Plotting

I’ve written eleven books, and in that time, I’ve had a different method for plotting every single one of them. As a writer, I struggle a ton with perfectionism and I also have what I’m guessing is a raging case of undiagnosed ADHD on top of a type-A personality that drives even me crazy.

So, what does that mean for my writing methods? Welllll…. so much work goes into a book before I even begin, but the process has never felt quite right. It’s why I’ve used a different method every single time I’ve started a book.

Now that I’m moving on to Bound Souls and also Twisted Little Games and a new series I’m working on, I’ve actually stumbled onto a couple of methods I’ve used that I am absolutely loving.

Now, when I tell you that every other method I’ve tried has sucked, I’m not exaggerating. It’s sucked my writing mojo right out of me. I’m in this weird place where I need to plot in order to write because I’m not a pantser (someone who can literally fly by the seat of their pants in writing). If I sit down to a blank screen with no idea where I’m going, I’ll get nothing done and get massively frustrated, too.

So, I’d do some semblance of gathering my chaotic thoughts into a plot and then start writing. But this time… I figured out how to organize.

So, here’s what I do now:

1. I do a series of writing exercises as my character to get a better sense of who they are, where they come from, what’s important to them, what they want, what they can’t stand, etc. It’s 99 questions and really intense (aka takes a long time).

2. Every single scene idea, no matter how small, gets written down on a blank index card and tossed aside.

3. I do this over and over until my brain is dry.

4. Then, I transfer those ideas to sticky notes.

5. Finally, I put them in timeline order from start to finish for the book.

6. Then, I look to see where there are gaps. If it seems like something jumps randomly from one scene to the next, then I know I need something in between.

Check it out:

I like to use Finger Paint paper because it’s big and the notes stick on it again and again. I draw a line down the middle so I keep the timeline linear.

Scenes I decide not to use get left behind.

Now, for the character work I’ve started doing (this new series is the first that I’ve done the character work this way. In past blog posts, I’ve shown the old way I’d do things with a whole workup of the characters, but this new way allows me to really get into the character’s head like never before.), here’s a sneak peek of a new character I’m working on and the kind of writing prompts I’m going through for him:

Don’t mind typos, etc. This is not edited in any way and is supposed to be sort of a free for all writing exercise.

I’ll be talking more about this series in the future, but for now, you can see how really digging into a character’s head can be beneficial. I’m excited to see how it changes my writing moving forward (hopefully for the better!).

Crossed Souls in the Making

I mentioned in my last post that Crossed Souls had started in my head as something so much different than it turned out to be when I wrote it. Originally, I imagined Willa as a sort of Cupid-like character. She was compelled to help everyone around her find their soulmates while not having one of her own and she was definitely bitter about it.

Here’s one of the very first things I wrote when I was trying to flesh out the idea (sometimes, I get a snippet of a character’s inner thoughts or a tiny bit of a scene so I just write it out and stick it in a folder to deal with later. In this case, I never did anything with it because the story went in a different direction):

The book was originally going to be titled “Soulbound,” and I’m really glad I didn’t stick with that one. It would still fit in the context of the series, but I like Crossed Souls better.

Once I had an idea of who Willa was, it was time to create her harem. I’ve always had a love for all things dark and psycho, so Hiro and Crew were the first two guys who flickered into existence in my head. Then, Ever and Knox joined the party… and I can’t promise things will end with the four of them.

I’ve talked about my series bible before for this book, but this thing is a BEAST.

For every character I create, I make a full write up on them. Here’s just a peek into part of Willa’s:

There are about three pages like this for each character detailing all sorts of stuff about them, and I do the same thing for places, familiars, villains, magic types, and everything else in between. It’s a pretty hefty file when all is said and done. It goes on and on…

Did you have any idea how much goes into writing a book? I know I didn’t before I started doing it myself! Now I’m curious: Leave me a comment and let me know who your favorite character in CS is.

Twisted Little Games - Prep Work

Now that Hostile is finished and out in the wild, it’s time for me to start working on my next project. I thought it would be fun to update you as I go, giving you a behind the scenes look into my process of plotting and writing the first book in the Emerald Hills Elite series.

Up until I wrote Crossed Souls, I’d only ever wrote “traditional” male-female books, so I never gave something like a series bible a whole lot of thought. It wasn’t until I started CS that I realized keeping track of all those characters and world details was going to be too much to just wing it.

So, I created a series bible and that thing was a total godsend while I was writing, and as I’ve started looking ahead to working on Bound Souls, being able to look back at all the info has been invaluable.

