Back on the Horse

Well, it's been a while, eh?

Here are some things you should know:

1. I won NaNoWriMo!
2. No, I'm not ready to post it yet. The novel isn't done even though I hit 50K.
3. I am getting surgery soon so I will probably be grumpy.
4. I finished The Witch's Daughter! Congratulations to me.
5. I'm submitting The Second Sister to L-book.com

Wait, backtrack. WHAT?

Yes, it is time for me to get back on the horse. I decided to give it another go and submit my baby, the first full-length novel I ever completed, to a publishing house that I very much respect. I have purchased stories from L-book in the past and was very pleased with the content. Although I was originally leaning towards print media, since most of my fans are online anyway, I think this might be an even better option! I am sure they would give my story a good home and hope that they like what they see.

I would like to thank all of you for your continuing support and all the lovely feedback and e-mails I get. I save them all and read them when I feel depressed, and it just really brightens my life. You guys all rock so hard!

It's back into the big, bad, scary world of publishing for me.

By the way, in the event that L-book doesn't think The Second Sister is right for them (I really hope they do!), I might need some other good ideas for publishing houses. I am NOT giving up until I get this baby in print one way or the other. It's a damn good story and it's worth putting out there for people to read! It took me a while to overcome my shyness, but Rae is back, baby, and she really wants to make a go of this whole novelist thing.

By the way, here's the Bio I sent them, just in case you were curious:

********* **********, writing under the pen name Rae D. Magdon, is a music student at the *** ***** ****** ** ***** in ********, **, working towards her undergraduate degree in Flute Performance. During the past two years, she has chosen to share her writing on such websites as The Academy of Bards and The Athenaeum, where she has received recognition and several awards for her first novel, The Second Sister. Its two sequels, Wolf’s Eyes and The Witch’s Daughter, were also well received upon completion, and the last book in the series, Mirror, Mirror, is outlined and half-completed. She has also written several non-fantasy novels, including Chopin at 3:00 in the Morning, a modern-day romance; Death Wears Yellow Garters, a light, “tea-cozy” lesbian murder mystery; and My Name Is Brianna, a young-adult novel about the struggles of a MTF transsexual and her lesbian sister. In her spare time, she enjoys dabbling in Alex Cabot/Olivia Benson Law and Order fanfiction, spending quality time with her girlfriend of six years, and hiding from her best friend’s purebred Flatcoats so that they do not eat her.

Character Letters

Today, as an inspirational exercise (and also to vent my frustrations), I am going to write Dear Character letters. These can be fun to write from either point of view, Author or Characters. Hehe



Dear Tess,

You really need to trust Robin more. I know you just met, but she's an FBI agent and she'll help you find your blackmailer, I promise! Oh, and she's handy with a crop, if you're interested by the end of the book... *coughcough*

Love,

Rae


Dear Robin,

I promise Tess isn't really a jerk. Cross my heart. She doesn't mean to keep leading you on and then dumping you, she's just scared. Ignore everything she tells you! IGNOOORE.

Love,

Rae



Dear Samantha,

You are a fun character, but you are supposed to be a supportive friend, not a romantic lead. Please try to be in less scenes. And I know you are a former prostitute, but please stop sleeping with my FMC so she can hook up with the love of her life. Do it or I will come up with something horrible to happen to you!

Love,

Rae



Tomorrow, I am going to post some of the novel "framework" planning I have done for my NaNo so you can see how I did it using the Snowflake Method, a method I have never tried until this month. It is working great so far and I feel really prepared.

Word Wars, Websites, Software, and an Exercise

First of all, I would like to apologize for the long break. I have been getting ready for NaNoWriMo! So far, I made my first day's quota and I'm about to get started on day 2. If you are not doing NaNoWriMo, shame on you. Everyone should try. Worst thing that can happen is you don't make 50K, but you still have some writing done that you can save for later. There is no downside as long as you don't put too much pressure on yourself.


Word Wars:

NaNo is all about the word count. It is a great motivator - it gets you past that annoying rough patch where you want every word to sparkle and shine, so you never get past the first page of your project. It encourages you to spit out whatever is in your brain regardless of whether you actually use it later. Word Wars are a wonderful way to spark your creativity.

Find a friend (or several) who are doing NaNo. This is easy to do, because the NaNoWriMo boards are full of them. Pick a generic time (:30 after the hour, :45, ect) and get going. Post your results and share snippets. This can be done on a forum, over AIM, or even on Facebook. If you'd like to do some Word Warring with me, feel free to IM me at RaeDMagdon and challenge me. Of course, it doesn't matter who wins, no one really remembers or cares anyway. It's all about boosting your wordcount and sharing the results!


Websites
Also, I would like to give all of you NaNo-ers some references that I think will help you on your quest to write the Next Great Novel.

1. Language is a Virus www.languageisavirus.com

A great prompt site with lots of fun word games to get you typing away.


2. www.hollylisle.com

Check out this awesome author's website and read her treatises on style, plotting, and worldbuilding.


3. www.nanowrimo.org

This one is obvious. I cannot recommend the forums here highly enough.


4. www.oneword.com

Self-explanatory once you go there.


Software:
Now for the software. Against my better judgment, I purchased some writing/novel plotting software today that, despite my reservations, I ABSOLUTELY LOVE. I am sure that many of you have heard of the Snowflake Method, a system developed by Randy Ingermanson. It is based on the idea that you expand your novel's plot out like a snowflake until you have it down to the minute details. I was not a fan of the Snowflake Method, preferring to ride by the seat of my pants, but I have changed my tune since buying this software. I am enjoying it immensely so far and have come up with a bunch of different plot points that I had not thought of before! Check it out at www.advancedfictionwriting.com

The software is fairly expensive at $100 (I got it for $50 because I already owned the book Fiction Writing for Dummies). For ME it has been worth it, but only you can decide which writing software is the best for you to use, if any. I am still a huge fan of good ol' pen and paper/Microsoft Word.


Exercise:

I have discussed this before, but I'd like to re-share one of my favorite inspirational writing games. Take a poem (I like Christina Rossetti). Choose a vivid word from each line of the poem. If you really want to, you can skip a line, but not doing so makes the game more fun. Then, write a few paragraphs and include all the words you chose. It's that easy! It will stretch your imagination, and you get to use some very fun words. Great for getting started on a scene for your NaNo.

Down and Dirty Tricks for Word Count Padding

Since NaNoWriMo is coming up (hence why I have been so busy preparing instead of posting on this blog), I decided to post a few tricks I have used to pad my word count.

1. If you are stuck on a scene and feel like working on something else instead (like homework, eugh, who does HOMEWORK anyway?), skip ahead to a completely unrelated scene and write that first.

2. Find a random word generator or use lines in a famous poem as word prompts. You have to include one of the words you pick every few sentences. I like Christina Rossetti. =D Virginia Woolf or Emily Dickenson are also good choices. Or Poe, if you're feeling dreary.

3. Write sex scenes. Lots of sex scenes. This is absolutely the biggest word count padder I know of. It adds a good 1000 -5000 words depending on the level of detail, and it's the same basic actions and metaphors in a fresh, sexy new setting over and over again! You don't have to come up with something completely original... Insert Tab A into Slot B, you know? Of course, you want to make it sound original and fresh, but you can do that after November 30th when you edit.

4. Write dialogue. Lots of dialogue. Before characters do anything, have them whine about it. This will give you pages and pages of word count. Just a warning, it might make your readers want to bang their head against the wall, but you can tweak/cut/polish it later.

5. Steal ideas. Steal as many ideas as you can get your greedy hands on. Just don't let anyone know where you got them. If they still stick out a little after November 30th, you can always go back, remember? That's what December is for, after all.

6. Go to the NaNo boards and start WORD WARS with people. If any of you want to start a Word War with me, my AIM SN is RaeDMagdon and you can message me whenever I'm on or add me to your buddy list. I'd be more than happy to go nano -a -nano with you and pound out some 5, 10, or 15 minute sprints one on one or in a group chat. I absolutely love word wars.

7. Write out some planned scenes beforehand. It seems like common sense, but just writing out a one sentence descriptor for a few "chocolate bar" scenes - exciting scenes you reward yourself with after you have written a lot of 'filler' material - can be very inspiring and give you a place to start if you are stuck.


Note: Some of this advice might not produce GOOD writing, but it will definitely produce writing of some kind. The more you write, the more likely that when you start culling the horrible parts, you'll still have something good left over. Write even if it's bad. Write even if it's absolutely terrible. If you just keep typing words on the screen (or penning thoughtful verses in your handy dandy spiral notebook), at least some of it is bound to be good, right? Let's hope so...

NaNoWriMo Approaches!

NaNoWriMo is coming faster than you think!

*Snerk* Ha, that's what she said. But anyway, here are some ways to come up with great ideas (besides trolling the NaNo forums, which ALL OF YOU SHOULD BE DOING).


1. Write about what scares you.

I'm serious. Write about what scares you, haunts you, or fascinates you. At the risk of sounding like a vampire Harlequin, find the dark desires inside of you and bring them out, even if you think you can't do it. Too embarrassed to write about sex or romance? Write erotica for NaNo. Think you could never tackle fantasy? Write a fantasy novel. Drool over stories with a love triangle, betrayal, or character death? Get angsty. Do what you think you can't and you will probably find that you can.


2. Get out a pen and paper.

Again, I'm serious. I know most of us writers are glued to our computers, but there's just something about the feel of a pen in your hand as it marks up a crisp white sheet of notebook paper that cannot be replicated by the tapping of keys. You can always type up your thoughts later.


