Countdown to writing the love scene - Day 1

In honor of the fact that I am going to be presenting a discussion on "Writing Love Scenes" Saturday, April 11 at NHRWA, I thought I would post some prep work to lead up to writing that sizzling hot scene.


First, let me start by saying love scenes or romances do exist outside of the romance genre. Let's make that clear for everyone. Pick up a book by Jonathan Kellerman, David Baldacci, John Sanford, Janet Evanovich, and you will find romances or love scenes in their books.


That said, let's get to the basics. What are the basic elements of a love scene?


No, the answer is not, "insert Tab A into slot B."


Hint: There are 3 basic elements.


Next question. Of those 3 elements, which one is the most important? Why?

Post your thoughts and we'll chat about them.

NHRWA meeting today

Fun, fun, fun!

If you ever want a good laugh, just attend a NH Romance Writer's meeting. Think you're hearing voices in your head? Nah, it's just the writer in you wanting out. If you're not sure, just attend a NHRWA meeting. You'll find out you're in good company.

Plus, think of all the young (not necessarily in age) writers you can and will meet. There are a bunch of us that are just ready to bust out. It's only a matter of time. You can honestly say "I knew her when." And vice versa.

Oh! Next month I will be the speaker. Great. . . tough act to follow Carla Neggers. But, I shall try.

First, I have to come up with something interesting to talk about. Notice, I said "interesting". The last thing I want to do is put people to sleep. And, I would really like to do something that had a lot of interaction between all the attendees. So, I am hereby opening this up for any terrific suggestions. If you were going to go see a writer give a spiel on some topic, what would you want to find out?

I know what Jennifer will say. . . the journey of a novel. Cool by me, but tell me what that means. :-)

Booksigning Reminder for Saturday, March 14

For those of you in the area and who want a good breakfast along with a fun book to read, I will be at Sammy J's Breakfast Cafe at 144 Main Street in Salem NH from 8 AM to 10 AM Saturday morning signing my book IT HAPPENS IN THREES.

Stop by, have a cup of coffee or some Italian French Toast (my personal favorite), and get a book to read.

Hope to see you there!

After that, I'm off to see Carla Neggers talk at NHRWA and hopefully get a copy of her latest book (signed). If you have not read Carla. . .you definitely should! She writes terrific romantic suspense. Gee, do you think I consider her a mentor? :-)

February Speaker Ideas

In February I'll be giving a talk on some subject for the NHRWA monthly meeting. Let me know if anyone has some suggestions on a topic that should be discussed.

I'm already considering passive voice or maybe planning your next story idea, or maybe even some basics on how to use Microsoft Word.

Is there anything else people would like to hear about? Feel free to send me suggestions!

And again, if you've never attended a NHRWA meeting, check it out http://nhrwa.tripod.com/

Articles - Passive Voice

One person from my writer's group suggested a couple of writing articles for my next effort. Thanks, Jennifer!

Last week before I took the 5 hour drive to NJ, I did manage to get an article written on Passive Voice. I'll post that soon on my website. This may be an option for me when I do my speaker bit in February for the NHRWA.

If you've never been to a NHRWA meeting you should check it out. http://nhrwa.tripod.com/

Anyway, one thing you should know about passive voice that I found very interesting is that it is the number 1 thing new fiction writer's do wrong. Can you believe that?

But you know why? Because passive voice is how we speak.

There's some trivia for you.

Couldn't Sleep - More Marketing

Last night while my body wanted to sleep the sleep of the dead, my mind decided to take a detour to the amusment park.

Sound silly? Maybe it's a funny description but it really does explain what happened. So what did I do to curb the spinning of my mind?

I came up with and emailed an idea for a magazine article to Susan Caldwell, Publisher/Founder of www.applaudonline.com magazine. It's a magazine all about NH and MA women. I met Susan several years ago when we both were starting our businesses, hers the magazine, and me www.sweetsbydenise.com.

