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Tuesday, August 30, 2011
MUSE THERAPY and The Dash: What Are You Doin' with "The Dash" In Your Life?
Happy Tuesday, D. D. Scott-ville!
Every part of life is a cycle...
Some moments see us flying high while others catch us lower-than-low. And at each point, we know the other will soon cycle around once more.
While on my Writing-for-Publication Roller Coaster Ride, I've been thinking about this a ton lately.
I've had these huge "up's" in the superfab building of my reader and fan bases and sales numbers. But those up's, however, have caused some large holes to open-up in my Meet the Focker's style "Circle of Trust". LOL!
What do I mean by that?
Many of you know - from my MUSE THERAPY book and my online classes and live workshops - that I'm a huge fan of Julia Cameron's THE ARTIST'S WAY.
Like Cameron, I refuse to allow life's Wet Blankets and Crazy-Makers to rain on my life and/or my success.
Wet Blankets and Crazy-Makers are people who constantly bring you down. Some, do it on purpose, and are truly very dark souls who only make themselves feel better by hurting those around them or those they think are doing better than they are. Other Wet Blankets and Crazy-Makers are just plain nuts (LOL!) and don't even realize they make those of us around them doubt our sanity too!
Anyhoo...
The point is...life is just too short to let your Wet Blankets and Crazy-Makers reign.
I can't believe the difference in my muses' productivity and all-around happiness quotient since I've taken back my life and no longer allow those kind of people to rule my world.
So what does all this have to do with "The Dash" and for that matter, what is "The Dash"?
About a month ago, my family lost a dear friend. This was the kind of guy who you always felt sooo wonderful and happy to have spent time with. He was a guy I call "A Warm and Fluffy Heated Towel" vs Cameron's Wet Blankets and Crazy-Makers.
At his funeral, his brother, who is also a pastor, told us about a poem called "The Dash" by Linda Ellis, which is based on that little dash or hyphen between the years that will someday mark your life on your tombstone.
As the poem explains, it's not about when you were born or when you died. It's about how you lived your life in between those years....during your "dash".
So...what are you doing with your "dash"?
Are you letting your Wet Blankets and Crazy-Makers wreak havoc on you? Or are you surrounding yourself with Warm and Fuzzy, Fluffy Heated Towels?
And hopefully, you're also a Fluffy Heated Towel.
The Best of Muse Therapy and The Dash Wishes --- D. D. Scott
Labels: Muse Therapy, Muse Therapy Extra Tips and Tidbits, My Writing Process or Lack There Of
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Muse Therapy Extra Tip: Life Ain't Always a Beach...So Go Sit On One!
Happy Tuesday, D. D. Scott-ville!
It's been awhile since I've treated y'all to a little bit of Muse Therapy...so how 'bout a Muse Therapy Extra Tip?
For those of you new to D. D. Scott-ville, you can check out all-things-Muse Therapy right here:
http://www.ddscott.com/muse.html
For this Muse Therapy Mini-Session, think...
Life Ain't Always a Beach...So Go Sit On One!!!
That's right. It never hurts to find a gorgeous spot, then get comfy in your fave beach chair, and just veg...or, in my world, simply watch the boats come in.
***Note: U can of course do this the cyber way too - right from your laptop or PC - but if you can get outdoors, even if it's not onto a beach, get out and soak-in some sunshine and Vitamin D and Mother Nature's Magic!***
If you're a writer, it's sooo easy to get mired down in the business-side muck of writing-for-publication.
Even though, I've found part of the solution to that by the incredible feeling I get Paying It Forward to other writers on my grog The WG2E - The Writer's Guide to Epublishing, sometimes still...my muses just need a break.
And if you're not a writer, but rather a superfab reader, you may need a break from life and often find that by escaping into a book, right? And if you happen to be on a beach while reading too?! Well...how darn fantabulous is that?! LOL!
Sometimes you've just got to bask in whatever it is that soothes your soul.
For me, that's the beach, where I swear I can feel my chest open-up and my spirit soar with the seagulls.
