Sparkly Chapter Meeting

Our chapter meeting last night was about putting the spark back in your writing. Our presenters Susan Lute and Darla Lukenbaugh had a really great handout and exercise for those who attended.

We had to choose one of our protagonists and give them a VISION. Meaning, what they see as their life, their identity, how they try to present themselves to the world around them. I'm not quoting word for word here, so bear with me while I try to explain the exercises. Thanks! And, if any of you who attended the meeting got something different out of it and think I'm waaaay off, please feel free to correct me. Really. I mean it. :)

We also, at the end of the presentation, had to give a vision of ourselves. Our perfect vision of ourselves. So mine might go something like this...

My vision for myself is I'm a fabulous wife and mother who gets all my house work done before six in the morning so I can go exercise, shower, shampoo and shine before my little darlings awake for the day. I fix a healthy balanced breakfast each day for my family and then I whisk them off to school where they get perfect grades because of the love and support they have from such a wonderful home life. While they're gone I sit at the computer and write for five hours straight, never tiring, and the story flows together so perfectly that re-writing isn't even a consideration. Then I close the computer to go prepare another healthy balanced meal for my perfect little family and we all enjoy an animated conversation about our day around the dinner table. Everyone is happy. I'm completely unstressed and have no worries about life because everything always fits together like a delicate hand in a kid glove.

Sickening huh? But that's a vision I can have for myself. I can visualize having my life this way. It's my vision. It doesn't have to be reality.

Your characters can have a vision for themselves, too. But it doesn't have to be their reality. Oh no. You, as the author, can slam them into reality. Here's where the spark can come in. Put your character through the ringer, so to speak. Screw with their vision. Does this make sense?

Next, we gave our protagonist a SECRET (or mystery). What do they not want anyone to know about them. For example, Susan has a character that has a secret identity. It could be anything though. You know the secret. Think about it. What is it?

Then you become your protagonist by answering the questions... "I am..., I want..., I feel..."

You can have more than one sentence to answer these questions. We were challenged to come up with at least three "I want..." statements.

Then finally you need to ask your character this... What will you do to get what you want?

At the end of their presentation they had us write this...

1. I will do whatever it takes to get published, except don't ask me to...

2. I am writing this book because...

It was an interesting and fun presentation to do and even better once I was driving home and pondering it.

I hope my rendition of Susan and Darla's presentation will help those of you who weren't able to attend the chapter meeting. I hope it helps you to think about your characters and your goals for them and your story and that it will help put a spark into your writing too.

Like I said before, please feel free to add to or correct any information I've given here about the presentation.

And if any of you are brave and willing, go ahead and answer these questions and post them in the comments section. (You may want to do this on your own for both your hero and your heroine.)

1. Pick one of the protagonists:
2. Give your protagonist a VISION:
3. Give your protagonist a SECRET (or mystery):
4. Become your protagonist by using the "Magic I" (I am..., I want..., I feel...).

Many thanks to Susan Lute and Darla Lukenbaugh for this presentation and to their partner Wendy Warren.

Good luck and may the SPARK be with you!

To-Do Tuesday: Finding the Spark

Welcome to this week's To-Do Tuesday. I've got good news to share, an introduction to tonight's speakers, and opportunities to take advantage of! And of course, I've got a question of the day too.

I'm excited to hear this month's goals at our meeting tonight. Remember that breaking a big goal into manageable pieces can be a key to success. Think about breaking your monthly goal into weekly pieces, then share your progress with To-Do Tuesday! Can't make the meeting? Set a goal anyway!

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MWVRWA Meeting TONIGHT: Put the Spark Back in Your Writing

Reminder: Our meeting is tonight at 7 p.m. at Salem Public Library.

We're blessed to be joined by two talented authors, Susan Lute and Darla Lukenbaugh. Last week, I shared information about their topic, "Putting the Spark Back in Your Writing." This week, I'd like to share a little background on these authors.

Though she started writing very dramatic “wounded” heroine stories in high school, Susan Lute didn't pen her first completed manuscript until she was...well much older. Four years later she sold to Silhouette Books. A Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Nominee and Holt Medallion Finalist, she’s currently writing mainstream woman’s fiction and long contemporary romance.

Susan lives in the Pacific Northwest, in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains, with her husband of thirty-four years and two cats, Larry and Curly. A women’s health Nurse by day, she is particularly fascinated by the ridiculous and unusual, and is happiest when there’s an unending supply of dark chocolate, and vanilla lattes!

Susan's website is packed with useful and inspiring information--from gathering ideas to maximizing your conference experience to using a critique group. Her "Dear Diary" section provides a realistic look at what it takes to move from category to long contemporary fiction.

Darla Lukenbaugh writes Romance Suspense stories about Bad-Ass, Kick-butt Women and the men who would die for them. She has seven completed manuscripts and is working on number eight, the second in a trilogy. Her last completed manuscript, HUNTER'S REVENGE finaled in PASIC’s Book of Your Heart contest this year, Mainstream category. In her spare time, she enjoys kayaking and riding her a motorcycle with her husband of over twenty years. After growing up in the concrete jungle of Southern California, she's living her dream life on the family farm in the beautiful mid-Willamette Valley, with approximately thirty sheep, two head of cattle, four chickens, two cats who are more like children then pets, and one aging border collie.”

Darla's website is coming soon. We're lucky to have both these ladies sharing their wealth of experience with us. Hope you're able to make the meeting!
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Terry McLaughlin Finals in Aspen Gold Contest & Welcomes New Release

RITA finalist Terry McLaughlin continues to rack up the contest wins. Teach Me is a finalist in the 2007 Aspen Gold Reader's Choice Contest. Congrats Terry! Thanks for continuing to inspire all of us!

Terry also has a new release out this month, Maybe, Baby, which is already racking up great reviews. You can read an excerpt here. Terry's in New Zealand right now, following a stint in Syndey, Australia. You can read about her experiences at both conferences on her new blog. Best of luck, Terry!
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Great Interview with Harlequin's Leslie Wainger

Hoping to follow Terry to category success? Check out this interview with Harlequin's Leslie Wainger. She also dishes about her new business as a book doctor. I've seen hundreds of ads for book doctors and independent book consultants (most of which are roundly dismissed at Preditors and Editors and other sites), but this is the first time I've been tempted by such a service.
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Bust Your Writer's Block!

Suffering from writer's block and don't know why? Passionate Ink has a great workshop for you! Their online workshop from September 17-23 examines the causes, benefits, and cures for writers' block. Click here for more information.
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Established Small Press Seeks Submissions

Looking for an established, proven small publisher? Check out James A. Rock & Company. They've been in business since 1977, and they accept submissions in a variety of genres including romance, fantasy, and YA.
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Question of the Day: Losing the Spark

Paty's post yesterday gave me a new spin on a pet peeve I keep encountering: character arcs that end too soon. I've read three books recently where character arcs are essentially completed with a third of the book still to go. This bugs me to no end. If she knows that he's the man for her, and he knows that he wants to commit, there's no tension to carry the book beyond that point. It also bugs me when a secondary character's arc resolves way before the main arc--I like to see everything coming to head in the final chapters. If the subplot is that minor that it only spans the first half of the book, perhaps we could live without it. I've got a bunch of other character arc pet peeves, but I'd like to know yours. Beyond the missing arc that we discussed yesterday, what character arc no-no's top your list?

