I am a Golden Heart Double Finalist

I was just going to post some pictures from my trip to the lovely city of Savannah this past weekend but today I got a call from RWA that BOTH of the manuscripts I entered finaled in the Golden Heart contest.

My friend and chaptermate Amy E Jones ( http://aejonesauthor.com/), also from Northeast Ohio RWA (NEORWA) also finaled in the paranormal category with her manuscript Mindsweeper.

Thanks to all my chaptermates and friends who've helped me, supported me, read my stuff, and helped me get here! You all know who you are and I will thank you all personally.

And congrats to all the GH and RITA finalists, all of whom are listed on the RWA website here



View of a Savanahh, Georgia, garden through a wrought iron gate (my photo).










Do you read to escape...or for something else?

Author David Shields got his new book How Literature Saved My Life written up last month in the New York Times Book Review. It's a memoir that discusses the reading and writing life of a distinguished man considered to be a genre-breaking author (see http://davidshields.com/).

If interested, you can read the review here:   http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/10/books/review/how-literature-saved-my-life-by-david-shields.html?_r=0. 

The reviewer, Mark O'Connell, quotes this passage from the book (It's a passage I can't stop thinking about):

"Acutely aware of our mortal condition, I find books that simply allow us to escape existence a staggering waste of time (literature matters so much to me I can hardly stand it)." 

At first, I dismissed this comment, thinking that many a time I pick up a book  to escape my worries and concerns, i.e., I unabashedly use books as therapy.  In fact, especially the books I read at night tend to be lighter, funnier, and more reality-escaping than what I read at other times because I enjoy sleeping instead of staying up worrying about my problems (and everyone else's).

But this phrase kept coming back to me.  Is there something wrong with me? Do I not try to eek out all the traces of life lessons, self-revelations, and insights about the human condition that books contain? Am I reading the wrong books--maybe I need ones with more despair and existential crisis that end badly and in much pain. (Okay, just kidding, but I couldn't resist poking a little fun at literary fiction.)

Well, maybe I do eek out traces of life lessons of books--all the time. Actually, maybe we all do, just not to the urgent and intellectual extent Mr. Shields seems to. Maybe it actually happens as we enjoy the story.

We read for connection to other human beings--do you think? What are they always telling us in writing workshops--make your characters relatable. Give them a complex array of traits and flaws so that your reader immediately identifies with them. Take the reader on the journey as your character faces her worst fears, challenges her world view, and changes--works to overcome obstacles in her life that make her a better person.

This is why I read, especially romance. I love the journey. I love the hope that we can change our faults,  can learn to see that our weaknesses and flaws aren't boulders that can never be moved, and I love that love--connection with other people--is the one thing that matters in our very mortal existence.

So this ain't highbrow, but I truly believe that no book we truly enjoy is ever a means of just blanking out our existence. We're searching for something--connection, encouragement, reassurance that this journey we're  all on does mean something--that our life means something--and we're searching for wisdom to make it the most we can.      





Image of Bluebells from FreeFoto.com http://www.freefoto.com/imagelink/?ffid=12-36-1&s=s"

 

Starting a New Story: Thoughts from Michaelangelo

Note to my dear characters: Yes, alas, it's time to say goodbye. I created you, amid much sweat and blood, and I know you now like I know my own children (except that you're both far more predictable than they are!).

My hero, you were such a good guy, a real gentleman. And my heroine, so brave to take on what you did and make the best of it. 

I know you both so well--your senses of humor, the way you laugh. I know your deepest flaws and inner fears, and how you worked so hard to overcome them to become the best people you can be...and find love in the process. I know where you live and the quirky things you keep in your houses. I know your dreams and hopes for the future. I know how much you both love one another.

But now, just when I'm so sure of who exactly you are, I have to let you go. Turn over a new page, begin again the tormented process of discovering new people, create a new story out of these twinklings and shards of ideas that float about precariously in the swirl of my mind.

My fingers freeze over the keyboard. A thousand characteristics, flaws, hopes, dreams, and wishes appear. Which ones to pick? How to make this mess of emotions, memories, yearnings, gel into new characters, a new story? A coherent, good story that tells a message about strength, resilience, and courage.

I don't know how it happens, how this aimless blob of ideas takes shape and becomes an undertandable story. It's like what Michaelangelo said:  "Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it."

Supposedly, Michaleangelo carved as if he were "witnessing the revelation of a submerged object." He would put a stone model into a container and slowly dip water out of it, and this would help him visualize how to carve the stone (see  http://www.stoneproject.org/2-reductive-thinking-skills.html).

Same with writing. We visualize, we struggle, and slowly, the path is revealed. A new story takes shape.

As Michaelangelo said, "I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free."

But don't think for a minute that came easy, even to the greatest artists. Because he also said, "If people knew how hard I worked to get my mastery, it wouldn't seem so wonderful at all."

