Live Life to Write Better

Someone posted this saying on facebook this morning and I thought,
"That should be every writer's motto." We need to take the time to enjoy our lives and the people around us. We all have memories, thoughts, feelings, and wonderful and not so wonderful people in our lives that should inspire us in our writing.
Stop for a moment, feel your heart beating? place your fingers on your wrist. Now you feel it, don't you. Think about how it would feel if you were happy, scared, or excited. Now go out and feel the warmth of the sun on your skin. Close your eyes and hear the birds singing, a dog barking, or even a neighbor mowing the lawn. Revel in the joy of a child's first word, a lover's touch, or a kind word. Talk to people, no better yet, listen to people. Listen to their thoughts, their feelings. We have all felt happiness and sorrow it's part of life and the more we experience life, the better writers we become.

I went and visited my dad this morning. He's a character. I did use some
of his personality traits in one of my novels. He's someone I love and respect

very much. He will be 88 in April and still going strong and he's a big part of my life.

Well to sum this up, enjoy your day today and set aside your writing for just a little while and go live life. It holds some great inspirations for some great writing!

Heroes and Heroines

I was reading a friend's post this morning on facebook how the heroine is so bad she makes your eyes bleed. Yep she really did say that. And I told her that's what I was going to blog about this morning.
You can check out her FB page here!
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001562406287

What makes a character so bad that you roll your eyes at them? Are they too sweet? Too demanding? Too emotional? Or just plain ditzy?

Most of the reviews I've read where they complain about the characters, they are referring to the heroine and not the hero.

Also, Do men view the characters the same as a woman does? Maybe we need to have a review contest of sorts and compare the results. :-)



I know when we watch movies we will make comments like,
 "What did he do that for?"
"Why do they make these people so stupid?"
" I could have done a better job of acting!"
Well you get the idea....

And I'm not talking a specific genre, I'm talking all of them.
I know characters are going to different in all genres,
but overall character traits are basically the same.
We all have the same emotions, sadness, happiness, sexy, soft, tough,
no matter if you are reading a romance,  paranormal, horror, or comedy.


What traits endear you to the characters?
What do you want to see in the characters?
Do you want to see the softer side of men?
The tougher side of women?

As always would love to hear your viewpoints!
Have a great day! And keep writing!

Be Healthy and Happy While Writing

I don't care what anyone says, writing a book is hard work. People who have never attempted to write a book will tell you, "All you're doing is sitting at a computer typing. How hard can that be?" A dedicated writer, someone who loves what they are doing, will put in more hours writing and sitting at that computer, then the person with a normal 9 to 5 job. They will wake up at 3 in the morning and have to run in to their computer because they just came up with the perfect line or the happily ever after ending that they have been struggling with.
 But writing is hard on your body and your relationships. Yes, it is just so much more comfortable sitting at the computer in your pajamas or boxers. Or you haven't shaved in a week (If your a guy), or bothered with your hair or makeup (If you're a woman). Who cares, right? It's not like anyone's going to see you.Yes there are times we are up at 6 a.m. we grab our coffee and turn on our computer and for the next six hours we don't move. We haven't been out of the house in 3 days and the only reason we went out then was to pick up more coffee.  But you should care. You need to take the time to get up and stretch, call a friend you haven't talked to in months, go out and get some sunshine and fresh air. Your body will thank you and your mind will be much clearer, letting your ideas come more easily.
Yes, I did get up at 6 a.m. this morning, and have been up for 4 hours now, but instead of turning on my little laptop that holds my creation, I stretched, did leg lifts, deep knee bends, and squats. Then I gave myself a facial. I don't want to do a book signing looking like a 90 year old lady when I am only in my early fifties. From there I washed my hair, ate a banana to keep my potassium up and made me a very healthy smoothie with soy milk, non fat yogurt, honey, and some wheat germ! I've also taken some time the past few days to catch up with family. But alas, my sweet little laptop has been screaming at me for the past 4 hours saying, "What are you doing? You are supposed to be over here pounding on my keyboard" or in my case hunting and pecking with my 2 fingers. I am almost to my 50,000 mark and am very happy with what I've accomplished so far, so it's time to hit the keyboard and get to work! Have a Happy and Healthy writing day! And to coin a phrase remember to, "Stop and Smell the Roses.