Readers can
check out Tawny’s books at her website.
Tell me about A SEAL’S SURRENDER.
A SEAL’s Surrender is a light, sexy contemporary romance about a guy who is used to life going the way he wants it, and suddenly finds himself out of his element when he’s seduced by the sweet girl next door. This is a follow up to my best-selling release, A SEAL’s SEDUCTION. Both stories feature Navy SEALs who are at a career crossroads, questioning their once unshakeable devotion to their service after the death of a friend.
What were your biggest obstacles?
My biggest obstacles in writing tend to be the same, regardless of which book I’m working on. I have a habit of overcommitting my time, then trying to frantically juggle everything at once. Contracted deadlines, working on a planned indie release, promotion and marketing, judging contests, and keeping up with my critique commitments can get overwhelming sometimes. On top of that, we’re a homeschool family, which means that’s the first priority on every weekday’s schedule, and I have to fit everything else in around it.
What are your productivity tips?
The best productivity and writing tip I can offer is to know your process. What time of day do you write best? (I write best at night). What do you need in order to start your story? (I need to know my characters, their inner conflict, the external conflict and the dark moment). How fast do you realistically write? A goal to hit 10 pages a day is admirable, but, if you average 5, that’s only going to be a source of frustration. Do you write slower in the beginning of the story, then pick up steam as you hit the middle? Or is the middle the most difficult? Are you a first draft writer or a layering writer? A plotter or a pantser? All of these combine to create a unique, individual writing process. And while I think our processes might shift a little from book to book, they generally follow the same path.
So once you know your process, you can work it. You can be realistic about your expectations and honest with yourself about whether you’re reaching your full writing productivity potential or slacking off.
About A SEAL'S SURRENDER...
Subject: Lieutenant Commander Cade Sullivan
Status: On leave
Mission: He’s home to take care of some family business.
Obstacle: Eden Gillespie. The girl who always lands in trouble...has landed in his bed!
Lieutenant Commander Cade Sullivan is the job. His commitment to the Navy SEALs is absolute—almost. Worse still, he’s been summoned home, where his family is the town royalty and women vie to be one of Cade’s conquests. One of them in particular....
Ever since they were kids, Cade has been rescuing Eden Gillespie. Now she’s decided she owes him one heck of a thank-you—one that involves a bed, naked bodies and sweet satisfaction. But when their sexy trysts are discovered, Eden becomes a bit of a town sensation—and not in a good way. Can she convince her SEAL to risk one last rescue operation?
Uniformly Hot! The Few. The Proud. The Sexy as Hell.
Tawny, I think you're right. I've been trying everybody else's process and finding that it doesn't work for me. I need to know my process and work it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the good advice.
Kathye
Woot- so glad you found that advice helpful, Kathye :-) I know, for me, that I have definite process-envy for how some people write, but I just can't write that way. If I embrace my own process, and really work it, I can see such great progress.
ReplyDeleteI really need to learn my process. When I write better. That's my goal this year to become a more organized writer. I'm a plotter, I can't just write on a whim, otherwise the story is confusing to myself and I find myself fretting things about the characters I shouldn't.
ReplyDeletestunning cover, Tawny and I have to agree that knowing your process is key.
ReplyDeleteI took an excellent writing class with Tawny recently - highly recommend her workshops to anyone interested in writing category romances! I am especially interested to read about Tawny's writing process. This would seem to suggest that as a beginner I need to be focusing on discovering what my process is, which is probably a matter of trial and error, but oh my goodness, sometimes it's hard trying to find one's way and what works best! Great interveiw! Thank you.
ReplyDelete