The Devil's in the Details - Painting pictures

With the day job kicking into high gear, I'm relieved to have a first draft done of my next book, but first drafts are just that. There is still much work to be done. Like layering in all the missing pieces.

My writing style is a little unusual, or so I'm told. My first draft tends to be a comprehensive outline, and once I'm done, I go back in to see what's missing and to add in the "color." Things like "what did they see there?" or "How did that make her feel?" or "what were they wearing?" The devil's in the details.

The problem with writing a comprehensive outline is that I have a story. Not a very good one, but a story, nonetheless and, as an author, I can see everything clearly in my head. What I see doesn't always translate to the page, and that's where the disconnect comes. Readers need to see what I see. Feel what I feel, which is why authors are often give the advice to let their work rest once they've finished that first draft. It gives them time and space to approach their work as a reader and not live inside their own heads. Time and space provides the chance to look at a chapter and realize (hopefully!) what you've left out. For instance...

My main characters are doing a client presentation. I've shown the heroine standing in front of her closet trying to decide what to wear. She chooses a suit, appropriately enough. However, they work in a casual environment, so this is a change of pace. While a suit is appropriate for a client meeting, her coworkers aren't used to seeing her dressed up. Likewise for the hero, who she's partnering with on the presentation. She hasn't seen him in a suit either, and let's face it, a man in a suit is generally something to take note of. On my first draft, because we're in her head, we see her deliberating on her wardrobe choices and on her nerves, since she doesn't generally do client meetings. What I've completely overlooked is her reaction when she sees "him" in a suit. In fact, I didn't show how he was dressed at all in that first draft. She was so darn nervous, I left out some key visuals in the scene. I could cheat and tell you she was so nervous she didn't notice anything else, but hello! Attractive man in a suit standing right in front of you! Having said that, their boss always wears a suit, but he's also the type of man whose personality overshadows his appearance. Doesn't matter how good he looks, once he opens his mouth to speak, you forget his appearance and cringe.

Now, the funny thing about details... I did a panel with a best-selling author a few years ago, and she had mentioned how she goes light on details because different readers interpret scenes differently in their heads. She writes YA with Hispanic characters, and she'd had an African American reader come up to her asking "that guy's black, isn't he?" Because they'd related to that character. And with sparse enough details, that's possible. So of course she said yes. If that's how a reader sees a character, that's how they should be. So where's the middle ground? I had one reviewer tell me I had added too much detail in one of my books. Have to say it made me laugh since I always consider I might be too sparse on details more often than not. She wasn't specific, although I can sort of guess what she was referring to.

On another note, I just finished reading an ARC for a fellow author and was amazed at how seamlessly she added TONS of detail. Every outfit the character wore, everything she saw. Every detail of her home. It was a stunning visual display, and none of it took me out of the story itself.

How much is too much? Where do you find details engaging and where do you find them intrusive?

Family storytellers

This month marks the one-year anniversary of my father's passing, and next month will mark three years for my mother. As my oldest sister asked, does this mean we're orphans? We've lost the storytellers, the generation before. Now it falls on us to carry on the family legacy. Are we up to the task?

I have a cousin who has done extensive genealogy research, so the family history is preserved, and my father was a "chronicler," someone who liked to share the stories that made up our family history, and often put them down on paper to pass along to posterity. My mother did some genealogical research, as well, but with the passing of one generation, how many stories have gone untold? How much of our family history is lost? 

Last summer, my sisters and I went to visit our cousins. For dozens of years, we had "family reunions" to hold onto those relationships. With the passage of time and conflicting schedules/ commitments, it became more difficult, so when the opportunity presented itself, we went. At this particular "reunion," my sister brought along a quilt she had inherited from my mother with squares added by women in the town where my mother grew up. It was a rural area, where the community was very tightly knit, so many of the names looked familiar and many were relations to either us or to our cousins, but some of them we couldn't identify. It's clearly a family heirloom, but what do we do with it? It's too precious to use, and it seems a waste to keep it packed away. We discussed handing it off to the historical society so descendants of the other quilters could see their piece of the history. 

One of my cousins also brought a child sized rocking chair. He'd found the pieces in the attic of the family home and refinished and reassembled them. By themselves, they were nothing more than a chair, but then he produced a photo from when we were children and there it was. The rocking chair. He also wondered if it might have been the same chair our mother was photographed in when she was a child. He had restored a piece of our family history.

