Jamie DeBree's Blog, page 50

Writing Notes: Once More, With Feeling

I was going to do a post on genre bending today, but on a second and third thought, that seemed boring. So instead, I'll revisit something I've touched on before – emotional angst and growth in characters. Why? Because it's one of the things I struggle with most often – capturing the emotional tension and "vibe" surrounding my characters in any given scene.

I'm not just talking about romantic tension. I just released my first thriller/suspense novella, and some of the scenes from the killer's point of view were the hardest to write, simply due to his emotional state at the time and trying to figure out how he got to be who he is. The thing about characters and emotion is, if the reader doesn't get an accurate sense of what the character is feeling at any given time, the chance that they'll be completely drawn into the story is pretty slim. Or that's how it works for me when reading. Connecting with the character on an emotional, visceral level is extremely important, whether the character is likeable or not. It's what makes us lose ourselves inside the story.

Of course writing across genres makes it a bit more complicated, because I have a slightly different writing voice depending on the genre. So I have to adjust the way I portray emotion to work with my different voices (you'd really think I have multiple personality disorder, but I assure you I don't. Or not that I'm aware of, anyway.).  

Human behavior has always fascinated me. I think writers are particularly good at exploring psychological motives and the actions/reactions they lead to, because we're constantly trying to get in our character's head and draw out his/her motivations. I think that's also why it's so hard to put it on paper sometimes…motivations can be very complex, and cause a lot of internal conflict before it translates to physical action. And to create realistic characters, we have to telegraph some of that internal process to the reader without coming right out and saying so – they have to feel it, rather than read it.

It's not an easy job.

For me, the sentence, "But why would he/she do that?" comes up as often as "I should check my email." when I'm working on a scene. And the answer can't be, "because another character did this…" it has to be due to some internal motivation or belief that causes the first character to react the way he/she does to the actions of the second. It does *not* have to be logical – humans aren't always logical, and we often make poor decisions based on our underlying motivations. But it does have to make sense in light of the character's previous experiences and general world view. Or there needs to be a good reason the character changed. It takes a while to explore all the options, and figure out which one fits your character best.

On the bright side, that moment when the light finally comes on, and you *know* exactly how the character would act/react and why, it's the best feeling in the world. That is when you can finally harness the tension you need to make the scene work, and things just sort of fall together as you write. I love that part, though I sometimes really struggle getting there.

Of course I do this all in the midst of drafting my stories – that's part of the fun, is discovering why the characters do what they do, and reacting. It's also why I couldn't put people I know in my stories even if I wanted to – for the most part, I already know their motivations, so as far as fictional figures, they're boring to me. Frustrating as it is, I'd rather meet my characters in the middle of a scene than before I start the story.

The last character I worked with this week is Maggie, and she's lying in bed, trying to predict what her lover has in store for her once she gets up. Poor Maggie has some good-sized issues, but she's learning and growing, Which is a very good thing.

Which character did you last leave on the page, and what sort of emotional state is he/she in? Do you know why? Or are you still in discovery mode?

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Weekly News & Goals 11/27/11

I hope everyone had a good holiday last
week (or just a good week, for those outside the US). We had a quiet
Thursday and a pretty easy work week, which was nice overall. I'm
not a shopper (well, not in stores, anyways), so the only buying I
did was a tea-binge online Saturday night. It was a doozy, so I'm
sure it made up for all the money I didn't spend elsewhere.

This week the plan is just to get back
into my normal routines – and that includes blogging. So back to
the full schedule, for now anyways. I'll be switching things up
again come January...seems like a good month for a change, don't
you think?

This Week on The Variety Pages

Monday: News
& Goals

Wednesday: Writing
Notes – Genre Bending

Friday:
Ch. 28 of Falling in Public

Other Posts to Check Out This Week

Monday:


Call for Submissions Extended at Rattles
Flash Fiction

Tuesday:

-
Organizing Bills at Routinely
Yours

- Ch. 29 of The Minister's Maid at
FantasyRanchNovels.com

-
Ch. 15 of The Paramedic at TrinityMarlow.com
(NSFW, Adults only)

- Design of the Week at Nail ArtTuesday

Wednesday:


- Ch. 7 of Animal at AlexWesthaven.com

Thursday:


- ??? at Beyond
the Words

- Ch. 16 (?) of The Paramedic at
TrinityMarlow.com

Goal Reports

Last week I did a decent job of
catching up, but not much else, unfortunately. I did get my thriller
novella edited, thank goodness. And I'm really close to the end of
my erotica short, so that's good too. I got several things off my
plate as well, so this week I should be able to move forward without
too much trouble. Hooray for that!

