Trying to figure out how three authors can work together to write one novel is tricky. We're feeling our way through the process, most of the time excited about what we're producing, but sometimes wanting to strangle each other.
Other writer friends are watching us closely, hoping we don't implode and curious to see if we can make this work.
We met our first real test of our partnership this week when we sent off the book proposal to an editor. Our proposal consisted of a 10-page synopsis and the first three chapters of the book.
Editing took us longer than any of us thought as we navigated through each others egos. I'm happy with the result. I think we all are.
But while the experience is still fresh, I thought I'd document a few lessons I learned so that they are here for me to reference again as we move further into this project. And who knows? Maybe this will help someone else who's trying to co-author a fiction project.
1. Trust each other.
2. It's OUR book, not MY book.
3. Respect my partners' voices and don't edit them out.
4. Remember that our voices have to meld into a coherent narrative and can't be individually jarring. Tamp down my voice where necessary.
5. Don't say NO. If someone suggests an edit, it means something is not working for her. Either accept the edit, offer an alternative, or dig deeper and try to figure out if there's another way to resolve it. A blanket NO only irritates.
6. We can't read each others minds. Communicate.
7. It may not be my process to fully clothe and document every aspect of my character's body, personality and history, but if I don't provide that information, then my partners will make it up for me, and I might not like it.
8. Someone has to take the helm, be the lead writer and have final say on edits.
9. Appreciate the hard work my partners are putting in. Thank them.
10. Have fun!
Oh, and while the proposal is out there, send it some positive energy, please. And don't be surprised if there's no status update on this project for several months. The publishing wheels can move slowly.
Showing posts with label Writing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Writing. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Friday, September 19, 2008
Is it style or is it voice?
Have you ever read something, and without having seen a byline, feel certain that you know who wrote the piece?
Take today, for instance. I received an anonymous comment on a post, but just by reading the comment, I knew it had to come from Cousin Bob. It simply sounded like him -- the words he used, his way of addressing me, and what he felt important to relay to me.
"Nice blog Hughes, you are a talented FORMER Rush fan !!! ;)"
That's Cousin Bob's voice coming through loud and clear.
If he'd changed his style of writing by punctuating the sentence differently, capitalizing it differently, making it two sentences instead of one, it still would have sounded like Cousin Bob to me.
That may be a simplistic example, but to me it nicely illustrates a concept that a lot of writers (me included) have a hard time wrapping our heads around: the concept of style of writing vs. voice in writing.
This very concept was the subject of a talk by author Jennifer Greene at my writers group meeting last week. It was a talk that left many of us pondering: What are the elements of our writing that we can control (style) and what are the elements of our writing that are innate (voice)? And how can we work these to our advantage as writers?
Further defining style
"Style is craft. It's nothing you're born with. It's something you learn and apply," Greene said at our writers meeting.
Style is the delivery system. It is the writing technique that we change, depending on what we are writing, she said. It's the adjectives and adverbs we use, the length of the sentences, the choice of words.
The concept of style contains all the elements of writing, such as pacing. "Pacing is about the impression of speed and is delivered through style and choice of words," Greene said.
Further defining voice
Voice is harder to explain. It is what the writer brings to everything he or she writes, Greene said. It reflects the writer's vision of the world. No one else has the same voice and no one else can duplicate it.
Like good writers, at our meeting we tried using analogy to define voice. Here are a few that were bandied about. (Sorry, I can't remember who offered which analogy.)
Voice is food, and style is the flavor.
Voice is the heart, and style is the head.
Voice is the fabric, and style is the pattern that you apply to the fabric to create a shirt, a dress, draperies or whatever.
And the thing about voice is that when someone rejects your writing because they don't like your voice, that rejection can cut a lot more than when someone rejects your writing because of style issues. It's a more personal kind of rejection.
"Voice is an intimately personal exchange between a writer and a reader," Greene said.
It can be that one hard-to-define element that causes some people to love an author's work, and other people to loathe that same author's work.
(Me, personally, in contests I tend to get a lot of feedback about my voice. It probably also explains why my scores varied so widely the last time I entered the Golden Heart contest, with some people giving me 9s and 8s on a 1-9 scale and some giving me 2s.)
How do voice and style affect a writer's success?
That's anyone's guess. If there were hard-and-fast rules on how to be successful as a writer, there'd be a lot more successful writers out there.
But there was one hypothesis that was bandied about at my writers group meeting: A strong voice can be more of a liability when times are good in the book-selling business, and it can be more of an asset when times are tough in the book-selling business.
In good book-selling times, publishers think they know what readers are looking for in a book. They tend to stick with the tried-and-true and tend to favor books that are strong in style. Talking from a romance perspective, when secret babies, vampires and Scottish medievals are selling well, a lot of people are writing and submitting these books. Publishers have a lot to choose from in these categories, so they don't have to take risks on strong or different-sounding voices. These strong voices might have to tone themselves down to get a publishing slot.
In tough book-selling climates, the publishers are looking for something new and different that will grab a reader's attention. Since the tried-and-true isn't working as well, the publishers are more willing to gamble on books that don't fit marketing slots as well. They might take a chance on the strong or odd-sounding voice, even though the writing may have style issues.
Remember, this is just a hypothesis and is open to debate. Feel free to shred this hypothesis. No hard feelings.
Anyone else have other ideas about how an author can work these elements to his or her advantage?
Anyone want to throw out some examples of authors with strong voices? Jayne Anne Krentz comes to mind.
A side note for Cousin Bob: Thanks for the compliment. And just because I haven't bought Rush's latest album and often mess up the name of it, I am still a Rush fan. There is no FORMER about it.
Take today, for instance. I received an anonymous comment on a post, but just by reading the comment, I knew it had to come from Cousin Bob. It simply sounded like him -- the words he used, his way of addressing me, and what he felt important to relay to me.
"Nice blog Hughes, you are a talented FORMER Rush fan !!! ;)"
That's Cousin Bob's voice coming through loud and clear.
If he'd changed his style of writing by punctuating the sentence differently, capitalizing it differently, making it two sentences instead of one, it still would have sounded like Cousin Bob to me.
That may be a simplistic example, but to me it nicely illustrates a concept that a lot of writers (me included) have a hard time wrapping our heads around: the concept of style of writing vs. voice in writing.
This very concept was the subject of a talk by author Jennifer Greene at my writers group meeting last week. It was a talk that left many of us pondering: What are the elements of our writing that we can control (style) and what are the elements of our writing that are innate (voice)? And how can we work these to our advantage as writers?
Further defining style
"Style is craft. It's nothing you're born with. It's something you learn and apply," Greene said at our writers meeting.
Style is the delivery system. It is the writing technique that we change, depending on what we are writing, she said. It's the adjectives and adverbs we use, the length of the sentences, the choice of words.
The concept of style contains all the elements of writing, such as pacing. "Pacing is about the impression of speed and is delivered through style and choice of words," Greene said.
Further defining voice
Voice is harder to explain. It is what the writer brings to everything he or she writes, Greene said. It reflects the writer's vision of the world. No one else has the same voice and no one else can duplicate it.
Like good writers, at our meeting we tried using analogy to define voice. Here are a few that were bandied about. (Sorry, I can't remember who offered which analogy.)
Voice is food, and style is the flavor.
Voice is the heart, and style is the head.
Voice is the fabric, and style is the pattern that you apply to the fabric to create a shirt, a dress, draperies or whatever.
And the thing about voice is that when someone rejects your writing because they don't like your voice, that rejection can cut a lot more than when someone rejects your writing because of style issues. It's a more personal kind of rejection.
"Voice is an intimately personal exchange between a writer and a reader," Greene said.
It can be that one hard-to-define element that causes some people to love an author's work, and other people to loathe that same author's work.
