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Guest Post from Cynthia Ellingsen
For Writers

Guest Post from Cynthia Ellingsen

Chick Lit Plus, thank you so much for hosting me today! I am delighted to talk with you about the writing process for my first book, The Whole Package.

The Whole Package is a story about three women who lose everything. One loses her job, one loses her fortune and one loses her husband. Together, they open the world’s first restaurant exclusively staffed by scantily clad men. Even though this is a comical premise, the story is actually about the strong friendship these three women share.

Because the story I wanted to write was based around three strong distinct female characters, I was faced with the task of creating them. Before I could even get started, I thought a lot about what I wanted from the three of them as a unit. It was important to me that these women were fine interesting and entertaining, as well as the best of friends. Then, I started thinking about what I wanted from them on an individual basis. I wanted characters that women could easily relate to but at the same time were interesting and unique.

Creating a character from scratch has to start somewhere, right? When I was writing the character Jackie, I had no idea where to start. I knew I wanted someone artistic, enigmatic and who was the pack leader, but I know anything about her. Well… I did have a fabulous friend who loved Angel perfume. For some reason, the smell of this perfume made me think of a woman with fluffy blonde hair, who charmed absolutely everyone who met her. Angel perfume. Such a tiny detail. It’s small, but it was more than enough to begin building who Jackie would become.

While a painter might use broad brush strokes to create a painting, I have always found that when I use broad strokes to write, those characters end up well… broad. There is an expression that “God is in the details” and I find that to be especially true when trying to invent a character. It is very hard for me to create a character without knowing the tiny little details about that person.

What do I mean when I say broad brush strokes? A broad brush stroke is like saying, “I want to have a comical best friend in my story.” A broad character trait like comical is not something I have an easy time writing if I don’t know those tiny little details that make up who this comical person is.

In The Whole Package, I think of Doris as a comical character. But the thing that make her so funny to me are the details and aspects of her personality – the things that she likes and dislikes – that make her come to life. For example, when building Doris, I knew that she had a weakness for Godiva chocolates, that her favorite time period was when she played soccer in high school and that finding simple order in a white room or a row of perfectly lined up sweaters brought her joy. Knowing these tiny details about Doris made it much easier to delve into the larger issues that make her she is.

Once I had a grasp on the smaller details, I started to put the puzzle pieces together to create the whole. During this process, I learned that Doris loved Godiva chocolates because she was going through a hard time and found comfort in chocolate. The fact that these chocolates were Godiva served as another clue – Doris clearly had some money if she could purchase premium chocolates instead of something you’d grab at the checkout.

Another piece I paid attention to was the knowledge that Doris also found comfort in a white room and a clean house. Again, comfort. Why did she need so much comfort? Well, that’s when I started to discover that there was a lot going on with Doris. That there was a reason Doris needed all of that comfort. It was because she had lost her mother, was desperately unhappy and living in the past. Oh. And she was married. And that her husband didn’t understand the depression she was going through, which was pushing him away and…

Doris began to develop as a character.

Of course, every writer is different. Ultimately, it’s just a matter of finding what works for you. In the end, there’s really only one thing that matters: that you have fallen in love with your characters. That you’ll miss them when they’re not around every day, telling you their problems. It’s that moment of complete, pure love that means you’re on the right track.

