Saying "I'm a Writer" - The 6 Stages of Responses from Others

Photo by PhotoSteve 101

Telling people you are a writer is one of those admissions that is met with a mixed bag of responses. Some of us choose not to say anything at all when we first start writing. We keep it our little secret because we're worried about what people will think and our little dream is just too fragile to be picked on at that point. Then, when we do get up enough courage to start admitting it (this sounds like AA--My name is Roni, and I'm a writer), we often brace ourselves not knowing what to expect.

So I thought I'd share my experience so far with calling myself a writer.

The "I'm a Writer" Cycle

Stage 1: 

You write and don't tell people anything. You don't feel legit yet, so you don't feel comfortable admitting it to others. This way, if you fail, you have no one to answer to.

What others say: Nothing. 

What they really think: They don't know anything so they just assume you're a recluse who likes to be on your computer way too much.

Stage 2

You start to tell your close friends and family that you're giving this novel writing thing a try.

What others say: That's great! Good for you! *pats hand*

What they really think: What a fun hobby to keep him/her busy. 

Stage 3

You finish a book and move on to the querying stage.

What others say: Ooh, when will it be on the shelves? 

What they really think: They assume that since you actually finished a book, it's bound to end up a Barnes and Noble. I mean, writing a whole novel is the hardest part, right? Now you just need to get someone to print that puppy up.

Stage 4

Rejections roll in. You accept that this book isn't going to be the one and move on to write book two.

What others say: That's too bad. Maybe you should look into that dental hygiene program at the junior college. I've heard they make great salaries and have good hours.

What they really think: That you're wasting your time chasing a dream that's not going to happen. That you're a bit insane (doing the same thing over and over and getting the same result.)

Stage 5

You query book 3, 4, 5, whatever. You get an agent.

What others say: You hired someone to help you? That's nice.

What they really think: Poor girl is just throwing her money away. She just needs to move on and do something more practical.

Stage 6

You get a book deal.

What others say: Oh my God! When will it be on the shelves? I want a free copy! Are they going to make a movie about it? Will you do book signings? You're going to be rich and famous like Stephen King/JK Rowling/Stephanie Meyer! 

What they really think: Wow, she's living her dream. How'd she get so lucky?

Now, some of this is a little tongue and cheek, but not entirely far off from my experience. One thing I can say is that my husband and parents have been wildly supportive throughout. I think I have parents who if I said--I want to be an NFL quarterback, they'd probably tell me to go for it, lol.

But other people, in general, are both appalled and fascinated by those who go for an "impractical" dream. And it's a fine line between those two emotions. Think about it. Someone says "I'm going to Hollywood to be an actress". People think--"Flighty girl who doesn't want to get a real job."  She becomes the next Julia Robers. People say--"Oh, she is so amazing, so passionate about what she does" and hide in her bushes to snag a mere picture. It's ridiculous.

But here's my point about all this (yes, I have a point!):

People are going to think what they think. Don't let them decide how you feel about yourself or your writing. Being a "dreamer" is a beautiful thing and something we all should be proud of. We're the part of the population who refuses to settle, refuses to accept that what would make us happy is not achievable. We see daunting odds and try anyway. 

So published, unpublished, just starting out--it doesn't matter--wear that writer label with pride. There's no shame in being a dreamer. :)

So have you gotten any of the reactions I listed above? Do you tell others you're a writer? What's the best or rudest reaction you've gotten when telling someone you're a writer?

**Today's Theme Song**

"Dream On" - Aerosmith

How to Dish Out Backstory in Digestible Bites

It's that time of the year again--contest judging. I've talked about it one here before, but I think volunteering to judge contests is (beyond being a nice thing to do) one of the greatest exercises a writer can go through. Looking for specific things in other works often helps us develop a more critical eye for our own work. I know it's definitely helped me.

Now when I'm judging, I usually see a little bit of everything--some spectacular things, some really beginner efforts, and everything in between. But as I go through the entries this year for my local RWA's chapter contest, one of the trends I'm seeing is the dreaded backstory dump.

We've probably all made this mistake at one time or another. This is why a lot of people suggest writing your book, then cutting the first three chapters because it's probably all backstory. Now, that's a little drastic, but I think there is a nugget of truth in that.

So today I'm going to cover how to share that history and backstory with the reader without choking them.  Think of backstory like a big steak--you can't swallow the whole thing at once, it must be cut up and devoured in small, juicy bites.  Ideally, these bites will blend so well with the rest of the story, that the reader will barely notice that you've slipped it in on them.

So first let's look at some choking hazards:

Prologue--These are notorious for being solely backstory, which is probably why they've developed a bit of a bad reputation.  Make sure what you have in your prologue (if you have one) can't be sprinkled in somewhere  else instead.

First Chapters--This is where it's most tempting to put in big blocks of backstory.  Resist!  Your story should start in the middle of things.  Readers don't have to know all the background yet, get them to the action so you can hook them.  Pay particular attention to chapters 1-3 in your first draft.  Many times it's where we as writers are working out the story for ourselves (which is fine as long as you go back and cut them during revision).

Alright, now for some ways to blend in that backstory...

Dialogue

This is an easy and obvious way to reveal information to your reader.  However, watch out for the traps with this.

--Make sure that the conversation is realistic and that there is a reason for it to be happening besides slipping in backstory to the reader.

   NOT "I can't believe you cheated on me six months ago with someone half my age." (the guy would already know that)

   INSTEAD "How's your new bimbo? Has she graduated high school yet?"

--Make sure the conversation comes up naturally and not out of the blue.  Something needs to trigger that discussion.

--Use action to break up the dialogue so it doesn't start sounding like an info dump.

Flashback

Where your character relives in their head a past event as it happened.  Unlike a memory, they don't filter the events through their current point of view.

--Be very careful with this one.  Many people advise against flashbacks.  But I think if used correctly and sparingly they can work.

--Something has to trigger the flashback. That memory needs to be brought to mind by some object, situation, person, etc.

--Make it clear that it is a flashback so your reader doesn't get confused.  Some people use italics to help with this.

Memory

Similar to flashback, but the memory is seen through the person's current POV.

--Sprinkle this in.  Like everything else, large chunks of prose on a memory will get tedious.

--Just like the others, the memory must be triggered by something.  Don't have your MC vacuuming and just suddenly think of how her father died (unless it was death by vacuum).

--Can build and foreshadow throughout the story, not revealing everything up front.  For instance, in my category romance, my MC goes to a concert and for a moment she's reminded of a tragic night years ago.  But all I show is that she has a sick feeling and that she remembers to the day how long it's been since she's seen a concert--which lets us know something important happened back then, but I don't say anything about what it is specifically, just foreshadow.

--Ex.) He smiled at her, and for a moment, she was reminded of the boy he used to be, the one she used to love.  (See, that tells us they had a previous relationship and that something changed along the way.  Just enough to whet the reader's appetite.)

Thoughts

Using direct thoughts instead of narrative.

--This doesn't have to be a specific memory, but can let us know that there is something there behind the thought.

--i.e. "Don't you just let go and have fun sometimes?" he asked.  She shook her head and averted her eyes.  "No." Not anymore.

Action

Sometimes you can use some event in your story to relay past events.

--i.e.  A news story comes on TV talking about a cold case murder that relates to your MC.

The easiest way for me to figure out how to put in backstory is to think like a screenwriter.  They cannot tell you things in a movie, they have to show it all.  So how would I convey this information if it were a movie?

Alright, so those are my tips, what are some of yours?  How do you sneak in your backstory?  And do you put down a book if it's pages and pages of backstory to start?

*This is an updated re-post from Dec. 2009

 

**Today's Theme Song**

"The Story" - 30 Seconds to Mars

 

(player in sidebar if you'd like a listen.  I ♥ this song.)

Blog Changes--Threaded Comments!--and a PSA

 

Confession: I've been a naughty blogger.

Yep, that's right. Because lately, I've become a slacker when it comes to replying to all of your comments. I know, I know. I can come up with all the excuses--I'm writing a book against a deadline, my kidlet has been sick a lot this winter, my time seems to be an endangered species, Twitter has sucked me into the vortex.

But really, they're not the true reasons. It's definitely not because I'm not interested in doing it. You guys always have great things to say and I love reading and responding to them. However, the real reason is that the commenting system on blogger makes the process so tedious, that sometimes by the end of the day, I just am not very motivated to put forth the effort. Shame on me.

I've waited for a year and a half, hoping Blogger could figure out a way to get threaded comments a la Wordpress. I don't want to leave the Blogger platform because I love all the other features and the ease of use. But alas, there is still no indication that Blogger is going to be implementing this change anytime soon. Therefore, I have decided to go for the best of both worlds and to try a new outside commenting system so that I can have threaded comments--yay!--but can still stay on Blogger.

Hopefully this new IntenseDebate system will help me be a better bloggy friend.

Here's what I think about it so far...

Benefits:

• I can reply directly under each comment to that specific person instead of having to do the long list of @ in one big comment.
• You guys can now reply to each other if you're so inclined. 
• Makes discussion easier.
• Anyone can leave a comment easily--as a guest, an OpenID, or a Twitter ID.
• Installing it does not effect any of my old posts or the previous comments made, only future posts.
• It was super easy to install.
• UPDATE: New benefit discovered--when I receive the comment notification in my inbox, I can just hit reply to the email and it will post my reply to the comment on the blog. Awesome.

