Category Archives: How-To Tips

Confessions of a Penitent Plotter: Finding the Bones of Your Book

  By Webmaster | July 11, 2012 - 6:29 pm | How-To Tips, Writing
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Hello. My name is Leuca and I am a “pantser”. I can’t help it. Words just blast their way onto the page and I let them roar, full of energy, with no idea what will happen next. In short, I SPEW. What Nora Roberts calls, politely, a “discovery draft”. The emotions are pure; words are fresh. In this first effusion of story, characters build their dimensions organically, like blossoms unfolding. To me, my process is a thing of beauty. Until – wham-o – it bogs down with a thud! Those lovely characters jerk to a stop, stare at one another and blurt: “What the #%*$ are you doing in my story?” It’s time to haul in CRAFT, my handy toolkit of character tips and structure rules. Collected from many sources, I adapted them to a template I use to plot: Storytracker. Last fall I wrote a column about it and, … Continue reading →

Marketing 101: First, Establish Your Brand

  By Webmaster | July 8, 2012 - 4:48 pm | How-To Tips, Writing
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For twenty years, I was a marketing executive. Today, I teach marketing. The first principle remains the same: Who are you? In market-speak: What‘s your brand identity. Your message will be clearly understood only when it is wrapped in a brand. What is brand? Expressed in a simple, focused statement – no more than three or four words – it is the sum of attributes, or unique selling points. Brand defines a product‘s personality; it establishes the product‘s credibility; it signals a set of buyer expectations the product will meet. In short, brand is a promise to be kept. As a person, you are many things. As a writer, you are a product. And, from today forward, think of your writing self as your brand. Let‘s look at some popular romance writers and what they stand for: Nora Roberts Fast-paced passion in special settings Jayne Ann Krentz Sizzling mysteries with … Continue reading →

BOOK REVIEW: STORY: “Substance, Structure, Style and the Principles of Screen Writing” By Robert McKee

  By Webmaster | July 8, 2012 - 4:35 pm | Book Reviews, How-To Tips, Writing
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Robert McKee. The man is a legend. Opinionated – even potty-mouthed – this guy fills auditoriums in New York, Los Angeles, Tokyo and London, three or four times a year, at $595 a pop. The weekend I went, I sat between a TV star scribbling notes and a young couple from Australia who were sleeping on a web-friend’s floor to be there. And, the man delivers. Spewing ideas out his mouth like shotgun spray, McKee packs more important story concepts into three, too-short days than a full MFA. He’s a product of Hollywood – story analyst, screenwriter, now big-budget script doctor – McKee imparts profound insights about story structure and conflict that suit novel-writing as well as film. His book doesn’t pack the punch of his lectures, but at a mere $24.95, it’s ½ of 1% the investment and everything’s here, in the same form. I suspect the book is … Continue reading →

This Year, Don’t Resolve. Dissolve

  By Webmaster | July 8, 2012 - 4:18 pm | How-To Tips, Writing
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 This post was written by Jody Brightman and published in the LARA Confidential in December of 2009.   Giving the issue of New Year‘s resolutions some thought as that last, ugly year came to a close, I reached an epiphany. On New Year‘s Day, many of us take time out from chips and football to write a list of things we absolutely resolve to accomplish in the coming year. If we can even find last year‘s list, we‘d be embarrassed to realize we haven‘t done half – or often, even one, of the items. Don‘t feel bad, I heard on NPR that 9 out of 10 Americans have broken at least one of their resolutions by the third week in January. I decided the problem must be semantic. What is a “resolution”, but a do-over? The word implies that we have already solved the problem, in that we have an answer … Continue reading →

The Bestseller On Your Desk

  By Webmaster | July 8, 2012 - 4:14 pm | How-To Tips, Writing
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Scrawled in blood crimson across the whiteboard in my office are timeless words from Debbie Macomber: “Never leave a finished manuscript on your desk.” Taking her advice one way, I could snatch up my book and shove it in a drawer. Or, I could do what Sara Gruen, bestselling author of “Water for Elephants”, did with her first effort – stuff it in a shoe box under the bed, where it‘s been collecting dust bunnies for a decade. What Ms. Macomber was suggesting, though, was more proactive – pull up your big girl panties and send that mass of paper out the door. Unless your book is out in the world where people can read it, you‘ll never sell it. Or, make a dime from it. And, the world of readers will, forever, be deprived of your gift. That said, I just spent the weekend listening to famed story doc-tor, … Continue reading →

