Meet Beautiful Singles

So, you were expecting the expert on how to jumpstart your writing, were you?

 In that case, I can send you to about a hundred authors I know who have masterfully jammed their noses to the grindstone and have become frighteningly prolific.

Me, on the other hand? Not so much.

 But I'm here to tell you I'm trying realllllly hard to get my collective act together. And here's what I'm attempting to attempt.

 But before that, how about what NOT to do?

Things you should actively avoid if you actually want to succeed in writing a book: 

1) All things Facebook. We all know, it's the dirty little secret of the Universe: Facebook is the world's greatest procrastination tool. It's masterful in luring an unsuspecting author who might just happen to be Googling some research question for her book but then, oh, right there at the top of the screen there's that easy quick link to Facebook. Maybe just a quickie stop by to see who's chatting and what interesting thing you might discover. After all, you might just find something vital to that work-in-progress there, right? Wrong. But never mind that. It's alcoholism, Facebook is, minus the alcohol. And it's so simple to fall prey to its temptations. I urge you: DON'T! My kids are always telling me to use Self Control. No, no, not the actual act of self control, although that actually wouldn't be such a bad idea. Rather an app that locks you out of the internet. I did attempt to find it one day online, but then one of my other kids warned me he'd had problems unlocking it eventually, which naturally stopped me in my tracks: you mean I might not be able to get back on Facebook and Twitter while watching The Bachelor so I can join the "conversation" about (i.e. mock) the program? God forbid, right? I mean, life just wouldn't be the same without that on my plate. You'd think I'd get the message: Facebook = potato chips. But I still haven't accepted the message about potato chips in the first place, so why would I actually choose to extrapolate it to this conceptually?

 2) Bye Bye Birdie Twitter (or Instagram or Snapchat or fill-in-the-blank). Yeah, all things social media lump together ultimately. Anything online that can lure you away from your book must be shut out. I actually have basically walked from Twitter. I just couldn't deal with it any more, all the time sucks. And Twitter was simplest to ditch: 140 characters is as easy to write as to not write, when it comes down to it. Originally, both Twitter and Facebook had become part of my gigantic time suck because I'd grown to have to spend so much time online with marketing and publicity. It got to the point that those monsters had gobbled up my mandate to write. And it's easy for this to happen because sometimes it's much simpler to do those little tasks than actually sit down and create. And it's easy to self-justify a little time here, a little time there on social networking sites than force yourself into the hard-core focus required to write a book.

 3) Let go of all that life crap that's bogging you down. Okay, I admit, that's not easy. And it got me, big time, over the past few years. Between legitimate life demands (kids activities, which increased in time and demand over the years despite your time being slightly freed up once they start to drive) right on through that senior year for each child, which took up gobs of time and then the treks back and forth to/from college however many times each year. And then all the burdensome things, those emotionally taxing life events that truly do sap your creativity. Those things. Get rid of them. Don't ask me how! I clearly failed in that regard, being that I haven't written a whole lot of anything over the past two years. But I'm working on it. Ideally I'd say maybe some mindfulness would be in order. But it's so damned hard to be mindful with your mind is full! A little meditation to get you back into a quiet zone, not a bad idea. But that takes time! And who can take that time when you're already not devoting the time to what you need to be doing? Oy. There's no simple answer to that one, I'm sorry to say. But I guess at least recognize it and try to work within the confines of it as best you can. I wish I could say I was good at that but I'm basically a drop-out in that regard. But I'm working on it.

 4) Coffee shop distractions: I find often I'm much better at focusing while at a coffee shop. That is if I don't get the WiFi password, and if -- this is a big if -- I don't start paying attention to the lives of those around me. It's so easy to get caught up on eavesdropping (so fun when it's a blind date, listening to the awkward banter). Put the blinders on. Those people you don't know sitting nearby discussing their former spouses and why they're no longer with them? Potato chips. No different than the blather you're attending to on Facebook and Twitter. No nutrition and ultimately putting on the pounds (in this case pounds of stress and anxiety because you're not getting your writing done).

