Love Stories

Coming home from coffee with a girlfriend, and after a sushi dinner earlier with another girlfriend this week, I heard love stories. There is no need to repeat them verbatim, because while they are simply anecdotes my friends told me, for me the thing is the fact there are so many love stories. Not all of them are happy; many are not the ones we, as romance authors, want to write. Well, that most of us want to write.

I have been accused of liking the dark side of romance, and it is true. For example, I have an idea swirling around in my head right now about a Stockholm Syndrome scenario, but outside of romance fiction, a lot of the stories I hear are not happy. Yet as a single romance writer, even I am never at a loss for writing, or coming up with, ideas for happy ending romances. Even when I tried to write horror, I ended up romanticizing it.

I am a violent romantic. Violent and aggressive, which is why I write what I do. It is how I see the world. Even my newly acquired photographic endeavors are romantic --pictures of flowers, candles, chocolates and full moons. I am violently wistful; at my age friends and family have commented that I am almost naive. But it is who I am. Still I had to wonder, how is it that I am like this? How can I be such a romantic in a world that does not support romance. Where people stand on lines outside of movie theaters to see thrillers and horrors but not an independent romance. Like romance is a big taboo.

I read an article years ago in Self about individual love histories and how they affect our lives, our experience of love, starting with our families. I won’t go into the specifics of my own love history, but I can say that I have never been to a wedding. But with love and romance, though, I am higher than the sky itself when I am into someone. Maybe I am above the clouds all the time. I ponder why I am such a violent romantic. As my friend descends into the subway, I am looking at the clouds floating like water lilies behind the Empire State Building; pulling out my camera to take a photo to go with this article about the persistence of love, despite everything. Love is the thing that, even when it is damaged, it exists. Even when it is wrong, even when it is not expected it exists – may even be better then!

Perhaps it is always wanting to see that which is not exposed all the time that makes me such a violent romantic. Violently wanting to believe in what seems so elusive to so many. Every moment a new love story can be born.

Photograph by F. Solomon

POINT ME IN THE RIGHT VIEW

  
by Margaret Birth

So, how are you, my friends?

Think that’s simply a nice, cordial greeting? Well, it is that, too. (I like to think that I’m a nice, cordial lady.) More than that, though, I want you to think about your reply—really think about it. When you do reply, you’ll probably begin by saying something like “Actually, I’ve been feeling...,” or “To tell you the truth, I’m doing....” When you reply, you’ll be speaking from your own—ta da!—point of view. As I like to say: Keep your point of view going one way, and you’ll always end up going the right way.

Here are some things to ponder about point of view:

* Whenever you start to write a new scene, ask yourself who would make the best viewpoint character. Is there a secret that you want to reveal to the reader, but that you don’t want the hero to tell the heroine yet? Then, the scene should be from either the hero’s point of view, or from that of a person with whom he already shares the secret. At the end of the previous scene, did one of your characters decide to take some kind of action? Then, perhaps your next scene should be in that character’s point of view and show that character taking action. Did the story’s antagonist deliver a devastating physical or emotional blow to the heroine in the previous scene? Then, your next scene should be in the heroine’s point of view and show her reacting—hurting, questioning, ranting and raving (if that’s her style), and ultimately formulating her own plan of action to overcome the crisis. Want to help the reader understand a particular conflict between your hero and heroine? Show, don’t tell, by putting one scene in his point of view and the next in hers. You can even keep them in the same setting for both scenes, and end the first scene in the middle of the argument and then begin the next scene in the middle of that same argument; this creates a tension that is irresistible to most readers.

* Here’s a way you can keep a scene in one particular character’s point of view: Imagine yourself in that person’s skin. For instance, if you decide that the scene should be in the hero’s point of view, think about what he would see, hear, taste, smell, feel, want, believe, or know—or not.

Wrong: “He didn’t see Susan walk up behind him.” (If “he didn’t see,” how could this be from his perspective???)

Right: “He didn’t realize that Susan had walked up behind him until she covered his eyes with her hands and whispered, ‘Guess who?’” (From his perspective, he could feel her hands on his eyes, and he could recognize the sound of her voice, and only then could he know that she’d walked up behind him.)

Every time you write a phrase like “he thought,” “she heard,” “he knew,” or “she wanted to,” ask yourself if your point-of-view character for that scene could think, hear, know, or want that thing; if not, you need to either axe the phrase or find another way to express it.

Wrong from the heroine’s point of view: “Jake wanted to scream.” (From Jake’s point of view, this is fine.)

Right from the heroine’s point of view: “Seeing the way Jake kept fisting his hands and clenching his jaw, she could tell that he was just barely restraining himself from screaming at her.”

