Jordan Summers

We went to see Sahara yesterday. It was a fun enough movie, although it’s not going to beat the Mummy or Indiana Jones in entertainment factor any day soon.

I’ve seen Matthew McConaughey in a few different movies. I must admit I don’t think I’ve ever taken a real good look at him. Well, I did in this movie. All I have to say is my eyes must be worse than I thought. Blink. Blink. Blink. Holy Moly, Batman.

I’ve decided to be as much like Stephen King as I can over the next few weeks. What do I mean by that? Well I plan to incorporate as many of his suggestions into my day to day writing as possible. See, every night I go to sleep listening to his book On Writing. (I believe I’ve mentioned that I have it in paperback and on audio book.)

The section I’m fond of talks about his writing and reading habits, the muse, and plotting. His take on the latter is that he tries not to plot his books because he believes our lives are basically plotless. I personally think he has a good point, but that’s not what I’m talking about today.

I am actually referring to his writing habits. He believes you should write seven days a week when you’re in the middle of a book so that your characters don’t go stale. He says if you’re trying to get back into the habit of writing that you should start off with six days a week. I plan to do just that. He also suggests a thousand words a day. My goal will remain lower (500), but I do tend to go over it.

The final thing he suggests is to write the truth. What he means by that is don’t construct your writing to please others. I’ve realized that advice is easier said than done. After listening to him every night, I’ve discovered that I haven’t been writing the truth. It was a most painful realization.

Why? Because I’m not absolutely sure that in the future I will write strictly romance. If you would’ve asked me what my writing goals and plans were a year ago, I would have said I wanted to be a NYT Best selling romance author. (Okay, that’s still one of my goals, but it’s not the only one.)

As I’m finding my voice, (What? You thought I’d found it already. Snort.) I’m realizing that some of my stories are barely skirting the genre of romance. Yes, they have HEA’s in them, but I wouldn’t exactly call them romance novels. The stories aren’t about the romance in these new books, although the romance is important.

A friend and I were discussing our choice in movies the other day. We decided our favorites were the big, dumb action flicks. Well that’s the direction my stories are starting to lean in. I admit this revelation scares the daylights out of me. I’ve only ever known romance. And I love it. I can’t imagine ever abandoning it completely, but I see a day in the near future when I’m writing more than just romance.

Which brings me back to Stephen King and writing the truth. I think asking yourself if you’re writing the truth is a pretty interesting exercise. My question is…are you?

I’m not sure about you all, but I’ve noticed a lot of factions lately within the romance group. And I’m not just talking about spicy vs non-spicy writers. It seems bigger than that. There’s a lot of behind the scenes nastiness happening. And no, I will not go into further detail. There’s already enough gasoline on the fire.

Now this may be a normal course for a large group to take. I honestly don’t know. I do wonder why so many people put so much time and energy into smearing others. It reminds me of the creature Dean Koontz wrote about in Phantoms. You may not see it coming, but it’s always slithering in the background waiting to pounce. (Kind of like the Blob.) It grew bigger as it absorbed more people.

I don’t know about you all, but I don’t have enough time nor the energy to put into that kind of campaign. I also personally don’t like that much drama in my life. I know some people love to scheme and scrap. They seem to live for conflict. I suppose it makes them happy. (You’d hope they’re getting something out of it.)

Let me state here that I am not one of those people. I think this business is hard enough without ADDING problems to it. I may not get along with everyone I meet, but then again, I’m not trying to be friends with everybody. I am not going to compete in a popularity contest and I tend not to pick sides. I find life is MUCH easier when you do this.

Subject change. The writing is still coming along. I have a few more pages to work through before I start writing forward, but it’s been fun to go back and add info to the previously written pages. I like these characters. They’re both funny in their own quirky way. So far the tone of this book is lighter than the previous two. It’s a bit more like the Arrival I think. With any luck it’ll be completed by the end of next month. Happy writing everyone.

Well I managed to eek out a thousand words today. I know that doesn’t sound like much. In fact, it’s downright embarrassing, but for me it’s the closest thing to a miracle that I’ve seen lately. The funny thing is I’m only adding info to my story. I haven’t even gotten around to writing forward yet. But that’s okay, I’ll take it.

On a different note, I’d like to take a minute to talk about friends. They come all forms. You know who they are in your life. Some you see everyday, while others you never meet. Sometimes they come to you as the voice of reason or in the form of a kick in the pants with a big steel-toed boot. Some whisper kind words or mail loving cards, while others push the send button, hurling words of wisdom into your inbox. Whichever form they take in your life, remember to appreciate them and hold them close. They are some of the most valuable ‘possessions’ you’ll EVER own. And some of the greatest gifts you’ll EVER receive.

I’ve started back to work on AQ4. I know as a series the Atlanteans can be read separately, but it’s helpful to at least read the Arrival before tackling the other books. That in mind, I’m trying to figure out if I’ve started AQ4 in the right spot. My question is how much backstory/reminder would a reader like/need in a new story to feel comfortable with the book? Writers, readers, anyone?

It’s that time of year again. Daylight Savings begins today. I swear I can never remember if the clocks should already be turned forward or if you’re supposed to do it tonight. I’m still not sure why we touch the clocks in the first place. I know why we did it years ago, but now. Hmm…

It’s a beautiful day. The sun is out. I’m sure the birds are chirping. Ah, Spring. Do I have plans on how best to enjoy this day? Not really. Dh and I are feeling rather lazy. We may go see Sin City, but I’m not even sure we’ll be that ambitious.

I received a couple more reviews for Bad Boys Over Easy. They’re up on my review page. This book is really doing well and I’m not even sure if Barnes and Noble have it out yet. (Currently number 903 on Amazon.) Borders is selling it and Wicked Women On Top. They have both books placed front and center. Yah!!!

Change of subject. I appreciate the support you all have been showing me. I know everyone goes through writing woes (ie blockage). It’s part of learning and growing as a writer. That stated, I am going to be flaky and change what I’m working on one last time. I’m doing this because right now I desperately need to feel like I am making progress on something. I also need to work on something that doesn’t leave me feeling like I’ve gone ten rounds with Tyson. I have honestly never fought with so many writing projects in my life. EVER! I just can’t do it anymore. I need a project to flow. With that in mind, I’ve decided to pull out AQ4 and finish it. I know where this story is going. I know the characters. I just need to work on something ‘easy’ for a while, something that won’t tax me mentally. I’m sure you all understand.

One more reminder about the Jamie Denton fund. I’ve thrown my name into the ring to give a critique, along with several other wonderful authors. If you haven’t gone over to the site to take a look, please do so. It’s for a great cause.

A good friend called me last night and invited me to go to the movies this afternoon. We’re going to see Beauty Shop. Now this isn’t normally the kind of movie we’d go see, but when we caught the previews last month we couldn’t stop laughing.

I debated whether to pass on the invite since today officially starts Sylvia’s WORD challenge. I wanted to jump right in there. (ie write something…anything at this point beyond the crappy opening I came up with the other day) BUT, the planets must be conspiring against me. Not only is there the movie to think about, but they’re (management) throwing a sunset luau this evening for the American Cancer Society. Have I mentioned they’re holding this event where I live?

Sometimes I guess you just have to call it a day. Aloha kakou! Mahalo!