Both Sides of Rejection

Current Project:Logger in Petticoats  
Status: 6,863 words

As a past editor for a small publisher I've been on both sides of a rejection.

It's hard to reject another writer's work knowing how much they put into the story, but at the same time, I made money off of the books that sold, and if I took on every manuscript that came to me, I would never have time for anything other than helping them "fix" their manuscripts to make them salable.

When evaluating a project to take on, I had to like the main characters enough to want to read their story multiple times. Because face it, if you can't stand the characters and you have to read the manuscript five times within a few months, you HAVE to like the characters or your eyes are going to skim and you aren't going to give the book the full edits it deserves.

So when looking at a project the first time the characters have to grab my attention within the first chapter. I have to want to learn more about them. Then as I read, the plot/premise has to be interesting. If it has a twist or something unusual, it will grab me. Then the POV (point of view) has to be within reason of not being a huge task to master for the writer. If the craft needs lots of work even if the characters grab me I had to reject but with notes telling them I loved the characters but they need to take more workshops on the particular craft issues they had and resend.

This goes back to the fact if I'm helping them rewrite their manuscript, I'm teaching them how to write and that's not how I received any monetary reward. To be paid, I had to have a good book for readers to purchase. The longer I took on one book the more I was short changing myself. But if there were characters and a story that called to me, I'd tackle it even if there were major craft issues. Also if a book came in that was immaculately written but I couldn't "like" the characters I'd reject. Even if it was well written, if I didn't care for the characters I couldn't read it the required times, let alone perhaps make it through the first reading. And that again is all subjective. Another editor may have loved the book.

Writing a book is a package deal- it has to have engaging characters, a good premise/plot, and well crafted prose. And even then you aren't guaranteed a contract. It depends on what the big houses have room for in their client list and what they believe is selling. So don't take rejection personally, it is all a business. But if an editor makes comments to you about your manuscript, think about what they say and is it true? Could you make this character more likable, could you up the sexual tension, do you indeed need to take a workshop on passive voice?

Never take a rejection to heart, but do look at your work with an unbiased eye and see if there are improvements that you could make.

Paty Jager
www.patyjager.net
www.patyjager.blogspot.com

Weekly Progress Check-In

This is the Mid-Willamette Valley RWA's weekly check-in.  Every Monday we encourage members and visitors to let us know how their writing is going.

Today is Monday, September 12, 2011.

Are you on track to reach your goals?

There are 110 days left in 2011.

Weekly Calculations:

If you write 1 page per day, you can write 27500 more words by the end of the year.

If you write 2 pages per day, you can write 55000 more words by the end of the year.

If you write 3 pages per day, you can write 82500 more words by the end of the year.

If you write 4 pages per day, you can write 110000 more words by the end of the year.

If you write 5 pages per day, you can write 137500 more words by the end of the year.

So how are you doing?  If you have gotten off track, this is the week you can regain your momentum.  Tell us how you're doing, and set a fresh goal for the upcoming week.  A page a day is a book in a year.  You can do it!

PRIZES:  The best prize is reaching your personal goal and finishing your book.  But if you need an extra little incentive, remember:  any chapter member who reaches her personal goal by the end of the year receives a prize at the year-end party.  Non-members can win, too.  Non-members who show up for at least 20 weekly check-ins will have their names entered in a drawing for a gift card from Powells, the world's largest independent bookstore.

HOORAY! I’VE BEEN REJECTED! And rejected, and rejected, and…

Current Project: Proposals
Status: Getting there

The Master of Rejection

A long time ago, in another life, I worked (briefly) in telephone sales. If anyone had asked me what the worst job I could imagine was after slaughterhouse worker, I would have said phone sales. Ironically, there I was, learning how to handle rejection in spades.

You know what? It really wasn’t that bad. 

Before each call, I smiled to make myself feel more positive. I didn’t want my negativity to taint the calls. Most people politely declined if they were not interested. A few kept me on the line because they were lonely, but had no intention of taking the bait. And some were interested in what the company had to offer. I think that smile carried into my voice, because I had really good sales numbers, in spite of my inner doubts.

I firmly believe that projecting a positive and confident attitude is key when pitching face-to-face. Like the smile on the phone, confident body language is contagious. It inspires confidence in the person listening to your pitch. 

Even if you’ve connected with an industry professional on a personal level, be aware that the decision they made to reject your submission was not personal. 

Once in a while, someone would hang up on me mid-sentence or yell at me for interrupting their favorite TV show. Having always hated being on the receiving end of telephone solicitors, I understood the hang-ups were not personal and the yellers had issues I didn’t want to deal with (so I hung up on them.)

My 1st Rejection Letter!!!

Agent or editor rejections are not personal, just as hang-ups weren’t personal.

Any agent or editor who treats you unprofessionally isn’t one you want to work with, believe me. Ignore everything they said/wrote and give thanks they are not involved in your professional life!

My supervisor gave me a perspective on sales pitches that translates nicely into pitching or submitting a book. “Every no is one step closer to yes.” 

Memorize this truth, post it over your desk, tattoo it on your forearm, scrawl it across your rejection letters in permanent ink—do whatever it takes to internalize this gem of wisdom.

