I get a lot of questions about making book videos.
Most people want to know if it's hard work. Yes. No, if you're clever enough. You'll hate me, hate WMM, hate that you ever thought you could do this thing– until you get the hang of it.
Do they take a lot of time? They can. Or not. Depending on how fanatical you are. You don't have to be like me and do some immensely complicated piece of "art". My friend Heather Hiestand, in fact, did one in just a few hours (her second one, that is.) But her philosophy is to do short ones that don't lose the viewer's interest.
http://www.youtube.com/user/hahiestand
In her first one, Heather didn't even use music. She just narrated. On the other hand, I figure my first one cost me about 60-80 hours, mostly because I didn't know what I was doing and didn't SAVE often enough. But here it is:
And does it cost a lot of money? No. But yes if you want to pay out the dough. You can get expensive music, pay actor, buy expensive photos or even videos to insert. Or not. Get creative. Get your guitar-playing cousin to do some background music for you. Hunt through family photos. Browse the royalty free sites for good bargains. Jill Monroe and Esri Rose have done some really funny things with interviews. And if you want to see funny, go look at this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_n5L3S9Jmk&feature=related Not bad, huh?
Or they want to know if it pays off as far as promo dollars is concerned. Depends on what you want. If you think your video will go viral and suddenly your book will too, you're probably going to be disappointed. But if you want to reach a different audience, or get your name out there, good videos can really help to do that. The investment may be a longer term one than you want right now. Or maybe you want to look at both short term and long term. Personally, I love doing the frustrating artwork and assembly. It's a huge challenge. But I don't figure much of anyone will want to do my kind of video. Which is good. I get to be unique.
And some people want me to do theirs for them. Well maybe later when I know more. For now– I've still got too much to learn. Simplicity, for one thing...
Or if not, how about telling them how to do it. Well..... There's not a lot of point in taking up blog space to say what other people have already said. So to begin with, go look here to learn basic book video making:
I suggest you use Windows Movie Maker. It's clunky, let's face it. But it is probably still the most versatile and easiest to use video maker available to most of us. Chances are excellent if you use Windows, you have WMM on your computer too. Mac users have an equivalent, I think.
There's one thing to say about WMM, and don't forget this: SAVE YOUR WORK EVERY STEP YOU TAKE. I MEAN IT. If you don't, you'll get deeply involved, thinking it's going along so well, and it will pack up. You could get lucky- but likely you've lost everything.
Begin with deciding what you want to say. How can you be unique? Intriguing? Well, how about your book blurb? Do you have a short, exciting, pithy one? I think for SINS OF THE HEART, I'm going to use this:
The Cornish cliffs at dawn: Two ladies, one spyglass. Two naked men cavorting in the surf. One of them is the man Juliette hoped would never find her. If she pretends to help him catch the gold-smuggling traitors, she might not die. But what if she falls in love instead?
Then think about your visual images. Videos are all about visual and audio imagery. What says your story? I've chosen a few pictures I'm pasting here. Now remember, I do historicals, so not a lot of photos are going to do it for me. Guys just don't run around wearing cravats these days. That's why I choose to "paint" my images. But usually photos are my base.
And don't forget your cover. Use it as the foundation for your little story.
Here are some good places to look for photos. Doing searches for "sexy man" can pay off here like no other place:
Istock and some others also sell video clips. While a photo might cost you $1-3 (get the small or extra small ones), a video clip of rippling waves like this one will cost you 10 credits, or about $20. Here's one I'm thinking of using. My story is about smugglers and spies, so why not?
http://www.istockphoto.com/file_closeup/locations-and-travel/beaches/5220379-night-and-moon-at-the-sea-or-ocean.php?id=5220379 Then there's the music. Do NOT use music that is copyrighted by someone else without permission. Buying your photos or music at royalty-free sites assures you the maker is being paid for his work. But make sure you use legitimate sites. There are frauds out there.
Some great music sites: http://www.royalty-free.tv/ http://www.shockwave-sound.com/index.html http://www.premiumbeat.com/ http://www.opuzz.com/ http://www.productiontrax.com/index.php http://stockmusic.net/index.cfm/page/main.home
What am I going to use for my SINS video? Don't know. There's one at Royalty-Free TV that makes me want to sing with it, and that means writing lyrics and persuading my brother to do the duet. Uhhhhh..... Maybe there's an easier one?
