Dear Readers!

Conflict

2012-01-30T04:30:00.001-05:00

In a few months I'll be giving two workshops on conflict.
The first is LET CONFLICT TELL YOUR STORY FOR YOU. (That's
April 2012 for the STAR chapter. Go to: http://starrwa.org/on-line-workshops/)

The second is CONFLICT AND THE CATGORY ROMANCE in May for Savvy Authors. (I think you have to go to savvyauthors.com for that one)

Anyway, why two workshops? Is there that much to know about conflict? Is the conflict of a category romance that different from a single title...

Are there different kinds of conflict?

Well, yeah. To all three questions.

LET CONFLICT TELL YOUR STORY FOR YOU is sort of self-explanatory. There are ways to let the conflict of your story push the story along. In fact, that's actually one of conflict's [main] jobs! LOL

But I was amazed at how much I had to talk about for CONFLICT AND THE CATEGORY ROMANCE.

For instance, Category Romance readers LOVE banter. If your banter springs from the hero and heroine just being snippy with one another or just being silly, it can work...but if it springs from CONFLICT...it serves the double duty of tickling readers and pushing the story forward.

Category Romance readers also love those "moments" in a story when the hero and heroine almost kiss, or almost make love, or accidentally touch...when everything is breathless and the action comes to a halt as they sort of stare at each other, or gaze into each other's eyes, both trying to make the decision...Should we do this? Then boom...one or both of them remembers their conflict [internal or external] and they step away. But the groundwork has been laid. Readers know the temptation is getting out of control. But conflict stopped them.

That's another great job of conflict in a category romance. Attraction tempts them to take steps, to step close, to touch, to almost kiss and then ultimately to kiss...but conflict pops into their heads and they think...he's not right for me [for whatever external reason you've created] or I'm not ready for this or don't want this [for whatever internal reason you've created] and they step away. But again, those seeds of the "rightness" of this hero and heroine being together have been planted. And readers know the next time they take a step they might not walk away so easily.

Readers also see that push pull that happens sometimes in real life, when you want something so badly you can taste it...but you stop yourself FOR DAMNED GOOD REASONS. Not because you're strong. Not because you like to deprive yourself. But for DAMNED GOOD REASONS. Those reasons your characters pull away are based on conflict.

Anyway, I could talk about this forever. (Obviously! I got two whole workshops out of one topic. For over 100 pages I went on about conflict! LOL)

But we're out of time here. I have two deadlines looming, so I'm off.

But think about the things I said above about conflict.

Is conflict driving your story? Your Characters?
Does conflict pop up when it's needed to stop your characters from doing things they aren't ready for or believe they don't want?
Does your conflict enhance the interpersonal relationships of your hero and heroine?

Lots of stuff to ponder on a Monday morning!

Happy Monday.

susan

For those asking about my schedule this year!

2012-01-27T07:53:00.000-05:00

What am I doing in 2012?

March 2012 CAN THIS MANUSCRIPT BE SAVED New Zealand chapter!Registrations are now open. Here's the link http://www.romancewriters.co.nz/workshops-2/.

April 2012 I will be doing my workshop LET CONFLICT TELL YOUR STORY FOR YOU for the STAR chapter. Go to: http://starrwa.org/on-line-workshops/

April 19...JOHNSTOWNERS and surrounding areas...I will be at the Coal Miner's Cafe talking about how the publishing industry has changed and is changing!

April 27-28 I will be at the Spring Fling in Chicago doing CAN THIS MANUSCRIPT BE SAVED live.

In May 2012 I will be doing a workshop for Savvy Authors CONFLICT AND THE CATEGORY ROMANCE.

Jun 11 to July 8th, I will be doing JOURNEY STEPS for Savvy Authors.

October, SELF EDITING for the multi-genre group PENNWRITERS.

Just for fun!

2012-01-25T07:37:00.000-05:00

I got to thinking about this section of BABY ON THE RANCH today and it made me laugh. I thought...what the heck. Let's let other people laugh too....

From BABY ON THE RANCH...

It was a test. If she came over, he’d know she was interested. If she didn’t…well, he had other guests to pursue.

Just as he expected, she excused herself and walked over.

Playing with her pearls, she cleared her throat. “Um, Cade, could you and I go somewhere private to talk?”

Sweet success sparked through him. He didn’t mind leaving the party. His guests were entertained and probably no one would miss him. More important, no one would be so foolhardy as to come looking for him.

She glanced up at him hopefully.

He smiled down at her. In ten minutes the charcoal beneath the beef wouldn’t be the only thing sizzling.

"Sure, Sugar.”

With his hand at the small of her back, he guided her through the French doors into the formal dining room. The velvet skin of her back tickled his palm with every step she made. Little beads of sweat formed on the back of his neck.

She peeked back at him. “Do you have a den?”

“Den?”

“You know, sort of an office. Someplace private?”

He’d intended to simply take her to his bed. But he wasn’t about to argue over logistics. In the marble-tile foyer with the huge crystal chandelier, he pointed straight ahead. He let her get a few steps in front of him so he could take in the view of her gorgeous back, her nicely rounded bottom caressed by the soft material of her perfect red dress. He pressed his hand to his chest to still his beating heart. She was absolutely perfect.

Whoever said money didn’t buy happiness was a complete liar.

“Second door down.”

She stepped into the room ahead of him. He closed the door and locked it.

Apparently hearing the click, she turned and frowned at him. “You’re locking the door?”

“Well, you don’t want to get caught do you?”

She frowned. Her full lips turned down prettily, creating a dimple in her right cheek. Cade all but rubbed his hands together with glee.

“No. I don’t.”

She sipped her wine. Realizing she might be nervous, he didn’t immediately pounce, but ambled to the bar and poured himself two fingers of Scotch. They might have to get back to the party, but the beef wouldn’t be done for another hour. They had plenty of time.

He motioned to the black leather sofa. “Seat?”

She smiled nervously. “I think I’d rather stand.”

His brow puckered. Confusion eclipsed the heat sparking in his blood stream.

“I … um…” She glanced down at her wine, then back up at him with a hesitant smile. “Well, there’s something that I have to tell you.”

That didn’t quite compute. “Tell me?”

“Yes.” She sucked in a breath. “I’m Suzanne Caldwell.”

His eyes narrowed.

“You don’t recognize the name because my grandmother never had her name on any documents. She held everything in trust. But I'm the missing owner of the final one-third interst in Andreas Holdings.”

---

Nothing like finding out the person you want to seduce is ... well, sort of your boss! LOL

Hope that made you laugh.

susan

Revision! EEK! (Not Really)

2012-01-23T04:05:00.011-05:00

My editor sent me an email telling me she would be reading my manuscript next. Of course, nailbiting commenced. Sort of. My editor has a wonderful way of finding the weaknesses in my manuscripts and giving me time to fix them.

It's hard to be afraid about that. In fact, it's a good thing.

The problem most of us have when we get suggestions for revisions is a visual one. Seriously. We look at our "book" with the editor's suggestions in mind and we see a big blob (hundreds of pages) and a little blob (the editor's revision letter) and somehow we have to merge them.

The other problem we have is a disconnect between the agent/editor's comments and the real world of crafting.

As I say in my workshop CAN THIS MANUSCRIPT BE SAVED, there are seven reasons manuscripts get rejected or need revising, and all of them involve either STORY, SCENES OR WORDS. Because your story, your scenes and your words are the only entry points you have into your book. You tell a STORY with SCENES and you create SCENES using WORDS.

But editors don't use those terms. They don't say, Your STORY is weak. They say, the book dragged or was slow or...God forbid...boring.

They scare the snot out of us because story encompasses the ENTIRE BOOK. Story takes in every page of the book. And we think every ding dang page needs to change.

But that's not true.

If you'd sit down and write a one-paragraph story summary of your book as written, then look at the editor's comments and see how you can adjust your paragraph to incorporate her suggested story changes BEFORE you actually go into the manuscript and change things...you'd see that fixing a slow or boring story usually involves beefing up one element of the story (in the story paragraph) and then finding the scene or scenes (or writing a new scene or two) where you can incorporate that change.

You wouldn't have to change the entire book...at least not every page. Though you would have to be thorough and go back and make sure appropriate transitions and mentions are made to incpororate the new story element.

That's just the tip of the iceberg for ways and means to incorporate editor suggestions into a finished manuscript. I have an entire workshop of tips and tricks -- CAN THIS MANUSCRIPT BE SAVED. I'm giving it for the New Zealand chapter. Let me find the web addy...

http://www.romancewriters.co.nz/workshops-2/

But my point of this blog post isn't to advertise that workshop (though it fit in handily! LOL). My point is to tell you to take a breath. If you get a revision letter...or a rejection that points out a lot of errors in your manuscript and you WANT TO FIX THEM....there are lots of organized ways to revise.

You do not have to make a mess of things!
You do not have to worry about making things worse!
You can create a logical plan of attack, taking one item at a time.

And, if you recognize the editor has the best interests of the book in mind, it can even be fun.

Happy Monday!

susan

Writing a Mission Statement

2012-01-16T04:21:00.004-05:00

I'm not a professional mission statement writer. In fact, I haven't written one or thought about one since my old days at a huge corporation that shall remain nameless. :)

But after I agreed to edit for Entangled, it suddenly hit me that I had a lot of jobs.

In my head it all made sense.

In my head there was rhyme and reason.

In my head there was order.

In my head there was focus.

On my desk was a mess.

Writers give up a lot of things for their art. [Understatement alert.]

Writers get a lot of crazy looks and dead stares when we talk about our work with non writers.

Writers spend a lot of money going to conferences, attending online classes, buying computers, paper, ink jets, how-to-write books.

Writers lose sleep. Either because we work into the dead of night or because we get up an hour early to get our pages in for the day.

There has to be a reason we're doing all this. And that reason has to be compelling -- because it has to drive us for years.

I love it when someone tells me that his or her book haunted them, that they couldn't stop thinking about it and that writing came naturally, easily.

But for the rest of us mere mortals, with kids who need us, husbands who want us, day jobs, family responsibilities to aging parents, illnesses, long commutes, weddings to plan, there has to be something that gets us to the computer -- and happily every day.

In my goal setting workshop, I tell you that goals will do that. They will get you to your desk (and happily) every day. But I only tell you that after I explain that you have to know yourself. You must know what you want and why you want it before you can set genuinely good goals.

So I set my goals this year thinking I knew myself and what I wanted and why I wanted it, but after I took the job with Entangled everything shifted. I did not have to set new goals. My goals remain the same. But I did need to remember why I was doing all this work. (LOL!)

And that's where the mission statement comes in. I Googled How to Write a Mission Statement and came up with some cool stuff. But, really, when I sat down to write mine, I simply said what I wanted to accomplish with my life, how I intended to accomplish it and how I intended to finance that.

Don't laugh. If you write a business plan, you must say how you intend to finance your plan. I just took a page from that and tucked it into my mission statement.

If you think about it, writers always have several jobs. We juggle a lot of things. It's good to know why -- and not just as a vague...I want to be successful...but a real why.

Why are you doing this?
What do you want to accomplish?
How do you intend to accomplish it?
And how do you intend to finance it?

Think about those things this week. Really think about them. Then write out a statement. Don't worry if it's actually a mission paragraph or a mission page (mine's a page!). Just tell yourself the truth of what you want and why you want it (and how you intend to accomplish it and finance it).

Then every day when you get up, read it. Remind yourself of who you are, what you want and how you intend to accomplish it...

So that when you have to bow out of the bowling league, leave the birthday party early, get up an hour before everybody else on the planet, give up TV, take your laptop on vacation...and any one of the thousand other things we do to find time to write...You won't feel bad. You'll feel justified and maybe even energized.

Because there's a reason you want to succeed as a writer and that reason is worth a few sacrifices.

Happy Monday

susan

You've heard the rumors...

2012-01-09T20:05:00.004-05:00

Me? An editor?

Yep. I took the plunge! Under the leadership of the lovely and talented Nina Bruhn, I've agreed to be an editor for Entangled Publishing's new category romantic suspense line, Dead Sexy.

I'd been a long-time admirer of Liz Pelletier who started Entangled. I'd read a few of their books and enjoyed them...actually, I super loved THE WHAT IF GUY (by Brooke Moss). So when she told me the concept she was considering for a category-length romantic suspense line, I was intrigued.

When Nina Bruhn, a writing friend tapped to be editorial director for the line, asked me if I'd ever considered editing, I realized that if I ever would consider being an editor...this was the line and this was the time.

So now I'm not just your friendly author who loves to teach; I'm an editor for an exciting new line.

Does this mean I'll stop writing? No. I love my Harlequin Romances. And adore my editor, Sally.

Does this mean I'll stop teaching? Nope. I consider it a sacred duty to help as many people as I can achieve their dream of getting published.

Becoming an editor is just an extension of both of those.

This is a really cool time in publishing. The Internet makes it possible to learn the craft of writing virtually at the speed of light. Facebook and Twitter make it possible to know exactly what editors are looking for, cutting submission time and errors down to nothing if you're savvy. And epublishing makes it possible to submit and see your story for sale on Amazon in what feels like the blink of an eye.

I'm thrilled to be part of it!

Scroll down for the guidelines for the new, exciting DEAD SEXY line!

susan

DEAD SEXY: The Nina Bruhns Collection is Entangled Publishing’s dynamic new line of 50-70K word, branded category-style romantic suspense/mystery/thriller novels. Our DEAD SEXY editors are looking for bold voices and compelling stories that will pull our readers into a page-turning world of thrills, sizzles, chills, and intrigue. Whether you write sweet or steamy, cops, para-ops, or special ops, cozy village sleuths, or mile-a-minute adventures, if your mystery, suspense, or thriller includes a romance with a happy, committed ending, we want to see it!
Make us gasp. Make us cry. Make us think. Make our hearts pound. Make us feel the rush of adrenaline and the zing of DEAD SEXY attraction. And do it all in less than 70K words.
As do all our lines, DEAD SEXY offers authors e-royalties of 40% of cover price. These books will be priced competitively, and sold digitally only.
Specifically, our DEAD SEXY editors want to see:
• Category-style novels with category feel and category flair
• Quality storytelling, quality writing, expertly crafted story-structure
• A ratio of suspense/mystery to romance of anywhere from 20/80 to 80/20
• Authors who can seamlessly weave the romance with the suspense, mystery, or thrills
• Authors who know the classic storylines, but aren’t afraid to push creative boundaries
• Proven category plotlines such as woman-in-jeopardy, forced proximity, intimate strangers, snowbound, bodyguards, PIs, military heroes, para-ops, legal thrills, sheriffs, sleeping-with-the-enemy, and reluctant partners in crime or justice, just to name a few
• Plotlines outside the usual realm of category romance, such as amateur sleuth, hard-boiled detective, cozy mystery, medical/science, contemporary gothics, super-sensual thrillers—as long as the story has a strong, committed DEAD SEXY romance
• Stories with one main plot. No complicated multiple subplots. These are short books
• Well-developed characters with emotional depth, even in plot-driven stories
• Pacing appropriate to the story—active storylines and active characters, even if they take their time resolving the story issue (mystery, crime, etc)
• Any level of sensuality from closed door to super steamy, but always DEAD SEXY
• From unpublished authors: stand-alone books only; queried ms must be completed
• From published authors: single or multi-author series or continuities welcome
• Manuscripts between 50-70K words in length
• Authors previously published in category romance are especially welcome; revised backlist titles will be considered on a case by case basis
• DEAD SEXY will accept both agented and unagented submissions
To submit a manuscript for consideration, paste the following into an email:
• A one-page (400 word max) query letter containing your full contact info including phone number, agent’s info with phone, genre, title, word count, any pertinent writing credentials, where we can find you on the web (provide links), and a compelling one-sentence logline for your book (Google “Save The Cat logline” if unfamiliar).
• Up to the first twenty-five (25) pages of your manuscript; end at a natural break
• Published authors are encouraged to query with a proposal consisting of a query letter with all of the above, backlist info, fifty-ish (50) pages of your manuscript (= Act I), and a five (5) page max synopsis. We will sometimes ask for copies of two (2) previous books (print books okay), preferably within the same sub-genre as your submission.
• Please attach the above to your email as a .DOC, .DOCX, or .RTF file
• Send your query or proposal to: deadsexy-submissions@entangledpublishing.com

Muddle in the Middle

2012-01-09T06:58:00.000-05:00

Usually when a writing pundit talks about the muddle in the middle, he or she is referring to the middle of your book. It takes some crafing and some real ingenuity to keep a book from falling flat on its face in the middle. Middles need a high point. They need something spectacular to shift the story so that readers gasp and keep reading--
But we're not going to talk about that today. We're going to talk about the "middle" of my most recent proposal.

Can there be a middle in a proposal?

Yeah, but I'm not talking about the "middle" in the way most people do.

Which takes us to the story of my proposal...

A few weeks ago, I had time to start a proposal for a continuity I'm working on for Harlequin Romance. I wrote two chapters and started the third, plus I wrote the synopsis. Then I got approval to write the next book in my contract. That took a month, but on Friday, after the book went in, I went back to the proposal.

This proposal doesn't "sing" but it hits all the marks. On a lazy morning, which Friday really wanted to be, I could have slapped another scene or two into chapter 3 and pronounced it good enough and had the weekend off.

And, oh, man, did I ever want to do that!

But I recognized the danger of the "middle" of a project. It's that point that falsely tells us, Hey, come on. This is good enough. Just send it in.

When in reality we know we haven't searched for grammar errors, repeat words, bad sentences.

We haven't taken the time to make our descriptions unique, fresh, enticing.

We haven't read the scenes to see if they knit together.

We haven't read the scenes to see if they really move the story or only take up space.

We might have enough chapters. We might have a beginning, middle and end. We might have a black moment and two great characters who grow enough to solve the problem at the satisfying conclusion...

But we aren't done.

Books need TLC. They need grammar runs. They need vocabulary safaris. They need description massaging. They need character examinations. They need storyboarding to be sure you really have told the story the best way possible.

Do you see why I believe that typing the words "the end" isn't the end, but the middle?

And do you see why the middle can be a muddle? You'll be confused. You'll be tired. You'll be eager to get your book out. But you shouldn't jump the gun. You should be good to your story (and yourself) and take a day off...then go back to chapter one, page one and check your story, check your scenes, follow your character arcs with colored markers, and check your words.

Then you won't have any regrets or fears when you hit send on the email submitting it to an agent who might have requested it or an editor who's looking for exactly what you wrote!

Happy Monday!

susan meier

Registration open for Can This Manuscript Be Saved -- NZ Chapter

2012-01-03T07:26:00.000-05:00

Registrations for "Can this Manuscript be Saved" online workshop are now open. Here's the link - http://www.romancewriters.co.nz/workshops-2/.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-02T03:37:00.005-05:00

Well, here we are...back at the blog!

In the past few weeks, we've examined our lives and hopefully set some great goals for 2012.

So where does that leave us in today's blog?

Well...

I read something for someone over the weekend that kind of made me shudder. I would have loved to have been able to email the author and say...Hey, have you ever thought of writing out your story idea in one paragraph? I think if you'd do that you'd see the inconsistencies of your story.

But for a couple of reasons, which will remain my little secret, I couldn't do that.

Still, it made me go to my office, close the non-existent door [if my husband read my blog that would be a hint to him] and write out a one-paragraph statement of the book that I'm working on just to make sure I'm on track.

I'd written a one-paragraph statement before I started writing. But now that I'm almost done with the book, my vision had shifted and changed bit. So I wrote a new one...

Who are these people?
What do they want?
Why don't they have it?
What do they have to learn to get it?

And I went back to my book with a clear understanding of what I needed to write next.

Sometimes setting your story straight can be as simple as answering those four questions.

So who are your characters?
What do they want?
Why don't they have it?
What will they have to learn to get it?

Clear that up in your head today and go into your WIP with a fresh brain! No clutter. No muss. No fuss. Just what's really going on in your book!

When you answer those four questions, you get right to the heart of your story. You stop piddling around with things that don't matter or don't count. And you begin writing with purpose.

Happy Monday!

susan

Happy New Year...Thanks and Goal Setting Reminder

2011-12-31T07:28:00.001-05:00

Well, happy new year tomorrow. LOL
Just a quick post to thank everyone for the wonderful success of KISSES ON HER CHRISTMAS LIST. It stayed in the top 100 for Kindle genre romances and contemporary romances for a week. Which is so cool. And tons of fun to watch. And it's still under the 2000 mark in overall Kindles.

I also loved all the kind posts on both Facebook and Twitter about how much you loved the book. These two characters were near and dear to my heart. They were funny, yet were both really deserving of a happily ever after. And Finley was a hoot to write.

It warms any writer's heart when her book is so well received.

So thank you all!

Also...

For those of you doing the goal setting lessons. They will be coming down next Saturday. You have an entire week to finish up. Or cut and paste them to read later!

Happy New Year, everyone!

susan

Goal Setting Lesson 8 Pulling It All Together

2011-12-30T03:49:00.000-05:00

Session Eight: Pulling it all together

By now you are probably aware that motivation inspires goals and good goals inspire you to manage your time more efficiently.

You probably also realized that the more important, or necessary, the goal, the easier it is to motivate yourself to accomplish it. In the last two lessons, we talked specifically about time management. Though I taught that you must find your peak performance time and gave you a few tools for working the most efficient ways possible, you probably also noticed that inherent in those lessons was the truth that there are some things that don’t need scheduled, yet they always get done. Come hell or high water we generally accomplish our “necessary” goals like feeding our children, going to our day job, or getting everyone where they are supposed to be every day (Ms. Carpool).

Because it’s true. We will do the things we “must” do without hesitation, without question and generally without having to put them on a list.

But did you realize while we were walking through all these sessions that you could actually set a goal and artificially make it a must? Did you realize that you could turn almost any goal into something you do without hesitation, without question and generally without having to put it on a list…if you motivate yourself sufficiently?

You probably did, but just in case you didn’t let’s talk about the motivational technique I’ve found the most helpful in accomplishing my personal goals (things like regular exercise) and professional (writing) goals by shifting them from “wants” to “musts.”

It’s Tony Robbins’ Rocking Chair technique. (BTW, Tony/Anthony Robbins is the author of the runaway bestseller Awaken the Giant Within. His 30 Days to Personal Power tapes were phenomenal. He also does “change your life” type of seminars. He’s very smart and very successful and his techniques have helped me tremendously! I don’t merely want him to get credit for this technique. If you need some extra help organizing or figuring out your life, Tony Robbins work isn't just among the best. In a lot of ways, it is the best.

Okay, testimonial over, back to business…

I don’t want to use writing as the example of Tony Robbins’ Rocking Chair Technique because I don’t want to influence you. I want you to see the technique and then do it yourself so your answers to the questions are real and personal, and therefore, have the power they are supposed to have.

So, since I’m beginning the new year as a little ball of butter, who will not be able to wear her own clothes and will have to spend money buying new things from Omar the Tentmaker if I don’t slim down, I’m going to use eating healthy as the example. Because that’s one of the hardest goals in the Universe!

Mr. Robbins basically tells us that manufacturing motivation (turning a “want” into a “must have” or “necessity”) is easy. All we have to do is get ourselves to the place where we recognize how the results of our bad habit or lack of action will hurt us. Once we get ourselves to realistically see the results of our bad habit or lack of action, then we have to feel the pain that accompanies those results, so that when we leave that place, we will remember the pain and our behavior will change.

So, here’s me. In the prime of my life, with a full head of hair, no beer belly, nice legs and not too many wrinkles, no cough, no insomnia, and very little dementia, how do I get myself to feel the affects of my poor eating habits?
I sit in my rocking chair.

Tony Robbins tells you to sit down, close your eyes and imagine five years of time passing in fast forward, with you keeping your present eating habits. When five years pass, stop! Take a look at yourself. Are you heavier? (Hah!) Are you tired? (Hum….) Are you sloppy? (Ouch!) Is your husband going out without you to grocery shop because he has more energy? Worse, is he going to movies or the mall alone…Dear God!

That’s scary stuff. But don’t stop. Tack another five years onto where you are at the end of that five. Eyes closed, deep breath, continue to picture yourself as you did when you zipped five years into the future – kinda chubby and slow, maybe breathing a tad heavier, then fast forward again. Zip another five years into the future with no exercise and lots of fast food.

Then, stop! Suddenly, catch yourself off-guard as you really would be.
Are you fatter? (Do fish swim?) Is your breathing labored? Is your hair washed? Are your clothes ugly? (Probably) Is your room dark? (This is a good one. Most people realize that after year ten of the continuation of a bad habit their room is suddenly dark. As if your life is bleak!) Is your husband home…or is he out, again, without you?

Ouch. But don’t stop here. Get back in the chair. Eyes closed. Deep breath. Fast forward ten whole years this time. 20 years from today. Fast food, fast food, fast food, doughnuts, doughnuts, cappuccino. Stop!

How big are you now? How tired are you now? Where’s that darned husband of yours! Do you fight a lot? Do you spend lots of time alone…with your doughnuts? Probably. House dark? No question this time. You are alone, fat, tired, sitting in the dark and a failure. All because you couldn’t get yourself to eat a darned vegetable!

But don’t stop here. Reverse the clock. See it all backward. Take it all back. Reverse all those food decisions. Go back and back and back until it’s today again. Take a deep breath. You’re not 100 pounds overweight. You’re twenty. Would you like some fast food? I doubt it. Does walking on the treadmill seem like work or salvation? Probably salvation. Do you feel differently? Probably. Not because you don’t want to gain weight, but because you don’t want to be alone, sitting in the dark!

You have a second chance!

Plus, your choice is no longer the choice between a doughnut and a carrot. It’s the choice between a dark, dingy room in a barren life and happiness.
Hummm….Interesting. Really think that through. If you truly felt the pain of your bad habit, your entire mindset should be different. And you should be motivated to do whatever you can to NEVER to be the person you saw in your imaginings!

As I said, I used weight as the example and not writing for a very good reason. I didn’t want to impose my “notions” about writing on you. So now that you have the concept down, we’re going to repeat the exercise, but without me giving you examples or hints about how I would be feeling.

So, close your eyes and fast forward five years. In that five years, writing is not your priority. It’s a hobby. You work “when you can.” You write hit or miss, never committing, never thinking writing is your passion…Every time somebody invites you away from writing, you leave your desk. It takes longer and longer to get yourself motivated to write. Some days your work room stays dark. You don’t even turn on your computer. This goes on for five years…

Now Stop! Open your eyes…Where are you?

Get a clear picture of what your life would be like if you continue on as a writing hobbyist. Where will you be five years from now? Take your time and really be honest about where you will be if you treat writing hit or miss, if you treat your passion as if it’s a passing fancy. Really think it through. See the dust on your desk. See the half-finished manuscripts. See the unfulfilled promise…All right, so I am nebbing my nose in a tad here…

Now, close your eyes again and fast forward another five years. Do you even have a schedule? Do you miss entire weeks?

Now, fast forward that last ten years that takes you to year twenty… Do you even consider yourself a writer anymore? Or do you just remember when you “wanted to write a book”?

The real bottom line is …

Do you want to be the person you picture twenty years from now if you don’t discipline yourself to write more than “when you can”? Do you want to be the person you picture twenty years from now if you never commit to becoming the best writer you can be?

Interesting question.

And the question with which I leave you. Success and failure are your choice. You may not have complete control, but you have a lot more than you think.

So think.

The next time you want to be lazy, the next time you blame an editor, an agent or your critique partners, when you know deep down inside the work submitted wasn’t your best effort…

The next time you decide to write for a line or publisher without reading that line or publisher…

The next time you think the rest of us are just lucky…

Think. Think about everything I’ve told you this month and then realize the choices are yours.

Keep the promises you make to yourself!

Peace.

susan meier

Goal Setting, Lesson 7 What If You Have A Deadline

2011-12-29T03:46:00.000-05:00

Session Seven: Time Management, segment two, what if you have a deadline?

That’s a good question because most time management books and tapes deal with us as if our lives are nice little parades of events and obligations, and all we have to do is organize them. Most don’t understand that writers don’t just have events and obligations, we are usually dual career people, with spouses, kids and a house. And just when we think we have everything under control. Boom. Along comes a deadline.

If an editor has asked to see a full manuscript, you don’t have a year’s worth of doctor’s appointments to pen scenes. And you most certainly can’t wait for your mood to turn sour to kill all the people who need to die for your mystery! Even an hour of Walker, Texas Ranger time every night won’t be enough time to get done what you need to get done!

So what do you do?

If you’re one of those people who has a deadline, has an editor/agent waiting for a manuscript, or has a upcoming conference at which you want to pitch a completed manuscript, then you are going to have to go into your schedule and do some disrupting.

Yikes! This is exactly what I told you not to do in the last lesson! I know. I didn’t precisely lie. What I gave you last lesson was the best case scenario. Today, we talk about the worst case scenario! (I’m giving you both because your life isn’t hectic all the time, but neither is it peaceful and orderly all the time. You need to be able to recognize both scenarios and adapt accordingly.)

Okay. Worst case scenario…

When people come to me with the dilemma of a deadline they despair of making, just like when people come to me trying to figure out how to squeeze some writing into their day, I first I ask them to figure out if they are a morning or night person.

Why? For the same reason this works in your regular schedule. Morning people can set their alarms for an hour or two earlier and get lots of work done that way. Night people can sneak into their offices when everybody else is in bed and get their work done that way. That’s a quick, easy solution to a potentially big problem. And, again, it’s relatively painless to your family. Because, let’s face it, they are the ones who will start complaining big time if they feel you are shortchanging them! So your best solutions are always the ones that tiptoe around their time and needs.

But scheduling extra morning or night writing has another benefit. You use your chemical makeup and your optimal writing time, so that you aren’t fighting yourself, you are working with yourself. And that’s when you really get the most work done!

You probably already know whether you’re a morning or night person, and also that it’s better to work in the part of your day in which you achieve maximum efficiency, but if you don’t, it’s time to figure it out. When you have a deadline, a true deadline that you cannot miss, you don’t have time to figure it out. You also can’t waste time piddling around trying to work when your biorhythms aren’t cooperating.

So figure out when you get your best work done, and then make arrangements to use that time. When you have a really tight deadline, no matter what it takes, put yourself into a position where you are at your desk, writing, during your peek efficiency time.

And, btw, for those of you who have day jobs that occur during your peek efficiency time…I took two weeks vacation once to write the first draft of a book with a god-awful deadline. I was upset – kinda mad actually – to have to use my vacation time for work. But that book resulted in my first multiple-book contract and that contract resulted in my being able to quit my day job.

Sometimes you have to go to extreme measures.

In fact, I look at it like going on a diet. (Yes, people, after three weeks of harassing myself, I finally started a diet! Woo-Hoo!) Anyway, I look at getting a big project done on a deadline the same way I look at going on a diet. I decide that my schedule, my life, my everything will be dedicated to moving this one mountain for however long it takes, knowing that it won’t take forever, and the more dedicated I am, the more quickly I will get done.

Why? Because that kind of focus works. Putting yourself in the frame of mind that this isn’t forever, but it is necessary will be like accomplishing number seven in the seven steps to goal setting… Resolving never to quit. It mentally prepares you to tackle any obstacle that comes along.

