The Unlikeable Heroine

I've been a little busy this week. I thought I would be doing the final edit on Magick and Murder, but the original ending was rather abrupt. After many tries to fix it, I scrapped it and wrote a few additional chapters so things make more sense.

I've also been re-reading a lot of Anne McCaffrey lately, and I found myself comparing and contrasting the Wilson twins with Anne's heroines, especially Killashandra Ree from the Crystal Singer series and Lessa of Benden Weyr from the Dragonriders of Pern series.

Why am I doing this? One concept emphasized in many of my early craft classes was if the story had a female protagonist, she must be likeable.

What the hell does this mean?

For a lot of writers and readers, this means the heroine is not allowed to have any flaws. Ironically, this means she needs to be polite, quiet, and demure. In other words, passive as fuck.

This behavior explains why I hated the Harlequin romances from the '70's and '80's, and I gravitated to fantasy and science fiction. For example, Lessa has a mind of her own. From the age of ten, she quietly sabotaged her home, Ruatha Hold, after it was conquered and her family murdered. When dragonriders appeared at Ruatha on Search for recruits, she manipulated their leader F'lar into dueling and killing the man responsible for her family's deaths.

F'lar still shakes Lessa and actually slaps her--actions that wouldn't go over well with a modern audience. Hell, it didn't go over well with F'lar's dragon Mnementh when the story was originally written in the '60's. But Lessa's fuck-you attitude more than makes up for F'lar's stupid and brutal behavior.

In Killashandra's case, she learns her voice is unacceptable to her teachers after ten hard years of training. Her dreams of being a solo performer are dashed in an instant. Her anger at being led on by her mentor cause her to leave the school while she tries to figure out what to do with her life.

She doesn't cry into her pillow in her dorm, which is what a "likeable" heroine would do. She ends up having a wild holiday with Carrick, a Crystal Singer, she met. When she tries to leave her home planet with Carrick, Killashandra's old mentor tries to stop her, saying she's mentally unstable. A tragic accident at the spaceport solidifies Killshandra's plan to leave home and become a Crystal Singer like Carrick.

Stubborn, angry young women, both of whom are everything I was told not to do.

Yet, Anne McCaffrey captured the warring needs within young people as they try to figure out themselves and their place in their worlds.

I found myself using Anne's examples in my own writing. I made the confusing juxtapostion of child and adult in one's teen years more intense by making the Wilson sisters identical twins. Are Kaley and Kirsten perfect? Hardly. But they are human. And I think that's the most important part of any character in the end.

Editing My Heart Out

Last Saturday, I wrapped up the copyediting on Hero De Facto and e-mailed it to my alpha reader's Kindle. Unlike a lot of other writers, I don't use beta readers.

Why? Because at that point the entire series is pretty much done in my head. It's simple a matter of setting it to bits and bytes for other people to consume. But I trust my process, and it/I manage to entertain a number of people.

I think that's where the fine line between overconfidence and underconfidence in writers lie.

There are those who haven't studied craft enough to understand why their story isn't doing well in the market. However, they think the piece is brilliant, and therefore, everyone else must be idiots.

On the other hand are the writers who want their piece to be brilliant, and they seek out third parties' validation in an effort to be deemed brilliant by those the writers esteem. It really doesn't matter to them if the story is readable by the general populace.

Want to know my secret?  I'm not looking for brilliance, though I write the best I can with every piece I create. I want to entertain. If one of my humorous adventures brightens your day, then I know I have succeeded.

So far, my alpha seems to be amused in the right places, and that's what I really care about as a writer.

Pacing, and Not Back and Forth Across a Room

Something I've noticed in books I haven't finished reading over the last couple of years is a problem with pacing. This includes both indie and trad. I don't know if it's my collection of experience over the last fifteen years, my jaded view of entertainment, or if it's really getting worse as the years roll on.

What is story pacing? It's the rhythm of a story. The lulls and peaks in action. I've seen it described as the manipulation of time, an EKG graph with increases intensity, or  the stages of sexual response.

