How Do You Do, How To?

by Anna Campbell

Are you a how-to book fan?

I have to say I'm addicted to reading writing how-to books. Right now they're on my mind in a big way so I thought I'd shoot the breeze about the self-help section of the bookshop. Hmm, perhaps I'd be on millionaire's row if I could just rephrase that sentence as "I'm addicted to writing reading how-to books." I could definitely write a book about reading! And I'd LOVE the research!

How-tos (henceforth to be referred to as H2s) are on my mind because I've just finished reading a really great one - the new edition of Harlequin Mills and Boon author Kate Walker's classic 12-POINT GUIDE TO WRITING ROMANCE. I'm also about to re-read what is probably my favorite writing H2, Dorothea Brande's BECOMING A WRITER so I can review it for my friends at the Romance Dish (check out the review on the 24th March).

I've read H2s for years - there's always some new insight to gather from another writer's experience and sometimes, as in the case of the three books I'll mention today, it's lightbulb moment after lightbulb moment. By the end, I'm dragging out the sunglasses to cut the glare!

I know we have a lot of writers who visit the lair so I thought I'd share a few thoughts about why Kate's book is such a great resource.

Just lately I've judged a stack of writing contests and I must say there's some impressive talent out there! But there are also a lot of aspiring writers who need help with two of the basic building blocks of a great story, conflict (the obstacle/issue keeping the couple apart for 200 or 400 pages so we've actually got, yanno, a STORY!) and motivation (why do these people behave as they do?). The two chapters of Kate's book on these essential elements are masterly - clear, concise and they emphasize that without adequate conflict and motivation a story has the oomph of a piece of cold spagghetti. No offense to all those lovely, oomph-heavy pieces of cold spagghetti who read the blog!


The last of my three H2s that I'd love to mention is BIRD BY BIRD: SOME INSTRUCTIONS ON WRITING AND LIFE by Anne Lamott. This is a book that vies with Dorothea's as my favorite writing H2. I use its advice all the time - especially the story behind the title. The author's brother had to finish a school project about all the birds in America and he left it until the very last minute and fell into a crippling panic at the thought of getting it done. Anne Lamott's father calmed the boy down and said, "Let's do it bird by bird."

When I'm staring down the barrel of a HUGE project like writing a whole book, I remember that. A book is written bird by bird or rather WORD BY WORD. It's a wonderfully calming mantra and it allows me to pick up the tools of my trade (well, turn on the computer at least!) and write my story without being overwhelmed by the task ahead.


Finally, for the non-writers who like to come to the lair to chase the cabana boys and pluck the rooster (no wonder he keeps flying off to Australia!), here are two H2/self-help books that are full of amazing wisdom.

I haven't read WOMEN WHO RUN WITH THE WOLVES: CONTACTING THE POWER OF THE WILD WOMAN by Clarissa Pinkola Estes for years but it's a book that literally changed my life. I read this towards the end of that awful 18 months about 17 years into my pre-publication career when I'd given up writing because I'd decided selling a book was a childish dream that I should relinquish. As you can imagine, that was not a happy time for little Miss Campbell!

I'm not sure what prompted me to pick up this very thick book - especially as at the time, I really wasn't into self-help books. It might have been a recommendation from a friend. Anyway, this book is about women sticking to their guns and it delivers its message through a series of myths and legends from all over the world. You know what a sucker I am for a fairy tale! By the time I finished it, I was well and truly ready to pick up my six-shooter and have another stab (oops, mixed metaphor there!) at a writing career. I joined Romance Writers of Australia (women who run with the wolves aren't scared of no stinkin' writin' organization, no sirree!) and that set me on the path to eventually seeing my books on the shelves.

