Failing Forward -- A Resolution

This past year was not a good one for writing. In fact 2019 was a year of struggle for me as an author.

Specifically, my decision to write a sci-fi thriller really pushed me into a steep learning curve. Don't get me wrong...I am loving the science and the futurism. It has to do with pace. Noir stories tend to slow burn and that can be difficult for someone who loves to write action.

I found that I kept hitting walls with point of view, plot, even character decisions. And then I realized that in my attempt to push through these blocks I was giving up on fun. And if writing isn't fun...it's tedious.

So I decided to be ok with failing at writing this book. It's only the first draft. I have room to grow. I can fall short as long as I don't stop trying. And that is a big step for a chronic perfectionist.

This year I pledge to step outside my comfort zone often. I'm starting with a book challenge. Reading is the lifeblood of authors and I want to read books I would not naturally gravitate towards.

GirlXOXO has a helpful post with a list of great book challenges to try. There's one to fit any taste or schedule. I'm doing the mash-up of the 52 books in 52 weeks but using the book suggestions from Rory Gilmore's Master reading list.

If you do decide to take a reading challenge keep me posted on what you're reading! Until next time, happy New Year and go write!

Painting, Books, and Personal Storms

Recently I have had to deal with some painful health issues that make it truly difficult to write. I don't know it its the frustration or the fact that I can't seem to focus on writing that is the culprit. Doesn't really seem to matter. The end result is the same. I can't write at the speed and quantity that I am used to and that really puts a damper on the whole 'love of writing' thing.

I have been enjoying some really motivational and encouraging blogs as of late. Most of them have to do with writing or reading because that is my bread and butter. But there are some that are of my other loves like gardening and watercoloring.

I find often that having a creative outlet other than writing can sometimes remedy writer's block even if I end up painting stormy clouds or lonely asteroids floating in dark space.

As I concentrate on healing and on giving myself grace for not writing like a madwoman All. The. Time. I have also promised to better manage the other aspects of my writing life that I do have control of right now. Like time and stress and social interaction.

For one, I have chosen not to participate in #NaNoWriMo this year because if I add any additional pressure to myself I fear I will blow a gasket. However, I do encourage you to try it if you haven't as the community is outstanding. Encouraging, engaging, and tons of fun! Plus there's t-shirts!

Secondly, I did sign up for a giveaway earlier in the year and yesterday my daughter and I had a lot of fun doing the "photo shoot" for the book I'm giving away. I think it turned out pretty nice...

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If you're interested, its a HUGE multi-author event with tons of books and a $100 Amazon gift card!

You can enter here for a chance to win! 

Heading into the holiday season, I hope to get back into the groove of writing. Despite all the social engagements and shopping, I am determined to stay on task...most of the time. And give myself permission to procrastinate if I have to.

Hopefully, the words will start flowing again.

Writing When You're Running Out of Steam

Photo by rawpixel on Unsplash

One of the hardest things to do as an author is to write when I don't feel like it. It happens more often than you think. Putting my behind in the chair and my hands on the keys despite not really having any idea how to move forward is so important. I believe it is a major skill in writing professionally.  Not quitting just because its hard is something we all struggle with so I thought I'd share a few ways I encourage myself to tough it out. Hopefully these tips can get you through the holidays without pulling your hair out.

Write or Die is an online program designed to get you through writer's block by providing and timer and stimulus as an incentive during word sprints. There are a few modes...alarms if you fall behind your wordcount, flashing lights, or the softer more pleasant reward mode that gives you pictures of puppies for achieving your goal.  That one is my favorite. You can even get an app for your phone or computer.

Do something creative that has a side connection to writing. For instance, I like to bullet journal. So I find doodling while listening to my book's soundtrack or a writing podcast helps me to think about my story in another way. I almost always works.

Last, but not least, I saw this on Twitter during NaNoWriMo. A woman wrapped some fun gifts for herself in nice paper and labeled them with word counts. So at 5K she got a box of chocolates, at 10K she got a new coffee mug, etc.  I am not above this at all. I can totally be bribed and cheaply, too.

