Spotlight Author with Alexa Bourne

Alexa Bourne is my guest today. She is a pre-published author who loves to help teach other writers the things she has learned along her journey to becoming published. I had the opportunity to take her class KILLER OPENINGS a couple of months ago and really enjoyed it. She is a great teacher and has a lot of knowledge and support to give to all of you writers out there! So here she is to share a little bit about herself, her writing, and her life with us.

Tell us a little about the classes you teach and why you decided to share your knowledge with other writers.

Actually, a couple of writer friends suggested I look into teaching online classes. I’m a teacher in my day job and those friends thought I might be interested in and good at teaching online classes. (Turns out I DO love it!)

Shortly after those conversations, I saw a request for class proposals and decided to explore what I might be able to teach. As I put the first proposal together, I started getting excited and started looking into other class ideas.

At the moment, I have 3 classes that I teach: Killer Openings (about the importance of the 1st line, 1st paragraph & 1st page), Contests: The Basics, and Finished That Manuscript…Now What? (about what the next steps should be once a writer finishes a manuscript). I taught Killer Openings for the first time in April and had a blast. I’ll be teaching Contests: The Basics next month through Hearts Through History. Here’s the blurb:
With so many writing contests out there and so many details to consider, it’s easy for a writer to be overwhelmed! Contests: The Basics will take students through the contest process, step-by-step---from choosing a contest, to preparing the entry, from dealing with the emotional aspects of “contesting” to deciphering the results. Students will leave class with a better understanding of the process and with a list of resources for making the most out of their contest experiences.


When you are writing, what is your process? Plotter or Panster?

Pantser, all the way. I get a scene idea and I run with it. I write a really, really, REALLY rough manuscript draft in one month. (After completing NaNoWriMo, I found I really enjoy that process.) This is where I learn about my characters and the plot ideas. I write the rough draft on paper, too. (I know, I’m one of the few!) After the rough draft, I go back and organize my plot and my characters’ GMCs. Then comes the next draft, which happens a bit more on computer. I usually go through 4-6 drafts. The last draft is actually me reading the entire book out loud. I find I can pick up missed words, misspellings, and awkward phrasing that way. Then once the manuscript is submitted, I spend 24 hours celebrating- watching a movie, shopping, having a margarita!- and then I get busy with the next story.

What is your favorite thing about writing romance?

I’m a sucker for a happy ending! I love watching two people who want nothing to do with each other learn to trust each other and fall in love. I love writing flawed characters that grab the readers from the first page. I figure there’s enough violence in the real world so I make sure justice is done and the hero and heroine are stronger together by the end of my manuscripts.
What is the hardest part about your job?

I write mostly romantic suspense, so the hardest part for me is achieving a balance between the romance and the suspense. Also, making sure all the suspense elements are logical, flow and are wrapped up by the end of the book.
What type of hero do you find irresistible?

Hot ones! LOL! Flawed, rough around the edges heroes. I like the ones whose words may be rough, but their actions are sweet and tender. For example, my current hero snaps at my heroine, but then she sees him gently playing with a puppy.

Do you have any advice or writing secrets for aspiring authors?

Don’t give up! You’ll never succeed if you quit!
For newer authors, finish your first manuscript before moving on. It’s so important to write THE END. For everyone, know when to say when. We could all keep revising the same chapter, partial, manuscript over and over, but there comes a point where you’ve got to let it go and start something new.

Where do you see yourself in five years?

I hope to be published! LOL! I’m working on building my own tutoring/editing/critiquing business, so I hope that is up and running well enough that I can stop teaching full-time. Other than that I really have no idea.

Where can we learn more about you, your writing, and your classes?

I have a website- www.alexabourne.com. There you can find out more about me, my manuscripts, and the classes I’ll be teaching. I also have a blog that I post to pretty regularly- http://alexabourne.blogspot.com. And I’m on Facebook!

Thank you so much, Micole, for having me!

It was my pleasure Alexa. Good luck with your classes as well as your journey to publishing.

See you back here next week.

Hugs

Micole

Mary Buckham visits Micole Writes Romance

I told you that I wanted to give back to all of my writing friends over the next couple of months. I am so excited about my guest!!! Today I have brought Mary Buckham and she is blogging about creativity as well as doing an a giveaway.