Where do you put videos? YouTube. MySpace. MetaCafe. TubeMogul will give you a list of places you can use, and then will keep track of them once you have them up. Be aware, though, their site is not the easiest to figure out. http://www.previewthebook.com/index.php This is a promotion site. There are others that want you to pay. This one you can use free, for now. And then there's The New Covey Awards. http://thenewcoveytrailerawards.blogspot.com/ If you love your new work, why not show it off and compete for the prize? And some blogs and review sites will also carry your video, along with your book cover. Just ask!
If you want to join this madness with me, and need a little tutoring, just drop me a line. Or ask your questions now. There are a few things I can probably tell you about using WMM that will save you some headaches. For instance, how to change fonts. How to do transitions. How to adjust your photo frames to match better with the music. But that all takes time and space. If you want to know, though, I'm happy to share.
When I talk to other writers, the one thing we really seem to have in common is the sense that we just don't have enough time to write. We have jobs, families, household duties, take care of aging parents and grandparents, volunteer...you name it, we do it.
The other thing we have in common - we often put our own need to write last.
My critique partner suggested I start using a notebook. I can always find few minutes to jot down a paragraph, a few lines of dialogue or ideas for the synopsis while waiting in line for kids to get out of school, soccer practice, boring PTA meeting etc.
And it really worked! A page in the notebook here, another there, voila! It might not sound like a lot, but when you're not getting anything written, and all of a sudden are getting a page a day written - that's a book in less than a year!
There's an added bonus. When I transcribe from the notebook to my word processing program - I'm already doing some revising and editing, making my rough draft not so rough. Not only am I doing the little things like adding more flavor to the prose already written, I'm also adding additional paragraphs. I end up having much more when I'm done than just what was written in my notebook.
My notebook writing often works best when I'm at the beginning of the book, when the ideas are more fresh, and I'm in that rush to get everything down on paper. It's also a lot easier for me to use my notebook when I'm in the proposal stage of writing, when I'm really formulating ideas (I'll have several going on at once).
The middle - not as easy to write in the notebook. Often, that's when I'll tuck in some research materials into my notebook. In fact, I now have a car bag for my writing. It contains a pen, my notebook and research materials I haven't had time to read, but are important to the book I'm writing. Here's a sideways picture of my car bag hanging on the doorknob to remind me to get it. (Why it's sideways, I'll never know. If I were a children's writer, I'd say I lived in a sideways house.)
When I'm at the end of a book, the notebook writing is easier once more. The end is in sight, I see the scenes clearly in my head, and I'm back to that rush of getting everything on the page.
Little Hints:
Decorate or get an unusual notebook. This will make it easily findable in the house, car, kid's backpack, whatever. And yes, I've run around like an idiot trying to locate my notebook.
I'll often work on a few ideas at the same time. Use a new page for different ideas, and always write the Manuscript name at the top of the page.
After you've transcribed from your notebook into your word processing program - draw a line though the text, so you don't keep running across it and not remembering what you've done and not done.
When I'm stuck in my writing, but I have notebook time, I try to think of this as an opportunity, rather than staring into space. I can use that time brainstorming. Play the whatif game with my characters. I've read that we're more creative when we're writing longhand than solely at the computer (which up until a few years ago was the only way I wrote) so use this time to whip out something unexpected.
I'm interested if you use a notebook or not, and if yes - how do you use it?
Goodbye to February and to the first Wet Noodle Posse Character month. Today is Q and A day, the day you can ask those left over nagging questions about Character.
So what questions do you have?
Which character poses the biggest problem for you (For me it is the villain) and what problem do you have with that character (mine can get too "Snidely Whiplash")?
Are you struggling with a character's backstory? With their GMC (Debra Dixon's Goal, Motivation, Conflict)? Was there anything in Character Month you wished we had covered and didn't?
Ask away!!!
A big thank you to everyone who participated in Character Month, our Wet Noodle Posse bloggers, those of you who commented and those who just "stopped by." Those who commented have been entered in our prize drawing.
The first time I heard about the alpha male was when I took anthropology in college. I never really thought much about them afterwards...until I became a romance writer. Then you're inundated with the term. Then there's beta male (more about him later this month from Terry) and even zeta male.
For the most part, my own particular perception of the characteristics of an alpha male come from the romance community. In fact, our own Colleen Gleason has written a great article, which you can read here.
