My guest is historical paranormal author, Brooklyn Ann. Her topic is one that many writers have struggled with--being organized. How does one keep track of those great snippets of ideas that come to us a midnight-thirty when we're just falling asleep or organizing different story lines and the stray scene that pops into our head--usually when both hands are involved with something else.
Organization, it’s a horrifying, mystifying word of which I
can barely grasp the meaning. One thing I know for sure is that it’s a
necessary evil.
One author friend has a notebook filled with story ideas.
Another has spreadsheets and all sorts of things to organize everything from
stories to workout schedules. Others focus on one project at a time with the
tenacity of a bloodhound. And some just seem to wing it.
I long to be more organized, but my cluttered house and the
toxic waste dump of my car's interior seem to indicate that I'll never be an
orderly person. However, there is still a method to my madness. I do have a
notebook, though no one but me will likely ever make sense of it. The pages
contain everything from random scenes, quickly jotted notes indecipherable to
all but myself, to do lists, rough synopses, etc.
A little more sensible are my files dedicated to each series
I'm working on. I have one for my historical paranormal series, one for my New
Adult paranormal series, one for my contemporary rock star novellas, and
another for random ideas. Each time I have a new idea or a quick scene pop into
my head, I do my best to put them in their corresponding file.
Little by little, each "project to be" becomes
more detailed and clear. One or two are usually close to actual books. Some are
the basic building blocks for a story. Most are still pretty fragmented and
incoherent.
Crazy as it is, this method seems to work best for me. I am
able to focus on whatever project needs the most attention as well as placate
my muse by assuring him or her that a new idea will be addressed in the future.
However, things don't always work out and often I forget
ideas before I can get them typed up. Especially when an idea comes when I'm
trying to sleep. For that, I wish I had some device in which a notebook, pen,
& flashlight are mounted on the wall by the bed w' chains so I can write
them down and not worry about forgetting it in the morning.
- How organized are you? What methods do you use to keep track of your projects?
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Brooklyn Ann
London's Lord Vampire Has Problems
Dr. John Polidori's tale "The Vampyre" burst upon the Regency scene along with Mary Shelley's Frankenstein after that notorious weekend spent writing ghost stories with Lord Byron.
A vampire crazy broke out instantly in the haut ton.
Now Ian Ashton, the Lord Vampire of London, has to attend tedious balls, linger in front of mirrors, and eat lots of garlic in an attempt to quell the gossip.
If that weren't annoying enough, his neighbor, Angelica Winthrop has literary aspirations of her own and is sneaking into his house at night just to see what she can find.
Hungry, tired, and fed up, Ian is in no mood to humor his beautiful intruder...Excerpt
A lover of witty Regencies and dark paranormal
romance, Brooklyn Ann combines the two in her new vampire series.
The former mechanic turned author lives with her family in Coeur d' Alene, Idaho.
She can be found online at http://brooklynann.blogspot.com as well as on twitter and Facebook.
