Using Five Senses when you write

While I often write about a sixth sense, today I'll reflecting on the five senses we all share.

I recently read a couple of blog posts about the sense of smell, and about the use of our senses when writing. Too often, authors forget to include simple cues that can bring the reader more deeply into the story. Let me start by pointing out an author should make these experiences direct and not distance the reader by saying "I could smell," or "I saw." From the character's point of view, they are actively experiencing these things. So rather than "I could smell raw onions in the kitchen," the more direct approach would be, "Judging by the onions and garlic that assaulted me when I walked in, I guessed she was making something Italian for dinner." Or instead of "I saw a cat on the porch," something more like "as I approached the front porch, a black and gray striped tabby arched its back in an exaggerated stretch and stalked off into the bushes." Yes, you can see the cat, but it's more active if you can see what it's doing and convey that. Okay, enough about HOW to use those senses, let's move onto why.

• 
  Sight
  
  What your characters see is generally a given. Most books will point out everything that comes into line of sight. Using the sense to evoke a feeling means using what they see to your advantage. What do they think of when they see something? For instance: The woman's skin was as white as paper and she wore a headwrap. Mary walked up to the stranger and squeezed her hand. "Keep fighting," she said, knowing all too well how ill the woman must be. Show. Don't tell. Visual cues communicate much more effectively than telling the reader Mary saw a woman who looked like she was struggling with cancer.
  
  
  
  
  
• Sound
  While we take for granted our characters see the world, we don't always stop to hear what's happening around them. For instance, where I live, they test the warning sirens the first Tuesday of every month at ten a.m. I'm not sure this would ever come up in a story, but it would be a clear signal to the reader (at least a reader in Illinois) of the date and time. (I don't know how widespread this practice is.) If the story is set in a city, the sound of a train or subway rumbling which puts a reader firmly into a sense of place. A church bell ringing in the distance, or a carillon. For that matter, a song on the radio, or a choir that transports the character to a different time and place. Music, in particular, often recalls an associated memory--good to use sparingly for flashbacks. When she walked into the department store, It's Too Late to Turn Back Now played on the Muzak system, filtering through the crowd noise to remind her of the one job she should have walked away from. She'd learned her lesson. It was never too late to turn back. 
  
  
• Taste
  
  
  I've discovered I tend to get stuck on a certain flavor in each of my books. There was the bread pudding in ENCHANTED MEMORIES. Mallorca bread in BREAKING THE MOLD. The bread pudding reminds the main character of her aunt, who served it as comfort food. When your characters go out to eat, you'll want to include the flavors that resonate with them. Are they favorable? Bitter? Enhance the mood or detract from it? Some foods can be a source of conflict. The hero likes asparagus, but the heroine chokes on it every single time. Or cilantro. Some people appreciate it, while others liken it to eating soap. Jose sprinkled the cilantro liberally into the taco meat, the way his mother used to. Alecia cried out in horror. "If I wanted my mouth washed out with soap, I'd carry a bar with me. Ease up, will you? How do you expect me to eat that now?" Or, here are a couple excerpts from ENCHANTED MEMORIES:
  

"...bread pudding, the cure-all Auntie Arlene had given her after the first time Madeleine had shared someone else’s thoughts and feelings."

"She didn’t bother cutting off a slice, digging into the 8x8 pan of bread pudding—extra points for the vanilla sauce on the top. When it practically melted in her mouth, she closed her eyes and hummed her appreciation. Pure heaven. Nothing restored her chi the way bread pudding did."

• 
  Touch/Feel
  Consider how something feels. Walking down a deserted London street, cold and damp seeping into your bones. Okay, now consider a romance novel and a hero with rock-hard abs. Warm skin. Or holding someone's hand. Clammy? Papery skin? What feeling do you want to convey? The way it feels sets a mood, or a response to that character. Chills of dread when someone walks into a cold basement? Claustrophobia when they walk into a hot, stuffy attic, the air making it difficult to breathe? Texture. Running fingers across a smooth/coarse surface. Spilling a cold drink, or a cup of coffee. How does the character respond to these sensations? TELLING a reader these things happen is superficial. Experiencing it - her scalded skin turned red where the coffee sloshed onto her hand, and she rushed to the sink to rinse the burn with cold water, which raised gooseflesh all over her body. Her hand throbbed from the violent temperature extremes.
  
  
• 
  Smell
  Back to the onions and garlic. Make the reader smell what the character does. In LIVING CANVAS, Audrey walks past the lilac bushes (thank you, Deb Larson) and up the front steps of the B&B, smelling the delicate fragrance. On the opposite end of the spectrum, if you're writing a whodunit and somebody done died, a character might come across a decomposing body which would make them gag and possibly even "lose their cookies." Strong smells prompt strong responses. Delicate smells tease at memories or hint at peaceful settings. Olfactory senses can often transport people to another place and time. In THE UNINVITED, the scent of mimosa is an indicator that the ghost of Stella's mother is nearby. The twist is that her mother isn't who she thought she was. Or maybe an author might use a scent when a character thinks of their parents. Old Spice for their father, or Windsong for their mother, etc. I've seen movies where a child buys a fragrance simply to remember his mother because he's worried he'll forget her. It's his way of keeping her close. 
  

Again, with all of these senses, it's important to use the experience directly, and not distance your reader with "he saw..." We're in the character's point of view, so we see what he sees. Telling the reader is sort of like saying "I said to him, I said..." (Bugs Bunny cartoons, anyone?) Likewise, by adding "could" in front of the sense also distances the reader. They want to experience what the character is experiencing, no "could" about it. What is the character seeing? Smelling? Tasting? Experiencing? Hearing? Show the reader. Don't tell them, and make it a three-dimensional experience rather than a flat collection of words. 

Getting to Know You

Sometimes starting a new book is easy. I have a clear picture of my main players and what they're after. Sometimes it isn't so easy.