It’s a bit time-consuming, but here’s a good writing exercise to help you practice point of view: First, decide on what you want to have happen in a scene and who the point-of-view character should be; next, write the scene with the viewpoint character narrating it in first-person (“I/mine/my”) point of view; and, last, rewrite that same scene in the third-person by switching all of the “I/mine/my” pronouns to “she/hers/her” or “he/his/him” (occasionally interjecting the character’s given name in place of “she” or “he,” in order to clarify and give your prose a nice rhythm). You may wish to try an optional, illuminating, addendum to this exercise: Do parts two and three again, from the viewpoint of a different character in the same scene. Tricky? Maybe a little. But, hey, that’s not a problem for you now—is it?♥



Margaret Birth is a Christian writer who has been widely published in short fiction, short nonfiction, and poetry, both in the U.S. and abroad; in addition to working as a freelance writer, she's spent over a decade freelancing for multiple publishers as a manuscript reader, proofreader, and copy editor. It's all of this experience on both sides of the publishing desk that has inspired her column, "The Write Stuff," which has appeared regularly in RWANYC's newsletter, Keynotes, for the past ten years.

GLOVES, THE FASHIONABLE ACCOUTREMENT ©

   
By Polly Guerin RWA Fashion Historian

Gloves, an indispensable accoutrement of elegance, have had their place in fashionable society as items of feminine coquetry, romance and duels of honor. Historically they were emblems of status and power, worn by royalty and church dignitaries. In ancient times gloves served their purpose as a protection and embellishment. Today, however, the importance of the glove seems to be relegated to whims of fashion, worn with wedding dresses or gala balls.

THE SIXTEEN BUTTON GLOVE

Imagine the fashion of the sixteen button opera glove, popular in the nineteenth century, as a subject of sensual intrigue. It could take an hour just to put on a pair of these gloves, requiring the use of glove stretchers, powder and button hooks. With the absence of a lady’s maid, each little button had to be undone by a lover who knew how to kiss the revealed arm of his amorata with passionate pause. Such a scene of patient anticipation could easily be re-enacted in a romantic novel.

GLOVES IN FASHION
Every once in a while models sashay out in fashion shows wearing gloves, but it still doesn’t do much to entice women today to complete their outfit with gloves. Instead, gloves seem to go back to their original purpose and appear in cold weather, more as a protection rather than making a fashion statement. However, in the Renaissance, fashionable women wore opulently embroidered and perfumed gloves of silk, linen, and kid leather. A woman might carelessly, but intentionally, leave a glove behind her indicating that she expected to be followed.

ANCIENT GLOVES
The gloves of kings and church nobles were richly ornamented with gold, silver and precious stones. They were part the investiture of a knight. A gauntlet flung down in front of an adversary was a challenge to battle or a duel. Ancient gloves were luxuries of the privileged classes, while the peasants wore coarse working mittens. If ever there was a glove fetish collector Queen Elizabeth 1, who ruled England during the sixteenth century, was one. So fond of gloves she amassed more than 2,000 pairs, which were maintained by a wardrobe mistress. Napoleon was another great lover of gloves and encouraged his Empress Josephine, and the ladies of the court, to dress in the height of fashion.

THE ENTERTAINMENT NOTABLES
Mme. Sarah Bernhardt was one of the great glove-wearers of all time. She was responsible for popularizing the over-the-elbow gloves which she wore on one of her American tours. Not to be outdone Lillian Russell, the famous New York society beauty and actress was also known for influencing glove trends, particularly wearing fingerless white kid opera gloves. Similarly another entertainment notable, Michael Jackson did a lot to promote the penchant for wearing one glove and admirers adapted the look.

THE VICTORIANS
Elongated kid gloves, called mousquetaires, were so skintight in the Victorian era that many young women squeezed their hands into a size smaller to achieve an elegant look. It was acceptable, and positively an alluring sight, for ladies to slip their hands out through the button- or snap-fastened wrist opening of long kid gloves to eat or drink while keeping the glove itself on. Harrison Fisher’s painting, “Girl Taking Tea in Gloves,” illustrates a young woman’s ability to nonchalantly dine while wearing gloves.

NOWADAYS GLOVES COME IN A WIDE VARIETY OF MATERIALS COLORS AND LENGTHS. FABRIC GLOVES BEGAN TO BE WORN AFTER WORLD WAR I AND BY THE 1950’s, WHEN WOMEN WOULD NOT LEAVE THE HOUSE WITHOUT A HAT, GLOVES AND HANDBAG, SYNTHETIC MATERIALS BECAME AVAILABLE REPLACING LEATHER TO SOME DEGREE. ♥



Polly Guerin honed her skills as a fashion writer at Women’s Wear Daily where her accessories columns dominated the Friday pages. She is a former professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology. Currently her historical “The Tale of Two Sisters,” will be featured in Vintage magazine’s fall/winter issue. Visit her at http://www.pollytalk.com/.

