New Ideas

Internal Conflict

In debating whether to start a new idea or not, I got caught up in trying to create an internal struggle strong enough to sustain a full-length novel.  I stumbled across this blog by Kate Kyle about internal conflict.  Her line about the characters' goals (external motivation) being AWAY from love makes a lot of sense.  What the character wants at the beginning of the book should not be love.  It should be something else:  revenge, a successful business, custody of a child. . . .whatever.

The character gets dragged into love kicking and screaming, but ultimately better off.

The internal conflict demonstrates growth or change, and that is what will eventually make the character able to give and receive love.  The chase for that elusive external goal will force an internal change, and that in turn will allow the character to become the person who can love and be loved.  That's a lot to happen in one book!  And for a romance, it's going to have to happen for both of them.

So to start thinking about this new book, I have to decide what the primary character (my heroine, Anna) most wants out of life. 

What are other ways you start off on the path to a new book or idea?

Manuscripts Under the Bed

Today's post is by guest blogger Alison Stone, whose first novel was recently released and her second is coming up for release soon.  She's talking about a subject near and dear to my heart: all those manuscripts that you started and/or finished, but which have never found a home.  Do YOU have manuscripts under the bed? 
Without further ado, here's Alison!

Since Carol’s blog is titled Women of Writing, I thought I’d stay on topic. Recently, my debut novel, Random Acts, was released. I also finished reading the ARC for my August release, Too Close to Home, so I was getting itchy to submit a new project to my agent. I’ve been working steadily along on a brand-new project, but a not-too-old manuscript has been calling my name. This begs the question: Should you rewrite an old manuscript with the hopes of selling it?

I think you’ll hear all sorts of opinions on that. Some say to forget about it and move on. Others will tell you they can’t bear to let a project go. I’ve already worked on it for a year! (Or two or three or five!)  My opinion lies somewhere in between. I have known writers who work and re-work one project and never try writing anything else. This is not a productive use of time. I think they’re just spinning their wheels. Sometimes it takes working on something new to see the light with an old project.

I will give you some suggestions on how I decide if I’m going to rework an old manuscript and what to do once I’ve decided to give it a shot:

(1)    Download your manuscript to an eReader and read it through. There’s a good chance if this is truly an old manuscript, you’ll be able to read it with a fresh perspective. In my case, I hadn’t looked at this particular manuscript in two years.

(2)    Keep a notebook nearby and jot down things that work or don’t work for you. Don’t get caught up in making edits now. Just take notes and keep reading. You want to get a sense of the manuscript as a whole. One note I made to myself was to make sure I establish the setting clearly at the beginning of each scene. Since this was the first time I was rereading my manuscript in a long time, I could clearly see some of my scenes started too abruptly and were disorienting. Prior to giving myself some “distance” on the project, I couldn’t see some of the problems with the manuscript.  In many ways, I felt like I was reading someone else’s work. I think you can spot a lot of areas that need improvement this way.

(3)    After you’ve finished the book, decide if it has merits or if it should be shoved back under the bed forever. Did you like the characters? What about the premise?  In my case, I liked certain aspects of the story, but parts of it were too similar to books I have already written.

(4)    In the end, I decided it was worth reworking. I made notes on what I liked and what I didn’t like. For example, I liked the heroine, but I didn’t like the reason she had returned home. I really liked the hero. He was once engaged to the heroine, but I started to think maybe I wanted the hero and heroine to have never dated before.  When writing, I ask myself, “What  If…” and the creative juices start flowing.  Then I listed the characters and their goals, motivations and conflicts according to my vision for the new and improved manuscript. When I started doing this, all the pieces of the revised book started to fall into place.

(5)    Create a new Word file of your story. I never tweak the original file. Go scene by scene and decide what stays and what goes. I create another Word file for all the cut scenes. I know I could refer to the original file to see the cut scenes, but I like having all these scenes together in one file. I can see how many words I cut this way.  (Maybe that’s not always a good thing!)

(6)    In a separate Excel or Word file I create a short description of each scene that lists: POV Character; Day/Time (to keep story timeline straight); Other Characters in Scene (especially helpful in romances because you want the hero and heroine together as often as possible;  Purpose/Goal of Scene; and finally I add a column for Random Notes. This file lets me see my story at a glance.

(7)    Then I start rewriting the manuscript from the beginning. I tend to be a linear writer and the above outline helps me keep track of everything. The outline usually changes as I write the book, but that’s perfectly fine.

I realize the above could probably be chopped into seven separate, lengthy blog posts, but I just wanted to give you a brief overview of how I go about deciding if I want to rework an old project. Use my suggestions as a stepping stone. You’ll discover what works best for you. There is no one “right way” to write.

