The more books an author writes, the greater the struggle to find the right character name-ones they haven’t used before.

Like everything else, names are subject to taste. Take Homer, for example. Not your unusual choice for a hero. Why? Does it strike the ear as too close to “homely?” Or does it have that old-fashioned, slightly unappealing tone that we can’t really put our finger on, like Hortense, for a heroine? My mother-in-law never liked her middle name. Myrtle rhymes with turtle and inspired an easy tease.

While doing research for my First World War books, I read about the Big Bertha guns-designed by Germans to strike Paris from a considerable distance. Has Bertha always seemed to go with “big” or did the guns of WWI start that cliche?

Then there are symbolic names, which may work better than the basketball player who chose to change his name to Metta World Peace only to be revealed as somewhat of a bully.

But as a writer, I’m here to state that any name can be redeemed. Consider Bubba Watson, the 2010 Master’s champion. His looks don’t match your everyday Bubba.

Popularity for some names ebb and flow (which could also be Eb and Flo . . . see unfortunate choices below). George, for example, was far more popular around the beginning of the 20th century than toward the end-yet it’s coming around again, perhaps in part due to the popularity of George Clooney. Sometimes a classic name just fits the bill. The hero in the book I’m currently revising is named Henry, which was my father’s middle name. There was a time I couldn’t imagine naming one of my heroes something so outdated-and yet here I am, convinced it absolutely fits my hero and his metamorphosis from stodgy banker to a man who is willing to rush into a burning building to save the woman he loves.

Here are a few tips I’ve used for choosing the perfect character name:

Go through the alphabet for your cast of characters; don’t choose two that start with the same letter. Try varying the length and rhythms as well.

Readers like knowing how to pronounce names the way they’re meant to be pronounced, though I always tell people however they pronounce it is right. The characters live in the reader’s mind, and become theirs.

Remember any name can live up to an appealing character, so don’t limit yourself to the tried and true. Think Bubba Watson here. Perhaps even Bertha can be redeemed in the hands of a gifted writer.

Look online for the meaning behind the names and choose one that fits your character’s journey.

Look online for the right ethnic heritage, popularity by decade or era, or for nickname derivatives.

Be aware of unfortunate usage or interpretation, unless you’re in control of that meaning. I once worked in a Personnel Department and often came across unfortunate names: Eternal Pitts and Getta Wallet, to name a couple. Then there are ones I’ve seen online: Paige Turner or Stan Still. Ken Follet used this kind of thing to his advantage when he named one of his Fall of Giants characters William Williams, called Billy Twice.

Consider how the full name sounds aloud. Does the last syllable of the first name disappear into the first syllable of the last name? Example: Pete Tate sounds like Peteate.

Consider googling the name you choose, just to make sure it hasn’t been lurking in your subconscious but is really someone you may have heard of in the media.

Roses may still smell as sweet called by anything else, but we must admit the flower certainly lives up to the name we know. Our characters can grow into the names we give them if we draw them well.

Suggested Links:

Names by ethnicity: http://www.top100-babynames.net/ethnic-names.html

By decades/states: http://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/

By meaning: http://www.behindthename.com/

Nicknames: http://www.cslib.org/nickname.htm (classic/historical)
http://www.squidoo.com/cuteandfunnynicknames (contemporary)

Maureen Lang writes stories inspired by a love of history and romance. Always an avid reader, at the age of ten she figured out a way to write the stories she feels like reading. Maureen lives in the Chicago area with her husband, children and Labrador retriever. Her newest book: Bees In The Butterfly Garden, releases in June from Tyndale.

by Joseph Bentz
Originally posted June 25, 2010

Do you ever worry that other writers seem to get so much work done each day while you find yourself mired in delays and procrastination and frustration? At this year’s ACFW Conference, I am scheduled to give a session on “The Top Ten Strategies to Become a More Productive Writer.” Today I’d like to highlight just one of those strategies that I have found to be crucial in my own writing:

• Don’t Mistake Ideal Writing Conditions for Necessary Writing Conditions.

All of us have times, places and circumstances in which we do our best writing. I write best early in the morning, before I get check email or get on the Internet or have my thoughts scattered in a million directions by other distractions. What conditions do you need to do your best writing? Silence? Music? Your favorite teddy bear? A clean house? Coffee? Or how about the one I hear most often from my writer friends: “The only way I can do my writing is if I have Big Blocks of Time.”

Certainly it’s a good idea for writers to know the conditions in which they do their best writing and then do what they can to create those conditions. But life is not ideal, and if you choose to write only when conditions are right, you’ll never get much done. At best, you’ll end up with excuses for why you didn’t write rather than a finished pile of pages for you novel.

