Subplots and multiple POV’s.

Almost done the new JR Ward book. I’m not going to discuss it in length, as I think Molly probably wants to. And given that as usual, the latest JR Ward book blew both our little minds, it’s going to come up a lot on this blog for a little while.

I’ve learned a lot from this series. And what I’m trying to apply to my own writing is the magic of subplots and multiple POV’s.

In my current WIP I’ve counted at least seven. They all overlap, but I know I have five different protagonists, in these seven subplots. All these subplots relate directly back to the main plot, and all influence it. And because I have five different protagonists, I know I need at least that many POV”s and to be honest, I threw in one non-protagonist POV, but I think the POV is strong enough to warrant it.

I go back three years and I was using at most three POV”s, the hero, heroine and villain. Because I think I read a rule about keeping POV’s to a minimum and stupidly followed it.

The magic with subplots is all in the pacing. There’s a lot going on in the book and I’ve got a lot to pack into every scene, so every word counts. Plus, I end on a cliffhanger, I can keep the reader waiting for three scenes to resolve that cliffhanger.

It wasn’t until I read that first JR Ward book that I really felt as romance writers we could so this and still sell as a romance. And truthfully, her books are becoming less and less romance novels and more just amazing books. Not to give any spoilers away, but with this last book, the romance is probably the least prominent, but it doesn’t stop the book from being really, really compelling to read.

Seriously, this series is mind blowing.

Diana Peterfreund's new release!

I'm neck deep (more like forehead deep and sinking) in revisions this week and have given myself an end-of-the-month deadline, so a blog topic, (or even semi-coherent thought) is proving difficult.

But, my writer friend Diana Peterfreund's third book in her Secret Society Girl series came out yesterday, so I thought I'd just take this opportunity to give Diana a little pimpage. (and thereby get myself out of thinking up something clever to post.)

**Drum roll**

RITES OF SPRING (BREAK) follows our heroine Amy as she goes on, you guessed it, spring break. Love the title of this book, I have to say. I haven't had the pleasure of reading this one yet, but read the first two and I'm sure this one's just as smart and funny as they were. Plus, it's got a super cute cover. Note the Rose & Grave tatoo on Amy's hip...

Diana was blogging about mid-series pros and cons over on Manuscript Mavens yesterday. So, if you're totally annoyed at my lack of a writing topic today... Go read what Diana wrote about doing a series. ;-)

Congrats on your release, Diana!

Oh, and agent Lucienne Diver is doing a lunch time chat in The Knight Agency chat room at 12:00 noon EDT today, Wed June 25. Check it out.

Mad Men

Anyone else watching this right now? Mad men is being shown in reruns on two different channels -- with lots of hype informing (or reminding) us of how much the critical world loves this show. Golden Globes, etc, etc. For those that don't know it's about the men in the New York advertising world in the 50's - when manipulation, smoke and mirrors and diversion started to replace coupons as advertising code. Also in a starring role is the chain smoking, misogyny, functional alcoholism, racism and alpha male attitude that was apparently inherent.

This show should suck. These characters are hateful! The men are asses - the women are barely recognizable from the other side of women's lib - and advertising? Aren't we pissed enough about how we've been manipulated without seeing how it all began?

The show is good. Really really good. I love this show. The season opener created a hero in the first half hour and then slowly, slowly revealed him for the anti-hero he actually is. Every single person, every single relationship is fraught with drama. Real drama. Emotional and physical drama - without all that crazy backbending work we have to do while watching things like Lost. And it's fresh - really fresh - unlike House who feels a bit like an old shoe at this point.

The stakes - especially for the women - feel so high. And we care - we care about the misogynist, cheating, war hero. We care about Peggy - the new girl. We care about the older secretary - who has clearly become "the town pump." We really care about the war hero's wife and stress fractures showing up all over her life.

Historically, it's really cool. Lots of winks and nods to the things that have been banished from our world - kids without seat belts, chain smoking at lunch, while pregnant, while drinking scotch. The clothes that are so gorgeous and so uncomfortable. Fedoras and pearls. But the best thing about the time period is that the mores and values of that time allow for all this drama - all these high stakes. We believe that Peggy has one chance to hook a Jr. executive so she can get out into the country to raise her kids. We believe that Draper's been conditioned to provide "things" not "love."

It's good tv. You should watch it.

Contemporary romances scare me.

I’ve been reading romance a long time, but the one area I am abysmally poorly read in is contemp romance. Which is strange, because I love Susan Elizabeth Phillips, and Ain’t She Sweet is definitely in my top ten romances.

But apart from some wonderfully charming and sexy Susan Donovan romances, Jenny Crusie and a couple of Deb Smiths(amazing) none came to mind when I sat down to write this post.

And I know editors are asking to see more of them. It’s time for this market to be rejuvenated and the only way it will happen, as with the historical market, is if amazing contemp romances find their way into editor’s hands.

And never in a million years could I write one. They scare me. I’m a historical romantic suspense writer. I might someday branch into contemp suspense, even paranormals, but a straight romance over 400 pages.
I wouldn’t know where to begin.

I rely on my suspense to move the plot, to create action and forward momentum and to give me added tension to the romance plot.

Without it, I’d be lost. I know Susan Elizabeth Phillips (from now on to be referred to as SEP) does it. She usually has about two subplots, one involving another romance, but otherwise, everything moves along at a really nice pace, it’s compelling, completely involving and to me it seems like magic.

