Dec 6, 2008
I used the words “miasma of evil’ the other day to describe the rather unsubtle aroma and ambience that was to be found in one of the rooms of my house. My husband was impressed and challenged me to use it in one of my books, where I promptly told him I already had.
I had great English teachers who made us memorize all sorts of fancy words that one rarely has a chance to use, and after all these years, they seem to be bestirring in my brain. My current heroine is a writer, and here is her situation:
She felt an enormous pit of emptiness, which she would only dig deeper when Edward came tonight. And he must come. If he didn’t—
Well, she’d simply go on. Alone, alone, alone.
My, but she was being maudlin. Positively lachrymose. Lugubrious. Sepulchral. She spent much of her time with a dictionary handy trying to broaden her vocabulary for her novels. One had a duty to educate one’s readers after all.
Most of us don’t read with a dictionary handy, though. What do you do when you come across an unfamiliar (obscure, recondite) word or phrase? Do you skip it, look it up or try to figure it out on your own? What’s your favorite fancy/weird word?
I like the word “indolence.” It makes my laziness seem classy. ~Bern Williams
Dec 1, 2008
I used to wake up and bounce out of bed with a smile on my face. I still wake up, but my bouncing and smiling days are over. I am such a bitch in the morning. Don’t talk to me. Don’t interrupt me. Let me get my breakfast and leave me the f*** alone. Somewhere below I posted my morning routine, but I neglected to add that my sunny self does not appear until rather late—10:30 A.M. in fact, when I must (wo)man the circulation desk at the high school library. I am sweet as sugar then, because lots of kids need to be smiled at.
My poor husband has only recently discovered he married a BIM (no BO, just Bitch in Morning). Our schedules have changed lately, and he actually gets to see me before I put on my lipstick and my smile. Poor guy, he wants to talk. Fat chance. I want to drink my tea, read my blogs and write.
For the last book in my Courtesan Court Trilogy,
Mistress by Marriage, I’ve decided to use my crankiness as a plot point. What happens when opposites DO NOT attract? Nothing good so far. My heroine Caroline has been banished by her husband to live on the most infamous street in London. How they patch up their differences is as yet unknown, as I am a Pantser-Plus. But it’s going to be fun to figure it out, and maybe I’ll learn how to manage my own marriage a little better. (For a sneak peek of the new WIP, you can read the first few paragraphs
here.)Yes, I finished writing Mistress by Mistake yesterday, almost 4 months from the date I started.
93,175 words. D-U-N. Yahoo!
Beauty or Bitch in the A.M.?
Nov 24, 2008
In the immortal words of Elvis, I thank you faithful MRMR readers very much for accompanying me on my writing journey. I’m off to catch the turkey so I can put a cute hat on it before I eat it. Have a wonderful holiday with the ones you love (and even those you merely tolerate because you’re related to them in some way. Just drink plenty of wine.).
Tofurkey or the real thing? Sweet potatoes or mashed? Pumpkin pie or apple? What’s on the menu? Who’s cooking? What’s your favoritest thing to be thankful for? I say Sadie and Juliette and my four kids. And happy birthday today to Jessie, my Thanksgiving baby!
Nov 19, 2008
The calendar may not yet mark winter, but I live in Maine, and I’m cold. It’s supposed to snow this week. Ugh. I’m in my red LL Bean 3-in-1 jacket, gloves in the pocket.
Years ago I had a silver fox fur jacket that I bought at a vintage clothing store in Greenwich Village, but I wouldn’t dream of buying a fur coat now—not only because of the money, but because of the ickiness of it all. Yes, I eat meat and wear leather shoes. But somehow the idea of wearing dead little woodland creatures has lost its appeal.
My husband tried to buy me a mink coat once. We lived in Connecticut, and every single woman in our circle of friends had one. He sat back in a plush chair in the store as a saleswoman brought out coat after coat. As glam as I felt in chocolate brown fur that matched my eyes (that’s the saleswoman talking), I couldn’t do it.
My mother had one of those hideous snapping mink stoles that scared the bejesus out of me when I was little. Full bodies. Beady little eyes. Jaws biting onto tails and paws. Shudder.
Yet I’ve dressed my historical heroines in fur-lined cloaks. They’ve had fur hats and tippets and muffs. There was no PETA then. Nobody was throwing buckets of red paint around in protest. Fur is fine in fiction. Historicals give you a little leeway in the political correctness department.
What have you run across reading that would be icky in real life but that’s just ducky to read about? How do you feel about fur?
No one in the world needs a mink coat but a mink. ~Murray Banks
Book giveaway! The utterly fabulous, desperately delightful Eloisa James guest blogs tomorrow, November 20 on Vauxhall Vixens! Be sure to visit!
