Join us today for another stop on Carnivalesque: The Travelling Blog Show. Today we’re at Hayley Lavik’s wonderful blog confessing our geeky pleasures! Those hobbies no one else gets but you. That doesn’t stop you from talking about it. Come join Hayley Lavik, Janet Corcoran, Jana Richards, Joanne Brothwell and I as we dish on each other’s geeky pleasures.
This blog post turned into more about links I’ve visited while revisiting the concept of creating tension in my writing. Something that’s on my mind as I revise my novella. I thought I’d share some of them with you. You know, just in case you’re interested.
This the second time I’ve posted this advice from an former blog post I found at Writer Unboxed. It’s the second part of an interview with Donald Maass that you can find here. It’s about creating tension on every page.
Donald Maass: The absolutely essential exercise that everyone should do, with every novel, is to toss the manuscript pages in the air and collect them again in random order. (The pages must be randomized or this won’t work.) Next, go through the manuscript page-by-page and on each page find one way to add tension. Now, that sounds easy enough but most people are quickly stymied. That is because they do not truly understand what tension means. In dialogue, it means disagreement. In action, it means not physical business but the inner anxiety of the point-of-view character. In exposition, it means ideas in conflict and emotions at war. Study your favourite novelists. If they make you read every word, even while turning pages rapidly, it is because they are deploying tension in a thousand ways to keep you constantly wondering what’s going to happen. Tension all the time is the secret of best selling fiction, regardless of style, genre or category. If it sells big, it’s got tension on every page.
I’ve been on a reading binge for the last week and I’m on my third book. Nothing goes with a sinus/cold/cough thingy better than a book, especially in the middle of the night. As a rule, I have no serious shut-eye issues and I think I panic a bit when I can’t sleep. Or breathe. Reading calms me and passes the time until the over-the-counter drugs take affect.
All three books are paranormals. I don’t like to read romantic suspense while I’m knee-deep in writing it. Okay, so it’s supernatural suspense but, like, I’m going to read something I don’t love when I feel like crap. Anyway, three books, three different stories, two that made me read every word and one that did not.
Another great blog post about tension of every page from The Sharp Angle. I love how she talks about worry for the moment keeping readers turning the page.
Even in the not-so-action-filled scenes, there is still tension as we absorb everything that’s happened or is going to happen. Tension does not always equal action. It always equals worry, whether the current pace is high or low.
(The Hunger Games come to mind as a good example of tension on every page.)
Yet, another great article on creating tension at the Flogging the Quill blog.
You don’t have to create overt conflict on every page—a story with strong stakes and consequences makes it possible to use impending conflict to keep building tension in a reader. There will be tension on every page even without direct conflict. Have those happy moments, but create “when-will-the-trouble-I-know-is-coming-strike?” story questions that foreshadow trouble which will damage or diminish the protagonist.
Oh look, time for more cough medicine. Got any great book recommendations showcasing great tension? I’m almost finished with book three. And I hope this cold is finished with me.
It’s Sunday and that means another six sentences! Check out the main stage at Six Sentence Sunday to link to more great novel snapshots.
More from my romantic suspense, Backlash, that releases June 1st from The Wild Rose Press.
Small town teacher, Lily Wheeler, is upset over a vicious attack on one of her student’s. She’s also trying to make sense of the sudden reappearance of an ex-high school sweetheart. You met Chase Porter last week.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, because apparently stupidity was also a symptom of fear induced insanity. Like his presence was the biggest thing she had to worry over. Like she cared that he had appeared out of thin air, in the nick of time, after disappearing for a decade.
“Rescuing you?” His hands settled on his hips. His eyes traveled the length of her and back up, right before he shook his head like he couldn’t believe his bad luck.
And there you have it! As always, I love hearing your comments.
WELCOME to Carnivalesque: The Travelling Blog Show! Five writers (Jana, Hayley, Joanne, Janet and myself) are creating a travelling blog show. See yesterday’s post for a more in depth introduction of sorts. You’re invited to join us every Thursday as we pack up our opinions and travel to that week’s host blog. Each Thursday we’ll pick a topic for discussion.
Yay! This week I’m going to start things off with:
It’s called the romance genre, but what’s romantic about it?
