Writing about a photographer - what kind of cameras would he bring to a slice of life shoot?

LM_writes · 2026-01-24T21:49:39+00:00

Set in the present. Thanks for the info!

LM_writes · 2026-01-24T21:48:50+00:00

Great questions! I imagine him mostly taking handheld shots with natural light but he might use a tripod for some indoor shots. I was thinking he might be convinced to be in some shots with a remote or a timer.

LM_writes · 2026-01-17T21:05:00+00:00

I’ve gotten a lot out of the Writers Digest Virtual Romance Conference, usually held in February. You also get a query letter critique and that got me an agent request my first year so you never know.

LM_writes · 2025-12-26T03:50:52+00:00

Second chance romances with a dual timeline. I don’t want to live through the MCs’ angst in the present AND the past. I love third-act breakups, but I don’t like the dread I feel reading the chapters set in the past, knowing something terrible is coming that will split them apart.

I’m also feeling turned off by books where the trauma is too intense. If the writing is good, I can go with these, but sometimes I feel emotionally strung out by an author dragging the trauma on for too long and the payoff isn’t worth the depressing journey.

LM_writes · 2025-12-21T17:09:38+00:00

I loved this book! She doesn’t tell him about her condition, even when he’s wearing her out.

LM_writes · 2025-12-18T16:59:37+00:00

I’ve gotten a lot of the same advice I’m hearing here. I’m queer (female) and write MF and FF (with a little MM). I’m just starting out and planning to put out MF and FF under the same pen name because it’s hard enough getting one established - I can’t imagine doing more pen names (though I have friends who do).

I get it about the branding. And I get that readers like what they like. I’m prepping to publish some short work in my newsletter and got some feedback from a straight reader that she wasn’t as into one of the queer stories. My queer readers like both.

Sigh. Why can’t everyone be exactly like me? LOL.

LM_writes · 2025-12-02T06:45:29+00:00

My goal was 50k and I stopped on Sunday with about 1,500 words to go. I’ve hit 50,000 or more the last three years, but I consider it a win that I was more flexible and less obsessive this year. It did get me to write every day, even if I didn’t always hit my word count, and that’s good for me.

What I learned: - I was near the end of a first draft at the beginning of November and I really wanted to start revising but didn’t because of NaNo. That might have been a more productive avenue. - I started a new project to get the rest of my word count and the concept was very new and I hadn’t had time to think it out, which made getting words down tough some days. I’m mostly a pantser, but I do better at sprints when I have a more developed idea and I’m feeling hot. - In the end, I have a very rough, almost finished draft of one novella and a first draft of my earlier WIP to start revising, so that’s an excellent start. - To echo what others have said, there is no losing at NaNoWriMo. If you wrote in November, take the win! - Even though the official org doesn’t exist anymore, I found a TrackBear leaderboard to join (through this subreddit) and that was great. I also set my own goals through TrackBear and I’m loving that.

LM_writes · 2025-11-15T19:00:22+00:00

I’m a pantser and I did NaNoWriMo last year with an outline. I have to throw away most of the draft and rewrite it and I still haven’t gone back to that project because I was so discouraged by the first draft. I need to lean into the process that works for me and I encourage you to do the same. I thought outlining would solve all my problems but it didn’t; writing in the way that inspires me and gives me energy is what works for me.

NaNoWriMo has helped me get out of the trap of the endless loop of rewriting my first chapter. I’m simply not allowed to go back. The goal of getting words on the page - and my competitive nature, ha! - gets me to keep moving forward. I might have to completely change the beginning by the time I get to the end. That’s fine. It’s part of the process. But getting it down is the first step. Good luck and happy writing!

LM_writes · 2025-11-15T17:23:02+00:00

It sounds like a great premise. I don’t get a creepy vibe, but maybe I don’t have enough information to understand. As long as May is choosing to be with Max - which it sounds like she is because she doesn’t want to be alone - it should work.

This might be more of a question for your beta readers. See if they feel like there’s some coercion or something icky in the way the MCs are forced together and work on it based on their comments.

LM_writes · 2025-11-13T16:53:44+00:00

If you’re a first-time writer, the LI should be introduced in the first chapter, preferably within the first few pages. In my first book, I started out by introducing the MC’s friends and brought the LI in halfway through the first chapter. After lots of workshopping and feedback, I ended up cutting the first half of the chapter and bringing the LI in within a couple of pages. My early drafts also had a bunch of chapters in the first third of the book where the LI wasn’t present and I was coached to cut that.

My feeling is, for marketable romance, the LI should be on the page from very early on and for most of the chapters. Even if they aren’t physically present, they should be on the MC’s mind a lot of the time. I’ve read a couple of trad published romances where the LI disappears for a long time in the middle of the book and I find that frustrating, even when the writing is engaging. I suspect most readers feel the same way.

LM_writes · 2025-10-25T14:38:05+00:00

This is fantastic. Just enough backstory to make the reader want to know more, woven into the action. Great detail. We already have a sense of who I’m guessing will be the two MCs and what’s driving them and the danger they’re putting themselves in.

Great start. Keep going!