A story should lead to a satisfying conclusion for the genre in which it is written. That doesn't necessarily mean a "happily ever after" (HEA) or a "happy for now" (HFN) ending.

In Gone with the Wind, Scarlett's machinations result in Rhett leaving her at the end. Most of the story is Scarlett fighting her own stubbornness, vanity and impulses. She can't see the damage she's doing until it's too late. While her husband has left her, the story does not end on a sad note. Scarlett swears to win Rhett back.

Scarlett's story is marked by a series of high and low points. While it seems like the escape from Atlanta should be the high point of the entire story, it's not. This false win is followed by an even worse crash--starvation and danger in the aftermath of the Civil War.

As Scarlett rebuilds her post-war life, there is a series of peaks and valleys once again. This stage shows our heroine gaining more independence with each step. The penultimate tragedy is the accidental death of her youngest daughter Bonnie Blue. Rhett leaving Scarlett was foreshadowed by Ashley's statement to the effect of a couple needing the same temperament.

These rhythms don't necessarily have to match exactly for both the main plot and any subplots. In fact, opposing rhythms are a hallmark of romantic suspense. It's difficult to have any sexy time when trying to solve a murder or when someone's trying to kill you. A lull in the action gives the protagonists' budding romance to build. If it's done right, solving the crime/catching the killer comes about the same time as the couples' declaration of togetherness.

Those books I mention that I did not finish? There's a discordant rhythm. The stakes for the protagonist(s) did not rise. Sometimes, they even went down.

In an sf romance I actually managed to finish, two people are trying to stop an assassination. Except they weren't personally involved other than their learned knowledge of the crime which was supposed to take place on a planet in an entirely different solar system. Some place they weren't even going to. In other words, there was plenty of time to build their romance.

In fact, there was too much time. The writer had to invent contrived reasons to keep the couple apart because they never left the space station. Oh, and how did they prevent the assassination? They called the police on the planet where it was supposed to happen.

By the way, this was a trad published book.

*eyeroll*

Pacing is something you learn through practice. Yeah, I know, "practice" is a dirty word among some writing circles. But seriously, if you're a plotter, draw a graph of the high/low points in your story. If you're a pantser, draw your graph after the first draft. It'll give you a starting point of what needs to be fixed.

Remember! Craft is king, and no one's going to recommend your book to their friends if they are mumbling "WTF" while they are reading it.

Butt in Chair, Fingers on Keyboard

Anybody who belongs, or has belonged, to Romance Writers of America has heard the acronym BICFOK. No, it's not a dirty word. It's the acronym for the title of today's post.

You don't have to take it literally, though I have the past three mornings. I've set my alarm, got up and planted myself in my office chair for three hours in order to get the day's wordcount in before I work on editing.

If you don't take BICFOK literally, it stands for doing the work. To have a writing career, you have to do the work. You have to learn your craft, and you have to write an entertaining tale. All the fabulous covers, witty blurbs, and marketing money in the world only gets your reader's foot in the door. To keep them there, you've got to write a damn good story.

I see too many new writers burning themselves out gaming the system. Oh, they don't think they are gaming. They aren't bookstuffing or clickfarming or any other weird shenanigans that are designed to rip off the money-paying public.

No, they write stuff only for the money. Following trends. Writing books that they hate in genres they don't respect. And they wonder why they aren't making any money beyond their obscene ad spend.

It's because a good story is about more than the tropes and formulas. It's about the way your characters make the reader feel.

And I honestly believe if you're not feeling the feels when you're writing that story, your audience won't either.

I say this because I finished the first round of edits on Sacrificed late Sunday night. And I was sobbing as I saved my files.

DH had already gone to bed, but I was still sniffling when I climbed under the covers. He asked me what was wrong, and I told him. He didn't belittle me for identifying so closely with my characters. He simply held me until we both fell asleep.

And since he's my alpha reader, I'll probably have to hold him tonight when he finishes reading the book.

