Having Fun While Finding My Voice

My first “grown-up” book was And Then There Were None, found on my cousin’s dresser during a holiday visit when I was about 11. I was instantly captivated by a world and people so different from my small town Pennsylvania life. The murders were fun too! I quickly gobbled up every Agatha Christie book in my local library and I’m sure this led to my love of the genre.

Although I’ve read scores of murder mysteries, I’ve never written one. Some ideas bounce around in my head and my poor husband has become accustomed to me whispering, “This would be a great place for a murder” in random places.

This Friday I officially take the plunge into mystery writing. Well, maybe not a plunge. More like wading into the shallow end. I recently learned about a mystery writing contest with a hook. You only have 48 hours to write your story. I’m nervous about both the time limit and not knowing exactly what I’ll be writing but this Friday at 5 pm EST I’ll be at Toasted Cheese Literary Journal when they announce the theme, word count and other details for the Mollie Savage Memorial Writing Contest.

For years I worked at a very reliable marketing job where I stifled my voice in favor of the voice of the advertisers. Now, as a freelancer I’m left wondering what my voice is. So I’m grabbing every opportunity I can find as I stretch my skills and learn what I’m capable of doing. Can I write a murder mystery? Well, this is a great opportunity to give it a try.

Do you want to stretch your writing skills? Do you need a short break from your WIP? Do you love the mystery genre but aren’t ready to commit to a book length project? Join me on Friday! I'll share my process on my blog and I hope to learn how you're doing too.

As an added bonus, there’s also a Science Fiction/Fantasy 48 hour contest in September.

Jodi M. Webb writes from her home in the Pennsylvania mountains. After a decade hiatus from writing, she is back with bylines in Tea Journey, Mental Floss and a WIP about her plant obsession. She's also a blog tour manager for WOW-Women on Writing. Get to know her on Instagram or Facebook.

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3 comments genre writing, Jodi M. Webb, mystery, writing contest

Why to Write with Tropes

Tropes help readers identify their type of story.

When a reader picks up a fantasy novel, a rom-com, or a cozy mystery, they come to the book with certain expectations. A fantasy reader expects magic. Rom-com fans want both romance and laughs. Cozy readers want to watch someone just like them catch the bad guy. 

Using your genre’s tropes will help you meet their expectations. First of all, you need to understand what a trope is. In short, a trope is a device. Hmm. That’s not very satisfying as explanations go. A trope is a plot element, a theme, or a character type that readers expect to find in this type of story. 

If you are writing a fantasy novel, possible tropes include: 

• A character who is chosen to solve an epic problem or is the heir to the kingdom/all things magical.
• A mentor character. 
• Someone or something indescribably evil. 
• A tarted-up medieval setting. 
• A powerful artifact. 
• A quest. 

Rom-coms have a whole different set of tropes: 

• Friends to lovers. 
• Enemies to lovers. 
• Someone popular/successful falls for someone unpopular/unsuccessful. 
• The makeover. 
• Love triangles. 
• Stuck with each other – think snowstorm, elevator, vital to the company project that must be completed the evening of Valentine's Day. 
• Second chance. 
• Soul mates. 

Cozy mysteries have yet a different set of tropes: 

• Amateur detective. 
• No on-screen violence or sex. 
• Food including what the amateur detective makes but also frequent dining out. 
• The victim was not a nice person. 
• But everyone has something to hide. 
• Pets, pets, and more pets. 
• Quirky locations full of quirky characters. 

If you are looking at those lists and thinking that you can't possibly include them all, you're right. But you should use at least a few. 

After all, they can serve as convenient shortcuts. Fantasies include magic. You don’t need to spend a considerable portion of your word count explaining systems of magic or spell casting to your readers. Readers who pick up paranormal mysteries are ready to believe that the story could include a ghost. And science fiction readers will accept faster than light travel. 

Tropes also increase reader satisfaction. A romance reader who loves enemies to lovers stories will be primed to like your enemies to lovers story. A fantasy reader who wants to root for the underdog will pick up a book about someone who finds out that they are heir to the kingdom. Cozy readers love to try to sort out red herrings and clues as they read. 

