Jennifer Crusie's Blog, page 105

Working Wednesday, January 27, 2021

If you want a HWSWA post on Friday, ask a question here. If you don’t, feel free to talk about something else, but if you want us working on a question post, now is the time to think up something. Bob knows all about being in the Army. And falling asleep and plowing his jeep into a tree in the Deep South. I know a lot about . . . well, not much. I can see why nobody asks questions.

This week I’m dealing with a tactless response I made to Krissie’s blurb for a new book, Bob making fun of me for being old (“I thought those 90 and over qualified for the vaccine in NJ”), planning for Lee’s project in Feb which is MONDAY, dealing with a friend who is depressed because Trump lost (I try to be understanding, but that one is just . . . ), and getting this house cleared out so that (as my daughter put it) the EMTs will be able to get a gurney in when I have my next heart attack. (I’m pretty sure Mollie inherited my tact.). So the days are just packed.

What are you doing this week?

Happiness is No Horrible News

You know what the news was this week? Good.

There were headlines about purple clothes. Articles about the impact of a beagle on a winning campaign. Bernie Memes. Michelle’s hair. The President did good things, said good things, worked all day, and danced with his toddler grandson. I smiled all week because it felt like I got my country back.

What made you happy this week?

HWSWAnswers: Expressions and Questions

So I have this thing about “smirk.” Perfectly good word, but I think it’s misused a lot. In my world, good people do not smirk, it’s an asshole kind of expression, condescending, arrogant, superior, and jerkface. It’s being used A LOT in romance fiction right now as a kind of general grin. So a couple of people have weighed in on my distaste for that and an another expression, and I realize I had no idea of how Bob used expressions in his work. (Yes, in spite of writing three books with him. It was awhile ago.)

Jinx said:
I think this would be a good topic for a complete post. There are a lot of facial expressions that are hard to describe without going into a whole lot of detail — a slight smile, a pursed-lip crinkly smile, a sneering look sometimes mixed with smile, a doubtful smile, a “glad you see I was right” smile, a raised eyebrow “oh really?” smile, etc. etc. Smirk and smile both have the same Old English-y root, and I think various authors use the terms sort of differently. The “heroes never smirk” test doesn’t quite do it for me.

Gary said:
If smirks and smirking are reserved for bad guys, or usable by good guys only if immediately followed by an apology, what about The Rolling of One’s Eyes. In Huston’s Uptime Pride and Downtime Prejudice, Our Heroine (Mary) rolls her eyes six or eight times in twenty or so chapters. Then in chapter 21, I noticed in Whiskey Rebellion. Liliana Hart, that Addison Holmes plays craps with her eyeballs as well, rolling her eyes at least twice per chapter. Is there some emotion or attitude for which eye rolling is the only suitable expression? How should it be used, and how often.

Bob:
I’m not sure I’ve ever used “smirk” in a novel. We instinctively dislike someone who smirks. At least I do. There are things I do overuse and I’m compiling a list. (edited)

Jenny:
YES. Thank you.

Bob:
I tend to use eyes too much. Also sighs. My current list of words overused for current WIP is: also; then; just; probably; almost; still; all; down; up

Jenny:
I overuse “look” but thats more of a directional thing than an expression. And, oh god, “just.” Sometimes I do an edit just to take out just.

Down and up seem pretty necessary.

Bob:
I do use snorts of derision in current WIP but it’s a way of comparing characters to see who can do it best. Lisa Livia and the Duchess are in a competition.

For down and up I need to edit things like ‘stood up’ and ‘sat down’. Redundant.

Jenny:
I think “snort” pretty much says “derision.”

Bob:
They’re not exactly hitting it off

Jenny:
Good point about stood up being redundand. “Sat up” oddly enough is not redundant.

Bob:
Right. But stood up is.

Jenny:
Yes, stood up is. Good point. I’ll have to look for that.

I think the problem is overuse more than anything, like Gary’s rolling eye example. People roll their eyes all the time in real life, so there’s nothing wrong with using it unless the character does it ALL THE TIME, in which case she’s probably annoying as hell and smirks, too. Nothing wrong with a character woh rolls eyes (although that person is condescending and rude), but they do it all the time, it’s a personality defect.

Bob:
Yeah. I think I’ve got one eye roll in 50k words right now. That’s probably maxing out.

The key is readers remember things like that and you can jar them out of the story if you overuse.

Jenny:
Yes, that’s exactly the problem. Too many disruptive words don’t deepen the experience for the reader, they remind her that she’s reading instead of experiencing a story.
The first question about how to write facial expressions, though, since writing what the expression is means telling instead of showing through dialogue and action, I think too many specific facial expression words end up being like too many speech tags: disruptive. She quipped.

Bob:
Yep. Have them do something rather than describe them. Lisa Livia knows the Duchess hates her tapping her nails on the binder. So she keeps doing it.

Jenny:
Yes. Action conveys so much more that description because the reader is watching character in action.

But I also think it goes back to misuse of words.

If you look up the definition of “smirk,” it’s not the same as “grin,” and it’s definitely unattractive. It’s a deal-breaker for me because I dislike people who smirk and I don’t trust writers who use words they don’t know.

Bob:
Yeah. There are certain words that are just instant turn-offs.

Jenny:
The idea that various writers use terms differently doesn’t work for me; it smacks of “alternative facts.” Part of the beauty of words is their specificity; people who play fast and loose with that are abusing language.

Bob:
I always search for phrases and terms I overuse. Use the edit function in Word.

Jenny:
It’s like a carpenter saying, “I don’t need to know how to use these tools, I’ll just use them the way I want to,” and then tries to pound a nail with a drill. It might work, but it screws up the drill and makes the carpenter look incompetent. I left a publisher because of this, so obviously I’m a nutcase on language, but words are our stock in trade, they’re what we use to build worlds, and if we misuse them, we end up with shoddy worlds.

Is there still a function in Word that arranges words in order of most used? Because that would be helpful, after you got past “a” and “the” and the main character’s names.

Bob:
I don’t know about that. I’m sure there is.
I keep finding new tools– when I bother to look for them. I’ve learned if you can think of something you need, someone invented it.

Jenny:
I know. Word has so many bells and whistles, and I use “copy,” “cut,” “paste,” and “save.” Okay, and word count.

Bob:
I remember the good old days of whiteout.
And manual typewriters.

Jenny:
Those were not good old days. I remember them, too. I did my first master’s thesis with wite-out.

