Beginning Writers:The Mystery of Writing

(reprinted from the Greenhouse on The Wild Rose Press website)

Beginning Writers:The Mystery of Writing

by Bev Oz Getting Past the Fear When I announced my reading selection for this month to the rest of the Roses, I immediately received words of caution. "This book is long and technical, much like a college text book," they said, then added, "Don't be surprised if you don't finish it." With this warning hovering over me like a dark cloud, I approached Techniques of the Selling Writer, by Dwight Swain, with a high degree of trepidation. As luck would have it, I first cracked the book open while vacationing in France. My mind was as mellow as the good wine I drank there, and my anxiousness about the book's technical aspects diminished as I read. This book is very much like a college textbook in terms of its excellent information. However, it is written in such a user-friendly way I immediately forgot my fears and started to plow through, highlighting sentences and paragraphs like any good student. I confess, I didn't finish the book. Expect to read about the remaining portions next month. What I did read and learn I'll share with all of you. Getting to Feelings What is the number one job of a selling writer? Arousing heart-felt feelings within the readers. How does this happen? A writer must find a feeling and really feel it. Feel it enough to write about it. At the very least, get excited about the subject so the excitement is carried through to the reader. Enough said about feelings. Getting Technical Much of the rest of what I read concentrated on technical aspects of writing. One of the first comments Swain writes is also one of the most prolific pieces of advice I've ever read. "You have to be willing to be very, very bad before you're ever to be good." How true. Getting on the path to good writing starts with finding the right words to use in your story. According to Swain, selection, arrangement, and description are important elements to consider when putting words to paper. With selection, the author should consider the point of view of the character through which the story is being told. The character's POV should reflect the character's personality and what's important to the character. The arrangement of the words will also indicate what's important. Is there a cause to an effect, or an effect that lead to a cause? The vividness of the words (description) helps the reader capture through his senses the character's experience, making the story come alive. Nouns and Verbs Swain goes into great detail about how to pick just the right words for any given situation. He explains that nouns should be as specific, concrete, and definite as possible to be as vivid as possible. To demonstrate he gives the example of the nouns creature, animal, rhinoceros. Here we see nouns that go from vague to specific - a fuzzy concept to one which is perfectly clear. Verbs, on the other hand, should be active - should show something happening. Swain warns against using the verb 'to be', as this is a static state of being. Nothing is happening. An example of this is, "Sam was in the chair." (static and non-active), "Sam sat in the chair." (better), and "Sam slumped in the chair." (very active.) The worst 'to be' verb is 'had', which is past perfect tense. According to Swain, using the verb 'had' jars readers from the present action into past history. And, as we all know, jarring the reader at any time is a baaaad thing. Patterns to Emotion One very interesting piece I learned from my reading is what Swain calls "pattern of emotion". With pattern of emotion, writers move their story along by introducing motivating stimulus to their characters, then get the character's reaction. The character's reaction is written in three steps - feeling (the character's state of mind), action (the character's physical movement), and speech (what the character says as a result of all the above.) Using this technique makes for a smooth, logical flow for any story. More to Go As I mentioned before, I'm not quite finished with this book yet. Chances are I'll only get through another third of it before my next article is due. But, if the rest of the book teaches continues to teach me the way the first third has, I'll be a selling writer in no time at all.

Beginning Writers: Too Much Of One Thing

(reprinted from the Greenhouse on The Wild Rose Press website)

Too much of a good thing….Isn’t By Tiffany Roan, Editor The Wild Rose Press We all know the saying: “You CAN have too much of a good thing.” It holds true in everyday life – a slice of chocolate cake is delicious, but the whole thing will leave you with a tummy ache (not to mention a few extra pounds). It’s even more true in the world of writing. Just last week I pulled out one of my old manuscripts with intentions of polishing it up for submission. As I began to read, I cringed inside. It was riddled with “-ing” words, and on the first page alone my heroine had gasped, clucked, beseeched, huffed, and pouted in her dialogue tags. We each have our own personal demons – the words (or word types) that we overuse – but today I’m going to discuss some of the most common ones. “-Ing” words: Words that end with “-ing” are acceptable when used in moderation, but too many of them can make a manuscript sound weak. It’s often easy to replace “-ing” words with an action verb. Here’s an example based on a passage I recently read in one of my student’s papers: Running for the door and shoving me out of the way, Sarah was screaming at the fleeing figure to bring back her purse. Here’s a much more direct way to convey the same information: Sarah ran for the door and shoved me out of the way. “Come back with my purse!” she screamed at the fleeing figure. “-Ly” words: Adverbs as a whole are often unnecessary in a manuscript. The easiest way to spot them is to look for words that end in “-ly.” This includes words like quickly, steadily, hotly, pleasantly, quizzically, etc. Other common overused adverbs include often, very, and while. “That”: Most of the time “that” is unnecessary in a sentence and just bogs it down. For example: She couldn’t believe that she was the first place winner. should be written: She couldn’t believe she won first place. Dialogue tags: Dialogue tags are tricky. On one hand, it gets boring to constantly read, “he said, she said, they said, we said…” On the other hand, interesting dialogue tags can be a distraction when they are overused. There are only so many times in one conversation that your characters need to huff, screech, snort, laugh, and plead. Some writers consider “said” to be an invisible tag. This means the reader’s eyes go right over it, and it doesn’t break up the continuity of the dialogue. So, though you may need to throw in the interesting dialogue tag now and then, try not to overuse them! One great trick is to remove dialogue tags completely from some of your sentences. Instead of saying: “I give up!” she cried as she stormed out of the room. try: “I give up!” She stormed out of the room. These are just a few of the most common overused writing conventions. You may do all of these, or you may have your own “pet word” that shows up again and again in your writing. It’s time to put your manuscript on a diet. Get out a pack of highlighters and carefully read over your manuscript. Every time you come upon one of these errors, highlight it. I like to use a different color for each type of error (-ing words in one color, dialogue tags in another, etc.). Then go back and see if there’s something else you could use to spice up your writing. You don’t have to get rid of all of them, but you should be able to eliminate the majority. Then sit back and admire your skinny new manuscript!