I keep meaning to read one of her books with the purpose of evaluating it on a scene level, but before I know it, I’m caught up in the book. Even her lesser books.

I think there are so few well known authors in this field because it’s so hard to do well. 400 pages about two people just falling in love, and to make all those pages tense and dramatic and never repetitious.

Makes me sweat just thinking about it.

And on an unrelated topic. Anyone see the end of Battlestar. It won’t be back until 2009, but I have to say, hell of an ending. Loved that no way did I see that coming.

Romance Heroines Behaving Badly

Yesterday afternoon, (well, technically this afternoon, because I haven't gone to bed yet...) I started to write a comment on Molly's post, in response to Stephanie's comment about some of the motivations for the heroine in Sherry Thomas's PRIVATE ARRANGEMENTS coming from a less than angelic place, then thought: Hey, why not just make it a post.

FWIW, I completely agree with Stephanie that many of the heroine's actions/decisions in PA are less than sympathetic, but that's one reason I loved that book, and why I hope it opens up the door to editors taking chances on more heroines like Gigi.

While reading that book, I kept thinking, "Everyone's behaving so badly, yet I'm riveted." I loved that it broke the "rule" that a romance heroine's motivations have to be so "good" all the time. (I think heroines who are good all the time can be boring.)

Some of Gigi's choices weren't motivated by the best of values... and neither were the hero's. Between them, at various points in the book, they were motivated by money (him), social climbing (her), anger (him), deception (both of them), revenge (mostly him), jealousy (both of them)... on and on. All negative motivations. LOVED it. Loved too the emotional cruelty of some of the sex scenes. Don't see that in too many romances. At least not the ones I've been reading to date. I remember at least one steamy sex scene where the reader knows how much more the each character is feeling as compared to what he/she is willing to show the other and I found that deliciously heartbreaking. In the end, I did think each of them was redeemed enough to deserve the happily ever after, too. They both paid for all the mistakes they'd made.

WARNING: Spoilers below in white text. Highlight to read.

Gigi did treat her fiancé terribly, but I thought the author handled that well - at least the way I'm remembering it, right now. Didn't the fiancé finally figure out she was still in love with her husband? Didn't he dump her in the end or at least give her an out? I loaned the book out again, so I can't check. But I do remember thinking that bit had been resolved in a way I liked. Not too easy for the heroine, but not in a way that made her even worse than she had been.

And as far as her intentions re: the heir… I, too, was a little surprised that she went along with the plan with little thought at first, but then as soon as the diaphragm came out, (I mean went in, wink), I was shocked for new, better reasons. I don't think it crossed her mind what would happen to the baby if she got pregnant — because she had no intention of letting herself get pregnant. She just planned to have sex with him — something she already knew she'd enjoy, while hiding the fact she was using protection — until the year was up or even better, he gave up trying. LOVED that. So devious.

Romance needs more devious yet lovable heroines. I say bring 'em on.

Oh, and this book had the funniest trailer I've ever seen. I normally hate book trailers, but this one's worth watching...

What will it look like?

Last DWT we stumbled upon my new favorite game. Maureen and Sinead will not remember this because they were too drunk. (Note to self: when Sinead orders another cider and then giggles. Yes, giggles - settle in for the good stuff and get out the notebook.) There are perks to being the sober one at DWT.

Anyway - the game. What Will It Look Like? When the suffering sub genre comes back into popularity what will it look like? How will it be different than it's first reincarnation?

I think it's safe to say that Historicals are back - not that the market isn't tight - it is. And the books coming out these days are proving that a tight market makes for great reading. But what do they look like? All these great reading historicals? What are some of the ties that bind them?

Well, they're better that's for sure. The historicals out right now are plain better than a lot of stuff being put out in some of the glutted sub-genres (ie paranormal or romantic suspense). The new historicals are tight, well-paced, and crafted. Elizabeth Hoyt, Deanna Raybourne, Sherry Thomas - they are taking their time with their words.

Most of them are hotter. But not gratuitous. The romantic conflict walks right on into those love scenes making them hot, emotional and exciting.

They're darker - aren't they? They feel darker - not "let's kill everyone" darker, but tone and conflict just seem heavier. I know Julia Quinn is still writing in her style - a little lighter. But those Julia Quinn copy-cats have dropped in number, leaving lots of room for writers who have taken some of the darkness from the uber-popular paranormals and laced it into their books.

There's a lot more plot going on in some of these books. Spies. Murders. Proactive heroines. Out of the ordinary heroines. Crime solving heroines.

So, last DWT we talked briefly about what will the contemporary romance come back looking like? (Before suddenly, we were talking about make up??) As it went out of vogue a few years ago it seemed that it had melded with chick-lit and everything was pink. Everything was light. Zany. Everyone was trying to be Jenny Cruise. Now, it could come back that way - perhaps the reading public is tired of all this dark paranormal stuff and we need some lightness. Which makes sense to me - it really does, because so many of those books were good.

But my guess is that editors aren't going to be looking for that chick-lit voice in romance for a while. They've been burned. And how.

Also, I think the fantastic ongoing popularity of romantic suspense and paranormals set in contemporary times indicates that the book buying public wants a heavy dose of fantasy, of "this is so not like my incredibly dull life - no one is deciding what to do with the chicken thawing on the counter or how to potty train their son" with their romance. The popularity of category romance (slight surge in numbers and the huge surge in the number of princes being found across lines) indicates to me that this is true too.

