Attention class!

Ahem, now that i have your attention...

The iPad is releasing in NZ in 3 days!!

Okay my happy dance is now over and back to the real reason for my post today.

I've been reading Kate Walker's fabulous 12 Point Guide to Writing Romance.

Of course it covers the basics like what is romance?, and it is important to know your genre before you write it! Research people, research!

If you are writing about a sandy beach you must know first hand what it feels like between your toes if that is what your characters are feeling!

Kate really advises too, and we have probably all heard this before, but really we can't hear this often enough, study the line you are targetting. That is, that publishing house or agent or readership. You MUST know your target BEFORE you put pen (or fingers to keyboard) to paper. It will save heartache, time, and effort in the long run.

Another huge thing i picked up was that readers don't read your story to find out what happens. Generally they read to find out how it happens!

At least, this is certainly true for romance. We all know, that these characters are going to get their happily ever after, but how they get it is what the reader is reading for. And how you get the reader there is with EMOTION.

Kate Walker talks about using Page Turning Quality and emotional punch.

Make sure you have enough emotional punch in your story to keep your reader turning those pages to find out how the story develops!

But please also remember "getting to know you time". The poor reader can't be on a high the entire time just as the characters can't. They all need to get to know each other, so let them all have time to know their gentler sides, and connect with each other, to feel. Then when the emotion gets high, and we as writers are so mean and create that nasty conflict, the reader will flick those pages even faster.

Your task this week: Create some emotional punch, but remember to let the characters have some down time and get to know each other too!

Which Writer are you like?

to do this just click on the little link bit of this badge and copy and paste a bit of your writing and it will analyze your style to find out what sort of writer you are like!

I write like
William Gibson

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

Now: Who is William Gibson?
He is a science fiction author who coined the term "cyberspace".

Halfway lag

Oh dear! I have found myself lacking motivation to even open my pages document to write!

I have finished editing Nicole's fabulous story Birthright and man is it good! I really can't wait to read the next installment.

To get me back into the motivational vent of Modern Heat i have the newest book by Nicola Marsh , Overtime in the Boss's Bed and i really can't wait to read this one. Nicola's books are so great to read. spunky and fun and they just sizzle!

I'm also going to start Kate Walker's 12 Point Guide to Romance

and keep you updated with my progress through the exercises so stay tuned :)

Book Review

I haven't done one of these before on my blog, but i thought it may be nice at the beginning of each month to do a review of a book i have read. It will be a chance to hear what you have been reading too!

For my birthday i was given Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.

Hmm. Well. It's not something i would have bought myself. I think it is sacrilegious of Jane Austen's classic and my favourite novel. But as it was a gift from my kids (via my husband!) I gave it a go.

From curiousity to see how the death and zombies was interwoven with the society and propriety, it was rather amusing if nothing else. At times some parts didn't stay true to character, why would a battle hard woman simper and cry?, but otherwise it was done well.

If you are curious, or forced to read by obligation or don't want to hurt someones feelings, it is an amusing read, with some surprising twists to characters. But i still maintain it is sacrilegious of a major literary classic.

Method Writing

My friend, Nicole MacDonald, has written a fabulous post on her blog, Damsel in a Dirty Dress about Method Writing and it must have gotten my brain firing.

I was making my bed this afternoon - yes afternoon - we've had a busy day!! And there i was talking out loud as my character Billie! Laughing and grinning talking to my sister (her sister) about going on a date with Cooper!

So i quickly finished the bed and jumped on the computer and typed up the scene. It is the first words i have written in four weeks due to the editing i am doing, and it feels fantastic to be back into it!

I am going to try to do it everyday whilst still editing Nicole's story. Which is going to be hard due to it now being school holidays. Ah the joys of being a parent!

Do you method write?

Editing

You may know that i am currently editing my friend's novel.

I've also been reading some of the writing books i have on my shelf, Manuscript Makeover by Elizabeth Lyon and The Art of Romance Writing by Valeria Parv.

My goodness, just reading these and then reading through someone else's work is helping to sharpen my own writing! I have picked up things my friend is doing, thereby helping her by drawing her attention to it so she doesn't do it again (I hope!) and noticing that i do it myself!!

I highly recommend getting yourselves some craft books and even helping a friend by editing or even reading someone else's work in the editing stage. It really does help your own writing!!

Editing Contest

Wow, there is an awesome contest up for grabs here. at C A Marshall.blogspot.com

You just need to do a few things to gain entries to go in the draw to win an edit of a manuscript, and the lovely lady with even wait up to a month for you to complete it! What are you waiting for? :)