India Carolina's Romantic Tales

Meet the Fockers er...Characters!

2008-02-17T19:04:00.000-08:00

No, I know you think that's Joaquin Phoenix. But it's not, not anymore. Meet the hero of BLACK BOX WARNING, Detective Seargent Daniel Benson. At six foot three, he's not quite as tall as his big brother, Dr. Christian Benson, but he has a pistol, and he's not afraid to use it.

And, no that's not our wonderful friend, Leigh and her brand new bundle of joy, Bodhi. Well, okay maybe it is. But it's also my prototype for Dr. Sky Novak, our heroine.

Please note, I've actually started writing this thing! Page meter up!

Here's a snip of dialogue from their first meet.

He spoke first. "Brrr chill."
Before she could stop it, her laugh broke free.
Two vertical lines creased the space between his thick sable brows. "What?"
To quell her laughter, Sky concentrated on the dim scar that traveled the length of the man's nasal filtrum before coursing into his off-center upper lip. The effect of that slight asymmetry, those full, battle-scarred lips set against otherwise perfect, intensely masculine angles was undeniably sensuous. The word devastating came to mind. He should be a poster boy for cleft-lip repairs. Her shoulders stopped vibrating, but she didn't trust herself to speak, not quite yet.
"It's fuckin' freezing."
"Now that's more what I'd expect from an outlaw like you." Oh shit. That was inappropriate. But judging by the way every feature on his face worked its way into a rebel-without-a-cause grin, he hadn't exactly taken offense at the remark.
"Well all right then. No more Mr. Nice Guy. Doesn't fit anyway. Can I buy you a coffee?"
"Thanks, but no..."
"Not into outlaws?"
"Uh..." Sky rattled the doorknob helplessly.
"One cup. C'mon, flirt and run's a crime...Don't make me arrest you."
Now this was just plain awkward. She couldn't figure anyway out but honesty. "You're right. I was flirting...and I never flirt...and I absolutely should not have flirted with you just now. It's my bad. I apologize."
"I refuse to accept. What's it gonna be, coffee or cuffs?"

What qualities do you think make a hero and heroine memorable? Anybody else use real people for their physical prototypes? If so, care to share?

Fun and Games: Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery

2008-02-06T18:37:00.000-08:00

THIS JUST IN: COURTNEY MILAN'S THE MAKING OF JENNY KEEBLER FINALS IN THE GREAT EXPECTATIONS CONTEST! CONGRATULATIONS-WORLD DOMINATION IS A HEARTBEAT AWAY!

I was cruising JULIA QUINN'S website the other day and found something really neat under her Bonus Features. JQ has put together a mix of songs that inspired her or played a role in her books. What a nifty idea. I checked out her list and felt I knew her a little bit from the songs.

I also noticed what a great job of branding she's done. Her book covers and website are all tied together with the same fun tone and color palate. So even though it may seem silly to brand ourselves before we publish, I thought, hey, why not get some practice?

So I put together my own soundtrack for STRANDED HEARTS (If you're wondering what the heck STRANDED HEARTS is it's the new title I'm using for TWIST OF FATE). I had great fun putting the I-Mix together. If you want to try, just download I Tunes to your computer, create a playlist, and choose Publish . They'll email you a link a few hours later. And if you do decide to play, be sure to post a link to your mix in the comments section.

What fun things have you seen on other author's websites? Any great branding ideas you're dying to try?

Cliché Or Not Cliché?

2008-01-07T22:44:00.001-08:00

Is Romance cliché?

In a recent wonderful post by Tessa Dare about love and fairy tales, she made a claim that her own work was full of clichéd phrases. I'm here to dispute that. Oh, yes, the occasional cliché can be found in her work. But it is infrequent and deliberately placed.

Hence the inspiration for this blog. Romance writers are not just about clichéd phrases. Witness the opening sentence of Kathleen Woodiwiss's "clichéd" book, The Flame and the Flower:

Somewhere in the world, time no doubt whistled by on taut and widespread wings, but here in the English countryside it plodded slowly, painfully, as if it trod the rutted road that stretched across the moors on blistered feet. Clichéd phrase or fresh writing? I call it fresh.

Here's one of my favorite fresh phrases from one of Tessa Dare's works :

His hand darted out, and he caught the fluttering scrap of white effortlessly, as though it were a dove trained to fly to his hand.

From Courtney Milan:

He drove into her like hard rain falling on a river.

From my own work:

The sound of his name tumbled from her lips like a coin into a well, a golden weight laden with wishes that plummeted straight to his core.

As romance writers I believe we must work even harder than "literary" folks to write fresh. After all, everyone expects us to fall short.

Here are some examples of clichés I'm sorry to say were in my manuscript and had to be cut:

Her mouth formed a perfect "O".

If this was a dream, she didn't want to wake up.

But I still keep a rare cliché when it suits me. Check out the first page of Twist of Fate and you'll be hearing about the hero's "sun-bronzed chest", which replaced "muscled chest", which was just too too cliché for me. Okay, maybe it's the same difference. But Christian's sun-bronzed chest stays until an editor (cross your legs) makes me cut it.