But what do I know? Really. I was sober.

So, what do you think? How do the new historicals look to you? What do you want to see in returning contemporary romance?

Bonnets and Bees

I had something I was going to blog about this week... but then I went on a small tirade on one of my loops last night, and Molly convinced me to blog about that instead -- saying we could use a little controversy.

Not that I'm sure it's that controversial. Ah, well.

Source of my tirade:

It never ceases to amaze me how tied up in knots people can get in RWA-land. Now, everyone who knows me knows I love RWA. I think it's an amazing organization filled with amazing and talented and generous people, but in any organization of 9,000 or so members, there's going to be some element of "crazy".

The current source of my crazy fodder comes from my membership in a relatively new RWA chapter called "Elements of RWA". For those of you not riveted to the ups and downs of RWA, there's a category defined for the two big RWA contests called "Novel with Strong Romantic Elements". (One of my projects was a finalist in that category in the Golden Heart last year.) There was some controversy a while back when the RWA board proposed eliminating that category from the unpublished contest, while leaving it in the published one. Sorry for the backstory... But it was around that time that this new chapter was formed and because some great published authors I really respect, (like Allison Brennan), were involved in the forming of this new chapter, I decided to join.

But in reading many of the chapter discussions online, I'm getting the impression that the chapter's become a home to many unpublished romance writers who think the reason they aren't published is because what they're doing is "too different" for romance. That the reason the editors aren't snapping up their work is because they as writers aren't willing to color within the defined lines of romance or follow the formulas.

To this I say, WHAAAAT?

I admit, as many of you know, when I first got involved in the romance writing/publishing industry, I came in with some preconceived notions about romance and formula. These misconceptions are so prevalent it's hard not to. And based on the advice some people will give you, there can appear to be a lot of rules in romance. Susan Elizabeth Phillips and Jayne Ann Krentz do a workshop where they call these advisers the "romance nazi's" and claim the one thing these people have in common, beyond thinking they know all the rules about romance, is that they are either unpublished or have sagging, lackluster careers. From what I've observed, I agree. (Oh, I agree with SEP and JAK. How daring of me. LOL)

Sure there are common elements, plot devices, styles and techniques, that work well in romance and are therefore used often... but anyone who's tried to write a novel, knows that these things are just the tools or skill set of a professional fiction writer. Not a freaking formula you can plug things into and out pops a book. I wish.

In reading the romances I've picked up and enjoyed in the past year or so... Authors like Sherry Thomas, and J.R. Ward, and Marjorie M. Lui, and Eve Kenin, and Joanne Bourne etc. etc. etc. It's so clear to me that breaking the mold, being different, garners more success than being derivative. Pushing boundaries is so the new black.

So, what got me all riled up last night was people trying to define "romantic elements" so that it might include just about any freaking romance written, claiming we RE writers were the ones trying to break free of the boundaries of formulaic romances. And I suppose I should be okay with a really inclusive definition of RE. I mean, why not be inclusive. But seriously... IF YOU'RE WRITING A ROMANCE, CALL IT A ROMANCE!!!

Romance is a huge market with a plethora of sub-genres for just about any taste, and oodles of dedicated and voracious readers, so it baffles me why anyone would try to claim a book that has a romantic relationship at it's core and a happily ever after ending would try to categorize their book in any other way. (Especially if they want the book to be popular/commercial fiction vs. literary fiction that might be up for the big awards.)**

To me, the RE category is for books where plot elements other than the romance are more important to the story, but there's still a strong romance subplot in the book. The main plot might be a "women's fiction plot" (like family or friend relationships, or a woman's journey spurred by a major change in her life), or a chick lit plot of coming-of-age self-discovery, or suspense, or thriller, or mystery, or sci-fi, or fantasy -- but all books where the romance plot isn't central enough to call the book a romance. Now, obviously, no black and white lines here... Whose to say when a book crosses the line from being a suspense with romantic elements or a chick lit with romantic elements into being a romance. But I really don't think -- in spite of the totally ambiguous, and in my opinion too vague to be helpful, definition that RWA came up with for this contest category, (BTW. I don't envy, and completely admire the people who took on this task) -- that they meant for stories with a central romance plot to fall into this category. At least not often.

I think the problem is contests... Contest have their place, (great way for newbie writers to get feedback and experienced, unagented writers to get onto the desks of agents and editors) but by their nature, rules have to be defined for contests and categories described. And this makes the entire industry look more rule-oriented than it is. I'm sure many of the more innovative romances on the market these days wouldn't have done well in contests for unpublished writers. But who cares? Shouldn't writers care more about what agents/editors are saying about their work than contest judges? If they think their craft is up to snuff, but they're still bombing in contests because judges "don't get" what they're doing, or think their romance novel falls outside the "rules of romance", then they should submit it to some industry professionals and see what they think. If they get rejected all over the place with little positive feedback, chances are the problem isn't being too different, chances are it's not being good enough.

And if your book's a romance, I say call it a romance. I'll bet many queries get rejected because of unnecessarily complicated genre descriptions. "My novel XXXX is a sexy sci-fi fantasy with suspense and romance elements, and inspirational overtones." It behooves writers to know the market and where their novel fits into it.

Believe me. No editor is going to say, "Boy, I'm just dying to find the next great romantic elements novel." WHY??? Because that category of books does not exist in the publishing industry. RWA just made it up for contests.