Writing

4-5 serial scenes (depending)

Format/publish thriller novella

Finish erotic short, hopefully
Tuesday

Business

Work on a formatting project

Promotion

Order print copies of flash
anthologies

Get the Dec. newsletter ready

Settle on a new newsletter service
(mine is closing)

Personal

Put more Halloween away

Workout 3x

Watch the carbs

I think that's enough for me this
week. To all those racing frantically to finish your NaNo novels –
go go go!!

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Serial Novel: Falling in Public, Ch. 27

This serial novel is posted in draft form every Friday. To receive each installment via email, please sign up here.



Ch.1|Ch. 2|Ch. 3|Ch. 4|Ch. 5|Ch. 6|Ch. 7|Ch. 8|Ch. 9|Ch. 10|Ch. 11|Ch. 12|Ch.13|Ch. 14|Ch. 15|

Ch. 16| Ch. 17|Ch. 18| Ch. 19 | Ch. 20 | Ch. 21 | Ch. 22 | Ch. 23 | Ch. 24 | Ch. 25 | Ch. 26






Falling in Public







Chapter 27

Two hours later, Holly sat in the back of a long black limo, fighting pain, fatigue and panic. Even with the assistance of the shy girl Ellison had sent to help her, getting dressed and to the car with her leg in such bad shape had taken more of a toll than it should have, and it was starkly evident that getting away under her own steam would be next to impossible.

Across from her, Ellison poured two fingers of an amber liquid from a carafe into an old fashioned glass and held it out to her.

"Drink this," he said, not asking. "It will help calm your nerves, and ease the pain."

She considered it for a moment, then shook her head. "No thanks." He could easily have slipped something into the bottle before she got in the car, and it didn't seem impossible that he might try to drug her before she got on the plane. If he was trying to make her paranoid, mission accomplished.

He shrugged, then tossed the liquid down his own throat. "Suit yourself." Placing the glass back into the cubby he'd taken it from, he took some papers out of a folder on the seat beside him, and handed them to her. "This is a copy of the behavioral guidelines we give to all of Mr. Winston's companions. It includes a list of what you can and cannot do in public, as well as issues to avoid discussion or commenting on. You'll be expected to follow it to the letter, so please familiarize yourself with it on the flight. Mr. Winston is already on the plane, and you'll be able to see him shortly before we touch down at our destination, not before. If you do not cooperate fully, there will be consequences, though you're already aware of that."

Holly took the papers, glancing over them before setting them aside. "I'm well aware of that, Mr. Ellison," she said, adrenaline starting to flow as she took in the green directional signs that indicated they were entering the airport complex. "You won't have to worry about me."

Because I'm not getting on that plane.

He nodded, respect mingled with suspicion in his eyes before he turned his head to look out the window. He knew she'd try to get away, of course. He wasn't stupid. But Holly was banking on the fact that he thought she was too weak to be successful. And that was her greatest strength at the moment.

The limo pulled up in front of the doors, and Ellison helped her out and handed her a pair of crutches to use while the driver turned a few bags from the trunk over to a valet. She had to work hard to keep up as Ellison led the way to security, and then helped her off with her shoes. She held on to the side of the conveyor belt, watching the baskets of personal items slide by as she waited for her turn to go through the metal detector. Spying a flat pocket knife in one that would undoubtedly be confiscated, she made sure Ellison wasn't watching, and palmed the knife, slipping it into the back pocket of her jeans. Then she moved toward the archway, hoping it would be enough. 

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Visit Me at #Amwriting .org

Happy Thanksgiving to all my US peeps!



I'm over at Amwriting.org today, talking about what I'm thankful for. Join me?

