I noticed something about myself last week. I was singing along to my favorite playlist on a long drive, and with all my favorite songs bumped together, a pattern became glaringly obvious. Almost every song had the phrase “run away” or “save me” somewhere in the lyrics.

In fact, two of them actually had those phrases as the title.

I’m sure this says something less-than-flattering about my personal life, but lucky for all of us, analyzing my personal brand of crazy isn’t on the agenda for today *g*.

But I started thinking about how I write too. And I realized the same themes can be found in what I write. My first novel – the heroine ran away every time things got  hard, and the hero needing saving from himself. The current book? They both need saving. Desperately.

This seems to be a common theme with me all the way around.

Last week, we were thinking about one-line mottos for our characters to really parse it down to something we could pull through the whole novel.

So what about the novel itself? The whole thing has a theme too, something to tie the plot to the relationship and the characters. Apparently, salvation is my go-to theme. Other common ones that we see a lot are learning to forgive, being redeemed, learning to love.

My themes always end up being questions. Righ now, it sees to be “What if no one is who you think they are?” The characters have to figure out who everyone else really is — who’s the bad guy and who’s the good guy — but more importantly, who they themselves are and how to trust each other.  

So what’s yours? What is your book or current project about. What theme ties together your character arcs with your plot? Usually this is a few words or a sentence, or even a question. Do you have certain themes you keep coming back to, or themes that show up in your music or reading choices? What themes jump out to you as a reader?

Everyone knows pirates are known for having some nifty weapons. Canons. Cutlasses. Chain Shot (which is a set of iron balls, I kid you not).  On this ship we also have ninja stars and poison dart eyelashes (long story).  But truly, you can never have too many weapons on a pirate ship. That’s why I’ve added some large caliber experts to the crew.

Bang

Bang

Bang

In case you’re wondering where the weapon is in this last one, it’s there. Trust me.

I am super excited to say Loucinda McGary (aka Aunty Cindy of the Romance Bandits) will be celebrating the release day of her newest novel, The Treasures of Venice, with us this Tuesday, September 1. This book took Loucinda to the Golden Heart and tells two connected stories, one set in the 1490s and the other set in modern day. Make plans to join the celebration and find out more about the journey this book has taken to finally land at a bookstore near you. (The book is already out so look for it now!)

“Last I heard he was heading for the states.” He said.

We all experience stress, just like the characters we create. Maybe not at the epic proportions of the character in the snippet of my story, but I’m sure we all have felt as if we were working under the gun from time to time. In my past writing life, I have usually dealt with stress in my personal life by tapping away the frustration on the computer keyboard. I’ve written some of my best scenes after experiencing a stressful day. Emotion, anger, and heartache give me the right frame of mind to slip under my character’s skin. As we’ve often discussed on the ship, writing can be a cheap form of therapy.

My father passed away 9 years ago. As a form of therapy, I chose to express my grief through a pen on paper. I couldn’t verbally express the raw pain of emotion clawing at my heart. The verbilizations never seemed sufficient to describe the turmoil in my life. I wrote pages upon pages of words, attempting to extinguish the pain the only way I knew how.  I wrote everything I felt, and everything I missed about him. In the end when I finished pouring out my soul, I wrote a letter to him. I told him everything I wanted to say that I didn’t find the opportunity to say before I said goodbye. Most of what I said he already knew, but visulizing it on paper made all the difference in the world. I documented my feelings of loss, followed by a celebration of his life. Through my journey I discovered a love for writing that I left behind in an American Literature  class. It took the darkest moment of my life to discover something that would become one of the biggest anchors in my life.

In recent months, I have experienced an extreme amount of stress in the workplace. The stress has carried over into my writing life. Before, I dealt with stress through writing, now I’m stressed because the stress is not allowing me to write. My workdays are long and exhausting; they leave me both mentally and physically tired. When I find time to sit in front of the keyboard my brain is mush. I have fleeting ideas for storylines, and thoughts for scenes to add to my current WIP, but they all filter away because I don’t have the advantage of stopping a surgical procedure and writing them in my trusty notebook. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been known to have a fellow coworker dictate notes for me from the surgical field. I get some weird looks, but I’m sure you understand how important those fleeting thoughts are to a current WIP.