So, since there was a lot of excellent information already out there, I just decided not to do my blog article after all. Done. Now I can go devour an entire package of Thin Mints.
Okay, I'm kidding.
No, I decided to google - get back to anthropology, biology and even a business perspective.
I found some VERY interesting article titles:
Alpha Males or Unintelligent, Big-mouthed Morons?
Balancing Life: Alpha Male, Super Stud
Those two titles summarizes a lot of what I found in my Internet research. That alphas are a bunch of jerks and the flipside, that if you're more alpha you're WAY more successful with women. So, let's talk about biology:
In straight up biology terms - the alpha male (and female) is the individual who everyone else follow and usually defer. Doesn't sound too bad - after all, when you're running away from some large, furry animal - a leader might be a good idea. When some raiding group of knights are storming the castle - a leader that everyone listens to and has the brawn to back it up might be a good idea.
What about the contemporary world? I looked to business - Kate Ludeman Ph.D and Eddie Erlandson M.D., authors of the Alpha Male Syndrome say alpha males fall into 4 categories:
Commanders - the warrior of old, mobilizes the troops and in the business world - sets the tone and infuses their surroundings with energy. Donald Trump would be an example. Their faults might be that they're not all together detail oriented and may put themselves in positions where they don't hear a lot of critical feedback.
Visionaries - they inspire others, and see opportunities even when discouraged. Curious and think about the future, these would be people like Michael Dell. However, they may be prone to some problems with attention.
Strategists - analytical, see patterns and problems and are often thought of as brilliant thinkers. Boston Red Sox President Larry Lucchino is given as an example. A strategist may handle data better than people.
Executors - this is the detail-oriented male, tireless who pushes plans forward. Dell's current CEP Kevin B. Rollins is credited as an example, but their fault - can you say micromanager?!
Confident, visionary, an idea man...those four categories don't sound half bad. In fact, 70% of senior executives have the alpha male characteristics.
So...where does the whole alpha male as jerks come from? Sure - the above are great characteristics, but there are also faults. Confident - over-confident and arrogant. Visionary - limited vision from others, domineering. Idea Man - always right. What we're often most attracted to can also be the same things that eventually turn us off from a person.
So how do we make the alpha male work in fiction? Are we writing jerks and allowing them to get away with it? Colleen Gleason's article I mentioned above does a particularly good job of discussing some disturbing trends in the alpha male writing.
There is a whole business movement on coaching the alpha male to work well with others. If our alpha is an alpha male in the beginning, middle and end - doesn't learn a single new thing, appreciate the feminine strengths of our heroine and be able to aim his vision not only forward, but around him - we've created a hero with zero character growth.
I love writing the alpha male. I like a man who's confident, thinks ahead, can start a fire, kill the bug (okay - scoop it up and take it outside). Looking back, almost every male I've written has some tough alpha spirit in him. But I think what I like about them is the big, strong man who also displays a softer side to those he loves.
Here's a question I ask myself every time I sit down to write my synopsis - does my hero deserve his happy ending?
Last month The Wet Noodle Posse covered Getting Started. This month our topic is Character.
We Romance writers often ask each other whether we are “Plot Driven” or “Character Driven.” I’m definitely Character driven, which is why I volunteered to moderate our WNP Character Month. Almost all my stories develop out of a character, the idea of a person whose story I want to tell, often a character who appeared in a previous book.
All of our characters are important, but I believe the success of a romance novel mostly lies with the hero. We want to fall in love with the hero of a romance novel and we want the heroine to be someone --- like us, or an ideal of us.
We don’t want our heroes or heroines to be perfect, because part of the delicious fantasy of romance is to see how love can change us, transform us, make us into better people. At the end of our books, we want the hero and heroine to be more than they once were, to have the injuries of the past healed because of love. We want Beauty to tame the Beast; Cinderella to wed her Prince; Snow White to be awakened with a kiss.
But how to craft these strong, to-die-for heroes and valiant heroines? How important is backstory? What should their Goals, Motivations, and Conflicts be? What flaws should they have? What will make the reader fall in love with them? How can I make them unique? How can I show who they are in the writing?
That’s what we will be discussing in a variety of ways this month.
This week’s schedule:
Tuesday: Maureen Hardegee, author of quirky southern short stories like her latest in At Home in Mossy Creek, discusses Using Pet Peeves to Inform About Characters.
