Tiffany Clare

Winner for Janet Mullany’s Improper Relations

Tiffany Clare — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 09:49:00 +0000

CONGRATS TO THE WINNER!

Please send your info HERE

dyockman

The winner was generated by random.org

Word Counts

Tiffany Clare — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 17:00:00 +0000

Hey everyone,

As promised, I'm doing a mid-week blog to ask all the challengers how they are making out on their goals.

I'm doing well. Of course, I'd like to do better! LOL

Sitting just under 41K. I'd like to hit 45K by Friday, then get close to 50K by Sunday night.

I will do another blog Saturday for everyone to give their progress report.

Happy writing...

Word Counts

Tiffany Clare — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 17:00:00 +0000

Weekly Challenge

Tiffany Clare — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 05:08:00 +0000

Hello everyone!

As of last Tuesday's blog... we've got a bit of a challenge/support group happening for wordage/pagedom :)

Post your word and page goals here. And come back often. I may even post a mid-week challenge page for you to tell us what you've accomplished. This isn't just a one time wonder. That wouldn't be much of a 'challenge.'

Please note... everyone works at a different speed. So, it's not about competing against each other, but more about accomplishing the goals we've set for ourselves!

Good luck everyone and anyone who would like to comment and join in a little bit of a challenge to their creativity!

My goal this weekend--to hit 40K.
My current word count--33,299

And we are off...

Do us proud participants!

Ideas are a flowing… at a most inconvenient time

Tiffany Clare — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0000

I don't know where my ideas come from, but they always strike me in the midst of the project I'm working on... especially when I should be focusing on said current project.

I'm on my tightest deadline to date. I imagine, when I'm a pro at this, I'll better be able to deal with these tight deadlines (yes, you can stop laughing now). I have 60K+ to write in the next 2.5 months. I'm not sure how I'll do it. I can't imagine there will be much sleep as my deadline approaches.

While I should be solely focused on my current characters, and just getting their story down, I have other ideas bombarding me. I wonder if it's my subconscious trying to procrastinate? I already have my next five books mapped out in my head... but then out of nowhere (actually, while I was having a sucky writing day) I get another story idea. Sigh...

What I need is a challenge. A public challenge, 'cause I'm a gal of my word. Who wants to do a word challenge with me? Or a page challenge? I must finish this book sooner than my deadline, because I do not write the cleanest of first drafts.... I wish I was better at vomiting out the first draft! But it's just not my thing.

First Lines

Tiffany Clare — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:26:00 +0000

I love first lines. They either grab me or they don't. And if they grab me, I might just be sold on the whole story. I can think of a number of books that have sold me on first lines. Can you?

Speaking of first lines, let's give you a teaser for my debut release, The Surrender of a Lady coming October 2010: “What do you mean, you’ll work this out? You’ve gambled me away! I’m your wife, for heaven’s sake!”

I have a habit of starting in the middle of the scene and with dialogue. Not sure why. Just always made the most sense with me. Mind you, the book I'm working on now starts in the head of my lovely hero. More about him another time.

Do you want the first line to be enough to make you wonder what's next? Can you guess how a story is going to unfold, or what the theme might be by an opening line (or paragraph)? First lines are so important for setting the tone and mood that sometimes writers labor over them for months (sometimes even with the book is done).

Do you like the opening lines most? Or cherish the final lines of the book? Do you prefer an author who starts a story with narrative or dialogue? In the middle of a scene or at the beginning of a scene? Where do you other writers start your opening scenes?

The Villain

Tiffany Clare — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 05:00:00 +0000

They are the characters everyone usually hates in a book.

I often use them as a catalyst for the conflict. They are my seedy characters and tend to make your skin crawl (or at least I think and hope so).

In The Surrender of a Lady, my villain is actually an all around nice kind of guy. Yes, he has a harem full of slaves, and he keeps his pretty birds leashed inside their palace prison, but he cares for them in his own way. Still, he is a villain.

Before I went into my rewrite for The Seduction of his Wife (actually long before that), I knew I needed to feature my villain more than I previously had. I was avoiding writing more scenes with him. I dreaded thinking about him. Gooseflesh prickles on my arms whenever I conjure him up in my head (probably because I know him better than everyone else).

