Collaborative Writing, part 3 of ????

And now for our next installment on Plotting with a Partner. Just a reminder, I’m only sharing what Alyssa and I have found works for us. There are as many ways of writing with a partner as there are authors who write.

And we did not figure all this out at once. It took several attempts at co-writing before we developed a method that clicked with both of us and yielded results we were satisfied with. (okay, more than satisfied!)

Before I go any further, let me begin highlighting our strengths as individual writers. Alyssa is a whiz at telling a story. She can take our phone-plotted scene outline and turn it into a beautifully creative, cohesive story with very little deviation or sidetracks from what we discussed. She does this, adding in her own unique touches (such as a grandmother who bans TV and confiscates televisions*) and inventing all of the dialogue, and the detailed personalities of our characters. She brings them to life. She tells their story, scene by scene, just as we planned.

She writes, she reads over her work, does a bit of polishing…she finishes the story.

Then she sends it to me — and heh, heh, heh…I get to do my thing. Such as add a Jacuzzi in the middle of the living room* (hey, with no TV, it needed to be good for something!).

*Examples from Bottoms Up Book I, Restrain Me

What are my strengths as a writer? Just what do I bring to this collaborative partnership? After a brief intermission and a couple other posts, I’ll be back to explain, so stay tuned.

Currently Reading: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Tags: Alyssa, story planning, writing

A quick “Howdy do” and update on current writing project.

Very happy to report progress continues steadily on Jonah’s story, the second Contemporary Western in my co-authored Bottoms Up series. In the handy word meter tracker to the right, you’ll note nearly a 20,000 word increase since last month, which is mighty fine indeed. That will likely start slowing after the next couple of weeks as I start piecing together several scenes and plot-point additions, and doing judicious deleting where necessary, to form a fabulous, cohesive and fast-paced story. (I hope, I hope, I hope!)

Health-wise, my voice has been giving me trouble and not letting me dictate — or talk! — as much as I’d like. Friends are being super patient as I forgo phone calls in order to dedicate myself to studly, swaggering cowboys. (We all have to make some sacrifices…)

Keep enjoying the remaining days of summer, and I’ll be back later this week with the next installment on Collaborative Writing. Larissa

Tags: Bottoms Up, current project, writing

How Alyssa & I Write Together, Part 1 of Several

This post, and the few that follow, will detail the wonderful collaboration process Alyssa Brooks and I have developed on our co-authored stories, which is significantly different from how I write my solo books. (I’ll provide information on my own chaotic creative “structure” once I completely finish writing my part of Jonah’s story!)

First, a quick tidbit on how we met. It was June of 2005 and each of us were over at the eHarlequin website, trolling for a critique partner on the forum boards. I answered her post; she e-mailed that she wrote erotic romance and hoped that didn’t scare me off. I broke out in a sweat on my side of the monitor, then assured her that I was fine with it. My nose didn’t grow (whew!). Next, we each exchanged a chapter or so of writing and the rest, as they say, is history… Now on to the good stuff:

CHARACTERS & STORY CONCEPT

1. We agree on main characters — ages, occupations and names (when it comes to names, I usually provide several choices because I adore naming characters and Alyssa picks the one she likes best; other times, one of us has a specific name in mind and we go with that). [Side Note -- my two favorite books for use in naming characters are The Little Giant Encyclopedia of Names by Nathaniel Altman and-- interestingly! -- Gary Gygax's (YES! from Dungeons & Dragons!) Extraordinary Book of Names by Malcolm Bowers. This last one may be my #1 favorite reference book of all.]

2. We choose a pictorial representation of each main character. This might be an actor or actress, or a painting or drawing, or simply a picture from a magazine or some random photo one of us sees online. I’ve found I do best working from a picture of a person completely unknown to me, which helps eliminate any type of media-created baggage. It’s why none of my sexy men look like Brad Pitt. Can we say BAGGAGE?

3. A general idea of the story is touched upon. Location, setting, main conflict. If there’s a theme, we discuss it here. Then we set a meeting time to do the actual story plotting. And I’ll discuss that in my next post!