EROTICISM IS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER

   
By E.J. Rand

“I start to write a sex scene and wind up with a love scene.”  --E.J. Rand

I have a problem with "erotic" in that, to me, it has come to connote extreme behavior.

My characters fall in love. It may be a torturous process, replete with danger and violence, but once they acknowledge their feelings, they both must find out if they are meant for one another sexually. She looks at he, he at she, and they want each other and the completeness that brings. Completeness is the right word: Wake up in the morning holding someone you adore, and the world is good. They may be afraid, shy, bucking all the defenses they've thrown up--but sexual passion is necessary or you have friendship.

Invariably, I start to write a sex scene and wind up with a love scene. While personally I glory in shape, color, texture, taste--all the remarkable differences God has given man and woman--the characters grab me by the (well, never mind) and dictate their scene.

To me, and I suspect the mass of readers, the puckering of jutting, two tone nipples--eroticism, to me--is less erotic than taking the reader on the short, powerful journey from wonder to love. I drafted the following recently. I'm writing in the head of Suzanne Martin, a strong woman who has come to trust Douglas Gallagher--and for her, that enables the rest.

        "Can I kiss you?" he said. "No hands."
        ". . .I haven't brushed my teeth since yesterday. All those Chinese vegetables before. What if I have bad breath for our first kiss?"
         "So? I'm a wounded man. . . .What if I can't get it up?" As she began laughing, he frowned. "What's funny about that?"
        "Nothing. It's just--this is amazing. You're right, we can tell each other anything."
        She hesitated but couldn't hold it in. "Douglas Gallagher, I'll help you get it up. Any time you need me to, any way you like."
        She saw him flush, and she went on. "I never said that to anyone before. Never did it for anyone before. But before we kiss, I'm going to brush my teeth."


Perhaps eroticism is in the eye of the beholder.♥

Ed Rand, writing as E. J. Rand, is a four-time award winner for his Reluctant Sleuth series, published by Deadly Ink Press. DARK SEA, the fourth book, is a winner in MWA/NY Chapter's 2008-2009 Mentor Program. Info on the series, with sample text, is at www.ejrand.com. (Photo of Ed by Ray Turkin.)

AGENT ERIC RUBEN ON CAREER PLANNING

   
Many thanks to RWANYC member Anne Elizabeth for “introducing” us to her agent. Eric blogged with us last month on August 16. Here he is again with more helpful advice.

Q:   How do you advise clients about career planning?

I’m an attorney with experience and contacts in many aspects of the entertainment industry. Accordingly, I help my clients see that there are many ways of looking at their careers. Publishing is only one method in which a writer can utilize their talents. Film, television, theatre, radio and other mediums might be appropriate. Each client is a different person with different talents and life circumstances. Some clients have a clear goal and are looking for me to work with them to achieve that goal. Others know they just love to write and want to get paid to do so but know little about the publishing or entertainment business. Sometimes my role is that of educator, teaching clients what may be possible for them and what they need to do in order to reach that place.


Q:   How do you know if an author has more than one book in her/him?

I don’t think there’s any way to know until you read the second book. Also, I have yet to meet an author who wants only to get their one book published and forget writing anything else. Ultimately, I need to read the writing. Unless I’m dealing with an author who has created a series, I take it on a book-by-book basis. Of course, many authors want to create a series because of the financial benefits of a multi-book contract and the opportunities to create a base of readership. A series can create valuable momentum. We’ve seen that happen numerous times. Those series can be leveraged into projects in other mediums. But there needs to be a great hook for the series and the writing has to be strong.


Q:   How do you two set up goals? Plot career moves?

Again, because I’m an attorney with experience in many aspects of the entertainment industry, when I begin working with a client, we have in-depth discussions about their goals and what steps we need to walk to get them there. These goals do not need to be limited to the world of publishing. For some authors, they have yet to be published, so that may be their first goal. But it doesn’t need to be. For those who have been published, it may be getting them into television or film. There are so many variables to consider including the genre in which they’re writing and what’s happening in the market.


Q:   What should writers be thinking of career-wise ? how do they start? should they do increments of 5 years?

