Taryn Raye's Writerly Wednesday~ Surfing & NaNo

Yesterday I avoided the computer altogether while I tackled Mt. Dirty Laundry, hemmed a raveled seam on one of my daughter's shirts by hand and read a couple of books about surfing on my my Kindle. Honestly, I think I need the time away from the computer every once in a while to clear my head and find inner balance.

 (image from morguefile.com)

In regard to my research, I know reading about surfing is far from having experience with it, but as a writer who lives no where near the coast, I'm making do with the sources I have and honestly think I've gathered several great ideas for scenes for Mark and Alexa in my upcoming WIP that I'll be writing next month.

As of today, we're a mere week and a day away from NaNoWriMo. Am I excited? HECK YEAH! The closer we get and the more I read, the more exhilarated I feel.

Of course, that means, I'm stepping back from prepping Love by Design for publication, so I can concentrate on writing Heart of the Surf and putting a finish on this 2nd book series. I have plot lines and tweaking for LBD, that I'll work on after I come through NaNo on the other side.

Reading the books on surfing is really fueling my excitement for NaNo to begin for sure, though now that I'm researching and learning more about it, I'm also seeing more on television, especially the sad news of the surfer who was killed by a shark off the coast of California. That caught my attention last night on the news because my story is set on the California coastline and that could be a real issue, but I don't think I'm going to be writing a shark into the story.

Normally surfing is not my normal fare of interest, but I'm eager to see the new Chasing Mavericks movie, starring Gerard Butler. Of course, Mr. Butler is a mighty fine reason to watch ANY movie, but I'm finding myself interested in learning more about surfing, too, though I might never step a foot in the ocean.

Mind you, I love Gidget, but this has gotten me to thinking about other movies that might help give me a clearer, more modern idea visually— Point Break & Soul Surfer are a couple I need to get so I can watch them. Even Surf's Up is recommended viewing by one of the authors of one of the books I read about surfing.

Over the next few weeks I'm also intent on checking out the vast amount of surfing videos on Youtube, such as this one-

I find it's often easy for me to plunk myself down in another world and experience other things vicariously through words and visuals. Such is the blessings of being a writer and an avid reader.

Hope you have a great and wonderful Hump Day!

I can see the weekend from here!

#Writerly Wednesday Preparing for NaNoWriMo 2012

Yep, I'm doing it. I announced it a couple of weeks ago, but decided to make it official on the blog seeing as I only have approximately 2 weeks to get my head wrapped around the idea. This shouldn't be intimidating, considering I've done and won 5 NaNos before, but after skipping last year because I was deep in edits before Castaway Hearts came out this past April, I'm feeling a bit nervous about rejoining the ranks of fellow writers on this journey into 30 days of writing insanity.

Well, I have to admit, I'm nervous, but I'm eager, too. I haven't written "new" in what seems like forever and I'm chomping at the bit to get started. There's a current of excitement rippling under the surface, revving my engine and getting me charged with writing energy that I haven't felt in a long time. I know I burned out a while back, so writing has not been a top priority on my list, but it needs to be.

I was tired, yes...tired of writing because I burned through so much midnight oil in such a short amount of time that I needed to recover. Three years of almost non-stop writing took its toll, but that doesn't mean I haven't THOUGHT about writing almost CONSTANTLY. It eats away at me that I haven't produced much more than a few paragraphs here and there, finished a manuscript, but still feel I've come up short of my own expectations.

I'm hoping this year's NaNo will be the kindling I need to reignite the writing fire in my tummy and set me ablaze! This was, for 5 years, a very big part of my November- the crazed writing and chewing on Twizzlers and popping gum and guzzling lots of caffeine. It's a good thing I have a very understanding husband, who will cheer me on each evening when he gets home by checking to see how many words I've pummeled onto the screen. I used to not have his support, but he's quite the cheerleader for me these days.

If anyone needs a writing buddy, or just someone to talk to, bounce ideas off of or just give you a good swift kick to get you going again, I'm here, so feel free to leave me comments on the blog or email me, find me at www.nanowrimo.org and add me as a buddy. As someone who's wrestled this bear called NaNo before, I can promise you that it's worth it. You can defeat those 50,000 words and you can come out the other side with a little something to show for it. Of course, afterwards, you'll have to untie your internal editor and let her/him get to work cleaning up the drivel, but YES, it's totally worth the craziness of doing National Novel Writing Month!

Come join me!

#TuesdayswithTaryn Martin King, #Author Jack Hunter- Secret of the King

Tuesdays with Taryn

Martin King

Help me in welcoming children's adventure book author, Martin King, to Tuesdays with Taryn. I read Jack Hunter- Secret of the King, to my 9-year-old daughter earlier this year and we both loved it. We're eager for the 2nd book to come out- Jack Hunter- The French Connection. My daughter was insistent that we read a bit each night at bedtime and as the story grew more intriguing, there were times she was on the edge of her seat, her eyes wide as I read. Definitely a great book for young and old(er) alike! 

What book(s) most influenced you as a writer? Tintin

What book do you read over and over again? Jennings

Tuesday Trio-

1)      Movie- Back to the Future

2)      Music- Suede

3)      Decadent Dessert- Anything Chocolate

What’s the most interesting or bizarre bit of trivia you’ve learned from researching for a novel?

Novel on your Nightstand:

Who/what are you currently reading? An Autobiography by my grandad.

Whom would you cast as your Hero/Heroine if your book became a movie? It’s a bit difficult to say seeing as it is a children’s adventure, but if we could go back in time and make someone young again, Rupert Grint for sure.

Blurb of Jack Hunter: Secret of the King

Twelve year-old Jack Hunter’s life couldn’t get any worse - forced to move home, ripped away from his friends and dragged to a town in the middle of nowhere.

But then he discovers a centuries-old key that unlocks an historical secret. Suddenly Jack finds himself on the hunt of an ancient treasure trove with the help of some new friends.

Jack Hunter – Secret of the King provides a riveting read from beginning to end.

Look out for the hidden messages within the book and help Jack crack the secret code.

Amazon

Amazon UK

Barnes and Noble

Smashwords

You can find out more about Martin and his Jack Hunter series on his

WEBSITE

Check out a preview of Jack Hunter - The French Connection

by clicking on this Exclusive first look of the cover shown below-
(not the finished article)

You can follow Martin on

Twitter at @theMartinKing