Write every day… Or not?

Good morning! The question is, do you write every day or not? In other words, do you at least put a couple of words into your manuscript every day?

If you follow my blog, you know I have a word count that I try to meet every day, but can I be honest? Some days life steps in and I don’t meet that word count. Eeeeek… Yes, it happens and totally stresses me out when it happens. So, what do I do?

My advice is to try to write a little something every day, if only just a paragraph. If you don’t keep up a regular writing schedule, it’s hard to get back in the groove when you do. If I have a day that there’s no way I’ll get any writing in, I try to at least do a blog post, whether it’s short or not. Also, when I do get to write the next day, I try to make up the lost word count from the day before.

And no, I don’t get to write every day during tax season. But I try to set my writing goals lower during this three month period, that way I’m not stressing over word counts too.

So, what is your daily writing ritual?

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

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Monday Morning Coffee…

Good morning! Did the weekend go way too fast for anyone else? It was as though I blinked and it was over. As I sat last night, trying to get it into my head that it was over, I realized that I need to slow down and take each moment and handle with care.

I’m on my second cup of coffee, seeing another one in my near future. Also, needing to write before I go to my office, but trying to get out of the Monday morning fog with caffeine and social media.

This weekend I wrote over 8000 words between Saturday and Sunday, which is impressive for a working weekend. I had to work in my accounting office Saturday and had Church yesterday, but managed to beat my weekend goal.

I’ve been working on my newest series, ‘Sky Ridge’. It’s been coming into my brain faster than my fingers can type, which is a great thing. Since it’s been flowing well, I’ve pushed it ahead of another work in progress so as not to lose focus. Here’s a little tidbit of some of the writing from yesterday:

“Joy, I know this is all new to you, but I want you to know that I’ll keep you safe and never hurt you.” He reached out and found her hand, linking their fingers. “I promise you that as long as there is breath in my body, you’ll never fear anything, especially me.”
Joy turned her head to see him looking at her. “Thank you, Nash.” For the first time since she’d found out they were to be wed, her heart skipped a beat. Why she didn’t know.
Nash closed his eyes, knowing he’d made the right decision. One day they’d share more than holding hands, but he was satisfied with just being near her. As he lay there, he could tell she was holding her breath, which made him grin. “Joy, just breathe.”
She took a deep breath, sighing a little. “Nash, can I ask you something?”
“Yes.”
“How do you like your eggs?”
Nash laughed, the sound rumbling in the quiet room. “How do I like my eggs? You’re asking me at this moment, how I like my eggs.”
Joy knew she was blushing to the roots of her hair. “I just want to do things right. So, I was thinking about breakfast.”
Nash rolled to his side to look at her. Moonlight streamed in, setting her face in a mystic glow. “Joy, please relax. I made a promise to you that we’d take things slow. So, just relax and go to sleep.”
“OK.” Joy rolled to face away from Nash, which helped to calm her more. For some reason, his nearness bothered her more than she’d imagined.

This is, of course, an unedited excerpt, but it’s a special moment between Nash and Joy. I know you’ll love their story as it moves along the three book series.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

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Romance…

Good Monday morning! Hope you had a restful weekend… The topic of today, Romance. There are so many facets of romance that it boggles the mind, but I want to talk about something I read the other day that quite frankly made me giggle… so here goes…

I was reading a writing post and someone chimed in with a comment on romance writers. She said, ‘Why do romance writer’s write about romance as though it’s  an achievable goal; when in fact, romance is a myth?’

I know… GASP!!!!! When I read this I sat back and sighed. Romance is not a myth! For one thing, romance should be a goal in your relationship with your significant other. I have romance in my marriage. For example, at the moment, my husband is building me a farm table for my dining room. It’s the most romantic gesture because he knew I wanted one, so he’s making it happen.

Now, I do agree that as romance writer’s we do embellish, but that’s for the entertainment of our readers. If we just wrote a book about everyday life and included no extraordinary romance in it, would we keep our readers? I know that, personally, when I pick up a romance, I want to be wooed by the romance that spills from the authors words. A frilly romance can put a smile on your face.

You can get lost in the romance of a book. The unreal aspects of books are what makes them so much fun to read. But folks, romance is real. It doesn’t have to be wine and roses every day. It can simply be a look across the table or holding hands for no reason.

So, give me your thoughts…

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

If you get a chance, my newest release came out last night, ‘Sowing the Right Seed’, so go by and check it out. https://www.amazon.com/Sowing-Right-Seed-Lean-Book-ebook/dp/B01MUDJL8O

Also, sign up to be on my street team or simply to get my monthly newsletter at www.stephaniehurtauthor.com.

Starting a new series?

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Well, my new series, Sky Ridge is off and running. I went to the dollar store and stocked up on these pretty composition books. Inside this notebook, you will find my character sketches, outlines, interesting facts that I’ll need while keeping true to the story line and so much more.

In order for your series to hold up, you need to keep the plotting new and exciting. Don’t do the same old thing all the way through, or the story will grow stale. Make several twists that take your reader by surprise and do a couple of turns that will have the reader wanting more.

I’ve played with this series for a while, but only when I have all three books in my head did I start the process of writing them. I wanted to make sure that the story could hold out for three books and keep the interest. This series is a historical romance that takes you on a journey filled with heartache, joy, happiness, love, suspense and yes, romance. I can’t wait to introduce you to the main characters, but I’ll keep that under wraps for a little bit longer. You’ll fall in love with them…

So, how do you plot your series?

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…