The first time we saw them was through a break in the snow clouds north of Tromso and it was actually quite an emotional moment. Then We were so lucky to have a couple of brilliant sunny cold days once we got above the Arctic Circle between Tromso and Kirkenes, Kirkenes and then back down the coast towards Tromso.

We took about 400 shots so still working through them, but I did decide one thing – The lights are impossible to photograph properly.

The exposure time has to be about 8 to 20 seconds to pick up the colour against the night sky – but the really stunning lights appear as a huge band of flickering green and red light which runs across the sky like a streamer – and only lasts 3 or 4 seconds before changing and shifting into another curtain shape or plume.

Add to that the fact that you are standing on the deck of a moving ship at about minus 10 to minus 15C with a wind that cut through my down coat and windproof ski pants in about a minute. So you cannot stand outside long before having breaks. At one point I had a nose bleed from the cold and felt that my eyeballs were freezing.

But well worth it.

Best thing to do is simply watch and enjoy. It was so spectacular.

Overall it was a total adventure and like nothing we had done before.

Husky dog rides, ice hotel, leaning into the wind at Cape Nord looking over to North Pole. Brilliant. Now all I have to do is get my head back to work.

Yes. Right.

Patience and understanding is a gift of the virtuous… well that rules me out then.

Instead I shall point them in future to this great post by young adult author Tahereh Mafi whose first book, ‘Shatter Me’ sounds amazing. Thank you Tahereh. I could not have put it better myself.

I have just passed my first anniversary on ‘Taking the Call’ from my publisher telling me that they wanted to buy my book.

In my mind I am a complete newbie to this amazing and challenging world of creative fiction which other people will – hopefully – want to read.

Yesterday I came across a brilliant, poignant and oh -so -true article by Stephanie Rowe about the importance of not letting the world and life crush your joy and satisfaction in creating the fictional world. Many thanks to Sia McKye for linking to it.

FINDING THE JOY resonated quite deeply with me, since there are times when it is tough to get out of bed in the morning and head for your pc and expect your brain to create something magical.

This is human nature and certainly not unique to writers. Many people have jobs where they wonder why happened to the joy and satisfaction they once hard in their work – off-days happen to us all.

But other people tend to think that being a full time writer truly is ‘living the dream’ and they are right. And there are consequences of living that dream. No gain without pain.

Key Take Away for me?

FIND THE JOY. Then FIND THE JOY again. The keep on FINDING THE JOY – even if it means grinning madly to yourself each and every morning when you remember that you are not going to be living in a cube office in a room without windows for the next 8 hours.

Those of you who have met me in person know that sticking a big silly grin on my face does not come hard – but I also come from a business background and know that this is a serious business where you have to deliver, and keep on delivering the goods to your publisher who are there to make profit. Not a charity to cater to your needs. An international professional business who have wages to pay in a tough market. Books are luxuries to our readers.

The challenge is to Make the effort to Find the Joy in the creative Process which will carry you through the other 90% which surrounds the production of a book from the words you are typing.

Big smile. Find the Joy. Create some magic.

Go on. We both know you can do it.

Stephanie Rowe is a four time RITA finalist. Known for her high octane paranormal romances, her new romantic suspense, ICE, is her first foray into romantic suspense. Her chilling and sexy Alaska series hits the shelves this month, and has received high accolades from such publications as Publishers Weekly. For more info, see www.stephanierowe.com

I chose my very best ‘Hero of the Galaxy’ T-shirt for the occasion – ‘Be there or be Zapped.’

The sun was shining and Julie was resplendent with magenta hair streaks and a fun rock girl T-shirt.

POW!! Who needs the new Dan Brown when you can have the author signing your book for you?

Can’t see Dan Brown wearing a fun T-shirt to sign books and mix with his fans. Can you?

And was it fun? You judge for yourself. Happy writing one and all.

When I grow up I want to be Jenny Crusie.

Donna Alward recently linked to an essay by Jenny Crusie on the life of a professional writer, but I have been drawn back to an excellent and challenging article she wrote on the process of choosing the best Literary Agent – starting with defining who YOU are as a writer, what you want and what your career plan is.

