Writing Can Help When You Are Down

Everyone has those days when things are tough. I've always turned to books to help me through the hard parts of my life. Sometimes reading and sometimes writing, and lately, listening to them. Getting lost in a story gives your mind and heart the rest it needs to be able to deal with reality when it's time to step back out again. As a writer, I can better appreciate this because I was first a reader. I can remember many times in my teenage life when everything was MAJOR serious that books helped me get through what I had, at the time, imagined to be the worst, worst thing to every happen in my life. Now I know the difference.

We as writers need to remember how important it is to weave stories that readers can totally immerse themselves in to escape the tough times in their lives. They need to be of such believability that a reader will become lost in the story and live the hero or heroine's life from the book, so that when they reach the end, the happy every after ending, they are left with a feeling of peace if only for a moment. Then, just maybe, that reader will be able to draw from that experience that there is still the possibility of a happy every after at the end of their personal journey.

Hope is something we have the ability to provide our readers. It's something we all need in our lives because storybook lives are nearly impossible. If not for hope, how many of us as writers would have given up on becoming published many years before? Hope gives strength to the heart to continue pumping and breath to the soul to continue seeking.

I want to write that book that will hold someone's hand as they walk a dark path. I want to write that book that reappears in someone's life as a joke or important line that they needed in that moment. I want to write the book that can help someone endure one more chemo treatment or hide for a while from the pain they are in. I want to write that book that will empower one woman to do something they've needed to do for a long time.

It might take me a lifetime to do this, but for every book I do finish, I'm one step closer to seeing my goal to fruition. Sometimes we have to take the steps slowly, one at a time, instead of bounding up them like there's no tomorrow. When we rush through it all, we miss the precious things along the way. Life is living the journey, not rushing to the end because there is no going back—ever.

I lost a part of myself today that I can never recover. It was just one piece of me, but there have been so many of those pieces along the way. I shore up my heart and soul with words, hiding my pain and losing myself with them in order to continue on to a new day.

Marla Monroe

I'm getting a lot of people asking me for the next Protector's book. I am writing on it, but it's slow. I miss those guys. They are so naughty!! LOL But good, hard, Alpha men! What do you all think? Should I dedicate one entire day of my four writing days until I get it written?
http://www.bookstrand.com/long-lonely-nights

Hannah's Stolen Men on Pre-Order

Hey everyone! Don't forget to check out my newest book Hannah's Stolen Men! It's my 10th book of The Men of Space Station One series. It's on Pre-Order right now, but you can own it on Feb. 28th!
http://www.bookstrand.com/hannahs-stolen-men

https://www.facebook.com/themarlamonroe https://twitter.com/MarlaMonroe1 http://www.bookstrand.com/marla-monroe

When Hannah Engels takes the place of Porter Jones and Edward Stafford’s intended wife, she expects a little resentment at first, but for how long? Can the men eventually forgive her and give their family a chance on the new planet of Alpha, or will her deceit ruin their chance at love?

Porter is willing to give the lady a chance, but Edward’s past might get in the way of things. The three of them circle each other warily while trying to adjust to the new planet they have traveled to with all of its hidden dangers.

They are all shocked to learn that the planet seems to be altering their cells, making their children become more than human. When Hannah immediately ends up pregnant, Edward is suspicious, hurting Hannah with his accusation. It’s up to Porter to mend their broken fences and Hannah to give her stolen men another chance.

Already On PreOrder! Hannah's Stolen Men

I haven't even caught my breath from River's Biker Heroes and now book ten of The Men of Space Station One is out! I really enjoyed writing this one. Hannah was so worried about showing up when she wasn't who the two heroes were expecting. It made for some interesting tension and conversation.

You can preorder it http://www.bookstrand.com/node/867093 here now. It's scheduled to officially come out on Friday, February 28th!

I'll have another drawing and give away then to celebrate. Be sure to watch Facebook and here to comment for your chance to win!

Keep Reading!
Marla Monroe
www.marlamonroe.com

New Book Going on Sale Tomorrow

Hey everyone! I'm so excited about my newest book, River's Biker Heroes, going on sale TOMORROW! It's the newest Ghost Riders book, and it will last longer than the chocolate you get tomorrow! Don't miss this yummy new mystery.
http://www.bookstrand.com/rivers-biker-heroes

River knows who she is but can’t remember the last few months of her life. She must know something that someone wants to keep a secret. Can Merrick and Cassius help her piece together her past before it finds her again to finish what was started?

When they find River close to death on the side of the road, Merrick and Cassius know she is special to them and claim her as theirs, therefore, under the protection of The Ghost Riders. The club rallies around them and helps the two men keep her safe as well as find out who is after her.

