H is HEA

This entry is going to be late because Photoshop is giving me grief.   Yes, I’m being polite and refraining from uttering anything unladylike while I’m quietly cursing under my breath.  It wouldn’t let me draw a line, for pity's sake!  

            I know.  Through the immense frustration I did learn something, however: how to use a digital pencil.  And therefore I've made my own happy ending—which happens to be our H.  Woot! 

Way to segway into our topic, right?   (Yay, me.)

            For anyone who is not familiar with the acronym, HEA stands for Happily Ever After.  A.K.A: The big finale of the story, the riding off into the sunset, the setting sail together on a placid sea, the eternal kiss that cues the end credits...

              And in that everlasting end scene the hero and heroine get to keep their peace forever.  The HEA is the best because unlike real life, it is assured that all obstacles will be overcome in the end.  The couple’s future is eternally preserved, like a picture or a painting.  

Or as I’ve always thought of it, like a plateau.

            In real life people work hard, going up against challenges at numerous times in their lives, each major event a climb before they reach a period of rest and reward for their efforts.

            In books, the HEA is usually the only plateau.  Readers accompany the hero and heroine on one journey, experience one period of major conflict, making the conclusion of the characters adventure more monumental.

“The End” truly marks it as your dramatic time with those characters comes to a close.

              That said here are a few things I think make a solid HEA.

·        With couples, it's good to let the unfolding connection between them be a part of their happy ending.  A story where one character brings out the best in the other always strikes me as superlative.  It’s moving to watch the heroine grow to trust her man and I absolutely love it when the hero brings out something dormant and sassy in his girl.  With character development like that, you know that the happiness will be there well after the screen fades to black. 

·        Let the ending fit the characters and don’t leave anyone out.  I know I write romance, but it's important to not forget about my hero.  Look to find a HEA that benefits all involved, and don't make it too "girls only" in the end. 

·        Strive to make your HEA worth the fight.  The ending’s importance is developed throughout the conflict, but if the ultimate reward is weak or not worth suffering for, why should your characters bother?

·        Be original.  That sunset is at full capacity now.  In what ways can you shake up the traditional HEA?  What ending can you create that is uniquely special? 

Wrapping up I wish I could leave you with a dynamic ending of my own, but let's face it - I just learned how to draw a line.  That can stand as my big accomplishment for the evening.

But I do have another letter waiting for you if you come back tomorrow: 

I is for Imagery.   Hope to see you then!

-         SNG

G is for GENRE

The plan is to make this another short but sweet one.   G is for Genre.

In one of my earlier blog entries, Square Pegs and Round Holes, I talked a little bit about the sub-genre categorization system in fiction.  Today I wanted to touch on the larger, more main header of Genre itself, all observations made here being my personal interpretation, of course. Because with the technology of online tagging and the other more formal filing systems out there, categories can be broken down to pretty diminutive levels, so in reality it is much more complex. We're keeping it simple in order to see how it works. 

 And my basic take on the system is this.  Like a funnel, a story is labeled through a series of categories, genre being the second largest classification under fiction.

 A few main genre divisions include:

            ·         Action/Adventure                        

·         Chick Lit

·         Children’s

·         Commercial Fiction

·         Contemporary

·         Crime

·         Fantasy

·         Graphic Novels

·         Historical Fiction

·         Horror

·         Literary Fiction

·         Mystery

·         Thriller Suspense

·         Romance

·         Science Fiction

·         Spiritual/Religious

·         Young Adult

From what I understand, genre is determined by the book's primary story line, and one of the most distinctive features of a best-selling novel is an unconventional, yet convincing plot.  Never before seen concepts that push the envelope in fiction make a book stand out (i.e. JURASSIC PARK by Michael Crichton, THE DA VINCI CODE by Dan Brown, THE GODFATHER by Mario Puzo).  But while this fiction really pops, it also bridges categories of genre.  From the example list alone, a reader can ask the questions: Is THE DA VINCI CODE considered Historical Fiction?  Thriller/Suspense?  Spiritual?  What's THE GODFATHER's official category - Drama or Crime Fiction?


As a writer you may get caught up in where your story belongs.  I’ve heard many editors and publishers say the same thing, don’t worry what shelf your work is going end up on until after you’ve finished your manuscript.

And while I write for the genre of Romance, I do also read a lot of Young Adult, traditional literature, Thriller and Fantasy.  And through my reading I've observed that no single label for genre is ever exact.  In the last few years I've come across a multitude of books that are a variance of more than one genre. 