(Me, personally, in contests I tend to get a lot of feedback about my voice. It probably also explains why my scores varied so widely the last time I entered the Golden Heart contest, with some people giving me 9s and 8s on a 1-9 scale and some giving me 2s.)
How do voice and style affect a writer's success?
That's anyone's guess. If there were hard-and-fast rules on how to be successful as a writer, there'd be a lot more successful writers out there.
But there was one hypothesis that was bandied about at my writers group meeting: A strong voice can be more of a liability when times are good in the book-selling business, and it can be more of an asset when times are tough in the book-selling business.
In good book-selling times, publishers think they know what readers are looking for in a book. They tend to stick with the tried-and-true and tend to favor books that are strong in style. Talking from a romance perspective, when secret babies, vampires and Scottish medievals are selling well, a lot of people are writing and submitting these books. Publishers have a lot to choose from in these categories, so they don't have to take risks on strong or different-sounding voices. These strong voices might have to tone themselves down to get a publishing slot.
In tough book-selling climates, the publishers are looking for something new and different that will grab a reader's attention. Since the tried-and-true isn't working as well, the publishers are more willing to gamble on books that don't fit marketing slots as well. They might take a chance on the strong or odd-sounding voice, even though the writing may have style issues.
Remember, this is just a hypothesis and is open to debate. Feel free to shred this hypothesis. No hard feelings.
Anyone else have other ideas about how an author can work these elements to his or her advantage?
Anyone want to throw out some examples of authors with strong voices? Jayne Anne Krentz comes to mind.
A side note for Cousin Bob: Thanks for the compliment. And just because I haven't bought Rush's latest album and often mess up the name of it, I am still a Rush fan. There is no FORMER about it.
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Rolling up the newspaper and ...
*Smack*
"Bad Blogger! Very Bad Blogger!"
(That's me admonishing myself for neglecting this site.)
*Shuffles to computer
*Licks owie
*Starts typing
Here's something I started to write last Thursday. I thought it could be a Thursday 13 post. Obviously, since it's no longer Thursday, that plan had to be scrapped, but I'm staying with the 13 things theme.
1. I neglected my blog. Yes, but you already know that because you're smart and you read the opening of this post or you visited this site during the past month and figured that out for yourself.
2. I attended a writers conference. Went to the Romance Writers of America conference in San Francisco where I pitched to an editor and received a request to submit my erotica short story. Also went to all sorts of inspiring workshops and talked with all sorts of creative people (perhaps I'll write about that some more at a future date). I came home much recharged.
3. I worked more on that short story. A lot. There is much erotica in said short story. What's important is that I've been working on my fiction. Yay me!
4. A tornado touched down in my town. It wasn't an overly large tornado -- all we lost was a tree branch -- but it was very scary. I was driving home from work when it hit. I was listening to the radio and knew it was stupid to keep going into the path of the confirmed tornado, so I pulled over at the Oasis rest stop and waited out the storm with a bunch of other cautious (and scared) motorists.
5. I watched the Olympics. A lot of Olympics. It was constantly playing in the background whenever I was home.
6. I finally saw The Dark Knight at the theater. Excellent. I can see what all the hoopla was about. My husband still insists that Iron Man was a much better movie. Me? It's a toss-up.
7. I got to see my friend Wook when he came in for a surprise visit. It was a surprise even to him. The airline canceled his connecting flight at O'Hare, so he stayed the night with us. It took my poor dog Thor a few days to get over this visit from his own personal Satan, but the rest of us were happy to see Wook. :)
8. I enjoyed an afternoon at the racetrack. We celebrated my husband's 40th birthday by inviting a group of friends to go to Arlington Park with us. I bet the $2 minimum on just about every race, losing far more than anything I won, but I had a lot of fun. We all did. We couldn't have ordered up more beautiful weather.
9. I got to be a mock bridesmaid at a friend's mock wedding. Jules celebrated her 20th wedding anniversary by renewing her wedding vows. That's where all the "mock" business comes in. It was a gorgeous night, a very moving ceremony, and I was thrilled to be included in such an honored capacity.
10. I applied for another job within my company. It would be a lateral move to a different tech writing position, but it would be a welcome change. Let's hope I didn't just jinx myself by mentioning it here. There's a lot of interviewing still to be done.
11. I helped to run the draft for my husband's Fantasy Football league. I ran the computer, inputting the selections as players were drafted. I even remembered to wear my referee shirt from last year's Halloween costume. It was a big hit.
12. I saw Alice Cooper in concert. It was a fun show. We drove up to the Genesee Theater in Waukegan. It's an old theater with all sorts of gilded decorations inside, so it made for an interesting setting. I could imagine the society matrons from 75 years ago fainting at the sight of big, burly, inked Harley types filling the red velvet seats of this one-time posh theater. If that didn't get them, I'm sure Alice Cooper killing a babydoll and then mock hanging himself on stage would have done it for them.
I almost forgot No. 13. Seems like it should have ended on an even dozen. But yet, here I am, so...
13. Got the dogs into the vet for their annual checkups. That's actually big news for Miss Loki, who was diagnosed with a cancerous mast cell tumor during last year's checkup. She received a clean bill of health this time. Plus, both dogs were down 10 pounds. Their diets are working. (I can't say so much for mine.)
Now I'm all caught up. My blogging is back to a clean slate. Here's looking forward to a prolific September and no more swatting myself with rolled up newspapers.
"Bad Blogger! Very Bad Blogger!"
(That's me admonishing myself for neglecting this site.)
*Shuffles to computer
*Licks owie
*Starts typing
Here's something I started to write last Thursday. I thought it could be a Thursday 13 post. Obviously, since it's no longer Thursday, that plan had to be scrapped, but I'm staying with the 13 things theme.
13 Things I did in August
1. I neglected my blog. Yes, but you already know that because you're smart and you read the opening of this post or you visited this site during the past month and figured that out for yourself.
2. I attended a writers conference. Went to the Romance Writers of America conference in San Francisco where I pitched to an editor and received a request to submit my erotica short story. Also went to all sorts of inspiring workshops and talked with all sorts of creative people (perhaps I'll write about that some more at a future date). I came home much recharged.
3. I worked more on that short story. A lot. There is much erotica in said short story. What's important is that I've been working on my fiction. Yay me!
4. A tornado touched down in my town. It wasn't an overly large tornado -- all we lost was a tree branch -- but it was very scary. I was driving home from work when it hit. I was listening to the radio and knew it was stupid to keep going into the path of the confirmed tornado, so I pulled over at the Oasis rest stop and waited out the storm with a bunch of other cautious (and scared) motorists.
5. I watched the Olympics. A lot of Olympics. It was constantly playing in the background whenever I was home.
6. I finally saw The Dark Knight at the theater. Excellent. I can see what all the hoopla was about. My husband still insists that Iron Man was a much better movie. Me? It's a toss-up.
7. I got to see my friend Wook when he came in for a surprise visit. It was a surprise even to him. The airline canceled his connecting flight at O'Hare, so he stayed the night with us. It took my poor dog Thor a few days to get over this visit from his own personal Satan, but the rest of us were happy to see Wook. :)
8. I enjoyed an afternoon at the racetrack. We celebrated my husband's 40th birthday by inviting a group of friends to go to Arlington Park with us. I bet the $2 minimum on just about every race, losing far more than anything I won, but I had a lot of fun. We all did. We couldn't have ordered up more beautiful weather.
9. I got to be a mock bridesmaid at a friend's mock wedding. Jules celebrated her 20th wedding anniversary by renewing her wedding vows. That's where all the "mock" business comes in. It was a gorgeous night, a very moving ceremony, and I was thrilled to be included in such an honored capacity.
