A Writer's Block Breaker: 30 Songs For 30 Chapters

As most of you know, I'm slightly obsessed with books on the writing craft. And a few weeks ago, I was poking around in Barnes and Noble (as you do) and picked up the book Now Write! Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror: Speculative Genre Exercises from Today's Best Writers and Teachers  (Edited by Laurie Lawson) to flip through.

Now, I write romance, so you may be wondering what would make me pick up a book about speculative fiction, but I like to expand my horizons. And there are things to be learned from other genres. Plus, I love horror and may one day pen something with some scary stuff.

Anyway, this book is filled with short essays (1-2 pages) on different topics: World Building, Plotting, Creativity, etc. and at the end of each essay are writing exercises. (Hence the title Now Write!)

And I've only read a handful of them thus far, but it's turned out to be a great book already. And one of the exercises I read last night got me moving in all kinds of creative directions. This exercise was by Diego Valenzuela in an essay titled "The Constant Writer: How To Plot An Entire Story In Minutes and Never Run Out of Ideas"

I won't go into the whole essay because you should buy the book. But the exercise he suggests is so much fun and oddly effective at sparking ideas. So here it is:

Put your playlist on shuffle. Write the numbers 1-30 for your 30 chapters and then label each chapter with the song title that comes up. Then use those titles to help plot/spark ideas for your story.

I read it and was like--sounds interesting but how could that work? So, of course, I tried it.

Here's what I got with my own playlist:

Pretty cool, yeah? Especially that near the "black moment" time in a book I have Live and Let Die, Don't Know What You Got Till It's Gone, and Walk Away. And then the last chapter is a song about goodbyes. 

But these are my songs that I'm already familiar with, so I decided to try a variation. I put on Spotify's Coffee House station and did the first 30 songs of that. And look, I ended up with a road trip book! And I kind of got a story idea from it. How awesome is that?

Then I was chatting with my friend Julie Cross and she did it. And when I looked at her list, I thought--hey she has a sci-fi space novel! Daylight, Extraordinary, Come Fly With Me, Defying Gravity, Radioactive, 93 Million Miles...

So yeah, you've just lost the next hour of your life because I bet you can't resist. ;-)  If you do one, feel free to post it in the comments. I love seeing other people's lists.

Are We Losing Patience as Readers?

 Photo via Sean/Svadifari (Flickr cc)I love reading series. They're usually my go to. But I tend to gravitate toward series like mine where each book can standalone, but there's a connected world and recurring characters. That way, I get the benefit of visiting familiar characters and following them along the journey, but I also get a full satisfying story (and romance) in each book.

But that's only one kind of series. The other kind is the type that follows the same cast and has a overall arc through the whole series, where things, including the romance, aren't fully wrapped up until the last book. I used to read a lot of these, but have gotten away from them lately.

So a few weeks ago, looking to rectify this, I picked up a book I'd had on my shelf for a long time. It's the start of a spin-off series based on one of my all-time favorite YA series. I read the book and enjoyed it. There is a hero in it who I loved in the previous series, and I want to see him get the girl. All good, right? Sure. BUT when I looked ahead at all the books to come, I sort of got this feeling of facing down a marathon. I know that I'm not going to get the payoff on the romance until probably book seven, if it's anything like the previous series. And with SO many books in my TBR pile (over 500 at last count), it feels like a huge investment to go on that journey. 

BUT at the same time, I LOVED the last series and the romance is one of my favorites ever. So why am I so reluctant to invest when the payoff has been proven to me in the past?

I've been feeling the same way about trilogies lately, too. I get tempted to wait until all are out to start them, and that's not a good way to support a series. If the first doesn't sell, we may never see the last book because the publisher won't keep publishing them. (Same goes for new TV shows.)

So this got me to thinking if I've just lost patience as a reader. In a culture of instant everything and streaming video where we can binge watch TV series, have I just developed some sort of reader ADD? Or is it because my reading time is so limited that I want a complete story in one book? Or maybe I've expanded my reading tastes so much that it's increased my choices exponentially, and it's hard to spend too much time in one place? I'm guessing it's a combination of all of that for me.

