Here’s the question I pose this week. When deciding where to set your story, do you fall back on real life places, imaginary places or a little of both? And if you go for a real place, do you attempt to write about a place you’ve never been?

If you write historical, I’m going to step out on a plank and say you probably write about many places you’ve never been. Many Historicals are set in London; however, I’ve read about authors who’ve written dozens of books set there but never stepped foot on English soil. And if your story is set in 1896 Kansas City or 1968 New Orleans – there’s really no way to get there and have it be the same. This is where research can be a wonderful thing.

Now, if you write contemporary as I do, is it a good idea to write about a place you’ve never been? Even if you make up the town, you have to put it in some specific region of the country (or another country) and even that can be tricky. For instance, for my first WIP I attempted to set my story on the Eastern Shore in a real town. I’d never been there but it’s only about a 90 minute car ride from my house so I figured I could go eventually. I did a little homework about the town on the internet and went from there.

But then I drove through the area and it didn’t fit my story at all. It’s a beautiful place but my story needed more city-qualities (does that make sense?) and this place is very rural. Very “Agri Business Report” and “Shopping at the Feed Store”. Not a bad thing, just not what I was looking for. So, I backed up and punted and took the easy way out – I made up a new town that doesn’t exist. So I cheated – Pirate!

I have two more stories in the works and one is set in the Midwest somewhere (so far anyway) and the other on Ocracoke Island. I’m not sure what qualifies as Midwest these days but I’m thinking I’ve been close enough to wing it. The story is short and erotica which means little plot or scenery other than beds, counter tops, showers and walls anyway. I have been to Ocracoke Island and I’m looking forward to writing a story set there. When the story formed and the characters started telling me about themselves, the setting came as an integral part so that one was a no brainer. Basically, the characters didn’t give me a choice. (BTW - the picture above is one I took on Ocracoke Island. Can’t wait to write that beach scene. LOL!)

When I read Ain’t She Sweet by Susan Elizabeth Phillips, I was amazed how accurately she portrayed a small southern town. Then I found out she’d never lived in a small southern town. How she managed to get it so perfect, I don’t know. Hopefully, I’ll get to ask her someday. *g*

So, what do you do? Do you think you can do justice to a place you’ve never been? Do you set stories in places you’ve always wanted to visit just to give yourself the excuse (and the tax write off) to go? Do you spend hours in the library trying to recreate New York City in 1885? Or do you cop out and set all of your stories right there in your hometown?

IMPORTANT NOTE: This blog is not intended to out anyone in this writer’s group nor to offend anyone about where they set their story. The words “cop out” are meant completely in jest. *g*

Not the ones that leech blood. I’m talking about the ones that leech your emotions.

I’ve felt particularly vulnerable this week. What’s that you say? Yes, yes, I know I’m a pirate and pirates aren’t supposed to be vulnerable. We’re tough, you tell me. I tell myself that too. However, some days when I sit at my computer and pour out my story, I feel exposed and exhausted, like someone just ran me through the emotional wringer and put me away wet. More like a dog straight from his bath than the blood-thirsty, take-no-prisoners piratess I know myself to be.

When people who don’t write talk to me about writing, I always feel like they don’t ‘get’ it. The way they describe it, it sounds like so much fun. Creating worlds from your imagination, making up people and having them do things that you only ever dreamed of. They envy my initiative and they express the idea that, if they only had the faith in their imagination and the time/energy/determination/inclination, they would try writing as well.

I smile and nod through these conversations, agreeing with them about these good aspects of writing, but feeling like something in their descriptions is missing. I feel my characters’ embarrassment, their pain, their joy, and their heartaches. It’s like walking around with “Days of Our Lives” spinning out of control in my head.

Then, after I get all of that angst out, I have to let other people read it and (in)validate it. Yes, that’s terrifying.

Yet, I have to keep going, because if I don’t, how will I know they turn out all right in the end? They are adrift in uncertainty and I am their lifeline. Just add that responsibility to the other responsibilities in my life and you can probably understand my vulnerability.

So, as a recap: angst + possible public embarrassment + fake people counting on me + real life responsibilities = potential emotional exhaustion.

How about you? How do you deal with the emotional ups and downs of writing? What keeps you going through this? And how to do you deal with well-meaning yet misunderstanding comments of some non-writers?