Let’s look more specifically at how this works. Take the “I Need Big Blocks of Time” condition for writing. Big blocks of time are ideal if you can get them. Having long stretches of uninterrupted time to write allows you to lose yourself in your work and creates a sense of momentum that is difficult to sustain if you have only fifteen minutes here or there to write. But very few people I know are able to manage Big Blocks of Time. They’re all too busy taking care of their families, working, and handling the daily crises and chores that make up so much of life. So what does that mean for their writing?

If those writers insist on that ideal condition, their thinking may go something like this: 1. I need big blocks of time in order to write. 2. I don’t have big blocks of time. Therefore, 3. I won’t write! I’m off the hook! I have a perfectly good excuse for not being productive, and no one can blame me.

No doubt the next step in this excuse-making process would be for these writers to claim that they still plan to write, but they’ll just “wait for things to calm down” so they can find those big blocks of time. Have you ever waited for things to calm down in your life? How long have you been waiting? Does it always seem like things will be calmer six months from now? But when that time arrives, are things really calmer?

One of the most important lessons that has sunk into me about writing over the last few years is that life will never calm down. I have learned-and I have finally embraced the fact—that any writing I manage to accomplish will happen in the midst of Chaos and Distractions and Interruptions. I strive to create good writing conditions, but even if conditions are bad, I am determined to write anyway. I prefer to write in the morning, but if I’m teaching at that time, then I’ll write in the afternoon. I prefer to have enough time to write four or five pages at a sitting, but if I have time to write only one page, I’ll take it. If there’s time only to write one paragraph, I’ll take it. Time for only one sentence, I’ll take it. Time to only scratch a few notes on a piece of paper, I’ll do that!

Joseph Bentz is the author of four novels and three non-fiction Christian living books. His most recent book is God in Pursuit: The Tipping Points from Doubt to Faith (Beacon Hill Press, 2010). Among his novels are A Son Comes Home (Randall House, 2007), contemporary novels published by Bethany House, and a fantasy novel, Song of Fire, published by Thomas Nelson. Bentz is a professor of English at Azusa Pacific University in Southern California, where he teaches courses in American literature and writing. More information about his books and speaking is available at his website, http://www.josephbentz.com.

The writer’s testimony that I have on my personal website comes from a time nearly 20 years ago when I was attending the conference in Glorieta NM as a writer (that’s the conference that is at the Ghost Ranch at Abique NM now). My mission was to learn what God was expecting of me in my writing and how to use my faith in my writing. A part of the process was going through an exercise intended to identify my spiritual gifts. They turned out to be music, writing, and the gift of encouragement. Some time later I felt called to use this gift of encouragement as an agent and my focus changed.

I work with clients as a means of using this gift and that’s difficult since there are so many submissions that come in and I can take such a small number of them. Still, I try to the best of my ability to respond to those that I can’t take in such a way as to encourage them and give them hope. Of the ones I do choose to work with it means I have a larger percentage of debut authors than most agents want to have, I know that, and it does impact on the financial return for my efforts. Still, it’s what I feel led to do whatever I need to do and wherever I need to go to make it happen. On Publisher’s Marketplace I’m generally up on the top of the list of agents placing debut authors, often number one, but that also means I don’t get to do as many big deals as many other agents. It is what it is, I have to go where I feel led to go.

I present at conferences around the country, generally twenty or so a year, for the same reason. I do it trying to use this gift of encouragement to help other writers use their words for the Lord. Am I seeing a return for my efforts? Am I being successful? I don’t know. How do you measure success in providing encouragement? How many people have to give you feedback that something you did encouraged or helped them? One is enough to keep me going.

Encouragement is important in writing, more than in many other endeavors because writing is by definition a very solitary task. Writers often don’t get this encouragement from friends and family who do not really understand. If they do get it they often find it is a sort of ‘blind faith’ from a mother, husband or wife who just think everything we do is wonderful. That is heart-warming, but not particularly useful from a writing perspective. What is useful is feedback from others in the business, people who understand the process, people who can encourage but who can also help us grow in our craft. That’s why we are in critique groups, writing groups and attend meetings and conferences.

And why I have chosen to do what I do.

Terry Burns is an agent with Hartline Literary as well as a writer of inspirational fiction. As a writer he has over 40 books in print including 10 novels. A popular speaker at workshops across the country, a bookstore of his available works as well as a regular blog can be found at www.terryburns.net. He’s also a member of the Association of Author’s Representatives (AAR).