3. Grab a friend.

Discuss plot with a friend. Role play with a friend. Goof off with a friend after drinking way too many Red Bulls (or maybe something stronger if you are old enough). Save the conversations if they take place online. If they take place in real life, carry a notebook with you and do your best to remember what was said. For online writers to talk to, go to the NaNo forums! There are tons of people there.


4. Write some stream of consciousness warm-ups

You can write anything you want ahead of NaNo except the actual novel, so do a few pages of stream-of-consciousness type writing for your favorite characters. It's a great way to find out what motivates them, how they speak, how they act, and who they are. Besides, you might come up with an excellent plot that way.


5. Break out the spreadsheet

Use Excel, Word, or a plain old piece of paper to graph, chart, or just plain list the scenes in your novel in any way you like. I still prefer pen and paper or just a plain old Word document, but some people have tons of cool word processing software that can organize it all pretty-like.


6. Play around on BabyNameGenerator. Or any other generator.

There are so many writing generators and prompts on the internet that it's not even funny. For some help getting started, visit www.languageisavirus.com It has all kinds of cool writing games to play.

Sorry if this post is slightly crazy, it's really early in the morning and I'm hyper for no reason.



And just for me, here's my To-Do List:


Original Fiction:

The Witch's Daughter (2000 more words to go!!!)

All The Pretty Things (NaNoWriMo)

Mirror, Mirror (seq. to TSS, WE, and TWD)

Lilith's Redemption

Sonata Form (seq. to Chopin)



Fanfiction:

What Happens In Provincetown (L&O/R&I)

It Happened One Night (L&O)

Sequel to Magnetic Resistance (L&O)

By Courier (L&O/DWP)

Twi-hate: The Descent Into Madness (L&O/Legally Blonde/Twilight)

Desperation (R&I, seq. to Denial)



Random Pairings I want to write at some point...

Something Kim/Shego (Kim Possible anyone?)
Something Mirandy (Devil Wears Prada)
Something Harley/Ivy (Batman)


.... yes, I am a pervert and a dork. I don't care. I'm also sure I've forgotten some projects on the lists...

Rae's 10 Rules of Writing

Just because I felt like it.


1. Write Every Day - (even a little bit). The more you write, the better you'll get. You'll have a novel before you know it.

2. Write What Interests You - If you're bored, your reader will probably be bored, too.

3. Learn And Steal From The Greats, But Always Be Original - A bit of a contradiction, but most of writing is balancing tried and true techniques with your own unique voice.

4. Great Writers Are Avid Readers - A bit of a spin-off of number three. If you don't read, how will you ever learn how to write?

5. Worry About The Grammar Later - Don't get so obsessed with making each sentence perfect that you never write more than one paragraph. You'll have time to make every word sparkle later, during the editing process.

6. Stretch Yourself - Write something all in dialogue. Write only using questions. Switch between first person and third person... hell, use second person. Write from the point of view of a chair. Who has sat in it? Maybe Benjamin Franklin! =D

7. Make Friends - If you help other writers and form a writing community with your friends, your work will improve as a result.

8. Learn to Critique - Extension of number seven. Learn to read with a critical eye. It will improve your own writing dramatically.

9. Know Your Characters - Great writers have great characters. They will lead the way when you are feeling stuck or uninspired.

10. Have fun - If you aren't having fun, you aren't doing it right. But even when you're not having fun, keep writing until you start again and try to find new ways to stay engaged.

NaNoWriMo or How To Plan Your Novel

Everyone that reads this blog should GET EXCITED. It's the month of October now, and you all know what that means: it's only 1 more month until NaNoWriMo!

For those of you that don't know, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month, a 30 day race to write 50,000 words during the month of November. It starts at 12:00 AM on November 1st and ends at 11:59 PM on November 30th. Check out the website at www.nanowrimo.org and get pumped! They have all sorts of cool forums, word counting devices, ways to procrastinate and build your world, and tons of different groups to join. During the month there are Word Wars to boost your word count, forum doctors that will help revitalize your sick and/or dying plot, adoptable characters and plots, and experts in just about any field imaginable. The forums are so much fun that they can distract you from actually getting any writing done!

Last year, I won NaNo (everyone wins as long as you complete 50,000 words in the space of 30 days) with my murder mystery: Death Wears Yellow Garters. All of you can go read it if you are so inclined. It has lesbian sex, crazy relatives, evil dogs, and, of course, a murder that has to be solved.

You can do as much planning as you want before November, but no actual writing. I am actually cheating, and I am going to finish my Senator's Daughter storyline that I started and stopped at 5,000 words (I'm still writing 50,000 words at least, so I'm not skimping on the word count, but I did start early. Shhhh, don't tell!)

Assuming you aren't like me and don't want to "bend the rules", per se, go ahead and start planning instead of beginning your actual novel. That can be a lot of work in and of itself. Write out some character names. Summarize your novel in ten words, three sentences, one paragraph, one page. Use an excel sheet to write a short summary for each chapter. Draw a fun graph with colors. Break out the crayons and put together a map if you are using a fantasy or sci-fi world. Draw your characters. Just draw rainbows if it inspires you. Write poems. Write short excerpts from the point of view of your characters. Just get planning. Hook up with other writers and discuss your ideas. Lurk on the NaNo boards. Visit the Adoptables threads to get some ideas.

Get pumped, because it's going to be a huge sprint to the finish.

What are you doing for NaNo? Tell me in comments, which I always read even if I occasionally get distracted and forget to respond.

A treatise on style... or how to refer to your characters without actually saying their names

This post is... exactly what it says in the title. It will (hopefully) show you how to refer to your characters without using their names. It can be very exhausting to read someone's fiction and see the same one, two, or three names printed several times in every paragraph. Now, you need to use names sometimes, especially when you are writing about a large group of people conversing. It is necessary to clarify who is speaking. But in scenes with two or three participants, you have the flexibility to use other adjectives and titles for your characters.

If you have Microsoft Word, try an experiment. Highlight all of your novel/whatever you're working on and go to the 'Tools' tab. Then go to 'Autosummarize'. It should open up a new window and allow you to shorten your highlighted work. The automatic choices range from 75% to 25%, or you can choose the exact number of words you want to shorten to. Pick the lowest one (it should be ten sentences).


For your pleasure and amusement, I will now read the entirety of my masterpiece, Chopin at 3:00 in the Morning (the condensed version).


Chopin at 3:00 in the Morning (in 11 words and/or 10 sentences)

“Gwen! “Mandy.”

“Gwen – Gwen…? “Gwen!” “Mandy!” Mandy...” “Gwen... “Gwen.” “Gwen?” “Gwen!



*Bows to the thunderous applause*


See? It's just the two main characters' names over and over again. You get the idea. This proves just how much the names of your characters saturate your work.

Now, names are still going to be your primary means of identifying which character is speaking or performing a specific action. However, some variation is occasionally refreshing.



Here's an example from Magnetic Resistance, simply because it is in third person, the most difficult viewpoint to write in terms of understanding who is talking (first person presents other, unique challenges).

It would be so easy to fall in love with Alex. Who am I kidding? I'm already in love with her. I have been for years. Olivia sighed, pressing a kiss to the dozing attorney's warm forehead. Her eyes were closed, her breath deep and even as she slept curled up against Olivia's side like it was the most natural place in the world for them to be. Everything felt so right...

Olivia shifted slightly in Alex's embrace, almost smiling as the blonde murmured something in her sleep and held her tighter, unwilling to let her go. The small movement made Olivia's heart ache. Was Alex afraid she would cut and run? She could not deny that she was thinking about it. Part of her wanted to sneak out the door and never come back. After experiencing Alex, no one else would ever be enough. Alex loved her. Olivia believed it. She had seen it in those sincere blue eyes, felt it in the gentle, reverent caresses that explored her legs and hips and breasts, the lips that had teased and taken and tortured hers.

She had believed it as Alex's fierce, scorching tongue explored her folds, only pausing when the counselor glanced up through the square lenses of those damn glasses and licked her lips, lips covered in gloss and a smile and Olivia. At the time, the look had been incendiary, even decadent. But remembering, the detective knew that there was love behind it. And that terrified her.

Notice how I (subtly) replaced the name Alex with 'the dozing attorney', 'the counselor' and 'the blonde'. I replaced Olivia with 'the detective' at the end.

You can use someone's hair color, eye color, skin color, clothing, height, job, or profession to distinguish who you are talking about. Basically, use whatever you want. Just please do it in moderation. Seeing 'the blonde' a million times is no better than seeing your character's name over and over again on the page.


Here are some examples, but please, for the LOVE OF ALL THINGS HOLY, use them sparingly, and juggle them so you don't end up sounding like a bad Harlequin. PLEASE.

'The taller woman'
'The olive-skinned woman'
'The scientist'
'The police officer'
'The spaceship pilot'
'The politician'
'The younger woman'
'The brunette'
'The violinist'

You get the idea... profession, age, hair color, height, ect. Just be very, very careful. This tool can be useful for adding color and mixing things up, but please use with caution.

You can also use 'her lover' or 'her girlfriend'/'her wife'/ect, esp during sex scenes, but once again, be careful. Don't overuse or you'll end up with a disaster.

New Website

I have certainly been a busy bee recently! I have a new website that catalogues all of my work. Nothing new, just all the old stuff posted in a clear, easy-to-read place with links and such. Yay me.


http://raedmagdon.wordpress.com/

To-Do List

Just in case you were interested, here is my writing To Do List. I'm mostly posting it here for my benefit, but perhaps some of you will find it interesting. In no fixed order (although priorities are generally near the top)...


