Friday Friend - Jane Richardson

Please welcome today's Friday Friend, Jane Richardson.

Scots-born Jane Richardson now lives on the coast in the south of England.  After a couple of fantastic careers, the last of which was her dream job as a DSM in professional theatre and opera – where she met her husband - she’s now a home-educating Mum to two gorgeous kids. When she gets the chance, she loves to write, read, listen to music, walk in the sunshine and the breeze, paddle at the edge of the sea, and cook and share food, chat and good times with family and friends.  She’s also fond of lemurs!

Read Right – Write Right!

Thanks Paula and everyone at Heroines With Hearts for having me here! 

I’ve been thinking about something I heard a writer say the other day – how she often found it very difficult just to read for fun, now that she spends so much time writing.  She found it hard to suspend her judgement, or take off her ‘critique hat.’  The things that were ‘wrong’ with a piece of writing tended to jump out at her more than things that were ‘right,’ and this was spoiling her reading pleasure.

Hmm.  Well, I sort of know what she means, and I bet there are lots of writers who’ll say the same thing – how they find it hard to enjoy books that don’t meet up to their ‘high writing standards.’  Is it really the case that when we become writers, our ‘reading standards’ suddenly change?  Perhaps up to a point they do, though I’m afraid I’ve never ever really been one to give a book more than a couple of chances anyway.  So many times I've started a book with high hopes only to drop it in disappointment before end of first chapter. 

Call me impetuous, but I’m afraid I tend not to keep reading in the hope that the book will improve – it invariably doesn’t, and it gets quietly dropped to one side while I go to the next one in the TBR pile.  Too many books, too little time!

But you know that old thing about making lemonade out of lemons?  Well, you can use that here.  Use your reading time as a valuable learning resource.  We can use identify what works or doesn’t work in a story, and why, and incorporate the positive things into our own writing.  This doesn't mean copying a style or another author's voice, not at all – it means sorting the good stuff from the less good, and using that experience to focus in a positive and honest way in your own work, and change what needs changing. 

Very often, and most telling of all, a lot of these things can be spotted in the first few pages.  As writers, we need to take note of that - after all, if I’m prepared to stop reading a book in the first chapter, I have to accept readers might do the same with my writing, unless I work very hard to make absolutely sure they want to keep reading!

So what is it that keeps us reading, and stops us from hurling a book aside with great force to ricochet off the wall and land face-down in the nearest bin?  I’ve picked out just a few of my likes and dislikes to illustrate what I mean, and called them Dodgy Moments and Learning Curves.  I’m sure you have lots of your own, so please do feel free to add your suggestions in the comments section!

Dodgy Moment 1 – Does the writer open the story by setting the scene quickly and launching me on a forward journey from the get-go?  How many times have you read on to a second or third paragraph where the writer has felt the need to start explaining the story, when all a reader wants to do is read the story?
Learning Curve 1 – opening with explanation or backstory can deal a killer bow to you story.  You rarely need it, and it’s certainly not appropriate in the opening sections of a book.  Trust your reader to fall in step with you as you move forward – you’re taking them on a wonderful journey, and if they trust you, they’ll go willingly.  If you feel your story simply won’t stand up without some backstory, then you might want to consider if you’ve started the story in the right place.

Dodgy Moment 2 – now that the story’s moving, does it keep moving?  Or did I have to go back and re-read sections again, before I understood what the writer meant?
Learning Curve 2 - a story has to flow.  A reader might be prepared to re-read a section once, but twice is pushing a writer’s luck, and three times is way too much to keep a reader interested.  This is where good, honest feedback is invaluable to a writer in the early stages of a manuscript.  A good critique partner should be able to spot this for you, and when they do, get rid of it.

Dodgy Moment 3 - ‘It was a dark and stormy night….  I’m talking about those dreaded clichés.  Has the drowning writer grabbed the cliché straw with yet another ‘ruby liquid’ or a ‘defiant chin?’

Learning Curve 3 - one cliché is one too many.  Use all the clichés you like in your first draft, especially if it gets you out of a hole at the time, but you absolutely must go back and get rid of them before you put your story in front of a paying reader.  If they feel they’ve read it all before, why on earth would they want to keep reading?