Take a moment to honor your mother, whether here on earth or in heaven.

As you make progress on this journey of writing, it’s important you know your rights. What are you entitled to?

1. Have a contest judge evaluate your entry according to how hard you worked and how long you’ve been writing rather than on the product alone.

2. Present your work to agents and editors the way that makes the most sense to you and the uniqueness of your project.

3. Critique partners whose primary goal is to make you feel better, not make you a better writer.

4. Conference appointments with whatever editor or agent you target. They are there to serve you. Besides, you paid good money for registration. And it’s only fair that you extend your conference appointment however long it takes to get your point across.

5. Speak your mind no matter who it offends. You’re entitled.

6. Have your angst relieved-you’re worth it-by an instant response to queries and proposals. Editors and agents should respect your time.

7. Have publishers take a chance on your project. It’s your right as a word artist.

8. Have major contests, conferences, and marketing teams make an exception for you, no matter what the rules say or the budget allows.

9. Be invited to meet your fans at an author event in any bookstore you’re willing to grace with your presence and time.

10. None of the above.

In His Word, God tells us that every good thing that comes to us-sweet editor appointments, groundbreaking contracts, prime spots in national magazine promotions-is a gift from His Hand.

Every good thing-the privilege of entering a contest at all, the exceptional gift of an invitation from an agent or editor to send a proposal for consideration, the blessing of a critique partner who takes time from his or her own work to focus on yours and suggest changes to help YOU succeed, the honor of face-to-face time with an agent or editor who already has enough on his plate with his current client list, the blessing of a retailer who rearranges the store schedule, store layout, and staffing in order to promote an author’s book that will likely not have a significant impact on store income.

Gifts. Not entitlements.

The correct answer is the obvious one-10. None of the above.

Writers who view contest experiences as a gift, not an entitlement, are happier writers. Those who look at their scores and comments as gifts from judges who focused time and energy on the work and made suggestions for improvement are more content entrants, no matter where their scores landed.

Conference attendees who feel privileged to be there, not entitled to the experience, appreciate the behind-the-scenes efforts that made it possible, and approach glitches as minor interruptions rather than major irritations.

Writers who feel blessed to have editors and agents they call their own-not entitled to them-make better clients.

Authors who view a book signing as a gift rather than an entitlement create an atmosphere that blesses the staff no matter how many or few customers show up.

“So, my very dear friends, don’t get thrown off course. Every desirable and beneficial gift comes out of heaven. The gifts are rivers of light cascading down from the Father of Light,” James 1:17, MSG.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some thank you notes to write.

Cynthia Ruchti is blessed with new contracts for upcoming releases, including Cedar Creek Seasons novella collection (Barbour) which releases September 1, just prior to the ACFW conference, which she’s privileged to attend and serve. She’s honored to work with her agent, Wendy Lawton, of Books & Such Literary Agency, and currently has the benefit of working with Abingdon Press on both fiction and non-fiction projects, Barbour Publishing, and Summerside Press (His Grace is Sufficient…Decaf is Not devotional collection). Each speaking engagement is a gift from God’s Hand. She lives in a state of perpetual thanksgiving in the heart of Wisconsin.

Are you too nice to your characters? I was.

I used to ache for the characters in the stories I read as the authors forced them to endure one trial after another. When I began writing, I couldn’t do that to my beloved heroes and heroines. I made things easy on them-too easy.

I wised up when I had my first pitch session back in 2008. I’d double-finaled in the Romance Writers of America® Golden Heart® contest, which gave me first dibs on agent and editor appointments. I rejoiced when I got one with renowned editor Dave Long from Bethany House.

I sat at Dave’s table in the pitch room at RWA® Nationals, handed him my one sheet, and tried to not to tremble while he read the pitch. Less than two minutes had gone by when he looked up. I knew before he said a word that he didn’t like my story.

Dave’s fast pass created a dilemma. I didn’t have anything else to pitch, but I didn’t want to experience the humiliation of walking out of the room with five minutes of my session yet to go.

Some advice I’d heard from seasoned writers came back to me: “If they don’t like what you pitched, ask them what they’re looking for.” I did just that, and the advice I received that day has made a world of difference.

Dave told me Bethany House looks for stories with high stakes-and that life or death isn’t too much.

I made it through the rest of the session and left with my mind whirling. Did Dave mean that I needed to be mean to my characters?

Um, yeah!

I implemented his suggestion, opening my story with my heroine at the business end of a revolver. That beginning led to contest finals, subsequent wins, an offer of representation, and my first sale.