Writers need to focus on the art and craft of writing. Read great writers, sit in the chair, write. I cannot do anything for any writer unless they have actual work for me to sell. I don’t believe in time-related increments. It’s more about accomplishing goals regardless of time. Also I urge clients to be flexible. Unforeseen opportunities can present themselves and you don’t want to ignore them because they’re not a part of your original plan.


Q:   What questions do authors always ask?

Many writers who are just starting out want to know the right way to write a query letter or other technical questions. Sometimes they want to know what the next hot trend will be. For me, it’s all about good writing and common sense and courtesy. I would never refuse to read someone’s work if their email was imperfect. However, people who are rude or inappropriate are unlikely to have me read their work because even if their work is good, I’m not interested in working with rude people. Fortunately, I rarely run into them. My experience has been very pleasant.♥



Eric Ruben is an attorney with more than twenty years of experience. He has a B.A. in Political Science from Union College, and a J.D. from Yeshiva University’s Cardozo School of Law. He has been admitted to practice law in New York, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts and is a member of the American and New York Bar Associations. He currently represents authors in a variety of genres including romance, erotica, graphic novels, health and cooking, but is open to all genre of story. He is also well known to fans of New York Times best-selling author Suzanne Brockmann as the man who suggested she write a series using Navy SEALs as heroes, thus creating the new genre of romantic military suspense. Eric has had a long career as an award-winning performer and writer, appearing in major motion pictures, television commercials, national print advertising campaigns, and Off-Broadway theatre. This experience gives him a unique perspective that benefits his clients.


CONTACT INFO:
Eric W. Ruben, Esq.
eric@rubenlaw.org
800-941-0642
617-584-1936

MIRROR, MIRROR…

by Anne Mohr

When you look in the mirror, who or what do you see? Personally, who and what I see varies depending mostly on my mood. In the August issue of RWR, Ann Warner’s article, The Last Word, includes a quote from the book, THE FOREST FOR THE TREES, by agent, Betsy Lerner which was of particular interest. On the topic of writers judging their own writing, Lerner writes, “…is like looking in a mirror. What is perceived likely has more to do with how we feel about ourselves than with how we look.”

If I can look in the mirror one day and think, not bad, while other days, all I see is every fault, and wrinkles that I know were there the day before suddenly are as deep and as numerous as the cracks in a dry riverbed, I have to ask myself, what’s going on? Once I’ve confirmed that it has nothing to do with the mirror, my eyesight, or the failure or success of my moisturizing cream, I have to face the reality that it’s about where my head’s at.

Who do you think a young Ali saw when he looked in the mirror? He saw a winner. And, I can tell you even years later, Parkinson’s be damned, he was still that same person. I know this, because I had the good fortune to meet him briefly. His walk and talk may have been less butterfly and bee-like, but his attitude was still confident. Many considered Ali to be cocky. While he did have great flare, there are few if any who’d argue that his confidence wasn’t justified.

When considering our own work, if we are overly confident or debilitated by pessimism, how can we hope to judge our work fairly? On the journey to publication, one obstruction that we can and must obliterate is self destruction. Another gem from the August RWR is a quote by Sylvia Plath. “The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.” Conversely, an equally powerful enemy is baseless confidence.

For many, writing is something that we do because we are compelled to do it. It is a passion that must be fed and can’t be stopped. A middle ground should be established that encompasses warranted confidence that will offset doubt in ones ability. If we can do this, we’ll be able to push through and get to the place that allows us to keep writing and submitting work.

Finally, this is a subjective realm that can be influenced by so many factors. Once the first draft is complete and it is time to put on our editor’s hats, we must employ a clinical scrutiny in order to be able to judge the work fairly. The removal of ego and emotion (self-doubt) will enable us to ready the work for others’ evaluations.♥



Anne Mohr has been a member of RWANYC since 1993. She lives in Southern California, and is a real estate agent in both California and New Jersey. She writes as Jacqueline Stewart, Helen St. James and Max St. James, and is published in short fiction (magazines.) At the forefront of several writing projects, she is currently writing a screenplay.

ROMANTIC EROTICA vs. STRAIGHT EROTICA -- WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?

