Today, we reached 100 followers (via blogger--I guess, technically, we've had a lot more than 100 followers for quite awhile if you cound email subscriptions, rss feeds, and non-marked followers, but regardless, this feels like a big deal)! So in honor of that, I'm going to do a couple of things.

First of all, I'm going to run a contest next week. The prize will be awesome. Stay tuned.

Second of all, I'm going to try to interview our 100th follower. So, Jennifer Bailey, if you come back on the blog, please contact me at rlcameron (at) yahoo (dot) com. I want to make sure that we can ask you some questions and talk to you about the blog, et al. If I don't hear from Jennifer soon, I'll move on down to the 99th, etc. But this is something I've wanted to do for quite awhile.

Third of all, I'm going to thank my AMAZING co-bloggers! All of them. They make this blog what it is. Or rather, we all make it together. And I love working with all of them. Thank you, ladies, for all your time and hard work. NKotWB is a great place because you are all here!

Thanks to all of our followers!! We definitely wouldn't be here without you! :-) We love you!

~Rebecca Lynn

I've been struggling with my WIP lately. In my head, the story spins endlessly. When I type it out, the story runs in every direction but the one I first imagined.

What I've found is that it's easy to come up with a story. It's much more difficult to get it out of my head and into a tale that other people would want to read. Desperate to figure out what was wrong with my "baby", I broke down the chapters I've penned and poured over the character worksheets. To my surprise, I found that I don't have a much of a plot. I've developed the internal conflicts but the external conflict is too nebulous to be much of a driving force and thus the story fizzles instead of dazzles. Well, crap, I chastise myself. I've invested all this time in this WIP and all I've been doing is walkin' the dog.

Margie Lawson explains walking the dog, as she learned it from Jameson Cole, as the unnecessary busyness of a scene or chapter. I have a whole lot of stuff going on, but nothing that really matters. What happens in those pages does not deepen the characters or move the story forward. It meanders along with no destination. Well, double crap. My story is on vacation and I need to bring it home. Back to the storyboard I trudge.

I think of Jennieke's post The Importance of Plot and Julie's post Plotter, Panster or Planner. I've learned that my plot "planning" needs a lot of work. The things that I need to pay more attention to, the story and character goals and external conflicts, not just the HEA. After all, the story is about how the hero and heroine get to their HEA, not walking the dog along the way.

~kristal lee

I bet I have your attention now! If you're like me, the answer is "no". I've been known to edit until the morning I submit a manuscript or partial, and then realize there's something else I should have rewritten as I hit the "send" button on my computer.

This all goes back to the fact that most writers are neurotic. Lovable neurotics, but neurotic just the same. I first realized I had a problem (no, this is not a twelve step program speech) when five weeks after I finished my first manuscript, I was still editing Chapter One. I remember thinking it would take a year to complete revisions. First revisions. And we all know first revisions lead to second, third, fourth and so on. I didn't want my manuscript to be a ten year project so I began to research methods to shortcut the process.

Here's what I learned.

When all you see is what's wrong, you're missing all the things you did right. Read your manuscript out loud. It's a simple technique that will catch a lot of mistakes. Read it as if you are the reader, not the author. Does it make sense? Does your dialogue and text flow or is it jerky? Have you mixed up your sentence structure i.e. not starting every sentence with a pronoun, or subject/verb format? Have you used the proper sentence structure to match the pacing in your scene? Short sentences create action and a faster pace. Longer sentences slow down the pace, such as back story rememberances or descriptive passages.

As you read along, keep a log of changes you want to make. Adding more emotion, deleting scenes, grammar/punctuation/spelling edits, moving scenes, etc. But don't edit anything until you've finished your read-through. Once you reached the end, you'll know if some of those changes are justified or if they require further adjustments. Follow your character's motivations. Without goal/motivation, your characters will fall apart before the end of chapter two. Know their archetype and make sure they follow a growth arc.

Keep sensory details flowing. Make sure your story is following the rules of romance genres. Contemporary must have a happily ever after ending. Suspense must layer in a thrilling secondary story. Perfect your world-building expertise in a Paranormal. Keep your research and descriptions accurate for a period Historical. And always cast a memorable couple as your leading man and woman.

Sometimes writers use the excuse of revisions and editing to prolong the submission process. It's often easier to keep editing than it is to face rejection. You have a fifty-fifty chance. Either way, you're a winner because you've completed a book. How many people can say that? I've chalked up quite a few rejection letters and near misses over the years but I don't consider them signs of failure. The only true failure is when you stop trying.

I'll end with a great saying one of my CP's sent to me. I'm not sure where she read it so I can't credit the source.

"The first page sells the book; the last page sells the next book."

Keep writing. Until next time, BICHOK!

Deb

I've been having a physical issue keeping me from my computer for more than a few minutes at a time. I've been praying for some relief but it has yet to come. So, today I'm going to post a book review that has been published the e-zine The Season.

Trapped in the middle of Hitler’s brutal war, Katarina Kerensky believes God has abandoned Germany, and perhaps the rest of the world. To protect her mother from the Gestapo the exiled Russian Princess uses her acting profession and becomes an informant for MI6, Britain’s secret service.


Hand picked by the head of the SS, Lieutenant Jack Anderson is deep undercover as Friedrich Reiter, one of Germany’s most ruthless secret agents. Forced to partake in the horrors of the SS, Jack is no longer sure who he is and has given up his faith in God. But will his next mission with the beautiful Katia change all of that?

As their love and concern grow for each other, will they realize they must rely solely on God to protect them as they play the deadly game of spies in order to stop the Axis of evil?

Dangerous Allies has it all, suspense, intrigue, history, danger, faith, and romance.

Bravo to Renee Ryan! Although not an easy era to paint with romantic flare, Ryan does exactly that. She takes the reader into a black and white world and draws them deeply into the gray areas with shades of love.

Excerpt:

“We better make this look real,” she whispered. “I’m sure our new friend is still watching.”


