CosVogEllGirl Wants to Know -- What Kind of Writer Are You?

We’ve all seen them, all taken them, those quizzes in Cosmo, Vogue, Elle magazines that teach us who we are, but more importantly, who we can be if we change our ways, find our limits, secure our sanity by taking five minutes to choose A – B – C.

Today I’ve put together a little quiz of my own to show you just what kind of writer you are. Answer the 5 questions, and your true writer self will emerge.

1) When meeting your cousin at the airport whom you haven’t seen in ten years, do you….?

A) Know her immediately, give her a big hug, and welcome her with enthusiastic affection.

B) Look around carefully at the other people in baggage claim to make sure she’s your cousin before giving her a stiff hug.

C) Hold a placard up at the terminal exit.

D) Cry when you realize it’s your cousin ELLEN, not EILEEN.

2) Your husband/S.O. offers to go to the grocery store and comes back with nothing you put on the list. Do you….?

A) Say, “That’s okay, honey, I’ve always wanted to learn how to cook Brazilian Thai.”

B) Pull the stuff out of the bags, put it away, and say nothing.

C) Leave the stuff in the bags, and take it all back to the store the next day.

D) Cry when he says, “I couldn’t read your handwriting.”

3) You’ve just finished reading the latest best-seller all your friends have been raving about. It wasn’t all that. Do you….?

A) Find the good scenes and discuss those at your book club.

B) Pass the book along to your cousin, and when she asks, “How was it?” say “Okay.”

C) Go straight to Amazon and write an unfavorable review.

D) Cry because you know your book that’s been in your hard drive for 6 years is soooo much better.

4) At the gas station, fifteen minutes before a huge presentation at work, you accidentally spill gas down your leg and into your brand new $100- high heels. Do you….?

A) Stop off at the mall, grab a pair of new shoes and nylons before heading to the office.

B) Go into the Ladies Room, take off your nylons, wash the shoes, and head to the office.

C) Go to the office smelling like gasoline, there’s no time to do anything about it.

D) Cry. Now you won’t be able to return the shoes.

5) Your mother says she hates your new haircut. Do you….?

A) Say, “Don’t worry, it’ll grow out soon.”

B) Go into the bathroom, wash your hair, and style it the way you normally do.

C) Go back to the salon and have them give you a pixie.

D) Cry because you knew it was drastic and if your mother hates it, then so will everyone else.

If you answered A to most of the questions, you’re a CHEERLEADER –

No one will get you down. Not agents, publishers or your beta/critters. The book you’re writing is fantastic and when it needs work, you do it gladly because you know it’s going to get accepted and will be a best-seller. You’re on every social media site, have zillions of followers, and have done everything you know how to build that platform. Go YOU!

If you answered B to most of the questions, you’re a DOCTOR –

Writing is hard work. You know it and accept it. You’re informed and well read and go about the business of writing your fourth novel knowing some day you will be published. You’ve built a modest following on three social media sites, know what your platform is, and never stray from that. You’re not afraid of rewriting and revising.

If you answered C to most of the questions, you’re an ACUTARY –

You have no need for frills or friends. You only deal in facts. You write doggedly and determinedly, craft books by the bed for light reading. If you can’t get an agent to look at THIS book, you’ll write another. You’ve spent years honing the craft, memorizing genre guidelines, you know who you are and what you want – to be a mid-list author with a guaranteed income. You have a blog with a few followers, and Tweet occasionally. You don’t have time for social media. You’re a writer.

If you answered D to most of the questions, you’re a MESS –

Take some time, do some research on writing and genre, grab some craft books, get on the blogs, become informed. Learn sentence structure, grammar, punctuation, find some beta readers, invest in Kleenex. Getting critiques, losing contests, and finding rejections from agents and publishers in your inbox takes a thick skin. If you can’t handle the pressure, put your pen down and walk away. Not everyone with a great idea for a story can write one.

Thanks for taking the quiz. So tell me, WHAT KIND OF WRITER ARE YOU?

Pen Name Revisited

Well, if you were here on Monday, you saw that I'm thinking about a pen name for my women's fiction books.  Robynne Rand was the clear winner, with all the rest coming in a close second. I didn't realize Ann Coulter was who she was, so that name is definitely out of the running. (Although I wonder who would get more publicity out of that kind of book??)

