Judith Post's Blog, page 106

Only 99 cents:)

My first e-romance, COOKING UP TROUBLE, is on sale for 99 cents until 7/3.  Just letting the world know!

http://amzn.to/1mh92ra

Starting a new book

One of the joys of writing a series is to revisit old friends–characters you’ve used in previous books–and then add in a few new ones.  And if you get really lucky, one of those new characters jumps off the page for you and demands a book of his/her own.

When I wrote the first Mill Pond romance–Cooking Up Trouble–Ian’s brother, Brody, came to help him get the inn ready.  Brody’s a bit of a curmudgeon.  He’s a little too responsible for his own good, and I fell in love with him.  Whom to pair him with?  Someone who doesn’t pay attention to schedules and likes to bend the rules.  Harmony drives him a little crazy, and Brody makes her want to whack him in the head every once in a while.  A perfect match. For the story, I made Paula, Ian’s chef, and her two kids a part of the plot line, and I grew so attached to them, I wanted to find someone for Paula.  Hence, book 3.  So far, with every book, there’s a new character who begs me for more time in the next book.

I just finished final edits for Book 4–and I know this isn’t fair since I’m writing a few books ahead of what you can read–but Miriam just walked onto the pages in that book and told me that I was lucky she graced me with her presence.  She has that kind of personality.  And I couldn’t wait to write a book with her as the protagonist.

I’m starting that book now–the fifth Mill Pond–and I’m trying my darndest to do justice to the personality that is Miriam.  I also tried to give her a story worthy of her.  She teaches high school English, so I wanted a kid to be part of the romance.

The first time I wrote Miriam’s first chapter, it contained everything in the plot point I’d written for it–all of the characters, a hook, and the inciting incident–but it was flat.  That only goes to show that just because I know what’s supposed to happen, I don’t always get the voice and tone right.  Nobody wants to just plod through a story–not the readers and not me.  So I deleted the whole thing and tried again.  This time, I concentrated on the snark that’s part of Miriam, and it worked.  The woman can quell a rampaging teenager in her third period class with a raised eyebrow.  My type of heroine.  She’s almost six feet tall, gawky and bony, with short, corkscrew curls.  So who could be her Mr. Right?  A man who’s comfortable in his own skin and brews beer.  Miriam has a thing for hops:)

I’m going to have to push myself to keep the energy up for this book.  I’m hoping to deal with a couple of serious subplots in a funny way.  I might need more chocolate.  I know I’ll need wine.  But I have goals, and that’s a good thing:)

 

Author Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/JudiLynnwrites/

On twitter:  @judypost

 

Webpage: http://www.judithpostswritingmusings....

 

Chapter 3

I’ve finished out my other urban fantasies.  They feel complete, to me, as series.  I like the way Wolf’s Bane finished with a big, final battle, and I like the way Empty Altars finished with Tyr and Diana battling six spinners.  I’m even happy with the final Babet and Prosper short novel where they saved River City.  But the last novel in the Fallen Angels series, as much as I enjoyed it, didn’t feel like a farewell.  That’s why I’m writing and posting Enoch chapters on my webpage before I say goodbye to him to write more romances.  I guess I want closure, so I’ve posted a new chapter, and I hope you enjoy it.  Enoch’s special, for me.  When I leave him, I want to know he’s made peace with himself.

Chapter 3:  http://www.judithpostswritingmusings....

 

What Drives a Story?

When I first started writing, I wrote short stories.  I love ’em, and sometimes I think it’s harder to write an awesome short story than it is to write a book.  Books take longer, yes, but they also give you more wiggle room.  In short fiction, there’s no room for mess-ups, so I think it’s harder to tell someone how to write a great short story than it is to explain the parts that add up to a good book.

For a book, we know the drill:

A hook that grabs the reader’s attention
A protagonist we can empathize with, who hits a major problem that he has to fix because it deals with an internal problem that he has to fix:)
Tension that cranks up the longer the book goes
Conflict of some type in every scene
Characters, both major and minor, who stay with us, one way or another
Pacing that keeps the story’s momentum moving
A big, dark moment near the end that leads to resolution of some type
A satisfying ending, either happy or not

What do you say about writing a short story?

My early short fiction was all based on ideas, sort of like delivering a punch line.  The shorter the story, the truer it held.  One of the first stories I “sold” (for free copies) was about a house that had been loved and cherished by the people who’d lived in it until the city changed, owners died, and it became a vacant building where kids came to drug up.  The house suffered until it called for its dead owner to return and save it from having to witness any more.    (It’s better if you can’t read the words.  I wrote this a LONG time ago, and I cringe when I read it now).

