TRACKING THE DETAILS

by Tara Nina

As an author, I tend to simply sit and write without thought to direction. I admit to being a ‘pantser’, which some think is a misguided way to write. In fact, it’s not. To me it’s easier than plotting everything out and trying to maintain that course in the story. I find my characters have ideas concerning their actions, choices, plot, and of course love life. It’s not up to me to force them into a mold, but to listen to their story as told in their voice.

Sounds nuts doesn’t it?

It can be when these ideas rush forth and the fingers press the keys in a flurry of letters, words and sentences. Character descriptions, minor details, and assorted other items important in keeping the story straight can be confused or accidentally changed without intentional thought.

Over the years of conference attendance, I’ve listen to some of the leaders in the world of romance speak about many things. Keeping the details straight was a key factor in some of the workshops. When asked how they did it, they use storyboards set up in their offices. Nice idea. But for the rest of us who don’t have the space or luxury of an office, there is a simpler way.

In this age of computers, it’s easy to keep these things organized if one takes a moment at the beginning of each manuscript to create a file labeled: Character Traits and Important Story Facts. When a character is created, list their name, job, talent, location, and every minute physical trait: hair color, eye color, body build, flaws, etc. This helps when you’re halfway through the book and realize you’ve forgotten the color of their eyes or how you spelled the last name.

I even keep a running timeline in this file. So many times, I’ve gotten into the writing that I’ve forgotten how many days have gone by in the story. It helps keep the story flowing when you can keep the minute details straight. Readers pick up on these things. And some of them make it their job to inform an author of a mistake. Don’t let this happen to you.

If you find creating a Fact File on your computer as you write a bit confusing, then try using a notebook. Keep it beside you as you create and jot down notes that will help keep the facts straight.

I find that as I get older, every little ‘memory’ trick I can use is helpful in my efforts to write. Characters speak and I listen. Stories unfold and flourish. But it’s the details that get forgotten along the way.


Tara Nina writes hot romances with sexy attitude in the paranormal, contemporary and erotica genres. Her latest book, CURSED LAIRD, is available from Ellora's Cave.  Visit her at http://www.taranina.com/.

WRITING TIME TIP: USE YOUR SUBWAY TRAIN DELAY

    
  
by K. Keith


Since I have a day job and lots of fun chores, like cleaning the toilet and shopping for baking soda, I’m constantly on the lookout for time to write, which brings me to Exhibit A, the Subway Train Delay.

Picture this: I’m sitting in a moving subway train car. The train stops in a tunnel. After several minutes pass, the conductor makes an announcement, complete with eardrum-piercing static, to us passengers. “Rrrw, rrw, grrwl train rrw grrr ahead xlllik,” he says. Or maybe it’s “Rrrwl rlllx fire nnnrrr” or “Rrowl rrwe llttz rrulrul.”

Anyway, after everyone in my section asks each other, “What did he say?” and we confer (“owls in the tunnels” is the consensus ), I pull out my small notepad. Ah, time to write the next scene of my historical romance while we wait for the owls to cross the tracks.

What’s your favorite nuisance-turned-extra-writing-time tip?♥


K. Keith is a RWANYC member. She's busy writing her first historical romance about Hexford, aka Lord Wilton, and Juliana.
  
  

CHARACTER CHECKLISTS – A NECESSARY EVIL

By K.P. Sharpe

There is nothing worse than getting halfway through a story and have to thumb through chapters looking for the color of a main character’s eyes or hair. Even the size/weight of your character or age of the character when the novel started can get lost in the sauce of your first draft. Who has the luxury of time to stop and go back to double check? When getting the story down pat, it’s amazing how much of the major/minor details you can forget, unless you create checklists. I use them for my short stories and especially my novels to keep track of physical descriptions as well as the character’s relationship to the others. I have one-page checklists for the short stories, and a full eight-page checklist for my novel characters. I have split the eight-page checklist so it covers two at a time, usually the main two characters. I may not use every question in my checklist, but by the time I finish, I have a detailed account of my main characters.

