Blogging about villains...

Check it out ... Villains anyone?

Need inspiration?

Then check out my post at Shades of Suspense.

You'll find some pictures of men who have inspired my heroes...at least in the physical description. ;)

Theme song

Do you have a theme song? A song that represents your mood; your life?

Each of my books has one...some even have an entire soundtrack. :) I need music to inspire me; to open that flood of images and words that become a novel or short story.

For my paranormal series, The Sentinels, the soundtracks include some of the same songs: My Immortal, Everybody's Fool, and Bring Me To Life, all by Evanescence. The story I'm working on now is titled: Broken. Its 'theme' is the song by the same name...by Seether featuring Amy Lee, to be more precise. I really love her voice. The song is dark, haunting and very much sets the mood for the novel. If I could, I'd give each reader a copy of it along with the book. :)

Check out the video -- it's interesting.

Back to my soundtrack...it helps me keep in the mood and on-target when I'm working on a certain book. And it kind of helps drown out the household noise. (aka: the kids) ;)

Just the facts...and then some.

I'm in the midst of writing a short story and I've discovered I now have to go back to finish my research. Oh joy.

I'd rather be writing, honestly, but I know the story will suffer if I try to fudge the facts even a little. Sure, as writers we have the liberty to 'make up' people, places, crimes, fashion... hell we can create entire worlds and realities! But for this story -- a paranormal, historical romance with suspenseful elements -- I need facts. Dates. Places. Even names. I need a sense of the environment and culture of the time. All this goes into making a story -- yes, a fictional story -- seem more real to the reader.

Can I tell you a secret? You've probably figured it out already, but I HATE this part. If I were a wealthy woman I'd hire someone to do the ground work for me. Seriously. Let some poor flunkie sift through the mounds of info and verify the truth from total fiction or speculation. That alone would save hours of my time. Like I said, I'd rather devote those hours to creating the story.

But even a small fortune wouldn't get me out of all the research. I'd still have to jump in and look at the information for myself. As a writer, you're lucky to use even half of the info you come up with in the actual story. If you use too much -- particularly in historical -- the reader's eyes can glaze over and you've lost them. It's all about balance.

But you cannot write about something if you don't know it or understand it. Remember, I didn't say "write what you know", that's very limiting. What I am saying is you have to know what you're writing about. You have to learn about it.

Being a writer is more than stringing words together in a decent fashion. It's so much more. It involves imagination, creativity, long-suffering, diligence, an open mind, and constant learning and growth. Even if it's that stuff, like Algebra, that leaves you wondering: "Will I ever need this?".

Um, probably not. But do it anyway. ;)

Blogging today...

I blogged today at Shades of Suspense ... pop on over and check it out. :) The blog has a slightly new look, too. I think you'll like it.