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Kait Nolan Female Starkville, MS United States: Share

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Kait Nolan's Discussions

Looking For Someone in Mystery/Romantic Suspense

Started Sep. 18, 2008

CP Match Started

Replied Sep. 18, 2008

anyone else interested in this?

Replied Sep. 18, 2008

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Shadow and Fang

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Shadow & Fang

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DJ Childers replied to Kait Nolan's discussion 'Come Introduce Yourself!'

Hello. I'm DJ. I'm the kind of person who has something in common with everyone, if you put up with me long enough to find it. Seriously, I like a little bit of everything. I have been the poetry girl for as long as I've been writing, but I really...

October 12

Lindsey Mountford joined Kait Nolan's group

Mystery/Suspense/Thrillers

Join up to meet other writers of mysteries, suspense, and thrillers.

September 1

Profile Information

Your writer's blog or website:: http://kaitnolan.com

What is your genre?: predominantly romantic suspense and mystery with occasional forays into young adult and paranormal romance

What do you write?: novels

Are you a pantser, a plotter, or a hybrid?: hybrid

What is your current project?: I actually wrote up a brief summary of the romantic suspense I'm reworking (this is not a strong suit of mine): The summer Wyatt Hamilton turned ten, he found a dead body that changed his life. Haunted by the victim--literally--he's made it his life's work to track down her killer and set them both free. It's an obsession that's interfered with every aspect of having a normal life. So no one's more surprised than Wyatt when his grandmother's matchmaking scheme to set him up with down-to-earth innkeeper Marin Bishop actually works out. But when the killer sets his sights on Marin, Wyatt must race the clock and Marin's skepticism to save the woman he loves.

What stage is your current project in?: I got halfway through my book and made the decision to refocus the story in order to amp up the suspense. I'm eliminating some subplots and generally narrowing things down to get rid of the deadwood. I'm on Chapter 3 of the rewrite.

I'm looking for a CP who: is willing to swap chapters as we go, who will be there from the ground up on a project

How long have you been writing?: Cumulatively about 10 years.

Published or Aspiring?: aspiring

What do you feel is your greatest strength as a writer?: I've got a great deal of discipline, and I'm not afraid to make radical changes to a story if it's in the best interest of the story.

What do you feel is your greatest weakness as a writer?: I don't always manage to communicate the emotion in my head to the page, and I tend to have a hard time narrowing down to the crux of the plot. Being able to say "My book is about x," is really hard for me. I like really complex plots (which isn't ALWAYS a weakness, but I have to try to keep my tendency to tangle things under control).

Do you have any specialized knowledge in some field?: I have a master's degree in clinical psychology and a special interest in criminal profiling.

Age: 28

Where are you from?: Mississippi

Looking for a CP or Taken?: taken

Where did you hear about Crit Partner Match? (we want to say thank you to them!): I created it.

About Me

I saw a serious hole in the writing universe because there was nowhere for folks of all genres to go shopping for a crit partner. I stumbled across mine through blind, dumb luck, and I doubt most people are so fortunate. So I decided to create a group where folks could do exactly that--like an on-line dating service but for crit partners.

I'm officially taken as a CP, but I am interested in adding someone else who writes predominantly in the romantic suspense and/or mystery genres. My fabulous CP absolutely has the romance side covered, but I'd love to find someone with a bit more background in the mystery side of things. As I am a hybrid between pantser (naturally) and plotter (trying really hard!), I would love to find someone to bat around ideas with as I hammer out plot.

As far as what I can offer as a CP, I'm a total grammar Nazi (though if you show an overall deficiency in this area, I'm not correcting a full manuscript--I'll direct you to Strunk and White's Elements of Style first....). I'm not afraid to be brutally honest about what doesn't work for me in something I'm reading. I prefer to offer constructive criticism (i.e. suggestions about what I think would help a problem). I read widely in both the mystery and romance genres (though I'm not a particular fan of historicals). I'll read either chapter/scene at a time or full pieces (though obviously, I have a faster turnaround on chapters/scenes). I'm looking for another CP, but I'm willing to work as a beta reader as well from time to time.

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At 8:19am on December 11, 2008, Alicia said…: Hi Kait. I just wanted to say I loved your opening paragraph you posted on Nathan Bransford's contest this week.

At 11:34pm on September 9, 2008, Jo-Anne Vandermeulen said…: Kathleen Gresham has sent you a message on Crit Partner Match.

Hi Jo (do you prefer Jo or Jo-Anne?),

Doesn’t matter to me. Some call me Jo, others refer me as Jo-Anne.