Bob:
Then, the really good old days of chisel and stone.

Jenny:
I’m surprised you write facial expressions at all. You never have any in real life.

Bob::
I’m working on it.

Jenny:
Remember Jen Maler telling you that you had the range of expression of Kevin Costner?
Actually, that’s probably the range of expression of my characters since I don’t like describing facial expressions.

Bob:
Dorothy Parker reference Katherine Hepburn

Jenny:
Gamut of emotion from A to B?

Bob:
yep

Jenny:
I have no idea if we answered those questions, but I’m not going back in there again because–and it will surprise you to hear this–I lose my grip and start ranting about words.

Next question.

Jeanine wrote:
Have been trying to think of a question to ask you, but mind is tragically blank. Unless to ask you to ask yourselves the question you wish other people would ask you? Or to tell us the best questions you have asked other writers and/or their best responses or advice. (Please forgive grammatical sins in foregoing!) Thanks again!

Jenny:
I generally avoid other people, and Bob makes me look like an extrovert, so this is a tough one for us.
It’s this incessant need to talk to other writers. I don’t get it.
Unless I have a specific question about something I’m working on. “What’s wrong with this book?”

Krissie: “It needs more sex.”

Bob: “It needs more death.”

Mollie: “It needs to be finished.”

Bob:
I don’t know. Been doing this so long it’s hard to remember things. I know what questions always get asked that don’t have answers, primarily “How do I market my book”. No real answer to that.

I think a good question is when someone asks a question that indicates they really want to know the answer. Especially about their own stuff. Most people don’t want that hard truth.

Jenny:
Yeah, I learned that the hard way. There are several writers who aren’t speaking to me now because I lack tact.

Bob:
On the other hand, I am the essence of tact.

Jenny:
That’s because you are mainly silent.

Bob:Bob:
THAT is the essence of tact.

Jenny:
I honestly can’t remember any general question I thought of as particularly better than others. They all interconnect.

The one I don’t like is the one Bob doesn’t like, the “What’s selling?” or “How can I market my book?” when they haven’t started writing it. Write the damn book. Finish it, she said hypocritically. Find an agent and let her market it.

Bob:
Yeah– the business side is crazy. Prefer questions about craft

Jenny:
Part of the problem is that there are so many different writers that there’s really no one-question-fits-all. I’m a big proponent of discovery draft and then rewriting for structure and arc, but not all people are pantsers; some really need to plan everything out first. I am no good for those writers.

Bob:
Yeah– everyone has to find their own path.

Jenny:
So basically, three questions and we have no clear answers.
Except “smirking” is not something good people do.

Bob:
Take what you need; leave the rest. Though I have learned that when I hear something that bothers me, it’s usually either because there is a truth there I need to hear or it’s stupid.

Jenny:
Uh, there’s a pretty big gap between those two.

Bob:
It’s a fine razor’s edge.

Jenny:
I’d say if I hear something about my story that bothers me, then I’d better look at why I’m resisting that.

Bob:
When I feel something is wrong, I need to address it.

Jenny
And if I hear something about writing in general that bothers me, it’s stupid.

I remember long ago seeing a recommended list of words to replace “said”: quipped, chortled, snorted, lisped, etc. I also remember the red haze that rose before my eyes as I realized that any idiot could post writing advice on the net.

Bob:Bob:
Said is noted but not noticed. I’ve never had anyone quip, smirk, or lisp.

Jenny:
That’s because you’re a good writer.

That’s right up there with the character who does or says something and and another character laughs and you think “Why? That wasn’t funny.” I generally do not have characters who laugh because of that.

Bob:
No one laughs. Ever. Because.
Except for dying laughs.

Jenny:
Well, in your books, it’s because people are shooting them. I write romantic comedy. In theory.

Which brings me to my epiphany: There are no good general questions about writing because writers are so different.

Bob:
Shane hasn’t shot anyone yet. Phoebe has.

I think asking “How do you create” is a good general question, but then one has to see if it resonates with them. I’ve picked up pearls from a lot of writers over the years.

Jenny:
Carpenter’s unarmed? Didn’t Shane shoot somebody in that opening scene? He had a gun.

Bob:
Nope. He gets shot. Carpenter rides a chair now.

Jenny:
I have no idea how I create. Aside from writing down the people talking in my head, which is a help to no one.

Bob:
Yes, it is. For those who have people talking in their head, it’s validation.

Also can lead to institutionalization. Is that a word? Spell checker says yes!

Jenny:
That is remarkably positive of you. Who are you and what have you done with Bob Mayer?”

Bob:
I really enjoyed watching Pretend It’s a City with Fran Leibowitz. Especially talking to Maya Angelou. Two very different types of writers.

Jenny:
Excellent writers. Must watch that.

Bob:
Plus its about the NYC I grew up in.
Lucky I made it out alive, although some question that.

Jenny:
Okay, the best advice I ever got about writing wasn’t about writing. It was something Maya Angelou said, which I piggy-backed on something Aristotle said. Angelou said (as I remember), “People will forget what you said, they will forget what you did, but they will never forget how you made them feel.” That’s why putting the feeling on the page is so important, and why remembering that emotion lives in the body and not the brain is so important. You can think everything is fine, but your body will tell you different, and your body will not lie. (Aristotle said, “Action is character.” Or maybe it was “Character is action,” but you get the drift.)

So there, FINALLY, I answered a question. We can go now.

Bob:
Yay, us.

Jenny:
We rock. And we’re out of questions.

Bob:
Very good. Gus is barking. Vet just called and said his thyroid is a little off which explains a lot.

Jenny:
All the best to Gus and his thyroid. Give him a cookie.

Bob:
He needs one because bad thyroid means he’s starving; more than usual.

Jenny:
Oh, that’s awful.
Give him two cookies.

Bob:
I will. Take care and stay safe. Sanity is back.

Jenny:
I know, thank God. You, too.

This is a Good Book Thursday, January 21, 2021

I read the Murderbots and the Carsingtons again this week to get me through to today. I’m ready to start reading brand new books now: nothing but good books ahead.

What did you read this week?

Working Wednesday, January 20, 2021

I’m working on managing my feelings of relief and joy at the change in my government at noon today. SUCH A LOT of feelings here. And also trying to figure out what I want to do for Lee’s yearly challenge. So many choices for the future. Nothing but good times ahead.

What are you working on? Future plans, now that we have a future again?