I somehow find there, in my parcel of sand, the ability to put my life and career in perspective, then accept my reality and its constant changes, hassles, and advances along with the ebb and flow of the tide.
Listen to your muses - those voices in your soul - that whisper to you exactly what your body, mind and psyche need to survive and thrive.
Then find your "beach"...and sit on it!!!
It's Your Turn, D. D. Scott-ville: Where do you take your muses to help 'em get back into their groove? In other words, how do you escape life's bits of crazy?
Sexy Sassy Smart Find Your Beach and Sit On It Wishes --- D. D. ScottLabels: Being a Gutsy Girl, Muse Therapy, Muse Therapy Extra Tips and Tidbits, My Muses (The Carrie Squad), My Writing Process or Lack There Of
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Behind and Beyond My Books (LIP GLOCK): The Swine Element
Happy Tuesday, D. D. Scott-ville!
Boy...did me and The DH have a huge aha moment this weekend!!!
Yep...The DH was actually helping me brainstorm plotting ideas for my August release LIP GLOCK - Book Two of The Cozy Cash Mysteries.
And here's a hint at what we came-up with:
That's right...LIP GLOCK and all the Cozy Cash Mysteries hereafter will have a big-time...
"Swine" Element!!!
No more hints for now...just know that the Cozy Cash Mysteries do deal with...
A. A Ton of "swine"-like thugs
B. Tons of wine-and-dining in Zoey and Roman's royal, red-carpet worlds...or could that be "swine"-and-dining? LOL!
C. A ton of Cozy Cash-style crimes in the worlds of Wall Street and the "pork" barrel politics influencing all that money and those markets
D. And certainly tons of various "bring home the bacon" angles
R U gettin' the Piggly-Wiggly picture now?! LOL! Do they have even Piggly-Wiggly groceries in Europe? I'll have to research that...LOL!
And u betchya, there's gonna be a ton of Bond-style mud-slingin' goin' on too!
So there you have it...LIP GLOCK and its Swine Element...a total "out-of-money experience" or so says the too cute Piggy Bank the DH bought me Saturday at a Cracker Barrel Restaurant and Shop!
Sexy Sassy Smart Swine-Filled Wishes --- D. D. ScottLabels: Behind and Beyond My Books, Being a Gutsy Romance Writer Girl, Lip Glock, Muse Therapy Extra Tips and Tidbits, My Writing Process or Lack There Of, The Cozy Cash Mysteries
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Behind & Beyond My Books (LIP GLOCK): Writing Page One
Happy Thursday, D. D. Scott-ville!
And welcome to my first Behind & Beyond My Books for my next release LIP GLOCK - Book Two of The Cozy Cash Mysteries - which will be released in August!
So...how is it...that an author gets to the point when he or she can write that first page of a book?
Well...for me, that first page begins in a series of images, that, for whatever reason, grab-hold of my muses and scream 'oh yeahhh...you're writing this one about these things'!
For example, for LIP GLOCK, here's what my muses are demanding of me...
And here's the result...
SPOILER ALERT!!!
LIP GLOCK (Page One...plus a wee bit more):
CHAPTER ONE
Life in a castle ain’t all it’s cracked-up to be.
Especially when you’ve arrived here after being at the wrong end of a Glock.
A Glock held to your chest by a woman old enough to be your Granny, and who’s endowed with these monster-sized lips, formed into a maybe-evil-maybe-not, super-botoxed, Cheshire Cat-style grin.
And I mean it...Granny Veruschka’s lips take-up half her damn face. A face that once graced the world’s top fashion magazines, with a body attached that also got her on every hot catwalk. But now, a face that had seen one too many botox injections, and a body, although still sleek and cat-like, was currently filled with who knew what the hell kinda motivation to be holding me at Glock-point.
So now...here I sit, in my fave of all positions – the fetal position...my new M.O. –gazing at the Actaeon sculpture in the cascade of the castle grounds now holding me hostage.