Example. When I started writing BREAKING THE MOLD (Less than a month until release day! Woo Hoo!), the plan had been to start with Yolanda from COOKIE THERAPY. She worked in the bakery next to the bookstore. Yolanda is in the new book, for sure, but it's her family that takes center stage more than her, and her big brother who is my hero. As for the female lead, well, she stumbled into the story when I wasn't paying attention and stole the show. Wait. Wasn't I talking about clear pictures of main players? I suppose what I'm getting at is the two leads in BREAKING THE MOLD stepped right up to tell me their stories. 

When writing a series, main characters tend to be easier because you already know them from previous books, or at least you have an idea what's going on with them. Examples of when main characters aren't so easy? When I started EPITAPH, I couldn't seem to get Amy right. It took me several years before I finally discovered what was missing, but once I did, it launched the series.

Which brings me back to where I am today. I've written a first chapter, which introduces my main character, and I have a reasonable idea of who she is. Then there's the hero. I don't know anything about him other than his name, and two other peripheral facts about him - one of which even he doesn't know. Often, it can take me at least three chapters to get to know my characters and their journey, but I'm struggling with Chapter 2. I need to know more about this character. Blame it on taking a holiday break and giving my brain a chance to power down for a couple of weeks. It's time to jump start things.

When creating a character, it's good to start with a character sketch. What does he look like? What are his goals, his motivation in the story, and his conflict? Where does he live? What kind of car does he drive? What do you see when you walk into his house? Is he easygoing or structured? What's his fatal flaw or biggest weakness? What is his distinguishing characteristic/trait? What does his voice sound like? What does he smell like? What does he do for work? And then I need to worry about his support system. His family, friends and enemies. How is he going to grow over the course of the story? Does he have a catch phrase? (I'm actually hearing "yeah-yeah" with this guy, but considering how little I know about him, I could be wrong.)

These are the basics to help make a three-dimensional character - a person. When I've run into problems creating characters (like Amy), it's often because I've overlooked some of these basic questions. In her case, it was siblings. Once I discovered her brothers, the whole story/series opened up. 

So off to the drawing board to find out all about "Ryan." Very likely, once I've answered all these (and more) questions, I'll discover I've missed the boat on some of the answers and will have to make adjustments based on what I discover while writing his story. Characters can be cagey that way. They withhold something, or give you the wrong answer. 

Wishing you all a Happy New Year, and here's to health and new adventures in the coming year.

Ego versus Constructive Criticism

I recently read a post in one of my groups from someone who was concerned about balancing Ego with Criticism. She confessed to having "thin skin" when it came to criticism and asked for advice on how to deal with some she'd gotten recently. She has a few unpublished works, and admitted her education isn't necessarily as advanced as it might be. She asked another author for feedback on her current work, and when she got the comments back, she was "gutted." Her question? Is my work that bad? Is it my ego that's bruised or are my skills that deficient?

I've been at this job for 20 years professionally, and I can't tell you how many people over the years have commented on how easy writing must be. You just sit down and write a story and voila! You're done. Nope. Not quite that simple.

Taking a story from a point of inspiration to a finished product takes lots of hours and hard work. It means understanding sentence structure. Character goals, motivation, and conflict, as well as plot. Sometimes the stories are easy to write. They flow easily (despite the inevitable muddle in the middle), although there are some that require a lot more thought and craft. 

When I first started out "seriously," I did a lot of studying, took some extra classes. Thought I knew it all. Joined a critique group. Lovely people in that group. They were all very supportive and complimentary. Here's the problem with that. I didn't learn anything. I still remember a woman named Glee pointing out my "ing monster." But she never explained what that meant or why that was a problem. 

After a couple of years, a "real author" joined the group and immediately took me to task on one of my chapters over dialog tags. Well heck. Everything I'd ever learned told me to use descriptive dialog tags. Now, someone comes along and tells me they're too flowery? That I should use "said" because it's "invisible?" I didn't respond well at first, but then I considered the source. This was a published author. Published by a house I'd hoped to get into. She must know what she's talking about, right? So I reached out to her to learn more. Unfortunately, my knee-jerk negative response to her critique burned my bridges with her. She quickly realized she was in a group of amateurs. 

The good news is I met another author through that group and asked her for advice. That was the beginning of a years-long association, and I have learned SO MUCH from her and the other authors she introduced me to. The criticism was much more intense (read "ouch!"), but focused, and as much as I didn't like hearing that I'd screwed something up, that group also taught me what to look for and what to fix. I learned that "the ing monster" was a signal to check for passive voice. I learned to focus on filler words (like just) and common errors like "That vs. Who." I didn't lash out at the criticism I got, even when I didn't agree with it. I set my ego aside and actually learned something. As a result, I now have some well-written and professionally edited books that I can be proud of. 

I still get abrasive comments on my writing at times, and it still stings, but I now have enough experience behind me to understand when those comments are constructive and I should pay attention. For those comments I don't agree with, I now rely on my editor as the "final say" on whether they're valid or not. At the end of the day, you need a professional you can trust who knows what they're talking about, with industry and genre experience, to be the deciding factor on what is ego and what is a valid criticism. That, in and of itself, can be a challenge. My first attempt at finding an editor garnered one whose biggest criticisms were the names I'd chosen for my characters. For THAT reason, it's a good idea to have a sample edit before you sign a contract to make sure the editor will balance what they can do with what you need. 

Why Hire an Editor?

There are times I get all cocky and tell people I used to be an editor, so what do I need to hire one for? I have a firm grasp of the English language. I know how to put sentences together. I have programs that help point out usage that I might have overlooked. And did I mention I have a stellar critique group? Well, here's the thing.

Nobody's Perfect

This is especially true when it comes to reviewing your own work. Humans are flawed, and as such, mistakes will be made. Even with top-notch skills and a strong support group. Things get overlooked. Threads get dropped. 

As I prepare my next Hillendale novel for publication, I'm addressing comments I got back from my editor. The one I hired. Because she sees all the things I miss. Is she perfect? No, but her input elevates my work. As an example...

