A little Procrastination if you please.

In the light of my growing need to expound on the things going through my head, I’ve decided to continue this Tion-fest. This week we’re—rather I’m—focusing on another dreaded Tion. This time we’re—I’m—turning my blind eye on Procrastination. The last of the trilogy of nasty Tions.

Authors are masters of devising little ways to get out of writing. Don’t ask me why. We just do it—a lot! I think it harkens back to our creative natures. Hating to be tied down to a normal nine to five existence, we like to branch out and see our world from different angles before committing our thoughts to paper. Yeah, you caught me there. I smelled the BS myself. But part of that is true.

To understand procrastination, you need to understand the creative process. Before we do that let me set the record straight. Authors do not think like normal humans. We see reality and some of us strive to write it as accurate as we can. That said, it’s impossible to do that. You can’t do it. Our personal views will forever change the landscape of reality to suit us. That it is simply human nature. For writers, our worlds live in our minds. It is as real to us as the one we’re all forced to live in day after day. You, the reader, come visit our worlds for that very reason. We make our worlds so real you want to stay in them. Or at least we hope we do. How well we accomplish that is ultimately up to you to decide.

That out of the way let me sum up the creative process for you now in as few words as I can. Author sees world. Doesn’t like it. Creates his/her own. Then fills it with people and as much extras as we can. There, that is the best I can do without writing a self-help book. Who do I look like to you? Stephen King. Okay that may be a blog for later, but let’s get back on track.

Procrastination!

Procrastination is a defense mechanism. It allows our minds to wander and explore exactly what we’re trying to do. It can take many forms and I’d say half actually is creative process related. Since my editor may be reading this let me start with the—snort—most important one.

Research. Sometimes an author needs to find stuff out. Hey, this isn’t a technical manual. I can say stuff if I want to. Anyway, it’s true. We all base our writings in things we know but we don’t know everything. I do but that’s beside the point. We’d get bored writing about our hometowns and the idiot neighbors or coworkers who populate our lives. So we get out there and Wiki ourselves into a frenzy or go visit the places we want to write about. If we’re writers of Historical novels we immerse ourselves in whatever ever period we’re jumping into. Or, you could be like me and research talking monkeys. Yes there is a way to research talking monkeys. It’s called a Planet of the Apes marathon.

Reading. This one falls into the Distraction arena too but hey being an author means you have had to read at least one book once in your life. If you’re an author it probably means you’re reading a book while you’re reading this blog. Being an author isn’t just the joy of creating. Sometimes reading is just as much a part of the business as writing. Not to disillusion anyone, but they are things like market trends to consider. Okay, that sounded good to me. I just hope everyone else bought my feeble attempt to legitimize my book addiction. Nothing to see here. Let’s move on to the next topic.

Writer’s Block. See how all these Tions tie together? Writer’s block leads to Distraction, Frustration, and ultimately Procrastination as you try to figure out what in the hell is going wrong. I’m going to leave this one here, but again it could lead to a self-help book and nobody wants that from me.

Family. I don’t see this as a Distraction or Frustration. To me this is the only true excuse for Procrastination. As much as I love writing, I love my family more. If being tied to a computer means I miss those little moments I can never back, I’d rather not write a single word. All the accolades and fans in the world will never replace your child’s first steps, their graduation or a dinner with the person you love most in the world. Writing is many things but it’s not the sum total of existence. I write because my family fills me with love and the inspiration I need to create. Besides, a book won’t put you in a nursing home, if you ignore them.

This one has run a little longer than I’d planned but I’m almost to the end. So let me get this over with. Procrastination is a part of the creative process, as important as inspiration and the rest. It allows you to connect with the world and gives you the ability to step back and examine where you’re going with a book with a fresh eye and keeps you out of a 60 Minute type aged care facility. There is more to the story but Stephen King is calling to find out exactly what I meant in that paragraph up there and I’d just as soon be gone if he decides to send Pennywise to strong arm the answer out of me.

Until next week when we hit a whole new Tion, happy reading and avoid clowns with balloons.

Jmo

Opportunities to Win eBooks galore!

Today is an awesome day! Lots and lots going on and you can find me bouncing my way around the net, starting with Lyrical Press's End of Summer Event.

My interview is up! Comment and you could win a copy of Cowboys Dream Too. Or comment just for fun and then check out the rest of the interviews so far. Lots of fun information about the authors and editors of LPI.


And if you haven’t entered yet, you have until the Aug 31 to get your entry in for the Alaska Heat Wave Contest


Just released, Morgan writing as Shea McMaster, Six Foot Hero You could win a copy by entering the Alaska Heat Wave Contest.

