Belladonna is about to do Nano-Wrimo

There's no denying I need to give myself a kick in the butt right now. My brain is saturated with ideas for stories. I have nine project folders sitting on the corner of my desk. Character charts – done. World building sheets – ditto. Scenes are set up. Plots have been investigated. You may be asking yourself what am I waiting for?

The answer is NANO (National Novel Writer's Month). This will be my first year trying to put down 2500 words a day. Not that it is out of the question for me to write that much or even more in a day. Still, I knew if I was going to take on this challenge, I better prep. So it's been ready, set, prep around here lately.

Before anybody starts asking – Bella, you writing a novel? Nope. Never gonna happen with me. I'm a short format writer. That's where I'm comfortable and where I think my work shines. The challenge for me has always been to see if I can prove my plot in short format.

My goal is very aggressive; some might say I'm crazy. I plan to complete two novellas (around 25K) and two super shorts (5-15K). One will be a fantahistorical tentatively titled Frost Bitten (bridge story between Primal Rage and its sequel). The other novella will be the sequel to Primal Rage. The two super shorts will be in the 'For Me' line but will probably go over 10K. I won't lie to you—that's a lot of words. Thus, that's why I've been doing all this prep work.

Am I a little worried I might not make the challenge of 50K in the whole month? Somewhat. Unlike a novel writer, I've got a different set of problems. It's whether or not I can move smoothly between projects without losing steam or getting hung up on a plot. Then there's the fact I have stories selling at the moment. I could suddenly get derailed with edits or something like that. Life happens—but what if life suddenly explodes on me?

Still, I'm up for it. Is anybody else doing Nano? What's your goal and what would you like to complete?

I can't wait to hear your responses.

 

Best!

Bella

Great Review for Hell Rider

It's been a long couple of months here. I'm prepping for a writing cycle. I've got stories out selling. I'm working two jobs. Ugh, I'm tired of starting sentences with the word 'I'.

But great news hit my in-box this weekend, a fantastic review for book two of The Hellfire Club – Hell Rider.

Check it out here -- http://theromancestudio.com/reviews/reviews/hellriderbordeaux.htm

Have a great day folks.

Best!

Bella

Bella Bites Back

Okay, I'm pissed. One of the first lessons my mom gave me when I was moving into writing was this one. It should be noted that at that time, I was writing with her. Well, more like she was writing, and I was doing all the conceiving except for on a few stories.

The lesson she taught me was this—

Impact moment + back story +GMC= characterization.

I was on her computer the other day and strolled across this blog site.

http://www.zeemonodee.blogspot.com/

You'll have to scroll down to her Wednesday 8-18 blog post to see what she writes.

Here's the skinny. This chit was once my mom's prodigy. She was also her senior editor when she opened her own publishing company. She learned how to be a better writer and an editor through my mom.

Six months ago, the twit started blogging about how she didn't have enough time for all her important mundane things. So, what does Mom try to do? She relieves some of her work load. Woman's response -- A temper tantrum that would have a two year old shaking their head and boom – she quits. Why? Because Mom was trying to give her a little breathing room.

That's only the beginning. This twit went out of her way to destroy my mom's reputation (can you tell, I've got a lot of anger built up over this woman?). I'm saying destroy not only my mom's reputation but her company's too. Why, because people didn't all jump on board and cry for her. She's got an entourage of cheerleaders, but not everybody took her side. So sad—too bad.

Now she's pandering Mom's lessons as if they are her own. I'm completely pissed and ready to go through the computer screen for a good, old-fashioned b*tch slap.

Am I wrong to feel like this? Should I just forgive and forget or should I actually say something to the twit?

*big sigh*

Bella

Just gotta say...

A pet peeve of mine has made an unwelcome visit this past week. That of aspiring authors telling aspiring authors how they should write. This is the stupidest thing I've heard of. Why don't you ask a blind man to teach you how to drive? It's about the same thing. It's just when you actually crash, it can be a lot more painful for the writer because they don't know why they hit a tree. At least in a car, you can see the deer that cut you off.

