Goals and aspirations…

“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.”

Ernest Hemingway

There are some people who go into writing hoping for fame and fortune. They are under the impression that after the 1st book, there will be fanfare and adulation…people will be stopping them on the street begging for autographs.

Let’s get real for a moment…

Though that does happen to some, for the most part, it is hard work. It is literally bleeding on paper, hoping for something to flow that others will connect with, that others will love as much as you. It is putting little pieces of your soul paper, praying that others will take care of it the same way you did.

to be honest, when I first started writing, that is what I thought would happen. What can I say, I was young and ignorant. Now, my aspirations may be similar, but with a much deeper meaning. My first intention with my writing has been and will always be to showcase plus-sized heroine’s. There is nothing more upsetting than trying to get into a story and not being able to see yourself in the character. It’s enough to put you off reading…almost. There are some characters that are plus-sized, but they are few and far between, and they are often of the the “woe is me” mindset. I can not stand that! I know quite a few women who are proud of themselves, love the body they are in and show it off to the fullest. Those are the women that I want to capture, that I want to showcase to the world.

I also love to see interracial romances. Again, it’s hard to find stories like this and I feel that they deserve a place on the shelf. And not necessarily always full of racism either. Yes…it exists. I am well aware of it. But it’s not the only thing going on in relationships of mixed race. There are other issues that need and should be covered. We read to escape and while there needs to be realism…we do not need to always be hit over the head with it.

those are the real goals, the things that motivate me and keep me plodding along when it feels that my eyes are closing and my brain is empty. I still have dreams of being on the bestseller list and having a few lifetimes movies under my belt.

Okay…I have those dreams a lot.

I also dream about making an impact on someone’s life, helping them find love even it’s with themselves. I want to show women that having love is good, great even, but loving yourself is more important.

What are some of you goals, dreams, aspirations for writing?

Music for the soul…

I don’t know about you, but I like a little tunes in the background when I write. I’ve tried the TV for background noise, but I get distracted…easily. Music on the other hand…once I find the right mood I can write for hours.

Let me share with you a few of my playlists

For writing love scenes:

1. Bed – J. Holiday
2. Glitter in the Air – Pink
3. In the kitchen – R Kelly
4. Sex on Fire – King of Leon
5. She Wolf – Shakira

For writing Anger/fight scenes:

1. Black Skinhead – Kanye West
2. Breaking Dishes – Rihanna
3. Caught Out There – Kelis
4. Hurt – Johnny Cash
5. You’re Not Sorry – Taylor Swift (CSI Remix)

For writing “normal” scenes:

1. Dime Store Diamond – Gossip
2. Music – Leela James
3. Nutbush City Limits – Tina Turner
4. Pop Goes the World – Gossip
5. Rockstar – Rihanna
6. Summertime – Sam Cooke
7. Upgrade You – Beyonce

For writing the breakup/sad scenes:

1. Airplanes – B.O.B./Hayley Williams
2. All Cried out – Allure
3. Not Goin Cry – Mary J. Blige
4. And I’m Telling You – Jennifer Hudson
5. Angels – Diddy/Biggie Smalls
6. Breakeven – Script
7. Climax – Usher
8. Tonight – Xscape
9. Touchdown – Game
10. You Belong to Me – Trey Songz

Now, this is not all the songs, but they are the ones I keep on repeat.

What do you like to listen to when you write?

Author rituals

Talk to any author and they will tell you that they have things that must be in order for them to write. All the stars must be aligned, the gods must be good and there must be certain things within reach. If these things are not in order, the words will not flow, the muse will flee and there will be no goodness for anyone to read.

For me the list is short and concise:

1. A cup of tea, preferably a nice robust chai. The tea keeps me calm and focused. I do drink other teas, but chai is my favorite. Something about the spice and heaviness that makes it easier to write for me.
2. A pencil. So…I don’t really like to write on the computer first. I like to put pen or pencil to paper first then write up things later. My mind works way too fast for me to type on the computer, leaving words out and it’s just generally a mess. Pencil and paper is the way to go…at least for me.
3. Fresh paper. No wrinkles, no stains, no tears…nothing. If it’s not fresh…I can’t do it. I  don’t know what it is, but scrap paper makes me feel uncomfortable and I just…I just can’t.
4. I prefer a notebook or a notepad. A sheet of paper is not going to cut for more than one reason. I need to feel the thickness and smoothness of paper under my hand.
5. I do need music to write. Depending on the mood I’m in, the music can set the mood. Sexy mood for love scenes, hard angry music for fight or action scenes. Sometimes I just need something in the background to keep me focused and from getting distracted by anything that might happen in the background. Music…soothes the soul.