I’m not writing this blog to illicit cyber hugs, because I’m no different from anyone else who has a stressful job environment. I empathize with those who do, but I know I’m not alone. Even if you don’t have a stressful job, most writers experience stress in their personal life. We all have families, friends, pets, households, and deadlines. At any given time, unexpected crap hits the fan. The car breaks down, grandma falls and breaks a hip, the cat gets a hairball, or the air conditioner ceases to function on the hottest day of the summer. Life is good, but it can be a never-ending snag of complications. Have you ever heard the quote “If life gives you lemons make lemonade?” My life is giving me lemons, but I’m too tired to squeeze.

It’s been a long summer for me.  Health issues among my loved ones have twisted my personal life up.  Lots of emotion, lots of drama.  And it’s not over yet.

At the end of July, I told myself that I needed to get back in the saddle, finish my WIP.  I had 25-30K left to get to the end of the first draft, completely doable in a month and a half if I put my nose to the grindstone.  I generally write about 5K a week, so I figured if I settled in through August and into Sept, I could finish by my vacation (the week of Sept 12).  That was the tentative goal.

I wrote some.  About 10K.  But last week, as I was reading through that 10K, something was way off. 

It didn’t speak to me.  Didn’t reach in and grab my heart like it needed to. 

I grumbled.  I pondered.  In general, I stopped writing for a couple days and just stared at the screen with my face all scrunched up. 

There was the story, the plot I wanted to tell.  Even the stuff happening was pretty compelling, I thought.  It just felt…  FLAT.

And then, after a couple of days of silence, it struck me.  It wasn’t the story that was the problem.  It was the narrator.

In each of the scenes I’d written, I’d chosen the wrong narrator.  There were 8 scenes.  That’s a lot of mistaken point of views. 

I can only assume that at the time, for the most part, I didn’t want to play in the more painful point of view.  Or, if I did, the emotions were off, either too little or too much.  I spent this past week flipflopping point of views and it reads a lot better now.  I even got moving forward again.

But the whole experience really highlighted how important it is to get the narrative point of view right.  And sometimes the best choice for the narrator isn’t the character that is hurting.  Sometimes the best choice is the character doing the damage.  For example, here’s a snippet.  This is from my hero’s point of view as my heroine is begging him not to put his life in danger.

********

            “It’s too much, even for all of you.  We need to think this through.  We need a better plan.”   

                “We?” He snorted.  “There is no we here.  This is my show, Sarah.”         

                She jerked as if he’d slapped her.  He heard Cass suck in a ragged breath, but he didn’t look at him or Ice, just watched the play of emotions on Sarah’s face, in her eyes.  Shit.  That didn’t come out right at all.  His fists clenched. 

                “I see,” she whispered and those two little words ripped his chest open. 

                He softened his voice, vowing that when this night was over, he’d make this all up to her.  Somehow.  “This isn’t about us.  This is about me going after Cartwright.  Maybe the only chance we’ll have at him.”

*********

It’s pretty rough but I hope you get the what I mean.  Initially I wrote this in Sarah’s POV and she paused at the “There is no we here” to do too much introspection, essentially to ponder her navel.  It slowed things down.  And I think this works as well, without the major existential meltdown.

So what do you think?  How do you decide which POV to write each scene in, if you write 3^rd?  If you write 1^st, how do you get around keeping the emotion from being too close or too far away?  Any scenes in books you wish had been in a different POV or any authors that do this very well?

*shrug* I couldn’t think of a blog title. I’ve hit the special rum a little too hard. MM, take it away before someone gets hurt.  

Music choice of the week: (Something y’all might have actually heard of.)

Got It Made- Seether- Disclaimer II 

Since Terri had to go and open up the “motto” topic this week (And I’m still pretty sure you were trying to trick me, pirate.), then Hellie follows it up with the changing trends, I might as well pretend like I know something about writing.

Yeah. *laughing*   Right.  I went rogue on this ship a long time ago. 

I don’t plot. *huff* I don’t care what you say, Ter.