 I’ve read YA with plots involving the adult themes of Gladiator-esque death competition and others that condone teen pregnancy with a vampire.  And yet they passed the test to be deemed suitable for readers aged 12 and older.  There are Paranormal Romances out there that can easily be Thriller or even Horror in some areas, Fantasy whose subtext alone could effectively rework national governments (LORD OF THE RINGS), but regardless of the cross-implication, their stamps of genre don’t change.

So genre serves an important purpose, but as a writer there’s no need to get too tangled up in the rungs of its classification.  It’s okay to walk the fence. Don't be afraid.  Just write your story and the right category will find you.

Leaving off, what books have you read that stratify two or more genres?  Any dynamic, less blockbuster titles out there that stand out in bridging genre? 

Let’s book club about it.  :0)

And please come back on Monday.  H is for HEA.

 - SNG

F is for FLASHBACK

I’m going to keep it simple tonight, if that’s okay.  Jumping right in, F is for FLASHBACK.

            A few years ago I entered a contest.  The story was set one-hundred years in the future which required the use of flashbacks to narrate the story.

            Through practice and reading I have discovered several ways to write an effective flashback.

            The first is to utilize a physical element to “cue” the flashback.  In my contest entry ANNIVERSARY, I opened the story with the couple returning to the house they’d occupied when they were first married a hundred years prior.  I utilized the wafting dirt of the tarp-covered furniture to distinguish the present from the flashback.  

    I walked over to the staircase, resting my hand on the banister, leaving the imprint of my palm in the dust. In the distance I heard several cars pull into the driveway followed by the remote hum of familiar voices.

 “I’ll be upstairs,” I said in a tone no louder than that used in casual conversation.

            As the heroine walks through the rooms, the dust clears, transporting her back to the time they first lived in the house.

     Another prominent method used to cite a flashback is the use of italics; the visual change in font acting as a mark in the shift of time.  Entire scenes can be written this way and still play into the progression of your story. 

            In addition to the physical cues or font emphasis, you can use speech and language to help transition the reader as well.  This works especially well if your story bridges from the distant past to the modern present.  Say for example that your flashback takes place in the Elizabethan Era.  Old-English phrases and dialogue would reinforce that the story has moved into another place and time.

             One last technique that works well is a strategic change in tense.  To cite a mainstream example, in Suzanne Collins’ THE HUNGER GAMES the entire story is written in present tense, first person narrative (i.e. I see, I walk etc.).   When engaging in a flashback the author shifts the tense from present to past (i.e. I saw, I’d walked), signifying that the events being recalled had already occurred.  This is a cool way to put a slant on the past, underscoring it as a flashback.

            I hope these tips are helpful and stay tuned for more letters!  Tomorrow G is for GENRE.

            Goodnight!

E is for EDITING

I’ve been looking for my niche with this blog.  I’ve asked myself, “Am trying to be funny, informative?”

Honestly, I want to help other writers by contributing what I know, not bore anyone into a grammar coma. 

The only problem with this goal is that a majority of my experience stories are crazy.  Because crazy things happen to me.  Frequently.  I learn by going splat.

Contemplating what blog material would be considered “safe” to a broad audience, I consulted my CP, Sarah.

“Would it be inappropriate to blog the O incident?” I asked her.  “Too over the top?”

“No, that would be awesome!” she responded with a laugh, giving me the green light.

That said, I will leave this post up for a little while and then I will bury it where no one will ever find it.  I may be blog-dinged for skipping “E” but so be it.    

Now, to give you a true story why E is for EDITING… Read FAST.

Two years ago I wrote a full length story for an online website.  While coming to the end of the novel I was invited to participate in a guest spot on another member’s page.  A weekly serial, authors would post a chapter where the submission could draw attention and gain readers.  And as luck had it the week I’d signed up for happened to correspond to the chapter where my couple had become intimate for the first time.  

            Being that my genre is romance, writing the love is what I do, including the physical parts.  My previous story had contained only one short scene involving what a fellow editor calls, “tingly bits”— but nothing hot or all-out, which made the guest spot chapter a first for me in whole new way—it would be my first full-on love scene.

            Yeah. *gulp*

            Going in, I had Sarah in my corner, an excellent mentor and beta reader, but of course, the nerves were still there.  Per our writing schedule, I was slated to submit the first draft to Sarah as early as possible so she could have plenty of time to work her editing magic.  We’d run through a draft as many times as we need to get it reading “clean,” bouncing it back and forth until we got a solid edited product.

            The week that the chapter was due I got invited out on a date at the last minute, trying to go out when I could, which wasn’t often.  Which unfortunately turned out to be a bad date—like record-setting awful.  I came home in a mood, feeling dejected and ironically on deadline to draft a love scene. 

