Writing Life Update: Character Interviews

Hi #WritingCommunity,

Time for a writing update! How is your writing projects going? Are you prepping for Nanowrimo? 

Over at my house, there is definitely a lot of prepping going on. I think my hubby is getting tired of brainstorming with me. My dog is enjoying it though. He has a paper fetish. He likes to shred paper and there are several pages that did not make the cut. 

Last year for Nanowrimo, I pants my story. I had an idea of where I wanted it to go and how to get there. But, it was hard to write it that fast. I did not make it halfway before life got too overwhelming. Not this year! I have decided to plot my book. I didn’t know where to start so I picked up Writing the Romance Novel by Leigh Micheals. She teaches romance writing classes at Gotham Writers Workshop. I read The 30 Day Romance Novel Workbook By Lynn Johnston and The Writing Gals’ Victorine E. Leiske’s How to Write a Swoon Worthy Sweet Romance Novel. These are all found on Kindle Unlimited. They are great books and definitely helped me get started. 

Then, I found Rock Your Plot by Cathy Yardley. Guys, if you are looking for a book that spells everything out that isn’t boring to read, pick this one up! I recommend buying the audiobook to listen to while you read. It reminds me of sitting at a lecture. There are parts of her audiobook that are not in the written one. She gives examples and it is easy to follow along.

So I broke out my notebook and started following her workbook. And it’s actually working! I am not overwhelmed with my story. My plot actually looks like it would be fun to read and doesn’t have holes (at this point!). 

This week, I am working on my character sketches. I have bios written and a short background. I was going to interview them next. Do you interview your characters? I have started a list of interview questions. I haven’t ever interviewed them before so I will see how it goes. If you are interested, I can share them.

How do you prep for a novel? What resources are you using?

~Allie~

5 Reasons to Love Audio Books

Hi ya'll Tank here!

I have been listening to alot of audiobooks lately, and I wanted to share the 5 reasons I love them. So this October, I am going to share with you some of my faves!

 1.  I can't read. It just was never a skill that I mastered. So having an audiobook playing really helps in the reading department.

 2. Allie likes to listen to them while she's driving. It makes the time fly. Plus we aren't searching for radio stations every 45 minutes. Ugh, that's awful!

 3. The narrator can really bring the book to life. If you haven't had this experience yet, I would recommend Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. He narrates his own story and honestly it is extraordinary!

 4.  There is such a variety of books out there. You can listen on your phone, tablet, computer, kindle, or go old school and buy CDs. You can even get the audio of some ebooks so you don't have to put the book down when you are cooking or driving.

 5. Last but not least, it is a nice change of pace from the print books. Honestly, I couldn't think of a 5th reason why I love audiobooks. I just do!

How do you feel about audiobooks?

Licks and tail wags,
🐾
Tank