Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Here we go again...


I've participated in NaNoWriMo for the past 3 years (finishing once, thank you very much!), and it's been a blast.  I heard about Camp NaNoWriMo from a friend in my online writing group, and since I'm a glutton for punishment, I thought I'd sign up.

If you're interested in participating, Camp starts on June 1 so there's still time to sign up!  My user name is Lara Lacombe, so come find me!

P.S.  If you're interested in supporting the Office of Letters and Light (the organization that coordinates NaNo and several writing programs for both kids and adults), please visit my sponsorship page:

Sunday, May 27, 2012

And in the end...

funny pictures - i am done now  you can clean up

It's done.  Edge of Trust is finished.  Finished is a relative term, as there will be edits, but the story is complete and done and Kelly and James have their happy ending.  Which is good, because Thomas was getting a little impatient.  I'm off to bed now, but tomorrow, I will start to work on his story in earnest.

I can't wait.

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Burning the boats...

As I sat in the classes of DFW Con, an unofficial theme emerged: You must treat writing like it is your job.  You must commit to putting your butt in the chair every day, getting the words down.  None of this writing when you feel like it, or when you have a shiny new idea--no, if you want to get paid for your writing, you must take it and yourself seriously.  In one of Candace Havens's classes, she said there are only two acceptable excuses for going a day without writing: death (yours, not someone else's) and coma (but even if you're in a coma, you should still be thinking about writing).

One of the things that Jodi Thomas said has stuck with me--she mentioned that at some point, you're going to have to burn your boats.  You're going to have to commit to making writing your career, with no chance of going back.  She related the story of a young man who had just sold his first book and asked her what he should do to make sure it was a success.  Her advice?  Sell your car.  Use the money to buy as many copies of your book as possible, so the publisher will see how well it's selling and offer you a contract for a second book.  Burn your boats.

Burning of the USS Philadelphia,
Edward Moran
I've been thinking about doing this for the past several months.  I really dislike my job, and I hate how much it takes away from my writing.  I've been contemplating quitting and taking a part-time job somewhere to pay the bills while I focus more of my time and energy on writing and getting published.  The trouble is, I've worked very hard to get to this position, and if I leave my field, there's no going back.

The funny thing is, Jodi Thomas isn't the first person to give this advice.  I recently took an online course about how you can quit your day job to write, and the instructor said how much your life will change when you're doing what you love.  You probably won't have a lot of money, but if you like what you're doing, you won't notice it.  Many of the other authors and agents at DFW Con said similar things, so I feel like maybe the universe is trying to tell me something <g>.

I don't know if I'm ready to take the leap just yet, but I'm standing on the cliff edge looking down, matches in hand (and how's that for a mixed metaphor?).

What about you?

Saturday, May 19, 2012

Adventures from conference-land...

So I'm attending DFWCon this weekend, and they have these cute little goody bags for attendees.  Inside the bag is an innocuous-looking tube of what I assumed would be lip balm--after all, it's labeled "Aloe Vera" on the bottom of the tube, and it looks like chapstick.

I tucked this into my bag for later, knowing that it would likely come in handy as I always seem to be in need of lip balm.  After lunch, I slathered on the stuff, wanting to look okay for my post-lunch agent pitch session.  My lips thus conditioned, I turned my thoughts to my upcoming meeting.
What could possibly go wrong?
Imagine my surprise when I caught a glimpse of myself in a reflective surface.  My lips were bright pink--obnoxious, crazy clown/80's hooker pink.  Apparently, that innocent-looking green balm was really color change lipstick in disguise.  Needless to say, it was not a good look for me.  I immediately grabbed a tissue and started rubbing my mouth, but this stuff is insidious--my lips are still a little pink, hours after the fact. 

Wrong on so many levels...
I'm so glad I noticed this before going in to my pitch session--I can only imagine how ridiculous I would have felt to discover this hot pink disaster after the fact!

Has anyone else had a 'close call' like this before, or am I just the lucky one? <g>


Friday, May 18, 2012

Conference weekend!


I'm off to the DFW Writer's Conference this weekend, and I'm quite excited!  It should be a great time...

Tune in next week for conference notes, and in the meantime, happy writing!

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Welcome!

Hello, and welcome to my new blog!

As you can see from the title, I primarily write romantic suspense, with a little time-travel historical romance thrown in for good measure.  I currently have 3 ongoing projects and ideas for many more--what I don't have is enough time to write them all down! :)

I'm going to use this space to talk about my writing--my progress, setbacks, motivation, and style.  I'm also going to share my adventures as I pursue publication, in the hopes that my experiences will prove helpful to others with the same dream.

Writing is generally a solitary pursuit, but it doesn't have to be.  Feel free to share your thoughts and experiences, and let's have fun!