HWSWAnswers: Supporting Characters, Other Genres, Writing Advice, Pen Names, Why????

Emily asked:
I’m struggling with secondary/side characters at the moment – of necessity I have seven of them trucking around with the main characters. Most of them, while they have a backstory and a life (I wrote short stories for each of them, trying to get myself in their heads) there’s not much that appears on the page because it moves things away from my main story. How do you know when you’ve got the balance of that right? There’s two in particular that I keep trying to give a little more story to, but every time I try it drags things away from the main action.

Jenny:
What’s your main story, the narrative that has all the juice that draws your reader into the story?

That’s your spine, the thing that everything else relates to. So one of your supporting characters spent years in the circus; unless those talents are crucial to the main story, you don’t mention it because otherwise readers will say, “Wait a minute, what about the circus?” There’s this idea of the authority in the text (that’s you), the idea that this story differs from reality in that it is not chaotic, there’s somebody in control, so that each move in the story, each bit of information, is essential to that narrative. If you start putting things in that don’t connect, that don’t mean anything in the context of the story, the reader will try to make it mean something. If you have a character who’s always late, but that never has an impact on the story, the reader will slot it in anyway without you: “This is an annoying person.” “This person doesn’t like the protagonist.” “This person is losing her mind.” As the authority in the text, you have to make it all mean something, so adding back ground for supporting characters that doesn’t support anything in the story is just adding grit to the machine. Example: In Nita, Button is career-focused because her family has centuries of law enforcement experience. Career-focused is fine because she’s partners with the protagonist in that career, but what about the history? I had a lot of that and cut it because it didn’t mean anything to this story beyond the fact that killing demons is in her DNA, and then she falls in love with a demon. The fact of the history is important, the details are not.
In the same way, Button’s demon boyfriend has a long history of opposing the male protagonist, and that’s set up in the interactions between them without any details of exactly how he opposed him. The fact of the opposition makes the demon’s arc to the hero’s side important; the details of that are irrelevant. Or short answer: Play the important back story elements out in the interactions in the now and ignore any detail that isn’t directly relevant.

Bob:
There are only so many characters you can have on stage. And only so many readers can follow. Any time I get more than three or four on stage, it gets awkward. You end having characters disappear into the background, then suddenly reappear when they speak. Think of TV shows and film. How many key characters are in each scene? In real life, I can only focus on one thing at a time. I get easily distracted if there is a TV in the background. We were watching What Lies Beneath and there are scenes where the protagonist is in a psychologist’s office which is slightly below ground level and there’s windows near the ceiling with people walking by. Just flitting images. But I knew I would never be able to sit in that office and talk because that would distract me.

Jenny:
Also, hello, Bob.
That’s a good way to describe it. If the detail on the supporting character is distracting, cut it.

Bob:
If you need that many characters, give each one a significant personality or action tag that readers can put on them. Ask yourself if you can combine characters? On the flip side I often have characters who are minor and don’t seem to be relevant but I put them there. And I leave them there in the first draft. Because I must have put them there for a reason. In Shane I have the Field Marshal who didn’t even have dialogue up to a certain point where I realized he seemed to window dressing that served one point in the early part but not again. But I thought more about it and finally realized who he really was and what his role was. So in rewrite I’m layering him slightly, but not too much. Enough that when he plays that role, the reader won’t be completely shocked; but hopefully surprised.

And hello. Yeah– realized we decided on Thursdays, but this works because heading to mountains tomorrow anyway.

Jenny:
Oh, crap, we decided on Thursday? My mind is a sieve right now.

Bob:
I had thought I put alerts on my calendar. But this is good because just before you emailed I had been getting ready to email and postpone Thursday. So it works out cosmically.

Jenny:
I think that’s a good point about combining characters.

Bob:
But when the alert goes off on Thursday, I’ll panic.

Jenny: I’m sorry.

Bob:
There is no sorry in baseball.
Or Slack.

Jenny:
There’s no sorry in Slack? Sure there is.
I’m feeling regret right now.

Bob:
We’re too old for regret. Vengeance is better.
What were we talking about? My brain is a sieve too.

Jenny:
Supporting characters. I put one in Nita who was only in the first act. I loved him, but he had to go. They have to have a function all the way through the text.

Bob:
They key is named characters are important. Not named characters can flit by. But once you name a character, the reader assumed they’re important.

[We started to talk politics here. You don’t want to know.]

Lakshmi asked:
Do you read Urban fantasy? Would you consider writing one as a play project this year?
Or an anti hero story? Or a heist like Oceans Eleven? It’s an old favourite.
I’d love to know how you would approach and tweak these.
What would you change about Harry Potter?

Bob:
Lots to unpack there but the answers are pretty simple. Never read an urban fantasy so I wouldn’t write one. I’ve got a full plate of writing now. All my heroes are anti-heroes. Because I’m a contrarian. But not really. Will Kane in my latest books is the reluctant hero who really doesn’t like it. A heist is really hard to write because it would be like what we did in Special Forces when planning a direct action mission. They’d give us a mission packet with the target and parameters, put us in secure isolation and the A-Team would plan the mission, for at least five days. Twelve guys, each planning their specific part of the plan from infiltration to actions on the objective to exfiltration. And then all the contingencies and E&E (escape and evasion) plans. Some of my Green Beret books are like that– the early ones. Now, my heroes are like me these days– they tend to wing it. I read the first Harry Potter book years ago. I thought it was truly a child’s book. Not like LOTR, which is all ages. I heard the books mature, but it didn’t do much for me. I’m glad it got lots of kids into reading, though. I’m more a My Side of the Mountain reader; which if written these days would be considered child abuse. So.

Jenny:
Urban fantasy: I love the Rivers of London series. Would I write one? Nope, I am not urban. I have lived in small towns all my life and that’s where the fun is for me.
Antihero story: Faking It: love story of a con man and an art forger.
What would I change about Harry Potter? Well, it’s been a while since I read them. Probably have Harry and Hermione end up together. Otherwise, as I remember, I thought the books were pretty great as they were. (Okay there was that one with the Quiddich match that went on forever . . . )
The thing about changing a story that’s already been done well is that the bar is set pretty high. I did my Turn of the Screw novel because the female protagonist was the one who got screwed in the narrative, and I wanted to give her another shot. But of course, that turned out to be a completely different story. I think the thing about “inspired by” stories that works is when the new version does something different and becomes a thing on its own. Like The Taming of the Shrew, reconfigured as a high school romance (Ten Things I Hate About You) or as a political satire (the Shakespeare ReTold version). I like both of those better than the original.Or Emma as Clueless.
So I’d have to (a) want to write that kind of story and (b) find a new way into that narrative. Nope, not interested.
Until tomorrow when I will suddenly get the idea for a new Taming of the Shrew . . .

