Hi there, loves!
It’s been a while since I talked about “the process.” You know, the nitty-gritty of penning a book.
And there’s something that I’ve realized over the past year.
Writing evolves.
When I first started writing, I was a total pantster. If that’s a new term for any of you, it basically means I wrote by the seat of my pants. No plan, no outline, no character sheets or premade synopsis. It was me, a computer, and the ideas as they came.
Well, that was fun for a while. But I’d get stuck. And then I’d get bored, and change gears. This led to a whole bunch of halfway-begun and not-great stories.
Once I started selling books, I realized that there were things I didn’t do well in this writing thing. Problems got isolated, and while I realized I had some nice strengths, I also realized I had some pretty tough weaknesses too.
That’s when the tools came in.
Brainstorming by blurbing. The “W” plot. Goal, Motivation, and Conflict worksheets. World building spreadsheets. Backstory planning. All these things are part of my arsenal now, my “writer’s toolbox” as the master, Stephen King, calls them in this fabulous treasure trove.
This stuff can feel cold. Clinical. Dispassionate. But you know what? It’s not. It’s important. Vital. Vibrant and necessary. Because these are the things that make a well-rounded and fun to read story. These are the ingredients that take the book from nice to spectacular. This is the work that has to go in before the final manuscript can be sent to the editor to make it palatable.
It’s like the difference between a kindergartner playing with Play-do and a sculptor forming a statue. One is fun, heck yeah, but the other will stun you with its beauty.
And I’m after the most beautiful story I can make.
How has your writing changed? If you don’t write, what are some of your favorite elements of storytelling? Maybe we can talk about what work goes into creating them.
Writing Scary that’s Sexy- How I do Erotic Horror (part 1)
3 AprSo since SINFUL TRUTH releases in about, oh, seventeen days (GULP) I thought it might behoove me (yes, I used “behoove” in a sentence) to talk a little bit about erotic horror, and my process for writing it.
Then I realized in order for me to talk about the process, I’d have to actually have had one.
Then I realized that I did write it, so even though I didn’t think about having a process, I must have had one. Ergo, this blog to help me (and you!) figure out how I created this scary yet sexy brainchild.
It all started when my loverly editor Carrie said, “HEY. Write me an erotic horror. Kthxbai.” It might have been a bit more involved than that, but not a helluva lot. Erotic horror? Well, I’ve read and written a good bit of erotic, and I’d read a lot of horror in my teenage years, but I’d never read anything that combined the two before. But since I heart Carrie, and would grovel across fiery shards of broken glass just to please her, (it’s amazing what those tiny editor-shaped nuggets of praise will do for a writer) I jumped right in.
I started SINFUL TRUTH as I’ve started my last few books-with a blurb.
Huh?
Yes, that’s what I said. A blurb. Like the blob of interesting text on the back of the book? I write that first. It’s a lot easier to expand a three-paragraph blurb into a novel, short story, or novella, than it is to condense a 100K-word monster into three paragraphs.
So, for your delight and edification, this was the blurb that popped into my head at CarrieJEditor’s command:
Bryerly Keats did a bad, bad thing. Her boyfriend, Rafe, told her to stay with the car, but when she heard those screams, she couldn’t stay put. The murder she witnessed that night was just the first.
Rafe and his friends know Bry saw what they did. They can’t afford to let anyone know about their plans. They’ll silence her for good. When a whole town turns against Bry and her tales, she’ll have to depend on a complete stranger to save her life.
But the stranger doesn’t work for free. And his price is the one thing that Bry isn’t sure she can face:
An Eternity with the Truth Keeper
I sent it to Carrie with a “is this kind of what you were thinking?” note, and she fired back a yes, with a ton of questions, one of which was “What exactly is a Truth Keeper?” Well, yanno, I thought, I have no bloody idea.
Check back tomorrow for part TWO of the How I did it: Erotic Horror series. And be sure to leave a comment below! To show how much I appreciate each and every one of my blog commenters, I’ll be adding each of your names from now until SINFUL TRUTH releases (April 20th!) into a hat. Comment on multiple blog posts? Receive multiple entries. The winner will be selected via Random.org, and will receive a Scarily Good Gift plus a free copy of SINFUL TRUTH! So comment, ask questions, harass me, and generally have a good time.
Tags: blog, Bryerly, comment, drama, ellora's cave, entertainment, erotic, erotic horror, Ertotica, free, Free stuff, giveaway, horror, How to write, literature, Novellas, novels, scary, sexy, Sinful Truth, Verum, writing