Writing your best damn book

In her blog a couple weeks ago, Erica Orloff said, “given the state of the publishing biz, nearly every writer (including this one) has taken the philosophy that now you need to better your game, you need to bring it. Your best game. Your best writing. Now it the time to go deeper. Write the best damn book you’ve ever written.”

For the last couple years, I’ve been working on adding tension to every page, adding emotion and adding more of my voice in. I think I pretty much have the tension thing nailed. When I don’t have it, I realize it now during revisions.

I’m getting better at adding emotion, too, though it’s something I continue to work at. I love adding my voice, a twist of phrasing and sometimes, if it suits the scene, sardonic humor. I do this as I write, but I also do it during revisions. I think that’s why I love revisions so much. It’s when I add in the special bits and shine up my writing.

What I’m working on now as I write goes back to what Erica said. I’m digging deeper. I’ve been hearing that for awhile, and I’m finally getting it. It’s when a scene goes an extra step, when I add poignancy or I reveal something extra to the reader. It’s hard to explain, but when you do it, you know it. It’s a “Wow! I nailed that!” moment.

What about you? Are you consciously working to improve your writing? So you can to write your best damn book? Or is this something you’ve done in the past?

Skipping ahead

I judged contest entries last week. The first scene in one entry was backstory and info dumping. In another, the prologue was backstory and info dumping. Nothing that couldn’t be sprinkled into the rest of the book. I advised both of them to cut the scene and prologue. In neither case would it have been missed.

Friday night, about 10:30, I picked up a thick book I’d gotten from the library by a bestselling, RITA winning writer. I won’t name her, but she started in another genre, was a huge hit in historicals and now writes women’s fiction. Her historicals were auto buys for me, but I haven’t been excited about her women’s fiction, even though it’s a genre I enjoy. The recent judging helped me figure out why.

She started with with action … but as soon as the beginning problems played out, she switched to backstory and long scenes that showed character. I love character! I’m a character girl. But show me the character mixed with something happening and you have me. Show me the character with nothing happening and you’ve lost me.

Because the author is such a good writer — and I wasn’t ready to go to bed yet — I skipped whole chapters to a point where something happened. I thought I’d read a bit and go to bed. I ended up going to bed after one.

I finished the book the next day, and I never went back to read the chapters I skipped. I get the feeling in those chapters she told about her relationships with her parents and her brother, etc. But in the later chapters, I saw her interact with her father and brother, and that’s all I needed.

Though I ended up enjoying the book, I probably won’t pick up her next one. So whether you’re a bestseller or a newbie, it’s wise to follow Elmore Leonard’s most important rule of writing:

“Try to leave out the part that readers tend to skip.”

What about you? Do you have formerly favorite writers you’re no longer reading because they’re putting in the “skipping” parts? Have you stopped reading a book lately because of this?

Heaven or hell?

by Edie Ramer

Saturday morning I was in revision heaven. I tweaked and polished a scene until it shone. I felt good about it. Too good to revise another scene, so I took my dog for a walk. It was one of those perfect days, the sun out, the weather crisp but warm enough so I could wear my sweatshirt jacket for the first time since fall.

After we came home, I did laundry, then my husband and I went to a remodeling show. I didn’t get back to my computer until later in the evening. I was looking forward to putting a shine on another scene.

My good mood didn’t last long. This was only a-five page scene, and I wrestled with almost every sentence. I ended up cutting two pages, and every cut drew blood. It took me hours to do this, much longer than it took to write the original scene. I went from revision heaven to revision hell.

The scene started with my heroine and her friends being happy. It ended with them horrified and fearful. Pretty much the way I felt during the revisions.

I’m pleased now. Pleased that I didn’t let it go until I was satisfied with every sentence, pleased that the scene has everything I needed in there, and all the superfluous garbage cut. Most of all I’m pleased that it’s done, and I hope to hell the next scene is better.

So how do you feel about revisions? Heaven or hell?