Drawbacks:

• We shall see. Hopefully it doesn't discourage people from making comments because you have to type in your name and email the first time you comment.
• My blogger dashboard won't show how many comments each post has when I view the screen that lists all my posts.
• UPDATE: New drawback--if someone just clicks onto the main blog and not the title of the post, no comment form shows up. :(  I am adding a line at the bottom of the post to click through. This seems to be the biggest drawback so far. (Thanks to Terry Odell for bringing it to my attention.) Yay! Problem fixed itself. Woot.
• UPDATE: When someone clicks to follow comments, they get an email to confirm the subscription by clicking, so one extra step.

Thanks to Sierra for trying it first, which made it less scary for me to make the switch (I fear change) because I was able to get her feedback on how she liked it. :)

SO here's the deal: You will have to enter your name, email, and (optional) website to make a comment the first time or sign in with your twitter or openID to make a comment. However, once you do that the first time, when you come back to the site again, all your information will already be filled in. So hopefully it will be pretty painless for everyone. It also will also allow non-Blogger people greater ease in commenting.

I'm looking for your feedback, however, so leave a comment and let me know what you think of the new system.

And now a PSA...

My rockstar of an agent, Sara Megibow, is giving a really cool workshop (January 13) via webinar on opening pages and with your registration, you'll get a critique of your first three pages! How awesome is that? You know those first few pages are vital in hooking an agent or publisher and sometimes they feel impossible to get right. So this is a way to a) learn more about openings and b) get actual professional feedback on your opening. If you're interested, all the registration info is on the Writer's Digest site HERE.

Alright, so I hope you all have a great weekend!. But don't forget to tell me what you think. I'd love to hear back from all of you. :)

What do you think of the new commenting system? Are you as desperate for threaded comments as I am? Have you found a good system or method to replying to comments on your own site? And when you make a comment on a blog and don't get a response, does it make you less likely to visit again?

Writing Teen Angst--Guest Post by Author Julie Cross

Today, I have a special treat for you! Julie Cross, my friend and the author of the upcoming Tempest trilogy is here to shed some light on writing that lovely part of teenage existence--angst. Ugh. Even the word sounds gross and painful. But there's no writing YA without an in depth knowledge of angsty-ness. I mean, what fun is a totally well-adjusted teen character? Bo-ring! 

So, take it away Julie...

 

The Essence of Writing Teen Angst

One concept that I grasped early on in my writing journey is how different teen angst can be from what you might read in an adult novel. And when I say angst, I’m talking about the drama, the emotion, the character’s internal struggles that evolve from a well crafted story. Adults who are new to writing YA may struggle to make this believable for readers. Mostly because we are more removed from those years.

I’ve created a few basic guidelines for writing YA drama and emotion that is both authentic and true to teen characters, but also appeals to a wide variety of readers—adults included. A lot of what teenagers go through, to an adult, seems ridiculous to even dwell on. But a good YA writer will pull us so completely into a character’s head that we are living the emotion right along with them. First kisses, first boyfriends, fighting with your best friend, fitting in… all of it becomes so real we can feel it. And then we immediately thank whatever all-powerful being we pray to, that those years are really over.   

Onto the real lesson. Point number 1:

UNDERSTAND NOWHERE LAND

-          Nowhere land is the in between world teens have to live in. They aren’t adults, they aren’t kids, but they have to act to like both sometimes and shouldn’t act like either at other times.

-          Think about it. Teens are expected to operate a vehicle responsibly on the same road as families piled in minivans. And yet, they can’t go to the bathroom during Biology without permission and a hall pass. That is seriously confusing!

-          Nowhere land creates this “Right Now” state of mind. All focus is directed on the present. Teens are impulsive and everything going on in their lives, right now, truly becomes the most important thing in the world.

-          This is the reason YA books are typically very fast paced and the stories rarely stretch over long periods of time. Even teenagers that appear to be responsible-future-planning-good-decision-makers are faking it most of the time. By “faking it” I mean they’re following the steps, but not really understanding or visualizing the long term outcome. They really can’t at that age.

-          As a writer, you have to figure out how to embrace Nowhere Land and freeze a moment in your character’s life. Start with the beginning of the book’s major event or conflict (or just before). Then dissect it and make your reader feel like there is no other day, month, or year except this one.

-          Personally, I LOVE to write the way-before-my-story-actually-starts pages because it helps me get to know my characters better. And besides, prequels are totally in right now. So go ahead and write those excess pages if you need to, then cut them out later.

-          Think about Judy Blume’s famous YA book, FOREVER (if you’ve read it). Katherine is so absorbed in her relationship with Michael, her first love, she can’t imagine ever being with anyone else. No one can shake her and tell her she’s wrong. It won’t work. And the reader is in there with Katherine. On her side. That’s what you have to do as a writer.

THE TRUTH….WHAT’S THAT AGAIN?

-          Honesty is probably more rare in teens than anything else. They lie to everyone. When they’re trying to be nice they lie, when they get angry and shout horrible things they lie. Teens aren’t supposed to get too excited about anything, or too upset. They’re not supposed to care what other people think, which means they can’t do anything but care.

-          When writing a YA book, the external dialogue and internal dialogue should show that sharp contrast of truth and lies. But don’t spell it out, let the reader slowly interpret it for themselves. If you’ve read CATCHER IN THE RYE than you know exactly how this can be done. Holden is the ultimate unreliable character. I also have a tiny excerpt from an old manuscript that basically displays the lack of truth flowing between two teen characters:

When I turned around Drew was there, standing in the door way. The instant our eyes met, I knew I was in love so much my heart would shatter into a million pieces, and there was no way to put it back together. No going back.

It was an unhealthy obsession, like Alice. A delusion. 

I forced myself to suck in a breath, even with the stabbing pain. “Are you taking off?” I asked him.

“Yeah, my dad wants to hang out.”

“I guess we’ll both be at the dance tonight.”

“John asked you?”

 I nodded, trying to read his face. Searching for some kind of reaction.

He turned and walked toward the door and then in an instant snapped back around. “Tawny, if you want to me stay, I will.”

Which means you feel guilty about screwing me. I didn’t want any part of the needy girl routine. And I didn’t need any guilt from Drew. This wasn’t his fault, it was mutual.

“Just go, quit worrying about me.”

He opened his mouth to speak and I turned my back on him. A few seconds later the front door closed.

-          What I love about writing this dishonesty aspect of the teen years is the opportunity to write the few subtle moments of pure honesty. The raw observations of the world that are so unique through fresh eyes. Another example from my character developmental journals I use to help write TEMPEST.

 “The second I walk back into the room, I get an entire eyeful of David’s man region. It doesn’t look anything like I imagined. Like it’s a complete stranger attached to the body of someone who I feel very comfortable with.”

-          This excerpt was stolen from Holly’s Diary and is very briefly referenced in TEMPEST. When I told my agent, Suzie Townsend, that I needed to write Holly’s disastrous prom night but it would be too painful to produce a detailed description, she basically said, “You have to do it… no glossing over.”

-          The retelling of this was so painfully embarrassing for me as a writer, but I did it and the whole 10 or 12 pages is basically full of blunt, humiliating honesty. And so far the feedback has been good. It reminded me of reading those embarrassing stories in YM magazine with my friends. Everyone devoured them. 

BE TRUE TO YOUR CHARACTERS

-          You gotta keep it real…above and beyond anything else. Your character doesn’t represent you, he or she represents your ability to bring a fictional soul to life.

-          In my opinion, YA books do this better than most other genres. Yes, the language can be bad, the rating can be worse than R, but the experiences are real and raw.

-          The journey that a YA character takes can be amazing and life changing for readers. Seriously. If you don’t believe me, try reading one of these books (if you haven’t already)-- 13 Reasons Why, Before I Die, Twenty Boy Summer, Story of A Girl, Or anything Courtney Summers has written. Those are stories that stick in your head long after that final page.

EMOTION COMES IN LAYERS

-          Build up to the tension or angst slowly throughout the story and then hit that peak close to the end

-          Feel free to take every amount of support and help away from your character until you’ve left him or her standing in the middle of the woods completely naked in twenty below temperatures. But do this one layer at a time.

-          The first layer of emotion needs to come early on and not be too heavy or cheesy. It should be carefully inserted and possibly open the door for an unresolved issue that the main character is dealing with or going to have to deal with. This one is from the end of the first 20 pages of one of my earlier contemporary YA manuscripts. The story is about a painfully shy Catholic school girl who gets tangled in a web of mean girls, a cute older boy, and a lot of really bad rumors.

I was writing my answer to Hailey’s riddle when the rest of the lights went out. I leaned further forward, squinting so I could see the letters properly. I heard Alison gasp beside me and I lifted my head and was completely horrified when I saw the words on the giant screen. They read:

THE ELEANOR STORY – A STORY OF A GIRL WHOSE REPUTATION GOT IN THE WAY OF HER RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD.

Translate that into eighth grade terms – the girl was easy and boy crazy and would rather be kissing than praying. And she had my name! And reddish-brown hair, like me.

My heart was pounding so loud I thought blood might start pouring out of my ears. It was slow motion. Heads were moving around, twenty-nine of them, until finally fifty-eight eyes were staring at me. This was the worst spotlight ever. Or like the dream where you go to school naked. Alison gripped my hand and Hailey’s fingernails dug into my arm confirming that my worries were justified. I was never going to live this down.

I watched in horror as movie Eleanor became the most exaggerated flirt ever in the history of fourteen year-old girls. I mean get real! They had this girl hiding in a closet with one boy and then telling another boy she wants to meet him after school behind the dumpster. Seriously. The dumpster. The worst part was the end when she went to the priest crying because everyone was calling her an inappropriate word I won’t say. When the movie ended Sister Clarisse turned the lights back on and the three of us sat there frozen while everyone filed out.

“I would have rather put condoms on fruit,” I said.

“Definitely,” both girls said together.