And it's not as if we can deny this is happening either. Look at all the crit groups for romance writers. Look at all the aspiring writer blogs who put up a snippet and then try to edit the work. It's so sad in so many ways. These authors are getting very little real education but when things go wrong (ie the rejection letters start banging at their front door) they have their cheerleaders in place. It's cruel, in my opinion, to have the people who helped drive them into a tree giving the standard, "the agent didn't know what the hell they were talking about" or "It's such a good story".

Why is it so sad? Because the cheerleaders don't know better themselves.

I'm not a know-it-all by any shade of the word, but I know someone who is. When you talk to my Mom, you might as well be talking to a walking, talking dictionary on writing. Yep, I got lucky. She had my back when I waded into the adult pool. Though, at times it was very painful for me to hear what I was doing wrong, I recognized the one thing she was doing – she was telling me exactly what I had to fix and how to do it.

What can an aspiring writer do about it? Not much at this time. There are things you can recognize (and this comes directly from my Mom's playbook on making an aspiring author an author) –

1. Know your specific problems when it comes to writing.

2. Don't take it personally when someone actually does point out what is wrong with your story.

3. Find someone who will help you fix the problem. Look specifically for consistent comments – these are normally what hurts the story.

4. Sit down, shut up and listen instead of going "she doesn't like my story" or "she doesn't see my vision".

Mom told me from the get-go that I was gonna get beat up. Whether it was from her or an editor, I should always look at what someone was pointing out and understand I need to learn how to fix it.

So, what's your take on this? Has it become a real problem for aspiring authors to crit/edit other aspiring authors work or do they really help?

Best,

Bella

 

 

Constitutional Russian Roulette

Welcome to the politics corner where I weigh in on this or that or the other thing that deals with the goofballs running our country and the loud mouths that are after our votes. Let it be known that I am registered a Democrat, but I have voted Republican. Anybody remember Kathleen Kennedy Townsend's run to become Maryland's governor – yeah, voted against her.

Our politicians are losing their minds—some collectively, others individually. Heck, we have politicians all over the place right now. We have progressives wanting everybody to be as progressive as they are. We have the tea talkers out there drumming up lots of hoopla about how we must return to conservatism. We have congressmen and senators picking and choosing which amendment to embrace and which ones are not exactly what our Founding Fathers meant. It's a bloody mess.

And when I said bloody, I mean the potential for terrible things to happen. Shoot, there's that Tea Party candidate out in Nevada (I will paraphrase this) – who understands how some citizens resort to second amendment solutions with the government.

WTF! Doesn't she hear what she's saying? She is talking about guns and bombs and ugliness. Yep, that's the second amendment – the Right to Keep and Bear Arms. Maybe she got confused. Maybe she thought it was the Right to Keep and Arm Bears.

I don't mind a person who owns guns. It's allowed under the constitution. I've never understood the need to collect anti-aircraft weaponry, but if you got the cash, who am I? Still, do we want our politicians going – okay, I understand the people who might go shoot the members of Congress they don't like. *Shaking my Head*

Let's take a look at the Fourteenth Amendment next. Recently, so many people have been screaming to repeal the Fourteenth Amendment. Other than it would take forever to actually repeal a constitutional amendment, this is one of the most important amendments to the country as a whole. This amendment includes not only the hot button 'birth right' clause which states children born here are automatically US citizens, but it also includes the equal rights under the law clause. Yep, we're talking civil rights here. So, if the people who want to repeal this amendment actually get their way, civil rights also dies. That doesn't sound very smart to me.

Last but not least is the First Amendment. Holy Macaroni, Batman – that's the First Amendment. The one that defines the most basic of rights – Speech, Religion, Assembly – that would be that amendment.

I get it. I so get it, that the Ground Zero Civic Center is a big deal, but seriously folks, there has been a Muslim Prayer Center in Lower Manhattan for forty years. It's still there. Our congressmen and women who speak out against it aren't doing it because it's only two blocks from WTC (considering the established prayer center is almost the same distance). They're doing it to stoke a fire and divide the country more. Come on. It's a Community Center. It's not about sensitivity to the victims. This is really hate-mongering. When you start saying a building a tenth of a mile off the northern corner of a property is an insult, you aren't doing it for any other reason than to rile people. Hell, you'd have to go out of your way to just fine the building they are tearing down. Yep, you'd actually have to leave the street on which the WTC will be rebuilt to get there.