Isn't that what you want from your audience?

To laugh along with your heroes, cheer for them, and when shit happens, cry with them?

All the money for covers and ads in the world can't buy those feelings. You have to earn them

By placing your butt in that chair, your fingers on your keyboard, learning your craft, and writing a damn good story.

Writers and the Dunning-Kruger Effect - Part 2

Why is there a Part 2 I hear all you cute, fuzzy new writers ask? Sure, I listened to you last week, Suzan. I know I'll run into the occasional crazy reader who thinks they know more about a subject than I do. But it doesn't really matter, does it?

Yes, it does. Because we writers can be just as guilty of the Dunning-Kruger Effect as the readers, especially when we are first starting out.

Lots of us think that because our English teacher gave us a chocolate bar for winning some essay contest in fourth grade, we can write professionally.

Oh, Goddess, how I wish that were true!

I've done several types of writing professionally over the last twenty-eight years: tech writing, legal writing, magazine article writing, and genre fiction. The rules and purposes for each are radically different. If I tried to write fiction in the same style as a technical manual, it would be as boring as hell. If I wrote a complaint the same way I write fiction, opposing counsel would demand a resubmission of the complaint, saying that I didn't state an actual issue of fact or law to be decided, and that's assuming the judge wouldn't also chew my ass out for wasting her time.

I assume all of you reading this blog knows the basics, but let's start there with a few examples just in case:

- Spelling

You'd think this would be the easiest part, but it's not. Most of us have forgotten more vocabulary and spelling words since junior high than we remember. And it's okay. Keep a dictionary and thesaurus next to you or on your browser tabs for quick look-ups.

If you're like me, and you read a lot of Canadian and U.K. books, sometimes you can flip between the different spellings for the same word, e.g "gray" versus "grey". Some readers don't give a flying flip because technically both are correct spellings. However, you will get an occasional person who throws a fit about "grey" because "'Murica!"

All I'll say is the best idea is to stay consistent in your spelling and terms. If you use "grey", make sure that an elevator is a "lift" and a cigarette is a "fag".

- Grammar

The best word of advice is to know the rules before you break them. If you're writing a magazine article, you're generally going to use more formal grammar than you would writing teen dialogue for a fiction novel.

Two of the best places to review grammar rules are Strunk and White's The Elements of Style and The Chicago Manual of Style. A few things to keep in mind:

- Elements of Style has an originally publishing date of 1920, Chicago Manual of Style 1906. While both guides have been updated, they were written for more specific purposes than prose fiction.

- English is a constantly evolving language. New words are constantly being added as new things are created, and old words are discarded as they fall from common, every day use.

- These are guides, not the Fifteen Ten Commandments carved in stone. Or if you're talking to Captain Jack Sparrow, they are merely suggestions. The truly important thing to remember--keep your meaning clear to the average reader.

That said, here's some examples of breaking the rules:

"She drove around town. She couldn't decide on a restaurant. And she ate my candy!"

I'm sure your grade school teacher beat it into your heads that you should NEVER start a sentence with a conjunction. Bullshit! This is an example of an arbitrary rule forced on English by a bitter old priest who decided that English HAD to look just like Latin. Uh, no, it doesn't.

"Who did you give my puppy to?"

There are two items here.

First, the "to" is hanging out there by itself. The dreaded dangling participle goes back to that same bitter old priest and his obsession with Latin. So feel free to let your participles dangle if your sentence makes sense.

The second issue is "who". Since it is the indirect object, the proper form should be "whom". However, just like we no longer use "thee", "thou", and "thine" as pronouns, the use of "whom" has fallen out of favor--except for a few English majors with broomsticks firmly stuck up their asses.

- Homonyms

This is one area where you do need to follow the rules because if you don't, you can totally change the meaning.

"There over the hill..."

"They're over the hill..."

Do you mean something or someone is on the other side of the hill, or are you insulting someone for their advanced age?