Beginning Writers: So you want to write a romance....

(reprinted from the Greenhouse on the Wild Rose Press website)

Beginning Writers: So you want to write a romance....

The Formula Revealed By: Nicola Martinez In my article, Three C’s to Better Romance Writing, I made the passing comment that a romance is only a romance if the formula is present. (the three C’s to keep in mind when creating great romantic novels—for those of you who are wondering—are CONCENTRATE ON CONFLICT, CREATE COMPELLING CHARACTERS, and CARESS YOUR READER’S IMAGINATION) Many have asked me since, “How can a story be fresh and exciting and formulaic at the same time?” It does seem a little oxymoronic, but not only can it be done, it must be done. No one wants to repeatedly read the same story, so our plots must be fresh and exciting, and no one wants to read a romance where the romance isn’t included. So, while we are weaving those compelling characters that are kept apart by a realistic conflict which caresses readers’ imaginations, we must always keep in mind the basic romance formula: Boy meets Girl, Boy loses Girl, Boy gets Girl back. If that formula isn’t in all our novels, then our novels aren’t romances. To evaluate how this formula can be used repeatedly, and still remain fresh and necessary, let’s look at different movies from the last decade: Twister (1996) Jo Harding and Bill Harding We’ll start here because I can hear many saying, “wait a minute, this movie isn’t a romance.” But, ah, it is. The romance is surrounded by chaos and destruction, but the main storyline is the relationship of Jo Harding and Bill Harding. Jo and Bill Harding are in the process of a divorce. Bill approaches Jo (new fiancée en-tow) because she has yet to sign the final divorce papers. In this tale, Boy has already lost Girl in the back story, but because Boy has lost Girl, we must conclude that Boy had Girl to lose! Thus, the movie begins at the “Boy gets girl back” stage of the plot. Throughout the movie, we discover the conflict that broke up the marriage—caused Boy to lose Girl. Jo is obsessed with developing an early-warning system to help save people from a destructive tornado. This obsession is spurred by a childhood trauma in which her family was trapped by a severe tornado, which makes the obsession—and therefore, the conflict—realistic. This drive consumed her so much that her marriage suffered. Of course, by the end of the film, Boy has Girl back. In this romance, both the hero and heroine still love each other. Even though Bill has moved on, there is a spot in his heart that belongs to Jo. This is evident from the beginning of the story. We also know immediately, that Jo still loves Bill because she didn’t sign the divorce papers. The conflicts that keep them apart are both internal and external: Internally, they both know they couldn’t make it work the “first time” (hence the divorce) so what makes them think giving it another shot would work, since the same issues that tore them apart are still unresolved? Externally, Bill has moved on, and is planning a second marriage. By the time “boy gets girl back,” Jo has come to terms with her obsession (emotionally, and physically, by finding success in her invention), and Bill’s fiancée has left of her own free will. And so, we have our happily ever-after ending. Fools Rush In (1997) Alex Whitman and Isabel Fuentes Whitman Alex Whitman and Isabel Fuentes meet by chance, hit it off, have a one night fling, and then don’t see each other again for a few months, when Isabel shows up at Alex’s house to tell him that she’s pregnant. Here we already have Boy gets Girl and Boy loses Girl. It’s not long before Alex decides to marry Isabel, so in the first third of the movie the -- romance formula has come full circle—to a degree. The formula can neither be used that easily, nor that quickly, else we have a shallow and uninteresting plot, and that is why this movie is a perfect example of how you can layer the formula. Alex and Isabel by are married now, but their lives do not come together easily. They want completely different things out of life. Isabel cherishes family; Alex couldn’t care less about that. Isabel wants to stay in Las Vegas; Alex wants to move out of state. Here we have our developing conflict, until finally, it all comes to a head and Isabel leaves Alex, telling him that the baby has miscarried; therefore there is no reason for them to be married. (Boy loses Girl. . .again). But, Alex loves Isabel by this point in the film, and thus, travels to Mexico, where Isabel has gone to seek solace. However, he just misses Isabel, who has traveled back to the U.S. for their baby to be born (Isabel had lied about the miscarriage because, guess, what, she loves Alex and doesn’t want to keep him from his life-dreams). They meet at the Hoover Dam, Isabel goes into labour on the Arizona-Nevada border, they profess their love for each other, so now they are not just married for convenience’s sake, and they all live happily ever after (Boy gets Girl Back). Two Weeks Notice (2002) George Wade and Lucy Kelson George Wade, millionaire playboy and architect extraordinaire, is pitted against Lucy Kelson, activist and Ivy-league educated lawyer. Any time the conflict revolves around absolute opposites, both in economic status and morality we have the ingredients for a great story.   This movie is a great example of how Boy doesn’t always get Girl in an overt way.George and Lucy never date. She is hired as his legal counsel, and not once do they go out with each other in any casual way. It’s all business. However, as time progresses, George becomes dependent on Lucy. Their lives become so interwoven, that one cannot function without the other. We see great scenes that illustrate this to us, even though George and Lucy don’t openly acknowledge this need they have for one another. In one scene, for example, George and Lucy are eating lunch, and without a word, George takes food from Lucy’s plate because she doesn’t like that type of food, and Lucy does the same with George’s lunch. Even before the characters have realized they love each other (Boy gets Girl), we know they do.   Alas and alack, however, George has promised something to Lucy—that he would save an historical building—and when he reneges on his promise, Boy loses Girl completely. Even though Lucy secretly loves George by now, she cannot stay with him if he’s going to lie to her. Of course, when George loses Lucy, he finally realizes he truly cannot live without her. He makes good on his promise. Vows never to hurt her again and Boy gets Girl back.   Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann What this movie is doing on the list, many are asking, since it isn’t a romance. Well, I decided that any movie that starred both Orlando Bloom and Johnny Depp, had to be included! Seriously, this one is included as an example of how the romance formula is always present, even when the romance is the secondary plot. Will Turner meets Elizabeth Swann when they are both pre-teens. She immediately likes him (because she thinks he’s a pirate, and she’s enamoured with pirates). We see this meeting in the beginning of the movie, and then we have a fast-forward to when they are both young adults. In their first meeting after this fast-forward, we are enlightened to the fact that both Will and Elizabeth have secretly liked each other for years. (Boy gets Girl). However, they are kept apart by their economic stations, and neither Will nor Elizabeth can profess their love. (This conflict is what keeps them apart, but it is also Boy losing Girl to a degree). Before too long, Elizabeth must agree to marry Norrington (Boy loses Girl), but by the end of the movie, Will has saved the day, saved the pirate (Captain Jack Sparrow) and has professed his love to Elizabeth, who returns the affection (Boy gets Girl back).   So we see that even in a story where there are other plots and subplots in abundance, the romance that is interjected, still follows the romance formula.   Just Like Heaven (2005) Elizabeth Masterson and David Abbott This movie has a unique plot. In order for Boy to get Girl back, he must help bring her back to life—she’s a ghost, or so he thinks. David Abbott gets a great deal on an apartment sub-let. What he doesn’t know immediately is why: Elizabeth Masterson, former resident, is lying in a coma on the verge of death. Her spirit, however, has decided not to leave her apartment. In fact, it is David who must convince Elizabeth that she is dead, and therefore, should leave him to his apartment. Sound like great conflict? It is.   David decides to help Elizabeth “cross over,” and in the process, they fall in love (Boy gets Girl). Of course, in this storyline, just as in Two Weeks Notice, they don’t date, either. But, we know they are falling in love because Elizabeth becomes jealous of other women. We know David starts to fall for Elizabeth, because he becomes desperate to help her “cross over,” and even more desperate to help her come out of the coma, once he discovers she is not really dead. As the plot progresses, we find out that the reason for this spiritual anomaly is Elizabeth is on the verge of death. David tried everything he can think of to help save her, and he does. Sadly, there is a dreadful side-effect: The woken Elizabeth doesn’t have a clue whom he is! (Boy loses Girl.)   This wouldn’t be a romance if it ended there, however. David, who has now moved out of Elizabeth’s apartment, has left her a gift: a garden on the roof. This gift spurs her to remember him (Boy gets Girl back), and they live happily ever after.   Failure to Launch (2006) Tripp and Paula In this movie, we know from the beginning just exactly how Boy is going to lose Girl. Tripp still lives at home with his parents, has no intention of ever moving out, and his parents want to give him the boot. Enter Paula, a relationship therapist who guarantees that she can have Tripp out of his parents’ house (by the end of the film). The way in which Paula intends to do this is to date Tripp—without him knowing, of course, that she has an ulterior motive. Anytime we have the hero or heroine assuming a false identity in order to force the other’s hand, we know immediately that the break-up is going to happen when the truth comes to light. This makes for great suspense. Just exactly when is the discovery going to be made? How is the secret going to be kept? It’s the making of great conflict.   In this example, we have two layers of Boy gets Girl: the initial layer, which is superficial and easy; the one where Paula begins to date Tripp. And the other—the one in the middle of the film when she actually falls for him. Then comes the discovery of Paula’s true reason for dating Tripp—which, of course, comes after she loves him and doesn’t want him to find out—and Boy loses Girl. By the time we get to the end of the film, Tripp realizes he needs more than just life with his parents; he needs Paula, and Paula has realized that she doesn’t want to spend her life “tricking” people; she wants Tripp. And guess what? They all live happily ever after. So, as we can see from our film analysis, the Boy meets Girl, Boy loses Girl, Boy gets Girl back formula can be used in many ways: It can be layered, as in Fools Rush In. It can be woven around and action adventure, as in Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl. It can be used in a way where part of the formula is found only in the back-story, as in Twister. But, the formula, in all three of its parts, must be present. We also need to understand that Girl gets Boy, Girl loses Boy, Girl gets Boy back is also the formula, and that both variations might be utilized in the same novel. You see, we can get creative with a known formula, and as I said in the beginning, we must in order to keep our stories from being stale. In those plots where the hero and the heroine are married, the Boy loses Girl section of our formula is sometimes only emotional. This is fine, as long as that severance seems complete. If the heroine has emotionally distanced herself from the hero so much that the hero believes there is no way he can salvage the marriage, then an emotional separation is plausible, and the Boy must work through the conflict in order to get his Girl back. It is also imperative that the Boy losing Girl doesn’t happen until after that crucial “point of no return”. If Boy loses Girl before he loves her, then the break-up will be both unemotional and unbelievable. We want our readers crying for our hero, not thinking he’s irrational or insane. This is why we must weave our conflicts well. Just as in Failure to Launch, Paula has fallen completely for Tripp, before Tripp finds out she was a hired date. If he had found out before Paula loved him, then Paula would have had nothing invested, nothing to lose. As it is, she loses everything by Tripp’s discovery, because by that time in the storyline, she is no longer just a hired girlfriend; she’s there because she wants to be. So, when analyzing our plots, we must look for the absence of any part of the formula. If we can’t find one of the three slices of the pie in our story, then our story is not a classic romance. If the formula exists, well, we can congratulate ourselves because, we’ve written a romance. Here’s an exercise that will help strengthen the ability to formulate a great romance plot: Analyze the following movies. Try to decipher the main conflict. Once the conflict is obvious, figure out why it is such a strong conflict. Why does it work in keeping the hero and heroine apart? Next, discover the point at which Boy gets Girl, and after she is gotten, note the point of no return—that point in the story where Boy losing Girl will be devastating to Boy. Then see the point where Boy loses Girl (it will always come after the point of no return.) Finally, note the conflict resolution which facilitates Boy getting Girl back: You’ve Got Mail (1998): Joe Fox and Kathleen Kelly Never Been Kissed (1999) Josie Geller and Sam Coulson The Wedding Planner (2001) Mary Fiore and Steve Edison 13 Going on 30 (2004) Jenna Rink and Matt Flamhaff -- Nicola Marinez is an award-winning author who has been writing and studying romance for decades. She was founder and publisher of the women’s fiction magazine, Bridges, before selling it in 2001; she is co-author of The Lightning-fast Lexicon of Period Lingo.

