#amwriting

Funk and Whine

/ legreene515 / 2 Comments

I’m in a writing funk again. I know it’s not a horrible funk, because I’m still writing. I’ve been writing mostly flash fiction and not focusing on my current novel-in-progress. I think I’ve pinpointed when these funks happen, during times of transition. My baby did just start Kindergarten after all.

Anyone who has had a small child knows how hard transition can be. Your kid is happily playing with Thomas the Train at Barnes and Noble and you say, “Okay Tommy, it’s time to go,” and he turns from a peaceful angel into a squalling monster. Transitions are inevitable throughout life, but even so they throw an emotional monkey wrench into our plans.

So, yeah, it should be no surprise to me that transition times wreak havoc on my creativity. Yet every time I delve into a funk I feel wholly unsettled. Like my skin is itching and no amount of scratching will fix the problem. The solution is easy: Just write, right? But it seems every time I power up Scrivener I stare at the words and Anna Kate, though she speaks to me throughout the day and begs me to finish her story refuses to show me the way the story should flow. And then I sigh, power down the computer and feel like the world is ending because I can’t write. I’m pretty sure every author has felt this way at some point or other. Maybe that’s why so many of them are driven to drink, that, and alcohol is pretty damn good!

Lately, instead of writing I’ve been reading a lot more but I haven’t finished any of the books I’ve started either. I’m struggling through Cold Sassy Tree, a Southern fiction book I loved when I was a kid. I’m loving Bird by Bird, but it’s slow going because I have so darn much on my plate. Instead of focusing on what I feel I can’t do this week, I’m going to take up all my pent up energy and use it on the treadmill, at Zumba, and maybe even attempt an Insanity class. Maybe working out my body will give me the motivation to tackle my project again and get some much-needed editing done on Little Birdhouses.

How do you dig yourself out of a funk? In life? In writing?

There is still time to enter the giveaway for The Devil Within! See what people are saying about the book over on Amazon! It now has TEN five-star reviews!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

The Devil Within by Lauren Greene

The Devil Within

by Lauren Greene

Giveaway ends August 31, 2015.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

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New Beginnings

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I like to look at the new school year as a time for new beginnings. New shoes, new clothes, new books. This week has been crazy busy, with school starting. My baby even started Kindergarten this week. I can’t believe she’s old enough–just yesterday she was born (or so it seems).

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I apologize for the cellphone quality. I couldn’t find the charger for the camera, and buying a new one is next on my list.

I had another new beginning yesterday, of sorts, and I found it appropriate it fell on the first day of school. I did a book signing at a friend’s book club event for The Devil Within. I was so nervous when I arrived, but the people were nice, and when my time came to speak the words just flowed. I guess that’s what happens when you’re talking about something you love. Unfortunately, there are no photos of me signing book, but this napkin wrap around the stem of my wine gave me quite a laugh:

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Here’s to the new school year (2015-2016) and more new beginnings to come!

Don’t forget to grab your copy of No Turning Back for $1.99! Only one week left on this sale!  

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Available at Amazon: http://amzn.to/1TAOxjl

And Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1EWHdJe

Enter to win a free copy of my newest book, The Devil Within. 

Goodreads Book Giveaway

The Devil Within by Lauren Greene

The Devil Within

by Lauren Greene

Giveaway ends August 31, 2015.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

Follow Lauren Greene

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Writing, Editing, and Reading

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I woke up super early today to write, edit, and possibly go for a run. I decided against the run, because my calves are hurting. I’m feeling a little bit like I should go, since it may be my only chance at exercise until Saturday. I’ll have to break out the exercise video tomorrow morning, and I hate those dreaded things.

I’m still rewriting Little Birdhouses, and I figure it will be awhile before it’s ready. I printed it off, and I’m reading it aloud and making commentary on the edges of the paper, figuring out what needs to be cut, what doesn’t make sense, etc. I’m working on Chapter Four and thinking that maybe, just maybe, I was writing in my sleep or smoking crack when I wrote this dribble. I’m also wondering how many times, “she stood” or “she nodded” needs to show up in my work. Lots of strike-throughs are littering my pages, but this is good thing because I’m making it better!

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“Garden birds house” by CaliforniaCat0001

In Chapter Four, Lana (the protagonist) meets Gideon Peterson for the first time. I love this line, even though it needs a little work grammatically still, “Just like the birdhouses, I felt Gideon Peterson creep into the back of my mind and secure his place there ready to haunt me at any moment.”

Creepy huh? Romantic, maybe? Obsessive: yes. It’s funny when you’re editing and you feel like all you write is shit, and then all of a sudden there’s a redeeming sentence in the mist, and you, as the author think, “Oh yeah, maybe I really can write.”

