Take a cliche and twist it... (how to create unpredictability in romantic fiction)

I have just finished reading Emily March Hummingbird Lake novel. Although it starts a little too slow for my liking, I'm pleased I stuck with it, because I've really enjoyed the book, and the main reason for that is the Heroine - Sage. She is an interesting mixture of soft and feisty, full of internal conflict (great way of contrasting her paintings as a metaphor to Sage's own internal contrasts) and carries a heart-wrenching secret. The story (and Sage's secret and internal conflict) unfolds in a way that the reader is bound to empathise with Sage and root for her, even when she's really mean to the Hero.
Great job, Ms March!

Sage's story made me go back to my notes from RWNZ conference in August and Lucy Gilmour's from Mills &Boon presentation on unpredictability in romantic fiction. Sage is a twist on one of romance favourite archetypes - The Wounded Hero. The twist is simple - just the gender swap, but for me it was enough to keep me turning the pages.

Photo by Digitalart
via www.freedigitalphotos.net

Lucy's presentation was in the context of preparations for New Voices competitions, and highlighted unpredictability as one of 6 relevant elements of a good story. Interestingly, unpredictability features also in the newest ebook prepared for New Voices contestants and anyone who wants to write Mills& Boon romance (Secrets uncovered - scroll down to the bottom of the page to download).

Many people reject romance as a genre because of its predictability. It's true - romance readers like their favourite plots and themes, 'dark and broody heros' or feisty heroines. They buy M&B's books because they know they are going to get what they expect and there is a Happily Ever After at the end. And since everything has already been done it's not easy for a writer to come up with new twists and turns.

So how to create unpredictability in romantic fiction?
1. Take a character (an archetype, trope or stereotype) and give them a twist: change the gender (I'm brewing a 'in-love-with- Boss' story with the role reversal), let your Cinderella be a man, make the most suspected person the culprit (a twist on the Dog was the Mastermind trope I'd love to read!), give your sweet, naive Red Riding Hood a few wrinkles and 'I-should-have-known-better', or just make your hero younger and less experienced than your heroine.

2. Take a well known plot and twist it.
Oh, how much I'd love to read a story about a Girl meeting Mr Right and then realising she doesn't really want to get married and have children, at least not before she travels the world (with him)! Or how about a genuinely loving couple who marry for convenience and what is the impact of it on the relationship afterwards (I know of a couple who got married after a few years of living happily together because as a married couple they would pay less tax; unfortunately, I don't know what was the impact of those wedding vows on the romance in their relationship, but just imagine the possibilities...). Or add some infidelity to the mixture (apparently the attitude to infidelity in M&B romance is changing).

3. Twist the setting.
Since I moved to New Zealand and have all those 'exotic' pacific islands within a couple of hours flight at most, the word 'exotic' has got a new meaning. I've spoken to a Kiwi woman once who told me that the dream of her life is to travel to Austria - the country where her favourite film, The Sound of Music was made. Quite an eye opener for someone like me, who spend the majority of her life in central Europe.
Twist the meaning behind a setting. Tired of sweet little towns? Show your H/h struggling with not-so-positive aspects of those close-knitted communities. Or how about a glam chick story set in a little town? Or a boy coming home to a modern, fragmented family in a big city?

4. A fresh POV
Give your Heroine a unique ability or disability that will affect the way she perceives the world (not a romance, but a great way of introducing unpredictability The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time ); introduce different formats (diary entry, txt mssgs, emails); or even EVEN (yes, Lucy DID say it) use the 1st person narration.

I love twisting and turning cliches and reading stories that turn out to be not what they appear to be. I'm currently writing a story, which was originally 'conceived' as a chick-lit story, but chick-lit has fallen out of fashion since (I'm way too slow for those trends!) so I'm setting it in a small town instead! As I said, I'm also brewing a reverse 'in-love-with-Boss' story.

Have you twisted any cliches? What is your favourite way of creating unpredictability in romance? Which cliches would you like to twist?

Writing drought and other misterous conditions

Since the beginning of April I have been struggling to write. At first, I though I was just tired - there were good reasons to feel so - February and March were very intensive with revisions and rewritings for my OCD book, research and attempts to get a first chapter and a synopsis finished on time for Great Beginnings contest, Alzheimer blogging competition, an online course to learn to write better synopsis, writing for this and the other blog, tweeting, and on the top of that big decisions to be made in my day job.

I thought: I need holidays. So I went to South Island. I had nice time, but came back disappointed with Fiordland. It was well below what I expected to see. Maybe except for Queenstown, which pleasantly surprised my with its autumn colours and almost European feel. This is the best photo out of 115 I took while visiting Queenstown, Milford Sound and Doubtful Sound.