For instance…

If my husband has a day off when I’m on deadline, I don’t play hooky. I explain that this is a temporary situation. That I need a month to finish a book. And that when I am done, I will take several days off with him.
That doesn’t just remind me of my goal of hitting my deadline, it reminds him, too, to take my writing seriously. It also gives both of us something to look forward to. I’ve even told him to spend the four weeks I’m working to figure out something we can do together when I am done. (Usually, it ends up being a golf outing somewhere…fairly predictable, but the planning keeps him busy and happy and occupied so I can work!)

You can use a similar system with your kids. Particularly if they are older. I used to make a game out of my deadlines. It was a three-step system that went something like: Step One: Mom has to get a book done so everybody gets a chore (one of my chores, like doing dishes, or gathering the day’s laundry and taking it to the laundry room. I did that as a way to make them feel a part of the situation and to do something for which they can be proud, giving them ownership of the situation, too.) Step Two: Everybody is told that it’s their job to let Mom alone. Then, Step three: When the deadline is met, we will all … Go out for ice cream, or go to Hershey Park, or go bowling…Something.

Step one and two serve the purpose of making your kids feel a part of things, even as those steps teach them responsibility. Step three teaches them that rewards come from obeying rules and working.

In addition to figuring out your biological clock and enlisting the help of your husband and kids, there are all kinds of other great things you can do to get a big project done as quickly as possible.

1) Divide a big project into little projects. In the same way that this helps when you don’t have a deadline or are meandering along in your life, this is a godsend for deadline work. Again, this is a way to make use of all that down time in your week that you can’t avoid, because you can take your little projects to the doctor’s office, your son’s little league game and/or ballet lessons and work on them there. But more than making use of downtime, completing little projects gives you a sense of accomplishment that will propel you onto the next project. Little projects also mark progress.

But, most important of all, little projects stave off procrastination. As I said before, most of us procrastinate because of a sense of overwhelm. We see this mountain of work and wonder how we can ever get it done – especially when it comes with a tight deadline. So when you break that big project into little projects and break the little projects into steps, everything seems manageable again. And procrastination usually goes away!

2) Creatively procrastinate. What the heck is creative procrastination?

That’s putting off things that really don’t need to be done. For instance, you cannot avoid feeding your children. (There are laws.) However, there is no law that says your refrigerator must be scrubbed every week. There’s no law that says every room in your house must be vacuumed daily. There’s no law that says you must wash every dish as it becomes dirty. There’s no law that says you must make your bed.

I know, I know! It doesn’t take that long to make a bed…But, if you’ve got a good thought, or an amazing idea for how to start your next chapter and you pause to make your bed, you could lose it. That’s how a lot of us get into trouble!

So, you need to creatively procrastinate. When I’m working on deadline I don’t clean my refrigerator, vacuum or dust daily. I vacuum and dust once a week and clean the refrigerator at the end of the project.

Which brings takes us back to one of our original points…There is an end to the project. And just like with making a deal with your husband or your kids to get them to help (or get them to leave you alone so you can work) sometimes the best way to find the time you need is to make a deal with yourself that you will do certain things when the project is done. Then, knowing your chores will be waiting for you when you’re done, you can let them go to the universe. If you have trouble with that, just ask yourself, which is more important? Dusting off the windowsill that no one will see, or getting your book in on time?

3) Curb your social life. Turn off the phone (or let the answering machine pick up). Forget email exists. And, again, remember that you can get back to everybody when you are done. Most times I let people know in advance when I’ll be disappearing, but even then I get phone calls and emails I don’t have time for. The truth is, if someone calls “Just to chat” after I’ve told them I’m off limits, I usually realize they simply forgot that I’m busy and I gently remind them and promise to get back to them when I’m done. You don’t have to make a federal case out of interruptions, but you have to know when to sidestep them or ignore them!

4) Take yourself seriously. Really, that’s the only way you will get anything done. If you don’t put enough of a priority on your project you will wheedle your way out, or your friends and family will talk you away. Don’t let that happen. Take yourself and your work seriously and editors and agents will too. In fact, I’ve discovered that’s a very interesting trait of editors and agents. They can spot a slacker from a mile away. Or maybe slacker is a bad choice of words. Maybe we should say hobbyist. No editor or agent wants to invest a bundle of time in someone only to have that person consistently and continually miss deadlines. Not because they can’t wait for a book, but because they have their own schedules they have to manage. It’s just much easier to work with people who hit the marks!

Assignment? I want you to think creatively about creative procrastination. Make a list of all the things you could put off or completely ignore the next time you have a tight deadline. I also want you to think about your telephone, your email, and your regular social routine and decide which systems you could implement to preserve your privacy and which things you could drop altogether to assure you have both the time and the peace and quiet to get done what you need to get done.

Then, when you get a tight deadline, when an editor calls for your complete manuscript, you won’t have to think it through. You will already have a plan in place!

So figure it out right now. What could go if you had a major deadline? Make your plan now. Be ready for the day when you “get the call.”

susan meier

Goal Setting Lesson 6 Time Management Begins

2011-12-28T03:42:00.000-05:00

Session Six: Time Management Begins

I love time management. I always have. Ever since high school, I’ve believed there was a better way to do everything and I’ve spent the past *&^ years chasing those ways. Some of my experiments have flopped, some of exploded in my face, but some have yielded some fabulous results. In fact,
I’ve actually written a time management book – which never sold so eventually it will probably find its way here.

So when I tell you I adore time management and all its theories, I’m not kidding.

So…Where do we start?

Well, today, we’re going to be talking about four things. Number one, finding blocks of time. Number Two, learning to work ahead in “bits and pieces.” Number Three, being prepared. And Number Four: mood reading and writing.

Let’s jump right in with Number One, finding your blocks of time.

When it comes to finding blocks of time, I always advise people to start right where they are. I never advise anybody to change anything until they’ve spent a week evaluating. Why? Because in all my years of helping people evaluate their lives, I have discovered that there is always a block of time in everybody’s schedule that can be used to accomplish a goal. And when you find that block of time and simply begin to use it, you won’t so much as create a ripple of a ruffle in the feathers of your family’s life.

And that’s really what you want to do. You want to find the time to accomplish your goal in such a way that you don’t disturb anybody else’s life or ask anybody else to sacrifice. Why? So you’re not fighting your own personal inertia, along with a troop of deprived family members!

Here’s an easy example of how it works:

I’m an early riser. My family sleeps late. When my kids were still in grade school, I could easily set my alarm for an hour (or two) before their scheduled waking time and get my writing done before anybody stirred. (That reaped the added benefit of my working in a completely quiet house!) Nobody even had to know I was working. No one challenged me. No one wanted on the computer. No one had a button that needed sewn or a nose that needed wiped. They were all sleeping.

That was perfect time.

But what if you’re not an early riser? Worse, what if you are but your kids are too! Or what if there simply is no way for you to use that system?

You go in the opposite direction. Can you stay up an hour later and use that time productively? Note that there’s a restriction to that. You can’t just stay up an hour later, what you do in that hour must be of good quality. If not, that’s not good for you either.

So if you can’t get up an hour earlier or stay up an hour later and produce good work, what do you do then? You start evaluating. Really look at how you’re spending your time. Journal for a week or even just a couple days and you’ll see where your writing time is hiding!

For instance a friend of mine was addicted to the 7:00 and 7:30 back-to-back airing of her favorite sitcom (Golden Girls). She would get a cup of coffee, sit down and watch an hour of television while her husband had his quality time with their kids. When she told me this, after having sobbed about having no time to write, I gasped! My Lord! You waste an entire hour on a sitcom? There’s your writing time!

The funny part of it was, she didn’t even see it because the habit was ingrained.

Here’s another good example. This is something I recently started to do because I find I need more time for my web page, PR, and email that I can’t get done during the day when I’m actually writing. So I had to find a way to take a bite out of time and when I examined my schedule, this is what I came up with…

My husband is a big fan of Walker, Texas Ranger. I … well, I can take it or leave it. I used to win points by letting him watch the show a few times a week while I crocheted at his side. Now, I let him watch it every day because that’s another hour he’s occ-u-pod-o and I’m free to do whatever I want.

But there are other hidden blocks of time of your life that are going to waste. Blocks you might not even realize you’re wasting!

You wait in line at the grocery store. You wait for your doctor. You wait in traffic. You wait for your beautician. You wait while dinner cooks. All these blocks of time can be put to use.

Now, granted, you probably can’t “write” in some of these blocks. But you can read research books, other writers’ work, and how-to books. You can also jot down plot notes, bits of scenes, and descriptions.

And that takes us to topic number two of our time management lesson…

Learning to do things in bits and pieces.

We have a tendency to look at everything in big chunks. But, you know, a good writing How-To book is read one word, paragraph, section, and chapter at a time. Your own work is written one word, paragraph, scene, and chapter at a time. When you begin to look at it that way, fifteen minutes spent writing a paragraph or page suddenly has new value. And so will all those fifteen-minute blocks of time you have that go to waste.

I do odd things like write out descriptions in advance. Houses, rooms, offices, secondary character features, the way my hero looks when he's angry. I write and revise opening paragraphs for chapters. I write (and revise or polish) chapter ending hooks. And I do them at the dentist, the doctor, waiting for dinner to cook, and watching Walker Texas Ranger (when I can’t get out of it).

Do you know how helpful it is to have descriptions written out in advance? I can’t begin to tell you how much fun it is to have a 20-pages-per-day goal and have six or eight one-paragraph descriptions that can be “dropped in” in the appropriate places. Six or eight one-paragraph descriptions is two or three pages! Three pages of pre-written text that you can count as part of that day’s goal.

For those romance writers among us…Have you ever thought of writing your kiss or love scenes when you have a spare fifteen minutes…like waiting for your hair dresser?

For the romantic suspense and suspense writers… Have you ever thought of writing a particularly hair-raising scene while waiting for your doctor, your accountant, or your lawyer (I think the lawyer’s office is a particularly scary place, very conducive to those tense, nail-biting scenes) and having it ready to drop into place when needed?

There is a caveat to all this great advice, however. And it’s Topic Number Three for today’s lesson: Be prepared.

If you plan to use your wait at the doctor to revise the ending hook of all your chapters, you have to have the last page of all your chapters printed out and ready to take with you so you can work on them. You must have a pen and paper with you if you plan to write something from scratch. In other words, you have to have the supplies you need, when you need them.

This probably means you’ll need to carry a pen and pad with you everywhere you go. You don’t have to cart a legal pad. You can buy a little pad that fits into a shirt pocket or your purse. Or, if you’re really ambitious, you can create a folder that you can take to doctor’s (and similar) appointments that has your synopsis, pertinent information, paper and a pen.

You may need to begin carrying a paperback with you all the time so you can read in unexpected down time, like when your bus gets stuck in traffic or you’re at the back of a long line in the grocery store.

But, that’s okay. Do you know why? Because people who carry paperbacks are perceived as intelligent…So I would go for that one if I were you.

This also means, though, that you have to have plenty of books on hand. You must have novels, nonfiction and research books available to take to your doctor’s appointments, beautician’s shop and dentist’s office. But to most readers this is not a hardship.

Plus, I’ve learned to “mood read” and “mood write” because mood reading and writing reaps the best results for me. Which is Topic Number Four and our last topic of the lesson: Mood Reading and Writing.

If I’m in a distracted mood, nonfiction is usually best for me to read. If I’m feeling attentive, I prefer fiction (because I need my brain to analyze what I’m reading). So I know when to take a non-fiction book or a fiction book to my dentist so that I not only read the most, but also retain the information I’m reading.

But more than that, if I’m feeling lousy and I’m writing a book where someone needs to die, my mood and the scene are a match made in heaven. I can easily write the scene! When I’m happy, I don’t try to write the black moment of a book. I write a tender, happy scene. In fact, if all the tender happy scenes are written, it’s better for me to go back and revise and polish a happy scene when I’m happy, than to try to write the black moment. It simply will not be good enough. And, frankly, I would have wasted that time.

The point? I don’t struggle trying to write a happy scene when I’m mad or an angry scene when I’m happy. That’s counter-productive. And counter-productive is a waste of time!

I find I write some really great death scenes in the doctor’s office after I’ve been kept waiting over an hour for a ten-minute check-up.

I write the best kisses in my beautician’s shop. Why? Because they’re always chit-chatting and happy there. And there’s nothing like a happy mood to inspire me to write a kiss.

I’ve also been known to pen a black moment or two waiting for the dentist.

And that’s our first four points to time management.

Number One, find blocks of time where they already exist!
Number Two, learn to work ahead in “bits and pieces” (and probably write better!)
Number Three, be prepared. Take books, notebooks, pens with you everywhere you go!
And Number Four: Mood read and write. Take advantage of your mood to improve your prose and save some time!

So, what’s your assignment for the next few days? Look for your blocks of potentially available time and figure out ways to use them. Find your Walker, Texas Ranger hour (the hour when your kids and husband are entertained to the max) when you can slip away and write. Buy yourself a stash of books. Especially a few good writing how-tos. You may not have time to read the classics waiting for little Regina to get out of volleyball practice, but if you read only one good tip a day from a writing how-to, your crafting ability would increase dramatically!

Begin to identify your moods and write with them. (Even if it’s only a paragraph or two to get you started!)

And get some “stuff” that you can carry with you. Decide if you’re going whole hog by creating a folder with your synopsis and pen and paper so you can write actual scenes while waiting for the doctor. Or if you’re a simpler person who needs only the little tablet and pen for shirt pocket or purse.

And get to it! Use that time!

susan meier

Lesson 5 Goal Setting

2011-12-27T03:39:00.000-05:00

Session Five: The other half of seven steps to Goal Setting

In the last session I told you that the seven steps to goal-setting are:

1. Decide what you really want
2. Write your goals out on paper
3. Determine the price you have to pay
4. Make a plan
5. Take action immediately
6. Do something every day that takes you to your goal
7. Resolve in advance that you will never quit.

Two lessons ago, we delved into understanding what we really want. We decided that we don’t want money or toys as much as we want emotions like happiness, security, love, respect, affection, and self-respect. Then we also realized that want of those emotions is the true bottom line reason behind why we do things like work hard at being a good parent, or pay our bills, or get married. Then I instructed you to set goals, or, more realistically put, decide how you will spent this year’s time, based upon the emotions or “states” you need to achieve.

In our last lesson, we took your goals and we refined them to be clear, specific, measurable and time bound. We also accomplished steps two through four. We wrote our goals on paper, determined the price we would have to pay to achieve them and made a plan.

We deserve a round of applause because all of that was hard work. And important work. But today we get to the good stuff.

Why are steps five through seven the good stuff?

Because anybody can know what they want, anybody can write out those goals on paper, anybody can determine the price they have to pay and anybody can make a plan. But not everybody can take action immediately, discipline themselves to do something everyday that will take them to their goal and resolve in advance that they will never quit.

These last three steps, taking action, disciplining yourself to do something every day that would get you closer to your goal and resolving never to quit are the hardest part of any goal, because they are the “heart” of the goal.

Let’s start by examining step five, take action immediately. Why is that so important? Why is that part of the “heart” of your goal setting process?

Because, quite simply, by actually taking action on your goal, you physically say you are committed. You tell yourself you believe you can do this.

If you don’t take action immediately, there’s always a question mark. Sure, you said you could write your book this year, but you haven’t even turned on the computer, so do you really think that you can write a book this year? Or were you wishful thinking again? Do you really have faith in yourself? And if you don’t…Have you chosen the right goal?

The ability to take action immediately speaks volumes about your self-confidence, your capabilities, and your belief in your talent.

Conversely, if you won’t take the steps, if you will not immediately do something that takes you in the direction of your goal, it also speaks volumes and you should be listening to what your subconscious is telling you!

But there’s another reason to take action immediately. The beginning of any project is the hardest. Once you set your goal and then take action, the difficult hurdle of “beginning” is handled. Your goal no longer seems like something off in the distance. Instead, it’s something you’ve already started.

It becomes real, manageable, and you begin to feel the sense of ownership necessary to commit for the long haul.

Simply put, step five, take action immediately, speaks of self-confidence and commitment!

But so does Step six: Do something every day to take you closer to your goal. Except it doesn’t merely speak to commitment, it also has two other advantages.

First, doing something every day, a piece of your project every day, breaks your work down into manageable increments and pieces, and teaches you that any task can be handled when taken one step at a time.

Second, working on your goal every day keeps you involved in your goal. You can’t forget it. But more than that, you can’t fall behind. At least not so far behind that you feel overwhelmed. Working on your goal everyday keeps you active, involved and moving toward the prize.

And that usually clips procrastination off at the ankles. Do you know why?

Because most of us procrastinate out of a feeling of overwhelm. Consistently and consciously, do something everything that takes you toward your goal and you will never feel a sense of overwhelm, and probably won’t procrastinate again.

Step Seven: Resolve in advance never to quit. No matter how difficult things get.

This step is the best. The resolution to keep going, no matter how defeated you feel, no matter how far your faith has depreciated, will actually walk you through the hard times. It will get you through the times when you want to quit, when you feel like it’s pointless, when your back has been broken by criticism or a rejection.

Face it. You are going to have days when you don’t feel like doing your daily portion. You will have days when your plan seems insane. You will get rejections, hear of friends who sold or got agents, get poor critiques, lose contests and face every form of hurdle known to writerkind.

But… If you’ve made the vow that you will not quit, that you will stick it out for your year (or whatever time period you’ve assigned) or until your book is written or the twenty pounds lost (Susan…twenty pounds…) then you will see yourself not merely face, but also overcome (or outlast) hurdles that might have otherwise defeated you!

Sometimes it really is nothing more than a matter of making a commitment.

So today that’s what you need to do. Make your commitment. Take your first action toward the goals you’ve set. Make the initial calls, write the first few pages, start a synopsis, buy the crafting book, find the Internet sites…

Take all those first steps.

Then resolve to continue on to do something every day.

And then resolve never to quit.

But do one more thing…

Did you ever notice that we can keep all of the promises we make to our kids, most of the promises we make to our husbands, a big percentage of the promises we make to our friends and parents…But the promises we make to ourselves frequently get lost in the shuffle?

Once you resolve never to quit, I also want you to resolve to keep the promises you make to yourself. Don’t shortchange yourself. Don’t treat everybody better than you treat yourself.

Keep the promises you make to yourself.

susan meier

Session 4 Seven Steps to Goal Setting

2011-12-26T03:20:00.002-05:00

It's the day after Christmas. I'm sure if you've ever wanted somebody to help you escape into a world other than one filled with reindeer and eggnog...today's the day. Settle in with me to think about where you'd like to be this time next year!

Read on...

Session Four: Seven Steps to Goal Setting (Steps 2 through 4)

According to Brian Tracy and Zig Ziglar (two time management, business motivational speakers whose tapes I’ve purchased through Nightingale Conant easily found through an Internet search) there are seven steps to goal setting. They are:

1. Decide what you really want
2. Write your goals out on paper
3. Determine the price you have to pay
4. Make a plan
5. Take action immediately
6. Do something every day that takes you to your goal
7. Resolve in advance that you will never quit.

Last session we did step one. You should have decided what you want. In fact, you should have a list of things you want like play golf once a month, complete a manuscript, create a bank account that will be a cushion when you quit working.

What you have written down may actually look like goals to you, but we’re going to modify them and refine them just a tad as we do Step 2: Write them down on paper.

Why? Because knowing what you want is only part of a goal. All the goal-setting gurus agree that a goal must be 1) clear, 2) specific, 3) measurable, and 4) time bound. I’m guessing that though you might have something written down, it may not be languaged to be clear, specific, measurable and time-bound. Though “the pleasure of being a good mom” is specific, it isn’t all that clear or measurable and it isn’t bound by time. Compare it to my polished goal of “Play golf once a month with my husband” and you easily see the difference.

So, here’s the test. Hold each item on your list up against the four criteria as follows.

Clear means that it is easily understood. (If you told your cat, she would nod in agreement.)
Specific means just that. That it is specific.
Measurable means that you know when it is achieved. You can measure it.
And time bound gives you a deadline … because a goal without a deadline is only a wish. And we’re done with wishes. We’re serious. We’re getting something done this year. For those writers among us our new motto is writing is my passion.

So, if one of the things on your list from yesterday is to sell a novel this year, is that clear? Yes.

Is it specific? Well, sort of, but not really. What kind of novel do you intend to sell? To whom are you going to sell it? And, really, do you have enough control of the situation to say that you will actually “sell” it this year? Probably not. You have no control over how long your book could potentially sit on an editor’s desk. There are too many variables to that goal.

So we have to amend it. How about this:

I will write a romance novel this year and submit it.

That’s pretty good. It’s clear, it’s specific … Well, sort of ... The truth is, the “romance” genre is now so big that “romance novel” isn’t really all that specific. So you might want to amend this goal again to include a line or publisher or subgenre.

All right. One more time. I will write an Intrigue this year and submit it to …

Whom? To which editor would I send an Intrigue?

Hum. Maybe we have some investigative work to do…or maybe we should leave this open?

How about this:

I will write an Intrigue this year. I will participate on a few Internet loops, visit eHarlequin and submit it to the editor who seems to be requesting the most manuscripts.

Better. Much better.

It is clear. It is specific. It is time-bound (Albeit that it’s a broad time limit because you could spend until December 31 writing and researching and mail the sucker at 11:30 that night…) and it is measurable. You know you are done when the book is in the mail.

It’s also flexible. And that’s something that a lot of goal-setting guys don’t mention specifically, but lots allude to. Because circumstances change in all of our lives, we need to be flexible. If you were to state that you were going to send your manuscript to a specific editor and she quit, or got pregnant, you would probably panic. You might even be stopped dead in your tracks.

However, because you wrote your goal in a realistically flexible way, you now won’t flinch or blink at any editor changes. You will simply keep up with the editor changes at publishers (via the Internet – as we stated in the actual goal) and make your decision of where to send the book right before it was ready to be sent. No problem. No panic. No work stoppage!

So, we now have an example goal set.

I will write an Intrigue this year. I will participate on a few Internet loops, visit eHarlequin and submit it to the editor who seems to be requesting the most manuscripts.

Good goal. At this point I would tell our imaginary goal-setter she could set a few other goals, if she wanted, but, frankly, this is a fairly hefty one for writing. I don’t think I would set another writing goal. Unless our imaginary goal-setter believed she could realistically write more than one book in a year. Or unless the additional goal was something to do with crafting.

For instance, last year I had 3 books to write. (I ended up writing four…but I digress). Anyway, I didn’t see room in my schedule to attempt any other writing project, but I could attend lots of Internet workshops and I did. I also went to three conferences. I also had three books to promote.

So my writing goals for 2002 were:

1. Fulfill my contract obligations (that was the 3 books)
2. Go to one online workshop a month (I did eight.)
3. Go to three conferences (done)
4. Read an hour a day (I was fairly good with this but not perfect.)
5. Update my web page regularly (blew that one big time)
6. Do some RT ads for the books out this year (easy because RT people remind you of what you need to do)

You will note that all of the writing goals I set enhanced or complimented the big goal of fulfilling my contract.

Yours should too. Online workshops are a godsend. You don’t even have to leave your home to attend. They are cheap. And you can print them out to refer to again and again. You not only get good crafting information that should update your skills, but also completing this goal enhances – it doesn’t interfere with – the major goal of writing that book and submitting it before the end of the year.

So basically, when it comes to creating writing goals you could have the big ones (the “I will accomplish this much work” writing goals), crafting (that’s going to workshops), industry (that’s where reading comes in) and PR. People tell me it’s never too soon to start promoting yourself, so – hey – get your publicity pix taken and start studying how you will promote your books when the time comes. There’s nothing like being prepared.

But that’s only what you want to do as a writer. I’m sure that after yesterday’s lesson you also wrote down a few personal goals (like lose twenty pounds before June 1…yes, Susan, I’m talking to you), family and community goals. Maybe even financial goals. So take those things you listed yesterday and language them in the same way you did your writing goals. Make them clear, specific, measurable and time-bound “things” you intend to do.

Once you’ve brought those things in line, that completes step two. Write down all of your goals.

But I’m going to take step two (write down your goals) a little further and talk for a second about what you do with your goals once they are written down.

I have a small notebook that I can carry in my purse and I write my goals in this notebook. Why? So I can carry it with me and review my goals regularly.

The pundits say you should review your goals once a month. Any more than once a month, and it becomes meaningless because your progress is frequently too small to measure so there’s really nothing to analyze. Any less and it becomes worthless because you aren’t analyzing enough.

Writing down your goals and reviewing them regularly reminds you of what you want to accomplish and gives you the chance to record progress, which motivates you.

And we all now know how important motivation is! So don’t just write them down and forget them. Write them down in something you can carry with you and look at them about once a month!

Step Three is Determine the price you will have to pay to achieve your goals.

This is another one of those toughies. If your goal is to get a book to an editor before the end of the year and you know it will take a lot of your time to write the book, then the price you will have to pay isn’t merely the expenditure of time. It is also the “loss” of whatever else you would have been doing in that time.

My big deal is TV. I think all of us could find enough time to write something the size of the Bible, if we stepped away from the tube. But I watched almost nothing in the late eighties and early nineties when I was working fulltime and also writing one book a year for Silhouette. Did I miss Dif’Rent Strokes? Did I lose something because I rarely saw the Facts of Life? Am I fashion-impaired because I never watched Dynasty and Dallas? Lord, I hope not.

Rather than think you have to give up going to your son’s little league games, why not go in the direction of cutting out TV? Rather than miss time with your family, why not get up an hour earlier than they do to get your jump on things?

But, wait, I’m tripping over into time management and we don’t want to do that yet. For now, write your list of things you can realistically give up to get the time you need to write. Some people give up bowling leagues, then get back to them once their book is finished or when they are writing full-time.

Some people, believe it or not, have to give up critique groups or writing groups. I’m one of those people who is always called upon to do work for my writer’s group so when I have a deadline or special project, I just disappear for awhile.

And that’s what you need to do. Figure out what things you can most realistically give up.

Then make a plan. Step four. Sit down with your list of goals and your list of things that you’re giving up (so you know where you’re getting the time to accomplish your goal) and make a plan for how you will achieve your goals.

Before you actually pick up your pen and start writing your plan, however, remember that writing a book is more than writing! Hitting your goal of writing a book this year might realistically require you to research first. In the same way, a goal of attending a certain number of workshops might require that you spend time on the Internet looking for online workshops.

Either of the above might require that you set your alarm for an hour earlier than you normally would. And writing a book this year might require that your plan include a per-day page count. It might require that you assign chores to your kids so you don’t have to do all the housecleaning! (Ah-ha! Now we’re getting somewhere!)

Again, think it through. Think through your life. Think through your goals. Think through your work habits, your work style, and your goals and make them click.

That’s your assignment for the day. If you haven’t done it already, take the goals you made in our last session, make sure they are clear, specific, measurable and time-bound and write them down.

Then figure out what you have to give up (mourn the loss, kiss stuff goodbye, promise to return, but give it up at least temporarily).

Then make a plan.

And meet me here for the next session when we talk about goal setting steps five, six and seven.

5. Take action immediately
6. Do something every day that takes you to your goal
7. Resolve in advance that you will never quit.

susan meier (Happy Christmas!)

Thank you all!

2011-12-24T15:47:00.002-05:00

I've been having the most fantastic Christmas Eve watching my book's ranking drop on Amazon!

It's so fun to watch the number drop, but even more fun to realize it's dropping because so many books are being sold.

Thank you all!

And Merry Christmas

susan

Goal Setting, Lesson 3, Are We There Yet?

2011-12-19T03:22:00.013-05:00

Even if you're not following along the goal setting workshops lessons, you are in for a treat! This blog post is tons of fun and thought provoking all by itself. For those of you doing the lessons...if you think the other lessons were fun, this one is the real winner.

Enjoy! (Oh, and I hope everybody's having fun getting ready for Christmas. We are here at the Meier Household. Kitchen isn't "quite" done yet, but we are. LOL. We'll be doing in the trim in 2012. For right now, we're hoping no one notices!)

susan...

Session Three: What kinds of goals should you have? (Are we there yet?)

So are we ready to set goals yet?

Yes. As my dad used to say, “Ring the tambourine.” (When I was six that was hysterically funny.)

According to the pundits who wrote the self-help/business motivation books I’ve read, there are seven steps in goal setting. In the next session, we’ll work on steps 2 through 4. In the session after that, we’ll work through steps 5, 6 and 7. But today we’re only working on Step 1: Determine what you really want.

Today we’re going to figure out what kinds of goals you should set and maybe even how many.

Last session, I asked you to figure out if you worked more to avoid pain or to gain pleasure. Actually, what I asked was…

Are you motivated more by fear of loss or hope of gain?

If you answered that question honestly, you now know a great deal about yourself and how you work. What makes you tick.

And that’s going to help you to set goals that will motivate you, but goals which also (I hope) will achieve the purposes you most need in your life!

So, the question is…What do you need?

On one of his tape series, Tony Robbins gave a lesson on the Power of Why. Why do we do the things we do? And he claimed that we do everything we do because we want to be happy. He gave an example of something he wanted and continued to ask and answer the question “why do I want that?” … until he ultimately said, “To be happy.”

The truth is most of your goals are created to try to fulfill the overall purpose of being happy. Most of us became parents, wives/husbands, community workers (like volunteer firemen and PTO members) and writers to fulfill an “emotional” need. Though we can say we joined the volunteer fire department to serve our community, the bottom line is serving our community makes us feel good about ourselves and feeling good about ourselves makes us happy.

We all want to be happy. That’s why a lot of us end up with ambiguous goals like “Be happy this year.” We know the bottom line. We simply don’t know how to get to it. The goal “to be happy” isn’t really tangible. It’s not measurable. And it’s also a state. You can’t accomplish “happy” but you can take steps to accomplish something that makes you happy. And those steps are your goals.

So I guess what we could say then is that the first trick to setting goals is to figure out what emotional state you want and then determine the steps you have to take to get it.

Do you want to feel secure, be happy, end the year with a sense of accomplishment, boost your self-esteem, have a sense of purpose or pride by helping a child or any one of a hundred other emotion-based bottom lines?

The truth is you don’t want to sell a book to get money…Well, you might. Lord knows, I did. But money isn’t really the bottom line. Money for me was security. What I wanted was the security money provided. (And security, of course, made me happy.)

There are other driving forces at work behind everything you do and when you figure out what it is you really need to make you happy, like security, accomplishment, purpose … then suddenly all those goals like get a book published make sense. And so will your more ambiguous goals like be a “good” mom.

If you isolate your purpose(s) for the year, then when you set a goal you’re not arbitrarily making a “rule” for yourself. You are trying to fill a need and you can easily figure out the necessary steps to accomplish something that will satisfy that need. And, again, those steps become your goals.

Let's say that again...

If you isolate your purpose(s) for the year, then when you set a goal you’re not arbitrarily making a “rule” for yourself. You are trying to fill a need and you can easily figure out the necessary steps to accomplish something that will satisfy that need. And, again, those steps become your goals.

This also works in the reverse.