Ending with a bang

by Edie Ramer

I’m a sucker for books with a great first line. In my books, I work hard getting one that’s compelling. I also work hard at the end of a scene or chapter. I want to write an ending that will make the reader need to read on to find out what will happen next.  

A lot of writers like to end a chapter in the middle of a scene.  Others end with a question or a character in trouble.  Cliffhanger endings. And it’s not a good idea to end a scene with the heroine falling asleep with a smile.  Much better to leave her with a scrunched forehead because she’s facing a catastrophe. 

Those are a guidelines, not rules.  Almost everything is a guideline, except to not be boring.  You can leave the heroine with a smile — just make sure the reader knows trouble is coming at the speed of a bad date. 

It’s important to end with a bang in contests, too. I finaled in the Chase the Dream contest with GALAXY GIRLS last week. Four women, including my heroine, are facing two men with guns.  Here are my last two paragraphs:

“I’ll stop them.” Phyrne pushed past Deena. She was older and stronger than Deena, plus she possessed a powerful weapon. The ultimate weapon.

She was ovulating.

I have an ARC of SUDDEN DEATH by Allison Brennan, which will be released at the end of this month. Here’s the last paragraph of Chapter One:

Megan didn’t know that in twenty-four hours, they’d have nothing. No tapes. No evidence. No body. And no jurisdiction.

Some people would say we shouldn’t use a sentence like “Megan didn’t know …” They’d be wrong. We should use whatever works. That paragraph rocks!

Here are the last three paragraphs of Chapter Five of THE CHARMER by Madeline Hunter:

“England,” she said, narrowing her eyes on the buildings and ships growing with each moment.

“Home,” he said softly.

“That home was my prison, Mister Burchard. Do not expect me to meekly surrender to its chains again.”

Did you get shivers? Wouldn’t you keep reading to find out why she feels that way?

I could do this for a long time, but I’ll give you one last ending, the last two paragraphs of Chapter Three of WHAT I DID FOR LOVE by Susan Elizabeth Phillips:

The dice clicked and clicked again. Bram reappeared at her side. “We’ve got to get out of here.”

That was the last thing she remembered until the next afternoon, when she made the mistake of waking up.

Do you have a scene or chapter ending you’d like to share? I’d love to read it.

Round Four (gulp)

I always seem to be the blogger on the opening day of voting. It’s getting scarier with each round. This time I’m going to remember to breathe. I’ll take time to walk and stretch during the first couple days.

There are only four finalists left. In the end, only one will be standing. Of course, we all want it. The thing is, we all wrote great books, otherwise the Dorchester editorial staff wouldn’t have chosen us.

I’ve been watching the American Idol auditions (I told myself I wouldn’t do it this year, but I was sucked in again. I’m so weak). When they eliminated some of my favorites, I was screaming “No!” at the TV, and telling my husband, “I don’t know how they could do that. They’re wrong, wrong, wrong.”

But for whatever reasons, it wasn’t the right time for the person. You can’t rail at the judges (though a few have tried). It’s done, it’s over, and the eliminated singers have to make the best of the rest of their lives.

So much of it is subjective. During the eliminations on Wednesday night, Simon told some of the singers the decision wasn’t unanimous. So at least one person wanted them to stay.

I want us all to stay. I would love it if we all sold to Dorchester. And who knows? Only one of us can win, but maybe we’ll all sell. Why not? It can happen. After all, we are fabulous.

So for all of us, I’m leaving with this video of Jennifer Hudson — who didn’t make American Idol — singing “And I am Telling You I’m Not Going.”

We’re Working on a Dream

by Edie Ramer

I’m writing this blog on Sunday night — Super Bowl night — as the Steelers and the Cardinals play. This is my second start. I had my blog half written when half-time came and I went down to watch Bruce Springsteen play. When he sang I’M WORKING ON A DREAM, I felt like he was singing directly to me.

All of the ATV finalists are working on a dream. Every writer I know is working on a dream. We dream stories for our characters, and we dream it for ourselves. And if we’re eliminated or get a rejection, what do we do? We sit down at our computer, and we start working on our dream again.

