Writer Wednesday: Must Haves Writing

I write quirky characters, so it probably comes as no surprises that I have my own set of quirks. Here are a few of my must-haves when I write:

Total Silence

Since having kids, I am a total scatterbrain and have the attention span of a gnat. Trying to write with a six year old and a three year old has become laughable. When I’m in my office, I need quiet (by quiet I mean the yelling is muffled by my closed door). I don’t even write with music on. 

My MacBook

I never thought it would happen, but after years of using Windows, I’m a Mac girl now. I’m completely reliant on my MacBook and don’t write on anything else. Plus, if the calendar on my Mac got erased, my life would be in complete disarray.

Bubble Gum

I have a serious addiction to bubble gum. I usually try not to buy packs of it because I will chew it incessantly until the pack is completely gone. When I’m writing, I usually have one of those huge resealable bags nearby.

Hot Chocolate or Cappuccino

I’m not much of a coffee drinker. I’ll usually only drink coffee if it has been leaden with sugar (Dunkin Donuts Light and Sweet is a favorite). Instead, I usually have a hot chocolate or French vanilla cappuccino handy.   

Pictures of My Family

Last but definitely not least is that I have to write surrounded by pictures of my husband and kids. They inspire me every day and I need to see their wonderful smiles even when we’re apart.

Writer Wednesday: A Day in My Writing Life

Over the weekend, I stopped by The Selkie Reads Stories as part of my blog tour for The Disappearing Girl to talk about a day in my writing life. Don't forget to enter my giveaway for a $75 Amazon.com gift card going on now through June 28. 

A Day in My Writing Life

Would you like to be privy to the glamour of my writing life? Here is an average day in the life of Heather Topham Wood:

My boys wake me up around seven in the morning. My husband has already been gone for an hour and my three-year-old has probably snuck into our bed at some point during the night. After throwing on the first thing I find in my closet, I get the boys ready for school and we eat breakfast together.

After the bus picks up my kindergartener, I drive my youngest son to preschool. Preschool only goes to 11:30, so I make a mad dash back home to try and fit in as much writing as possible.

I open up my latest work in progress in Word, but then decide to check my email/Facebook/Twitter/Goodreads/Amazon/Blogger accounts first. I look at the clock and realize an hour has gone by and I haven’t written a single word. I mentally berate myself and settle into writing.

I’m right in the middle of writing a steamy love scene when I realize that I have to leave that second if I don’t want to be late to pick up my preschooler. I was a minute late once and the scene he caused was not pretty. I’m well aware of who wears the pants in our relationship.

I pick up my little guy and we go out to lunch. If I’m lucky, I can get him all amped up at the park and he’ll be tired enough to take an afternoon nap and let me sneak in some more writing until my older son’s bus drops him off. On a good day, I can finish at least a chapter. On a bad day, I write a few pages of crap that I’ll most likely delete during the editing process.

Most nights, I try to avoid work to spend time with the family, but sometimes it’s unavoidable and I’ll stay up until the wee hours to finish while my husband puts the boys to bed. I usually collapse into bed, but I often try to read a little off of my Kindle before I pass out.

So, there’s my usual day. With the summer coming, it will of course change with the boys home all day, but my husband and I usually work out a schedule so I have plenty of time to write. 

Writer Wednesday: 5 Reasons to Write New Adult

It’s New!

New Adult is like a shiny new toy, there’s a big demand for it. If you look at the top 100 books on Amazon.com, you’re likely to find that many of them come from the New Adult genre. Book retailers have noticed the demand and Amazon recently officially added New Adult & College as a category.

You Can Take Risks

If you write young adult, you have to restrict the content. If you don’t, you’re going to ruffle a lot of feathers. A lot of readers don’t want to see books labeled young adult with the f-bomb or a lot of sexy time between the characters. With New Adult, your main characters can go beyond first base! The characters are in college, so getting busy isn’t as frowned upon like books with high school students.

Unique Experiences

College is the time of many firsts, which can inspire plenty of story ideas. College kids are often living on their own for the first time and experiencing the freedom of not having to answer to their parents. College is also often the time when you must decide what you plan to do with the rest of your life. I know I struggled with choosing a career (hence the four major changes lol) and writers can share stories about these issues.

Twenty-Something Issues

College isn’t the only experience that can be found in New Adult literature. Writers can explore topics that are also important to the age group, which may include getting engaged, pregnancy, military deployment, etc. In The Disappearing Girl, I focused on eating disorders because I feel that a lot of people in this age group face this problem.

Tight Knit Writing Community

New Adult writers are very supportive of each other. When I first started writing, new adult was a new term being tossed around and other authors from the genre really helped me understand the appeal of the genre and how to write books that fit into this category. There are so many blogs, Goodreads groups and Facebook groups around now that can help new and aspiring writers of NA.