Remember to keep sending me your news & announcements!

Is He Really Who You Think He Is?

I've been wracking my brain all weekend for a topic and since I can't seem to think of anything pithy, I'll fall back on the topic we discussed at the Wild Rose Press historical chat on Thursday night.

Character Arc:

I found it interesting that about 80% of the writers at that chat liked a bad boy hero and a feisty heroine, yet when Scarlet O'Hara of Gone with the Wind was brought up, a majority of the writers booed and hissed her character and grudgingly agreed she did have an interesting character arc. And they loved Rhett Butler, yet no one could quite remember what exactly his character arc had been.

Which left me wondering- How much arc does a character need to be compelling or an unforgettable character? Do we need to make that arc touch the sky or can it be small and still grab the reader and tug on those heart strings?

I just read a book by a well-known author and thinking it over the heroine had such a minuscule arc at first I thought, "Well, she doesn't have one". Then looking at the hero, he had an arc, not of major proportions but a significant one. Which then led me to ask the question, do you only need to make the one, main character(it was the hero's story) have an arc to have a compelling story, or does the reader want to see growth and change in both the hero and heroine?

After all these questions buzzed around in my head, I started thinking back on the stories I've written and more than once after getting to the end of a story, I'd discover (looking back through notes and scenes I'd jotted down along the way) my character had strayed from the destination I'd intended in their arc and yet, the story came out stronger.

So, my challenge to those who have suffered through my ramblings- Can you write a character arc for either your hero, heroine, or both and if you can do you consider it a grand arc or a small one and do you think it is enough to move the reader.

Writing For Someone Else

I had several titles for this blog, all related to the same topic. Among my favorites were: The Book That Just Won't Die, The Hardest Book "Evah", My Book: Elisabeth's Self-Inflicted Torture Device, and my personal favorite, A Writer's Guide to Losing Your Eyelashes, One Agonizing Page At A Time. As clever as those were though (and true), they didn't capture the true essence of this post, which in a nutshell is what happens when you shift from writing for you to writing for someone else.

I have always been the type of person who works well under presser. I am, by nature, a procrastinator. Give me three weeks to get something done and though I will work on whatever it is steadily, I will save the bulk of the work for two days before the deadline. I did this when I was teaching and had to figure grades. I did this when I was running the school yearbook and had to turn in pages to the publisher. I did this when I was querying agents and got requests on manuscripts that weren't "quite" finished. I did (am doing) this with regard to the conference (shhhh...don't tell Paty). It is - I have learned to accept - my pattern. It's not one I want to pass on to my kids, but for me it works. And I always do my best work, right down to the wire.

Being a procrastinator in this writing business though is probably going to come back to bite me in the ass. I'm already seeing the effects. The book I'm working on now is taking way too long. Wavy talked (jokingly) about excuses earlier in the week, and man-oh-man, could I give you excuses as to why this book isn't done. The kids are home for the summer, it's light too late and they don't go to bed, thus cutting into my writing time, I'm tired in the evenings, DH's work schedule has been erratic, I've been traveling, my two-year-old is in a mommy phase, this book is bigger than the rest, it's a reunion story and harder to write, no publisher is waiting for it yet. I could go on and on, but I'll spare you. Because I know you too have a thousand excuses you could pull up for what's keeping you from finishing your book at the present time. All of those excuses are true and valid and serious reasons as to why this book isn't finished, but last night, thinking about this blog and my propensity for procrastination, I realized at the heart of what's hanging me up isn't the daily stresses or my affinity for pushing things off. It's the fact that before this book, I was solely writing for me. It didn't matter when I finished a book or how long it took, it only mattered that I did.

Since signing with my agent, all that has changed. Suddenly, it's not just me or my friends reading my book, it's an industry professional who's patiently waiting for me to finish this book so she can start subbing it to editors. When I was subbing to agents it was different because they didn't know what I'd written in the past. This time, my agent knows what I wrote before and loved what I wrote before, and somewhere inside me there's this fear that the next one won't be anywhere near as good.

I've heard this before. Mostly from published authors who are trying to make their second sale. They call it the second book syndrome. What no one tells you though is that this can happen to you even before you sell, when you're simply waiting for that first sale and continuing to write. I talked to a writer at the Rita awards in Dallas who's repped by the Knight Agency and she said the same thing happened to her after she signed with her agent. Suddenly, she just couldn't finish anything if her life depended on it. She even went so far as to tell her agent she wanted to back out of her contract because she felt like a fake. Her agent, though (smart woman), encouraged her to stay on and keep writing, and she has.

Before I was agented, I thought getting an agent was the hardest thing. Now I know waiting to sell your book and continuing to write good books is much, much harder. And once I do that, I'm sure there will be even bigger obstacles in my way.

I am roughly sixty pages from finishing this book. But before I can go on I have to go back and fix some serious errors in the beginning. This is my process, and it works for me, so it's not something new and daunting. Seriously recognizing what's keeping me from finishing has been a big eye opener, and hopefully, will allow me to get this puppy done. At post time, I'm about halfway through the wip in my revisions and last night, after my little revelation, I added roughly fifteen pages of new material. I can't begin to tell you how fabulous that felt. Page totals aren't changing that much, but maybe, just maybe I'm on the right track.

If you are a published author (or agented), I would love to hear if you have experienced anything like the second book syndrome. If you aren't, please share how you deal with fears and self doubt and what works to force yourself to keep plugging away at your goal.

THE BENEFITS OF KEEPING YOUR DAY JOB

I've heard many writers say they can't wait to quit their day job and write full-time. But what if you like your day job? What if the benefits of keeping your day job outweigh that desire to stay home and write?

That's where I was in 1992 when I joined RWA.

I wanted to write. However, I had full medical coverage and was within ten years of accessing a nice retirement fund with my day job. In addition, I loved the graphic design work I was doing, which later expanded to include Web sites. I also wrote, edited and produced newsletters, helped with event planning, put together presentations -- many things I enjoyed doing.

Fortunately, I couldn't afford to quit my day job and write full time. That worked out to be a very good thing. (And I'm not just talking about the passion I share with many other writers who could spend hours in an office supply store picking out paper clips, binders and a dozen different kinds of paper!)

My day job allowed me to "retire" at age 49 with benefits that let me work part-time, write part-time and pay the bills without starving. In addition, I was fully trained (at no expense to me) as a Web and graphic designer, which allowed me to set up my own business making nice money doing this for others, and I don't have to pay someone else to design my writing Web site, covers and promo materials.

