Fast Writer ~ Amy Andrews

I need to beg forgiveness. I started the Fast Writers (FW) series then my 4of4, who was on chemotherapy for Leukaemia got sick and my writing world went south. I'm happy to report that things are now settled and I can begin to refocus my mind on writing, and the biz there of.

So here is a FW I neglected to post.

Without further ado, let me present Any Andrews, another fast writer who was kind enough to share her methods with us.

Welcome, Amy!

Thank you for having me, Monique :-)

Monique: First, I’d love to hear about your writing day in a quick snapshot. Do you have a special time to write? Or do you grab moments whenever you can? I guess I’d like to know how structured you are.

Amy: Writing books is my job so I definitely have a routine. First thing in the morning I check my emails and blogs then take the kids to school. I write for the 6 hours they're away then for a couple more hours in the afternoon after I pick them up. I will also write at night if I'm heading towards a deadline.

Monique: What sort of writer are you? Planner or pantser?

Amy: I fall somewhere in the middle. I do some basic plotting/ characterisation and a basic chapter outline which I rarely refer to but it's my security blanket! And then off I go. The characters and plot however have usually sat in my head for some time - they've been mulling. This is probably one of the most important parts of my process.  Never underestimate mull time I always say!

Monique: Can you tell us a bit about the technique you use to help you to write quickly, and how you developed it?

Amy: I don't know if it's a technique as much as being focused and organised. When I wrote my first book I wrote a chapter a day for ten days. Yes, I wrote my first book in 10 days!!! Long hand. Back in the days before everyone had a PC. It was utterly exhilarating! The book was terrible but the process was awesome and this way of writing has kind of stuck.

Monique: Did you always write this way? Or is your method something you picked up along the way?

Amy: I’ve written this way from the beginning and have adapted it as I’ve gone along and life has gotten busier always trying to stay true to the basic principle of getting it down as fast as possible.  I aim for a chapter in two days now so the story stays cohesive in my brain.

Monique: How many words do you write per hr/writing session?

Amy: I average about 2-3 k/ day although I often do 4-5 and have been known to write 8 k on the rare good day but that is totally exhausting and I WOULD NOT recommend it!

Monique: I can see why :). It sounds exhausting! How many hours per day do you write? And how many days per week?

Amy: At least 6/ day but more like 8-10. I try to only write 5 days a week but often it's more like 6 or 7.

Monique: How quickly can/do you finish a book?

Amy: I can write a 50 k category in about a month depending on my other commitments. I also work part time as a nurse doing night duty so that usually always puts me behind although I can and often do write on nights if it's quiet. I've had a particularly heinous 7 months of deadlines because I got really behind when my mother died half way through last year and my creativity took a massive hit. Since then I have been playing catch up and have written 4 category novels and half of a 90 k single title. But again I wouldn't recommend it!

Monique: So sorry to hear about your mum, Amy. My condolences. Do you know what you're going to write each day before you start your writing sessions? For instance, do you draft the scenes/chapters you’re about to write just before you write them, or do you thoroughly outline before you even start the book (if you’re a planner, that is :)?

Amy: Yes I know what I’m going to write that day before I start – roughly anyway. I always reread what I've written the day before to pick up the thread and just go on from there.

Monique: How do you prevent your internal editor/critic from interrupting?

Amy: You know I really don't have a problem with this. I'm not the kind of writer that will spend hours perfecting a paragraph – I don’t have time for that! I edit as I go and I edit as I reread my previous day’s work but luckily I write pretty clean and never find myself having to do massive self-editing. I've never dumped huge amounts of words or scenes unless it’s been at an editor’s request. I find if I can’t get something quite right I let it go and keep writing and when I come back the next day I seem to know how to fix it – I just needed some time and distance from it. Sometimes you just can’t see the wood for the trees!

Monique: Ha-ha, I hear that! Do you have any more tips you’d like to share?

Amy: Taking time off in between books is vital. Writing fast may seem like a cool thing but huge word counts are totally exhausting and it's important to refill the well. Read, sleep, go to the movies.

Monique: Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy day to spend time with us here today. We’d love to hear about your new book, would you tell us a bit about it?