When you tell readers that your book is a certain genre, this claim is a contract of sorts. Readers approach your story with a set of expectations. Know what they are and deliver a variety in a story that is all your own and readers will be primed to enjoy the trip from Once Upon a Time to The End. 

--SueBE

Sue Bradford Edwards' is the author of over 35 books for young readers.  To find out more about her writing, visit her site and blog, One Writer's Journey.

The next session of her new course, Pitching, Querying and Submitting Your Work will begin on March 6, 2023).  Coping with rejection is one of the topics she will cover in this course.

Sue is also the instructor for  Research: Prepping to Write Nonfiction for Children and Young Adults (next session begins March 6, 2023) and Writing Nonfiction for Children and Young Adults (next session begins March 6, 2023).

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2 comments contract with your reader, genre writing, genres, reader contract, reader expectations, tropes

When Your Novel Idea Has Already Been Published...

orangeacid (photo on Flickr.com)

What happens when you read the synopsis of a novel, and it's eerily similar to what you've beeen working on for years? This recently happened between two of my students in the WOW! class I'm teaching about writing for middle grade and young adult readers. I gave them an assignment to write a tagline describing their novels and a paragraph introducing their protagonists. After they shared with one another, one student wrote me in a panic.

"XXXXXX's novel (that is already published) is almost exactly like mine. My fiance says that this happens all the time. There are no unique stories. But I'm wondering if all this work I've been doing for years is wasted now. He says it's about my characters more than my plot, but I don't know. What do you think?"

Her distress is completely understandable, but her fiance was exactly correct, and that's what I said. I'm not sure if it's true that there are NO unique stories. But there are a lot of similar story types and tropes, and as I've said on here before, readers love tropes. For example, readers of romance novels want a happy ending. If they like "opposites attract" romance books, then they'll want to see a lot of conflict between the two opposite love interests and then a spark that ignites a love story eventually.

In fantasy, there's often a "chosen one" (CO) and a mentor who sends this chosen one on a quest because the CO is the only one who can fight the antagonist and save the world. Right, Harry Potter?

Some people make it this simple. Stories will fit into types, such as:

• Man vs. Man
• Man vs. Nature
• Man vs. Himself
• Man vs. God

The literary world asks for comps--titles that are similar to the novel you're working on, so agents/editors/booksellers know how your book will fit in the market. You've probably heard writers say something like, "My book is a cross between A Wrinkle in Time and The Series of Unfortunate Events." 

So, if you ever find yourself in the same position as my student was in--never fear. This is normal. If you know you aren't copying or plagiarizing or stealing someone's idea, then you aren't. You just probably love the genre as much as this fellow author did, and you probably read some of the same books at some point for inspiration. But your writing--your voice, your word choice,  your character development--that will make the story your own! 

Has this ever happened to you? 

Margo L. Dill is a writing teacher and coach. Her next novel writing course for WOW! starts on Friday, November 5. There's still room left. Check it out here. 

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4 comments genre writing, novel writing, tropes

Making the Predictable--Unpredictable: An Example with a Gilmore Girls Script

If you read a lot, write a lot, watch a lot of movies, you know stories. And stories can often become predictable. In a romance, eventually the hero gets the girl. In a western, eventually the good guy gets the bad. In a mystery, eventually the detective solves the crime. So how do you make the predictable unpredictable and satisfy your readers?

I recently saw an example on the television show, Gilmore Girls. (Spoiler alert for anyone who hasn't seen the series yet, but it is rather old and currently on Netflix in its entirety.) In the series, Luke and Lorelai are engaged, and Luke discovers he is the father of a 12-year-old girl. For whatever crazy reason, he doesn't tell Lorelai. Once he makes this decision, all viewers know the predictable thing is going to happen: Lorelai will find out, and she's going to be mad. Luke tells one person--his quirky sister, so viewers assume she will be the one to spill the beans. But the writers of the show, who are known for outlandish characters and witty dialogue, don't do the predictable. They have Lorelai come into Luke's diner, when Luke is not there, but his daughter is. His daughter accidentally tells Lorelai that Luke is her father. (Star Wars fans: this time, Luke is the father.)

So what did I learn about storytelling and fiction writing from this story line?

