Terescia’s thoughts and such on writing romantic fiction for publication.

I’ve found a new tool to shave a bit of time off my internet rituals. I’ve discovered Flock, a web browser based on the Mozilla Firefox browser I currently use — but am now weaning myself from. Flock has a feature that lets me set up multiple blogs and post to them easily. In fact, I love the blog editor built into Flock. I don’t have to log it to a bunch of different interfaces to post. I was using w.bloggar, and it was great, but frankly most of the time I would forget to use it. I don’t do that with Flock because the blog editor is built into the browser. Because of that, it’s just harder to forget about it. Read the rest of this entry »

So, I attended the Lori Foster Reader Writer Get Together this past weekend in Ohio. I surprised myself by actually talking to people and enjoying it. Yeah, I like writing because it’s a solitary pursuit. However, the time comes occasionally when I really need to get out and talk to other writers face to face. Body language is important to a writer. How else will I portray my characters’ emotions in those instances when I’m in another character’s head? So, I have to mingle every once in a while to remind myself of the nuances of body language.

I did all that and more. I met many great authors, got to chat about and discover new books I would love to read, and spend time with friends I haven’t had a chance to see in a while. All in all, it was a wonderful trip. Best of all, I found the entire get together/conference to be highly motivating.

I must say, reading makes me want to write so bad I can taste the words in my mouth. I get this sensation in my stomach that feels like nerves but has more in common with a heart attack than an upset stomach. My chest feels tight and my breathing turns shallow. It’s a very physical sensation and I love it and I hate it. The spring winds up and I’m torn between the desire to keep reading or to just set my book aside and go at it on my own computer with my own work. I know some authors say that they avoid reading other people’s work when they’re writing but if I did that, I might lose some of my best motivation for creating my own worlds. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve been on a self-imposed hiatus from writing for the last several months. I did this for several reasons I’m not going to go into right now. The thing is, I’m losing the battle. I’ve been wanting to write so badly the last few weeks that I feel like a loaded spring (forgive me for the cliche). I’ve been wound up and I’m trying to remember all those wonderfully compelling reasons WHY I’m not supposed to be writing. Other work? It’s not that important. It’s only important when the deadline hits and it isn’t done. Then I start to freak out a little.

Anyway, the point of this post?

Write when you feel like writing (despite the fact that I’m not doing it). Everything is easier then. When you’re struggling to get anything out onto paper, you’ll hate yourself for resisting the urge when you had it!

I give myself another few hours and then I think I’m going to give in. I don’t want to be the person holding myself back. And I certainly don’t want to regret not writing when I had the desire to do so. ;-)

To keep from littering the blog with reviews while I’m in a heavy reading phase, I’m just going to offer a link to the review I wrote this morning for The Prince’s Virgin Bride. Now that ebooks are around, it’s amazing how easy it is to get hold of out-of-print series books, like this Harlequin Presents. It turned out to be a great read. If you enjoy series romance, I suggest you read it and see what you think about it. My review is here.

Review of My Favorite Marquess, reviewed by Terescia Harvey, also posted at WeWriteRomance.com (because I share the love!) Read the rest of this entry »

I just finished reading The Footprints of God by Greg Iles. Although not a romance by category, the book contained romantic elements so I’m going to talk about it here.

Dr. David Tennant is a member of the secret government agency working on Project Trinity. He doesn’t exactly believe in God, but after a Super MRI he’s developed narcolepsy and he has vivid dreams that he’s begun to believe are rememberances–of Jesus. A tragic event in his past connected him with psychiatrist Rachel Weiss. Now they’re on the run together as they try to figure out the connection between David’s dreams and the future of mankind.

Writers –> If you’re looking for advice on how to create opening hooks, read the opening of this book. It was strong enough to push me into an impulse buy in my local Walmart. Read the rest of this entry »

If you’ve ever found yourself trying to increase your writing productivity, read this:

If you don’t have passion and purpose, greater productivity won’t help you

If you want to write, but aren’t sure what’s holding you back, maybe you’re on the wrong track.

This post spoke to me today (and it’s not audio, so it’s a big deal to me). Having passion for your work is essential to a fiction writer, simply because it’s so easy to not write. What’s holding you back? Lack of true passion for what you’re doing? If you think you’re having trouble sticking to your goals now, just wait until you’re answering to someone for your work.

Your passion must push you to work even when you don’t want to.

If you’re having trouble writing, are you writing the right thing? Does your current work in progress have a hold on you? Is it keeping you up at night as you work out plot details, and are you growing right along with your characters? Are you thinking about your book even when you don’t want to think about it? Are you consumed by the desire to finish what you’ve started?

The truth is, work is work, but how much sweeter it is when you’re filled with a passionate desire to do that work.

I came across a great set of articles on writing today as I searched for some inspiration. I’ve read them all before, but rereading them has been inspiring. I’m still not sure why, but reading how-to’s still get me going. I never want to write more than when I’m reading someone else’s ideas of the perfect writing method. It’s all baloney of course, but nevertheless, I love it. (Not the articles, but the idea that there are any two writers who ever do the same thing to produce their written work.) Read the rest of this entry »

It just came to my attention earlier today that Madeleine L’Engle passed away late last week. Maybe this is old news to some, but I couldn’t help myself in writing this.

Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time is one of the books that started my interest in reading and writing. I remember sitting in the floor at my grandmother’s house, listening to a cassette tape of The Police while I read A Wrinkle in Time. I don’t know why but the music seemed to suit the mood of the story for me. It seems like a crazy combination, but I was a kid.

Reading of Ms. L’Engle’s passing has left me feeling strangely reflective.

Links of interest:

Madeleine L’Engle’s website - http://www.madeleinelengle.com

A Wrinkle in Time website - http://www.awrinkleintime.net

Madeleine L’Engle at Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madeleine_L’Engle