What Should We Write...

So Sherry and I, in a fit of silliness, took a blogthings quiz to see what we should write.

Are you ready for the shocking, unexpected results?

Despite our differences in the way we tackle writing, we are both pleased to discover, thank you to blogthings, that we should be romance novelists.

You Should Be a Romance Novelist

You see the world as it should be, and this goes double for all matters of the heart. You can find the romance in any situation, and you would make a talented romance story writer... And while you may be a traditional romantic, you're just as likely to be drawn to quirky or dark love stories. As long as it deals with infatuation, heartbreak, and soulmates - you could write it.

What Type of Writer Should You Be?

Now that we've had this validated for ourselves, we should feel a tremendous relief, secure in the knowledge that we are indeed writing in the right genre for our personalities.

Perhaps next we'll take the same personality quiz, to find out if we are indeed two different people...or perhaps it will only prove our growing suspicions that we are the SAME person. Huh. If we are the same person, I wonder if half our hair is long and brown and the other half is short and red...and just perzactly how it's been halved...vertically, horizontally? Ack.

Happy Writing!

A Reminder...

Pull on those Big Girl Panties and just write.

Now That's a Good Book!

Isn't that a grand picture? Now, that's a good book. The kind of book every hopeful writer would like to pen.

This is my dream. That someday, women (and men) everywhere, will be propped up in their beds, like the graphic lady above, enthralled by a book I've written.

Mmmm...Now turn out the light and turn off the alarm. I want five more minutes with this dream. Thanks.

The "I DonWanna Blues", Part 2...

Some times pictures are good for getting the creative juices flowing when you're at a loss to write. What sorts of thoughts, feelings, ideas do these images invoke for you? I've written mine by each picture, where does your imagination take you?

Ooo, wouldn't a community barn dance be fun here? He's had his eye on her for a good long time, ever since her family arrived in town during their junior year in high school, ten years ago. After high school, she'd gone to some fancy eastern college, he'd gone to the state university on a football scholarship, now he's home between football seasons (he's gone pro), and she's back to open a badly needed medical clinic. She's not been able to get him out of her mind since high school, either, but she's too shy to approach a handsome, popular man like him. So they circle each other warily during the festive dance, until a common friend decides to take matters into his/her own hands and put on his/her matchmaker hat...


If she had to listen to one more word about how she was wasting her life by remaining unashamedly single, while all her mother's friends' daughters were marrying and reproducing like rabbits, she'd kill something. She had standards. She wasn't going to fall for the first guy who came around the bend who told her how pretty she was. No sirree, she wasn't that naive any longer. A good jog would take her mind of her mother, clear the cobwebs, maybe even work out other kinks she didn't wish to contemplate any more than she had to in her current frame of mind. Didn't help that her body agreed with her mother about needing a man. A deserted road, resplendently decorated by Mother Nature herself suit her just fine, all right. So who was that jogging down the road towards her, infringing upon her space, time and peace of mind? And why did he look familiar?

This place didn't look like it could possibly have been the site of the bloodiest one day battles of the Civil War. Some one hundred and fifty years later, there were some telltale signs, but the peacefulness belied the tragic history. He didn't stop to think about the horror the men who survived and died here witnessed, all that was on his mind was the girl he'd left at home, waiting for him to come home to her. She sure could bake an apple pie fit to make a man think he'd died and gone to heaven. What he'd give for the stingiest of slices of her pie right now. Just remembering the last time he'd had a piece made his mouth water. Oh, boy. Where had the mist come from? Who was this apple pie baker extraordinaire? What caused the gut wrenching regret that tugged on his heart and soul... And awe-some! He hadn't known there was a re-enactment scheduled for today! Something hot caught him in the middle, bringing tears to his eyes as he dropped to his knees. He clapped his hands over his stomach, shocked to encounter a warm, sticky liquid there. The cinnamon-y aroma of freshly baked apple pie overwhelmed him, and when he opened his eyes...

Ack. Now I think I've started three stories I could actually have fun writing. See how well that works? LOLOLOLOLOL.

This concludes our test of the "do a writing prompt" to counter the IDBs. Had this been an actual writing prompt session, I'd've actually named the characters. We now return you to your regularly scheduled IDBs.

The "I DonWanna" Blues...

Ah, the I DonWanna Blues.

Unfortunately, Sherry and I are WAY too familiar with them. Often happens when the Real World and your Writing World collide. Dealing with the I DonWanna Blues can sap the creativity right out of your brain. The causes that contribute to the IDB's include---but are not limited to stress from your day job; family upheaval; sickness (yours or a family members); life in general intruding on your writing time, because let's face it, if you have kids at home, you have built-in writing time intruders right there!

Sure, Sherry and I joke around about being Museless in the context of "I'm ready, willing and able to write, but the feckless Muse has taken a powder for the Bahamas", but there's another, darker side of being Museless.

To avoid a long list, let's simply attribute the IDB's to Stress In General (day job stress, life stress, extraordinary life events) and Life in General (the "What do you mean you've started to recycle your underwear and you think it's time I did the laundry?" or the "You want to eat again? Didn't we just have dinner LAST night?" type things). We all have responsibilities we have to deal with that we have no option about---day in day out Life in General can take it's toll on the Muse, even though we try very hard not to let it. Sometimes, you can't avoid the flu or cold that knocks you off your feet for a week. Can't avoid computer woes...

