Writing for Harlequin Mills & Boon

pennyshahin_2

JennyJewell wrote: »

Dad's Pride?
Good luck with it hunny (I'm going to look out for it in the shops )
Jen x

Thanks Jenny Jewell- I'm gonna go with Dad's pride -I love it thank you, I'm mike by the way-despite my username.

pennyshahin_2

Just wanted to share where I am, wrote first 3 chapters and came to a standstill found it really hard so went to near the end an the juices really flowed tonight wrote about 2 pages using font 14 don't know how many words that is but I enjoyed it and it really flowed but don't want to do to much ,can have burn out sometimes, I think that it's good to stay fresh and excited about what you are writing not easy I know.
Love it when I make up character names here's some from the football team my hero is playing for
Sebastian Carmel
Sylvian Lonzo
Des Cartwright -bit boring
Edgar Travinsky
A few other questions if anyone can help-do you use speech marks when someone is thinking something or refering to what someone else has said?

erine

Mike - Speech marks for thoughts are optional. Authors often use italics for thoughts, I quite like that style. If referring to what someone else has said it may be expressed as reported speech eg James said that he thought I was being too sensitive (no speech marks needed.

Well I've finally come up with the makings of a plot. It has helped someone saying on this thread about how important the plot is to every speech and action... I'd never thought of it that way before

wouldbeqaulitymoneysaver

*Watching* Perhaps I need to add Mills and Boon et al to my burgeoning Reading List. On Book 49 out of 70 on my Goodreads 2011 Reading Challenge as all good books state 'Reading is the other side of Writing, and Writing is the other side of Reading' must do both and get back writing 1000 words a day or 3000 as Stephen King does?* Hi to all.

pennyshahin_2

erine wrote: »

Mike - Speech marks for thoughts are optional. Authors often use italics for thoughts, I quite like that style. If referring to what someone else has said it may be expressed as reported speech eg James said that he thought I was being too sensitive (no speech marks needed.

Well I've finally come up with the makings of a plot. It has helped someone saying on this thread about how important the plot is to every speech and action... I'd never thought of it that way before

Thanks trying to do about a page a day, hard going though, feel like I've got 2 or 3 books to come out of me, more of a need than a want somedays.

glowgirl_2

Hi everyone:) I got distracted:o DD is back at school this week doing the last of her GCSEs so now my plot is in place I'm going to start the first chapter, I've decided to start with a Modern story and see how that goes and I'm hoping to send a short (adult) story off to Scarlet, now just to keep motivated:DI've already warned everyone off disturbing me if I'm writing, especially well done to penny (mike) for actually starting something:TGood luck:)

dizzyblnd

Do you get paid for writing short stories and if so from where? Where did you start?

LuckyLucy11

I'm reading and writing everyday now, at first I just read since I wasn't sure about plot but now I'm writing a lot. I'd be interested to know how much authors get paid though although I know that's been touched on before.

I'm 100% dedicated to this and plan to write as many stories as I can come up with. One thing I lack though is experience of any of the worlds the characters inhabit or their roles such as a billionaire, Sheik, doctor etc. I know v.little about such environments.

Thanks for mentioning the creative writing course, its what I've been looking for

wouldbeqaulitymoneysaver

Hi Folks, methinks Supernatural Romance is asking for something that will be as successful and ground breaking as The Vampire Diaries which as my first ever intro to YA Fiction/Supernatural Romance is swearword brilliant.
As for other Romance, no harm in adding Mills and Boon to my burgeoning Reading List on Goodreads as good READING is the other side of WRITING. And according to the experts you cannot read too much or write too much as Stephen King writes 3000 words a day which helps him to write.
My Guidebooks are Dorothea Brand Becoming a Writer (cannot be too highly recommended), Teach Yourself Writing a Blockbuster (amazingly complex good book on Writing) and The Agony and the Ego Clare Boylan ( how established Writers well write and they all have these funny little effective routines). I also have 36 Dramtic Situations Polti and Lucile Ray which details all the common plotlines Authors use cos nothing new under the sun. Not yet read. MIT OCW Literature and School of Writing and Humanistic Studies is invaluable for finding University resources that the Undergraduates use, the books are fantastic. Well worth a spendy whatever your carefully controlled budget aided and abetted by this magnificent Forum which feels like a Financial Support Group.

wouldbeqaulitymoneysaver

Me I wouldn't do a Creative writing Course. I would do a Literature Degree, two for the price of one, free writing is part of it and one can learn to do it anyway as part of the plan. MIT OCW for more despite US Centric output a swearword amazing place for all things Literature and Writing both of which it tackles magnificently and in detail in it's respective Courses.
I have books from Essay Writing Course, Autobiography Course, and they have course titles such as 'Self and Society' winning stuff to help put it all in it's right place and inspire genius.