Rant over...

**I've just thought of an exception. A time when you might not call a spade a spade... and it's based on industry trends. For example, 3-4 years ago, tons of books I'd call romances were published as chick lit. Some people say chick lit was "about the voice", but to me, the plethora of romances put out as chick lit was just the romance publishers trying to glom onto a trend. And, of course, I think it was those romances-in-chick-lit-clothing that KILLED the market for chick lit... But that's another rant.

Guest Drunk: Stephanie Doyle

In my writing/drinking life, before there was Maureen and Sinead there was Stephanie Doyle. She's a fantastic Harlequin writer whose career has taken her from Intimate Moments to Duets, Flipside, Bombshell (The Contestant 2005 Romantic Times Best Bombshell winner, right here, folks) and now the Athena Force series. Untouchable is out now and I couldn't recommend it more.

She poses a question in the following post regarding what is the Stephanie Doyle experience - and I'll answer it for her: out of the box heroines (did I mention Untouchable's heroine has poison skin?) and heroes who leap off the page fully formed. Stephanie gets away with things in category romance that no one else does.

Here she is:


First I want to say thank you to the DWs for allowing me to guest blog. This is officially my first blog. Very exciting. Usually, I read blogs and think… all the good stuff has been said already - why bother? That’s especially true of DWT. It’s almost a little weird how much I jive with you guys.

Anyway I told Molly I was going to write about one thing. Then I changed my mind. Not unlike what I do with my editor. What I wanted to talk about was a) I’m in love with David Cook. For those who don’t know he won American Idol. And b) how a singing competition really sets an example for writers who want to be successful.

I ‘lurv’ David. I figure I’ll wait until he gets his fill of hot Hollywood ass and then make my move. I’m starting with a ‘Will You Marry Me David C’ sign that I plan to hold up during the Idol concert. That’s right. I’m a 37 year old single woman and I’m going to the Idol concert. It’s okay. Mock me. I would.

Moving on… In one of the writers group I belong to there is an author who was in the publishing biz for many years. He gave a talk at a conference in which he said something that blew me away but probably shouldn’t have given that I’ve been doing this for 12 years. He said part of being a successful author is the ability to repeat the same experience book after book.

I get it. Stephen King has to be Steven King. Nora Roberts has to be Nora Roberts. But as I watched this season of Idol it hit home with me. What made David special wasn’t just his voice it was the David Cook experience. If you look at several of his performances he consistently did three things: big notes, angsty-emo emotion, new twist.

A different song each week but the same feeling. I found myself thinking it doesn’t matter what he sings. I want the experience. Me and the other people who voted for a total of 94 million times. (I only voted like 50 times. I swear.)

As writers we need to do the same. Deliver a different story, but deliver the same experience with each book. It’s not easy. The first hurdle is not re-telling the same story over and over. I can say there are a number of authors who I fell in love with, who ultimately I gave up on, because for me the books ran together. The plotting, the characterization, the pacing, the resolution - same old, same old. Insert character’s name (here).

The second hurdle is identifying what you want your experience to be. This is where as a writer it really comes down to crunch time. You need to choose the elements that will make up your experience and you need to love them because whatever you pick you will need to repeat them FOR-EVAH.

Imagine a JR Ward Brotherhood book that’s funny and lighthearted with a well adjusted beta hero who doesn’t need saving? Or an Elizabeth Hoyt historical that closes the door on the bedroom scene? Breaking faith with readers is just about the kiss of death for an author.

Keep in mind what I’m talking about isn’t voice. You don’t choose your voice – it is what it is. All you can do is hone it. But the experience – that’s completely up to you. Do you like hot sex scenes or tame ones? Lots of action or lots of angst? Do you want to make readers laugh or cry or both?
As an experiment think about your favorite authors, old and new, who are successful. What are the elements you need from them to consider the book a success? I’ve been writing for 12 years. I have 10 books published. I’ve done funny, action, mystery, paranormal. I have done strong heroines and alpha males. Now I’m attempting an historical. Basically I’ve been all over the place. The thing to do now is to isolate from those 10 books what elements are consistent. What do I keep going back to? What makes a Stephanie Doyle book a Stephanie Doyle book?

If you’re thinking about being a successfully published author you need to do it too. Who are you, what elements make up your experience, and what do you want to bring to each story each time? If you figure that out, and if readers fall in love with that experience, you too could win 94 million votes.

What if

What of my favourite games is to fantasize what I would do if I sold a book for ten million dollars.. or more like won the lottery.

This is a fantasy, so I get to spend the money any way I want, although even in my head, I have to give a chunk to charity.

But then, I’d get a new house, nothing stupid, but more space. I wouldn’t even get a new car, my current one is great. But that’s where the reasonable thought ends.

I’d get a nanny, I’m typing this now with a big grin on my face. Then I’d hire a personal trainer, to kick my butt into shape for the fantastic new wardrobe I’d buy. Lots of cashmere sweaters, because, hey, I won’t care about the drycleaning costs, and maybe even a cashmere bathrobe. And I know it makes no sense, but this is a fantasy.

And then to be totally ridiculous, I’d buy a Birkin, the $9000 handbag that I do secretly covet. I know it’s a purse, but it’s a really nice one… remember, this is all fantasy..

I’d travel a lot more. First class all the way.

