Terescia’s thoughts and such on writing romantic fiction for publication.

There are a lot of writers out there who will tell you to write what you like to read. It seems like good advice–logical, intelligent advice.

Hah.

If you write what you like to read, be prepared to sound like your favorite authors and to lose some of the enjoyment of reading altogether. Because if you write what you read, you’ll find yourself becoming much more analytical about the books you used to love and you’ll find that your favorites don’t quite inspire you as much as they used to.

Of course, this isn’t advice for everyone–what advice ever is? :-) But this is experience talking, and you’d do well to at least spend some time considering it before you dismiss it.

Without your love of reading, is writing going to be the joy that it was?

If you choose to write stories that are different enough from your most precious reading, you could end up a much happier reader. And a happy reader is a much more enthusiastic writer.

I enjoy writing contemporary romantic suspense in both light and dark tones. I also enjoy writing sci-fi romance. But reading? Lately, I’ve stuck to fantasy novels, strict science fiction, and shied away from the suspense. (I have read enough suspense, both romance and mainstream, that I feel comfortable that I’m on the right track with my stories, but I’m not one of those authors who believe you have to read every new book that comes out in a certain genre to be able to write in that genre.)

Let me know if you agree or disagree with my reasoning. I’d love to have the opportunity to see another opinion on this.

Soon, I’d like to talk about why I enjoy writing dark suspense, but why I don’t enjoy reading it–and it’s not for the reasons you might think!

Over on the WeWriteRomance.com forums, we have Tanya Michaels giving a free writing workshop on finding your voice. :-) Very good. Tanya is a wonderful guest!

Update: Just because the workshop is over doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take a look. The archives are still on the site and you might learn something!

So, my manuscript has been with an editor for almost four months now and I haven’t heard back. No rejection, but no request for a complete either. We know which one I’m hoping for, and we know which one I almost expect to receive…however, I’m still nervous about sending a follow-up. But, I know I’d rather have an answer sooner rather than later, regardless, so that I can plan how I’m going to proceed with submissions.

How long do you usually wait before you send a follow-up?

At some point this week, I intend to switch my blog from Blogger to WordPress, because WordPress will allow me to house all the bits and pieces on my own website. As my CP knows, I have more than one issue when it comes to control, so this is going to be a wonderful thing. :-) If I crash my site, though, don’t worry. I’ll fix it as quickly as I can!

Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Sometimes it’s like looking in a mirror and seeing a stranger. Whether standing behind you or beside you, it is you and you wonder how you got there, because you thought you were here. And then there are the days when you know who you are, but you don’t, and you wonder. Do I know what I’m doing? Do I know who I am when I’m not writing?

If you can answer yes, you’re lucky, and you shouldn’t forget that. But if you answered no, then you’re like me and that’s not such a bad place to be.

But it can be better.

I’m not a philosopher, far from it. But I know a few tricks when it comes to writing.

If you’re a member of a lot of writing listserves, go no mail and mean it. Don’t visit the web interface and read the messages you’re not getting, because you don’t want to see what other authors are saying. You need freedom to remember why you’re a writer and freedom to think your own thoughts. Sure you learn from these other authors, and sure you enjoy their company, but if you don’t concentrate on yourself, you might forget who you are and why you do what you do. How can you write what’s in your heart and in your head if you don’t even know who you are when you’re not someone else?

If you have a critique partner or a critique group, choose to keep it all to yourself for a change. Don’t talk about it, don’t write about it in email, or in any other fashion. You’ve always been told to share, but in this instance you want to be stingy and keep what’s you close to yourself.

Don’t post excerpts for anyone to see. Posting is committing and committing is for later. You need your space and you need air, and you certainly don’t need someone breathing down your neck for more.

Remember to laugh, because laughing is as fun as writing should be. Even that which is hard is good, and running from a beehive with your friends is terrifying until you’ve gotten away. And then you laugh until you cry and roll around on the grass, and wasn’t that the best day you ever had?

If you take writing too seriously maybe you’re not taking it seriously enough. If it’s a forever kind of thing you want from this you’ll have to let go. You can’t live in the moment forever and the future doesn’t exist. You have to want it today and tomorrow and yesterday, but if you do, you’re going to lose yourself, because when is life about work and how does living take second place to something else? It shouldn’t and you should remember this when your son asks you to look at his project because the next time you look he’ll be gone.

Take it one moment at a time and remember that one moment isn’t all you get. Your lifetime is full of moments and when you remember that you’ll realize tomorrow is tomorrow and today is today and you do have to live in the moment after all. But that isn’t so bad, because you’re not waiting for tomorrow. Tomorrow is waiting for you.

I’m taking a break. From what, you ask? From disorganization and disorder, from the inability to concentrate or focus on any one task long enough to make significant progress to get it done. I’ve discovered order.

Or maybe not. :-) But I have discovered EverNote, a free note-taking application that sparkles so brightly in my future that I feel like I’m in love. And I’ve been using it for exactly one day. :-o

I guess the reason I’m so enamored of this product is because it fits me so perfectly. I have stacks of single-subject notebooks floating around my house with notes upon notes upon notes, and I can never find the note I’m looking for when I really need it. I write everything down. I write on stickys, in tablets, in text files, on my calendar, in my to do lists, in binders, on the telephone book, everywhere, anywhere… This program was made for me.

It suits my writing and my personal life. It even fits well with my website development projects and business notes.

I’ll report back in a few days, weeks, months, and let you know how it goes.

And if you’re a writer who does lots of research, you should seriously consider giving this little powerhouse a try. I don’t think I’ve ever run across a program as well-suited to a writer’s research notes as EverNote.

