Updates, Stories, & More...

Happy Monday All,

I finally got Book Three out to my critiquers, so I'm awaiting their notes, however, I'm staying busy!

This week is full of appointments and things, but not just that, I plan to work on critiquing a novel for another author, and work on this other project I have going. Plus be pregnant. But that's a constant for now.

I'm almost ready for Christmas. Got a few more things to take care of, but I knocked out some of it over the weekend, which was good. How about you?

Recently I read Katie McGarry's new YA novel, Breaking The Rules. I really enjoyed it. The way she pulls in emotion is incredible. Her novels are gritty and have an honesty about them that pulls the reader in.

Once Upon A Time had it's winter finale Sunday night and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a heart-wrenching episode that leaves me really looking forward to March 1st when it starts back up with with the second half of the season. In my opinion, this season has shaped up nicely. And yes, I had been expecting the "showdown" between Belle and Rumpel for a long time--but it was hard to watch just the same. :-(

One thing I love about this time of year is when authors get festive. And I was happily surprised that author Beth Fantaskey jumped aboard and gave us Jess and Lucius fans a little "stocking stuffer" (as she put it) of a story as a guest post for Star Shadow Blog. It was really sweet and fun to read up on those characters again. I really enjoyed Jessica's Guide To Dating On The Dark Side and Jessica Rules The Dark Side. I've read the wedding story, too. I really enjoy those characters.

I'd love to do a short story of Jason and Laney at Christmas time, but I can't do it this year--sorry! But I think it would be fun. I've always loved the idea of doing a Christmas story, I've just never had one that worked.

Anyway, that's what's going on right now. What's up in your world?

Have A Magically Merry Monday!

It's A Critique Thing

Happy Thursday All,

Yesterday was Box Of Awesomeness Day. But just because yesterday is past doesn't mean you can't still share those awesome things/feelings/happenings throughout the year. In fact, I encourage you to keep me up-to-date on here and on Twitter (hashtag: #BoxOfAwesomeness tweet to me @WriteByBethany). We all need positive things/uplifting things in our lives, so let's see if we can keep it up all through 2013, okie-dokie?

Since I'm getting Dream Weaver ready for critiques the process of critiquing is on my mind.

Tess St. John and I have been critique partners for oh, about 4 years now. Yes, I have critiqued several of her novels (I swear this woman is a machine when it comes to writing, and she's so talented!) She and I have an understanding, which I think is important for all critique partners to have with each other and that's this:  Use what works for your story and ignore the rest. Which basically means, whatever works to strengthen your story use it, whatever doesn't, leave it alone.

Given that I've had to delete whole posts I've written on the subject of critiques because they were getting too long, I've come up with an alternative:  I'll take any questions y'all have on the subject.

Before I take the questions, though, here's a bit of advice to always remember:  constructive criticism and being polite and professional goes a long way to making the critique process move smoothly and being beneficial to all parties involved.

Otherwise, what do you want to know about critiquing or receiving a critique?

While you're at it, check out Tess St. John's next novel, a new Historical Romance, Chance For Freedom available on Kindle (it's not available on Nook, yet, but it will come eventually). But it's a good one (and yes, I did critique it, but I'm not saying it's good because I helped critique it, I'm saying it's good because Tess is a very talented writer). Tess has requested I add that some of the expansion of conflict is there because of me. (Although, I think she gives me too much credit, but she strongly disagrees. You see? We've got a mutual admiration society going on, which helps us work well together). :-)

Have A Thoughtful Thursday!

7 Minute Accomplishments

Happy Wednesday Folks,

I'm still dealing with some computer issues, but I thought I'd post this up (thank you to Jan, one of my critique group members for giving me the idea!)

Last night the critique group I joined met. Jan, the hostess with the mostess, had these dice with pictures all over them. She said we were to choose one of the pictures on our die and write a story having to do with that picture. We had 7 minutes. She set the timer and away we went. We weren't supposed to edit, but I seriously started writing wrong words (or ended up not using a word) that I had to cross out, but I didn't do any other edits. After the 7 minutes were up we went around the room and read our stories. Some nifty/fun/intriguing/what-happens-next stories came out of those 7 minutes.

So today, I thought, what could a person accomplish in 7 minutes? Not just in writing, but in general? It seems like such a short time, but you'd be amazed at what you can do when you put your mind to it.

What can you accomplish in 7 minutes? You can set the timer and see what happens :-)

Best wishes!

Have A Whimsical Wednesday!

Reporting In

Happy Monday Everybody,

I hope y'all had a good weekend. Mine was pretty fun. Did some shopping, then Saturday had an NWHRWA meeting and in-laws came over. On Sunday, I slept in, went to Church, and hung out with my family.