A major part of writing, is rewriting. I am a major rewriter. J But I think the key for writers is to know when a story should be shelved or when it can be reworked. Or sometimes it just needs to be put away for now. At some point in the future, you might be able to look at your work more objectively and make the necessary changes to make it a better manuscript.  

Have you ever had any luck rewriting an old manuscript? I’d love to hear from you in the comment section. If you get a chance, please check out my new release, Random Acts, a romantic suspense with a sweet romance.

Thanks for hosting me, Carol.

Author Bio:

Alison Stone graduated with a degree in industrial engineering from Georgia Tech. After working in Corporate America for a number of years, she retired to raise her young family. Soon the writing bug bit. After years of conferences, critique groups and writing, Alison sold two manuscripts that will be released in 2012. She claims it was easier to earn her engineering degree. Random Acts is her debut novel. To learn more about Alison Stone please visit www.AlisonStone.com.

Blurb:

Second chances can have a terrible sense of timing.

As a child, watching her mother always pick the wrong man left Danielle Carson wary of opening her heart to anyone—except Patrick Kingsley. But circumstances came between them and left Danielle with a broken heart. Now she buries the pain of what might have been by channeling all her energy into her career. When a family crisis brings her back to her hometown, she is forced to face the past—and the disturbing fact that her sister’s car accident was staged to mask a brutal beating.

A police officer and widower, Patrick guards his heart as fiercely as he guards his beloved daughter. Seeing Danielle again unexpectedly reignites their old flame, but no way will he introduce a woman into his daughter’s life. Certainly not one whose values on faith and family are so different from his own.

Despite their best intentions, they are drawn together—until Danielle learns Patrick had a hand in putting her sister in harm’s way. Her fragile trust is crushed, but Patrick is the only man who can help her stop the villain before everything they both love is destroyed. Faith, family…and their second chance at forever.

Random Acts available at:
Samhain Publishing: http://store.samhainpublishing.com/alison-stone-pa-1705.html
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Random-Acts-ebook/dp/B00795G1X4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1334076604&sr=8-1
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/random-acts-alison-stone/1108890294?ean=9781609288242&itm=1&usri=alison+stone
Kobo: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Random-Acts/book-OSXUgDoMQ0aVm-JoFxmVXg/page1.html?s=QoeSfSCRk0m4in6w2_-prQ&r=1

Also available at Sony and iTunes.

 

Brazenly plugging a good book

Maggie Shayne, who has been published for over 20 years, is re-releasing her book originally titled "Out of this World Marriage" as "Dr. Duffy's Close Encounter".  And, MONDAY ONLY, it's $1 off.  If you're looking for something good to read, check it out:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B007NOLF8M/maggieshaye

Contests and entries and finaling--oh, my!

Writing contests run year-'round, but this time of year is when the finalists in Romance Writers of America's (RWA's) Golden Heart Contest are announced.  I just read a pretty interesting blog discussing what finaling in this contest can do for you, and I think, in a lot of ways, it's a lot like anything else in the writing biz.  If you work hard, have a little luck, and position yourself to take advantage of opportunities that come your way, you can get published. 

However, the Golden Heart gives little to no feedback, and while I appreciate that the contest is now considered "prestigious", I think it's good to keep a bit of reality in the back of our heads.  Outside of RWA, very few people have even heard of the thing.  Finaling or even winning the contest is no guarantee  of publication, of getting agented, or even of having someone agree to read your manuscript. 

I've finaled twice and seen people achieve their dreams with the help of this contest, and seen dreams dashed, as well.  I think contests--especially the Golden Heart--are tools, and maybe by looking at them that way, instead of looking at them like some magical Golden Ticket, we can keep ourselves grounded enough to realize that one contest is unlikely to bring about fantastic changes. 

Does it give you an opportunity?  Yes.  But exactly what opportunity it provides and what you do with that opportunity will remain to be seen.  After finaling twice I decided to go back to school, so that finalist status pretty much wasted away.  I'm a better writer now, both for the contest experience and the school experience, but in the end, being a GH finalist really hasn't changed my life.  Nor do I think it should have.

What do you all think of writing contests?  And am I being too harsh on the GH?  What people, contests, or events have had the most impact on your writing career, whether you're published or not?

Blogging Meaningful Content

Stumbled across this blog post by Jonathan C. Gillespie regarding blog content.  My writing chapter has been discussing promotional efforts and which ones work and which ones don't, so this caught my attention right away. 

