Write On!

Out of Thin Air

2006-08-18T02:29:00.000-04:00

After a recent burst of creative lighting, I started thinking about the strange way ideas sometimes come to me. I've had dreams of complete scenes and occasional flashes of almost still life images. Inspiration has burst on me while watching television leaving me scrambling for paper and pen. Sometimes wondering what happened to this character or that character sets my imagination spinning a tale. And my cat inspired an entire story. Her behavior set the scene for an unusual introduction between heroes and heroine. I've found inspiration in pictures, letters and most recently in email.

So what was the strangest thing or event to have inspired you?

Who doesn't like bling? Contest!

2006-07-08T22:10:00.000-04:00

Come celebrate the opening of Liddy Midnight's newly redesigned web site!

Throughout the month of July, each time you post a comment on my new blog, you will have another chance to win one of a variety of charm bracelets, themed to my stories! You could be jingling a Blue Moon, Fire and Ice, Yellow Butterfly, Black Dragon or spectrum Elementals bracelet on your wrist. All of these will be awarded, each one to a different lucky winner. Oh, and don't forget her newest design, a Purple Passion bracelet that matches the new site design. Winners will be announced in the August issue of The Stroke, Liddy's newsletter.

Along with the redesigned site, I have a new format for her newsletter, The Stroke. One charm bracelet, winner's choice, will be given away to one lucky newsletter subscriber at the end of July! The winner will be announced in the August issue.

Good luck!

Popular. I'll help you be popular.

2006-06-23T13:34:00.000-04:00

At my writers' workshop last night, one of the attendees had a question about promotion. Someone had written to him, offering to promote his book, for the modest sum of $20,000. With no guarantees that anything would come of it. And he wanted to know if I felt that was a reasonable deal.

Good grief, no! That is the deal of someone trying to sucker money out of the dreams and hopes of independently published authors. (Presumably, since one of their services is to redesign your book cover, they are marketing to independents.)

So here, for those of you unfamiliar with the basics of promotion, is some help identifying a reasonable deal.

Writer Beware offers a list of common scam services (pre-publication publicity???), as well as what questions to ask to determine if someone offering one of the other services is legitimate.

There are a number of very good publicists who specialize in promoting fiction novels. Two I know of personally, because I know authors who have hired them and been highly satisfied with their work, are Theresa Meyers of Blue Moon Communications (who has lots of do-it-yourself publicity articles for authors on a budget) and Nancy Berland (who used to have great articles about what publicists did on her website, but it appears to be down for a redesign at the moment). Working with a publicist of this caliber, you could expect to drop a few thousand dollars for each effort. Theresa lists her rates by sample project on her site. If I recall correctly from Nancy's former site, she suggested $2,000 for an initial outlay, where the author's brand, image, and message were developed, and a publicity plan created, then up to $10,000 to implement that plan, depending on scope and duration.

There are also pay-for-placement publicists. These vary from the low end, where $60 can get you into a database of radio guests (and you're likely to be doing AM talk radio programs at odd hours, unless you're already famous for some reason), up to the high end like Annie Jennings PR, who routinely gets people placed in national media. If what you want is to be interviewed on national TV, she offers media training to make sure you don't blow your opportunity, then gets you on national TV (no, she can't promise Oprah). She also has a bunch of free, downloadable publicity seminars on her website. Her tips about sound bites helped me when I was preparing my RWA speech last year, and I suspect is one of the reasons I got not one, but two!, clips of my presentation included in the CBS Sunday Morning segment about the conference. So, while you could easily end up spending $20,000 for services like hers, at least you'd be guaranteed results (or you wouldn't owe her any money).

Finally, when making any decision, consider ... if the publicist you're interested in hiring does a good job, their current stable of clients will continue hiring them for all their future publicity needs. They will be taking on very few new clients. If a publicist is actively soliciting business with mass-mailings to authors, that means their former clients are no longer using their services.

Overcoming the inner procrastinator

2006-04-06T22:51:00.000-04:00

I'm a procrastinator at times. While slogging through a tough scene, it's too easy to allow myself to be distracted by the TV or even housework. I've learned a few things that help me combat the tendency to wander around the house looking for something to do.

Set reasonable goals. For me, these are daily goals. Today's goals--Go over one chapter of rewrites of my Zarain shapeshifter novel, otherwise known as The Book without a Title. Work on Dragon-Vamp book, get voyeur scene written. If time, work on Reunion.