So having discovered the wonderful world of self-help books, I began to read widely in the field and stumbled across this next book via James Hillman's pupil Thomas Moore. THE SOUL'S CODE: IN SEARCH OF CHARACTER AND CALLING by James Hillman isn't a religious book although it definitely has a spiritual dimension. What I love about this book is it addresses that sense of vocation as a writer I always felt (and that I denied when I gave up after listening to all the 'sensible' people in the world). This book outlines the acorn theory - we're basically born knowing what we are to become the way an acorn knows to grow into a magnificent tree.

Hmm, not feeling much like a magnificent tree this morning. Perhaps more like an overgrown shrub!

So over to you. Do you like H2s or self-help books? If you do, do you have any favorites you'd like to share? If you're a writer, did you get any invaluable insights or advice from an H2? Let's let it all hang out! Groovy, man!

Pitch Perfect

by Christine Wells

Many of us in Romanceland are eagerly anticipating the national conference of Romance Writers of America® in Washington D.C. next week. A large number of our Bandita Buddies are aspiring writers, so I thought I'd take this opportunity to talk about pitching your manuscript.

There are all kinds of pitches, from the short elevator pitch (useful for cocktail parties or casual encounters with publishing professionals) to the longer, blurb-style pitch you might use in a scheduled meeting. Which you use depends on the circumstances, but two things must be present: conflict and what I call ‘sexy’ words—specific details from your story that have that ‘wow’ factor. These are the kinds of words that imply high stakes, immediacy, humor, quirkiness, mystery, intrigue or yes, sometimes, plain old sex. We’re all interested in those things, right? Specifics will set your book apart from the herd.

Taking a well-known concept and giving it a twist can be an effective way of pitching a story. The high concept pitch Anna Campbell used for her debut novel CLAIMING THE COURTESAN, which sold to Avon at auction, was Pretty Woman by candlelight. Everyone has seen the movie Pretty Woman or at least knows the premise. The twist is setting the story in the Regency period (the candlelight reference), when a courtesan was wholly in her keeper’s power.

When Kirsten Scott sold her young adult novel, DELCROIX ACADEMY: THE CHOICE in a ‘good’ deal to Hyperion, her agent called it X-Men for girls. That succinct, three word pitch speaks volumes, doesn’t it? It gives you the tone, the subgenre, the type of conflict and the fresh twist.

My pitch for WICKED LITTLE GAME was Indecent Proposal with a Regency twist.

Of course, the movie world is where the high concept pitch was born. The movie ALIEN was pitched as Jaws in space. If you want to find more examples of high concept pitches for movies, you can search IMDB by keyword.

But the movie with a twist won’t work for every story, and can be risky unless you refer to a blockbuster or a classic. Even then, if the editor or agent hated the movie or didn’t see it or just doesn’t get the significance of the twist, you’ve lost her. So, let’s move on to the slightly longer logline.

Anna Sugden, whose fabulous Panic-Free Pitching workshop handout is on her website, has a perfect logline for LOVE BY BEQUEST: A Texas cowboy inherits an English sheep farm. Now, the conflict is obvious, isn’t it? A classic fish out of water story. For the logline, you don’t even need to know who the heroine of this romance is. That comes later in the blurb-style paragraph in your query. Don’t try to tell the whole story in this short, one line pitch.

For her recent release, THE EDUCATION OF MRS. BRIMLEY, Donna MacMeans used this logline: A Victorian strip-tease. Yep, that’s it. Intrigued? Go buy the book!

Donna’s next novel for Berkley, THE TROUBLE WITH MOONLIGHT, was about a Victorian heroine who turns invisible in moonlight. Just her, not her clothes. Donna says: ‘Did I mention she's a bit of a thief? If you want her to get something for you, she'll do it for a price but it's always during a full moon and, of course, she must be...’ You fill in the blank! A nekked invisible heroine thieving in Victorian England? Now that’s something I want to read. This pitch juxtaposes paranormal and historical romance in a fresh and intriguing way.

