Just Say It, Already!

Welcome to the 7 Scribes and a happy Friday to you! Casey here.

One of my favorite parts of writing is dialogue. Well written dialogue between characters can inform, entertain, anger, laugh or even make you cry. For me, when I begin a story and even while writing it, I can hear the characters talking in my head. They always begin as a voice, long before I have any idea what they look like!

As a reader, I am drawn to dialogue. If I see pages and pages of words with no one speaking to anyone else, chances are the book is getting tossed in the corner.That doesn’t mean I want to read pages of endless conversations. Like everything in life, there must be balance.

So I am offering my tips for writing dialogue.

Do:

~ Use humor! But only if you’re funny (and it’s appropriate for the scene). Not sure what I mean? Pick up a book by an author who makes you laugh and study how they do it. Authors who do this well: Kristan Higgins, Julia Quinn and Jim Butcher.

~ Be clear about which character is speaking. And take the opportunity to show action when appropriate.

~ Let your character’s personality shine through their speech patterns. If all your characters sound like the same person, you have a problem.

~ Remember that men and women see the world differently. And that women do tend to be more verbal!

~ Use dialogue instead of long descriptive passages. During editing, I always ask myself if a scene would work better as dialogue between my characters rather than relying on deep point of view.

~ Keep in mind that dialogue is an opportunity to allow characters to interact, to show conflict, to be sexy, act dastardly or to showcase a myriad of other emotions and behaviors.

~ Be crisp and concise. Like all writing, omit needless words.

Don’t:

~ Don’t use dialogue to info dump on your reader! They know it and will skip over it. In my house, we call this shameless exposition. Television shows do this all the time. Some do it better than others. If you watch anime (Japanese animation), the characters break out into long-winded monologues at the weirdest times. Like in the middle of a battle, characters recap the plot line from the episode before. Or in police procedurals where two cops will exchange “information” through dialogue. This can work in television but on the printed page, not so much. Remember, this is where showing comes into play. Using dialogue to tell is still telling!

~ Don’t waste dialogue in banal exchanges. For example, the play by play:

“How was your day? Could you hand me the salt?”

“Good, until I had to spend two hours sitting in traffic. How was yours?”

“Awful. My boss hates me. Everyone is getting a raise except for me. Please pass the potatoes.”

This is about as much fun as watching paint dry. Nothing is happening here. Sure, it’s like a real life dinner conversation but when you’re writing fiction, you need to use conversations to move the plot along, not lull your reader into a verbal coma.

~ Don’t leave off dialogue tags. Establish who is speaking right up front. Then you can drop the “he said, she said.” But not for too long, otherwise the reader will lose track of who is speaking and you will take them out of the story!

Let’s hear from you. Do you love or hate dialogue? And who do you think does it well?

What is in a name?

Hello Scribblers!  J Monkeys coming atcha from inside a snow globe.  Or at least that’s how it looks from my office window.  A fresh batch of snow fell last night and everything in view is covered – trees, roofs, even the sky is white, matching the gently falling flakes.  Quite a contrast from the book I’ve been reading this morning.

How do you select a book at the store?  Usually, it’s one of two things that prompts me to pick something up – either a cover that attracts my attention, or the author’s name.  When it comes to authors, naturally, it’s repeat business for me – I’m buying books by authors I’ve read before and enjoyed.  Lynn Kurland, Julia Quinn, Julie Garwood, Jude Deveraux.  Sometimes it’s a new book written by a friend or acquaintance – especially when they are written in a genre that isn’t typically my cup of tea, but where I know from experience that I’ll enjoy the ride – Kristan Higgins’ contemporary romances, Katy Lee’s inspirational romances or Casey Wyatt’s urban fantasies, for example. 

This morning, I’m reading a book that I chose based on the author, but it isn’t an author whose work is familiar to me.  In fact, the book I’m reading is his debut novel.  Nor was the book/author recommended to me by a friend.  I’m reading Dracula the Un-Dead written by Dacre Stoker – great grand nephew of Bram Stoker.

