Jennifer Becton's Blog, page 16

Julia and Vincent on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries?

So I saw this post come through my Facebook feed, and I just had to mention it on my blog.

I am a huge TV geek, and though books originally inspired me to become a writer, TV crime dramedies have had a heavy influence on the Southern Fraud Thriller Series. In fact, I think of each book as an episode in a TV series.

I would love to see Julia and Vincent come to life on TV. Would you? If so, please cast your vote on the Hallmark Movies and Mysteries Facebook page, linked below:

Which mystery novel would you most like to see as a movie?

Posted by Hallmark Movies & Mysteries on Monday, May 4, 2015

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The Real Mr. Darcy Found?

Dr Susan Law believes the fictional aristocrat was based on the first Earl of Morley, John Parker, who was married to a friend of Austen and said to be “intense”.

She now claims to have built a “convincing argument” for pinning down the real Fitzwilliam Darcy, admitting she cannot be “100 per cent” sure….

Other contenders for the position of the “real” Mr Darcy have included Thomas Lefroy, with whom Austen is said to have had a love affair in 1796, and , a theology student and fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge whom she met on holiday.

Experts have previously been skeptical of such claims, with little evidence to suggest the fictional Darcy was necessarily based on a real person rather an the product of Austen’s fertile imagination. Read more here.

While searching for the inspiration behind Mr.. Darcy’s character is an interesting undertaking, I imagine that Austen took inspiration from the real world and mingled it with her own imagination.

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Writing Process Experimentation: Helpful Books

Two weeks ago, I wrote about my new writing process experiment, and I wanted to update and share a few books that have helped me along my writing journey.

Week 1: I wrote nearly 14,000 words in 5 days. This text consisted of outlining (Yes! Outlining! I outlined! More on that below.) and mass scene creation.

Weeks 2-3: I wrote 7 days out of 10 possible working days. (I went to the beach for 3.) During that time, I wrote 13,000 words. Most of this text was “additional text,” going back to clean up and improve existing scenes and add details. I did very little writing from scratch during these two weeks.

I am almost finished with the first draft of Shock Loss. With my experimental outlining technique, I feel as if I’m ahead of where I usually am at the same point in my previous process. I could be wrong. I’ll know more after my early readers and story editors get their hands on it, but I’m hopeful.

I’ve always been a pantser (articles on that here and here). Planning versus pantsing is really about how and when writers choose to free associate. Do you do it before you write or during your writing? No Plot? No Problem!: A Low-Stress, High-Velocity Guide to Writing a Novel in 30 Days is valuable for writers who are trapped with perennially unfinished or even unstarted books. The writer suggests limiting planning to 2 weeks, but beyond that, there isn’t much direction on that subject. This book is more about motivating people to just do it. I’ve come to a point where I want more direction as I write.

I’ve always hated planning and outlining. I mean, I despised it. I know many writers who love it. They have character worksheets and plot worksheets and who knows what else. They write detailed character resumes and histories. They have note cards and folders and complex color-coded systems! When I look at many of these worksheets, I’m immediately turned off.

Here is what it boils down to: if I write it, I want to use it. (Which is ironically the same reason I want to start planning more. I don’t want to delete whole chapters if I can help it.) I don’t mean I just want to look back at a resume to help me understand what a character might do in a scene; I want to use the words I write in the final book. I don’t want a bunch of reference worksheets. They don’t make me feel like I am any closer to the character. In fact, to me, they feel disconnected.

Same problem with outlines. To me, outlines were these things that you wrote before a paper and then turned in for the teacher to see. The outline was supposed to provide a road map. But again, the actual words in the outline were never used in the final text of the paper. Though they influenced the direction of the paper, they were totally disconnected from the actual work itself.

Finally, someone–Monica Leonelle in Write Better, Faster: How To Triple Your Writing Speed and Write More Every Day (Growth Hacking For Storytellers #1)–has said something about outlining and planning that makes sense to me. Basically, it hinges on the concept of starting general and getting increasingly specific as you craft your story.

It begins with the basic 4-part story structure. (See Techniques of the Selling Writer and Story Engineering) To that structure, I added very general ideas about what each scene/chapter of each part should contain. This closely resembled an outline like the ones I wrote and ignored in my school days. However, instead of putting the whole outline on a separate piece of paper to look back at for reference, I actually used in the text. Each point of the outline has its own section in Scrivener.

The idea is to begin with the outline text, which forms the basis of your finished text. In each subsequent draft, add details to the scenes/chapters, building slowly so that by the time you write a complete scene or chapter, you have actually thought through the entire book several times over. This gives you a chance to solidify your structure without sacrificing a lot of text or time.