Lakshmi asked:
The best writing advice? Which part of the writing process do you enjoy most? Which part do you avoid?

Bob:
Best writing advice: write a lot. Then read a lot. I enjoy it when I’m in a flow and I know the purpose of the scene. I hate it when I have to write my way into the purpose of the scene. I’ve learned in the latter case to get the bones down and figure out the heart. But its easier starting with the heart. I watched Pretend It’s A City with Fran Leibowitz and Scorcese– binged all the episodes and really enjoyed it, especially as she talks about living in NYC, a lot when I grew up there. But she has lots of good insights into the arts, including writing. She said she only knew one author who loved the actual writing and that was Toni Morrison. She said the rest had a hard time doing the actual writing.

Jenny:
Best advice: Write the book you want to read and can’t find. That means it’ll be original and you’ll want to keep writing so you can see what happens.
Most enjoy: Making things up, people talking and revealing themselves.
Avoid: Description, plot, endings. No animal or child ever dies. Infodump, prologues, epilogues, smirking, intrusive speech tags, one-dimensional villians, broccoli.

Bob:
I don’t like brussel sprouts. Always called them Martian brains

Jenny:
I have big problems with endings. I like the start of things. Finishing, not so much.

Bob:
I like endings because the action moves faster.

Jenny:
This is true. But they’re ENDINGS. The ride is over. Actually, I lie, I don’t have trouble with endings, I have trouble with middles. I wander off.

Bob:
Except in New York Minute I had to rewrite that climactic scene so many times. It was just hero vs antagonist but it was technically incredibly difficult to pull off.
Wandering off is common.

Jenny:
I was reading a novel last night, and thought, “You know, novels are LONG.” They really are marathons.

Bob:
But a good novel you want to be long.

Jenny:
I need to write the first and last acts to start with, then tackle the middle. Eat dessert first.
Readers want novels to be long. Writers . . .

Bob:
Yeah but the middles sets up the ending. So. Yeah, the middle is always the toughest.

Jenny:
Writers want to finish the damn tihngs.

Bob:
Then shoot it with a gun.
Kill it.

Jenny:
Really. GET OUT OF MY HOUSE, DAMN IT.
Or at least off my computer.

This next question is right down your alley.

K. M. asked:
Can you speak to the pros/cons of using the same pen name for different subgenres?
I wrote a 3 book Sci-fi romance series as K.M. Fawcett. Next fall I will be publishing a contemporary romance series and am toying with using Kathy Moran Fawcett to distinguish between the two subgenres. Let me be clear, I in no way want to hide my identity from my readers (as some authors need/ want to). I received the advice that using two pen names will help to not muddy my Amazon “also boughts” and Amazon ads. Also 2 pen names gives you more chances to get more book bub deals. Do you believe this to be true? Thank you! I love reading your HWSW answers

Bob:
I wrote under five pen names for contractual reasons when traditionally published. I was writing at least 3, if not 4, books a year. And, hard to believe, back in days of yore, when they published using chisel and stone, they only wanted one book a year. Since then I’ve consolidated all my books under my name. I could see where you wouldn’t want to cross the streams of genre and confuse readers. I think Amazon has pretty much killed the also boughts. Replaced it with “books you might like” which also takes in your browsing history. As far as Bookbub– I ran tons of deals when Bookbub was but a swaddling baby and served indie authors. Many thousands of dollars to them. But once traditional publishers have gotten on board? Haven’t run one in years. The other reason is the long tail has disappeared for a BB deal. You’d spike and then have a long, sloping sales tail. Now you spike and kind of back to normal the next day. Unless its first in series; maybe. The true problem, and this is blashphemy, is that BB is part of what’s killing us authors. We’re pricing ourselves into oblivion. I say that but there’s nothing I can do about it. Just a reality. But a reader who can get discounted ebooks every single day from NYT bestselling authors cheaper than your latest title? It’s a tough road. I know some people are still having great luck with them. I’m contemplating applying for one later this year just before the fifth book in my Will Kane book comes out in June.

I guess I didn’t answer the pen name thing, but it’s specific to each author’s situation.

Jenny:
I don’t write enough to use a second name.
But it’s hurt me, I think, because people pick up a Crusie and think it’s going to be a romantic comedy, and when it isn’t, instead of treating the book for what it is, they think it’s a bad romcom.
People used to talk a lot about brands, and my brand is, much to my dismay, contemporary romantic comedy.

Bob:
Readers do have expectations. Honestly, brand is something I screwed up around 25 years ago, so I’m the wrong person to ask.

Jenny:
So when I don’t do that, people (editors, agents, readers, etc.) see it as a violation. “Write another Bet Me.” No. Using pen names might solve that, but I doubt it.

Bob:
Also, I’ve been so far out of the publishing mainstream for so long, I kind of don’t a lot of what is really happening.

Jenny:
How did you screw up your brand? You write different flavors of action adventure. It’s not like you wrote a book about a Green Beret who inherits a bakery in a small coastal town where he discovers letters from his grandfather and falls in love.

Bob:
Plus I tend to be smidge cynical.

Jenny:
I mean, you could write that, but there’s be guns and spies and betrayal and the love interest would die.

Bob:
For career purposes, I’d have made a lot more money sticking with straight military thrillers where the good guys always win and the bad guys are always really bad guys. Except I don’t believe that.

Jenny:
It’d be like me writing a romance where the heroine shoots the hero at the end. Narrative cognitive dissonance.

Bob:
That would be fun.

Jenny:
That is the problem with branding early in your career. Writers grow and change and evolve and mature.

Bob:
Yeah. I spoke with Sue Grafton one time about it at a conference and she was a bit unhappy to really be stuck with Kinsey Milhone, who barely aged. Her readers went nuts if she changed anything about the character.

Jenny:
We change, so our writing changes, too.
Can you image writing over twenty books about the same protagonist in the same time period? The alphabet thing was brilliant in a lot of ways–recognition in bookstores, always knowing the order of the sequels–but setting yourself up for that many books is insane.