But what we can avoid is being dragged down by them.

Easier said than done---BTDT, bought the t-shirt. With the IDB's having dogged my steps off and on since the start of the New Year, I decided to brainstorm ideas to help myself get over the IDB's. Here's the list, and if you have anything to add, don't be shy, leave us a comment! Every little bit helps.

Gaining Perspective on the IDB's

1. Make sure you're eating right. This means ditch the crap food and opt for the healthy choices. The occasional chocolate is fine, it just shouldn't be the main course for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

2. Get some exercise. Even if all you're doing is jogging up and down your stairs, or around your house. Take the dog for a walk. Park further from the grocery store doors.

3. Make time to write. Sit down at the computer every day, or whatever your schedule is, and open a WIP. Read it, take notes, research, whatever. Start outlining a new idea. Find a writing prompt and play with that. Blog. Don't count the words, don't watch the clock, just try to write during your usual writing time.

4. If you're sick, then take care of yourself. Get yourself healthy and don't fret about your deadlines. It would be nice if the flu (or whatever) would pay attention to the calendar, but so far, I haven't found that there's really any convenient time to get sick.

5. Open the curtains/blinds/shutters and let some light in. If it's gloomy outside, turn on a light. Bright seems to help elevate the mood.

6. Light a fragranced candle. Pick a nice scent you love, put the candle in the best place in the house for it to send it's delicious aroma throughout all your rooms, and enjoy.

7. Turn on some music. Pick something with a good beat. Nothing "dirge-ish." Don't cater to the IDB's, you're trying to chase them away, not help them root.

8. Watch your favorite romantic movie. You never know where you'll find inspiration.

9. Re-read your favorite book (that's not of the same genre you're writing! This seems to be important when I do this, because it's hard to compare apples and oranges.)

10. Decide to give into the IDB's, but give yourself a time limit. No more than a few days. Cater to your mental, physical and emotional health---the well-being there of, not the wallowing in the IDB's.

11. Ask yourself, do you wanna run your life (and your writing) or do you want to be driven by the I Donwanna Blues? They happen, inevitably, but envision them as the mole in the Whack-a-Mole game, and beat the tarnation out of them with a club.

12. Stay in touch with your friends, writing buddies and CPs---yanno, the special people in your life.

Quest For Conflict

Sherry and I are on a Quest for Conflict. For our WIPs, that is.

We both need a brush up on this concept, and what better way to learn than to utilize the resources on the internet to do this? Oh, and the conflict book I have on a shelf somewhere. (Makes mental note to go find said book.)

Sherry sent me an email this morning with the following tip she'd found: "...got a tip on conflict that I like. Said put your h/H in a room. Forget external conflict, subplots, secondary characters, everything. Face them together and ask, "Why can't you be together? What do you have inside of you, that won't allow you to get with this person?""

I thought this was a terrific place to start the Quest for Conflict and from there, I decided to google "creating conflict in romance novels". WOW! Tremendous resources out there! And because we're on another quest to improve our writing, I decided to put a mini-workshop on conflict together, based on what I learn from each website. And to keep it handy for us both (and anyone else who's interested), I'm going to create a Squidoo page dedicated solely to creating conflict in romance novels.

**Pardon me while I insert this commercial break to plug my Squidoo sites. I love Squidoo---it's a great way to create a webpage on your interests, or what you're knowledgable about, and have it in a handy dandy easily accessible place. To date, I've created 3 Writefield Squidoo pages, which you can see here on the first page: Writing Romance Novels. The other Writefield pages are: The Mechanics of Writing Romance Novels and Revising and Aditing. in the featured lenses module). Creating Conflict in Romance Novels will be http://www.squidoo.com/writefield4, but I'm still putting it together, so the link won't be live until later today (2-19-09). Commercial break now over.**

Here are links to the articles I read on creating conflict in romance novels.

Conflict and Resolution in the Romance Novel by Linda Shertzer A summary: Excellent article examining ways to create conflict. Best suggestion: make the hero and the heroine's goals the SAME. The author goes on to explain that there's the apparent conflict and the underlying conflict that need to be resolved. Ms. Shertzer wrote, "In setting out the apparent conflict of your novel, you must always keep in mind the underlying conflict. Just as the romantic relationship develops, the underlying conflict must be revealed bit by bit. In the apparent conflict lie the seeds for the resolution of the underlying conflict." (2-19-09; Conflict and Resolution in the Romance Novel by Linda Shertzer; http://www.writing-world.com/romance/conflict.shtml) When the hero and the heroine have the same goal (but different approaches to attaining said goal), no one comes out the loser in the resolution, thereby avoiding turning the hero into a wimp (when he loses) or the overbearing macho know-it-all male (when he wins.).