Queries...

Queries are unique.  Well, at least to me some of them are.  I received one recently declaring I would be reading the greatest love story if I requested the manuscript.  Hmmm….  I didn’t know that Jane Austen was still writing.  Or maybe it was Shakespeare who had signed the query.  Or James Cameron had made Titanic into a novel?   But alas, it was none of those.  The author promised love, intrigue, romance, and everything I always wanted in a story. 

I was interested, but wary of what I would receive.  So I requested a partial of the story.  Guess what I got…the full manuscript written in play form with spaces for pictures.  Pictures???  Oh my.  My heart broke for this author.  She really believed she was correct in her submission.

The query is the first impression you will make on the editor.  And it needs to be a good one.  Here are a few general guidelines when it comes to writing your query.

1.   Keep your blurb simple and make sure you have a hook that makes me want to read more.  Include only the main characters and a theme-driven statement. 

2.  Format the query in readable type.  No fancy fonts, colors, or pictures.

3.  Avoid giving too much information (TMI).  Be personable, professional and interesting, but don’t tell too much that doesn’t involve your writing career.

4.   Check spelling, grammar, and punctuation.  I’ve received so many queries with grammatical errors.  That really sets a bad impression.

5.  Include your word count. 

6.  For a historical, include the setting.  I don’t want to guess when or when the story takes place.

This may all seen very particular.  But we see a lot of queries every week.   Make yours stand out.  Maybe I will find that next great love story.

Beginning Writers: So you think you want to write?

(reprinted from the Greenhouse on The Wild Rose Press website) Beginning Writers: So you think you want to write?

by Delilah Devlin Do you empty your pockets and purse in front of the computer at night because you have bits of stories stashed everywhere? Do you daydream constantly about other places, other times…other men? When you're trying to fall asleep at night, do you suddenly jolt from the bed because your hero's voice utters the perfect retort to something your heroine said? If you answered yes, you may have the writing bug. It's a sickness that strikes the romance writer when she's looked around at what life has had to offer, and decides she wants something more-something besides Lithium and Prozac to get the voices out her head! But do you really have what it takes to BE a writer? That's a tough question, and one I didn't ask myself at the outset of this adventure. I'm a leap before you look kind of gal. If I'd looked first, I might have known I'd lose the few friends I'd made along the way, because they didn't "get" what I was doing and wanted to pull me away from my computer to do things like shop . I might have seen that my family would wonder whether I was entering a new, exotic form of dementia, which included the impulse to rush from my office saying things like, "Do you think Navarro should turn Sidney into a vampire?" or "Do you think werewolves see in color?" Looking back there were so many things about this life I wish I'd known. But becoming a writer doesn't come with a college course and a certification exam. It's what you do. What I did was make a lot of mistakes along the way-one's I'll use in my stand-up routine someday when I'm talking to a room full of fledgling writers. Wouldn't you like to know what some of those missteps were? All right, I didn't do everything wrong, obviously, so there are many positive lessons to learn from my experience-and from the collective experience of everyone at Rose's Colored Glasses. What the writers here want to do is demystify some of the process of becoming a published writer, and give you step-by-guidance and tools to help you as you progress along this career path. Some of the things we espouse will strike you as just right for you and some will make you shudder. We're all taking different routes to the same destination, so there really isn't one path to publication. If you're up for the journey, or are just plain curious about what we have to say, stick around and become part of Rose's extended network of writing friends. We're a support group to help you learn to live with your obsession, and maybe new friends to replace the ones that abandoned you to the madness! ~Delilah Devlin www.deliliahdevlin.com (reprinted with permission from www.rosescoloredglasses.com)

Beginning Writers: Redundancy and other misc tips

Beginning Writers: Redundancy and other misc tips

Watch out for these redundant words: Stand (up) Sit (down) Turned (back) Needs (to be) He thought (to himself) The following are words that you can usually cut from your manuscript. They are too wordy: Instead Seemed That had Been Suddenly Words that sometimes trip us up Lay – to place Lie – to recline Quite, quiet, quit (easy words to type wrong) Affect – is the verb Effect – is the noun

Beginning Writers: Learn to Crawl Before You Run

Beginning Writers: Learn to Crawl Before You Run

by Beverly Oz (reprinted from the Greenhouse on Wild Rose Press website) Most new writers will never write 'the end' At a local chapter meeting of the Romance Writers of America (RWA), I heard some staggering statistics about newbie writers. Most new writers will never write 'the end' on a full-length manuscript. They'll start the novel of their hearts, but for various reasons, will never finish the story. Learning the craft can be overwhelming Having spent the last three years on my first novel, I can certainly understand why so many newbie authors give up. Learning the craft of writing romance can be overwhelming. There are so many confusing rules and guidelines to follow (showing vs. telling, creating and maintaining goals, motivation, and conflict, POV, etc…), those without a handle on knowing what they are doing can quickly find themselves in over their heads. At that point a sink-or-swim mentality can take over. If the statistics are true, most newbie writers go under. Baby steps. Start small and work my way up While experiencing my own bout of career-stalling water sucking, the fates intervened with a lesson I should have learned from Mother Nature long ago. Baby steps. Start small and work my way up. Like a newborn attempting to run a marathon, I simply didn't have skills or writing techniques at an advanced enough level to start and finish a 100,000 word novel. I needed to start small, to get my footing. After almost giving up on writing all-together, I swallowed my pride, and wrote a short story. At only 5,000 words, finishing the story was relatively easy. But as I pounded out those few words I learned how to hone my craft. I had conflict, goals, and motivation. I had interesting characters and descriptions. All the pieces needed for a good, compelling story came together like a puzzle. Everything clicked. ... gave me the confidence to continue writing The sense of accomplishment I experienced at completing that story (which appeared in the October 2006 edition of True Romance) gave me the confidence to continue writing. My second completed story was longer - 10,000 words. But not only did I up the ante by writing a longer story, I tried my hand at a paranormal erotica. I had never attempted writing in that genre or at that level of sensuality before, making the story a real challenge. But I took one baby step after another, and met the challenge head on. The experience forced me to stretch my skills and grow as a writer. I'm waiting to hear from a publisher who may or may not be interested in this story. But, even if I don't sell, I'm proud I finished another project I started. My latest baby step is a 20,000 word novella that will be a part of a Christmas anthology published by The Wild Rose Press, an on-line publisher. The story, Tales From Christmas Town, is due out in November. ...writing short stories prepared me for the novel of my heart Everything I've learned and all the confidence I've gained in writing the short stories has prepared me for the novel of my heart. Now that I've mastered how to crawl, I'm ready to beat the odds and try out my first real step into a full-length novel. Should be a walk around the park. (reprinted with permission from www.rosescoloredglasses.com)

How to lose a sale in 3 seconds

It has been said that you either win or lose a sale in under 3 seconds of exposure.  I firmly believe that.  I myself became a romance book junkie (me being a girl who absolutely hated to read)  just because the cover begged me to pick it up.  I did, and whamo, I’ve been reading and writing ever since.

Books are regularly tested in this way.  If the cover doesn’t grab the reader in those first few seconds, you aren’t going to get that sale.  Oh sure, your steadfast fans will buy your book, your mother, your sister and friends, but what about expanding your base?  More sales equals more royalties, which in turn means you get to do more of what you love.  Write!

With all that in mind, the cover art department here at The Wild Rose Press, Inc. strives to grab the reader within those 3 seconds.  A book has to be marketable or else you’ve done all that writing for, well...nothing.  But together we can achieve this goal.

Here are a few things to consider when giving the artist information about your book.  Remember, it is highly unlikely that they will read the work before designing a cover.

1. Tone.  A cover should always represent the overall feel of the book.  It should have a presence, one that clearly depicts what is inside.  Readers don’t like surprises.  No one wants to pick up a book that looks sweet and endearing to find it’s all about kicking puppies.  Tricking a reader is an instant loss to any future sales, not to mention how they tend to respond to their disappointment by  posting hateful, almost cruel reviews all over the Internet.  They’re never going to trust you again.  So, whatever the sub-genre, make certain that tone is heavily conveyed in your descriptions, suggestions, and examples.  This will be the overall guide for the artist. 
2. Elements.  Always apply the KISS principle.  ‘keep it simple stupid’  The average size of a book cover image is rather small.  Just pop over to Amazon and you’ll see what the norm is.  Sure you can click and see the bigger image, but that’s after those first few seconds.  Therefore, you want to keep the clutter on the cover at a minimum.  You don’t have to have every element in your book on the front.  Try the old artist rule of three.  What three things (people are things too) represent the most important elements of your story?  How could they be incorporated together to tell the potential reader what it’s all about?  If a consumer is just grazing the shelves (electronically) and can’t make out what is on your cover due to its clutter, you’ve just lost a potential sale.  They’re not going to click through to read about it.
3. Communication.  The artists need all the input from you they can get, and then…they need a free hand to go and create.  They may not get it just the way you want, but you have to throw that notion out.  No two people will perceive the cover or your writing in the same way.  So be very clear in your suggestions.  Don’t mention horses if you don’t really want them on the cover.  Use examples, other covers, offer up photos as suggestions, anything to explain to them what it is you’re hoping for and what your book is all about.  If you don’t tell them, they’ll never know, and you stand the chance of getting a cover that has nothing to do with your story—in other words, poor to no sales.

In this world of tweets, tubes, and blogs, your book will be seen around the world in a variety of ways in less time than it takes to say hello.  So, make those first 3 seconds the best they can be.  The wrapping is just as important as what is inside.

R J Morris

Co-Founder & Vice President

The Wild Rose Press, Inc.

 

The Flower Basket Series - Final call for submissions

Over the past four years, as Senior Editor in the Sweetheart line,  I’ve enjoyed overseeing the stories included in The Flower Basket series. These shorter-length stories set in the fictional central California town of Almendra have been fun additions to the line. As with all things, the time has come to wrap up the series and possibly look for a new series idea. Therefore, the deadline for submitting a completed story is set as June 30, 2013. For who might have a story idea or wish to review a copy of the fictional setting guidelines, please contact me directly at Leanne@thewildrosepress.com.

Contingency Plan or Succession Plan for Your Author Career

No one likes to think about death.  Its sad, unpleasant, and simply not something you try to think about on a regular basis.  However, the reality is it could happen. To you.  At any time.  Do you have a plan in place for your books - both published and unpublished if you should suddenly not be here?

I've lost a handful of authors since our company opened its doors seven years ago.  Each time it is sad and heartbreaking both to me and to their family.  Harder still are the ones who come to me years after the author's death and say they finally made it through their loved one's paperwork and found out they were published with us.  How sad.  Both that the family member had no idea who the author's publisher was and that they had to dig to find us.

Take some time this year to plan for "what if".  Make a list of all your published books.  Write down the publisher, when they were published, when the contract expires, and the contact information for the company. Not just your editor as jobs change, but the main company email, website and phone if you have it.

