Happy Thanksgiving!

Where on earth are my blog partners??? I dunno so I'm stopping by to wish all of our friends who read Wicked Thorn and Roses a very Happy Thanksgiving! We are so glad to have you be part of our lives even if it is only through our blog.

My holiday plans start off with enjoying the evening tonight with movies. We rented Eat, Pray, Love, The Christmas Carol (the new one!), and the new Pet Semetary. We'll also be making the desserts tonight and I let the kids help with the cooking on Thanksgiving Day. Holidays around our house always seem to be fun and silly... the way holidays should be.

As for my Nanowrimo-novel: I'm still at a little over 18k. I've decided Dreaming of Him would be a novella and I'm about to wrap the story up. So why the low word count? I've gotten an editing job and have been busy editing a manuscript. Now that I've finished the editing project, I will be returning to my own writing before school resumes next week.

What are you doing for the holiday? Do you have any family traditions for Thanksgiving?

Talk to you soon,
Wendy Ely

The Process of Writing

Happy Wednesday!

The hot weather has finally left Arizona for a bit. Yep, you'll probably laugh but it is only 85 degrees today and I'm loving. 85 for us is cool weather.

Anyway, I was recently asked what my writing process is and how can I write so quickly. The question had me thinking about my process so I'm going to share it with you!

First draft:

The first draft (and very rough) draft is the fasted stage of writing for me. I do enough research to make my books sound real while not over doing the knowledge on whatever the topic is. Besides, fiction is for fun and shouldn't sound like a manual! I only research when I reach the part where I need to add the information.

I write the first draft without editing. While I was writing Jesse's brother, I started at the beginning and wrote until I reached the end without skipping to scenes as I thought of them. This way took me forever so now if a scene comes to mind I add it into another document so I can get it out of my head and can add the scene in the manuscript where it goes later on.

This stage of writing reminds of putting a puzzle together. Everything must fit and when one piece is missing, it seems like the whole thing is screwed up! I keep working at it until each piece of the books is put together perfectly.

Revisions:

This part takes me forever since I've left the creative phase and entered into the logic side of writing. I go through my ms several times on the computer, send it to my critique partners, and then go through a print version of the ms. I even read most of the manuscripts outloud for the flow of the story and to spot any errors that have escaped me so far. And this phase of my writing process means that I've alread started the rough draft phase of another manuscript!

I'd love to hear about your writing process so feel free to share with us!

Talk to you soon,
Wendy Ely

Just a Quick One

I’m pleased to announce my muse has come back to me. God I missed him so. Unfortunately, he doesn’t want me to work on my current project, rather, he wants me to get one of my older works polished up and ready for submission.

That’s fine with me.

So long as I am at the keyboard and typing away, I’m happy. Doing something creative takes me away from day to day life. Not that there’s anything wrong with day to day life. Far from it. It’s just nice to escape once in a while, isn’t it?

Some people escape by watching a movie. Others like to read books. Me? I like to write them *giggle* The project my muse wants me to get ready is a fantasy epic set in the wheatbelt region of Western Australia. And, as far as the world I have created anyway, there’s a lot more than sheep and farms there. In fact the place I have created is populated with magical billabongs, evil unicorns and friendly centaurs. Not to mention a father and his two sons who so happen to be living right in the middle of it all.

So there you have it. I hope to polish up a chapter a night. Hopefully, within a month or so the final draft will be complete and I’ll be ready to send it out into the big wide world. And yes, just in case you were thinking it, the book does have some rather steamy erotica in it. But unlike my other books, it’s not male/male. Yes, it’s a traditional boy falls in love with a unicorn who turns into a girl who so happens to be evil and the boy’s brother tries to save him and his family and his farm before it’s all too late. Ahh, the old stories are the best, aren’t they? *chuckle*

Until next week.

Finding the right fit.

In response to another writer who was wondering how to find a good critique partner, I decided to dedicate my blog today to the wonderful world of critiquing.

How to find a good partner…

• Join writer’s groups. Online or in person, either way you feel comfortable doing it. You’ll learn so much from a fellow writer, especially one with more experience than you have. But, don’t just join, join in. It does you no good to join a group if you don’t participate. People are much more helpful once they get to know you better.

• Ask your friends/family to read it. They may not be the best with grammer or punctuation, but they can sure tell you what they like and what they don’t. Just because they’re not writers, doesn’t mean they’re not readers.

• Get to know the writer’s you meet. You never know if they or someone they know is also looking for a partner. The best way to find a partner you click with, is to get to know them personally before you start exchanging words (MS’s that is).

• Join a blog group. You’re blog partners can become some of your best friends and partners, in more ways than one. Remember, a good critique partner is all about the relationship. You never know if a member of the group is looking for a partner as well.

What makes a good critique partner?

• Honesty. You don’t want someone telling you your writing is great if it’s really not. That’s not going to help you improve and it won’t help you make the sale. If something needs improved, you need to know about it so you can fix it.

• Knowledgeable. If they don’t know what the rules are, how can they help you? As I said earlier, they can still be helpful, by telling you whether or not they like it. But, you need someone who knows the rules of grammer to help you make it shine.

• They tell you what’s good about it, as well as what needs fixed. No one wants a critique partner who only tells them the bad points. Although, the advice may be useful, there will be too many hurt feelings for the critique to be taken seriously. If they tell you both the good and bad, you can learn where your strengths are as well as your weaknesses.

• They are specific. Misunderstandings aren’t helpful. If there is miscommunication, it helps no one. A critique partner should be specific about what exactly is wrong, and hopefully, a good way to fix it.

• They are objective. If it’s not their cup of tea, they might not be giving you the right advice. Just because one person doesn’t like that style, doesn’t mean there aren’t thousands of people out there who do like it. If they aren’t objective, they may bring their own baggage into the crit, which can be more hurtful, than helpful.

• They are patient. Writers are busy people. For the most part, writing is their second job. Usually, it takes a long time before they can make enough at writing alone to pay the bills. And, when they do finally make it enough to quit the full time job, that means they’re selling, a lot. So, they have deadlines to finish. That’s a good thing to remember before sending multiple emails asking where your chapter is.

• They give as well as they get. They are a real partner. They don’t expect you to crit for them without doing their part. It is a two way street. Work should travel both roads, in and out.

Good websites to check out…

• http://www.zanzjan.net/writing/give-critique.html

• http://www.writingforward.com/writing-tips/how-to-give-good-critique

• http://people.aapt.net.au/~thefinalchapter/critique.html

I hope this was helpful and informative. What do you look for in a critique partner? Do you have ideas I haven’t expressed? If so, please leave a comment! I’d love to hear what you have to say. Good luck to everyone in their writing adventures!