Judith Post's Blog, page 109
February 22, 2016
Chapter 21 is up
Chapter 21’s up–I got antsy, couldn’t wait–in the left hand column under River City Rumble. Hope you like it. http://www.judithpostswritingmusings....
February 20, 2016
I should never read Elizabeth George
Okay, everyone knows that writers need to read. We learn. We grow. We re-energize. We learn markets. We internalize rhythms, techniques. But there are some authors I should just stay away from. And Elizabeth George is one of them. I asked for a banquet of consequences for Christmas. My sister bought it for me, but I was so swamped with manuscripts, I couldn’t get to it. My good writing friend, Paula, read it and loved it. We both appreciate Elizabeth George’s depth and language, her layers and nuances. This last week, I finally got to start the book. Poor me.
Elizabeth George makes me feel like I should sit in a corner and suck my thumb with a dunce hat on. She makes me feel juvenile and inadequate, and I love her for it! Every time I read her, she makes me want to strive harder, to show, not tell, to use small scenes to create big emotions. She has a way of developing fully realized characters with strokes of dialogue, small gestures, telling details. Sigh. It’s a good thing she takes a long time between books, or else my ego might not survive. She writes mysteries, but I consider her more of a literary writer. The story’s characters outweigh the clues. To be honest, I loved her early books, studied A Great Deliverance because I thought it was near-perfect, then had a rocky time for a few of her last books, but with this one, I’m back in reading Nirvana.
I feel the same way when I read a Patricia Briggs’ Mercy Thompson novel. Briggs writes urban fantasy–and who knew a writer could make that almost literary? But for me, she pulls it off. Yes, there are battles, struggles, and plenty of mythology. But once again, Briggs’s use of language and her emphasis on characterization lift urban fantasy into literary status. Everyone has their own likes/dislikes. And I usually avoid literary with a vengeance, but when an author can combine the two–boy, am I impressed!
I hope your favorite authors never disappoint and always inspire you! Happy Reading! And as always, happy writing!
February 19, 2016
Chapter 20’s up
I’ve never tried writing a serial novel before, posting chapter by chapter. Every book, no matter what you write, is divided into scenes and chapters, and each of them has to have a goal and some kind of tension. And most writers try to end a scene or chapter with some kind of a hook so that you’re tempted to read the next page. I’m not a big fan of cliff hangers, so I prefer hooks that plant a question in your mind so that you have to keep reading to find the answer to that question, which of course, leads to another one. But I don’t like endings that leave you dangling. Lots of people do, though. Look at how successful Karen Marie Moning’s FEVER series is. Anyway, it’s been fun writing chapters that, hopefully, pull you in and then make you want more when they end. I never intended for River City Rumble to be a long novel, only a short one. So things are starting to wind up. When I finally post the last chapter, I’m going to leave the entire story on my webpage for a couple of weeks, and then I’m taking the whole thing down to smooth into a short novel I can put on Amazon. I hope you’ve enjoyed it. I have. You can find Chapter 20 under the River City Rumble tab.
February 17, 2016
A first for me!
I can’t help feeling pretty excited. For the first time ever, I’m going to have a book availabe from NetGalley. Kensington is listing COOKING UP TROUBLE there for reviewers to request. Awesome!
“Reviewers! COOKING UP TROUBLE is now available on NetGalley so request a copy here for your chance to review it early:https://s2.netgalley.com/publisher/title/83117
February 13, 2016
A nose ring? Who knew?
It’s been interesting how people have reacted to my romances. I’ve read a couple of chapters to my writers’ group–Summit City Scribes. And I sent the finished manuscripts to my critique partners and both of my daughters, Holly and Robyn, and to the girl who grew up across the street from us. Heidi is Holly’s BFF, and spent a lot of time at our house. We call her our “adopted” daughter, because we think of her as part of our family.
When I used to read my urban fantasies to Scribes, I got really mixed reactions. The comments always started with “I don’t read this, but….”–which is fair, because a writer should know that a reader doesn’t know his/her genre. Comments can be very genre specific. My friend, Julia Donner–whose Regencies I madly love–used to get an abundance of feedback about “Why do you use so much description? You describe the room, what the people wear–in detail. You even mention buttons and hose.” She’d grin and say, “That’s part of writing a Regency. The stories are as much about social mannerisms and soirees as the romance between the protagonists.” I thought when I shifted to romance, I’d fit into what people in my group read more. The joke was on me. When I read for my fifteen minutes, and we started around the table for critiques, almost every single person said, “I never read romance, but…” Kathy Palm, another writer in our group who writes fantasy and horror asked, “Is there kissing?” Lol. She’d rather have someone mutilated.