Thursday: Noodler and Multi-award winning Priscilla Kissinger writes about Character Interviews
Friday: Q and A Day, a day to ask any questions you like about crafting characters. You may ask your questions ahead of time by emailing me at diane@dianegaston.com or just asking in the comment section on Friday.
There is more.
We are giving away prizes this month! Dianna Love will give away a signed copy of WORTH EVERY RISK and a booklight. And Jill Monroe will give away a signed copy of HITTING THE MARK. All you have to do is comment on the blog! Dianna’s winner will be randomly selected on Friday, Feb 15, and Jill’s winner, on Friday, Feb 29. So join the discussion and have a chance to win.
Beginning now.
What do you think are the important elements in a romantic hero and heroine?
What are your peskiest problems in developing characters?
The four little noisemakers who'd moved next door to Wade Dalton came with a bonus: their beautiful aunt. Raising the children herself due to some tough circumstances, Cassie Rankin impressed Wade with her selflessness and her beauty. But she was also at least a dozen years his junior--she was too young for him, wasn't she? Besides, Wade came with a secret that would only make life harder for Cassie and the children he'd come to adore, which meant keeping his distance. Something those four little blessings weren't about to let him do!
"Sizzling-hot sex, compelling characters, humor and a dual plot make Primal Instincts (4.5), by Jill Monroe, a book you can't put down.
Who are they to argue with biology?
Subject A, photojournalist Ian Cole, is sent to ghostwrite a book on sex in various cultures. Instead of finding a white-haired professor, he is greeted by Subject B, anthropologist Ava Simms, wearing only a teeny loincloth and body paint….
Observations…
Sexual energy between subjects increases exponentially. Note the male's quickened breathing and barely restrained urge to do lusty and inappropriate things.
The female, in turn, decides to demonstrate her extensive knowledge of seduction, play and ritual…claiming it's "research." The results? Neither Subject A nor B want the study to end….
4.5 stars/Top Pick from Romantic Times! "The sophistication and intelligence of [Gleason's] story-telling is evident on each page of the Gardella Vampire Chronicles."-- Romantic Times
The undead of Rome are racing to unravel an ancient mystery – and only one woman can stop them...
As Rome prepares for its Carnivale, the new leader of the city's vampire hunters – Lady Victoria Gardella Grantworth de Lacy – must prove herself as never before. For, to gain access to the secrets of a legendary alchemist, Rome's vampires have allied themselves with creatures as evil and bloodthirsty as they are.
Reluctantly, Victoria must turn to the enigmatic Sebastian Vioget for help, just as Maximilian Pesaro arrives to assist his fellow slayers – no matter what the sacrifice. Desire puts her at the mercy of Sebastian, while loyalty binds her to Max, but can she trust either man? Especially when a seductive vampire begins luring her into the shadows...
Okay, I had a Girl Scout meeting yesterday, and the Using Resources Wisely is part of the GS Law (Girl Guides for my friends outside the US). Today I'll be talking about the resources for getting your story started, but at the end of the blog entry...a little something about using all those resources wisely. By the way, I'll give away a book from my backlist - details at the bottom of the post.
I was asked the other day how I began a new story. Since the first time my fingers hit the keyboard to now (some 10 books later) my stories have always started in my head as a scene with dialogue. From there, I write the first chapter or so, then move onto a loose synopsis.
I do not fill out character sheets, do hero and heroine interviews or do long plot diagrams timelines and such. Does this sometimes get me in trouble - yes. But I find out who my characters are as I write, and so I keep a word doc at all times next to my wip at all times where I jot down notes such as - Ian's eyes are brown. Ava never spent any time in the US...that kind of stuff.
Do I think the character sheets/interviews/plot diagrams are important? Yes. When I first began writing, I used absolutely every one of those kinds of things that I could find. I'd buy them, go to RWA meetings and get them as handouts and attend workshops. As someone who could very easily be a professional student...these things were like gold to me. I don't use them now...but for the most part, I think that is because I took what worked for me, made it my own and internalized it.
That is your challenge now. Find out what works for you and make it your own (you don't have to internalize it - that's my right brain thinking telling me I don't NOT to use all those worksheets and things to keep me saner). If you missed the right-brain/left-brain discussion - you can click here.
So, there are a lot of resources out there. I'm going to list some of the ones I found invaluable, and please join me by listing your resources in the comment section - I'd love to see what everyone uses!