I’m going to do something a little different today. We’re nearing the halfway mark for NaNo, and for most of us it means that we’re running out of steam. Our creative juices are drying up, we’re tapping into our reserve of rum and chocolate and we’re fantasizing about a bed made of clouds and cabana boys clothed in not much at all. Nothing wrong with any of that. In fact, in order to know that you’re doing NaNo, you have to have a moment (or two) like this to give your experience writing in the NaNo flava. It’s the spice of life (or something like it), the ultimate experience for an inexperienced writer.

So to give you a boost in piracy, I’m going to give you some booty. Let’s play a game. I’m going to give you a starter, and you write a fun paragraph. Just a little something, nothing fancy, don’t get carried away, just write the first thing that comes to mind and see if that boosts your word output for the day. I mean, I wanna see those fingers flying like the wind (or Hellion’s favorite, the bionic hand.)

Here we go. You ready?

“The look in his eyes”

Alright, come straight with it. What have you found to be the most difficult about the writing process so far? Even if you’re just getting started, you should have realized that it’s not as easy as it originally seemed. For me it tends to be finding the time to get the words down on the paper. Not for lack of conversations going on in my head…

When I write, I write like I’m trying to capture what I’m seeing on a movie screen. My characters usually are doing, what I like to think of as, a read-through, maybe even a final rehearsal. Sometimes the first brush through with my keyboard does capture the emotion sweeping through the scene; most times I have to go back and add something. But one thing is always the same: everyone looks like a movie star, however vaguely.

Frequently I’m mocked with my chapters as writing something that sounds like something I did the weekend before. It is a widely known fact I pirate the juiciest bits of my own life (or those around me) and embed them in my current manuscript. Perhaps this wouldn’t be so noticeable if I had a plot that swept a reader along so much that they forgot to comment on the “hey, table dancing in Tortuga? Wasn’t that Hellion’s last Port story?” I am ever optimistic there will come a day where I’m published and some reader, who’s never met or heard of me, buys my book and doesn’t realize half the funny stuff in it actually happened in some form.

In any case, when I am retelling these somewhat humorous anecdotes, I do so with a cast that would look good on the silver screen. Being an actress was my #2 dream job, right after writer. I knew at an early age I wrote better than I looked. It was just a fact. But fortunately this leaves me as director, producer, writer, and all those other jobs, and I get to cast who plays my lead.

This is fun. This is possibly the most fun of the writing experience really.

For instance, I’m writing my Adam & Eve story; and though I’ve never had a particular thing for blondes (Bo Duke notwithstanding), for some reason, Brad Pitt seems to make a very good casting of Adam Smith. He’s not too tall; he’s well-built; and when he’s scruffy and unshowered, it’s really hard to see his potential. Also, he’s from Missouri, so regardless if he was purely city or not, he’s a farm boy—and Adam is the original farm boy. It also helps he’s already played a Mr. Smith who is constantly one-upped by his wife.

Eve, however, is a sort of cross between Reese Witherspoon and Angelina Jolie, the beauty queen/feminist. Petite, but will stomp your ass with her dainty heels. Elle Woods meets Tomb Raider. Very high-concept.

Lucifer, although he’s a snake for the duration of this book—he’s got black hair and puppy dog eyes (green in color, but with pathetic appeal of the universal puppy dog.) Johnny Depp—all his best characters rolled up into one consummate player. Yes, Lucifer is my favorite character. Yes, Johnny Depp is my favorite actor. Yes, this is not a coincidence.

Elizabeth, redhaired and vivacious, is Kate Winslet. I may have hated Titanic for all the personal trauma, but she was a looker in that film. But Elizabeth is more sexually secure…a flirt, definitely, a bit of a seductress, but only for forces of good. Kate Winslet with Jane Russell’s attitude from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. [And Jane Russell’s romantic interest in that film has a puppy dog expression as well. “I tell her she has…lips like a red couch in an ivory palace, that I'm lonely and starved for affection. Then, I generally burst into tears. It seldom works.”]

Butterscotch, aka Scott, is…well, I’m not sure. Right now, he looks a bit like RuPaul and John Leguizamo…and maybe a bit of Angelina Jolie.

Bertie…I haven’t quite figured him out yet. He’s rather short though…not the looker that Butterscotch is, but very dignified and the consummate gentleman. Any suggestions?

When you picture your characters do you picture them from scratch, or do you get a little help here and there from Hollywood? Any particular person, or do you throw some Frankenstein artwork together and come up with an “original”? And I won’t tell you who Ben was in GOGU. That’d just ruin it.

