GENREALITY

I sometimes wonder if I didn’t get into the world of fiction because of curiosity. I mean, I know the story of how all this craziness began. I tripped at a party and embarrassed the hell out of myself. Ran to a corner where friend stood to hide and we started talking about books. At some point in the conversation she said, “You should write a romance novel.” I don’t even remember in what context that was, but that germ of an idea stuck in my head.

When I came home I was curious to see if I could do it. I’d written the biography “Joss Whedon: The Genius Behind Buffy.” Actually, I’d written the guts, my publisher Glenn Yeffeth made it real book. I’d been curious to see if I could pull that off too. I honestly didn’t know when I began these projects if I could do them.

But I’m the kind of person who likes to accept almost any opportunity that comes her way, especially when it comes to books. Back to that first story… I came home and for the next two weeks I spent every hour I wasn’t working on the day job or taking care of two young boys, working on that book.

I remember the moment when I realized I’d found my “real” dream job. I’d written a scene where the lead wasn’t sure what to do about the man in her life. She cared for him, but didn’t think he would ever really understand what she was. My eyes teared and I typed and a lump formed in my throat. Everything in that scene felt so real. That’s when I knew I wanted to write fiction.

If I hadn’t let my curiosity take over, I might never have discovered this love for writing fiction. Sure, some days I might wish I hadn’t, especially the ones where I get 20 hours of sleep over a five-day period. But for the most part I love what I do. Taking that leap of faith is one of best things I’ve ever done for myself.

The same sort of thing happened with moving to Harlequin. I’d been friends with editor Kathryn Lye for years. She is just one of those people I adore. During RWA (The big convention for romance writers) we usually try to get together. Sometimes we’d watch new pilots so she could see trends. Other times we’d talk about everything from books to life as we know it.

A few summers ago we were in San Francisco and had breakfast. Once again we were talking about everything and nothing. I’m not sure how the subject came up, but she asked me what I was working on next. I told her I was in the mood to do something different. I wanted to do a spy version of “Women’s Murder Club.” It was an idea that had been mulling around in my head for a long time.

She said that would be the perfect sort of thing for Blaze and that I should consider writing for them. I was shocked. I’d never even thought about it, but I would have give anything to work with her. (She’s a phenomenal editor and I’ve already learned so much from her.) Several months later I was writing “Take Me if You Dare” for Harlequin. It’s one of the best things I’ve ever done.

There were challenges again. I’d never written third person. I’d never been in a guy’s head for POV. I’d never written a book without magic of some kind. I was CURIOUS to see if  I could even do it.

As a writer it’s important to challenge yourself and dive into new things. It’s good to be curious and to accept opportunities when they come your way. I have this saying, “Throw yourself out there and see what happens. You never know what’s going to work.”

I’m curious if there was ever a time when you took a leap of faith and it worked out? Tell me about it, I really want to know.

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I want to begin with a disclaimer. This is a blog about breaking rules – sometimes. But you can only break those rules if you know what they are. Please do not take what I’m about to say as something you should “always” do. Use only when necessary.

I’ve been judging a great many contests lately. Most of these are for new writers and the No. 1, problem I see is their stories are full of telling instead of showing. That and they almost always load up those first chapters with backstory they don’t need. But backstory is a topic for another day.

As you know, it is always better to show, rather than tell a story. Showing gives the author an opportunity to bring the reader in by showing the characters in action. Henry James called this dramatizing. According to Wikipedia Janet Evanovich says, “It is the difference between actors acting out an event and the lone playwright standing on a bare stage recounting the event to the audience.”

All of this is true. It’s difficult to engage the reader and get them invested in your characters if you don’t show the action. We need to feel like we are there and showing us through the actions and dialogue is the way to do it.

BUT there are times when telling is necessary. If you always “Show” your story, first you will have a tremendously long book. Second you’re going to have a lot of problems with pacing. When you show a story, it takes many more words to do so. When you do that all the time, it can bog down the prose and create a snail’s pace.

How many times have you read a book and thought, “Just get on with it.” You know those pages you skip and skip to get to the heart of what the author is trying to say? That’s where a little telling would come in handy.

In that same Wikipedia article it has a quote from James Scott Bell that says a writer “tells” as a shortcut in order to get to the meaty part of the scene. “Showing is essentially about making scenes vivid,” says Bell. “If you try to do it constantly, the parts that are supposed to stand out won’t, and your readers will get exhausted.”

If you’re writing literary fiction, show all you want. But if you want to be successful with commercial fiction you need to find the right balance of showing and telling. People tell me all the time my books are fast reads. I honestly do more telling than I should, but I like books that have a fast pace. I’m also not a big fan of using a great deal of description, which is required with showing.