Let me know your writing tips and tricks. Visit me at www.cynthiaellingsen.com

September 6, 2011
2 Comments
Guest Post by Susan Fales-Hill
Chick Lit Authors

Guest Post by Susan Fales-Hill

The realization that one MUST write books can dawn slowly, over the course of a lifetime, or in a Joan-of-Arc-hears-a-voice sudden flash of inspiration. I had my first epiphany during a dismal meeting with T.V. network executives as I burned at the stake of their unrelenting criticism of a script I had written about a subject I knew cold: glamorous black divas. It was 1998 and I was a thirteen year sitcom veteran having worked as a writer on “The Cosby Show, “as Executive Producer/Headwriter of its spinoff, “A Different World,” two other less memorable shows, and served as Consulting Producer on Brooke Shields’ comedic vehicle, “Suddenly Susan.” (Thirteen years may not sound like much, but TV writers’ careers are measured in dog years, we are hideously overworked and grossly overpaid. For that decade plus, I had no life, and was mother to a large brood of handbags) This was the tail end of the last great Golden Age of Network television, a time before niche networks and the proliferation of reality shows featuring disgraced politicians and Republican baby mamas mamboing their way to image rehabilitation and big cash prizes. During a lull between show running jobs, I had agreed to write a pilot, with Whoopi Goldberg as producer, about a Broadway diva who had fallen on hard times. Having grown up around a group I like to call the Original Divas, Diahann Carrol, Eartha Kitt, Lena Horne, my own mother, Broadway legend, Josephine Premice (who would awaken me every morning with a song, a homemade chocolate shake and wearing her false eyelashes,) I knew the breed. I more than knew them, had a Doctorate in Advanced Divology.
. Rather than comment on the story, the executives launched into an attack on the depiction of the “Diva. “ They reeled off a list of actresses they considered divas, all of them white, and though all talented, more “Mae West” raunchy/vulgar than naughty and refined like the performers I’d known all my life. Whoopi objected: “None of the women you’ve mentioned is a woman of color.” “Our Yoga instructor is Indian,” the executives countered brightly without a trace of irony. With all due respect to this no doubt lovely and obviously enterprising woman, I submit that opening a Yoga studio in a strip mall in Santa Monica in the 1990’s doesn’t quite compare to changing the image of African American women from sexless, subservient mammies to sophisticated, empowered glamazons in the era of Jim Crow. Call me crazy. Beyonce, Halle Berry, Viola Davis, Angela Basset and scores of others owe their careers to the strides made by this prior generation of path breakers. But the executives were clearly oblivious to these truths. As they steamrolled over Whoopi’s comment and the original concept of the piece, I felt as if I had landed in the third circle of Dante’s Hell and was being punished for all eternity for a crime I didn’t remember committing. Aside from the fact they had no frame of reference for the world, or the women we were depicting, they weren’t going to bother to do their research. I had had the privilege of working on groundbreaking shows that had systematically dismantled stereotypes, but in this case “the revolution (would) not be televised.” I knew in that moment that to do justice to the Original Divas, I would eventually have to turn to another medium.
I wish I could tell you, dear reader, that I stood up then and there, cast my pencil down before these benighted bores and declared “Enough is enough, I’m done with T.V.” In the first place, the discussion was taking place via phone, in a time before Skype, so the drama of my standing up and tossing said pencil to the ground would have been lost on them. In the second, I’m nothing if not practical and security oriented. It took a couple of more years to loose myself from television’s golden handcuffs. That same year, I sold a show to Showtime with Tim Reid that starred the incredible Pam Grier. For two seasons, we enjoyed much greater creative freedom . But I realized I still had not told my story. It was my husband who asked me one night over dinner: “Other than the money, what keeps you in TV?” I stared at him dumbly and looked down at my designer purse. I had to admit to myself that woman does not live by luxury accessories alone. It was time to take a chance. An article I wrote about growing up bi-racial in the 60’s and 70’s and not ending up in an asylum led me to immortalize my mother in a memoir, “Always Wear Joy,” published two years after her passing and the year my daughter was born.
All I can say, dear reader is, “once you go hardback, you never go back.” The work of writing books is far lonelier. I can no longer bounce ideas ofF an entire staff, but am reduced to talking to myself (hopefully not in public) until my editor weighs in on the first draft. And there is no one to fetch me cappuccinos at will. That said, the freedom to depict the world as I know it, big, messy, multicultural, and not be told that a character is too old (because she’s all of thirty two), too unlikeable, too exotic, too badly behaved, too too much is well worth the “sacrifices.”
My debut novel, “One Flight Up,” the first multicultural chick lit novel, is dedicated to the notion that we don’t pick our friends like Garanimal pajamas, (i.e.they don’t all match. ) Tired of books that end with an “I Do,” I wanted to explore the choices women face between marrying sexy Mario in the Mazerati, who rocks your world but won’t be there to change diapers, and Murray the Mortician who will, but between the sheets may make you feel like you’ re being embalmed. I’m now on book three and counting.
With each tome, I learn, grow, and hopefully improve. My television training served me well. I don’t treat deadlines as mere suggestions and I’m the first to edit myself. I don’t treat any part of my books like the stone tablets of Moses. Writing is re-writing. And so, I suppose I should thank the two executives whose whining incomprehension drove me to seek out new territory. And should book writing not pan out, I can always return to my first job out of high school and before college: peddling designer purses behind the counter at Gucci. Anyone for a calf-skin clutch?

