Archive for May, 2007
I’m sure I’ve blogged about my weird attraction for my literary opposite before. Please feel free to skip this post if you’re bored. I’m still thinking about it so. . .
One of the standard pieces of advice to beginning writers is to write what you like to read. For me this doesn’t work. First,I read it all poetry to philosophy . . . Second, my favorite reads are character driven stories. I believe the main attractions is their skill balances my weakness. I admire what I have little natural aptitude for capturing on the page — memorable fictional people.
Identification of a problem is the first step in solving it. Hence my on going efforts to get stronger at portraying well-rounded characters.
Until entering the writing community I assumed everyone was like me and naturally gravitated toward books with sympathetic and unique characters. But I’ve learned better. There are those who are enchanted by a riveting plot and happy to get by with rather sketchy story characters. I can’t think of any incompetent writers who are perennial best sellers. But there are those who are strong plotters and those who are definitely character driven.
So what are your favorite reads? If you write romantic comedy is your favorite escape read horror? If you write traditional romance do you read thrillers for fun? Or is it just me that adores their opposite?
Posted by Evanne Lorraine @ 6:14 pm |
Real life crashed through the fantasy world I live in much of the time. Stalling the progress on the novella. The other snag is the one I’ve had since the beginning with this story — the challenge of combining an erotic plot with a convincing romance into a story that hangs together. Oddly enough, even the most far fetched fiction has to make sense. I have an idea of how to combine the two different genres but getting it done in a short word count remains challenging.
Current year’s goals
1) Study characterization to add depth to the story’s cast
2) Three submissions
3) In roads into the TBR shelves
Progress report
Done reading the stack of books related to characterization – Found one more unread craft book in the thinning TBR shelves. Added it to the smaller current reading group.
Three submissions sent!
Working on number four (see word meter number four)
Submission Status:
Still waiting to hear from the publishers
Timeline:
1) five months – estimated response time from publisher 3 months
2) One month and three weeks – estimated response time from publisher 1 month
3) One month and one weeks – estimated response time from publisher none*
*Publisher did acknowledge the submission, but included a warning not to contact them about this submission.
TBR stack grew again this week. Several paperbacks leaped into my shopping cart when I detoured by the book aisle to pick up a necessary box of business envelopes. They refused to get out until I got to the checkout counter . . . .
Posted by Evanne Lorraine @ 6:03 pm |
Over at the http://www.iheartpresents.com/ blog and http://www.squawkradio.com blog (you’ll have to go back a page to this post: Christina Dodd Presents A Deluxe Romance Quiz) are discussions of the classic story lines that make Harlequin Presents a perennial best seller.
I have to admit I love secret babies, marriages of convenience,virgin brides, royal weddings and every other classic romance plot. Smoldering alpha males and fiesty heroines are the chocolate truffles of literature — the perfect, slightly guilty, pleasure read.
Ms Dodd, and undoubtedly other readers, are particular in their preferences for a certain flavor or classic romance. Since I want to write a second Present’s story soon I’d love to hear about your favorite Present’s plots.
Posted by Evanne Lorraine @ 4:21 pm |
Still working on characterization. Reading Ms. Wiggs last week pushed me further in that direction. My natural inclination is to develop plot heavy stories. When I revised a first draft, what used to always be missing was emotion and setting. Now I think about setting and generally include enough to cue the reader. Emotions — I’m still working on.
In Writing the Breakout Novel ,Donald Maass say that emotion and conflict should be on every page. It dawns on me that this means the emotional conflict is the key to every story. Not just romance.
Currently I’m working on a novella. The outer plot is way too complicated for the length. But I’ve decided that is okay that convoluted, action packed, thrill ride is going to all part of the hero’s backstory. Only minute slivers of this is going to make it into the current story which is a tiny slice of his life — three days, plus a postscript a day later.
One of the aspects of relating character’s emotions I struggle with is having them make logical sense. Story people are different from real life people in several important aspects. They are simpler. They have a few distinguishing traits, a flaw or two, and a couple of goals. Actual people are enormously complex. Story people make sense. They have logical reasons for their actions. They also have emotional consistency – their emotional reactions are authentic for their history and their circumstances. Real life people are unpredictable and just plain crazy.