The thing to watch out for when you use  “telling” is that you don’t end up with: and then this happened, and then that happened and then…

As Bell says, you want those big dramatic scenes to mean something and that can’t happen if you are telling the reader about the event, rather than showing.

My point, and I really do have one, is that you have to find out what works best for the book/scene you are writing. I’m working on a scene where a character has to travel from one place to another. The journey isn’t what is important, it’s the confrontation when she gets there. If I show that journey, it’s going to take forever to get to the heart of the scene. We need to know that she’s gone from point A to point B, and that’s she’s nervous, but I can tell the point A to point B part, and show just a bit that she’s nervous. Then Pow! I hit you with the confrontation.

I’ve seen some really talented writers use too much showing, which bogged down their books to the point where I wanted to throw it across the room. I can be on page 75 and still not know what the hell kind of story I’m reading. It’s frustrating. But as I said before, I prefer books with a good, brisk pace.

I remember years ago I was in a class at a conference where an author was teaching the difference between showing and telling. He read one scene where he used “telling” and then he read it again where he used “showing.” He insisted the second one was better, but it wasn’t. It was a transition from one scene to the next, and it didn’t need all the showing.

I only want new writers to know, that yes, showing is important. But it isn’t always the best way to write a story. There are times when a little telling comes in handy.

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I don’t care what kind of book you write, if you don’t have engaging characters readers will only hang around for so long. There are those who believe plot is equally important, but I disagree. I’ve read books with inane plots that made no sense, and still I hung in there because I fell for the characters. On the other hand, if I can’t connect with the characters, I’ll never finish the book.

My books usually start with the idea of a couple of characters and then I weave the story around them. I honestly don’t do a lot of research about my characters. I discover them as the story unfolds, in much the same way the reader does. That first draft is always exciting because even though I have a general idea of who/whom my characters are, they always end up surprising me.

I’m writing this blog today because I just fell for my hero in my current WIP in a very big way. He’s so much more kind-hearted than I ever imagined. And he loves the heroine beyond the beyond, of course he can’t tell her that. He’s a manly man, and even he is shocked by how much he cares for this woman.

What seals it is the heroine isn’t the easiest person to love. She’s closed off emotionally and extremely protective of her heart. She likes things a certain way and prefers order over chaos. Though when she’s with the hero everything is thrown off balance.

They’re both strong people, which makes the sparks fly when they do come together. And chemistry is a huge part of what does or doesn’t make a character work. I see it all the time in film and television. There’s a couple on screen who just doesn’t connect. They go through the motions, but the emotions and chemistry are not there. That happens in books too.

There’s a reason why the majority of women who read Jane Austin’s  Pride and Prejudice fall for Mr. Darcy. Sure he seems like a snob at the beginning, but he’s handsome and we get the feeling there’s more to him than meets the eye.

That’s what writers must do if they want to make a character interesting. It isn’t something you hit the reader over the head with and say, “look my hero is a really good guy.” You do it subtly so that your reader falls for him around the same time your heroine does.

But it doesn’t have to just be with the romantic characters. Chemistry is an important part of all relationships. There’s a new show coming on FX called Terrirers. It’s about a PI and his best friend who solve cases. It stars Donal Logue and Michael Raymond-James as the best pals.

When I had a chance to talk to them a few weeks ago, I mentioned their chemistry. Turns out they’d known each other for some time, and they even lived together while making the show. They’re best friends in real life too, which comes across on screen.

Those secondary characters in our books deserve just as much attention when it comes to creating the chemistry they have with those around them. When I was working on the Bronwyn books, I had to make sure all those secondary characters were just as emotionally deep and fleshed out, as she was. Same with the Caruthers sisters and in my new Blazes. Many times those secondary characters get their own books, so it’s important that I create that chemistry with the reader from the beginning.

So how about you? Do you have characters who stand out for you in books, television or film? Tell us why.

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My friend Britta Coleman (Potter Springs) teaches a class called The Art of Re-Writing. I call my class Revision Hell. I suppose it’s a bit of perspective when it comes to writing. She’s one of those people who doesn’t mind how long it takes to make a book perfect. I just want to get it done. Once I’ve written that first draft, I’m pretty much ready to move on. That may be why, even though I write fast, I also write tight that first time.

That’s not to say I don’t have to go back and fluff and puff, as I like to call it. In my revisions I usually need to flesh out scenes and characters a little more. I add texture to those scenes by using the senses more. I also search for those words I use too much and I look for any inconsistencies in my characters.