All writers know that content is subjective.  There are some books I don't read because the subject matter doesn't interest me.  A fiction book where the main character is restoring a car, for example, would probably have to have someone I trust recommend it to me, and even then I'd probably read a few pages to see if I'd buy it.  Some people ONLY read specific content--Regency romances, for example.  I'm a pretty broad reader, but WWII battle descriptions or someone's trek to the North Pole isn't probably going to be high on my reading list.  Don't know why, but it's not. 

I'm pretty sure the same thing applies to blogs.  A blog readership will hopefully be interested in what the blogger has to say, but I'd venture a guess that few bloggers just ramble on about any old thing.  That's what Facebook is for.  A blog has an audience just like a book has an audience, and if the blogger wants to maintain that audience, he or she will address subjects that the audience wants to read.

Gillespie's post is a good start, but he never defines "meaningful content".  I agree with him that status updates don't count--no one cares about all your submissions, because anyone can submit a manuscript and have it rejected. But that one submission that results in a sale--now THAT is one that others will care about. 

Which brings me back to that unique perspective.  I think it's that new twist on something, or a new way to look at something, or a new interpretation that catches readers' interest. 

What types of content do you like in a blog?  In a book?  What draws you in?  What keeps you there?

Plagiarism

Since this has been in the news a bit lately, I thought it would be a good subject to explore.  First off, I want to say that I just can't wrap my head around WHY someone would want to do this.  Yes, writing is hard work and frustrating sometimes, but geez, the rush when things are going well. . . I can't imagine giving that up.  Plus, you're going to spend the rest of your life looking over your shoulder, wondering when someone's going to notice that your words sound just like Big Name Author's.  And when someone DOES notice (and they will, eventually), then you're embarrassed at a minimum and open to litigation as well.


But what I can't figure out is why the publishers who published some of these people (and they weren't no-name publishers) didn't use Copyscape or a similar program to check the work.  I freelanced via Guru.com for a while, and almost all the employers on there say right up front that they're going to check your work.  Doesn't bother me, but it must have an effect on some people since they obviously feel compelled to say that.


I want to look at something I created and know it was MY original work.  Besides, aren't you doing just about as much work going through someone else's book and changing names and details and dates and locations. . . . ? 


Someone 'splain this to me.  Please.


For reference, here's an issue from 2008.
And one from 2011.
And, of course, the 1997 brouhaha between Janet Daily and Nora Roberts.
I've heard rumors of others, as well, that may be in the works.  Whether they become news or not will depend on the authors involved (actually, the term would only apply to one of the parties, wouldn't it?), but this is clearly an issue that is going to need some attention in the digital age.

Sprinting

I'd like to take credit for this ingenious idea, but someone else in the Olympia RWA Chapter came up with it.  We tried this at our Manresa Castle retreat last month (January), and it worked like a charm.  I have to admit, I had my doubts.  But wow, the results are truly amazing!

Here's the gig:  You set a specific period during which you will write.  Or revise, if you're in revision mode.  We started with 20 minutes, but for some reason that didn't work all that well.  On our second attempt (we were doing this as a group during the retreat) we set the timer for 30 minutes.  As soon as the timer went off, you put your head down and write.  You don't worry about whether or not the stuff you're writing is 'good enough', whether the dialog is stilted, or whether you've just introduced a spaceship into your Colonial romance.  You just write.  No self-editing or talk.  No Solitaire.  No answering questions.  No interruptions.

It was amazing!  After 30 minutes we were all in the thick of writing (or editing, as the case may be) and over the course of several Sprints much headway was made.  We generally paused for 10 minutes between Sprints to compare notes, talk, get something to drink, check plotting notes, or whatever.  Then, set the timer again and off we went. 

That's my very first writing tip ever for this blog, but this worked so well for me that I had to share. 

Yes, it's more difficult to do this at home, when you don't have the supportive bubble created by a writer's retreat.  But take your laptop somewhere away from the hubub of the house--go sit in the back seat of your car if you have to--and just WRITE for 30 minutes.  Go buy some crime scene tape if you think that'll help give you the uninterrupted time and space.

Think of a sprint as a small investment that will pay off big time--with the added benefit that you won't be out of breath at the end--unless, of course, you're writing a love scene! 

It's off!

After way more time than originally planned editing the ms, it's finally headed back to the editor.  It started at 103,000 words and ended up at 76,000 words, so much red ink was spilled. 

I miss the characters already.  Am I mad?  I guess when you've watched them do everything--and I mean EVERYTHING--it can be hard to let go. 

I worry about the book:  will it sell; will readers like the setting of southern Spain, which I consider very romantic but is considered an 'unusual' setting; will I be able to re-focus on the current book without too much difficulty. . . .