Maybe I’m crazier than average and this is why I have so much trouble getting my characters to act believably.
Posted by Evanne Lorraine @ 2:33 pm |
Lakeside Cottage by Susan Wiggs won the Rita for best contemporary single title last year, which seems odd since it was published the year before. But what do I know of contest technicalities? Literary contest winners are the single most successful recommendation source I have found. Since I had read one of Ms. Wiggs’ historical stories without any emotional investment she was on the bleh list. There are lots of fine writers who do not appeal to me. Winning the Rita garnered Ms. Wiggs a second chance to engage me.
She did.
Almost too well. The characters were so vivid that they lingered in my head pushing aside the much raunchier cast of Zara and the Pirate. One of the things I am still pondering is how she managed such believable conflict between equally sympathetic characters. Lovely job.
Ms. Rachel Gibson’s I’m In No Mood For Love is the other title from last week. Ms. Gibson’s name on the cover is all it takes for me to purchase a book. Fortunately for my purse, she’s a moderately productive writer publishing an annual book that I know will make me smile. She continues to do her job.
Posted by Evanne Lorraine @ 4:26 pm |
Writing itself is either wonderful, awful, or something in between. All depending on how it is going at the moment. Despite the mixed results I do it over and over again. Not unlike reading. It is sadly true that not every story I pick up thrills me. Yet, I read again. This is me. I am a creature of habit who regards most change with reluctance.
The idea of writing for publication had crossed my mind before. But until four years ago it was a careless whim sort of thought. Now it occupies as many hours as I can manage. As I grow closer to realising the initial goal of selling a story, new aspects of the publishing business rear their scary looking heads.
Interviews, promotion, books signing, chatting, networking, and who knows what all else. Heck, my idea of marketing is writing a good cover letter. I know there are writers, who are weirdly social and outgoing. Crazy people, who are energized by speaking to strangers. Then there are the quiet, reticent, sane types.
Several years ago I stopped at a local mall to pick up shampoo. This important quest took me past a bookstore, a happy bonus. In front of the national chain’s shop was a favorite author seated at a card table with copies of his latest hardcover release piled up around him. He was trying very hard not to look bored and miserable. To my shame, I did not stop.
How do you all feel about promotion? Is it something you look forward to or dread? As readers would you enjoy meeting a favorite author or would you rather keep the veil of fiction firmly in place between you?
Posted by Evanne Lorraine @ 2:44 pm |
Insanity continues to flourish in my corner of the blogsasphere. The novella is progressing fairly steadily. Meanwhile other story ideas are crowding in so fast I’m considering taking a day to record them in case the swamp grows dry.
At the moment, it sounds sensible to me to have multiples of each type of story. As a reader I’m so disappointed to dive into a promising first book and find it is the author’s only story. Especially if I didn’t discover the debut title for month or years after its initial appearance on the scene. Where as there’s nothing more pleasing than finding a compelling voice with a backlist.
Contructing a production plan based on my reading preferences means I should have multiples of each type of story I want to write. A few classic romances, a couple of romantic suspense titles, and a small collection of erotic shorts. By happy coincidence, that is what I’m doing. Wish me luck!
Current year’s goals
1) Study characterization to add depth to the story’s cast
2) Three submissions
3) Progress on the TBR shelves
Progress report
Done reading the stack of books related to characterization – Creating Unforgettable Characters deserves a second read, still not reading it. Still suffering from lack of discipline. However, another title possibly relating to characterization was unearth – TBR shelves lack of organization is another problem . . .
Three submissions sent!
Working on number four (see word meter number four)!
Status: still waiting to hear from the publishers
Timeline:
Number One: four months and three weeks – estimated response time from publisher 3 months
Number Two: One month and two weeks – estimated response time from publisher 1 month
Number three: Four weeks – estimated response time from publisher none*
*Publisher did acknowledge the submission, but included a warning not to contact them about this submission. Word is they got lots of submissions (new line) and are sorting them out.
TBR stack grew, ahem a small box of books arrived. One was needed for research, two were irresistible, one . . . such is the life of an addicted reader.
