Miranda Liasson

I've moved to www.mirandaliasson.com. See you there!

2014-08-03T21:42:00.001-04:00

Thank you, dear Blogger blog, you have served me well for the past three years as I have pursued publication, but now it is time to part ways.

My debut novel, a fun and sexy small town romance with a lot of heart, will be published by Entangled Publishing in 2015, and in preparation, I've moved to a brand new home, mirandaliasson.com.

I hope you all will join me there for my latest news and for the countdown to my novel release.

The archives from my blog have all been transferred to the new site.

Thanks for following me and cheering me on…see ya at the new place!

Miranda

Cover Reveal for Author Amy Patrick's CHANNEL 20 SOMETHING Out August 12!

2014-06-27T08:13:00.000-04:00

Today I'd like to introduce you to author Amy Patrick (aka Amy DeLuca), my 2013 Golden Heart Sister who is also a 2014 Golden Heart finalist, both years in the YA category.

Amy is so talented she also writes NA. CHANNEL 20 SOMETHING is her first NA novel. It takes place in the world of television broadcasting, which Amy knows well.

Here's a sneak peek at her gorgeous cover. Following the cover is a little bit about Amy. Be sure to mark August 12 on your calendars because you don't want to miss this one!

(Truthfully, she had me at "MISSING HEMSWORTH BROTHER"!!!)

WAY TO GO, AMY!!! WISHING YOU ALL KINDS OF SUCCESS ON YOUR DEBUT!!!

22-year-old Heidi Haynes is almost one year into her “real life”. She has her first reporting job, her first apartment, and a comfortable relationship with her college sweetheart. But for some reason she’s not as eager to talk about walking down the aisle as he is.

Heidi secretly longs for big cities, big-market breaking news, and real independence from her way-too-close-by helicopter parents. Problem is, the last time she left the security of home for new places and new people, things didn’t go so well. Disastrously, in fact, and she came running back to a local college and a “safe” boyfriend.

Aric Serrano is definitely not safe.

He’s six-feet-four-inches of missing-Hemsworth-brother-hotness and plans to stay in small-market-Southern-Hell just long enough to grab a cup of coffee and put together a kick-ass “escape tape”. He’ll serve his one-year contract, then he’s taking off for a higher rung on the TV sports ladder—alone—the way he likes it. Then he meets his new co-anchor.

Heidi would be so much more comfortable if she could simply ignore Aric—he’s just her type—the type she’s so careful to avoid these days. But that becomes impossible when she's forced to work closely with him on the weekend news. Now the attraction between them is growing even faster than the ratings, and what happens behind the scenes is the real news.

Amy Patrick grew up in Mississippi (with a few years in Texas thrown in for flavor) and has lived in six states, including Rhode Island, where she now lives with her husband and two sons. She’s been a professional singer, a DJ, a voiceover artist, and always a storyteller, whether it was directing her younger siblings during hours of “pretend” or inventing characters and dialogue while hot-rollering her hair before middle school every day. For many years she was a writer of true crime, medical anomalies, and mayhem, working as a news anchor and health reporter for six different television stations. Then she retired to make up her own stories.

Hers have a lot more kissing.

www.amypatrickbooks.com

https://www.facebook.com/AmyPatrickAuthor

https://twitter.com/AmyPatrickBooks

Writing Process Blog Tour

2014-06-16T08:39:00.003-04:00

I've been tagged for the Writing Process Blog Tour that's been going around the internet, where writers talk about what they write, how they write, etc. Last week, my friend and last year's Golden Heart winner for Paranormal Romance, AE Jones, posted her blog here.

So here's a little bit about me…

What am I currently working on?

I'm working on first-round edits for the first of three books I sold to Entangled Indulgence, about a woman who wins her venture capitalist ex-lover in a charity bachelor auction and drags him (quite unwillingly) back home to their small town in order to thwart his hostile takeover of her family’s shoe company. Mayhem ensues--but it might just turn into a joint venture of the heart. There’s a family feud, two crotchety grandparents, and some small town craziness before these two people who can’t keep their hands off each other finally get together. No release date yet, but stay tuned!

I just finished rewriting my Golden Heart winning manuscript from last year, and I’m working on the second book in my Indulgence series.

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

I love books with deep emotion and a lot of smart humor and sass. I work really hard to get those qualities into my work. We’ll see how well I succeeded!

Why do I write what I write?

I didn’t start out writing Contemporary Romance. I actually have the drafts of four Regency novels in boxes in my closet. I wrote my first contemporary as a break from the research-heavy historicals and somehow my contemporary voice clicked. Or, I finally figured out how to plot well enough that the middle of my novel didn’t sag and droop. I think it’s one thing to capture an agent’s attention with a dynamite beginning but a whole other process to sustain that can’t-wait-to-turn-the-page feeling throughout an entire book.

How does my individual writing process work?

I treat it like a job, the same routine every day. So much so that when my dog sees me pick up the coffee mug every morning, she (politely) demands a rawhide chew and accompanies me up to my office. (Her version of working along with me!) I pretty much abandon every household chore that I can until mid-afternoon.

Of course, family and other demands can suck time away so I have a daily word count goal and I do my best to accomplish that. I watch very little T.V. but when I take breaks I love to read. As with any career, life balance is important so I try to exercise and tend to body, mind, and spirit. It’s hard to get away from your job when you work at home. Leaving the work behind is hard for me!

I used to pants my way through a story but I now force myself to first do a blurb, then a synopsis and three chapters. The synopsis is so painful, but it forces me to look ahead to all the major turning points and do my best to plan the black moment to be the blackest of the black for both hero and heroine. I've found this to save a lot of heartache and time when the plot meanders into dangerous territory that you need to dig it out from. That's not to say the characters change things up as they will (they're all so determined and stubborn!), but the general structure gives me goals to aim for.

My advice to those trying to be published the traditional way is to learn enough craft to get noticed. My agent, Jill Marsal, worked with me to take my draft to a whole new level, and now my editor is doing the same. So put yourself in a position to always work with people--starting with your critique partners--who push you to become better.

So thanks for stopping by. Does anyone have any other advice for writers pursuing publication, traditional or otherwise?

Now I’m tagging new author Christine Glover, whose first novel for Entangled Indulgence debuts on June 30^th. I met Christine when she happened to sit at my table last year at the RWA Awards ceremony. Check her out on the Writing Process Blog Tour on her website next Monday, June 23!

Born in the Netherlands, Christine moved to Canada where she spent her formative years. Then she married her Texan Alpha Physicist, moved to the United States and she has lived both south and north of the Mason Dixon line. Now Christine resides in Alabama with her husband, two insane cats and her wonderful daughter. She enjoys finding the silly in the serious, making wine out of sour grapes, and giving people giggle fits along with heartfelt hugs. When she’s not writing, you can find her traveling the world, cooking gourmet food, and desperately seeking a corkscrew.

Email: christinegloverauthor@gmail.com

Blog: www.christinegloverauthor.com

Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/pages/Christine-Glover/158387587541698

Twitter: https://twitter.com/cjglover63

Tumblr: http://christinejhglover.tumblr.com

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/cjglover63/

website: www.christinegloversite.com

Join my newsletter here http://eepurl.com/L8Yh5

And take a look at Christine's gorgeous cover and blurb for The Maverick's Red Hot Reunion (isn't it red hot!):

Can he satisfy his craving without losing his heart?

Corporate Maverick Zach Tanner returns to North Carolina to rebuild his dying friend's resort. He's got the money, the power, and the will to transform Sweetbriar Springs into a premier spa for the glamorous, but he doesn't count on the woman he once loved…and lost…to handle the construction contract. Zach thought he'd buried his desire for Kennedy five years ago. He was wrong, and now he’s determined to satisfy his craving...

Construction company owner Kennedy Gibson is eager to restore Sweetbriar Springs, but when she realizes Zach is her new boss she's terrified he'll learn the truth about their breakup so long ago. She vowed never to hurt him again, but she can't deny the passion he reignites in her. She wants to believe she has a chance for a different future with him, but will her secret threaten to destroy their red-hot reunion?

Buy Links:

Amazon Barnes and Noble kobo Amazon.ca

Come Check Out Paranormal Author AE Jones on the Writer's Process Blog Tour!

