Everything of Interest to a Romance Writer

Endings: Happily Ever After...Or Not?

2012-01-13T19:13:00.003-06:00

I've had lots of alternate endings for one of my romance WIPs. It's the story "Ghost of a Promise" and, as you might imagine, achieving this"happily ever after" in the ending of a ghost story has been a challenge.   At times, even I have been a bit clueless as to how it was all going to work out.   I even wondered if, *whisper* maybe I wasn't writing a romance after all. Because, really, how could it be a romance without the guaranteed happy ending?

But of course, love them or hate them, romances, in the broader sense of movies and classical literature, have not always had happy endings. And if tragedy seemed a more logical ending for this love story, maybe there were some strengths or benefits of tragedy to consider. (At least until I figured my way out of this mess, that is!)

So, if you ever find yourself in this dilemma, here are my ideas of some benefits of tragedy:

1. Tragedy is, above all, memorable. Movies such as "Somersby," "Ghost" (of course!), "The Time Traveler's Wife" or "Gone with the Wind," etc, all have the loss of a hero or at least an unresolved ending.  But in tragedy they linger in our thoughts. Tragic endings invite us to spend time making up 'what ifs' or reconciling a tragedy by imagining if only that one step had been different. We would even change history or cheat death if we could. Above all, we don't forget when we reinvent.

2. In tragic endings, there is immortality and a sense of loyalty to "one great love." In a sense, time stands still after a tragedy. The continuation of the heroine's life after a loss of a hero (although she is still young) is not imagined in a forward sense. And, although we might imagine changing the events leading up to the ending, once the tragedy has occurred, we don't replace the hero or imagine the heroine with a second chance at love and happiness.  A new man in her life? Heaven forbid! That would be disloyal.

For example, even in the movie "Titanic," Rose has a long life that takes place in the years between the loss of Jack, her true love, and the last dreamlike scene of their reunion in death on the ship's staircase. It's actually a contrived happy ending to reunite Rose and Jack. The audience feels happy (so did I), and forgets what would be a real tragedy (other than the sinking of the ship!); this being if Rose's only true happiness in a lifetime consisted of just a few days. Instead, what happens in between we don't think about. We can't. Tragedy immortalizes the hero and the romance.

3. In some cases, happiness isn't logical. Tragedy, if not exactly easy, is logical. Bad things happen and, in the real world, ships sink. Even in a paranormal romance, there are boundaries of logic. Happiness has to to fit. The happy ending is all about conviction - - an absolute believability in the continuity of the relationship between the hero and the heroine. A love without end.

Seems like a tall order.

This is a challenge of writing romance, and I don't think it's limited to ghost stories.  For instance, I've often wondered if writers (other than me!) have written themselves into a corner with their "black moments." After all we work so hard to develop conflict, building on the premise that when things are bad, make them worse, that it might not be so easy to put the brakes on a train wreck in progress. We might do our job so well that the black moment in the story can seem like The End instead of a transition to that final resolution and reward of happiness.

But romance writers figure it out.  The characters and the reader gets a happy ending.  Thank goodness.

And I still wanted a happy ending for my ghost story.

So, while tragedy has its place, I've continued to tweak the right alternate endings for my my story. Quite often, I've gone back to the thought I'd written myself into a corner -- and a "tragic" corner it was! Every attempt to turn it around to "happily-ever-after" seemed contrived. But like the die-hard "if only" fan of happy endings that I am, I persisted in my search of a happy ending, even if persistence meant leaving the story alone for a while.

Oddly enough, I found some missing pieces for this "happy ending" dilemma while working on a different story, which is a sequel. Now, I do see a glimmer of the bright and shiny happily ever after for this particular story.  However, it's not so much the "tag-on" alternate ending I seemed to be searching for to set everything to rights. Instead, some clues of "unlikely, but possible" are finding their way in earlier in the plot.

So, if there's one thing I've learned about turning around a tragic ending to become a happy ending, it is that it's a bit like crafting a "who-done-it" mystery.  If all along you've pointed the finger at the butler, the big reveal that it isn't the butler can either be a satisfying surprise or feel out of place.  My big light bulb moment is that the only way to make a happy ending seem less contrived is to look for where to insert a few "clues" along the way.

Of course, this is one of those writing tips that won't help at all knowing up front. These "clues" weren't possible while I didn't have the solution. I do wish someone had told me my ending earlier! *sigh*

Sometimes, it's quite a layering process to make a happily ever! But we'll keep on doing it because the "if only" of tragedy might keep calling on us for a few changes...

Any movies or books with tragic endings you've rewritten in your head to end happily? Any movies or books where you've thought the ending contrived for a happily ever after? Ever write yourself into a corner with your black moment...or even your entire story premise?

A New Year of Writing Decisions

2012-01-02T10:51:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year! Here's to a wonderful year of rewards. I hope this is the year we cross the finish line with our writing goals and get that medal. Or maybe several medals. Maybe this is our Olympic year.

Or maybe it will be next year.

Oops. Did I hear a screech like an old record makes when the music is interrupted? Sorry! I didn't mean to make the music stop, but I just want to put out there that it's OKAY if our Olympic events aren't right around the corner. We're working on it. After all, the athletic Olympics only come around every four years so maybe we're still deep in training. (Well, every two years of alternating winter and summer games, but you know what I mean.)

This is why I don't like to make resolutions that seem to say we start the race on January 1 with no consideration for the training, habits or practices of the past.  These resolutions assume that somehow we will know how to fly because we've changed from a caterpillar into a butterfly.  We forget that even this does not happen overnight. Or that a newly emerged butterfly has fragile wings.

And maybe our characters are also like these changing creatures.  We're like coaches/choreographers to a team of caterpillars and newborn butterflies dreaming of competing in the Butterfly Olympics. It's our job to get them there...

We start by building our team around two star players.  Long before this pair gets their wings, they will have brought with them an entourage of characters/caterpillars for our team.  Relatives, friends and co-workers all get in with a good word from the stars. And sometimes villains and new players come to us from parts unknown. Some make the team and sometimes we have to cut a player or put him or her on the sidelines. Maybe their turns will come.

And during all the tough days of training we make decisions and search out the best advice for our team. We consult with experts and voraciously read their how-to manuals.   We try to emulate the starring teams from the last Olympics. We might have exhibition matches for feedback and tally up the judge's scores.

We try to do all the right things for preparing our Olympic team but at some point there still will be a string of dark days in the training. We might even miss the scheduled Butterfly Olympics we put down in red ink on the calendar. Some of the caterpillars refused to metamorphose into butterflies and the ones that did are out there fluttering around flowers and teasing cats. We think nothing can salvage this group or bring them together.

How can this be? It isn't as if you don't have a lot of advisers.  Only it seems like for every expert brought in to say one thing there is another who says the opposite. For every judge or critique group reader that says one thing there will be another who says the opposite. Everyone has an opinion on which direction to go until you, the poor coach/choreographer, don't know which way to turn.

Who do you listen to? Who are you to decide on a game plan when surrounded by experts more experienced than you in Butterfly Olympics? Never mind that they've frightened away the butterflies.

Maybe if you sit still long enough one of your butterflies will land on your finger.

She trusts you.

Only you are allowed to know which direction she wants to fly. And one by one, the rest of the butterflies will be drawn to you too.

Before you know it, the team is anxious for your advice and hovering close by for the next idea. They want to be a part of the Butterfly Olympics.

*** *** ***

This year I'm thanking my advisers, but putting them "on call." I respect them and know I'll need them again but I will be careful not to let them frighten off the butterflies. I know my decisions are right when the butterflies land.

Thanks for joining me for another year and best of luck to you and your team of butterflies!

It's Personal

2011-12-21T00:01:00.001-06:00

"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts."
-- Winston Churchill

Isn't that a spectacular quote?

I'm on a break from college and I've been getting in some writing on a wonderful new story that is truly entertaining me, but today I did some writing of a different sort. Putting back on my student hat, I finally finished writing an essay/personal statement for potential scholarships.  The Churchill quote resonates with my personal theme that finally emerged and I used it to begin my essay.

I'd been mulling over this essay for a month or so, jotting down ideas and hoping a theme would form.  As with a lot of my writing, I wasn't sure where to begin. I was born on a farm...scratch that! Too far back and, besides, it's not even true. *grin*

Above all, I needed to be truthful. And interesting. And deserving. Right. It's not easy trying make yourself sound deserving of an award; to ask for something without making it sound like your asking. You have to show why you are deserving by sharing a lot, but not too much, of who you are.

I didn't realize it, but apparently I'd been taking the right approach in not attemping a polished essay in one sitting. The writing tips from Definition of a Personal Statement by Mary Hale Tolar, pointed out that, amongst other things, the personal statement extends an invitation.

"The reader must be invited to get to know you, personally. Bridge the assumed distance of strangers. Make your reader welcome."

This does sound awfully, well, personal. The author goes on to say,

"The personal statement comes from inside you, passionate and gutsy. Its composition is organic, a natural growth dictated by an obscure, internal logic. You don’t "make it up"; instead you listen. You "get it down."

Another site, the Purdue Online Writing Lab, also suggests that the key is to tell a story:

Think in terms of showing or demonstrating through concrete experience. One of the worst things you can do is to bore the admissions committee. If your statement is fresh, lively, and different, you'll be putting yourself ahead of the pack. If you distinguish yourself through your story, you will make yourself memorable.

It's the story. Time and again, the "tip writers," who had likey read more essays than they cared to count, practically begged for a story they could relate to and less distance from the personal statements. Less narrative and less telling as if the writer shared ( or is that over-shared?) a diary entry.

Eventually, a theme did emerge. A lot of my "concrete experience" revealed itself through my jotted down anecdotes and they had a common thread of turning failures around.  Put a different way, in that wrong, telling way: I had a lot of perseverance. This was my theme. And once I had an idea of what I wanted to share, I also knew what I wanted to withhold.

I think I get it now. I can't say I want to write another personal essay, but I won't forget the process involved in wringing out the authentic story. Because whether its for a selection committee or readers of romantic fiction the goal is the same, to close the distance between myself and the reader.

It's my characters' turn now. Some of them don't want or need to be liked, but they have experiences to share about who they are that are much more memorable than the biographies I may have made up for them. It's personal. If I can't make it up, maybe I have to listen.

The Victorian Home: Historical or Contemporary Setting?

2011-12-19T09:42:00.000-06:00

I'm currently "building" my own Victorian mansion as a setting for my contemporary WIP, "Worth the Risk." (Working title.) Really, what could be better for a romantic suspense? All those nooks and crannies -- and the ghostly, sheet-draped furniture -- are stirring my imagination!

My Victorian house/mansion is becoming a character in its own right and I shouldn't be too surprised. This has happened before with my WIP "Ghost of a Promise" with a Federal Style house in the suburbs of Washington, DC. Then and now, somehow, the house fits the characters and the characters fit the house. Okay, the picture above is a bit more Norman Bates than I might want. But it's not too far off.  When I had my hero deliver my heroine to a "safe house," somehow the simple "cabin in the woods" she expected didn't appear. Instead, she gets an abandoned, spooky mansion.

Below is part of my research I originally compiled for a historical setting, but now I'm finding it provides a lot of inspiration for my contemporary story. I knew it would come in handy. (Well, at the time, not really!) Some things won't be needed because my modern setting does need certain things...like plumbing, central heating and electricity! I discovered I had to delete many out of date links, but the ones remaining and the new ones should be good!

So whether your setting is historical or contemporary, here's a bit of information on Victorian architecture and interiors. Much like a castle, there's a romantic quality in the details.  Better yet, especially in America, its style is more attainable than a castle for even a contemporary setting.

***   ***   ***

Exteriors - Gothic Revival, Italianate, Queen Anne and more describe the Victorian styles. The Queen Anne style in particular is what we think of as a "Victorian House." From Victorian Houses: A Guide to Major Architectural Styles:

The Queen Anne style at its most extreme is characterized by bewildering excess, featuring large projecting bay windows, towers, turrets, porches (often on multiple stories), balconies, stained glass decoration, roof finials and crestings, walls carvings and/or inset panels of stone or terra-cotta, cantilevered upper stories, acres of decorative trim, patterned shingles, belt courses, elaborate brackets, bannisters and spindles — even the chimneys on Queen Anne houses are spectacularly crafted...

Home Interiors
Depending on your preference, one might describe Victorian decor in a positive light of having great detail and a cozy atmosphere or, in another's opinion, a style of excessive clutter and dark colors.

Some elements of Victorian decor were:

Walls and ceilings - often the walls had richly patterned wallpaper that was the backdrop for many pictures and mirrors. The ceiling would have ornate plaster work.
Furniture - dark, heavy, and of intricately carved wood, there was numerous pieces of furniture in all rooms. Victorian bedrooms did not have closets, and clothing was stored in bureaus (the chest of drawers) and wardrobes (tall cabinet with doors).
Fabric and Color - Upholstery for chairs and couches were often of velvet or brocade, and the drapes were also of a heavy material.

Lighting. (Historical.) The 19th century began with the candle and ended gas lighting, which produced about five to ten times more light than the candle. As a general timeline:

Candles. To candle enthusiasts, the 19th century has been referred to as the "Renaissance of Candle Making." Prior to the 19th century, candles were made from tallow (made from animal fat and thus giving off an unpleasant odor), or from beeswax (more expensive). In the 1850s, manufactured paraffin wax (a byproduct from the oil-refining process) combined with stearic acid (a candle additive used to harden and opacify wax) would replace tallow. Wax candles were also made from whale oil from the 1830s.
Oil lamps were common after about 1850 when kerosene (a much cleaner fuel than fish oil or grease!) became available.
Gas lighting became available in London in the 1870s.
The remarkable invention of electricity began to be available in about 1905, but did not become common until after the First World War.

Related links:

Victorian Houses - A guide to the major architectural styles.

The Victorian Home - a nice printable seven page .pdf document from CenterForHistory.Org with exterior and room by room descriptions of Victorian features.

Lighting in the Victorian Home - an article from buildingconservation.com describing candles, oil lamps, gas and electric lighting.

From the site Eras of Elegance - Victorian Architecture

Candle Making History - a brief overview from early to modern candles.

Victorian Interiors and More

Eccentric Characters: What I Learned from Elaine

2011-12-15T12:22:00.000-06:00

This was one of my older blog posts that I had a lot of fun writing because it deals with one of my favorite parts of a story -- crafting eccentric characters.

I caught a Seinfeld episode the other day and that explains the title. The gang was at a party where they didn't know anyone and neither Jerry or Elaine were thrilled to be there. The two had a signal of tapping their head to get the other to rescue them from a conversation, but it never worked. So, "poor" Elaine was sitting on the couch while a woman talked and talked in a nasal voice with the phrase "my fiancee" liberally sprinkled throughout. Finally, the quiet Elaine looks at the woman and says in a thick Australian accent, "maybe the dingo ate your baby." (Click here for the YouTube video of this scene.)

I'm still cracking up, even though I've seen this episode many times. The woman says, "what?" and Elaine repeats her famous line. The woman gives Elaine the "you're crazy" look and walks off. Elaine gives a self satisfied smirk. Mission accomplished.

Now, two things interest me about this. Obviously, I'm amazed at the nerve, but when I think about it, I want to break down what makes this scene so great. How did she pull it off? What could I learn for creating my own outrageous character?

First, there is NO APOLOGY. In no way does Elaine regret her words. She doesn't clasp her hand over her mouth in a "did I say that out loud?" moment. She doesn't run to Jerry and say, "you won't believe what I just did." Nope. What she does is smirk. It was a purposeful tactic. Premeditated, with the eye on the result.

Now, we've all wished to say something like this or at least thought of something outrageous to get us out of a conversation, but it's not likely it would actually happen. Like most people, we suffer through party chatter and nod politely. If, by some stretch of the imagination, the words escaped, there would have to be an excuse. What kind of excuse would you come up with? Maybe alcohol loosened inhibitions. Maybe it was "the last straw" kind of thing. (This one gives Elaine a possible excuse, but her fuse was very short!) Or maybe it was as simple as accepting a bet to do something outrageous.

But for a truly outrageous character, this is over thinking. This is giving the character something he/she doesn't have; the embarrassment gene.

Second, there are NO WITNESSES. Elaine did not do this to impress her friends. The only participants were herself and the annoying woman. Okay, granted, the audience - US! - were the witnesses, but her character did what she did for her own amusement. And just as she didn't tell Jerry out of embarrassment, she didn't tell Jerry to brag.

A truly outrageous character follows his/her own agenda.

I'm going to keep these two things in mind for creating outrageous characters. There is something so liberating about writing a character who seems to be lacking the embarrassment gene. And besides, I've always been a little jealous that my son seems to be missing this gene! Somehow, I get to be the one to face the consequences and that's really not fair. So I need to create those characters to act on my behalf.

And while I think my hero or heroine might need more reasons/excuses for blurting out "the dingo ate your baby," I'll always aim for a secondary character that can get away with it. I can't say I understand them, but maybe the key is not to over think their motives and jump to the end result. Ask simply if they would do what they do with no apology and no witnesses except the reader.

Do you write outrageous characters? Who are they performing for?

What Came First, the Market or the Story?

2011-12-07T08:17:00.000-06:00

It's finals time for me in my return to college journey. I thought I'd replay an older post written two years ago that is still ringing true today. It's a post that feels like deja vu, because, with a bit of surprise, I realize I've started a story with many of the elements I ignored in this idea brainstorm. You never know what the muse may be trying to tell you!

Two years ago...

Ideas are cheap, or so I thought. That is, until I tried to come up with an idea for a specific market and found the experience similar to trying to force a jigsaw puzzle piece into a slot that it just doesn't belong in. As I've discovered, aiming for a market and then coming up with the idea is a whole different thought process. It takes a discipline my poor mind rebels against at every turn.

The market I'm talking about is was Harlequin Presents. And I'm tempted...oh, so tempted. That, in itself, isn't such an odd thing, but for a writer who has never written a story without someone time traveling, using magic or being a ghost...um, you get the picture. Something's gotta go!

And then there's the "doubts" and the "don'ts." The doubts are writing what I don't know; sheiks and exotic, foreign locales coming to mind. And I'm still nervous when it comes to steamy, knock your socks off love scenes. I'm getting better, but it doesn't come easy. And the "don'ts." My ideas have a lot of "don'ts" for a Presents. Don't let the plot overtake the relationship. Don't let the secondary characters take over, and, of course, don't insert paranormal or suspense elements.

With all these doubts and don'ts, where is the appeal?

Simply that I love to read Presents novels! I gobble them up and, while it's a 50/50 gamble to find one memorable story, it's pure emotional escapism. The hero is an alpha male, through and through, and the heroine has a certain vulnerability. In many ways, it's a Cinderella story. So, out of pure stubbornness perhaps, I'm tempted to dive into this world, but I have no "idea" of the story. I figure it wouldn't hurt to brain storm, and I jot down all I can think of that makes a Presents novel. Maybe an idea will come...

I tell myself, let's look at this objectively. I need a rich, powerful alpha hero. He's typically older than the heroine, say, mid to late thirties to her early to mid twenties. She's often his secretary or a friend to his sister. Hmm, some previous connection and below his station. Again, it's a bit of a Cinderella theme. I'm drawn to that.

I can do that. What else? Oh, often she gets pregnant after a one night stand with the sexy hero. And often she is a virgin or inexperienced. Hmm. That seems a bit implausible these days, but okay, the authors do seem to come up with some creative ways to get around these things. So, it's still a bit of the compromising situation that is found in my love of historicals, but in a modern setting. Another draw.

But where's the idea? Hmm. They have to be thrown together somehow. Maybe he's a neighbor. Maybe she inherited the house next door. I jot down just the two of them stranded in a storm. In a big, scary Victorian mansion with no power. With a ghost.

Stop. Obviously, I'm getting off track. (Added thought: But it's obviously my track. I think my muse was trying to tell me something here.)

At every attempt, I run into the same problem. Now I've got her on the run. Abusive husband? Did she witness a crime? Suspense is creeping in, which is another market. Oh boy, this is not going as planned. (Or is it?)

I'd love to hear if you've had a similar challenge. Is there a genre you love to read but can't seem to mold a story to write? New question: Have you found the story you want to write coming through and find it's a different market than what you started writing for?

A Story's Recipe

2011-12-03T13:42:00.000-06:00

Recently I read one of those books that made me lose my sense oftime.   You know that feeling. It's when you close the book and come back down to earth  a bit disoriented to realize hours have sped by. It didn't seem possible! But it happened.  Somehow you forgot about the world and narrowed your focus to the emotions of the characters.

And, of course, the writer's burning questions are: how'd she do that? And: how can I do that?

I didn't think about it while reading, of course! I just enjoyed.   But once the story is finished, I can't help reopening the book to search for the "secret ingredients," as if the story were written from a recipe in a writer's cookbook. Really, what is in there? And while I do feel a little guilty about dissecting magic, I can't stop myself.  Because while reading the story satisfied my craving, now I have the urge to try the recipe.

Of course, I'm over simplifying things, but that's the thing about recipes. Food recipes don't really teach you how to cook and story recipes, even the ones pulled from a delicious book, don't really teach you how to write.   At most they're a template for experimentation.

So, I'm not too surprised that, after jotting down lots of notes, the story recipe reads a lot like my mother's recipes: "a handful of this, a dash of that."   The only guarantee in following this recipe is that it will never give the same result.

Still, I can work with it. I can still recognize the choices the writer made in selecting a story's recipe. It's as if the writer had a specific meal in mind and browsed through cookbooks looking for a certain themes/recipe that would fit. Not only did she know what she wanted, she knew what she didn't want. She ignored many, many recipes because the ingredients weren't the right combination or in the right proportions. And she considered other things like, how many guests/secondary characters are invited? How many courses/chapters and scenes or overall transitions will be served?

So let's look at a recipe. I'll call it the "snowbound recipe."   I think the story I read used a version of this recipe and it's one I think a lot of readers crave.  In fact, when so many books have this theme it could be called cliche, but I prefer tried-and-true. It goes something like this:

Snowbound Recipe

Strand one hero and one heroine together in a snow storm.

Simmer 3/4 of the story in a 24 hour time period.

Put the outside world and real world responsibilities on hold to be reintroduced at the 3/4 mark.
Actual "snow" is optional. Substitute with anything that traps the two together. For extra intensity, add an external problem the characters can't do anything about.

Sounds good, don't you think?   It's not a fancy dinner party, but this recipe takes advantage of some built-in "tricks." They might not seem like magic on their own, but consider how the ingredients work together.

This recipe/theme helps add a natural restraint and acceleration, if you will, for two areas. I won't call them problem areas exactly, but more like writing tendencies. It's that "heavy-hand" we sometimes get for a certain ingredient, such as secondary characters.  And, while this recipe doesn't ban secondary characters, it make it a bit more difficult for them to take over.  You can add "a dash of secondary characters," but they're more like sprinkles.

Also, the 24-hour time span has an interesting effect on transitions, specifically in the advance and retreat between the hero and heroine.   This push and pull is key to a romance, but it's a challenge to seamlessly craft those emotional transitions.

In our snowbound recipe, every moment in the here and now is important.   Time is accelerated.      Consequently, within a short time span, relationships can advance on a different time scale then "real world" conventions typically allow. Because sometimes when time is sped up, you s-t-r-e-t-c-h time. The television show "24" proved that with action, but emotionally this hold true as well.

For instance, in "real life" we think in terms of how long it's supposed to take to get from point A to point B in a relationship. Or, in other words, first, second or third base! There's a lot of starts and stops in building a romance. Attraction, a parting of ways, regroup while apart and think about what's going on, get back together because of the attraction...you get the idea.

The snowbound recipe works a little different. The transitions are still there, but there's not a lot of opportunity for characters to regroup and the real world conventions seem less important. And what are the characters to do when you take away "why not?" Somehow, the snowbound recipe changes the rules and stranded strangers skip a lot of the getting-to-know-you-steps. It's fast, but it seems right.

It's not the only way to go, but I'm thinking it makes a lot of sense to limit the focus as a way to lose our sense of time. The characters find this interlude an escape from the real world and the reader can escape as well, losing a sense of time.

Still, there are some risks with the snowbound recipe. There's the finish, which might read something like: Set on fire at 3/4 mark.

All the things set on hold have to be reintroduced and the real world has to be faced. Even after a big finish, there's another challenge. The hero and heroine have the chance to regroup and they surface from their interlude a bit disoriented to remember it's only been 24 hours. Can they turn an ending into a beginning?

I've seen many variations. Often this recipe gets wrapped up with a "to be continued" feel that can work. It's continued in the reader's mind, that is. Or another variation is cutting the "simmer" time down from 3/4 to 1/2. Then the second half is spent exploring the consequences of the interlude more fully. It's up to how you vary the recipe.

Maybe we don't always need a recipe, but sometimes they can be just the thing for learning a new "trick" or two.

Can you think of other romance themes/recipes? What advantages to your writing style might they provide? Would you avoid certain recipes?

pre-made ebook romance covers: a list of where to find them

2011-11-26T07:40:00.000-06:00

After the holiday meals and traveling and gift shopping, how about relaxing with a cup of coffee and your favorite romance. Your favorite romance cover, that is. Dream a little for your story!

Have you thought about the ever-evolving world of self-publishing? How could you not with the explosion of of ebook readers in the market? I know I'm feeling renewed temptation to put my words out there! Perhaps the novel length WIPs will hold out for traditional publishing, but why not give it a go with a short story or novella? More than ever before, there's some great arguments for how your shorter story can be a way to introduce your work. I won't get into all those arguments here. I don't want to argue. It's the holiday season and I just want to look at pretty pictures. :)

So I'm enthused about finding an e-cover for my shorter story. An inexpensive cover. But I don't even want to think about do-it-yourself design with software and finding stock photos. To borrow a term from Economics, there are "opportunity costs" to consider as well, which is basically the value you place on what you could be doing instead of doing something else -- like writing. Okay, that might be giving my discipline a bit too much credit. But the pre-made frozen rolls I took out of the freezer tasted pretty good, and I don't regret not making them from scratch.

So I've compiled a list of designers who offer pre-made covers (most in the under $50 range) and thought I'd move this "research" to a blog post. I had a great time browsing the covers and I hope you do too! Oh, and most, if not all, of these designers will work with you for the customized look, if that is the route you want to take now or later. (One more thing: I linked to the site's home page and not always directly to the "pre-made" page, but you'll find it.)

1. Cheeky Covers - Ebook covers at cheeky prices -- I've heard great things about this one. For an example of this designer's work, check out Donna Cumming's cover for her new eBook at her blog post: Summer Lovin': A Novella

2. RomanceNovelCovers.com by cover model Jimmy Thomas. You need to do an easy login registration for this one, but it's worth it.

