I love books.
I always have. When it was bed time, I’d ask for a book. As soon as I got it, I’d open it and begin to look at the pictures and the words. I couldn’t read yet, but that didn’t matter. I was fascinated by the contents, and how they combined on the page to tell a story. Even as a little girl, I could look at books for hours and be content.
I still can. There’s nothing I love better than a good book.
Romance
I’ve read many genres of novels, but the ones that resonate with me are Romance novels. Ever since that first Barbara Cartland Regency so long ago I’ve been hooked. It was England around the time of the Napoleonic wars. The setting was magnificent, the heroine was innocent, and the hero irresistible. I wished I could be there, in the English countryside in the spring. I could totally relate to her, and I was madly in love with him.
Did I mention I’m a romantic?
My reading tastes have changed some since those early romances. I enjoy paranormal, historical, contemporary, and suspenseful romantic stories now. True to my roots, I love sinking my teeth into a good Regency historical. Anytime.
Writing
One day I finished a book that I had so looked forward to reading. It was so disappointing – it did not end well. I tossed it away from me and said, “I can do better than that!” That’s when my writing journey began.
I’ve always been good with words. I kill at essay-styles tests, and stringing words together is something I really love to do. Besides, I was already a writer, earning my living as a Technical Writer working in the software industry. I figured it would be an easy transition to creative writing. I mean how different can it be? It’s all about getting words on the paper, right?
Armed with bravado, I sat down at my computer and I started writing. I wrote for days and days about a girl and a boy and their relationship. I didn’t know much about dialogue, or action tags, or point of view and I frankly didn’t care. I just wrote. I used my experience with reading romance novels to guide me.
Oh, and did I mention I knew nothing about pacing?
I was wrong. Creative writing is a totally different animal. Alas, as with most writers – that first work will never see the light of day. My current work has improved a bit from the early stuff. I’ve taken class after class, and I’ve joined a wonderful writing group – Colorado Romance Writers, which is a local chapter of Romance Writers of America. I’ve learned over the last couple of years how to be a better writer, and I continue to learn every day.
My weakness is a short attention span, so writing a book from start to finish is kinda difficult. I tend to jump from scene to scene and describe what my characters are telling me. That – and my creative writing grammar kinda sucks. I mean when you’re writing a user guide or a help file, ending with a preposition is a regular occurrence, and “Press OK.” is considered a sentence. “Press OK” in a romantic novel is a sentence fragment. Then again with a strategically placed comma, it could be a request.
Hmmm…ah well, never mind. I’ll save that idea for another musing.
I can’t recall the author whose work set me upon this journey, but I really do have to thank her. This writing has been an amazing trip, and it is one that I look forward to continuing every day.
Welcome to my world!
Lori
Starting November 15, 2011, look for my novella Evelyn in the paranormal anthology, Finding Ms. Wright: Three Tales of Extraordinary Love published by 5 Prince Publishing on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, and All Romance eBooks for just $2.99!