verabrook

Just a quick note: I'm publishing THE KISS in Kindle Unlimited very soon, so I had to unpublish it here.
          	
          	But you didn't get a chance to read it, you still could! I'm offering it as a gift to my newsletter subscribers at the moment. If you're interested, the link is: http://eepurl.com/cTQmKD 
          	
          	Thank you to anyone who checked it out, and I hope your own writing is going well! Take care.

verabrook

Just a quick note: I'm publishing THE KISS in Kindle Unlimited very soon, so I had to unpublish it here.
          
          But you didn't get a chance to read it, you still could! I'm offering it as a gift to my newsletter subscribers at the moment. If you're interested, the link is: http://eepurl.com/cTQmKD 
          
          Thank you to anyone who checked it out, and I hope your own writing is going well! Take care.

verabrook

I posted a new story for you all! THE KISS is a paranormal shifter love story, and you can find it here: https://www.wattpad.com/story/288946579-the-kiss-a-paranormal-shifter-love-story.   
          
          This story has haunted me for a few years. The initial idea came to me in a dream, actually. But for the longest time, I couldn't figure out how the pieces fitted together, and how to convey the emotion that was at the heart of the story. So I just kept coming back to it, taking notes, drafting scenes. But I've never attempted to write the whole story... until now.   
          
          Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoy it. And as always, I'd love to hear your thoughts!

verabrook

Hi, All,
          
          I'm still learning the ropes on Wattpad, so this post is a bit late. But I posted two short stories. Yay! :)
          
          FRIENDS AND FOES (paranormal romance with a twist):
          https://www.wattpad.com/story/286029845-friends-and-foes-a-short-story
          
          THE GAME (litRPG):
          https://www.wattpad.com/story/287297637-the-game-a-short-story
          
          If you check them out, I hope you enjoy! Any feedback is most welcome. Every reader brings something different to a story, so I'm genuinely curious. 
          
          I hope your own writing is going well, and your characters are cooperating or at least not rebelling. ;)
          
          Vera
          
          P. S. I'm trying to train myself to write a bit faster and to finish things and put them out. Not to rush the process, but not to hold onto stories & fuss over them forever either, which I have a tendency to do. I want to make room (in my brain) for all the other writing projects I started and all the new story ideas!

verabrook

Anyone else makes covers BEFORE they finish the stories, to motivate themselves to finish? No? Only me? :)

ChristinaHawthorne

@verabrook Someone should do a study on the subject, or maybe they have. Visual art is the perfect compliment to writing and I have no idea why. Maybe it's the right brain/left brain science. No idea. It's like what side to have with my meal, or maybe the right wine. For me, and as someone with one foot always in a fantasy world, it extends to diagrams, maps, and any other visuals I work with.
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CamieElias

@verabrook " There's something very relaxing about working with images after you've been working with words for a long time.  A break for the writing brain."
            ABSOLUTELY!!!
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verabrook

Oh, good. I'm not the only one. There's something very relaxing about working with images after you've been working with words for a long time.  A break for the writing brain.
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verabrook

I'm writing two more stories that I'm excited about. One paranormal romance, one dystopian romance (which is trying to become a novelette, so over 7500 words, we'll see). 
          
          Both stories have been haunting me for a while now, but I wasn't ready to write them yet. I'm still not quite ready to finish them, especially the dystopian one. I need to figure out a few missing plot points and some world building to make it all fit together. But the characters are there, and they're the heart of the story. 
          
          I also write out of order, so my drafts are often loose notes and scenes that need rearranging later. I'm in awe of writers who create serials. Wow. I'm not sure I could ever do that. Maybe I'll get there. 
          
          What's your writing process?

verabrook

@verabrook "Just a little nudge," I meant. I ate a word there. :)
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verabrook

@ChristinaHawthorne So true! I believe it completely. No sentence we write is ever wasted. 
            
            If nothing else, it's learning and practice and developing our craft. We made choices writing this sentence, and then reread it and maybe edited it to make it flow better or pack a bigger punch. All valuable. All going straight into our fiction writer's toolbox. 
            
            And the writing brain (the subconscious part) definitely reuses & remixes ideas and bits of stories in new & interesting ways!  
            
            I also like to take notes, just in case. I have dozens of notebooks already, some for short fiction, some for specific series. I page through them once in a while to remind myself of some ideas I was playing with. It's like feeding new creative triggers back to the subconscious writing brain. Look over here! This is cool. Can we use it in some story? Just a little, but sometimes it's often to fill in a plot hole or come up with just the right backstory for a character. 
            
            Writing is a such a mysterious & amazing process. :)
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ChristinaHawthorne

@verabrook I think of my narrative outline as a straight line from point A to Z. The actual novel is a wavy line laid over the straight line. It might curve a bit to the left or right, but the direction remains the same and it always comes back. At least, I've never had one fail to do so in recent years.
            I'm glad you enjoyed your Writing Challenge experience. :-)
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ScarlettBlackDaisy

Just noticed you've given my story a chance. So I'm dropping by to let you know that I truly appreciate it and hope you'll find my work worth-it. Feedback and comments are more than welcome. Once again, thank you so much for making my day better <3 

verabrook

@ScarlettBlackDaisy Thanks for your note. I look forward to reading your book! All the best with your writing projects.
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