Other day jobs have helped tremendously with the business side of writing:
-- As a secretary, I learned filing, organizing, and typing very quickly, just to name a few.
-- As an office manager, I learned "people" skills; striking a balance between bosses who want everything right now and employees who are already overloaded with work. I also learned how to justify the expense of additional people and equipment; how to look at all sides of an idea and package it; how to stretch budget dollars (at home too!); how to manage multiple jobs with looming deadlines. (Think I'd better dust off some of those skills and make them work harder for me!)

Also, I still have connections with former colleagues who are delighted that I will have books coming out and want to buy copies.

What about you? If you could quit your day job and write full-time, would you? How about you stay-at-home moms? (No, I'm not talking about selling the kids to write full-time!) When your kids are grown, do you plan to write full-time or will something else fill part of your hours?

SHOW and TELL

I'm looking at the title up there, unsure if that's what they used to call it. Maybe you younger people didn't experience this hallmark of grammar school like I did. It's where you found something at home to take to school. Usually on a Friday, after lunch, when the teacher had had enough (though this insight comes to me as an adult.) One by one, we would all take our turns going to the front of the class where we would reveal what treasure we had brought from home and tell something about it.

What does this have to do with writing? Er...nothing.

Wait, maybe it does. I mean, sometimes you had something stunning to bring and you planned and plotted that heart stopping moment of unveiling. You thought about what words you would use and anticipated your audience's gasp of amazement as they joined you in celebrating the wonderfulness of your discovery.

And sometimes, you had nothing. Literally nothing. Sometimes you stood in your bedroom and frantically pirouetted, teeth biting lower lip, palms sweaty as you tried to glom onto something that would do. That rock? Nope, did a rock before. That doll? No, the boys smirk when someone brings a doll. But I can't take nothing. I have to share SOMETHING!

So, you took the damn rock and did your best to dress it up as a chipped arrowhead from some fancy car trip to Idaho or a shard of petrified dinosaur bone.

You made stuff up and kind of hoped the teacher was dozing off during your turn.

So, while we have talked about beginnings of books before, let's do it again. Let's show and tell. Paste in the beginning of an unpublished book. Make it the first paragraph, say. Some people write a single line followed by a paragraph -- if that's what you have done, send both.

And then answer these questions (and any other that occur to you):

1. Did you struggle with it or did it come easily?

2. Did you find yourself editing it before you stuck it in? In other words, knowing it was going to be seen by the millions of people who daily read out blog, did you make changes that you didn't see being needed before placing it here under this spotlight?

3. In retrospect, do you think you accomplished your goal of hooking a reader right off the bat (assuming that's your goal) or does it get really good a few lines further down the page? Is there a way to move that really good part closer to the top? Show and tell how you think you should do this, please.

Here is mine from the second book in the current proposal:
Joey Ryder was ready to call it quits. Two days of lurking around in the cold, snapping pictures of old buildings, old streets and old ranchers had left her stiff and grumpy. Skulking behind fences, loitering in alleys, ducking behind garbage cans -- what was she doing here?

1. This beginning is essentially the same as it's been since day one, only the words have been written and rewritten dozens of times. That's not a struggle in my book, that's just writing. A struggle means the book started somewhere else, in someone else's POV, at a different time in the story, etc. So this one was not a struggle.

2. I am resisting the urge to rewrite it though it did seem better back in the book then it does here!

3. I have no idea if I hooked a reader. If anyone can tell me, I'd appreciate it.

I truly love reading the openings of books and only wish Danita's computer hadn't blown up (we all know how much of herself she puts into the start of a book) and that more of our members dropped by to join the fun. Whether you're a member or not, if you are reading this, feel welcome to show and tell what you're working on.

Finally, I have to ask you all, did you like my rock? It's an unpolished diamond, honest.

To-Do Tuesday: No Excuses Here!

Welcome to To-Do Tuesday! I'd blame pregnancy brain for the late posting, but that excuse is getting rather old. Hmm. Maybe aliens? No, aliens haven't sold in years. How about vampires? Yes, sexy Vampires came and spirited me away, forcing me to write in second person for hours before they finally released me. Much better excuse. What's your excuse today? Be thinking of a good one while you sift through today's slate of news and information.
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MWVRWA August Meeting: Put The Spark Back Into Your Writing!

If like me, you've been better lately at coming up with excuses than actually being productive, you NEED this month's meeting. As always, we meet at 7:00 p.m., next Tuesday (NEXT TUESDAY, Lisa & Jen G!) August 21st at Salem Public Library. We welcome new faces, and if you're thinking of joining us, email one of us about joining us for dinner prior to the meeting. Our topic this month features two top-notch speakers.

PUT THE SPARK BACK IN YOUR WRITING

When you're writing from the heart and for yourself, you can write about anything that excites your fancy. But, when you're writing to sell or are already under contract, how do you find and keep the spark that both drives you to write the story...and makes it come alive for your readers?

That's what short traditional romance author, Susan Lute and paranormal suspense writer, Darla Lukenbaugh will be sharing in their workshop, PUT THE SPARK BACK INTO YOUR WRITING. Come prepared for an interactive discussion that will include; finding your character vision, giving your character mystery, using the Magic "I" to get to the core of your characters desires and motivations, and how to write with enthusiasm.

Next Tuesday, I'll share more about these talented ladies and their impressive publishing history. Come prepared to think/talk about your current WIP! Don't miss this one!
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Barbara Cool Lee Takes Third in PNWA Contest

Congrats to Barbara Cool Lee! Her MS, Raven's War took third place in the Science Fiction/Fantasy category in the PNWA's 2007 contest. This is a great achievement as PNWA recieved a record number of entries! Barb's been under the weather, but she's not letting that stop her from racking up a slew of contest successes!
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Paty Jager Chats Tonight!

Chapter member Paty Jager, author of two Western historicals, and the recently released contemporary, Perfectly Good Nanny, will be chatting tonight at 5 p.m. Oregon time (8 p.m. Eastern) as part of the Hearts Through History chapter. Check out their website to join the fun!

Even if you're not a Hearts Through History Member, you can still catch Paty in person. Next week, on August 23, Paty will be the featured speaker for the Redmond Writers in Redmond Oregon. She'll be talking about the stages of writing, and her talk is geared towards all levels of writers.

Coming up in October, she'll be addressing RCRW's librarian conference in Central Oregon. These are all great opportunities for Paty, but more importantly, she inspires all of us with her ability to go out and make connections! No excuses here!
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Spotlight on Inspirational Authors!