• I have a thread in the current novel that isn't neatly tied up. "What happened to that one person?" Truth be told, I knew it was hanging out there, but I'd sort of thought maybe no one would care. That was mistake number one. If I don't care, that means my character doesn't care, and that makes her uncaring. Forget the fact this is a made-up person in a made-up world. People should care what happens, especially people we are willing to take the time to invest our energy and emotions into. "That one person" has now been taken care of.
  
  
• Wasn't this different in the last book? See, that's the thing. I keep a series bible. In fact, I wrote a program to make it easier, but in order to keep the facts straight, I have to refer to them. Often. Example #1 is the backstory I presented at the end of Interrupted Magic which "magically" isn't the same as what's presented in this next installment. Well, heck. That isn't going to work, and thinking my readers won't pick up on it? That's just careless. My editor, who has been with me through 17 books now, keeps track of all that stuff. And speaking of continuity...
  
  
• What was the name of that place? Yes, this is also in my series bible, and I KNOW I've referred back to it more than once, but wouldn't you know I STILL wrote the wrong name? Rock Falls/Rock's Edge. And speaking of series bible, here's something you might not know. When I was writing Brian Benson's book for the Epitaph series, I misspelled his name. For 6 books, his name was Brian. Now that he's taking center stage, he's suddenly Bryan. How does that happen?? Well, my editor was on top of it.

As an editor in business, we were often told that internal controls meant you didn't edit your own work. You handed it off to someone with fresh eyes. The three examples I cited are prime reasons that this is good practice. It doesn't matter how good you (think you) are. The main problem with checking your own work is that you become blind to the mistakes. The value of an industry professional with specialized knowledge is well worth the investment. 

I'm expecting ENCHANTED MEMORIES (Hillendale 5) to release on August 3. It should be hitting the stores for preorder this week. Here's the first look at the cover.

Buy it here

Cuss words

I recently read a blog about cuss words in novels, and how some authors use them to project realism into their characters--that's how certain people respond. Another author in the same genre made the point that you can inject that realism without the cuss words. It's a sensitive topic for some people.

When I was growing up, my mother's go-to cuss word was "crap." If she got REALLY upset, you might here a "damn" from her, but that was very rare. In fact, the crap wasn't thrown out very freely and was reserved only for highly inflammatory moments. The funny part is that as she got older, she would talk about picking up cow sh!t for her flower gardens. Go figure! The point here is that I didn't grow up with "blue" language, and I don't often use it myself. Possibly more often as I get older and my filters don't work the same way, but that's a topic for another day.

The first book I found myself using any notable amount of profanity in was Mist on the Meadow, and in the middle of writing the story, I stopped myself. Wolf's language could easily be considered offensive. The problem was that the character who used it used it. As much as I tried to tone him down, he kept fighting back. Eventually, he won out, and I gave him the potty mouth he insisted on. He had issues, after all. With that being said, I did try to minimize his usage so it wasn't overdone. We all have to be civil--or at least I think so. 

Many characters have a go-to cuss word, like my mother and "crap." I think the trick is to not overuse it. Diana Gabaldon comes to mind and her "Jesus H. Roosevelt Christ." Claire uses it, but sparingly. In fact, one might even forget that's her go-to epithet. And that's the point, right? People slip up. They get wound up and the words tumble out. It's human nature. But people don't get wound up every day. 

As I work on my next novel, I've found my main character expressing her displeasure with an epithet that probably isn't needed. Displeasure is one thing. "Wound up" is something else entirely. So I'm back to reconsidering my usage. I don't think she overdoes it, but I may need to find one of those quirky, silly expressions for her when she's thwarted or frustrated, and save the big guns for the real crises.

You can find out more about the Mist Trilogy here

Navigating the Land of Make Believe

Every author has their own method when it comes to writing a story. You hear about plotters and pantsers (those who write by the seat of their pants). You hear about story boards and outlines. Me? I live in the land of make believe. I often see scenes or interactions, but not always the big picture. I don't always know where the story is going. That's the case with my current work in progress.

Sometimes, I'm very structured, which makes the job much easier. Other times, I have no idea what comes next. Scratch that, I have an idea, but only the barest of bones. I generally know the theme of the story, where the story needs to go. But aside from that, it's like playing Barbie doll. I put the characters on the page and make it up as I go along.

When my creativity falters, I have a tendency to make notes, plot points to cover. Free form outlining, in a manner of speaking. When I know where the story is going but it isn't clear, I write directly in the story about what needs to happen rather than paragraphs that "are" the story. Sometimes, I hear the dialog in my head, and I write that down to spur on the words around it. Those notes often turn into brainstorms of "Wait a minute. If this happens, then that has to happen." And sometimes those notes serve as a vehicle to get me writing. Once the words start, more and better words tend to follow. Some notes make it into the story, and some don't. When I'm really at a loss, I have a girlfriend I bounce ideas off of. I'll switch to my email program and start writing to her about the problem I'm facing, and oftentimes, in the course of explaining it to her, a flash of brilliance strikes me and I've solved my own problem. It's about stepping into my imagination and getting the engine started.

In my current work in progress, I'd reached a point where my main character needs to face her fears. Unfortunately, I didn't know what she was afraid of. I went over the usual phobias with a complete lack of interest, but then I thought about how intimidating big dogs can be. Which led me to one of the background characters who wanted to be a canine handler. Instant conflict! (I love it when a story comes together!)

Writing without an outline is like taking the long way around the block. You might get lost, but you might also discover routes you never knew existed. Each path has its own rewards, and I could argue the benefits of both methods. When writing to a deadline, outlining is a better road to your destination--it gets you there faster. Without that constraint, taking the uncharted path can often be an entertaining diversion, or a frustrating exercise in losing your way. 

The takeaway message to all of this is that even if you don't know what comes next, what to write, write something. "Something" almost always leads to something more.

Book Bibles

When you write a lot of books, details tend to get lost in the cracks. How do you keep track of all those details?

And then there's the concept of names. My hairdresser asked me once how I come up with names for all my characters. Well, I have a variety of sources, from sports figures to tombstones to actors. I still have to remember them all.