Be flexible. Life is going to interfere with writing--anything from emergency calls to the delivery man will arrive while you're writing. Remind yourself of that when you don't make your personal goals.

Neglect favorite TV dramas. Hard, very hard, I'm addicted to a couple shows and after two weeks, withdrawal symptoms set in.

Notebooks at hand. I keep either a spiral or a small notebook handy to jot down scene ideas, dialogue or the solution to a problem I've been having.

Keep it fun. Enjoy writing. If I'm frustrated, I'll sometimes switch to something else, maybe fleshing out an idea or work on another WIP.

Reward hard work. Take a day for yourself occasionally. Let yourself relax.

Ten Things I've Learned About Writing

2006-03-29T14:15:00.000-05:00

This originally appeared in my personal blog, but response was so strong to it that I thought I'd post it over here as well. It's not so much about craft, technique or business, as it is about psychology and philosophy. But then, again, do you really need the eleventy-millionth person to tell you a bad agent is worse than no agent at all?

Ten Things I've Learned About Writing

1. You can't wait for your muse. Your muse will peek in on you, notice you're doing laundry/re-ordering your spice drawer/vacuuming the cat and decide not to bother you. You have to plant yourself in the chair (or the shower, or the cafe, or wherever you normally do your planning) and summon her.

2. A good idea isn't good enough. Ideas are a dime a dozen. You have to put the effort in to turn the idea into a story, which can only happen by writing.

3. Your idea probably isn't as good as you think it is. Generally, your first instinct will be for something that's exactly like something else you read/saw/wrote. The human brain is designed for pattern recognition. Give it the first few hints -- dark, menacing aristocratic hero; heroine of good family fallen on hard times needing to make a marriage -- and the brain is going, "I know this one!" and trotting out the plot to a Jane Austen novel or a '70s gothic.

4. Sometimes, your idea is as good as you think it is. This is usually when you've matched patterns with underlying mythic structures, like Hades and Persephone or Beauty and the Beast, but the covering is new and different. So you resonate with the older story, but you tell a new story. Learn to recognize when this is the case, and then don't mess with it.

5. Story creation is a higher-order brain function. If you're tired, sick, or in pain, it's not going to happen. (At least, it doesn't happen for me -- YMMV.) You can edit, revise, or promote existing work, but you can't create, not until you're well again. So if you want to be a writer, you're obligated to get enough sleep, eat nutritious meals, and otherwise do all the health-maintenance stuff required to keep your brain performing.

6. Sometimes, you have to write anyway. If you can prop up enough of those previously mentioned pattern recognition bits, you can cobble together a story from what you already know, and then revise the heck out of it, rather than create it from scratch. But it takes about twice as long, and is three times as hard. The important thing is to get the job done.

7. Know what motivates you as a writer. Are you motivated by the shiny joys of starting a story and creating a world, or the sigh of relief when you can finally type "The End"? Do you want to do in-depth character analysis, lush and evocative worldbuilding, or intricate and complex plotting? Find the genre and format that fits what you want out of writing, and start there.

8. Play to your strengths, and learn to compensate for your weaknesses. It's been said that there are five skills that the perfect writer masters, and to be a success, you only need to perfect one and not completely stink at the other four. Of course, what those skills are, and what it takes to perfect them, are another discourse entirely. *grin* But get great at what you're good at, and get good at what you're bad at, and you'll do okay.

9. Read. A lot. In all different genres, as well as the one(s) you're writing in, and even some non-fiction. Remember what I said about pattern recognition? Well, this feeds your brain with all sorts of new and interesting patterns, and keeps you from becoming stale and derivative. Plus, you know, it's reading. And if you didn't like to read, why the heck did you want to become a writer?

10. Make friends with other writers. They're the only ones who are going to understand what you do and why you do it. If you don't want to spend your entire life being lonely and misunderstood, you need likeminded people to talk to, even if it's only electronically.

Tomorrow is Release Day

2006-03-08T15:30:00.000-05:00

I don't think I've ever been so nervous!

As a result of what I do for a living, tomorrow is my big day and it's giving me a headache, butterflies and nervous tremors. I'm a raving wreck! My husband has given up trying to talk to me, I keep zoning out while he's talking, wondering if everything is really all right. Will my work be there tomorrow when I sign on?

