Tomorrow is the official beginning of my sabbatical. Honestly, I'm not sure that I want to take my sabbatical now, but it couldn't come at a better time. Coco just had her puppies and I won't feel pressured to write while I'm being a dog grandma. I also have a novel coming out in November and I can spend this time getting ready for that so it's done before Nano starts. Sabbatical would be great.

So why am I taking sabbatical when I'm not sure I want to?

It's all about mental health. I've not really had a break of longer than a week in over a year. That's a lot of writing. If my computer hadn't been fried a few months ago, I would have more to show for it, but that's beside the point. I've been pushing myself and my creativity to the breaking point and I need to get away for a little while to get some perspective on my life.

Here's the plan for my sabbatical:
-Get Forbidden ready for publication. Yes, this does constitute working. However, the edits won't take much longer to finish and then it's all about the cover.
-Take care of Coco and my new grandpuppies.
-Read something other than vampire novels. (Breaking Dawn notwithstanding because I'm almost done with it)
-Finish my plot mapping and character mapping for Nano
-Go out with my husband to see some movies, drink coffee at Fireworks, and add to my winter wardrobe.

I think I can get that done in about two weeks. Then it's back to work on the complete rewrite of Legacy. Argh.

I don't like to post a lot on here about my personal life. I have another blog for that (kellisoutsidethebox.blogspot.com in case you're interested), but this part of my personal life effects my writing life as well.

I'm concerned about how my Nanowrimo novel this year is going to be received by my friends and family. One of the cardinal rules of writing to write what you know. I want to make sure that no one is concerned for my welfare because of the novel I'm writing.

My nano novel this year is about infertility and suicide. Since my husband and I have been struggling with infertility for awhile now, you can see where my concern is warranted.

This year, I'm taking on the story of a woman who attempts suicide after struggling to have a baby with her husband for almost twenty years. I'm throwing in her husband (I would be remiss to keep him out of the story right?), her psychiatrist, and her post partum best friend. Since one of my very good friends just welcomed her first son in August, my concern is increased.

For the record, I'm not suicidal or depressed. Well, maybe a little depressed, but nothing to be concerned for. I'm merely writing what I know this year.

When you have a difficulty in your life, there's nothing wrong with focusing a story around it. Most people won't lose a parent in a tragic accident at eleven years of age, struggle through an abusive boyfriend at 14, start doing drugs and drinking by 15, and attempt suicide three times in their lives. Most people won't have to endure the pain of rape and sexual abuse for five months of their lives or survive two miscarriages with most of their sanity still intact. By the way, that's my life story. See what I mean?

When you're blocked, when you question your muse or your calling, this is what you can look at. Everyone has something unique in their life that other people may have never experienced. Even if you don't think you do, your perspective on your life is unique to you. Start there. Sometimes it's the cathartic writing experiences that kick us off to something beyond ourselves.

With the edits for Forbidden wrapping up this week, I've been able to work on the rewrite of Legacy (you don't want to read the original manuscript. I thought Prophecy's first draft was bad...), so I've had more time to enjoy my music. Here's some of this week's contributors to my sanity:

Desperately Wanting by Better Than Ezra
Criminal by Fiona Apple
Pushing Me Away by Linkin Park
I'd Come For You by Nickelback
Starlight by Muse
New Divide by Linkin Park
Photograph by Def Leppard
Cry Little Sister (from the Lost Boys soundtrack) by Gerald McMann
Meet Me On The Equinox (only available online for listening) by Death Cab For Cutie (From the New Moon Soundtrack, which will be released on October 20th)
Sing For Absolution by Muse
If Everyone Cared by Nickelback
Hot and Cold by Katy Perry
Freak On A Leash by Korn
Hero by Skillet
Life After Death by KJ52
The Last Night by Skillet
Closer by Nine Inch Nails (be advised that there is a significant amount of f bombs in this song)

Have a good weekend! Nano starts in just over a month. I'm ready. Are you?

Here's a fun little exercise to try. Go to a local hang out (the mall, the coffeeshop, McDonalds, whatever) and just sit there and watch people. That's what I'm doing right now (since the hours at the part time job changed and I'm now off on Thursday and Friday). I'm sitting in Fireworks, listening to Skillet and watching the cars go by. The music just changed to Fiona Apple. Cool.