Jana: What makes a novel romantic for me is emotion. It’s all about the feelings the couple experiences as they fall in love. One minute they’re on top of the world and the next they’re totally dejected because they believe their love can never be. I want to feel everything this couple is feeling, and experience all their highs and lows on their journey to love. I want to feel like I’m the one falling in love. A romance novel falls flat for me if I can’t feel those emotions.
Hayley: I’m probably in the minority about this, but my first thought goes to consent. Both partners expressed a desire to sleep with each other in the sex scene? Their attachments formed through natural circumstances, rather than coercion or pressure? Score! That’s so romantic!
So many romance plots (in any medium) seem to rely on the assumption that we, the reader/audience, know those two are going to get together in the end, so even if they’re reluctant in the moment, we know what’s best *nod*. This creates an alarming number of stories involving stalking, one-sided relationships where one partner is just the prize, and sex where one person says “No,” but it’s okay because we know they both secretly want it. Not cool.
In the middle of all this, if I find two people forming a loving, respectful, and consensual relationship, that makes me swoon every time!
Janet: Back in the day (I swore I’d never use that phrase and, yet, here I am), when you went into the bookstore and zipped to the romance section you were sure to get, well, a romantic read. Virile heroes saving the damsel in distress. Romantic gestures to woo said damsel in distress. And you were always guaranteed a happily-ever-after! Now, I don’t think you can count on that! Some of the recent novels read under the romance genre umbrella lack romantic gestures. Sure, there’s a romance between the hero and heroine, but the sub-plot (because I firmly believe the main plot in a romance story should be the romance), steals the show! So, should some of these books being shelved under Romance, not be better described as, for example, Women’s Fiction with romantic elements? Romance genre = the story of two people falling in love = romantic = my take on the topic!
Joanne: If I was to really think about the word romance, what comes to mind for me is the emotional connection between two people. Wikipedia defines it as: Romance or romantic usually refers to Romance (love), love emphasizing emotion over libido. The books I enjoy the most always emphasizes the emotional connection rather than the hot, steamy sex. Although having both is fine, as long as sex isn’t the focus.
I find human relationships fascinating. Communication within those relationships is even more interesting; the nuances in pitch and volume, facial expressions, and word choice between romantic partners. The meta-communication that tells you the most about the relationship is often so subtle it would be difficult to pick up as an outsider. Those are the things I enjoy reading and writing about. The complexity of emotional connections.
Karyn: For me romance novels (and I’m not sure that’s an apt term anymore) are about the growing relationship between the main characters in the book. There’s no surprise ending. The heart of the story is in the developing connection leading to a commitment of sorts. But where’s the romance? Because I keep getting stuck on that word.
By far the majority of the books I read have alpha heroes (romantic suspense or paranormal). I love them. If we’re talking fantasies here? Then I want commanding, and I want confident, and damn it, I want big…brains. We’re often talking life or death here. But more than that I want to read about an intelligent and mutually respectful relationship. In and out of bed.
In the end, maybe it’s more about me, as the reader, being romanced by the heart wrenching emotional journey of finding the right partner.
We’re moving the party to the comment section! Please, weigh in with your thoughts and opinions. We’d love to hear from you.
Tomorrow marks the virgin run of a new Thursday feature: Carnivalesque: The Travelling Blog Show. Each week we will meet at one of five blogs to discuss a topic question. We give our take on the subject, then we take the party to the comment section to await your opinions. Because who doesn’t have at least one of those. And opinions are for sharing! Right? Right.
The Participants
and Me, who you already know.
See you tomorrow for the grand unveiling and the very first topic question!
One way of getting to know your characters is, of course, the character interview. Besides being useful it has the added benefit of being tons of wicked fun. Not only are you learning things about your character’s thoughts by being deep in their point of view, it’s a excellent opportunity to torture them a bit.
I happened across this interview I did a while back involving my hero from my upcoming release, BACKLASH. It was part of a series of exercises I participated in with my writing group. It was so much fun and since my scheduled interviewee is working through computer problems I thought I’d post this instead.
