Booklist
In our writing TBR pile:
How to write a Damn Good Thriller (Status: Reading)
Creating Characters (Status: TBR)
Creating Characters: How to Build Story People (Status: TBR)
Author Offerings
Three women haunted by horrors from their pasts. Four men who want to show them there's Nothing to Fear by Lacey Savage
Dragon Slayer now available at Noble Romance Publishing
About Us
Award winning author Lacey Savage (AKA Hunter Raines) pens erotic tales of true love and mythical destiny, peopled with strong alpha heroes and feisty heroines.
Fiona Jayde is an author of kickass, action packed romances and when not plotting murder and mayhem enjoys steamy romance novels, sexy spy thrillers, murky mysteries and movies where things blow up.
We love to talk about writing! Here, we share the "nuggets" we've culled from our huge collections of writing books, and chat about what makes us want to roll our eyes or raise our eyebrows.
Interested in guest blogging on Tips and WIPs? Contact us!
Archive for the ‘Learn From The Pros’ Category
So apparently Holly Lisle (who offers writing courses and awesome writing how-to clinics) does regular free podcasts! I discovered them at Itunes and they are great:) There are also podscasts from The Writing Show, and all sorts of other interesting podcasts. I’m still trying to figure out how to get them onto my 2006 Ipod Shuffle, but that’s just me being a dork.
I also saw a couple of classes coming up in September which caught my eye:
Tech Tips for Busy Writer at the Writer’s U
Show Don’t Tell class at Yosamite RWA chapter
And I just discovered that you have a first chapter sent to your Kindle for free at Amazon! This is the biggest money saver ever – because I’m super picky lately about what I’m in the mood for:) (I swear I don’t get a commission from Amazon – but I do adore my Kindle!)
Now I have the daunting task of unpacking my books and getting my writing cave in order. Mucho fun!
Before I get into the review, I have to admit that I broke my goal of not buying more writing books until I read the ones already on my bookshelf. But the majority of my new acquisitions have to do with book marketing, a whole different topic, so they don’t really count… right? Right. Moving on.
Red Hot Internet Publicity is authored by Penny Sansevieri who runs Author Marketing Experts specializing in book marketing and promotion. The book deals with an extensive variety of topics from optimizing an author’s website, to developing a readership by creating a presence in various social media venues (twitter, facebook,et), and many other ways of achieving online exposure which could translate into sales figures.
I admit it… I picked up Thanks, But This Isn’t For Us: A (Sort Of) Compassionate Guide to Why Your Writing is Being Rejected, by Jessica Page Morrell, based on its awesome title and its clever cover. In case you can’t see it in the image, the cover looks like the first page of a manuscript, complete with coffee ring stain and corrected formatting errors.
The author is a freelance editor who specializes in helping authors polish their fiction and memoirs to perfection. She’s read every possible mistake an author can write, and in penning this book, she’s hoping she can help other writers avoid the most obvious of mistakes (and make her job easier, no doubt).
Although there was nothing earth-shattering here for a published author, it’s a wonderful reference guide for new writers. Here are some of my favorite quotes, so you can see what I mean:
Scenes expose your characters at their most vulnerable and often portray life-changing moments. (pg. 208)
Sometimes you might not fully understand what a scene’s “job” is in the story until you actually write it. Then you can edit and trim anything that confuses the reader and add elements to highlight that scene’s particular role in enhancing the whole story. (pg. 209)
The writer’s main responsibilities are to write a thick, juicy steak of a story, and make readers care, that is, bring us to tears or outrage or heart-thumping worry. (pg. 229)
If you’re writing fiction, be patient with the process. As in real life, it takes time to get to know a person and understand his emotional core. (pg.248)
Research is the most overlooked facet of writing a successful manuscript. Solid research creates genuine description and a credible story situation. (pg. 294)
What do you think of those quotes? Did any of them resonate with you?
It’s my father’s birthday today, and in between cooking a fabulous birthday meal, I finished reading BY CUNNING AND CRAFT, by Peter Selgin.
I never read anything without a highlighter by my side, so I thought I’d post a few of the items that struck me, in the hopes that they’ll help you, too. I wholeheartedly recommend getting the book, by the way. It’s a quick read, filled with a lot of insightful tips. What I liked the most was the fact that the author is known for his short stories, and so he focused on that aspect of the craft. I love writing short, but so often books on writing are about the novel, because let’s face it, the novel is still considered the end-all-and-be-all of literary works.
