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I'm not ashamed to say that YES I love Halloween! I love the idea of dressing up as someone else and playing pretend for a day.
Now, as a romance writer I am constantly fending off the crazy notion that I sit all day with a pink feather boa strewn across my shoulders while eating bite sized chocolates. This is not the case… even on a good day.
But for one day of the year, I get to take my fantasy, adorn myself in something other than my flannel pjs or my normal work attire which happens to be jeans on most days.
Most years I am dragged to the costume store by the kids (remember when we used to make our own costumes?) and the choices are endless. From scary to sexy to the just plain crazy – you name it, it's probably out there to be bought.
If you're a fan of the show Castle, this week was an extra delicious treat. Steampunk was the theme and for anyone who loves dress-up it might be pretty hard to beat playing a steampunk heroine for a day. A cross between everything Victorian but with a metal-gear moving futuristic slant – just watching it was fun…I could definitely have fun with that.
Last year my local RWA group (Dunes & Dreams from Eastern Long Island) toured an antique costume shop housed in an old victorian home, it was filled to the rafters with everything from Medieval dresses to suits of armor to the glitz and glamour of the 1930s. Talk about an adult dress-up fantasy!
When I was a kid (and I will not date myself here LOL) we were the only ones getting dressed up. Sure my parents went to Halloween parties every once in a while, but not every year. We never saw parents dressed up and walking with their kids, we never saw adults even dressed up answering their doors.
Now, adults everywhere are feeding their own inner child, indulging in the fantasy of dress-up! And why not? For one day of the year it's okay to be a vampire, it's okay to be the medieval queen and it's okay to be a giant M&M. Letting your inner child out is good for you – it's good for your kids to see that life is always so serious, even when you grow up. The bills will be there tomorrow, but tomorrow will you be able to go to work with a cupid arrow through your head?
Savor the little moments that can make you smile! You never know where one moment of indulging in your fantasy costume may take you.
Don't have that perfect costume yet? You've still got time to be creative.
Debora writes romance - all types of romance! Her tastes vary from the paranormal to romantic comedy and everything in between. Believing variety is the spice of life, her website changes frequently to appease her creative spirit! She freely admits to being a caffeine and chocolate addict and loves to talk about romance writing with anyone who'll listen. Her latest release, A Knight in Her Arms, was released August 3rd. Visit her website for me details!
So, It's back to school time (YAY!) and the first thing that the kids are complaining about is the books! "They're heavy, they're a pain and they're expensive – if you've got a college kid!"
In the age of internet access to everything from dating to how to diagnose whatever is ailing you while you're sipping your morning coffee – is it any wonder the kids don't get the value of a textbook or a research book?
I recently decided to indulge my love of historical romance and pen one myself – my first stop? Okay, I won't lie and say I didn't sit down at the computer to start my research into my chosen time period, but it wasn't long before I yearned for the feel of a research book to thumb through.
Yes, a book may be bulky – but there is something about flipping the pages of a history book that lures me in.
My internet search landed me at Amazon for research books and it's there I spent the next hour or more going from page to page to pick the books best suited to my needs (and there were plenty!)
My next stop will be the library to fill in the gaps the books I ordered won't cover – and there will always be the internet.
How about interaction with others who love your time period too? Well, my library participates in the "ask a librarian" and I can text or call my local librarian with any questions that arise! (Another plus for technology with that human touch, can't beat that..) For my last book (A FISTFUL OF FATE, a november 2010 release from Lyrical Press) my hero is an 1806 blacksmith. I happen to live close to an historic village with volunteer docents – and I spent a lot of time the summer I wrote that book with the local blacksmith to get my terms right, to get a feel for what smithing is like.
And last, but not least, I'm a firm believer in diving in with both feet – so I rejoined the RWA Hearts through History romance writers – so I always have fellow writers online who can help with those little details writers love .
When it comes to research what are your favorites?