2014-06-09T09:38:00.002-04:00

My friend, chapter mate, and fellow 2013 Golden Heart Winner AE Jones makes her rounds on the Writer's Process Blog Tour today.

AE is the GH Winner for Paranormal Romance, and she's created a kick-butt heroine who will have you laughing out loud and crying, too.

Read all about her process and upcoming debut novel at http://aejonesauthor.com

Oh, and she's tagged me for next week!

What a night! Sarah MacLean, me, AE Jones, and Eloisa James at RWA 13.

Here we are at last year's RWA Awards Night--wearing our GH necklaces--standing with the awesome Sarah MacLean and Eloisa James, who were our RITA-winning table mates. What a night that was!

Giveaway! of A Sweet Life Romance e-Book Boxed Set for Diabetes Research

2014-05-23T16:04:00.000-04:00

Happy Memorial Day weekend!

I'm participating in the A Sweet Life Boxed Set Book Blitz with Xpresso Book Tours.

Have you heard about this 1500-page anthology featuring stories by Brenda Novak and thirteen more of our favorite authors, all the proceeds of which go to diabetes research?

I'm giving away one (1) e-book boxed set copy of A Sweet Life. 100% of the proceeds go to the Diabetes Research Institute via Brenda Novak's Online Auction for Diabetes Research.

All you have to do is leave me your name and email in the comments section. (I swear I won't use your email for any other reason!) The Giveaway will run through Monday, May 26, at 11:59 p.m. The winner will be chosen at random announced Tuesday, May 27, at 9 a.m.

The prize book will be sent out after June 19th.

International entries are welcome.

In case you don't win, the buy links for this great deal (only $2.99!) are included below.

Take a look at all the great authors who have contributed to this anthology for this great cause:

Book & Author Details:

A Sweet Life Boxed Set (Fourteen Contemporary Romances by Bestselling Authors to Benefit Diabetes Research)

Publication date: May 1st 2014

Synopsis:

Have your cake and eat it too–your purchase of A Sweet Life helps fight against diabetes!
Priced at only 2.99 (regular price 7.99), indulge in this stunning limited edition collection of fourteen contemporary romances by New York Times and USA Today Bestselling authors…
You can make a difference while you read! All proceeds from the sale of A Sweet Life will be donated to the Diabetes Research Institute via Brenda Novak’s Online Auction for Diabetes Research.
Featuring a foreword by #1 New York Times Bestselling Author Debbie Macomber.
Get your copy today!
1500 pages/ 675 000 words
I Only Have Eyes For You by Bella Andre (The Sullivans)
The only woman wealthy Irish pub owner Jake McCann wants is the one he can’t have–Sophie Sullivan, his best friend’s off limits sister. But when the beautiful librarian appears on his doorstep as his every fantasy come to life, even though Jake knows loving Sophie isn’t the right thing to do…how can he possibly resist?
On A Night Like This by Barbara Freethy (Callways #1)
From #1 NY Times Bestselling Author Barbara Freethy comes the first book about the Callaways, a big Irish family born to serve and protect, many as San Francisco firefighters.
May Day! By Heather Graham
Members of the Krewe of Hunters team plan a relaxing vacation to jolly old London for the English celebration–they never figured that a May Pole just might be murder.
Shopping for a Billionaire by Julia Kent
When mystery shopper Shannon Jacoby meets billionaire Declan McCormick with her hand down a toilet in the men’s room of one of his stores, it’s love at first flush.
Built to Last by Susan Mallery
The tale of Aaron Cross, a man who doesn’t know he needs saving…until he meets Marissa Spencer, a heroine inspired by the real life founder of the Motheread/ Fatheread Literacy Program.
A Baby of Her Own by Brenda Novak
Delaney is tired of waiting for the right man–all she wants is a baby. After seducing a handsome stranger, she returns to Dundee to find that same man is actually taking up residence on a ranch just outside of town–where he will very likely realize she’s expecting.
Dare to Love by Carly Phillips
In relationships, Ian Dare offers the bare minimum–until one glimpse of sensual Riley Taylor changes his perspective. Their affair heats up and love comes into play, but Riley’s secret past just might cost them everything.
Executive Seduction by Jennifer Probst
When Chandler Santell turns to Logan Grant, the most ruthless CEO in the finance industry to save her beloved Yoga and Arts Center, she never intended to have seduction as part of the plan…
In Too Deep by RaeAnne Thayne
Though fiercely drawn to the comfort of Andrea McPhee’s arms, Will Tanner isn’t sure he can find room for a woman like her in a life focused on vengeance–until he discovers she has secrets of her own.
Every Girl Does It by Rachel Van Dyken
Amanda gets a flash from the past when the nerdy kid she rejected in high school suddenly reappears in her life…dead sexy, he’s all man and he wants her.

Homecoming Season by Susan Wiggs
Miranda Sweeney and her family find hope and healing while spending an autumn at Willow Lake after Miranda survives breast cancer.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21857185-a-sweet-life-boxed-set?ac=1

Purchase:

Amazon : http://www.amazon.com/Fourteen-Contemporary-Romances-Bestselling-Diabetes-ebook/dp/B00JGCK05S/ref=sr_1_6?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1397186598&sr=1-6&keywords=Brenda+Novak
Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/Search?Query=9781928068112
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-sweet-life-boxed-set-barbara-freethy/1119058714?ean=2940045797030
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/book/a-sweet-life-boxed-set/id852423773?mt=11

Thanks for helping fight diabetes and Good luck!

Miranda

SOLD!

2014-03-21T11:05:00.001-04:00

I'm so happy to announce that I've signed a three-book contract with Entangled Indulgence, who bought a fun and flirty story I wrote last fall that I'll soon tell you all about.

Many thanks to Jill Marsal of Marsal Lyon Literary Agency for getting me there and all my writing friends who've been there through all the ups and downs…and whom I know will be there for whatever is to come.

Stay tuned for many changes ahead!

And yes, it's still snowing here in Ohio on March 21!!! Flakes of joy today, though :)

Subtext: There's Something Else in There Under the Words

2014-02-28T08:18:00.000-05:00

After you've got your fast draft down, it's time to start thinking of adding subtext to your story.

So what exactly is it?

Subtext is craft under-the-craft. It's what you, the author, consciously does to manipulate your story to keep your reader excited about your story. It's tension above and beyond what you are creating with your plot.

Subtext is a little complicated, but also a lot of fun. It's the little things we do with our words to keep our reader in a constant state of questioning, of wanting more of our story and our characters.

It's kind of what keeps our reader in suspense, a little off kilter...

(freefoto.com, image #14-19-53,)

Here goes...

I'm not really sure when I learned what subtext is. Like most things, you might read about something but not really "get" it until much later.

I'm still not sure I've "got it," but I think I'm starting to understand it better.

It takes a lot of experience to master subtext, because it requires a lot of conscious manipulating of the text to keep the reader asking questions, wondering what's going to happen next, etc.

Elizabeth Lyon, in her book Writing Subtext, says "Teachers, agents, and editors often tell writers that every story should be about 'the thing and the other thing.' Two sources of tension and suspense: from plot and from subtext. What is overt and what is covert. If there are multiple things happening between the lines, then you have that many more sources of tension, subterranean focus, thematic possibilities, and character motivations."

So subtext is another level of meaning the operates under the plot. It's multiple layers of meaning under the words. According to Wikipedia, it's (and this is paraphrased) "content that's not announced explicitly."

Subtext takes thought, planning, and revision on the part of the author to consciously place it there, under the events that are going on in the story. Lyon likens it to being an illusionist, who does things with one hand while surprising you with something happening in the other.

Subtext plays a big part in foreshadowing what might happen next in the story. It takes the form of subtle hints keep your readers on their toes and keep them turning pages.

Here are some examples:

--Using subtext to develop character by creating hidden agendas and motives. A man may bring coffee every morning to his grandmother. Neighbors think he's the best grandson ever. But maybe he's not. Maybe what he's really doing is trying to catch the attention of Gran's hot next door neighbor. Or casing out her house so he can rob it when she's on vacation. The subtle clues you drop through this character's point of view that hint to one reason or the other--that's subtext.