Creating Emotional Conflict and Tension in a Romance Novel @ Dummies.com This article discusses the difference of intellectual conflict and emotional conflict: "...the distinction between emotional and intellectual conflict is easy to make... Simply put, an intellectual conflict is a conflict of ideas, while an emotional conflict is one that grows from feelings." (2-19-09; Creating Emotional Conflict and Tension in a Romance Novel; http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/creating-emotional-conflict-and-tension-in-a-roman.html). The article notes that intellectual conflict starts in the mind, whereas emotional conflict has no basis in logic and "can't be reasoned away." (See above citation)."In any romance novel, the emotional conflict needs to affect the hero and heroine's relationship, to have romantic ramifications, so that they're irresistibly drawn toward each other, while simultaneously feeling that a relationship can't possibly work between them." "You can use elements of intellectual conflict in your book, too, but you have to be careful. Keep these two tips in mind:
Intellectual conflict can never be substituted for emotional conflict.
Relate any elements of intellectual conflict to the characters' emotional conflict as much as possible."(2-19-09; Creating Emotional Conflict and Tension in a Romance Novel; http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/creating-emotional-conflict-and-tension-in-a-roman.html). This article also discusses internal and external conflict and personal vs situational conflict. "Personal conflicts are conflicts that grow from the innate issues and insecurities that everyone has." "A situational conflict arises from place and plot." . "As with intellectual and external conflicts, situational conflict can work with the key emotional tension your hero and heroine have to deal with, but situational conflict can never substitute for emotional conflict. Situational conflict can provide the hothouse atmosphere where tension can grow, but the novel's deeper issues are always the characters' personal and emotional conflicts." (2-19-09; Creating Emotional Conflict and Tension in a Romance Novel; http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/creating-emotional-conflict-and-tension-in-a-roman.html). The final tip of the article is one that should be committed to memory: "The best romances are built around a complex emotional conflict that's played out in an equally interesting and tightly connected context — one that forces the characters to deal with each other and their issues." (2-19-09; Creating Emotional Conflict and Tension in a Romance Novel; http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/creating-emotional-conflict-and-tension-in-a-roman.html).

Conflict in Fiction By Tina Morgan Two things from this article really stood out for me: "In many cases, the conflict within the story is the driving force towards the story goal. The need to overcome the conflict is often the central focus of the hero. The means to overcome that same conflict can then become a path to victory for the protagonist." (2-19-09; Conflict in Fiction By Tina Morgan; http://www.fictionfactor.com/articles/conflict.html). Yes, we should already know that conflict is what drives the story to its conclusion, but it's always good to be reminded. "Romance novels require the primary conflict to involve two people struggling with a romantic relationship with/without sexual tension. By this, I mean the type of conflict that touches the reader emotionally, rather than intellectually - really "tugs at the heart-strings". (2-19-09; Conflict in Fiction By Tina Morgan; http://www.fictionfactor.com/articles/conflict.html). Another good point to keep firmly in mind.

Making a Minefield by Ellen Hartman This is an article on eharlequin's Learn to Write thread, and deals mostly with how to write a Superromance, but there were a few points about conflict that caught my attention. The first being Ms. Hartman's assertion that, "Romance novels live or die on conflict." (2-19-09; Making a Minefield by Ellen Hartman; http://www.eharlequin.com/articlepage.html?articleId=1342&chapter=0). I think I'm going to put that at the top of my list when I get to construction a "Creating Conflict in Romance" page on Squidoo. It's the best statement about conflict in romance novels I've seen yet, and I've looked at several articles through the course of the day as I've worked on this blog post. The author goes on further in the article to say that the conflict must impact the romance.

So there you have it--- a run down on the articles I found most helpful, and yes, while much of the information does strike me as falling into the "You Should Already KNOW This," category, it's also good to be reminded so that it works its way deep into the ol' braincell. Now that I've stuffed my braincell with all this information, it's time to put it to good use.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day Comments

Sherry said an interesting thing to me the other afternoon as we were IMing. She said that my Muse performs on command.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! GASP!!WHEEZE!!!CHOKE!!!!

I'm delighted SHE thinks so. I think what we have here in another stellar example of Panster vs. Plotter writing styles. Unlike Sherry, I don't necessarily have to know what's coming around the pike, nor do I have the need to dissect my character's motivations before I can continue with a scene. My take on it is this: as long as I feel I'm "on track" all is good. My WIPs go through many stages, so I believe my rough draft can be ugly, hairy, scary, and it's a-okay. It's the final draft that counts, and I've found I best write in layers: you lay the primer layer, the base coat, the second coat (for full-bodied color), and the shiny layer (the one where you make sure it's all purty, all the plot holes are filled, loose ends are tied, the story concludes satisfactorily...). It all works out in the end for me.

Now then, I do try to be sympathetic to Sherry's method. I even try to understand it (it's kinda like algebra to me, however) and do my best to brainstorm with her in a way that feeds her creative style. I don't know if I'm successful, but I like to think I am. Sherry does try to understand my method, too, even if when I breezily say, "Well, that will come in the next round" and her eyes cross and her eyebrows join together in the middle.


So, back to my Muse performing on command. This is the mental image Sherry's comment left me with:



I've always wanted to name my Muse, and now she has a name, thanks to Sherry. It's *Prima* (as in *Prima Ballerina*, the Dancing Bear).