I notice Kathleen Woodiwiss does give her heroine blue eyes the color of sapphires, but it's such a beautiful book, I'm okay with that.

Here's your challenge: Tell us a fresh phrase from your own work, or your cp's work, or an admired author's work, or all of the above. Show us how wonderful romance can be when it's done well. Then fess up. Tell us a cliché you cut from your own work if you dare. :-)

JUDGE AND JURY

2007-12-22T12:31:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again. No, I'm not referring to the last minute holiday crush at the mall. I'm speaking of what many of us would like to get from Santa this year -a golden-hearted Golden Heart judge to bring us Christmas come July. But here's the thing. WE are judging the Golden Heart. And this is a responsibility that has already cost me sleep.

Yesterday, my entries arrived for judging. With light head and pounding heart I ripped into my Fed-Ex box. What treasures awaited me? Five Historicals. None recognizable. Whew! At least I didn't receive a friend's entry and have to decide whether to throw a friend back into the sea of unpredictable judges or try to set my own biases aside and judge her manuscript myself. I faced the simple task of judging the manuscripts of unknown writers. Piece of cake, right? After reading and rereading the judging guidelines, I sat down with a glass of chardonnay and my first manuscript.

And let me tell you, it was fabulous! But...after reading the entire entry, I was bewildered as to how to score it. I'm going to go ahead and discuss these issues without giving any information that could possibly identify the story. Also, I've already entered my score so our discussion won't change that. But I think it's a good topic and I'm interested in other's input.

First entry: The writing is wonderful and fresh and more than that, it sucks me right into the story. The characters have wonderful depth. The dialogue sparkles. A smooth, beautiful, exciting read. But there are a few problems.

The first problem is that the font appears to be less than 12 point and it is TNR. The chapters begin one on top of the other - not even with extra spaces much less on a new page. Now the judging guidelines tell me what to do about this. Ignore it. Okay, I can do that.

Next problem. Point of view slips more than a few times. Hmm. This is pretty minor. I don't necessarily feel I HAVE to subtract for this.

Next problem. The opening is very exciting and sets the tone for a great read. Unfortunately, there is simply no reason that I can discern why the hero takes the action he does in the opening. Hmm.

I toss and turn most of the night deciding on my score.

This morning, I see patients in the office and make hospital rounds. Shop. Come home. Sit down with a cup of Java and my next entry. I immediately worry that it's not fair to drink coffee while reading one entry and wine while reading another. Won't this affect my mindset? Beads of sweat are now popping out on my brow like Christmas cookies from neighborhood ovens. I can't switch to Chardonnay, however, I am on call.

Now this next manuscript is perfectly formatted. Okay, I'm not supposed to care. But I'd be lying if I didn't admit I appreciate the author using Courier and starting chapters on a new page. I mean, these are long entries, and we are to read ALL the pages before scoring. The writing is wonderful, smooth and fresh. Now I am beginning to think my own entry won't have a shot because my pile of reads is so good. Yes, I know I'm in another category, but apparently, everyone else is a better writer than I am! I chew my nails and get back to work, shunting aside my own feelings of inadequacy.

From start to finish this story seems perfect...from format to flow, all motivations in place, ends on a hook, all show and no tell. Lush. But....I am bored the entire read because the character's just don't draw me in and the story line itself is totally predictable. Oh, damn.

So which of these two entries got a higher score? Or did they both get the same score? I'll never tell. And I remind myself and you all that we are not to score entries against one another, but rather against some other subjective standard.

But I will say that this judging thing is HARD. It's hard because I want to get it right. I know what it takes to write and rewrite the entry, to print it and proof it and package it and mail it and to hope hope hope your judge will be fair (and okay, maybe a smidge generous). And it's hard because this is not just another contest. This is the Golden Heart.

Wishing you all Happy Holidays and fabulous reading as we struggle to do the right thing.

THE CRITIQUE RELATIONSHIP

2007-12-02T19:09:00.000-08:00

BREAKING NEWS: Speaking of the critique relationship, my fabulous CP, COURTNEY MILAN JUST WON THE HISTORICAL CATEGORY IN THE GOLDEN PEN! Congrats, Courtney! You rock!

Somehow, I wound up as the chairperson of critique groups for my local RWA chapter. And that has inspired me to blog about critique partners and groups. I believe that finding a good critique partner or group is essential to your writing health.

Although I've been blessed with the best critique partners in the universe, I've traveled a crooked path to find them. And even my two best friends and CPs and I have had our ups and downs. But that's inevitable when you communicate daily and are charged with the task of telling each other what you don't like about each other's stories.

The important thing to remember (in my humble opinion) is that there is no such thing as the perfect critique partner or group. If you're waiting for that, you'll be on your own a long time.

Here's my take on what is and is not important in a critique relationship:

Not Important:

1. Proximity- Dude, ever hear of the internet? Face time is great and provides a neat social outlet with your CPs, but in terms of efficiency and turn around time nothing--and I mean nothing--beats the internet. It's not uncommon for me to email my scene out at 2am and get it back critted at 2:20 am. Okay, maybe we are all insomniacs, but it works for us.