For instance, when you know that you want security (financial or otherwise) you might realize that the goal of quitting your day job isn’t realistic this year. So you wouldn’t set that goal. Rather, you might set a stepping stone goal that helps you get to the point where quitting your day job is possible next year or the year after. Which means that knowing what you truly want helps as much to prevent you from setting goals which will fail, as much as guide you to setting goals you will achieve.

So how do you figure out what it is you really want? How do you determine your driving emotions? How to you determine your driving needs?

You consider your life roles and the basis behind why you got yourself into those roles.

Why did you get married? To argue all the time? Or to share your life?

If you got married to share your life, then setting the goal of writing 22.5 hours a day encroaches on the need to “share your life” with your husband and you won’t do it. Your goal will sabotage fulfillment of your need every bit as much as a desire to satisfy your need will sabotage your goal.

That sounds like a lot of double talk, so let’s dissect it. Your goal (writing 22.5 hours a day) will keep you from an emotion you’ve committed yourself to getting (the joy of sharing your life) so your goal isn’t practical. It’s in conflict. And one of two things will happen. You will either be unhappy as you succeed at your goal of writing 22.5 hours a day. Or you will fail at your goal while you satisfy your need to share your life. And be unhappy for failing. In fact, you'll make yourself just about crazy!

Let’s try another one…

Why did you get your day job? For security? For money? To have somewhere to wear your Gucci shoes?

If you did it for security, or for money, then leaping into the publishing world without a safety net is going to be scary and you might find yourself making excuses for not writing, rather than writing. Because if you’re somebody who likes security, even if you can consciously talk yourself through or out of the fear of the insecurity, subconsciously you will still see it. And you will probably sabotage yourself.

So, if one of your greatest needs is security, rather than ignore that, the real goal you need to set should be a goal that balances work and writing, providing security, while helping you walk into the future.

Setting goals that conflict with your internal needs won’t just sabotage your life, they can actually be the cause of depression and confusion.

Whew! Doesn’t that make sense!

So, I guess we’re now saying the second trick to goal setting is figuring out what you really want and making sure that accomplishing one want doesn’t interfere with something else. (Especially not a need.)

Now, before you begin to think this is limiting, let me assure you that you can want lots of things. It’s not unreasonable to want to be happy, to be successful, to be a good mom/dad, and have a good marriage. You simply have to be realistic about your wants, to balance them, and to find a way to make your wants and needs work together.

This might mean that you can only set one writing goal. But, you know what? If it’s a good, solid goal, and you achieve/accomplish it…Isn’t that better than setting 50 goals you never achieve?

So your assignment is to give your roles some thought. Wife, mother, dad, husband, doctor, lawyer, church volunteer, sister/brother, daughter/son, friend, writer, painter, fisherman, golfer, shopper…

Get to the bottom line of why you are in the roles you are in and what emotion you hope to get from being the person in each of those roles.

Then do Step One: Determine what you really want/need. Your goals should be a combination of a list of things that allow you to accomplish all the tasks you need to accomplish to be all those things, as well as a list of things that assure you get the pleasure from your roles.

For instance, I have a goal of playing golf with my husband once a month. This goal accomplishes the purpose of giving me rest/entertainment because I like golf courses. (Very nice landscaping! Fresh air. Sunshine.Who doesn't love that?) But this is also an easy way for me to get private time with my husband, which bolsters our marriage. Because one of my “needs” is to have the emotional security of a great marriage. Another is to have something in my life I “enjoy” simply for the purpose of enjoying it. (I really love to drive the golf cart!) That goal of playing golf with my husband once a month satisfies a lot of wants and needs!

What did I really want/need? Security of a good marriage, some fun, some rest, to have a way to “be good” to my husband – so what was my goal? To play golf once a month. (Weather permitting!)

So that’s what you need to do today. Decide what you really want. Security of a good marriage. The pleasure of knowing you’ve fulfilled your responsibilities to your kids by being a good mom. Good health. (Note: I didn’t say exercise or diet.) Satisfaction of volunteer work. Satisfaction of using my gifts, talents. Security of paying my bills. The pleasure/satisfaction of growing. The fun/joy of looking good. The satisfaction of using my gifts/talents to earn money – to earn more money. etc. etc.

Make a list of the “emotions” you want, then set some goals! Make sure you get what you really want and what you really need. And think outside the box as I did with my golfing once a month. Make your goals work on more than one level!

susan meier

Arteemus37 is the winner

2011-12-15T17:58:00.001-05:00

Arteemus37 is the winner of the $25 amazon gift card.

Arteemus! email me with the contact info to get the gift card to you.

Thanks, everyone, for your comments!

susan

KISSES ON HER CHRISTMAS LIST Review

2011-12-13T14:18:00.000-05:00

(If you're looking for the goal setting workshop sessions...scroll down!)

Here's the wonderful RT review for Kisses on Her Christmas list!

KISSES ON HER CHRISTMAS LISTby Susan Meier
Genre: Series, Harlequin Romance, Current Series Imprints

2011 Harlequin Romance Nominee

RT Rating

KISSES ON HER CHRISTMAS LIST (4.5) by Susan Meier: Shannon Raleigh is hoping to sell her retired parents’ department store to businessman Rory Wallace. Because of a snowstorm, she ends up hosting her prospective buyer and his young daughter over the holidays. Shannon longs to have a family, and Rory and little Finley (who hates Christmas because her biological mother abandoned her and Rory during a previous Christmas) are in need of a true wife and mother in their lives. Luckily Rory is an intelligent enough man to realize that love, not biology, is the essence of family. It is a pure delight to find a romance novel that celebrates adoption. The strong attraction between Shannon and Rory, mixed with the perfect blend of caution and hesitation, makes their relationship really sizzle. The main characters and their families are well portrayed and likable.
Reviewed By: Roseann Marlett

Goals Lesson 2

2011-12-12T04:10:00.002-05:00

Since I accidentally posted the first goal setting lesson on Friday...I thought we'd just keep going with the goals theme this morning. LOL

If you missed the Intro and Lesson 1 scroll down...They're there. :)

So...Here's lesson 2.

Session Two: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly…Motivation isn’t always a positive, happy thing.

After reading the first session and writing out a list of what you want and what you need, you probably realize that there’s a big difference between what you “want” and what you “need.” Wants are typically positive things. They are a way to gain pleasure. Needs are usually things you must have in order to avoid pain. (Like pay your mortgage so the bank doesn’t foreclose on your house!)

Needs drive us more, farther and faster, because most of us will do more to avoid pain than to gain pleasure.

Let’s face it, fear of busting the button on our slacks – in front of a group to which we are giving a workshop – at a writer’s conference where we are well-known – and at which our greatest competitor is also giving a workshop – will get us away from a second piece of fresh apple pie a lot quicker than the ambiguous, vague desire to “look good.”

Why? Because we can feel that fear. That fear is very real. The embarrassment would be very real. We cannot feel the accolades of looking good…Well, granted, we can envision a few people walking up to us saying, “Hey, you look great!” and for some of us that really is enough to motivate. But when it’s Susan versus the apple pie, the fear always motivates better.

Here’s a simpler example. When it’s a choice between using our mortgage money for a spur of the moment weekend in Vegas or paying the mortgage so the bank doesn’t foreclose, most of us wouldn’t go on the trip. We’d pay the mortgage. The fear of losing our house is much stronger than the desire for the pleasure of going on the trip.

But all of our choices aren’t that clear. Particularly not when it comes to writing. So let’s go back to the story of Lucia asking to see my manuscript.

I’m not the first writer to be asked to submit a manuscript to a specific editor. I’m not the only one who has been published because of this kind of encounter at a writer’s conference. In fact, I would be willing to bet that fifty percent of the published authors I know got published because of an editor appointment at a conference that resulted in a requested manuscript. Unfortunately, and sadly, I would also be willing to bet that fifty percent of the unpublished writers I know have also been asked to submit a manuscript and never submitted.

These people had the same kind of motivation that I had. An interested editor. A once in a lifetime shot. Yet they never submitted. Why?

I can’t say for sure, but I can speculate that most didn’t submit because their fear of failure was stronger than their belief that they would succeed.

Or (reversed) their fear of success was stronger than their desire for success.

Ah, now we’re getting down to the good stuff! Fear of success and fear of failure.

For these people who didn’t submit, fear – either fear of success or fear of failure – won.

But some people don’t succumb to the dual devils of fear of success or fear of failure. Some people use their fear to drive them.

Think this through with me…

Why was I able to go home, write a book in a short amount of time and submit it to Lucia? Because I was on my last chance. This was do or die for me. Fear of failure propelled me to do what I had been unable to do for the five years prior to that.

I used my fear. I didn’t succumb to it. I used it. Most people buckle under to fear of failure when they should be turning it to their advantage!

And that’s the bottom line. Fear either makes or breaks you. For some of us fear creates paralysis. For others of us, fear motivates. And for still others, it’s a combination of the two. These people live their own brand of confusion because what works in one instance does not work in another.

So what do you do if you’re dogged by fear of failure and paralyzed by fear of success?

The simple thing to do is determine what you are afraid of and figure out if it motivates you or paralyzes you. If it motives you use it. If it paralyzes you, get rid of it.

That’s right. If you have a fear that paralyzes you, you can not only get rid of it, you “have to” get rid of it. And right now I’m going to show you how.

We’ve said there are two major fears. Fear of success and fear of failure. So first lets get rid of fear of success.

If you’re one of those people who is afraid of succeeding, I want you to stop reading and make a list of reasons you are afraid to succeed. In fact, if you’re not sure if you’re afraid of success but you’ve been experiencing procrastination or a bad attitude or one failure after another, I want you to make this list too.

For me, on my list of reasons I was afraid to succeed, one of the biggies was that I wasn’t very good in crowds. I was an introvert. I didn’t want people to know me. (I’m not like this anymore, btw.) I feared that if I became successful I would be inundated with phone calls and visits and swamped at conferences.

If this is one of your fears, take heart. Not only can writers remain totally anonymous if they use a pseudonym, but you don’t have to go to conferences. Even better, however, unless you’re Nora Roberts or Sandra Brown, or one of the absolute writing greats, you don’t get inundated at conferences. A few well wishers and fans may approach you, but these are usually wonderful people who you will be very, very glad you met.

The Internet, Facebook, Twitter have changed that a bit, but not really. Your face might be on Facebook, but you aren't. You're at your desk, in your pj's just chatting. Granted, there are precautions wise people take, but basically, unless you're one of the truly greats, most people are "intersted" in you but not fanatics!

So there’s no reason to fear becoming “famous” as a writer. I just blasted that fear to heck and back. And that’s what you need to do with everything you put on your list.

You need to write out all the reasons you are afraid of succeeding and then write the counter argument.

If you’re afraid your husband won’t love you anymore if you are more successful than he is, write out a paragraph or two about why he will love you MORE if you succeed. (Start with listing your ability to buy him a boat, or a motorcycle or a new truck. Don’t be above bribery.)

If you’re afraid that your mother will be embarrassed by sex scenes in your books, write out a paragraph or two about why she will be proud of you. Or, if you can’t make an argument for your mother being proud that you can write sex scenes, write out a paragraph or two that talks about accepting that you may have to use a pseudonym and not tell your mother about your books! (And add in there somewhere how much fun it will be to have this delicious secret!)

Destroy every fear you have about becoming successful by making the case against it. Nine chances out of ten, when you put your fears on paper they will immediately look stupid. Because most fears are. They are consequences or possibilities we’re afraid will happen. Which means there is an equal probability they won’t happen. We cut them down to size either by realizing they are totally ludicrous, or by writing out the reasons we won’t let them happen, or ways we will handle them if they do.

You may have to make accommodations like a pseudonym, but that’s okay.

The point is for you to see, accept and then work with the knowledge that for every fear there is a response that obliterates it, and once you find it, you will free yourself to succeed.

Now, what if you’re afraid of failing?

That’s a whole different track. To handle that fear you must make a list of all the good things that will happen if you succeed. You must make this list of “things you will get when you succeed” big enough to keep you working and keep you trying when your desire to quit is strongest!

Here is where the difference between “need” and “want” really comes into play. If you only “want” the things that drive you, they will only drive you so far. But when you “need” something that need will frequently supersede fear.

One of my big motivators was (and continues to be) that I cannot make as much money in any other job as I make as a romance novelist. I live in a very small city with a high unemployment rate. If I am going to succeed financially, romance writing is my only option.

My ONLY option.

That’ll motivate ya!

So every time a deadline seems hard or impossible, when I feel the fear that I am wasting my time or going to fail, I tell myself, “You don’t have enough options to quit.”

That means that after you make your list of things you hope to get from reaching your goal, the next step is to see if you can turn those wants into needs. That might sound stupid but it’s not. Very often some very motivational “needs” come disguised as “wants.” Take a good look at your list of what you need and what you want and see if some of your items shouldn’t be switching sides!

For instance, before I was published, on my list of all the things I “could” do with the extra money that being published would provide I wrote things like send the kids to college. Get new living room furniture. Pay off mortgage. (Back when I had a smaller, cheaper house!) Get a bigger house. (Which has given me a larger, more expensive mortgage but also a better house!)
I pretty much thought everything on that list was a want. But each of them ultimately became a need.

How? Well, when your living room furniture falls apart beneath a guest it quickly goes from a want to a need. So it’s probably smarter to turn it into a need before it turns itself into a disaster!

Can you turn sending the kids to college from a want to a need? Sure you can. On the surface helping your kids with college looks like a nice thing to do, but, trust me, when college time comes around even if your kids get every loan and grant available, they will still need money from you. So having that money isn’t a want. It’s a need. Recognize it while your kids are still toddlers so you don’t find yourself penniless and doing without things like vacations, nice anniversary gifts, a new car, and even necessary home improvements when your daughter leaves for Penn State!

That’s the simple formula for handling fear of failure. You put yourself in a position where there are so many things you “need” that you feel absolutely driven. Or maybe more precisely put…Put yourself in a position where there are so many things you need that failure is not an option.

Then, when you have a bad day, get a rejection or are just plain too tired to work, you won’t say, “It’s no use…” You’ll say, “I have no choice…” Or, like me, “I have no other option. I must make this one work!”

If you’ve done those two exercises with me, you’ve handled your fear of success and/or your fear of failure, or, at the very least, you’re beginning to understand them!

And that’s the key. That’s actually how you learn to use fear to motivate you. Once you understand your fears and decide if they motivate or paralyze, you can obliterate the ones that paralyze and use the ones that motivate.
Trips, money, prestige (of a sort), a good signature line will all motivate you, but you should never underestimate the power of negative consequences. They are as real in each of our lives as “good things.” And sometimes fearing a bad result will get you going a lot faster than wishing for some ambiguous “good” thing!

You need to look at yourself and understand what drives you!

That’s actually what I want you to do for your assignment. If you didn’t do the fear of failure, fear of success exercises, I want you to do them now. But I also want you to take a look at your life.

Are you motivated more by fear of loss or hope of gain? Do you have some genuine fears that drive you? Like a fear of looking awful in jeans that keeps you from dessert, or a fear that you’re not keeping up with your peers that drives you to quickly write five pages before your critique group meeting?

Write ‘em down. Get to know them. Snuggle with them. They will become your best friends. Because when the chips are down, these are the things that are going to save you!

susan meier
Don't forget KISSES ON HER CHRISTMAS LIST! (Seriously...)

It's Monday Morning...Do You Know Where Your Goals Are?

2011-12-12T04:03:00.000-05:00

This is a lesson for both readers and writers so I hope none of my reader friends look at it and think...Oh, it's one of those Monday things for writers! Stick around...there's something for everybody!
Last month, to simplify my website, we took down the goal setting workshop. Yikes! It's darned near January...that was supid.

Well, yeah. Writing and teaching, creating an ezine, remodeling a kitchen, caring for a disabled son...I get a little overwhelmed sometimes and make snap decisions that don't always make sense. LOL!!! (:0

So here's the intro of the goal setting workshop and right below that will be lesson 1. I know...it's not January, seriously, you should be thinking of your goals for next year now...Goals should not be set in ten minutes while you're waiting for a latte. Or when you sit down at your desk January 2 and say, Hey, I should have goals. LOL

You need to give your goals, your career, your personal life, your finances, your relationships, your spiritual life, your health...some real thought.

So let's start thinking now. December 9...week one of December.

Here's the intro...

Goal Setting

A few decades ago when I decided I want to be "a writer" I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. Luckily, I was also working with a very forward thinking man, who pointed me in the direction of motivational tapes.

Many people think I should hang my head in shame at the admission that I listened to every tape in the corporate library. Most of us recognize those tapes are propaganda that bosses use to turn unsuspecting employees into overeager sycophants always working for the next promotion -- victims of the carrot and the stick.

But a funny thing happened. Because I wasn't thinking of these principles in terms of my day job, but modifying them to help me organize my writing life…The principles really helped me.

I've listened to the greats: Tony Robbins, Zig Ziglar, Earl Nightengale, Brian Tracy, Tom Peterson … and many others. I got several very good takes on goal setting, which I examine and explore in the upcoming lessons. But based on my own experience I've also sprinkled in other things I think will help you to understand what I call the "psychology" behind why you set goals and why the goals you've set to this point might not have worked.

Don't worry about the fact that this workshop is being given in increments. There's homework that needs to be done, so you will be glad for the time in between lessons. Also you may find yourself needing to think through some of the principles and really examining your life. The time in between lessons will be perfect for that.

So grab a cup of coffee and maybe a pen and tablet and let's talk a bit about organizing your life as a writer and setting some goals that will help you live your dreams!

susan meier

Session One: Introduction – Which came first the chicken or the egg?

We all love goals. In fact, it’s been proven that people who regularly set goals and “check up” on their progress accomplish something like fifty times more than people who don’t! It amazes me when I hear someone say he or she doesn’t set goals because I know they work.

But, my friends argue, that’s exactly why they don’t set goals. Their goals never seem to get accomplished the way mine do.

Hum.

Being a person who apparently has too much time on her hands or who is maybe a tad too curious for her own good, I wanted to know why. But, I also had to admit that not all of my goals were accomplished, either, and that made me doubly curious.

So I analyzed which of my goals were accomplished and compared them to the goals I had which were not accomplished to see if I could figure out why one goal comes to fruition yet the one right beside it, maybe even one that should have been simpler, doesn’t. And I made an odd discovery.

The goals I accomplished “fit” my life. The goals I did not accomplish did not fit my life.

What the heck do I mean by that? Well, I reached the goal of getting published and earning a few extra thousand dollars each year when I desperately needed it. I reached the goal of selling enough that I could write full time, quit my day job and stay home with my kids when they became teenagers and refused to have a baby-sitter anymore. Notice that I needed to achieve both of those goals!

Conversely, I haven’t reached the goal of keeping off my twenty pounds of yo-yo weight. I haven’t read any of the classics. I really don’t know anybody who has, so I wouldn’t have anybody to discuss them with anyway. So (aside from personal fulfillment) there’s no “reason” for me really to accomplish either of those goals. Which means that as soon as my doctor tells me that my extra twenty pounds is causing a health risk, I will probably lose it and keep it off.

In other words… We will find a way to reach any goal with a compelling “reason” behind it. And that means success or failure in goal setting all boils down to motivation.

Motivation (or need of a specific result) is what keeps you working when you would rather be watching Wheel of Fortune. It nudges you to read an hour a day when you think you don’t have time. It causes you to think creatively about your time, to find little blocks you didn’t realize you had and to use them. Because, let’s face it, we can all find the blocks of time…but do we always use them?

So, if we do what we are motivated to do – what we need to do – then why do most of us set goals then try to manufacture motivation? Or ,worse, why do we set goals with no thought to motivation at all?

Good question. And one that I can’t answer except to say that’s why we fail. We don’t “need” most of our goals and a goal is only as good as the reason you want to reach it.

Let me tell you a story that proves that. (And, by the way, here comes my usual disclaimer. I use stories about myself, not to promote myself, but because I don’t want to be sued. Please don’t think I’m an egotistical nutcase, just know that I’m someone who would rather not have to call her brother-in-law the lawyer and get a lecture about talking about other people on the Internet!)

Okay, here goes…

Years ago (probably close to 20, actually, but who’s counting) I went to my first writer’s conference. The trip was one of those last ditch efforts. I had been writing unsuccessfully for four years and I was depressed and defeated. Something either happened for me at this conference or I was quitting. So I packed my bags and left for the airport more depressed than excited. I felt I was walking through the last chapter of my writing career story. I was sure nothing good would happen and come Monday morning when I returned I would no longer be a writer.

Pretty darned sad, huh? I get misty just thinking about it.

Anyway, on Saturday morning when the workshops began I made the mistake of attending LaVyrle Spencer’s session on description. For those of you who don’t know, LaVyrle Spencer was the master when it came to description. She read passages from her books to illustrate her points and I swallowed hard. I could not write like that. In the first workshop I had attended I believed I had found the answer to my write/don’t write dilemma. I had no place in this world and no business calling myself a writer.

So I went back to my room in the hotel, drew the drapes and started repacking. (In the dark. When I get depressed, I pull out all the stops.) About fifteen minutes later my roommate found me. She was shocked. And a tad angry. She couldn’t believe I was leaving when I hadn’t really given the conference a chance! I explained that I had but she said I hadn’t and the next thing I knew I was promising to go back downstairs.

But I couldn’t face another workshop. So I took my cigarettes (back then I was a chain smoker. I no longer smoke.) and sneaked to the lobby seating area and settled in to “be at” the conference, but not really go to another workshop!

I sat next to a woman who gently told me she was taking a break and didn’t want to talk about writing. To her surprise, I said, “Great. I’m sick of writing, too.” Feeling I had found a kindred spirit, I proceeded to chain smoke while we chit-chatted about nothing in particular. After about a half-hour of discussing anything but writing, she asked if I wrote. I told her I used to. I explained that coming to this conference I realized I knew nothing about writing. I didn’t know all the “rules” everybody kept talking about…

Heck, I didn’t even know there were rules. All I knew was that I read two books a day for five years and loved them so much I wanted to write them, but apparently I couldn’t because everything I sent in got rejected.

She said, “Hum. Are you writing what you know?”

I told her I was writing what I liked. Marriage of convenience, secret babies, and larger than life heroes. She said, “Can you somehow take the stories that you like but infuse them with your life experience?”

I said I didn’t know but what she said made sense.

We chatted some more about my kids and husband and her family and what it was like to live in NYC. Then she rose. She really had to get back to things. But she also handed me her card. She said, “I’m Lucia Macro from Silhouette books. Send me your next manuscript and we’ll see if you really should quit.”

I was surprised, but my friends almost fainted. I was so out of the loop I didn’t realize Lucia was an exceptional editor and that most writers would climb Everest to work with her. I wasn’t even going to send her anything. I thought she was just being kind by asking me to submit to her.

Well, technically, she was just being kind, since she had never seen my work. But through our conversation she recognized that I loved the genre and love for any genre frequently translates into good stories for that genre. And she made the fair assessment that if pointed in the right direction, I could write good books.

So, that night my friends and I set about to figure out a plot for a new book. (Since all my others had been rejected.) And that Tuesday night, after work, after the kids were in bed, when I could have been watching television, I was back at my computer.

I had a reason to write. After years of getting form rejections, I had someone willing to give me more than a cursory glance, maybe even someone who was willing to help me. If I didn’t send her something I would miss what other people considered to be the chance of a lifetime.

That’s motivation.

Now, the rest of the story is that I couldn’t use the plot my friends and I came up with because it wasn’t “me.” It was a reflection of a combination of their life experience and mine, and as Lucia said I had to figure out a way to take the well loved story lines and infuse them with my own experience. I did that, sent the book to Lucia and Silhouette bought it, ultimately launching a career that I love.

Motivation, I think, is the promise of something good or the fear of something bad that compels us to take action. Without action, we don’t reach our goals. So when you’re thinking about setting goals, you should be trying to figure out the things you are willing or eager to take action to achieve.

And that means that when you set goals, you should be looking at your life. Not just randomly deciding that within the next year you would “like” to publish a mystery or learn to rock climb. You should be looking at your life thinking: I need exercise so I’m going to …

You fill in that blank.

Learn to rock climb might be the answer, but it might not. It might not be a realistic way to get the exercise you need and might actually prevent you from accomplishing the goal of getting exercise. Conversely, if you’re a person who bores easily and likes to do interesting, exciting things, you may have missed the mark on your goal of “exercising” every year because running, video aerobics and floor exercises bore you. So, “learn to rock climb” might be exactly the kind of answer you need to your exercise dilemma.

There needs to be a link between real life, your personality type, and your desires. And, that, I think is where most of us miss the boat.

And that’s also the end of our lesson today as well as today’s assignment.

Dig out last year’s New Year’s resolutions or think of the last goal/s you set and examine them. Do they fit your life? Do they fit your needs? Are they YOUR resolutions or things you think your husband, your mother, or your writer’s group wants you to accomplish?

What do you want? What fits your life? Who are you?

Next answer the question: What do you need? You cannot leave behind parental responsibilities, marriage responsibilities, or your day job just yet. There are things you want and things you need. Responsibilities you must meet. Make a list of both.

susan meier

Please don't forget to get a copy of KISSES ON HER CHRISTMAS LIST! This is one of my best books to date. I want everybody to read it. LOL

Genres, Subgenres and Hybrids

2011-12-05T04:50:00.020-05:00

Sort of like lions and tigers and bears, oh my.

I have a list of five things that I have people in my classes use to test out their "idea" for their next book, (which I've had them condense to one paragraph).

1. Is your paragraph clear. If it isn't, try again. Cut out all extraneous explanations and get right to the point. What's really going on in your story? Is it a bodyguard story, an older man/younger woman story, a mystery, a thriller? If it is, just say that!

2. From this paragraph, can I (or could an editor) tell your story is interesting, consistent, credible and compelling?

3. Is something -- strong conflict, compelling goals, gripping motivations -- "missing" from your story?

4. Could you add something in your summary that might shoot your story over the moon?

5. Should you rewrite your paragraph to incorporate the shoot-over-the-moon idea? And if you did, could you see yourself changing your book to match the new story summary? (Just in your head! Never start rewriting until you've tested things out first in a storyboard, story summary or with a could, might, must and should list!)

Okay...If you read all of those with your current story in mind, you were probably fine until #4...THE SHOOT THE STORY OVER THE MOON IDEA.

There's a lot, lot, lot we could talk about in terms of shooting your story over the moon, but for the purposes of today's blog GENRES, SUBGENRES AND HYBRIDS (oh my), we're not going to tell you how to get these ideas. But rather, we'll talk about when they're good and when they're bad.

Bad? A great idea can be bad?

Yes. All because of genre conventions and reader expectations.

Oh, and did I mention that these shoot-the-story-over-the-moon ideas might be either why you get published or why you don't?

Lots to talk about.

Okay, so let's start with genres, subgenres and hybrids. In Susan Meier world, genres are obvious: Mystery, Suspense, Romance, Thriller, Sci Fi, Western (etc.)

In Romance we have tons of subgenres. Romantic Suspense, Romantic Mystery, Sci-Fi Romance, Romantic Thrillers, Traditional Romance, Sweet Romance, Medical Romance, Small Town Romance...you get the picture. (Mysteries, Thrillers, Sci-Fi, Westerns [etc] also have lots of subgenres or types.)

These subgenres actually came about because somebody was bold enough to write a HYBRID.

Simply put, a hybrid is a combination of two things that create a third. Romance with Suspense = Romantic Suspense. If that third thing catches on with readers, it becomes a subgenre. Publishers even push this. (Taking advantage of the excitment over a new thing they publish lots of that thing until it becomes a subgenre or sadly fizzles from oversaturation.) [By the way, I'm not talking fancy here. Just down to earth so you "get" what I'm saying.]

So it almost seems that we're saying if you want to become wildly successful write a hybrid.

Yes and no.

Hybrids are fun. They are fun to write. They are fun to watch when they come out to see if readers love them ... or to see if they create a new subgenre. But hybrids are hard to shelf. And before the days of over-the-top self-publishing, lots of publishers didn't want to touch them. Why? Just because they are hard to shelf? Yeah. Basically. Except there's another bugaboo in there. YOU may like the combo you've chosen, sweet paranormal romance...but will anybody else?

Sexual tension, sexual curiosity, great sex and general weirdness [read: great imagination on the part of the writer] typically sell paranormals. Readers of "sweet" romances generally don't like weird or unusual things. They want the writer's imagination spent on unique twists of their own particular subgenre, not weird things.

I can't see a true "sweet" romance reader liking paranormals. And if you water down the paranromal aspect enough that it's a "sweet" romance, then I can't see paranormal readers liking it. And if you don't water down the paranormal elements, then you don't have a sweet romance.

Get the picture?

So, writing hybrids is fun, but you can't say for sure your particular hybrid would hit a mark or find an audience...At least not one big enough for traditional/legacy publishing. Which means you might make some money self publishing but I think that's another blog! LOL

So when does a hybrid catch on? When you mix the right two genres (obviously) but also when you target an audience and reach them.

What do I mean? Years ago I wrote a book called IN FOR LIFE. It was a romantic suspense written for Intrigue. Intrigue was a category romance line. So my first responsibility (yes, it is a responsibility) to readers was to give them a category romance. I had to hit all the conventions of a category romance to satisify readers and I used the suspense of the story to further the romance. Why? Because it was a category romance. I was writing for category romance readers so I was pleasing them. Plus, it was a nice [easy, fun] way to up the sexual tension as well as the general tension of the story.

The suspense and the romance drove the story equally. The suspense and the romance braided together. Each impacted the other.

I did my job by knowing my audience and giving category romance readers what they wanted. Now, the book might not have pleased straight suspense readers as much as it pleased category romance readers. But I was writing for category romance writers. It was my job to please them.

And that's another risk of a hybrid. You won't necessarily please all the readers of the original subgenre. But the interesting thing about romantic suspense is that if written well, most romance readers will love you.

So the trick to writing a hybrid is to pick an audience and speak to them.

But that's also the trick to writing a category romance, building an audience and becoming successful. It's also the trick to writing a great single title romance, building an audience and becoming successful. It's also the trick to writing a great ANYTHING and becoming successful.

And it's also why you could have written a truly WONDERFUL story that won't be bought because whatever you chose to shot the story over the moon shot it right out of your genre's, subgenre's or line's conventions.

So you have to be aware when you're coming up with your idea of what your genre's conventions are. Will what you're considering to shoot your idea over the mood actually shoot it out of contention?

Hum...something to think about!
If your publicity material says, my book will appeal to EVERYBODY I cringe. My mother does not like romance novels. [Sad for me, huh?] She will tolerate a romance [like in romantic suspense] but it had better take second place in your story and not be too sappy. If you appeal to her by watering down the romance or not having a romance, then you're not going to appeal to me because I only seem to like books that have romance in them. And I want the romance in front. Most important. With a nice helping of sap, thank you very much.

Do you see your quandry?

You cannot appeal to EVERYONE. But you can appeal to a large audience. My mom and I don't fit into the same subset. But there are plenty of other people who like romance and sci-fi being 50/50 in a book. [I'm one of them.] There are lots of people who like romance and thriller being 50/50 in a book. There are lots of people who like romance and military [new subgenre in my opinion] being 50/50 in a book. There are lots [and lots and lots] of people who like romance and paranormal being 50/50 in a book.