Bruce sings it much better than I say it. Here’s the YouTube video, and below that are the lyrics.

I’M WORKING ON A DREAM
by Bruce Springsteen

Out here the nights are long, the days are lonely
I think of you and I’m working on a dream
I’m working on a dream

Now the cards I’ve drawn’s a rough hand, darling
I straighten the back and I’m working on a dream
I’m working on a dream

Come on!

I’m working on a dream
Though sometimes it feels so far away
I’m working on a dream
And I know it will be mine someday

Rain pourin’ down, I swing my hammer
My hands are rough from working on a dream
I’m working on a dream

Let’s go!

I’m working on a dream
Though trouble can feel like it’s here to stay
I’m working on a dream
Well our love will chase trouble away

Alright!

I’m working on a dream
Though it can feel so far away
I’m working on a dream
Our love will make it real someday

The sun rise up, I climb the ladder
The new day breaks and I’m working on a dream
I’m working on a dream
I’m working on a dream
I’m working on a dream

Hey!

I’m working on a dream
Though it can feel so far away
I’m working on a dream
Our love will make it real someday
I’m working on a dream
Though it can feel so far away
I’m working on a dream
And our love will make it real someday
We know we won’t give up.

How is your dream coming? Are you there yet? Do you feel you’re getting closer?

Winners of Margie Lawson’s lecture packets!

Congratulations to NANCY NAIGLE and WENDY.  You’ve won one of Margie Lawson’s Lecture Packets, (a $20 value)!   You can choose one of the following:

1. Empowering Characters’ Emotions
– offered on-line, March, 2009, www.pasic.net

2. Deep Editing: The EDITS System, Rhetorical Devices, and More
– on-line class, May 1 – 30, www.writeruniv.com

3. Writing Body Language and Dialogue Cues Like a Psychologist

- on-line class, May 31 – June 13 www.writersonlineclasses.com

4. Powering Up Body Language in Real Life:
Projecting a Professional Persona when Pitching and Presenting
– on-line class, June 14 – 27 www.writersonlineclasses.com

5. Part 1 Digging Deep into the EDITS System
– on-line class, October 4 – 17, www.writeruniv.com

6. Part 2 Digging Deep into the EDITS System
– on-line class, October 18 – 31 www.writeruniv.com

7. Defeat Self-Defeating Behaviors
– on-line class, January, 2010 www.writeruniv.com

You can see the course descriptions on Margie’s website and email her at margie@margielawson.com to let her know which one you want.  Enjoy!

Zodiac signs and the writer

by Edie Ramer

It’s a new year and today we start our new round of voting for American Title V.  This time two of us will be eliminated.    I’m trying to be Zen about it, but that’s like trying to be tall.  I can pretend to be tall, but it isn’t going to make me tall. 

So instead I’ll concentrate on writing my next book.  For the last two weeks I took a great online astrology class for writers by Catherine Morris.  It happened at the perfect time for me.  The week before last, I was in a BIAW and pushed my way through, bleeding out the pages word by word.  Because I’m stubborn, I made my 10,000-word goal, but I knew I couldn’t go further.  I needed to delve deeper into my characters.

It’s amazing that just as I need to dig deeper, I was taking the Baby, What’s Your Sign? class.  I read all the back posts I missed during the BIAW, and kept getting Wow! moments about myself and people I know.  Then I discovered my heroine is a Leo.  She’s courageous, romantic, dramatic, vital and stubborn. 

My hero is a Scorpio.  He’s going through a transformation from total destruction.  He’s revengeful, intense, secretive, passionate and stubborn.  (Hmm, both my characters are stubborn, and so am I. Wonder what that means? )  Scorpions sting, too.  I can’t forget that.

I also gave four other characters zodiac signs.  Then I gave all six characters quirks to fit their signs.   I’m an organic writer and usually learn about my characters as I write.  But this time my vision of my characters didn’t expand.  I needed to do this.