2. Writing in the same sub-genre. While both of my two primary critique partners write romance, they both currently write historical romance whereas I am writing contemporary. I haven't found this to be a problem at all. And I don't think it is an issue on their side either. On the other hand, I do think it is important that we all READ a variety of subgenres and also read outside the genre of romance.

3. Publication Status. It is inevitable that in a group of writers, people will reach different milestones at different times. In our group we are delighted to report that one of us (yes, you already know it's Tessa Dare) has just moved ahead with a 3 book deal with a New York house. This is GOOD THING. And we all get the benefit of learning and observing from this process. Maybe in your group there will be some of you who have agents and some who don't, some who've published and some who haven't. Neither of those issues really determines whether or not you are good critique matches.

Important:

1. Compatibility in the areas of productivity, turnaround time, and personality. If one person writes five times the amount of pages as the others, and requires rapid fire turn around, while another likes to critique five pages a week, you're headed for trouble. In our group, we prioritize each other's work. We let each other know when they can expect feedback, and then we deliver. If we don't need something right away, we let each other know that too. In general, we turn pages around quickly, despite the fact that we all have busy schedules. This is because we are all serious about our writing and about our relationship as critique partners and friends.

2. Style. Your critique styles have to mesh. In our group, we tend to have a Paula, Randy, and Simon assemblage, although there have been notable exceptions to this pattern. But the bottom line is that everyone is honest, and everyone respects each other's work and opinion.

3. Level of detail desired in critiques. Some people are looking for more of a proofreader than a critique partner. If one of you only wants feedback on typos and grammar and the other loves to tear apart story structure and big motivational issues, you're not a good fit. Ideally, from my point of view, a good critique partner serves both of these functions.

4. Degree of input sought. I've heard it said when you get feedback, just say "thanks" and be done with it. Never argue the point or defend your work. If this is a style everyone is comfortable with, it will work smoothly. In our group, however, we tend to discuss feedback in depth and yes (on occasion) argue and defend our positions. But this (usually) works well for us, because it allows us to come up with new and deeper understandings of our characters and plots.

5. Seek additional feedback. When the same people read the same pages, revision after revision, they may develop blind spots. It's extremely helpful to have "virgin" readers look at your work on occasion.

6. Be true to your own vision. Don't be afraid to disregard the group consensus if it doesn't fit your voice or your vision for the story. This is your book. And it's your voice that needs to come through. Do be understanding and don't take offense if you offer your best advice and it is not followed. You're writing your book, not theirs.

7. Don’t forget to say thank you to your critique partners. What they're doing for you is generous and caring. Appreciate them.

THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU WHO HAVE HELPED ME ALONG THE WAY, AND MOST ESPECIALLY TO COURTNEY AND TESSA!

Your turn! Any pearls of wisdom on the critique relationship?

A Writer Goes to the Movies

2007-11-12T17:59:00.001-08:00

BREAKING NEWS: TWIST OF FATE TAKES FIRST IN THE GOLDEN GATEWAY SINGLE TITLE CATEGORY - Manuscript Requested -
WAHOO!

Wow! What a great weekend I had. Courtney Milan and I traveled to Los Angeles to celebrate our good friend Tessa Dare's first sale. We also got to see her win the Orange Rose! Please note, Ms. Dare's divine historical, GODDESS OF THE HUNT, also took first in the Golden Gateway Historical Category!

Moving on to my actual topic...My daughter also lives in LA and happens to be the program coordinator for film at the Skirball Museum, one of the sponsors of the AFI film festival. So she snagged passes to the festival's closing gala, the North American premier of LOVE IN THE TIME OF CHOLERA. Now I'm just a hick, and not used to Hollywood, so it was quite a thrill for me to sit in a small theater and have the director, Mike Newell, bring each of the stars up in front for an introduction: Javier Bardem, Giovanna Mezzogiorno, and Benjammin Bratt among others. Benjamin Bratt is unbelievably handsome in person, but I digress.

LOVE IN THE TIME OF CHOLERA is a story of undying love and devotion (siigh), and Ben Bratt is sitting right there in the theater watching as we do, so you can imagine how much I wanted to love this movie. I really really wanted to love it. But alas, although I found much to admire--the cinematography, the music, Benjamin Bratt without a shirt--I just couldn't love it. In times past, I would have walked away feeling let down without knowing why. But last night, I knew just exactly why the film didn't work for me.

Emotion. Motivation. Character development and growth. It just wasn't there. The film opens with a scene of a young man making eye contact with a young woman. Then poof...we are now told he is desperately in love with her, and later she accepts his proposal of marriage, but her father finds the match unsuitable and whisks her away.

In order for the rest of the story to work, we must BELIEVE in this first blush of love. But I couldn't. Because the director or screen writer or whoever is in charge of STORY didn't show me who these characters were, what motivated them to feel and behave as they did. In short, I didn't care about the characters because I didn't know anything about them, and I certainly didn't feel their love. Now I realize that movies are short, but they must engage the viewer's emotions, just as we as writers must engage the reader's emotions. This drove the point home to me that I must take the time to understand my characters and to reveal them in the pages I write or no one will care.