I don’t admit to “feelings” and whatever kind of crap you’re trying to sell me as general female emotion. *crossing arms over chest* At least not in my outside voice.

*eye roll* And I sure as hell don’t cry. I’d rather die than be caught crying.

You may think, why this little rant?

I spent the weekend with Kiki and Dex. Always an adventure into repression and denial. I can admit while we’re not supposed to write heroines like ourselves, Kiki has a lot of my emotional characteristics. And writing a character that reminds you a lot of yourself in a way is, well, annoying and trying and very challenging to make it seem original. This is where Kiki’s opposite comes into play. The Yang to her Yin. In times when I’m so annoyed with Kiki that I can’t stand it, I just insert my annoyance into Dex’s lines and everything is kosher.

Terri spoke a little on having a motto for your characters to help compass your character’s motivation and I’ve always known that Kiki’s “motto” is- I don’t deserve it. Sacrifice is the only way. Whereas, Dex’s “motto” is- I take what’s mine and damn the consequences.

I like Dex. He’s motto makes me grin in the most wicked way.

Now (and you might want to get a feather bed for Terri to pass out on) I’m about to admit something that I definitely don’t associate with most of my heroes.

*deep breath*

Dex isn’t a true alpha alpha.

*mass occurrences of fainting*

*Chance jumps overboard*

*Lisa throws up*

Now, I know that you’re thinking Dex’s motto is a bit on the alpha side of things. But stay with me. For the first time ever, I actually put some thought into this. (Not plotting, mind you. I’ve got my eyes on you three, Terri, Marn and Hal. Sneaky pirates.) 

Kiki is a true alpha heroine. She stiff-arms emotion like a pro. You can’t find a crack in her emotional guard armor. You can’t find a way to get to her through others because she doesn’t allow anyone close enough. You think you know her, but you don’t- you know what she wants you to know. She is a rough and tumble girl. Paring her up with another alpha would only weaken her stance as lead alpha of her pack (not to mention probably WWIII). And I can’t have that.

So, *deep breathing* I dreamed up Dex.

Dex and Kiki have always been paired in another series that I planned before the Sadie series. Kiki was the pretty unattainable girl Dex secretly loved from afar. Dex is the man that Kiki secretly loves but she could never forgive herself if she hurt him and she knows she will. She knows her emotional detachment from life would eventually kill the man she loves from afar. So she keeps him at a distance and (in my mind) he’s been quietly grooming her slowly but surely to let him in.

Sneakiness, I can admire. I can respect that. You can ask Mattycakes. He said he tried all sorts of things to get my attention but the only way he got to me was by sneakiness (I can’t resist a good head game. *pause* Wait… I didn’t mean it like that.). I was damned sure I wasn’t going to fall for him. In fact, I was going to move away from him to prove it to myself that I didn’t need anyone.

By the time I realized how far I’d fallen, it was too late to run and I didn’t want to. Once you get a taste of something in your life you’ve been starving for and didn’t realize it, it’s hard to let it go. I want Kiki to have this same realization to complete her character arc. It won’t happen in one book, mind you; but the gradual acceptance of the little things that Dex does for her will eventually make her realize that while she’s been looking at the big picture and trying to keep him out of it, he’s already woven himself so deep into her life, she can’t live without him.

I’ve always been at the realization that two alphas aren’t made for each other. You don’t have to be an alpha to dominate an alpha female. You just have to show her a lot of respect. Get underneath her skin and make her think about you and the possibilities. And an alpha females needs someone in her life to soften her, otherwise she eventually gets so far detached she can’t come back. If the hero is so unyielding in his own emotions, how can you soften the pair of them together if you can’t show them that it’s okay to admit to a few feelings and have the need of someone in your life that you can count on? The story would get stagnant and stale if you had to read about them constantly butting heads over something. There has to be push and pull to keep interest and growth.

What characteristics do you look for in an alpha female versus the beta female? What are some pros and cons of each that you find irk (or admire) while you’re reading? Any favorite alpha females out there in TV or Fiction? How about great alpha females and their men- any examples?

Musical influences: Brad Paisley, Welcome to the Future

No, this isn’t Sin. It’s your Captain speaking. (Besides I don’t think Sin knows who Brad Paisley is.) My Dad is always going on about how much has changed in just his lifetime (he’s 87), but when he talks about it, it’s always about technology, travel, medicine, and the state of people’s souls.

