Showing posts with label #atozchallenge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #atozchallenge. Show all posts

Wednesday, 1 April 2020

#IWSG post. Guest Post - Yolanda Renee - Birthing doesn't have to be murder. Writing real-life experiences in your novel.

Hi all!

For April's IWSG, I've invited my good buddy and WEP co-host Yolanda Renee, to tell us something we didn't know about her and her writing. We've been communicating much more during this time of Coronavirus, keeping each other's spirits up. How are you doing? Australia has stringent social distancing laws, (only 2 people allowed to meet now), so it's great we're all so digitally connected. Something came up in one of Yolanda and my conversations, and it just happened to coincide with the first day of her blog tour. As the IWSG is about our insecurities/securities, I'll let you make up your mind where Yolanda falls.

After her post, you'll find her tour schedule and buy links and a Rafflecopter Giveaway. I hope you'll support Yolanda on her tour through MC Book Tours.


Top Site for Writers


Alex's awesome co-hosts for the April 1 posting of the IWSG are Diane Burton, JH Moncrieff, Anna @ Emaginette, Karen @ Reprobate Typewriter, Erika Beebe, and Lisa Buie-Collard!

Please visit if you are able!



Writing Your Real-life Experiences Into Your Novel

In Murder, Just Because there's a birth scene. I won't give away the details, but I will admit to writing the scene based on personal experience. I thought I'd take a moment to explain that here, and no, I won't be going into the gory details. I did that in the book. 😊

When I first learned I was pregnant, I was determined to give birth at home. No doctor needed to be involved. I mean, really, women have been giving birth as long as wo/man has walked the earth, but with all their intellect and mechanical gadgets, doctors figured they had a better way. Nope, I didn't buy it. I was very secure in my decision and took steps to make my vision reality.

I found a licensed midwife, but her caveat, she only delivered in the hospital. Damn, foiled again. But at least I'd be in a birthing room with a midwife. I capitulated, much to my husband's delight. He, of course, thought I'd gone off my rocker. Sometimes the decisions we make, we have to push forward in our self belief, even if distracted by those who don't 'see' it.

The big day came, or should I say night. Midnight. No sleep for us. My water broke. Off to the hospital. I'd been on my feet walking in circles around the apartment for hours. I knew it was time, I'd been having contractions all day.

We arrived at the hospital after one am. Straight to the birthing room. The contractions became stronger and stronger as they do. The midwife was dealing with another patient, someone who'd already given birth five times, and since this was my first, she was sure I'd take all night. She left us alone to get on with it, which was fine with me. I was full of self belief. I could do this alone if need be. 

The midwife thought I was just overreacting to the pain and offered 'drugs' as help. NO! I insisted. I need to push. She just threw her hands up and walked out of the room. The rigid tilt of her back said: Stupid primigravida! What would she know? First baby! Pfft.

I did what my body told me to do, and before anyone knew what was happening, I was cradling my son. Pushed him out and pulled him up into my arms. The rest of them, husband included, crowded around, just stood and stared. They hadn't even prepared the bed for delivery. 

But, hey, I wanted to do it my way, and I did. Jason, my son, got an APGAR point total of 10. An Apgar score is a 1 to 10 rating the summarizes the health of a newborn.

Newborn tests positive for COVID-19 in London | Live Science

We were home by noon that day. 

The stereotypical births portrayed on television are done for the laugh track, but most women think only of the child and act only for the child. Suppression of pain, control of breathing, and only thoughts of having a healthy birth is how it's truly done, and that's how I did it and wrote it in my latest novel.


DISCLAIMER: I know that isn't always the case, and that delivery can go all wrong with no fault on anyone. I was clearly blessed. My go-it-alone decision was validated. And I pray for the same for every pregnancy.

Thank you Yolanda. I'm not sure if I was supposed to be, but I was highly entertained. Go girl!

Murder, Just Because


Short Blurb:
The Snowman is back, and as his bloody rampage continues, terrified Alaskans increasingly doubt Quaid’s abilities. In a deadly game of cat-and-mouse, Jenkins starts picking off the people in Quaid’s life… and drawing closer to the most important person in Quaid’s life...his wife. The Snowman’s cruelty knows no bounds,  but the object of his hate knows no fear!

Tagline:

The Snowman’s cruelty knows no bounds, but the object of his hate knows no fear.





Bio:


Looking for a new adventure, Renee recently moved to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. A storyteller from a very early age, an avid reader, and with an education and background in business and accounting, becoming a writer only made sense. And writing mysteries pure logic.