So You Think You Might Write

  By Webmaster | July 8, 2012 - 4:04 pm | How-To Tips, Writing
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This article was written and published in the LARA Confidential in October 2009. When Nora Roberts was asked what she did when the muse abandoned her, she snapped, “It doesn’t; I write too fast!” Not pausing to consider a gentler reply, Nora continued: “Get over it! Pull up your big girl panties and write!” Write now. November is the national book-in-a-month challenge when thousands of would-be authors dash out 50,000 words in 30 days. Last year, 100,000 signed up and 15,000 joined the winners’ honor roll. This year, I’m signing up at www.nanowrimo.org. How about you? I hear tremulous knocking of a hundred writers’ knees. Is the thrill of testing your inner Nike bumping against the fear of falling short? What’s the best possible outcome? The first draft of a compelling book. The worst? Half a first draft. Thinking that’s a bad thing? No way! That’s progress. Afraid you’ll fail? … Continue reading →

RACE to Revise: Four Quick Steps from SPEW to Manuscript

  By Webmaster | July 8, 2012 - 4:00 pm | How-To Tips, Writing
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Do you have a finished manuscript? Are you like me, dreading the R-word: revision? Well, I worked out a way to RACE through the process. Yes, it‘s an acronym: Read; Add; Cut; Edit. But it‘s also good advice – speed through your rewrite. The book will be tighter, fresher – and out the door. Once you‘ve finished a complete draft, give yourself a pat on the back and take off a week or two. You‘ve earned it. But while you‘re dallying, block out a long weekend on your calendar. Stockpile editing tools: packs of sticky tabs in multiple colors, a notebook, pens and highlighters. Print out a blank Storytracker sheet. (I use an Excel spreadsheet I call the Story-tracker to track scenes and character profiles. If you‘d like to try it, email me at jody.brightman@yahoo.com.) Of course, you can use index cards, yellow stickies, a whiteboard or anything else that … Continue reading →

The Slam Dunk Submission

  By Webmaster | July 8, 2012 - 3:54 pm | How-To Tips, Writing
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Sure, a slam-dunk is as hard to learn in writing as in basketball, but once you‘ve mastered it, you can really rack up the score. And, just as in learning to shoot baskets, learning to write queries is a simple skill that takes practice. I set out to discover a submission playbook. Here‘s one that everybody can use to beat the odds. THE QUERY LETTER – ONE PAGE / 4 PARAGRAPHS; YOUR VOICE / NO FLUFF The first and most important thing to remember is that a query letter has one purpose – to get the reader to ask for more. That‘s it. Anything that diverts attention from your purpose is irrelevant. 1. Write to the right person. The biggest complaint I heard from agents and editors was that would-be authors didn‘t do their research. Now, you spent a year or more writing the book; spend a few more weeks … Continue reading →

What Leads to Research

  By Webmaster | April 13, 2012 - 1:29 pm | How-To Tips, Writing
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What If… Two young and awkward mid-teens were in cotillion class. What if this young couple, a rich girl and a boy whose mother works for the girl’s father, develop a tender crush, only to have that crush stomped on by big daddy? And big rich daddy goes even farther by humiliating the boy, accusing him of stealing in front of the girl and all his friends. He goes so far as to have the young man arrested. Thirteen years later, the real story begins. That idea grew into An Indiscretion my contemporary romance with medical elements e-book for The Wild Rose Press. Since the hero and heroine, Paul Valverde and Carrington Hanover’s relationship officially began while dancing, it needed to be part of the story, which meant, I’d assigned myself research. What I Needed: 1. A dance that meant something to the hero 2. A dramatic dance with Spanish … Continue reading →

Captain Condom: Cover Me, I’m Goin’ In

  By Webmaster | March 9, 2012 - 2:32 pm | How-To Tips, Writing
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Valentine’s Day and STI’s just go together. Well, generally the one follows the other, because many people feel the pressure to fall in love over this time of year. Who wants to be alone over Valentine’s Day? Not that love is a mistake, but rushing into a romantic and/or sexual relationship… Yep. Regrets. And although the poster on the left blamed women (of course) for spreading VD (once upon a time, they called Sexually Transmitted Infections – Venereal Disease, or VD), plenty of men who “look clean” are bringing more than a good time to the party, too. As a writer of erotica and romance, one of the questions we ask ourselves is: How do we write about condom use and keep it sexy? First let’s debunk the idea that irresponsible sex = more enjoyable sex. Even leaving pregnancy and the life-threatening possibility of AIDS out of the equation (and … Continue reading →