Molly O'Keefe's Blog, page 43
February 9, 2012
Ode to Barnes and Noble
The other day my friend and I were killing time before dinner and decided to go into the B&N next door to the restaurant. I've gone on about my love of the eReader but I should have mentioned that as much as I don't read paper books any more I miss bookstores.
I really miss them. I don't think I realized how much.
Walking through the doors I was struck again by the colors of all the covers, the excitement of seeing author's names who I didn't realize had a new release out. Old books, classic books, all the books I haven't read. Books arranged in neat rows. Special stand alone shelves and racks calling my attention to covers and authors I might not have picked up otherwise.
Then there was the smell of coffee and treats. And the sight of people alone reading while they ate a sandwich and had a cup of coffee and maybe saved room for a black and white cookie. See at the B&N it's okay to be out in public by yourself reading a book. No one thinks that's strange.
I browsed the new releases. I checked out all the staff recommendations. I went to the romance section and it was like visiting a this place I hadn't been to in so long… I had forgotten how much I loved just standing in front of it.
So this blog is dedicated to you… the brick and mortar store. May you always be there with your sections and your special racks and your coffee and your display of all delicious things I really shouldn't be eating.
I forgot that in so many ways Barnes & Noble is like my church and if felt comforting to be inside those four walls once again.
I really miss them. I don't think I realized how much.
Walking through the doors I was struck again by the colors of all the covers, the excitement of seeing author's names who I didn't realize had a new release out. Old books, classic books, all the books I haven't read. Books arranged in neat rows. Special stand alone shelves and racks calling my attention to covers and authors I might not have picked up otherwise.
Then there was the smell of coffee and treats. And the sight of people alone reading while they ate a sandwich and had a cup of coffee and maybe saved room for a black and white cookie. See at the B&N it's okay to be out in public by yourself reading a book. No one thinks that's strange.
I browsed the new releases. I checked out all the staff recommendations. I went to the romance section and it was like visiting a this place I hadn't been to in so long… I had forgotten how much I loved just standing in front of it.
So this blog is dedicated to you… the brick and mortar store. May you always be there with your sections and your special racks and your coffee and your display of all delicious things I really shouldn't be eating.
I forgot that in so many ways Barnes & Noble is like my church and if felt comforting to be inside those four walls once again.
February 8, 2012
Twilight vs Vampire Diaries
Since we seem to be on a cage match theme....
Sure, lots of teen girls love Twilight, but in terms of the love triangle, why does The Vampire Diaries work so much better than Twilight?
Well, at the SCBWI conference, keynote speaker Cassandra Clare had an explanation that, after I heard it, seemed obvious, although I must admit it hadn't occurred to me before. Huge light bulb moment. Love those.
She was talking about the power of forbidden love as a theme in YA fiction and the popularity of the love triangle. And what she pointed out was that sometimes so-called love triangles aren't triangles at all, but love vees.
If two boys both want one girl, let's say, then that's a vee.
But if the two boys have a relationship that's just as strong as each of their feelings for the girl... then you've got a real triangle -- where each line of the triangle has a strong dynamic.
That's why the Damon, Stefan, Elena triangle is so compelling. (Well, on the TV show, I have to say, for me, it mostly works because of Ian Somerhalder, but I've heard it works in the books too.)
The triangle in The Vampire Diaries is powerful and emotional because Damon and Stefan are brothers who love each other and who've already had a relationship for, well, more than a hundred years before either of them meet and fall in love with Elena. And of course the fact that they've been in other love triangles in the past makes the dynamic even more interesting.
Sadly, I realized listening to her talk that in my upcoming book, Deviant, I've created a vee, not a triangle... But I've put some pretty huge forbidden-love-style obstacles in between the heroine and each boy, and some other twisty twists, so I hope it will be an compelling love vee over the course of the three books in the trilogy.
What are some other love triangles or vees that you think have or haven't worked?
Sure, lots of teen girls love Twilight, but in terms of the love triangle, why does The Vampire Diaries work so much better than Twilight?
Well, at the SCBWI conference, keynote speaker Cassandra Clare had an explanation that, after I heard it, seemed obvious, although I must admit it hadn't occurred to me before. Huge light bulb moment. Love those.
