Deborah Wilde's Blog, page 11

Pleasure buttons #amwriting

Dr. Jennifer Barnes is fascinating. She teaches this course called Writing Your Id, which discusses how books have pleasure buttons. Some, like beauty, wealth, and power, are hardwired into us. We gravitate towards these stories.

She encourages writers to make lists of our own pleasure buttons, those tropes or locations or character details that we love. When a scene is flagging, we can go to that list and find something to breathe life back into it.

My list wasn’t surprising for the most part: snarky T-shirts, secret societies, strong female friendships, cranky alphas, social outings with friends, witty banter, however, what did surprise me? How often I write characters of varying ages, who start out in conflict with a mother or mother-figure.

Author, psychoanalyze thyself. This amuses me because if pressed, it was my father whom I had a contentious relationship with, and yet, I don’t mine that territory as often.

Maybe, I’m just not ready.

I think that being a mother myself, I’m more sympathetic to the complexities of mother-daughter relationships. It’s important to me that these female parental figures have a voice and get to share their point-of-view.

Interestingly, it looks like the main character of my new urban fantasy series is a mom. I’ve never written one as the heroine before and I’m having a lot of fun really leaning into this character.

What other pleasure buttons do you think I gravitate towards?

While I write this new book, how about you check out Ash’s relationship with her mother in the newly completed Jezebel Files?

Grab book one – Blood & Ash here: readerlinks.com/l/994482

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Happy Book Birthday to Revenge & Rapture!

Here we are, the final chapter of Ash’s journey. This was a tough book to write. I ended up ripping the guts out after my first draft, but I’m so happy with how it turned out.

I had a lot of fun revisiting these characters and showing you sides of them that you hadn’t seen before.

Thank you for all your love and support on this journey!

Now, go get reading! readerlinks.com/l/1259505

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Fidelity #amwriting

Fidelity is a contentious issue. It’s tricky to sustain romantic tension over a series. It’s easier to follow the Person A meets Person B, loses them, and then wins them back trope in a standalone book. How do you keep up the complications over a series?

One way is to bring in new romantic or sexual partners. However, that brings us back to fidelity, and people have very strong ideas around that. It’s tough to root for Character A to end up with Character B, if that person cheated on them.

I have brought in other people as romantic possibilities or sexual encounters and gotten flamed for it. That’s okay, readers are certainly entitled to their opinions. I stand by my choices, for one very specific reason: my characters were not exclusive or even casually dating when it happened.

That makes a huge difference to me in terms of fidelity. If Rohan had cheated on Nava after book four, she probably would have stabbed him and had Leo help her hide the body. I’m sure Rohan would have had some very definite ideas about the reverse, had they been dating.

Relationships are fluid, complex, and messy. It’s an interesting balancing act to create enough complications that my readers fear for a happily-ever-after, and yet not lose interest in the characters.

How do you feel about fidelity? Is cheating ever okay in books?

Check out how I dealt with it in both my series.

The Unlikeable Demon Hunter: https://geni.us/g1BHd  

Blood & Ash: https://geni.us/BloodAndAsh 

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#amwriting – a look inside the author process

Fun fact. I wrote my Master’s thesis on gender and spectatorship in the animation of Chuck Jones. That’s a fancy way of saying that I studied Bugs Bunny cartoons through a feminist film theory lens. And yes, my mother was exactly as proud of me as you’d think.

I did a lot of research on the animators in Termite Terrace and was lucky enough to even meet Chuck Jones. Jones said that they never made cartoons for kids. Instead, they told the stories that they wanted to see.

There’s a lot of discussion in author circles about writing to market. i.e. finding a hot trend and jumping on it. It works very well for some people, but isn’t an approach I could take. Constantly learning about new genres sounds exhausting. lol

I prefer to take the same approach as Chuck and write the stories I want to read. This involves everything from magic, to the types of mythology, setting my books in Vancouver, the romance, the heat levels, female friendships, and of course, my snarky main characters.

With every new series, there’s a little voice in my head that says, “You’re only going to entertain yourself this time.” Happily, that has not proven to be the case so far. However, the wonderful and terrifying thing about an author’s imagination is how it connects (or not) with readers.

This is all in my head because I’m working through what my new series is. Nava was a much easier series to conceive of. Each book was entered around a deadly sin that thematically fit what Nava was experiencing. There was also a demon that embodied that sin.

Ash was a lot harder. I often didn’t find my theme until I’d finished my first draft and there weren’t any demons she could conveniently go off and fight.

I’m trying to find the balance in the new series and I’m venturing into new territory with my main character. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a while, but only now does the time feel right.

