August 3, 2022 by Lori L MacLaughlin

IWSG and Bookstore Romance Day!

Today’s the day for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group (IWSG) where, on the first Wednesday of every month, writers get together to share their insecurities and offer encouragement. The IWSG was created by Alex J. Cavanaugh, and you can learn all about it and sign up for it here.

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Bookstore Romance Day is coming up on August 20th! What is Bookstore Romance day? According to the website bookstoreromanceday.org, it’s “a day designed to give independent bookstores an opportunity to celebrate Romance fiction—its books, readers, and writers—and to strengthen the relationships between bookstores and the Romance community.”

It’s not just for Romance writers. Any writers whose stories include romance can participate. I’ve been invited to join the celebration at The Eloquent Page, a local independent bookstore. All three of my books have romance aplenty mixed in with the magic and swordplay.

Check out bookstoreromanceday.org to see if a store near you is celebrating and join the fun!

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And now on to the IWSG Question of the Month — When you set out to write a story, do you try to be more original or do you try to give readers what they want?

I write for me, so I write stories that I want to read. I don’t try to guess what others might like or might want to see. It’s impossible to please everyone, so however the story is written, there will always be those who wish things had been done differently. I write stories that are satisfying to me and hope they will find other readers who feel the same.

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WIP Update: Life continues to keep me ridiculously busy and writing opportunities are few and far between, but I’m 15 chapters in and approximately halfway through the third book in the Trouble series, Trouble Times Three. I keep hoping things will slow down, but it hasn’t happened yet. One of these days, maybe.

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Anyone else joining in on Bookstore Romance Day?

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June 1, 2022 by Lori L MacLaughlin

IWSG — When the Going Gets Tough…

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June 1 question – When the going gets tough writing the story, how do you keep yourself writing to the end?

When the going gets tough, the tough switch things up. If I get bogged down in a scene, I have a few go-to strategies to get things moving again. Sometimes, a short break is all that’s needed to give a fresh perspective — taking a long walk or a hike or watching a movie. Doing something different allows the brain to reset. Other times, I brainstorm, playing the ‘what if’ game to see what comes to mind. I get some of my best ideas that way. Another way I get my brain back in gear is to go to a spot earlier in the story and start reading from there. By the time I get to where I was stuck, the story just flows on through as the characters take over once more.

When all else fails, I jot down actions and dialogue that I know belong in the scene and work through it in phrases and incomplete sentences until I figure out exactly what’s going on with the characters. If things aren’t working, it usually means I’m trying to force the story to go in the wrong direction. Eventually, if I keep at it, the right direction presents itself and the story goes on its way again. The key is to not give up or get discouraged. Perseverance pays off.

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Has anyone else ever dreamed about seeing their story up on the big screen? I’m sure the answer is Yes! I’ve been toying with the idea of writing a screenplay for my first book, Lady, Thy Name Is Trouble. I bought Final Draft 12, the industry standard software and have been dabbling with it. I found it really easy to use and was able to bang out a scene in a short time. I also read two screenwriting books, Save the Cat! by Blake Snyder and Story by Robert McKee, which have been incredibly helpful. Then I discovered the Internet Movie Script Database. It has the actual scripts from so many movies, including Lord of the Rings. What a resource! I’ve been skimming though scripts to get a better feel for how they should be put together. It’s all quite fascinating.

Has anyone else out there tried writing their own screenplays? What software and resources did you use? Did you find it easier or harder than writing a novel? Big screen, here we come!

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May 4, 2022 by Lori L MacLaughlin

IWSG — The Best and Worst of Times

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The best of times? That moment when a reader comes up to me and says they LOVED my books and can’t wait for the next one. Makes me want to do a happy dance right then and there. Then there are those moments when I’m writing and I’m on a roll — the story is running through my head like a movie and it’s all I can do to write the words down fast enough. Just seeing my books in print and holding them in my hands is right up there, too. Those moments are golden.

The worst of times would have to be the opposite — when someone doesn’t like my stories (which is perfectly okay, to each, his own) or when, for whatever reason, the words just aren’t there and no matter how long you sit and stare at the computer or notebook, nothing’s happening in bookland. That can be incredibly frustrating. And so can not having time to write in the first place. Life in general has become way too busy and exhausting. There just aren’t enough hours in the day. I don’t know how many times I’ve wished I had Hermione’s time turner. I could get so much more done that way.

