Hello, everyone! Christmas break is over, and I am feeling much better now that my wisdom teeth are taken care of. (Yes, that's a hint to my embarrassingly young age, but at least I am several years older than the 18 years technically required to be able to read the smut I write)... Oh well, moving on. Four items of business today.


First of all, I should be hearing from L-book.com soon about The Second Sister. If they think it isn't right for their publishing house, I'll be disappointed, but I'll certainly keep looking for a home because that book is good, and it deserves to be shared.


Second item of business is this: Thank you to Brooke R. Busse. Check out the award lists she included me on!


Number three - I usually don't plead for reviews, but the third book in my Amendyr series got lost in a big glut of story releases on a wonderful site called The Athenaeum. If you all could go leave a review here on The Witch's Daughter (if you've read/will read it), that would make me feel all kinds of warm fuzzies! I don't usually ask for reviews, but on this particular site, more reviews means more people will see the recommendations on the updates page and maybe check it out.


Number four is slightly longer and different. Yes, I'm giving you a grammar lesson...

I've noticed a disturbing trend in Alex/Olivia fanfiction lately. No, it's not the torturotica. I just avoid that. No, it's not the lack of spanking stories. I cry about that at night, but I get over it because I know it's not everyone's kink. It is, in fact, the incorrect use of capitalization in dialogue after a comma!

Now, two of the BEST A/O fanfic writers I have ever encountered make this mistake, so if you do as well, don't fret. You're in good company. But technically, when you add dialogue to the end of a sentence, you should NOT capitalize the first letter of the clause. For example, let's examine this sentence.

To the surprise of both women, Christine actually grinned. “Hey, I know the effect of those glasses, Agent Hart,” she said, giving Tess’s reflection an appraising look, “They only add to her sex appeal.”

Do you spot the problem? Yes, the T in They should not be capitalized. When you are connecting two pieces or dialogue or adding a dialogue tag at the end of a sentence, you do NOT want to capitalize the first letter. Here are two other corrections for that sentence.

To the surprise of both women, Christine actually grinned. “Hey, I know the effect of those glasses, Agent Hart,” she said, giving Tess’s reflection an appraising look. “They only add to her sex appeal.”

Here, I used a period to separate the last piece of dialogue. Because I ended the sentence, I can now start the dialogue tag with a capital letter.

To the surprise of both women, Christine actually grinned. “Hey, I know the effect of those glasses, Agent Hart,” she said, giving Tess’s reflection an appraising look, “they only add to her sex appeal.”

I kept the comma this time, but used a lower case 't' in they. This sentence is also correct.

(Just for those who are curious, option 1 is the original sentence from my latest novel. I purposely wrote it incorrectly to demonstrate the problem, and the second correction, even though it is not actually used, is a perfectly acceptable option).

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.

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.

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!

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."

I'm back!

Sorry about the extreme posting delay, but I have been in Chicago without internet for an entire week. It was torture, but I got a lot of The Witch's Daughter written during masterclasses. I have actually been back for two days, but I was super tired because I went to a late night drag show once I got back. The girls were ah-maz-ing! My favorite was probably Sabrina, a black crossdressing midget who could dance like nobody's business!

I'll probably post something that is actually about writing later tonight.

Rae

Write Wherever You Go

Hi guys, sorry I haven't been posting lately, but I am getting ready for a flute masterclass in Chicago. It is a five day long event that I am very excited to be attending, but somehow I have still found the time to work on my novel.


Some quick updates on me:

I have almost hit 50,000 words on The Witch's Daughter. Yay!

I have a fanfiction.net account now for Law and Order fanfics (and maybe some other stuff later). Look up Rae D. Magdon on www.fanfiction.net and check it out.


Now, a quick helpful post for all of you (and me) to think about...

It is always a good time to write. Well, maybe not always, but there are more available minutes in your day that you probably think. Because of this, I like to carry around a notebook (well, several notebooks that I rotate between because I am disorganized). On the rare occasions that I do not have a notebook, I usually find paper and a pen somewhere to write a few paragraphs on. They add up very quickly.

I know for sure that I will be writing at the airport today before my flight leaves, although I usually worry that someone will look over my shoulder and watch what I am doing. A lot of my first novel, The Second Sister, was penned in my high school math classes, as was the novella My Name is Brianna.

Who knows? I might even be able to jot down some quick thoughts in between note-taking blocks during my masterclass. When I'm not playing, of course!

Half-Way Point

Three items of business before I retire for a well-deserved night of sleep.

Item one: Look to your right. Second column, right below my profile description. See that? Those are links. Click them to read my novels, see my youtube channels, or go to other sites that I find interesting/worthwhile.

Item two: I am officially half way done with The Witch's Daughter! Thank you, thank you, thank you for your support and positive feedback/comments. I really appreciate them.