Bob:
Yeah. One reason I’m writing Shane is because in my Will Kane books I started finding my snark again. I realized in one book, Kane didn’t kill most of the bad guys. The various female characters did.

Jenny:
Well, we have a lot of anger.

Bob:
Side note on Sue Grafton. Her agent gave a talk and said she’d be with Sue all the way through Y, when she meant to say Z. Gives a chill in retrospect.

Yeah– when the aspiring actress who introduces herself as “Truvey, my name rhymes with groovy” killed a really bad guy with her purse, I knew I’d hit my stride. But Truvey is pre-Madonna in 1977, so she had that going for her.

Jenny:
This is a character in a Will Kane book?

Bob:
Yeah. She appears to be an empty-headed wannabee actress, but turned out to have surprising depth.

Jenny:
And a heavy purse.
I love that when a supporting character suddenly develops layers.

Bob:
Well she hit the guy into the third rail, so technically that’s what did it. But he shouldn’t have called her a whore.

Jenny:
It’s always good when the dead guy deserved it.

Bob:
That was a lot of tangents.

Jenny:
So, to get back to the question, I don’t know.

Bob:
Ditto.

Jenny:
It would have been a bad idea for me, but I’m not prolific.
I would have thought it was a good idea for Bob, but evidently not.
As a reader, I find it annoying as hell.

You know, we’re both so tired (and so is everybody at this point in this country) we could just be negative from that. But it takes so long to establish a name, that I’m really thinking it’s a bad idea. Every author is a new product launch until their name becomes known to their readership. So taking a new name is walking away from all that work and starting over.
I think that’s a bad idea.

Bob:
Exactly. The brand should be the author.

Jenny:
Look at Naomi Novik: she’s doing fairy tales, military fantasy, high school fantasy, all under her name. I would never have read the first Temeraire book if I hadn’t read A Deadly Education and followed her name to the rest of her work.

I have a question for you. Why did you want to write a novel?

Bob:
I had a story in my head and needed to get it out.

Jenny:
I mean you had a military career there that was going just fine.
I’m not sure I can answer that for me, but it wasn’t for the money or to be famous.

Bob:
I didn’t even think about getting published until after my 2nd mss. And I meant it didn’t even occur to me to try. I just wrote.

Jenny:
I just remember one day saying, “I’m going to write a novel,” and then sitting down and doing it.

Bob:
Exactly.

Jenny:
Yes, but why? I have no idea why I decided that.

Bob:
I guess lots of reading can lead to writing.

Jenny:
It’s not like I had a political intent, or a message I desperately needed to get across.
Maybe that was it. Maybe it was writing the romance I wanted to read but couldn’t find.

Bob:
I think that’s a lot of writers. We write what we would like to read but can’t find.

Jenny:
84% of Americans want to write a book some day. Or at least they did about ten years ago when that poll was taken. Most of them will never do it. There must be some mutant gene that says, “You must make stuff up so other people can read it.”

Bob:
I always say we’re not in the bell curve and don’t assume we’re the positive side of it.

Jenny:
Look at all the fan fiction out there, and so much of it is fixing the stories they love.
That’s a kind of “writing the book you want to read.”

Bob:
Yeah, but lazy. Start from scratch.

Jenny:
I think their inspiration comes from the original work. They’re not trying to publish, they just want to write their versions down and share it with other fan fiction writers. I don’t think they’re lazy, I think they’re just coming from a different place.

Bob:
True– tons of fan fiction that is really good out there

Jenny:
Really, it’s a very pure form of fiction. They’re writing for love of the characters and that world, not for fame or financial gain.
I know there’s fan fiction out there for my stuff, but I never read it, too afraid I’ll absorb something that’s not mine and use it.

Bob:
Yeah– and Amazon killed its “world’s program” with two weeks notice. There were people made a good living doing it. Especially after Amazon marketed it to them.

Jenny:
World’s program?

Bob:
I had several authors ask me about doing it and I told them not a good idea because of right’s issues. Amazon ran a fan fiction program where bigger authors authorized people to publish their fan fiction and the royalty was split.

Jenny:
Oh. I missed that entirely.
Why did Amazon kill it?

Bob:
Yeah– several years ago. They ran into the problem I foresaw: rights. Who owns the characters, the setting? It got complicated.

Jenny:
I could see not agreeing because they’d take the characters where they wanted them to go, not where I wanted.

Bob:
That’s the creative side. But it was the practical that killed it.

Jenny:
There’s Faking It fan fiction out there where Nadine and Ethan get together. Nope, they don’t. I don’t mind about the fan fiction, I take that as a compliment, but I wouldn’t want to authorize that version.

I’m surprised Amazon didn’t see those problems coming.

Bob:
Amazon tries a lot of things. They pull the plug fast when it doesn’t work.

Jenny:
So anyway, I have no idea why I write.

Bob:
We have to.

Jenny:
Well, the voices in my head won’t shut up unless I do, but still.

Bob:
That’s why we have to.

Jenny:
And on that note, I will set you free. Unless there was something you wanted to talk about?

Bob:
Dinner time. I actually had to feed Gus while we were chatting. Because he will no be denied.

Jenny:
Gus forever.

Have a good night.

Bob:
Hopefully

Good night

Happiness is a Snuggle

I live with two dogs and a drop-in cat. We all spend a lot of time snoozing. But sometimes the snooze turns into a snuggle, and I’ll wake up to find a poodle or a dachshund curled up against me like a furry hot water bottle, the soft thump of a little heart against my side. It’s the most comforting thing in the world, to gather another living thing to you and be glad that you’re together. I highly recommend sunggling for happiness.

What made you happy this week?

This is a Good Book Thursday, January 14, 2021

This week I started a Connie Willis binge, starting with To Say Nothing of the Dog and Crosstalk, both of which I love. Then I looked to see what else was on my Kindle and saw something called DA. It was a YA, but I like YA, and I was immediately invested in the heroine and her problem and her best friend, and while I saw the plot twist coming, I wanted to see what the protagonist did with it, and it was going along great and then the protagonist just changed her mind and the story ended. It’s a short story. And I am frustrated. The whole thing would have been a great first act because Connie Willis is a terrific writer, but then the protagonist evidently got a mind wipe or something and became a different person, and the story that was set up here, one I’d really like to read, just does not happen. Amazon needs to label novellas and short stories as short fiction. Actually, I think it does usually say if a book is a novella when you read the descriptions, but this time there was only a plot tease.