“Excellent idea.” Reiter stopped, turned her until she faced him directly. The intensity in his gaze made the air hitch deep in her lungs. She couldn’t bear the way his eyes searched her face, but she was too mesmerized to look away.


“Our man’s less than fifty yards behind you, on your left,” he said, leaning down to touch his forehead to hers. “We have to get this right the first time.”


“You don’t need to worry about me. Let’s not forget who just saved whom.”


He pulled back and rewarded her with a quiet smile.


She decided his quiet smiles were the most dangerous.


“Gloating, are you?” he asked.


“Absolutely.” She leaned into him, blinked like a cowering fool, because, well, why deny the truth? She wanted him to kiss her. And wasn’t that incredibly shocking?


His grin never faltered. In fact, to the untrained eye, he looked completely smitten with her. If Friedrich Reiter needed a career after the war, the man could make a fortune on the stage.


Dropping his head until their noses were an inch apart, he waited a beat. “I’d expect nothing less from you.”

Katia and Jack are a perfect balance to each other’s strengths and insecurities. The supporting cast of characters is phenomenally well drawn. The plot is well formulated. The setting is rich in detail. And, as a reader would expect from an Inspirational, it is strong in faith. From page one Dangerous Allies grabs the readers attention and keeps them captive until the final pages.


My only complaint about Dangerous Allies is the lack of clarity as to why American Captain Jack Anderson finds it necessary to risk his life and soul for Britain’s MI6. Other than my small issue, Dangerous Allies is hands down the best historical inspirational. A definite keeper!



Christina

When it comes to writing styles people often talk about Plotters and Pantsers. The first, plots out their story step by step. The second, flies by the seat of their pants. I would propose a third category called Planner. A Planner benefits from both some plotting as well as feeling the freedom of flying. From the discussions I've read on this subject, it seems that, like me, the majority of writers fall into this third category.

Being a Planner, telling your story is sort of like taking a trip. A Planner know which location they will start from, and which location they will end at. They also have an idea of some of the major side trips they want to take along the way. As their trip progress, however, the Planner discovers unexpected side trips, and when they take them they sometimes find magic, a hidden secret, a detour in their journey. While writing one of my manuscripts I discovered that the Hero's "current girlfriend" was having an affair. It wasn't in the plan, but it turned out to provide me with a lot of conflict for both the hero and the heroine

So, which are you, a Plotter, a Pantser or a Planner? Have you ever found a hidden gems in your story?

Here are my favorite links of the week. Happy reading! There are a few, but not because there weren't more that were good. I only posted a few because I really want you to look at all of these links this week. Have fun!

** If you haven't yet heard about this Epic Black Car post about how awesome romance novelists are, you need to head over there right about now. Stop reading this post and click the link. You shouldn't still be reading. Why are you still reading? WILL YOU GO TO THIS BLOG ALREADY?

** Okay, now you're back, because you're smart and you want to know more cool things about what I read this week. Right? Right. Now, here's the next link of awesomeness. If you are a contest whore, or just looking for a contest to enter, you should check out Stephie Smith's Contest Chart for Writers. Courtney just led me to this site this week and I can't believe I've never run across it before.

** And, just when you thought Epic Black Car had written the best post ever, he went and did it again. With bourbon. Seriously. Read this, make fun of the Spork, flame-war about the Best Romance Novel Ever In The History of The Written Word, have lots of fun. And... go.

** Great post from Allison Brennan at the Ruby-Slippered sisterhood on both entering in and judging contests. If you are judging *anything* this year, you need to read this immediately. Thanks so much to Renee for sending me here. Great post.

The other day I had went to my blog and wrote about how I had felt guilty for not having blogged on there in 3 days. My week had been crazy and if there was something that needed to be done, I had done it. My husband is working in the fields, so besides my job, I am running the kids to their activities, writing, blogging, housework, and doing school functions. That is to name a few. I felt like I needed a little down time for me.

I went to Dairy Queen, had lunch and read a book while doing so. I even had an ice cream cone afterwards. It was such a simple thing, yet I had so much fun doing it. What are some of the things you like to do in your down time? I love to read, go for a walk, play cards, watch a movie, and weed my flower beds, though I guess that sounds more like work then a downtime activity. This though, got me to thinking. What did women from the past do in their downtime? Did they ever get a downtime? Depending on which century we are talking about might depend on a yes or no answer to the question. In the 1900's women were more likely to get a chance to do something for themselves. But what about the women in the 1700's? They tended a garden all the time, so I doubt weeding a flower bed would be fun to them. How many women in the 1700's could read and if they could, how many books were available to them? There were not movies to watch and I don't know that you would find them playing cards.

I would like to hear from you on this. What do you think women in the past would do if they had a moment to themselves?

When I worked with an agent reading manuscripts and evaluating them, the biggest flaw in almost all the fiction manuscripts that came in was that they invariably had plot problems. The majority of the partial novels I read either had no discernible plot at the very beginning, or the beginning looked like it was going somewhere, but a few scenes into the ms, it soon devolved into a series of boring events.

If you haven't heard about this blog yet, you need to get your hiney on over to "Epic Black Car" and his quest for the most epic romance novel ever.

We've effectively disabashed him of ever reading a book by The Spork, hopefully. Although today, when he posted the final-absolute-epic-official poll, one of the tags was "Nicolas Sparks" and I about had a heart attack. Over my dead body, I thought.

Turns out, I don't have to kill myself, it was an aptly timed joke. Aptly timed because I had neither coffee nor chocolate this morning, so I was unprepared for the shock. But it was a funny anyeurism.

Anyway, get on over and vote.

For "Outlander", by the way, because as I have explicated at length (and ad nauseum, no doubt), it has to be the most epic of all time because they are making a MUSICAL about it.

Like, someone asks you what the most EPIC comedic film of all time is? You automatically answer "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" because, hello, have you ever heard of SPAM-A-LOT? Yes. This is the correct answer.