I'll mention DR ZHIVAGO as one movie that made me truly believe in undying love. The director shows us the heroic side of the main and secondary characters, their weakness, their hopes, the way they engage one another and the world and makes me CARE what happens to them.

Can you name a movie (a love story) that made you care? What was it about the story that made you feel the love?

It's official: I've lost my mind

2007-10-28T22:56:00.000-07:00

BREAKING NEWS: Tessa Dare's Goddess of the Hunt wins the coveted Orange Rose
Congratulations Tessa! And ummm...I told you so...

Well, did ya notice the new icon? Did ya? That's right. Last year, I was unable to participate in the insanity of NANO on account of I had revisions. Revisions are punishable by death on NANO. This year, it seems I've FINISHED MY REVISIONS. Hold the applause-oh what the heck, go ahead and applaud! So I'm plotting my new TOP SECRET MEDICAL THRILLER, and I thought: Wouldn't NANO be a great way to get the first 50,000 words written? Yep, of course it would. So I signed up. And I went to my profile page and under "Writing buddies" it says, "Zero." Huh? I have lots of writing buddies. Is anybody with me on this?

LET'S CELEBRATE WITH A CONTEST!

2007-10-07T19:16:00.001-07:00

AND THE WINNER IS...RENEE LYNN SCOTT!!!!! Congrats and email me your snail mail at iindiacarolina@gmail.com

YET MORE BREAKING NEWS: COURTNEY MILAN FINALS IN THE PRESTIGIOUS GOLDEN PEN!

OCT. 12th: BREAKING NEWS: BALLANTINE BOOKS AQUIRES TESSA DARE'S TRIOLOGY IN AN AMAZING AUCTION THAT LASTED 3 NAIL BITING DAYS! WORLD, MEET LUCY!

We've had so much good fortune around here, I thought it time to celebrate. Do you recognize this box of Lucy's Chocolates? This yummy treat was a previous contest giveaway. However, the contestant who won them, doesn't eat chocolate. I know! Shakes head.

So in honor of one of my all-time favorite heroines, I thought I'd give you folks another shot. I'm speaking of course of Lucy Waltham, the feisty heroine of Tessa Dare's fabulous Goddess of the Hunt.

What I love about Lucy: Her spunk. Her joie de vivre. Her determination. Her take-no-prisoners attitude toward life. In short--everything!

No fair picking a heroine in an unpublished book? Perhaps not. But you can meet Lucy by reading this excerpt from GOTH.

But how do you win the chocolates? Easy. Just tell me about one of your favorite heroines. Someone from your own manuscript would be lovely!

Winner chosen by random drawing and announced Oct. 15th. Good luck everyone!

Alternate prize for any poor soul who cannot eat chocolate: Ten dollar gift card to Borders.

Small Conference: Big Opportunity

2007-09-29T05:59:00.000-07:00

Checking in from Atlanta, Georgia and the Moonlight and Magnolias conference. Wow what a fabulous conference. Like Dallas, only more intimate.

As you may know, TWIST OF FATE made the MAGGIE finals. Darcy Burke's wonderful historical, GLORIOUS, is also a finalist. So that (and the finalist discount) enticed Darcy and me to Atlanta for the Georgia Romance Writer's Moonlight and Magnolias conference.

I just want to say a big thank you to the GRW for making us feel so welcome and for putting on such a great conference. Anyone who gets a chance to attend the M and M conference should do so. The workshops are of the same caliber as those at nationals. The smaller number of people attending, combined with the high quality of the programs, is a hard to beat combination.

Darcy and I have had the opportunity to meet and have extended conversations with many of our favorite authors. Madeline Hunter spoke with us at length about our manuscripts and offered up sage advice. And of course we got that fangirls pic (to be posted later).

For a dollar you can buy a raffle ticket and a chance to win a to-die-for critique from people like Erika Tsang, Brenda Novak, Kristin Nelson, Cindy Hwang, Rita Herron, Diana Love Snell, Mary Buckham and more.

Then there are the pitching opportunities. GRW has brought a number of top-drawer agents and editors together. The chance to pitch your book to them is worth the cost of the trip many times over.

I want to thank GRW once more, and say that I feel truly honored to have finaled in such a respected contest. Good luck tonight to Darcy and all my fellow finalists. Don't forget to check out Darcy's blog which should be up in about 48 hours.

IN THE GOOD NEWS DEPARTMENT

2007-08-13T21:46:00.001-07:00

CONGRATULATIONS LEIGH!

NEW: BREAKING NEWS 8/22/07
COURTNEY MILAN, TESSA DARE AND INDIA CAROLINA FINAL IN THE GOLDEN GATEWAY

BREAKING NEWS 8/13/07
CONGRATULATIONS to my wonderful friend and CP TESSA DARE! Her fabulous (trust me) novel GODDESS OF THE HUNT has just finaled in the prestigious ORANGE ROSE contest. Good luck my, friend! And...as you likely know, she has recently signed with a terrific agent. Yay!

But there's more good news-much more in fact! Everywhere I turn I read about one of you finaling in a contest, signing with an agent, finishing a manuscript, getting a request...popping out a baby--Leigh is he here yet? So much good news in fact, I thought why not have a good news blog? Please share your good news with us. We're thrilled for you! And don't be shy to share your friend's good news either. I'm not!

