I know Terri gave a bunch of places to hang out online if you couldn’t make it to Conference.  I’m not that helpful, so I figured I could just put out some suggestions for stuff you can do while you wait by the computer (phone/email/etc) to hear from your friends who are there, currently too busy having fun to pay attention to you (er…  me, um, er…  us).

1)       Read – probably on the top of most of our what-to-do-when-killing-time lists.  Lots of great stuff is coming out this week/weekend.   Besides the one on Sin’s and my minds (*cough* Breaking Dawn *cough*), Before the Scandal by Suzanne Enoch and Some Like it Wicked by Teresa Medeiros are both out this week.  There have been some wonderful summer releases as well.  I’m looking forward to Colleen Gleason’s fourth vampire book, out on the 5^th.   Reading good books can get your brain into writing mode.

2)      Movies – movies are great for revving up the old creative juices.  As Hellion is always saying, there are no new stories, so watching stories on the big screen can get your own story moving.  The most recent Mummy movie and Swing Vote both come out on Friday night, so that’s something.  I want to see Dark Knight still, so maybe I’ll have the DH take me there. 

3)      Dinner (well, more specifically dessert) – check out a favorite restaurant, try a new one, or just order take out.  A little special occasion eating always puts me in the mood for diving into my WIP (especially if there is chocolate involved).

4)    Writing – (Last but not least) as you probably noticed, all my other choices had something to do with writing.  But, seriously, what better way to make our conference going friends jealous than to have written scores of words while they were off gallivanting, sipping champagne with Nora.  Hey, it could happen, they could be jealous….

So tell me, what are you going to be up to this weekend?  Writing, reading, eating?  Any other suggestions to kill the time during conference?  Any other suggestions of activities that get your creative juices going?

This past week has been, well, odd.

I made it through my initial on-cloud-nine feelings post-book and now I’m sort of hanging in writing limbo.  You know, that spot where you just aren’t sure where you fit into the process of writing and are waiting to get moving again.

I should be plotting out my book’s sequel while I wait for the first book to digest.  But, no matter how much time I spend sitting in front of what should be my back-story file, nothing is coming to me.  My mind is elsewhere, digging up another story altogether.

Initially, I was frustrated by this.  Why is it that my stupid muse can’t follow directions?  I have the ghost of a perfectly good sequel just waiting to be hammered out and my gum-cracking, nail-polish-chipping muse is so over that right now.  She wants to work on what she wants to work on.  *eye roll.*

What can one do in such a situation?  I had two choices; let the little brat roam free in my mind or struggle on my own without her.  When I looked at it that way, there wasn’t really much of a choice.

I gave up arguing, pacified myself with the knowledge that I’m really just killing time in creativity waiting to revise, and rolled with her.  Little twit.

The entire experience has been surprisingly satisfying so far.  I’d forgotten how much I really love the initial brainstorming phase of writing.  So many options available.  I haven’t written myself into any corners, I have the entire world of plot twists open to me.

Once again I’m falling in love with writing.

Now that I’ve been through this before, I’ve felt strangely light-hearted about it.  Last time, when I would get stuck, I’d panic.  Should I be feeling like I’m spinning my wheels?   Is this “normal”? 

As I’m experiencing the process this time, I know a little more what to expect.  And I’m lounging, enjoying the ride.

I assume that I’ll feel the initial frustration as the details of my story tease my mind, there in the recesses but still trapped in my subconscious.  Then I’ll feel the rush of a new story, like the first glow of falling in love, all whirling and spinning around me.  Somewhere in the middle, I’ll trip over it, wonder at the sense of boredom as I stretch through the center and doubt myself, before slipping over the crest and tumbling down the hill towards the black moments and HEA.

And at the end, I’ll weep again, bittersweet tears, at the close of another journey.

What a fabulous gift spinning tales is.

What is your favorite part of writing?  Is there a phase of the story you prefer above another?  How do you feel in the first bit while you brainstorm?  Any other analogies you have to explain the writing process?

Instead of waxing poetic about finishing my novel (as I neither wax nor am I poetic), I figured I would map out my journey post-finishing as an exhibit for you, dear wenches.   Feel free to reference back when you finish, nod or disagree if you’ve already finished one, or just laugh at my ridiculousness.  All reactions are acceptable.