Amy: Well I have a few things on the go….. :)

Taming the Tycoon, The Devil and the Deep, and Sister Pact.

Sister Pact is a contemporary women’s fiction that I wrote with my sister is out now in shops in Australia but also at the Kindle store.

Blurb - Two very different sisters. Once inseparable, they have long been estranged after an unimaginable betrayal. After their beloved grandmother -- a game-show addict -- dies, they discover that they have each been left one million pounds in her will. The kicker is that they can only inherit if they participate as a team in a gruelling reality TV program, Endurance Island. They can survive the jungle. They can survive the humiliating challenges. But can they survive each other? about two estranged sister on a reality TV show.

SISTER PACT BUY LINKS:
AMAZON

THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP BUY LINK:
AMAZON

TAMING the TYCOON BUY LINKS:
AMAZOM
B&N

AUTHOR BIO:

Amy is an award-winning author who has written thirty-one romances for Harlequin Mills and Boon in both the Medical and RIVA/Presents lines. She wrote her first book at the age of twenty-two while unemployed and freezing her butt off in the UK, largely because it involved being able to stay in bed with her electric blanket. One twelve year apprenticeship later she finally got "the call".

To date she's sold over a million books and been translated into thirteen different languages. In 2010 she took out the sexy category in the prestigious Romantic Book of the Year Award affectionately known as the Ruby.

She's recently launched a couple of separate writing ventures with the release of Sister Pact a contemporary women's fiction novel that she wrote with her sister Ros Baxter and was published by Harper Collins Australia as well as the very exciting release of her first category romance with Entangled Publishing, Taming the Tycoon.

In what she euphemistically likes to call her spare time, Amy works part time as a paediatric intensive care nurse and was on the national executive for Romance Writers Of Australia for six years during which time she organised two national conferences and undertook a two year term as president. She's been married for twenty-two years and has two teenagers. She lives on acreage on the outskirts of Brisbane with a gorgeous mountain view but secretly wishes it was a Tuscan hillside.

WEBSITES:
www.amyandrews.com.au
sister book website is – www.sisterlit.com

FB Amy Andrews
FB Sister Book
Twitter - @AmyAndrewsBooks
 

Fast Writer: Jean Joachim

It's Friday again and that means another author giving up her secrets on writing fast! This week we have the lovely Jean Joachim. This woman makes me want to sit next to her while she writes so I can see how it's done. She can write 50K words in two and a half  weeks!! I couldn't believe it either, a book in just over two weeks--my-oh-my!

Hi, Jean,  thank you very much for agreeing to be interviewed for my Fast Writers blog series. Please tell us how you do it.

·         First, I’d love to hear about your writing day in a quick snapshot. Do you have a special time to write? Or do you grab moments whenever you can? I guess I’d like to know how structured you are.

I write full time. By six am I’m awake and at the computer, ready to start. I make a cup of tea and begin because that is the time when it is most quiet at home. I write until 8am, when I take the dog to the park for an hour, then it’s back to writing until I break for lunch. I take out time for errands in the afternoon but spend a few hours writing then, too. I’m driven by the stories and the desire to get them out of my head and onto the page. 

·         What sort of writer are you? Planner or pantser?

I began my writing career in non-fiction where you have to plan. My first book came out as almost a stream of consciousness and took a heckuva long time to organize into a cogent story. I never did that again! I’m a planner. After eleven books I’ve created a loose form I will use from now on. I call it a scene sequence. It has the month on the left and a brief list of scenes on the right. This helps pacing and plugging plot holes. Of course when my characters take over, the outline often goes to hell and the story can go in any direction!

·         Can you tell us a bit about the technique you use to help you to write quickly, and how you developed it?
   
There are 3 parts to writing quickly:

1) Knowing your characters. I spend a great deal of time thinking about my story before I do the scene sequence. I think about it when I’m on the bus, walking with the dog, running errands. I think about my characters, their motivation. I plan out their backstory in my head. Who are they? Where did they grow up? What was that experience like? And so on so I get to know them well so I instinctively know how they would speak. Characters and plots can roll around in my head for weeks before I write them. Maybe then I’m not so fast?

