Rachel Vincent

I’ve discovered a cure for the new release nerves. You ready? Deadlines. Yup, the way to keep from worrying about how one book will be received is to keep working on another. Or… three more.

My Soul to Save comes out in six and a half weeks, and I should be firmly planted inside the panic zone. But I’m not. There are a million things that could go wrong, but I just don’t have time to worry about them. Much. Not while I’m working on the rough draft of ALPHA, page proofs for Shift, and revisions for My Soul to Keep. All due within a month.

Then I have to turn in two short stories in January, and another complete novel in April.
For the moment, I’m focusing on Alpha, which now stands at 99,000 words. Almost officially long enough! Though of course, an acceptable word count means nothing without an appropriate ending. ;-)

I wrote chapter 23 yesterday, half of which was that fight scene I mentioned, and wound up with 4,200+ words for the day. It’s weird, though. It took me most of the day to write the first 1,200 words, then only an hour and a half to do the next 2,300. (There were more after that.) Why such a difference in productivity?

That first part was the fight scene.

The fight scenes typically flow very slowly for me. And they come in several different layers. The first is basic choreography: Where are the fighters and what are they doing? This was a one-on-one fight, in human form, unarmed, so it was a bit simpler in theory than past scenes where Faythe and crew fought several bad guys at once, either in cat form or wielding rudimentary weapons. Like that first fight scene in Prey.

However, it was that very simplicity (in theory) that made it so hard to write. Because of the particular (crucial) set up, they’re outside, on flat land. There are no walls or trees or bars to be thrown into. Nothing to be used as a weapon. No one to interfere or help. In short, nothing to make the fight interesting, other than the basic punching and kicking. Which means I had to get creative. ;-)

After the choreography comes the reactions. What the pain felt like and where it occurred. How it affects Faythe’s next move. How her blows slow the bad guy down—or just make him mad. Normally, bits of setting would also come in both of the first two phases, as integral parts of the fight. Being slammed into a brick wall (Stray), falling onto the mat (Rogue), being pounced on by a cat on the side of a hill (Pride), clinging to a locked car door handle to keep from being dragged away (Prey). But there was little of that in this scene, because there’s only the ground to interact with.

Next come the details that didn’t make it into the broad strokes above. Blood (or sweat) shining in sunlight (or moonlight) or dripping on the grass. The sounds of the fight: screams, grunts, moans, thunks, etc… Scents (very important to Shifters).

Last of all comes the internal monologue: what Faythe’s thinking as she fights. This should be sparse. There isn’t much time to think while you’re literally fighting for your life. But once I have just enough of that to establish her frame of mind… ta da! The fight scene is finished.

At least until it’s time to polish. Because yes, after all that, it’s still in rough draft form. ;-)

The scene after that was terribly traumatic for Faythe. (Always fun to write!) Don’t worry, no one died or broke up. It was a different kind of traumatic. But those really emotional scenes really flow quickly for me. Which is a huge relief after the fight scene. ;-)

First, a friend's amazing news: Keri Arthur's Bound to Shadows has hit #6 on the NYT bestseller list. (Which will be printed next week. The list, not the book. The book is already out.) And check out this huge display of them in my local HEB:



Also note my fellow Mira author Jennifer Armintrout's latest release, at the top of the photo! (The one with the cool neon seahorse.)

As for me, I had an awesome writing day yesterday, for the first time in weeks. Seriously. With the move and the laborious (read: pain in the tail) restructure of the Alpha plot, it's been awhile since I was truly happy with my work. And yesterday was awesome. I put in 3,900 words before dinner, then spent the evening helping #1 get our den organized.

That puts the novel at 95,004 words, and means I'm almost finished. I need about 20,000 more words, and they need to come very, very quickly. Which means I'll be working weekends too.

Today's chapter is a big fight scene. Not THE big fight scene, but the most important fight Faythe's ever had, so far. It's one on one, and she's definitely the underdog. Er... undercat. (Doesn't quite have the same ring, does it?) And the timing is... horrible. She's literally never been in a worse position, politically or emotionally, and there's sooo much going on. And going wrong...