She was talking about the power of forbidden love as a theme in YA fiction and the popularity of the love triangle. And what she pointed out was that sometimes so-called love triangles aren't triangles at all, but love vees.If two boys both want one girl, let's say, then that's a vee.
But if the two boys have a relationship that's just as strong as each of their feelings for the girl... then you've got a real triangle -- where each line of the triangle has a strong dynamic.
That's why the Damon, Stefan, Elena triangle is so compelling. (Well, on the TV show, I have to say, for me, it mostly works because of Ian Somerhalder, but I've heard it works in the books too.)
The triangle in The Vampire Diaries is powerful and emotional because Damon and Stefan are brothers who love each other and who've already had a relationship for, well, more than a hundred years before either of them meet and fall in love with Elena. And of course the fact that they've been in other love triangles in the past makes the dynamic even more interesting.
Sadly, I realized listening to her talk that in my upcoming book, Deviant, I've created a vee, not a triangle... But I've put some pretty huge forbidden-love-style obstacles in between the heroine and each boy, and some other twisty twists, so I hope it will be an compelling love vee over the course of the three books in the trilogy.
What are some other love triangles or vees that you think have or haven't worked?
February 7, 2012
CAGE MATCH: Grimm vs. Once Upon a Time
Somehow there ended up being two fairy tale shows that started this fall, Grimm and Once Upon a Time. It happens. I guess there are two Snow White movies coming out and there was that time with the two volcano movies and that other time with the two asteroid movies. Oh, and remember when Chicago Hope and ER started in the same season?
We figured we'd watch a few episodes of both of them, figure out which one we liked better and dump the other one. We're still watching both. I think we prefer Grimm since we stay caught up on that one more often, but nobody's suggesting dumping OUAT from our DVR lineup.
Grimm is the grittier of the two shows. The main character is a police officer who finds out that he is a Grimm, which is some kind of fairytale creature hunter. We still don't know about the details of that. We also don't know if this police captain (or chief or whatever he is) is evil, not evil or what. We really like the Big Bad Wolf who is trying to lead a more peaceful life by doing Pilates, but it's definitely the creature of the week and a lot of blood and gore. I don't recognize many of the fairytale creatures and they use funny names for them, but yet I'm still watching each week.
OUAT is a gentler show. There hasn't been much blood and gore although the psychological manipulations of the Evil Queen are really dastardly. They're doing a better job of moving the overall story arc along along with the weekly episodes. There's more emotional pull, too, with a woman reconnecting with the child she gave up for adoption. Yet, it's the one that we're more likely to let sit on the DVR.
I was talking to a friend who is also watching both. She's getting frustrated with the lack of answers in the overall story arc of Grimm and is irritated with the length of the eyelashes on the women of OUAT. Personally, I just want them to let Ginnifer Goodwin's hair grow a little.
Anyone else watching both these shows? Any preferences?
We figured we'd watch a few episodes of both of them, figure out which one we liked better and dump the other one. We're still watching both. I think we prefer Grimm since we stay caught up on that one more often, but nobody's suggesting dumping OUAT from our DVR lineup.
Grimm is the grittier of the two shows. The main character is a police officer who finds out that he is a Grimm, which is some kind of fairytale creature hunter. We still don't know about the details of that. We also don't know if this police captain (or chief or whatever he is) is evil, not evil or what. We really like the Big Bad Wolf who is trying to lead a more peaceful life by doing Pilates, but it's definitely the creature of the week and a lot of blood and gore. I don't recognize many of the fairytale creatures and they use funny names for them, but yet I'm still watching each week.
OUAT is a gentler show. There hasn't been much blood and gore although the psychological manipulations of the Evil Queen are really dastardly. They're doing a better job of moving the overall story arc along along with the weekly episodes. There's more emotional pull, too, with a woman reconnecting with the child she gave up for adoption. Yet, it's the one that we're more likely to let sit on the DVR.
I was talking to a friend who is also watching both. She's getting frustrated with the lack of answers in the overall story arc of Grimm and is irritated with the length of the eyelashes on the women of OUAT. Personally, I just want them to let Ginnifer Goodwin's hair grow a little.
Anyone else watching both these shows? Any preferences?