1. The predictable will happen, but change it up a bit.  Of course, Lorelai had to find out about Luke's daughter at some point, but the way she found out was written perfectly and not the "red herring" (Luke's sister) the writers set up.

2. Make life as awful as possible for your characters before you give them resolution. Lorelai finding out from the spunky and cute 12-year-old girl was the worst possible thing that could have happened for Luke, Lorelai, and their relationship. Think about your favorite stories--what are those moments when you are reading and thinking: That is the most awful thing that could happen and it just did? You want to find that moment for the characters you are writing about before they find happiness or resolution in the end of your story.

3. Brainstorm what the predictable outcomes are and figure out how to go one step further.  In this example, the predictable outcome is Lorelai finding out from someone--most likely Luke's sister or a beloved Stars Hollow townsperson who overheard a conversation Luke had. But at some point one of the writers said: How about April (the daughter) innocently tells Lorelai herself? Perfect!

If you read genre novels or are writing one, why do you love these stories if you know what will happen eventually? In your own writing, how will you surprise and satisfy your readers?

Margo L. Dill is a writer, editor, writing coach, and teacher, living in St. Louis, MO. To take her novel writing course, which starts September 1, please see the details here. To find out more about her, please see her website: http://www.margoldill.com. 

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5 comments fiction writing, genre writing, Margo L. Dill, plotting, scripts

Friday Speak Out!: You Oughtta Write a Book! (Part 1— Discover Your Style of Writing)

by Heather Heyford

If you want to write a book, it’s essential to understand where your natural style falls within the wider realm of literature. “What genre do you write in?” is one of the first questions asked when writers, editors and agents convene.

There’s a practical reason for being familiar with your style, too. You have to know which publishing houses and editors to target. It won’t do you much good to send your mystery manuscript to a romance publisher!

Literary fiction is character driven. It’s been described as distant, serious, often dark. It is slower paced, concerned with beautiful writing, and intellectual. Focused more on broad themes, such as human suffering, than on plot. Literary style encompasses the 3Rs: reflection, remembering, and reaction. Examples of literary fiction and its sweeping themes are:

The Great Gatsby — the quest for wealth, the American dream
Romeo and Juliet — star-crossed love leads to tragedy
Catcher in the Rye — alienation as a form of self-protection, the phoniness of the adult world, it’s painful to grow up.

In contrast, commercial fiction is considered to be plot-driven. It is pro-active, fast-paced, emotional, and personal. Usually broken down into genre (romance, thrillers, etc.). Examples of commercial fiction are:

Gone Girl — the wife in what appears to be the perfect couple disappears on her fifth wedding anniversary
The DaVinci Code — an ingenious code is thought to exist in the works of Leonardo DaVinci
Outlander — a WWII combat nurse falls into a standing stone and lands in 1743 Scotland

Mainstream fiction falls somewhere in the middle of literary and commercial. To go a step further, the type of contemporary, emotional, universally appealing, mainstream fiction that occasionally becomes a blockbuster is often referred to as high concept. High concept novels and films can be explained in a quick elevator pitch. For example, here’s a pitch for the high concept movie, Jurassic Park: What if we could build dinosaurs?

In preparation for bumping into a potential editor at a national writer’s conference, I pared my current 4-book series down to this: “The Napa Wine Heiresses is a series about the lives and loves of the daughters of the most notorious vintner in the Napa Valley.” I feel sure this exercise helped me get multiple offers from publishers.

Sometimes the entire premise of a high concept story is evident in the title:

Snakes on a Plane

Try distilling your idea into 1-3 sentences. Even if you have more of a literary bent, boiling your book down to its essence is a great exercise in clarifying what it is you are trying to say.

Whatever your style, good story transcends genre. To paraphrase literary agent and writing coach Donald Maass, the reason fiction exists is to use a stranger in strange circumstances to surprise us with ourselves. Personally, I aim for both powerful story and beautiful writing.

[In Part 2 of You Oughtta Write a Book, I’ll explain the myriad methods—print, digital, indie, and so on—by which you can consider publishing your book. And be sure to stay tuned for Part 3 — The Importance of Social Media in Helping Your Book Get “Found”.]