But for now, I'm going to celebrate the fact that my 'baby' is as good as I can make it right now and hope and pray that the editor will like the revisions.  

What do you do to distract yourself while waiting for an editor's reply?

Final polishing

I'm in the final polishing stage, examining each word, each phrase, each paragraph.  This is where the self-doubt creeps in for me.  Should I change it or not?  What if I change it and the publisher wants something different?  What's the point of it all?  What's the meaning of life? 

Ugh.  Just need to muscle through this and make sure the conflict shines in each scene. 

How do you make that final (hopefully) pass through your manuscripts?  What are your techniques?

Karen Harbaugh on American-set historicals

Karen Harbaugh is a Regency author who follows market trends and has been incredibly accurate in predicting where the next "turn" in the market will be, and why things are operating (or not) as they are.  With a lovely re-issue of "The Marriage Scheme" available at Regency Reads, I thought it would be a good time to ask her about the State of the Market, and how that relates to my last blog post regarding the difficulty of selling American-set historical romances.

So here, without further ado, is Karen Harbaugh:

Well, IMHO, what's curtailing the move into American-set romances is the fear of traditional publishers to take risks. That's always been the case, and it's even more so now. Even though they're moving into the "risky" ebook market (at last), this does not mean they're going to take risks with subject matter. They're going to take baby steps, because they have assets to protect and right now, their assets are under a tremendous amount of threat.

Indie authors, on the other hand, have very little to lose. You have a few hundred bucks for a really nice cover and copyright registration, you do your own scanning and coding, and you're good. If you're really short on money, you can try creating the cover yourself and you're out maybe $50-$75.

When I look at what should sell if there weren't these constraints, I'd say American Revolution, Civil War, and WWII eras. Why is this?

1. We are at the same point in the approximately 80-year cycle that gave rise to the American Revolution, Civil War, and WWII. There is and has been rising interest in these eras.

2. We have already seen interest in these eras in the bestseller lists (McCullough's books comes to mind:  1776 and John Adams, the latter of which not only was on the best seller lists, but won the Pulitzer Prize AND was made into a mini-series. The media doesn't plunk that kind of recognition and money down on something like that without knowing it's worth the risk. Interest in the Civil War is suppressed at this time because of continuing racial tensions concerning slavery--it's very difficult to walk the line between historical accuracy and offending someone.

World War II gets special mention. In the 1980's the U.S. released 17 WWII-themed movies. In the 1990's, the same number. From 2000 to 2009, it released twice that many--34. That is a significant jump in not only audience interest, but business investment. In other words, it's considered a relative "sure thing."

3. Controversy sells. In addition, we live in one of the most divisive of times, and when we do, we ALWAYS hearken back to periods of history that might possibly give us the answers we need to get us through. Controversy + desire for answers = big sales.

Mainstream publishing hasn't jumped on these romance trends. I think this is typical--they tend to lag about 5 to 10 years. Case in point: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which developed a cult following from 1997 to 2003. The ratings were modest, but the significance here is in "cult following." That represents extremely loyal viewers who "evangelize" the show and get others to watch it, far beyond the lifetime of the series. This is the epitome of word-of-mouth. You get that kind of loyal readership for books, and you can guarantee bestsellerdom. But, as many of us know, in the mid to late 1990's, the publishers were saying that paranormal romances and vampires were dead (if you will excuse the expression) :-D

The consumer demand for paranormal romances was very heavy even back in 1995. I went to a Romantic Times convention around about that time, and it was significant to me that when the readers (and this was a reader--rather than writer--convention) that when readers were asked what kind of romances they wanted, there was a loud cry for paranormal romances, and a great deal of frustration that they couldn't find them. Keep in mind that these readers--like the Buffy fans--were readers so dedicated that they would not only go to a convention for romance novels, but they were the romance novel evangelists. The kind you want to spread word of mouth.

Yet, publishers at that time kept insisting that such romances were not popular. However, we all know how that subgenre has been doing since that time.

If I were to go on historical circumstances and similarity to our own era, I'd say that the order of relevance would be American Revolution, WWII, and then the Civil War.

However, our memories are short, and what we are currently told about the American Revolution is highly politicized. So the most accurate accounts we have of an era that is similar to ours is for WWII, because we still have some eyewitnesses.

If we were to write stories in older eras, we REALLY have to do our research. We can't go on the stereotypes of those eras. We have to look at those eras with fresh eyes and present a fresh, and very accurate perspective. So far, I don't think that's been done. The research may be good, but the fresh perspective may not be there.

If you want some historical parallells or have other questions, feel free to ask.