Weekly News & Goals 11/21/11

All my US friends ready for Thanksgiving later this week? We are eschewing the traditional turkey dinner in favor of hosting brunch Thursday morning for my parents, followed by a quiet dinner of BBQ sauce-smothered ribs for hubby and I, and then a pork chop dinner on Saturday with his parents. So no turkey for us, and I can't say I'm all that upset about it. Sometimes change is good…

As for the blogs, I'm taking it easy this week – regrouping, if you will. I'll have a guest post at Amwriting.org on Thursday, and I'll post a link here when that goes up. Other than the serial chapters I'm not going to worry about the rest of it for one more week. I have a lot of things to finish up – both projects for other people and my own, so I really just want to focus on getting those done this week so I can breathe a little easier in December.

So this week – just this post, a guest post and the serial novel posts:

Tuesday:
- Ch. 28 of The Minister's Maid at FantasyRanchNovels.com
- Ch. 14 of The Paramedic at TrinityMarlow.com (NSFW, Adults only)

Wednesday:
- Ch. 6 of Animal at AlexWesthaven.com

Friday:

- Ch. 27 of Falling in Public (here)
- Ch. 15 of The Paramedic at TrinityMarlow.com

Goal Reports

Between the day job and book biz stuff picking up exponentially, I didn't get nearly as much done last week as I would have liked. And the one thing I really wanted to get done, which was editing my thriller novella, kept getting shoved aside for more pressing things. My weekend was kind of topsy-turvy too due to hubby's topsy-turvy work schedule, so while it was rather productive, it just wasn't enough.

So stepping out of list mode, my only goals for this particular week are to finish the publications I need to get done for BSB, to edit/format my thriller novella, and to finish the current erotica draft I have going. If I can accomplish just those three things, I don't really care what else (if anything) gets done. Though I suppose it would be nice to vacuum before brunch on Thursday, but at this point, even that is optional. 

So that's my rather condensed plan for the week. Here's hoping you have a productive and happy week as well…

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Serial Novel: Falling in Public, Ch. 26

This serial novel is posted in draft form every Friday. To receive each installment via email, please sign up here.



Ch.1|Ch. 2|Ch. 3|Ch. 4|Ch. 5|Ch. 6|Ch. 7|Ch. 8|Ch. 9|Ch. 10|Ch. 11|Ch. 12|Ch.13|Ch. 14|Ch. 15|

Ch. 16| Ch. 17|Ch. 18| Ch. 19 | Ch. 20 | Ch. 21 | Ch. 22 | Ch. 23 | Ch. 24 | Ch. 25






Falling in Public







Chapter 26

Holly forgot to breathe for several seconds as she watched the seconds tick away on the screen. Eddie wasn't in the frame, but how far would the bomb reach? Why were they doing this? She'd done everything they asked, and for what?

"Please don't be home," she murmured, swiping at the tears on her face. The numbers grew smaller, and her fingers curled into the blankets as she silently cursed her stupid leg and her own cowardice. She should have known they were going to set the bomb off anyways. She should never have played thier game.

The countdown hit zero, and with a loud pop Eddie's couch was enveloped in a cloud of flames and smoke that filled the screen just before the feed dissolved into static.

"He wasn't there," she whispered, falling back against the pillows and squeezing her eyes shut. The gears whirred in the cabinet as she cried into the pillow, everything that had happened finally crushing her under the weight.

She heard the door open, but didn't bother to look up. She knew by his gait that it was Ellison, coming to gloat, most likely.

"Oh come on, Ms. Saunders. You knew the man for what - two days? You can't really expect me to believe you cared that much for him in so short a time."

His condescending tone was expected, but it still stung. Then it hit her. He wasn't here to gloat. She sat up and used the edge of the sheet to wipe her face.

"He's not dead," she said, confident that it was true. "If he was, our deal would be void, and you'd have no way to control me." The thought shouldn't have made her feel better, but it did. Eddie was alive. He had to be. And that's all that mattered.

Ellison clapped his hands. "Very good, Ms. Saunders. I knew you were a smart one. Your rock star didn't seem to be buying your little speech, so we felt it was necessary to punctuate it, for effect."

