A New Opportunity

Jennifer has a new opportunity...

I got the most amazing phone call on Sunday. No, Stephen Spielberg is not making my books into a movie, although that would be amazing! An acquaintance from my local RWA chapter asked me to join their critique group.

What’s amazing about it is the caliber of writers in the group. One is nominated for a Rita award, which is the equivalent of an Edgar in mystery writing, an Oscar in movies, etc. Another is a very successful published writer—not quite Nora Roberts, but pretty far up there. They were looking for someone to join them, they read my work, and they want to give me a try and see how well I fit in with their group.

I felt like Sally Fields—they like me, they really like me!

It was one of those moments professionally where I had to say yes and I have to try to make it work. The growth potential for me is huge!

What makes their critique group interesting, and what attracts me to it, in addition to the authors, of course, is that they have regularly scheduled, in-person meetings; they email 15-20 pages to the group a week prior to the meetings; and they rotate people’s houses, with the host being the first that month to be critiqued. It’s a very formal process and treats writing like a profession, rather than a hobby. It will give me discipline, because barring some weird circumstance, I have to have 15-20 pages ready each month for them. And I really have to develop a thick skin and self-confidence, even though they’ve assured me that they are constructive and nice in their comments.

If this opportunity works out, I’m looking forward to growing as a writer and as a critic.

Dedication to one's art

After huge success with his first book of poetry, John Clare subsequent books were less successful. The Writer's Almanac says he "drank too much, started to lose his mind, and was sent to an insane asylum. In 1841 he escaped and walked 80 miles back to his home, eating grass by the roadside along the way because he was so hungry. Eventually he was sent back to another asylum, where he spent the last 23 years of his life, believing he was Lord Byron or Robert Burns, and writing some of his best work." 

           

Summer

by John Clare

Come we to the summer, to the summer we will come,


For the woods are full of bluebells and the hedges full of bloom,


And the crow is on the oak a-building of her nest,


And love is burning diamonds in my true lover's breast;


She sits beneath the whitethorn a-plaiting of her hair,


And I will to my true lover with a fond request repair;


I will look upon her face, I will in her beauty rest,


And lay my aching weariness upon her lovely breast.



The clock-a-clay is creeping on the open bloom of May,


The merry bee is trampling the pinky threads all day,


And the chaffinch it is brooding on its grey mossy nest


In the whitethorn bush where I will lean upon my lover's breast;


I'll lean upon her breast and I'll whisper in her ear


That I cannot get a wink o'sleep for thinking of my dear;


I hunger at my meat and I daily fade away


Like the hedge rose that is broken in the heat of the day.

Making Progress!

Debra is closing in on the end of draft one of her WIP!

After being away from my writing for a long, long, long time...last week I jumped back in with determination. My muse is in a good mood, and I am making a lot of progress.

It helps that there was less to do than I thought. At least for this first draft. I had a little less than 100 pages already written. In the last week I've increased that to 131 pages and 26,273 words. (I'm not sure what the word count was when I picked up again.) I had a lot of scenes done, but they were all over the place, and I've been doing a lot of connecting to bring things together. I figure I'm about 10 pages or so from being able to say, "Done." And then put it aside while I'm on vacation for a few days. When I return I can start revisions and edits and such on the 'second look'.

Now those ten pages shouldn't be a big deal. I know exactly what needs to be written. Trouble is...I'm not sure how to write it.

This is the big money scene.

The premise of this book is the heroine asks her brother's best friend to be her sex tutor. It's called "One Great Night". Up until now there's been a lot of kissing, some petting, and a whole lot of sexual tension. But they haven't done 'it'. After all of that, there needs to be a big pay off for not only my characters, but the reader as well.

And I'm not sure I'm up to the task. (Okay, there's a kinky pun in there if you were paying attention.)

Oh, I can write a sex scene. I know where everything goes and who does what, where, and when. But like clockwork, in almost every sex scene I've ever written, I get a note from my editor saying, "This reads like a play by play." Or "Get deeper into the POV character's head." Or "This is a little too romance-novel-cliché." Or, well...you get the idea.

Chloe and Jason's first time really, really needs to be fabulous. The sex has to be great, obviously, but the emotion needs to be there too, and that's the part I'm not so good at.