--Nature--e.g., a downpour erupts at the black moment. Okay, that is pretty cliche. Let's try another: hero is driving through the hot, dry, dead-looking desert, desert reflects the barrenness in his life. You've used nature to reflect a feeling going on inside the character.

--Discordant details. When a detail is introduced that is discordant to all the others, it can signal something. One tiny green sprout in the middle of that cracked dry landscape might signal hope.

--Sexual attraction: Two characters may "hate" each other but they may do subtle things that give away their attraction for one another. For example, one makes an embarrassing Freudian slip. Blurts out something unexpected. Your heroine may get caught checking out the hero's backside. These things create an undercurrent of sexual tension beneath their protests that they hate one another. Your reader knows they don't really hate one another--and bigger things are coming.

--Subtext foreshadowing danger. Creepy things a villain might say can foreshadow menace to your character. An unease your character might feel might lead you to believe something bad is going to happen to him/her. A change in the weather for the worse can reflect the dangerous story mood.

--When the reader knows something the character doesn't. This leads us to keep reading to find out when the character is going to find out, will he or she be okay, etc.

--Symbols can be used in all kinds of ways to reinforce theme. I've mentioned weather above. Cutting a rope can symbolize freedom. An old Victorian house that my heroine loves and is associated with strong memories of her youth can symbolize her dreams and wishes for happiness and a real home. An old necklace a heroine wears intentionally to remind herself of an awful past can remind her she is never, ever going back there. (There are many ways to use symbols throughout your story to support theme, this is just a tiny taste.)

--Subtext in dialogue. Two characters are talking about one thing, when they are really talking about something else. In a romance novel, this undercurrent can be sexual.

This dialogue example is from my current manuscript. Hero and heroine were hight school sweethearts. It's now ten years later and they have lots of reasons not to get along. The hero has come to the heroine's place to make amends and has just run into her father leaving. This is dialogue between the hero and heroine right after her dad leaves:

Brad threw his hands up in surrender. “Hey, I come bearing coffee. And I came to apologize for being so…”

“Judgmental?”

He exhaled. “Yes. Judgmental. I’m sorry.”

His quirked-up smile looked sexy, not sorry. “Then what’s so funny?”

"I just find it hard to believe your father still wants to kill me after all these years.”

“He senses what you did to me way back then.”

“Take you to prom?” Brad asked innocently.

Olivia's cheeks flushed. “As I recall, we did a little more than just go to prom together.” They stood in the doorway. She was blocking Brad’s way into the house, and she wasn't sure if she should move. The conversation seemed headed into dangerous territory.

He stepped closer. She could smell his soap and the lingering scent of menthol shaving cream.

“Let’s see, I believe you’re right,” he said, pretending to scratch his chin thoughtfully. “We also attended senior picnic and the canoe trip. The canoe trip was especially fun.”

“We got lost and ended up alone in the rapids.”

“See what I mean? Once we navigated the rapids, it was just me, you, and that canoe. Especially fun.” Brad waggled his eyebrows.

“As I recall, riding the rapids wasn’t the biggest thrill that day.”

“No, Sweetness, they weren't.” His gaze traveled slowly up and down her body, sending prickles of awareness pinging at the back of her neck.

In this example, I imply but never explicitly state what happened on that long-ago field trip, but you get a good idea from what is not said.

--The most important use of subtext is to reinforce the theme of your story. The objects, colors, weather and seasons, repeated words or phrases, many of these special details you specifically choose, should all contribute to the underlying meaning you wish to convey. If your theme is about forgiveness, the hero jumping into a clear, cold stream and feeling revived and alive can support this theme. Or in reverse, the heroine's hair getting caught on an unforgiving branch can be a subtle hint about theme in reverse.

Told you that was a little complex, but worth it trying to understand that there is so much more to writing a story than what's going on in the plot.

Off the top of your head, can you think of any examples of subtext from something you've just read?

(If you know of any books that address subtext, please feel free to suggest! The one below is a booklet.)

Source: Writing Subtext: How to craft subtext that develops characters, boosts suspense, and reinforces theme, by Elizabeth Lyon, 2013.

Does Routine Unleash Creativity?

2014-02-03T11:42:00.002-05:00

I 've been wondering if there is some way to enhance creativity. To free your mind so that it can imagine endless scenarios and ideas that would make plotting easier.

<Chorkle.>

Easier? That's funny. I'm old enough to know nothing, absolutely nothing, in life is easy.

(Well, maybe for some people but I'm just talking about most of us under the bell curve here.)

I've been given the suggestions of mind-altering drugs, alcohol, caffeine, chocolate, yoga, journaling, or meditation, but I'm not sure there is an easy answer.

Twyla Tharp, in her classic book The Creative Habit, gives us some clues to the dilemma of creative work when she says, "If art is the bridge between what you see in your mind and why the world sees, then skill is how you build that bridge."

And skill is learnable. But it's hard work.

We have a saying in my family. "Hard work trumps talent unless talent works hard."

This is optimistic. It means that if you are not born with Supertalents, you can still succeed.

So none of us knows how good we can be, how far we can go. All we can do is give it our all every day and stick to our routines and keep working.

Tharp expounds the benefits of routine, hard work, determination, commitment, and constant hard work in any artistic profession where you first must find out what problem you are going to solve and then set about figuring out how you are going to solve it.

She feels that routine is as much of the creative process or even more than the lightning bolt of inspiration that may or may not come, or comes as it may. But it's a lot more likely to come if we sit in our chairs and keep struggling.

The uncertainty of the creative process often leads to living in a state of constant anxiety which many famous writers have used mind-altering substances to relieve.

So we don't want to go there. But I love Tharp's optimism, that with hard work and passion we can go forward, bold and fearless, to accomplish despite the presence of fear.

So does this mean that creativity get released, paradoxically, when we build the strictest of routines to house it?

It reminds me of something my mom and dad used to say a lot. "Just do your best." And I'll add something that was circulating on Facebook a while ago, "and try not to suck."

Twyla Tharp. The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life. Simon and Shuster, 2003.

Don't Forget Your Second Banana: Secondary Characters in Your Novel

2014-01-24T11:18:00.000-05:00

Quick, think about the last book you've just loved. The one you've told all your friends about. You probably have a lot of reasons why you love it, but let's focus on just one.

The heroine's (or hero's) second banana (s). Their BFF's. Their sidekicks. Their adversaries.

Secondary characters are often orphans, i.e., neglected by their creators. Put in place so that the hero or heroine can accomplish some story goal. In other words, secondary characters are often underdeveloped and boring.

I mean, we spend so much time on our main characters, getting them just right, and that is an exhausting process.

Think back on that beloved book I just asked you about. One that immediately comes to mind for me is Tracy Brogan's Crazy Little Thing, which I adored on about a hundred different levels. That book is still circulating around my Jazzercise class (since September). I will probably never see it again, but that's okay. The thing is, my friends and I are still talking about two characters in that book, the heroine Sadie's fantastic cousin Fontaine and her totally eccentric Aunt Dody. They are complex, three-dimensional, crazy characters who clearly touched our hearts.

In Jen Probst's The Marriage Bargain, the heroine Alexa's best friend Maggie is not on scene very much but you can't help loving her when she is. Her personality shines from the page. (No wonder she got her own book :)

I looked for some wisdom from Donald Maass's The Fire in Fiction to help answer the question, what makes these secondary characters memorable?

Maass says it's not a matter of making a character beautiful or dangerous because what is beautiful or seductive or dangerous is not the same for everyone.

He believes it is the IMPACT the secondary character has on the main character that makes that character special.

Secondary characters must be EXAMINED or they will be BLAND. They must be out-of-the-box. Not a stereotyped Best Friend or Bad Guy or Bad Girl Next Door. They must have UNEXPECTED layers that take your reader by SURPRISE.

How do we make these characters DEEPLY HUMAN? Maass suggests giving them internal conflicts and looking at them though your protagonist's eyes. What is a defining moment in their relationship? How has this character changed your protagonist? What's one thing your hero will never understand about their friend? How does your heroine resist this person? Are these characters stereotypical or do they surprise us with their unexpected, human qualities?

For more on how to beef up your secondary characters, see The Fire in Fiction, Donald Maass, Chapter Two, Characters Who Matter.