And birds, they seem to be taking over my life despite my dislike for them. I’m reading Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott right now, and I’m wondering how I’ve come so far in my writing career without reading this book. It is hilarious and true. I’m not very far into the book yet, but I just read her chapter on perfectionism and I couldn’t agree more. This is a book every writer should read along with On Writing by Stephen King.

What are some books that have made a difference in your life?

There’s still time to enter the giveaway for my newest book, The Devil Within: 

Goodreads Book Giveaway

The Devil Within by Lauren Greene

The Devil Within

by Lauren Greene

Giveaway ends August 31, 2015.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

Follow Lauren Greene:

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Write What You Want

/ legreene515 / 4 Comments

Today, I had the pleasure of reading What We Most Want by William Kenower. It seemed like a sign for me to have stumbled upon this article, because I had no idea what I wanted to write this morning. And until a few weeks ago, I didn’t know I wanted to write Southern Literature either.

I dabbled in many genres. I wrote No Turning Back, a woman’s fiction, love triangle, with an unexpected ending. After writing that book, I wrote The Devil Within in about two weeks. After finishing The Devil Within, I felt like I couldn’t finish anything else. I wrote a Southern psychological thriller or coming-of-age or who-knows-what-genre-it-falls-into-because-I-hate-classification called Little Birdhouses. Then I toyed around with a story about swingers (I’ve since shelved this–thank God!). I started several nondescript manuscripts, but I couldn’t put myself into any of them and I didn’t know why.

About a week before I attended Midwest Writer’s, Anna Kate’s voice invaded my head and told me to write her story–the one I’ve been holding on to for fifteen years and is set in rural Alabama in the 1920’s. I finally felt ready to do her story justice–even though it’s truly a labor of love, with tons of research, because let’s face it: I’ve never been a tenant farmer’s daughter. At Midwest Writer’s, someone asked me what I wrote, and I had a sudden realization it was Southern Literature or Southern fiction, or whatever you want to call it. And it makes sense. Because it’s who I am and it’s what I want to write. We all know I love to write tragic stories and what better fodder for stories than the tumultuous South! I started writing what I wanted, and the words started flowing. Writing Southern fiction makes me happy and it made me LOVE my work, just like William Kenower said in his article. Be true to yourself.

About once a week, with my Writing Wenches, someone brings up that we should all just write about falling in love with your stepbrother, because these books do well. It’s tongue-in-cheek, because none of us are ready to sell out. The point being, you might make a ton of money doing that (doubtful, because writing to trend when you don’t love what you’re doing can make you burn out quickly), but you wouldn’t be happy. If you don’t write what you love then the words are just symbols on a page with no meaning. Your reader can pick up on your enthusiasm in your writing from the feeling and emotion that the words tend to take when you’re writing something you love. If you love writing step-brother romances then I say go for it!

As for me, I’ll take the inspiration I received from reading The Sound and the Fury, Cold Sassy Tree, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, and To Kill A Mockingbird (among thousands of other Southern novels I read), and I’ll write what I love. 

What do you think? Do you write what you love? When you read a book, can you tell if the author was truly inspired and loved what he/she was doing?

Goodreads Book Giveaway

The Devil Within by Lauren Greene

The Devil Within

by Lauren Greene

Giveaway ends August 31, 2015.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

Follow Lauren Greene:

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Midwest Writer’s Workshop Here I Come!

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I’m busy trying to write this blog from the slowest connection known to man! The WiFi is free though, so who am I to complain? Yesterday, I left home at 4 AM and flew to Indianapolis, Indiana. On my way from home to Atlanta, I sat next to a guy who works for the Sister Schubert people–you know those little rolls with the sausages in them. Yum. He talked to me all about Disney and his life, and now I know how to plan my vacation next year. The next stint of the trip, the guy sitting next to me put in earphones and read. He looked like a pilot, or definitely someone who worked for an airplane company, but he looked concerned when the plane landed and it felt like the wheel was coming off too!

All and all, my flights were great. Then I had to pick up my rental car from Hertz. I had called the week before trying to confirm my pickup, and they told us, “Just come here and do it. You can’t check-in online with this type of pickup.” Okie dokie. So I catch a cab (my plan) to the Hertz place. And it’s closed. And I call Hertz from said-cab, and they tell me to come back to the airport. I come back, and they tell me they don’t have a car for me there so I need to go to the Brownsboro Hertz. The guy at Hertz said Brownsboro was 15 minutes away–try 20! I was upset by this time, but Mike at Brownsboro made it all okay. He comped my car $75 (I spent $130 on taxis yesterday). Then when I told him my phone was dying he gave me a car-charger some poor schmuck had left in his rental car. He upgraded me–to a Corolla (I wonder what I would have been driving if that’s an upgrade?). And then I drove to Muncie which is pretty damn far from Brownsboro. I have to say, I kept my cool the whole time. I wanted to cry several times, but I just pushed forward. A few years back, I would have had a major meltdown, but there’s no use wasting energy on something I can’t change.