3. HOT DAMN Designs! -- A tad pricier, but oh, my!

4. Razzle Dazzle Stock - lots of choices for all the genres. I've got my eye on one here.

5. An Author's Art - classy!

6. Sexy Book Covers - need I say more? Currently the pre-made section says "temporary price reduction" so you might get a deal.

7. Fantasia Frog Designs - Many are a bit more erotic than what I'll be needing...but that's just me.

8. LFD Designs - pre-made and a clearance section!

9. Quirky-Gurl Media - not strictly romance, but a small and growing selection of nice designs.

10. Book Graphics - both fiction and non-fiction so not all romance. Some are more basic designs at low prices.

11. Purple Ink Graphics & Designs - contemporary, urban fantasy look.

12. Tibbs Design - contemporary.

13. Cloud 9 Pre-made book covers -- $5!

*** *** ***
So that's it, for now. Feel free to leave a comment if there is a pre-made cover designer (for mostly romances) you'd like to add.

Snow, snow, snow!

2011-11-20T11:00:00.000-06:00

It's that time of year again. The first snowfall that will "stick" arrived this past week in my neck of the woods and I can officially say it's winter. Supposedly that isn't until December 22, but who are we kidding? There's no going back now.

But against all logic, even in Minnesota, I seem to be caught unawares by a change I expect but don't really believe is going to happen...until it happens. Because while the leaves swirl and dance, there is still time. Maybe somehow, it could go the other way. In the gray, bare landscape of November I can fancifully imagine the fallen leaves swirling from the ground back to their branches just as easily as I can imagine them being still long enough to allow the cover of a blanket of snow. Can you blame them? It's worth a try to put off the inevitable, as if they were children fighting their bedtime.

To imagine November as a state of limbo, with change possible either way, might be why dealing with the consequences of snow is always an adjustment. I'm caught unawares because I go by the motto nothing is written in stone.

Oh.   So I guess it is. But the snow has to stick before I'm convinced!

Only with the snow staying put do I deal with the consequences.    Surprisingly, this isn't quite the same as being like either the irresponsible grasshopper or the industrious ant who both have a different strategy in how they prepare for the consequences of winter. I might still get an "I told you so" from the ant, but I'd prove how quickly I can adjust.

Because I'm not a grasshopper or an ant. I'm some critter in between who might not have a clue where the heck the snow shovel is, but knows she has one. (Ah, see, there it is, stuck in the corner of the shed behind the weed whacker and the lawn mower...and a lot of other things.) I'm not unprepared, I just need to rearrange.

Just yesterday, I was shoveling snow when my cell phone played a tune and caller ID said it was Mrs. Ant. (Yeah, really.)

Critter Me: (pulling off my glove) Hello, Mrs. Ant.

Mrs. Ant: (sounding smug) It's snowing. (also read: "I told you so.")

Critter Me (leaning on my snow shovel): Really?

Mrs. Ant: It's a little late this year, but Mr. Ant says there's no going back now.

Critter Me: I guess not. (Grinning, I can't resist asking.) Do you and Mr. Ant need anything?

Mrs. Ant: (offended snort!) Of course, not. We've been preparing for this all year. Pause. And you?

Critter Me:   I'm good.  (It was mostly true. As soon as I got the critter-mobile unburied I'd go to the Critter-Mart.)

In the background at Mrs. Ant's house I hear bang, bang, bang! "Let m-me in!"

Critter Me: Who's that? (as if I didn't know)

Mrs. Ant: (back to sounding smug) Mr. Grasshopper, of course. He has a silly notion every year that the leaves will just fly back on the trees!

Critter Me: (laughs weakly) Imagine that.

***

Even though the fable has poor Mr. Grasshopper turned away as a moral lesson, I imagine Mr. and Mrs. Ant will let him in...eventually. They probably enjoy a long winter of the grasshopper singing for his supper!

The rest of us critters have to deal with winter the best we can. We are probably more reactive than we'd like, but the call to action of the first snow just might be the incentive some of us need to narrow our options when we've been in a limbo of possibilities. It's amazing how much we can get done when we have to!

Have you had to adjust to the first snowfall yet?

And the winner is...

2011-10-27T11:08:00.001-05:00

The Well Dressed Regency Gentleman

Let's give him a hand! *applause*

What did he win? Well, according to my blog stats, his post wins the most visits for this site. Considering the subject matter, how surprised can we be?

Of course, I've been oblivious to this statistical information because I only recently uploaded the new version of Blogger. And, there's the fact I'm oblivious to a lot of things, but that's beside the point. (Although, I am noticing that I probably need a hyphen between Well-Dressed? Picky picky. I'm afraid to mess with it now in case it confuses the search engines or causes a black hole in the universe. Yes, I have an exaggerated sense of my own power!)

Anyway, of more importance, this post had several (four) broken links that I have now removed. Sorry about that -- both that they were broken and that the information is gone! I've added a few new links and especially enjoyed Men's Regency Fashion at the Austen Author's site, which has a fun You-Tube video clip to watch from the 2006 Movie, Beau Brummel: This Charming Man. Now I'm wondering how I missed this movie.

The post for The Well Dressed Regency Gentleman will never be complete, but it's now updated and that's a start.

A start? Don't get me started! Just re-visiting the post for The Well Dressed Regency Gentleman has made me ancy to get back to writing a Regency era story. How about you?

The Wits End Way

2011-10-16T17:08:00.002-05:00

Now this would be an interesting address. How would you like to say you live at 1602 Wits End Way? Or some such number. It's probably home to a lot of problem solvers like scientists and mathematicians. I mean really, can't you just imagine Albert Einstein living here? With hair like that, it's not a leap to imagine he spent some time at Wit's End a time or two! Or maybe it had something to do with his
experiments with electricity.

But maybe a lot of romance writers live here too. Don't you think? Writers with Einstein hairdos talking to themselves and putting the milk in the cupboard and the sugar in the refrigerator. That's okay. It's allowed here at Wits End Way.

Yes, it's an odd place here at Wit's End. Here, we have many garden paths that each look more promising to explore than the last one. A person can get lost, quite happily for a time, running down the many possible scenarios like Alice chasing after the rabbit. Or how about POV Lane over there? You think you've been there before, but bring along a different character and you'll see the scenery in a whole new light.

But if the garden paths at Wits End are known for one thing, it's the number of dead ends. Corners you can't imagine writing your way out of or thorny walls between the characters.  What can you expect? This is Wits End Way, after all.

This is where I imagine a lot of Wits End residents (hey, let's call them Wits Enders!) are stuck, eternally lost at some point within the maze. You'll find them in there somewhere -- hanging out in pretty corner having tea while sketching in the plans for a fountain or reading about topiary. For research, of course. It's not such a scary place to be stuck.  In fact, there are lots of spots like this, some beautiful and wild, and each part a branch of promising adventure. Only the parts don't connect and this bothers the Wits End resident immensely.  Eventually, it bothers the Wits Ender so much that she might call for an airlift rescue and vow never to go inside the maze again. Can you blame her? It's crazy in there!

It's time to move to Straight Arrow Street with a nice strict home owners' association. But wouldn't you know it, they don't allow "your kind" there so you're out of luck. Once a Wits Ender always a Wits Ender.

Fortunately, Wits Enders are also known for their breakthroughs.  They rescue themselves!

But how do they do that? How do they even look at the obstacles they themselves created and stomach the thought of going over the same ground to find their way out? Where does the energy come from to pull the weeds or rake up the leaves to find the thread of the original golden path beneath?  How do they even regain the confidence to recognize the difference between weeds or the flowers that belong?

When to give up on a previous maze or start a new one? That's really what I want to know. Because I think I accept that there will always be a maze. It's never a straight shot.  But am I good enough to rescue myself? I need some words of wisdom:

Hmm. Well, Einstein, gives some lovely credit to the intuitive mind, and I think the answer to the breakthroughs at Wits End has something to do with knowing when to let the faithful servant --or a rational gardener -- clean up once in a while after the intuitive maze planner. That is, if I can figure out the difference of who's who.

Recently I re-entered the maze and glared at a couple of my Wits End areas. Well, that's not exactly true. At first, I didn't open the document. I just thought about "where did I go wrong," which, by the way, can be done quite easily by memory! But a couple of things came to me as I looked over some old critiques and made notes of what I wanted. I found myself writing scenes in a different POV and felt this helped me break through a wall or two in my old maze. And nothing can beat that feeling of satisfaction that comes with connecting a few of those paths.

Maybe Wits End Way is more than a place, it's a way of working and living. It's believing that you belong with those people at Wit's End who spend a lot of time on things that don't work before eventually finding out what does.

What has you at your wit's end today? Or what has had you at your wit's end in the past? What has helped you break through? Would you like to live at Wit's End Way?

Genetic counseling for your paranormally gifted/cursed characters

2011-10-08T13:36:00.002-05:00

Genes are amazing. They are the inherited reason for why you might be blonde (okay, you can change that) or blue-eyed (okay, you can change that too with some colored contacts, if you so desire), or left-handed (I am, and as inconvenient as it has sometimes been, I'm glad I grew up not being forced to change).   We try to change many things about ourselves, fighting what's "in our genes" with varying degrees of success. Other traits you can't change, or might not even know exist, just might be in your genetic makeup.

Perhaps even magical or paranormal traits?

Well, why not? It happens all the time -- in fiction anyway. Think of the beloved television series Bewitched.  In the case of the children of mortal Darrin Stevens and the witch Samantha, Tabitha inherited her mother's magic, but their son, Adam, did not.   How did this happen? Wouldn't you know it, I can't find any scientific studies on this (yet), but there's another magical franchise you might have heard of where this is considered....Harry Potter anyone?

Apparently, I'm not the only one to ponder the genetics of paranormal traits. The National Institute of Health (NIH) had the bright idea to use popular fiction as a medium to explain Mendelian Genetics. Here, at NIH's U.S. National Library of Medicine site, they give a lesson plan for teachers using Genetic Traits in Harry Potter. Also, here's a link to a 2003 article found in the science section of the British newspaper, The Telegraph, The genes that make muggles of most of us, Conrad Lichtenstein, professor of molecular biology at Queen Mary, University of London, examines inherited magic.

More questions...

If we suppose that, yes, magic is inherited (skip over the how's for now), then many of the  personal considerations for the "risk" of inheriting magic would be the same as those for inheriting a "normal" genetic trait.   This would depend, however, on whether magic was seen as a curse or a gift. Returning to the premise of Bewitched, Darrin Stevens, after all, viewed magical ability as more of a curse than a gift.   The charm of the show was that no matter how frustrated the poor guy became, in the end it didn't matter -- he adjusted because he loved his magically gifted family. Still, it makes me wonder, would Darrin and Samantha have benefited from some genetic counseling?   Would they want to know the chances of their child inheriting magic?  Or would they choose not to know?

Interesting stuff. Can you imagine the "what if" possibilities leading off from a story and topic such as this? When I think about the real-life gene disorders, it doesn't seem such a leap to imagine other inherited traits.

For instance, one such inherited gene that has a historical record is the blood-clotting disorder hemophilia,also known as "The Royal Disease" because it spread to the royal families of Europe through Queen Victoria's descendants. It's a fascinating story that I'd heard about before, but have became more familiar with recently in my college Genetics class. If you don't have a textbook (what?), the Internet has endless information, of course. I can, and did, get lost exploring the historical consequences of this inherited disease, especially the tragic Russian line -- the Romanovs. (See: Alexis' Hemophilia: The Triangle Affair of Nicholas II, Alexandra, and Rasputin)

Also, not mentioned in my textbook, there is some interesting speculation on the origin of the hemophilia gene that suddenly appeared without apparent reason in Victoria. Mutation or something else? Victoria's Secret: Who was Queen Victoria's real father?

But I digress. Where was I? Oh, yes, inherited paranormal genes. Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction!

For more reading on hemophilia (without getting too technical, but with pedigree charts), go to: Hemophilia: The Royal Disease (Note: Sorry, but if you get to the end and wonder about the answers to the questions, you'll just have to take Genetics!)

Proofreading and the Importance of Fresh Eyes

2011-09-14T07:00:00.001-05:00

This is a post I wrote long ago when I'd finished my first completed manuscript. Wouldn't you know it, that manuscript is back in revision, but I still think this "last" step holds true...

Recently I gave a copy of my finished manuscript to a couple of friends to read. I wasn't expecting a full critique and neither of the two friends who were reading felt comfortable providing a critique. So, in this instance, we (myself and my friends) were in harmony with our expectations.

I was amazed at the twenty or so small comments each of my friends provided. They read something like, "PG 136, Took the fight out "of" Ashby, 1/2 way down page." This meant, my reader had spotted that missing word "of" in this sentence. Or, "PG 230, "has" accomplished a miracle, 4th line from bottom." On looking, I realized I had left off the "h", making "has" read "as."

Small things, but they add up.

Now, I can tell you with 100% certainty that I could read my work countless more times and NOT see these small, but pesky errors. Even with my reader's notes, I had a hard time spotting the error; my eyes ran right over it and "corrected" it in my mind like a tricky word game. You can spell check, read it out loud or read it backwards (I haven't found that very helpful), and still those errors slip through.

The answer is fresh eyes. Granted, your critique partner may catch these errors also, but it boggles my mind in a frustrating, pound your head on the table kind of way how these little things slip through with each revision. Even more frustrating is realizing that the error may have been added after a critique. And, as tempting as it may be to ask your CP for "one more look," there are only so many times you can give your manuscript back for a critique! There comes a time to move on.

As shy about showing your work as you may be, the last step in preparing your manuscript is handing it off to a proofreader. Vastly different than a critique, you aren't looking for major mechanical difficulties or plot holes. If those exist, you aren't at the final step. But when all is as clean as you can make it, a proofreader will relieve your mind you've done all you can to find those errors you can't "see" anymore.

I think there are two important criteria to keep in mind when offering your manuscript to a proofreader (rather than a critique):

Your reader must like the genre of story you are telling. (Similar to looking for a critique partner, you still want a friendly audience!)
Your story must be finished and as polished as you feel it can be.

If these two things are met, then ask away! But a final trick to remember is not to use the word "proofread." Essentially, that is exactly what you are looking for, but most readers and friends will be intimidated if they feel expected to proofread. So, just ask them to "read." And, as I've found, "untrained" proofreaders do just fine with finding those small errors that made them stumble when reading. Your "reader" has accomplished a lot with this favor!

Remembering that Sunny Day

2011-09-11T12:18:00.005-05:00

Ten years ago…

On September 11, 2001, a day every American remembers where they were and what they were doing, I was working as a legal secretary in an office building in Georgetown, an area of northwest Washington, D.C. I was four months pregnant and on this day, as events tumbled after each other in such fast succession that it was difficult to separate fact from fiction, I’d feel my baby move for the very first time.

Many things are sharp in my memory about that day. Some things, like my baby doing a summersault, I remember with clarity as bright and crisp as the weather on that sunny, late summer day. (It really was the most beautiful day.) Other details get tangled and seem as unreal as one of my stories with too many implausible plot threads. My memory is faulty because only a few urgent things seemed important to me during the chaos. This is normal behavior, I think, when there is no normal.

On that morning, I learned that the first plane hit the World Trade Center tower in New York when one of the attorneys announced this news as he ran past my desk. Oddly, I remember this moment before and after very clearly. This particular attorney was always running. And on those many occasions when he passed by in a dark-suited-blur with his cell phone to his ear, I use to thank my lucky stars he wasn’t one of my assigned attorneys. He seemed to live his life to put out fires, only these fires were the Intellectual Property kind with panicked clients. I thought it was a good thing I wasn’t his secretary because I didn’t understand this constant urgency that reminded me of Chicken Little announcing the sky was falling. Only this time it was.

(Side note here. I actually became this man’s secretary less than a year later. He actually was one of the kindest persons you could meet. Who knew?)

Back to that morning. We gathered in small groups in front of televisions throughout the nine story building to watch the news (unaware we were, in effect, soon to be in the midst of the news). The second plane hit the second tower as we watched in horrified fascination with the rest of country. Then, soon after came the startling news a third plane had hit. Its target, the Pentagon, directly across the river and from where I’d changed trains on the Metro not even two hours earlier.

This is when I lost that eerie detachment of being an observer. I think I went back to my desk like a sleepwalker. The Pentagon? I knew people who worked at the Pentagon. Or at least I use to. My ex-husband. He worked there. Or did he? We’d divorced three years ago and hadn’t spoken in, how long? – a year, maybe two? My mind raced to piece together what I knew. If he did work at the Pentagon, he always worked the night shift. He wouldn’t have been there this morning. Would he? No, sometimes he had to work days. Maybe he did today. I didn’t know anymore. I didn’t even have his phone number. I knew he'd moved from the house we'd rented and bought a house. That meant he hadn't been planning to move, right? Ten years of being married, all of our twenties, and I didn’t know.

What should I do? I remember I grabbed the phone and stopped, not knowing who I was going to call. Who could I call to find out? It wasn’t my life anymore and I didn’t have a right to it. Those years of being a military wife – every memory good and bad running like a crazy montage in my mind -- were past. But I had to know. Did I call the Pentagon? As if I’d get through. If I did, what did I say? I’m the ex- wife of one of your Airmen but I don’t know if he still works there? Can you please just tell me, was he there this morning? If I could just know, then I could take a breath. Then another solution dawned on me. I’d call my former in-laws. His mom would know. It didn’t matter that I hadn’t spoken with her for years either.

So instead of calling the Pentagon across the river, I called across the country to northern Minnesota and heard the words that let me take a breath. His mother said, honey, he’s in Germany! He wasn’t at the Pentagon.

The relief was overwhelming. I cried and I have no idea how long I spoke with my former mother-in-law. It was a surreal conversation at a surreal time. Somehow, at this unlikely time, I told her I was going to have a baby, something that had been desperately wanted and didn’t happen during my years married to her son. I was going to be a single mom, a circumstance different than what we’d once expected to share as a family, but we had a moment of understanding that cut through all unacknowledged hurt feelings.

Meanwhile, the sky was still falling. For a while, on the orders of my concerned co-workers for my pregnant self, I rested in one of the offices until the entire building's personnel was being instructed to gather on the first floor. Here the crowd buzzed with murmurs of uncertainty of what to do next while rumors spread of additional catastrophes. This is Washington. We even heard that the State Department building, blocks away, had been hit. It had not, of course, but after everything that had happened, there was no reason not to believe this also. At the time, the source of this news didn’t matter, nor did details (hit by what -- another plane or a bomb?). This was merely another event in that day at the fringe of a something too large to absorb but more menacing because of immediate geography.

We were advised to go home, along with everyone else in the city. Thank goodness, one of my co-workers offered to drive me home – an experience that would take us into the late afternoon before I’d arrive at the home I’d just purchased across the river in Alexandria. What I remember most about this evacuation is the extraordinary calm of every person. Hours in traffic, with windows down on a beautiful day and solemn faces of commuters. And the smoke from the Pentagon. And the summersault in my tummy.

Today I’ll give an extra hug to my nine-year-old.

In the Trenches: The Details I Didn't Dream About

2011-07-30T07:11:00.004-05:00

I'm convinced right now (as in not forever) that I'm not meant to be a fiction writer. You see, I'm just not in the mood to be "in the trenches." You know, those days when you're actually writing, butt in chair, ignoring the internet, and not just dreaming about your story as if it had already been written. Yes, those trenches.

Lately, my time in the trenches has been spent deleting much of the story previously written (all versions saved, of course!) or feeling like each new word makes its way into existence with the ease of pulling teeth. Ouch! Surely, this has been a waste of time. Not to mention painful. And another thing, it almost feels morally wrong to expose the perfection of the fairyland I dreamed up to getting banged up in such a battle of advancements and retreats. Really, when things are going really wrong, it's better to protect the story from yourself.

Don't you think so?  Have I succeeded yet in writing the least motivational blog ever? No wonder I haven't posted since...I don't know, a while ago. I've been protecting you!

How's that for logic? I can always make a good argument to myself on why to stay away (from the story, from the blog, from the kitchen cabinets that are still missing refinished doors...etc.), but actually, I'm split on the writer's debate on whether to write even when you don't feel like it, or take that "break." It depends. Truthfully, when life makes its claim on you (school, work, family, etc.), it doesn't do any good to beat yourself up about not writing. Until we can clone ourselves that is.

But to be leary to get back into the "trenches" on the principle that you might do more harm than good? Well, I guess the only way to get past that one is to find that "good" in the process to hold on to when you feel like the greenest soldier who ever enlisted...the one who shoots the good guys by mistake. Oops.

Okay, so find the good. First, we acknowledge that life in the trenches is hard. Sure, the big stuff you watch out for, or at least think you do.  Plots, motivations. Got it. But just when you congratulate yourself for dodging a bullet and yell, "ha ha, missed me!," you might fall face down into the mud. Then the day gets worse with crawling your way through a patch of prickly burrs while being eaten alive by mosquitoes.  Or at least that's what writing one sentence after another can feel like. The devil is in the details you didn't dream about.

Wait a minute. I dreamed everything. Not only did the action unfold like an Oscar winning movie, but the very essence of the emotions rang out and resonated, bringing tears and laughter in its wake. Good triumped over evil. It was heroic. It all happened just as it should, clear as a bell, perfect and wonderful in every way.

Huh. Sounds great. Now try writing that essence down.

Back in the trenches...Things come up in the doing of writing that you would never dream about. For instance, you start to think about questions that are at once never going to come up in real life but are very practical concerns on the written page. For instance, how long does it take to think?  After all, a dream for the scene doesn't spell out, word for word, just the right about of time a character can spend thinking about important stuff in a short period of "real time."   Just how will this foray into a character's internal thoughts affect pace, suspense, or just make sense for the moment? Oh no, those kind of things, along with many others, are only implied in The Dream that seemed so clear.

Take, for example, a character in a taxi only a block away from his home.  A simple situation but a small part of The Dream.  Now, this character, the hero of the story, has a lot to think about and notice on this short, final leg of his trip.  In fact, as only the writer knows, because she knows all, she can get teary just imagining what's coming up when he gets home. It's only several pages later that the writer realize the timing is off. The pace, the action, the internal thoughts...so many concerns. Something has to be cut, moved, rearranged. Something! What now?

Yes, in the trenches, things get hard. There always seems to be a lot of pesky mosquitoes and prickly burrs just waiting to attack the perfect and wonderful dream. On a good day, these are fixable problems -- mere annoyances to be dealt with and swatted away.   How about the repeated phrases that sneak in that make it look like you know one and only one way to describe a character's body language? Actually, if you think about it, a "devilish grin" probably wouldn't seem overused in The Dream!  I don't think so anyway. Personally, I don't have a maximum quota in my dreams on "devilish grins." *shrug* Go figure. Grumble grumble. Swat it away.

But on a bad day, oh, those bad, bad days, the accumulation of too many words not cooperating can seem like too many hurtful pests to fight off.   And another thing about this "in the trenches" writing probably shouldn't be mentioned, but as long as I'm venting...Uhm, historically, there's never been a lot of progress in a trench.

But try, try! the characters insist. There is more. We haven't told you everything in The Dream.

The Details. They must be found, but the Dream is notoriously stingy with details. For something so clear, it's amazing how inadequate our store of words can be to describe what's in our dreams. It's a feeling we know in all it's complexity just by thinking about the characters we imagine. All of their deepest longings, their most secret insecurities, and their lovable faults we understand in an instant because they are echoes of ourselves. We want to write it down and share this amazing story. If we can only find the words to do it justice, that is, and possibly not worry overmuch with how the words we choose can seem to tarnish the perfection.

But did I dream of rooms of a house with two or three feet sections left unpainted near the ceiling because the heroine was afraid of heights and the hero was often away from home? Maybe, I'm not sure. Did I dream the hero tripping over a loose brick in the walk? No, that just sort of happened. And did I dream in chapter three how, "Crickets chirped in the warm, muggy air, and a cat in heat wailed its hoarse, god awful cry?" No. I just knew the hero felt alone, sitting outside his home in a taxi, unable to go inside. It's what he would hear, while I'm with him. It's beyond the lonliness. It's beyond the dream.

Lots of writers have some degree of this don't-mess-with-perfection worry and still dare to step beyond the dream. As Nathaniel Hawthorne once said, the story is built out of "materials long in use for constructing castles in the air.” I think he could have meant that the dream is like a department store of fancy displays, but nothing is built to be functional or solid for us mere mortals. If you sit on the bed, you will drop through the cardboard to the floor. But it sure is pretty.

And something else he said,

"I have sometimes produced a singular and not unpleasing effect, so far as my own mind was concerned, by imagining a train of incidents in which the spirit and mechanism of the fairyland should be combined with the characters and manners of familiar life." (Hawthorne, Nathaniel)

The details that are more than you can dream are only found in the trenches. Go ahead, tarnish the perfection with the characters and manners of familiar life. This is the good, burrs and mosquitoes and all.

Secrets and Lies: Forgive Me

2011-06-17T13:57:00.003-05:00

How do you feel about the hero or heroine keeping secrets from the other? Or lying? The romance writer takes a gamble with secrets and lies. She knows that just because a character forgives another character, this is not a guarantee of reader forgiveness.

Generally, I'm instinctively ambivalent to betrayal in both my reading and my writing. I don't want the hero or heroine to break the trust of the other. I simply don't like that sort of conflict in real life so why would I search it out or create it? My patience for misunderstandings is relatively short. Heck, life is too short! And, in my writing, I want my hero and heroine to be liked. That's personal as well. If you like my characters, you like me. Why gamble with characteristics or actions that are going to risk that with the reader? After all, there are other conflicts available, either internal or external, and I don't think there has to be a lie or a secret.

So, as a reader with that ability to see all sides of a situation, the reasoning for the betrayal is weighted heavily with a sense of what is right. I must be convinced of the validity of the mitigating circumstances.

That's what my rational mind tells me, anyway. But somehow, in both my novels to date, a secret or a lie sneaks in. Actually, that's not accurate. It doesn't sneak in, it enters boldly as the only logical option to a human -- aka messy -- situation. Once I get to know those two imperfect people, it seems almost inevitable that a secret or a lie becomes a possibility real and imperfect people would consider. Then, it grows as a valid reason for character change for both characters; for the one perpetrating the betrayal and also the one on the receiving end.

When I think about the heart of the matter, this secret or lie evolves out of what one of the main characters wants most. What that has been in both my stories has been the hero's desire to protect the heroine. His method of doing so, whether or not somewhat misguided by his sense of knowing what's best in the long run, has involved a lie or a secret.

So, there it is. After much soul searching, a betrayal has been reasoned out to be necessary. We're "on board" for all sorts of hypothetical "no-no's." Isn't it amazing what we can justify? With the proper motivational understanding, we can say...he had to do that because of such and such and some how, it makes sense.