susanfales-hill.com

August 18, 2011
1 Comment
Guest Post from Brooke Moss
Chick Lit Authors

Guest Post from Brooke Moss

Try, Try, Try…and Try Again.
By Brooke Moss

Thanks for having me here on Chick Lit Plus, I’m thrilled to be here!
Ever since I sold my debut novel, The What If Guy, to Entangled Publishing, I’ve been asked at least a dozen times for advice on how to break into the publishing world. And as much as I’d like to be able to share my amazing words of wisdom, and to map out the way to publication for all of the aspiring writers out there, I have to admit something:
I’m still as clueless as I ever was.
Well, maybe not quite as clueless as I was. After all, I was pretty clueless. But do I have all of the answers? No way, man. Not at all. Every day I move forward in this new career of mine, I learn more. I’ve learned about the editing process, and how grueling and painful it can be. I’ve learned about doing publicity for your books, and how time consuming that process is. I’ve learned about timelines and deadlines, and how important it is to learn the dying art of patience.
Since selling my book, I’ve been the student, so to speak. But I do have some sound advice for all of the aspiring writers out there. And this advice comes straight from the mouth of an author who was aspiring just a few short months ago. Follow these steps, and it may be your debut hitting the shelves next:
1.) Write a book. Don’t query it before it’s done. Sure, it’s tempting to do so, but it’s simply not a good idea. Because you never know how long your editing process might take, and if an agent or editor expresses interest in it, you’d hate to make them wait six months before it’s in the right shape to send. DON’T query a book that’s not finished. As the great Cherry Adair says, “Finish the damn book!”
2.) Once that book is finished, start editing. Now, this may take a while, and a few separate sets of eyes to look at it, but don’t get discouraged. Editing is a normal part of getting your book in the proper shape for querying. Take it from me, editing isn’t fun. Personally, I loathe it. But it is a necessary evil. So keep your chin up, and do it.
3.) Edit it again. I know, you were so happy when you thought you were done. You danced and celebrated and breathed a sigh of relief, because the worst was over…but no. The work is not done.
4.) Edit it again. Okay, okay, don’t stop reading…I promise that I know what I am talking about. Give your manuscript to a friend, and hand them a red pen. Ask them to mark anything that doesn’t read smoothly, or is confusing. When you get the manuscript back, go through it with new eyes, and fix fix fix.
5.) Write a query letter, and repeat steps three and four. That query letter is an agent or editor’s first impression of you. Make it short, sweet, and undeniably you.
6.) Make a list of agents and editors that you would love to work with. Never query an agent that you haven’t researched. You don’t want to wind up working with an agent that you don’t mesh well with, or have an unforeseen clash of personalities. Plus, what good does it do to query an agent or editor that only works with contemporaries, when you write paranormal, or vice versa? Do your research, and query the right options for you.
7.) Send the queries. And follow their guidelines! If they say no attachments, by gosh, they mean it. Don’t include a picture of yourself in a bikini, or send the first fifty pages of your manuscript, just because you think they’ll give it a chance out of pity. Not following their guidelines is a one way road into the slush pile.
8.) When you get rejected, and believe me, you will, don’t get down on yourself. This is part of the process, no matter how very much it sucks. And believe me, it sucks. Sometimes I even cried. The point is: Just keep sending out the queries. Thank each person who rejects you for pushing you even closer to the person who will offer you a contract.
9.) If you’ve been rejected more times than you can stand and you feel like you’re on the verge of a mental breakdown (which is totally normal) then table the book. Put it in a drawer and promise yourself to revisit it in six months. A year. A decade. Whatever feels right.
10.) Start a new book. I know, I know, now you’re rolling your eyes saying, Why the hell would I do that, when I’ve already written such a good book!? Believe me, I’ve been there. Here’s the deal: A writer who writes ONE great book is like shutting one’s self into a tiny room with no windows or doors. No room to expand. Write another book. Keep making up new worlds. Keep creating new characters. You never know when you’ll be given the chance to revisit that old book, but why limit yourself? Write another damn book.
11.) Edit the new book.
12.) Repeat steps one through nine. If that book doesn’t sell, repeat step ten.
Here is my point in a nutshell: Never give up. If you can’t sell one book, write another. Fine tune your skills. Go to conferences. Listen to lectures. Try new styles, perspectives, methods, etc. Never consider yourself to be at your best; otherwise you’ll never reach your best. Perfect your craft. The What If Guy was the fifth book I wrote. After I was offered a contract for it, my editor read on my website about a trilogy I’d written a few years ago, and asked to read it. This particular trilogy was rejected over forty times.
No, I’m not kidding.
The books you’ve tabled aren’t being forgotten. But never allow yourself to be so tethered to an old project that you’ve stagnated yourself. Keep trying. Try, try, try, try, try…and try again. That’s the best advice this debut author can offer to aspiring writers. Good luck to each and every one of you.
The What If Guy is available through Entangled Publishing, and I am thrilled to be sharing it with the world. It tells the tale of single mom, Autumn Cole, who is returning to the miniscule farming town of her youth, to reluctantly reclaim her role as daughter of the town drunk. Things become even more complicated when she realizes that her son’s history teacher is Henry, the college sweetheart she dumped, but never stopped loving. Be sure to grab a copy of The What If Guy, and then tell me what you think!
Find The What If Guy at Amazon, B&N, Books On Board, and at your local bookseller. A special thanks goes to Entangled Publishing for their amazing prizes and giveaways. Thanks guys!