The real question is: If I CAPITALIZE enough words in this post, will you get your hiney over to the blog already and vote for "Outlander"?

Once again, the correct answer is: Yes, Mistress.

Backstory is what happened to your characters before the story begins. As writers, we labor over each important detail of our their lives. It’s a birthing process and when our babies emerge fully grown we feel the need to share every little detail.

While we may love the backstory, a reader doesn’t. At least not in chunks big enough to choke Rottweiler. Historical information is passive and diverts attention from the present.  That’s not to say that backstory isn’t important. It is. The challenge is in giving enough information without boring the reader.

When wading through the mire of backstory dumps, the reader may give into distractions. Skim ahead. Or….Aaack! Put the book down.

To keep the story moving forward and avoid slowing the pace, bits of the character’s past can be introduced through dialogue. This keeps the reader engaged as the story unfolds. Show character reactions through body language as they disclose those past secrets or learn of them.

Write tight. Avoid unnecessary words and fillers. Keep the backstory active. Include only what the reader must ABSOLUTELY know. Eliminate the interesting tidbits if they aren’t important to the present story.

Margie Lawson, in her Deep Editing online workshop, suggests creating a separate file on the backstory. For your eyes only. Keep it brief, though. Highlight what’s critical for the reader to know in order to understand the story. Put those important details on a fresh page. Then, slip pieces of this information into the first third of the book. Keep it active using dialogue and be careful of relying on history for present motivations. Characters need fresh stimulus and responses to keep the story current.

After all that work on character development, it’s tough to whittle the juicy details to bare bones. So, how do you handle presenting backstory without snoozing and loosing the reader?

~kristal lee

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Whether still photos or video, I enjoy capturing moments on film. I don't always capture that perfect shot I'm looking for, but I do like to try. That's why I always have a camera on me. This past weekend provided me with ample opportunity to take pictures.

Look at the facial expressions, at least of those you can see, what do they tell you?

With all the talk about the great feedback and support that my fellow New Kids have received from their critique partners (cps), I thought I want one. But how does one get a good cp or two?

Currently, I belong to a critique group through one of the RWA chapters I belong too. I have gotten some good feedback from the other critters, but there are a couple of issues. It seems that every time I finish a critique two more chapters are posted needing critiques. (The faster I go the behinder I get)Then there is the other issue. When I submit work for critique I get a half dozen responses, which is great, but it has its down side. Here at New Kids we have discussed the idea of voice, and sometimes with so many voices giving you feedback it's easy to lose your own voice in the multitude. Another drawback is how do you read, understand and organize so much feedback to make it useful in revisions? It's a chore.

So today I'm putting out an ad: Wanted one or two cps: Do you like reading and writing? (Preferably romance, but I can play well with other genre.) Do you have a good eye for both good and bad writing? (There is both in my mss.) If so, you may be the person for this position. I would like one or two people to become my critique partners. These people should be supportive, and knowledgeable, and their critiques shouldn't be too hard or too soft, but are just right. If interested, please submit your application to Julie.

Do you have a critique partner or two or do you prefer a group of "critters"? For those of you with critique partners, how did you find this most trusted person(s)? Share your stories and brag about your fabulous critique partners.

In case you've never heard of this blog before, I'm going to direct you to Query Shark today. Why? Well, I've been working on my query, and honestly, this is the best place I've found to get information about how to write a good query.

Also, because I'm planning to submit my query to Query Shark this week.

:squeals:

:hides under desk:

Why the freak out? Because Query Shark is aptly named. She pulls NO punches. And if you do end up getting on the blog itself, you're subjected not only to the sharp teeth of the shark herself, but also to all of her QS followers (some of whom are her own clients, and quite good writers themselves). So it's a little bit like signing up for public flogging.

I'm feeling a little masochistic this week.

Actually, what I really want is to sell this book. And frankly, this rhino skin that everyone keeps talking about does me NO good if I don't step out and let myself get skewered once in awhile.

Plus, there's always the potential that the Query Shark will show me the error of my ways. Maybe she'll say "what are you thinking, writing this dribble?" or maybe "I hate this, fix it right nwo", but whatever happens, it'll be feedback and I'm in a feedback vacuum right now. I need feedback.

Because if I do want to sell this book, I have to have a sparkling query letter. And I need to get myself to the place where I can handle the criticism. And as so many people say, there's no better teacher than experience. So I'm about to get experience in public flogging.

If it gets published on the blog (and there's only a slim chance it will), I'll post it here so you can read it and come over to flog me a little bit, too.

I am nothing if not generous with offers to criticize me publicly.

Here we go again. It's Sunday Shout-Outs time! Time for me to post links to what I think are either the most interesting or the funniest or the most necessary links that I've read this week. Given that I spent a lot of time reading New Voices entries this week, the list is shorter than normal. But I still tried to include several important things. Hope you enjoy!

** I almost didn't even put Nathan Bransford on here because, well, if you haven't heard me rant about how you should be reading his blog, refer to previous Sunday Shout Outs. But I'm going to link to it anyway, in case you missed the ranting. This was a fantastic post about the danger of expecting dreams to come true. Read it. Follow his blog so I can stop linking to it. :-)

** Through Tawna Fenske's blog, I found this fantastic post on rejections from Writer Beware. As I'm anticipating getting my rejected manuscript back at any time from Harlequin, this was particularly timely for me. "Publishing is not a crap shoot"... them's wise words....

** Once again, you still have the opportunity both to enter the Mills & Boon New Voices contest, and to read/vote on the entries from three New Kids so far: Camryn, Deb, and Lynn. Additionally, here are Becca's favorite non-New-Kid entries: Talking Dirty with the CEO by Jackie Coates, Her Highland Champion by Lexi Connor, Some Like it in Handcuffs by Christine Hanks, Unlikely Protector by Amity Greys, and Advance & Retreat by Chelsea Finch. Check them out. Vote, my prettys. :-)

** Maeve Greyson finaled in the Kensington/Brava contest, and her entry is very good. You can read an excerpt here. I know Maeve from Twitter, and PRO, and she's not only a great writer, but supportive and humble and very nice.