* * *

Heather Heyford is the author of Wine Heiresses Series: A Taste of Chardonnay,  A Taste of Merlot, A Taste of Sauvignon, and A Taste of Sake, from Kensington Publishing. She is represented by The Nancy Yost Literary Agency. Visit her at HeatherHeyford.com, https://www.facebook.com/heatherheyford1 and http://www.pinterest.com/Romance_Writer/.
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Would you like to participate in Friday "Speak Out!"? Email your short posts (under 500 words) about women and writing to: marcia[at]wow-womenonwriting[dot]com for consideration. We look forward to hearing from you!
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2 comments commercial fiction, Friday Speak Out, genre writing, genres, Heather Heyford, high concept novel, literary fiction, novel writing tips

Have You Found Your Writing Specialty?

My 1988 copy of Phyllis A. Whitney's
wonderful "Guide to Fiction Writing."
Credit | E. Humphrey

In the introduction to Guide to Fiction Writing, Phyllis A. Whitney writes that "When we start out as writers we need to explore our own talents. We can't possibly know where we will write most comfortably until we've followed various leads." Whitney writes that after writing about 300 short stories (with 100 published!) did she realize she needed "the book length to move around in did I begin to be happier as a writer." She continued to make a living writing, but had not found her specialty: romantic suspense.

As I finished one client's work during the holidays, I realized how much I enjoy writing. But I also realized I need to find my own specialty. The project was something I wanted to do well with...but it was difficulty for me to shine in its writing. This one particular client's assignment was painful for me and it made me start thinking about my writing as a whole.

Whitney begins her book by countering Joanne Greenberg's belief that "writers can be divided into two categories:  those who are 'venturesome' and those who are 'consistent.'" Whitney's romantic suspense fits both categories, which she believes helps to attract readers.

As the year progresses, I've vowed to become more devoted to my own writing and less to the client work that sucks the life from my writing. I've followed a lot of leads. I still love writing nonfiction. I have my eye on a work-in-progress novel. But perhaps this is my year for discovering my specialty. And maybe it isn't something I've tried yet.

What about you? Do you know what your writing specialty is? How long did it take you to discover it? How did you do it?

Elizabeth King Humphrey is a North Carolina-based writer and editor. Still searching for a specialty, in 2012, Elizabeth completed a certificate in technical and professional writing.

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3 comments Elizabeth King Humphrey, genre writing, writing passion

Spring Brings Romance...and a New Romance Publisher, Crimson Romance: interview with editor Jennifer Lawler

Spring is upon us and with spring comes all sorts of new things: new plants for the garden, new clothes for the closet, and this year a brand new romance publisher to add to your list! Crimson Romance offers the best of both worlds for writers. As a brand new publisher they're eager to work with new talent, sign new series, and take the time to guide unpublished writers. But since they are under the Adams Media umbrella they have a much more extensive ability to reach readers than most brand new publishers! Editor Jennifer Lawler took some time to answer questions so WOW readers will know just what Crimson Romance is looking for . . . and boy, are they looking. Wait until you see how many books they're planning to release this year!


WOW: Crimson Romance's parent company is Adams Media. Is that the same Adams Media known for nonfiction books? If so, what made them decide to jump the aisle to fiction and more specifically, romance?

JENNIFER: Yes, we’re part of Adams Media (which is part of F+W Media), the nonfiction book publisher. Adams Media branched into fiction with the acquisition of Tyrus books in 2011. (Tyrus publishes crime novels.) As far as romance goes, we felt that many of the same readers who buy our nonfiction titles will also buy our romances—the demographics are very similar. We also know that e-books are the future of publishing, and genre fiction is one of the fastest-growing segments of e-book sales. Romance readers are avid e-book readers. Plus, we’re committed to developing online communities that give readers the experience they’re looking for. It just made sense for us to begin this imprint now.

WOW: Romance is such a broad description. There are countless mini-genres within romance. Will Crimson Romance be specializing in any specific types of romance or are you open to everything?