When the threat is removed and the dust settles, will River curb her wanderlust and settle down with Merrick and Cassius, or will the two men take to the road to keep her between them?

The Importance of Feeding Your Human

Sometimes we get all caught up with research, plotting, and writing to the point that we forget that the human side of us needs a break sometimes. No matter how much we eat, live, and breathe writing, there comes a time that we all need something different for a change. For some of us, we naturally take periodic breaks to relax, read something fun, watch a fun movie, or take a family vacation without the computer. Yeah, right. Not happening here either.

My poor human side gets very little time away from writing. The time I do take usually still has something to do with writing in some form or fashion. For example, I’m going on a long weekend out of town where I will meet up with my writers group that I’m a member of and discuss writing as well as catch up on how everyone is doing. I’ll also take some time to visit a couple of friends that don’t write but always in the back of my mind is that part of me that is cataloguing everything in case I can use it later in a book.

 

Even after I’ve visited with my friends, I’ll be going back to my hotel room to write. I’d never get any sleep if I didn’t write some before going to bed. It’s a habit so engrained in me now that if I try to break it, I fear I’d go insane. What will happen when I’m too old to see well enough to write or have such bad arthritis that I can’t hold a pen or use a keyboard? My mind will slowly implode. Then again, maybe I’ll just go happily into that amazing world inside my brain and live out the remainder of my days there.

The point is that if I didn’t do something to relieve some of the constant pressure to write, write, write, I would go stale and my writing would ultimately suffer. Just feeding my muse all the new things I find for it isn’t enough. The human side of us has to be, well, human at times. Remember, we might drive the obsessions, the passions, and the finance side of things, but our human is only human and if he or she gets sick, we all suffer.

 

So remember to feed your human different ideas, experiences, and other human interaction. Becoming a monk or, in my case, a hermit at times, isn’t a good thing. As much as I would love to bury myself in a little cabin in the woods with damn good satellite Internet but not much else, just so I could write uninterrupted, it would eventually lead to my demise as an author and ultimately as a human.

Find something that gets you out of your little hidey-hole at least two or three times a year and take advantage of it. Keep your muse looking and smelling fresh so that your writing remains exciting and unique to you.

Marla Monroe

www.marlamonroe.com

http://bit.ly/1fGPpzR

http://bit.ly/MzcA6I

@MarlaMonroe1

 

 

Decisions, Decisions

How do you choose where you will go each year? There are so many conventions, conferences, and workshops out there to choose from. I’m totally overwhelmed! I want to go to them all. If I went to even half of them, I’d get nothing written though.

How do you decide where to go? Here is what I do.

·       I put them all on one calendar with where they are located

·       I put the cost of the convention on it

·       I put the general cost of travel/hotel on it.

·       I cross out anything that is just too expensive for me to handle.

·       I highlight all of the ones I’ve gone to in the past that seemed to show me a good return on my investment. (# of books sold during that week and the week after, number of hits and friends on my website and Facebook during that week and the week after, and compare it to the cost to see what my ratio of cost to potential sells is.)

·       I highlight in another color those that I’ve been to where I didn’t see quite the same results.

·       I put an * by those I’ve never, ever been to that are in a place I’ve never been, like, say Seattle, Washington or Idaho.

·       I choose the three main ones that I plan to go to based on if I can be a featured author and/or give a workshop/sit on a panel.

·       Then I cross off all the others in that month. I can’t go to more than one in a month. Tried that and have the nervous breakdown report to prove it.

·       Next, I check with all the rest to see if I can present or give a workshop or panel and go from there. If I can, I pick out those in areas I’ve not been to for a new experience and chance at reaching new readers. I cross out all of the rest in that month.

·       I don’t go to workshops or conventions in November or December unless they are one day affairs near me.

·       If I get a personal request from a reader, I try to accommodate them since they rock! And they took the time to contact me. If it is possible, I will come. If not for the entire thing, then maybe for a day to visit with that reader.

·       If I get a request from a convention/workshop coordinator to be a featured author or workshop presenter, I will try to work those in as well. That is always an honor to be asked out of thousands and thousands of other authors out there.

So, I now have about five maybe six workshops/conventions I’m planning to attend. That’s six weeks out of every year that I get very little writing down which means I have to double up the rest of the year! Yikes!  How do I do that?

Well, I cut out things that a lot of people do without even thinking about it most every day.

·       I don’t watch TV—at all! End of story. I plow through the news on my computer for top stories that I need to know about. I listen to other people talk about news when I’m commuting, eating, or otherwise occupied but hear them chattering.

·       I buy/rent/stream movies and TV series that are of interest to me for writing such as Sons of Anarchy and Dexter and Gigolos and True Blood to watch short takes when I’m writing that particular genre for inspiration, to get in the mindset, and for entertainment. But only short bits, like one episode at a time.