My mom just isn't one of them! So you're not speaking to her. Don't let that trouble you. There are plenty of romance readers out there. She'll find her own books. LOL

So the trick to a good hybrid is to pick a good, stable, solid audience and speak to them, spicing up your story with something else that you can easily give 50% of your story to without taking away from the romance that will draw the audience. In fact, a hybrid works best when the romance enhances the "other" story and the "other" story enhances the romance.

And that takes us back to when a shoot-the-moon story idea is bad. And why having too good of an idea might get you rejected.

Lots of writers tell me they use the question: What's the worst thing that can happen right now? And that's what they create as the next scene in their book.

I remind them that full-scale nuclear war is the worst thing that could happen. Aside from planet-destroying asteroid strike. But that doesn't fit every book.

Actually, the whole planet-destroying asteroid strike would immediately end your book. :)

Anyway, the question 'what's the worst thing that can happen right now' needs to be tempered by your genre's conventions. Just as a sweet paranormal doesn't make sense [though right now I can see eight of you deciding to prove me wrong! :)] if your shot-over-the-moon idea doesn't fit your subgenre, story type oe line, it won't make your book better.

Especially, if something about your shoot-the-moon idea alienates readers. Or doesn't fit the conventions of the line, subgenre or story type.

So when shooting your idea over the moon, really think about your story. Think about your AUDIENCE. Think about reader expectations for your line, subgenre or story type. Don't put an asteroid in the middle of a category romance, unless it's a small one that's needed for the external conflict and you can somehow use it to up sexual tension and strengthen the internal conflict!

Think about whether your shoot-over-the-moon idea enhances the story or takes over the story ... or makes the story feel irrelevant.

If you have a mysterious brother come home about 2/3rds of the way through your historical and even the heroine thinks he's hot and he's the one who reveals the hero's secrets and maybe even the one who saves the day...you've just blown what might have been a very good story out of the water. Sure, having the brother come home might have been exciting. But if he upstages your hero, he failed. He didn't enhance the story. He ruined it.

Think through your shoot-over-the-moon idea the same way. Make sure you don't come up with something that's outside the realm of what readers want and make sure the idea enhances the story...doesn't overshadow your story or make it irrelevant.

And that's about all the time I have today. I do have to write this week. (Though my poor body is trying to catch a cold and would like nothing better than to lay about in bed watching reruns of Gilmore Girls.)

So, try to give your story something wonderful, something with umph (like a shoot-over-the-moon idea) but respect your readers and what they want to read and also don't ruin your original story with it.

Make it something that flows naturally from the story/conflicts you already have going.

That's the real trick to a shoot-over-the-moon idea, and readers will love you for it. [So will editors.]

Don't forget my two contests. Post a happy holidays comment in my Thanksgiving post and be entered to win a $25 Amazon gift certificate. Post a comment on the December ezine and be entered to win a copy of KISSES ON HER CHRISTMAS LIST!

And don't forget you're always welcome to post questions or comments on this blog.

susan

Oh, and go by KISSES ON HER CHIRSTMAS LIST! :)

Dear Readers...I haven't forgotten you!

2011-11-30T19:48:00.000-05:00

I spend so much time in this blog giving writing tips that I think readers might think I've forgotten them. Exactly the opposite. I love helping writers get published and/or improve their craft because I'm also a reader. So when I help writers, I'm helping all of us who love to read! LOL!!!!
Lately, I've been bouncing back and forth between paranormals and Jill Shalvis. So this week, I bought a romantic suspense. Just for a change of pace.

But it's also the season for holiday books and movies. My son, who is a huge lover of holiday movies, has already begun taping and watching them. Home Alone started it. My husband and I can be sitting downstairs watching TV (with the volume up) and we'll hear him howling with laughter over that movie.

But we love that. Christmas is a season of hope and joy. And I think laughter's a part of that. In fact, I'm a big fan of laughing. I love to find humor in simple things and I just like to laugh. Not to stress.

So this holiday season, when things are getting stressful...maybe when you're shopping or trying to find a parking space in a crowded mall...find something to laugh about. Ask God to bless the person who sneaks into your parking space or in front of you in the checkout line. Don't let an insensitive lout spoil your joy! We all deserve joy. Keep yours! LOL

For the writers among us, scroll down...there are lots of how to write blogs.

And for my readers...Merry Christmas. Post a comment (a seasons greeting) in my November 24 blog and be entered to win a $25 Amazon gift card!

If it strikes your fancy, buy a copy of my Christmas book KISSES ON HER CHRISTMAS LIST. That's definitely one of those laughing through your tears book. Finley, the hero's daughter isn't one of the kids on Santa's "nice" list. In fact, she doesn't believe in Santa or Christmas because her mom left on Christmas day and she hasn't seen her since. The heroine has a big job ahead of her getting Finley to believe again...what she doesn't expect is that in the process she'll fall in love with Finley's dad, the one man she can't have.

Happy Reading!

susan meier

How to Come Up With A Great Story, Part 2

2011-11-28T04:47:00.004-05:00

Last week we talked a bit about ten-book syndrome (which might be 2-book syndrome or 12-book syndrome for you since all of our careers are different!).

I suggested that you keep your old synopsis and start taking notes on your editorial comments in order to springboard yourself into becoming a better writer more quickly.

But today, the rubber meets the road.

We're going to discuss the lowest common denominator qualities I have found in all great books, regardless of genre.

Story, theme and vehicle.

I discovered that no matter what your genre, you have a story for your book …

Like: Boss falls in love with secretary. Werewolves invade a small mid-western town. A widow learns to live again after her son dies. A shy engineer finds love when she uncovers her wild side. (I call this a one-line summary by the way. You can use this as an elevator pitch at conferences. An editor says...What's your book about and you say, A widow learns to love again after her son dies. Now, note, it's not high concept. For it to be high concept...Oh, wait. There's too much there for me to try to explain that quickly. We'll talk about that in another blog. Just know that editors and agents know that YOU know your story, when you can boil it down to that one line! And believe it or not that's about all they need to hear to know whether or not what you're writing would work for them.)

I'm sure you already know you need to have a story, but what you might not know is that in addition to your STORY you also need a THEME. (Yes, even for something small like a category romance.)

Like: Forgiveness is hard. Or you won’t ever find yourself if you don’t take risks. Or sometimes you have to come out of your comfort zone. Love conquers all. Don't judge a book by its cover. Live and let live. (To just touch on a few themes...)

Why? Because themes unify. They give a story direction. And, as a writer, you will appreciate having a little direction! LOL

Then you need a VEHICLE. This is what most people refer to as an external conflict.

Like: A boss falls in love with his secretary when they are stranded in a cabin in a snowstorm.

Do you see how being stranded facilitates the hero and heroine falling in love? It’s the “vehicle” that keeps them together long enough that they stop and really notice each other.

How about: Werewolves invade a small Midwestern town and when the heroine is captured by the leader and used as their source of information to take over the town, she and the Alpha fall in love.

Her capture is the vehicle. It gets and keeps the heroine and the Alpha together long enough to fall in love.

How about: Learning to care for his infant half-brother the hero falls in love with his co-guardian.

Learning to care for the infant is the vehicle.

How about: Investigating the murder of his brother the hero and heroine fall in love.

Investigating is the vehicle.

You can’t have a great story without a vehicle…something that gets them together and keeps them together. Without a strong, worthy vehicle, your book will read as episodic.

Now, reading those examples above, any one of them could be a category romance. How would we turn them into single titles?

By having enough threads connected to the vehicle.

Let’s take: Werewolves invade a small Midwestern town and when the heroine is captured by the leader and used as their source of information to take over, she and the Alpha fall in love.

To make this a single title, you could show his pack becoming disgruntled as he goes soft on the heroine, and mutiny when he officially makes her his mate.

You could also add that her father organizes a search party to find her…because he has an agenda of his own.

You could also add that the town bartender knew the werewolves were coming and wants to join the pack now before the townspeople find out and he becomes a liability.

Do you see how those threads take a simple, one-note story and turn it into something richer, more textured?

Now, you can’t just add threads willy-nilly. Notice how all of the above threads connect to the main story of the werewolves invading town? That’s how you keep a story tight and connected!

And one final point...the vehicle for a mainstream or thriller or straight suspense or science fiction or women's fiction doesn't act as a way to get and keep the hero and heroine together so they can fall in love. Rather, the vehicle in books other than romance is the "thing" that tosses your protagonist into the story in the first place.

Like: When faced with bankruptcy after her son is killed, a widow is forced to get a job at a daycare and learns to live again.

Getting a job at a daycare is the vehicle that helps her to learn to live again. (Going bankrupt is the inciting incident.)

Or: When terroists take over Texas (sure, why not? LOL), Colonel Art Mongtomery faces not just an unexpectly terrifying threat to the world but also his own personal demons when he's the one charged with taking back the state.

Being charged with the job of taking back the state is the vehicle that not only introduces him to the bad, bad terrorists, but also forces him to face his personal demons.

So there you have it.

Coming up with story ideas might be a very natural thing for you at the beginning of your career. But learning how to sort through them and pick the best ideas is a skill you need to acquire. It’s also wise to do a little analysis in your genre or subgenre to see what elements make the most successful stories successful.

And it doesn’t hurt to learn how to build an idea! You may not use the story, theme and vehicle model. You can create your own model for making sure you have enough elements to write a strong, rich, textured tale.

Happy Monday!

Oh! Don't forget to scroll down to my Thanksgiving greeting and add a comment. I'll be chosing a person from those who comment to receive a $25.00 Amazon gift card.

susan meier

Holiday Greetings Blog!

2011-11-24T05:46:00.003-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

I wish you a blessed and happy holiday season. I love Thanksgiving. I really have been blessed.

I also love all the weeks leading up to Christmas. I love shopping and drinking hot drinks at Starbucks with friends, talking about the gifts we're buying our kids.

This year, I have a book KISSES ON HER CHRISTMAS LIST released on December 1, which will make the whole holiday season sweeter for me.

Because I'm feeling so lucky, I'm having a contest. To thank you all for a great year, I'm giving away a $25.00 AMAZON GIFT CARD. Post a comment to this blog...wish me a happy holiday, Merry Christmas, Happy Thanksgiving, Seasons Greetings, Happy New Year...anything...just post a comment and you'll be entered to win A $25.00 AMAZON GIFT CARD.

Happy Holidays...Seasons Greetings...Merry Christmas...Happy New Year!

Comment to be entered to win!

Winner will be drawn December 15.

susan meier

How to Come Up With A Great Story, Part 1

2011-11-21T04:45:00.004-05:00

I have a lot of writer friends. Lots. LOL

One of the saddest things I’ve seen most of us go through is what I call ten-book syndrome. The inability to sell that tenth book.

Now, lest you miss my point, ten-book syndrome doesn’t have to happen exactly at book ten. But it happened to me at book ten. It also happened to most of my friends either right before (book 7 or 8) or right after (book 11 or 13) book ten. And it will probably happen to you too.

So what is the reason for this hellish, horrible torment I call ten-book syndrome?

Lack of a good idea.

What? Lack of a good idea? Preposterous. I have three million ideas. I have notes. I have workbooks. I have slideshow presentations of all the great ideas I'm coming up with!

No, you don't. (LOL) Right now you have three million ideas jumping around in your head. But as you write them, and editors criticize them and reject some of them, you will come to see that some of the ideas you have aren’t really good. They don’t work. Or some of them are partial ideas. Maybe good enough for a novella, but not whole books. And some might even only be good as story threads or secondary romances in better stories.

Ouch.

A good idea has to be strong enough to sustain an entire book.

If you’re writing a category romance, that means the story of how your hero and heroine fall in love has to have a conflict strong enough that readers won’t be sure these two can have a happy ending for at least 50,000 to 75,000 words.

If you’re writing a single title romance, there must be a bigger, broader story added to your romance, with enough story threads to create a rich, textured tale of around 80,000 to 100,000 words.

Now, tack onto this the fact that readers (and editors) expect you to become a better writer (better with words, better with scenes and better with plot) with every book and you will see that an idea that might have worked around book #3 might not work as book #11 because it’s not as strong as it needs to be to sustain the reader expectation that you’re going to get better with every book.

Sheesh! It’s no wonder so many people flounder and fail.

You bet it is.

So how do we get around this?

Well, the easy answer is to learn what it takes to have a great idea.

I know readers of this blog come from several different genres and write for multiple publishers, so no one answer that I give you will fit all.

But I can tell you this. After writing for awhile, most of us get a sense of “how much story” we need to have for whatever publisher, line or genre we're writing. So most of us are pretty good with that.

But how do you know the “better” stuff? How do you figure out what it takes to make your next book “better”?

Two tips...

1. Keep all your synopses. I didn’t do this and I was sorry. When I struggled, my then agent, Alice Orr, said, Go look at your last synopsis. See what you did. See what they liked.

And, well, I didn't have that old synopsis. (This was back before I had a computer!) So I was stuck!

The purpose of keeping your synopsis is to see what book 2 looked like, book 3, book 7…book 22. See what you did at a glance…and, suggestion…if you didn’t end up with a good synopsis…write one. Just two pages. That way, you can go back, review what you did…see if you are getting better, and your books are getting stronger. But more than that, see who you were as a writer. What you wrote. And also see (be honest) what you could have done better.

Because, remember, your goal is to be getting better all the time!

2. Start taking notes on your editor comments. I took a bundle of notes when I fell into ten-book syndrome and those notes became my most popular workshop CAN THIS MANUSCRIPT BE SAVED. I focused on editing as I was working my way through 10-book syndrome because that’s the angle I was getting from my [then] editor. She wasn’t helping me come up with ideas but was helping me to “fix” my stories. But even those glory days were over. She wanted me to be able to work more independently. (I hang my head in shame that it took me that long to realize that! LOL)

So I took tons of notes of what she was telling me I was doing wrong, what needed to be beefed up, what wasn’t working, and the next time I hit a bad spot in a book, I figured out why myself!

But more than that, I boiled the qualities of a great book down to story, scene and word, and, later (because I kept studying!) I discovered the lowest common denominators of a great story. Not lowest common denominators for what makes a great “category romance” but lowest common denominators for a great story. Because at their hearts great books do have a few things in common (no matter what the genre). And, again, I got a workshop out of it. STORY, THEME AND VEHICLE.

But that's where we stop today. We'll talk a bit about those lowest common denominators next week!

By the way, if you're one of my regular readers and you want to thank me for being so candid about writing...you could pre-order KISSES ON HER CHRISTMAS LIST! [LOL...not really shameless self promotion...just an honest request...since I do need to pay my mortgage! :)]

Happy Monday!

susan

Are You Having Trouble With Your WIP?

2011-11-14T04:41:00.002-05:00

Several of my friends are doing NaNo. Also, I was lucky enough to teach a class called Prepping For NaNo and some of my students are reporting back to me.

Actually, the ones reporting back are the ones who are having a great time writing because of all the prep work we did last month. Which makes me smile.

We can't go into all the things I taught last month. But there are two tricks you really should try if you hit a brick wall.

First, write a one-paragraph ditty stating what your book is REALLY about. Don't say details. Just give yourself a straight-as-as-arrow rundown so you can see your story.

i.e. The hero and heroine must catch a killer, but she's already been arrested for the crime and he's the DA prosecuting her.

or

Driving back from Vegas, where the heroine ran when she realized she couldn't marry her fiance, the hero and heroine are incredibly attracted. But she's the boss's daughter and he's a total stranger to her, and when push comes to shove, the hero also realizes he can't get involved with another woman who's already committed to a man. Because no matter how much she seems to like him now, when they get home, she could see her distraught fiance, decide she really does want to marry him after all, and the hero will be the one with the broken heart.

Reading either of those could get and keep you on track when you're at a loss for what to write. You all probably like the second one better because it drops in a few plots points. But when you're in a tizzy after having written 33,000 words and your brain is sort of mush, either one would remind you of the heart of your story and help you to refocus.

Another reason we get off track is that we get too picky. You've written 17,500 words that you believe are golden, but the next day everything you want to write seems trite.

So you stall.

The answer to your problem is to let your brain go. Since you don't want to spoil the WIP with its golden 17,500 words, don't write a scene...do a could, might, must and should list.

This could happen.
This might happen.
This must happen (to make the plot work).
This SHOULD happen...ie. in a romance the hero and heroine SHOULD kiss and maybe even make love a time or two. The conventions of your genre need to get into your book too.

Anyway, make this "list of scenes" for the remainder of your book. The scenes that could happen, the scenes that must happen, the scenes that might happen (but you're still vetting them), the scenes that should happen (get those genre conventions in).

Let your brain go wild. Come up with ridiculous answers. Come up with trite stuff. Come up with anything you feel like. Why? Because you're not going to use all the scenes in this list. It's really only a list of suggestions for you to look at and ponder to wake up your brain.

So go nuts. Give your brain lots of potential scenes to look at every morning. Some days you really will pick 2 or 3 of them to write. But other days that list of scenes will serve merely as a way to wake up your brain. You'll say, "Yeah, that could happen ... but wouldn't it be better if..." And guess what? You're writing.

And isn't that the point? ou're looking for ways to get yourself into the story again...and if that one-line/one-paragraph ditty about your story doesn't work, then the could, might, must and should list certainly will.

Happy Monday

susan

Organic Writing

2011-11-07T03:26:00.004-05:00

A few years ago, a lot of us were stumped by the term organic writing. Editors began showing up at conferences saying, "What I'm really looking for is organic writing." Or "I want the plot to flow organically."

And, in the audience, writers were saying, "Huh?"

Simply put, organic writing is when the actions of your characters flow naturally -- organically -- because the story is being driven by the character/s. Not dragged along by the plot.

The need for the concept of "organic writing" came about as a result of so many writers coming up with four or five high points (plot points, if you will) for their stories, then struggling feverishly to "hit" those points.

That's one (of many) reasons I don't like to set out my four or five plot points as if they are something special. They are. (I know they are.) But I don't let myself make too big of a deal out of them.

Why?

Because I don't want my characters racing ahead, working to get to those points or lagging behind for fear of hitting a high point too soon. I want the story to flow naturally.

That's why I use (and may have made up) Journey Steps. I like to see an action, followed by a reaction, which causes someone to make a decision and as we all know decisions lead to actions.

Journey Steps are ALL the steps your character takes to get from who he is at the beginning of the book (the terrible trouble, inciting incident, day/moment everything changed) to who he is at the satisfying conclusion.

Notice how if you see your entire book as a journey of growth, those four or five points will still fit, but your perception of the book as a journey helps you to see things more ... dare I say it? ... organically ... flowing from the character as he or she grows and changes.

Actions lead to reactions which lead to decisions which lead to actions which lead to reactions which lead to decisions...

That nice little train can be a magic formula for plotting, but it can also be a way to assure that your writing is organic...or stemming logically from characters' true behavior.

If you're working on a scene and it feels like you're doing a heck of a lot to manipulate your character into doing what you want...you're probably not writing organically. And you may want to go back to your synopsis, storyboard or outline and ask yourself...what do I need to set up early on so that the actions/reactions and decisions of my characters flow naturally to those four or five high points of the story.

Happy Monday
susan

Using Your Words

2011-10-31T06:50:00.007-04:00

A couple of books back, my editor was just thrilled with a proposal I'd turned in. Being a curious person, I went over that proposal with a fine-tooth comb, trying to figure out what had set it apart from other things I'd done.

In the final analysis, I decided it was words.

Don't laugh. I know I've been using words all along to write my books, but the word choices in those first three chapters for that book were ... well, magnificent. Not because I'd reached beyond myself and used a fantastic vocabulary. But because my word choices painted real pictures. Spontaneous, subtle pictures of my hero and heroine's worlds.

My heroine's dad eased back on a sofa that sighed under his weight. There was a gentle splash when the tires of a passing taxi ran through a shiny puddle on a dark street. The air was crisp and carried the scent of fall, as the hero lit a cigar that sort of ruined it. LOL!

We work to get the exact snapshot or sound or scent that represents each of our scenes. There's nothing like a sighing sofa under a fat lawyer to remind you that he's affluent. So affluent he eats well and his sofa is forced to hold his weight. :)

Match crisp air with the scent of fall and we're all right with your characters on that page.

And what about the tire running through the glistening puddle on the city street? It's a sound of a city that instantly leads most of us where the writer wants us to be.

When I realized how well I'd eased setting into my scenes, and a little bit of character, I knew why my editor had been so in love with that proposal. I'd put her there, with those characters, feeling the cold, sniffing the air, hearing the light splash, watching fat daddy move. (Sorry. Couldn't resist.)

I know those examples are simplistic and I know a lot of you are saying, I do that! I do that!

Because that's who we are. As writers we are in love with words. We're in love with images. The trick is blending them in and getting them to oh, so subtly do the job of putting our readers smack dab into that scene with our characters.

I'm not a fan of over-reaching with vocabulary. (I can tell when someone's used a word she doesn't really know the meaning of!) I also not a fan of long, laborious settings or analogies. But, oh, man, I'm a fan of subtle...of being drawn in. Not brow beat in. Lured. Tempted.

So tempt somebody today. Remember you are in the entertainment industry and lure somebody into your special world for a great story. Not just a story that works. Not just something you know is good enough...lure them to something great.

Use your words.

Happy Monday!

susan

Ordinary World

2011-10-24T09:43:00.000-04:00

We talked last week about writing a strong proposal. I mentioned that you need to wow your editor because ultimately the first chapters of your book, typically submitted in the proposal, also need to wow READERS.
Last weekend, I attended the New Jersey RWA chapter's conference (and had a great time) and in my workshop JOURNEY STEPS, A NO-FRILLS GUIDE TO PLOTTING, we talked a lot about the first scene/first chapter of your book and how important it is.

Your first scene/first chapter, has to introduce characters (establishing who they are because they have to grow and we need a reference point of how they grow). It has to start a chain of events that will roll through the entire book and that chain of events is typically started by an inciting incident, terrible trouble, or day/moment everything changed.

One of the questions I've frequently gotten when giving this workshop is "What about Vogler's Ordinary World?"

Well, you've gotta get that in too...as you're wowing readers!

Actually, I like to USE ordinary world to wow readers. But I don't use an entire scene or chapter to demonstrate who the character is and how he or she lives to orient readers. I get all that stuff into the scene I'm writing as the inciting incident scene.

Take THE BABY PROJECT. The heroine is a lawyer who is named co-guardian in a will with the hero. I set the first scene at the reading of the will. Her dad is her boss and also the lawyer who wrote the will that named her co-guardian. So what better way to open this book than in the scene right before the will is read (before the hero and his brothers come in) when her dad warns her that she was named co-guardian.

She says, Oh, no. I can't do it.
Dad says, It's been 2 years since your baby's death. It's time you moved on. If you can't, your mom and I think you need to start seeing Dr. Miller (her therapist) again.

Two lines of dialogue tell us a great deal about the heroine and her internal struggle.

We're also "in" her regular environment. We establish her "ordinary" world very easily just by having her sit down on a leather sofa and talk with her dad as both a boss and a father.

But what about the hero?

He and his half-brothers are called into the office for the official will reading. As they walk in, the heroine's observations about him tell us a great deal about his "ordinary" world.

First, he's beyond good looking. (LOL! Aren't they all?) But he's walks into the room first. His half-brothers follow. He's the one who speaks. Proving he's the leader. His half-brothers also dislike him. That's clearly displayed in their body language.

But...what's his ordinary world? How do we get HIS ordinary world in when they aren't in his office?

He's an international businessman. Technically anywhere he has his iPhone is his office. But ordinary world isn't so much about how many lamps he has and who his secretary is. It's more about who HE IS at the moment of the inciting incident...the reading of the will.

So we have this tall, good looking, clearly a leader, neat and clean and careful with his appearance and his words hero...who's about to get a spitting up, crying, peeing, screaming baby.

Do we need to see his office to have a good idea of what it looks like?

Do we need to see his "estate" to know that's how he lives?

Do we needs to see him in his quiet house to know a baby is going to upset the balance?

Nope. Most times you can get ordinary world into a scene through character more easily than showing us the sunrise over the Atlantic.

And...think this through...doesn't that opening with him strutting his stuff more effectively "wow" readers and editors than two pages describing his shiny desk, efficient secretary and black limo?

Yes and no. (LOL...nothing like comparison!)

Sometimes showing us his sleek office, efficient secretary and black limo can be used to tell us as much about his character as character can be used to describe ordinary world.

The trick is playing with what you have ... figuring out which format...using ordinary world to show us your character or using your character to show us his ordinary world...works best for your story. Which one will drop them into the story at the best possible point and most effectively introduce character?

Because in the end it's all about entertaining readers. Find the best thing that works for your story, then run with it!

Happy Monday!

susan

Dear Writers Writing a Proposal

2011-10-17T08:23:00.001-04:00

Yikes! It's Monday and I forgot to post! But, considering we're in the middle of a total kitchen re-do...yep, even the walls and ceiling came down...I'm going to forgive myself.
I also have a proposal due today. So I thought maybe we'd chat about what makes a proposal great.

First of all, my current editor defines proposal as three chapters and a long synopsis. After a few books of working with a short synopsis, we discovered that we spent less time with questions and in revisions if I wrote a longer synopsis.

Actually, I do something that's more like an outline. I go chapter by chapter, stating exactly what will happen and why...It's more like me talking than straight facts. But it's very concise.

Why do we do this?

Well, first off, there's less margin for error...or misunderstanding. In a short synopsis you can say...After thirty days of trying to get along, the hero and heroine finally have a heart-to-heart talk after their canoe tips over and each blames the other. That looks really cool. Interesting. But you editor could read your short synopsis and think all that happens in 30 pages, but you've made it 100 pages. And if those pages are repetitive or boring...ouch. You're going to be doing some rewriting.

So I specify EVERYTHING that's going to be in my book. Then, my editor's comments are also very specific. So that when I write the book, I know exactly what needs to be in and what needs to stay out...and I can write it quickly. Usually in a month.

But this doesn't really work for all editors. Some editors don't want to be bothered with the "details" of your story until they read the book. So what do you send to them?

A nice, concise 2-page, single-spaced synopsis that hits the highlights (turning points/plot points) of the story and also shows the characters' growth so that when you write the happy ending paragraph, the editor will say, "Oh, yeah. He can commit now (solve the crime now/save the world now) because he's grown.

I actually have a six-point synopsis thing that makes it really easy to get all the important "stuff" into your synopsis. Maybe I'll post that next week?

Anyway, the pages are actually more important than a synopsis when you submit a proposal.

Why? A couple of reasons.

In those first three chapters (or that one chapter if you're with an editor who only likes one chapter) you have an opportunity to not just show you can write and show your story starts off with a bang, but also to create characters who leap off the page and shake your editor's hand.

That's not to say your character needs to be an overwhelming butt head in the first chapters. But it IS to say that your character needs to be special. Not necessarily unique. Just someone you editor (and ultimately readers) will want to spend 50-100,000 words with.

First chapters are like a gift from God to a writer to give him or her the chance to demonstrate their talent as well as the real potential of their book.

So whether you write a looooonnnnng synopsis as I do or a two-pager that cuts right to the heart of the story, it's your chapters that will make your editor stutter with delight that she gets to work on this book with you or write you a rejection.

So when you're thinking about your proposal and those first three chapters...start thinking, "How am I going to wow this editor?"

And then use the lovely gift of that chapter or those chapters to do just that!

Happy Monday

susan

It's Monday and I have to think of something writerly...

2011-10-10T03:16:00.002-04:00

to tell you!

But what?

What happened to me last week that I can turn into a lesson for you?

Hum...let's see...

Last week I got the first book of a duet approved. For those of you don't know, Harlequin will frequently let us write connected books. Last year I did a 3-book series. This year I'm doing a duet about brothers who hate each other.

And why not? Brothers who like each other would be boring.

So does writing a duet differ from writing a series? Only in the fact that you have to tell your overarching story in two books instead of three, or four, or five.

I still have a story that encompasses two books. I solve the hero and heroine's problems in book one, get them together and sufficiently solve the "bigger, broader" story in book one -- enough that it appears resolved. But I always leave a little thread of doubt at the end of book 1, too. So that readers aren't surprised when book 1 isn't the end of things. That book 2 picks up with that whispy doubt and turns it into a story.

The most important thing to remember about connected books, though, is that primarily at their cores they are still standalone romances.

And what is a romance? It's the story of a hero and heroine who overcome a serious internal conflict to commit to each other for life at the happy ending.

So each of my stories, as it tells the story of these brother reuniting, has to tell a compelling story of a hero and heroine overcoming a serious internal conflict to commit for life at the happy ending.

The story of the hero and heroine has to take center stage. The story of the brothers reuniting has to impact the hero and heroine's story somehow, but never upstage the romance.

All elementary stuff, right?

You'd be surprised how many people "accidentally" work it the wrong way because the bigger, broader story seems more interesting to them. Or the bigger, broader story more or less takes over.

Resist the urge to let your bigger, broader story do that. LOL

Even if you're writing single title romances, at their cores they are still romances. Your bigger, broader story will be important, certainly, but don't shortchange the romance...Unless you want your book to be called a book with romantic elements.

If that's case, carry on! LOL

But if you want it to be a romance, category or single title, make sure the romance gets its appropriate page time!

Happy Monday

susan

Monday again! Dear Writers!

2011-10-03T03:27:00.002-04:00

My ezine comes out this week, so the final lesson of THE POWER OF QUESTIONS workshop will be available. But reading over that workshop, while practicing JOURNEY STEPS (to be given live at the NJRWA chapter conference October 22), I'm struck again by how much analysis helps our work.

Still, lots of people don't know how to "analyze" their own story as they are writing it, or even when they give it a read-through for revision purposes.

Tony Robbins, the 30 Days to Personal Power guy, says the way to analyze is to ask questions.
So the best question to ask yourself as you're reading your book is Does this make sense?

Does the story make sense? The chapter? The scene? The paragraph? The sentence?

If you're reading and you experience what I call a "hiccup" or the sense that you're jarred out of your story...go back. Ask yourself, What threw me out of the story? Did something not make sense in terms of the story? Or is it just that this scene is off somehow? Or did I simply read a bad sentence?

Lots of times when we get jarred out of the story we think that there's something horrible wrong and there might be. But most of the time it's a matter of changing or fixing a sentence. Or checking a fact that might be incorrect.

Good writers know how to ask themselves strong questions but they also know how to answer them honestly. Don't tell yourself the sentence was just off...when in fact there's a looming story problem. At the same time, you don't want to panic and say, "Oh, my God! The whole book sucks," just because you have a scene that's not working.

Take a breath. Be honest. Analyze...don't criticize. And there is a difference!

But most of all, don't say, "Oh, it's good enough." Because we all know, in this tight market, with so many wonderful writers out there...Good enough isn't good enough.

Make that your motto!

Happy writing!

susan

DearReaders...A Joke too funny not to share!

2011-09-29T08:43:00.003-04:00

How to wash a toilet

This was simply too much of a time saver not to share it with you.

1. Put both lids of the toilet up.

And add 1/8 cup of pet shampoo to the water in the bowl.