More titles from Yolanda:

MURDER, JUST BECAUSE
LINKS
Author Links:
 Email: yolandarenee@hotmail.com
If you want to follow Yolanda's tour, here is her schedule:


Murder, Just Because Tour Schedule

April 1            Denise Covey – Guest Post - Writing Your Real-Life                                  Experience Into Your Novel
                        Mythical Books – Q & A & Excerpt List
April 2            Constantine – Guest Post - Creating a Serial Killer
April 6            Mystery Writing is Murder – Guest Post How I Wrote My                          Mystery
                        Spunk on A Stick – Feature
April 7            Lisa Haselton’s Reviews and Interviews – Q & A
April 8            The Warrior Muse – Top Ten List of Literary Detectives
                        Random Thoughts – Excerpt & Feature
April 10          Ellen Jacobson Author – Q & A
April 13          Christine Rains – Writer – Review & Excerpt
                         Alex J. Cavanaugh – Guest Post -Top Ten Murder Movie 
April 15          Elizabeth Seckman, Author Guest Post - Heaven on Earth
April 17          Writer’s Gambit – Q & A & Excerpt
April 20          Tara Tyler Talks – Interview
                        H.R. Sinclair – Guest Post - How to Write a Thriller 
                        Rockin’ Book Reviews – Review & Top Ten  Highlights of                         My Life
April 24          Write with Fey – Guest Post - Evil Exists
April 27          Just Jemi – Q & A
April 29          Thoughts in Progress – Review
May 1             Celticlady’s Reviews – Feature



GIVEAWAY DETAILS:

This tour-wide giveaway is for a complete set of the Detective Quaid Mystery series books for one winner, paperback copies of MURDER, JUST BECAUSE for five winners, and a Kindle copy of MURDER, JUST BECAUSE for 10 winners.

To enter the giveaway, just click on the Rafflecopter widget below and follow the instructions. The widget may take a few seconds to load so please be patient. If the widget doesn’t show up, just click HERE and you’ll be directed to the widget.


Thanks for stopping by and be sure to follow Yolanda on her week-long tour HERE. You never know what you might find out. Do you enjoy watching a character grow from one story to the next?


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Yolanda is the host for the April WEP challenge. She has written a preliminary post today about the new challenge. Check it our HERE. Get ready to post on April 19. Hopefully, if you're doing the A-Z, you can fit your flash or poem into the letter of the day.


If you enjoyed Yolanda' post, please tweet!


@YolandaRenee #booktour #guestpost  #WritingReal-lifeExperiencesinyournovel https://dencovey.blogspot.com/2020/03/iwsg-post-guest-post-yolanda-renee.html
@DeniseCCovey @MasonCanyon

Wednesday, 3 April 2019

#IWSG April post -- Story Genius

Here we are gathered around the IWSG campfire again, swapping war stories! And it's April! Time for the A -Z Challenge for those of you who participate. For the WEP/IWSG, it's time for the April Challenge. (See end of post for details).

Alex's awesome co-hosts for the April 3 posting of the IWSG are J.H. Moncrieff, Natalie Aguirre, Patsy Collins, and Chemist Ken!
Visit these awesome peeps when you can!

April 3 question: If you could use a wish to help you write just ONE scene/chapter of your book, which one would it be? (examples: fight scene / first kiss scene / death scene / chase scene / first chapter / middle chapter / end chapter, etc.)


That's easy. The opening scene of my Paris novel where so much has to happen to set up the story. I've been going through the Story Genius with a friend. This how-to book isn't for the faint hearted. It takes two, baby... 

Most of you are way ahead of me in the published author game, but that doesn't mean I haven't created an arsenal of stories and novels in various stages of dress or undress that will be published soon. I know what stories I like to read. It can be hard to write those stories. Just read a quote by Lisa Cron in her earlier book, Wired for Story - '...most people know what a story is until they sit down to write one.'

Image result for story geniusStory Genius: How to Use Brain Science to Go Beyond Outlining and Write a Riveting Novel (Before You Waste Three Years Writing 327 Pages That Go Nowhere) 



Image result for clip art image of praying handsAfter writing another 12 pages of notes fleshing out my MC's life before page one, I feel like I'm getting somewhere. After plotting and writing this story for about three years, LOL. Perhaps I'll be much quicker when I apply the principles to my other novels setting myself up for a quick launch. Right now I'm back to a Chapter One rewrite. The rest of the novel should fall into place now...

