N is for Ninety-five percent...

Paula looks at the ninety-five percent – and the other five percent.

 

I read recently that out of 100 people who want to run a marathon, only 5% will actually do it. The other 95% will offer all kinds of reasons (or excuses?) why they can’t – not enough time to train because of day job, too many other commitments, injured knee/leg/foot, decided it was too far or that they ran too slowly, weather was too bad to train every day, house needed decorating, mother-in-law had a fall… etc etc etc.

 

The same applies to writers. How many people have you heard saying they would love to write a book? Some may openly admit they could never do it, but others will offer the reasons (or excuses?) why they can’t – not enough time, too many other commitments –even ‘I can’t spell’ or ‘I was never any good at English grammar’ or ‘It would take me far too long to write a whole book.’

 

So, once we exclude the 95% who, for whatever reason, never actually start writing, we’re left with 5% who do start. How many of those actually finish a first draft? Probably 95% of them have a half-written manuscript (or even several) stuffed at the back of a drawer, or, in this day and age, languishing in some never-looked at folder on their computers.

 

What of the 5% who do finish a first draft? How many of them work hard revising/editing/polishing their story? I’m reminded of someone who declared on FB that she had finished her first draft, and would spend the next day editing and formatting it before self-publishing it on the following day. I must admit I winced at thought of only one day editing, but I fear there are many others who don’t have critique partners/groups and/or beta readers, let alone submit their manuscript for professional editing.

 

Others, when finishing the first draft, may react in the opposite way. Instead of rushing to publish it, they receive a few negative critiques, decide the whole thing is a train wreck, and throw it away, never to write anything again. Or they submit it to a publisher and it’s rejected, and they assume no one will want it.

 

Let’s assume another 95% never see their manuscript published, which leaves us with the 5% who receive an acceptance and then work with their editor to improve the story, and with a cover artist, until eventually release day comes, with a fanfare of trumpets - or whatever!

 

Maybe that’s as far as most of us will get. The very talented or very lucky (or very hyped) 5% may reach the dizzy heights of Amazon’s or New York Times' Top Ten, and probably less than 5% of those may get a Hollywood film offer, or actually become zillionaires.

 

Meantime, what of the remaining 95%? We do our best to promote our books, we continue to write, hopefully improving with every book, and gradually build up a small band of faithful readers.

 

Sometimes we can become demoralised by our small sales, or our low rankings on Amazon – but what we always need to remember is that we are part of the 5% who have actually written a book (or several), unlike the 95% who only say they’d love to write a book but never get around to it, or the 95% who start but fall by the wayside. So take pride in being part of the 5%!

Lip Reading

Jennifer reads your lips...

Being hard of hearing, I do a lot of lip reading. I never really noticed how much, though, until I started writing. Suddenly, I had to describe the physical characteristics of my characters.

Okay, I can describe their hair—brown, blond or red; curly, wavy or straight; thick or thinning; bangs or spikes; texture. No problem.

I can describe their bodies—fat, thin or somewhere in between; muscular or soft; tall or short and if short, how short; broad-shouldered, long-legged, well-endowed or flat-chested.

But eyes? Brown, blue or grey. And then what? I have no idea. I can’t repeat the same color continuously, but I have no idea how to describe someone’s eyes.

Why?

Because I spend most of my time staring at their lips to read them. I can describe mouths very well. Thin-lips or full; the shapes they make when they speak; whether they’re bitten or chewed when the character is nervous.

But for the eyes I have to look at pictures or movie clips and study how they change with emotion. I can’t picture it in my head so I need a real-life sample on which to base my descriptions.

I can’t always answer the question, “Who would you pick to play your characters in a movie,” because my characters are not always based on real people. But the eyes? I can tell you every time who’s eyes they are.

Need a log line?

Ana's heard a good log line can help write a story.

A log line is a one- or two-sentence description of a story that describes the seed idea. If it's focused, it can help you identify your story's best possible starting point. And it can help keep your story on track during the writing process. But what IS a log line?

Noam Kroll says:  The most important components of a log line are:

• The protagonist (don't use their names, just description -- for example 'An alcoholic surgeon...')
• The goal of the protagonist (this is usually in line with your 2nd act turning point -- 'An alcoholic surgeon must fight for his job...')
• The antagonist (and the obstacle of the antagonist -- 'An alcoholic surgeon must fight for his job after a disgruntled patient accuses him of malpractice...')

When [INCITING INCIDENT OCCURS], a [SPECIFIC PROTAGONIST] must [OBJECTIVE], or else [STAKES].

While it may be tempting to simply take the formula above and plug in the details of your story, he advises against it as it will never yield the best results. You will really want to take this one step further using the technique outlined below, which involves working backwards to find the essence of your story. This isn't a technique he created, but it is the one that by far has given him the most consistent results.

The method itself is extremely simple. You ask 4 questions about your story starting from the end and working your way to the beginning. It should also be noted that when using this formula you generally don't want to give away the third act, but rather tease the third act with points from the first and second. In other words none of your questions should pertain to anything after the 3rd act break.