I've heard rumblings that our Inspirational authors are feeling a bit under-represented with Erotic this and Paranormal that every week. Well, I've got great news for you! Author Island has several new Inspirational contests, and has added new Inspirational authors to their line up. When you check out these great chances to win books and other prizes, be sure to check out their August spotlight on Mysteries!
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Online Workshop on Inspirational Market

The Southern Magic chapter also recognizes the appeal of the Inspirational market. Their September Online workshop features two multi-published Inspirational authors and covers: GETTING STARTED AND STAYING STEADY--From First Sale to Multi-Published- -How to develop a successful career in the inspirational market. At $15, this class is also a bargain! Click here for more information.
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Paying Short Fiction Opportunities

But, if you DO write Paranormal or Fantasy (I'm sorry, the market's just very hot right now. Hopefully I'll have opportunities for other genres soon!), you'll want to check out these two opportunities to submit your shorter works (both are flexible about length and both welcome new writers):

Orson Scott Card's Intergalactic Medicine Show (5-6 cents per word).
Jim Baen's Universe (6-25 cents per word).

Source: Cindi Myers
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E-Publisher Seeking Submissions

Wait! I don't have to make excuses! I DO have an opportunity for other genres of Romance. Light Sword publishing was started by two authors and currently accepts Contemporary, Historical, Romantic Suspense, Women's Fiction, and Paranormal novels.

Source: Cindi Myers
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Can This Manuscript Be Saved?

Is there a manuscript under your bed or on your hard drive that you're tired of making excuses about? The Heart of Texas chapter has the perfect workshop for you! Their September Workshop features award-winning author Susan Meir. She'll help you find hidden flaws and breathe new life into that problem manuscript. Click here for more information.
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Exercise of the Day: The Perfect Excuse

Been thinking of your excuse? A few years ago, an email forward made the rounds featuring creative excuses for late work. Most of these were fairly simple, but funny. However, we're writers. We don't DO simple. We do creative. After all, we need to perfect the art of having our characters lie convincingly. So, give it your best shot. What's your excuse for not being as productive lately as you'd like? Bonus points for making us laugh!

Remember to keep sending me your news and announcements! No more excuses! Fill my in-box!

Doing a 180

I think it's my day to post...my e-mail is still on the fritz so I couldn't access the schedule, but I think it's me. If not, feel free to take this puppy down! :) How many bloody times has my e-mail gone MIA? Goodness. If I didn't have so many domains on the account I'd switch hosts. Ugh. Ok, enough complaining.

So, this post is about doing a 180, be it in life, or in writing. I'm heading in the direction of a 180 right now in my life, well kinda. I've decided a few things lately:

• I'm going to stay at my day job, I had been debating a change of pace, but there are many things I love about this place that will keep me here
• To save some greenbacks (anyone like that commercial? I'm undecided, anyway...) I've decided to move to the town I work in, which is total opposite from what I wanted a year ago. No more 30 minute commute twice a day and filling my gas tank 1-2 times per week at least. Plus, I found a bigger place that costs quite a bit less. Yay! Assuming my application gets approved, I hate waiting! Plus, there are so many hot college hunks ;) I mean, research for my writing *ahem*.
• I turned in an application to be a student where I work. I'm trying to decide between getting post-baccalaureate degrees in anthropology and history (there are quite a few archaeology classes in there I can take, yay!). Or doing an interdisciplinary studies degree where I can combine both areas of interest in one degree with less classes. Even if I don't work in these fields, many of my story ideas relate to one or the other, and getting some formal education would make writing them easier, more accurate and fun! Hmm...I wonder if the tuition would be a write-off...haha!
• I dyed my hair blonde. Kidding! That would be a 180, wouldn't it? I did dye it red a few years ago, not quite the same.

Maybe a 180 is what I need to reboot myself. Redevote myself to things that made me so happy months ago, like writing!

I've also done some 180's in my writing and reading. When I began this journey of romance writing/reading - I was firmly a first person girl, both in my reading tastes and writing. Third person didn't entertain me as much and I sure as heck couldn't write it. Everything naturally came out in first person. Plus, I loved series that followed one person and a lead love interest, but it drags you along for a few books rather than a HEA at the end of book one.

Then I went to nationals last year and grabbed a ton of books to read. Most of them were third person books with HEA wrap-ups. Then I got this book idea that demanded I have POV of both characters, with a HEA ending. Rather than the heroine-focused series I had been working on before.

When I started writing that book, I did it in first person to get the deep-POV then went back through and switched it to third. I was surprised to notice I eventually just started writing third person naturally.

Now, a year later, I rarely read first person books unless it's part of a series I still adore. And the thought of writing first person hasn't even crossed my mind.

Have you made any 180's in life or writing recently? Gone from writing science fiction to historicals? Dyed your hair pink and surgically added a third arm to make typing easier when one hand gets tired?

See you all at the meeting tomorrow!

In the begining . . . .

I'm blogging for Danita today. The computer really DID eat her blog. In fact, it did such a good job that she doesn't have internet now. We're hoping that nothing else was lost. Remember, everyone, back up that work!

But, in Danita's honor, I'd like to talk about one of her favorite topics: Beginnings. Or rather NEW beginnings. My WIP is only the 3rd MS that I've finished, but neither of my previous two were quite the problem children that this one is morphing into. Both of my previous MS have had the same basic beginning since day one. In fact, in both cases, the beginning was one of the first things that came to me.

If only it were so for this WIP. Just deciding WHERE to begin was a trial. The book originally came to me in the 1st person POV, then demanded to be 3rd. Then I decided to bookend my novel with two funerals, and the beginning seemed pretty set . . .

Until it wasn't. Now, I've realized that if heroine owns the story, we need to begin in her POV. I've drafted a new beginning, but I'm feeling like there's too much action and too many characters all at once. It's a mess.

And, luckily, I'm not asking you to solve it. Instead, I want to know about YOUR problematic beginning: What's the most number of times that you've rewritten an opening chapter? What's the most radical change you've attempted? How long does it take you to love the new beginning? Ever chuck it and go back to the old? Ever burn a MS based on a beginning that refused to submit . . . .okay, just kidding on that one. I think. But, do share your tales of beginning woes. Misery loves a little company.

Seven Elements of a Story Concept

I don't know how many of you are signed up for the AskAnAuthorPro loop, but they get some really good presenters every now and then. Sylvie Kurtz, a romantic suspense author for Harlequin Intrigue, is presenting a workshop on the seven elements of a story concept. It's really good! And her website has a section on writing tips with a lot more good stuff for writers.

Here are Sylvie's seven elements:

1. a main character (person through whose eyes the reader will see the story)
2. a flaw (defense mechanism he feels he needs to survive)
3. a goal (something concrete and specific hero is working toward)
4. an ally (someone who helps hero overcome his flaw)
5. an opponent (someone who pushes hero’s emotional buttons)
6. a lifechanging event (instigated by opponent—opportunity, challenge or threat; related to flaw)
7. an implied journey (where the main character risks losing something important to him either physically or emotionally)

Sylvie says: "A story concept is a tool. It's a one- to three-sentence description of your story. It allows you to see your story in a concentrated form and helps you see if your story is structurally sound before you write. You can also use this tool to help you refocus as you write. And ultimately, it may help you sell your story."

