nanowrimo newbie

I signed up for nanowrimo. I figure the very worst thing that could happen is that I drop out half way and then I've still produced more writing than I usually do.

I'll be working on my new WIP Heart of Shadow. It's historical romance noir set in mid-Victorian London, featuring a hero tortured by his wife's suicide and a heroine masquerading as a spirit medium. I'm going to tie-in a character from my previous unfinished WIP Heart of Ash, so it can be the second in the series.

To prepare I used a variation on Erica Ridley's story boarding technique (speaking of Erica Ridley, she is all over the contest winners section of RWA's latest Romance Writers Report--go Erica!).

I also tried a new technique for my historical research. Probably everyone else has already discovered this. I assembled all of my character and historical research into a PowerPoint presentation. That way, when I'm writing and need a historical detail, say about what brand of cigars my hero smokes, I don't have to go searching through all of my electronic notes, I simply open up my PP presentation and flip to the slide titled "Cigars." It's a great way to incorporate photos as well. I have slides for each house in the book with photos and layout diagrams. I really had difficulty keeping track of all my research before. I'm hoping this will keep it all in one place and easily accessible.

So is anyone else doing nanowrimo this year? If so, please buddy me here.

The next big name in romance is...

...Tessa Dare! She just got The Call. And not just any call. She's a first time author who started a bidding war. Almost unheard of. I'm so thrilled and happy for her. She's talented, sweet, giving, extremely hard-working, and guaranteed to have a meteoric rise to fame. This doesn't come as a surprise to anyone who voted for Tessa's stories during FanLit. She's the real deal. I wish her the very best of luck and I cannot wait to see her Goddess series at Powell's City of Books.

Congratulations, Tessa!