2) I do the same thing with the plot. It rolls around in my head while I look for loopholes or plot holes, as I call them. Does the plot make sense? Would this really happen? Is it possible, plausible? If not, what would make it so?  When I get the general idea for the plot in my head, I’m ready to write.

3) Uninterruped writing

Since I have the plot basically doped out in my scene sequence and my head and because I know my characters so well, I know exactly how they’d speak and what they’d say. The story rolls out of my mind and onto the page. And I stay there, stay with it until it gets done. I don’t work on any other stories. I focus on the one I want to complete. I channel the characters and live closely with them focusing only on the story and giving it as many uninterrupted hours as I can.

·         Did you always write this way? Or is your method something you picked up along the way?

This method came into being with the first romance story I wrote that was accepted for publication. By the time I sat down to write it, the story had been bouncing around in my head for several months. Then I cleared the decks, told my family I had an impossible deadline and sat down to write. Two and a half weeks later, my 48K story was finished. I edited it a couple of times, then submitted. It was accepted. Since then I find that writing the story straight through allows me to channel it and do a better job, write a better, tighter story.

·         How many words do you write per hr/writing session?

As many as I can before leaving, often in the thousands. I won’t sit down to write if I only have half an hour or less because I get so wrapped up in the story I don’t want to leave.

Another trick I use to get back into the story the next day is to reread the last ten pages. This refreshes the story in my mind and I’m able to more forward quickly.

·         How many hours per day do you write? And how many days per week?

I write seven days a week. I’m now addicted to writing and write as many hours a day as I can, often up to seven or even more if I’m totally into a story. Being able to focus and stick with it is important to writing fast.

·         How quickly can/do you finish a book?

I have finished a book in three weeks. I might be able to do it in less, for a shorter work. But 50K would take about a month or two, once I’m done editing.

·         Do you know what you're going to write each day before you start your writing sessions? For instance, do you draft the scenes/chapters you’re about to write just before you write them, or do you thoroughly outline before you even start the book (if you’re a planner, that is J)?

I often look at my loose scene sequence to see what would come next and think about it overnight. This helps me prepare for writing that scene the next day. Then rereading the previous ten pages sets the mood and gets me “in character”.

·         How do you prevent your internal editor/critic from interrupting?

I have taught myself that getting it on the page is half the battle. I am a brutal editor and slash away at my work after it’s written. But I need to shut that off while I’m telling the story or nothing will get done.

·         Do you have any more tips you’d like to share?

Writers need to write every day, to make it a habit and become addicted.  The best way to improve your writing is to write. The keys to my fast writing are discipline, focus and determination. All the prep work in the world isn’t worth a hill of beans if you can’t discipline yourself to put your butt in that chair and spend a considerable amount of uninterrupted time writing your story.

Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy day to spend time with us here today. We’d love to hear about your new book, would you tell us a bit about it?

My newest book, scheduled for release in April is Now and Forever 3, Blind Love. Although it’s the third in a series, it’s a stand-alone book. You don’t have to have read the two previous books to understand the story.

Can a handsome, charming, womanizing professor win the heart of a blind ballerina? Love comes to the university as Peter Caldwell, dashing Art History professor and accomplished pianist meets Lara Stewart, ballerina.  Peter can’t seduce with her with his devastating good looks because Lara can’t see. Obsessed with the one woman he can’t have, Peter has to learn how to love.

Sam Caldwell joins Peter, Mac, Callie and his grandchildren. Witty and attractive, Sam isn’t looking for a woman but finds love isn’t only for the young but the young at heart as well.

Small town secrets feed a blackmailer and blackmail on campus is paid with sexual favors. Blind Love is a roller coaster ride of twists and turns. This full length novel is three parts love and passion mixed with one part intrigue, stirred up with a twist of mystery and heated up to three flames.

It will be available on the Secret Cravings website soon and the major ebook retailers as well. A paperback will also follow.  

Joan: Thank you so much for this interview. It make me think more than I expected.

