Talk about timing. I go camping with the family (let us not mention tents and the dismantling of said edifices in the rain) and the next day find out that I have won a full request from a pitch competition! Argh!!!
Why the argh? Well, I'm camping for a week with patchy internet access and no access at all the manuscript I pitched! Cue more argh! The only thing I could do was sit in my tent and think fiercely about all the tweaking I needed to do for it. Sigh...
Anyway, this is all to say that having just returned from my trip, I am now heading in to the writing cave to polish up my ms and make sacrifices to the gods of publication for a little bit of success. Wish me luck!
PS. Many thanks to Jami Gold for running the competition and also to the editors at Entangled for providing such a great opportunity!
PPS. Congrats also to Jo P for her successful pitch too!
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Monday, January 16, 2012
The Big Seckrit
You know the big secret? The one that our hero hides because he doesn't want anyone else to know? Or the one that the heroine never talks about and is afraid someone will find out? Like, the hero used to steal cars and one time, when he was chased by the cops, he hit someone and then ran away because he was afraid of getting caught. Or the time the heroine stole something from a shop because she was poor and needed to eat, and then kept doing it because of the rush?
They're usually BIG SECRETS. And the characters think they can NEVER TELL anyone about them because then...I don't know, the world would explode or something. You get the idea.
Secrets are cool and neat and can drive conflict really well. And it's tempting to keep them until the very end of the book so you can have the BIG REVEAL, where the character will finally TELL ALL and the reader will go 'ah ha! So that was the problem all along!'.
The problem with secrets is that although they are cool and neat and drive the conflict, they can also hide the conflict as well. The true conflict. Because it's not so much the hero's hit and run that's the issue as why he ran away after he hit someone. Same with the heroine and her shoplifting. Why did she need the rush? It's what they DO in response that's the important bit, not the secret itself.
But so often the secret becomes the whole of the story and the more interesting questions like why did the hero run or why did the heroine keept stealing, get lost under the big reveal. Sometimes it's the secret driving the story, not the characters themselves. Which is easy to do because it's fun to keep it from the reader. And it's fun to keep it from the other characters. Makes creating tension really a piece of cake too because all you have to do is threaten the BIG SECRET and hey presto, instant tension.
It's really easy for the big secret to become a crutch for conflict. If you have your characters going to extraordinary lengths to hide their secrets, if you have to manipulate the plot in order to do the same then you really have to ask yourself why. What would happen if the big secret was discovered halfway in? Would the book end? If so, then either you're not going deep enough into the conflict, or the book itself relies totally on the big secret which can also be not so good.
I guess it depends on what type of book you're writing, but for character driven stories I'm a big fan of getting that big secret out in the open when it's appropriate (not manipulating plot and characters to hide it). Because when the big secret is finally out, then you can start dealing with the real meat of the conflict - why did you run away after you hit that person? What were you scared of? Why did you like the rush of shoplifting? What did it give you that the rest of your life didn't?
My chess ms was a book with a character with a big secret. The hero did something bad in his past and he didn't even tell me what it was until the end. So I had to go back and rewrite it so he told it earlier, beacause the bad thing he did was the symptom of a deeper issue he had. A deeper fear. Even now I'm not sure I got it out early enough - but then again, he was a reticent kind of guy and it wouldn't have been something he would have told just anyone. I guess only time will tell with that one.
Anyway, I suppose the real thing to watch for is to make sure that when one of your characters is nursing a secret, you don't have that as the entire conflict (unless you're writing a murder mystery and they're the murderer). Ask yourself why the character is keeping it a secret in the first place? Do they even care what people think of them? What would happen if everyone knew? And if the answer is 'my book would end' then you know you're in trouble. :-)
Do you have a favourite big secret book? When was it revealed? And if you say right at the end and it was still cool then I'm sorry but I'm going to have to kill you. :-)
They're usually BIG SECRETS. And the characters think they can NEVER TELL anyone about them because then...I don't know, the world would explode or something. You get the idea.
Secrets are cool and neat and can drive conflict really well. And it's tempting to keep them until the very end of the book so you can have the BIG REVEAL, where the character will finally TELL ALL and the reader will go 'ah ha! So that was the problem all along!'.
The problem with secrets is that although they are cool and neat and drive the conflict, they can also hide the conflict as well. The true conflict. Because it's not so much the hero's hit and run that's the issue as why he ran away after he hit someone. Same with the heroine and her shoplifting. Why did she need the rush? It's what they DO in response that's the important bit, not the secret itself.
But so often the secret becomes the whole of the story and the more interesting questions like why did the hero run or why did the heroine keept stealing, get lost under the big reveal. Sometimes it's the secret driving the story, not the characters themselves. Which is easy to do because it's fun to keep it from the reader. And it's fun to keep it from the other characters. Makes creating tension really a piece of cake too because all you have to do is threaten the BIG SECRET and hey presto, instant tension.
It's really easy for the big secret to become a crutch for conflict. If you have your characters going to extraordinary lengths to hide their secrets, if you have to manipulate the plot in order to do the same then you really have to ask yourself why. What would happen if the big secret was discovered halfway in? Would the book end? If so, then either you're not going deep enough into the conflict, or the book itself relies totally on the big secret which can also be not so good.
I guess it depends on what type of book you're writing, but for character driven stories I'm a big fan of getting that big secret out in the open when it's appropriate (not manipulating plot and characters to hide it). Because when the big secret is finally out, then you can start dealing with the real meat of the conflict - why did you run away after you hit that person? What were you scared of? Why did you like the rush of shoplifting? What did it give you that the rest of your life didn't?
My chess ms was a book with a character with a big secret. The hero did something bad in his past and he didn't even tell me what it was until the end. So I had to go back and rewrite it so he told it earlier, beacause the bad thing he did was the symptom of a deeper issue he had. A deeper fear. Even now I'm not sure I got it out early enough - but then again, he was a reticent kind of guy and it wouldn't have been something he would have told just anyone. I guess only time will tell with that one.
Anyway, I suppose the real thing to watch for is to make sure that when one of your characters is nursing a secret, you don't have that as the entire conflict (unless you're writing a murder mystery and they're the murderer). Ask yourself why the character is keeping it a secret in the first place? Do they even care what people think of them? What would happen if everyone knew? And if the answer is 'my book would end' then you know you're in trouble. :-)
Do you have a favourite big secret book? When was it revealed? And if you say right at the end and it was still cool then I'm sorry but I'm going to have to kill you. :-)
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Rethinking The 10%
Last year I posted a somewhat gloomy post about how getting published was 30% talent, 30% hard work, 30% persistence, and 10% of luck (or something like that - don't ask me to check). And that the problem I had with that equation was that the 10% was something you had no control over. It might happen. Or it could never happen. It all depends on a combination of the right manuscript, the right publisher, the right editor, at the right time.
Or, in another analogy, a combination of wind speed, trajectory, and the weight of the pig.
Yeah, gloomy, depressing. And I am a great one for looking on the depressing side because sometimes you just don't want to hope.
Luckily I have a mother who is the most incredibly supportive person you could ever want to meet (hi Mum!) and something she said to me last night got me thinking about that old 10%. She reckoned that if luck is involved, all it means is that you have to spread your net wider until you eventually catch something. The wider the net, the greater the chance.
I know, people have been saying this to me for a while now and I have been listening. It's just that I'm a person who gets very focussed on one thing and shifting that focus can be difficult. But this year I'm going to give it a go. This year I'm going to try something a little different.
And starting it off is going to be my first attempt at a novella. I've never really liked short stories to be honest (except for Roald Dahl) - I like my stories long. And as far as writing one...I have difficulty with keeping under 50k let alone writing reeeeeaaaallly short. But I had an idea for a shorter story a couple of weeks ago and...well...gotta widen that net, right? Besides, as my six year old keeps telling me, 'only try, Mummy. You have to try'. :-)
So, anyone else widening their net and trying something different? If so, what is it? Share!
Or, in another analogy, a combination of wind speed, trajectory, and the weight of the pig.
Yeah, gloomy, depressing. And I am a great one for looking on the depressing side because sometimes you just don't want to hope.
Luckily I have a mother who is the most incredibly supportive person you could ever want to meet (hi Mum!) and something she said to me last night got me thinking about that old 10%. She reckoned that if luck is involved, all it means is that you have to spread your net wider until you eventually catch something. The wider the net, the greater the chance.
I know, people have been saying this to me for a while now and I have been listening. It's just that I'm a person who gets very focussed on one thing and shifting that focus can be difficult. But this year I'm going to give it a go. This year I'm going to try something a little different.
And starting it off is going to be my first attempt at a novella. I've never really liked short stories to be honest (except for Roald Dahl) - I like my stories long. And as far as writing one...I have difficulty with keeping under 50k let alone writing reeeeeaaaallly short. But I had an idea for a shorter story a couple of weeks ago and...well...gotta widen that net, right? Besides, as my six year old keeps telling me, 'only try, Mummy. You have to try'. :-)
So, anyone else widening their net and trying something different? If so, what is it? Share!