Fanfiction:
- Last chapter of 'Magnetic Resistance' (Law and Order: SVU)
- Finish 'It Happened One Night' (Law and Order: SVU)
- Finish 'Exhibitionist' (Law and Order: SVU)
- Start sequel to 'Magnetic Resistance' (Law and Order: SVU)

///// Half-started ideas /////
- Twilight: The Descent Into Madness (Legally Blonde/L&O:SVU/Twilight crossover)
- By Courier (Devil Wears Prada/L&O: SVU crossover)
- Unnamed Devil Wears Prada fic
- Unnamed Jane Rizzoli/Maura Isles smut (Rizzoli & Isles)
- Unnamed KIGO fic (Kim Possible/Shego... yes, I am a total dork)


Original Fiction:
- The Witch's Daughter (2 more chapters to go...)
- Senator's Daughter (needs a title!)

///// Half-Started Ideas/////
- Lilith's Redemption (new supernatural-themed original fiction novel)
- Murder, Lies, Statutory Rape, and Madison Rose (drama/romance)

///// Other Plans /////
- The two other books in the Chopin universe
- The last book in the Amendyr universe


That list probably makes very little sense to you, but it's good to have goals. Lots of goals. And NaNoWriMo is coming up, so that will be a splendid time to knock out some writing and hit some big word count numbers.

Taking Critiques Well

I have covered this particular topic before, but the emphasis of my last post on critiques leaned more towards how to give a good critique than how to accept one graciously. Anyone that indulges in the creative process must occasionally accept critiques of their work. For some people, this is easy to do. They are eager to learn, excited about new ideas, and constantly looking to improve.

I am not one of those people.

Compared to the average Joe out there, I am excellent at taking constructive criticism. (From here on out, we are going to assume that all criticism given is constructive, given by a colleague or a mentor/teacher figure). Compared to some other artists and musicians and writers out there, I'm a little sensitive.

Today, my flute teacher suggested that I try playing a piece I am working on ('Kokopelli', in case anyone is curious) in a completely different way than I had been practicing it. Of course, her way was better. Instead of getting excited about her suggestions, which were given in a mature, informative, and easy-to-understand way, I was angry that I had not thought of them first and sulked until she pointed out that I should be excited about the learning process instead of dwelling on things I could have done better. It is kind of like seeing someone else write the Next Great Novel and thinking, "why can't I do that?" instead of reading it, enjoying it, and weaving threads of that author's style into your own work to strengthen your prose.

Teachers show us the way. That is why we rely on them. As writers, we often must teach ourselves. Although we can study examples (a little like learning from a recording for musicians), we do not go into a music studio or attend art classes. You can take a group creative writing class, but it's not quite the same as having a private lesson once a week. Instead, we must rely on the critique in order to engage in the student-teacher relationship.

In general, there are two kinds of people you will get a critique from: colleagues and teachers/mentors. I mentioned this a few paragraphs ago. In the music world, a colleague is someone in the same musical group as you. For example, the oboist I sit next to when I play piccolo in Wind Ensemble or the other girls in my flute studio. Discussing technique with a colleague is very useful for writers. It can be anything from reading two line reviews on fanfiction.net to showing your entire novel to another writer to see what they think.

A teacher/mentor figure in the writing world would either be a vastly more experienced writer with more published/completed works than you whose style you admire, or a professional editor in the publishing industry. Basically, you want to look at the next level up. I could even be a teacher or mentor figure for a beginning writer.

When you are accepting a critique from a colleague, it does not sting as much because the playing field is even. You can take anything they say with a grain of salt if you fiercely disagree. Ex: "I don't care if she says this character is too unbelievable, I'm going to keep Clyde the Purple Mastodon in my novel anyway!" Although you always have the last say because, ultimately, your work is your own, I often find that my teacher's suggestions immediately improve whatever I happen to be working on. My frustration comes from not correcting myself before receiving the advice.

Instead of thinking:
- Why didn't I think of that? I should have done that in the first place...
- I'll never get anywhere if I keep making such big mistakes
- I had no idea this was even a problem! What if I'm never able to pick out my own mistakes and be my own teacher someday?

Try thinking:
- Oh, that's a good point, this advice will improve my novel.
- Yay! I learned something new today.


This sounds like really basic advice, but keeping a positive attitude can be emotionally draining and very difficult. It is a test of endurance, particularly for negative, cynical people like myself. That is why it is so important to critique others in a positive way. Nothing you say could ever be half as bad as the things people sometimes say to themselves. And if you wouldn't say something mean to another person for fear of being rude, why on earth should you tolerate that kind of negative mental speech from yourself?

The Triumphant Return

Guess whose back with a brand new track (er, blog post)?

... Well, no one, if my Music History teacher and other professors had anything to say about it. They have been piling on the homework, and I have been practicing like the devil. I have been writing, since I figured you guys would rather have me spouting out more smut and fluff and action scenes than keeping up-to-date on my blog, but I've decided to give a quick update and then get to work on posting some writing tips and tricks.

Aside from my fanfiction obsession (Magnetic Resistance is almost done!), my new project, which I have temporarily dubbed 'The Senator's Daughter', is coming along nicely at about 15,000 words. I have 6,000 more words to go of The Witch's Daughter, but I'm seriously drained for that novel, and I'm trying my best to make the last 6,000 words as high-quality as the first 70,000 or so. I don't want to disappoint and rush to finish just so that novel is off my plate. The ending is the most important part of any work.

Yes, there have been arguments made for the beginnings of novels being the most important. If you don't have a good beginning, why would you bother reading to the end in the first place? But I still say that the ending of a novel is far more important, because that is the last, powerful punch that finishes off your grand adventure and (hopefully) leaves the reader with questions, an emotional reaction, or something. Stories with a great beginning and a bad ending leave the reader feeling cheated and disappointment, while stories with a so-so beginning and a slamming ending leave the reader feeling pleasantly surprised.

Of course, if you can have a good beginning and an equally good ending, that is even better. A double-attack from both sides, if you will. And if you can get a good middle thread connecting the two, then you're in the money. Or, well, you'll make people feel very, very happy while cutting out coupons from newspapers, unless you are supported by your parents/spouse (*coughcough*) or your name is Stephen King or JK Rowling.

In order to write a good ending, I tend to follow the Storyteller's Cardinal Rule: Always Have A Happy Ending (Unless A Sad, Poignant Ending Is Appropriate). This seems like common sense, but you would be surprised how many people kill off their characters or ruin everything at the end of a novel for no good reason. Unless you can lay out a sound argument for doing so, let them ride off into the sunset and live happily ever after. Your audience will appreciate it and they might decide not to come after you with torches and pitchforks.

Another tip - once the climax has happened (the climax of the action, not the sexual climaxes, of which there are many in my novels), wrap it up quickly. You need to get out of there pretty fast in order to keep the reader's interest. It's nice to add questions at the end that can continue to germinate in the audience's minds, but don't leave too many untied threads or you will leave the reader feeling unsatisfied. It is a balancing act, like many other writing tools.

Anyway, I have to close my laptop because my professor just walked in. I'll update later. Music Girl, Away!

Themes

All good novels have a few things in common. Strong characters, strong language, strong stories... but there is one ingredient that many aspiring writers do not try to incorporate into their work, and even if they do, many do it intrinsically, without thinking about it. The best novels have powerful, overarching themes that resonate within readers at a deep level. There are many different types of themes that you can write about, and there are many different ways to introduce these themes into your writing. Honestly, the topic of themes and their use in writing can fill a book all by itself - and has. This is just a brief introduction.

Many writers use some simple, tried-and-true themes already without realizing it. To start in a very general way, good triumphing over evil can be seen as a classic theme that countless stories and novels have made use of for centuries. It has stayed popular because it is a powerful theme, rooted to something deep within our psyche. Also, turning this theme on its head and exploring the shades of gray in between good and evil can be a good way to keep readers (and yourself) engaged. Another common theme is love. True love, sexual love, sacrificial love, romantic love, familial love, destructive love, relationships and how they change people... love has many different faces.

Themes can also become very specific. For example, 'The Wizard of Oz' is supposedly based (this is argued by different groups in literary circles) on the nineteenth century debate on government monetary policy, with the Wicked Witch of the West representing the railroads, the monkeys representing the Native Americans, the scarecrow representing farmers, the tin man representing factory workers, and the Cowardly Lion representing William Jennings Bryan. James Joyce used Ireland, its relationship with England and the Church, and its self-destructive tendencies as the overarching theme for his entire body of work.

Themes can be as simple or as complex as you want them to be. They may be unique and original, or they may have already been used thousands of times because they speak to us as humans. They can be about characters, about death, about life, about a place or time, about the future, about apocalyptic societies, about money, about sex, about social customs and stigmas... basically, themes can be about anything.

How do you weave a theme in to your work? First, you have to find out what those themes are. Writing them out before you start a project, in the middle of the project, and after a project can be useful and insightful. Themes might change as your story grows and develops, and that's okay, but having a list to refer back to can help remind you what you were thinking of before you clacked out those opening lines on your keyboard.

You can introduce themes with a character's thoughts, speech, or mere presence, with an image, with a setting, with an object, with plot... If you look for opportunities to include your theme, you will find them.