Morgan Q. O'Reilly
Get Some Tonight
http://morganqoreilly.com

Available Now From Lyrical Press
www.lyricalpress.com, Barnes & Noble, Amazon/Kindle, MobiPocket and Fictionwise
Frozen ~ eBook and Print
Chinook Wine and Sink Her ~ eBook
Cowboys Dream Too ~ eBook

Six Foot Hero ~ eBook

Available now from Cobblestone Press: Halo In Her Pocket

Maxwell's Fall by Tielle St. Clare

Last, but certainly not the least of the Four Alaska Heat Wave New Releases this month, Tielle St. Clare and Ellora's Cave present the latest of her hot werewolf series. And this is one scorching author!

You have just a few days left to enter the Alaska Heat Wave Contest to win this book and the other three released last week. Send an email to contest@akrwa.org before August 31 to enter!


Maxwell's Fall
by Tielle St. Clare
Ellora's Cave
Genre: Paranormal


Never threaten a werewolf’s mate…it just pisses him off.

Mandy wants to prove her father’s innocence and her friend Jackson has agreed to help. Only he’s acting strange. In one day he’s gone from “mild-mannered accountant” to “bad-boy Sex God” and she can’t keep her hands off him. Now she every secret submissive fantasy she’s ever had seems possible, even necessary. It’s very distracting.

Max came to Alaska to check on his brother. But Jackson’s missing. And a cute little blonde is claiming to be Jax’s fiancé. That would be okay if Max’s wolf didn’t want her, bad. Mandy isn’t Max’s type. He likes bold and bitchy, not curvy and innocent. But when Mandy mistakes him for his brother, he goes along with the charade. And discovers that innocence hides some wicked tendencies.

Now he’s got himself into a real mess. He’s sleeping with a woman who thinks he’s his brother, his werewolf has developed a strange attraction for Jax’s very best, very male friend and there are the bad guys after Mandy.

This can’t end well.

http://tiellestclare.com/books-maxwellsfall.htm

Jmo on Frustration

Last week I ranted on Distractions. So this week I decided to hit another ‘Tion’ that is the bane of authors. Yep, the dreaded Frustration. Some of you may confuse frustration with distraction but in my book they’re kissing cousins. One automatically leads to the other. Usually it’s the distraction that causes the frustration.

I’d like to say I’m not prone to it, but quite frankly I’m on the verge of coming off a long bout of it. For anyone who’s been a writer for long know that Frustration is just another word for writer’s block. The P.C. name for it I guess. There are a lot of other words that can be used to call it, but this is a family oriented forum. I won’t use them here, but if I can’t finish this thing, I might scare the dog with them out of your earshot of course.

What causes frustration?

Why do we suffer from it?

Where did all these questions come from?

You got it. A clear cut case of not knowing where to go with this blog. That’s the thing about stumbling over a word, a phrase, or what have you. It preys on your mind until you can’t see daylight anywhere. So let’s start here with the causes of Frustration.

When you’re writing, the mind can see exactly what’s happening. For me at least it’s like I have a movie playing in my head. All the little players are doing their thing and for all intents and purposes, everything is right in the world. Okay, so we got the fact the characters know what they’re doing, the plot is pretty much flying on autopilot and that’s where we hit the roadblock. Sometimes the mind can’t translate the film to words. I can’t tell you how many times, I re-watched a scene and all I could come up with was, see spot run when the last thing spot was doing was running if you know what I mean. Honestly, I’ve had books sit for weeks—heck months—before spot didn’t anything but go duh.

I wish I could say getting out of the literal quicksand was easy. The last thing it anyone would want to call it is easy. By the time, you finally get past duh, you’ve banged your head, followed every distraction in the world to take your mind off the scene, in some vain hope serendipity will kick in and the words will come. Truthfully, that is what it takes. You’ve got to go away. Books are like watched pots. They never come to a boil until you’re doing something else.

But sometimes it’s not the phrase that’s the thing holding you up. It’s the plot, or story idea itself. Just because you’ve got an idea doesn’t mean it’s necessarily a good one. Sorry authors out there, but sometimes a Were-Pekinese isn’t a good idea—if ever. What I’m saying is, don’t get trapped in a bad idea. I’ve done it. I’m pretty sure a lot of writing have, too. My advice is step back or better yet, let someone you trust read it, before you start smashing laptops through TVs like some sad rock star. By trust, I don’t mean someone who loves everything you write, but someone who can be brutally honest. By the way, if you can’t take brutal honesty, you’re in the wrong business.
I’ve got to rambling so let me cut this short. There are many other causes of Frustration but they’re pretty much self explanatory. Bad day at work. Your head’s wrapped up in personal issues. They just canceled your favorite TV series. Basically life gets in the way.

Authors need to be centered, focused to write. To quote a great movie—Happy Gilmore in case you’re wondering—we need to be in our happy place, or sad place if that’s what drives you. Your family probably won’t help you get there. Your friends won’t understand. But, your fellow authors will and that’s what makes us family from another mother.

