I wanted to call this post ‘Writerly Thoughts about Writerly Things’ because my mind is all over the place after focusing the past three months on finishing book two. But as I let my mind write out my thoughts, they all circled around the idea that book two is complete and I learned a lot this go around.
I just completed and submitted my second ever manuscript to my publisher. I had to be organized, set a writing schedule, and keep going even when I wasn’t sure what I should write next. My original rough draft was messy and even though I felt solid about the characters I had flushed out, I had written it years ago, before I published book one. And book one had changed—a lot. Which made many scenes in book two unusable. But I had to read through it all again before I figured that out. Once I let go of my old writing, I was able to write a different story, one that I believe was better.
There honesty and encouragement kept me going. They asked questions, pointed out inconsistencies in the timeline, and held me accountable to my characters. Would she really say that? I don’t think he would respond that way. I’m just so thankful for them. It makes this entire journey more enjoyable and fun.
I was able to meet them in person at the Faith, Hope, Love, Writers Conference in Phoenix at the end of September. We do pretty well with email. Having an opportunity to talk live about writing and our stories was an extra special treat.
There’s a group that started them back in July and I joined in to help me be focused and write. It did that and well. (So well, I gave myself tendonitis in my arms from too much typing between writing this book and my day job – but that’s another story). The group still meets and I’m so glad to have this focused time for my writing. I don’t like getting up early in the am for it, but it helps to know there’s people on zoom and I want to be there.
The decisions I made for these first two books impact what I can do in the next. Things like choosing names. For some reason I was sticking to last names that started with m, and had similar sounds. It was important to catch that now before going to print, so I didn’t regret it when I write the next story. It was actually my critique group that helped catch that for me.
One of the things that helped me this time around was talking with readers about my characters from book one, When Plans Go Awry. They shared with me their favorites, and what they liked and had questions on. It really stayed at the front of my mind when writing book two. In my rough draft, Bert, my crazy rooster, didn’t exist yet. But he has by far stolen the show in book one and being able to write more of him in book two was so much fun. I hope my readers think so too.
Working on deadline and writing an entire book is no joke. I had to say no to several things, ignore my family a bit, and work hard at not getting distracted by home stuff, including the dog. Now I’m playing catchup on things at home, mentally jumping into the projects we need to finish in our yard and house.
I like the new schedule I have and want to keep that time for anything writing related (like writing this blog). It’s amazing how fast time goes by. Besides writing books, as an author I have other writerly things to do including working on my website, posting on my author social media, writing blogs and newsletters, and brainstorming for the next book. I’d love to create a VIP section on my website for my newsletter subscribers. And continue building my word of the year pages—something near and dear to my heart. This year my word is grow, and I think I have definitely done a lot of that.
So many things, but some will have to wait as I have another deadline early next year for book three.
0 0 Read moreWriting a romance is all about the happy ever after. As a reader, I love the “ah” at the end when the two characters are finally together. Where they learned something new about themselves, opened their heart, and found the one that completes them.
That said, a happily ever after at the end of our novels doesn’t necessarily mean the hero and heroine get married at the end of the book. They could be newly engaged. The couple could decide they are now in a committed relationship. Or they could say I love you for the first time. There are so many options, that it really is the character journey that determines what fits best for our endings.
Personally this past month has been filled with happily ever afters. One fiction, one real life.
The first one was my debut novel, When Plans Go Awry, released in early June. Luke and Olivia’s story is not so much a will they/won’t they (although they didn’t know they would, we did). But the how were they going to figure it out and end up together.
I won’t give away what happens to them at the end, but it’s been so well received and I have found it so much fun to talk with readers about the characters and the town of Washton, like they were real people. Having these discussions has made me feel the happily ever after my characters feel, and that has been so motivating for me as a writer.
Here are several review statements. Also last month I shared information about the launch activities and launch party held in my honor.
The second example and the real life one, is that my middle son found his happily ever after and married his sweetheart the last weekend of June. A beautiful ceremony, beautiful couple, and a wonderful day filled with love, laughter, family, and friends. With lots of planning before hand, everything came together perfectly.
And I now have a daughter in the family. It’s been so fun to have a front row seat watching them grow and bond as a couple and plan their future life together.
As a little girl the story of Cinderella was my favorite. She has a fairy Godmother, she finds her prince (or the prince finds her), and they all live happily ever after. I now know that life is not as simple as that and that those endings are a moment in time where the couple is happy together. But they are still my favorite stories to read.
