The E-Organized Story

The medieval kings and queens of England—what a confusion of Edwards, Richards and Henrys, of Elizabeths and Margarets! Keeping them all straight was a problem while writing my Three Graces trilogy set at the court of Henry VII.  

That was, until I hit upon the idea of using my genealogy program, Family Tree Maker, to keep track. Creating a family chart for Henry Tudor, father of Henry VIII, was just a matter of typing in his name as the “home person” in a new tree. The same was true for Edward IV and the rest of the Plantagenets involved in the story.  Every name entered was greeted by the ubiquitous “leaf” icon which indicated more information available on Ancestry.com. Clicking a few times added the appropriate birth and death dates, plus the spouses and children, brothers, sisters and ancestors for each royal personage. An hour later, I had the pedigree charts I needed for fast and easy reference.

Not everyone is writing about royalty, of course. But a genealogy program can also be used to track fictional characters, particularly the siblings, cousins and other relatives in a connected series or multi-generational family saga. Using the “New Tree” feature, you might begin with your main character. Type in his or her given and surname names, give them a birth date, then add a father and mother and any siblings along with their appropriate dates. From there you can create as many grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins as your heart desires or your story requires.

If you are feeling super organized, you can add other details such as previous spouses or, in the “Notes” field, include detailed character descriptions and any unusual features, scars or habits. Save and print this “family tree,” and you’ll never have to search your manuscript pages again for that name, age, relationship or description that you can’t quite remember.

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Since publishing her first book at age 27, New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Jennifer Blake has gone on to write over 65 historical and contemporary novels in multiple genres. She brings the story-telling power and seductive passion of the South to her stories, reflecting her 8th-generation Louisiana heritage. Jennifer lives with her husband in northern Louisiana.

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Writing Epiphany

After revamping my website, I had an epiphany. Nothing monumental, mind you, but an epiphany all the same. I have come to the conclusion I am an ADD writer. Since I teach elementary children by day, I know a lot (more than I'd like to actually) about attention deficit disorder. As I'm sure most of you know, attention deficit disorder means not being able to stay focused on one thing.

My writing ADD is pretty much the same. Instead, of writing the same type of romance all the time, I'm Always Doing something Different (hence my acronym ADD).

Most writers ususally find their niche and pen stories within their particular genre. Me? Not so much. I came to this realization as I was organizing my books into categories on my website. Even though all of my books are romances, I have a wide variety of stories under the romance umbrella ranging from paranormal to Christian. Hmm... See? Two polar opposites. Even the heat level in my books have a broad spectrum. Some are sweet and sassy and others (like my latest novel Catering to the Italian Playboy) are a bit spicier. At first, I thought this might be a bad thing, but I've come to realize that its more fun to write the story of your heart (at the time) than to try to stay within a specific style.

This brings me to my second epiphany. Readers can have a touch of ADD too. While most readers generally tend to read the same type of book the majority of the time, there are occasions where they too might want something a little different. Something outside their usual genre or maybe something a little diffrent within their favorite genre. So, my question for the readers is .... What do you like to read?

What are your favorite themes in a romance book? Do you like secret babies and family or do you like the total fantasy with sheiks and princes? Or maybe a warlock or werewolf is more your style. We'd love to know which themes tickle your fancy? Drop us a line or in the comments and let us know.

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Tamelia Tumlin has worked with several online publishers, but is now writing exclusively for Steel Magnolia Press. Juggling motherhood, teaching and writing is a challenge, but one she welcomes to pursue her passion. Her romance novels range from sweet and sassy to dark and dangerous.

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The Traveling Writer

Writers can write anywhere; it’s not only a maxim, but a definite benefit of the craft. Trouble is, we’re expected to take our work, or the tools for it, everywhere we go. On returning from a recent three-week getaway, I realized I’d transported more equipment to work with than clothes to wear. What does that say about me? But it also occurred to me that packing for an extended trip involves a fair amount of organization if you're to have what you need. Aha, fodder for a blog post! So here’s a rundown of what I normally take:

Travel journal:

I like to keep a record of where I went, when, and what I did on certain days. It comes in handy later, when people are scratching their heads, wondering what year we went where. It’s also great for settling arguments!

Research books or materials:

You may not need this item. I always do—especially if I don’t have it with me.

