Writer’s Life Blog Challenge

This post is a part of the Paranormal Love Wednesdays.

Be sure to visit all the other awesome bloggers. (:

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This will be fun! I was tagged by Katy Huth Jones over on her blog, Life is a Four Letter Word, for the Writer’s Life Challenge! This was a fun tagging to find this morning. I wish I could get birds to land on my flute, Katy. 😀

Write Fuel: What do you eat/drink while writing?

I drink lots and lots of coffee. I need to drink more water. At least coffee is made with water. Sometimes, I drink Singing Canary (It’s a delicious support drink for Adrenal Fatigue).

I like salty snacks, but I have a hard time snacking while I’m writing because I hate to get residue on my keyboard. I usually write for an hour or two, and then I take a break to read something while I eat. I started that read-while-eating habit when I spent summers at my Grandmother’s. We could go whole days without talking while each of us had our nose in a book. It was glorious.

I’m happy to say that I’ve passed the habit on to my kids, too.

Write Sounds: What do you listen to while writing?

Recently, I wrote the first draft of a space opera, and I was obsessed with André Rieu’s Bolero. The crescendo reminds me of the order of story-telling. Scene by scene, chapter by chapter, until we meet the climax.  I have always loved the piece, but I listened to it on repeat for most of my first draft. Also, The Piano Guys!

I have learned that the tempo of any music is directly related to how fast my keyboard clacks. Sometimes, I listen to things I already know by heart (so I am not listening to the words or tune) or wordless music. Recently, I’ve listened to Aerosmith, Johnny Cash, Lana Del Rey, Maroon 5, Adele, Norah Jones, Imagine Dragons, Secret Sisters, Punch Brothers. But everything is from a few years ago, so I already know the words.

However, I also really enjoy the Dr. Zhivago soundtrack as well as The Hunger Games (Songs from District 12 and Beyond). I connect the feelings I get from reading or watching a great story told with the music in it. When I saw Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, I listened to Gollum’s Song sung by Emiliana Torrini on repeat for several days, and for several weeks after we watched The Hobbit, my middle son asked to hear the Misty Mountains song before bed. And Pippin’s Song… I could go on.

Write Vice: What’s your most debilitating distraction?

Facebook and Twitter usually catch me. Although, I do spend a significant amount of time researching the publishing industry and book marketing techniques.

Write Horror: What’s the worst thing that’s ever happened to you while writing?

Editing. Editing is brutal. It’s horribly dramatic in the vicinity of my desk when I have to remove superfluous characters or cut scenes. So far, in my rather limited experience, this is the most dramatic occurrence.

Write Joy: What’s the best thing that’s ever happened while writing or how do you celebrate small victories?

I love it when I complete a story. I spent 20 years starting stories, but never finishing. I get to the end now. That’s a huge accomplishment, and it means that I’m closer to being a decent writer. There’s nothing that beats the learning curve of taking a story from concept to completion, then through all the stages of editing and proofing.

To celebrate? Coffee. I drink coffee, and start over.

Write Crew: Who do you communicate with or not communicate with while writing?

My older boys are getting mature enough that I talk to them about things that I’m trying to work through in plots. They also help name planets or people. Birthdays often appear in my books as codes for locks. They ask regularly if I will make them characters in the science fiction series that I am writing. I probably will.

Otherwise, when I’m spending thousands of words a day on a manuscript, I sort of turn into the writer recluse cliché. I try to remember to lift my head up every so often and contact people outside of my home. Sometimes, it takes those “Hey, are you alive?” texts to remind me.

Write Secret: What’s your writing secret to success or hidden flaw?

I have no secrets to success. The only way to success that I know is hard work. But if you think of something faster, however secretive, I’d love to know. 😀

I think my biggest flaw is that I crave monetary success. Sometimes, I worry more about whether I can sell my idea than whether it’s the story I’m supposed to tell right now. I’ll take lines or ideas out to make the story line more generic.

It’s difficult to walk the line between who I am, my voice, and what I am meant to say, and the desire to be commercially viable in a broad market.

Write-spiration: What always makes you productive?

Music makes me productive. Sometimes, I take a break of a week or two off. But by the end, I’m ready to write everything. Blog posts, flash fiction, short stories, novels, all of it.

Write Peeve: What’s one thing writers do (or you do) that’s annoying?

Those that try to make someone else’s work fit their mindset. I enjoy reading a wide range of voices, but I don’t think I could say that if the editor had said, “Okay, you need to put more ______ in because that’s what’s expected.”

Obviously, certain genres require certain things, but it’s awesome when there’s a spin on the normal. It’s okay to stand out, to be different. The key is to learn to do your version of story-telling well.

Write Words- Share one sentence from a project. Past or present.

Here’s a line from Dogwood Sprocket. It’s a novelette that I’m polishing for inclusion in an anthology later this year.

“Parallel realties?” Grace considered his explanation. “Above my sink?” Of all the bathrooms in all the world…

Thanks for tagging me, Katy! Don’t forget to check out her blog, Life is a Four-Letter Word.

I think I will now tag Cassidy Salem and her blog Cassidy Salem Reads & Writes. Can’t wait to read your answers, Cassidy!

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This post is a part of the Paranormal Love Wednesdays.

Be sure to visit all the other awesome bloggers. (:

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Coming Spring 2016