Writer’s Wednesday by Kate Hardy: Productivity

I suppose I’d better come clean and admit that Kate Walker dubbed me ‘Scary Kate’, some years back - because I write very quickly and produce, um, a lot of books per year. Part of this is because I write for two Harlequin series (and my ed tells me that readers want three books a year in each), and part of this is because... well, I’ve always fitted in a lot to my life. (And I’m not really scary. I’m short, I’m round, and I make wonderful cookies. I’ll admit to being a bad influence, especially where puddings and music are concerned, but I’m not scary.)

So why am I having a problem with my productivity? (I know I’m not alone, here, because several of my author friends have said something similar.)

Over the last year or so I’ve noticed that my productivity has dropped. I seem to spend longer and longer sitting at my desk to produce each book – and I really want to work smarter, not harder. When my children were still at nursery, and I had less time to write, I still produced the same amount as I do now. Surely, now that I have more time, I should be able to write more?

Er, no. In my ratrace days, one of the most inspirational managers I ever met said that work expands to fill the time available. And I think he’s right. Instead of being focused because I know I only have a morning to write a certain amount of words before picking up my littlest from nursery, I’m over-relaxed because I know I have until 2:50pm before doing the school run. I’m not working efficiently or effectively.

I also let myself get distracted by a particularly large time-suck. Something that’s absolutely wonderful – but something that’s also not controlled. (And I bet I’m not the only one who suffers from this one!)

The internet.

Five years ago, I didn’t have broadband and my connection was quite slow, so I only checked my emails twice a day, and I couldn’t get YouTube.

(Ha. Since I mentioned it – and I need a pic to break up the text, a tad – this is my current fave video on YouTube. It’s the ‘black moment’ song for the book I’m writing now, and Joe Elliott is just… sigh.)



Now, my computer ‘pings’ every time an email comes in (tempting me to break off to read it) and then I might look up something on the internet and get distracted on a research trail (and sigh over Joe in the video above. Yeah). It’s taken a while for the penny to drop, but I realise now that unrestricted access to the net means that I’m working to even less of a schedule… and it’s affected my productivity really badly.

Some people hate schedules – they find them restrictive and it reduces their productivity. But I’m a planner, and I know that when I’m working to a schedule I’m much happier than when I’m muddling through. So, last month, when the children went back to school, I set about organising my time properly, using a business diary and scheduling in work slots during the school day. I really love Lotus Organizer because it lets me schedule things as and when I want it, and each day’s section will include items from my year planner (aka deadline dates, conference dates) and my to-do list (admin tasks such as registering books with PLR/ALCS; slots for guest and group blogs; and things such as the post office run so I make sure I send birthday cards and presents in plenty of time).

This also means that I can break my work down into times that suit me best. I’m a morning person, so my main time for writing fiction is the morning. I can also schedule in time for * breaks from the screen (important to avoid eyestrain and the spectre of RSI) * exercise (to help keep me fit and healthy – and I’ve put on enough weight over the last year to know that sitting at my desk all day isn’t good for me) * dealing with admin (the theory being that I won’t end up either with that shoe-box of receipts that takes hours to sort out for my tax return, or the pile of filing that becomes a hideous chore).

I know that the internet is my biggest weakness, so I’m batching emails and research, rather than breaking off in the middle of work to check something or answer an email (and then letting myself get distracted). I don’t feel that I’m disconnected from everyone because I’ve scheduled in email checks during my ‘working day’: first thing when I get back from the school run, at lunchtime, and just before I do the school run in the afternoon. It’s flexible because I can check more frequently if I know I’m expecting something important, but it also stops me frittering time.

Result? Well, over the last month, I can say that I’m much less stressed and I’m definitely more productive. I don’t have to work most evenings to catch up: double benefit there, as it means I get more quality time with my family and I’m not tired in the morning from working late. And if a family crisis hits, there’s room in my schedule to deal with it.

So my question to you is: what single change has helped you be more productive?

In the UK, you might still be able to find a copy of Kate’s new book on the shelves (or, if not, it’ll be on the Mills & Boon website). Temporary Boss, Permanent Mistress is set under the Northern Lights. Playboy Boss, Pregnancy of Passion is still available in the US from the Harlequin website, and next up in Australia is Kate's contribution to the Penhally series, Falling for the Playboy Millionaire. You can find out more about these books, and Kate, on her website (http://www.katehardy.com/) and her blog (http://katehardy.blogspot.com/)

Temptation Tuesday: Lipizzaner Stallions

Michelle Styles reveals the temptation of a well schooled white horse.