10. I applied for another job within my company. It would be a lateral move to a different tech writing position, but it would be a welcome change. Let's hope I didn't just jinx myself by mentioning it here. There's a lot of interviewing still to be done.
11. I helped to run the draft for my husband's Fantasy Football league. I ran the computer, inputting the selections as players were drafted. I even remembered to wear my referee shirt from last year's Halloween costume. It was a big hit.
12. I saw Alice Cooper in concert. It was a fun show. We drove up to the Genesee Theater in Waukegan. It's an old theater with all sorts of gilded decorations inside, so it made for an interesting setting. I could imagine the society matrons from 75 years ago fainting at the sight of big, burly, inked Harley types filling the red velvet seats of this one-time posh theater. If that didn't get them, I'm sure Alice Cooper killing a babydoll and then mock hanging himself on stage would have done it for them.
I almost forgot No. 13. Seems like it should have ended on an even dozen. But yet, here I am, so...
13. Got the dogs into the vet for their annual checkups. That's actually big news for Miss Loki, who was diagnosed with a cancerous mast cell tumor during last year's checkup. She received a clean bill of health this time. Plus, both dogs were down 10 pounds. Their diets are working. (I can't say so much for mine.)
Now I'm all caught up. My blogging is back to a clean slate. Here's looking forward to a prolific September and no more swatting myself with rolled up newspapers.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
I'm leaving on jet plane... tomorrow
There's going to be a lot about San Francisco and writing in this blog in the next few days. That's my intention, at least.
Tomorrow morning I leave for San Francisco to attend the annual Romance Writers of America conference. It's a writing conference with workshops covering topics ranging from basic craft to research topics to publishing house spotlights to chat sessions with authors.
Basically, if you're a fiction writer and you could only attend one writing conference, this would be a conference to look at. It's huge, and even though it's geared toward romance writers, truthfully, writers of all genres can get things out of it.
Another major feature of the conference includes the Readers for Life Literacy Signing on Wednesday night. More than 500 authors will sign books, with all proceeds going to a literacy organization. This is the only event at the conference open to the public.
On Friday, I'll have a one-on-one appointment with an editor to pitch my current project.
Saturday night is the Golden Heart and Rita Awards ceremony, where we all get dressed up and have a big party to celebrate the best romance fiction written in the past year.
And did I mention that the conference is in San Francisco this year? I'm bringing my camera and my walking shoes and planning to make sure there's plenty of down-time from the conference for exploring one of my favorite cities in the world.
Now I just need to buckle down and get some things scratched off my to-do list before I leave. Like finish this project for work.
Tomorrow morning I leave for San Francisco to attend the annual Romance Writers of America conference. It's a writing conference with workshops covering topics ranging from basic craft to research topics to publishing house spotlights to chat sessions with authors.
Basically, if you're a fiction writer and you could only attend one writing conference, this would be a conference to look at. It's huge, and even though it's geared toward romance writers, truthfully, writers of all genres can get things out of it.
Another major feature of the conference includes the Readers for Life Literacy Signing on Wednesday night. More than 500 authors will sign books, with all proceeds going to a literacy organization. This is the only event at the conference open to the public.
On Friday, I'll have a one-on-one appointment with an editor to pitch my current project.
Saturday night is the Golden Heart and Rita Awards ceremony, where we all get dressed up and have a big party to celebrate the best romance fiction written in the past year.
And did I mention that the conference is in San Francisco this year? I'm bringing my camera and my walking shoes and planning to make sure there's plenty of down-time from the conference for exploring one of my favorite cities in the world.
Now I just need to buckle down and get some things scratched off my to-do list before I leave. Like finish this project for work.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Let's talk about reading, writing and blogging
As part of my blogoversary celebration last week, I invited people to send me questions. Claire at A Little Piece of Me picked up the challenge and sent me a list.
Hello, get a coffee and relax. It's interview time with Claire :)
OK, I don't have a coffee, but I do have my feet up on my desk, so I'm as relaxed as I can be. (Honestly, my feet are up. My husband has no idea how I can type this way, but I manage quite well.)
Having been a reader of Mills and Boon since I was about eleven, I would like to know what your first romance novel was and how old you were when you read it.
I could go with the short and easy answer, but I won't because I think the payoff is better when I tell it this way.
My third-grade teacher wanted to put me into a remedial reading class. She said I had reading issues (and that I reminded her of her ex-husband). In fourth grade, at my new school, I tested normal for reading. In fifth grade, I read my first novel-length book, Flowers in the Attic. By sixth grade, I'd been placed in an honors reading program. I discovered historical fiction that year and decided I especially liked stories of the American West, such as the Little House on the Prairie series and epic-length books such as Sacajawea.
In seventh grade, I was checking out the books on the supermarket book rack and I saw a book cover with an American Indian on the front. It looked like an interesting story, so I bought it. I didn't care that I was having trouble pronouncing the title: Defiant Ecstasy. (You try to sound out the word Ecstasy -- there are some vowels missing there.)
From that moment on, I was hooked on historical romance. I think my parents were a little bemused by some of my selections, but they didn't try to hold me back. At least I was reading.
What does the husband think of your blog and have you ever said to him 'oh I am going to blog that!'.
He doesn't get the whole blogging thing, the compulsion to write, and especially the time I put into it. A few months ago, I subscribed him to my email feed so that he could at least know what I was up to. Every once in a while he'll yell from the other room something like "What the hell is a Wordless Wednesday?" He was thrilled this week when he discovered the Odiogo link and vowed that would be the only way he'd read my posts now. LOL
The most recent example of "I'm going to blog that" was recently when we were changing out the bathroom fixtures in our powder room. When I grabbed the camera, he said "I suppose you're going to blog about this."
My only possible response: "Of course I am."
Then I did clarify that since the toilet paper holder we were getting rid of was HATED by many of our friends (you'd have to read the full story), and the friends would appreciate the documentation. That seemed to pacify him.
Can you see yourself blogging for another three years and beyond?
Yes. For the first few years I sometimes felt like I was blogging into a void. I did nothing to promote the blog and I only had a few readers. But, I blogged anyway. If I kept blogging through that, I don't see what would make me stop now.
How rude is this novel of yours going to be, if you had to put a movie rating on it.
The novel that I've completed, Prairie Fire, would probably earn an R rating. The novella I'm working on is erotica and by definition would earn an X rating. (I'm staying with officially sanctioned movie ratings here.)
and finally, when do I get to read it?
If you promise not to analyze me afterward, you (Claire) can read it in the next few months. Everyone else would have to wait until it was published, and since I don't have a publisher for it yet, who knows when that will happen. :)
Hello, get a coffee and relax. It's interview time with Claire :)
OK, I don't have a coffee, but I do have my feet up on my desk, so I'm as relaxed as I can be. (Honestly, my feet are up. My husband has no idea how I can type this way, but I manage quite well.)
Having been a reader of Mills and Boon since I was about eleven, I would like to know what your first romance novel was and how old you were when you read it.
I could go with the short and easy answer, but I won't because I think the payoff is better when I tell it this way.
My third-grade teacher wanted to put me into a remedial reading class. She said I had reading issues (and that I reminded her of her ex-husband). In fourth grade, at my new school, I tested normal for reading. In fifth grade, I read my first novel-length book, Flowers in the Attic. By sixth grade, I'd been placed in an honors reading program. I discovered historical fiction that year and decided I especially liked stories of the American West, such as the Little House on the Prairie series and epic-length books such as Sacajawea.
In seventh grade, I was checking out the books on the supermarket book rack and I saw a book cover with an American Indian on the front. It looked like an interesting story, so I bought it. I didn't care that I was having trouble pronouncing the title: Defiant Ecstasy. (You try to sound out the word Ecstasy -- there are some vowels missing there.)