For the purposes of this exercise we were to chose a point of view character and answer the following: Why don’t you start by telling us your name and if you go by any nicknames? Then, if you could tell us, do you have a birthmark and if so, where? Any scars we should know about? How did you get them?
So without further ado, meet Chase who’s about to be interviewed by select members of the Saskatchewan Romance Writers via computer. FYI, he looks a lot like Jensen Ackles.
Chase stood in front of the stark white door with his hand resting on the doorknob. He turned to watch the English guy make his way down the hallway. The poor guy had the look of a man pecked to death by ducks. The only other guy he’d seen had rushed past him looking a little green around the edges. He pitied some poor woman named Janet.
He’d been ordered to put in an appearance. Answer a few questions. They had better get what they wanted the first time around because his plans did not include a return visit. A guy had to draw the line somewhere. He pulled a worn photo out of his back pocket, ran a thumb over the picture then carefully slid it back into place.
He opened the door and stepped into the room. Not a soul in sight. He scanned the room for cameras or two-way mirrors and found nothing. The room boasted one standard issue office chair, an ordinary metal desk and a computer. He eyed the screen. Blank. His spidey sense started to tingle.
“Please, sit down.”
Okay, disembodied computer voice. That wasn’t weird at all. He walked over and planted his butt on the hard plastic seat. He leaned back, placed an arm along the back of the chair, and rested one booted foot across a knee. Never let them see you sweat. This wasn’t so bad, really. He could deal with it. He’d handled worse.
“For the purposes of this interview we will be communicating via computer. We will ask you questions and you will answer to the best of your ability. Your answers will be evaluated and ranked for optimum effectiveness. Failure to answer truthfully will lead to complications in your storyline and may result in a state of celibacy for the hero, which in this case would be you.” Static. “So, are we clear on the rules?”
“Perfectly.” Great, a computer was in charge of his sex life. He straightened up a little and shifted his gaze slightly to the right, in the direction of the door. A little red light blinked on the small security panel beside the door.
“It’s locked.”
No way out. He ground his back molars together. He knew he should have worn his uniform and his gun. “Let’s get this over with.”
“By all means, let’s.” The computer sighed and a small sliver of satisfaction snaked up his spine. “State your name for the record please.”
“Constable Chase Porter.”
“Well, Constable Porter, any nicknames we should be aware of?”
“No.” One question down.
“How odd.” Something squawked in the background. Someone muttered something about marketability. “Shh,” the computer voice hissed. “Do you have any interesting birthmarks?”
“No.” Birthmarks? He shifted his weight and the chair creaked. Maybe he was being punked?
“How long have you been a police officer?”
“About six years.” He didn’t trust the question, it was too simple. He glared at the computer.
“Do you enjoy your work?”
“Yeah, I guess so.” Did he enjoy his work? What the hell kind of question was that? It wasn’t like he could imagine doing anything else.
“Care to elaborate? And please be advised you’ve used up your quota of one word answers.”
“The job has its moments. I like to think I make a difference.” He zeroed in on a crack snaking up the wall behind the computer and focused all his energy on the narrow line. He could do this. He could answer a simple question without ending up in a blood soaked alley.
“How about scars?”
“What?”
“Do you have any scars? Surely the question is self-explanatory?”
He frowned, what happened to questions like on a scale of one to ten, one being lowest suck factor and ten being highest suck factor, how would you rate this interview?
“Do bullet holes count?” Maybe if he shocked them all the way down to their sensible shoes they’d cancel the rest of the interview.
“Thankfully something we can work with. They sure do, hon. Feel free to elaborate.”
He rubbed his thigh. No. Way. In. Hell.
What’s the weidest or most inappropriate question you’ve been asked in an interview?
I’m trying something new and signing up for Six Sentence Sunday. All over the web, writers are posting six sentences, offering a glimpse or a blink, from a novel or work-in-progress. .
I picked Backlash, my romantic suspense novel that releases June 1st from The Wild Rose Press.
He needed to know if she tasted the same. Felt the same. And she was right there. In front of him. All he had to do was bend his head. Just a fraction of a movement and his self-imposed exile would end.
Hope you enjoyed the little sneak peek. If you’re so inclined, use the the link at the top to check out more offerings.