Finally, know yourself and when you write best. Optimize your success by choosing times that work best for you.  Are you a night owl like me? Then set time aside and guard it like a dragon with their horde of coins.  Don't slip something else in you 'should' be doing instead. Your writing time is important and for others to treat it that way you need to as well.

Hopefully you will find one or more of these suggestions helpful. If you have any tried and true tricks to get back on track then feel free to share them in the comments.  Until next time...happy writing!

Remembering with Celebration

I lost my mother a few years ago. It wasn't sudden. She'd been sick for a while, but it was devastating nonetheless  and I think of her every day.  So much so that I often avoid even talking about her because of the immediate ache in my throat.

This year, her birthday fell on Dia de los Muertos and I thought that maybe going to the festival with my family would help me to think of her in a different light. Not one of loss or sadness, but with happiness and hope. I hadn't celebrated this way since I was a very young child and visiting my Nana (grandma) in Texas.

The idea came to me because I've been working on a new series and the main character is Mexican like me. She works with her entire family, cousins and all, on a daily basis. So all of the craziness, fighting, eating and celebrating  is very personal to me. It is what I grew up with and what I reach back to for comfort. 

My community is in southern California and so there is a huge Dia de los Muertos festival near me. There are processions with people dressed as Aztec warriors or as the calacas and calaveras (skeletons and skulls) dressed in formal wear, as well as various depictions of death.  All of it done in festive bright colors with flowers and smiles. 

Ofrenda note I left for my mother.

Lost loved ones are depicted as happy, dancing, and having fun. Often we make and eat their favorite meals, listen to their favorite songs, and talk about happy memories with each other as we remember those we lost.

My mother loved dancing cumbias or Columbian dances. So I was determined to get out on the dance floor and dance with my family. We had a blast.
The real emotional part was in the park. Away from the dancing, food, music, and laughter there is a path that leads into a dark park lit by hundreds of candles on tables.

Traditionally people will set out 'ofrendas' or offerings which are photographs, favorite objects, foods, and drink that remind them of those they lost. Some of the tables were amazing with strung lights, handmade tissue flowers, cutout banners, painted sugar skulls or candies, etc.

I do not do an altar or offerings. Its not part of my own family's tradition. But I did leave a note to my mother on the community offering table. I told her that I miss her and that we are all doing well.

This year I think that celebrating my mother's life and thinking about her surrounded by family and laughter was really what I needed. I came away from it all with a smile on my face and great times to remember with my own children.

I want to incorporate more of my family's traditions and customs into my writing.  I hope that it gives others a nudge to explore their own heritage with their family.

I think this will be a new family tradition for us.

To 50K and BEYOND!

If you follow me on social media, you know that I have committed to undertaking the National Novel Writing Month challenge of writing 50,000 words in 30 days. That was not a typo... fifty THOUSAND words in thirty DAYS.

I've done this before and it was painful and frustrating and exactly what I needed to kickstart myself into writing the trilogy I had been researching for literally months.

#WIPjoy Day 1 - Visual of your Work in Progress

So here we are again and I have spent a lot of time talking about, researching, plotting, and agonizing over my current book.  Its a work in progress (WIP)  in that I have been working on it...just not writing it. That is something I hope to remedy with #NaNoWriMo this year.

I did an entire month of #WIPjoy which I love because it makes you think about and explain aspects of your characters and novel you may not have delved into otherwise. I find the quarterly Twitter event quite helpful and encourage you to take part in the winter. Its great fun and you meet a lot of other authors which is always a good thing.

I'm working on a scifi mystery. It takes place in the near future where Elara Savoya, a tech hunter is dragged into a high stakes international plot that will put the space race and ultimately man's place among the stars in jeopardy. So yes...I'm raring to go on this one.