·       I listen to books on tape in my genres whenever I’m in my car when I’m alone or exercising, using my MP3 player.

·       I read at doctor’s offices, waiting on appointments, on planes, at railroad tracks, red lights, stop signs…well you understand. I don’t normally take a few hours every day to read. I need to write. Sometimes I will have an excellent weekend of writing and reward myself with half a day of reading. Those days are rare and very, very special!

·       I shop on line and have everything except perishables delivered to the house so I don’t waste time browsing at the store for things I don’t need and can’t afford anyway only to waste even more time waiting in long annoying checkout lines.

·       I make the most out of any non-writing time I take. For example, if I’m going to have to get up to go to the bathroom, I also get a refill on my water, drop off dirty clothes, and pick up any mail, and folded clothes to be put away.  If I have to leave to go somewhere, I plan my trip so that I don’t waste time doubling back for other errands, like going to the bank, post office, pharmacy, etc.

·       I have a unique work schedule since I work at the EDJ Monday through Wednesday from 6:30am till 6:30pm. Then I’m off Thursday through Sunday’s to write. I do edits, promo, and the business side of things after work on Mondays thru Wednesdays until 10pm. Then I’m off to bed. On Thursday’s through Sundays, I write, write, write. Yes, things interrupt me that have to be handled, but everyone has that. Plus, it keeps me from getting stiff sitting in my chair for 12 hours a day non-stop!

So, that’s how I make up for going to conventions and workshops five or six times a year. I do one other thing that helps make up my word counts. I schedule a week’s “vacation” where I go to my writing retreat where there’s nothing to interrupt me (for the most part) and I’m alone and can write non-stop. I also schedule one or two long weekends at my writing retreat for the same thing.

Is this the best way to do it? I highly doubt it. No two authors are the same. All of us are unique, which is why we have so many different writing styles and ideas. What works for me won’t work for someone else. What works for them, wouldn’t work for me.

Some of you are going to read this and think one of two things.

1) I don’t really do this. I’m just making it up. Many of my colleagues will tell you, that yes, I really do live like this. I’m different from others. I don’t have children. (I do have my parents living with me) I don’t have a big social live, but I do have writer friends who I talk with and visit occasionally. It’s not for everyone or even a few others. If I’m not writing, I feel guilty and get nervous and the voices in my head start talking about ways to torture me. Believe me. You don’t want my voices discussing the merits of one technique of torture over another!

2) You’re going to say I’m crazy and probably an introvert. Well, you’re right. I am crazy and an introverted hermit except when I’m at conventions and workshops. Then I will talk your ear off because I haven’t had anyone to talk to for about the last forty-five weeks!!!

Okay, I got off on a tangent. Choosing what conventions and workshops to attend isn’t easy and more than likely, something will come up to throw you off just when you thought you had it all worked out. That’s okay. Another opportunity will come up.  I’m posting my planned 2014 schedule on my website www.marlamonroe.com and here. Just be for-warned.

Sh*t Happens!

For a complete list of all Conventions/Conferences/ Workshops that I’ve got information on, check back later and I’ll post a link to my spreadsheet.

For all of you wonderful readers out there, have a great week and hope to hear from you sometime. Maybe I will even meet you at a con.

For all of you busy writers, don’t change your process if it works. If you see something you like that someone else does, try tweaking your process and if it doesn’t work, go back to your original method. You don’t lose anything by trying something new, but you might miss out on something if you don’t.

 

 

 March 21-22, 2014

MidSouth Con

Memphis, TN at Hilton Memphis

939 Ridgelake Blvd. Memphis, TN  38120

http://www.midsouthcon.org/

April 9-13, 2014

Las Vegas, Nevada

Details Coming Soon

 

June 19-22, 2014

RomCon Denver, CO

Crowne Plaza, Denver Airport

http://www.romcon.com/index.html

 

July 23-26, 2014

Romance Writers of American Convention

34^th Annual Conference

San Antonio Marriott Rivercenter & Marriott Riverwalk

In San Antonio, TX

http://www.rwa.org/p/cm/ld/fid=538

 

August 21-26, 2014

BDSM Writers Conference

New York, NY Manhattan

Hotel TBA Later

http://bdsmwriterscon.com/

Check out my BDSM Author Page

 

September 18-21, 2014

RAW

Lora Leigh’s Reader Appreciation Weekend

Hagerstown, Maryland

Website to follow soon

 

October 9-12, 2014

Destiny Blaine’s Writing Workshop & Reader Rally

LaQuinta Inn and Suites

10150 Airport Parkway

Kingsport, TN  37663

http://destinyblaineworkshop.blogspot.com/