Research...Too Much or Just Enough?

So the theme for this month is investigation. More specifically: research. Every writer worth their salt does a lot of research. Whether we're creating worlds from scratch or trying to get the correct terms for a particular occupation to get things just right, we do a lot of research.

I once had a teacher (believe this or not) say that there was such a thing as too much research. Initially I thought, "what rubbish," but now I can honestly say that when it comes to certain things, yes, there can be too much research. Research for it's own sake is good I think. Never stop learning and expanding your knowledge base are two things that I feel are important to a writer. What makes it into your story is where your inner editor kicks in. Just because you've learned all the lingo or terms for a particular occupation of a character, it doesn't mean that they should be used exclusively or at every opportunity. I've found that I personally can fall into the trap of using a word and simply assuming that others will know what I mean though context. I find things like that when I edit. It's especially true once I've been working with a particular work for a while and intensively. I get so into it, you know?

Since my opinion of research has been somewhat concise I'm going to talk about organization. Of course as we collect our copious amounts of research we have to put it somewhere. There are lots of methods from the simple to the downright extreme. I used to print pages and assemble them into a binder or folder. I know some people that are fond of post-its and plastering a wall of their favorite writing spot at home. Then, of course, there are dozens of writing and organizational-type pieces of software that allow a writer to combine their research and their writing all in one place. Microsoft One Note and Evernote are two programs that are geared to note taking alone though many writers swear by these when they prefer simple word processor applications like Microsoft Word, Notepad, or Open Office Writer. I've heard that the One Note program is really awesome when paired with a tablet since you can write in it like a notebook. Evernote has stepped up its game and paired with Molskine (my notebook of choice for everything) to bring a notebook that can be photographed with Evernote's Page Camera and become digital information in seconds. I haven't had the opportunity to try this myself but I think that once I fill my current notebook I will definitely give a try! I would love to have digital copies of my notes if only for backup!

Then, of course, there are the many kinds of writing software. Some people still love to write by hand. Yes, I mean with a pen or pencil on paper. While that's fine I'm indefinitely faster at typing to get my thoughts out on paper. There are times that I just have to write on paper though. It's like an itch. There's something extremely gratifying about putting a pen to paper and feeling the ink glide across the paper. That being said, I'll turn back to the software issue. There are very popular applications such as Scrivner, Storyist, and yWriter that will contain pretty much any kind of research you want as well as your story-in-progress. I have fiddled with all three and I prefer yWriter. For me it's a blend of a desirable interface and the perfect price. It's free! There is no "right" or "wrong" way to organize research. It's all what works best for the individual.

I think that covers just about everything (and then some, I'm sure) of my thoughts on research. It's a rambling account so I apologize and hope that my two cents are worth something to someone out there!

Stay Calm and Be Motivated

Staying motivated as a writer can be decidedly difficult. Writer's block, plot bunnies, and real life all tend to make our best laid plans go right down the tubes. With all of the natural pitfalls that come with writing it's really no wonder that it can be hard to stay calm and stay motivated.

Personally, I find that I really have to push myself on some days to write. The writing isn't always award winning (more like rubbish) but at least I am writing. I'm a little ADD when it comes to writing anyways so I try to write what I'm driven to write on a particular day. I have no less than three separate stories that I'm working on plus three blogs to maintain. They are all quite different from each other so in that way I'm providing myself with options. Options are good, at least for me, when I'm finding myself low on motivation. I find motivation can also be given. Not so much by pep talks and such but more through the interaction with other writers.

I find my most productive months to be be during NaNoWriMo and the various camp sessions. Why? Partially it's because I know that so many others are trying to accomplish the same thing. The word counters help and for me it makes it a bit of a competition. (That's not always a bad thing.) Also during those times I have been able to just shut off my inner editor. I can't always do that when I know that I don't have as strict a deadline during the other months of the year. Odd isn't it? In any case during those months not only have I been able to reach my target word count goals (usually 50K) but I also manage to keep up with my blogs and such as well. I have to admit to being rather impressed with myself. At the end of the month I look back and feel very accomplished. The problem of course is to continue that motivation throughout the year.

I have few tricks try to keep myself motivated. They don't always work but at least I have some recourse on those days when I feel like my motivation is particularly lacking. My tricks?