            Those are the moments you suck it up, though.  You push past what’s weighing on you, buckle down and write.  That’s what you do.

           

            So I started typing and not too long after I hit my stride. The emotions flowed as if I if were channeling the energy from my crappy evening, converting the negative current into a positive one.  I suddenly wanted to imbue my hero with all the characteristics of a good man.  Tapping the keys with fervor, my love scene unfolded beautifully, my hero utterly perfect.

                       

            I turned it in to Sarah, eager to see what she thought.

            About an hour later, the first edited draft hit my inbox, the little chat window popping up so Sarah could confer with me.

            Sarah:  Hey

          Me:    Hey, how’d you like it?

          Sarah:  Well…

            Oh no, not “well…”  Anything but “well,” the four-letter kiss of editing death.

             Me:  It sucked.

         

          Sarah:  No, NO.  I just need you to look it over.

            Scanning it, I ran through all the possible “well” implications; the point of view didn’t shift, dialogue tags were good, no misspelled words, hero did, um—awesome.

            My brow furrowing, I didn’t see what could be wrong.

           

            Me:  Sarah, I’m not seeing…??  The hero’s good.

          Sarah:  Um, yeah. The hero’s good.  You’re missing something with your girl.

          Me:  I don’t—

          Sarah:  I’m seeing your guy’s side but not…

            I scanned through again, focusing on my heroine. 

            Sarah:  I think you forgot her O.

          And I finally saw it.     o_O

          Me:  OMG.

          Sarah:  It’s okay.

          Me:  OMG, it’s so not. 

          Sarah:  It’s a real easy fix, I wanted you to see it before I sent the edit notes over, I put balloons where she can…

            I sat watching the screen, Sarah’s kindness a live-streaming echo as the roll call of accomplished authors this would never happen to reeled through my brain.

            Sarah:  Shelley? 

            “Yeah, I’m here,” I said from in-between my fingers even though she couldn’t hear or see me.

            Sarah:  Shelley?  Shell, stay with me—I know what you’re thinking.  This happens to everyone; it’s okay.  That’s why there are editors—we’re here to catch these things…

          Me:  How in the [heck] did I not CATCH that?!

          Sarah:  Uh, well—

           

            I stopped her before she could endeavor to answer with some play on the birds get theirs while the bees get gypped.

             Me:  In Third Person, MALE subjective point of view, Sarah!  UGhhgh!!

          Sarah:  LOL!  If I may assist…

           Me:  Save me, please. 

                      

            The raucous laughter continued, Sarah sending over the draft with comment bubbles stuck like post-its all down the right column.  The multi-hued digital notes pointing to where I could place the lost O. 

           

            And this experience drove home the reason editing is important to me.  An editor does so much more than just check your spelling.  They look for continuity errors, correct phrasing, word choice, fluidity of speech and other—D'oh!—missing things.

            So it goes without saying, find a good beta reader, someone to be your pre-editor editor.  It's never a good idea to edit alone.

             

Okay, Sarah, I did it.  I told the tale. 

Here’s hoping I still get published after this pathetic confession. 

*Shelley crosses fingers, toes and eyes* 

And if I haven’t scared anyone away yet, please come back tomorrow:  F is for FLASHBACK.

-         SNG   ;0)

D is for DIALOGUE

Hi and welcome back!

I knew at some point in this blog fest that I would come across a topic that I admittedly don’t know a lot about.

So far the information I’ve shared has been based on subjects I’ve studied or have had personal experience with while writing.  Dialogue is usually easy for me to craft, it’s just an area where I’m weak rule-wise; so I’d love to hear what tips there are out there to help write it well.

I’ve been told by several of my editors that my characters dialogue reads naturally.  That the exchange is fluid and that the sentences aren’t so English grammar correct to be unrealistic.

I'm sure that's important because dialogue is powerful. It’s the interaction of your story, and just like in real life, what a character says and what they think varies on who they’re speaking to.  That illustrates a lot.

The way your hero speaks to their mother versus their best friend depicts character traits, which fleshes them out and reveals their motives.  

Subtext comes alive in good dialogue, providing the hidden meaning.

You can deepen the drama; lighten the atmosphere or sinuously springboard into your story with a good line of dialogue.

 So, going off the top my head, some good tips for dialogue would be:

* Keep it true your character.  Go back to your cheat sheet and let their tone and background show through how they speak as well as what they say.