Friday, January 6, 2012
A Romantic Start to 2012
So, this is what 2012 is like... *walks around* *sniffs the air*
Okay, not too bad so far. No rejections at least so that's something. Still, the year is but a nipper which means there's plenty of time for Rs to come rolling in... Sigh. Positive much?
On the up side, my New Year started beautifully and romantically with the wedding of very dear and close friends of mine. It was organised in a week, the bride made her own bouquet out of felt and wire, drove herself to the wedding, and cleaned up afterwards (along with her new husband and guests!). Even though there was no notice to speak of and it was in the middle of the summer holidays, 65 people still turned up, all bringing a plate of nibbles to share! It was about 3 hours from start to finish and although my friends would shudder with horror at the very mention of them being romantic (they're far too practical) I actually secretly thought they were. Very romantic. :-) It quite inspired me to write.
I was also pleasantly surprised a couple of days later to meet someone who, when they asked me what I did, burst into a happy shriek and confessed that she was a romance reader and had just bought herself a whole stack of Mills and Boon to read over the holidays. Now since confessing to reading romance in NZ is somewhat akin to confessing you like torturing small animals in your spare time, it was really great to meet another like-minded individual and have a chat about how there was nothing wrong with it! The reading romance, not the torturing of small animals.... Ahem. Of course my unromantic friend (whom we were staying with) then told the romance reader she should read my writing. And you know what? I said no. Because I found out I'm actually quite sensitive about people reading my stuff when it's not really ready. And the story I was working on wasn't ready. Plus it had a billionaire in it and this lady didn't like alpha billionaires (though I mean really, come on, what's wrong with an alpha billionaire I ask you??).
Still, I was moderately tempted to show her because it has been a story I've been enjoying writing. Quite a bit actually. And the billionaire isn't really a billionaire, he's a prince. And the heroine is a bodyguard who's one tough chick. It's the kind of story that makes you feel quite pleased with yourself for like....oh, at least the next five minutes. ;-) Or until the R rolls in. But it would have been quite interesting for someone I don't know that well to have a look at it and see what she thought. Then again, she might have hated it because it does require some buy-in from the reader to make the fantasy work...
I guess that's a whole other post though.
Still, a wedding and a nice chat about romance were perfect starts to my year. What about yours?
Okay, not too bad so far. No rejections at least so that's something. Still, the year is but a nipper which means there's plenty of time for Rs to come rolling in... Sigh. Positive much?
On the up side, my New Year started beautifully and romantically with the wedding of very dear and close friends of mine. It was organised in a week, the bride made her own bouquet out of felt and wire, drove herself to the wedding, and cleaned up afterwards (along with her new husband and guests!). Even though there was no notice to speak of and it was in the middle of the summer holidays, 65 people still turned up, all bringing a plate of nibbles to share! It was about 3 hours from start to finish and although my friends would shudder with horror at the very mention of them being romantic (they're far too practical) I actually secretly thought they were. Very romantic. :-) It quite inspired me to write.
I was also pleasantly surprised a couple of days later to meet someone who, when they asked me what I did, burst into a happy shriek and confessed that she was a romance reader and had just bought herself a whole stack of Mills and Boon to read over the holidays. Now since confessing to reading romance in NZ is somewhat akin to confessing you like torturing small animals in your spare time, it was really great to meet another like-minded individual and have a chat about how there was nothing wrong with it! The reading romance, not the torturing of small animals.... Ahem. Of course my unromantic friend (whom we were staying with) then told the romance reader she should read my writing. And you know what? I said no. Because I found out I'm actually quite sensitive about people reading my stuff when it's not really ready. And the story I was working on wasn't ready. Plus it had a billionaire in it and this lady didn't like alpha billionaires (though I mean really, come on, what's wrong with an alpha billionaire I ask you??).
Still, I was moderately tempted to show her because it has been a story I've been enjoying writing. Quite a bit actually. And the billionaire isn't really a billionaire, he's a prince. And the heroine is a bodyguard who's one tough chick. It's the kind of story that makes you feel quite pleased with yourself for like....oh, at least the next five minutes. ;-) Or until the R rolls in. But it would have been quite interesting for someone I don't know that well to have a look at it and see what she thought. Then again, she might have hated it because it does require some buy-in from the reader to make the fantasy work...
I guess that's a whole other post though.
Still, a wedding and a nice chat about romance were perfect starts to my year. What about yours?
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Happy Christmas and Good Riddance 2011
Haven't posted much recently - still suffering the post-Chessman slump. Which then morphed into another 'all my writing sucks' slump. Which morphed further into a 'everything sucks' slump. Cue endless rounds of Angry Birds and Pocket Frogs on Brad the iPad.
Anyway, this is wishing everyone a happy Christmas and New Year from me here in slump city. We are going up to Dr Jax's family's holiday home for Christmas - yeah, Christmas in NZ is lots of sun and sand and BBQs. Hehe - so I won't be around much for the next couple of weeks.
Hoping your holiday is happy and your New Year full of writing.
Me, I'm just hoping for a better year next year. Roll on 2012.
Anyway, this is wishing everyone a happy Christmas and New Year from me here in slump city. We are going up to Dr Jax's family's holiday home for Christmas - yeah, Christmas in NZ is lots of sun and sand and BBQs. Hehe - so I won't be around much for the next couple of weeks.
Hoping your holiday is happy and your New Year full of writing.
Me, I'm just hoping for a better year next year. Roll on 2012.
Monday, December 19, 2011
One Perfect Night - Happy Release Day!
Big day today folks! Time wish my awesome CP and fellow Sister, Rachel Johns a happy release day for her debut book, One Perfect Night, available from Carina Press.
It's a wonderful book so if you need a bit of Xmas cheer this season, or just need a fabulous, fun and romantic read, head over to Carina Press and buy this one!
See below for an excerpt and links!
It's a wonderful book so if you need a bit of Xmas cheer this season, or just need a fabulous, fun and romantic read, head over to Carina Press and buy this one!
See below for an excerpt and links!
Excerpt from One Perfect Night
“Don’t look now,
but Mr. McSexy just entered the building.”
“Blast.”
Peppa Grant spun round and did exactly what her best friend and colleague Izzy
had ordered her not to. Her breathing faltered at the sight of six foot plus of
unadulterated male who now towered at the entrance to the company’s function
room. An anxious hush fell over the previously buzzing room. As all eyes
snapped to him, she tried not to quake in her costume’s fairy shoes.
Until
half an hour ago, Cameron McCormac had meant nothing more to Peppa than the new
name at the very top of the office food chain. Now he was the man who owned the
car she’d sideswiped in the car park tonight.
The
dangerously handsome man who was making her pulse spike simply by standing in
the doorway. “Oh, God.”
As
Peppa pushed her barely touched glass out of reach and let her head fall onto
the table in front of her, Izzy giggled.
“It’s.
Not. Funny,” Peppa declared when she finally looked up. Her eyes sought the
company’s new CEO again and she felt her heart collapse into her stomach.
“You’re
right,” Izzy said, reaching out and stroking Peppa’s hair like a mother over a
sick child. “If I’d just put a
prize-winning dent in the big boss’s red, convertible pride and joy, I’d
probably be at Sydney airport boarding a plane or planning to hitch a ride with
Santa back to the North Pole.”
“Hilarious.”
Peppa shot her friend a sarcastic smile. “Please tell me McSexy has just
vanished up a chimney?”
Izzy
took a sip of her chocolate mocktail, her sea-blue eyes sparking with laughter
as she peered theatrically over Peppa’s head. “No can do. Looks like he’s doing
the rounds, handing out candy canes or something to all the children. Molly
must have put him up to it.”
Molly,
although old enough to be his mother, was Mr. McCormac’s personal assistant.
Rumor had it when he did anything remotely human, she’d put him up to it. She’d
been with the company longer than anyone and was the brains behind this event,
the annual Christmas party for children of Lyrique Recordings’ employees. Peppa
had a fleeting fantasy of leaving a message with Molly about her little
misdemeanor in the car park but that wouldn’t be right. And she hadn’t been
brought up to take the easy option.
“I’ll
do it now,” she said, resting a hand on her queasy belly as she pushed herself
off the stool and onto quaky feet. Although whether her shakiness was from
trepidation or her gorgeous boss’s sexy gait and air-of-confidence, she
couldn’t be sure. “Confess before I’m due on stage and then, if he has any
sympathetic bones in his body, he’ll let me entertain the kids before the
crucifixion.”
“You’re
such a drama queen,” sighed Izzy. “The top job pays well. He has enough money
to line his undies drawer in gold. You apologize. You give him the details of
your insurance company. You get on with your life. Simple.”
Simple.
Right. But Izzy didn’t know that Peppa had just switched to a budget insurance
provider. As she had never needed to claim in seven years of driving, the
switch had seemed a good decision at the time. The upside was low monthly
rates. The downside? A mammoth deductible on claims.
Well,
that faux-pas may not only have cost Peppa her car and her job, but paying back
the damage to the boss’s vintage Lamborghini would seriously endanger her
ability to pay her mortgage. Not to mention she’d have to put her plans for an
overseas holiday on hold—a holiday that had been all about helping her mind and
emotions recover from the battering of the past few months.