Debora writes romance - all types of romance! Her tastes vary from the paranormal to romantic comedy and everything in between. Believing variety is the spice of life, her website changes frequently to appease her creative spirit! She freely admits to being a caffeine and chocolate addict and loves to talk about romance writing with anyone who'll listen. Her latest release, A Knight in Her Arms, was released August 3rd. Visit her website for me details!
Ever heard the term "generic verb?" I confess I didn't until I received a list of things to look for in my newly contracted novel. My publisher doesn't like these generic verbs, and I'm going to wholeheartedly agree.
So what is a generic verb? Lets talk the word "walk." Sure you can say your hero walked across the room toward the heroine, but is it very effective? Does it give the reader any sense of what's really going on, any emotion? No. It doesn't.
But what if I say "he stomped across the room?"
The reader is immediately clued in to an emotion – people don't just "stomp" for no reason.
Similar words would be trudged, lumbered, plodded – all say something about his feelings or his thoughts. There is nothing generic about a man trudging across the street.
Adding just the right word can also change the tone. After all, if someone is skipping into the room or down the street – you probably wouldn't think they were angry, right? A bounce in their step adds lightness to the scene, while a stalk gives a more determined, deep in thought feeling.
Your challenge today is find those nasy "generic" verbs and replace them with something more meaningful to your story, your scene and your character.
Debora writes romance - all types of romance! Her tastes vary from the paranormal to romantic comedy and everything in between. Believing variety is the spice of life, her website changes frequently to appease her creative spirit! She freely admits to being a caffeine and chocolate addict and loves to talk about romance writing with anyone who'll listen. Her latest release, A Knight in Her Arms, was released August 3rd. Visit her website for me details!
Yes, I love those rainy days and nights. There is something magical and romantic about walking in the rain with the one you love under a big umbrella. Even sitting by the window and watching the drops cleanse the earth and refresh the spirit. The most relaxing thing in the world for me is listening the gentle patter of rain against the roof or skylight just above my bed when wrapped in my guy's arms.
When was the last time you ran through a puddle – on purpose? Remember being a carefree kid and stomping in the puddle?
As for inspiration for plotting? Rain? Well, yeah. Just sit, listen and let your body and mind run wild through the drizzle. Put on your favorite rain coat and go for a walk in the summer rain – don't think about your troubles, don't think about your plot…just let the water sing to your soul. Running water can have an amazing effect on your imagination, if you listen to it. It's natural, it's a force of nature that can be both refreshing and deadly, depending on the circumstances.
Now take your character and put them in the rain. How do they react? Do you have the primadona who is horrified her hair will frizz? Are there bad memories of a storm as a child? Does your hero want nothing more than to drag the heroine into his arms and kiss the rain from her lips?
Next time it rains, make use of all of your senses and enjoy! And to really set the mood – here's some inspiration from the Neil Sedaka.
Debora writes romance - all types of romance! Her tastes vary from the paranormal to romantic comedy and everything in between. Believing variety is the spice of life, her website changes frequently to appease her creative spirit! She freely admits to being a caffeine and chocolate addict and loves to talk about romance writing with anyone who'll listen. Her latest release, A Knight in Her Arms, was released August 3rd. Visit her website for me details!
So, I’m in the bookstore reading first pages of any thing with a cover and title that captures my attention – what makes me put the book back or give it a chance?
The name of the hero.
I know, so shallow of me. But, really in all honestly do I want to spend the next few hours of my life, curled up in my bed reading a book with a hero whose name I either (a) cannot pronounce or (b) is a name that conjurs up images of limp noodles or worse – an ex-boyfriend?
Let’s take (a) – If you want me to fall for the hero, give him a name that not only fits his personality, his powerful physique and sure, make it something that sets him apart. DO NOT make up some name that’s clearly made up (it’s okay, you can agree with me!) or something that my tongue trips over everytime or I pronounce a hundred different ways until I’m finally forced to give him a nickname before I throw the book against the wall.
On to (b) I’m sorry, but if you name you hero Wesley, Barney or Elmo – I’m probably putting your book back on the shelves.
