Setting Boundaries

Boundaries - this was the sum of what I had to learn last year. Not only was I going to college but I was working three jobs as well. I had my normal 36 hour work wk, 12 hour clinical work hours, and then maybe 15 hours of my part time job on the weekends. This also involved trying to spend time with family, studying, writing a book, and sometimes I got to sleep. 

Now, I'm out of college and have just the two regular jobs to contend with and the part time one is seasonal. I still agree to doing that one because I happen to love the job plus the extra funds help to pay for the house repairs that we're in the midst of. Oy Vey. Yes, I'm still writing a book but at least the other one was published :-). Writing will not stop for me. It just takes small breathers.

These days I make sure to smell the roses, which includes having some "down time" whenever I can sneak it in. I still feel guilty when I'm not accomplishing specific tasks but I learned that I had stretched myself too thin in 2014. I had even agreed to assist the conference chair of the Moonlight and Magnolia Conference. Obviously, I'm a glutton for punishment.

There are nights when I come home from my day job and I'm mentally worn to bare nerves but I still have a family to handle, exercise to do, and writing that has to be squished in there somewhere. My hubby is surprised at how well I have taken to slowing down my chaotic spin on life and I've recovered enough that I can watch a 2 hour movie without running around to tweak things in the house. That may seem like nothing to you but if you had seen me in action last year then you would have gotten the full picture of my madness. I would even knit, write, and exercise during movies, as to feel as if I wasn't being idol for too long.

The point that I'm trying to make is that you should never over extend yourself to a point that "relaxation" is two silent minutes in a locked bathroom stall. There should be more than that. You should be active as life demands constant action but not to the point that being inactive is a crime against your nature. You can call me hyper if it makes you fell better and I am, to a point. But that's because I have so many wonderful things to accomplish in the one life that I've been given. Plus the fact that my health took several hits while I was wearing myself into the paste that holds shoes together. Sad. 

Look at your life and see if you could be pushing yourself so hard that your aura is bruised from the abuse. Are you accomplishing things that help or are you trashing bits of yourself that you might need later? Me, I've set my boundaries on how much I can take on my shoulders and the rest can sit in a bucket at my feet. I will no longer sacrifice myself for anything that doesn't improve my life (and my health). And you know what, I'm feeling better. Now pass the popcorn and lets see what's on television.

)))Corset Hugs(((

Ginny Lynn

Wench Writer

Writing Tip - Proofreading

I've been looking up writing tips and have found a wonderous load of them at Daily Writing Tips. I've picked some tidbits and wanted to share them, plus my take on them.

7 Proofreading Steps

By Mark Nichol

1. Use a Checklist

Create a list of important things to check for, such as problem areas like agreement of nouns and verbs and of pronouns and antecedents, and number style.

ME - I do this in my track changes at the beginning of every chapter or in a separate comment if I'm using Google Drive. It's always after I read through it the first time and see if I need to add something important, or question part of the content. That way I can look back and remember all of my thoughts on each single chapter when cutting down on my less needed material.

2. Fact-Check
Double-check facts, figures, and proper names. If information remains to be inserted at the last minute, highlight the omission prominently so that no one forgets to do so.

ME - I typically do this in the rough draft outline that I make up when the story first starts to form. I ask myself what items will I need to look up in order to tell the story properly.

3. Spell-Check
Before proofreading a printout, spell-check the electronic version to find misspellings, as well as errors you or a colleague make frequently, such as omitting a closing parenthesis or quotation mark.

ME - I'm one of those people that have the spell check on at all times when I'm writing. It just feels like less work if I do it while I'm purging the rough draft from my brain.

4. Read Aloud
Reading text during the proof stage improves your chances of noticing errors, especially missing (“a summary the report follows”) or repeated (“a summary of the the report follows”) words.

ME - This works for me if I have a scene that just doesn't seem to sound realistic. Sometimes it's a love scene or just an argument between the sexes that I want another person to give me feedback on as if they were listening in on it happening in front of them.

5. Focus on One Line at a Time
When proofing print documents, use another piece of paper or a ruler to cover the text following the line you are proofreading, shifting the paper down as you go along. This technique helps you keep your place and discourages you from reading too quickly and missing subtle errors.