So I've been putting it off. But I'm going to pull out all of the notes I've ever taken, printed, found, etc. on emotion and study up. I'm going to reread some of my all-time favorite love scenes. And then I'm going to go for it. After all, this is only a first draft. Once I have something down, I can work with it. Heck, even if I get the play by play (ha ha) done, I can always get that emotion in during revisions.

Wish me luck!

Until next time,

Happy Reading!

Debra
www.debrastjohnromance.com

Family Secrets, coming August 1 from The Wild Rose Press.

Trying something different

Paula is doing something she’s never done before!

 

I’m a linear writer. I write the events as they happen in a story, A, B and then C etc. However, with my current ‘work in progress’, I’ve been tying myself in knots trying to work out the order of events. Even a month away from the story didn’t result in any great flashes of inspiration, despite thinking about it (every so often anyway!).

 

I’ve known for a long time how I wanted the later part of the story to work. The problem was that I didn’t know how I was going to get there (and still don’t!). So, last weekend, I sat down and summarised that later part. I won’t say it’s all resolved but at least it’s part way there. (And yes, Ana, I have actually been ‘advance plotting’!)

 

That was when I decided I was going to leave what I have already written and write the later chapters – something I’ve never done before. Another ‘novelty’ for me is leaving gaps, mainly those ‘linking’ time-lapse passages between the major events, or descriptions of places. I’m simply writing a note in italics – insert details of venue here etc.

 

Whether I’ll eventually be able to tie these later chapters up with the earlier part of the story remains to be seen. Already I have a feeling that I may need to rewrite or condense or speed up the early chapters (which I’ve already felt were too slow).

 

We shall see what happens now! Wish me luck!

 

Why?

Jennifer looks at why we write.

We all talk about how we are writers, implying that writing is a “job.” It might not be our only job, but we learn about it, perfect our craft, schedule time to devote to it and market our books. Even if we’re not yet published, we attend conferences and take classes, read books and devote hours to it. No one could call it merely a hobby.

But what do we get out of it? Putting aside the whole “publish a book” aspect of it, what makes us write? Is it a calling? Does it silence the voices in our heads? Is it a way to make our world a more perfect place?

For me, reading is a way to escape, and writing often provides that for me too. When I’m in the groove, all the daily stressors disappear and I disappear into a world where I can create all the drama, and fix all the problems. It’s cathartic to make my hero or heroine say the things I might wish to say in a similar situation. It’s satisfying to tie up all the loose ends and even to create an ending that is so much better than a situation might be in real life.

And it’s cheaper than therapy. ;)

Scoring your WIP

I have scored six unpublished paranormal entries in the Pages of the Heart contest and two in the unpublished contemporary category. Four more contemporaries to go and I will be available as a backup judge.

Scoring is challenging. First I read like a critique partner, making suggestions. Then I read again to see if, or how, my first read-through impression changed.

Here are the criteria. How would you score your WIP?


PAGES FROM THE HEART CONTEST

FIRST-ROUND JUDGE SCORE SHEET 

1. Opening/hook – 5                                                                                    SCORE:

·       Did the opening draw you in?

·       Did it make you want to read more?

Comments:

2. Setting – 10                                                                                                 SCORE:

·       Is the world building interesting and appropriately paced?

·       Is the location/setting clearly established within the first chapter?

·       Does it fit the time period?

Comments:

3. Characters - 20                                                                                                 SCORE:

·       Are the characters likeable and sympathetic? If not, could they be redeemed?

·       Are they believable? 

·       Are they unique and multi-dimensional?

·       Are their actions and reactions realistic and consistent throughout the scene?

·       If the hero and heroine have both been introduced at this point in the story, is there obvious and realistic “chemistry” between them?

Comments:

  

4. Secondary characters - 5  (if no secondary characters, use 25 points to score the main characters)                                                                                                                         SCORE:

·       Do the supporting characters have distinct personalities?

·       Do they seem important to the story?

Comments:

  

5. Dialogue - 15                                                                                                 SCORE:

·       Is there a good balance between narrative, dialogue, and introspection?

·       Does dialogue seem natural or stilted?

·       Is each character’s voice distinct and consistent?

·       Is the dialogue tagging easy to follow?

·       Does the dialogue move the story forward?