The second part of (b) would be the ex-boyfriends, which of course is totally random, and totally personal. I don’t hold any author responsible for the bad memories I have associated with the 8 (yes, you read that right, EIGHT) Johns I dated before I married my husband.
So how do you name your hero? Think strong, think cutting edge, but give me something I can sink my teeth into when I’m reading. I’ve got a few baby name books I refer to and I admit sometimes it takes me a chapter or two before I completely hone in on a name that truly fits all his quirks.
Do you have a name that makes you cringe? A name that would make you put that book down? Or does the name not matter to you at all?
Debora writes romance - all types of romance! Her tastes vary from the paranormal to romantic comedy and everything in between. Believing variety is the spice of life, her website changes frequently to appease her creative spirit! She freely admits to being a caffeine and chocolate addict and loves to talk about romance writing with anyone who'll listen. Her latest release, A Knight in Her Arms, was released August 3rd. Visit her website for me details!
Dialogue. It’s what moves the story at a faster pace. It’s what drags the reader into the world of the character and breathes life into the scene you’ve created.
Can I talk to anyone in real life? YES.
Am I ever at a loss for words? HARDLY EVER!
But when it comes to my writing, I love my narratives and my descriptions and even those inner dialogues my characters have with themselves (hey, if I can talk to myself, why can’t they? ) - it just seems when I get those two people together on the page – I stop dead.
I’ll labor over those important words for DAYS. I’ll stare at the open quote mark and bang my head on the desk. If only my characters could all be telepathic mutes – I’d be fine
And the kicker? I struggle days over my dialogue and my crit partners comment how sparkling and easy it appears on the page. HAHAHA. Thanks girls for the boost – just don’t ask how long those few lines of dialogue took me to write or how much blood was spilled for that one stinking scene. You really don’t want to know!
At my recent local RWA meeting, I got some ideas that I plan to try this week – because as always, I’ve been staring at my hero’s blank response for just a little too long!
It was suggested I talk it out – yes, out loud. Okay, I talk to myself constantly…this should not be a problem. Why hadn’t I thought of this before?
Another suggestion was to write out the narrative and then convert as much as possible to dialogue (of course, without it being telling or an info-dump!) Another great suggestion – especially since I love my narratives.
What really surprised me is that some writers actually write the dialogue first. I almost passed out. Of course it got me thinking about this and I wonder how many writers either struggle with dialogue or love it? What techniques do they employ to get that dialogue sounding real and in abundance?
Debora writes romance - all types of romance! Her tastes vary from the paranormal to romantic comedy and everything in between. Believing variety is the spice of life, her website changes frequently to appease her creative spirit! She freely admits to being a caffeine and chocolate addict and loves to talk about romance writing with anyone who'll listen. Her latest release, A Knight in Her Arms, was released August 3rd. Visit her website for me details!
Are you ready for our words of writing group wisdom? Well, ready or not we’re ready to start rolling them out here for the world to read!
Take a look at our sidebar to the right – we’ve got 14 talented writers, and while we’re busy writing our own novels, critiquing for each other and sharing our day to day lives inside the forum…we’ve also been busy planning a blogging schedule.
The first thing you’re going to notice in the days to come will be the voices. We are NOT a genre specific group. We’re not all paranormal romance writers or erotic writers. Maybe you’re looking for sweet romance or a great suspense? What about a YA romance, historicals or western romance? We are ALL romance writers here.
One day you might find a recipe for nailing a suspense scene, or maybe a recipe for the perfect brownie, with a diversified group such as this we just might take you by surprise (and we just be might be tossing in a free book every now and then!)
So, however you found us today, we hope you’ll come back!
Debora writes romance - all types of romance! Her tastes vary from the paranormal to romantic comedy and everything in between. Believing variety is the spice of life, her website changes frequently to appease her creative spirit! She freely admits to being a caffeine and chocolate addict and loves to talk about romance writing with anyone who'll listen. Her latest release, A Knight in Her Arms, was released August 3rd. Visit her website for me details!
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) - it just seems when I get those two people together on the page – I stop dead.