February 6, 2012
Winner Winner Chicken Dinner
Oh Man - life got in the way of my life last week. My son was home sick with this disgusting hand, foot and mouth disease. Oozy sores everywhere, but he was never really sick. But because he wa so contagious and gross I couldn't take him anywhere. So after one day of endless movies (that owl movie? the Guardians or whatever....WTF? Owls???) it was on to arts and crafts.
So, last week instead of getting any work done I was glueing egg shells back together, covering them with tissue paper and painting them and then gluing googly eyes on them. Hours. Of. This. We have an egg shell army. Or monster squad.
And actually it was pretty fun. But we're back to school today and I can get on with my life!!
Winners of the great ARC giveaway are:
Saly
Tasha
MJ Frederick
send me an email from my website with your addresses and I will get the books to you!!
So, last week instead of getting any work done I was glueing egg shells back together, covering them with tissue paper and painting them and then gluing googly eyes on them. Hours. Of. This. We have an egg shell army. Or monster squad.
And actually it was pretty fun. But we're back to school today and I can get on with my life!!
Winners of the great ARC giveaway are:
Saly
Tasha
MJ Frederick
send me an email from my website with your addresses and I will get the books to you!!
February 3, 2012
Why TV shows shouldn't last past three seasons
In writing, we rarely talk about a great book without reference to character and how the main character grew and changed over the course of the book. It's that character arc that takes a book from good to great. At some point the character reaches their end point, they have grown enough to have earned their happy ending and as a reader we close the book with a sense of satisfaction.
TV shows that focus on one character, or even a few, do the same thing, usually over a season, or two. But after three seasons, with the characters still making mistakes, and not growing quickly enough, especially in character driven shows like House, or Grey's Anatomy, I get frustrated.
I'm there right now with 30 Rock, a show I still watch every week, and love, but no longer find as funny as I once did. It's starting to feel like a 'been there, done that." Lemon still has self-confidence issues, Tracey is still an idiot, Jenna completely self absorbed and there's not much new in that.
House I gave up on several seasons ago.
Everything else I'm watching is either at the three seasons, or less. There are some shows that are exempt from the rule, like procedurals where the focus in on the crime of the week, or something like Game Of Thrones where the huge cast of characters and complex plot keep everything moving.
I'm even concerned about my beloved Vampire Diaries. Will I ever get tired of Damon's snark, or Alaric's morality or the brother's competing for Elena's attention? I'd rather it have three seasons than get tired in my memory and lose what I love about the show.
TV shows that focus on one character, or even a few, do the same thing, usually over a season, or two. But after three seasons, with the characters still making mistakes, and not growing quickly enough, especially in character driven shows like House, or Grey's Anatomy, I get frustrated.
I'm there right now with 30 Rock, a show I still watch every week, and love, but no longer find as funny as I once did. It's starting to feel like a 'been there, done that." Lemon still has self-confidence issues, Tracey is still an idiot, Jenna completely self absorbed and there's not much new in that.
House I gave up on several seasons ago.
Everything else I'm watching is either at the three seasons, or less. There are some shows that are exempt from the rule, like procedurals where the focus in on the crime of the week, or something like Game Of Thrones where the huge cast of characters and complex plot keep everything moving.
I'm even concerned about my beloved Vampire Diaries. Will I ever get tired of Damon's snark, or Alaric's morality or the brother's competing for Elena's attention? I'd rather it have three seasons than get tired in my memory and lose what I love about the show.
February 2, 2012
My Kindle Died!!!
Okay – maybe not dead, but for thirty minutes it did not work at all. I've been judging my RITA entries so I've gone back to reading actual books in paper form and in the three weeks of not charging my Kindle it lost all power. So when I went to pick it up last night and it wouldn't turn on I let out a cry of despair.
Which makes me realize how much my reading experience has changed. I know some people will say they will always want to read paper books. I know some people will say that they enjoy the feel of the book in their hand. That it's just not the same on an eReader. And I hear all of you. I thought I was one of you.
Until I became… a Kindle junkie.