Holly laughed. "If you thought that would scare Eddie, think again, Mr. Ellison. It will just convince him I'm being held against my will, and he'll find a way to get to me. You'll see."

He nodded. "Yes, we thought that could happen. Which is why you're flying to one of Sean's alternate residences in about..." he made a show of checking his watch, "four hours, give or take. Someone will be in shortly to help you dress." He stood, preparing to leave.

"Which other residence?" Holly asked, her pulse speeding up at the thought of disappearing indefinitely. "Where are you taking me? And where's Sean? Why haven't I seen him yet?"

"So many questions." Ellison shook his head. "You'll find out soon enough, and Mr. Winston will be on the plane with you. Now if you'll excuse me..."

Holly watched him go, biting her lower lip as she thought about what it could mean if she got on that plane. She had to get away, and  the airport would be her best chance.

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Weekly News & Goals 11/14/11

This weekend I finally unburied my Thanksgiving decorations, and it's now feeling very harvest-y at my house with pumpkins and autumn leaves here and there. I love this time of year – the chill in the air, the bright, warm colors, and the lull after our Halloween madness before December hits. Even when I'm doing NaNo the pace of November seems slower to me, and I love that. I also really love pumpkin pie and apple cider, though not usually at the same time…

Around my corner of the blogosphere, things are settling down as well. Last week I was still dealing with a lot of "residual" stuff at home which is why I got a bit behind, but I caught up by Friday and I spent most of the weekend getting the main living areas in our house put back to normal, so this week my evenings are all about writing, blogging and book stuff. Feels good to be able to focus on that again, and aside from this one (because I was finishing the last of my home catch-up work last night), posts should be on time for the rest of the week. That feels good too.

If you're looking for some quick and easy reading, check out the new Rattles anthology, At the Water's Edge. It's a great collection of flash fiction, if I do say so myself, and perfect for when you don't have time to really dig into a longer work, but want something to read. Great for lunch breaks! Check it out on in the BSB store (links to Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Smashwords on that page as well).

While you're there, if you're an author (or want to be) and thinking of self-publishing but want a little help with your first book, I've listed new assisted self-publishing packages in the Author Services section that might be of interest....

This Week on The Variety Pages

Monday: News & Goals
Wednesday: Writing Notes – POV & Genre
Friday: Ch. 26 of Falling in Public

Other Posts to Check Out This Week

Monday:
Excerpt from Water's Edge by Ann Partridge at Rattles Flash Fiction

Tuesday:
- Routine Maintenance at Routinely Yours
- Ch. 27 of The Minister's Maid at FantasyRanchNovels.com
- Ch. 12 of The Paramedic at TrinityMarlow.com (NSFW, Adults only)

Wednesday:
- Ch. 5 & cover reveal of Animal at AlexWesthaven.com

Thursday:
- Bartering Tips at Beyond the Words
- Ch. 13 of The Paramedic at TrinityMarlow.com

Goal Reports

It felt like I was spinning my wheels last week, but I managed to get a surprising number of items checked off my lists. The serial chapters all got done, most of the personal goals are completed, and the November Rattles anthology is officially out, so all's well there. I have pretty high hopes for this week as well, and should be able to devote most of Saturday to editing my thriller novella, to be released in early December. Exciting!

Writing

- 5 serial scenes (finish erotica short, hopefully)
- Edits to Angel Eyes

Business

- Format BiB for print (& upload) & format for digital release
- Format/upload the Rattles anthologies for print
- Update the BSB web site
- Bookkeeping
- Guest post for #Amwriting.org (will post Thanksgiving Day)
- List Goodreads giveaway for BiB
- Update publication schedule to the end of the year
- Find a new newsletter host (mine is shutting down in Jan.)

Personal

- Format print book for a friend
- Workout three times
- Work on putting more Halloween away (basement)
- Plan Thanksgiving brunch menu
- Dentist appt. (today – ugh!)
- Avoid getting whatever crud my husband has.

And that's it for me, for now. What are you up to this week? Anything exciting? Or just enjoying the lull before the holiday storm?

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Serial Novel: Falling in Public, Ch. 25

This serial novel is posted in draft form every Friday. To receive each installment via email, please sign up here.