There are people staring at me as I sit here typing this. I guess traffic is really boring today. They just want my coffee. I know, those people in the grey Dodge Intrepid are secretly plotting to take over the world by stealing the world's supply of coffee. Wouldn't that be a funny story to tell? Maybe they're really aliens and the only way to control the mass population is to take away our coffee. Those people in the huge Ford F150 are thinking the same thing. Aliens.

See that? Sometimes it's fun to just watch people and build a story around what they could be doing. If you're getting bored being stuck inside with your computer, take a notebook with you to a place with a lot of people, or a place like Fireworks where you can watch traffic, and build something around it. You never know, it could actually be good.

Now I'm going to take notes on the aliens trying to steal my coffee. That could be really funny for November next year. Remember, writing is the only profession in the world where crazy ideas are allowed.

I'm guilty of this, so I'm sure you are too. Have you ever read something and as you're reading it, you think to yourself "I don't need to know this much"? It happens to me all the time, even with my own stuff.

Before, I've said that you need to remember the details. I'm not changing my mind, I'm clarifying myself. You do need to remember the details. Just not every single one.

Recently, I was standing in the library, scanning a new novel that I was thinking about taking home with me, and I found myself bogged down in the minute details of the room the characters were in. Right down to the pattern of the wallpaper and the thickness of the carpet. It was very annoying, distracting, and hard to keep track of later.

Here's what I learned that I wanted to pass along to you: There's information and then there's too much information. Don't give it all away.

By putting too much detail in your scene, your reader no longer has the ability to imagine it for themselves. Color of the paint on the wall and the furnishings of the room is great. The exact pattern of the wallpaper or the size of the print on the window of the coffeeshop is not really necessary unless it furthers the plot. Is the print on the window part of a murder mystery? Then put it in. If your lovers are realizing that they want to get married while sitting in front of that window, we don't need the detail.

Another way to think of it is when someone is talking to you, and they tell you more about something than you want to know. I don't care what caused the funny smell in your bodily excrement, that's too much information (this happens to me more often than you think, I'm sorry to say). If the detail isn't important, cut it later on.

Today is all about style. Some people have it, some people don't. But whatever it is, normally it's unique.

With the help of my adorable husband, who never gets sick of editing, I was able to determine what my actual writing style is. It's good to know how you write so you can adapt it to what you write about.

I'm a very sarcastic writer. I like a lot of dry humor. I also tend to drag conversations on and on without saying anything about what a character is doing while talking (because seriously, who talks to someone else standing perfectly still?) and I have issues with facial expressions. I also tend to focus on a character's eyes entirely too much. But I have been told by my readers that I have an eye for details (like the Daitenshi Club in Prophecy. Everyone has loved that one) and endings that mess with your head. I never said writing styles were summed up in two or three words. We're writers, like that's going to happen.

Once you finish a first draft, you'll be able to tell what your writing style is. Some people focus on humor and tension to help move their plot along. I do sometimes. Others focus on historical accuracy and realism to bring a reader right into the story (Diana Gabaldon with the Outlander Series). There's a different writing style out there for every single writer.

The point is that you need to find your own unique voice. Maybe you like to tell stories from first person perspective with biting humor and wit intermingled in the story. Good for you, go with it. Maybe the thought of doing something like that scares the crap out of you. That's fine too. Just find it. Once you do, you'll be able to cultivate it into something real, something huge. Once you find your voice, you'll be able to find a character's true voice and that is what we're all here for isn't it?

I mentioned last week that I'm feeling the burnout and that is still true. It's not as bad as it was because I've been experimenting with new things, but I can feel it coming. November is going to be a welcome break from the world of vampires and werewolves, I can tell you that much.

I think I'm starting to exhaust my muse. What does that mean? You're lucky because I'm going to tell you.

I'm a vampire writer, first and foremost. I'll never stop writing about vampires and werewolves and mystical supernatural creatures. That is my passion, my muse, and I'll never fully stop doing that. I love being unrestrained by the laws of science when it comes to what my vampires can do. Between Seven and Roan and Ulrich, I'm like a protective mom with her children. I want to let them go into the world, but I want to keep them close to me so they are safe from criticism and scorn. So far, everyone has loved Seven and Ulrich. Roan is getting his introduction next year.