There was a point when I was naïve; when I never thought there was much differentiation about erotica. This summer I read several erotic novels/stories, and if there was ever a separation of romantic versus straight erotica I found it--particularly in erotic stories about prostitutes. There is not a better example of the division of the two. Pure sex must emanate from a story with a prostitute--it is not called the world's oldest profession for no reason. As a job, not every aspect of it is something that is loved. In what I read, most of the protagonists enjoyed sex and exuded nonstop sexual energy, yet there was still apprehension when taking on a new client or even within a rendezvous with a regular client. Sometimes a sense of resignation--trying to have sex that seemed pleasurable even if they were not in the mood for it--but not failing to perform. Then there is the very definite difference when the person with her makes her feel something. Perhaps when she kisses her client on the mouth, even though it is something she does not usually do, and feels things she was not expecting to feel. An orgasm can occur with someone who made her feel cheap of course--here is the potential for her excitement being because she is made to feel cheap. But just because it is work does not mean that there cannot be love or deeper intimacy in these exchanges. Love might be a taboo in some workplaces and particularly in this one--someone in the throes of orgasm might make declarations and promises they have no intention of keeping, but it is not always possible to be intimate with someone and not have stuff come up that might be deeper. It can be dangerous to harbor deeper feelings, but it still might happen. As a writer, I am often inspired by film. I just rented ‘Never Forever’ with Vera Farmiga, who, while having difficulty conceiving, begins a relationship with a man who looks like her husband. A cut and dry business arrangement but neither of them are apparently able to keep their feelings out of it. I am a violent romantic; it seeps into everything I do. I wrote a short story about a woman who was being stalked by a sexual predator, and that man ended up falling in love with the woman he wanted to kill! I think the main difference with romantic erotica and straight erotica is whether or not intimate feelings seep in. Sex is an effective tool to get the character something they want--whether it be a lifestyle, secret or affection. And depending on the use, it can make an erotic scene cool as metal or unbearably warm. The only thing I do not think should vary with erotica is the level of heat the pages create on the fingers of the reader, among other places....♥

Photograph by Maria C. Ferrer

GOLDEN APPLE AWARDS HONOREES

      
The Romance Writers of America / New York City Chapter celebrates its 20th Annual Golden Apple Awards reception on Thursday, September 16, 2010.

Every year, RWANYC honors the Best in the Romance Industry. Here are this year’s Honorees:

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT

Mary Jo Putney

AUTHOR OF THE YEAR

Leanna Renee Hieber

PUBLISHER OF THE YEAR

Sourcebooks

EDITOR OF THE YEAR

Deb Werksman, Sourcebooks

AGENT OF YEAR

Lori Perkins

BOOKSELLER OF THE YEAR

Penn Books

For more information on RWANYC and the Golden Apple Awards, visit http://www.rwanyc.com/.

DREADED AUTHOR QUESTION: Will You Put Me in Your Acknowledgements/ Dedication?

By Isabo Kelly



This is a tricky question on many levels, thus the reason it's dreaded. Who goes into the acknowledgements of a book and who a book is dedicated to are very personal things to an author. This is where she gets to thank the people who supported and helped her in the shaping of this particular novel.

And let's be honest, there's only so much room for these thank yous. You can’t thank everyone you’ve known since grade school. At least not all in one book. With luck, you’ll publish many many books and have time to thank everyone. But with each novel, there are certain people who contribute significantly. Those are the ones you want acknowledged.

Over the course of a writer's apprenticeship, while they're learning the craft and making their novel come to life, there are an awful lot of people who can claim to have contributed in one way or another. Aunt Betty for giving you your first romance novel; Tom the waiter who lent you a pen so you could jot down that idea you didn't want to loose; your family who managed to patiently not nag you while you were writing—or at least forgave you for shouting "Leave me alone, I'm writing!" at them more often than you want to remember.

Big and small, a lot of people contribute to a writer's development. But does that mean you have to put them in your acknowledgements?

No. In fact, you should only ever put in people you want to include. There will always be a select group that you feel really made the formation of any given book possible. And those people should be thanked. The people you thank can change from book to book, too. It's entirely up to you. Just don't let anyone bully you into including their names because they gave you a stick of gum once when you were thinking through a plot hole. Now if they bought you a coffee...

Just kidding. You should always thank those you feel need thanking. Everyone else will just have to accept your in-person gratitude.

So how do you answer this incredibly awkward question then? If it's someone you truly intend to include, let them know. They'll be thrilled. Actually, they probably won't be the ones asking. Make sure they see the acknowledgements anyway. They're the people in our writing life who really deserve the public gratitude. If the questioner is someone you've no intention of putting in your book, just grin and laugh it off. They probably won't even notice if they're not acknowledged. And if they do....

I say blame your publisher. They can take it. ♥




Isabo Kelly (aka Katrina Tipton) is the author of multiple science fiction, fantasy and paranormal romances. Her Prism Award Winning novel, SIREN SINGING, has just been released in paperback from Ellora’s Cave (www.ellorascave.com). For more on Isabo’s books, visit her at www.isabokelly.com.


In this monthly series, Isabo talks about the often uncomfortable questions every author gets asked, and how to handle those dreaded inquiries. If you have gotten any of these “dreaded” questions, please share them with us here. If you have an answer, all the better.