There is hope in hard work and struggle!





Image from FreeFot.com, "Aubretia," #12-43-1






Donald Maass: Tension, Tension Everywhere

I heard famed writing craft author and literary agent Donald Maass speak at a one-day workshop back in January. It was revelatory.

So I went back to my copy of Maass's The Fire in Fiction and reread Chapter 8, Tension All the Time.

How do you create the type of tension that keeps a reader reading every blessed page of your novel?
A page-turner. Can't put it down. Kept me up all night.

How? How? Well, Maass says, it's not by creating a big plot with a big question that will keep the reader turning the pages to find out who-done-it. Even if it's high-stakes. Really high stakes.

It's not setting each scene up carefully with a goal your character goes after, as we are taught to do.

It's not incessant action, sanppy dialogue, or reading about what is going on deep in your point-of-view character's mind.

Not saying that any of that stuff is not important. IT'S JUST NOT ENOUGH.

Maass says that an instinct for tension is the best predictability he has for which writers will go on to become career novelists.

This tension has nothing to do with the set-up of the book and all the other things I've just mentioned.

Rather it is about permeating your novel with constant tension that arises from CONFLICTING EMOTIONS, not from outer action going on but from your character's INNER CONFLICT.

No one will give a rat's arse about your beautiful passages of description, your careful backstory hidden in dialogue, your contemplative sequel where your character mulls over what just happened, your carefully choreographed sex scene, or ANY emotion your character feels UNLESS you infuse every single bit of it with MICROTENSION, which Maass defines as "the moment-by-moment tension that keeps the reader in a constant state of suspense over what will happen, not in the story but IN THE NEXT FEW SECONDS." (Boldface mine.)

I am going to sticky-note that last part to the corner of my computer screen.

As Lori Wilde has said in her writing classes, it's all about EMOTION. That's why readers read.

Maass says tension comes from INNER CONFLICT, FEELINGS IN CONFLICT WITH ONE ANOTHER, not from the outer actions we put on the page.

If you are intrigued, read Maass's book. This chapter that I'm talking about has tons of examples and "Practical Tools" section that helps you workshop your own trouble spots so you can up the tension stakes in your own writing and create your own best-selling, page-turning blockbuster of a novel.

Perfectionism vs. Product in Writing (or, Just Turn the Damn Thing In!)

Do you struggle with trying to make your writing perfect? Gosh, I do, and it is the bane of my existence.

It's what makes me a good writer and what makes me a terrible writer.

The older I get, the more I realize that what makes you good also makes you crazy and bad. The same exact thing! WHY IS THAT???

If only it were easy to know when your own writing is good. If only we didn't get numb to our own work, that after so many passes through, that we lose all judgment, good and bad.

How do you combat this problem? Please tell me!

Throughout the marathon of writing a book, mental endurance takes on many forms.

--You have to sustain the story. It has to be a story, with plot points, twists, turns, and classic dramatic moments.

--The characters have to act like real people, in all their challenges, quirks, relationships, etc., and they have to act like the same people--your heroine can't be calm and laid back in chapter one then Type A everywhere else. They must grow and fight against change and ultimately take the leap of faith that transforms them into their best selves.

--You have to sustain your reader's interest.

--And you have to sustain the quality of writing.

The point is, it takes many interwoven threads to make a book, and as the author, you not only have to keep track of each one, you have to perfect each one so they all blend together seamlessly.
A Herculean task. A true mental marathon.

It would be so simple if it weren't for one small problem: the fact that our own brains trick us.

The big problem for me is that my brain is fickle. One day, I can read a paragraph and think, did I write this? It's actually good. But just wait a week, make another pass. Then I spot all kinds of really awful things--stilted dialogue, really sucky metaphors, flat ending hooks that I once thought were clever--and am inclined to say, this writing really sucks.

The result is a viscious cycle of not having a clue if anything's any good or not.

Yes, I have people critique me. I have people read my stuff. But sooner or later, you have to stop reworking a story and say I"M DONE. 

But how do you know when that is? How do you know when to just say--that's it. Nada mas. When do you stop fiddling with the dialogue to make it more natural, when do you quite searching for just that certain perfect metaphor/word/sentence/ending line that makes the scene perfect?

When do you ever let it go?

Can anyone relate to this, or am I way off the bell curve in the realm of people who enjoy tormenting themselves to death?! 

What's in YOUR Reading Pile?

What does your reading pile say about your personality? I had a few days of sickness (like the rest of America) this week where I had some time to stare at my bedside stash of books and contemplate why I read what I read. I don't know if I came up with any profound answers, but it was fun!

Here's a peek:

Saw the movie, loved it! Read the author's story, how he quite his job as a high school English teacher to write. Can't wait to read this! Very nuanced, very emotional, and a love story!!! My perfect kind of book!