** Given that Camryn & I recently won our respective categories in the Golden Claddagh, sponsored by Celtic Hearts Romance Writers, I was a little shocked that I didn't know the actual history behind the Claddagh itself. But this was a great post from Seduced by History. It's my history vote of the week. Love that blog in general.

** Kristal Lee had Camryn guest on her blog this week and they had a great conversation about why erotic romance is a specific genre and not a heat level. If you didn't get a chance to read it, I suggest checking it out.

** I keep saying that I'm not going to post any more Rachelle Gardner posts on here becuase you should be reading her blog anyway, but this was such a great post about what agents are looking for. I think every aspiring writer needs to read this!

~ Rebecca Lynn

After a whirlwind of excitement, my enthusiasm suddenly fizzled to a drizzle…


When I started my latest story the topic was fresh and new. Everything paranormal was Vamps and Werewolves and I had a fresh new take with fallen angels and demons. Well, it was fresh when I started anyway. While on a date night with my husband, I discovered the exuberant amount of YA angel stories shelved on the bookcase where I thought my story should be. Feeling dejected, I went home to drown my sorrows in my latte while sending those ‘whoa is me’ e-mails to my crit partners. Before I had a chance to hit send, I logged onto my computer and found a contest entry returned. I’d forgotten about entering it, since I’ve stopped submitting to contests after signing with my agent. Of course, I told myself that I shouldn’t bother looking at it. Who cares? It didn’t mean anything anymore… right?

My determination to avoid reading the entry lasted about thirty seconds, and I have to say I’m glad I succumbed to temptation even though I didn’t final. This wasn’t the only contest entry I received back with positive comments either. Actually, three came in, all with the same type of words of encouragement. Here is an example of one of the judge’s feedback:

Heck of a story you’ve come up with here! It is so hard to find a YA novel that’s supernatural in this day and age that doesn’t feel like Twilight redone. But this one is unique! I love the angels/demons/hunters themes. What wondrous conflict you have floating around and mucking up your characters’ lives. And there is nothing better than a damaged hero and heroine—you’ve written two gems with Gaby and Alexander. I can’t wait to see this sucker in print!

I want to take this opportunity to thank this judge. Not only did she renew my confidence in my own writing and storyline, but she continued on to critique it in a positive and constructive manner. This is the kind of judge I strive to be.

What has been the most encouraging comment you’ve ever received from a contest, critique partner, or agent/editor? Please share, because those are the kinds of things we should focus on as writers.

Contests. Love them or hate them, they are all around this crazy writer world. And this last week, contests were high on my to-do-list. Here’s the breakdown…

I entered a chapter of my current WIP into the Mills and Boon New Voices completion. Think American Idol meets Hemmingway. What I’ve learned so far? This stuff is addicting. I’m checking the website to see how many entries (over 200 as I writing this Sunday night…) and worse, where my story ranks in the votes.

Now I know that the editors pick the top ten. So although the votes and comments are nice, they don’t have any affect on if I’m going to be one of those chosen. That’s based on what I submitted. But it doesn’t stop me from see what people are saying about me, I mean my story.

In between checking www.romanceisnotdead.com, I served as the YA contest opener for my chapter contest that closed Friday, Gateway to the Best. Believe me, if a contest coordinator tells you that a job will be easy, ask her if she has a bridge to sell in California. (My coordinator is a lovely hard working woman who I admire greatly.) I spent hours getting the entries ready and sending them out to the judges. And I’ve volunteered to judge entries in said contest.

Of course I had to enter the contest. It’s my Chapter. So I spent one night pouring over my first 7000 words, wondering if my characters were likeable, the conflict as strong as or stronger than the attraction, and if I’d started the story in the right place. Hitting submit, I checked one more item off my white board.

Then after the entry deadline had passed, I wondered if I should have entered a second manuscript. I got a case of the ‘should haves’…luckily, I was too busy to let the disease take over my weekend.

Opening my email, I found the judged submissions from the Maggies. A contest I’d entered months ago. I’d found out several weeks ago that I didn’t final by reading a list of the people who had. I still have to print out and closely read the judges comments, but from what I scanned, there’s a lot of positive feedback out there for me. And some ideas on how to write a stronger story.

Right before I set down to write this blog, I judged my first assigned entry. I hope I was thoughtful, helpful, and kind in my comments. Before I opened the entry, I uttered the Judges Prayer, “Please don’t let me become the East German judge…”

Let’s hear your contest stories. Anyone judging this year? What’s been your biggest takeaway?

Ever stood in a cave, hands cupped around your mouth, and hollered "Hellllooo"? Did you hear an echo? If you did, your echo was intentional. You called into the emptiness of the cave just to hear your voice bounce back to you.

Echoes don't occur only in caves. They can occur in writing, too.
Sometimes a writer will intentionally use repetitive words and phrases for emphasis, but I'm not talking about those stylistic choices. I'm talking about those unintentional repetitions that annoy the reader. Echo words and phrase.

It's easy for verbs to become echo words in our writing. Take a look at the following examples.


He gave her a sour look. She looked frazzled.. Sarah watched him looking through the items in the box.

He whispered. The trees were whispering in the wind.

He paced the room. He paced like a cage tiger. She walked so fast it was hard to keep pace with her.

Regret washed over him. Overwhelming sadness washed over her.

Rick turned to leave. Abby turned to face her. She turned away. Valerie turned to hide her face...yada, yada, yada).