When I think of things that have changed, I think of, well, romance novels.

The modern romance novel was born in 1972 with The Flame and the Flower, and we’ve been writing historical romance novels similar to this vein ever since. I’m guessing Woodiwiss’ book is selected because it was the first bodice-ripper, and bodice-rippers are what classify as modern romance novels. After all, it must not be a romance novel, if someone is not having sex with someone else. (Sounds like an episode of Sex in the City, doesn’t it?)

So what has changed in almost forty years? The plot itself is still the same: two people (most typically a man and a woman) fall in love. And because the road to true love never did run smooth, there are lots of misunderstandings, heavy petting, and the occasional near-death-experience. Especially if it’s a romance novel with thriller elements. Yes, those elements haven’t changed. I think it’s the delivery that’s different.

Instead of 400+ page sweeping, epic novels that can cover years of the hero’s and heroine’s lives, we typically have novels that are 300+ pages that focus on a more manageable length of time. A couple months, maybe a couple years. It appears the mood of the people has changed in 40 years about how long you should give your one and only love a chance to get his act together to tell you he loves you. Putting up with a hero who calls you names and forcibly seduces you for 400 pages before going, “You’re right, I’m sorry, I love you” is no longer acceptable.

And speaking of forcible seductions, in the 1970s, they were de rigeur, complete with a heroine who clearly didn’t know her own mind as she kept shouting “no, no, no” even while she was pressing him to her breast and whispering “yes, yes, yes.” Nowadays, with a few notable exceptions, pretty much the opposite is the accepted practice. And I could even name a couple heroines who’ve stood out that were of the “forcible seducer” type, crawling in bed with the hero to force a marriage or tying a guy to the bed so she can have a baby. But notable exceptions aside, this is one change I’ve truly enjoyed. Sex has evolved to lovemaking, and lovemaking has become a mutually desired expression of characters’ feelings for each other, even if they’re not willing to say the words yet.

Another standard modern romance novel staple is the alpha male. The drill sergeant. Do as I say and when I say jump, you ask how high. The alpha male is always the perfect foil for that saucy little heroine we love and admire, the one who speaks before she thinks and isn’t cowed by the hero. The 1970s version of the alpha male included the guy who would call the heroine a bitch and a whore (or worse) for 400+ pages, constantly questioning her morality and belittling her at every turn, while reminding her how she wouldn’t be able to survive without his tender loving care. And usually at the end of the book, the hero hasn’t really changed this belittling, demeaning quality but sugarcoats his character flaw by saying he loves her, because that changes everything.

Fortunately the modern romance hero is more than a one-man show. We have the alpha, the beta, or the much preferred gamma, the guy who is a sensitive drill sergeant. Though I don’t think the variety is the biggest change in the modern romance hero. It’s Respect. The heroine might drive the hero batshit, but on the whole, the hero still respects her. Internally if nowhere else.

Personally I’m really happy to be in the future and reading romance novels—even though some of the more sensitive heroes do come off as too sensitive for me—because the other option, namecalling and forcible seductions on every page just doesn’t appeal to me anymore.

What changes have you noticed in all your years/experience of reading romance novels? Which ones are for the better? Which ones are for the worse? And what do you see for the future of romance?

One of the best workshops I attended during Nationals was You Say Tomato, I say To-Motto: How Character Motto Influences Plot, Conflict & Other Story Elements presented by Susan Gable.  I realized in the middle of the workshop that Ms. Gable also presented one of the first workshops I ever attended. I still use techniques she taught in that one. If you ever get the chance to attend a workshop presented by Susan Gable, I highly recommend it.

Now, down to business.

Every hero and heroine has their own built-in motto. As Ms. Gable defines it – “A deeply held personal belief, stemming from the character’s back story, that impacts the way he/she views the world and the way he/she behaves.” 

I always learn better with examples so that’s where we’ll start.

Hero X – Good soldiers don’t cry/pick yourself up and carry on. 

Background – Father in the military who repeated these words over and over.