I love this because I'm one of those who likes to have a quick, one-minute elevator speech about my book and this works great for that.

Sylvie goes on to say: "The nice thing about building a concept from these seven elements is that you can start anywhere. If you know only one of the elements, you can use it to figure out the others. Everything you're going to add to the piece you know is going to add conflict. If you're a plotter, you can start with the life-changing event and find the best characters to go with it. If you're someone who lets the characters take you along for the ride, then you can start with the hero or the opponent or the ally and work your way to a fitting plot."

Cool, huh? 8^)

She gives an examply from her July Intrigue, Spirit of a Hunter (The Seekers, Book 5):

A security-driven (flaw) mother (hero), desperately seeks to find her son (goal), kidnapped by her mentally ill ex-husband (life-changing event) before her manipulative father-in-law (opponent) takes him away from her. With the help of the dark and brooding Seeker (ally), who was her ex’s best friend, she faces her fears and finds the courage to battle her father-in-law to reclaim her son. (implied journey).

Based on the 7 elements, can you write up your book's story concept? I'm going to try it later this afternoon. I'm swamped today (what a surprise. Sigh) but I've been wanting to try Sylvie's exercise all week. Come on and entice us with your great concept!

I Just Don't Get It...

Happy Wednesday to you all. Hope your week has been terrific thus far. Mine has been filled with tons of stuff to do so, sorry I've been neglecting my duty of commenting on the last few blog posts. Please forgive me and know that I was with you all in my thoughts, but waaay to swamped to take it much further than a good guilt trip. ;)

Okay, here's what I just don't get...

Hard back books.

Ugh.

I mean, what's their appeal anyway? Why would anyone want to hold a big ol' heavy, stiff book to read when there are such nice wrap-aroundy paper ones? (Yes, I meant to say "aroundy".)

While making dinner together last night, my daughter and I were discussing a great YA series we're reading by Stephenie Meyer. We couldn't discuss too much because I've not had anytime to read anything the last few days. I only made it to page 154 then handed the book over to her because I knew I'd not have the time to finish it this week. So, good mommy that I am, I let her read the series first. She finished the first book in one day, sitting up in her room, only coming out to eat, drink, and pee. LOL

Anywho... The first book in the series is one of those big trade paperback books, it's called Twilight. The second book in the series, New Moon, is a hardback. So, what's up with that?!! Lame! I'm hoping the third book, Eclipse, is all bendable like the first one, but I doubt I'll get that lucky. It comes out this month, big excitement!!

What I don't get is why publishers publish the first book one way and the rest another. It makes no sense. I like all my books in a series to match while they sit on the shelf. Is this weird? I don't think it is. I'm very anal about stuff matching. LOL

Like the Harry Potter series, it doesn't match! Oh, sure, they sell matching ones now, but I already bought the ones that DON'T MATCH!! And I'm not putting more money out just so they line up the same. I'd rather get rid of the entire mis-matched set!

So tell me...

How do you feel about hardback vs. papery-bend-aroundy type books? Do you like your keeper shelf to have matching sets in their series? And finally, what book OR series are you currently reading and are you enjoying it?

To-Do Tuesday: Keep Going

Welcome to Today's installment of To-Do Tuesday. I've got a great line-up of ways to keep your motivation strong and keep going until you meet your goals! I've also got a neat exercise for you putting Paty's post on passive voice into practice.

Remember, even when you don't have BIG news to share, we all benefit from sharing the small milestones--the page goals met, the queries sent, the outline finished. I invite you to set a goal RIGHT NOW for next week. Now, mark your calendar to e-mail me on Monday night and tell me that you MET your personal goal. Think about how good it feels to share at our monthly meetings, and how much you enjoy reading others' successes in this column. YOU are ALREADY a success story in the making. Share it!
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Whodunnit: A Writer's Guide to Working a Crime Scene

The MWVRWA conference will be held Saturday, October 6th from 9:00 to 4:00 in West Salem, Oregon. We are now accepting online registrations, and if you register before September 18, the cost is only $25. This is a true bargain! We've lined up local law enforcement experts who will walk us through a fictional crime scene--from first reports through to prosecution. Each expert will describe their role and take questions from the audience. Bestselling Intrigue Author Alice Sharpe will moderate the panel. Click here to view the brochure.
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Lisa Jackson Releases Almost Dead

Chapter member and NYT Bestseller Lisa Jackson has released her latest thriller, Almost Dead. This book is the sequel to the #1 hit, Fatal Burn. From her press release:

In ALMOST DEAD, Cissy Cahill, still sharp-tongued, is a young mother who married the man of her dreams. Or so she thought. She has an eighteen-month son and outwardly appears to be living the American dream. But her idyllic life has a dark, evil underbelly and soon the facade of her happiness slips as she realizes nothing she believed in is true, and a series of brutal murders brings terror to her and her innocent child. One by one, the people closest to her are being killed. With the death of each victim, the killer is grows closer to Cissy and her precious child. Cissy can trust no one, not even her husband, and love of her life, What does she really know about Jack? What does she really know about anyone? Can she save herself and her child? Or is it already too late? Is she really ALMOST DEAD?

You can read an excerpt here. (Be warned that the site now features music!)
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Synopsis Article in RWR--Don't Miss it!

Alice spotted the great synopsis article in this month's RWR. This article is particularly helpful because it speaks to synopsis writers at all stages of their career--whether you've never written a synopsis before or whether you rely on proposals to sell your next release. The author takes great pains to show how you don't have to be a plotter to write a great synopsis. Don't miss this article!
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Midnight Showcase Accepting Submissions

Midnight Showcase, an e-book publisher, is currently accepting submissions for a wide-range of genre fiction: westerns, mysteries, historical, contemporary romance, paranormals, and erotica.
They are also currently seeking submissions for an array of anthologies. For complete guidelines, visit their website.

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Allison Brennan Offers Online Workshop

If you need more motivation to keep going, Bestselling author Allison Brennan is offering "The Art of Storytelling," sponsored by the Louisville Romance Writers. Many writers have raved about Allison's classes, so if you've missed her at conference, this is a great chance to benefit from her wisdom about what advice to take and what advice you can ignore! Click here for more information.

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Exercise of the Day: Showing not Telling

Paty's great post on passive voice hits at the heart of great storytelling: showing, not telling. Passive sentences TELL your reader what has happened. The subject of the sentences isn't DOING anything, and the emotional impact of your scene is lowered. Focus on using active, descriptive verbs and making the subject of each sentence DO something, and your storytelling will improve. Barbara made the great comment that most of this work occurs in editing--and she's right. You can always punch up the impact of a particular passage--even one that you've already rewritten several times.

Try this: Open your WIP. Hit scroll down, and count to 10. Slowly. Stop wherever you are in the document and highlight the first 5 sentences or so that you see. Concentrate on just this little block, and focus on making each sentence as active as possible. Do you have the right subject? If you're struggling with passive sentences, often you're trying to force action out of the wrong subject. Try changing the object/character that's the subject of the sentence. Add descriptive verbs. Really analyze this passage to gain an idea of what you can work on in the rest of the document. Do this for YOU, and if you feel comfortable, share your revised sentences with us.