2. Pick up the cat and soothe him while you carry him towards the bathroom.

3. In one smooth movement, put the cat in the toilet and close the lid.
You may need to stand on the lid.

4. The cat will self agitate and make ample suds.

Never mind the noises that come from the toilet, the cat is actually enjoying this.

5. Flush the toilet three or four times.
This provides a 'power-wash' and rinse'.

6. Have someone open the front doorof your home.
Be sure that there are no people between the bathroom and the front door.

7. Stand behind the toilet as far as you can, and quickly lift the lid.

8 The cat will rocket out of the toilet, streak through the bathroom,
And run outside where he will dry himself off.

9. Both the commode and the cat will be sparkling clean.
Sincerely,

Mikey My Dog

Dear Writers The Other Use for the Storyboard

2011-09-26T03:15:00.012-04:00

Last week we talked a bit about using a storyboard to help you plot out your story.

This week, we're going to talk about the "other" use: Using a storyboard to revise a story.

When you're finished drafting your book, or when you've received a request for revision from your editor, it's always wise to read the thing the whole way through, making notes on the changes you see need to be made.

Lots of times those changes are things like: Beef up this conversation or deepen the emotion of this scene. I like to call those "isolated" changes because they involve just one part of your book, and if you do them correctly they don't impact anything else.

But...

When you have a change like: Make this guy more of an alpah male or in the middle of the book have the heroine realize she still loves the hero -- these changes impact everything that comes after them.

Now, you could go through your draft, penciling in changes as you go to input into your computer draft later. That works. Because if you use a pencil nothing is set in stone. But you also have to flip back and forth checking what you have against what you've added. It can be clumsy and cumbersome.

An easier way is to do a storyboard of your project as it exists, using post-its. This way, as you're penciling in your revisions, you can see what's "up ahead" in the book so that you don't step on any of your existing scenes when you change something.

Plus, you can see your entire book at a glance which helps with pacing and intensity. Because post-its are moveable, you can experiment with your changes on the board before you make them in your manuscript. You can add scenes or take them off. You can even change existing scenes by adding or subtracting things from your post-its. You can totally recreate your book on "the board" and then implement those changes in your book.

It also helps to do a storyboard of the book you've been asked to revise, then walk away...letting all those revisions you need to make sort of roll around in your head for 24 hours... with your existing storyboard in mind. You'll come back the next day with all kinds of wonderful possibilities jumping around in your head!

There's nothing more horrifying than making a book WORSE when you revise. Or making it a total mess because you forgot where you were, what came before, what comes after.

The story board is an amazing tool for keeping everything on track.

Happy Monday!

susan

DearWriters Using a Storyboard

2011-09-19T04:23:00.002-04:00

A friend recently emailed telling me she was a bit befuddled about what to do next on her story.

She had a could, might, must and should list. (A list of things that could happen, might happen, must happen to make the plot work, and should happen to make the plot work but might not.)

She had the heart of her story. That one-line ditty that tells you what you're writing about. (It's a story about a hero and heroine who must catch a killer but she's already been arrested for the crime and he's the DA prosecuting her.)

She had even written three chapters. But she was stuck. She wanted to know what I thought she should do next.

The truth is...if you have three chapters and a CMM&Should list, yet you still don't know what to write next, you're probably going to have to storyboard your book.

What do I mean by that?

Well, most of us get a piece of poster board (a bare wall will also do) then we write our CMM&Should scenes on individual post-it notes and put them in the order we think they should occur in the story.

There will be blanks. Because CMM&Should scenes aren't ALL the scenes. They are just our jumpstart scenes.

But, to tell you the truth, once you get all those on a storyboard in order of the way you think they should occur, if the story isn't compelling ... You've gotta start all over again.

And you can. Since your scenes are on post-its, you can yank them off and reorder them.

You can also think of other scenes. If you're writing a romance, do you have a first kiss scene? Do you have a second kiss scene? (LOL!) Do you have your black moment? Do you have an "everything changes" scene?

Every time you reorder your scenes on the wall or poster board, you should get more ideas of what could happen, what might happen, what must happen, what should happen.

Every time you do the storyboard, you might also lose a few scenes! Not all scenes will work for all versions of the story.

But you must persevere with shifting and playing with your scenes until you come up with the "version" of your story that's beyond good. It's compelling. It's great.

And then that's the story you write!

Happy Monday!

susan

Fall!

2011-09-14T07:09:00.000-04:00

It feels so much like fall here that immediately my mind jumps to thoughts of pumpkin muffins! There's nothing like the scent of cinnamon wafting through a kitchen warmed by the oven.

I even like the beginning of winter. The first snowfall. Christmas. Sledding. And let's not forget pretty sweaters and scarfs.

We're entering a very happy time of the year. Mums for the front porch. Trick or treat. Thanksgiving. Pumpkin pie. Christmas shopping. Parties.

And a book, KISSES ON HER CHRISTMAS LIST! This year my Christmas story will be released at the end of November. Just in time for steaming cocoa and bubble baths.

So this year, let's all enjoy fall. It's slipped away other years when I was bogged down in deadlines. But this year, even with deadlines, I intend to take some time to stop and smell the pumpkin!

susan

Dear Writers ... I don't know why I don't like it, but I don't

2011-09-12T03:08:00.003-04:00

The other day I was listening to a song being performed on TV and I thought, "This song ... isn't good."

Now, I'm no music expert, but even untrained as I am I could tell the dang thing dragged ... and was flat. As soon as I thought that, I realized that the guy singing and playing was on TV. TV! Sure, it wasn't a network show. It was local, but somebody, somewhere thought that song was good enough to play on TV. And I was kind of stunned. I wondered if he was popular enough that no one had had the nerve to tell him the song sucked. Then I wondered if he was so new and so innocent that everyone around him told him his song was wonderful, when they probably should have been telling him to go back to the drawing board.

Or maybe the people who heard him sing and play were simply blown away by the fact that he'd written a whole song.

Does any of that sound familiar? LOL

I just got what I considered "light" revisions from my editor. But when I got into the book I saw too many things I didn't like, things that might have squeaked through...or maybe things she didn't want to tell me about because so many other things about the book were good. I missed them the first time around because I was so focused on certain aspects of the book that others just fell under my radar.

Still, my editor hadn't asked me to change those things...did I really want to mess around and take another week to fix a book that should have only taken a few days?

I didn't...I'm not really lazy, but I do have my limits. Still, I have a motto. Good enough isn't good enough and since I was revising anyway, I turned the darned thing inside out.

I know it sort of goes against human nature to have our faults pointed out to us, but, honestly, just think of that kid on TV, singing the flat song. Nobody did him any favors by letting him go on TV with that song. I sincerely doubt we'll ever hear from him again. He had his 15 minutes of fame and he blew them.

So don't resist editing, revision, critique group comments. Don't get so mired down in them that you stall. But read them with an open mind. Read your book with an open mind! Don't fluff over the things that are wrong or flat. Fix them.

I always believed the change in my books from good to really good (I somehow can't call my own books great! LOL) came when I one day looked at a scene that was falling flat and thought, Oh, heck this gets the plot point/journey step in. It's good enough! ... And then I paused and wondered...What if it isn't? What if good enough isn't good enough? And from that day forward my books were no longer at the mercy of my moods or the muse. I took care to create wonderful stories. I took care with my scenes. I took care with every word.

Next year I'll write my 50th book. I think that change speaks for itself.

susan

DearReaders...A vampire trilogy. Have I come too late to the party?

2011-09-07T05:09:00.001-04:00

Why is it that I get really perfect ideas for trending books two minutes after the trend train has left the station? LOL

Over the weekend, thinking about books as I celebrated the holiday with my husband's family, including two grilling sessions and a balloon fight, I suddenly realized a gaping hole in the vampire trend. There were no vampire books that had a certain aspect to them. And, oh my gosh, wouldn't THAT be fun to write?

I went to my bedroom, got out a notebook and before you know it I had outlined the arc for an entire trilogy. I even had book titles and detailed character profiles.

This does not happen arbitrarily in a writer's life. LOL!

So I stared at it. Really? Is Susan Meier, author of sweet romances, going to tell this tale that's something like The Terminator with fangs.

I can't see why not. Basically, if I take a pseudonym, I won't ruin the Susan Meier sweet romance brand. And even if no publisher would touch it with a ten-foot fiber glass pole because the trend is dying, there's always self publishing. LOL

Which leads me to ask the question...

Because we CAN write anything we want, with the catch-all safety net of self-publishing...should we?

What do you think? As readers, do you worry that your favorite authors are going to ruin their brands because there is no editor/publisher patrol to keep us from writing anything and everything we want?

Do you worry that your favorite authors won't produce as much of what you love because they can cheat on you with another genre?

Or are you stoked? Does it excite you to realize that your favorite authors will be able to branch out into other genres because there is no publisher slapping her fingers, saying, "Stick to your brand?"

It's all very interesting.

susan

Monday is a Holiday...but Writers Never Sleep...er...take holidays

2011-09-04T02:28:00.003-04:00

Really. We don't. It was a huge decision for me a few years ago when I decided NEVER to work on Sundays unless I was involved with a serious deadline.

Why? Because writers like to write. Lots of times we have to write to get what's on our brain off our brain so we can have normal social interactions!

But I digress.

Last week, I began writing the Prepping for Nano workshop. And it's a dilly. Mostly because this is through the writer's group Pennwriters. Most RWA chapters charge ten, twenty or thirty dollars for a class. Pennwriters changes more. So I think anything I do for them has to be FANTASTIC. Or at least filled with that many $$$ worth of information.

So as I was writing that workshop last week I thought about some things I hadn't thought of in a while.

Like how in the name of all that is holy do we push ourselves to get so much done in such a concentrated amount of time.

I use bribes. Seriously, you'd be surprised what I'd do for a fudgesickle.

I also constantly work on my motivation. I write to pay our mortgage. But some days, when I'm really struggling, I close my eyes and think of the beach. The water. Lying in the sun. Eating fresh fish. Strolling on the boardwalk in a mini-skirt (because my husband likes me in mini-skirts and no one knows me at the beach!). Having an ice cream cone. Having a drink at a bar...IN THE AFTERNOON. (LOL)

And I realize that we probably couldn't afford to go on vacation every year if I didn't write. And that gets me writing again.

I also sometimes find myself thinking about success, projecting forward, wondering what I'd do if a few hundred thousand people ... instead of tens of thousands...bought my books. Wouldn't that be cool?

Seriously.

No one loves to write more than I do, but I hate it when I can't get a scene to work. I'm struck by the same insecurities everybody else is. And that's when I start thinking or the mortgage, or the beach, or the potential to sell lots and lots of books -- and knowing in my heart that those books have to be good.

And that gets me back to the chair and writing.

So take today off...Labor Day...because everybody needs a break. But think about some of those things.

What will it take to get you excited about writing again when you're tired, or your scene sucks...or your entire book sucks?

The mortgage? The beach? The thrill of selling so many books?

Think that through. Don't let procrastination ruin the wonderful chance you have to live your dreams!

susan

DearReaders...It's Wednesday!

2011-08-31T07:15:00.000-04:00

It's hard to believe that summer is over. Sure, I know that officially summer doesn't end until mid-September or so...but when mornings are cold, summer is over.

Because my summer had some bad spots in it, I think I started rushing things. If you go over to my ezine, you'll note that there are two CHRISTMAS STORIES highlighted. LOL

That's rushing things.

But, why not?

When things are crappy, why not jump ahead a bit to the season of love, forgiveness and giving?

I'm thinking about those things a lot lately because the book I'm writing is about an alcoholic hero who begins to interact with his ex-wife again when he learns they have a child.

This is a guy who doesn't just need forgiveness; he has to forgive his wife for not telling him she was pregnant when she left him.

He "gets through" by reminding himself that she left to protect herself and their child from a man (his former self) who was self-destructive. But he also simply lives in the moment. Can't change the past; can't predict the future...so he lives in today.

As I'm writing about this guy, I'm thinking...he's really got it all together.

And maybe he does. And maybe it isn't such a bad thing to think about happy Christmas with its lights and gifts, goodwill and cookies, happy greetings and turkey...special dinners, parties, a sense of family.

So though it's not quite even September...scoot on over to the ezine and read some Christmas stuff. Make a cup of cocoa. Think happy thoughts. LOL

And if you're a writer, definitely scoot to the ezine. There's a great writing lesson.

susan

Dear Writers Layering

2011-08-29T04:27:00.002-04:00

Someone in my recent Journey Steps workshop asked the question if story threads were layering. It was such a great question that I thought we’d post the answer here!

Question: Are story threads what authors refer to when they tell you you must layer your story?

Answer:

Yes and no.

Story threads give you a great opportunity to show different facets of your main characters by how they react or act in the different threads that knit into the main story. That's a huge part of layering.

But also there are other things that add texture or richness. And sometimes authors also refer to this as layering. I call it adding texture and richness. (LOL) But a lot of authors see this as layering because it shows all the different aspects (or layers) of the story and your characters.

For instance, I'm writing a story about a heroine who left her alcoholic husband and runs into him eight years later...with their child (who he doesn't know about).

The jig is up. He's sober now and wants involved in their little girl's life.

I used the heroine's mom to voice her fears...Are you really going to risk letting him see Trisha?

And the hero's secretary to show that he's much different than the man the heroine left. When he comes into the office shaken after discovering he has a child, she says, "You work harder than anybody here. And finding out you have a child is a shock. You should take the day off."

These aren't threads. They are interactions that display important things that make the story feel more real (richer and textured). And they are necessary. How other people view the situation and the main characters themselves is important to the story.

Involving the characters who populate the hero and heroine's lives also makes it feel more real. (Remember logical next steps and daily events...they might jumpstart a plot, but one of their other big functions is to provide readers with a "real" experience.) So seeing things through the eyes of secondary characters adds texture and richness. Or as some people say, secondary characters show all the layers of your characters' lives.

Now, the same caveat applies to texture and richness (like showing things through interactions with secondary characters, descriptions, and using setting). A little bit goes a long way. If there’s a thunderstorm EVERY TIME your main characters argue or are in a scary situation, readers will think it odd. If secondary characters are ALWAYS commenting on the main characters’ actions, readers will wonder why they’re always around. (And probably tell them to get a life!)

Of course, with shorter book, you have to keep an even tighter rein on these things. With longer books you have more opportunities and options.

Make sense?

Happy Monday..and Happy Writing

susan

DearWriters -- The HEART of your story

2011-08-22T02:13:00.003-04:00

Simply put the heart of your story is that one line version of your book that when read aloud makes people go, "Ah, that's cool..." (Or cute. Or fun. Or exciting. Or interesting. Or romantic.)

Like: The hero and heroine must catch a killer but she's already been arrested for the crime and he's the DA prosecuting her. (Now that's cool. You can almost feel the ticking clock, feel the heroine's desperation, feel the hero's impotence as the trial date approaches and he knows he's prosecuting the wrong woman...)

Or

A lonely workaholic hero finds a family when he must help the heroine come to terms with her child's death when they're made co-guardians of his infant half-brother.

That's heartwarming. It's uplifting when a lonely guy gets what he needs when he goes the extra mile to help someone else. We can also almost "envision" the sad heroine, suddenly forced to care for a baby, when her loss is still too close to the surface. We also know there's a baby who needs care. There's going to be floor walking and formula feeding and tooth getting. And we also know this guy is already put upon...yet he pitches in and does what needs to be done.

That one line for THE BABY PROJECT brings together all those different facets. But it also focuses the story so that I (as the writer) knew what I was working toward. Even though the heroine needed help to recover, the character who really needed help was the hero. He was lonely. He needed a family.

So even as I was writing a story about an overworked hero trying to fit the heroine and his half brother into his life, and the heroine's recovery, and the baby's adjustment to new "parents" ... I was also subtly working toward having the hero realize that he didn't want the life he had been working toward for the past 36 years, but he wanted the life Fate was handing him on a silver platter.

The heroine's story is a good one. It's solid and strong. But the real "heart" of the story is the transformation of the hero from the guy he is when the book opens...lonely, overworked, stressed...to a guy who is able to accept love in his life and hire a bunch of vice presidents to take over some of his responsibilities.

The heroine's story is a "thread" so to speak that forces the hero's story. The addition of the baby into the hero's life also nudges him toward change. But they're not the main story. The hero's story is the main story.

You'll have a lot of layers in any story. But the trick is to figure out which one is the most important. Which thread would get you the most mileage with readers?

To look at THE BABY PROJECT, you might think Whitney's story with the loss of her baby and husband might be the more compelling. But though Whitney is struggling, we know she's smart enough to know she needs to push through. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow. But eventually.

Our hero, Darius, knows he's in trouble, but he responds to that trouble the way he always does. He will work harder. Readers know this guy is drowning and there's a good possibility he will go down for the third time because he's missing a few of life's puzzle pieces. He doesn't know how to be vulnerable. He doesn't know how to ask for help.

He's gonna drown.

So his story is the heart. Whitney's story is certainly interesting, but in the end the way it supports Darius's story is actually a more important function.

So how do YOU figure out your story's heart?

The best way to do is it by writing a one-line summary...It's a book about a hero and heroine who must catch a killer but she's already been arrested for the crime and he's the DA prosecuting her.

If you can't state your story that succinctly, then maybe you need to do some doodling. Think of potential conflicts. Potential scenes. Potential trouble. Do some doodling about your hero and heroine. Write out some facts about their lives. Their pasts. Their core beliefs. Their parents. Anything, until something makes your breath catch and you say...Wow. That's cool.

Because if the story you choose to highlight doesn't make your heart beat a little faster, doesn't make you say, Oh, that's cool...or interesting...or fun...or scary, then it's not going to hit readers either.

So take a minute. Or a few days. Or two weeks, as I sometimes do. And just think. How could I come up with a really cool book? Or a GREAT romance. Or a wonderful spin on something that's been done a million times like a marriage of convenience?

And then give yourself the gift of writing something that you really, really like. Something you know readers will really, really like!

susan

Commitment

2011-08-19T06:32:00.002-04:00

This week I got back on track with my weight loss. I blamed vacation and life for getting me off track, but as I barrelled through this week's troubles, I noticed the thing I've really been lacking is commitment.

What is commitment? Well, as I've said in prior blogs about writing...commitment is the thing that will push you to keep going when you want to quit. Commitment itself is usually inspired by a why -- Why do you want to do this?

For me, right now, it's why do you want to lose this 30 pounds? Well, the answer to my Why is that I NEED to lose 30 pounds to fit into my clothes. Sadly.

But being in possession of several FINE credit cards (LOL!) that's not really motivating me anymore. I can go to Dress Barn, or Bon Ton, or J. C. Penney any day of the week and get a new outfit. (Yeah. Go ahead and groan. I know I'm lucky...this year. God only knows what the finances will be next year.)

Still, buying a dress for the Harlequin Black and White party in New York this summer (Dear God, one of the most fun times of my life...thank you, Jenna Kernan!) I ran into something interesting.

I pulled every black dress in my new inflated size from the racks and took them into the dressing room. I tried on dress 1 and it made me look fat so I shucked it. Dress 2...same deal. Made me look fat. Dress 3 ... fat.

But an interesting thing happened. I studied dress 3 a little closer and said to myself...what if it's not the dress? What if I am fat.

That will rock you to your core.

Why? Because what I was telling myself was that I needed to create a new perception of myself...a new picture for my head. This one of an old fat woman.

Oh. No. THAT was not happening.

So though I've struggled for the first six weeks of this diet, I have that mental picture of myself in my head. There I am, in the dressing room, fat. Not pleasingly plumb. Not cute and cuddly. Not more of me to love. But fat.

The interesting thing that came with that revelation wasn't just the "Oh, crap now I don't fit into my clothes feeling." It was also the knowledge that this was a new me. And I either adjusted to the new me or I got rid of her...Nicely, of course. Through a good diet.

And that's where commitment comes in. If you want to succeed at anything, you have to figure out something that drives you even when times get hard. I can be pleasingly plump. I can be cute and cuddly. But I cannot be fat.

Period.

Now, let's see how far it drives me.

LOL

susan

If it's Wednesday...It must be Dear Reader Day

2011-08-17T04:59:00.001-04:00

Where did summer go?

I just looked at my Hospice Volunteer Schedule Calendar Sheet and realized we're halfway thorugh August. My niece Carissa will host her summer breakfast on Wednesday and then next week the kids will be back in school.

Oy.

Before you know it we'll be at Halloween, then Thanksgiving, then Christmas...then it will be 2012.

Sitting here, I'm trying to figure out exactly what I accomplished this year and I have to admit it hasn't been much.

Then I sort of turned that around. My husband retired this year. One of my best friend was sick. My kids are in weird places in their lives and sometimes I feel that I need to stop and ... well, listen. Especially to Michael, who is disabled and still lives at home.

When I started thinking about how much teaching I've done this year not just for RWA chapters, but also through this blog and my website, how much hand-holding I've done, how much downtime I've spent with my husband...I had to wonder...Does getting a lot done mean as much as ... well, having meaning in your life?

I sort of like having more meaning in my life. I certainly like spending more time with my husband.

So maybe life can't be measured in terms of how many books you get done but rather in terms of how many lives you touch?

susan

Starting a New Book

2011-08-15T08:29:00.002-04:00

Sorry I'm late! I see a few of you already peeked over at the blog for the new post, but, I just got up! LOL And I had a bad week last week with my friend's funeral etc. So I didn't blog ahead.

But I'm here now.

And we're going to talk about starting a new book. Why? Because I'm starting one. LOL

So let's talk about what I do.

First off, I think about my characters. Who do I want to write about? After all, I'll be spending some serious time with these people...so who do I want to write about? Who do I want to spend that much time with?

Because this book is a spinoff of a book I just turned in to Harlequin, I already have some characters. Including the hero.

The hero's backstory is a bit complicated, so I focused there, digging for my story.

Digging? How the heck do you dig for a story when you have nothing!

Well, with a list of 20...we've talked about that in other blog posts. If you missed it go to the ezine. I think I talk about the list of 20 in this month's issue.

Anyway, the most important thing about a list of 20 is a good question ... so I said, how can I turn the hero's conflict into a romantic conflict?

Now, in the interests of full disclosure, I listed his conflict. He is adopted. But when he was 18 he discovered that his adoptive father was actually his biological father. His dad was a real butthead. He got one of his employees pregnant, then paid her to have the baby and sign it over to him. All of which doesn't sound too bad until you discover that he didn't tell his wife the real story.

He conned her into "helping" this poor employee by adopting her child and raising him well. At eighteen he discovers all this and his dad begs him not to tell mom. He's so angry with his dad he can't even look at him. This causes tension for the whole family. So he leaves. And never even writes.

So now dad is dead and the hero is coming home...angry. Not wanting to hurt mom by telling her the truth, but agreeing with his older brother that it's time to come home and try to put the past behind him.

Okay. So I do a list of twenty, trying to figure out a way I can connect this conflict to a romantic conflict and though I came up with 20 ways...and some of them were good...I didn't feel the love in my heart.

And if I don't feel the love in my heart then readers aren't going to feel it either.

So I figured I was still emotionally a bit shaky from the funeral of my friend and I stepped away from the list of 20 and the book. I'd come back to it later.

And for two days I did nothing on the book, and then low and behold, in church (as always!) I got inspired.

This book wasn't about the hero. He's a wounded, grumpy pain in the butt. But the book wasn't about him. It was about the heroine.

Without giving away the story, I raced home, wrote a one-paragraph story summary and then jumped into a could, might, must and should list.

That's right...a list of potential scenes. Some could happen. Some might happen. Some MUST happen to make the plot work. And some should happen.

At this point I don't have a lot of scenes. I'm still getting to know my heroine. I'm thinking about her. Kind of wistfully. Her story is sad. And she deserves something good in her life. And as I think about who she is and what she needs, the manifestation of the story I wrote in my one-paragraph (more scenes, more emotion, more backstory) gets clearer in my head.

Today, I want to get even clearer. I'll be thinking things like...What's the worst thing that can happen to these people? (LOL) How can I get them together? How DOES his story play into this?

As you're reading this, I want you to note how many times I ask myself questions. Why? Because asking questions is the best way to analyze things.

So there you have it. A sort of generic description of how I start a book. Note that I don't yet have a synopsis...but I feel it bubbling beneath the surface. LOL

Start with characters. Don't be afraid to shift focus. See how the story works if one character or another character's story is the "lead." Do lists of twenty. Think about potential scenes and officially write a could, might, must and should list.

But most of all...Know your story's heart.

Hum...maybe that would be a good thing to talk about next week?

susan

August 8 Writer Post

2011-08-08T04:29:00.002-04:00

As you read this, I'm probably just getting out of my car, lugging a suitcase, sporting a reddish brown tan and wishing it was last Monday and I was heading for the beach instead of returning!

So...I don't have a post. In fact, I wrote "this" post two weeks ago...and scheduled it! Because though I don't have a post, I do have a new ezine. It went up August 1. I didn't have time to announce it, so it's fresh.

If you're looking for writerly wisdom, the thing has the next lesson in THE POWER OF QUESTIONS workshop for writers.

So click on Susan's ezine. If it leads you to the signup sheet...ignore that (unless you want to sign up). Just keep clicking till you get to the ezine!

Or this link should work...

http://susanmeier-ezine.blogspot.com/

susan (the tan and rested, who wishes she LIVED at the beach)

Dear Readers

2011-08-05T08:38:00.000-04:00

I'm late with this week's post because I honestly thought I'd written a Dear Reader letter! LOL

This has been a difficult week. My husband and I had gone to Ocean City because I was burned out. A little crispy critter. I've had some difficult back-to-back deadlines and one of my dearest friends was dying. I desperately needed some time away.

We had several nice days but yesterday my friend's husband called to let me know she had passed.

There is no experience in life that rivals or compares to losing a friend. Someone close to your age...Denise was actually 4 years younger than I am...who one minute is so full of life and the next has a terminal illness.

We walk around so confident in ourselves, confident that we'll have a tomorrow, confident that our friends will always be with us. But really we don't have an assurance of anything...except God. But I won't get into that here. At least not yet.

My point is: Having spent four months very upset about my friend and kind of getting kicked around by some surprising people because I was vulnerable, I can't help wondering...Why aren't we nicer to each other?

Does our society sort of breed a survival of the fittest attitude?

Life really is short. It's also unpredictable. None of us know the number of our days. Or the days of our friends, relatives, coworkers, neighbors.

We don't know if the person emailing with a complaint is in the throes of incredible grief. Of the person who cuts us off in traffic is on her way to the hospital to see her dying dad. Or if the person who almost knocks us over in Walmart is purchasing PJs for her son in the hospital.

We don't know anything...

So why aren't we nicer to each other?

susan

Setting and Keeping Deadlines

2011-08-01T02:32:00.001-04:00

A few weeks ago, my editor casually called to accept my latest proposal and asked when I could turn the book in. I said, August 1.

At the time it seemed so far away. Like a wisp of a fluffy white cloud in a clear blue sky.

Then RWA Nationals popped up early this year and my husband wanted to go on vacation on July 31 and suddenly I wasn't just staring at an August 1 deadline. I was staring at an August 1 deadline with no hope of an extension because I'd be at the beach! LOL

Still, when I woke up July 3, with about 4 weeks to deadline, I didn't panic. My already-written proposal contained about 50 pages of a 210 page book. That left me with 160 pages to write in four weeks. Forty pages a week.

So, I fell back into my normal routine. Monday and Tuesday I read what I have already written, doing some revising and polishing. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, I write ten pages.

I made that sound really easy, didn't I?

Yet some of you can't write 10 pages a day. You can't say for sure you could do 40 pages in a week...even if you had all seven days. And some of you don't like to go back into your manuscript and polish. You want the whole ding dang thing to be done before you start polishing!

Couldn't agree more.

Why? Because everybody's got to find his or her own speed. You have to find your comfort zones. You have to find your process.

When I set my August 1 deadline, I knew that even if I ended up with only 4 weeks to write this book I could do it. Because that's my process.

So the first truth about setting and keeping deadlines is to know your process. Know what you can do and what you can't do. Make your decisions based on your real abilities! Don't make promises you can't keep.

The second thing to know about setting and keeping deadlines is to make a commitment. You're not going to hit your deadlines if you constantly say things like, "Well, I hope I make it." Sheesh. You're virtually giving yourself permission to fail.

When I have a deadline my self-talk goes something like...I easily do forty pages a week. I love to do the early revising and get caught up on the story on Monday and Tuesday. I love writing ten pages a day. I push myself when I'm tired. I make lists of 20 when I'm stuck. I love this whole ding dang process! I'm lucky to be a writer.

Try telling yourself those things three or four times a day and see if you don't wake up eager to write. Happy to write. Able to push yourself, even when you're tired!

So the two things you need to know about deadlines are ... 1. Know your process. Know how to set your deadlines by basing them on your process. (And don't lie to yourself about your process. If you're a 20-page-a-week-girl, don't say you're a 40, because that will result in procrastination! Don't even get me started on that!) So know your process.

And 2. Commit! Be nice to yourself but do not let yourself slide. Remember the affirmations above. I can do this. I love to write! I'm blessed to be able to write. I do make my deadlines.

Happy Writing

susan meier

Losin with Susan July 29 2011 The Power of Commitment

2011-07-29T02:10:00.004-04:00

I love to tell the story of how I sold my first book. (Who doesn't?) Oddly, it's even relevant for losing weight...Here goes...

Years ago (over two decades, actually, but who’s counting) I went to my first writer’s conference. The trip was one of those last ditch efforts. I had been writing unsuccessfully for four years and I was depressed and defeated. Something either happened for me at this conference or I was quitting.

So I packed my bags and left for the airport more depressed than excited. I felt I was walking through the last chapter of my writing career story. I was sure nothing good would happen and come Monday morning when I returned I would no longer be a writer.

Pretty darned sad, huh? I get misty just thinking about it.

Anyway, on Saturday morning when the workshops began, I made the mistake of attending LaVyrle Spencer’s session on description. For those of you who don’t know, LaVyrle Spencer was the master when it came to description. She read passages from her books to illustrate her points and I swallowed hard. I could not write like that. In the first workshop I had attended I believed I had found the answer to my write/don’t write dilemma. I had no place in this world and no business calling myself a writer.

So I went back to my room in the hotel, drew the drapes and started repacking. (In the dark. When I get depressed, I pull out all the stops.) About fifteen minutes later, my roommate found me. She was shocked. And a tad angry. She couldn’t believe I was leaving when I hadn’t really given the conference a chance! I explained that I had but she said I hadn’t and the next thing I knew I was promising to go back downstairs.

But I couldn’t face another workshop. So I took my cigarettes (back then I was a chain smoker. I no longer smoke.) and sneaked to the lobby seating area and settled in to “be at” the conference, but not really go to another workshop!

I sat next to a woman who gently told me she was taking a break and didn’t want to talk about writing. To her surprise, I said, “Great. I’m sick of writing, too.” Feeling I had found a kindred spirit, I proceeded to chain smoke while we chit-chatted about nothing in particular. After about fifteen minutes of discussing anything but writing, she asked if I wrote. I told her I used to. I explained that coming to this conference I had realized I knew nothing about writing. I didn’t know all the “rules” everybody kept talking about…Heck, I didn’t even know there were rules. All I knew was that I read two books a day for five years and loved them so much I wanted to write them, but apparently I couldn’t because everything I sent in got rejected.

