November 2019 – Page 4 – Write From Karen

I love romance.

Well, I love to read/write romance, I don’t like romance in real life. I mean, I DO, but for about two seconds and then I’m like, “what’s for dinner?”

So I laughed out loud at Jenna’s Fictional Romance pet peeves because – YES. Some of the cookie cutter romance out there (which, cookie cutter implies it’s all the same – see where I’m going with this?) is EXACTLY the type of stories Jenna makes fun of here.

Also. I LOVE/LOVE/LOVE how she is not a fan of Valentine’s Day because you should show love every day, not just one day. Where have I heard that before?

(*hint* Me. I say that all the time).

So romance writers, take note. These romance faux pas are real and HIGHLY annoying.

NaNoWriMo update: I”m at 1915 words thus far. I actually started writing TODAY. I meant to write something last night but I was just so brain dead, I couldn’t be bothered. I plan on continuing to write as much as I can stomach today and tomorrow as I would like to give myself as much wiggle room as I can before the workweek starts back up again. I think finding the mental wherewithal to write is my biggest challenge. I can write nonsense and I can write a lot of nonsense, but finding the mental energy is sometimes too much for me. I put so much mental energy into my day job that I just don’t have any left over for anything else by the end of the day. So. My writing schedule – I think I can write every day save for Tuesday/Thursday. I usually work late those nights to get things caught up at work so I’m ahead of the game and not stressing the small stuff. That is my goal this month – to write every night but Tuesday/Thursday – or give myself permission NOT to write those days. In addition, we’re hosting Thanksgiving dinner this year for Kevin’s entire family, so I will need to carve out some time to give the house a good cleaning as well. I hope you’re coming along with your NaNoWriMo project! I’ve decided to open comments here/there so feel free to let me know how your NaNoWriMo project is going.

Or feel free to comment on Jenna’s video!

Characters.

You can’t have a story without them.

Well. I guess you could, but wow, what a boring story. A story without characters would be like watching paint dry, or the leaves dance in the wind, or your nails grow.

But if you’ve been reading for any length of time, you will notice that cookie cutter characters DO appear in most of the stories that you read. Jenna does a really good job of summarizing the annoying stereotypes for you for both female and male characters.

One reason I really like this writer is because she doesn’t mince words – she calls it like she sees it.

And that’s how I tend to write my characters, too. They are gritty, nasty and generally assholes – with a heart of gold.

Now tell me that doesn’t sound like most of the people in your life.

Anyway, enjoy the videos. And avoid the characters Jenna talks about – unless I happen to write one of these characters into my story in which case, make an exception.