“I
think he’s looking at you.”
Izzy’s
words broke Peppa’s reverie. And of course she looked up, across the room, only
to find her gaze colliding with the Head Honcho himself. Her heart hitched a
beat. Despite the distance she could see the roguish tilt of his lips, the
slight frown of his distinguished black brows and that his devilish licorice
eyes were trained on her. Dark-chocolate hair, speckled with naturally
sun-kissed spikes, framed a face so chiseled it could have been carved from
stone. A man so in-control of his world he had no reason to question it. Heat
flooded her cheeks and, not wanting to draw unnecessary attention, Peppa forced
herself to break her gaze.
If you’ve enjoyed this excerpt, you can read
the first chapter of ONE PERFECT NIGHT at Rachael’s website: http://www.rachaeljohns.com/pages/bookshelf.html
Or, you can buy the book at Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/One-Perfect-Night-ebook/dp/B005Z1CF2A/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1321790650&sr=1-1) or Carina Press (http://ebooks.carinapress.com/262D0727-23A2-4E9D-B75E-249FF29C76DF/10/134/en/ContentDetails.htm?ID=5BB8BC4C-4898-4073-8306-FECF92B5DC5B)
And to celebrate her debut release, Rachael is
blogging today at the following places, giving away a copy of ONE PERFECT NIGHT
at each spot:
AUTHOR BIO:
Rachael Johns is an English teacher by trade, a mum 24/7, a chronic
arachnophobic, a supermarket owner by day and a writer by night. She rarely
sleeps. Rachael received The Call from Angela James telling her Carina wanted
to publish her book on April Fools Day and, when she told her friends, half of
them wondered if it was a big joke. Luckily it wasn’t. As an active member of
Romance Writers of Australia, Rachael has finaled and placed in a number
of romance writing contests. Each success is uplifting and publication is her dream but even
if none of this happened, she’d still write. It’s a much better option than
ironing, which she refuses to partake in. Ever.
Thursday, December 15, 2011
The Magic Moment
It's a magic moment really. The moment when the manuscript you wrote with such excitement, the characters you thought were so fabulous, the conflict you just knew was SO different, the story you lovingly crafted into a work of art, suddenly turns to crap in the space of a second.
Something silly might have triggered it off. A sudden doubt about the reaction of your heroine. Or maybe the feeling that your hero's Big Secret is too big secrety. Or even the fact that you've never really got that ending parargraph just the way you like it. But whatever it is, something somewhere has abruptly rendered your story into a heap of steaming ordure.
If you think I'm going to tell you wonderful things about how to overcome that moment then you're sadly mistaken. I just wanted to complain about it. Mainly because my lovely chess ms, that I loved when I wrote my black moment, suddenly became The Worst Story in the History of the World. I don't know why. I suddenly thought that my hero was too dark. Too much of a b*stard. Too unsympathetic. There wasn't enough glamour in it to make it Presents. My heroine's conflict was waaaaay too light and unexplored, and she was also too shouty. The plot just dumb.
The crazy thing is that this all this could be true. I just don't know. All I know is that there came a moment where I fell out of love with it and wanted to rewrite the whole damn thing.
But I guess that's the moment where you either stop working on it and send it off. Or you put it away. Either action determines the worth of the story. Sending it away magically makes the story even worse than you thought it was. Putting it in the drawer somehow makes it fabulous again. Because when you take that story out and read it again after a week or four, it's amazing how amazing it turns out to be. And you wonder how you ever doubted it.
Then you send it off and it magically becomes crap again.
Writers are magicians.
So do you work your magic on your mss too? Or is it just me?
Something silly might have triggered it off. A sudden doubt about the reaction of your heroine. Or maybe the feeling that your hero's Big Secret is too big secrety. Or even the fact that you've never really got that ending parargraph just the way you like it. But whatever it is, something somewhere has abruptly rendered your story into a heap of steaming ordure.
If you think I'm going to tell you wonderful things about how to overcome that moment then you're sadly mistaken. I just wanted to complain about it. Mainly because my lovely chess ms, that I loved when I wrote my black moment, suddenly became The Worst Story in the History of the World. I don't know why. I suddenly thought that my hero was too dark. Too much of a b*stard. Too unsympathetic. There wasn't enough glamour in it to make it Presents. My heroine's conflict was waaaaay too light and unexplored, and she was also too shouty. The plot just dumb.
The crazy thing is that this all this could be true. I just don't know. All I know is that there came a moment where I fell out of love with it and wanted to rewrite the whole damn thing.
But I guess that's the moment where you either stop working on it and send it off. Or you put it away. Either action determines the worth of the story. Sending it away magically makes the story even worse than you thought it was. Putting it in the drawer somehow makes it fabulous again. Because when you take that story out and read it again after a week or four, it's amazing how amazing it turns out to be. And you wonder how you ever doubted it.
Then you send it off and it magically becomes crap again.
Writers are magicians.
So do you work your magic on your mss too? Or is it just me?
Friday, December 9, 2011
Checkmate
Yep, my chess player has finally been checkmated. Thank God. Here's a snapshot of some ms stats:
*Number of times entire ms rewritten - 3
*Number of times beginning rewritten - 6
*Size of 'deleted scenes' folder - 227k
*Number of times hero/heroine conflict changed - 3
*Number of times I wanted to kill hero/heroine - 20
*Number of tantrums pulled while writing - 50
*Number of times I wanted to give up in disgust - 100
*Number of times I DID give up in disgust - 100
*Number of times cried while writing - 5
*Number of working versions of present ms - 8
*Number of titles decided on - 0
So there we go. That's my chess player in a nutshell.
I know, some people are probably going to think I'm out of my tree for writing a chess playing hero. Probably some editors are going to think I'm out of my tree too. Perhaps I am. But one thing's for sure, I've learned a hell of a lot writing this monster, about conflict, about pacing, about tension, about character. And most especially, I've learned to be able to tell when I'm holding my characters back and not letting them do what they want to do.
Who knows if anyone bar the CPs will ever get to read it? I hope it gets somewhere. If not in print, then on screen. I really do. But at this point in time, I'm simply not able to assess anything about this story.
I don't know if it's good. I don't know if it's bad. I know I like it. I know I like my cold bastard hero and my stroppy, explosive heroine.
Perhaps at the moment that's enough.
*Number of times entire ms rewritten - 3
*Number of times beginning rewritten - 6
*Size of 'deleted scenes' folder - 227k
*Number of times hero/heroine conflict changed - 3
*Number of times I wanted to kill hero/heroine - 20
*Number of tantrums pulled while writing - 50
*Number of times I wanted to give up in disgust - 100
*Number of times I DID give up in disgust - 100
*Number of times cried while writing - 5
*Number of working versions of present ms - 8
*Number of titles decided on - 0
So there we go. That's my chess player in a nutshell.
I know, some people are probably going to think I'm out of my tree for writing a chess playing hero. Probably some editors are going to think I'm out of my tree too. Perhaps I am. But one thing's for sure, I've learned a hell of a lot writing this monster, about conflict, about pacing, about tension, about character. And most especially, I've learned to be able to tell when I'm holding my characters back and not letting them do what they want to do.
Who knows if anyone bar the CPs will ever get to read it? I hope it gets somewhere. If not in print, then on screen. I really do. But at this point in time, I'm simply not able to assess anything about this story.
I don't know if it's good. I don't know if it's bad. I know I like it. I know I like my cold bastard hero and my stroppy, explosive heroine.
Perhaps at the moment that's enough.
Monday, December 5, 2011
When Your Hero is a Complete *$%#&#
Okay, I'm admitting this up front - I love a good b*stard. I really, really do. I like reading about them and I loooove writing them. There's is something very satisfying about a sexy, arrogant SOB who gets his comeuppance at the hands of the heroine. The powerful, autocratic alpha male brought down by some cool chick who becomes his Achilles heel.
For me nothing beats the thrill of reading when the hero does something particularly b*stardy and you're going 'no way! Did he really say/do that???' And you're shocked because wow, what a b*stard, but secretly you're kind of thrilled because you never thought he'd go that far and yet he does.
Maybe you don't find that thrilling but I do. And I admire an author who manages to pull off the b*stard and yet make him believable and sympathetic. I think it's a very fine line and probably depends a lot on the reader. One woman's hot button is another's 'whatever'.
Anyway, I'm writing this post because of my chess player. He is, to be blunt, a b*stard. And he's a b*stard to write as well because his character is very black and white (imagery!), not to mention screwed up. He does things where I have that 'I can't believe you just did that' moment. And for the past few iterations of this ms, I have been trying to pull back on him because...well...I'm afraid. I don't want him to go there because it's not 'heroic' or sympathetic. And yet every time I stop him the ms goes haywire because he's not acting in character.