I'll start with my MAGGIE final for TWIST OF FATE. Keep your fingers crossed for DARCY and GLORIOUS and me. Darcy and I are going to partay in Atlanta. Let us know if you're going too.

Okay, now spill that good news!

Lets Talk: Dialogue

2007-07-24T21:38:00.000-07:00

From Lisa Gardner's GONE

"What happened? Where's my wife? I'd like to see Rainie."
Kincaid merely nodded. This was his party. Best to make that clear now and save them both a lot of pissing wars.
"Nice coat," he said at last.
"Sergeant--"
"Like the shoes too. Bit muddy though, don't you think?"
"Mud washes off. Where's my wife?"
"I'll tell you what. You answer my questions, then I'll answer yours. Sound like a plan?"
"Do I have a choice?"
"Actually, since this is my scene, no, you don't."
Quincy thinned his lips but didn't protest. Kincaid allowed himself one moment to puff out his chest. Score one for the state guy.
"Mr. Quincy, when was the last time you saw your wife?"
"Seven days ago."
"Been out of town?"
"No."
"Don't you two work together?"
"Not at the moment."
"Live together?"
A muscle ticked in Quincy's jaw. "Not at the moment."
Kincaid cocked his head to the side. "Care to elaborate?"
"Not at the moment."

I chose this example because it works so well. But also because it makes me believe I can write good dialogue too. There are no zingers. Nothing particularly brilliant. Just ordinary speech that even I might be able to think up.

So why is this ordinary exchange so powerful? What can a simple author like me learn from it and imitate?

Well for starters, we immediately feel the conflict between these two. How is this done? Seems pretty simple- they don't respond to each other's questions right away. One character asks a question or makes a statement, the other doesn't respond to the question asked, thus establishing the "pissing war".

What else? The dialogue sounds natural. The sentences are clipped to imitate everyday speech patterns. "Care to elaborate?" replaces "Would you care to elaborate?" And even the internal dialogue makes use of this technique. Best to make that clear rather than It was best to make that clear.

Lack of adverbs mugging up the tag lines, use of action tags: a muscle ticked in his jaw and no distracting tags like huffed etc.

Finally, despite the lack of zingers (Thank goodness, that takes the pressure off) she uses the simple but effective device of repetition to pull this exchange to a higher level: Not at the moment.

I think I can use these techniques to improve my dialogue passages. What about you? Care to share any good passages from your work or someone else's? Any techniques you've found helpful for transforming your dialogue? Does banter flow from your fingertips or do you work at it and then rework it?

Getting Lucky in Dallas or Lisa Jackson's Hot Tamales: Pitching and Other Tales From Conference

2007-07-16T12:58:00.000-07:00

BIGGER, SEXIER, A LOT MORE FUN.

Yeah, baby. Let me begin by saying that the pitch to request ratio at nationals is excellent. If you get an opportunity to go to nationals you should, for this reason if for no other.

And since I can't get from point A to point B without a digression (this is me, people), we'll come back to pitching. I promise. Meeting so many of you, Mavens, Vagabonds, Fanlit Foreverers, BonBons and others was truly my favorite part of conference.

Those of you who weren't there were sorely missed. But don't worry. I brought back a suitcase full of autographed books and coverflats to give away. So you will get a share of the loot.

Story number one: Just skip if you've already heard my Elosia story. Sooo, Courtney and I were sitting in my rental car reviewing directions to the tea Eloisa James invited her BBers to (mind you neither Courtney or I had actually met Eloisa prior to this), when Courtney spots the Fabulous EJ in the flesh, rolls down the window and yells "Elo..eees...aaaa!" Eloisa, runs up to the car (thinking she must know us) and we introduce ourselves and tell her we are on the way to her tea. Then she says, "Oh! Can I get a ride?"

After pinching ourselves, we nodded and she hopped in and immediately asked, "Who's pitching?" I know, it just keeps getting better.

She wanted to help me with my pitch and who was I to refuse? And you know how I have that pesky secret baby in my story, but my story is not at all category with it's nonlinear structure, subplots, 5 pov characters etc.-- so the Fabulous EJ suggests that I say right off the bat, "It's bigger and sexier," accompanied by lots of Italian-type hand gestures. Which eventually morphs into "Bigger, sexier and a lot more fun!" (plus hand gestures). Everyone I pitched to requested. Thanks, EJ!

Story number two: The Fabulous Julia Quinn. Okay, I can't actually tell you the whole story, but here's what I can tell you. I was fortunate enough to sit next to the Fabulous JQ at tea (Where she learned by the way that she had just hit NUMBER THREE on the NYT list). Wahoo!JQ! Then later, by a quirk of fate, I got to know her a bit better. After she won her RITA she even grabbed me and asked someone to take our picture (I know, I just about died!). So somewhere out there is a photo of Julia and me and RITA. I sure hope I get a copy. I'll post it if I do. Anything you've ever heard about how wonderful Julia Quinn and Eloisa James are, how supportive they are of aspiring authors, take that and multiply by infinity and you'll come close to the truth.

