Contest Diva???

Me, not so much. I only enter a couple of contest one of them being the TARA. It truly is one of the best around. I did say one of since I know that there are others that are quite good as well. :)

The thing about contest is you spend days, weeks, and okay even a month getting that first chapter tweaked and shinning. Your muse is sitting on your shoulder telling about what’s happening in the rest of her or his world. You won’t listen. You can’t listen. You’re busy with the first chapter.

That’s a whole lot of time not writing anything or much of anything forward in your wip. Your muse decides to go vacation. Trust me on this. You may have to beg to get her back. Once she hits the beach (that’s where mine likes to go)and starts drinking margarita’s, she’s a pain in the ass to get back.

Now you’ve got this brilliant first chapter. Not only could it final…it could WIN.

The editor who judged the finals loves and picks your baby to win. You scream, jump up and down, and do what all writers do. You eat some chocolate.

Then you get the news. The editor loves it so much she’s requesting the full. The FULL!!! WTF. You’ve been working so hard on the contest chapter that you don’t have the partial ready to go now much less the full.

Realization of the many sleepless nights that now must happen. And of yes, that’s for both you and your critique partner. You can’t send the editor the amazing final winning first chapter along with the rest of POS.

All the notes you’ve taken on POV, GMC, Hooks, and anything else you find in that stuffed file drawer are making you bleary eyed as you read until you fall asleep. Only to get up early, turn on the computer and start at it again.

And then you send. And then you wait all the while wondering if she’ll like the rest of the book as much as that perfect first chapter.

Then you do what all writers do. You eat some more chocolate. Maybe some wine to go with it this time.

So for me a couple of contest a year is all that I can do. I need the rest of my time writing forward.

What about you? Are you a contest diva? Do you love the rush of perfecting that first chapter within an inch of its life? Or are you like me. A couple of contest is all the time you can take away from your characters?

Happy Writing,
Vicki

Welcome To Vicki's World

Today’s my first official blog. Who will read it? Maybe no one but I decided to start doing this after our TARA (Tampa Area Romance Authors…see link on the right) meeting in March. We had Shannon Aviles as our speaker. One of the things she spoke about was blogging and how we needed to do this now before we were published. So, here I am.

I guess for the first blog I’ll tell you a little about me. I’m a writer. I write paranormal and romantic suspense. Okay, so you probably figured that out from the header.

Actually I’ve been a writer for as long as I can remember. Writing short stories and even little plays that my sister and I would act out when we were very young. Not much else to do on a Friday night when your 8 years old.

My favorite memory of writing, the one that made me realize that I could do this was when I was in 8th grade (hmmmm….could be a pattern here with the number 8). Our teacher put pictures on the blackboard, yes, I said blackboard. They didn’t use whiteboards back then. Anyway, she asked us to pick a picture and write a short story. Somewhere in the story the scene in the picture had to take place. I was so proud of my story and couldn’t wait for the “A” I was sure to get. Nope, not even close. The lady gave me an “F” and wrote a note to my mom that I should not be allowed to copy a story from “True Romance”. Now, you must know that back in the day “True Romance” was considered erotica by many. My mom had to go to the school and tell the teacher that I had not copied it but wrote the entire story myself. I got an “A” but the teacher always gave me weird looks after that.

I currently live in Florida with a wonderful man who I’ll call Science Guy (no it’s not Bill Nye). I have two grown people, can’t really call them children anymore, but they’re my kids and I’m so proud of them. My daughter is a teacher in Arizona and my son is in college and works full time.

The other two loves of my life are my puppies, Meshia (a Shih-Tzu) and Sassy (a Chihuahua).

I love to read and at the present time I’m reading J. R. Ward. Wow. She is an incredible writer. Even if you don’t like paranormal I promise you will love her books.

My favorite place to chill is the beach. I know, I know what about the whole sun thing. Wear sunscreen and a hat. I love to hear the water hitting the shore. To me it’s one of the most peaceful sounds and I can truly relax there.

Okay, enough about me. Why don’t you tell me something about you like where is your favorite place or who is your favorite author. Do you have pets? What kind of music do you like?

Enjoy your day.