Anyhoo, Anne R. Allen brought up a really interesting point -- about how I've already spent so much time building up my author name as my brand, and with my covers, and how long it's taken me to do this, then why would I want to start again from the bottom. And she's right.

However, here's my itch -- I know how I felt when I found out Lisa Kleypas (of Regency romance fame) wrote a contemporary romance, and used her own name. I wigged out. Yeah, I did. I don't know why, but I did. I did read her contemporary stuff, and truth to tell, I didn't like it all that much. It was a good book, I guess, (It was a long time ago, I really don't remember it all that well.) but I know it definitely wasn't her finest hour. I don't know if I was expecting something else, if it had to do with the publisher, the editor, or what, but I didn't like it. The sad thing is, I haven't read anything else by her.

Which isn't fair, but that's how I feel.

The same thing happened with Susan Wiggs. I loved her historicals. I hated her contemporaries.

Now these are just two authors that I know of. And I'm not saying it's a bad thing to want to branch out, hey, I'm all for it. It's just that once you brand yourself to a particular genre, you should keep the name that made you famous, and if you want to write something else, then you should change your name. I mean, what if Stephen King wrote romances under Stephen King? He'd probably get laughed at by some people. And other people wouldn't read it. Because it's not what he's known for. But I bet if he wrote under Stephanie Kingston, then nobody would know or even care.

Because I don't know about you, but I just read an authors' name and don't even wonder who they really are. I had absolutely no idea that Nora Roberts and J.D.Robb were the same person. Honest. That goes for a half dozen other authors too.  They brand themselves and as far as I'm concerned, that's what they write under that particular name.

Which is where I'm waffling. I've made a successful branding of my name, Anne Gallagher, to my Regency romances, right? And for however many fans I have, that's what they expect of me. Regency romances that are exceedingly sweet, and predictable, with just enough twists and turns to make you really wonder if the hero and heroine are actually going to make it to their happily ever after.

Now suppose, I released a book about a rape victim, incest survivor, and a wife-beater? Do you think I'd lose some of my Regency fans? Especially if there were f-bombs and gruesome beatings, and full on rape scenes? (I mean, not that I am going to release that kind of book, I don't have it in me to even THINK about writing something like that.) But I mean, can you get my drift here?

So my question to you is -- Do you think that authors who brand themselves in one genre, should rebrand themselves in another? Or do you think it's possible to keep your same name and be successful in both?

When Lightning Strikes

Good morning.

I got my crits back for THE DUKE'S DIVORCE and they weren't that bad. Like I said the other day, I've been working on my writing and self-editing skills over the course of the last few years, so everything is more or less really tight when I hand it off. I'm really proud of that about me. It also gives the critters less to have to correct.

However, during the course of the week I waited (yeah, only a week, how fab are my critters -- LOVE THEM!) I was restless. I was so used to writing every day, now I didn't have anything to write. I wrote up some blog posts, I took another look at THE LADY'S MASQUERADE but decided that needed too much work to get into before diving back into DIVORCE, so I put it away again.

I was itchy. I wanted to write something NEW. But I had nothing. No new characters, no new plot lines. Nothing "spoke" to me. So I figured, well I may as well enjoy the silence and clean my house.

No sooner had I switched off my brain, I was driving to the grocery store and BLAM, out of the blue, I had an idea. Not just any idea mind you, but a BRILLIANT idea! And not just an "idea" but the whole concept of the story, start to finish. And not just the beginning, middle, and end, but everything in between.

And so I began writing. And I couldn't stop. In a couple of hours I had about 3,000 words. It's just a short story, so I hope to have it finished by the end of the week, which means THE DUKE'S DIVORCE is going to have to wait.

Tell me -- Do you ever get caught up in a Shiny New Idea to the exclusion of everything else? Or do you jot notes down and put it away for later?

Oh, and on Friday I have the fabulous Alex J. Cavanaugh here at the Grille for an interview about his writing process for his new release CassaFire. Hope you'll stop by!