FIVE STEPS TO EMPOWER YOUR CREATIVITY

I’d like a share a few thoughts on creativity. Because being creative, and living our creativity, is at the heart of every writer.

“Every child is born an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.” – Pablo Picasso.

Were you aware that 90% of five-year olds see themselves as highly creative? That in itself is not amazing, but wrap your minds around the concept that by the age of seven, 80% of us who saw ourselves as creative no longer believe we are. That means only 10% of seven-year olds believe they are creative. By the time we reach our teens that number drops to 2% and remains fairly constant throughout our adult lives.

So if you’re a writer, or a painter, or sculptor, etc., count yourself among the few who have never, ever given up on a gift given to many, but realized by few.

To savor and honor that gift here are five steps to continue to empower your own creativity.

Step 1) Remove Creativity Killers. Sometimes the words are said by others, sometimes from within, so if you catch others, or yourself saying any of the following then you’ve run into a Creativity Killer. Follow the Rules. Don’t Ask Questions. It’s Hard. Be Practical. Be Serious. Think of [fill in the blank]. You Can’t Afford [fill in the blank]. Yes, but. You Don’t Have the Time. You Don’t Have the Money. Don’t Be Foolish. The list goes on and on. Great news is you don’t have to buy into the Creativity Killers.

Step 2) Develop a Creative Environment. You know best what spurs ideas, fuels your passion, creates energy. Is it color? Certain objects? A wide horizon? A secluded space? Honor your sacred creative space, whether it’s a desk top, a room or something else, and it will honor you. So take a good look at your working environment. Does it foster your creativity? If it doesn’t, how can you change it?

“A new idea is delicate. It can be killed by a sneer or a yawn; it can be stabbed to death by a quip and worried to death by a frown on the right man’s brow” – Charlie Bower

Step 3) Surround yourself by people who support you and challenge you to be the best at what you want to accomplish or do, not what they want you to accomplish or do. The more time you spend with creative people engaging in creative activities, the more creative you will become. Conversely, the more time you spend with nay-sayers or limited thinkers, the more time . . . you can fill in this answer. Who are you surrounding yourself with?

“Reaching new goals and moving to a higher level of performance requires change, and change feels awkward, but, take comfort in the knowledge that if a change doesn’t feel uncomfortable, then it’s probably not really a change.” John C Maxwell.

Step 4) Challenge yourself constantly and be willing to feel uncomfortable. Delight in exploring something new, something different for you. What have you done lately to push your comfort levels? To challenge yourself? When have you broken your routine? Driven a different route home or read in a genre different than the ones you usually read? When have you tasted a new cuisine? Explored a new location? Daily we’re given opportunities to push our limits, so what’s holding you back?

Step 5) Creative thinkers don’t fear failure. Why? Because they hold a different expectation of what failure means. Didn’t achieve what you had hoped for? For many this is considered a failure, but what if it meant something different? Any situation holds the seeds of new knowledge, self-awareness and new direction.

“The difference between average people and achieving people is their perception of and response to failure.” – John C Maxwell

Creativity requires a willingness to look stupid. It means getting out on a limb, knowing that the limb often breaks! And if it does, take that opportunity to spread your wings and fly!

So what about you? What does creativity mean to you? How have you faced the highs and the not-so-highs of being creative or wanting to feel creative? Feel free to comment and out of those who do comment one name will be drawn for a copy of BREAK INTO FICTION™: 11 Steps to Building a Story That Sells or a Fiction book of your choice depending on the genre you love.

Mary’s BIO:

Mary Buckham is an award-winning fiction writer, co-author with Dianna Love of BREAK INTO FICTION: ™: 11 Steps to Building a Story That Sells from Adams Media, co-founder of www.WriterUniv.com and a highly sought after instructor both on-line and at live workshops around the country. To find out more about Mary, her Manuscript, Synopsis and Query help, her Lecture Packets, Workshops and Writing projects visit www.MaryBuckham.com

Thank you Mary for all of the great creative advice, and thank you readers!!!!

Happy writing and being creative! ;-)

Micole