When he came across this method, the example of "Back To The Future" was used, so it's referenced here verbatim. Here are the questions that were asked and their subsequent answers:

• How can Marty come back from the past? (He has to reunite his parents)
• Why did he have to reunite his parents? (Because he has changed the past which drove them apart)
• Why did he change the past? (Because he accidently distracted his mother from noticing and falling in love with his father)
• Why did he find himself in the past? (To save his skin using the invention of a crazy scientist)

Now that you have your answers you can construct a rudimentary outline of what will eventually become your log line:

"A young man, to save his skin, hides in the past thanks to the invention of a crazy scientist. He meets his future parents and accidently distracts his mother from noticing and falling in love with his father. So he is forced to bring them together or he will cease to exist."

The key is of course to make it less clunky and more focused, leaving us with something like this:

"A young man is transported to the past where he must reunite his parents before he and his future are no more."

The Who, What, When, Why and How will always force us to explain the most important parts of our story, which is why this method works so well. It's not an exact science and it's of course still up to you to decide which questions are most important to ask, but he finds that as long as you ask questions related to the turning points in your story, you'll be fine. 

Noam Kroll's website. http://noamkroll.com

Snippet Sunday - A Peek at Debra's Caribbean Story

Debra is still is island mode.

We've been back a week, but my heart is still in the Caribbean, so I thought I'd share a snippet of Wild Wedding Weekend today. In this story, Abby and Noah marry because of a game show and head off on a tropical honeymoon cruise.

A festive mood greeted them when they walked out onto the deck later that night. Colorful lanterns dotted the air. A steel-drum band played rhythmic music as dancers gathered around the pool.
“Wow, this is some party,” Abby said.
“I’ll say.” Noah took her hand as a group of passengers jostled by. “How’s the ankle feeling?”
She tested by shifting her weight. Sore, but not too bad. “It’ll hold up as long a I don’t do any of that dancing.” She nodded toward the pool deck, which pulsed with a life of its own. Hundreds of people crowded on it.
“Okay, so no dancing. How about something to eat?” Noah nodded at a waiter who passed by with a tray laden with tropical fruit.
She laughed. “I bet I’ve gained fifty pounds on this cruise already.”
Noah’s eyes swept down her body.
“I don’t think you need to worry about that.” He used his index finger to trace the small strip of bare skin visible on her stomach were her shirt didn’t quite meet the waist of her skirt.
She sucked in her breath.
His eyes sought hers. “Ticklish?”
“Yes,” she lied.
Noah’s lips quirked, but didn’t quite form into a full smile. “Interesting.” He gazed at her a moment longer before breaking eye contact. “C’mon, let’s get a drink.”
She followed as he tugged on her hand. A good stiff drink sounded like just the thing. Or a dip in the pool, providing the water was ice cold. Noah’s touch on her flesh hadn’t tickled at all. It had, however, sent shivery fingers of heat radiating over her skin.
“Rum punch?” He asked as they reached a bar on the far side of the deck.
“Sure.”
She and Noah watched the festivities for the next hour and consumed decadent treats from the food stations set up along the outer edges of the deck. Sometimes they chatted, other times they fell silent.
Women who passed by the table cast covetous glances at Noah, but to Abby’s secret delight, he paid them no heed. He seemed oblivious to the parade of bikini-clad females who sauntered by, swinging their hips suggestively.
For her part, she found it difficult to keep her eyes off him. He’d left the top few buttons of his flamboyant Hawaiian shirt open, affording her tantalizing glimpses of his bare chest every time he moved. He’d been shirtless all afternoon, but somehow, this was sexier.
A warm, salty breeze blew across the Gulf. She rolled the frosty drink glass across her forehead, blaming the humid air for her rising temperature.
Although if she were honest with herself, she’d have to admit the weather wasn’t the reason for the heat permeating her body.
Noah’s eyes tracked the movement of her glass, then caught and held hers. “C’mon.” He rose from his chair and offered his hand. “We can dance to this.”
The band had switched to a slower rhythm, and couples swayed on the make-shift dance floor.
“I don’t think-”
“C’mon.” Noah tugged her from her chair. He led her to the floor, then turned and pulled her into his arms. One strong hand splayed across her back, the other cradled her palm in his. She rested her free hand on his shoulder as they shuffled their feet to the slow beat of the music. Only a few inches separated their bodies. Heat radiated from him. Heat that had nothing to do with the sultry night air.
As more couples joined those already on the deck, it became difficult to move. As they were jostled once again, Noah pulled her tighter against him. The heat flowed from his body into hers. Like a fever, the warmth raced through her, setting her afire. A slow ache spread.
Noah’s hand drifted to the small of her back. His fingers stroked the strip of bare skin there. She shifted closer to the hard contours of his body. Her arm curved around his back. Her head nestled into his shoulder, and she breathed in the crisp scent of his aftershave. She could spend the next million years listening to the steady strum of his pulse.

