Posted: November 19, 2009 | Author: Tracy Beltran | Filed under: Writing about Writing | Tags: actors, digital. twilight, new moon movie, Old movies, reading, wizard of oz, Writing |
Most writers are avid readers. They have a love for the written word that pulls them to paper and pen or more precisely in this day and age, to the keyboard. The computer has become an extension of ourselves and we are as comfortable with it as we are with our remote controls and driving a car.
Other people may have a similar love for movies or theater and take up acting to be a part of the world they love. Would the writer and reader be more visually perceptive than the actors and theater people? Which group would likely have a deeper level of imagination?
I don’t believe there is any right or wrong answer. My husband is certainly a movie person and I swear there are dozens of characters living in his head. My best friend and sister are both the same way while also being creative and talented authors. My husband doesn’t read at all. I read my novels to him. Reading the books aloud also helped me to edit as I read.
Now, let’s talk about you. Are you a movie person? A book person? Is there a hidden actor or author within you? Maybe all of the above? If you’re a mixture of both, do you read the book and then go see the movie? If you see the movie, do you refuse to touch the book? Are you at the point where you watch movies or read books on your computer or on a handheld device such as Kindle, or game systems such as PSP. Would you read a book or watch a movie on your phone?
The line between pen and paper and the keyboard as well as the silver screen and the digital world are all blurring together faster than I can keep up!
Claire Collins is the author of the romantic suspense novels Images of Betrayal and Fate and Destiny, both available from Second Wind Publishing, LLC.
Posted: May 8, 2009 | Author: Tracy Beltran | Filed under: Humor, Life | Tags: addictions, art, author, books, characters, cheerios, Claire collins, diet, fun, funny, Humor, Novels, options, reading, Second wind, smoking, Writing |
On April Fool’s day of this year, I quit smoking. I found the date to be very fitting since I was a smoking fool for over 21 years. Yes, I was barely out of the womb when I started. I was young and stupid. Those were the good ol’ days.
So I traded my nicotine addiction for a new vice.
I’m now addicted to Cheerios.
I’ve tried to quit smoking four times in the last two years. I gained forty pounds trying to quit. This time, I grab cheerios when I get a craving.
I love Cheerios. Do you realize how many kinds of Cheerios there are? Apple cinnamon, strawberry yogurt burst, multi-grain, honey nut… the list goes on and on. http://www.cheerios.com/ourcereals/ourcereals_home.aspx
The worst part of my new addiction is holding the cheerio while I light it on fire and inhale.
Posted: May 3, 2009 | Author: Tracy Beltran | Filed under: Second wind | Tags: author, authors, books, characters, Claire collins, editing, murder, mystery, name, Novels, people, reading, recognition, Research, Second wind, terms, Writing |
Interview with:
Claire Collins [clairecollins]![[clairecollins] Claire Collins](http://www.whohub.com/_pics/thumb_12472#1241373895)
WRITING
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What did you first read? How did you begin to write? Who were the first to read what you wrote?
My love of reading and writing began before I started elementary school. It’s always been a part of me. As an adult, I put that love aside for several years while I started my family. When the children got old enough, I once again turned some of my attention to writing.
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What is your favorite genre? Can you provide a link to a site where we can read some of your work or learn something about it?
I don’t have a favorite genre to read or write. I read anything and everything. So far, I have written mostly romantic suspense novels because that’s been the mood I’ve been in lately. I also have ideas for straight suspense and a twist on the romance.
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What is your creative process like? What happens before sitting down to write?
I don’t have much of a process. Whenever I can find some quiet free time, I tend to sit down, open a manuscript and start typing. The story evolves as I write. When I’m unable to sit and write, the details of the story are working their way through my mind while I’m driving, cleaning, shopping, or working.
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What type of reading inspires you to write?
I don’t think reading inspires me to write. My brain is overactive and doesn’t seem to need a lot of stimulus to come up with an idea.
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What do you think are the basic ingredients of a story?
Beginning, middle, and end. Strong plot and subplots. Likeable characters and realistic situations. The reader has to be involved in the story and they need to care about what happens and they should feel fulfilled at the conclusion.
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What voice do you find most to your liking: first person or third person?
I’ve written in both. I don’t have a preference. It depends on what the story calls for.
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What well known writers do you admire most?
Do they have to be well known? I admire anyone who has had the will and determination to create a quality novel-length manuscript whether they are famous or not.
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What is required for a character to be believable? How do you create yours?
Characters come in all shapes and sizes. They have every personality trait imaginable. Wow, so do real people. Just like real people, my characters have an entire life even though I may only tell the reader about a small piece of that life. They are born, have siblings and parents. They are creatures of their environment. They aren’t perfect and they don’t pretend to be. They are the same as normal people the reader knows. Mine start as a glimmer of a person and then they tell me their life story.
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Are you equally good at telling stories orally?
Actually, I am horrible at telling stories in person. I talk too fast and blurt out too many clues or I skip too much. Writing it all out is so much better because I can edit myself before anyone else knows the story!
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Deep down inside, who do you write for?
I write for myself. It feels good. It’s also a nice boost when readers come back and tell me they loved my books. There’s no other feeling in the world like that.
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Is writing a form of personal therapy? Are internal conflicts a creative force?
Writing is absolutely a form of personal therapy. Parts of my personal life are dispersed throughout the pages of my novels.
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Does reader feed-back help you?
Of course! When someone reads the book and tells me they enjoyed it or if they ask what I have coming out next, I get a thrill.
