Sense of Urgency Required

All of my stories have had a clear time period in which to become resolved. Frances had three months at court, Mary had twelve days of Christmas, and Jane had Frances' house party and the threat of her father taking action. All of these issues created a sense of urgency and made it easy for me to pace my story when it came to chronology.

Not so for Karma. I've made Karma so blasé  about the haunting that it might take years to resolve. There's no need to hurry, so there's no set time frame. What did I do to myself? Of course, urgency creates higher stakes, so beside the fact that I've made my pacing difficult, I've stifled the conflict. Bad Erin. Bad.

Solution? Make the ghosts less amenable and Karma more frightened and less intrigued. I can do this. Karma is one of those highly intellectual people with the common sense that usually goes hand in hand with that -- very little. She's more fascinated by the research than cautious for her safety. Right know she's on a research kick that threatens to slow the pace of the story -- so let's threaten her safety, shall we?

In the space of me mulling it over in this blog the problem has been solved. I love it when that happens and it doesn't have to be forced.

Are you having any issues with your stories?

Redacted

My husband requested I take down my Freedom of Speech blog post. Ironic? Nah... on my priority list, jealously guarding my constitutional right is outranked by the need to preserve the safety of my family. Voltaire can afford such sentiments -- he's dead already.

Inspired by Muse

 
More than once I've turned to Muse's song, "Starlight," when I need inspiration when writing about a love relationship just starting out. The song delivers that sense of yearning, wanting something out of reach – and that something is worth risking everything. This sentiment helps me understand the motivation of my characters during the passionate, romantic content of my stories. Besides the repeated "I just wanted to hold you in my arms," line (which, in its simplicity, is very seductive) the line that catches me most is:

My life, you electrify my life

Let's conspire to ignite

All the cells that would die just to feel alive.

That feeling, the emotional and physical high of being in love (or infatuation), that seems worth throwing everything away. It seems silly unless you're in the grip of it, but when it has you, nothing else is important. There's probably scientific significance to the absolute need to be with the object of your affections in regard to the survival of the species -- but even knowing that wouldn't change the effect. I'm not just talking about sex; I'm talking about the whole package. The obsession with another person that makes you want to be smothered in them, to wrap yourself around them, merge with their essence. You want to breathe their breath; their touch is the best thing in the world. The sound of their voice soothes you, no matter what they say. You feel connected, understood, desired -- and you reciprocate in tenfold. You can never quite find words strong enough to describe what you feel, yet writers keep trying. I felt the message about that need in "Starlight."

 

 

Just Do It Right

My daughter has just started dancing hard shoe in her Irish step class. The shoes are slick, the heels are high, and the edges of the heels are sharp. The first few tries had Lily falling on her behind. After much scuffling, she got the hang of staying upright, but was confusing the kick motion in soft shoe with the kick in hard shoe. The hard shoe move swings the heel past the shin/knee to the opposite side of the leg and if you get too close, you might graze your shin. Lily was not the only little girl in the class with welts marked by black shoe polish. She even broke the skin in two places.

At the end of class I asked if it would be appropriate (within regulation) to file the edge of the heel to round it out. The teacher, looking confused at my question, asked me why I wanted to do such a thing. I showed her Lily's leg. Her answer -- No, I shouldn't file down the shoe or put tape over the edges; Lily should just do it correctly and she wouldn't get injured.

It was a profound, yet totally a common sense answer.  Don't accommodate doing it wrong, just do it right. Donna Means is right up there with Yoda.

I am currently reading a great story that was starts out with a prologue. That, in itself is not a problem -- the problem is that all the same info from the prologue trickled out (in very similar wording) within the first few chapters. It came across as redundant and took me out of the story.

I rarely meet a prologue that is necessary and/or not an info dump. I toyed with one myself in my first book, using a prologue to make up for the fact that I didn't get to the story quickly. You can use all sorts of bandages to cover up a badly written book but ultimately, you should just do it right. If you put all your energy into perfecting hooks, writing to trends, snappy titles, you're not concentrating on what really needs to be done -- honing your craft.

Just do it right.

Ranting and Raving

A new school year has begun and, again, immature behavior has me up in arms. If I had a dime for every time a student was upset at me because “I got him in trouble,” I’d retire. There is a disconnect in the thought process that drives me nuts. Child does something against the rules. I enforce the rules, so I’m the bad guy. Hmmmmm…. No.

Who broke the rules? Was it me? No? Then perhaps the person you should be angry with is yourself. Wait – you have excuses for your bad behavior that I have to hear. You just really wanted to do whatever you did a lot, so it’s reasonable. Seriously, grow up and take responsibility.

The funny thing here is that this lecture was inspired by an adult. My students have been great.

My six year old, full of self-pity, cries after she gets in trouble. With her cute boo-boo face and tear dripping lashes, she tells me that I hurt her feelings. I did? What did I do? I put her in time out and it made her sad. Awwww. It’s cute when a cuddly six year old doesn’t get the basic life lesson about being responsible for one’s actions; it’s a teachable moment. But what do you do when an adult behaves this way? I don’t think a sticker chart will cut it.

