The Myth (And Reality) Of A Writer

Howdy, all!

Since the property damage from my last visit was so minimal, Tabitha graciously invited me back for another round! And, since I'm getting to know everyone, I wanted to take a little time and tell you what my "typical" writer's life looks like.

I get up bright and early at 5:30 every morning, to the sounds of birds chirping and the last of the nighttime crickets peeping. I bound out of bed, ready to start my day, jump in the shower, pour a cup of coffee, and sit down at my massive Louis Quinze desk. I spend a few leisurely moments catching up on the news and reading email, and then I start working, to the gentle strains of Mozart and Beethoven, while the sun rises gently in the east, welcoming me to the new day.
After a couple of hours, I'll have a nice breakfast and get back to work, where I'll be until lunchtime. .

*Record scratch sound effect*

Myth #1: I'm not a crack of dawn type of guy. The crack of noon's more my speed! Luckily, I work from home both at my day job and on my writing.
Myth #2: The early bird gets the worm, In my case, the early bird conjures dark fantasies of light-load shotgun shells. (No, I don't act on these. But this may become important in an upcoming WIP, and yes, there will be a quiz.)
Myth #3: I don't leap. At all. Ever. I'm not a freaking ninja and I'm not built for that. To say that I groggily stumble out of bed is much more accurate.

Myth #4: I shower when I have ten minutes to get ready. Otherwise, I rinse off the dirt and then settle into a steamy bath, where I'll be with my latest TBR project until the water starts to get cold.
Myth#5: Now that I'm ready to start my day, I grab a two-liter of Mountain Dew, a full pack of cigarettes, and a clean ashtray. The full items will be empty and the empty items full long before I get done with my day's work.
Myth #6: My desk cost me $20 at Wal-Mart.

Myth #7: "Leisurely" doesn't exist in my world or my vocabulary until the work is done. If I'm working on LESS than four things at any given time, someone's liable to ask me if I'm feeling okay. Multitasking is the only conceivable way I can get everything done that I need to!
Myth #8: I never watch the news. Least of all upon waking. If I want to be depressed or need proof that Darwin was right, then I'll look it over. Otherwise, my TV is very rarely on.
Myth #9: You will NEVER find the "classics" on my playlist. Substitute Metallica for Mozart and Black Sabbath for Beethoven and you're closer to the truth, with a liberal sprinkling of Tupac, LL Cool J, Paula Cole, and Melissa Etheridge.
Myth #10: If I'm seeing sunrise, you can bet I'm coming at it from the other side of midnight unless I'm sick, and I've probably been around the clock at least once already.
Myth #11: I eat once a day, and exercise for me constitutes getting into the car and driving to get more smokes or Mountain Dew. My preferred meal is dinner, at which time I usually eat what amounts to breakfast in most civilized countries. (This is because my body has been trained to consider my one meal of the day the end of the day, and so after I eat I'm not much good for anything.)

Oh, yeah. It's a glamour job. :)
Thanks for coming by and hanging out. I'll see y'all next month! (But, if you haven't had enough snark yet, come on by http://www.nobleromance.com, where I'll be hanging out today too!)

Until next time,

Best,

J.S. Wayne

A Male Romance Writer, Without Apologies

First, I'd like to thank our lovely and gracious hostess for having me here today. I'm scheduled on the 20th of each month here, so I'm really excited about this opportunity! (And praying that my first isn't also my last!)

I offer something for every taste!

When I first started writing sixteen years ago, I didn't think for one minute that I would ever get within fifty MILES of writing romance, erotic or otherwise. My speed was more urban fantasy/horror/suspense. If there happened to be an erotic or romantic overtone, wonderful, but that was never the ultimate aim.  I wrote "guy stuff:" Sex, violence, sex, rock and roll, sex, and did I happen to mention sex?

What changed my mind was, as with so many other writing tales, more or less an accident.

One little contest later, I got to thinking about trying my hand at romance in earnest. If I hadn't won that particular contest, who knows what I'd be doing now? I tabled the idea for a few months, because I was in a big push to finish my first novel, Shadowphoenix: Requiem. Once that was done, I waited for the next contest to start and riffed off my second entry.

That one split first with a story about a mermaid, and I started to get serious about the idea of writing romance on a regular basis. After all, winning two contests with erotic romance seemed to imply that I had a certain flair for the genre. But where to start?

Yeah. It looks EXACTLY like that...

I'm a voracious, insatiable devourer of books. If a book is lying in my field of vision for more than, say, three seconds, and I haven't already read it, I start to get symptoms reminiscent of nicotine withdrawal. (A subject I can speak on with a certain amount of authority, having now been a smoker longer than not. It's depressing  when you suddenly realize you're older than you thought you were!) I start to twitch, I get short of breath, and sooner or later, the only thing that's going to make the shakes and the darting eyes go away is getting my fix. Books or smokes, to me it's same/same: my body's addicted to nicotine, but my mind's addicted to books.