"Sunshine on My Bananas."

Goals are Good

2014-01-13T12:13:00.000-05:00

I was thinking about organizing myself for 2014.

The past few years, I've looked forward to YA writer Katy Upperman's yearly blog post on goals. You can read it and while you're at it, also check out her link to a great post goal setting here.

Katy taught me the importance of setting monthly goals, which I write down and keep in front of me on my desk. I also write yearly writing goals and tuck them into the back of my Bible. Because can you really forget anything you tuck into the back of your Bible?

I am a closet hoarder. From the outside, my house looks pretty clean and neat. But look in any closet and dear Lord! Here are some organizational problems I have and how I vow to resolve them and become a better, more organized person in 2014:

--I will keep no more than fifty emails in my inbox at one time. Chuckle. That's all I'm saying about that one.

--I will stop compulsively saving decorating magazines which are in two giant piles taking up room in my closet. I don't know why I do this, other than looking at beautiful things makes me…happy. But the piles are out! And they will take some time to reaccumulate.

--I will stop shoving things in my front hall closet so guests can actually put their coats there instead of on the back of the living room couch. Stash nothing, toss everything, right?

--I will stop buying books and hiding them under the bed. My friends know I almost kicked this habit a year ago, but the pile is ba--ack, bigger and better than ever, even though I am using my kindle more and more. If I was stranded in my room for years, let's just say lack of reading material would not be a problem.

--I will stop allowing the mail pile to take over my kitchen. I know, I know. Handle it once, sort it right away, pitch everything possible. Sounds so simple, right?

--I will call the 800 numbers to stop delivery of half my catalogs, most of which I hoard in a pile and then end up recycling before I even look at them.

--I have to clean my attic. It is loaded with fake flower arrangements, another compulsion.

--I will stop buying fake flower arrangements. Even though I love them because they are colorful and bright and make me happy in a city where it is cloudy a lot of the year.

--Also, are those not-yet-born grandchildren ever going to play with their parents' toys cluttering my attic? What about those precious dog-eared children's books I just can't seem to part with, remembering all those wonderful hours of reading stories to my kids?

--I will take my recycle bags to the grocery story every time. Every time, that is, that my kids don't toss them out of the car at random to make more from for themselves and their stuff.

--And even take recycle bags to other shopping, like at the mall, which I never do. Why not?

--If I get under contract this year, I will pay someone to deep clean my house once a month because it will no longer be worth my time. Actually, I almost never deep clean anyway! My daughters and son were helping me do this long-neglected work over break. The oldest asked, what's a baseboard? Very scary.

--I will try yoga for stress relief. Just…because.

--I will eat more foods that I can't pronounce like quinoa and jicama and make sure half my plate is veggies at every meal. (Another chuckle.)

--I will be more balanced. I will read more of those amazing books waiting in my kindle or under my bed. I will stop obsessing over whether I am good enough, fast enough, talented enough and simply do what author Robin Covington posted on Facebook one day (and this might be a paraphrase): Do Your Best and Try Not to Suck.

--That is the best advice I read all year. As I prepared to turn in edits to my agent for the first time this past fall, I was terrified. Every morning I would sit at my computer and think, dear God, someone is going to read this and freeze. So I wrote that little saying down and put it in front of me. Because that's all any of us can do. And there is some kind of great relief in that. Just do your best and try not to suck. Simply saying that takes some cosmic burden off my shoulders and allows me to forge on.

Happy new year, everyone. I wish you health, happiness and peace in the year ahead.

Speaking of fake flower arrangements…one of my faves.

Grit is the Quality Most Correlated with Success: TED Talk with Angela Lee Duckworth

2013-11-22T08:12:00.001-05:00

I saw this video on Facebook this week and found it to be the most inspiring piece I've seen in a long time. I hope you watch and are inspired, too!

Psychologist Angela Lee Duckworth discussed in a TED talk the factor most significantly correlated with success in life.

(This video is from the Huffington Post at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tedtalks/angela-lee-duckworth-tedtalk_b_4277459.html or from YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H14bBuluwB8)

That factor was not social intelligence, good looks, physical health, or IQ, but rather a factor she calls grit. Here is how she defines it:

"Grit is passion and perseverance for very long term goals. Grit is having stamina. Grit is sticking with your future day in, day out, not just for the week, not just for the month, but for years. and working really hard to make that future a reality. Grit is living life like it's a marathon not a sprint."

And here's what she said about talent and grit (they aren't necessarily related):

"Talent does not make you gritty. Many talented individuals don't follow through. Grit is unrelated or even inversely related to talent."

This is the greatest thing! To realize that as writers, we can learn our craft, that through dogged effort and determination, we can succeed. Talent, shmalent--it's all about rolling up our sleeves and investing our hard work and mind power.

Dr. Duckworth discussed how you How you build grit in kids but this is important for us every day as well. Kids did best on a task, (i.e., persevered), when they had growth mindset, i.e., the belief that the ability to learn is not fixed but can change with effort. These kids were more likely to persevere when they fail because they don't believe failure is a permanent condition.

This is so inspiring to me as a writer, where goals take long to achieve and the road is often fraught with many ups and downs (I'll say ups and downs instead of words like despair and desperation). The downs can create such torment that they make you want to quit forever. But if you believe this video, that's just when you've got to believe that continuing to work hard will show results.

I used to play tennis in high school. I was basically a kid off the street, no lessons, nothing, when my coach discovered my best friend and I hitting balls against a brick wall. (This would never happen these days when kids basically have to be groomed from the womb to play sports. The coach simply told us, show up for practice tomorrow at 9 am and bring your racket.)

That one invitation opened up a whole world for me and I will be forever grateful for it. What I learned from tennis was that it's not only a physical game that requires skills and practice. When you're up against an opponent, the game becomes mental. Your own mind becomes the dragon on the court.

Writing to me is a lot like that. We slave for months over our work, mostly alone. Every day when turn on the power button we must slay doubts, face rejections, face fears that we aren't good enough, that we suck. Often there is no one over our shoulder telling us otherwise--we have to reach deep inside ourselves to come up with the dogged inner strength--the grit--to say--yes, we are.

I wish everyone who struggles with self doubt to watch this video and realize you are not alone. That achieving any kind of goal in life is never easy and with writers, what goes on inside our heads is just as important--no, far more important--as the events that occur outside it.

So, today, hug your writer friends and let's all go forth and be gritty!

Getting Ready for the Golden Heart Part 2: The Writing

2013-11-15T07:48:00.000-05:00

So are you polishing your Golden Heart entries? Great! Last week I talked about Story—making sure yours was big enough, had the right elements to be a romance, and how friends can help you to see those big-picture things.

Today I want to focus on the Writing.

At the end of this blog post are some resources I used that I’ve found to be very helpful. Three articles were written by Ruby Sisters, members the Golden Heart class of 2009, now published authors, who contribute to the Ruby Slippered Sisterhood blog which is always chock full of great writing and career advice. (see www.rubyslipperedsisterhood.com).

Scene Level. First off, every scene in your story should have a structure. I had absolutely no clue what this was until two years ago despite taking many workshops, reading craft books, etc. But I can tell you that a huge amount of writers don’t get this and to write to get published, you have to! This is the reason I have four manuscripts under my bed which will stay there forever. I’m telling you, this is really important!

Every scene starts out with your character having a tangible goal. The scene must end with yes, she/he got that goal but life gets worse anyway, or no, she/he did not achieve the goal and furthermore, life gets worse anyway. This is a complicated topic but well worth learning about. If you’re interested, I did a whole blog post for Romance University on that topic here.

Cut the Backstory. Read through your first pages and highlight any explaining. Then, as Hope Ramsay suggests, go back and cut all of it. Find ways to disseminate this information in dialogue or show it with action instead of telling it. It’s like Margie Lawson says: backstory is like taking a piece of paper and ripping it up into tiny pieces and placing tiny pieces of it throughout the story. Ask youself—what are the ONLY things my reader needs to know RIGHT NOW and CUT the rest.

Start at the right place. Don’t describe the beauteous scenery. Don’t have your heroine walking and thinking. Find the point in your story where, as Hope Ramsay says, two people are fighting something or about something and cut everything before this point. Open with a situation, a problem, with action. People want a dilemma, a struggle—but they want it from your character’s deep point of view.