Yes, I’m going to play coy about what that is.

Meantime, catch up on Ash’s adventures if you haven’t yet done so. https://geni.us/BloodAndAsh  

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#amwriting – a look inside the author process

It’s important to constantly challenge my perceptions as an author.

You might know of the Bechdel Test, which was created by Allison Bechdel as a way of making sure that a film shows female characters as fully realized human beings, independent from men.

There are three questions:

There have to be at least two women in the filmWho to talk to each otherAbout something other than a man

I’ve used this test for all of my series, and I’m happy to say that they pass. It’s a good reminder to diversify not just my main cast, but my villains as well. I’ve had to overcome some default switch to make the bad guys, well, guys.

Many other tests to challenge diversity and representation have since arisen, which is a good thing. Admittedly, all of them are broad, including the Bechdel test, and sometimes problematic stories “pass” while good ones “fail,” however, they are a great jumping off point for these important conversations.

One that has resonated with me is the Latif test.

Are there two named characters of color?Do they have dialogue?Are they not romantically involved with one another?Do they have any dialogue that isn’t comforting or supporting a white character?Is one of them definitely not magic?

I tripped up on the last question in Nava’s story. It’s hard in a series where basically everyone is magic, however, I appreciate the concerns around the harmful “magical negro” stereotype.

However, in The Jezebel Files, I did answer yes to all the questions. We as authors, ask ourselves questions when world building, and in my opinion, it’s equally as important to be self-critical when developing the very best characters that we can. That also extends to positive LBGTQ representation for me.

Read Blood & Ash today! https://geni.us/BloodAndAsh.   

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#amwriting – a look inside the author process

There is a lot of discussion amongst authors about whether one is a plotter or a panster. For those of you unfamiliar with the terms, it essentially boils down to whether you write an outline or wing it.

I came from a screenwriting background. I would never begin writing a project without having a logline, the theme, and a detailed outline. Probably several drafts of a detailed outline.

Surprisingly, the hardest part of the above process is distilling a script into a single sentence. It’s also, IMO, one of the most important because if you nail that, you have your touchstone for the story.

When I began writing novels as a young adult author under the name Tellulah Darling, I faithfully reproduced that process. Even in the first few books of Nava’s story, I diligently came up with a logline and wrote those outlines.

Then something happened.

After beating my head against an outline that wasn’t taking shape, I simply started writing. I got to the end of act one. Rewrote it. Rewrote it again. Then realized I couldn’t keep going without an outline.

Funnily, enough, that’s become my process on a lot of my books. I’ll nail down a single sentence for each plot line, but then I dive into act one, finding my way through until I throw up my hands in disgust and write an outline.

That outline gets re-written many times as the story progresses and characters don’t behave as expected. So while I have achieved a certain creative freedom or freeform in how I approach an overall story, there is still one area that I am rigidly wedded to.

I am incapable of writing a story out of chronological order.

I remember reading that when Diana Gabaldon was writing Outlander, she jumped around a lot between scenes. That is my dream scenario. My process is to rage against a scene that isn’t working until I pull it from the depths of my soul and slap it, still bleeding, on the page.

Maybe one day, I’ll be able to write out of order, but I doubt it.

If you’ve never had a chance to read any of my works, why not start with Blood & Ash, (The Jezebel Files #1)? https://geni.us/BloodAndAsh    

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#amwriting – a look inside the author process

I’ve been thinking a lot about Lucille Ball. When I was a kid, I watched I Love Lucy in reruns and I was entranced. Her expressions, her physical comedic ability, her sense of timing—all of it was brilliant. Even though I couldn’t articulate that as a child, what I knew she was a funny lady.

I wanted to be a funny lady, too.

Comedy reveals character, and, let’s face it, Ms. Ball was incredible at that. She didn’t write Lucy Riccardo but she embodied her so thoroughly, that this character in the hands of any other actor would not have become the icon that it has.

That brings me to the word “snarky” and the reason for all my recent musings. This word is used to describe many books these days across a variety of genres. (I use it to describe my books all the time.)

Snark should be more than sarcastic banter. It should provide a lens as to how a character moves through the world and should reveal character.

Take the example of Mae West, who was “cheeky.” (I suggest this is a close cousin to “snarky.”) Sure, her one-liners were comedy gold, and yet, there was a wealth of character revealed in them.

There are many authors who use snark brilliantly, but my concern is that it’s become some bandwagon to jump on. It’s seen as popular, and therefore, marketable, used even on books I consider quite dark in tone.

I’m worried that this word is losing all meaning, because if everything is snarky, then how does a reader trust that anything actually is?