Any questions so far? Stick ‘em in comments!

Currently Reading: Let Sleeping Rogues Lie by Sabrina Jeffries, Homeopathy An A to Z Home Handbook by Alan V. Schmukler, and The Spy Who Loved Me by Ian Fleming

Tags: Alyssa, book recommendations, story planning, writing

It’s likely silly to become so excited over a new floor, but Mr. Lyons ripped up dingy, musty carpet in 2007 and over the next few weeks, the floors in every room but mine were replaced. Somehow, my “space” became a bit of a dumping ground–grrrr). So after having a rough plywood floor for almost 2 years, I’m ecstatically happy to share the gorgeous bamboo we decided to put in my office.

It’s the only room to receive such fancy treatment but when we decided to redo the floors, I wanted the one in this room to be special (which is why it wasn’t completed with the rest of the house). I think my patience was well rewarded, don’t you?

I created a new category for this post today — Claim Your Space. With so many things going on beyond our control in this vast world we inhabit, and so much information bombarding us from infinite directions, I think it’s important to surround yourself with things (and people — cats count!) that make you happy. Whether your “space” is comprised of a 30-room mansion, an efficiency apartment or a cupboard under the stairs (go Harry Potter!) I think if you can create an area that brings you peace and allows your body to breathe then you’re on the right track.

Now if I were to share pictures of the typical Lyons’ household look, everyone would wonder how in the world I find my office door, much less my computer. I tend to have real issues with paper and clutter. Trust me, I’m talking Oprah-show type issues when it comes to clutter. Piles. And boxes. And more piles. Did I mention that “Filing Cabinet” is my middle name? And unfortunately–I’m not smiling. (Though I did crack one during my proofread.)

What I am doing is taking the opportunity to create a space for my writing from — literally — the ground up. My goal is to only incorporate things that I absolutely love and that bring me pleasure or that are necessary and beneficial to creating the stories currently inhabiting my head and heart.

As I make progress decorating this room, and strive to rid it of all unnecessary objects and clutter, I’ll bring you along on a pictorial tour.

For now, simply imagine the furry feline currently gracing my bamboo floor, the one with tufts of fur sticking out between each toe (or would that be claw?) doing cartoon-kitty runs and third-base slides all over the floor.

Tags: peace & contentment, writing

My first post of every month, I’ll give a quick status update on any current writing projects.

I spent most of the spring working on a Regency story that’s a mite different from anything I’ve done before. This one was both started and finished without any interruptions (go me!) and I hope to have positive news to announce soon.

Currently I’m working on the second Bottoms Up story. Alyssa sent me her 46,000 word “draft” (I put the word draft in quotation marks because her drafts are a lot more polished than mine!). I usually double — or more — whatever she sends me on our joint work and that’s what I’m focusing on now. No distractions allowed! If you’ve been following me for a while, you know I sometimes have issues getting projects FINISHED. Made a promise to both myself and Alyssa, any time I’m working on one of our joint stories, nothing else will cross my mind (if it does, I have to spank it into submission, ha!).

After I finish Jonah’s story, I’ll be completing my third Roaring Rogue. Phineas, darling, I haven’t forgotten you! I have the entire story drafted out and dictated (I hand write everything first). It came to over 62,000 words which I think scared the peewadiddly out of me because that’s my longest draft to date. I usually add 40-50% more to my own stuff during the polishing phase which means the sucker could easily be 90,000+ words and I want every single one to shine, sparkle and set readers on fire! So I’m feeling the pressure. GULP.

To the right, I updated the word count meter do-hicky thing for July. My goal is to refresh that at the beginning of each month as well. [And fooey-looey--I've just learned that my blog isn't displaying properly in Internet Explorer browsers. It looks fabulous in Mozilla Firefox, so use that if anything on the side is looking wonky, and please know that I'm working to get it fixed!]

So there you have it–what Larissa’s been up to & how I’ve been staying out of trouble!

Tags: Bottoms Up, current project, Roaring Rogues, writing

So what is Bottoms Up, you might be wondering?