TO BLOG OR NOT TO BLOG: THAT IS THE QUESTION

  

By Elizabeth Knowles Palladino



As someone not yet published in book-length fiction, do I really need an online presence as an author?

A period of steely self-appraisal revealed that the portents seemed auspicious. I had a complete manuscript in fairly good shape, and a ten-year business plan in a steno notebook. Years ago I had sold in short non-fiction, and had a writing earnings record of forty-two dollars.

I would be submitting to agents and editors soon, and wanted them to be able to find me on the web. It seemed to me that a beautiful, individualized, business site would emphasize my professionalism and serve as a sales tool. I wanted to network with other authors, too.

Where to start, where to start? I googled any key words related to web design, and lurked in bookstores browsing the computer sections. I found some of the most useful information in a magazine. “Demystifying Author Web Sites” by Marie Force, in the July, 2009 issue of Romance Writers Report is a must-read for a web novice. It’s available online in the Member Resources section of the national RWA website. I’ve re-read that article several times; it is spot-on helpful.

In thinking about what I needed, I knew I wanted custom work from a top-flight web designer. I’ve seen nice templates, and I know blogs can be put together very economically, but I wanted a site that could not ever be mistaken for anyone else’s. I wanted to work with people who understood the book business, who could take my input and translate it into something remarkable, and who could grow and expand the blog as it developed into a published author’s website over the years.

I spent hours poring over dozens of author websites, taking notes and scribbling color schemes with felt-tip markers. I was looking mostly at visuals, but my first goal was to have a design that would capture people’s attention in a positive way. I wanted to write interesting pieces about the Early Medieval period, and include links that would lead readers to fascinating material I’ve found in my research. I also planned to post my writing career milestones—contests won, manuscripts requested, NaNoWriMos survived.

All roads seemed to lead to Waxcreative Design, a California company specializing in custom websites for writers, artists, and musicians. I simply fell in love with their work, and did not want any other design team. They are not cheap, but I did not want cheap—I wanted gorgeous, at a reasonable price—and I am thrilled with my Waxcreative Mini product. I think of it as a blog on amphetamines—not yet a true website, but it can easily be expanded to one when I sell.

The team at Wax was warm and professional from the start—knowledgeable when I was clueless, patient when I was naive, tech-savvy and always ready to teach and support me as I learned. The design process was a true collaboration, as they filtered and refined my ideas into a stunning masthead and pages that were all I had hoped for and more.

To blog or not to blog: The answer is yes!  I would be honored if you would stop by and take a look:  elizabethknowles.net/blog ♥

Elizabeth Knowles Palladino lives in Kingston, New York, and is the proud owner of a beautiful new blog.

WRITING WITHOUT BAND AIDS

   
By Karen Cino



Of course my morning walk is always my inspiration. That’s why while I walk in the morning I have to be careful not to trip on a loose board or a nail that pops up. Yesterday, a few boards buckled. This hot weather is torturous for everyone and everything, so imagine my surprise when I went out this morning and there in the middle of the boardwalk was a huge yellow metal plate. (I call it a Band Aid.) As I walked passed it, it reminded me of the revision process.

When we finish our manuscript, we are excited and can’t wait to get it out to an agent or editor. Before we send it out, we take one last look at the manuscript, and at times, overlook problems in scenes. Like the boards on the boardwalk, the scene should run smoothly and flawless. Don’t let distractions or your excitement blind you from taking the extra few weeks to polish your manuscript.

The smaller Band Aid represents the grammar and typos. (This is real. I didn’t put that there. The Band Aid is covering a raised crack.) Take the time to do last minute tweaks. Your manuscript should be flawless; any typos would be a complete turnoff.

Let’s try to use the next two weeks to remove the Band Aid, and go over the first three chapters and synopsis of our finished manuscript. This way, when you have the chance to pitch your manuscript at the Golden Apple Awards, it will be polished and ready to be sent out.

Speaking of which, the Golden Apple Awards is also another opportunity to talk to industry professionals and receive tips on the up and coming trends. So don’t short change yourself. You’ll be surprised at the results.♥


Karen Cino is President of the RWA New York City Chapter. She keeps her muse alive by walking every morning down at the South Beach Boardwalk in Staten Island. Currently, she is shopping for a home for her novel, ROSES, and is working on her next novel, MYSTICAL WONDERS.

SEASONS IN A WRITING LIFE

By Margaret Birth

During my life, I have been the daughter of a university professor and a public school teacher, a student myself, the wife of a graduate student and after my husband graduated the wife of a university professor, the mother of students—usually at least two of these in tandem. Is it any wonder, then, that I often think of “seasons” in terms of the school year?

