A Daily Dose of Romance

Only a few years ago, very few publishers had erotic romance lines. At that time, I spent most of my editing time ratcheting down the heat and carefully turning the phrases of love scenes in my stories - trying to tone them down from erotic to super sexy.

I’ve always written love scenes on the hot side. For me, that is how I see my stories.

But there is a difference between erotica and erotic romance. And it’s a fine line I don’t think many folks understand. The key word is romance. In my stories, the characters have to run the gamut of emotions that come with falling in love. There has to be a Black Moment climax. My characters don’t just hit the sheets for the sake of lots of words on the page. One or both must grow in some way that changes who they are in the end, or what they want.

Another difference between my stories and the erotica I have read is the use of language. I don’t tend to use terribly graphic language. Or at most, I use words that are appropriate to the character’s point of view. I don’t want to throw out something shocking just for the sake of it. I try to use the words a man would think or say, if in my hero’s point of view, and the same for my heroine.

Make no mistake. My stories are romances. I just let you watch from the bedroom door.

Raised eyebrows, a stifled laugh, then, “Really? Do you write those naughty ones?”

For some odd reason, writing romance novels is rarely taken as a serious occupation. The fact that I sit at my computer - six to seven days a week, mind - compose words, work out plots and characterization and setting and scene, not to mention sell to a New York publisher seems to be something just anyone could do - if you write romance. Or so many people seem to think.

Well let me tell you, it is not something just anyone can do. Go to any romance writer’s conference, big or small, and you’ll find only a fraction of a percentage of authors who have sold. Most are there hoping to sell their book, or learn how to make it better so it will sell.

I’m not sure why writing mysteries or suspense or most any other genre doesn’t get the same reaction that writing romance does, but for some reason romance is considered serious fluff. Especially the super hot, sexy and erotic romances like I write.

Romance - especially the super hot, sexy and erotic romances - are the ones most men need to be reading. Want to learn what a woman is looking for in her man, likes or wants or fantasizes about in bed? Do a bit of research - read her keeper shelf.

Women aren’t such a mystery. We want the basics in life, food, shelter, safety, family. And a man who lets us know he thinks we put the stars in the sky once in a while.

For me Spring is always a busy time of year. And this year has set a new standard. I’ve tried partitioning off my time so that something gets done on every front. But that approach is not working well at the moment. Too many last second ‘must-do’ items seem to arrive on my doorstep daily.

On the writing front though, I’m very, very, very pleased with the way this story is going. And I can’t wait to have my proposal finished. Some days go better than others, but this concept is unusual and I’m having a great deal of fun with it.

I’ve still got my eye on a regional conference I hope to attend, and would love for them to finalize the arrangements so I can make my decision. Of course, the conference is in the fall, and I have much on my agenda to complete before then, some of which needs to be farther along if I want to make the most of the conference and pitch projects.

Back to work.

Have I clawed my way out of the rabbit hole? Not really. I’m beginning to feel quite at home down here amid the tunnelled out burrows that run every which way, twisting into yet another turn without warning. But like I said in my last post, sometimes a good shaking up is just what a writer needs.

I thrive on routine. I like my day somewhat organized. There’s never time to do it all, but if I can put an effort into most things, I never get too far behind.

One thing on my agenda is finding another writer’s conference to attend. I have my eye on one, and will be watching to see as they get more of the details worked out and posted. It has been a year since I attended a conference, and it’s just getting time to go. RWA’s national conference is not going to happen for me this year, but I’ve know that for several years now. The dates this year are later than usual and interfere with other things.

While I enjoy national conferences, I do love the RWA chapter conferences as well. They are more intimate networking affairs, especially if you are looking to sell to an editor or find an agent. They are also great places to meet and connect with other writers. The industry trend information is not as available as it is at a national conference, but you can usual find out something about your genre or sub-genre by talking with other writers.

So while conferences may seem expensive sometimes, if you choose carefully, the rewards can be ten-fold.

I don’t know about Alice, but I know I must have tumbled down a rabbit hole at some point in the last two weeks. Nothing has been as it should be, but maybe that’s a good thing.

Getting out of your routine is guaranteed to shake you up a bit, and sometimes that’s just what a body needs. I’m still writing, or rather re-writing the opening chapters of my latest work in progress, and the story is flowing much better now. I like this new opening. I love my characters, even though I never know where they are going to take me, or each other.

But after all, writing is about the journey, the steps between two characters that push them apart while ultimately bringing them together. And I especially love those moments when a character does something so unexpected that it makes my heart flutter.

Just like tumbling down a rabbit hole.

Over the weekend, I completed the review of my ‘galleys’ for IN HIS BED, due out in September. The pages look great and you definitely can’t beat the cover art! Yum!!!

