The Hidden Value of the Sticky Note

Plot threads, character quirks, correct spelling of names…writing a novel is wrought with details that can sometimes get overlooked. The average fiction manuscript in my genre has between 80,000 – 100,000 words. That’s a lot of opportunity to either make a mistake, or make it great.

When I’m in the midst of a story, I try to keep notes around my computer or on my binder to remind me of the important things I need to keep in mind. Sticky notes are great for this, but a writer friend of mine prefers index cards. It’s your call.

You know you’re weaknesses. When you revise, what are the issues you generally have to work on to make the next draft better?

For example: I tend to get a little too technical when describing what the situation is, or what the danger may be. I want to keep the reader engaged and invested in my main character’s experience. That takes emotion. So I have a bright pink sticky note with “Emotion!” surrounded by hearts on the wall just over my computer.

If you tend to need more dialogue…then remind yourself to write as much as you want, you can always edit later, and to really let your conversations flow. Remember that the first draft gets the story out of your head, it doesn’t have to be perfect. You go back over it multiple times afterwards, so let the story pour out of you. Don’t get in the way.

Remind yourself to second-guess your first idea. I have a blue sticky note that has “2nd Place” because I usually hit upon a better twist, a better plot point if I dig beyond what first pops to mind.

Description, of characters and places, may be your weak point. Make yourself a note to constantly check for that as you write. Whenever you look up, you’ll be prompted to take a second look at what you just wrote.

By doing this as you write, it makes the editing process less overwhelming. You can concentrate on the larger issues like pace and tension. It also adds a bit of layering where you might not have otherwise known you needed it.

What are some tips or tricks that YOU use to make your writing/revisions easier? Until next time...Go Write.

Photograph by lalawren.

The Sagging Middle Blues

"My middle sags." These are not vain words said in front of a mirror...that is a whole other post.  These are the words uttered by many a befuddled romance writer.

You have a spectacular beginning to your novel; a compelling hook, riveting main characters, a worrisome conflict...great!  Your ending is excellent with a twist, a resolution - the satisfying all is well, or isn't this ironic last few words.

The problem, you decide, is the stuff in between. The middle of your book is lacking...something. There's no spark, no oomph.

I recently read a book on just this problem. There are a few tell tale signs that your middle either is already, or will soon begin to sag -- horribly.

• Your hero and heroine spend too much time apart. You know, this little tid bit actually made a light go on in my musty dusty mind. They have to be together to get together.  Oh...okay.
• Your star-crossed duo get along too well.  There's no tension or uncertainty, no misunderstanding - in other words, "No Heat."
• Random, pointless crap. Do you write about the morning routine? Driving places? How about a few paragraphs describing boring stuff like what they do at work?  Busy work that doesn't push the plot loses the reader and makes your characters too ordinary.
• Recapping and redundant conversations. Your reader isn't an idiot. Don't treat them like one. If you already showed something in a scene, you don't need to spend time talking about it, unless it's a really convoluted storyline in which case...sagging probably isn't the problem.
• Second Fiddle becomes more interesting. If secondary characters, supporting staff, and scenery become the focus of your book...you're in trouble.

The good news is there are some steps to take BEFORE your middle starts to sag that will allow you to side-step the whole horrifying ordeal.  I know that some of the SEAT OF YOUR PANTS writers out there will hate me for this...but OUTLINING, is the best way to avoid this. 

• The number one reason for a sagging middle is you don't have enough of a plot to support a book.  The romantic subplot doesn't have enough emotional twists and turns, or the main plot is too linear.  An outline can help you see if you need more of one or the other...or if your novel should really be a novella.
• Now, this may seem backwards, but too much action is another reason middles sag. Doling out the tension systematically...piece by piece, ramping up the stakes just a bit each time, is a more effective way to keep your story exciting and moving.
• The middle matters in matters of the heart. Use the middle to focus on the romance and the major turning points in the plot.  Don't go off on tangents like side character issues, or backstory. If you know the middle of novels tends to sag...fill it with juicy stuff and it won't.

Now its always good to do these things before your WIP needs major surgery. Sometimes going back in and adding romantic subplots, or story twists opens up a whole avenue you didn't realize you had.  So don't panic...be aware...and keep at it!

I will see you all tomorrow for the Dream Sequence Blogfest over at Amalia T's. Until next time...Go Write!

Photograph by sandcastlematt. Photgraph by Daniel E Bruce

X is for Xyster

I struggled to find an X word that would fit my current state of mind and happened upon Xyster.  This is a surgical instrument used for scraping bones...so its kinda like revisions, right?

As I continue to fine tune and polish my manuscript I look forward to reading all of the great entries from you fellow A-Z Blogging Challenge entrants.  Its nice to have a pleasant trip outside my worries to read about what is going on in other parts of the world.

I also wanted to thank you all for the great encouragement and advice on yesterday's comments...I shall take the critique circle's rants with a grain of salt...or maybe a salt block.  Since its my name on the pages, I'll go with my gut and stick with what I feel is the best representation of my heroine.  Thanks for helping me re-locate my back bone!  You guys rock!

Well, my completely arbitrary and self-imposed deadline looms ahead and I am off to do some more 'scraping'.  Until tomorrow, I hope you all have a wonderful day...Now Go Write!

Photograph by Asja, Uploaded on November 11, 2008.