- Punctuation

Again, follow the rules unless it involves an Oxford comma. My personal feeling is you only need the Oxford when confusion may arise.

Good Example: "At the store, I bought carrots, celery and chicken broth."

Bad Example: "He brought his dogs, Miles and Jim."

Are Miles and Jim his dogs or are they his cats? Friends? Brothers?

- Possessive forms

Again, this one where you do your damndest to get it correct, and if you're confused, go to your preferred style guide. The real problem I see often is whether to use -'s when a proper name ends with an -s.

Example: St. James' townhouse or St. James's townhouse

Technically, both are correct. The only thing I would say is whichever form you decide on, use it consistently through your work.


There's a lot more to writing basics, but I'm trusting that you know them, or you're smart enough to brush up as you write.

Good luck!

Why I Continue Learning as I Write

Despite the coughing and fatigue still plaguing me, I managed to finish the second round of edits on A Question of Balance yesterday morning. For new readers' sakes, here's the steps I use for editing any story:

1) Read the story. Take notes on a legal pad. Look for plot holes, timeline problems. etc. Review notes and fix problems. Once satisfied, pass the story to a beta reader.

2) Fix problems the beta reader caught. Read through for typos.

3) Upload story file to tablet. Use text-to-speech to read back story for rhythm and finding additional typos. (I used to use MSReader on my old laptop until Microsoft discontinued it and Isabella crashed. I downloaded a text-to-speech program to my Samsung tablet. I could choose language and accent, so I have a British female reading my stories to me. It's pretty cool!)

Since I generally take a mental break between each round, yesterday afternoon, I picked up Dean Wesley Smith's How to Write Fiction Sales Copy that he wrote last year. As I've said before, the last book I published was Blood Sacrifice in 2013. I definitely need a refresher before I start on the blurb for A Question of Balance.

And I think that's where many writers make a major mistake. Once they've learned one aspect of the craft or the business, they stop and rely on that form for the rest of their career.

The problem is that tastes and processes change over time. Is a style of blurb I used three years ago going to work this year? I don't know, which is why I studying the subject again.

In March, I had to relearn how format files for uploading to the various retailers because requirements changed at every retailer I used. Criteria had changed due to reader requests and distributors needs and upgrades. I could not longer rely on my skills from 2011.

And with each story, I work on some aspect of craft. With A Question of Balance, I worked on historical research and male characterization. In Zombie Goddess, I'm practicing interweaving three separate storylines.

Decades ago, my great-grandfather said the only constant in the universe is change. His words definitely apply to writing and publishing.

So what new thing have you learned lately?

P.S. If you want to read Dean's book online, it starts on his blog. Or you can buy it. (I suggest the paperback so you can scribble notes in the margins, but it is definitely available by e-book, too.)

Craft Is King! (Or Queen!)

I've been asked lately by quite a few new writers how can they know when they're ready to publish.

I can't answer that question. Things have changed so much since I made the decision to self-publish. I judged my skills by the answers I received from agents and editors to my queries. The most common response I received was summarized thusly, "Love your style. Love your story. I don't know how to sell this."

I don't know how to sell this.

To me, that said they didn't want to find a new voice. They didn't want to create a new market. They were looking for an easy sell.

I can't really fault the agents and editors for that attitude. As a business person, you always want the best return on your investment (ROI) you can get.

Except I thought I  could find a market for my stories. Maybe I was pretentious. Maybe I was full of myself. But I did find market for the stories I wrote.

The key was that I'd mastered the basics of the craft of writing. I knew how to plot. I learned about the different points-of-view (POV) from which the story can be told. I'd mastered basic grammar when I was writing a magazine column.

That's not to say I don't make mistakes. I do. But that's a lot different than not understanding the difference between first person POV and omniscient POV. And for the record, I don't think there's a damn thing wrong with omniscient if it works for your story.

Unfortunately, there's a lot of folks releasing books before they've mastered these basics. That's their decision, but then they pitch a fit when readers ding them on reviews for misspelled words, bad grammar, and huge plot holes.