Find me on the web at Website, Blog, Twitter, Goodreads, and Facebook.

Fondly,
Brooke Moss

August 10, 2011
1 Comment
Guest Post by Patricia Eimer
For Writers

Guest Post by Patricia Eimer

Chick Lit’s Not Dead Yet
There I said it. And somewhere, probably in New York or LA, a thousand editors, publicists and book buying people just felt a gigantic stabbing motion in their heart and a few may be experiencing headaches. Because I just said something we’re all supposed to believe is patently false. When I mentioned the name of this blog post two of my critique partners actually made that sucking sound over the phone that seemed to say “bad idea, don’t go there.” And that’s how I knew I’d hit upon the blog I wanted to write. Because you see, I live for that sound. I am like a bad idea chiropractor – I live for the noise. I need the noise. And because of my addiction to the noise I’m going to say it again. Louder this time.
CHICKLIT IS NOT DEAD!!!!!
Now, my proof. Pretty Little Liars, Emily Giffin and Ann Brashares are all sitting pretty on the USA Today’s Bestseller List. Katie MacAlister’s The Incredible Lightness of Dragons hit the list its first week in publication. MaryJanice Davidson’s Undead and Undermined did the same thing. And my publisher, Entangled Publishing, has two fabulous novels coming out (The What If Guy and Lucky Girl) that would both fit into the genre.
Now are they all traditional Carrie Bradshaw style characters straight out of a Candace Bushnell novel? No, of course not. But to say that Chick Lit is dead because of that would be the same as saying that Historical Romance novels are dead because we now rarely see the “rape the virgin till she loves you” trope being used. In fact you almost never see it in modern Historical Romances. Does that mean Historical Romance is dead? Hardly.
Is the age of reading a book for a glimpse at the extravagant lives of Candace Bushnell or Plum Sykes characters over? Maybe. Is that because women aren’t reading? Or because they suddenly don’t want to read strong, independent, modern women who might be looking for love but can take care of themselves thank-you-very-much? Nope.
I think, and this is all just my opinion as 1.) a Reader 2.) A Woman and 3.) An Economist that it’s not that women don’t want to read or they don’t want to read the strong, independent women personified in Chick Lit. My opinion is that it’s very hard to identify with traditional Chick Lit girls in the postmodern age. A Bergdorf Blonde’s concerns over whether or not she can make it for her 30 day touch up seems a bit silly in the age of 9.6% unemployment and the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.
But while I proudly declare that Chick Lit isn’t dead I will concede that it has evolved and grown, like everything (including readers) always do. Do readers want a book that fixates on Manolo Blahniks and Balenciaga? Nope. But that doesn’t stop us from giggling over Betsey the Vampire Queen being a bit peeved off to see her “power shoes” on the Devil’s feet. It’s just that in the modern age we, and Betsey, have bigger fish to fry.
So if you call it Chick Lit, Contemporary Women’s Fiction, Paranormal romance with Comedic Elements, Contemporary Fiction with Romantic Elements, or whatever NY has declared the “in” term for books with strong, modern heroines who can save themselves it doesn’t matter. At heart they’re all the same and women still want to read them. The only difference between the “Age of Chick Lit” and now? We’ve all grown up a little bit and learned to clip coupons.
Which, speaking of coupons, Off 5th Avenue just sent me a pretty good one. And there are a pair of Beverly Feldman’s that have just fell into my price range. Little black lace booties? You will be mine. Oh yes. You will be mine.

