WineontheKeyboard

okay, there I admitted it. I have fear of the first page. I’ve been all ready to start something new this week. Jotted some ideas down in a notebook. But haven’t been able to sit myself down in front of the computer and start writing. Well I sit there, but I’m not writing, I’m staring at the first page. Blank. I’m not amused with myself.

My usual method is to come up with a germ of an idea, then write the first few chapters to get to know my characters. Quite often I throw out the first chapter or so after I get into the book, but it seems to ground me in the story and lets me get to know the characters. But this week I haven’t even been able to make myself sit down and do that. I have all these doubts about how long I’ve been writing and haven’t sold. And I’m just frozen when I sit down and stare at that blank first page. I can get my butt in the chair and open Word, but I just freeze then.

Obviously I need to get over this. And it’s not even like writer’s block. It’s just a plain fear of starting yet another story. Another story that may not sell. I’m not sure why the doubt monsters are so huge this week. I”m not very pleased with myself this week. I have to get over this. Any suggestions?

Old Ramblings by Kacey
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The online romance community. Writers. Readers. What’s up with people ranting about newbies while proudly proclaiming their 10 or 15 or whatever years online? Yes, there are those of us lucky enough to have found the romance writers community back in the days of GENie or Prodigy or AOL. But there are tons of writers who are new to writing romance. New to the online community. We were all new once. That seems so hard for some people to remember.

Writers new to online do stuff like send the whole digest back when they ask a question on a loop. They wonder about fonts and margins and word count.

There is a wealth of information out there now. And I, for one, am very glad it’s there. It helps keep me from feeling so isolated. You no longer need to search for local romance writers and lament if you live in a small town. Boot up your computer and instant writer buddies. And, even better, log off when you want to be left alone. How cool is that? Critique partners can be all the way across the country. You can email a file instead of mail off pages.

But for all the people who grow weary of the questions new writers ask, just remember the people who helped you when you started out. You wondered how to format a manuscript…and maybe even felt angst over which font to use. Remember that you wondered what people wore to RWA national too. You tried to figure out the lines. You tried to figure out the rules…if only to know when or why you would break them.

So maybe the next time you see someone ask a question on a loop, or blog or forum …instead of blasting off a flippant “use google” or “use the search function” maybe you could kindly help them out and answer their questions. I mean, karma alone should be enough to motivate you

Maybe a new perspective of appreciating all that’s out there online now, and take what you want from it. Leave what you don’t. It’s a simple concept. We’re lucky to have so much information at our fingertips these days. And I, for one, am very glad all that information is out there ready for me when I need it.

And if you’re a new writer with a question that you’ve been afraid to ask…ask away.

Old Ramblings by Kacey
8 Comments »

Okay, this is kind of fun. Looking for a quirky name for a secondary character? Just can find a name you like for the heroine’s mom? Try this random name generator

Another Blog Search Engine. These are fun. Try RWA Reno on this one.

And last but not least Random Title Generator See what you come up with.

Old Ramblings by Kacey
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