Okay, I downloaded Blogger for Word, and I’m posting this just to try it out. I’d say something important, but I don’t really have anything important to say right now. :-)

My writing went well today… Is that acceptable?

I don’t remember if I’ve mentioned in my blog before that I’m co-founder of the wewriteromance.com community, but we just finished a site redo, making many improvements. :-) Or so we hope.

The community is for romance readers and writers–or authors–whichever title you prefer. Personally, I think if you write, you’re always a writer, but you’re only an author when you’ve actually published something. I wonder if this is something I made up or if other people feel the same?

Anyway, that’s all beside the point, as I was talking about wewriteromance.com. We’ve got a nice little collection of members and if I remember to do it, I’ll have to start a blog for the community someday. I’m just not that fond of starting a blog when there’s little chance I’ll have any more time for it than I have for my own. :-)

I read my latest how-to book in record time, but in the end, I don’t feel it ended as promising as it started. Lots of stuff about voice (the book’s called Finding Your Voice: How to put personality in your writing) but somehow I felt it fell short of the mark.

That’s not to say I didn’t like the book or that it didn’t have some good advice in it. However, I won’t re-read it for a while, for sure. On the other hand, the first time I read Beginnings, Middles & Ends by Nancy Kress, I didn’t think it was all that hot either. And now, I love that book and have referred to it many times.

So, I’m not giving up on the book, and I’m certainly not giving it away, but I’ll put Finding Your Voice away for a while and revisit it when I think I can gain something from it that I didn’t get the first time around.

Links:

• Finding Your Voice: How to Put Personality in Your Writing by Les Edgerton
• Beginnings, Middles & Ends by Nancy Kress
• WeWriteRomance.com

I started this post back on 4/17/05 but got interrupted. By what, I can’t remember. I kept meaning to come back to it, but every time I thought of it or saw the little draft mark beside the entry, I didn’t actually have the inclination to finish. Well, now I do.

So, here it is. The post that almost got away. :-)

What’s allowed to interrupt my writing? Or, what should be allowed to interrupt my writing.

• Business. Income is a necessity, unfortunately. But not just any business. In fact, I’ve finally put a limit on the amount of business I allow in my life. Time limits have done wonders for the amount of time I have available for writing. The only problem I’ve encountered is that the time limits haven’t actually affected the amount of writing I do. :-) Seems I’m not too fond of writing when I don’t want to write.
• Friends in need. But only friends in need. Not friends in want, or friends who are bored. Or even friends who think they need a friend’s shoulder to cry on when they’d be better off drying their tears and getting on with their lives. However, I’m not talking about you, I promise (whichever of my dear friends you happen to be). ;-)
• Family. There’s nothing as important, and yet, I find it easier to say no to family than to anyone else who tries to interrupt. The unfortunate part of this is that it should be harder. But I’m practicing being better at saying yes. Time limits, remember? They aren’t just for business, you know.

Do I have my priorities right? I don’t know, but I think it fits me and my goals, so yeah, maybe my priorities are exactly what they need to be. And if they’re not, then next week I can change them again. As my mother likes to remind me, people are in a constant state of change. How or who you are today may not be what you are tomorrow. Your priorities and goals should reflect this.

So, what’s allowed to interrupt your writing? Seriously, I’d like to know. :-)

I think I’ve mentioned before that I’m a little nuts about reading how-to books. I’ve received a new one, just today, called “Finding Your Voice: How to put personality in your writing” by Les Edgerton. So far, so good. I’m on page 19 and already I’ve run across some wonderful advice.

He has a theory about “natural voice” in which he says (on page 4), “…readers select certain authors to read in much the same way as they select their personal friends: on the basis of the ‘voice’ (personality) of that person. All human beings in the world have a circle of people who like them and want to be around them…and they also have folks who don’t like them all that much. The same is true of an author’s readership. They are the ‘friends’ he or she will accumulate.”

I can’t disagree with this statement, because I believe it. I read authors because I like the way they write. And if given the chance to get to know any of those authors, I’m sure I would like most of them. :-)

It’s very rare for me to enjoy reading only one book by an author, but not enjoy any others, and vice-versa. If I’ve had trouble reading one book by someone, usually I’ll have trouble reading the author’s other books too.

I also think that’s why voice is so important. It’s unique, it’s you. It’s your one chance to make an impression on someone, to let them know just what kind of person you are–for good or ill!

On page 19, Edgerton says, “…how you achieve your own voice is governed largely by the words you select to place on the page. When you select the only word you feel fits in a particular sentence, then you’ve made your choice–a choice many others wouldn’t have made–and the accumulation of those choices is largely what determines your own style.”

I know this, but it was nice to hear it so neatly explained. It also sheds light on an incident I had with another writer a few years ago about the use of the word “pervaded.” I wanted that word in my story. It was the exact word I felt it needed. She wasn’t fond of it, and she thought I should use a different word. Of course, it was my book, so I won the debate. :-) But the point is that she wasn’t wrong. And I wasn’t wrong either. She was just unknowingly trying to get me to rewrite something in her voice, instead of staying true to my own.

I like “pervaded,” just like I like lots of other words that aren’t words she likes. That’s what makes us different, and that’s what makes our stories unique and our voices our own. Our plots may end up similar (haven’t yet–but you never know what someday might bring!), and if they do, our stories will still end up totally different, because of our voices.

So why am I reading this book?

Because I can’t trust myself to trust my own voice. I’m hoping this book has the tips I need to learn that trust. :-) Wish me luck!