When writing, I like to get right into my characters head and portray them as I see them through their eyes (hey, I’m a writer, I’m allowed to be strange). I did NOT want to do this with Waverly. Pardon my French but, he scared the shit out of me.

You want to know why? Simple answer really. He was crazy! His mind so far gone from his abuse of drugs that he’s stark raving mad. Crazy as a cat strung out on a bag full of catnip. The devil in sheepskin is Waverly to a tee.

One of my crit partners suggested I do some scenes from his point-of-view when I was stuck on how to up the ante in the conflict department. I was quick to scream… ARE YOU CRAZY? Waverly is a lunatic, I am NOT going into his head. He scares me. I know he’s not real, but when you are writing a book the characters kind of come to life. Hell, I dream about my characters! I couldn’t imagine dreaming about Waverly. I get the shivers just thinking about him.

I don't know how some writers go into the bad guys point of view. I envy them their ability (on second thought, maybe not). There was no way I could tell a scene from Waverly's POV. I liked keeping him out of my head. I like to think it was safer and easier to stay sane that way.

For writers and readers--what are some of the creepiest villains you've read in romance? What made them creepy? For the other writers out there--how do you deal with villains in your writing? Do you dive right into their head? See them from a safe distance (in another character's pov), or avoid them altogether?

Winner for Carrie Lofty’s Scoundrel’s Kiss

Tiffany Clare — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 11:44:00 +0000

CONGRATS TO THE WINNER!

Please send your info HERE

jedisakora

The winner was generated by random.org

Guest Blog: Finding My Own Inspiration by Carrie Lofty

Tiffany Clare — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 05:00:00 +0000

I consider myself a prepared pantser. I don't outline, I don't make note cards, and I don't generally have much of a clue as to where my story will go. But I do know my characters and where their romance takes place. If those two elements are strong in my mind, then inspiration surely follows.

For example, in writing SCOUNDREL'S KISS, I knew only two things going in: the heroine would be an opium addict and the hero would be a warrior monk. Their main conflict revolved around Gavriel's promise to get her well. She was lost, yes, but also playful and very clever. He was in charge, but his low self-esteem is buried within the body of a trained killer.

I love seeing how two people fit together and meet one another's needs. That, to me, is inspiration. Playing with the possibilities could send me into happy smiles all day. Once I carve out those unique dove tails, the plot can be whatever I want. My brain goes into overload and, well, weird stuff falls out.

This is the moment when I grab the nearest pen or keyboard. I brainstorm. Every. Possible. Idea. And oh my, some of them are utter crap. I imagined Ada dressing up as a dancing girl from a harem to rescue a secondary character. I thought of burning half of the Spanish countryside in a drought-fueled fire. I even pictured a genuine love triangle.

But in between ideas that never came to pass, I found a few gems: a runaway girl, a villainous monk, a chess match, a daring love scene by a river, a wedding night in prison, and trial by combat. All of those came to pass, and they're why I'm never scared of writer's block. If I get stuck, I simply consult my Big List of Possibilities. There awaits all of the ideas that sparked my imagination when I was first became enamored of an idea.

Looking over them again charges me up. Oh, I think, that's why I wanted to write this hideous, dull, good-for-nothing story! Believe me, long about page 100 or 200 or 300—whenever it is that I get bogged down—any little jolt of excitement, even something as simple as remembering when it was once fresh and beautiful, is just the thing to get me going again. And in the case of SCOUNDREL'S KISS, a book I adore, the results were well worth the struggle!

(Note: If this method doesn't get me going, then my "being stuck" is just fear and procrastination, in which case it doesn't do a damn bit of good. That's when I have a mocha and take a few hours off!)

Commenters will be entered into a draw for a copy of Carrie Lofty's Scoundrel's Kiss.

Winners for Beverley Kendall’s SINFUL SURRENDER

Tiffany Clare — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 10:17:00 +0000

CONGRATS TO THE WINNERS!

Please send your info HERE

RKCharron

And

Armenia

Winners were generated by random.org