Not familiar with the story of Actaeon?
Here’s the scoop...
Actaeon is an iconic motif used in ancient art, both Renaissance and post-Renaissance, in which a hunter becomes the hunted.
Are you starting to get why I’m in the fetal position staring down good ‘ole Actaeon?
Let me make it perfectly clear and paint y’all a rather disturbing snapshot.
Actaeon was once a hunter of stag and wolves, but now, thanks to Artemis, another Greek Mythology big-shot, Actaeon was a stag himself, with the wolves he used to hunt now about to rip him apart.
Kinda the story of my life the last couple weeks.
I’m Zoey Witherspoon, a fairly new, badge-toting P.I., who’s been on Thug Guard hunting a twisted bundle of Ponzi-scheming turds throughout both The States then Europe too, along with my Secret Bond – as in James Bond-esque - Roman Bellesconi, Prince-of-Many-Names, and now his Granny Veruschka too.
Except the strangest thing happened on my way to get my all-things-green Naked Juice, my fellow hunters – Roman and his could-be-lethal Granny – decided I was the one to be hunted.
At least that’s the impression I got.
But maybe that’s just me, and there was another reason good ‘ole Granny had a Glock pointed at my Gucci blouse in the parking lot of the Jiffy Mart back in Music City.
Not like I’d know said reason...because Roman and his Could-Be-Lethal Granny had so far refused to tell me shit!
I’m tellin’ ya...life in a castle ain’t all it’s cracked-up to be...not when you don’t have a God damn clue how or why you’re here.
Okay...so maybe I had the tiniest of ideas “why” I’m here.
‘Course that was before Granny drugged me and got me all comfy in the family kingdom’s private jet for a flight across the pond...then into Milan...and straight to Castle Command Central.
Thus the fetal position...
And...oh shit...here comes Granny...
Now...from here, I'll spend a couple weeks fine-tuning these first couple pages, along with writing the first three chapters.
The first three chapters of each book are the toughest for me, and thus, take the most time.
That's when I'm really fleshing-out my characters and plot-points.
Once I've nailed these first three chapters, I can write the rest of the book in about four to six weeks.
I'm writing at a pace of one book every two to three months now...and that's sooo workin' for me and my muses and my readers and fans too!
It's Your Turn, D. D. Scott-ville: What questions do you have about my writing process or are there any of my characters you're dyin' to read more of...and no worries..."Yes, your fave Mom Squad is back in LIP GLOCK...and OMG are they outta control!!!"
Sexy Sassy Smart D. D. Scott Page One and Beyond Wishes --- D. D. ScottLabels: Behind and Beyond My Books, Lip Glock, My Writing Process or Lack There Of, The Cozy Cash Mysteries
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Fiction-Writing Plotting Techniques: The D. D. Scott Element List
Happy Tuesday, D. D. Scott-ville!
Now that my 5th Book is out - THUG GUARD, Book One of my new, Cozy Cash Mysteries - which is actually my 15th manuscript, I'm beginning to develop my very own, fiction-writing techniques for creating a D. D. Scott book.
My writing weakness used to be plotting.
And...to that once, huge-ass issue...I used to say:
"Why can't my characters just sit on a supercool bench in some great location and chat for 300 or so pages?! I've been repeatedly told my dialogue and witty banter rock. So yeah...let's just let my characters talk!"
Why can't my characters just sit on a supercool bench and chit-chat?!
Well...these days, it's because they're also involved in solving mysteries, which requires they get off their butts and follow their leads...or, let's face it, find a lead...any lead...LOL!
But, thanks first, to my fantabulous, mystery-writing author friend Misa Ramirez, I now begin each Cozy Cash Mystery with her Mystery Plot Exercise...which includes jotting down the following items:
*** A Sleuth
*** Victim(s)
*** 3 Different Suspects
*** 3 Different Motives For Killing
*** False Leads
*** Real Clues
*** Killer Revealed At The End
So, I took Misa's wayyy fab list, then added my own D. D. Scott twist.
