Liz Lipperman: Looking for Plot in all the Wrong Places

Looking for Plot in all the Wrong Places

Okay, so I spent three hours in the dentist's chair recently getting three lower back teeth ready for crowns. It was only supposed to be two but my dentist found a huge crack in the third one.

Cha ching!

Anyway, I'm on FaceBook with my dentist and some of her very capable office staff, and I posted an update about how I was thinking about creating a character that looked like a few of them and torturing them with a dental drill. That led to a lively discussion involving a possible title.Death by Dentistry, Drill M for Murder, Nightmare on Route Canal, and Nitrous and Old Lace were a few that made the cut. It was fun for all of us until I realized on the weekend that the gum around the last tooth was probably infected. My first clue was that I cried every time I bit down on something.

So I called my dentist who was at a restaurant with her staff, and she phoned in an antibiotic RX for me. I'm sure my writing became a dinner table topic after that. Long story short, I had to go see her the following day and lo and behold, my sweet, girl-next-door dentist who looks more like she should be modeling swimsuits for Sports Illustrated than shoving both hands into my mouth, said she had a great idea for a book.

Vicki Batman on: Hope

Recently, I had a really, really nice email. I’d been writing on various stories and my WIP. When I checked the email, I found one from -- I blinked multiple times -- a publisher I'd submitted to a month prior.

I've sold several short fiction pieces in the past year and a half. Yet, with each new submission, I always feel selling again is a crap shoot.

I opened the email. A contract!


Naturally I screamed, scaring the cat and my son. My heart rate increased and I’m positive I lost a bit of sanity and reality. Eventually, I calmed down enough to explain to my boy what had taken place. He gave me the biggest hug ever.

Even though my project is an itty bitty one, I sold. Yipee! I celebrated. I did the happy dance, ate chocolate, and told friends.

The feeling of “I DID IT” is awesome. I can only imagine the feeling is a bazillion times more than mine when someone gets a three book deal. Right now, I want more. I want to see the other six pieces I’ve written published. I want to see my three manuscripts published. Heck, I want to see everything I’ve written published.

It's back to school with Michelle Miles: Plotting 101

I’ve never been much for plotting. In fact, I’m the type of writer than when I get an idea, I just start writing. That idea can be a character showing up in my head that starts to talk. Or a dream I had that tells the entire story from start to finish. Or sometimes it’s a snippet of conversation I’ve overhead in an elevator. Or a title that jumps out that begs for a story to be told.

When it begins in my head is when it begins on paper. At least for me.

I realized that part of my writing problem, though, was that I didn’t plot much (or ever) and then I’d get stuck. And stare at a blinking cursor. Delete large chunks of text that didn’t advance the story.

I’d been thinking about plotting for a long time, trying to figure out what would work for me but nothing seemed to. I got the Break Into Fiction book and tried all the templates. I got bored with that after the third one. I had the, “Meh. Not so much,” attitude about it.

The Incredible J. D. Tyler is here!

Thank you so much for having me here today, ladies! And congratulations on the launch of your lovely new blog.

Tell us about yourself. How long have you been writing?  I’ve been writing for over ten years, and I’m multi-published under two other pen names. PRIMAL LAW, book 1 of my new Alpha Pack series, marks my foray into the paranormal genre as J.D. Tyler. I can’t tell you how excited I am about this series!

How did you get from your day job to writing romance?  In my day job, I used to be a teacher. I was under so much stress, I was having chest pains by the end of a 16-year run. I needed a major career change and I’d always dreamed of being a published author. I had tons of stories in my head and the drive to succeed. After I finished my first manuscript, I joined the Romance Writers of America and learned how to hone my writing for the market. I sold almost 6 years after I started writing, and the rest is history!

Who is your favorite author(s) and why?  My number one favorite author is Jim Butcher! Pleeeze, can I be Jim when I grow up? The man is a genius, and I’m totally addicted to his Dresden Files series! Harry Dresden is a master wizard who’s also a private investigator, and takes care of people’s paranormal problems. He’s sexy, humorous, and he’s always in some sort of jam. From the first sentence, Jim Butcher takes his readers on a thrill ride that never lets up. If you enjoy paranormal and haven’t tried this series, you must!