From that moment on, I was hooked on historical romance. I think my parents were a little bemused by some of my selections, but they didn't try to hold me back. At least I was reading.
What does the husband think of your blog and have you ever said to him 'oh I am going to blog that!'.
He doesn't get the whole blogging thing, the compulsion to write, and especially the time I put into it. A few months ago, I subscribed him to my email feed so that he could at least know what I was up to. Every once in a while he'll yell from the other room something like "What the hell is a Wordless Wednesday?" He was thrilled this week when he discovered the Odiogo link and vowed that would be the only way he'd read my posts now. LOL
The most recent example of "I'm going to blog that" was recently when we were changing out the bathroom fixtures in our powder room. When I grabbed the camera, he said "I suppose you're going to blog about this."
My only possible response: "Of course I am."
Then I did clarify that since the toilet paper holder we were getting rid of was HATED by many of our friends (you'd have to read the full story), and the friends would appreciate the documentation. That seemed to pacify him.
Can you see yourself blogging for another three years and beyond?
Yes. For the first few years I sometimes felt like I was blogging into a void. I did nothing to promote the blog and I only had a few readers. But, I blogged anyway. If I kept blogging through that, I don't see what would make me stop now.
How rude is this novel of yours going to be, if you had to put a movie rating on it.
The novel that I've completed, Prairie Fire, would probably earn an R rating. The novella I'm working on is erotica and by definition would earn an X rating. (I'm staying with officially sanctioned movie ratings here.)
and finally, when do I get to read it?
If you promise not to analyze me afterward, you (Claire) can read it in the next few months. Everyone else would have to wait until it was published, and since I don't have a publisher for it yet, who knows when that will happen. :)
Friday, June 27, 2008
Random ramblings ~ Just because I can
Happy Birthday, Big Sis! I hope you're not working too hard today.
Lots of birthdays happening in this two-week stretch. Brother-in-law, nephew Drake, Marriott, Kyle. We're hosting a 40th-birthday party for Kyle tomorrow night. Tying it in with The Guess Who performing at one of the local summer festivals.
Went to a Jack Johnson concert last weekend at Alpine Valley in Wisconsin. Remember that place? It's where Stevie Ray Vaughan's helicopter crashed back in 1990.
Never going back to Alpine Valley for a concert. Two hour drive, and the most unholy system of getting people out of there. Took over an hour to exit, most of which was spent in total bash-your-head-repeatedly-against-the-dashboard gridlock. Didn't get home until 3 a.m.
The show itself was good, though. I'm not the big Jack Johnson fan in the family, but I enjoyed his performance.
Driving up to Milwaukee Summerfest this afternoon. We have tickets to see Rush tonight. I've lost count of the number of times I've seen Rush over the years. Probably about 10 times since Power Windows came out back in the late '80s. Hmm. I think I have that Power Windows T-shirt still. I might wear it.
There's a comic book convention in town. I passed the Green Lantern on the way to work. Nice costume.
I've been really busy at work this week, wrapping up a test plan. Writing test plans is my least favorite part of my job. Thankfully, that's over now -- until next time.
Had some lumps checked out on both dogs. Since Loki had a mast-cell tumor removed last fall, we've been really careful about having the vet look at anything suspicious. He told us that everything looks benign. Whew.
Ted Nugent and Joan Jett are both playing Naperville Rib Fest next weekend. I think we're in for both of them.
Not doing so well reaching my writing goals. Sunday will be my first opening in the itinierary to sit down at the computer. Pencil me in.
Guitar Hero Aerosmith comes out Sunday. Picking up a copy for myself and as a gift for my nephew. It'll be good to have some new songs to work on. Maybe I'll master the hard difficulty level yet. Really want Rock Band for the Wii, but can't justify the expense right now.
I've been listening to an audio course on the History of the English Language. Really enjoying it. Did you know your body is your bonelocker? And your mind is your wordhoard? To unlock your wordhoard is to speak. There were some fun words in Old English.
So I conducted this poll on preferences in reading. The poll is closed. Not sure what I'm going to do with the results yet.
I've been looking at my site stats again. Surprised at the number of people looking for photos of Lindsay Wagner. People with a lot of celebrity news must get a lot of Google hits. I'm intrigued, through, at the person who was searching "demonstration speech on how to stack a dog". How do you stack a dog? Why would you stack a dog?
Finally got new sofa cushions installed on our sofa. A certain dog managed to vomit on one of the cushions three months ago. It soaked into the core and could not be cleaned. Fortunately, we had bought the upholstery protection, so the cushions were covered. Oh, the joys of dog ownership. :)
And now to totally bring things down...
Good friends (the Hillies) had a fire at their townhouse last night. Their grill started it. Everyone, even the cats, got out OK, but there's lots of damage. Like total loss between the smoke and the water damage. Husband's with them this morning helping where he can. That's all I know for now.
Lots of birthdays happening in this two-week stretch. Brother-in-law, nephew Drake, Marriott, Kyle. We're hosting a 40th-birthday party for Kyle tomorrow night. Tying it in with The Guess Who performing at one of the local summer festivals.
Went to a Jack Johnson concert last weekend at Alpine Valley in Wisconsin. Remember that place? It's where Stevie Ray Vaughan's helicopter crashed back in 1990.
Never going back to Alpine Valley for a concert. Two hour drive, and the most unholy system of getting people out of there. Took over an hour to exit, most of which was spent in total bash-your-head-repeatedly-against-the-dashboard gridlock. Didn't get home until 3 a.m.
The show itself was good, though. I'm not the big Jack Johnson fan in the family, but I enjoyed his performance.
Driving up to Milwaukee Summerfest this afternoon. We have tickets to see Rush tonight. I've lost count of the number of times I've seen Rush over the years. Probably about 10 times since Power Windows came out back in the late '80s. Hmm. I think I have that Power Windows T-shirt still. I might wear it.
There's a comic book convention in town. I passed the Green Lantern on the way to work. Nice costume.
I've been really busy at work this week, wrapping up a test plan. Writing test plans is my least favorite part of my job. Thankfully, that's over now -- until next time.
Had some lumps checked out on both dogs. Since Loki had a mast-cell tumor removed last fall, we've been really careful about having the vet look at anything suspicious. He told us that everything looks benign. Whew.
Ted Nugent and Joan Jett are both playing Naperville Rib Fest next weekend. I think we're in for both of them.
Not doing so well reaching my writing goals. Sunday will be my first opening in the itinierary to sit down at the computer. Pencil me in.
Guitar Hero Aerosmith comes out Sunday. Picking up a copy for myself and as a gift for my nephew. It'll be good to have some new songs to work on. Maybe I'll master the hard difficulty level yet. Really want Rock Band for the Wii, but can't justify the expense right now.
I've been listening to an audio course on the History of the English Language. Really enjoying it. Did you know your body is your bonelocker? And your mind is your wordhoard? To unlock your wordhoard is to speak. There were some fun words in Old English.
So I conducted this poll on preferences in reading. The poll is closed. Not sure what I'm going to do with the results yet.
I've been looking at my site stats again. Surprised at the number of people looking for photos of Lindsay Wagner. People with a lot of celebrity news must get a lot of Google hits. I'm intrigued, through, at the person who was searching "demonstration speech on how to stack a dog". How do you stack a dog? Why would you stack a dog?
Finally got new sofa cushions installed on our sofa. A certain dog managed to vomit on one of the cushions three months ago. It soaked into the core and could not be cleaned. Fortunately, we had bought the upholstery protection, so the cushions were covered. Oh, the joys of dog ownership. :)
And now to totally bring things down...