What is it? It's release day. A book I've worked hard with and fought for over the past three years will be available to the general public tomorrow morning. For better or for worse, my baby is out there.

This story, BLIND JUSTICE, one that's had it's ups and downs, got sidetracked a couple of times, has been contracted twice and is only now making it to public sale, has been the book of my heart. At least I think it is. There are others that are important to me, books I'll treat as if they were my children, but BLIND JUSTICE is the book that waited while: I recovered from a heart attack; was rewritten to something it shouldn't have been in a misdirection caused by signing with an agent I liked but who wasn't right for the story, and that I agreed to a contract for only to find out it would be 3 years before it saw the light of day. When given the out because of the wait, I took it--then went back to Cerridwen Press who'd offered a contract the same day as the other company - just a couple of hours too late. They still wanted it, thank goodness!

And now, tomorrow, I'll have done everything there is to do. I can't revise another word. I can't change my plot because it might be off a tad in one chapter. I can't go back and make any character better than they are now.

It's too late.

Tomorrow is Release Day.

Cross your fingers and wish me luck!

Purple Prose or Personal Preference?

2006-03-03T05:26:00.000-05:00

Recently, I read an online article about the use of Purple Prose in romance. The author of the article included opinions from other writers on what they thought constitutes Purple Prose, complete with samples. I wholeheartedly agreed with some of the examples given, but some of them I liked and have used variations of in my writing. Although a few turns of phrase are universally accepted as being of the violet variety, some are questionable and it comes down to the writer's--and ultimately the reader's--personal preference.

As I finished the article, I realized the combined list of examples didn't leave many "acceptable" words or phrases for a writer to use. We can only employ the words cock, pussy, and the like so many times before they lose their effectiveness or turn into porn. I've read books where those words were copiously overused and I started rolling my eyes before I was halfway through the story. I'm reminded of the adolescent who just discovered dirty talk and every other word is a vulgar variant. Done for shock value, it quickly becomes tedious at best, redundant at worst. In my opinion, redundancy should be a writer's greatest fear, not the color of her prose. Shifting shades of lilac and lavender, orchid and plum would serve better than the dull repetition of certain words.

The English language is rich with an abundance of descriptive words from its own Anglo-Saxon roots as well as the many, many languages from which it has borrowed. A writer shouldn't feel limited to use only a few choice words because it's the latest fad in writing romance. Explore the language and give them all a try. Even a cliché can sound fresh from a clever writer's pen or keyboard.

I've seen erotic romance writers sneer at the mere mention of any and all euphemisms and disparage those writers who do use them. Just a reminder that cock and pussy are euphemisms, too!

Lani Aames
http://www.laniaames.com

The Seven Part Synopsis

2006-02-23T13:16:00.000-05:00

A writer friend was recently complaining about how she hated to write synopses. I used to feel the same way, but now I find them incredibly simple. The difference is my discovery of the seven-part synopsis.

Using the seven-part synopsis, I can outline the rough skeleton of a story -- the main characters, the conflict, the character arcs, and the resolution -- in no time flat, and see if it's strong enough to support a novel or novella. If it's not, now is the time to do more research, and beef up the sagging components. Then, when I go to write the story, I know it's going to work.

The seven-part synopsis starts with characters, because I'm a very character-oriented writer. Part 1 is devoted to the heroine. Who is she? What is her background? How did she get where she is? What does she want out of life? Think of this as putting a stake in the ground, marking off that at the beginning of the story, *this* is who/what/where the heroine is.

Part 2 will be another stake in the ground, but this one for the hero. Who/what/where is he when the story opens?

Now, you tie strings around those two stakes, and twist the strings together. In other words, how do these two people meet and get involved with each other? This becomes Part 3, otherwise known as the Inciting Incident.

This incident sends them each spinning off in a different direction. Parts 4 and 5 detail each character's attempts to deal with the inciting incident, as well as all the escalating problems incurred by those attempts.

Part 6 occurs when the characters realize their independent strategies for dealing with the problem are not working, and that they must unite in some way to resolve it. It describes how they come to work together, as well as what they do.

Part 7 is the resolution, where we see their success, as well as how their unification has changed them from where they were in parts 1 and 2.

See? Easy!

-- Jennifer

On Writing Books

2006-02-20T01:25:00.000-05:00

I have a stack of books just waiting to be read--over fifteen of them. Now this isn't my to-be-read-for-pleasure stack. These are books on writing--everything from structure and dialogue to a guide on writing proposals and query letters.