So just how do we define "some how"? This challenge is not for the faint of heart. How much betrayal can a reader can stomach, what is forgivable and is reader sympathy maintained in the midst of a betrayal? A writer may wonder and worry if the bases were covered. In my opinion, here are a several possible emotional tools of the trade, so to speak, when delving into the realm of "secrets and lies":

Guilt. This one I think is very effective. Guilt implies that the character is aware of doing something wrong. Is it tearing them up inside and are they on the brink of confession? It can be overplayed, of course. Feeling guilty but continuing bad behavior or rationalizing it away too long is risky.
Intend to Tell. Is it a matter of bad timing? Perhaps the character comes around to the error of his/her ways and the reader sees this. But, wouldn't you know it, he/she waits a bit too long, and, bam!, the betrayal happens anyway-- the secret is leaked in the worst possible way. It might be an overused ploy, but it's effective because the blame isn't really placed solely on the character. Good intentions should count for something, right?
Sacrifice. What is more honorable than a sacrifice; the act of putting another's needs before your own? The downside is that it's possible that the character on the receiving end will feel betrayed by a sacrifice. This could happen if, for example, a heroine doesn't want the hero to sacrifice if it means losing him! But the reader may be sympathetic.
The"For Their Own Good" clause. Perhaps this is a bit of a God complex. The character knows best. I'm guilty of using this one quite often for my hero. I guess that's part of the package for an alpha hero to believe he is right and he is protecting the heroine with a secret or lie for her own good. Guilt can be smothered and actions rationalized with the For Their Own Good clause. There is a line that can be crossed with this one, and many a villain has walked over it. But when used for good, I can't help get a bit of a gooey feeling that the hero cares so much to take such an active role for what he truly believes is protecting the one he loves.

When it goes wrong. What is unforgivable? I think the answer to this can be either an absence of the above or perhaps the excess of the above. For me, what it comes down to is if the betrayal leads to character change for the good and if it's not an interchangeable betrayal. Could this scene be plopped down in a different story? If so, it didn't really seem like a necessary plot that that evolved from the circumstances. I've heard that advice for love scenes and I think it applies for betrayal as well. In other words, what counts as a forgivable betrayal is different for every person and every character.

What makes betrayals forgivable or unforgivable in your opinion? Do you ever write conflict that in your own life, or reading, you'd shy away from?

"You Had Me at Hello" Reading: Amnesia Plots

2011-06-10T14:21:00.006-05:00

I've done it again. Yep, in the midst of my latest reading binge, I've read two romances in a row with my favorite plot device and I'm not sure I've satisfied the craving. Before the day is out, I'll probably be scanning the back-of-the-book-blurbs for again that one word: amnesia.

Yes, it's an odd little obsession that's as addictive as chocolate. But, unlike chocolate, this binge is not a guarantee of satisfaction. For instance, in the first of the two books I read with the amnesia theme, the story didn't grab me at all and I skipped through the pages like a stone over water. I wanted it to work because it had what I think of as "great potential" (more on that later), but the execution just didn't happen. But with the second book I read, my persistance, or rather loyalty to the plot device, paid off with an engaging reading experience that promises to keep me hooked.

So, if there's one thing I know about my reading habits, the draw to a story is all about this "great potential." Simply put, is the book likely to have most of the things I enjoy? What are these "things" exactly? Well, that's a personal list that is kind of like that line from the Jerry Maguire movie, "You had me at hello." It's instant attraction. And with all instant attractions, what comes next is sort of unknown, but there is definitely "great potential."

For me, few story devices have as much "great potential" to fulfill this list as amnesia stories. My "You Had Me at Hello" list could also read "You Had Me at Amnesia." An odd connection, I know, but it seems to work. If I attempted to define just some of the intangibles for this appeal, here's what I'd choose, in no particular order:

Built-in Intrigue. Right off the bat, you know it's a mystery. The obvious question for the character with amnesia is "who am I?" but that's just the beginning of a journey to discover what might be a painful or dangerous past.

Vulnerability. Tied in with intrigue is the emotional draw of a character's vulnerability. It's a theme of secrets, possible mistaken identity, and sorting out who or what to trust. The character with amnesia or the one who meets up with (or reunites?) with the character with amnesia has had his or her frame of reference turned topsy turvy and has only one person to turn to -- the hero or heroine.

Second chances. One or both of the main characters is getting a second chance, whether they like it or not. Perhaps the character with amnesia is horrified to discover the person he or she (supposedly?) use to be. Or maybe it's the other main character, a lover from the amensia character's past, hoping for redemption or a fresh start.

Back-burner tension. The orignal obstacle(s) that has been "forgotten" but has not gone away. It has to be dealt with eventually before any HEA, which (almost) guarantees suspense.

Borderline paranormal. This appeal is hard to describe. For someone who enjoys both paranormal and traditional elements, an amnesia plot sort of straddles the fence. The chances are slim, but it "could" happen in the real world.

So, there's my partial "You Had Me at Hello" list and why an amnesia plot becomes an auto-read. How can I resist?

But it's an overworked romance trope and medically implausible.

Who said that? Oh, it must have been the little voice of doubt in my head that I listen to off and on. Yes, this is a consideration for both reading and writing an amnesia plot. After all, a knock on the head without harming any of the cognitive abilities of person and an instant recovery might be hard to swallow! In fact, here's a web site that gives quite an argument on the pitfalls. (If you're a die-hard amnesia plot fan, this won't phase you!)

All About Romance: Amnesia in Romance.

For a writer, there are some good points in this article on acknowledging in the story the realistic medical problems associated with amnesia. For instance, in my recent romance reading with the amnesia plot device, there was a consciencious effort (in the good second book) to show that the heroine recovering from head trauma continued to have difficulty, such as with reading or with headaches. It wasn't over done, but enough to keep the writing of the subject intelligent.

Of course, much can go "wrong" with an amnesia plot, but before this happens, I always feel an instant attraction to the "great potential" of this device. My first novel -- big surprise -- had an amnesia plot.

What kind of a "You Had Me at Hello" reading preference list would you make? What do you think of amnesia plots? Any favorites to recommend are always welcome!

Because I said so and we'll see...

2011-06-03T12:00:00.000-05:00

Have those phrases ever come out of your mouth? That's okay, you don't have to answer. No one really wants to admit to them. They are also the words, along with "we'll see," I promised myself I never would say. My goodness, I hated when Dad would say "we'll see." Why not just say no? But now, I know why these phrases sneak into a parent's vocabulary. I've inherited the code book for what to say when you don't know what to say and it seems to apply equally to both real life and to writing a novel.

"We'll see" means I'm stalling. It means I haven't figured out a good explanation yet. "Because I said so" has a duel use. It could mean I've explained why toys don't belong in the toilet one too many times! In this case, it's a cry of frustration, a last resort effort. (Thankfully that was in my son's younger years.) It can also be used too early, when I ignore the voice in the back of my mind that says, to be fair, I should give some sort of an explanation. But sometimes I don't. Sometimes I am the dictator to save either time, sanity or both.

For writing, I think "we'll see" is probably a trick that readers will see through and might mean more work is required. However, "because I said so" can come in handy. It isn't as arbitrary as it may seem and the author and reader can be on the same page. I have certain assumptions for why no further explanation is necessary. When I use it I feel, to the best of my ability, that the groundwork has probably been laid down with previous explanations or experience.

Because I said so…there will be a happy ending.

Because I said so…my heroine can time travel and teleport.

Because I said so...my hero is a ghost.

How much of an explanation we give is really up to us. We know we should explain to make the situation believable, but how much? Is there such a thing as too much? Sometimes, I think there is if we forget what the reader is already predisposed to accept when they pick up your book. Two of those things are the happy ending and suspension of disbelief. Ever consider if you explain too much and you might diminish your power? Let's look at these two:

The Happy Ending
As a romance writer, the Happily Ever After (HEA) is the number one assumption, and it’s always been fascinating to me how that promise of a happy ending is unique to the romance genre. Millions of readers read romances because of that promise and writers choose to write one to deliver that promise. Outside of the romance genre, the HEA promise is often ridiculed or thought to “give away” the ending. Ha! Don’t get me started in the defense of HEA. I could write a book (ha ha) going on in defense of the HEA. I love it for so many reasons. But “because I said so” is perhaps my favorite.

Only when I finished my first novel (so long ago now and hopefully an experience to be repeated) and attained the “expected” HEA did I appreciate it as the driving force to why I write in the first place. I was doing it all for the HEA - - that hugely personal satisfaction to know that “because I said so” the hero and heroine, after all their struggles, would STAY together and I can imagine their future as happy. We might touch on that golden future in an epilogue or even revisit them in a sequel, but they will stay happy…because I said so.

In REAL life and all it’s uncertainty, we know things can change. We get hurt, we get older, we have little control over events. Even a soap opera wears on us because the “happily ever after” is not a sure thing. Not so for the hero and heroine in a romance novel.

Suspension of Disbelief
Why does a reader believe my heroine can time travel and teleport? Well, umm, it might be because it says so on the back cover blurb. Because I said so, it’s not a secret the reader is about to read a paranormal, just as the HEA is not a secret. Before they open the pages, a reader is preconditioned to accept a certain level of suspension of disbelief.

In many ways, it’s up to you to destroy the suspension of disbelief. It's not a goal you want to attain, of course, but it’s all about remembering what the reader already accepts. One thing I've learned is that a little goes a long ways. It's best to be in some ways sparse with the details that have to make factual sense and any concept that seems out of the ordinary applies. Less is more. If my setting is historical, stating the date and location goes a long ways to give the reader an immediate sense of place.

I’m talking about writing a romance here, of course, and it’s not a substitute for filling in needed details. But if I go overboard in describing the technical or other worldly aspects, then I might as well write science fiction.

The same applies to intrigue. I've recently read a story where a huge plot point is that the hero finds out that the villain is in the country and planning to steal his unborn babies. He calls Interpol and, in less than paragraph, he (and we) finds this out. We're not even shown the conversation in a scene. In my opinion, if we'd been shown this conversation it would have been tipping the scales toward an intrigue novel. Are we wondering how our hero has Interpol connections? Do I care about who he's talking to? No, not particularly, to either question. I know the hero is a billionaire and, in a romance novel, that's pretty much enough for me.

Is it cheating? Is it lazy writing? Is telling rather than showing? No, it’s a tool we can use and part of being wise enough to know what the majority of your audience will accept. Just like a parent, the decision is not always clear.

“Because I said so” is both useful for being a parent and also as an author "perk" to “play God.” In the broadest sense, being a writer does require a certain amount of confidence to make the rules and decide how much explanation is required. We create new worlds and direct our characters’ lives as we see fit. In what ways have you used “because I said so” in your writing?

Just for Fun: Writing Prompts

2011-05-04T22:09:00.000-05:00

Writing prompts are for when you need a new beginning right? Sure. But they are also for when you're knee deep in a story but need to reconnect with your characters. In fact, as I discovered with a little web surfing for writing prompts, they're much more versatile than I expected and can be customized to fit every stage of writing. Whether stuck in writer's block or just need a routine of daily warm-ups, dare I say it, there's a writing prompt for that.

Finding the right one can feel kind like being Goldilocks looking for the "just right." And when you know what you want, usually you find every thing opposite first! For instance, yesterday I wanted specific writing prompts to get me reaquainted with my current characters after an absence. Eventually I found a couple of ideas.

These are from Eliza's Writing Jug, http://www.writingjug.com/2010/03/creative-writing-prompts.html:

#39. You have a most unexpected visit. The good guy and the bad guy in your story come to visit. Neither is pleased with the role you have given them. Put yourself in their shoes and try to imagine what they would have to say. Try to convince them you made the best choice for them.

#41. Write an interview with your [favorite] character.

Are these too broad in scope or not really seem like writing prompts at all? Maybe but that's the thing about writing prompts; they are meant to fit what need, when you need it. Sometimes you don't even know what that is until you come across it.

A couple others instantly intrigue me:

#19. Ghosts in a bottle. (How could I resist that one?)

#35. Answer this question: What is life all about? (Just kidding. I can't tackle that one!)

Other interesting sites for writing prompts include these:

Easy Street Prompts: http://www.easystreetprompts.com/search/label/writing%20prompts

This one has hundreds of VISUAL prompts in pictures and videos.

Creative Juices Books/Writing Prompts: http://www.creativejuicesbooks.com/writing-prompts.html

This one has lots of plot ideas, including plot twists for the writer that has a soft spot for fairy tales.

365 Writing Prompts for Creative Writing Inspiration: http://hubpages.com/hub/writing-prompts-for-creative-writing-inspiration

This one has single word and short phrase prompts. Too short? You might be surprised.

Speaking of short prompts, I came across an outdated Writer's Digest Prompt contest with the three words: "lucky" "charmed" and "calamity."

Wouldn't you know it, those three words took me down a path that had nothing to do with my current stories. You know how it goes!

What kind of writing prompts do you enjoy? Does it depend on your needs? Any favorites?

A Change of Scenery...

2011-04-09T18:45:00.000-05:00

I have no new blog to post, but I figured the least I can do is change my background to reflect spring! Actually, it's more like a summer scene, but I should be safe until I post again when the leaves are about to change.

I'm kidding! I'll post again before...let's see...hmmm...Memorial Day for sure! It's just that it's been a busy time with an overloaded class schedule this semester. But I only have a few more weeks to go! Then, I've lightened up on the schedule and only have one course each month in May, June and July.

So, stay tuned...because you never know what I'll find to report on from my classes once I get the chance to regroup! You might get parts of my essay on "Hawthorne's Aesthetic Distance: A Spiraling Journey from Familiar to Fantasy." Yes, it does seem a bit of a mouthful, but I had fun with that one!

Until then, happy writing and I hope you enjoy the spring...summer..what season is it?

Action Scenes

2011-03-06T00:00:00.000-06:00

It's Spring Break! Yay! Time to do things like clean house or just watch a movie...

By chance, I happened to re-watch the movie "The Firm" (yes, an early 90's flashback). Besides falling in love with Tom Cruise again, I thought a lot about how the action seemed tailor-made for the characters to be either reactive or proactive to their circumstances and, interestingly, how one form followed the other. First, the character has something happen to him/her. It isn't planned by the character, but rather the character is either being manipulated by others or falls into some sort of "being in the wrong place at the wrong time" experience. Then, in a relatively short span of time that cuts across all the ordinary, the tide changes. Most characters who seemed to merely come along for the ride will grapple for control of the circumstances forced upon them to become proactive characters.

In many ways, as I watched "The Firm," I thought, these characters who change are exactly the sort I want to write. Sure, it's not a perfect movie -- is anything perfect outside of the writer's imagination? -- but it's a great example of how an action movie compacts time and is very selective with "screen time" for the characters to get the action to play out with the most effect. So, looking for what works, let's dissect it a bit...

I love it when a plan comes together! - Hannibal from "The A Team

In "The Firm," Tom Cruise's character Mitch puts an incredible plan together to outsmart both the corrupt law firm and the government agents that are pulling his strings like a puppet. In doing so, the character becomes larger than life, transforming from a flawed, ordinary man with only two option written in stone -- to be a pawn to the corrupt Firm or a pawn to the government -- to being the hero who regains his personal honor with decisions of his own making.

This journey for the hero is very appealing. Like Cruise's character, Mitch, I tend to write heroes who don't really believe in accidents. Sure, things happen outside of their control, but eventually they turn the tables. It's just in his DNA or something. The heroine is like this to a lesser degree, but takes a bit longer. However, when a character grows, he or she can and likely should experience both types of action; the reactive and proactive types.

This kind of build-up to action takes planning. The back story of a character makes it understandable why a character would remain, for a while, in a reactive stage. Mitch had believable (to me anyway) motivations with a past of poverty and a brother in prison that, in turn, made the good life of the Firm his dream come true. He logically put the blinders on to the signs of the Firm's corruption and, for a time, gave in to the temptation to ignore his conscience. His mentor, Avery (Gene Hackman), the slick partner who recruited him, is also not a two-dimensional villain, but an older version of what Mitch could become. With this back story, we see Mitch's internal struggle to decide what's morally important to him and believe why it's not an easy decision. And, wondering when Mitch will take control and what will push him too far is part of the suspense.

It seems each character has a certain amount of time where they can only react. How long? For each character it can be different and requires different amounts of set-up for the scene to work.

For instance, shortly after we are introduced to Holly Hunter's character, the quirky secretary, she witnesses her boss getting gunned down by the bad guys as she hides under the desk. This is a frightening, but reactive scene for the character and might have been the last we'd seen of her. But she becomes very important and takes future proactive risks. Later, when one of the things she does is take undercover pictures of the very same bad guy she'd witnessed kill her boss, I immediately thought, wow, that took guts.

This reactive type of action scene as the first introduction to a character, including secondary characters, comes with certain the advantages. Judgments can be minimized in a fast pace and the believability in this type of action's circumstance is perhaps not as strong a requirement. There is a possibility, or a window of opportunity, here for less back story necessary to understand the action scene unfolding. These characters momentarily have a clean slate and they didn't go looking for the trouble the writer threw at them. Hopefully, the reader will feel they deserve our sympathy, and later, the reactive information imparted can be important back story for when the character becomes proactive.

Likewise, in the role of Mitch's wife, Abby, we see her reacting but not being proactive in scenes early on, such as when Mitch tells her their home is bugged. Truthfully, there isn't much of a connection with her character until she becomes proactive, at the risk of her personal safety, by being a crucial diversion in Mitch's plan. However, and this seemed a big point for me, the wife's earlier reactive character allowed me to give enough distance their marriage to, if not forgive, than at least accept Mitch's act of infidelity.

Eventually, both the hero and heroine both become the initiators of the action. How they get to that point, is what makes the action in the resolution unfold like a roller coaster. It's that moment when success or failure isn't guaranteed, but their decisions have been made, mistakes atoned for, and we believe the characters deserve to be rewarded.

When it comes to the action, I love the pace both types, whether circumstances seem to drop the character in a situation outside their control or where the characters knowingly risk their personal safety with a well thought out goal. And while there are differences between writing action for a novel or writing a screen play, action movies remind me visually about how much reality is exchanged for pace. Action is the fun part of movies --fast paced, spontaneous, unpredictable. Characters doing larger-than-life heroics. Hopefully, with just the right choices of screen time worthy scenes, writing the action can be just as fun.

Do you enjoy writing action scenes? Do your characters have a mix of reacting and being proactive to the action?

Time Flies!

2011-02-13T15:08:00.000-06:00

Here it is, two weeks into February, and where has the time gone? Has it been over a month since I last blogged? Time flies! And look, my kitten is growing up!

Looking at the date since I last blogged and noticing the gap between then and today, it almost feels like I "skipped" a month of time. That's kind of cool to me in an odd way. Actually I would kind of like to skip over these days of minus 30 below or freezing rain. Yep, it can be either one in the space of a week. I've had to clear off the heavy snow and ice dams from my roof. (Well, that is, I had to hire someone...no way am I getting on the roof.) Of course, I only noticed the urgency of this when my ceiling started to leak. Sigh.

Can't we just fast forward to summer? Maybe I should just change the date or the background on my blog. Presto! Abracadabra! A la peanut butter sandwiches! (to borrow from the Count on Sesame Street)

Ahhh. Perfect. Just look at that sun glinting off the water...

Sometimes we need a lovely mental vacation when, in reality, things happen in winter that seem like fate trying to tell you something with little signs....like the roof leaking or when the windshield wipers break by not clearing the ice off the car. Yeah, really. That didn't help. But, on the bright side, at least I had a ride for my 45 mile commute to college because there is no way I would be going to school if I had to drive in a Minnesota winter!

Still, things like this make it very tempting to wish a few months away to get to this lovely day. I'm starting to think I need to make a list of "good things" to cheer me up.

Two weeks or so later...

I had a bit of difficulty with my "list of good things." I don't think my list swimming in cliches was turning out particulary optimistic: What have I got? "Bad things come in threes" or Murphy's Law; what can go wrong will go wrong, or "waiting for the other shoe to drop." It doesn't look good because the other shoe had just dropped, this being my ride to college disappearing when my friend who drove decided to drop most of his classes.

I almost decided to follow his lead and drop out myself. Almost. I rationalized that this was too much. Winter had me down. What if I didn't go to college this semester? The thought did enter my mind, but the larger fear of paying back school loans saved me from doing anything hasty. It was close though. I almost dropped a class but had a wonderful professor give me the time and attention to stick with it. In not exactly the same words, he helped me remember that permanent decisions should never be made for temporary problems. (The harder part is finding the perspective to believe problems really are temporary.)

Now, of course there's two sides to this story. It's not just me, although it does seem like it. The "other side" is my friend's side of the story of his own trials and tribulations to make a decision to throw in the towel on a big life plan. And for the past year, we both had this similar plan of going back to college. (Back to me again, if you didn't notice.) It seemed like we were linked in support, like two hikers climbing a mountain. But if one us wasn't going to keep going, then what did it mean for the other?

This situation brought to mind the difficulty in how to make a person (as in my friend who dropped classes) not only feel better, but to be that rock of optimism that actually stops them from making hasty decisions. I did see the slope my friend started to slip down and I tried to talk him out of giving up. But I got tangled in the problem too or perhaps, more accurately, I couldn't untangle my own situation from the problem. It's similar to an episode of Grey's Anatomy, where Derek is about to throw his career away and, one by one, each of his colleagues come out to his trailer to talk him out of his depression. Remember what happens? Each friend starts to tell a "if you think that was bad, listen to this"story. As you can guess, the rescuing friend gets depressed. Then another friend realizes the rescuer is missing in action and the pattern repeats.

I'm not so sure I believe that misery loves company, but I do believe it's contagious. I also think it's tempting to transfer someone else's doubts to ourselves, especially if we're investing our energy into similar goals. The same may be true for writing relationships. Perhaps it's a stretch of the imagination to tie this post into writing, but not such a large leap. We all deal in real life with our fragile inner critic as well as outside criticism and other struggles to make our dreams a reality. Sometimes it's hard to do these things on our own, and sometimes we realize it's just as hard or harder to to them together.

I really had to buckle down to take each challenge one at a time, and hold on to that image of the lake as visual proof things will get better. But sometimes you can't force a "good things list" and you can't make anyone else see that.

The good news is I have been driving myself to school without any breakdowns -- physical or nervous. :) For good or bad, time flies.

Cleo the Kitten

2011-01-07T14:04:00.000-06:00

Here's to a break from writing angst to remember the cute things in life. This is Cleo the kitten and her mommy Penelope. Cleo turned 2 weeks old yesterday. Isn't she a sweetie?

I'm definitely a cat person but I haven't yet written any cats into my stories. I should since I always enjoy Teresa Medeiros' animal friend additions in her stories!

How about you? Have you written animals into your stories or do you enjoy reading about characters with pets?

In Defense of...Good Telling

2011-01-06T15:21:00.000-06:00

I have to say, the idea for this blog topic came about the hard way -- after receiving a critique of my work that made me wince and say, "ouch." You know, the kind of critique where, in the perspective of the critiquer, she's found numerous instances of breaking a writing "rule."

This rule in question is the grand daddy of them all: Show, don't Tell.

When receiving a critique that seems to reveal an overarching problem, I have a mixed response. I think we all do when we receive criticism. We weigh the comments against our personal confidence in what we're trying to do, while at the same time, we try to objectively judge the validity and the source of the opinion. For instance, is it a common thread problem seen amongst several critiquers or the personal taste -- or, distaste, as the case may be, of an individual? Good advice says to downplay the one discordant voice. But even one voice, especially if it echoes your own self-doubt, is tricky to ignore. And when it nags at me long enough, my gut reaction is to look for a defense.

The defense is for myself, the harshest critic of all. I must evaluate for myself if there were or still are good reasons why I decided to use the words I chose in the way that I did. And in deciding if or what I might change, I also look for and often find reassurance in breaking a rule by finding examples of when others have done so.

I looked long and hard, but I believe I've found it -- an article that gives some credit and balance to "telling" in the maxim "show vs. tell." I highly recommend reading the article, When to Tell Instead of Show. In this article, Mary at Kidlit.com thoughtfully explains a pattern of Good Telling using examples from Scholastic editor Cheryl Klein's speech, "A Few Things Writers Can Learn from Harry Potter." Excellent advice and some good insight in the many comments too!

I needed this after a critique of too much "telling." Although it certainly doesn't make all my "telling" instances okay, it does help give a common sense balance to show vs. tell to evaluate my choices.

Another part of my "defense" I've been considering is also the First Person POV of the critiqued chapter. Right or wrong, First Person tends to seduce the writer to tell. It's such a confessional style that it almost seems natural to tell the reader with simple directness how the character feels and what she sees. But perhaps this is in the "old" style of Jane Eyre, who would sometimes even directly address the reader. There is an honesty in this telling I adore, such as in this passage which gives a clear description of Mr. Rochester and Jane's devotion:

And was Mr. Rochester now ugly in my eyes? No, reader: gratitude and many associations, all pleasurable and genial, made his face the object I best liked to see; his presence in a room was more cheering than the brightest fire.

Bronte's paragraphs are also much longer than today's modern reader is used to reading. This same paragraph continues:

Yet I had not forgotten his faults; indeed, I could not, for he brought them frequently before me. He was proud, sardonic, harsh to inferiority of every description; in my secret soul I knew that his great kindness to me was balanced by unjust severity to many others. He was moody too; unaccountably so; I more than once, when sent for to read to him, found him sitting in his library alone, with his head bent on folded arms; and when he looked up, a morose, almost malignant, scowl blackened his features. But I believed that his moodiness, his harshness, and his former faults of morality (I say former, for now he seemed corrected of them) had their source in some cruel twist of fate. I believed he was naturally a man of better tendencies, higher principles, and purer taste than such circumstances had developed, education instilled, or destiny encouraged. I thought there were excellent materials in him; though for the present they hung together somewhat spoiled and tangled. I cannot deny I grieved for his grief, whatever that was, and would have given much to assuage it.

This is the Truth According to Jane and she is sharing her deepest thoughts. Do we like her better for it? Do we pity her? I confess, I am jealous of Charlotte Bronte and the Good Telling of her time.

However, while First Person POV is not THE most popular choice to the modern publisher and reader, it is still a strong second. In any case, whether for Third or First Person, I think there are many instances of Good Telling to be found.

For my own modern story, my defense in "telling" is not yet complete. I may yet decide the First Person POV should be changed to Third Person POV, as I seem to be more aware of the need to show and not tell in Third. Or, I may may decide to move the First Person sections to later sections of the book if Third Person makes a "showier" and more exciting beginning. There are many options and considerations I'll have to make with a guarded sense of protectiveness when considering outside input.