Good friends (the Hillies) had a fire at their townhouse last night. Their grill started it. Everyone, even the cats, got out OK, but there's lots of damage. Like total loss between the smoke and the water damage. Husband's with them this morning helping where he can. That's all I know for now.
Thursday, June 05, 2008
Writing: Flashbacks driven by emotion
I found this nugget of storytelling wisdom filed away and thought I'd pull it out to share it.
Last year I read this interview -- He's traded safety of sitcoms for the danger of 'Dexter' -- with Clyde Phillips, a producer for the show Dexter, and was stuck by what he had to say about emotion, character, plot and flashbacks.
Last year I read this interview -- He's traded safety of sitcoms for the danger of 'Dexter' -- with Clyde Phillips, a producer for the show Dexter, and was stuck by what he had to say about emotion, character, plot and flashbacks.
Q. Does the show have any internal rules?
A. We try to tell the stories though Dexter's point of view. We only use slow motion if we're either in Dexter's head or looking at him. The flashbacks always have to be emotionally motivated. Almost all of the flashbacks are back to Harry, his father. They need to be emotionally driven, rather than plot driven. I think all of that contributes to the success of the show. It's emotion, character, and plot, in that order. And I think that's why people embrace the show.
I've since watched the first season of Dexter on DVD and I was surprised with how much I liked the show. Dexter is an extremely compelling and sympathetic character, even though he is a serial killer. And the flashbacks, which can be a clunky storytelling device when used poorly, are vitally important to understanding Dexter as a person.
Sometimes when a storyteller uses flashbacks, the writer is just being lazy. Dexter is an example of flashbacks used with purpose and effect.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Some public goal-setting -- *gulp*
How you comin' on that novel you're working on? Huh? Got a big stack of papers there? Got a nice little story you're working on there? Your big novel you've been working on for three years? Huh? Got a compelling protagonist? Yeah? Got an obstacle for him to overcome? Huh? Got a story brewing there? Working on that for quite some time? Huh? Yeah, talking about that three years ago. Been working on that the whole time? Nice little narrative? Beginning, middle and end? Some friends become enemies, some enemies become friends? At the end your main character is richer from the experience? Yeah? Yeah?
No, no, you deserve some time off.-- Stewie Griffin to Brian the dog on Family Guy
said in an extremely sarcastic tone of voice,
tempo and pitch rising throughout
Have you noticed that the writing posts in this online journal of mine have been pretty scarce lately? Me too. Well, it's time to get off my rear and start committing myself publicly to some fiction-writing goals.
In two months I'll be attending the RWA national conference, where I'll get to attend some fabulous writing workshops, hang out with other writers, and potentially meet an agent or editor or two. In fact, I've signed up for an appointment with Susan Swinwood, who is the Spice editor. I'd really like to be able to talk about my writing being in full gear and focused.
First goal: Finish the erotic novella I've been working on within the next 10 days. Working title is The Viking's Tale. I have about 4,000 words written. I'm shooting for about 12,500 words, which is 50 pages in standard manuscript format. Basically, I need to write 850 words a day. My problem is that I keep trying to shove too much plot into a short story. Simplify. Oh, and I need to actually write the intimate parts. Yeah, that's been kind of slow for me on this one. Mental block?
Second goal: Whip my other erotic novella into shape. Clio's Tale, this one is called. It's blessedly short on external plot complications and is meant for inclusion in a novel-length work that I've been working on with two other writer friends. I need to dust this one off and see where I'm at on it before I can get more specific with goals. I'd like to have this one solidified before the conference, too.
Longer-term goals:
Re-imagine the opening section of my finished novel-length manuscript, Prairie Fire. As I've been developing the companion book, Witch's Fire, I've solidified the universe a little better. Thus, changes need to be made, which is OK, because I think the opening was feeling a little tired to me anyway. And when I'm finished with the new-and-improved Prairie Fire, then start actually writing Witch's Fire.
OK, so those are my current writing goals, put out there publicly for you all to see. Feel free to ask me every now and then, "How you comin' on that novel you're working on?"
Friday, May 02, 2008
Booksellers, librarians, Ritas and Susan Elizabeth Phillips
My writers group had its annual Booksellers and Librarians Appreciation Dinner recently. I've been meaning to mention it for a while, along with a few other nuggets of information, but I've been having trouble framing my thoughts.So, I'm just going to throw framing out the window and see what happens.
"A Booksellers and Librarians Appreciation Dinner?" you might ask. "What is that?"
Well, my writers group, which is a chapter of Romance Writers of America, invites any local booksellers and librarians who are interested to a party so that the local authors can mingle with them and get to know them better. It's basic networking 101.
Booksellers and librarians are the people on the front lines who have the power to bring in new readers. They can talk up a book. They can impact a book's placement on the shelf and in the store. They can set up signing events. Basically, booksellers and librarians are an author's friend. And the better they understand the romance genre, and the better they know the local authors, the more opportunities they have to increase sales and circulation.
"But, Haley, you're not published," you so politely point out. "Why were you there? What are booksellers and librarians going to do for *you*?"
Thanks for rubbing it in.
*My* goal at the dinner was just to be social. Talk to my friends, mingle, and work toward future name recognition. Because someday, I will have a book coming out, and I want that bookseller or librarian to say, "I recognize that author's name. I'll have to make sure I stock that title."
That's the theory. I'm not sure how well I executed it. We writers tend to be introverts.
Now for a clumsy segue to my next topic, which is to congratulate Susan Gibberman, a librarian at the Schaumburg Township District Library (who is also a member of my writers group), who was named this year's RWA Librarian of the Year. It's a national award that will be presented at the Romance Writers of America annual conference in San Francisco in July. Susan was featured in the Schaumburg Review recently with a nice article about her achievement titled Romancing the librarian.
Which leads me to my next topic, which is to congratulate Jennifer Greene and Simone Elkeles, authors in my writers group who are both nominated for Rita Awards this year. The Rita is the romance industry's highest award of distinction. If you're interested in checking out what books romance authors consider the best of the best this year, check out the list of Rita finalists. It's a great launching point for exploring the romance genre.
Which leads me to my final topic, which is Susan Elizabeth Phillips, who is one of my favorite romance authors and a previous recipient of the Rita award. I spoke with her at my chapter's Booksellers and Librarians Appreciation Dinner, mentioned above, and told her that I've been noticing that my website is getting hits lately from people Googling her and looking for her newest release. She said to tell you curious fans that Natural Born Charmer was just released in paperback (it was previously released in hardback) and that her next new book is scheduled to be released in February.
OK, that's all I've got. I guess that ended with more structure than I thought.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
'A certain kind of magic'
While going through papers in my office, I found this article from 2002 that I had printed out and saved: What Itzhak Perlman Learned at Camp; While Helping Students, His Wife Says, He Reinvented Himself.
While Perlman is a musician, some of the things said in this article really resonate with the writer in me, especially since I feel like I'm on an eternal curve when it comes to learning my craft.
Here is the part I highlighted:
Maya Shankar, a 16-year-old recovering from a hand injury received while playing the violin at camp last year, remembers a session with Mr. Perlman in which he revealed his own feelings of terror and competitiveness.
''When we got to ask him questions about his childhood, he said that for many years he was jealous,'' Ms. Shankar recalled. ''He'd worry: 'Oh, this person has learned many concertos so much faster than I have, and this person is playing concerts and I'm not performing. There's no way I'm going to get anywhere in music.' From someone who turned out the way he did, that was so comforting for me to hear.
''Then he told us that we have our own inner clock, and it ticks at a certain rate, and you're going to get to certain places at times different than everyone else is, but that doesn't make you any less of a musician.''
What he doesn't tell his students is how to play.
