Last Week in March

It's the last week of March, and it looks like I'm not going to meet my end of month deadline. I'm plenty bummed but I'm not going to beat myself up. I'm simply going to keep plugging away at the story and write, write, write!

One of my goals for 2007 is to participate in a contest or two. So this week I'm going to submit chapter one of Can't Help But Love You in the Virginia Romance Writers "Fool for Love" First Chapter Contest. C'mon ladies, join the contest too! The deadline for submissions is April 1st.

So with contest requirements in hand, I'm going to fine tune the beginning of Kelis and Paxton's story. Cross your fingers that I'll finish the story in April.

Oops! My Bad....

Some of my friends assumed from reading my last post that I'd finished Can't Help But Love You. But alas, I haven't! I'm still plugging away and trying to keep my end of the month deadline.

Please keep your fingers crossed and I'll keep my fingers flying.

All Men Are Sculptors....

This weekend, I was watching Bravo's "Inside the Actor's Studio" with Eddie Murphy as a guest and heard about the quote he wrote for his Roosevelt High School yearbook that states:

"All men are sculptors, constantly chipping away the unwanted parts of their lives, trying to create a masterpiece."

What a wonderful quote! So life-affirming!

The same can be said for writers, particular writers of romance and women's fiction. Our stories begin with characters in crisis or in transition or living an intrinsically unsettled, unfulfilled life. Their story is a journey to chip away the parts of their lives that are not adding to the essence of happiness and acceptance and to augment their lives with love, peace or spiritual wholeness. Each plot twist acts as a cog in the rotary wheel that "chips" or "augments." By the story's end, the writer has what he/she believe is a masterpiece in the ultimate development of the characters. Some choose to leave the "what-happens-next" to the readers' imagination and others write an epilogue that provides a snapshot of what the characters' life is like in the future.

I haven't decided on whether to write an epilogue or not. But I'm leaning toward writing an epilogue for Can't Help But Love You. Most epilogues that I read are satisfying and what I envision as the happily ever after. I enjoy a glimpse into future. It's the icing on the cake.

The masterpiece is complete!

30 Days and Counting

Enough is enough!

It's been two years and I am quite sick of Kelis and Paxton. That's why I am setting a goal to finish their story, Can't Help But Love You, by the end of this month. I am so ready to move on to its sequel, Can't Get Enough, Briallen and Nathan's story.

I mean, how long should a long contemporary take to write? Certainly not two darn years. Throughout this two-year odyssey, I've gotten so much advice to not worry about the rules and just write. Advice I've had a difficult time following because I am such a perfectionist and worry-wart.

Well enough of the pity-party! Perfecting the story will occur during the editing process. Now my nose if to the grindstone.