The NWHRWA meeting was fun. We talked about judging contests and critiquing other writers' work. One of the pieces of advice was basically about giving constructive criticism. Telling people how to improve something rather than just saying it sucks...or even telling someone why something is good.

I've been reading Kim Lenox's Darker Than Night and so far so good :-) It's good.

Hope you all have a good week :-)

Have A Melodious Monday!

Coffees & Critiques

Good Morning Cyber-Space!

Yes, I'm actually more awake today.

Okay, so today's post was inspired by my friend, Les (of Because Of The Pie and The Adventures Of Super Les And His Sidekick, Bob: The Villain's Proposal parody fame). He heard about me and Tessy critiquing each other's work and suggested it could be "Coffees & Critiques". I asked him if I could "steal" that and he said "Steal away." So I'm taking it on here as well. But I'm all for giving credit where credit is due, so Les gets the kudos award today.

So, let's start with coffees. What's your favorite? What's your least favorite? I happen to like Starbucks or Folgers, but I've found I'm not a big fan of Maxwell House--it just wasn't for me. At Starbucks during the summer I'll get a Coffee Frappuccino with whipped cream. In the winter I usually go for a Peppermint Mocha (so yummy and Christmassy), regular Mocha, Latte, or Cappuccino. Folgers -- I like Columbian real well.

I like the smell of coffee (ever since I can remember I've liked it). It's got this smooth, comforting scent to it--cozy, too. It reminds me of growing up smelling my parents' coffee in the morning. They like to drink theirs black, but I can't do that (too bitter). I like to have a half cup of coffee and the rest all cream. Sometimes I put some sugar in, too--but that's plain coffee. Frappuccinos and the other ones I get at Starbucks I don't put anything in (it's already there!)

When did you start drinking coffee (if you do)? I started probably senior year of high school (or slightly later). I remember as a kid I used to drink the grounds in the bottom of my parents' mugs. (I've gotten a lot of grimaces for that one). I couldn't do that, now, but back then it tasted pretty good. I stayed away from coffee for awhile because I thought it was bitter. My first experience with Starbucks I wasn't totally in love with it right away, but when I discovered flavors and types that I really liked then there was no problem. Folgers I got because it was a brand I recognized and I think that's what my parents drank (and I think I had it at their house) so I knew it was good. Maxwell House I had on a vacation when there was no other options and decided it wasn't for me.

Anyway, moving on to critiques...

Do you have a critique partner? Someone who you can send your work to (or meet with) on a regular basis and hash out chapters, scenes, etcetera? I've always wanted one who could work with me regularly, but up until recently everyone I knew was too busy. My editor is great, but I wanted someone to bounce ideas off of (but don't get me wrong, I'm exceedingly grateful to have Debbie as an editor; just also wanted a critique partner). Then I got to corresponding with Tessy and she agreed to give it a go. We did a trial run with Chapter 1 and liked each other's comments so much that it's gone from there. She's writing a good suspense romance novel (won't give away details since it's not published. If she wants to talk about it, she can). But I will say I'm enjoying it. It's good. I hope it gets published, I definitely want to buy a copy. She's been immensely helpful. I totally recommend finding a critique partner and/or writer's group to help you have a "sounding board".

This Saturday I am going to my very first writer's group meeting. It's a chapter of Romance Writers of America and a person can attend 2 meetings before joining. Ciara Gold has told me how nice the people are in this chapter and how helpful they are (and nice to "newbies"). So, I'm looking forward to it. Kim Lenox is going to do the educational part of the meeting. If you haven't read her book, Night Falls Darkly I recommend it (if you like books like that). It's a paranormal romance. It also had Jack the Ripper as one of the bad guys. Pretty creepy (that was the scary part for me LOL). She has a fascinating imagination. There's a sequel to her book, So Still The Night but I haven't read it, yet.

In any case, do you have a critique partner and/or member of a writer's group? If so, please share your experiences so other writers can get an "insider's" look. Thank you :-)

Recently finished reading Debbie Macomber's The Manning Grooms. I liked it pretty well. That series of books features: The Manning Grooms, The Manning Sisters, The Manning Brides and I think, The Manning Brothers...I really enjoyed them all. The Manning Grooms are the last ones. I think The Manning Sisters are the first in that series.

Still finishing re-reading Gail Carson Levine's Ella Enchanted and enjoying it all over again. It's a cute book and I love the movie, too. (I think Anne Hathaway is an awesome actress).

After that I'm going to break open my copy of Kerrelyn Sparks' The Undead Next Door.

What are you reading?

Have A Terrific Thursday!