A Writer’s Life

Wordless Wednesday: Another Path

| Melia Alexander

It’s Wordless Wednesday!  Welcome and thanks for stopping by.

There’s a wide bike/pedestrian path that winds its way along a river near where I live.  It’s well used, particularly in the summer time, and perhaps that’s why the woman in the photo below chose to follow this route.

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But what if she had another reason?  What do you think it would be?  Is she the heroine in your story?  Is she delivering a ransom?  Does she just want to be alone?  If so, why visit a park where there’s always people around?

Get your creative juices flowing and share your thoughts, please!  Better yet, my writer peeps, get back to your WIP.  Now.  Seriously.  Unless, of course, you’ve figured out how to get your story to write itself! 😉

-Melia

Wordless Wednesday: Archway

| Melia Alexander

Hello, and welcome to Wordless Wednesday!

My sister and I strolled through a local park one afternoon.  When I saw this, I thought of all the people who’d passed underneath it, and wondered what secrets this series of arches have been privy to. . ..

DSC_1239So, my blogosphere peeps, what do you think these secrets might be?  And for my writer friends, I hope it tickles your muses into action.  🙂

Happy Wednesday!

-Melia

Wordless Wednesday: Whispers

| Melia Alexander

Welcome, fellow writers, to Wordless Wednesday!  Get your muse in gear and share your thoughts on the following photo.

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I know, I know.  You’ll have to forgive the title.  It’s what the muse came up with, although how she arrived at “whispers” with a photo of a bench is beyond me.  (Must be one too many rounds of beer pong. . ..)  Still, she insisted, so I’ll stick with it.

Happy musing!

-Melia

The Fine Art of Letting Go

| Melia Alexander

I am a clothes horse.  There.  I’ve admitted it.  And not at a private, closed-door, members only meeting.  Oh, no.  I’ve shouted my admission out to the entire universe!  Well, the blogosphere, anyway, which is pretty much the universe.

Part of the closet - specifically, the side I don't have to share!
Part of the closet – specifically, the part I don’t have to share!

A few weeks ago, author friend Jamie Brazil issued a harder than hard challenge, one that I wasn’t sure I was up to taking on.  (Gulp. Thanks, Jamie.  I owe you.)  But it was either accept it or run the risk of being labeled a wuss the next time she laid eyes on me.  And no way was that happening!

The challenge: pare down my closet just like she did, and then write a blog post about it.  In Jamie’s case, her goal was to have no more than 100 pieces of clothing.  And while she was successful, I’m not going there.  *Snort*  As. If.  But I did manage to justify parting with a few things: 2 pairs of jeans, 2 blouses, and 4 sweaters.  And a dress. . .. Maybe.  Still not sure about that one. . ..

Even Alex objected to donating this sweater! I took that as a sign. . ..
Even Alex objected to donating this sweater! I took that as a sign. . ..

I have to admit, a week later, regret runs deep, even with the clothes still neatly folded in a donation box in the garage and not actually out of the house.  Yet.

I mean, what if I need that polka-dot blouse again?  What if it’s the only thing that would go with a particular pair of pants?  Or skirt?  Or maybe *gasp* it’s the perfect match to a pair of shoes I’d forgotten about but will eventually unearth?  Then what?  It’s not like I can go hunt it down again.  So I haven’t worn it in awhile.  Big deal!  It’s not like it’s the only piece to have that distinction.  *innocently looks up at ceiling and whistles while she snatches a price tag off a dress she’d forgotten about*  Is it my fault I have choices?

Never mind, don’t answer that.  Especially if you’re a dude.  Specifically, the dude I woke up with this morning.  (Hi, honey!)

I have to admit that the process of sorting through my closet has forced me to think about story – what it is that’s essential, what’s too much, and what has to be given away cut from the pages.  It’s made me think about how tight and clean a manuscript is once all the extras are gone.  And it’s definitely made me think about making every sweater word count.  This is what my readers expect, and this is what I aim to deliver.

And honestly?  I think I do a better job paring down a story and should leave my closet alone.  Which means I should grab that box out of the garage and put my clothes back where they belong.  Right?  🙂

-Melia

Struck by a Golden Rose

| Melia Alexander

Author friend Jessa Slade was kind enough to take time out from her uber-busy schedule (I have my doubts she sleeps. . ..) to guest post for me this week, ’cause, you know, she’s really cool that way.  🙂

Thanks, Jessa!

– Melia

There is an element of luck to getting published. While talent, endurance, connections, and business savvy can also play a role, luck matters too. Writers talk about “the lightning strike”—an out-of-nowhere energy that boosts your story electrons to the next level.

Thinking you might have to rely on a random act of nature to get noticed is depressing, but you CAN increase your chances of getting struck by lightning. In real life, you might run around on a beach in the middle of a thunderstorm, clutching a lightning rod in both hands and belting out “Singing in the Rain.” (Cuz, really, who doesn’t want to throw lightning bolts at someone singing “Singing in the Rain” in the rain?) To court the lightning in storyworld, a writer might consider entering a writing contest.

Entering your story in a writing contest takes you out of the safe world of your writing desk and exposes you to the elements. Comfortable? Maybe not. Guaranteed success? Definitely not. But what is writing if not taking chances?

I always had bad luck with writing contests. I tended to split judges: For every judge that liked my story, another judged loathed me, virulently and vociferously. (Probably because I used words like virulent and vociferous waaaaaay too much.) GR2013 Banner for NORBeing loathed sucks, but still, I entered the Rose City Romance Writers’ Golden Rose writing contest because I found the feedback more useful than not. Also, I  knew if you want to get struck by lightning, you gotta be willing to run out into the wind and rain.

In 2007, lightning struck. I finaled in the Golden Rose! Me, who couldn’t get past first-round judges! (Full disclosure: Technically, I didn’t get past the first-round judges this time either. My entry had to go to a discrepancy judge because my low-end score was so low.) And then I won! Not only did I get a real-life shiny gold-dipped rose, the final-round judge asked for the complete.Jessa Slade GR

I’d been struck by lightning AND I was on fire! Oh sure, I had to do another seven or so rounds of revisions (urg) before SEDUCED BY SHADOWS hit the bookstores in 2009 and sometimes the fire burned low, but that initial jolt ignited my writing life. And it wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t thrown myself out there.

The Golden Rose is one of my favorite contests, not just because I’m a member of Rose City Romance Writers, but because of the quality of the feedback and of the final-round judges. And the shiny golden rose is pretty fabulous too 😉 But just as important is learning to open yourself to the lightning.

So what are you waiting for? A sunny day? Here’s the link to the contest http://rosecityromancewriters.com/contest-home/ There’s an early-bird discount through the end of June. Submit an entry, take your chances, and maybe get struck!  cover_Mated-By-Moonlight

Jessa Slade writes urban fantasy romance (the Marked Souls series with NAL Signet Eclipse), paranormal romance (the Steel Born series with Harlequin Nocturne Cravings) and science fiction romance (the Sheerways novellas in the “Hotter on the Edge” anthologies). Her third Steel Born book—and her first werewolf book!—MATED BY MOONLIGHT, comes out in July.

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