She said, “Hum. Are you writing what you know?”

I told her I was writing what I liked. Marriage of convenience, secret babies, and larger than life heroes. She said, “Can you somehow take the stories that you like but infuse them with your life experience?”

I said I didn’t know but what she said made sense.

We chatted some more about my kids and husband and her family and what it was like to live in NYC. Then she rose. She really had to get back to things. But she also handed me her card. She said, “I’m Lucia Macro from Silhouette books. Send me your next manuscript and we’ll see if you really should quit.”

I was surprised, but my friends almost fainted. I was so out of the loop I didn’t realize Lucia was an exceptional editor and that most writers would climb Everest to work with her. I wasn’t even going to send her anything. I thought she was just being kind by asking me to submit to her.

Well, technically, she was just being kind, since she had never seen my work. But through our conversation she recognized that I loved the genre and love for any genre frequently translates into good stories for that genre. And she made the fair assessment that if pointed in the right direction, I could write good books.

So, that night my friends and I set about to figure out a plot for a new book. (Since all my others had been rejected.) And that Tuesday night, after work, after the kids were in bed, when I could have been watching television, I was back at my computer.

I had a reason to write. After years of getting form rejections, I had someone willing to give me more than a cursory glance, maybe even someone who was willing to help me. If I didn’t send her something I would miss what other people considered to be the chance of a lifetime.

That’s motivation.

So why did I tell you a story about motivation if my blog is supposed to be about commitment?

Well, it was the motivation of having an editor truly interested in reading my next book that caused me to COMMIT to writing another book.

Writers are funny people. When the muse is visiting or we've got the magic combination of a great story and great characters, writing isn't just easy, it's a breeze. So we think that all books will be that easy. But when a few "difficult" books go by, books that seemed as if they should have been easy to write, but weren't, we one day wake up and realize that the "easy" books are the exception. The difficult books are the reality.

If we love what we do, right then and there, we simply make a commitment to stay in the game. If our "difficult" books end up as good or better than the ones that are a breeze, we can stay in this game because we love books.

The same is true for your weight. Lots of us look at thin people and think...Lucky Dog. What I wouldn't give for her metabolism. But what if it isn't metabolism that gives thin people trim figures. What if it's hard work...and commitment.

I don't care how motivated you are, the thrill of hard work wears thin eventually and once you hit that wall where motivation (the want of a new dress or even to look good on a beach or be healthy) doesn't cut it, commitment has to step in.

Committment is the DECISION to stick it out even when you don't want to. When it's hard. When everybody else is eating cheese cake and you have black coffee. When the scale's not moving. When you're sick and tired of high fiber oatmeal...when any one or all of those hit, the only thing that's left is that decision. I WILL DO THIS. I WILL STICK THIS OUT.

Now, why in the name of all that is holy would you make a decision like that? Something that's going to push you farther and harder than you've ever been pushed before?

Because you like yourself.

Whether you know it or not, when you committed to lose weight, you made a backhanded promise to yourself to stick it out. If you quit, if you don't commit, then when you take that first bite of cheesecake or walk away from the treadmill or devour three doughnuts in the office break room, you are breaking a promise you made to yourself.

And, wow. Isn't that sad. You can keep every promise you make to your husband, your kids, your parents, your friends...your pets. But you won't keep one measly promise you make to yourself.

I think we all need to take a second here and ponder that. Do we devalue ourselves? Do we really think so little of ourselves that we not only put ourselves last on the list, we break our own promises?

It's truly something to think about.

Because if you'd once, just once, keep this promise, do the exercise, eat the right foods, it could totally revolutionize your life.

Not just from a health standpoint, but from a psychological standpoint.

If you kept one promise to yourself, would you keep more? Would you get your self-respect back? Would you become the person you want to be?

Wow. Luckily we have the whole weekend to think about that one!

susan

Backlist Books

2011-07-27T08:26:00.000-04:00

I now have a slew of backlist books up. Part of me is going Woo-Hoo! I loved these books when I wrote them. I loved the characters and the stories...and I had a bit more humor in those books than my current Harlequin Romances.

The other part of me is covering my eyes and groaning. We all grow in our jobs. I've been writing for nearly 30 years. The books I wrote 30 years ago reflect my ... shall we say "newness" as an author.

I like to think my plots are better now. My characters are richer. My words flowing better. (How's that for a sentence!)

So if you have a Kindle or Nook or any kind of ereader and buy some of my Treasury offerings...you might be surprised. LOL If you like silliness, you might be pleasantly surprised.

Just remember with all the Treasury Books you buy...they're going to reflect the writing of a much younger, much less experienced me! LOL

susan

Segment 3 RWA NATIONALS workshop Creating the Perfect Hero...Internal Conflict

2011-07-25T05:44:00.003-04:00

Welcome again. For the past weeks, we've been reviewing my notes from the workshop I gave with Jenna Kernan and Deb Mullins at RWA 2011.

We've gone over family and your character's flaw. Today we tackle incorrect core beliefs (which in Susan Meier World form the basis of the internal conflict).

So, read on...

I said before that the hero and heroine can be correcting or deciding not to correct little flaws throughout the course of your story and that can be used to move your plot or to show your characters’ level of commitment.

But I told you that they cannot CORRECT THEIR CONFLICT because then the story is over. LOL

So what’s the difference between a flaw and the conflict?

A flaw isn’t the big thing that will keep the hero and heroine from committing to each other for life. A flaw is something unique to your character that can be perceived as negative. A fear. A habit. An addiction. A physical imperfection.

When you sit down to write your story, one of the questions you should ask yourself is…

Okay, I have this wonderful, good looking, intelligent hero and this superfantastic, good looking heroine, who are uber attracted to each other…
Why won’t they commit for life?

Seriously, why don’t they just ask each other out, fall into bed, and begin plans for spending the rest of their lives together?

The answer to that question is your conflict. And most of us wouldn’t refuse to commit because of a flaw. There’s something deeper in us that causes us not to want to commit to someone.

Now, there are all kinds of workshops on conflict. So we’re not going to get into internal and external stuff.

We’re going to talk about the real, bottom line reason two people wouldn’t just fall into each others’ arms on page one and commit for life.

INCORRECT CORE BELIEFS.

What are incorrect core beliefs? Maybe we should start with just plain core beliefs? (LOL)

A core belief is a broad and general conclusion a person comes to as a result of life experience. We create these core beliefs and use them as a sort of shorthand for how to live our lives. According to Tony Robbins (and about a billion psychiatrists) we do everything to avoid pain and/or gain pleasure. So these beliefs we create are used to either help us avoid pain or gain pleasure.

Think back to your 21st birthday. If your friends took you out and got you rip-roaring drunk and you don’t remember the last hour of the night, but woke up on your bathroom floor naked and bruised…You’d probably create a core belief or two about drinking…or maybe about getting totally drunk.

You probably would think, Wow, getting drunk is dangerous. I’m not doing that again.

Then on Saturday when you had a date with a guy you only met, you wouldn’t order the El Presidente Margarita at Chilli’s. You’d get a draft. A small one.

Or you might scare yourself so silly that you’d never drink again!

But, the point is, you wouldn’t sit in the booth staring at the waitress, reliving your entire getting drunk experience. You’d have a core belief that said, getting too drunk is dangerous, and you would simply either order no booze or something small. It wouldn’t be a big deal. It wouldn’t even be a thirty-second blip in your brain.

That’s the power of a core belief.

Whatever your core beliefs, they are based on your life experience and you believe they are correct. You also believe they protect you. Or make your life easier to manage. It – literally – would take something earth-shattering to change them. Most of them you wouldn’t want to change. You believe they are correct. LOL THAT’S WHY YOU HAVE THEM. YOU GENUINELY BELIEVE THESE BELIEFS ARE NECESSARY FOR YOU TO LIVE A LIFE WITH AS LITTLE COMPLICATION/TROUBLE AS POSSIBLE. Without these beliefs, you believe you would be hurt…So you cling to them, guide your life with them, use them to make critical decisions. You wouldn’t change them on a whim.

The same should be true for your characters.

Your characters' core beliefs have to be so firmly rooted it would take something earth shattering to change them…and when it comes to a conflict strong enough to sustain a romance novel, there has to be something strong enough and personal enough that it would preclude the character permanently committing to someone.

THAT creates your internal conflict.

So where do you find your character’s incorrect core belief … especially the one that keeps him or her from committing to someone for life? From your characters’ pasts.

This includes not just things they’ve done, but also things they’ve been taught and things they’ve seen other people do.

If you have a hero who has seen ten failed marriages of his friends who thinks marriage is a trap that ends in tragedy, who meets a woman who needs the commitment of a marriage because she grew up in a single-parent home, these two are going to conflict.

Conflict basically boils down to an incorrect core belief a hero or heroine has about trust.

I can’t trust myself.
I don’t trust women.
I don’t trust life.

For instance: If you’ve created a hero in his thirties, who has never married, he’s got to be the unluckiest guy in the world – never to have met a girl he wanted to marry – or he’s got a core belief that prevents him from marrying. And there’s a reason for that core belief!

A. He might have been hurt. (Can’t trust women.)
B. His dad could have been unfaithful – making him wonder about himself. (Can’t trust himself.)
C. He might have seen three or four awful marriages of his friends. (Can’t trust life! The institution of marriage doesn’t work. So he’s not going to participate!)

But what if you have a hero who thinks being single is fun? Is that an incorrect core belief? Sort of. But dig deeper. Why does your hero think being single is fun? Did somebody show him marriage wasn’t fun? Does he see it as a trap? Even if he’s having such a good time that he doesn’t want the party to end – that means he sees marriage as the end of the party! LOL What makes him believe that? That’s his incorrect core belief and coupled to the heroine’s crazy beliefs about life…THAT’S going to form your conflict.

The way to find good, rich conflict is to dig into your character’s past…look at his parents and friends, look at his history, look at his beliefs. Dig deep. Figure out what he believes that’s wrong…

Why? Because you're going to have to change this belief through the course of your novel. Know how editors tell you that they want your heroes and heroines to grow? This is what they mean. They want your characters to be "different" at the end of your story...And...wait for it...people don’t change, their beliefs do.

Ah. Magic formula. If you want to write a believable book about a hero who appears on page one as someone who will never marry (or wouldn’t marry that particular heroine)…don’t try to change HIM, change his beliefs about himself, about life about women (in general or the heroine specifically). Show this change throughout the course of your novel -- the incremental growth that’s needed to change his belief, and you will have the character growth required by most novels.

So that it. Family. Flaws and Incorrect core beliefs.

Everybody needs a family. Nobody’s perfect so use their flaws. And figure out your characters’ incorrect core beliefs so that you can have strong, believable conflict.

***

Those are my notes from my segment of Creating the Perfect Hero from RWA 2011.

Hope they help! If you have any questions, please feel free to post them.

Have a happy, productive week.

susan

Losin with Susan -- Refocus your energy

2011-07-22T04:20:00.003-04:00

In last week's post when I suggested that you spend the weekend looking for people to pay attention to, I actually hit on a gold mine. Loving other people, really being kind and genuine with other people, is a great way to refocus your energy.

As I march through this process of losing weight, I'm seeing how much attention I give to food. At a wedding a few weeks ago, I practiced what I preach by paying more attention to my tablemates than to my entre and it worked beautifully.

So does reading. If I'm dying for a snack, I can pick up a book and forget all about food.

Cleaning will do that too. But, sorry to say, I like to clean, so that's sort of not fair to the rest of humanity. But, if you're like me, looking for a distraction so you don't think about salami, clean a closet, scrub a toilet, dust a shelf. In a few minutes the craving will go away.

We spend so much time fighting our cravings that we sometimes forget the easiest way to get rid of them is to knock them out of our minds by thinking of something else!

Read a book! Scrub a toilet! Talk to your neighbor. Call your mom. Spend time with your children. Pop an old, favorite movie into the DVR. Take a walk. Ride your bike. Go to the local pool. Go window shopping -- and daydream about all the great new clothes you can buy when you're thinner!

Don't let your cravings rule you. YOU are in charge and food isn't the only entertainment (or boredom resolver) in the world!

Look around, remember what you used to like to do when you were thinner and get some of those wonderful things back in your life.

Happy Friday.

Have a great weekend. And remember to be nice to somebody. Wave someone ahead in the 20-items-or-less (which should be fewer) line in Walmart. Water your soul!

susan meier

Wednesday ... Dear Readers

2011-07-20T04:02:00.002-04:00

On Monday night, as I was ironing my good capris to go to the hospital with my daughter to see her friend's new baby, I realized life is nothing if not full of irony and contradiction.

Only twenty-four hours before, my dear friend's husband called me to let me know her condition is worsening. He didn't have to say the words. I knew exactly what he was telling me.

So as I prepare to say goodbye to somebody who's been one of the best friends of my life, I'm ironing capris to welcome a new child into the world.

In the church, at my dad's funeral, my entire family was sobbing loudly. Because there are so many of us, we made quite a noise. I got to crying so hard, I did that hiccuppy thing where your're taking in air but can't let it out and before I knew it, I had inhaled my tissue.

Seriously. Inhaled a tissue. I instantly stopped crying. My husband looked at me wide-eyed. We both blinked, then we both burst out laughing. I could see us going into the emergency room, telling the doctors I'd inhaled a tissue. I couldn't even imagine what they'd do for me. Send down a Dust Buster?

Luckily, the thing must have gone down the pipe into my tummy because I never had any ramifications from it. I didn't even cough up a fuzz ball.

I don't think God does things like that to lighten moments that are unbearably sad. I think he pairs good and bad, sad and funny, sometimes, to remind us life goes on.

Because it does.

Not always happier. Not always better. Just on.

susan

P. S. ...

If you're a writer looking for the writing info posts, remember Mondays contain the writing lessons. Everything's still here. Just scroll down. Or go into the archives.

If you're looking for dieting tips in Losin With Susan, those are posted on Fridays. Just scroll down and you will find them.

Have a great week.

Segment 2 of the RWA Nationals Workshop, Flaw

2011-07-18T05:39:00.002-04:00

Happy Monday, and welcome back to our notes for the CREATING THE PERFECT HERO workshop I gave with Jenna Kernan and Deb Mullins at RWA 2011.

Today's segment is your character's flaw...Enjoy.

***

I don’t like the term fatal flaw. Because it sort of gives us the sense that our character should have a big, awkward, sometimes disgusting, flaw that prevents or precludes him or her from loving or being loved.

That can be true. There are plenty of successful “scar” or “wound” romances out there. But a huge flaw isn’t necessary for a successful story. A HUGE CONFLICT IS…but that’s our next segment.

For right now, let’s talk flaw.

What is a flaw? Something unique to your character that can be perceived as negative. A fear. A habit. An addiction. An attitude. A physical imperfection.

Why have a flaw?

Because no one is perfect. Seriously. I once heard a speaker tell a story of a book someone sent to her for a critique. The manuscript had been rejected by EVERYONE in the early 80’s when no one was getting rejected and the writer couldn’t figure out why.

The book begins with the heroine graduating from nursing school. She lands the perfect job. Finds the perfect apartment. Her landlords are a loving old couple who dote on her. She finds a great car, cheap. And the most handsome doctor in the hospital falls for her.

Sound interesting? Maybe. But is it a compelling story? Not even a little bit.

A great story is four things. Interesting, compelling, credible and consistent.

For something to be interesting it simply has to catch our attention. Credible…it only has to make sense. Consistent…if the guy is afraid of heights on page 12, he’d better at least shiver at the possibility of scaling a wall to save the heroine in chapter 12.

But for a book to be compelling, readers really want to be able to connect with and root for the main characters.

Do we root for perfect people? Sometimes. But they don’t resonate with us. We don’t connect to them because most of us have flaws, quirks.

But if you have a hero who longs to be understood after a past riddled with mistakes – lots of readers can identify. If you have a straightforward, strong, smart hero who drinks (like Robert Parker’s Jesse Stone) and can’t quit his addiction (thought he manages it) you have a character who intrigues us. Especially those of us who aren’t alcoholics. We’re curious about what makes this guy tick. Why would he risk everything for the contents of a bottle?

A flaw can be something as simple as someone who hates spiders (adding interest or maybe humor to a story) or something as intense as Jesse Stone’s alcoholism. But whatever you choose, the flaw needs to fit the story.

A hero with obsessive compulsive disorder like Monk’s on the TV show Monk, added humor but it was also the reason he was the great detective that he was. He saw things others didn’t. Because he was always looking.

But flaws don’t always have to be something you can use for good. Sometimes they are part of what the main characters have to overcome to achieve their happily ever after.

Whitney Ross in my book THE BABY PROJECT could not move beyond her husband’s suicide because he also killed their child. She had to overcome that. Jesse Stone’s alcoholism interferes with his life. And though he can’t seem to overcome it, he manages it.

So your character’s flaw has to have a purpose.

The purpose we see most often is the one where the hero (or heroine) has a flaw they have to overcome to save the heroine (or hero) from the villain.

The fear-of-heights hero who must scale the wall in chapter 12 to save the heroine – proves his love.
The hero who quits smoking for the heroine, proves his love.

But those kinds of sacrifices also demonstrate character growth…one of the biggest bugaboos for beginning writers.

Every editor, every agent…every reader…whether they know it or not, wants to come away from a book with the sense that the hero and/or heroine have grown -- that LOVE makes us more. Makes us better. Or if you’re not writing romance, that our challenges make us more…make us better!

Correction of little flaws can be used along the way in a book to show the hero and heroine adjusting to each other or their situation. Committing to each other.

Because we cannot resolve the CONFLICT that keeps them apart, (or the book would be over) these smaller steps of flaw correction throughout the story can demonstrate the hero and heroine becoming committed to each other.

I just read a book wherein the heroine was a workaholic. The first time she skipped out on work to see the hero, we all knew she was seriously falling for him.

Now, she didn’t totally correct the flaw. But she took a step. A big step and that spoke volumes.

So don’t give your hero a limp just to satisfy one of those things on the list of things every romance novel must have.

THINK THROUGH YOUR FLAWS. Think about how you will use them. Think about what they will say about your character. Think about how they will affect plot. Think about what purpose they will serve in character growth.

And think about what it will mean if they don’t correct the flaw. Will it be more important for the heroine to accept the hero’s flaw? Sometimes rather than fix it, the heroine’s acceptance will be the greater plot point!

Which takes us to incorrect core beliefs.

***

We'll talk about incorrect core beliefs, or internal conflict, next week.

Until then...Happy Writing!

susan

Losin With Susan -- Pass the Affirmations, Please

2011-07-15T03:31:00.004-04:00

One of the first things I noticed when we (the biggest winner team) started this diet was my reaction to food.

I'd see cheesecake and think I can't resist that. Though I'd wrestle myself away, it was always a struggle.

A few days into the diet, when confronted with chocolate marshmallow cookies in the cookie aisle in Walmart, I took a breath, said, I want to be thin, and walked to a different aisle.

The day after that, when my husband and son ordered pizza, I popped a Weight Watchers pizza into the oven telling myself, I like these better anyway.

As I thought that, I sort of paused, realizing that how I talked to myself made the difference in whether I walked away happily or had a huge struggle.

Now, I know all about positive affirmations! LOL. I've been doing them for my career for decades. I can write. I love to write. I'm happy to have this career. I CAN write a book in three weeks (that was for a special occasion).

I've been telling myself positive things about my writing, my abilities, my desires for this career forever. So why did I have such terrible beliefs about food?

Who knows? At this point, what difference does it make how or why my mind was such a bad place when it came to food. All I had to do was KNOW I had some bad thoughts running through my head and KNOW I had to create some good ones.

Like:

I love to eat veggies. (It's true.)
I love fruit.
I love oatmeal.
I long to be thin.
I look good in my orange bathing suit and want to fit into it again.
Eating well gives me energy.
I feel better when I eat well.
Vitamin water is my friend.
I have a closet full of thin clothes just waiting for me.
I need this success...

Let's pause here for a sec...

I need this success is a special affirmation. Do an experiment with me now. Take a breath, close your eyes and say that...I need this success.

I need this success.

What happens to your psyche or soul when you say that? Do you feel it? Do you feel how much you do need it? How much it will mean to you...I think so. I can't say that without getting a little heart hiccup.

It means something to me. That's what makes affirmations work. They tap into something deep inside of us that longs for whatever we're affirming. They remind us of who we are at our core. They remind us that ... we need this. If you do them right or well, they can also remind of us WHY we need this. Because if you know why you want something, it's so much easier to achieve it.

So copy my affirmations and start your day repeating them into the mirror. Say, good morning self...I love veggies. Do this every morning -- adding your own affirmations as you go -- for one month and see if your struggle with your weight doesn't take turn for the better!

Happy Friday. Enjoy the weekend. But remember...life isn't all about food. Every event doesn't have to be about food. Life is about people. Don't eat as much as you socialize. Make somebody feel good about him or herself. See the joy on someone's face when you really take the time to listen when they talk. That's really the spice of life. (I learned that volunteering at Hospice, by the way. There is no greater joy than giving someone a voice. Letting them know they're worthy of your time.)

By the way, my weight loss for this week was 3.38%. Not bad. I was "the biggest winner" on my team and also out of the 100 participants!

susan

Reminder

2011-07-14T07:43:00.002-04:00

Monday's posts are for writers. Wednesday's for Readers and Friday Losin with Susan.

If you're a writer, looking for some info on craft...just scroll down. There are lots of posts on writing and motivation for writing!

Get ready for a weight loss post tomorrow!

susan

If it's Wednesday, it must be reader day

2011-07-13T05:14:00.016-04:00

I made an amazing discovery this week!

Harlequin has digitized some of my Silhouette Romance backlist. Not all. My favorite series, BREWSTER BABY BOOM is NOT yet available.

But the TEXAS FAMILY TIES series, including IN CARE OF THE SHERIFF, THE RANCHER AND THE HEIRESS and GUESS WHAT WE'RE MARRIED has been digitized under the Treasury program.

The TEXAS FAMILY TIES series revolves around three foster children taken in by a grizzled old rancher Angus McFarland. Angus is rich enough to take in the kids, and smart enough to put them to work, teaching them the value of hard work, but also giving them a chance to find out who they are.

The first foster child Ryan Kelly ends up becoming the town sheriff. He's put in charge of beautiful Madison Delaney, a witness in a burglary trial. Madison had refused protection, but the DA is a friend of Madison's and secretly tells Ryan to keep an eye on her. When she's attacked, he grabs her and her baby and takes her to a private cabin to protect them. It's a cute story about a guy who thought he wasn't husband material discovering he's BOTH husband and daddy material! LOL

GUESS WHAT, WE'RE MARRIED is actually one of my all time favorite books that I've written. And, considering I've written close to 50 books, that's saying something! LOL Grace Wright is the only one of the foster kids Angus adopted. He adopted her because she was the youngest when she arrived on his doorstep. She's a sweetie as a child who falls in love with the poor, bad boy neighbor and actually runs away and marries him. The marriage immediately falls apart -- so immediately that they don't even have time to tell anyone they ran away and got married -- and they never get a divorce. Fast forward ten years. She wants to marry someone else and has to get gorgeous Nick to sign divorce papers. She wrecks her car on the way and loses her memory. When Nick comes to pick her up at the hospital, she doesn't remember him, but assumes they're still married because he takes her to his house. He only does that because Angus and her "brothers" are out of town and can't be located. (Couldn't write this book in this day and age with cell phones! LOL) So, she and Nick spend two weeks together rediscovering each other and falling in love again. But when Angus comes home and her memory returns she's furious--I won't tell you the rest. It's just too good of a book to miss!

And what about THE RANCHER AND THE HEIRESS? This is the one with really sexy Caleb Wright, Grace's brother. When Angus's real granddaughter comes to Texas for financial help, Caleb is furious. Angus's real family has ignored him. Now when the chips are down they want money? Oh. No. Not as long as Caleb breathes. But Alexis is heir to half the ranch, Caleb the other. And he's stuck working with her.

It's a fun read. I won't lie and tell you it's rocket science. It's just fun.

So those are my first three digitized books. Fun stuff from Silhouette Romance. Those of you who enjoyed my lighter stories will love them.

Go to Amazaon and B&N and check them out!

Happy Wednesday. I'd better hustle my butt to my laptop and get to work on the book that's due 8/1 -- since I'm going on vacation 7/31! LOL!!!

susan

Monday July 11 First segment of RWA Nationals Workshop

2011-07-11T05:31:00.001-04:00

Hey! Good Monday to you.

When I realized the notes for my segment of the workshop I gave with Jenna Kernan and Deb Mullins at RWA Nationals, was only about 18 pages, I also saw that I could easily put these notes up for those of you who couldn't go to Nationals. And for those who did go to Nationals but missed the workshop...or those who went to the workshop and just want the notes... LOL...I'm posting it!

To get you up to speed, Jenna, Deb and I gave a workshop on building a great hero. My 3 segments dealt with Family, Flaw and Conflict. So these segments will go up for the next 3 Mondays.

Today's segment is Family... Enjoy.

***

Everybody needs family. Your heroes were not hatched as adults on page 1 of your novel. They also do not live in a vacuum. They’ve had parents (either present or absent) who made a difference in their lives and who might still have some say. They should have brothers and sisters, cousins, friends, teachers, bosses, co-workers, a preacher, priest or Rabbi.

These people form your hero’s personality. So even though you have a hero and heroine trapped in a cabin in the woods or on a deserted island, their families will have played a part in the person/people they are now.

And we’re not just talking about dads who deserted their families or moms who were distant. A chatty mom could produce a chatty heroine…or a heroine who HATES to be chatty because her mom drove her nuts. A quiet dad could cause a heroine to feel insecure…or feel that she’ll never let herself depend on a man! Being an only child will produce tons of beliefs. Having doting aunts or no extended family at all will create other beliefs.

Religious parents? Alcoholic parents? Two teachers for parents? Nosy neighbors? A workaholic dad? A workaholic mom? A more successful than dad mom?

Your characters’ families don’t even have to step on the page to influence your hero and heroine…and your villain. (But that’s another workshop.)

So family…even without stepping onto the page...is UBER IMPORTANT in the creation of characters!

But sometimes they are going to step on the page…

Because unless your characters are trapped on the moon, (or living hundreds of miles away, for their jobs) family also form your characters’ world. They give advice. They chit chat. They help the hero and/or heroine feel they belong or they don’t belong.

They form the basis for the characters’ correct and INCORRECT core beliefs about themselves, life and others. (And we’ll talk about this more in the segment on conflict.)

But they also pop up and mess with the plot.

They don’t merely show up on the pages of your novel to populate your book. They need a purpose. To win a spot on the pages of your novel, they should do something.

Whitney Ross’s dad in my April release, THE BABY PROJECT, forces her to become co-guardian of the hero’s infant half-brother, to protect the interests of Darius’s other half-brothers.

The death of Darius’s mom leaves him totally alone.

In SECOND CHANCE BABY, the heroine, Maggie’s step-mom threw her out when she got pregnant at eighteen. Now, fifteen years later, at that same step-mom’s funeral her relationship with her dad is strained.

The hero’s mom in A BABY ON THE RANCH match makes the hero and heroine. Worse, just the presence of Cade’s former father-in-law on his ranch serves to remind him he was married before and he didn’t make such a good husband.

Family pokes into business, offers unwanted advice, meddles, gives the hero and heroine a chance to shine…or shows the reader how they behave in an environment where they are just one of the bunch…or litter! How you behave with family says more about who you are than all your outside behavior!

Family can add depth and sparkle to a book. A dad who likes to cook and is always asking the hero to stay for supper can make us laugh. A little sister who sees through her big brother’s convenient stories and teases him about being in love can add some tension. A next-door neighbor who loses her husband and tells the heroine not to let such a good guy – the hero – get away can make us weep. (If it’s done right!)

And don’t get me started on babies and kids! A baby or a child can totally turn a story.

Now…

It’s never a good idea for the secondary characters to steal the show, but it’s wonderful idea to learn how to use secondary characters. How to manipulate them into having your hero and/or heroine do what YOU NEED THEM TO DO.

But most of all, intentionally or unintentionally your characters’ families have helped form your MAIN CHARACTERS’ personalities.

Which takes us to fatal flaw. Or What’s not to Love!

***

The Fatal Flaw segment will post next Monday. Have a great week. And if you have any questions, just post them! I'll be glad to answer them!

susan

Don't forget

2011-07-08T06:36:00.000-04:00

Today's post...Friday...is Losing With Susan.

Wednesday's posts are Dear Reader posts.

Monday's posts are for Writers.

If you're looking for a post about writing, scroll down. There are lots of them.

If you're looking for posts about losing weight. Those only started. Today's Friday post in the first of the series.

If you scroll down enough, there's something for everyone!

susan

Losin with Susan -- First Friday

2011-07-08T05:19:00.001-04:00

I had a rough start to this diet. After three weeks of eating everything I wanted to eat and being at some great places like NYC where I could get cheesecake that melts in your mouth, I was cranky when I told myself I had to go back to eating good foods.

But when I thought about it I had to ask myself why I was cranky. Seriously. I'm doing something that's good for my health. Yet, here I was rebelling.

I sometimes wonder why we choose to rebel against the things we rebel against. Parental authorty when we're teens. Bosses when we get a little older. Vegetables when we need to lose weight!

Are we nuts?

Or are we just independent?

I'm going to vote for independence run amuck. And there's nothing wrong with running amuck, if you eventually realize you are amuck and get yourself going in the right direction again.

So what got me going? I took out a dress that I bought but never wore because I gained out of it before I had a chance to wear it. It's only ten pounds to get into it, so hanging that dress where I can see it everyday reminds me of a very reachable goal.

Reachable goals are the greatest tools we have for any endeavor that requires discipline. If I look at myself in the mirror and see 40 pounds that need to go, I will melt into a puddle of despair. The goal is too hard to reach. But if I look at that dress and KNOW it's only ten pounds away, perfectly within my reach...well, ladies and gentlemen, that's a goal I can handle. Plus, there's a reward attached. I will get to wear that cute little Liz Claiborne dress!

So look at your own life, your weight, your writing, your work...and see if you can't find a little, reachable goal that you can turn into a stepping stone for attainment of one of your big goals. Something sweet and shiny that you know should be yours!

Happy Friday!

susan

I'm back from Nationals...

2011-07-06T05:07:00.001-04:00

Sorry to the writers among us! I missed posting something on Monday. Tired. Seriously. Hard weekend aftter a long 5 days at Nationals! =:)

This is going to be a difficult and interesting month for me. Not only do a I have book due the day AFTER I'm leaving for vacation, but also today is the second day in participation of THE BIGGEST WINNER. It's sort of a takeoff on THE BIGGEST LOSER. We have 50 romance novelists and 50 readers working to lose weight. We're in teams who share information and encouragement. And we're competing for a prize. Sadly, it's not the lump sum of money THE BIGGEST LOSER winner gets. I could really get on board with losing weight for that. Writers seriously do not make a lot of money! Any influx of cash is greatly appreciated. :)

So why do I want to lose weight? Have you seen my pictures LOL? Seriously, if I gain much more weight I'm going to explode.

But the truth is I don't want to lose the weight as much as I want to get back to good eating habits. I genuinely believe the accountability of a group like this will help.