There’s something to be said for pulling into port every once in a while. This weekend I attended my second conference in less than two months. (My local chapter conference and it was great!) With each of these excursions into Romancelandia, I become more excited about pursuing the dream of publishing. I’ve worked in many fields (besides being a Pirate, of course) and I have to say authors are some of the most gracious, genuine and generous people.

As was pointed out Saturday, publishing is a competitive business with a large number of writers vying for a small number of slots. Publishers have thousands of manuscripts to choose from. It would be understandable for authors not to offer advice, not to help new aspiring authors who could eventually take their spot. But that’s not what writers do. They help. They counsel. They support and encourage.

Also talked about was how getting published, like most anything else, can be a matter of luck. For instance, your manuscript may be the best one that showed up in an editor’s office that day, but if it doesn’t get to the right person or perhaps the manuscript two before yours caught the editor’s eye and she stopped there, your talent as a writer had nothing to do with you not getting chosen. Being in the right place at the right time can make all the difference.

So, what does this babble all mean? One, understand the competitive nature of this business but never let it change how you treat people. As Sherrilyn Kenyon said during a speech at the New Jersey conference (and I’m paraphrasing here), get to know the person next to you because that person could be unpublished today but a number one best seller tomorrow. And you could be a number one best seller today, but never sell another book. In other words, treat people the way you want to be treated – always. I think that’s a necessary philosophy for life in general but let’s keep this on writing. *g*

Two, never pass up a chance to network, to talk to other authors or professionals in the industry, to learn about your craft. You may write five fantastic novels that could fly off the shelves and make everyone say “JK who?” but if no one ever sees them, they’ll live for eternity under your bed with all those dust bunnies and that Playgirl magazine you shoved under there and forgot about. Take chances. Pitch and submit as often as possible. Get feedback whenever you can, take what works and ignore the rest. But most of all, don’t expect an editor to show up at your door with a contract saying they smelled a best seller and tracked it to your address.

What have you learned since jumping on this roller coaster ride? Have you taken chances, put yourself and your work out there? If not, what are you waiting for? If you’re a reader, have you met your favorite authors and if so, what did you take away from the experience? Just to be fair – if it was bad, let’s not name names. LOL!

PS: I have to say Cathy Maxwell is wonderful. I was fortunate enough to not only get to hear her speak this weekend but to hang out and talk with her. She’s funny, warm and a font of information when it comes to writing. I only caught twenty minutes of her workshop before I had to attend to something else, but I still learned a lesson I desperately needed regarding conflict. I’ll be sure to share that in another blog. *g*

I often hear from fellow pirates that “I am a not a writer”, and often this is their excuse for not commenting on various blogs and such. They feel intimidated that the Mission of this ship is to write and publish…or perish in the attempt. This is what I say to that:

If you hear a voice within you saying “You are not a painter,” then by all means paint . . . and that voice will be silenced.

~Vincent Van Gogh

And if truly you’d rather be set on fire than write anything as ostentatious and exhausting as a novel, try this instead:

My advice to the would-be writer is that he start slowly, writing short undemanding things, things such as telegrams, flip-books, crank letters, signature scarves, spot quizzes, capsule summaries, fortune cookies, and errata. Then, when he feels he is ready, move up to the more challenging items such as mandates, objective correlatives, passion plays, pointless diatribes, minor classics, manifestos, mezzotints, oxymora, exposes, broadsides, and papal bulls.

~Willa Cather

These should help. And if writing is not your bliss, truly, madly, deeply, we understand…though we’d still love you to stop by and comment. Frequently what works for writing also works for most anything, really.

What have you been afraid to try that you’ve always wanted to try? Share. Plot out your plans of how to accomplish this dream with smaller achievable goals. (I.e. “I want to skydive but I’m afraid of heights!”–begin by jumping off the chair in your living room until it no longer frightens you. Then work up to tandem jumping with a George Clooney lookalike.)

As the newest hand on deck, I wanted to give a hearty ahoy to my fellow wenches and the few lads who may also be lurking about.

I’ve been writing oh, forever. Like many other aspiring authors, my first stories were written in elementary school and I think I have wanted to write a romance novel since then. Yet, I didn’t start getting serious about it until Fanlit last year. And, while I only did Fanlit for a couple of weeks due to the imminent delivery of my little pirate, I walked away from the whole experience thinking, “You know, I’m not the only aspiring author out there wracked with anxiety about my writing.”