You’ll be glad you did.

Quote of the Day

It's easy to forget that our work is often rejected not because it's terrible, but because it isn't right for that market at that time (or the editor reading it doesn't think it's right for the market):

"For over a year I continued to submit mss, and have them rejected - the last few with rejection letters indicated the story was pretty good, but I was American." --Nora Roberts 

Poor thing.  I hope this "Nora" person didn't give up.  Who knows; she might have a future in the writing business if she gets her work in front of the right person....

The Lies I (Used To) Tell Myself

I considered chucking this month's suggested topic and writing about something else. See, I didn't think I had any experience with rejection of my work, so how could I talk about what it feels like or how to deal with it? Before you think I'm bragging or full of myself, understand what that really means. I haven't sent any of my work out yet, so there aren't any rejection stories to tell. I'm very, very close, though...and very, very nervous about it.

Then I realized there's more than one kind of rejection and I'm a pro at a certain type. It's a doozy, too, maybe the worst you can experience (check back with me about that after I send out my book and receive that first, "Thanks, but no thanks" form letter). What kind of rejection am I talking about?

Negative self-talk. Or, as I like to call it: The Lies I Tell Myself.

It's one thing for someone else to tell you they don't like or can't use your writing. It's another to tell yourself that what you're writing can't possibly be any good. We all have self doubts (and if you don't, please don't tell me--that's one thing I'd rather believe, even if it isn't true). I'm guessing that some of you may also experience those doubts as that little voice in your head that whispers to you words like:

"What a load of crap. No one's ever going to publish it, let alone want to read it!"

"Trite. Cliched. Boring."

Or my personal favorite:

"What makes you think you can write? You can't do this.

If you're a writer, I suspect you know what I'm talking about. Maybe you call it your "internal editor" or the "little demon" on your shoulder (or maybe you think I should see someone professionally about hearing that little voice).

Silencing that negative voice can be a very hard thing to do. It's insidious and insinuated itself into my thoughts until it was second nature to think negatively. The closer I was getting to sending out my writing, the more my fears and self-doubts fueled that voice. It wasn't until I sat down and tried to figure out why I was having such a hard time reaching my final goal that I realized what I was doing.

I was rejecting myself! The more times I told myself, "You can't do this," the more I began to believe it. Why bother sending my writing out for rejection, when I was doing such an efficient job of rejecting it before it was even written?

Once I'd figured out what I was doing, I became acutely aware of every negative word I was telling myself. I'm learning to stop saying them in my head, which isn't easy, believe me. At the very least, when I hear myself going down the same old negative rathole, I stop and turn the negatives into positives. Now, when I start to say, "You can't," I say instead, "You can." Here's my new positive statement; I've found I only really need this one--it succinctly counters any negative talk my fertile brain can come up with:

"You can do this. You are a writer."

The next time you hear a little voice in your head tell you that "you can't" or anything else remotely negative, be sure and turn it on its head and firmly tell yourself, "Oh yes I can!"

Weekly Progress Check-In

This is the Mid-Willamette Valley RWA's weekly check-in.  Every Monday we encourage members and visitors to let us know how their writing is going.

Today is Monday, September 5, 2011.

Are you on track to reach your goals?

There are 117 days left in 2011.

Weekly Calculations:

If you write 1 page per day, you can write 29250 more words by the end of the year.

If you write 2 pages per day, you can write 58500 more words by the end of the year.

If you write 3 pages per day, you can write 87750 more words by the end of the year.

If you write 4 pages per day, you can write 117000 more words by the end of the year.

If you write 5 pages per day, you can write 146250 more words by the end of the year.

So how are you doing?  If you have gotten off track, this is the week you can regain your momentum.  Tell us how you're doing, and set a fresh goal for the upcoming week.  A page a day is a book in a year.  You can do it!

PRIZES:  The best prize is reaching your personal goal and finishing your book.  But if you need an extra little incentive, remember:  any chapter member who reaches her personal goal by the end of the year receives a prize at the year-end party.  Non-members can win, too.  Non-members who show up for at least 20 weekly check-ins will have their names entered in a drawing for a gift card from Powells, the world's largest independent bookstore.

Current Project: Vacation/no back to school for me :D
Status: Dodged Irene

Rejection: How can anyone critizice my baby?

Rejection is so personal. When I first started writing, I took every critisicm and suggestion as a personal afront to my beautiful child (manuscript). I quickly learned that for the most part all the suggestions were constructive and if I listened, really listened, I could improve my writing. Most of the time the chanes were little, fixing dangling participles so I didn't leave the reader going ... huh ... and shaking their head in confusion. The list would go on and on if I wanted to elaborate, which I don't.

One famous and very well known romance writer once said (this is a semi quote because I can't remember the exact) "I went to the post office and sent my manuscript to an editor and it was returned so fast it hit me in the head as I was leaving."

Well, I have never had that happen but I have had a requested manuscript take over 3 years to receive a rejections letter. Many authors say they would like feed back as to why the piece was rejected. However that can be confusing as well. When I had an agent, I received many conflicting reasons as to why they did not want the book. For example, one house said their was no conflict and the next house said the conflict was too much. So what did that mean? Did they read it?