I've been studying the Harlequin Special Edition line and loving the heartwarming stories about home, love, and family. I loved this book by Helen Lacey! It takes place in a unique setting--Australia, and is a romance between a responsible, no-nonsense bed-and-breakfast owner who lost her husband and a handsome firefighter...who happens to be nine years younger. It's an RT Reviewers' Choice nominee for best Harlequin Special Edition of 2012, and I can see why. Lacey's latest book was released in January, called His-and-Hers Family. I've got that one, too!  

Okay, I heard so much about this book last year, I had to see what the buzz was about. I'm wondering if I can get through it before someone accidentally tells me the answer to the driving question, is her husband guilty or not?!

This isn't any old edition of Emma...it's annotated...meaning in this case that the original text is on each left page, and explanations, pictures, paintings, etc. of all sorts of interesting period things are on each right page. I've always prided myself at being pretty good at understanding older language without too much help...but trust me, I am completely humbled by this type of reading experience. Also, it weighs in at almost 900 pages!

I've read one or two books by Rachel Gibson before and loved them. This looks cute and fun!

I've been "saving" this book for a time when no one interrupts me , as I do with all of Kleypas's books(probably the reason I haven't read it yet--there is no such time!!). I'm dying to read it but I'd better hurry because Lisa's next book in this series is out next month.

So there you have it. I haven't even got to e-books, but doing this did make me realize I tend to buy paper when I want to study a book carefully or when it is textbook-like (the Emma edition). Now, if only there was time to read all these wonderful books!!

So...what's in YOUR pile?

Eliza Knight on Editing

Today I'm proud to present a fabulous article on editing written by historical romance writer Eliza Knight, who gave me permission to post this today. For more about Eliza and her latest release,see the end of the article. Thanks, Eliza!

Finished the Damn Book – oh no – Editing!

By Eliza Knight

Congratulations! You’ve written “The End.” I assure you this is no easy feat. Many people set out on a quest to write a tale and, for one reason or another, do not complete it. The question is: now what? You must edit!

Why should edit your work? Your work should be edited because competition is fierce in the publishing world—the number of submissions accepted is quite small. The average number of books accepted by publishers for publication is around 2-4%. That is not very high. For every one-hundred manuscripts they receive, only two, maybe four on a good day, will be offered a contract.

With odds like 2-4%, you will want your book to be in the best shape it can possibly be. Here’s an example of why:

Jane Editor at Big Six Publishing House has two manuscripts in front of her. They are both phenomenal! The plots are compelling, the characters intriguing. Both books are sure to sell well, but she’s been told by the editorial board she can only accept one book—that’s all they have room for, as her own list of authors and books on the table is vast. Jane Editor goes back and forth between manuscripts. The decision is hard to make. She wants both. How will she possibly decide?

Well, as it’s been mentioned, Jane Editor has a very busy schedule. She already works 60+ hours a week, and during her free time at home she reads over her authors’ work. Another quick look at the two manuscripts shows that Manuscript#1 has a lot more editing issues in it that Manuscript#2… Decision made, Jane is going to go with the manuscript that will require the least amount of work.

And if all goes well, that’s yours!

A few pointers to keep on hand when editing your manuscript…

Tightening up those sentences – By paring down on filler words, weak words and strengthening verbs, you can tighten up your sentences. Writers tend to put a lot of extraneous words in our sentences we do not need.  Remember, Evil = that/had. You can’t delete all the “that” and “had” words, but do a search and find, read the sentence thoroughly. Do you need the word? Often times we write in something like:  “She had gone to the market earlier that day.” This is a sentence that can be easily tightened: “She went to the market in the morning.” Another example of what we can do to tighten up sentences is delete redundancy. Instead of saying she sat down, say sat. Stand up, becomes stood. Turned around becomes turned. Don’t let too much backstory bog down your pages. Sprinkle it in through dialogue, action, reaction. If it doesn’t move the story along, delete it.

Inconsistencies – Beware of inconsistencies! Eye color, location, years, setting, season. A character with a broken leg won’t be miraculously healed the next day. If it’s the dead of winter, your heroine won’t be picking roses unless she’s in a greenhouse.

Format – Always check the submission guidelines for format. If none stated, use the standard 12pt regular font, double-spaced, 1” margins, 1^st line indent.

Using the 5 senses – Readers want to experience the story. Show them what is happening with the characters. Let the reader, touch, see, hear, taste and smell what the character does. This works great during every scene and should be especially potent in love scenes and highly intense scenes.

Hooks beginning and end – Draw your reader in and keep them there. Examples of hooks are: danger, strong emotion, shocking situation, evocative narrative, witty dialogue.