The Millionaire Matchmaker

Good Morning My Darlings. Have you ever been fixed up? Have you ever had well meaning friends, business colleagues, your Aunt Grace say to you -- "I know the perfect man for you. You have just got to meet him!"

Ugh. Yes, I'm sure we've all been there. How'd it go? Did you take them up on the offer? If so, how'd it turn out?

I've been fixed up on many occasions. Always to disastrous results. Now, mind you, all parties involved knew what we were getting into. Sometimes it was a blind fix up, other times it involved double dating. Where, during some part of the night, I would drag my friend in the ladies room and ask, "How could you possibly think that man and I had something in common?"

Now, I don't doubt the sincerity of these people, they truly believe they know us better than we think we know ourselves and according to them we are so blind to know what we want, we'll take a look at someone who would not be on our radar at all.

Yeah. I know my own mind. I know what I'm looking for in a man. My list of prerequisites is pretty long.

The other night I was trolling through cable tv (the bane of my existance -- 92 channels and not a thing to watch) when I came upon the show The Millionaire Matchmaker. I had never seen it before, although had heard of it and decided to watch just to see how a millionaire went about finding a date.

Well, it's the usual tv trope, interview the guy, find out what he wants in a woman, interview the girls (notice that's plural), have a big meet-and-greet where the matchmaker introduces each man to about 15 girls the matchmaker thinks he'd like to meet, and see who he picks.

O.M.G. Can I just say this show is almost as bad as The Bachelor/ette series.

Now on this particular episode, one of the men was a real jerk. Wanted a woman who would basically give up her life and dreams and goals to fulfill his every desire. Yeah, I'm not kidding. He wanted a June Cleaver sort, although he wanted her to look exactly like Jessica Simpson. (his words, not mine.) So the matchmaker found him 15 women who fit his list (his list was longer than mine, and extremely detailed).

And it got me thinking. One of the things the matchmaker kept telling him was he had to let go of his list. He had to think outside the box because he probably wouldn't meet the "woman of his fantasies". And I agreed. This man wanted several things that to me, just weren't possible. But he insisted. He would not give up his list. He wanted a woman who --

had a 36 - 40D bust size (no bigger, no smaller)
would bear him twin girls (huh? how can you think that that's what you'd get?)
would give up whatever it was she was doing and live with him (her family, her life, her career)
was a great cook (like a professional chef kind of cook)
was a church going woman (which is important, however he demanded that she be of his faith only or convert)
had long blond hair (but not dyed)
had a devastating smile (but real teeth not teeth that had been worked on)
and the piece de resistance had an IQ that was not higher than his (I almost threw up in my mouth when he said that)

Guess what. He found one. Yup he did. I could not believe it. To me, this man was a narcisstic, egotistical a$$hole, the kind of man women fought in the 70's. Can I get an "Amen for Gloria Steinam" here? But somehow, he persevered through the matchmaker's discouragement and got exactly what he wanted.

Question -- When finding your significant other, were you fixed up? Did you have a list of prerequisites? Is he/she your ideal partner? Or did you just meet someone and "know" they were perfect for you?

Second question -- If anyone knows a guy who looks like Tom Selleck, has the tenderness of Denis Leary, is as smart as Tom Brokaw and the money of Warren Buffet, could you send him my way.

Back to Work

Good Monday Morning everyone! Even though I've posted throughout the holidays I still feel like I've been on vacation. I haven't written a single word in my latest WIP. I will blame that on Monster Baby being home on break. (I'll take any excuse.)

But here we are, bright and shiny, holidays over, decorations back in their boxes and I am raring to go. The question is -- on what?

I was working steadily on MISMATCHED and was gaining (even though the research threw me for a little loop, but I fixed that.) I looked at it yesterday and well, I'm not sure now. I also took another look at revisions for MASQUERADE. I would have to do some major work. Not that I'm afraid of hard work but I'm just not sure what to do with it. This business is all so subjective. (Especially without vampires or werewolves in sight.)

I suppose I could look at the two YA's I have kicking around too, seeing that YA is all the rage right now, but I don't write YA. I don't really know how. (And writing for the market is not really a great idea anyway. Besides, still not a vampire or werewolf in sight.)