So please don't ask me if you're reading to publish. It really depends on you. Do you think you can sell enough copies to earn back your investment in your book?

There's a better question to ask yourself. Do you feel confident enough in your basic abilities to put yourself out there to be criticized? Because that's what we do when we publish.

Business Plan Part 2 - Craft Education

Currently reading - My Zombie Valentine by MacAllister, Fox, Mancusi, Cash

Okay, I've made the decision to write novel-length fiction. But what do I know about it? Well, other than putting a bunch words on a few sheets of paper.

In order to have a plan, I need to be knowledgeable enough to make the plan. That means education. C'mon, would you really trust a guy who didn't have the slight clue about human anatomy to operate on you?

Again, be brutally honest with yourself. How much do you know about point-of-view, scene hooks, chapter hook, dialogue, or plotting? And are you willing to put in the time and effort to learn these things?

Very few of us start out knowing anything, much less everything we need to write a book. Take writing courses, either in person or online. Pick up a how-to book. Join a local writer's group. If there's not a group nearby, then join one online. There's tons of resources out there. Here's a few of my favorites:

Writing the Break-Out Novel by Donald Maass (Terrific book!)
Romance Writers of America (Great educational programs)
Backspace: The Writer's Place (Wonderful online community)
How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy by Orson Scott Card (The man's personal issues aside, good reference on world building)
The Everything Guide to Writing a Romace by Christie Craig and Faye Hughes (Okay this is a little ego trip since I'm mentioned in the acknowledgements.)

As always, many of the blogs listed on your right offer great advice as well.

Tomorrow, we'll talk about the time commitment.

Cooking Up a Story

My mom's side of the family cooks without a written recipe. My dad's side wouldn't think of cooking without one. And then there's DH who's still learning to cook because his mom's idea of cooking means anything that comes out of a box.

Great-Grandma Leona's recipe for meatloaf or Grandma M.J.'s recipe for sloppy joes drive DH crazy because the general rule of thumb is put stuff in "until it looks right."

Seriously, this is how I learned to cook. I can whip together creations like pies and cookies by this method. But the thing is I learned what each ingredient contributes to the mix. I'm trying to convey those concepts to GK as I teach him. He's figured out most carb recipes start with flour, a liquid, and a fat, but it's the ratios that make different products.

Flour provides thickness and texture. Liquids add moisture , of course. Fats and oils emphasize flavor and establish tenderness. Knowing the ratios and deciding the addition of other ingredients, such as eggs for cohesiveness, makes the difference between gravy and cinnamon rolls.

Writing's no different. You need to know the basics (POV, plotting, grammar) and the ratios to put together a story. Once you've mastered the key elements, then you can start experimenting with flavors.

Urban Fantasy Recommendations

Currently reading - Grave Secret by Charlaine Harris

Last week an RWA chapter mate asked for recommendations on urban fantasy books for a critique partner of hers. Here's a portion of the e-mail I sent her:


"There's not a whole lot out there as far as how-to's for urban fantasy. I'd suggest http://www.urbanfantasywriters.com/ as well as -

How to Write the Break-Out Novel by Donald Maas
How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy by Orson Scott Card

The best thing to do though is to read the genre. My recommendations would include (with the first book in the series in parantheses):

Jim Butcher - The Dresden Files series (Storm Warning)
MaryJanice Davidson - Queen Betsy series (Undead and Unwed)
Charlaine Harris - The Sookie Stackhouse Mysteries (Dead Until Dark)
Kim Harrision - The Hollows series (Dead Witch Walking)
Mark Henry - Amanda Feral series (Happy Hour of the Damned)
Lilith Saintcrow - Jill Kismet series (Night Shift)

Lots of other good ones out there, so tell your friend not to limit herself/himself.

Also, some agents are looking for books with a male protagonist since the field's dominated with female protagonists thanks to Buffy the Vampire Slayer."

Anybody else have some suggestions? I'd love to hear them.