Bestselling AuthorPlease welcome my guest, Adrienne deWolfe, who I have asked to share some tips for making YOU a better writer. Welcome, Adrienne!
When I’m connected with my Writing Muse, all is “write” with the world. My characters surprise me; cliff hangers magically appear; and sassy one-liners occur in the dialogue.
If you would like to experience the same creative Nirvana, I encourage you to try the exercises below.
Important: Don’t wait until writer’s block sets in or the Grim Reaper of Deadlines is stalking you. Experiment with these creative ideas on a good writing day. Who knows? Having a little fun just might inspire you to write better than ever!
#1. Tired of losing
the staring match with your cursor? (Oh, yeah.) Pack up your
Writing Muse and take her on an official play date. Go to Paint
Ball. Or a museum. Or a treehouse (my personal favorite.)
Dress like a Storm Trooper. Act like a 7-year-old. Give yourself
permission to color outside the lines. (Note to First-Time Paint
Ballers: Drop by the pharmacy on the way home. Buy a tube of Ben Gay.)
#2. Lonely for
conversation? (From real people?) Visit a busy restaurant at lunch
time. Take your critique partner with you. Speak about your characters as if
they’re business acquaintances. Brainstorm how to kill one off. Do this
REALLY LOUD. Enjoy the horrified stares!
#3. Liberate your
subconscious! Wash the dishes. Weed the garden. Vacuum the air ducts. The
point is to distract your conscious mind from your problem by engaging
in some menial task. I cannot tell you how many times a brilliant
idea has popped into my mind while I’m scraping fried eggs from the bottom of a
skillet! #4. Buy a hoola hoop. (Betcha know where this one’s going, huh?) Okay, so you’re lousy at hula. Do jumping jacks instead. They’re free. I promise you, the shot of joy-juice (endorphins) that you get from aerobic activity will do wonders for your creativity. (Extra Perk: you’ll work off the sugar from the caffeinated beverages that you’ve been guzzling – so you can guzzle even MORE!)
#5. Try a different POV to solve your writing dilemma. Write as the banana on the kitchen counter. Transport your mind into a three-year-old child’s. What’s it like to stare at the knees of your heroine all day? Pick a favorite fictional character. How would Scooby Doo save the day? Rhett Butler? Bella Swann? (By the way, if these cheesy POV exercises lead you to write the next bestselling vampire novel, be sure to cut me in on the royalties.)
#6. Ever hear the saying, “Books aren’t written, they’re re-written?” (Yeah. That advice used to annoy me, too.) The next time you’re faced with a re-write and your Inner Child is pitching a fit, give in to the tantrum. Throw Nerf balls at the wall. Jump in the swimming pool and yell under water. Torch the objectionable critique in a appropriately fire-safe container. (It’s truly gratifying to watch bad reviews burn – uh, so I’ve been told.) Now that your brain’s clear, go write something!
#7. Still stumped? Dear me. (Ever consider a brain transplant?) For those of you who’ve reached Def Con 5 (translation: a chocolate fondue, a bottle of wine, and a full-body massage couldn’t wrangle one measly word out of you), try some positive reinforcement. Every time you do finish a scene, stuff a $1.00 bill inside a mason jar. If you’re independently wealthy, stuff $10 inside the jar. By the time your manuscript is finished, you’ll have a sizable nest egg. Use that money to reward yourself. (Or send it to me. Your choice. )
What’s Next for Adrienne:
Look for DEVIL
IN TEXAS (Book 4, Velvet Lies) the eagerly awaited sequel to SEDUCED BY AN
ANGEL. (Read an excerpt from DEVIL here: http:// ebookdiscovery.com/adriennedewolfe.html
) Available Summer 2014 from ePublishing Works.
Adrienne is
donating a portion of royalties from each book in her award-winning Velvet
Lies series of Western Historical Romances to urban tree-planting efforts!
Learn more about this exciting project at http://writingnovelsthatsell.com/best-selling-romance-author-donates-royalties-to-urban-reforestation/
SEDUCED BY AN ANGEL
Book 3, Velvet Lies
By Adrienne deWolfe
Book Description
Kentucky belle
Seraphina Jones craves a dashing stranger worth kissing. When she spies her
handsome, half-naked hired hand at the riverbank, she thinks her dreams of
romance have come true. But this Texican is wanted for murder.
Jesse Quaid can't let Sera's sweet kisses distract him from rendezvousing with Cass, a childhood friend, to clear his name of a crime that he didn't commit. But then a case of mistaken identity turns Cass into Jesse's deadliest rival for Sera's heart. Now, Sera must find a way to end the feud before the man she loves is lost forever.
Excerpt:
"Can I have my pants back?" A wicked dimple flirted with his lips.
"Maybe." She narrowed her eyes at his bawdy show of humor. "Are you going to pack them in your bedroll and ride?"
"Now that's an interesting question, coming from a maid."
"That is not what I meant!"
"Isn't it?" Those strong white teeth flashed in a feline smile. "It seems to me a young, unmarried woman shouldn't be visiting her hired hand's digs in the middle of the night. Unless, of course, she has a certain kind of pleasure-riding on her mind."
Sera's jaw dropped. She couldn't believe Jesse would think such a thing about her!
Well, okay. Maybe she had imagined kissing him with a reckless abandon. And maybe she'd imagined stripping off his shirt to feast her eyes on his rock-ribbed planes. But was that such a crime? Imagining?
"Why are you being so contrary?" she demanded. "I thought we were friends."
"So did I. Until I came in here tonight and caught you spying on me."
She caught her breath. "Jesse, I swear. That is not what I—"
With a speed reminiscent of his quick-draw, he ripped the denim from her hands and caught her wrists. She shivered a little when she recognized the hunger in his jungle-cat stare.
"Jesse, please don’t be angry with me—"
"I’m not angry with you, Sera. I want to do forbidden things to you. I want to do scandalous, bawdy things that will make you pant and gasp and shake with the sheer, wild pleasure of my kiss . . . "
· Velvet Lies Series
http://ebookdiscovery.com.p8.hostingprod.com/AdrienneDeWolfe.html
· Wild
Texas Nights Serieshttp://ebookdiscovery.com.p8.hostingprod.com/AdrienneDeWolfe.html
· The Secrets to Getting Your Romance Novel Published
http://writingnovelsthatsell.com/the-secrets-to-getting-your-romance-published/
About Adrienne deWolfe
Adrienne is a
#1 Bestselling Author and the recipient of 48 writing awards, including the
Best Historical Romance of the Year. She consistently delights readers with
sexy, action-packed, western-style romances, including her Wild
Texas Nights series and her
Velvet
Lies series. In addition, she is the
author of the bestselling non-fiction ebook series, The
Secrets to Getting Your Romance Novel Published. Fascinated by all things mystical, Adrienne writes a blog about dragons, magic, and the paranormal at http://MagicMayhemBlog.com to help her research her upcoming Paranormal Romance series. She also writes a weekly blog with writing tips and advice about the business of writing at http://WritingNovelsThatSell.com. Both websites support Romance authors by hosting book tours.
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