ME - I always read in order and then leave myself notes on what to check further into the story, like "make sure you used this car color in the next three chapters". I lose myself if I go out of context with any story. It's just how my brain works.

6. Attend to Format
Proofreading isn’t just about reviewing the text. Make sure that the document design adheres to established specifications. Check page numbering, column alignment, relative fonts, sizes, and other features of standard elements such as headlines, subheadings, captions, and footnotes. Inspect each type of feature within categories, such as looking at every headline, then every caption, and so on.

ME - I do this and then do it several more times as each time I submit something that particular house wants it sent in a very specific way. I even name the file, after it's sent, under the name of the house so I can see what I've sent and to which house. 

7. Proof Again
Once revisions have been made, proofread the document again with the same thoroughness, rather than simply spot-checking the changes. An insertion or deletion may have thrown off the line count, for example.

ME - Give it some time between read throughs or you may not catch something crucial to the story. I also ask my critique partner and beta readers to go back into it to see what we all may have missed. Better safe than sorry in my eyes.

Thank you: http://www.dailywritingtips.com/7-proofreading-steps/

I hope these were helpful. 

)))Corset Hugs(((

Ginny Lynn

Wench Writer

Have you checked out my (published) goods yet?

How many of you have checked out my published novels? Why not? If you have, then I want to hear which ones and what you liked about them.

We'll go in order of publishing. And by the way, they're all for sale on Amazon, Barnes & Nobles, and with my publisher, Secret Cravings Publishing. And yes, they come in digital and in print. (I'm a print type of gal myself :-)

Andromeda

Andromeda is a 400 year old vampire with psychic abilities who is being stalked by a ghostly presence that wants to possess her body and own her soul. Things get heated as she meets the man destined to be her mate but a vision shows her that he’s meant to die because of what she is. Does she embrace what the Fates have shown in the mere touch of this stranger’s hand or does she run away in order to save the soul of this kissable man? Passion is too much to ignore for an immortal who has never felt its powerful pull. They throw caution to the wind and become lovers, enraging the stalker to use his inhuman powers to take what he believes should belong to him alone. They both fight for the power in her touch but only one man can have her body.

*******************

Just to be Left Alone

Samantha Malone just wants to have a content relationship and a fulfilling career but what fate throws at her is deranged Jason Strickland, who thinks she belongs to him and no one else. Jason is the ex-boyfriend that wickedly dogs her every step and threatens her at every sinister turn, going to insane extremes to have her all to himself. When the tide turns and things fade to black, she meets handsome motorcycle driving samaritan, Conrad Forsythe who gladly comes to her rescue, more than once. Conrad is the passionate type of man that has her envisioning steamy nights and cherished days. She begins to crave these things and much more as her heart reaches for her green eyed white knight. Can she get safely away from the man who is desperate enough to kidnap her? She prays so because love must always rule the heart of this fair maiden. 

****************

 To Have and too Bold

After centuries of holding together a thin veil of truce between the vampire covens, a desperate father of the council arranges for his sheltered daughter to marry a man she hasn’t seen in ten years. Not only does her father do this behind her back but he neglects to tell her the wedding is arranged for the following week. This is too much for her to bear as she feels as if she’s been sold off to the highest bidder, but she cannot get out of the ceremony without being exiled from her family home.

Her groom possesses eyes of magnetism, a decadent kiss that makes her vampiric heart beat too quickly for such a quiet bird of the coven. Charm and chemistry are not what she is expecting, but are they just what this sheltered coven daughter needs?

)))Corset Hugs(((

Ginny Lynn

Wench Writer

Second Week Snippets - On the Gothic Side (unpublished work in progress)

Here's a snippet from my first draft of my Gothic Paranormal Work In Progress

I whispered to him, “Please put me down.”

“Why? You fit nicely enough.”

“I don’t belong here and neither do you.”

“You are the witch who called me to your side, not I who invaded your secure bedrest.”

“I’m not a witch!” I was surprised at him even thinking that if me. I may have visions but I wasn’t even close to being pagan, let alone a practicing wiccan. I’d been raised as a Methodist, Christ’s sake.

“I asked, now I’m demanding. Put me down!”