So eventually I decided to let him have his head and it's made for a very interesting ms. Especially the end, where I broke him down totally and I finally figured out why he acts the way he does. And that, I have to say, was another 'I can't believe you did that'! moment. Yes, the b*stard was holding out on me and only revealed his true infamy in the last chapter and it's something that I need to consider whether to pull back or let be. I'm hoping I can pull it off. Only time will tell.
But the interesting thing has been figuring out how I can pull off a good b*stard without making him too unsympathetic and here are a few things that I reckon you need to make your b*stard hero work (as always, take with a grain of salt because, y'know, unpublished etc).
1. Motivation - you MUST have good motivation for him to do the things he does. Just because he's angry and he's an alpha doesn't work. Because deep down he's a decent guy - he has to be, he's the hero. So there has to be a very good reason for why he doesn't act like a decent guy at times. We may not like what he does, but if we understand it,we're more likely to forgive him.
2. Show some humanity - you need a save the cat moment. A moment where the reader can see his innate decency. It can be something he says or, more often, something he does. I'm particularly a fan of something nice he does for the heroine.
3. The heroine must be his equal - now, I'm not saying she needs to be a b*tch to his b*stard. She may actually be a quiet kind of heroine. I think this depends on what he needs as a character. Does he need someone to stand up to him? Or does he really need someone who forces him to be gentle? What can she teach him? I quite like the heroine who doesn't get stroppy when he's being an a-hole but kind of calms him like a horse-whisperer calming a wild stallion. Hehe. However you do it, she needs to be strong enough not to take his crap.
4. At some point he has to recogrnise his b*stardy - nothing is more annoying that a hero who behaves like an ass and gets away with it. Here is where you need your heroine to call him on it. Maybe not immediately because b*stards take time to wear down after all, but at some point he HAS to recognise when he's being an ass. And an apology is always nice.
5. Break him - this is the part I find most satisfying. The heroine must break him down, strip away the b*stard mask he's hiding behind, and find the true hero he is underneath. Maisey Yates has done a fabulous post on black moments so go read it because what she says is so true. You cannot hold back when breaking these kind of heroes. The b*stard hero will hold on to his b*stardy till the bitter end. And that's mainly because it's the b*stards that have the deepest conflict. The most terrible of wounds. He'll hold onto his secrets extremely hard because he's SO terrified of confronting them.
6. Give us an ending where he's finally the hero he was always meant to be - mainly so we can see these guys have embraced the fact that they're actually decent men and can now act like it.
So that's my beginners guide to writing a b*stard. Anyone else got any great b*stard tips??
For me nothing beats the thrill of reading when the hero does something particularly b*stardy and you're going 'no way! Did he really say/do that???' And you're shocked because wow, what a b*stard, but secretly you're kind of thrilled because you never thought he'd go that far and yet he does.
Maybe you don't find that thrilling but I do. And I admire an author who manages to pull off the b*stard and yet make him believable and sympathetic. I think it's a very fine line and probably depends a lot on the reader. One woman's hot button is another's 'whatever'.
Anyway, I'm writing this post because of my chess player. He is, to be blunt, a b*stard. And he's a b*stard to write as well because his character is very black and white (imagery!), not to mention screwed up. He does things where I have that 'I can't believe you just did that' moment. And for the past few iterations of this ms, I have been trying to pull back on him because...well...I'm afraid. I don't want him to go there because it's not 'heroic' or sympathetic. And yet every time I stop him the ms goes haywire because he's not acting in character.
So eventually I decided to let him have his head and it's made for a very interesting ms. Especially the end, where I broke him down totally and I finally figured out why he acts the way he does. And that, I have to say, was another 'I can't believe you did that'! moment. Yes, the b*stard was holding out on me and only revealed his true infamy in the last chapter and it's something that I need to consider whether to pull back or let be. I'm hoping I can pull it off. Only time will tell.
But the interesting thing has been figuring out how I can pull off a good b*stard without making him too unsympathetic and here are a few things that I reckon you need to make your b*stard hero work (as always, take with a grain of salt because, y'know, unpublished etc).
1. Motivation - you MUST have good motivation for him to do the things he does. Just because he's angry and he's an alpha doesn't work. Because deep down he's a decent guy - he has to be, he's the hero. So there has to be a very good reason for why he doesn't act like a decent guy at times. We may not like what he does, but if we understand it,we're more likely to forgive him.
2. Show some humanity - you need a save the cat moment. A moment where the reader can see his innate decency. It can be something he says or, more often, something he does. I'm particularly a fan of something nice he does for the heroine.
3. The heroine must be his equal - now, I'm not saying she needs to be a b*tch to his b*stard. She may actually be a quiet kind of heroine. I think this depends on what he needs as a character. Does he need someone to stand up to him? Or does he really need someone who forces him to be gentle? What can she teach him? I quite like the heroine who doesn't get stroppy when he's being an a-hole but kind of calms him like a horse-whisperer calming a wild stallion. Hehe. However you do it, she needs to be strong enough not to take his crap.
4. At some point he has to recogrnise his b*stardy - nothing is more annoying that a hero who behaves like an ass and gets away with it. Here is where you need your heroine to call him on it. Maybe not immediately because b*stards take time to wear down after all, but at some point he HAS to recognise when he's being an ass. And an apology is always nice.
5. Break him - this is the part I find most satisfying. The heroine must break him down, strip away the b*stard mask he's hiding behind, and find the true hero he is underneath. Maisey Yates has done a fabulous post on black moments so go read it because what she says is so true. You cannot hold back when breaking these kind of heroes. The b*stard hero will hold on to his b*stardy till the bitter end. And that's mainly because it's the b*stards that have the deepest conflict. The most terrible of wounds. He'll hold onto his secrets extremely hard because he's SO terrified of confronting them.
6. Give us an ending where he's finally the hero he was always meant to be - mainly so we can see these guys have embraced the fact that they're actually decent men and can now act like it.
So that's my beginners guide to writing a b*stard. Anyone else got any great b*stard tips??
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Jackie Lays the Blame
So there I was, nursing my disappointments, holding on to them really tightly. And feeling tired and burned out and like it was all too hard. And I was doing really well, had my 'giving up' speech all prepared, the towel fully ready to be thrown in.
And then some wretched people decided to write me some lovely messages. Write some lovely supportive comments on this sorry excuse for a blog. Encouraging, horribly motivating messages. So imagine my surprise when I found myself deleting my 'giving up speech'. Picking up my towel. And more than, that, sitting down at my useless computer (it is useless, believe me, I hate the damn thing) and finishing the stupid story I've been slaving over for weeks.
You're all to blame. It's completely your fault. I would have given up. Truly.
But I'm afraid you guys talked me out of it.
So if you're sick of my moanings, my general carrying on about the vile hardships of being an unpublished writer searching for that lucky ten percent, my complaints about my characters, my tearings of hair and sackcloth and ashes when I get a rejection, then that's too bad. You've got only yourselves to blame.
And when - if! - I ever get that magic Call, you can fully blame yourselves for that too. God knows I will. Because you guys are pretty much the only reason I'm still here.
Well, okay, perhaps not that only reason. :-) I quite like writing too. And that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to keep writing because I love it. Because, basically, no matter what I decide, even when I'm languishing on the couch vowing and declaring that I'll Never Write Again, my brain decides to churn out another couple of story ideas. And if those couple of stories happen to turn up on editors desks then hey, nothing to do with me. I'm only writing because I like writing. Nothing to do with being published. Nothing at all. (okay, so it's a nice idea but I fear the execution may be harder than it looks).
Anyway, that's me. I'll be writing though perhaps not subbing. Still unpublished. But still here.
And then some wretched people decided to write me some lovely messages. Write some lovely supportive comments on this sorry excuse for a blog. Encouraging, horribly motivating messages. So imagine my surprise when I found myself deleting my 'giving up speech'. Picking up my towel. And more than, that, sitting down at my useless computer (it is useless, believe me, I hate the damn thing) and finishing the stupid story I've been slaving over for weeks.
You're all to blame. It's completely your fault. I would have given up. Truly.
But I'm afraid you guys talked me out of it.
So if you're sick of my moanings, my general carrying on about the vile hardships of being an unpublished writer searching for that lucky ten percent, my complaints about my characters, my tearings of hair and sackcloth and ashes when I get a rejection, then that's too bad. You've got only yourselves to blame.
And when - if! - I ever get that magic Call, you can fully blame yourselves for that too. God knows I will. Because you guys are pretty much the only reason I'm still here.
Well, okay, perhaps not that only reason. :-) I quite like writing too. And that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to keep writing because I love it. Because, basically, no matter what I decide, even when I'm languishing on the couch vowing and declaring that I'll Never Write Again, my brain decides to churn out another couple of story ideas. And if those couple of stories happen to turn up on editors desks then hey, nothing to do with me. I'm only writing because I like writing. Nothing to do with being published. Nothing at all. (okay, so it's a nice idea but I fear the execution may be harder than it looks).
Anyway, that's me. I'll be writing though perhaps not subbing. Still unpublished. But still here.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
The Ten Percent
This was meant to be a fabulous motivational post for but since this week has been disappointing writing-wise, I've kind of lost any motivational type attitude. Not that I had much to start with.