Of course, not all echo words are verbs. Adjectives rank among them too. Recently, I was reading a yet to be released book for a review. The book was good, but the author overused the word visceral. Now, visceral is an unusual word and isn't common in every day language. Using it once would have been an attention getter...in a good way. It's a powerful, descriptive word. Seeing the word repeated a couple of times in nearly every chapter annoyed the heck out of me. I began wondering if the author understood the meaning of the word, or if she was simply so enamored with her own vocabulary and showing off. It's not a good thing to irk your audience.

We all have echo words that we should be cognizant of in our writing. A couple of divining tools that I use to point out those little hiccups are the "Find" function in Word and Wordle.  The "Find" function is self-explanatory if you are familiar with Word. It works best if you're aware of the echo words that fly from your fingertips onto the page. Wordle is a website that creates word clouds. You copy/paste your WIP into its designated box and it will show you which words are repeated the most by the size of the word. This has been an amazing tool for me to find the echo words that slipped past my brain in revisions. Wordle is a free website. Check it out at www.wordle.net.

Do you find that your WIP is infected with echo words? What are they? And, what methods do you use to extract them?

~ Kristal Lee

Deb Sanders

Stop by Mills & Boon "New Voices" contest http://www.romanceisnotdead.com/ New Kids need your support for our entries - "Heart of Stone", "The Barn Dance", and "Events and Adventures".

One of our bloggers, Camryn Rhys, is visiting another of our bloggers' blogs today. Kristal Lee is having Camryn on as a guest to talk about erotic romance as a genre, and the past and future of erotic romance in RWA. Please stop on by Kristal's blog if you're interested.

Kristal Lee Romances: Once Upon a Time is Now

Leave a comment to let us know you found them here on NKotWB.

I have one of those Darlene Conner children. You remember, don't you? The wonderful, lovely, moody, never smiles, snide teenager from Roseanne. Darlene was the epitome of goth before goth became a big part of American culture.

And my youngest child is so very much like her. I don't think the character necessarily reflects the attitude of my child's heart. She's just a serious sort, not the life-is-so-gwad-awful-I'm-going-to-emmulate-death-because-that-is-how-I-feel sort.

Some children are pastels- light, fluffy, happy-go-lucky, some children are black and white. No gray. Now, my youngest, she's more black with splashes of red. No pink. Absolutely no pink. Why? According to her, she strongly dislikes the color. What do I think the real reason is? Pink, to her, symbolizes what society thinks girls are supposed to be. Dainty, well-mannered, light on their feet, yadayadayada. Her refusal to accept pink as a part of her fashion sense is out right defiance to society's expectations.

This child of mine who hates pink, has a passion for ballet. Can you get anymore pink than ballet? It's a bit conflicting if you ask me.

Anyway, what I was getting at is this child, who rarely ever smiles, doesn't smile because she sad or depressed, she doesn't smile because her mind is constantly on another plane of thought. She's constantly consuming her surroundings, calculating and categorizing, and then filing away for a later date. This is a kid who began classifying animals before she was three. We had our first creation-evolution debate when she was five. Her knowledge of astonomy blows my mind and she seems to be a walking-talking Greek mythology dictionary.

With everything going on in her head, no wonder her brain can't funtion enough to cause those facial muscles to pull upward.

BUT, I got her! Not once, but twice in less than twenty-hours. The first, I made gluten free peanut butter cookies. After one week having to go withoug gluten, she was feeling the sweet-tooth bite hard. And while the rest of the family ate pizza, as is our normal Sunday football routine, she and I ate nasty gluten free mac n' cheese.

The second event occurred, the following day when the mail man arrived with a book. Yes, a book! If she wouldn't have been seatbelted into the car as we were driving down the highway when I had informed her of its arrival, I do believe she may have even jumped off the ground with a slight squeee.

Both events granted me a full-genuine smile, followed by a thank you.

What is the whole point of this blog? Why, it's simple. Characterization. Even though some things might seem contradictory, it's really simple. It all fits with the child. When I work on characterizations I try to remember not everything is black and white. Somethings are a little gray, and every now and then there might be splashes of red.

Renee

Reading is an important part of being a writer, but the more I write the less I read. So my goal for this week is to read, read and read. I have revisions to transcribe into my computer, but the idea of spending yet another day in front of my computer doesn't appeal to me. So, starting today I'll curl up in my comfy chair and read.

On my TBR pile, I have at least two dozen romance novels. They range from historical, to contemporary, to suspense, to paranormal. Authors include Julia London, Karen Hawkins, Karen Rose and Shirlee Busbee. Also on the pile, I have four reference books on body language from the library, GMC by Debra Dixon, and a biography of Eleanor of Aquitaine. (A long lost relative according to my cousin's research.)

With no shortage of reading material, I'll be busy all week. At least until Friday when our local fall festival called Wo Zha Wa starts. Then I'll be all about roast beef sandwiches, funnel cakes and the arts and crafts fair. (And did I mention, the library is holding a used book sale?)

Anything good on your TBR pile?

You all know the drill. I spend the week looking at blogs and post the ones I think you should read. It's an Input thing. I collect, and I output. I hope it's helpful. If not, then I'll post something else later in the day, so check back after noon.

** All new authors need to read this post immediately! Rachelle Gardner is always hard at work delivering the best and the brightest in publishing posts. A fantastic look at what happens when your book gets to a publishing committee meeting. Really. Fantastic post.

** Even though this post was written a bit ago, I just ran across it when I found out about Leah Hultenschmidt's new job (for which we're all very excited). Anyway, this was a fantastic post about how to title your book so it grabs an editor's attention. Must read.

** I've been reading a lot of first-sale stories lately. This one, by Harlequin's Maisey Yates, was one of my favorites. Very inspiring for new writers with no connections in the industry. Also, Maisey's release (that this post is about) comes out very soon.

** Denny S. Bryce wrote a fantastic post about the issue of race in the romance marketplace. I highly recommend you check this out. Not because she's trying to make a statement, but because I think stories connect us more intimately to issues.

** Definitely a must-read if you're wondering about social networking. This article was touted as one of the best @emmacunningham had ever read. That's high praise.