Having to read actual physical books again was not fun and in many cases even though I had been given a free book to read I considered putting the money out to download them. Maybe that's something RWA can consider - having authors provide Amazon/B&N gift cards for the price of the book rather than the book itself. Although I'm sure logistically that would be a nightmare, but you know where I'm going. Some "e" alternative.
All I know is that I hate opening a book to a page and not having it stay where I want it. I hate needing two hands to read a book. I hate stiff trade books that don't easily fit into my purse. I hate not having my convenient light on my reader case to illuminate the page when I need it. I hate not having the anonymity of people not knowing what I'm reading.
I eat out a lot at restaurants and like to read at the bar as I'm eating my meal. (A Kindle you can rest against a water glass and still read while using two hands to cut your food – genius.) Since my Kindle I could be reading anything and no one can tell. Not that I ever back away from being a hardcore romance reader, but there have been plenty of times when someone (usually a gentleman) will remark that I'm reading, (some see this as highly unusual - not sure why), ask what it is, and then go on about how silly or ridiculous romance novels are. It usually gets awkward when I tell them I write them as well.
Guys, I just want to eat and read my book. I don't need commentary on my reading choice. Then wouldn't you know it, in my packet of Rita books there was a cover that was… shall we say… racier than most. Now normally I really don't care, but I realized since having my Kindle how nice it was not worry if people were checking to see what I was reading and not having to hear anything from the peanut gallery.
So that's it. I'm here to confess it. I no longer care for books. That hurts me just writing that sentence but it's true. I only want my Kindle… fully charged.
Which makes me realize how much my reading experience has changed. I know some people will say they will always want to read paper books. I know some people will say that they enjoy the feel of the book in their hand. That it's just not the same on an eReader. And I hear all of you. I thought I was one of you.
Until I became… a Kindle junkie.
Having to read actual physical books again was not fun and in many cases even though I had been given a free book to read I considered putting the money out to download them. Maybe that's something RWA can consider - having authors provide Amazon/B&N gift cards for the price of the book rather than the book itself. Although I'm sure logistically that would be a nightmare, but you know where I'm going. Some "e" alternative.
All I know is that I hate opening a book to a page and not having it stay where I want it. I hate needing two hands to read a book. I hate stiff trade books that don't easily fit into my purse. I hate not having my convenient light on my reader case to illuminate the page when I need it. I hate not having the anonymity of people not knowing what I'm reading.
I eat out a lot at restaurants and like to read at the bar as I'm eating my meal. (A Kindle you can rest against a water glass and still read while using two hands to cut your food – genius.) Since my Kindle I could be reading anything and no one can tell. Not that I ever back away from being a hardcore romance reader, but there have been plenty of times when someone (usually a gentleman) will remark that I'm reading, (some see this as highly unusual - not sure why), ask what it is, and then go on about how silly or ridiculous romance novels are. It usually gets awkward when I tell them I write them as well.
Guys, I just want to eat and read my book. I don't need commentary on my reading choice. Then wouldn't you know it, in my packet of Rita books there was a cover that was… shall we say… racier than most. Now normally I really don't care, but I realized since having my Kindle how nice it was not worry if people were checking to see what I was reading and not having to hear anything from the peanut gallery.
So that's it. I'm here to confess it. I no longer care for books. That hurts me just writing that sentence but it's true. I only want my Kindle… fully charged.
February 1, 2012
Cage Match -- SCBWI and RWA
The mere title of this post amuses me. A smack down rumble between children's writers and romance writers is an unbelievably funny idea to me. But I am a tad twisted.
No, I'm not going to suggest a war, I just thought that, after attending my first big SCBWI conference last weekend, I might talk a little bit about the differences in the organizations and their big conferences, based on what I observed.
Gender
The SCBWI conference was definitely skewed toward women, but there were more men there than at an RWA conference. I'd guess it was close to, or over, 10%. At RWA it's probably less than 1%.
Artists
The I in SCBWI stands for Illustrators. It was kind of cool to be at a conference where some of the workshops/contests/talks were for people who earn their living drawing and painting, rather than writing. And many do both.
Size
If size matters, RWA has SCBWI beat. There were about 1100 people registered at the SCBWI conference and that's less than half of what's usually at an RWA National Conference.