So there's going to be another blog posting. Mondays will still be for writers. Wednesdays will still be for readers. Fridays will now be Losin with Susan days, as I blog about the experience of trying to get myself back on track with my eating habits!

I'm sure some of both groups, my readers and my writers, will appreciate these blogs. I can sometimes be profound when it comes to self-discipline.

One last thought to the readers...Thank you for helping A BABY ON THE RANCH become a top seller!

Those who liked the BABIES IN THE BOARDROOM series will adore the Montgomery Moguls duet I began to work on the week before Nationals. Once again I have two tasty heroes with some family problems they need to work out with the help of smart heroines. I worked on Max and Kate's story this morning and, seriously, that guy makes me shiver he's so ... hot. And cool. LOL

So come back on Friday to hear how the diet is going and meet me here next Wednesday for a little more about what's going on in my writing life.

susan

I'm at Nationals...But...

2011-06-29T05:09:00.001-04:00

If my guess is correct, I'm probably sitting in a coffee shop right now, either chatting with a friend or reading on my Kindle. (Or waiting for a friend while reading on my Kindle.)

I ADORE the Kindle. Like most people who love books, I resisted the urge to buy one...but Oh heaveny day, when my husband bought me one for my birthday and I downloaded free books, I nearly swooned.

My son and his girlfriend got me an Amazon gift card and I loaded 25 books on. Quickly. Easily. And they go with me everywhere I go. It doesn't matter what I'm in the mood to read...I have it. Even the Bible.

How cool is that?

Ebooks are typically a tad cheaper. And there are bargains. Lots of authors or publishers run specials on their books and if you're watching you can get lots of great titles for $.99.

And...I can change the size of the font to whatever is comfortable. At night I can make it the size of my thumb and read without straining my already tired eyes.

So, loving my Kindle. Probably at Nationals reading it right now!

If you get the chance...get one. Or a Nook...or whatever Ereader suits your fancy!

susan

Not Going to Nationals?

2011-06-27T03:44:00.002-04:00

I only go to Nationals about every other year. It's expensive. And noisy. And buying the tapes of the workshops is sometimes easier! LOL

But that doesn't mean you can't share the fun. Lots of people will be putting things up on facebook and also twitter. Not to mention private webpages.

I won't be. I don't want to take my laptop and I don't have a fancy phone. But lots of people will be and you can still stay in touch and feel part of what's going on at Nationals by reading the blogs and tweets and facebook accounts of those who do!

Also, check out websites like Savvy Authors and Cataromance to read the workshops and articles they have available. Create your own mini-conference by reading a workshop or article or two and expanding your own writing knowledge. (There are workshops on my website susanmeier.com and if you've already read all of those go to my ezine section in the For The Writers Among Us section and read the workshop lessons I've posted there.)

And work. While we're playing, YOU have a chance to get a week ahead of us!

Next week I will be back with some great stories about the conference, I'm sure! Or I may just once again crack the whip with some writing lessons or info, getting us all back to work after two weeks of craziness!

susan

Also...

2011-06-23T08:38:00.002-04:00

There WILL be a new ezine on July 1. Though I'll be at RWA Nationals, I've set it to post.

I will be sending a reminder email that it's available when I get back. But if you want to be ahead of the crowd...pop back July 1 and check out the new ezine.

I'm posting the next lesson in the POWER OF QUESTIONS workshop.

susan

Remember

2011-06-23T08:36:00.002-04:00

Monday posts are for writers. Wednesday for readers. Occasionally I toss in a review as I did yesterday with the review from Donna at Cataromance.

So, if you're looking for a how-to-write post, just scroll down.

If you're a reader looking for something more personal...look for Wednesday posts.

Thanks

susan

Great Review for BABY ON THE RANCH from Donna at Cataromance

2011-06-22T15:38:00.000-04:00

At last, Cade’s story, the third Andreas son to meet his match…"

Suzanne Caldwell was raised in a wealthy Atlanta neighborhood and attended college until her grandmother’s death and the avalanche of debts put her and her daughter out of their home and on the road to Texas, looking for a job. She was shocked to discover the man she traveled to Whiskey Springs to find, was the same cantankerous coot questioning her about her intentions in “his” town. Rather than embarrass both of them, she told him she wanted the waitress job at the diner where the confrontation occurred. How could she tell this irritatingly handsome man she held one third of Andreas Holdings’ stock but they didn’t pay dividends and no one wanted to buy them from her so she needed a job in the family business?

Smart citified Suzanne makes Cade’s business sense twitch along with his libido. When he finally found out what she was doing in his town, Cade immediately called a family meeting. His brothers recruited Cade to smooze Suzanne and take care of her like family until they could raise the money to buy her out. Meanwhile, she is living in his house with her daughter and both are driving Cade crazy. He can not resist the cute darling baby nor her beautiful mother but he doesn’t deserve either one because he is not marrying material, his first marriage proved that.

Be still my heart, Cade Andreas does not disappoint. He is as devilishly handsome and gregariously generous as his brothers. And of course he has met the love of his life in the heroine, Suzanne, the mysterious co-owner of Andreas Holdings. (Now, I wonder what the story is behind that?) Award winning author Susan Meier keeps her readers all hot and bothered as she creates one hunky hero after the next in this delightful series, Babies in the Boardroom. A BABY ON THE RANCH may be the final book in this series but to help your withdrawal pains be sure to check out Meier’s website; she has written stories about what happens to the Andreas babies in free reads just for us! Muchas gracias Susan!

For Readers

2011-06-22T05:56:00.000-04:00

We've been having so much fun with our Writer Mondays that I've sort of neglected the "reader" end of this deal. So this week we start Reader Wednesdays.

So if you're a writer, rest assured, we won't stop having those fun Monday blogs that chit chat a bit about this craft we love.

But readers need love too! So I'll be posting a blog for them every Wednesday.

Here goes...

I'm preparing to go to the RWA National Conference next week. It's a biggie for me because I finally get to meet my London-based editor, Sally Williamson.

So, I want to look nice.

Which means shopping.

I'm not a fan of shopping. Usually, I have to bargain hunt and I don't really need many things anymore anyway. So I look at everything with a jaded-eye. Hum? Do I need this? Where will I store it? What will The Rat (my husband...strange nickname, nice guy) think of this purchase?

Usually, it's too much trouble to buy something...so I end up coming home with nothing.

But shopping for conferences is a whole different ballgame. I do not look at prices. I want to look nice, so whatever fits and makes me look pretty...Well, it goes in the cart...or to the checkout counter.

I get help. If a clerk is foolish enough to say, Are you looking for anything in particular, I snag her. And she's with me while I try on 50% of the clothing in my size.

I go to every store imaginable because when it comes to dressing for a conference I'm picky.

I dedicate a day to underwear. We all know how important the right undies are when you're trying to look your best.

I dedicate a shopping day to jewelry. (That's just for fun. Who doesn't want a whole day to weed through bobbles and sparkly things.)

Actually, I have an entire week I dedicate to underwear and accessories. Shoes. Purses. Undies. Jewelry. Panty hose. (Yes, some of us still wear them.) Hair clips. I spend hours staring at nail polish and get a pedicure.

Then there's hair dye day. A holiday for me. I get up early, drink coffee, read...watch a little TV...In other words, I don't work! I buy a starbucks coffee and spend two hours at the salon chatting with my sister (my beautician) and the other clients...and go home refreshed.

It's like I store up all the shopping and primping a girl would do for an entire year and do it all in the two weeks before a conference.

But the end result is that I typically look a few steps beyond clean. I don't look down in a workshop and curl my toes because in all the hustle and bustle of conference shopping I've forgotten to cut my toenails! LOL

I have the right color hair. A purse to match every outfit. Jewelery that sometimes caues passersby to say, Hey, nice necklace.

And that leaves me relaxed enough that I can enjoy the conference. Meet other writers. Have fun with my editors.

So that's what I'll be doing next week. A blog will pop up...I'll probably write it on Sunday. But while most of you read it I'll be have the most fun week in a romance writer's year!

Hope this Wednesday finds you comfy and happy...and reading!

susan

Prepping for RWA Nationals

2011-06-20T03:29:00.002-04:00

Everybody who's ever attended a big conference knows that the week before is a lost cause for work. Why?

One word. Shopping.

Second word. Pitching.

And now I'm going to throw a third word at you. Schedule.

I confess to having shopped last week. I couldn't focus to write so I knew I had to get out there and buy some clothes.

I had 3 lovely dresses to wear during the day. But I had nothing for the booksigning...or evenings. (Or traveling to and from the conference itself.)

Lots of us forget that we won't want to wear the dress we've been wearing all day in the evening and they won't let us in the bar in our pj's. So bring capris and a T. Or jeans and a cute top. Or bring capris and jeans because you're going to want to be in the bar (or relaxing with friends) on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings.

Pitching is a whole different matter. I'm not pitching this year. Actually I haven't pitched for many, many years. But lots of my friends do. So, shrink your story into one paragraph.

Who is the hero and what does he want?
Who is the heroine and what does she want?
Why is this trouble?
How do they grow (what do they learn) to have a happy ending.

Write that out a couple of different ways. Find a way to make your one paragraph really interesting, or fun, or dynamic so the editor or agent can't resist it.

Practice it enough that you're enthusiastic when you talk about it. Let your passion for the story show through. (I once had an editor ask for a proposal based simply on the fact that she said I glowed when I talked about the series.) Passion is important!

Schedule?

Do it now. Do not wait until you are in your room at Nationals, trying to figure out where you're going and who you'd like to eat breakfast with.

Get the workshop and event schedule off the RWA site. Figure out which workshops you want to attend. Figure out what your free time spots are. Email your pals now and ask them to meet you in the banquet/ball rooms for the lunches. Email the people you want to see for breakfast and dinner NOW. DO NOT WAIT. They will be booked.

If you don't have friends, don't sweat it. There will be plenty of people networking. They will be glad to take the empty seat beside you at the table at lunch. Or if you chit chat with someone at a workshop and discover you have a lot in common, ask if they'd like to eat dinner with you. DO NOT BE SHY. (LOL) Lots of people are looking for someone to eat with or spend the evening with. If you share the same intersts and think you'd enjoy their company for dinner...ask.

Being anal retentive, I will be making a spreadsheet of my breakfasts, lunches, dinners, meetings, parties, and the workshops I want to attend. You might not have to go that far, but you do want to have a list.

So shop -- not just with days' events in mind, but also evenings. (And don't forget clothes for travel...remember everybody will be standing in the hotel lobby when you arrive. You do not want to look like a schleb.)

Write a one-paragraph pitch. Practice it. But make sure your delivery demonstrates your passion for the story.

Call your friends now to set up breakfasts, lunches and dinners. Make a schedule.

And one more thing...Go to the workshop I'm doing with Hotcakes Pals, Deb Mullins and Jenna Kernan. We're giving away 3 great gift cards. One to Starbucks. One to Staples. And one to a bookstore. (Shame on me. I can't remember which bookstore!)

If you see ME in the hall...say hello!

susan

Maybe you need a vacation...

2011-06-13T04:51:00.002-04:00

Or at least a rest!

Last week, we were talking about reasons for the inability to write that sometimes hits us. I mentioned that the week before I'd written 30 pages, but I hated them and didn't know why. My husband had retired that week, so we packed up the SUV and headed for his sister's house for a little R&R and to celebrate his retirement.

Anyway, if you read that week's blog you know that I left my suck-o pages behind because, frankly, I could not figure out what was wrong with them. But after a day of golfing and dinner out, I slept like a baby and dreamed that I'd left out some information. What I had as chapter 2 needed to be chapter 3...and the new chapter 2 should contain the info I'd left out.

I woke up, set up my laptop and wrote out the new chapter and it worked.

Truthfully, I wasn't surprised that a little bit of rest awakened my subconscious and gave me the answer as easy as pie.

Writers are some of the hardest working people I know. Most of us have day jobs before we're published and even after we're published to keep insurance! So we're working 8 hours a day, taking care of kids/a household, then writing for the hours before bedtime. Or, maybe you're getting up at four so you can write until six...and then go to work.

I did that for at least fifteen years. And I noticed 2 things. I was much thinner =:) and it took me longer to write a book.

We could suggest the extra weeks needed for each book was the result of having limited time to write. But I think there was another buggaboo at play. No rest. No time off. I worked sixteen hours a day, seven days a week.

Everybody needs a rest. Even God commanded (not suggested) that we take one day a week off. Yet most of us who are writing and working and raising kids, don't feel we have that luxury.

But is it really a luxury? If taking a day off every now and again refills your creative well, maybe it's not so much of a luxury as we think.

Maybe it really is a necessity.

And maybe you should set aside a day to rest. Play with your kids (or your dog), go out to dinner with your DH (or DW), sit by a pool, go shopping (even if it's just window shopping), see a movie.

Rest. Rest your brain. Refill the well.

susan

PS...Almost forgot! Thanks to those of you who are buying A BABY ON THE RANCH. [My bank thanks you too.] It's pure joy to see any book do well, but this book is extremely special to me. It's one of my all-time favorites. To see it doing well...well, it makes my heart smile.

And thanks, too, to those wonderful people who have read the book and emailed to tell me they loved it. I <3 you!

At home, writing four hours every morning and teaching or writing workshops most afternoons, I have to tell you, it can sometimes feel that I write to a great void. So when you email to tell me you loved the book ... you more than make me :).

Thanks bunches!

susan

Getting yourself to work

2011-06-06T03:48:00.006-04:00

Okay, we talked about all the ooie, gooie, nice stuff. The positive side of getting yourself to work. We learned ways to get beyond our fears. Then we used some of those same tricks to drive us in a positive way. Visions not just to get beyond fears, but visions to motivate us.

But what if you're still not doing as well as you'd hoped? What if you're still sitting at your desk, staring at a blank piece of paper.

This blog is going to get a little more down and dirty with some unhappy truths. But, swallow hard and suck it up. Sometimes we need to hear these things.

Reasons you're having trouble writing...

1. You're not ready to write the book you're working on.

Sometimes when we can't think of what to write next, it's an indicator that we don't know our book well enough. I'm not saying that you need a scene by scene outline. Sometimes that takes all the fun out of writing.

What I am saying is that you at least need to know who your characters are, what they want and why they don't have it.

You also need to know why the main characters are in conflict with each other.

If you sit down to write with a vague sense that you're going to write a single title paranormal about shape shifters and the woman who doesn't know she's their queen...you only have a bit of the story. Maybe enough to get three chapters, but not enough to drive you for an entire book.

So step away from the computer. Get a notebook and pen. Ask yourself who these people are, what they want, why they don't have it...and why they are in conflict with the antagonist (or hero...if this is a romance).

2. If you're having trouble writing...have you studied enough?

When I first began speaking at conferences, a line that always found its way into all my workshops was...Everybody likes to believe their talent will carry them through, after five years (or 8 or 20 or 25) I've learned that knowing how to write works better.

It's true. There are people out there like Donald Maass, Michael Hague, Debra Dixon, Dwight Swain and Jack Bickham...who are master teachers. They've written books and give workshops that teach the basics and beyond. If you don't read their books or take their classes, you won't just struggle; you'll probably find yourself falling behind the people who have read their books.

Online classes are a fabulous tool. I teach four a year. (Only 4 because I also have books to write.) I have one coming up in August, JOURNEY STEPS (which is about plotting) and one in October PREPPING FOR NANO. (You can get information in the coming attractions section of susanmeier.com)

People who teach love to share the wealth. Sure, you'll see some teachers pop up who are only teaching to get their name out so their next book sells. And if you've gone to some of their workshops, you've probably come away disappointed and maybe even disillusioned about online workshops.

Don't let a few bad workshops turn you off from one of your greatest writing tools.

There are lots of us who teach regularly. Lots of us who generously share the true wealth. If you find a workshop that interests you, go to the teacher's website. If he or she only seems to teach when they have a book out, that should be a red flag. Also, those of us who love to teach can't help teaching! So there will be free stuff on our websites. I have 2 or 3 workshops on this site and will soon have articles posting. (I don't yet have the articles button connected! I will though. I swear. Writing frequently gets in the way of that! LOL!!!)

Anyway, read the how tos from the really smart people. Dixon, Maass, Swain, Bickham.

Then find the online workshops from people like me who are in the trenches. I know how to write because I write. Especially romance. If you're looking for some real life, every day tricks and tips, I'm your gal.

Put the time in. Do the work. And you will cut down on your "staring at the page" time considerably.

3. Maybe you can't write today because what you think should happen next isn't what should happen next?

Hum. Think that one through. LOL.

Last week, I was having the devil's time with my new proposal. I "wrote" 30 pages, but I wouldn't have sent them to anybody. My husband and I went to his sister's for the weekend and I tell you no lie, I dreamed that what I had as chapter 2 needed to be chapter 3 because something important had been left out...and that should be chapter 2. I got out of bed, set up my laptop, wrote what my dream told me should have been chapter 2 and voila...it worked.

If something won't come. There is frequently a reason. In my case, I'd missed some important stuff that needed to go in. But lots of times I'm trying to get a character to behave out of character. Or I'm trying to put in a scene I like because I like it but it doesn't enhance the story. So the writing will be slow, like walking in knee-deep oatmeal. And we all know that's just bad and it's going to result in a bad book.

So what do you do?

Again, get a notepad and pen, sit down in a room that isn't your office and start doodling. Why isn't this working? What should fit here? What's the point of the next scene? What's the point of the story? Just ask yourself a bunch of questions until you find yourself answering honestly and pretty soon you'll have your next scene.

4. Maybe you can't write because you're just not thinking creatively enough.

That happens. You're working diligently, maybe too diligently, and your brain dries up. Or fries.

You think, okay next scene has to show the hero seeing the heroine in a different light. And you sit down and write something totally trite. Because your brain is empty.

FILL IT UP AGAIN.

How? List of 20. If you know what your scene should be ... Hero needs to begin seeing the heroine in a different light...then get a piece of paper. Number from 1 to 20. Write the question... WHAT ARE 20 WAYS THE HERO CAN SEE THE HEROINE IN A DIFFERENT LIGHT? and start listing answers.

The first few will be trite. Because your brain is tired. The next few will be silly because your brain is harrassing you. But then it will click in and you will start getting better answers. Go with that. Go the whole way to #20. Why? Because even if you get a great answer at #13 (which I always do) if you keep going you will get a fantastic answer at #16 or 18 or 20. And you want fantastic.

Why? Not just to give yourself a better scene, but also to totally wake up your brain so that when you write that scene, it will be magic.

So there you have it. 4 reasons you might be facing a blank page right now and how to get past them.

Even though I was a bit tough today, you still love me, right? Of course, you do. So, if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to post them in the comments section.

susan

Oh, and in case you're wondering, I still read how tos and take classes. You can never know too much and you also never know when someone's information can take you to the next level!

And, by the way...A BABY ON THE RANCH comes out this week! Yay! (Go buy it! :) Seriously, I have a mortgage...some day I'll post about how that mortgage drives me to write!)

WINNER!

2011-05-31T08:08:00.002-04:00

Sabrina Shields is the winner of the BABIES IN THE BOARDROOM series. Sabrina please contact me through susanmeier.com with your addy.

Congrats, Sabrina!

Using our vision to drive us

2011-05-30T03:40:00.004-04:00

Last week, we talked about fear of success and discussed a few ways to talk yourself around or through that. Because, really, most of this stuff that keeps you from achieving your goals is in your head.

We subconsciously fear being successful because we hate crowds and we're afraid of having to speak in public...even at booksignings. Or we fear failure because we don't want our missteps to become public knowledge. Or we fear success because we fear how our parents, friends or even spouses will react.

We now know there are ways around those fears. First, all of our missteps don't have to be public. We can keep our failures to ourselves. There is no need to post every rejection on Facebook, Twitter or even your own website.

Second, success can also be managed so that we don't have to face the horrible things we imagine at the other end of the rainbow. If you don't like to speak in public, you don't have to. If you fear your mom won't like your sex scenes...ask her. Or write something without sex. Or use a fake name.

Through those lessons on fear of success and fear of failure I wondered if anybody picked up on one really interesting thing ... If you can talk yourself out of your fears, can you talk yourself INTO good habits?

Sure.

I've always said that "knowing yourself" is any person's greatest asset. And once you think all this stuff through, you will begin to see that the very same tools you use to get yourself out of trouble can be used in more positive, constructive ways.

What do I mean by that? Well, to talk yourself out of fear of failure or fear of success, you used pictures/images and thoughts to show yourself a different "vision" of your future. That vision comforted you. If you hated public speaking, you simply told yourself that you didn't have to speak publicly after your book was published. And intentionally or not I'm guessing a picture popped into your head. That picture was you one, two or five years from now after your book was published. You saw yourself successful...maybe in a suit, maybe on a beach, maybe in a limo...depending upon what your vision of "success" is...and you knew you'd gotten there without speaking publicly.

You might have been at ease, leaning back on the limo seat, thinking, wow, I made it without having to speak publicly. And you were happy. And you got a warm, fuzzy feeling from the vision.

Because that's what our brains do. We don't think...I'm going to become successful without public speaking...and have only dead air or black space in our brains. Nope. Your brain creates a picture of what success without public speaking looks like. I'll bet some of you were even wearing diamonds, drinking champagne, laughing with friends...because our brains like to be detailed. They root around and find the things that mean success to us and they use them.

So why can't we use them too? Why do we have to wait until we have a problem to create a nice vision...a vision that will drive us?

We don't. Vision isn't a merely a problem-solving trick. It can be (and should be) a way to motivate yourself.

So today I want you to think about what success looks like. Are you fat or thin? Are you at your desk? On a beach (because you can afford great vacations now)? At a Broadway play? Is your hair nice or scruffy ... Is there champagne involved?

Your vision can go one of two ways. You can either picture yourself at your desk. Maybe typing the words The End. Maybe you're bent forward, creating a really wonderful scene. Something you know is going to touch readers.

Now, feel what that feels like. Put the picture in your head. You. At your desk. Leaning forward. Concentrating as you create a pivotal scene for your book. Feel the lightness of your heart. The sense of anticipation in your soul, as you know you are nailing this. Maybe because you have great gifts from God. Maybe because you've studied and you now know a lot about nailing great scenes. Maybe because of a combination of the two. Talent and study.

Either way, you are nailing this!

Now, fast forward a few months. You are at a party. Maybe at RWA Nationals. Maybe at a smaller conference. You meet your dream agent/editor. She strolls over. She's heard about your new book. You're a bit surprised. She pulls a card from her jacket pocket. You know, if you're ever unagented (or if you're not happy with your current publisher) she'd like to hear from you.

Now...What does THAT feel like? Does your heart race? Are you stunned. Does that surprise turn to happiness, even joy? Have you made it, or what!!!

Now...imagine that you are in your favorite department store...or a department store that you typically don't shop in because it's too expensive. And you find the perfect dress/pants/suit/blender/refrigerator/purse/necklace. Something you typically couldn't afford...but suddenly you can. YOU CAN. You have some money.

Or maybe you're at your favorite beach. You are in the GOOD hotel. The one you always drive by and say someday we're going to stay there. Well someday is here. You can afford it.

What does that feel like? Is your stomach light? Your chest bubbly? Are you swimming in warm, fuzzy delight?

Of course, you are! At first you might have a sense of wonder or disbelief...but work through that. Stay in the vision until you believe it. Until you know what it feels like to do what you want, to be successful, to reap the rewards.

Now...

Suck in a breath. Come back to today. How do you feel about writing now? Do you want to work? I'll bet you do. I'll bet you are eager. Because you've just reminded yourself of the rewards that await you if you work hard.

If you study, you will have days when you sit at the desk, focused intently...knowing you're writing a great scene. Knowing people are going to love it. Your sense of accomplishment will be a physical thing you feel. So imagine it now. Use it to get yourself to study those lessons you need to study to become the great writer you need to be.

If you study and work hard, someday you will be at a conference, and editors and agents will congratulate you and they will give you their cards.

Imagine that. Feel what that would feel like.

Then use it to get yourself to sit down and write!

If you study and work hard, you will sell. You will get some cash. And you will take great vacations and be able to afford things otherwise out of reach.

Don't just get the images in your head. Get them in your tummy, your chest. FEEL the emotions you would get if you did the work...and, if you do, doing the work doesn't just become possible, typically it becomes easy.

Make sense?

Learn to fast forward, imagine your life, and use the emotions to drive you!

susan

By the way, if you have questions...you can post them in the comments section. Or even if you just want to discuss this more fully, I'm here. Post in the comments section.

Why Do You Procrastinate?Fear of Success

2011-05-23T03:49:00.001-04:00

Last week we talked a bit about fear of failure. I suggested that fear of failure might be the reason you don't do the things you need to do to achieve your goals.

I said this was easy to fix simply by not telling anyone what you were doing...keeping your goals private, so that if you do fail, and you will, everybody fails a time or two before they finally find their way, there will be no public flogging. No recimination. Only you will know and you will be smart enough to pick yourself up and get back to work (I'm just adding that part today.)

So what if your problem isn't fear of failure? What if you're afraid of success?

Oy, yoy, yoy...as my Baba used to say. Afraid of success? Now, that's a problem.

It sure is. Because that means you believe something bad will happen if you become successful.

Really?

Yes.

Does that mean you believe there will be nuclear war? Maybe. More likely, though, you think something more awful, more personal will happen....like your husband will be upset that you're more successful than he is. Or your mom will be embarrassed by the love scenes in your book. Or your kids will wear paper bags over their heads to school because their mom had the audacity to get interviewed by the local paper. Or your friends will be jealous. Or your writer's group friends/critique group will be upset that you've passed them by and they will dump you.

Wow. No wonder you procrastinate. I wouldn't want to face any of that either...Or did I already face all that?

I did.

Well, not all of it, but I have friends who did. And you know what? They not only survived, they thrived.

But lots of that stuff is also just stuff. It's just stuff your subconscious tells you because IT'S afraid of success. You're not. You want the money. You want the accolades. You want to be interviewed by the local paper.

So how do you handle fear of success?

First of all, you have to figure out which things really do apply to you and you have to counteract them or work through them. Do you really believe your mom will be embarrassed by the love scenes in your books? Then fix that. Either write books with no love scenes (as I do) so your mom doesn't have to be embarrassed. Or talk to your mom and ask her. She may surprise you. Or take a pen name so none of your mom's friends have to know it's you who's writing the hot love scenes they're probably reading! LOL

No matter which of the fear of success things you suffer from...there's a way around it or through it.

The trick is figuring out your own buggaboo. Do you hate the thought of book signings? Tell yourself you won't do them.

Afraid of PR...we all are!...then pick only the things you can handle. I have two great advertising people from local papers who create my ads. I don't have to. I love to speak to writers groups, so I do that. But I'm not wild about talking about my books one-on-one, so I avoid those situations.

There is no list of mandatory PR things. You can pick and choose!

Like Facebook? Do it. Hate Facebook? Don't do it.

The trick is (again!) know yourself. Do what works for you and let the rest alone.

If you tell yourself that you're going to have to become as public as Lady Gaga to be successful and you're an introvert...you will shy away from the writing that you love. But if you tell yourself that you will not force yourself to wear your underwear on the outside and prace around at booksignings...you will do less exciting, less public PR...chances are you will write.

So what's the bottom line? Don't let things that are going to happen in the future control you. By the time your book comes out, all PR might be done by monkeys in little red suits. If you worry about things that won't happen for two years, you only stop yourself.

If you tell yourself you will cross those PR bridges, mom fears, and child disownment, when they come...and let yourself relax, you will write.

And that's what you want to do...write!

susan

Why Do You Procrastinate? Again...

2011-05-16T03:40:00.001-04:00

Last week, we talked a bit about being overbusy and procrastinating...looking at our schedules to find a place where we could find a block of time to do our work.

If you did the assignment of looking at your schedule and finding your block of time...give yourself a round of applause.

If not, maybe your procrastination problem isn't finding time. Maybe you have fear success or fear of failure.

Most of you who read this blog are writers. You THINK you want to be published. But every time you sit down to write....oh, my...you are bombarded by thoughts like...Really? You think you can compete with the likes of Nora Roberts? Seriously? You think your book is going to be that good?

Or things like...change that opening...it's not good. Or, go back to the beginning and start over. Don't move forward.

Or things like...this book/story/article isn't working. Stop this and go work on another idea.

Things things are not your internal editor. Nope. They are fear of failure/fear of success nudges that you are getting from your subconscious.

You can't fight them with opposing comments...Well, you could. You could say, Yes I am good enough...Now get lost subconscious. I want to write this book...and for some of you that would be enough.

But for some of you it won't be. It might work for one day then you'll find yourself fighting those doubt demons again.

You guys have to look deeper. You have to figure out why you fear success or failure so much that you let your subconscious drive your insane.

So look deeper. Why do you fear success? Why do you fear failure?

Most of us can say, well, duh. I don't want to put myself out there and then be embarrassed.

So don't put yourself out there. Don't tell anybody that you're working on a book. Let it be your own special project. A secret, like a lover that you race to at the end of a long day or first thing in the morning. Don't share. Then, if you fall flat on your face, no one will know. It's sort of like when you wear a thong for the first time...you don't tell anybody. You just do it.

Your writing should be that private. Until you sell your first book. Then you are allowed to stand on the rooftop of your choice and shout.

So that's fear of failure. Don't set a benchmark. Don't tell anyone what you're doing. Keep your work a secret and work on it for your own pleasure until you get it right...

Fear of success is a little more complicated... We'll look at that next week.

susan

And don't forget SECOND CHANCE BABY! Pick up a copy and help feed my cats...and pay my mortgage. LOL (Actually, now that I think about it that's not a joke.)

Why Do You Procrastinate?

2011-05-09T03:26:00.003-04:00

Right now I'll bet you're gasping, saying, How does she know I procrastinate? Because everybody does. If there are times you find it difficult to do your work, be comforted in the knowledge that everybody procrastinates sometime.

Enjoy that warm, fuzzy feeling of being normal, then shake yourself out and ask yourself if you want to be normal.

I don't. Anybody who knows me well is now laughing. I don't do normal. Just ask my cats -- or my kids.

The thing is we're all different. We've all been given different gifts and talents. The question is...do you want to be the same as everybody else, or do you want to be the person you were made to be? Do you want to use the gifts God gave you?

Of course you do.

So why don't you?

Well, you could be overbooked and busy. Especially if you're still in those childrearing years. Oh Lord. I think back on those years and wonder how I surived. It's a miracle that it was in those years that I got published. But, there's an old saying...if you want something done, give it to a busy person!

Why? Because we're more organized. But we also know that to get anything worthwhile done, we have to sacrifice.

Sacrifice isn't a very popular word these days. We're more like that song...I want it all. I want it all...and I want it now! LOL

But the truth is sacrifice is a lot easier than you think. In the 1980's and 90's when I was raising kids and writing books and working full time, I rarely watched TV.

Now, think this through...do YOU remember the television from the 1980's or 90's. Do you genuinely think I missed anything? LOL

And if I did...did I catch up with most programs in reruns in the 2000's? Yep. Yep. I did.

So what did I lose? Even if I never caught up...did I lose anything?

Not really.