1. Make sure I'm listening to the right music. Yep, this is important. Music to slow will make me sleepy and disinterested. That's what I've found. Music that's too fast and racuous and I'll be driven to distraction. My usual listening preferences are big band swing type stuff or upbeat Celtic music. Occasionally I'll listen to my guilty pleasure - a mix of Phil Collins, Sting, David Bowie, etc.
2. Have a plot point or "candy bar" scene that I want to write. I have to have a goal or point to work to. I need to know where I am and where I next need to be. I'm a "pantser" (meaning I don't plan much if at all) but I do like to have a few key scenes in my head to write about. Scenes that I know need to happen in order for my story to progress. Keeping these in mind I can be quite productive, usually. 
3. Review my character and location sketches. A lot of times just going over my character and place notes give me ideas for new scenes and interactions. New ideas are always a great source of motivation for me.
4. When all else fails - I watch my pets and son. Sounds crazy right? It's really not. Some of the best character traits I've developed have come from watching my family. Some of the situations that they get themselves into and some of the things that a  three year old says are just so extraordinary that it sparks something in my brain and puts motivation in me like nothing else.

My tricks aren't anything special or spectacular but they are things that work well for me. I usually add a good beverage (iced chai, hot tea, hot cocoa) and a tasty treat (usually something sweet) to fuel my brain as well. Having motivation is important but being able to motivate yourself is just as important, if not more so. My advice to writers who feel particularly unmotivated is to sit and try out different tricks. Find things that motivate you and always make time to write! You never know, a bad day of no motivation may have you crank out your best scene yet! 

Community

Since this is about writing I'm not talking about the television show. This month's theme has been community as it applies to writers. My own "community" consists a lot of online type interactions and less people to people (unless it's November and that crazy NaNoWriMo thing) but it's a supportive community nonetheless.

These days there's a lot going on via the internet. I see it as both a blessing and a curse. The internet has given me access to a much wider community of writers and thinkers to bounce ideas off of and talk to about writing. This is a good thing. The downside to the internet forums and communities is the lack of person to person, face to face contact. When I lived closer to The Big City I had a writing group that a friend and I had started to keep meeting after NaNoWriMo ended. We had bi-weekly meetings (or write-ins) at a local coffee shop and while writing did get done there was a great deal of socializing as well. We had critiques as well and while these are all things you can get online (minus coffee and yummy pastries from good looking barristas) there's nothing that really can take place of human interaction. It's just not the same. However I think every writer needs community and people that understand the crazy things that go on in a writer's brain. (Think plot bunnies or something similar.)

As I said before, I do participate in online communities, much more so now that I live further from The Big City. There are writing groups around but they tend to cater to older (50 yrs + crowd) or younger (high school age) groups. I've found it hard to be accepted or welcomed into either so I've just let it slide for now and stick to my online presence. It's sad but at this point (expecting baby #2 in November) I'm not ready to try and set up a writing group from scratch.

Since that's my case I have to say that there are a number of supportive online communities for writers out there. The first I should mention of course is the Forward Motion for Writers community. They plan and put together topics for the monthly posts that I do. Yep, this would be one of those. It's a forum-based community that has chats and groups for just about every topic a writer can think of. If you want something more specific there's Scribophile, an online critiquing community. You can't just ask for critiques but rather have to give some in order to get some. While some people think it bothersome I think it's one of the best ways to become a better writer so it's never bothered me much. It's gathered all kinds of writers and thinkers so you really get a good variety of input. Those are my two main go to spots for writerly community type things.

Favorite Character

A favorite character...hmm. Well I have to admit that this is a broad topic. A favorite character of my own or someone else's? Well in order to cover my bum I'm going to write a little about both.

Every now and again a writer will fall in love with one of their own characters. I believe that it's impossible to fall in love with every character you create. I speak from personal experience. I downright hate some of the characters I've written but hey, that's life right?

My favorite character that I've written recently is Sera, from a fantasy fiction piece that I've worked on. A strong female lead that I've developed to a point where she's a real person. I've worked on her for so long that she's a real person to me. I'm a "long term" type of writer.

I work on pieces off and on for a couple of years at the very least. Right now i have a few other characters that I've "known" for the same amount of time but I feel a real kinship with Sera. part of it may be because she is the only one that I have an image of. I'm a very visual person and it really helps me to have images of my characters. The best I can manage is a series of pictures of people (some fictional and some not) pasted together to create some semblance of who I'm thinking of. This sketch came out better than I could have hoped. The feel of the character, the overall look, the look in her eyes, it was all right on target. I wish this particular artist would do all my character sketches but unfortunately I can't afford to commission that many and that much work no one should do for free. Sadly my own artistic talent is restricted to clothing. Faces, hair, and expressions are all beyond me. So far she is my favorite character and part of that is I think because I've written her to be a facet of myself.