How?!
Well...in my D. D. Scott Books, I like to explore what I call Pop Culture "Elements" in each book.
For example, take a look at each of the high-concept blurbs for my fiction books and their ripe-for-the-pickin' pop culture elements:
BOOTSCOOTIN' BLAHNIKS - Think Sex and The City meets Urban Cowboy
STOMPIN' ON STETSONS - Think Hell's Kitchen mixed with Meet the Fockers
BUCKLES ME BABY - Think paparazzi-hell and Ponzi-scheming fall-out meet home-shopping and Babies "R" Us
THUG GUARD - Think The Rachel Zoe Project meets Bond, James Bond and a Madoff-style, Ponzi-scheming King
Sooo...here comes my D. D. Scott Fiction-Writing Plotting Technique Twist...
I create what I call "The D. D. Scott Element List" for each book...a list, if you will, of all the Pop Culture Tidbits I plan to use in a particular book.
Take my next release - LIP GLOCK, Book Two of my new, Cozy Cash Mysteries - which will hit E-shelves in August...here's my D. D. Scott Element List for that book:
Lips
Glocks
The Mob
Life in a Castle/a princess-in-the-making (very Will & Kate)
Blackwater
The Galleon "cozy cash" scheme
Fashion-esque gadget-style weapons & the forensics to make 'em deadly
Bond, James Bond
Rachel Zoe's "Style A to Zoe"
One of the best spas in Europe
The Blue-Haired Version of Charlie's Angels - aka The Mom Squad
There you go...a Sneak Peek into the fictional world I'm building for LIP GLOCK.
Now...all I have to do...is get my characters off their benches and following each of these elements, then connect the dots from one to the next...and before you know it, I've got another D. D. Scott "The End"!
It's Your Turn, D. D. Scott-ville: If you're a writer, what plotting techniques do you use to get your stories onto your pages and screens? And, if you're a reader, what Pop Culture Elements would you like to see on my list?Labels: Behind and Beyond My Books, Being a Gutsy Romance Writer Girl, My Writing Process or Lack There Of
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
The D. D. Diaries: Every Book Begins Way Before Page One
Happy Tuesday, D. D. Scott-ville, and welcome to my D. D. Diaries inaugural post!
What are The D. D. Diaries?
They're going to be a series of posts on "making a RomCom-Cozy come to life on my pages".
As you know, with the release this past weekend of Book Three in my Bootscootin' Books - BUCKLES ME BABY, my muses have reeled me into a new twist on my Romantic Comedy Writing Adventure.
Yep. My muses are goin' cozy...as in Cozy Mysteries cozy.
Or...as I like to call my new genre mash-up...RomCom-Cozies...a whole bunch of Romantic Comedy, and a bit of Cozy Mystery too, thrown into each new book!
Talk about tons of fun to be had!!!
In my D. D. Diaries, I'm giving you the inside scoop on how I make each of my books come alive on my pages.
And to begin with...for me, and my D. D. Scott books...every book begins with "everything on my table"...as in, all my research and Hobby Lobby images, smack dab in the middle of my kitchen table.
Gorilla Glue included, with the cap off and ready to rock and sniff...just kidding on the sniffing glue thing...sort of. LOL!
So anyhoo...here's THUG GUARD - Book One in my new Cozy "Cash" Mysteries - with "everything on my table".
THUG GUARD will release on or about May 16th of this year!!!
Time to take everything off my table and get to writing!
Sexy Sassy Smart The D. D. Diaries Wishes --- D. D. ScottLabels: My Writing Process or Lack There Of, RomCom-Cozy, The D. D. Diaries, Thug Guard
Friday, May 1, 2009
Spring, BICHOK, and Timer-Writing
TGIF, Everyone, and Happy Spring too!!!
The nicer the weather, the tougher time I have keeping my BICHOK. For those of you non-writers, or newby writers who are unfamiliar with the acronym, we're talking Butt In Chair and Hands on Keyboard...LOL!!!