Tell us about your new book, PRIMAL LAW. Ohh, I’ll be glad to! Here’s the Blurb:

Founded by a group of former Navy SEALS, the Alpha Pack is a top-secret team of wolf shifters with Psy powers tasked with eliminating the most dangerous predators in the world. But the gift of their abilities comes at a price…

After a massacre decimates half his team and leaves him crippled, Jaxon Law must relearn how to fight—and battle the anger and guilt threatening to overwhelm him. But when he rescues a beautiful woman who reawakens his primal instincts, Jax is unprepared for the dangers that lie ahead.

On the run from her employer, brilliant lab assistant Kira Locke has evidence that leads the Alpha Pack on a hunt for someone targeting human civilians with Psy abilities. And as Jax and Kira circle both the killer and each other, Jax will have to decide if the deep connection he feels with Kira is worth breaking the ultimate shifter rule—because bonding with Kira means putting his abilities at risk, and they might be the only tools he has to keep his mate alive…

Destiny or Choice?

When my writing muse awoke from her 22-year hiatus in 2005, she did so with fierce determination to get me to write again. To explain, at 13 years old, I wrote with a childhood friend all during our school years and for ten years beyond into our careers. We grew apart both in distance and friendship and I just stopped writing.

When I think back on what kind of stories we wrote and compare them to the direction my work life took, I am amazed at the similarities.  The story themes were always good vs. evil in some fashion whether it was espionage, police, or action-adventure.  My work life fell into law enforcement.  I never yearned to be a police officer, nor planned to become one. It just happened. During my law enforcement career, I worked a variety of assignments, even with some undercover work.  If that alone was not adventurous enough, I joined the Colorado State Disaster Team and my departments Search and Rescue team, becoming an Emergency Medical Technician in the process. 

Until now, I never really made the comparison between my young writing days and my career choices. As I pondered what to write in this blog post (by the way, it is my first blog post ever), I wanted to concentrate on writing, of course, and it came to me that we so often hear the words ‘write what you know’.

WELCOME TO TEMPTATION!

Temptation Thursday, that is. The first Thursday of each month on the Plotting Princess blog we are going to post five (5) lines from books, short stories, articles, etc. we are currently writing. Each month you will get a variety of different authors, genres and styles from various Plotting Princesses—both published and unpublished—and from time to time we might just throw in a few "guest" authors into the mix.


These teases might not be from the very beginning of the story; they could be from anywhere, any chapter. So you never know what you are going to get. Although we will try to keep it at least PG-13 (we have a few authors that write some really steamy stuff, after all).


So, jump right in and get a taste of a few of our Plotting Princesses' current writing projects. Enjoy!


THE LITTLE BIRDIE WHO DIDN'T GET AWAY—Vicki Batman


The instant I parked my Jeep in my townhome's driveway, a hard rap on the window scared the bejeezus outta me. Jerking my head aside, I found my neighbor--Ben, Ben Whitson--with a panic-stricken look on his face. A week ago, he'd introduced himself on move-in day with a gift bag filled with a newspaper, coffee, and pastries. Now, his large hand covered a piece of stiff paper.
Setting one hand on my strongly beating heart, I rolled down the window with the other. "What's up, Ben?"

PLOTTING PRINCESSES LAUNCH WRAP-UP

Wow! What else can I say? Our four day launch went off with nary a hitch. We are awed and amazed at the response from both the writing and reading community. We had lots of old friends show up and we've gained many new friends, as well.

We've added to our line-up for the months of August and September. Be sure to check back often, every Tuesdays and Thursdays for regularly scheduled events, plus we'll be throwing surprises in on different days, just to keep things interesting.

We had lots of comments on the look and style of the site and Vicki and I are pleased that you like it as much as we do.

Okay, I know most of you want to know who won the prizes and what did they get?

A tote bag filled with assorted books and other goodies: Nancy Haddock

A second tote bag filled with assorted goodies: Diana Cosby

A $10.00 B&N Card: Vickie Taylor

A $10.00 B&N Card: Ellen O'Neill

Jump Drive loaded with books by Plotting Princess authors: Kathy Bennett

Jump Drive loaded with books by Plotting Princess authors: Lori Wilde

Starbucks Gift Card: Linda Cacaci

Again, thanks so much for dropping by our launch party and making it such a success. Come back on Thursday when we will have "Temptation Thursday." (I know you're dying to know what Temptation Thursday is all about—I'm not gonna tell you—you'll have to come back and see.)

See you Thursday.

Kathy Ivan