Author Erzabet Bishop Blogs About Writing

My writing process is a mix of plotter and pantser. I rely heavily on my foam core board and colourful sticky notes to get the idea framed out then a legal pad to scribble out notes. The sticky notes are a wonderful way to go because you can move them if the plot switches and you still have a structure going.

Other tools:

Pinterest: I create a board for almost every new project I start. It helps me get into the story visually. For Club Beam, it’s all about hunky Doms, sexy witches and fairy tale fetish wear are alive and well in this fun tale.

Pinterest link: https://www.pinterest.com/erzabetbishop/club-beam/

Music: Find mood music that fits your story. For this tale I listened to lots of Maroon 5, Sia, Evanescence and other moody, witchy tunes.

Chocolate: What? You’re saying it’s not a tool? (snickers) Oh yes it is.

My books:

I love to write erotic romance and you can find me all over the spectrum from a BBW sweetish retelling of Beauty and the Beast (Lucky Stars box set), dark carnival experiences (Written on Skin) to lesbian urban fantasy (Sigil Fire). I am a finalist in the Goldie Awards this year for Sigil Fire and two other anthologies and am also a finalist in the Lammy Awards for my work in Forbidden Fruit. I am currently working on some Halloween tales, a new fairy tale with dragon shifters and a psychic and an erotic romance trilogy with cowboys. Writing is an adventure and I love crafting new stories. Under my other pen name I’m delving into YA and some darker fairy tale retellings that will have readers (I hope) wanting more. Can’t keep a good fairy tale down…

You can find  the whole list of my anthology and single title works
 on my Amazon page

Writing advice:

The one thing I would tell any new writer is this. Keep writing. Don’t stop.

Consider everything in life for sources of inspiration.

 Learning to look at publishers I liked to find out what their submission calls were was a helpful thing too. In this case, I was assigned a fairy tale and had to construct a modern day romance around it. Talk about fun! I’ve already asked for a new one!

Start small. Ray Bradbury said something that has always resonated with me. If you start with a short story a week, sooner or later you won’t be terrible. It works. Trust me.

Rejection. Learn to deal with it. If you want to be a writer, it’s going to happen. What you can do is learn from every one and do better on the next trip around. Put the piece to the side and go back to it later. There will be things you’ll notice, you’ll fix them and bam. You have a story someone will love. I can’t tell you how many of my works (many under a pen name) that have gone from rejection piles to published. You grow a thicker skin, listen to helpful criticism and grow.

Fit the publisher to the work. Not everyone likes the same things. If the publisher likes romance, don’t send them a picture book. If they like horror, no fluffy bunnies-unless they have fangs.

Format the work. If the publisher has submission requirements, please read them. They are there for a reason, and no that reason is not to drive you insane. If you don’t follow them, your hard work very likely will be passed over.

Join support groups.  Writers are a breed unto themselves. RWA (Romance Writers of America) is one of the hardest working groups I have come across and they want everyone to succeed. They have local branches as well as online and are always having classes to inform their members of changes in the industry. HWA (Horror Writers Association) is also a great group if you are horror bent.

Stay tuned for Sci Spanks in June and watch for the anthology with a special exclusive story from my Shadow World featuring Gideon, Miles and Syd as she learns the art of spanking. Sign up with the Facebook group so you don’t miss a thing.

Sci Spanks Facebook Community: https://www.facebook.com/scispanks?fref=ts

Thanks for having me on the blog today. I wish you good reading and hope you will enjoy Club Beam.

XOXO

Erzabet Bishop