It goes something like this...the sun fills my office with warmth and soul-satisfying light, a fabulous breeze blows in from the windows I seldom shut this time of year, and Sweet Man and I just got the motorcycle ready for another wonderful few months of terrific rides.
How can I make time for BICHOK?
This might surprise you, but for this RomCom Queen, it's not so bad. Although granted it's a wee bit more challenging than when the snow's drifted up against half my patio doors. Oh well, I'm making my deadlines. So all's well.
I've always been one of those writers, and you can throw the tiniest of cyber stones my way if you so choose, who knows no such thing as writer's block. I've always got something to fill new pages. It comes from years of talking to myself when no one else felt like listening to my ramblings. But that doesn't mean I don't have to work at keeping a pace that will get me to a three-book a year schedule. That's about 1200 pages a year to work-in along with the business-side of writing as a career, the promo opportunities, and my craft development.
Ohhhhh yeahhhhh...were talking time is of the essence and beyond in the D. D. Scott world.
But thanks to Harlequin Blaze author Tawny Weber, I've discovered a fantastic new trick using Timer-Writing. Yep, we're talking using the 'ole kitchen timer. 'Course I'm not much of a cook. So I can now use the darn thing that's magnetized to my frig and must be feeling wayyyyy neglected by now. In fact, I might splurge and get myself one of those too cute rooster or egg-shaped time-tracker gadgets. Not sure what that does to my office Feng Shui or astrologically sound set-up, but I've always been a bunch off the charts and outside the box.
Timer-Writing simply means you crank that baby up to however many minutes/hours you want, get your BICHOK, and produce some pages. That's it! How fun is that?!
Now the secret will be training your family - as if they were Pavlov's dogs - to keep their salivations to themselves 'til your timer dings that your done for that writing stint.
Tawny is not only a brilliant writer - if you haven't read her latest series, go get it right now (her April release "Coming on Strong" and May release "Going Down Hard" should still be in bookstores...if not, grab them online while you can) - but she's also a wonderful teacher on great topics like Courting Your Muse. Check out her website at www.TawnyWeber.com
That's it for today. So keep your BICHOK!!! And don't forget some fabulous rooster or egg-shaped timer or whatever shape works with your mojo.
Sexy, Sassy, Smart Wishes --- D. D. Scott
www.DDScott.comLabels: My Writing Process or Lack There Of
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Sprinting to 'The End'
Labeling this post 'My Writing Process' is a bit of an oxymoron.
The conceptual perception...perhaps a mirage...that I have a writing process is something I swore I wouldn't, couldn't, and shouldn't perpetuate.
But I swear constantly as a habitually reforming potty mouth. So I decided to just deal with my natural proclivity to do the opposite of what I plan to do (just for the hell...oops...heck of it). Thus, I'm proud to announce that yes, this former pantser is now a fool-hardy plotter.
I took an online class last month from Karen Docter about The 'W' Plot (The Other White Meat for Plotters) and am hooked on the method. Here's the link to Karen's almighty mind: http://www.karendocter.com/Workshop.htm
If you haven't taken her class do so...well...if you're a writer and care about that stuff, take the class. If you're not a writer but rather a reader or a member of my family or inner circle, accept my enthusiasm and know I've discovered a groove to my writing process I hope will keep me a tad more sane while I finish my current novel. So great news for all folks involved...right?! LOL!!!
I'm now driven like a mad, mad, mad sexy, sassy, smart woman to finish this book. And I actually know what's going to happen and in what order...a huge, Huge, HUGE treat for this Romcom Queen Wanna-Be. I'm quite convinced I can type 'The End' for the second time for this book three weeks from now. (Note: The first draft was done the end of July. But I soon learned I needed to add a 100 pages to turn it into single title length.)
You'll feel the earth move when my muses (The Carrie Squad) and I hit the dance floor to celebrate once we've emailed this puppy to my agent.
Sexy, Sassy, Smart Wishes --- D. D. ScottLabels: My Writing Process or Lack There Of
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