Also, don't forget to share your goals for this week. YOU are the key to your own success, and YOU are almost there! Keep sending me your news and announcements!

Passive Voice

Since I still have company and haven't had a creative thought since they arrived I'm going to paste the information I gathered for an online class I presented to the Hearts Through History online RWA Chapter. The following information was gathered from various sites on Passive Voice I googled.

Passive Voice- How many times has someone marked that on your manuscript or contest entry? Do you really know what passive voice is?

A passive construction occurs when you make the object of an action into the subject of a sentence. That is, the one performing the action is not the grammatical subject of the sentence. Passive constructions are easy to spot; look for a form of "to be" (is, are, am , was, were, has been, have been, had been, will be, will have been, being) followed by a past participle. (The past participle is a form of the verb often, but not always, ending in "-ed." Some exceptions to the "-ed" rule are words like "paid" and "driven.")

It is also passive when you write a sentence:

She was trying.

She tried.

He found the game was stripping him of his money.

The game stripped him of his money.

For example:

The metropolis has been scorched by the dragon's fiery breath.

When her house was invaded, Penelope had to think of ways to delay her remarriage.

**NOTE: the passive voice is marked by a form of "to be" + the past participle--not a form of "have" alone + the past participle, as some students believe. So don't let the combination of "have" and "to be" fool you. In the next section, we discuss why you often want to avoid using the passive voice, but let's briefly look at how to change passive constructions into active ones. You can usually just switch the order, making the actor and subject one--putting the doer up front:

The dragon scorched the metropolis with his fiery breath.

After suitors invaded Penelope's house, she had to think of ways to fend them off.

To repeat, the key to identifying the passive voice is to look for both a form of "to be" and a past participle, which usually, but not always, ends in "-ed."

The primary reason why passive voice is frowned is because the reader often has to guess what you mean. Sometimes, the confusion is minor.

Some people believe passive voice signals sloppy, lazy thinking--that those who use it have not thought through a process they are discussing. Imprecision follows. Consider these sentences:

The group was chaotic.
African Americans were discriminated against.
Women were not treated as equals.

Such sentences lack the precision and connection to context gives the reader clarity and draws them deeper into your story. Better sentences would be:

The college students pushed and shouted as they made their way down the boulevard.

African Americans had a hard time finding decent housing, jobs, and schooling in the past.

Until recent years, women did not live with the same laws and salaries as men.

Passive voice can cause prose to be flat and uninteresting.

Some sites for help with passive voice-

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/passive.htm

http://esl.about.com/library/grammar/blpassive.htm

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/print/grammar/g_actpass.html

Now I’m not saying to never use passive. There are times when it is necessary or conveys the message you want to get across. The main thing is to KNOW what passive voice is and when to use it. You’ll see passive voice used in nonfiction works and literary works, but if you are writing romance and want to lure your reader in, it's best to use it as little as possible to keep your reader in the moment.

Are you a writer who uses passive voice and do you know why you use it? Or are you someone who uses it and didn't have a clear idea of what it was ? If you are one who uses passive voice, give us a sample and explain why it works.

Just For Fun

Okay, so I know today isn't a scheduled blog day, but I finally downloaded pics from my camera and thought I'd share a few with you from Nationals. (And Lisa will rue the day she sent me copies of her pics....hee hee hee.)

First one is the skyline of Dallas from our room.

Next is from the Literacy Signing. Me with Pocket & Kensington author, Karin Tabke.

Here's the cutie patootie Lisa with Intrigue author Isabel Sharpe. Oh, wait!! Isabel was sitting in the next chair. This is ALICE Sharpe (or, better known as Alice The Great).

Here's that hat I was telling you about. Sherilynn Kenyon during the Literacy Signing.

This one's of Lisa working hard between sessions. Or hardly working. I'm not sure which. I can't believe I forgot to take a picture of the chair in the corner of the room Alice laid claim to and wouldn't let the rest of us sit in.

Some people have no sense of humor. I'll leave this one up to your imaginations.

Okay, fast forward to awards night. All the GHers were camera happy before the ceremony.

And finally, here we all are after the awards.

I have more, but I'll spare you (and Lisa and Alice would kill me if I posted them anyway). ;) Next year, hopefully we'll have a lot more more pictures to share!

Knowing What You Write

Genene's fun post yesterday about learning to write got me thinking about what it is we all write about. I'm not talking genres, specifically, but more knowing where the genre and story and characters you write fit into today's market.

For most of us, publication is what drives us to write. I think most writers (and I say most because there are exceptions, even in our chapter) long to see their name on the spine of a book. To stand in Borders or Barnes & Noble or your local bookstore and think, look at that. That's me. I did that. When I was at Nationals, one of the questions I heard over and over again posed to published authors at workshops or on panels was, "What do you think was the element that pushed you from unpublished to published?"

If you're a published author, can you answer that definitively? Most of the published authors I saw asked that in public couldn't. They mentioned timing, of having the right story at the right time, of hitting the right editor who was looking for something specific, but for most, the why of how they sold is still a mystery.

Not very encouraging, especially for those of us who are still waiting for that first sale. But I think there are some things you can do to make your chances better.

The first thing you need to do is read within your genre. Okay, Alice will disagree, but she's been published so long and has a proven track record, so she can write anything and we all love it. ;) For newbies, it's important to know what's being published in your genre, and specifically, what new authors are being published and what they're writing. Of course, there's lag time, and what's being published now might not necessarily be what's being bought, but you can look at recently published books and get not only a feeling for the state of the market of your genre, but what readers are looking for as a whole.

For example, when I sat down to work on my last book (the one I got my agent with, the one that finaled in the GH), I thought long and hard about what I'd written before, what I'd read recently, and what I wanted to write. And one thing stood out to me. Though I was writing romantic suspense, the romance was overshadowing the suspense and my "thrills" were taking a backseat to the emotions. My solution was to try my hand at writing what I call a chase book. To add an element of time, to up the stakes and give the romance more immediacy, to put my characters in more imperative danger. I looked at what was being published in my genre and what I could do differently. Those are the kind of books I was reading. Why wasn't I writing them? The result was a book which garnered more attention from agents and editors than any other book I'd written. Has it sold yet? No, but I'm still hopeful. In the meantime, I'm working on the next book, which, yes, you guessed it, is another fast paced chase-like book.

The second thing most writers need to look at is what type of book they're really writing. Are you writing category or are you writing single title? Trust me, it makes a difference. During the Golden Network retreat, Terry Mclaughlin (from our chapter) told the group she thought she was writing single title when she first started. She kept subbing to the big houses and getting rejected. She didn't realize what she was actually writing was a Superromance - one of Harlequin's longest category lines - until an editor finally told her why her book wasn't right for the single title market.