Last night I met a fellow writer friend, Michael Simko, and his lovely family for dinner at an Egyptian restaurant. They tried new things. I had the gyro platter. Then I came back to the hotel to get ready for this lovely day to begin. I’m beyond excited about meeting new writers, learning new tidbits, and generally having a great time at this conference. Maybe these mid-westerners can learn a thing or two from this Southern Gal too.

I’m A Winner!

/ legreene515 / 5 Comments

Last week I wrote Xs and Os for Mid-Week Blues Buster 3.07, and I found out today I won. For those of you who write flash fiction, you should try your hand at MWBB. They use a song prompt, and it always makes my mind spin a story. 3.08 is going on right now! I was super excited to win, since this was the first flash piece I’d written in some time. I’ve been so busy this month.

Here’s the cool badge I won:

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Not only have I gone on a semi-second Honeymoon with my husband in Punta Cana (you have to go there), but I published a book, The Devil Within. My mother-in-law came in town, and we took the kids to Stone Mountain. And this coming week I’m going to the Midwest Writer’s Conference. So much going on!

And today, I’m celebrating another accomplishment. I went for a run and did 2 miles in 11 minutes 44 seconds. This has taken me forever to accomplish. And now I can work on increasing my mileage over the next few weeks and speed. I’m intending to do a 5K sometime later in the year (because you know, I don’t have enough on my plate). I mostly run because it helps keep the weight off and I’ve struggled with weight for some time. I also do it so I can organize the thoughts in my head. Running is great for planning and plotting out works-in-progress. Today, I worked on figuring out the next steps in the new Southern Lit novel I’m working on. More details on that later, when I’m at a point where I feel like I can share.

Why Choose Fear?

/ legreene515 / 2 Comments

My whole life I’ve been afraid of heights. I’ve been actively working to rid myself of this fear. This summer, I went to Punta Cana and did the zipline, then I went up a skylift at Stone Mountain, and did the Skyhike (a high ropes course). On the Skyhike, as I climbed to the second level I felt my heart steady and I concentrated on the task, and I wasn’t scared. I can’t say the same about the skylift–it shook when it went through the tower and I screamed!

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Caden and me on the bottom level of the Skyhike ropes course.

Even with writing, I’ve had fears. For years, I didn’t let anyone read my writing. I doubted myself. Finally, I overcame that fear and with it I created the goal that, not only would I let people read it, but I would go above and beyond and publish my work. I would literally put myself out there for other people to read my work. People I don’t know. People I’m not related to who might leave scathing reviews of my art. How much fear did that insight within me? A ton. But I did it. Because I think in life, the way to succeed is to overcome your fears. If you live your life in fear then you’re paralyzed. If I hadn’t ridden to skylift to the top of Stone Mountain on Saturday, then I might not ever have this rare photo of my whole family together:

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I might not have realized that it wasn’t so scary at the top. I wouldn’t have been able to see the Atlanta skyline shrouded in haze from the heat. And I wouldn’t have been able to walk down the mountain with my three billy-goats by my side.

Pushing aside my fear has allowed me to accomplish things I never thought I could. I wrote a book. I published it. I had people read and review my book. Fear holds you back like a tether, but overcoming that fear allows you to climb to new heights.

Follow Lauren Greene:

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/laurenegreene

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Break From Reality

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Last week, Hubby and I had a break from reality. It was much needed, and even more than I needed it to be. Despite the timing of The Devil Within, once we were away we let everything go. In my writing journey, over the last few years, I’ve become a social media guru. You pretty much have to in this day and age (yeah–I sound like a grandparent). I use twitter, Google+, Facebook, Instagram, etc. to promote myself as an author and promote my work. The nicest part of the vacation was our decision not to use technology while we were there, except to Facetime or message the kids.

Our eldest told us he wouldn’t miss us. Because he’s ten and all. But he did. He tried to Facetime me a lot and then if I mentioned him missing us he’d say, “No, not really.” When we pulled into our garage a week later, he was the first one through the garage door and he flung himself into my arms. It’s nice to be missed.

I recommend a get away like this for anyone who hasn’t done it. I came back refreshed and ready to write again. Now I’m focusing on editing Little Birdhouses and promoting The Devil Within. Fairly soon, I’ll have some swag to give to you. It’s getting real, y’all!

