My Writing Process: Draft Zero to Done by Suzanne Johnson

January 16, 2012 Roni Loren

It's guest Monday time and today author Suzanne Johnson lets us in on her writing process. I always find it fascinating to hear how other people work. It's amazing how there are so many different paths to get to a finished novel. I hope you find it fascinating as well.

BLOG TOUR ALERT: And coincidentally, today I'm talking about My Crazy Writing Process at the Wytch's Mirror. Guess Suzanne and I had the same thing on our minds, lol.

Also, I'm at the Writerspace blog talking about people's perceptions of me: The Girl Next Door Writes Erotic Romance

Take it away, Suzanne....

My Writing Process: Draft Zero to Done

by Suzanne Johnson

I’ve been going through an online “revise your novel in 30 days” type of course because I have a novel that needs revising, and, well, I’m a bit of a workshop slut. (Is there a twelve-step program for that?)

In the beginning days of the workshop, the participants all shared our novel-writing processes. Some had completed multiple novels and had a system well in place; others were still looking for the process that would work for them. What’s fascinating is that, at the end of all these different ways of doing things, a novel came out the other end. Well, usually.

I’ve shifted in the past six months from my beginning process, which was a) write book in however long it takes to write and revise it; b) send book to agent; c) work on something else while manuscript is shopped around. It turns out, that’s a leisurely way to work.

Now that I have books under contract, the pace has changed. There are hard *gulp* deadlines when new manuscripts are due—manuscripts that are no more than a twinkle of an idea in my head. Suddenly, the day job seems more onerous. The annoying little household things—you know, like buying groceries and feeding my pets and paying bills—seem to take up too much time. I’ve had to develop a new process.

So, here’s the process I’ve used on the last two manuscripts, and will use on the next one, which is due May 15 and is still in that “brain-twinkle” form. I don’t throw this out there because it’s a “right” way to do it, or even that it will work for anyone else—just that it gives me a chance to ask you as writers what your process looks like!

So...INITIAL IDEA is something that usually starts bouncing around in my head while I'm driving or doing something not writing-related. I brainstorm on it a while before anything hits paper (or computer screen). I tend to start with a "big idea" and then build the characters around it. I don’t consider this part of my 90-day-to-novel process since nothing’s written down at this stage.

OUTLINE...I spend from one to two weeks working on what I call a plot arc, a detailed outline that averages about 10,000 words. I don't' work out scene specifics, but by the time the plot arc is done, I know what scene falls where, where the book will start, where it will end, what the high-level action points are, about how many chapters I'm going to have, and what the relationship arcs for each character look like against the action arc.

DRAFT ZERO...I do a down-and-dirty draft, start to finish, using my outline as a guide but improvising as things come to me (updating the outline as I go). I call it “draft zero” because it’s so bad it doesn’t even deserve to be called a first draft. Nobody, but nobody, sees this one except me. When I sit down to write, I read over the last two or three paragraphs from the previous day, but no more. I don't do descriptions, setting, or worry about word choice--I'm strictly working on plot and pace. I don't stop to look up words or names of things. When it’s done, my Draft Zero usually runs about 75,000-80,000 words long. My strong suit is grammar/punctuation so that part of it's going to be pretty clean even in DRAFT ZERO stage. It takes from eight-to-ten weeks for me to draft since I work full-time and have freelance obligations that can’t be shirked.

FIRST DRAFT...I take a week to do a thorough front-to-back read. I smooth over rough spots. I add description and dialogue according to a set of questions (i.e., is the character dressed? are there sensory inputs? can the scene be amped up?). By the end of this stage, I should have the manuscript at or near my contract-required 90,000 words. If not, I need to brainstorm ways to add or expand scenes.

At this stage, if I'm on an accelerated deadline, I send the manuscript to beta readers. While they read, I polish. I look at word choice, sentence structure, rhythm, pace. I consider/incorporate suggestions or ideas as they come in from betas. My poor betas have to read quickly, I’m afraid.

FINAL POLISH. I do a final pass, reading aloud when possible, to tinker with anything that doesn't ring true to my characters or story. And off it goes.

Whew, I’m exhausted. But that’s my pace to produce a couple or three books a year while holding down the full-time EDJ (evil day job). What does your process look like? (Yes, I’m looking to steal ideas!)

Suzanne Johnson is an author of urban fantasy “with romantic elements.” Her first book, Royal Street, a magic-based fantasy set in New Orleans at the time of Hurricane Katrina, will be released by Tor Books on April 10, 2012. Two more in the series will be released in Fall 2012 and Spring 2013. Find Suzanne online at her Preternatura blog, or read about her books at her website.

*Look for more from Suzanne here every 3rd Monday of the month!

"Hot and romantic, with an edge of suspense that will keep you entertained.” --Shayla Black, New York Times Bestselling author of SURRENDER TO ME

CRASH INTO YOU is now available!

Read an excerpt here.