One of the intimidating things about #NaNoWriMo is that it takes place during the holiday season. For those who take part in NaNoWriMo and who also live in the United States, that means Thanksgiving. A huge family dinner with tons of prep and cleanup and time spent socializing. Great for the soul...not so great for the word count.

As a fix, Christen E Krumm has proposed a BACKWARDS NaNoWriMo. This involves frontloading your wordcount per day so that as you start to inch towards the holidays, your required words per day to stay on target goes down.  

This method has you go gangbusters while you're still all excited and hyped up on Halloween candy and gives you a break as you head towards Christmas decorating, shopping, partying, etc.  Here's a helpful writing plan from Christen's site.

Backwards NaNoWriMo Plan

I think I'm going to give this a try. Anything to get my first draft done before the new year. I'm hoping to hit a few conferences and I'd love to have a working draft to pitch or talk to editors about. 

What about you? 

Are you thinking of doing #NaNoWriMo this year?  If so...add me on your buddy list (Raquel Byrnes) and I'll do the same. Just leave your user name in the comments.  Happy writing!

Wax Seals and Penny Dreadfuls: A Writer's Tools

One of the things I love most about the writing life is that I allows me to connect with other people. Some from far, far away whom I might never have met otherwise.  So when I send out signed copies for prizes or what not, I always try to include a special letter to my fellow book lovers.

The one I wrote for the Blackburn series is especially dear to me because it talks about how the heroine, Charlotte, helped me to process memories of some difficult times.  I hope her story inspires you like it did me.

Plus...I get to play with fancy quills and wax seals. Also a major writerly perk.

To keep from going mad with all the deadlines and writing goals, I have resolved to work more reading time into my schedule. I'm currently reading a lovely Penny Dreadful compilation I picked up a while ago. It begins with the estimable Mary Shelly. I haven't read Frankenstein in over a decade.  

It even has The Mummy's Curse by Louisa May Alcott. I've not had the pleasure of reading anything of hers other than Little Women so this should be a treat. I hear it is a creepy little tale involving hapless Egyptologists and ancient curses.

I'm currently working on a near future scifi thriller. So I get to do a lot of research on mega structures and neurotechnology. Not to mention wade through the space elevator arguments. There are apparently wildly differing opinions on the feasibility of such a thing.

It is great fun to imagine what might be. And creating the moody atmosphere of Veridian with all its neon and smooth, cold glass is something of a challenge. Its amazing how much I want to juxtaposition lush fabrics and vivid colors to that sterile world. Working on the wardrobe aesthetic of my main gal, Elara. Beauty, brains, and a bad temper.  I think some blood red lips might do. 

Photos by: m-ban, eden acrchives, and art of soulburn.  

Summertime Means Overdrive!

Back to the Grind Coffee House-Riverside, CA

I usually don't write during the daytime from August to June because I am a homeschool mom and my kids take up all day.  But once summer rolls around, all bets are off.

I love summer because it is my most productive time as a writer. We  live in the dessert so going out during the day is not a fun experience anyway. As a result we tend to live like vampires out here in the Inland Empire. Its common to see parks empty until the sun starts to dip below the horizon. It gets over 100 degrees here so we adjust.

So I switch from a night owl to a day worker for three months out of the year. The advantage to this is I tend to have coffee houses to myself as they tend to get busy after people get off of work. I recently discovered one that I really like. It has that old coffee house feel that I so missed from my college days.

My husband I used to go and study at one in Oceanside that was so supportive of local talent that you really felt connected to the community.  Artists, musicians, poets, and yes...even authors were the bulk of the clientele and it was fabulous.

There's a coffee house I visited recently in a nearby city that reminded me of those beloved beginnings. I was running errands at the courthouse and wanted to grab a bite to eat. Problem is that not a lot of places serve vegan fair and so I wasn't hopeful. Still, I found a little place and was pleasantly surprised!

Back to the Grind Coffee House was such a throwback to my old writing days that I just had to share
it. They have a cute loft for open mic nights, a basement where a writing group meets, and tons of original art around. There are vintage typewriters and tons of books...everywhere.  Not to mention a disco ball, which, given the décor, was not out of place at all.