This year has been a hell of a year. Lots of very, very hard stuff to deal with. Lots of hard work put in. Don't get me wrong, I've learned a lot and the few successes I've had have been wonderful. But the sad fact is that there aren't enough successes to balance out all the crap.
It all comes down to that ten percent. If getting published is 30% talent, 30% hard work, 30% persistence, then that last 10% is luck. And you might have all the above but if you don't strike that last 10% you may as well not bother. Now, I don't think I'm a bad writer. I have some lovely contest successes as testament to the fact that people like what I write. And also lovely comments on the chapters I've written for New Voices. I know people would like to read what I write. This year I've also put in a lot of hard work to make my stories better. Learning craft has been difficult for me, applying it even harder. But I think I've made progress. And I've been pretty persistent. I've written over 10 books in the past couple of years - some twice!
But no one will get to read them if you don't get the 10%. Luck. The right editor, the right story, the right time. Some people hit it straight away. Some people don't. Guess which group I fit into? I don't set out to write bad stories. Every time I write a story I'm wanting to blow someone's socks off. But sadly, for me, the socks have stayed firmly on. I just haven't hit that 10% yet. And the sad truth of the matter is this: I may NEVER hit it. Because that's the beauty of luck.
At the moment, I feel like I'm going into a casino and playing the slots. I have had a few wins to keep me going - small returns to give the illusion you're succeeding - but no jackpot. Sometimes I don't get any in a row. Sometimes three. Once, I had four. Yet I keep missing out. And I'm getting to the bottom of the change in my cup. I could go get some more of course, but my bank account is on zero. I'm a gambling addict, betting what little confidence I have in my writing on a change in luck that may never happen.
Okay, so it might change. You never know. You might give up right before it happens for you! Well, I can safely say that is not the case now. It will not be happening for me in the near future. So I could actually give up now, safe in the knowledge that for the next year at least, I wouldn't have missed out on anything.
And you know what? I just don't know if I can do another year. My change cup is empty and so is my bank account. I've written books I was so confident in I was all but writing out my sale story, only to end in rejection. I've written books that I thought would never get anywhere that have won contests. So now I can't tell what's good anymore and what isn't. My instinct has gone. The vacuum of being unpublished has sucked it all away.
I've always been an emotional girl. Up and down, that's me. Writing just makes the downs more intense because I actually care too much about this thing. And as for the ups...well, there haven't been many. I wish I could detach myself. I wish I had a hard skin and could shrug off the downs. Maybe if I'd built up to it I would have. But I started off really well so that when the downs came, my skin wasn't thick enough to cope. Still isn't.
Anyway, this is a long-winded way of saying that at the end of the year, I'm going to have to sit down and reconsider whether I want to continue doing this. True, I haven't been doing this as long as many and if you've been doing this for years, I salute you.You are incredible people and I wish I had your staying power. But I'm not sure I do. I'm not sure I can keep gambling on the ten percent.
I was so hoping that my journey would end happily. That I would have a sale story to tell. But life doesn't happen that way. No matter how much we want something, no matter how much we think we deserve it, it doesn't mean we'll get it. Sometimes - unfortunately - there is no HEA.
This year has been a hell of a year. Lots of very, very hard stuff to deal with. Lots of hard work put in. Don't get me wrong, I've learned a lot and the few successes I've had have been wonderful. But the sad fact is that there aren't enough successes to balance out all the crap.
It all comes down to that ten percent. If getting published is 30% talent, 30% hard work, 30% persistence, then that last 10% is luck. And you might have all the above but if you don't strike that last 10% you may as well not bother. Now, I don't think I'm a bad writer. I have some lovely contest successes as testament to the fact that people like what I write. And also lovely comments on the chapters I've written for New Voices. I know people would like to read what I write. This year I've also put in a lot of hard work to make my stories better. Learning craft has been difficult for me, applying it even harder. But I think I've made progress. And I've been pretty persistent. I've written over 10 books in the past couple of years - some twice!
But no one will get to read them if you don't get the 10%. Luck. The right editor, the right story, the right time. Some people hit it straight away. Some people don't. Guess which group I fit into? I don't set out to write bad stories. Every time I write a story I'm wanting to blow someone's socks off. But sadly, for me, the socks have stayed firmly on. I just haven't hit that 10% yet. And the sad truth of the matter is this: I may NEVER hit it. Because that's the beauty of luck.
At the moment, I feel like I'm going into a casino and playing the slots. I have had a few wins to keep me going - small returns to give the illusion you're succeeding - but no jackpot. Sometimes I don't get any in a row. Sometimes three. Once, I had four. Yet I keep missing out. And I'm getting to the bottom of the change in my cup. I could go get some more of course, but my bank account is on zero. I'm a gambling addict, betting what little confidence I have in my writing on a change in luck that may never happen.
Okay, so it might change. You never know. You might give up right before it happens for you! Well, I can safely say that is not the case now. It will not be happening for me in the near future. So I could actually give up now, safe in the knowledge that for the next year at least, I wouldn't have missed out on anything.
And you know what? I just don't know if I can do another year. My change cup is empty and so is my bank account. I've written books I was so confident in I was all but writing out my sale story, only to end in rejection. I've written books that I thought would never get anywhere that have won contests. So now I can't tell what's good anymore and what isn't. My instinct has gone. The vacuum of being unpublished has sucked it all away.
I've always been an emotional girl. Up and down, that's me. Writing just makes the downs more intense because I actually care too much about this thing. And as for the ups...well, there haven't been many. I wish I could detach myself. I wish I had a hard skin and could shrug off the downs. Maybe if I'd built up to it I would have. But I started off really well so that when the downs came, my skin wasn't thick enough to cope. Still isn't.
Anyway, this is a long-winded way of saying that at the end of the year, I'm going to have to sit down and reconsider whether I want to continue doing this. True, I haven't been doing this as long as many and if you've been doing this for years, I salute you.You are incredible people and I wish I had your staying power. But I'm not sure I do. I'm not sure I can keep gambling on the ten percent.
I was so hoping that my journey would end happily. That I would have a sale story to tell. But life doesn't happen that way. No matter how much we want something, no matter how much we think we deserve it, it doesn't mean we'll get it. Sometimes - unfortunately - there is no HEA.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
In Which Jackie Waves a Big Stick
It's always the way. You come back from holiday and life kind of descends on you like the 1000 tonne ACME weight descends on the coyote from Roadrunner. Actually, I shouldn't complain (though I am, obviously), because spending four days down in Queenstown, in a beautiful hotel, isn't something to complain about. It's just the coming back that sucks. Especially when motivation to write is thin on the ground.
It's not that I'm not liking my story. I am. I'm loving writing it. I'm just having a 'what's the freaking point?' moment. The moment all unpublished authors get when there is no prospect of your story being accepted today, or tommorrow, or even at any point in the near future. When, in all probability, it will be rejected just like all the rest of your submissions. When no one cares if you finish it or not because you have no deadlines. No slavering readers desperate for your next title. You have no one except your CPs (if you have CPS) and though you love them dearly some days even they are not enough.
Depressing.
So, any of you having the same problem as me? Are you feeling like there's no point finishing your story? Because if you are, if you need some motivation, if you need Jackie to wave a big stick and tell you to get off your butt and finish the damn book, let me know. Give me a deadline. And I'll write a blog post expressly designed to make you get those words down.
Why? Because I care. Because I want you to finish your book. I want you to edit it. I want you to submit it. Because after all, I am you. And if you don't, why the hell should I? :-)
It's not that I'm not liking my story. I am. I'm loving writing it. I'm just having a 'what's the freaking point?' moment. The moment all unpublished authors get when there is no prospect of your story being accepted today, or tommorrow, or even at any point in the near future. When, in all probability, it will be rejected just like all the rest of your submissions. When no one cares if you finish it or not because you have no deadlines. No slavering readers desperate for your next title. You have no one except your CPs (if you have CPS) and though you love them dearly some days even they are not enough.
Depressing.
So, any of you having the same problem as me? Are you feeling like there's no point finishing your story? Because if you are, if you need some motivation, if you need Jackie to wave a big stick and tell you to get off your butt and finish the damn book, let me know. Give me a deadline. And I'll write a blog post expressly designed to make you get those words down.
Why? Because I care. Because I want you to finish your book. I want you to edit it. I want you to submit it. Because after all, I am you. And if you don't, why the hell should I? :-)
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
The Joy of Rewrites
It should come as no surprise to any of you that my approach to writing is rather emotional (I approach the rest of life rather emotionally as well, not just writing but that's an entirely different story).
So when something is wrong with a story, EVERYTHING else is wrong too. The kids are a nuisance, the husband is a git, the house is a tip. Life itself becomes one giant pain.
But, on the other side of the coin, when the story is going right, EVERYTHING else is just fabulous. The kids are well behaved, the husband is a doll, the house is spotless. Nothing is a problem.
Anyway, as you can imagine from my last couple of posts, I have encompassed the full emotional spectrum due to my wretched stories and I'm sure my family would now like to lock me away if only for a bit of peace and quiet.