To all my Frustrated brothers and sisters out there, calm down, smell the roses and whatever you do, don’t let it get you down. If writing was easy, everyone would do it. That my friends, is why we’re unique, and the masters of all the worlds we create.

Jmo

Six Foot Hero once more strides across the land

Once more available, Six Foot Hero is leaping off the eshelves at Lyrical Press, Inc. Two years ago when this first released with a publisher who closed, Romantic Times Reviews Magazine gave this then-debut novel a Four Star Review.

Re-edited, cleaned up and tightened up, it's an improvement on a an already good thing. See for yourself! Logan's still hot and hunky, but Nicole's a bit stronger and more worthy of him. Together they are hot and sweet.

Visit Alaska and tour Northern California. Fall in love again...

Sometimes a woman needs a hero.

Nicole Dahl has some hard decisions to make. Trapped by a job and the troubling attentions of a mentor, she breaks free temporarily on an Alaskan vacation. Once there, instead of the soul-searching and relaxation she'd planned, she meets Logan Schafer, a man who erases her loneliness with his strong, skilled hands.

Logan is mesmerized by Nicole's emerald eyes and beguiling sense of innocence, but he knows their pasts spell trouble for any hope of a future together. He has a prior claim to deal with once and for all, and Nicole's so-called mentor is a much bigger threat than she realizes.

Will Nicole let him be her hero?

For more Morgan books, check out Barnes & Noble, Amazon/Kindle, Fictionwise, and All Romance eBooks.

Shea McMaster / Morgan Q. O'Reilly
Get Some Tonight

Jmo on Distractions

Being an author is all about distractions. Some good. Some bad. For me, writing is the greatest distraction in the world. Bad day at work. Write to wash it away. Kids getting on your nerves. Shut the door, slap on the earphones and write to drown them out. Spouse giving you the evil eye. Smile and write. Can’t comment further. She reads this. But, you get what I’m saying. Authors need to write to distract them from the hazards of being alive in an insane world. See, non-writers think we’re insane for writing, and we think they’re insane for not writing. Nice balance.

Yet, there are times when we’re just as insane as everyone else. You guessed it. When we’re not writing!!! Yep I like to call it, PMS, or Post-traumatic Muse Syndrome. Now, that I’ve giving it a snappy acronym, let’s get into the many causes for this distracting condition.

LIFE. Yep the reason you’re breathing and suffering is the leading cause. It’s hard to write when you’ve got a day job, bills that demand to be paid, a spouse who wants things fixed, cleaned, cooked, or generally done. Kids fall into this category too. Then you have crappy co-workers, bosses who can’t accept that writing is an integral part of your being and if the muse hits you, you’ve got to get it out of your system before you lose it. And, you’ve got a million other little things that throw your mind out of the game. Somebody cuts you off on the way, Wal-Hell not having Double Stuf Oreos when you want them, or a pushy bitch who snatches the last box. All these things and more can kill a good muse buzz quick.

TOO MANY IDEAS IN YOUR HEAD AT ONE TIME. This is the worst. Your muse is whispering so many good ideas in your ear, you can’t focus on just one. Believe me you can’t do them all at the same time. I’ve tried. I myself believe this is the way a muse uses her powers to get a short vacation.

EDITS. Sure they’re part and parcel of the game, but nothing kills a creative mood like getting handed a big reminder of all things you got wrong. Edits are learning experiences and you can’t grow without making mistakes. That’s what the rational mind has to say on the matter, but the insecure nail biting part is screaming, if I’m this bad, why do I keep trying? After a week or so, the author figures out they’re great and it’s the editor who needs help and we start writing again.

PROMO. Another part of the game, but one that kills a muse just the same. It never fails. When you’re on a roll, there is some event that you must show up for. As much as we love chatting with our fans, because we do and you’re the reason we’re doing this, writing is a disease just as insidious as anything bought on the street. It’s a monkey we don’t want off our back. If you take it away, you kill a part of us we can’t bear to lose, our sanity.

ONLINE SOCIAL COMMUNITIES. Facebook, MySpace, Twitter…evil each and every one. Hey, we’re adults but we’re just as prone to look at the shiny object as well as any kid under the age of 18. We get addicted to being close to both other authors and those who read our books and the muse goes along for the ride. By the time we’re ready to get to work and write, they’re still roaming around doing quizzes, playing Mobsters and generally making an ass of themselves socializing on our dime. BRB, must find out which movie psycho I am.

NEW BOOKS BY OUR FAVORITE AUTHOR. I fall into this trap and I know others do too. You’re writing your butt off and you look at the calendar. Damn, the new Sheri is out today. You say to yourself, I’ll start back writing when I get back from the store. Then it’s I’ll only read one chapter until I’ve only got thirty more pages to go, I’ll let that idea percolate while I finish this up. By the time you’re sighing to yourself, whatever train of thought you had going is just that… Gone!