Monique: It was a pleasure having you, Jean.  Now where did I put my pen...I'm suddenly rather inspired! :) 

About the Author:
Jean Joachim is an author, married, a mother of two boys and owner of a rescued pug named Homer. She lives in New York City.

An English major in college, Jean always knew she wanted to write but didn’t know where to start. Non-fiction presented the best opportunities so Jean joined the corporate world of advertising and direct marketing. Working her way up the ladder, she became a Media Director, writing business plans, reports and presentations. When she started her own ad agency, she branched out into copywriting and found her niche.

The itch to write began while she was raising her children so she wrote about her experiences with school fund-raising and coaching her son’s soccer team. One article led to another and before long, she made up her mind to attempt a book. Her first book, a non-fiction work titled, “Beyond the Bake Sale, the Ultimate School Fund-Raising Book” was published by St. Martin’s Press in 2003.

Five activity books for Sterling Publishing and a book on advertising for Career Press titled, “151 Quick Ideas for Advertising on a Shoestring” followed. In 2010, fiction beckoned and with her youngest in college, Jean found the time to write “Now and Forever 1, a Love Story.” She fell in love with the contemporary romance and eight books later, she is still writing!

Jean has been writing non-fiction for over fifteen years and fiction for two. Her review column, “Movie Choices for Kids” has been syndicated in weekly and parenting newspapers and on websites for the past eleven years.

Where you can find Jean:
Jean's Website
Jean's Blog

Fast Writers Blog Series: Marie Higgins

It's Friday and that means it's time to interview another fast writer!

Today we have Marie Higgins. One of my dear friends and CPs. She writes Historical Romance and I tell you, this lady writes pretty fast. The amazing thing is that she has a full-time job and only writes part-time!!! :)

Hi, Marie,

Thank you very much to agreeing to be interviewed for my Fast Writers blog series. 

·         First, I’d love to hear about your writing day in a quick snapshot. Do you have a special time to write? Or do you grab moments whenever you can? I guess I’d like to know how structured you are.

I’ve never been a structured writer. When I first started writing, I worked part time and my girls were in school, which gave me time to write and be with them when needed. Then I started working full time to help pay the bills. I didn’t think I would ever find time to write after that. So my days consisted of me going to work, coming home, and while I made dinner, I helped my daughters with their homework. I drove them to school functions when needed before I went into my office, closed the door and wrote like mad.

Now my daughters are grown up and I still work full time. So when I come home from work, I make dinner, visit with hubby before and during the meal. Clean up afterwards, then go to my office and shut the door to write. Sometimes I’m too exhausted from work, so I don’t write, but normally, this is how my days are outlined. And weekends…write like mad on Saturdays (and try to fit cleaning the house in there somewhere). Sunday after church, I’m back on the computer writing.

·         What sort of writer are you? Planner or pantser?

Definitely panster! Out of all the stories I’ve written (approx 30), I can only name two stories that I actually had to plot. I enjoy not knowing the ending until I get there.  

·         Can you tell us a bit about the technique you use to help you to write quickly, and how you developed it?

For several years I would write a chapter then go back over it several times to edit before moving to the next chapter – and repeating the process. About four years ago, I discovered a different way to do it. I’d heard other authors say that they just wrote what was on their mind without stopping to edit until they finished the story. I decided to give it a try. It was hard with the first book, but every one after that became easier. I realized my thoughts were clearer, and didn’t second-guess myself as much. Now I can write a story all the way through without going back to do edits…and then I only go through the story two more times before I’m ready to let my critique group at it. 

·         How many words do you write per hr/writing session?

Depends on what day of the week it is. If I write after work, I can usually write between 1-2,000 words a night. If I write on the weekends, I can write about 6,000 words a day.

·         How many hours per day do you write? And how many days per week?

I try to write something every day, but at least every other day. If I’m going strong on a story, I’ll write from about 6:00-9:30 on week nights. On the weekends I’ll write all day – that I can stand, anyway. 

·         How quickly can/do you finish a book?

Usually about six weeks for a book that's 80,000 words. And that includes reading through it for edits.