I also have another women's fiction that has been on the back burner for quite some time. I have the storyline, sort of, beginning and ending, not the middle. Hmmm.

I could also focus on REMEMBERING YOU, cleaning it up again, get ready for a big deluge of querying in the spring. But then, I'd still need something else to work on.

So what to do. My muse has abandoned me for the sunny climes of Down Under and I'm stuck. I actually don't want another S.N.I. (Shiny New Idea) because I'm afraid it will just be wasted. (Like my second YA.)

Question for the day --- Now that the holidays are over (thankfully) and we can all get back to work -- are you having trouble focusing on what you want to do?

Friday's at the Piedmont Grille

On Today's Menu -- Grilled Pastrami on rye with mustard and just a smidge of horseradish. And soup. I don't care what kind, as long as it's hot so I can wrap my hands around the bowl.

First I'd like to give a big shout out Welcome and Thank You to my new friends. (Not followers, I am not a cult.) Leigh, Carolyn, Melissa, PK, Tracy, Jennifer, Amie, Debra Ann, Hanny, Theresa, Bryan, Amy, Brenda, The Happy Whisk, Kimber, Melissa, Emy, Len, Perri and Ann. I have coffee and something to gnosh on in the dining room so feel free to grab a cup and hang out. We get a little crazy from time to time but it's all good.

Monster Baby's birthday party went well. Her favorite gift -- the fly swatter. Who knew? She said, "Oh Mommy this is what I've wanted for so long." Even the Silly Bands were pushed aside for the swatter. Crazy kid, but what did I expect with me being a crazy mother.

Any-hoo, I've been working on the premise of the second book in my Regency series. (Now that REMEMBERING YOU is out to query I decided I needed to work on something new.) Not that this story is new, but I've totally revamped the plot and think it's stronger.

I even wrote an outline. Something I do not usually do. And I didn't write it in my pants either, this is a true story outline, with chapter headings and scenes and chapter breaks and everything. (Hey Sarah, I even broke out my index cards.)

This is what the first index card looks like (Now don't steal my ideas lol)

Chapter One
Scene one Violet's POV

Violet saves Jane. Violet meets Ellis. Lady Rose > up to the carriage. On the way home in the carriage.

Pgs. 1 - 8

So what does this outline mean? What does the four days I spent working on this bring to the table?

Well, it means I won't be head-hopping anymore. Now that I know which scenes belong to who(m) [I can never get that right] I won't have to go on such a long search and destroy mission later. It also means I can write whatever scenes I want, whenever I want, and then insert them later. It means I won't get lost when the characters start screaming at me pulling me in 15 different directions. Now I can tell them, "We can't go there, we have to follow the outline." (Something I really wish I had done with Genna and Pete.)

Now the question is (for me) do I really think having an outline will help me write this book any faster? (Not fast in the sense I can bang it out in a NaNo month but fast in the sense that the words will flow.) The answer is -- I don't know.

The question for you is -- do you think having an outline (instead of being a panster) allows the work to progress at a faster pace? Does having an outline REALLY help you stay on track? (Or are your characters like mine and balk at having things so laid out for them?)

Have a great weekend everyone!!!

S.N.I.

Or as we like to call them -- Shiny New Idea.

My muse, as you know, finally introduced himself to me about a month ago. He gave me a Shiny New Idea right before I started querying. I could have killed him.

But, I went with the flow and wrote about 6k to a story I started last year but knew I had to rewrite. So I did. And it was good.

So, I was cruising along, writing some stuff, getting the house in order for next week, not really pushing myself the way I usually do (haven't felt all that swell the last few days).

And then, the little bounder smacked me upside the head again, with not one, not two, but three shiny new ideas. I've been scribbling notes furiously. I have notebooks and pens scattered all over the house, in the car, in the bathroom. I can't get back to the original idea because the new ones have taken over my brain.

I have people in my head all the time as it is. Why do I feel like Patty Duke in that movie?

What do you do when you get more than one idea at a time? Do you write them down? Do you pick the best one and flesh that out? Do you take notes for the others? What's your strategy when the muse smacks you with multiples?