Yesterday's chapter ended with her opponent (let's just say they have a history) throwing the first (surprise) blow, so things are not off to a good start for Faythe. But that's how I like it. I can't wait to write this scene!

In fact, you may not hear from me until it's finished...! ;-)

I glanced at my calendar this morning—a dangerous prospect, when you have as many deadlines as I do at the moment—and realized it’s only eight weeks until My Soul to Save hits the shelf. I’m not sure where the time has gone since my first YA release, and I’m dismayed by how little I have to show for it (other than moving to San Antonio. And writing most of ALPHA. And doing revisions/copy edits on Shift), but it’s almost time to post the 1st chapter excerpt. I’m thinking next week, maybe.

This scene shows three of the principal characters:

Kaylee Cavanaugh is the viewpoint character, who, in the previous book, discovered that she’s a bean sidhe (banshee). Kaylee is clever, and resolute, and driven to help people, fueled in part by a determination to earn the life she’s been given. (That’ll make sense if you’ve read the first book.)

Nash Hudson is Kaylee’s boyfriend. Nash came onto the scene (in the previous book), knowing things about Kaylee that even she didn’t know. He gave her some much needed information and risked his life more than once to help her, both of which put him on the fast track into her heart. But from the beginning, Kaylee’s been suspicious of his interest in her, and trust doesn’t always come easily.

Tod is a rookie grim reaper, only a couple of years dead, whose humanity is just starting to fade. While he clings to the strongest, most volatile of his human emotions, he no longer has a firm grasp on gray area misdemeanors, like privacy and tact. Tod obviously cares about both Nash and Kaylee, but he has his own agenda, and he's increasingly unfettered by human restraint or propriety. [Note: he's one of my favorites! ;-)]

And with that, here’s a snippet of a scene from chapter two of My Soul to Save. Kaylee's the first one speaking…

“You don’t have to wait for us.” As cool as it would have been to meet Addison Page, telling a rising star that she was going to end both her career and her life in less than a week was so not on my to-do list. “I think I’m gonna sit this one out.” I propped my hands on my hips and glanced at Nash to see if he was with me, but he and Tod wore identical, half-amused, half-reluctant expressions. “What?”

“I’m dead, Kaylee.” Tod stopped in front of the first door we’d come to, his hand on the knob. “Addy came to my funeral. I can’t show up in her dressing room two years after I was buried and tell her not to kill herself. That would just be rude.”

I laughed at his idea of post-death etiquette, pretty sure that “rude” was a bit of an understatement. But I sobered quickly when his point sank in. “Wait, you want us to tell her?”

“If she sees me, she’ll freak out and spend the last days of her life in the psych ward.”

I bristled, irritated by the reminder of my own brief stay in the land of sedatives and straitjackets. “It’s called the mental health unit, thank you. And we are not going to go tell your famous ex-girlfriend to lighten up or she’ll be joining you six feet under. That would be rude.”

“She wouldn’t believe us, anyway,” Nash said, crossing his arms over his chest in a show of solidarity. “She’d probably call Security and have us arrested.”

“So make her believe you.” Tod gestured in exasperation. Like it’d be that easy. “I’ll be there to help. She just won’t be able to see me.”

I glanced at Nash and was relieved to see my reluctance still reflected in his features. As much as I wanted to help—to hopefully save Addison Page’s life—I did not want to be taken from her dressing room in handcuffs.

My dad would be soooo pissed if he had to bail me out of jail.

Interested? You can find both My Soul to Take and My Soul to Save here, as well as My Soul to Lose, the free ebook prequel/teaser here.

If you haven't already seen it, Dame Jenna posted about changes in cover art today, including several before-and-after examples. And she's giving away her new release! Click here for details.

I hope everyone had a great Halloween. Mine was miserable, except for the steady stream of children demanding candy. This was the first year we've gotten a single trick-or-treater, and they were awesome! (In Oklahoma, we didn't live in a neighborhood, and we weren't in Louisiana over Halloween--that's right, we were there less than a year.)