And don’t forget. If you sign up for my newsletter at http://eepurl.com/bo4ILP you’ll automatically be entered for a chance to win a free signed copy of The Devil Within! The winner will be announced in the July 31st edition of the newsletter.

Here are some photos from our trip, just because I think everyone should go to Punta Cana. The Dominican Republic is the sixth largest exporter of cocoa in the world. And their chocolate is wonderful, and their people are amazing, and if you haven’t been to a third world country and left the resort you should. It’s an eye opener, and it makes you grateful for everything you have.

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Not Easy As Pie

/ legreene515 / 7 Comments

You know the saying, “Easy as pie.” Cliche and all that. But I don’t think anything in life is easy as pie. I love writing. I mean, love it with a passion. But I hate all the crap that comes with it. I hate marketing. I don’t feel like I’m good at it, or I don’t know where to start, or everyone currently wants to read a BDSM book about a kid’s step-brother’s dragon, and I don’t write books in any comparable category to what’s HOT. But even people who write what the public wants still have to throw themselves out there–into the fire. And sometimes I wonder why I do it, because writing is like a scoop of pain mixed with pleasure (like love). Then I remember I love it and without writing there’d be too much pain or too many characters talking in my head with nowhere to go.

My love of writing came from my childhood. As a kid I used to disappear to my room and play with paper dolls for hours. Some of them I cut out of the Sears catalog. I named them, created families, dialogues, and elaborate stories for my paper dolls. I created apartments out of my bookcases for my Barbie dolls. I wrote stories down, never finished them, but the stories still came to me. I loved to read and write, but I never made As in English. I always made Bs. I struggled with thoughts of my writing not being good enough (I still struggle with this). I wanted to be perfect (I still sometimes do). I still have to tell myself perfection doesn’t exist. The authors who have made it did so because they’re bulldogs like JK Rowling who worked their asses off and didn’t take no for an answer. They didn’t let rejection get them down or the 20th pushed back deadline or the fact that procrastination seems to flow through their blood (I don’t know if Rowling procrastinates, but I do–way too much).

My book is supposed to be out on the 29th. I’m hoping it will at least hit Amazon by then so I can direct you all to the link. Writing and publishing a book can be frustrating in so many ways. I’ve had to depend on other people to edit, proofread, and market my book. I’ve had to wait for layout, for the cover, but in the end I know it will be worth it. I’ve worked with some great people over at Booktrope on The Devil Within: Nikki Lutz, JC Wing, Sheri Williams, Greg Simanson, and not to mention the layout team and Jesse James. These people know what they’re doing as I stumble my way blindly in the dark trying to figure it out for the first time. Publishing a book is the equivalent to waiting for a big bowl of ice cream after you finish your food; you know it’s going to taste so good but first you have to eat your Brussels sprouts (I do love Brussels though, so maybe this isn’t the best analogy)

All of this to say, I’m still hoping The Devil Within will be out by June 29th. Stay tuned to this site to see if it is. And don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter at http://eepurl.com/bo4ILP.

Ode to Technology

/ legreene515 / 2 Comments

Oh technology, how I love thee.
How I hate thee.
Let me count the ways.
 

You probably noticed this site changed. I thought, mistakenly, that if I changed the theme I might have access to the “add plugin” button on my dashboard. This is not the case, and it will never be the case.

Stupid me should have read a little bit more about web-hosting before I made my website. Apparently if you have a wordpress.org site hosted by someone like Bluehost then you can add a plugin. But if you are using a site hosted by wordpress.com then you can’t (you can only use the plug-ins they allow). I wasted money buying a domain name, and at some point in the future will have to move this site. Not now. I like this site, and I have too many irons in the fire (cliché) to go all willy nilly and work on exporting my site to a new one. I may never change it. It depends on how motivated I am.

The only reason I wanted to change it in the first place was to be able to place a mailchimp sign-up form on the site. I’d like you all to be able to sign up for my newsletter, so here’s how you can do it.

Click this link to signup for my newsletter The Greene Pen: http://eepurl.com/bo4ILP

Also, I’ll be simultaneously posting my blogs to my blogspot site:http://www.lululandadventures.blogspot.com.   I have abandoned this blog recently (so sad), but I figured if I just posted the same blog there then maybe I could get more readership since it post to Google too. And, oh yeah, I can embed the mailchimp blog on their site, unlike with WordPress.

So technology, I hate you for being so complicating. I love you for letting me spread the word about my newsletter and my new book, The Devil Within, due to come out June 22ndish.

And speaking of The Devil Within…Guess what Friday is? It’s cover reveal day!  Join me and a dozen of my friends as I show you the amazing cover Greg Simanson made for my book!

Peace out. Tell me your preference in the comments below: Do you like this theme called Apostrophe or should I go back to the previous theme, Hemingway?