Friday Funnies - Cat Friend vs Dog Friend

Blog Chain - What Settings Do You Love?

Okay, so I completely spaced my blog chain post that was supposed to go up yesterday. I blame the terrifyingly looming deadline I'm facing at the end of the week and the fact that my kids have been home since last Tuesday. This little writer needs a good vacation LOL And nuts, I also just realized I missed another post I was supposed to do yesterday *sigh*

Anyhow, our topic for this chain was chosen by the wonderful Alyson, who asked:

How important is setting when crafting a story? How do you choose where your stories take place? How do you research setting? Do you have to have been somewhere in order to write about it? What are some memorable settings from books you've read?

Being a mostly historical writer, setting is extremely important for me. It's a huge part of the story. It dictates how my characters act, how they think, their motivations. In short, the setting often influences almost every aspect of their lives.

I usually choose to write about places I would love to go. It gives me a chance to live vicariously through my characters for a little while :) This means, since I usually haven't been to these places, that a lot of research is involved. Luckily, I love me a little research :)

Some of  my favorite settings, both those I've written and those I've read, include, ancient Egypt and Greece, England, Scotland, Ireland, and Italy.

My first novel (releasing in just a few short weeks!!) is set in Victorian England. My current WIP (the first book in the Blood Blade Sisters trilogy) is set in post-Gold Rush California. Having grown up in California, this is actually a setting I'm familiar with. We used to take family trips to Sutters Fort and see the old Gold Rush towns. However, I think to date this is the only book I've written set in a setting where I've actually been :)

Be sure to stop by Alyson's blog today and see how important settings are to her and check out Lisa's post from Friday!

How important is setting to you? What settings do you love to read about?

Friday Funnies

Book Trailer Release for Jennifer Armentrout's OPAL

I'm so excited to share the book trailer for the newest book in Jennifer Armentrout's Lux series, OPAL.
Check it out!!!

Opal (The third book in the Lux Series)

Available in both print and digital version on December 18, 2012

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Official Opal Book Trailer

Check out Jennifer L. Armentrout on the following sites:

Facebook

Twitter

Official Website

Time for the Blog Chain again :) This topic was chosen by Sandra:

During National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), writers attempt to write 50,000 words in 30 days. Do you set daily writing goals for yourself, either a certain word count or time spent on writing? Does this include other writing-related activities, like research, plotting, or revising? Do you focus on reaching the end of the journey (such as finishing your current project), or do you enjoy the writing process along the way?

Well, I've attempted NaNo several times and real life always reared its ugly head to prevent me from getting more than a few thousand words every time lol

I much prefer to revise than to write first drafts. I love it when the story is already down on paper and I get to go through and polish and polish until it really shines. I'm a fast reviser, almost obsessive. When edits come in from my editor, I sit down and barely do anything else until they are done and I enjoy every second :)

Not so much when I'm getting that first draft out. I struggle with those. So I do try to set daily word count goals when I'm working on a project - usually 1000 words a day. Unless I'm up against a deadline - in which case the goals get crazier the closer to the deadline I get :D At the moment, my daily goal is 4,000 - 5,000 a day :)

However, I do best when working with other people. My writing buddies and I will often set up write/chat sessions where we will write for 30 minutes and then take a break to chat for a few, and then go back for another 30. I find I am most productive when doing these sessions.

Or when I'm up against a deadline. I really need that pressure to get me to write every day. It's not that I don't love writing. I really do. But I'm a bit weird with it. I tend to go in spurts. I might have an idea hit me that I love so much I can't rest until it's OUT. I can crank out a full novel in 2 weeks or less if I'm really on a roll.

But most of the time, I'm more the slow and steady type. But self-set goals don't usually help me too much because I know I can break them without consequence. Hence, my love of a good deadline. Speaking of which, I'm up against one now so....time to write! :D

How about you? Have you done NaNo in the past or are you doing it this year? Do you set goals for yourself during the rest of the year?

If you want to follow this chain from the beginning, start with Kate's post on the topic. My fellow crazy writer Lisa posted just before me, and the next link in the chain is Alyson so be sure to swing by her blog tomorrow! :)

Friday Funnies

Updates

I've been such a horrible blogger lately. In my defense, I'm up against a tight deadline so I'm slacking on pretty much everything :D

A few updates:

• I will have some very fun news to share in the hopefully very near future :D
• Operation Awesome's New Year's Revisions Conference is going to ROCK. So be sure to stay tuned for updates
• I'm not doing NaNo this year - well I guess I sort of am, just unofficially. In order to meet my Nov 30th deadline on this manuscript, I need to be writing 2000 shiny new words a day. It has not been going well...hence the blog silence :D Working on both :D
• I will have some very fun news to share in the hopefully very near future :D Did I say that already? Sorry...a bit excited ;D
• Treasured Lies releases in just a couple months!!! Lots of fun activities planned for the release, including some fun opportunities for some EPIC prizes (and I don't use that word lightly) :D so stay tuned for info on all that 
• TODAY IS ELECTION DAY SO GO VOTE!!!!