But until that happens, I’ll keep plugging along when I can. I’ve added another several hundred words to my WIP over the past couple of weeks, so Yay!! That’s progress!

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What are your most memorable moments?

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April 6, 2022 by Lori L MacLaughlin

IWSG — Positive Feedback and Question of the Month

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I’m actually feeling pretty good about my work-in-progress right now, other than the fact that it’s taking way too long to finish it. I ran the first twelve chapters past my writers’ group and got lots of positive feedback. They said they were sucked right into the story, so whoo hoo! At least I’m going in the right direction. Now, if I could just get it done….

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April 6 question – Have any of your books been made into audio books? If so, what is the main challenge in producing an audiobook?

I have not had any of my books made into audio books yet. I’ve had people ask for them and it’s on my list of things to look into, but I’ve heard that it’s expensive. I’d love to hear about others’ experiences with producing audiobooks. What’s the best way to go about it and how much of an investment did you have to make? Were you happy with the results?

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Please check out my last two posts to learn about new book releases from Alex J. Cavanaugh and Joylene Nowell Butler!

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August 5, 2020 by Lori L MacLaughlin

IWSG and A to Z Challenge: My Bucket List! – Past, Present, and Future: F is for Flying!

I don’t really have any new insecurities right now, so I will go to the IWSG question for this month: Have you ever written a piece that became a form, or even a genre, you hadn’t planned on writing in? Or do you choose a form/genre in advance?

Well, I’ve tried to write short stories, but they always seem to turn into novels. I write in the fantasy genre because that’s what I love most to read, and fantasy novels tend to be long and sprawling, so maybe that’s why I’ve never been good at short stories. My characters refuse to be bridled.

Now on to the A to Z Challenge!

I’m taking the long way around with A to Z this year. My plan is to post every couple of weeks, so I will have time to visit other blogs in between and still have time to write.

F is for – Flying!

One thing I had always wanted to do was learn to fly. I wanted to soar on the wind currents like the hawks circling over the meadows and forests where I grew up. I remember watching them when I was a kid and thinking how peaceful it must be up there, high above all the chaos and commotion below.

There were two small airports within a couple of hours from where I lived that gave glider rides. Gliders have no engines and are towed up into the sky and then released to ride the thermals and updrafts, with the only sound being the whoosh of the air over the wings.

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Taking off with the tow plane

I’ve been on rides at both places and they were fantastic! The best part was when the pilot let me take the stick and fly the glider myself. Pure joy.

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This link has some basic info about gliders and a couple of really short videos showing take-off and landing for anyone interested in learning more.

https://www.boldmethod.com/blog/article/2015/02/your-guide-to-glider-flying/

Gliders are the best, but I also wanted to try my hand at a single-engine plane. Another airport closer to me gave flying lessons in a Cessna 152. The lessons incorporated both ground school and in-the-air learning. Over the course of several months, I delved into flight guides, aeronautical charts, navigation, weather prediction, radiospeak, and the rules of the air.

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Controls for both the student pilot and the instructor

As a part-timer, fitting the lessons in around my job, it took me about a year to finish the course. On my first solo flight I was so nervous, but everything went fine. I took off, flew around the practice area near the airport, then landed without a hitch. After that, I got to do solo cross-country flights to regional towns and cities. Those were a lot of fun.

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The scariest part of learning to fly is spin practice, otherwise known as learning how to get out of a spin if you accidentally put yourself in one. You have to intentionally put the plane into a spin — pull the stick back to lift the nose of the plane until it stalls, then floor the rudder, and over the plane goes, straight down in a corkscrew, rushing toward the ground. The first thing you do is NOT PANIC!

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I did manage to successfully pull the plane out the dive, but I did NOT enjoy it. However, I was glad to know how to not crash the plane.

I earned my private pilot’s license in 1984. I flew locally for a while after that and gave rides to family and friends who dared to get in the plane with me. But it’s an expensive hobby. Plane rental and fuel are not cheap, so eventually I moved on to other things. I’m so glad, though, that I went for it and realized my dream of flying. Now when I see those hawks soaring on high, I smile because I’ve been up there with them. I know the peace and freedom of the open sky. I’ll never forget it.

And now for the Writing Update:

June and July were a wash as far as my WIP, Trouble Times Three, goes. Just too many things going on. But they were important things that needed to be done. Life and family take priority. Always. We’ll see what next month brings.

Anyone else have any bucket list items beginning with F?