This was me. I thought the first three books I wrote were single title. That's all I'd read. I'd never even picked up a category book until I joined RWA, and by that time I was well into my second and third books. And my books were loooong. (I used to be veeerry long-winded.) Well over 100K words. But what I didn't realize was word count doesn't determine category or single title, and that the first few books I wrote had elements that would forever make them category - amnesia, secret baby, big, big BIG misunderstandings. It wasn't until I stepped back to study the market before writing books four and five, that I realized what I was writing was never going to sell in single title.

Finally, though we've all heard "experts" say don't chase the market and instead write what you love, I think a writer (or at least a writer with the goal of publication) has to keep one eye on the market and know whether what they're writing (and want to write) has a chance of selling. Maybe what you love to write isn't selling right now. It doesn't mean you have to shelve your book forever. Perhaps writing a proposal and sticking it away for the time being is a smart idea. As the market shifts back (which we all know it will do at some point), you'll be ready to go. But if you continue to write in a genre you know isn't selling, then get frustrated over and over because no one's buying you, you only have yourself to blame.

There are more - many more - things a writer should look at to make their chances of publication better. I'd love to hear what those are from the rest of you. What do you think a writer can do to position their work better in this ever-changing market?

HOW DID YOU LEARN TO WRITE?

I was making notes the other day for a presentation and realized once again how fortunate we are to have RWA. When I decided to actually try to finish writing a romance novel back in 1992, I had the good fortune to read about our local RWA chapter in a newspaper article about Samantha James. I went to a meeting and decided I had found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

There were real writers at the meeting! Not only had they finished a manuscript, they had books in print! And they were willing to share their expertise with writers like me who were just starting out. I was so excited I wrote a check to join that night.

Soon after I joined RWA, the chapter in Eugene (which has since disbanded) hosted a three-day conference. Once again, I was in heaven. More writers sharing their knowledge. However, I quickly crashed into the reality of how little I really knew about writing a manuscript.

This set up a pattern I repeated several times over the next few years. Susan Wiggs and Stella Cameron were the speakers at the Salem chapter conference. I took copious notes, had a major AHA! experience, and rewrote my manuscript. Guest speakers came to chapter meetings and I slowly gained an understanding of point of view, building characters, conflict, and the other pieces that make up a manuscript. So I rewrote that same manuscript again and again -- probably six or eight times.

That is the manuscript I sold to Awe-Struck E-Books in the fall of 2006 –– fourteen years after I started working on it.

Of course, in the meantime, I bought books on writing, attended more conferences, joined a critique group, and even became an online class junkie one year. Once in awhile, I actually sat at the computer and wrote .

How did you learn to write?

As you learned more did you stick with your first manuscript? Is it setting under the bed or hidden away somewhere? Did you shred it before someone found it?

Please share your journey of learning to write.

GIVING BIRTH

It's been awhile since I actually gave birth to a human being, but I remember the process. And as I labor through getting these proposals out of my head and into the light of day, I am struck by the parallels, even though at this moment giving birth seems the easier task.

Both processes start with a tiny piece of raw material provided by you and fertilized by another source (i.e. the father or in the case of a book, all the information and details you've absorbed from the world around you.) Tucked safely away in the womb or in the head, the baby or the idea grows, taking additional nutrients and creating interesting side effects for the "host." With a baby, you have fatigue, tender breasts, backaches. Hormones going catawampus. Too many tears, odd cravings, water retention --

Okay, some of those side effects fit "hosting" a book idea as well. Add distraction, talking to yourself, laying awake at night hearing voices inside your head -- oh, I see the difference. With a baby, the side effects are physical and emotional. With a book, you're actually showing signs of psychosis. Hm -- that explains a lot.

Time passes. In pregnancy, the body does most the work with or without commitment from the mother. In fact, the mother can pretend the whole thing isn't happening if she wants and it will happen anyway. But with a book, there's no slacking off. Every little twist and turn is its own small birth, and in any book, let alone a mystery, there are many twists and turns. You have to be on deck for a million decisions, like a foreman at a construction site who can't go inside the trailer, put up his feet and suck down coffee all day. Like a director at a play during the first run through. Like a million other jobs that demand someone be in charge, day or night, rain or shine, no rest for the wicked.

I am currently having twins. And because I have alerted the powers that be in my corner of the publishing world, there is a feeling of inevitability about this. In other words, just like their human counterparts, these books will germinate, come to full term and be born. And then, like their human counterparts, they will need nurturing. They will do the literary equivalent of messing diapers and demanding two a.m. feedings before eventually struggling to their feet and walking a few steps before breaking a lamp. Then they will open the back door and race into the yard. They'll climb trees while I beg them to stop. They'll start dating and maybe have a minor run in with the law which I'll have to bail them out of. Eventually, they'll take one last step into maturity, be full blown gown-ups with a future that is out of my hands and I'll send them forth, kind of like giving birth again. I'll wipe away a tear or two of pride mixed with relief as they disappear from my sight.

And then I'll probably do it all over again, because just like a real pregnancy and birth, the end result will diminish the sometimes painful experience of producing the end product.

I don't have an exercise for you to do or even a lot of pithy questions but comments about your own "birthing" experiences would help distract me from my current overwhelmed state and would be most appreciated. Maybe you've discovered something that makes this easier. Do tell.

To-Do Tuesday: Getting it Done!

Welcome to this week's marginally cooler To-Do Tuesday. You can tell I think about this column a bit much because when I saw DH putting on a light jacket before he left at 7, all I could think was, "Darn! There goes the hot weather rant I had planned!" Luckily, that's far from all I've got for you this week.

Our chapter members are enjoying a productive summer, and I've got their latest as well as some reminders, announcements, and links to keep you busy. I've also got a fun exercise for you to try out on your WIP, so be sure to scan to the bottom!
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New Cover for Alice Sharpe!

Check out Alice's latest cover on the sidebar! Chapter member and best-selling author, Alice Sharpe's latest release for Harlequin Intrigue, Royal Heir, will be out in October, but the cover has been released and you can pre-order on Amazon. Congrats, Alice!
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Karen Duvall Launches Blog

Karen Duvall returned from the PNWA conference with a stack of requests for her WIP! Even better, Karen found the conference inspiring and returned full of great ideas. She writes all about her conference experience on her new blog. Be sure to add her to your links and RSS reader! Way to go Karen!
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Trish Milburn Makes First Sale

No, she's not a chapter member, but I've written before on the blog about all that Trish Milburn does for RWA and the PRO chapter. We've all benefited from her tireless advocacy. After winning this year's Golden Heart for YA, she had even more good news to report: her first sale!