I do experiment with some of the techniques suggested in some of the books. I'm always looking for new ways to improve my writing. But I'm realistic. Not everything in those books will work for me.

An example, plotting an entire book before even beginning the first chapter--that doesn't work for me. I've tried it.

I can see the advantages in plotting a book fully down to the last subplot. The lovely middle of the book "Okay, I'm stuck" thing that sometimes happens to me just might be avoided. The story and characters just don't come to me that way. I love letting the characters loose to do their worst--or best, depending on what they're trying to do.

Trying to force myself to write that way just frustrates me and kills the enthusiasm for the story. I've never gotten past chapter three with that method.

Write, have fun, go with what works, but never be afraid to try a technique or method. Even if you don't find all of it useful, you might find some small bit of it that will make writing easier or sharpen your skills.

PS: Just a bit of advice. Never experiment while the ideas are flowing. The wonderful scenes just faded and I couldn't get them back. Hopefully, you don't have this trouble. It's taken me three days to get back on track.

Castles In My Heart

2006-02-08T01:00:00.000-05:00

Castles In My Heart

A couple of weeks ago I received yet another great book about castles. I’ll admit it. I’m downright addicted to castles. From the time I was a little kid, these structures obsessed me. When I was a teenager and decided to write dark, foreboding gothic romances in the privacy of my bedroom, a castle or huge mansion usually featured in the story somewhere. For whatever reason, those structures seemed forever in my heart, intriguing me, taking me to magical fairylands. For whatever reason, the romance, the angst, the passion of what happened in these castles over the centuries called to my muse, to what makes me a writer. I knew someday I’d visit castles.

Along with this castle fixation came a love for the countries of my ancestors, Ireland, Scotland, England, and Wales. When I visited Ireland on a nine day vacation many moons ago, I lived a dream. To see castles, to touch them, to feel their atmosphere. They didn’t disappoint me, with their beautiful, tragic, interesting and terrifying elements. Heaven on earth described those moments when I trailed down dark hallways and through misty pathways to reach the mystifying fortresses that filled my thoughts. Maybe the durable, endless tales I felt within the walls called to me. Whispers drifted over time and asked me to explore and find the truth lying around every corner.

Imagine my delight many years later when I learned my husband and I would be transferred to England. Talk about a dream come true. Over three years time I visited many castles and accumulated literature on all of them. Many of these places you’ve heard of before: Glamis Castle, Stirling Castle, Edinburgh Castle, Eilean Donan Castle…ah yes. So many castles, so little time. After living in England, my desire to finish stories about Britain and Ireland in general flourished in my mind. Caught in a misty wonderland that inspired me at every turn, I loved England like a second home. To this day we sometimes get homesick for the uniqueness, the beauty, the part of our souls that belong to these beautiful places. In a couple of years we plan to go back to visit, and believe me…there will be castle tours on the agenda. These castles in my heart.

Inside The Writer's Twisted Imagination

2006-01-27T23:45:00.000-05:00

INSIDE THE WRITER’S TWISTED IMAGINATION

If you are a reader without any writing inclinations, you may wonder how an author takes the fruit of first ideas and turns it into a full-fledged novel. I’m as guilty as the next reader, wanting to know what my favorite authors do, wanting to understand the process that brings their exciting tomes to life. Two authors I admire are Stephen King and Dean Koontz. Reading interviews and articles about them is fascinating, and I was inspired beyond expectation by King’s book ON WRITING. When I realized that my processes, my way of thinking, and what can inspire me is often the same thing that motivates these men, I felt a kinship. My imagination can be as twisted and impatient as theirs can, and this is gratifying.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had people ask me, “Where do you get ideas for your books?” I also can’t tell you how many times I haven’t given a coherent answer. I should be able to explain how I get from slot A to tab B. Ah, perhaps not. Explaining a writer’s imagination is complicated because most writers are complex people with a rich fantasy world. In grade school, we doodled too much and daydreamed too much. We created elaborate universes only we could see, and we often had imaginary friends. Many times, we saw the forest and the trees at the same time, and yet could only explain the forest and not the trees. Sometimes we could give you the answer to a math problem, but we couldn’t tell you how we arrived at the correct answer. Writing is a right brain and left brain activity combined. So when many writers are asked how we come up with our ideas, we often stare at the questioner as if they’ve lost their mind. There is simply no easy way to explain it, for most of us.