Another author who spoke at a Dream Spinner conference said "I have received so many rejections letters I wall papered my bathroom in my office with them." I haven't received enough to wall paper a bathroom but close.

Whatever the case, I suggest we learn from rejections, critiques and well meaning suggestions. Weed out the ridiculous and move on.

Now back to vacation. We are moving from Atlantic City to Manhattan tomorrow and I have a $1.oo in my hand to gamble. Going to try to double my money :). And if all this sounds a bit jumbled, I'm not surprised.

REJECTIONS AND SETBACKS aka Blessings in Disguise

Current Project: Book #3 of the LEGACY series
Status: Editing and finishing the cover

Posted by: Genene Valleau

Just as I find it hard to believe today is the first day of September, when the first rejections of my stories came back, I struggled to believe that could be good news.

The first romances I read were from Harlequin and Silhouette, so I figured when I sold, it would be to that publisher. I came close: getting personal letters from editors, and meeting senior editors at conferences that earned the coveted words "requested material" on the envelope.

However, the end result was the same: no sale.

When I did sell, my e-publisher bought three books in a row. I was in heaven! As a bonus, I am also a graphic designer and had the privilege of designing my own covers. More happy dancin'!

Then my first e-publisher changed ownership and I wondered what the new "bosses" would be like. Would they change the company so much it was no longer as much fun?

But another blessing showed up: a friend of mine set up her own e-publishing company and was actively looking for submissions. They agreed to release the print-on-demand versions of two of my books and contracted for two novellas published as part of anthologies. Again, I had the privilege of designing the covers, and have also designed the covers for a number of their other releases. (If you want to look at those covers, they are on my design Web site at http://www.designsbymsg.com/MoreSamples3.html.)

Today, with traditional print publishers drowning in the red ink of losing money and e-books gaining more and more market share, I am grateful for those early rejections. I haven't been orphaned by a big publisher struggling to cut losses. I'm in the flow of a new publishing river gaining momentum.

What will come next in today's rapidly changing publishing world? A combination of text, graphics, video, sound? And perhaps something we haven't seen before!

Now, I can look back and be grateful those early rejections steered me down a path that prepared me to be ready for new developments.

How about you? Have you had a rejection or setback that turned out to be a good thing?

Meeting Thursday!

The September meeting of the Mid-Willamette Valley chapter of the Romance Writers of America will be held Thursday, September 1st, from 7-9 p.m. at the Salem, Oregon Central library.


We will have an optional critique group gathering from 6-7 p.m.  Feel free to bring a few pages of work you'd like to have critiqued, and we'll see how many excerpts we can fit in to the hour.  This is our first time trying this, so come with ideas and suggestions and we'll give it a whirl.


Our meeting speaker will be GENENE VALLEAU, who will share the techniques of storyboarding, spreadsheeting and pre-planning that she's using to craft a nine-book story arc.



BTW, it is okay to bring food and drink into the library, as long as we clean up afterward.  I'd advise against that garlic-and-limberger casserole you have your heart set on, but sandwiches, salads, etc., are fine, chocolate is always in good taste among romance writers, and I'll have a big thermos of hot water along if you want to bring tea/coffee/instant soup.

Our business meeting will include planning for next year's meetings and online workshops, an update on our website and banking improvements, and more (I don't actually have any more, but if you've got anything to discuss, feel free).


I hope to see you there!


Remember:  nonmembers may attend two meetings as guests for free before they must join our chapter and RWA National; former members may attend one meeting for free before re-joining.  So come on in and say hi.


Email if you'd like directions to the meeting place.

Characters-They're around us every day.

Current Project:Logger in Petticoats
Status: 500 words

As I blundered through the messy files inside my head to conjure up the heroine in Logger in Petticoats, I keep going back to my youngest daughter's best friend. Her parent's are 6' and 6'5". She is a tall(6'2"), not stocky but sturdy, girl who loves volleyball and basketball. But she isn't aggressive. A trait she and my daughter had in common. They were both good volleyball players but they played the game for the joy of it not the competition which of course drove the coaches nuts.

I've based my heroine on this girl because as a teenager she was awkward due to her size and she was blonde... Sometimes she would say and do the goofiest things and then slap her head and say, "Doh!" She laughs at her own clumsiness and has a HUGE heart. Those are the traits I've built into my heroine, also the nationality- Norwegian.

The heroine's family is going to be based on neighbors we had when the kids were growing up. They were third generation Norwegians from North Dakota. Over the years of living next to them and our kids hanging out with Olaf learning about horses, I've learned a few Norwegian words. ;) And the bond that they form in their families. This will be one of the conflicts for my heroine when it comes to the black moment. Can she leave her family and the close knit community of the logging camp?

How about you? Do you use people from your life in your stories? If so who?

Weekly Progress Check-In

This is the Mid-Willamette Valley RWA's weekly check-in.  Every Monday we encourage members and visitors to let us know how their writing is going.

Today is Monday, August 29, 2011.

Are you on track to reach your goals?

There are 124 days left in 2011.

Weekly Calculations:

If you write 1 page per day, you can write 31000 more words by the end of the year.