April 1, 2020 by Lori L MacLaughlin

IWSG and A to Z Challenge: My Bucket List! – Past, Present, and Future: A is for Ancestral Castles

For me, insecurities come and go, but the one that seems to be hanging around the most right now, as I work on the third book in the Trouble series, is: What if this book doesn’t live up to the first two books in the series? I’ve had people tell me they love the series so far (which I love hearing!), and sometimes I worry that maybe future stories won’t be as successful. But I keep telling myself there’s no way to answer that question until I get the book done, so I need to push those worries aside and keep on writing.

Now on to the A to Z Challenge!

I’m taking the long way around with A to Z this year. My plan is to post every couple of weeks, so I will have time to visit other blogs in between and still have time to write.

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A is for – Ancestral Castles

I had always wanted to go to Scotland. My heritage, and that of my late husband, both lie in that beautiful isle. Her wild, purple-heathered moors, centuries-old castles, and rugged Highlands still call to me, and the sound of bagpipes is music to my soul. Twenty-five years ago this summer, we visited Scotland and went in search of our ancestral castles.

Clan MacLachlan hails from the lands of Strathlachlan on Loch Fyne in the county of Argyll on the west coast of Scotland. It’s one of the oldest Scottish Highland clans. According to clan history, the clan is descended from Lachlan Mor, who lived on Loch Fyne in the late 13^th century. Old Castle Lachlan dates back to that time. The MacLachlans were Jacobites, whose goal was to restore the Stuart line to the throne of England and Scotland. According to the Old Lachlan Castle website (http://www.oldcastlelachlan.com/about/clan-maclachlan):

“Lachlan, the seventeenth chief of Clan Maclachlan, supported Bonnie Prince Charlie in the Jacobite Rising of 1745, and died leading the clan at the battle of Culloden in 1746. Following the defeat a Government ship is believed to have sailed up Loch Fyne and shelled Castle Lachlan, forcing the chief’s family to abandon it.”

When we visited, the castle was a pensive ruin, overgrown with grass, trees, and vines. I loved imagining what it must have looked like in its heyday, the stories it could tell.

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My family traces back to Robert the Bruce, seventh lord of Annandale, who was crowned King Robert I of Scotland in 1306. In the war for Scottish independence, he and his forces defeated the English at the battle of Bannockburn in 1314. Clan Bruce lands lie in the Lowlands of Scotland in the county of Dumfries and Galloway. One of the seats of the lords of Annandale was Lochmaben Castle, originally built in the mid-twelfth century by the first Robert Bruce as an earth and timber motte-and-bailey fortification. Scottish history describes the castle this way (http://www.castlesfortsbattles.co.uk/dumfries_galloway/lochmaben_castle.html):

“Once a mighty Royal fortress at the forefront of the Wars for Independence, Lochmaben Castle changed hands between English and Scottish forces over a dozen times as the fortunes of each side ebbed and flowed.”

The castle ultimately fell after being bombarded by the English in a two-day siege in 1588. A few of the walls still stood when we were there, a tribute to the stubbornness and indomitable spirit of the Scots.

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Our trip around Scotland was amazing, full of adventure, discovery, laughter, and love. Scotland is a truly magical place, so it’s not surprising that her National Animal is the Unicorn. Alas, I didn’t see any while I was there, but maybe next time…

And now for the Writing Update:

I added almost 6,000 words to my WIP, Trouble Times Three, during the month of March. That’s way more than I’ve been accomplishing, so I’m excited about my progress! Crossing my fingers I can keep it up!

Anyone else have any bucket list items beginning with A?

August 1, 2018 by Lori L MacLaughlin

IWSG — The Fleetingness of Summer

I had writing plans for this summer. Not big ones, but small ones I thought would be doable. I’d market my new book and get started on my next one. I’d get back into blogging. As I’m turning the page from July to August, I’m realizing the summer is nearly over and I’ve hardly accomplished any of the things I’d wanted to. This will be my second blog post since last year, so there’s a tiny bit of progress. I just need to build on it.

The idea was to continue to get up early over the summer and use that time to write before having to go to work. That doesn’t work well, though, unless I go to bed early enough to still get 7-8 hours’ sleep. A foggy brain does not a good writer make. It was a great plan, in theory. But I can’t believe how hard it is to make myself go to bed early. Between after-dinner family time and doing what needs to be done, it’s 10:30 – 11:00 PM before I know it.

So my insecurity for this month is that I won’t be able to turn my schedule around, salvage the summer, and at least get my next book started. Can I do it? We’ll see. Wish me luck!