All content copyright of the author. Please ask permission before re-printing or re-posting. Fair use quotations and links do no require prior consent of the author. ©Roni Loren 2009-2012 |Copyright Statement|

Creating a Story Bible by Suzanne Johnson

December 19, 2011 Roni Loren

First, a quick announcement: my CRASH INTO YOU blog tour has started! So if you're interested in following along here are my first two posts:

Why I Went Traditional and 7 Reasons Why You Should (or Shouldn't) at Anne R. Allen's Blog

Why Do All the Romance Heroes Have Six-Packs? at Kat Latham's blog

***

It's guest Monday and today author Suzanne Johnson is something that *I* need to listen to. Even though I don't write a supernatural world, my series takes place around and at a place called The Ranch, which is a BDSM retreat with its own intricate rules and procedures. I find as I'm writing book 3, I keep forgetting what standards I set up in book one. Plus, all my characters are connected in some way so I need to keep track of that. And don't even get me started on minor characters' names. *headdesk* Hopefully this post can help me get things straight. : )

Take it away, Suzanne...

Creatinga Story Bible

by Suzanne Johnson

Filethis post under “Lessons Learned the Hard Way.”

When Istarted writing my first novel in the winter of 2008 and spring of 2009, I wasjust amusing myself, really. It was an exercise to try and rid myself ofpost-traumatic stress left over from Hurricane Katrina and severe homesicknessfor New Orleans, which I’d recently moved away from after almost fifteen years.

To condensea long, boring story, after a journalism career during which I pronouncedseveral times that I had no ability or interest in writing fiction, I got thebug. Never say never. In July came the agent, and in the fall came the firstcontract. By that time, I’d finished with the second book, which also sold.

So, hereI am at book three, and I’m almost three years older, if not wiser. And I findmyself thinking: Wait, did (heroine) DJ use spellcast rubies or emeralds in thefirst book when she did the transport charm? What was that wizard’s name shemet briefly at the morgue? What were the words she used when she summoned theundead Marie Laveau from the Beyond? Did she have to put blood on her summoningcircle, or just place candles around it? What color were the candles?

Lookingup all that stuff, I realized, was going to take for-evah. So I did something I should have done three years ago:started creating a Story Bible. Or, more accurately, hired a former studentintern to read Royal Street and River Road and make a Story Bible forme.

Ifyou’re not writing a paranormal, a few of these areas won’t apply, but here arethe things I asked my intern to make note of. A lot of them will apply to anynovel.

--Each character, along with aphysical description, physical quirks, specific words used in description(i.e., “eyes the color of dark chocolate”), likes/dislikes, family members,hometowns, type of species (wizard, shapeshifter, etc.), cars they drive, nicknames,and in which book/scene they first appear.

--Specific places mentioned:restaurant names, what they eat, places they have meetings, location of homesand offices. Physical layout/décor descriptions of places (i.e., layout of DJ’shouse, layout of Napoleon House restaurant/bar, layout of Green Gator bar).

--Species traits. Quirks/abilities of species: wizards,varmpires, elves, fae, water species (merpeople, nymphs, naiads),shapeshifters, were-critters besides loup-garou, loup-garou, historical undeadand difference between them and zombies, ghouls and ghosts.

--Worldbuilding. Magical hierarchy and skills/duties.

--Magic. Charms and potions DJ uses, and what she does/whatingredients she uses. Book and MSS page number where used.

Once my new StoryBible for the Sentinels of New Orleans series is complete, I’ll go in andinsert photos of places, diagrams of house layouts and places—even charactersif I’ve based them physically on an actor or actress.

So now,as I write Elysian Fields, to avoidstopping and looking up stuff from previous books, I’m plugging in the wordALBATROSS for every hole. That way, I don’t get slowed down in my first draft.Then, on second draft, I’ll do a search for ALBATROSS and fill in the holesusing my handy-dandy Story Bible (Sarah—finish that thing!).

Anexample:

“It was a good sign. I’d metALBATROSS during a harebrained foray to the temporary morgue that had been setup after Katrina.”

And:

“Seven p.m. had barely come andgone, yet the line of people waiting to get into L’Amour Sauvage alreadystretched down ALBATROSS Street…”

If I haddone the Story Bible from the outset, this would not be necessary. Doh.

Are youwriting a series or shared-universe books? Story Bible. Really. Just do it. Andif you do it, or a version of it, what’s your method?

*Look for more from Suzanne here every 3rd Monday of the month!

"Revved up and red-hot sexy, CRASH INTO YOU, delivers a riveting romance!" --Lorelei James, NY Times Bestselling author of the ROUGH RIDERS series

CRASH INTO YOU is now available for pre-order!

Read an excerpt here.

5 Tips For Not Screwing Up Your Character's Name by Suzanne Johnson

October 17, 2011 Roni Loren

It's genre Monday and today Suzanne Johnson is going to cover a topic I seem to always have trouble with--naming characters in a way that isn't confusing, redundant, or just plain wrong.

For the record, these tips also apply to naming your children. :)

Take it away Suzanne...

Photo by quinn.anya

5 Tips for Naming Your Character (aka I Screw Up So You Don’t Have To)

I’m in the throes of writing the third book in my upcoming urban fantasy series, and have spent the last hour looking at a key scene involving my heroine and a regent (think: big boss) vampire who might or might not be a murderous necromancer. So far, the vampire’s name is VAMPIRE. Catchy, eh?