Chicken Dinners
SCBWI wins here, I'm afraid. Because of the absence of rubber chicken dinners. ;) We only got one "meal" at SCBWI, which was a cocktail party, not a big banquet, but the food was pretty high quality for that kind of thing. They also had bagels and cream cheese and coffee each morning. My only "beef" with the meal thing was only having an hour for lunch, which was a bit of a scramble on our own.
Keynotes
This one is a toss up, but I have to give the slight edge to SCBWI. For such a short conference (1 1/2 days) there were three big keynote speeches and they were all excellent. Four if you count a short one by Henry Winkler. (Yes, Henry Winkler.)
Here's the terrible photo I took of him right after his talk, when I accidentally ended up next to him waiting for the elevator. My apologies to Mr. Winkler.
Because of the absence of rubber chicken dinners, the keynotes weren't delivered over desert and coffee and therefore it was more practical for the keynote speeches to have content vs just inspirational messages. But one, in particular, by Chris Crutcher, was incredibly inspirational. I laughed and cried a lot during his talk. But I actually took notes during the other two keynotes.
One fun tidbit... Cassandra Claire gave one of the keynotes and I think one could argue that she's more of a romance writer than she is a children's writer... But that's the thing with YA: Children's publishers worry less about putting books in genre boxes... But what Claire talked about during her keynote was forbidden love and love triangles -- a talk that would not have been out of place at an RWA conference. And the SCBWI crowd (many of whom I'm sure would scoff at romance as a genre) ate it up.
Workshops and Panels
This is where the two conferences varied the most. It was set up completely differently and both ways have their pros and cons. At the RWA National conference, any member can propose a workshop and during each time slot there are probably 10-15 choices. Some talks will be awesome. Some will suck. Some will be just a chance for fans to fawn.
At the SCBWI conference, there were fewer workshop options, only three "breakout" times, and each workshop was offered during each time slot. That is, the presenters, gave the same talk 3 times to 3 different groups. This meant less choice, but it also meant that the quality of the presenters was much higher.
I was a bit worried, to be honest, when I saw the line up of workshops/speakers. Worried that the workshops would all be super generic and too basic, because almost all of the breakouts for writers were being given by agents or editors. And my experience at conferences (RWA ones and general writing ones) is that the agents and editors who give workshops often don't prepare, and instead wing it, mostly answering questions. And one can't blame them for winging it because they get asked dumb questions so tend to glaze over things, repeating: "Just write a good book," over and over and over. At this conference, no one let them get away with that. In fact, on the big editor and agent panels, which were for the entire 1100 people, not in breakouts, the moderator told them ahead of time that "just write a good book" was not an acceptable answer to any of her questions. :)
But in spite of my worrying, I got a ton out of all 3 of the workshops I attended. One, I admit, was fairly high-level basic information about the YA genre, but was well timed for me, because I'm giving a talk for Toronto Romance Writers on the YA genre in April, so I was taking tons of notes. The other two breakouts I went to were AMAZING.
One was on Thrillers by agent Sarah Davies. Top notch. If I parsed through every word, I think I'd heard most of it before in some form or another, but it was super-well organized and just what I wanted to hear right now.
The other was on revisions, by editor Cheryl Klein. Smart, smart woman. Wow. I've been to at least a half dozen workshops on revising over the years and have read at least two full books on the topic, so I wasn't sure I'd get much out of it, but she was awesome. I think hearing this stuff from an editor (rather than a writer), and from an editor of a fairly literary imprint (Arthur Levine Books) versus a genre fiction editor was amazing. That first part because I think writers tend to bias their talks toward what works for them, their "method", rather than being objective and/or talking about the big picture enough... And the second part because I was glad to hear her say the same things we hear in the genre fiction world: Tighten up your prose. Be clear. Make every scene, every character, every word count. And she mentioned Jennifer Crusie's collage technique and how much she loves her books. :) Her suggestions for the big picture stuff was awesome too. She calls revisions re-visioning.
Workshops for Published Authors
During the core part of the conference, there wasn't really anything specifically aimed at published authors. It clearly was a conference about getting published. But the day before the conference started they had full day "intensives". The one I went to was "Marketing for Professional Writers" and I have to say, it was one of the best learning days I've had at a writers' conference. I thought my head was going to explode. But perhaps that's mostly because I know I need to start thinking about these things for my upcoming release...