Knowing EHE was going to be the same level of detailed and intense, I knew right away before I even started on the plot I was going to need a series bible for it, so I’ve been building it for months.

What even is a series bible? Well…

It’s a file I keep with all the details on the series. My Emerald Hills Elite one currently looks like this:

Every single entry on that side bar has or will have details written in it about either a particular location description, it’s purpose, the characters and all their issues, etc. It really helps me shape my characters into real people who have real issues, quirks, and the type of people they are.

Yesterday I nearly finished my series bible for Emerald Hills Elite, although I don’t know that as long as the series is ongoing it’ll ever be finished. This time around, one other difference is I’ve spent time fleshing out the side characters and the bad guys so I have an idea of what makes them tick. Usually, I just make them very one-dimensional and toss them in the story and call it good.

I’m always, always, always trying to be better and this is one of the ways I think I’m growing as a writer.

Once I have the series bible done, I’ll work on the actual plot (though I’ve done a lot of this work already). I’ve got a rough outline. I know where the book starts and where it ends (it’ll be a cliff, sorry!) but the stuff in the middle is where I’m hung up at the moment. I’m hoping to tackle it either today or tomorrow.

Once the plot work is done and I have everything in line, it’ll be time to start writing. I’ll update again when things are done and just before I start so you can keep up with my progress in bringing this book to life.

I can’t wait to get started!

Two-Timing

Well, it’s official: I’ve lost my mind.

Yup, I’m about to dive into writing two books at the same time.

I mentioned it in one of my recent blog posts, but even then I wasn’t 100% sure I was going to do it. Now, it’s official because I’ve fully plotted both stories and have the set up all finished.

I’ve talked before about how I plot my stories, but the part that comes after plotting is what I’m going to talk about today. Once I do my general plot, I dig down into the details—both of which I’ve gone into before. I do that part by hand so once that’s done, I enter it all back into my plotting program.

Finally, I go into Google Drive. This is where I store everything for writing my books. I create a Google Docs file for every chapter and then I name them and format them for my editor (this is a new development since I started with her for Captive, but she’s amazing!). So, everything’s written in Times New Roman because that’s just how I roll.

(Quick side note: I read a study once that said people who write in Comic Sans are more productive, but fuuuuck that. Comic Sans makes me want to rip my eyeballs out of my skull).

After the files are all formatted, I copy over all my scene details from my plotting program into the appropriate chapter. It looks like this when it’s all done and ready for me to write:

Once that’s done, I’m all set to write and I don’t stop until I’m done. I set myself daily goals (I’ve talked about it before, but in case you missed it, I aim to write 4,000 words a day in 500-word blocks) and I have a writing partner who keeps me accountable.

So, now that you’ve had a peek behind the curtain, I’m gonna change the subject real quick. See, I’m honestly HORRIBLE at keeping writing news to myself. I don’t want to get ahead of myself and promise books that end up not working out, but now that I’ve got everything set up and am ready to actually dive into these stories later today, I feel confident sharing just a little hint of what’s coming in that top secret project I’ve been talking about.

So, now you have a title for book one: Crossed Souls.

It’s not up for pre-order, but here’s a sneak peek of the story aesthetic and maybe a couple of plot hints.

There’s no release date or pre-order or anything yet, but do you have any guesses what the story might be about? Leave ‘em in the comments!

Plotting... to Take Over the World?

…cue maniacal laughter.

I’ve probably talked about it before, but there are two types of writers (and potentially more in the form of hybrids of the two types but we’ll ignore them for now): Plotters and Pantsers.

Now, “Pantsers” are the type of people who fly by the seat of their pants. Get it? Ha. Ha.

Anyway, they don’t plot. They just sit down and write and basically magic comes out (if it works like it’s supposed to).

While I’m pretty scattered and disorganized in every other aspect of my life, I can’t stand being that way when it comes to my writing. I have to plot until there’s nothing left to do but write or I feel like I’m going to go crazy.

Or sit in a corner and cry… not that that’s ever happened or anything.

Ahem.

So, with every book in the Shadow Phoenix series, I did my plotting a little bit differently trying to figure out what worked best for me and what level of planning I actually needed to do in order to pull off the story.

As it turns out, I didn’t find the answer until I wrote “Captive,” and the answer is I need to plot EVERYTHING.

Every. Damn. Thing.

But it worked so well, that when I slacked off on my writing for Captive after telling myself I got off to a fast start and could take a few weeks off there in the middle, I was able to write, like, sixty thousand words in two weeks because of my plotting skillz.