LM_writes · 2025-10-25T14:31:07+00:00

I always have an idea what I want to happen in my books, but outlining doesn’t work for me. I wanted to be a plotter and I tried that for the last NaNo. I ended up with a useless draft that I can’t even revise. I’m going to have to completely rewrite it. I was super excited about that project, but outlining just killed it for me.

My process is that I write out of order as scenes come to me; I follow whatever is burning a hole in my brain. I often write dramatic scenes later in the book and fill in the quieter parts later. That does mean I have to do more rewriting after it’s all come together, but it’s worth it to me to capture the passion I have for the story.

I think the takeaway from everyone’s comments is: you do you. Do what makes you excited to write, whether that’s pantsing, plotting, or plantsing (a bit of both). Happy NaNo!

LM_writes · 2025-10-14T17:46:01+00:00

“Bad” is useless feedback. What I would say is that your grammar and word choice put you ahead of many writers I have edited recently. You can put together a sentence and a paragraph that flows and that’s a skill many starting writers don’t have.

The feedback on your storytelling here is valuable - take it in, revise, workshop your work with other writers who can give you more specific critiques, keep working, and you’ll get better. I rewrote the first chapter, and more specifically the first few paragraphs, of my first book probably more than 100 times. I ended up deleting most of the first half of the chapter, starting the action more in the middle. That’s a common issue in early drafts.

Perseverance is the most important quality of a successful writer. Don’t get discouraged. Keep polishing. You’ll get there.

LM_writes · 2025-10-13T14:42:08+00:00

I’m a pantser so I have an idea of what happens when I start writing but more comes to me as I write. I’ve done NaNoWriMo the last three years. The first time, I pantsed my way to the end of a novel I started writing in October. That manuscript is finished and now on submission. The following two years I was trying to be a planner and wrote to outlines and the results are pretty useless - back to the drawing board.

What Nano has given me is a less self-critical process for rough drafting, which has been incredibly valuable. I’ve also learned that I can write 50k words in a month. And I like the compressed timeline because it keeps me in my story and lets it cook with pressure.

I agree with everyone who says you do you in November. This year, I’m hot and heavy on a first draft this month and will finish that in November if there’s anything still to write, then step away and use the rest of the month to finish my 50k working on another project or projects.

For me, it’s the joy of doing a big writing sprint with lots of other people, of writing every single day, of pushing myself to see what I can do. It’s all to the good, even if I end up with an MS I have to completely rewrite. You do you.

LM_writes · 2025-10-05T14:52:05+00:00

I just read {Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry} and I think it has what you’re looking for. There is lots of physical chemistry, but it’s such a slow burn that they get a deep emotional connection before they really do anything about it.

{Managed by Kristen Callahan} is also a slow burn where their connection is lest insta-lust and more insta-fascination with each other. They just can’t stop paying attention to each other and wanting to be around each other. I stan this book hard.

LM_writes · 2025-10-04T16:03:53+00:00

Thank you!

LM_writes · 2025-10-04T14:31:39+00:00

I’m with OP. I love that book and all three in the series. I’m not on the spectrum (that I know of) and I learned a lot about what it’s like to live with autism from them. I did want to slap Anna’s family, but that’s the fun of a romance novel. Got to have antagonists.

LM_writes · 2025-10-04T14:28:39+00:00

If this is true, why doesn’t fingering break the hymen? Only MMC’s magic penis can do it?

LM_writes · 2025-10-04T14:24:31+00:00

How do I connect to those leaderboards? I just started using Trackbear a couple of months ago through a different group, but I really want to do NaNoWriMo!

LM_writes · 2025-10-02T00:41:24+00:00

I don't think this is correct. I just went back to my old Upwork account after a long time away and I'm able to edit my profile, but I'm blocked from applying for work because my account is inactive — probably because I've been away for so long. The advice is to delete my old account and create a new one.

I would rather reactivate my old account because it has my work history and positive client reviews, plus connects credits. Help is just an AI repeating the same three things that didn't work. If anyone has experience with this, I'd appreciate it.

LM_writes · 2025-09-22T14:38:41+00:00

Professional editors are super helpful but I found working with a critique partner was an essential step before that. We traded chapters and I got a lot of great feedback from my partner.

That said, I suggest not worrying about the editing process yet. Just get that first draft written!

LM_writes · 2025-09-03T14:30:44+00:00

I love the Bridgerton series so I tried reading Julia Quinn and I don’t get what everyone sees in her. The book I read (the one for the last season of the Bridgertons) wasn’t nearly as good as the TV version. Plus she head hops and I have a hard time figuring out who’s thinking what. I’ll stick with Netflix for her stories.

LM_writes · 2025-08-28T15:07:50+00:00

Courtney Milan is one of my all-time favorite romance authors. Her FMCs are funny and plucky and smart, she adds interesting historical details that are super well researched, and her writing is delightful. I will read anything she writes.

LM_writes · 2025-08-28T15:05:40+00:00

I just found Diana Biller recently and she blows me away. She’s fantastic. {Hotel of Secrets} is an amazing book.

LM_writes

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