Other than that, I was sick--I completely lost my voice for almost three days--and my kitchen faucet sprung a fantastic leak at 8:30 pm on Halloween night. I got soaked before I realized I should turn the water off. ;-)

Number 1 replaced it the next morning (I got to pick out a new one, and it's pretty!) but when he got ready to install it, he discovered that it had come with the wrong built-in sprayer. It didn't fit the rest of the unit. He took it back, only to discover that every single one of them had been packaged the same way! I've never heard of such a factory mess up. So he picked out a very similar faucet and got it installed in short order. And it's pretty too. ;-)

Also this weekend, we ordered new recliners. My old one (my writing chair for the past five years) will go in my new office once the new one arrives. Yes, except for my chair, the office is finished! I can't wait to show pictures. It's a very cat friendly office. I didn't realize I had so many black cats! I also have a model of the car that one of my heroines drives--complete with bullet holes and cracked glass--but it occurs to me now that I don't have any bean sidhes (banshees). Anyone know where you can get a stuffed bean sidhe? Or a bean sidhe doll, or something?

I'm just not sure my office will be complete without one... ;-)

[Yesterday, I did a Halloween guest blog for Jeri Smith-Ready's Blogtoberfest. Click here to read the post and enter to win your choice of a signed copy of My Soul to Take or My Soul to Save! And don't forget to check out the other giveaways she still has open!]

If you've been reading my blog for long, you probably know a little bit about me, outside of my writing career. For instance, because my husband didn't choose a career that puts his face and name in front of thousands of readers, when I refer to him online, I call him #1, and I never post pictures of him. That's his choice.

[And by the way, #1 is both a Star Trek (TNG) and a Stephen King (Misery) reference. Not a bathroom reference. ;-)]

Anyway, you might also know that #1 and I are big kids at heart. And in perpetual self-image--he still thinks he's 18. ;-) Every Halloween, we carve pumpkins, watch a series of cheesy horror movies, and make a homemade gingerbread house. He designs (complete with blueprints), I bake, I make frosting/glue, he assembles, we decorate.

But this year, there was no time for gingerbread, which makes me very sad. Making our annual haunted gingerbread house is a 3-4 day labor. We're still unpacking, and I have three deadlines to meet in the next six weeks. Plus, I'm sick, and we've had a couple of new-to-us house issues (busted kitchen sink faucet = DISASTER!) to deal with as well.

I'm hoping we'll have time to do one for Thanksgiving instead. Something fall-themed and festive. And, of course, we'll do the traditional Christmas gingerbread house too. But in case you've never seen them, here are our haunted gingerbread houses from the past two years.

Monster House '07 from the front.

Monster House '07 from the back.

Amityville gingerbread '08, undecorated. (For reference, here's the actual Amityville house.)

Amityville gingerbread '08 decorated.

And now, looking at these old pictures, I really wish we'd had time for it this year. ;-(

Today I have a Halloween guest post for Jeri Smith-Ready's Blogtoberfest! If you haven't already been following her month of guestposts and giveaways, head over there now. There are several contests still open (including mine), and the grand prize is over $300 worth of brand new YA books, including Jeri's YA debut, Shade, which I'm dying to read.

[Note: the grand prize is open to US residents only, because of shipping restrictions.]

To read my post and enter to win your choice of a signed copy My Soul to Take or a signed copy of My Soul to Save (once I have my copies), click here. And don't forget to check out the other guest posts and giveaways!

Happy Halloween!

[I'm giving away a copy of Immortal at the Deadline Dames, at the end of a post about the hard truths in publishing. And... My friend and fellow author Jocelynn Drake is giving away a signed copy of Stray this week. If you're interested, click here to enter!]

I can't even begin to describe how much work I have to do, and how well it isn't flowing, so today I'm taking the easy way out: a mini-excerpt from Shift (March 1, 2010)!

Warning: the following contains a minor spoiler. Read at your own risk!