For her manuscript REFUGE, Suzanne Welsh’s more detailed pitch uses specific language to convey high-stakes action and conflict. After witnessing a senator's assassination, a spinster-librarian flees into the west as a mail-order bride to escape the clutches of the murderer.

Look at how many specific, ‘sexy’ words Suzanne uses to really enhance the punch of her pitch: senator (high profile implies high stakes) assassination (again, high stakes) spinster librarian (rightly or wrongly, we assume someone intelligent, sheltered and quiet, someone who must struggle to face the challenges ahead of her) the west (again, fish out of water scenario here) mail-order bride (hints at romance and an interesting conflict for someone labeled ‘spinster’) escape a murderer (high stakes, suspense).

I pitched my Berkley historical romance, THE DANGEROUS DUKE like this: A duke accidentally steals a lady’s erotic diary. Can you see this is going to be a sexy story about stolen secrets? Are you already wondering what will happen when my hero reads that diary and whether he’ll be caught out? I hope so!

Notice that none of these pitches goes into detail about the story. They focus on piquing the reader’s interest, that’s all. Usually, in a query letter or formal pitch session you need more detail than that, but it’s a great tactic to have the logline front and centre, before you move on to the longer blurb. A real sock-it-to-’em sentence that makes an agent or editor give the rest of your query their full attention. The ‘what if’ question can work well for this purpose, too.

For more examples of pitches that work, read through the deals on Karen Fox's wonderful website.

Now, not every book lends itself to a logline. My advice—write a book that does. That’s not as flippant as it might appear. Think about it—if a book lends itself to a dynamic, interesting hook, isn’t it more likely to be a dynamic, interesting book? Plus, writing a logline for your story before you begin gives you a sharpened focus, a touchstone to keep your story on track.

However, if you are submitting and you just can’t get that snappy one-liner, don’t despair. For my first novel, SCANDAL’S DAUGHTER, I wrote a standard one paragraph pitch and it had a 100% success rate. Which is not to say that every editor or agent offered representation or a contract, but everyone I queried asked for more.

That’s all a pitch can do for you. In the end, the proof is in the pages.

If you're a reader, do you find the 'high concept' attracts you to a story if you haven't read an author before? Can you think of any intriguing ways just one line about a story or a movie has captured your attention? I'd love to know your thoughts.

If you're a writer, pitch us your logline (and yes, published and unpublished writers are welcome to do this). Or share your own tips for writing great pitches. We have it on good authority that some editors and agents read our blog, so if you're an unpubbed, give it your best shot!

For those attending National, if you would like to win a one hour session with me at National to work on your pitch or even just chat about writing in general, please state it in your comment. I'll post the winner before I leave for D.C. on Monday and we can arrange a mutually convenient time.

Home Sweet Home

By Kirsten Scott

So, does it look familiar? The houseboat, I mean. I think this particular houseboat probably caused a rush on houseboats unlike any the industry had seen. It's the one used in the movie Sleepless in Seattle, inhabited by Tom Hanks' character, and among other things, it played a prominent role in me falling in love with him. After all, who wouldn't love a man who loved a house like that? The lights on the water, the view of the boats and downtown Seattle...and of course it was gorgeous inside. Furnished like a dream. Furnished like no man would ever furnish a house.

During the holiday season we do a lot of visiting and go to a lot of parties, and I am always struck by how different peoples' houses are, and how each house tells a story about the person who lives there -- sometimes a very different story than the one I would expect. Someone I expect to have drab, by the book decorations has a house filled with art and color; someone I expect to be neat turns out to be a packrat; someone I expect to be simple has a taste for the ostentatious.

I love it. It's a window into the soul.

We authors are always on the lookout for windows into the soul, so we use houses a lot to develop our characters. What better way to show a person's true character than to describe their house? The man with a wounded soul lives on a cliff away from town; the woman who never broke free from her mother still lives in her mother's house, surrounded by her mother's belongings. We can show someone's unexpected depth by giving them a hidden art collection, or a beautiful garden.