While I love writing about vampires and the supernatural, I'm exhausting myself. I'm running out of steam. It's time to write about something else. That's where Nanowrimo comes in.

I'm going to have the chance to write something different, something completely foreign to me. I've never written in first person perspective, and that's part of what I'm doing this year. I've never written a story where none of the characters can run faster than a speeding bullet or snap an oak in half with their bare hands. I'm doing that this year. It's scary and exhillarating at the same time.

No matter how good you are, eventually writing the same old thing is going to catch up to you. I told myself a year ago that I would never feel burnout. I love what I do too much. But here I am, on the verge. Granted, I haven't had a real break this whole time and I desperately need one. The point is, someday down the road, maybe not tomorrow and maybe not next year, but someday, you'll feel like your muse is exhausted.

So what do you do? Stop writing? No. Never stop writing. NP told me that last year and I haven't really. Even while I've been blocked this week, I've had my finger in one book or the other that I've already written. Dream about something different. Let your mind wander over what it would be like to write something completely different from what you've been doing. Read a new book. Watch a new movie. Sample something different in your life and let it inspire you. Or go out on the back porch with a glass of Captain Morgan and a cigarette and stare at the sky.

But don't stop. You'll find it again. Talk to other people, bounce ideas off of those you trust. Put whatever you do, don't stop.

Would-be writers talk about the novel they wish they could write. True writers talk about the one they're writing. Don't be a would-be.

Right now I'm getting ready for Nano and one of the things I have to do, now that I know who I'm writing about, is to find names for my new characters. It's important because it's part of their character (check out 8/13's post talking about the Name Game for more info).

Where do I go for a name? The writer's best friend is the baby name finder. No it's not just for parents to be anymore. I love the baby name finder. I've gone to the library for baby name books, but after getting so many strange looks from the librarians and finding that most baby name books are following current trends instead of simply listing names, their origins, and meanings. The baby name finder websites give you all of that and make the searching process a lot easier.

I have a love affair with Celtic, Scottish, Welsh, and Irish names and looking through a baby name book made finding those specific names almost impossible. Rhoswen's name comes from the Gaelic for white rose (yes that was intentional). It also means rose in Welsh. I found it on a baby name finder.

My advice to you would be to find a baby name finder that you're comfortable with. You find it easy to use, easy to understand, and the meanings of the names are more universal. Meanings can change from finder to finder sometimes, so make sure you try to use one that has meanings that are commonly accepted. Bookmark it, put it in your favorites, whatever. Just make sure you don't lose it.

When it's time to create a new character, the name is sometimes the hardest part. But if you know where to look, at least that's part of the battle that's been won.

As I didn't get much new writing done this week, these songs have been instrumental in the revisions on Forbidden and Legacy that I managed to finish this week.

Gerald McMann-Cry Little Sister (From the Lost Boys Soundtrack)
Muse-Sing For Absolution
Linkin Park-Pushing Me Away
Nickelback-Gotta Be Somebody
Korn-Freak On A Leash
Nine Inch Nails-Closer
Def Leppard-Photograph
Guns and Roses-November Rain
Linkin Park-Leave Out All The Rest
Nickelback-Burn It To The Ground
Sevendust-Waffle
Metallica-Enter Sandman
Marilyn Manson-The Dope Show
Sevendust-Failure
Skillet-Falling Inside The Black

I've been in a very dark place this week and I can't for the life of me figure out why. Maybe I'm getting into the mind of my nastiest villain ever? We can always hope so. Have a good weekend!!

*sigh* My husband is at home while he looks for a job. He's been home about a month now and to be completely and bluntly honest, he's driving me up the wall. It's interfering with my creative process and I just about can't stand it anymore.

Don't get me wrong, I love him dearly and wouldn't trade him for the world. Without him in my life, I wouldn't be the well balanced and perky person that I am now. Well...maybe I would, but I doubt it.

The problem is the fact that when he's home, I feel like I have to entertain him or something. I'll be bent over my little netbook, typing up a storm with my earbuds in, and I can feel his eyes burning into me. I look up and I see his mouth moving but I can't hear him because I have Muse blaring in my ears and my train of thought is derailed with lots of fatalities. It's very frustrating, especially when I'm mid sentence and then come back to finish it and can't remember where I was going with it.