So, there you have it. The essence of teen angst. And yes, lots of these techniques can be applied to other genres, but the actual moments in a YA book, the reactions of the characters, are extremely unique. This genre is blooming more than any other and that alone is certainly worth taking a hard look at the reasons behind the popularity of YA novels. Not just teens are reading these books anymore. The audience is very broad. 

Julie Cross is represented by Suzie Townsend with FinePrint Lit. Her young adult novel, TEMPEST has been sold to editor Brendan Deneen with Thomas Dunne in a 3 book deal. TEMPEST is the first in a trilogy about a 19-year-old time traveler who witnesses his girlfriend's murder and inadvertently jumps back two years; stuck there, he's recruited by a shadowy government agency run by the man he thought was his father and vows to save his girlfriend no matter the cost. Visit her at http://juliecross.blogspot.com/

Creating An Author Brand: Why It's Not Really About the Book

Hey all! Happy New Year!

Today I'm the guest blogger over at Sierra Godfrey's super fab site. Come stop by and say hi!

Creating An Author Brand: Why It's Not Really About the Book

Thanks! :)

2011 Book Challenges

THIS LIST HAS MOVED HERE.

I love structure and an organized way to tackle my reading for the year. So this year I'm joining a number of reading challenges. The main one will be this first one, the Outdo Yourself challenge. The rest I'm using as sub-categories of that one because all will count towards that main goal.

This will be the place where I keep track of the books as I finish them (so this is not an official post). If you're interested in signing up for any of these challenges, you can check out these and a lot more here.

*Read more than the 40 books I read last year.*

1. Behind the Duke's Door by Lynne Silver
2. Strange Attractions by Emma Holly
3. Harmonic Feedback by Tara Kelly
4. Beyond Eden by Kele Moon
5.

*Read at least 20 ebooks*

1. Behind the Duke's Door by Lynne Silver
2. Beyond Eden by Kele Moon
3.

*Read at least 20 in the genre*

1. Behind the Duke's Door by Lynne Silver
2. Strange Attractions by Emma Holly
3. Beyond Eden by Kele Moon
4.

*read at least 12 in the genre*

1.
2.
3.

Resolution Time: Goals and Reading Challenges for 2011

Last year I made a list of personal and writing goals. Some I accomplished, some I didn't, and some kickass things I never anticipated happening...did. :)  Results were reported here. So I figured I should stick with tradition and set some new goals for the coming year. I think the power of intention and putting stuff out there really can be effective. (Especially when I hold myself accountable to the results publicly, lol.)

So here goes...

Writing Goals:

Complete Book 2 in the Exposure Therapy series way ahead of my June deadline.

Draft at least one additional full length novel.

Sell Wanderlust. (rollover from last year) --It's still under consideration at Harlequin, so if it doesn't sell to them, my alternative goal is to break down the book and rewrite it as a full length to submit to other pubs. I'm not ready to tuck those characters or their story under the bed. :)

Attend RWA Nationals in NYC. --I attended last year's and now can't imagine not going. But logistics with kiddo are going to take some working out.

Attempt to write a short piece (short story or novella) --I am totally intimidated at the idea of writing anything shorter than category length (55k), but I think writing something briefer will be a good exercise for me.

Blogging Goals:

Continue to keep up a regular blogging schedule and hopefully not bore you all. :)

Perhaps start or join a group blog and do more guest blogging.

Reading goals:

Read 50 or more books.
--Last year my goal was 100 and I failed miserably--I hit 40. So I figure this one is more reasonable. :) I'm going to do this by way of the following reading challenges:

This means I will read more books in 2011 than I read in 2010. If you want to sign up for the challenge, hop on over to The Book Vixen.

and

Sign up for Ebook challenge here. I hope to read at least 20 ebooks.

and

Erotic Romance Reading Challenge. Sign up for this one here. I plan to read 20 in this genre.

and

I need to read more in this genre since I, um, kind of write it. My books have a lot of suspense in them and I need to beef up my knowledge of suspense elements. So I plan to read at least 12 of these. Sign up here.

Each of these separate challenges will all count toward my total 50 (outdo) challenge. For a list of all kinds of reading challenges, you can go here.

Personal Goals:

Potty train the kiddo (a rollover goal from last year)

Be in a size ten or lower by the time I go to previously mentioned RWA Nationals.--I've been on Weight Watchers for a month, so I'm already started on this one. :)

Have a better work/life balance.

So those are mine. What are some of your goals for the new year? Are you joining any writing or reading challenges? What goal do you most hope to accomplish?


Hope you all have a wonderful New Year!

The Twisted Mind of a Writer: Finding Inspiration In Strange Places

Photo by gb_packards

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! I want to thank all of my guest posters who kept the blog going while I was road tripping back and forth to Branson, MO. We had a great vacation and actually survived our first big road trip with the kidlet. All I have to say is I'd like to thank the makers of portable DVD players and the VTech MobiGo handheld game. Anything that can keep a three year old occupied for the better part of six hours in a carseat is a Christmas miracle.

And though we usually fly to vacations, I have to say I really enjoyed road-tripping it this time. We went through Arkansas on the way to Missouri, then through Oklahoma on the way back. There was some beautiful country and mountains to drive through. Really gorgeous route. (And I tweeted this yesterday, but I had no idea Oklahoma had mountains. We drove into Oklahoma and I expected flat plains and boom, we're in the Oauchita mountains. Who knew?)

But in addition to the pretty scenery, we also passed through countless small rural towns. Some that looked like abandoned ghost towns, some that made me think the Jeepers Creepers truck was going to start tailing us anytime, and others that had my mind whirling with story ideas.

I'd see a broken down barn and wonder what hid inside. I'd see the town's one school (all grades in one building) and wonder what it'd be like to grow up in a place where there wasn't even a high school. And I definitely saw countless places that would make it easy to hide a body or hole up and hide from the world, lol. I even saw a "runaway truck" ramp in the mountains, which is apparently a place for 18-wheelers to go if they are going down a steep mountain and their brakes stop working.

Each of these things got my brain working as I started weaving stories that could utilize all these different things. So, of course, I asked my husband if that happens to him when he looks at all this stuff, like is he wondering if that guy with the long beard fixing a fence is really a serial killer who escaped detection and now spends his time doing cash jobs in the mountains.

After giving me the oh-my-strange-little-writer-wife smile, he said that no, he just wonders how people can live so far from simple things like a grocery store. He also noticed that they all had satellite dishes because, well, he's a guy and wondering how TV gets to these places is of interest.

But the whole conversation just reminded me again that writers are just different kind of people--we're a little...off, lol. And thank God for it because that gives us our creativity. But it also explains why we're always so happy to find others like us to talk to and network with. It's nice to know we're not alone in our strangeness. : )

So is this how you view the world as well? What strange places have you gotten inspiration from?

**Today's Theme Song**

"People Are Strange" - The Doors

(player in sidebar, take a listen) 

Guest Blog: Cooking Up a Character with Rashda Khan

 

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! I'll be back to blogging on Wednesday, but today I have another special treat for you. Rashda Khan is tying her love of cooking with her love of writing and talking about how to cook up a character. Hope you enjoy! (Although, I promise you'll probably end up hungry after reading this. :) ) 

Cooking Up a Character by Rashda Khan

Even though Roni and I are both in Texas, we ended up meeting in Twitterverse and I discovered her blog, which I thoroughly enjoy. So when she sent out an SOS for guest bloggers, I decided to come out of my shell –lurkmode—and volunteer. In the past, Roni’s posts and those of others have educated and encouraged me, so I figured it was time try and do my part. So without further ado, let’s cook up some characters! J

A good story, to me, is like a warm bowl of home-made soup on a bone-cold winter evening. Nourishing and filling. You can’t stop until you’ve scraped together the last spoonful. For me this magic happens with characters as real as my best friend, or the helpful librarian, or the flirty bartender at my favorite bar. Someone so real that I forget “it’s just a story” and root for their dreams, gasp when they are in danger, and cry for their heartbreak.

When I first started writing, I knew I wanted real characters. Easier said than done. I looked at all kinds of character worksheets, some of which were frightening in their length. But just as you can’t force an pantser to plot, worksheets and I do not get along. So instead, I decided to imagine character building in cooking terms. It worked for me, so I’m sharing it in the hopes that if there are other foodie-writers out there, maybe this method will help them create characters.

The readers, first and foremost, must be able to relate and care for a character. So think of a character, now think of him/her as a soup. Everyone has sipped soup at some point in their life. A bowl of soup can hearty and casual, something you curl up on the couch with while wearing your bunny slippers. Or it can be sinfully rich and made with fancy ingredients like truffle oil and escargot and served on fine china by a waiter waltzing to your table. It can be hot and sour, or sweet and mellow. What kind of soup would your character be?

Most people imagine the goodness of soup comes from long hours of slow simmering on the stove-top. Not so. There are some basic procedures and tips that can help you make soup in a cinch. Characterization doesn’t have to be an arduous process either as long as you keep the basics in mind. Remember food should appeal to our different senses through aroma, color, texture and taste. So should your character.


What Goes In the Pot:


Build the Base (Vegetables, trimmings and soup bones) – these provide a flavorful soup base). For a French flavor you’d use the mirepoix, an aromatic combination of onions, carrots and celery provide the base of many dishes. But for an Asian soup, I’d probably go for onions, garlic and ginger. Whatever kind of soup you make, it’s important to have a base to build on because it provides underlying flavor and depth.
In terms of character: your base would include goal, motivation and conflict. In other words, what does the character want, why does he/she want it and what keeps her/him from it (the conflict should include outside influences –the antagonist—and inside influences, fear).