As for me, I live in a boxy 1950s ranch that we renovated so it's open and light. In the living room we've got furniture covered with sheets (dog hair, don't you know), two old red arm chairs I inherited when my grandfather passed away, a fairly new sofa-couch from IKEA, and a couple of fabulous Oriental rugs I ordered from Ebay about eight years ago that are fraying around the edges. I want my house to be tidy, comfortable, and above all, a place where kids and dogs can play and have fun.

(Here's one of Grandpa's chairs. Isn't it cool?)

So I'm wondering...what does your house reveal about you? Are you a city dweller in a tiny apartment? A suburban mama? Do you collect original art, or maybe photographs? Is your house straight out of an IKEA catalog, or more of the shabby chic variety? 

And perhaps most importantly -- would you have married Tom Hanks just to live in that houseboat?! :-)

A Little Bit Me and a Little Bit You

posted by Aunty Cindy aka Loucinda McGary

The other day, I was sent some interview questions for a guest blog I'll be doing in a couple of weeks (Aunty squees with excitement). One of the questions was: Do you base your characters on real people or are they purely figments of your imagination?

My first reaction was of course they are TOTALLY made up from my imagination. But then I realized that's not exactly true. So in order to honor the "truth in lending" law... No wait! That's not right! So in honor of honesty being the best policy- -yes, much better!- - Aunty will reveal some of the real people whose names or traits wound up in characters in The Wild Sight.

• The hero's older sister, Doreen. Okay, might as well start with the obvious! I have three younger siblings. It was my duty as first born to see that they did not run amuck too terribly much. THEY called me bossy (I suspect they still do), but I was merely doing my duty and trying to look out for their best interests. It was only natural that I give my hero's older sister some of these same wonderful traits.
• Doreen's husband, Sean. My DH has a cousin in Northern Ireland named Sean (imagine that!) who is a sweet and charming man, and definitely influenced my creation of this character.
• PSNI Inspector Colm Lynch. When I first went to work for the Department of Health Services lo these many years ago, my boss's boss had the last name Lynch. He was a big, beefy man with white hair, but I swear all resemblances end there!
• The heroine, Rylie is a petite, sassy young woman with the tenacity of a bulldog. One of my beloved nieces happens to be 4' 10" and a size two, with quite a mouth on her (can't imagine where she got that trait), but the resemblance ends there. She is a couple of years younger than Rylie and does not have blonde hair or gray eyes. There is, however, a certain pointy-chinned young actress who has portrayed several sassy characters in films that provided much inspiration for Rylie.
• The hero, Donovan is one of those strong, rather silent types who does not like to talk about himself nor his feelings. Gee, has anybody EVER met or known a guy like that? (To quote Craig Ferguson, "Remind you of anyone?") ME TOO! I even married a guy like that... AHEM! But Donovan's interest in art is definitely rooted in my DH and his artistic endeavors. And yes, there is a certain tall and lean Aussie actor who provided some physical inspiration for Donovan. But you already knew that Aunty likes 'em tall and lean. ;-)
  

Finally, I purposely named a minor character for my son. He has an Irish first name, after all, and he actually thought that was "cool." He didn't even mind that I gave his character two daughters who have the same names as two of my nieces. They don't know yet, but I think they will get a laugh out of it.

What about you? Have you ever read a book and thought you recognized one of the characters? Or certain aspects of a character? If you are a writer, do you base your characters on "real" people? Bits and pieces maybe? C'mon now, honesty is the best policy!

Fictional Families

posted by Aunty Cindy

Not long ago, I was working on the back stories for the main characters in my latest proposal. I decided my hero’s father had recently passed away and his mother died a long time ago. That’s when I realized how many fictional characters are orphans or have at least one deceased family member, usually a parent.