On that note I'll transition to my favorite character that someone else has written. I first picked up Polgara the Sorceress by David and Leigh Eddings in my teens. Since then I have read it at least a dozen times and each time the main character makes me laugh. Her sense of humor and sarcasm are in line with mine and the way she deals with situations mirrors how I would like to think that I would deal with them. Polgara is a unique character and very real to me because of the character traits and attributes that I feel we share. I have a feeling that in the years to come I will probably read that book another dozen times at least just because it's like having a conversation with an old friend.

In the end I think that an old friend is really what the best characters should feel like. Sometimes they feel that way to the author and some times they don't. What's important is that each character deserves to be written because somewhere there is a reader waiting to make that "old friend" connection and they might be waiting for your latest character. How awesome is that thought?

Remembering My Firsts

I've been writing for I don't know how long. Short little stories that I made up in my sketchbooks on long drives really had no real plot but I loved to draw the pictures to go with it. I've never really been a fan of writing about real life in retrospect. Funny that I've come to realize that just now. It's entirely possible that my preferences were made already as early as third grade.

Third grade was awesome. Not only did I have an amazing teacher, Mrs. Lacey, but she was so creative and energetic that I loved going to school. She's also the first person that I remember that taught me the rudiments of writing a story. Really. As early as third grade. My first true story (and probably the only one I ever finished to my liking) was written for Mrs. Lacey's class. We had to write and illustrate a story of our own making. It was a whole unit. We went though the whole process: writing, editing, revising with both our story and our drawings before committing anything to the heavy fancy paper that was usually reserved for the junior high art students. I was and still am quite proud of my final product. If I can find it I'll try to scan an image and put it here eventually. My cover was laminated and my drawings done in bright Prismacolor pencils stood out on the page crisp and clear. The pages were stapled together and bound with a royal blue tape to make it look neat. I picked the color. It turns out that I had good reason to be proud of my work. Mrs. Lacey awarded the classroom equivalent of the Newbery award to my little book. That little gold foil sticker on my cover is what I credit with giving me the writing bug. I felt so accomplished and elated that my over active imagination had paid off.

Whenever I get stuck or down in the dumps with what I'm writing, I think about that little book and suddenly my determination and drive come back two-fold. It's the bounce in my writer's step. It's amazing that such a small thing can make such an impact on your life. Too cool, right?

Anticipation for 2013 - Projects Ahead

Every year it comes down to it...my least favorite question: "So what are your writing goals/projects for the year?" I hate that question with an undying passion. Mostly I hate it so because it reminds me that another year has gone by with what I feel is little to no progress on any of my projects.

In reality I do get quite a bit done and as my DH is so anxious to point out I do have a whole house, family and two jobs to maintain as well. I remind myself that I've done at least fifty thousand words for NaNoWriMo. I try for another 50K during one of the NaNo Camps as well. I'm not so hot at editing but I'm getting better. I've also logged on to Scribophile to get some feedback since I've moved away from my previous writing group. I miss the camaraderie of that group and it certainly helped me get my word count in once a week. Anyways...I suppose I should actually think about my goals now for the year. I'll set them below.

1. Complete Summer of the Sword. 
Yes this was my NaNo project two years in a row but I'm still not content with it. Not to mention I'll lose a bunch in editing, I'm sure. I'm still not sure how it's going to end.

2. Post one chapter of above work on Scribophile for critiques per month.
The intent is that after being on for one month I'll have at least 3 good critiques and can get to editing while the next is getting looked at.

3. Rework my ideas for Nighttime Reading and make a functioning outline.
Another project that I started and still not completely satisfied with it. I'm doing a class and possibly will use that for my work there.

No, I don't have publishing in there but I'm still working at making myself a good, habitual writer and editor. Writing once a day is fine and all but that's not all there is to it. I'm hoping that this year, by throwing some editing in I'll be making myself a better over all writer and more prepared to publish, eventually.

Favorite Books of 2012

I don't tend to follow the bestseller lists and keep up with all of the new "must read" books by Oprah. I'm a mother of a two year old and wife to my Dear Husband. I read what appeals to me in the moment and if I don't get to the latest books of 2012 until 2013 well, that's just the way it goes!