I have a database certification, which means I use my skills to track my book details with a program I've written. When I come across a name I might want to use, I add it. When I use it, I assign it to the book. More than names, I add the fictional places I create so I don't have to go back to look up "what was the name of that town I made up?" or "What was the name of the restaurant in town?" This is especially helpful when I'm writing a series. 

Character names should be varied. If all your characters' names start with the letter M, a reader is going to get confused very quickly. Which "M" was that? There are occasions when "like" first initials have a place, or homonyms, but that should be the exception rather than the rule. For instance, I have twin sisters named Molly and Polly in FAMILY ALCHEMY. Families often stick to an initial when naming kids. My stepson and his wife have named all their children (and they have many) using her first initial for their daughters and his first initial for their sons. I have Max and Marissa who are brother and sister in MIST ON THE MEADOW. But when it comes time to add a new character, I want to look for a different first letter. With my database, I can sort the "available" names I've collected alphabetically (names I haven't used in other books or "this" book).

My database is NOT like Scrivener, which is designed to organize your thoughts in addition to gathering this information. Mine is strictly for organizing books, characters and places--a quick reference point. Which brings me to a question. Is this something other authors might find useful? How do other authors track their series? I imagine for authors like me with an extensive backlist, it would require a lot of backtracking, but for newer authors, or authors who are looking for a way to get organized, it might be a useful tool to share. What do you think? 

(You can see a demo on my website... "For Authors" page.)

Where to start? And a sneak preview.

As I embark on my next writing project, there's always the question of where to start.

Books need a strong first chapter, something very few authors can get right on the first try. I need to portray the goals, the motivation, and the conflict - something that will immediately invest the reader into the pages that follow. Too often, I start with backstory, which is ALWAYS a problem. Nothing like getting my feet stuck in the mud with details that would be better filtered in along the way at more relevant junctures.

As I started off, I wanted to set the mood. Show what my hero was up against. And then I realized it was very similar to the beginning of another book, but not as immediate. So while my hero was stewing along the road ahead of him, I ran into "who cares" territory. The action comes in at the end of the chapter, but I slogged through a thousand words to get there. On the plus side, I didn't drown in backstory. On the minus side, it's still boring.

Finding the right balance is a challenge on the best of days, and every time I begin a new book, I understand that the first chapter is going to take a couple of tries before I get it right. What is the right starting point? I need an inciting incident. I have that. I need conflict. I have that. But the other thing I need to do is invest the reader in my characters. What about them is likable? What about them turns a reader off?

Over the past year, I've had the privilege to judge two writing contests. In case I didn't read enough already, it forced me to get through several books in a short time frame. As a writer, we also need to read, not just for enjoyment, but also to see what works for me as a reader and what doesn't. Sometimes an author provides a brilliant illustration of what to do right--and also what to do wrong. For instance, I read one book that got hung up in the character's occupation. For the first half of the book, we walked in her shoes, saw what she had to do, watched her do it while also juggling her home life. That would have been fine if I wanted a book on that particular occupation, but this was supposed to be fiction, and while she had a goal, she had no motivation and no conflict for the whole first half of the book. The blurb on the back told a story that was absent for that first half. Lesson: Let the reader know what this story is about right away.

Which brings me back to the proverbial square one, looking for the right place to start my new story. I'm close, but it needs some refining.

In the meantime, let me take this opportunity to let you know the next book in the Hillendale series, THE HIDDEN GRIMOIRE is done and will be on sale August 11 and is available for preorder now. Here's a look at the cover!

Click to buy

And here's a snippet to whet your appetite:

Someone pounded on the door and my heart jumped in response. “Who in the world…?” I rose to answer and was surprised to see my cousin standing on the doorstep. Although I hadn’t seen him in more than five years, I recognized his mother’s blonde hair and his father’s dark blue eyes. “Jason?”

Nora hovered at my shoulder.

“Good. You’re both here,” he said, barging inside.

I didn’t remember him as rude, but there wasn’t much I did know about him. “I didn’t realize you knew where I lived.”

“Jeannine told me.” He glared at Nora, and then at me.

His sister, Jeannine, and I had reconnected on amicable terms. Jason’s attitude indicated he wasn’t interested in being friendly. What could Nora and I possibly have done to warrant such animosity? Then again, his parents hadn’t spared much love for me despite taking me in after my own parents had died.

I fought to find my manners, even if he seemed to have lost his. “Nora, this is Jason Hanson. Uncle Jerome and Aunt Theresa’s son.”

Her voice was subdued. “So I gathered. How lovely to meet you, Jason.”

He leaned toward her, shaking a finger. “I know all about you. Stay away from me and my family. Both of you.”

TFW

For those of you who don't know, the title stands for "That Feeling When."

As I near "the end" on one more book, I'm running into that feeling when I don't want the story to end, but I want it to end. I want do be done, but I don't want to rush to the finish line. When writing a story, there's nothing worse than rushing to tie up all the loose ends in a very convenient bow.

I read a book recently where once the author wrote the climax, the point that the story was leading up to where everything comes out into the open and generally does some sort of damage, they packed all the loose ends into neat little packages. Sometimes those loose ends aren't neat, nor should they be. Consider shows or movies where the villain tells the person he's about to kill all about his evil plan instead of just pulling the trigger. Yes, sometimes that's the only way you can reveal how they got there, but I will admit to wondering why the villain just offed the one guy but stopped to chat with the main target. Savoring the kill doesn't hold water with me most of the time.

And so I'm finding myself in this same boat. I'm about to write the climax. I know what's going to happen, but I'm not sure how it's going to unfold. In leading up to this point, I had written a section that showed a moment of clarity, rather than letting it play itself out. When I re-read it, I realized it would carry much more impact as an "aha" moment. "Where had she seen that look before?" AHA!  Well, something like that. I was pretty proud of myself for seeing it was too convenient as originally written. Yes, I am still growing in my writing journey every day.