Names are no different for paranormals than for romance—or any other kind of fiction. They have power. They resonate (we hope in a good or bad way, depending on the character) with readers. Sometimes we struggle to find them, and sometimes they come to us unbidden. They are important, in other words. And if we are writing series....we’re going to be stuck with them for what we hope is a very long time.

So here are a few lessons about character names I’ve learned the hard way. Think of it as “Suzanne screws up...so you don’t have to.”

The cardinal rule: LOVE the name because you never know how long you might be stuck with it.

I’m like most writers, I suspect, in using a hodgepodge of methods to come up with names. My heroine—technically the only character in my series who cannot be killed—is Drusilla Jane Jaco. What a horrific name for a young, cute blonde wizard, in retrospect. When I started the first book in the series in 2008, I thought naming her after my great-great grandmother would be fun. A little in-joke between me and, well, me. Three books later, I’m tired of finding new ways to explain how she goes by DJ and was named after great-aunt Dru and hates her name blah blah blah, because that has to be done in Every. Single. Book.

Just because Charlaine Harris got away with it doesn’t mean you should try.

Just as you don’t want names that are uber-pretentious (Lord Ar’guth’nirz) or unpronounceable (Cthulhu), you also don’t want names so plain they put your readers to sleep. In one of my manuscripts, Beth Harris was Beth Harris for 93,000 words...until I realized she was bland and vapid, and her name proved it (my apologies to any of you named Beth Harris). The exception to this rule is if your own name is Charlaine Harris. In her ridiculously popular Sookie series (technically, the Southern Vampire series, from which HBO made “True Blood”), Harris planted tongue firmly in cheek and gave the well-endowed Sookie the surname of Stackhouse. Her vampires were Bill and Eric (again tongue in cheek...Eric, who was a Viking when he was turned vampire, uses the last name Northman). But still, I wonder, now that the series has reached book number twelve or something like that, if Ms. Harris ever wishes Bill were named...Jackson, or something un-Bill-like.

Want a really cool name for your character? Use surnames. There are several good online databases of surnames, even broken down by country. One of my own favorite characters is named Mirren. And yes, he was named after Helen Mirren (but don’t tell him since he’s a big macho alpha male and would feel emasculated. I’ve managed to keep that secret from him so far).

Use a name that’s pronounced like it’s spelled.

Just for your own peace of mind. I love my merman twins Rene and Robert Delachaise and their daddy Toussaint, but I know people are going to pronounce their names wrong unless they’re from South Louisiana. It really doesn’t matter except that I like their names with the correct pronunciation: “Renny” and “Row-bear” and “Too-sont” “Della-shay.” So if I’m the only one who enjoys the way a name sounds tripping off the tongue, isn’t that kind of like a tree falling in the woods with no one to hear?

Check your history.

This is a lesson most applicable to writers of historicals or paranormals. Poor, dull Beth Harris’ love interest in my paranormal romance was a 400-year-old Irish vampire named Galen, born in 1570 in the area near Kinsale and turned vampire when he was in his early 30s. I loved Galen Murphy. He was Galen for months and months...until a savvy beta reader, damn her, did a little research and pointed out gleefully that the name Galen was not in use in Ireland in 1600—in fact, it didn’t make it there until the 1800s. So Galen bit the dust, replaced by Aodhan, a fine bit of Gaelic that today is Aidan. But he’ll always be Galen to me.

Variety is good.

Look at your cast of characters as a whole and make sure there aren’t similar names. Not starting with the same letter, certainly, but also not all hard consonant sounds or soft vowel sounds. Did I follow this advice? Of course not. It’s why, three books into my series, I still have major characters named Jean and Jake. Never mind that Jean is an undead French pirate and Jake is a honey-tongued devil from Picayune, Mississippi, who owns a Bourbon Street bar. Jean and Jake; Jake and Jean—and throw in DJ, just so we’ll have another J going. And remember Aidan, who replaced Galen? His brother’s name is Owen. Aidan and Owen. Owen and Aidan. Vowels. So confusing. Don’t do it.

So, there you have it. Now, I’m still looking at my new vampire, who has to compete on the playing field with DJ, Jake, Jean, and Alex (my only character with the good sense to take a unique, likeable, pronounceable name). Perhaps Adam? No....

In honor of names, my recommended read this month is Dead Witch Walking (The Hollows, Book 1)
, a funny, sexy urban fantasy by Kim Harrison and the first in her long-running Hollows series. In it, you’ll find Rachel, Ivy, Trent, Jenks, Kisten, and Al. (AL, you might ask? Well, yeah, he’s a demon and it’s short for Algaliarept.)

What’s been your most problematic character name?

*Look for more from Suzanne here every 3rd Monday of the month!

“...a sexy, sizzling tale that is sure to have readers begging for more!" –Jo Davis, author of I SPY A DARK OBSESSION

CRASH INTO YOU is now available for pre-order!

Read an excerpt here.