I debated making a list of books I think I should have read or a list of books I actually might have liked from the past year but decided against either of those. Instead my list of books is one of books or series that I am currently reading (or rereading in some cases.)

Currently Reading:
The Chronicles of Elantra By Michelle Sagara
A great series of 8 books so far that I love. This is a re-read for me. It features a strong female main character (FMC for text speak) as well as magic, dragons and speaking lions. I highly recommend this to anyone!

Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Series by Laurel K. Hamilton
Weres, Vampires, and Fae. Oh my! A very strong FMC and plenty of action and a quick moving plot for most books makes this series an easy and addictive read. Re-reading the whole thing because I want to read the latest three or four new ones that I've missed out on!


Newly Read in the Past Year: 
Mercy Thompson Series : Silver Borne by Patricia Briggs
This is another series with a strong female lead. I guess I've been on a supernatural kick lately between this and Laurel K Hamilton. This series is far more PG than Ms. Hamilton's though. Some nudity but not nearly so much gratuitous sex. The nudity can't really be avoided I think when it comes to the shape shifters.

The Best Intentions; Mrs. Lacey's Last Fling; A Garden Folly; A Proper Companion; An Affair of Honor; A Change of Heart by Candace Hern
I am a sucker for regency romances. Quality ones, in the vein of Jane Austen, are heard to find. many of them are "bodice rippers" and while those can be a good, quick beach read they are not what I usually go for.

The Consummate Professional

I suppose when most people think of professional writers they think of people like Stephen King, Nora Roberts, and J.K. Rowling. Successful writers with more than one title on a bestseller list. My own idea of a professional writer is far more...elastic. 

Artwork by DevianArtist rui-ricardo

A professional writer in my mind is some one who takes writing seriously. They may or may not end up getting paid for what they are writing and they may not even end up being published. I know it may sound contradictory but this is truly how I feel. A professional writer sets aside time to write and writes several times a week. They take what they are writing very seriously and even feel bad if they neglect their work for more than a few days. They are dedicated to their projects and will think about them constantly. They gather in coffee shops, book stores, libraries, and in their in-home writing nooks. Whether they are writing on notebooks, laptops, ipads or napkins makes no difference. 

Maybe my definition of a professional writer is so distorted because I want to be included in my own definition.Selfish and ambitious but hey, it's my definition and my opinion after all. 

Strengths and Weaknesses

Over time and with great effort every writer strives to have more strengths than weaknesses.  Naturally the first step is to acknowledge your weaknesses and define your strengths. That being said, you are usually your own worst critic. Keeping this in mind I will list what I think are my most prevalent weaknesses. Naturally I think there are many so I will save you the boredom and only list three.

1. Continuity.
I write in spurts and fits. Short furious bouts of insane productivity unfortunately this can lead to confusion. One moment a character has red hair two pages later it's brown. That's the simplest example but it's been far worse. Thankfully I have helped solve my problem with some software and by keeping lists. My continuity issues have been greatly decreased.

2. Details Details.
Once upon a time I was told that I needed to add more detail to my stories. Unfortunately I took that advice a little too much to heart and started adding far too much detail.It has been my constant struggle to pare down on the details. Sadly I still add more than will ever be necessary but I believe that I have gotten it down to a more manageable quantity than before. At least I can edit without slogging though pages upon pages of unnecessary details.

3. Imagery and Senses
For a long time I would read and wonder why I was so easily transported to different places and worlds when I couldn't seem to do that with my own writing. Finally someone mentioned that I was missing my senses. How could I expect to suck my readers into my worlds by only using one or two of the senses? It made total sense and it wasn't something that I had been aware of or really thought of. Once I started adding in those missing elements it definitely breathed life into my stories.It's still something that I struggle with and I constantly have to remind myself to add them into the story.

Now I have listed my three greatest weaknesses. This month's post is supposed to be about our strengths and at this point you must be asking yourself "Why is she talking about weaknesses?"
Well the answer is simply that I believe these to be my strengths as well. By identifying and working on my weaknesses I think that they have become some of my best strengths as well. Further more, by straightening out these aspects of my writing I have been able to identify new weaknesses and have started working on them.

I'm going to end this post here and hope that my attempt at a brief thought may have helped you think on your own strengths and weaknesses.