The hero of my Golden Heart final was an orphan, and both the hero and heroine of my debut novel The Wild Sight have lost their mothers. In yet another of my unpublished tomes, the heroine lost both parents in a car accident. SHEESH! Did I have a freakish propensity for killing off family?

But then I started looking at some other books I’ve read… I hope it’s not too much for a spoiler to reveal that Donna’s Mrs. Brimley is an orphan, as are Christine’s heroine Gemma in Scandal’s Daughter and Anna C.’s Verity in Claiming the Courtesan. Poor Gemma and Mrs. Brimley don’t even have siblings! At least Verity and my heroes and heroines also have a sibling or two, though usually in my stories the sib turns out to be a bossy older sister. (Can’t imagine where I came up with such a character!)

Nor is this a recent phenomenon. Remember Dickens’ penchant for orphans – Oliver Twist, Pip in Great Expectations? Can't forget Cosette in Hugo's Les Misérables. Or Bronte’s poor, plain Jane Eyre? Clearly authors have been killing off family members for quite some time. Oedipus Rex anyone?

Could it be that characters who have a “normal” family (whatever that is!) are just not good fodder for stories? Must a character be orphaned or suffer the loss of a family member to be interesting?

What do you think? Have you read, or written any books lately where the main character was not an orphan, but had a full family complement intact?

Into the Melting Pot

by Christine Wells

Kill me now.

Someone just stole the most fantastic story idea I had for my next book--a series, actually. Well, OK, she didn't steal it. It was just one of those serendipitous things where two people in different parts of the world who don't know each other came up with the same idea at roughly the same time. Unfortunately, this New York Times bestselling author has already converted the idea (did I mention it was fantastic?) to print and now I have to come up with something equally brilliant. Or at least something that will convince my editor to give me another contract.*g*

Story ideas aren't often a problem for writers. We usually have too many ideas rather than too few. However, the process by which the germ of a notion gradually evolves into a concrete springboard for a one hundred thousand word novel differs from writer to writer, so I can only tell you about mine. The closest I can come to describing my so-called process is similar to the way Lady Malmerstoke described (perhaps not entirely accurately) to our hero the way women think in Georgette Heyer's POWDER AND PATCH.

"They jump, you see...From one thing to another. You'll arrive at a new thought by degrees and you'll know how you got there. Women don't think like that."

So here, as near as I can remember, is the leap-frog thought process by which I reached the premise for THE DANGEROUS DUKE.

*I read about the courtesan Harriette Wilson's threat to expose prominent clients if they didn't pay her to keep their name out of her memoirs.

*I thought about power and how a woman in the nineteenth century could seize her own power and wield it to get what she wanted. She might not be able to vote, but she might still play a part in world affairs.

*I watched 5 straight seasons of UK spy series "Spooks" and absorbed the continuing question in that wonderful drama--does the end always justify the means? I asked myself, how does a spy live with what he does? How does he leave it all behind and live happily ever after?

*At the same time, I took an interest in a debate about whether heroines were simply place-holders in romance. The theory goes that the reader doesn't care too much about the heroine's qualities, she wants to step into the heroine's shoes and fall in love with the hero.

*And finally, I thought about the difference between fantasy and reality and whether we really want our fantasies to come true. Could you really live with a hero like Dain in Lord of Scoundrels?

*Oh, and somewhere along the way, I found pictures of my hero and heroine. These were the people I wanted to write about.

After a lot of leaping about, all those snippets went into the melting pot. Then came dithering, writing, rewriting, sweat and tears but no blood, thank goodness, after which there emerged a story that went something like this (with thanks to Publishers Weekly for putting it more concisely than I could):

Maxwell Brooke, a dangerous operative for the Home Office, has unexpectedly become a duke, thanks to an arson that killed the four heirs ahead of him. Determined to bring the suspected perpetrators to justice, he has jailed Reverend Stephen Holt, who may know their whereabouts. Outraged, Holt's sister, widowed Lady Kate Fairchild, threatens to publish a diary that could embarrass high figures in government unless her brother is freed. Although the scandals are real, she hasn't actually written the book yet, and the handwritten volume Max steals from her home contains only Kate's sexual fantasies. He kidnaps her (on the thinnest of pretexts) and begins to make her dreams come true...

