by Nikki Amare | Aug 29, 2018 | Musings
There won’t be a new post this week or next week because I’m on vacation and forgot to schedule the posts before I left. I promise to have a new post up the week of September 10th.
If you follow me on Facebook, be sure to like my author page. Facebook has recently changed their terms of service and no longer allow authors to share links to their blogs, books, or other business related things, from their personal profiles (the pages where you can friend people). All business related things now must take place through the business pages. If you want to LIKE my Facebook author page you can do so by going here: https://www.facebook.com/nikkiamareauthor/
The new website is in the works and will hopefully be ready to launch by Halloween.
by Nikki Amare | Aug 22, 2018 | Musings
For me, I really need a routine in order to maximize my writing time. Which hasn’t been possible lately with so much going on in my life. So instead of writing every day or having any kind of writing schedule, I’ve been trying to fit it in when I can. Some weeks I might write for three hours a day, six days in a row, and then it’s two weeks before I really have time to do more than write a quick blog post.
I can’t tell you how happy I will be once things have slowed down again and I can get back into a routine.
I’ve never really been one of those writers who writes a certain number of words a day. I mean, I’ve tried it, but it wasn’t long before I realized it wasn’t for me.
Just like plotting out a book beforehand isn’t for me. Writing has to be fun. It has to entertain me or else I lose interest and if I know everything that’s going to happen before I ever sit down to write, then what’s the point of writing the book? At least that’s the way I feel. I know there are plenty of writers out there who swear by plotting and would never dream of sitting down to write without having a detailed outline. And that’s great… for them.
I also don’t worry about word counts. I tried by then I would get discouraged if I didn’t hit my word count goal or I would fixate on that number and push myself to hit it no matter what. And then nine times out of ten I would end up deleting the stuff I’d written trying to hit that number because it wasn’t needed.
Now, I write as often as I can and I write at least a scene each time. I try for, and often end up writing, an entire chapter each time I sit down to write. I’ve also started reading through the previous one or two chapters before I start writing the next one just to make sure I know where the story is going. I’ve also started writing the first few sentences of the next chapter just so I can remember what I was thinking. That way, when I do sit down next I know where I’m starting from. For me, it makes it a lot easier to jump back into the story, even if it’s been a few days or weeks since I last worked on it
Part of being a writer is figuring out what works for you. There is no right or wrong way to write a book. If by the end of the process you have a book, then how you got there doesn’t matter. The finished product is all that matters. I’ve had people ask me for writing advice over the years. I usually tell them two things.
- Write. Which should be the obvious thing, but isn’t always. Some people seem to be so worried about doing it “right” that they never actually get around to putting words on the page.
- And trust yourself. If you’ve decided you want to be a writer, then the odds are you’ve read a lot of books in you life. So while you might not know the technical jargon or be able to pick out things like the rising action or know what a protagonist is, you still know how to tell a story. You still know what a story is and know the difference between a “good” story and a “not so good” story. You might not know why something works or doesn’t work, but you can usually tell either way. So trust that you can tell the story you want to read. Because while we love it when others like our work, we should always write for ourselves first and foremost. I guarantee that you are never going to write a perfect book. And your first drafts will always need work. But that’s what editors are for.
Part of being a writer is finding your own way. Figuring out who you are and embracing what makes you you.
by Nikki Amare | Aug 1, 2018 | Musings
As I get closer to being ready to publish, you’ll be seeing more and more changes to this website. When I originally launched this site I was still undecided on a lot of things and I was super busy with my day job. So I didn’t have a lot of time to put into the design. Which is why it’s a very generic romance themed design at the moment. I just wanted to get a website up so I could start blogging and introduce myself to the world.
At first, I wasn’t sure of what genre, or genres, I was going to write. I had ideas for, and was working on, two different books for two different genres at the same time. The original plan was to release the first book in one of those series in October of this year. I’ve since decided to focus on one series and wait a year or two to release the second one. I might occasionally work on books for that other series, but I want to focus on building a name for myself in one genre before I start branching out into a different genre. But the ultimate goal is to write the books I want to write, all under a single pen name, without having to worry about the genre. One thing you can almost always bet on though, they will be romance of some kind. At heart, I’m an unapologetic romantic and therefore my books will have romance in them.