Comments:

6. Conflict/Plot - 10                                                                                                 SCORE:

·       Can you detect what drives the characters?

·       Is the plot feasible? (For example, not a simple misunderstanding or something that could be cleared up by h/h simply talking honestly to each other.)

·       Is the plot line/conflict interesting and complex enough to sustain the length of the book?

·       Were you hooked by the plot? Is it fresh and original?

·       Do both hero and heroine have clearly defined goals/problems?

·       Is a major conflict presented early in the story?

·       Is there focus on character growth and development?

·       If no romantic interest has been introduced in the entry, is there at least the potential for life change/character growth that will lead the character in new directions and ultimately to love?

Comments:

  

7. Style/Voice - 20                                                                                                  SCORE:

·       Did the writer’s voice seem unique?

·       Was there balance between “showing” and “telling”?

·       Did the scene flow smoothly and at a nice pace?

·       Did the author have an enjoyable voice/writing style?

·       Did the story flow well, unimpeded by unimportant/unneeded information?

·       Is backstory/character background integrated into dialogue or action (vs. an information dump)?

·       Are switches in point of view easy to follow?

·       Does the author exhibit good use of all five senses?

·       Is the writing active?

STYLE SPECIAL ELEMENTS - Score only the section that corresponds to the entry category.

Historical Romance: 

·       Does the opening chapter include historical details that indicate the historical period/setting?

·       Is the language, behavior, setting and facts historically accurate?

·       Were research details and historical facts included in a smooth manner (vs. info dump)?

Contemporary Romance: 

·       Does the opening chapter create an expectation of an in-depth romantic story with a subplot?

·       Do the heroine and hero have an interesting meeting in the opening chapter?

Paranormal/Futuristic Romance: 

·       Does the opening chapter indicate the paranormal aspect to the story?

·       Is the world-building logical, well-explained, consistent, and integrated into the story without being an information dump?

Romantic Suspense/Mystery:

·       Does the opening chapter show the hero or heroine involved in a suspenseful/dangerous situation?

·       Is the suspense believable and sustained throughout the entry?

Inspirational:

·       No sex, graphic violence, swearing or euphemisms for cuss words, gambling, smoking, or alcohol

Young Adult/New Adult:

·       Is the story theme and conflict something Young Adult (YA) or New Adult (NA) readers can identify with or care about?

·       Will YA or NA readers find the characters sympathetic and believable?

·       Do the behavior and emotions of the characters seem appropriate to their ages?

·       Is the language understandable to and reflective of that of YA or NA?

·       Do you think this story “works” for YA or NA readers?

Comments:

 8. Mechanics - 5                                                                                                 SCORE:

·       Is POV clear at all times?

·       Any major grammar/punctuation questions or issues?

Comments:

  

9. General Feelings  - 10                                                                                     SCORE:

·       Would you like to read more of this story?

·       Were the descriptions, imagery, world‐building, language and vocabulary powerful and unique?

·       Would you buy this book?

·       Does this entry make you want to read more books by this author?

Excellent: minimal revisions necessary, mostly copy-editing

Very Good: almost there, some revisions needed beyond copy-editing

Average: shows promise; has potential but needs some revisions

Below Average: needs revision in all areas (conflict/plot, characterization, story structure, scene execution, voice)

Comments:

                                                                                  TOTAL SCORE:

PAGES FROM THE HEART CONTEST

HERO OF OUR HEART AWARD SCORE SHEET

Judge Identification NUMBER: 

Entry NUMBER: 

Entry TITLE: 

Directions: This score should be completely independent of all other scores. This award is separate from the regular contest scoring and in no way reflects adversely or advantageously to the general scoring system. For this award, first round judges will give 1.0 - 10.9 points per question with decimals allowed (76.3 points possible per judge).

Is the hero multi-dimensional?                                                                             SCORE:

Unselfish and caring, or does his character hint at that trait?                               SCORE:

Sexy/beddable?                                                                                                   SCORE:

Interesting?                                                                                                          SCORE:

Responsible and strong?                                                                                      SCORE:

Daring and capable?                                                                                            SCORE:

Does he demonstrate worthiness even if he is committing a crime or working against the heroine at the story outset?

                                                                                                                           SCORE:

                                                                              TOTAL SCORE: