Emancipation Day

Since February, when a character from a manuscript I was working on, appeared on the scene and wouldn't leave me alone, I've been working on her story. The aforementioned manuscript, from whence she emerged, has been pushed under the bed. At least something good came out of that whole experience.

The story takes place during the Revolutionary War in America. I wasn't that well versed in Revolutionary history before, other than knowing the basics, so I had a huge learning curve. And the story begins in England, where my character sails from, so I had to familiarize myself with sailing vessels used in the late 1700s. And then, there was Boston. Other than the Tea Party and the Common, I didn't know much about that place, either. But I love historicals where I take two normal people who happen to be living through perilous times and sink them into the history. Think Rose and Jack on the Titanic and you'll understand.

Boston Tea Party

Anyway, in the course of my research I learned Bostonians celebrate something called "Evacuation Day" every March, even to this day. That's the day the British ships left the harbor for good, having been intimidated by the large number of cannons pointed at the harbor from Dorchester Heights. The Brits didn't know there was no ammunition to back up the bold presence. They also didn't know some of the cannons were simply painted logs, made to resemble a cannon. The Brits couldn't take the chance, so they ended their blockade and evacuated the area.

Cannons being moved to Boston from upstate New York. 

My main character has been fighting her own battle. She's desperate to escape the rule of her father, who wants to marry her off to a man with great wealth. She'd rather marry for love. As she stands in the harbor watching the ships leave and hearing it referred to as Evacuation Day, she thinks instead it should be called Emancipation Day. Because she's found love and her father can no longer run her life.

The manuscript is now finished, except for writing a synopsis. So in a way, this is my Emancipation Day. These characters, and this story line, have been a daily part of my life since February, and I'm ready to move on. My next idea also sprang from one of those manuscripts taking up residence under the bed. A high-priced English courtesan decides to migrate to America. What could go wrong?

Stick a pin in that for a couple months.

Writing In Multiple Sub-Genres

Yesterday, I had two conversations with fellow authors on basically the same subject. If you're a loyal follower of this blog, you know I've been taking some time this year to try on all kinds of writing styles and sub-genres, to see which ones fit me comfortably and which ones tend to pinch my toes.

Conversation #1

went something like this–I have a paranormal series going and book one will come out this summer, but I had this idea for a contemporary and I started writing it and fell in love with the story. So, I'm putting paranormal on the back burner while I finish the contemporary up and send it off.

Conversation #2

was quite different, and went this way–I see you're all over the place with your writing now, not only with various publishers but with various writing styles. Maybe you should rein it in?

Which one is right? Or is there no right or wrong? It's hard to know. All I can do is follow my heart and my muse. When I wake up each morning and turn on the computer, which file do I want to open and work on? Right now, it's the contemporary that's in my driver's seat. Maybe next month, I'll wander back to my YA historical or spruce up my novella and send it elsewhere if the current publisher who is looking at it takes a pass. I have heard many authors who are much more successful than me state that you need to write in more than one genre, so who am I to argue? I think the key to this whole crazy industry is to keep writing, regardless of what genre your muse happens to lead you to.

Happy writing, everyone!

Professional Jealousy

Romance authors are a tightly-knit group. At chapter meetings, we cheer each other's accomplishments, commiserate with each other if the news isn't so good, and pass out a lot of chocolate. On the national level, we get to know other authors who are enjoying the benefits of their hard work, and realize folks like Nora, Julia and Jayne Anne are really normal, down-to-earth types who have labored for years to get to the heights they're now at.

While I'm on the same page as my chapter mates with my pleasure in other people's success, I find myself occasionally wondering why one person is successful and another can't get any traction. I hold myself and my books up for comparison with others and find myself wishing that, for one moment, I could be in their shoes.

Most of you know by now that The Voice is one of my favorite shows. Not so much for the talent,  but because I love the interaction between the coaches. I always find some kernel of wisdom to take home.

This week, Pharell Williams told one of his team that if you wish to be like someone else who has made it in the industry, you'll always be second best. He said the only person you should compete with is yourself, and try to do better every week, every month, than you did before. Once again, Pharell's words resonated with me.

So, from here out, I will compete only with myself, and will continue to applaud the accomplishments and success of others. Thank you, Pharell, for once again reminding me of what is important.  Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

Building A Novel

I recently had company in town for a couple of pleasant days. We went to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in downtown Cleveland, caught a movie at the old Apollo theatre, and got wet and cold at the beautiful Brandywine Falls, which was roaring big-time, due to our record-setting rains.

While we were driving around, the topic spun around to my writing, as it always seems to do. A simple question of how I get my ideas turned into a description of how I put a story together. The approach varies from writer to writer, but my method is to do a vague outline, plotting turning points on a grid, then to write the book from start to finish in an abbreviated form. I want to make sure I have it starting in the right spot, the middle is solid and the end is complete before I go in and add details and polish it up. My friend's husband listened to what I was saying and said "It's kind of like building a house, isn't it? You start with a sound foundation, add studs and beams, put a roof on it to make sure it's water tight before you paint, wallpaper and add trim and light fixtures."