Here's the blurb for Story Genius in case you're interested:

It’s every novelist’s greatest fear: pouring their blood, sweat, and tears into writing hundreds of pages only to realize that their story has no sense of urgency, no internal logic, and so is a page one rewrite. 

The prevailing wisdom in the writing community is that there are just two ways around this problem: pantsing (winging it) and plotting (focusing on the external plot). Story coach Lisa Cron has spent her career discovering why these methods don’t work and coming up with a powerful alternative, based on the science behind what our brains are wired to crave in every story we read (and it’s not what you think). 

In Story Genius Cron takes you, step-by-step, through the creation of a novel from the first glimmer of an idea, to a complete multilayered blueprint—including fully realized scenes—that evolves into a first draft with the authority, richness, and command of a riveting sixth or seventh draft.

Here's to writing with authority, richness and command.

Speaking of which, sign ups started for the WEP/IWSG April challenge, Jewel Box, on April 1. Rub your Aladdin's lamp, and come up with a flash fiction, non fiction or poem that fits the challenge -- or fits your letter of the day if you're in the A - Z Challenge.



Have a great month! Hope to see you signed up at the WEP website! Even if your writing is not yet at genius level, we'd love to read it!





Wednesday, 6 March 2019

#IWSG post. Those critical critique partners.

Hey all, another month rolls around and here we have the IWSG post again. I confess I'd forgotten it, so swamped am i with writing projects, but someone just reminded me. So this is a quick in and out.

Click HERE to find the list of participants

Thanks to Alex J Cavanaugh and his team of awesomeness for the opportunity to talk about our insecurities or offer help to others who're going through something we've already mastered.

Alex's awesome co-hosts for the March 6 posting of the IWSG are Fundy Blue, Beverly Stowe McClure, Erika Beebe, and Lisa Buie-Collard! Visit if you can!

I'm ignoring the question for the month and posing a quick question of my own - I'm sure most of you have faced this and come to your own conclusions.

How much store do you place in suggestions from critique partners? 

I confess I tend to believe everyone knows better than I do, but I'm learning the hard way to trust myself more.

An example. I shopped a manuscript to two big publishers and received positive feedback, nearly making it with one of them, but after several editorial meetings, they decided to pass. Why? I was told that it needed a first chapter to set up the heroine's ORDINARY WORLD and then the rest would have flowed more. I had this first chapter written, but removed it on advice from two trusted critique partners. So now I'm rewriting it with this original first chapter included and improved. But the what if? nags...

This is happening a lot lately. It happened with the vampire series I'm writing where my critters wanted me to jump right into the story with action, action, action. I know where they're coming from with this, but it meant so much relied on backstory. A big no no. 

I'm starting to believe in myself and my decisions more. For me, that's a big thing. Critique partners are awesome, and I hate to think of life without them, but in the end, it's our story and we need to be comfortable with what we write.

What do you think?

Please share your thoughts. I'd appreciate it.

The combined WEP/IWSG enjoyed a successful challenge for the prompt, 28 Days. Please consider challenging yourself with our next prompt, Jewel Box, which happens in April during the A-Z Challenge.




Saturday, 7 April 2018

#A-ZChallenge post from the WEP team. #Flashfiction for G is for GENRE!

Hello all!


J Lenni Dorner, who often participates in the WEP challenges, offered WEP (Write…Edit…Publish) April 7, “G” day, for a post of 500 words. The WEP team currently consists of four writers – Denise Covey, Yolanda Renée, Olga Godim and Nilanjana Bose  - who all write in different genres. For inspiration for today’s collaborative post, we used an amazing picture of a sign. Thanks Celia Reaves for permission to use the image.




Each of the team wrote 100-ish words in their preferred GENRE:
Olga, MAGIC,
Nilanjana, POETRY, 
Renee, HORROR, 
Denise, PARANORMAL ROMANCE.



If you like the sound of WEP and would like to write for us, whether #flashfiction, #poetry, #non-fiction, #essays, #photography or #artwork, there's time. Our current prompt, ROAD LESS TRAVELED, goes live on April 18th, and we're happy to receive early or moderately late submissions. If you're participating in the #AtoAChallenge you can double the fun by using the day's letter.
Go HERE for ideas...
You can sign up in my sidebar or on the WEP site, or anywhere you see the sign up.




Denise, Nila, Olga & Renée

Enjoy the rest of crazy April!