I’m almost exactly to the half-way point in the book and it’s a delight!  It’s not scary, which is a good thing for me because I do NOT like scary stories.  Mr. King’s The Shinning still haunts me 25 years after I read it!  While I loved The Stand, there were parts that I found creepy – I remember reading it while sitting in a corner, hidden from any ghouls lurking in the ether.   But Dracula the Un-Dead seems more like a drama than horror as I think of it today.  It’s written as a sequel to the original book.  In truth it’s co-authored by Dacre Stoke and Ian Holt apparently written (according to Wikipedia) “Because of the Stokers’ frustrating history with Dracula’s copyright, Dacre with encouragement from screenwriter Ian Holt, decided to write “a sequel that bore the Stoker name” to “reestablish creative control over” the original novel.”  What an interesting idea.  I don’t know the extent to which it would reestablish copyright – but hey.

But if you’ve enjoyed the rise in vampire stories in the last decade or so, you might want to take a look at this homage to the original.  It’s well done (at least the first half!) and worth a few of your hard earned dollars.  And, again according to Wikipedia, they wrote it based on Bram’s original notes and stuff pulled out of the original novel.  Again, a cool idea. 

Today’s secret: Dracula is Un-Dead and available at the bookstore once again.    Oh and by the way, they have begun filming season 6 of True Blood, speaking of popular vampires.  The delightful Mr. Skarsgard has revealed a spoiler-ish something from filming.  Click here to find out what.

Today’s question: how do you decide to buy a book?  What changes you from a browser to a buyer?

Idolatry & Me

Squeeeeeeeeeeeee!  {Fists shaking in excitement}  Sorry about that – I needed to let it out.  But today’s the day!  You can’t see me, but I’m jumping up and down whilst clapping my hands in a disturbingly manic fashion.  J Monkeys, here by the way.  I have been a raging fan of romance novels since that fateful summer day during my 13th year when after much pestering and whining because “I don’t have anything to read!” my mother finished Lost Lady by Jude Deveraux and threw it at me.  I was hooked.

I came a little late to JQ fandom – a coworker recommended her in the mid 2000′s and the very first book I read of hers was It’s In His Kiss.  I fell immediately in love with the Bridgerton family and then devoured every story of Julia’s that I could find.  By the time I got to On The Way To The Wedding, I read it as fast as a Harry Potter book to find out what happened.  Spoiler alert: There were even a few moments where I wasn’t sure things were going to work out as I wanted them too, but not to worry.  JQ didn’t let me down.

I first encountered Miss Butterworth and the Mad Baron by Sarah Gorley when Hyacinth was reading it to the wonderful Lady Danbury.  And then I noticed that Miss Butterworth, or at least other gothic novels by Sarah Gorley pop their heads into other JQ novels along the way.  As a writer, I always found it nifty that Julia had made up that writer and reused her from time to time.  When I got to the book What Happens in London, I was enchanted to find that Miss Butterworth was so instrumental in bringing our characters together. 

 

JQ with a golden idol of her own: RITA #2

However, my true Julia Quinn idolatry began when I read Ten Things I Love About You.  In the opening pages, you learn that Sebastian Gray, previously maligned flirt and somewhat silly man-about-town is in fact a sleep deprived, former soldier suffering from the horrors he saw in the war.  And his insomnia prompts him to become author Sarah Gorley.  He’s the author of all those gothic novels.

I thought this was a stroke of writer-ly brilliance on the part of Ms. Quinn!  I can’t remember for sure, but I got the sense that Sebastian had been introduced to the JQ Regency High Society Gang somewhat earlier than even What Happens in London.  To take an established next-to-nothing character, make him a prominent secondary character and then move him to become hero of his own story is smart, but not entirely unheard of.  But to now make him a part of so many of the stories that came before, by making him Sarah Gorley, is incredibly clever. 

I’ve always wondered how this idea came to Julia.  Did she always plan it this way?  Did she know when she first introduce Miss Butterworth, all those books ago, that Sebastian was really the author?  Or did it just dawn on her one day, that Sebastian and Sarah had the same initials and it might work out?  I’ve always wanted to ask her.

