Inspiration For a New Story

Today I worked on a new short story for the upcoming “Hot July Days…M/M Style” event at the M/M Romance group on Goodreads.

For this event, members of the group wrote letters requesting a story centered around one of their favorite photos. Authors or writers in the group then volunteered to write a free short story based on the letter and picture of their choice.

Here’s the picture I selected (not sure of the original source). I fell in love with it right off.

I got a good start on the story today and have outlined the rest of it. It has a lovely romantic ending, and you all know how much I love when a couple of guys take a moment to get a little sweet with each other. Especially a couple of bears on the beach.

After the story is posted at the Goodreads group, I can add it to my website. I’ll let you all know when it’s available.

Hope you have a fabulous week!

Quote I Love: The more you write, the better you get.

Michelle Obama “on what she and Obama tell their daughters to help them achieve their goals.” (Yahoo News)

“Read, write, read, read. If the president were here–one of his greatest strengths is reading. That’s one of the reasons why he’s a good communicator, why he’s such a good writer. He’s a voracious reader. So we’re trying to get our girls, no matter what, to just be–to love reading and to challenge themselves with what they read, and not just read the gossip books but to push themselves beyond and do things that maybe they wouldn’t do.

“So I would encourage you all to read, read, read. Just keep reading. And writing is another skill. It’s practice. It’s practice. The more you write, the better you get. Drafts–our kids are learning the first draft means nothing. You’re going to do seven, 10 drafts. That’s writing, it’s not failure, it’s not the teacher not liking you because it’s all marked up in red. When you get to be a good writer, you mark your own stuff in red, and you rewrite, and you rewrite, and you rewrite. That’s what writing is.”

Michelle Obama
Q&A at the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson School

Yes! As is often stated…writing is rewriting.

“The first draft means nothing.” I’m not sure it means nothing, but in my case it’s only a start, and a rough start at that. It’s the bare bones of what a story will become. So much happens from that first draft to the last. That’s when the characters come to life, when the plot issues are ironed out, when the emotions become more relevant and intense, and when the descriptions are made more meaningful.

I just finished making a character motivation change to TAKE ME HOME that required I rewrite several scenes and revise some internal monologue throughout the story. I cannot tell you how happy I am with the outcome. I love these characters and their journey together even more.

Revising is where such magically things happen to the manuscript that even the writer is surprised.

Works-In-Progress Status & Writing Resources

Just a quick update today. Thought I’d share that two new sections have been added to my website.

  1. Works-in-progress
    This lists all the projects I am working on or have plans to work on in the future. I’ll update as often as I can and include the date last updated at the top of the page. The same works-in-progress list is also included on the homepage so readers don’t have to hunt around the site for the status updates.
  2. For Writers
    A list of resources I’ve found helpful as a writer. Topics include grammar, editing, plotting methods, character charts, publishing info, and more.

If you have any other suggestions for what you’d like to see on the status updates page, please let me know. Thanks!

Best. Description. Ever.

When I first started working on Take Me Home, I described the overall idea to my partner. She gave me her opinion and asked a few questions that helped me come up with additional ideas for the resolution of the plot.

It’s been a while since I first told her the idea, so when we were talking the other day about my progress, I was curious how much she recalled. Here’s how the conversation went…

Me: Do you remember how the story ends?

Her: “Yes, they stay together.”

Me: “Well, yeah, it’s a romance. But do you know what happens in the last scene?”

Her: “Uh…” Then she gave her best guest: “They have the butt sex.”

I cracked up laughing. Always nice to know your significant other is paying attention in such great detail. *grin*

What is about a man with a baby? Or playing with a dog?

Was catching up on Grey’s Anatomy last night when I saw the episode that resulted in this image:


(Image Source)

How cute are they? Seriously. Makes me smile every damn time I  look at it. Also makes me feel something else all together. *sigh*

When I first saw the scene I had two reactions…1) I think my uterus skipped a beat (despite by plans on having no children) and 2) what is it about women and seeing a guy with a baby? Then one of the characters on the show brought up that same topic about men with babies (or men with dogs) and how appealing that image is for most women.

So I’m curious what you guys think. Why is it women find a guy with a baby so damn sexy? Is it pure biology working there? And is it just women? Do any gay men find other men with babies just as damn sexy as many women do? Or how about a guy with a dog? And are there any women out there who don’t find they are “inspired” by a guy holding a baby?

I’m curious…what do you guys think?