If you write 2 pages per day, you can write 62000 more words by the end of the year.

If you write 3 pages per day, you can write 93000 more words by the end of the year.

If you write 4 pages per day, you can write 124000 more words by the end of the year.

If you write 5 pages per day, you can write 155000 more words by the end of the year.

So how are you doing?  If you have gotten off track, this is the week you can regain your momentum.  Tell us how you're doing, and set a fresh goal for the upcoming week.  A page a day is a book in a year.  You can do it!

PRIZES:  The best prize is reaching your personal goal and finishing your book.  But if you need an extra little incentive, remember:  any chapter member who reaches her personal goal by the end of the year receives a prize at the year-end party.  Non-members can win, too.  Non-members who show up for at least 20 weekly check-ins will have their names entered in a drawing for a gift card from Powells, the world's largest independent bookstore.

It's Time to Break the Hero Mold!

Current Project: Proposals
Status: Making progress

Today I'm on my soapbox.

Two of My Heroes

Heroes; gotta love 'em! But riddle me this: How come it's okay to have a heroine who is (ahem) an armful (EX: Bet Me by Jenny Cruisie), but our heroes must be tall and buff?

Remember little David who slew Goliath using brains over brawn? There's proof that not all heroes have to be tall and buff. David's been admired for thousands of years.

My husband accuses us romance writers of writing heroes men can't easily relate to, because they're all too physically perfect.  I have to admit, I think he has a point. Character makes a true hero.

What do you think?

Quote of the Day

A few more quotes about characters to hopefully spark your own imagination:

"I don't want to say I hear voices; well, actually I do hear voices, but I don't think it's supernatural. I think it's just that when characters are given enough texture and backbone, then lo and behold, they stand on their own." --Anne Tyler 

"Each morning my characters greet me with misty faces willing, though chilled, to muster for another day's progress through the dazzling quicksand the marsh of blank paper." --John Updike 

"My characters surprise me constantly. My characters are like my friends - I can give them advice, but they don't have to take it. If your characters are real, then they surprise you, just like real people." --Laurell K. Hamilton 

"And when I'm writing, I write a lot anyway. I might write pages and pages of conversation between characters that don't necessarily end up in the book, or in the story I'm working on, because they're simply my way of getting to know the characters." --Norton Juster 

"The most unrealistic thing I've ever read in comics is when some group of characters calls themselves the Brotherhood of Evil or the Masters of Evil. I don't believe any character believes their goals to be truly evil." --Len Wein 

"This is a work of fiction. All the characters in it, human and otherwise, are imaginary, excepting only certain of the fairy folk, whom it might be unwise to offend by casting doubts on their existence. Or lack thereof." --Neil Gaiman 

The Inexpressible*

As with just about everything else when it comes to writing, there isn't one right way to create a character. (I can't tell you how often I've wished that entire sentence weren't true.) Heck, I don't think I've ever used the same technique twice myself. Well, with one exception.

Music. 

For some reason, when I really start getting into the heads of my characters—when they truly become real to me—I start seeing them in my head when I listen to music. Not every song, mind, but I suspect I unconsciously search for songs that fit. When I've found enough songs for a decent playlist, say 20 to 30, I feel like I've found the emotional key to my story and my characters.

Sometimes I'll listen to the playlist while I'm writing, but not always. Sometimes it's enough to listen to a few songs before I start writing, just to evoke the mood I'm seeking. I'll listen in the car to spark ideas for upcoming scenes. Or I'll listen late at night before going to bed, to let new ideas germinate overnight.

I don't look for songs that tell the exact story I want to write. It's enough if a phrase or line of melody resonates strongly. Several of the songs on my current playlist are instrumental only. That doesn't always happen, but this time—oh, this time—so many of the songs I've chosen are jazz and they make me see and feel the magic and how the various characters feel about using it. Having so many instrumental songs also makes it a bit easier to listen to the playlist while writing.

If you're curious, here are the songs on my current character playlist (the order is random). I wish I could provide the actual songs for you, but I've found links to listen to (most of) them online.

Pick Up the Pieces — Avenue Blue Feat.Jeff Golub
Ever Returning — Bernward Koch
Song for Olabi — Bliss
Trinidad — Boney James
Caribbean Dream — Bryan Savage
Spontaneous Combustion — Fishbelly Black
Nothing But You — Kim Ferron
Harlem Nocturne — Kofi
Madrid — Marc Antoine
Give It Away — Zero 7
Head Over Feet — Alanis Morissette
Chain of Fools — The Commitments
Just My Luck — Kim Richey
Krafty — New Order
Zombie Jamboree — Rockapella
In Too Deep — Genesis
You Tell Me That I'm Falling Down — Linda Ronstadt
Reference Point — Acoustic Alchemy
Running on Faith — Eric Clapton (unplugged)
Foreplay — Fourplay
Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On — Jimmy Buffett
Fever — Michael Buble
Regrets (Duo Avec Jean-Louis Murat) — Mylene Farmer
Unbound — Robbie Robertson
King of Wishful Thinking — Go West

So, that's it. As you can see, it's a bit of an eclectic mix. I'm sure it says as much about me as it does about my characters. But the right music makes my characters and my story come alive for me. How about you? Do you use music when you create your characters or when you write? I'm all ears. :-)

Catch you on the flip side...