The other "intensive" choice for writers was a full day critique session. I didn't go to that, (chose marketing instead), but it also seems like an intense, but awesome experience. Basically participants bring 18 copies of the first 2 pages of their work. Then they are put into two different critique circles of 8-9 people, one of which, each time, is an agent or editor. So, by the end of the day, you've received and given crits from/to about 18 people and at least two agents or editors have seen your writing and had a chance to make a request or not. Intense. Beneficial, I'm sure. And to listen to a professional crit of that many bits of writing. Awesome, I'm sure.
Overall, I don't think I can pick a winner. The organizations seem very different, but on the other hand both are extremely supportive and encouraging.
D'oh! Just what a needed.... Another annual conference to get addicted to!
On that topic... Molly and I had a workshop proposal accepted for RWA in Anaheim this summer! So, guess I'll be going again, even though I arguably haven't written a romance since 2003. :) RWA, why can't I quit you?
No, I'm not going to suggest a war, I just thought that, after attending my first big SCBWI conference last weekend, I might talk a little bit about the differences in the organizations and their big conferences, based on what I observed.
Gender
The SCBWI conference was definitely skewed toward women, but there were more men there than at an RWA conference. I'd guess it was close to, or over, 10%. At RWA it's probably less than 1%.
Artists
The I in SCBWI stands for Illustrators. It was kind of cool to be at a conference where some of the workshops/contests/talks were for people who earn their living drawing and painting, rather than writing. And many do both.
Size
If size matters, RWA has SCBWI beat. There were about 1100 people registered at the SCBWI conference and that's less than half of what's usually at an RWA National Conference.
Chicken Dinners
SCBWI wins here, I'm afraid. Because of the absence of rubber chicken dinners. ;) We only got one "meal" at SCBWI, which was a cocktail party, not a big banquet, but the food was pretty high quality for that kind of thing. They also had bagels and cream cheese and coffee each morning. My only "beef" with the meal thing was only having an hour for lunch, which was a bit of a scramble on our own.
Keynotes
This one is a toss up, but I have to give the slight edge to SCBWI. For such a short conference (1 1/2 days) there were three big keynote speeches and they were all excellent. Four if you count a short one by Henry Winkler. (Yes, Henry Winkler.)
Here's the terrible photo I took of him right after his talk, when I accidentally ended up next to him waiting for the elevator. My apologies to Mr. Winkler.
Because of the absence of rubber chicken dinners, the keynotes weren't delivered over desert and coffee and therefore it was more practical for the keynote speeches to have content vs just inspirational messages. But one, in particular, by Chris Crutcher, was incredibly inspirational. I laughed and cried a lot during his talk. But I actually took notes during the other two keynotes.
One fun tidbit... Cassandra Claire gave one of the keynotes and I think one could argue that she's more of a romance writer than she is a children's writer... But that's the thing with YA: Children's publishers worry less about putting books in genre boxes... But what Claire talked about during her keynote was forbidden love and love triangles -- a talk that would not have been out of place at an RWA conference. And the SCBWI crowd (many of whom I'm sure would scoff at romance as a genre) ate it up.
Workshops and Panels
This is where the two conferences varied the most. It was set up completely differently and both ways have their pros and cons. At the RWA National conference, any member can propose a workshop and during each time slot there are probably 10-15 choices. Some talks will be awesome. Some will suck. Some will be just a chance for fans to fawn.
At the SCBWI conference, there were fewer workshop options, only three "breakout" times, and each workshop was offered during each time slot. That is, the presenters, gave the same talk 3 times to 3 different groups. This meant less choice, but it also meant that the quality of the presenters was much higher.
I was a bit worried, to be honest, when I saw the line up of workshops/speakers. Worried that the workshops would all be super generic and too basic, because almost all of the breakouts for writers were being given by agents or editors. And my experience at conferences (RWA ones and general writing ones) is that the agents and editors who give workshops often don't prepare, and instead wing it, mostly answering questions. And one can't blame them for winging it because they get asked dumb questions so tend to glaze over things, repeating: "Just write a good book," over and over and over. At this conference, no one let them get away with that. In fact, on the big editor and agent panels, which were for the entire 1100 people, not in breakouts, the moderator told them ahead of time that "just write a good book" was not an acceptable answer to any of her questions. :)
But in spite of my worrying, I got a ton out of all 3 of the workshops I attended. One, I admit, was fairly high-level basic information about the YA genre, but was well timed for me, because I'm giving a talk for Toronto Romance Writers on the YA genre in April, so I was taking tons of notes. The other two breakouts I went to were AMAZING.