Still, it's hard to shake the comments of a critique and the negative ones do tend to stick. Is my heroine annoying in the First Person? Apparently so if I went by the comment, "If I were her husband, I'd dump her in the woods and drive off." Ouch.

But perhaps this critiquer would be also be annoyed with Jane Eyre. Who knows? Some people cannot enjoy First Person POV, while others appreciate it more. I also have other crits with "loved it" and a "highly believable heroine" so I'm not totally crushed! And something to consider is part of the believability just might be in the telling.

I'm curious. Do you think there is more license to tell in First Person or is it only a natural tendency that should be controlled and First Person POV follows the same "rules" of show vs. tell as Third Person? And, have you found you enjoy Good Telling?

Writing Yourself into a Corner

2011-01-03T12:01:00.000-06:00

Here we are in the new year and, with this post, I'll be consigning another year's blogs to the archives. It's kind of a nostalgic feeling and I couldn't help revisiting a few of my older posts. There is the risk in revisiting the past in discovering not much has changed, but sometimes this is also the reward.

Dusted off from the archives, from 2009 actually, here's a post on what I think is either one of the most exciting or frustrating experiences of writing: Writing Yourself into a Corner.

***

At some point I always seem to write myself into a corner, a plot situation where I wonder, how in the world are they going to get themselves out of this one? This is a good thing when reading someone else's story, but unsettling when, as the writer, I just don't know where they go from here. It feels like I've pushed the limits of plausibility and taken the advice "make it worse" to the point of burning my bridges for the characters.

And I always wonder, from a writer's perspective, if the writer KNEW the solution beforehand and only gave the masterful illusion of writing themselves into a corner or if they, like me, felt like they'd created a monster; written themselves into a corner with problems so big there is no way a happy ending can be achieved. I wonder, how long did the writer agonize over finding the answers? How many alternate scenarios did they experiment with before finding gold or giving up?

I did a google search on "writing yourself in a corner" and found an interesting mix of opinions. Of course, I'm hoping to find reassurance that my "I don't know" method isn't hopeless, so I picked what supports what I wanted to hear. :) Here are a couple:

http://ravingdaveherman.blogspot.com/2008/06/why-writing-yourself-into-corner-can.html

This one embraces "writing yourself into a corner" as a deliberate and purposeful way to work. I like that. After all, impossible situations are by their nature intriguing. I love the quote this blog uses by Ethan Cohen of the Cohen brothers on an impossible situation.

“That stumped us for a while,” says Ethan, “and we had to resort to the ridiculous extreme of, you know, stopping time.”

"Stopping time" doesn't seem like an easy fix, but this reinforces to me that nothing is impossible to get out of and rediculous extremes may be necessary. Next, I went to:

http://wyrdsmiths.blogspot.com/2007/04/writing-yourself-into-corner.html

This one speaks of "writing yourself into a corner" as a fear. I hadn't really thought of it that way, only as a frustration. Great, now I'm frustrated and afraid. lol This blog suggest that the trick is to back yourself out of the corner, but that isn't what I want. Eliminating the corner isn't an option. I went there with a purpose, ignorant of the way out, but brave in having faith it would be, could be found. So I loved the comment from a reader to the post:

If the writer doesn't see a way out of the corner when they get there, chances are good that the reader won't either, and that's what you want, a reader who doesn't know what's going to happen next, but who wants to know. Writing yourself into a corner is an opportunity to heighten reader impact.

It doesn't get much better than that.

The writer's mind is a strange thing. Sometimes the well of ideas and imagination seems to run dry, and then suddenly, it's as though a geyser erupts. It might take a lot of "what if" playing by either brainstorming or writing it out, but suddenly that "click" can happen. A big part of the negotiation with yourself is keeping not just the possibilities, but the impossibilities on the table .

Do you dare to write yourself into a corner? Do you do it on purpose? When it happens, do you back your way out or search for the impossible? Has the process changed over time?

Almost Midnight...

2010-12-31T09:34:00.000-06:00

Three...two...one...Happy New Year!!

I think New Year's Eve should be the official Writer's Holiday. Why? Because of the anticipation, of course! The countdown to midnight is on (or already passed) all around the world. And all year long, writers everywhere will try to capture that fleeting magic and make readers turn the page with one goal; to find out what happens.

Ironic isn't it, how we count down to what is the peak of an upward momentum. Anticipation builds toward the moment when the clock strikes 12 as if we believe something unexpected is going to happen...something that will change everything.

How will we face that moment? How will our characters? Will they bravely stand still, witnessing the moment and hope for the best, or maybe, like Cinderella, will they run?

I wonder what Cinderella thought when then clock started its echoing count down? She seemed to think running her only choice. After all, she knew her illusion would be shattered if she stayed -- the prince would discover who she really was. What does it say about her to believe this would be disaster? What if she hadn't run? What if she hadn't made her escape before the magic ended and revealed her secrets? So many questions!

What if?

That is The Writer's Question only you can answer in an infinte number of ways.
So here's to you on your special holiday and my best wishes for many magical almost midnight moments! What will happen in your story when it's almost midnight? It will be exciting to find out, won't it?

Happy writing in 2011!

Forget the Resolutions! Enroll in the Novel Writers' (Mock) University

2010-12-28T16:26:00.000-06:00

This is the time of year when I usually want to hide from the resolution chatter. Personally, I don't "do" resolutions, but it's hard not to think and dream about what I would like to happen. Like:

1. Finish my novel.

2. Submit my novel.

3. Sell my novel.

Okay, I usually skip to the third item.

Well, actually that's being harsh. Last year I made it to the second step, so 2 out of 3 of those "what I'd like to happen" items at the end of the year two years ago did happen. Follow me? I'm not sure I do, but I think I'm saying it's been a dry spell. For a while now, it's been hard to keep my writing a priority in the face of other obligations. It's been hard to keep the faith that writing is what I do; my identity and not just something I tried.

But...I did get a lot done this year and completed three semesters of college courses; spring, summer and fall. Quite a full year. Yep, I managed to follow my course syllabus and complete the assigned tasks. I had to do those things, but this is better than it sounds. Even though I might be the one paying, it was my job. That's better than it sounds, too. That's the thing about a JOB. Even though you might wonder -- why am I here in this job I didn't dream about -- there is the validation of knowing others aren't going to question the sense of why you do what you do every day. It's your job.

Writing without a paycheck (for now) isn't quite the same, which is why it's vitally important to make what we do have equal weight with what others see as a traditional job. Because no matter how thick our skin is, it won't be thick enough if we don't give that to ourselves.

So, for now my job is going to school, and being a mom (another poor paying job), but writing should not be moved down on the list of valid occupations. But how? If only I had a syllabus for writing my novel...that document that I can sneak in with the rest...

Hey! Why not? Actually this "light bulb moment" came to me recently, but after further thought, I put it aside as one of my "ideas" that wasn't coming together as workable. There were a few mind block obstacles to get past that meant I quickly shot it down.

First, there's the structure of a syllabus. Dates. Ick. And knowing exactly what goes with the dates. Uhm, I don't know exactly what goes with what until I get to it. A linear structure? -- read chapter one, two, three, etc. of the required text. Nah.

The syllabus idea lost its fizzle but not its appeal for reaching an objective. Not knowing where to go with it, I put it aside and came up with my "Scene by Scene Milestones Charted the Gin Rummy Way." No dates and flexible!

Little did I know, or admit it at the time (funny how last week seems longer ago!), but this was laying the groundwork for my syllabus. I simply fooled myself into collecting the data for my "lesson plan." But I also realized I needed dates. Without the dates, I would be like any other student who found themselves at finals week scrambling to play catch-up.

So, I drafted my syllabus -- with dates. I went with the standard 16 week semester of my University. My spring semester starts January 10 and ends April 29. Wow, that doesn't seem very long, does it? Just think how much can and will be accomplished!

Next, I tackled the linear aspect of a syllabus. I thought hard about this and decided a compromise could be working ahead, BUT the assigned tasks did have to be completed on due dates.

And what are the assigned tasks? They are each of the scenes on my Scene by Scene Milestones chart, broken up according to my estimate of length to complete according to rating. In a way, this is my "required text." Thinking of it that way, the Milestones are a pre-requisite or almost part of another course. And because I'm jumping into this class at a revision stage, I came up with some "mock" course names -- just for the fun of it.

Writing 1020: Novel Plot & Scene Framework

Writing 2020: Novel Revision I

Writing 3020: Novel Revision II & Submission for Publication

This spring semester I'm taking Writing 2020. (I already took Writing 1020, of course! It took a couple of years, but that's because I didn't follow the syllabus. LOL)

Next, some other syllabus items (for Writing 2020) got added, included a Course Objective, Required Texts, Class Time and Location. A time to report to class is important and attendance will be taken. (As for location, this class is held in building HB110 -- otherwise known as Home Base, first floor!)

Here is my filled in Syllabus. Yes, it is rather a "do it yourself" kind of University, but worth every penney! Really.

I "imagine" the Due for Discussion" assignment due dates as a "lab working session," such as with a critique group. Of course, there isn't one, but if there were, you'd want to be prepared!

I did give myself a bit of a head start with the work done on the beginning scenes, but this is the advantage of getting the syllabus in advance. Now on to the rest!

Oh, and of course this is a Five Credit class. That's why due dates are on Sundays, but psst! -- if you're done you don't have to do anything.

So, although I have 18 credits coming up for "real" classes this spring semester (added American Lit before 1865) this one seems pretty darn real too.

Next summer I will take the class Writing 3020. :)

So how about you? Feel like taking a class?

Little Quotes that Talk Big

2010-12-26T13:00:00.000-06:00

I love quotes. In fact, I think Bartlett's Familiar Quotations would be a great book to be stranded on a deserted island with...as long as I had some paper to write with too, that is.

Quotes motivate, inspire and some get ingrained in our psyche and become old, familiar friends. I can turn to them again and again when I feel like I expect too much from my words to even get started. My favorite quote, although not to be found in Bartlett's, is:

"Blah, blah, blah...GOLD!"

I found this one years ago in Joel Saltzman's great little writing craft book If You Can Talk, You Can Write. In that mysterious method of creation of an analogy, the author thought to compare panning for gold to writing, and I think of this little gem often. It "talks big" to me as a perfect analogy for the writer's seemingly tenacious belief that effort will be rewarded -- even when all you seem to find is sand, sand, sand. And when the words do sift out, the writer recognizes the gold following a dry spell of bland words with almost disbelieving, giddy relief.

Then, the process begins again. A writer has to sift through a lot of words to find anything of value, but all we need is a glimmer of the shiny stuff to give hope to keep looking for more.

Another thing, besides being motivational, that I love about quotes is that they can inspire words in a way similar to a writer's prompt. It's like the quote is a nugget of a universal truth that can be taken out of context and used as a building block to something completely different. Often, the author's intended meaning of the complete work is miles apart from a portion of it, but that's okay. There's nothing wrong with saying thanks for the idea and expanding it to our own ideas.

One method for this is when an author uses the quote to preface a chapter. I love this method in stories and I always wonder which came first for the author; the quote or the chapter? I personally find it hard to go back into my story and try to match what I wrote to a quote, but thereverse seems easier; write a chapter loosely around a quote. For instance, in a chapter where the hero begins a deception, I couldn't help but think of the line:

O, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive. - Sir Walter Scott

This was a little quote that talked big to me and I liked the foreshadowing at the beginning of the chapter. The quote set the tone. And in front of Part II of my book, for the same reasons, I put my own words:

And all my heart’s desires
Beat their way into existence
As soon as I took your hand

Yes, it was literal. She did take his hand...and life changed forever. :)

Quotes can do a lot, whether my own words or someone elses. Usually it is hard to pin down which inspiration came first, but I think I have an idea what I'm looking for but don't know it until I see it. Currently, I have a couple of quotes I'm thinking of using for my chapters of "River of Tears." For instance:

You furnish the pictures and I'll furnish the war. -- William Randolph Hurst (attributed instructions to artist Frederick Remington in Havana Cuba [March 1898]

To me, this fits for my hero being a photo-journalist and ideas for the plot. Another is:

There are two ways of spreading light; to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it. -- Edith Wharton

This one seems to sum up the feeling of inadequacy in my heroine who thinks she is the "mirror." I'm not sure where that quote might go, but it does have a place for the overall theme.

Sometimes I find the words and it's a wonderful feeling. More often I don't. Oh, well. *sigh* I'll keep panning for gold. Or maybe Bartlett's will help me out...

What do you love about quotes? Favorites? Do you have any little quotes that talk big for your characters or your plot?

Scene by Scene Milestones Charted the Gin Rummy Way

2010-12-21T13:46:00.001-06:00

I had a different post planned for today on "wish lists" that was more in line with the season. I'd picked out the appropriate Santa Claus image and everything to decorate, but it seemed too, well...wishful. I guess I played out my enthusiasm for "wishful." Ah, well, the colors are Christmasy!

But while in the general "wishful" mood over the past few days, I thought a lot about productivity for my goal of organizing my WIP through to completion, and, when that plan didn't come together - - played online Gin Rummy.

Yep, typical avoidance. I am on "vacation" but still, I would like something to show for my stories. However, when it comes to constructing a "plan," I don't really know where to start. One way or another, productivity advice boils down to: 1) Write it Down, and 2) Do it.

Now how enthused can someone be about that? It's just...boring.

Then I had an idea. Since I seem to want to play games rather than actually organize a plan for working on my novel, maybe I should make it a game. After all, just like for characters, there's nothing like being a little eccentric to maintain interest.

Plus, something else occurred to me. The sorting tasks of Gin Rummy are basic organization skills! Yes, the very thing I try so hard to avoid. Next thing I knew (all right, several hours later), I had my novel broken down with my "Scene by Scene Milestones Charted the Gin Rummy Way." Now, is that a snappy title or what?

If you'd like to try it, below is an image of my file that I think you can enlarge by double-clicking on it and also some "instructions." It might not work as a plan for everyone, but I found it fit my goal and my stage of the novel, which is with nearly all of the plot points fleshed out but in various stages of "polish." So I see this more for revision of a nearly complete, that is plotted, manuscript.

Benefits:

I got a much clearer picture of my WIP as a whole and found I couldn't resist adding to the scenes as I identified them. Yes, one of the purposes is to break out and identify EACH scene. The scenes are the milestones.

The Rating System -- the Gin Rummy Way -- shows me where I'm at in passing the milestone.

Naming the scenes gives me a unified theme for the conflict and goal of each section and helps with judging the pace.

It can be, but doesn't have to be, a linear process. I can sort and reshuffle my "cards."

First, the quick basics of Gin Rummy as a refresher which will hopefully help understand the system.

Gin Rummy Rules (simplified): By drawing and discarding, you sort your cards in groups (like three Aces or a run of the same suit: A, 2, 3 [Ace counting as #1]) and try to be the one left holding the lowest points, or none at all. You can either "knock" with low points to catch your opponent or call "Gin!" if none. (Note: I think the cards in the image above is a bridge hand and not Gin Rummy, but the idea is there.)

The System

I. Sort your "cards" which are your scenes. Make a table (Excel works nice or with Word) with the headings: "Chapter #," Scene #," "Scene Name," "Stage 1 Milestone (A, 2, 3)" and "Stage 2 Milestone (G)" Optional headings, which I added, could be "Characters Involved" and "Location" or other category you'd like to track.

II. Enter the data for each scene under the header and rate its completion status.

Rating System for the "Milestone" headings. Objective: Get all the Stage 1 Milestones to "A" before moving on to Stage 2. In Stage 2, get all the Milestones to "G."

A (Ace or #1) = "You're ready to "knock." This could be enough to win, but it needs another look before calling Gin! in Stage 2.

2 = It's solid with the plot, but needs to be revisited to smooth out rough edges.

3 = The scene fits with the plot, but the writing is sketchy at best with holes to fill. (I have lots of 3's! That's okay...time to whittle them down in points.)

G = Gin! This is only for Stage 2, the polishing stage and checking the details and continuity. Once you go Gin! for all scenes, the novel is officially finished! (Time for query letters and a synopsis.)

One thing notably absent is dates. Personally, I left this out, but it could be added. I may add it for Stage 2. I think the main thing is getting to know where I'm at and what I need to work on next. I think it's good to have direction, but there are many different interpretations of the advice: 1) write it down, 2) do it!

Have you customized your plan? What would you add to this one? Any other ways to turn your plan into a game?

First Page Woes

2010-12-16T11:30:00.001-06:00

I'm posting again before the last post has had time to settle in! This is what happens when on vacation. Fall semester finished and a nice long break until the Spring semester starts January 10. Yay!

I had to post again because of finding two very interesting blogs of note dealing with my Achilles heel -- first pages. First, Writer Unboxed has a great blog about this in a Q & A: First-page problems. Greatest problems cited: back story, info dump, exposition, throat clearing and setup. No big surprises in the culprits, but some good advice that may click when heard a different way.

Second, by the same author, Ray Rhamey, there is a link from this article to the author's information packed blog Flogging the Quill, where he has a Flogometer Challenge: Can you craft a first page that compels me to turn to the next page? You can vote yourself on whether you'd read on, see the results to the poll, and read Ray's insightful input. I think it's kind of fun to see how my opinion rates against others.

I'm not so sure I'll take the challenge by submitting, but the examples are interesting to read and learn from. As usual, I can see from the work of others what works and doesn't much more clearly than I can in my own.

Currently, I'm still having a nagging voice in my head say I should revise and rearrange my first chapter(s) -- again. Has anyone ever tried the trick of moving up a later portion of your book (such as the third chapter) for the first and find it works?

Charting a Course of Progress

2010-12-15T18:00:00.000-06:00

I hate to admit it, but I've had some rediculously high expectations over the years for what tools, experience or qualifications I thought I needed to write or call myself a writer. My thinking has changed over time, and I'm starting to revise my thinking about the importance of writing milestones or how we gage our progress. I'm not sure how to describe it, but perhaps these days I think more in terms of wish lists and less of must haves.

For instance, wouldn't it be nice if the "milestones" we chose to plot in our "progress chart" weren't only those big moments of sales or finished projects? Wouldn't it be nice to think of any encounter with writing as brushing shoulders with our Muse?

Here's what I'd like for self evaluation -- a progress chart where we acknowledge our writing in all forms -- our novels and short stories, but also essays, journals, letters, blogs or even reading or thinking about writing. I often think we forget how this interaction with the Muse makes whatever we write next, in whatever format, be better. It's as if our course of progress has already been charted by many intangible milestones.

What would a graph look like if you plotted out your interaction with the Muse over a reasonably long time span? What if you included everything -- from the days you only had a moment to jot down the ideas as came to you, which meant you were open to listening, to how, on the best days, the ideas flew from your mind to your fingers?

If this hypothetical graph of your Muse's activity is anything like mine, it has a lot of spikes, flat lines, and an occasional nosedive, representing a tangent that seems unrelated to the plotted course. But most important, the chart is full of activity. Even when the line is lateral, progress may be creeping along in another form. Perhaps during flat times you're either absorbing knowledge or maybe handling revisions to straighten out the kinks. The Muse hasn't left -- you're only working together. And according to a predictable path of the graph, it will return with an upturn of ideas.

The Muse is not only fickle, it often shows little regard for pace. Rarely, when we are lucky, we get a nice, manageable cruising speed we long to maintain. But typically, at times the Muse gives us everything at once, at times it leads us down the wrong path, and at other times it stalls out, seemingly going dormant.

But hopefully, there is also an arrow at the end pointing in an upward direction. As long as you judge yourself fairly, I think most every writer would be pleasantly surprised if they tallied up the small stuff for charting a course of progress.

There's Good Stuff Here...Somewhere! -- Blog Revamp

2010-12-07T12:03:00.000-06:00

Random historical highlight for today: The Practice of Dueling with my favorite historical "nugget" on the unpredictability of flintlock pistols. Come on...you know you're going to need to know this. :)

I admit, I'm a bit of a collector. As writers, we all are! What we collect most is information and hopefully it finds a useful place in our stories.

Like most things, in my opinion anyway, the actual activity of collecting is the fun part. Keeping it organized so we can actually find and use it again...not so much.

However, a blog does come in handy for this task, and for some reason, I've felt the urge to do a bit of clean-up and site remodel today. You may notice the changes. My "lists" of things are moved up and on the right sidebar, including the Labels of blog topics and also my long list of Blogs to Follow.

I might just be able to find something myself! I'm quite proud of my "old" archives for the historical content. This kind of information doesn't go out of date -- there's only room for more! But that's all for my revamp for today. My blogging plan for now continues to be more general rambling, but I'll occasionally highlight some of the historical articles.

Stay tuned for future "random nuggets of things you should know!" I know it's in here somewhere...

Read any Favorite Blogs Lately?

2010-12-04T14:40:00.000-06:00

I'm in the midst of the last two weeks of the semester, which means final presentations and final exams. Not a lot of interest to a romance writer!

Could I possibly do a "quick" blog post? Not likely, but maybe a blog referral I could do.

Picking a consistent favorite is tough, however. A lot of blogs seem to be currently suffering from bouts of crankiness out there. There is a lot of: "what-not-to-do-itis." I even read an agent post that I usually enjoy practically begging NaNoWriMo writers NOT to send him their just completed manuscripts. At least for a year. I guess that makes sense, but seriously? Is it necessary to point that out? Not that I've done NaNoWriMo (yet!), but if I did, or when I do, I think I'd be a little offended. It's a huge accomplishment! I doubt, however, I'd be thinking it was ready to go out on December 1.

Oops, I just rambled into a topic.

But back to blog/website referrals. How about something truly useful? For instance, need some maps for your Regency?

From the site Jane Austen's World, they have a link to: Maps of 18th and 19th Century London.

Of note:
Richard Horwood's 1792-1799 Plan of London and Westminster - quite simply, the most detailed map of Georgian and Regency London you will ever find. It shows every house (with numbers), every alley, every tavern, every work and alms house. Magnificent.

I guess that's three links. It's like eating potato chips. Then again, you might never leave the Jane Austen's World site. Oh, so tempting!

What would be your pick(s) for your most useful writing site(s)? Any favorite blog posts or web sites you'd like to share? Please do! Or, what do you think about the agent's rant on NaNoWriMo submissions?

Salvage Blog

2010-11-28T11:52:00.000-06:00

Today I'm lazy and thought I'd revisit my older blogs and see if there were any to salvage. It may be too much work, however. Even though I have quite a few in a "draft" stage, they were set aside for good reasons. They are too prickly, like a cactus that we decided needed too much care to approach again. But, this is my salvage blog in honor of stuff we don't throw away.

I think we all keep drafts (and other things) and wonder "why?" Like a closet full of clothes that don't fit or are out of style, you wonder why you keep sections you cut from your WIP. They were cut for good reason; they also don't fit or the mood or style is wrong. You keep them though. Deleting is painful and has potential for regret. Maybe, just maybe, there's a reason to keep those "throw away" words. Maybe there's hope for salvage.

*browsing my edit list* Maybe this one. It doesn't look too promising, but maybe. Back in November of last year, I wrote a blog while miserable with a head cold and I apparently felt the need to share my misery! Now that's one blog I can read now and say, "I don't really care about your head cold." Even if it was mine! LOL

No, this one doesn't have a lot of promise. There is some "I'm sick, can someone send me some cyber chicken soup?" melodrama, and then it transitions into an attempt to review/critique a book. Now, wouldn't you hate it if someone obviously under the weather reviewed your work? But I wasn't thinking clearly and I dove in to write about a 'badly written' book. Even then I had the sense to leave out names, so it really wasn't a "review" but my outrage and crankiness is apparent:

The thing I really noticed was a very shallow POV. There were many, many instances of the hero and heroine being "aware" of him/herself in a way that any critiquer worth her salt would write a notation of a "POV slip." But the critiquer would soon get tired of correcting what was uncorrectable. This was not a mistake, this was on purpose!

I found it jarring and unsettling to read things like "he was a tall, powerfully built man" in what had to be his POV. I kept wanting to look around and "see" someone else but no, it was only him. Who thinks this way? It was all telling, and not showing.

This self awareness was present for the heroine as well. Her eyes "flew wide with dismay" and she frequently pushed her hair through her "auburn curls." Nope, no one is slapping this writer's hand and saying she can't think of herself this way.

Then, my crankiness turned to a reluctant admiration (I cleaned it up a bit, but I think I got what my foggy brain was trying to say):

But, because it was so consistent, the lack of POV depth settled into a certain expected style. For the hero, I could see how the effect was fitting for purposeful distance and arrogance. This was an alpha male, no doubt about it. I didn't exactly like him, but I didn't want to look away either. And by the time I read mid way through, reading in his POV, that "sudden devilment gleamed in his dark deep-set eyes" didn't throw me at all. In this borderline omnicient style, I could actually wonder, what is he up to? This mystery would be impossible in a deep POV.

The thing about this story, what kept me reading, was the sensual pull between the hero and heroine. It is hard to describe how this could be achieved with a slightly impersonal POV, but it was there. I'm still trying to figure it out. Maybe it was something about the "telling" that made it more economical and somehow more effective. More raw in the telling?

So, just as there is a nugget of value that saved this book, I think I found a nugget (or two) of value in my "throw-away" words.

For one, maybe reading with a cold or bad mood is actually a good time to be critical? For "your eyes only" though! As long as it's not going anywhere, criticize without the worry of offending. It's harmless venting and liberating to be honest without cushioning every criticism that has a negative ring with "in my humble opinion." So, be bold and voice the bad. After all, it should be easy in a bad mood!

Then talk about what good things salvaged the book. Even in a bad mood, this is possible to see. If it kept you reading in spite of the flaws, then it must be good! Only it will be difficult to express in a bad mood. You will be confused as to why this worked and reluctant to admit anything right could have come out of all those wrongs. Then take a breather (weeks, months, even a year) and edit yourself to find out what you were trying to say.

In this salvage, there is an an intriguing phenomenon of "time traveling back to your former self" at work here. I came across this quote in another blog and it sticks with me as a wealth of possibility for how to edit oneself. Many things are fixable and time and distance can do wonders for perspective. But one has to believe in the posibility of salvage for this to have appeal.

I acknowlege there are some, perhaps yourself, who believe it best to start anew and "clean house." Thow away the old and get a fresh start. But I would rather have a head start with a what I find in a salvage expedition. Actually, there is something appealing about cactus in November....

How about you? Do you see the salvage potential? Have you read a book and been compelled to analyze how "wrong" can become right? Have you read your own work and seen more clearly what your "former self" was trying to say?

Digging Out

2010-11-23T13:38:00.000-06:00

Yes, that's my car under a foot of fresh snow! And to tie this to writing, my car and my WIP have a lot in common. Both need digging out and seem stuck in one place. I need a shovel and a broom for each, but I do try my best to put off both jobs!