* Title from: "After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music." — Aldous Huxley

Weekly Progress Check-In

This is the Mid-Willamette Valley RWA's weekly check-in.  Every Monday we encourage members and visitors to let us know how their writing is going.

Today is Monday, August 22, 2011.

Are you on track to reach your goals?

There are 131 days left in 2011.

Weekly Calculations:

If you write 1 page per day, you can write 32750 more words by the end of the year.

If you write 2 pages per day, you can write 65500 more words by the end of the year.

If you write 3 pages per day, you can write 98250 more words by the end of the year.

If you write 4 pages per day, you can write 131000 more words by the end of the year.

If you write 5 pages per day, you can write 163750 more words by the end of the year.

So how are you doing?  If you have gotten off track, this is the week you can regain your momentum.  Tell us how you're doing, and set a fresh goal for the upcoming week.  A page a day is a book in a year.  You can do it!

PRIZES:  The best prize is reaching your personal goal and finishing your book.  But if you need an extra little incentive, remember:  any chapter member who reaches her personal goal by the end of the year receives a prize at the year-end party.  Non-members can win, too.  Non-members who show up for at least 20 weekly check-ins will have their names entered in a drawing for a gift card from Powells, the world's largest independent bookstore.

All that is random

Current Project: Sharks
Status: middle of chapter 3

I love writing series characters. The first series I wrote was my Lakota/Pinkerton series. This series started with Dakota's Bride and was not planned. In fact my editor wanted the next story to revolve around Jacob St. John, but alas Jacob's story was the last one, Forever His.

The next set of books I wrote was semi-planned. I developed the characters of three brothers and each one eventually had their own book. This was my Highland series, Highland Honor, Highland Magic and Highland Song.

The character development in my regency series was more thoroughly researched. There are 12 sisters/cousins in four families. Each heroine has their flower, their stone, their horoscope and the name of their very own hero. Once again with the writing of Allura and the introduction of all the heroines, it has been noted often that the story the readers wants most is that of the youngest sibling/cousin. Unfortunately, I have only finished the first three stories of which only two are published. I think Aidan may have to wait a very long time to find out what will become of her.

I think readers become involved in the characters and if the book/books are well written they want to learn more about the characters they have invested so much time with. What do you think?

WRITING SERIES CHARACTERS

Current Project: LEGACY series
Status: Just finished book #2 and the cover

Posted by: Genene Valleau

I'm celebrating because I finished the edits of the second story in my series as well as the cover this past weekend. Hooray! However, because this is part of a series, it's not really "The End" but the beginning. More to come for these characters. :)

Which brings me to my topic: writing series characters.

I know other authors have carried one or two main characters through a number of books. Don't know if I could stretch and pace one character's growth for five or ten or more books.

Other series consist of secondary characters who get their own story after the wrap-up of a first or second story, with previous main characters stepping back to minor roles or just mentioned. My first three books were like this. Paty has done series like this, as has Chris and other authors.

However, the series I'm working on has overlapping events and characters from previous stories continue to grow and evolve as the family saga continues. This is new to me and it's been interesting to track major events and how those events affect each member of the family.

(At our meeting on September 1, I'll share some of the ways I've tracked the progress of this series, including storyboards, a character notebook, and massive databases.)

For instance, their home town blowing up triggers the sister and her maybe-husband to make a commitment to their relationship. The same event pushes the oldest brother to propose to a woman he has been dating only a short time. Another brother becomes involved with the reporter who returns to town after leaving in whispered shame years ago.

Throughout the series, there will be secrets revealed that will put different family members in conflict with each other, and crises that will bring them closer together.

It has been intriguing to explore how each event affects each character differently, bringing different memories or issues or changing the direction of their lives. It was a good way to get to know my characters better--put them in a crisis situation and see how they react.

I'm always interested in how other writers dig down through the emotional layers of their characters. Do you interview your characters, or think about what they would carry in their purse or pocket, or dump them into a crisis and watch them react as you get to know them? I'd love to hear your process.

Current Project: editing and formatting For a Sister's Love
Status: Hope to finish and get it up on Kindle this week.

I was part of a blog series on western historical novels that was read by Sue Grimshaw and she now wants us to do something like it for her blog Random Romance. But the group came up with the idea of showing what historical westerns are all about by interviewing our characters.

They didn't want all marshals or outlaws so we had to let them know what characters we would interview. I'm, of course, going to interview Wren and Himiin from Spirit of the Mountain. Because I do believe Himiin will be the only spirit interviewed.;)

But I need some help. What could be some questions the interviewer asks him that would show the genre-historical paranormal?

And Wren as a Nez Perce maiden, do have some questions you think would work for her?

I also have to come up with an interviewer other than myself. I'm thinking a National Park guide who comes upon them near Wallowa Lake would be a good interviewer. What do you think?

I'll let you know when my post runs.

Weekly Progress Check-In

This is the Mid-Willamette Valley RWA's weekly check-in.  Every Monday we encourage members and visitors to let us know how their writing is going.