I am interested in another CP! I see from your profile that you're halfway through a project at the moment. Tell me about it.

I am almost finished writing the first draft.

BETWEEN TWO is a 90,000 word suspense/romance about an independent divorcee named Tara Robstead who wants more than a secret passionate love affair with her widowed boss, Josh Henderson. She wants to be a priority in his life, for him to feel proud to be seen with her, and to show her the love and respect she deserves. When Josh refuses to declare their relationship publicly, fearing small town scrutiny that would jeopardize his promotion to financially secure his family, she is forced to break-ties and move on with her life. Blinded by anger and desperation, Tara allows herself to be seduced by a young gorgeous skating instructor named Devin Tucker. He preys on her vulnerabilities and traps her into his psychotic world of endless control and abuse. Tara escapes in body, but her mind and spirit are destroyed. She is admitted into a mental hospital where she must find the strength to fight for her life or choose to die.

I'm replotting an existing WIP, doing a sort of refocusing to cut out extraneous plot-threads. I'm terrible about having too many. I'll be able to reuse some of my old material, particularly from the beginning, and I'm just about ready to start writing/tweaking that.

I can relate to what you are talking about. My first novel, I got carried away with subplots. Word count ended up being 130,000 words. Had to cut a main subplot then try to fit everything back together. Felt like I was doing a massive puzzle that had landed on the floor upside down. Then like a staking a deck of cards in pyramid form, I carefully tried to use up everything before the entire project fell over. I chalked this first ms to my two years of writing education. I have learned so much, and yet, I have so much more to learn; and loving it. This first ms called ON GUARD is in the hands of Kensington Publishing and HQN. I’m waiting on a response.

I do believe I can help you. I can not only relate to what you are going through; but also, I have learned how to tighten my plot and stay focused. If you need help on ideas, plot, or critiquing a chapter, I’m on my computer daily as this is my full time job.

As I'm a natural pantser, I keep TRYING to plot all the way through so that I don't have as many of the "oh now what?" moments. Which is a very different approach than from my previous manuscripts (I've finished 3 over my lifetime and started countless others--I used to wind up chasing after what Heather Sellers refers to as Sexy Next Book--it's one of the changes I've tried to make in the last 2 years of getting serious about my writing). A lot of what comes next in this story (Til Death) on the very detailed level I'm not purely sure about until I've written to that point. I've got an overall summary of the full story if you're interested.

Yes, I would be interested in reading a summary. I also have a page synopsis for mine, if you would like to read it. I would rather email you directly, it that is okay?

I'm game for from the ground up type work or chapter by chapter. Waiting until I have a complete draft of anything isn't terribly helpful to me, as I think that part of the CP relationship is brainstorming and helping get unstuck and refining as you go instead of waiting until the end (to me that's more like having a professional beta reader).

I feel the same way. I would need you to read and critique chapter by chapter. I would revise then send you the revisions. Lots of communication and feedback. I prefer to read strengths with weaknesses. Example: “I like…” “Didn’t understand…”
Do you know about track changes?

So what do you think? I think we should try a chapter swap. I promise to commit the same amount of time, whether it is helping you with plot, ideas or whatever, as you give me.

I move in quite a fast pace, how about you?

Jo

Kathleen

At 7:17pm on September 9, 2008, Jo-Anne Vandermeulen said…: Hey Kathleen;

Have you got a CP yet?

At 11:01am on August 27, 2008, Zohra Duncan said…: Thank you for welcoming me in Kathleen. I'm looking forward to hooking up with one or more interesting and beneificially compatible partners.....

At 11:50am on August 14, 2008, Stephanie said…: Hi Kathleen,
To be honest with you I haven't had much luck in the past with the CP scene. I've tried it a couple of times and they bailed without any comments so I guess the MAIN thing I'm looking for is someone who is SERIOUS about it!
The second thing is I want honesty...and someone who will give and take CONSTRUCTIVE honesty (:-)) without being offended/offensive about it.
Other than that...lol...I'm pretty open.
Hope to hear from you.

At 9:35am on August 13, 2008, Anne Clarke said…: I still have a full time job, but it was my part time job that was sucking the life out of me. I'm still there to an extent, but only in a relief/casual basis, you know, so I'll have a little extra cash for things like Christmas and conferences and such! The big difference is no committment and the BS level goes way way down!

At 5:31pm on August 12, 2008, Jo-Anne Vandermeulen said…: Thank you Kathleen. Great minds must think alike. What an idea about setting up a CP's and matching them up like an on-line dating group--I was just sharing the same thoughts with another writer.