One of the most amazing things I've discovered since starting to pursue writing romance seriously is the incredible support from other writers. I've met dozens of them online, and all have been unfailingly helpful and encouraging. Just last week I joined a blogging group called Romance Weekly. Each week we will answer three questions that give you a behind the scenes look at our writing—and give you a chance to discover your newest favourite author! Tell your friends and feel free to ask questions in the comments.
Thanks to those of you who've linked here from Carrie Elks' page. Here's my first post—and don't forget to link to the next author in this fun relay! 1. Who is your favourite author in your genre and why? There are so many wonderful contemporary authors that I love to read. But if I define “favourite” as “the author that made you see things differently about reading and writing romance” it would have to be Susan Elizabeth Phillips. SEP has been writing for decades, but I only discovered her a few years ago. I've since searched out all her titles and read them for both enjoyment and as a lesson in how to do it right. She is amazing at invoking emotions and making her characters flawed yet fascinating. A great example of this is AIN'T SHE SWEET. I didn't like either the heroine, Sugar Beth, or the hero, Colin, all that much to start. But they were such great, strong characters that I had to find out how they redeemed themselves. 2. What is your favourite book by them and why? I'm not a crier, when it comes to books or movies, at least. I can always keep that one step away from totally immersing myself in the emotions of the story. Not with SEP. She's made me tear up more than any other author. I remember the wrenching sense of loss she made me feel during one especially sweet scene in THIS HEART OF MINE. So, again, going with theme of “favourite” being a book that changed me, I would choose that one. THIS HEART OF MINE is book 5 in SEP's Chicago Stars football team series, and tells the story of Molly (half-sister of the owner) and Kevin (quarterback). One night together results in Molly getting pregnant. To avoid a public relations drama, they get married—extremely reluctantly. And then Molly has a miscarriage. The way their relationship grows is so organic, so compelling, that I hated to put it down. 3. What about their style inspires your writing? I want my readers to feel as invested in the lives of my characters as I feel with SEP's characters. There are so many sub-genres of romance—paranormal, suspense, inspirational, YA—but all of them are defined by the characters, the people, in them. It's extremely difficult to describe how SEP does this—I'm sure it's mostly gut instincts that cannot be taught—but I also love the mechanics of her writing. Her descriptions are lyrical, her sense of pacing exquisite. Reading any of her work is a master course in writing. Continue visiting with Romance Weekly Writers! Click here to learn how Susan Peterson Wisnewski answered these questions.
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I've always been a voracious reader. But because I truly enjoy re-reading my favourite books, I have probably read fewer authors over the years than other many readers. In most cases, I would rather re-read a book I know I will enjoy than take a chance on a new author. I know what I like, and if I don't see the possibility within a few pages—by which I mean less than one chapter—I stop reading. I know, I'm mean, but there it is. Once I've found an author I love, I'm single minded in tracking down all their books (thank goodness for inter-library loans). If the author writes a series, or has a big back list, I'm thrilled! I have a long list of fail safes, in a mix genres, including but not limited to:
When I decided that writing romance was something I was serious about, I started to look for new authors. This was partly as research—how can you write a genre if you haven't read as much as possible?—but it was also because I'd exhausted my favourite authors book lists. In the last three years I've discovered:
I still go back to my tried and true friends, but not as often as I used to. That's another reason to thank (or blame on) my e-reader—it gave me a huge new library to explore! THE MYTHIC GUIDE TO CHARACTERS Dr. Antonio del Drago Published March 1, 2013 Mythic Scribes Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in return for an honest review. Until being approached by Dr. Antonio del Drago to write a review, I was unaware of the Mythic Scribes community. I now believe that Dr. Drago included “Mythic” in his title to connect with this community, but unfortunately for me it led to some confusion when I began reading the book. The title led me to believe the author's approach to character building would be based on myths, which, to me, meant ancient Greek and Roman stories. Instead, Dr. Drago used contemporary novels, including the Harry Potter series, The Godfather and Jurassic Park, to explain his process. Not that I didn't find that very helpful once I got with the program.
Technically, the book (I read the Kindle version on my laptop) was well laid out and well edited, although I did notice a couple of small errors. The overall tone was academic (not necessarily a bad thing) and a tad cold and clinical (more like a psychiatric evaluation than meeting a new friend in a coffee shop) but still fairly straight forward to read and follow. Dr. Drago himself admits the approach can appear complex at first sight, and I agree with him. As a writer, I'm more organic in my character development (for good or ill) and I've never been the type to fill out those incredibly complex character sheets, with spaces for astrological signs and how many times a day he or she goes to the bathroom. However, I did find value in a deeper understanding of human personalities in Dr. Drago's explanations of enneagrams, Bartle types and archetypes. As well, the book includes a reasonably succinct worksheet which leads you through Dr. Drago's method, should you wish to follow it step-by-step, which I can see as being very helpful. Dr. Drago even goes into the physical aspects of character building. He points out that many writers begin with hair and eye colouring when describing characters, when really these are two of the least important characteristics. After all, those attributes will not affect how a character reacts to the plot in your book. However, gender, age and fitness level (as only a few examples) will actually affect how that character influences your story. I thought this was a brilliant point. I was also struck by his explanation of how people (or in the case of fiction, characters) don't always do what's best for themselves. As well, he points out that, while two characters may have similar personality traits on the inside, they will not necessarily manifest them in the same way on the outside. That is why his way of building characters can work – just because you've written about two Achievers, for example, it doesn't mean they will both react to certain plot points in the same way. All in all, THE MYTHIC GUIDE TO CHARACTERS provided thought-provoking concepts that can be used to write stronger, more well-rounded characters. Other than Pi (that's 3.14 repeating, not blueberry) about the only science-thingy that sticks in my head is “for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.” Google tells me that is Newton's Third Law of Motion. Actions and reactions are also the building blocks for compelling writing. The action can be big—blowing up a building—or it can be small—stealing a kiss from the girl next door—but the next step of the novel is based on the reaction to that action. A finished work also garners reactions. Very few writers do so strictly for their own enjoyment, keeping their work buried on a hard drive or in a drawer. Writing is meant to be shared. It is a way of communicating. I've been very pleased with most of the responses to MOUNTAIN FIRE. Even a few negative reviews have made the whole process seem real—only a published author gets bad reviews on Good Reads and Amazon! And the support of my friends and family have been absolutely wonderful (Thanks, Traffic Ladies!). I also laughed until I cried over the following message I received from a cousin of mine: Hey Brenda - another first for you....your book has been banned from a school! (lol - not really, but close). I got a note from the teacher at my son's school today letting me know that his reading material was not age appropriate and was causing a bit of a stir because of a very suggestive scene. He's been asked to put it back in his backpack and bring it home. I guess he was so excited his 'aunt' was a published author that he brought your book to school to show everyone. LOL! Negative reviews and banned from a school...cool!
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