As things stand right now, book one of my fantasy romance series will be released early 2019. I’ll be sure to let you know if that changes for any reason.
The last six months things in my life have been chaotic and it’s been nearly impossible to make any kinds of plans or have anything that resembles a schedule. As soon as I attempt to it seems something always comes up and then I’m stuck having to change everything around. None of which makes it easy to write. Especially for me, since I really have to have some kind of routine in place when it comes to writing. Most weeks I’m lucky if I have enough time to write a quick blog post.
I can’t tell you how happy I will be once things have slowed down again and I can get back into a routine.
by Nikki Amare | Jul 25, 2018 | Musings
Hubby and I rewatched Wonder Woman this last weekend. I loved it just as much the second time around. It’s going to be take a lot to knock it out of 1st place for me when it comes to the comic book movies. I’d have to it’s easily in the my all time top ten favorite movies, period.
The one scene that really got to me the first time, hit me just as hard the second viewing. It has had be fighting back tears each time.
If you haven’t seen the movie and don’t want spoilers, then you should stop reading now. And you should go watch the movies, because seriously it’s a great movie.
Spoilers: You’ve been warned.
The scene I’m talking about is No Man’s Land. Diana, Steve, and the others arrive at the place designated No Man’s Land. On the way there she sees people in trouble and wants to help but Steve convinces her to keep moving that there’s nothing she can do for them and that where they’re going is what is really important. And so she does nothing. But when they get to No Man’s Land and she’s once more confronted with the realities of war and innocence asking for her help, she can no longer stand by and do nothing.
She’s told it’s impossible to cross No Man’s Land, that it’s guaranteed death or even try. But Diana believes in herself and her skills. So, instead of listening to them, she does what she knows in her heart is right.
And she steps onto that battlefield.
Alone.
She has no way of knowing what will happen but she believes she will accomplish what she sets out to do and then she does exactly that. Diana started that journey alone because no one else believed she could do it, but she did not finish it that way. By the end Diana had her friends and an entire army behind her.
There is so much about that single scene that speaks to me, inspires me. I think we could all benefit from being more like Diana Prince. So much of our lives we’re told what we can’t do. So then all too often we end up believe them. We give up our dreams. We sacrifice our true selves. All so we can fit into the box society has decided we should be in, rather than believing in ourselves enough to step out onto that field alone.
If I had a dollar for every time I’ve had someone tell me that writing isn’t a real job. In high school I was writing a book, and I’m sure it wasn’t very good because I was sixteen and didn’t know a lot about the craft of writing yet, but I was excited about it and I shared it with a teacher whom I respected. He read through it and gave it back to me the next day. After class I asked him what he thought. I told him that I wanted to be a writer. He told me that I should focus on things I was good at and leave the writing to professionals because I did not have what it took to make it as a writer. It was fifteen years before I wrote anything else. Because I let his words kill my dream. Now, I may never succeed as a writer. I may never make enough to be able to support my family. But one thing I’ve learned throughout this journey is that it doesn’t matter. Writing brings me joy and I’m fortunate enough to live in a time where I can publish my work and share it with others with no more than the click of a button. This is my second attempt at this career. I was published for five years with a publisher and then I decided to take time off for personal reasons. I’d been going back and forth about whether or not to publish again, when something happened in my life that made me realize life is too short for regrets. So I blew the dust off of my keyboard, created a new pen name, and I decided to write the books I want to read. It’s a different genre than I wrote in before but these stories are the ones that have been with me for years and years. They’re the ones that didn’t fit with my previous pen name. The ones that I worried might not fit neatly into a specific genre. They’re the ones I wasn’t confident enough in myself and my skills to write.
So this is me, stepping out onto the battle field alone. It’s one small step. But I’m hoping it will make a big difference in the rest of my life. That the next time I’m told I can’t do something I will remember Diana Prince defiantly and confidently stepping out into No Man’s Land, determined to make the impossible possible. And I hope I can be as brave, as courageous, as confident as she was.
And more than that, I wish it for all of you as well. Believe in yourselves. Show the world what can happen when we stop listening to the ones who tell us what we can’t do and start showing them what we can.
by Nikki Amare | Jul 18, 2018 | Musings
This year I’ve been making a serious effort to focus on the positive things and to change the voice in my head that likes to point out all of the things I’m doing wrong and how I will never succeed at anything. It’s a voice we all have, but for some of us it’s more critical than for others. I remember a time when it was easy to ignore that voice. But somewhere along the way, I started listening to it more and more. I’m not sure when it happened. I only know that it did. But the problem is, once you start listening to that voice it makes it easier to listen to it again. And it gets louder. Where it had once only popped up on rare occasions it starts to pop up more often.