What, as authors, do we owe our readers, in terms of comedy?

Character. It’s where it’s at.

Check out The Jezebel Files and decide how well I’ve accomplished this with Ash. https://geni.us/BloodAndAsh  

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#amwriting – a look inside the author process

I’ve been thinking about what urban fantasy means to me. It encompasses such an enormous spectrum from supernatural creatures to humans only, sexy romance or none at all.

Magic is absolutely a huge draw. I love figuring out magic systems. In Nava’s books, they were all based upon relationship baggage traits. For example, Nava had electricity power stemming from her ability to keep people away through shock. Kane had poison – and was toxic in romantic relationships.

The magic in the Jezebel Files has a similar premise, but rooted in primal childhood drives. Levi has illusion magic, as this was his way of staying safe. Ash is the only one who doesn’t fit that, as her magic has a higher purpose.

So magic will always be important. How about supernatural creatures? Honestly, I go back and forth on this. I love demons because they cross cultures and religions and types of creatures. Plus, they are damn fun to write. Fae and dragons have never held a lot of appeal for me to write. Others (like Karen Marie Moning in her Fever series) have done them brilliantly and I don’t feel like I have anything to contribute on that front.

I will admit, that despite so many wonderful stories about shifters and vampires that have brought real originality to this storytelling, part of me would love to write about them. I’m just not sure what angle to take to bring my unique spin to it.

But it’s definitely in the back of my brain for whatever my next series becomes.

Meantime, jump into the magical world of Blood & Ash if you have not yet had the chance. It’s available on Kindle, audiobook, and in paperback. https://geni.us/BloodAndAsh    

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#amwriting – a look inside the author process

The first time I saw Star Wars as a kid, I fell asleep during the big battle scene at the end. I only woke up right before the medal awards sequence. This happened the second and third times I watched it as well. I didn’t feel like I missed much. I was there for the banter, the relationships, and the humour.

When I met my one-day-to-be-husband in high school, he and his best friend were appalled by that fact. One day, they forced a screening upon me. Every time I started to doze off during that scene, they elbowed me.

All this to say that battle/fight scenes have never been my favorite thing. But newsflash (to me lol) urban fantasy demands a certain level of that. So how did I go about becoming proficient in them?

Well, first of all, I watched and read many a great fight scene in all kinds of genres, including YouTube videos of various fighting styles. I studied Tae Kwon Do for a few years and did a bit of boxing (which was so fun – though it was just learning to punch on heavy bags, speed bags, and pads, not people).

I’ve realized over the years that I’ll never be that author who writes fight scenes in exquisite technical detail. I am in great awe of those writers, but I’ve accepted my limitations

With Nava’s magic, she could fight at a distance, which I was more comfortable writing. Ash has been a challenge. Her primary magic has nothing to do with fighting, but there is an aspect of it that requires her to be more hands on.

I’ve worked hard to bring humour and emotional punch to those scenes, because ultimately, those are the elements that interest me the most, be it in a fight scene or lovemaking.

How do you feel about fight scenes?

And if you haven’t seen Ash in action yet, pick up Blood & Ash today! https://geni.us/BloodAndAsh

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#amwriting – a look inside the author process

Apparently Jewish fantasy isn’t a thing. I know this, because I went down the rabbit hole of articles to that effect. Granted they were from a few years ago, but it doesn’t seem like the landscape has changed much. (They were talking about more epic/high fantasy, but I’m throwing UF in there.)

When Ilona Andrews mentioned my book The Unlikeable Demon Hunter on her blog, the Jewish mythology caught her eye.

***Yes, I am shamelessly dropping that mention because IMHO Andrews is the gold medal standard of UF and this was a career high.

Originally, I was worried no one would want to read about Jewish MCs or a mythology heavily derived from Jewish religion and folklore. 

I wrote it anyways, because I needed to explore this territory for myself. I needed to see an MC reflective of my background, immersed in a world that that was unique to the stories, rituals, and experiences of my life. 

It’s also a great jumping off point for my characters. Ultimately, it’s characters and their relationships that we as readers come back for. The most unique world building in a series is not enough to hold my attention (as a reader or a writer) if it doesn’t also feature compelling characters.

That said, would I read about four Jewish kids who go through a wardrobe to a magical land? How about a sheltered Jewish character who must leave the safety of her world to traverse a dangerous landscape drawn from Jewish mythology for an epic quest? Hell yeah. And I know I’m not alone.

If you haven’t had a chance to check out the characters and mythology in my new series The Jezebel Files, grab book 1 today! https://geni.us/BloodAndAsh

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