How does this relate to writing? Um, I don’t know. Maybe you can make the connection for me.

Rant over.

Begin rave.

In other news, I received the first post-RWA conference rejection. It was personal, not a form letter. I have to say it was really nice to know the agent read my submission and took time to comment. It was disheartening to know it didn’t inspire her to read more, but such is life. I have recently read work from some of her clients and they’re phenomenal. Not that I’m not totally awesome, but I am genre fiction. While I see my work as unique within genre guidelines, the market is a big pond and my little fish might not be evolved enough to stand out. The good news is that I’m a better writer every day. While I maintain that my current finished manuscripts are completely publishable and will lead to a steady readership, my future stuff is going to rock their world. J See, there I am being accountable for my own actions. My stuff was rejected and I didn’t blame the rejector. Man, my awesomeness amazes me sometimes.

What’s happening in your world?

Another Year

Happy 37th birthday to me.

The day has been full and fun and exhausting and hot. And tomorrow I start my fall semester with the first professional development meeting of the year. This means summer is over. Sort of.

I don't start school until the 21st. This year is going to be challenging in a variety of ways, which may be fate's way of telling me that it's time for me to be a full time writer. The good news is that I don't have to set up a classroom -- and that's because I'm not getting one. Instead of being upset, I have to think of all the money I'm saving on the bulletin boards and decor that I would normally purchase this time of year. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone at tomorrow's meeting -- even it means wearing socks and turning my internal editor back on.

My daughters are both getting ready for the Hidden Valley Feis in Coronado at the end of the month. While they practice their hop-two-threes, I'm putting together a gift basket for the raffle. My theme: romance novels. I selected a few Regency from the booty I got at RWA12 this summer. I have a hat box and some delicate, era appropriate items. What I can't find is ratafia. I could substitute sherry, but it just wouldn't be the same. Any Regency reader knows that ladies sip ratafia -- unless they're being contrary or brazen and go for the brandy. Personally, I think it's going to be a great gift box (even if the books are signed to Erin -- but it's a feis, so there will be many Erins around). Any other items, besides, tea, that are a must have in a Regency themed gift basket (or hat box, in this case)? A reticule? A posy? A gilded miniature of Prinny?


I thought of doing a second gift basket with vampire romances. That would be a fun theme to run with -- but I'm not sure how it would be received.

The feis will be my official end of summer. The event is at a beach resort with rooms that outshine Bath's costume museum assembly rooms, it will almost be a mini vacation. I am obligated to volunteer some, and my kids are dancing, but other than that I intend to make use of the facilities and try to relax. I'll acknowledge that summer if finally over after Labor day (even though I'll already be a couple weeks into the school year).

The end of summer is the countdown to the new year. Christmas will be here before I know it and then it will be 2013. Will anything have changed? Will I have an agent? A book deal? Finished my paranormal? Another Golden Heart deadline will have come and gone... Man, time goes so fast. I need to stop, breathe, and just think about today - August 14th, my birthday.

Pick Up the Pace

In a recent interview on ACFW Fiction Finder with Raquel Byrnes, they asked the question:

You have mentioned that quick pacing is part of your writing style. Why is that so important?

Raquel's answer:

I find that often being in the thick of things, the desperate unplanned situations, reveals our true character and loyalties. Only when we are like those characters—pushed to the breaking point—can we finally see the amazing grace and strength God offers us. I think those moments resonate with people and I love to bring them to light in my books.

I absolutely agree. Life is a series of BOOM BOOM BOOM with no time to stop and ponder, to come up with the perfect solution or wittiest response. I picture that stupid teenage gimmick where your supposed-friend shakes his/her hands back and forth in front of your face and tells you you're running through the woods, trees on the left, trees on the right, your turn and (they hit you in the face) you run into a tree. It leaves you disoriented and with an elevated heart rate.

I like to think the obstacles my protagonists encounter are realistic in the same way life can be, ridiculous and inconvenient. These are the moments, in less than the space of a breath, where true character is shown and grown. Pacing is integral in these moments. You can't draw out the scene with beautiful word paint - it is not the time for that. Staccato sentences. Minimal dialogue tags. Slap the reader in the face the essence of the moment -- whether it is life or death or just intensely emotional (or in my books, passionate). The writing style mimics the urgency of the action.

Not all readers agree. As I struggle to improve my craft, I try to take all critique into account. I weigh the commentary against the story content. While every comment is appreciated, not every one is applicable and I have to trust my instincts. Romance is not all purple prose any more -- there are real stories there that stay with the reader longer than the titillation. I have been accused of having short sentences -- but I do this to aid the pacing of the scene. I am more likely to have rich descriptions in slower moments -- but even then I keep it sparse. If it's something I would skim over in order to get to the story, I don't want it.

Usually when a reader notices the pacing in a scene it's because it was done poorly. How do you, as a writer, adjust your pacing for mood?