We all screamed. The van swerved. I rocked violently from side to side as Dodd tried to control the vehicle. And I could only stare at the bolder deeply embedded in the hood, pinning the thick canvas it had been carried in.

The van swerved left. Dodd over-compensated. We swerved right, and I braced my good arm against the dashboard. Dodd swerved again. The van careened off the road and smashed head-on into a trunk at the edge of the tree line.

For a moment, there was an eerie, shocked silence. Then Des started screaming.

I took a second to assess my injuries—a single, rapidly forming lump on the side of my head—then twisted to check on everyone else. “Are you guys okay?”

Manx nodded, dazed, one hand patting the screaming infant. Kaci peeked up from behind the backpack in her lap, and after a moment of consideration, she nodded too. “I think so—”

That’s when Teo’s door was ripped completely off the car.

I took a little break from Alpha yesterday afternoon to work on getting my office set up. I'm not done, but my books are all shelved, which gives me a very warm feeing of satisfaction. I can't wait to get it all put together, but I have to do it in small bursts of activity, because the deadlines call.

In fact, today I got the (electronic) typeset of Shift. This is my last chance to catch mistakes. Once I turn it in, I won't see the book again until I get ARCs and author copies. I can't believe how fast everything seemed to move with this one. Shift is the only book I wrote completely during my short time (11 months) in Louisiana, though I also wrote two short stories and 85,000 words of ALPHA while I was in there. And maybe the last bit of My Soul to Keep. I can't really remember.

Anyway, my real contribution to blogging today is at The Deadline Dames, where I combined my answer to an aspiring author's question with 5 difficult-to-hear truths about publishing. And if you make it through the post, there's a giveaway at the end. ;-)

I’ve discovered something interesting. Interesting in the “I now understand why some animals eat their own young” kind of way. The “young” in this case being my manuscript. Also, Kaci (the cat), who urinated on my new bath mat this morning.

Not that I actually want to eat either the manuscript or the cat, for the record. But I’m definitely not pleased with either one at the moment.

As for Kaci, I think that setting her litter box by the dryer has scared her away from using the box. Unfortunately, I can’t think of anywhere else to put it. This is a problem, but at least I know what the problem is.

But ALPHA… I have no idea why this manuscript hates me. Maybe it doesn’t want to end the series. Maybe it wanted the series to end with Shift, so it wouldn’t be put on the spot. And now I’ve lost my train of thought. Something was interesting…

Oh yeah. Rearranging the events in a manuscript is interesting—where interesting = insane. I cannot even begin to describe all the minute details that must be changed, because the things they refer to haven’t happened yet. It’s like being lost in time. I’m pretty sure I’m losing my mind. Confusion reigns. Is this what it’s like to hear voices?

Anyway, it’ll all work out soon. I just have to push through and get the events in the proper order, then attack the whole thing from the beginning, to make sure it makes sense. And is consistent. And has no plot holes. And is actually good.

No problem. Now, where did I leave my superwoman cape…?

P. S. I'm a little worried by the fact that my mindset now requires "attacking" the manuscript.
P. S. 2. I washed the bath mat, according to the direction. Now washer and dryer both contain an alarming amount of bath mat fuzz. Am. Not. Happy.

[Note: My friend and fellow author Jocelynn Drake is giving away a signed copy of Stray this week. If you're interested, click here to enter!]

I got an ARC of My Soul to Save in the mail today. Unfortunately, it was just the one, so it looks like I can't give any away until I get my author copies. That should be soon though. The book went to press a couple of weeks ago, and it's due out in just two months. Which hardly seems possible. ;-)

Today I'm performing surgery on ALPHA. This weekend, while #1 and I were unpacking box after box, figured out how to fix the pacing problems and how to tighten the focus, if that makes any sense. It involves reordering a few of the events. This is harder than it probably sounds, because this little operation will also necessarily alter the motivation driving several of these events. In short, it's a huge pain in the tail, considering I'm already almost 90,000 words in. But hopefully it'll be good for the story.

