Oct 2, 2009 | Books, Contests |
Today I'm giving away a signed book by my friend, chapter mate, and line buddy Kimberly Lang! It's amazing how much fun it is to live right down the road, in the same town, as another person who writes for the glamorous and gorgeous Harlequin Presents line. This means lots of lunches and plot talk. 🙂
Kimberly's books are called Modern Heat in the UK (mine are Modern), so we definitely aren't writing the same thing. When I want fun, sexy, and glamorous all at once, I pick up one of Kimberly's books. And this book definitely lives up to that promise! (In fact, I emailed Kimberly from under a dryer at the salon because I was cracking up over a line she'd written. Too funny.)
Tell me why you want to read Kimberly's book! On Sunday, I'll pick a winner from the comments. 🙂 Go!
Sep 30, 2009 | Writing |
It approacheth at light speed. The deadline. Or, as Kate Walker calls it, the dreadline. I like that. Because you do start to dread it, knowing you somehow have to wrap up this latest story into a neat and tidy bow and ship it off to your editor. Who will then unwrap it and either shriek with horror, shake her head sadly, or jump up and down with glee.
I'm banking on the first two, truthfully. There are rumors of authors who send in books with no revisions, but I've yet to experience it, so I always expect them. I just hope my editor doesn't shriek. 🙂
But as I type my merry way along toward that day that is oh-so-close, it makes me think of when I was still unpublished and wanting to cross that sacred line to being published so much. When you're unpublished, time is on your side. (Or so it seems, but more about that in a moment.) Life creeps in, other tasks take precedence, and it's easy to shove your little hobby manuscript to the back of the burner while you attend to everything else.
And yet, I say to you, that is a mistake. Because time is not on your side, not really. As you push your manuscript aside to do fall cleaning, drag out the pumpkin carving kit and autumn leaf table cloth with matching napkins, someone else is writing. Someone else is finishing a book, which they will then send to an editor. They might sell that book, and be contracted for another.
Publishing is not a zero sum game, as the amazing Linda Howard says. Just because someone else sells a book doesn't mean you won't. But you have to figure out how to complete those books, regularly, and how to submit them in a timely manner. Taking a year to write a category romance is not good practice. Depending on the line you sell to, they might want 3 or 4 a year.
Now of course you shouldn't ignore your family and hide in your writing cave every minute of every day, but you really have to find the time to write regularly. Because it's good practice, a good habit, and will benefit you in the end both in work completed and lessons learned while writing.
The best writing teacher is writing itself. You have to write a lot to learn how to write. The anonymous “they” say you should write about a million words before you're good enough to be publishable. Malcom Gladwell, in his book Outliers, says that it takes about ten years of practice to get really good at a thing.
And you know what, both are true for me. I easily wrote a million words (probably about 250K on my first book alone), and though I quit trying to publish and went back to school for several years, I studied writing and I read a lot of romance during that time. My total time as a writer of fiction thus far? Sixteen years.
So figure out how to give yourself a deadline, and then meet it. It's good practice, and it'll be expected once you do sell.
Sep 28, 2009 | Winners, Writing |
This weekend, I participated in an all day writers' workshop featuring Leslie Wainger, book doctor and author of the fabulous Writing a Romance Novel for Dummies. I gave a presentation with Blaze author Kira Sinclair about sexual tension.
Do you know what sexual tension is? As a romance writer, this is one of the most important tools in your arsenal. Sexual tension can be described as the sparks and sizzle, the wanting/yearning that occurs between the main characters. It's a tension they cannot give in to because it would complicate their situation, thwart their goals, or make things worse.
It's awareness of each other on every level. It's the thoughts, the eye contact, the yearning to make love, all while knowing that giving in would be an absolute disaster. Not a disaster because of the physical, but a disaster because it would make things worse.
Remember “Moonlighting”? The sexual tension between Maddie and David was off the charts. Likewise, think about Princess Leia and Han Solo. Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy. What about the new show “Castle” that so many of us like? Sexual tension is the key. We think Richard Castle is sexy, and we think Beckett is nuts for not giving in to her attraction to him.
Think about your favorite romance novels. Think of the tension between the characters, about how you kept turning those pages to find out when the hero and heroine would kiss, when they would make love, and what would happen next. How did that author do that? How did she make you want to keep turning those pages?
In your own writing, think in each scene how you can increase the tension, and use all the senses to do so. Touch, smell, taste, sound, and visuals. Ramp it up and make it sizzle. 🙂 And remember that sexual tension springs from your characters' conflicts, their internal issues, and not simply from you saying they want each other. Instant attraction, without conflict, is not sexual tension. And I mean deep conflicts that spring from who they are and what they want, not arguments because one of them likes the Dallas Cowboys and the other is a Washington Redskins fan. If your characters are arguing simply for the sake of arguing, that's bickering — and it's annoying.
So make sure your characters have goals that are opposing in some way, and then let them want each other. Now try to keep them from acting on that attraction. Yum!
The winner of Trish Morey's book is Stephanie! Yay, Stephanie! You're gonna love this yummy story!!
Sep 25, 2009 | Books, Contests |
My idiocy is your gain! I bought Trish's The Ruthless Greek's Virgin Princess on my Kindle and devoured it — without realizing I'd also bought it in print. I don't need the print book, do I? So I'm giving it away to one lucky commenter!
Tell me what you love about ruthless Greeks, virgin princesses, or Harlequin Presents in general!
Sep 24, 2009 | Books, Writing |
I'm still working on my Argentinian hero and his lovely jewel thief (does that pique your interest?), and their story is galloping to a close. Soon, I hope to submit it to my editor and wait for her suggestions on how to make it better. I promise you passion and seduction, glorious love, and a gorgeous setting in Buenos Aires and the wine country of Argentina. 🙂
But I also have a new project to work on and I'm excited to share it with you. As soon as this book is done, I'll be working on a novella for publication in the UK. My subject? A sheikh! I can't wait! I still have the next full-length book to write as well, and I've already picked a setting for it. I can't wait to tell you about it, but I'm not quite ready yet! Let's just say it's not a place you usually read about in your Harlequin Presents!
Do you like sheikh stories? What's your favorite thing about them? I'm envisioning a dark, ruthless hero, a desert setting, and lots of passion!
P.S. You can now read a complete transcript of the Harlequin Presents competition editor chat here!