Please go visit the writings of my fellow writers at Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour and see why they became writers themselves. The first of the month will bring the writings of Alex F. Fayle.  Until next month, happy reading!

My To-Read List

My to read list for this year has been constantly changing. I try to balance my research-type reading with my "fun" reads. To that end I have complied a list and placed it below with a bit of reasoning behind each.

1.  The Time Traveler's Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century 

      I love medieval history and this is a new one that I keep starting but don't get around to finishing.

2. The Maid of Fishbourne Hall

      A little historical romance for some fun. 

3. Medieval Life and Leisure in the Devonshire Hunting Tapestries

      A little research from a study at the Victoria and Albert Museum. 

4. Medieval Fabrications: Dress, Textiles, Clothwork, and Other Cultural Imaginings

      A slightly different perspective on textiles in the medieval ages. 

I'm sure I'll find more but my list is short. I have a two year old and many times I'm too tired to read for long before bed, my previous prime reading time. I used to read several books a week but as I've grown older I see more informational type of reading sliding into my list which takes longer and sometimes warrants note taking. If I'm looking for something to read I usually just keep a few of my all time faves around to pick up and that I don't have to think too much about because, yes, I've read them that many times! These include: David Eddings' Polgara, To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis and almost anything by Mercedes Lackney. 


Please go visit the writings of my fellow writers at Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour and see why they became writers themselves. The first of the month will bring the writings of Alex F. Fayle.  Until next month, happy reading!
 

Camp NaNo - Part Deux

Camp NaNoWriMo for August is right around the corner. I tried and fizzled out in July so I'm hoping that August will be better. I'm currently undergoing some health issues that have me grounded at home for now with no work for at least this week and next week. I'm hoping that it will give me the time and motivation that I need to crank out some words.

On the up side I have applied to be the ML of my local region as the last one has moved away. I'd love to do it and I think that I would be a great ML. We'll see. On top of which I need to get back on writing for my articled for the Merry-Go-Round blog tour. So today as I sit on the couch nursing my head cold and aching torso from gallbladder issues, I'm hoping to figure out my NaNo objective and pound out a couple of blog posts. We'll see.

My Earliest Writing Dreams

It's weird. I don't think that I've ever dreamed of writing. Its always been something I've done. I suppose that as I've grown older and my writing has become more...voluminous...and book worthy I have started to dream a bit more.

It started as a common tease between my husband (also a writer) and I. My husband seeing an older Jaguar car and my little response: "When I'm anonymously famous," or "When I write a best selling novel." The whole idea of being anonymously famous is something has been appealing more and more to me and it is becoming a prevalent dream. The best part? I think that it is an attainable dream. By far the best kind. I've never examined the dream to closely though. I suppose, just like the possibility with any dream, I'm afraid that if I look too closely at it it will start to fade or disappear. I'm not sure if that's a common fear among writers or not. The one thing that most people ask me when they hear my husband making these little smart remarks to each other is why be anonymous?

That's a particular sticking point for my dream. I need to be anonymous for it to be true. While I can be an outgoing and rowdy person with my closest friends I am by nature shy and exceedingly introverted. If I was to write a great book that people loved and my picture was in the book or anything like that it would be the worst for me. It would be the  complete undoing of my dream. I suppose I am kind of old fashioned but to me the best part of being an author is a certain level of anonymity. Unlike with movie stars it's still the one realm of being famous or being know where you still kind of have the option to be almost just a name and not a face. That's important to the introvert in me!t's weird. I don't think that I've ever dreamed of writing. Its always been something I've done. I suppose that as I've grown older and my writing has become more...voluminous...and book worthy I have started to dream a bit more.

Please go visit the writings of my fellow writers at Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour and see why they became writers themselves. The first of the month will bring the writings of Alex F. Fayle.  Until next month, happy reading!

My Ideal Reader

My ideal reader...what a difficult thing to tackle. I suppose that there are a number of writers that have a specific person in mind when they write a story but that's not me. When a story hits me I usually am to busy scrambling to to get it all onto paper (or computer) to think too much about who I'm writing for. I suppose that in that sense I'm a selfish writer.

