Tips for Novice Writers
Hello, my name is Roxanne D. Howard, and I write contemporary erotic
romance. Today I’d like to share some tips for other writers who may be
starting out or find themselves stuck with their writing.
- Write what you know. Nothing you write should sound contrived, and the best thing you can do is write from the heart and from experience.
- Write away, right away! Write your heart out, as soon as inspiration strikes. Don’t ignore important promptings like lines and descriptions that may come to you in random moments. Keep a pen and paper handy (or your phone).
- Incorporate media. Listen to music that makes you think of the book, watch movies with the same types of themes as your novel, and don’t always write in the same location. If possible, go to a coffee shop or library. Inspiration is all around.
- Cast
it. If you have a visual of
characters to go off of, it makes descriptions easier, and if you’re a big
fan of an actor that fits the bill for one of your characters, you’ll be
surprised what things your imagination comes up with.
- Write
a Synopsis. Knowing your project before
you begin it helps you stay focused and on track, and delve further into
your world since the finer points have already been hashed out.
- Don’t
go back and edit until the book is written. When you’re allowing your creative juices to flow
freely, you can interrupt the process by giving in to self-doubt, which is
something all authors struggle with in one way or another. Just write it
first, and worry about editing later. Take a cooling off period of at
least a week before starting editing/rewrites.
- Develop
a thick skin. Writing the book is just the
first step. Be prepared to make changes to your manuscript. Think of it as
an elastic band that has to be stretched as much as it can before you sail
it off across the room. You can write the best novel of your life and feel
accomplished, but then come the revisions and rewrites. Have heart, and
know that every effort you put into your writing will make it that much
better. Revisions work magic on a manuscript.
- Get
a beta reader when you feel comfortable
enough. This person should either be an avid reader of the genre you’re
writing, a good writer themselves, or both. Do not show your unfinished
manuscript to a thousand friends. People react differently to those
pursuing their dreams, so safeguard yours.
- Go
to the library and request a sequestered
study room to write in, take a day off of work, and just write. Research
is your friend.
- Use
text-to-speech! After your revisions and
edits are done, listening to it can really pinpoint things you might have
missed, and it will give you a better picture of your work.
Do you have any tips to share? Let me know in the comments
Roxanne D. Howard
Genre: Contemporary erotic romance,
modern-day fairy tale, Fairy Tales Revisited
Publisher: Loose Id, LLC.
Date of Publication: August 23, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-68252-207-3
Number of pages: 105
Word Count: 33,170
Cover artist: Natasha Snow
Cover artist: Natasha Snow
Book Description:
Molly Ivers has always known she’d marry a foreign man with a delicious accent. Six months ago, in a night of unbridled passion, she gave her virginity to her friend and sexy-as-can-be neighbor, rocker Evan Castle. Unfortunately, thanks to his swarm of constant groupies, things didn’t work out, but they remained friends. Now, after having just broken up with her boring, run-of-the-mill right-wing boyfriend, she’s on the verge of finishing her graduate degree and moving to Paris. She's desperate to shake things up--and find that sexy foreign man.
She’s had a crush on Nicholas Sullivan, her British professor, for as long as she can remember. So when opportunity comes knocking to spice up her appearance, in the form of a French life coach, she hires Jean Luc Dubois to help her lbecome more Parisian and hip, to reflect the person she is within. Thanks to Jean Luc’s magic, she starts to catch her hunky English prof’s eye, but the more time she spends with Evan, the more she begins to realize that her Prince Charming might just be the one she’s known all along.
Molly Ivers has always known she’d marry a foreign man with a delicious accent. Six months ago, in a night of unbridled passion, she gave her virginity to her friend and sexy-as-can-be neighbor, rocker Evan Castle. Unfortunately, thanks to his swarm of constant groupies, things didn’t work out, but they remained friends. Now, after having just broken up with her boring, run-of-the-mill right-wing boyfriend, she’s on the verge of finishing her graduate degree and moving to Paris. She's desperate to shake things up--and find that sexy foreign man.
She’s had a crush on Nicholas Sullivan, her British professor, for as long as she can remember. So when opportunity comes knocking to spice up her appearance, in the form of a French life coach, she hires Jean Luc Dubois to help her lbecome more Parisian and hip, to reflect the person she is within. Thanks to Jean Luc’s magic, she starts to catch her hunky English prof’s eye, but the more time she spends with Evan, the more she begins to realize that her Prince Charming might just be the one she’s known all along.
Excerpt
#2
“Thanks, guys.” Evan’s
smooth voice came over the mic while the guitar music died. “We’re gonna take a
quick break, but we’ll be back in ten, so stick around.” He hopped off the low
stage to scattered applause and whistles. Molly schooled the smirk on her face
as he sidled past the flirting girls and made his way toward their table.
“Well, well, well, if
it isn’t the Wonder Twins, TWT, Inc.”
He slid into the empty
space beside Molly in the booth. She exchanged an amused look with Nell. He’d
christened them with the moniker upon moving in. They were never Nell and
Molly, but Fischer and Ivers, TWT. Their eye color, skin, and facial features
couldn’t be more different, but they were both the same height, petite-figured,
and had wide, generous mouths and lots of hair.
“So, where’s the
right-wing Republican boyfriend tonight?” he asked.
He stretched his arm
over the back of Molly’s seat in a casual way. His forefinger grazed the edge
of her earlobe, and a pleasant shiver ran through her.
“I thought you two were
attached at the hip.”
Molly went silent and
looked at her drink. Great, here it came.
“They broke up,” Nell
chipped in.
Molly gave her a look
of mock gratitude from across the table as Evan turned to her in surprise. His
sexy hazel eyes searched hers. She waited for one of his classic Evan Castle
comments, but the solemnity in his expression told her he wouldn’t give any.
He whistled low.
“Sorry, Ivers, that sucks. You guys were together for a while.”
She hid her cringe as she
took another sip of her drink. “Yeah…” Gulp, gulp, uncomfortable silence.
The drummer in Evan’s
band called over to him, and Evan told him he’d be right there. He rapped his
knuckles on the table and flashed them both a flirty smile.
“Well, Ivers,” he said
as he slid out of the booth. “You’ll have a lot of attention to deal with, now
that you’re back in the jungle with the rest of us primates. Do me a favor, eh,
and don’t forget to put a bag over your head when you go out from now on, or
you’ll have every guy in the room at your feet and beating down your door. Then
I’ll never be able to talk to you.” He gave her a cheeky wink and walked off.
Molly turned crimson.
Nell mouthed, Wow! as she put her
palm over heart, and her jaw dropped open. They watched him walk off.
“What a compliment and
a half! I did wonder why you two never got together. He always looks at you
like he’s about to walk you against a wall and have at you.”
“What? No, he looks at
all the girls like that. He’s just sweet and being a total flirt.” Molly waved
it off, but her heartbeat accelerated as she remembered when he had, indeed,
taken her against a wall their third time the night they’d spent together.
About the Author:
Roxanne D. Howard is an author with Loose Id. Her first novel, At the Heart of the Stone, was released in February 2016. She is an Army veteran, has a bachelor's degree in Psychology and English, and enjoys reading classical literature and Stephen King. She is also an avid musical theater nut and loves everything related to marine biology. She is the proud mother of two beautiful girls, several pets, and loves to spend time with her husband and children when she's not writing. Roxanne and her family currently reside in the Midwest United States. Roxanne loves to hear from her readers, and she can be contacted at author@roxannedhoward.com.
To find out more, please visit her website at www.roxannedhoward.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RoxanneDHoward
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