Then I’d come home and build a room onto my house. A study/library. A quiet room, with floor to ceiling bookshelves, a chandelier, a gas fireplace(no sense in messing around with wood to keep it going), a chaise lounge in white, because white is a stupidly impractical couch colour when you have kids and to top it all off, a state of the art Mac, just to annoy my husband who is PC all the way, and a comfy chair to write in.

Then I’d have a secret door built in leading to my perfect bathroom, with a soaker tub, and white marble and a stack of new books by the tub.

I would have hours every day to write, and in my head, I’d be writing perfection.

Then I remember Stephen King’s amazing book On Writing, where he talked about getting this giant slab of a desk in this quiet office and getting nothing done. After writing in a small basement, he’d finally created his perfect place to write and got nothing out of it. It was too removed from his life, and his family and in the end, he found a smaller desk, closer to the ones who gave him inspiration.

So in truth, I probably will never find a quiet place to write, no matter how much money I have but I also know that writing at my kitchen table is, right now, the perfect place for me, dreams of fireplaces and floor to ceiling bookshelves notwithstanding.

Does anyone else play this game? Anyone else want a birkin?

Tying motivation and plot together

So, it's clear I can't blog about the new Indiana Jones movie, 'cause it would all end in a big DWT cage match... Actually, that sounds kinda fun -- except it's two against one and I never go into a cage match without Sinead backing me up. She's freakishly strong. (Even if she's wrong about the movie.)

But what I've been thinking about this week--the few times I've had a chance to think about writing, because I've been busy (read swamped) with the three gazillion entries I received for my local chapter's writing contest--is something Molly said to me on the weekend.

We were hashing through some issues I was having with my hero's motivation in the middle of my book, because he was waffling and really he's not a waffling kind of guy. The waffling was all me, not him. And I knew what I wanted to have happen in the plot, but I couldn't figure out what my hero's motivation would be for making it happen... Then something Molly said made me slap myself upside the head.

This was her jewel of wisdom: Have your character decide one thing, but then have the plot force him to do the opposite.

Brilliant.

Discuss.

My Perfect Movie Experience

I come from a small town outside of Chicago. When I was growing up the population was about 8,000 people. I swear to God, I lived in a yellow house on Main Street. My dad was a teacher and coach at the high school - my mom a nurse at a nursing home right across the street. It was really a pretty fantastic childhood. We had a movie theater in town -- The Hub. And I saw a lot of movies there -- Back To The Future 1 and 2, Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure 1 and 2, Hoosiers, Dirty Dancing, (which I had to sneak into because it was too racy, according to my mother) Clash of the Titans, Indiana Jones and a bunch more that I don't remember. There were three screens. Well, Rochelle has grown and The Hub after being closed down for a long time has reopened.

I'm home visiting my folks and last night they sent me out, by myself, with five bucks in my pocket to go see Indiana Jones at the Hub.

Best freaking time I've had at the movies in ages!!

The Hub is exactly the same as it was - I swear the Coming Soon posters could have been for Back To the Future III. The floor is still the stickiest floor known to the movie going public and the seats still recline so far back that half the time I wondered if they were all still broken. No air conditioning so the sound has to compete with two giant fans at the front of the theater.
It was nostalgia at it's best. And then - Indy. Oh! Indy. Now, granted - last night I was the easiest movie goer in history. I couldn't have had a critical thought if they paid me.

Sinead and I got in an argument a while ago. She argued that no sequel was going to be as good as the first Indy movie and my point was - with this freaking team they should knock this movie out of the park. It should be better than the first and I realize now - it's not possible. Indiana Jones was a great movie at a great time - it's about the context of nothing being like it before and nothing but imitations after. But this 4th installment seemed to hit all the right notes. Great effects, great one-liners, great side-kick (I laughed out loud at the blatant nod to the Wild One - my Mom is going to love that) Excellent villain. Great stunts and great Indy. And then - then they bring back Karen Allen and it becomes this fantastic wink at the audience. It's both totally current and totally nostalgic.

Plot-wise it goes off in to left field and Indy is more indestructible than ever, but all in all - it was a movie experience that is going to be really hard to top.

Watch great movies, great TV and read great books.

I followed Maureen’s link to Karin Tabke’s blog and found a great question there.
Can you learn to be a good writer?

There are some great answers on the blog, and in short most people feel that yes, you can. I completely agree. With practice, writing, getting critiques and really listening to the criticism, we can learn to write well.

The other aspect is reading and watching great storytellers.

So, yep, in case you needed it, I am completely giving everyone permission to spend time in front of the TV, to go to movies and read great books.

I think, like osmosis, it sinks in, permeates our subconscious and teaches us what works and what doesn’t. Especially, if like us drunk writers, you talk it to death after the fact.

We have spent hours dissecting the greatness of Friday Night Lights, and Battlestar. Some of it really useful, some of it rambles after too many pints.

Molly listed her books for the summer, and I don’t have much to add to those, but I’m adding some movies and TV shows to my list.

Looking forward to the new Indiana Jones, even if just for nostalgia. The new batman, cause I deeply loved the first.
I’m going to spend the summer watching the Tudors, Mad Men, and possibly Torchwood. Christine and Amy have converted me through their blogs.

Not sure what else, but I’m hoping to learn lots. And enjoy in the process.
Another reason why I love writing.