Right now, we’re in back-to-school season. What does this mean for my writing? All it takes is the reminder that this is the season for purchasing new school supplies and for students and teachers buckling down to business again, and I seem to do the same thing: I stock up on paper and pens and printer cartridges and notebooks for those special elements of research that I like to keep organized together, and I redouble my efforts to produce and submit. This is especially important for me after the summer season, during which I typically slack off a bit since I like to stay flexible for visits with family and special outings with my husband. A few years back I decided to give myself permission to be more lax with my writing during the summer because I had been fighting a losing battle to push myself, with my writing, with my usual school year schedule even while I gave my family all the time that I could while it was convenient for them. Now, I just make it convenient for me too, because I know that we’ll all get back to being busy bees come the autumn.

I’ve experienced other seasons in my writing life. Those other “seasons” are more subtle and hard to define. The recent funeral of an elderly church friend reminded me of this. He had grown up during the Great Depression, served in the Army and won a Purple Heart after participating in several major battles in World War II, gotten a job in an insurance company, married a wonderful lady, had children, retired, had grandchildren—had had all of these important “seasons” in his life, with their own special focuses. Several years ago, when my children were little, I had bemoaned to fellow writer Barbara Daly that the only writing projects I could seem to complete were poems and short stories—but I felt like I should be writing novels because whenever I told people that I was a writer, they would ask, “Oh, have you written any books I might know about?” No one wanted to hear about poems published in erudite literary journals or confession stories that I’d published anonymously. Barbara, the dear and wise lady, suggested to me that my “season in life” for writing longer fiction might come once my children were older, and that life can feel much more pleasant when you learn to treasure the season that you’re presently experiencing—and she was one hundred percent right . . . about all of it.

Currently, I’m in a season that allows me the luxury of completing projects of all lengths, while working in a flurry of activity for about six hours a day during about nine or ten months out of the year, and less at other times. The funny thing, though, is that now that I have the time and the ability to concentrate long enough to complete a novel, I’m not only writing novels but am still fitting in poetry, and short stories, and short articles like this. I find that I thrive on the variety of creativity.

So . . . in what season of your writing life do you find yourself?♥



Margaret Birth is a Christian writer who has been widely published in short fiction, short nonfiction, and poetry, both in the U.S. and abroad; in addition to working as a freelance writer, she's spent over a decade freelancing for multiple publishers as a manuscript reader, proofreader, and copy editor. It's all of this experience on both sides of the publishing desk that has inspired her column, "The Write Stuff," which has appeared regularly in RWANYC's newsletter, Keynotes, for the past ten years.

BITS & PIECES: MARY RODGERS (and Recipe!)

I have had the pleasure that for every Bits & Pieces I have done, I have been beyond inspired. Mary Rodgers was no exception. Mary has the kind of energy that takes your breath away. It seems that she has lived a million lives, but everything is a brand new experience to her and her passion for learning and life are infinite.  Bumping into Mary at the greenmarket in Rockefeller Center, where I was surrounded by lavender which I love for its calming effects, I was calmed and inspired by having the briefest exchange with Mary, who is working on her own novel right now. I told her that she better hurry and get it out there so the world can enjoy! The world she has created fictionally along with the way she affects this world -- mine in particular by having come into contact with her. She has been to so many places, done so many things and yet she is not complacent. Her creativity is the type that feeds off all the world has to offer, and she does not want to miss a thing. Her apartment is filled with art and books and the good energy she said she felt when she was going to rent it. Mary is a foodie like me, and we bonded over our love of food and Italy--I am dying to make her chocolate mousse recipe. Read below to be blown away by Mary and her recipe!

I have been a storyteller my whole life, both as an actor and a musician. Creating new stories of my own is a natural outgrowth of my creative process.

I started playing the piano when I was five, and was in a conservatory until I was sixteen. At that point, I needed to make a decision as to whether I was dedicated enough to pursue a career as a professional concert pianist. I'd love to say that I arrived at my decision through careful consideration, but the truth was that I had just discovered boys, and suddenly the thought of spending twelve hours a day in a practice room became much less appealing! So that was the end of that career path.

Like most musicians I know, I was in a band for a while - mine was called White Sage. We specialized in the 'angry chick music' that was popular at the time. After about a year and a half of performing as the lead keyboardist and singer for the band, I decided that I just wasn't that angry anymore, and left.

In theater, I acted in both straight plays and musicals, and performed in every kind of venue, from barns to opera houses. I think I preferred the barns. Nothing like having a flock of bats or the local barn kitty horn in on your act at a crucial moment.