Dodgy Moment 4 – can you tell the characters apart from the way they speak, or do they all sound the same?  Do they all use perfectly constructed, grammatically correct sentences?  Into the same category comes accents and dialogue – are you being asked to read an awful of of words you just don’t understand, or work out what a character is trying to say by trying to make sense of a bagload of peculiar spellings?

Learning Curve 4 – think about each character’s individual speech pattern.  The rhythm of a person’s speech, as well as the words they choose to use, is far more effective than worrying about whether or not their grammar and syntax is correct, or whether you’ve ‘written out’ an accent phonetically.  Rhythm and word choice is also a very effective way of highlighting your characters’ individuality, especially when you have a lot of characters in the same scene or chapter - use their individual assets to make them shine.

Dodgy Moment 5 - when we’re first introduced to the characters, are they too good to be true?  Too nasty to be true?

Learning Curve 5 – think about just how realistic your character’s behaviour is, especially if you’re trying to portray someone initially as less-than-perfect.  In contemporary times in particular, women are less likely to give arrogance a second chance, but will either respond to it or not bother with the guy again.  Even if you’re aiming for a misunderstanding between characters or a mistaken impression that will be corrected later, a baddie with roots in Victorian melodrama belongs in Victorian melodrama and nowhere else!

Those are just a few of my thoughts – I’d love to hear yours!

Thanks, Jane, for such a lot of interesting points to think about!

Jane’s latest release is a short story called Edinburgh Fog, published by MuseItUp Publishing. 

http://museituppublishing.com/bookstore2/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=193&category_id=18&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1&vmcchk=1&Itemid=1

You can read more about Jane and her future projects at her blog Home Is Where The Heart Is -  http://janerichardsonhome.blogspot.com/

B is for Bull Riders

...my absolute favorite kind of cowboy!



I'm not sure what I like best. How his Wranglers accentuate the swagger in his step. The well worn boots. The Stetson pulled low to shade his brooding eyes. The chaps that outline his perfect butt. Or just the fact that he's willing to face off against a 2,000 pound beast and finds the danger exciting and exhilarating. He's the sexiest bad boy around, but he's always the perfect gentleman, which is why the ladies can't resist him.



That being said, there was no doubt in my mind that one day I'd write a book with a bull rider as the hero. I've been working on it for a while, and this summer I polished it up, sent it to my editor at Wild Rose, and waited.



Yesterday I heard back...ahead of schedule (the editor had promised to get back to me by December).

At first I was bummed. She felt the story needs some tweaking before it's ready to be published. Now don't get me wrong...I'm always looking for ways to improve my writing and make it better, but when someone tells you your baby isn't good enough...it's a little heart-breaking.

But the more I thought about it, the better I felt. This will give me the opportunity to make this book the best it can be.

I'm confident that someday, Jake's story will be out there. It might not be as soon as I'd hoped, but it'll get there.



Plus, in the meantime, this gives me the prefect excuse to watch more bull riding on TV in the name of research. Or maybe catch some local rodeos live and in person at county fairs. (Which is where I took these pictures.) What more could a girl ask for?

Until next time,

Happy Reading!

Debra
www.debrastjohnromance.com
Now available: A Christmas to Remember (from TWRP)

Books - real or digital?

Last April I wrote a blog, as part of the A-Z Challenge, about real books versus e-books. I declared very firmly:

“I’ve been firmly in the ‘real books’ camp for a long time. I love books. All the shelves in my home bear witness to that. I haven’t counted, but there must be several hundred.

Most of them I’ll never read again, but I hate parting with them. If I take a bag of books to the local charity shop (simply to make some room on the shelves), I agonise over which to put into the bag.

I like a real book in my hands. I like the look, feel and smell of it. I love browsing in bookshops, both new and used, studying titles and authors, reading the blurb, sometimes dipping into a few pages.

I was convinced I wouldn’t succumb to an electronic book reader. Quite apart from my love of real books, I don’t particularly enjoy learning how to cope with ‘new’ technology.