Today is Monday, August 15, 2011.

Are you on track to reach your goals?

There are 138 days left in 2011.

Weekly Calculations:

If you write 1 page per day, you can write 34500 more words by the end of the year.

If you write 2 pages per day, you can write 69000 more words by the end of the year.

If you write 3 pages per day, you can write 103500 more words by the end of the year.

If you write 4 pages per day, you can write 138000 more words by the end of the year.

If you write 5 pages per day, you can write 172500 more words by the end of the year.

So how are you doing?  If you have gotten off track, this is the week you can regain your momentum.  Tell us how you're doing, and set a fresh goal for the upcoming week.  A page a day is a book in a year.  You can do it!

PRIZES:  The best prize is reaching your personal goal and finishing your book.  But if you need an extra little incentive, remember:  any chapter member who reaches her personal goal by the end of the year receives a prize at the year-end party.  Non-members can win, too.  Non-members who show up for at least 20 weekly check-ins will have their names entered in a drawing for a gift card from Powells, the world's largest independent bookstore.

WRITING ANIMAL CHARACTERS

Current Project: Proposals
Status: Moving Along Again (at last)

Okay, I admit it; I’m a sucker for animals. Growing up in suburbia, we always had pets: dogs, cats, a cottontail rabbit, parakeets, guppies, horned toads, turtles, a duck, ground squirrels, coconut crabs, and for one glorious day, a turkey named Jim that my father won in a contest.

I was the kid who read all the books in the school library that were written from the animal’s point of view, the ones that described the life of a beaver or an owlet from birth to independence (and sometimes on to parenthood.) As a young teen, I wanted to be a wildlife biologist. And the first book I wrote was a non-fiction children’s book about osprey (fish hawks.)

Not surprisingly, animal characters appear in my stories. If you haven’t written an animal character who is more than a walk-on, give the idea some careful consideration. Statistically speaking, most readers own or have owned pets. Pets and their owners are easy for readers to relate to, care about and to root for.  

Writing animal characters is more than a gimmick. Remember the Lassie books? Or The Cat Who… mysteries? The books Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen and The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein have been on the bestseller lists for ages. In both books, animals are major characters. In the second book, Enzo is the narrator.

In my books, most animals are true secondary characters who serve important roles: mentor, foil, mirror, scene antagonist, catalyst, ally, family, window into hero/heroine/villain’s character. My animal characters’ actions affect the plot as well as the tone of a story (often providing comic relief.)

A word of caution: do your research, and remember that animal characters have instincts as well as GMCs. If your animal’s behavior is atypical for the species/breed, you’d better have a convincing explanation woven into your story. Do you write animal characters? Do you like to read about them?

Quotes of the Day

Some authors' thoughts on creating characters:

"When writing a novel a writer should create living people; people not characters. A character is a caricature." --Ernest Hemingway 

"Every human being has hundreds of separate people living under his skin. The talent of a writer is his ability to give them their separate names, identities, personalities and have them relate to other characters living with him." --Mel Brooks 

"All characters come from people I know, but after the initial inspiration, I tend to modify the characters so they fit with the story." --Nicholas Sparks 

"If there is any secret to my success, I think it's that my characters are very real to me. I feel everything they feel, and therefore I think my readers care about them." --Sidney Sheldon 

"When the characters are really alive before their author, the latter does nothing but follow them in their action, in their words, in the situations which they suggest to him. --Luigi Pirandello 

The Villain of the Piece

Late again, I see. Bad poster, no biscuit!

So, um, characters... We all love to talk about our Heros and Heroines. Thinking about what makes them tick--and what makes them run screaming for the hills--is part of the fun of writing, at least for me. Hopefully they come alive for us in ways that make it to the page and into readers' hearts.

But I'd like to talk about another character. One that doesn't get quite as much attention in these kind of discussions. The Villain. I know a lot of stories don't have or need villains, but I'd like to talk about stories that do. There's nothing more disappointing than a story with a bad guy (or girl or...thing) who is supposed to be truly evil, but that never really fleshes him/her/it out. The Hero and Heroine are well rounded, with strengths and weakness, goals and motivations -- all nicely done up with a bow. But the poor Villain never takes the stage to show us what he's made of -- why, he might as well be Snidely Whiplash for all the dimension he possesses.

Wait. That's almost an insult to Snidely (who's now sulking over there in the corner), because even Snidely might be considered "just a guy with a weird fetish." ¹

All joking aside, I've often wished writers would give as much thought to their Villain as they do to the "good" characters. A Villain who is one dimensional, who only exists to put roadblocks in the path of the Hero/Heroine is a disappointing Villain, indeed.

The best quote (paraphrased) I've ever heard (and wish I could remember the source) in regards to Villain character creation is: "A Villain doesn't think he's a villain -- to him, he's the hero of the story."

The stories I write all tend to have villains of one kind or another. None of them are completely evil. Each one of them believes his/her actions are justified. They all believe they're the real heros of the story.

And you know what? I let them.

Have any favorite Villains you'd like to share?