But I don't want to be that way necessarily. I'm kind of annoyed by my lack of patience. In order for a romance or story to feel epic, there needs to be space and time to do it. This almost makes me wish for those 80s-90s romances that were 700 pages (like Judith McNaught) where the long-spanning journey is captured in one big book. And I got that sense of epicness a few months ago when I read Last Hour of Gann, which was something like 1200 pages. So I like having that long-developing romance and story on occasion. (Not all the time. That can be exhausting.)

And isn't there something to be said for patience and anticipation? Can that enhance the experience? Like those end of the season TV show cliffhangers. Would LOST have had the same feel for me if I had been able to binge watch the whole thing? And when I did the NOT UNTIL YOU serial, it was kind of fun to have everyone reading along at the same pace so that we could all discuss it/experience it together.  

So I know the benefits of investing in a continuing series or trilogy that will give me a big payoff in the end, but somehow I'm still finding it hard to commit lately.

So you tell me, am I alone in this? Have you found yourself struggling to invest in a long-simmering series or trilogy that take years to release? Or are you a reader who can dive in and give it 100% commitment to the journey?

Book Addiction Admissions: What I Bought This Week

I know this will come as a shocking surprise to you, but I have a bit of a problem when it comes to controlling my book buying impulses. I regularly inform hubs that it's a cheaper habit than loving shoes, handbags, or plastic surgery so he should be thankful.

But I thought it'd been fun to occasionally let you know what I've been clicking buy on. I talk about what I read and love on Must Read Mondays, so this won't be about books I've read but about books I've bought and added to my TBR pile.

Here goes:

The Haunting Season by Michelle Muto

Why: Because it's a Daily Deal and I can't resist a sale or a creepy-sounding book

First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones

 (Paranormal/Urban Fantasy)

Why: I've heard nothing but good things about this series. The first page hooked me. I met Darynda last year at RWA and she was lovely. And it was on sale.

The Submission Gift by Solace Ames

 (Erotic Romance)

Why: I think I saw this one reviewed somewhere, maybe RT magazine? And I love a story with a married couple because there aren't a lot out there in romancelandia. (Which is also why I wrote one with Still Into You)

Foreplay by Sophie Jordan

(New Adult)

Why: I went to Sophie's workshop at a conference this past weekend and then got to chat with her at dinner that night. I was intrigued by the premise of this one. 

Still Life With Strings by L.H. Cosway

Why: I liked her book Painted Faces and I saw a good review for this one on a book blog.

Control by Charlotte Stein

(Erotic Romance)

Why: I've been on a Charlotte Stein kick lately. 

Sweet Disorder by Rose Lerner

(Historical Romance)

Why: I saw a few book bloggers chatting about this one on Twitter and the blurb caught my eye.

Third Degree by Julie Cross

New Adult

Why: I heart Julie's writing. I got to read this one early for a cover quote but I bought it because I know it was tweaked afterward and I want to read the final version.

Write Your Novel From the Middle by James Scott Bell

(Writing Craft)

Why: I pretty much love everything James Scott Bell has to say about writing, so I needed this one, too.

So that's my haul for the week. What did you buy?

Book News! More Loving on the Edge heading your way!

Hello, Pike (photo purchased from Big Stock)

So I've been sitting on this news for a little while and couldn't wait to share it with y'all. Especially when many of you have been emailing me and asking me the questions:

Will there be more books in the series?

What heroes are going to get their own books?

Are we ever going to see so and so again?

Will NOT UNTIL YOU have a paperback edition?

Well, finally I can tell all. Because this was annouced in Publisher's Marketplace today:

Women's/Romance
NYT bestselling author Roni Loren's next two books in her Loving on the Edge series and the first book in a new contemporary erotic romance series, to Kate Seaver at Berkley Heat, in a good deal, in a three-book deal, for publication in 2015, by Sara Megibow of Nelson Literary Agency(World).

Yay!

So what does this all mean specifically? Well here goes. 