But honestly, until the book comes out of surgery and the work proves worth it, I'm kind of seeing the glass as half-empty. So much to do, so little time, and all that. ;-)

First, a couple of tidbits:

• The My Soul to Save cover is now up on Amazon, nine weeks before the release. My editor tells me it went to press about two weeks ago, so I'm expecting author copies soon. No ARCs yet. I may not get any this time. ARCs are never a guarantee, but if I do get some, I will, of course, give some away. ;-)
• I turned in the Shift copy edits yesterday, so that one is done, except for the galleys, which represent my last chance to read through the manuscript for mistakes. I caught a bunch in the edits, but I have no doubt that a few were waiting to surprise me in this last round. They seem determined to sneak into the finished product.
• My furniture arrived yesterday! I spent the afternoon unpacking dishes and books, but am no where near finished with either project. Number 1 has promised to help this weekend. I have promised to post pictures of my very first office, once it's been put in order.

I was up bright and early (pre-dawn) for an errand this morning, and I could have gone back to bed, but when I checked my email, I found the revision notes for My Soul to Keep in my inbox. Which led to an early cup of (strong) coffee and resignation to the fact that there will be no more sleep today.

My Soul to Keep is the third Soul Screamers book, and possibly the most ambitious subject matter I've attempted yet. Ambitious in the sense that I'm definitely not writing what I know in this instance. Although it occurs to me now that I don't actually know much about turning into a giant cat either. ;-)

The difference is that the parts of Faythe and her world that I don't know from experience are the parts I get to make up. I'm familiar with being hard-headed, determined, big-mouthed, and even impulsive, though I like to think I've outgrown some of that. And since no one's ever really Shifted into a giant cat, there's no one out there qualified to tell me that I'm getting that part all wrong. (And please, no letters from crazy cat people out there. It's fiction, people. And fantasy, at that.)

However, in MSTKeep, it's the realistic parts (the stuff that can and does happen in real life) that I have no personal experience with. It's these realistic angst, reactions, and fallout that I'm having trouble pegging. This would make a lot more sense if you'd read the book. But trust me, I'm in for a lot of research. And a lot of work. Because this could be a powerful book, if I get it right.

And I can't put it on the shelf until/unless I feel like I got it right.

[Note: Prey is being featured on the Borders True Romance blog today. Click here to read the interview and comment to win 1 of 2 signed copies.]

I've had two editing questions recently, but since they basically both asked the same thing, I'm just going to answer this one:

Mandi wrote, hmm i was wondering do you edit as you go when you're writing or wait till you get the copyedits?

Unfortunately (or maybe quite fortunately), the process is nowhere near that simple. It’s not like authors just write a manuscript, turn it in, then wait for copy edits. About half of my work on a novel comes between finishing the rough draft and receiving the copy edits.

After the rough draft, there’s the second draft. Then the third draft. And sometimes a fourth and a fifth draft. All before my editor ever sees the book. And in each of those drafts, I’m revising and editing, based on my CP’s advice and opinions and on my own new perspective, after having read the novel as a whole (as opposed to piecing it together one chapter at a time).

Then I turn the manuscript in and my editor reads it. She sends me a letter (or sometimes just a marked up manuscript) containing her notes about what she liked and what she didn’t like, and why. My particular editor works mostly in the form of questions. Her questions help me see where I wasn’t clear enough on a particular point, or where I’ve left a plot hole, or where there might be a simpler solution to a conflict. But these are not edits. They’re revisions. They involve mostly content: plot, voice, and consistency (of the characters, and within the series).

Armed with my editor’s notes, I make the necessary changes (and there's room for compromise if I disagree on a point or two), then I send the manuscript back. If my editor is satisfied with the manuscript at that time, it is then officially “accepted.” (This is a big deal because many contracts specify that the author gets part of his/her advance payment upon “acceptance” of the manuscript.) If my editor thinks the content still needs work, the manuscript (and another revision letter) comes back to me for another round of revisions.

Once the manuscript is accepted, the actual edits begin. There are three levels of edits: line edits (my editor does these), copy edits (the copy editor does these), and proofreading (a professional proofreader does these).