*  Work around the action. I’ve read that the best dialogue exchange occurs when the speakers are not stationary (i.e. avoid the sitting in a car and at a table/over lunch conversations.)

* Use vernacular about avoid stereotypes.  I confess I like modern euphemisms and good puns.  I’ve never asked a copy-editor whether or not they keep Urban Dictionary on hand, but I imagine they have a few stories that require it as a reference guide.  I think it’s cool to create a great visual using new construction words, you just want to be sure that it doesn’t slap what I call a “yeah, man” label on your character.

* Be loose with it.  Have fun.  Like all writing your brain will go into gridlock if you try to force it. 

Personally I fear the “talking heads” syndrome, where the verbal exchange is bland and wasting page space.  When I start to slip into that void the only cure is for me to step back and spend time out in the world, to reacquaint myself with how people talk causally.

 And now I’ll ask – what tips do you have for good dialogue? Any favorite lines that make you laugh or cry?

Thanks for reading and please come back tomorrow for *drumrollllll*  E is for EDITING.

See you then!

-         SNG   :0)

C is for CONFLICT

Hi and welcome to day three of the A to Z Blogging Challenge! 

I’ve been looking forward to this letter: C is for Conflict.

It can be said that not many people like conflict.  If there was some way to guarantee a life free of anger, argument and disagreement, I suspect that almost everyone would sign up without question.

Conflict serves a purpose, however.  Only when clashing against opposing forces does a person discover what is right for them and where they stand.  In school we are given paper tests to question our knowledge.  In life, we are given tests of personality, sometimes competition, to reaffirm who we are and what we believe.

And conflict is a necessary tool for an author for this reason.  As a romance writer, I’m pretty adverse to conflict.  I want my couple to be together; happy and rolling in fields of daisies, but unfortunately that would make for a saggy story.

Where is the joy of victory when there is no challenge?   As a writer you have to make the winning worth something.

Many authors joke that it’s their job to “torture their characters,” which is sort of true.  I like to think of it more as agitation.  Like the cycle on your washer, a writer shakes up and spins their characters lives until change occurs.  And you can amp up the conflict in several ways.

From my studies, I've learned that the most dynamic form of conflict is death.

           There is no bigger fight than that against the loss of life.  Staying alive is a primal struggle and one that challenges the character on a core level.  The first and most utilized type is physical death.  That one’s kind of a no-brainer; a character is running, fighting for their life or the lives of loved ones and innocents.  You see this premise the most.  There is a mortal danger that must be countered and conquered in order to survive.

          A second form of death is failure to achieve an objective or dream.  Here you have a character perusing something important to them, like a job or a goal. When fate throws up hurdles, the aim for your character is to keep the aspiration alive, and that is a great source of conflict.

         The third type is emotional or psychological death.  The shift in a characters personality brought about by events that “kill” a part of them inside.  This type is a fight against transformation; the threat that a part of your character will irrevocably change or “die” from the agitation.  This is a complex kind of conflict because your character will emerge renewed after they have faced the grim reaper, having released what has been killed in their psyche, leaving them with a new essence.

On the lighter side you can also work with contradiction.  Differences in personalities and motives can make for strong conflict.

           I refer to this kind of conflict as “squares.”  It’s a term used in astrology when two signs exhibit the same level of energy, but express it in incongruent ways.  It's when two characters peruse the same goal, except each approach it from a different direction and with a different strategy.  Two characters at cross purposes is always a good bet - the good ol' conflict of interests.  And the opposing attitudes reflect a lot about both the characters involved, which is a perfect foil.  Let your characters irritate one another, and sit back and allow the circumstances reveal the best and the worst in them.

If you need inspiration, think about the way one reacts under pressure.  How do you want to test your character and what boons await them for surviving the conflict?  

Then maintaining conflict is like flying a kite.  You need enough argument to keep the sail aloft and to pull your kite string taut.  Then you can either glide it down or crash it to the ground when it’s over, based on how the story is meant to end.

So in closing, what do you think makes for good conflict?  Have you seen situations in real life or in fiction that make for good example?  Let's talk about it.  :0)

          And please join me tomorrow for day four of the blog challenge:   

           D is for DIALOGUE.

           See you then!

- SNG

B is for BACK-STORY

Hi everyone!  Thank you for coming back.  Yesterday’s entry started the blogfest on an unsteady foot, I didn’t expect to get so technical with all the English composition. Eek!  :0/

            Moving forward I look forward to being a bit more easy-going with the entries.  This blog is meant to be an open forum for writers.  For me, that means talking candidly about the real life experiences that stem from that journey.

            And today is day two:  B is for Back-Story.