Now that I’m about to dive into Chased, I’m not even trying to change up my plotting style at all (which is a relief to not have to think about what needs tweaking), and as of yesterday, the first step of the full plot is done. Behold:

This is a glimpse into what my plotting looks like for the book. (For those of you who also write, I use Plottr in dark mode because dark mode is liiiife). I separate the characters by color, and then I use one keyword to describe whatever scene is going to happen. I always aim for 4 scenes per chapter, but as I write, if a scene runs long I occasionally have to cut a future one down the line or expand it out into a whole new chapter.

Thankfully, that only happened twice during Captive and I was able to just cut the scenes rather than expand. Once I’m done with the keywords and a few minor details to describe each scene, I print it out and go through it scene by scene adding as much detail as I possibly can so that when I write, I can transfer over the scene notes and go from there.

It may sound complicated, but ideally it takes me less than a week (Captive took me three solid days) to do all the prep work on a book and then I can dive in and start writing. I’m really excited to give you Chased, and now that this step is finished, I can move on to the final plotting (details!) and then get writing. Let me tell you, this book is going to get your heart racing in more ways than one and I can’t wait to get started.

What Captive Taught Me

This whole writing journey started for me with a song and an idea to explore what it would be like to be a rock star and also finding love. At the start of my writing career, I had no idea about HOW to actually write. I mean, sure, you can sit down to your computer and just start typing, and a lot of authors make that work for them.

I am not one of those people.

When I wrote Zen, I wrote and re-wrote it three times before I finally published it, and even then, I did a massive re-write last summer because I hadn’t done any series planning and the way the other stories unfolded, and the way the characters came out, didn’t fit in with the way I’d originally written them.

Now that I’m on my 8th book (EEK!), I’ve got a whole lot more confidence in what I’m doing and how to do it. Captive, though, it’s the first book in a brand new series and before I started writing it, I decided to sit down for a sec and decide if there were things about the way I wrote the Shadow Phoenix series I wanted to change going into this one.

For example, I wrote all the books in SP in first person past tense. There are a lot of combinations for how to write a book, but when I was writing the first seven, I found myself jumping a lot between past and present tense and then having to go back and correct my mess ups. So, while it was outside of my comfort zone and a little scary, I decided the Hollywood Guardians series was going to be written in first person present tense.

It might seem like a subtle change, and you may not even notice the difference when you read it, but writing it has been really different for me and I’ve gotta say I think I like it. I’m not sure if I’ll stick with it going forward or in future projects or not, but for this series it’s fun to push the limits on what I’m capable of.

Another thing I’ve learned writing this book is that I always knew I was a planner. I’m a plotter through and through and while every other book before this has had varying levels of plotting, Captive took it to a whole new level.

My process in the past has gone something like this:

• Get an idea for a book.

• Write down any other bits (conflict, characters, a specific trope) that are clear.

• Make an outline with vague things I want to happen (like “couple goes to lunch”).

• Break outline into chapters.

• Start writing.

While that’s at least something, the past three books I’ve written (from Jericho up to Harrison), I’ve had to spend a massive amount of time (and STRESS. Omfg, the stress) stopping somewhere in the middle of the book and re-plotting the second half because the story had gone off the rails. My outlines weren’t tight enough to keep the story on track, so things happened that I didn’t plan for and then the rest of the story wouldn’t make sense.

This time around, in an effort to streamline my writing process (because I’d really like to get my book out faster which means writing more every day), I decided to spend a solid three days before I ever wrote a word plotting all the tiny details of every scene. The places they go to eat (restaurant name), who they’re talking to, what they’re talking about, who’s interacting with who. All sorts of the nitty gritty details so I wouldn’t have to go do a ton of research in the middle of writing.

It was a lot of up front effort, but soooo worth it because my story has stayed perfectly on track this entire book. There’s been no re-plotting (well, aside from one tiny scene where Ronin needed to make an appearance that I hadn’t planned for, but it was no biggie to add it in to the existing story with zero extra plotting or accommodating) and I’m right where I should be.

Even after taking that mental health break right in the middle of writing this one where I didn’t write a word for about there weeks, I’m still right on schedule. Having everything plotted out for me ahead of time means that I’ve been able to write 52,000 words in the last 13 days to make sure Captive gets to you all as scheduled.

So, that’s a bit about my process in case you were curious, and I’m really excited to see how fast I can write Chased (Montana x Ronin’s story) using the same method.

