Show, don't Tell. Not so easy is it?!

Well i learnt something during my blog hopping last week, largely propelled by Rach Writes post on physical telling, which then linked to another great post detailing it further.

Did you know there is something called Physical Telling? No?
It's where you add a physical reaction to your story when, usually what the character says should indicate what their possible, or even probable!, reaction is.

eg, "Did you know Jill's pregnant?" Sarah smirked.
My mouth could have hit the floor. "No! To who?"
(the mouth reference is the telling, where the dialogue following it is doing the showing.) 
I think what this has shown me (and it's probably not the best example!) is that it is often okay and acceptable to leave some things to the readers imagination.

It is also a good idea to balance your telling and showing through dialogue and interiority (didn't even know that was a word!) - or, internal dialogue. With the interiority you can't show, it's unnecessary as you are in the character's head anyway, so it's the perfect time for the telling!

I get confused with this showing and telling stuff, and i'm sure i'm not the only one. Do you have any showing/telling rules or lessons that you have come across and want to share? Please!

Music that Inspires

I am absolutely in love with a song at the moment. When i saw the video clip it cemented that love.
Okay, so it features snips from Breaking Dawn part 1 but that is not the only reason i love it.

To me it inspires the best romantic feelings. Of having waited and finally possessing the one you love.
Of eternal love.
Of being afraid to give yourself to someone so completely, but then knowing, just knowing that this is the person who is meant for you.

Yep, it's  A Thousand Years by Christina Perry.
Enjoy!

There are lots of writers out there who create musical playlists the represent the mood or feelings of their WIP, have this playing as they write them.

For The Price of Passion i had Closer by Ne-Yo which represented my heroes feelings perfectly, and for Billie it was Bleeding Love by Leona Lewis.

A Thousand Years has so much scope for me at the moment - it is representing Emma and her motivation in Saying No.

What song has inspired you recently?

Fancy an Indian feast?

Nicola Marsh is going a Bolly-Bites blog tour, where she will give out fantastic recipes for the Indian dishes featuring in her new book Busted in Bollywood!
She's given her first recipe on her blog today, a Lentil Soup and man i can just smell the aroma....

Nicola will be dropping by here early December for give us another recipe, but check out her blog to find all the Bolly-Bites (recipes!) as she does her blog tour!

A taste of India

I've just finished devouring Nicola Marsh's ARC for Busted in Bollywood.
As the title suggests it has all the flavours of a Bollywood movie: the sights, the sounds, colours, the food, and drama.

I loved following Shari's journey of re-discovery, both of herself and her heritage. I especially loved the flavour of all things Indian that Nicola Marsh weaved though this story.

So much so that i have an urge to find recipes and create the fabulous dishes Shari experiences. I think i'll even be renting a Bollywood movie to try to catch the same excitement.
This is a story not to be missed!

If you like Nicola's flirty style, mixed with exposure to another culture, you are in for a real treat. And luckily you don't have to waited too long! December 6 is the release date, go here to order!

Get-to-know-Me!

I'm part of the Romantic Suspense group from the Campaign. To tell you the truth i haven't really done much about it, except join in on the challenges (though i somehow missed one!).
I plan to do much more and actually talk with and share writing with these people.
Click here or the picture in the sidebar to find and get to know some of the wonderful people in the writing community!

Well, here is getting to know me!


1. Name two [romantic suspense] authors who inspire you
Hmm, that's a tricky one because i have many favourites, and they probably aren't categorised as Romantic Suspense, though they have elements in their writing! The main two with the suspense element in their writing would be Julie Garwood (historical romance) and Karen Marie Moning (paranormal romance). It's funny because i don't write either of those genres!


2. How did you start writing in your genre?
My daughter was 6 weeks old when i began writing my first full length novel, Secrets and Lies (see the page titled Work in Progress or WIPs). It took me a year but i did it. I've always liked stories that have the suspense/intrigue factor, coupled with romance and it's a winner for me! So that's what i wrote. It's a good story, but it needs a LOT of work to make it great!




3. You've landed a meeting with your dream agent. Write a one paragraph pitch to sell your novel to him/her. (No more than four sentences)
Gabrielle Devine left the man of her dreams on the brink of their wedding. 2 years later she comes back with information about the raids and killings that have plagued the country for the past year; information that Wayne is not interested in listening to, especially when it comes from the woman who broke his heart, the woman who betrayed him. Gabrielle is determined to prove she is right, even if it means revealing the truth of why she'd left him. But will Wayne listen and believe before the ultimate deception tears everyone apart?


4. Sabotage or accident- which would put your female lead through and why?
Either works for me, it would depend on the heroine. But instinctively i want to say accident. You can tell so much about a person from how they react to/deal with what's happened. 


5. Plotter or Pantser? Who are you?
Oh, that is the question! The story i described above was done entirely in plotter mode. When i'd finished it, i was bored, 'cos i knew everything that was happening.
So all my subsequent stories are a bit of a mix. I have key plot points that the characters have to reach, but their path to them is completely pantser!


Hope you've enjoyed learning a bit about me. Make sure you check out some of the other suspense writers out there!

Research or not to research...

A writing tip; kind of!

Now, i'm not a huge fan of deep involved research.
I'm too impatient and just want to write the damn story and fix details later. But i will look up stuff if i know it's going to be quick and won't detract from my writing time.

Seriously, my drafts are littered with notes saying "research how to make bath salts", or "find out the history of...".

It's funny though, because i'm a stickler for detail, and perfection. It's taken a long time to let go and just write the first dirty draft without agonising over the correct word to describe. Yeah i have notes for those too :)

Because when i sit down to write, that's what i want to do. I don't want to get bogged down with trawling the internet for the exact right stuff. No, that would be called Research Time.

Recently i have spent the last two of my writing sessions in research mode. I sat down and told myself that if i want to get any further with my writing, i actually need to know a bit more information. So it was research time.
Guess what? I love it!
I got so involved that i've ended up with pages and pages of history relevant to my fictitious Principality, trade routes, flight paths, politics, pictures of villages, castles, roses... lots of stuff.

I have a friend who loves to research and we have always joked that she can do the research and i'll do the writing - for the both of us! But we both sat there on Friday and researched together. It was great bouncing off ideas (which of course sparked more research!), and i really think our writing is going to be the better for it.
Readers are sticklers for details too. I take that from my own personal experience as a reader ;)

Don't get me wrong, if i come across something that needs more research whilst during 'writing time', there is a note/comment in the ms. I'll go back to it during 'research time'.

My plan is that will help flesh out the story, without detracting from my creative flow. Because that's what the first draft is for, right? Getting the story down so you have something to work with later.

What are your thoughts on research? Do you find it encroaches on your writing time, how do you work around it? I'd love to hear your thoughts!