Questioning Behavior

 I've noticed recently, on Facebook, in passing conversation, and within my own family, that often, the first question asked, even before the "How are you?" is "Have you gotten your shot yet?" 

I'm planning a road trip next month, and I'm already obsessing over how many masks to take, if I should pack water and snacks to lessen our interactions with others, how much disinfectant is needed in the public bathrooms along the way. Since this is a family get-together and we've all been vaccinated, our chances of coming into contact with the deadly disease is decreased, but there are people we'll run into along the way who don't have the benefit of the vaccine. 

Someone recently told me she'd put her trust in the Lord rather than in science, and he'd take her when it was time. To me, that was a very narrow-minded point of view. She can feel the way she wants, but what about all the people she's in contact with each day? Such reckless behavior...

So, what does this all have to do with writing, you ask? As one who is known for finding analogies where there is none, I relate this reckless behavior with writing a book before you study how to write. Regardless of your genre, you need to study your craft. Many fine books on the subject of writing exist, most  of which are created by industry leaders like Stephen King and Janet Evanovich. A nuts and bolts book, relied on by many, is Save the Cat, by Blake Snyder. A more recent entry, Save the Cat Writes a Novel, by Jessica Brody, more narrowly defines how to craft a novel. 

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Add in a dose of study of the English language, and you are prepared to write a book that has a good plot, is free of typos, and is not a waste of the reader's time. If not, you'll end up with a book that few will want to read. You may be able to say you're a published author, but your reckless behavior will make for a very small audience. 

Teaching An Old Dog New Tricks

I attended a workshop at the Medina library yesterday morning. After publishing sixteen books, having one more in the editing stage which has gone on way too long, two completed and under consideration by various publishers and another which I'm still working on, I really didn't think I'd learn anything new. I only went to help fill up the room, since so many of my romance writing chapter mates were out of town.

The workshop was on plotting, and presented by Mary Ellis. https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=mary+ellis&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Amary+ellis

Mary's a local talent, but she writes Amish books and mystery books, neither of which are my chosen genre. She also writes romances, but they're inspirational and don't contain any sex scenes or vulgar language. Also not my type of writing. Over the years I've tried various types of plotting software and have kind of developed my own method, but my first drafts are always short on word count. I can usually rectify this by the second or third draft, but I'll never be a JK Rowling type of writer.

So here I was, warm body in a chair in the room, Mary giving insight about the way she plots (by chapter and word count)  and how she lays out sub-plots and secondary characters and it hit me. The lightbulb truly went off over my head and I glanced around the room to see if anyone else witnessed the flash of light.

In this current work of mine, I have two brothers returning home from the Civil War. They are so desperate for money they steal from my heroine's father and the heroine goes after them. But I've never explained WHY they are desperate. What a great sub-plot! What a great way to add to my word count! What a great idea to turn these cardboard cut-outs into somewhat sympathetic characters!

Not exactly the bad guys in my book, but you get the drift.

My advice to every writer who reads this is go to every workshop you can, because you never know when inspiration will strike. The library is a great resource, since the workshops are free, but there are events scheduled in northern Ohio throughout the year for whatever genre you write, or want to write, in–children's lit, cozy mystery, romance, you name it. All you need is an open mind and the willingness to listen and then apply what you've learned. And it's never too late to teach an old dog new tricks.

Where To Start

Spring is typically contest season in the romance community. Nearly every RWA chapter runs a contest for unpublished authors to submit their work for consideration. I offered to judge a host of different contests this year, running the gamut of genres from YA to historical, fantasy and beyond, and selected the best of the bunch in each category I judged.

As icing on the cake, I attended a workshop last weekend where the first pages of the various authors in attendance were read and commented on by two literary agents and an industry speaker.

The results of my various critiques of the contest entries and the results of the panel last weekend were remarkably similar. It didn't matter if the work was science fiction, memoir, YA or traditional fiction, the overwhelming criticism was the book began in the wrong place. The author was trying to get all the backstory set in place, or 'walk the dog' by relaying every little thing going on in the scene instead of jumping in where the action started.

The best piece of advice about backstory I ever received was to pull out all the backstory and paste it on a page. Then, pretend the page was written on glass and drop it on the floor. As you pick up the splinters, use only that much at a time of the backstory and weave it into the storyline. Stephen King is even more succinct:

That's not to say backstory isn't important. Of course it is, and you, as an author, need to know what compelling forces happened to form your character, make them act and react in the way they do. But, as a reader, you don't want the whole story in the first chapter. Otherwise, why bother reading the rest of the book? The reader needs to develop a relationship with the character much the same way one does in person. You find out little nuggets of information about a person a bit at a time. 

So, my advice, as a result of all this passing of judgment, is to go back to the start of that manuscript you've been working on and look at it again. When does the action start? Have you written the first pages just to get your mindset in place about the character? If you answered yes to the second question, remove those pages and file them away in your character folder. Open with the action. I'm revising a work I started six months ago because, after sitting through one reading after another last weekend, I realized this particular work is guilty of the same thing. I start with description and backstory instead of getting right to the action. Which proves you're never too seasoned to learn something new. 