He grinned down at me. Wasn’t he even getting tired? I may be only 5’4 but I wasn’t a waif. I had curves and strong limbs, even if I’d lost fifteen pounds in the last month. That couldn’t be helped as I’d been lean on my grocery shopping budget. I wiggled myself as to make his grip slip but it didn’t work. He only chuckled again.

Gritting my teeth, I hissed, “Put. Me. Down.”

He did but not exactly how I had hoped. He’s swung me about and slid me down his body as I firmly braced myself on my own two feet. And I was still against him. Shoving against his solid chest did nothing to bring some personal space between us. It only reminded me that he was shirtless in this little episode of my mental mini vacation. I seriously needed for this to stop.

“Fine, if you won’t go then state your business and be done with it.”

“You still think it’s that easy?”

“Yes, Mr. Bad Host, I do. State your piece and go away. I need my sleep so I can deal with you in the morning.”

“How would you deal with me? I’d love to hear this.”

“Look, Giles, I’m tired, cranky, out of my element and scared that I’m going to wake up with a severe anxiety attack if you don’t leave me to my meditating.”

“We wouldn’t want that, now would we?”

“Is my mental status so weak that I’d willingly deal with an uninvited male into my safe place?”

“We have a connection, my dear.”
“How so?” I asked but he just looked at me, eyes blazing like a cat's caught in firelight.

I gulped, as his warmth creeped into me. Now I was getting sensations in my head? Next I’d be doing something embarrassing, like having my clothes fall off. I squeezed my eyes tighter as I fought my subconscious from having that happen. No way. No how. That’s when I felt his hand graze down my hair and across my cheekbone. My eyes were wide open with that.

“So soft, like silk and lingerie. Your skin is peaches and cream on a fine china plate. Your eyes are like dusk captured in the reflection of a lake. I can just see the waves of emotion as your expressive face tips up to the light.”

Well.... whatcha think of this? I'm hoping to have this baby under contract before the end of the year, if I'm lucky :-)

)))Corset Hugs(((

Ginny Lynn

Wench Writer

Para Hard To Sell

I love paranormal fiction and by that I mean vamps, werewolves, shifters, witches, etc. I read it. I watch it. I write it. It’s my nitch. Out of the five books that I have written (three are published with Secret Cravings Publishing and they are wonderful to me), four of them are the above stated category and I won’t stop there. I even go as far as to use sexy romantic suspense as my subgenre with my yummy creatures.

Here is what I’m upset about. The market isn’t ripe to sell my beloved babies. I just don’t understand that. My series hasn’t been accepted by a publisher as they claim no market for it but I’m seeing consumers chomping for more stories like Sookie Stackhouse, Teen Wolf, and even good old Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Some can say these are also Urban Fantasy and I’m not about to argue over the details and differences between the close knit subjects, as I fall right smack in the middle of them.

If my genre is so hard to sell or even “too saturated in today’s market”, then how is it that the people like me are breathing heavy as we wait for the following:

J.R. Ward                        The Shadows

Jeaniene Frost               Bound by Flames

Laurell K. Hamilton       Dead ice

Lara Adrian                      Stroke of Midnight

Sherrilyn Kenyon          Dragonbane

Am I alone in the confusion I feel over this? Yes, I understand that not everyone likes to read the same thing that I do and I’m fine with that as it leaves more for me. Some of my writer friends are in this boat with me and they’re hearing some of the same things that I am. Are we the “plus size” of the market and have to find someone that will see us at our full potential? (Yes, I’m a bigger curvy girl and can say that. Don’t judge.)  Maybe it’s the big houses that are having the problem as my small house took them. Shrug.

Publishing houses may be overlooking my talent but I’m not going to stop writing what I love to read. I simply can’t as it feels like I’m betraying a much loved part of myself. How do you guys feel? Am I a minority or just misplaced in the writing world? And don’t take this as me bashing any one house as that is not the point of this post. I truly want to know why my genre is so difficult to sell so I can understand what other hoops that I need to jump over. If there are any publishers who want to say something about the market, then please feel free. Just know, no bashing is allowed, just steps on overcoming these hurdles.

)))Corset Hugs(((

Ginny Lynn
Wenchwriter