One was on Thrillers by agent Sarah Davies. Top notch. If I parsed through every word, I think I'd heard most of it before in some form or another, but it was super-well organized and just what I wanted to hear right now.
The other was on revisions, by editor Cheryl Klein. Smart, smart woman. Wow. I've been to at least a half dozen workshops on revising over the years and have read at least two full books on the topic, so I wasn't sure I'd get much out of it, but she was awesome. I think hearing this stuff from an editor (rather than a writer), and from an editor of a fairly literary imprint (Arthur Levine Books) versus a genre fiction editor was amazing. That first part because I think writers tend to bias their talks toward what works for them, their "method", rather than being objective and/or talking about the big picture enough... And the second part because I was glad to hear her say the same things we hear in the genre fiction world: Tighten up your prose. Be clear. Make every scene, every character, every word count. And she mentioned Jennifer Crusie's collage technique and how much she loves her books. :) Her suggestions for the big picture stuff was awesome too. She calls revisions re-visioning.
Workshops for Published Authors
During the core part of the conference, there wasn't really anything specifically aimed at published authors. It clearly was a conference about getting published. But the day before the conference started they had full day "intensives". The one I went to was "Marketing for Professional Writers" and I have to say, it was one of the best learning days I've had at a writers' conference. I thought my head was going to explode. But perhaps that's mostly because I know I need to start thinking about these things for my upcoming release...
The other "intensive" choice for writers was a full day critique session. I didn't go to that, (chose marketing instead), but it also seems like an intense, but awesome experience. Basically participants bring 18 copies of the first 2 pages of their work. Then they are put into two different critique circles of 8-9 people, one of which, each time, is an agent or editor. So, by the end of the day, you've received and given crits from/to about 18 people and at least two agents or editors have seen your writing and had a chance to make a request or not. Intense. Beneficial, I'm sure. And to listen to a professional crit of that many bits of writing. Awesome, I'm sure.
Overall, I don't think I can pick a winner. The organizations seem very different, but on the other hand both are extremely supportive and encouraging.
D'oh! Just what a needed.... Another annual conference to get addicted to!
On that topic... Molly and I had a workshop proposal accepted for RWA in Anaheim this summer! So, guess I'll be going again, even though I arguably haven't written a romance since 2003. :) RWA, why can't I quit you?
January 30, 2012
It ain't easy bein' cheesy
I am, in life, a big sentimental fool. I cry at the drop of a hat. One Thanksgiving, the kids took bets not on whether or not I'd cry, but on precisely when. Sadly I didn't even make it to the toast that year.
In front of a TV or a movie screen or reading a book? I am made of much tougher stuff. Sentimental hooey general doesn't get me. So will someone please explain to me why I was reduced to tears at the end of the Terra Nova season finale? A little girl gives the tough as nails commander a hug and tells him to let her know if he needs another one. I'm getting all verklempt here just typing about it. Ridiculous!
But they got me. I suppose part of it is that the commander is my favorite character in the show. Maybe it's an age thing and I feel a little past lusting after Jason O'Mara although he's definitely cute as a bug. Maybe it's the unexpected tenderness he shows to children despite his total tough guy thing. Maybe it's the man's biceps because those are truly things of beauty. Whatever. I love him.
At the end of that finale, he is beyond comfort. He has won, but has lost so much in doing it. He is utterly alone although he is surrounded by people. A little girl hugs him and I'm completely undone. If you had told me it would make me cry, I would have scoffed at you.
So . . . has anything unexpectedly made you cry recently? Or is there something that ALWAYS makes you cry?
In front of a TV or a movie screen or reading a book? I am made of much tougher stuff. Sentimental hooey general doesn't get me. So will someone please explain to me why I was reduced to tears at the end of the Terra Nova season finale? A little girl gives the tough as nails commander a hug and tells him to let her know if he needs another one. I'm getting all verklempt here just typing about it. Ridiculous!