However, I'm sure they'll be relieved to know that - for the moment - I'm okay. Because I've just spent the entire weekend rewriting the beginning of the story that gave me such a wonderful 'aha' moment about the heroine. I knew it needed to be done because although the beginning I had was okay - my CPs liked it - I still felt funny about it. Couldn't put my finger on why. Couldn't really even articulate the specific problem. Perhaps there was too much setup. Too much going on. Too busy. Whatever it was, I just had a funny feeling about it (cue the 'I hate the rest of my life too' moans).
Now, when it comes to rewriting, there are two schools of thought (or possibly more but I can't think of any others right now). You either don't need to rewrite as much as you think. Or you should rewrite entirely. Although the former can be very attractive after you've spent months crafting the perfect ms, the latter, for me at least, can be exactly what you need.
Maisey Yates gave me the best advice - rewriting entirely can help you break out of the cage you've written yourself into. It's hard but it feels like you're starting over and that can give you a lot of freedom. It was certainly the best thing for this particular ms. I rewrote chapters 2 and 3 completely. Different things happened. They didn't go out, they stayed in. The kiss I had happening at the end of chapter 3 didn't occur. It was like writing a whole new reality for them. But the best thing was allowing myself the freedom to let the characters be who they were, not me trying to impose what I thought they should do on them (which, I figure, was the problem with the original iteration) or what was good for the plot I had planned.
Anyway, the sum total of this is that now, having rewritten, I no longer have that funny feeling about the beginning. It's not perfect and it may not be at all what the editors want. But it feels more true to the characters than the earlier one. In fact, it's a beginning I'm not sure I could rewrite again since what I've already got is IT.
In Chez Ashenden, all is now right with the world. At least until I run into the next story problem. :-)
So, when you run into a writing problem, what do you do? Pull your hair? Scream at the kids? Throw the computer through the window? Or rewrite?
So when something is wrong with a story, EVERYTHING else is wrong too. The kids are a nuisance, the husband is a git, the house is a tip. Life itself becomes one giant pain.
But, on the other side of the coin, when the story is going right, EVERYTHING else is just fabulous. The kids are well behaved, the husband is a doll, the house is spotless. Nothing is a problem.
Anyway, as you can imagine from my last couple of posts, I have encompassed the full emotional spectrum due to my wretched stories and I'm sure my family would now like to lock me away if only for a bit of peace and quiet.
However, I'm sure they'll be relieved to know that - for the moment - I'm okay. Because I've just spent the entire weekend rewriting the beginning of the story that gave me such a wonderful 'aha' moment about the heroine. I knew it needed to be done because although the beginning I had was okay - my CPs liked it - I still felt funny about it. Couldn't put my finger on why. Couldn't really even articulate the specific problem. Perhaps there was too much setup. Too much going on. Too busy. Whatever it was, I just had a funny feeling about it (cue the 'I hate the rest of my life too' moans).
Now, when it comes to rewriting, there are two schools of thought (or possibly more but I can't think of any others right now). You either don't need to rewrite as much as you think. Or you should rewrite entirely. Although the former can be very attractive after you've spent months crafting the perfect ms, the latter, for me at least, can be exactly what you need.
Maisey Yates gave me the best advice - rewriting entirely can help you break out of the cage you've written yourself into. It's hard but it feels like you're starting over and that can give you a lot of freedom. It was certainly the best thing for this particular ms. I rewrote chapters 2 and 3 completely. Different things happened. They didn't go out, they stayed in. The kiss I had happening at the end of chapter 3 didn't occur. It was like writing a whole new reality for them. But the best thing was allowing myself the freedom to let the characters be who they were, not me trying to impose what I thought they should do on them (which, I figure, was the problem with the original iteration) or what was good for the plot I had planned.
Anyway, the sum total of this is that now, having rewritten, I no longer have that funny feeling about the beginning. It's not perfect and it may not be at all what the editors want. But it feels more true to the characters than the earlier one. In fact, it's a beginning I'm not sure I could rewrite again since what I've already got is IT.
In Chez Ashenden, all is now right with the world. At least until I run into the next story problem. :-)
So, when you run into a writing problem, what do you do? Pull your hair? Scream at the kids? Throw the computer through the window? Or rewrite?
Friday, November 4, 2011
Crash
It was inevitable. What goes up must, at some stage, go down. Yeah, the drug that was the character high has now worn off. Big time. Everything is as it was - crap. Oh, not entire crap because I still have had that great character revelation and I still feel good about it. I just need to rewrite the rest of the story. Completely.
So. Awesome.
I guess that's the 'wonderful' thing about writing. One minute you cannot believe the power of your fantastic brain. The next you cannot believe the power of your own ability to convince yourself anything you write is actually good.
And it doesn't help that - for the unpublisheds among us - we are essentially writing in a vacuum. Oh, we have critique partners and other people to read our work and give feedback but once we send that baby away, we're looking at months and months of waiting without any clue about whether we headed down the right track or whether once again, we've been gullible about what we've been writing.
We have no reason to keep going in other words. No reason to keep writing. Certainly no reason to keep rewriting. With no deadlines, no rabid fans clamouring to read your next book, nothing to keep you motivated, it's extremely hard to think of reasons why you should even finish the book you're currently writing (cos no one will EVER read it right??).
Sometimes loving writing just isn't enough.
So how do you keep yourself going when you're in the vacuum? When you're doing nothing but waiting? When you're not sure if the stories you're writing are complete crap or genius? How do you keep the faith?
Any tips gratefully received!
So. Awesome.
I guess that's the 'wonderful' thing about writing. One minute you cannot believe the power of your fantastic brain. The next you cannot believe the power of your own ability to convince yourself anything you write is actually good.
And it doesn't help that - for the unpublisheds among us - we are essentially writing in a vacuum. Oh, we have critique partners and other people to read our work and give feedback but once we send that baby away, we're looking at months and months of waiting without any clue about whether we headed down the right track or whether once again, we've been gullible about what we've been writing.
We have no reason to keep going in other words. No reason to keep writing. Certainly no reason to keep rewriting. With no deadlines, no rabid fans clamouring to read your next book, nothing to keep you motivated, it's extremely hard to think of reasons why you should even finish the book you're currently writing (cos no one will EVER read it right??).
Sometimes loving writing just isn't enough.
So how do you keep yourself going when you're in the vacuum? When you're doing nothing but waiting? When you're not sure if the stories you're writing are complete crap or genius? How do you keep the faith?
Any tips gratefully received!
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Epic Moments - The Joys of Pantsing
Do you ever have moments when the scene you're writing suddenly becomes epic? When you know absolutely that THIS scene is a pivotal moment in your book? A scene that totally makes the rest of the story? A scene that is so powerful that you just know you're gonna have to rewrite the rest of the book because you didn't really understand the conflict of either character until that point?
Well, I had a moment like that over the weekend. There I was, writing a love scene, and it suddenly began to evolve in a way I hadn't really considered before. An incredibly powerful way. It became a scene where conflict, character and romance all met and melded together perfectly. Where the love scene and the way it happened became so absolutely pivotal that if you took it out of the story, if had happened in another way, there would be no HEA (yeah, I know, ALL love scenes are supposed to do that but we won't go there). I don't think I've ever written a scene quite like it. And you know what? When I was writing it I thought 'man, this scene could sell the book'.
Now some of the plotters among you may be thinking, 'Jackie, seriously? You did not not see this coming??' And the answer to that is no, I did not. I guess it's a pantser thing. I mean, I knew the characters conflict before I started but I did not know the details and I did not know 'how' the characters would help each other resolve it. It's like breeding two distinct species of animal then putting them in a cage together and standing back to see what happens.
Anyway, I gotta tell you, it's a rush. It's the kind of moment I live for when I write, and I haven't had too many of those lately. Especially good seeing as how the rest of the story has been a b*tch to write. It kind of made all the crap I was writing beforehand all worthwhile just to get to this particular scene. I may not sell the book of course but if not, it still would have been worth the experience of writing it just for this scene alone. Because if I can do it once, I can do it again.
So, does this ever happen to you? Have you written scenes you can't believe you actually wrote? Or had a scene turn out so differently from what you expected that you're left sitting dumbstruck by the awesome brilliance of your own brain?? :-)
Well, I had a moment like that over the weekend. There I was, writing a love scene, and it suddenly began to evolve in a way I hadn't really considered before. An incredibly powerful way. It became a scene where conflict, character and romance all met and melded together perfectly. Where the love scene and the way it happened became so absolutely pivotal that if you took it out of the story, if had happened in another way, there would be no HEA (yeah, I know, ALL love scenes are supposed to do that but we won't go there). I don't think I've ever written a scene quite like it. And you know what? When I was writing it I thought 'man, this scene could sell the book'.
Now some of the plotters among you may be thinking, 'Jackie, seriously? You did not not see this coming??' And the answer to that is no, I did not. I guess it's a pantser thing. I mean, I knew the characters conflict before I started but I did not know the details and I did not know 'how' the characters would help each other resolve it. It's like breeding two distinct species of animal then putting them in a cage together and standing back to see what happens.