Pick themes that are meaningful to you. For example, some of the themes I have used are very general: the idea of soul-mates and love, LGBT themes, themes of self-hatred, the transition from adolescence to adulthood, good conquering evil. Some of my other themes are highly specific: questioning God's existence and His actions as a gay teenager; exploring futuristic dystopias; mirrors, dance classes, and their relationship with body image and self confidence; the future of the human race and their tendency to alienate anyone physically or mentally dissimilar; white suburbia and its tendency to hold young people from means to a ridiculously high standard while completely blocking out people from other cultures... the list goes on and on.

The point is, there are tons of themes out there. They can be anything from "LotR has a theme about heroes struggling to beat the bad guys" (a vast oversimplification) to "Joyce's use of the silver bracelet on the wrist of the unnamed female character on page three draws to mind the image of handcuffs, because the female represents Ireland and her current imprisonment and destitution."

... I suggest starting with something a little simpler before using numerology, Biblical references, and animology to build on your theme, but if you feel up to it, go ahead and try. It can be very fun, almost like using a secret code. Even my Law and Order: SVU fanfic has some color symbolism in it to add a dash of, well, color. But maybe that is because my brain is always on overdrive...

PS: Random fact - color symbolism is my favorite type of symbolism to use when developing a theme! =D

Random Poll:

I've noticed that a lot of authors, particularly those that write in many different genres and dabble in both original fiction and fanfiction, have Livejournals to post the entire body of their work.

I have a question for all of you that read this (sporadically updated, I know) blog:

Should I make one?

I already post my work on many, many, many other websites (fictionpress, Academy of Bards, Athenaeum, fanfiction, P&P...), so I'm wondering, would a well-organized livejournal with EVERYTHING I've ever written EVER be worthwhile?

Vote in comments or whatever.

A) Yes!

B) No, I don't think you need one.

C) No, I hate LJ.

D) No, I hate you. (Why are you reading this blog?)

E) All of the above

F) I hate multiple choice questions and polls...

Aspirations

Every once in a while, you will read something that absolutely blows your socks off. If you're lucky, reading other people's writing inspires you and gives you a flood of new ideas, but more often than not, it just leaves you feeling like a horse's ass.

Sometimes, they are in your genre, and reading their work makes you think, "damn, they just took the craft I spent years developing to the best of my ability and made it 100 times better. Why on earth would anyone bother reading anything I write when this great writer is out there publishing new material?"

Sometimes, they are in a completely different genre, and reading their work makes you think, "oh God, now I have to abandon my humorous romantic comedy and write something dramatic and angsty if I ever want to have even the slightest chance of being as good as this person..." (These are the thoughts I'm having right now).

The sad truth is, there is always going to be someone who writes better than you. There, I said it. No matter how many years you spend writing, now matter how many books you sell, and no matter how many gallons of blood, sweat, and tears you collect (I don't really like that group except for 'Spinning Wheel'...), there is always going to be someone better.

This isn't just true of writing. This is true of musicians, artists, neurosurgeons, quilters, horseback riders, or anything else you can think of.

On the bright side, there is always going to be someone worse than you, too. Unfortunately, having a hundred people worse than you doesn't make up for that one person that's better. Sometimes it can be fun to have talented, professional colleagues to collaborate with, but once in a while, the green monster pops up, and you think, "dammit, why couldn't I have written that!"

It's frustrating, unhealthy, and ought to be dismissed from your mind (I know, easier said than done). Although I am still searching for a way to circumvent this envy as a musician, I have found one as a writer. Different people are in different moods for different things at different times. Even if someone writes the best crime fiction novel you have ever read, there are going to be people out there who want to read your romantic comedy. Maybe they just had a bad break-up and need something lighthearted. Besides, if only 'the best book in the world' was ever published, what would all the avid readers out there do with their time? There doesn't have to be just one winner.

My chorus teacher used to have a poster on the wall of her classroom that was really cheesy, but kind of inspiring at the same time. "The forest would be very quiet if no birds sang except the best." Bear with me and move the cheesy metaphor over to the writing world for a moment. The shelves of libraries, book stores, homes, and computer hard-drives would be very empty if no authors wrote except the best.

If you think no one could create a masterpiece half as good as the author of the book you just finished, look at the other books on the library shelf. There's going to be at least one other book that tops the one you just read. For every person that's better than you, there's going to be someone better than them, too, so really, we're all in the same boat together.

Somewhere in the world, someone is going to read your work at exactly the right moment and enjoy it immensely. It's always worth it to put your writing out there for that reason alone, but also because, as writers, we have to do it. We need to do it. We have to reach out and touch others (especially our fellow writers). Who knows, you might be the inspiration someone else is looking for (or maybe even the standard of excellence that tortures another writer).

... it's okay for you to feel a little smug about that. Really. Schadenfreude is a normal point on the large spectrum of human emotions.

Random Updates

So, I counted up all the Law and Order fanfiction I've written in the past two months, and ended up with a grand total of: 56,596 words. That's the better part of a novel! I should be finishing TWD, but that will come in time. Right now, I am wandering around in Alex/Olivia land and LOVING it. If you are an original fiction writer and feel the need for a break, by all means, take one. It can be some of the most productive time you've ever spent.

In other news, I bombed my audition, but scraped together enough pieces so that I'm not last chair. Like writers, musicians have to have thick skins and get used to rejection. Not every day is going to be your best day. I have an excuse, sort of. It's one that paints me in a bad light, but I'll share it anyway...

So, I was feeling pretty confident when I went in to the room with the screen all set up so the judges (my teachers) couldn't see me. They gave their usual speech: "Play your Mozart exposition in D and then your excerpts in any order." I smiled, looked down at my music, and my heart tripped when I realized my Mozart wasn't tucked safely into my excerpt book. My mouth fell open, I paused a few seconds, blinked, then RAN off stage like the hounds of hell were at my heels. Once I was backstage, I started swearing like a construction worker or a sailor, whichever mental image you prefer, and scrambled to my bag to find my Mozart. Panting like crazy, I ran back on stage and tried to calm down my racing heart. I was gulping like a fish, couldn't breathe... somehow, I started to play.

I'm stuck in the lower band this year, but since they only took the top six players out of the whole studio for combined Wind Ensemble and Orchestra (something that they have never done before now), I do not feel too bad. Hopefully, my parents will not disown me. They can be almost Asian, I swear... "Bring home an A or you are banished from the family!"

If only they knew their lovely daughter spends her free time writing naughty lesbian stories... Oh well, let's hope they never find out. They might suspect, actually, due to an 'incident' when I was twelve and another when I was fourteen, but here's to hoping they leave well enough alone.

A rather self-centered post, but it does have some use for writers. Don't let anything faze you. Never give up. Develop a thick skin by sharing your work with as many people as possible. It's okay to be afraid. Everyone has faced failure at one point or another, and it never stopped them. The only thing that can really stop you is yourself.

(Edit: Sara, you're totally right. Dang, even us busy writers occasionally mix up our words. Curse you, spell check!)

Borrowing Ideas...

Sorry I haven't updated a lot recently, but I've been preparing to go back to school. That involves seating auditions, so wish me luck! In other news, I've started posting my fanfic at The Academy and The Athenaeum, which will hopefully mean more readers. I am a total comment whore, so the more readers the better! Now, on to today's topic...

Today, I'm going to talk about "borrowing", a not-frequently-talked-about-but-very-frequently-used practice. It is an especially helpful tool for beginning writers. This might sound a little bit like "cheating", so you need to be extremely careful how you use this particular tool. Writers can steal, tweak, and publish each other's ideas, but unless you have original material to substitute for most of the stuff you stole, doing this is worthless.

1. Stealing an idea

Only one idea per work, please. Don't steal the entire concept of a novel or you'll be found out. Pick and choose carefully, and then try and use the idea in a completely different way than the original writer did. Most of the best basic ideas are hundreds of years old anyway and have been used so many times that no one author has a claim to them.


2. Stealing a word or phrase

I have done this, but usually for descriptive adjectives to use during sex scenes. If a particularly vivid image strikes me, I open a word document and copy down something similar (but not identical). Because I like to come up with my own ideas as well, I usually only "steal" one (or maybe two) metaphors or images per sex scene.


3. Using models

The best writers read good books. This is less of something you "steal" than something you "absorb". Pacing is difficult to learn unless you have read a lot of books. If I am struggling with a scene, and see another scene that resembles the idea I'm going for, I will occasionally "model" my scene on that one in terms of pacing, but I DO NOT steal any words or phrases from that scene. My thought process is more like -entrance two paragraphs - argument three paragraphs - rapid dialogue - first physical contact - self-deprecating inner dialogue - sex begins.... something like that. Also, I try to completely change the location, characters, and genre of the book. For example, if I am using pacing ideas from a romance novel, I'll put it in a fantasy world. If I'm stealing pacing ideas from an epic fantasy battle scene, I'll turn it into a courtroom drama.

The 'models' idea can actually be used for entire novels (or sections of novels), but this is tricky. In theory, you could copy down the entire ratio of scenes (filler - action - humor - plot development - sex - ect) that fill one of your favorite novels and try to achieve the same ratio.

This might sound very confusing, so if you have any comments (especially on the 'models' part of the article), please chime in. I'm probably going to expand on this topic, because this particular post is a hodge-podge of rambling information in no particular order.

Now, I have to go pack away my entire wardrobe for school. Ta-ta

Rome Wasn't Built In A Day, Running, and Other Metaphors

Sure, there are some days where the words pour from your fingertips in a waterfall of creativity and prose, but those days are exceedingly rare. As Holly Lisle, one of my favorite writers (especially when she writes about writing), says in one of her helpful articles: novelists are the long-distance runners of the writing world. Unlike sprinters or milers, long distance runners have to have a lot of endurance. Speed isn't necessarily the most important skill. It's all about pacing yourself. It doesn't matter how fast you go, only that you reach the finish line.