And since she's asked for questions. . . . ask away!!

American-set historicals

What is the state of the romance genre when it comes to American-set historicals?  Regencies and Scotland, of course, sell well.  And vampires.  I'm being told that American-set historicals are a hard sell, especially in the romance genre.  Why would that be?

Digital publishers ARE publishing these, yet traditional publishers seem to shy away from them. Why the gap?  And are they selling well?  I don't know how to get numbers on digital publishing--will have to ask my friend Karen Harbaugh, who's an absolute genius at divining trends from the market. If they're selling well digitally, then why wouldn't print publishers be interested? 

Is it because Americans think they already know their history?  Is it because American history is somehow seen as 'unromantic', and therefore not worthy?  We obviously didn't have kings and queens strutting around doing odd things, throwing lavish parties or building pleasure palaces.  And Americans are a practical lot.  Even in colonial times, education and reading material was almost exclusively based on useful information; growing crops, staying warm. . . .staying alive.  Things that were "fun" were frowned upon because they took time away from the important business of living. 

Or is it a lack of authors willing to take a risk and write in this area?  Geralyn Dawson, Sharon Ihle and Alexis Harrington all have e-books or even a traditional book (in the case of Alexis Harrington) out right now that are American-set historicals.  Westerns have had their rise and fall in popularity, but haven't hit the sustained sales figures of Regencies and Scottish-set historicals.  If it's because people like to read about other places and times, then American-set historicals should be selling well in the U.K. and elsewhere.

Thoughts?  Am I missing something here?

What to cut?

Since I've been in editing mode for a while now, I'm finding in some parts it's darned difficult to tell what needs to be cut versus kept versus re-written.  Kept some scenes, but did a POV switch.  I **think** it's better, but crap, when you're in the middle of it all, it's really hard to be objective.

Of course, since it's my book and by definition I love it, I can justify keeping just about anything.  That's what happened the first time I came at this.  I cut it from about 103,000 words to about 102,500.  Not exactly an effective job.  It's kind of like getting a run at Queen Anne Hill in the snow, getting halfway up and then sliding back down to the bottom (Snow reference since we're in the middle of Snowmageddon here). 

This time I'm trying to focus with a laser beam on the primary internal conflict between the h/h and also what their own internal conflicts are.  As much as possible, anything that deviates from that gets extra scrutiny.  Or at least I hope it does.

Do you have a technique for the first pass, second pass, subsequent passes?  Or do you look for specific things each time?  My "technique" is pretty darned hit-and-miss right now, but I'd probably be a lot more effective if I could refine this a bit. 

So what are your tips for editing?

Really??

Here's something I found on a to-be-unnamed freelance site:

Job: Ghostwriter for historical romance novel
Budget:  $500 to $1,000
Description: I am looking for a writer to write a novel with a historical romance theme.  I have no specifics for the story, so you would need to come up with title, plot, characters, etc.  It must be original, engaging, sexy, fast moving, short chapters, and grab the reader from the first page.  I am not looking for a long, drawn out romance.   We will own all rights including resell and rights.  You will not be permitted to use the content for any other purpose.The novel must be 120 pages minimum, 300 pages maximum.  I also need you to include:- 3 Recommendations for a title (must be original and unique)- A basic 1-2 paragraph summary/report description that simply explains what the novel is about and what it covers.  - table of contents.  Delivery within 60 days of author selection.  I'd like to see a detailed outline with full character descriptions within 10 days.  Daily updates (short emails) are required. This is a very easy job for the right person.   Suggested payment schedule: $25 for plot development and delivery with character descriptions (2-3 pages)  $50 for first 10 pages.  $50 for next 10 pages  $100 when first 100 pages are delivered  $100 on first draft delivery of full novel.  Balance on final delivery of proofread document. 

Is the person posting this job naive, crazy, or out to insult writers?  The sad part is, people with no idea how to write a good work of fiction will bid on this, and someone around the $500 amount will win, and another work of bad romance will be pushed out there for readers, editors and reviewers to point to.  Does the person posting this job think they'll make tons of money off the work, once it's "published"? (I put that in quotes because I doubt the end result will be publishable by any reputable house, so it will have to go self-publishing, which will once again dilute the quality for all those good romance authors self-publishing out there).  Or would someone with an old manuscript that's been rejected hundreds of times decide to utilize this as a way to get some quick money?

Would you take a job like this? 

Revising and editing

Okay, I'm going to get this book edited/ revised by the end of January or die trying.  Anyone else in revision mode?  Anyone have suggestions?  This is not my favorite part of the process, so I'm looking for any and all help I can find.