Recently I’ve been thinking about characters a lot because I’m about to start a new book. Over the years I’ve developed a way of fleshing out my characters that works for me. The first step is living with them inside my head for several weeks.
Now I can admit this to other writers because you’ll understand, but it’s not the sort of thing I tell my other friends and family. I can just imagine the way they’d look at me. Anyway, I invite my characters to come out and play, chat to me, tell me their fears. Tell me their names! Gradually I layer my characters inside my head until I’m ready to invite them out and start work on their story.

New Ellora’s Cave author Marilu Mann has a great blog post about adding layers to characters.

I’m not big on how-to books when it comes to writing, but I have a copy of Building Believable Characters by Marc McCutcheon that I’ve used so much it’s starting to fall apart. Here are several hints for improving character descriptions in your writing, taken from this book.

1. Whenever possible combine a physical description with some form of action.

Inactive: The woman had a slim frame.
Active: The woman’s slim frame shook with laughter as she bent down and tossed an oilskin bag of tea over her shoulder. (Christina Skye, The Black Rose)

2. Be specific, not general to give the reader a sharply defined picture.

General: The old witch had an ugly nose.
Specific: The old witch had a bulbous nose.

3. Avoid weighing down descriptions with too many adjectives. Think noun and verb first, adjectives second.

Adjective overload: She had beautiful, sensual, ruby red, Cupid’s bow lips that men found irresistible.
Less is more: She ran her tongue over moist, Cupid’s bow lips.

4. When appropriate, try to reveal some form of emotion behind your description.

Emotionless: Both men were squat and muscular and carried long blowguns.
Emotional: Both men were squat and muscular, both carried long and lethal-looking blowguns, and both looked extremely glum–bored or homicidal or maybe both.

How do you bring your characters to life? From a spark to a character that leaps off the page? What are your favorite ways to design characters?

Goodmorning Inkers!

I have some fabulous news to share with you all! I sold my Regency romance novella, Her Captain Returns, to The Wild Rose Press!

I am totally psyched about it! I’m not sure when it will be out, but I will keep you posted.

For now, here is a short blurb:

Miss Corinne Claymore, never knew what she was getting into with her innocent flirtations with Captain Ryder Montgomery, until scandal ensues and she finds herself not only married to Ryder but abandoned. After being gone for eight years on a secret mission for the Prince Regent, Ryder returns at hearing the news of his brothers death making Ryder the Earl of Stafford. His love and passion for Corinne have not waned, but she has changed much. Ryder must woo her back to him, sooth her fears of being abandoned again all while discovering how his brother died and who may be at fault.

And also because I’m totally excited, here is the link to see my author page on The Wild Rose Press website.

I hope you all have a fabulous day! Keep up the hard work. I’m telling you from personal experience that hard work, perseverance, research, participation, and having a dream is all you need! If you are really serious, it will happen.

And for all you readers out there, you’re one of the biggest reasons we write! I can’t wait to see what you think of Corinne and Ryder!

Cheers!

Eliza

Before I get started, I want to state up front that I’m not a Grammar Queen. I’m not sure I could diagram a sentence and sometimes I screw up my tenses. But I’ve got the basics down (I think, I hope) and I really hate it if I send an email or do a post with some blatant error in it. This usually occurs when I’m rushing and don’t proof.

This isn’t true of everyone. I think there are a good number of people out there who are either lacking in basic writing skills or just plain lazy. That’s why I’m bringing up my favorite wording pet peeves. And, I’d like you to chime in with yours. Because I’m sure that we share many of the common irritations. And it’s always fun to find common ground with new friends.

I’ll start with the BIG THREE:

1. Their, There and They’re. These have to be the most misused words in the English language.
2. Your, You’re- There are SIGNS for businesses that use this incorrectly.
3. Its and It’s- Knowing when to use which one is key.

Everyone who offers one pet wording peeve will be entered in a drawing to win a copy of When She Was Bad.

And, in case you’re interested, my current book, One Night Stand, takes up where When She Was Bad left off.

Rome wasn’t built in a day. It took a week to make the moon and the stars, the sun and the earth, and Jupiter and Mars. That either was accomplished demonstrates not only stamina, but also perseverance. Ok. God is God and could do anything, but civilizations are born of man. So if man can build empires, surely little ole me – or any one of us – can write a book amidst our busy lives, or make a quilt. Just pick whatever project(s) you have stored away for some day.

I am really good at starting a project, but for the love of doing so many interesting things, new projects come my way and I am attracted like a butterfly to a flower. But then a larger, prettier flower appears and the rest are ignored. Oh, I’ll finish them, eventually, you’ll see.

So I have eight shirts cut out to be sewn, a king-sized quilt to mend and a few afghans begun, oodles of fabric and yarn with which to sew and crochet. Then there are my literary works in progress, one of which is barely edited and up to 3000 words.

My therapist insists I procrastinate because I get something out of it. What something I don’t know, he keeps that part a secret. But his point isn’t lost on me. What reinforces that behavior? I have no clue, other than habit.

So break that habit. This would involve the Herculean task also known as time management. I poorly practice this craft. But time management, basically, is discipline. (And in my case, it’s a lack thereof) Anyone can do it, some more easily than others. I never used to iron my clothes for work. Shameful, I know. But, now, I’ve found I DO have the time and I iron every morning before work. How did I manage this? I got up 15 minutes earlier. I also could have had it done the night before. If I can change that little habit, anyone can take such baby steps to reorganize their life and persevere.

Once you get started, what keeps you going? What motivates you? The time management workshop at Romance Divas is excellent and talks about how to stay motivated. An external factor to remind you why you write, or even a whip-wielding, cheerleading friend to keep you on task, is a magnificent thing.

My husband keeps me motivated by reminding me that his quilt is still “missing.” And the joy of writing can lose its luster when life gets in the way. So think small. Every journey begins with a step. My goals – did I mention you have to set goals? – are to write articles first. These are small endeavors that can easily be completed. That is what keeps me going. I can say, “I finished it!” and that fulfills me, motivating me to do the next one. I think a lot of reason the flower fades is because we become over-ambitious and expect more of ourselves than is realistic. (ME!) Lofty aspirations and ambitions are WONDERFUL, but taking on way more than one should just opens the door to burnout or procrastination.

Tackle the tasks little by little and do not start all projects that come your way. Otherwise, it will lend itself to you not putting everything but one or two projects on hold. Hence, a project can be accomplished — you can gain a sense of completion. Now you can get fueled up for the next project!

So, lookie here! This article is done! Now, where is that quilt?

It’s Mother’s Day. I hope you spend a lovely day with your moms or your kids or your grandmothers. I’ll make this post short but not necessarily sweet. Lately, the mothers (and fathers) I read about in romance novels get a raw deal. A lot of them are just plain dead. If they’re alive, they are eeevil. It seems they’ve been designed so that the poor hero or heroine has an excuse for self-esteem and commitment issues because their parents are/were raging idiots.

Now, I took psychology classes in college. I was even engaged to a clinical psychologist for a while, but I wasn’t psychotic enough to sustain his interest. *g* Most of us have parent issues. But I’m getting a little tired of the cold and cruel  characters that keep popping up.

I’m just as guilty—two of my fictional mothers have been criminally negligent of their daughters. I just want to use this opportunity to say they aren’t based on my own life!

Tolstoy says in Anna Karenina, “All happy families resemble one another, but each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” Do you think writers use bad parenting as an easy plot device? Are you suspicious when you read about that elusive happy family?

Romance is not just around for our entertainment. Sure it gets you through the hard days when nothing goes right. And sure it helps you escape to a wonderful fantasy place. I won’t disagree with this, however, romance is also a big helper in charities.

Brenda Novak is hosting her annual  Juvenile Diabetes Research Charity Auction, which began May 1st and will end May 31st.

Romantic Inks has donated an E-book gift basket filled with the following:

A Passion Draconic and Waking the Shadows by Elisabeth Drake, Love Songs by MG Braden, Beowulf and Roxie by Marisa Chenery, Click by Toni Nichols, Fallen Snow Angel, Cade’s Thanksgiving and Bounty Hunter Beware by Cia Leah, and you’ll also receive a $50 gift certificate from Lindt Chocolate (yum!)

And I personally donated an item as well. But you know it’s not all about the donations, while there are some awesome items. It’s about the bidding!! Yup, those bids add up and an unconfirmed announcement said the total is just over $100,000 right now!

So while today’s topic isn’t really about how to improve your writing or my personal journey in the writing world, I thought it could be about how we (the Writers and Readers) can help a wonderful charity!

I do hope you’ll drop by and place a bid or two: Brenda Novak’s Juvenile Diabetes Research Charity Auction.

I’ve come to realize something. My writing habits are not really habits at all. They’re… progression in several directions.

I write when no one is home or after the men are asleep. It’s hard to write a good kiss, or something even hotter when the 6 yo ace reader is haunting my office. It’s really impossible from 6p until 9 or 10, which is when the man is watching television. Tonight’s movie choice: The Great Santini. He pulled me out of the office to watch some bit of the movie no less than five times. Some would call this a lack of respect for my writing time. It’s more his way to share the things he likes, because I’m really not a sit still and watch tv kind of person.
I write on more than one story at a time usually, and I read while I write. Literally. I’ll stop, save, and pick up the book on my desk just to switch gears. I don’t even restrict the genre. If I’m writing a vamp paranormal ( I am ) I let myself read one if that’s what I want. I’ve been lucky in that I haven’t mingled storylines or voice… yet. It’ll happen, but not tonight.

