November brings a delightful sensory overload of autumn colors as the landscape trades green for crimson and burnt umber. Delicious aromas tempt our palates with hints of apple and pumpkin pie. And leaves skitter across pavements as winter winds whisper of cooler nights and the approaching holidays. But November for me, and for many millions of other writers, heralds the beginning of something else…something wicked this way comes! National Novel Writing Month or NaNoWriMo.

So, exactly what is this thing that has social media buzzing and writers around the globe stocking up on chocolate, coffee, wine and notebooks?

NaNoWriMo (nanowrimo.org) is a writing challenge: complete a novel of 50,000 words during the month of November. It sounds daunting, right? Novice writers, journalists, bloggers, and established authors from around the world accept this gauntlet toss. “Time to write your novel!” is the cry that echoes from libraries, coffee houses, living rooms, dorm rooms, church basements, kitchen tables, and park benches. I answer the call again this year with classic excitement and this will be my sixth consecutive year.

Today, my hope is to help you feel this same enthusiasm and why you should join me.

Whether you are an author with several books, a studying writer, or just someone who thinks they might like to try writing a novel, there are several lessons and takeaways from this month of self-torture.

First, by participating in NaNoWriMo, you announce to the world that you have a voice needing expression. Perhaps you like telling short stories or children’s tales. Maybe you prefer sitting up late and thinking of spine chilling ghost stories. Does heart-palpitating romance get your blood racing? Or would you rather be a cop on a beat in 2250 fighting off dangerous robot robbers. Vampire hunters anyone? Or maybe now is the time to tell your grandmother’s story, the one she has shied away from because she’s too humble to recount her youthful exploits. Whatever your genre or reason, whatever your experience or lack of it, NaNo offers everyone a chance to attempt storytelling.

Another joy of NaNo is no one has to see what you write. This isn’t a show and tell. You only need to share your work if you wish. Though the fun of the process is sometimes reading pieces of your work to others (who also read theirs to you) and laughing over particularly funny or out of context moments. After all, you must produce 50,000 words and they don’t always make sense. And they probably are hard won. Because NaNo teaches you to swallow your inner editor and just write. A valuable lesson to learn and carry into your future.

Most writers and participants fear the word count. That’s 1,667 words a day. Although it may not sound very daunting, you soon discover how tricky it is. There are days when you write like crazy. And other days when you can barely find ten good words. Don’t forget your life will keep interrupting you. Kids, family, job, neighbors, your pets, sleep – all things that will be roadblocks. NaNo is nothing if not challenging. To add to the confusion we have holidays and school breaks at the end of the month so better plan for those, too.

Truthfully, I never focus too long on the word count. It’s a goal, and there are rewards and prizes if you achieve it. However, that’s not really the point of NaNo. What you learn is that where there is a will, you make a way. You learn to make time to write. You establish a writing habit, a daily, butt-in-chair attitude. Surprisingly, writing daily gradually becomes a craving and a need, like breathing. It only takes two weeks to make a habit and three weeks to make that habit stick. We’re going to have four weeks to perfect our compulsion. We’re golden!

Most of all, NaNoWriMo provides a chance to interact with other writers, people like you who feel the need to stretch their inky nibs and see what tale sleeps just beneath the muse’s surface.

I mentioned that even established writers participate in NaNoWriMo. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen and The Night Circus by Erin Morganstern (took her two NaNo’s) were products of this crazy, writing month. My novels (Midnight Assassin, Breaking the Glass Slipper, The Gypsy Thorn, and Time and Blood) all began from an outline and 30 days of NaNoWriMo!

NaNo gives you the chance to discover the writer sleeping in you and the stories you have waiting to explode. You may discover there’s more to you than you ever imagined because you gave yourself a chance to find out. A leap of faith in your storytelling ability.

That’s why I NaNo and why you should, too.

Join me at nanowrimo.org, my username is poetphoenix. I’ll gladly be your writing buddy even if you aren’t in my region (Charlotte, NC). C’mon, we’ll do this together and have some fun! And don’t worry about being alone — millions others, just like us, will be doing it too. 

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REMINDERS:  Time and Blood is available for pre-order here. If you’ve read The Gypsy Thorn, then you are ready for this new paranormal romance series, Evening Bower. Going to be quite a ride folks, so come with me.

ALSO:  The ebook version of By Light Betrayed-Poetry of the Vampires, is only ON SALE for 99cents during OCTOBER. On Nov 1 it goes back up to $3.99. So get a copy now and enjoy some seductive and creepy vampire poems. Just…leave the light on. There is also a preview of Midnight Assassin – A Tale of Lust and Revenge in the back! So 99cents is a great value.