I hope to make it out there to write quite often this summer. The mellow beats, awesome food (its not all plant based), and the creative atmosphere really drew me in.

Where do you find you are most creative? Do you write at the beach? In a tiny hidey hole in your own home? Wherever you can?  I'd love to hear about it.

I'm Hosting an #AMA!

If you aren't familiar with an AMA then you are in for a treat! Ask Me Anything or AMA's are freeform interviews where you can ask the questions you want answered. They're fun and social and you really get to interact.

Tomorrow I'm excited to be over at AMAFeed to do an  #AuthorAMA where we chat about the craft of writing and how to capture what moves people. Let's discuss the pitfalls and pleasures of the author's life and how to stay motivated to finish that first draft.

I will be answering questions on May 8th at 4pm EST but you can enter your questions ahead of time here.

Come hang out and ask me, well...anything!

Romance on the Run + a Giveaway!

As an author, I often find myself scouting for book locations while on vacation in real life. A trip to visit my brother in Seattle sparked one of my first romantic suspense novels. I think it was the stormy sky and all that flannel that opened up the idea of a city being part of the emotional journey for the main character. The scent, the light, the hum of a place that isn't your home can really be exciting and just the thing to spark some romance.

An old abandoned building with its shifting shadows could make for an intriguing meeting place. Perhaps the cute cabin on our family hike would be ideal for my sweet proposal scene. The zoo was fun. I am well prepared for a lion escape.

Locations can be a major force in storytelling. From windswept cliffs and creepy mansions in a Gothic romance to the sunlit hills that soothe the soul of a returning heartbreaker. I'm always on the lookout for unique places to spark that romance.

My husband is good at this. He'll point out an especially strange buildings or unsettling dark alleys and ask me what I would do to cause havoc there. He knows me so well. Often my stories of romance come at an edge-of-your-seat pace. And maybe a few explosions.

For my upcoming series, I faced a new challenge with regard to location.  My steampunk romance, The Tremblers, is set in alternative history. Victorian America after a calamitous event that nearly leveled the country. So the set pieces of my romance needed to be both beautiful and haunting. There had to be echoes of what was lost and a hope for what was to come. A lot like the relationship between my hero and heroine.

The most romantic places in The Tremblers are also the most dangerous. Outer City, the boomtown in the clouds boasts romantic vistas of the entire fragile land. The sky boardwalk and floating markets with blimps and dirigibles in bright colors is a sight to see while sipping from a glass with your swashbuckling sweetheart.

I know that the massive electric Tesla domes protecting the cities sparkle purple at dusk against a pink sky....but I would love to cuddle with my husband and see it for real. However, I think it is the stark beauty of the wasteland desert where multicolored flames lick against a crimson horizon that is the most romantic place.

Whether you are on your own front lawn or sailing on an aero ship, one can find romance in unexpected places.

Article originally appeared as a guest post on InkSlinger Blog

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I'm having a giveaway to celebrate the release of The Tremblers!

Only two more days to enter...

Goodreads Book Giveaway

The Tremblers

by Raquel Byrnes

Giveaway ends January 31, 2018.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

Last Chance to Win!

To celebrate the release of my upcoming steampunk thriller, I am giving away 4 copies of my Gothic mystery, Secrets at Crescent Point! Enter to win HERE.

But you better hurry...the contest ends at midnight on 1/18/18

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And if you love epic tales of strong heroines, dark heroes, and strange devices then check out The Tremblers, a steampunk thriller releasing tomorrow! 

Charlotte Blackburn—Beautiful, intelligent, a gifted tinkerer—lives in a cloistered world of wealth and privilege beneath the Electric Tesla Dome that shields survivors of The Great Calamity. But when her father is abducted, and a strange sickness starts transforming men into vicious monsters, she discovers that technology is no protection at all.