Every writer works at their own speed. My personal writing speed is completely erratic. Sometimes I can barely get down a couple hundred words, and other times I glance down at the word count and realize I've done five thousand in only a couple of hours. Being a fast writer is definitely nice, but not necessary. In the end, it isn't important whether you write faster than a Harlequinn romance novelist with two books out every year or spend what seems like forever on the same gigantic fantasy novel.

Right now, I am not very inspired to finish The Witch's Daughter, maybe because of the rejection from Bold Strokes, and I really want to work on my newest project, which is about an FBI agent and a closeted politician (I posted an excerpt already). However, I'm not giving up.

In order to inspire myself, I posted the first two parts on the websites I submit to for some comments and feedback. That always makes me write faster. My fanfiction is proof of that. The more reviews I get, the faster I write. If you are ever stuck on a project (make sure it is one that you really DO enjoy and want to finish), I suggest posting it half-finished instead of waiting. Although many people hate being left at a cliffhanger, myself included, it can be a personal motivator. (If you are one of those people who can NEVER seem finish a project, however, don't heed that advice and wait until you finish, or you might end up with a lot of disappointed fans.)

Dividing my attention between multiple projects also seems to be an effective way to unclog the writing tubes when I feel like I will never finish my novel. Again, this technique is not the best one to use for beginners that have trouble finishing what they start. If you fall in to this category, the only advice I can offer is to slug through the mud until you get to the finish line. There's no shortcuts, no easy way around it. You just have to finish. The more projects you complete, the easier it gets.

Being a writer is a lot harder than most people think. It requires a lot of stamina, a lot of determination, and a thick hide. But it is also very rewarding to sit and stare at a full word document that means something to you... and will, hopefully, mean something to others.

On another note, Rome cannot be built without help. Today (or tomorrow, since it's late tonight), take the time to thank all the wonderful people in your life that read your work and help you while you're running the novel race. It will make both of you feel good, and maybe it will also garner you some extra support and inspiration.

Editing

Editing is something that some writers very much enjoy and that other writers absolutely hate. There are as many ways to edit your work as there are writers, and there is no one-size-fits-all editing bonanza package that you can use to polish your novel or short story. However, that does not mean that there aren't some hard and fast tools that I have found useful in my editing and beta-ing experience.


1. Strike a balance

You have to let the pendulum hang in the middle, somewhere between 'tweak the first chapter until I have memorized every word of every sentence' and 'oh screw it, I refuse to go back and correct spelling mistakes'. Rereading and re-writing rough patches is necessary, and it can even be enjoyable, but if you find yourself reading the same paragraph over and over again while lamenting that it isn't the prose of the Gods, you need to open up a blank word document and work on a different part of your project.


2. Have someone else read it

Get a beta-reader. I don't care how you do it, but just do it. I generally force my work on three people before sharing it. The first one is my girlfriend, who has put up with a huge amount of romance, drama, smut, fluff, battle scenes, monologues, and even the occasional poem. I even force the poor thing to read my Law and Order fanfics, which she hates, and she does it anyway because she loves me THAT much. The second is my friend Richard, who I usually look to for gut reactions and snippets. He is more of a testing board than a nitty gritty critic, but that's exactly what I need from him. The third part of my little group does most of the heavy lifting, and that's Lee, my beta. I shove huge files at her and somehow she fixes all of my extraneous commas and sometimes writes little notes in the margins. I don't know what I'd do without these people.


3. Listen to it out loud

Read to yourself out loud (hope no one is home, or at least not in the room, or you will embarrass yourself... trust me...) Download or purchase a text-to-speech program from somewhere. There are tons of free options, although my Mac has it for free. I have started doing this over the past several months, and trust me, it helps. Even though there's no great voice acting, the ear is able to pick out a misspelled word or a gap in phrasing much more accurately than the tired eye. Plus, you can listen to free stuff online while you're falling asleep! You DO get used to the robot voice, I promise. Mine's named 'Victoria' and I have actually started to enjoy her. Kinda scary, isn't it?


4. Do at least one large, huge, ginormous edit and then put it away and start something new

When you have finished a project (or a section of a project), take it out, dust it off, sit your butt down in the chair, and go through it with a fine-tooth comb. Then, forget about it. Don't go back and mess with it anymore, at least not for a while. You can pull it out again in a few weeks and look at it with fresh eyes, but if you work on the same stuff over and over again, it won't get any better. Do yourself a favor and choose something different to work on so that you won't go insane.


No novel will ever be "perfect". You have to get over that if you ever want to share with others. There is always going to be someone who could have done it better, there is always going to be a more fitting word choice or a better plot idea than the one you chose, there is always going to be at least one typo in a 75,000 word novel. But I do promise that the more you write and edit, the more your work will improve, and the more entertainment and joy you will be able to bring to yourself and others. Now stop being a slacker and go write something instead of reading this blog!

New Project

Well, never let it be said that Rae gives up without a fight. Since Bold Strokes does want to see more of my work (and they were actually very encouraging in their letter to me, which was personalized and not just a form letter), I am starting a new project. I'm not sure what title I will give it, but here's the gist and an excerpt.

Plot: Tess Daubney, the daughter of a prominent senator, is running on the Republican ticket in her first national election for one of Ohio's Congressional seats (2nd district). However, she has to make a choice when she gets entangled with Robin, the niece of her campaign manager. It's kind of ironic that, in this story, the Republican is the good guy and the Democrat is a total sleezebag. I usually vote Democrat (although I greatly admire Olympia Snowe), but I tend to judge individual politicians based on their moral fiber and their experience rather than their party.

Her legs still shaking, weak from what they had just done, Tess bent down to pick up Robin’s discarded clothes. Her jeans and underwear were slumped in a pile against one wall, and her shirt was on the other side of the room. The sleeve of her brown leather jacket peeked out from beneath the desk, but Tess was too distracted to notice it.

“Don’t do that yet,” Robin murmured, getting up from the chair and wandering over to wrap the smaller woman in her arms. She looked confused and a little hurt when Tess flinched, jerking out of the embrace. Looking uncomfortable, the blonde adjusted her skirt and began rebuttoning her blouse. She would have to find her bra and stockings later. They had to be somewhere underneath the furniture. “Tess, what ar-”

Tess shook her head, taking another step back to put more distance between them. She shoved the clothes into Robin’s outstretched arms, trying not to watch as the naked woman began to dress herself. “Love is for story books, Robin, not real people. I have a chance to do something great here, something bigger than just me or you... I – I can’t throw that away.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Robin’s wounded expression urged Tess to take back what she had said, to change her mind. It took every ounce of strength that the blonde possessed to turn her chair around and face the wall. She couldn’t do this if she had to look at Robin’s haunted brown eyes.

“I think you should leave,” she said. Her voice wavered, cracking slightly, but Robin was too angry to notice.

“I guess now that you got what you wanted, you’re done with me,” Robin said, the disgust in her voice piercing the blonde’s heart.

All of the color drained from Tess’s face. “You have to understand, my job–”

“Oh, I understand perfectly. You’re throwing away something wonderful, something I’ve never felt before, without even giving it a chance... just because you’re a coward.” Not caring about the messy state of her hair, she finished pulling her shirt over her head and reached under the desk for her jacket, almost forgetting to button and zip her jeans. They felt stiff and uncomfortable against her legs. She should have been holding Tess right now, savoring her warm skin, soaking in the afterglow... not running off into the night like a high school kid sneaking through their girlfriend’s bedroom window. Obviously, what they had done meant nothing to her. She rubbed at stinging eyes with the back of her hand, glad that she and Tess had their backs to each other so that the other woman couldn’t see her fighting back tears.

“Robin...”

For a moment, both women forgot to breathe.

“I’m sorry things aren’t... different.”

She expected another argument, shouting, curses, something – but Robin did not try and convince her to turn her chair back around. She did not speak at all. She simply stood in silence, numbing herself against the sting of Tess’s rejection.

Staring at the drawn window shades because she could not bear to watch Robin leave, she listened to the quiet click of the door and the melancholy sound of retreating footsteps. Words rose in her throat, words calling the younger woman back, but she clenched her teeth and swallowed them back down. Hadn’t Robin already taken enough of her soul?

When she was sure that she was alone again, Tess finally let her defenses fall, collapsing onto the desk and burying her face in her arms, crying into the sleeves of her crookedly buttoned blouse.

Anyway, I'm still going to try to get TSS published. It's a damn good novel, and I'll find a way to get it out there somehow. I'm not sure what route I will take yet, but there are other publishing companies out there. However, I'd still like to publish something with Bold Strokes someday. They're a great publishing house, and I'm not at all offended by their rejection. From the tone of the letter, I gather that they just don't have room for fantasy right now in their next set of releases. If you've got ideas, tell me what you think!

Bold Strokes Responded...

Well, Bold Strokes responded. It's half good news, half bad news. I received a personalized e-mail that said, basically: Your writing is good and your voice distinctive, but we are simply not looking to publish fantasy books at this time. We are interested in seeing some of your other work.

Right now, I am not sure what to do. My other works are, well...


Death Wears Yellow Garters is too zany and not nearly polished enough to be published.

Chopin at 3:00 in the Morning is far too "high school"...

My Name is Brianna is too short.