The story hinged on an idea.  I think most short stories do. With a few more pages, we can become attached to a character, but even then, if the story’s short, we only watch one slice out of that person’s life.  But what a punch that one slice can deliver!  The more pages you add, the more elements you can add to the whole.

For friends who’ve told me that they can’t write short, it might be because they’re trying to use the same elements to write a short story as they do to write a book.  Yes, we still use a hook and strong verbs and specific words instead of general ones.  We still vary sentence length, so the tools are the same, but the technique’s different.  A short story has a tight focus.  Every part of the story is used to deliver on that one idea or slice of life.

And if you’d like ideas on how to write short from a pro, here’s Kurt Vonnegut’s advice: http://www.openculture.com/2015/04/ku...

For extra good measure, here’s advice from one of my favorite short story writers, Nancy Pickard:  http://writerswhokill.blogspot.com/20...- discuss-short.html

 

My author Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/JudiLynnwrites/

My webpage:  http://www.judithpostswritingmusings....

On twitter:  @judypost

 

 

Another quick chapter

I posted chapter 2–short and sweet–of my Enoch urban fantasy story on my webpage.  If you like fallen angels and vampires, this one’s for you.

http://www.judithpostswritingmusings.com/

I finally made the transition

I’m changing my name.  If you’ve read my blog for a while, you know that I’ve written a few different things before I started writing romances.  I started with short stories, sold a few short mysteries, then tried my hand at cozies (when no editors wanted them).  One of those editors asked me to try urban fantasy–which I did, and I loved.  Still do.  And then I finally tried romances.  And sold them.  The thing is, I’ve written for a long time under my own name–Judith Post.  But romances are so different from urban fantasy that my agent suggested that I use a pen name to let readers know I wasn’t writing what they expected me to write.  And I understood her reasoning.

I didn’t quite think the pen name thing through, though.  My webpage, blog, Facebook page, and Twitter are all under my name, Judith Post.  Which seemed fine with me, until the awesome publicist at Kensington, who’s trying her darndest to find me an audience, e-mailed me to say that when anyone types Judi Lynn into a search engine, they get nothing that leads them to me.  Not a good thing when I’m working so hard to “brand” myself.  She suggested that I change my media name to my pen name.  At first, it threw me.  I mean, I talk about my books and writing on social media.  Isn’t that enough?  Not really, not after I thought about it.  Especially, not when people can’t find me.  So, I switched everything I do on the internet to Judi Lynn.  I don’t think it’s going to give me a split-personality.  I am who I am, for better and (on some days) for worse.  The only thing I haven’t changed yet is my webpage.  Mostly, because I still like posting free, short urban fantasy stories there between books.

I read that Stephen King writes short stories or novellas when he finishes one novel and before he starts a new one.  I like to do the same thing.  When I finish a book, I’m not ready to plunge into another one.  I need to let my brain fixate on something different with “instant gratification”–because I can finish it faster–before I dedicate myself to 70,000+ words on the next project.  It clears the cobwebs of subplots and threads and gives me a quick “fun” write.  It’s even better if I can jostle completely out of the usual, and for me, since I’m working on romances, that means pounding out a quick urban fantasy–something outside of my new genre.

And speaking of that, I put a really, really short chapter on my webpage because I’ve missed Enoch from Fallen Angels so much.  I’m going to try to post a new chapter once a week until the story’s finished–not sure how long that will take.  I know:)  I usually plot every story into oblivion, but since this one’s for fun, I have a few plot points and I’m going to wing it.  Hope that works:)  If you’re feeling adventurous, you might want to check it out.  http://www.judithpostswritingmusings....

Anyway, I’ll still be here, writing my blog, but it will under Judi Lynn now.  And if you ever have questions or topics you’d like to throw my way, let me know.

Author Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/JudiLynnwrites/

Twitter:  @judypost

 

Hi, all!

I just wanted to let everyone know that I’ve changed the name of my blog.  Since I’m using a pen name for my romances–Judi Lynn–I thought my blog should help people find me.  Right now, if you put Judi Lynn in a search engine, I’m incognito.  Not a good thing for a writer.  So…I’ll post the same types of things I’ve always posted, but under a new name.  Makes me feel a little fresh and frisky:)  So if you get a post from Judi Lynn, it’s just me.

P.S.  If you look at the black bar under the header, it lists a “Short Story from Mill Pond.”  If you click on it, you can read BLUE PLATE SPECIAL.  Hope you enjoy it.