Late last night, as the snow continued to fall, I went to bed with not much thought to the task of digging out this morning. In fact, I was happy to be snowed in. With another 6-10 inches in the forecast for Wednesday, these two words -- "why bother?" were firmly in my mind. I mean, really, why not wait to dig out? I'm not planning on going anywhere soon since it's Thanksgiving week and I'm "home free" for the rest of the week. I'll watch the soaps or a movie. I could study or, what a thought, I could work on my novel, but probably not tomorrow. I have the whole week! My son's school will probably be cancelled too and he's excited about a snow day. Yes, I'm quite content to hum along to the Winter Wonderland song: "The weather outside is frightful, but inside it's quite delightful. As long as we've no place to go, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!"

Oh, silly me. Snowed in? I forgot where I lived! You see, even with another big storm coming, you can't underestimate how industrious Northern Minnesotans and my little town of less than 300 people is about snow removal. In fact, almost too industrious. What was I thinking? I must have flash backed to my years in Washington, DC where, yes, you could expect a Federal holiday for a little snow. But here? Oh, no.

Nope, late into the night the snow plows flashed their lights as they went along Main Street past my house. But other than waking me up, I know what that means for me! The roads might be cleared, but they always block me in by dumping a mountain at the end of my driveway -- that hard packed heavy kind that I can't shovel. Ha! My plans to avoid the shovel and broom for the car still has merit and I fall back to sleep knowing I'm not getting out. It still makes no sense to shovel (to do work)!

Then, at four a.m. I hear the beep, beep, of the City's sole maintenance person on his Bobcat clearing off the sidewalk in front of my house. Oh, bother! I open the curtains to see him plowing away the snow blockade in front of my driveway and, moreover, clearing a big share of my driveway for good measure. He's like a whole team of the elves who made the shoemaker's shoes while he slept. Only noisier. Still, I should be grateful. I tell myself this anyway as I pull the covers over my head.

When morning comes (daylight that is), I am now, of course, guilted into work. First, I might as well get to it since, no surprise, I'm awake! *yawn* It's been a long night of lights and beeping snow plows. And there's also the consideration that I can't be identified as the only able bodied person who forgot their duty to fight a "man (or woman) against nature" battle. My neighbors, it seems, are out in full force as if the town is preparing for a winter parade or something.

So, as my son's school bus picks him up -- right on time -- I went out in the three degree weather with my shovel and a broom. I grumble under my breath (that I can see) as I start in on something I'm not sure has a point, but I do smile and wave my thanks as my neighborly maintenance elf (who is a neighbor, of course) drives by. I'm also thinking that if I don't clear my steps and driveway I'll be visited by another neighbor who wonders if I've "fallen and can't get up," as the commercial goes. Because, of course, only dire circumstances would prevent digging out. This is another small town difference from the big city that I am normally quite proud of -- when I'm not intent on being a hermit, that is.

Less than an hour later, the car is unburied, the driveway and steps clear, and I do admit to a feeling of accomplishment. I did what I wasn't enthused about and, even if my plan for the day hasn't changed I can go somewhere if I choose to do so. That is, assuming it starts. But besides that detail, there's a point to what the big call to action to dig out is all about. It's about creating possibility. No one (usually that is) wants to be "stuck" in one place, so we do whatever is in our power to clear a path, however temporary. It's also about getting started on a big task, simply by doing, even when you don't have a destination in mind. Now, after the fact, I'm a bit more sincere in my gratitude to the "maintenance elf" giving me a head start.

I see there are similarities to my writing process in my perspective toward whether I dig out immediately or if I wait to dig out my car. Whether I realized it or not, there is that same need to believe in the purpose. There's that weighing of the time and effort. For the car, I didn't see why I should put in the time (that I had such big plans for) and effort during an interval bookended by major storms. Everything I do is going to be basically "wiped out." For writing, I often don't see the interval large enough, the window of opportunity wide enough to start. Add to that a very real possibility of frustration if any changes I make in the plot will affect other areas of the story, and it's a recipe for writer's block.

The trick seems to be not think about it so much. Easier said than done, but I recall a teacher saying to always do a simpler problem that is similar to a more complicated problem. In the simpler task of digging out the car I probably still did it "wrong" or out of sequence. I started shoveling the driveway and then swept the snow off the car, which meant I again had to shovel the driveway. I know. What was I thinking? *LOL* It's not the end of the world, but if I'd done it the other way around I would have saved a step. It's a good thing I didn't think about it. I needed to clear the surrounding area first to get to the car, and I didn't think about how the car snow would change what I'd already done. Would it have been better the other way? It wasn't that bad to do cleanup, and either way, the task was complete.

For novel writing I often get stuck in indecision of whether my writing process is effective, which paralyzes my progress. That constant re-writing can seem pointless and make you feel like there must be a better way. But all that does is lead to second guessing, which really does take a lot of time. So, when the questions come up, the answer is most likely, "yes." Next time I ask, does it makes more "sense" to clear the surrounding area first or write a specific section (cleanup!), the answer is yes. Either is right.

When there aren't any helpful elves around, how do you get motivated to dig out your story?

And yes, I know the big question is, why don't I have a garage? Long story, but it would help!

The Writer's Perspective: Making Connections in a Setting

2010-11-18T12:30:00.000-06:00

As writers, we usually have a unique perspective for life in general. We see everything -- every human interaction, every observation of the physical world around us -- through a lens of how this outside sensory information can be internalized and used in a story. We are constantly on the lookout for...well, for words basically. No, we aren't usually greeted every morning with a script from the cat or lines of description from the view outside the window, but we know they -- the words -- are out there, raw materials that just haven't been processed yet. Or, to draw on a word often used in science, information waiting to be synthesized.

This does kind of make us sound like robots, I guess! Of course, we are not. Robots can't interpret emotion or make an analogy between static objects. But they can string together an incredible amount of information in individual bits and pieces, and it's up to us to give meaning and purpose to them and make connections. We do this in all our plotting, but it's especially needed in building a setting.

As my theatre class nears its end, my last role in a group project has been as a set designer. Right off the top of my head, I'd say, from a writer's perspective, that what I've learned by creating a setting is much more about the collective rather than strictly individual elements of telling a story.

I wasn't necessarily enthused to tackle setting, however. Set design? I read the assignment and groaned. "The set designer will put together a sketch of the groundplan (not to scale) and a list of set props needed for the show. They will also provide five pieces of visual materials (photos, video stills, sketches) that will help to describe their vision. Pay attention to the color pallete of the show."

The word "sketch" is what had me groan. Sketch? As in DRAW? *sputtering* "But...but...I can't draw!" (Yes, you can see that by my actual sketch of the groundplan. Let me remind you of the words "not to scale.")

But I made the attempt, albeit with much frustration when the "vision" in my head did not match reality! Hmm, a very familiar experience to writing actually...

By "vision," however, the instructor didn't mean the reality of the drawing. After I finished beating up my artistic ability, I could explore this more fully. My little notes, which you can't see in the drawing, are elements from the plot. The play, by the way, was Susan Glaspell's "Trifles." My notes, of this gloomy (hey, I got that mood right artistically!) farmhouse set in about 1910 or so, point out things like disrepair and incomplete work and atmosphere: "faded wallpaper," "dirty pots and pans under sink," dirty kitchen towels," "snowy view of hill."

These details are clues in a murder mystery revolving around two characters who are never shown on stage. If you have read the play, you might know its a one act play which takes place the day after a neighbor discovered John Wright has been murdered in his bed by strangulation. Mrs. Wright was found rocking in her rocking chair. Five characters, three men and two women arrive; the men to investigate the murder, while the women are merely along to pick up clothing for Mrs. Wright, now in jail. The men, a county attorney, a sherrif and the neighbor look for motive for the murder, but are unsuccessful. It is the women, wives of the sheriff and the neighbor, who discover the motive in items the men dismiss as "trifles" or messy housekeeping.

As the women explore the absent woman's home, these details of domestic routines ultimately lead to the discovery of a bent bird cage inside the cabinet, which leads the women to discover a strangled bird inside Mrs. Wright's sewing work basket. The motive becomes clear, along with a piecing together of a miserable life of isolation and the transformtion of the once lively Mrs. Wright. Ultimately, the empathy the women feel toward Mrs. Wright lead them to hide the evidence.

As a set designer, it became my job to decide how these set pieces revealed the character of Mrs. Wright, established background and revealed the murder mystery. And while the play described the setting in detail in stage direction of the play, there was room to decide which items to emphasize or change. For instance a jug (on the stove shelf) or the brightly colored quilt and "treasure chest" in the forefront were not described but were in line with my "vision." And inside this trunk, there are more of Mrs. Wright's beautiful, but hidden things; a fancy hat, a bright blue dress, a fancy keepsake box. (No, I'm not making another sketch of these contents. Clip art and pictures are wonderful things!)

As I worked on the setting details, a complete "missing scene" of what might have happened leading up to the murder of Mr. Wright took form. Perhaps the incomplete work were signs of Mrs. Wright being interrupted. Perhaps Mr. Wright, who finanacially ruled the household without an allowance for extravagences (not even for curtains), came home unexpectely. Perhaps Mrs. Wright, who normally hid her treasures and covered the bird cage to keep her bird from singing, had all her pretty things out. This enraged Mr. Wright and culminated in the act of Mr. Wright killing her bird, her only companion. In the play's text, Mrs. Hale notices the erratic sewing stitches in Mrs. Wright's quilting, which could have happened during or following this act.

So my vision is complete, including an explanation in my mind of how Mrs. Wright could have overpowered Mr. Wright to strangle him in his sleep. It would seem likely, although never speculated upon in the play, that Mr. Wright might have drank too much, which made him incapacitated. Hence, the moonshine jug inconspicuously added to the setting.

Of interest and help to me in consideration of setting was also this article an "Analysis of Setting in Trifles," by Rebecca Search, which further explores the symbolism of its setting.

Each detail of setting connects to the plot. Perhaps the audience (or a reader) might not draw on or realize each significance, but as a writer each item can be full with meaning and purpose. With this experience, I'm looking forward to drawing (however badly!) my own story settings for a scene or two. Who knows what might be revealed?

How do you envision your settings or connect your setting elements to plot?

What's New?

2010-11-11T08:37:00.000-06:00

As I notice the calendar says November 11 and it's my first blog of the month, I realize I have plenty of options for topics. After all, lots of "really interesting things" have been happening over the past few weeks. Really! They must have been, or why wouldn't I have been here, right? Like...

*a clock ticks away the seconds as I think about interesting past events. I know they happened. Tick...tick...tick...

Wow, ever notice how a clock can sound really loud in a quiet house? Tick...tick...tick...*

Oh, yes, interesting stuff.

*tick...tick...tick...turns on radio to drown out ticking*

Well, stuff did happen. I just can't remember the most interesting "stuff" off the top of my head! Or if I do, it's not as interesting in the remembering. It's kind of like writing a letter (or an email) to a friend you haven't talked with for a while. What do you choose to say to sum up past events that are old news? Maybe you give up on the letter because everything you start to talk about has a certain "you kind of had to be there" distance to it.

Okay, it's a little different for a blog. Here, if I wrote a blog based on "a funny thing happened today" (that actually happened two weeks ago), nobody is going to call me on embellishing the truth. I don't think so anyway! But to make it interesting, I'd have to be acting like it just happened. And if I succeeded in being exceptionally generous, I'd involve the recipient. I'd make it a story about something not just about me, but something the reader also could relate to as something that has or could happen to them.

This brings up an interesting thought. In just about all cases, we want our writing to be immediate and in the moment. But two fleeting things are at play here; both the interest level of the giver and the interest level of the receiver of information. As a giver, we quickly forget or lose interest -- and it shows. And in the recipient's shoes (the one hearing the information), we don't particularly want to hear about what happened weeks, months or years ago to someone else. True, "old news" can be very interesting -- especially if we were there or know the people involved. But generally it's simply not natural to want to hear about old news. People don't typically ask "what's old?" They ask, "what's new?" -- even if what they get is going to be old. But why do they ask what's new? Because they want to be part of the new story -- the current interaction.

This, of course, has a lot of implications for a writer to think about. However, most implications I realize I routinely ignore because this is a writing paradox of sorts; while it's natural to ask what's new, it's also natural to tell what's old. But it's a tendency I think we need to overcome. If it isn't new -- and really, everything is old the second after it happens -- we need to try and make it seem new and proactively give the recipients what they want. That's not so easy. If we accept the premise of natural tendencies, it goes against the grain.

In fiction writing this whole "making old news seem new" situation comes up often in the many decisions necessary for relaying what happened in the past. It also explains a little what the big deal is about using the word "was." I must love that word because I use it so much. Why is that word picked on so much? Possibly, it's because the little culprit tempts you tell a story as if responding to someone who has asked about "old news." I don't know why they'd do that, but I think it would make a difference in the response.

What's old, you ask? Well, I had a play writing exercise in my theatre class. It was about writing a missing scene for the play The Crucible. It was a lot of fun to do and I learned a lot about... *losing steam in my enthusiasm* Sorry, I realize I may have lost your interest there and I'll partly blame that little word "was."

Instead:

What's new, you ask? Oh! I have a fun new writing exercise! It gives you the freedom to write dialogue without worrying about "telling" character actions. You have permission to "tell" and I think it can work as a form of a rough draft blueprint for non-play writing.

I could be off and running with that blog topic, but it's been a while and I'm letting it go. LOL The point is, it's not easy to make the "old" seem new in our writing, but I think we always have to give it a shot.

Do you ever think we're writing at cross purposes with our natural communication tendencies?

(Btw, a not-so-perfect example of this play writing exercise is posted.)

Saturday Time Watch: In Honor of Ghosts and Grim Reapers

2010-10-30T07:37:00.000-05:00

In week #2, a slight modification (already!) to last week's idea of a regular Saturday Time Watch blog. You see, I realize I narrowed the scope too far. I suggested my "Time Watch" would be inspired by songs or poems related to time and love. Now granted, there is an endless supply of inspiration I haven't even begun to explore, but still, make the perameters too defined or the focus too sharp and I look longingly to the fuzzy edges.

So to broaden the focus, the concept of Time and Love on its own has lots of "fuzzy edges" to explore. It's the basis of an entire genre, of course; paranormal romance. You never know, maybe even a ghost or a grim reaper may be lurking. And what better time is there than this weekend, on the eve of Halloween, to pay attention when a ghost says, "I'm not ready to let go...I need more time to be with my love." And a grim reaper says..."It's time to go."

Here's my excerpt on Time and Love from my WIP River of Tears. Ben Riley, a ghost who has not adjusted to his new circumstance, has been given a gift of time from the grim reaper. He is about to enter his house where his wife waits. There are terms of course...

Through the open window of the cab, Ben could hear the sounds of the night. Crickets chirped in the warm, muggy air, and a cat in heat wailed its hoarse, god awful cry. His neighbors, sequestered inside air conditioned homes, probably didn’t even notice the cacophony of nature right outside their doors. But he did. To him, the noise was a reminder. Ignored or not, life went on.

Just not for him.

“If I do say so, Mr. Riley,” said Alex [the cab driver], “you’ve accepted your death quite well. Some take much longer.” The cat wailed again, eliciting a growl from the cabbie’s scruffy terrier. The dog stood on his hind legs, his front paws digging at the gap in the passenger window. Alex leaned over and patted the dog’s head. “Easy Chester, those days are gone.”

Ben released his breath on a hiss and glared up at the ceiling. He didn’t even want to look at Alex - - the cabbie who was so obviously not just a cabbie. It stood to reason that neither was the dog.

“What are you?”

“I thought you’d figured that out, Mr. Riley.” Alex answered him in the disappointed tone a teacher used when a prize student got an answer wrong.

“Humor me.”

After a brief pause, Alex said, “I think the best way to describe my function is that of a guide. I’ve been called different things.”

“Grim reaper?”

Alex sighed. “An unfortunate title.”

Ben absorbed the implied confirmation. He turned his head and looked at his house, dark and empty. Beth was in the hospital while he sat making pointless conversation in a cab outside their home. He needed to get back to her. “Why am I here? I’m dead. I get it. Your job is done.”
“No, Mr. Riley. Your journey has just begun.”

Alex’s calm voice, and the suggestion that he was about to abandon his life in order move on in some “journey,” enraged him. He lunged forward across the seat and grabbed Alex by the shirt collar. “If you’re here to point me in the direction of the white light, forget it. I’m not going anywhere and I’m not in the mood for a line of peace-and-love bullshit.”

Alex didn’t attempt to break free. Even with his shirt bunched up to his chin, he managed to look amused. “You seem to know how this works. Have you died before?”

Ben almost shot back, have you? But his gaze became locked in the black, fathomless depths of Alex’s eyes, and he saw an answer to his unspoken question.

He released his hold on Alex and sat back. Unease replaced his anger as he realized he might have to plead his case. Leaving Beth was out of the question, but how much choice did he have?
The air inside the cab was suddenly stifling and Ben felt a trickle of sweat between his shoulder blades. He forced his voice to sound reasonable - - friendly, even. “I have unfinished business, Alex. That counts as a reason to stay, doesn’t it?”

“It does, actually,” Alex agreed.

Relief washed over him in a wave. “Then take me back to the hospital.”

Alex shook his head. “You don’t want to do that yet.”

Ben slammed his hand against the door. “Like hell I don’t! Tell me how I can do it myself and I’m gone. Go torment some other fool. I’m sure there’s some idiot getting hit by a bus as we speak.”

“Mr. Riley, I understand your frustration - -"

Ben gave a snort of disbelief.

“And if you would listen, you might find I can help.”

“I doubt that.” There was only one thing he wanted. “Can you give me back my life?”

“I already have.”

Ben sucked in his breath. “What?”

Alex nodded toward the house. “Beth is inside. She’s waiting for you.”

“Did you torture prisoners of war in a former life, Alex?” He bit his words out through clenched teeth. “I know damn well where my wife is. She’s in a hospital room with her hands tied to the bed like a dog to a post!”

“This is not going well,” Alex said with a sigh. “No, Mr. Riley. Not here. Not now. You might remember this night. Your last birthday.”

His last birthday. Beth in a bunny suit.

Ben shook his head. He couldn’t keep up with the roller coaster of emotions. “Are you’re saying I’ve gone back in time?”

Alex shrugged. “Backwards, forwards, sideways - - it’s all relative. For the purpose of keeping things simple, yes, you’ve gone backwards.”

Ben grasped on to a new possibility. “That means I’m not dead.”

“Well, yes and no.”

His hopes were dashed before they’d even taken root. He glared at Alex. “Are you new at this job?”

Alex seemed to consider his question. “In a way. I’ve only been at it a few hundred years, give or take.”

“A few hundred years,” Ben repeated.

“Give or take.”

He was speechless and Alex jumped in to take advantage. “We’ve found a visit to happier times helps with the transition.”

“What do you mean by visit?”

“I mean your time here is temporary, but I hope you’ll consider it a gift.”

It sounded more like a cruel joke than a gift, but he wanted it. Badly.

He swallowed hard. “Will she be able to see me? Touch me?”

“Of course.”

A shudder of longing went through him. He looked at the house, wanting to go to her, but held back at the thought of what this meant. If he was real, could he get to Matt? His hand clenched into a fist. Vengeance had a much nicer ring to it than acceptance. “So you can take me somewhere else?”

Alex arched a bushy eyebrow and pinned him with those black eyes. “Is the satisfaction of confronting your former friend worth wasting your gift?”

“It wouldn’t be a waste if it would protect Beth.”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Riley, but it won’t. While you are here, you cannot change anything in the future. It’s no use to even try.”

Nothing could be changed. His heart sank as the finality hit home. But he wasn’t ready to give up yet. “Just let me do one thing, Alex. Let me move some papers from Matt’s office and give them to my sister. She’ll know what to do.”

“Mr. Riley - -"

“If it makes you feel better, I promise I won’t lay a hand on him. You have my word.”

“That’s not it - -"

“I’m not asking for my life! Do what you want with me. Just let me fix this for Beth.”

“Mr. Riley!” Alex shouted. He looked startled at the sound of his own raised voice. “I’m not refusing. I’m just saying it can’t be done.”

“Why not?”

Alex sighed and took off his cap. Without it, the bald top of his head almost made him look like an ordinary old man. “Have you always had such little faith, Mr. Riley? We will resolve your issues. I promise. For now, I advise you to accept your gift. One more day, even one more hour with a loved one is a precious thing. Don’t you agree?”

Ben gave a jerky nod. Without sparing Alex a second glance, he reached for the door handle.
“Wait, Mr. Riley. Don’t you want to know how long you have?”

Ben glared at Alex. Half of him didn’t want to know, but the other half knew not knowing would be torture. “How long?”

“You can only stay in this form until midnight.”

The cliché sparked an incredulous bark of a laugh. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

Alex didn’t smile.

“Fine. Midnight it is. Then what happens?”

“You return to where you left.”

“Back to being a ghost you mean.”

“I’m afraid so.”

Ben looked at his watch. It was a little past nine. Almost three hours. As insane as this was, he wasn’t going to waste another minute.

He got out of the cab and looked at the cabbie. Alex touched his hand to his hat. “Good luck to you, Sir.”

Ben slammed the door.

*** ***

That's a bit of how I see time can be a big part of a love story. Time is all we want.

Happy Halloween everyone! :)

Out with the old, in with the new...almost

2010-10-27T21:25:00.000-05:00

Need a little variety in your life? Ever think you must know more -- must broaden your horizons to be better able to write about diverse cultures, locations, and professions? All I can say is: careful what you wish for! It might not be quite what you think.

Here's a recap of my interesting year as a "non-traditional" (*whisper* that sort of means older) college student. As the new schedule comes out for another semester of college (for Spring 2011, my 4th semester, counting the summer), I can hardly believe I've spent this year immersed in classes on a little of everything.

Let's see. My journey started this year with deciding I would be a History major. This is my niche. Hmm. It wasn't quite as I thought. The focus seemed to be too political and not at all the romance of history I've enjoyed as a writer/reader. I did enjoy my literature class, but I also (surprisingly) enjoyed my general Biology and Historical Geology. I should be an English major logic tells me, but for some reason I'm resistant. On the fence, I switched from history to a dual Biology major and Humanities Major. Oh, and I added a Geology minor.

Summer came and went with the joy of a Humanities class and an Environmental Perspective and also, thrown in like getting stuck in a cold rain, something called Algebra. Then came fall. Somehow or another I decided to load up on the sciences, which all came with lab work. How hard could it be? Oh, boy. Chemistry Lab with safety goggles. Stylish! And more math. (Actually, the fear of being blinded, burned or inhaling toxic fumes is not so bad when compared to all kinds of craziness involving huge numbers "normal people" aren't meant to comprehend.) And I think, hmmm. This isn't quite what I thought I'd be doing.

But I also took a Theatre class. That couldn't be too difficult right? Funny thing is, that one hasn't turned out quite as I thought either. Some exposure I have enjoyed, but just as in literature, not all theatre is my "cup of tea." Japanese Noh Theatre, for example. Sorry, but no. And something called the Theatre of the Absurd. Again, sorry, but no. In fact, the point of Theatre of the Absurd is that there is no meaning. Search all you want, it isn't there. It is, by definition, a genre where the characters have lost their bearings in a ridiculous world and everything cycles back to how it began. Now, you can imagine how difficult this kind of a philosophy is for a romance writer to grasp. After all, finding meaning, as a romance writer self-trained to search out motivation for characters is what we do! So, if numbers give me a headache, it's nothing compared to trying to analyze a genre that says there is no point. I definitely had a hard time with that series of assignments! So much for drama being my "comfort zone."

What am I? A glutton for punishment perhaps? So, what does Spring semester have in store? Once again, it's time to pick an odd mix of want to and have to. The thing is, I'm not sure which is which. I'm running away from chemistry for now and lightening up on the course load a bit.

Spanish I, Ecology, Mineralogy & Petrology, and yeah, more Algebra.

Who knows what surprises this new schedule will bring! I'm hoping it will bring new favorites with enough challenges to keep me enthused and yet still be enough in my "comfort zone" to not scare me into believing I should be taking a nice easy classes -- like basket weaving or something. My luck, there would be some math involved there. Like a plot for a story, it doesn't stay simple!

I think, as I belatedly try to tie this blog to writing, that there is a hint of my search for balance in how I portray my characters. They all want to keep things simple but it never, ever works out that way. The plot gets chaotic because life is chaotic. It doesn't go as planned. And I think it's fascinating to work out those problems for a character -- with a character -- until they do get it right. I'm definitely a fan of "classic" structure -- an inciting incident, conflicts, climax, and most of all, resolution.

So that's my update on my continuing experiences with college. With all that said, I really, really need to just sit down with a romance novel and let someone else experience the variety for a while!

Saturday Time Watch: Fundamental Things

2010-10-23T10:20:00.000-05:00

You must remember this

A kiss is just a kiss, a sigh is just a sigh.

The fundamental things apply

As time goes by.

Lyrics to "As Time Goes By" from Casablanca (1942) Complete Lyrics here.

Isn't that a lovely song? I love how this song reminds us of the "fundamental things."

As writers, we spend a lot of time in...well...ironically, in a constant attempt to manage time. We have a time related vocabulary of deadlines, appointments and strategies to plan our projects and keep us organized. But, as countless songs will attest, the concept of time inspires more than schedules. It's fleeting. It's nostalgic. It's a constant reminder of what has been and what can be...if we write it well.

And when two lovers woo

They still say, "I love you."

On that you can rely

No matter what the future brings

As time goes by.

Moonlight and love songs

Never out of date.

Hearts full of passion

Jealousy and hate.

Woman needs man

And man must have his mate

That no one can deny.

It's still the same old story

A fight for love and glory

A case of do or die.

The world will always welcome lovers

As time goes by.

This is my first "Saturday Time Watch: Fundamental Things." The idea; a favorite song lyric or a poem with "time" in the lyrics that simply speak to us of why we read and write romance -- it's fundamental and timeless. Can you think of a favorite?

Negotiating with the Inner Critic

2010-10-08T19:00:00.000-05:00

The writer's relationship with the Inner Critic is a fascinating dynamic when you think about it. And, as writers, we think about it often! As a universal topic, writing blogs often talk about dealing with the IC and provide encouragement and positive reinforcement to combat the often negative energy of the IC. Or, in some cases, we find writing prompts accomplish this by freeing us for a short time to just enjoy the spirit of discovery in our writing.

