A fellow writer sent me a copy of one of her blog posts. It does a good job summing up some major issues that new writers need to pay attention to.
I don’t usually post from other’s blogs, but this was worth sharing!
It’s been less than a week since I was singing the praises of Joomla. now it seemsnlj ….okay…my arm is being head-butted. Not conducive to typing. Lily is a sweet, fluffy, light-as-a-feather tortoiseshell. All torties are known to be a little nuts, just each in their own way.
Lily’s way is that she has issues with expression of affection. With the other cats, she’ll come at them from the side, pin them down, and give them a bath against their will. She’s very motherly. With the humans, she sometimes gets a little excited and just can’t control herself…hence, the head-butting. Like just a second ago… WHAM—-WHAM—(pause)—WHAM-lick-lick-lick—WHAM.
She’s nuts.
As far as the website and Joomla, that idea has been scratched for a much better idea. It’s another program, suggested by the webmaster, that still allows the owner, like me, to edit portions of the site without having to write code. It’s just a little less boxy. I wish I could explain it better, but I can at least point you in the right direction. It’s with Adobe….I’m pretty sure. (Remember, I’m just lucky that I’m able to make this blog function.)
The site should be up in the next couple of days and will have improvements added a little at a time. Hope it gets a good reception.
Suza
Whether you’re a published author or one in the making, you need a website. That’s just the way it is.
I’ve blogged about platform before, you know, any means one uses to make themselves known to would be “customers.” To truly have a platform, a website is a must. But what’s the best way to go about it?
I launched my website in March of this year, and the creation almost drove my webmaster and me apart. You see, he’s also my boyfriend. It all finally worked out, and I loved the site. Lots of flash and bang for my buck. However, the upkeep has been a real pain. I am NOT technologically savvy and do NOT write in code. Copy and paste, fine, but that’s about it. So, when I want to make any small change to the site, I have to tell the webmaster, then we have to find time to get our heads together and do it.
Thus, it’s now time for a change. In walks Joomla. A company that allows free, or better quality for buy, website templates. The beauty is, once the site is put together, the un-tech savvy, like me, can then edit the text and picture portions. The site may be a little less flashy, but frankly, I think it’s easier to use and follow.
I love my current site and will always remember the search for the perfect image, but it’s time to go. I may also lose the library, that cool little flash gizmo, but it will be worth the sacrifice.
So, for all of you who visit regularly…a new site, coming soon to a monitor near you!
With love and murder in mind,
Suza
I’m breathing a sigh of relief to know that I’m just a slut and am in very good company! (Fannie Mae is frowning at me over the use of the word slut. She’s such an old fashioned tabby.)
Let me give you a little dreaded backstory…
Tonight at my writer’s critique group, the issue of POV (Point of View) came up. It is often considered a no-no to change POV within a scene. Some editors don’t even like too many POVs in the whole book! So, we discussed the issue, because I was pretty sure I’d heard that romance often allowed head-hopping, particularly from hero to heroine and back again. No one could say for sure.
Of course, I rushed right home after the meeting and looked up every article on POV hopping in romance that I could find. In general, it’s a hot topic, and you can imagine why. Yes, there were those who said, “Okay, do it. Just do it seamlessly, so as not to confuse the reader.” Others said, they preferred one POV per scene and used the little ** or ~~ or whatever to delineate between them.
I also read a few that put my mind at ease AND enlightened me. I happen to be a huge Nora Roberts/Dan Brown lover, and guess who is the queen of head hopping? Yep, old Nora. That explains why I feel so comfortable doing it. Whew…I’m not just losing my mind? (We romance people are NUTS I tell you!) ; )
Okay, so why am I a slut? Here is a link to my favorite article of the night. It sums it up and makes me feel like I’m home again!
http://www.susangable.com/confessions_of_a_pov_slut.htm
With love and murder (from the bad guys POV)
Suza
This weekend is the Moonlight and Magnolias conference in Atlanta. It’s the yearly conference for Georgia Romance Writers.