So I guess the short answer to the question is: no, I don’t wait for the copy edit to do my editing. The copy editor is supposed to catch the things I miss. But I have to do my job first, and since my name is on the book, it is ultimately my responsibility to make sure that everything between the covers reads like I want it to read.

Do mistakes still get through to the finished product? Of course. Way more than I’d like. Just yesterday I caught a typo in Shift that was missed on multiple rounds, by multiple people, including me, my CP, my agent, my editor, and the copy editor. I’d used “roll” when I meant “role.” And even though this is my eighth time to read this particular book, I never caught that before.

What’s really funny is that we’re all professionals. We do this for a living, yet we miss stuff, in part because we have to read the same book over, and over, and over. But readers invariably catch the things we miss. Of course, when one of my Shifters books hits the shelf, it’s read by many, many people (crossing my fingers that I haven’t jinxed myself there), which gives us much greater odds of catching the little mistakes than when there were just five or six of us reading it on a computer screen. And it’s not like every reader catches a typo.

But my point is… Well, actually I have two points.

1. No, I don’t just wait for my copy editor to catch all my mistakes. That would be lazy and irresponsible of me.

2. Mistakes happen, even to the best authors and editors. I can’t remember ever reading a new release that had no mistakes. Ever. This is not to say that typo-riddled novels are not a problem. They are—there’s a difference between one or two mistakes slipping through and an entire book being sloppily written and edited. But a couple of typos do not ruin an otherwise good novel.

Oh, and one more small point. I don’t mind when people email to tell me they’ve found a typo in my book. I really don't. I hate mistakes just as much as the next author, and most of the time when that happens, the reader means well. He or she is assuming I can have the typo fixed before the next printing. But in my particular situation (and it’s the same for many other authors I know), that doesn’t work. I don’t usually hear about reprints until the book has already gone back to press, which means I have no opportunity to fix typos. So (and this hasn’t actually happened yet) hearing about the same typo from fifty different readers could get frustrating, I’d imagine.

Now, if you find a typo in my website, please let me know. That I can fix myself.

Just as soon as the movers arrive with the rest of my office… ;-)

This past weekend, I added a new chapter 1 and a new chapter 2 to ALPHA. You'd think that by my twelfth book I know where to start the story. But you'd be wrong. ;-)

Here's a brief history of my first chapter misadventures:

• Stray originally started with Faythe at school, but there was no attack. There was just Marc, who showed up to bring her home. It works much better starting with action. Trust me.
• Rogue originally started with the sparring scene in the basement, and Faythe had a disturbing flashback to fighting Miguel. The published version begins with Faythe and Marc catching and expelling a trespasser who later turns out to be important.
• Pride is one of the few books I've written that retained not only its opening scene, but its opening line. Yea! Oddly enough, it seems to be readers' least favorite of the series. Think that means something?
• Prey didn't get a new first chapter, but it did get a significant rewrite. Originally, there was a bunch of backstory from the previous books before they arrived at the convenience store where they met Marc. And originally, Michael was with them, rather than Ethan.
• My Soul to Take originally had three pages of Kaylee getting ready to sneak out with Emma before they actually arrived at the club. My CP put big red (metaphorical) Xs through all three of those pages. She was right. ;-)
• The opening paragraph for Shift (which you guys haven't read yet) was originally at the bottom of the second page. My CP suggested that it would make a great opening, and again, she was right!
• My Soul to Save starts in the original place, but has a new opening paragraph, as per my editor's suggestion.

So as you can see, I kind of suck at beginnings. But from what I've heard from some fellow writers, I'm not the only one. Thank goodness for CPs and editors, and revisions in general. ;-)

Today I'm going over the copy edited Shift manuscript. This is my chance to approve or stet (reject) the changes the copy editor made. After this step, there will be one last run-through (galleys), then the book will go to print, and I won't see it again until I get my finished copies.

And yes, that's a very scary prospect. ;-)

Okay, the random number generator has spoken, and the winners are of the Immortal anthology are:

elnice whose comment began, “I like traditional blood sucking vampires that bite, not tear.”