So how do you manage to work through distractions? What I've done recently is institute work time. When my computer is on, the earbuds are in, and my fingers are flying over those keys, do not interrupt me for anything short of a fire or other natural disaster. When I come up for air, then you can tell me whatever you were thinking about an hour ago that wasn't important enough to stop me mid sentence. My husband also knows now that I try to work between the hours of 9AM and 12 Noon. During that time, unless otherwise stated, I'm working. When I'm taking my break in the middle, then bother me.

The other thing I decided to do was stop noticing him sitting there, looking at me with those bored eyes. I pretend he's not there and he's agreed to forget anything strange that I do while listening to music and letting my muse inspire me.

Just like when you're working a lot of hours outside the home and aren't sure when you'll find the time to write, you have to decide what's the most important to you. Is the distraction worth it? If it's a child (or a pregnant Shih Tzu two weeks away from delivering), it probably is. If it's a bored husband who should be out doing something else with his time? That's not worth derailing your writing over. If you have the passion to write, you'll be able to work through it.

I'm so wiped out. I hate to admit this, but I haven't written a word since Saturday, blog notwithstanding. Sure, I've done revisions on Forbidden (it's being edited for formatting purposes and I'm finding revisions that were lost in the Great Computer Crash of July), but that's not really writing in my eyes, at least not for me. It's fixing problems. It's not creating. And I don't have the gumption to create right now.

Between my husband being laid off, extra hours at my part time job, and stress over other things in my personal life, my writing has suffered hard core. Also, I've been imersing myself in vampire culture to the point that I hardly expose myself to anything else. Does that mean I'm putting New Moon down and reading something else? No. It does mean that I need to do something different though.

My music is burning me out, my reading is burning me out (Again, Twilight stuff notwithstanding because I haven't read it in a year), my life is burning me out. I think I know the solution and I'm scared to do it because it couldn't come at a worse time. It just can't be avoided anymore.

I'm taking another sabbatical. This one for at least two weeks starting October 1st. Maybe I'll be away from my writing career for the month. I don't know yet. But I'm taking time off to do other things.

I'll still be here because the Fang Marked office is one of my favorite things. But there will be no new creations while I'm on sabbatical.

During my time off, I'm going to take notes. Legacy is being ripped apart because of the catastrophe that befell it in the Great Computer Crash of July. I wasn't happy with it when it was finished. Now that it's not finished again, maybe I can change that.

Burnout happens people. It's just the way things are. You plug away at something for so long that you have no choice but to step away and have fun for a little while. That's what I'm going to do. I'm going to step away and have fun for a little while. I'm going to sit in the park and enjoy the fall. I'm going to take long walks and let my mind wander. I'm going to go to the movies and sit at Fireworks for long periods of time, just hanging out. I'm going to do more than just research and vampires.

But I'll still be here. I'm pretty sure after two weeks, I'll be back in the mindset to get back to work.

Yes I know. I said the Fang Marked office would be closed yesterday and today. I still am closed, but it's for a different reason altogether. I thought maybe it was a practical joke on Sunday, but it wasn't.

Legacy isn't finished anymore. The last forty pages crashed and burned with my other computer.

Just when I think I'm not going to be reminded of that horrific mistake, it just keeps coming back to bite me in the butt. All this time I've spent rewriting Awakening, and now the book preceding it isn't done. Fabulous.

When my old computer died, that was bad. This is worse in my mind because I haven't worked on Legacy since April. That was five months ago. I can't for the life of me remember how it ended before. I can't remember anything about it except the relief I felt when it was finished. Now I almost have to start over again on a book due out in seven months because I'm going to have to edit what I have first before I can finish it. Argh.

So, to make a long story short, back your stuff up, always! And back it up in multiple locations. Or you could find yourself in my situation. Trust me, it's not a fun place to be right now either.

I'm closed for the day, yes I know. I always say I'm closed and then here I am. It's pathetic that I can't stay away isn't it?

Recently I discovered something truly cool and I want to share. Coming soon to krwnovels.com is the Prophecy playlist!! Isn't that something?