It's been mentioned before, but I think this book is so very, very good, I can't NOT mention it again - Goal, Motivation and Conflict by Deb Dixon. Hang around a bunch of romance writers long enough, and you'll hear GMC mentioned a dozen times. I find it in contest judging sheets and I've even found myself wondering what a person's GMC was when they go off and do something completely bizarre!
Two more books that I think really complete a writer's how-to bookshelf are both written by Jack Bickham. Scene and Sequel and 38 Most Common Fiction Writing Mistakes: (And How To Avoid Them). Honestly, if you could make a check-list of the 38 and review your manuscript next to each one - that's half the battle right there.
To get your ideas generated try The Writer's Brainstorming Kit by Pam McCutcheon and Michael Waite. Pam also has a lot of free writing tips on her website which you can access here.
Okay, so on to worksheets. For plotting, the first system I used was by romance author Carolyn Green (some call her the Plot Doctor). There's also Discovering Story Magic by two romance authors Laura Baker and Robin Perini - they give a great workshop you can usually catch at conferences. Another intensive workshop you might want to look into is Break Into Fiction with Mary Buckham and our own Noodler Dianna Love Snell (there are a lot of great, free articles on that website, too!).
Speaking of free - there are tons of free resources out there. A quick google search is all you need, but some favorites of mine are Leigh Michaels' Characterization Worksheets, which you can find here. Leigh also has extensive worksheets on plotting.
Many, many authors have articles on their websites. (Often they're asked to write articles for their local chapter newsletters.) Look up a favorite author's website and see what they have. Two favorites of mine are Virginia Kantra and Stephanie Bond. Plus, if you're already a member of Romance Writers of America you have at the click of a mouse a whole host of articles in the Member Only section. Check out the Pro Career Booklets and Keys to Success.
Okay, so now I'm back to using your resources wisely. There is too much help. There is too much information. There is no magic bullet out there. There is not one tip, one piece of advice one anything that will automatically get you published. Sometimes we spend all our time (and when I say we I mean a great big I as in Jill) looking for the next great bit of information that will suddenly make writing easy.
There won't be. Easier, but not easy. Okay, when they have the device that takes the ideas directly out of my head and puts them on paper in an understandable fashion - then it will be easy. But until then...use your resources wisely.
Don't let your resource gathering take time away from your actual writing.
1. Think about your own weaknesses as a writer. Is it plotting? Is it characterization? Match the resources out there with what you'd like to focus on.
2. Determine how much money you want to spend on books. If your budget is tighter, ask for these books as gifts, or look at Stephanie Bond's list of quick 49 cent downloads - her articles on Self-Editing are particularly fantastic!
3. Don't use not having a particular book/worksheet/tip as a crutch for not writing. Not writing is the surest way of not selling.
4. Find out what works best for you, and do it. Don't feel you have to use someone else's system to a t or even at all. My way of writing probably only works best for me. Also, be aware that as your skills and experiences change, so will your writing. You may want a characterization worksheet for Book # 5 and never used one before and might not again.
Okay, so share a favorite resource. Or just say how you work on getting started. I'll be giving away a book from my backlist chosen from the commenters (drawing at 8am CST Thursday morning - look for the winner in the comment section).
You can also read all about Ian's brown eyes in Primal Instincts, which should be hitting the shelves in just a few days as a February 2008 release!
Primal Instincts has received a 4 1/2 star Top Pick from Romantic Times - I couldn't be more excited! "Sizzling-hot sex, compelling characters, humor and a dual plot make Primal Instincts (4.5), by Jill Monroe, a book you can't put down."
When I was in college, I was applying for a work scholarship that I really REALLY wanted (and needed). At one point in the process, all the administrators would leave us alone with the students currently working under the scholarship. They called it Realities of the Job.
The energy and excitement about entering the GH has been great on this blog, but there is a sad reality - there's only so many finalist spots, and most of those who enter won't final. I'll raise my hand and say I entered way more times than I ever finaled. In fact, several years ago, I participated in a blog challenge where authors posted the first bit of their writing. I posted the prologue of my first book, the one I couldn't wait to finish because I was going to enter it in the Golden Heart. I received not one but TWO scores of 1. Ouch. If you're a glutton for punishment, I dug up that old blog entry - it's here.
So since I am a member of the Wet Noodle Posse, obviously my first suggestion is to enter the Golden Heart again the next year if you're still eligible.
Second, realize that the Golden Heart, like any contest, is a crapshoot. You get five judges, who may or may not be the best judge, and who all have to pretty much agree (although standard deviation is used).
Get other feedback. When I wrote the book that scored 1's in the Golden Heart, I didn't have a critique group, nor had I entered any other contests. Chapter contests costs can add up, but you can really get the kind of objective feedback you might need. I have a critique group, but lots of authors don't (NYT Bestselling author Sharon Sala comes to mind). Even if you don't have the time or energy to commit to a full group, I'd advise finding one person whose opinion you trust (and is familiar with the genre) to give a fair read.
Dig In. Not finaling might just the thing to prompt you into writing more. I know it does for me. Anytime I received a poor contest result or a rejection, my first reaction was to go, "oh yeah?" and try even harder. I took a long, hard critical look at my writing...was I writing something different with a unique spin? Or was it more of the same? Did my writing prompt someone to keep reading or was it a snoozefest of boring things happening to boring people?
This is a great time for you - change genres, look at your plot and when something looks to be going one way, switch it to keep your reader guessing. My critique partner, Gena Showalter, often says she likes to write herself into a corner. Write yourself into a corner, then write yourself back out! Have a goal of being ineligible for the Golden Heart next year.
Acknowledge that it stinks not to final. I know it is so disappointing when you don't final - believe me, I was there. You have a lot of hope, a lot of yourself is invested in finaling. You hear all these great stories about the GH call leading to sales. That's your dream, too, and now you'll have to wait an entire year to try to achieve it. Give yourself one day. One day to be upset, mad, angry whatever. Eat something filled with carbs. Gripe to your best friend. Then the next day, get right back and start writing - maybe even into a corner. Work to make yourself ineligible for the Golden Heart! (Do you see the pattern?)
Don't Be In The House. Really, just be away from your phone and e-mail the day those calls go out. You'll drive yourself crazy. Every time the phone rings, you'll jump. Every time you get a new e-mail, it's another person announcing they finaled. Go out. See a movie, just do something. Really, coming home to a message on your answering machine is far better than waiting by the phone that's not ringing and getting down.
Make The GH Final Gravy. I'd never heard this phrase until I met my husband, but it's a good philosophy to have. Have other writing irons in the fire - queries out, other projects going, set yourself up with all kinds of rewards for setting writing goals. In other words, get your potatoes mashed, salted and buttered just the way you like them. Then, if the GH call does come, it's just gravy. One more thing to make those potatoes (your real meal) good.
Finaling in the Golden Heart is great, but it shouldn't be your goal. Writing the best work you can and getting published should be. Many, many people get published, hit NY Times, you name it without ever finaling in the GH. A GH final is fantastic, it gets your writing in front of an acquiring editor, but so does a lot of things. So my last suggestion is to keep working on those other things.
Sex and the Immortal Bad Boy by Stephanie Rowe goes on sale this week!
Paige Darlington has a problem. See, she's the former apprentice to Satan's right hand, Becka Gibbs. As a result, she's got this pretty much all consuming need to be bad... not her fault, right? Well, that will be a small comfort when she loses all human emotions, including the ability to love and care about those who matter to her.
To keep his brother alive, Jed Buchanan works for Satan Jr., the heir to hell and the most evil being in existence. Jed has been forced to do a lot of unsavory things during his time on the "job" and his latest assignment - killing Becka Gibbs - isn't pleasant either. It only gets more complicated when he arrives at Becka's apartment, and inadvertently attacks Paige, a beautiful, sexy demon who decides that saving his black soul will be just the thing to keep her own from rotting.
But can the Devil's minion and the Devil's assassin possibly find true love?
Tall, Dark and Filthy Rich by Jill Monroe arrives in stores!
What would you do if you hit the jackpot?
Private investigator Jessie Huell has always eschewed girlie things for the tools of her trade. She'd swap Jimmy Choos for a nightscope any day. But when she arrives as a guest on a popular Atlanta sex show, Jessie is unexpectedly reunited with high school crush and producer Cole Crawford—multi-million dollar lottery winner, igniter of panties...and bad, bad news for her.
Now Jessie is the official spokesperson for fling-havers everywhere—Cole and Jessie are doing hot, naughty things in the very same places she swore she'd avoid. As each incredible second explodes by, Jessie finds herself in deep trouble: if she's not careful she'll break the first rule of flingdom and it'll turn serious…which means she'll have to find the real dirt on Cole Crawford...because this man's too good to be true!