1.    Squee  -  I actually managed some really loud squeeing.  In fact, my squees scared my poor one year old so much that his little face folded in on itself as if my fit of insanity was the manifestation of one of his greatest fears (I wonder if he worries about my mental state often – hmmm…).  Then he started wailing.  This promptly made me feel horrible so I scooped him up and we danced around the room.  He laughed and I felt better.

2.    Dance around the room – see above.

3.    Send an email to friends, call friends, stop random people on the street to spread your good news, etc.  - Frankly, it was near impossible to not let my relief out.  I rambled; I babbled; I otherwise made a complete fool of myself.  My writerly friends of course smiled and nudged each other (through cyber-space), equally proud of me and happy for me, undoubtedly rolling their eyes at my silliness, but all aware of what a big accomplishment it is.  My real life friends, though happy for me, don’t get the depth and breadth of such a goal achieved but they were happy I was happy and that’s all I needed.

4.    Go out to dinner – My hubby and I went out to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner as a joint anniversary/book finishing celebration.  I had something for dinner, Chocolate Coconut Cream Cheesecake for dessert (you didn’t really care what I had for dinner, did you?   I figured just the dessert detail would be enough), and one strawberry Ketel One Martini (I’m a cheap date *sigh*).  He toasted me twice, we held hands, and he told me repeatedly how proud he was of my accomplishment and how lucky he was to be married to me.  *Sappy girl sigh.*   I can leave my characters’ romance behind as long as my hubby is my forever hero. 

5.    Read – On my way home from dinner Saturday, we stopped at Borders and I picked up Twilight.  I finished it Sunday night and stopped to get New Moon and Eclipse.  I finished Eclipse last night.  I’ve missed reading.  I completely hibernated for a couple of days.  It was wonderful.  I think the key here though was not to read any historicals.  I do have revisions coming up.

6.    Avoid revising – This sounds like such an easy one, doesn’t it?  I mean, I just spent forever with my characters.  They’ve kept me awake for months, more so in the last two-ish weeks of writing, and I should want to leave them alone.  I shouldn’t want to mess with them until I force myself.  But the urge to revise is really strong.  I even started messing around on Friday, though it was a huge mistake.  I realized though, that I was getting twisted up.  I think I’m so exhausted with it that I need to take a break for a couple weeks and then try to read it with some fresh eyes.   So, a week and a half from now I’m going to start to read it through. 

7.   Write a query letter – Ugh.  I repeat… UGH.   I started this process a couple months ago and it’s no easy task.  Condensing your huge work, even after it’s finished, into a few short lines meant to entice.  Ugh.  Still working on this.  In bits and pieces.  Have lots of time.

8.     Write my synopsis letter – Quadruple UGH.  While the query letter is hard, this is just frustrating.  Every sentence needs to be concise.  I figure I’m not sweating it yet.  I mess with it now and again and assume that once my revisions are done, this will clarify as well

9.     Try not to drown in the sea of denial that keeps my query and synopsis apprehension at bay - *blinking.*   What denial?

10.   Start my next story – In this case, I had to ask what Nora would do.  And that’s right, people, she doesn’t take a long vacation.  So, I’ve started brainstorming.  This part is fun, only requires note-taking, and just happens as I putter about in my life.

If you’ve finished a book, what did you do?  If you haven’t, what would you do?  Any advice for a newbie finisher?  Anyone ever had the Chocolate Coconut Cream Cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory?  I’m telling you, yum.

Aside:  A giant, wet, slobbery fangirl hug to all my cyber romance writer friends who have stood by offering support when I felt nervous, threatening harm when I needed prodding, and generally being awesome in every way.  Thanks to all of you, I’m forever grateful for your help.

Oh, and I absolutely can’t wait for Breaking Dawn or this movie.  I am obsessed.  At least this week.

As I near “the End” of my book, revisions cast their dark shadow over my future.   *cue menacing music* dun dun dahhhhh .

While I’ve been writing, I’ve stopped and made comments on a page in my journal called the “To Be Revised” page.  I decided that instead of stopping constantly to fix the things I was sure would need to be fixed later I would write them down so I could remember them when I trotted back through. 

Though many of my “To Be Revised” notes are specific and of no use to you (and of questionable use to me), there are some that seem general and perhaps applicable to everyone.  Here are a few snippets:

-          Check for any adverbs I can avoid

-          Plot out motivation to make certain it is consistent throughout

-          Check for plot holes

-          Strengthen verbs

As I read back through these notes, I started surfing around online to find other writing rules that might help direct me through my revising.  Here are some fun ones:

Kurt Vonnegut’s eight rules for writing fiction:

1. Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.

2. Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.

3. Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.

4. Every sentence must do one of two things — reveal character or advance the action.

5. Start as close to the end as possible.

6. Be a sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them — in order that the reader may see what they are made of.

7. Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.

8. Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To heck with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages.

– Vonnegut, Kurt Vonnegut, Bagombo Snuff Box: Uncollected Short Fiction (New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons 1999), 9-10.

Sort of an interesting take, huh?  I particularly like the cockroaches bit.

Here’s George Orwell’s list, though it’s more grammar driven than fiction driven:

1.       Never use a metaphor, simile or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.

2.       Never use a long word where a short one will do.

3.       If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.

4.       Never use the passive where you can use the active.

5.       Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.

6.       Break any of these rules sooner than say anything barbarous.

George Orwell, Politics and the English Language (Horizon, 1946)

That last one is the greatest reminder to me not to get carried away trying to follow ”the rules.” 

In the end, there are always exceptions to every rule.

What writing rule do you have the most trouble with?  What writing rule do you think is complete bunk?  What writing rule do you think is vital to good fiction (my personal favorite being show, don’t tell)?

Sorry I’m late this morning everyone.   Hopefully there’s still some rum left.  *dirty look at the pirates already smiling goofily.*

I just wrote a big black moment a couple of days ago.  I’ve been waiting for this part of my book for months now and I thought once I got there, it would be smooth sailing. 

Of course, I was wrong.

I didn’t want it to be over-emotional because too much drama seems silly.  But I wanted it to tug at my readers’ heartstrings too, in an honest way, a way that felt real to them.

Doing this was more difficult than I realized.  It seems attempting to string out your reader can string out the writer in the process.  *sigh*

I tried to write it from my heroine’s point of view, but she was the one who was really hurting in the scene (she already knew she was in love with the hero, she’s just waiting on his thick-headed self to get with the program).  Writing her pain first hand was a little too overdone.  So, I switched and wrote it in my hero’s point of view.

It worked for me (I hope) because my hero acted like a real jerk.   He said some things that, as one of the pirates pointed out, would have been hard to forgive if we hadn’t seen his motivation from his perspective. 

Then we watch my heroine’s pain from his POV, where it’s still apparent, but not so hit-you-over-the-head as to be overdramatic (I hope).

At the end, I cried, railing at him for being so stubborn and trying to tell her that it would be alright if she just didn’t give up on him.

Hopefully that’s how my reader feels about it after their read as well.

Have you ever written a black moment and if so, was it easy or difficult for you?  How did you get through?  Have you ever read a black moment in a book that really tugged at your heart?  Or one that you just didn’t connect with for some reason?  Why?

Something very strange happened to me this weekend.  My husband’s best friend asked me about my writing.  He and his wife were over to visit and he brought it up in dinner conversation.  As in, “how’s your book coming along?”

In typical self-conscious fashion, I immediately wondered if maybe my DH was complaining about my writing or putting it down to his friend.  So, as soon as this question left his friend’s mouth, I started looking between faces at the table, trying to gage if there was any mocking in anyone’s expression.  But, my hubby gazed back at me encouragingly and his friend and his friend’s wife had heads tilted in interest.

The first surprising thing about this was that my husband had obviously talked to his friend about how I was writing a book.  Oh, I’d never told him not to tell his friends; I just never expected him to tell them of his own volition.   My hubby is supportive of my writing, but sometimes I think he’s uncomfortable talking about the details of the story.  (“Honey, do you think it’s more romantic if he puts his hand in her hair or on the small of her back?” = DH running away, face hidden, to look up sports or something else manly on the internet).  

So, to find out that he’d probably been bragging to his friend about me was sweet and touching.

Then, his friend was genuinely interested enough to ask me about it, then continue to express how cool he thought it was, for the span of several minutes. 

Well, having his friend– a guy and “a guy’s guy” at that– go on and on about how cool it was that I was writing a romance novel was embarrassing for me.

I’m usually a confident person and I don’t embarrass easily.  And I’m honestly to the point in my writing where I don’t really care if people don’t think it’s important enough to spend my time on or if they’re going to be Debbie Downer about it.  So, even though scoffing and put downs still frustrate me and make me uncomfortable when I have to defend myself, they don’t pose any threat to stopping me anymore.