Of course every single person is different. I have met lovely wonderful writers through the RNA who would be horrified at the idea of book tours and media interviews and supermarket stocking their work. They love writing at their own pace. No pressure from hard business economics/deadlines etc – and this is brilliant and fine for them.

Other writers cannot wait to be up there in Tesco and Wallmart/Asda, and giving James Patterson and Dan Brown a good run for their money in the bestseller charts. And that is equally brilliant and fine.

Unless you know what you want up front how can you communicate that to an agent who you will be paying to help work with you on building your career and sell and promote your work to people and publishers who are going to invest in YOU for the long term?

And as Jenny says:

‘A good agent will look at your work and love it for what it is and foster your vision by making suggestions that enhance the story you need to tell.

A bad agent will look at your work and make suggestions that fit the trends of the time. The only way you’ll know the difference is if you know what your story is.

But knowing your story, yourself as writer, is not enough because once you sell a story, you take on a second career, this one in publishing. Writing and publishing are two entirely separate things, and you need to know who you are in both.’

As a newbie in this game, I think this is a crucial point which is not often discussed and well worth time considering. Once you sell a story, you DO take on a second – or third etc career.

Fascinating.

On other matters, over the last week have caught up with the new Star Trek movie. which is excellent IMHO, and InkHeart, which has been out for a while but I did enjoy it.  All food for the girls in the basement LOL.

This just about describes where I am with my current WIP.

For a newbie like myself, these can seem bewildering concepts which are only relevant to screenwriters and of no value to fiction writers.

Wrong.

What do you say when someone who is genuinely interested in you works asks the killer question ‘What’s the Story about?’ and 10 minutes later you are still giving him the backstory about the villian’s demonic mother in the Ukraine, and your potential agent/publisher/friend is desperately signalling to a colleague to find an excuse to get away from you.

Why?What do I need to know BEFORE I can create a compelling, and hopefully High Concept Compass Logline/Story Line for my latest bestseller?

Because you are boring, rambling, and worse, you have not answered the question.

Or, even worse, you are just getting into your stride on all of the research you completed on the causes of the Franco=Prussian War and – wait for it – there is no story because you are still looking for characters who can postulate your theory.
And in doing so you have just demonstrated that you are anything else EXCEPT a professional author.

AHHH! Career alert!

So. What is your Story About?

To me, I have to be able to give a simple answer like this -
My story is about someone [ your protagonist]….who strives for [goal]… and this stands in his way [ forces of opposition and antagonism].

WHO she is, WHAT she wants, and WHAT she is going to have to overcome to get it.

Examples?

For a short story it could be;

‘ Little Sarah, aged 4 and a half, is promised by her mother that she can have a chocolate ice cream, but first she has to eat her dinner vegetables. And they are ALL GREEN. Can she survive such horror?’
For a movie, how about;
‘Set in West Texas, a man on the run with a suitcase full of money is pursued by a number of individuals.’
Or ‘ When an attorney gets zapped by his son’s birthday wish, he learns that he can no longer tell a lie even when he tries, so he must now win the biggest case of his career by being honest.’

One sentence. A logline.

This is a SELLING TOOL for your work. The 30 second elevator pitch.

But what if you want a logline to keep YOU, the writer, on track during the writing and editing and re-writing. The paragraph you have taped to your PC monitor to remind you that this is what you are meant to be writing about?

For me, that is when the Logline becomes the Story Line. And it has to serve different functions.

Clearly states The Main Desire line for your hero which will drive the story from start to finish. This is the spine and passionate force in your story. Even for ice cream.
Sets up the Story Question. We know the tale is over when the Goal set out in the Desire line is achieved and the reader turns the last page.
Sets up the Character Arc for the protagonist.
The Unknown Screenwriter calls this his ‘COMPASS LOGLINE’ and provides this list of essential elements for an ‘High Concept’ Compass Logline:

• The Protagonist’s main character trait that begins his or her transformational arc.
• The Protagonist’s main function in the story.
• The main story conflict and the central question of the story.
• The Antagonist or forces of antagonism.
• The Protagonist’s goal and transformational arc.

I need to know who my Protagonist is.

What is she like? What are the character traits which make her unique and interesting. Her backstory and, most importantly, what motivates her to make the decisions she is taking in her ‘ordinary life’.