But then my daughter showed me her ‘Kindle’ and demonstrated how easy it was to download e-books. My interest was kindled (pardon the pun!)

I started thinking of the almost-two-inch thick tome I put in my suitcase for holiday reading last year. How much easier to take a slim e-reader instead.

I started thinking about the American-published books by many of my internet friends. How much easier to download these instead of waiting for them to be mailed (and paying extra for postage and packing).

I started thinking of no longer having to clear some room on my shelves to make room for new books.

My daughter then bought me a Kindle for my birthday last August, and I have to say I am totally hooked! Not just for holiday reading (although I did take it with me on my recent trip to Italy), but for other times too. Times when I probably wouldn’t have taken a book with me, such as when I was meeting up with a friend – and managed to read a few pages while I was waiting for her, the time I was waiting at the doctor’s for my flu-shot, and the time I sat in the supermarket’s coffee shop while my daughter went off to do some shopping.

Any ‘waiting’ time has now become reading time for me. Another bonus is that I’ve been able to read books  I wouldn’t otherwise have been able to obtain here in the UK, and also books which are only available as e-books.

Having said that, I still like ‘real’ books, especially my own. There is nothing to beat holding your own book, with your own name on the cover, in your own hands!

Books, Books, Books!

What books have inspired your reading or your writing? I’m not talking about writer’s craft books, although those are important and every writer needs a library of them. No, I’m talking about authors and books you love to read.

I read a lot (although sometimes sporadically, and currently obsessively) so narrowing my list down could be difficult. But everyone has books that speak to them. If you’re  a reader, there are certain books that you can’t do without. Think “stuck on a desert island” kind of books, the ones that no matter what happens, you’re going to buy those books, read and re-read them and nothing is going to make you get rid of them.

If you’re a writer, there are books whose style or imagery or characterization or POV you appreciate. The ones you dog ear or underline so that you can go back to them later and remind yourself of the best way to write something (no, I’m not talking plagiarism).  

For me, there are several books that have inspired me to become a writer. Julia Quinn is an expert at dialogue and changing POV mid scene. She teaches workshops about these topics and if you’re ever able to take one, I highly recommend it. When I first started writing, I couldn’t write dialogue without it sounding stilted. By reading authors who are experts at this, Quinn included, I’ve been able to practice that skill and make characters sound like real people in their conversations.

Lynn Kurland writes wonderful time travel and historical books. I love them as a reader, but as a writer, I love to study how she creates her characters. Her conflicts are agonizingly believable and she pulls emotion from you like no one else can. I dog-ear her books and when I’m trying to get just the right amount of emotion from my character, I often find that going back to her books and seeing how she does it helps me to do it better.

Robyn Carr creates a small town that I’d give my eye teeth to live in, but she also shows how to write a series using existing characters who populate that town. The structure is great and if you’re planning a series, check out her early Virgin River books.

Although I write contemporary romance, I don’t exclusively read that. The Beach Trees by Karen White is a wonderful book for readers and writers. Chapters switch between two female characters, and even without the subheads telling you which character is speaking, you know by how well developed both Julie and Aimee are.

We all have skills we’re good at and skills that need more work, and we can learn so much from each other and from other writers. What books are on your “must have” list?

B is for BACKSTORY

While I was writing the first and second drafts of my WIP, I was sure I needed to open with a prologue scene that showed my heroine’s childhood. I felt the reader needed this information to empathize with her present situation. But I’ve been learning some rules:

Backstory belongs only where it explains what’s important for the reader to know at that moment. In other words, sparingly and so it doesn’t interrupt the pace of the story.
The longer essential information is withheld, the better. It’s best to reveal backstory before the midpoint. Never insert at the end; your ending will seem contrived.
Don’t repeat backstory information. Readers have good memories.
Backstory can be presented as action. It can be incorporated as dialogue, or revealed through short inner thoughts. Or a combination of these.
If you need a flashback, write it as a blow-by-blow action sequence that ends in disaster for your main character.