Everyone knows I have an addiction to music and vampires. Ever since Prophecy came out, I've wanted to share some of the music I was listening to when I wrote it and hopefully get people in the mood to read it (or read it again if you prefer). I've been working on the playlist all day today and it should be coming up soon. Once Forbidden comes out, I'll make one for that too.

At least this way you won't be bombarded with music on my blog anymore. That's not bad right?

The Fang Marked office will be closed today and tomorrow. Why? Because I need a break! Seriously though, I'm going to be in the middle of real time edits for the next two days and I don't want to leave anyone feeling neglected. See ya on Thursday!

I'm putting Awakening away for this week. I'm almost done and I can't hardly look at it right now. The pace is moving too fast because I want to be done already. I've been writing this thing, at least part of the time, since April. I'm ready for the finish line but I don't have the stamina to make it. It's time to fall over on the side of the race track and wait for the medic to come get me before my heart explodes in my chest.

This is why I personally hate deadlines and wish that the person who coined the term would be shot in sensitive places with rubber bullets.

When you're pushing yourself to get a project done in a short amount of time, you'll catch yourself doing this very thing. I'm calling it stifling myself. Music has lost it's meaning to me. I've tried to right brain with it and now I'm bogged down. There's too much music, so I recreated my playlist (hence the absent Music To Write By post this weekend). That helped a little bit, but not enough. I need to take a step back.

This week is going to be devoted to Forbidden. It's coming out in about two months and I want to make sure it's perfect. When I worked on it Thursday morning, two hours had passed before I realized what was going on. That tells me that Awakening is being forced on me and it's time to step back.

Make sure that when you're working on a project for a long time that you aren't pushing yourself so hard you can't think anymore. The worst thing in the world is to be your own worst enemy. You're going to be your worst critic anyway right?

I was talking about theme songs yesterday. Let's continue on shall we? Again, there are going to be spoilers, so read at your own risk.






Ulrich-Desperately Wanting by Better Than Ezra. Ulrich and Cassie have a history that spans over two hundred years. She's been part of his life for such a long time, he doesn't really know life without her. This song made me think of him, desperately wanting that time back again.

Cassie-Somewhere I Belong by Linkin Park. Imagine that your life is defined by your position, then that position is taken away and you have the chance to do whatever you want to do. Would you take it? Cassie did, at the expense of her relationship with Ulrich.

Their relationship-Battlefield by Jordin Sparks. If there were ever two people who have to fight to keep it together, it's Ulrich and Cassie. He feels betrayed by her actions, she feels like she'll never be able to compete with his sense of duty. Love is truly a battlefield and they are both getting their armor.

Roan-Blurry by Puddle of Mudd. I can't wait for you all to meet Roan. He's my favorite new character because he is tortured. He doesn't know where he comes from, he just knows he's here. For someone so lost, he's got a protective side. He doesn't want to lose anything else. It doesn't hurt that he also can sing and play guitar.

Sephanie-Hysteria by Muse. Sephanie is another one of those characters that I'm excited to introduce. She's amazingly smart and sure of herself. Hysteria defines her loosely. She has no control over what happens to her in the beginning of the first OWR (Order of the White Rose) and she's thrown into a world she didn't even know existed. Regardless, she wants to break out.

Their relationship-I'd Come For You by Nickelback. Roan and Sephanie share a true, pure, passionate love. When it's tested, Roan will stop at nothing to save Sephanie's life.

It's nice to have theme songs for characters. It helps me get in their heads and make them real. In your own life, don't you have a song that you feel defines moments of your life? It's no different for characters in your novels.

When I wrote yesterday's post, I forgot about this date. There will be no post today in rembrance of those who lost their lives eight years ago. May we never forget history so we never repeat history.

Thank you to those who risk their lives to keep us safe: Police, Firefighters, Paramedics, and of course, our troops overseas.

I posted this on krwnovels.com in the forum, but I thought I'd put it in here too. Last week I read an article on www.team-twilight.com about Edward and Bella having theme songs (you might have to search a little bit on the site because I'm just not good with links. I'm a writer, not a computer programmer). Since I'm hoping to someday be bigger than Twilight, I thought about Seven and Rhoswen and their theme songs from Prophecy. I also thought of some for Lincoln and Guin, who will be coming up in Forbidden, as well as Roan and Sephanie from the first Order of the White Rose, and Ulrich and Cassie from Awakening. There are some spoilers ahead, so just be aware.