JENNIFER: We are looking for five main subgenres of romance: contemporary, romantic suspense, historical, paranormal, and spicy (sexy) romance. We’re not acquiring YA or Christian subgenres at this time. But within the five subgenres that we are publishing, we’re very flexible: a paranormal could be an urban adventure with werewolves; or it could be a light-hearted fantasy with elves, set in a world unlike ours; or it could be a science-fiction romance. But we’re definitely looking for romance: it has to have a happily ever after!

WOW: I learned that Crimson Romance will be launching 260 books their first year. First, wow! Second, I imagine all these books are already signed. Do you have many series in the works or are they stand alone books? Are you looking to discover and develop romance authors that will write multiple books for Crimson Romance so you can continue to offer your readers this great selection each year?

JENNIFER: Yes, we have a very aggressive release schedule—5 titles a week (one in each subgenre). We want readers to know that whenever they’re ready for another book, we’ll have one available! We are committed to succeeding in this endeavor, so we’re making sure that readers will be able to get what they want from us.

Not all of the books are signed; we are definitely in acquisitions mode. We have a number of series in the works, as many readers like linked books, but the majority are stand alone. And we’re definitely looking for romance writers who have more than one book in them! We’re already working with several previously unpublished authors, and it has been a great joy to help them develop their skills. Feeling like you’ve had a hand in helping a writer develop her craft is the most rewarding aspect of this job. If we see a manuscript with promise, we’re often able to work with the writer to get it where it needs to be. We’re happy to release several books per year from any of our authors; we don’t feel we need to adhere to a “one book per author per year” philosophy.

WOW: Crimson Romance is offering a prize in author Brenda Novack's Online Auction for Diabetes—every book published by Crimson Romance in their first year! I can't imagine (and I'm sure my mailman can't either) getting a package of 260 books! Will the prize be e-books? Is Crimson Romance going to be publishing all their titles as e-books?

JENNIFER: Oh, yes, these will be e-books! We’re very excited about offering this subscription to benefit Brenda’s cause. All of our titles will release first as e-books. We do plan to release all of our books in print-on-demand versions as well (this may be a few weeks after publication of the e-version), as some readers still prefer print, but our emphasis is on e-books.

WOW: What are you still looking for? Is there a certain genre you just aren't seeing enough of or a "dream book" you wish someone would write?

JENNIFER: We would love to see more historicals. The historicals we do see are almost all fantastically well-written, but we want more of them! And we’re looking for sexy romance, emphasis on the romance. In this case, the sexual component of the romance has to be an integral part of the story, but so does the romance.

WOW: Can we talk a little about submitting to Crimson Romance? Are you accepting straight from authors or are you only working through agents? I imagine you've had a lot of proposals cross your desk. Any pet peeves we should avoid? What makes you really crazy? You can tell us!

JENNIFER: We are accepting directly from authors, and we are also working with agents; we’re pleased to do it either way. If you’ve written a romance and are looking for a home for it, we’re happy to see a query letter about your project (we can be reached at editorcrimson@gmail.com). If we think it could fit our line, we’ll ask for a full and a brief synopsis. We’re usually able to respond to queries within a week and to fulls within a month, although sometimes we do get a little backed up. We can usually make decisions quickly, although if you’re submitting in a subgenre where we get a lot of submissions (such as contemporary), it can take a little longer.

We get a certain number of queries from people who don’t really understand what romance is—it has specific conventions and readers have specific expectations. You have to have a happily ever after! If you don’t, you may have a terrific love story, but it’s not a romance. We get a lot of submissions from people who don’t understand that the romance between the two main characters has to be front and center. You can’t just call a mystery with a love interest a romantic suspense and think that’ll work!

I get a ton of submissions written in first person. Romance readers tend to prefer third person, so your first-person novel has to be extra amazing and superfantastic for me to take a risk on it.

We’re definitely looking for character-driven romance, not plot-driven romance. We love classic plotlines like marriage-of-convenience, but they have to make sense based on who the characters are—the characters must be written so that they would reasonably do this admittedly outrageous thing for reasons that any of us could understand.

We also get a lot of submissions from people who have self-published their books (on Kindle, etc.) and now want to go the traditional publishing route. We can’t accept previously published material for Crimson Romance.

WOW: And on a happier note, what about a book proposal makes you say, "I need to read this book."