I’ve missed fallen angels

On Monday, I sent my editor (the kind and wonderful John Scognamiglio at Kensington)  my manuscript for Mill Pond 4.  He’s going on vacation, so I won’t hear back for a while to know if I need to do rewrites or not.  That’s all right.  When the cat’s away, this mouse might play.  I finished writing plot points for my fifth romance, and I’ll send those along, too, but if you’ve ever read Stephen King’s book on writing, he took time off between novels to write shorter pieces, to jostle up the creative juices a bit.  I understand that need for a jolt of something else between books.  And I miss writing urban fantasy every once in a while, so….   I put up a short chapter on my webpage, starring Enoch, sent from Home to clean up his fellow angel’s messes.  It was fun.  I’ll put up a chapter every Thursday until I finish it, and I have no idea (shocking for me) how long that will take.  Might be quick…  or not.

http://www.judithpostswritingmusings.com/

The Last Pages

I’ve been reading more than usual lately–my new goal.  I can’t begin to keep up with reviewers or Goodreads or my friend Les Edgerton (who writes a great blog and flies through books), but I’ve set a more realistic goal for myself.  Sort of like exercising and dieting.  For me, moderation means I might actually stick to it.  I’m trying to read one book every week (unless it’s really long, and then I’m in trouble.  I’m a slow reader.  And unless I have house guests.  Then I’d rather visit than read.  And we’ve had a lot of house guests lately).  But things are calming down again, and I have a new book to start.  Happiness:)

I’ve been reading a little bit of everything–a few fun mysteries, an Elizabeth George literary style mystery, a paranormal romance, and a mystery/suspense romance.  These days, I’m too old and too grumpy to finish novels I don’t like.  If the characters are cardboard and the plot sags and waffles, I’m over it.  On top of that, I can’t turn off the editor in my head, so I think I’m pickier than I used to be.  Too many grammar mistakes, verb tenses that change every other paragraph, and I pitch the book.  That means, when I finish a novel, it had to have the basics right and be interesting enough to make me want to spend time with it.  If it’s five-star instead of four-star, all the better.

That said, I’ve been surprised at how many books I’ve joyfully flipped through lately and then grumbled when I reached the last pages.  A great cover and an interesting blurb can lure me to buy a book.  How the author ends that book is what tempts me to buy her next one.  I’m not talking about cliffhangers here.  They annoy me.   I’m talking about satisfying endings.  My agent would attest that I wasn’t too good at them when I sent her my first books.  I was forever having to add a few more scenes or building up the big, black moment, because I rushed the last pages of my books.  It took me a while to figure out that I’d spent the first three-fourths of the story, cranking up to a big showdown for a win/lose situation, and that showdown had better deliver.

Endings are important.  But in three of the mysteries I read, the author forced the finale. Protagonists whom I followed because they were smart and clever did the unthinkable (for me) and walked into stupid situations to prove that the villain was the villain.  It felt like the moment in horror movies when you shout at the TV, “Don’t go in the basement!”  Because a murderer is loose.  People are dying.  And you hear a noise in the basement.  So…you go down there to investigate??  Really???  Why would anyone do that?  I felt the same way about the last pages of those mysteries.  A smart person occasionally does stupid things, but not just to force the showdown between the good guy and the villain.

Info dumps should never happen in a novel–anywhere.  The information should be sprinkled here and there, in one scene and then another, until the reader knows whatever he needs to know before he needs to know it.  But when the info dump comes at the end of the novel, to explain everything that’s happened, it really stands out and slows the reader down.  Whatever tension is happening–like when the killer is holding a gun on the amateur sleuth–fizzles when they start talking about why the villain killed the guy we tripped over at the beginning of the book.  When I watched the movie Kingsman: the Secret Service, I had to laugh when Samuel Jackson holds a gun on Colin Firth and says something like, “In a movie, this is where I’d explain everything I’ve done and why to you, but this ain’t that kind of movie, bro.”  And shoots him.  Dead.  Long explanations are sort of like long, extended death scenes where the dying man talks on and on.  It’s hard to suspend disbelief.

An author should do the work ahead of time so that everything’s in place for the good guy and the bad guy to clash for the final showdown.  And that showdown should be powerful enough to justify all the suffering the protagonist’s done leading up to it.  And the last scenes, after the showdown, should leave the reader satisfied that the protagonist got his happy ending (if you want a happy ending) or awful enough (if you’re going for not-so-happy endings).  I know that there are endings that leave readers hanging, to decide the outcome for themselves, but I’m not a fan of those.  They feel like a cop-out.  But to each, his own.  We all like different things.

