Top Ten Things I Learned Writing My Latest Gay Romance

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Here’s what I’ve learned writing TAKE ME HOME (tentatively due out December 2011):

  1. Characters do not always listen to my outline.
  2. The book isn’t done until it’s done. I added some really great stuff in the last week.
  3. Reading a manuscript while walking around the house is dangerous. For my cats. Sorry, little dudes!
  4. In order to really put myself into a scene it’s possible to simulate being freezing cold in a blizzard during 100 degree days using just the power of my mind. And a fan.
  5. Writing a scene set during any other time than the past decade requires a lot of research. Even when it’s a simple journal entry from 1953.
  6. In the process of editing I read faster during the action scenes and forget to actually edit. “Uh, this is YOUR book, Sloan. Pay attention.”
  7. Making my poor characters wait to get off is kinda fun. It makes the sex scene more explosive to write.
  8. I should not have two books “in process” with characters names that start with the same initial. In this case…Kyle and Kevin. I had to tell Kevin to get back to his own damn book way too many times. “Dude, get off Evan and go find Walter!”
  9. I really love the male body and can describe a blowjob for way too many paragraphs (okay, pages) than necessary. More than anyone would want to stick around to read.And the last thing I learned writing my latest m/m romance:
  10. It’s helpful to take a character’s clothes off BEFORE attempting anal sex.

8 thoughts on “Top Ten Things I Learned Writing My Latest Gay Romance”

  1. *grins*
    I love these insights into a writers mind you share…and can I say that even though some of them may have been a bit stressful to you? They were highly entertaining to ME lol! Numbers 8 and 10 tickled me, and I had to tell 4 little boys that I was laughing at nothing…nothing at all!

  2. Sloan – GREAT posting! So funny and helpful. Congrats on your learnings, and can’t wait until your new one comes out. Hopefully you’re able to take a mini-rest now, and get back to the other “K” story!

    • Hi, Mel. Thanks for checking out the post. No matter how much I have to learn or how many “issues” I run into, there’s nothing I’d rather do. Glad to hear you’re looking forward to my next story.

  3. Sloan,

    Thanks so much for including Sharla Rae’s post on Echoes in your Writing Resources page. All of us at Writers In the Storm appreciate that sort of thing. :-)

    Fantastic post! Except for the last few, they’d apply to anything I’d write in my Women’s Fiction WIP – though I’ll bet I’d get some serious readership if I flipped #9 around a bit!

    For any who haven’t seen the resource page: http://www.sloanparker.com/writingresources.htm

    • You’re welcome, Jenny. Please thank Sharla for the fab resource. In fact, the entire Writers In The Storm blog has some wonderful information for writers. Thanks for sharing with the rest of us.

      Glad you enjoyed the post. Thanks for stopping by!

    • Hi Damon. Glad you could relate. Have you almost killed your cat? I’m such a disaster when reading through the manuscript but I’ve found it helps to move around instead of sit at my desk. My brain connects better to the words or something. Glad you liked the post. Thanks for stopping by.

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