I also finished some critiquing I was behind on and did a bit of thinking on my current story. Today not much will get done, too many errands I didn’t run over the weekend, and Mondays are busy anyway. But I plan to review my story and play out some ideas in my head, see where they take me…that’s always a fun way to get my head back into a story.

I’ve also been thinking about attending another conference. Sadly RWA’s national conference does not work for me this year, the dates interfere with other things. But I do have my eye out for a local or regional conference that will work.

Conferences are a great way to meet agents and editors, fellow writers (writing is a predominately solitary occupation after all) and keep up with trends in the marketplace. And with a new book out, a nice way to promote. But choose your conferences carefully. Be certain that even if you don’t sell that manuscript you’re pitching, or land the agent you want, you are attending a conference that has workshops that interest you.

The most important thing you can do as a result of attending a writer’s conference, is further your skills as a writer. And sometimes that means more than just the act of writing itself. If you never learn new techniques, or where your weaknesses are, you’ll never improve.

So read the fine print, go for the workshops, and let the rest be icing on the cake.

Lazy? Sorta feels like that. But this has been a busy week, and it is not over yet. Spring thought about coming out to play over the last weekend, but ran away again, leaving winter.

I’m continuing to write on my latest work in progress, but this is not a story where small bites of writing time work well. Hence, no blogging this week. I’ve been using a new approach to integrate my work/writing life with all the the general life stuff that needs done as of late. So far, it’s working-not like gangbusters mind, but it’s working.

Basically, I’m writing for an hour, taking off a half hour, write for an hour, take off for a half hour. Not everything is getting accomplished in a day, but things get done on every front this way. And I use that half hour ‘down time’ to let the scene play out in my head to see what will or won’t work.

This has been a very different method for me, but not a bad method. And at least I’m working in the writing time (I get cranky when I can’t write). And with other things getting accomplished in the day…I don’t feel so stressed.

If you’re having trouble carving out a slice of time to write, you might give this method a try. Adjust the amount of time you write with the amount of time you do something else to what works for your day and see how you do.

Once in a while, my enthusiasm for a story takes a back seat to getting the story right. One of my favorite parts in the process of writing is editing, but sometimes, you just have to get it right from the get go.

That is where I am with my current work in progress. So while I’ll normally write anywhere from 6-8 pages on an average day (more on a good day), with this story I’m pleased with 2 or 3.  The setting and scene, the attraction between the main characters, are too critical for this story.

And in this case, for this particular story, I’d rather not write two dozen pages just to cut them down the line, or spend a solid week rewriting them. I’ve dumped pages before, rewritten them, and just plain started over. But not this time.

This story has to be right from the start.

The characters are in my head, in my heart, and I know what they want. But this hero is looking for more than redemption…he needs to get it right, too.

Ever notice a theme to your stories? You know, that pesky part that essentially makes all your characters core issues the same? Yeah, that theme.

It often doesn’t matter how much time you spend with a book on personality traits. As writers, we often write the same ‘type’ of characters over and over, especially if you write genre fiction. For me, it doesn’t matter if I’m writing a kilted Highlander, an axe-weilding Viking, or a Werewolf (yeah, I write those too), they all have the same core issue - redemption. My heroines on the other hand, tend toward being stronger than they realize.

So what’s the difference from one story to the next? Well, aside from setting and culture. It’s the way the story is told. Sometimes it is the hero’s story, sometimes the heroine’s. It’s the tone of the story, the seriousness of the issue and most importantly, how the issue affects the main characters. That is what makes your story different each time.

If you think about it, two people don’t usually react to a situation the same way. Everyone comes to a hitch in the road from their own perspective and past experiences. And it’s those experiences that shape how they react to the future.

So while you’ll often hear that you shouldn’t put backstory into you writing, you actually need to. Not a huge dump of every character’s childhood, but just those one or two important bits and pieces that affect why the character feels and reacts the way he/she does. Those are the essential elements that allow your reader to connect and empathize with that character. That is what makes the same theme different with each telling of a new story.

This past Saturday, I participated in an author’s panel for my local writer’s group. While our group has a dozen or so published authors, only a handful of us were able to attend and take part. We shared the stories of our first sale, and answered questions -everything from our daily writing routine to taxes to how we handle revisions.

I’m always amazed at the diversity of styles and methods in which writers approach their creative side. One of my favorite quotes is from Nora Roberts. In an interview conducted by Eileen Putman, and the resulting article published in the August 2006 RWR (Romance Writers Report), Ms. Roberts responds in part to a question about her creative process and using one’s muse as an excuse not to write, with this answer: “Go track down that fickle slut, drag her back, chain her to your keyboard, and get to work.”

I adore Ms. Robert’s bluntness. I have that quote posted by my computer.

If you want to be a writer, be a writer, but the flip side of that coin - you have to actually write.