I’m so excited because I know how valuable conferences are, not only for meeting new people, but the workshops can really help a writer’s technique. It’s also a very rare opportunity to pitch a book to editors, allowing one to skip over a couple of very frustrating steps, if the editor is interested.
Evidently, some people do much better in person than on paper. (myself included) It’s great to be able to share my enthusiasm for a project with an editor and hopefully stand out in a crowd, more so than my query letters have done thus far.
3 days learning to be a better writer, meeting authors, and hopefully helping my career…I can’t wait!
Hope to have stories to tell on my return.
Suza
Okay, I totally think that it does rule…as in cats rule and dogs drool…but what I’m actually getting at are the writing rules for fiction and how those for romantic fiction can differ.
I have been struggling with something called backstory, those pieces of information about a character or a place that the writer simply tells the reader. For example:
She came from money. Not the good kind, earned over years of toil and honest days of work, but the dripping crimson coin called blood money. Her family was mafia. And as such, they expected Celia to fall in line and marry a good old mafia boy. One who hunted people instead of wild game.
(That was written on the spot, so forgive me if it stinks) But you get the picture, right?
In my last writer’s group it was pointed out to me that I’m still bogging down my chapters with backstory. Also, according to “Writing the Breakout Novel” by Donald Maass, a writer should avoid backstory for at least the first 3 chapters.
Screeeech! That’s the sound of my romantic feet skidding to a stubborn stop. After reading that part, I ran to my stash of favorite re-reads and feverishly went over the first several pages of each. Approximately 3 out of 5 had some sort of backstory in the first chapter, which is supposed to be a fiction no-no. Hmmm…what to do?
The points made by my co-writers in the critique group were dead-on about my overuse of backstory in chapter one. It bogged down the action! Yet, at the same time, it’s a tool I’ve read over and over in romance books that obviously passed through and got published.
So here’s where I am now. I’ve been reading over the master’s work (she’ll go unnamed, but any romance die-hard should know to whom I’m referring ) and I think I’m coming to a happy medium.
Multiple paragraphs of backstory, especially in the the first few chapters, can lose the reader. However, snippets of backstory interspersed in a way that tells you more about the character or setting can be employed, but carefully so. (I also looked over some Clive Cussler etc. and backstory makes an appearance again, but not in a way that slows the current action)
To each his own, and if you write fiction, I say tread lightly, and do as the professionals say. It seems to be a recurring theme that backstory in the first chapter is a RED FLAG to agents or editors. I, however, plan to dip my toe lightly in the back story pool, but only when absolutely necessary and only if it makes something in the present story more vivid or likable.
It’s amazing how much I learn on a weekly basis. I want to go back and red-ink my last manuscript, but I’ll wait until I know more about its success or failure. Keep your fingers crossed.
In the meantime, I’m working on some new projects, and I’m viewing backstory as smallpox. I don’t want the whole thing, maybe just a little bit of an inoculation.
With love and murder,
Suza
To the nearest writer’s group that you can find!
I was a little worried about joining a speculative fiction critique group, but it has turned out to be wonderful! I have been introduced to different styles of writing, and the critique didn’t feel as bad as I expected. In fact, they mostly pointed out flaws I already knew were there but had been too unsure or lazy to go fix. Today I rewrote a good portion of a chapter and feel SO energized!
A writer’s group is a great way to learn about others, your own style of writing, and the business in general. Hanging out in a coffee shop isn’t half bad either.
Being a part of a this group has really been a much-needed injection of re-focus jamba juice! (Do I seem a little excited? I am, and it’s not the coffee this time!)
Woo hoo!!!!! Rock on acidophilus and beavers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
With love and murder in mind,
Suza
First off, I am the worst blogger in the world lately! Evidently, I’m the worst cat momma in the world lately,too, because the kitties are all complaining about lack of attention. Loki loves the hand that controls the mouse or is typing, which is a problemmmmmmm. See?
On to speculative fiction. My new writing group is a spec-fic (speculative fiction)group, so that’s the reason for the topic. I am a member of romance groups as well, but the spec-fic one is more local and has some really cool and interesting discussions. Last night I asked, “What is spec-fic, exactly?”