I'm surprised I'd never looked at it that way. After all, my dad was a builder and I spent the better part of my youth on one job site or another, learning how to operate tools and put things together. But my friend's husband's analogy is spot on for my style of writing. I'll worry over the details at some point, but I first want to make certain there's a story to be told, that it starts at the right place, and that the end is satisfying. It doesn't matter if the book is historic or contemporary, the procedure, at least for me, is the same each time. How about for you? What is your writing process like?

TRR's Blog Hop--Day 4--Ashlyn MacNamera

I just discovered Ashlyn MacNamera. I think, no I know, my interest was piqued by the cover of her latest release, A Most Devilish Rogue, which just released last month. As a contributor to USA Today's Happy Ever After column, it's my job to browse assorted publishing websites looking for new books to feature, and I've been staring at this luscious backside for months now. You can see my obsession, can't' you?

But I started my journey with Ashlyn based on her February release of A Most Scandalous Proposal. I'm only about 1/4 of the way through it, but I find myself thinking about the book when I'm away from it. If I pick up another book to read in between visits, I find myself wondering what is happening with Julia and Sophie and Benedict and the horses. So I put my other books away and head back to Ashlyn. As an author, the best compliment we can hear is that the characters resonated with the reader. They became friends with the characters and actually began to care for them. High praise indeed. Check out Ashlyn. You won't be disappointed.

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Getting Ready For School

The month of August hasn't exactly been unfolding as I anticipated. I have the next book in my series due to the publisher (my self-imposed deadline), and I'm thinking about the next book I'm going to write. But am I doing any of that? NO! Instead, I'm spending the month of August writing guest blog spots.

This is an important part of the business of being an author. It's not enough anymore to merely write a book. Merely? Who am I kidding? I meet people all the time who say 'I've always wanted to write a book." But how many actually do? It's tougher than you can imagine. And then to get it published requires an historic effort, along with perseverance, fortitude and a thick skin.

But, I digress. The business of being an author means you have to find new readers, one at a time, at least in the early years. This means blogging on various sites in hopes of enticing just one more person to be intrigued enough by what you have to say to buy and read your book. And hopefully, to leave a nice review. I have a release in September. September 9 to be exact. The Tempestuous Debutante, fourth book in the Cotillion Ball Series, is going to be released to the general public on that date. It's like sending your child off to school for the first time. You've done everything you can to get your child ready. The editors at the publishing house have helped you get your baby properly clothed and polished up. You put said child on the bus (in this case, the Amazon bus), and cross your fingers that someone will be intrigued enough by the outward appearance to invite your child into their homes for a play date.

An important part of this process involves reaching out to a potential audience in the form of guest blogs. In my experience, I've found people aren't so much interested in me, the author, and what my quirks are. They'd rather read about how I come up with my ideas for stories and characters, how I use my life's experiences to create memorable plot lines, that type of thing. So, in this spirit, I've had to come up with unique content for each guest appearance I'm doing in September and October, to promote the book. It's difficult
to come up with a whole lot of ideas, which is why I am trying to space them out. An off-hand comment, a workshop, a conversation between me and a sibling--all are put into the cauldron of ideas and stirred around. I have two more posts to write before I'm done with my current obligations. I'm sitting here hoping for two more brilliant ideas to pop into my head this weekend, so I can mark "write guest blogs" off my list and get back to the magic of writing an actual story.

The Power Of Repetition

I attended a writer’s workshop yesterday. The instructor, whose teaching is not limited to romance authors, told a roomful of romance writers that we have to unlearn things in order to get better. Years of devouring romances have taught us bad habits and we need to break away from the old way of doing things in order to someday reach the NY Times bestseller list.

Interesting stuff.

Case in point. In my critique group, we have a person who has an English major background. She takes her red pen and underlines places where I’ve reused a word in a paragraph or (heaven forbid!) the same sentence. So, I’ve been diligently removing repetitive words from my manuscripts for years now. Except in places where I’ve meant to do it. That’s when I put my foot down. (Speaking of putting your foot down, that’s a cliché to avoid, but that’s a topic for another post.)

Turns out, putting my foot down when I intentionally reused a word or phrase was the correct response. Repetition can be a powerful tool in writing. It creates cadence and flow. And, if you were just zooming along through the story, using the same phrase over and over will draw your attention to the sentence and make you aware that something is about to happen. Something that involves those particular words. It’s a common enough device, used by poets, orators, songwriters and, lo and behold, great writers. Here’s an example: "We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately." (Benjamin Franklin)

My English major red-pen toting friend is still correct in pointing out my overuse of some words. The repetition of words and phrases loses its power if sloppily applied. But when you want to highlight or ratchet up the tension, it’s definitely a tool to pull from your arsenal of writing techniques.

I’d say the cost of the workshop was money well spent.