JENNIFER: I’ll let you in on a secret. I rarely reject a book based on the query alone—only if it’s obviously not right for our line (wrong genre or similar). Frankly, most writers are terrible at writing queries. I’ve acquired several books that I think other editors would probably have rejected based on the query. By the same token, most writers are terrible at writing the first ten pages of their books. I almost always start reading a full at Chapter 2. In other words, I’m predisposed to look for what’s good in a book, not for reasons to reject a book. Possibly this is because I was a writer for many years before I became an editor and I know how much I treasured editors who looked for what was right. I know that the first ten pages can be chopped off, and Joe’s lack of believable motivation in Chapter 3 can be fixed, and so on, and I don’t think of this as some daunting task that earns an instant rejection. It’s just editing, you know?

What can’t be fixed is that indefinable quality that makes a book readable—maybe it’s the charming characters or the author’s ability to paint a picture of a scene. It varies from book to book—I’ll think, “I need to read this book” for a number of different reasons. Mostly it boils down to: Do I care what happens next? Am I upset when the characters encounter setbacks? Do I love how the book ends and hate that it has ended? Make me cry and I’m likely to offer you a contract as soon as I finish sopping up the tears.

WOW: Oh, you sound like a dream editor! Rumor has it you're also in the market for writers with out-of-print romances. Will you be reprinting these out-of-prints or are you searching for seasoned authors to write new books?

JENNIFER: We have a sister imprint, Prologue Books, that is currently publishing out-of-print mysteries and crime novels. We’re planning to expand that imprint to include romance. For Prologue Romance, we are looking for out-of-print romance titles to reissue. If an author has gotten rights back and wants us to consider reissuing her book, she can drop me a line at editorcrimson@gmail.com, specifying that she has an out-of-print title for Prologue. As mentioned before, we can’t have anything previously published for Crimson, so please be sure it’s clear that you’re submitting to Prologue.

These books need to be previously published by a well-known romance publisher—we’re not looking for self-published books for this line.

We’re definitely looking for seasoned authors to write new books for Crimson, and in fact are happy to have signed a few so far!

WOW: So where can we get in touch with you . . . Facebook, Twitter, email?

JENNIFER: We can be reached at editorcrimson@gmail.com

Our social media:

Twitter: @Crimson_Romance

Facebook: www.facebook.com/CrimsonRomanceBooks

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/crimsonromance/

Our writers’ guidelines:

http://www.adamsmedia.com/call-for-submissions

Soon our website will be at www.crimsonromance.com

WOW: Any last minute advice for our budding romance writers?

JENNIFER: Tell a great story! Make your characters work for that happy ending—it shouldn’t come too easily, or too soon. Break my heart a time or two along the way.

WOW: Well, thank you for your time and I have a feeling April will be WOW Month for Crimson Romance editors. Get ready for a blizzard of queries from WOW writers!

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5 comments Crimson Romance, genre writing, Jennifer Lawler, Romance Writing

Finding Members of Your Genre

I firmly believe that good writing is good writing. Therefore I believe that a children's book author can critique a mystery manuscript, a romance writer can critique a science fiction manuscript and vice-versa. But a writer in your same genre can add something extra. As a writer in, say the mystery genre, the assumption is they know and read lots of mystery. So, while your friend who writes romance may be able to say "There's a hole in the plot in Chapter 2" or "Your minor characters are a little shallow" someone who writes in your genre can see things others might not. Looking at your writing through the eyes of your genre they can recognize when you're imitating another writer's style, when your main character seems like a rip off on another character, or when you aren't following the format readers in your genre expect.

So find yourself a friend who writes in your genre. But what if you can't? My writers group has people to critique my historical novel but no fellow mystery writers for my cozy mystery. So what's a girl to do? Get yourself to a computer. Oh wait, you're already on a computer! There are plenty of organizations that link genre writers around the country--around the world--together. Here are a few you should check out:

Mystery Writers of America

Sisters in Crime

Romance Writers of America

National Association of Memoir Writers

Science Fiction and Fantasty Association

Thriller Writers Inc. http://www.thrillerwriters.org/

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3 comments critique groups, genre writing, writing groups