Sometimes It's The Little Things

I've been having car trouble lately. When a 'check engine' light comes on, I pay attention.

My local mechanic had the car for a week. He replaced a big-ticket part, replaced some hoses that were cracked, he ran it through his checklist. But in the end, he couldn't fix it enough to have it pass the emissions check. Fortunately, he's an honest man and didn't charge me since he couldn't fix it, despite the time he'd put into it. His suggestion was to take it to the dealer, the pros.

Turns out, in addition to the big-ticket part, the experts found one niggly wire that had a leak. The fuel tank had to be dropped in order to get to it, but in the end, that one little leak made the difference between success and failure.

Which made me think of producing a manuscript... of course. Possibly because the wire reminds me of a hook.

I recently participated in judging some books for the RITA contest. The finalists were announced this past week, and, like most romance authors, I spent some time trying to decipher why these particular books made it into the final round. I looked at their Amazon ranks, number of reviews, read the blurbs and came to a conclusion. It only takes one little thing to make a book rise from being good to being, as Tony The Tiger says, "G-R-R-EAT!"

What is that one little thing? If I had the answer, I'd be on the bestseller list. But my thinking after doing this research is that one little thing is a great hook. Take a traditional trope and turn it on its ear. Hook the reader with your opening scene, your opening line. If you write historicals, try to insert something modern, like Tessa Dare accomplished in her book When A Scot Ties The Knot and her Captain MacDreamy. Fans of Gray's Anatomy get it and laugh at the cleverness, and Miss Dare does it while never dropping the historic bent of the book.

I could cite a couple of examples from the current crop of RITA books, but I can't go into detail on which books I've read. But the overriding thread, the hook, in each of them is they are extremely clever. You can have a really well-written book, but if it's not got something to draw a reader in, it's only going to be that, a good, well-written book like the thousands of others released each year. You can go through your checklist, remove and rewrite huge chunks of the book. You can tweak little parts of your story. You can have a pro look at it, help you polish it to a shine. But unless you can find the elusive niggly wire that will make people talk about it, want to read it, you'll remain in the mid list.

I'm working on finding that niggly wire.

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.

Are Some People Luckier Than Others?

Most people who are familiar with my habits know better than to call me on Monday nights. That's when The Voice is on. I'm fascinated how someone with no experience gets four chairs to turn while some who have been pounding it out for years can't get one. But then again, until they narrow down the group a bit, I'm not so much interested in the talent that tries to get a chair to turn around as I am the bodies in those chairs. To spend an hour or two staring at Usher, Blake and Adam does a romance writer's heart good.

The other night, though, it wasn't just the body that got to me. Usher was attempting to console one of the contestants who wasn't quite good enough. He said the person needed to continue to practice because "luck favors those who are prepared."

And that got me to thinking about writing--another artistic talent where the road to fame and fortune is equally elusive. Oh, sure, we've all heard stories about the author who writes his or her first book ever, on a whim, and it becomes an instant success, is one of Oprah's book club picks, gets turned into a movie and makes the author a million bucks. But, for most of us, it doesn't happen like that. We take classes, hone our craft, talk to others in the industry, slash the crap out of our work, massage, massage, massage. Then, maybe, if luck is favoring us, we'll win a few contests, maybe even a big one. We'll catch the interest of an editor or an agent. We'll be signed to a contract for a release date that's now reaching into late 2014. Then,  we'll wait another six months for a royalty check.

In the meantime, we're blogging, reading books on how to write, building a fan base, attending conferences, learning, always learning. After all, we want to be prepared when luck favors us.

Meet romantic suspense author Molly Kate Gray!

 

Today, I’m pleased to have Molly Kate Gray visiting me. Her romantic suspense novel, Small Town Secrets, is a recent release by Crimson Romance, and is available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and ITunes. Here’s a taste:

Miller’s Grove’s most eligible bachelor, Josh Owens, could have a different date every night of the week, so he doesn’t understand why he’s drawn to Tara since she’s obviously not interested in him. Tara Sullivan is angry that he’s stolen the coveted prime-time anchor position she’d been promised.

A stranger begins preying on the single young women in Miller’s Grove, and the story’s assigned to Tara. As the number of victims grows, Tara reluctantly accepts help from Josh. As he researches his top suspect in the assaults, he unearths events in the past that more than one resident of Miller’s Grove wants to keep hidden.

Together they discover a web of conspiracy and lies involving the most powerful family in town. Josh and Tara put their reputations at risk in the hope of exposing the truth and, perhaps, finally bringing Tara peace.

Now, let’s find out more about Molly Kate.

I love the name of your fictional town! Is the community you describe in your book anything like your own small town, or is it an amalgamation of several small towns? Or possibly the way you wish small towns were?

Miller’s Grove is fictional…kind of.  I’d say that about 75% of it is based on a small town in Georgia my family almost moved to two years ago.  My husband was being interviewed for a position in the town, and we flew out to take a look around.  I totally fell in love, and we were really saddened when the company ended up doing a hiring freeze and we didn’t move there.  When I started developing Tara and Josh’s story, I realized the town would be the perfect setting for their world.  So, I got to spend more time there, even if it was just in my imagination.  The park overlooking the Savannah River that’s mentioned in the book is a real park – located at the end of the street from the house we planned to buy.