In truth there are about 30 different things I’m looking for when I go through revisions from bunny trails (going off in strange directions and not bringing it back to the story) to nice nice (a conversation where nothing is moving the story forward). Revisions are a daunting task for me, which is why I take them in small bites. I usually focus on just 20 pages a day as I look for all those things, and in about two weeks I have polished manuscript ready to go.

But that’s my process. You may go about it in a different way. That’s the cool thing, there’s no right or wrong way. Wait, there is a wrong way: If you don’t do them at all.

We say you should write at least a little bit each day, and I find that with revisions too. It just makes it easier to take small patches and clean them up, rather than trying to plow through the whole thing. There are time when I do closer to 50 – 100 pages of revisions in a day when I’m on deadline, but I try to make myself stop somewhere between 20-30 at the most. I know I get tired and careless after that. Though, I do find I can do 25 pages in the morning, take a long break, and do another 25 at night without killing myself.

In truth, I love spending more time with my characters, I just don’t like having to make sure everything is polished. But I do, of course. I have some published writer friends who turn in very rough drafts to their editors. That isn’t for me. I always worry the editor will wonder, “What was she thinking?” Those writers tell me they know there are going to be revisions so why worry about it. I want to make the editors job as easy as possible so she will love me.

Like I said, turning in something really rough is not for me. During the three revisions I made myself do on the YA before turning it over to my agent, I added over 75 pages. My last Blaze I wrote, She Who Dares, Wins, I added more than 30 pages. Like I said, I have a lot of fluff and puff to do after that first draft.

There are also people who revise as they go along. I understand they want a really clean first draft, but it doesn’t work for me. I don’t want that internal editor in my creative process. That IE can make me second guess myself and there’s a good chance I would never finish a book if I did that. And honestly, I think these people are fooling themselves. Most writers don’t know how to perfect those early chapters until they finish their books. And many of them still end up doing at least one pass on revisions.

Everyone has their way of working and as I said before no one way is right. But psychologically I know it’s best to take big jobs a little at a time. You know that horrible saying, “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time?” It’s true.

So how do you handle tough tasks? Do you barge right in and hope for the best? Do you do the hard stuff first and then the easy?

Tell me, I really want to know.

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*** this is a repost from Candace’s post, to correct an error in the comments***

People keep asking me where I get my ideas for books. The truth is, I have no idea. One day I’m driving along, taking a shower, pulling my luggage of a carousel at an airport or sitting at my desk, and then boom some person is talking in my head and having a conversation. And it’s not me, or my subconscious, I know us both well. No, these are strangers who want to tell me a story.

Don’t send in the guys with the white coats just yet.

I’ve learned through the years that this is my creative process – part of the magic that helps me when I have no idea what to write next. My books begin with the characters and then I wrap the story around them. I don’t usually know much about them in the beginning, but I love discovering what they are about as we go along.

I learn these things on a need to know basis. As the story reveals itself, so do these characters and many times in the most interesting ways. I was so surprised when I learned the heroine, Gillian, of “The Demon King and I” was the CEO of her family’s company, as well as the owner of several art galleries around the world. She found such pleasure in art and it was something she was incredibly passionate about. It carried over into other parts of her life whether she was dealing with demons, or trying to solve a murder mystery. Art is a big part of who she is.

The art parts (that’s so much fun to say) are small tidbits throughout the book, but they help define who Gillian is. They show a softer more vulnerable side of her. I was also surprised to see how she interacts with her sisters. I never had siblings growing up and she had this bond with the women in her family that absolutely fascinated me. The little nuances, pet names, rivalries, Gillian shared these things as her story revealed itself.

The funny thing is, not every conversation these characters have in my head ends up in the book. I’ll be driving along listening to my favorite tunes, and Arath (that’s Gillian’s love interesting in the book, and he’s the Demon King) starts talking to Gillian about his brother and those familial ties. For the two hours I was stuck in traffic they had this discussion about family. None of that ended up in the book, but Arath revealed something to me that did. I can’t tell you because it’s a major plot point in the book. I had no idea he felt that way, and it made him more human to me.

There are people who sit down and must know everything about their characters before they begin writing. They even make note cards. I’ve nothing against other peoples’ process, but that would drive me crazy.  I usually know their names, but even that can change. But there is one thing in the beginning that I know, and it might help others to do the same. I know why I want to take this journey with this character. There’s a reason I’m climbing on board the Gillian train, so to speak, and she usually tells me right up front what that is.

When I finish that first draft I really do feel like I’ve been on an amazing journey. As I go back do my fluff and puff (revisions) I learn even more about the characters I’ve written and they continue to have conversations in my head. Sometimes I wish they’d go to sleep, and leave me alone. But then that’s part of the magic, and I really can’t wait to see what they do next.

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