• Yes, NOT UNTIL YOU, will be compiled into a complete edition and will be available in paperback and ebook in November. Thank you to everyone who bought the serial because that made it possible for the paperback edition to be greenlighted. So *hugs* to you all for making it happen. : )
• There will be at least two more Loving on the Edge books after Colby's book, NOTHING BETWEEN US (which comes out in January)!
• Book 7 will be...Pike (Foster's BFF from NOT UNTIL YOU)
• Book 8 will be...Gibson and Sam (Kade's brother from NEED YOU TONIGHT and Tessa's BFF)
• The new series concept is to be determined at this point, so more news when I have it.
• Also, some minor characters will be getting short stories. More details on how that will work later. : )
• AND in September of this year there will be a Loving on the Edge novella called FOREVER STARTS TONIGHT and it's going to be about *drumroll*... Jace, Evan, and Andre! So all of you who wanted more after MELT INTO YOU and had burning questions about what happened next, you'll get to see. :) 

And if I don't say it enough, I want to thank each and every one of you who read my books. You are the reason I get to keep writing these. I heart you all! 

*By the way, if you like the photo of Pike above, I've updated all the photos of the heroes on The Ranch page. Check it out. :) 

So are you as excited as I am? What hero were you most hoping would get his own book?

Because I Don't Punk Out on Promises...the NKOTB Fan Fic

Okay, so you know how you make those promises that you will do something IF because you know the IF is a longshot and you don't actually think you'll have to pay up? Well, yeah, so here I am. Sometime last year I made the promise that if I ever hit the New York Times Bestseller list, I would post some of the novel that I wrote at age 14--which is really just 55,000 words of NKOTB (and Jonathan Brandis--R.I.P.) fan fic. 

Well, this week, it happened! I didn't expect it, but when the NYT list came out, the RIDING DESIRE boxed set I'm in with thriteen other fantastic authors hit #24 on the Ebook list. So first, yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  It's a dream come true to be both a NYT and USA Today bestselling author now. HUGE dream. So thank you so much, readers, for buying it. *hugs*

Me realizing we made the NYT Bestseller list

Me realizing I promised my NKOTB fan fic

But that also means it's time for me to pay the piper on this promise. Two pages of a kissing scene are posted today on the Smutketeers blog, where you can also see a few of the other authors airing their shames, including Eden Bradley's 80s hair, RG Alexander singing with a band, and a recording of Lauren Hawekeye when she was in a girl group. :) So click over there to check it out.

But I also know that it's not fair for me to only post two pages. So I'm posting a longer scene here. In it there is probably my first attempt at a makeout scene and Jordan gets a little too handsy. Bad Jordan. But Joe comes to the rescue! >.<  Yeah, this is going to be embarrassing.

Some things to note in these pages: 

• I was 14 and was writing about kissing and such when I had no experience at all. I wouldn't be kissed for another 2 years. Also, this is when French kissing was still very scandalous a thought to my innocent Catholic school girl mind. ;)
• The heroine is named Love because, yes, I was into subtlety with symbolism. *cough*
• These are scanned documents that include handwritten edits I did back then.
• Yes, I dotted my i's with stars because I was rad like that.
• I actually bought the Writer's Market book that year because I totally planned on querying this. I eventually chickened out--thank God, though I'm sure a few agents would've enjoyed the giggle.
• The Jonathan in this was actually Jonathan Brandis, not Jon of NKOTB.
• It was in proper manuscript format because I was serious about this, yo. ; )
• No, I didn't have a boyfriend at the time. Why do you ask? o.0

 All right, enough stalling, here we go. But first, here's the character sheet of who each character really was (you can see I REALLY deviated from the names on some of them *snort*). And here are the magazine pages I found in the binder for my character inspiration. (Click to enlarge)

 

And here is the lurve scene gone wrong (click to enlarge)...

Page 1Page 2Page 3Page 4

Page 5Page 6Page 7Page 8

Page 9

If you made it through all nine pages I'm not sure if you're a sadist who enjoys my shame or a masochist for putting yourself through it, lol.

But you know what? I'm okay with it all because I made the NYT, baby!!!

Also, if you'd like to see how far I've (hopefully) come in my writing in 20 years, NEED YOU TONIGHT is out this week! And RIDING DESIRE is only on sale for 99 cents for another day, so if you haven't gotten it, grab it now. And FIFTY FIRST TIMES is still on sale for 1.99!

So what dirty/embarrassing laundry would you air in exchange for a dream coming true? Come on, don't leave me up here all alone. Tell me what's in your attic. ;)