Simple, huh?

Where and when do you get great ideas? Have you ever tracked your thought processes? Do you believe women think differently from men? Are writers simply crazy?

One lucky commentor will win the sum total of all my crazy thought processes in the last year, THE DANGEROUS DUKE!

Conflict -- All in the Family

posted by Aunty Cindy

Do you sometimes feel like your family puts the "fun" in dysfunctional? Mine certainly does, and I don't think I'm unique. I'd even say most every family has its challen... eccentric... er, um, DYNAMICS! And that goes for fictional families as well as the real life varieties. In fact, it seems that everyone everywhere can identify with family conflict, whether it's the interfering mother-in-law as seen on numerous TV sit-coms, the bigot (a la Archie Bunker), or the Smothers Brothers' "Mom always loved you best" refrain!

In fact, I've noticed in a lot of books, including my own, that family members often supply lots of both internal and external conflict for the hero and/or heroine. Think about our own DOUBLE RITA nominee, Anna Campbell. In both Claiming the Courtesan and Untouched, who is causing the hero and heroine so much grief?

RELATIVES!

In my own book, The Wild Sight, there's an abundance of problem-causing relatives too. There's the step-father who didn't love the heroine as much as his own biological children. The bossy older sister who thinks she would do a much better job than the hero at running his life (I wonder why my brother got a big laugh over that character?). The alcoholic father who winds up being parented by his children rather than parenting them... And the list goes on and on.

Clearly there's a lesson here. For me, next time I find any of my characters in need of a wee bit more conflict (be it external or internal), I'm going to take a peek into their back stories and find some trouble-making relatives!

No, Aunty is not going to ask you to reveal any deep dark secrets about your real life relatives... unless of course you WANT TO (Aunty poises herself to take notes). We can keep this discussion to fictional families.

Tell us about some totally dysfunctional family members you read or wrote about lately. And didn't you enjoy it? Just a little? You can tell us!

The Absolute End

by Christine Wells

I can't remember when my passion for stories began, but I clearly remember the first time it got me into trouble. You know those moments you want to curl up into a ball so tight you turn invisible? The ones that are etched on your brain for the rest of your life? This story even followed me to high school. I still cringe to think of it...

I was five, sitting in a classroom in Australia with little wooden chairs, faux wood veneer desks and linoleum floors. The teacher was reading a story out loud to the class. It was one of those melting summer days, where the heat shimmered off the tarmac outside and the ceiling fans simply shifted stifling air around.

I'd drunk a lot of water at 'big lunch'.

And right in the middle of this fantastic, breathtaking story, I had to pee.

But boy, did I need to hear the end of that story. I wriggled a bit. I glanced outside. The bathrooms were a bit of a walk away...

The angst of indecision tore me apart as badly as any tortured hero in a romance novel. In the end, story won.

And now I'm a writer, I want to make people hang on the edge of their seat for the end of my novels. I want them to say they couldn't put the book down--yes, even when they needed to pee. But how does a writer achieve that goal?

Is it tension and pacing? Is it making the reader care passionately about the characters? Is it conflict? Is it plot? Is it all of those things? What makes an ending compelling? After you've burned through the pages to get there, what ingredient makes the anticipation worthwhile, leaving you triumphant yet desolated and restless when the book ends? Do you know that feeling? I certainly do. I mourn some books for days afterwards, wishing I hadn't read them so quickly. Sometimes I even re-read them straight away.

What is it about those books that make me want to go out and buy the author's complete backlist, or long for her to hurry and write the next in the series?