Lake Wakatipu, Queenstown, NZ
copyright by Kate Kyle

So I came back, well rested, shortlisted in Alzheimer's Blogging comp, did not submit my entry to RWNZ contest, never wrote that synopsis for the e-course, still unable to write.
I keep calling it 'writing drought' but it's not really a drought  - I have lots of ideas for novels, non-fiction books, articles and even a textbook! It's not a writer's block, because I know that if I sit for long enough I would just got it out on paper.

It may be something to do with not being able to commit myself to writing. I keep thinking: 'It's a brilliant idea I need to write that book proposal, but which publisher I send it to?' But there are so many publishers that I could submit my book proposal to, I don't know which one to chose. So I then think that I need a agent first. But I need a book proposal to submit a query about. But how do I write a book proposal if I don't have a publisher in mind. And da capo al fine.
I just can't be decide, and so I spend another evening watching one of my favourite sitcoms on DVD and pottering about, feeling like I still have time, while I don't.

Has any of you ever had a similar problem? How did you overcome it? Any ideas how to break that blimmin' vicious cycle?

Developing believable characters - my 2p worth

photo by Idea goat http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/

I have been struggling to find a voice for this blog since the beginning. There are so many writers' blogs out there. There are so many excellent writers and published authors sharing their knowledge of the craft and their tips on the industry. Who am I to compete with them?

I like Suzie Quint's idea of presenting careers for characters. I think it's quite original. I wanted to do someting like that.

Jody Hedlund's article 'How to avoid becoming another boring writers' blog' got me thinking a little more.

Is there anything unique I can offer to fellow writers? Do I have an interesting story to tell?

And then came Scott Egan's comments on characters he doesn't like. Scott is right, in an attempt to create powerful internal conflict, sometimes writes come up with characters who have just too much emotional baggage to be believable.

Characters have to be real. They have to have life experience which has shaped them into the person they are now. People don't become bad without good reasons. People generally don't get over a trauma in a blink of an eye, but their worlds don't fall apart without good reasons in the past and present.

And then I had a light bulb moment.
My day job involves a lot of listening to people's stories and trying to make sense of what I've heard. I have heard so many stories I can usually tell a real story from a made-up one. I am pretty good at guessing how certain people would react to certain events and attitudes based on their history. I can even, sort of, predict, what their lives may be like in the future.

No, I'm not a fortune teller. I'm a shrink. And this is what I can offer my fellow writers. I can share my experience of understanding human nature to help understand how to create believable characters with potential for powerful conflict but without too much emotional baggage.
Heros, villains, stereotypes or archetypes - you name it. Do you want to have an insight into human's mind?
Join me - I'll open the door for you.

Tone up those saggy middles

Editing and rewriting your novel part 2.

SoYouThinkYouCanWrite contest by Harlequin is nearly resolved. It seems that the organisers replied to the majority of participants. Although we all expected there would be rejections, the fact that there will be A WINNER came as a bit of surprise. I guess, the winner (and runners-up?) will be announced on Monday on Harlequin blog.

photo by Idea goat FreeDigitalPhotos.net

One of my eHarlequin and blogging friends, Serenity Woods, has already got her reply (you can read her well-balanced and thoughtful, if not serene reflections on her experience here).

I'm still waiting and trying to carry on editing my NaNo and SYTYCW novel, in case I've got a request for a partial (miracles happen :)). I've rewritten my opening chapter and the following two and now I'm entering the shaky ground of the middle.

Roz Morris have recently posted on her her 3 fixes to give a story a good middle, and here are mine.
How to write (and rewrite) a well-paced middle?

1. Think of your character arc. Where is where she/he needs to get by the end of the book? Where is she/he now? What are their motivations? What changes does she/he need to undergo to get there? What challenges do you throw at her/him to give her/him a chance to change? How do you show the change happen?
Repeat for any main character you have. Make sure their stories intertwine.

2. Think in scenes. Which scenes are crucial to your character and the story? Which scenes show the journey? Write these ones first, then the less important but still necessary ones. Link them. In genre fiction links can (or even should) be limited to a couple of sentences (e.g. When she got off the bus, he was already waiting with a bunch of flowers).

3. Plan for your climax. Is there anyway you can foreshadow your climax? Which of the middle scences could be used to hint the reader at what is to come? Make sure that you have shown all the skills, abilities etc your character needs for the final challenge and the climax (miracles happens but not in fiction, so no last minute secret weapons digged out of the pocket, unless you've hinted at the existence of this pocket and your character's tendency to hind things in pockets, and their mastery at using the secret weapon, and... )

4. Keep track of what you're doing and stay focused on the story end. Have a map of your hero journey or a plot line and tick the milestones along the way. Keep record of the number of pages you write every day. Get one of those word count/ writing progress meters widgets (you can get them e.g. from Writertopia)- I love them! - it helps me see the end.