Seven-What I've Done by Linkin Park. For someone with so much power and money, he's haunted by one mistake that he can't take back. When I was writing the first draft of Prophecy, I listened to this song a lot because it brought me to Seven's frame of mind.

Rhoswen-She Runs Away by Duncan Sheik. Once you know the true story of Rhoswen's past, with her bad relationships and both of her parents being dead and the suicide attempt, you'll understand why she is the way she is. In her relationship with Seven though, she really does bring him back to reality.

Their relationship together-Halo by Beyonce. Even though this song came out after I was done with Prophecy, it describes them perfectly.

Lincoln-Leave Out All The Rest from Linkin Park. He sings this song in Forbidden, and once he's gone, it symbolizes what his family feels in his absence.

Guin-Poker Face by Lady Gaga. Believe it or not, I heard this song after I was done with Forbidden and it's Guin to a tee. She hides it all and won't let anyone see what she's like underneath. You can't read her poker face. Lincoln sure couldn't.

Their relationship-Forever from Chris Brown. Wait until you read the book, you'll get it then. To give that away now would be too much of a spoiler.

I'll save Ulrich and Cassie and Roan and Sephanie for tomorrow.

If you're writing a novel with supernatural characters, you have the hardest job in fiction in my mind. No, I'm not just saying that because I'm writing novels with supernatural characters either. It truly is hard to do.

When writing a romance novel or a sci fi novel or an adventure novel, you have somewhere to go. There are source books for romance, science texts for sci fi, and do you really need help on an adventure novel? There's books out there for the Chick Lit writer, for the contemporary fiction author, the mystery writer. But for the supernatural writer? Nothing.

When deciding to write about vampires, I had to turn to other books about vampires to find out what the traditional myths were. Thank goodness for the folklore section of my library. When researching werewolves, there was little to nothing serious out there. How about shapeshifters? Forget it.

If you're looking for help in creating the powers or special abilities of your supernatural character, you need to go on what you already know. To explain those abilities, try to be as real as you can.

My vampires have special abilities based on their DNA. Werewolves can only be men (but I'm going to be messing with that one later on). Shapeshifters come in two classes. What's the difference between a werewolf and a shapeshifter? You'll have to wait and see.

If you're interested in writing a book with supernatural characters, it doesn't hurt to read what other people have written with similar characters to your own. I've read the Twilight saga (many, many times), the Dark Hunter series, the Vampire Diaries, the Sookie Stackhouse Novels, and I've watched just about every vampire movie ever made. I also read a lot of manga like Millenium Snow and Vampire Knight. You have to do what you have to do.

Don't get discouraged when using characters that aren't human. Remember one powerful thing: If you can't find research material on it, then it probably doesn't exist yet. What's better than an original idea?

This post is entirely for the romantic writer in you. If you write gory war novels, you might not like this post. But ultimately, just about every genre has a love story of some kind.

I didn't set out to write a love story. I mean, sure I did, but that wasn't the main point. Prophecy wasn't supposed to be a love story. It was supposed to be a hero's story. Most of my research at the beginning was in the hero myth (if you're looking into heroes, check out The Hero With A Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell. Thanks NP for that recommendation last year). I read classic mythology and Norse mythology, chasing down the classic hero myth. Then I realized that no one would care about Seven like I did if he didn't have someone to fight for.

John Eldredge, in Wild At Heart, says that a man has to have a beauty to fight for. Think about Romeo and Juliet. Romeo literally died for Juliet. Think about King Arthur and Guinevere. Or how about Sookie Stackhouse and Bill Compton or Acheron Parthenopaeus (yes that's spelled right) and Soteria Kafieri from Acheron. A lot of heroes are redeemed by the love of a woman.

A love story doesn't have to be a book filled with ripping clothes and graphic sex scenes. It's not always filled with the most beautiful people (unless you're dealing with vampires, then it almost always is because of the nature of the vampire) or the most ideal circumstances. A hero has a beauty to fight for. That's it. She doesn't even have to be the classic beauty. As long as he finds her beautiful, that's all it requires.