But, this open enthusiasm was a different story.  I found myself playing it down.  I was like, “well, I don’t know how it’ll go, but I’m going to put it out there anyway” and “maybe it’ll never get published but at least I’m more experienced for my next try.” 

Afterwards, I wasn’t sure why I did this.  I should have felt as confident in the face of praise as I did in the face of scorn.  I just wasn’t prepared for it, especially from such an unexpected source.

It was nice.  Really nice.

Have you ever received praise either for your writing or for something else that embarrassed you?  How did you react?  Is praise from someone unexpected any better than praise from someone expected?  Why do you or don’t you think so?

I started reading Harlequins in middle school.  Don’t hate on my mom, she took me to the library and let me rent books, even bought me some.  I just always read through them faster than she could keep me in them.   And when there was nothing else in the house, I reached for my mom’s Harlequins.  It was that or stereo instructions.  I’m sure you agree that Harlequins are a much better option.

Around the end of eighth grade, I picked up my first long historical.  And though I’d been reading romance for a while, I’ll still always remember this as my “first romance” because it’s the first one I can remember clearly.

It was The Gift by Julie Garwood. 

First of all, if you’ve never read Garwood, you should.  She’s witty and light but still has the emotional weight I love in my romances. 

Instead of getting into the details of the plot, as that’s not the real purpose of this post, I wanted to talk more about the experience of reading it. 

I remember laughing repeatedly; Garwood is the master of the one liner.  I remember there were pirates; even then I loved the adventure and suspense of pirating, but as it was longer than anything else I’d read, I really had a feel for the details.  I remember that the heroine, the very spunky Sara, was doing her best to make everyone love her, despite a knack for creating mayhem.  And I remember, as it was the longest one I’d ever read, feeling like I really cared about the characters so much that I didn’t want to leave them.  It was a grand, sweeping story and I knew I was smitten with romance on the spot.

From there, I started grilling my mother for other authors like Garwood.  I read Garwood’s entire backlist and then moved onto other big leaguers; Deveraux, Woodiwiss, Gabaldon, and fell in love with Judith McNaught. 

But, that first long historical is the novel that really got me into reading romance and therefore, it holds a special place in my heart.

How about you?  What romance novel was your “first,” the one to get you into reading romance voraciously, and why do you remember it so clearly?  Or, is there a novel that introduced you to a new subgenre? 

I’m nearing the end of my WIP.  Ok, I’m not nearly as near to the end as I’d like to be, but I can see that beacon of light at the end of the tunnel.

But, I’m afraid my black moment is going to create a few difficulties to my plot.  I hear the pirates grumbling.   “What hasn’t created difficulties to your plot, Marnee?” 

This may be a deal breaker, though.

*Pause for dramatic effect.*

My Regency heroine is going to save my hero’s life in the end.

In fact, she’s been saving him in bits and pieces throughout the story.  She’s a witch and she’s been called by Fate to save him.  One doesn’t mess with Fate, after all.  But, in the final moment, she’s going to sacrifice herself for him.

Well, almost anyway.  They do need their HEA so she obviously can’t die.  But, my hero won’t know that.

We write in the age of strong heroines.  In fact, I’ve started wondering if paranormals have taken off so dramatically because they allow for alphas that don’t seem like stalkers and still can hold up against the strong women in recent novels.  But, that’s another blog.

The neurosis for this blog is that I have been worrying that having my heroine save my hero might make my hero look too weak.

I feel horrible about this.  The feminist inside me screams that strong women don’t equal weak men, that a woman’s strength doesn’t downplay a man’s masculinity. 

But, I’m concerned that others might disagree, or at least the fantasy part of others, especially as my story is in a historical setting.  I’ve qualified it by telling myself that since she’s magical, she can be strong and it’ll be ok. 

Hey, it’s my little world; I’ll live here if I want.

What do you think?  Do you think a heroine saving a hero downplays the hero’s masculinity?  What about a heroine in a historical saving a hero?  What do you think makes it ok and what do you think makes it wrong?