Which brings me back to finishing. I have to walk my character into a potentially dangerous situation and bring her out on the other side, and then I have to show the reader how this has changed her life for the better. That's what books do. They show character growth or resolution of a goal, or both. So once we get to the other side, I need to explain why we traveled the roads we did to get to this point. Why did I point out that particular landmark along the way? And I have to do it in a logical, believable way instead of throwing my characters to the wolves and saying "you have to do this so that the story works the way I want it to." Funny, but too often, the characters tell ME how the story works out. I think it's better that way. After all, walking this journey with them all this way, I don't want to betray who they are now. Add in that there are reader expectations for the type of story I'm writing.

Which brings me to that feeling when the story comes to an end. I want to part with these characters as friends, hoping that one day we might see each other again - especially when the books are part of a series. And I don't want readers to say things like "well, that was a little too easy." My characters need to stay true to themselves, and true to the way the real world works, or at least the the extent the world they live in works.

Ramble On

It has been a while since I used My Life Is A Musical in one of my posts. And yet the musical goes on.

Sidetrack - has anyone else been watching the Andrew Lloyd Webber You Tubes? The free shows over the weekends? I've see a couple, but of course I was late arriving and missed the one I STILL HAVEN'T SEEN.

Main track...

I'm diligently working on my next Hillendale novel. These are strange times we live in, and words are sometimes difficult to muster with all the distractions and anxiety that comes with every single news cycle. My critique partner just did a blog post on how to keep writing when it's hard to keep writing. For the most part, she was spot on, and I agree with her processes (You can read it here.) One thing I had to add to her lists is "just keep writing."

When the words won't come, I first try a change of scenery. A walk around the block with my characters. I talk to them, they talk to me. Except when they don't (or when I'm walking with the Big Guy, in which case, he drowns them out). When that doesn't work, I consider plot points - what I call "notes for what comes next." It gives me a direction to think, but there are still days when turning those plot points into paragraphs is a chore. So then what?

I write. Cue the Led Zeppelin song. I Ramble On. I can't even tell you how I get started, I just put my fingers on the keyboard and let stream of consciousness run. Ramble on.

Sometimes, rambling results in something new and different than I wasn't expecting. That's always a bonus. But almost always, it is a blast of sentences strung together, sometimes repetitive, sometimes redundant, sometimes run-on. I throw in information that doesn't add anything. I throw in stuff that makes no sense. But there's always gold hiding inside the slag. When I've reached my word count for the day, I can go back and sift out the sludge. You can fix bad writing. You can't fix an empty page.

So my writing advice for today? Ramble on. There's a story hiding inside the influx of words, and once you get them down, you can find the gold.

While you're here, can I remind you that the new release will be out NEXT WEEK? (Yes, I'm very excited!) An enchanted weeping beech tree,  a white squirrel, a summer solstice festival. Calling on magic comes with UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES!

Click here to buy

Dialog 101

Before I get into today's post, I'm offering some distraction to everyone who is social distancing and needs a diversion. Enter the Rafflecopter below for your chance to win one of three audiobooks of COOKIE THERAPY. The redemption codes are offered through Audible.com and are only available in the US or UK (I apologize for the limited distribution, but it's an Audible thing). Winners will be chosen on Monday, March 29, 2020.

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As part of a writing group I've been working with, one author asked me a question about dialog issues I had in his writing. My editor also recently posted a blog on dialog (Use Dialog to Show, Not Tell), so I thought this would be a good time to share what I told my fellow author along with what my editor shared with the world.

In my editor's blog, she writes about dialog tags. That was a lesson it took me a while to learn. When I was first writing to be published, my first critique group was very "nice" and didn't point those out to me, so when I finally found a critique partner who did, I was stunned. Some useful information on using "said."

In the comments I shared with the author who asked me to expand on dialog, I noted his overuse of characters' names. When in actual conversation with someone, we rarely use the other person’s name unless a) we’re trying to remember it or b) for emphasis. 

“Hi, Mike, how are you?” “Fine, Karla, and you?” I’m good, Mike. Listen, Mike, I was thinking… “ “Thanks for your thoughts, Karla.” “Any time, Mike.” 

Talk to someone else in the room with you and note how often you use each other’s names. And if you intentionally use their name, pay attention to how they respond to that. I think you’ll find they think it unusual. When I address my husband by name (rarely) he always responds with my name, more to point out he’s noted my usage than any other reason.  

As a side note, years ago I dated someone who used my name intentionally, and I think that was to point out he knew “who” he was with. The usage was more because it was a “new” relationship and there were other people involved in the background. His intention was to make me feel special and was limited to those times when it was important to know he was present with me.

Another issue is unnecessary conversation. What does the following say?

"Hi, Joe." "Hi, Bill." "What are you up to today?" "Not much, you?" "Reading." "Yeah, me, too." 

The back and forth doesn't move forward. It can be condensed to convey the same thing in more concise language. Readers don't want to get caught up in an "understood" affirmation or confirmation. They want to get to the point. For instance, one can assume the paragraph prior to this dialog has already put Bill and Joe in the same room, and one can reasonably assume they've already greeted each other.

"I don't know what to do with myself now that social distancing is a requirement. I've stocked up on my reading materials, but how long can this go on?" "The movie stations are streaming classics, and some of the new releases are out early. I figure those will hold me over when my eyes get tired."

You get a whole lot more out of this exchange than the previous. Another thing to note is action beats. Sometimes words can be left out if their actions demonstrate their response. An example of this might be if someone insults someone else and the response is flipping them the bird.

I'd also pointed out a place in the story where the police force shows up to the scene of the crime. When they arrive, they stop to introduce themselves and their position. "I'm Officer Joe Keebles and I'm with the County Police Department." Point #1 is that the uniform identifies them. The people they're introducing themselves to called for the police, so they're expecting the police, so when two police officers arrive, those officers don't need to identify themselves as police. I'm also not sure they would stop to introduce themselves right away (and I could be wrong about that), but they'd be more focused on stemming the crime which is still happening. Introducing themselves stops the action and takes the reader out of the tension in the scene.

One last thought on dialog. While you want it to mimic natural conversation as closely as possible, because it’s written, it should be more condensed, leaving out the “you know” fillers people often throw in (unless it’s a character trait) or other “filler” type words. Not every comment needs a reply, and yet you don’t want to skip a reply when one is warranted. Sometimes actions speak louder than words. What makes a bigger impact? Words or actions?

