That moment when you delete the last ten thousand words of your WIP #amwriting

I left a story on my computer for six weeks half-written, and suddenly decided that I wanted to finish it. So this weekend I forced myself not to sign into the various social media sites and read the story so that I could continue it.

As soon as I'd finished reading I knew I no longer liked what I'd written. The rest of the story that was in my head wouldn't fit with what was already there. What to do. Be ruthless I told myself. Just cut out what you don't like. The word count swam before my eyes. Was I ready to delete ten thousand words, words I used to like? I took a deep breath. I could copy them onto another document and save them just in case, but no, I know once I fall out of love with my writing it just has to go. 

I deleted ten thousand words, well ten thousand and five words.

I feel much better. Thankfully this doesn't often happen to me, because usually a story drops into my head and I simply write it. I flows down, but my day job has interfered a lot with writing time this last couple of months. I've also been promoting my last story from Evernight Publishing. Promotion takes so much time and energy. I don't know any other author that doesn't feel the same as me about promotion.  

Sometimes writing is such a treat, a joy, and time to write is precious. So I need to take my own promo advice, when I see a chance, take it ...

 Here's a beta (unedited) snippet from the romance WIP, Taking Chances 

Erin was going to have lunch with a couple of work colleagues. They walked down the high street to the café on the corner. She wondered if she should pop into the bookshop to say hello to Hannah as she passed. The older woman was so nice. Then she decided that she’d drop into the shop on the way home instead.

Her colleagues found a table near the window that would seat them all. 

The café was busy, and thankfully, there were three service staff instead of the usual two. Erin ordered soup and a toasted sandwich. As she gazed out of the window waiting for her food, she thought she saw the young man who'd been handing out flyers. He was on his motorcycle moving along slowly. She watched. It is him.

He parked in the spaces specially designated for motorbikes outside the bank on the opposite side of the street, and took off his helmet. The breeze blew his dark hair back. It showed off his angular jaw and the sexy planes of his face. He unzipped his leather jacket as he strode up the sidewalk and went into the big double doors of the bank.

Erin gazed at him longingly. He was so attractive. His dark jeans and mid-calf, black biker boots gave him a dashing air. Erin sighed as she took in the sight of his muscular thighs and his cute ass. The jeans fit perfectly, and there was a frayed rip halfway down the left thigh. He looked good enough to eat. 

One of her colleagues asked her a question and Erin smiled, tearing her thoughts away from the gorgeous young man.

Copyright Elodie Parkes

#SundaySnippets from Evernight release, A Fairy Tale Romance

‘A Fairy Tale Romance’

The story is contemporary, fantasy romance. It’s set along the coast in the sumptuous Mediterranean, and bathed in warmth, which I felt was a fitting venue to contrast with the stark misery of my hero’s predicament.

The story is modelled on old fairy story motifs, where there is a fairy godmother style character, a prince and a princess. I so enjoyed writing this story because Thorn Valmont, my hero, is such a lovely, romantic man and deserves to be freed from the curse that befalls him. This is a sizzler of a story with erotic love scenes and threads of fairy tale mystery as we wonder what has happened to Thorn and how he’ll escape his lonely life.

Read the snippet:

Sandy Carson unlocked her office door, flipped the notice secured in the middle of the glass panel to ‘Open,’ and clattered to her desk. Her stiletto heels echoed in the large half-empty space. She employed an assistant who generally started work at nine, and that’s why she’d made the eight o’clock appointment with poor Thorn Valmont. That’s how she thought of him now. At first, she’d regarded him as ‘that totally dishy young man who’d bought the old palace’ but after ten years of knowing his secret, she pitied him. Though he was still gorgeous, his plight was nothing short of grotesque.

She tossed her briefcase down and pushed the button on her computer. Leaving it to boot, she went to make coffee in the back room of the office. Sandy enjoyed the cool, white, spacious office. She’d chosen the minimalist look for it. At fifty years old, Sandy had discarded her unfaithful husband and changed every facet of her surroundings at home and in her business.

She took her coffee back to her desk and checked through the contract again. At last, Thorn was opening up the vacation accommodation he’d made in the old palace. Three self-contained luxury apartments were available within the huge house. Thorn lived in another on the third floor. Sandy had sold him the place and now she was going to act as the agent to let out the vacation apartments. She hoped to involve him in greeting the tenants, but Thorn might do nothing more than allow access to the cleaners at the end of each rental. She sighed, thinking about the sad figure he cut when he did appear in town. Tall, muscled, dark hair, and lovely blue eyes, his handsome exterior still couldn’t hide his pain. Well, not from me anyway ... maybe that’s because I know.

Copyright Elodie Parkes 2014 Evernight Publishing All Rights Reserved

Yikes, I can't write a story I have nagging at me to be written because suddenly I want to re-name the hero...#amwriting

I found this sweetie on Fotolia and bought the stock pic some time ago. 

At the time, I was experimenting with his look for another story, 'Jake Snow', but in the end I went with another model.

That model was so like the character Jake, my private investigator in 'Jake Snow' that I simply had to use him.

Here's Jake on the roof top where a fashion show takes place.

Yes, he does look a little worried that's because he's afraid of heights.

You won't find this pic on the stock sites as I bought the male model pic and the cityscape separately and made the picture. 

It was so easy to name Jake. Sighs.

The character in the story,  now a quarter written, but left there on my computer unwritten for three weeks was called Cameron. Then suddenly it seemed wrong.

It's unusual for me to have this problem.

Usually the character's looks, personality, and name simply drops into my head along with their story, (males and females.)

This can be an issue when I'm working with a publisher who provides the cover. Usually it means I have to accept that the image in my mind will not be what I get on the cover. 

Smiles.

Names for characters are so important I think. As a writer if the name isn't right that's it for me. I'm not so picky when I'm reading. 

I wonder if it's a phase I'm going through because in a story I just finished up and have sent to the publisher I had two minor characters who started out as Dan and Slick, then became Thierry and Keller, then ended up as Luke and Alex. Laughs

What happened? They evolved into characters who were so vivid for me as I wrote the story that their own story formed in my mind and their names had to change. Their story is also nagging at me to be written. 

So, let's get back to 'used to be Cameron,' who's image as a muse is still perfect for his character, but his name has flown away. 

Here's some info about him. Maybe you can suggest a name.

He's around six two, muscled and toned.

His hair is a shade that his leading lady hasn't seen before. A nut brown that makes the blue of his eyes visible from across the street where she first sets eyes on him.

He has his own business. 

He lives in a sprawling ranch style house a thirty minute drive from the city where his studio is. There's a river flowing past the bottom of his back yard/garden. As part of his work out, he runs along the path that follows the river edge.

He drives a black SUV or a Harley, depending on his mood.

He's just celebrated his twenty-ninth birthday. He's single and sick of it.

He loves music and rain. He's a romantic alpha. He's about to meet a woman he discovers he can't live without. The question is will she accept his secret?