This experience of seemingly being able to "turn off" the IC is nothing short of exhilarating. In that moment, it's as if we've found The Answer to conquering the IC. Surely, The Answer is to always find those ways to accomplish that task. We could run with that, right? :) Hold on to that thought! And I do mean hold ON TO that thought and emotion. I don't want to burst the bubble, but I think we all suspect there must be a little more to it to deal with the IC. In fact, I think the IC didn't really turn off at all, but it may have been something else we stumbled upon. I hope maybe you'll see what I mean.

First, let's continue doing what we often do -- personify the IC as if it is something real; a separate person. To take it a step further (indulge my paranormal world building), imagine there is not just one IC, but an entire culture -- we'll call it IC Land. Neighboring this IC Land is -- can you guess? -- Writer Country, where we live, of course. We have a beautiful, artistic, and highly chaotic society. Of course, we're always having trouble and skirmishes with the pesky neighboring IC. Sure, we win these encounters often because we're very inventive, but the IC always makes a comeback. They are a worthy opponent.

It's no wonder we have conflict. The IC people, on the whole, think they are above us; more civilized, more intellectual, more...well, everything. They know it all, or think they do. Knowing this, our tactics for dealing with the IC, our close but often oppressive neighbor, are varied; we often deny the IC's existence, we sporadically attempt to make friends with it, but, often this doesn't work. Then we lose our tempers and declare all out war.

The relationship between the IC and the writer is a long term conflict between two opposite cultures that has existed for a very long time. These two opponents, the Writers and the IC, don't really believe that they might possibly want the same things or have anything in common. And underlying all negotiations for peaceful co-existence, is a mistrust in the other's motivation. So, the conflict continues in a battle for territory.

What drives this conflict? First, it seems logical to consider both sides must want something. What does the Inner Critic want? Power? Respect? The tactic of denying the IC has any power seems to result in a sneak attack, so that is a possibility. Is it respect, they want? True, they do have a lot of knowledge, but they are "flawed," according to the Writers, by being resistant to change. They want order, tend to dismiss anything chaotic, plan far ahead and weigh concepts in terms of profit returned. But are they really vindictive in their dismissal of the Writer's ideas? It's hard to say. The Writers don't really know much about the IC motivations and falls back on a lot of assumptions.

And what does Writer Country want? That should be easier to figure out. To be left alone to create? Of course! When the IC seems to be out for blood and coldly dismisses their ideas, it would seem they're in the right to banish or kill off the IC. Good riddance! Then the Writer will be free to be spontaneous. But darn it anyway, eventually the Writers also want to be helped in areas that require order. Then what? If a Writer admits to wanting and needing help, then the Writer has to accept that not only does the enemy have something of value, but he/she has to listen. And how receptive can a Writer be to someone he/she doesn't know can be trusted? Does a Writer have to beg forgiveness? The IC might also be a little leery at that point to trust the Writer!

So, Writer Country and IC Land have a long history of misunderstandings and poorly timed exchanges. Writer Country continues trying to get the IC to give an opinion on how "good" something is and the IC always has to tell the Writer why it just won't work. The IC must do this, because every criteria they have for success in their society is in opposition to the Writer's criteria.

But What If...Writer Country and IC Land occasionally stumbled upon the right set of circumstances and the timing was right? What if, the Writer "forgot" to ask how good something was, and only asked for things the IC could legitimately provide? What if the Writer listened respectfully to IC's advice on how to put things in order, but didn't ask for opinions like "will this sell?" (The IC will tell you better stuff is out there.)

The result might be truce between Writer Country and IC Land -- a peace treaty of sorts. It's fragile and might not last long. Long enough, perhaps, for the Writer to experience the exhilarating spirit of discovery. The IC didn't really go away, of course. They simply gave what they could and didn't offer more. It wasn't asked!

To end the tale of the warring countries, you could say there is hope Writer Country and IC Land might one day learn to co-exist and even integrate as one country. You think? Well, that might be a tad optimistic. Conflicts are bound to occur. But actually, as long as the exchanges aren't hurtful, a little conflict really doesn't hurt, right?

I think it is possible to prolong the "peace" between the Writer and the IC. Just for fun, imagine what Writer Country and IC Land might say to each other if they actually negotiated or attended a "peace conference." If they were to set down some terms of what they both want and when from the other, what might that be?

Scene Building: Been There Done That -- Or Have I?

2010-09-30T08:36:00.000-05:00

On Monday morning, the assignment in my intro theatre class was announced to the reception of groans and pained expressions. We were to write a "missing" scene to Arthur Miller's play The Crucible. 5 to 8 pages or so and due on Friday. Not everyone was groaning, however. On hearing this task, I perked up as quickly as the dog in the movie UP! who heard, "Squirel!" I thought, how fun! I loved this play! Instantly, I know the perfect "missing" scene. I can hardly wait to start.

I cannot not start now, however. It's Monday morning at 10 a.m. and I have classes until 5 p.m. Darn it anyway. So, seconds later, still in the class and hearing the details of this assignment, I 'm starting to worry. More than worry. I nearly panic. Oh, no. There goes my week. I know what writing can be like, you see. From my novel writing experience, I've known the act of creation has meant time. It's meant hours of agonizing over sentences and the obsession with getting it right to the exclusion of, well, everything else. It's meant having to force myself to stop and start. So far, in fact, in my return to college, I've deliberately avoided creative writing classes. I've tried to, anyway. I've had a couple of classes requiring journals, and they did indeed almost put me over the edge into creative oblivion. This assignment could be dangerous territory.

"Don't worry," the professor says to the class. I try stop my inner monologue and pay attention. "I'm not expecting you to be a playwright or Arthur Miller. This is merely an exercise."

An exercise? What in the world is that? I'm mystified. Does he mean, not perfect? My scene in my head is already building, the ideas bursting at the seams. Then he begins to give pointers on what this scene should have. The advice is familiar (to a writer), and I almost have a (excuse how this sounds) "been there done that" tuning out response, like a cook would have if he/she had to sit through a demonstration on how to boil water. But the wording is slightly different. He describes the vital components of the scene as:

1. Compression
2. Intensity
3. Economy

I pay attention, interested in the new spin on basics:

Compression is the sense of urgency. It's driven by adding characters who are in conflict with other characters. An example from The Crucible is the opening scene of one small room being filled to the brim with other characters. The character, Reverend Paris, literally has no room to think and is pressed into actions. Compression also has a time constraint, circumstances that limit the outcome, and escalation.

Intensity is the consequences. Ask, what is at stake for each character? In The Crucible, the stakes are high; soul, honor, life.

Economy is balancing the resources given to something against the profit returned.

I'm not sure if I already had an instinctive idea of these elements for my envisioned scene, but they certainly are helpful as a "checklist" of sorts. With this, we were sent off and advised that class on Wednesday would be a "working session."

I'll tell you how that went...and how the "worries" of writing my scene played out in the next blog. (Now, off to the dentist. Writing and life interrupted. LOL)

Do you ever hear the "basics" in a different way that strikes a chord?

Who am I?: Villain or Hero?

2010-09-19T09:55:00.000-05:00

Below, just for fun, I put together a little "Who Am I?" quiz in honor of the villain and hero. It's inspired -- loosely -- by quotes from acclaimed playwright Arthur Miller's essay "Tragedy and the Common Man," 1949.

Btw, this essay came to my attention as required reading for my theatre class. I highly recommend reading, or re-reading if you've done so, the entire essay (it's short) -- with or without your romance writer hat on for perspective. As the title implies, it analyzes how tragedy isn't just a high concept for kings and classical literature but something we can all relate to. In fact, tragedy is optimistic -- perhaps, as Miller points out, even more so than comedy. Give it a read and judge for yourself. :)

My quiz, however, is purely creative license and veers off the point of the essay to delve into the mind of our villains and heroes. In some ways, however, the points Miller makes of identifying with the "common man" and a "hero" I think can also be made to the villain/hero dynamic.

Okay, the quiz. Ready? Which is the best answer?

Number 1. His (hero or villain's) "tragic flaw" is often:

The inherent unwillingness to remain passive in the face of what he conceives to be a challenge to his dignity, his image of rightful status.

A. Hero

B. Villain

C. Both A and B.

D. A politician.

Number 2. Best describes?:

The need of a man to wholly realize himself is the only fixed star.

A. Hero

B. Villain

C. Both A and B.

D. An actor.

Lastly, number 3.

[He has] a total compulsion to evaluate himself justly.

A. Hero

B. Villain

C. Both A and B.

D. A saint.

***

What's your judgement call? Hero? Villain? Both? The answer to all, in my opinion, is C. I could be wrong, but I made the rules so I choose to declare C the best suited winner. (That's how I believe professors think sometimes..."best suited in my opinion." *LOL*) Even for #3. The word "justly" may have fooled you into choosing hero, but no, a villain also evaluates or, to use an alternative word, judges himself. He rationalizes his opinion to be just, perhaps saintlike, based on his belief he's the "fixed star," around which the cosmos revolves. Of course, others (meaning other characters, readers, and the author) may judge his opinion is questionable or injust.

I'm not telling you anything new, I realize. We often hear about making the villain redeemable or for giving the hero flaws. We also strive to make them three-dimentional, not two. But, just as Arthur Miller's essay suggests kings and commoners are equally capable of identifying with tragedy, "in no way is the common man debarred from such thoughts and actions" then it is likewise helpful to reflect on how, at the core, the villain and hero compare.

Perhaps only then can we determine how easily they can switch hats from white to black or create realistic turning points. Villan or hero? Or a commoner who fights both sides of his/her nature?

Can I have one too?

2010-09-17T09:13:00.000-05:00

Okay, so a short and sweet lesson today.

The situation: My eight-year-old son attending a birthday party of a classmate and me running to the store to get a last-minute present.

You know what happened? Well, I did so good on my present selection that I got a toy my son loves...and he has to give it away. It's a tough life lesson! I suspected this would happen and I got an extra little present for both my son and the birthday boy- - a yo-yo. One red and one green so he could choose which to keep and which to give away. That worked for a few minutes. Then he tried it and gave up on after a few tries. His eye was always on the big prize. Nothing too extravagant, but it had Star Wars on the box and it was a heck of a lot better than what he had -- that frustrating yo-yo. (Can't blame him. That yo-yo frustrated me too.)

He was very brave though. And that gave me a mommy moment of all kinds of mixed emotions. Pride in his generosity and sympathy for his dilemma. Life's just not fair sometimes. (Okay, you know I'll fold and get him the Star Trek toy very soon.)

But this is one of those moments when I think...I can use this for a character. It's not so difficult to imagine and it doesn't get a lot easier when we're adults actually. Someone wants something and has to give it away. It's a selfless act with no mommy to fix it or offer a replacement. To see someone else get what we want and either accept it or....what? What do you do? There are lots and lots of possibilities.

"Speak English, please..."

2010-09-14T10:08:00.000-05:00

So, as a Biology major late to the game, I'm a newbie when it comes to scientific jargen. Do the words have to be so long? Yeah, they do. They do mean something. But unless you know "the code" or the "secret handshake" (or alternatively, attempt years of study in doorstopper worthy textbooks) it all sounds very foreign. But, like suddenly understanding a smattering of Spanish, I got a thrill when I actually understood two out of three words spoken by the forensic scientist on a detective show.

There I was, watching Inspector Lewis on PBS and half-listening. Then, amazingly, I heard that snippet of scientific jargen that sounded two-thirds familiar.

Forensic scientist: It's a linear polymer "something."
Detective Lewis: Speak English, please.
Forensic scientist: Corn starch.

Da da da dum.

Well, it was supposed to be a da da da dum moment anyway. Truthfully, I have no idea what big revelation corn starch had to do with anything plot related. I should have been paying attention. *sigh*

This brought up several thoughts, including my attention deficit disorder. But first, I had that little thrill. Wow. I almost knew what the brainy scientist was talking about. Two-thirds anyway. Me...little old me...recognized a corn starch by its scientific description. I should almost get my geek club card or something.

Okay, back to earth. It's strange, but that thrill of knowlege isn't supposed to be there. In a blink of an eye, that dialogue serves a few purposes, but it wasn't meant to be understood. One character knew the lingo as comfortably as English while the other needs clarification..."speak English, please." What is the purpose? Authenticity perhaps? Humanizing the great detective by showing he's "just like us" and doesn't know everything? All possibilities. Granted, the significance of the clue (the corn starch) was also important. (Oh, I did mention I didn't get that, right?)

But did it matter? Yes and no. As a viewer, I still enjoyed the performance of the mystery even if I flat-out missed some of the clues. I shrug it off though. In the end, I'm satisfied. In fact, in what I've missed I have additional admiration for the cleverness of the characters. They are, indeed, smarter and more observant than I am. That's okay. They're supposed to be.

As a writer, this is the intimidating part. I must know the details. Even the snippets of brilliance of secondary characters. It has to make sense and be factual. Who knows, afterall, who might catch my mistakes? My goodness! (*starts to hyperventilate at this new thought*) As my creations, must I be as smart as ALL my characters? For that matter, is it even possible to write a character who is smarter than myself? (*confused now, contemplating this paradox*) That isn't possible is it?

Wait! I'm not throwing in the towel just yet. Inspector Lewis didn't get an inferiority complex, right? No, he just asks, "speak English, please." I suspect there's a clue here for how a writer goes about presenting brilliance.

Sure, the brilliant character still has to be given the right lines, but maybe there's a sort of writerly trick to pulling off the essence of brilliance. For instance, I think, as in real life, it's possible to brush shoulders with brilliant characters. Not total immersion, but as an outsider might overhear or encounter. The main character is our guide. Inspector Lewis, highly intelligent in a practical sort of way, is our guide. He needs to request, "speak English, please." Translate. We learn as he learns. In the same episode, he also learns about a historical legend of buried treasure on an English estate. This is from a woman at the University who wrote her doctorate on the subject. (There is also some flirting and Inspector Lewis gets a date. Cagey devil.)

The point is, the main character surrounds himself with experts. He doesn't know, but finds out. Just the same, when we do research, we can present this information through, indeed, characters smarter than ourselves but filtered through the lead character. And the information imparted is brief and serves many other purposes. So, maybe there's no need to panic. Some day readers will also be thinking your characters are smarter and more observant than they are. They might even associate the characters' cleverness with you, the author. (If they only knew! Shhh.)

As for getting that observation part down, well that's another problem...(What the heck was so important about the corn starch, anyway? Never mind.)

Do you write characters smarter than you? :)

How does it feel to be "fill-in-the-blank"?

2010-08-26T07:41:00.000-05:00

An odd question, I admit. It's a form of that stand-by reporter's question of "how did it feel when (fill in either disaster or an extraordinary/celebrated event) happened?" I think we've all rolled our eyes at that question for many reasons. Most eye-rolling is about how the answer seems too obvious. It can seem like "lazy reporting." It also can seem insensitive or catch people off guard; there's too much to say to express big emotions with few words in too little time.

Like yesterday in theatre class, a bright-eyed eighteen-year-old turned around from a couple rows in front to ask me and another forty-something person I sat with (a close friend, btw), "so, how does it feel to be an older student?"

It did take us back a bit. Was our age so obvious? My friend and I later speculated about this and blamed each other for drawing attention. I said it's his fault - - what do you expect when you don't dye your gray hair? "Your roots are showing, too," he snapped back. True, they are. (Yes, we are close friends -- *ah, hem* old high school friends, in fact, from that by-gone era known as the 80's.)

I think I responded to the question with some lame "different priorities" stuff (ever notice how the most important things always sound lame in short answer?), and my friend gave a direct "it sucks" answer. He didn't mean that. Not really. But both of us had a lot of "background" in our answers that couldn't be summed up in a one-minute, on-the-spot answer. My friend's background I knew was a sleepless night spent at a hospital when one of his kids had an asthma attack. Yes, different priorities and responsibilities that don't get translated in "it sucks." Our actual answers to the question, in fact, probably left the poor girl convinced the "older generation" (anyone over 30) are just strange. LOL

But it occurs to me that this "how does it feel" question has a lot of use for character development in writing. What might you learn if you ask your character a "how does it feel" question that seems:

too obvious to ask;
puts them off guard;
also could be insensitive;
too complicated - consider the "short answer" to a stranger and the "background"

Be specific. Be insensitive. Ask the hard question you wonder how a reporter gets the nerve up to ask a stranger and then be the empathetic friend to your character. What hard "how does it feel" questions would you ask?

Found IT!

2010-08-18T13:31:00.000-05:00

IT is like Murphy's Law, or some Law. The name of the particular Law I'm encountering today eludes me, but it's when you find what you're looking for when you are looking for something else. Or, like just when you declare a "break" in order to move on to something else, the mind lingers in the first and won't let the transition take place to the second in a clean break.

I've been fighting it all day. LOL Anyway, while trying to take a "break" from my story to peruse my Geology textbook, I found IT; a perfect poem in the forward of a scientific text:

To see the world in a grain of sand

and heaven in a wild flower.

To hold infinity in the palm of the hand

and eternity in an hour.

--William Blake (British poet, 1757-1827)

There are many interpretations to be made, but I guess what appealed to me is the unexpectedness of seeing a poem in a science text. Somehow the transition from artistic to scientific study didn't seem so abrupt. Science is art. Art is science. Both seek to capture magic for posterity and search to understand it.

Back to my break. LOL

Blog update: Taking a Break and an Excerpt

2010-08-16T18:07:00.000-05:00

It's that time of year again where the schedule gets tight. Going back to college is right around the corner -- next Monday! Yikes. It will be tough to ignore the call of the story. The characters almost quit talking to me by the end of the last summer session. (I think they were angry with me.) They did open up, but now I'll have to bargain with them to take it easy on me again. :)

Happy writing everyone!

I've taken the plunge and put up an excerpt of my WIP, River of Tears. It's not locked in as final, but this is part of Chapter One. The tab is above if interested in taking a peak. :)

I didn't see that coming...

2010-08-13T06:13:00.000-05:00

The potential for surprises come in many forms when writing a story. Sometimes, or probably most of the time, surprises are pre-planned. As the writer, you think of plot secrets to reveal layer by layer or cliffhangers for chapter endings. You pick the right moment to reveal them with optimum effect, be it the next page or holding out til the end. That's the fun part, that rubbing your hands together in anticipation setting up the surprise and the payoff during the delivery of your insider information. You know, if all works right, the reader is going to sit back and think - - with various emphasis on the exclamation point -- "I didn't see that coming!"

Other times, the surprise is on you. The characters are up to something, but you're not sure which direction they are going. In their own time, they are going to reveal their inside information and leave you sitting back and saying, "I didn't see that coming!"

This form of surprise happens in all forms of writing actually, including music. Not so long ago, on a PBS special honoring him with the Gershwin Award, I heard Paul McCartney talk about the creation of one of his songs. With lovely, almost humble humor, he first joked (maybe?) that the original lyrics were something like "scrambled eggs, oh how I love your legs." LOL But it was the melody - - a melody, he said, that seemed so familiar he had to ask everyone around him, "where have you heard this before?" Over and over he asked the question. It had to exist. But no one knew. No one had heard it. So, after a considerable time, he said with a shrug, he had to claim it for his own. That song: Yesterday.

(Now I hear it. Scrambled eggs...oh how I love your legs.)

But the best part of his story was the mystified awe in his voice and expression when he gave the only explanation. Magic.

I got a little shiver when he said that. Even I, somestimes if I'm very lucky, have felt that magical feeling that an idea is plucked seemingly out of the air. Creation is magic.

Both forms of surprise are vastly different. The magic kind leaves you humble, gifted with something so new but familiar you feel a slight trepidation about claiming it as your own. On the other hand, the insider information kind makes you anything but humble, skipping around with a childish 'I've got a secret' glee.

Both are wonderful things.

Of course, sometimes we run out of the pre-planned surprises. Then we wait for magic. But the magical muse is fickle. Write it out anyway. You never know what may fall from the sky.

The Weight of a Book

2010-08-09T18:26:00.000-05:00

Ahhh. Fall is in the air. Well, not really. It's been a blazing hot 98 degree day - - in NORTHERN MINNESOTA. Had to get that amazing fact out there. And I had to go 'out there' today to pick up my fall text books and other things on campus. See?

For the moment, I have some real books to hold in my hands or break my back/bank account. The 1300+ page Biology textbook costs close to a mortgage payment (think I'm kidding? ok, I have a small mortgage, but still...) The size alone of each book is intimidating and makes the commitment to the subject much more well...official. Hmm. That's funny. That Biology text looks much smaller in the picture.

In a roundabout way, my textbooks - - in my thoughts anyway - - tie in to the publishing world and the news of the day of Dorchester Publishing ceasing mass market print production in favor of e-books and print-on-demand only. Read the Wall Street Journal article here.

Wow. More than any other news of the e-book trend, this one stands out. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but I can't help give a sigh of dismay at this news. I'd have to say this publisher has long been at the top of my list of the type of romance (like the LoveSpell line) I like to read and where I'd dream of selling my work. True, they aren't going out of business. Not that I know of anyway. I can still keep my dreams. But why do they seem a little less lofty?

I think it's that commitment. A physical weight. Even for a light-weight paperback, I see and feel that commitment amongst the publisher, author and reader much more clearly with a book you can hold in your hands and see in the bookstore. Now, e-books are the new commitment. I'm still adjusting. How about you?

Are You Qualified?

2010-08-02T11:33:00.000-05:00

"Proficient in observing human nature and in recognizing writing rules in order to break them."

What the heck is that, you ask? It's uhm, my qualifications. My skills. You know - - to be a writer.

It's an odd set of skills a writer has. Unusual not just for their characteristics, but because they don't often get written down. When would they? It's not like they are are the kind of skills that go on either a resume or go in a query letter. Unlike a pitch for a 'normal' job, where people want and expect you to tell them your skills (a different sort of skills), pitching writing is more about providing proof.

What if conventions were switched around? In a reverse situation, it strikes me as interesting that summarizing a writer's qualifications or skill set in a few sentences that say "I can do this. I'm qualified because I have these skills," would look decidedly odd written on a resume. It would feel odd to write them too.

It occurs to me that this inability to define a skill set and speak it out loud goes a long ways toward explaining writers being tentative for claiming 'writer status.' Putting those skills down in black and white is part of what gives you confidence. For instance, bear with me, but I have a "summary of qualifications" section on my resume (in my former life):

Proficient in law firm procedures such as filings with courts, client file maintenance (opening, closing and dead storage tracking), working with vendors (travel agencies, catering services, copy services, court reporters, etc.), attorney time keeping, expense report preparation and dictation. Software proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, Docs Open, MacPac legal.

This list of facts says I can do the job. I could even read this out loud without feeling too silly. Sort of. LOL It also gives pretty obvious clues as to the identity of my job. It shouldn't be too hard to guess legal secretary.

But how do I summarize and declare my writer skill set? How about ignoring convention and writing your own "short list" of writing qualifications?

I actually believe my short list is true as a basic skill set for a writer. When I think about what a writer must be skilled in, I do think, he/she must be:

1. Proficient in observing human nature. This seems obvious, but we are writing for humans, even if that human is ourselves. Our number one task is simply to write about what other humans can identify with and relate to as a shared experience. Then, because it is human nature, the reader will "need to know" more - - page by page. Sometimes it seems like a psychology degree is a pre-requisite, but a finely honed skill of observation is all that's required. Not all of us pay attention to this talent, but a writer is trained to observe not only the reality, but to also see the possibilities or contradictions of every situation. Donna Cumming's blog says it best on the her site All About the Writing with the blog: Observing Humans in the Wild

2. Proficient in recognizing writing rules in order to bend them. Yes, bend them. First, you have to know what conventions you're bending, but it's in the choosing to bend known rules that your voice comes through with the most clarity. The blog from Edittorent In Defense of Modifiers gives some great examples of breaking a few rules with a purpose. As for knowing the rules in the first place, that's a longer journey.

* * *
That's it. Only two skills are necessary to 'qualify' as a writer. I can claim these two skills as much as another legal secretary can claim my legal secretary skill set. It doesn't make me 'special' but it does make me a writer. And, in a business of 'proof' before skills are acknowledged, it's important to feel a part of the occupation.

What I do with the skills is a choice - - the same choice as any other job. That's not to say that being a writer or not being a writer is a choice (some days it's a curse), but the question of skill shouldn't be one of the doubts holding a writer back.

I think when we figure out a way to believe in our skills and even say them out loud, then it's a step to claiming 'writer' status with more confidence.

If you had to write a short summary of only two skills necessary to be a writer, what would they be? And...do you meet them?

Summertime Reflection in My Backyard

2010-07-30T06:36:00.000-05:00

The end of July? Say it isn't so! Here in northern Minnesota, we've been treated to one of those rare summers where you can almost imagine what other people are talking about when they say 'endless summer.' Oh, so this is what they mean - - day after day of temperatures in that perfect upper seventies/low eighties range. This is unusual, to say the least, for our region known as the icebox of the country. Last summer, the sweaters never did get packed away, but this summer is a different story.

I'd say the weather has made a big difference in my jealousy factor for all the travel and conferences my writerly friends and others are experiencing right about now. The RWA conference is in full swing in Florida. That's okay. My sister is attending a conference in Las Vegas. That's okay. Now if it were January...

But it's not. It's July for a couple of days yet and the lake is calling. And how can you resist this face when he says, "let's go swimming!" I certainly can't. Nope, I'm not getting a lot of writing or much of anything else done this summer. You'll find us (Michael and I) at our 'secret' spot at a little lake deep in the woods. However, I am NOT getting on that rope swing. Again.

While we're here, I will still feel writerly. How can I not, with the sunshine sparking on the water? We can hear the lonely call of a loon through the whisper of the pines. He's out there somewhere, but not willing to show himself. If you've never heard it, here's an audio from YouTube. I think this one is in Maine, but it's the same call here. LOL

Hope you are enjoying your summer, whether it's with Micky Mouse, the bright lights of the Vegas Strip, in the vicinity of a lonely loon, or wherever you may be.

Excuses, excuses...

2010-07-28T11:41:00.000-05:00

Ugh! Two of the most powerful words on the planet. Yes, I know that's just one word repeated, but it comes up so often, in one form or another, it seems like more. Just look in a dictionary and thesaurus to see how many definitions and synonyms you can find for the word 'excuse.' Forms of it usually mean some sort of apology or justification for why we do or don't do a thing. We are, in fact a very excuse making society. In a battle of priorities, nearly every day we make excuses - - if not to others than to ourselves.

My first thought for this blog was a vague idea of trying to express how we should not be too hard on ourselves when we make excuses. Speaking for myself anyway, I feel very guilty every time I make excuses. Even small excuses are difficult, because they seem to require even more justification. Then, when I looked up some of those definitions and synonyms I realized there are some hefty words associated with 'excuse' that deserve a certain respect and merits a different perspective.