There is something about a horse, particularly white horses who are so well trained that they can dance.
As a girl I first became aware of the Lipizzaner horses through the Disney movie The Miracle of the White Stallions which recounts the true story of how General Patton saved the breed from near certain destruction at the end of World War 2.

The horses also feature in the Mary Stewart novel Airs Above Ground.

There is just something magical about the way they move and the respond to the rider. They appear to be creatures out of a fairy tale. However, many of the moves were developed for military purposes and the ability to perform those moves is a result of highly schooled and intelligent horses working with dedicated men and women. It i

Lipizzan are not born white (or more accurately gray) but black or bay. They become lighter as they grow older. Often not getting their full colouring until they are 6-10 years old. Lipizzan are long lived. Some even reach 40. They spend their first years in pasture and do not start being schooled until they are about 3. It is the stallions who preform the complicated dressage, rather than the mares.

They are called Lipizzan after the town Lipica in Solvenia where the first stud was established. The blood lines are carefully controlled. The horses are given two names. The first is the stallion's bloodline and the second gives the mare's name.

The most famous place for Lipizzans to perform is the Spanish Riding School of Vienna. It totally threw me as a young girl as I was aware that Vienna was in Austria. So where did Spain fit in? The name Spanish Riding School of Vienna recognises that the breeding stock originally came from Spanish Andalucia. The School was established by the Austro-Hungarian Emperor in 1572 and 1735, they began to preform in the Winter Riding School in Vienna. It is still possible to see performances there.

Thankfully, the Spanish Riding School does tour the world and it is possible to see the horses perform closer to home. The following youtube video explains the various moves and gives a glimpse of the horses in action. But really they do have to be seen in person to be fully appreciated.

When not admiring horses, Michelle Styles is busy getting ready for the publication of her next novel -- The Viking Captive Princess (publication Dec 2009) and trying to make her deadline for the next book.

Male On Monday

A post in which Jenna Bayley-Burke admits to her HGTV addiction, and shows why.

I bored everyone who would listen with my house staging saga, moving mania, and new home conundrums. Now we're stelled and one would think I'd be done. But NO. No, no, no... I can't give it up. I don't need it anymore, not in the way I once did, and yet, I can't go a day without tuning in.

Home & Garden Television and the DIY Network got me through a turbulent year. They are a comfort to me. OK, so they're littered with man candy. Capable man candy. Not musclebound gym rats who strike a pose (though these guys can hold their own) but men who have earned their confident grin.

Imagine, no disaster is too daunting for these guys. Clogged sink? Fixed. Want a new shower head installed. Not a problem. And while we're at it, let's just renovate the bathroom. Can't you just see one of them saying "Precious, you go to the spa. Come home tomorrow and it will all be done." THAT would make me swoon.

I spent the weekend judging contest entries and it hit me that a gorgeous hero doesn't work if he isn't capable. Yes, the square jaw and sparkling eyes don't hurt, but it is what's beyond that which speaks to the reader. We want him to be handsome AND able to make our heroine's life better for having him in it.

That is the challenge of a romance author. Not to describe a gorgeous man in every mouthwatering detail, but to make him a man who can handle what needs to be done - shirt optional.

Jenna is not writing much of anything, and won't be until September October. In the meantime, Compromising Positions is available with chocolate, Kama Sutra yoga, a decade old crush and a steady addiction to sugar. To find out what Jenna is up to now...check out her website or blog.

Wild Card Weekend - Winners and losers

This weekend PHS editor Donna Alward talks about winning, losing, and simply playing the game...

First of all, thank you to everyone who popped by to help celebrate the Pink Heart Society's third birthday! We might as well kick off this post on a high note, so...drum roll please...the winner of our birthday prize is Caroline Storer!

Congratulations! If you can e-mail us with your snail mail addy, we'll let our authors know and your prizes will be on their way!

Saturdays are Wild Card Weekends, so it seemed a natural fit to talk about playing cards. Especially since I've been playing cards a LOT lately. We have company from Alberta staying with us and our favourite thing to do with them - besides eat - is to break out the cards and play canasta. My inlaws taught me how to play but we didn't play very often. Being so far away meant games only when we were visiting maybe once a year. When we discovered that these particular Albertans knew how to play, we were in heaven. One Christmas holiday we stayed up until four in the morning, until we just couldn't play anymore.