Printed manuscript pages, as needed:

Proofreading on the printed page is far more accurate than proofreading on a computer screen. Why? The screen doesn’t display as much text as a page, so you miss repeated words and phrases. Also, its glare often obscures missed commas or periods. In addition, the printed page is more like printed text so sentences read differently, are perceived differently by the brain. All right, I have no proof of the last, but it seems that way to me.

Notepad—actual, not electronic:

No matter how integrated with the digital world you may be, there will always be times when a low-tech paper-and-pen combo is faster and more convenient than a high-tech gadget.

Pens in your favorite brand and style:

Pens are illusive things. No matter how many I drop into my purse or stand in the pewter cup on my desk, there’s never one available when I need it. I buy them by the box, and, still, the only thing I can find to write with on the spur of the moment is one of those cheap pens everyone lifts from hotel rooms. Do the best you can.

Briefcase:

So you may look like a road warrior—you still need some means of keeping all your paraphernalia together. I have a leather hard-sided briefcase, a leather soft-sided one, two rip-stop nylon soft-sided ones, and a cheap one with wheels and a handle that I bought at Wal-Mart. Guess which one I use.

Laptop, Notebook computer, or tablet:

This is an indispensible item, even if you’re absolutely positive you won’t be writing anything longer than research notes, character sketches or scene notes. Leave it behind, and I guarantee the complete plot for the opus of the century will arrive full-blown in your mind while you’re somewhere over the Atlantic or in the middle of Texas.

Padded cover(s) for your precious electronics:

Nothing is sadder than an iPad with a cracked screen from being dropped on a hard surface. I’ve seen it. It’s not pretty.

Chargers for  electronics:

Between the two of us, my husband and I had nine different chargers with us on this last trip—phone (x2), laptop (x2), camera, eReader, iPad, iPod, and GPS. Too wired, yes. But guard these with your life, for you can do nothing without them. It’s a good idea to buy a carrying bag of some kind that’s dedicated to nothing but chargers. I also like to put each charger in a separate zip-type plastic bag and label it. No, I’m not compulsive; it just annoys me to have to scrabble through a bunch of wires to find what I want.

External hard drive or thumb drive with appropriate stored files:

Yeah, yeah, I know you’re connected to the cloud, but what if there’s something between you and it? It can happen in the Wild West where canyon walls and mountain tops often block signals. Bad weather can intervene anywhere. Better safe than sorry.

Paperclips or bulldog clips:

I hate having to reorganize papers when a simple paperclip would have saved the time and irritation. How colorful or fancy these may be is up to you. Have fun; writing has become way too serious these days.

Pre-glued Notes

Sometimes, it’s useful to attach your handwritten note to the MS page it’s meant to elucidate. It just is, trust me. And an idea per page, and the pages in a neat little pile, is… Fine. Maybe I am compulsive. But organization is still a good thing.

Since publishing her first book at age twenty-seven, New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Jennifer Blake has gone on to write over sixty-five historical and contemporary novels in multiple genres.  She brings the story-telling power and seductive passion of the South to her stories, reflecting her eighth-generation Louisiana heritage.  When not traveling, Jennifer lives with her husband in northern Louisiana.

www.jenniferblake.com

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Editing Out Voice

For those of you who don't know, I was a writer/editor/project manager in the corporate world for 23 years, though toward the end I seemed to be spending far more time managing than doing what I think I do best: writing and editing. I've worked in advertising, marketing and sales, and am fluent in corporate speak. I've also edited newspapers for nonprofits and newsletters for businesses.

Although I played at copyediting, it was never a job I relished doing. Too many grammarians -- especially in the corporate world -- get caught up in the rules and forget about what makes writing effective and memorable: voice.

Since I didn't have the luxury to pick and choose my projects, I worked with text that ran the gamut from techno-babble that made precious little sense to competent copy that read fine but just wasn't that compelling. Unfortunately, I also worked against a corporate mentality that rewards the bland and frowns on anything outside a small range of approved voice.

Two projects stand out most for me where I had to battle for the addition of voice -- one a technical white paper and the other a company newsletter.

In the white paper, which I ghost wrote for an executive, I used an extended metaphor to get across the idea of why business continuity and disaster recovery are critical components of a company's IT strategy. (Stop fidgeting; I promise that's as technical as I'm going to get.) For the metaphor, I chose the asteroid slam that wiped out the ponderous dino beasties and gave the smaller, more agile mammals a chance to thrive. "What's this all about?" was the cry I kept hearing from one reviewer to the next. "This kind of thing just isn't done. Not in this organization! We pride ourselves on being a staid and incomprehensible IT company. Stop making what we do accessible to the general public!"