But what do you do with family heirlooms? Pass them along to the next generation, of course! Except without the storytellers and chroniclers, parts of the story get lost.

To be able to hold a piece of history - a quilt with the name of a grandmother I never knew, a chair my mother sat in as a child - gives us a link to our past, and a sense of loss for all the stories we never learned.

Storytellers give color to the past, give meaning where none might otherwise be found. Celebrate the storytellers in your life.

What story do you wish you knew more about?

What Genre do you prefer?

One of the challenges of writing is keeping up with societal changes. This past year has highlighted a multitude of evolution in the world, forward and backward. What was deemed socially acceptable twenty years ago is considered heresy today, at least in some aspects.

Consider the '60's. If I were to write a book today, I wouldn't include bell-bottom pants and a character with hair down to their waist (male AND female) or tie-dyed headbands... well, you get the picture. I might, but only as a throwback to that time, not as a current look. This last year has seen a multitude of changes, and I, along with many other authors, have had to take a step back and consider how what we're writing is being received. We can hope that we are writing something timeless, that can be read years from now without too much adjustment to what's going on in the world today, but that may not be the case.

In my own writing, I've found myself rethinking motivation and response to my characters. As a romance author, we've evolved from the stories of men rescuing women, to women rescuing themselves and a man appreciating her strength and trying to help where he can. These days, romances are more about how the characters can work together toward a common goal. As I was watching a movie with my husband the other night, one in a series of "research" movies we've been watching (for my latest project), he had some excellent insight for someone who doesn't read fiction. He pointed out that the characters were actually intelligent in this offering, whereas some of the other movies had unrelateable or unlikable characters. As he mentioned, in one of the movies, while the main character showed growth, she was still unlikable at the end of the movie.

With the changes in the world, I'd considered taking a leap into a new (to me) genre. Try something different. Every genre has their "rules" for what a reader will expect. I'm nearly done with my "experiment," and I've learned that I should stick with what I'm best at. I'm not going to say the experiment failed, but I'm much more comfortable in my own niche.

Which brings me to reading outside my niche. I like historical romance, was raised on Gothic romance. When I don't know what to read, that's my first go-to. It isn't my only choice however. I like contemporaries, and mysteries, and thrillers, and horror on occasion, too. At the end of the day, I like a "good story." Doesn't matter what genre. Right now, I'm reading a cozy mystery, and the rules are a little different than your standard mystery, or romantic suspense, or romance in general. That, in itself doesn't bother me, but it doesn't resonate the same way. The "rules" are different, which means I have to adjust my expectations.

What type of book do you pick up when you're looking for a book to read? Do you have a "go-to?" or do you like to mix it up? Would love to hear how you make your decision.

The Epitaph Series

Don't Judge Me!

Actually, in this case, please do!

I've entered the premiere contest for romance writers, and in order to enter, you have to also agree to judge. As such, I've been assigned six books from authors I have never met/heard of before. The process is simple. On a scale of 1-10 (with decimal points encouraged), how did you like the book, and then three simple questions. No essays, no reviews, just straightforward, yes/no answers.

As an author, I'd love to have those essays, the feedback, but since this is first round judging, they're trying to separate wheat and chaff.

The contest allows you to designate which sub-genres you do NOT want to read. In the past when I've participated, I was sent books that were way outside my general reading scope. This is good and bad. If the book is written well, it attracts my attention and I want to read more. I've had some clunkers in the past, but I've also found some excellent authors who make me want to read more of their work. Example: I have a critique partner who writes sci-fi, not my first go-to when I select a book. When the group worked through his first book, I found his concept very interesting. Does it make me want to read more sci-fi? No, but I can recommend his book without hesitation.  High marks, were I to judge.

I'm on the my last selection, and I have to say overall I'm pleased with the books I received. A couple of these authors are good enough to pursue more from. I stop to wonder if someone is reading my book and thinking "This is awesome!" Book distribution is done "blind" so we don't know who has our books and what they think of them. I might just as easily not resonate with the judges who have my book. This process reminds me of how subjective reading can be. Sometimes we reject a book not because it isn't good, per se, but because the subject matter doesn't "click" with us.

In the everyday world, our books are always being judged by the people who read them. We, as authors, hope to reach the appropriate audience and resonate, either good or bad. If you've read a book, mine or anyone else's, this is a reminder to leave a review on the site where you found it. Let us know how we scored, and if something in particular jumped out at you, a few words to let us know makes all the difference in the world.

The Epitaph Series