I was sold on the idea of putting my characters in peril. It wasn’t easy, but mild-manner me bumped somebody off in my debut novel.

When that story sold, I got to thinking. If killing one character made such a difference, doing away with more could be even better.

In the story I just sent my agent, I did away with more characters. Yup. Five of them bit the dust five different ways. And get this. I don’t even write romantic suspense. I write sweet historical romances. Well, make that sweet historicals with some spice.

I’m grateful to Dave Long for teaching me that syrupy sweet stories with hopelessly happy characters don’t sell. Conflict and tension do. That’s why my new motto is “No More Mrs. Nice Guy.”

Were you ever guilty of being too nice to your characters?

What are some of your favorite ways for ramping up the tension in your stories?

Award-winning novelist Keli Gwyn writes inspirational historical romance. She’s a member of ACFW and Romance Writers of America® and is represented by Rachelle Gardner. Keli’s debut novel, A Bride Opens Shop in El Dorado, California, will be released by Barbour Publishing in July 2012.

“But I don’t write “historicals,” I said stupidly to my agent. “I write romance.”

Uh, wrong. And, yes, I really was that green, a writer who didn’t consider the historical aspect of my story as important as the emotional tug-of-war between hero and heroine. I mean, come on now, everybody knows the most important thing is WHAT happens in the story, not WHEN it happens, right?

Wrong again-a lesson I learned the hard way, which is my usual mode of study, apparently. My eyes still glaze when I think about the 24 pages of feedback my critique partner gave me on my debut novel A Passion Most Pure. Simple little things-nit-picky to me, but deadly to the historical accuracy of my story.

• “Julie, the chocolate chip cookies Mrs. Gerson serves in chapter seven sound good, but this is 1916, and chocolate chips weren’t invented until 1939.”

• “Julie, the word “sync” in the sentence, “A twig with a heart-shaped leaf plummeted to the ground, in sync with her mood” is too modern for 1916.”

• “Julie, sorry, but the O’Connors drinking orange juice in the winter is not realistic given fresh fruit was not readily available.”

And WORST of all? A HUGE blunder that sailed past me, my CPs, and my editor, caught, ironically, by my editor’s husband who happened to be-what are the odds?-an Irish historian! He innocently pointed out the O’Connors traveling via ship to Ireland during WWI was not feasible since passenger ships were commandeered for war and German U-boats made it too dangerous to travel. Sigh.

So, how does somebody who despises research make sure the setting, speech, hairstyles, clothing, mannerisms, appliances, music, movies, etc. are authentic to the era?

Very carefully! I bookmark “favorite” research links or paste them in a “Notes” document I create for each book. Here are some of my favorites:

1.) LIBRARIAN JUDY GANN’S SEEKERVILLE POST: Shhh … Library Secrets You Really Need to Know.
2.) PATTY SMITH HALL’S SEEKERVILLE POST: Mining Through History to Find a Gem of a Story …
3.) SEEKERVILLE: A blog of 15 ACFW authors who share experience and advice on writing/contests/the journey to publication and beyond. This is a specific link to hook you up with 15 GREAT articles on research.
4.) HISTORICAL TIMELINE: Fun website!!
5.) ONLINE ETYMOLOGY DICTIONARY: THIS is one of the sites I use more than other! As a historical writer, I have to ensure the words and slang my characters use typify or qualify the era for which I’m writing.
6.) CHARLOTTE DILLON’S “RESEARCH FOR WRITERS“

So when my CP nailed me again recently, I sighed. “Julie, when Katie is typing, she can’t “push the return key with a focused glint in her eye” because it wouldn’t be a key, it would be a lever, right?”

“Key,” “lever”-who really cares? Well, when you’re talking historicals, the reader does, apparently … and now, so do I!

ACFW’s 2009 Debut Author of the Year, Julie Lessman was voted #1 Romance Author in Family Fiction magazine’s 2011 and 2012 Readers Choice Awards, plus #1 Historical Fiction Author, #3 Author, #4 Novel, #3 Series, as well as Booklist’s 2010 Top 10 Inspirational Fiction and 14 RWA awards.

Thank you, JoAnn, for helping make ACFW a better organization.

Margaret Daley
ACFW President

I live and play in rural Wisconsin where ticks are a nuisance. After reading this book, I will take the “tick check” a whole lot more seriously.

Brandilyn Collins gets up close and personal with Over the Edge. She’s suffered from two bouts of debilitating Lyme Disease and knows what she’s talking about. In fact, she took her crusade across the country, urging readers to understand how the medical profession plays with lives by refusing to accept Lyme and its vicious secondary infections as a chronic condition needing extensive antibiotic treatment.