A story has to end somewhere, why not have it end happy. We all want that hope, love, and joyful feeling when we realize we are in a committed relationship and someone loves us just as much as we love them.
There’s something about escaping in a story where the ending is just that. And that is what I love to read and love to write.
Here’s to many more stories of happily ever afters in our lives. Both fiction and real life.
2 2 Read more@jinabacarrauthor the surprising thing that happened to me when I was writing Sisters At War #books #booksthatmakeyoucry #womensfiction #authorlife #history #booktok #historicalbooklover @Bold Book Club 📚 Boldwood
♬ original sound – Jina Bacarr Historical Author♥
When I was a little girl, I loved sitting at the feet of my grandmum coloring in my ballet books while she twisted tiny pieces of wire and blue or green beads into rosaries and spun tales about Ireland. How my English great-grandmum, a grand lady, ran away from her overbearng, stuffy father to marry her Irish rogue.
I used to pretend she became a ballet dancer like the drawings I colored in Degas pastels.
She didn’t.
But I spent hours coloring and cutting out the dancers. I discovered I had an artistic bent like my grandpop but I also loved telling stories like my grandmum. So at times in my life, I used my artistic talents to get the job done; other times, I wrote stories.
Both require intense concentration as well as precious time. (I swear there’s a watch that can stop time with its golden hands, but I haven’t found it on Amazon). And sometimes you have to make a choice.
Which brings me to my current dilemma.
I had an intense year writing SISTERS AT WAR with ‘life’ getting in the way numerous times as well as reliving diffucult past experiences to capture the emotions of the story. Then the book came out and I loved making the pretty graphics, the videos, the everything you get to do that’s artsy and fun…
But here’s the rub.
Readers are waiting for the sequel called SISTERS OF THE RESISTANCE… some want to read it now.
Oh, my, I’m still writing the sequel.
Which means I need to take a deep dive and put away my coloring book and crayons. Write, write, write. I know where the story is going, new characters to add to the tension between the Beaufort Sisters in my story, a life-altering experience for Eve and a heartbreak for Justine, but there are no shortcuts on this journey. Writing about WW2 requires maddening research as well as intense, emotional dialogue.
So, mes amis, I have pull back for a while on social media while I finish writing Sisters of the Resistance.
I’ll be here once a month, but not so much on other venues.
Alas, I’m going to close now. I’ve got research to do and a chapter to write tonight. I hope you enjoy my short video about what’s going on with Sisters At War.
See you soon.
Jina
Who are the Beaufort Sisters?
They’re beautiful
They’re smart
They’re dangerous
They’re at war with the Nazis… and each other.
THE RUNAWAY GIRL. was a special challenge to write because of the importance to ‘get it right’ re: every moment aboard the ship since the ship of dreams set sail on April 10, 1912.
It’s all in the details, they say…
But how many details do you know about the TITANIC?
Check your Titanic knowledge with:
A Titanic Trivia Quiz
We’ve seen the films, read the books, but what do you know about the Titanic, really?
Take the quiz and find out!
(answers at the bottom of the page)
================
Titanic Trivia Questions:
Answers:
THE RUNAWAY GIRL:
———–
US:
Kobo.
0 0 Read moreI’m a Disney nerd. I love everything Disney, from the movies, the characters, to the parks. A few years ago I wrote a February post titled Dating Lessons from Wall-E. It was one of my funnest posts to write. I decided this February to try and find some other Disney couples to write about.
Did you know there are a lot of Disney couples? I found two lists with vastly different names on them. Some had duplicates, but some did not. So I decided to create my own list. How many of these couples are you familiar with? Do you know their love story?
Of course there are these main Disney couples
Do you have favorites? Can you can identify which movies these couples are from? Do you know other Disney couples I need to add to my list?
Thanks for playing along with me today. If you are interested in some other Disney-related blog posts on my website, check out my Disney mugs are fun post, or my Christmas & Disney post.
0 0 Read moreA Slice of Orange is an affiliate with some of the booksellers listed on this website, including Barnes & Nobel, Books A Million, iBooks, Kobo, and Smashwords. This means A Slice of Orange may earn a small advertising fee from sales made through the links used on this website. There are reminders of these affiliate links on the pages for individual books.
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More info →A Slice of Orange is an affiliate with some of the booksellers listed on this website, including Barnes & Nobel, Books A Million, iBooks, Kobo, and Smashwords. This means A Slice of Orange may earn a small advertising fee from sales made through the links used on this website. There are reminders of these affiliate links on the pages for individual books.
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