August 2, 2011
6 Comments
Guest Post by Deborah Coonts
Chick Lit Authors

Guest Post by Deborah Coonts

Tips for Writers, Sort Of
By Deborah Coonts,
Author of Lucky Stiff
Let’s get this out right up front — I have an authority issue. Rules and me, we mix about as well as fire and gasoline. So, if someone tells me how to do something, odds are, I’m not going to follow that path. The results are usually either brilliant or disastrous. I am very familiar with the latter, but not so much with the former. But at least I did it my way (yes, I feel a song coming on). After trying many professions (some had no appreciation for independent thinkers, imagine that), I finally landed on writing — primarily because, as you might have suspected, I am eminently unemployable. Curiously enough, I’ve discovered that writing is what I should have done all along.
You see, I’ve always loved stories. But, I wasn’t born a writer fully formed. I know you find that hard to believe, but it’s the truth — although I make stuff up for a living, I never lie. Anyway, when I started writing I was as clueless as a politician with a camera phone and a Twitter account. So, I did what everyone else would do — I just sat in a chair and typed “Chapter One.” Then . . . nothing. I had no idea how to tackle something as intimidating as a novel.
So, I baled and hit the Internet. Curiously enough, I found some “rules” for writing a novel. The first one was “write what you know.” Well, letsee, I was a single parent, frazzled and over-worked tax lawyer, living in a very conservative and snobbish small city in Colorado. Hmmm, didn’t sound like good fodder for a bestseller.
The next rule was “write what you read.” I loved romantic suspense. Maybe I could be Sandra Brown — or at least have her wardrobe? This at least got me scribbling madly. But, alas, I was not Sandra Brown. I wasn’t even a marginal romantic suspense writer. Darn.
Okay, next “rule:” Write what you can imagine. Much better. So, I imagined an overworked young woman who was Head of Customer Relations at a large Vegas Strip hotel with a former hooker as a mother, an absent father, and Vegas’s foremost Female Impersonator as a best friend. This story I could write! And it became Wanna Get Lucky?, my first published novel.
Along the way, I’ve developed my own set of “rules” for writing a novel — truisms all learned the hard way.
RULE ONE: GET DIVORCED, QUIT YOUR JOB, SELL YOUR KIDS
(I warn you, a slightly used teenager will bring nothing on the open market. Ditto the slightly used husband.) Writing is an all-consuming passion, an exacting taskmaster. If you don’t understand that last sentence, pick another form of self-flagellation other than writing — there are many, or so I’m told.
RULE TWO: LEARN THE BASICS
Writing is an art form. Asking someone to teach you how to write is akin to asking Picasso to teach you how to paint. He can teach you the basics of color, composition, media and whatever, but the expression — the part that makes it art — is up to you. The same goes for writing. Learn the basics of sentence structure, active voice versus passive, showing not telling, and the particular narrative nuances of your chosen genre, then quit taking lessons. Find your uniqueness and let it flow.
RULE THREE: KILL YOUR EDITOR (no, no, not that one! I’m referring to the INTERNAL one!)
Self-editing as you write will kill your story. The goal of the first draft is to get words on the page — as many words as you think might be helpful. Trust me, it is MUCH easier to take words out than it is to add more later. I don’t know why that is, but it is.
And that voice in your head that says you can’t do this, that you can never write a complete novel, much less a good one? Strangle that little SOB right now, BEFORE you begin. You will thank me later. Actually, I prefer donations in lieu of gratitude.
RULE FOUR: NEVER TRUST YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS
Even if you don’t owe them money, your family and friends will all tell you that your novel is wonderful. Don’t trust them. Find a group of writers — published or not, but make sure they know what they are talking about and their motives are pure — share your pages. You read theirs, they read yours, then you CONSTRUCTIVELY offer and receive unbiased opinions. This can be a goldmine. It can also be a very negative experience, so choose who you listen to wisely.
RULE FIVE: WRITE
Put your butt in the chair, power-up the computer and write — everyday. I have written on planes, in casinos, at coffee shops in airports, skanky hotels when I was too tired to remember why I was even there, at family gatherings (a great way to keep out of the fray), in the park, at the gym after being defeated by the Stairmaster . . . in short, my daily word count goal is non-negotiable. I don’t care what your excuse is, you can find the time. I am the Queen of Procrastination, and if I can find a few hours each day to play with words and imaginary friends, so can you. And, some days my imaginary world is much more fun than the real thing. Bet yours is, too.
RULE SIX: ENJOY
Have fun. Play.
Enough said.
© 2011 Deborah Coonts, author of Lucky Stiff
Author Bio
Deborah Coonts, author of Lucky Stiff, says her mother tells her she was born in Texas a very long time ago, though she’s not totally sure — her mother can’t be trusted. But she was definitely raised in Texas on barbeque, Mexican food and beer. She currently resides in Las Vegas, where family and friends tell her she can’t get into too much trouble. Silly people. Coonts has built her own business, practiced law, flown airplanes, written a humor column for a national magazine, and survived a teenager. She is the author of the Lucky O’Tool Las Vegas adventure series.