The ISWG question for this month is: What pitfalls would you warn other writers to avoid on their publication journey?

I think the biggest pitfall for an independent/self-published writer would be to not go the extra mile to put out a quality product. Professional editing, proofreading, and a professionally designed book cover are essential if a writer wants to be taken seriously. It’s the only way self-publishing will lose its stigma of being inferior to traditional publishing. Self-pubbing has come a long way, and we need to keep it moving forward.

July 5, 2017 by Lori L MacLaughlin

IWSG — Time Flies, Whether You’re Having Fun Or Not

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How did it get to be July already??? I had hoped to get more blogging done in June, but that didn’t happen. And I didn’t get much done in the way of visiting during last month’s IWSG, either, but I’ll try again this month and hopefully do better.

I am making progress on my WIP, though. Whoo hoo! I’m right at the edge of the climax and can’t wait to see what surprises are in store before I hit The End. I just need to find a way to carve out a little more writing time. It’s so hard to do when there are so many demands on my time. My insecurity is that I won’t be able to find that time and writing and blogging will fall by the wayside again. Does anyone ever feel like they have enough time to do all the things that need to be done?

June 7, 2017 by Lori L MacLaughlin

IWSG — Working My Way Back

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Wow, I can’t believe how long it’s been since I’ve had a chance to get back into the blogosphere. When life steps in, it can throw everything for a loop. But I’m happy to say I survived the intensive ten-week training course, passed the required 4-hour certification exam, and have settled into my new job, which is going really well.

The best part is that I’m finally starting to get back into writing. I can’t tell you how good that feels. So what is my insecurity this month? I’m wondering if writing is like riding a bicycle. It’s been so long since I’ve written anything new that I sometimes feel like I’ve forgotten how. I’ve been reading through my current WIP so it will be fresh in my mind. It’s called The Road Once Taken, and it’s about ¾ done, so I don’t have too much left to write. My goal is to publish it this fall. Fingers crossed that I can find the time to make it happen.

My free time is still extremely limited so it may take me a while to return visits and see what everyone has been up to in the last six months, but today’s post is a start, and I’ll be working my way back to blogging more often.

One thing I did accomplish was to get the book cover done. I wanted to have some “coming soon” book cards printed to hand out at the book events I have coming up this summer. Carrie Butler of Forward Authority Design did a fantastic job with it. And I always get the images for the cover and for the book trailer at the same time, so I’ve been playing around with that, too. Click below to see the latest version.

Happy IWSG Day!!

November 2, 2016 by Lori L MacLaughlin

IWSG — Book Awards, Milestones, and Changes — Oh My! And November Question of the Month

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I didn’t intend to drop off the face of the blogosphere a couple of weeks ago. Life happened, with a lot of things going on at once, so blogging had to take a backseat.

First, for anyone who didn’t see the announcement on my Facebook page, my first book, Lady, Thy Name Is Trouble, did win the award in the Independent Publishers of New England Book Award contest in the Fantasy/SciFi category. Whoo, hoo! I had a great time at the IPNE fall conference in New Hampshire on October 21^st and 22^nd where I went to accept the award.

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Second, I reached another milestone with my blog. This will be my 300^th post!

And third, life happened in the form of my getting a new job. It happened in a whirlwind and rather unexpectedly. It’s definitely a good thing, but the difficult part is that this job requires an intensive ten-week training course, which will consume pretty much all of my waking hours from November 14^th until late January. I know the job itself will be interesting and rewarding, but the training will be a challenge.

Which brings me to my insecurity for this month (and for the next few): My writing time will be nonexistent for the next ten weeks and probably beyond until I get settled into the new position. It’s going to be hard to live without it. I had hoped to publish one book a year to build up a backlist, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to finish the book I’m working on and get it out by the end of 2017 or not. It’s still a possibility. It’ll just have to be a fall/winter book instead of a spring one like my first two.

Blogging time will also be nonexistent. I will keep the author promo commitments I’ve already made. I’m in the process of scheduling those posts now, but other than that, after November 14^th, I won’t be around much, if at all.

Here’s to a successful training session, and Happy Holidays to everyone!

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And now for the November IWSG question:

What is your favorite aspect of being a writer?

My favorite aspect is writing the first draft. When I sit down at the keyboard and the story is playing like a movie in my mind and the words are tumbling out of my head like a waterfall and I can barely get them down fast enough. I live for those moments.