¹http://bullwinkle.toonzone.net/snidely.htm

Weekly Progress Check-In

This is the Mid-Willamette Valley RWA's weekly check-in.  Every Monday we encourage members and visitors to let us know how their writing is going.

Today is Monday, August 8, 2011.

Are you on track to reach your goals?

There are 145 days left in 2011.

Weekly Calculations:

If you write 1 page per day, you can write 36250 more words by the end of the year.

If you write 2 pages per day, you can write 72500 more words by the end of the year.

If you write 3 pages per day, you can write 108750 more words by the end of the year.

If you write 4 pages per day, you can write 145000 more words by the end of the year.

If you write 5 pages per day, you can write 181250 more words by the end of the year.

So how are you doing?  If you have gotten off track, this is the week you can regain your momentum.  Tell us how you're doing, and set a fresh goal for the upcoming week.  A page a day is a book in a year.  You can do it!

PRIZES:  The best prize is reaching your personal goal and finishing your book.  But if you need an extra little incentive, remember:  any chapter member who reaches her personal goal by the end of the year receives a prize at the year-end party.  Non-members can win, too.  Non-members who show up for at least 20 weekly check-ins will have their names entered in a drawing for a gift card from Powells, the world's largest independent bookstore.

Mind Styles characterization

Current Project: Sharks
Status: Not as far as I want it to be

When I was an art major at OSU back in the ... one of my assignments in my freshman year drawing class was to watch people in the student union and sketch them. Well that always brought a lot of unwanted attention. I kind of like the sit there, watch and take mental notes about the people in the area. A little reclusive but fitting my personal style much better than drawing them and having them want to see the results.

Later when I was teaching I attended a workshop at the beginning of the school year. It's intent was to help us better understand our students. In my case it helped me visualize and write my characters so I understood their motives. A win - win situation for me.

The work shop you ask, maybe not, was titled Mind Styles. Simplifying the theories and the details, here are 4 personality types. According to the originator of this concept most of us are a combination of the two types. I have found that in utilizing these mind styles in the characterization of my hero and heroine I can create minor conflicts between them just in the way they think and act.

The 4 basic types are: Concrete, Sequential, Abstract, and Random.

So to make this quick, a person could be Concrete Sequential. Some of his priorities would be Orderly, Persistent, Direct, Product oriented.

Or Abstract Random in which case the priorities would be Emotional Sensitive, Sociable, and Bright and colorful.

Or we could have Concrete Random, some priorities would be Independent, Intensely curious, Investigative, andRisk taker.

And last we have Abstract Sequential priorities for this mind style would be, Logic, Intellectual, Analytical and Scholarly.

Since this workshop I have always referred to the Mind Styles theory in the development of my characters.

Without taking the test that goes along with this what do you think your combination of mind styles is? I was tested. My results were not what my friends thought I would be.

CHARACTERS WHO WRITE THEMSELVES

Current Project: LEGACY series
Status: Almost finished with edits for second book

Posted by: Genene Valleau

My series started as one book in 2004 about a young woman with seven brothers who were a little too interested in policing her love life. By the time I was three-quarters finished with the first story, the brothers were demanding--as brothers sometimes do--their own stories. And since eight didn't seem like a good number for a series, I decided their widowed adoptive mother should have her own story to round out the series.

One thing I appreciate with a series of books is once the basic setting is done and relationships between the characters are established, the writing comes fairly easily. That doesn't mean I don't have to put fingers to keyboard to get the words down. However, the characters are like family. I know their basic personalities and how they will react to situations, and they reveal secrets of their pasts and emotions perhaps even they didn't know they carried inside as their stories unfold.

In other words, the characters pretty much write themselves.

For other writers, though this may seem unfair, I've also had characters who revealed themselves one grudging trait at at time. How do your characters come together? Do they spring fully formed from your mind or take time to develop? Which ones became your favorites--the ones that flowed into the story or those you had to dig deep to find?

Meeting Today

Reminder:  The Mid-Willamette Valley chapter of the Romance Writers of America is holding their August meeting on Thursday, August 4th, from 7-9 p.m. in Salem, Oregon.


Our discussion topic will be news from RWA National in New York.


Guests are welcome to attend.  If you are new to our chapter, you may attend two meetings (for free!) before joining.  If you are a former member, you may attend one meeting as a guest before re-joining the chapter.


Email us at mwvrwa  @  gmail.com (remove spaces) for directions.

Out of my Element

Current Project: Still in limbo
Status: All company leaves this weekend!

This past weekend I participated in a book festival at Portland's Pioneer Square. It was an excellent place to watch people and interact with some interesting characters.

Donna Kiehle and I were at the table under the Jan's Paperback Books sign. We had half a dozen people come up and ask us ab out our publishing company... And one gentleman who had wild hair, his collar folded under on one side, his shirt buttoned crooked, and his fly was half open with his shirt tail sticking out. (I'm not a pervert, I was taking in his whole appearance as he reflected an interesting secondary character) Anyway, he was trying to pitch his epic, deeply emotional, action packed, epic hand-written 492 notebook pages. There are pieces of him that may end up in a book some day. ;)

There was a young man with a sign "Turn 2 God" He stood on a corner shouting. And a robust black man stood up at the speaking platform over the square, banged a plastic bottle like an anvil and preached.

