Terescia’s thoughts and such on writing romantic fiction for publication.

I’ve let myself become slack in my keyboarding skills and lately, I’ve noticed a distinct backward trend in my ability to type a coherent word.

I don’t know if it’s because I get so excited with my ideas or that my mind just goes too fast for my fingers to keep up, but I have become overly dependent on the backspace key.

So, I’m relearning to type. If that’s something you can actually do, that is. I sure hope so. I think my writing sessions at the keyboard would be greatly improved if I could keep up a little better with the words flowing out of my mind.

I’ve gone to typeonline.co.uk and am using the typing practices.

Apparently I type anywhere from 44 words per minute to 68 words per minute, with anywhere from 1 to 14 errors. Ouch. No wonder I get frustrated when I’m typing! I’m really not that good at it.

LIE BY MOONLIGHT

By Amanda Quick

I don’t know if I’m mentioned it here before (but if you’ve seen my website, you know this bit of trivia, oh yes, you do), but I adore Amanda Quick novels. :-)

I read the excerpt for Lie By Moonlight in the back of The Paid Companion and I’ve had the almost uncontrollable urge to go out and buy the hardback. There was a day when I would have, no doubt, but these days, with the new house on the rise, I can’t afford hardbacks. I’m lucky I can afford paperback right now! No joke.

Anyway, I received the email from Jayne Ann Krentz’s newsletter that Lie By Moonlight was out in paperback a couple of days ago, so the next time I hit Wal-Mart (or it hits me), I intend to pick up a copy of the book.

Reading is supposed to be a good way to deal with stress, right?

I’ve been writing more articles lately, relative to fiction, and I’ve noticed a transition back to Microsoft Word. For all my website coding and page building, I continue to use NoteTab, and I adore EverNote for jotting notes and ideas, but for some reason I find myself scared to actually write in the program. Maybe I don’t fully trust its capabilities yet.

I write fiction exclusively in WriteWay Pro. It’s a good program that fits my needs in that area of writing.

Word, on the other hand, lets me write articles quickly. I don’t have to sacrifice time with the spell check because I keep the autocorrect turned on and the squiggly lines let me know when something I’ve spelled is questionable. The grammar check gives me notice that I might need to take a second look at a sentence or paragraph. I don’t always follow the advice it gives, but it helps eliminate work in the editing phase.

My point here is don’t let yourself get caught in a rut, using programs that aren’t the best programs for any given task. Each has strengths and weaknesses. Take advantage of them.

I spent some time with Kate Walker recently, asking her lots of writerly questions for this interview. She was kind enough to answer each thoroughly, so don’t pass up this opportunity to learn from such a gifted and productive author. :-)

TERESCIA: You’ve written a book for writers called Kate Walker’s 12 Point Guide to Writing Romance. I haven’t read it but I know you know what you’re talking about because you’ve written over 40 books for Harlequin.

What led you to write this book? Did you see a need for this kind of book, or did you just have a need to write down some of the knowledge and experience you’ve gained as you’ve written all those books?

KATE: Well, Terescia, that total of books for Harlequin Presents is now over 45 - so I hope I do know what I’m talking about by now. :) In the 20+ years I’ve been published, I’ve talked to a lot of writers - and a lot more people who want to be writers. I’ve also held many workshops, done talks, spoken at conferences etc. And what I’ve learned is that there are some questions about writing romance that just keep coming back and back. Questions that get asked each time I do a workshop.

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I’m having a chat about blogging right now over in the wewriteromance.com chat rooms. It doesn’t matter if you’re an author or a reader, we’d love to have you as a guest, sharing your viewpoint on blogging!

Jo Ann Ferguson is on the WeWriteRomance.com forums, posting about writing this week. If you’re interested in writing romance novels, you should definitely take a look. It’s free, so don’t pass it up.

Jo Ann Ferguson writes under her own name and under the pseudonyms J.A. Ferguson and Jocelyn Kelley.

The writing workshop is in the WeWriteRomance.com forums.