Environment – Few close friends and little if any personal effects in home.

Behavior – Every injury is a scratch no matter how serious and it is never an option to think about, discuss, or heaven forbid admit to having feelings.

Heroine X –  Feelings are important and should be explored.

Background – Raised in a home with a lot of drama, possibly a parent who acted or worked in psychology/psychiatry.

Environment – A hugger whose home  is filled with deep colors, lots of fabrics and overstuffed furniture.

Behavior – Every experience is an opportunity to explore how she feels and share those feelings with anyone around her. 

Motto is a great tool for both plotters and pantsers. Plotters can take the foundation of the motto and dig deep into the backstory and pantsers can use the motto as they go along to keep the character acting and reacting in ways that fit who they are. Plotters can use mottos to plan ways to test the characters, challenge them, and create conflict. Pantsers can use mottos to maintain motivation without having to think too much about it.

In the end, mottos tell the writer what these characters will ultimately teach each other in order to find their HEA. They take the guesswork out of the equation and still allow for new twists and turns along the way.

Other motto examples:

I’ll do it myself.

Life is short, eat dessert first.

Everybody lies/Everybody leaves.

No risk, no reward.

I know I’m right, don’t confuse me with the facts.

These could go on endlessly.

Have you ever used mottos for your characters to shape your stories? If not, would you be willing to try it? If you were writing the story of Hero and Heroine X above, what would you throw at them and how would you bring them together? (To Sin – I promise this not a secret ploy to make you plot. *g*)

Unless you’ve been living near the Arctic without internet access or a television, you likely know there’s a healthcare debate going on in the United States. I honestly don’t know whether this issue will ever be worked out, politicians aren’t known for compromise these days, but here on the ship I thought it best to take matters into my own hands. 

And that meant, putting the crew into the hands of some very competent doctors. Doctors who also happen to be hot.  With doctors like this, who doesn’t want to hear those magical words? 

“Assume the position.”

Ya never know when a topic a’ conversation will open yer eyes up ta somethin’ ya haven’t considered much afore. I was speakin’ ta me mentor, Jenna Petersen, a few weeks past ‘bout the topic of genre…on the Revenge, a few days later we was discussin’ not only why we write, but it meandered inta who we write fer…

Taking off me 2^nd Chance persona for the moment, let me continue.

This got me thinking seriously about the whole idea of integrity within the writing mind. What it means to the writer isn’t always the same as it means to the reader, the editor or the agent. These are some of my conclusions.

If writer A loves the challenge of writing for contests… Loves the sculpting to exacting standards, loves the test of pleasing assorted judges, loves to study score sheets and figure out what she can ace, loves to tweak and trim passages of a MS and see this as part of her brilliance… GREAT! Really! This author is being authentic to their calling and has the right to view herself as talented and wonderful. Because she is.

If writer B loves to ford her own path… To thumb her nose at the very idea of contests, of standard formats, loves to poke at beloved templates and trample over the lines between genres, loves to write with disruption in mind and sees this as part of her brilliance… GREAT! Why not? Again, this author is being authentic to her calling and has the right to view herself as talented and wonderful. Because she is, too!

Writer C writes for her audience. They are the most valuable part of the decisions she makes with her characters, her plots. She knows what her reader wants and she gives it to them. She follows strict guidelines, never rocks the boat of her genre. She has a contract, not only with her editor, but with her reader and she honors it… GREAT! Another author being authentic to her calling…she is talented and wonderful. (Let’s face it, this isn’t easy to do!)

There are as many writers as there are examples. (Stay wit’ me here…) Long as the writer views herself as authentic, there is integrity. It may not be the path you chose to walk, but it is authentic to that author. I can’t write to contest standards. I flat out can’t. If I try the tweaking process I will make myself sick. I might succeed, but it won’t fly by my personal standards of what is authentic for me. But it might for you!

How did I come from a conversation with Jenna to talking about authenticity and integrity? I expressed my continual frustration with feeling lost on the sea of genre classification, with not knowing where my stuff fit. We were talking about erotica, erotic romance and romance…how to write for what. Where the lines are, etc. And somewhere, in the midst of listening to her, I heard something that rang true for me… I don’t remember exactly what she said, but it was a real Obi Wan moment for me. And the key were the words priority and authenticity.