But they got me. I suppose part of it is that the commander is my favorite character in the show. Maybe it's an age thing and I feel a little past lusting after Jason O'Mara although he's definitely cute as a bug. Maybe it's the unexpected tenderness he shows to children despite his total tough guy thing. Maybe it's the man's biceps because those are truly things of beauty. Whatever. I love him.
At the end of that finale, he is beyond comfort. He has won, but has lost so much in doing it. He is utterly alone although he is surrounded by people. A little girl hugs him and I'm completely undone. If you had told me it would make me cry, I would have scoffed at you.
So . . . has anything unexpectedly made you cry recently? Or is there something that ALWAYS makes you cry?
FREE COPIES OF CAN'T BUY ME LOVE!!
This is going to be short and sweet, because Sinead fixed my book this weekend and suddenly I have so much work to do! Proof once again Sinead is both a blessing and a curse.
But I'm going to give away three free copies of Can't Buy Me Love to some lucky commentor anytime this week.
Also Bantam is doing a HUGE giveaway on Goodreads
While you're there you can sign up to win a free copy of Cecilia Grant's fabulous debut A Lady Awakened...
So, get some free books!
But I'm going to give away three free copies of Can't Buy Me Love to some lucky commentor anytime this week.
Also Bantam is doing a HUGE giveaway on Goodreads
While you're there you can sign up to win a free copy of Cecilia Grant's fabulous debut A Lady Awakened...
So, get some free books!
January 27, 2012
The same story - vastly different results
Have I mentioned how much I love my kindle. Well, let me repeat it. I do and here is one significant reason. Backlists, a lot of author backlists are now available on kindle at reduced prices. So if I hear even a hint of a good review for an author, I'll check their backlist and buy the book that most appeals to me.
It's a great way of discovering new authors, and finding books that might not be available in my local bookstore or that I missed the first time around.
In doing so, I bought a historical romance with a lower class thief for a heroine and a hero who needs her to act like she's always been nobility. And then Molly handed me a romance by another author with almost that exact same storyline.
The same storyline told by two different authors. Fun, right, to see how voice can affect a story. It's hard not to make direct comparisons, which have not been kind to one of the stories.
One is rich, beautifully detailed, grounded in realistic details and really engrossing. Both the hero and heroine are fascinating, well written and imperfect, with great internal conflict.
The other is cute. The heroine is cute, perfect, gets along with everyone and the hero is a little bland and the story itself is exactly what you expect all the way through. And read by itself it would be fine, but in comparison it's plain white rice next to mushroom risotto.
The difference between the two is characterization and detail. One heroine immediately becomes the perfect lady, almost without effort and with little conflict. The other struggles to find a way to fit into both worlds and the choice is inherent with conflict for both leads. In one every opportunity for conflict is capitalized on and in the other, conflict, what conflict, everyone is so nice.
It's been an interesting experiment. One I might definitely repeat.
It's a great way of discovering new authors, and finding books that might not be available in my local bookstore or that I missed the first time around.
In doing so, I bought a historical romance with a lower class thief for a heroine and a hero who needs her to act like she's always been nobility. And then Molly handed me a romance by another author with almost that exact same storyline.
The same storyline told by two different authors. Fun, right, to see how voice can affect a story. It's hard not to make direct comparisons, which have not been kind to one of the stories.
One is rich, beautifully detailed, grounded in realistic details and really engrossing. Both the hero and heroine are fascinating, well written and imperfect, with great internal conflict.
The other is cute. The heroine is cute, perfect, gets along with everyone and the hero is a little bland and the story itself is exactly what you expect all the way through. And read by itself it would be fine, but in comparison it's plain white rice next to mushroom risotto.
The difference between the two is characterization and detail. One heroine immediately becomes the perfect lady, almost without effort and with little conflict. The other struggles to find a way to fit into both worlds and the choice is inherent with conflict for both leads. In one every opportunity for conflict is capitalized on and in the other, conflict, what conflict, everyone is so nice.
It's been an interesting experiment. One I might definitely repeat.