I also tend to have an IM going with someone I can buzz and ask a symantics question, or a plot plausibility question. I surf, I read blogs, and today I was comparing prices on readers. Something I’ve been doing for a while, hoping to find one at a really good deal. It hasn’t happened yet.

What does this mean?

These are some really bad “habits” considering. It almost sounds like ADD, except this cycle is repeated on an almost daily basis. Crazy as it sounds with no direction, it works. When I’m in a groove, I can get anywhere from 1-5K in a day. Even with this process. On days when I really work (ha!) I can do 5-10K. But I’m typically toast for a day or two after that kind of output.

So while this sounds helter-skelter and improbable to be productive, most days it can be for me. It’s really just the way the routine has fallen for me to do my writing.

I guess I’m stuck for the time being with some really bad writing habits.

Do you have bad writing habits or are they just the way the works for you? What kind of things do you do during your day that could be seen as a bad habit? Would changing it improve your productivity?

I can honestly say there isn’t much that I could change that would have a profound impact, simply because the entire cycle of my day revolves around other’s schedules. I think that alone has had the greatest impact on my habits and how they work for me.

Feel free to leave your pennies in the jar by the door.

I visited the Purple Hearts blog a few days ago, and Nancy Haddock was their special guest. Nancy’s post was about the road she’s traveled to become published. BTW - Nancy’s new release La Vida Vampire looks like a fun read.

The last part of her post made me think about writing the book of your heart and following the market. There’s no doubt about it - the road to publication and the subsequent hard work to stay published isn’t an easy one. We, as writers, need to write the very best book we can, yet it must be marketable. Sometimes the market is difficult to read. The books that editors are buying now won’t hit the shops for a while, and by the time they do, often the market is saturated with that particular genre of romance. Historicals are becoming more popular now, and I’ve heard murmuring that sci-fi is the new paranormal. Other people are saying erotic romance has done its dash.

I have an idea. I know it’s probably not a marketable story because it’s sci-fi, it’s light rather than the currently popular darker paranormals, and I have a yearning to write this story in first person. Three strikes, and I’m out. But the thing is - this story is calling me. I’ve been thinking about this story for three years, and after all that time, I still love the idea.

So my question to you is: do you write the book of your heart, even though you know it might not be your breakout book, or do you play it safe and write the story you know you have a good chance of selling?

Have you seen that commercial on tv, the guy is sitting at his desk doing nothing, and the phone rings.  He picks it up really fast and says “Busy!” then slams it down and continues staring at the wall.  A friend walks by and says hello, he turns to him and says “Can’t talk now! Busy busy bee!” 

It is a hysterical commercial!  But I sometimes feel like that.  I am constantly working, but not seeing much come out of it.  For example I clean my house like I have OCD and it is still a disaster!  Benefits of having kids I guess.  Or with my volunteer writing duties, I feel like as soon as I finish one another pops up.  With more and more duties I was piling on I noticed a decline in my writing time.  So I’ve stepped back from a few things, and finished up a few projects to allow more writing time. 

I just finished up coordinating a category for a contest, and today I will be starting another, and I also have some entries to judge from another contest.  While they can be crazy for a time, it slows down rather quickly too, and I don’t think I’ll do any more contest judging until next year.

I have a chapter newsletter to write, and my weekly blog on History Undressed to plan out and write.  In addition to that I am finally solely concentrating on the novel I’ve been editing for a year.  I am determined to get it finished up this month and sent out.

I started out 2008 with about 8 WIP’s.  I’ve sent in 3 already. and after I finish the above mentioned novel, I will only have 4 more to complete and send in. 

How are you all doing?  Are you busy bees?

One of the fun things about writing is that there is so much advice given, much of it conflicting. One thing I’ve learned though is there is no “right” way to write. You have to do what works for you.

I’m always struck by writers who say they never read in their genre when they are working on a manuscript, for fear of losing their own voice or inadvertently pinching an idea. How could I give up reading when I’m completely addicted?

Then, this happened to me on the very same day. I had slaved over a love scene for most of the week I was on vacation. My young couple just couldn’t seem to get it on, contrary to their raging teen hormones. At last they cooperated with me, and here is one line I wrote about their union: (warning, not precisely PG) The press of his shirt button on her bare breast had left an imperfect circle and he sealed the mark with his tongue.

I was so relieved to be done with this scene that I rewarded myself with Elizabeth Hoyt’s To Taste Temptation. Right there on page 232: She felt the press of the cold metal buttons of his waistcoat on her bare breasts as he leaned into her.

If anybody sees Elizabeth, tell her I wrote it before I read it!

I often come across names I’ve picked or scenes I’ve written that are identical to things in books. Has this happened to you? Do you avoid reading while you’re writing?