·         Do you know what you're going to write each day before you start your writing sessions? For instance, do you draft the scenes/chapters you’re about to write just before you write them, or do you thoroughly outline before you even start the book (if you’re a planner, that is J)?

I don’t draft a scene, but I know what I want to happen. Sometimes I write what I’d been thinking about, and sometimes my characters want the scene to go their way, so then I’ll write what they want instead.

·         How do you prevent your internal editor/critic from interrupting?

It takes practice. As I’d mentioned before, I wrote with my internal editor for many, many years. It’s only been about four years ago when I started writing straight through without stopping.

·         Do you have any more tips you’d like to share?

Don’t give up. Find a method that works for you, especially if you have to write around a regular job – or write around raising a family. If you love to write, you’ll find time!!! 

Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy day to spend  with us here today. We’d love to hear about your new book, would you tell us a bit about it?

My newest release is actually book 2 in my Regency Romance series. The series is about three brothers and their lives / trials.  The first book is “The Sweetest Kiss”. Book two is “The Sweetest Touch”. (Available on Kindle & Nook April 1^st)

Orphaned since age six, Louisa Hamilton lives as a low-life miscreant, not knowing when she’ll be able to break free of her guardian’s steel hold. When she sees the cousin she had been told died in a house fire all those years ago, she follows him only to discover her family is alive. In her haste to escape the past, she leaves the loving scene only to be hit by a passing buggy.  Louisa awakes in the home of a duke, horrified to discover she has lost her memory.

Trevor Worthington, Duke of Kenbridge, can’t trust women. Yet after nearly killing the poor straggly woman, his heart softens and he feels he must help her. He sets her up in his household as a servant. Surprised to learn Louisa speaks French, is extremely well educated, and interacts so tenderly with his children, he wonders about this woman’s past. Following his instincts, he gives her the position of the children’s nursemaid. When he starts having feelings for Louisa, he’s hesitant to enter another nightmare like the one he had in his first marriage.

As the heartbreaking truth of Louisa's past comes out and decade old questions come to light, will Trevor be able to give love another chance?

About the author –

Marie Higgins is a multi-published author of romance; from refined bad-boy heroes who makes your heart melt to the feisty heroines who somehow manage to love them regardless of their faults. Visit her website / blog to discover more about her – http://mariehiggins84302.blogspot.com

Fast Writers Blog Series: Nicola Marsh

As promised, here is Nicola Marsh's secrets to fast writing! She's certainly given me some ideas to get the words on screen.

Hi, Nicola,

Welcome! Thank  you very much for agreeing to be interviewed for the new Fast Writers Blog Series. 

·      First, I’d love to hear about your writing day in a quick snapshot. Do you have a special time to write? Or do you grab moments whenever you can? I guess I’d like to know how structured you are.

With young kids, my writing day isn’t structured at all! Usually, I write from 8.30-11pm but with my youngest starting kinder this year I’ve been able to squeeze in a few hours in the morning too, from 10-12.  I’ve been writing at night for 9 years though and still feel that’s my most productive time. Old habits die hard, I guess. 

·       What sort of writer are you? Planner or pantser? 

Pantser. I used to be a plotter for my early books but changed along the way. These days I write up a rough 2-3 page outline before I start, just a basic storyline description and the characters’ motivation, then off I go. I have no idea what will happen along the way, that’s part of the fun! 

·      Can you tell us a bit about the technique you use to help you to write quickly, and how you developed it? 

My guaranteed speed machine is the Alphasmart, a portable word processor that runs on 3 AA batteries! It has a tiny 4-line screen so you can’t edit as you go.  It’s perfect for writing fast. No Internet, no self-checking, just write. I’ve written many books on it, including mainstream novels I’ve completed in a month because of it!  I absolutely swear by my Alphie for speed.

·         Did you always write this way? Or is your method something you picked up along the way?

I bought Alphie at my first RWAustralia writers conference in Sydney 2004 and have written consistently on it ever since.  Love it!

·         How many words do you write per hr/writing session?

I go by page count and on Alphie I average 6 pages an hour, 8 if I’m in ‘the zone’!

·         How many hours per day do you write? And how many days per week?