Fat – only a small amount (about 2 tablespoon) is needed to cook –or sweat -- the vegetable base. You can choose rich, golden butter, lean and dark olive oil, or the boy/girl next door equivalent –canola or vegetable oil.
The backstory equals fat. You can’t do without it, but a little bit goes a long way. Like oil, it’s an underlying layer that shouldn’t be overly conspicuous.


Main Ingredient­-- In a chicken soup, that would be the chicken. In a lentil soup, that would be the lentils. In a story, go with the overriding description of your character. Former ex-marine turned detective, or mousy accountant taking on the mob.


Seasonings – such as spices, dried and fresh herbs, garlic, shallots should complement the main ingredient, enrich and deepen the flavors of the soup. 
Character traits and quirks help define the character and add more dimension. Think of the obsessive-compulsive TV detective Adrian Monk with his phobias and brilliant eye for details. Now compare him to Sherlock Holmes or Stephanie Plum. Each one of them solves crimes, but each is unique and different.


Liquid–you can use water, but broth or stock is more flavorful. Use more liquid in a soup with starchy vegetables –winter squash, lentils, potatoes and beans—and less when working with vegetables with high water contents—leafy greens.


The liquid in your story is your plot with all its twists and turns, pacing and reversals. The nature and amount of the liquid depends on your story. A woman’s fiction would have slower pace, rich with flavor, and different twists and turns. Think of Steel Magnolias where the issues are friendship, family and dealing with the complication of diabetes and loss—flavor provided by a cast of colorful small-town characters. Now compare it to an urban fantasy, which would require tighter pacing, danger and kick-ass-itude out the wazoo, spicy and sharp in taste,  such as Ilona Andrews’ Kate Daniels series, where the main character wields a sword and an even-sharper tongue, while dealing with magic and monsters, as well as identity, relationships and loss.


Plot is also colored by your particular character’s nuances. For example, your mousy accountant is not likely to cuss like a marine and beat up the mobsters…unless you give her a plausible backstory.


Thickeners -- are ingredients added to give more substance to the soup. These can include barley, pasta, rice, potatoes and flour.


In terms of writing, secondary characters would serve the same purpose, they help round out your main character and expose hidden layers.


The best example of this is JD Robb’s Death series. Eve Dallas, the main character, is a tough, driven, workaholic cop. Her hero, Roarke brings out the feminine, the playfulness and romantic in her, colleagues and friends like Peabody, Feeney, Nadine and Mavis show us the respect her dedication has earned Dallas in the job, and show her loyalty. Even antagonists like Roarke’s butler, Summerset and the cat, Sir Galahad, bring out her soft spots and her inner child.


Garnishes – are added at the end for visual, aroma, texture and/or taste. Typical garnish include: chopped herbs, lemon or lime juice, chopped or fried onion, or sour cream etc.


When it comes to characters, the garnish would be those physical details, like height, color of hair or eyes, build, voice etc. You just need a bit of garnish to help readers imagine, but choose wisely because too much can overwhelm your soup, while the right detail can add a whole new layer to the overall dish. Many writers pull the garnishes out first, but these should be added in the end. Just like chopped parsley adds a burst of green to a bowl of soup, details should make your character vivid.
Let me share a piece of Robb’s description of Roarke: His voice was smooth, with a whisper of the charm of Ireland over it, like rich cream over warmed whiskey. Yum!


To cook a soup or a character, we have to pull all the raw ingredients together. While we don’t have to cook for hours, we do need to let everything simmer so the flavors meld together to form a satisfying dish. So step back from the character for a bit, try to imagine this person in your head, sitting curled up on the couch next to you. Share a bowl of soup with them. Talk and visit instead of rushing him/her on to the page.


So does any of this make sense? Let me know what you think & Happy Writing!

BIO:
Rashda Khan is a West Texas-based food enthusiast and writer. She teaches culinary classes and writes The Family Table column for her local newspaper. She also day dreams of hunky paranormal heroes, magic and mischief and writes them down as stories. Other than that, she's raising a family of two children, two cats, two dogs and a husband.
She can be reached at rashda@rashdakhan.com Or @SpiceBites on Twitter. You can also find her at her blog  Hot Curries & Cold Beer.


Thanks so much to Rashda! 


So what do you think? What ingredient gives you the most trouble? Which do you sometimes forget to give proper attention to?

Guest Post: Using Defense Mechanisms for Characters by Laura Diamond

Today I'd like to welcome Laura Diamond to the blog. Psychiatrist by day, writer by night, Laura is going offer her expertise in how you can use some principals from psychology to help in building your characters and determining their behavior.

So, Laura, take it away!

Using Defense Mechanisms to Determine Our Characters’ Behaviors

Defense mechanisms (developed by Sigmund and Anna Freud) are “unconscious” (meaning the person is not directly or consciously aware of it happening) emotional and behavioral strategies that allow every human being on the planet cope with reality. Some defense mechanisms are productive…others, not so much.


So how does this tie into writing?


Writers must create tension—if not, their story/novel/novella falls faster than a two ton anvil dropped off a cliff.


One of the ways to keep tension high is to create conflict between characters. Below are a list of defense mechanisms and common associated behaviors you can use in your writing to torque up the conflict.

• Denial—the person is unable to accept the reality of a situation because it is too frightening to perceive. Ex. Frank refuses to have life-saving surgery to cure his cancer because he doesn’t believe he is sick.
• Splitting—the person sees people as either all good or all bad. They cannot “see” that people are made up of a mixture of good and bad. Ex. Denise is best friends with Sherri. Sherri doesn’t call Denise to go out shopping. Denise feels hurt and now refuses to speak to Sherri for all the terrible things Sherri has done to her.
• Acting out—the person acts out an impulse without really thinking it through. Ex. Max doesn’t like the fact that his ex-girlfriend, Nancy, chose another guy over him, so he punches the guy in the face when they run into each other in the mall.
• Idealization—the person holds another individual to such high esteem, that they feel the person can do no wrong. Ex. Amber believes her husband is the perfect man, even when he confesses that he’s been cheating. Amber decides to forgive him because of all the good things he’s done, like buying the kids awesome presents or taking her to Hawaii last year for vacation.
• Projection—the person projects onto another person character defects that they cannot tolerate within themselves. This often takes the form of extreme jealousy and prejudice. Ex. Mary thinks Harry is having an affair because he talked to another woman at a party. She picks a fight with him after they get home.
• Projective Identification—the person behaves in such a way as to make the other person feel what they are feeling. Ex. Joan is angry about being dumped and is quite mistrustful of men. She makes her best friend, Sally, wonder if her husband is going to leave her.
• Rationalization—the person separates their emotional side from their “smarts,” such that any interaction becomes watered down and “non-emotional.” Ex. Sam is disappointed that Lucy doesn’t want to date him, but he tells himself they weren’t a match anyway, because she likes science and he likes history. 
• Isolation (of affect/emotional display)—the person has a separation of feelings from ideas and events. Ex. Inez witnesses a murder, but is able to describe the graphic details without showing an emotional response.
• Reaction formation—the person converts unconscious wishes or impulses to their opposites. Ex. Larry fantasizes about having sex all the time, but he becomes a celibate.  
• Repression—the person “forgets” a certain terrible thing in order to do what they need to do. Ex. Phoebe witnesses her brother getting shot, but is able to call 911 and perform CPR rather than disintegrate into tears because she is putting action ahead of emotions.
• Altruism—the person puts others’ needs ahead of themselves. Ex. Becky is a match for Cindy and donates her kidney.
• Humor—the person uses “wit” and jokes to give pleasure to themselves or others. Ex. Lucas finds out his girlfriend, Talia, is pregnant and says, “Well, honey, you always wanted a shotgun wedding.”

This is by no means an exhaustive list, but I hope it gets your creative juices flowing and helps prompt ideas for tension-filled scenes. Please note that this post is for writing purposes ONLY and is NOT intended for medical advice or treatment. If you have a mental health related question, be sure to visit my blog and ask away! I’d love to feature your question on Mental Health Monday.

Laura Diamond is a board certified psychiatrist with aspirations of becoming a published author. She writes urban fantasy, young adult urban fantasy, young adult dystopian, and middle grade adventure. Come visit her blog, Diamond, Yup Like the Stone, where Mental Health Mondays, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Blog, and Flake-our Fridays are regular features.

Thanks so much to Laura for stopping by. So what do you think? Do any of your characters use these things? What's your favorite defense mechanism to use?


**There will be no posts until next Monday. I hope everyone enjoys their holiday! Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah!**

Guest Post: Marketing My First Release by Author Tiffany Reisz

I have a treat for you guys. The next couple of blog posts will be by some wonderful guests! First up on deck is an author who you all got to meet a few weeks ago. If you missed her post on why she writes erotica, check it out! But wait until after you read today's :) because don't we all want to know what those first few weeks feel like after you debut you're writing? 

So without further rambling from me, I'll turn it over to Tiffany...

My Release by Tiffany Reisz

No, I’m not talking about that kind of release.  Considering my last blog post here at Hot Roni’s House of Fiction and Friction (that is the name of the blog, right?) was about sex, I feel the need to clarify. I’m talking about a book release--that glorious nightmarish long-awaited day when your book that you sold a year and half earlier and sort of forgot about finally comes out.  Some of you know what this experience is like.  For those of your still waiting for your first release, here’s what’s in store for you.

My first Release Day was December 1, 2010 for my erotica novella Seven Day Loan. Release Day is bizarre.  You feel both frantic and impotent all day while you obsessively watch your Amazon sales rank and wonder whether or not 3000 is good or terrible.  Does that mean I’ve sold five books today or five hundred?  No idea.