Her story is particularly inspiring--she's been writing and submitting for ELEVEN years, with 18 finished MS (EIGHTEEN!!), and has had an agent for three years. It's stories like hers that encourage us to never let go of the dream. Read more of her story here. Successes like hers are what RWA is all about.
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Bantam/Dell Launches New Line

Part of never giving up is seizing new opportunities. At the RWA conference, Bantam/Dell announced their new "Discovery" line which launches in Spring 2008. This line will be released in both mass market and trade paperbacks. They are currently accepting queries from both agented and unagented authors and are particularly interested in contemporary romance. Address queries to: Shauna Summers, Bantam/Dell, 1745 Broadway, New York, NY 10009
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Contest Deadline Reminders!

TODAY is your last chance to enter the July contests at Writerspace. There are several contests from best-selling authors, with great prizes! But hurry!

The Golden Rose Contest offered by the Portland RWA chapter is still accepting entries! But, hurry, the deadline is August 4th! No need to worry about the post-office either, because you can submit and pay for your entry online. Click here for more information.

The On The Far Side Contest is desperately seeking Time Travel entries. They've got a great judge (Denise Dumars from the Ashley Grayson Agency), but they need more entries. If you've got a time travel MS or WIP, click here for more details!
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2007 Scarlet Boa Contest

The fabulous NYT bestselling authors at Running with Quills are offering their 2007 Scarlet Boa contest. Entries will be accepted between August 1 and September 1, 2007. This year's contest is a single scene where your human character learns that they are enmeshed with a paranormal being--vampire, werewolf, or other fantasy being. For more details, continue to watch the Running with Quills blog!

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Exercise of the Day: The Revelation

The Running with Quills contest got me thinking about revelations in general--not just the paranormal kind, but the moments when your hero or heroine learns something vital about the other. Consider your current WIP. Does either the hero or the heroine learn something shocking about the other? Does this serve as a turning point in the story? How do they learn it? From a third party? From their own investigation? Or does the other reveal the secret to them?A scene where the hero or heroine reveals their secret is going to have a much different feel than a scene where the other learns of the secret on his or her own. If you don't have any shocking revelations, consider how your WIP might be enhanced by such a scene. If you do have such a scene (or scenes) consider how they might play differently if the messenger were different. A third party revelation/secret discovery isn't necessarily the only or best way to increase tension. How could a reveal directly from the person with the secret enhance your story? Conversely, how could a third party messenger throw a monkey wrench into your characters' lives?

Share you thoughts and/or snippets of your scene(s)! As always, continue to send me your news, announcements, and links!

How far will you go?

When I began reading romance, I'd read anything and everything I could get my hands on. Granted it was mostly paranormal because that's what I'm largely interested in, but I was open to any author - be it dark or light, funny or serious. The same went with contemporary, I'd read anything. Heck, Eli even started me reading some romantic suspense! Ok, I'll admit, my experience with historicals is limited. Most of the ones I've read have had a paranormal slant.

There's a second part to this: not only would I read anything, once I started a book I couldn't put it down. No matter what. I'd HAVE to finish it. Even if it didn't grab me or draw me in, at least I knew there would be a happily ever after. And frankly, some of my favorite books are ones that took quite a while to catch my interest.

When I went to RWA nationals last year, I was a book grabbing machine. I shipped home more than 100 books. I either bought them, grabbed them from the goodie room, or waited in dozens of lines at publisher book signings. I donated most of them to our annual workshop, but I still kept on to about 40 books.

Over the past year I haven't read as much, so much happened in my life and it got in the way of my reading. So the few things I did read were mostly the newest releases in series I follow by my favorite authors.

Fast forward to RWA nationals a couple of weeks ago. I grabbed very few books. So few that I was able to fit them in my already stuffed suitcase, probably only 20 books or so. I didn't even go to all of the publisher signings.

Here's why: I still have to finish any book that I start. However, knowing that about myself I'm being much more picky about what I do pick up because I have less time to read. I only picked up books by authors I am already familiar with, or ones that really caught me with the back cover blurb. And I NEVER used to care about back cover blurbs. I'm evolving...yikes!

So the point of this is - how far will you go with a book? Will you put a book down if it doesn't catch you in one paragraph, page, chapter? Will you keep reading it no matter what? How do you select the books you'll read?

I find this type of information informative as a reader, knowing what other people do, but also as a writer, giving me an idea about people's breaking points.

Beach Reads

No, it's not Tuesday. I'm blogging for Danita.

Women's Magazines typically give very short shift to books, but every June & July things look up temporarily as they all wax poetic about the "Beach Read." When I lived in the sweltering Midwest, all this talk of "beach reading" just made me insanely jealous of those who lived near a body of water. Now though I actually live near a beach, so I can read these columns without turning red(der). (If you're not a big magazine reader, you might want to check these lists out to see what I'm talking about: Reader's Digest, Redbook, Border's, USA Today, ShowBuzz)

I'm still not sure I understand why vacation demands a certain sort of book. Frankly, I'm more likely to read heavy literary fiction and nonfiction when I don't have other demands on my brain. If I'm in the middle of a difficult time at work, light and fluffy is all I can handle. But, some women apparently crave the light and fluffy while they are on vacation. And with all the attention given to beach reads, some authors make a point of trying to craft the perfect beach read.

There was even a seminar at the Reno RWA on how to do this. Landing on a "beach reading" list seems to be as much the work of a good publicist as the result of careful plotting, and trends change. Two years ago, the lists were all about Chick Lit, and this year's list seems more skewed towards women's fiction. But, books that make the list do seem to share certain characteristics:

• Memorable, quirky characters.
  
• Gossipy tone--their lives might be way more screwed up than ours, but the angst factor is very low
• Steamy--depends on the magazine, but hot books dominate most lists
• Engaging, but not too taxing--there seems to be a delicate balance of page turner and something that you can look up from easily
• Soft cover--hardcovers rule at Christmas time, but most beach lists are dominated by soft cover books that make for easy toting
  
• Contemporary--historicals occasionally make the list, but modern single heroines rule them
• Stand Alone books--Harry Potter and Stephanie Plum notwithstanding, these lists are often geared towards people who ONLY read on vacation (horrors, I know).
  
• Happy ending
  

Thus, it's no wonder that romance writers often dominate these lists. But, even so, our own personal definition of the perfect vacation may differ wildly from a reviewer's (or editor's--often these lists are put together by publications without a reviewer on staff, and this difference is immediately obvious).

This leads to my questions for you:

• What makes your perfect "beach" or vacation reading? Have you read books based on their presence on a list before? Were you disappointed with the recommendation?
• Pretend you're standing in a bookstore with limited time to pick up a book or two for your vacation. What do you look for? Bestseller? Favorite author? On a list of best reads?
• Now, pretend a friend is heading to the beach this weekend. She's not satisfied with the fashion magazine's list. She wants YOUR top five recommendations for sure-fire vacation reading winners this summer. What do you recommend? Finally, do you see your own books as "beach reading?" Why or why not?
• Discuss! I'll give my responses in the comments as well. Then, late tonight, I'll compile all your recommendations into the 2007 MWVRWA Beach Reading list.