Now list your unpublished work and indicate if it is finished or not.  If its out for consideration, indicate who has it.  Indicate your wishes for what to do with everything.  Most contracts, ours included, expire upon the death of the author.  However, we have kept contracts open for family members and kept books for sale for years if that is what the family has requested. Indicate your wishes for your unpublished work as well.  Should it be destroyed?  Do you want someone else to work with it?  For example, I've told my family that any of my manuscripts that are unpublished should be given to my sister to deal with.  As she is also an author, I know she will make the correct decisions as to what to do with them.

Don't put this off.  Your writing career is a business and your manuscripts are your assets.  Maybe not worth anything except to you and your loved ones but make sure they know what to do with them if you aren't here anymore.

In any business, the death of the owner is something that has to be planned for.  You are the owner of your writing business. Make sure you have a contingency plan in place.

Beginning Writers: Is it a Romance?

Beginning Writers: Is it a Romance?

By Bronwyn Storm I think the most painful word in the world is "rejection," (this word is closely followed by "we can still be friends," and "I’m sorry, we don’t make that dessert anymore," but I digress). Rejection. Three syllables worth of disappointment, hurt, confusion—the angst-related synonyms could stretch on for eternity. There are different reasons for rejection—the story doesn’t fit the line; there’s too much telling, not enough showing (writing, it appears, is the one industry where baring all and exposing one’s self are regarded as the commendable…unlike in the real world where showing your everything could get you a fine and jail time). Perhaps the most confusing rejection for a writer to hear is "It’s a good story, but it’s not a romance." Not a romance? Not a romance! There’s a boy, there’s a girl, they end up together in the end. What else could the editor want? Well, a lot, actually. Despite misconceptions, just because you have two bodies declaring their undying love at the end of a story doesn’t mean your story is a romance. First of all—and proving my suspicion that those who pursue writing as a career have some deep-seated masochistic issues—romance can be subjective. One of my friends told me that she thought Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean was a great romance. I, on the other hand, thought it was an action-adventure with romantic elements. Who was right? Me, of course. Hey, this is my article; I get to be right, don’t I? The reason I didn’t think it was a romance was because the story didn’t really seem to focus on Elizabeth and Will as much as it did Jack Sparrow. The other characters seemed to be fighting him, working with him, missing him, looking for him, wishing they’d never found him…so for me, I felt the story was Jack’s because everything seemed to revolve around him. Oh dear. I think I’m digressing (which you have to admit, is far better than when I’m regressing). Anyhow, to anyone who’s ever written a story, thought it was a romance, submitted it, only to be told, "Sorry, dear. Great story, but not a romance," I offer the following as a helpful checklist. When you’re done writing your story, take a look and answer the following questions (I’m going to answer according to the classic fairy tale, Beauty and the Beast): Is the majority of the story is focused on the relationship between the hero and heroine? Yes, without question. How as close to the first page as possible do they meet? In the version I read they met on page three—after the father had picked the rose and incurred the Beast’s wrath. Do their interactions take up the majority of ink space in the book? Yes again. I’d say about ninety percent of the book was about them. When they’re not together are they thinking about each other? Absolutely. When Beauty goes home, all she can think about is the Beast. Do they both have to sacrifice/learn something at the end of the story? Yeppers. They both learn that love can run deeper than the skin/appearances. Whatever the external conflict, can it only be solved by working together? Yes. One of the external conflicts is the well-being of the father. That’s solved by Beauty moving to the Beast’s castle. The other conflict is the Beast’s well-being, which also provides the climax and resolution of the story. If the story is spicy-hot/depicts love scenes, are they the only ones whose lovemaking the reader is privy to? In the story I read they never made love. At the end of the story, is there is a Happy Ever After? Sigh. Yes, oh, yes! If there are secondary characters, is that all they are—secondary. They don’t dominate the text. Their stories (if they have any) are alluded to, rather than focused on? Yes. The secondary character in my version was the father, whose actions instigated the story and got the plot going. If there is a subplot, it serves to further the interactions between the Hero & Heroine? In this version, there was no subplot. But if you think about the Disney version, then the subplot was Gaston and he certainly furthered the interactions between the hero and heroine. The main Points Of Views are the Hero & Heroine. If we step away from it, is it because a character has information the reader needs to know that can’t be conveyed via the Hero or Heroine? In my version, there were no other points of view save Beauty’s. So there we have it. Beauty and the Beast was a romance, Pirates of the Caribbean…well, even if it wasn’t, that soul-searing-sigh-worthy-kiss between Elizabeth and Will (where they’re on the tower) certainly made up for it. As for your story, take the checklist, hold it up to your novel and decide: is it a romance? Reprinted with permission. Bronwyn Storm is a super-hero in training—hey, one day being a klutz will be a superpower…if she doesn’t break anything vital in the meantime. When not tripping over her feet, she writes for The Wild Rose Press and plays butler and cuddler to her furry boys. Check out her website www.bronwynstorm.com and drop her a line, she could use the excuse to stop petting the dogs and cats. © 2008 all rights reserved.

Beginning Writers: Prose Pitfalls

(reprinted from The Wild Rose Press greenhouse of articles.)