So now I need a Willis that delivers, which I assume is most of her books since she’s really great. Weren’t there some that had downer endings? Because I can’t face those right now.

What did you read this week?

Working Wednesday, January 13, 2021

This week I’m working on getting out of the house. I intended to go out on Monday, but just wasn’t feeling like it, and the Tuesday came and I just couldn’t get moving, so today I am leaving the house. I’m only going to the grocery, but still, today, I’m gonna do it. Also I have a lot of work to do, but groceries first.

What did you work on this week?

HWSWAnswers: Everything Else

And we’re back with more answers to questions you asked earlier in the week.

Cate M asked:
Any tips for getting the most out of an MFA creative writing program as a genre writer (in this case romance)? This is definitely putting the cart before the horse, since I may not even get in. But in the event I do, and you wanted to give me some tips any time between February – September, that would be lovely.
Alternately, what are some ways to grow/ and learn as a writer if I don’t get into that MFA program?

Bob:
I don’t know anything about MFA Programs. There are some good ones. A bunch seem more designed to produce teachers of MFA programs based on my experience one year applying to every one as an instructor since I had nothing better to do. They preferred people with MFAs rather than publishing credentials. I’d take a look at who is teaching and what the graduates do. If you don’t join one? Read a lot. Write. Get some people you trust as a small critique group. I’m not a fan of large groups. Two, at more three people.

Jenny:
MFA programs work the same way any college program works: Find the best profs and follow them. My mentor, Lee K. Abbott, had done his MFA work with a genre writer, so he was very open-minded and practical. Lotta bad CW teachers out there, especially since MFA programs tend to focus on literary fiction and sneer at other genres.

Best way to grow as a writer: Read a lot, not just the kind of fiction that you write but all genres, all forms (screenplays, short stories, graphic novels, cereal boxes, etc.) and books by writers about their theories of writing. (It’s all theories, there are no rules.). My MFA was very valuable because of Lee and a few others there who were very good. In the hands of some other professors, not so much.

And I agree with Bob. Well, it’s a revolutionary time.

Bob:
Nothing but good times ahead.

Jenny:
Actually, I’m not sure publishing credentials are good criteria for writing teachers. For teachers about publishing, yes. Writing? Lotta bad writers out there.

Bob:
Oh yeah– I’ve seen some big name writers who were terrible teachers.

Cate M asked:
Any recommendations for promoting your first book? (It’s digital only, if that changes the tips). I’ve got a book coming out in April (yay!) and a background in marketing other people’s art, but this is my first time trying to talk something up that has my name on it. How do you find the balance between helping people find your art, and not driving away all your friends and family? (Annoying them is fine. Driving them to avoid you, not fine).

Jenny:
I say, “Mollie, market this book.”

Bob:
The infamous question that always gets asked. Short version, regardless of how you publish: you have to market, but you can’t. But you must. But you can’t. But you must. But you can’t. Is that helpful?

Jenny:
No.

Bob:
Bottom line– too many people think there is a magic bullet or some gimmick. The best is write a really good book.

Jenny:
I have absolutely no idea how to answer this question in a helpful manner. Hmmm. Possibly it’s time to get Mollie in here.

Bob:
The best marketing for your first book? Write the next one.

Jenny:
Uh, the best selling tool for your next book is to write a great first one. Not sure that’s marketing.

Bob:
Two key factors to consider for ROI– return on investment. Time and money. Too many people waste both.

Jenny:
That’s because nobody has any idea what really works because each book and each reader is different. And that’s in professional marketing, too.

Bob:
Exactly. Each book is a unique product. Every author is a unique product.

Jenny:
Producer.
I am not a product. Probably.

Bob:
We are just cogs in the machine.

Jenny:
All we are is dust in the wind.

Bob:
More accurate for writers.
Bottom line. Focus on writing. Even finishing your second mss will put you ahead of everyone else.

Cate M asked:
Ever tried to write a screenplay? Why or why not?

Jenny:
I have a shelf full of books on screenwriting because it’s a completely different language that I want to learn. I also have a big shelf of books on writing graphic novels because it’s a different writing language I want to learn. I will get to those when I start re-learning Spanish, for which I also have a shelf of books.

Bob:
Yes. Richard Curtis who did Dark Shadows and Winds of War optioned my first books. I met him for a little while out in LA and he told me how he translates a novel to screenplay. So I wrote a screenplay of Cut Out, my fourth book. Not even sure where that is now. I do recommend studying screenwriting a little; take a class, because it’s the same art, story-telling, but a different medium.

Jenny:
Plus movies are collaborative–you write it, then the director gets hold of it, then the actors interpret their characters, then the studio says, “We love Bet Me, but can the heroine be thin?” and I figure I have enough problems and go back to writing novels.

Bob:
Most people I’ve talked to about breaking into writing screenplays start with: First, move to LA. So, that’s a big no for me.

Jenny:
Oh, yeah. Definitely a company town. And the meetings I’ve had in LA have never made me want to have another.

Cate M asked:
Have you ever had delicious food in a book be a key plot point in a book you loved, but you were scared to try the food in real life in case it turned into a Turkish delight situation? (I put off trying chicken marsala for the longest time because I didn’t want to ruin Bet Me, so I’m just curious).

Jenny:
No. I rarely fear food. Blowfish, maybe. Isn’t that the one that can kill you? And broccoli.

Bob:
Food? What’s food? Unless someone is killed as one of the courses, it doesn’t really factor in. I just had Lisa Livia get a bunch of dishes knocked out of her hand while going into the kitchen at Two Rivers but I’ve got no clue what was on them.

Jenny:
Bob eats whatever is put in front of him, rarely noticing what it is. I blame years in the military.

Bob:
I did mention Joey’s Shrimp Gumbo.
But the meal was interrupted by assassins.

Jenny:
I, however, am fascinated by food. I never know the caliber or make of the gun somebody is using, though.
You write about the things you care about. Wait, that wasn’t the question. Never mind.

Bob:
Shane currently has a .45. Xavier has a .357 and a .38 revolver in an ankle holster.

Jenny:
There, see? I gave Anna a specific gun that I now cannot remember, but it was robin’s egg blue. And it’s real (RESEARCH!).

Cate M asked:
Are there any types of stories you love reading/watching, but that you’d never want to write yourself? Why?