M is for Motivation - 2

Margaret is talking about being motivated to write

How many times have you heard someone say, I’d love to write but I don’t have the time? If you really want to write then you can find time, even if it’s only for a few minutes each day. It’s surprising how much you can write in such a short space of time, especially if you already have ideas bubbling away in the back of your mind.

So why don’t you give it a go?

Put the children to bed (if you have them), find yourself a nice quiet spot – and WRITE. Pen to paper. Fingers to computer. It doesn’t matter which. The main thing is to get your ideas down. Let them flow. Don’t worry about grammar or punctuation; write, write, write. You’ll be amazed how much you can write in a few minutes.

Sometimes ideas keep nagging away in the back of your head, not happy until you set them down on paper where they can relax and, with a bit of luck, multiply as you keep thinking about them. Or you might be lucky and able to formulate these ideas into a whole story before you even put pen to paper. This has never happened to me but I’ve heard of other people doing it. If you’re one of these lucky ones I can imagine you now writing frantically to get your first draft down. This first draft is the important part. After that comes the polishing. The fun part. You’ve already got your story, now you can add or delete, change what isn’t working, polish what is. And does it matter how long it takes? No! The important thing is motivation.

Go on, make yourself write each day. You’ll enjoy it, I promise, and when you have a whole story you can feel extremely proud of yourself. 

M is for Merry Christmas (and Mixed Up!)

Debra is two rounds into holiday edits.

Outside, spring is springing. Tulip and daffodil leaves are peeking out of the soil. The grass is getting green in spots. The weather is warming up. (Not quite as warm as the Caribbean, but that's another story...) It was nice enough yesterday to take a drive with the top down on my convertible.

Inside, however, snow is falling. Wreathes decorate doors. Presents are being wrapped. And candy canes, not jelly beans, are the candy of choice.

My seasons are definitely mixed up at the moment. But that's okay, because I'm in the second round of edits for Christmas at The Corral. The title will release for the holiday season later this year. And when I write a holiday story, I like to pile on the holiday cheer. I've read so-called Christmas stories that if it weren't for the word 'Christmas' in the title, I really would have no idea they were supposed to be holiday stories. People won't ever make that mistake with a holiday story of mine. I include as many cozy, holiday details as possible. I want my readers to feel as though they are immersed in the holiday, experiencing it for themselves.

In Christmas at The Corral there's holiday music playing at the bar, poinsettias decorate the tables, the bar mirror is draped with holly and garland. My hero and heroine cut down a Christmas tree and decorate it. A light dusting of snow covers the ground, and Main Street is decked out with twinkle lights. I've even used Christmas references to compare things when I'm in my heroine's POV: Like...The euphoria and aura of contentment from their dance vanished quicker than fifty percent off Christmas items from the shelves on December 26. Or...The scent of his aftershave sent her pulse skittering like Santa's reindeer on a slippery roof.

We have a tentative tag line of: Is the magic of Christmas enough to bring two reluctant hearts together?

I have more holiday stories planned for this series (Fourth of July, Valentine's Day, Halloween, New Year's Eve) and you can be sure they'll be as chock full of holiday references as this one. It's just the way I roll. :)

Until next time,

Happy Reading!

Debra
www.debrastjohnromance.com

M is for Motivation

Paula thinks about character motivation.

Character motivation is important in any story, since it influences the way a character acts or reacts in different situations. Different characters react differently, of course, and their motivation can result from any one (or more) of a variety of factors –upbringing, environment, personality traits, previous experiences, present life situation, hopes for the future, etc.

Motivation gives a character the reason to behave a in certain way. Why, for example, does Mary hate John? If there is no reason for her to hate him, the reader will be bewildered. So the writer has to decide on Mary’s reason i.e. her motivation. Did he treat her badly in the past? Did he insult her mother? Did he cause problems for her at work? All of these are valid reasons that might affect her attitude to him. Or there might be more complex reasons. Did his father, a banker, foreclose a loan which caused her father’s small business to collapse? Are their families from different social or political or religious backgrounds?

Of course, there doesn’t have to be some deep and meaningful motivation for everything a character does or says. Why does Jane decide to wear her blue dress for the party? It could be simply because she likes that dress! Nothing at all to do with her upbringing or previous experiences or future hopes!

However, a character’s main motivations, either openly discernible or underlying, shape his or her personality, and by letting readers understand these motivations, we enable them to understand our characters.

Antagonists, too, must have some motivation to behave as they do. We can’t simply throw a character into the story to create mayhem or to cause a split between the hero and heroine without giving them some reason for their actions.

However, too much emphasis on any one reason for a character’s motivation can end up annoying the reader. Also, it’s not always necessary to spell it out to readers or beat them over the head with it. Sometimes a suggestion can be far more powerful than a repeated reminder.

Recently I read some pointers about conflict in novels. One of these was, Give your protagonist two motives They must sacrifice one to achieve the other.

I must admit I dislike the word ‘sacrifice’ since to me it suggests giving up something the character needs or wants. I prefer to think of it as the character realising which motive is more important to them. And sometimes, since we want a happy ending for our characters, they may find in the end that the two motives can in fact be merged, even though this might have seemed impossible at one time.