When you dream…

It’s Saturday morning, time to make the house look a little less lived in. But my mind is on finishing Breakwater Lane so that my editor gets it first thing Monday morning. I dreamed a dream and it was this series.

Do your books come to you in dreams? Some of my dreams are too frightening to put in a book, then others, well, I’m afraid I’d be locked away in a ward with padded walls. But then the dreams that take on meaning and substance, now those are what writing is all about.

A couple of nights ago, I dreamed about Wishful Harbor. I could see it so plain, just as I see it when I’m writing. I walked down the old cobblestone sidewalk and peered into the windows of the five businesses that will be featured in the series. I saw the characters in their natural world. It was amazing. When I woke the next morning, everything seemed right.

Breakwater Lane has many twists and turns, but the latest twist in the plot road has been baffling me. It’s amazing that when you write what’s in your mind, sometimes you sit back and go, wow, that came from my brain. This twist has been that way for me. It seemed like I might need to start over with this part because I couldn’t get past a certain spot, but then the dream came and bam, there it was.

Maybe it was because I’d been thinking about the problem spot when I got into bed, I don’t know. But there’s one thing for sure, I’m glad I dreamed the problem away. One of the problems with dreams is, sometimes you only remember bits and pieces, but in this case, it’s very clear. I can see the way to the words The End so clearly that my fingers won’t move fast enough on the keyboard.

To say this book has been special, well, that’s an understatement. I’ve finally been able to jump into a new genre of mystery, added in with the sweet romance that flows through the story. So, take a journey to Wishful Harbor and fall in love…

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Breakwater Lane is up for Preorder now on Amazon for only .99, so grab it before the release date, August 31st. All through August, I’ll be doing promotions and giveaways. If you’d be interested in helping with the release, please let me know. Although the cover is on Amazon, the official cover reveal is set for next week, so keep watching…

https://www.amazon.com/Breakwater-Lane-Wishful-Harbor-Book-ebook/dp/B0746QLYYK

When the plot changes…

Good morning! I hope everyone had a great 4th…

I’ve been working on the first book in my newest series and it’s going along well, but a change has come over the story. Of course, I blame the characters for the turn in the plot. I had the story figured out, then midway, a bump in the road turned into a whole new world.

But, do you go off down the rabbit’s hole or not? My advice is to always make sure the plot is going somewhere. What do I mean? Well, you have to double check where the plot is headed and can you make it work. Don’t go down the plot black hole. I’ve been there and it’s a painful way to go.

With the new plot line, I’ve checked all the different roads it could take and I’m satisfied with the direction it’s headed. I even outlined the new plot and it works. So, now I’m off to finish the story so I can share it with everyone.

As always, great writing and May God Bless You…

Just a little promotional reminder… Highlander’s Son is coming in a couple of days! highlanders son front cover

When the plot changes…

Well, it’s a foggy Saturday morning in Georgia. That sounds like the opening line of a story. Yes, I’m in a writing mood this morning, so watch out word count, here I come.

Speaking of writing, have you ever been in the middle of a manuscript and the plot changes. I mean, you’re headed in one direction, then the story takes a turn in a different direction. That’s what happened in the manuscript I just finished. You see, I had it all figured out. I thought I knew where the characters were headed and what the ending would be like, but guess what? The plot changed. (The plot is the direction the story is going, like directing the main events that lead to the ending, you know, the backbone of the storyline.)

Sometimes when you’re writing a story, the characters seem to have a mind of their own. In Highlander’s Son, I had it all in my mind, but something wasn’t working. Now, the outline looked good and when I sat and plotted it out months ago, it seemed to work well. But once I was deep into the manuscript, over halfway completed, I realized that the plot was changing. I had to make a change or the story would flop.

It’s scary to change the plot of a story when you’re almost done. But once I got it in my head where the characters had to go to complete the story, I was on a roll. It turned out that the plot change worked and the story was complete.

Highlander’s Son took a turn in the plot and headed in a totally different direction. It’s at that moment that you throw the outline out the window at 70 mph and never look back. I have to say that when the plot changes, sometimes you have to just follow it’s lead or you’ll end up with a manuscript that is cut up in the editor’s floor, never to see the light of day.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Here’s a look at the cover for Highlander’s Son, which is coming out very, very soon!

highlanders son front cover

Good Memory and Writing…

Do you have a good memory? Me, not hardly 🙂 Sometimes I really think I’m losing my memory skills. Our memory is an integral part of writing. Why? Well here are my top 5 reasons memory is important to writers:

1: You have to remember the main characters biography. If you have a woman with blonde hair for the main character and all of a sudden in the middle of the book you write they have dark hair, well you’ve just lost the character all together. I’ve actually read a book before that the main character changed all together. It’s a story breaker!

2: Book Setting – This is important to the story. If you’re story is based in the snowy mountains, then midway through the book it becomes the desert, then you’ve lost the objective completely.

3: Character backgrounds – When you start a book always keep a notebook beside you as you write. As you develop a character write down their characteristics. Keep up with amount of siblings, hometown, etc.

4: Love background – You may have to ask yourself what I mean. Well it’s quite simply this, if your main couple has a history, then keep it straight. Make sure that if they’ve been in a relationship before the book starts, then don’t make it sound like first love. Let the past lead you to the present.

5: Don’t forget the main objective of your book. Don’t let it stray far off the mark without a good reason or sub plot.

This is just my opinion and the way I write. It may not work for you, but it helps me to keep things straight.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…