From Harlequin Presents - The Boss's Christmas Baby by Trish Morey
The Yuletide child
Tegan Fielding is supposed to be masquerading as her twin, not sleeping with her sister's boss! But James Maverick is too sexy to resist. She'll be his mistress—Yet he doesn't know who she really is.
The deception must end; Tegan is falling for the tycoon, and as Christmas approaches she has some news. How will James react when he finds his convenient mistress is expecting a special, seasonal delivery?
These great October releases from The Wet Noodle Posse are still available!
I love this category. The first romances I read were Contemporary Series, I finaled in the Golden Heart in Series Contemporary (Long) and now I'm published with Harlequin Blaze.
The category has undergone some changes - series is no longer divided into three different categories. Now only two: Contemporary Series and Contemporary Series: Suspense/Adventure. Trish Milburn, who writes as Tricia Mills, will be covering Romantic Suspense later this week, so you can get some more in depth discussion there.
First, let's look at what RWA provides:
Official Description: Series romance novels that focus primarily on the romantic relationship.
Judging Guidelines: In this category, the love story is the main focus of the novel, and the end of the book is emotionally satisfying and optimistic.
Very true. The series book encompasses a wide range of styles: traditional, spicy, sassy, paranormal, sweet, small town, multicultural, exotic locales, medical, chick lit, historical to name just a few, but there's one thing universal - there's always a satisfying ending. That doesn't necessarily mean a marriage proposal within the pages of the book, most of my Harlequin Blaze books don't, but one where you know the hero and heroine will still be together working on their relationship after the book ends.
Check out the specific writing guidelines posted on Harlequin's website by clicking here.
Your page count is limited, so your love story has to be the main focus - of course that doesn't mean you can't have intricate plots, secondary characters, subplots even secondary love stories. SuperRomance often has the feel and tone of a single title. You can find chick lit "Blaze Style" in that line - still the heart of these books is the central romance.
Moving The Story Forward
In most cases, you have less than 300 manuscript pages to develop two characters with personalities, goals, emotions and conflicts. Therefore your dialogue, your narrative, the action everything that's written on the page should always move your story forward. Exciting scenes with with tense dialogue and popping emotions can really lose their punch with long paragraphs of narrative.
Moving away from the action for characters to reflect keeps the story moving forward and are good breathers for the reader, but taut sequels can really lose their character development with huge amounts of information, backstory or flashbacks. Backstory can be important, but that kind of information can be included in others ways.
You can't shortchange your reader by leaving out the setting description, physicality and facial expressions. Make each paragraph have more than one function. Fellow Noodler, Karen Potter's "Daddy In Waiting" (Silhouette Romance, June 2005) second paragraph is this:
Jenny Ames turned the squeaky swivel chair to face the window and squinted into the bright sunlight of a perfect fall Cincinnati day. Spotting the cloud she suspected held her great-grandmother's restless spirit, she sighed.
With this two sentence paragraph Karen introduced us to the heroine, the setting, season, a hint of her personality and even an indication of her mood.
Here's a powerful example of using dialogue, and the tiny snippets of narrative to indicate mood and past between the hero and heroine in Trish Morey's debut Harlequin Presents The Greek Boss's Demand (January 2005):
‘I guess so,’ she managed at last. ‘At least I’m pretty sure we have. It was such a long time ago.’ A muscle twitched in Nick’s cheek. ‘Am I so hard to remember?’
So much is conveyed in the words. First: emotions, outwardly like the muscle in the cheek twitching, or the obvious need for the heroine to make light of their time together. His question "Am I so hard to remember?" Intriguing. Plus, the author didn't need to resort to a long flashbacks to establish an emotional past (that's obviously still NOT resolved) between these two.
The phrase She managed at last allows the reader to know it took her a moment to compose herself. Evokes a lot more than the words "she said" (although I'm a big fan of the she said/he said tag). Longer tags are most effective when used sparingly.
Dialogue can be one of your most effective tools and far more powerful than narrative. Instead of having a character think about the past - have her talk about the past with another character. Instead of telling the reader how she feels conflicted - show that to the reader with an exchange between the characters.
Even though in real life we have many co-workers and friends and family members in our life - try to limit your secondary characters. See if you can combine them into one or two people. Rather than having several lukewarm people populating your book, you now have one or two dynamic and necessary characters.
What to do with the synopsis?