Ch.1|Ch. 2|Ch. 3|Ch. 4|Ch. 5|Ch. 6|Ch. 7|Ch. 8|Ch. 9|Ch. 10|Ch. 11|Ch. 12|Ch.13|Ch. 14|Ch. 15|

Ch. 16| Ch. 17|Ch. 18| Ch. 19 | Ch. 20 | Ch. 21 | Ch. 22 | Ch. 23 | Ch. 25






Falling in Public







Chapter 25

"Holly? Where are you? I saw the news - thank god you're okay. When I get my hands on Winston--"

Holly looked at the phone on the bed, and then at Ellison sitting off to the side. "Sell it," he mouthed, with a look that promised serious consequences if she didn't. Taking a breath she closed her eyes and focused on Eddie. There had to be some way to warn him with her words, though ideas weren't exactly hitting her over the head.

"Eddie, stop," she said, opening her eyes and looking down at the phone again. "I don't know how I can convince you, but everything on the news today is true." She glanced at Ellison, who nodded his head. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about it before, but I'm moving in with Sean next week. I--" she paused, swallowing around the lump in her throat. "I guess I just needed one last fling before I committed to a public relationship. That photo of us helped me see that I can survive in the spotlight."

"Bullshit." Eddie lowered his voice. "Someone's listening, aren't they? Telling you what to say? I may not know you well, Holly, but I know you're lying through your teeth, and I will find you, one way or the other. Count on it."

Holly shook her head, panic washing over her. "No! Eddie, you have to listen to me! I love Sean, and I'm going to be with him. There's nothing you can do about that. We had one great night, and that's all it needs to be. Just put my picture in your scrapbook and move on." Her heart beat wildly as she hoped he'd get the reference. It was all she could do, and judging by the look on Ellison's face, she'd nearly gone too far.

"I have to go now, Eddie. Please, just leave me alone."

"I can't do that, Holly," he said. "You tell Sean he's got competition. This isn't over yet."

The connection went dead, and Holly shrugged as Ellison picked up the phone. "I tried," she said as he rose from the chair, shoving the cell in his pocket. "Please don't hurt him. I did everything you asked..."

Ellison walked to the door and opened it before replying. "We'll see," he said, closing the door behind him.

Holly flopped back on the pillows, wincing at a spike of pain through her leg. The scrapbook had been a long shot, but Ellison hadn't caught on and with any luck, Eddie would eventually. She just hoped it wouldn't be too late.

There was a knock at the door, and the creepy butler entered with a tray. "Your lunch, Miss." He put it down on the bed beside her, and left without another word. She examined the contents - soup, half a sandwich, a banana and a glass of milk. What she wouldn't give for a cup of coffee...
With a sigh, she picked up the sandwich and dipped it into the soup, letting the broth soak into the bread before she took a bite. As she dipped it in again, there was a whirring sound from the wood console at the end of the bed. Frowning, she watched as the TV came up and locked into place before the monitor clicked on.

Setting her sandwich down, she watched in horror as Eddie's studio became visible, his couch front and center. In the lower right corner of the screen, a digital clock started counting down from ten.

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Writing Notes: Those Pesky Corners

I've always been a linear writer. I can't write a scene out of order, partially because if I know what happens that far out, I'm probably bored with the story. The other reason is that anything I write in the "future" of my story will undoubtedly affect what I've already written, so I'd probably be writing/revising in circles forever. My brain just doesn't work that way – I'm a pretty linear thinker, overall.

So because I have to keep moving forward, and in part due to the serialization I use to draft my novels, I write myself into corners a lot. A *lot*. I like to leave my serial scenes on a cliffhanger when I can, and most of the time when I leave it for the day, I have no answer to the question I've left my readers with, "but what happens next?" It's a pickle, but one that forces me to be very creative at times since I can't go backwards with a serial novel and "fix" whatever put me (or my characters, rather) in a corner.

There's simply nowhere to go but forward.

What I've found is that there is *always* a way forward. Some corners are more work than others to write out of, and some require copious amounts of caffeine and sugar, but there's always a way out. The secret (for me anyways) is to examine the situation and character(s) from every single angle, and then figure out what the cheesiest way to get out of it would be. Naturally I don't normally *use* that method, but brainstorming silly and off-the-wall ways to break out opens up my mind to any possibilities…and it generally doesn't take too long before I see a more logical, workable way to move my characters along.