Guess what!   Today’s the DAY!!!!!!!  I’ll be meeting Ms. Quinn in just a few short hours!!!!!!!    Squeeeeeeeee!  {More clapping}.  I’m gonna ask her – and I’ll add a comment later with her answer!

Today’s Question: Do you have a favored author that you’ve always wanted to meet?  Who and Why?

Brushes With Greatness

Hello, my loves. Suze here. Welcome!

This weekend my extended writing posse, Connecticut Romance Writers of America (click here for more information!), is having a very special guest visit our monthly meeting: Historical Romance Goddess Julia Quinn! Woohoo! (If you live within driving distance of southern Connecticut, there’s still time to get a ticket)

The fan girl in me is salivating at this opportunity to meet JQ. And it got me thinking about other brushes with greatness I’ve had. Here’s my list:

1.  Janet Evanovich and her daughter Alex.  Sister Scribe J Monkeys and I drove out toward Beantown, had a long boozy lunch, then went to Janet’s book signing for Wicked Appetite. We visited with Alex while we waited in line for our turn to meet Janet. Awesome!  Still hoping we absorbed some of that magic …

2.  Doug Henning. The youngsters among us may not recognize the name, but back in the day he was quite a famous illusionist.  I was waiting to go up into the CN Tower in Toronto, and Doug and his very Bohemian girlfriend/wife — she actually wore a beret and a peasant skirt — were

Wish upon that star, baby!

in front of me.  I recall he had a HUGE head of long, black, curly hair, and kind of a bunny-like smile. He was extremely thin, and very short. I’m only five-three, and he was shorter than I if you subtracted the high eighties hair. Did not get free tickets to his show. Crap.

3.  Unknown 1950s/60s comic. Mr. Suze and I got married at a resort hotel in New York State. There was a gentleman getting some quietly special treatment when we went to breakfast the next morning. He looked familiar, and we knew he had to be some comedian from the Red Skelton era, but we never did figure out who he was. This is one of those things that will likely bug me forever!

4.  Richard Chamberlain. I went to NYC with my bestie from back home to see The Sound of Music. We were in a very small theater, and we had really great seats, right up front. Now, raise your hands. Who was in love with Father Ralph in The Thorn Birds? Every one of you, right? Well …. hang onto those memories because he didn’t look so great a few years ago as Captain Von Trapp. I mean, I know the man was getting up there in years, but he was wearing an inordinate amount of makeup that did NOT help the situation. Also guyliner.  Let’s just go back and think about Father Ralph again, shall we?

5. Katherine Hepburn. Mr. Suze and I used to keep a boat down at the shore, until I “made” him sell it (still a sore subject in our house). While we were out on Long Island Sound once, we were traveling behind a yacht. Up on the top deck sat an elderly woman, bundled up against the wind, all alone save for her captain at the helm. There was no mistaking her. She looked happy. She didn’t invite us back to her place for tea. Sigh.

So spill! What celebrities have you seen up close? Was the experience monumental? Or was it monumentally disappointing?

The Family Jewels

Happy Thursday, all.  Suze here.

Jewels.  Who doesn’t love ‘em?  Shiny, sparkly, lustrous gifts of the earth and sea.  Wars have been fought over them.  Native peoples have been vanquished for them.  Ships have been wrecked, scattering them over the ocean floor.  And ever since we’ve had recorded history (and probably before), jewels have been given as symbols of promise and love.  The late screen goddess Liz Taylor knew this, perhaps better than anyone.  Her husbands (with the probable exception of her blue collar rehab-romance guy, Larry Fortensky) lavished her with diamonds, sapphires, rubies, emeralds, and pearls.  Here’s Liz wearing the historic, often lost La Peregrina pearl — which Liz claims to have misplaced and found in her dog’s mouth!  LaPeregrina provided some of the inspiration for my Bonaparte Bay romantic mystery.

Which do you love more - the hairdo or the necklace positioned just so?

If you’re a history geek like me, or even if you’re not, click here for the story of La Peregrina.

What about recent events?  If you weren’t touched when Prince William gave Kate Middleton his mother’s diamond and sapphire engagement ring, go find another blog.  There’s nothing for you here.