Matching six characters with Zodiac signs took only two days.  Well worth doing for the quirks alone.  Before this, I used archetypes, but they weren’t enough.  In the future, I’ll definitely match characters with zodiac signs, using the notes from Catherine’s class.

Do you do anything similar for your characters?   When you’re writing and you feel like a car with the gas tank running on fumes, what do you do?

The Hare and the Turtle and the Writer

by Edie Ramer

I’m starting 2009 with a dash and then I plan to settle into a long, comfortable run/walk, with a few sprints. You’ve probably heard Aesop’s fable, “The Hare and the Tortoise.” In the fable, the turtle wins. In life, I believe the hare and the turtle can both be winners.

Karin Tabke is a hare. When she’s on deadline, she can whip out twenty pages or more in the time it takes me to slave over five pages. Another writer friend, Jan Kenny, feels comfortable writing seven pages a day. She’s a turtle.

I’m a turtle too. Last year, I was turtle interruptus. I allowed everything else to get in the way of my writing. Yes, the American Title V contest took up some time. Yes, life happened and took up more time. And, yes, there was the election and all that other stuff. (I can’t tell you how many times I watched the Tina Fey/Amy Poehler Saturday Night Live skit of Sarah Palin and Hilary Clinton.)

But I’ve had things happen other years and it didn’t stop me from meeting my writing goals.

Yet I answered my emails. I visited friends’ blogs. There’s nothing wrong with any of that, but what was wrong was I did all that first, before writing.

This year, I’m putting my writing first. I’m treating it like a job. A job I love! A job I can do in my flannel pants, sweatshirt and slippers. I’m in a BIAW this week, and I committed to writing 50 pages. Barring illness, computer failure or any other emergency, I should do that with no problem. I’ll plod to that page goal, word by word.

Another change is setting my alarm clock instead of sleeping until the sun or my dog wakes me. I’ve always been a morning person. I think better in the morning and I write faster. So at 6am CST, I’ll be getting up. I should be writing by 6:20. A turtle, after all, works better with a schedule.

What about you? Are you a hare or a turtle? Do you have a writing schedule or do you write when you get the chance?

Hot hot hot Australia

by Edie Ramer

Karin Tabke’s first line contest is starting today! After she gives the go-ahead on her blog at 7pm PST tonight, she’ll take the first 100 first lines posted. When the contest is over, 5 finalists can send 10 pages of their story to Senior Grand Central Editor, Amy Pierpont. You can find out the details at Karin’s blog.

Now on to my blog about Australia, one of the best movies I’ve seen. It has everything. Sweeping, beautiful scenes. Nicole Kidman. Hugh Jackman shirtless. A child in danger of being taken away from his family. A nasty villain. A war. A love story. A Western-type plot.

Director/producer/co-writer Baz Luhrmann filmed the most emotionally wrenching story I ever saw. In almost every scene, the stakes escalated. The audience is left gasping. When Nicole and Hugh get together (no spoiler, because you can see the photo), their happiness makes the following scenes even more emotional.

Though I went through a lot of Kleenex, the show’s not a downer. The pay-off at the end made the packed audience applaud loudly. But here’s the point of this blog. After I got home and emailed three different Yahoo groups about the movie, I opened up my wip … and started doubting it.

I work hard at creating tension in every scene. But not every scene rips my heart out. I could tell myself it was a movie, different from a book, but my CP, Michelle Diener, is writing a book like that with heart wrenching scenes.

I subbed four chapters to her and my other CP last week, and I told Michelle I was afraid my scenes were anticlamatic. I wanted the truth, not platitudes to make me feel better. She read my scenes and reassured me. And now that I have distance from the movie, I can think of other movies I enjoyed that didn’t have nonstop emotional action scenes. Though I would love to write books like that, I realize it’s not my voice or my style. It’s like comparing Boston cream pie to pizza. Boston cream pie can never be pizza and vice versa.

If I had to name a TV show or movie my wip resembles, I’d say a combination of 3rd Rock from the Sun and X-files. With a love story, of course. What about you? Is there a movie/TV show or combination that your wip resembles?