 

What are some of you rituals? How do you get the flow going?

Inspiration

I’m often asked where my ideas come from when I’m writing. Okay, not all that often, but enough that it has me thinking about it and what my answer is. Especially when I’m having issues writing, when I hit a road block, when the typing just stops and the page is blank, mocking me with it’s…blankness. So, with that, I had to think hard about where my lighting is more likely to strike

Work: I work part time in retail, so I see a lot of people come and go. I get their life stories and all the drama of being with people on a daily basis. Sometimes the stories are too good and I have to write them down, change them up a bit so that the people who told me, have no idea it was me. Sometimes, I make the better than what was told or I fill in holes left by the customers when they have to leave or I have to go back to doing my work. There are times when I don’t get a story. It’s just the way the person looks. Interesting, as if they would have something to say or an interesting story to tell if I had the time to get it.

TV: yes, I am an avid TV watcher, enjoying a lot of different shows…except for reality TV. Though I do have a few exceptions. When I watch TV, I like to play the “What If?” game. Different endings, what is somebody had said something different, what if the character had reacted another way…just a lot of alternate universes out there and I would like to explore them all

Daydreams: these are the best ideas. I just let my mind wander. If I can, I write down my dreams, or at least fragments of them. I get some vivid ones and they are just too good to let fade into my memories. Long road trips, a late night with little sleep, maybe something weird to eat. Whatever the case may be, I will run with it.

So, my inspirations comes from quite a few different places and I enjoy every bit of it when I comes.

Where does your inspiration come from? Let me know in the comments how some of your best ideas/stories are found?

 

Technorati Tags: romance,writing,inspiration,novels

Character Inspiration…

To produce a mighty book, you must choose a mighty theme.
- Herman Melville

The inspiration for my characters in “Perfect Planning,” is not so much a person, but an event. A moment in time that changes the lives of everyone involved. When this moment happens, what do the participants do? How will this moment change them? Will they rise to the occasion or will they falter?

I wanted to see what could happen to all those involved and how they would deal with it. I needed to show how some would react to a change that is both monumental and every day in it’s simplicity. I also wanted to show the dark side of being unbendable, of not acknowledging that sometimes what you think, your beliefs, are wrong and if you don’t change, you run the risk of being left behind. I do touch on racism in this story, as it often comes up in interracial relationships. As much as we want to deny it, it happens and it hurts all those involved. I do put in a twist to this story, because racism is not always black and white, there are layers and hidden feelings that have to be explored and I needed this story to show it.

Perhaps, on a deeper level, this story does reflect some of my history in interracial dating and relationships. I can’t that I being some of the feelings and experiences to this story, but a true writer always does.

 

Inspiration

I know, I’m a little late in my blog post. I just could not come up with anything to talk about. That’s not true…it’s more like I had too much I wanted to talk about and didn’t know where to start.

So…

Let’s talk about inspiration and where it comes from. Sometimes, I will be sitting on the couch, watching a commercial and an idea will hit me. It could be the weirdest thing ever, but it will spark something in me that makes me want to write a story. Or other times, I will have a dream and wake up with crystal clear images. Like a story that I’m itching to work on. I had a dream about a writer that was having one of her stories made into a movie. Of course she gets with the main actor of said move, but there were twists and turns in it that I’m not sure I could have thought up fully awake. As soon as the sleep cleared from my eyes, I had the basic outline written down on paper. It may be a while before I get to the story, since I have a few others, but it’s there.

Patiently…

Other times, I’ll read another person’s story, a fairytale and think…what if? What if I changed it, made it newer, set in a different time, and changed the people around? That’s my next step that I’m taking, once the stories that I’m working on get finished. I want to see what I can do with the classic, other than the ordinary. I mean…I’ve seen enough of the Cinderella stories to know that the usual bores me to tears. I want to spice it up…make things different and new.

Where does your inspiration come from?