My group might not read either urban fantasy or romance, but I still get great feedback–when I tell instead of show, when I should use more dialogue, discussions about word choice, repetition, using action tags that aren’t haggard, more internal dialogue, more emotion, etc. I always come away a better writer when I read at Scribes. It’s especially fun when people react strongly to something I purposely added because I thought it was clever. I love raw, gut reactions, and I’ve gotten more of those for my romances than I expected. For instance, in my second romance, Opposites Distract, I wanted to introduce a character whom I could feature in my third romance. I wanted a heroine who wasn’t the typical pretty girl. Paula’s a chef whose husband died overseas in the military. She has two young kids, and she’s Goth.
The Goth part got me in trouble. My writer friends shrugged and said since she was from New York, they could buy into the penchant for black. They could even overlook the stud in her cheek. But a nose ring? Oh, lord. Who knew that a nose ring could get me in so much trouble! They liked Paula. They just didn’t like the nose ring. “She’s a chef. It has to go.” I held off on changing it for a while, and then decided what the heck? In the big scheme of things, the ring could move to her eyebrow and still make the statement I intended it to.
My second surprise came when both my daughter Robyn and our “adopted” daughter Heidi called me to say they wanted to hit Brody in the head with a two-by-four in the beginning of Opposites Distract. A few other people had read that manuscript, too, and they especially loved Brody, but he starts out opinionated and a little on the bossy side. He’s a big, bad brooding hulk who takes responsibility too seriously. That endeared him to some. Not to Robyn and Heidi. Both of those girls are Leos–independent and outspoken. Brody might not live if he tried to bully them:)
Anyway, it’s been interesting how readers have reacted to the male/female couples in my romances. I should have expected stronger opinions, I guess, since romances are character driven stories. I didn’t see that coming, but it’s been a pleasant surprise.
And since I’m talking about romance–happy Valentine’s Day 2016!
My webpage: http://www.judithpostswritingmusings.... (BTW, there are three short Mill Pond romances at the end of the left column of free, short stories).
Author Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/JudithPostsu...
@judypost on twitter
February 11, 2016
Chapter 19’s Up
Oh, Damek–the hot (literally), sexy incubus! He loves his luxuries, but he loves Hennie more. Can he help it that Jacinta finds him tempting? Wouldn’t any woman? Chapter 19’s on my webpage. http://www.judithpostswritingmusings....
February 6, 2016
Writing Feedback
Right after I first dipped my toes into the world of fiction, I was lucky enough to find a good writers’ group. I wasn’t all that serious back then, but a lot of writers who came to Scribes were. They pushed and prodded me into writing more than I’d intended and into sending things out when I was happy to toss them in a drawer. They forced me to grow.
They invited me to go to writers’ conferences with them, and that was a real eye-opener. Attending panels at a conference expanded my vision. Writing was a career for the authors who lectured us. They were professionals–writing was a business. I’d never seen it as that. They talked markets and publishers, bestsellers and mid-list fiction. They discussed how publishing was changing. Big publishers were gobbling up little publishers, and they warned that writers would feel the pinch. I listened and soaked it all up, but I didn’t see the big picture. I was too naive.
After I placed short stories in several anthologies and in Alfred Hitchcock’s mystery magazine and Ellery Queen, I was one of the writers on conference panels. And I felt outclassed again. I could talk “how to” for writing, but I still didn’t know much about selling and publishing. Even when it came to writing, there’s nothing more humbling than to have people raise their hands and ask questions when the answers, for me, were nebulous, at best, and when the writers on either side of me could prattle off answers faster than my brain could process them. At one mystery conference, I sat on a panel with Charlaine Harris and Carolyn Hart to discuss short story writing. I mean, really.
At home, at Scribes, some of the writers were so far ahead of me, I dreaded it when it was my turn to read at our meetings. We met, and still do, every second and fourth Wednesday from noon to two. Two writers and an alternate (who sometimes we get to, and sometimes we don’t–depending on how wound up we get over critiques when we go around the table) share their work with us. Each writer gets fifteen minutes to read. After the first reader finishes, we go around the table to discuss what we thought was really good about the piece and what might make it better. We stay supportive and positive, but we still lose people. And I understand that. It’s hard to listen to critiques.
We finally had to make a rule that the reader can’t comment on what people say until we’ve circled the entire table, and then it’s his/her turn to talk. We made that rule for a reason. First, most writers feel the need to explain why they wrote a scene the way they chose to. They can’t help it. They’re attached to the pages they wrote. They’re attached to the story, the characters, their baby. Even when we have almost all good things to say about it, the things we pick at rankle. It’s like having someone walk up to you and say, “Cute kid, except for that wart on his nose.” The flaw stands out. It makes writers defensive.
Even writers who SAY that they want lots of feedback, that they don’t want only praise, that they want us to FIND something that they can make better.. crumple for a bit. I love criticism. I want my friends to find my screw-ups before I print them. I’m fine when those comments are on paper, and I can read through the scribbles of red ink and consider them without pressure. But my first reaction, almost always, when the critique is vocial, is to get defensive. It feels more threatening somehow, major instead of minor. I’ve learned that about myself, but I’m not the only one. I watch it over and over again at Scribes. So now, I just listen and nod and thank people for their feedback, then go home and give myself a few days to filter it all. Then, I can appreciate what my writer friends were telling me. That doesn’t mean I always agree with them, but I’m glad they gave me something to consider.