The first book in the series, Wanna Get Lucky?, has been nominated by the Romance Writers of America for the 2011 RITA awards in the categories of Best First Novel and Best Novel with a Strong Romantic Element. Her second book, Lucky Stiff, was published in February 2011.
For more information please visit http://www.deborahcoonts.com/, and follow the author on Facebook and Twitter

June 30, 2011
6 Comments
Guest Post by Deborah Cloyed
For Writers

Guest Post by Deborah Cloyed

Living Life and Writing Fiction The number one question I get about the book is how much it is based on real life people and…

May 31, 2011
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Guest Post by Author Nan Parson Rossiter
For Writers

Guest Post by Author Nan Parson Rossiter

Patience, Perseverance, Pluck…and Prayer!

“When I grow up I’m going to be an artist!” These words spilled from my mouth when I was the tender age of three and I never strayed from my dream. I was one of those blessed kids who just knew what I wanted to do. But life can take some unexpected turns.
In art school I narrowed down my life’s ambition to illustrator and, after graduation, I began free-lancing. What I hadn’t acknowledged yet was a talent for writing. Looking back now, though, I vividly remember two moments, in high school and in college, when two teachers suggested I become a writer. At the time, I wasn’t interested…art was my passion!
Eight years later, an idea for a children’s book slipped into my mind and I discovered that writing it was the easy part. I came up with some illustrations to go along with my words and after two years of rejection a publisher finally called. I was over the moon! Two more children’s books followed and I was on my way…or so I thought.
After my third book didn’t sell very well, my publisher said that my ideas were too quiet and, one by one, my books were remaindered. My promising career was slipping away. I continued to write and submit new stories…and receive more rejections; but I refused to give up! Years passed and still I persisted. I worked odd jobs, had an art show, raised two sons, and despaired…Would I ever be published again? And how would we, as a family, manage?
I prayed, lamented, and argued with God…Didn’t he want me to use my talents? Around this time, I did something crazy: I started writing a novel! I had no idea if I had the ability; I’d never even taken a writing class. I didn’t have an outline or a plan. The only experience I had was reading books; but I had a title…and an idea…and I’d done the hard part…I’d started!
I plugged along when time allowed, one sentence at a time, and the story took on a life of its own. Before long, I couldn’t sit down soon enough after my morning walks because it was like giving birth…and that baby was coming! I realized that I wanted it to be a story of faith and, although I didn’t know the details, I had the basic plot in my head. The story unfolded before my eyes and I found it to be almost like reading a book….except that I was writing it.
Then one day, it was finished. It had taken two years. I immediately ordered Jeff Herman’s Guide to Book Publishers, Editors, and Literary Agents, wrote a polished query letter, a brief summary, and began submitting…and praying! After two years of rejections (or no response at all!) I found an agent and, ultimately, a publisher. I was elated…and a bit deflated: the contract I signed said it would be two more years before my book was published.
It has been nine years since my last book was published. During this time, I read two wonderful books: Walking on Water by Madeleine L’Engle (author of A Wrinkle in Time) and Knit Together by Debbie Macomber. Both of these ladies endured long periods with no success and both carried on in faith and with determination. These books inspired me and kept me going. With perseverance, patience, pluck…and prayer, I can once again say, “I’m going to be published!”
Life can take some unexpected turns…so get started!