            Back-story is the history of your character, from hero to villain to sidekick.  It’s the background, all the facts about a fictional person that the reader doesn’t know yet, and the writer needs to convey. Needless to say crafting a fluid back-story can get tricky.

            Let's create a basic heroine to stand as our example.  Say our girl has raven-black hair, brown eyes, grew up in the Bronx, likes ketchup on her macaroni and cheese, has a cat named Fluffy...

            Okay, let’s stop right here.  Before we bring Fluffy into the fictional fray, we have to recognize that this is our character’s life.  There are a million particulars that we-the-writer know about our heroine but dispensing that information requires a delicate hand. The goal of all writing is to suspend disbelief and make the story engaging.  Information delivered too fast or in a lump runs the risk of severing the connection of the reader to the characters, which is the opposite of your goal. 

            This pitfall involving back-story is what a lot of editors call the “Info Dump.”  The info dump is when we-the-reader are following the character through the initial chapters, rolling along with their exploits when wham!  The hero/ine suddenly launches into a mental monologue that summarizes their whole life.  They drop all their info on us in a matter of paragraphs, burying the reader in a heap of outlined facts. 

Image Source

           

            You may have picked up on this in novels you've read  in the past.  Along with the resulting, whoa, where did all THAT come from? afteraffect.

            All writers are guilty of penning an info dump at some point, me included.  I assure you that the backing up of the truck is not intentional; it’s just in result to wanting to present your character to the reader. The challenge of the writer is to describe the dynamics of their main character. And the information being relayed is important, it's just equally important to make that introduction believable without giving too much away in jarring lumps of raw data. 

           

            It helps when I think of it like this: 

How would you write the back-story of your life?

            What would bring about those recollections of the past?  Would you walk around thinking, I was born on a warm, spring day in a small town north of the Shenandoah valley… 

             Um—no.

            Real memories wouldn't come out in a long spiel; more likely, they’d bubble up in little mental spurts.  And the person would need a reason to reminisce.  Maybe they'd see an object that in turn sparks off a remembrance of something long-ago, a memory that leads the mind to wonder...and so the history is disclosed.

The same processes goes for your characters.  They need personal “triggers,” something that gets them thinking about their past; a real situation that allows them to reveal their back-story in little pieces.

 Maybe the heroine is an independently wealthy debutante who loves to shop.  Happily buzzing around the mall she stops in front of a window display, a blue silk scarf like the ones her mother used to wear catching her eye, pulling her back to the time before her parents divorced…

Take a hard-as-nails construction foreman who walks with a limp.  When a co-worker calls in sick, he’s asked to work one of the large bulldozers.  His outward bravado drains from him as he freezes in front of the metal monster, immobilized with fear.  He hadn’t stepped foot near one of those machines since the day of the accident…

  Dispense the facts on your fictional people but keep it intriguing.  A reader can’t wonder about what they already know, so leave a bread crumb trail for them to follow.  A little mystique goes a long way.

            Kind of like baking a cake, you can fold in the nuances of your characters past step by step.  Let your hero/ine have secrets that are hinted at by the way s/he behaves.  Try to pace it, and hold out on uncovering your characters epic qualities until at least the middle of the story.  

            You also want to maintain separate points of view for each individual character.  Plug yourself into their sneakers, boots or stilettos every time you’re writing from their head.  Keep a separate journal of facts to pull out when you’re writing to remain in touch with that character’s distinct perspective (don't lose Fluffy).  Hint at your characters hidden traits and let those nuances be revealed over time.  Then the reader will feel like they’re getting to know a real person.    

            It’s funny; the best back-stories I’ve ever read are always difficult to point out, I think that's a sign that they’re good. They’re written so seamlessly it’s almost like the structure of the back-story is invisible.  We-the-reader are in the characters head, tagging along for the ride with no bumps on the road to break the connection.  You are there with the character with no questions.  That’s how you want your back story to read, too.

            And I’ll leave you with a small challenge.  Walk over to your bookshelf sometime this week and find a novel with a solid back-story, one so good that you really have to look to "see" it.  Ask yourself what aspects of the writing made it so believable?  What is it that makes the hero’s past easy to understand? 

And if you’re so inclined, please reply to this entry and tell me about it.  

Good writers are good readers and I’d love to hear your feedback and book suggestions.  :0)

            So this ends day two of the A to Z Blogging Challenge!

            Please come back tomorrow for day three – I’ve been looking forward to this one:  

C is for Conflict. 

            Oh boy, this is gonna be fun.  *evil grin*   See you there.

-          SNG