I attended my RWA chapter writer meeting yesterday and listened to a great workshop by author Alexis Morgan.

I am very inspired by Alexis because even though she has many books out and writes 3 series a year, she still takes the time to learn. She reads books on writing, attends workshops and if she can’t, she gets the CDs from the conferences.

What a great role model she is.

When I look at my huge list of goals for 2009, I see that I had a section for honing my craft and did very little of what I had planned. I wanted to study debut books, study my favorite authors, do some writing prompts from a writing group I belong to and also try the exercises at the end of John Gardner’s book The Art of Fiction.

Now that I sold and know a bit more about what I want to write and now that I’m focusing on writing my series, I’m looking at how I can learn, because I really feel I know very little.

I notice that I am both a craft book and online classes junky so I decided to keep doing that. I also decided to follow James Scott Bell’s suggestion and copying some scenes from my favorite writers in a notebook, just to study them. I like Robert B. Parker’s dialog, Sherilyn Kenyon’s love scenes and Philip Pullman’s decriptions for example . I know I’m terrible at first chapter so I decided to go through my huge pile of thelatest paranormal romances to see how they do it, see what the elements are and if there are similarities between each books.

I just cannot read paranormal right now when I’m writing but maybe just reading the first chapters will be okay.

And who know, I may actually be brave enough to attempt a Gardner exercise.

I think this week shall be a good one to set a schedule for writing and fitting everything in, including working on a college class I’m taking and studying for a science exam.

Have I mentionned yet that I don’t watch T.V.? I couldn’t possibly find the time even if I had one.

Sadly no writing today. I miscalculated my little one waking up time and when I’m not the only one awake in the house there is no point even trying to write.

So only 6000 words this holidays but it’s still much more than last year. It’s a process, trying to build habits for life, not a race that I’ll quit after a month.

Leaving you with a little Steampunk art.

Blessed Be

Revel – Antique Tones by ~cambler on deviantART

I found it hard these days to just wake up and write as I used to do. Had to wait a little today and this time I found that perhaps the only way to focus was to listen to music to get me going.

I always daydream about the book with music, but this time listening to it did wonder while I write and yes I added another 4 pages or so to Ancient Secrets today.

The song I like for it these days is NIN The Great Destroyer, the remixed version. I just love that whole album indeed. In This Twilight works great too.

Regardless, I’ll see if it works again tomorrow.

Still working on the Warrior Writer course. This time we had to ask ourselves why? Why do we want to accomplish these goals.
Here are some of my answers:

Stragetic Goals – Why

Why the solid carreer writer:
To leave a legacy, to leave my two boys a series of books written by their mom, so they have a legacy when I am gone; to have a sense of accomplishment, to have done a solid tangible body of work, acknowledged by the traditional publishing world, when I look back as I get old.

Why the paranormal/steampunk genres:
For the “wow” factor I feel in that genre. I am totally boring in real life but I can be in those awesome worlds when I write. I control it and it is just so so cool to be there. Keep that feeling of awe with me all the time.

Tactical Goals (Books) – Why

Series one (Ancients)
Because I was heart-broken by the fate of tragic lovers from old legends passed down, told and sung in my family. I felt compelled to reunite these lovers in modern day time using paranormal elements. A way to connect with my family and roots especially after my father died, which is what prompted me to start writing.

Series two (Steampunk)
The wow/cool factor. I just want to be in that Steampunk world so badly (I want to live in an Abney Park song! LOL) It just fascinates me and reconnects me with the really cool side of my science background (climate, gadgets, being at sea, exploration, ect) The series is been with me for over a year now.

Blessed be

last of the wilds by =WCS-Wildcat on deviantART

Ancient Secrets is progressing slowly but surely. I’m getting into the second act now.

I made it easy on myself by changing location for each act. I didn’t really plan it but it just kind of splitted itself that way.

The first act, set in Paris, is done and now I’m working in the French countryside. I’m hoping lots of gothic undertones there. It’s been a while since I’ve been in France, 10 years or so, so I’ll need a little work to get the feel of it again.

I spent some of yesterday working on the exercises for Bob Mayer’s workshop: Warrior Writer. Used a big spreadsheet to write down my goals and plans for the next, oh what, 4 years.

If funny how a year ago, I had this big 5 years plan road to publication, and now, I need to redo it all again, honestly wondering, besides writing the next book, where am I heading?

Bob’s workshop is really good that way. It seems all simple but writing it all down was really worthwhile for me.

He kept mentionning the obvious goal of becoming a NYT bestsellers in 5 years. I thought that was my goal, but no strangely it isn’t. My writing goal is to become a solid career writer with two series (2 books a year) within 4 years. I dont want to quit my day job. I want yo do both, hoping a part time High School Math teacher will let me do that.

Realistically I don’t know if I’ll meet my goal. The list would be nice, of course but when I daydream I see that pile of books, with my name on the spine, a pile growing slow and steady.

If it doesn’t happen, well there is the one book coming out and there is always Kinko for the other ones!

Winter Nights by =WCS-Wildcat on deviantART

“Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.” 
— Anaïs Nin

 ”Write what you are afraid of.”  That’s a quote I got from Bob Mayer at his Warrior Writer Workshop at the ECWC conference hosted by the Greater Seattle RWA Chapter.

I have to say that I really related to his workshop this week-end, particularly the part about confronting your fears. What are you afraid of? What fears may come between you and successs?

Sometimes there are no easy way to confront these fears and you kind of just have to face them, get down to it and conquer them. “Attack the ambush” as Bob Mayer, a former Green Beret and West Point graduate, said to us.

I keep wondering what I am afraid of. Will my editor cringe when she receives my revisions? Will I get decent sales from my debut novel, will I get bad reviews?

Will they all laugh at me and tell me to go back to my day job and forget this writing business?

Will people think I’m crazy for writing the things I write?

What is the worse that can happen? I have always used that phrase is my life. Usually the consequences of failure are not so dire. I’ll survive.

And the truth is having the courage to write what comes straight for my heart drowns this fear I have because in the end, I love what I write and yes, I would still write it, readers or not.

And who knows, I may actually succeed in my own little way!