Beginning Writers: Prose Pitfalls

by Natasha Bacchus You read a story, something seems “off,” but what is it? Here are things I always check for—they are more, but these are the ones that came to mind and can (for me) make or break an offer to contract. Dialogue Tags What is it: A dialogue tag is the part on the end of a spoken section that tells you who is saying what. What it looks like: “he said” “she said” “she exclaimed.” Quite often, we are redundant with them: “Don’t do that!” she exclaimed. Because of the exclamation point, there’s no need to add “exclaimed.” “Don’t do what?” he asked. Again, the reader already knows the character is posing a question. “I hoped to have the report done by Thursday,” she said. “Okay, there’s no rush,” he said. “I’ll meet you at Starbucks for lunch,” she said. Now, you’re just torturing the reader.  Don’t include dialogue tags in every sentence. And don’t do this: “I hoped to have the report done by Thursday,” she said. “Okay, there’s no rush,” he responded. “I’ll meet you at Starbucks for lunch,” she rejoined. The eye glosses over “said” but will catch every other dialogue tag.  Most publishers like writers to stick with “said” and sprinkle in the occasional pumped up tag. And definitely don’t do this: “I hoped to have the report done by Thursday,” she said worriedly. “Okay, there’s no rush,” he responded comfortingly. “I’ll meet you at Starbucks for lunch,” she rejoined cheerfully. Use adverbs judiciously. How to fix it: So when would you use tags? 1)    When you have a variety of speakers in a conversation. You help the reader keep track of who is saying what. 2)    After a passage of narration and you’re starting into dialogue. White Room Phenomenon What is it:  The author gives little to no description. You don’t know where you are, what the scene is. What does it look like:  Charlie sat in his office and took the file.  The room felt hot, claustrophobic.  He opened a window and went back to his work. The door opened and she came in. A story is only as good as the world it creates.  The world is only as rich as the writer’s descriptions. How to fix it: Charlie sat the scarred pressboard desk and took another parole application from the drawer.  The room, a renovated janitor’s closet, felt hot, claustrophobic.  He turned on the fan by his foot (note: b/c a janitor’s closet wouldn’t have a window) and went back to his work. The door opened and she came in. Talking Heads What is it: A lack of description of the characters, leading to the impression that they’re talking heads, with no tangible/physical form. What it looks like: “Oh, you’re here,” said Charlie. “Yes. I wanted to talk to you about Winston.” “There’s nothing to talk about. He’s a bad egg.” “Can’t you reconsider?” “No.” Again, a fictional world is only as vibrant as the writer behind it.  I read a book series about a detective, but the writer never described him, (and he wrote in 1st person). It was the most frustrating book. I can only guess that the author wanted the reader to superimpose their own image of the man, but I found it annoying. He was nothing but a talking head to me. Coupled with other problems with the book, I never read the entire book and never read another book by the same author. How to fix it: Action, description, sensory detail. “Oh, you’re here,” said Charlie. The smell of her perfume, cranberries and spice, curled around his head, seducing him.  He swallowed, trying to get moisture in his suddenly dry throat, and concentrated on the file with enough force to burn a hole through the desk. “Yes.”  Mary’s voice, too damn husky and sexy for his own good, tickled his libido with smooth tones. “I wanted to talk to you about Winston.” “There’s nothing to talk about. He’s a bad egg.”  Don’t look at her. Don’t look at her. Too late. Red hair, soft skin, and a smile that turned his legs to pudding. “Can’t you reconsider?” Her brown eyes were wide with hope. “No.” He readjusted his wheelchair, locking it into place. Then he engaged the brakes on his heart. Vague References What is it: The author includes detail, you have a sense of the scene. But the descriptions are so generic, it doesn’t create a three-dimensional image/ground the reader. What it looks like: Jon set the chips on the coffee table, then went to the fridge and pulled out the drinks.  He arranged the food, shooed the dog from the chair, and turned on the music. When the doorbell rang, he answered it. “Things” tell character/setting.  They can intensify a scene, kick the reader in the gut. How to fix it:  Compare the difference in what we know about Jon, based on the following (and special thanks to Nancy Kress for the inspiration/creation of this): Johnny set the beer nuts on the formica coffee table, then went to the fridge and pulled out the beer.  He arranged the food, shooed Rover, the Heinz-57 mix from the Lazy-boy chair, and turned on the Garth Brooks CD. When the doorbell pealed, he answered it. John set the tortilla chips on the glass coffee table, then went to the fridge and pulled out the Wild Vines white wine.  He arranged the food, shooed Murphy, the Labrador retriever from the suede chair, and turned on the Kenny G CD. When the doorbell chimed, he answered it. Jonathon set the canapés on the Louis XlV coffee table, then went to the fridge and pulled out the 1964 Chateau LeFic.  He arranged the food, shooed Emerald Ginger Sparkle, the pekinese from the over-stuffed chaise, and turned on the Mozart CD. When the doorbell rang, he answered it. Which Jon would most likely own season tickets to the Philharmonic? Which Jon would love a monster truck rally?  Which one is most likely to shop at the Gap? Each Jon has a distinctive personality, socio-economic status, and attitude and all because of minor details—beer nuts over canapés, a retriever rather than a show dog.  Details make the story, they are what help to pull readers in and create that fictional dream. Adverb Overuse What is it: The author uses adverbs in every (or almost every sentence). What it looks like: Jon hurriedly set the chips on the coffee table, then went to the fridge and quickly pulled out the drinks.  He artfully arranged the food, shooed the dog from the chair, and leisurely turned on the music. When the doorbell rang, he answered it smilingly. Adverbs are used like salt—to spice up writing. But just like salt, too much of it can spoil the story and leave a bad taste in the readers mouth.  Also, the brain will start to repeat the “ly” sound in the readers head, leading to an impression of boring/repetitive writing. Adverbs can also be a great indicator that the writer is in passive, rather than active voice, and is telling rather than showing (more on this later). How to fix it:  99.9% of adverbs don’t need to be there. 1)    Delete them 2)    Replace with more active verbs (ie. “quickly pulled” becomes “yanked”) 3)    Show don’t tell            Redundancies What is it:  When a writer repeats information. What it looks like: 1)    “The water completely surrounded the tree.” (taken from http://www.scj.us/tcj/articles/fall06_stevenson1.shtml) 2)    “Let me explain what happened.  The pipe broke,” he explained. Thanks to Governments, Universities, etc., we’re very used to reading redundant writing, but in fiction, avoid it. How to fix it: 1)    “The water surrounded the tree.” (“surround” doesn’t need “completely”) 2)    “Let me explain what happened.  