Doctors – Stephanie Hurt

As a writer of romance it’s not always easy to just put your thoughts in the computer and be done with it. Even a run of the mill romance needs a little research. Have you done your research?

With my newest book “Victoria” I had to do a lot of research. I printed 3 different Civil War Timelines. Each one had a little different description that went along with the timing of the story line. It’s amazing how a reader can pick up on even the smallest misstep in regards to history. I made sure the time and date was correct with aspects concerning the war itself.

A fellow author friend wrote a medical romance. She laughed telling me she felt like she was studying for the medical exams. Before she started the book, she wrote down her outline and got in touch with a doctor friend. She then told him what the book had in it medical wise and he gave her several books that would help make the medical part look real.

Another author was writing a thriller/murder mystery. She had to study several serial killer cases with the local police. They were more than happy to help her with the research. As she has a weak stomach she said a lot of the reading was hard to get through, but she made sure she did it on an empty stomach.

I’ve even researched romance itself. There’s a lot on it if you look around. It helps when you are coming up with story lines. You don’t want to write about what everybody is writing about. If everything coming out is about cowboys, well, maybe put cowboys but give it a different spin. Make your writing stand out.

So the next time you pick up a romance novel, think about the hard work the author went through to get it where it is. Especially when you look at the price. So many people want them for free or nearly free. That’s nice but the author put their heart, soul and hard work into that book you’re holding.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Well, if you follow this blog you realize from my picture that I’m blonde. The problem with being blonde is the ever coming jokes and I always get “Can you walk, talk and chew gum at the same time?” I always laugh and say, “Yep, but don’t get near me because you’ll get run over.”

Found out yesterday how true this statement is. I was doing my 5 mile walk that I do 3 days a week. As we were walking up the road, a car started to pass us and I stepped off the pavement. Well, more accurately I fell off the pavement. I now have the strained ankle and bruised knee to prove it. I was walk, talking and not paying attention to where I was stepping. Not a good thing. Good thing I have a complete physical planned for in the morning. Please pray that goes well. Not looking forward to it, but it’s a necessity.

As for writing, you have to be able to do several things at one time. Multi tasking is a must as a writer, especially if you hold down a full time job and family. Usually my writing is completed while getting up and down to do laundry, cooking dinner, and just life in general.

I’ve learned a lot about time and how to fit in everything somehow. Of course then you have your blog posting, in my case 2 blogs, Facebook, Twitter and the myriad of other author promotional posts I do on a daily basis. Someone came up to me one day and said, wow, if you become a full time writer, you’ll be set. Well, I’ll be set in some ways, but their meaning was I’d have a lot of free time. I don’t think that’s possible. A writer’s mind is like a spinning wheel. The ideas and characters are constantly spinning around, so if I did this full time, I figure I’d sit writing most of the time.

Life’s short, live every moment and enjoy the little things. That’s my advice for the day. Oh, and don’t walk and talk at the same time. You’ll feel the results the next day, believe me.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…