Jenny:
I love the Rivers of London series, the Murderbots, having a good time with the Temeraire books, would never write any of those. I don’t do techie stuff, don’t know anything about big cities, have never been in the military. I’d be lousy at those.

Bob:
There are stories I read and watch that I’m in awe of. There are stories I wouldn’t want to attempt for whatever reasons, including knowing its beyond my skill level or outside of it. There are things I can do and things I don’t think I can. That doesn’t mean I can’t try. I’ve written in most genres, except for horror which I’ve been thinking about lately, since I seem to write bad people really well and do action well. And my mind is a dark, dangerous place you don’t want to get lost in.

Jenny:
So true.
To do some types of stories really well, I’d have to learn so much, do so much research, that the fun of writing would disappear. Of course, sometimes I contract out: when I wanted to write more violent books, I started writing with Bob. When he wanted to learn how to write romance, he asked me to collaborate. I think we both did learn some things, but mostly it was, “Bob, this person needs to be dead; kill him,” and “Jenny, they’re talking about YEC (yucky emotional crap), over to you.”

Bob:
Yeah. I’ve got scenes I need to run by Jenny from Lisa Livia’s POV because I’m not sure her reaction is correct.

Jenny:
And I talked to Bob about guns and Toni about the FBI in Arresting Anna; they both caught big mistakes for me. But I don’t want to LEARN that stuff. That’s why I make friends with people. First question when I meet somebody: “Do you have any areas of expertise that would be useful for me? Also, my name is Jenny. So do you?”

Bob:
I also advise on brain surgery in my spare time.

Jenny:
While practicing on himself.

Jinx wrote:
I would love answers from both Bob and Jenny as well as debate between them on WHY for goodness’ sake there are two genres (romance & thriller) that are practically 100% gender-segregated. Do you think it’s all about biological differences expressed in reading & writing preferences? Social norms? Inability to understand what the other genre is talking about? Boredom with the other gender’s obsessions? (Since I gather that each of you has moved a bit in the other writer’s direction since you last collaborated, I figure you both have Insights & stuff.)

Jenny:
Hmm. Lotta great female writers in thrillers. Not so many male writers in romance, but that’s changing a lot. I think publishing used to be a lot more rigid about gender and just gradually wised up.

It may also be that women are more oriented to relationships and men are more oriented to power struggles, and that’s both nature and nurture.

Bob:
Tess Gerritsen immediately came to my mind. She writers thrillers. There are lots of women writing thrillers and suspense. The difference between thriller and suspense to me is minor, but important: in a thriller the stakes are really high and involve the reader. In suspense the stakes involve only the characters.

Jenny:
Tess is a great example.

Bob:
As far as men writing romance, there are some. What’s interesting is romance used to be, no idea if it still is, a place where one can actually build a career step by step. The thriller market pretty much looks for a home run or close to it first time at bat.

Kate asked:
How do you know when to get a writing partner? When is it a good idea to write with someone else? I know you two met in an elevator or some such thing, but how do the rest of us find a person who is willing to co-write fiction?

Jenny:
I met Susan Elizabeth Phillips in an elevator in Dallas. I met Bob on an airport bus in Maui.

Bob:
I’m not sure I would recommend finding a co-writer unless there is a specific need.

Jenny:
Exactly. Bob wanted to learn more about writing romance (as I remember) and I wanted to learn more about writing male POV. We had concrete reasons for collaborating, skills we needed to learn.

Bob:
I do recommend having one or two people you can run stuff by. Not even necessarily another writer. A good reader can be gold.

Jenny:
But collaborating is hard. Bob was great to work with, very open-minded, very frank (but polite) in (most of) his disagreements, very flexible. You have to be to co-write, you’re yoked together. But I’ve seen collaborations crash and burn more often than I’ve seen them work.
And usually the work is divided in a way that just spells trouble. For example, one does the research and the other writes. And that leads to problems right there, since the writer is almost always doing more work.
So Bob is absolutely right: Unless you have an expressed and pressing need to collaborate, don’t do it.

Bob:
There are some great symbiotic teams out there. But they took time and effort to develop.

Jenny:
Most of the successful writing teams I’ve seen have been people in a relationship. Like John Saul. Ellery Queen was two cousins who fought all the time. I think the Emma Lathen writers lived together. Lots of married teams.

I really think the bottom line is, collaborate if you have a specific need, something you’re weak at, that a collaborator could fill while still doing half the work. Look for somebody who can fill that need, not just for a general collaborator, and figure out a way to equally share the work. Our collaboration was fairly smooth in splitting the work because Bob wrote the male PoV and I wrote the female. Then we rewrote together.

Maybe don’t look at it as a collaboration, look at it as a partnership. Do you really want to be yoked into a writing partnership with somebody? If what you gain—say accurate male PoV—outweighs the hassles—somebody who writes you daily e-mails that say “Book done yet?”—then that’s a good bet for collaboration.

Also, get one that won’t shoot the damn cat.

Bob:
Could be a bad cat. A whatever they called the cat in Cpt Marvel. See how I looped that?

Jenny:
That wasn’t a cat, that was an alien disguised as a cat.

Bob:
But how do you know all cats aren’t aliens?

ellyG asked:
Is it the publisher or ebook provider who decides if your collaboration books are available in a specific ebook format? And how can I best influence the relevant body to do so (other than repeatedly searching for the books on the relevant site)? I can’t buy your jointly published books DLD and A&TH on Kobo Australia but I can buy your individually written books from that site. Many many thanks to you both for your books & blog commentaries. They have been & still are a source of joy & comfort.

Jenny:
Thank you, Elly.

I don’t do self-publishing much, Bob’s the expert there, and I have nothing to do with what gets published where, in what format. So I’m of no use at all on this question.

Bob:
Authors have very little (none?) control over where a publishers releases a book. It is on Amazon Kindle and you can always download the app.

Jenny:
I’m not sure they can in other countries.
Didn’t you do some e-publishing on your own?

Bob:
But not our books.

Jenny:
So we’re both worthless on this one.

Bob:
I control where my self-published books go.

Jenny:
Oh, right, she did ask specifically about Crusie-Mayers. Nope, we have no control. Or knowledge, evidently.

MJ asked:
How do you balance including diverse characters with the “own voices” movement?