I realize this doesn’t sound too far off from the traditional outline, but for me, it seems to be a game changer.

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Southern Grammar: Grits

A debate has raged–yes, raged–on my husband’s side of the family for years. Each time we sit down to breakfast, there is a debate about the word “grits.”

My father-in-law says, “This grits is good.”

My mother-in-law says, “These grits are good.”

Then, they ask me to settle the dispute since I worked as an editor. Aside from the fact that they are asking me to get in the middle of their argument, there’s one other problem. I have Northern parents. We didn’t eat grits. I don’t like grits.

To me, grits is/are gross.

Long story short: I didn’t know, so I looked it up.

Choose the correct verb tense: Grits is/are good. Singular or plural? (Tweet This)

Answer after the break.

The answer is BOTH.

Grits can be used with either a singular or plural verb!

Want proof? Here’s a screen shot from Merriam-Webster.com:

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/grits

 

Not satisfied? Dictionary.com agrees:

grits. Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/grits (accessed: April 19, 2015).

So my in-laws are both right.

This grits is good, and these grits are also good.

Alas, to me, grits still is/are gross.

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Austenesque Novel Kindle Sale!

Looking for an Austenesque reading fix? Want to get as many novels as possible for your hard-earned money?

Well, thanks to Nancy Kelley, four writers have you covered!

Our group sale starts April 16. Please note that some books have different starting and ending dates. Details are below, so please read carefully and don’t miss out!

Charlotte Collins: A Continuation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice
US $0.99 and UK £0.99
April 16-20

 

Caroline Bingley: A Continuation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice
US $0.99 and UK £0.99
April 19-22

 

My Dear Sophy by Kimberly Truesdale

 

 April 16-22

Kimberly’s other books are on sale too, so check them out!

Loving Miss Darcy (Brides of Pemberley Book 2)by Nancy Kelley
US $0.99 and UK £0.99
April 16-22

 

Against His Will (Brides of Pemberley Book 3) by Nancy Kelley
US $0.99 and UK £0.99
April 16-22

 

Attempting Elizabethby Jessica Grey
US $0.99 and UK £0.99
April 16-22

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Writing Process Experimentation

This week (Monday through Friday), I wrote approximately 14,000 words on Shock Loss. That’s almost double my output on an average writing week. And so far, it seems to be good, usable text that will actually make it to the final draft. (I hope.) This came as a part of some experimentation in my writing process.

Because my experiment has lasted only one week and I have not yet gone through the entire writing process from outline to publication, I can’t say anything definitive about long-term results. I don’t feel comfortable sharing all the details yet either. I’m still working them out. But so far my results are positive enough for me to continue the experiment and blog about some of what I learn.

Many of the changes I implemented are practical, common sense stuff, but some of what I attempted this week totally changed the way I approach book planning and writing.

My writing process from start to finish.

Why did I decide to experiment? After going so long between Southern Fraud Thrillers, I wanted to write efficiently and write well. And to be honest, my writing process could use some refinement. I love drafting, but I always seemed to end up with an enormous number of rewrites, which means a lot of cut text, which means a lot of wasted time.

Okay, it’s not all wasted time. I’ve used cut scenes from one book in another book. Still, when I look at the amount of work that goes into one book, I write and the cut a lot more text than I feel I should.

My end goals are to

Develop an Even, Maintainable Pace. I’d like to write at a pace that is neither so slow that the book never gets done nor so intense that I burn out.
Keep a flexible schedule. I used to try to schedule out my time, but that never works for my lifestyle.
Have focused writing time. When I do sit down to write, I want to write as efficiently as possible. That means better planning. More on that later.
Minimize the number and intensity of rewrites. This is the biggie. I’d like to improve my early drafts so that I don’t spend so much time slaving over rewrites.

Here are some of the practical steps I implemented this week. These tips can apply to tasks other than book writing:

Turn off Alerts/Ringers. This is every time-management guru’s first tip, but I never turned off my phone. I did so this week, and it made a difference.
Turn on a Timer. I tried the Pomodoro method (25 minutes of work followed by a 5 minute break). I didn’t think it would work, but it was surprisingly effective.
Track progress. Bloggers talk about this all the time too, and I never did it. I made a spreadsheet that details the number of words per 25 minute writing session. Seeing numerical results motivated me to


Plan for writing blocks, not daily schedules. I set up two one-hour writing blocks per day, but not together. I took breaks between writing.