Ask yourself, What does the character want? and then How far is she willing to go to get it? If the answer to the latter question is, Not very far, then at least you know why you’re having trouble writing active scenes: A character who doesn’t want anything, or doesn’t want it badly enough, is not going to act. Give her the necessary motivation, situate her such that she doesn’t simply want the thing in question, but needs it to survive physically or emotionally, and your character will do things to show us, vividly, who she is. (pg.33)
Unless it really tells us something about the character, don’t record banal gestures. “She took a breath and exhaled,” tells me nothing about a character other than her respiratory system is functioning. Because they serve no purpose, such stage directions are intrusive. (pg.108)
Research just enough to feel competent at discussing your subject. You don’t need to be a brain surgeon to discuss brain surgery, only to sound like a brain surgeon. (pg.120)
We fiction writers don’t always know what we’re doing. Until we’re done we never have the whole picture, only parts of it. (pg.182)
Often our working titles supply us with our stories’ themes or make it clear that we don’t yet know what they are. (Which is why you should title your stories provisionally, even in the earliest stages of writing, since the effort will help you locate the story’s center.) (pg.188)
What do you think of these quotes? Did anything resonate with you? Anything you don’t agree with? Drop me a line in the comments, and let’s discuss!
I’m going to veer away from writing advice in this post, but I hope both published and aspiring authors will find something useful to take away from what’s to come.
Why Do Sales Matter, Anyway?
Image by: violet.blue
Maybe you read that heading and thought I was being facetious. I’m not.
A number of very good author friends received their royalty statements from various publishers over the past couple of days. Emotions have been running high, and emails have been flying. A few of my friends — published, successful, talented authors — have threatened to quit writing.
Why?
Because, frankly, their sales have stunk.
Now, let me make it clear that my friends all accept the fact that they’re not in this business to get rich. None of them believe they’re going to write the next Harry Potter and magically become wealthier than the Queen of England. It’s not going to happen. And that’s okay.
But sales matter for other reasons.
1. They provide validation.
As authors, we write when other people watch TV. When our families are out skiing, or having a picnic, or splashing around in the pool. We skip out on girls’ night out, on after-work gatherings, and holiday parties. And at some point, we ask ourselves, “Is it worth it?”
Opening an envelope with a royalty check provides some of that much-needed validation. It lets us know that yes, someone’s reading our stories. Someone other than our parents and our editors (bless them) stayed up late to devour a book we wrote. That’s a mighty good feeling.
2. They let us know we’re on the right track
I write in a variety of genres. (The reasons why are fodder for another post.) But some genres suit my storytelling abilities better than others. And for the most part, readers know this. A quick glance at my sales statement lets me know which books readers sought out this quarter. Of course, there are other elements at play — like the popularity of a genre, for example — but for the most part, authors do best when they’re true to their voice.
Can you imagine Janet Evanovich writing dark horror? I wonder what her royalty statements would look like if she tried.
3. They keep us going
I don’t mean just psychologically, here. Publishing is a business. If an author’s sales are good, that author’s likely to continue writing for her publisher. If sales aren’t quite that hot… well, doubt starts to set in. “Will I ever sell again?” “Will anyone want to buy what I wrote?” “Should I get a job flipping burgers, knowing it would pay better than writing?” (It does, too, in most cases.)
As any author can tell you, we’re a neurotic bunch. We seek external validation, partly because writing is such a solitary endeavor, and partly because, well, we’re needy creative types. Fan mail, a good review, a kind word from a critique partner — those are the things we treasure. But all those feel-good keepsakes go up in smoke the moment we open a royalty statement and realize the book we poured our heart and soul into, the one that had us up writing until 4:00 AM for six months, sold just enough to buy a Starbucks triple mocha latte. At that point we start to wonder, like my friends did…
Is it worth it?
Should I quit?
Most of the time, the answer is a resounding no. We write for many reasons, and the need to tell a damn good story doesn’t vanish because our last damn good story didn’t sell well. We might even be able to put the sales numbers out of our heads and return to our keyboards to tackle the next book demanding to be told.
And we’ll be happy. Until the next royalty check lands in our mailbox, and we start fretting all over again.
Whoever told you being a published author was easy… lied.
There are a few writing books which should be on every writer’s bookshelf, regardless of genre. Books like GMC – Goal, Motivation & Conflict by Debra Dixon or Techniques of the Selling Writer by Dwight Swain.
The section will list books that are not only on our keeper shelves but under our elbows as we write – books that make our eyes go wide and light bulbs flash over our heads.
Got a book that changed your writing life? Let us know – we’re always happy to expand our TBR piles!
Recent Comments