Anyway, I gotta tell you, it's a rush. It's the kind of moment I live for when I write, and I haven't had too many of those lately. Especially good seeing as how the rest of the story has been a b*tch to write. It kind of made all the crap I was writing beforehand all worthwhile just to get to this particular scene. I may not sell the book of course but if not, it still would have been worth the experience of writing it just for this scene alone. Because if I can do it once, I can do it again.
So, does this ever happen to you? Have you written scenes you can't believe you actually wrote? Or had a scene turn out so differently from what you expected that you're left sitting dumbstruck by the awesome brilliance of your own brain?? :-)
Friday, October 28, 2011
Nothing to Say So Here's a Picture of a Man Instead
Iam feeling generally unenthused about everything at the moment, most especially writing. Oh, don't get me wrong, I always write. Every day, mostly. But the writing has become a bit of a battle lately and nothing's going right.
So to save you all from a fantastic vent, I am posting a nice pic of a nice man instead. I've posted him before but I think he's worth a second glance. He is my inspiration for my chessplayer hero, which I am now in the process of rewriting from Riva to Presents. And considering how much easier it is to write as a Presents, it probably means I've been aiming this story at the wrong line.
Bah.
Bah.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
A Post About Rugby (No, Really)
If you had told me two weeks ago I would be writing a blog post about rugby I would have told you you were mad. I am not a ruby fan. I never watch it. I know the ball is oval, that you need to score a try to earn points and that you can earn more points by kicking a goal. I know that the big huddle of men on the field is called a scrum. But that's it. Up until yesterday, I didn't even know that the first five eight is a position, not the first man who's over 5'8. :-)
This is unheard of for a NZ'er. Especially during the World Cup. What world cup you ask? Well, the Rugby World Cup. It's kind of a big deal here because we've been hosting it (no, not me personally though I could use the $100 million or so revenue that's apparently been generated). Plus the fact that we are a really tiny country and rugby is just about the only team sport we can compete on the world stage and stand a good chance of actually winning. Which we did on Sunday night.
Now, as I said, I never watch rugby but it was difficult to get away from the final game since we were in it and we were supposed to walk all over poor, old France. In actual fact, France nearly walked all over us. I could not watch the game. Jackie, who actively dislikes rugby, could not watch it because I was too damn nervous. In fact, it was ridiculous how invested I was in this game. I played computer games while trying to ignore the howls from the living room, my little heart leaping every time there was a cheer.
What's this got to do with writing? Hang on, I'm getting there. Anyway, we finally won. By one point. And I was watching the commentary afterwards and hearing what they were saying and thinking, wow, this game is a little like writing for publication. The same nervousness (as you wait on a submission), the same grim determination to hang on when everything looks like another big rejection, the same sense of helplessness when the other team score....
And then the commentary started talking about this one, particular All Black. Two weeks earlier, Stephen Donald had been watching the cup on TV, having a beer and doing a spot of whitebaiting (fish, if you don't know what whitebait are). He wasn't in the Cup squad and had been told pretty firmly he wouldn't be either. And yet two weeks before the big final, due to injuries concerning other players, he got a couple of calls on his mobile - which he didn't answer because he was too busy with his whitebait. Eventually when he did, the news was that he had been called up onto the squad. Then on the night, after more injuries, and he was called onto the field. Then he kicked the goal that earned us the Cup. From zero to hero in two weeks.
The commentary afterwards talked a lot about Stephen Donald. About how, when you think it's all over, when the country has forgotten you, opportunities can come along and you can suddenly find yourself right in the middle of it again. That these opportunities come when you least expect them to. Apparently sport is full of these moments, but, from what I hear from other writers, writing is like this too. That right when you least expect it, when you've got your hundredth rejection, something comes round the corner that you never thought would happen.
I hope that's the case. Because right now, I'm feeling a little like Stephen Donald. I'm sitting on my couch with my beer (no whitebait though cos I hate fish. Okay and replace the beer with a martini, cos I don't like that either!). I'm watching the Cup on telly and cheering everyone else on, wishing I was there too and wondering if I've missed my chance. I hope not cos unlike Stephen Donald, I have been training really, really hard. And one thing's for certain - if the call ever comes, I won't be too busy fishing to answer it. :-)
This is unheard of for a NZ'er. Especially during the World Cup. What world cup you ask? Well, the Rugby World Cup. It's kind of a big deal here because we've been hosting it (no, not me personally though I could use the $100 million or so revenue that's apparently been generated). Plus the fact that we are a really tiny country and rugby is just about the only team sport we can compete on the world stage and stand a good chance of actually winning. Which we did on Sunday night.
Now, as I said, I never watch rugby but it was difficult to get away from the final game since we were in it and we were supposed to walk all over poor, old France. In actual fact, France nearly walked all over us. I could not watch the game. Jackie, who actively dislikes rugby, could not watch it because I was too damn nervous. In fact, it was ridiculous how invested I was in this game. I played computer games while trying to ignore the howls from the living room, my little heart leaping every time there was a cheer.
What's this got to do with writing? Hang on, I'm getting there. Anyway, we finally won. By one point. And I was watching the commentary afterwards and hearing what they were saying and thinking, wow, this game is a little like writing for publication. The same nervousness (as you wait on a submission), the same grim determination to hang on when everything looks like another big rejection, the same sense of helplessness when the other team score....
And then the commentary started talking about this one, particular All Black. Two weeks earlier, Stephen Donald had been watching the cup on TV, having a beer and doing a spot of whitebaiting (fish, if you don't know what whitebait are). He wasn't in the Cup squad and had been told pretty firmly he wouldn't be either. And yet two weeks before the big final, due to injuries concerning other players, he got a couple of calls on his mobile - which he didn't answer because he was too busy with his whitebait. Eventually when he did, the news was that he had been called up onto the squad. Then on the night, after more injuries, and he was called onto the field. Then he kicked the goal that earned us the Cup. From zero to hero in two weeks.
The commentary afterwards talked a lot about Stephen Donald. About how, when you think it's all over, when the country has forgotten you, opportunities can come along and you can suddenly find yourself right in the middle of it again. That these opportunities come when you least expect them to. Apparently sport is full of these moments, but, from what I hear from other writers, writing is like this too. That right when you least expect it, when you've got your hundredth rejection, something comes round the corner that you never thought would happen.
I hope that's the case. Because right now, I'm feeling a little like Stephen Donald. I'm sitting on my couch with my beer (no whitebait though cos I hate fish. Okay and replace the beer with a martini, cos I don't like that either!). I'm watching the Cup on telly and cheering everyone else on, wishing I was there too and wondering if I've missed my chance. I hope not cos unlike Stephen Donald, I have been training really, really hard. And one thing's for certain - if the call ever comes, I won't be too busy fishing to answer it. :-)
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Calm the $%* Down - Tips for the Over-Optimistic Writer
I am an optimist. No, really, I am. "But you run your subs down ALL the time!'' I hear my CPs shout. It's true, I do that. But that's just a cunning front. Because deep inside, I am an honest to God, genuine, over-the-top optimist. And not in a 'I think my sub isn't too bad and perhaps I might get a request for more this time' way. In a 'OMG, what if the editor loves this SO MUCH she calls me before she's even finished the first page and offers me a million dollar contract right there and then???' way.
It's giant pain in the butt. Every single time I send out a sub or enter a contest, this little piping voice is going "Hey hey hey! What if...???" And no matter how I try to ignore it, some part of me is nodding and thinking, 'yeah...wouldn't that be awesome?' So when I actually get the 'This submission is so bad, my dog could write it better than you'* letter it is GUTTING. Because although I tell myself it's fine, deep down I'm envisaging movie rights and Angelina Jolie in the title role. It sucks and so I have to stomp on this little voice because all the things its telling me are Never. Going. To. Happen.
However, the problem with this is that then you start sounding negative about everything due to the fact that you're constantly talking yourself down. And you don't really want to be doing that either. So what can you do about it? How to deal with the disappointment?
Well, I have taken the liberty of compiling a little list (warning, use at your own risk):
1. Knock your head repeatedly against a wall until a) the voice shuts up or b) you knock yourself unconscious.
2. Compromise. If it will stop telling you the editors are SO going to ring you at 3am to tell you how much they love it and are going to publish it RIGHT NOW, then you'll stop trying to tell it that in fact the editors will be sending YOU a request letter requesting that you never submit to them again.
3. Let it have its fun. Listen to its siren songs. Then go off and have as martinis as you need to forget you ever listened to it in the first place.
4. Stick your fingers in your ears, sing 'lalalala' loudly until you can't hear it anymore.
5. Book yourself into a nice little hospital for a nice little 'rest'.
6. Give into it. Believe everything it says. Then write rejection letters to publishers rejecting their rejections.
7. Pack it up in a box labelled 'Satan', push it to the back of your mind, and get lost in writing your next book.
Okay, so is this sounding as mad as I think it does? Or does anyone else out there have OTT Optimists that need settling down too?
*Not an actual quote from an actual rejection in case you were wondering.