Everything else that I have written is for the fantasy genre... I am dealing with a storm of emotions right now, and I will not sure what decisions I will make in the future or what I will do next, but I do know one thing. I am not giving up. TSS is a damn good book, and I'm proud of it, and I'm sure that, eventually, it will find a home, whether it's with Bold Strokes or not. Even if I have to tear it apart and redo it completely... even if I have to focus on some non-fantasy for now because that's what publishers want... no matter what I end up doing, I'm getting that damn book published if it's the last thing I do. I'm not sure when or how, but it's going to happen.

In other news, I only have 10,000 words left to go on The Witch's Daughter. The first two parts are up on The Academy and The Athenaeum (or will be, shortly). Oh, and on fictionpress, but those parts still have some editing mistakes.

Tags

I have a terrible cold today, but that hasn't stopped me from writing! I churned out around 6,000 words, including 2,000 for The Witch's Daughter, 2000 for Magnetic Resistance (my L&O fanfiction), and 2000 more for my newest fanfic, It Happened One Night. How did I get so productive today? I have no idea. Once it started, the writing bug just refused to leave.

Today, I am going to talk about 'dialogue tags'. They are the little blurbs scattered throughout your dialogue that basically work as "he said" or "she said". That is a very simplistic explanation. The tags do not need to describe the voice, but they usually contain an action that refocuses the reader's attention on who is speaking and what emotions are passing between the characters. Here are some examples of dialogue tags from my work today.

First, you have to come up with the dialogue. Here is the first line of dialogue from chapter fourteen of Magnetic Resistance, which I wrote today.

"Hey, Elliot, do you know any French?"

Now, we have to clarify who is speaking, how they are speaking, what they are doing... just something to give the reader a mental image. To do this, we are going to add a 'tag' onto the end of the piece of dialogue. The following is the actual first line of the chapter.

"Hey, Elliot, do you know any French?" Olivia asked as she walked in to the bullpen, a cup of coffee clutched in her right hand...

This is a pretty standard dialogue tag. Tags can be either long or short. For example, I could have clipped the sentence at 'Olivia asked.' If you add too many long tags, it will get boring, but adding too many short ones is equally distracting. You want a balance. Similarly, you do not want to use the same words for all of your tags. Alternate between 'said', 'asked', 'whispered', 'shouted', 'confessed', 'pleaded', ect. However, do NOT overuse your tags and flood the reader with unnecessary words. It is a fine balance.

I generally do not put more than three tags in a row unless I am writing about a large group. I like to use two and then insert a line of pure dialogue, like so...

"What does that mean?" Olivia asked.

"It means, 'what would I do without you?'"

"And this one? Je t'aime means 'I love you', right?"

"Yeah," Munch confirmed. "And Amour de ma vie means 'love of my life'.

Tags can also precede a piece of dialogue instead of following them. This type of tag is rarer than the first one (tags that follow the dialogue). Here is an example of a dialogue tag that comes before the spoken words. It is from The Witch's Daughter.

I groaned, giving my head a brief shake to try and clear away the blurriness at the edges of my vision. “A good shield in the wrong place is not very helpful.”

Just for kicks, here is a second example from Magnetic Resistance

"And how many people know that you like it to hurt a little?"

This time, it was Alex's turn to blush. "A grand total of one. You think I let myself trust just anyone?"

Like the first example, these tags can be clipped or stretched based on the writer's preference. I could have stopped it at 'I groaned' before going in to the dialogue.


There is one place where I do NOT recommend using tags: instances of rapid, back and forth dialogue between two people. Here is an example. The speakers have already been identified earlier in the scene, and no tags are needed.

"Aw, that was years ago. Get over it."

"Don't you have some kind of gun rally to attend, some death penalty case to support, or some woman in DC to screw?"

"Nope! I have nothing but time for you, my dear Alex. You know you're my favorite."

Finally, here is a longer chunk where you can see dialogue tags in action!

"Don't worry about it, Alex, she's definitely interested," Abbie said, picking up on her friend's dazed and slightly confused expression. "I've watched her watch you for years. Given the chance, that woman would beat you like a rented mule." When two blue eyes widened, she added, "would you prefer ride you hard and put you away wet?"

Alex groaned. "I don't know which of those two was worse. Drop it, Abbie, or I'm going to stab you through the hand with my fork!" She brandished the utensil in a threatening manner until a throat cleared loudly beside them.

"Ya need some more water, hon?" asked their waitress.

Alex kept her composure. Now that Olivia Benson was not in the room, it was easier to remain calm and professional. "Yes, please," she told the waitress, purposely not reacting to the loud smack of her gum. "Thank you," she added when the waitress took her glass.

Once they were alone again, Abbie started laughing. Alex shot her a pointed glare. "I think you make a game of embarrassing me, Charmichael, and you probably even keep score."

Abbie didn't deny it. "I'm just trying to help you loosen up, Cabot. But since Olivia Benson was sleeping in your bed last night, maybe she'll do the job for me."

The Waiting Game

Now that I have returned from my vacation (it seems like I am hardly at home this summer) with no traveling left to do, I have time to relax, get some serious writing done... and bite my nails down to the skin while waiting for a response from Bold Strokes about my submission. It is nerve-wracking to send something in for publication. Even while you are busy working, having fun on the beach, or preparing to start your next writing project, it lingers in the back of your mind.

It has been roughly ten weeks since I sent in The Second Sister, and boy, hitting the 'submit' button was hard. Doing it electronically was probably easier than mailing it in, however (they prefer electronic submissions anyway). At least that way, I didn't have time to change my mind. Once I double clicked on the 'Send' button, there was no going back. I admit that it took me a few minutes to gather the courage to do it. Bold Strokes did confirm that they received my submission and that they are reviewing it, so at least I don't have to worry that it got lost somewhere in cyberspace. Their website says that submitters are usually contacted 12-14 weeks after the initial inquiry, so I still have more time to wait and worry.

Still, there are no regrets on this front. Maybe I could have edited the novel more (although I did a pretty thorough job the first two times). Maybe I could have scrapped the whole thing and done it better the second time. Maybe I'm not ready to be a published author. But if I sat around waiting until I had the perfect novel to submit, I would never be able to share anything with anyone. If Rembrandt spent years agonizing over the tiny, imperfect spot in one of his first paintings, who knows, maybe the masterpieces he painted later never would have been created. If Beethoven had been too self-conscious to write his first symphony because of Mozart's lingering shadow in Vienna, the others would never have been written. Writers are always growing and changing (and hopefully improving), but there is no such thing as a 'perfect' novel, just as there is no such thing as a 'perfect' piece of music or a 'perfect' painting.

It's important to suck it up and put yourself out there over and over again - even if someone does not like your work, even if you get rejected. You have to develop a thick skin and the ability to accept criticism graciously. If you never try, you are never giving anyone a chance to say 'yes'. And someday, I hope that the 'yes' will be for me. I know it will be worth the work it took to get there.

Writer's Notebooks

Writer's notebooks are a special place full of special words... And some not so special words. Honestly, they are a dumping ground for your brilliant, not-so-brilliant, average, and just plain horrible ideas. If you have an idea, it should go in your writer's notebook. That way, it's out of your brain so that there is room for new ideas (hopefully better ones).

I usually keep more than one writer's notebook at a time simply because I can't be bothered to pick one. If you do pick one instead of using multiples, then you should decorate it with inspiring pictures and designs. My current writer's notebook is a black 70 page with random blue pen drawings on it, and I've been using it at the beach. Pretty cool.

Anyway, about a writer's notebook. It's a central clearing house for all of your character sheets, lists, ideas, scenes, poetry, rants, diary entries, doodles, ect. You can tape pictures in it, attach colorful tabs, add a useful page of descriptive adjectives (I have a couple with sex adverbs and adjectives on it that I occasionally refer to).

The hardest thing about keeping a writer's notebook (and the best reason to keep one) is that it requires you to turn off your internal censor. Write everything: the good, the bad, and the ugly. This can help keep your muse churning out newer, better stuff. It is a good way to prevent the well from running dry. It's purging the bad in order to move on to the good. Besides, who knows, maybe you will end up noticing that your "bad" ideas aren't so bad after all.

Even if you can't think of anything significant to write, the act of writing not-so-inspired words flicks on a switch inside your brain. As you continue writing, the words will come easier. The phrasing will improve. As long as you carve out time in your day to write, eventually you will come up with something worth reading and transferring to your computer. You can always use that process as a chance to improve and edit your words.

Now, go write! Have fun! Take your new writer's notebook for a spin, or add to one you started previously. Just write something while I enjoy myself at thie beach... Later.

A few sentences can go a long way. As a dedicated blogger and writer, I try to write a few sentences every day, even when it is difficult and/or inconvenient. While the rest of my family drove seven hours to Maryland for our family vacation, I was crouched in the back seat writing on a laptop with a dying battery. My reward was several thousand words added to my word count. I have written on napkins, notecards, in email inboxes on public computers, on my celllohone, even on my hands when a journal isn't available.

Today, go out and write. Write a poem. Try a short story. Start a fresh novel. If you have a pen or a computer anywhere nearby, go get it. No excuses. Your family and friends might think that you are crazy. I know that mine do. Eventually, they will get used to it and you can train them not to bother you. Genius and creativity wait for no one! Now, go write.

Don't feel so inspired? Are you less spontaneous than me? Consider starting a Writer's Notebook. You can google it to find out more on how to keep one, but here's a basic summary: it's a place to keep all your snippets, scraps, lists, and ideas, all of your spontaneous thoughts and all of your daily observations. It is an important tool that all writers should use. Anyway, more on that tomorrow. Time for me to continue with my vacation!