''For me one of the great things about teaching is not so much what to say but to know what not to say,'' Mr. Perlman said. ''If somebody is talented, they contain a certain kind of magic, and that magic is very precious, because it is on very precarious ground. It's like a very fine leaf that if you shake it too much, it breaks. You have to let the branch grow until it becomes strong enough that if you shake it, it's won't break.''
Although six years have passed since I first found this article, this section still resonates as strongly today as it did then. I think a lot of it applies no matter where you are on your artistic journey. There will always be that other person to compare yourself against who is a little more successful or is already at the place where you hope to be.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
A Beacon Time Capsule -- April 27-May 3
A brief look at where this blog has been:
A year ago, I was blogging about:
Two years ago, I was blogging about:
Prior to that:
This blog didn't yet exist, and I haven't back-posted anything that qualifies.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Writing: Creating romance novel book covers
Better.tv, which is part of Better Homes and Gardens, has a video segment about how a cover for a romance novel from Dorchester publishing is created. The segment features an interview with a cover artist and footage from a modeling session.The book that's featured looks interesting. It's C.L. Wilson's Queen of Song and Souls, which is due out late this year from Dorchester.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Writing: My Coffehouse Confession
My big confession is that I don't like coffeehouses. Well, maybe that's not right. It should be that I don't like coffee. I actually loath the stuff and hate the smell. (Yes, I'm aware that I'm a little freakish in this regard.) Because I don't like coffee, I don't frequent coffeehouses.
Not that this is particularly important, except that I'd hoped for a few minutes that it would get me out of Brady Frost's invitation to participate in his Coffeehouse Confessional.
Then I realized that the coffeehouse was irrelevant. All I needed was a place where I like to go and write, where I could sit at a table with my notebook and work longhand. I have a place like that. It's the little restaurant where I regularly eat lunch -- by myself, with my notebook.
So what is a coffeehouse confession?
Brady explains the challenge in a very entertaining way, but I'll summarize it here: Go to a coffeehouse/place where you like to write, draw a doodle on a napkin, then write something on the napkin, and when you leave the place, leave the napkin behind for others to find. Pretty simple, right?
I'm not so sure. I mean drawing and writing, and then leaving it behind for people who know me to possibly find? (I'm a regular at my little lunch place. We're on a first-name basis.)
Shut up, Haley, and just do it.
So, Thursday, I sucked it up, grabbed a napkin and sat down. After an aborted attempt at drawing a patio table and umbrella, I decided to draw the table centerpiece, which was a bottle with a flower.
Then I forced myself to relax and just write. And I came up with something that I think doesn't suck.
Here it is. Proof.
(Notice the Diet Coke and the printout of my current work-in-progress? It's printed four pages to a sheet, because I like to save trees and I find it easier to see the bigger picture of the story that way.)
Self-conscious writing
Let it go.
Let it go.
Drop my inhibitions
Let the words flow.
What does the napkin say? I blurbed it to the side, here. You can read it.
So that should mean I accomplished my mission, right?
Well, here's the part where I chickened out. I couldn't totally drop my inhibitions and bring myself to leave it on the table. Instead, I dropped it on the shelf next to the garbage can, where it could be oh-so-easily swept into the trash by the next person. I wouldn't know, though, since I scampered out the door and didn't look back.
I think I need to try this again some day soon. Loose my self-consciousness, don't you think?
Not that this is particularly important, except that I'd hoped for a few minutes that it would get me out of Brady Frost's invitation to participate in his Coffeehouse Confessional.
Then I realized that the coffeehouse was irrelevant. All I needed was a place where I like to go and write, where I could sit at a table with my notebook and work longhand. I have a place like that. It's the little restaurant where I regularly eat lunch -- by myself, with my notebook.
So what is a coffeehouse confession?
Brady explains the challenge in a very entertaining way, but I'll summarize it here: Go to a coffeehouse/place where you like to write, draw a doodle on a napkin, then write something on the napkin, and when you leave the place, leave the napkin behind for others to find. Pretty simple, right?
I'm not so sure. I mean drawing and writing, and then leaving it behind for people who know me to possibly find? (I'm a regular at my little lunch place. We're on a first-name basis.)
Shut up, Haley, and just do it.
So, Thursday, I sucked it up, grabbed a napkin and sat down. After an aborted attempt at drawing a patio table and umbrella, I decided to draw the table centerpiece, which was a bottle with a flower.
Then I forced myself to relax and just write. And I came up with something that I think doesn't suck.
Here it is. Proof.
(Notice the Diet Coke and the printout of my current work-in-progress? It's printed four pages to a sheet, because I like to save trees and I find it easier to see the bigger picture of the story that way.)
Self-conscious writing
Let it go.
Let it go.
Drop my inhibitions
Let the words flow.
What does the napkin say? I blurbed it to the side, here. You can read it.
So that should mean I accomplished my mission, right?
Well, here's the part where I chickened out. I couldn't totally drop my inhibitions and bring myself to leave it on the table. Instead, I dropped it on the shelf next to the garbage can, where it could be oh-so-easily swept into the trash by the next person. I wouldn't know, though, since I scampered out the door and didn't look back.
I think I need to try this again some day soon. Loose my self-consciousness, don't you think?
Saturday, March 08, 2008
Writing: Wrestling with the Muse
Writing is a crazy process. Or is it that the process makes me sound crazy?
Did you ever see the episode of Malcolm in the Middle where Francis, who is away at military school, isn't pulling his weight on a joint research project? The student he's working with gets so annoyed with him, he locks Francis into a totally empty dorm room to finish his project. No distractions, right? Well, when he comes back, he finds that Francis has done none of his work, and instead has spent the time unraveling his sweater and winding the yarn around the room.
That's me sometimes. When, no matter what, I cannot get my mind to engage in the project at hand.
Then, there are the other times, when I get so far engrossed in a project that I feel like I'm in a state of deep concentration. Where everything feels easy. It flows and it makes sense. And it feels so good I don't want it to end. Time slips away. I can't get my brain to shut off.
Sounds a little manic and depressive, huh?
But those are the two extremes. The reality is the time in between. When I'm trying to work and it's just plain old... work. Each paragraph is a labor. That's what I've been experiencing a lot lately. If writing is something I want to do so badly, why is it so difficult?
I know it's not unique to me.
The Internet is full of communities meant to help writers tame their muse. Ever heard of Book in a Week? NaNoWrite Month? 100 Words a Day?
Some writers resort to setting timers. I remember reading an author interview somewhere -- I think it was Dan Brown -- and the author said he used an hour glass.
I need to find some strategy that gets me back on track again. (And, no, my husband standing over me making threats doesn't work. We've tried that. It just makes me bitter.)
Ultimately, I know it comes down to that old piece of writer's advice: Plant your butt in a chair and just do it.
Did you ever see the episode of Malcolm in the Middle where Francis, who is away at military school, isn't pulling his weight on a joint research project? The student he's working with gets so annoyed with him, he locks Francis into a totally empty dorm room to finish his project. No distractions, right? Well, when he comes back, he finds that Francis has done none of his work, and instead has spent the time unraveling his sweater and winding the yarn around the room.
That's me sometimes. When, no matter what, I cannot get my mind to engage in the project at hand.
Then, there are the other times, when I get so far engrossed in a project that I feel like I'm in a state of deep concentration. Where everything feels easy. It flows and it makes sense. And it feels so good I don't want it to end. Time slips away. I can't get my brain to shut off.
Sounds a little manic and depressive, huh?
But those are the two extremes. The reality is the time in between. When I'm trying to work and it's just plain old... work. Each paragraph is a labor. That's what I've been experiencing a lot lately. If writing is something I want to do so badly, why is it so difficult?
I know it's not unique to me.
The Internet is full of communities meant to help writers tame their muse. Ever heard of Book in a Week? NaNoWrite Month? 100 Words a Day?