I don't want you to believe that a romance is always the trashy purple prose monstrosities in the historical romance section (some are actually pretty good though). A truly wonderful romance draws you in because you want to see these two characters redeem each other. It's truly amazing.

For good romance, check out Ransom by Julie Garwood (the best sarcasm is present in this novel) or A Knight In Shining Armor by Jude Devereaux (the best example of what happens when the ending isn't what you think it should be). Is there sex? Yes. Is it necessary? I've already said before that it isn't.

Don't be afraid to let a hero fall in love. Sometimes it's the best characteristic he has.

I'm very blessed to have the coolest little netbook on the planet (yes I'm biased and I don't care). Sure, I had to fry the hard drive on one to find out just how cool this little thing really is, but I'm fully able to appreciate what I have now. (Once I figure out how to shrink a photo to upload on here, I'll put up a picture of the new computer and the nice little external hard drive that I have hooked up to it constantly)

However, I do remember the days of being restricted to my desktop with my rear end going numb in my desk chair as I wrote for hours a day. Those days were good and bad, just like having a laptop is good and bad now.

Do you work exclusively on a desktop or do you use a laptop? Are you carrying around a laptop that's got a 19 inch screen or do you use one of these handy little netbooks?

Surprisingly, this little Acer netbook that I have is more powerful than my desktop ever was. Now they have dropped below $300 at Walmart, so it's definitely more affordable. And it has Windows XP. I refuse to change over to Vista. Plus I have the portability factor, which is great when I'm sitting at Fireworks and feel the itch to write.

The good thing about the desktop was that I was chained to it. I had no choice but to sit there and work. I had more room too, to lay out notebooks full of character or plot notes or research. But the bad part was that I was chained to it. I couldn't go to a new place to sit down and write. However, the desktop was more durable than my laptop is now.

If you need a change of pace, I hope you're writing on a laptop. If you need consistancy, stay at home on the desktop. It depends on your schedule as well.

But if you're in the market for a new laptop, don't discount the netbook. It's a powerful little machine and it fits in the inside pocket of my messenger bag. And it's pink. That's always fun.

There isn't as much music this week due to my hours at the cab company. However, I wanted to share the music that helped me make it through the week, whether I was writing or not:

Muse-Starlight
Better Than Ezra-Desperately Wanting
Goo Goo Dolls-Black Balloon
Muse-Sing For Absolution
The Airborne Toxic Event-Sometime Around Midnight
Tonic-If You Could Only See
Muse-Hysteria
Def Leppard-Two Steps Behind
Skillet-Hero
Rob Thomas-Her Diamonds

Next week will lead to more writing time, so hopefully the list will be longer next weekend. I know, I have a lot of repeat songs every week, but that's just because I can't stop listening to them. Muse is addictive.

Have a great weekend!

This has been a very hard week for me. It might not seem like that through the posts I've put up, but I put those up in advance sometimes because that's easier for me. This week has been exhausting and frustrating for me.

I work a part time job outside of my writing so that my husband and I would have a place to get our car fixed and some extra money in our pocket (I work for a cab company). But with all the drama here in the last week, I've been at the office for my part time job than at Fang Marked for my full time job. With deadlines hanging over my head and a lot of research still left to do, this hasn't been a good time for this to happen.

Some of you might be asking me "So how do you write a novel when you have to work outside the home at a full time job to make ends meet?". Here's the only solution I could come up with.

I'm working before I leave for my regular job. Granted, I work second shift. But if I had a first shift job, I'd work for an hour when I got home. You may not make three pages a day doing that, but you have a good excuse don't you? It's harder to write when you have other demands on your time. But if you want it bad enough, or if your characters won't leave you alone, you'll find a way. Some people work better at night. I'm more of a morning person and like to be done by 11 AM. I'll write later than that, but the bulk of it is done. And it helps that I have a netbook and can write on the fly.

How would you try to balance a full time job with writing a novel?

I loved a recent post on Coffee Stained Writer (http://coffee-stainedwriter.blogspot.com/) about when a work is finished. Since my internet connection is not allowing me to put what I really think as a comment on her blog, I'm throwing it on here.

How do you really know when a work is finished? It's a long process.

Since I've only published the one novel, I'll talk about my experience with that one. Prophecy was hard to let go of. It was my first novel ever and I felt there was so much more to add. I even wrote 10 pages of useless scene at the end because I couldn't let it go. But finally, I'd told the story and it felt done. Then the edits began.

