By Cheyenne Blue (Guest Blogger)
I’ve been a fan of Lisabet’s
writing for a long, long time. So I’m very happy to be here on her
blog today. Thanks, Lisabet!
If you’re like me, you read a lot of
other writers’ blogs. I’m often in awe of their productivity and
word counts. Write every day. Write often. Write all the time.
Write 1,000 words a day. 1,000? That’s for pussycats. 10,000 is
more like it! There are books a-plenty telling us how to increase
our word counts, and outline our novels.
Then there are productivity tools:
Scrivener, Write or Die, Evernote, editorial calendars, Focus
Booster. I use Write or Die when I’m desperate, and I’m easing
my way into Scrivener, but basically I use good ol’ unembellished
Word.
Writers talk about the importance of
keeping the bum on the seat, turning off Twitter, letting the laundry
pile up until you have no clean knickers left, because what is more
important than The Muse? A writer’s life is a driven one, and
sometimes I get the impression that to be a Proper Writer you need to
write all the time, and when you’re not writing you’re reading a
book about writing, boning up on the esoteric features of Scrivener,
thinking about writing, or studying strangers, family, and friends so
that you can write about them later.
Obviously this works for some people,
but it doesn’t work for me – not on a constant basis. Yes,
sometimes I’m like that, but not every day, every week, every
month. When I’ve got a deadline, or I’m sucked into a story such
that it consumes me, then yes, my bum is welded to that seat with the
best of them.
I’ve got an upcoming story in
Cowboy
Heat: Western Romance for Women, an anthology of erotic
cowboy stories edited by Delilah Devlin, which will be released by
Cleis Press in June 2014. My story, “Cowboy Downtime” is about
what cowboys do to relax. Because it’s not all roping and branding
and mustering and feeding and fencing. My cowboys, Mel and Jake,
play polocrosse for sport, a rugged Australian-invented game played
on horseback that’s a million miles away from the refined English
version of polo. Relax they do. ;)
Like Mel and Jake, writers need
downtime. I sure as hell do. I need to turn my brain off from words
and how they sound and what they mean. I need time away from the
computer, from writing, blogging, tweeting, reading, time to rest my
eyes and let my brain sink down into a peaceful blue mist of
relaxation. I also need time to work at my other job, and time to
spend with my loved ones. Time to keep fit, to look after my
health, to recharge with the beauty of landscape around me. Time to
laugh with friends, eat good food, and watch Battlestar Galactica
for the third time. Time for a glass (or three) of wine and a whole
packet of Tim Tams.
This life experience, this downtime, is
a large part of what keeps people fresh, and I think it holds true
whether you’re a cardiologist saving lives or an erotica writer
saving sex lives.
Sure, you can swing the other way and
there is such a thing as too much downtime. I could procrastinate for
Queensland when I’m in the mood, but sometimes I need to go down
the beach and jump in the surf. Or grocery shopping.
We’re writing about life – make
sure you’re having one somewhere in there.
Finally, just to prove it’s not all
about the downtime, I’m dropping in my current Call for
Submissions. I hope that some of you productive (and
non-procrastinating) writers will send me a story.
Cheyenne Blue
Cheyenne
Blue’s erotica has appeared in over 90 erotic anthologies since
2000 and she’s still going. She lives and writes by the beach in
Queensland, Australia. Visit her website at
http://www.cheyenneblue.com
or find her on Twitter @iamcheyenneblue
Forbidden
Fruit: stories of unwise lesbian desire
Publisher:
Ladylit
(www.ladylit.com)
Deadline:
15 May 2014
Payment:
US$40.00 plus a copy of e-book and paperback
Rights:
First worldwide digital rights and print rights.
Forbidden
Fruit. She’s off limits but the attraction burns so bright it’s
impossible to resist.
Cheyenne
Blue is seeking stories of lesbian passion on this theme. Think
teacher and student. A best friend’s ex—or current—lover. A
monogamous couple tempted by a threesome. A traveler leaving on the
next plane. A much younger—or older—woman. A straight woman.
The bad girl heartbreaker. The attraction between characters should
scorch the pages and sexual tension is as important as the actual
sex. As for the sex, think hot and desperate. Think
once-to-get-it-out-of-our-system sex. Or this-really-is-the-last-time
sex.
Please note
the usual no-nos still apply: no incest / underage sex / rape /
necrophilia / bestiality / scat. No poetry please.
Preferred
length: 2500 – 5000 words
Unpublished
stories strongly preferred, although a couple of reprints might be
used. Reprints must be solely owned by the author.
US English.
Please submit a double-spaced Microsoft Word document, using a
12-point serif font, such as Georgia or Times New Roman. One inch
margins. If using a pen name, include both real and pen name on the
manuscript.
Send your
story as a .doc or .rtf file attachment to Cheyenne Blue at
forbiddenfruitantho@gmail.com.
Please include Forbidden Fruit and your story title in the subject
line.
In the body
of the email please include your legal name, pseudonym, a short bio,
and previous publication information if the story is a reprint.
Established
authors welcomed, newcomers encouraged. I look forward to reading
your work.
All
submissions acknowledged within 3 days and acceptances notified by 15
June 2014.
About
the editor: Cheyenne Blue’s erotic fiction has been included in
over 90 erotic anthologies since 2000. Under her own name she has
written travel books and articles, and edited anthologies of local
writing in Ireland.
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