The Miller’s Grove courthouse and town square also play significant roles in the story.  They are actually part of the town where I live. I love the way the square is decorated for Christmas.  The trees are always brimming with tiny white lights, so I added them to the décor for Miller’s Grove’s Heritage Days celebrations.  (The cover artist was spot-on with the lights in the trees on my cover.)

Is this book going to be part of a series? Will we get to go back to Miller’s Grove?

I’d really planned for Small Town Secrets to stand alone.  However, I’ve had a lot of people who’ve read the story ask if I’m going to revisit Miller’s Grove.  I can’t say that I’ll definitely write a follow-up story; but if the right idea strikes me, I’d be happy to go back to Miller’s Grove again.

This novel revolves around jobs at a television station. How did you do the research for it?

I watched a lot of Lois and Clark and Murphy Brown when they first aired.  I think they drew me into the dynamics of a newsroom – not just a television station.  I was also on my middle school and high school’s newspaper staff.  I basically just pulled the “news” experience I already had and combined it with what my daughter told me about being one of her school district’s reporters.  She’s the anchor for her school, but she also does some of the camera work, so she helped me out with the right terminology for when a camera operator is filming.

I noticed on your website that you have a series about a different town in the works. Tell us about those books.

I do have another series planned.  It’s a three book series – each set in a different Texas small town.  Their common element involves the main character returning home to a hometown…and a past she’d thought she left behind.

The first in the “Welcome Home” series is complete.  Playing with Fire should be coming from Crimson Romance in December. 

Della Chambers, an FBI field agent, left Pearson Crossing when she was 18 years old and never looked back – at least not until now. When a string of suspicious fires draws her back to her hometown, she comes face to face with Camden Gibson.  He saved her life once – and she’s never forgiven him for it.

Now the pair is forced to work side by side, and they discover the heat between them has nothing to do with fire.

What do you have planned next?

I’m currently working on the second book in the “Welcome Home” series.  Fade to Black should be complete by mid-September.

Other than Agatha Christie, who has influenced your writing style?

Even though my books are romantic suspense, and that means I have to maintain a certain level of danger, death, and just all around scary stuff…I also like to make certain I sprinkle some lightness throughout the stories to give the reader a little chance to breathe and better-connect with the characters.

I think that my love for Diane Mott Davidson influenced that part of my writing style.

I’ve also always been drawn to “tracking the serial killer” type of stories.  I’ve read a lot of Dee Henderson and Kimberly Derting.

What’s your writing style? Pantser or plotter? How long does it take you from idea to a complete manuscript?

I’m kind of a mixture of the two styles.  I’m not one for planning every single scene before I get started – for me, that makes the story kind of “flat.”  But, I do know where I’m going with the story before I begin typing chapter one.

I actually write the story a bit in reverse.   The first scenes I work on are always my climax and final scenes.  I need to see who ends up in those scenes.  It also helps me to know exactly what elements and characters I have to ensure are mentioned in the story along the way.

How long does it take me?  Hmm….it really depends.  Some stories have flowed really quickly while others really haven’t.  I’d say that my fastest story I’ve written from “little baby idea in my head” to polished manuscript is probably 6 months.  I’m working on a young adult novel right now, that’s been over 2 years in development.  Every project is different.  While I’ve had to take a break in the middle of writing it, Fade to Black has been my main project for about 6 months so far.

What’s your best advice to someone just getting started in the business?

Are you really sure about this?  I never want to dissuade anyone from pursuing their passion, but I think every new writer needs to have a firm grip on reality.

Writing is hard work.  Really, it is. 

Writing is isolating.  The majority of the time, writers work alone (unless you have an amazing writing group who’ll help you brainstorm through your trouble spots).  If you’re a really social person, just staring at your keyboard for hours can be…not fun.

You need a really thick skin and understand that critique/reviews of your work doesn’t mean people don’t like YOU.  Creating a novel takes hours upon hours pulling scenes out of the depths of your imagination – sometimes ending up in places in your memory you didn’t really want to go.  And just when you think your work is perfect, you take that nerve-wracking step of sending it to an editor or agent – generally only to be told they’re not interested.

Sometimes the story you want to tell isn’t the story everyone else wants to hear.  You may have gotten caught at the end of a trend or picked subject matter that doesn’t have a wide appeal.  If you believe in your story – keep going, keep pushing, keep trying to get it published.  However, it’s also okay to consider a novel good practice for your next story and just tuck it away in a drawer for later when you’ve distanced yourself from it and might be able to rework it for broader appeal.

Ack!  That was longer than I’d planned.  Sorry about that. 

How can someone get in touch with you?

I’d love to hear back from y’all.  My website, www.mollykategray.com has information about my books and upcoming projects.  I have to admit that I adore Twitter - @MollyKGray – and I likely tweet more than I should.  If you’re more of an e-mail kind of person, you can reach me at mollykategray@gmail.com.  

 

Thanks so much for letting me pop in and visit!