 

Wow!

I wrote a blog earlier to post for this week.  I knew my brain would be dead today.  Holly (my daughter) came to stay with us last Sunday between jobs.  She’s a travelling nurse, and she wanted some time off before she started a new job in a new location.  We always love it when we can spend some time with her.  Then John’s brother, Jim, who lives in Oakland, CA., came to stay with us on Thursday.  On Friday, at noon, we picked up my sister, Mary, so that all of us could drive to Bloomington for my grandson’s graduation from college.  I can’t tell you how fast the four years he was at I.U. went.

The graduation was an event.  Ty’s recognition ceremony, from the School of Public and Environmental Affairs was on Friday night.  It was heart stopping to watch Ty cross the stage to be honored.  Getting up at five-thirty on Saturday in Indy to drive to Bloomington (which had NO hotel rooms, so many people flooded the city) was hard for someone like me, who’s a night owl, but we made it to the stadium by eight a.m. to get good seats.  Which was worth it.  Accidentally, and with good Karma, we were in seats directly in line with Ty’s row in the stadium.  After the ten a.m. ceremony, we met all of Ty’s friends and their families, and we all went out to eat.  We were dead by the time we got back to our hotel in Indy, but it was a happy tired.  We didn’t return home until this afternoon, a little shopworn for Mother’s Day.  But what a wonderful weekend!

Anyway, none of this makes you a better writer.  It does make you a happier person, but here’s the post I wrote ahead of time.  Happy Mother’s Day and Happy Writing!

Writing:  Everyone Needs a Friend

I’ve written a few different genres through the years.  Each one of them has a different focus.  Urban fantasy deals with good vs. evil.  The two duke it out, and if you want a happy ending, good wins.  In mysteries, the focus is on justice.  It prevails.  It might not always work that way in real life, but it does in a mystery.  The bad guy gets caught and pays for his sins.  Order is restored.  In romance, boy meets girl, everything goes wrong, but true love conquers all.

No matter what genre you write, the characters have to come to life.  The more real your characters, the more compelling your story.  We learn about our characters through their actions.  What people say and what they do are two different things.  A character might tell us he’s brave, but if he runs at the first sign of trouble, we don’t believe him.  He might tell us he’s a coward, but if he shakes in his boots, and still goes out to meet his biggest fear, we admire him.  So actions speak volumes.  Internal dialogue helps, too.  We get to share what the protagonist thinks and feels.  But to get the quirky dirt on the person you choose to follow through a novel, there’s nothing better than how he interacts with a friend.

A friend has stuck with you through thick and thin, when you’re at your best and at your worst.  He KNOWS you.  He knows that you douse your mashed potatoes with ketchup and think that’s gourmet.  He knows that you drank too much beer at your last birthday party and hugged the basketball post in your back yard until someone came to rescue you.  And he doesn’t care.  He loves you anyway.  And vice versa.

When I first started writing, I wrote mysteries, and someone gave me a list of all of the type of characters that a writer could draw upon.  The detective/crime solver.  The assistant.  Witnesses.  Suspects.  Killer/criminal.  Antagonist—anyone who gives the main character grief—like a journalist who disagrees with him, a cop who’s tired of him interfering, etc.  Romantic interest.  I think the list went on, but I don’t remember.  One of the main things I do remember, though, is the Confidante/friend.  That’s the person the protagonist talks to, bounces ideas off of, trusts.

I haven’t found one genre where a friend couldn’t add more depth to a protagonist.  A friend sees a side of him that few people are allowed to see.  Occasionally, a friend can become a pivotal person in a story.  He can tell the protagonist that he’s being an idiot and it’s time to get his crap together.  He can tell the protagonist things no one else would get away with.

When I start a novel, I always know who the protagonist will be.  I know if there will be a romantic interest (they’re pretty common), who the antagonist is, and I ALWAYS include a friend.  In my first romance, Grams was the voice of reason for Tessa.  She pushed and prodded Tessa, teased her, and was there for her.  In Love On Tap, my third romance, Tyne is always there for Paula.  And in the romance I’m working on now—my fourth, Miriam is there for Daphne.  And just like before, Miriam brings life to every page she walks on.

I’m writing a series, and Miriam is so much fun to write, that she’s going to be the main character in my fifth book.  She’s almost six-feet tall, thin, with tight, curly, brown hair, and an acid tongue.  I love her already.  I have no idea what I’m going to do with her yet, but she’s such a strong character, I know writing her journey will be fun.  I hope your characters come to life for you, and happy writing!