Point-of-view – Pick the character who has the most at stake in a scene and use their POV. Use transitions to switch “heads”. Don’t hop back and forth. If you feel that in a scene you need more than one POV, do it smoothly so that you don’t confuse the reader, and don’t do it for only one line. If you only have one line, best to save it for a separate scene when the character is reacting to the previous scene. For one scene with two POV’s, authors will often have the first half of the chapter in one character’s POV and then switch the last half to the other character. Some do only one POV per chapter and then switch. Whichever way you choose, make sure it is done in a way that does not confuse your reader.  A note here on secondary characters: it is fine to a scene in a secondary character or two’s POV. But don’t go overboard. And above all, remember this is a story about the hero/heroine. You don’t want secondary characters to take over.

GMC – Make sure your characters have goals, motivation for those goals and conflict that impairs them from reaching their goals. This is the what, why, and how. Make them strong, believable and meaningful. If your GMC is not rock solid, you story won’t be either. You don’t want to have wishy-washy characters. If your characters are flaky, the reader will become frustrated. Characters can have more than one goal. Their goals can also change throughout the story as they grow and change. Don’t forget your secondary characters! They need to have believable GMCs also. Don’t forget conflict is both internal and external. What inside the character is keeping them from meeting their goal? What outside force is interfering?

Story Development / Plot / Characterization / Setting – Create a world—your setting, make it interesting, unique. With this and your characters’ GMC and Arc (how they grown and change), develop a story line. What if…?  Develop your who, what, when, where, why. What is the black moment? What is the resolution?

Show vs. Tell – Instead of telling the reader your character is scared—describe it. How does this feel? What is happening inside the character? What are they thinking? Show us so we “see” it in our minds, rather than just being given a recap. As I said previously, a reader wants to experience a story. They want to visualize it as though they were watching a movie. Ramp up your sensory detail, paint a picture, get those gut-wrenching emotions pulled, thrill them. Show us what is happening through dialogue, action and reaction.

Active vs. Passive – Make sure your writing pops. Instead of saying “She felt sad.” Say, “Despair clouded her mind.” This goes hand in hand with show vs. tell. A passive writer tells the reader a story, wheras and active writer shows the story. Get rid of as many: saw, felt, feel, heard, look words as you can. Replace them with sentences that allow the reader to experience the story. Instead of telling the reader: “She saw a hundred troops lining the top of the hill.” Show: “At least one hundred mounted troops topped the hill. The sun glinted blindingly off the metal of their helmets. Their horses’ hooves pawed and stomped the earth.” Use the senses. Make sure your pacing isn’t being bogged down by too many wordy sentences.

Dialogue – Use dialogue whenever possible to bring your characters to life. Dialogue shows the reader your character's personality, sets the tone for the scene, explains what is happening, shows reactions, shows us the character’s unique beliefs, values, etc… It also shows us the personality/beliefs/reactions of other characters. Read your dialogue aloud to make sure it flows naturally. Don’t overuse “he/she said” tags, and on the flipside, don’t use too little. Whenever possible use an action tag. “Wow, I hate editing.” She threw her pen down.

I hope these tips will help you with making sure your book is in tip-top shape! Take your time, and do it right. Don’t rush the editing process—but don’t take the next ten years to shape your book either. Try to do it in thirty days. If you make daily/weekly goals for your editing process, you will get it done in a much orderly fashion. Always read through your book one more time before sending it in for submission—and better yet, see if you can have one or more people read through it too.

Best of luck!  Happy Editing!

Eliza

*~*~*~*

Eliza Knight is the award-winning, multi-published, Amazon best-selling author of sizzling historical romance and erotic romance. While not reading, writing or researching for her latest book, she chases after her three children. In her spare time (if there is such a thing…) she likes daydreaming, wine-tasting, traveling, hiking, staring at the stars, watching movies, shopping and visiting with family and friends. She lives atop a small mountain, and enjoys cold winter nights when she can curl up in front of a roaring fire with her own knight in shining armor. Visit Eliza at www.elizaknight.com or her historical blog, History Undressed,. www.historyundressed.com, Twitter: @ElizaKnight and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elizaknightauthor

And here's Eliza’s December release...THE HIGHLANDER’S LADY

A Highlander tamed…

Laird Daniel Murray seeks adventure, battle and freedom for his countrymen. Putting off his duties as laird—with a promise to his clan he’ll return come spring—Daniel sets off with his men to fight alongside William Wallace and the Bruce. But soon he stumbles across an enchanting lady in need. She tantalizes him with an offer he simply can’t refuse and a desire he attempts to dismiss.

A lady’s passion ignited…

Escaping near death at the treacherous hands of a nearby clan, Lady Myra must find the Bruce and relay the news of an enemy within his own camp. Alone in a world full of danger and the future of her clan at stake, she must trust the handsome, charismatic Highland laird who promises to keep her safe on her journey—and sets her heart to pounding.

Together, Daniel and Myra will risk not only their lives, but their hearts while discovering the true meaning of hope and love in a world fraught with unrest.