Side note here - Dear Nielsen Bookscan, Please get your arse in gear and start tracking eBook sales. I really do need another thing to obsess over. Love Always, Tiffany Reisz, Smut Peddler

Back to the Book Release. When you have no money, you have to get creative with your marketing. I got a very cheap ad for two months on a popular Erotica blog.  I pouted and got nice people like Roni Loren to let me guest blog and pimp my wares.  And on Twitter engaged in a little something I call “False Advertising.”  The following are my real tweets attempting to get people to buy Seven Day Loan on Twitter:

Buy Seven Day Loan! Free orgasm with every purchase. #falseadvertising

Buy Seven Day Loan! Free phone sex with the author with every purchase. #falseadvertising

Buy Seven Day Loan! Free centaur with every purchase. #falseadvertising #hunglikeahorse

Buy Seven Day Loan! Win a night with the author! #falseadvertising #worstprizeever

Have I actually sold anything with my creative false advertising? Probably not but it does amuse the Twitter followers.  I believe in the power of humor as much as the power of sex. And of course, anyone who has even had sex knows you need to have a sense of humor about it. The same applies to a book release.  If you don’t laugh, I promise you will cry.

Anywho, back to the releasing.  What’s the best part of having a book released? Is it the constant checking of sales rank? Is it reading of negative reviews (sorry, Lady, but it’s called a NOVELLA for a reason - don’t give me a bad review ONLY because you thought it was too short - novella, not novel, no...vel...la--three syllables)? Is it the fears of annoying your Twitter followers and your friends by begging them for Amazon reviews, begging them to buy it, begging them to tell their friends, family, doctors, hairdressers, and pet-sitters about it?  No, I think the best part is how distracting having a book out is.  You can’t think about anything else. You can’t write. You can’t focus. You just tweet and email and harangue. 

Recently I asked another erotica writer about marketing.  This writer has had many books out in her long lucrative career.  I went up to her and her agent after a booksigning and asked, “I’ve got a novella out.  What do you suggest for marketing?”  The bestselling writer said, “Keep writing and releasing stuff.  Build a backlist.  And don’t worry about marketing.  The more you market a release the worse the book does.”

Well, NOW they tell me.

*head meets desk*

Feel free to ask Tiffany any more questions about her experience, I'm sure she'll stop by later to answer anything you may throw out there. :) And just for fun, I'd love for y'all to come up with your own false advertising one-liners. Maybe Tiffany will use some of them to continue her twitter campaign. :)  (And they don't have to be dirty, but they better be funny!)

Thanks to Tiffany and remember to check out her novella Seven Day Loan! I read it in one sitting and was truly amazed how Tiffany weaved such a story, a sense of place, and full characters in such a short amount of space. And it's a perfect winter read because you'll feel like you're tucked away in some secluded New England manor with the characters. You can get it here or on Amazon. It's less than $3, so don't you owe yourself a little pre-holiday treat today? :) 

Tiffany Reisz lives in Lexington, Kentucky with two roommates, two dogs, two cats, and one hedgehog which doesn’t belong to anyone who lives in the house and no one is actually sure how he got there. She graduated with a B.A. in English from Centre College in Danville, Kentucky and is making both her parents and her professors proud by writing erotica under her real name. She has five piercings, one tattoo, and has been arrested twice. When not under arrest, Tiffany enjoys Latin Dance, Latin Men, and Latin Verbs. She dropped out of a conservative southern seminary in order to pursue her dream of becoming a smut peddler. Johnny Depp’s aunt was her fourth grade teacher. There is little to nothing interesting about her. If she couldn’t write, she would die.

www.tiffanyreisz.com

www.twitter.com/tiffanyreisz 

Fiction Groupie Reader's Choice Awards--Best Book

Last week I asked you guys to pick your favorite book you've read this year. Thanks so much to all those who have responded! Now get your Christmas list ready because here is the list of what everyone thinks you should add to your TBR pile:

JEM said...

Mockingjay, Suzanne Collins, YA

Miranda said...

REVOLUTION by Jennifer Donnelly. It's YA, and it's a contemporary historical novel thing 
that's too difficult to explain. Everyone should read this book. It's emotional, has powerful 
themes and ideas, and the character development is superb.

Stephanie McGee said...

Paranormalcy by Kiersten White, YA paranormal fantasy

Cinders by Michelle Davidson Argyle, adult literary fantasy

Summer Frey said...

The English Patient. Nothing new, but first time I'd read it and wow. It stayed with me for months.

Jessica A. Briones said...

Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen was one book that stood out for me recently, it is so well written and its details so vivid you became part of the circus world the story surrounds.

Heather said...

MISTWOOD, a YA fantasy by Leah Cypess. It was so beautifully written that at times it made me think of poetry. The world building was excellent, character development was compelling, and there were great twists.

Teri Anne Stanley said...

"Outlander"

"Flowers From the Storm"

then the whole dang Black Dagger Brotherhood series.

VR Barkowski said...

 
THE BOOK THIEF by Markus Zusak (genre YA), but it was released in 2007, so I'm not sure it counts.

ROOM by Emma Donoghue (genre Adult Fiction). Riveting, poignant, and unique. It's written from the perspective of 5-year-old Jack who was born into and has lived his entire life in a space he calls “Room,” an 11 x 11 shed where he and his mother are held capti

Travener said...

I avoid 800-page books like the plague, but the fact that I couldn't put THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO down once I picked it up says something, I guess.

Lynn Colt said...

The Help by Kathryn Stockett. I read it for book club, and thought it was fantastic :) Don't know what genre it fits into besides historical fiction, though!

Karla said...

Any and all of the OUTLANDER series by Diana Gabaldon (time travel/historical/romance).

SOULLESS by Gail Carriger (steampunk/paranormal/romance).

SHIVER by Maggie Stiefvater (YA/paranormal/romance).

But my absolute faves were all of the Stephenie Plum series by Janet Evanovich (mystery/romance/comedy). A friend has been pushing me to read this series for years, and once I got started, I couldn't stop. I read all 16 books in less than two months (sorry, family, for neglecting you, lol). 

Milo James Fowler said...

I'm in the middle of THE PASSAGE--don't know yet if it should make your list...
in medias res

Sierra Godfrey said...

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. I thought about that one a long time, and tore through it when reading. Not sure what genre it was-- Adult. Fantasy? It was definitely commercial fiction. With paranormal elements. Hmm.

Tiffany said...

Soulless by Gail Carriger. Most fun thing I've read all year (not written by me ;)

Paul Joseph said...

Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult. I know it has been around for years, and I have to admit, it was the cover that turned me off. It was breathing a strong feminine vibe. But, having a background in secondary education, it had been suggested at least 100 times (no exaggeration) so I finally cracked it open. Once I did, I couldn't put it down. It made me think, it made me reflect, and it made me consider explainations I never wanted to think about. Not only was it a great book, it was one of the most valuable reads thus far in my life.

Sarah Skilton said...

I LOVED LOVED LOVED "Thieves of Manhattan" by Adam Langer (perfect for writers and aspiring writers as it cleverly blasts/satirizes the publishing industry for all the fake memoirs of recent years but also celebrates New York, writing and genres) 

Barbara Demick's  "Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea." (nonfiction). It depicts the awakenings and journeys of several defectors, and provides a history of a place I knew virtually nothing about.

Lydia Sharp said...

BEFORE I FALL by Lauren Oliver. Read it months ago and still can't get it out of my head. Awesome.

Sara said...

ASH by Malinda Lo was my favorite book this year. It's gorgeous, literary, lyrical fantasy (shelved in YA fantasy)

Hannah Kincade said...

Hater by David Moody. His rawness blew my mind.

Joanne said...

The Passage by Justin Cronin. Futuristic/Science Fiction/ throw in a vampire. Not my normal genre, but the reviews were intriguing. Once I opened the book I could not put it down. Wow - mind blowing writing, story, and characters. Absolutely the best this year. And I read a LOT

Bee said...

The Sky Always Hears Me And The Hills Don't Mind by Kirstin Cronn-Mills. It's YA.

Heather Hawkinson said...

Wicked Appetite by Janet Evanovich. If you're having a bad day, pick up a Janet Evanovich book, and you're sure to feel better in a jiff. 



Also read Official Book Club Selection by Kathy Griffin. Love her humor and honesty. 

A Precious Jewel by Mary Balogh. All I can say is .... I LOVE Mary Balogh. She rocks the
romance world.

The Host by Stephanie Meyer -- deliciously creepy. Not as good as Twilight series, but still an interesting read. Could have been a little shorter.

Stina Lindenblatt said...

The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney was one of them, 



as was Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead. :)

Miranda Buchanan said...

THIRTEEN REASONS WHY by Jay Asher. I read it in one setting.

Terry Pratchett's I SHALL WEAR MIDNIGHT, a Tiffany Aching & Wee Free Men novel (4th book).

For fantasy it is hands down RED SEAS UNDER RED SKIES by Scott Lynch. It's the second in the Locke Lamora series which is like a fantasy Renaissance Venice & Ocean's Thirteen mixed together.

For Literary it would be OF BEES AND MISTS by Erick Setiawan. It's actually magical realism. And if you get a chance, read this guy's story. He came to the US as a teen w/o his family, not knowing English at all and put himself through college. Amazing.

 And I know it didn't get great reviews (and I like an underdog) so I'm going to put THE SWAN THIEVES by Elizabeth Kostova (author of The Historian) on this list as well. I thought the book was beautiful.

Savannah Rose Writes said...

Nora Roberts Bride Quartet Series as the best for me this year. I'm reading the last of the series and have enjoyed them all.

Emy Shin said...

It's a toss up between MATCHED by Ally Condie (lovely writing and world building) 



and BRIGHTLY WOVEN by Alex Bracken (I adore the characters in here).