When I'm Stuck

Typically when I write a book, I aim to get a chapter done every day. Now, there are plenty of times that it doesn’t happen or that I do more than one in a day (more often, it not happening is what’s going down rather than me writing more, but it does happen from time to time).

I also outline my books before I start writing them, which means I generally know where a chapter’s going to go before I start writing it. Problems crop up when the story goes off the rails of the outline or I realize that the word count isn’t on target.

(I always aim to write at least 100k words per book, and Griffin has been my shortest so far at 105k).

With Tempting Harrison, I realized that with the number of chapters I have planned out and the word count of each chapter being what it is, I was going to fall short of my 100k goal. Now the struggle is how do I beef up the story without using anything that feels like filler?

The past four days, I’d been stuck on a chapter I added in. I thought I knew where it was going, but once I had written out the things I had in mind, I was about a thousand words short of where I needed to be. I’d been going crazy wracking my brain trying to figure out what to do, when finally I brought it up with a fellow writer friend of mine, Cathleen. (If you’re looking for something to read while you wait for Harrison, go check out her debut novel, Heart of Steel).

She made a couple of suggestions that got me thinking in a whole different direction than I was and bam! Unsutck, just like that. This morning, I finished the chapter and moved onto the next and the book is back underway.

So, in short, being stuck sucks but having peeps to bounce ideas off of is the best way to get un-stuck in my opinion. Also, this book (Tempting Harrison) is honestly my favorite of the series, which has been such a happy surprise. I can’t wait for you to read it!

What Am I Thinking?

My mind was blown about two years ago when I discovered Lauren Landish and read a few of her books. They were so different than all the other romance novels I’d read in the past and I loved them so much. They were like a breath of fresh air.

And what made them different?

The couples never had that icky moment where they split up over a little misunderstanding or a lie or something one of them didn’t tell the other. That moment (the black moment) where a couple splits up only to be brought back together again never sat right with me.

Why?

Because it’s predictable. It’s something every book does, and I hate it. It’s why I rarely read contemporary romance anymore, because it’s predictable to me. As soon as I read her books (before I wrote my own), I vowed I would only write books like that—the kind that didn’t have the same kind of black moment as all the others.

That’s not to say that my books don’t have those moments. There always have to be stakes. There has to be that moment where you’re like, “Oh, shit. How are they going to deal with this?” I just prefer mine to come from outside forces.

Once my couple is a couple, they’re going to stay that way. It may take some time for them to get there, or it may happen quickly. It may be unconventional or a trope you’ve read a hundred times. But no matter how it happens, my couples are rock solid once they declare themselves together.

Us vs. The World.

That’s how I write my stories. I go in every time with that in mind above all else, and then I figure out how to make it work. Once I’m done with the SP series, I’m going to start working on the Elite Order series. It’ll be my first attempt at writing reverse harem and I am beyond excited about it.

Have you ever read reverse harem? Do you like that traditional “black” moment in traditional contemporary books or do you, like me, feel like something different is refreshing? Leave me a comment and let me know!

Alpha-Holes? Yes, Please

I’d never heard the term “alpha-hole” before I started reading dark romance, but whoever invented it is a fucking genius because it so perfectly describes the kind of heroes (or anti-heroes) that star in those books.

Who doesn’t love an alpha male who’s strong and at least a little possessive but who’s also an asshole? In real life? Probably not so much. But in fiction? Yes, please.

I’ve never written this kind of guy. When I first started writing, I thought I was into fluffy stories, both writing and reading. That was until I stumbled onto LJ Shen and my eyes were opened to the dark romance subgenre. My eyes have been FULLY opened now, and an alpha-hole is my favorite kind of hero.

Now, that doesn’t mean that’s all I’m going to write, but now I find myself drawn to writing not only darker heroes but also darker stories. If you’ve read the Shadow Phoenix series so far, you can sort of see the progression in each book as the characters have gotten snarkier, more possessive, jealous, more emotionally wounded, etc.

Jericho is a complete alpha-hole. He’s dark, broken, and a little bit wicked. He’s possessive but he’s also sweet in his own way. His journey throughout his book from someone who’s so closed off to someone who can relinquish his tightly held control is really incredible, and I can’t wait for you all to read it.

Once the Shadow Phoenix series concludes, I’m dipping my toes into darker waters with a new series and I’m beyond excited about it. So, what do you think of alpha-holes? Do you prefer dark or fluffy romance? Leave me a comment and let me know!