According to Wikipedia:
Speculative fiction is a fiction genre speculating about worlds that are unlike the real world in various important ways. In these contexts, it generally overlaps one or more of the following: science fiction, fantasy fiction, horror fiction, supernatural fiction, superhero fiction, utopian and dystopian fiction, apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, and alternate history.
I like this definition a little better…
Speculative Fiction eliminates the need for a separation between science fiction, fantasy, and horror because they are different forms of one thing.
I pasted definitions, because my general understanding is that spec-fic is anything that’s a little bit out there in any way shape or form. It’s a pretty big umbrella!
While I write romantic suspense, and maybe some paranormal romance, I still get a lot out of the spec-fic discussions and critiques. It’s always good to keep an open mind, and you never know where the next big idea might stem from.
Either way, the spec-fic writing group is made up of some really interesting people, so I say bring on the coffee and the weird stuff!
With love and murder in mind,
Suza
Had to shoo all the cats out of my lap today. Too hot! It’s like having a heated muff on your legs. Bring on the Fall weather, please.
To all you other new writers, and maybe some with a little burnishing around the edges, I’ll share my latest lesson learned. Actually, it’s something I’ve encountered fairly often and it can be very frustrating for a writer.
I’ve recently sent some material in to someone in the industry, but beforehand, I wanted to polish it as much as possible. To truly do a thorough job, you must have other people(preferably a mix of writers and readers) look over your work. The reason I say let some non-writers read it is because writers tend to look at it with a very different eye.
Sometimes you just want to have someone read it for readings sake. I sent a few chapters to a book club that did not know who had written the material. It was an excellent litmus test!
The good things that can come out of critiques are:
1) Typos you missed even though you’ve read it 80 times
2) They pointed out an odd phrasing you forgot to go back and take another look at
3) Simple suggestions that could add a punch to your scene
4) Though time consuming, you may also find that you have to go back and change a great deal in your manuscript because you have a reoccurring problem. This is still a good thing!
Now on to the negatives:
1) Be careful not to let anyone change your voice or writing style. It’s your creative right to be…well, creative. If you want your candle to drool, then do it! Some non-writers will be very technical and not realize it’s okay to have some fragments etc. if it helps the read.
2) Not everyone is going to like your stuff no matter how good it is. There are some great books out there that I’ve never read because I’m just not interested in the genre.
3) And this is the biggie. If you have 10 people critique your manuscript, you will probably get 10 different opinions back! You CAN NOT please everyone, so unless you hear a criticism from several people, be wary of rushing in and tearing up your work. Take each critique and really think about the validity of their arguments.
Overall, having people you trust look at you work is generally very helpful. You may not agree with everything they say, but you almost always get something good out of it.
Just take a deep breath, get your coffee brewing, and get to polishing your work! It will be worth it in the long run.
With love and murder,
Suza
Hello, all you fellow writers and friends. I am taking a quick break from editing to share a little of what I learned last week at the RWA.
Now, if you’re like me, you’ve gleaned a lot from years of reading. You’re familiar with the way things often unfold in novels. You know all about the conflicts between the hero and heroine, if you read romance, that is. Well, there are definitely a few more patterns that need to be ironed out. And, like other things, if done correctly, it’s supposed to look seamless and easy!
Character arc is something we’re all familiar with, but let me put it into more concrete terms.
1) A character has some personal desire/problem and they avoid the change that is necessary to bring them the fulfillment that the end of the story should bring
2) In a decision of some sort, the character shows that they are resisting the change that has been presented to them, either by another character or their own personal growth
3)The character then struggles to change, usually involving another decision that must be made on their part
4)Finally, the character changes and that change is permanent, thus the happy(hopefully)ending
This is definitely the abbreviated version, but in a romance particularly, if the characters don’t change in some way, the romance won’t develop. In other words, they would run to each other in the first scene and that would be that. No fun.
Well, I just thought of some insight that one of my characters needs to have, so I’d better get back to work.
Happy writing!
Suza