Imagery and Writing Places You've Been

Happy Tuesday, good people of the blogosphere! Today, I'm discussing writing about places you've been. It's something I've discussed before when I talked about keeping a feelings bible and when talking about writing what you know. If you're new to the blog, welcome! Take a moment and check out those links. Then, grab those pens and notebooks and let's get going!

Almost everyone I know has a cell phone. 99% of cell phones have cameras. This is what I implore you to do: Take photos of your surroundings when you visit a place and use them in your feelings bible as soon as you return. Add a picture and say what you remembered feeling as you were in the space. It'll give you a two-fold return. 1. You'll have the feeling down before you can forget what it was. 2. Imagery will help you recall how to describe the location.

Time for examples!
The Best Boyfriend in the World and I went to a B&B in Dahlonega, Georgia, called the Mountain Laurel Creek Inn & Spa. I took some photos of the room in case I want one of my characters to visit there one day. Because I live in Georgia, a lot of my books will be set here. Makes sense, right? Here's what I wrote in my feelings bible and the images that went along with them:

What a lovely decor this room has. Lighting made me feel like I was in a five-star hotel and the room smelled lovely. I couldn't wait to lay in the huge bed and feel the sheets! *They turned out to be softer than a chinchilla, which I have touched in the past* I could live in this room and be happy as a lark. I was filled with a sense of peace as I entered.

One of the best things about the space was the furniture. It all looked like it was reclaimed or antique, but it all worked together seamlessly. There was this interesting table that looked like it was made from tree branches near the door. Colors were bright yet seductive in a wow kind of way. That closet could've held a small city!

An old makeup table reminded me of a sewing table and brought back memories of my mother and her sewing machine. I loved sitting in the big, squishy chairs on the floor. That unit in the corner was a fireplace and we had our own air conditioner which made for a perfect temperature experience.

What can I say about the bathtub other than, "WOW!" We both fit in it very nicely and the jets felt so good on our achy muscles. Settling down in the water, I felt all my stress melt away.

In the shower was something I'd never seen: dispensers for soap and shampoo! My hair and skin felt so soft after I used the on-site products. They obviously spared no expense with the toiletries. Wearing those robes was like wrapping up in butter. Soft and warm, they were top of the line.

Reaction: Wow! Ooooh! Ahhhh! I want that!





Descriptions, photographs, and feelings you had are all integral to the writing process. Don't leave anything out! It's not difficult to snap a few pics for later reference.

Just in case you missed it, I'm posting the rafflecopter entry form from the IBGW blog here. This is a gorgeous book and has some awesome reviews. I haven't read it myself, but I formatted it for print! If you like pretty, enter to win a copy!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Good luck to you all!

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Gerunds

Happy Monday, good people of the blogosphere! Today, we're back to our regularly scheduled program: All things writerly and good books! One of the things I hated in school was diagramming sentences. It made English class boring. I just wanted to read books and write stories, ya know? But, alas, knowing the difference in a preposition, verb, adjective, and noun matters. Do you know what a gerund is? If you paid attention in English, you do. If you didn't, read on!

First, a definition:
ger·und  /ˈjerənd/ Noun - A form that is derived from a verb but that functions as a noun, in English ending in -ing.

Now, some examples:
Asking a question is easy.
Baking is her favorite past-time.
We went swimming in the ocean.
No matter which way we looked, the trees prevented us from seeing the car.

Grammar girl goes into a deeper definition, even giving examples of nouny gerunds, verby gerunds, and, the thing many gerunds are confused with, present participles.

But, for now, just know that gerunds end in -ing.

Pop over to the IBGW blog to hear about the latest book we've worked on and see inside!

I hope this gave you a little refresher course.

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Winners and Mystic ~ Coralie

Happy freaking Friday, good people of the blogosphere! I know I've been out for a week, but I was in Missouri, the setting of The Bird. How exciting is that? I've also been doing some formatting and writing. I'm happy to announce that book four of the Mystic series, Melody, is now written and will be hitting the shelves within a month! Coralie, book five, is a chapter in. Today, I bring you the synopsis and cover of Coralie and the winners of my birthday week giveaways! The kids returned to school yesterday and I'm all fired up to get back to work. Without further ado...