<– (That’s what I looked like while I was writing my synopsis)

So, after much angsting on my part (ok, that isn’t a word, but it should be) I’ve decided to enter the “Put Your Heart In A Book” contest through the NJ Romance Writers.   The finalists in the category I’m entering are judged by people that I would love LOVE to work with.   While it is presumptuous to think I’ll even make it that far, I figured now’s as good of a time as any to get myself started.  So, I decided to dive in.

The only problem with this decision is that I had to write a synopsis.

Ugh.

The mere thought of writing a synopsis has filled me with terror.  I’m writing a book that will end up somewhere between 90-100K long.  How in the name of all that is good in the world am I going to condense that into a few pages and still make sense?

*shudder*

But, the deadline for the contest is June 15 so I needed to get going on it.

What does one do when they are faced with a task so enormous they don’t feel they can do it on their own?  Why, of course!  I checked the internet!

Here are a few websites I found useful, for your future synopsis writing needs:

1)      http://lirw.org/synopsis.html - This site was by far the most beneficial to me.  The author broke down the synopsis writing process into an exercise in answering 10 questions (hey, I can even answer 10 questions).  Then, the darling person gave me an example using “Beauty and the Beast.”  Ten easy questions and an example from a children’s movie?  That’s right!  It was as if they were writing right at me!  I went through and answered the questions and though it gave me a bare bare bones outline of my story, it was a great beginning. 

2)       http://www.writing-world.com/publish/synopsis.shtml - This site suggested creating an outline first, then instilling the outline with more enthusiastic description.   It also contains a list of don’t dos that helped me.

3)      http://www.fictionwriters.com/tips-synopsis.html  - This site included a checklist that helped me out and some basic guidelines.  It was a short article which I found beneficial because I get ADD when I read how-to stuff

After reading through these sites, I had some direction and started plugging away.  But, my first draft was, well, boring.  Really boring.  Then, one of my darling pirate wenches told me that my voice was one of my strengths and I should try to add that in there.

What, my synopsis should reflect me?  Revolutionary, I say!

But, it definitely helped, though I think I should check it out again, now that a day has gone by since I read it last.

It has helped that I started writing the thing a week ago.  Giving myself some time to leave it and come back a few times has helped me because I keep finding places to revise.

My last suggestion for you all is to check the contest website for any scoresheet/guidelines they give you.  I know that sounds self-explanatory but the PYHIAB contest has a part of their scoresheet devoted to the synopsis.  Referencing it helped me to focus my synopsis.

Have you written a synopsis?  If so, how was the process?  Any suggestions you can add to mine?  Any websites you found particularly helpful?  Did you just read my post and stick your fingers in your ears mumbling, “la la la, I can’t hear you, la la la!!”?

As a historical writer, I find it hard to not get all riled up when I’m doing research.  Recently, I read an article about asylums in nineteenth century England and the conditions of those classified mental ill and it made me want to throw something.  Especially when the article mentioned that women who were too difficult to control were likely to find themselves considered “lunatics” and sent away.   

From child labor to the conditions of the poor in Regency England, I can easily work myself into hysterics over these past events I read about knowing full well that abuses to children, the poor, and women still happen today, though the forms these abuses take may appear different than they did then.

My research inevitably finds its way into my work.  My WIP mentions asylums in two capacities; my witches are worried that if they are discovered they will be sent there and my villain ends up there at the end.   When I write about asylums, I mention the horrors I’ve read about, hoping that others who read my work will be as disturbed by them as I am. 

Misery loves company, I suppose.

Sometimes I worry that I’m standing atop my soapbox when I write, trying to push some sort of hidden agenda.  I try to make sure that any information I give has basis on the plot or the characters.  But, I think that there is always some level of ulterior motivation when it comes to what we write.  We want our readers to react and chances are we have a wish as to how we want them to react.

In Perfect by Judith McNaught, there is an entire subplot about illiteracy.  I remember reading about the levels of illiteracy in the US today and being stunned.  I’m sure that was Ms. McNaught’s intention, to raise awareness, and I believe that she donated some of the funds from the book to a charity fighting illiteracy.

I would never deem to hold myself up next to Judith McNaught, but I can see how something I feel strongly about would find its way into my work.  In fact, I’d expect my thoughts about controversial issues like war, child welfare, poverty, etc. have found their way into my work already, though I hope in the context of characterization and plot instead of outright preaching. 

Do you think it is ok for our work to make a statement about a controversial topic?  Do you think we can avoid that from happening?  Do you think we should even try to avoid it?