Great talk on the Biz

Okay, so this is going to be the absolute laziest post I've ever done. Even lazier than the guest blogs, because those actually involve a few e-mails back and forth with people.

But I'm swamped with contest entries for my local RWA chapter's contest and trying desperately to finish a ms I told my agent she'd have by the end of May... So, I thought I'd bring the attention of all the drunk writer readers out there to a great discussion on the publishing business currently happening on Karin Tabke's blog.

I haven't had time to read it all myself, but she's had Allison Brennan commenting on the ins and outs of getting on the NYT list, etc.

Great stuff.

Shopping List

Toys R Us is taking back everyone's poisonous plastic baby bottles and giving store credit in return. It doesn't matter if the bottles were bought at Toys R Us or if they're used - bring them in and you'll get some Toys R Us cash to spend. We ended up with sixty bucks. Yesterday we decided to make an event of it - we haven't bought our son much of anything by way of toys (we have generous parents) so we decided if we went $40 over the 60 - we're laughing. Well, we went $80 over and we were still laughing. But, let it be said - Mick's favorite things are the eight dollar matchbox cars and husband's favorite thing is the remote control dinosaur.


Lesson learned: you can take your kid to the toy store -- not your husband.


Anyway - in keeping with this sudden we must be rich attitude - I decided to go on line and get myself a bunch of books. It's summer - vacations are coming up and I need some good reading. Here is what I got:

Untouchable by Stephanie Doyle - this is a part of the Athena Force series and while I haven't read the series (and probably should - it's very Marjorie M. Liu-ish) I read everything Stephanie Doyle writes. Stephanie was given the job of writing a heroine with poisonous skin - awesome.

The New Elizabeth Hoyt historical -- Her last series was incredible. Looking forward to how she handles herself now that she's a big star.

Silent in The Sanctuary -- Silent In The Grave was one of my favorite books last year. A fantastic blend of historical mystery with a truly tense and intriguing romantic subplot. A great heroine.

The New JR Ward - June 3rd is coming soon!

Driving Sideways - because who doesn't need more sicklit in thier lives.

Irresistible by Susan Mallery -- Susan is one of the few writers out there doing straight up contemporary romance and this book landed on the NYT list. She's a heavy hitter in category romance and I figure it's time to see how people are breaking out of category without serial killers or vampires. Looking forward to this book!

Delicious by Sherry Thomas - Maureen, who does not usually rave about romance novels, will not shut up about this book. It's like Battlestar all over again.

The backlist of the Six Degrees of Sexy girls - Amy Ruttan, Christine D'Abo and Wylie Kinson. Three of the nicest, most supportive writers ever. I look forward to their hot e-books and not just because my life is devoid of heat these days -- well, actually, that is a big chunk of the reason.

Chabon's Yiddish Policemen book, Alice Hoffman's Angel book - that is seriously lighting the world on fire and a little Dr. Suess for the boy. My son, not my husband.

What am I missing? What does my summer reading list need to be complete?

Mishmash

Been a really fun week entertainment wise. American Idol wrapped up with a really great winner, probably my favourite performer on the show since Kelly Clarkson.
House ended with two stunning episodes. Best episodes since the season 1 ending. Amazing, especially because I’d reached a point with House that it felt boring, and I’d felt they’d tapped out everything they could with the character.
And then they go and delve deeper. (spoilers ahead) Threatening House with his friendship with Wilson, brilliant. Without that friendship, what is he, but an addicted, middle age, lonely man.
And that they made Cutthroat Bitch the perfect woman for Wilson, and showed us brilliantly through the process of buying a mattress.
When House does character driven development, they do it better than almost anyone else on TV.
Also realized this week, that as writers, we need to focus on what we do well, but we can’t ignore what we struggle with. I was reminded as I read the latest book from an author I normally love. The book feels really paint by numbers. What she does well, is all there, but what she fails at, she really fails at in this book.
I think as writers there comes a point where we have to push through and really improve our weaknesses. Maybe that’s the push that can take some authors from midlist to bestseller.
It certainly reminded me that I really have to work on character driven story developments, rather than my usual, kill off a character, to drive the plot.
Now, if only I could find some motivation, I’d get right on that..
But first I’m going to listen to David Cook’s/Chris Cornell’s version of Billie Jean.

Guest Blog by Jess Riley

Today, I'm thrilled to host a guest blog by Jess Riley, whose debut novel, DRIVING SIDEWAYS, just hit the shelves. Isn't it a cute cover? Jess blogs every week over at The Debutante Ball, and on her own blog.

Take it away, Jess!

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When Maureen graciously invited me to (okay, I probably shamelessly threw myself at her) guest-blog on Drunk Writer Talk, I nearly broke an ankle jumping at the chance. Drunk writers? Dishing about writing, publishing, and the vast differences between the two? Oh, few things could appeal to me more…

I was reading Maureen’s May 7 post (Writers Helping Writers) and have to add that I’ve been truly humbled by the generosity and support I’ve experienced from the writing community, and from friends and family. Watching my first novel being sent out into the world after 30 months in the publishing chute is quite surreal—it still doesn’t feel like it’s happening, actually. My emotions are all over the map. It has been a godsend to be able to share the journey with other writers going through the same experience.

I’ve had a few interviews so far, and I’ve explained the book to many people, and there’s always that point after they see the bare feet on the cover when you can see the bingo balls lining up in their minds and then? We have the winning question! “So how do you feel about writing chicklit?”