Story Number Three: Lisa Jackson's Lucky Hot Tamales. Lisa Jackson gave a lovely talk at lunch on Saturday. She spoke about how it takes a lot of hard work and a little luck to make it in writing. Then she said someone was going to get lucky, and gave away ten boxes of hot tamales (the candy). I had a star under my seat and won a box and apparently, the luck! Which brings me to pitching and story number four.

Story Number Four: Pitching, Luck, and Guts. So let me repeat that most of the people who pitched at nationals walked away with requests. So if you are having trouble getting read...go to conference!!! Both of my pitch appointments resulted in requests. But I talked to several people who had no appointments and managed to approach agents and editors and get requests anyway. Now those people have guts. And I really admire them. And I did have the lucky tamales. And there was one editor I wanted to pitch that I didn't have an appointment with. Now normally, I couldn't have done it. But, as I said, I had inspiring examples and lucky tamales. I was riding the elevator down, mentally rehearsing what I would say if I could somehow work up my nerve and approach this editor. I stepped off the elevator and no lie, there he was--no one else in the vicinity. My stomach pitched, and then I did. He requested. Bless him and Lisa Jackson's lucky tamales!

For all of you who screwed up your courage and made the most of conference, I'm soooo proud of you! May all our requests turn into more!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY COURTNEY!

2007-07-07T10:57:00.000-07:00

YOU'RE INVITED TO COURTNEY'S BIRTHDAY BASH! 7pm Wednesday, July 11

My good freind and most excellent CP, Courtney Milan, also known as CM, is having a birthday! Wednesday, July 11th. For those of you who will be in Dallas: Tessa Dare, Sara Lindsey, and Moi, India Carolina will host a get together for the wonderful Ms. Courtney Milan. Location: Tessa and India's room. Time: 7 pm on Wednesday. So please join us. You can just go to the hotel desk at the Hyatt and ask to call our room. We'll give you the number on the phone. Oh, be sure to use Tessa's real name for this step.

BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE! It seems Ms. Milan is a Harry Potter fan. After the get together in the room, we will head off to the Lowes Theater in City Market Place to catch the 9:45 pm showing of the new Harry Potter flick. If you'd like to join us, we recommend purchasing tickets on line, in advance since they will likely sell out early.

And hey, want to know what Courtney's going to be doing at the RWA Literacy Signing?
Check it out at http://www.courtneymilan.com/ramblings/2007/07/05/something-everyone-should-be-doing-at-rwa>/

June's Contest: Name the Nanna

2007-06-22T12:16:00.000-07:00

Alice Audrey wins the chocolate! Email me your snail mail at iindiacarolina@gmail.com don't forget the two i's.

In the interest of nudging my goal meter forward, this blog will be brief. Twist of Fate features two grandmothers. One, known only as Grams, the other is India. Yep. You see the problem.

I chose to name the grandmother India to honor my maternal grandmother. Then later, I decided to use that as my pen name. Sooo. Now I need a new name for Grandmother India in the book. Am completely stumped because she's been Grandmother India so long nothing else sounds right.

I put myself in your hands. Help! Whoever comes up with my favorite new name for Grandmother India wins a box of Lucy's Chocolates (includes collector's box top) from the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory.

Please enter your suggestion in the form of "Grandmother Whosherface" since Chrissie always addresses her this way. Winner announced Saturday, June 30th.

Beth Wins May Contest!

2007-05-28T22:29:00.000-07:00

Yay! Beth! Email me your snail mail at:

iindiacarolina@gmail.com

Don't forget the two i's!

You've won my goody bag books from the Romancing the Rockies conference and if you'll tell me what new release you're dying to read, I'll throw that in too. Congratulations!

From Draft to Craft

2007-05-25T14:55:00.000-07:00

The best advice I've ever heard for finishing a draft is this: turn off your internal editor. And many of you have joined the incredible romance vagabonds in VaNo to do just that. Sooo, now that you've completed your word count for the day (you have, right?), I'm going to ask you to do the unthinkable. Turn ON your internal editor.

What??? You just figured out how to turn it off and now you're supposed to turn it on? What if the switch is faulty and gets stuck in the on position? Just grab a crow bar and whack it off again.

What I'm talking about is taking our WIPs and changing them from drafts into well-crafted books. Books that editors will buy and readers will read. How? Truthfully, I don't know. That's why I'm reading as I revise/craft. The most useful tool I've found so far is from a fellow romance writer, Margie Lawson. There's a link to her website on my blogroll. She's put together two fabulous editing guides called Empowering Character Emotions and Deep Editing. I'm using them to rework my manuscript along with a number of other resources. These include:

Plotting and Writing Suspense Fiction

by Patricia Highsmith

Creating Character Emotions

by Ann Hood

Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook

by Donald Maass

Plot and Structure

by James Bell

And of course I'm reading my favorite authors.

So I've set a number of personal goals in units of work rather than pages, since I'm out of the drafting stage. A number of these goals are aimed at helping me germinate my next manuscript while crafting my current WIP. Here's what I want to accomplish by June 30th.

1. "polish" 10 chapters (each chapter =1 unit) 10 units
2. rework villain character development and replot kidnap 3 units
3. Major revisions to 4 chapters (each chapter=2 units) 8 units
4. Finish reading deep editing materials 1 unit
5. "deep edit" 23 chapters (each chapter =1/3 unit) 8 units
6. Print out hard copy manuscript and review for any errors 1 unit
7. Read 3 medical thrillers (next manuscript may be a medical thriller) 3 units
8. take Lisa Gardner's class on romantic suspense (no units)
9. Read my two "how to write suspense books" 2 units Total = 36 units

I've added my own "progress meter" to track my crafting.

We've touched on this topic before in the blog about scenes. Where are you in the craft versus draft process? How do you refine, revise, and craft? What resources can you share with us so that our team came crack the NYT list? Okay--so we can get a contract. We could start there I suppose.

Heroes: May's Contest

2007-05-21T22:53:00.000-07:00

My favorite hero is Atticus Finch. Why? Because he has Integrity with a capital I, and because I'm a sucker for good fathers. That's about as sexy as you can get in my book. Of course it helps that he was portrayed in the movie of To Kill a Mockingbird by the devastatingly handsome Gregory Peck. And that he peopled my favorite book. But anyhoo, he is my favorite hero.

While at the Romancing the Rockies conference, I received a "goodie bag" full of books. Now of course I've reserved one or two for myself. But the rest will comprise May's contest booty.

Tell me who your favorite fictional hero is and why. Winner (chosen by random drawing) will receive the remainder of my goodie bag books. Winner will be announced Tuesday, May 29th. Good luck everyone!

Bonus Points: Why I Love My Day Job:
Children Singing

This morning was a bit slower than usual, so I had the treat of spending extra time with my patients. My reward: Two little girls sang He's Got the Whole World in His Hands for me despite the fact that they both had strep throat. Croaky-- but adorable.

Tell me why you love your "day job" (whatever that may be) in addition to who your favorite hero is and I'll enter your name in the drawing twice.

Pitching in the Rockies

2007-05-13T08:07:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day!

Warning-lengthy post. This weekend I had the pleasure of attending the Romancing the Rockies conference in Denver. Wow! What a fabulous experience. CRW is not my RWA chapter (I'm in Arizona) but let me tell you, they made me feel like it was!

I had the lovely surprise of receiving an honorable mention for Twist of Fate and was awarded not only a certificate but a big hug from the presenter, whom I had only just met.

When I went downstairs Saturday morning to pitch my very first pitch ever in my life to- hey no pressure- Margaret Marbury, executive editor of Mira, I was flipping like a pancake. The CRW crew talked me down. I'll tell you all about my pitch experience as soon as I can. Right now gotta go catch a plane. Back later today with all the dirt on pitching.

I'm home. Let's continue this by starting with the pitch outcomes (you guys know I couldn't tell a story without jumping around if my life depended on it). Four pitches, three requests. That's right- I said four pitches. How did I get four pitches? By attending a small, well-run conference. Lesson number one: Small conferences rock when it comes to pitching opportunities.

Lesson number two: Practice with a friend. Practice with a friend. Practice with a friend. Leigh and I started rehearsing our hooks turned pitches on Thursday. Kept practicing Friday. Then I got up early and practiced solo on Saturday. This made a huge difference in the final product and no doubt the outcome. Working with Leigh was ideal because she's not only a friend but a CP. Since we've read each other's entire manuscripts we were able to help each other boil the heart of our stories down into a few precious sentences.

We also practiced answers to questions we thought we might be asked. To pitch or not to pitch that is the question. Whether 'tis better to have a cozy, chat or use a spiel. I chose a spiel and it worked well for me.

Oh, dear. While attempting to add the photo of my card for Beth, I deleted the bottom half of the post and cannot seem to recover it. Ah well, it was mainly about how nice the editors and agents are.

Here's the spiel again for those who wanted it:

Hi, my name is (real name)(extend hand). First let me say thank you for taking the time to meet with me. I really appreciate it. I wanted to mention that I'm an Avon FanLit finalist and that the book I'm pitching today recently placed second in both the Sheila and the Great Expectations contests. Twist of Fate is more than a secret baby reunion story. As the name suggests, it has a great twist.

After a thirteen-year separation, starry-eyed Dr. Gwen Andrews and cynical Dr.Christian Benson face off on Stranded, the latest, greatest, reality TV series. The lush island setting ignites the flames simmering between them, and their passionate past resurfaces, braiding old desires with new respect.

Bring on the secret baby, Chrissie, now a delightful teenager with her father’s crazy tiger-eyes. Christian snaps…and he’s not the only one. Nor is Gwen the only one with a secret. There’s an eco-terrorist on the island, bent on destroying Stranded. When he kidnaps Chrissie, Gwen and Christian must stand together. They must learn to fight for what matters. They must learn to forgive.

Don't forget to visit Leigh's blog for more pitching tips and notes on Kristin Nelson's advice on email queries. Just click Leigh's name on my blogroll.

Break every rule. Braid every Rainbow.