E. Arroyo said...

THERE ARE NO CHILDREN HERE by Alex Kotlowitz. Non-fiction written in the late 80's early 90s about Chicago's housing complexes for low-income families. It followed the story of one family for two years. Awesome.

Victoria Dixon said...

"Escaping the Tiger," by Laura Manivong, 

closely followed by "Crossing the Tracks," by Barb Stuber. 

The book that made  me think writerly thoughts the most was "Under Heaven," by Guy Gavriel Kay. That one had me tied in knots wondering how to do this and that....

Laraine Eddington said...

For sheer "can't put it downedness" "Room" by Emma Donoghue. It had the most remarkable voice (authentic five-year-old boy) of any book I read this year.

Ann said...

Camilla Gibb's The Beauty of Humanity Movement and The Book Thief by Zusak.

Griffinclaw said...

Shiver by Maggie Maggie Stiefvater and the Book Thief.

Amie Kaufman said...

I finished Unwind by Neal Shusterman a few days ago. I'm not sure yet if it'll be my favourite book for the year, but I'm still in a daze just thinking about it. It got me in the gut like The Hunger Games did, so that's my recommendation.

tahlianewland.com said...

The Strangely Beautiful tale of Miss Percy Parker by Leanna Renee Heiber -romantic, gothic, fantasy. Truly beautiful and passionate in an innocent way.

Ruth Donnelly said...

Favorite kids' book: The Grimm Legacy by Polly Shulman.

Favorite adult book: The Help by Kathryn Stockett.

Amy said...

The Help by Kathryn Stockett. And I'd add Loving Frank by Nancy Horan.

And now my picks, since erotic romance needs some love too ;):

Rough Canvas by Joey W. Hill (m/m romance)--really this whole series was awesome (this is the only book of the series that is m/m, the rest are m/f romances). However, these are not for the faint of heart. If you're new to erotic romance, start with one of the other recomendations and "graduate" to these, lol.

Liberating Lacey by Anne Calhoun (this is a great one to try out if you've never read EroRom.)

Four Play by Maya Banks and Shayla Black

Riding on Instinct by Jaci Burton. (I've read a few in the series--think hot biker dudes and lots of suspense-- and have enjoyed them all, so you can't go wrong picking up any of them.)

Nicholas: Lords of Satyr by Elizabeth Amber (historical paranormal erotic romance--how's that for genre blending?)

Alright, so that's a lot of books for everyone to check out!  If you didn't participate in the previous post, what books did we miss? Which was your favorite? Which one on this list is going on your wishlist right now?

On Learning The Rules And Breaking Them Anyway

I'm a guest over at Adventures in Children's Publishing for WOW Wednesday! Come say hi and leave a comment if the spirit moves you!

On Learning the Rules and Breaking Them Anyway

What Makes A Good Crit Buddy?

Photo by Linzi Clark

I'm a lucky girl. I've had a kickass crit group, great beta readers, and friends (bloggy and otherwise) who have generously read for me and offered feedback. And what is always interesting to me is how different people can see such different things. That's why it's important to make sure you have a wide variety of people critting you (people who are not related to you, btw.)

Types of critters:

Partner

--This person invests in you as much as you invest in them. You exchange equally and you offer the entire gamut of feedback: line edits, plotting, characterization, story, pacing, etc.

--This is the person that you also go to for advice on writing career things

--I think having one of these is vital, but not everyone can fulfill this role because it takes a lot of time investment

Mentor

--This person is further on the path in their writing career, maybe they've already been published.  They can offer you guidance along the way.

Proofreader (Grammar Nazi)

--The detail-oriented English teacher type. She can spot a dangling modifier or misplaced comma from twenty yards away. She focuses on the trees, not the forest.

Cheerleader

--This reader sends your crit back with lots of smiley faces, lol's, and positive comments along with the negative things. They may not be as detailed as the proofreader, but they give you the confidence keep going. This is the person who will talk you off the ledge when you're ready to give up.

Whipcracker

--This person doesn't let you get away with anything. If you have deadline, she's poking you until you meet it. If you get lazy in your writing and try to sneak in a little telling, she will call your butt out.

Reader

--This person is not a writer but is a voracious reader. She is looking at the forest, not the trees.  This is also invaluable because SHE (or he) is your customer. This is who you are ultimately writing for.

Looking at this list, I definitely have had each of these in my beta reading ranks. As for my own style, I hope that I am a partner to my friends and regular beta readers. If I'm just critting somebody as a one off--then I'm more of a (hopefully) tactful whipcracker and reader.

So, how do you know you've found the right crit buddy?

A good buddy...

Listens to your suggestion and even if they don't always take them, they give them serious consideration.

Makes an effort to understand your writing and where you are coming from.

Gives as much as she gets.

Is honest--even when she knows it might be hard for your to hear

Doesn't just point our problems, but offers suggestions

Appreciates constructive criticism

Takes the time to point out what she loves, not just what's wrong (that smiley face here and there can go a long way when you've received a rough crit)

And beware the toxic crit parter, this person...

Throws up the defenses the minute you say something negative or suggest changes

Has a million excuses as to why your suggestions don't work--you don't understand their genre, you're not "getting" their point, etc.

Rarely implements the changes you offer.

Tells you what's wrong in your manuscript but doesn't offer help on what they think would fix it.

Only wants accolades. When those don't come, they get angry, pouty, or generally difficult.

Doesn't put forth as much effort on your work as you do on theirs

Tears apart your work without tact or helpful suggestions and if you get hurt, tell you that you need a thicker skin.

--There is a huge difference between "this sucks, I'm totally lost" and "this chapter may need a little reworking to make the plot points clearer"

Source: The Care and Nurturing of Critique Relationship

If this toxic buddy is in your life, fire them. You don't need that in your life. Writing is hard enough--don't add to your stress. Find good critters and move on.

CRIT GROUP MATCHMAKIING: Inevitably when I do posts on crit groups, people asks where to find crit partners because it can be such a hard thing to find when you're starting out and don't know many writers yet. I found all of mine online through blogging. But there are a lot of different ways--going to local writer's groups, social networking, etc. However, what I've done in the past is a little online matchmaking. 


SO, if you are looking for a beta reader/crit parter, put your info in a comment to this post: NAME, EMAIL ADDRESS, GENRE, and what you're looking for, then people who match up with you can contact you. If you make a match, I suggest exchanging just one chapter first to make sure that your styles match and such. Good luck!

Alright, so what kind of critter are you? Do you recognize any of these types in your circle? Have you ever had a toxic beta reader?

 

**Today's Theme Song**

"Lipstick and Bruises"-- Lit

*This is a repost from November of last year.

Authors on Twitter: The Danger of Being Too Clique-y

Last week I talked about ways to chase away Twitter followers. Thanks, by the way, for all the retweet love on that one. :)  One of the things I talked about was that you shouldn't follow loads of people just to get people to follow you back because it's not genuine and makes you look like a spammer (i.e. people will see you follow 40k tweeters and how can anyone really keep up with that?)

However, after a conversation with Jamie Wesley about what annoys her about certain authors on Twitter,  I'm starting to wonder about that high "follow" vs. "follower" count. In the Twitterverse, there is this impression that you must be really important/supercool/whatever if you have a high number of people following you, but you personally only follow a handful of people. Basically--everyone wants to be your friend, but you only grant that "privilege" to an elite few. (High school never ends it seems.)

Now most people who do this do it not because they're being a "twitter snob" but because they don't want to be overwhelmed by three thousand peoples' tweets. I TOTALLY get that because I follow about a thousand people and that got way too hard to manage,so I had to start using lists (more on that later). And if you're, for instance, an editor or an agent--where everyone is seeking your attention--it makes sense to limit who you follow only to people you truly have a connection with in some way.

However, I think for an author this practice can really shoot you in the foot instead of helping you. We are writers. We want to connect with readers. We want to sell books and build a fanbase. Right?

So why-oh-why if you're an author would you only follow your "clique" of friends and not follow your readers, the people who are paying their hard-earned money to buy YOUR book? 

I know it's silly, but you know how much better I feel about an author if I @ her/him on Twitter and the person responds? All of a sudden, this author's coolness factor has jumped off the charts. It makes me like them more. It makes me want to support them and their books because they are REAL and FRIENDLY and APPROACHABLE. And if they follow me, then wow, I'm really won over.

On the other hand, if I follow an author and they don't follow me (fine), but then they ask questions of their readers/audience and I respond--and get no response or even a general "Thanks to everyone who commented", then I feel a little huffy. Now if you're Stephanie Meyer or Stephen King or whatever, then it's understandable. Uber-fame gets you a pass. I'm not talking about them. I'm talking about your average author who has a few thousand followers.

When they don't respond or acknowledge, plus don't follow--the impression that is left is--this author thinks they are too important/busy/big-time and doesn't feel like their readers are important enough to acknowledge even after they've asked directly for their help. So when that same author hops back on Twitter and is announcing their book release or contests and asking for retweets--well, I'm just not that motivated to go out of my way for them.

So the question is, as an author, how do you 
a) Make your readers/followers feel important? and 
b) Do so without being bombarded daily with 80 bazillion tweets you're not interested in?

Answer: Lists!

Twitter allows you to make both public and private lists. Then you can use a program like Tweetdeck and have your main column just the tweets of people on that list. For instance, I follow over 900, but there are only about 100 on my "super awesome people" list. It's private, so no one can see if they are on my list or not. But this makes it manageable to follow, while I'm still able to follow "in general" the other 800 people in another column if I want. And if I end up interacting with someone who is not on the list and making a connection, it's easy enough to add them to my super awesome list.