Make sure your character has a goal and make it clear from page one. (Hope Ramsay)

A point to remember about all this action: no one will care about action if they don’t care about your character. Some say you only have one paragraph to get the reader to like your character. As Jeannie Lin says, readers want to recognize your heroine/hero as someone “unique, admirable, sympathetic, or likable.” The action has to be tied to this character’s deep point ov view, i.e.—we must experience the conflict through that characters eyes, ears, skin, taste, smell, etc.--oh--and most important of all, through their HEART.

Your hero or heroine must be well motivated and likeable or at least redeemable. If they are arrogant, gruff and distasteful—no! No one is going to want to keep reading. Remember, in a romance, you want your reader to fall in love with your hero. (I am not an expert at this. But even if you have a character with real issues, there has got to be something in their makeup that makes people want to cheer for them.)

Characters have to be: wounded, unpredictable, yearning, passionate, complex, resourceful, and gutsy when challenged (James Scott Bell workshop). They must confront their worst flaws, challenge their beliefs, and face their biggest fears (Lori Wilde workshop).

Characters must be unique—they have personality and this comes out when they speak. For your own benefit, give them traits (sassy, shy, fearful, argumentative when pushed, etc.) and make sure every time they open their mouths to speak, they are exhibiting one of those traits.

Start with a great first line. (Usually not a description of scenery). Really work on this line. It will draw your readers in. Don’t initially refer to your main character as “he” or “she,” leaving the reader to wonder for paragraphs who they are—give them a name. Should we know where they are, what time of day, what season? Set the stage appropriately to orient your reader.

Are high stakes apparent from the get-go? Do your reveal a secret, ask an intriguing question, create high stakes (Alexandra Sokoloff workshop)?

Read your work out loud—you’ll catch all kinds of problems with flow, rhythm, etc. Check for white space—long paragraphs cause people to fall asleep. Watch for overwriting—too many adjectives or adverbs (Jeannie Lin) that may make it seem you are in love with your prose.

Golden Heart Checklist (not inclusive—I’m sure there’s more!)

Does your scene have a goal and structure and end on a “disaster”?
Have you begun with action/conflict/some tension between people, people and a monster, etc.
Great first line
Identify the characters, setting, time, season if important
Emotion, conflict, likeability—make these things evident up front
Character with a great desire, passion, a yearning, gutsy, resourceful, likable?
Deep Point of View—the POV character experiencing life through her/his senses. Don’t forget smell and touch if appropriate.
Show not tell
Axe the backstory.
Don’t describe things unless relevant (slows pacing) (Katie Graykowski has a really funny line that will never let you forget this here)
Watch your dialogue tags. Replace some with body language, e.g., “”You bet,” he said, vs. “You bet. He took a long, slow pull of beer.
Watch for too much blow by blow body language: “He grabbed the beer bottle and sat down, turning away from her. He picked up his book and walked to the kitchen She took a sip of beer then set her bottle down.”
End your entry on a significant hook. Again, action without emotion doesn't cut it but be sure to adjust your pages so that you've ended on a hook that will keep your readers wanting more!

Final Word—Don’t Forget the Romance! Checklist

Chemistry, chemistry, chemistry. Important, important, important.
Romance permeates all aspects of the story in one way or another.
Be clear who the hero and heroine are from the beginning! This sounds ridiculous but don’t let the heroine’s best friend overshadow her or a platonic male friend of the heroine be mistaken for the hero!
In category romance, if the hero and heroine are not together, they are apart and thinking about each other.
The hero must have a heart of gold and act heroically even if he has issues.
Heroine must not be petulant, self indulgent, or merely be acted upon—she must act!

I hope these accumulated tips that have been so helpful to me are helpful for your work in progress even if you're not aiming for the GH this year. Now go forth and polish!

If you have any more tips that can be added to the checklist, please comment and I'll add them and republish the complete list next week.

Resources

The First Five Pages…and the Red Line of Death by Jeannie Lin

http://www.rubyslipperedsisterhood.com/tag/first-five-pages/

Tips for Improving Your First Fifty Pages by Hope Ramsay http://www.rubyslipperedsisterhood.com/tips50pages/

Five Things Every Contest Newbie Should Know by Katie Graykowski

http://www.rubyslipperedsisterhood.com/5-things-every-contest-newbie-should-know/

Make a Scene! Or, Why Scenes Should Be Seen and not Heard by Miranda Liasson

http://romanceuniversity.org/2013/08/16/scene-structure-with-miranda-liasson/

"If she'd only listen to my ideas…"

Getting Ready for the Golden Heart, Part 1: Your Story: Make it a Good One

2013-11-08T08:49:00.000-05:00

Today and next Friday, November 15, I'm going to post some pointers for those of you who are planning to enter the Romance Writers of America's Golden Heart Contest, which opens to entries on November 12. (For more information, go to rwa.org and look under "Awards" and then "Golden Heart." Here's the link: http://www.rwa.org/p/cm/ld/fid=536)

What does it take to final in the Golden Heart? This year, on my sixth try, I finaled in two categories and won the Contemporary Series category. (What follows is based on my own experience, so please take what helps and ignore what doesn't.)

First off, finaling takes getting through five preliminary round judges who judge your partial manuscript ("the partial"--approximately the first 50 pages) on a fifty point scale: Plot/Story 10 Points, Romance 20 Points, Characters 10 Points, and Writing 10 Points. Entrants who final need to get 90% of the total possible score or above. (I did not find this on the RWA website, but on my score sheets, it said that final scores are calculated by dropping the high and low total scores and averaging the remaining three total scores. This helps to protect from very lenient or very harsh judging. )

Here are the three things I think you need to final:

--A Good Story that meets or exceeds the expectations of your genre and offers the reader an emotional experience that captures their hearts.

--Writing that shines and is free of amateurish mistakes.

--Luck! In a perfect universe, all judges would be impartial and fair. Well, welcome to real life, where some judges are tough, some are easy, and some will either really love or really hate your story. Luck of the draw which ones you get! Stories that are entered one year may not final while the next they do…so who knows? This is one aspect you have no control of.

So let's talk about the first point--The Good Story. It's not enough to write a story about nice people doing nice things. (Trust me, I know, my first four manuscripts were like this, unremarkable, low-tension stories.) It's a feat to come up with a story idea, let alone write and polish 50 pages and submit a synopsis. Yet you must write a story that keeps tension, conflict and angst high so your reader wants more--so she/he is really sad when those fifty pages end. Not being boring for that many pages requires a lot of skill.

Good stories start off with a bang (in the middle of action, something going on) and grab the reader with emotion. But even the biggest action sequence will fail to impress if no one cares about your characters. So the action does not have to be big, Hollywood action--but it does have to be some situation where the characters are doing something besides walking through lush scenery thinking of the hot guy they just met. (Starting with description--probably not the best idea.)

End your partial with a big hook. Again, leaving your heroine dangling off the old London Bridge (as I did in one ms) is great but don't throw in action for action's sake. The big hook at the end can be as simple as a long awaited/forbidden/unintended kiss. It should be emotionally big, not necessarily action-packed-big. One of my finaling entries ended with a kiss that someone had second thoughts about--pretty simple. The other ended with a revelation that the long-lost love the heroine thought was dead was alive. Again, go for emotional impact not big Hollywood set piece.

If your 50 pages as it currently stands does not end on a hook, what should you do? My answer: manipulate your pages so that for the GH it does.

Is Your Story Big Enough to Sustain 200-300 pages of conflict? If you're writing Category Romance, study Romance Tropes. These are plot devices like enemies to lovers, mistaken identity, fake engagement, revenge, redemption, boss-employee, reunited lovers, etc. Typically for category, you need three tropes per story. Reading extensively in the genre you are targeting will give you a feel for this.

If you're writing Single Title, you need a High Concept idea. This is the kind of idea that makes you exclaim Wow! Why didn't I think of that?! or I've got to read this! when you read a back-cover blurb. It's original, emotional, compelling, and clever. If you don't know what this is, check out Lori Wilde's Got High Concept? workbook available from her website. High Concept is the idea that makes your story stand out from the rest.