I suppose that I really write for myself. Am I my ideal reader? Most definitely not. I am my most critical reader. Any writer will tell you that they are hardest on themselves. I suppose that my ideal reader would be a version of myself. A dreamer, able to suspend reality and belief, and a person with an appreciation for detail. I think that would be the base for my ideal reader. Beyond that I don't know what my ideal reader would be like. I suppose that I like it that way. I don't want to be a writer who only certain types of people or people with certain personality traits read. How dull would that be? To be able to predict which people will buy your book or want to read your book? I guess I'll continue to be a selfish writer and leave it up to fate.

Genre Bending or Breaking?

Walk into any bookstore and you'll find all of the latest books sorted into these perfect little categories. Fiction, Non-Fiction, Biography, Fantasy, Romance are all nicely printed in bold letters on placards scattered about the store. More and more frequently I have been seeing books that merge genres or in some cases encompass elements of so many that I can't quite place where they actually belong. I think of these latter examples as genre breakers. Certainly they will have a little more of one than another ad that's what most bookstores publishers list them as. As a writer I tend to simply write when I get an idea. Nine times out of ten I won't label it until I'm through. I may intend for it to be a romance but it may wind up as a mystery. I suppose that's what comes of be a fly by the seat of your pants type of writer, or  "pantser"as people in NaNoWriMo call it.

As to what happens to those writers that ignore the genres: they get a broader reader base. At least that's what I've witnessed. Bookstores don't know what to do with a sci-fi psychological horror romance. Their solution, in my experience, is to place a few copies of the book in each of the relevant sections. As a reader it's kind of nice. I may be feeling the need for some romance but who's to say that I would mind some excitement thrown in. As a writer I don't think I would mind it either. More sales equals more recognition and more money in my pocket. I suppose deep down I personally have never really held to labeling my work one thing or another. I suppose I'll leave that to the reader or publisher. For me it's always been about writing what ever I have in my head and let me tell you that is a very messy disorganized place!


 Today’s post was inspired by the topic “Genre-bending - what happens when writers ignore the boundaries of bookstore categories” — the opening question in the inaugural cycle of the Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour — an ongoing tour where you, the reader, travel around the world from author’s blog to author’s blog. We have all sorts of writers at all stages in their writing career, so there’s something for everyone to enjoy. The next post in the tour will be on the 1st, by Alex Fayle. Be sure to check it out.


If you want to get to know nearly twenty other writers and find out where they got their latest ideas, check out the Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour. You can find links to all of the posts on the tour by checking out the group site. Read and enjoy!

FM Merry-Go-Round Tour: Where Did I Get My Latest Idea

Ideas are like grass and I'm the cow. No, really!

There are so many things around me that cry out to be turned into stories that I never have only one project in process. I take one from here, another from over there and, oh look! There's a great one further that way! I call it my writer's ADD. My husband calls them my "Ooo! Shiny!" moments. My ideas come from paintings, people, phrases or quotes, pictures and places. Though I am rather like a bird that flits from one sparkly object to another, they tend to stick with me for a while once I do have it in my head.

Back to the cow analogy. Once I have an idea it can sit in my head for a long while before I commit it to paper. Sometimes I start writing right away and then put it aside because I'm not done thinking it through. Like a good cow, I like to chew my cud. One story I've been working on for over eight years. It's been great writing and it's kind of like my baby blanket of writing...I work on it when everything else has me too work up to think about. That particular story idea came to me out of nowhere...infact it's been so long I can't remember if it was a dream or something else entirely.

Josephine By Joseph Chinard

My latest idea came to me while I was visiting England. I was at a museum and there was a beautiful bust of Josephine de Beauharnais (Napoleon's first wife) that I stared at for a solid fifteen minutes. The picture to the right is the bust in question. Her face looked so kind but regal and somehow sad and my mind began to wonder what it would be like to meet her as a woman of today and she, a woman of the past. All of the Napoleonic era interests me from a costumer's standpoint but the people of Napoleon's court must have been equally as fascinating. That's the wonderful thing about writing. The best thing, I think. You can go anywhere and meet anyone you like because they're all there at the tip of your pen....or cursor as the case may be.



 Today’s post was inspired by the topic “Where I got my latest idea” — the opening question in the inaugural cycle of the Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour — an ongoing tour where you, the reader, travel around the world from author’s blog to author’s blog. We have all sorts of writers at all stages in their writing career, so there’s something for everyone to enjoy. The next post in the tour will be on the 1st, by Alex Fayle. Be sure to check it out.


If you want to get to know nearly twenty other writers and find out where they got their latest ideas, check out the Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour. You can find links to all of the posts on the tour by checking out the group site. Read and enjoy!