The pipe broke.”  Or “The pipe broke,” he explained. Repetitious Prose What is it: Similar to redundancies, but in this instance, the author offers information, then keeps repeating it. What it looks like: She noticed his startling blue eyes…(then, 5 paragraphs later)…his startling blue eyes hypnotized her. Or, the hero is tagged as handsome, and then the term “handsome” is used again, and again, and again. Something that authors need to keep in mind is that the page is a gold mine.  Sift through the words, let readers find gold. Don’t cheat them by repeating the same information. Every sentence is a glorious opportunity to share something new. How to fix it: Rewrite the sentence. Bloated Prose What is it: Loads of extraneous, boring writing that does nothing to move the plot along. What it looks like: Pages of internal monologue; pages of descriptions of the setting sun; dialogue like: “Hey, how are you?” “Okay, I guess.” “Just okay? What happened?” “Nothing, couldn’t really sleep last night.” “How come?” “I don’t know.  I guess I had a lot on my mind.” “Yeah? Like what?” “Well, work for one. Yesterday the copier broke down and it really annoyed me, because I had to run photocopies off for Mr. Heiniken.” Are you bored to tears, yet?  Go back to the metaphor of writing as panning for gold.  Bloated prose is like silt. It’s there and doesn’t do anything, other than cover the nuggets. How to fix it:  If a scene or chapter doesn’t move the plot, cut it. Dysfunction masquerading as Conflict What is it: Characters act/think/feel in a manner that’s supposed to read as conflict or tension, but in reality, makes them seem immature or in need of psychotherapy. What it looks like:  Jack, aged forty-five, looked the beautiful middle-aged woman in front of him.  He didn’t understand why men his age chased after younger women. What could they have in common—other than the obvious? If you really read this sentence, it’s not just dysfunctional, it’s discriminatory.  The Wild Rose Press will not print racist, sexist, or discriminatory stories or protagonists. If the villain is discriminatory, that’s one thing, but not the protagonists. Why is Jack an ass? Because he’s judging an entire group (younger women).  Take out “younger” and insert “black” and you’ll see what I mean.  What a stupid comment: what could they have in common? Duh. Intellect, life experience, philosophy, religion. Dysfunction can also be the hero/heroine refusing help for the sake of refusing help. Again. Stupid.  You don’t want your protagonists to read as the jerk that the reader knows; you want them to inspire the reader.  Yes, they need to be fallible. Fallible. Not dysfunctional. How to fix it: Tweak, rewrite, or delete. Passive/Telling What is it: The over-use of weak verbs (to be, to have, to feel, etc.) that leads to a stale, uninspiring story. What it looks like:  The note on the table told him goodbye.  He could hardly bear to hold it.  It made him sad. He felt it in his bones.  Jeff was regretting his rash words. Again, we live in a society where business and educational institutions push passive writing. Think about this sentence: Cigarettes were determined to have been a cause in cancer. Now think about this one: Cigarettes cause cancer.  Which one hits you in the gut? The second one.  Why? Because it’s intense, to the point and vibrant. Now, let me state that these verbs are not “bad” they should not all be omitted.  But often, with a little work and imagination, a writer can create a better sentence which evokes emotion and a sense that the reader is living and breathing the story, rather than just reading it. How to fix it: When it comes to “was,” often you can take it out, change the verb it precedes to an “ed” ending, ie. Jeff was regretting his decision „³ Jeff regretted his decision. With states of emotion, or the “to have” verb, these are great places to show (ie., to create word pictures).   So, he felt sad (or he was sad).  Despair washed over him, drowning him in regrets and images of a future that would never be. One other way to pump up a weak verb, is to link it with an image. So rather than writing “he was confused” try “he was in free fall.”  Stick in images, classical references, and see what happens. The Bystander Phenomenon What is it: A lack of sensory detail leads to the feeling that you’re a witness to events, rather than a part of them. What it looks like:  Traffic was backed up.  She prayed it was better on the north side.  Her father was heading to the doctor to get his heart checked. She wanted to drop off her paperwork and meet him there.  Kassie hoped he would be okay. Okay, we know where she is, and what’s going on…but do you care? Really? Or do you feel like I do, that I’m standing on the side of the road and watching her, but not really identifying with anything that’s going on? There are seven senses: feel, touch, taste, sight, smell, sound, and humor.  Writers need to include these (not everything, all at once) in their writing to pull readers in. How to fix it: A stalled car on the 401 had turned the freeway into a six lane parking lot.  Kassie inched along in her Ford Focus, cursing fate so she didn’t curse at the cars around her. Each swish of her watch’s hands boomed like canon-fire.  Please God, that traffic was better on the north side. A sudden, swift image of her father came to mind. His gnarled hands clasped on the steering wheel, the pounding of his heart as he drove for the follow up on the heart tests.  Her dad, alone in the cold, sterile examining room, a thin scrap of paper covering him, fear clogging throat, panic making his voice crack. One thing to notice here, is that the inclusion of details makes the story longer.  All we know here is that she’s afraid, and worried about her dad. We don’t know she’s trying to make it to the office and finish off her work, and the paragraph is already twice the size of the original. That’s okay. That’s part of the give and take of more active writing. It increases word count. Something to bear in mind is that writers don’t always have to turn every sentence into a show sentence. That would bog down the writing, decrease the pace of the plot. You want to use show when you’re talking about emotion, internal/external conflict, or dealing with the climax. Don’t use it to talk about the weather—unless the weather can be referenced by the character or is vital to the plot (ie. the rain comes at the black moment and symbolizes the heroine's despair or they're trapped in a log cabin and the snowstorm is preventing them from escape). There are a variety of other things to bear in mind, when reviewing a submission: •    Does the plot move at a good pace? •    Are the characters behaviour/thoughts consistent? •    Are the characters 3-D? •    Is the conflict realistic? •    Does the author change Point of View (from hero’s internal thoughts/sensations to the heroine’s) too often (you want a ratio of one POV/scene, unless you in a climatic moment). •    Is the writing cliché (ie. He was as hungry as a horse)? Natasha Bacchus is an editor and multi-published author who writes under a pseudonym. She has graciously given permission for the reprint of this article.