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Do you participate in competitions? Have you received any awards?
I have participated in the past and my first novel “Fate and Destiny” was chosen as an editor’s pick and made it to the top 25 semi-finals. I have also received excellent feedback from other contests.
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Do you share rough drafts of your writings with someone whose opinion you trust?
I have at least 4 people who always read my drafts as I write. They tell me what works, what doesn’t and always help me over the humps when I get stuck. These people are as valuable as the final readers.
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Do you believe you have already found “your voice” or is that something one is always searching for?
I think my voice changes with every book. Each book is unique and my voice changes with the characters and plot.
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What discipline do you impose on yourself regarding schedules, goals, etc.?
My life is too hectic and busy to impose schedules on myself. I fit writing in whenever I can.
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What do you surround yourself with in your work area in order to help your concentrate?
My work area changes with my mood. Sometimes I’m sitting at my desktop pc and other times I’m roaming around with my laptop.
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Do you write on a computer? Do you print frequently? Do you correct on paper? What is your process?
It’s all on the computer. I have a reader who prints everything off. With my first book, I printed it and marked it up with a red pen. With the second book, it was easier to edit on the computer.
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What sites do you frequent on-line to share experiences or information?
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What has been your experience with publishers?
I submitted a ton of queries and hunted for publishers before I was picked up by a small publisher called Second Wind Publishing. www.secondwindpublishing.com
My experience with my publisher has been fantastic. The people are great and I’ve watched the company grow. It’s an incredible journey. |
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What are you working on now?
My next novel is called “Seeds of September”
In 1956, Tommy Benson left the plains of Kansas for a new start in California. Little did he know when he started driving down Route 66 that his childhood friend Lainey had stowed away in his truck. Seeds of September relates the story of Tommy and Lainey’s life together through fifty years of joys and sorrows and an everlasting love. |
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What do you recommend I do with all those things I wrote years ago but have never been able to bring myself to show anyone?
Take them out, dust them off, and read them. If you still love them, find someone else to read it. Submit it to contests and see what kind of feedback you get from an impartial audience.
If you don’t love them, either rewrite them or use them to inspire you to work on something new. Just don’t give up.
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Posted: April 10, 2009 | Author: Tracy Beltran | Filed under: Second wind | Tags: author, authors, books, characters, Claire collins, create, editing, Novels, people, reading, Second wind, Writing |
I want to share a little of what it’s like to be a part of Second Wind Publishing. We are so much more than a group of authors who share the same publisher. We are a collective bargaining team. We make decisions together and discuss options in our own private group. We read over each other’s work and share ideas on covers, plots, storylines. We each blog here and have input on our website. We swap marketing ideas and cross link to our personal websites. We share stories about our children, our jobs, our hopes, and disappointments. Second Wind isn’t a faceless corporation where the shareholders are raking in the dough and paying out overinflated royalties. We are small, friendly, and working for ourselves as well as each other.
Since we are the “little guys”, it’s up to us to promote ourselves and support each other. If you have a moment, go check the website to see what’s new. You may discover your next favorite author!
www.secondwindpublishing.com
Claire Collins is the author of Images of Betrayal and Fate and Destiny
www.secondwindpublishing.com
Posted: March 20, 2009 | Author: Tracy Beltran | Filed under: Life, Writing about Writing | Tags: author, Claire collins, impact, Novels, reading, Second wind, Writing |
I don’t want to write today.
I should and I could, but I won’t.
I don’t want to read today.
I should and I could, but I won’t.
My brain is tired today.
People are out of work and drowning in debt. Some folks have lost their homes and some are losing their sanity. I spend most of my life careening at a breakneck speed, adding too many things to my “I can do that” list. I’m not looking at that list today. Tomorrow, I will still have debt, an unfinished novel, edits to complete, and a to-do list. I will also still have my family, my job, and my house. I will have all of those things for many years to come.
My brain is tired today, but I will let it rest knowing that tomorrow is another day.
Claire Collins is the author of Images of Betrayal and Fate and Destiny
http://www.secondwindpublishing.com
Posted: September 22, 2008 | Author: Tracy Beltran | Filed under: Writing about Writing | Tags: authors, editing, Novels, reading, suspense, Writing |
The process of writing a novel, including the never-ending edits has forever changed the way I read someone else’s novel. Reading for pleasure is a new process. Instead of getting lost in a story, I find myself looking at the sentence structure, the grammar, and the descriptions. What techniques did the author use to make the characters believable or to allow me to see the scene in my mind? Are the things I imagine as I read the same thing the author intended for me to imagine?
One of my favorite things now is to ask my own readers what they ‘see’ as they read a certain scene or what they think my characters look like. My sister and I play a fun game where we find pictures of famous people who we think fit the parts in novels. Sometimes we pick similar people and sometimes we don’t.
After years of editing and re-writes, I find myself paying attention to the mechanics of writing in the books I read. If the author and I were both describing the same scene, would I have chosen the same word as the author? Would I have picked up on the same nuances as the author? Of course not. Each of us sees different things in the same scene. The mechanics of writing are fairly rigid while the style of writing is as different as each person. The key is to be able to separate the mechanics of the book from the story and determine why it works, or why it doesn’t.
I try to read for entertainment, but I catch myself rereading the paragraphs as I go along. The first read through is for enjoyment, and the second is to learn.
![[clairecollins] Claire Collins](http://www.whohub.com/_pics/12472.jpg#1241373895)
Claire Collins 