Although Over the Edge is fiction, it’s based on real symptoms and reactions to treatment, or the lack of treatment, of Lyme Disease. Revenge is the goal of a grief-stricken spouse who watched his wife die a slow, merciless, and unnecessary death, when doctors misdiagnosed and then refused to treat the disease appropriately. He attacks and infects Jessica McNeil, the wife of the leading medical researcher of Lyme disease, to force the doctor to change his mind about treatment. Dr. Brock McNeil defends his point that those demanding extensive treatment are mentally ill and making up symptoms after a six-week course of antibiotics. Dr. McNeil has many delusions in life and is on the verge of leaving his wife and daughter for another woman. When Jessica becomes critically ill with misdiagnosed Lyme, he uses her childhood history against her and files for custody of their daughter. Thus the battle is enjoined on two fronts.

Tension escalates and the reader is sucked into a vortex of disbelief, regret, rage, and helplessness along with Jessica as she struggles for her life. I know more than one person who’s dealt with Lyme, including a family member. I never realized the terrible dichotomy of thought about this disease in the medical field. I might not have bought and read this book if I hadn’t enjoyed meeting Brandilyn and hearing her speak. That night, a family whose child was undergoing treatment for chronic Lyme was in the audience. Brandilyn took the time to minister to this family, and that devotion touched me deeply.

Okay, excuse me-time for another tick check.

Lisa Lickel is a Wisconsin writer who lives with her husband in a 160-year-old house built by a Great Lakes ship captain. Surrounded by books and dragons, she writes inspiring fiction. Her novels include mystery and romance, all with a twist of grace. She has penned dozens of feature newspaper stories, short stories, magazine articles, and radio theater. She is the editor-in-chief of Creative Wisconsin Magazine and of Other Sheep, a Christian sci fi/fantasy magazine. She loves to encourage new authors. Find her at LisaLickel.com

We live in an industry with instant access to data. Numbers sorted in endless graphs, grids and pivot tables to tell if a novel, an author, a genre or the entire Christian Fiction category is rising or falling.

And the numbers change constantly. The cycle starts to feel like a dog chasing his tail.

Don’t get me wrong, numbers are necessary. They measure where we’ve been…as well as the wisdom of a deal. They serve a purpose.

But numbers can numb you if we look to them to determine what to write next – or to determine the value of your calling as a writer.

Because while numbers measure the past…they are woefully inadequate about shedding light on what tomorrow’s surprise bestseller – or next year’s hot genre – will be. Does the God who created everything really call writers to churn out Christian versions of the latest general market bestsellers?

More important, numbers are not an indicator of God’s calling on your life.

I believe God calls people to be writers – and then breathes life into their stories. If you’ve been called to write Christian Fiction, then write the stories that He gives you. Don’t chase the hot trend of the moment…and don’t obsess over your Amazon ranking or units sold. Really. Don’t.

Keep your eyes on Him…and treat your story as an offering to God. If it sells well, that’s a bonus. If it never sees the light of day, perhaps God simply wanted to share that time with you to draw you closer to Him. Write as long as He gives you new stories. For some authors – that may be a single novel. For others, it may be thirty novels. Don’t write because you need the next advance. Write because He is giving you more stories.

Anchor your identity in God. Remember He gave you the gift of story. Your identity is in Him. Not the most recent bestseller list.

Pursue holiness and wholeness by spending more time with Him and His Word than in a fictionalized world. Really.

This may sound odd coming from a former Christian Fiction Publisher. But as I near the end of my 20+ years in the industry (and head to the mountains of Colorado for ministry), I’m more convinced than ever that the eternal value of a story only happens when God calls a writer and the writer responds by hungering after God more than hungering for success.

Do that and you’ll savor your calling in a way that mere numbers and rankings can never measure.

Allen Arnold loves great stories, passionate conversations and authentic living. As Senior Vice-President and Fiction Publisher at Thomas Nelson, he spends his days acquiring, reading and publishing world class adult and young adult fiction written from a Christian worldview.

Allen’s favorite way to spend the day is with his family – preferably with a C.S. Lewis book or Superman comic close at hand.

As you begin preparing for this year’s ACFW conference, I’d like to suggest you keep ten words in mind…

1. READ. Don’t just show up and wonder who the speakers are. Read the blog of keynoter Michael Hyatt. Read the books of teachers such as Davis Bunn and Susan May Warren. That way, when you get to hear them, you’ll already have a context for their information.