For a paycheck, I'm willing to compromise -- but only to a point. I argued that the metaphor was the paper's hook, the thing that would make it stand out from all those other white papers every other IT services organization was writing on the subject. We could either be noticed or be assimilated. And if they chose assimilation, someone else was going to have to write the paper. In the end they signed off on it, grumbling all the way. Of the hundreds of white papers the company produced, that one had the longest shelf life and was the one most downloaded and used. In fact, when the original executive resigned a couple of years after it was first published, the one taking his place slapped his name on the paper and kept it alive a few more years.

There weren't any groundbreaking revelations in the paper. In all other respects, it was pretty run-of-the-mill. It was popular because of voice.

In the second example, when a techie guy working at a client site sent in an article about how his team had pulled together and overcome obstacle after obstacle to get a computer network up and running, I knew I had to use it in the company newsletter. Why? The actual details weren't any different from any other team's challenges in putting in a network, but there was such a raw enthusiasm in this guy's writing that it begged to be included.

Corporate speak it was not, though, and that was a problem. I had a choice: rein it in so it was in line with the bland brand or give it its head and let it take others along on its rather wild ride. I chose the latter, which actually presented the greater editing challenge. Preserving unique voice in an unpolished work while making it conform to at least some syntax, structure and punctuation rules is akin to performing delicate surgery. The last thing I wanted to do was kill the brash joy that crashed through so potently.

I published the newsletter. The investment relations manager was outraged. "What if a client sees this? I want all future newsletters to come through me so I can give them a professional edit."

Which, if you know me, didn't sit well at all. "Um, excuse me, I am a professional editor. And if I were a client, I'd be thrilled that someone working on my site had the level of passion this guy obviously has for the work he's doing. Given a choice between this guy and someone just punching the clock and spending his days conjugating verbs correctly, hands down I'd choose this guy -- meaning OUR company -- every time."

What is it about a large corporation that makes people afraid of standing out in some way? Of infusing life and voice into the work it produces? Of wearing passion on its figurative sleeve?

As a result of that article, we had employees with some truly amazing stories tell us they felt they could submit them now because they weren't intimidated; our employee newsletter was now accessible by its intended audience. And yes, the article did fall into the hands of some of our clients, and they expressed hope that future issues would be highlighting similar stories and teams at their companies.

So what does any of this have to do with your fiction writing?

You have a unique voice. Use it -- loudly and well. Don't give in to the pressure of critique groups who try to flatten it or otherwise corrupt it. Have confidence in your voice, nurture it, praise it, reward it.

Your voice is you. Never, ever let anyone edit it -- or you -- out of your work.

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Phoenix Sullivan's short stories have appeared in various pro anthologies and magazines. In the corporate world, Phoenix was a professional writer and editor for 23 years. Before that, she was a registered veterinary technician, working with small animal clinics and wildlife rehab centers. She taps that knowledge in SECTOR C, a near-future medical thriller with a vet heroine, a CDC analyst hero and a pandemic that crosses both species and time.

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Writer's Block

Greetings from the South.

I'm sure everyone has heard of it. Many have had it and some are experiencing it now. Yes, you know what I'm talking about. The dreaded writer's block. Or as I like to call it, writer's panic. That sheer feeling of fear as you stare at the stark white blank page with the little lone cursor blinking rapidly in front of you.

Waiting.

Waiting for you to type something. Anything. But, you can't. Your mind draws a blank and you just stare at the cursor praying the screen has some kind of magic ink that will reveal itself to you. It doesn't.

So, how does one overcome writer's block? By writing, of course. No it might not be your best. It might not even make sense. Chances are it will have to be trashed immediately, but as a wise author once said, "You can't fix a blank page."

Personally, I take that little slogan to heart.

Don't get me wrong. There are days when I stare at the white screen with the little blinking cursor and want to throw in the towel. Nothing seems to fall into place and for the life of me I can't string two sensible sentences together. Instead of surrending to the blinking cursor, I type. And delete. Then type some more. And delete some more. Finally, just when it seems like a lost cause, something happens. A little magical spark of sorts and my characters take over (they really do have a mind of their own, you know) and the scene starts to flesh out. Maybe not perfectly at first, but enough to move forward. So I type while my characters lead and at the end of the day I am no longer facing stark white pages with a lonesome little cursor. I have something to work with. I might not be able to fix a blank page, but I can certainly fix a page full of ideas and promise.