Synopsis:

Coralie Meyers is struggling to find her footing as an actress in New York. A malicious attempt to thwart another girl's career ends in catastrophe and Coralie soon finds herself in a precarious situation.

As the fifth and final member of Women Save the World, a company created by Markaza Turner, Coralie possesses all the cunning the young ladies will need to defeat the evil that's rising under Central Park. If the women fail to save her, evil will rise and destroy the world.

Now that Markaza has gathered four of her chicks: Bronya, Lily, Shelia, and Melody, all that's left to do is bring in Coralie, train her, and go to war. But the ladies are struggling with their powers and their personal demons. Will they find the power within themselves in time to destroy the monster and save the world? Only time will tell; and that's one thing they're short on.

This fifth installment of the Mystic series is a lesson in what lies, hate, and judgment can do to the world when left unchecked.

Now, for the winners of the rafflecopter giveaways! Congratulations to everyone and thanks for participating. I'll be in touch today to find out how to get you your prizes.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


a Rafflecopter giveaway


a Rafflecopter giveaway


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Rough Drafts to Completed MS - 10 Step List

Happy Tuesday, good people of the blogosphere! Today, I'd like to talk about rough drafts and how many steps there are between that and a completed book. I'm elbow-deep in Melody and nearly finished with the last chapter. But that's my rough draft. So, how long will it be until the book is finished? That all depends on how busy my editor is when I'm done with my first two rounds of edits. Here's what goes into polishing up that rough draft:

Step one: Read for content and slash/add.
This is where I re-read all the books in the series and make sure things are matching up the way they should be. Yes, I have copious notes about facts, dates, events, and visions. But I still goof up now and then, as we all do. I just have to make sure those oopsies don't make it into print. I also cut scenes, add scenes, and re-write scenes.

Step two: Check for tension.
I read each chapter and grade it on a tension scale of 1-5. If it's ho-hum or boring, I add and cut until it has the punch I'm looking for.

Step three: Grammar/Spelling/Punctuation checking.
This is where I dissect every sentence and make sure there are no dropped words, errant commas, misspellings, or pronoun confusions. I also check each sentence and paragraph for repeated words; changing them when necessary.

Step four: He said, she said.
While this is okay to use now and then, many of them can be changed to action tags to move the story along, rather than letting it all go stoic and be bland on the page by two people just gabbing at one another.

Step five: Off to the editor.
This is when I send my work over to my editor. She goes through steps 2-4 and tells me if I missed something important or used the wrong word.

Step six: Application of suggestions.
I put her suggestions and changes to good use.

Step seven: Resting period/cover design.
I let the MS sit for a week while I design the cover, then proofread.

Step eight: Off to the proofreader.
My proofreader catches the little things (because that's what she's focused on).

Step nine: Formatting.
This is where I format the book for print and prepare it for digital distribution across all channels. I don't want to have to mess with formatting it ever again.

Step ten: Publication.
I upload and hit the publish button.

A lot goes into any novel before it's put out there for public consumption. If you're skipping one of these steps, I have to ask why. Are your reviewers commenting about it?

How many steps do you take?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Recaps and a Winner

Happy Monday, good people of the blogosphere! Today, I bring you recaps of all the active rafflecopter giveaways going on and announce my Indie winner! I do hope you're all as excited about these prizes as I am. Here we go!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


a Rafflecopter giveaway


a Rafflecopter giveaway


a Rafflecopter giveaway


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congratulations to Alesha!

Good luck to you all! We'll be back with our regularly scheduled program tomorrow and talk about writing, editing, and formatting books for print.