2. RESEARCH. If you’ve signed up to meet with an agent or editor, check out their bio, see what they’ve acquired, and get a feel for the sort of books they like. By doing that, you’ll be much more apt to talk with someone who is a fit for you and your work.

3. ORGANIZE. Before you show up at the conference, look at the schedule and figure out what sessions you’ll be going to, which ones you’ll miss (so that you can share notes later), and when you can take a break to see friends.

4. PRACTICE. When you sit down across from me in order to tell me about your book, it shouldn’t be an off-the-cuff conversation. Practice what you want to say, how you want to describe your work, and what your hook is so that you’ll grab me.

5. GOALS. Ask yourself what your goals are for this year’s conference. Don’t just go with bland hopes. Plan to attend with some specific, measurable goals in mind. Write them down beforehand, so that you can evaluate yourself and your experience after you’re back home.

6. PROJECT. Come to the conference with a book you’re writing firmly in your mind. That way, when you’re listening to a speaker, you can apply the information to the project you’re writing. Even if you later decide to write something else, the fact that you’ve put the techniques into practice will help you improve.

7. NOTE. Don’t just sit there in workshops and nod at the things you agree with. Take notes. Write down action items. Keep track of the ideas you like, along with thoughts for using them on your next project. If you make a note, you are six times more likely to follow up with the information you’ve heard.

8. NETWORK. Every experienced conferee will tell you that the opportunity to connect with other writers is one of the best aspects of the conference. So don’t sit in your room by yourself — join in! Eat with others. Introduce yourself. Smile a lot. Chat up people in line. Tell people about your writing, then listen to what they are working on. Talk with others at the bar or in the lobby. Publishing is a small industry, and this conference happens to be jammed with people who work in it.

9. LEARN. To learn is to change, so expect the conference to change you. Walk into every session expecting to learn something new. You don’t know everything, so go expecting to gain new knowledge and skills. With that attitude, you won’t walk out the hotel doors the same writer who walked in.

10. SEND. You’re going to buy a bunch of books. (You may not think so, but you will.) So don’t punish yourself by dragging home a couple 50-lb suitcases and a 45-lb carry-on. Instead, purchase your books, stick them into a USPS flat rate box, and ship them home. Easier on your back. Easier when packing. And they’ll be a fresh motivator a few days after you’re home from the conference and caught up on your sleep. (“Oh, look! A bunch of books written by my new friends! I loved hearing this author talk at the ACFW conference…”)

Chip MacGregor is the president of MacGregor Literary, Inc., a full-service literary agency that works in both CBA as well as the general market. Chip has been working in the publishing industry for three decades, and made his living as a freelance writer and editor for several years. Formerly a publisher with Time-Warner, he began working as an agent fifteen years ago, and has represented hundreds of titles, including numerous award winners and bestsellers, and one that hit #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. Six years ago he began his own literary agency, and over the past few years he has been one of the busiest literary agents in the United States. His popular blog, www.chipmacgregor.com, has been named one of the best websites for writers by Writers Digest. A well-known speaker at writing conferences, he lives on the Oregon coast.

What’s the matter with the following passage?

‘As Daniel strode from his office building towards his car he glanced upward at the cumulus clouds flowing languorously across the sky. Sunshine poured over him like a benediction. What a lovely afternoon!

When he reached his car, he sat within for a few moments, thankful for spring and thankful that he’d just patched things up with Laura. He understood exactly how he’d hurt her. Now that he’d apologized, he could enjoy the rest of his day with a clear conscience.’

Anyone out there attempting to write a romantic plotline? While a likable heroine is critically important, I believe that the hero (and thus the hero’s point of view) is the true lynchpin of any love story.

Personally, I read and adore romance novels because of him. Because of the guy who steals my heart, fills me with tenderness, and makes my pulse pound. Every time I pick up a book, I hope for a hero who will sweep me off my feet. But I’ve found that this magic can only happen if the hero sounds, acts, and thinks like a real man.

Therein lies the challenge. How can a female author write a ‘real’ man instead of a man who sounds/acts/thinks like a woman?

I’m going to address some of the pitfalls I attempt to avoid whenever I’m inside my hero’s point of view. I’ll use the passage above as an example of what not to do.

Problem #1 with passage: The big words. ‘Benediction’ and ‘languorously’ are words most men would never think while walking from their office to their cars (unless they’re scholars, linguists, or authors).

Problem #2: ‘What a lovely afternoon!’ and ‘thankful for spring’ and ‘enjoy the rest of his day’ are gushy and upbeat in a very feminine way. My heroes drive trucks. They’re masculine and blunt. They wouldn’t think in flowery phrases.