If I write something that isn’t authentic to my story…if I try to fit something in, force something in because of influences outside my vision…it won’t ring true. Not just for me, but for a reader. No matter how much I want to slide into erotica, no matter if my story deals with sex (and most of my stories deal with sex in one form or another…) I can’t make it erotic… And long story short, it doesn’t have to.

I fell into the trap of assuming that if I had some blunt language, some unorthodox sexual situations (most of my stories deal with unorthodox situation in one form or another…) that I had to look at erotica as my market. My calling.

But it wasn’t ringing a bell for me. It didn’t feel right. It wasn’t authentic to my vision. My stories feature sex…period. The sex isn’t the priority. To be authentic, to carry integrity, I needed to consider what the priority was.

I have a confession to make. I don’t write romance. Romance is not my priority. It’s the icing on the cake, usually. But sometimes it’s just the ice cream on the side.

Sex isn’t the priority either, though it is near the top…often it’s the flavor of the cake.

I’m still working on where I find my writing priorities. And it may be different for every story, though I think I’m going to find an all encompassing thread running through my stories…. I’ll let you all know when I figure it out…

To wind back to where I began. It’s different for every writer. The process is different for every writer. Not just why we write, but how we write, what our priorities are within the process…

Is the HEA your priority? Is it STW? (I made that one up. Save The World.) Is it save the puppy? Save the soul? Open the soul? Is it to poke holes? Open eyes? Poke eyes? Lift spirits? Comfort? Challenge the paradigm? Rant?

Do you find yourself reading for the same message? Favoring authors that fit into your comfort level? What rings the bell of authenticity in you? And what are you looking for if so? Ever thought about why?

If it’s all about feeding the soul… As a reader, as a writer…what bit of authenticity is your soul hungry for?

(I had to follow a blog on sexual turn ons… Sigh.)

It is no secret that in the business of romance, sexuality is a very individual thing.  What turns me on may make you snooze while what turns you on may make me scared.  Sexuality is complicated and always in the eye of the beholder.   It’s no wonder people who’ve been married for eons say the sex only gets better.  Uh yeah, because after 40 years, he or she better the hell know what the other likes!  Even Wikipedia defines human sexuality as “how people experience the erotic and express themselves as sexual beings.”  If that doesn’t sum up how case-specific sexuality is, I don’t know what does. 

That said, every person is the expert of their own sexuality.   The act of sex itself, however, is pretty basic.  Even in the world of Romancelandia, it’s become cliché to say, “put tab A into slot B.”  There’s nothing new under that sun.  We all have the same parts.  We all know where to put them.  But it is the other things–the words, the movements, even the settings–that flavor sex to a person’s individual tastes.   

As I am the expert of my own sexuality, I write what I like.  But I might not have such a clear picture of what I like had I not first read what I liked.  I can’t tell you how many titles of books I’ve forgotten, how many characters’ names—even authors’ names—but I have never, EVER forgotten those few situations where the writer happened to tap into my own personal brand of oh la la.   Those scenes are branded on my brain.  Of course, some of my favorite authors aren’t that strong when it comes to the heat,  but I’m not talking about character-development here.  I’m talking about what turns people on. 

As for me, I like to read situations where the characters skate that fine line between traditional and oh my God.     Don’t mistake me.  I am not one of those people who wears rubber and owns a ball-gag and I’m not too keen on reading about characters who do either.  I believe in a couple falling in love and pursuing their happily ever after together.  But I also don’t want to read traditional June Cleaver sex.  This is my escape, after all.  I’ve bought this book and I want the fantasy I paid for.   The missionary position is fine as long as there is some sort of umph in the scene.  And by umph I could mean something as minor as a salacious little line of dialogue the hero whispers into the heroine’s ear–something that makes me squirm a little, but not feel oogy.   

As for the authors whose sexual prose I can get on board with, here’s my list:

Gaelen Foley

Christina Dodd

Lisa Kleypas

Judith Ivory

Elizabeth Hoyt

Now it’s your turn.  Tell me what turns you on and which authors help to get you there.