Frankly, I want to reclaim the word ‘chick.’ Like I want to reclaim the words ‘liberal,’ ‘feminist,’ and ‘styrofoam.’ Chicklit carries connotations of fluff and superficial pursuits. And though it helped me ‘Get my Stiletto in the Door,’ the very word also is persona non grata in the publishing world. Officially, NOBODY is writing chicklit anymore. (Or its life partner, ‘ladlit.’ Or ‘dicklit,’ if you’re feeling cheeky.)

Only many of us still are. It’s like we went underground. We’re all at a giant speakeasy, only instead of booze, you go for the chicklit. And well, maybe there’s still booze.

In certain circles, yes, I’m a chick. I like shoes, but I don’t like diamonds. I love to eat, I was once a little boy crazy, but I also subscribe to Mother Jones and once worked in a prison AND a cheese factory. (Guess which I liked more?)

To me, ‘chicklit’ is simply a catchy if somewhat maligned handle to convey that I wrote a story in which a young woman comes of age … while coming to terms with her own terminal illness, the suicide of her father, the absence of her mother, a strained relationship with her brother, and daily reminders that she is too sick to be as young as her friends. (I know, I know…it’s a barrel of laughs, really! Sicklit, is more like it. But actually, that makes me think of Chuck Palahniuk. And he may be a genre unto himself.)

Bottom line? You tell the story you want to tell, the way you want to tell it, and if someone likes it enough to pay you so they can share it with more readers, and if those readers like it, too? Well, you can’t ask for much more than that.

Other than maybe that pony you didn’t get in the second grade.

Where the Hell is that Pendulum?

A friend of mine asked to borrow some books the other day. This friend has two young kids and she just wants something to read in the five minutes at night before she passes out cold. She belonged to a book club and just found the selections too much and too depressing at this point in her life. Which I totally agree with - considering I can't watch the news without bursting into tears, the last thing I need is the five minutes before I pass out at night to be filled with angst. Book club - I'll see you in a few years.

So, anyway, I said no problem to my friend and consulted my bookshelf. Now, I've been reading historical and paranormal romance -- not her bag. I've got some great Elizabeth Berg books and of course the incomparable Alice Hoffman. So, I grabbed those. But I knew that she called me because she wanted top shelf romance. I am, after all, a romance writer. And I realized there is a giant hole in the genre right now. Single-title, contemporary romance. Romance/women's fiction. Juicy, meaty, fun and satisfying. No vampires, no spymasters, no raunchy sex. There's Jenny, SEP and of course, Nora. But Jenny is writing romantic suspense that I'm not loving and SEP writes maybe a book a year. And, frankly, I haven't enjoyed a Nora book in a long time. Even one of my favorite "chick-lit" authors - Eileen Rendahl is coming out with romantic suspense. (But I loaned my friend Do Me, Do My Roots.)

I know I need to check out Susan Mallery, but Debbie Macomber doesn't do it for me, and who else is out there right now - lighting things up?

The pendulum has swung so so far to subgenre books that it's a waste-land in the other direction. Which, frankly has got to mean any moment now the pendulum will start it's long slow creep back to hearth/home contemporary style. I hope so, anyway. I really do.

And not just because I have this great idea for a book....

Celebrity Overload

Sorry about the late post. Two sick kids and a lack of sleep have made me really ineffective today.
Been trying to narrow down blog topics, but the one that keeps coming back to mind is the current obsession with celebrities.
Maybe it’s always been there, but it’s really only hit my radar in the past five years. And it seems to have hit a frenzy lately.

What does this have to do with writing?

Celebrity gossip is the only reading a lot of people do anymore. And I’d say most of the gossip is fictional, or arranged. A washed up pop singer releases an album and gets married/engaged within a week of the album’s release, giving her a lot of media exposure which helps sell albums. An actress is promoting a new movie, around the same time she starts to date a hot actor. Nicely convenient.
Why do people care?

Because it gives them a fantasy. Impossibly good looking people leading glamourous lives, wearing beautiful clothes in exotic destinations. Sounds like the tag line for Harlequin Presents.

We even have the ‘good’ celebrities and the ‘bad’ celebrities. The good being the mother’s who manage to lose the baby weight in three days, campaign for underpriviledged kids, all while ensuring they look perfect out in public, while holding their adorable moppets.
What’s never mentioned is the four nannies, several maids, cooks and personal trainers behind the scenes.

Then you have the ‘bad’ celebrities, the ones who get caught DUI, sleep around, and somehow decided that underwear was bad. What is never brought up is how much of this behaviour is done to get attention.

Celebrity magazines give us heroes and villains, all dressed up with glossy pictures of beautiful people.

We writers don’t have the advantage of glossy pictures, but we can make our heroes three dimensional and more real. We can find ways to give our readers escapism, but still ground our stories in some sort of reality.

And maybe soon this celebrity obsession will pass. Because I’m so sick of hearing about Brittany, Paris, Nicole, and almost everyone else.

Active Characters

I can't believe I'm going to blog about Survivor, today. But I am. And how does this classic reality TV show relate to writing?

Well, on pondering the outcome of the finale on Sunday night, I decided it was a perfect example of why we popular fiction authors write proactive protagonists.

For those of you not addicted to this show, (that I swore I would NEVER watch when I first heard the premise, but find more addictive than crack -- not that I've tried crack, just saying), the final two contestants were Amanda and Pavarti. Two very pretty girls who'd both been contestants on previous seasons and were part of the original "favorites" tribe.