Some writers resort to setting timers. I remember reading an author interview somewhere -- I think it was Dan Brown -- and the author said he used an hour glass.
I need to find some strategy that gets me back on track again. (And, no, my husband standing over me making threats doesn't work. We've tried that. It just makes me bitter.)
Ultimately, I know it comes down to that old piece of writer's advice: Plant your butt in a chair and just do it.
Friday, March 07, 2008
Things I've discovered this first week of March
~random ramblings and reflections from the past seven days~
I still have the stamina to pull an all-nighter
I'm not sure that's a good thing. I mean, I wish I was motivated enough to finish the task during normal hours. But if I need to stay up all night to finish something and still function at work the next day, I'm capable. Let's just not make a habit of it, OK?
I'm an old-school emoticon kind of girl
Yeah, I like my emoticons built out of old-fashioned text characters. None of this flashy animation for me. :P
This photo is generating hits
I don't get it. This photo is horrible. It's available light using my camera phone. It's not even flattering. But my SiteMeter says at least three or four people have visited my site in the past week because of this photo. Huh?
My journalism professor was right
Way back in the late '80s, before the Internet age, my favorite journalism professor, Bob Woodward (not *the* Bob Woodward of Watergate fame), liked to tell me that my byline should be "haleyhughes, one word, lowercase." This week, as I was typing my name for the umpteenth time on some web form, I realized that the Internet has proven Professor Woodward right and, indeed, my byline is now "haleyhughes, one word, lowercase." And I like it that way.
I write at a sixth-grade level
A post I read on Bloody Computer! reminded me that Microsoft Word has a feature that allows you to judge the readability of your writing. It's through the spelling/grammar check tool. Anyway, after reading the post, I copied the text from my blog's main page into Word and ran the check. It came back as a sixth-grade readability level, which I think is great, because that means it's easily readable, like they taught me in J-school. I'm not trying to write a dissertation here. An enjoyable reading experience is the goal.
Avon Romance Blog
I've been reading romance novels since I was 13 years old. Some of the first that I read and many of my favorites have been published by Avon Books. So imagine my surprise when the Avon Romance Blog dropped an EntreCard on my site and then requested to place an ad here. OMG, Avon! I have since become a regular reader of the blog. If you like to read romance novels or if you're writing a romance novel and want to learn more about the acquiring editors, go visit this blog.
CoComment
A cool way to keep track of comments you've made on other blogs, and track followup discussions. Unfortunately, a few comments do manage to escape its tracking system, but I'm not sure how. Maybe if there's no RSS feed?
AdSense
I haven't felt the need to place advertising on this blog before, simply because I know the return would be minimal. Plus I'm not blogging for the money, although money is nice. Sometimes, though, my curiosity gets the better of me and I sign up for something just to see it from the inside. So, I signed up for AdSense (see the Google ads in the right column) and I've been discovering the inner workings. I think I've earned all of 1 cent so far. :)
Not everyone has an EntreCard widget yet
Every blog I visit now, I find myself searching for the EntreCard widget so I can drop my card. When I don't find one, I wonder: Why hasn't this person signed up yet? Are they afraid of the extra traffic and exposure? Seriously, follow the EntreCard link, take the tour, create an attractive 125-by-125 pixel calling card for your blog, sign up and see what happens. (I'm talking to you, Don M.F.H. And Wook. And Stanimal.)
I still have the stamina to pull an all-nighter
I'm not sure that's a good thing. I mean, I wish I was motivated enough to finish the task during normal hours. But if I need to stay up all night to finish something and still function at work the next day, I'm capable. Let's just not make a habit of it, OK?
I'm an old-school emoticon kind of girl
Yeah, I like my emoticons built out of old-fashioned text characters. None of this flashy animation for me. :P
This photo is generating hits
I don't get it. This photo is horrible. It's available light using my camera phone. It's not even flattering. But my SiteMeter says at least three or four people have visited my site in the past week because of this photo. Huh?My journalism professor was right
Way back in the late '80s, before the Internet age, my favorite journalism professor, Bob Woodward (not *the* Bob Woodward of Watergate fame), liked to tell me that my byline should be "haleyhughes, one word, lowercase." This week, as I was typing my name for the umpteenth time on some web form, I realized that the Internet has proven Professor Woodward right and, indeed, my byline is now "haleyhughes, one word, lowercase." And I like it that way.
I write at a sixth-grade level
A post I read on Bloody Computer! reminded me that Microsoft Word has a feature that allows you to judge the readability of your writing. It's through the spelling/grammar check tool. Anyway, after reading the post, I copied the text from my blog's main page into Word and ran the check. It came back as a sixth-grade readability level, which I think is great, because that means it's easily readable, like they taught me in J-school. I'm not trying to write a dissertation here. An enjoyable reading experience is the goal.
Avon Romance Blog
I've been reading romance novels since I was 13 years old. Some of the first that I read and many of my favorites have been published by Avon Books. So imagine my surprise when the Avon Romance Blog dropped an EntreCard on my site and then requested to place an ad here. OMG, Avon! I have since become a regular reader of the blog. If you like to read romance novels or if you're writing a romance novel and want to learn more about the acquiring editors, go visit this blog.
CoComment
A cool way to keep track of comments you've made on other blogs, and track followup discussions. Unfortunately, a few comments do manage to escape its tracking system, but I'm not sure how. Maybe if there's no RSS feed?
AdSense
I haven't felt the need to place advertising on this blog before, simply because I know the return would be minimal. Plus I'm not blogging for the money, although money is nice. Sometimes, though, my curiosity gets the better of me and I sign up for something just to see it from the inside. So, I signed up for AdSense (see the Google ads in the right column) and I've been discovering the inner workings. I think I've earned all of 1 cent so far. :)
Not everyone has an EntreCard widget yet
Every blog I visit now, I find myself searching for the EntreCard widget so I can drop my card. When I don't find one, I wonder: Why hasn't this person signed up yet? Are they afraid of the extra traffic and exposure? Seriously, follow the EntreCard link, take the tour, create an attractive 125-by-125 pixel calling card for your blog, sign up and see what happens. (I'm talking to you, Don M.F.H. And Wook. And Stanimal.)
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Writing: Q&A with the Spice editor
One of my writing/critique partners, Grace d'Otare, recently published a short erotica story for Spice Briefs through eHarlequin.com.Right now on the Harlequin forums, there's a Q&A discussion going on with the Spice editor, Susan Pezzack Swinwood, about what they're looking for in Spice and how the process works. (As way of background: Spice is the full-length printed novel format, and Spice Briefs are the short-story electronic download format.)
As I'm slowly (I emphasize *slowly*) working on my own submission for Spice Briefs, I find the discussion wonderfully informative, especially the information about the editing process and audible versions. Check it out here. Oh, and beware of the clown jokes -- I mean, who wouldn't want to buy a collection of clown erotica? (And if you do, talk to author Megan Hart. It's her idea.)
On a similar vein, there's also a forum discussion going on amongst the Spice writers with a lot more good information about writing, especially in a short format. Check out To be Brief...
Monday, February 25, 2008
The Call: Memories of Acceptance
I wish this post were about me getting "The Call", but it's not.
This is about a series of posts on the Spice Briefs MySpace page about the different Spice authors remembering when they got their call of acceptance from Spice.
My favorite story is the one posted by Grace d'Otare, because I'm mentioned in it. :)
This is about a series of posts on the Spice Briefs MySpace page about the different Spice authors remembering when they got their call of acceptance from Spice.
My favorite story is the one posted by Grace d'Otare, because I'm mentioned in it. :)
It all started about a year ago. Some girlfriends and I were up late, drinking wine, and playing a game I like to think of as 'Writer's Grown-up Barbies.'In case you're wondering, even though Grace had her novella published, the other girlfriends mentioned are still plugging away at their projects. Unfortunately for me, the plugging process is going rather slowly.
