A contest! A contest!

But first, a word from our sponsor...

Have you ever had writer's block? That nasty feeling that makes you feel uncreative and worse--like a hack?

Have you spent hours hunched over your laptop, staring at a blank page in your current w.i.p. and wondering...what am I going to write next? Will I ever write again?

You know the feeling. You have the next scene all mapped out. You know what you need your character to do. But for whatever reason--it's. Not. Happening. You can't get that square peg to fit your round hole and the result is blockage.

Well friend, I'm telling you there's no need to worry. Because I have the fix for you. It's a simple word and you've heard it many time. Are you ready?

Conflict.

That's right.

It's all you need. Sprinkle a little conflict in there and you'll be all...

What's that? What did you say? You've already got conflict? Then, friend--it's not the right kind. After all, there's conflict and then there's CONFLICT! That's what I'm talking about. The big conflict. The kind that means aliens and exploding cars and global nuclear war and--what's that? You're writing a romance? And you don't have that kind of conflict?

Let me introduce you to a friend of mine. She's a romance writer and she already uses my system. Let's hear what she has to say:  

Take a look at what you've already written. Is it possible that what you're concerned with in the scene you finish yesterday, last week, last year already deals with the issues--the conflict--you think you need to work in?  I ask because I had a similar problem a few weeks ago. No matter what I did, I couldn't get the words out the way I needed to.The harder I tried to write, the worse the blockage became. And then...illumination.

The reason my character refused to do what I expected her to do was because I'd already done it. I just didn't realize it.

When I looked at the scene I'd just finished, I realized that I'd already taken my character as far as I could through her conflict and now--she needed to explore the results of the way she dealt with it. How will her decisions affect her now? And what new conflicts will arise?

Before I knew it, I was writing again.

And there you have it, friend. That's all you need to do.

Now, I know all of you are wondering. What contest? What can I win?

What can you win?  I'll tell you what you can win--a free copy (that's FREE) of Kissing Trick, C.D. Yates' newest release from TWRP. (If you'd like to read the first chapter, go here: Kissing Trick, Chapter One)

And all you need to do is leave a comment. :) (If you're one of my three readers, I think--if I'm doing the math correctly--you have a 1 in 3 chance to WIN!)

So act now! Don't delay!

Finally! A release!

Note to self: If it's dangerous, they will find it.

Hey. Bet you'd like me to explain my "note to self".

Later, my child. Later.

No, what's important, today (to me): KISSING TRICK IS FINALLY RELEASED!

Woo-hoo!!  (happy dance)

This is a very special book, to me. I LOVE my hero. He's sexy, smart, kind, calm and sexy. And did I mention, he's sexy? Yeah, the guy on the cover looks good--but believe me, Trick looks even better. ;)

But you'll have to buy the book to find out why Trick is so hot...

Who am I today?

I'm starting to feel like Sybil.   She was a character based on a real woman and artist named Shirley Mason. Sybil was made famous through a movie based on a book by the same name.

She had disassociative personality disorder and the thirteen personalities to go with it. 

I don't have thirteen personalities. But I have five. Their names are Cyn, Cyn D., Cynthia, Cynthia B-T and Mommy.

Mommy is the patient one (when she's not being the nutty one, that is). She's the one who cleans the house, pays the bills, cooks the meals, does the laundry, mows the lawn, tends the pool, feeds the pets,helps the big kids with homework and other life issues and chases the two-year-old. Personally, I don't like Mommy. She's overwhelmed and overwrought, and has really bad hair. She needs a shower. She drinks too much coffee and is overweight because she doesn't take care of herself. She really needs a nap.

Cyn is the one who walks to Dunkin Donuts with her friend Sandi, to get coffee for Mommy. She is the one who talks to the DH and usually wants to kill him. She is scornful of Mommy but realizes the necessity of her. She thinks Mommy's weak for needing a nap.You can reach her at cyndatt1@yahoo.com

Cyn D.is the Writer. (She's the one writing this right now.) She usually wishes Mommy would sit down so she could get some writing down; she's afraid that if Mommy sits down, she will take a nap and no writing will get done. Though she wouldn't be averse to reading a book or two. You can reach her at cdyates@ymail.com

Cynthia is the Student. She is working on her Masters in Professional Writing at Chatham University and she is jealous of Cynthia the Writer, who gets to write fiction and spend time in her head with fun stuff instead of nasty non-fiction. She is very serious about her craft, however, and if given the opportunity would spend 24/7 in school. She is an overachiever. You can reach her at cdattilio@chatham.edu

Cynthia B-T is the Editor. She just started working for Lyrical Press and has no idea what she's doing yet. But she will. And then, I'm afraid, she'll take over. You can reach her at cynthia@lyricalpress.com or cbraydnthomas@gmail.com, especially if you have a manuscript you feel would fit the publisher's guidelines. She'll be happy to hear from you.