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Merry Un-Birthday! Day Five

Happy Friday, good people of the blogosphere! A very merry un-birthday to you all! Happy birthday to me! That's right, I'm a year older and a year wiser today. I love giving things away for my birthday! Last year, we had a blog party and we gave away some great prizes. This year, I'm wishing you all some happiness and spreading the love yet again. *warm, fuzzy feeling*

Today, I'm starting the giveaway for a Fan Pass. It's a little prize I've come up with that entitles the bearer to one copy of each of my published books to date and any that will be published in the year listed. This one is for 2013. How many books have I published so far? Nine. And there's at least two more coming this year. One of the most anticipated is Melody, book four of the Mystic series. If you don't know what it's about, read on.

Description:
Melody Acworth sounds like an angel. If she's not careful, she'll become one soon. Enrolled in singing lessons at age seven, she took to the stage and began to get fan letters. Some were good, some were detrimental to her psyche.

When Melody sees magazines laden with beautiful girls, she begins to look at herself in the mirror and think she should look more like them. Her mind takes the cruel letters to a dark place and she stops eating altogether. Before long, she's in the clutches of death.

By the time Markaza, a mystic with purple hair and tattoos, shows up, Melody's on her last legs. It's either eat or die. Markaza works furiously to try and repair the mental damage done so she can get Melody to New York; where she must learn to use a power hidden deep within herself to save the world.

They're running out of time. As December 21, 2012 approaches at an alarming rate, Markaza's visions turn dark and foreboding. The creature grows stronger every day. Soon it will rise and destroy mankind unless all six women band together to fight it.

Melody must be saved or the world will be destroyed.

Here's the entry form! Finish all the tasks and you may get a little surprise!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck!

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Merry Un-Birthday! Day Four

Happy Thursday, good people of the blogosphere! You have a chance to win some great books by a couple of amazing authors today.

Why are these two books included in my week-long prize pool? I edited one and proofread the other. It's something I do for those who use INDIE Books Gone Wild for their publishing needs. How awesome is it that we promote your books after they hit the market? How many editing teams do that? Without further ado, I give you the book descriptions!

Chasing Memories (Tala Prophecy - Book One) by Tia Silverthorne Bach
Genre: YA Paranormal

Description from Amazon:
There isn’t another way; not now. The others are coming. I can’t let them have you…

Seventeen-year-old Reagan has a problem: She can’t remember what happened the night her brother was taken. Now, the dreams haunting her from the incident are becoming more intense by the day. All the while, the lines between what’s real and what’s a product of her paranormal-obsessed mind are becoming blurred.

Is she losing her mind or has she just stepped into a world she thought only existed in books?

Caught in a web of worried parents, competing boys, Wiccan relatives, protective amulets, and psychiatrist babble, Reagan must determine the truth before it’s too late.

The Disappearing Girl by Heather Topham Wood
Genre: New Adult Contemporary - Ages 17+ due to language and sexual situations.

Description from Amazon:
Kayla Marlowe is slowly vanishing…

Last year, Kayla’s world imploded. Her beloved father died, leaving her alone with a narcissistic mother who is quick to criticize her daughter’s appearance. During her winter break from college, Kayla’s dangerous obsession with losing weight begins.

Kayla feels like her world changes for the better overnight. Being skinny seems to be the key to the happiness she has desperately been seeking. Her mother and friends shower her with compliments, telling her how fantastic she looks. Kayla is starving, but no one knows it.

Cameron Bennett explodes into Kayla’s life. He’s sexy and kind—he has every quality she has been looking for in a guy. As Cameron grows closer to Kayla and learns of how far she’s willing to go to stay thin, he becomes desperate to save her.

Kayla’s struggles with anorexia and bulimia reach a breaking point and she is forced to confront her body image issues in order to survive. She wonders if Cameron could be the one to help heal her from the pain of her past.

Don't those look like amazing reads? They are! Get on the entry form! One printed copy of each is up for grabs!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

If you missed the contests from earlier in the week, here's a couple of links for you:
Day One
Day Two
Day Three

I'll recap them all tomorrow, when I roll out the last prize.

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo