Blogging at the Scribes!

Longtime fans know I'm part of a collective of writers (collective? Or should that be gaggle? a flock? a pride!). We have both a website and a blog and this week is my turn over there. Stop by and join the discussion!

Play safe,
Diana

PS. These are the last few days to get "I Stay a Little Longer" for 99 cents. Price goes up to $1.99 on Wednesday, so get your copy before the price hike! Available in all ebook formats.

I've been cleaning...

Spring is here (even if the weather is wonky) and I get the urge to clean house. Maybe its because I read too many novels with industrious Victorian mothers who feel it necessary to strip the house of furnishings and give every room the once-over, maybe because my mother scolded a sense of order into me. But whatever the reason, every spring I find myself going through rooms with vacuum in one hand, dust cloth in the other and toting my family behind (who are never as enthusiastic as I am for some reason).

The hardest clean-up, however, is always the study. In particular, the shelves of books in the study. We have well over a thousand-book library with six shelves a yard long devoted to Shakespeare alone. Another seven of the same length are scripts of plays (we were both theatre majors in college and our daughter just graduated with the same degree. She's a stage manager and always looking for her next gig. If you happen to know of any openings., drop me a line!).

It isn't the dusting of them (that's easy), it's the cleaning out to make way for new. What do I give away? Notice I didn't say "toss away." I can't toss books into the recycling bin. On the very rare occasions when a paperback book has become just so disintegrated that its missing pages or that pages are torn, I agonize and apologize to the author when it goes into the blue bin.

But give away I do. Our local library stopped taking used books a couple of years ago so for quite some time the unwanted, but in good shape books collected in boxes in my attic. Then I found out the Salvation Army will take them. I've forgotten how many boxes I took them in that first drop, but it was a lot - and I've given them several more since.

The fact that they're going to a good home, however, doesn't make it any easier. I have to harden my heart and suck it up like a big girl every time a book leaves my hands. What is it about them that makes them so precious? It's not like I don't have enough (obviously we have too many). I grew up in a house that allowed me to keep all the books I bought, so there's no deep-rooted need to hoard in my childhood.

Perhaps it's because they are works of art. For they are, you know. Every one of them. Some are more to my liking than others, but in truth, each one is a creative endeavor on the part of an individual who put thought and time into the creation. One would not give away (or toss!) a Mondrian or Monet, so why would I get rid of a Nora Roberts or David Eddings?

But it's spring and cleaning-time is here. For now the Star Trek books are safe (two shelves worth, a yard across), as are the scripts and Shakespeare. But some of the others have to go.Let the agony begin!

Play safe,
Diana

Characterization III

How well do you know your characters? Do you know what they hold as truths so evident they don't even need to be spoken? Do you know what abhors them? What makes them smile? What revolts them and everything in between?

When we speak of characterization, we're really talking about what makes up a person's character. What he/she holds as near and dear. How the character behaves when no one's watching. Who he/she is at the very core of his/her being.

To that end, below the jump is a jpg. you can print out and use as a way to rank what's important to your protagonists (and antagonists -- they have character, too!). Take your time over this. What is the most important value your characters holds as truth? What values are less important?

Then go through your manuscript and see if that truth shines through. Does your character actually behave the way he/she would if that value were the most important? Can you create a scene (or even add in a line or two) that reflects the values not deemed important?

For example: Two people in a fancy restaurant having just finished an expensive meal. Both pull out credit cards to split the bill and one waves the other off. "My turn," the character says. 

We know several things from this generic scene, including that one character is generous with money. That's a value statement. Now imagine the other character comes back with this:

"No, I won't be beholding to you for anything. I'll pay for my own meal and you can keep your money."

An entirely new value comes into play. Was the first character's motivation altruism? Or power? Is the second character's reaction based on independence? Or is it a plea to save face?

You see how important values are to the character of a character?

(SIDENOTE: To some writers, plot is the most important element of a story. Think Lord of the Rings or the Star Wars trilogy. What happens is more important than what the characters think of what's happening. Any of the current crop of superhero movies tends to be the same (with the arguable exception of the latest incarnation of the Batman series with Christian Bale in the title role).

To other writers, however, character is the most important element. Who the events happen to are the most interesting part. The motivations, the thoughts that go on inside their heads - these form the basis for the story.  Think Jane Eyre or Stuck in Neutral or heck, anything by yours truly!

(sidenote to the sidenote: wait till you get a load of the cover on this copy of Jane Eyre. What on earth were they thinking???)

Both approaches obviously have their place. And of course, the best literature is that which equalizes the two; stories where both what happens and who it happens to are of equal interest to the reader. Feel free to name your favorites in the comments.)

Okay, get to work! Remember, the jpg is below the jump and you can save to your computer and print out as needed. What are the most important values to your character?

Inspiration

Artists often choose their subjects from the pages of literary works. From the ancient tales of the Ramayana to the 20th century writings of JRR Tolkien, painters, sketch artists and sculptors have been inspired by story.

But the reverse is also true. A sketch, a photograph or a painting often works to inspire a writer. Who is the person in that painting? What is his/her story? What's happened just before this photo was taken to make this scene so lonely, so scary, so beautiful?

When using art for inspiration, it helps to go back to the old newpaperman questions: Who, What, Where, When and Why? Add in How and you have an entire story.

Below are two pictures you can use for inspiration, although any photograph or artwork will do. Use the questions below to get the creative juices flowing:

• Who: Who is in the picture? Why is he/she there? Who is missing from the pic?
• What: What is going on in the picture? What is the action? What emotions are evoked by looking at the scene? What emotions are the people in the picture expressing? Why do you think they're having those emotions?
• Where: Remember, there are three ways to think of setting: geographical, historical and physical. To that end,  Where is the scene set as far as location? What time period is it? What are the physical details of the scene?
• When: When does this scene take place? The time of day? the season? Are there any cultural mores that come into play because of when it's set?
• Why: Why on earth would anyone want to capture this scene to begin with? Why is it important?
• How: How did this person (these people) get here in the first place? How will they get out of their situation? How will they react to what is happening? (NOTE: This is where you build your conflict. The others are all details, but here is where it turns into a story instead of a news report).

Ready?

Who: Who is in the picture? Why is he/she there? Who is missing from the pic?

What: What is going on in the picture? What is the action? What emotions are evoked by looking at the scene? What emotions are the people in the picture expressing? Why do you think they're having those emotions?

Where: Remember, there are three ways to think of setting: geographical, historical and physical. To that end,  Where is the scene set as far as location? What time period is it? What are the physical details of the scene?

When: When does this scene take place? The time of day? the season? Are there any cultural mores that come into play because of when it's set?

Why: Why on earth would anyone want to capture this scene to begin with? Why is it important?

How: How did this person (these people) get here in the first place? How will they get out of their situation? How will they react to what is happening? (NOTE: This is where you build your conflict. The others are all details, but here is where it turns into a story instead of a news report).

Go write!

If you like this workshop, please donate to the cause!

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Reading!

Okay, so a week off from the day job leads to two things: lots of writing (nearly 10,000 words this week -- newest novel is nearly finished!) and lots of reading (3 books this week!). Will hold off telling you about the latest work in progress (will save for a later post when the first draft is done. Don't want to jinx it.) but here are the four books I read:

Decided I didn't want to wait to borrow the rest of the Hunger Games series, so went out and bought Catching Fire and Mockingjay. I really liked Suzanne Collins' writing style. She's clean and sparse, yet I never had trouble envisioning the characters in my head. Am I the only one, though, who sees a young Sean Astin in the role of Peeta? Good reads all the way through.

Just before break a friend handed me a copy of The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein and told me I was going to love it. Sorry. Didn't. It isn't that I don't like philosophy books hidden inside novels, I do. My favorite is Illusions by Richard Bach followed closely by Ishmael by Daniel Quinn. My husband is reading Eat, Pray, Love  by Elizabeth Gilbert and tells me I'm going to like it when he's done (saw the movie and enjoyed that, so looking forward to reading the book).

No, I'm afraid I'm just not the target audience of The Art of Racing in the Rain, kinda the same way I'm not really the target audience for Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance --and pretty much for the same reasons. The metaphor just doesn't resound with me. I'm not into car racing, so didn't relate to Racing because Stein used that extended metaphor to get his philosophies across. Plus, I'm not a dog person. Don't really like dogs (have been afraid of them ever since I can remember) and while the narrator of the book (Enzo, the protagonist's dog) is one cool animal, I still am not a dog person.

So don't let my shrug towards The Art of Racing in the Rain dissuade you. You like dogs? You'll enjoy it. You like the races? You'll like this book. You like philosophy? You'll like this book. Me? I'm just odd that way...

Play safe, everyone!
Diana
PS. Do you find the links helpful? I'm never sure if anyone uses them to learn more about the authors or to look at the books? Drop me a comment or an email and let me know?

Writing the synopsis

I debated quite a while before deciding to go ahead and post this workshop. At one point, the synopsis was a necessary step to selling your novel. If the purpose of the cover letter was to get the editor/agent to read the synopsis, then the purpose of the synopsis was to get the editor/agent to request the full manuscript. With more authors not going the agent route or opting to self-publish, however, the synopsis is needed less often for that purpose.

Then again, there are many authors who start with the synopsis. They flesh out their entire story before sitting down to write it out. Those writers are "plotters" and I discussed that approach here. For those, the synopsis is an important writing tool whose importance is vital. I did this only once and only because there were three of us writing intertwining stories so we all had to be sure our plot lines and characters meshed (for the record, I hated it and haven't done it since). Remember, I'm a pantser, so, with only the one exception, I always write my synopses after I've written the novel.

The guidelines below are written with selling in mind. although there are lots of reasons to write one even if you're not using it to snag that agent or editor. Is it for you to work out a plot complication or character arc? Will you be using any of it in the description boxes of some of the self-publishing sites? Who, besides you, is going to see it?

The answers to those questions will go a long way toward quelling any nervousness you might feel at condensing your story. With any luck, the "rules" below will take away the rest of the stress. :)

Rules of thumb for writing a synopsis:

1. If you're writing a synopsis because you're sending your manuscript to a publisher and it's required, first find out what the editor/publisher wants! Some want only 2 pages, others want more. Check their websites; many publishers put their requirements right out there. The current trend is to shorter a shorter synopsis.

2. Length – when all else fails, 1-2 pages of synopsis for every 100 pages of manuscript. Another alternative is to give one paragraph to each chapter.

3. Write it in present tense, and in 3^rd person.

4. Tell the ENTIRE story, including the ending. Fill it with spoilers!

5. That said, stick to the MAIN plot. Unless the subplot eventually weaves into the main one, it’s best to leave it out.

6. Write spare. Don’t fill it up with adjectives and adverbs.

See? Nothing to be afraid of. It really isn't that bad. The biggest thing to remember is that you're telling, not showing your story.

There are TONS of websites that will give you lots of conflicting advice. My guidelines come from my own experience and from Absolute Write (the site uses The Lady and the Tramp as a model. Language is simplistic, but certainly easy to follow!). And if you're still nervous, have others read it over for you, preferably people who haven't read your novel. They'll tell you if they're confused or if you're saying too much.

I've been offering these writing workshops for several months now. You can view the entire list of them here. If you've found any of them useful, please consider a donation. Thanks!   Diana

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Reading books!

Just wanted to bring my "Books Read This Year" list up-to-date. Not too many to add this time, though.

First one to add is The Madonnas of Leningrad by Debra Dean, the book my book club is reading this month. The prologue put me off some and I was concerned about the voice but it got better the more I read. Still felt like she was telling me the story too much though. I prefer to "see" the action more clearly. And, if this is released as a "super ebook", I hope they include pictures of the paintings she described. The word-descriptions were very well done, but I'd like to see the actual paintings as well.

Am also re-reading One Child by Torey Hayden before I teach it. This will be my sixth or seventh time through the book and it gets to me every time. If you haven't read it, this is a must read.

Last, but not least (actually, none of these three are least. I liked them all, though for very different reasons), is Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I'd read it before, but wanted to read it again before going to see the movie. Haven't read the other two books yet, so no spoilers! I only got halfway through before we went to see it and I thought the movie stayed true to the spirit of the book even if it changed up some of the details. They make good companion pieces. 'Nuff said. Any more and I'll be breaking my own no-spoiler rule!

That it for now. Play safe and read more!
Diana

The Brink of Spring

Every year my husband remarks on how fast the trees go from their first budding to full-leafed in what seems a matter of hours. One day they're budding, the next morning they're all leafed out and ready for summer. I tell him that's just because he's not looking. He sees the start of spring, then gets busy and doesn't look up until he's standing in the shade.

Last year we made a concerted effort to watch the trees unfold. We both remarked on them when the buds appeared and made daily progress comments to each other. Within four days, the trees were decked out in new leaves. Congratulating ourselves, we made a pact to watch every year and not miss a moment of the season's changes.

For many of us in North America, however, this year our Spring awakening is on hold. As early as February, the flowering bulbs started popping up and by mid-March, many gardens were in full bloom. The forsythia blossomed, the fruit trees bloomed and the trees came out with tiny leaf-buds ready to pop.

And then Spring entered a holding pattern. For the past two weeks, nothing has changed. My forsythia is still blossoming, the yellow flowers brighter than I've ever seen them. The daffodils and narcissus are nodding in the breeze just as happy now as they were when they first came out. My hyacinth are still making my garden fragrant and the trees are still budding with their new leaves.

I'm a writer and use words to capture the scene. My husband is a painter. This paused spring gave us the opportunity to really pore over what happens to the trees, giving us the luxury of extended study. You can see his painting here. It's almost as if Mother Nature hit the "hold" button, slowing everything down so we could take a good, long look at the miracle that's wrought every year. The colors are more delicate, and in fact, more reminiscent of autumn with so much of the branches still showing through. The light is brighter, probably because the leaves are still in their infancy. The entire scene speaks of sunlight and promise, just what spring should be.

Soon the seasons will move on again, Mother Nature will let go of the button and send us on our way. But for right now, I'm very much enjoying the extension of a too-brief moment.

Play safe, everyone!
Diana

PS. The link for Steven's painting is a Facebook link. He doesn't have it on his website yet. If you want to see the speed painting, you can go here (it's on YouTube). Be sure to subscribe while you're there! :)

Pantsing

No, I'm not talking about what happened in junior high when someone pulled your pants down. I mean pantsing as in "flying by the seat of your pants." And that's what many writers do.

I am an admitted pantser. I start my stories with no clear idea of where they're going to go or what's going to happen. I've tried writing synopses before but, once I finish them, I find I'm no longer interested in writing the story. I already know how its going to turn out, why would I want to spend any more time on it?

So yes, I start, let the characters dictate the story and reel them back in only when I see they're moving too far off the main story line. How do I know the main story line? I write romance and it isn't hard to find. Boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back. Basic plot line.

And that's probably why I spend so much time with my characters and fleshing them out. All my stories are more character-driven than plot driven. We all know the basic plot. The fun is watching new people, people we've never met before, come up with new reactions, new perspectives on the regular old plot. Remember, there are only 37 plots to begin with!

Although I compose my stories on the computer, I have a spiral notebook with pages dedicated to each character. As decisions are made regarding physical appearance, character traits, likes/dislikes, or any other information that comes out in the story, I write it down in the notebook just so I have a reference to go back to when I can't remember his hair color or whether she said she liked Italian food or that it gave her indigestion.

I also include a timeline of events as they unfold. This serves me well after the first draft of the story is written (my "throwing up" on paper, or the computer screen nowadays). Once the entire story is drafted, I can use the timeline to make sure I didn't leave any plot holes or start a subplot and then drop it partway through. Some people might call this plotting, but since I do it AFTER I've written the story, I consider it an editing tool rather than what a true plotter does.

Does this mean I sometimes overwrite? That I write too much story and have to pare down? Of course. But I like it that way. I hate writing the first draft and then finding holes. I'd much rather write extra and have to condense and tighten up the story. In fact, every single novel I've ever published has a companion folder on my computer called "extras". These are pieces of the story I cut out - sometimes only a paragraph in length - sometimes entire scenes. I throw nothing away.

Later those extra pieces sometimes become stories of their own, like "Secret Signs", a cut scene from Secret Submission that is now included in the Timeless Love anthology. Sometimes I change the character names and they become entirely new stories (Love in the Afternoon). And sometimes they just sit there, waiting their turn.

So...are you a pantser or a plotter?

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New York City

Okay, so my husband and I took a trip to the Big Apple this past weekend because he had tickets to the Art Expo (courtesy of Tim Gagnon -- thanks, Tim!). You have to realize, I love New York. It's my favorite city -- ever. Granted, I haven't been in too many other large cities, but New York has Broadway and off-Broadway and that puts it in a special place in my heart.

While there we went to see Avenue Q and Channeling Kevin Spacey. First one was funny (dirty, but really, really funny) and the second one, well...it wasn't the worst I've ever seen (that honor goes to The Pirate Queen), but it wasn't the best, either. 'Nuff said.

On the train ride home, Steven and I got to talking about how many times we've been down to the city. We live in the Finger Lakes region of NY and the city's only about 350 miles away. Still, it's far enough (and expensive enough!) that we don't get there very often.

I thought. Being the anal-retentive, data-driven person I am, I decided to make a database of all the times I've been to New York City. I started with my first trip back in 1973 when I was a freshman in high school (yeah, okay. Go ahead and do the math. I'll wait. Done? Let's move on...). I recorded the dates (some approximate), my method of transportation, who I went with, the reason for the trip, where I stayed (when I could remember) and what I saw (including tourist sights as well as shows).

From 1973 to last weekend, I'm counting a total of 20 trips in 39 years. I've seen 21 different shows, some musicals, some straight plays, and one mime show (Bill Irwin is the best!) and the Radio City Rockette's Christmas show. I've stayed in at least 10 different places (including on the couch of friends who lived there for a while), eaten in every type of place from a diner to an exclusive club where you had to know someone on the inside just to walk in the door.

I love the diversity, the noise, the smells (did you know NYC smells differently in the summer than in the winter? When its cold, there are chestnut vendors on the streetcorners and the scent of roasting chestnuts permeates Times Square). I love the sights, the museums, the shows, the people (I finally got to see the Naked Cowboy this last trip!!!). Let's just face it, I love New York! :)

Are you a plotter?

The concept of creation has always fascinated me. How a painter creates a painting, how a carver brings beauty out of a branch, how an author creates life out of a vocabulary of words. The creative process has been dissected by scientists and poets alike, yet still remains more than a mystery.

And yet, for all our differences, writers fall into two creative categories when it comes to sitting down and starting that story. You're either a pantser (as in "writing by the seat of your pants") or a plotter (as in determining the details of your story before begin to write it).

That said, within those two categories, there are hundreds of approaches. Several years ago I interviewed about a dozen authors all of whom called themselves plotters. Each of them spent considerable time hammering out plot points, determining character arcs, nailing down details. Only when they had every piece of information pre-determined, did they actually sit down and write the story. Because they knew everything about the tale so well, the actual writing took, comparatively, very little time.

Let me tell you A Tale of Two Plotters:

Author #1

 1. starts with character

 2. makes two lists:

• things she’d like to have happen
• things she knows will happen

3. has a general story flow in her head

4. uses a “plot partner.” Through IM, gets 90% of her plot figured out

5. writes synopsis

6. does storyboarding

• uses posterboard and different colored sticky notes (one color for protagonist, one for antagonist, perhaps a third color for subplot)
•  adds minor scenes; fleshes out the subplot; finds the character arc, keeps the story moving, looks for ironic twists.

7. transfers the contents of the storyboard back to the synopsis; be sure to tell HOW events happen

 She spends between 4 – 12 weeks on this process before actually writing the story!

8. writes the story

Author #2

 1. starts with character bios (in longhand)

2. determines what the character looks like, wears, etc

3. creates a  “conflict grid” for each character including information on their:

• life goal
• story goal
• conflict of circumstance
• conflict of relationship
• conflict of personality
• epiphany

Makes sure the character cannot achieve both the story goal and the life goal (adds conflict)

4. Makes a “plot grid” by

• dividing the plot into chapters
• filling in all the major plot points
• determining character goals, motivations, turning points
• adds a ‘notes’ line on the grid for pieces of dialogue, descriptions, settings, etc.

5. writes synopsis (more on writing these soon)

 The above takes her “weeks.” Only then does she write her story.

So you can see these two authors have very different approaches, yet both are very clear on their story's plot and characters before they write.

The advantages to plotting are obvious. Problems in the story can be located and corrected before the author gets too far into the writing. Because character arc and major (and sometimes minor) plot points are already developed, the author can spend more time on choosing the right words to create believable dialogue and beautiful imagery. And the author isn't surprised when her story takes a sudden right turn because that turn occurred during the plotting process and is now a part of the story (or the author yanked the story back onto the straight and narrow).

Plotting out a story is especially useful for mystery writers. It's very easy to write oneself into a hole if you're pantsing along and now you can't figure out how to get your hero and heroine out of the terrible fix you just put them in. Thrillers, horror stories and mysteries benefit from plotting the story first.

Have I convinced you? Good! Next week I'll tell you all the reasons pantsing a story is more fun!

Play safe, 

Diana

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The 36 Dramatic Situations

Over the centuries millions of stories have been told, written, acted out or filmed. So there must be millions of plots, yes? Countless ways for characters to unfold their actions. After all, for every path chosen, there are dozens left behind.

And yet, you would be wrong. Back in the late 1700’s, CarlosGozzi, an Italian playwright, condensed the plots of plays in an attempt to find out just how many there were. For example: boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back. In a nutshell, that’s the plot of every romance novel ever written. It’s no secret. Think of your favorite romance in any genre. Bet it can be boiled down to those three actions.

In the mid 1800’s, a Frenchman, Georges Polti, picked up the task, examining the scripts of ancient Greek plays as well as the more modern plays being performed on the French stage and determined that, in total, there were only thirty-six dramatic situations. That’s it! Thirty-six core plots for the millions of stories that existed.

I first found Polti’s work at a library book sale. There, in the midst of all the Harlequins, detective stories and Star Trek novels (and yes, I bought every single ST they had), sat this unassuming book. Thin volume, had the word “dramatic” on the cover. I picked it up as my husband and I also collect scripts (imagine an 18-foot long shelf with them so tightly packed you can’t squeeze another one in and you have our collection thus far).

Of course, Polti’s book is not a script, but an analysis OF scripts –and their plots. It has had a place of honor on my writer’s shelf ever since. And I’m not alone.

Over the years, the book has become an invaluable tool for writers looking to jump-start their writer’s block. It also has had people searching for that elusive 37th situation. There must be more. There must! Right?

When I first put this workshop together several years ago, I found that someone had identified a new situation and found references to it all over the Web. Unfortunately, I cannot find attribution anywhere. So yes, a 37th Situation has been identified (and is included below in the list). Now to find a 38th :).

Polti posed several questions all authors should ask, not only of their own work, but of what is currently available in the marketplace. Looking for the Next Big Topic/Genre? Perhaps we have a vision of the future in these questions:

         “Which are the dramatic situations neglected by our own epoch, so faithful in repeating the few       most familiar? Which, on the other hand, are most in use today? Which are the most neglected in each epoch, genre, school, author? What are the reasons for these preferences?”

The book Polti wrote, The 36 Dramatic Situations, was translated into English in the early 20th century and is available online. For your convenience, the list below lists the basic plot device and then the characters required for that plot.

What are you waiting for? Read on – and write!

1. Supplication

a Persecutor; a Supplicant; a Power in authority, whose decision is doubtful.

2. Deliverance

an Unfortunate; a Threatener; a Rescuer

3. Crime pursued by vengeance

an Avenger; a Criminal

4. Vengeance taken for kin upon kin

an Avenging Kinsman; Guilty Kinsman; remembrance of the Victim; a Relative of both

5. Pursuit

Punishment; a Fugitive

6. Disaster

a Vanquished Power; a Victorious Enemy or a Messenger

7. Falling prey to cruelty/misfortune

an Unfortunate; a Master or a Misfortune

8. Revolt

a Tyrant; a Conspirator

9. Daring enterprise

a Bold Leader; an Object; an Adversary

10. Abduction

an Abductor; the Abducted; a Guardian

11. The enigma

an Interrogator; a Seeker; a Problem

12. Obtaining

(a Solicitor & an Adversary who is refusing) or (an Arbitrator & Opposing Parties)

13. Enmity of kin

a Malevolent Kinsman; a Hatred or a reciprocally-hating Kinsman

14. Rivalry of kin

the Preferred Kinsman; the Rejected Kinsman; the Object of Rivalry

15. Murderous adultery

two Adulterers; a Betrayed Spouse

16. Madness

a Madman; a Victim

17. Fatal imprudence

the Imprudent; a Victim or an Object Lost

18. Involuntary crimes of love

a Lover; a Beloved; a Revealer

19. Slaying of kin unrecognized

the Slayer; an Unrecognized Victim

20. Self-sacrifice for an ideal

a Hero; an Ideal; a Creditor or a Person/Thing sacrificed

21. Self-sacrifice for kin

a Hero; a Kinsman; a Creditor or a Person/Thing sacrificed

22. All sacrificed for passion

a Lover; an Object of fatal Passion; the Person/Thing sacrificed

23. Necessity of sacrificing loved ones

a Hero; a Beloved Victim; the Necessity for the Sacrifice

24. Rivalry of superior v. inferior

a Superior Rival; an Inferior Rival; the Object of Rivalry

25. Adultery

two Adulterers; a Deceived Spouse

26. Crimes of love

a Lover; the Beloved

27. Discovery of the dishonour of a loved one

a Discoverer; the Guilty One

28. Obstacles to love

two Lovers; an Obstacle

29. An enemy loved

a Lover; the Beloved Enemy; the Hater

30. Ambition

an Ambitious Person; a Thing Coveted; an Adversary

31. Conflict with a god

a Mortal; an Immortal

32. Mistaken jealousy

a Jealous One; an Object of whose Possession He is Jealous; a Supposed Accomplice; a Cause or an Author of the Mistake

33. Erroneous judgement

a Mistaken One; a Victim of the Mistake; a Cause or Author of the Mistake; the Guilty One

34. Remorse

a Culprit; a Victim or the Sin; an Interrogator

35. Recovery of a lost one

a Seeker; the One Found

36. Loss of loved ones

a Kinsman Slain; a Kinsman Spectator; an Executioner

And a “new” one!

37. Mistaken Identity
a person who believes him/herself to be someone else; getting away with an action while someone else is blamed

 An interactive list can be found here. :)

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Reviews

As an author I'd love to say I don't pay any attention to my reviews. That I just write the best book I can, I put it out there and then move on to the next one.

Pffft. Baloney on that! I read every single review that comes my way, good or bad.  Bad ones don't bother me too much -- every book won't please every person. That's okay. That's why we have variety in life. If someone didn't like the book, ah well...here's hoping you'll like the next one.

But good reviews? Those can put me in a good mood for days. And when a book I wrote gets a "top pick" or a "gold star" review? Oh, yeah, then I'm sitting pretty and thinking all's right with the world.

So let me give a special shout out to Night Owl Reviews for their recent review of Services Rendered. Sandibuck gave it a 5 -- the rare Top Pick award and I'm doing the happy dance. Click the link above to read her review.

And, if you've already read the book, feel free to stop in on the Amazon page or the EC page and leave your own thoughts about it!

Play safe, and Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Diana

This year's books

Last year I didn’t keep track of the books I read and partway through the year realized that was a mistake. I missed having a list I could look at and say, “Hey, this is how I’ve been spending my time. I’m not just playing solitaire on the computer or watching old movies on Netflix!”

So this year I’ve decided to take that up again and make note of the books I read. I’m off to an admittedly slow start, having completed only four books since January first and partly finished another.

When my husband asked me what I wanted for Christmas I told him a new fantasy series to read. Fantasy is my first love as a genre and I’ve been through all the classics and a bunch of others. He took my wish to heart and got me all the Recluce novels by L.E. Modesett, Jr. All 24 of them. J

I decided to read them in the order in which Modesett wrote them and so started with The Magic of Recluce. Towers of the Sunset is the second and I’ve also finished that one. I liked the first one better only because of his use of the present verb tense in TofS. Didn’t know how much I liked past tense in storytelling until I read Towers of the Sunset. The verb tense kept pulling me out of the story. And that's too bad, because the stories themselves are compelling. The other issue I had (have?) is that there is no indication within the book of WHEN in the timeline of the overall story each novel takes place. Only after I'd read nearly a third of TofS did I realize that it took place in the far distant past to what had occurred in MofR. Confused? So was I.

Several of us at my day job formed a book club this year. The first book we chose to read was The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. Wow. THAT is an incredible story about an event that still pisses me off. Henrietta’s cancerous cells were taken from her uterus and sent to a lab without her knowledge. I won't say much more or this entire post could be about just this one book and me on my soapbox. I have but four words on the subject: go buy it now!

Our second book, TheLincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelley is the one I didn’t finish. I bought the book late (ebook, read on my Cruz), but found the noir style a little hard to get into. Interesting, but didn’t really engage me. Thus, I did something I haven’t done since I had to read sixteen novels in sixteen weeks for a marathon lit class in college: I read half the book then skipped to the end and read the last three chapters.

The last book I read was Homeplace by Anne Rivers Siddons. I’d never read her work before and found this one when I browsed the stacks at my local library (three cheers for browsing!). The blurb led me to believe the story was a romance, but once inside its far more a story about going home and coming to a fullness of understanding than it is a romance. I enjoyed it and will look for other books by Ms. Siddons. 

That’s it so far. Will group the books I read into a post periodically just for record-keeping’s sake. If you’ve read any of these books, what did you think of them?

Addendum: I’ve been ill the past few days and didn’t post this when I intended. As a result, I read another book, For the Earl’sPleasure by Anne Mallory. Interesting plot twist for a Regency. Won’t give it away as it’s a cute and easy read. I found it difficult to attend to at times, but I suspect that was my illness and not the book’s fault.

Addendum the second: I was REALLY sick this week and ended up curled in a chair for another 2 days after I wrote the last addendum. All I did was read. It was wonderful :). So adding two more to the total for the year. Have now read two-thirds of the Nora Roberts trilogy, Sign of the Seven: Blood Brothers and The Hollow. As a rule, I don't go in for spooky stuff, but these are REALLY, REALLY, REALLY good!

Okay, with four REALLYs in one paragraph, I think it's time to call it quits!

Play safe, everyone :)

Diana

better late than never

Have been ill the past several days and today got something worth celebrating. Blogged about it over at the Scribes...go on, take a look...you're going to celebrate, too!

Writing Erotica

WARNING: this is a long blog post and the subject matter concerns the sexual act.

Attitude

Ellora’s Cave published my first erotic romance, Secret Submission, in September of 2003. The following March I attended my very first Romantic Times Convention, held in New York City that year. With wide eyes and a fledgling’s eagerness, I went to this massive gathering of like-minded people, ready to take my place in the pantheon of published authors.

On the afternoon of my first day at the convention, after having spent the morning attending workshops geared toward making me an even better writer, a group of authors hosted a “meet and greet” opportunity. I took advantage of the opportunity not only to meet the authors hosting the soiree, but to meet others as well.

One author in particular stood out. We’d exchanged pleasantries and she told me a great deal about her books and who she wrote for (meaning her publisher). Then she looked at me and asked me what sub-genre of romance I wrote in. Blithly, I answered, “Contemporary Bondage.” I didn’t know jaws could drop that far.

To her credit, she recovered quickly and said, “I didn’t even know there was such a genre.” I assured her there was and that I wasn’t the only author writing in it. She smiled, made a polite excuse to leave and headed across the room.

That was my first glimmer that writing erotica wasn’t perhaps as accepted as I thought it might be. In those early years, however, I found many people who’s glances became decidedly judgmental when they found out what I wrote. Heck, I even wrote a piece entitled, “So You Want to be a BDSM writer?” for Amazon, partly to warn other beginning writers what they might be in for.

So if you really want to walk this path, remember, you’ve been warned! J

Romance/erotic romance/porn

But you’re still here and you’re still reading, so let’s get into the subject of today’s workshop, yes? How is writing erotica different from writing other genre?

The easy answer? The sex. In erotica, there’s lots of sex. Lots and lots of sex. And then there’s some more sex, followed by a generous helping of sex and finished of with, you guessed it, sex.

So what’s the difference between erotica and porn? Or heck, even erotica and some mainstream romances that get pretty darn steamy?

Think of the romances your mother read, or grandmother read if you’re under 35. In those traditional romances the hero and heroine kissed, went into the bedroom, the door shut and the chapter ended. When the story picked up, it was morning. The reader knew full well what happened behind that door, but that’s where it remained – out of sight.

But readers wanted more and romance authors complied. Read most modern day romances and the hero and heroine kiss, go into the bedroom and the reader goes in with them, standing at the bottom of the bed and watching as they make love. We’re voyeurs, still apart from the act, yet getting to see the love.

“More, more, more!” Cried the readers. And so erotic romance was born. The hero and heroine kiss, they enter the bedroom, and the readers go under the sheets with them. Body parts are referred to, passion is ignited, we watch the hero’s hands as he fingers her pussy and brings her to a climax.

Some people, of course, feel that crosses the line to porn yet there is a very distinct difference between porn and erotica. Porn is sex for sex’s sake. There’s nothing wrong with that, but the only purpose of porn is to excite the libido by showing the sexual act.

Erotica has that same sex, yes. It isn’t erotica without it. But in erotica, the sex is not gratuitous. It has to be part of the story. All the sex that occurs MUST occur within the confines of the plot or character development.

Think of it this way. In porn, the book/movie exists only to show you sex. In erotica, the book/movie exists to tell you a story and, by the way, there’s a lot of sex involved. The characters must be believable, even if they are doing acts the reader only dreams of doing.

Balancing the physical with the emotional

One of the tricks to writing erotica is getting the emotions to balance with the physical actions. This is perhaps the hardest part when you’re starting out. Writers get so involved in one or the other that the scene becomes confusing. How did his hand get over there? How does she feel about that?

Which, of course, leads to another trap beginning erotica writers fall into.  Make sure the positions you put your characters into are actually possible. You’d be surprised how often you’ve changed their positions in your imagination, but have forgotten to write it down. Wait, her hands were tied behind her back, how can she put them around his neck???

My advice is to write the positions first. Take your time and note their reactions, their feelings as they go through the sexual scene, but get the physical action recorded so it flows continuously. Then go back through and add in the good stuff. Remember, sex without passion is porn at its worst, so this is where you really want to amp up the heat index. Make us feel what they’re feeling. And use all your senses.

Remember, people having sex make noises. Slurping, sloshing, smacking noises. Let us hear them. Be wary, however, of setting these words outside the action. Describe the snap of the whip as it splits the air in two over her head rather than going for the onomatopoetic, yet thoroughly unsatisfying single word followed by an exclamation point: “Crack!” That plain word is the sign of a lazy writer.

Vocabulary

Speaking of word choices, a word here about “sexy” vs. “non-sexy” words. Readers have become sophisticated over the years and the purple prose of yester-year no longer rings true to today’s audiences. So please, no more “mounds of pleasure,” or “cave of wonders.” No more “throbbing manhoods” or “family jewels.” Women have breasts and vaginas or pussys. Men have penises and testicles or cocks and balls. Call ‘em what they are, folks.

