Showing posts with label on writing romance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label on writing romance. Show all posts

Thursday, September 15, 2022

Writing Slump? Me Too!

 


Life comes in seasons. Busy ones. Delightful ones. Then there are the seasons in which your creative well runs dry. Sigh. If you're in a creative drought, you're not alone. I'm in one as well. So for this month, let's chat about some ways to be creative when the muse has gone on vacation.

Don't Stress

First things first, this is completely normal. Anyone who has been writing for a while will tell you the same thing. There are times in which the words practically write themselves and then there are other times where the words run and hide. Don't stress yourself out about this. These droughts are temporary even if they tend to come at the worst times.

Chat Things Through With Your Writer Friends

Sometimes the only thing you need is one really good conversation with another creative type. Just about every writer I know loves to offer up story ideas, so running your story (or lack thereof) ideas by another writer can stir up possibilities you had never even considered before.

Take a Break

Sometimes your brain is trying to tell you that it needs a second to just exist. And it's perfectly okay if that second turns into a couple of weeks. While having a habit of writing daily is wonderful, sometimes our every day lives take up all of our creative juices leaving nothing left to create amazing story-verses with. So, if your brain is telling you to take a break, listen.

Go Outside

Nature is magical. Taking a long walk can stir up all kinds of the awesome ideas, not to mention it is a great way to destress. I highly recommend getting outside for a bit when you're feeling stuck whether it be pulling weeds in your garden to hiking a mountain, sometimes the thing you mind needs most is a little bit of everyday magic.


What is your favorite way to get unstuck when you're in a slump? Comment below! And as always, happy writing.


Friday, December 28, 2012

HOGMANAY by Nancy Lee Badger

Hogamanay celebration in Edinburgh, Scotland

While researching my Highland Games Through Time series, I filled binders with oodles of neat facts. I thought I would share a few things I learned about Hogmanay 

My books take place in both modern day New England as well as sixteenth century Scotland. Hogmanay (also spelled Hogamany or Hogamanay) is the Scots term for the last day of the year, the day we all now celebrate as New Year’ Eve.  Like many of us lucky enough to have the following day ‘off’, Hogmanay also includes celebrating all the way through the next day and, sometimes, through January 2nd.
 
When I looked deeper into the origin of Hogmanay, I found that many scholars believe that the holiday has its roots in ancient times when the Nordic tribes acknowledged the Winter Solstice, the Vikings enjoyed the Yule, and Scots celebrated Samhain.   

One of the first things I ever read was a folk tale that mentioned the first guest who walked across your home’s threshold after midnight on the last day of the year. Some call this first-footing. Since hubby and I usually head to bed once the ball drops in New York City (watched from our North Carolina home, where the split screen also shows the NC Acorn drop) we rarely think about whom the first person is that enters our home in the New Year. This year I will take note!  

I am still confused about what this first-footing person does for us. Further research says that the Scots exchange certain gifts, and what I read made me laugh. These gifts include salt, coal, shortbread (yum), and fruit cake (yuck). 

Then I came across an interesting tidbit that mentioned another gift the Scots share with their neighbors on Hogmanay…whisky! Now, that is a Scottish tradition worth continuing! 

Happy Hogmanay!
Nancy Lee Badger

More About the Author

Nancy Lee Badger loves chocolate-chip shortbread, wool plaids wrapped around the trim waist of a Scottish Highlander, the clang of dirks and broadswords, and the sound of bagpipes in the air. After growing up in Huntington, New York, and raising two handsome sons in New Hampshire, Nancy moved to North Carolina where she writes full-time. Nancy is a member of Romance Writers of America, Heart of Carolina Romance Writers, Fantasy-Futuristic & Paranormal Romance Writers, and the Celtic Heart Romance Writers. Nancy and her family volunteer each fall at the New Hampshire Highland Games and she is a proud Army Mom.
Find out more at: 
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Latest Release:  My Banished Highlander
Series: Book #2 of the Highland Games Through Time
Genre: Scottish Time Travel Romance
Length: 82,000 word Novel
 
Buy Links:
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Also available in PRINT!