Sunday, June 3, 2007

Getting Back the Muse

I'm on page 132 of my current manuscript, Broken Lullaby, due August 1st. I've lost the thread. Yup, a five day camping trip with an uncharged laptop was a very effective roadback. I'm currently rereading. I've discovered a few name changes. I've got Roberto, Adolfo, and Alberto. There are clearly too many 'o' people in my book. I'm amazed by the writing process, at least how I use it. I went to a workshop hosted by Brenda Joyce a few months ago. She said that on Mondays and Tuesdays, she wrote 20 pages. On Wednesday and Thursday, she wrote ten pages, and then on Friday and Saturday, she wrote five pages. That's 70 pages a week! Wow. That's basically a series book every five weeks. My goal, after hearing the talk was ten pages a day. Memo to self: Brenda does not have a two-year-old (horses don't count).
Book: I'm reading Undercover Blessing by Deb Kastner
Question to self: How much romance do readers expect in a Love Inspired Suspense. The best review I received for Pursuit of Justice said there was not much romance. True. The reviewer also mentioned that because of the fast pace, there really wasn't much of a chance for a legitimate romance. I agree. I wrote the thing. It basically took place in under two weeks, and personally, if someone was trying to kill me, finding Mr. Right would take second place to finding a good place to duck the bullets. My second book The Price of Redemption has more romance. But, still, the book takes place in weeks not months. It took me about three months to fall in love with my husband, and there were no bullets or dead bodies distracting me. Okay, he was distracting, but in a good and safe way :)
Enough ramblings for today. I need to be writing and/or reading.

Pamela
Mark 16:16

1 comment:

Cara Putman said...

You know, Pamela, this was an issue I wrestled with while writing Deadly Exposure. The book takes place in one week, so there wasn't a ton of romance in the first version Krista saw. Her comment was basically: Love the suspense, needs romance. So then I had to wrestle with myself about how to make the romance believable in one week. Brainstorm with a few friends and presto, a backstory that works for a romance to develop in a truncated window while dogging shadows. :-)