I have deleted my opening chapter and the first half of chapter 2. As I edit, I’m watching for repetitious backstory information.
I have three backstory passages. One is part of an action scene. The second is a short, essential nightmare. The third is draft 2’s version of my original prologue. I love this scene—it is where I defined my heroine, but I’m now sure it doesn’t serve the story.

Friday Friend: Linda Rettstatt

Please join us in welcoming Linda Rettstatt, our latest Friday Friend. Linda Rettstatt likes to know what makes people tick, and she loves a good story. The combination sparked her interest in creating stories and characters that seem real and engaging. Her books have finaled four times for EPIC eBook Awards. A Pennsylvania Yankee, Linda now resides in Mississippi where she is permitted to share an apartment with her cat, Binky, (as long as she continues to bring home the Fancy Feast.) Her work is published with Wings ePress, Class Act Books, and Champagne Books.

Write from the Heart

“Sometimes you just have to lose your mind…and follow your heart.”

~ Beth Rutledge in The Year I Lost My Mind

When I wrote these words for the character of Beth Rutledge, I didn’t realize how much they meant to me. But these words capture for me the process of writing fiction. As an author, my goal is twofold: to create characters that are engaging, regardless of whether they are ‘good’ or ‘evil’, and to tell a story that resonates on an emotional level with my readers. I firmly believe good fiction comes from the heart more than from the head.

Sure, we have to know the basics, the technical aspects of writing, and the rules for story construction. I liken the process to building a house. I’ve been in houses, and then I’ve been in homes. Houses are carefully constructed, functional, and provide shelter. But a home has warmth beyond its functionality. That’s the way I view writing. I want my books to do more than entertain. I want the characters to come to life and make my readers care about them. I want to tell a story with which the reader can identify, in which she can find some element of herself and her own story. I want my book to be more than a house. I want it to be a home.

Most authors will tell you they have a file somewhere loaded with potential book ideas. Now, I’ve learned that not every idea makes a good book. An idea for a book generally comes to me in the form of a ‘what if’ question in my head. As I explore that what if, I’ll know if there is a story to be told that will be worth reading. How? Because that story will make my heart pound. It’ll make me breathe faster. It’s like falling in love. You want to be with that ‘other’ constantly, without distraction.

I’ve heard other writers suggest, “Write the book of your heart,” as if there is only one. My problem—they’re all books of my heart. I don’t know any other way to write and, if I try to take an idea and force it into a story, I’m doomed to fail. I will run out of steam and lose interest. The writing will be stiff and emotionless. As a reader, I can tell the difference between books that are written perfunctorily and books that flow from the writer’s heart. Those are the books I have a hard time putting down.

And, so, when I sit down to start a new project, I take Beth’s advice. I lose my mind…and follow my heart.

Linda Rettstatt

www.lindarettstatt.com

www.onewomanswrite.blogspot.com

Back cover blurb:

M.J. Rich is about to breakup with her boyfriend and seeks the comfort of her family’s familiar traditions for Christmas in Pittsburgh. Brady Cameron plans to spend the holiday alone at a Pennsylvania ski resort, drowning his sorrows. They meet while stranded by a winter storm in the Philadelphia Airport and agree to share the last rental car available, since they are both heading west. But a blizzard forces them off the highway, and Christmas turns out to be nothing either of them expects.

Excerpt:

M.J. elbowed her way to the departures board where flight after flight flashed a bright red Canceled. She turned her attention to one of the overhead TV screens to see a news alert: a winter storm had swept in from the northwest, dumping several inches of snow in its wake. Currently, Cleveland experienced blizzard conditions, Chicago had already been crippled with more than a foot of snow, and the storm was bearing down on the Pittsburgh area. “Oh, no.” M.J. let her shoulders drop in defeat and her purse slid down her arm to loop over the handle of the laptop bag.

From overhead speakers, Burl Ives sang, “Have a holly, jolly Christmas…”

“If you’re headed west, you may want to get to the car rental counter as soon as possible,” a male voice whispered in her ear.

Startled, she turned and looked up. “Excuse me?”

“There’s going to be a rush on car rentals. You may want to consider the option.”