Overcoming Writers' Fatigue

While I'm finishing up my second in the Hillendale series - UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES, I'm struggling with where to go with Book 3. This is not officially writers' block, probably more like writers' fatigue.

Several years ago, while I was writing the Mist Trilogy, my editor recommended The Writer's Brainstorming Kit, a book she referred to as "tarot for authors." It's a handy book that gives you the option to choose your plots, goals, motivations, conflicts, or to "flip a card" and be inspired. If you order the physical book, it comes with a deck of GMC cards. If you order the e-book, it cross-references to a deck of cards. At the time, I was struggling with my villain and why he did the things he did. I found the book surprisingly helpful.

Which brings me to "now." I have a vague concept of the plots and subplots for Hillendale #3, but this book needs to push the envelope a little farther, so I've been struggling with what haven't I already done in books one and two. Writers' fatigue.

I'm a pantser more often than not - I write by the seat of my pants. I start with my characters or some "thing/place/event" that sparked my imagination and let them tell me the story. When I get stuck, I sit down and plot (does that make me a "plot-ser?") I know stories need to move forward, and there has been more than one occasion where the story was wandering around aimlessly when I had to stop and call my characters together for a little planning meeting. What are the goals? What's standing in their way? What's the point of this story?? I'm not sure I've ever run into this before I've ever started the story though.

One way to get inspired when fatigue strikes is to read other books. Watch movies or series. So I selected a series (A Discovery of Witches) which turned out to be not at all what I'd expected, and yet it's very good! So while I wait for my editor to finish Book #2, I figured I'd pull out the tarot for writers book and see if I couldn't find a plot to carry Book #3. This, my friends, is when I realize I have writers' fatigue, because as I'm weighing my options, I see I've left myself a perfect roadmap to follow if I'd only been paying attention! Every book in a series should point to the next one, even if they are meant to stand alone, and I've done just that. I knew I was laying the groundwork, but sitting in the recovery phase of Book #2, I couldn't see the forest for the trees (to incorporate a cliché).

What do you do when you have writers' fatigue? You use the tools available to you to give you the extra "oomph" you need. In this case, an outline. Actual plotting. It takes the fatigue out of trying to figure out what comes next. Let me point out that outlining isn't a restrictive tool. It gives you a roadmap. Directions. But if you see a road sign advertising a fun detour, there's no reason you can't divert once you're more "rested."

Am I changing my stripes and embracing outlining my books? I sincerely doubt it. There comes a point in every book where I stop to make sure I'm actually moving the story along. Sometimes I let the plot unfold naturally, but when it doesn't, I will almost always stop to give my characters a map.

Tools of the Trade

As a follow up to last week's post, I haven’t used Scrivener since November. Why? Because that’s not my process.


When I downloaded the trial, I was dealing with the holidays, and preparing a new release, and a new audiobook. I’m used to managing multiple priorities, so those things, in and of themselves, wouldn’t normally push me over the edge. The final straw was pulled when I lost “my person,” a family member I was closest to.


You’ve probably seen those drug ads on television.  In particular, I’m thinking of one that is used to combat depression, and one of the symptoms is loss of focus. No, I’m not advocating (or using) said drugs, but profound sadness absolutely screws with your focus, and that’s the point I’d reached with my work in process.


Going to take one more side trip before I circle back to the topic at hand…


My editor supplies me with a contract before we start work. She gives me dates, and for all the books she’s done for me, she hits every one of them. Sometimes it’s midnight of the day her edits are due back, but they come back on schedule. I hired a different editor for one of my books, and her process wasn’t quite as “professional.” She quoted approximate dates, in case “life events get in the way.” Now, I get life events. I completely get life events. But can you imagine me going to work and saying I want to build more days into my deadline because “life events?” Missing that deadline because “life events?” While I enjoyed working with that editor, I went back to the editor I knew and was comfortable with, because I want someone who will be held accountable. Does that mean she can’t be a day or three late if the worst should happen? Absolutely not. But that should be an exception rather than something that’s expected. Writing "life events" into a contract feels more like “in case I oversleep one day.”


So, back to the topic at hand. In spite of life events, I still have a job to do, and when life events throw me for a loop, I have to find a way to keep on track. Keep working. That’s where Scrivener came in handy during the “mourning period.” It organized my scattered thoughts. Gave me a way to think when thinking was too difficult.


For writers who struggle, there are tools out there to help. Grammar checkers. SPELL CHECKERS. Redundancy checkers. Programs that can pick up the slack where someone has a weakness. Even if you use the programs as a temporary crutch to get you over the hump, or a safety net, they are available to give you a boost when you need it.


So, back to Scrivener. As I said, it was helpful while I was stuck—when life events were overwhelming—but I have my own processes when I write. If you don’t have processes or systems in place, Scrivener is very helpful. For me, I’m glad to have had it for a crutch when I was struggling, but now that life is on a less bumpy course, I’m comfortable doing things “my way” again.

I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends

I wrote this post in November, and then a follow-on (which I'll post next week to let you know "how it went").

Years ago, The Big Guy got me a version of Scrivener to try. I did try it, and I figured I was an organized enough person that it didn’t make much difference, and so I chose not to buy the program. I track everything it does in my own fashion. Fast forward – I have some of the scenes in my current WIP that I know have to happen, but I don’t know how to get there, and my brain is refusing to focus on the problem at hand. I’ve learned from past experience that you can only solve problems by focusing on one at a time. Because my brain isn’t cooperating with the multiple balls in the air, I downloaded a free copy of Scrivener again to give it one more try. I needed to do SOMETHING. Generally, this would be the point I outline to propel myself forward, but I couldn’t even manage to do that.  


