Alright my warped little crowd! Gather round! It’s that time again…we’re hosting the gorgeously brillant, LIV RANCOURT, author of the wickedly delightful A VAMPIRE’S DEADLY DELIGHT! Sit up, stop messing around and be NICE! Pull out your pens & paper, or iPhones & recorders, because it’s time to figure out how we keep those voices in our heads straight. Without further adieu, I give you Liv…
Why cats?
So, I live with cats. Two elegant, aloof, endearing, amusing felines. I was inspired to write about them because of an incident that just occurred. One cat was draped across the dining room table – don’t think poorly of me, it’s a BIG table – when the other made a surprise leap onto one of the chairs. Table Cat, apparently unprepared for the sight of a creature with whom she’s shared an existence for over nine years, lifted about three inches straight in the air and came down of her feet, hissing ferociously, tail flying.
She’s a bit skittish.
Either that or she’s just not very observant. I mean, come on. Did you forget that there’s another cat in the house? Like, you know, your competition for the scratching post and the originator of those other turds in the litter box? I’m supposed to be a writer, capable of observing, notating, and regurgitating the minutiae of daily life, and yet I live with creatures who seem to forget each other’s existence over the space of a few hours.
Maybe if they took better notes, things wouldn’t sneak up on them that way.
An addition to having opposable thumbs, it’s the ability to take notes that separates me from my kitties. When a particularly snazzy bit if dialogue drops into my head from wherever those things come from, I jot it down on the nearest available piece of whatever (hopefully a post-it note and not the back of an envelope that’s destined for the recycling bin). If the solution to a snarly scene catches me between hits on the snooze button, there’s always a spiral bound notebook and a pencil on my bedside table.
I’ll whip out my smart phone and make notes while stuck in slow-moving traffic. I tend to keep those fairly concise, for obvious reasons (Why no, officer, I WASN’T texting!), and I try to label them with the name of the WIP they relate to so I can find them later. And then there’s my on-line brain, Evernote, a website that has so many features I’ll be a (much) old(er) lady before I figure them all out.
Working with so many sources might sound confusing, and perhaps suggest to you that I’m not very organized – I let my cats sleep on the dining room table, for goodness sake. It is complicated, but I seem to be able to make it work. The important thing is to capture the moment so that I’m not left staring at a blank document wishing I could remember that funny thing that just happened or the really cool thing someone said.
I’ve known writers who always carry a small spiral notebook or a stack of index cards to make notes on. Others swear by programs like Evernote. What about you? How do you record the stuff you see so you can scramble it up and spit it back out on the page?
And more importantly, cats or dogs?
Peace,
Liv
Want to Know More about Liv?
Liv Rancourt writes paranormal and romance, often at the same time. She lives with her husband, two teenagers, two cats and one wayward puppy. She likes to create stories that have happy endings, and finds it is a good way to balance her other job in the neonatal intensive care unit. Liv can be found on-line at her website (www.livrancourt.com), her blog (www.liv-rancourt.blogspot.com), on Facebook (www.facebook.com/liv.rancourt), or on Twitter (www.twitter.com/LivRancourt).
Don’t miss her exciting book:
She’s a quiet, unassuming bookstore owner by day, but by night…
Kristen has a deadly secret—when she smells a vampire, she turns into Jai, a beauti-licious babe who makes vamps permanently dead. To a vamp, Jai is like ambrosia. They can’t resist her. She uses this attraction, plus her super strength and her trusty blade, Mr. Sticky, to end their undead lives. The thrill of wearing miniskirts without worrying about cellulite stifles any qualms Kristen might have about killing the undead. Being
Jai is the most fun she has ever had—until they come up against the one vampire Jai can’t kill. If he and Jai have a history, as he claims, Jai can’t remember it…or him.
But when her work catches the attention of some old enemies—who won’t hesitate to destroy Kristen if it also means the end of Jai—this vampire may be their only hope. Can Kristen and Jai learn to tell the difference between good and evil in time to defeat Jai’s ancient nemesis? Or will being Jai’s hostess cost Kristen more than just her beauty sleep?
Available from Black Opal Books, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords.
LOL Hi, Liv!!! *waves maniacally* I had to laugh at your cat’s reaction. Mine is the same way. If you even walk by him a little too loudly, he’ll flip out and act like an army of evil gnomes is marching right at him. It’s ridiculous. Love your note-taking “procedures”! I carry a notebook with me because my phone often bastardizes what I’m trying to say.
Haven’t done Evernote yet, but I’ve heard awesome things about it from a lot of people. It’s on my computer–I just need to learn to use it.
Cats, of course
Mine likes to be helpful by lying on my arm while I’m trying to type. As far as notes…I’m all about Google Docs. I write everything in Google Docs, that way if I’m somewhere with an internet connection and I get the push I need for a scene, I don’t have to worry about making notes and writing it out later. I can just go for it. Otherwise…I just rely on my elephant memory. The truly great stuff sticks around long enough for me to type it up. If I lose it, I figure it wasn’t all that great to begin with 
Happy Saturday everyone! Thanks so much coming by & showing Liv some love! You cat peeps…us dog peeps have it easier. Hellhound would never drape himself over my computer–feet yes, anything higher than my hips…nope..too much effort involved!
Adriana–*snort* you should have seen what Siri said to me when I asked her to do a post on Facebook, she got all offended and refuse to say what she thought I said. Seriously, how do mix up an 8 letter word with a 4 letter one I never said to her before…sheesh!
Amanda–I’m jealous! An elephant memory? I so wish I had one. Maybe then my glasses wouldn’t end up in the fridge and my yogurt in my bathroom.
Huge thanks to Liv for coming over and sharing!
Jami – Gotta say that all the drum rolling is making me blush! And I’ll also confess that I’m an equal-opportunity pet mama, with both cats and a dog in the house. Used to have chickens, too.
I get the phone thing, Adriana. Sometimes the auto-spell thingy makes, um, interesting choices. And Amanda, your philosophical approach is to be admired. I get way more white-knuckled about things.
Thanks to all of you for the comments!
I tend to use my phone and a motley collection of post-its that are stuck all over my desk and bulletin board. I keep hearing about Evernote and should probably give it a try.
And for the record, my 2 cats get up on our dining table from time to time, most likely because it is in front of a big window. I figure sponges and cleaning products were invented for this very reason so why not let them do it as long as we’re not eating there at the time. And even though they’ve lived together for 2 years now, the older one is still surprised (and annoyed) when the younger one wanders by.
Liv, your book sounds like so much fun. It’s on my TBR list.
I have papers all over, and I mean all over. Papers from writing courses and books I’ve been writing are now all over my living room waiting to be finally sorted. Lucky I don’t live with anyone on two legs. Like you Liv, I have two cats and next week get my new puppy, Shayla.
I love picking up little note books and pens and more pens.
Are you a nurse, Liv? I am but retired from the hospital and working in a children’s mental health facility.