“Oh. Where is the…”

He pressed a finger to his lips. “Follow me. Casually, but quickly, before everyone else gets the same idea.”

She smiled and fell into step behind him. Sandy brown hair tapered neatly at his collar. Below the leather bomber jacket, worn jeans hugged a very nice backside. She redirected her eyes to his back. He turned left and she followed, noting the signs indicating the Car Rental. A line had begun to build at each of the rental counters. Her rescuer motioned toward the shortest line and picked up his pace.

As they inched forward at the rental counter, he turned toward her. “You look familiar. How would I know you?”

“I’m on TV in Charleston, South Carolina.”

“Really? What show?”

“The news on WCL.”

“WCL, huh?”

“You know the station?”

He hesitated. “I must have seen it when I was in Charleston on business at one time or another. I’m Brady Cameron. And you are?”

“M.J. Rich.” Well, at least he remembered her face, if not her name.

“Are you headed home for the holidays?”

M.J. nodded. “My family is in Pittsburgh. You?”

“Seven Springs Resort. Holiday skiing.” He glanced toward the windows. “Too bad I don’t have my skis with me now. Looks like they might come in handy.”

She gazed out at the steadily falling flakes and her heart sank. “Oh, no. I have to get to Pittsburgh tonight. If the storm’s coming from the west…”

Brady grabbed her hand and tugged her up to the counter. “We need cars,” he said to the clerk.

“You each need a car?”

“Yes.”

The haggard-faced man shook his head. “I’ve got one left.”

“We’ll take it.”

“What?” M.J. asked. “What ‘we’?”

~

Reinventing Christmas – a sweet contemporary romance

Coming December, 2011 from Champagne Books

www.champagnebooks.com

Adjectives

When I was at school (a long time ago!), my English teachers insisted we used lots of adjectives to make our writing more descriptive.  In contrast, writers are warned against the overuse of adjectives.

Various reasons are given for this: too many adjectives give your novel a ‘purple prose’ tint, or clutter the text with unnecessary modifiers, or give the impression that the writer cannot quite find the right word.

Mark Twain said: "As to the adjective, when in doubt, strike it out."

The question is – which adjectives should you strike out?

First there are the redundant adjectives – the tiny kitten (aren’t all/most kittens tiny?), the large mountain (ever seen a small mountain?), the narrow alley (an alley IS a narrow passage), the cold snow (if snow wasn’t cold, it would be water!). Omit the adjective if the noun is self-explanatory.

Secondly, there are the adjectives which, with their nouns, can be replaced with a much more descriptive word e.g. ‘a downpour flooded the streets’ instead of ‘heavy rain flooded the streets’, or ‘the witch cackled’ instead of ‘the witch gave an evil, sharp laugh’.

There are also some adjectives which have become almost meaningless and should be avoided (except in dialogue), including wonderful, lovely, pretty, stupid, foolish, pleasant, comely, horrid – and the obvious one, nice.

However, a story without any adjectives could end up as very clinical and dry. As with most things, moderation is the key. We are not advised to avoid adjectives altogether, but to avoid overusing them.

Eliminating all adjectives would be as big a mistake as overusing them. Adjectives can clarify meaning and add colour to our writing, and can be used to convey the precise shade of meaning we want to achieve. We should save them for the moments when we really need them and then use them selectively – and sparsely. Too often we feel the need to beef up our nouns in an effort to get our point across.

Compare: The dark, dreary house had an empty, suspicious feel to it, the thick air stale and sour with undefined, scary kitchen odors. Are all these adjectives necessary?

A tighter, more dramatic description would be: The house had an empty feeling to it, the air stale with undefined kitchen odors.

Use adjectives only to highlight something the noun can’t highlight. We’ve already seen that the ‘narrow alley’ has a redundant adjective, but what about the ‘dark alley’ or the ‘filthy alley’?  Not all alleys are dark or filthy so in these examples, the adjectives are adding something that isn't already shown by the noun.  This is the main reason for using an adjective.

And now I’m off to take my own advice, and look through my ms. for redundant adjectives!