The point is, if you are writing romance, you must know the kind of book you are writing. You must target your market by doing research. It's not enough to simply write the book of your heart. If your book does not have the tension to sustain an entire book, no one is going to judge it well in contests no matter how great your writing is and no one is going to publish it. The idea and the characters must hook your reader from the beginning--from Paragraph 1.

Remember the Essence of a Romance. Your main goal in writing a romance is to tell an emotionally powerful story about people whose flaws get in the way of their leading the fullest life they could and how love for another person gives them the impetus to overcome these flaws by making choices under pressure so they can become the people they were always meant to be. Characters must be pushed to grow and change so they are not the same people at the end as they were at the beginning.

Check your story: does it have external conflict keeping the hero and heroine apart? Does it have internal conflict keeping them apart? Is there a romance? I've judged contest entries where the entry is all romance and no external situation at all. And others where the hero doesn't show up until page 40.

Force yourself to share your work. My recommendation is that at least three people besides yourself should read your pages before you submit. I think this is truly hard for some of us, especially when we are just starting out. It's scary to share something so close to your heart!

Why, you say, is finding reading friends/critique partners so important? Because we burn out. We become overfamiliar with our story and our words. We cannot be objective about our own work. If you have time, putting your entry away for a week or two and looking at it again helps a lot, but having somebody else's eyeballs besides your own is crucial. But remember the bottom line: trust your own judgment. Your best friend may unintentionally crucify your voice. A good rule is, if more than one person points something out in your manuscript as not quite right, look hard at those things. It's tricky--knowing when to trust your gut and when to believe what a reader tells you.

So there you have it, my take on Story. Hope this helped. Next week, I'm going to talk about writing tips and a first page checklist to help polish your entry. Any questions…ask away! And keep polishing!

Writer Burnout as You Approach The End

2013-10-11T09:56:00.001-04:00

Yeah, yeah, I know, writing a book is a marathon. Don't remind me, because I'm feeling the burn, baby! Here are Seven Signs you may be utterly toxic from struggling to the end of that elusive finish line:

--Coffee, ordinarily delicious and comforting and an aid to your muse, tastes bitter and disgusting and you never want another cup again.

--Your husband arrives home to find you in tears. Mumbling how you are in the last 50 pages and your book makes no sense and you think you have to delete the whole thing and start over.

--To take a break, you read a great, fabulous author because you only read the best when you are finishing your best draft, but instead of inspiring you, you start to cry. "I can never write like that! Why bother?" (This time it's Kristan Higgins, The Best Man. So wonderful!)

--Your ass hurts from BICHOK (Butt in Chair, Hands on Keyboard). And your hamstrings, and your calves, and all the tendons in your hands.

--You know that this, your "final" draft, is almost done. You pray for it to be done. All you want is relief. Your characters are suffering, heading right into that blackest of moments, and you are contemplating heading out the window. You are laughing, weeping, mumbling to yourself, and in total despair. And just to tip yourself over the edge, you know this will not be THE final draft. Beta readers, agent will say no no no and you will have to wash and repeat. Probably multiple more times.

--You appear in public in sweats. Your deepest darkest secret is sometimes you don't even dress until just before your kids come home from school.

--You keep saying, "I'll clean [insert something appropriate here]______ when I'm done," a task you despise. But right now it's looking pretty good as a diversion. Scary!

I don't know how this marathon will end. All I want is to muscle through and be done. I pound my head against the keyboard and drink my bitter coffee (better than eating through the fridge). I'm not a believer in waiting for inspiration to strike. Every day I sit here and slog it out, and every day I fix the slog from the day before. And most days I do this with a kind of joy I've never experienced before.

But burn out is burn out and when it reaches this level, sometimes you have to cave in to it and replete the muse by taking a damn day off. Maybe even two. Because you simply cannot write if you are insane. So today...I'm outa here!

Combating burnout...suggestions welcome!

South Carolina beach, a more tranquil place than my mind today!

Writers: So Maybe Hearing Voices Isn't That Crazy After All

2013-10-04T10:27:00.000-04:00

One confused little violet who thinks it's May instead of October.

I had this crazy idea to ask everyone, well, my writer friends anyway, why they write. I don't know why, maybe (make that probably) to understand why I write. If you really stop and think about it, we spend months writing a story, living with the characters we create talking in our heads, waking us up at night and forcing us to write their words on sticky notes before we forget them.

Does this sound familiar?

More importantly, is this normal?

The mission of understanding why we (I) write with regard to our (my) mission in life is a really big topic that can't be tackled all at once, but I read something recently that helped me understand something really intrinsic about myself...like, maybe I'm not so crazy after all.

The great writer and activist George Orwell (1903-1950), whom we all know from his classic novels Nineteen Eighty-Four and Animal Farm, wrote an essay in 1946 called Why I Write. Here's one of many parts that caught my eye (It's a little long but I've bolded what I thought was fascinating):

"But side by side with all this [writing activities he describes], I was carrying out a literary exercise of a quite different kind: this was the making up of a continuous 'story' about myself, a sort of diary existing only in the mind. I believe this is a common habit of children and adolescents. As a very small child I used to imagine that I was, say, Robin Hood and picture myself as the hero of thrilling adventures, but quite soon my 'story' ceased to be narcissistic in a crude way and became more and more a mere description of what I was doing and the things I saw. For minutes at a time this kind of thing would be running through my head: 'He pushed the door open and entered the room. A yellow beam of sunlight, filtering through the muslin curtains, slanted onto the table, where a match-box, half-open, lay beside the inkpot. With his right hand in his pocket he moved across tot he window. Down in the street a tortoiseshell cat was chasing a dead leaf', etc. This habit continued until I was about twenty-five, right through my non-literary years. Although I had to search, and did search, for the right words, I seemed to be making this descriptive effort almost against my will, under a kind of compulsion from outside. The 'story' must, I suppose, have reflected the styles of the various writers I admired at different ages, but so far as I remember it always had the same meticulous descriptive quality."

This just bowled me over. The description of an inner narrative that reads like a book...does anybody else's brain do this? Well, mind does and that is scary, but to have it described, well...it's very validating! Like, it might just be almost normal to hear voices in your head (if you're a writer, anyway).

So do you hear voices in your head? Have you for a long time? Do you know why you write? Do you see yourself in this passage? Feel free to share. (I'm going to share the thoughts I've been collecting next week.)

Everyone stopped to take pics of this fabulous rainbow yesterday.

No impatiens in Ohio this year--they all got killed by a fungus last year. But somehow found this one single flower in my garden!

Crawling Inside Your Characters' Heads: from Robert McKee's Story

2013-09-06T09:51:00.002-04:00

Hi Everyone!

The kids are back in school and my house is SILENT...except for the soft snores of my pooch who is passed out on her back with her legs up in the air.

I'm reading the classic screenwriting book Story by Robert McKee and I wanted to share one little tidbit that may help you to crawl into your characters' heads and extract the perfect essence of truth and honesty that we strive every day to find to make our characters come alive.

As writers, we seek to put truth on the page. Meaning we want our characters to act honestly, in ways that only they can act. We don't want to create cliche. We don't want to moralize. We don't want to write over-the-top unbelievable characters.

So how do you write an honest, breathing character that makes your reader laugh, cry, and get moody and unhappy when they are unhappy?

The answer is partially--do they make YOU laugh, cry, and feel miserable (and I'm not talking about just when the writing's going badly!)

Have you done that--gotten nervous, laughed, cried, started sweating, gotten pains in your stomach when you are writing a scene? Or even long after you're done writing a scene?

Well, if you haven't, maybe Robert McKee can help you out.

McKee says that we must write from the inside out--meaning that in each scene, we must not be impartial observers of our characters but actually crawl into their heads and experience the scene from their point of view.

How to do this?

Flowers that finally recovered from the torrential rains this summer and are blooming like crazy now!

Well, here's how he says NOT to do this:

--Don't ask, "How should my character take this action?"--that leads to moralizing.

--Don't ask, "How might someone do this?"--that leads to writing cute and clever but dishonestly.

--Don't ask, "If my character were in these circumstances, what would she do?"--that puts you at a distance from the character's emotions, makes you guess at them, and leads to cliche

--Don't ask, "If I were there, what would I do?"--guess what, no one cares what you would do. They care about your character (or that's the point--you want them to!)

So what should you ask? McKee says "If I were this character in these circumstances what would I do?
(italics mine)

And here's his grand explanation:

“Writers are improvisationalists who perform sitting at their word processors, pacing their rooms, acting all their characters: man, woman, child, monster. We act in our imaginations until honest, character-specific emotions flow in our blood. When a scene is emotionally meaningful to us, we can trust that it’ll be meaningful to the audience. By creating work that moves us, we move them."

From Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting by Robert McKee, Regan Books, 1998, pages 153-154

Want to Make a Scene? Join me as I blog at Romance U Today!

2013-08-16T07:11:00.001-04:00

Join me at Romance U. today as I virtual-lecture about jam-packing your scenes with good stuff to make them work as hard as they possibly can. Here's the link:

http://romanceuniversity.org/2013/08/16/scene-structure-with-miranda-liasson/comment-page-1/#comment-38463

See you all over there! And hey--it's Friday! Stop by and say hey! Woo hoo!!!

The Lowcountry in late afternoon. That little speck between the trees is one of my kids on a paddle board!

RWA Conference Highlights: A Tale Told in Pictures by Miranda Liasson

2013-07-23T11:48:00.001-04:00

This is a story told best in pictures.

Our table at the RITA/GH ceremony included my friends and chapter mates GH Paranormal winner AE Jones and Barb Heintz.

My manuscript that won the Golden Heart in the Contemporary Series category.

AE Jones won the Golden Heart for Paranormal! We are amazed!

We got to pose for a pic with our table mates Sarah MacLean and Eloisa James, who won RITA's. Unreal!

Gail Hart, my agent sister, who was a GH finalist in Contemporary Series.

My chaptermates from Northeast Ohio RWA. Cleveland Rocks Romance!

Me after the ceremony with GH finalists Nan Dixon, Paranormal GH winner AE Jones, and GH finalist Gail Hart.

Tired but happy friends Barb Heintz, me, Dyanne Conner, and Diane Rippin.

GH Winner AE Jones on the jumbotron.

Distinguished Chaptermate Donna MacMeans receiving her RWA Service Award.

Nora Roberts spoke at The Golden Network retreat. Totally awesome.

The Great Susan Elizabeth Phillips graciously took a pic with me. Clearly we both have extraordinary taste in color.

Still tired and still happy!

Fish at the Atlanta Aquarium.

Downtown Atlanta at dusk.

We may be back in reality but we made all these great memories. Thanks, Friends. The End.

Love, Miranda

Advice from Eloisa James: Throw Your Heart into It

2013-06-07T17:34:00.000-04:00

I had the great (and a little bit scary) honor of introducing Eloisa James yesterday at a library in Cleveland. How did that come about?! You might say it was accidental networking. One of the many perks of being active in your own RWA chapter!

Anyway, Eloisa was on tour promoting her new book Once Upon a Tower, one of her reimagined fairy tale books that she described as a cross between Romeo and Juliet and Rapunzel. It sounds fabulous!

She said something in her chat last night that really stuck with me as a writer struggling to become an author. Here is is (below the pic of me and my NEORWA friends with Eloisa last night):

Northeast Ohio RWA (NEORWA) friends and me (second from left) with NYT Bestselling author
Eloisa James.

Someone asked her how she does it all--she is a tenured Shakespeare professor, the NYT Bestselling author many times over of historical romances, as well as a wife and mom. Part of her answer was this: I learned from watching how men did it.

What does that mean exactly? She described how in graduate school, the women in her program would worry over their papers, constantly revising, perfecting, getting them just right. The men...just did the work and got it turned in. And they succeeded academically and promotion-wise by keeping the quantity of work in mind as well as the quality. Women seemed to strive for perfection, being afraid to turn it in until it was perfect.

She also said this very interesting quote about the many different tasks and chores that make up a woman's life: "Whatever you're doing, throw your heart into it." She said she often knows she is writing crap but she just keeps going--she can fix it but she has the sense of moving ahead. The story gets told and the job gets done. Moral: Quit striving for absolute perfection.

This resonates deeply with me. It showcases the differences between my husband and me. I don't know if it's a gender difference but it is true in my house. But it's great advice--Whatever you're doing, throw your heart into it, get your story told, get your work done. Only finished books get published!

Mountain in West Virginia (my photo).

Reinventing Yourself as a Writer

2013-05-22T10:48:00.001-04:00

This is a prequel blog. (Sort of like how a novella comes out before a novel.)

I've been invited to be on the Ruby Slippered Sisterhood blog (www.rubyslipperedsisterhood.com)

on Thursday, May 23rd, as one of their series of Golden Heart finalists. I'll be talking about...me. Specifically, what I did when I hit a brick wall in my writing that helped me up to the next level. (The next level being two Golden Heart finals this year—but I’m not published yet.)

So on a related topic, today I'm going to talk about some advice on reinvention that I got from some seasoned writers this past weekend at my chapter conference.

I think everyone hits their own brick wall—more likely multiple ones at different times in our careers.

Every writer, from novice to seasoned professional, has to continually re-evaluate their writing on multiple fronts—before you publish, it’s what is my true voice? What are my strengths? What kind of story should I be telling?

And during a career, it sounds like the same questions must be asked as well.

This weekend, I heard a panel of three longstanding authors who discussed keeping your career afloat in rough waters.

The panel was comprised of Duffy Brown, LuAnn McLane, and Donna MacMeans.

They all said—write a story you’re passionate about.

Find you strengths. If you don’t know, ask your friends. They will know.

Reinvention involves working with your strengths, finding an angle that is unique but fully yours.

Be brave.

Keep writing.

You have to love writing THAT MUCH—if you can think of one reason you shouldn’t do it, maybe you shouldn’t.

You have to write something you are enthusiastic about, that you believe in with all your heart. Fake enthusiasm shows. Real enthusiasm sells books. Your writing has to touch your own heart and your own emotions.

Learning discipline now gets you through the hard times later. Writers that survive keep producing.

LuAnn McLane ended the panel with this advice for us when we question our choices or when we have tough decisions to make about our careers: Always remember how much you love reading. Reading brings joy to people through tough times by making them laugh, cry, and feel many different emotions.

We were readers before we were writers. Who among us doesn't love to read! And I think that's a good thing to remember when we face the brick wall.

FreeFoto.com, Image 12-64-7

Creativity and Productivity

2013-04-19T12:59:00.001-04:00

I read something this week that has been churning in my mind ever since. It's a fabulous blog post on creativity done by Margarita Tartakovsky and you can view the entire post here:

http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2013/04/14/9-illuminating-lessons-on-creativity/

The entire thing is fascinating, but the part that really stuck with me all week was the story about the pottery class. Basically, students who had to produce quantity of pottery produced more creative--i.e., higher quality--pieces than students who were permitted to take an entire semester to create a single piece (i.e., those who strove for quality, not quantity).

Tartakovsky's advice is to stop striving for perfection in creative work, but instead to focus on a "magic threshold" where you're happy enough with it but you're able to let it go and, in the words of artist Jolie Guillebeau, who taught herself to paint faster, "hope that the quantity of my work will also improve the quality."

This is a fascinating concept, and one which skilled, bestselling writers surely must learn. Could it be that the more you produce, the more creative you become and the better you get at being creative?

It reminds me of something I read--I don't remember where--basically, this writer said that not everything you produce is going to be great. But the MORE you produce, the BETTER CHANCE you've got at putting forth something great.

So are speed and perfectionism mutually exclusive?

Well, I think they can co-exist, if the perfectionism is toned down. How to do this? (I don't know, but I am working on it. )

This article also addresses the fear the creative ideas are finite. I remember reading something from a bestselling author saying she felt she had more ideas than she could possibly write about in a lifetime. I am on the opposite spectrum. I fear not having ideas. But filling the creative well is a skill that can be cultivated, and it starts with showing up every day to work. And work hard.

More great advice: Focus on process, not outcome. Focusing on outcome stifles the process, says creativity coach and writer Miranda Hersey. Worrying about if your work sucks, if you'll be able to get it all together and have it make sense, and what will happen in your career are creativity killers.