This past week and a bit has seen us playing nearly every night. It is always boys against the girls and the boys got a head start. The girls have been slowly gaining ground. One night we had neighbours over, added another deck of cards and taught them to play. The only word for it, I think, is raucous. We had a fantastic time.

While the scorecard has shown the ladies at a disadvantage, personally I've just been having fun. I'm very competitive by nature, but that seems to disappear when playing with them. We just have a good time. We grumble and "whoop and holler" at each other and slap cards down when we make a particularly good play. I of course like coming out on top but at the end of the day it doesn't really matter.

We've also played a little bit of cribbage, but it's definitely been more...well...subdued. I am thinking of teaching them how to play 45's. I haven't played 45's in years - we used to play it when we went for card night at my sister and brother in law's when we were dating. We don't see my sister that often, so cards only happens once a year or so at their place. 45's tends to be a real Maritime game - no one I knew in Alberta had ever even heard of it. But it's a big deal here. My sister had a 45's tournament at her wedding shower. I do find it a bit more challenging - bidding and taking tricks takes a certain skill. We've been known to mix it up and play hearts now and again as well.

Do you guys have card games that you love? Are there some great games that I'm missing?

Donna's newest release is Montana, Mistletoe, Marriage with Patricia Thayer. It is now available at Eharlequin and on the Mills and Boon site.

Must Watch Friday - An Affair to Remember

Barbara Hannay joins us this Friday with a wonderful post on a classic: Ten reasons to watch An Affair to Remember again…

Have you ever asked yourself why you love romance? Were you born a romantic, or can you pinpoint influences in your life that have nudged you in this direction?

I’ve often thought that my love of romance started early, shaped by my imaginative and dreamy nature… and the very feminine world in which I grew up. I was the eldest of three girls, and my mother was one of four girls, and her sisters (my aunts) gave me all those wonderful girly books for birthdays and Christmas… the Anne Books, Little Women, Pollyanna, Seven Little Australians… all of these stories had romance at their heart.

And then there were the movies… Our family never had a television and I saw very few movies, so the movies I did see had a huge impact on me. One of these, viewed when I was very young, was An Affair to Remember…

I saw this on a Christmas visit to Sydney, and I was only seven, turning eight. My aunt took me to see it, and I always found going out with her quite fascinating. Our excursions invariably included going to a café for afternoon tea, and she would have a cigarette afterwards, and then, while sitting at the table, she’d reapply her lipstick and powder her nose. My mum didn’t do any of those things, certainly not in public.

And it was in this fascinating context that An Affair to Remember wrapped itself around my tender, young heart and sent down very strong roots.

For those of you too young to know, this is the movie that is referred to in Sleepless in Seattle. Apparently there was an even earlier version and there has been a more modern remake called Love Affair, but in my opinion this isn’t anywhere near as good as the version with Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr.

Of course, when I became a romance author I had to watch this movie again (you can buy it in supermarkets and I reckon it’s a worthwhile investment). I wanted to work out why the movie left such a deep impression on me. I’m always trying to examine exactly how romance stories work their magic.

(BTW, there are spoilers here, but this movie is so well known, I’m guessing it doesn’t matter. You could know every line by heart and still cry.)

So why do I love An Affair to Remember? Let me tell you ten reasons…

1) There’s an excellent cute meet. Two urbane and beautiful people (both engaged to someone else ) – international playboy, Nicky Ferranti, and night club singer-cum-kept woman, Terry McKay – meet on a luxury liner and exchange witty retorts shimmering with thinly veiled flirtation. I love the fact that she has the upper hand.

"My mother told me never to enter a man's room in months ending in ‘r’."

2) Right from the very start the sexual tension between this couple jumps off the screen.

3) The characters have just enough depth. We learn through deftly handled dialogue over several scenes, about Terry’s difficult family background. We also discover a completely new side to Nicky when their ship calls into port in the south of France. He and Terry visit his grandmother. (I do love a bad boy who’s lovely to his grandmother.) In this scene there’s also a warning about a test for Nicky’s character that will come in the future.

His grandmother says: "Sometimes I'm frightened that life will present a bill to Nicolo one day, that he will find hard to pay." We in the audience know this is an omen of bad things to come, that will almost certainly involve Terry.