Doing this allows me to have my cake and eat it too. I can have my clique of people who I talk with regularly while not alienating new people who may become great friends or readers or whatever one day.

So what do you think of this method? How do you feel when an author you like interacts with you or follows you? How do you feel if they don't do those things? And do you think someone is less awesome if their follow vs. follower ratio is closer to even instead of lopsided?

Today's Theme Song

"High School Never Ends" - Bowling For Soup

(player in sidebar, take a listen)

Holding Myself Accountable For My 2010 Resolutions

I'm all about setting goals. I really believe that the ideas of intention and putting something out into the universe are powerful ones. So at the beginning of each year I try to set goals--some practical some stretch goals. And part of that process means that at the end of the year, you have to look back and see if you did it or not. So in the spirit of accountability, here's my post from the beginning of the year with updates on my successes and epic failures. :)

My Mostly Realistic Writing Goals

I will write 1000 words/day five days a week when I am in the rough draft phase and edit at least 10 pages a day when in editing phase.

Update: I wrote a lot, but I did not stick to this. Just like with Nano (also a fail), my muse is fussy. But I am getting better, thanks to Nano, at putting my butt in the chair anyway and trying. 

I will continue to blog five days a week as long as you guys don't up and bail on me.  :)

Update: I did this until I got an agent, then moved to three days a week. I don't see this as a fail. I'm still happy that I've stuck to a schedule and hopefully provided some decent posts over the year. :) 

I will complete and edit one category length novel and will at least write a rough draft of a full length.

Update: I ended up tackling the full length first because that's where my muse led me. So I completed, revised and submitted a 90k novel. And am 30k into a rough draft of a new one.  

My Reading Goal

I have joined the 100+ Reading Challenge.  I think I'm around the 85 mark for this year now, so I don't think is totally out there.

Update: Pfft! Epic fail. Last year I read 79 books, this year I'm sitting at 37. Kidlet gave up naps and this put a serious cramp in my schedule. But I also spent more of my reading time, writing instead. So not a total loss. :)

My Personal Goals

Eat healthier and buy organic and local when I can afford it 

Update: Did well for first half of the year, then slid off the wagon. As of last week, I'm back on Weight Watchers and planning to do better this coming year. 

Do some form of exercise that involves more than fingers flying over keys and chasing my two year old when he gets a hold of the toilet paper roll..  I just ordered a Wii Fit, so I'm hoping that actually is exercise and not just an excuse to play video games.  If anyone has one, let me know what you think.

Update: Ha! The Wii Fit has not moved in months. The Wii gets a lot of use...but only for Guitar Hero and Rock Band. (At least it relieves stress! Which is sort of a health benefit, right? o.0  Okay, okay, I'll try to do better.) 

I will not let every towel in the house get dirty before I do a load of laundry.

Update: I actually did get better at this, though not 100%.  

Potty-train my son (fun times ahead)

Update: Epic fail as well. We're still working on this. Slow-going. 

My Oprah-style, Positive Thinking, Vision Board, Putting the Universe on Notice Goals

I will figure out a way to attend the National Romance Writers of America conference in Nashville.

Update: Win! Although it turned out to be in Orlando and not Nashville. But it was amazing and so worth it and I can't wait to go to NYC this summer for the next one.

I will sell Wanderlust to a publisher.

Update: Undetermined. Harlequin is still considering my book. I hope to know something in the next month or two. :) *fingers crossed* 

****

And now the totally epic, unexpected, not-listed-because-I-didn't-think-it-was-possible-this-year long-term goals that got accomplished:

1. Won multiple writing contests!

2. Landed dream agent Sara Megibow!!

3. SOLD TWO BOOKS to Berkley Heat!!!

And so, in conclusion, I DON'T CARE that I didn't meet some of the ones above. :D These last two developments totally trump it all! And proves that it's okay to do stretch goals, to dream big. No, I didn't reach every single one, but look what happened while I was striving to get there. :)

So what goals did you reach this year? Any unexpected ones that surprised you? Which ones are you still going to work on next year? What new goals are you setting for 2011? Go ahead, be bold, put it out there!

**Today's Theme Song**

"Hey Man, Nice Shot" - Filter

(player in sidebar, take a listen)

Venturing Into Different Genres

In one of the comments on Wednesday's post, our guest blogger Tiffany Reisz said that she uses her real name to write and plans to cross genres and use her name for whatever she publishes.

Now many times when people write in different genres they write with different pen names. For instance, Nora Roberts writes romance under the Nora name and futuristic romantic suspense as JD Robb. There are a number of reasons to do this. Perhaps you don't want people judging your new genre by your old one. Or maybe you don't think the two fan bases should cross. For example, you write young adult and want to venture into erotic paranormals. Although I will say that a number of authors who write sexy (not erotic) adult romance also write YA--Gena Showalter, Richelle Mead, PC Cast, etc. and it seems to be fine.

I also think that some people do the different name thing because there is a mindset out there that once you're successful in a genre, you shouldn't switch your brand and confuse your readers. I understand that reasoning, but I also think it's limiting to a writer. Is every story in my head an erotic romance? No. They probably are all romantic in some way, but I haven't ruled out writing something paranormal or full out suspense or going back and writing another YA at some point. I like a lot of genres. Not every story I come up with is going to fit in the same box.

But is that a dangerous thing to do as an author? Build a fanbase who likes you for one type of book then switch and do something completely different? I don't know. As a reader, I tend to follow an author. In erotic romance (just like in YA) the subgenre lines are blurred a bit. So it's not uncommon to see an author put out a contemporary erotic romance, then a futuristic one, then a paranormal. But in the other more specific genres, it's not exactly that freewheeling. For instance, would you buy a Stephen King romance? Or a Nicholas Sparks space opera?

As a writer, I hope to continue writing the contemporary erotic series I sold the first two of. I definitely have a number of books in mind for that one. I also hope to sell Wanderlust (still under consideration at Harlequin) and write some sexy, non-erotic rockstar romances. But outside of that, I haven't ruled out venturing into other areas. I plan to use my current name for all of it--unless I write YA, then I'll probably use a different pen. (Don't want teens wandering into my definitely over-18-only erotic romances.) Mostly, I just hope to have this problem to face, lol, 'cause that means I've sold more books. : )

But how about you? Do you plan to stick to one genre as a writer? Do you plan to use one name if you do genre-hop or use different pens? And as a reader, do you follow authors or genres? Would it throw you off if your favorite author started writing something very different?

Guest Post: Author Tiffany Reisz on Why Erotica?

First, the contest winners from last Friday's Win- a Crit contest are at the bottom of this post! :) 


Now, today I have the pleasure of introducing you to one of my agency-sisters, debut author Tiffany Reisz. Tiffany is an amazing erotica author whose first novel, Siren, will release from Harlequin Spice in late 2011. She also has a little e-book nibble releasing TODAY from Spice Briefs, so if you want a little (okay a lot) of sexy in your day, go check it out! (over 18 crew only)


Now I know most of you probably lump erotic romance and erotica into the same category. But even though the two genres have a lot in common, there are also a number of differences. I'm a romance writer by trade, so I figured why give my take on the erotica genre when I can get an expert who's writing it to do so instead. So take it away Tiffany....

Why Erotica? 

by Tiffany Reisz 

First of all, thank you Roni for letting me worm my wicked way onto your blog to pimp my novella to your darling readers. You are a saint, at least in public.  Thank you for letting me ramble. And yes--warning--I’m about to ramble.

I asked Roni what topics her readers might be interested in hearing about. She told me her blog readers were mostly writers so I could talk about the call from our agent Sara Megibow (she called, I said ‘yes’, I danced, I got my eyebrow pierced in celebration...the usual) or about the writing process (I sit, I type, I talk to the cats, I put on Latin music and samba in my loft when I’ve got writers block...the usual) OR I could talk about why I write erotica.

Bingo!

Why erotica?  First of all, let’s define erotica. It’s easiest to define erotica by what it isn’t. If a book has both a romance in it and graphic sex and you can take the graphic sex out and still have a love story, it’s romance. The graphic sex doesn’t make it erotica. If you write a book and it contains both romance and graphic sex and you take the romance out and still have your basic story, it’s erotica. Erotica is about the sexual journey of a character. As the great Tina Turner said, “What’s love got to do with it?” Nothing if it’s erotica. In can include a love story, but it doesn’t need it.

Sidebar: My business cards read, “It’s not erotica until someone gets hurt.”

So why write erotica? Because sex is awesome.  Truly unreservedly obnoxiously ridiculously gloriously wickedly awesome. Love requires patience, sacrifice, slogging through all the muck and mire of egos and money problems and child rearing and trips to the hospital.  Love isn’t pretty.  But sex is hot and powerful and life-altering.  I’ve heard people refer to sex as the icing on the cake of love. I hate this analogy.  Icing is all sugar and ridiculously bad for you.  Sex isn’t bad for you. People who have frequent sex live longer, they look younger, they are healthier.  Women who are frequently exposed to their male partner’s semen actually have more stable moods and less incidence of depression (this is real phenomenon). A bad marriage can destroy a woman’s self-esteem and sense of purpose and direction.  A great sex life can put her on the top of the world.

Let’s talk about sex some more.  I’m fascinated by it. I like sex, I love sex, I have sex, I write about sex. And God knows, I sure talk about it all the damn time. I’m the bad relative you don’t want hanging out with your kids.  I’ll put in uncensored Eminem and the Beastie Boys in my car.  I’ll swear in front of your kids and make dirty jokes.  I told my fourteen year old cousin this weekend, “Sex is awesome. Just don’t do it in high school. But if you do, use birth control. Lots of it.”  She said, “Wow, you’re the only adult who ever told me sex was good.”