There are two types of writers when it comes to creating stories, those that outline and those that don’t do much, if any. I fall in to the “don’t do much if any” category. Recently I had to write a synopsis and it almost turned me into a babbling idiot. I rewrote it nine times before it came together properly. Condensing a hundred thousand word manuscript into nine pages coherently isn’t my forte. My thought processes can be chaotic, and because I don’t outline my novels for the most part, I create by virtue of “what comes next” without a flow chart. For many logically oriented, left brained individuals, the idea of creating on a high wire with no rope is foolhardy. Yet it works for me and many other writers.

So where do I come up with those ideas? Out of nowhere. Some authors will say the ideas come from something they saw on television or read in the papers. For me it is more a notion that jumps out from a clear blue sky. Two weeks ago, I remembered my trip to the tunnels under the South Bridge in Edinburgh, and that creepy experience in the tunnels gave me an idea. I wanted to write a story revolving around catacombs. That book is now a work in progress.

I wrote LOVE FROM THE ASHES because I’d wanted to write a story for years set during the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. I wrote MIDNIGHT ROSE because of my lifelong interest in the Jack the Ripper case. My ideas can come from anywhere, day or night, and logic has nothing whatsoever to do with how I formulate the idea.

One other thing I’d like to say about imagination. Sometimes writers forget that our imaginations are extremely potent and above average. Our imaginations prove that everything that can happen, can be thought of first. A tragedy happens and reporters say, “No one ever could have imagined this horrible tragedy.” I shake my head, because I know it’s not true. I find that most writers have the same reaction as I do. Few things surprise us when it comes to tragedy whether created by man or nature. Writers are in the business of envisioning possibilities, and that includes the very worst and best things in life, even those most terrible or “unthinkable.”

As a writer, I used my imagination and trekked into jungles I designed in my own head, been to 1906 San Francisco during the earthquake, been through a tornado, a warehouse fire, a building collapse, tangled with supernatural forces, and escaped from a serial killer. Believe me, writers have thought of it and they will continue to think of it. Nothing is beyond imagination. What makes the best writer? Those who can open a vein, spill emotion, and imagine every scenario. This is why writing is often exhausting work. A good piece of writing can reflect the deepest lows and the highest highs. Excellent writing shows dedication to authenticity, to finding the unique in things everyday, and the ordinary in the extraordinary.

I’ve run into plenty of people who’ve asked me how I come up with such heinous villains. Simple, really. The best villains I’ve written are my versions of Jack the Ripper in MIDNIGHT ROSE, the serial killer in TREACHEROUS WISHES, and the crazed Fort Leavenworth prisoner in SINS AND SECRETS. While I like the “bad guys” in DANGEROUS INTENTIONS and COMBUSTION quite a bit, I think I found a particular stride with Jack, the villain in TREACHEROUS WISHES, and the insane fellow in SINS AND SECRETS. Why? Because I was willing to let it all hang out and not be afraid of what people might say or think that little ole Denise could create monsters like these. And as Gavin De Becker says in the fascinating book, THE GIFT OF FEAR, criminals, even the most odious, are not as different from the rest of us as we might think.

I’ve given you only a tiny peek into a writer’s twisted imagination. I hope you enjoyed the journey.

Denise A. Agnew
www.deniseagnew.com

What do you want out of your fiction?

2006-01-27T17:10:00.000-05:00

Genre fiction is escapist entertainment. The books take you out of your current reality for a while, to someplace better/brighter/REALer. (In the way that reality in books is the distilled essence of external reality ... an abridged version containing only the good parts.)

But what happens when you come back? Do you take a look around you, and think, "This is nowhere near as much fun as the place I go to when I read," and pop back into the next book? Or have you brought something back with you, that strengthens you for your daily life, so that you're able to try and move your current situation closer to the fictional situation you preferred?

Mind, I'm not advocating books as thinly disguised primers for How To Live Your Life. But maybe, if you've lived through a character struggling against all odds to triumph, you'll be a little less likely to give up when faced with a daunting challenge. Maybe, if you identified with the heroine who'd all but given up on love who finally found her soul mate, you'll accept your friend's suggestion to fix you up with someone they know. Maybe it's as simple as, having seen the price of a life of constant adventure and excitement, you find contentment with your routine job and existence.

