing in 2017.