Q is for Quagmire

I am in a "Q" is for Quagmire, a corner, a difficulty...if you will. I finished my book Ruby Dawn and celebrated for almost ten minutes before deciding that something was wrong. I'd written a fast-paced suspense -- with some ‘Romance Sauce’ and not, a Romance/Suspense. I'd gotten so into the mystery and the chase of the subplot that I'd neglected to really give my characters the time together that they needed to realistically rekindle their romance.

ARGH! I know that the genre I chose is a hard one. Romance/Suspense is really like writing two separate novels. The romance plot has to stand alone, as does the suspense. Yet, aspects of both have to serve to push along the plot of the other. I sometimes feel like two different writers; the feather-boa-wearing and bon bon eating Romance writer and the fedora-tilting, coin-flipping Mystery writer.

Needless to say I need to rip open the book, eviscerate, and re-stitch my beloved, ‘completed’ manuscript. There are scenes I worked on for hours that just don’t fit anymore, at least not if I keep the hero and heroine together for most of the book. Live and learn. This is only my second romance. The first three books I completed were suspense/thrillers along the lines of ‘24’. Not too much romance to weave in there.

I will get myself some ice cream, some sticky-notes, and a red pen. Let the carnage begin…

Until next time…Go Write!

Photograph by AMagill, Uploaded on May 11, 2006.

C is for Cliche'

Today I am dedicated to stomping out the "C" is for Cliche' in my writing .  I've been working on revisions and I am really happy with the layering that I did in the first half of the book.  Something my Sunday Morning Romance Writers colleague said made me think. She mentioned that it was hard to read romance without rolling your eyes at the cliche'd descriptions of heaving breasts and rippled abs...true enough.

This sent me on a quest to stamp out anything remotely similar in my own writing. Okay, well first I'll start with the emotional turmoil phrases that I often run into in other books...and that I can be guilty of myslef. I shall "comb through" my manuscript and "shine the light on" anything that is "been-there-done-that" in terms of descriptions.

If you're interested, a great article on addressing Cliche's is The Bookshelf Muse and talks about how they are The Poison Apples of Writing.

Back to my task...I will eviscerate my prose, ripping out the "heart's ramming in my chests" and the "my stomach churneds" from my heroine's inner thoughts.  Out go the "I shruggeds"...well not all of them, and the "he ran his hand through his hair" references.  This is actually kind of fun!  Be gone, evil "his eyes bore into mine"!

Now that I am done and survey the carnage on my desktop I am left with some holes. I need to replace those descriptions and sentiments with something...but what?  As I labor to craft my novel into a shiny, gleaming collection of breathtaking images...I leave you with this:

What is the cliche' that gets you to roll your eyes? It can be in movies, or books...even those summer blockbuster trailers a' la: "In a world...where one man...must fight to...blah blah blah..." Let me know what you'd be happy never to hear again...and maybe throw some suggestions my way. I await your response, eyes flashing, bated breath...just kidding.

Until next time...Go Write!

Photograph by Aurimas Rimsa, Uploaded on August 21, 2007 Photograph by erix!, Uploaded on September 16, 2009

B is for Breakdowns!

First of all, I want to thank those of you that emailed me or commented on my blog about the Alternate Version Blogfest that I participated in yesterday.  You guys are wonderfully supportive. 

Fellow blogger has issued a challenged to blog every day of the month of April (not Sundays) with each post topic starting with a letter of the alphabet. Its called The Blogging from A-Z Challenge. This sounded sufficiently insane for me to think it was a great idea!

So yesterday was obviously "A" for Alternate Universe. Today's offering is a bit more personal. Its "B" is for Breakdown...or perhaps that should be under "N" for Nervous Breakdown?? Not sure.  You see, I recently completed the first draft of my current novel, Ruby Dawn, and started revisions.  Great, right? Well, I read an article from my critique group about, "Hooks".  Not the fun fishing kind, but the literary kind.

To explain, the email asserted that one of the most common points of rejections that editors say influenced them to reject a manuscript is that the story doesn't hook them right away.  In fact, they apparently prefer for a hook to occur within the first 50 words...WORDS.  So I read my manuscript...and had a Breakdown...my hook is almost three pages in.  ARGH!

So I've gone to work, but I need your help. I've posted the original opening paragraph below followed by the revised "Hook-ed" paragraph.  I would love it if you read them both and told me what you think.

Original:
I was eight years old and newly born. A broken child found abandoned in a bus station. I lay unconscious for two days in the I.C.U. No memory of who I was, or who hurt me so badly ever came. There was no missing child report. No parents clamored at the reception desk begging to know my condition. I simply blinked into existence one morning. The nurses named me Ruby Dawn, after the color of the morning sky the day I opened my eyes.

"Hook-ed":
I should have known to stay away from dark corners. Nothing good ever happened to me in them. But it was my job to look and it was a good thing I did because the ghost I found that night belonged to me. In retrospect, the asphalt and the blood seemed fitting, considering my start in life.

A broken child found abandoned in a bus station. I was eight years old and newly born. I lay unconscious for two days in the I.C.U. No memory of who I was, or who hurt me so badly ever came. I simply blinked into existence one morning. The nurses named me Ruby Dawn, after the color of the morning sky the day I opened my eyes.

According to the article, a hook has to grab the reader with the promise of what is too come...sort of a literary teaser to keep reading.  I'll keep working and look forward to your ideas and input. Feel free to not only critique...but throw out some ideas.

Photograph by: Dave-F, Uploaded on February 4, 2006. Photograph by orangeacid, Uploaded on August 1, 2006