I was born in rural South Carolina, and many of the themes in my writing, such as my interest in history, the high value that I place on being part of a community and the pleasure and respect that I take in simple human interactions stem from my upbringing. My very first published story, Big Girl, featured a tough little southern girl catching her very first fish, and it is at least partly autobiographical. My uncle was a farmer, and he taught me to fish when I was a child, using a long bamboo pole with a cricket as bait.

Sometimes something as simple as a turn of phrase can inspire me. I heard an African word, sankofa, which means, 'turn your head to your past to build your future'.  In its earliest incarnation, the word was shown as a pictogram, which showed a crane standing on one leg looking over her shoulder. Later, the diagram evolved and now looks something like an open heart. I was captivated, and wrote my first screenplay, Common Ground, with the concept of sankofa as its central theme.

Other times, a scene will drop into my head, and I start asking myself 'what if' questions about the characters and the locations that I see. What if my character is very young? Or very old? What if she grew up poor? Or very wealthy? And so on. How will that affect her world view and the story that I wish to tell?

If I find that I'm hitting a stumbling block in my story, I'll just put it down and do something else creative.  I'll practice the piano, sing, or take my sketch pad to Central Park. Concentrating on some other form of art for a while helps me clear my mental logjam.

Cooking is one of my passions. I think that it satisfies the nurturing aspect of my personality, because I prefer to cook for larger groups of people, not just myself. Also, it feels a bit like chemistry to me, which is fun: add just a pinch of this, or a dash of that, and you can completely alter the flavor experience. I prefer simple recipes, hearty, home-style recipes. I also make the World's Best Chocolate Mousse - recipe to follow - that also happens to be incredibly easy to make. And people think that I'm a hero when I give it to them.

I love to travel. One of my favorite trips I made after I left my very first job as a banker on Wall Street. Worst job I've ever had, by the way, and that includes slinging hash at a diner.

At any rate, I was emotionally and physically exhausted, and at the last minute my girlfriend couldn't come, and so I traveled to South America by myself. It was an incredible journey. Aside from seeing the exotic flora and fauna, the people I met along the way were fascinating, from all corners of the globe, in very different professions. I learned the spiritual value of traveling by myself.

Years later, I went on a solo trip to Florence, Italy, two weeks before Christmas. I was wandering by myself on the artist's alley side of the Arno River, and I saw a flickering light coming from within a darkened shop.  Like a child, I pressed my face to the window to see what was going on. Presently, a little old man wearing a heavy apron and goggles came to the door, and beckoned me inside. His English was as lousy as my Italian, but he gave me an apron and goggles and indicated where I should stand. Back to work he went. He was spinning gold wire into an intricate bird cage. On a perch inside the cage, a delicate jeweled bird swung back and forth as he worked.  As my eyes adjusted to the dimness, I saw that the entire shop was wall to wall with the most beautiful, lifelike statues and figurines. It was magical, like being in a sorcerer's workshop.

When I returned to my hotel and related my story, the hotel proprietor all but had a nervous breakdown, and gave me to understand that I had been let into the shop of one of the most famous jewelers in the world. His shop is never open to the public - he only sells to Arab princes and European royalty. I don't think that I would have had the same experience if I had not been by myself.

I am currently at work on my first novel, VANISHING POINT.  While it is technically a work of dystopian science fiction -- it is a post-apocalyptic story that assumes that some people on Earth managed to leave and find a new world in which to live before the home planet imploded -- I'm working with a lot of fantastical elements.

My protagonist is an outcast in her own society, which is helping to create some wonderful tensions for me to play with.

And yes, of course there will be romance.  What is an epic adventure tale without romance? 

Mary's "So You Wanna Be a Hero" Chocolate Mousse Recipe

Ingredients:
   2 eggs

   2 egg yolks

   ½ C of sugar
   1 C heavy whipping cream
   6-oz package of Nestle's semi-sweet chocolate chips
   1 tsp vanilla
   3 tbs orange juice
   1 tbs Khalua (optional)


Directions:

--Put the above ingredients in a blender on high for two minutes.

--Add the cream to the blender, and beat on high for 30 seconds.
--In a double boiler, melt one Nestle's chocolate chips together with vanilla and orange juice -- or 2 tbs OJ and 1 tb Kahlua, depending on your preference.
--When the mixture is thoroughly melted with no lumps, take it off the heat and pour it into the blender.
--Blend and mix in the cream and eggs, about 15 seconds.  The heat of the chocolate helps cook the mixture into a custard.
--Pour the mixture into ramekins or small bowls.
--Let sit at least six hours or preferably overnight.
--Keep refrigerated.

Makes about 4 servings.