Writing Resources | Caridad Pineiro® Romance Author

April 20, 2023April 20, 2023

Worldbuilding Workshop

I am so excited to do a workshop for the Aged to Perfection chapter of the Romance Writers of America. Join me on Saturday, April 22 at 9 AM PDT for Worldbuilding: You’ve Got the Whole World in Your Hands. I’ll be discussing how to build your world whether you’re writing contemporaries, small town, paranormals, or fantasy. I’ll also provide a number of helpful resources and recommended reading for you during the workshop. The cost to attend is $5 for ATP members of $10 for non-members. You can register at https://bit.ly/ATPWorldBuilding.

writing workshop

January 5, 2021

How to Write a Book with Caridad and Cathy Areu – #TuesdayTip

It’s January and a time for New Year Resolutions for many and some of you might have writing a book on that list of resolutions. So join me and Cathy Areu, the publisher of Catalina magazine, as well as a journalist and author as we discuss how to write a book and the publishing industry in general. Settle into a comfortable chair, get your coffee ready, and plug-in those headphones for this fun and informative podcast! You can visit with us at http://bit.ly/CaridadHowtoWriteaBook.

August 23, 2017

#WisdomWednesday #WriteWed Write Because You Can’t Imagine Not Writing

I was a Science Major in college and so my mindset was very much one of if I did A and added B I’d get C result. Logical and sensible.

But then there was the artist side of me who wanted to create stories for people to read and enjoy. Step A.

The Type A side of me said, Get that book finished and published. Step B.

The dreamer in me said, Once it’s published, all will be as it should be. Uh, no, not Result C.

In fact, the result of chasing my dream of being published and having a career in publishing was never as logical and sensible and results oriented as the scientist in me wished. It’s been an up and down process and like many, sometimes I wondered why I continued writing.

After a lot of soul searching, the answer was always the same: I had to write because I couldn’t imagine not writing. I would never stop having stories in my head that I wanted to share with people because it’s in the sharing that they come alive.

So for all the aspiring authors and my published author friends, those are my words of wisdom for today.

June 14, 2017

The Writing Blizzard #WisdomWednesday

From that day in the fifth grade when my English teacher assigned our class project – to write a book – I knew I wanted to be a writer. I’d always been an avid reader, but until that day, it hadn’t occurred to me that the stories in my head could become a story that one day others would read.

I kept at it through high school, college, and law school. The child of immigrant parents and an immigrant myself, education was important, but so was a career that would pay the bills. My parents, especially my mom, didn’t think writing would do it and I am eternally grateful that I was an obedient child since my day job has provided me with many wonderful opportunities.

But so did the world of writing. New friends and new places to visit. Of course, that was balanced out by something I didn’t expect: the writing blizzard. The flurries of ideas that might not ever become anything more. The avalanche of rejection letters that gave way to an even greater avalanche of edits, marketing demands, business obligations, and more.

A lot of new writers I meet think that getting published is the hard part. I gently try to prepare them for the greater blizzard of work that comes after publication.

But if writing is your passion, you put your head down and weather the blizzard because something bright and wonderful emerges from the storm: a new story.

And then the blizzard begins all over again!

May 10, 2017

The Character Driven Life #WriteWed

Whenever I do a chat I often get asked the same question: Where do you get the inspiration for your stories?

For me, the inspiration comes from a character that pops into my head. That character is just there, screaming to get a story. For example, many years ago when I was first writing contemporary romances, I had a very determined and hard ass female character interrupt the book I was writing. She just kept on showing up and demanding I listen. She was nothing like the other characters I’d been writing. She was dark and tortured. Troubled. Certainly not the kind of character I would put into one of my contemporary romances.

As much as I tried to get back to writing the story to meet my publisher’s deadline, that character would not go away and so I finally took a moment to write a chapter with her in order to understand her better. That’s when I knew it was time to try something different and Diana Reyes and The Calling Vampire series was born.

It was a lot like that for the new series since I wanted to get away from the darkness of the romantic suspense and vampire genres and into something that could show people love and lightness. To do that, I wanted a series of spunky heroines who had their issues, but who would eventually find happiness in their lives.

