1/29/10

Characters - Who Are They?

I'm working on creating an awesome new hero  (I'll get to his heroine later)  and  as I think about character development, I'm reminded of several things I've learned along the way.

Here are a few general ideas I refer to as I work on revealing my characters:


Dialogue
:


Inner thought/retrospection

Physical appearance
Clothing, jewelry
Grammar, vocabulary
Physical gestures/quirks/idiosyncrasies
Reactions to other characters/problems/situations

Things to ask your character:


What tangible things surround you?

What treasures and trinkets have you saved from the past?
How would you react to the editorial in today’s paper? Breaking news?
What is your goal? In life? At this very moment?
Who is the most interesting person in the world to you?

Things to remember:


Make your characters interesting, complex, and memorable.

To stay in point-of-view, write as if the viewpoint character is the only one in the scene with eyes and ears.
Avoid clichéd, stereotyped characters.
Don’t let minor characters become so interesting and quirky that they take over your writing. What’s important is how the principals in your story react to them.

Remember the rule:

Reveal character bit by bit, saving the most interesting parts for last.

Okay, so I'm off to work on my new hero with these ideas in mind. But first, I'll direct you to  Emma's blog for a fantastic perspective on character development by Rebecca Grace.

Now go and create some great characters!

Kaye

1/25/10

Edits and More...


Ahh well. You know -- when I got my first round edits for Forbidden Love back from my editor, she didn't find a lot for me to fix. I reworked a few paragraphs, etc. This time, even though she approved my changes and found only a few more things to fix, as I read over my story I found some things I'd like to add or change myself. So I've been doing that. At first, I looked at the story and said, "Great! I'll have this back to her (my editor) in a flash." I even emailed her told her that, even though she always gives me several weeks.

Well, maybe not so fast. I wonder if I'll ever be satisfied with my work. I know other writers go through this too. In addition, this is the very reason I never rush publication or submission. As we become more and more published with our fiction, we have to learn to let go faster. The demand for our work is greater. Do our writing skills improve as well? Do we actually ever get that part down? I'm a firm believer in we never stop learning. If we do, or think we have nothing more to learn about our craft, then our writing could suffer. I've seen this happen with other authors. So I say all the time, we never stop learning and improving as writers. Yet, there is a time to draw the line, and just say-- okay, I'm finished with this one.

When do you decide enough is enough and say, this story is truly ready?

Kaye

1/21/10

That Dreaded Query Letter!

Query letters. Sometimes just the word can make us cringe! 

Just how important are these letters and do we always have to write one when we submit our work to publishers/agents? Well we all know the simple answer is Yes. Some of us know how to write a query quite well while others struggle. I don't know about you, but I had to practice, study and learn how to write a query letter, and I'm still perfecting that part of the craft. I call it a craft because, like writing a synopsis, it is a learning experience. And of course I'm always still learning.

A few days ago my good friend, Linda Banche posted a very informative blog about writing query letters. Go check out her blog linked to her name for the complete post. She gives an example of her latest submission query to Wild Rose Press for her novella, Mistletoe Everywhere. (The story was contracted and will release next Christmas.)

Linda explains the paragraphs involved and goes on to tell us how she did it. Generally, a query letter goes something like this:

Always address an editor by name unless the guidelines say not to do so. In the first paragraph, introduce the story. Then the title and word count and then tell why your story is right for this line/publisher. The second paragraph and third if needed, tells your story in blurb or pitch form. The last tells a bit about you and your writing credentials, etc.

There are many sites that share query letter examples. I'm going to share a friend's query to an agent:

Dear Ms. (Literary Agent),

I am an author in search of a literary agent. Since I am familiar with several writers whom you represent, I though that you also might be enthusiastic about my contemporary romance novel, Building Bridges. The completed novel is approximately 125,000 words long and is one of five finalists in the Laurie contest sponsored by the Smoky Mountain Romance Writers.

Kate Chilton, a widow raising two boys alone, is happy to live her life by the rules until the day she discovers that her dead husband was unfaithful to her. Randall Johnson, self-made millionaire and committed ladies’ man, seems like the perfect candidate for Kate’s revenge: a one night stand that she can walk away from without a backward glance. But Randall perversely refuses to accept the limits of his assigned role. When he brings his considerable resources to bear on the lady’s defenses, the battle rages from suburban soccer field to the girders of the George Washington Bridge.