We can lay the Ground Zero Civic and Prayer Center in the realm of, if you really want to be insulted then walk the tenth of a mile and be insulted but you can't see it from the site and it cannot see the site due to the buildings in its way. What are these people who want to stop this do for an encore? Tell the Muslim families who visit Ground Zero to pray for their son or daughter, husband or wife who worked in the WTC that they have to cease and desist because it's offensive to all the other victims' families and friends? Really? Is that what the next act will be?

I'm not insensitive to any one of the victims who lost their life in 9-11, but I can't see the point in the outrage or the proposed solution – Put the Mosque (which it isn't) somewhere else. The First Amendment allows them to build wherever they want to as long as the building meets ordinance.

This comes down to a simple truth – you can't pick and choose what amendment works for you. Our government shouldn't either.

 

Am I off base? You tell me.

 

Bella

Just gotta say it

Major rant warning!

Have you ever gotten so sick of someone whining and complaining? Of aspiring author bloggers going, "well, why doesn't the industry change, cause we all know I'm the next big star. The industry should come to me".

Really? Are you serious? The agents should just flock to you? Publishers should beat a fast path to your door since you wrote a story? Reality check time, friends. This industry isn't going to flock to anybody. You gotta put in the leg work. Gotta do the grunt stuff. You have to show you work and play well with others. Ranting about how much you think the industry should come to you proves the last. Really, why don't you shoot yourself in the foot and then the head, because you are pretty much wearing a sign that says, 'unprofessional'? SHUT UP!

The other side of this is rant is an author I follow who blogs everyday about how much work they are NOT getting done. This author is not the first and won't be the last, but it doesn't take long to start sighing. After the hundreds of excuses thrown out there, you just want to say – shut up and work on your WIP instead of putting nonsense on your blog. Do I really have to read your silly blog post on this is a fun link I found or how your kid is just driving you crazy or the hubby doesn't understand me? Seriously. Are you trying to say, 'my life sucks, so feel sorry for me'? Stop making excuses and knuckle down. That's what the rest of us have to do. WORK. Yeah, that's spelled W-O-R-K! As in do your job. As in get your story done. WORK!

Don't get me wrong, there are a few bloggers I get into. They make their blogs entertaining. Romance in the Back Seat is one of them. Sandra Sookoo's is another. I used to follow Jessica Rabbit's blog until I lost all my bookmarks :(

Maybe, I'm just tired of all the whining and complaining. Perhaps, I got fed up with the pity party mentality. I guess I should have given the bloggers who do bitch and complain thanks for at least making the attempt.

But, is it worthwhile? You tell me.

Until next time...

 

Bella

Sci-fi Saturday

Meet the Navorains.

The Navorains are an ancient culture and one of the founding members of the League of Sentient Beings (think Intergalactic council here). Their planet of origin, Lazarus 7, was abandoned 4000 years ago when their eco-system collapsed. The Navorains are adventurous and curious by nature. They were also brutally territorial until the planet they relocated to after the collapse of Lazarus 7, Navora, was destroyed by a weapon of mass destruction, the T-9 Planet Killer.

The League of Sentient Beings interceded before the remaining Navorains went on a blood feud against the Andromedains for destroying Navora. The Navorains were promised planets, riches, anything and everything to keep the mighty warriors with their immense and technologically advanced galactic class starships, the War Galleys, from warring against Andromeda. In the end, the Navorains remained neutral, but war was inevitable. The Last Great War broke out and lasted almost ten years. The death toll was too high to calculate, but the League of Sentient Beings understood that had the Navorains entered the battles, the final tally would have been far worse.

Without a planet, the Navorains now journey through space which they refer to as 'their kingdom'. Their mission is two-fold. They were charged with protecting the Outer Rim from intruders originating in unknown space. They are also in need of women to re-populate their dwindling numbers. Currently there are only 20,000 Navorains in existence—mostly men.

Intimate Space is the first installment in the 'Kingdom of Stars' series.

You can buy it here : http://cobblestone-press.com/catalog/books/intimatespace.htm

I hope to have Sacred Space completed sometime this fall.

Next Saturday, stop by and meet Coleverus Fis Tulden.

Happy reading,

Bella