Coming Back To Yourself

First of all, I would like to apologize for the long break in updates. I was away at flute camp in the Adirondack Mountains, but I'm back home now and ready to continue my blog. This is kind of a personal post, but I hope that you will find something useful in it anyway.

Lately, I have been struggling with depression and my own personal demons. Many writers face them, as do musicians, artists, philosophers, scientists, and all of the other disciplines that require creativity and emotion. Being able to put feelings down into words requires insight into the human psyche that can be frightening, intense, and painful. We experience the full spectrum of emotions, and many writers do not know how to turn these off.

In my own struggles as a musician, a writer, and a lesbian, it has been difficult for me to come to terms with who I am and what I feel. The option of suicide has come up at various points in my life, but the support of my lover, my rock, kept me from choosing that path. Other writers, artists, and musicians have not been so lucky.

It is important that, while you are absorbed in other worlds and are trying to share the pent-up storm of emotions inside of you in the hopes of touching someone else somewhere in this bleak world, you can come back to yourself. Find a grounding point, a 'green light' (as Fitzgerald would say), something to reach out for, something to cling to. Something to come back for.

Build a support system. When you fail, when you cry, when you feel lost, you need something to hold on to. This can be a parent, a lover, a hobby, God, a friend, even a future goal or a 'purpose'. Do not lose yourself in the worlds you have created. Do not be tempted to use them as an escape from your feelings or your own life. If the creator dies, so do all of their creations.

Coming back to yourself can be difficult. It can be painful. It will burn and ache and you will have to face all of the twisted ugliness inside of you that you tried so hard to forget. But living is worth it. Not just breathing, not just existing, but living - feeling, experiencing. You will never forgive yourself if you abandon life - whether through suicide or through locking yourself up in a fantasy world that you have created. You only have one chance. Cling to it with both hands and do not let go.

Update

I would like to apologize for the sporadic blog updates. I just had a birthday (no, I won't say how old) and I am currently in the middle of the Adirondack Mountains with limited internet access. It is gorgeous here, and I hope to get a lot of writing done! Hopefully, this will include:

1. The third part of The Witch's Daughter

2. More of Murder, Lies, Statutory Rape, and Madison Rose (AKA Hot Mess)

3. More of Magnetic Resistance

4. Random Alex/Olivia PWPs

I'll update when I can. I <3 you all


FURTHER UPDATE: I have internet in my room at Happy Fun Time Flute Camp, so I can do blog posts with no problem. Yay me! And thanks for the birthday wishes, guys. n__n

Who Do You Write Like?

Apparently, I write like Shakespeare and Stephenie Meyer... I'm not sure whether to be thrilled or terrified. I am contemplating ritual suicide... (for Meyer, not Shakespeare).

Have no idea what I'm talking about? Check out: http://iwl.me/


It's a website that lets you input text that you have written so that it can compare your writing style to those of several different authors. Now, I know this is all a bunch of smoke and mirrors, but I figured it'd be fun. When I entered in 'The Witch's Daughter', my latest project, the website told me that I wrote like... *gasp*... Stephenie Meyer! THE HORROR

... So I inputted The Second Sister and got William Shakespeare.

In case you were wondering:

Chopin at 3:00 in the Morning got Chuck Palahniuk.

Death Wears Yellow Garters got Dan Brown

My Name Is Brianna got Stephen King

Wolf's Eyes got JK Rowling


I guess this means my writing style is versatile? Oh well... I just hope my newest novel isn't REALLY close to Stephenie Meyer's frightening body of work...

I write like
Stephenie Meyer

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

Let's Talk About Sex

Sex is either extremely easy or extremely hard to write. I still have not figured out which. To some people, it comes naturally. I mean, there are only so many positions you can make love in, after all, and the general motions are usually the same. Writing them out isn't that difficult. On the other hand, in order to write a good sex scene, you have to be in the right mood, you have to have the right characters, the right location, the right words... you have to be inspired. Putting all that stuff together is hard work. Not to mention that we all feel embarrassment at some point when we imagine our mother reading what gets us going.

Here are the most common questions I get about sex scenes... *drum roll*


Qusetion: What word should I use for the female anatomy?

Short Answer: None.

Long Answer: It ALL depends on the scene and the characters. I can only tell you one way that I, as a reader, view certain words and their effect on me. Vagina completely turns me off. It reminds me of a trip to the gynecologist. Never, ever use this word or I will hit you. Pussy doesn't do it for me, either. Too cutesy. Try to use this word rarely or not at all. Cunt only turns my crank if used EXTREMELY sparingly, and only in BDSM scenes where dirty talk/control is one of the main elements. Once in a blue moon, I've seen it used well, but besides that... avoid that word, too.

Try describing specific parts of the landscape instead. It's a way to be more erotic! "Thrusting inside of the blonde/redhead/brunette" is better than "fucked her pussy/cunt/vagina". You might find that using a clever turn of phrase to AVOID a specific word will make your writing more erotic. Sorry if you are writing about a dude, but I have no suggestions for other words for 'penis'. They all make me giggle. I find penises highly amusing, but not erotic at all.


Question: When should I include my first sex scene?

Short Answer: Around the middle of the book.

Long Answer: Whenever you think it's right. Some romance novels start off with a sex scene. If you are writing a sequel, this will not seem strange at all (think Radclyffe and her webs of couples... the main couple usually bangs in the first chapter. The sexual tension is taken care of with whatever new couple she is hooking up, since she writes about multiple couples at once). Other romance novels don't add the sex scene until the very end. This can work, but building up to it is difficult, and you have less room to play. I advise going for it around the middle or 2/3rds of the way through. It just feels like a good spot to me.


Question: How long should my scene be?

Short Answer: As long as you want it to be

Long Answer: It varies. Factors that might influence your choice are the scene's location or its purpose in the book (yes, even sex scenes need to have some kind of purpose in the book...) Some of my favorite sex scenes are only a few paragraphs long. They have to have punch, though, for that length to work. Or you can go the long-winded route and make your sex scene take up an entire chapter (or two). This can be fun as well. Just go with it, and don't be afraid to experiment. It's fun!


Okay, that's about all I can write on this subject for now. I'll probably add to this topic tomorrow, it's a big one. (No sexual pun intended).

O Romeo, Romeo...

So, you want to add romance to your novel? Most people do. I've met a couple of writers (mostly males) who say: "but I'm writing a fantasy/sci-fi novel! I don't want to ruin it with romance!" You won't ruin it. Trust me. IF you do the romance right. In fact, if I had to classify myself as anything, I'd call myself a romance novelist. Some of my novels are epic fantasy/sci-fi adventures. I've got some smut out there, some YA novels... some courtroom drama/action/thrillers, ect. But ALL of them have romance at some point (and usually sex, either explicit or implied).


1. In order to write a good romance novel, you need strong characters. Characters are the building blocks of any novel, but they are extra important in a romance novel, because it's the interaction between the two characters that creates the tension and... release... ;D Avoid creating a standard boy-or-girl toy for your main character just so they have someone. The last thing someone wants to read about is a perfect lover. As with all characters, flaws give depth and color to a romantically involved pair.


2. Observe! Go back and reread your favorite romance novel (or any novel that has some romance in it, if you don't like pure romance). See what they author did and make a list of what you liked. If you are reading a new novel or short story that you dislike, try to figure out why and remember it. That's how good writers learn to write anything, romance or not. They read, see what works and what doesn't, and try to incorporate it into their own work.


3. Templates can be fun. As always, I advocate 'stealing' couples with a lot of chemistry and changing them around to make them your own. The Second Sister actually did not start as an Uber novel (Uber novels, for those of you who do not know, are lesbian romances placed in any time where the characters resemble the epic duo Xena and Gabrielle). I created Belle and Ellie on my own, although I changed Ellie's eye color from green to blue in order to match Gabrielle's description. Uber is great for beginners (and even those of us who are no longerbeginners), and you shouldn't feel bad for 'copying' another couple. Xena and Gabrielle are a template that was around long before the 1990s. The angsty warrior/protector and their redeeming, innocent lover is a volatile combination that has existed in literature for centuries. Besides, if you write an Uber, it's still original fiction, you can still publish it, and you get a ready-made group of fans in the Xena community! It's a good deal.

That said... Make sure your characters have enough originality so that people don't get bored. Add your own flavor, or the novel won't be worth reading. Even fanfiction writers do this. Every individual writer (and sometimes each individual universe belonging to a single writer) has a different 'flavored' version of their leading character(s).


4. Add conflict. There has to be something keeping your leading ladies (or dude(s), if you write straight/gay male romance) apart. No matter what point in the book the lovers fall in to each other's arms, there should be some looming, outside force conspiring to keep your characters from finding happiness. This can be a physical force such as a villain, or an internal force such as societal taboo (lesbianism? best friend's girl? feuding families?) or conflicting personality traits (one of your girls is afraid of commitment because of her dark past? One has other priorities like a child that require her attention?) You get the idea.


5. Decide how descriptive you want to get. Choose in advance how much of the 'action' you want to write out. In case you are very, very dense, I'm talking about sex. I can only say that deciding in advance is helpful. I also encourage writers to at least TRY to add some sex for fun, even if they "don't think they can write it". You can always fade to black and save that part in a secret file somewhere. No one else ever has to see it. But you might find that it enhances the novel. I'll make another complete post about writing sex scenes tomorrow, so this isn't the end of this subject!