So I'd read a romance book or two (thousand!) in my time. The biggest problem I had with the genre was the fact that so many of them seemed to be the exact same story, rewritten with different names and set in different places and times, but same old same old same old. *Yawn*

How to say "Please Stomp My Grass" In Five Languages!

When I decided to turn my hand to erotic romance, I also decided to kick convention to the curb. Nothing makes me happier than seeing a "Keep Off The Grass" sign, because I read that as "Please Trample My Lawn." So all the "shalt-nots" of romance went into a big, scary wood chipper. The only convention that I kept was the obligatory Happily Ever After, because I like a happy ending as much as the next guy. Everything else became up for grabs. Why? Because I wanted to write romance stories that guys could read and appreciate just as much as women. Lots of violence, sex, thought-provoking plots, all of it overlain with an emotional context that men and women could both appreciate.
I'm a male romance writer, and I make no apologies for it. Because, hey, it seems to be working!

I promised that this wouldn't be a promo blog, so I'm not going to leave an excerpt or any of that today. If, however, you'd like to know more about me or my work, I'm also blogging at http://www.nobleauthors.blogspot.com today, as well as my own blog at www.jswayne.wordpress.com. I always appreciate fan mail, rants, or raves, and you can get a hold of me at jswayne702@yahoo.com.

Thanks for letting me come hang out with y'all today. It's been a lot of fun!

Until next time,

Best,

J.S. Wayne

Remember to Smell the Roses

What are you doing this summer? I seem to get this question a lot as the coveted season of leisure draws near. And if you're a workaholic writer like me, you might not realize how you're answer my end up reflecting in you writing come winter.

My family is foregoing a vacation this year—blame the economy for that. I have a book I need to revise to get back to my agent for submission to an editor and I have two others I’m waiting to get word back on from editors. Depending on what happens with these and what feedback I get, I could be working on more revisions—either under contract or for resubmission. I also have two WIPs I’d like to finish up by the end of August. Plus, I work full time and have a family to take care of.
So, what am I doing for fun? My friends clarified. And I realized my answer only included more work. You know what they say about all work and no play.

For me, and for many of you, writing is fun. I love the thrill of creating a story. I even enjoy the revision process. Learning all I can about craft and the business is another thing I devour. But therein lays the danger. We all should remember that no matter how fun something is, too much of a good thing could lead to feeling overwhelmed which could lead to burnout.

And burnout is not good for your writing. The muse needs rest, it needs stimulated with something other than you poking at it to give you new ideas. It needs to lay on the beach or play in the pool, too.

How am I avoiding burnout, and thus resting my over worked muse? By planning activities that gets me away from the computer and out in the sun. As the days get longer and the temperatures rise, I’m trying to get out and enjoy the day. I try to take a walk in the evening and sit on the deck with a glass of wine or a cup of coffee and a good book. I’ve planned to do some recreational things with my family. We’re taking a charted bus day trip to the Baltimore Harbor and the National Aquarium in July. We’re also visiting my family in Western PA and an amusement park and a local lake.

I know it’s still not much, but at least I’m giving my muse a break. Up until two weeks ago my husband and I had nothing planned. But I knew come September, I’d wonder where the summer went and regret not getting out more. And my muse will be rebelling, about the time I'll want to start a new book.


So if you’re a workaholic like me when it comes to your writing, remember to stop and smell the roses. They’re gone all too soon. I should know. I almost missed the roses in my garden altogether this summer. And who knows what my muse could have done with those few moments.

Writing For Pennies

I’m sure you’ve all seen it. Five dollars for a thousand-word article. Spending precious writing time on projects that pay pennies.

For what?

Everyone says to get your name out there. Become an expert at something and write about it so you’ll get a following so agents will notice you. While this is good advice I have to wonder if it’s right for me. Is it worth it spending all that time and energy away from my fiction to actually publish something online just to say I’m a freelancer?

I don’t know.

There are plenty of successful writers out there who make a career at freelancing and work on their fiction on the  side. I say good for them. But I’m not sure if I can join that group. Not because I

doubt my writing abilities, but because I want my fiction to be the centerpiece of my career. Not my hobbyist outdoor/camping/hiking articles. I honestly don’t know how readers who like my take on the

outdoors will care for my fantasy romances. I mean, it’s one thing to get a website and trying to get your name out there.

It’s quite another to actually work on a separate career from your fiction.

But when thinking about that, I have to wonder. How many of us have a separate career?

Most of us have to make money for rent and groceries so the day job is the other career. I don’t know about you, but I find it exhausting to even consider a fiction writing career, a seriously consistent

freelance career, plus the career that pays the bills. And if you’re a glutton for punishment like me, then you have two jobs instead of one.

So I’ll continue looking on Craig’s List and searching for jobs and when one that pays decent pops up I’ll apply and cross my fingers. Until then, I’ll work on my fiction. And my two day jobs.

Andrea Dennin