May 3, 2011
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Writer Wednesday: Fiction Dialogue
For Writers

Writer Wednesday: Fiction Dialogue

Writing fiction dialogue is hard work. Fiction dialogue versus what we actually say are very different things. When I sent my first manuscript off to an editor, she came back telling me to work on my dialogue. She highlighted some points that she said wouldn’t work. Many of those conversations were ones that I have really had. I was confused. If that was something I said in real life, how couldn’t that transfer over to my novel?

When you write dialogue, there needs to be a purpose behind it. The dialogue should be moving the story forward, developing a character, adding to the plot, create a voice/tone for a character, showing conflict, showing time transition, etc., etc., etc. Get it? It took me awhile, but I realized that a conversation between two characters should not sound like this:

Jasmine: “Are we meeting at Perkins tonight?”

Abby: “Yes, we are meeting at Perkins at seven o’clock tonight.”

Jasmine: “I love your purple tank top.”

Abby: “I got my tank top on sale at Kohl’s.”

Jasmine: I, like, totally did not get what Mr. Matthews was saying.”

Abby: “That history teacher is whack.”

Those are just a few different examples of what fiction writing should not sound like. You don’t want your characters to be formal with each other. The words they are saying will read stiff to the readers, and they will quickly become bored and pulled out of the story. You also don’t want to make your characters say anything obvious. You don’t want to use dialogue for the sole purpose of letting your readers know that you have one brother, two sisters, grew up in California, and have a poodle. The fillers that we use when talking, such as the word “like” also should be cut from your dialogue, or very rarely used. Remember, every word in a novel needs to count! Finding those fillers and deleting them is a good way to lower your unnecessary word count. Another way to make dialogue sound more real is to have contractions. How does this read:

Jasmine: “I am going to the store. I will not forget the grapes.”

Abby: “You are always forgetting them. I did not see you write it on the list.”

Who really talks like that? Using contractions, for example, taking “I am” and making it “I’m” will sound a lot better!

Read your dialogue out loud. Your ears will be able to pick up what sounds stiff, formal, or just not right while you are reading. Ask a friend of family member to read it over. Getting a second or third opinion will help. Dialogue is so important when writing, if your dialogue doesn’t work, readers will have a tough time sticking with the story. I will be touching more in depth on dialogue over the next few weeks. If you have any tips that you would like to share, please do so below!

April 20, 2011
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Guest Post by Author Fanny Blake
For Writers

Guest Post by Author Fanny Blake

In my last year of university, on the last Thursday of every month, I’d be found in the same bookshop waiting for the boxes of new Penguin Books to be unpacked. By the time I left University, my ambition was to be an editor at Penguin, even though I had no real idea what that meant. I persisted until I got a break into publishing as an editorial assistant in another company. From there it took me five years until I made it to Penguin. After that I continued to work as a publisher’s editor then editorial director until my job was made redundant. Unsure what to do next, I agreed to compile a monthly books page for a national magazine. From there I started writing travel features and then interiors pieces. As a result of the latter, I was asked to write some books that tied with some of the popular TV lifestyle shows. Eventually I decided to try my hand at ghostwriting and collaborated on a number of books with high-profile celebrities. All the time, my confidence as a writer was growing as I learned from the inside about structuring material, style and voice.

Finally I reached a point where I felt I was ready to write the novel that I’d always been too scared to start. I wanted to write about women of a certain age, their friendships and their relationships with men. Gradually the characters of Bea, Kate and Ellen began to come together in my mind and I had the beginnings of What Women Want. When I started to write, I knew the three women as well as Oliver, the man who would come between them. I was familiar with where they were in their lives when the reader first meets them and I knew the rough trajectory of the journey that each of them would make to reach the conclusion of the novel. However, nothing was set in stone. I didn’t want to prevent the writing from being spontaneous and I wanted to be able to have fun with them on the way.

I spent about nine months writing. I did have other journalistic projects on the go at the same time, but I wrote something of the novel every day, sometimes as much as 1,000 words, sometimes nowhere near that amount, sometimes more. When the writing went well, I loved it, when I got stuck I felt frustrated and despairing. What helped me most was having a friend, another novelist, who I spoke to almost every day. Without her, I might have given up. With her encouragement, I negotiated the hurdles and avoided the loneliness which many writers feel, and I finished the book.

When I was told that a publisher wanted to take on What Women Want, I was ecstatic. My adult life has been always involved in books and reading, and now I’m excited to be starting in a completely new direction within the same field. Now I am hard at work on my second novel.

Fanny Blake’s What Women Want is published by Blue Door and available form April 14th.

April 14, 2011
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