HRH (His Royal Hotness) Prince William

So, Suze, you might be asking.  What’s the point?  Well, I’ve been thinking about historical romances, especially the Regencies, which I love.  And I wondered what it is about them that keeps me coming back.  I think it’s because (1) I am the aforementioned history geek; and (2) the heroes usually have titles (Dukes, Earls, Baronets), and this means the heroine gets a title too.  I think most of us, secretly or not so secretly, dream of being born noble, or marrying into the nobility.  A manly, devoted hero in (or out of!) breeches. Great wealth.  No housework or cooking to do, ever. Fabulous clothes and hairdos.  And a box full of inherited baubles to play with.  What’s not to love?

Who are your favorite Regency authors?  If you don’t read Regencies,  tell us about the gem you’d buy yourself if money were no object.  Give us the cut and carat weight, and describe the setting.  We’re dreaming here today!

A Writing Career is a Lot Like Farm Frenzy

Hey ~ V here.  I was wasting time on the computer, thinking about what topic I wanted to blog about when it hit me: Building a Successful Writing Career as an Indie Pub’d Author is a Lot Like Level 60 in Farm Frenzy 3.  (Yes, I was playing Farm Frenzy when this “eureka!” happened). 

“How?” you might ask.  Or, “V, have you gone completely off your rocker?!”  Either way, let me explain.

For those who’ve never donated hours of their valuable time to the writing-time-sucker that is Farm Frenzy (1, 2 or 3) this is a fun little time management game where you have small goals like buy a turkey and collect 3 eggs and a short amount of time for each level, 3 – 6 minutes depending on how hard the level is.  Then you get to the last level (or in FF3, level 60) where you have 45 minutes to buy a robot ($50,000).  You start off with nothing and $0.

The first 10 minutes are painfully slow going.  You have to wait for bears to arrive, catch them and then sell them at the market in your tiny, wicked slow truck that only carries two at a time.  Eventually, you can buy one $100 turkey and begin to collect eggs, but you have to buy all the different processing plants to make cakes from your eggs.  Cakes sell for $200. 

After a while, you can afford to buy some sheep and make jackets that sell for $1300 and maybe dress some of the bears in those jackets and sell ‘em for big bucks ($7000 – do you get the sense that I’ve played this game a lot?)  Now you’re starting to have some money and you can upgrade your wicked slow truck to a much faster 18-wheeler.

Then suddenly you can get a cow and make cheese which sells for a pretty penny.  Next thing you know, you’ve got $50,000 and are your way to buying that robot!

I think this is the perfect allegory for creating a writing career as an Indie Published writer.   You’ve got this insane goal of building a big audience and you are starting with nothing and $0.  The beginning is slow going.  You’ve got a product but the distribution vehicle is wicked slow.  You’ve got to get in front of people, get the word out.  Again and again and again.  You’ve got to find reviewers, speaking engagements, sales opportunities.  Every time you earn a little money, you’ve got something new to upgrade.  A new trailer for your book, marketing material to buy, pay a lawyer or accountant or illustrator.  You might need office supplies, copies of your books to sell or gas to get to your speaking engagement. 

And you know they say time is money.  Well, it’s certainly true that like money, I don’t have enough time!  Time to write, research marketing techniques, reviewers, sales opportunities.  (Yes, perhaps if I spent less time playing games…)

But, in Farm Frenzy, things start slow and then begin to build until they finally take off.  My writing career might be going slow now, but what about when I have several books out there and people start hearing about me?  A new customer who likes one book is apt to buy the whole lot if they are priced correctly.  And I have time on my side.  Maybe it’ll be ten years before I get that robot, that huge readership, but then I’ll have 15-20 books out and movie deals and maybe even a theme park!  OK, that might be a bit much, but who’s to say?

Here’s today’s secret: It’s OK for your career to take time to build.  We aren’t all JK Rowling or Stephenie Meyer who became insanely popular writers right away.  Julia Quinn and Lynn Kurland have been in the game for 15 years or more to get where they are.  It takes time and that’s OK. 

What are your writing career goals and how are you working to get there?  Are they short term or long term goals?