If you look at your schedule, you will find something like television that you can "give up." There's always something that you can back away from...and when you back away, you will find time for your special project.

So this week, spend some time seriously looking at the things you do every day...and I think you'll find the time you need for those things you need to do to feed your soul.

susan

Hey, if you bought a copy of SECOND CHANCE BABY, thanks! If not...get out there and help me make a living. :P

You'll want to be all caught up when book #3, A BABY ON THE RANCH comes out in June!

Linking Emotion

2011-05-02T05:21:00.002-04:00

Last week, we talked a bit about using buzz words to get yourself to work. In the third example I gave, I something like said, "If you like the sense of accomplishment you get AFTER you've done your days work, remind yourself of what that sense of accomplishment feels like."

I called that linking emotion. It's a trick I learned listening to such motivational greats as Tony Robbins and Brian Tracy.

Simply put, the trick is to remind yourself of how you will feel AFTER you are done with the day's work...or the project that you're procrastinating about.

If you cannot get yourself to work, linking in to how you will feel if you get it done is a fabulous way to get yourself working.

For instance, will you feel proud that you got yourself to work? If so, close your eyes and remember what it feels like to be proud of yourself. Soak yourself in that emotion for a good minute or two. Get yourself to the place where you want to feel that pride so much that you're willing to sit down in front of the computer and tackle the project/job that's bedeviling you.

There's another way to link to emotion that Tony Robbins calls the Rocking Chair tecnhique. I go through this at length in the goal setting workshop in the WORKSHOPS section of the website.

Simply put, you close your eyes and visualize yourself 5, 10 and 15 years from now if you CAN'T or DON'T get yourself to do your work. Let yourself FEEL all the emotions of that failure. What terrible things will happen to you if you don't sit down and do this work? Will you set off a chain reaction that ultimately results in total failure? Yikes! Feel those emotions. Feel the catch in your chest and the rumble of hunger in your belly when you can't make enough money to afford food!

That's right. Go to the wall. Imagine the worst thing possible if you don't do this work today? Will you not get your book done? Lose your contract? Never get a contract? Be stuck in your lousy day job for TWENTY MORE YEARS? Or, worse, have to go back to work, but you can't find a job in your profession so you're stuck at Sheetz, saying welcome to sheetz, pump #3 is on.

Or what if you never make money again? What if you're homeless? What if your husband leaves you and your kids want no part of you?

What if?

Go to the wall! Feel the pain! Make it real!

Then open your eyes, shake yourself out, and close your eyes again to visualize the chain reaction of events that will happen if you DO GET YOURSELF TO DO THE WORK. Will you make your editor happy? Get a sale? Get a new contract? Have a career -- in the ten-years-from-now segment? Have a life? Maybe a savings account or a new home from the money you've made? How about a beach house or cabin in the woods? The car you've always wanted? A country club membership?

What good and wonderful things will you set into motion...if you can get yourself to do today's work?

Probably lots.

After you've done that technique, you should be "linked" to the emotions of both the failure and the success of doing or not doing the day's work. You should be eager to get done whatever needs to be done today.

So that's linking to emotion. Very cool, huh?

You can learn how to press your own buttons so that you don't have to be at the mercy of your emotions or you fears.

If you want more on this, check out Tony Robbins' book AWAKEN THE GIANT WITHIN or his 30-Days to Personal Power program.

Happy Monday!

susan meier

PS SECOND CHANCE BABY releases this week! It's the second in the BABIES IN THE BOARDROOM series. I'm very proud of this series, but also I'm grateful that so many of you bought book 1! I hope you'll like book 2!

Time Management ... How You Say It

2011-04-25T05:10:00.002-04:00

This morning I got up knowing I had to write sixteen pages. I slogged down to the kitchen, made coffee, watched the news, played with the cat. Obviously, avoiding my work. LOL

So I sat down to write a time management blog and read over last week's blog on goals...(still procrastinating) and it hit me. If I say, "I have to write sixteen pages today..." I procrastinate. If I say, "My goal is to write sixteen pages today..." I want to sit down and write those pages to accomplish the goal.

Interesting.

I've been studying things like this for years and I've long recognized that sometimes how you say something is as important as what you say.

For instance, if you say writing is hard, you will probably avoid your computer all day (except to read email). But if you say, I enjoy the challenge of writing a good scene and today I have a doozie of a challenge ahead of me...you'll be more apt to go to your office to accept the challenge.

At least I will. Because I've clicked in with something in my psyche. It's almost like I've turned the key of my internal engine. I now WANT to work becuase I like a challenge.

I think everybody has different buzz words, different things that motivate them. I love to be challenged. Maybe you don't. Maybe you like the excitement of a new scene or the sense of accomplishment when you're done.

Whatever rings your bell...hone in on it. Figure out the words that motivate you and use them. If you like a challenge, call your day a challenge. If you like excitement, call the day's work exciting. If you like a sense of accomplishment...remember that you don't get that sense unless or until you have an accomplishment.

That actually takes us a a great time management tip called linking emotion. But that's next week's post!

Today, figure out your buzz words. Figure out what makes you want to work and use those words to motivate yourself. Because the best time management occurs when you actually get to work.

So motivate yourself!

Happy Monday...

susan

PS Thanks for the fabulous sales on THE BABY PROJECT! If you didn't get your copy, you can still order it on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and at eHarlequin...and don't forget Kindle. I just got one for my birthday and spent an hour at Starbucks (where they have wifi) loading it with some great books. I will have plenty to read forever! LOL

Also, the prologue for SECOND CHANCE BABY is "up" in the What Came Before Section! New ezine is also available with this months craft lesson, Lesson 3 of THE POWER OF QUESTIONS. It's a great lesson! So click on the ezine link!

Monday again...it must be time management tip day!

2011-04-18T05:06:00.002-04:00

I had a really bad week last week. And I have a book due in a little over a week, so today's time management tip is going to be simple.

Set goals.

Goals? Really? How is that a time management tip?

Close your eyes. Stop and think about how many times you did something pointless last week...how many times you wasted time. I'm going to guess lots.

My theory is that people don't waste time because they enjoy tossing their life into the trash bin one hour or one day at a time. We waste time because nothing pressing is nudging us forward.

Goals will nudge you. Goals will also force you to organize. They will guide you and direct you in creating to do lists. They will force you to look at your days, weeks and months and find spaces of time that you can use to accomplish the wonderful thing -- goal -- that's driving you.

So...if you don't have goals...daily goals, weekly goals, monthly goals, one-year and five-year goals...set some.

If you don't know how...click over to my website page. There's a nice little Goal Setting workshop.

Take charge of your life, instead of letting it run roughshod over you!

Happy Monday!

susan

PS...THE BABY PROJECT has been released! If you've read the book and you're intersted in book 2 of the Babies in the Boardroom series, SECOND CHANCE BABY, there's a prologue up on my website. It's in the WHAT CAME BEFORE section. It's a wonderful little scene that didn't make its way into the book, but gives you a great snap shot of Nick Andreas!

Not panicking is my favorite time management trick

2011-04-11T17:45:00.002-04:00

This morning I woke up to a phone call from my sister who told me one of my favorite uncles died. A little later, I learned that the Harlequin Romance line is getting a new senior editor. On the news, a few minutes ago, the weatherman told us a cold front is about to slam into our warm front (which we were coming to love) and the result could be thunderstorms with possible 80 mph winds.

Through it all, I paid the month's bills, polished fifty pages and taught an online class.

That probably doesn't sound like much of a time management trick, except...flip it. What if I'd gotten all that not-so-good news and panicked?

What if I'd let it all get to me and hadn't gotten anything done...I'd be 50 pages behind tomorrow and that would just ... well, suck.

My friend, Karen Rose Smith (who writes for Special Edition) has a saying...Control the things you can control.

Sometimes when life really isn't treating you kindly, the best thing to do really is sit down and get your work done. Not panic. Not stress out. But control the thing you can control...your work.

Keep pace. Don't fall behind. And procrastination won't whisper in your ear that you're so far behind you might as well not even try.

Ah...Now, I'm pushing a few buttons, aren't I?

Absolutely. How many of us are familiar with that voice that tells us we might as well grab a bag of Doritos and watch TV because we're so far behind we'll never catch up? Probably most of us.

Why? Because most of us can keep going until we fall behind. Then that time thief procrastination just kills us...because we dispair of ever catching up, we fall even further behind.

So, don't panic. Control the things you can control. When something bad happens, and you're tempted to step away from your desk for a few hours of pacing and wringing your hands...don't.

Control the things you can control. Do your daily page count. Wash the dishes. Make dinner.

You'll be glad you did.

Happy Monday.

susan

PS I even accidentally put my underpants on inside out, which according to the old ladies who played bingo back when I was one of the ticket sellers (about 40 years ago!), is a good luck thing. Put your panties on inside out (accidentally, not deliberately) and keep them on inside out and you will have good luck all day.

Didn't work.

Gamblers are crazy people.

Vision

2011-04-02T10:46:00.001-04:00

This was supposed to go up last Monday...Since I missed it, I intended to post it next Monday...but today I decided to compromise. We'll post it on Saturday!

Okay...We hit the highlights of Motivation last week, talking about how we all need to be motivated to get anything done.

But another powerful force is vision.

How do you see yourself? Or maybe better asked...Who do you see yourself to be?

Are you a mom first, career woman second? Are you an empty-nester, looking for new breath of life for the second half of your life? Are you a lawyer? And nothing else?

I ask that because people who define themselves by their careers frequenly have shallow personal lives. (Ouch! That's not good!)

Conversely, people who describe themselves as a mom first might find themselves mothering their co-workers. (Equally not good, if you work in an environment where co-workers don't want to be mothered!)

You must have a balanced vision of who you are.

I'm a wife and mom, writer, sister, friend, teacher. I put writer third because I have to make a living. That has to have a high priority, but it really shouldn't come before wife and mom.

Still, there's more to vision than that. When I close my eyes and see myself this summer, I see me at the beach. Why? Because I love the beach, but also because I know we cannot afford a beach house unless I get my tail busy and write!

So that little 'ol vision is a good one to get me to sit down on the chair and write. I loves me some beach time in the summer. But I don't get it if I don't work.

But there's vision beyond that. Some times you have to create a picture in your head of who you would be ideally. If your life were perfect, what would it look like?

I see myself in a cherrywood kitchen, dressed in a suit, reviewing notes, about to go to a conference to be a keynote speaker.

But I don't stop there.

I see myself getting on the plane...sometimes with my husband traveling with me. Sometimes with my husband and son traveling with me. I see us laughing at the airport and on the plane. I see us arriving at a cool hotel, everybody eager to either get to the pool or go sightseeing.

Then I see myself giving a really wonderful keynote speech. In that speech I talk about what it takes to be a successful self-employed person. I talk about budgeting. I talk about not hyperventilating when the big offer, or you've-made-the-NY Times-list call comes. I talk about dedication to wonderful, powerful writing. I talk about devotion to really great characters. I talk about loving and appreciating the readers and never shortchanging them.

And when I run that vision in my head several things happen in my heart. Yep. My heart. First, I do renew my dedication to my readers. Then I feel really good about the fact that my husband and son support me...because they do. Then I really, really, really WANT to write.

That vision energizes me. That vision renews my spirit. And that's why it's scripted the way it is. That vision is designed to remind myself of my duties and responsibilities, even as it shows me some rewards.

But more than that, it reminds me of what is possible -- if I work hard, if I remember who I really am, what I really want to accomplish.

That's the power of vision.

So if you have a little spare time this morning, close your eyes, picture a perfect day, picture yourself being the person you really want to be. Don't forget your family. But if your vision only focuses on family, don't forget your career.

You are not just a mom/dad, wife/husband, doctor, lawyer, writer, or secretary. You are a full person. You should be balanced. Your vision should reflect that.

And trust me, if it does, if you can create a vision that emcompasses who you are...you will be able to look at the vision when you're not quite as eager to be a writer (or mom, dad, sister, secretary, writer, doctor) and your vision should encourage you!

susan

Motivation

2011-03-21T13:53:00.000-04:00

Lesson one of the 10-Minute Solution workshop on my website talks about motivation.

I don't think any of us realize how much motivation drives our lives. I laughingly use the example of my weight (and having no motivation to lose so I stay fat) but I'm only joking a little.

I met the editor who bought my first book at a conference. After a short conversation in the hotel lobby, (not an editor appointment) she asked to see my next book.

I raced home from the conference, soooo ready to write that book because I had someone truly willing to look at it.

But what about all those other writers who get requests for manuscripts at conferences? Why don't they race home, finish the book, get it in the mail?

Motivation again.

You see, I was on my "last chance" as a writer. I genuinely believed if that book didn't sell then I wasn't destined to be an author. So with that demon driving me I didn't just race to get the book done for her, I also gave it my best, my all...because if this truly was my shot I was taking it.

If you really, really want to do something you will do it. You will find a way. You will slay the dragons and squeeze out the minutes.

But that's another problem with time management, isn't it? There are some things for which we would slay a dragon but minutes aren't enough...Or are they.

Have you ever tried working on a project in ten minute increments that you could squeeze in throughout the day only to discover you'd acutally accomplished a lot?

So I guess today's time management thought is two fold. Figure out what you really want to do is life and you will motivated to accomplish it. And, second, if you can't seem to find a big bushel of time to accomplish your goals, try looking for little ten minute bites!

susan

Retired with Children

2011-03-16T04:30:00.004-04:00

Do I look like Al Bundy? Probably not...or maybe I should say, Please...I hope not!

But this week I began to understand how poor Al felt about the whole dealing-with-a-situation-he-hadn't-signed-up-for thing.

When my husband and I decided to have three kids in four years, we were only thinking diapers and formula. We forgot about Little League games being at the same time on opposite ends of town. We forgot about parent/teacher conferences, never-ending snacks, dual proms. Heck, let's just cut to the real money chase. We forgot about college!

There's nothing like the arrogance of the ignorant! LOL

Fast forward lots of years and we survived. What got us through most of those years was knowing the end was in sight. We made a pledge to stick together, no matter what the issue. We knew that if we divided they would conquer. After all, they had us beaten in numbers. So we stuck together. We hung tight, all the while whispering in bed that someday soon they would graduate and move away.

That didn't mean we didn't love them. Exactly the opposite. It was because we adored them that we wanted them to fly the nest, make something of themselves, experiment, try, fail, succeed. Child rearing is hard work and the mark of success is independent children.

Unfortunately, nobody explained any of this to the economy!

My poor daughter would kill to be able to afford her own apartment...well, maybe not kill but you catch my drift. Who wants to live with her overly creative mom who sometimes sings her conversations because she gets a song stuck in her head? Or a dad who still likes to jump out from behind doors and scare her the way he did when she was thirteen and loved horror movies?

I sometimes think our situation would be a fantastic sit-com. Except when I really think it through my daughter would be the normal one and my husband and I would be the crazies.

But, oddly, there's a part of me that likes that. I think Kathy Bates would make a really great me. She could play me the same way she plays Harriet in Harry's Law on NBC on Monday nights.

And Hulk Hogan could be my husband. (Except my husband is unapologetically bald. Which I think is sexy...Another reason my daughter would dig a tunnel under her bedroom if she could.)

Have I scared you yet? Taking that cold, hard look at my daughter's situation I've actually scared myself. Kathy Bates and Hulk Hogan? Good Lord, it's a wonder she doesn't have post traumatic stress disorder! Or maybe she will if the economy ever turns around enough that she can move out!

So maybe we'll behave. Well, I'll behave. I can't speak for Hulk. He is his own guy.

susan

What to Do When Life Surprises You

2011-03-14T12:37:00.000-04:00

I'm a little late coming to the blogging party today. Why? Well, it's good news for a change. On Friday morning I was asked to participate in a continuity series for Harlequin Romance.

This is really good, you say. Why would this affect my Monday morning ritual?

A couple of reasons. First, I'm a person who lives and dies by routine. I like to be at my desk by a certain time of day. I like to first read emails, then twitter, then get started on that morning's projects. Having a new project thrown into the mix doesn't throw me for a tizzy, but I have to get it firmly into the schedule and off my brain before I can be creative.

So to get it off my brain, I had to add it to the schedule...squeeze it in actually. Using a crowbar and a Swiss army knife, I managed to edge the final book of my current contract into June 2012, giving me March through May 2012 to write the continuity.

Once my brain was happy with that, I then had to quickly write today's pages.

Now, I have time to blog.

So what does this have to do with time management?

If you read this post closely, you may have noticed something kind of ... well, interesting. I really know myself. I knew getting an extra book would hit my panic button about my schedule. I knew I couldn't just say, I'll squeeze it in and get back to work. I had to actually, physically put it on a schedule so I could forget about it, until I need to think about it! :)

The second thing is...Having a schedule that you look at regularly, that guides you from day to day, week to week, month to month, takes a lot of stress out of my life. I don't have to "remember" so many things. All I have to remember is to look at my calendar!

So...two tips for today. #1 Know yourself. If you know you're a busy person, or even someone who needs to "handle" things to get them out of your way before you can work, then do what you need to do to clear your head. Know yourself so you can accommodate yourself.

#2...get a good calendar and use it. My system of month-at-a-glance might not work for you. You may only be able to handle one day at a time or one week. But find the calendar system that works for you and use it.

You'll be glad you did!

susan

To Structure or Not to Structure

2011-03-14T05:37:00.001-04:00

Last week after writing about how much I like routine and order in my life, I walked around my house and realized my wonderful routine had really taken a hit in the past year.

First, my son was declared disabled. He has a seizure disorder which means he doesn't require constant care...but he can't drive and gets bored. So after I work in the morning, I drive him around and play games with him for a few hours to alleviate his boredom.

Then, my husband decided to retire. He has so many vacation days that he will lose if he doesn't use them, that he's been taking them in groups of three or four...and guess where he is...Right behind me, in the living room, watching TV. With the volume loud enough that the neighbors don't need to subscribe to cable, they can simply listen in on ours.

I seriously hadn't realized how much this had disrupted my life until after last week's post, but once I had I realized something had to change.

And you know the cardinal rule about chance, don't you? You can't change anybody else...so if somebody's got to change...it's you! LOL

What did I do?

1. Reinstituted by 6:00 am wake up. I'd gotten away from that because ... well, let's face it. It's lovely to sleep in. But, being a person who likes routine not having a regular wake up time is a recipe for disaster. Plus, if my husband and son want to play Wii or cards from noon to suppertime, then I had better get my work done before then.

2. I set a regular time for supper. No more of this, we'll eat when we're hungry. Having to cook something quick five times a week doesn't merely make me nuts...it also results in dinners that are too high in calories.

3. I made a to do list from my calendar. Really? You need a to do list AND a calendar...sometimes. Yeah. LOL

So this is the beginning of me getting back on track. It worked really well for the past week. I feel as if sanity is returning. Let's see if I can keep it up (translation: Keep my husband and son working with me).

susan

Contest at The Romance Reviews

2011-03-11T07:44:00.000-05:00

Every Monday this month I'm giving away a copy of THE BABY PROJECT on The Romance Reviews.

Stop by for a chance to win!

Food Truth -- Wednesday March 9

2011-03-09T00:31:00.001-05:00

Happy Ash Wednesday--

Is that an oxymoron? LOL I think so!

Anyway, I belong to a faith that encourages members to "give something up for lent." For years I struggled with this concept, because, crazy person that I am, I didn't just want to give up candy and then whine for six weeks when I couldn't have a Peppermint Patty. I wanted my "give up" to have meaning.

This year, as I pondered the "what will I give up" question, it suddenly dawned on me how much I eat just for entertainment.

Actually, my son sort of hastened my discovery. He will not eat my cooking anymore. I make roast beef; he wants chicken...and off he goes to Kentucky Fried. I make chicken; he wants fish. Off he goes to Long John Silvers. This is sort of the curse of living a hop, skip and a jump away from a bustling shopping center. Food abounds.

But isn't that true for a lot of us? I wake up and generally don't eat breakfast -- unless we have doughnuts or M&M peanuts handy. I eat a small lunch and a small supper so I can have snacks while watching TV. While millions of people in the world are just happy to have something to eat. It never even dawns on them to be picky. While we live a lifestyle of wanting what we want and only what we want. And sometimes using food as entertainment.

Examining my eating habits and my son's it was easy to see we've totally misconstrued the entire pupose for food.

So this year, I'm going to spend my lent doing what I call Food Truth. I'm only going to eat when I'm hungry...and then I'm not eating doughnuts or the M&M peanuts. I'm going to realize food is fuel and I'm going to look for nutritional content on the labels.

But...in order not to go overboard in the other direction...I'm also going to recognize that eating is supposed to be pleasant. I won't eat cardboard boxes. I might even learn to prepare a new dish or two.

I don't expect to understand the plight of the millions of people in the world who go to bed hungry...but I do expect to put a little reality back in my eating habits.

Food truth.

Want to join me? Want to eat when you're hungry and actually give more than a passing nod to nutritional content?

Oh, and...if you've got a recipe...low fat or just plain really nutritious, I'd love to see it. Actually, I'd love to post in the Homecooking section!

susan

Someday

2011-03-07T03:16:00.007-05:00

Last week, I finished a book and turned it on Tuesday morning...via email. That is so cool and so convenient!

Wednesday morning, I could have rested. Lord knows, I wanted to. But I have a huge schedule of work this year. 4 books to write and about 8 short stories to go up on my website. Prologues for books I have coming out this year...and promotion for the Babies in the Boardroom series.

So I knew I couldn't rest.

I did the obvious things first, things on my to do list that need to be done. (Like taxes!) And completing the tasks for "obvious" things took most of the rest of the week.

But today I decided it would be Someday.

What's Someday? Well, have you ever looked at the things on your desk and said, "Someday I'm going to weed through that pile of articles?" or "Someday I'm going to organize my calendar?" Or someday I'm going to make lasagna...clean the closet...write an email to a long-lost friend?

On my Somday, I do all those things. Well, not all. I do the ones that pop into my head. On Someday, every time I think or say, Someday, I'm going to...I drop everything and begin the project, the letter, the lasagna...whatever.

At noon I have to stop "starting" projects because I usually need wrap up time. If I start something every time I think "someday" I can have between four and ten open projects by noon...and let's face it, it's not wise to have a "Someday" if none of your someday projects actually get completed.

So in the morning I start the Someday projects and in the afternoon I finish them.

Why do I do this? Because life shouldn't just be about the have tos or the urgent things. Life should be about the "someday" things. The things you want to do. Want to do.

Life is just plain better when you make those phone calls to friends, prepare lasagna, clean your desk...or whatever it is that calls to you.

So create a Someday. Do the things you want to do one day a month...or every six months. Just give yourself one good day!

susan

Increments and Little Bits

2011-02-28T11:08:00.001-05:00

Tomorrow morning, I have to email my latest manuscript to my editor. Normally, I'd be happy dancing about now. After six weeks of staring at the same characters, I'm usually ready for the two week or so break I'll get while Sally, my editor, reads it.

Today...not so much.

Why? Because I'm supposed to do a final read through on the last 80 pages and after two hours of reading I only got through 60.

Not only that but I found two places/scenes that need some serious tweaking. (Read: revisions!)

So after reading 60 pages of hard copy, I have all my little grammar and sentence structure changes to input into my document on the computer.

2 major scene revisions.

20 more pages to read and fix in the computer.

And I have a sinus headache.

I was sitting here thinking, "how the heck am I ever going to do this ..." when I remembered something from my time management workshop THE TEN MINUTE SOLUTION. Increments and Little Bits.

What the heck is that? Simply put, it's dividing up your work into manageable bites.

I can't sit here for the two hours it will take to finish inputting the changes on the 60 pages I read and fix those two scenes. But I can sit here to six 20-minute clips. Or even 12 ten-minute clips of time.

In other words, I'll do 10 minutes of inputting, then go wash my breakfast dishes. Once my eyes are rested and my shoulders aren't so tight, I'll come back and do another ten minutes.

Then I'll vacuum. (For those of you who don't know, cleaning relaxes me. Lucky, huh?)

Then I'll come back and do another ten minutes. etc. etc.

It won't be the quick, easy finish to the manuscript that I had hoped. But it will get the book done in an organized fashion. I will meet my deadline and everybody will be happy.

So the next time you're faced with a big project that you worry you can't finish, try cutting it up into manageable bites of ten-minute tasks.

I'll bet you get it done!

And, if you're interested in the whole ten-minute solution idea...the workshops on my website susanmeier.com, click workshops.

Happy Monday...

susan

Happy PS...the cover for A BABY ON THE RANCH is up on Amazon! So all three covers for the Babies in the Boardroom series are up! THE BABY PROJECT will be released in April, SECOND CHANCE BABY in May and A BABY ON THE RANCH in June!

I can't wait! I think readers are going to love these stories! And I've posted a prologue for THE BABY PROJECT in the What Came Before section of my website...There'll be a Happily Every After for that one posted around April 15.

We're gonna have some big fun this year!

Managing Life -- Or maybe juggling

2011-02-21T18:10:00.000-05:00

I finished my hospice training last week. I know I'm really going to enjoy volunteering! The only problem is time management.

Oh, I'm fine with squeezing in a four-hour shift every week to work in the unit. It's invigorating and rewarding and the unit employees are some of the nicest, smartest people I've ever met.

I'm still having trouble managing my writing life!

I'm actually going back and reading the tips I wrote ten years ago when I penned THE TEN MINUTE SOLUTION! (If you're curious, go to the workshop section...the book has been divided into installments and posted for easy reading.)

Today I read the tip about breaking big tasks down into small ones...I tried it...and it worked.

Nothing like embarrassing yourself by forgetting your own tips!

So in the weeks that follow, as I work to get 4 books written and 3 prologues and 3 Happily-Ever-Afters posted for the BABIES IN THE BOARDROOM series, I'll be going back, reading my own workshop and trying to get my writer's life organized.

Hopefully, the tips will help some of you too!

Happy Monday!

susan

Cataromance Reviewers' Choice Award

2011-02-14T18:38:00.000-05:00

It was a fabulous Valentine's Day gift to receive news from Donna at Cataromance.com that MAID FOR THE MILLIONAIRE won a Catromance Reviewer's Choice award!

Thanks, guys!

susan

The pictures are in...

2011-02-06T14:00:00.000-05:00

This is my immediate family!

Taken at Mom's 80th birthday lunch.

May Release Second Chance Baby Nick's Story!

2011-02-02T17:20:00.001-05:00

Love this cover! Love this book!

More about that later!

Happy Birthday Mom!

2011-02-01T09:15:00.003-05:00

Tomorrow is my mom's 80th birthday. Seriously. Eighty. Doesn't that just blow you away? Imagine how much history she's seen, how much life she's lived...how much coffee she's consumed!

My mom wasn't a superstar. She was not a career woman...unless you appropriately call raising 11 kids a career! Good lord! It seems more like an insurmountable task. One that, literally, took a lifetime.

Anyway, she stayed home most days. She'd get us all onto the bus for school then start a batch of bread because we could go through bread like nobody's business. I remember whining about having to take homemade bread sandwiches to school -- instead of the nice, neat thin bread other kids had. Now I'd pay good money for just one slice.

While the bread was rising, she'd start laundry. Every day. With the wringer washer. We whine about having to toss things into an automatic then into a dryer. But imagine doing the laundry of 11 kids every day, then hanging in on a line -- even in the winter? Imagine how much she spent on "soap powder" -- which was what we called it back then.

We probably kept the Tide executives in silk shirts.

Over the years she became one of the best cooks in the world. Seriously, she can take nothing and make it into dinner. Her gravy is to die for and what she can do with a dumpling would make most chefs jealous.

But we also had "invented" foods ... like Klepka. (Which is Slovak, I'm guessing, for fried bread dough.) She'd take bread dough, stretch it until it was the size of an apple fritter, and put it in hot grease for a few seconds. Then we'd either slather it with butter or roll it in sugar.

For those of you who are wondering ... yes, I did have a bit of extra weight before I got married and moved out to my own [bad] cooking. Because delicious food is frequently fattening food.

But, oh, it was worth it!

My mom wasn't one of those women who needed to go shopping every Saturday. I'm guessing she didn't have time. She didn't do lunch or call her friends to gossip. She liked True Detective magazines and Peppermint Patties. And she loved to read. In the summer, I'd walk to the Bookmobile that came around every other week and get books for both of us to read. When she was done with hers, she'd read mine. Which was why it never surprised me to discover that as many adults read young adult books as teenagers. True readers will love any great book.

I credit my mom and her love of reading with my own love of books and the career that I wouldn't have were it not for her love of reading.

I also credit her for showing me that life isn't lived in the grand moments when you're speaking at a conference or chatting with New York Times bestsellers over a glass of wine in a four-star restaurant.

Life is lived in simple moments, enjoying simple pleasures, like a Peppermint Patty or a glossy new magazine.

Work is necessary. She didn't whine every morning that she had to bake bread and do as much laundry as a the local dry cleaner. She simply got to it. Which is why I get up every morning and put on coffee and turn on the computer.

And family is love. Husbands are to be cherished. Kids hugged. Babies coddled. And everybody else enjoyed. Even now we play cards a lot (used to be Pinochle or rummy now it's UNO) and Yahtzee...because you don't have to be chatting or drinking to have a good time.

But most of all, you have to be yourself. If God put you on a farm with eleven kids and a dreamer husband...enjoy it. Don't try to be somebody else. Don't worry what anyone says.

Your days are your days. Your life is your life.

Enjoy it.

And that's what I've learned in my fifty-something years of being my mother's daughter.

Some days I'm sure my husband wishes I'd learned the cooking part of my mom's life a little better, but most days I'm sure he's glad I also decided just to be who I am...

And enjoy the ride.

susan

Long time no write!

2011-01-28T19:33:00.003-05:00

Sorry about the lapse in blogging. I had bronchitis. Antibiotics took care of it, but I needed a week of rest. Then I needed this week to catch up.

But here I am. Better.

This week I had a lot of fun. I was notified that the workshop I submitted was accepted for Romance Writers of America's yearly conference! In New York! Seriously, could I get any luckier...

Well, yeah. Because today my editor told me that she's flying over from London to attend the conference, so I will get to meet her.

Too cool.

Then I got my roots dyed. That's a happy moment in Susan Meier World. I got copies of a book that went to a foreign country. I don't know which one because ... well, I don't read whatever language that is.

My son ordered pizza (those of you who read the pinching panties story from January 15, don't panic. I didn't eat much pizza!).

So it's been a great day. And the weekend promises to be even better. Tomorrow I finish the revisions to the outline for the Christmas book...so I can pick up where I left off on Monday and dive into a really fun, really wonderful Christmas story.

Sunday, I'm back on Gino's story, which will go up on my website around April 15, a week or so after the release of THE BABY PROJECT. The baby from the first book in the BABIES IN THE BOARD ROOM SERIES, Gino Andreas, might have been raised in the lap of luxury by BABY PROJECT hero and heroine Darius and Whitney, but when he turns thirty, he finds himself falling in love with a girl who spent most of her childhood in foster care. They couldn't be more mismatched...and he's on the verge of getting his heart broken.

It'll be a great weekend for me. Some reading (Rita contest entries have arrived for judging). Lots of writing. And hopefully some time on the treadmill!

susan