Anyway, I decided to reach out to her and propose doing an article on NH Romance Writers. I believe in our group and what we do and would really like to see others become aware of what we do and who we are. I want to spread the word.

If you have a local magazine or newspaper in your area, propose an article/idea. Start telling people about you, your writing, and the other writers who support you. What's the worst that could happen? They turn you down, okay, go to the next one.

Ha! It's kind of like trying to get published!!

How else to get your name known as an author

I was just sitting here trying to plot through my current WIP (obviously it's not going too well, otherwise I'd be writing there and not on my blog). :-)

As I was sitting here trying to write, I received an email from Tammy, the editor of the NHRWA newsletter. She dropped me a quick line to let me know that other chapters have used an article I wrote for last month's newsletter. First, that was great that Tammy kept me updated. Second, that's so cool!

Now I'm sitting here realizing what a wonderful way to get your name out there and to get more visitors to your website and ultimately to your books.

For those of you who are part of a writing group, I recommend you write a short article on a writing subject that interests you. Remember, if you're interested in it, someone else is too. Besides, think of the marketing benefits.

As a matter of fact, another author several months ago suggested to time getting a magazine article or two published with the release of your book. Hm...makes sense.

Writer's Group Meetings - What do we talk about??

This past weekend the New Hampshire Romance Writer's Group met for their monthly meeting. If you've never attended a meeting it is truly worth it.

Why?

Because it can be a hoot. We always talk about the "business" side of the group and upcoming events which are listed on their website at http://nhrwa.tripod.com/, but more importantly we talk about things that we're struggling with.

For example:

The PITCH - the infamous 5 to 8 minutes you get with an editor or agent. How the idea of that meeting makes your palms sweat and you want to wet yourself due to nerves. This past Saturday we went around and helped each other get that 1 to 3 sentence description of what you want to say to the editor or agent so they ask for more. That would be kinda like a hook!!

One of the members spoke up when people were talking about how nervous they were. She said the editor pitch is kinda like sex. "Even if it isn't great, you still had sex." Funny thing, she's right. Look at the pitch as an opportunity and if you never take it you won't get any further. Even if you blow it (which kinda isn't possible because you're selling yourself and your writing - what's not to love), but let's say the agent/editor doesn't ask for any more, you still took the step, learned from it, and now you move on to the next one and you won't be so nervous.

BTW - I highly recommend any of those workshops on "how to write a pitch". They're usua;;y very good at narrowing down your long-winded spiel, or beefing up your hook.

I say go for it!! And good luck!

Writing Groups

What are your thoughts on writing groups/organizations and critique groups?

Personally, I have found most to be very helpful. I joined RWA and NHRWA back in 2003 and from the moment I went to my first meeting I found a great support group. There I was, this wannabe/inspriring writer and there they were, this group of professional, experienced, and new writers all there to help each other out.

What exactly do you get from these groups?

I guess that depends on what you want. My NHRWA group has a monthly meeting where they share the latest information from RWA, talk about/create special events that help us all move forward in our goals, and have a speaker who discusses a topic to help with your writing craft or getting published.

In addition to that, NHRWA has a writing critique session at the end of the meeting so anyone who has a chapter they want to read and share to get feedback/input can do so. The best part of that is if you've actually read something you're inspired to leave there and go write more. Heck, even if you didn't bring anything you'll probably be inspired to go home and write.

I also have a group of people I met in one of my college courses, including the teacher, who we now get together to share our work, critique each other, and brainstorm. Sometimes you just stall, but when you get together with these folks they're there to help.

Most of all, I believe these groups give you encouragement. There could be 5 or more people at a critique session all writing different story ideas, but everyone participates and gives feedback. It's even interesting to see 5 people all writing that same kind of story (mystery for example) but their voices and their styles are completely different.

Let me end this cheering for these groups by saying that I value these people and their opinions, but more than anything I cherish their support and friendship.