New Year Resolutions for 2021

Love 'em or hate 'em there's something to be said for setting goals for a new year. We've all done it. Vowed to lose weight, change jobs, learn new things, be better people, eat healthier, exercise more...blah, blah, blah. What generally ends up happening is that we lose interest in those new ideas by Valentine's Day in favor of chocolate or give up on going to the gym because of the bad weather in January and February. Kudos to those who can follow through where most of us look out the window and decide to forget it. We'll start again after Easter.

Back when I was a karate student years ago, we set three goals for the year. 

• a karate goal
• a personal goal
• a fitness goal

We would write them down on a slip of paper the sensei would keep in his office and get them back the next year when we sat down to write our new goals. Sometimes we accomplished them. Sometimes we achieved them but not in ways we expected.

One of the things I've discovered is that my goals are constantly evolving. I may start off the year with the goal to write or publish a certain book, then end up writing or publishing something totally different. If we keep those goals totally rigid, we lose the ability to go with the flow when something better comes along. We may still accomplish them, but on a different timeline.

What are my goals for 2021? 

• finishing edits on All That Shines which will be published in April
• finishing Dead Without Remorse, a novella that will be published in August
• a third book that will come out in November... I just haven't decided which it will be!
• editing my Nanowrimo novel and possibly self-publishing or finding a publisher
• editing Written in Stone and submitting it as well
• outlining and preparing a new book to write for Nano 2021
• adding to this list as new things come up!

My wish for you all in 2021 is that you remain healthy, passionate, and have fun!

I also hope you continue to join us for Escape with a Writer. There are some great things coming this year. I can't wait to introduce you to even more great writers!

Happy 2021!

Diane 

CHECK OUT MY BOOKS AT:   http://bookswelove.net/bator-diane/

 

Round Robin Blog Fest May 2020

We have a new logo!! Thanks to Connie Vines for her hard work.

Wow, it's been a long couple of months BUT at least I had more time to be part of this blog tour than if I'd been busy at my work office full time instead of working from home! One great thing about all the changes and upheavals we've all faced, it that the arts and entertainment sector is getting a real boost as far as keeping us all occupied. I've even been able to publish a new book in the midst of things. Release date is June 1st for Drop Dead Cowboy!

Today's question to the authors is:  All books go through multiple edits. What have you learned are your problems, and what irks you about editing?

I've learned I am passive, repetitive, and wordy. LOL!

Okay, that was the short answer. In truth, like all writers I've come a long way from using mistakes like having hands reaching for objects instead of the character reaching for things. My characters don't roll their eyes in every third paragraph anymore. I've also cut back on my usage of "that" and about a zillion "-ly" words. Yup, those were bad habits. So was my severe overuse of exclamation marks!!!

That's not to say I never use any of those things. When I'm writing in the heat of the moment, all bets are off. Then I put the book aside for a while and when I dig into edits....



Lots of red ink!!

Sometimes those chicken scratches help to clean up the manuscript and tighten up the story.

Sometimes I write copious new sentences only to cross them all out later.

Always editing!





One of the things that helped to shape my writing style, is reading Robert B. Parker. He uses concise language, as well as leaving most of the finicky details to the reader's imagination while weaving a great story.

Repetition is another nemesis. I tend to repeat phrases or words several times on the same page. Sometimes even in the same paragraph. While writing the draft, I tend to write first and think about the grammar later, trying not to edit as I go. Word program usually catches spelling typos, but not always, especially if they're real words or the right word but wrong spelling.

Making sure names and titles are consistent through the entire manuscript is another thing that can cause issues. I've been editing my novel and discovered at one point Jack was called Jake. Hm, forgot to change that a couple times. That's when the Replace features come in handy. I did kick myself though considering this was a second edit. Oh well!

One of the best memories of when I first started writing was of my editor at the time who used to nag me about my use of exclamation marks. Where a single exclamation mark used sparingly in a novel has much more impact and looks far more professional, my first novel was riddled with them. To the point my editor would send me emails that looked like this:

Please!! Stop using so many exclamation marks!!!!! I am sending this back!! Fix it!! I don't want to see another exclamation mark in this or any other copy!!!

I got the hint. I can't even write an email without hearing her voice in the back of my head.

I can't wait to see what editing issues our other authors have dealt with!

And now off to see what my fellow bloggers have to say about humor in their writing...

Connie Vines http://mizging.blogspot.com/
Skye Taylor http://www.skye-writer.com/blogging_by_the_sea
Victoria Chatham http://www.victoriachatham.com
Beverley Bateman http://beverleybateman.blogspot.ca/
Helena Fairfax http://www.helenafairfax.com/blog
Anne Stenhouse  http://annestenhousenovelist.wordpress.com/
Anne Stenhouse  http://annestenhousenovelist.wordpress.com/
Margaret Fieland http://margaretfieland.wordpress.com
Dr. Bob Rich https://wp.me/p3Xihq-1UN
Rhobin L Courtright http://www.rhobincourtright.com

Round Robin Blog Fest October 19 2019

Welcome to another issue of the Round Robin Blog Fest!

This month's question is:

October 19, 2019: What unique situations have occurred in the writing process of any of your novels? Perhaps, but not limited to, things like where what you planned changed, or the direction you thought the story was on deviated or transmuted?

Years ago, I was given some advice from a fellow writer to set my books in the U.S. so I could sell to a larger market. The funny part is, my books have all been based on Canadian towns yet set across the border.

With my latest work in progress, I’d written a story I loved, packaged it up and sent it to my U.S. agent – who also loved it! What I didn’t like as much was the title and struggled through a couple different options while I outlined and wrote a synopsis for her to submit.

From there she shopped it around to U.S. publishers. One liked the story, but not the writing (Yes, it was rushed to get out there!) Another liked the concept, but… Another liked… And so it went until finally my agent told me to put it on a shelf and forget about it.

I couldn’t.

So, I finished writing the novel, changed the locations from my main character living in Boston and travelling to Washington State to her living in Toronto and flying to the wilds of British Columbia. Then I decided to send it to my wonderful Canadian publisher. Then two things happened:
1)      I saw a Toronto based publisher was accepting unagented novels and, since I’ve joined Crime Writers of Canada a group the publisher is affiliated with, I took a chance and prepared it to submit to them.
2)      I went on vacation this summer to a rustic spot along Georgian Bay on Lake Huron that was everything I’d imagined the location in Vancouver to be. If you’ve never been to one of the Great Lakes, it’s a lot like being at the ocean. Vast!

I finished writing and polishing my first three chapters and submitted them at the beginning of September. Whether or not this new publisher accepts the novel, I have a home for it with my other, smaller publisher and have some great ideas for marketing.

As far as the title, one had rolled around in my head for a long time and after a couple tweaks to the manuscript, the title Written In Stone, suits to a T.  I even have ideas for two more novels set in the same location.

My fingers are crossed this project will get some positive feedback and I’ll be able to do some author events in the same area where the book was written and edited!
 

While I'm off to do some editing, feel free to check out what my fellow authors have to say!

A.J. Maguire  
Connie Vines 
Skye Taylor 
Judith Copek 
Margaret Fieland 
Helena Fairfax 
Dr. Bob Rich  
Rhobin L Courtright