Shortly after the preaching a passel of bridesmaids and groomsmen along with a bride and groom entered the square and posed for photos.

An Englishman also stopped by and chatted with Marie Friend who was next to us. He was a bit taken back when Marie first thought he was an Aussie. This started them off on an interesting chat of their favorite English actors. The man was in khaki shorts, had one of those "fishing" hats that look like safari hats. A backpack and boots. He looked like he'd just walked out of the bush so I understand why she might have thought him Aussie.

Even the couple with rowdy kids and the older man on the MAX I rode to the zoo left an impression that could pop up sometime in writing.

All of these interesting people are stored away in my brain to perhaps come out in little snippets in my secondary and perhaps even my main characters in some future book.

So you file away people. places, or incidents everywhere you go?

Character Back-story Inspiration

So, I'm laying in bed next to my baby boy in the wee hours of the morning, listening to his soft breathing, feeling frustrated because the blog I've been trying to post with his cute newborn picture will not post, no matter what I try. When all of a sudden, the backstory for both my main character in Ghost Girl and the 'super-evil bad guy' pops into my head. At 4:30am. When I am supposed to be sleeping because husband dearest and I have a fun day of letterboxing with the kidlets planned. What's a writer to do, but get up and quickly jot down some notes before the stroke of inspiration fades like the misty webs of dreams that vanish with first light? And, of course, write a quick emergency blog post to replace the one I really want to post.

I recently discovered the History International channel. Love it, love it, love it. There are so many good, educational shows. As a writer, it has been fueling the creative juices for several weeks. There's been an idea I've had for several weeks that I got from a couple of the shows, and I've been trying to figure out how to weave it into Ghost Girl without completely changing the course of the book. Lack of sleep and frustration completed the weaving this morning. At the moment (5:25am), I am so hyped because this idea feels right. It rings true, like other plot ideas I've had and then later seen in print in newly released books. I haven't seen this idea in any other book anywhere, which gets me really excited. It opens up entirely new dimensions for my characters, new motivations and conflicts that I haven't seen anywhere else (not that I've read every book in the known universe, but I've never heard of this idea used elsewhere).

So, having jotted down the new inspiration and plot points, I'm going to attempt to grab another sixty minutes of shut-eye before it's time to get up and make breakfast for the family. And tonight, bwa-ha-ha, I'm going to have so much fun torturing my characters with my newfound knowledge.

Where do you get inspiration for your charcters? Is it from real-life people? Another book? Movie? Educational materials? And how do you take that inspiration and mold it into a living, breathing person that connects with your readers?

Character Flaws

Most recent read: Cursor's Fury by Jim Butcher

Current read: Captain's Fury by Jim Butcher

Planned next read: First Lord's Fury by Jim Butcher

We went to a lavendar festival last weekend. The air was heavy with the scent of the flowers and drowsy droning of honey bees. There was lavendar ice cream available, along with lotions, soaps and other items made with lavendar.

I've been doing a lot of thinking about the importance of character flaws during the past couple of weeks. The books I've most enjoyed reading have characters with flaws that breathe life into them, enhancing the overall reading experience. Flaws round out our favorite characters, causing us as readers to connect and care about their outcome. Take Boromir. He is driven to gather power, power that will enable Minas Tirith to withstand the might of Mordor. In his quest to obtain that power, he doesn't realize at first that ultimately he wants to hold the power for himself. But in the end, he protects those that his lust for power nearly caused him to betray.

I've decided that my characters in Ghost Girl, while possessing character flaws, could have more flaws. So I'm rewriting the characters so they are even more 'less than perfect' than what they already are. Giving them eccentricities, personality quirks and bad habits that make them stand up from the written page, making them more interesting. It's much more fun to read about a character whose addiction for chocolate causes them to brave dangerous situations in their quest to satisfy a late night craving.

Oh, and the answer to Visions of Pink and Blue? Blue!

Weekly Progress Check-In

This is the Mid-Willamette Valley RWA's weekly check-in.  Every Monday we encourage members and visitors to let us know how their writing is going.

Today is Monday, August 1, 2011.

Are you on track to reach your goals?

There are 152 days left in 2011.

Weekly Calculations:

If you write 1 page per day, you can write 38000 more words by the end of the year.

If you write 2 pages per day, you can write 76000 more words by the end of the year.

If you write 3 pages per day, you can write 114000 more words by the end of the year.

If you write 4 pages per day, you can write 152000 more words by the end of the year.

If you write 5 pages per day, you can write 190000 more words by the end of the year.

So how are you doing?  If you have gotten off track, this is the week you can regain your momentum.  Tell us how you're doing, and set a fresh goal for the upcoming week.  A page a day is a book in a year.  You can do it!

PRIZES:  The best prize is reaching your personal goal and finishing your book.  But if you need an extra little incentive, remember:  any chapter member who reaches her personal goal by the end of the year receives a prize at the year-end party.  Non-members can win, too.  Non-members who show up for at least 20 weekly check-ins will have their names entered in a drawing for a gift card from Powells, the world's largest independent bookstore.