Before I did my first edit, I finished Forbidden and participated in Nano for the first time. I didn't go back to Prophecy until late December/early January. I couldn't believe the disaster that was my first novel. I pulled about 30 pages out, wrote another 30-40 to replace what was cut, moved scenes around, added new characters, and rewrote the ending. Twice. It was finally done with the first round of edits when my husband said to me "is there anything of the original novel left?". That's when I knew it was time to stop and take a step back.

The last round of edits before publication were done in late April/early May. That was a lot quicker because I just had to make sure it was flowing and the new stuff went with the old stuff. But even when I was sure it was the novel it is today, I didn't want to let it go. The only way I stopped picking at it was the deadline I was under. But I'm glad I didn't pick it apart again because so far, the feedback has been fantastic.

So how do you know when it's really done? I can't describe it academically, but I can tell you that Prophecy was done because it felt done. It was ready. It's like cooking or what I imagine pregnancy would be. When it's done, it's done. The turkey comes out of the oven, the baby is born. There's no more you can do to it.

Forbidden has been editted three times because of computer malfunction. It's getting one more combing out before it's completely ready to go. It just hasn't required as much in the way of revision. Now the prequel, Legacy, I'm scared I'm going to have to rewrite that book from the beginning all over again.

But when it's done, it's done.

Imagine this: You walk into a place you frequent often, whether that's a coffee house or the library or a bar, it's not a big deal. Put yourself there and think about what's going on around you. Do you see it? There's one thing I'm sure you're forgetting and it's not your fault that you don't notice it. More often than not, you aren't supposed to notice it.

I'm talking about the background noise. The music playing in the coffee house or the sound of people typing on computers in the library. If you're in a bar, well that changes from night to night and hopefully you aren't too drunk to notice it. Why don't you notice it? Because it's there to influence your mood.

When writing a scene like this in a novel, you have to remember that background noise is there and use it to your advantage. I put a couple bar and club scenes in Prophecy and I actually name the song I'm thinking of playing in the background. When Seven walks into the bar the first time he sees Rhoswen, he enters to Muse's "Supermassive Black Hole". All of a sudden, you get a picture of what is really going on. When Seven and Rhoswen go out for their first date, I describe the song playing on the dance floor of the club (because it's in Japanese and I honestly didn't have the title with me, but you understand where I'm coming from here).

This adds realism to your writing. No one walks around in a bubble of silence. We all have our favorite bands and we all sing along in the car (well, most of us). If you have a character driving around without music playing in the background, he's probably talking to the other character sitting right next to him or reflecting on the aliens that just abducted his dog.

Make sure you remember what should be there and take the opportunity to show off some of your own personality if you want to. Lincoln listens to Linkin Park in Forbidden because it's A: Funny (you'll get it in a minute. If you don't, leave a comment and I'll explain), B: A personal favorite of mine, and C: He's an angry teenage boy. But if he's driving around listening to the sounds of silence (that isn't really a band is it?), then it's no longer believable.

Here's how crazy this month is already. And it's only the first.

-I need to finish research for nanowrimo. That means many trips to the library and a lot of time on the internet at Fireworks.
-It's time to finish transcribing a novel for a friend of mine. He wants to be able to release it to family and friends by Christmas and if I don't finish it this month, it won't be ready.
-I have to get ready for the book club meeting October 3rd. I need to go through Prophecy and be prepared to hit various parts of the novel and I have to go through Forbidden and pick out what part is going to be previewed at the meeting.
-I need to finish the revisions on Forbidden and do one more real time edit of it to make sure that the new stuff flows with the rest of the story and clear up any formatting mistakes.
-Hubby and I have to go out and take the pictures for the cover of Forbidden. I want a lot to choose from.
-Awakening needs to start winding down. Deadline to finish it is November 1st so it isn't hanging over my head for nanowrimo.
-Shipping out books to family and friends who wanted copies of Prophecy. I'm so behind!
-I have to get with Hubby and design the logo for Fank Marked since we're using that as my office now and we want to make t-shirts. Yeah, we're weird.

Whatever doesn't get done this month will get crammed into next month. Argh.