Do something completely unrelated to do between writing blocks. I like to do some physical activity–head to the barn for an hour, take a walk, clean something–between writing sessions. It gives my fingers a break and also provides time to “marinate” on the book

After this week, I’m excited about writing again, and I even came up with new ideas for my next series.

I’ll keep tracking next week and report back.

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Spring Fever, Anyone? Holidays with Jane Has You Covered.

Holidays with Jane: Spring Fever is now available on Kindle and is coming soon to paperback!

Winter’s almost over and Jane Austen’s got a case of spring fever! The authors who brought you Holidays With Jane: Christmas Cheer return to bring you six modern retellings of Austen’s classics. So put up your parasols and prepare for sunshine, smiles, and, of course, happily ever afters.

“Extra Innings”

by Jessica Grey

Annie Elliot still regrets breaking off her engagement to minor league baseball player Rick Wentworth ten years ago. Now he’s back in town coaching the team she works for and stirring up feelings she’d rather forget. Will Rick and Annie get a chance to hit a walk-off home run or will they strike out in Extra Innings?

“Miracle at the Abbey”

by Cecilia Gray

Kathia, paranormal investigator extraordinaire, is out to prove her hometown Abbey is a bona fide miracle site—even if its sexy owner-slash-handyman Henry is dead set against it. Kathia and Henry square off and settle the score that’s been brewing since high school in this contemporary Easter retelling that ends with a Miracle at the Abbey.

“Whine and Wineries”

By Melissa Buell

After their father dies, the Dashwood girls must make room for their half-brother John and his wife Franny in their Hollywood Hills home. When Franny’s brother Edward shows up unexpectedly, Elinor finds a new friend.But any dreams of something more are crushed when the girls have to move far away to Barton Winery. There Elinor begins her new life as a wedding coordinator. Her first challenge? Bridezilla Anne Steele’s spring wedding. When Anne’s sister Lucy reveals a secret that changes everything, Elinor must sort through the lies to find the truth of her feelings and hope for her future.

“Emma’s Inbox”

By Rebecca M. Fleming

Emma Woodhouse keeps her finger on the pulse of Hartfield, Georgia through a series of texts and emails full of hometown gossip and romantic intrigue. In Hartfield, nothing ever changes: people fall in love (sometimeswith a little help from her), get married, and life goes on in the same comfortable way. But when hometown favorite Frank Churchill returns unexpectedly, the whole town develops a case of spring fever. Though a master at maneuvering the love lives of those around her, Emma finds she needs some advice of her own—and her family and friends are happy to fill her inbox with all the help she needs.

“No Vacancy at Mansfield Motel”

by Kimberly Truesdale

Fanny Price runs Mansfield Motel, the family business in sunny South Florida, mostly on her own. But she dreams of following in her Uncle Thomas’s footsteps and becoming a marine biologist. She plans to talk to her cousin Eddie about her dreams when he comes home for Spring Break. But when he brings along Henry and Mary Crawford, trouble starts to brew. Fanny watches her precious future begin to slip away. With everything on the line, will Fanny finally speak up for herself? Or will she be stuck running Mansfield Motel for the rest of her life?

Note: My contribution to this short story collection is based on Pride and Prejudice, and as usual, I focused on a minor character: Lydia Bennet. I can’t help it. I love minor characters!

“Lydia Reimagined”

by Jennifer Becton

When reformed party girl Lydia Bennet receives an invitation to her ex George Wickham’s destination wedding, she accepts with the intention of showing him exactly what he gave up when he dumped her. But no amount determination can change Wickham’s view of Lydia, especially not when circumstances conspire to make her look even more like a party girl than ever. And then there’s her sudden attraction to old college friend Kyle “Denny” Dennison…. Now that Lydia has reimagined her whole life, will she be able to forget the past and open her heart to the future?

Approximate word count: 91k

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Updates on Shock Loss (SF5)

After a long and unavoidable delay, I’ve been working on Shock Loss again, and I wanted to offer a quick update.

Because I was forced to take 7 months off from the manuscript, some of my plot points have evolved in a different direction from my original outline. That means I’ve been doing a lot of one-step-forward-two-steps-back sort of revising. Frustrating as it has been to remove large chunks of text, I’m pleased with direction Shock Loss is headed.

As the penultimate book, Shock Loss will set up the final battle between Julia, Vincent, and an unknown threat that has been lingering in the background for some time. This book will likely be a bit shorter than the others in the series–shorter in length but more satisfying….

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New Reviewing Options at Amazon (www)

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New Reviewing Options at Amazon

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