Posted by Evanne Lorraine @ 5:34 pm |
Characterization is what my current craft obsession for me it is the most critical aspect of any story. Browsing around the other day I found a discussion, The Secret to Getting Published, about this very subject by Melanie Melburne on http://www.iheartpresents.com/ .
My favorite writers are all brilliant at characterization. There are two things I’m sure work to make characters engaging.
1) Detail – there’s are a few catches though. They have to be the perfect telling details. And they have to be slivered into the story at exactly the right moment. As if that weren’t tricky enough, they have to be repeated, with enough added content not to be annoying, at precisely the right time to drive home the point. The purpose of all these details is character revelation. The reason the details repeat and change is to show character evolution.
2) Emotion – the basic feelings of bad, glad, and mad are universal. The character’s inner journey is what makes a story compelling. This is the reason behind the classic advice to open the story with the heroine grappling with a problem. Who among us has never struggled? No one. Therefore struggling protagonist yields instant empathy.
Simple enough – give the reader engaging characters who are believable, admirable, and human. Then place those same story people into situations where they must struggle to overcome conflict. Finally, relate the emotional stakes poignantly and the manuscript is practically sold.
There may be a few other piddling details . . .
Posted by Evanne Lorraine @ 4:45 pm |
More inroads into the TBR shelves at this rate I’ll get to buy a book without guilty twinges in a couple of years. ;)
First up a beloved Presents – Annie West’s A Mistress For The Taking . Oooh it’s simply yummy. This is Ms. West’s debut book at least for this line and it’s scrumptious. The only downside to reading this perfect gem of passionate romance is the I’m-not-worthy fog of depression that descends. A feeling that convinces me I am insane to even submit to the same editors who handle Ms. West’s manuscripts.
Next Loretta Chase’s Mr. Impossible. An entirely different kind of book, but equally perfect in its own unique fashion. Aside from being a regency set in Egypt, the romance reminds me of the movie African Queen. In that classic movie Katherine Hepburn played a missionary’s sister who, due to desperate circumstances, winds up traveling up river with an unrepentant sinner played by Humphrey Bogart. They were hopelessly mismatched from the start and in very grim circumstances. Of course they fell madly in love. Mr. Impossible has a similar pairing. The heroine, a missionary’s widow and a devoted sister extracts the the hero,a reckless sinner and fourth son of a long suffering Earl, from an infamous Cairo prison. Naturally it follows that they are beset by dire circumstances and fall in love. Good stuff.
Posted by Evanne Lorraine @ 9:08 pm |
When both Hunter and Tru bond with Amber their mating triangle threatens everything they hold dear.
Determined to help rescue the princess, Cassandra agrees to act as the dragons’ sex slave, but can she guard her heart from the dominant males?
Camille, a plump, sweet-natured breeder, is caught in New Eden’s endless war with Baldor. Her mates, Jaxon and Aegis, need cunning and courage to rescue her. They need a miracle to capture her heart.
Werewolf-whisper Daniel is the only one who can heal Scarlet’s broken werewolf connection. If he succeeds then the pack’s needs will eclipse his claim on her heart. But if he fails, they'll both die.
A Scarlet Past, the story of Scarlet's parents is available on Amazon or Barnes and Noble for just 99 cents!
A lonely woman finds passion with a dominant much younger lover, when she tries to leave she learns her new master plays for keeps.
The Enyo Chronicles includes both Dalia's Choice and Joon's Tempation.
Three different stories, three dangerous men, and three women who deserve them.
One dangerous warrior woman plus two rogue demon males equals a love to threaten an empire.
Getting paid to watch Eduardo is Desiree’s dream assignment, but when he reaches out to her, crossing the line, everything changes.
Deep in her secret heart, she lusts for a sexy pirate who’d be her master and commander in the bedroom. But, this man may be too dangerous
One woman, two men, three wounded hearts--though already mated their love is still forbidden.
A reluctant reporter and a lone wolf undercover cop work to catch an extortionist, finding love requires the most dangerous risk of all.
Street-smart cop plays princess to catch deadly terrorists. Now,the only man she trusts is the one she can't resist.
What Sam doesn’t know may kill him--the love of his life is his worst nightmare--his enemy’s daughter.r.