So here's a corner for you to play with (readers, chime in too!) – feel free to leave a comment with your off-the-wall ways to get our poor heroine out of her predicament (alive, preferably):

The men were closing in, and Janice felt like her heart would explode as she strained to run faster through the dark dungeon. She imagined a woman from the century when this castle was built running from her captors just as Jan was, trying to escape a fate 'worse than death'. Though Jan was pretty sure she didn't have that particular option. The other woman would probably have panicked at the sight of a solid wall coming up fast, might have turned into the open door on the right. She, too, might have ended up in a stone cell with barred windows and no way out save the way she'd come in.

Footsteps grew louder, and Janice looked around the small room, completely bare aside from old, musty straw covering the floor and a few large metal rings still affixed high on the wall. Moving back to the doorway, she looked out, nothing but solid stone across the way, and four men jogging fast down the only corridor.

Have fun playing…

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Weekly News & Goals 11/7/11

You may have noticed some very late posts last week (and some missing altogether). Our house is still seriously chaotic following new carpet, Halloween decorations & the whole party thing. I've been trying to balance the need to get stuff done around the house after work/on weekends with book business "stuff", and not doing a terribly great job at either, unfortunately. But we made good progress this weekend, and I'm very nearly caught up with the important parts, which is a great feeling. Where there's a will, there's a way, eh?

I'm pretty proud of the fact that I still managed to get both newsletters out on time this weekend though. If you're not signed up and want to see what they look like, you can read Variety News and or the Brazen Snake Monthly online.

Pretty simple newsletters, but that's where all sales, contests etc will be announced first, especially as we move closer to the holidays.

As for the blog this week – cross your fingers, but I think I'll be able to keep up now…

This Week on The Variety Pages

Monday: News & Goals
Wednesday: Writing Notes – Those Pesky Corners
Friday: Ch. 25 of Falling in Public

Other Posts to Check Out This Week

Monday:
Excerpt from Dark Therapy by yours truly at Rattles Flash Fiction
Tuesday:
- Routine Maintenance at Routinely Yours
- Ch. 25 of The Minister's Maid at FantasyRanchNovels.com
- Ch. 10 of The Paramedic at TrinityMarlow.com (NSFW, Adults only)
Wednesday:
- Ch. 4 of Animal at AlexWesthaven.com
Thursday:
- State of the Snake - November at Beyond the Words
- Ch. 11 of The Paramedic at TrinityMarlow.com

Goal Reports

Despite the chaos last week, I did surprisingly well with my goals. I managed (barely) to write and post all five of my serial chapters by Friday night. I didn't finish my Attic Toys sub in time, but that was just a fun exercise anyways, so I'm not all that broken up about it (and the story's still in my head and it's fun, so I may well finish it anyways, and post it as a free read on the Westhaven site).  So writing goals get a 95% check for last week.

The business goals fared okay – could have been better, but I got the important things done (like necessary bookkeeping and books/payments ready to send out). Now that those are out of the way, I can get back to the fun part of formatting and publishing books.

On the personal front, we got the garage cleaned out, which sort of set us back on the housecleaning side (naturally). I implemented my new housekeeping routines on Saturday (and they worked pretty well), but Sunday was a wash due to putting decorations away and just trying to put things back where they belong. I love our new carpet, but good lord, the repercussions last *forever*…

This week, more of the same…

Writing

5 serial scenes

Business

Spend a few hours on bookkeepingUpdate back matter on a few ebook titlesFormat and upload Nov. Rattles anthologyFormat Brothers in Betrayal by Heidi SutherlinPost a Goodreads contest for BiBPlan holiday promos

Personal

Get all Halloween stuff put away for the yearSet out some Thanksgiving/fall decorFinish bedroom reconstructionWorkout three nightsPlan Thanksgiving dinner (we're hosting, I think)

And that's plenty to keep me busy this week. Hopefully with a bit less chaos.

Hopefully those of you doing NaNo are burning up the pages – many words to you!

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