Ashton Wells has a dire mission: Secure Colonel Blackburn and deliver his research to The Order of the Sword and Scroll. But the plan goes awry, and he is left with nothing but the colonel's daughter who has a target on her back and is willing stop at nothing to rescue her father—including handing over to the enemy the only means to stop the monstrous plague.

Branded as traitors, Ashton and Charlotte brave the treacherous floating sky ports of Outer City to hunt down the elusive inventor who is the only person able to activate the strange device that harbors the secret to their salvation.

With the government closing in, a rebellion brewing in the streets, and terrifying Tremblers attacking the innocent, the two must work together to stop their fragile world from crumbling once more into destruction.

Mental Mahem...Bring It

So the crazy NaNoWrimo2017 race in just a few days! I often wonder on December 1st what the heck I was thinking!?

For those who are unfamiliar, NaNoWriMo as it is affectionately called, stands for National Novel Writing Month and is a 30 day writing sprint with the goal of getting 50K words written for a novel you are working on.

Now this sounds insane.  It IS insane. That's 1,666 words a day. EVERY DAY for 30 days. And mind you, your end result is going to be soooo crappy.

Why bother, you ask?

Well, you have to think of it as shoveling sand into a sandbox--knowing you will go back later to build castles.

One of the major complaints I get at workshops or classes I give is that although people have great ideas or have been mulling a story idea over for weeks, months, even years...they haven't actually started writing it.

Well, you can't edit a blank page...so getting out is really a big step. 

Secondly...people get stuck in the first few chapters because they THINK TOO MUCH and never move on.  NaNoWriMo is such a sprint that you just have to keep going. Which is extremely freeing!

You can't go back and rework things, or obsess about a dialogue exchange, or tinker with the wording of a narrative...There's no time. And that is very effective for helping you just get the story out.

There are a lot of fun and encouraging things going on for those participating though...

• Awesome Forums - everything from subgenre discussions to business tips
• Regional Groups - you can join a Write-In and meet other NaNo writers at a coffee shop for a group write. Lots of fun.
• Online Groups - there are online groups to connect with either by location or genre.
• You can earn badges, buy swag, contribute to the program, etc.
• Buddy Lists - I've made friends here that extend beyond NaNo that have led to guest posts, ect.
• Help Desk - need info or research help? These guys are super helpful!
• Writing Coaches - there are twitter chats, videos, camps to join. You need help and commraderie...they've got it.

I hope to see you guys on the forums and on my buddy list. I am under Raquel Byrnes if you'd like to add me. :)

NaNoWriMo Prep -- Yay or Nay?

First of all...National Writing Month is not a sprint. Its a month-long marathon of pushing for the coveted 50, 000 words. 

Many have started...few finish...even fewer 'win' with the 50K prize grasped in their sweaty, most likely cramping, fingers. It CAN be done though. You just need to prepare for it.

I know there are a lot of  opinions as to whether it is 'pure' or not to organize your thoughts or even outline a story before the bell, but I'm all for it. Why? Because I think it will help you reach your goal. 

And that is the whole point, right? Jump start a book -- get your first draft started?

So if you do plan on prepping for NaNo, there are a few ways to go.  I'm a huge fan of Randy Ingermanson's Snow Flake Method.  Its very step-by-step and you end up with not only plot blocks, an outline, and a rough draft of your synopsis, but you can work your steps into a very nice proposal.

Another program I've tried with great results is Scrivener. You can get a trial version that is free and lasts for 30 days which is all you need for Nano anyway. But once you start...this program will be one of your go-to organizational tools. We're talking research articles, photos, audio and video, all kinds of stuff!

Something I use now and have found works wonderful for visual people is a simple Index Card app. They have them for Windows, iOS, even phones. You can move scenes around and even import the outline to your computer which is very helpful.

Mindly is a great brainstorming tool. It works like a cluster brainstorm exercise, but you can assign colors and sizes to the difference spheres. You can also choose how to extendor telescope your ideas deeper as well. I use it on my phone, print out the 'mind map' and use it in my writing.  Easy peasy-lemon squeezy!