What type of components should be included in a checklist?
First the usual: date, place of birth, full name and the meaning of the name (if it’s unique); physical attributes like eye and hair color, height, weight, build, skin tone and hair style. Other details like home town, hobbies, favorite music, food, literature, color and drink become major tidbits of information as well. Things like, what mode of transportation does your character use; is he or she a drinker? Smoker? How much education does she or he have, and what is the primary occupation, are important points as well. I ask does my character have children, is the relationship with the children important, and if the parents are alive, what is the relationship between them? Even if the description is no more than a few mentions here and there in the novel or short story, it’s important to have something you can build on.

What else should you have in a checklist?
Everything I described above is rather generic and straightforward. I also ask which of the seven deadly sins or virtues does my character give into or fight against, what talents does my character have, what is the biggest regret? Biggest accomplishment, what are the peculiarities? What is his or her’s darkest secret and who knows about it? What do friends/family like most/least about the character? How does the character react to change or new problems? What is his or her drives and motivations? Is she or he divorced? Who is the person your character secretly admires and why? What is the religion and spiritual beliefs, and what part of religion or spiritually does it play in the character’s life. I even want to list what pets the character has, where he or she hangs out, where does the character vacation, and even what is the present and previous relationships with the opposite sex. I even list at least four close friends, their names and ages.


A couple of writing friends saw my character checklists and customized them for their own use. They realized this was a good way to build main characters and keep them consistent throughout your novel or short story. To have to stop and double check something 150 or more pages back is just not good when you’re under deadline. So build the skeleton first, the meat goes on easier that way.♥



Karen Pearl Sharpe has been an astrologer for close to four decades; wrote nonfiction articles for several weekly New York City newspapers and astrology columns for CableView Magazine, Harlem News Group and the nationally distributed Street News. Her NaNoWriMo novel from 2009, PSYCHIC LOVERS, was published under her pen name Sydelle Houston, and her collection of erotic short stories called Hot Pages will be available in August 2011, both on Amazon.com. She is currently working on a historical novel set in 1870 New York. Her main blog is: http://sydelleh.livejournal.com/

CREATING CONFLICT: DON’T FIGHT IT—FINESSE IT (PART ONE)

  
by Margaret Birth

Okay, y’all, hear this! NO MATTER HOW OBNOXIOUS YOUR CHARACTERS ACT, OR HOW MUCH THEY BICKER, IT DOESN’T MEAN THAT THEY HAVE ADEQUATE CONFLICT!!! Got it?

There are two kinds of conflict in fiction: internal and external. Both play important roles in character and plot development. For now, I’ll discuss internal conflict.

Internal conflict is an emotional road-block; it’s something inside a character that keeps him or her from doing or becoming whatever he or she wants.

For example, a hero may place road blocks on the path to a developing romantic relationship; if he’s afraid of being abandoned again just as his mother abandoned him when he was little, the hero’s internal conflict is a fear of abandonment. Of course, being a disciplined guy with a strong personality and definite goals, he’s not just going to open right up and admit to something that he may see as a weakness, or as a part of his past that’s best left in his past; instead, he’s going to do whatever he needs to do to keep himself from being made vulnerable to the hurt that can come from loving someone else.

Keep in mind:  Both your hero and your heroine should have some kind of internal conflict. It needn’t be earth-shattering; it could be as simple as a job that consumes the heroine’s life, to the point where she never takes time to smell the roses—or to commit to a serious relationship—because she wants her dad to be proud of how well she runs the family business.

Often, a character doesn’t recognize an internal conflict for what it is until he or she meets someone special; in other words, internal conflicts tend to be well-engrained. But then this new loved-one challenges the character’s ability to break down the walls caused by this internal conflict—which results in fear, excitement...and battles of will between the two.

Since the goals people set for themselves are closely related to how they perceive of themselves, a character’s goal and internal conflict may also be closely related. Think, for instance, of a prosecution lawyer-heroine who’s distressed when she realizes that she’s falling in love with a defense attorney; ever since she was abused as a child in the foster care system but no one believed her when she sought help, her goal in life has been to protect victims. Her goal (to protect victims) and her internal conflict (the childhood pain she holds onto so tightly that she identifies with all victims, and has trouble forgiving her defense attorney-sweetheart whenever he gets an alleged criminal set free) are closely tied together.

A hero and heroine often have internal conflicts and/or goals that mirror one another.

If you give your hero and heroine each an internal conflict, then you’ll have a good foundation on which to develop characters and build a plot—one that includes lots of scenes with fiery clashes and equally passionate vows of peace and love. ♥



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.