D is for Duh!

Today's A-Z Blogging Challenge letter is "D" as in Duh!...or maybe, Drama.  There are certain elements to estblishing Drama in fiction.  I wrote about one of the elements earlier when in my post about conflict, last month.

What I want to explore today is the element of Drama that makes you bite your nails and yell at the book. I'm talking about the collosally stupid decisions that characters make in the flustered moments of a dramatic scene.  My husband is reading a suspense novel by a popular author and I peroidically see he cringe or suck in his breath through his teeth.  He even threw the book down once, disgusted...only to pick it back up  a few seconds later.  That's a good read. What he's reacting to is the Duh! decisions the character is making...hiding the body, accidentlly leaving his GPS device behind in the woods, using something that can be tied to his work to weigh down the body...dumb decicions, sure...but understandable given the circumstances.

An important element of Drama is the emotion, the gut twisting ride the reader takes with the main character. From surging emotions to disproportionate reactions, the Drama created by the consequences of bad decisions on the part of the main character hightens the reader's suspense. If you're interested, Christian Fiction Online Magazine has a great article on drama and the reader, pulling them back from the brink of disaster.

I write Romance/Suspense, so a large part of my Drama is based on emotional conflict. Misunderstanding, failure to communicate, insecurity...these all come straight from Duh! moments, but they're relatable because we've been there. My question to you is this: What is your favorite Dramatic scene ever...from young Skywalker learning about his father while dangling over the abyss to Mr. Darcy's proposal at Rosling Park, movie or book. What set you're heart in motion?

Until next time, Go Write!

 Photograph by epSos.de, Uploaded on February 21, 2010.  Photograph by Lin Pernille, Uploaded on March 31, 2007.

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