Really?  I’m the only adult who has ever told a super smart beautiful young woman that sex was good?  That’s troubling.  Sex IS good. Why is that a secret? Marriage is good too. Nobody hides that fact from kids. Nobody thinks that by telling a fourteen year old girl that marriage is good, that fourteen year old is going to run out and immediately get married. So why all the secrecy? Why all the shame? I want her to know sex is good so she’ll know it’s worth taking seriously, it’s worth thinking about, it’s worth doing right. 

My first piece of writing I ever sold is coming out today at www.eHarlequin.com.  It’s a novella entitled Seven Day Loan.  The story is simple--a Dominant lends his submissive lover to a friend for a week. Since his wife’s death, the friend has been a recluse in his home and the Dominant hopes his feisty little submissive will help the widowed friend with his grief. It’s one week of pure sex between the widower and the submissive. Feelings do get involved but this is not a love story.  It’s the story of a man who is healed by the power of sex, not the power of love.  Did I write this story to change hearts and lives? No. I wrote it to give my readers fantasy fodder so it would improve their sex lives. 

I guess I really don’t have one answer to the question of why write erotica?

Unless it’s, you know, why not? 

Tiffany Reisz lives in Lexington, Kentucky with two roommates, two dogs, two cats, and one hedgehog which doesn’t belong to anyone who lives in the house and no one is actually sure how he got there. She graduated with a B.A. in English from Centre College in Danville, Kentucky and is making both her parents and her professors proud by writing erotica under her real name. She has five piercings, one tattoo, and has been arrested twice. When not under arrest, Tiffany enjoys Latin Dance, Latin Men, and Latin Verbs. She dropped out of a conservative southern seminary in order to pursue her dream of becoming a smut peddler. Johnny Depp’s aunt was her fourth grade teacher. There is little to nothing interesting about her. If she couldn’t write, she would die.

www.tiffanyreisz.com

www.twitter.com/tiffanyreisz 

Thanks so much to Tiffany for stopping by! Now if you want to download her novella, you can get it here or on Amazon. It's less than $3, so don't you owe yourself a little naughtiness today? :)


Now for the two winners of my and Miranda Kennealy's Win-A-Crit contest....


Congrats to Tahlia Newland and PK Hrezo!!!!


I'll be contacting the winners to see who wants which crit. Tahlia gets first choice. :) 


Thanks to everyone who entered!

So, back to today's post? Have you ever read erotica? Why or why not? And feel free to throw out any questions you have for Tiffany. This is your chance to pick a debut author's brain! :)

Twelve Ways To Scare Away Twitter Followers

Photo by Capture Queen (cc)

I heart Twitter. It took me a little while to get the hang of it, but now I'm addicted. I barely even remember that Facebook exists. I think Twitter is a far superior networking tool and makes it way easier to meet/chat with friends and promote whatever you need to promote. The power of the retweet is amazing. So, if you're not on there yet, get thee to Twitter.

However, as with anything else, there are ways to do it and ways NOT to do it. For instance, when people follow me, I like to follow them back. However, sometimes people make this exceptionally difficult to do. So please, if you are on Twitter or join up, don't do these things if you want to be followed.

Ways to Scare Away Twitter Followers

1. Protect Your Tweets
Yes, I'm sure some people have good reasons for making their Twitter stream secretive. However, if I can't see what you tweet about, I'm not following you. Sorry.

2. Promote Your Book/Program/Website/Whatever NONSTOP
OMG. So many people do this and I have no idea what they are thinking. Do not be an infomercial. It's fine to mention that you have a book releasing or pimp your blog post for the day. But when every tweet is Check out my book! Read an excerpt! Ten percent off my book! etc. you will drive people away.

3. Only Tweet Inspirational Quotes
I'm not following you to get Hallmark card vomit all day. Stop with your sunshine and rainbows!

4. Never Interact With Anyone (One-Way Tweeters)
This is equivalent to standing in the middle of a party and only announcing things about yourself and not paying attention to anyone else. Twitter is about conversation and interaction.

5. Don't Put Anything in the About You section
If I go to your site and you have NOTHING about yourself, I'm not following. I need to know what our commonality is. Are you a mom/writer/NKOTB fanatic? Who are you?

6. Don't Ever Respond to @ Messages
When people take the time to comment on something you said or retweet you, reach out and tweet that person back. You aren't Ashton Kutcher, you have time to do that.

7. DM (direct message) me right after I follow you to do #2 (no, not THAT number two, the one above)
Nothing will make me unfollow you quicker than if you send me a message right after I sign up to follow: "Hey, thanks for the follow. Check out my new book at lame website dot com."

8. Only Tweet When You Want To Promote Yourself, then Disappear
I see a lot of people do this. They've been told they "should" be on Twitter as an author. (And you should be.) But then they ONLY get on to do that promotion with a drive-by tweet. My book is releasing today! Woot! Then you don't see another tweet from them for a month.

9. Use the words "motivational", "entrepreneur", or "coach" (unless it's of a sport) in any way, shape or form to describe yourself.
All I hear with those words is "unemployed".

10. Be negative, hateful, or rude.
This one's obvious, but I see a lot of people go the negative route. They may not be rude, but they spend all their Twitter time bitching and bellyaching. It's okay sometimes, but if that's all you tweet about, it gets old fast.

11. Follow anyone and everyone just to get people to follow you back. Who can really follow the tweets of 35k people?
If someone is following super high numbers of people, it's a warning sign that they're not really engaging with anyone, probably just trying to promote.

12. Floods of lists of people to follow.
Writer Wednesday (#WW) and Follow Friday (#FF) are awesome, but it's a little much when all day you're pumping out constant lists of who to follow. We all stop paying attention after a while. And it seems like some people do this just to get followed back because oftentimes people who "mention" that you should follow me, don't even follow me themselves!

So those are the main pet peeves I could come up with. Thanks to those of you who contributed some of these when I posed the question on Twitter. What other Twitter behavior is annoying to you? What will make you not follow someone or unfollow them?

**Today's Theme Song**

"I Will Follow You Into the Dark" - Death Cab for Cutie

(player in sidebar, take a listen)

Friends Don't Let Friends Overwrite*

Photo by Jonathan Lidbeck

A few months ago Miss Snark's First Victim had (former) agent Nathan Bransford participate in one of her Secret Agent contests.  If you're not familiar with the site, I suggest you go check it out.  For those contests, she has people submit a snippet of their opening (250 words I believe), then she posts them for everyone to comment on, including a secret agent.  Then after everything has been commented on, the agent is revealed and he or she picks a winner--often requesting pages.

So anyway, as I was reading through Mr. Bransford's comments, I saw a recurring theme in his feedback.   On almost every other post it seemed, he was pointing out overwriting.  In some of those instances, I could see it, in others I would have never picked up on it had he not pointed it out.  So, it was really helpful to read through the posts.  Then, of course, I became paranoid--am I overwriting?

Even though I'm wordy in a lot of things (including these posts), I tend to have the opposite problem and underwrite in my stories.  I struggle sometimes with painting the scene or describing details because I want to jump right into the action or dialogue, forgetting that I need to let the reader know enough to ground them in the scene.  But when I looked through my chapters, I still had moments where I got a little heavy handed on the wordage and needed to dial back.

So how do you spot overwriting?

• Too many adjectives and adverbs.

We already know adverbs are our nemesis, but dumping in tons of adjectives is a problem as well.  Do not put in three adjectives when one will do just fine.

• Using fancy words when a simple one will do.

A lot of us can fall into this trap because most of us are vocabulary nerds.  We enjoyed studying for the SAT because learning new and interesting words is awesome.  That's why it's so hard to just use said when we could use pontificated.  However, those words are distracting and pull your reader out of the story.  If the simple word works, go with that one.

• Describing things as if you were a set designer

Long passages describing every detail of the room, setting, or what a person looks like/is wearing, etc. drive me nuts.  I skim these.  Tell me the pertinent details to give my imagination the building blocks to create the picture, then leave me to it.  If you show me the ratty couch with holes in it, I'm good.  I don't also need to know the pattern on the throw pillows.

• Simile and metaphor overload

A well-placed simile or metaphor can be a beautiful thing.  A whole butt load of them littered all over the page, not so much.  Let a brilliant metaphor or simile stand out on its own by not cluttering the sentences around it with more of the same.  I recently read a book that overused similes so much that I actually stopped reading it--it was completely distracting.

• Redundancy

This can happen within a sentence (ex. the young four-year old) or can be repeating information you've already told us (telling us the hero's eyes are blue every time you mention his eyes or describing the same house every time the heroine goes there.)

• Navel-gazing characters

Introspection is good, we want to know what's going on with the character.  But passages and passages of navel-gazing will slow down your pace and earn eye rolls.   Sprinkle the introspection in with action.

• Trying too hard

The easiest way to find overwriting is to look for those places where you thought you sounded "like a writer." Think of American Idol when Simon Cowell tells the contestant the performance was indulgent.  Those are the performances where the person chose a song and gave a performance that they thought made them look "like a singer" instead of singing something that fit their voice and style. 

Resources: Big Mistake 3: Overwriting and Five Fiction Mistakes That Spell Rejection

Alright, hope that helps.  Most editor articles I've read say that almost every manuscript can be cut by 10%, so get to trimming!  :)

So are you guilty of overwriting?  Do you ever have those moments where you think you've just written something very "writerly"?  Which of these drives you crazy when you find them in books?

Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!

 

 

 

*Today's Theme Song**

"Truly Madly Deeply" - Savage Garden

(player in sidebar--go ahead, take a listen)

*This is a repost from March 2010