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Finally, please join me for my monthly Fireside with the Phoenix Facebook LIVE chat on Saturday, October 28 at 11 a.m. EDT. I’ll be talking NaNo, show you some books to help you with your scary writing, and I’m going to make a Vampire’s Kiss LIVE (that’s a drink). So come for the fun – it’s only about 15 minutes. I will answer questions live, too.

Okay I’m off to stock up on coffee, cream, chocolate, snacks, pencils and paper for the printer. See you next week as we celebrate Halloween with some creepy good fun.(Now go register for NaNo).

As always thank you for dropping by.
I remain, Yours Between the Lines,
Sherry

I’m excited to reveal the cover of my new book, Time and Blood! The ebook is available for pre-order now, and both ebook and print version will be available on Oct 31!  My treat for you. The cover was designed by the very talented Marisa-rose Robyn of Cover Me Darling and you will be delighted when you see the interior designed by Cassy Roop of Pink Ink Designs.

The story is a paranormal romance between a phoenix and a vampire. Here is the book’s blurb:

Historians in Atlantis inscribed a prophecy in The Great Book of Forgetting about a pair of phoenix whose union would change the future of all magical creatures. When the sea swallowed Atlantis and all her inhabitants, time forgot the people and this prophecy.

But one creature survived.

Rhea is a scarlet phoenix and the last of her kind. She escaped Atlantis with The Great Book and for over ten thousand years roamed the earth, grieved for her lost immortal beloved, and endured nightmares from her past lives. Today, she hears a familiar voice on the wind luring her to a new place. Rhea follows and hopes for the impossible.

     She crossed millennia to find him. 

Jean-Louis is a 250-year-old vampire in New Orleans. For fifty years, nightmares plagued him, and a violent wind haunted him whispering in a foreign tongue. In his dreams, Jean-Louis sees the face of a woman he knows and aches for but has never met. He feels her approach; however, the vampire senses a connecting malevolence waits in the shadows.

     He risks his immortality to keep her.

An accident will bring Rhea into Jean-Louis’ arms. The shock will give new life to the ancient prophecy. But others whisper of the legendary phoenix and are hunting for Rhea. They must steal The Great Book and prevent any chance of the prophecy’s fulfillment. If they fail, the phoenix must die.

     Together they battle destiny for the future.

Rhea will risk everything for love, even death.

     When time and blood converge, blood must win.

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To celebrate the book’s release, YOU are invited to join me on Facebook for my Release Party. Several authors will be sharing the event with me, doing games and giveaways! These authors are: Robbie Cox, JC Layne, ND Jackson, Kim McDougal, Alyne Hart, HL Girton, MM Koenig, Ashlynne Laynne, and T.A. Mooreman. It’s going to be FUN! I hope to see you there and maybe you’ll get a free copy of the new book!___________________________________________________________________

Have you been following me on Instagram? NO?? Well you should. I don’t post enough to annoy you. And every Monday I post a picture of my pen for the week. It’s #pinyourpen day every Monday. You should join me with pictures of whatever pen you are using that week. Everyone has favorites and I am blessed to have many. So hook up with me on Instagram and let’s see yours. Here is last week’s offering. It is wood hand carved from New Zealand. I love it.

Come out to Instagram or my Facebook page to see what pen I’ve posted today!

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AUTHOR EVENT!  I’m preparing to attend an author signing in Columbia, SC called Authors Invade Columbia. It is the inaugural event and there will be about 100 authors, plus models, designers and bloggers in attendance. If you are anywhere near Columbia, SC, join us on Nov 11 from 10-3pm. Not to be missed. And I will have a monster basket of goodies to raffle off.  Here’s the link for info.  I hope you’ll join us.

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Finally, I love to connect with YOU. That’s why I have a monthly live chat on Facebook called Fireside with the Phoenix. The chats are only 15 minutes and I cover announcements, writing tips, questions from readers and anything else that is relevant to the month. Look for my time and date on my Facebook page. This month’s will be on Oct 28 (my 28th wedding anniversary!) but time isn’t set yet (usually around 11 a.m.). 

Thanks for stopping by. Looking forward to seeing you on Facebook, Instagram or other places. I’m on Twitter and Goodreads too. Or you can always contact me via my Contact page on this website.

I remain Yours Between the Lines,
Sherry

(Next week, let’s discuss National Novel Writing Month!)

W.O.E. Is a Necessary Evil and Why you must endure it

Back in 1998/1999 I knew an aspiring writer who made and sold CDs of her books. I thought what  an original idea this was — to record your book onto a CD and sell it. Never heard of such a thing. This writer included pictures and music too, since the CD was designed for use with your desktop computer. Selling price $5-$10. Amazing! I never bought one thinking this was too expensive and was probably a personal fad.

