Got nothing…

to post or report. I’ve been busy trying to make my “sweatin with Sven” goals – oh, damn, I just realized I should be checking in over there. So, now we’ll just add hanging my head in shame to my list of things to do today…

Off to get something done, so tomorrow I can post some progress on the Sven site and here at the blog.

Have a good one!

Thursday Thirteen #10 – My favorite “Robert’s Rules of Writing”

These are not my rules! But I do love them – if you want to read more, Robert Masello has 101 of them in his book “Robert’s Rules of Writing – 101 unconventional lessons every writer needs to know.”

1. Take the prozac. – If you don’t know by now, writing can be a depressing occupation. Rejection isn’t positive – depression is inevitable.

2. Lose the muse - If you haven’t figured out yet the muse is fickle and is prone to take vacations when you need her most – listen up – you don’t need the muse. Sit at the damn computer and write already.

3. Make ‘em worry - You want the reader to keep turning the pages right? Make them worry about your characters. You already knew that right?

4. Get rejected - first this means you sent something out – so yay! Second this is merely a right of passage. Get used to it, accept it and make your peace with it.

5. Know no shame - The best part about being a writer (Robert claims) is that you have the right to be nosy and you don’t have to hide it anymore. I’m reseraching a book, ya know…

6. Gather ye moonbeams - Writers are born daydreamers. Yes, I may look like I’m staring at the blank computer screen or watching the grass grow – but I’m really letting my mind wander and as John Fowles once said “in a novelist, mind wandering is a good thing.”

7. Be a tease - and I’m not talking about erotica. Don’t let all the good stuff out too soon – drag it out, make them turn the page.

8. Wave Goodbye - Don’t try to catch the publishing wave. Write what you love, what your style and voice are best at. Good books get bought – period.

9. Set the clock - show up at your desk and write – this is your job right?

10. Keep your pomises. No matter what your subject matter – your reader is expecting to be fulfilled, to be entertained or enlightened. Don’t miss the boat and not deliver the goods. Keeping your promises ensures they’ll be back in line to buy the next book.

11. Refill the well. Yes, for people like me, this a tough one. Get out of the house. Take a walk, let the outside world inspire your creativity.

12. Make an entrance - Grab the reader from the get go.

13. Break the rules! – For everyone who tells you – “do it this way” there is going to be someone who says not to do it that way. Stand on your own two feet and be yourself. Sometimes breaking a rule or two is just the ticket to making your work sing!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Misty Linky and I don’t get along…leave your link in the comments and I’ll add you here.

1. Gina
2. Tempest Knight
3. Jennifer
4. Lesley
5.

Man Monday – Sweat with Sven

70 days of sweat – official site

If you’re a writer – the man for today is Sven and he’s here to make you sweat and get those words on the page!

Haven’t heard about the 70 days of sweat challenge? Click the link under Sven and check it out. It’s also down along my sidebar. If you’ve signed up – good luck! I’ll be tracking my progress here, feel free to comment and cheer me on. If you’ve signed up, let me know and I’ll cheer for you too!

Happy monday!

Thursday Thirteen #9 – Notes from the Romance Writing trenches

Below are thirteen reasons I love being a romance writer – or being a writer in general, in no particular order…

1. I’ve got control issues. Since I haven’t figured out yet how to completely manipulate the lives of the breathing people around me – I’ve taken the next best route and created some characters of my own to torture.

2. I’ve become an internet adict. I’m not really adicted. (As long as I can get on the computer and refresh my forums every five minutes, there won’t be a problem.

3. Happily Ever After. All roads lead to love and happiness. Um, what better way to spend a day?

4. The boss lets me drink all the coffee I want at my desk. Since I’m the boss, toss in a few chocolate bars and I’m good to go.

5. The questions I have to field from idiots. Sorry, no hubby and I don’t act out the sex scenes.

6. Rejection. Doesn’t everyone thrive on being told they suck?

7. Acceptance. I’m talking acceptance among peers. The romance writing world might seem huge at first glance – but like everything else, the internet has managed to bring us all a little bit closer. Finding others that accept your quirks and accept you as you are – well, just priceless!

8. Finding joy in black & white. The stellar sentence, the kick-ass discription, the emotional rollercoaster – it’s all there on any given day. All I have to do is dream…

9. The feather boas. Oh wait – those feathers make me sneeze. Let’s stick with my fuzzy slippers and robe. Who wouldn’t want to go to work like that?

10. Finally a way to put my people watching skills to good use. It’s not called being nosy anymore…It’s all research baby.

11. People are a little nicer when they fear being the villian in your next book. Even a pre-pubbed like myself can hold this over their heads – hey, you never know when my genius will be discovered and all those villians will hit the streets.

12. The gadgets. Computers, laptops, PDAs, mini-digital records. Ah the techno-geek in paradise…Not to mention the trips to the office supply store – hold me back and hide the credit cards! Colorful pads to write out my plots, stickie notes to remind me I have other things to do besides write, pens and pencils to chew while deep in thought.

13. No one questions my need to spend hours in the bookstore. Coffee in one hand, new books in the other…send out the search party if I’m not back by morning.

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Mr. Linky and I don’t get along, so leave your name and link in the comments and I’ll add you to the list!

1. Tempest Knight
2. Gina
3. Zee
4. Jennifer
5. Heather
6. Kaige
7. Carrie Lofty
8. Tara Nichols
9. Paisley Scott
10. You’re name here!

Man Monday – Julian McMahon

NipTickShow.com

Your eye candy for this morning is Julian McMahon.

I loved him as the demon Cole in the Charmed TV series…I cried when he left and for me the show was never the same without him. He was probably the only redeeming feature of Sandra Bullock’s latest movie, Premonition (which I was so sorry I couldn’t like. I usually like her and her movies – but the romantic in me couldn’t live with that ending and it ruined the whole movie for me…) even though he didn’t get enough airtime in the movie – he’s always a treat to watch. While I don’t watch Nip/Tuck (cause I can’t watch anything medical related…I’m a bit too squeemish) – I hear that he’s great!

Happy Monday!