Wine on the Keyboard » Writing

Life Stories

Kacey — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 10:06:02 +0000

Life stories. Those little tidbits of life that get forgotten over time. The big moments retold again and again. The happy memories, the sad ones. Do any of you write down your life stories or keep a journal?

My grandfather wrote down his life story, about when he was a young boy, meeting my grandmother, having kids, his work. It’s a wonderful way for future generations to get a feel for what life was like back then. A way to engrave the stories for future generations to enjoy. To laugh, to cry.

He wrote about the quiet days in a small town. I am so thankful he typed these all out. See the old manual typewriter printing on these? Don’t you just love the look of old typewriters? My grandfather has been gone for many, many years…but his stories live on.

Not to be outdone…

for my parent’s 50th wedding anniversary, my father wrote down the story of meeting my mom. He even went around and took photos of places they went to. Like here, where they had their first date. How cool is that? We now have the story of their courtship, wedding (and honeymoon…as least as much as any child wants to know about their parents’ honeymoon!). My father is a very funny man, with a dry, wry wit…his stories just crack me up every time I reread them.

So, I’ve been thinking of writing down some of the stories of my life. Then, I got to thinking, that this blog IS the story of my life. The little moments. The big events. The holidays. The happy times. The sad times. Here for generations to come to read and know what our family was like. What my life was like. Grandchildren and great grandchildren can read this, just like my grandfather’s life story.

Seriously, how cool are blogs? You get to meet some great people, share your life and thoughts, and preserve them for future generations. If I were organized, I’d pull some of the family posts out and get them printed. If I were organized…

I’m thinking of adding a category to the blog…with some cool name that I haven’t come up with yet…to tell some stories of my past. Things that happened growing up. Random moments that changed me and made me who I am. Oh, and the story of how I met SuperGuy. So stay tuned for future chapters of my life story!

Has anyone in your family written down their life story? Did you keep a diary growing up? Do you still? Is your blog your journal, or do you keep a personal, hidden one?

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RWA Conference

Kacey — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 09:24:28 +0000

I know, you’re thinking, there she goes talking about a conference again. Only I’m not going to this one. It’s the Romance Writers of America’s conference in San Francisco this week. Yes, I’m aware I was just in San Francisco last week. Why, oh why, did these two conferences not line up back to back? Why can’t I get a new iPhone? Why is the internet down at the apartment??

Oh, sorry, I digressed.

Most of you know…well, I guess you know, that I write fiction. I’ve tried my hand at womens fiction, romance, and suspense. Been submitting and trying to sell for quite the number of years. Anyway, because this is the first RWA conference I’ve missed in years and years I’m going to stalk the bloggers and twitterers talking about the conference. So I thought I’d put up a page that will have all the gossip and links to blog posts about RWA 08 from around the blogosphere (still love that word).

Hopefully that will keep this daily blog and my writing obsession separate for my regular readers. There’s a link in my sidebar to my RWA Conference page where I’ll post the update links to blog posts, gossip, and links to photos.

I’ll be living the conference vicariously this year. Searching through blogs and doing this:

Did you know you could search twitter?

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It takes a lot of work

Kacey — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 09:49:26 +0000

Will Smith was on Good Morning America the other day and said this:

“There’s a separation of talent and skill. One of the greatest misunderstood concepts for people who are trying to excel, wanting to do things, [is that] talent you have naturally, skill is only developed by hours and hours and hours of beating on your craft.”

I have to remind myself of that. I remind myself regularly. Whether I’m frustrated with my writing, or my photography…I have to tell myself it takes time and practice. Over and over.

I have to remind myself it takes time when I’m stuck on a chapter of my novel and everything is falling apart. I have to remind myself when I’m trying to capture the perfect photo…and it comes out nothing like I’ve pictured in my mind. Heck, when my kids were little, I had to remind myself that parenting skill doesn’t happen overnight!

How about you? Is there anything you’re working on these days that you have to keep reminding yourself not to give up? That it takes time?

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2007 All Wrapped Up

Kacey — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 15:01:55 +0000

It’s that time of year when I look back and see what I’ve accomplished for the year. But this year I’m not doing that. Why? Because my life changed so much this year, and I’ve headed in all new directions. I went from working way too many hours a week, to part time. I switched over and started a scary new direction with my writing…single title. I started a new direction with my blogging on Dandelion Blog where I post about how to blog and other techie stuff, as well as nurturing your creativity.

I’m not sure what direction I’ll take this blog here at WineontheKeyboard. But stick around and you’ll be the first to know.

I’m making all new goals for 2008, in all areas of my life.

Now for the important thing you’ve been wondering. . . Did I get Clarice?? Well, my boys know how to keep their momma happy!