We see now that this author was way ahead of the times (Hello Audible!) but her CDs didn’t catch on with any mainstream group. They did illustrate something I’ve never forgotten:

Listening to the words and reading the words are NOT the same. The mood, tone, nuances, emotions and even characters are different when heard instead of read. Little did I know then that this lesson would be more important to me almost 14 years later.

This brings me to W.O.E. – Writer’s Oral Edit – and why it is a necessary evil and why you MUST endure it. 

Writers today are repeatedly admonished to complete their edits by reading every word aloud. I hear the advice from every recognized authority on publishing from established authors to writing coaches, to established editors and agents. They will harp on this issue and bloggers keep posting about it. Why? Because it is probably the MOST NEGLECTED of the self-edits. And it is the easiest!

When I ask writers if they are reading their works aloud, invariably I get a shy but resounding “no.” I hear, “I want to. I know I should. I should have. I feel embarrassed. I don’t read well out loud. I didn’t have time.”  Excuses and not even good ones.

Their answers do not surprise me because I can tell from their work that hey didn’t have a WOE. I’ll explain how I knew in a moment.

• First, why is reading aloud so dang important?  Because the human speech has a modulating rhythm that has natural highs and lows like undulating water. Sometimes we are calm and other times excited, angry, scared, giddy and this rocks the smooth waters. This is how a written story moves, too, with the emotional impact of your words. But the undulation continues to flow smoothly despite the switch from calm waters. Therefore, writers must achieve a natural rhythm to the story when they write but these shifts in rhythms cannot be verified unless you hear them.
• Second, reading aloud allows the writer to hear the character voices. Not in the head where imagination can fill in the gaps, but out loud where the voice cannot hide. If the tone is wrong coming up off the page, the writer will hear it and feel it. The feeling is a critical fix. Also, each character must have a clear personality which can disappear when reading silently. But when a character is heard, it is easy to sense when elements are missing. The same goes for POV (Point of View).
• Third, reading aloud showcases overused and over extended words. Typically mine are: so, just, as, but, and, very, and perhaps (just to name a few of my worst mistakes). When a writer reads aloud escaping the frequency of the words is impossible. The words will pop up and make you hear how annoying they are when overused and how it drags the story down.
• Fourth, reading aloud lets a writer sense when transitions aren’t working. The story feels wrong because the smooth shift didn’t happen. You didn’t hear it so the reader won’t find it either.
• Finally, reading aloud tests the emotional impact of your words. If you don’t feel anything when you hear it then guess what? You have failed your readers! (and Green Arrow will put you down). Sure, we writers love our words but hearing them lays them bare and the feelings are bared too. We need to feel the whole of it and we can do that only when we hear it. 

These five reasons for reading aloud I lovingly called the Writer’s Oral Edit, my WOE, because woe to the writer who thinks there isn’t any time, that it is a silly tool, who fears the outcome will create more work (isn’t that the point?), or who claims not to read well aloud.

Okay, you have issues. So how do you fix your woe over WOE? Practice. Every day read what you write when you journal or when you do your writing exercises (because I know you are writing every single day!) Read your WIP (work in progress) aloud at the end of your writing session. LISTEN to yourself. Record yourself and play it back. Let the computer read to you. Have a friend (who reads out loud well) read to you and hear what you are writing.  Most of all — LEARN TO READ YOUR WORDS OUT LOUD. 

No matter what. NO MATTER WHAT. The WOE is critical to a writer’s success.

As I indicated earlier, many times I can tell when a writer skipped the WOE because the characters all sound alike, the book is clipped, or the sentences ramble on forever. All of those mistakes, and more, are easily heard and fixed by just one WOE.

I do at least three oral checks. One as I write. Two after the content edits and the third when all the other edits are complete and the book is considered finished. You’d be surprised at the nuances you hear when you think your work is done. Also, I read to a friend, a beta reader or my Personal Author Assistant (PAA). It is very important to have someone else give you feedback.

And here’s a tidbit — WOE is important for me because I have 12 different characters who speak in my upcoming novel. I have 12 points of view and each character must have a unique voice. You only hear the difference well when you read them aloud and then tweek them! It’s like a house full of people who need a voice that stands out from the crowd, 12 times. I need the WOE!

Embrace your WOE. Let this be a lesson for you here and now. When you practice this and embrace the WOE you’ll enjoy a better quality novel and so will your readers (who are also reading aloud whether you realize it or not).

One last thought about reading aloud in general. If you hope to be published (or are published), you must engage in live author events like book signings or panels. You will be asked to read aloud from your novel. Unless you are a hermit, you cannot skip this moment. You don’t have time to be shy, feel silly or awkward. You must step up and become the voice of your book and do so comfortably. What you give the readers in that moment stays with them forever. You are the book’s voice — so practice until you read aloud well and with confidence.

Now, go write. I’ll be listening.

Thank you for coming by.
I remain, Yours Between the Lines,
Sherry