** If you haven't yet seen the New Voices contest for Harlequin Mills & Boon, I would definitely consider looking at this. There are some NKotWB entrants in it. "The Barn Dance", "Heart of Stone", and "Events and Adventures" so far.

** Agent Kristen wrote a great post about openings that every new writer should read. She talks about mistakes that beginning writers make in their openings that only get their first couple of pages read and then rejected. Great post.

** If you haven't heard about the Red Rose Publishing post on DA, check out the Dear Author Saturday News. There are other great links in this post, but this one is important. Caveat: There are two sides to every story. Please inform yourself about both sides of the story, and as a new author, always be careful that you understand every angle of these "debacles". I know authors who have had a great experience with RRP, and authors who have not. On the DA post, there are comments from authors who love RRP, and authors who do not. Just be aware.

** Here's a very interesting article from the CNN Belief Blog about passionate sex in Christian marriage. This is speaking my language.

~Rebecca Lynn from Romancing The Palate

Since many of us New Kids seem to be dealing with revisions this week, I thought I'd throw my experience out there to commiserate. Like many others, I have always struggled with the beginning of my books. Where's the best place to start the story? What will be the most interesting? Where do I start in order to get across information that is essential and yet hook the reader so that they'll keep reading?

Harlequin Mills & Boon is running a contest called "New Voices" in which they are looking for the next big thing in Series Romance. If you think that might be you, head on over there and register your entry. Make sure you let us know about it if you do so we can read and vote for your entry.

So far, there are three (potentially four) New Kids who have entered--all in different categories. If you click on the "Right Here" next to their entries, you can head straight there. We hope you read them all. Register, and vote. Mills & Boon is a great company, and we'd all love to write for them. Maybe the entrants will also blog about their experience in this contest, since contest season is starting right up again. (Golden Heart will open in about ten days!)

One way a writer defines and distinguishes her voice is through the use of rhetorical devices. Rhetorical devices can make your voice sing. There, I've already used one of the devices. Can you guess what it is?

I'll reveal it in a moment. First, I want to explain what rhetorical devices are.  Rhetorical devices are techniques the author uses to convey emotion, heighten tension, emphasize a point. The goal of rhetorical devices is to connect with the reader. To evoke an emotional response so that they connect to the character, to the story.

There are multitudes of rhetorical devices. During the next few weeks, I'll be discussing my favorites. I do suggest that if you aren't familiar with rhetorical devices to grab a book or two on the subject and take Margie Lawson's Deep Editing workshop.

So, let's look at my opening sentences:

One way a writer defines and distinguishes her voice is through the use of rhetorical devices. Rhetorical devices can make your voice sing.

Notice how I ended the first sentence and began the next with "rhetorical devices." I specifically did this for emphasis. To catch your attention. To make the words buzz in your head and so that you would remember them. I hope it worked.

This technique is called anadiplosis (an-uh-dih-PLO-sis), the repetition of the last word or phrase in a sentence to begin the next.

Using anadiplosis can empower your writing. Make it memorable. Make it stand out from the slush pile.

Cherry Adair, NY Times bestseller, uses anadiplosis in her best seller, Black Magic.

"The Archon paid him. Paid him ridiculously well. But he'd be ley hunting if he were doing it for free."

She could've wrote: The Archon paid him to ley hunt, but he would've done it for free.

See how use of anadiplosis made her sentence more powerful, more evocative.

Now you try. Take a paragraph of your current WIP that needs a little ummph and empower it with anadiplosis. Share it in the comments. If you've naturally used anadiplosis in your current WIP, show us too.

Happy Writing!
~kristal

I was talking with my BFF and CP the other day about life in general and of course, it transgressed to writing. Sue Southworth is an awesome unpublished writer. We've each taken courses this past year in an effort to improve our craft, and in turn, shared what we learned. Sue is currently researching body language. Something she said resonated with what I've heard "positive thinkers" advocating for years. It's possible to listen to the same message over and over and never "get" it. Then one day, someone repeats it from a different perspective and you finally understand. Such was the case with Sue.

"Everyone tells me to add emotion to my book but no one explains how to do it," she said. "I finally get it. They're talking about body language."

Some people call this an "Ah Ha" moment. Others refer to it as an epiphany. Writer's call it emotion.

Let's pretend we're in Biology One. Today we'll dissect a scene. For our experiment, I'm going to refer to a book I recently read and enjoyed - "Untraceable" by Laura Griffin.

Imagine a female private investigator hearing a strange noise. We could write: "She heard a sound and went to investigate." It gets the message across but it doesn't hook the reader.

Laura writes: "The hair on the back of her neck stood up. Fear trickled down her spine. Alex spied her purse on the floor beside her still-packed duffel bag. She crept over to it and pulled out her SIG. Slowly, cautiously, she tiptoed across the room. In bare feet, she moved quietly, the faint whisper of her satin pajama pants the only sound. Gripping the pistol, she peeked her head around the door frame and peered into the darkened hallway."

Body language. The hair on the back of her neck stood up. She's nervous, apprehensive, scared. Slowly, cautiously, she tiptoed across the room. In bare feet, she moved quietly, the faint whisper of her satin pajama pants the only sound. I can visualize this as I read the words. She doesn't want to draw attention to herself. The satin goes whoosh, whoosh with each step. I own satin pajamas. I know. Gripping the pistol, she peeked her head around the door frame and peered into the darkened hallway. Can you see it? Can you feel her heart pounding as she nears the door, hesitates, and then moves her head past the door frame?

Body language is emotion. Laura describes what Alex is feeling by the way her body moves and her actions. She didn't use excessive adjectives, she didn't "tell" us. She showed us.

Here's another example from the same novel. "Mia glanced at her reflection in the glass cabinet. She tucked a wayward curl back into her ponytail and sighed. It had been years since she'd had a good hair day and almost as long since she'd had a good date." What is Mia's body language telling us long before we read her internal thoughts? She's not too happy with what she sees in the mirror. Perhaps Mia is feeling insecure and nervous. We're seeing the emotion through body language.