Sidenote: I’ll never forget the first time I read aloud from my work in Second Life. I was used to writing the words and didn’t think twice about it—until I got to the word “cock.” Writing the word and saying it out loud in front of a group of people are two totally different things. I could see it approaching on the page and turned bright red on my side of the computer screen. My mind desperately tried to figure a way to rewrite the sentence and avoid saying that word. Alas, my brain froze, however, and my mouth kept rattling on, the word getting closer and closer. Finally, I took a deep breath, rushed through the sentence and just kept going really really fast, hoping no one would notice.

Of course, they did and I got teased about it for quite some time. They made me feel more comfortable with saying the words out loud and by the time I stopped giving readings in SL, the words no longer bothered me.

Still won’t say them in front of my mother, though. J

Final thoughts

The cardinal rule of writing applies to erotica probably even more than it does to any other genre: If you’re bored writing it, readers are going to be bored reading it. To put it crudely: if it turns you on? You’re going to turn on your readers, too.

Play safe!

Diana

Last Day of Read an Ebook Week - and news

This is it, folks. Be sure to get these titles while they're on sale!

I've decided against closing down my old Yahoo! Group, but I will no longer update it, either. I've changed the homepage so it directs here. Sign up for the newsletter by using the subscription box in the upper left corner of the blog. If you're reading this in a viewer, you'll have to click through to see it.

Speaking of the newsletter, if you already receive it, be sure to open the email when you get it. If you only read it in a reading pane, it doesn't register as opened and I have no idea if people are just tossing it into their trash without reading it or if they're reading it with baited breath in their reading pane. I'm a data junkie, so help me out and open the newsletter email all the way?

Just finished edits for Sahara Heat --which you already know if you get my newsletter. :) What I can include here but forgot to put into the newsletter is a sneak peak at the cover.

I've written two different blurbs for this Quickie. Here's the short one:

Agreeing to meet archaeologist Josef Anderson, Carla isn't at all sure she's not being set up on a blind date from halfway around the world. But one look at the tall, handsome Norse god who is into bondage and all things BDSM and Carla's ready for his Sahara Heat.

And here's the long one:

When her best friend calls her from the Sahara Desert, Carla Braun suspects an ulterior motive. Nevertheless, she agrees to meet Dr. Josef Anderson and hear him out, even if she suspects her friend of setting her up on a blind date from the other side of the world.

But Dr. Anderson proves to be far more interesting than the story he has to tell and when he suggests a dinner date, Carla can’t help but be intrigued. When a slip of the tongue reveals the good doctor’s kinkier side…Carla is very willing to make his short stay in the city a trip he won’t soon forget.

Which one do you like better?

Not sure on the publication date, but I know it's coming soon!

Last news for today, I'm blogging over at the Scribes tomorrow, so be sure to stop by and say hello!

Play safe,

Diana

The Big Goodbye

No, I'm not going anywhere. But your characters are in today's workshop!

The Big Goodbye…creating scenes of leave-taking

It's important to remember that people leave all the time, whether its the simple run to the grocery store, a son leaving for the military...or someone dying in your arms.

These are all scenes where goodbyes happen. The pathos one wants to create depends on the level of emotional engagement you want from the reader at that particular moment. A simple goodbye kiss as a husband leaves for work can have little or no impact on the reader....until he doesn't come home again, having died in an auto accident or a shooting at the local convenience store.

It's the author's job to decide the level of emotional import a scene has...and then craft it accordingly. It's equally important to remember that every scene must move the plot or the character development forward in some way.

Leave-taking could mean a son going off to college or two people saying farewell for a time or for forever.

Activity

Either choose two characters you've already created and write a scene where they must part, or, if you have no work in progress for this activity, create new characters and a new story that starts with a leave-taking. Decide the level of emotional involvement you want from your readers (from a shoulder-shrug to openly weeping) and aim for that in your scene.

Remember what you learned in the workshop on the stages of grief. Some of that may apply to your scene as well.

As always, writing is what I do for a living. A donation helps to keep the homefires burning and food on the table. Thanks!

Celebrate the E-book!

And to help you celebrate, use the coupon codes for a discounted price!

Choose a book below that you want to download, and click on the link. Then use the coupon code printed in the sidebar to get your discount.  It's easy, its fun...and a great way to celebrate!


Click here to purchase Table for Four for 50% off!

50% off!

NOTE:  I Stay a Little Longer is not on sale because it's already priced at 99 cents. Don't let that stop you from picking up this short, slice-of-life story!

Click here to purchase Tales from the Ramayana at 50% off!

Click here to purchase Timeless Love for 50% off!




Click here to purchase Hardship and Hardtack for 50% off!

50% off

Click here to purchase Yours to Command at 26 % off!

Writing tools -- new toys!

Thanks to the good folks over at Wondermark (a fun webcomic...if you're not following, you should be!), I found Tagxedo, you can make pictures with words. Just paste in the URL, twitter feed or other text and voila! A great new way to look at what you write. To the left is a picture of this blog.

I've used Wordle before and found it to be a great tool for determining which words I use more frequently than others. To the right is the same URL for this blog, but notice it's picked up on different words.

Both tools are fun to use and can be useful to a writer in finding habit words. Or use it to compare two different drafts of the same short story. Just cut and paste your text into the sites and see what happens!

Give it a shot and see what happens!

Play safe, Diana

PS. Remember, I am a writer first. Feel free to donate and keep me out of the attic garret!

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