When this happens, I think about why I sit in front of the computer day after day. The answer is--because I wouldn't want to be anywhere else! I'm so grateful to be here! Things are a little different than when I was 12 and writing Star Trek fan fiction to my heart's content. The muse is a little older and more scarred, and the devil-may-care attitude has been pulled back and restrained. But the joy is still there.

I think this article reinforces the fact that the skills it takes to write fiction, including the creative skills, are trainable with lots of work and the determination to show up day after day to do your job. Like any other job, practice makes perfect--or at least better.

How do you teach yourself to write faster or tone down your inner perfectionist?

Beautiful brickwork on a Savannah sidewalk outside of Colonial Park Cemetery (my photo).

Sidewalk of seashells in Savannah--I think they call this tabby, a concrete made of lime, sand, and oyster shells (my photo).

My Crazy GH Call Story

2013-04-05T18:53:00.002-04:00

Well, I thought I'd share my Golden Heart^®call story from last week. As you all know, The Romance Writers of America calls all of its unpublished manuscript finalists in its annual Golden Heart^®contest every year on a designated day.

I was picking up my 16-year old son’s friend to take them both to volleyball practice when the letters “NE” popped up on my cell. All I could think of was, if this is some weird telemarketing call coming in from Nebraska, this is a very cruel trick of nature with TERRIBLE timing. 

But I didn’t believe it could be RWA calling! How COULD it be, when I’ve entered this contest six–maybe seven?–times, and I had sworn this one would be my last. I’d even determined to go about my day and just be happy for everyone else later. I’d ridden the roller coaster too many times and just couldn’t bear to do it again. 

So anyway, it was Cindy Kirk, Harlequin Special Edition author AND an RWA board member, and she told me she had great news. Then she said I was a DOUBLE finalist. I barely heard. I just started bawling, right there in the driveway in front of these teenage boys. And I could not stop. 

I told my son I just couldn’t drive, that he better drive until I calm down. I figured even a teenage driver with his temporary permit was better than a hysterical crying woman. So a few miles later after I did a little, he said, “Mom, just thought you should know, I don’t have my temps with me.” So somehow I managed to calm down enough to drive the rest of the way.

After all, I wouldn’t want the GH to be responsible for him not getting his real license! 

So anyway, it's been a crazy week. I'm getting to know all my fellow finalists, there are pictures to be taken, dresses to be bought, and plans about manuscripts to be considered. And of course, the rest of life's responsibilites to fulfill.

I am thrilled to be a finalist. I still can't believe it. But I just don't want to lose track of the ultimate goal, which is getting published. That means setting the craziness aside every day and making my daily word counts.

How do you all set craziness aside every day to get your work done? Actually, the past week isn't dissimilar to the usual craziness of life. There's just been a bit more of it than usual.

This is a picture from my own yard today. It was very sunny, but still only 50 degrees (that's northern Ohio for you!). You can see the bare tree branches in the background. I don't know what these little purple flowers are, but they resemble violets. They looked amazingly vibrant popping out of the grass. Spring is finally, finally almost here, after a very long and cloudy winter.

Do you see the analogy to my call story? :)

Purple flowers, northern Ohio, early April, 2013 (my pic)

I am a Golden Heart Double Finalist

2013-03-26T16:13:00.001-04:00

I was just going to post some pictures from my trip to the lovely city of Savannah this past weekend but today I got a call from RWA that BOTH of the manuscripts I entered finaled in the Golden Heart contest.

My friend and chaptermate Amy E Jones ( http://aejonesauthor.com/), also from Northeast Ohio RWA (NEORWA) also finaled in the paranormal category with her manuscript Mindsweeper.

Thanks to all my chaptermates and friends who've helped me, supported me, read my stuff, and helped me get here! You all know who you are and I will thank you all personally.

And congrats to all the GH and RITA finalists, all of whom are listed on the RWA website here

View of a Savanahh, Georgia, garden through a wrought iron gate (my photo).

Do you read to escape...or for something else?

2013-03-15T09:57:00.001-04:00

Author David Shields got his new book How Literature Saved My Life written up last month in the New York Times Book Review. It's a memoir that discusses the reading and writing life of a distinguished man considered to be a genre-breaking author (see http://davidshields.com/).

If interested, you can read the review here: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/10/books/review/how-literature-saved-my-life-by-david-shields.html?_r=0.

The reviewer, Mark O'Connell, quotes this passage from the book (It's a passage I can't stop thinking about):

"Acutely aware of our mortal condition, I find books that simply allow us to escape existence a staggering waste of time (literature matters so much to me I can hardly stand it)."

At first, I dismissed this comment, thinking that many a time I pick up a book to escape my worries and concerns, i.e., I unabashedly use books as therapy. In fact, especially the books I read at night tend to be lighter, funnier, and more reality-escaping than what I read at other times because I enjoy sleeping instead of staying up worrying about my problems (and everyone else's).

But this phrase kept coming back to me. Is there something wrong with me? Do I not try to eek out all the traces of life lessons, self-revelations, and insights about the human condition that books contain? Am I reading the wrong books--maybe I need ones with more despair and existential crisis that end badly and in much pain. (Okay, just kidding, but I couldn't resist poking a little fun at literary fiction.)

Well, maybe I do eek out traces of life lessons of books--all the time. Actually, maybe we all do, just not to the urgent and intellectual extent Mr. Shields seems to. Maybe it actually happens as we enjoy the story.

We read for connection to other human beings--do you think? What are they always telling us in writing workshops--make your characters relatable. Give them a complex array of traits and flaws so that your reader immediately identifies with them. Take the reader on the journey as your character faces her worst fears, challenges her world view, and changes--works to overcome obstacles in her life that make her a better person.

This is why I read, especially romance. I love the journey. I love the hope that we can change our faults, can learn to see that our weaknesses and flaws aren't boulders that can never be moved, and I love that love--connection with other people--is the one thing that matters in our very mortal existence.

So this ain't highbrow, but I truly believe that no book we truly enjoy is ever a means of just blanking out our existence. We're searching for something--connection, encouragement, reassurance that this journey we're all on does mean something--that our life means something--and we're searching for wisdom to make it the most we can.

Image of Bluebells from FreeFoto.com http://www.freefoto.com/imagelink/?ffid=12-36-1&s=s"

Starting a New Story: Thoughts from Michaelangelo

2013-03-08T12:52:00.003-05:00

Note to my dear characters: Yes, alas, it's time to say goodbye. I created you, amid much sweat and blood, and I know you now like I know my own children (except that you're both far more predictable than they are!).

My hero, you were such a good guy, a real gentleman. And my heroine, so brave to take on what you did and make the best of it.

I know you both so well--your senses of humor, the way you laugh. I know your deepest flaws and inner fears, and how you worked so hard to overcome them to become the best people you can be...and find love in the process. I know where you live and the quirky things you keep in your houses. I know your dreams and hopes for the future. I know how much you both love one another.

But now, just when I'm so sure of who exactly you are, I have to let you go. Turn over a new page, begin again the tormented process of discovering new people, create a new story out of these twinklings and shards of ideas that float about precariously in the swirl of my mind.

My fingers freeze over the keyboard. A thousand characteristics, flaws, hopes, dreams, and wishes appear. Which ones to pick? How to make this mess of emotions, memories, yearnings, gel into new characters, a new story? A coherent, good story that tells a message about strength, resilience, and courage.

I don't know how it happens, how this aimless blob of ideas takes shape and becomes an undertandable story. It's like what Michaelangelo said: "Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it."

Supposedly, Michaleangelo carved as if he were "witnessing the revelation of a submerged object." He would put a stone model into a container and slowly dip water out of it, and this would help him visualize how to carve the stone (see http://www.stoneproject.org/2-reductive-thinking-skills.html).

Same with writing. We visualize, we struggle, and slowly, the path is revealed. A new story takes shape.

As Michaelangelo said, "I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free."

But don't think for a minute that came easy, even to the greatest artists. Because he also said, "If people knew how hard I worked to get my mastery, it wouldn't seem so wonderful at all."

There is hope in hard work and struggle!

Image from FreeFot.com, "Aubretia," #12-43-1