This epiphany led me to blog after blog, website after website. I ended up meeting the most extraordinary women (and the occasional fellow). These cronies are people who share my goals and dreams as well as my angst and struggles.

Somehow, writing feels easier knowing that they are doing it all with me.

Oh, don’t get me wrong. It isn’t REALLY easier. I still sit in front of my laptop feeling like I’m going cross-eyed, like there are no words left in my brain, and believing to the depths of my soul that I’m churning out complete garbage. But, then I come online and my fellow writing wenches tell me that I, in fact, will be able to see again tomorrow, that there really are words left inside me, and that only some of the stuff I’m writing is utter garbage and the rest only smells a little.

And it’s better. I believe them and I keep going.

Like the pirates of old, we wenches here aboard the RWR have agreed to a sort of Pirate Code for ourselves. However, unlike the Articles of Agreement of those days stipulating how booty be divided and how discipline and compensation for injury should be ferreted out, our code is to share our experiences of writing, ferret out encouragement liberally, and to scratch, kick, or crawl our way to publishing success. Of course, this is a strictly unwritten, without the threat of bodily harm, kind of code. Except when Cap’n’s in her cups then she gets a bit feisty with the local boys, but we won’t talk about that right now.

I think it feels better having safety in numbers as we conquer the rough seas of unpublished uncertainty together.

What makes you keep going, even when you feel like you’ve hit your limit, whether in writing or anything else? Who are your biggest supporters? What are the best things you’ve found about the writing community online? And finally, if you’re lurking out there, let your voice be heard! There’s plenty of room aboard the ship for others who accept the code.

You know that box. Yeah, that’s right. That box that you keep all nice and neat. You stay within the lines and never overstep your boundaries. Even you’re surprised how well kept it is. Stop stroking it. I’m not in this for the show!

Don’t shake your head at me. I swear it’s not the rum. Hellion hid the rum. Something about rationing and all that jazz. Oh la. So I started thinking about boxes and telling Hellion. All that talking about boxes and Hellion broke out the rum again. But I didn’t have any of it. Okay maybe just a drop but it gets me outside of the box and gets my seasick head a movin’. I’m a piratess, you can’t expect me to have standards.

Here’s the thing. I know you have one. It’s the one that you keep all those preconceive notions and perfect straight lines. It’s the one that when you come to a scene where you’re even the slightest bit uncomfortable with writing, you make sure you dot your i’s and cross your t’s. Wenches it’s time to walk away from that box of expected scenes. It’s time to move out of your comfort zone and write something that makes your toes curl, your hair raise, or scare you into wetting yourself. (Though if you’re a pirate, like us, you’ll just reach for the rum bottle and drink yourself into the oblivion and skip that whole nasty wetting yourself step.)

Once when I was a wee writing pirate (almost two years ago now. WOW!) I wrote a scene to this day will cause me to cringe. Not to mention how red in the cheeks I get when I think of the countless people who’ve read it and thought to themselves, “This pirate has just a little problem with reality.” The scene was towards the end of my first fiction piece and it was rather brutal. More than rather brutal. It was a torture scene between my heroine and the super baddy guy. I stepped out of the box (really I didn’t know I had a box to step out of, but bear with me) and smudged the lines so that I could never climb back into it. Writing is about freedom. And if you’re afraid to step outside of your comfort zone, the box will be your foe in your journey as a writer. To this day, it might be some of my best writing, no matter how gutsy of a move it really was. I had no idea at the time that it was, I was just telling my story how I saw fit. And sometimes, stepping out of that box is just what a scene calls for.

As you know, this month is National Novel Writing Month (and if you didn’t know, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?! Not on this blog that’s for sure! Landlubbers… Yeesh.) For the month of November I’ve promised to blog about NaNo to keep us all thinking about our writing and promising to make deadlines and meet goals. Speaking of goals, if you’re participating in NaNo, try writing something you normally wouldn’t write. Just to have some fun. NaNo is a lot of pressure, and all that writing can kill your writing spirit. So to keep your spirit high, mix it up. Step outside of that box. It’s okay to walk away from it and not look back. It’s a box. It will still be there when you return. It will be in the same spot.

When you step away from that box (Hellion, put that box down!), what kind of scene can you imagine writing that would be out of the ordinary for your writing style? Do you excel at writing sweet tender scenes and just once want to take a ride on the wild side? This is your time to shine with your bad self! Tell us all about your out of box experience that you’ve had or wish you could have!