Why Reviews are Awesome (and Why They Also Suck)

As a writer, reviews are a double-edged sword. On the one hand, they tell you how people feel about your writing and (hopefully) encourage people to read your books. On the other hand, when they’re not positive, they make you question your already tenuous confidence and belief in your ability to write and tell a story.

As a reader, I always look for books rated at least four stars. If they’re any less, I mostly pass them by without a second glance. Also as a reader, I never leave a review less than four stars on a book. Ever. Even if I don’t finish a book (which is extremely rare for me—I’ve read almost 200 books already this year and have finished every single one of them), I won’t leave less than a four-star review.

If it’s a book I don’t love, I just don’t rate it.

The thing about both writing and reading is that stories are subjective. I recognize what it takes to write a book—the months of work, of pouring yourself into something you feel so passionate about and then holding your breath as you release it into the world. I know that feeling well.

So, when positive reviews come in, you let out a sigh of relief and start work on the next project, reassured that what you’re doing doesn’t suck and that you’re not deluding yourself into thinking you’re actually halfway decent at this storytelling thing.

But when negative reviews come in? They can be soul-crushing. Which is why I don’t leave them for people, even if I don’t enjoy their story. Whether I like what someone has crafted doesn’t really have any bearing on whether you’ll like it, or whether they’re happy with what they wrote. And I recognize that just because I didn’t care for a plot or a character doesn’t mean other people won’t, so I don’t bother airing my opinion.

Just as we all have feelings and opinions about stories, I’m sure we also all have opinions about how we like to review and rate what we read. As a writer, reviews can make my whole day (or week!) or they can ruin my day or week and make me question everything. As a reader, they can help guide what I read next, even if it’s not always fair.

So, how do you feel about reviews? Do you review the stories you read or not? And do you leave both positive and negative reviews, only negative reviews or only positive reviews? Leave me a comment and let me know!

10 Things No One Told Me About Writing Romance

My romance writing journey started out in the world of fanfic. I’ve always been into romance novels, ever since I was a teenager and stumbled onto the “gothic horror romance” that was V.C. Andrews. And boy were they right about the horror part. YIKES.

Anywho, almost two years ago now I got into that mobile story app called Choices. It sucked me in, I joined a book club, joined Tumblr and the rest is history. I never actually considered writing my own stories or books until I was having one of my existential crises and wondering what I wanted to be when I grew up, so I of course turned to Google. A couple of career aptitude tests later, and the answer was so obvious I couldn’t believe I hadn’t ever seen it before.

A writer.

After that, I decided what the hell? Let’s do this thing!

The thing is… I had never written anything more than blog posts or non-fiction articles or essays in school. I still don’t know the exact sentence structure stuff about how many verbs or adverbs or nouns or anything you need in a sentence. For me, writing has just come pretty naturally.

BUT… there’s a lot more to writing (and marketing!) a book than I ever realized. So, here’s what no one told me before I started and what I wish I’d known going in:

1. Writing sex scenes is crazy hard. (See my blog post here.)

2. There will be days where you want to tell the story, but can’t find the words to do it.

3. Some people may hate the stuff what makes your characters who they are. Those people can go fuck themselves.

4. Writing formally (like in essay form or for school stuff) is WAY different than writing romance. Conversations should sound natural which means using words like “I’m” instead of “I am” or “won’t” instead of “will not.”

5. You’ll spend more time searching for stock photos that fit your marketing and social media needs than anything else—including writing the book. (WHY IS THIS SO HARD?).

6. It’s impossible to do everything you need to write, edit, design, and market your book on your own. You don’t necessarily need to hire help, but making friends you can trade services with or leaning new skills yourself will be necessary to your success.

7. Plan all your books to be part of a series. Unless you’re a super well-known author, standalone non-series books don’t make much money and aren’t really worth the time to advertise them, at least not in the romance genre.

8. You can write in past or present tense, first or third person. But you should always write in dual points of view (POV). Personally, I can’t stand third person, single POV books. Fun fact: Finding Zen was originally written in third person and I hated it so much I had to go back and re-write the whole thing. If you’re going to write a story, though, write it how you like to read or in the way that feels best to tell the story.

9. Once you start writing your first book, a zillion other ideas will pop into your head for spin offs and characters that need their own books. Write that shit down and keep it in a Google Doc you can add to whenever you need to.

10. This shit is addictive! Writing one book quickly turned into two, three, four… you get the picture. I don’t ever want to stop!

There you have it! There are tons more I could go into detail-wise, but suffice it to say I’m addicted to romance (writing AND reading!) Who are your favorite romance authors? Have you ever thought about giving writing a go? Leave me a comment and let me know!