This time it was four characters who came to mind – Maggie, Connie, Emma and Tracy.

But even as I’m starting to work on #3 in that series, I have a character that’s coming to life in my brain. A young widow with a small child who runs a cheese shop in the fictional Jersey Shore town of Sea Kiss. Spin off time! LOL!

Once I have the basic idea for a character, I spend some time learning about who they are and what issues they have. What they need to be fulfilled. After that, I try to craft a hero that will bring out both the best and worst in that character and from there, the story emerges. I want that story to show the growth in those characters as they heal their wounds and find strength both together and alone.

And that is the character driven life.

April 12, 2017

Filling the Well #WriteWed

If I had to think of my brain as something other than a brain, I would think of it as a well, especially when I am in the midst of writing. It’s a fluid place, ready to accept the stone of an idea and to let the water ripple out to create other ideas. It’s a place where I can draw from it deeply in order to create a story.

Sometimes I feel as if it’s a rush of water that spills from the well when I get so caught up in a story that I can’t stop. That’s a good thing.

But then, inevitably, I feel as if the well has run dry after that rush and that I need to take a step back and let the well fill up again so that I can continue.

I’m sure many writers feel the same way, as if they’ve emptied their brains out on the pages and there’s nothing left inside. That’s when it’s time to take a break.

For me, that means lots of reading and maybe watching a movie. Taking a long shower or walk. Going to the gym and working up a sweat. Cleaning and organizing. There’s something about putting things in place that somehow feels like what I do in a story, putting the pieces away or shifting them until it feels right.

Whether you’re a writer or reader, I’d love to hear what you do in order to fill your well.

April 5, 2017April 5, 2017

5 Tips for Getting Past Writer’s Block #WriteWed

Another two hour commute into work today thanks to the derailment in Penn Station on Monday. Two derailments in just over two weeks. Gotta wonder what’s going on.

If there’s one silver lining in that ominous transit cloud, it’s that it’s given me a chance to work through a block I was having in Book #2 in the At the Shore series.

It’s actually funny considering that I’m giving a workshop this weekend at the Liberty States Fiction Writers monthly meeting on plotting using the Hero’s Journey. I should heed my own advice on what’s essential in the story when the heroes reach that first black moment.

In my story, it actually starts with a black moment, but I won’t spill on what that is and spoil it for you. What I will do is offer up some tips on what to do when you’ve hit a block in your writing and how to work past it.

1. Watch a fav movie or read a fav book. There’s a reason why they’re a favorite. Maybe it’s the characters. Maybe it’s a surprise you didn’t expect or that warm feeling you had that stayed with you long after the story was over. Tap into that magic to find out what’s missing in your story.

2. Read a new book not in your genre. Sometimes you’re too caught up in what you think is expected in your genre and you need something different to blast you past the expected.

3. Read a book in your genre. Whether the book turns out to be bad or good, what was it you liked or disliked? As a reader of that genre, did it meet your expectations and if not, why? If it did, how does what you’re writing work in comparison? For me, I always turn to a master in contemporary romance: Nora Roberts. No matter what I get a good read and her stories make me take a step back and wonder about how I can touch readers with the same kind of magic she brings to the stories.

4. Take a long walk or a shower. I don’t know why, but both of these somehow make me focus on the problem at hand and how to work through it. Maybe it’s the ions in the water or those at the beach, my favorite place to stroll.

5. Visualize the scene before you try to write it. People often ask how I can write so fast and part of it is that I often visualize the scene in my head before I even sit down to write. It prevents just staring at a blank screen for way too long. When I do have a block about that scene, I will often see it in my head multiple times and from different perspectives. Oftentimes I will have to rewind it and play it again, altering the direction of what’s happening. Erasing what doesn’t work and starting again until there are enough good bones that I can finally sit down and flesh out the scene when I’m writing.

I hope these tips help you work past any writer’s block. If you’d like to know more about the Hero’s Journey, visit my Resources for Writers Page with lots of good tips or if you’re in the area, come by the Liberty States monthly meeting. If you’re not in the area, think about joining and listening to one of the many recorded workshops we have for members. My workshop this weekend is being recorded!

Writer's Block