Total, I probably write 3 hours/day, but spend another few hours doing the business side of things (eg. Promo, answering emails, Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, blog, etc…)

I write 5 days a week, 6 or 7 if I’m on tight deadline. I always try to have Sundays off and don’t turn on the PC (though I check emails on my phone! And can’t resist the occasional tweet…)

·         How quickly can/do you finish a book? 

My category romances (50K) usually take 4-6 weeks.

Crazily, I’ve written a few mainstream length books in that time length too, but I wouldn’t recommend it! 

·       Do you know what you're going to write each day before you start your writing sessions? For instance, do you draft the scenes/chapters you’re about to write just before you write them, or do you thoroughly outline before you even start the book (if you’re a planner, that is J)? 

No, I don’t draft scenes/chapters before I write them (definitely a pantser). Sometimes I like ending a scene partially way through so I have a good starting point the next day.  Other times I have a vague idea of what needs to happen next and jump straight in.

·         How do you prevent your internal editor/critic from interrupting?

I never edit as I go along.  I write the first draft straight through. Internal editors are not good for speed.  The more you stop and revise along the way, the slower the process. (This works for me, while others can’t write a story without editing along the way. That’s the beauty of storytelling, everyone has a different method that works for them.)

·         Do you have any more tips you’d like to share?

The key to faster writing is…write, write and write some more.

Make it a daily occurrence. Like anything else the more you practice, the easier it becomes.

Writing often breeds faster writing. 

I always find I’m slower after I’ve had a holiday or taken a week off between books, but once I’m in the groove again my fingers can fly J 

Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy day to spend with us. We’d love to hear about your new book, would you tell us a bit about it? 

I’m thrilled that my first mainstream contemporary romance/women’s fiction/romcom/chicklit, BUSTED IN BOLLYWOOD, is being released in mass market paperback this June.

This book released online in December 2011 to rave reviews, including being named in the Top 5 Best South Asian Fiction 2011.

I think the blurb best sums it up:

Shari Jones needs to get a life. Preferably someone else’s.

Single, homeless and jobless, Indo-American Shari agrees to her best friend’s whacky scheme: travel to Mumbai, pose as Amrita, and ditch the fiancé her traditional Indian parents have chosen. Simple. Until she’s mistaken for a famous Bollywood actress, stalked by a Lone Ranger wannabe, courted by an English lord, and busted by the blackmailing fiancé.

Life is less complicated in New York.

Or so she thinks, until the entourage of crazies follows her to the Big Apple and that’s when the fun really begins. Shari deals with a blossoming romance, an addiction to Indian food and her first movie role, while secretly craving another trip to the mystical land responsible for sparking her new lease on life. Returning to her Indian birthplace, she has an epiphany. Maybe the happily-ever-after of her dreams isn’t so far away?

Thanks for sharing your method with us, Nicola. It was lovely to have you join us today :)

Readers, you can pick up a copy of Nicola's new romcom chicklit from any of the links below:

AMAZON
BOOK DEPOSITORY (free postage worldwide!)
KINDLE
BARNES & NOBLE

USA TODAY bestselling author Nicola Marsh writes flirty fiction with flair. 

She’s had 30 books published with Harlequin Romance and Presents series and sold over 3 million copies worldwide. Her first mainstream contemporary romance, Busted in Bollywood, ‘Sex & the City’ meets ‘Eat, Pray, Love’ released with Entangled Publishing December 2011.

            She’s also a Waldenbooks and Bookscan bestseller, has finalled in several awards including the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award, HOLT, Booksellers’ Best, Golden Quill, Laurel Wreath, More than Magic and has won several CataRomance Reviewers’ Choice Awards. 

            A physiotherapist for thirteen years, she now adores writing full time, raising her two little heroes, sharing fine food with family and friends, and her favourite, curling up with a good book! 

            She also loves interacting with readers. 

            She blogs daily at http://nicolamarsh.blogspot.com

            Tweets incessantly http://twitter.com/NicolaMarsh

            And chatters on Facebook http://facebook.com/NicolaMarshAuthor

I'd love to hear what you think of fast writing. Do you have a secret method that works? Then share! :)