So there you have it. Writer's block defeated once again. Ok. Your turn. Let your fingers tickle the keyboard while your mind releases the magic.

The Art of the Query Letter

This is for the writers out there who have a manuscript -- or will have one soon -- ready to start submitting to agents or publishers. One of the requisites is a query about the project, which is part sales letter and part demonstration of writing ability. For many, writing this single page is far more stressful than writing the entire book.

I recently saw an ad for a class being taught by someone who made the critique blog rounds with their query a couple of years ago. The first version I saw was, shall we say, not very good. The critiquers came through with some really brilliant and considered advice to help improve it.

The query then started popping up on other crit sites, revised for the better each time. By its fifth public version, the query had gone from bland to spectacular. In fact, when version 5.0 appeared on one agent's query critique site, the agent didn't just ask for pages, she demanded them. While THAT agent didn't take on this author, another did. (It's been a few months now and the ms that snagged the agent hasn't sold yet, but they are pressing forward and working on other projects together.)

What's important to this conversation is not the revelation that getting an agent doesn't always translate into a book sale to a publisher (although that's a reality we all need to keep in our back pockets) or that people actually get paid to critique queries, it's that this person put their ego aside and learned from the critiques. Now those early versions were beaten, kicked, shredded, gutted and left a bloody mess. It took courage to subject those attempts to public pummeling -- not once or twice but multiple times. And it took bull-headed determination to get that query to the point where it had agents begging for more.

I have tons of respect for writers so willing to learn.

So, in easily digestible form, here are the takeaways from today's sermon:

• It generally takes several revisions to get a query to the point it can do its work well.
• Query writing is a skill that can be learned (some writers will always be better at it than others, just as some people are better at writing brilliant marketing pieces than they are at writing technical documents, but if you have any kind of general writing skill, you can learn to write a good query)
• You have to be able to filter conflicting advice and choose what works best for your unique style and voice.
• While feedback is subjective and you might easily ignore advice you only hear once, if several people are piling on over the same issue, realize it's a "you, not them" problem and CHANGE IT.
• Initial drafts (plural) usually suck.
• There is no one way to write a query; even the pros in the biz differ on length, ingredients, and spoilers.
• Listening to conflicting industry advice and trying to cater to every conflicting "rule" out there is a sure way to madness. Pick a style that works for you and do your darnedest to perfect it.
• The same people you're thinking of paying for advice might well be the same people who learned for free -- the same way you can learn for free.
• Whether you pay for advice or not, be sure to solicit multiple opinions and not rely on any one person's blessing or evisceration.
• Even a killer query can't overcome a story that isn't perceived as marketable (go back and read that one again -- it's important).
• Pay it forward -- once you've learned the skill, pop on the critique boards and help others hone their skills as well.

Phoenix's 5 Stages of Query Writing
Version 1: It might need a little tweaking but it can't be that bad. (Oh, but it is.)

Version 2: Ouch. But OK, I've cleaned up the stuff readers had issues with and it really is better. (Uh-oh, new issues have been introduced.)

Version 3: OK, I am going to meticulously answer every reader's concern and concentrate on exactly that and nothing else because, frankly, I'm getting pretty frustrated over all of this. (Only now, the query has lost its voice and, somewhere, the story's tight plot and style.)

Version 4: Ah, now I see that I can leave out some of those problematic issues completely and the query experience for the reader will actually be improved. Less really IS more. (And it is. Often, V4 is a complete re-envisioning of the query, with a cleaner feel and fewer plot points and characters.)

Version 5: Gah, how could I have misspelled THAT and not seen it until now? (Final grammar check, but it's now ready for submission.)

It's never too early to start writing your query. In fact, writing the query before you even write the book can help keep you focused on the major themes you envision for the story.

One caveat: It may well take 10 or more revisions to get to "Version 5." That's normal. But revising ad infinitum can become a habit or a stonewalling tactic. At some point you need to call it, stop revising and send that puppy out. Because the only query sure to get rejected is the one that doesn't get submitted.

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Website Animal Junkie Blog Twitter

Phoenix Sullivan's short stories have appeared in various pro anthologies and magazines. In the corporate world, Phoenix was a professional writer and editor for 23 years. Before that, she was a registered veterinary technician, working with small animal clinics and wildlife rehab centers. She taps that knowledge in SECTOR C, a near-future medical thriller with a vet heroine, a CDC analyst hero and a pandemic that crosses both species and time.

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