The method may change from book to book, but I want all of the books I read to make me a better/stronger/happier person. I want the books I write to help make their readers better/stronger/happier people, in whatever slight way they may.

That's what I want out of my fiction. What do you want?

Warrior, Innocent, or maybe something different

2006-01-25T01:57:00.000-05:00

I've been in several discussions lately about what type of heroine I like--to read and to write. I decided that it would be a good thing for a blog.

The strong, warrior heroine has always been one of my favorite types of heroines to read. She jumps in and is ready to kick some butt beside her man at a moments notice. She's also very easy to write about. I seldom have to wonder what she'll do in a situation, because she's so assertive. I like writing about a woman who knows what she wants and is willing to go after it.

But then, I have to admit that sometimes the emotional impact of an Innocent heroine does draw me into the story. I'm not necessarily talking about the heroine being a virgin. The innocent heroine I have in mind is the naive heroine, the inexperienced female, thrown into a situation she's never encountered before. Maybe she's unfamiliar with the hard reality of life. I know that sometimes these heroines can come off as much too sweet and much too naive, but once in a while they can grab my emotions and never let go.

Then we have the crusader, another type that I love to read. She's so caught up in attaining her goal, fulfilling her quest, that she can sometimes miss what's right in front of her. It's her dedication to this cause that makes her admirable, but it also makes for a lot conflict in personal relationships.

Now, I know there are many more types of heroines than I have listed. When I'm writing, my heroines end up a mixture of many character archetypes, maybe a warrior/ crusader, maybe a mixture of crusader and innocent. As a reader, some of my favorite heroines' characters have traits from each of the types I've listed.

Readers, do you have a favorite type of heroine you like to read? Does a certain type of heroine just get on your nerves to the point that you'll stop reading the book? Tell me what you like about them and what you dislike.

And writers, do you find you write about one type of heroine more than others? Do you find it easier to write about one type of heroine more than others? What type of heroines are the easiest for you to write?

Picking Up a Plot

2006-01-20T11:58:00.000-05:00

A friend asked recently about plot, and how you came up with a new and interesting one. The trick, of course, is that there is no such thing. Especially with genre fiction, you know going into it that the couple gets together in the end, the bad guy is defeated, and good triumphs over evil. The point of genre fiction is not WHAT happens, but HOW and WHY it happens.

So, if you're at a loss, you can pick your plot inspiration from many sources. You can turn to a legend, a myth, a fairy tale, a classic novel, a movie, a television show, or a song. (And yes, I know of works based on all of these things.) That will give you the WHAT, and then your job is simply to come up with the HOW and WHY.

For example, I based my novella "The Tower" (in the New Concepts Publishing anthology SHIFTERS) on the Chris DeBurgh song of the same name. (Go read the lyrics...I'll wait.)

The song established the set-up, of a lord hunting in the forest who accidentally shoots a shape-shifting woman. It gives the first turning point: Entranced by her beauty, he holds her captive until she will agree to marry him. The second turning point: When she recovers, she shape shifts and flies away. The resolution: Losing her means his death.

While it works in a song, which is of necessity short (even though this one clocks in at over five minutes), there are gaping holes when you try to turn it into a story. The central question, of course, is why someone who is self-centered enough to think he had the right to kidnap and imprison someone to force her to marry him would be so devastated at her loss as to die of a broken heart. So, in my story, he is a conquering general, desperate to hold the castle and region he has just conquered, since if he does the king has promised to award the land to him and allow him to retire. The woman is not just any woman, but the guardian of the land, and to win her to his side will win over all of the people he's just conquered. Losing her means failing his king, which is never a good thing.

Similarly, all the other references in the song have to be woven into the story. For example, "a terrible cry, brought thunder and lightning, rain falling down,Tears on the ground..." and "some sad lament she would sing" made me think that her voice holds magical power. So the general leaves soldiers guarding the tower, and returns to find that she has used her voice to influence them, and they are in the process of freeing her. He revamps the decaying tower with a new door and heavy lock, so that he is the only one capable of freeing her.

Once the basic brush-strokes are in place, you have to fill in the details. In this case, why was an abandoned tower not torn down for the building stones? And why was it still in good enough condition to hold her in reasonable comfort? I came up with the idea that a local legend embued the stones of the tower with the power of fertility, and local people would go there to make love to ensure pregnancy. (A detail borrowed from my tour of Honolulu, where the tour guide mentioned the problems a certain supermarket had because their landscape rock was taken from a local holy site, and locals continued having sex on top of it.)