Nov 13, 2008
We all know that the Internet has enhanced the romance community in a fabulous way. When I first started to write, I knew absolutely nothing about anything. I’d even stopped reading romances. So I gingerly clicked for advice, finding Jenna Peterson’s Passionate Pen, which is a great, generous place for aspiring writers. In the intervening years I’ve had online and e-mail contact with some of the best names in the business. It never ceases to amaze me that Eloisa James wrote back to me about flawed heroes or that Karen Hawkins complimented me on a snippet I wrote or that Christine Merrill appreciated a comment I left about her. She’s even sent me her latest, Miss Winthorpe’s Elopement. A couple of the things she said really resonated:
So if you’ve got an agent to love you, don’t worry too much on what’s ahead. Really, I think that editor rejections are much easier to take than criticism from the unpublished, who can be unmerciful. Editors tend to break things down into “will make money” or “won’t make money”. Good or bad doesn’t enter into it as often as it should. And nothing works for everyone, so don’t worry on that account. The stronger your voice, the more likely you are to get off the wall criticism. So the out of left field, sand-bagging can be written off as ‘not your reader’.
In another e-mail she writes:
In my experience, you are in the worst stage of the writing/publishing process. The spot right before you sell is a lot harder than anything, IMHO. And it feels like it goes on forever, while everyone around you gets a call.
There’s the learning curve, where you have to figure out how to write, and you suck but don’t know it, and get a bunch of rejections.
And there’s all the stuff that published people whine about, like reviews and sales numbers.
But in between there’s the point where you reach a level of competence sufficient to write a good saleable book, but the rejections are still coming. It’s not like your craft won’t continue to improve as long as you write. But I think the style can mature years before the market is ready to buy. Or maybe it all happens over night. There’s really no telling. And it’s hard because you won’t be able to make the changes that some of the editors will be looking for, because they either won’t serve you story, or they will be just plain crazy. If you have an agent who gets your work, that is half the battle.
But welcome to limbo. When it feels crazy, remember, it’s not your fault.
Word to live by! I knew I was innocent, LOL! In my ivory tower, AKA writing room, I’m apt to forget writing is a business as well as an art.(*snort*…forgive my hubris…I know I’m not Jane Austen) In this iffy economy, there might not be an HEA for every writer. But I’m willing to keep trying and typing until “The End.”
Here’s hoping there’s an HEA for Vauxhall Vixen Tiffany Chalmers, who just signed with the Cornerstone Literary Agency! Yay, Tiff! Welcome to limbo!
And here’s a chance to give kudos to your real-life writer heroines who inspire you. What have you read lately that you love? Go read Christine Merrill’s books right this instant! I can’t wait to dive into Miss Winthorpe’s Elopement. But first—I am finally reading Outlander. I know, where have I been? Only 410 pages to go….
Nov 8, 2008
I’ve entered very few writing contests: the Golden Heart last year (where one judge gave me a perfect 9 and another a 2), two where I won first and third place, and two where I didn’t final. I’m grateful for the feedback, even when I feel a little like a yo-yo, going from one extreme to another. The most recent (and probably the last) contest I entered is a case in point. The perfect score was 99. My scores? 94, 82.5, and 65. That’s a 29-point difference between the high and low numbers.
I’m in full disclosure mode. I’ve condensed the judges’ most salient comments into one paragraph each.
Judge #1:The writing is quite good. You have an easy, readable writing style, and the first page was wonderful and engaging. Your writing style is engaging and fun to read, and I really appreciate that you are giving me just as much backstory as I need to understand and pique my interest, but not so much as to make me roll my eyes. Great job! The dialogue is generally good, but there is too much irrelevant conversation and narrative. I find my attention span drifting for the most part. The characters don’t have distinct voices, either, and so I am at a bit of a loss. I suggest that you take a hard look at what you are writing and ask yourself whether every sentence—every sentence, mind you—pushes your story forward. If it doesn’t, delete it. Because, as a reader, I only care about the story. Everything else bores me. Of course, tastes differ, and you will likely get different responses from other people, but to me, this does not sound like a book I would like to read.
(
M.R.:Ouch. Edging into the cave. Whimpering.)
Judge #2:The author has a WONDERFUL voice. I enjoyed this story very much. At first, I was a little confused as to exactly what was going on, and not entirely clear as to why the H & H couldn’t be together, but better understood the conflict as the tale unfolded. There are a few places where the author gives quite a lot of back story, which slows the pace in those parts. Some judicious tightening would help. Overall, she does such an excellent job of description that I was quite intrigued. The young H&H are delightful and reminded me of Heathcliff and Catherine before she was made to be a lady. This author has amazing descriptive ability. What areas do you feel need improvement? Not a thing. This entry is ready for publication!
(M.R.: peeking out of cave to catch the ray of sunlight.)
Judge #3:I found the first scene gripping. Great tension. I think you are a strong writer. I think the writing is strong and the first scene was very tense and drew me right in. I liked the heroine in particular – especially during the first scenes. She was very strong and you made me really curious about what had gone on in the past between these two characters to make her decide to accept his proposition. I simply didn’t buy the conflict or think it was big enough to carry a novel. I feel like the story is a little too predictable, and that the conflict could be too easily resolved with a couple of frank conversations.
(M.R.: Frankly, I’m not going to enter any more contests!)
The same manuscript evoked three distinct reactions. I may not agree with all the points (except for Judge #2, LOL), but they remind me how subjective writing is. Just enough backstory. Too much backstory. Great description. So much description my eyes are glazing over and I hate your book. All I can do is keep writing. Easy, right?
Do you enter contests? Are you doing the Golden Heart this year? Are you curled up in your cave like me or ready to take the leap?
There’s nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and open a vein. ~Walter Wellesley “Red” Smith