Is it:

a) A hint of the type of naughty sexual escapades you’ll be indulging in throughout our contemporary Western stories?

b) A bar in remote West Texas, where cowboys go to wet their whistle and shoot pool and listen to Elvis loudly crooning “Just a hunk, a hunk of burning love” on the old-fashioned jukebox?

c) A mostly-organic restaurant, where the head chef makes the best Women Pie [dictation mistake! That was supposed to be Lemon Pie, but was too funny not to share!!] west of the Pecos?

d) A ranch running mostly Hereford cattle, a tiny herd of sheep (Grandpa loves lamb chops, you see) and the sexiest cowboys you could ever imagine?

e) A two-word book title Alyssa came up with years ago that just needed the “perfect” story to go with it?

f) The name of a co-written Western series (when I insisted that her title idea was too catchy for a single book)?

g) All of the above, after the two of us got together and did our patented phone brainstorming, amid me sneaking chocolate morsels out of the bag & Alyssa telling her dog to hush (so we could talk) and her daughter to go back downstairs (so we could talk about the sexy parts)?

My quizzes are so tough, I know.

If you answered “G”, consider yourself awarded a sparkly, glittering gold star! Below is a visual map of the fictional Sweetwater County we created to showcase our Bottoms Up series.

It kind of helps put things in perspective (because I’m sure any faithful reader will surmise that the “Lucky Lady” dude ranch must mean the ladies staying there get lucky!), but more than that, it shows the really cool mountains.

And now, good little writing partner that I am, I’m heading back into Storyland so I can keep working on the second Bottoms Up title that Alyssa recently sent my way.  The first of the series, Restrain Me, comes out next week on July 1 and you can read all about it here: http://www.larissalyons.com/restrain.htm.

For grins, share your favorite two-word title that you’ve seen or heard & I’d love to receive some recipes for that Women Pie.  >^..^< Larissa

Tags: Bottoms Up, current project, dictation errors, Restrain Me, writing

Nothing fancy today… just getting my feet wet.

But after debating for months I finally decided to start blogging, with the hope of keeping fans and readers more up-to-date on what I’m working on story-wise, as well as sharing my thoughts — goofy though they may be — on such far-reaching, mind-titillating topics as 007 (yes, James Bond…I’m a fan of both the books & the movies and over time will offer reviews of them all),  the writing life of a health-challenged author who strives to feel better every day and make sure every book is better than the last, and I’ll also be posting reviews of my “Keeper Shelf” — those books that have been in my possession ranging up to 20 years or more, that I considered top of the tops. There’s a ton of traditional Signet Regencies on that list, but also a large number of books in other genres. Lastly, I’m sure there will be the occasional recipe or chocolate fix, or better still — little tips on living well and being happy. Because as far as I’m concerned, there is so much crappola going on in the world around us I think it’s really important when our own corner of this wonderful world is as pleasant and peaceful and smile-engendering as we can make it. That’s what I strive for– in my life, and with my stories–pleasantness and peace and contentment. All good qualities I think may sometimes be overlooked.

For several years now, I’ve attempted to update my Lair every other month or so and share all my writing news and best kitty pictures all at once but sometimes I’m woefully late. I think trying a blogging format, where I can post smaller snippets more frequently, and organize them according to topic, will prove a more efficient way to share what’s going on.

For the next few days, as I wade in a little deeper — and because Alyssa and I have a fabulous release coming out next week — I’ll be posting frequently as I get into my groove, but eventually, I’m not sure how often I’ll add things. I thought about posting just whenever I feel like it, I’ve also thought about attempting to do it on the “5’s” (i.e., on the 1st, 5th, 10th, 15th and so on…). I also might try doing it once a week, say on Thursdays…

Haven’t made up my mind yet, but I do think every single day is more ambitious than I’m up for right now, but if you have an opinion I’d love to hear it. Are you someone that enjoys going to a blog every single day? Or is once a week or twice a month good enough?

Share your preference if you have it and have a wonderful day! Larissa

Tags: 007, book releases, Keeper Shelf, peace & contentment, Regencies, writing