Over the years, I’ve learned a lot by listening to the critiques of my work and others’ at Scribes. I’ve watched people who fold under the feedback and never come back. And I’ve watched writers who listen to every single comment, then change their manuscript to try to please everyone. Some waffle so often, they never finish a book, or else they water it down so much, it’s a weak effort when it’s finished. It’s impossible to please everyone. If you do, something’s wrong. I’ve also watched writers who nod and then never change anything. Those writers are interesting. They dig in, tell us that they like their manuscript the way it is, and then write what they please. And sometimes, that works. Sometimes, it doesn’t. But it’s taught me that being defensive is all right, to a point. A writer needs to find balance. He needs to be flexible enough to listen to and consider criticism, but also to have the confidence to believe in himself.
Hope you’ve found your balance, and happy writing!
https://www.facebook.com/JudithPostsurbanfantasy/
February 4, 2016
Happy Dance!
COOKING UP TROUBLE, by Judi Lynn (me:)–is available for pre-order on amazon now, but even better–OPPOSITES DISTRACT, which comes out in July, is online now, too. So both covers are up! Yay! (P.S. Babet & Prosper’s chapter 18 just went on my webpage).
The link for COOKING UP TROUBLE: http://amzn.to/1mh92ra
January 30, 2016
How much do characters change?
I finally finished my third romance and sent it off to my editor at Kensington. It took me longer than usual. My grandson moved in with us for a while, stayed long enough to figure out what he wanted to do next, and then moved out. The holidays came and went, and so did visitors. I wrote, but sporadically. And then I reached the final stretch and pounded out words. My critique partners, bless them, sped through my draft so that I’d have plenty of time to do rewrites. And I sent the novel off into the cold, cruel world on Friday, ahead of my Feb. 15 deadline.
This romance has a bigger cast of characters than my last ones. First off, my editor asked if I’d try for a longer book, closer to 70,000 words than 60,000. Secondly, I wanted to have more men to juggle for Paula, lucky girl. And third, I wanted an extra subplot since I was writing longer this time. I’m not a big fan of love triangles, so I wanted to make sure my novel didn’t have that feel, even with three men in the story. My editor e-mailed that he probably wouldn’t get to Love on Tap (the current title–but that can always change) until the end of February, so I won’t know if everything worked or not for a while. But at the moment, I’m pushing it all out of my mind. I’m ready to move on.
The thing is, I see-sawed back and forth on one of my characters. I wanted Paula to be attracted to him, but I wanted the reader to know he wasn’t the right guy. If I made his flaws too obvious, then readers would wonder why Paula was interested in him at all. As my writer friend put it, “It makes Paula look stupid if she’s attracted to a jerk.” Okay, I get that. So I needed Mr. Wrong to be appealing, in some way, to her. I toned down his flaws to the point that I started to like him. Not as much as Paula’s real love interest, but enough that I didn’t want the story to end badly for him.
And that brings me to one of my flaws. I tend to like most people, to see their potential, what’s good in them. It’s rare that I meet someone and instantly dislike him/her. Another writer friend teases me that it’s hard for me to be mean to my characters. They might go through rough patches, but I want things to end well for them. So, I wanted Mr. Wrong to change, to grow, and find a not-as-wonderful, but good-enough happy ending of his own. And I wrote it that way. But it didn’t work. Because when I looked at the story, his character had changed too fast. He couldn’t cover that much ground in such a short time. Don’t get me wrong. I think that people can change. I think it’s hard, but it’s possible. I think Life buffets us around and makes us change. But it takes times…and work..and usually some unpleasantness. Mr. Wrong wasn’t ready yet. So, unfortunately for him, he ended up in a messy transition instead of a sort-of-happily-ever-after.
I know that characters need to change from the beginning of a book to its end. But how much? How much change is realistic? And what does the character have to endure to force those changes?
Good luck with whatever you’re writing! And keep your characters your real:)
P.S. I’ve posted links from Les Edgerton in my blog before, but he gave a speech for the Oklahoma Writers Association that’s pretty useful for writers: http://lesedgertononwriting.blogspot....
His link on outlining: http://lesedgertononwriting.blogspot....
And if you’re interested, Kensington is offering a contest for readers to win my first romance, COOKING UP TROUBLE, by Judi Lynn (my pen name for romance): https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sh...
January 28, 2016
Chapter 17’s up
This is a short chapter, but Hatchet’s not the type of guy who messes around. When Zanor pushes him, Hatchet pushes back. And Druids know how to play rough.
http://www.judithpostswritingmusings.com/