 5) Professional distractions: I can't tell you how much I allowed myself to be kneecapped by industry nonsense. What's selling, what won't, why this book isn't going to work, etc. It created such a crisis in confidence after a while that i struggled to figure out what I could write that an editor would want. After having a few books nixed for nonsensical reasons despite having editors who loved the books, I just couldn't fathom what the hell I could write that would ultimately be acquired by a publishing house. It made me crazy, which made me doubt myself and my writing. The good news, is indie publishing allowed me to stop worrying about that. But by then I'd been so sucked into that mentality, it was hard to escape it. I'm pretending I'm halfway to my solution since I recognize the problems…Humor me, would you?!

  Things I'm trying to do to Get My Act Together: 

1) Facing my demons: I'd like to believe that this can be half the battle. To recognize my shortcomings and see where I can work around them. I'm having moderate success here, but it's a work in progress.

2) Schedule my life:  this sounds crazy. But for one who was a stay-at-home mom with little real structure, it's now time to create structure. I think part of my lifestyle turned into self-imposed ADD. One of the things I'm great at now is herding cats. And I think motherhood often comes down to just that. What that means is I'm great at focusing on those weird, disparate, useless have-to's that don't require intense focus, whereas at some point earlier in my life, focus came much easier for me. I'm hoping that by actually scheduling my day I can allow myself time to fit in everything, but in a mindful way, so that I don't ultimately feel badly at midnight when I didn't achieve what I wanted/needed to achieve because I wasn't organized enough to do so. I hope that scheduling will reintroduce focus in my life. Wish me luck there…

 3) Follow that AA mantra: One Day at a Time. It's a pretty good way to approach a lot of seemingly insurmountable things in life. Take small bites, and go from there.

 4) When stuck, stop trying to plow through it and instead work around it: I have found myself so frustrated at points in my writing when I just can't find the words for the next sentence, let alone the next chapter(s). So now? I'll write some other chapters. I'll go to the ending and write that. I'll jump ahead 30,000 words and write something that happens in the middle. Eventually I think the piecemeal will turn into whole cloth or some other mixed metaphor like that.


Okay, outing myself for truthiness: there have been some hiccups in this plan so far. Right off the bat, being diverted from writing by having to write a blog, well, it doesn't fit in with my Grand Plan to Get My Act Together. But sometimes you have to make concessions. And yes, over the past few months I've actually knocked out a good third of a book FINALLY (mostly before the holidays took over and demanded too much undivided attention). But I'm a work in progress, trying to vanquish that demon Attention Span Failure Syndrome.

 I think perhaps my ideal way to shut it all out and Just Write might be to escape to a beach house in the dead of winter (i.e. no ready distractions). All by myself, nothing else to do. Gazing periodically out a picture window at the soothing sea in the distance (for inspiration, not distraction). For me the beach (and by extension the ocean) is a place where I feel so at home and at peace. I think it would be divine to be able to escape to such a place and just write. Ahhh, but the little niggling detail is I have no beach house to which I can retreat, so I need to just do it, here and now. Wherever I am, whenever I can. The irony is I did this when I first started out writing, anywhere and everywhere. I'd whip out my clunky oversized laptop back in the day and write while sitting in the drivers seat in line for pick up at my kids' school. I'd take a little chair and move away from the other parents and write while sitting at soccer practice (which didn't always work because invariably friends would walk by and chatting ensued). It's time now to return to that figurative drivers seat and crank out the words, one word at a time. I'll keep you posted.


  Sleeping with Ward Cleaver










Slim to None













Anywhere But Here
































Winging It: A Memoir of Caring for a Vengeful Parrot Who's Determined to Kill Me










Accidentally on Purpose (written as Erin Delany)


















Compromising Positions (written as Erin Delany)



















I'm Not the Biggest Bitch in this Relationship (I'm a contributor)



















And these shorts:
Idol Worship: A Lost Week with the Weirdos and Wannabes at American Idol Auditions


















The Gall of It All: And None of the Three F's Rhymes with Duck


















Naked Man On Main Street
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by Saralee Rosenberg









In the final stages of labor, it's not unusual for women to swear they will never get pregnant again. But they lie (and many of us are proof of that). Writers are like that, too. After pushing out a new book we insist we will never endure the pain and suffering required to write another. Ha!

Me and my baby girl Alex, circa 1988

Every time I finished writing a novel I went through a brief period of mourning and walked aimlessly around Kohls and Costco. Then I went home and jumped into bed with a whole new cast of characters. It's fine. Call me a book slut. But who are these characters and what is on their minds? Can't tell you until I let 'em talk.