Problem #3: Daniel notices girly details. Men are not as observant as women. (Consider the difficulty the men in your life encounter whenever they’re searching for something!) Unless he’s a meteorologist or pilot, a man who notes ‘cumulus clouds’ won’t ring true.

Problem #4: The hero is overly in touch with Laura’s feelings. ‘He understood exactly how he’d hurt her’ is a sentiment that has perhaps never entered the head of a tough guy since the dawn of time. Men tend to be perplexed, confused, surprised, and just plain stupefied by the emotions of women.

I’m hoping some of ACFW’s male members are reading this. Do you gentlemen have any advice for female authors trying hard to write authentic heroes? I’d love to hear your insight!

Becky Wade makes her home in Dallas, Texas with her husband, three children, and one adoring (and adored) cavalier spaniel. Her first inspirational contemporary romance, My Stubborn Heart, has just been released by Bethany House.

I’m a sucker for happy endings. I admit it and make no apologies for it.

I’ve heard complaints about romance novels being predictable-they end the same way with the hero and heroine concluding with the realization they’re in love and want to spend the rest of their lives together. Isn’t that the point of a romance? So, yes, the ending may be predictable, but getting to that happily ever after moment is the tricky part.

What kind of story would it be if boy meets girl, likes girl, asks girl out, she accepts, they date, get along, and finally, boy and girl get married. Yawn. Yeah, total bore.

Part of the heart-satisfying ending is the journey through the pages. Boy meets girl and maybe they don’t hit it off. Or maybe they do. They have reasons that draw them together, but they also have reasons for staying apart. Something about the other person fills a gap in their heart or in their lives, but they need to overcome external and internal obstacles. Herein lies the core of the story. Without goals and the motivating factors behind them, there is no conflict. No conflict, no plot. No plot, no story.

Like with other genres, every scene in a romance novel needs a character goal, motivation for that goal, and obstacles to keep the character from achieving the goal. But in a romance, the author needs to include other essential scenes-date scenes, sizzle scenes, and the grand gesture scenes.

Date scenes are those situations that draw the characters together on the page so they will fall in love.

Sizzle scenes show the romantic tension and physical spark between the characters. Maybe they share their first kiss. In CBA, sizzle is more focused on the emotional impact than the physical aspect of the attraction. Allow the reader to feel the emotional attraction between the characters.

As the characters near their black moments, the reasons why they shouldn’t be together flare up. These “why not” reasons keep them apart and make them think they’re not good together.

The characters have overcome obstacles and now, they’ve come to their breaking point. This is where the $20,000 question comes in-is it worth it? Their hearts have been shredded like yesterday’s documents. They’ve hit the black moment in their relationship. Do they cut their losses and walk away, or is their love worth making necessary sacrifices so they can be together? Now they need to make the grand gesture to prove true love does exist for them. And once they succeed, they can celebrate their love and end the story with their happily ever after moment.

Create three-dimensional characters that make me want to read more, wrestle with my emotions, keep me turning pages with heart-pounding conflicts as the characters stumble and fail at obtaining their goals, but most of all, give me a happily ever after ending because in the end, it is worth it.

Married 23 years to her own real-life hero, Lisa Jordan knows a thing or two about romance. She and her husband have two college-aged sons. Her second novel, Lakeside Family, will be released in August 2012 by Love Inspired. In her free time, she loves good books, romantic comedies and feeding her NCIS addiction.

I’m doing an interesting and very educational thing with a book. The third book in the Kincaid Bride series which releases this August. Over the Edge, the crazy brother’s story. At my editor’s suggestion I’m taking out a character.

Not taking out a character like I’m a a HITMAN or something, that would be rude. No, my editor asked a very smart question, “Do we need this character?”

He didn’t say “Get rid of her.” He said “do we need her?”

So, I gave it a lot of thought. This is a secondary character and I know what motivated me to create her, but I mentally examined the book, thinking of scenes this character was in and I asked myself, what is it she does in this scene that will be hard to have someone else do?

I couldn’t think of a thing. Oh, she does stuff that someone else will have to do, but they can do it, easily.

So, because I was afraid to make such a drastic change in some way that was irreversible…what if I’d forgotten a scene and her existence proved crucial? I saved as a new document the book with a new name “Over the Edge without sister.”

And I started deleting. I’m about a third of the way through the book with this single goal (though I’m remembering the other requests from my editor but those aren’t my main focus now), get rid of the little sister. You know what? I haven’t missed her yet.

In fact, it’s been so SIMPLE to get rid of the sister that I’ve had a real AH HA moment and that’s what I want to share today.