This might start to sound like a commercial for Scrivener, but please keep in mind that different things work for different folks. As I mentioned previously, I’d discounted this software years ago because I was able to do all that it does on my own using Word (I’m what they call a “Super User”) and an Access database. But this time I needed help. There is a learning curve to the software, but I’m a computer friendly person, so I was able to manage that fairly easily. Then I organized what I had already written, added what I know needs to happen in the story, but it was too soon to write that part. Added a couple other “somewhere down the road” things and suddenly I was filling in the holes. To be honest, those holes were what was scaring me. “What if I put down what I need to happen and end up with empty space in between?” Getting down what I needed to happen provided me with “This has to happen first” moments – the spackle for those holes. The end result is what some authors refer to as storyboarding. Mind mapping. Once I get down the plot points I need to cover “at some point,” I was able to see more clearly the plot points I needed to employ to get to that point, the ones that were eluding me.


Sometimes we all need a little help, and the program helped me to visualize what my brain refused to recognize. Will I continue to use it? Well, that remains to be seen. For this particular time in my life, it serves the purpose of a “style sheet,” something my editor generally does for me when she completes her editing pass. I have to tell you, I love that. The other benefit is that I can save the template to apply to future books in the series. While I do track all the pertinent information, settings, characters, etc., this keeps everything at the click of a mouse rather than the “open the file to refer back to,” or immediately tracking things I might forget to add because I had to open a second file to note them.


Can you achieve the same results without getting a “fancy writing program?” Absolutely. As with most aspects of writing, Your Mileage May Vary.

Write What You Know

One of the things you hear most often when asked for writing advice is "write what you know." But what does that mean exactly?

Expertise
I've covered this topic in the past, and writing what you know doesn't mean that if you're a grocery store clerk, you have to write a story about a grocery clerk. However, since that is one person's experience, I'm sure there are a thousand stories a grocery clerk could share. Examples of this line of thinking are John Grisham - a lawyer writing legal thrillers. The law is his area of expertise, and he's able to weave exciting stories based on that.

Personal knowledge/trivia
Let's take this to the next step. Are you a history buff? Maybe there's a moment in history that would make for a great story, using that history as a backdrop. Do you know baseball inside and out? A story based on baseball, or a baseball fanatic applies to "write what you know."

What you read/what you love to read
Then there's the concept of "write the book you'd love to read." If you read sci-fi, you're more prone to think along those lines, to be familiar with the rules for the genre, which means writing in that genre.

What NOT to do
There are folks who think this gig is easy, that "anyone" could write a certain type of book. Romance gets targeted most often. "Anyone can write that drivel." Guess what? Not as easy as it seems. Case in point (one author's experience). "I have the background to write xxx. I know the subject matter. I want to write a story like that." All well and good, and falls into "write what you know." But you also need to know the market and the genre. If you don't, even if you *think* you know what you're writing about, it will fall flat.

For my part, I read a lot of historical novels. Love them. Can I write one? Not to save my soul. Not even going to attempt it. I hated history when I was in school and I didn't do well in it. That doesn't mean I don't appreciate those authors who are steeped in it, know the ins and outs and can write it flawlessly. I've heard author friends complain about the details that "neophyte" authors make when they start out, how they "think" they know the subject matter but end up getting the historical details woefully wrong. Let's take this one step further. In a world that has evolved through the course of history, romance readers don't want to read about oppressed women. They want to read about women who conquer the stigma associated with being "the weaker sex" or "the fairer sex." How does a historical romance author stick to accuracy in a history steeped with oppression and still appeal to their readership? I'm here to tell you, some of them have done this flawlessly, while others have tried and failed.

But I digress.

I've recently made a foray into "I could write for that market." Guess what? I couldn't. I was fully in "write what you know" territory, but missing some of the fundamentals. So for me, I'm sticking with my niche. *This* is what I write. *This* is my voice. Forcing it is not only uncomfortable, it doesn't work.

Romance anyone? With a side of supernatural? And don't forget the suspense.

GMC deconstructed

The most important part of writing is giving characters goals, motivation and conflict. That's what attracts the readers. Susie wants X. What motivates her to get it? What gets in her way?

Except it isn't as simple as that.

Quite often, when I start out a new novel, I set my characters GMC. It's perfectly clear to me, I mean we all have goals in our lives, right?  And motivation? For a lot of us, the motivation is a mortgage payment, or mouths to feed. But is that enough for a storybook character?

At my very first writing conference, I went to a session with a conflict grid, but I only saw that as conflict (silly me) and while I found it very thought provoking and helpful, I missed the more important aspects. I got it, I understood it, but did I really?

The thing the character wants is best presented as diametrically opposed to the way it works out. Something stands in her way, and here's the important question that often gets overlooked.

Susie wants X. What happens if she doesn't get it? The audience needs a reason to get behind Susie's goals, to root her on. This goes to her motivation. She HAS to succeed, or else. I mean, we all want to succeed, right? But what are the stakes?

Conflict? Add a few speed bumps. Anything that can go wrong will. Just when she thinks she's succeeded, something gets in her way. Trouble is interesting. People don't talk about all the things that are going right in their lives, they talk about what's going wrong.

Here's a classic example of GMC. Merida wants her mother to change, for her mother to understand who Merida is without forcing her into who they want her to be. She's being forced into a marriage she doesn't want, so she seeks out a witch's help. The witch offers her a spell, and her mother does change - into A BEAR! While that's bad enough, the one thing her father HATES is bears. So when Mom comes home all furry and growly, Dad is going to shoot that bear dead! Wait! This isn't what Merida had in mind! She can't tell anyone what she's done, and she can't let her father shoot her mother, thinking she's actually a bear. How does she fix this? Sound familiar? I thought it was the perfect example of GMC and conflict.

With that in mind, I'm off to think about the next book while I wait for my editor on the current one.

What stands between you and your goal?

The Trouble with Backstory

Inevitably, I get stuck whenever I start a new book trying to talk myself into a prologue. Why? I want to give you the character’s backstory. How did they get where they are? And inevitably, I end up trashing the prologue in favor of slipping small snippets of information throughout the story.