Eventually, by filling in all the holes with WHY and HOW, you have a fully-fleshed plot. It's different from your source material, because you've put your own spin on it and stressed the things you thought were important with the theme. Often, your interpretation will change things so much that readers won't be able to recognize your story as being based on your source material unless you tell them.

I won't tell if you won't. ;-)

[Note: "The Tower" is a stand-alone novella in the world of the novels NOT QUITE CAMELOT and SHADOW PRINCE, released by Cerridwen Press.]

Rose, By Any Other Name, Might Be Rasia

2006-01-17T20:14:00.000-05:00

Of course, then you have to figure out how to pronounce it! Is it RAH-sha, Rah-SEE-ah, RAY-sha, Ray-SEE-ah, or none of the above? It's a cool name. I found it in a baby name dictionary as a variation of Rose. It's one I'm keeping for a certain character in a certain story I've had in mind for years, based on a classic novel that is now in the public domain. "Rose", either the name or the flower but I'm not saying which, is very important to the original story. (If you can guess the original classic novel from that, I'll give you a cookie! :)

I've seen a trend among authors to give their characters unique names. I'm all for that! I've done it myself a few times. I have characters named J'Qhir (he's an alien), Invictus, Durak, Vincenz, Riviera, Jingle (a Christmas elf name, his given name is Alexander), Myghal, Quade, and Nicodemus. And that's just from the list of my heroes and heroines. Secondary characters include Jancy, Leviticus, and Seneslav.

Unique names make your characters...well, unique. You're safe in that there aren't a gazillion other heroes or heroines out there with the same names. On the other hand, do we distance our characters from the readers with odd and unusual names that sometimes are barely pronounceable?

One example: Myghal from my novella, "Must Be Magic". The hero is the Prince of Pixies. First, he had to have a masculine-sounding name. LOL After doing a little research on Pixies, I found one theory is that they originated in Cornwall, England. Other theories include that the word Pixies might originally refer to the Picts of Scotland, Pictish = Pixie. I finally decided to forget the research and make up my own Pixie folklore. LOL But while looking over a list of Cornish names, I chose Myghal, the Cornish equivalent of Michael. I thought it would be familiar enough. According to sources on the internet, it is pronounced Ma-HAIL, silent "g". It might be tough on the reader, but I really liked the unusual spelling.

So, Readers, do you find unusual names unsettling? Or do you like them? Do they cause you to remember the story—and the author—more? Or not?

And, Writers, what is the most unusual name you've given one of your heroes or heroines?

Rules? Who says!!

2006-01-15T16:18:00.000-05:00

Seems to me we spend way too much time listening to others who bombard us with 'you can't' or 'you mustn't' and when we ask why? we hear that age old excuse - 'because there are rules.'

There are? Who says?

I, like Captain Barbossa, prefer to think of them as guidelines.

I just finished going through some work for a couple of beginning writers and when I suggested they might want to make a change to something, got back an instant email reply of "we can't!!!" (Add angst and aghast tone of voice.) "That's against the rules!"

Says who?

Please, dear writer, forget you ever heard the word!

Yes, there are rules. The basic rules of grammar and sentence structure and the rules set down by your publisher. But there are no rules that say you can't have more than one POV in a scene. You can have more than one, just don't head hop within the same paragraph, or as in one excerpt I read, in the same sentence. (This writer had a problem with run on sentences as well.)

By listening to 'they' of 'they said', a writer hogties their ability to create great scenes, great chapters, absolutely great books.

As the late Ed McBain (87th Precinct mysteries) said - and I paraphrase - 'I know the rules and I will obey them as long as the story I tell is entertaining to the reader. But if I must, to make the story more enjoyable and to keep it from being disappointing to the reader, I will bend the rules. I'll even break them. But I won't disappoint the reader.'

That was his promise and it should be ours.

Learn the rules then forget them. Once you're good enough to be published, chances are you've learned how to break them properly. Just don't expect to enter writing contests and get away with it. Judges seem to have forgotten, if they ever knew, that the idea is to write a great story, not follow the rules.

Saying Hi

2006-01-13T22:46:00.000-05:00

Just poking my head in to say Hi to everyone. This is my very first Blog post EVER!

K/K