This week in my head I heard two best friends talking over breakfast. Had no idea who they were, where they were located or what secrets they were hiding. All I knew was that they made me laugh.


Scene: Suburban kitchen. Morning. Two women are clutching their coffee cups.

"He came over last night," Traci said.

"Who did?" Meryl asked.

"Mike. From my bereavement class."

"Really? That's nice."

"I suppose... I think he likes me."

"That's very nice."

"No," Traci replied. "He's got kids."

"So do you."

"But his are crazy."

"So are yours."

"No, I mean like out-of-their minds crazy," Traci said. "His older son is a pot dealer and his younger son takes SATs for rich kids."

"Good. They're industrious..."

"...Doesn't matter. I'm not ready to date."

Meryl yawned. "Then why did you join the bereavement group?"

"Because you made me."

"Because it's been two years and you are ready. Is he cute?"

"He's forty-six. I think the cute ship sailed."

"Fine," Meryl replied. "Does he have hair? How is his cholesterol? Does he move his bowels?"

"No idea. Check his Facebook page... he asked me to dinner."

Meryl clapped. "Great. When? Where? Can I eavesdrop at the next table?"

"I told him I'd think about it. We have nothing in common."

"How do you know?"

"Because he's ready to date and I'm not. Plus he has two crazy sons."

"So?" Traci said. "You're not dating them, you're dating him."

"But what if we fall in love and get married and they become my sons, too?"

"Wait. You have zero interest in going out for dinner, but you're already planning the wedding?"

"He's very good looking. Tall. Dark eyes. Nice hands."

"Okay, you know what?" Meryl said. "Don't go out with him. I'll drive home, kill Larry, join your bereavement group and see if asks me out."

"Really? You would do that for me so I don't have to date?"

"Yes, I would."


Hmmm. This could be the start of an engaging novel. Or it could be the only meaningful conversation Traci and Meryl ever have. It will probably take a year to figure out. Or ten minutes. It all depends on whether they stay in my head and keep me up nights worrying about their future. Uh oh. This just in... Mike with the nice hands just texted Traci. Stay tuned.

Saralee Rosenberg is the author of four novels from Avon/HarperCollins including DEAR NEIGHBOR, DROP DREAD; FATE AND MS. FORTUNE, CLAIRE VOYANT and A LITTLE HELP FROM ABOVE. She recently finished writing her first novel for younger readers, THE MIDDLE SCHOOL MEDIUM. Visit her website. www.saraleerosenberg.com

You’d think I could just write something silly after all that. Instead, I want to really care about my next project. So does my agent. And my writer’s group. No pressure, but what am I working on now?


 Leslie Lehr is the prize-winning author of What A Mother Knows (plus five other books), essays in the NYTimes and Huff Post, and a handful of produced screenplays. She teaches in the Writer's Program at UCLA, moonlights writing query letters, and is the Novel Consultant for Truby Writers Studio.

Speech has fashion trends, too.

By Cindy Jones

Why do people start sentences with the word 'so' and why do I feel compelled to understand this linguistic trend?  At first, I was only dimly aware of the word 'so' popping up at the beginning of non-interrogatory sentences.  So, I'm not going to the party at the lake.  Then I read this post on Facebook: So we had dinner at the museum. Finally, when a young woman stood at a podium and said, So we're having a fundraising event..., I said to myself: what's up with 'so'?

How did this word, formerly used as a conjunction, intensifier, and adverb suddenly ascend to the position of prominence at the beginning of sentences?  What caused 'so' to merit the privilege of initiating a thought and introducing content?

Upon consideration, the use of the word 'so' at the beginning of a sentence seemed to imply that the speaker and I were midstream in an ongoing conversation--even though we weren't.  Starting with 'so' allows the speaker to skip the work of orienting the listener with the implied information leading to whatever conclusion starts the conversation.  Perhaps people who say 'so' are busy and need to conserve words by cutting conjunctions in half. Or maybe there is a larger trend in speech away from conventional conversation toward more casual, rule-free communication.  People who put 'so' at the beginning of a sentence are in tune with the latest speech fashion: cool.

Even if you don't lay awake at night pondering the 'so' epidemic, you might be interested to know that professionals can pinpoint the origin of a linguistic trend with the same accuracy investigators can trace a forest fire to a cigarette butt thrown from a car at a precise time and place.