And

Jessica Kennedy whose comment began, “I like the blood sucking version but I also like the author to make them their own.”

And

Barbara E. whose comment began, “I enjoy vampires of any kind.”

Ladies, please email me (rachelkvincentATgmailDOTcom) with your mailing information, and I’ll put your books in the mail. Just as soon as they get to me from the publisher, who’s generously donated to this giveaway. ;-)

Now, the last of the Q&A:

Chris Ligon says: So, about Soul Screamers - are there going to be only 5 books? More? Indeterminate amount?

Um… There isn’t really any way for me to answer that at this point in time. Right now, I’m under contract for five Soul Screamers novels. Whether or not there will be more depends entirely on sales/reader demand, which is one of the frustrating (but necessary) elements of publishing. Writers live from contract to contract (unless you’re one of those rare blockbusters who made a fortune on the first sale), and you only get that next contract if your books are making money for the publisher. Or if they believe your books will make them money. So… it’s really too early to guess how far the Soul Screamers series will go, considering that there’s only one volume on the shelf so far. But I’m crossing my fingers. ;-)

Melissa Carmichael says: What would you say is the key to your productivity? You are able to produce quality books pretty quickly? It takes me forever:(

The key to my productivity… Hmm… I don’t know. Everyone has a natural writing speed. Mine is faster than some, but slower than others, and I’ve discovered that if I stray too far from that natural speed, bad things happen.

If it takes me more than two days to write a chapter/scene (which is usually the result of real life getting in the way), I lose all perspective on pacing. The scene starts to feel like it’s dragging, even if it’s not, because it’s taken so long to put down on the screen. And if I push myself to write too quickly, too many hours in the day, the quality suffers, which makes the revision process… unpleasant.

So I set goals. I’ve been writing long enough now that I know what I can do in a day. There are exceptions, of course. Some days the words just won’t flow, and some days they won’t stop flowing. But in general, I’m good for between 3000 and 4500 new words a day, when I’m in first draft mode. That’s one chapter. I like to start and finish that chapter in one day, and I like to know what I’m going to write the next day, before I even get out of bed. Which is where the synopses come in.

I write a synopsis before every book. I have to, because my publisher requires them as part of the book proposal. (Well, most of the time.) In the beginning, this was a pain, but now it’s an incredible helping hand. Knowing what I’m going to write each day helps the words flow faster, even though I often vary dramatically from the synopsis. Because I never start the day asking myself, “What happens now?”

The other key? Short of a personal life disaster (or a day off for #1, in which case I’ll play hookie and go to the movies), I work until I meet my goal, even if that means I’m making a pot of coffee at midnight.

Are the words always good words? No. Quite often in a rough draft, they’re not. The real art (if my writing can even be described as such) doesn’t come in until the second and third drafts. The first draft is just about getting the words down on the screen before I forget them.

Gordana Fritsche says: Would you say characters are completely made up or do you take oddities, quirks and/or traits from those familiar to you and work them in somehow? It is so hard for me to believe that authors ignore the personalities and relationships of friends and family when developing characters in a book. ;-)

I’ve never consciously based a character on someone I know (I don’t feel like I have that right—what if my friend/family member didn’t like the portrayal?) but of course lots of my characters’ traits come from people I know, or people I’ve seen. Like most writers, I’m a people watcher. I’m always on the hunt for gestures and habits, because they’re very useful in prose. Gestures can show mood, demonstrate the character interacting with the setting, replace dialogue tags, or all of those at once.

And habits/routines help differentiate one character from the others, which comes in handy in a book where you have, for instance, half a dozen different male characters in most scenes together. Habits and routines can also help keep the characters busy while they talk. For instance, Karen Sanders will often cook or straighten things up while she talks. Michael is usually looking something up or writing something down. Those habits let you know who both characters are, but if an author isn’t careful, those routines can make the characters look like stereotypes. Which is why it’s also important to show who the characters are on the inside. How they react in a crisis, or how they interact with others. How different people see them differently.

Thanks for the questions, guys!