Then, before you know it, that voice has an opinion about everything.
Once it has become a constant companion it’s harder to ignore, harder to silence. I’ve gotten better at ignoring it, but there are times when it creeps up and still find myself listening to it whisper words of doubt. The last week I’ve been struggling with that voice. As I get closer to finishing my current work in progress, it gets louder—telling me that no one will want to read it, that it’s horrible, that publishing is going to be a waste of time. This happens with every book and in the past I’ve actually set books aside without finishing them because I’ve listened.
I guess that’s why I’m writing this post. Because I’m determined not to listen to that voice this time. While it’s telling me all of those things, I know that it’s wrong. While I know it’s not going to be an overnight bestseller that doesn’t mean people won’t want to read it once it’s published. It’s not perfect and it never will be. But edits will make it better and by the time I hit publish it will be the best story I am capable of writing at this point in my life. And hopefully the next one will be a little better than this one, because I will have that much more experience. As Hemingway said, “We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master.”
We learn with each book we write. And if we’re lucky we improve with each one as well.
It’s not only the writing, but the rest of my life as well, that’s effected by that voice though. While for me it started mostly with my writing, it seeps into every aspect of your life. It’s becomes this monster that needs to be slayed.
So I’m donning my armor, grabbing my pen—since as you know, it’s mightier than the sword—, and I’m heading into battle. Because I refuse to let that negative voice win.
by Nikki Amare | Jun 27, 2018 | Musings
There was no blog post last week because I got busy and forgot to write one. I realized this on Friday and decided to just wait and post a new one for this week. I try to write one every week, usually on Sunday to post on Wednesday, but sometimes life just gets in the way.
Hubby and I have a lot going on over the next few months so I might occasionally miss one here and there. Once things settle down I’ll be able to write and schedule them a few at a time.
So there’s this new thing I found and have become a bit obsessed with. Well it’s not really new, it just new to me.
Digital Planners!
See I’m one of those people who have always looked at other people’s planners and wished I could have one of those, but my handwriting isn’t the greatest and I can’t draw a stick figure. So I’d buy a new planner and then I’d end up writing and erasing and writing and erasing, trying to make it look pretty the way everyone else’s seemed to look. And in the end I would get frustrated and I’d stop using it. Then a year or so would go by and I’d think, maybe I should give it another try and well I’d end up having the same results. With the growing popularity of planners again, I’ve once more bought a planner and after a month or two it’s sitting in my drawer unused.
So the other day I was just randomly looking at classes on skillshare.com and found one on How to Design and Create a Digital Planner. I decided to watch it to see what it was all about and let me tell you, these things are amazing. You can make them look like paper planners with tabs and buttons and even the rings down the middle if you want. Or you can do a simple one. If you’re designing it you can do a much or as little as you want. The sky’s the limit.
For me, the best part is, I can make it look pretty by using digital stickers and things. I can either use the Apple Pencil to handwrite things (which I don’t do since that was the problem with the paper planners) or you have the option to use text boxes. And if you really want to get fancy you can write your text in an app like Pages and use whatever font you want, then screen capture and import it into your digital planner. I’m using the GoodNotes app, but I’ve learned that there are several other apps that will work as well. So I have all of the function of a paper planner, as well as the ability to make it pretty and keep it neat, without having to erase a million times or worry about not being able to draw.
I’m currently using a digital planner I downloaded, but I have plans to create my own in the near future since there are some pages I would like to have that I haven’t found anywhere else. Things like a page for my publication schedule, blog post ideas, author events, income tracking, etc. Mainly things related to being an author. And if it turns out well then I’ll probably end up putting a download link for it on my website. Once I’ve thoroughly tested it that is.
I’ve found that there are tons of free for personal use things online for your digital planners. And even more ideas for pages and things I hadn’t even thought about. While the one I am currently using works for now, I think once I have the time to design my own pages it will work a lot better for me.
So, do you use a planner? What do you think of digital planners?
