I am often asked what is like to write a novel. On this journey of the mind and soul, I have learned a variety of often painful and sometimes pleasant lessons. So I decided to share a few of my gems in case you are tempted to think about writing a book or if you are just an author looking for a little laughter!
- If you are stuck and can’t decide what to write, drink anything highly caffeinated—don’t worry about the pain in your chest after your fifth espresso, that’s just ideas being born.
- Ergonomics is for wimps. If your neck, back, wrists, and eyes don’t hurt after a long day of writing, you are doing it wrong.
- Coffee shops are your mecca. Once you accept that you are the stereotype of a writer, you can make great use of any place that has quirky people and uppers floating in the air.
- Not talking about your story until it is complete is impossible. It’s like talking about your children, sometimes you just have to share. Your friends are just going to have to accept that your life revolves around little souls and souls that exist nowhere else but in your mind (don’t worry when they call you a border-line schizophrenic, take it like a compliment).
- In your marriage, killing a character is an acceptable rule for being in a bad mood; unless it is an antagonist, which is reason for jumping around the house like a mad woman/man.
- Sickness will come to the household whenever you are nearing the end of a book deadline. Make sure to get your work done early because nothing promotes a peaceful and harmonious writing environment like the soft scents of Lysol and a child’s feverish face.
- Putting your kids to bed early because you have a revelation about your current WIP is not only acceptable but almost required as there is nothing worse than forgetting/not utilizing the muse.
- Ideas only come after all of your pens are lined North to South and your chair is tilted in an exact 10 degree angle from your computer screen (or when you are trying to go to sleep and have somewhere to be early the next morning).
- It’s normal when you are having a conversation with one of the few friends you have left (after months of being in your writing cave) that everything they say relates to something that you have written. In fact, if this is a true friend, they will love you more for it (even if they are rolling their eyes).
- Every character in your book is based on someone you know. We are creatures of habit, why create a character when you have a well-known acquaintance that (not so secretly) loves to dress in drag and only eats yellow food on Wednesdays? HELLO, character quirks!
What about you? What gems have you learned along your journey?
*Danica’s next novel, The Curse of Zeus, Book 5 of the Nymph Series will be out Fall 2015!
The constantly changing beauty serves as the backdrop for my new novel Montana Mustangs (out today!), the second book in the Nymph Series. In fact, Montana Mustangs takes place in Somers, Montana which lies just south of the (small and humble) city of Kalispell—the city that many fly into in order to visit Glacier Park, one of the best and most picturesque parks in the contingent United States.Somers, Montana lies at the edge of one of the largest (and coldest) freshwater lakes in the U.S., Flathead Lake. At the beginning of Montana Mustangs we first get the chance to meet our characters as they are standing at the edge of this picturesque lake, where they have made a macabre discovery—one in which sets the book into motion.My love of life, horses, and Montana are represented in every aspect of this book, but please know that just like our beautiful spring flowers, to everything there is possible impermanence—especially for the main character, Aura, a nymph cursed to never keep true love. Like the others of her kind, she has been struck with a curse by Zeus that if she falls in love, the man is fated to die a tragic death.When her sister is kidnapped, she must team up with a local Sheriff’s deputy, Dane, and work together to solve a case steeped in mythology, lies, and deeply hidden secrets. If you have a love of Montana, horses, the unexplained, and paranormal romance (which is centered in the not-so-supernatural world) then this book is a must read. Montana Mustangs is my own spring flower, a story filled with such beauty it will never be forgotten even long after you have turned the last page.Image Courtesy of