We imagined a mysterious castle with towers, window seats, a glass conservatory, a creepy dungeon and plenty of secret stairways. Then we filled it with fantasy couples, all telling each other stories-- sexy stories -- around a massive stone fireplace. There's a wicked storm outside. The lights go out....What would they say in front of each other? What would they hold back? What would happen when each couple got back to their room?
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
The dead post file
So many things in my drafts folder... So many things that I've meant to blog about, but never did for some reason.
I'm cleaning my virtual desk -- clearing out the aborted blog entries that are just taking up space, and publishing those that were almost finished but just didn't get published for some reason.
Want a "for-instance"?
Way back in November, I meant to post kudos to Starr Toth, who placed second in a Gather.com writing contest, so therefore won a publishing contract with Pocket Books. When they announced the contest winners, Starr's name sounded familiar, so I searched my email. Turns out, she judged a contest entry of mine (a love scene, no less) back in 2003, and liked it a lot. We had a brief email exchange, but didn't keep in contact.
In her email Starr told me: "I want 'Prairie Fire' to get published so I can read the whole thing - you pulled me in and left me hanging!" Unfortunately, I'm still leaving people hanging with Prairie Fire.
Her book, Trust Me, comes out this fall. You know I'll be buying a copy.
Other dead posts?
I meant to link to a Stephen King review of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
I meant to link to a New York Times article about Magical Thinking: Why Do People Cling to Odd Rituals?.
I meant to link to a discussion on The Watcher's Chicago Tribune blog about her pet peeves in television plots, along with readers pet peeves and industry professionals' pet peeves.
For some forgotten reason, I meant to write about the old Fireside Roller Rink (or is that Rollarena?), which is long gone. I'd Googled it and come up with this link to one of Eric Zorn's columns, which had a relevant comment by someone named Bud Fox.
I'd also meant to write about a blind root-beer tasting that we did with my nephews. All I have to offer, instead, is this cool photo that my sister took.
I meant to write about many excursions I've been on with my girlfriends. Like when Marriott took me to see My Fair Lady a few weeks ago, or when Marriott and I popped into the old Carson Pirie Scott store on State Street right before it closed, tea at Ethel's Chocolate Lounge, going with JC and Jules to make custom purses as 1154 Lill, and other adventures.
What posts were resurrected?
Not all the draft posts were deleted. A few were so close to being finished, I polished them a little and published them anyway.
See:
Anne Lamott
Wook cut his hair!
Lollygagger
S-Factor Afternoon
Things still in draft format?
Yes, a few things still survive in draft format. They aren't finished enough to publish, but I still like the ideas enough that I want to execute them. Notably, the rest of my Australia trip -- which was more than six months ago now.
I'm cleaning my virtual desk -- clearing out the aborted blog entries that are just taking up space, and publishing those that were almost finished but just didn't get published for some reason.
Want a "for-instance"?
Way back in November, I meant to post kudos to Starr Toth, who placed second in a Gather.com writing contest, so therefore won a publishing contract with Pocket Books. When they announced the contest winners, Starr's name sounded familiar, so I searched my email. Turns out, she judged a contest entry of mine (a love scene, no less) back in 2003, and liked it a lot. We had a brief email exchange, but didn't keep in contact.
In her email Starr told me: "I want 'Prairie Fire' to get published so I can read the whole thing - you pulled me in and left me hanging!" Unfortunately, I'm still leaving people hanging with Prairie Fire.
Her book, Trust Me, comes out this fall. You know I'll be buying a copy.
Other dead posts?
I meant to link to a Stephen King review of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
I meant to link to a New York Times article about Magical Thinking: Why Do People Cling to Odd Rituals?.
I meant to link to a discussion on The Watcher's Chicago Tribune blog about her pet peeves in television plots, along with readers pet peeves and industry professionals' pet peeves.
For some forgotten reason, I meant to write about the old Fireside Roller Rink (or is that Rollarena?), which is long gone. I'd Googled it and come up with this link to one of Eric Zorn's columns, which had a relevant comment by someone named Bud Fox.
I'd also meant to write about a blind root-beer tasting that we did with my nephews. All I have to offer, instead, is this cool photo that my sister took.I meant to write about many excursions I've been on with my girlfriends. Like when Marriott took me to see My Fair Lady a few weeks ago, or when Marriott and I popped into the old Carson Pirie Scott store on State Street right before it closed, tea at Ethel's Chocolate Lounge, going with JC and Jules to make custom purses as 1154 Lill, and other adventures.
What posts were resurrected?
Not all the draft posts were deleted. A few were so close to being finished, I polished them a little and published them anyway.
See:
Anne Lamott
Wook cut his hair!
Lollygagger
S-Factor Afternoon
Things still in draft format?
Yes, a few things still survive in draft format. They aren't finished enough to publish, but I still like the ideas enough that I want to execute them. Notably, the rest of my Australia trip -- which was more than six months ago now.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Who knew tea could be so hot? (Writing Love Scenes)
Writers group topic last night? Writing Love Scenes (aka The First Kiss and How to Ramp up Sexual Tension)Remember this is a romance writers group, so we're all strongly indoctrinated in traditional romance novel love scenes with its coded language. Many of us have made forays into erotica, but many are not interested.
Favorite quote? Said by Theresa Stevens, managing editor of Red Sage Publishing, who is also a member of my Windy City Romance Writers group.
Context: She's just finished reading an example of an erotica love scene and the discussion is about the explicit level of the language.
"Red Sage is in the tamer end of erotica," she said.
There's murmurs of disbelief in the crowd. How could the language get much more explicit?
It's not the language, she clarifies, it's the situation: "You have one man, one woman, they're both human."
My eyes meet Jules' eyes across the room. We're both thinking of the same Morgan Hawke novel. We laugh. (I love that Morgan Hawke novel, BTW.)
Most educational part of the session? Allie Pleiter reading from her inspirational romances.
Allie explained that when writing these inspirational romances (marketed to a Christian audience), the most explicit she can get is a kiss, and basically the characters have no bodies from the neck down. So that kiss scene has to be saved for the moment of greatest impact to the story.
And since she can't work with any sort of sex scene, she has to find other ways to communicate the emotional connection between the characters that is often such an integral part of a sex scene.
All I have to say is, check out her book The Perfect Blend, because the scene where the hero serves the heroine tea is hot, and, really, all he's doing is serving her tea in a public restaurant.
The limitations that Allie has to deal with in her genre remind me of the limitations that moviemakers had to work with in the 1930s-1960s with the Hays code. Which, ironically, was a time when many of the best romantic movies were made.
Things I knew that were reinforced about writing love scenes?
**A successful love scene, no matter the level of explicitness, is all about the emotions. There has to be something at stake emotionally between the characters, and that love scene had better somehow change them and their relationship. Personally, I find that if any of these elements are missing in a scene, it becomes voyeuristic and boring and I start skimming.
**The concept of "reader foreplay", which is how Theresa Stevens described it. I've always know the concept as building "sexual tension". Basically, it's that the attraction is building between your characters long before anything sexual actually happens.
"There are fantasy elements involved that get you cooking long before the kiss," Teresa said.
**In romance novels, the course of the story often unfolds so that emotional intimacy leads to physical intimacy.
In erotic romance, it's usually the other way around. Sexual, physical intimacy leads to emotional intimacy.
Friday, February 01, 2008
The Queen's Tale
My dear friend and critique partner just had her debut erotic short story published today. The Queen's Tale by Grace d'Otare is available for electronic download from Harlequin Spice Briefs.I have a vested interest in seeing this short story sell well. Please buy it. :-)
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