My pantser (discovery writer) friend makes outlines a la high school. And she weaves incredibly detailed and intricate plots. She's more of a free spirit and loves to just let go and let her characters 'be' but she does do some preparation.

NaNoWriMo may be a great opportunity to get that story that's been scratching in your skull out and on to paper. But as I said before, writing at that pace, without a plan, may result in a meandering mess.

If you have some great organizational ideas, I'd love to hear them. As I get ready for the month of November, I could use all the help I can get.  If you'd like to connect on NaNoWriMo's site...I am under: Raquel Byrnes.  :)

(Portions of the post are from a previous article from 2012.)

Feelings and Frappuccinos

Here's the truth of it. I am happy alone in the dark with my keyboard and some coffee. That is my comfort zone. I live mostly in my head with my characters and that's alright. My hubby gets it. He entices me with Frappuccinos and we work it out.

However, as an author, I paradoxically long to connect with others through what I'm reading or writing or watching. Talking about books or movies...that is so energizing for me!  I wish I could just have a monthly coffee house meeting with all of you! 

Alas, you are all spread throughout our little blue marble. So its a struggle to really reach out and connect with other lovers of books, avid wordsmiths, book dragons...if you will.                                                                           

Recently, I finished a steampunk, zombie, romance trilogy. Yes...I said that right. It seemed like such a natural transition after writing my Gothic romance books.  There is a lot of crossover between the two genres on an emotional level.

It occurred to me that some of you might have experienced an unexpected crossover into a genre you might not normally read.  Did a friend get so jazzed about a book you just had to read it?  What led to your little reading digression...and did it stick?

I used to be just romantic suspense and then I saw The Woman In Black, a movie of the Gothic mystery persuasion.  I loved it so much that I sought out similar movies and books...totally addicted now. Sound familiar or are you a die hard fan of your chosen flavor of storytelling?  

Writing steampunk this time around was so exciting for me!  The alternative history crowd is such a great community of artists, inventors, seamstresses, and of course, authors.  The TeslaCon and other conferences are definitely a draw. Who doesn't love cool weapons and luxurious materials? 

The journey from concept to completion for these novels continues to be a wild ride!

Click to learn more...

I'd love to share with you the raucous ride our heroine, Charlotte Blackburn takes in the series. From debutante to dissenter, some heroes are born ladies.  I will be hosting some launch parties and what not when the first book releases in January BUT...

I will have some free goodies for all of you in a few weeks!  I've written three novellas to introduce book one of The Blackburn Chronicles, The Tremblers! They will be available for download soon. Ill keep you posted!

+RaquelByrnes

Dreadfully Creepy

There is something so AWESOME about starting a new project. Working through a three book series like the one I just finished is rewarding, sure...I feel happy to have completed Lady Blackburn's story.

However, the excitement of discovery in research, of brainstorming 'what if's,' and the start of weaving together the images in your head into a cohesive plot are some of my favorite things in the world.

This go around I will be writing a Gothic Mystery series entitled The Dreadful Darlings. So...SO happy to finally get to work on this project.

It was my motivation during the last chapters of The Chasm Walkers when my deadline loomed and my eyes drooped while writing at 2 in the morning.

I love the dark and dreary stories. A die-hard Poe and Henry James fan since childhood, I always did enjoy a good ghost story.

So here I am gathering dream journal entries and sifting through my subconscious for what scares me and you know what? I discovered something amazing.

I am not frightened by the dark. I am unnerved by the bright and blaring. The shifting shadows of a scorching sun on barren ground. The far out fringe of the desert dwellers where I live.  

In short...not the English moors or the murky bayou waters. I am afraid of the things that thrive in the light and heat.

This should be an interesting journey....

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If you like creepy and exciting -- 

Check out my YA Steampunk Thriller, The Tremblers coming soon!

+Raquel Byrnes