I read a few blogs about the outcome and I think it's fair to say that most fans of the show expected Amanda to win. The final winner is based on a vote of the last 8 people voted off the show before them, and so it's expected that the players who have done the most backstabbing will lose, because the "jury" is raw from just being turfed off and often want revenge. That's the way this show normally goes -- the most liked player generally wins at the end -- and so the contestant who gets the power to choose who to take to that final vote with them, typically takes someone the others don't like, and that's what Amanda did in picking Pavarti. Pavarti had flirted with a bunch of the jury members -- men and women -- she'd lied to just about everyone, and she'd staged a coup against one of the most popular and powerful players, Ozzie, who was so angry he wouldn't even let her talk that night.

Now Amanda, in my mind, was no angel in the game. In her "confessional" interviews, (when it's just her and the camera), I thought it was pretty clear that she had a strategy and was pretty smart about the game and pretty smart about who to trust and who not to trust and how to keep people trusting her. She was good at the game.

BUT... In the final tribal council she made a huge mistake. She decided to play the innocence card. She sat there with her big brown eyes wide open and told people how trustworthy she'd been. How she'd been lucky to be in the right alliance. How she'd only lied to people she believed had lied to her. How she'd been really loyal to the people she'd given her word to.

While Pavarti took the opposite tack. She owned up to all her devious actions and, in fact, took more credit for the powerful "women's alliance" forming than I thought she deserved. I know we only see what the producers/editors want us to see, but it seemed to me that Cirie and Amanda were both pretty big players in orchestrating the amazing blindsides these girls pulled off. But Pavarti took the credit/blame. Even as everyone they'd tricked was spitting venom at her, she just sat there, didn't get defensive, and said, "Yes, I did it. I fooled and tricked you all."

And it worked. In spite of everyone saying how much they hated her, the majority of them voted for her to win the million.

Why? I think it was at least in part because Amanda cast herself as the passive character. The one who sits back and lets things happen to her. This let Pavarti take clear hold of the active role. The one who makes things happen.

And the cast, the jury, the people voting, didn't see what we'd seen at home. They hadn't heard Amanda scheming behind their backs as we had. They hadn't seen her taking action. (Except maybe with Erik, but that was so funny, no one except Erik would hold it against her.) So, they believed that Amanda had been passive most of the game and gliding along on the Pavarti ride. And they went with the woman of action.

And I took that as a good lesson for why readers like active characters.

See? It ties in.

Post Script (that I could probably fit in above if I weren't too lazy to do some editing, but I really must get back to my manuscript...)

This outcome was also a lesson about not letting your protagonist cry. I think Amanda's tears, that many took as false the night she chose Pavarti over Cirie, really worked against her. Fresh from seeing her acting job in tricking Erik, many questioned the sincerity of her tears, plus they made her seem weak. Now, I'm a big crier myself, but readers don't generally like their main characters to cry. Just saying.

Things To Do When The Writing Is Not Working....

So, as I mentioned, my current WIP has been the bane of my existence for the last few months. Nothing about this book was easy and I took a big chunk of time off in the middle of things to work out my aggression and try and get back on track and as I was working things out - I took some special notice of what I was doing and I thought I'd share it here.

First of all, I think for newer writers who perhaps have not finished a manuscript or have finished one that took them years to complete -- DO NOT STOP. DO NOT START THE NEXT BOOK. This becomes addictive - whenever the book gets hard (and it will, they always do, no matter what) it's simply too easy to drop it and start on the book that sounds so fresh and exciting in your head. You've got to push through - pushing through is the singular biggest learning experience in a writer's self-education. Nothing, I repeat, nothing is more important.

That said, I think if you've been around the block with your muse a few times. You've got some finished work making the rounds with editors and agents. You've finished books and you know you will finish the current problematic WIP -- I really think the best thing to do is Stop. Stop pushing through. It's time to think and do some unraveling. Go for some walks, do some reading outside the genre (or some fantastic reading inside the genre), talk with friends. Get out of your own head.

For me, I know with this current WIP my problem was plot and not enough of it. So, I had to stop writing these scenes that were going nowhere and doing nothing (all written while I thought I had to push through) and scrap about 75 pages and go back and plot. For those of you who are pantsers and you hit the wall -- try plotting -- not a lot just to get you past the hump.

If you've got plenty of plot, take some time to look at your characters. I find a lot of times when things get rough it's because I need my characters to change and grow and I have not set it up properly, so that beautiful moment of self-realization falls flat and I end up writing a bunch of boring scenes, when what I should have done is gone back to the first three chapters and feed in all those questions that I want my reader asking.

I also find myself running out of conflict. And when this was a real problem for me a few books ago -- I had this terrible love/hate relationship with chapters 4 and 5. I realize now, it's because I didn't have that plot point that made the external conflict tie to the internal conflict. That end of the first act jaw-dropper. IE - in A MAN WORTH KEEPING - Delia calls her ex husband to tell him to leave them alone. My hero hears this and chooses because of all that internal conflict not to get involved. His internal gets all tied up in her external -- keeps things moving.

If all this fails you can do what Sinead does which is murder someone. Or, do what I do -- throw in a kid. Or what we should all try and do is be more like Maureen who figures this stuff out a head of time.

Hope this helps and PLEASE what are some of your tricks?