I'm pretty sure I know what *doesn't* work for me as a reader. I've read romances where the romantic conflict is resolved far too early, leaving about a quarter of the book to deal with solving the mystery, getting the bad guy and so on. You know, I'd really like to say I cared about the stolen diamonds/long lost sister/orphans in trouble, but the truth is, the *romance* is what keeps me reading a romance novel--a compelling relationship between hero and heroine. If the couple spend the final fifty pages in perfect accord, they're probably fifty pages I won't read.

But sometimes the romantic conflict just drags on too long, until you're convinced these two can't possibly be happy together. So it's a fine balance. I don't think I have the answer. I just have to write the books as they come and do the best I can to give the reader that pay-off at the end. But if anyone has the secret, I'm here, ready and willing to listen.

So what about you? What's your favorite ending to a romance? Can you tell me why? And what's your most embarrassing childhood moment?

Oh, and here is my new cover!! This is for my second Berkley historical romance, The Dangerous Duke. Isn't it gorgeous?

Making Scents of It

by Donna MacMeans

As I’m writing this, there’s a butter slathered turkey roasting to a delectable crispness in my oven. Can you smell it? I think the whole nation must. House after house, filled from the rafters to the basement with that mouth-watering scent, open their doors to welcome friends and relatives, and, in turn, release some of the roast turkey scent out to the world.



When the house fills with that familiar smell, I can almost hear a football game playing on the television (of course, it doesn’t hurt that there IS a football game currently playing on the TV – but I’m going for association here). I can almost envision pumpkin pie and all the must-have casseroles that accompany the bird. I once read that more than all the other senses, a smell can trigger deep subconscious memories both good and bad. Turkey roasting is a good one, connected with fond memories for me.



As a writer, we can use this. We can set a scene with a familiar scent and thus draw the reader into the story. My characters all tend to be coffee drinkers - just so I can evoke that wonderful scent of coffee first thing in the morning for my story.

We can associate a character with a unique scent. I decided I wanted Emma in The Education of Mrs. Brimley to smell like winter apples as that spoke of a wholesome quality to me. I gave the hero, Nicholas, basic manly scents, but with a slight trace of turpentine to identify him as an artist.

To help keep myself in the story, I burned a Macintosh apple candle that surrounded me in Emma’s scent. Soon, I began to associate the scent with writing and formed a desire to write whenever I smelled apples. Not a bad association to form for a procrastinator like me!

What scents, good and bad, evoke strong memories for you? Is there a memorable character that you associate with a scent? For the writers, do you, like me, tie an overall scent to a book, and then hunt for a candle to “cast a spell”? (Hey, I’ll do anything if it keeps me at the keyboard.) One commenter will win a copy of The Education of Mrs. Brimley.

Just the Facts, Ma'am

by Joan Kayse

Just the facts. Wouldn't that make for a short and incredibly boring story? Boy meets girl. Girl saves boy from crucifixion. Boy saves girl from mad villian. They lived HEA.

What? That isn't just the facts? What about a crucifixion, you ask? Well, you're right. I dropped a kernel of description in there and it might have gotten your attention.

Many times on these blogs or loops we writers talk about point of view (POV), conflict, plot, etc. But there is another aspect that is often maligned. And that is the use of description.

Now, I'm not talking about a ton of backstory that drags the plot down. Or distracting purple prose that jerks the reader out of the moment.

Description in its best form enhances the experience of the character, sharpens the impact of the POV and...in the case of historicals....weaves a sense of time and place into the very fabric of the story.

Here's an example from my manuscript THE PATRICIAN'S FORTUNE:

They reached the bottom of the affluent Palatine neighborhood and turned toward the center of the city. Damon set a quick pace, navigating the twisting thoroughfares with ease. He knew this city like a man knows a lover. A boiling cauldron of arrogance, greed, and excess, Rome was the focal point of the civilized world, though Damon was certain a majority of the Empire’s conquered regions would hotly argue the point.

The crowds began to thicken as they continued down the Via Sacra and approached the two enormous pillars marking the entrance to the city center. Damon eyed the carved statues of Rome’s legendary founders, Romulus and Remus, circling their circumference. There were dozens of similar statues scattered around Rome, adorning public buildings, heralding a general’s successful campaign, an emperor’s benevolence, but this one had always been his favorite.

The famous twins faced each other, swords tightly clutched, expressions reflecting the stoicism of a conquering race, prepared to defend the nation they’d founded. Romulus’ free hand rested on the head of the legendary she-wolf who had suckled the abandoned infants. An omen the ill fated Remus, murdered by the brother who named an Empire, should have heeded. Take care who you trust. A lesson Damon had learned good and well. With Kaj flanking him, Damon stepped through the stone arch into the Forum.

The market was well designed. A large open area provided ample room for pedestrians and shoppers to go about their business. Weavers, jewelers, bakers, oil merchants, and pottery makers vied with tavernas and wine shops for their share of the citizens’ coin.

Street philosophers chalked their thoughts on the sides of buildings, some accompanied by unflattering drawings. Candidates for political offices spouted grand promises from stone block perches while those who had already been elected bustled about the business of government. Temples dedicated to one god or another stood wall to wall with brothels where, Damon mused, you were more likely to get your prayers answered than kneeling at an altar.

The city pulsed with life and Damon reveled in it. This was where he’d first experienced life after Jared had granted him his freedom. He closed his eyes for a moment, savored the sounds of bartering and badgering, inhaled the scent of spices and perfumes and—he cocked one eye open and looked at the painting of a pork hind gracing the side of a building—the butcher’s shop.

In this passage, I tried to show the power of the Empire as reflected by daily life in the epicenter of Rome itself....and my hero's connection and response to it.

Can you remember a description someone gave you about something? A trip or a gift or an event? Something that made you wish you had been there?

Treat 'em Mean...

by Christine Wells

When I was a poor university student, I took on a variety of casual jobs, including tutoring at my old school. It was an all girls' school and fairly cloistered from the outside world.

There were no school dances or other co-educational social interactions. Even in plays and musicals all the male roles were played by the girls. Which is why I was stunned, at age 19, to receive advice on boys from my 14 year old student when we should have been balancing equations.

She was a gorgeous little thing and she had the male sex all worked out. Her motto, which she kindly shared with a roguish twinkle, was 'treat 'em mean, keep 'em keen'. On my own account, I was doubtful such a strategy would succeed, but I could see it had worked like a dream for her.

The best way to hold the interest of the opposite sex is never to appear too eager, or so the conventional wisdom goes. Well, readers are a lot like a member of the opposite sex.

A reader doesn't like the entire story laid at her feet from the beginning of the novel. She likes to be teased, tantalized, led on and on. And then, at the aptly named climax, the pay-off must be worth the wait.

Anne Gracie, a wonderful writing teacher as well as a gifted writer, sadly never had the benefit of my student's advice. Instead, she often quotes Charles Dickens--make them laugh, make them cry, make them wait.

I've waited six years to see a book I've written in print. When I held Scandal's Daughter for the first time, when I saw all my friends around me celebrating its launch, when I received wonderful messages from all our readers and such brilliant support from the Banditas themselves, it was like the end to the most satisfying read of my life. The pay-off has been more than worth the wait.

And a new chapter is just beginning...

Thank you all for sharing this special occasion with me.

And now I have a question--what in your life has been eagerly anticipated and well worth waiting for? It could be the ending of your favourite book--Flowers from the Storm, anyone? Or an event in real life. If you're not sick of the sight of me by now, I'd love to know!
And the winner is...

For the Jessica Faust guest blog, Cathie!

And for the Leis Pederson guest blog, MsHellion!

Congratulations, ladies! Please send me your snail addies by email at christineATchristine-wellsDOTcom and your Scandal's Daughter packs will be winging over to you soon!