I need to know how my Protagonist will change by the end of the story- and why. I can then use this to focus on key aspects of my heroine’s character.

I need to know what the Inciting Incident is, and how this will create a compelling GOAL for my Protagonist which becomes the Story Question which will be answered by the end of the story.

What will she have to ENDURE on this journey?

Who or What is going to block my heroine from achieving her goal?

For me, I have to complete at least a first draft OUTLINE of my novel BEFORE I can answer these questions. The key turning points. A character bio for hero and her antagonist.
In some cases I have to write the first draft before I can answer these questions, since my ideas were still fluid at the Story Idea point.
I did not know HOW the character arc would be complete until my heroine took me there.
But I did have a basic Story Line from Day One.
I THEN use the extended logline to help during the revisions and editing.

PLUS I can use this one paragraph outline to create the perfect Back Cover Blurb for the book, and the extended selling material. Not a word wasted.

No one said this was easy…but, sheesh.

What am I listening to at this moment? Baroque Internet Radio

The Wire is fairly new to UK TV audiences, but here is the opportunity to Download several screenplays from old episodes for your education and delight.

Enjoy them here.

Happy writing.

My good news is that the editor ‘LOVES’ one of the story ideas that I pitched to them a few weeks back and thinks that it is a winner.

Ladies and Gentlemen.  I believe that I have a GO for a new book.

PHEWWW!! I am one relieved young lady, I can tell you. Details about the new contract are still to be agreed, but I am back in business and they are willing to take a risk on me. Again.

So – time to get back to work in earnest.

I have:

- the basic Story Plot Idea and broad outline synopsis/pitch – about 4 pages

- the setting and  a cunning plan to bring the hero and heroine together

- and crucially, I have my Hero and Heroine characters firmly in place, the backstory and visual images to work from.

So out come the BIG GUNS. And for me that means:

* Building up the character profiles. How do I SHOW the backstory through Reveals and demonstrations as opposed to introspection. Cue Key Reveal Scenes and Set Pieces.

* Huge amount of brainstorming around how to build even more layers into the deeply emotional scenario my poor heroine has to fight her way through – and then, the big one

* The Emotional Story Structure.  How to frame the emotional journey these two people are going to take into the most effective story possible in a few number of pages. Create a spine and plan the action/response plan etc. as they fall in love.

I have a new craft book to help me. I mentioned this in an earlier post, but I have found it a brilliant way of spinning my brain into Lateral Thinking and playing the ‘What If’ game.

EMOTIONAL STRUCTURE -Creating the Story Beneath the Plot – by Peter Dunne.

This is a dense book, packed with brilliant insights, written in an open format. Go here to read an extract using the new Google Browse system.

Yes, I know, I know, but when it comes to craft books and articles, I am very little will power.

But this. Is a fabulous book. Forget the fact that it was written for Screenwriters.

Screenwriters have about 100 pages to create their entire 2 hour film. And most of those pages have to be both plot and emotion driven, so this is where craft is crucial.

At the moment I am working my way throught it chapter by chapter, and have already added pages of new ideas and layers to my storyline. I already know that I will have a stronger story with much more emotional power by the end.

AND it has shown me that I already know a lot more about my characters than I had orginally thought.

So all I have to do is mentally process all of this info, digest it, then create a wonderful story. GULP.

But for now, I will leave you with a spic of my new Hero: FINN. Please excuse the drool.

I never cease to be amazed by the generosity of romance authors and the romance community as a whole.

Over the years I have been enormously grateful to the many authors who have added Writing Tips on their websites or through their blogs, but there are many, many resources out there.

For example:

*Romance Divas have a wonderful library of workshops from experts in all parts of the business – try their Blog for more, although you need to register.

 *All about Romance series of Masterclass articles on just about anything you could ask about,

* Romantic Times Resource Articles,

and the expert articles on E-Harlequin.

All free, gratis and for nothing but love of the genre.

Brilliant! And I try and study and learn a new aspect every single week.

So I was delighted that Trish Wylie is running a Workshop through her Blog. Trish has some EXCELLENT notes for Category Romance on her Website which I have found to be very useful indeed.  Not to be missed.

The only problem? I am supposed to be revising, and the more I read all of this great stuff, then look at my revisions…. I think that I had better get back to it.