Here's your assignment. Take a look at your current WIP or completed manuscript. Find a scene where you can add body language to show how your character is feeling instead of telling us. Practice makes perfect. I guarantee your readers will love the results. So will agents and editors.

Until next time, BICHOK!

Deb

If you all need some light reading over the weekend, my first chapter of Events and Adventures is posted at the website below. And you can rate the story and leave a comment.

You can read Lynn's Contemporary Romance entry (right here) - "Events & Adventures".

And you can read Camryn's Passion entry (right here) - "The Barn Dance".

And Deb Sanders' Romantic Suspense entry (right here) - "Heart of Stone".

Hope you all get a chance to read and vote!

Have you ever had one of those nights where you just can't sleep? I'm having one right now. While the rest of the house is off in slumberland, I'm wide awake. Of course, it could have something to do with the fact that I slept until mid-morning. But then I did drink an entire glass of sweet tea just before normal bedtime. Well, normal bedtime for most folks.

In all honesty, I don't think it has anything to do with my late night tendencies and everything to do with Loki.

Yes, Loki. My muse.

He spends much of his time grazing. Occasionally, he'll lift his head and nudge me with that black nose of his. Of course, this rare occasion occurs as soon as I tumble onto the bed in sheer exhaustion. And it never fails, I open my eyes to find him gazing at me with his beady eyes. He doesn't even have to Baaaa at me. I know what he's thinking. He's thinking I should be writing instead of sleeping. I think he should go back to grazing, or whatever it is he does on most nights.

And since our thinking never meshes with the others, I toss and turn for hours on end until I finally see his way of thinking; I should be writing. Seriously, if I can't sleep any way, I might as well be doing something productive, right?

But wouldn't you know it, as soon as I fire up the laptop, my eyes cry out for Clear Eye and ten hours of sleep, and yep, you guessed it, Loki has resumed his grazing. He is most assuredly living up to his namesake.

All thoughts of perfecting scenes and honing my craft in the middle of the night fly out the window like an elusive firefly. It's like Loki has some sort of Clap-On, Clap-Off mechanism wired to my brain. And I know he's getting a big laugh out of the whole ordeal. He's such a trickster.

Why, oh why, did my muse have to be a nocturnal sheep? Any suggestions? I could really use some sleep. At night, not during the daytime when most 'normal' people are active. I've tried watching television until I fall asleep. I've tried reading. And yes, I've even tried counting sheep.

This morning, there was an announcement for a class on Body Language in my inbox. Due to financial and time constraints I won't be able to take the class, but it sounds interesting. It also fits in with a mystery/amateur detective story idea I'm mulling over. So, instead of signing up for the class I took a couple of key phrases from the class description and did a Google search. In essence, I started my research for yet another story. I love research.

Research pulls me in. I find a tidbit of information that leads to another tidbit of information. A new term brings new search results and I'm off to more tidbits, websites and books. Within an hour of seeing the class announcement today, I had at least three websites bookmarked, four books reserved at the library, a list of terms to investigate further, and I'd signed up for an email Newsletter. I'd still be researching if I hadn't had to go to the store for milk. (And write my blog.) I can lose myself for hours. I's spend my life researching if the need to write didn't eventually breaks research's spell.

How about you? Do you get lost in your research or does research bore you?

For the first time, I was actually interviewed by someone else. :-) I'm used to interviewing other authors, but one of the amazing women I met at RWA Nationals asked me if I'd be interested in being interviewed on her blog for Labor Day.

Of course, I said, "YAH!" I just love Lindi Peterson. Like she said, every once in awhile, you meet someone whose ideas and thought processes you really click with. As soon as I met Lindi, I knew we would be friends. She rocks.

Anyway, if you're interested, come on over and check out my author interview on the F.A.I.T.H. Writers blog.

Who knew I was an author?

Over the past year I’ve been working on a fallen angel trilogy. Like most of you, I’ve submitted to contests and critique partners and made significant changes based on feedback. Since I’m a relatively new writer, distinguishing between differing opinions became difficult. Sometimes I’d receive a perfect score and an extremely low score in the same contest. Confused but determined, I continued with edits.

Finally, I felt ready to submit and pitched to Mary Louise Schwartz from The Belfrey Literary Agency at RWA national conference. She requested a full and when I returned home I immediately got to work running over the manuscript one more time. This was it. I had revised those opening chapters over thirty times. They had to be perfect, right?

I packaged and sent the full manuscript. Not even four days passed before she called me. She stated my story was fantastic, one of the best she read this year, but she hated my first three chapters.

What? No, it can’t be the polished, perfect chapters! She stated she could sell the second half of my book, but I’d have to rewrite the first few chapters. She thought I had completely lost my voice and it felt like five different people wrote them.

After a week of struggling I made the edits and eventually signed with her. When I attended a local chapter meeting many writers asked me the same question. Why would she keep reading if she didn’t like the opening chapters? I asked Mary Louise and this was her response;

“The story plot was really good and while the first few chapters didn't work I could see real potential in your writing and wanted to read a bit more and then surprise it opened up and like a different person writing it was so good. Sometimes beginnings are difficult for newbies and overworked.”

By the way, when I edited the first three chapters and resubmitted to her, they were the original chapters before all the rewrites.

I believe that contests and critique partners are valuable tools in the writing journey. But in my case, I didn’t stick to my original voice and my manuscript was hurt by that.

How have contests and critique partners helped or hurt you on the writing journey? Have you found a method that works for you when reviewing critiques? If so, what is it?

I remember the feeling of completing that first manuscript. Sixty five thousand words of the best story I could write at the time. I was done. The End. Finished.

Then following the advice of writers wiser than me, I let it sit and started a new book. I was certain my revision process would be short and painless. And the first run through was. And silly me, I thought I was DONE.