How To End A Novel

Since I have already posted about how to begin a novel, here are some tips/guidelines for ending one on a high note. I am sure that you have all seen the "plot graph" before, but it's a good place to start anyway.


The first thing that I would like to mention about this picture is its deceiving proportions. The 'Resolution' and 'Falling Conflict' part of the line looks pretty big, right? Wrong. Once the CLIMAX happens, you want to get out of there as fast as possible without leaving your reader feeling cheated. The biggest event in your story has already occurred, and all that's left is the cool-down period. One or two scenes/chapters should wrap things up nicely. There is no need to drag the ending on forever. Get in, accomplish what you need to accomplish, and get out, just like clipping the beginnings and ends of scenes.

Another useful tip: unless you feel in your soul that it is absolutely necessary, I strongly advise against killing off your protagonist. Although the death of a hero can be extremely poignant, I recommend adding an 'expendable' sidekick/friend/wizardly guide/someone-likeable that you can redshirt in the final battle (for a Fantasy novel) or kill in some freak accident (for an angsty romance novel). Unless you have a very good reason for doing so, killing off your main character will only succeed in pissing off your readers.

Note: there is an exception to this rule. If you have written a godawful story/novel and want to move on, it is totally acceptable to end it (just for the sake of ending it) by killing all of your mediocre characters in some kind of fire or other natural disaster. Actually, doing this can be rather soothing for your frazzled nerves, and it will allow you to find some closure before moving on to your next project.

If you are writing a romance novel (or any novel with romance in it), for goodness sake, do NOT end the novel with the two main characters on the outs, even if you are planning a sequel so that they can fall back into each other's arms. Have them come together happily at the end. If you want to disrupt the relationship again in your sequel for more drama, feel free, but give the poor person who was kind enough to read your work a bone. Some more romance advice - do not have your characters constantly break up and make up. Once or twice is all right, but if it happens seven or eight times... it gets old. Fictional people in an on-off relationship are just as annoying as friends in real life that don't know when to let it stick or call it quits.

Writing a good ending is a little like cooking a complicated recipe. You want the right amount of left-over tension to make the reader want to buy your other books, but you want to leave the reader with a sense of peace after their journey with you. Do not endeavor to write your ending until you feel that the time is right. Also, you can write your ending WHENEVER the mood strikes, even if your novel is not finished yet. I usually pen my endings long before the middle of the book is finished. I find that they turn out better that way. Like your beginning, you will know when the time is right.

Letter

Just a little something I wrote while feeling frustrated today. Might send it, might not, but if I do, it'll be edited again first. I know that it sounds a little "whiney".


Dear Mr. Wolf,

First of all, I wanted to thank you for creating several amazing television shows, including my favorite, Law and Order: SVU. I am not sure if you will ever read this letter, as I am sure that you receive many others, but I had to write it for myself anyway.

In addition to being a writer, an artist, and a musician, I am also a lesbian. I should probably add that I am a diehard Alex Cabot/Olivia Benson fan. I was disappointed with the whole Babs Duffy thing (she was pretty annoying), but usually, you’ve got a friendly attitude towards the LGBT community, and we appreciate it.

However, every time I watch Law and Order: SVU, no matter how much I enjoy it, there is an ache in my chest. It is an ache that all gay, bisexual, and transgender people carry around with them. A longing.

When I was little, I searched for role models just like other young girls. I loved Disney movies, but wanting to be a princess and marry one as well confused me. At twelve, I spiraled into a deep depression. Over the next two years, I attempted suicide twice. Only the love of my best friend, who is now my girlfriend of six years, saved me.

During my recovery, one of the things that helped me was fanfiction and original fiction about lesbians. It might seem silly, but it eased my pain to imagine that somewhere out there was a strong, confident woman who was like me. In my slice of WASP suburbia, I was the only lesbian I knew apart from my girlfriend. The internet was a safe way to share my secret dreams and hopes.

Although it helped me, becoming a fangirl of lesbian pairings (especially Alex/Olivia) was a two-edged sword. I gained confidence, but I knew that my dream would never become a reality no matter how many stars I wished on. I longed for one – just one – gay role model that wasn’t from a soap opera like The L Word.

No matter how many stars I wish on, I know the whole Alex/Olivia thing is never going to happen. Stephanie March is gone (again), and television has always been cautious about giving us lead roles. I suppose we crash ratings or something. But I wanted to spread a message.

Somewhere, a young gay teenager just like me is desperately searching for a role model she will never find. Maybe suicide wouldn’t have seemed so attractive if I had been able to watch a gay character on TV and envision a future like theirs – a successful future instead of a painful one. It would have been like a light at the end of the tunnel. It would have helped me forget the pain of breaking my parents' hearts, having to choose between missing prom and going alone, and the constant bullying.

This isn’t a demand or a plea... I guess I just wanted to let someone in the whole TV/Movie industry know how we feel (and judging by the fan websites out there, there are a lot of us)! We’re still waiting for the first mainstream show to have a central lesbian character/relationship. No, The L Word totally doesn’t count – it’s basically a bunch of hot women sleeping around and causing unnecessary drama. Definitely not the kind of role models I want.

Maybe someday (assuming you actually read this letter), you will be in the position to mention it to the boring old “men in black suits” that make the money decisions and select pilots. Maybe someday, we’ll go farther than Xena, Warrior Princess ever could. Maybe someday, a teenager will be able to envision a better future for herself.

Thanks and best wishes, your faithful fan,

Rae D. Magdon

The One True Way

Writing is hard.

Don't let anyone tell you otherwise, no matter who they are. They might be other writers who, after a certain amount of success, have forgotten all of the blood, sweat, and tears it took to get where they are. They might be scornful family members that don't understand your "silly little hobby". But we all know better. We know how difficult it is to be a writer, how draining it can be on both your energy and your emotions.

There are lots of "writing courses" that you can take online to "write a novel in 30 days with just one easy payment!" Most of these courses are scams. There is no secret to writing a novel quickly and easily... the only way to do it is through hard work, practice, and perseverance. If it was easy, everyone would have a published novel.

A few of these courses are genuine writer's tutorials that explain how any given author achieved their own success. Reading these can be useful, but eventually you realize that all the research in the world will not help you finish your own novel any faster. Every writer has their own way of writing and every writer has their own ways to be productive. It is good to research these ways, many of them are useful, but you also need to do some soul searching and find your OWN tricks.

There is no secret formula. There is no One True Way. There are no guarantees. All you can do is keep on writing.

There is one thing that all successful writers have in common, however. They surround themselves with a support network. Those friends that think you are wasting your time? Ignore them. Find yourself some new friends. Seek out other writers. Build communities. Find others like you. Offer and receive encouragement as well as constructive criticism.

Write for yourself, but when the writing gets hard, the support of good friends and colleagues is invaluable.

Starting A Novel

Today, I read a post on one of the forums I frequent (I will not reveal the forum out of slight embarrassment) asking how to begin a fantasy novel. I thought about it for all of two seconds before coming up with a few good, solid pieces of advice for beginning a novel, and I thought they were worth typing up and sharing. Here we go.

Rae's Advice For Starting A Fantasy Novel:

1. You don't have to start writing at the beginning

Although I started The Second Sister and The Witch's Daughter at the beginning, all of my other novels began somewhere in the middle. I wrote the scene that had captured my imagination and filled in the rest later. It is much easier to write that way. This is good advice for the entire novel-writing process. Do NOT force yourself to go through from beginning to end, or you'll get stuck. Write the fun bits and do a little filling in every day.


2. Start scenes late and end them early

For any scene, but especially for beginning scenes, it is helpful to introduce the reader to what is happening after the action has already started and leave before the conflict is resolved. This will help build suspense and cut out some of the boring bits that don't do much besides pad your word count.


3. The three (and a half) ways to start a novel, a chapter, or a scene

a) Dialogue
Beginning a scene with dialogue puts you right in the action and introduces characters, their thoughts, and their speech patterns immediately. I highly recommend it.

b) An action
Beginning with an action is similar to starting with dialogue. It introduces a character and their thoughts (at least some of them) immediately, without any fluff. The reader will want to know what happens next.

c) Description of a character/landscape/ect
This is the hardest but the most common way to begin a novel. You need to be very careful when you begin a story with a description instead of an action (verbal or physical). Describing the landscape or location should only take a few sentences AT MOST, and after a few punchy, vivid descriptive adjectives or adverbs, you want to move right to the dialogue or action. You can take a little longer with characters, especially if they are doing something while you describe them, but you still want to get to the interesting stuff fast.


4. There is plenty of time for backstory

If your fantasy world (or sci fi world, or modern day world...) has lots of backstory, don't worry. There will be PLENTY of time for you to add that in later. Feed the reader little pieces until they get a clear picture, don't shove it all into the first chapter and definitely don't add a prologue. As I've mentioned before, just because some great Sci-fi writers do it doesn't mean it's a good idea... trust me.


5. Don't copy the greats (because some of them are boooh-riiiing)

Just because someone writes a great fantasy novel doesn't mean that they wrote a great beginning as well. Tolkein comes to mind. I despite Tolkein's writing, but his world and characters and conflict are just SO damn good that no one cares about his clunky word choices. Write a beginning that interests you, don't go imitating great novels that might not have the best start, no matter how amazing the rest of the novel might be. If you have to imitate someone, you're better off with the novel with a bang at the beginning and no substance later on. You can go back to copying and idolizing the masters once you've gotten past the first chapter.