How to decide if characters are necessary.

Have you ever been writing along and realized that you don’t remember where some of your characters went? Maybe they are in the room but they haven’t spoken or moved or in any way been pivotal to the scene for so long that you forgot all about them? I do this a lot.

I’ll admit here that it’s mainly with small children and babies. Babies are especially hard to manage because they have to be SOMEWHERE. They can’t just nap in another room all the time. They can nap a LOT but not all the time. So someone has to hold them and I have to remember who’s holding them. Babies are difficult.

Toddlers, my thing with toddlers is I’m always worrying about them staggering (toddling) into a hot fireplace. You’ve got to be careful about stuff like that.So toddlers are a little more interesting than babies but they’re also active. They move. You’ve got to keep track of them.

Let’s get away from little children. Do you have a (okay, this is cowboy talk but it applies) band of outlaws? How many? Who are they? Do I need a band or will one villain do for the whole book?

Do I have hired hands in the bunkhouse? Okay, we need some cowpokes in this book, but do they need an identity? Can one foreman speak for all the parts of the cowhands? So the bunk house can be full but there are no recognized, developed characters.

And there’s another thought. Developing characters. I knew how this sister felt. I knew what was going on with her. I knew her backstory. But how well developed was she really?

I remember reading a book for an aspiring author and at the end of it I said. ‘You’ve got three bad guys. But the way they come and go, you can combine them and only use one.”

“But,” my poor defenseless aspiring writer said, “It’s an older woman, a young woman and a middle aged man. I can’t combine them.”

Yes, they’re very different from each other but they all serve the same purpose and you’re cluttering up your book with a bunch of characters who enter a scene, need to be developed, then vanish only to go to the NEXT bad guy when it’s time for more trouble. I can’t keep up with your bad guys.”

Are there characters in your own work you can combine? Could you have one guy take over what three guys are doing?

You may have to change their voice–their dialogue. (You’d BETTER have to change their voice because each character should have his own) but you won’t have to change the ACTION hardly at all, just change who’s doing that evil thing.

I feared I’d need this sister for some scene so I’m glad I saved the original. But in the end, the only real work of cutting her is now I have to have punk brother who formerly said “us” and “We” and now he needs to say “Me” and “I” and that’s a lot of work. But it’s not changing the story at all.

You can pare away characters and simplify your book somethin’ fierce. (that sounds like cowboy talk, too!)

Of course you can’t get rid of your hero and heroine. But what about the rest of your characters? Are they just confusing. Do they clutter up a scene? Could you give your readers a break by tossing out a few of them?

Go pick a section of your manuscript and throw out a character and see if you even miss her.

What do you think? Do you have characters in your book that need to go?

Mary Connealy writes romantic comedy with cowboys. She is the author of the successful Lassoed in Texas, Montana Marriages, and Sophie’s Daughters series. Calico Canyon was nominated for a Christy Award, Doctor in Petticoats was a finalist for a Rita Award. Mary is also a two time Carol Award winner.

Coalmine country in early 20th century rural America is no place for a single woman. Certainly not for Lilly Corbett, even if she is the new doctor interning at Skip Rock coal camp. When Dr. Jones, Skip Rock’s old doc, passes away, Lilly is the only physician in the area. What does she have to do in order to be accepted? An accident that requires her surgical skills helps break the ice.

Dr. Jones’s death isn’t Lilly’s only problem. She was raised in a near-by community, but while years in Boston with her wealthy aunt and medical school might have changed her outside, inside she’s still a daughter of the mountain country. Fears, memories long-forgotten, and nightmares reappear as she settles in and begins to feel at home. Not even a visit from her fiancé entices her to leave her internship early.

A certain miner has caught the attention of not only Lilly but the suspicious mining crew. They’ve had it with dangerous working conditions and little pay. Drifter Joe Repp has gained the foreman’s trust. Is he a government man or a company man? Neither is welcome. In a community where the school stands empty rather than let a married woman teach, old ways don’t step over into the 20th century. Faith, suspicion, tracking every man’s marker, and leaving no one behind, ever-are the ways of miners and their families.

One secret’s revelation makes one new resident of Skip Rock welcome; the other secret may tear the community apart.

Jan Watson’s sixth novel is a beautifully detailed addition to the Troublesome Creek saga. Told in perfect period description, colorful colloquialism, costuming, and setting will have you saying “Forevermore! in exasperation and looking for Timmy, the Skip Rock scamp, long after the story is finished”. For those who love historical America, the Kentucky coal-mining country, and faith-based romance from the heart, Skip Rock Shallows will satisfy every desire.