Worderella Writes

Apologies, I am Alive

I do apologize for completely disappearing for almost a year. This has been quite the seven months since my last post. Not to be dramatic, but I found love, lost love, was betrayed by a supposed best friend, and fell desperately ill.

I write romances, I’m not supposed to actually live them.

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Checking In

Hello everyone!

Yes, I am alive. I apologize for my absence. Graduate school takes up far more time than I realized, and now I am working full-time in an internship that requires too much of my creativity… I come home exhausted yet satisfied.

Loyalty Contest

I realize I’ve probably lost a lot of my readership, so if you’re still around, thank you for sticking with me. Make sure to comment and tell everyone what you’ve been up to lately. One of the commenters will receive a free copy of my “best of” book, Worderella On Writing.

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Ruminations

This week we don’t have class due to my professor having a conference, which is nice. I’ve been reading through the class critiques of my most recent story, which is always interesting. Sometimes people get what you were trying to do, and sometimes, they don’t, they really don’t.

I’ve been trying some really different things with my writing these last couple of weeks. I’ve written about a woman who missed the funeral of her boyfriend due to his mother lying to her… and so dug up his ashes and took them with her. I wrote a fable about a woman who begins to hug people and the consequences of that. My most recent story begins with a man who wakes up realizing that his mustache has disappeared.

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Fairy-tale Inspired Books

I haven’t read some of these books in ten years, but for some reason they still haunt me. Here are my favorite fairy-tale inspired books (in no particular order)! I had to cap it at thirteen otherwise the list might never end. Though, there is a shortage of good fairy tale retellings, for some reason… I wonder why that is? Are there any really good ones I should know about that aren’t on this list?

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Love is a Powerful Brain System

“Men are so adulterous!”
“What makes you think men are more adulterous?”
“Men are definitely more adulterous.”
“Well… who do you think these men are having sex with?”

I have become a new fan of TED online, which is this amazing website that gives all of us the option to watch amazing performances and speakers for free, so that good ideas can proliferate. Helen Fisher on Romantic Love really got me thinking, both as a person, and as a writer. It’s about ten minutes. Fisher discusses what she says are the three brain systems of love:

1. Sexual love
2. Romantic Love
3. Attachment

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Anthropologic Laboratory

For a novelist, a given historic situation is an anthropologic laboratory in which he explores his basic question: what is human existence?
– Milan Kundera (Czech writer)

Fellow novelists, do you feel as though you question the foundations of human existence in your writing?

Perhaps this may not be so for romance writers, or not felt as deeply.

Or perhaps it is felt deepest by romance writers, as they often deal with humanity on an intimate level, in terms of emotions and heartbreak.

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Contest Results and a Book Meme

Drumroll please…

The winner of the free Worderella critique contest is: Jaye Patrick!

Congratulations! E-mail your first three chapters/first 50 double-spaced pages to me, along with information about your word processor so I know how to submit my critique.

Now, I rarely do these things, but this meme had questions I’d like to read from other writers as well. And after last week’s intense editing, I thought we could all use a break and do something quick and fun. Post your answers in the comments or on your blog (but make sure to comment and let me know where to look!).

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Stumbling Blocks, Workshops, and a Contest

“Nobody’s perfect, I gotta work it again and again ’til I get it right…”
Nobody’s Perfect sung by Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus

Well, Hannah Montana’s right on the money with this one. This song should be the theme for all writers in the editing phase.

I’m holding an online editing workshop next week to contribute to Lynn Viehl’s Left Behind & Loving It (LB&LI) convention. I’ll tackle a different facet of editing each day. At the end of the week, I’ll give a free critique of the first three chapters (or the first 50 pages, whichever is shorter) of one commenter whose name I will pull from a hat.

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Inspiration from Clever Television

I’m an information junkie, and I blame that on my belief that everything has an influence on my writing. Because of this, I choose my television and movie choices carefully (most of the time). If I listed my favorite tv series, a pattern of character-driven plots will emerge (The Office, Gilmore Girls, 30 Rock…), which makes sense because my fiction is character-driven. Maybe I should watch shows that are more about the plot, so I don’t have blindspots? In any case, today I’m writing about one show and one movie that inspire my creative juices, and I hope you’ll share yours!

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Another one off the schedule

Man, I’ve been jumping all over my blog posting schedule this week.

I’ve written a guest column at Graham Carter’s blog, just a little tongue-in-cheek reflection on the English accent. To read it yourself, check out the May 29 post at grahamcarter.net. As always, Graham is exceedingly complimentary. Please read his other posts; they’re a collection personal reflections from the British perspective, both enlightening and funny, though tempered with real life predicaments.

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