In a NYT essay by Anan Giriharadas I learned that while writing his book, The New New Thing, Michael Lewis found 'so' endemic to Silicon Valley.  Microsoft employees claimed it as indigenous to Redmond, Washington, with the rest of their rich lexicon of geek-speak and corporate jive.  Employees at Hewlett Packard survived boring meetings by counting the number of 'so's.  A joke even circulated: What's the sound of Santa Claus at an HP Christmas party? "So so so!"...In immigrant-filled technology firms, the word 'so' democratized talk by replacing a world of transitions with a catchall. 

So why do I care that 'so' is starting sentences? (I did it).  Because writers are wired to notice things, especially things that influence human dynamics such as a change in speech fashion.  Close observation of the choices a person makes in personal expression--whether in attire or speech--is key to understanding character, motivation, and, yes, fears.  

Bonus speech fashion trivia:  Did you know the phrase 'just sayin' is the equivalent of 'with all due respect'?




     

by Maggie Marr

My resolution for 2014 is to write and publish more books. In December Hollywood Hit, the 3rd book in the Hollywood Girls Club Series published. While I intend to write more books in the Hollywood Girls Club Series I was ready to start something new.

Today, I take my first step towards my goal of writing and publishing more books with the release of the first book in the Glamour Series; Hard Glamour.


The Glamour Series, will have a total of 4 books: Hard Glamour (1/14/14), Broken Glamour (3/14), Fast Glamour (5/14) and Easy Glamour (7/14). Starting today, you can find book 1, Hard Glamour at:

Kindle

Barnes&Noble

Kobo

All Romance eBooks


Hard Glamour is the story of Lane Channing and Dillon MacAvoy and their quest for love. It is hot, and sexy, and (I hope at least a little) glamorous. A little bit about the book...

A promise to keep...

Honoring her mother's last wish, Lane Channing vows to follow her dreams. She takes the 'big risk' and leaves her small Kansas town behind and heads to LA, the city of dreams. She's got a stellar job lined up, an old jeep, and 20 bucks to last her to her first paycheck. Her hopes shatter when she arrives to find her job's been given to someone else. Now she's broke and if she doesn't do something fast will soon be living on the streets. Welcome to cutthroat -- Lane is most certainly not in Kansas anymore.

On the cusp of success...

Dillon MacAvoy has one goal -- to become a star -- whatever it takes. Even if it means honing his bad-boy can't-be-tamed-and-forever-single image. Besides the image isn't far from the truth. Dillon cares only about his younger brother and his career. He's on the brink of superstardom if he can just decide on the next right script. But for that, he needs a script reader he can trust.

In a strange twist of fate...

Lane Channing is Dillon's last chance. If Lane lasts the summer without becoming MacAvoy's latest conquest, she's guaranteed a job in entertainment. No problem, as long as she can ignore the heat that pulses through her every time Dillon is in the room. After all, love and commitment with a sweet, hometown girl would only ruin the Dillon MacAvoy brand.

I have to admit...I loved writing Lane and Dillon's story. I fell in love with these characters over and over and over again. I am so excited that I finally get to share Lane and Dillon's story with you. I hope you love reading about them as much as I loved writing their story!

Book 2, Broken Glamour, publishes March 2014.


To make sure YOU read more in 2014 and in celebration of the release of Hard Glamour I'm giving away an Amazon card, a Starbucks card and an iTunes card. Please come by my blog to see how and where to enter.

I'd love to hear your goals for 2014. Leave a comment and you'll be entered to win a copy of Hard Glamour as selected by random.org.

Please, get your copy of Hard Glamour and Thank You for reading. xoxoMaggie


Maggie Marr is an author, attorney, and independent producer. She began her Hollywood adventure pushing the mail cart at ICM where she became a motion picture literary agent. She is the author of Hollywood Girls Club, Secrets of the Hollywood Girls Club, Hollywood Hit, Can't Buy Me Love. and Courting Trouble. She's been interviewed on KCRW's The Business and reviewed by Publisher's Weekly, Kirkus, and Romantic Times. She is legal adviser for the Womens Fiction Writers Association and Vice President of LARA the Los Angeles chapter of RWA. Maggie also writes for film and TV. You can follow her at Maggie Marr Books, Twitter, or her Blog. She lives in Los Angeles with her family. She is eternally grateful to every person who buys her books.