Brainstorming – my next book is calling me

Posted on March 12, 2010 by SloanParker

Once a week I post about something I’m loving (tv, movies, books, art, photos, romances, authors, or anything else). So here is this week’s For the Love of…

Writers are usually very solitary people. We spend hours and hours in our own heads, playing with thoughts and images until we get a story poured out onto the “paper.” We spend a lot of time listening to made-up people. It’s rewarding and challenging, but it can also suck when you get stuck on something. Group brainstorming can help.

Last weekend I spent two days with a group of local writers. We rotated between individual writing time and group brainstorming. It was a rare chance for me to get input and story inspiration from others, as well as an opportunity to help brainstorm in other genres. It was a productive, fun weekend. The entire process helped me get a jump-start on some conflict ideas for my next book. (And let me just say, I’m so mean to my characters…it’s worth it though).

That’s the great thing about group brainstorming. No matter how many of the ideas I end up using, the entire process motivated me and also sparked my own ideas after I got home and my mind kept running through my story.

Thanks to my writing pals: Connie, Jennie, Lesly, Rita, and KateLynn. You guys rock!! I loved hearing about your stories. Best of luck on your writing!

Any other writers out there ever try group brainstorming, either online or in person? What process works for you?

I’d love to hear about it.
Sloan Parker

Stomping on the doubt and crushing the hell out of it

Posted on March 5, 2010 by SloanParker

Once a week I post about something I’m loving (tv, movies, books, art, photos, romances, authors, or anything else). So here is this week’s For the Love of…

I love being a writer.

I love brainstorming new characters and figuring out what their story is and how to tell it.

I love the editing process, the layering of story and characterizations.

But some days being a writer just plain sucks.

It can be hard to work through the self-doubt, the frustrations with a project, with the characters, with holes in the plot.

This morning was one of those days for me. The conflict for Breathe is a difficult setup for a romance story (I never said I take the easy road). People tend to have rather surprised and skeptical reactions when they hear what I’m writing about, and that fosters some doubt about whether or not I’ve wasted the last seven months. Usually, I’m able to stomp on the doubt and crush the hell out of it.

Some days it takes a little more effort than that.

So this morning I re-read a few of my favorite scenes from Breathe. They helped to remind me why I’m telling this story, what I love about it, and how happy I am with the way it’s turned out. Breathe has become the story I envisioned it to be, and I’m excited to be getting near the end of the writing process. I’m doing a final polish this month, working out a few kinks before I submit it.

It felt odd to use my own writing to cheer myself up, but it worked and I’m back to editing for the rest of the day.

So yeah, I love being a writer again.

The One Who Made Me Smile

Posted on January 1, 2010 by SloanParker

Once a week, I post about something I’m loving (tv, movies, books, art, photos, romances, authors, or anything else) that I’ve seen or read about recently. So here is this week’s For the Love of …

With the close of every year, I try to take a few minutes to remember all the wonderful moments of my life, the friends and family and significant times that have made the year special for me.

As 2009 came to a close, I took a moment to remember one special little guy who brightened many days for me, but unfortunately lost his battle with cancer this past year. Today, I thought I’d share some of my favorite photos of him. He was a big part of what made me smile every day, and I thank my niece for suggesting I take a look at this homeless little guy all those years ago.

Jesse was smart and regal and full of live. And he was a fighter. He was sick from the minute I adopted him. Several times my vet looked at me in that caring way he has and tried to tell me he didn’t think Jesse would have a long life, that this time it might be the end. But Jesse would have none of that. He came back to full force many times over and lived to play another day. He was one of the gentlest, smartest pets I’ve ever known. It was hard sometimes to tell he was blind.

Thanks to these pictures, Jesse still makes me smile.

I hope you all have a wonderful, healthy, happy 2010!!

Sloan Parker

Quote I love: What Ellen DeGeneres Knows

Posted on December 9, 2009 by SloanParker

Once a week, I post a quote that I’ve read/heard recently. So here’s this week’s Quote I Love …

I recently read this comment from Ellen in her list titled: What Ellen DeGeneres Knows for Sure (She Thinks)

“I know for sure I would never change any of the hard times I went through in my life. Because it was in those times that I grew the most and gained the most perspective.

It’s our challenges and obstacles that give us layers of depth and make us interesting. Are they fun when they happen? No. But they are what make us unique. And that’s what I know for sure…I think.”

Ellen DeGeneres

This really is a hard thing to accept when you’re in the middle of a crisis or painful time in your life, but I know I wouldn’t trade most of those moments if it meant my life wouldn’t be what it is now — if I wouldn’t be who I am now. I love where I am. I love where I’m going. I love the family I’ve built.

That said, there are people I miss, losses I’d do almost anything to change. Logically, I know I can’t undo any of those things, so in a way, I look at them from a distance (now that time has passed), and I accept them. Those moments have made me stronger, have helped me become who I am. I hope they have given me strength to handle any of the painful moments to come. We all have them. They can’t be avoided. I like what Ellen said about how they “give us layers of depth and make us interesting.” I hope that’s true for me.

Here’s hoping all of you have many, many good days ahead. And when you do have a challenging day, that it passes by quickly and you are stronger for it.

Thanks for stopping by,
Sloan Parker

What a year!

Posted on November 26, 2009 by SloanParker

Sorry this post won’t be all that interesting or funny or important to anyone really but me, but it’s a day for saying thanks here in the US. It was important for me to say this.

With everything going on today — cooking, cleaning, setting up tables and chairs, and doing so many dishes for my mom that my hands will pretty much be in soapy water all day long — it’s easy to put off thinking about what it is we are truly thankful for. So before we head off to my folks, I wanted to take a minute to reflect on this past year and all the wonderful people and things in my life I am grateful for. It’s not a complete list, but it’s who and what have made this year one of the best of my life.

My immediate family. For me that’s Rosie, my partner, and our three cats. They love me even when I’m an ass. Even when I’m crazy. Even when I get sucked into my world of fictional people and places and forget to get off my damn ass and live a little. Thanks, Rosie, for pulling me out of the chair once in a while. Thanks for always loving and supporting me. Thanks for giving me an unending supply of passion to put into my work. Thanks for making me laugh every single day. And thanks to the three little felines who are more entertaining than a little TV any day.
The rest of my family. Especially my mom and dad who are proud of me for my first book contract. Even though they will never read a single word of it, they give their unending support every day, and I love them for that. And sorry, Dad, that I can’t seem to write a book where, as you say, “I leave the sex up to the reader’s imagination” so that you can feel comfortable reading it. Thanks to both of you for loving me, not in spite of who I am, but because of it.
All my new friends in RWA. I was hesitant to join the national organization and local chapter, but you have all made it a wonderful experience for me.
My publisher (Loose Id) and editor (Antonia). Thanks for taking a chance on an unknown. Thanks for believing in More. And thanks for helping me make it better.
Luke, Richard, and Matthew and the muse that helped me find them. I’ve worked at my writing since I was in the second grade when I wrote my first book and entered a local competition. It hasn’t always been an easy path, but there’s something about me that makes me a storyteller. I’m grateful for that. It’s been one hell of a ride so far.

Happy day to everyone!
Sloan Parker
www.sloanparker.com