I am a member of  Romance Writers of America and the New Jersey Romance Writers. I graduated from Princeton University with a degree in English and Creative Writing.

Enclosed please find a brief synopsis and a self-addressed stamped envelope in accordance with your requirements in the Romance Writers’ Report.

I very much appreciate your time and attention, and hope to have the chance to work with you in the near future.

Sincerely,
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 The above query was written a few years ago and the author went on to sign with that agent and later, a two book deal with Berkeley Sensation.

Do you have trouble writing queries? Study how other authors do it. It can't hurt and it can possibly help you get you own books published or agented.

Kaye

1/16/10

Release Date!



Yes! I now have a release date for

Forbidden Love!

And it is... drum roll please...

 May 20th 2010

(Still working on the book cover and I'll share it as soon as I get it in my hands. Watch this space!)

Kaye

1/10/10

Heart-pounding Soul-wrenching Scenes



I'm staring at a blank page and an extremely cold day. In fact, it's been so cold and snowy here for so long I'm growing use to it-- not! And just as I complain, the sun comes in through my window! Ah well.

If it doesn't make you crazy, being snowbound isn't so bad if you use the time wisely. Who ever said I could do that must be crazy! No really, if I don't feel trapped and I focus on my writing then I'm okay. In fact, the time goes by rather quickly-- that is if I don't have to go out for staples or supplies and I can just stay cuddled up under a down comforter, my cats sleeping peacefully at my feet and my laptop buzzing along. It sounds much dreamier than it actually is though.

On the other hand, it can also be a good time to concentrate on love scenes. And what is it that makes up a heart-pounding soul-wrenching scene between a hero and heroine? Is it sex? Not always, not really. Lovers must be connected, attracted and all out to die for overwhelmed with each other, no matter the level of heat involved, don't you think? 

With that said, we know love scenes aren't always about the sex. But our lovers always have an underlying, almost unrelenting sensual pull toward each other, no matter where we set our stories, be it on a futuristic world, an historical past, or heartland America. 

So in the spirit of characters and lovers, and in an effort to understand the bond we need to convey between them, I'm sharing part of an excerpt in the hero's POV featuring the endearing 'galaxies apart' T'Kon and Maya from my upcoming sci-fi romance,

Forbidden Love

...She was upon him so close he could feel her breath, sense her warmth. She reached out and ran a hand through the air, searching the length of him as if to make sure he was still there.

“Maya,” he blew her name on a sigh.

“Take me with you," she implored, as water filled her astounding tawney eyes. "I have no ties here. I want to be with you, T'Kon.” She melded her body against his invisible one.

“You know nothing of me or my world.”

“Teach me, show me everything.”

He felt her heat burning inside him, yet the absurdity of her request burned brighter. “What you ask is not possible.”

“Will you please become visible so I can look at you?” She asked. “We need to talk about this before you go flying off into the universe.”

He unshielded his body so she could see him. “I cannot take you.”

“Why not? You can’t say it was coincidence that you happened to crash land in my back yard.”

No, an unfortunate accident. The truthful certainty traced across his mind. Yet his arms enclosed her and he lifted her up. Her legs straddled his waist, and he pulled her against him, a fit so right he could not deny it. An uncomfortable feeling wrenched his soul. Pain. He felt the pain of emotional withdrawal. From her? It was ridiculous and unnatural, the incomprehensible feeling he had for this Terrain female and he almost cried out with the anguish of it.

“I wish it were not so, but it is,” he whispered, breathing in her pungent scent. “You would not survive on my world. The environment is too harsh, the inhabitants too disapproving.” He dropped his head to taste her lips before she had a chance to counter his words. “Just one last kiss.” Her mouth opened to allow his tongue entry and he explored the soft moistness, losing himself in her tang.

The stars help him. He did not want to leave her...

~~~~~~
There you have it. A short and bitter sweet encounter that I hope reveals the desperate need developing between T'Kon and Maya. How about you? How do you convey that heart-pounding, soul-wrenching draw between your hero and heroine?

Kaye