2007-05-05T22:03:00.000-07:00

I suppose it's no secret that I'm hooked on reality TV. Right now, American Idol is feeding my addiction. Which brings me to my point, sort of. Last week Blake Lewis, you know, the guy with the duckling hair-do and pants that don't fit, broke the rules.

After a heart-rending but poorly received rendition of When the Stars Go Blue the previous week, Blake had some ground to make up. Bon Jovi was the new "mentor". Here's what Bon Jovi had to say about Blake's decision to use his own arrangement of You Give Love a Bad Name. "This is a song a lot of people know, and they don't want it messed with. Are you sure you want to roll the dice like this?"

Blake replies, "Oh, yeah."

And right there, I could see that Blake had reached a turning point. He knew he might be going home and he decided to trust his own voice. He messed with the Bon Jovi song. He pantomimed, he beat boxed (is that what you call it?), he turned his voice into a computer, he sang his heart out, and he rocked the house. He made it into the final four. Go Blake!

What does this have to do with writing? Everything.

Make Every Scene Count

2007-04-27T15:44:00.000-07:00

Still revising. And this time reading about writing in the process. Plot and Structure by James Scott Bell is helpful. Regarding scenes, he suggests making sure they are "hip". Each scene should open with a hook, have moments of intensity, and end with a prompt to read on.

Then there's the old goal motivation conflict idea. Old to most, too new to me and some of my pals!

So going back, I'm analyzing every scene and asking myself if it meets that criteria. Is it hip? Where's the GMC? Mostly, those elements are there, buried maybe, but there. I'm finding that if I "pitch" the scene, letting the reader know with a line or two where to look for these elements, it strengthens some of the weaker scenes. Example: Tonight was the night she’d show Christian Benson he wasn’t the only star in her sky. Not a great line, necessarily, but gives direction to the scene.

How do you make every scene count?

Revision Purgatory

2007-04-24T22:33:00.000-07:00

Well, hell. It’s more like hell. Before I sent the first pages of Twist of Fate off to various contests, I put those pages through peer review and revised them many times.

Afterwards, I congratulated myself on having sent the best possible entry I could. I then set those pages aside (in ignorant bliss) and proceeded to revise the remainder of the manuscript.

Now, I’m supposed to be done. Maybe making minor edits--polishing, checking for typos and formatting issues etc. But guess what? When I went back to the beginning I found out those first pages simply are not as good as I thought. Yikes, more revisions!

Lesson learned: It’s important to let the manuscript sit, in order to gain objectivity.

What lessons have you learned from revising your WIP?

The Winner Is

2007-04-20T11:19:00.000-07:00

Chris Journal!

Future Chris Orleans, you've won a Barnes and Noble gift card. Click the email icon and send me your snail mail.

Thanks for playing everyone!

To Pseudonym or Not to Pseudonym? That is the Contest.

2007-04-17T21:13:00.000-07:00

Welcome to India's Inaugural Contest. Winner (chosen by random drawing) gets a $20 gift card to Barnes and Noble. Winner announced on Friday, April 20th.

For me, deciding to use a pseudonym is about boundaries. It allows me to maintain a certain amount of privacy while venturing into cyberspace, for example. I'm proud of what I write, but I'd like to keep some personal space. It's also because I've published in a nonfiction arena, and I'm not sure the two worlds mesh. Finally it gives me a chance to become someone entirely different and exotic. It's fun to be India Carolina.

I chose my pseudonym to honor my maternal grandmother. This was her name first.

To enter my contest, tell me why you would or wouldn't use a pseudonym. If you have one, tell me why you chose it.

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT CONTESTS?

2007-04-01T19:25:00.000-07:00

Can't live with 'em...or can we?

I've had some great experiences with writing contests. Take Avon's FanLit. I was fortunate enough to final twice, but came away with a much better prize than a Fox Development Deal. No lie. I won a community of talented and supportive writers who have helped me hone my craft. And because of Fanlit and other contests, I've got something actually related to romance writing to put in my query letters. That's the good news.

The bad news of course is that in any contest, you may have to endure snarky, sometimes devastating comments from well-meaning and not so well-meaning judges. On balance, however, I think the contests I've entered were well worth taking a few blows to my ego.

Ego. That's the main problem with contests. Contests wreak all kinds of havoc with your ego. You tell yourself you enter for the feedback. Stop lying to yourself!! That's like a guy saying he reads playboy for the articles. Even if it's true, no one buys it. While you may be fortunate enough to receive helpful feedback on your manuscript, there are many more reliable sources for criticism. Okay I'm expecting to take a lot of flack for the above statement, so let me have it.

You enter contests to WIN and to further your career. Or to final. Which in the case of most RWA sponsored contests translates to a win because your work winds up on an editor's or agent's desk. And this is a fabulous reason to enter. For most of us unpublished, unagented, aspiring authors RWA sponsored contests may be the only way to get our manuscript in front of an editor.

So I say enter, enter, enter. But remember your goal is to score an editor read, maybe get some useful comments. Never use a contest to validate your worth as a writer.

Never use a contest to validate your worth as a writer. I think that bears repeating.

I'd love to hear your opinion on writing contests.