Jenny:
I don’t do protagonists of color because that’s an experience I can’t begin to get right. I try to leave the descriptions of my main characters really loose so people can project their own assumptions, but the default character race if none is stipulated is white, so that doesn’t help much. I think it’s a bad idea to say that only writers of color can write characters of color–see Ben Aaronovitch and Mhairi McFarlane–but I think it’s a bad idea for me to try. Making supporting characters more diverse is easier, but I’m fairly sure I’m still not getting it right.

Bob:
Dangerous question, but I’ll be honest. I write all sorts of characters from all types of background. To say someone must have that background or be of that group to write fiction about such characters is really limiting. I know in YA books go through a certain type of reader, the name escapes me right now, to make sure the story accurately reflects and doesn’t offend, but even that bothers me a little bit. I feel like readers should be the determining factor. My protagonists all have a semblance of my background and ethnicity. I don’t think I could write one who didn’t. I wouldn’t even attempt to write a protag person of color. But i have written female protagonists. So is that violating a rule? I don’t know. Some readers have told me that my depiction of aliens are off, by my experience on the mothership is mine to share.

Jenny:
Do not ask Bob about his experiences on the mother ship.

The diversity question is dangerous because it’s so easy to get in trouble answering it.

Bob:
People always ask if the aliens were the grays or the reds. Mine were rainbow.

Jenny:
Of course they were.
With sparkles.

Bob:
No sparkles. But plumes.

Carley asked:
Have you considered writing sequels to the books you two wrote together? Because I cannot let go. Agnes is my favorite book.

Bob:
I’m writing Shane and the Red Wedding, sort of a sequel, but all we see of Agnes is her getting on a plane to go to Paris for a cooking class.
I’m not sure where it’s going at the moment because I’m building up to the climactic scene and choices have to be made.

Jenny:
I don’t do sequels; I like to leave my characters in safe spaces with lots of potential happiness.
Of course, I left Agnes with Bob, so . . .

Bob:
So I put her on a plane. To Paris. That’s as HEA as one could get right? Lisa Livia is very upset about it.

Jenny:
She doesn’t come back to Shane in the end?
You blew up our Happily Ever After?

Bob:
She comes back. I don’t know yet what will happen. That’s the fun part of writing.
Well there’s always the morning after the HEA.

Jenny:
Yes, but the EA part of the HEA means that the morning after is still H.

Bob:
I always thought the ending of Officer and a Gentleman was a bunch of hooey.

Jenny:
I know. That’s haunted you for years.

Bob:
They layered the romance on top of a really good coming of age story.

Jenny:
The point is, that the writers thought it was an HEA.
It’s been so long since I’ve seen that movie, I can’t remember.
The success of the HEA is that the reader/viewer believes it. Unbelievable HEAs are unsatisfying books.

Bob:
Every HEA has a few bumps in the road. Look at Henry VIII. He thought he had lots of HEAs. So did they.

Jenny:
Your idea of an HEA hero is Henry the fucking VIII?
Suddenly so much becomes clear.
“Also a great HEA: Rasputin.”

Bob:
I don’t know what is going to happen. Because Shane is learning he needs to really commit in a way he hadn’t realized.

Jenny:
I mean, hell, Henry only decapitated two wives. Two out of six, that’s not bad.

Bob:
Shane will not decapitate Agnes.

Jenny:
So he runs off with Carpenter.

Bob:
Right now he’s thinking Carpenter might have betrayed him. Part of his arc.

Jenny:
You know, Shane is not a happy guy.
Needs more Agnes.

Bob:
That’s the point. He is a Hitman. There is some baggage with that.

Jenny:
Yes. What’s that got to do with connecting with Agnes? Whom you sent to Paris. Never mind, you know what you’re doing, ignore me.

Bob:
He didn’t send her to Paris.

Jenny:
No, you did.
Bob the Writer.

Bob:
I just write the story. I can’t be blamed for the beheadings.

Jenny:
I think Henry VIII said that, too.

Bob:
That whole era was pretty brutal. Interesting though.

Jenny:
Yep. Three cheers for history, wouldn’t want to live there.

Bob:
Nope. Died young and hard. At least the peasants.

Jenny:
He was 56 when he died.
Probably pretty old for then.

Bob:
So we beat him! Yay us.

Jenny:
Yes, we outlived Henry VIII, which is more than you can say for most of his wives.
How did we get here? Oh, yes, there’s a sequel to Agnes coming from Bob. No I do not do sequels. So far.

Bob:
The sequel might be coming. I’d have to feel good about the book. And Jenny would have to be happy I didn’t behead Agnes.

Jenny:
Thank you for not beheading Agnes. I don’t have to be happy with your book, you have to be happy.

Sure Thing asked:
Since we live closer to the end times, I’m going practical, and morbid to some. What are you planning to do to/ for your incomplete works upon your demise? And what gets donated to literary museums from your belongings?

Bob:
I’m not worried about that because I’m taking the world with me when I go.

Jenny:
I’m not worried about it because Mollie owns everything. She can trash them or get somebody else to finish them. I won’t care, I’ll be dead. Or, god forbid, living in Bob’s afterlife.
As for archives, my first alma mater has a great Pop Culture collection, and Pam Regis at McDaniel might want stuff. But honestly, I don’t have much stuff to archive. I throw a lot away, mainly because Mollie keeps hinting heavily that she is not into death cleaning.

Bob:
I’m getting pushed out to sea in a long ship with my grandsons shooting flaming arrows at it, while my body is surrounded by all my manuscripts, soaked in gasoline. It will be spectacular.

Jenny:
I’m getting cremated and my ashes spread quietly by the lake. If Bob’s pyre floats by, I’ll wave from beyond.

Bob:
Actually it’s a good question because as an indie author, my business can keep on running indefinitely, generating income. That will drop as I won’t be around to produce new work to jump start things, but still, product is product. I’ve got a 14 page documents detailing all accounts and info, but I need to sit down with my son and walk him through some of it so he understands.

Jenny:
That’s what I did with Mollie twenty years ago. I said, “Okay, my income comes from publishing, and publishing is weird. Here’s how it works.” She listened very carefully, and then she said, “You’re doing this wrong,” and took over everything but the writing. It’s been wonderful, and it also means that Argh Ink, the business, won’t even blip when I go because Mollie already knows everything.

And death seems like a good place to end this. We’ll pick up on Friday again (Bob and I meet in Slack on Tuesdays) so if you have any more questions, put them in the comments here, please. Emily and Lakshmi, I already have your questions ready to show Bob tomorrow. And thank you all for playing.