Consider, for example, the path the word 'excuse' has traveled in the legal system. First, the Latin origin of the word 'excuse' is excusare, meaning 'from cause or an accusation.' That is interesting. An accusation? Hmm, so even in it's origin the the word meant seeking to avoid punishment from an accusation, or an accusor. The legal system, with a long love affair with Latin word origins, logically expanded this meaning with a suitable definition of excuse (from the Free Dictionary):

First, a short one. "An alleged reason for exemption from guilt."

Well, that's just not nice. LOL Alleged, they qualify, which can mean "to assert without or before proof." It's meant to honorably preserve the accused's innocence until proven guilty, but really? When you think of alleged you also think: questionable, doubtful, suspect, so-called, supposed, etc. In other words, your excuse has preconceived baggage of not being truthful and your word has to be proven.

It's enough to make an innocent person ...what's the word...defensive?

Which leads to a longer definition of excuse: "A defense for an individual's conduct that is intended to mitigate the individual's blame worthiness for a particular act or explain why the individual acted in a specific manner."

No wonder why I always feel like I'm lying when I make a truthful excuse. It's, literally, a defense mechanism. Innocent or guilty, I still have a defense to prepare for...an alibi and character witnesses to line up (do I need affidavits?) and -- good grief! - - I have to mitigate my blame worthiness.

I'm not exactly sure what that means, but it doesn't sound good or easy. And now I have to be worthy of blame, too?

As a mitigating circumstance, I have to show why I had good reason to do or not do the thing I did or didn't do, whatever that may be. Take the time taken for writing a book for example. Or, conversely, not taking the time for writing a book. When taking this on, something else is always going to battle for priority over this project. Excuses must be made for either choice; to others for why you can't be sociable or to yourself for why you must be sociable.

The thing is, excuses are difficult. They aren't meant to be made lightly. Instead they are defenses strategies to, well, in a way defend your honor. At the very least, they defend your choices. So, maybe the only way not to be so hard on ourselves about excuses is to respect them.

Incidentally, I'm still not sure about blame worthiness, but I think they mean I could plead insanity to let me off the hook. I could say I didn't know what I was doing when I took on the novel writing project. I'm innocent. You'll just have to take my word for it.

A Day at the Rodeo

2010-07-25T22:48:00.000-05:00

What could be better than a day at the rodeo? Hot sun, the rough and tumble live action of cowboys looking for eight seconds of fame, and the smells and sounds of livestock bucking against the chutes, determined to win the battle of man vs. nature.

Even the mud from heavy rains that turned the parking lot (i.e, field) and the arena into a soupy mess played a part in the atmosphere. What is it about mud that brings out the good nature in people anyway? Even if we don't have a cowboy hat, the clown's corny jokes seem funnier and the stranger sitting next to you seems like a your long lost cousin. Maybe the mud makes the spectators feel like they are sharing in the adventure to a small degree. Like really, what's a little mud sucking at your flip-flops compared to the mudbath the cowboy get treated to every time he's thrown (repeatedly!) from a bucking broncho or snorting bull?

My picture taken on my cell at the rodeo this gorgeous Sunday isn't the best, but I never take good pictures at events where there is action or something I don't want to miss. This is an event like that. I can't do it, but I have a friend who documents everything with pictures and I'm never quite sure if I'm envious of her for preserving the moment or feel sorry she missed being 'in the moment. ' There is so much to be missed!

So, I don't really have a message to relate the rodeo to writing. Only that the experience itself, as a live event, is something to absorb as a shared experience. No notes, just a feeling to capture using your senses and awareness of that feeling of nothing being staged. At any moment, something can happen and you feel a part of it. This is the feeling that gives meaning and sincerity to the singing of the national anthem and, in the case of a rodeo, the "Cowboy's Prayer" (from the North Star Stampede programme, Effie, MN):

Our heavenly father,

We pause, ever mindful

Of the many blessings

You have bestowed upon us.

We ask that you be with us at this rodeo,

And we pray that you will guide us in the arena of life.

We don't ask for special favors,

We don't ask to draw around a

Chute fighting horse, or to

Never break a barrier.

Nor do we ask for all daylight runs,

Or not to draw a steer that won't lay.

Help us o lord,

To live our lives

In such a manner, that

When we make that last inevitable ride

To the country up there,

Where the grass grows lush and green

And stirrup high, and the water runs clear,

Cool, and deep,

That you, as our last judge,

Will tell us that our entry fees are paid.

Isn't that lovely? :) I came away from the rodeo without a lot of technical knowledge, but I think those things can be picked up with research. Feelings to go with the facts? Not so much. :) Those intangible things are a little harder to find.

The Reader's Gamble: A Test Run

2010-07-22T08:44:00.000-05:00

Ah, the excitement of a new beginning. New jobs, first days of school, or moving into a new home. It's a fresh start. It's all about possibilities and anticipating what comes next. It's also the beginning of a journey we hope we will want to stay and enjoy for a considerable time to come. We might even say to ourselves, please don't let this be a mistake! Don't let me invest in big dreams only to find out later my classmates or co-workers will make my life miserable, or the new house will be a money pit.

It's a gamble. We don't know what the new beginning will hold and likely will get burned a time or two.

As readers, we take the gamble willingly with the beginning of every book we read. Hoping to live vicariously through interesting characters, we also say to ourselves, don't let this be a mistake! Of course, reading mistakes are a lot easier to get out of than other mistakes, but you still hope the bells and whistles in a beginning aren't deceptive.

Trying for that balance, here is my current beginning for my WIP:

I couldn’t say we hadn’t been warned. No, I couldn’t say there hadn’t been a sign with the words “Keep Out” written in big block letters bolted to a chain link fence. There had been. In fact, the warning posted by the New Zealand Park Authorities had been so obvious that there hadn’t been a chance of resisting temptation. Ben Riley was an adventurer on the trail of unknown treasure, and because I loved him, so was I.

Is this paragraph hook enough for a reader's gamble? I have no idea, but I'm curious for any impressions. From only this paragraph, what kind of story do you expect to come next? Really...tell me. LOL

What kind of story would your reader expect from your beginning?

Progress Perspective: Real or Imagined?

2010-07-16T12:34:00.000-05:00

I've been giving some thought to how writers assess the progress of their WIP. Is it word count, the distinct stages of plotting, writing and revision? A combination of those and different things? And when some of those milestones take vastly different amounts of time, or overlap eachother, how does that affect a sense of progress?

For instance, my "status" on my WIP River of Tears is at about 25,000 words. There sure are a lot of words in a novel aren't there? LOL These days, word count in novels seems only to be getting higher. Consider Twilight at about 118,000. I'm not going that high, but around 80,000. I have a ways to go! Even at this low 25,000 word count, I make a perhaps wishful thinking claim to be "in revision." Another writer might not make the revision claim until that word count is at least doubled or perhaps tripled.

River feels much closer to completion. In some alternate universe, it is, in fact, finished. I can hear a little voice say in not so nice a tone, in your dreams. Yeah, that's about it. And it's a pretty darn fantastic dream at that. :) I started feeling that way back in November or December, before my college return took over and put the brakes on any sort of progress. I stopped writing, however, before then, when it seemed all plotted out. If only the technology were advanced enough to beam my perfect dream to others. If only.

The danger of this kind of thinking is it can hurt your inspiration to continue or get you in a rut of perfectionism. That's a tough spot to be in where nothing can match your imagined story. It's different than the "dreaded middle" we've heard about where the story stalls out. There isn't a stall. It's finished. Yeah, yeah, in my dreams.

The good news is that it's not impossible to dig your way out of this kind of rut. Eventually, even if each one is a struggle, real words fill in the blanks and get moved around and tweaked until they fall into place. For instance, my word count in my opening chapter this past week pretty much doubled. I rewrote a lot of it. Again. But darn it, this time it's close. It is possible for the imagined to be captured.

And that brings me back to milestones. I've always been very confused on defining my writing stages; rough drafts, first drafts or however many drafts, and at what point you're in revision. I think final revision I'm a little more clear on, but barely. I must have felt a bonafide final revision stage on my first book The Duke's Angel, but then again, maybe not. I can see now it needs more work - - a post-final revision? Oh, my head. LOL

The writing process can be quite a crazy quilt pattern. For about one third of the novel I'm writing a rough draft, literally skipping along. Then I hit the perfectionism rut where only a form of revision/writing can move me forward. The final two thirds are revision. And I write, why? LOL

What are your milestones for progress and how long do each take? How do you define rough drafts, first drafts or revisions. Do definitions matter? Anyone else have a stage of the perfectionism rut?

In a far off land I've never been to...

2010-07-14T10:22:00.000-05:00

...is where I've set the first chapter of my WIP, River of Tears. And this setting is: New Zealand

I've written about this setting choice in another blog, but that was several revisions ago. Since then I've been concentrating on amping up the suspense for this important first chapter. (I'm sure I have several blogs on revisiting the first chapter!) And while I did that revision for the hook, I just had to put the logistics of describing the setting out of my mind, as much as possible. Yes, I know I'm not done yet with that first chapter.

The setting. Oh, it started out so easy. Picture the lush green landscapes of New Zealand. You've probably seen it in movies like the Lord of the Rings and King Kong, Bridge to Teribitha, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and many more. New Zealand was also the setting in the TV series Hercules and Xena: Warrior Princess. Remember those?

In a word, the setting of New Zealand is iconic.

The thing is, in many films set in New Zealand, we don't know this is where we are. In fact, we are most likely not in New Zealand, at all, but in a fantasy setting.

Perfect. This is what I want; a fantasy setting. I need a river and a waterfall and a large forest of mythic proportions for my hero and heroine to have an adventure. With only this in mind and the combined background settings from film playing like a memory, I figured New Zealand was the ideal setting. I wrote the scenes for this chapter long ago and made other assumptions along the way. It's hot. Without a bit of research, I had my hero and heroine in an open-top Jeep, decked out in khaki shorts and batting away insects while unnamed native birds scold them from the treetops.

Ah, ignorance is bliss. It's a little different when a fantasy setting is written as a real location. For one thing, the country has a diverse climate. And it's not all gnarly treed forests and waterfalls. As I've found, there are limits of regional geography that the fantasy world of film can pretty much ignore. Yes, I probably went about this backwards. Is there something wrong with thinking to make reality match my fiction? LOL

I know (sigh), now I have to make an attempt to match my assumptions to reality. But how much? I'm not writing a travelogue, but each bit of authenticity has the potential to get me into trouble. Do I identify birds and trees native to the region? Maybe, but would my city-girl heroine know this anyway? Or place names, like the river they'd been following until they went off the beaten track. I'd thrown in the Waikato River, but have since nixed that when I find out the Waikato region is mostly farmland.) Or, when Ben, the hero, says "if we leave now we can be back at the hotel before dark." Is it important to say where this hotel is? Auckland or Wellington? Uhm, where is that? Which leads to, of course, where are they? Could they be back by dark?

All this and its the only chapter in this location. Then I'm "home free" in the more familiar setting of Washington, DC. (I'll complain about the familiar another time.) This is when a writer either chucks the challenge of writing a far off setting or says nothing specific enough to get them in trouble. How fun is that for the reader? It's an interesting balancing act between detail and purpose for the scene. Much of the detail, in a single instance, doesn't matter, but I do see a need to touch on some reality. Besides what I also make up, that is. I do have a fantasy location of the rope bridge they find. Trust me, no one will ever find it. :)

Now to search for the nearly perfect regional location, the web will help me out. From the website New Zealand Waterfalls, I see a lot of prospects!

How do you tackle writing about locations in a far off lands you've never been to?

Series or Stand Alone?

2010-07-13T10:28:00.000-05:00

Ever notice how stubborn we can be about accepting practical advice? I think it's the artist in us that makes us stubborn to follow any advice that seems to alter our individual vision for our work and this makes us turn on the automatic rejection button for ideas that don't match what we want. I did get my back up a few months ago when I heard the advice (for a first time author) "not to write a second or third book in a series until the first has sold." What? But I have to, I sputter to myself in denial of this advice. How do I know what connections to build between each if they aren't all written?

However, while commenting on the Romance Writer's Revenge blog with guest agent Scott Eagan, I've found some clarity to a nagging question of writing a series or stand alone books. (Be sure to take a look for other questions and answers fielded this day.)

Here is his response to my question on pitching a series:

IMHO if an author is pitching a first book, I would not pitch a series. I think you let the editor or agent know the book could be expanded to a series of necessary. I think you can give the image of a stronger writer if you can show me you can do several projects in the same genre that aren’t connected. Also, remember if the first book is not signed, the later books that relied on it are now dead.

If you pitch the stories as stand alones, but know you can tweak the stories a bit to connect them then you are in great shape.

Again, just my opinion.

Yes, this is practical advice and I believe I am finally a convert. It makes sense. The last thing I want is the whole investment of time and energy in a series to be tied to the success of the first. Moreover, I think I accept the advice for the compromise it offers. He's not saying "don't write a series" but to write stand alone while leaving the door open for connecting the books. It's a compromise I can live with. LOL

True, my original stand on the strength of the connection between the books is still valid. If I believed it was impossible for each book to be stand alone, then the stubborn artist in me might have to stand firm. However, I do see possibilities for stand alone, so it only makes sense to consider the practicalities. Sometimes, there is room for compromise. After all, compromise is simply a way to tell yourself, what a great idea! Why hadn't I thought of it? LOL

How do you feel about writing series or stand alone books and the pitfalls of pitching a series? Is there any writing advice you've balked against and later came around to seeing the compromise?

The Value of the Humanities for the Writer's Well Being

2010-06-24T16:17:00.000-05:00

Consider the basic principle of how you feel about doing something you want to do opposed to something you have to do. Pick your poison and pick your pleasure. Like, say...cleaning the bathroom vs. reading a book? Close, but not extreme enough. Let's say the "have to" thing - -cleaning the bathroom - -is more than just an unpleasant job. Padding the plot like only a writer can do, make it worse with some "what ifs?"

What if it has to be done every day for five weeks? And, to a degree that leads you to believe you must be paying a cosmic debt for some bad karma from another lifetime, what if each day the bathroom starts out being in worse shape then it was the day before. What if it doesn't get easier and each day it takes longer to finish. Yes, some dark magic seems to be in the works, which leads you to believe...

*cue spooky music*

... you've been cursed. (It's an absurd curse, but sounds dismal enough to me. LOL)

However, in that same day of eternal bathroom cleaning, you "get" to do something you want: read a book or watch a movie, or attend a play or listen to music or view art. It's something you normally want to do. But now? NOW? *panic!* There is that huge task you've been cursed with to get done. And you ask yourself, how can I be expected to do both? In fact, you have a sneaking suspicion this requirement for pleasure is part of the curse. Actually, you're right. There it is - - in the small print of The Curse Contract: the "get to" part is really a "have to." Suddenly, how much of a treat is the thing you want to do?

In the real world, how is the tug and pull of "have to" and "get to" managed? If I could choose I'd get out of the bathroom job pronto. LOL But noooo, real life isn't fair, and reality often means doing the "have to" and putting off the "get to." Most of the time, we think we're doing ourselves a favor by letting go of the pleasure when it seems to cause more stress by being overburdened.

But what if you'd been cursed and must fulfill both? What if they have equal weight?

I've been busy with a couple of very time intensive classes in summer school and I've discovered something interesting; sometimes doubling up is actually less stressful to some degree. My classes: Algebra and Humanites. See the contrast? Can you guess which I compare to extended bathroom cleaning? (If you love Algebra, this doesn't apply. And I hate you. LOL) At first, I railed against fate for the stress of completing the amount of work in both diverse subjects. In fact, I almost concluded that one or the other had to go. But which one? My Algebra instructor opened the class with the prediction we would "live and breath" Algebra. Funny thing is, the Humanities instructor said almost the same thing (only the Humanities, not Algebra. LOL) And how can I "live and breath" both? (And be a mom and all those other things that seem to be beside the point!)

It turns out though - - much like reading is escapism - - the broad Humanities class has been a welcome balancing factor. Under that comfort zone of self-expression where opinion counts over "right way" and "wrong way," expectations, there are lessons for how to deal with the uncertainty of uncomfortable life choices, which often feel very little like choices at all.

Is this much different than being in a stressful job but always putting off enjoyment until a too far off vacation? Or is this why the things we "get" to do, even though we normally want to, become chores? I think the Humanities (disciplines near and dear to a writer) get undervalued. But do the lessons wait for when we have time? Or is the first lesson to give the Humanities equal weight?

The title and subtitle of my textbook, The Art of Being Human: The Humanities as a Technique for Living, is very appropriate. And in addition to this great value, as a writer, I find nearly every topic between the covers of this book of interest and relevant to what and how we try to put in our stories. Topics such as archetypes in mythology (including the hero, of course), all the big topics of love, happiness, friendship, death and the conflicts in moral decisions. The value of the Humanities is, the process of giving us answers to the questions we hadn't yet thought to ask by providing proof of how humans have been asking and answering the same universal questions. Then we ask again because someone else is bound to be asking too. Maybe an answer is within us as well.

I'll try to get to a blog here and there using this text as a base. In the meantime, the link to the (overpriced) book is below if you are curious.

Writing Outside the Story: Guilt or Pleasure?

2010-06-10T13:30:00.000-05:00

I have no pages or word count on the story to report. Nope, I haven't been writing...on The Story. But that's not to say I haven't been writing. Boy, have I ever been writing; journals and papers, an occasional blog and all that stuff that doesn't count. Or does it?

I go back and forth on this question quite a bit. Currently, I'm thinking yes, it does count if it exercises your creative muscles. I found that to be so when I wrote my journal entries for an Environmental Perspective class, which I thoroughly enjoyed, by the way. Some entries were more like news reports, but on others, my imagination took flight. Like, for instance, while on a field trip to a forest where we simply had to sit in solitude for thirty minutes. Yes, really. And, the things that came to mind, without computer and familiar surroundings, surprised me.

Here's my journal entry starting from when I went off on my "assigned solitude." Yes, I was a bit cynical about being set loose into a forest to reflect on nature...

I probably started out with too high expectations. I wanted a perfect spot, and I chose to look for a nice location by the water. But, the path seemed too rough and the “best” spots were taken by other students.

After wandering further along a trail—and being aware of the time—I decided I better find a place. Any place would do, preferably with a spot to sit.

I see a patch of raised moss at the base of a couple of trees that looks comfy—but wet. I decide to use my vinyl notebook binder as a moisture barrier and take out some paper and have a seat.

Not bad. Now what? I try to use my senses individually and form the “big picture” first. What do I hear? I hear traffic in the distance. I find that a bit distracting and narrow the focus.

What do I see? I’m within a circle of about eight trees all spaced about the same distance apart, as a group of campers might surround a camp fire.

These trees are not the towering pines or majestic oaks that seem to get our first thoughts. I don’t know what they are. I should—being the logger’s daughter that I am–but I don't. And, for that matter, maybe there is a bit of ingrained disdain for these “lesser” trees; not grown enough to cut and not really very healthy looking. They look rather scraggly, with dead branches hanging on like useless appendages. A moss– no, I guess it’s a fungi covers their trunks in colors like Martha Stewart green and that yellow-green color called chartreuse. Also some turquoise and browns. And each color group is in a texture of layered edges that painters try to create.

I have to touch it and I feel the dampness, which doesn’t bother me so much anymore. I feel like it’s okay to touch. Maybe that’s where the term “tree hugger” comes from; the trees might not hug back, but their approachability is their way of saying to do everything at your own pace.

I lean back against the backrest of the trees behind me and study the circle of trees. It seems like they are a Council made up of mostly the same, older members. A young member of a different species, poplar or birch, has joined the circle also and may replace one of the scraggly members.

Am I part of the circle? Is the moss chair here for me? Maybe I am supposed to ask questions and they tumble around in my mind; how old are you? Are you healthy? Is your life-span short? Is the fungi killing you or helping? Is it supposed to? Are you meant to be transient?

I received no answers, but it didn’t matter. It was simply nice to feel free to ask the questions. I felt like I could “talk” to this Council for a long time, but 30 minutes is not enough and I almost wanted to apologize when it came time to leave. I would also add that I was sorry they’d been my second choice when looking for my perfect spot.

As I made my way back to meet the others I thought about attempting to find a landmark so that I could find this exact spot again. I’d like to think I would recognize it, even though I think there are going to be changes. Maybe the circle will be made up of more young birch (or poplar)? Or maybe the scraggly trees are hardier than they look?

I wonder if anyone else had sat in that same spot– a comfy moss upholstered chair– and seen what I had seen. Wouldn’t it be amazing if there is another person, or even a handful or a dozen people who thought so and wanted to come back? Maybe they had been for a very long time.
*** *** ***
In a very short time, I became less cynical. I relaxed, and I tried to show that transition in writing. I also used first person - - it was me afterall - - and I think this gives me experience for first person writing in my story.

So, no, I don't really feel all that guilty. :)

What's your vote? Does writing outside the story count?

You're Out of Order!

2010-05-31T16:49:00.000-05:00

In looking over my stories, I can't help but see a trend. I confess: I'm a flashback junkie. I'm all over the place in time; days, months, years, decades and even...*ah hem*...centuries.

Granted, there is a difference between time travel and flashback. You don't have to have flashbacks in a time travel novel and you certainly don't have to be writing a time travel novel to use flashbacks. But, in a way, flashbacks are time travel. According to Dictionary.com, flashbacks are:

a device in the narrative of a motion picture, novel, etc., by which an event or scene taking place before the present time in the narrative is inserted into the chronological structure of the work.

Yep, sounds like time travel to me. Furthermore, in writing flashbacks you likely slip briefly from the standard past tense (what we generally already write in) to past perfect (like "had done") to transition to and from the flashback time. Or, you use devices like chapter beginnings, italics or asteriks to offset the flashback.

Yes, flashbacks can be clunky in many ways. And it does get confusing to consider when or how to use a flashback. Personally, I think their "bad name" stems a bit from a case of mistaken identity and misuse. For instance, I've noticed that flashbacks are often tied to other topics like "backstory" and "prologues." This is something I've confused as well.

The question is, isn't there enough to worry about in your chronological story then to bring in complications? It's no wonder writers - - beginning writers especially - - are warned off from flashbacks. You only have to do an internet search (see list of links below -sorry, I lost track of where I found what!) to get plenty of warnings (basically, "avoid at all costs" and "almost always a mistake") and explanations of the disadvantages --and advantages, but they get pushed to the end. It's like everyone is interested (tons of articles attest to this) but feel obliged to say a few words of caution first. So, to follow the pattern...

The disadvantages of flashbacks:

lacks immediacy;
old information/already over;
distracts from the present or interrupts forward momentum (I think of as the "meanwhile, back at the ranch" syndrome);
could have a "tennis match" effect (multiple flashback confusion - think the TV series Lost);
or the advice that it doesn't fit the romance genre; "In the romance genre in particular, the current storytelling style calls for streamlined text mostly free of "she remembered the time-isms."
or, interestingly, can be a writer's way of "running away from [writing the] conflict" in the present.

Hmm. Lots of problems. But, guess what? Some of those disadvantages have appeal. I like tennis. I liked the back and forth of Lost. And I suppose I might not be writing a traditional romance. As for "running away from conflict"...well, moving on (*LOL*), I think a common thread in my writing is that my kind of writing (time travel and suspense) goes together with flashbacks like peanut butter and jelly. I'd go so far as to say I'm on my way to embracing flashbacks as part of my writing style.

So, I'm not swayed by the warnings, but I am considering where I've gone wrong a time or two (or many!). I think the main thing I'm going to have to work on is checking that my flashbacks are integrated into my story, which I found to be a common theme for what makes a flashback work. A few of the ways to integrate (from the articles):

Never start a flashback too early in the story. Let the present get a firm foothold. (Which makes me rethink prologues as well. It's taken me a while to be a convert, but consider: do you really want to build the beginning of the story twice?)

Lead into flashback from a strong scene in the present story time; no standing at the window remembering the past; includes use of triggers in the story time present that link to the flashback.

Flashbacks can drive a plot twist. Again the word integrated comes up, such as in integrated clues for for suspense. Something new each time is learned; which can include shocking secrets.

Remember the lapse of time in the story time present while in the flashback past; is it just weird to spend hours or days in a flashback remembrance when it only took a few minutes in the present? (exception: actual time travel, of course!).

And that's just the beginning! In fact, I'm looking into a method of writing flashbacks that is similar to a "formula" or "frame" that begins into a present but repeatedly goes back in time with flashbacks until a certain point when time catches up. (Did I not say I was a flashback junkie?)

So, how about it? How do you feel about flashbacks - - both writing them and reading them? Are you upset about the wrap-up of Lost? (I am!)

Related links:

How to Write Flashbacks into Fiction - from eHow.com

3 Tips for Writing Successful Flashbacks - Writer's Digest by Nancy Kress

The Art of Flashback - pdf. from the Colorado Springs Fiction Writers Group

On Flashbacks - by James N. Frey

Novel Writing: Dealing with Flashbacks and Repressed Memories - Lawrence Ez's blog

Flashback: Backstory told in Scene - from blog Through the Tollbooth

Time, Chronology, Flashbacks - Explore Writing (UK)

Flashback or Backstory? What's the Difference? - Timothy's Thoughts Blog

Writing the Flashback in Fiction - Ezine article by Joy Cagil

Flashbacks - Leaping and Posturing with mystery author Meg Chittenden

The Revised Journal

2010-05-22T07:36:00.000-05:00

I've always been intrigued by journals or diaries. The concept of having a written record to look back on is appealing. Oh, the memories to be saved!

With this appeal tugging at me, I generally start and stop one on a regular basis. Yes, there is a "stop" because the "daily" requirement soon goes out the window. And, in all my years of starts and stops, I've come to the conclusion that the "good stuff" is probably happening on those missing journal entry days.

I admit, I've never quite got the hang of much of anything that is supposed to be done "daily." Obviously, my writing comes to mind. However, I'm at the halfway point in a class that has keeping a journal as 30% of the grade. It's a short, summer class of 2 1/2 weeks that is flying by. Yes, I should be writing in my journal! But pushing that "should be" aside is a bit of what I've learned about how to make a journal work for me.

First, a short list of definition of journals straight from the dictionary:

a. A personal record of occurrences, experiences, and reflections kept on a regular basis; a diary.
b. An official record of daily proceedings, as of a legislative body.
c. Nautical A ship's log.

d. A newspaper.

e. A periodical presenting articles on a particular subject, like a medical journal.

All of these are types of journals. But do they say daily? I don't think you can throw "regular basis" out the window, but there is some wiggle room for most types. Even for log books. Immediately, I hear Captain Kirk's voice say "Captain's Log, Stardate xxxx." But I'm willing to bet even Captain Kirk got behind in his log entries during "the good stuff." What the heck did he do when he fell behind? Did he say, "oh, forget about it" and skip a few days? How was "the good stuff" kept from being lost for humanity to learn from? (Yes, I know, he had help from the writers.)