Info Dumping
It’s easy to want to introduce your characters right away, to tell everything you’ve learned about them, from how they grew up to who their best friend is to what made them the way they are. But readers these days do not want you to dump all that information in the first chapter. In fact, they don’t want you to dump that information at all. They prefer to be spoon fed little bites at a time. Nothing glazes over the eyes faster than wasting precious words that don’t move the story forward.

But wait? Isn’t backstory important? Absolutely! But filtered in. It’s seasoning, and you know what happens when the cook adds too much salt to the stew.

Backstory Serves a Purpose
As an author, sometimes it’s good to get that prologue written—and then moved to a different file. It helps me, as the author, get to know my character and ground myself in what makes them tick. I understand why my character acts the way she does because she has shared her life history with me. Conversely, the reader is more interested in the action, and less in the history. Save the history lesson for when it makes the most impact.

Example: “She hadn’t been through this part of Ohio since she was a kid.” END OF BACKSTORY. This gives the reader enough information to know the character has been to Ohio. But it might come into play later in the story, so the reader will tuck that tidbit of information away, so that when you go back to that and say something about Ohio, the reader can then feel smart when they connect the dots. “Oh yeah, she was there when she was a kid.” And that return to Ohio should be something that moves the story forward, and the character’s previous experience, something that colors her view.

In the prologue version of this information, I might start writing, “She grew up in Ohio,” and go on to detail the whole experience which left a mark on her. It’s good for me to know as the author, but the reader doesn’t necessarily care about her past until it makes a difference to her story TODAY, the “why is she acting that way?” response to an everyday occurrence.

Backstory is important. Everything we do impacts how we respond to different stimuli and different situations. A good story starts with the stimuli and the potentially over-the-top response. Or the conditioned response. This raises questions to the reader about why the character acts the way they do, and then a dribble of information helps them to understand until, over the course of the story, the character is able to overcome whatever makes them respond differently. To grow beyond their own backstory.

Getting to Know You - Characterization

While I've made a running start on the new book, I haven't laid any groundwork ahead of time. My process is not always the most efficient way to dive into a project.

Many times when I start a new book, I have the basic premise, an idea of who the main players are, and a general direction to start out. Like driving to the next state without a road map until I hit the unfamiliar roads. I've traveled that direction before, so I know how to get there. Sort of. Some times you can fake your way, and sometimes you need directions. I'm not afraid to stop and ask where I am.

Sometimes it takes several chapters before I know my characters, so this method of starting out without the map isn't always a bad thing. It gives me "driving time" with them so I get to know them first, but eventually, I have to stop for a cup of coffee at the diner along the way to find out what makes them tick. Before we go any further, I need a road map. Goals. Motivation. Conflict. Why they act the way they do. Who they are deep down? Why are they on this journey? Where are we headed? Me? I'm just the Uber driver.

Because my writing time has been restricted so far this year, I only have the basics down. I know what drives my main character, I know her inner conflict. I have a basic grasp of the story. I have some peripheral characters, but I need to know more. Who is the antagonist? What are they going to do to get in her way? What is her journey in this story? I've reached the coffee shop on our trip and it's time to sit down with her and find out about her family and friends, about what her destination is and why she's going there. Then I need to spot the roadblocks along the way that she isn't expecting (that's my job as the driver). I also need to chat with the other characters to find out what role they'll be playing in our journey. Like the antagonist. What is he/she after and why does he/she think my main character is in the way? And then there's the whole concept of theme and genre. Is this going to be romantic suspense? Women's fiction? Mystery? I'm working to expand my brand with this one, and potentially lay the groundwork for a new series.

So I'm going to take a few minutes, sit down over a cup of coffee and talk to my character. Find out more about her. Get to know her. She's my pivot point, and she'll tell me where I need to drive. That's the exciting part about being a virtual Uber driver. Each passenger takes you to different places, and half the fun is getting to know them.

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?

Writing as Therapy

One of the reasons I started my writing journey is because it was cathartic. I could escape from life for short spans of time and let my imagination run wild. Make up an alternate reality. There were years when I didn't write, when I was exploring who I was going to become when I finally grew up, but I always came back to writing. It has always been a part of me.

On the flip side, there were times I couldn't write, during those peak stress times in life. Some of the more popular stressors - Buying a house. Changing jobs. Death. Getting married/divorced. The birth of a child.

There's a delicate balance. While I often use writing as stress relief - an escape from the pressures and stress of the day job, I have discovered there are certain stresses that require a different outlet. Like walking, or exercise. Some distractions demand more "head space," which crowds out the imagination required to write. This is where discipline kicks in.

As an author, I try to write every day. Create habits. It's a job, and it needs to be done. There are days when it's impossible to write depending on where life decides to insert itself into my schedule, and like exercise or sports, when you don't do something regularly, you get "out of shape." The key is to not get too lazy, to get back into the routine as quickly as possible.

So what's this all about? DH and I have been trying to buy a new house, and I've been through a week of offers and counteroffers and -- hello? -- buying a house is a major life stressor. I'm also trying to write the final Epitaph installment, a book I have a thin outline sketch for but I can't seem to get off the proverbial runway. I have all the information I need to dive him and write like a fiend, but the words aren't working the way they're supposed to! Every book has its idiosyncrasies. I didn't think I'd finish THE SCULPTOR as quickly as I did, but those words practically flew from my fingers to the page. (Hey, did I mention that book released yesterday?? Do you have a copy yet? I personally think it's one of the best ones in the series.) Yes, this book will get written. Routine means I'm putting words down, even if they aren't the best words. It's okay to write crap in a first draft. I'll clean it up later, when my focus is back. The important part is to keep the discipline, not to break from the routine.

Now! In case you didn't know it, the first in the Epitaph series has been free all summer, but that's going to end soon. If you don't have a copy, now is the time to go get it! And as my final hurrah to summer, I've teamed up with a bunch of other authors of small-town steamy romances. Two lucky winners can win a HUGE collection of books (my contribution is THE SELKIE), and we're giving away an ereader to a grand prize winner. If you subscribe to my newsletter, you got this information in your mailbox. Enter the contest by clicking here: http://bit.ly/steamysmalltowmrom-sep18. Good luck!