Archive for March, 2010
The Fine Art of Procrastination
Wow, it took me a while to get get my butt in gear today. Honestly, the slightest distraction and I was all over it. Hence, why this post is so late. But better late than never. I don’t know why, but for some reason I just couldn’t get motivated. So I reverted to my favorite time wasters. Email, Facebook, Twitter and Google. Oh, and then I threw in two long, chatty phone calls. By this time it’s nearing 1 p.m., and I’ve written about 300 words not good. Time was running out, and I’d barely put a scratch in my to do list.
Clearly, I needed to stop wasting time and get serious. I closed the windows with my many distractions, ignored my ringing phone (they can always leave a message), made myself a cup of tea and turned on some music. Before I knew it, I had my word count on the WIP done, answered all the questions I needed to for an up coming interview and now I’m nearly done my blog. I still need to tweak my three chapters for Blood and Bone, but there’s still time.
So, I’m curious what are your favorite time wasters, and what do you do to buckle down and get to work?
Mood: Distracted.
Music: Karma Police, Radiohead
Posted by Dawn Brown @
10:03 pm |
Is it Friday Already?
Wow, this week zoomed past. Maybe it has something to do with how productive I’ve been, which is kind of surprising since it’s March Break here. I managed to finish my Blood and Bone synopsis, tweak a good part of the MS and even get a fair amount of work done on The Devil’s Eye. Yay, me.
Today, I’m chatting over at LoveRomancesCafe with my fellow Wild Rose Press writers. Join in if you can. I’m also giving away a pdf version of The Curse of Culcraig. Leave a comment and I’ll draw a name and post the winner tonight at 8pm eastern. Good luck!!
Mood: Great
Music: I Would Die For You, Jann Arden
And the winner is… Jennifer Mathis. Congratulations!! Email me at dawn@dawnbrown.org and I’ll get your copy of The Curse of Culcraig to you.
Thanks for Playing everyone!!
Posted by Dawn Brown @
3:45 pm |
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
And in honour of St. Patrick’s Day … The Celtic Horoscope. Have Fun!
You Are A Lime Tree
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You are intelligent, hard working, and innately successful.You try to change what you can in life – and you accept what you can’t change.
Tough on the outside, you are actually soft and relenting.
Jealous at times, you are extremely loyal and giving to those you love.
You have many talents, but you don’t have enough time to use them.
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Posted by Dawn Brown @
1:39 pm |
Emerging From My Cave
Sort of disappeared there, didn’t I? Sorry about that. But in my absence I managed to rework the ending of Blood and Bone and finish all the major revisions. All I have to do now is some minor tweaking. Yay!
And because I’m particularily pleased with the results, here’s an a short excerpt:
The sucking slop of footsteps in wet mud rose from the black. The hair on the back of her neck bristled, and a chill tickled along her spine.
Was it Hudson coming back to finish with her? Tic?
What was she doing standing around out here anyway? A woman alone, late at night on a deserted country road during a thunderstorm? The scene had slasher flick written all over it.
She started for the driver side door, but a low moan rose up from the darkness.
Had to be the wind. Still, she picked up her pace.
The moan came again, louder this time. Shayne stopped and turned. A dark, hunched figure staggered toward her.
“Christ.” She gripped the door handle and yanked open the door.
The stooped outline lurched in front of her single headlight, and the glare illuminated the ugliest Hawaiian shirt she’d ever seen.
Des Anderson.
Relief swamped her like a tidal wave, turning her muscles soft for the second time in one night. The feeling, however, was short lived. He may not have been the homicidal maniac she’d imagined, but the jerk had scared the life out of her. And all because he was staggering drunk. Even from this distance, the smell of beer was nearly over powering.
As he pitched forward, the light cast a ghostly pallor over his face. Dark smudges beneath his left eye, along his lip and circling the edges of each nostril stood out from the stark whiteness of his skin.
Blood.
He wasn’t just drunk, he was hurt.
“What happened to you?” she asked.
Her question stopped him short. He tilted his head the way Maura’s terrier did when asked if he wanted a cookie.
Des opened his mouth, but no sound came. Instead, he sank to his knees and fell forward, sprawling face first on the gravel at her feet.
“You have got to be kidding.”
Posted by Dawn Brown @
1:33 pm |
The Synopsis (Insert Dramatic Scary Music Here)
I don’t think I know anyone who enjoys writing a synopsis. Let’s face it, condensing a four hundred page manuscript into a five page summary can be a touch daunting. It can be done, however. What works for me is breaking the story down into the major plot points and building from there.
I use the first paragraph for the hook or inciting moment. The second and third introduce the hero and heroine, and their goal, motivation conflict. From there, I include the first turning point, mid-point, second turning point, dark moment and resolution. Pinpointing the major plot points helps to stay focused on the main plot and avoid adding unnecessary details. Since I write romantic suspense I must show suspense plot evolving as well as the romance element. So to be sure that there is room for both, I avoid including smaller plot points and subplots. It’s important to stay focused on the main story line.
There are some great resources on the web to help you write your synopsis. My favorite is Lisa Gardner’s. She has a detailed lecture series specifically geared to romantic suspense with examples. Also, Margaret Moore has an article about the evolution of the synopsis which shows the synopsis in very stages. And Charlotte Dillon has a number of great resources for synopsis writing.
Anyway, that’s what works for me. 
Posted by Dawn Brown @
12:59 pm |
It’s Starting to Look a Lot Like Spring
I just finished watching the weather forecast for the week, and the predicted sunshine and temperatures above zero have put my in a very good mood. Sure, I like winter, but it’s March now, and I’m ready for spring.
Another reason I’m in such a good mood is the five heart review The Curse of Culcraig received from The Romance Studio. ”I loved this excellent romantic suspense novel. It reminded me of an old-time Gothic horror story with the addition of some contemporary sex scenes. The plot was well developed and the mystery just the right mixture of of intrigue and apprehension. The murderer, when revealed, was so skillfully portrayed as a true psychopath that I got goosebumps…The blending of history and the here and now works as superbly in the mystery as it does in both the hero’s and the heroine’s lives. The setting of the small Scottish town of Culcraig comes to life, full of superstition and rural charm. I highly recommend this to anyone seeking some spine-chilling suspense.”
This week I plan to wrap the last of the changes for Blood and Bone, and *gasp* create a synopsis for the The Devil’s Eye and The Devil’s Shadow. I know what I said about plotting, but because of trying my hand at a series. I need to organize some of the details to be sure the story arch works for both books.
So I’m off to get started, I’ll be back tomorrow with a few tips for synopsis writing. Until then…
Mood: Excellent
Music: Sister Christian, Night Ranger
Posted by Dawn Brown @
1:43 pm |