It's giant pain in the butt. Every single time I send out a sub or enter a contest, this little piping voice is going "Hey hey hey! What if...???" And no matter how I try to ignore it, some part of me is nodding and thinking, 'yeah...wouldn't that be awesome?' So when I actually get the 'This submission is so bad, my dog could write it better than you'* letter it is GUTTING. Because although I tell myself it's fine, deep down I'm envisaging movie rights and Angelina Jolie in the title role. It sucks and so I have to stomp on this little voice because all the things its telling me are Never. Going. To. Happen.
However, the problem with this is that then you start sounding negative about everything due to the fact that you're constantly talking yourself down. And you don't really want to be doing that either. So what can you do about it? How to deal with the disappointment?
Well, I have taken the liberty of compiling a little list (warning, use at your own risk):
1. Knock your head repeatedly against a wall until a) the voice shuts up or b) you knock yourself unconscious.
2. Compromise. If it will stop telling you the editors are SO going to ring you at 3am to tell you how much they love it and are going to publish it RIGHT NOW, then you'll stop trying to tell it that in fact the editors will be sending YOU a request letter requesting that you never submit to them again.
3. Let it have its fun. Listen to its siren songs. Then go off and have as martinis as you need to forget you ever listened to it in the first place.
4. Stick your fingers in your ears, sing 'lalalala' loudly until you can't hear it anymore.
5. Book yourself into a nice little hospital for a nice little 'rest'.
6. Give into it. Believe everything it says. Then write rejection letters to publishers rejecting their rejections.
7. Pack it up in a box labelled 'Satan', push it to the back of your mind, and get lost in writing your next book.
Okay, so is this sounding as mad as I think it does? Or does anyone else out there have OTT Optimists that need settling down too?
*Not an actual quote from an actual rejection in case you were wondering.
Monday, October 17, 2011
The Dog Ate My Blog Post
Because school holidays have ruined my career as a wanna-be romance novelist, not to mention keeping this blog up to date, I'm taking the easy way out post-wise and directing your attention to the Sisters' site where I have a post about emotion up there. It's one I was going to do for here but since I forgot it was my turn to do a post and considering that dogs can't really eat blog posts (I don't have a dog anyway), I had no excuse but to sacrifice it to my Sisters. It's on emotion in conflict and also has a totally gratuitous picture of Magnum PI.
If that doesn't float your boat and music is more your bag, then go here where, for your veiwing pleasure the lovely Maisey Yates covers an Adele song. She can write, she can sing...Is there anything this woman can't do?? :-)
If that doesn't float your boat and music is more your bag, then go here where, for your veiwing pleasure the lovely Maisey Yates covers an Adele song. She can write, she can sing...Is there anything this woman can't do?? :-)
Monday, October 10, 2011
A Budgie Called Doris - The Perils of Backstory
I am consistently amazed by how little backstory you need in a first chapter. I know! Who'd have thunk it? But it's true. The reader does not need to know as much you think they do.
The reason I'm concerned with backstory is that I've been wrestling with the beginning of this chess ms and as I was reading over the last few iterations, I realised something. I've fallen into the old backstory trap too. As in detailing EVERYTHING that has led up to the moment my hero and heroine meet. Oh, I tried to kind of feed it in all subtle-like but there were still paragraphs of explanation. Paragraphs, people! And fundamentally none of those paragraphs needed to be there.
As a friend of mine shared with me last week, a bit of advice she had from somone else - you need to start the story when the water boils. You do not need to start with the heroine choosing the pot. Deciding whether to use hot or cold water. Finding the right top for the pot. Turning on the element. Putting it on the stove. Setting the timer....etc, etc. Get the idea?
It's very tempting to put everything in that first chapter. Because you know all about your characters and they're so interesting, you want the reader to be interested too. Plus you think it's vital that the reader knows the set-up otherwise how will they understand what's going on? Actually, readers (and I say this completely as a reader) are very forgiving with setup. If the story grips them immediately, they're not going to worry about why the bad guy is chasing the hero. Or why the heroine's company is going down the tubes. They'll trust you to explain it eventually. All they need to know is that the bad is chasing the hero and that the heroine's company is going down. What they want to know is what does the hero/heroine do about it? At least, that's what I want to know.
Say, for example, you have a hero whose major conflict is that he had a budgie called Doris who died in a tragic birdbath accident because he left her cage open once when he was a boy. He never got over it and now he refuses to love anything for fear of losing them and also has a terrible fear of water. Now, say your opening chapter starts with his goal of wanting to buy the heroine's bird sanctuary. But she doesn't want to sell for reasons of her own. Now, you could start this with the hero talking to a colleague about how he's tried to buy up all the bird sanctuaries in the area but hasn't managed to land this one. Or you could start it with the hero musing moodily out the window about how this tricky heroine has manage to elude him yet again. Or you could start it with him looking in the mirror and reflecting on how handsome everyone tells him he is but he doesn't think so but he kind of likes the way the light shines on the artfully messy spikes of his blue-black hair ( do NOT do this one btw).
Or you could start it with the hero having to row a boat over a lake to get to the heroine's house so he can talk to her in person.
Hint: three of these starts are detailing putting the pot on to boil. One of them is the pot boiling.
In the fourth, in one fell swoop, you have the hero trying to overcome a fear (conflict) to get the sanctuary (goal) because he's a perfectionist and he has all the sanctuaries in the area and this is the last one on his list (motivation). You don't need to go into the reasons why this is. All the reader needs to know is the above. Of course they'll be thinking 'why is he rowing?' 'Why can't he just call her?' 'Why does this matter to him?' But that's all stuff that will become clear in the story as you go on.
Anyway, that's probably a very bad example, but I reckon a good excercise to do is to take out ALL the backstory in your first chapter, then read it as if you don't know these characters or their story. Then put back only what you need in order to make sense of it. Nothing else. The rest you can feed in as and when you need it later.
Easy eh?
*Jackie rubs hands as another writing problem is easily solved* * contemplates rejections*
*gives up and tries macrame instead*
The reason I'm concerned with backstory is that I've been wrestling with the beginning of this chess ms and as I was reading over the last few iterations, I realised something. I've fallen into the old backstory trap too. As in detailing EVERYTHING that has led up to the moment my hero and heroine meet. Oh, I tried to kind of feed it in all subtle-like but there were still paragraphs of explanation. Paragraphs, people! And fundamentally none of those paragraphs needed to be there.
As a friend of mine shared with me last week, a bit of advice she had from somone else - you need to start the story when the water boils. You do not need to start with the heroine choosing the pot. Deciding whether to use hot or cold water. Finding the right top for the pot. Turning on the element. Putting it on the stove. Setting the timer....etc, etc. Get the idea?
It's very tempting to put everything in that first chapter. Because you know all about your characters and they're so interesting, you want the reader to be interested too. Plus you think it's vital that the reader knows the set-up otherwise how will they understand what's going on? Actually, readers (and I say this completely as a reader) are very forgiving with setup. If the story grips them immediately, they're not going to worry about why the bad guy is chasing the hero. Or why the heroine's company is going down the tubes. They'll trust you to explain it eventually. All they need to know is that the bad is chasing the hero and that the heroine's company is going down. What they want to know is what does the hero/heroine do about it? At least, that's what I want to know.
Say, for example, you have a hero whose major conflict is that he had a budgie called Doris who died in a tragic birdbath accident because he left her cage open once when he was a boy. He never got over it and now he refuses to love anything for fear of losing them and also has a terrible fear of water. Now, say your opening chapter starts with his goal of wanting to buy the heroine's bird sanctuary. But she doesn't want to sell for reasons of her own. Now, you could start this with the hero talking to a colleague about how he's tried to buy up all the bird sanctuaries in the area but hasn't managed to land this one. Or you could start it with the hero musing moodily out the window about how this tricky heroine has manage to elude him yet again. Or you could start it with him looking in the mirror and reflecting on how handsome everyone tells him he is but he doesn't think so but he kind of likes the way the light shines on the artfully messy spikes of his blue-black hair ( do NOT do this one btw).
Or you could start it with the hero having to row a boat over a lake to get to the heroine's house so he can talk to her in person.
Hint: three of these starts are detailing putting the pot on to boil. One of them is the pot boiling.
In the fourth, in one fell swoop, you have the hero trying to overcome a fear (conflict) to get the sanctuary (goal) because he's a perfectionist and he has all the sanctuaries in the area and this is the last one on his list (motivation). You don't need to go into the reasons why this is. All the reader needs to know is the above. Of course they'll be thinking 'why is he rowing?' 'Why can't he just call her?' 'Why does this matter to him?' But that's all stuff that will become clear in the story as you go on.
Anyway, that's probably a very bad example, but I reckon a good excercise to do is to take out ALL the backstory in your first chapter, then read it as if you don't know these characters or their story. Then put back only what you need in order to make sense of it. Nothing else. The rest you can feed in as and when you need it later.
Easy eh?
*Jackie rubs hands as another writing problem is easily solved* * contemplates rejections*
*gives up and tries macrame instead*
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