TV, DVDS, VIDEO GAMES, ONLINE SODUKU, ETC… Need I say more.

FINALLY, YOURSELF. An author is the most destructive stumbling block to writing. We like to look at all the pretty things around us. We like to doubt our ability. We like to chat amongst ourselves about how we can’t write. We like to generally avoid writing. Mostly, we like to see a world that doesn’t exist except in our minds and sometimes we want the real world to be as great as the ones we create. When they don’t, it fills us with such a depression, we retreat into all those things above to escape the horror that our minds aren’t enough to reshape reality to reflect what we want. But, we can affect those who read our books. We can make you smile, laugh, cry and join us in wishing the world was as fantastic as the ones you read.

So, in short… I’m writing this blog to distract me from the fact I have too much to do, not enough time to do it, but as soon as I get this out of the way, I’ll get right on it. Yeah right. I still have a kabillion quizzes left to take on Facebook.

Six Foot Hero Coming Aug 17, 2009

The return of Shea McMaster and Six Foot Hero, the story of Nicole and Logan that spans the glorious locales of Alaska and Northern California. From Midnight Sun to Napa Valley, from the Golden Gate to the Northern Lights, their story is freshened and updated, re-edited and re-released. Don't miss this specatular eBook, or the chance to lick those abs... ahem.

Okay, okay, getting a bit carried away, but this book is worth it!

Coming August 17, 2009. Brought to you by Lyrical Press, Inc. Look for it wherever ebooks are sold. Particulary Barnes & Noble, Amazon/Kindle, Fictionwise and other fine e-booksellers.

Win Four New Releases

It’s an Alaska Heat Wave!

Enter to win one of the four new releases!
One Grand Prize Winner will receive a copy of all four books.
Four more will win one of the four books in a random drawing.

Send your name to
contest@akrwa.org

You may be added to the mail lists of the four authors and AKRWA

but you may unsubscribe at anytime. Names will be drawn randomly from all entries.

Contest begins August 10

and

ends August 31, 2009

Brought to you by
The Alaska Chapter
of the
Romance Writers of America
http://www.akrwa.org/
AKRWA is a non-profit organization and reaps no monetary reward from this contest

Count Down to School!

Anyone else excited about Back to School?

This year it takes on a whole new meaning for me. College.

Yup, the one and only kid is going to college. It's not so simple as throwing bedding in a trunk and clothes in a duffel bag. Oh no. There's so much more to it all.

My kiddo is lucky, he knows his roommate. Friends from High School, they picked each other. Now we're coordinating who bring what. No, not food. Game and computer systems. Printers, microwave and fridge. Dishtowels and brooms. The laptop is on the way, Grandma bought the microwave, and as we speak the new towels and sheets are going through the wash. Next step, get them monogrammed because he chose colors too dark for me to mark with a Sharpie. Sigh.

And trying to get him to sort out his clothes... oy. I know guys are easier than girls in some respects, certainly when it comes to basic clothes, but in his own way he's as picky, if not pickier. We can't buy jeans because Old Navy doesn't have what he wants in stock at the moment, so he's heading off with only four pairs, most of which are on the ragged side, and we'll mail order later. He's looking at T-shirts, they have to be funny, but his brand of funny, not what Mom thinks is funny. Socks we're good on, but he needs more shorts. Coats, hats, gloves and scarves are covered (it gets to -60F where he's going), but we're still fighting about boots.

So here's a poem my mom found today and gave to my son. Written by my sister probably close to thirty years ago...

How was I to know when I was five, playing dolls and tinkertoys,
That with each stepping stone - first grade, second, third, fourth...
Its magnification would increase

From tinkertoys to spelling words, and the shadow grew
From spelling Bees to Algebra and the shadow grew more
From square roots to college boards and the shadow grew

The grade,
The grade,
The grade!

The almighty G.P.A.

Registration,
Pass or Fail
Graduation?

The Almighty G.P.A!

I think I'll email this to him once a month. Just to remind him, homework before gaming! We've already had the talk about drinking, drugs and parties. He and his roommate both are adamantly opposed to the bad stuff. Whew. One worry reduced.

What plans are you making for back to school? Shopping? Lunch out? Pedicures? Massages? New books to read? Talk to me, I want to hear. Me, I'll be trying to figure out how to do all the jobs he does around the house. Sigh.

Morgan Q. O'Reilly
Get Some Tonight

My books are now available at
Barnes & Noble, as well as Amazon, All Romance eBooks, and more. Be sure to search wherever you buy ebooks.

Six Foot Hero coming August 17 from Lyrical Press!