But I'm certain he had to go back to his log book a few days later. When the dust settled, he had to recreate from memory what happened. That had to take discipline. Or is it all discipline? Maybe he jotted down some notes along the way. Is that equally impractical?

In my class, one of the tips my instructor gave to writing my journal was, "remember you can go back to your journal entry. It isn't written in stone." I can go back? This was a bit of a revelation. It seems silly now, but for some reason, I hadn't thought that was allowed.

Of course I can go back. It's done all the time. For instance, when I read Robert Kennedy's Thirteen Days, A Memoir of the Cuban Missile Crisis, (btw, am i ever glad that class is over!), it was obviously not a collection of "daily journal entries." It followed a day by day account, but there was clearly a lot of revision and organization going on to add quotes and facts and, ultimately, drama. In many instances, there are passages that begin.."as we later found out..." So, yes, this is journal, but a finished product of many missing days restructured.

Yes, a journal can be, and often is, revised. And another important thing to accept is that a journal can be topical. Robert Kennedy's memoir/journal is topical. The episode based on Captain Kirk's log entries is topical. My class journal is topical.

So, when all is said and done, my comfort zone for journaling may not be a daily diary of random thoughts like "a bird flew down my chimney and is flapping around in front of the fireplace screen." (I think it's still there actually. I don't know for sure with the barricade of furniture I felt the need to build in front of the fireplace and the tv blaring to drown out all that flapping....*shudder*--but I'm hoping it will fly out! Update: It was a DUCK! Yes, a duck flew down my chimney and got trapped at the bottom. A friend got it out (brave girl!) and the happy ending is the not-so-frightening duck is alive and well. Anyhoo, that type of "what happened today" may make interesting snippets for stories, but I personally can't maintain that type of journal.

Topical is another method and it works for my class so it should work for my personal journal and perhaps for my story plotting too. For instance, for the class, I have about twenty topics to write on, which include field trips, some articles and questions. So, this is pre-planned and with a time limit of about two weeks. And every journal entry is made up of notes of the event or article that get revised by what "I later found out."

I'm thinking about how I could adapt this method to my own writing. I know it's nothing new; journalists use it for investigative reporting (field trips, research, questions). Then they work on a deadline to put it all together in a finished product. But, to me, it's a new way of looking at journaling. All I have to do is come up with a set of topics and a time limit. Maybe this would work for a chapter. It doesn't hurt to experiment. :)

Do you keep a journal? What type? Do you have pre-conceived notions of what a journal requires, such as daily entries or thinking you can't revise your journal entries? Ever have a duck fly down your chimney?

Pulling Up Stakes and Do-Overs

2010-05-11T09:40:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I tried it. Yes, that self-publishing idea. My first novel is no longer posted on my blog and linked to Amazon for purchase at an outrageous price. Now I've pulled up stakes and packed my bags for a new trip.

Yep, I'm relieved. And while it would be nice of me to share what worked and didn't work for the benefit of others considering such a venture, I don't really want to backtrack. You can find the disadvantages all over the place. All I can say, is most of them are true. (Practically speaking, it comes down to the price of the book and availability of the book. Don't even think about good books or bad books. That's all I'll say about self-publishing and you can draw your own conclusions. :))

In thinking of the now, I simply know I can get some enjoyment back for my first "baby." It is a good book. It didn't fail; it didn't have a chance. But now I can tweek with some revisions. I can maybe add some of what I envision gives background to sequels I have in mind.

So, if there is a silver lining, I do have an opportunity to change what would be irreversible in a traditionally published manuscript. I have a do-over.

And, by the way, I'm also dropping my pen name, Melissa Bryant. (I'll leave that name to a porn star that holds the .com) Yep, I hadn't researched that very well. *sigh* I want a do-over. Or maybe the ordinariness of my real name "Melissa Johnson" isn't such a liability after all.

So, there are lots of things we do as writers that take thought and pre-planning. Are we equipped for the ins and outs of marketing and promotion? Not always. Do we get ahead of ourselves? All the time. Are they mistakes? Some are. Are they irreversible? Only in the minds of that mysterious "they."

Any Do-Overs you'd like? Any new routes planned?

How Do I Start?: POV

2010-05-07T09:35:00.000-05:00

My original question was "where do I start?" I'm excited...I have a long awaited "me day" where I can write on my story without guilt. (Yesterday I finished finals of my first semester back at college - - yay!) But how do you jump back into a story after a long absence? And I do mean long!

I feel like I have to ease in and reintroduce myself to my characters and vice versa. But where? Right at the beginning makes sense, but before I even open the folder on my computer (that I imagine will creak open like a long unused door) I recall where I left off. Oh, yeah, I'd been experimenting with deep POV first person for my heroine. Hmm. Sure.

Uhm, why? I admit, I've rather forgotten my plan of action, but more details come back on how the idea is to have deep POV with the heroine so that reader gets to really like her before the distance of several chapters in the hero's POV. Oh, yeah. That goal. No pressure.

So, I'm a little chicken to dive in. A little stalling with blog hopping is too tempting to resist and, in almost my first visit, I come across:

... sometimes deep POV in the opening of the story is counterproductive. If the character isn't easy to like, consider easing into forcing the reader to "be her."

Editorrent - Disliking and deep POV, May 6, 2010

Wishy washy me thinks at first that this gets me off the hook. Then I think, dislike? No, that's not my plan. I want like...no, more than that, deep empathy. Deep POV is good.

But then I start thinking about how "easy" it may be to alienate the character from the reader by being too familiar. It can work brilliantly, but I can see how it is expecting a heck of a lot to show a character's faults and expect empathy through identification on the first meeting. In the example in the blog, the author has heroine make snarky comments out of character in the beginning of the story. I'm sure she's not trying to create dislike, but that feeling in the reader of, oh yeah, I've had days like that. And, as always will happen, I can see the problem when someone else does it; out of character from what? We don't know what is in character to know what is out of character. Everyone has a bad day, but does a writer really want to create a first impression that will take some fixing?

Granted, in my story's beginning I'm not planning on sadding my heroine with any obvious dislikable characteristics, like snarkiness, but there are faults. Boy, does she have faults! But I'm looking carefully at first impression; is she sympathetically insecure (intended) or whining (from some unintentional out of character miss-step?). The idea is to introduce her with no explanation. Maybe it is a good thing I have fresh eyes to view her first impression. :)

Now I'm warmed up and ready to open the squeaky folder take a look! (Btw, believe it or not it is snowing on this May 7th!)

What kind of first impression do your characters make? How do you jump back into a story after a long break?

The Flavors of Conflict

2010-04-30T11:27:00.000-05:00

Choices. Choices. Have you ever been so inundated with choices on a menu, like the array of ice cream options or coffee variations for instance, that you just give up and say "vanilla" or "just black " please? It's just too much. Sometimes I think that way about conflict. With so many options, how do I choose? Or maybe, the first step is going back to the basics of "vanilla," but with the understanding that vanilla doesn't mean boring, but pure and basic.

Take the exam essay topic I have for an American Lit class: how traditional forms of support, such as family, religion or community, don’t work for a character any more and cause a character to feel alienated.

Essentially, this is a method the writer uses to create conflict. The menu is varied, but a basic "vanilla" flavor of conflict is "loss of a traditional form of support." It almost guarantee some form of conflict. Too vanilla? Remember, not boring, but a pure base to add the right flavors.

For my essay I have to use examples from various works and I found it amazing how the "flavor" is built on the basic concept of this conflict; the loss of traditional forms of support. It can even be a perceived loss of support brought about by a change in the character, as I think of this loss in a story I'm working into the essay (without such long quotes).

In the short story "The Second Choice" by Theodore Dreiser, the feeling of alienation in the main character, Shirley, is influenced by her attraction to an outsider. This outsider, Arthur, "arrived with a sense of something different" and set in motion a change in Shirley's perception of her world that she must deal with after he leaves. In reality, her world hadn't changed. Her job at the drug store is the same. The houses on her street are not only the same, but painfully identical:

There was Mrs. Kessel in her kitchen getting her dinner as usual, just as her own mother was now, and Mr. Kessel out on the front porch in his shirt-sleeves reading the evening paper. Beyond was Mr. Pollard in his yard, cutting the grass. All along Bethune Street were such houses and such people -- simple commonplace souls all -- clerks, managers, fairly successful craftsmen, like her father and Barton, excellent in their own way but not like Arthur the beloved, the lost - - and here was she, perforce, or by decision of necessity soon to be one of them.

Her world is held in comparison to the "glorious interlude" she shared with the outsider and her contentment in the familiar routines is lost; her community identified distantly as "such houses" and "such people." Additionally, hobbies and social events she had enjoyed "before Arthur" had been given up:

That was another thing Arthur had done - - broken up her interest in these old store and neighborhood parties and a banjo and mandolin club to which she had once belonged. They had all seemed so pleasing and amusing in the old days - - but now - -. . .

Shirley now sees her world through Arthur's eyes, and the sameness and routine is something to be endured. While Arthur has left to explore the broader world, she is now an outsider trapped in a limiting social context of the turn of the century where the only option is marriage - - especially, if, as a possibility, Shirley is indeed pregnant. I believe she will resume her former life, but the loss of her support system by her changed perceptions reduce, not only choosing Barton, but all aspects of her life as a "second choice."

(Btw, I've mentioned this story before in a blog and I'm still thinking of writing a story based on the conflict because I'm dying to give her a happy ending! It breaks my heart!)

I think you could take almost any story and find ways the character has lost traditional forms of support and/or feels alienated. How about giving it a try? Do you think your story has a loss of a support system and/or a character feeling alienated?

This and THAT

2010-03-23T08:23:00.000-05:00

Friend: "Whatcha been doing?"

Me: "Oh, this and this."

Friend [with a little frown of confusion]: "Don't you mean this and that?"

Me: "No, I didn't do any of THAT."

It sounds confusing, but a writer knows what THAT is. It's what you try to fit in between all "this" stuff of life. It's simply THAT thing, in all caps, we think about more than "this and this and this." It's writing.

So, I see my last blog was nearly a month ago and I made big promises; to myself, and my characters. Well, THAT didn't work out so well. "Spring break" is apparently code for one week to catch up or study for the exams scheduled the week after the "break." And so, my promised time of clearing my mind of real life "this" and delving into my fictional world of "THAT" didn't work out as planned.

But, I did get a lot done - - lots of "this" stuff of life and learning I really can't seem to go to school and also write on my book. That's kind of a weight off my shoulders. I'm not losing some vital part of me, but accepting the saying "for everything there is a season." My writing is in a holding pattern, with the next "promise" hopefully more attainable. It will come.

In the meantime...I did this thing where I discovered I liked science better than history - - apparently "critical thinking" is not as important to me as "what did they wear?" And those details serve me well in being interested in all the little parts to a cell or flower or finding beauty in the shapes of algae. (Have you seen those amazing diatoms? No? Anyways...) I did this thing where I figured out I don't "get" Faulkner - - apparently where I thought he was serious, he was being "absurd." Huh. But naturalist writers and poems by Foster, rich with analogy, tugged at my heart strings and imagination and had me creating happy endings in my head. And I did this thing where drawing "stratagraphic maps of rock and fossils" involved drawing in little circles and connecting dots and little fish. Cool. Who says I can't draw? :)

As a writer, we're constantly working on the premise that it's possible to work writing in - - that there's always room. Is there? Sometimes there just might not be...for a while anyway. Accomplishments in all areas deserve their place in the sun. The rest, THAT part of us, even if it's writing, shouldn't be a disappointment or a guilt trip or any sort of failure.

What is your balance of this and THAT?

Are You a Clock Watching Therapist to Your Characters?

2010-02-28T11:00:00.000-06:00

"I'm sorry, your time is up for today. Let's pick this up next time. "

The bad stereotype of the clock watching therapist/patient relationship would be horrible to experience. To get started on some big issue and have to stop on a dime when time ran out? Yikes!

Hmm, actually, that does seem kind of like my writing process. I'm not the patient in this scenario (debatable, but bear with me!) but the amateur therapist. The characters are the patients.

I have good intentions in my role, but just when I get to the heart of the matter, time's up. I'm not sure who is to blame, but sometimes in this relationship I have warm ups that build to just getting in tune, while at other times the breakthroughs come "out of session" - - guaranteed to be inconvenient. (i.e., In the shower or in the five minutes before I have to stop or be late, late, late.)

My muse (FYI, also a patient) has been progressively pushy lately - - on the brink of discoveries when, in months of "sessions," it didn't whisper a peep to me. I did show up to listen. Okay, sometimes in session I surfed the net or played Bingo, but I showed up. I waited for the heart of the matter (begged and pleaded even) and often all I got was the basics. But, apparently I'm "ON CALL" because, what invariably happens? Out of the blue, things start to fall into place in an avalanche of the heart of the matter breakthroughs.

My conversation with my patient right now goes something like this:

Hold that thought, Mrs. Heroine. I've got a week off from my "day job" coming up and we'll pick things up where we left off. I know, I know...you just figured out your biggest fears. That's big, and I do appreciate that you decided to finally let me in on it. What's that? Yes, I know, it's my fault. I shouldn't have started this new therapy five minutes before the end of the session, but I thought I'd experiment with this first person thing. It opened up the floodgates when I didn't really expect it to work - - you have been awfully stubborn you know - - but, um, can you...how should I put this...put a cork in it for now? You've done it this long, what's a little longer? For now, I really must do this other thing or I'll be...[insert something catastrophic...like, oh, say becoming homeless or something]. So, just hold your place...and pass that on to everyone else too. Okay?

Can it work that way?

Not. *LOL*

But, as melodramtic as it sounds like I make my writing process, it's how I love to be. The things that come to me are not, in fact, out of the blue, but only possible by absorbing experiences. I'd much rather have this problem of being a "clock watching therapist" than never to have heard my patients problems at all.

If, as the author you are the therapist, what would your conversation with your patients be like?

Experimenting with POV

2010-02-24T16:16:00.000-06:00

I'd have to say I haven't been too tempted to experiement with POV. I've pretty much been third person all the way. It's what I read most often, after all, and logically what I want to write. True, there has been some "accidental" experimentation with some scary head hopping. This was in the days before anyone told me that was "wrong." Ahh, those were the days. I fondly remember blessed ignorance.

But when I finally got around to accepting why this head hopping actually caused confusion (Really? Huh.), and consequently thought I better pay attention to some rules for my own benefit, various solutions appeared. One solution: write in first person to "lock-in." And, I thought, "good idea," before going my own way with deciding to continue to write in third person, but with one POV. This was my minimalist method. That, and a bit of insecurity that I better learn to walk before I run. Logically, if switching POV is awkward, then minimize the occurance. I didn't have to use first person.

I'm not sure where my ambivalence to first person came from. Oh, I suppose I can guess. It goes back to simply sticking with the familiar and not feeling confident to experiment. Besides, experimenting means work and rewrites, etc. Yeah, that's part of it. Even if I do the method of writing in first person and changing it over to third later, well, that is probably why I haven't tried it!

So, my one character POV method worked...for a while. It made sense, actually, in my WIP with a ghost character, to stay solely in his head for a long time. It's natural (as far my idea of how a ghost would feel) to be an observer and distanced from the other characters, and I did feel "locked-in." Without switching, the reader really gets to know this hero. If I do say so myself, he's really a great guy. *sigh* But what about the heroine? Who is she? By observation, she seems an unlikely match for the hero. Why is she so fragile? Why does he love her? Is she worthy of this wonderful, alpha hero? I needed to get into her head.

Solving this problem seemed to be to write the first chapter in the heroine's POV before the long period spent in the hero's POV. (In the midst of all this, I grudgingly admit that I am, actually, experimenting with POV. Darn it anyway. *grumble* No matter how I try to simplify and walk before I run, things get complicated.) I expect a lot with POV. In one introductory chapter, I have lofty goals (and pressure) to make her so identifiable and sympathetic to the reader that the absence of being in her head for several chapters is missed (much like the hero misses her).

I've tried. And while I think it's the right move, I still don't like my first chapter. The action I like, but it's too separate from the rest and lacking something just outside my grasp. Mostly, I put this frustration on the back burner and keep going, figuring, as is my pattern, I'll revise Chapter One and get better handle on it...eventually.

Then, I had a long break from my WIP. I'm still in that break (i.e., return to college!), but these characters are far from forgotten! And, as sometimes happens with time away, an odd idea is taking shape.

Recently, in my lit class, I read the unfamiliar (i.e., not a romance) style of multiple POVs in first person. All I can say...I was lost. Not totally, but I missed a lot. Worse, I not only missed a lot, but I was simply wrong. And did I ever feel gullible!

My problem: who to believe. For some reason, I took as gospel truth the thoughts of the first person character. It didn't really occur to me that this character was lying to him or herself. Add a multiple first person account (from different characters) of the same event, and I floundered to decide who was telling the truth.

I'm still amazed. Where the heck did this trust come from? After kicking myself for lacking the understanding to grasp literature and my dismal ability to be a discerning reader, I thought, hmmm, so that's why some people write in first person. I'd heard this before about first person, that it can give an impression that the story is true. This kind of went in one ear and out the other. Yeah, yeah, but I get sick of reading "I."

But what about for a short time and mixing first person with third person? Is this something that would help me for my first chapter? Could I then slip back into third, and stay there? And who am I asking permission from anway? *LOL*

One concern, of course, is "romantic conventions." Is this going to be a hard sell? Heck, so is the rest of this paranormal story. :) The only way to find out is to try it. What it comes down to, is if it's a tool that works, use it.

Have you experimented with POV? What are your thoughts of first person or mixing first person with third person POV? What weight do you put on romantic conventions when experimenting?

LINKS:

Here are a couple handy links if considering experiment with POV. The first is a .pdf document of a nice overview of POV in a handout given out by author Susan Lyons at a RWA Conference:

Look Who's Talking.

Also helpful, for considering reasons for mixed use of POV is a blog posting by author Gail Gaymer Martin:

Mixing First Person and Third Person POV in a Novel

Great Idea...for Later

2010-02-18T18:58:00.000-06:00

I've often thought the concepts of writing; the characters, plot ideas and everything that goes into a story are part of, and dependent on an entity called The Muse, which has almost human qualities. Sometimes The Muse is my friend and so abundant with information that I want to have long, enthusiastic conversations. Other times, I feel like, even though The Muse is still approaching me, and almost begging me to take a look at its next, perfect Big Idea, I can only nod with distracted acknowledgement and murmur, "Hmmm, yes, great idea...for later."

Yeah, I'm busy. And I'm a bit worried The Muse might give up, as most friends do if you don't, at least some of the time, respond with an enthusiastic, "Great idea, tell me more!"

Is it enough to jot down some ideas? Will The Muse turn it's back on me if, when I'm ready, I say, "Okay, now what was that you were trying to tell me yesterday?" Or will it pout and say, "It wasn't yesterday, it was last week. Never mind, it's not important now."

What is your Muse like? Do you feel a kind of "bad friend guilty" when you brush it aside?

Don't Call Me Ma'am...

2010-02-01T21:17:00.000-06:00

It's been one of those days. I knew they'd come. Those days when I feel my "age." Afterall, I'm a 40 something returning to college. Even if the university does have a higher percentage than some colleges of older students...still, I knew these days would come.

Today, a simple thing really got me thinking. The professor for World History II, was running late, and while waiting, I listened to the young kids (the traditional freshmen) in the row behind me. They were deep in conversation making fun of the professor. Her weight, her clothes, her demeanor...it was all fair game.

Part of me thought it was mean, but I could see where they were coming from. I'd had some of the same thoughts about this professor. I wasn't concerned about her appearance, but I did find her unsettling. She has a way of putting you on the spot that strikes terror in a student's heart - - it does in my heart! I'd talked on the phone with my sister that I thought she, with her erratic outbursts that seemed to shock the class into paying attention, "wasn't playing with a full deck."

Then, in the midst of these students behind me getting rowdy while one upping each other with clever derogatory comebacks, one of these students dropped his water bottle and, in the auditorium tiered classroom, it rolled down to my row. I picked it up and handed it to him and heard a very polite, "thank you, ma'am."

Ha! There it was. Ma'am. I'd already given myself a lecture not to take offense at this respectful title just because it made me feel old. Now, that's silly, I told myself. I tried to convince myself that maybe it's time I took it as a compliment. But coming on the heels of this overheard conversation, the generation gap hit me. Obviously, I wasn't part of their world. I might be a student, but I was ma'am. The goofing off behind me halted and I had a strange, strange feeling. Had I somehow busted it up? Did I, with my simple interruption done out of politeness, put a damper on their talk? For all I know, they were making gestures about the "old lady" behind my back. Who just might be me.

That makes me grumble to myself at the unfairness. Don't these cool, smart kids know I'm a cool mom who plays with her son in the sandbox and makes snow angels? No, they don't.

And I get a bit of empathy for "the crazy professor." Maybe she has her reasons to shock the living daylights out of her students!

In the next few moments, the professor came in and began taking attentance. "Is George here?" she demanded. George was one of the kids behind me. George, in fact, was the one who'd said...and I quote, "watch out, she'll go all samari warrior on you if you answered a question wrong." When George said, in a respectful tone, "here," she then paused. She looked at George and said, "You weren't in my world religions class this morning. Is it too early for you?"

Maybe she knew she had to crack the whip! *LOL* But in an odd way, I'm not so afraid she will put ME on the spot. Maybe she knows I don't need it. I'm a ma'am afterall. (shhh....she doesn't need to know I called her crazy to my sister!).

So what does any of this have to do with writing a romance novel? A lot actually. It's all made me think that, no matter what our age and position in life, there is probably something we can identify with in nearly any other group outside of our own. I can relate, in some small way, to both the students twenty years my junior and to the professor who strikes fear in my heart.

It's sometimes harder to see in the real world. Often, we feel like we have nothing in common. But it's there. On the outside, we might not see it. But in the written words of a novel we can get beneath the stereotypes and find the common insecurities. I can read a romance novel and identify with a young girl in a historical. I can read a contemporary novel about a professionally successful heroine, and if she has insecurities, I can relate. If there is humor, in anyone's age group, I can relate.

What role do you think age plays when it comes to identifying with characters? Either reading or writing them?

The bad news is the economy is bad, the good news is the economy is bad...

2010-01-28T17:17:00.000-06:00

While reading some of the many blogs about the publishing market being tight these days, I had a wicked moment of indulging in some seriously selfish thinking. Bad, bad thinking. I thought, go ahead, let the market be poor because I'm not ready to pitch my book right now anyway.

I'm not ready! I have a work in progress. Otherwise known as Unfinished. Even if it were - - finished that is - - I have ideas for sequels that need to be written as well.

And, I write slowly. Especially now, with returning to college, my story gets about as much attention from me for words as my plants get for water. And to clarify, I only have some lonely cactus plants hanging on for dear life. So, with all this left to be done, should it really matter if the market is slow and not buying? Not really.

In a way, the bad state of publishing right now is a reality check, along with the nagging voice in my head that says the market shouldn't be on my mind too much even in good times. For someone who's always been one to count my chicks before they've hatched, the economy and the publishing market has always mattered more than it should. It's easy to forget the one important thing:

The chicks must hatch. (i.e., The books must be written.)

So, call me crazy, but I choose to see this lowpoint as an opportunity. If you are unpublished with various WIP's in various stages of completion or polish, or you've been getting knocked down by rejection...why not look at this bad economic climate as a time to write. Imagine, while waiting for the economic upswing, if you (and I) take this time to write the best book possible. Maybe not just one. Maybe a series. Put the market, good or bad, out of your mind.

Hatch some chicks already!

*Update: The day after posting this blog I read some interesting advice from an agent blog (Bookends Literary Agency) on trilogies (series). Basically, Jessica says...don't. Don't write the 2nd or 3rd until the first has sold. So, their goes my ideas. What do I know? Although, personally, I think writing all books in a series makes sense if there are changes you'd like to make in the first because of what happens in a later book. But, maybe not. What do you think?

Do you think this is the time to build a backlist? Do you think about the market too much while writing (or not writing!) your best book possible?

Happy Endings: An Epiphany Too Late?

2010-01-21T15:01:00.000-06:00

I'm still in a "happily ever after" drought as I continue my foray into literature (via an American Lit college course) and I can't wait to read some "literature" with a happy ending (I know they do happen, I just haven't read any yet).

Oh, why does it have to all end in tragedy? Did Winterbourne in DAISY MILLER: A STUDY (Henry James) have to be so entrenched in his social context as an upper class American in European high society that he couldn't appreciate Daisy's free spirit? Did he have to realize he'd lost a chance of happiness only after she had died of malaria? Did he have to have his epiphany too late?

Doesn't your romance loving heart ache? Where's the rainbow? Sometimes, I can't wait. I have the tendency to imagine different choices for characters who would be much happier, in the end, if they only made different choices.

But I see that there are a series of choices and a journey of character change needed for a believable happy ending. Believe me, if there had been a happy ending, with Winterbourne accepting Daisy at the end it would have been unsatisfactory. Fresh in my mind would be his uncomplimentary thoughts and words. To his aunt:

"It is very true," Winterbourne pursued, "that Daisy and her mama have not yet risen to that stage of - - what shall I call it? - - of culture, at which the idea of catching a count or a marchese begins. I believe that they are intellectually incapable of that conception."

A very, very unlikely hero. Even with his epiphany, if he had not undergone some serious character changes to make him worthy, a romance reader, would of course hate him for his lack of compassion and not wish for Daisy to be with such a character.

But could, I wonder, a romance writer redeem a "spineless snob" into a deserving hero? Oh, I can't help but see the ways...and they involve a lot of suffering - - not just a little - - but a lot on his part. This would include some begging for forgiveness and proving himself worthy once he realized how wrong he'd been. Yes, I'm a blood thirsty romance writer! But, oh, if it's pulled off...the reward could be great.

Really, modern genre romance is very special. Said another way, it is, in fact, a specialty. It seeks and delivers a deeper understanding of literature's universal truths:

The best literature is about the old universal truths, such as love, honor, pride, compassion and sacrifice. -- William Faulkner

But for genre romance, there is the added element of redemption. We don't want perfect characters, but we want characters to be redeemed and worthy of the happily ever after.

Meanwhile, as I wait for a happy ending (when I'm not imagining my own), I'm discovering a deeper appreciation of the timelessness of these universal truths. I almost think the difference in genre romance may be in how the romance writer examines these universal truths and follows up with using her specialty to transform the character's epiphany into a believable happy ending.

Have you read romances where the character has an epiphany too late for a believable happy ending? Can you imagine Winterbourne or another unlikely hero becoming redeemed?