Work at making your synopsis unique to your voice, not just a dry point by point coverage of your plot. If it's boring to write and you're dreading it - chances are that will reflect in your pages. Challenge yourself to make it exciting, sexy or emotional in the same vein as the line you're targeting.
And even though including how and when the two characters fall in love should be obvious, when getting too involved in the telling of your plot, it can be easily overlooked. I had this experience after sending in a synopsis to my editor. They do fall in love, don't they? she asked. Embarrassing moment.
The best piece of advice I ever received was to make that first paragraph of the synopsis match in tone to the back cover blurbs on your favorite series romance and the line you're targeting. There's just something about reading the back of those books that just MAKES me want to put them in my shopping cart - use that same marketing to hook in your reader judge.
I'll use the cover blurb on Tall, Dark and Filthy Rich for an example of what a first sentence of a synopsis could be. (I didn't write it, so I can't take credit for it.) "When a bad boy grows up to be a deliciously bad man..." When I saw that, I smiled because it perfectly conveyed the mood of the book, and used a favorite "hook" series readers enjoy.
Like the rest of the Noodlers, Jill Monroe finaled in the Golden Heart in 2003 in the (now defunct) category of Series Long Contemporary. She sold her first book, Never Naughty Enough, in December of that same year. Her GH entry, Share The Darkness, hit the shelves in April 2005 as a Harlequin Blaze.
Since then Jill has sold three more books to Harlequin Blaze. Hitting The Mark was released this past February. Tall, Dark and Filthy Rich arrives in stores in November 2007, and Primal Instincts in February 2008.
Jill will be discussing How To Cut Pages Out Of Your GH Entry, something she (sadly) faced almost every time she entered.
When not writing, Jill likes to "save" (steal) garden gnomes, post really embarrassing stuff about herself on her blog and spend time with her children. Being a former educator, she tries to make every moment an "educational moment" something she gets teased about by her fellow former teachers (or well, let's face it - most everyone). Most (okay ALL) of her Noodler articles pass along her obsession of never walking away from a potential moment to teach like this one on China. Or when Jill was asked to submit a recipe in March THIS (you'll have to scroll down) is what the ezine editors received.
The Wet Noodle Posse is all about being good to yourself. One of the ways you can do that is by keeping your mind sharp. A lot of research has gone into the benefits of puzzle solving, so I won't get itno that here, except to say they are a lot of fun.
Hope you enjoy this WNP Puzzle - and share your time if you want.
I'll be the first to admit that I waste WAY too much time on the Internet under the heading "research"
I check the yahoo writer loops I'm on - this is under the misguided belief that someone out there has that one gem of advice that I need to hear in order to improve my life, career and finances.
I blog hop to some of my favorite author blogs. In a lot of ways, this has replaced the yahoo groups with all the messages. I can connect with friends that have my same interests, understand my chosen career and generally have a lot of fun chatting. This is similar to the morning diet coke break I'd take with my co-workers when I had a 9 to 5 job.
Visit my books on amazon and B&N - I tell myself I won't do this. What's the point? They're there. They'll still be there tomorrow. AND when the rankings aren't where I want them to be - major energy suck.
Industry blogs/sites - these are review sites, readers who talk about romances whatever. Something VERY BIG happens on one of these blogs/sites at least once a month. Hundreds of comments, bloggers referring to other blogs/sites. It's a circle that can really become toxic to your time.
So why do I visit these when I know they're not good for me?
Because writing can be hard. Sometimes the words don't flow. The cursor does nothing but blink and while I'm at the computer...it's so easy to hop away from my word doc. Writing is also very solitary, and it's nice to chat, even cyberly, throughout the day.
So, I'm putting myself on limits. Time limits and word limits.
First, I don't hop away from the manuscript until I have at least ___ pages written. I change that number depending on how close to deadline. It's a minimum of one page though.
Second, when I just have to check out the Internet, I give myself a time limit and I use a timer. I can spare 10 minutes.
Lastly, I do give myself a break from writing. I used to be a firm believer that a writer writes every day. Now I'm not so sure. Now I give myself permission to just have an afternoon of reading. Watching a rom com while the kids are at school instead of writing. There's something about that time away that makes me look forward to tackling a manuscript.
Do you have a favorite time waster? How to battle it? Do you take a break from writing?
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video. Which is good. I get to be unique.
why not show it off and compete for the prize?