Item three is a bit longer. Today, I began scouring the internet for writers forums in an effort to meet other writers, discuss the subject of writing with them, direct people to my blog, and find other interesting blogs to read. I have found one that I deem worthy of mentioning, although I have only been on it for one day, so I am not sure exactly how active it is. Check out Writer's Beat. Browse around on the Forums. It's quite fun, and they have some interesting discussions on there. If I find that this website is worth continuing to frequent, I will update you on whether I am enjoying it or not. So far, it looks promising.

If you know of any other good websites for writers, leave them in the comments and I'll check them out!

You Don't Treat Me Right

Sometimes, the plot I envision at the start of a novel forces me to do things to my characters that I do not enjoy. Although it can sometimes be fun to write a scene where a character is embarrassed or involved in a conflict, emotionally scarring them for life is not pleasant for me as a writer.

Other writers I know love putting their characters in tragic situations. "There!" they say. "That serves you right for giving me writer's block. That's what you get for ruining my plot and running off with that side-character. You deserve this for being so difficult to write about." Yeah, it can be satisfying to get a little revenge on your characters once in a while. Personally, it's hard for me to get through tragic events, especially if they involve love. I hate breaking up couples, even if they will later be reunited. I have no such reservations when I kill off side characters for the greater good, strangely enough.

I'm at the angstiest part of The Witch's Daughter at the moment, and I'm finding it hard to write. It calls for Rapunzel to do something that hurts Ailynn, my narrator. I'm not going to give away any more spoilers, but Ailynn ends up heartbroken for a little while, although they do live happily ever after in the end. I don't like seeing my narrator, whom I have grown to admire, in so much pain.

Like dissonance and resolution in music, people enjoy conflict followed by peace and harmony. Pain and sadness are necessary to fully appreciate and experience true happiness. But you don't want your characters to swing too far one way or the other. If you keep your characters happy all of the time, your story will probably be boring. If you torture them endlessly, the reader will eventually get bored, sad, or both. Strike a balance (although I prefer for my own stories to swing towards the happy side, especially at the end).

Uh-oh...

Sometimes, the writing muse just takes over.

Perhaps 'writing demon' is a better descriptor. Every writer has been 'in the zone' at some point, where they can't eat, sleep, or think about anything but words. Oh, those all-consuming words. They struggle to come out, sometimes sluggishly, sometimes so fast that you can barely type them out.

I was struck with inspiration while writing last night. I think that I have enough material for a FOURTH novel in what was supposed to be a fantasy trilogy, and now I feel totally overwhelmed. I have gotten rid of 22,000 words, written another 30,000 (taking 10,000 of that material from an old work), and somehow formed a basic outline of my plan... I hope. I think I can use about half of the 22,000 false-start novel and about 10,000 words from my infamous archive of old junk to make 'Mirror, Mirror' come to life again.

Confused? So am I.

Here is where I need some reader input. If you have read The Second Sister, Wolf's Eyes, or the first part of The Witch's Daughter, feel free to chime in. Tell me what you think of this plan.

The third book, The Witch's Daughter, will be completed as-is, in my usual three-part, first-person format. I'm about half way done already.

The fourth book, Mirror Mirror, is going to be a hodgepodge, but it works PERFECTLY with the grand plot structure I was originally going to include in The Witch's Daughter. The first 25,000 word part will be from Ellie's point of view. The second 25,000 word part will be from Cate's point of view. The third 25,000 word part will be from Ailynn's point of view. So, like, mini versions of the first three books to wrap it all up. Cool, right? Or am I just crazy?

Do you think I could pull this off if I was careful? Do you think jumping viewpoints is too confusing for readers? I think I got it to work for 'Chopin at 3:00 in the Morning', but I never expected to try the viewpoint-swapping experiment again. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this in the comments. I'll probably have another post up later today (more about the craft of writing, less about my own confusing plotlines).

Letting Go Of Baby

A short post today. First item of business: the first part of my novel, The Witch's Daughter, is officially finished! Er, the rough draft version, of course. I sent it off to my beta-reader, who is a sweetheart, and posted it on fictionpress. I won't send it to The Academy or The Athenaeum until it's been beta read. I know those ladies like their stuff well-looked-over first.

Second item is the actual content of this post...

You have to be able to send your story out into the world. Yes, letting go is hard to do, but it's a necessary step in the writer's journey. As close as a writer can become to the characters in their novels, a time comes when their story is done, the girls are all grown up, and it's time to let go.

It is terrifying to send your baby out to be read and judged by nameless, faceless readers, some of whom you will never meet. However, it can also be extremely exciting and rewarding. I find it spiritually satisfying to share my work, and that feeling usually overcomes the terror that accompanies the release of any written material on my part. So, if you've written something, no matter how short, let it go and share it with others so we can all enjoy your thoughts.

Third item of business. I am looking for new topics to write about! Although I have plenty of ideas, I want this blog to be about its readers, so if you have any writing topics you would like me to discuss, let me know! I'm open to suggestions. Also, thank you to those of you who have left comments! I adore you.

Love and kisses,

Rae