4) The setting of this pivotal scene is visually stunning and super romantic. All my life, I’ve remembered Deborah Kerr kneeling in the grandmother’s private chapel… as well as her gorgeous home and garden beside the sea, and that hauntingly beautiful music… and the moment with the shawl…

5) The turning points are clearly signalled. OK, this might sound corny to you, but I love it when Terry says to Nicky: "We're heading into a rough sea, Nicky."And he replies: "I know. We changed our course today."

These lines are said back on the ship, after the beautiful interlude at the grandmother’s, during which the movie’s lovely and famously haunting theme song is played and sung. We know Terry and Nicky have fallen in love and that their pre-existing relationships are now in jeopardy.


6) The characters have well motivated goals. Inspired by his new love, the hero wants to turn his life around. Not only will he extract himself from his loveless engagement to a wealthy heiress, Nicky now has new goals to earn money as a painter and to prove to Terry that he loves her and is worthy of her.

7) The movie proves my editor is right. My editor never wants me to have too many pages in which the hero and heroine aren’t together, taking centre stage. And the next part of this movie demonstrates why. You actually feel quite deflated once the couple are parted. The dazzle leaves the screen. Luckily this is saved by…

8) A ticking clock! We know that Nicky and Terry plan to meet in six months’ time at the top of the Empire State building, and we get glimpses of how both characters are working towards their goals during this time. We’re desperate for them to get together again.

9) A really big black moment. Tragedy strikes when Terry is knocked down by a taxi on her way to keep this important appointment. Nicky never knows why she doesn’t turn up. He waits for her till midnight. (sigh)

10) A tear jerker ending. I believe everything about this movie’s ending works to bring a lump to the throat.

But why stop at ten, when the movie has SO MUCH MORE?

11) The drawn out tension in which we will Nicky to find out that Terry’s in a wheelchair. Or for her to make contact and tell him.

12) The fact that it’s Christmas.

13) More tension!!!!!!!!!!!! During his arrival at her flat, still not knowing the truth about her accident.

14) The gift of the grandmother’s shawl, sent for Terry after the grandmother’s death. … ‘So that’s why my letters came back unanswered.’

15) The pain in Nicky’s face when he learns the truth. (Cary Grant does this moment perfectly, and this is where the modern remake falls down completely.)

16) And then that line: ‘If it had to be one of us, why did it have to be you?’

Barbara Hannay’s October release for Harlequin Romance is The Bridesmaid’s Baby, the second book in her Baby Steps to Marriage duet.

Thursday Talk Time: Tips for Aspiring Authors

Lyn Cote shares some of her tips on How to Become a Published Author

Many readers are interested in how becoming published actually happens. The business of publishing is one that most people have no working knowledge. I know I didn't. The thing to keep in mind is that it is better to educate yourself instead of making a costly mistake.
Here are a few tips:
1-Never pay a publisher or agent to publish your book. A publisher who charges more than a setup fee is called a vanity press. They aren't scams but all they do is print the book, nothing else. Unless you have a large group who are ready to buy it (For example, a family history that you've researched and is wanted by extended family members), don't choose this route lightly. You could end up with a garage full of books and disappointment.

Same for an agent. No reputable agent charges a writer. A reputable agent only makes money when they have sold one of your manuscripts to a publisher. They usually receive 15% of what the author is paid. And the writer's checks usually go to the agent first so it pays to find an HONEST agent.

2-Take time to browse in a bookstore and see what books are similar to yours. Who is publishing them? Find out more about these publishers.
3-Google your type of book (for instance, mystery+publishers) and see what results comes up.
4-Don't believe what your mother or best friend say about your writing. I write for the inspirational market which has a lower sensuality level and an inspirational theme. If you're interested in what a submission to a publisher is like. Drop by my website and click the Christian Book Publishers Page and scroll down to Moody Publishers. And read what they want in a submission. It's pretty much a good description.
5-Join local, regional and online writing groups and forums. Again, just google and you'll find many.
6-Finally, realize that most writers write an average of five books before publishing though a few have written as many as twelve. Do you have what it takes to weather disappointment and rejection? That comes with the territory.

After over 10 years of frustration and rejection, my first romance, Never Alone, was published in 1998 and was part of the new Love Inspired line for Steeple Hill, an imprint of Harlequin/Silhouette. To learn more about these books, drop by my website.

Hope my tips on publishing helps you or someone you know. Happy writing!

Okay?
Lyn Cote
Her Inheritance Forever, 8-18-09
http://strongwomenbravestories.blogspot.com
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