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A Love Affair with Words

Kacey — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 16:53:07 +0000

Do you sometimes spend a lot of time finding JUST the right word when you’re writing? I mean A LOT OF TIME? I sometimes just let myself get lost in the world of synonyms and phrases. I’ve been known to wake up in the morning with just the word I was looking for the day before. My favorite source for synonyms is the Rodale book The Synonym Finder. There is just something comforting about looking through a book for the right word. I find Word’s thesaurus too limiting. I’ve been known to look through this online thesaurus when I’m in a hurry. Doesn’t give me the same love of the hunt though.

So what’s your just-the-right-word-finder of choice?

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Writing Vacations

Kacey — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 04:23:00 +0000

No, not taking a vacation to write…though that sounds really, really nice I mean taking a break from writing. I often take the month of December off from doing much serious writing. The holidays are crazy busy, my kids all come home and I like to just hang out with them.

I’m going to take Thanksgiving week off this year, but still plan on writing until the weekend before Christmas. Then I’ll probably not do any serious writing until after the new year. I always hit the new year off with a running start.

Do you take time off from writing during the holidays?

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RWA Notes-last one

Kacey — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 10:30:29 +0000

from RWA National 2007 Harlequin Silhouette Spotlight

Blaze
60,000 words
6 books a month
3 new authors in last 6 months
sexiest series, racier now (Blaze Extreme-sensuality as high as it gets)
next year doing a Blaze historical
can use secondary POV
sexy hook, classic romantic hooks
characterization is the key, identify with heroine, reader fall in love with hero
1 Hero, 1 heroine, committed relationship at end

Harlequin Historical
75,000
6 books a month
12 new authors in last 2 years
richly textured, wide range of settings
one western, one regency a month, plus others
bring period to life, believable for your time period
historical detail add color, not take over
variety of sexuality
Hero-strong, dependable
Heroine- spirited, willful, sympathetic

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Harlequin Silhouette note-part 5

Kacey — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 10:15:55 +0000

continuing…

Everlasting Love
70,000-75,000 words
2 books a month
some new authors 5?
almost all entered their contest
cover 20 to 75 years, life long love
first or third person
or 2 parallel love stories
can be chronological, present to frame the past, journal entries, flashbacks

Medical
50,000-55,000 words
6 titles a month
3 new American authors recently
drama, rich settings
don’t have to be a medical professional to write these
Hero & heroine work together on medical cases
voice appeal to global market
variety of sexual content & sensuality
send 3 chapters & short 1-3 page synopsis

Next
70,000 – 75,000
2 books a month
what happened after first love, first job, first child, first marriage
over 40, reaching for dreams
real life fantasy, optimistic
happy ending, but not necessarily like romance happily ever after
in Sept. relaunch of line. New cover to emphasis a series & romantic element

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RWA notes- part 4

Kacey — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 11:05:28 +0000

From RWA National 2007 Harlequin Silhouette Spotlight. As usual all mistakes or misinterpretations are my own:

Harlequin Romance
50,000 – 50,000 words
6 titles a month
(from their website Silhouette Romance and Harlequin Romance)
traditional romance
new look
emotional depth-not tragedy
sexual tension, can have sex before marriage, no details

Presents
Harlequin Presents Collections
Mills & Boon
in August introduced stories aimed at younger readers. M&B Modern Extras-were published as these first. Now Harlequin Presents Collections

Hero-young, charismatic, compromised on things he holds dear, believable, great body, lighthearted, done well, but still climbing, sexy, sensual
Heroine- urban in outlook, hangs in bars, goes to clubs, global settings

smoldering, hint of humor & wit
looking for new authors.
Synopsis & 3 chapters

Harlequin Presents
Mills & Boon Modern Extra
50,000 words
8 titles a month
passionate, sizzle w/ sexual, sensual
Hero – alpha
Heroine – fiesty
international settings, exotic resorts
alpha male as fantasy, intensely focused on heroine
Marriage of convenience, secret pregnancy, royalty, revenge, Mediterranean heroes
send synopsis & 3 chapters

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RWA notes-part 3

Kacey — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 10:56:14 +0000

from RWA National 2007

Superromance
60,000 to 65,00 computer word count
looking for new authors
they have a contest going now through October. Conflict of Interest Contest. Scene or moment that best shows the conflict.
give readers what they want, & also what they don’t know they want

Special Edition
60,000 words
1 or 2 new authors a year
life, love, family
romance focused
small towns or big cities

Nocturn
70,000-75,000 words
2 book line
dark, very sexy line
atmospheric paranormal
alpha male, wealthy alpha male
fast paced, plunge right into story
mission oriented
Hero is key figure
set up unique existence for characters
vampires, psychic powers, werewolves
not looking for: light voice, chick lit, or heroine stronger than Hero

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