I checked for spelling errors, using the wrong version of a word, making sure my quotes were correct, what I thought was revision. I packaged that puppy up and sent the partial to a contest, waiting for the accolades. While I waited, I queried my top three dream agents. Two with a query letter only and one wanted a first chapter.

My rejection response was the quickest recorded on the planet. When my second agent sent my thanks but no thanks within two hours of my email, I blamed the lack of the first chapter. I just couldn’t write a compelling query letter. It happens. When the third agent not so kindly declined with a rejection printed on a slip of paper, not even a full page, I was crushed.

Then I got back my contest scores.

And I worked another round of revisions. This time focusing on what the judges liked and didn’t like, even when they were contradictory. I plowed through the first three chapters and polished some more. Then sent the book off to a category editor, but they only wanted the query letter and a synopsis. I went back to writing my second book.

After getting the rejection from the category editor, I scanned the letter for clues. Was this a revisions letter? I didn’t realize then that revision letters were usually more than one page. I polished the chapters and sent them off to a different division of the same company. The rejection came quicker this time. Who knew they kept a list?

I put the book in a box and worked on my new story. And typed the end.

This time I took the new story to my chapter critique group. I entered it in contests. (Better scores – still no final.) And I worked with my on line group on bits and pieces. The revisions took longer. This time I was looking at big picture problems. Did the story start in the right place? Did I have a hero/heroine people could love and root for? Had I set the scene for the story?

These revisions took longer. And the time to develop my pitch for nationals took me over a month. Time I hadn’t thought I needed with the first manuscript. When I got my request, I poured over the pages again. This time having a beta reader tell me what didn’t make sense. Other eyes, other comments.

My second manuscript is sitting on an editor’s to be read pile as we speak. Maybe I’ll get the same thanks, no thanks letter. But this time I know the manuscript is close. It fits the line, it follows the rules and it’s a great story.

During the conference, my mentor and I discussed story one. Why it wasn’t working. And I got it. I knew my heroine was distant. (My hero I love.) And the story line was confusing.

So I’m back revising the entire book. Changing the beginning, amping up my heroine, and taking out several plot devices that were just cool, but didn’t add to the story.

Ron Savage wrote in an essay for Glimmer Train, “Rewrite the words of the story but not it’s life.”

When I was revising solely based on others comments, I was rewriting the story’s life. My story, my voice, all gone.

I’m hoping I’ll get it right this time.

How do others deal with revisions? Does having too many voices help or clutter your thoughts?

Lynn

Over the last few weeks, I’ve blogged on the topic of writer’s voice. Mostly, because I wanted to understand what it is, if I had one, and how to develop it. I’ve learned that #1, we all have a voice, and #2, we have to learn what it is before we can develop and refine it. Like a songster’s voice, a writer’s voice begins with the raw basics and is refined through practice. How refined that voice becomes depends on the practice. Only perfect practice produces a perfect result.

As writers, we MUST learn the craft of writing in order for our practice to be spot on.  Our writer’s voice becomes more defined once we’ve mastered how to use writing tools and we begin to shape and use those instruments according to our natural style. 

Writer’s voice is as individualistic as we are.  A familiar reader should be able to pick up anything we’ve written and identify it with us. Voice is that distinctive.

Don’t believe me?  Pick up a book written round robin with several authors. When reading the book, you get a clear sense of when the author has switched. The sentence structure is slightly different, the word choice, even the tone. There is distinction in voice.

I began pondering this uniqueness, the individuality, and imminent recognizability. Not only in voice, but who I am as an author.

When I decided to pursue a professional writing career, I made the choice to use a pen name, Kaelee Morgan. It wasn’t a hard decision. Looking back, it was easier than it should’ve been.  Almost without thought, really.

I told family members and friends that I was using a pseudonym, they all asked why. I glibly answered, because I have a day job in the public arena with a large and politically “hot” agency. Self-protection, self-preservation I  deemed it.

I hit the bulls-eye with the self-protection, self-preservation bit. But not because of the crap about the day job.

Looking back at my much younger years, I remember writing, writing, writing, and signing my work as Anonymous.  Not because I was embarrassed by what I wrote, but because I was embarrassed to be complimented. I wrote a short story in school that my teacher raved about, to everyone. Before long, my story was the talk of the school. In a good way, but the attention was a tad overwhelming. Overwhelming because there’s a vulnerability in writing out your heart and everyone scrutinizing it.

A pen name provides a layer of protection. Some authors choose pen names out of reasonable necessity. Or perhaps because they write in different genres or for different publishers.

I chose a pen name out of fear. Not fear of rejection, but fear of recognition. Kinda backward thinking, I know.  Especially considering that I’m not a shy person, nor do I have a problem with self-confidence. I do, however, like privacy.

While studying voice, I dug  through the Hope chest to rediscover short stories, creative writing assignments, poems, and research papers from my past. And there I found my voice. Raw and in need of refinement, but definitely my voice.

Somehow, over time, I lost some of what makes me, me, in writing. Maybe this had something to do with me opting for a pen name, maybe not. Most likely not.  But, the lesson learned in studying voice is that I just gotta be me.

Shakespeare wrote “a rose by any other name would still smell as sweet.” I suppose that’s true, but would that flower be as endearing to the masses if called a bloody thorn stalk? Somehow, I don’t think so. The essence of the flower is constant, but our perception of it changes.

After meditating on this for quite some time, I decided that come what may, I want to be known as me. I don’t need an alter identity to shield from the public eye of my day job or from family or friends.  In reality, I was only hiding from me. So, I’m foregoing the pen name, Kaelee Morgan.

I’ve changed everything over to the real me, Kristal Lee. No layer of protection now. No cushion to hide behind. Nothing but the simple, direct, often quirky, me.

I’d love to hear from those who’ve chosen to use a pen name, or two. Why did you decide to use a pseudonym? If you use more than one name, do you notice a change in your voice, or does it remain consistent?