Enjoy it!

Editing, querying and feeling naked

I'm still editing my NaNoWriMoNovel. I'm right in the middle, just done Chapter 5 out of 10 (in which my Heroine starts changing but does not realise it yet) and I'm pleasantly surprised because I actually like the story!
This is unusual for me. I tend to feel embarrassed when reading what I've written, regardless of the quality. I think it may be something to do with feeling exposed, naked. As if I've undressed myself in a public place. Any of you have a similar problem?
photo by Ambro (Freedigitalphotos.net)

In the meantime I've received an email from the publisher of my nonfiction book with a request to correct 3 (THREE) sentences from the manuscript. Now, I'm not sure what to think: is it good or bad (my initial reaction was that's it's good), or only just a beginning?
What do you think?


Correcting these three sentences shouldn't take me longer that 15 minutes (usual comfort break included), so tonight I'm back to my novel.
I will however take a little break to participate in this fantastic query contest on Roni Loren blog. I'm going to enter a query for my still unfinished women's fiction novel.
Anyone else entering?

Who wants to shine online?

I do.
So I've done a lot of reading, and thinking, and again more reading, and even more thinking and now I'm starting to put what I've learnt so far into practice.

At BookBuzzr C.Patric Schulze argues that blog is 'the single best marketing tool for an author', so I've joined S.H.I.N.E. Online project, to hone my blogging skills and make my blog a place with interesting and/or useful information. I will be posting twice a week, using the tips by Julie Isaac (@WritingSpirit).

I have also decided to start off another online project - launching myself into busy waters of lifestyle and emotional health advice niche. I know, I know - it's very popular with many experts laready out there, but I think I have something new to offer, even if it's only my short attention span and down-to-earth 'how-not-to-go-bonkers' attitude to life.

After all I'm a bit of an expert on those things ;-)

Do you want to shine online? Have you joined Julia's project? If not, you can do it here or on Twitter by using #SHINEOnline tag.


How do you try to stand out of the crowd? Do you care about it at all?

Setting achievable writing goals

It's this time of year: stock taking, New Year's resolutions, setting goals.
Have you been thinking how to become a better writer? A successful one? Published?Finish that b***y manuscript?
What is your writing goal?
Do you know how to achieve it?

I admit, I'm addicted to setting and achieving goals. If we don't count the evergreen weight loss, I have achieved everything I've ever really wanted, sometimes a little later than I initially thought, but generally as planned.
The key to my successes has always been the word: REALLY.
I believe that you can achieve everything you really want, although there is a price for it. A lot depends on whether you want to pay the price.

When setting a goal, any goal, you need to ask yourself a number of questions and answer them as honestly as you can.

1. What is it what you want to achieve it? Name it. Don't be shy. How will you know you've achieved it?

2. Do you really want to achieve it? Because if you don't - what is the point of trying?

3. Are you prepared to pay the price? Whether it's money, time, or some other sacrifice, there is always a price for getting what you want - can you afford it?

4. Why do you want to achieve it? This is a question about your motivation. It will come handy in times of struggle!

5. How you want to achieve it? In one big go? or as a series of little steps? If you set a smaller goal or a series of 'baby steps', keep the bigger picture in mind. Try to break big goals into smaller steps - it'll help you getting where you want to be.
Keep track of your steps, review your journey, celebrate little successes on the way. It will make it easier.

6. When do you want to achieve it? By the end of next year? within the next couple of 2 years? Be specific, but also realistic, think about potential pitfalls, like family holiday (I find it hard to concentrate on writing when on holidays), or school breaks if you have kids; it's not a very good idea to set yourself a goal of finsihing your novel in a year when you're also planning to get a new day job, sell a house, move countries, settle into new life, and... well - you get the picture (that's why my first novel is still unfinished: it's been with me through 1 baby, 2 continents, 3 countries, 4 jobs and 5 houses).

7. Set yourself up: get rid of unnecessary things, irrelevant activities, distractions.
Hard, I know - I'm guilty of checking my emails or Twitter account umpteen times a day, too.
There are ways of deleting addictive games from your computer, there are programmes, which won't allow you to use Internet for more than pre-set amount of time; mobile phones have 'Off' button, landlines can be unplugged. It's your writing time - your decision.
You can track your writing progress with progress meters -I find it very motivating.

8. Get support: from your family (it may be difficult but it will pay in the end - if you manage to convince them that you REALLY want to finish that novel they may want to support you and share some of the chores so you have time for writing!), friends, and particularly from other writers - they know how hard it is to be a writer.


Here is the graph I use when setting a goal:

My goals for 2011 are:
- sell a fiction manuscript or get an agent
- finish that b***y novel
- get another non-fiction proposal accepted

What are your goals for 2011?