But first...she (and the rest of her selves) need to decide who they are and what they're going to wear, today. Mommy's thinking something that is okay to get bleach-stained. Cyn wants to wear something with an elastic waistband and Cyn D. is thinking "warm socks". Cynthia just wants to get busy on her assignment, and Cynthia B-T is thinking she needs a power suit.

This could take all day.

Treats. No tricks!

How do you like my background. Isn't it adorable?

Even better--it was FREE!!

I wish I could donate something to the two very talented ladies who created this background and dancing witches hat. But I'm poor. So the best I can do is give them credit and tell you to go here.

Maybe YOU can afford to donate to these two moms: Becky and Ashley.

Ladies, you rock. ;) Thanks for the graphics. :) (Did I mention they were free?)

Welcome to my life.

It's sheer hell, I tell you.



I bet it sucks for The Wiggles, too. After all, I just have to listen to it repeatedly. THEY have to perform it. Again and again and again...

Note to self:  Laundry is like death. You can't hide from it. Eventually it will come to claim you. (And smells just as bad.)

On this morning's walk with the 2 y.o., I let him push the stroller. How wonderful that such a simple act can inspire confident in a young person. "I vewy stwong, Mommy. I a big boy. I can push it MYSELF."

(Those of you familiar with small children know the shiver that runs down my spine at those words.)  Doing it myself is big with little people.

But it's such a hard line to walk with them. You want to give them the confidence they need to get through life and you want to encourage them to feel independent. Yet this clashes with the need to be somewhere (with no time to wait while the child tries to fasten his own seat belts), to fix it (because it's done incorrectly) or to help. So you spend the day with conflicting emotions warring inside you. You want to keep a smile on your face and your tone light; but you're grinding your teeth to hold back the screams.  Especially when the child begins to be frustrated with his inability to do whatever it is he's trying to do by himself and his desire to keep doing it.  (Just thinking about it puts my stomach in knots.)

Now I know why my mother used to hum. All the time. I thought she just liked music--or she was weird.  And here I am, grinding my teeth and humming to hold back the torrent of obscenities roiling about on my tongue.

It's the Circle of Life...hmmhmmmhmmmmmm...

What are you wearing?

Note to self: When trying to teach a two-year-old the alphabet, remember that "the letter u" can accidentally be translated into "the letter me".

On my Rhode Island Romance Writers loop, we're discussing what we wear when we write. (Well...we're romance writers. What do YOU think we wear?)  Stereotypically, romance writers wear slinky robes with boas and mules with feathers. But the most commonly worn writing-attire for RI Romance Writers is anything with an elastic waistband. And thick socks. (Feather boa optional.)

Flannel pajamas appear to be winning.

As for me, I don't have any particular outfit that makes my writing more prolific. Instead, I wear my Muse Hat.  When I'm writing romantic comedy, it's a great big purple hat with a green ribbon band that trails down the back. There are cherries on the brim. When I'm writing my paranomedy (huh?) it's a black velvet hat with a zebra band and a tall, straight, black feather. And when I'm working on non-fiction, it's a fedora with a placard tucked in the band (does it say "Press"? I--I think it does!)

My Muse Hats enable me to write anywhere, at any time of the day or night. As long as I have a place to sit and a moment to think. I can switch them as necessary. And the best part is--they're imaginary!

Awwww. I'm sorry. I bet you were wishing you could see a photo. Heh. Sorry. Nope. You'll just have to imagine them, too. Which is a good thing. You see, by wearing an imaginary hat, it's always with me. I never misplace it. I never have to worry that the baby's pulled off the cherries or the dog has eaten them.
I don't have to fret that the velvet pile is getting wet or the feather crushed. Better, I can turn the hat from purple to red and the cherries to a parakeet at a moment's notice.

I think all writers should endeavor to find their own Muse hats. Having special writing clothes is a dangerous practice. It makes it too convenient to blame your clothing for your lack of output. And while I certainly applaud the theory of putting yourself in the right psychological space to get your writing done, I fear that using physical items to do so is another way to throw up a hurdle. We writers excel at at fabricating excuses and reasons not to do the very thing we profess we must do or die.**
 
So tell me--what do your Muse Hats look like?

**Apparently this morning, I'm wearing my Jane Austen hat. I'm sorry.  I watched Sense and Sensibility-again--before going to sleep last night. I fear I needs must write in a convoluted fashion else I should swoon. Oh, Willoughby...