Tag: Writer Zen Garden

  • Writer Wednesday – With Guest Leela Lou Dahlin!

    Noony, here! I’m tickled pink to introduce my buddy from the Nice Girls Writing Naughty group, Leela Lou Dahlin. She’s our special guest for this week’s Writer Wednesday. Please make her feel welcome!

    Take it away, Leela!

    * * *

    Being a writer… it’s something that I’ve always done but it wasn’t until recently that I became serious about being a published author.

    Someone recently I was on a site that asked how people came up with their stories and I thought it was fascinatingly funny reading about how all of these different people come up with stories. I’ve almost never heard of any one person doing it the exact same way and on that site it was no exception. One thing it showed me is there is no right or wrong way… you make it work out the way it’s best for you. Some people start with the characters, some with the troupe or storyline (unrequited love, brother’s best friend, friends to lovers, etc…), some start at the beginning and others at the end.

    My story always starts with a scene. Sometimes it’s a love scene or maybe it’s an argument but it’s a passionate moment that tells me a lot about the people who are within it. I may think about this scene for a few minutes, a few days or a few weeks until more and more of the character’s personality traits are revealed (Unfortunately this usually takes place when I’m writing someone else’s story – sometimes the characters wait quietly and other times they demand to at least be written down).

    After I get through the scene where I’m introduced to these people, then I have to figure out how and why they got to this point. Usually one of the characters will let something out in the conversation that will clue me in to their history. This sounds very complicated, I know, but it really isn’t. I plot out the how, when and why before figuring out what is going to break them up and what will bring them back together.

    My first published book was released April 15, 2014 so I’m coming up on my Author-versary (side note – I’m the queen of making up words) for my book titled A Haught Date. It was released as an e-book almost a year ago and earlier this year they released it to the world in print form. Bwah-hahahahaha *attempting evil laugh*

    So there you have it…that’s how I do it.

    What about you…how do you start your masterpiece?

    Feel free to come say hello on any or all my social media hang outs.

    or email LeelaLouDahlin AT gmail DOT com.
  • Monday with Aunt Noony

    We’re ready for National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo, at our house.  Can you tell?  That’s Kolya, doing his best to give his inspiration to my inbox.  He’s a little over a year old and is fitting in well at the Noonypad, terrorizing his big sister Nadya and alternately loving on, and beating up, our eldest Boria.  He follows the dog, Coyote, around like she’s his nanny.

    Yes, we have a confused household.  My son thinks he’s half dog/cat too.

    But I digress.  It’s only October, even though it feels like NaNoWriMo has begun, and that’s because I am super excited to report that I’m a Municipal Liaison this year!  I finally did it, I threw my hat into the ring.  This year, there are four of us volunteering to wrangle ChiWriMo into shape.  We have a Facebook group, a Twitter feed, and even a blog.  We’ll be doing online write-ins, in person write-ins, a Kick-Off and Thank-Goodness-It’s-Over (or TGIO) party, and all sorts of stuff in between.  I’m so excited, I can’t stand myself!

    Write on!


    — 

    “It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.”
    – E.E. Cummings

    **New** SEALED BY FIRE is available from LooseId LLC. An All Romance eBooks Bestseller!

    The Chicagoland Shifters series:
    Book 1 BURNING BRIGHT, available from Samhain Publishing.

    Book 2 TIGER TIGER, available from Samhain Publishing. An All Romance eBooks Bestseller!

    The Persis Chronicles:

    **Coming Soon!** Watch for EMERALD KEEP from Torquere Books, out April 2015!

    Check out EMERALD FIRE, available from Torquere Books.

    Check out “Seeking Hearts“, available from Torquere Books.


    Check out COOK LIKE A WRITER , available from Barnes and Noble.
    Check out “Taking a Chance“, available from Torquere Books! An All Romance eBooks Bestseller!

    My links: Blog | Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon | LinkedIn | Pandora 

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    The Writer Zen Garden:  The Writers Retreat Blog | Forum | Facebook | Twitter | Meetup
  • Writer Wednesday – A Genius Viewpoint

    Along with talented friends on an artist’s forum, I am reading Julia Cameron’s book “Walking in This World”.  It follows the same thread as her “Artist’s Way” guide, both aimed at helping people unlock and explore their creative potential.  One continuing theme of Ms. Cameron’s program includes inspirational quotes in the books’ margins.  Proceeding through each weekly chapter I tend to find at least one that stands out.
    Week nine gave me the following:
    “There are only two ways to live your life.  One is as though nothing is a miracle.  The other is as though everything is a miracle.” – Albert Einstein
    This rousing, seemingly unscientific outlook led me to look up the genius on Wikipedia.  There I found something nuclear physicist Robert Oppenheimer said at Mr. Einstein’s memorial.  The following words reinforce the lauded theoretical physicist’s opinion.
    “There was always with him a wonderful purity at once childlike and profoundly stubborn.”
    What better way to describe someone who sees miracles?  Of course this is a visionary approach not only toward scientific achievement, but also artistic.  Julia Cameron encourages both a childlike idealism and a strong (one might say stubborn) work ethic.
    Whether theorizing on relativity or plotting a novel, human beings must see beyond the scope of reality.  Yes, our storyline and characterizations may stay within a real world context.  Our minds, however, are creating fiction.  We are inventors.
    I may be no Einstein, but I’m going to go now and invent something the world has never seen.  Happy writing!
    –

  • Update, News, and Goings-On

    Hello, world!  I’M CAFFEINATED!

    Let’s see.  What’s new in the land of Writer Zen Garden?  WE HAVE A NEW MEETUP GROUP!  I’m so excited.  We are the Writer Zen Garden and joining up is free.  If you join, you will be prompted to set up a Meetup account, if you don’t already have on; you will then be kept apprised by email of events and goings-on in person.  If you’re interested, please check it out:

    Writer Zen Garden

    We are running two workshops at the moment.  The first is Walking In This World, using Julia Cameron’s book by the same title.  The second in her bestselling Artist’s Way trilogy, Walking focuses on expanding our creativity and learning tools that help us stay on the page.  It runs every other Sunday and we had our first meeting yesterday, October 13th, at Pumping Station: One.

    Secondly, we will have a Prompts Circle.  Our first meeting is this Saturday, October 19th, also at Pumping Station: One.  If you want some new ideas to play with in your writing, or just need to get back onto the page, join us!

    Finally, National Novel Writing Month is coming!  Every year in November, thousands of writers around the globe participate in the madness that is NaNo.  If you haven’t heard of it yet, or if you haven’t signed up for this year’s madness, visit their website.

    That’s all the news for now.  We are hard at work on Submission Guidelines for the blog and some more announcements throughout the rest of the year, leading up to our big announcement in January.  Be sure to stay tuned!