Writing a plot synopsis for a query letter

For a writer, a query letter is hands-down the most important letter you'll ever write. I've been a professional writer since I graduated from college -- marketing, advertising, business, public relations -- so I've written my share of business letters. But no one letter stressed me out to the point of my query letter. I would say, as I'm sure every other writer does: "If they'd just read the first chapter of my book, they'd love it! I'm an author, not a letter writer!" And I was a business letter writer, and I still thought this.

I made the mistake of thinking that a query letter was different than any other business letter. It is and it isn't. It is different in that you're pitching your book (and you have to summarize it). It isn't different in that you want to be as professional as possible. Agents love dealing with professionals. So as much as you may want to, keep the unseemly begging, pleading, and angst-filled prose in your computer where it belongs. Believe me, I know, this is hard to do when your budding writing career is on the line.

As I'm sure you all know, there are tons of books on query letters. But before you go out and drop cash to buy some, go to my agent's site (www.nelsonagency.com). Kristin has a wonderful anaylsis of what query letters worked for her and why. My query letter is one of them. Go to her blog (one of the industry's best for the inside working of an agency), and scroll down the right nav until you get to "Agent Kristin's Queries: An Inside Scoop." Read these and her comments which are worth their weight in gold. Immediately below that is her "Blog Pitch Workshop." Every day for about two weeks, Kristin did a workshop on her blog as to what pitches work in a query and what doesn't. She also gives examples of "perfect pitches" in each genre. Wonderful stuff!

But how did I write my synopsis paragraph for MLTF? I did what everyone else does -- I tried to include everything. I soon found out that "everything" doesn't fit in a paragraph, and it just made my book sound like a jumbled mess. What I had to get at, what I had to dig down to, was the core of what my book was about. Here's the link to Kristin's analysis of my query letter. I did a brief intro of why I was writing to her, got right to the pitch, and then did a brief, professional wrap-up. In my pitch, I used the tone and voice of my book (my big selling point), and hit only the high points of the plot. A good exercise to do this is to gather up your favorite novels that are in the genre in which you write. Now read the jacket or back cover copy. That's what I went for: a combo of big-picture plot summary and marketing promo copy. Give it a try with your own pitch paragraph and see if it works for you.

Tomorrow, I'll share my recipe for spaghetti sauce in my continuing Friday series: "Feeding your family when you're on deadline." The recipes I'm posting are great for making a double batch and freezing half (or more) to take out, thaw, and use when you don't have time to cook. And on Saturday is the Fun Pic. I think you guys will really like this one. ; )

Lisa

Magazine ad for Armed & Magical

We may make a few tweaks, but here's the ad for Armed & Magical that will be appearing in two issues of Realms of Fantasy magazine. The first will be in the issue before A&M's April 29th release; the second will be in the issue after the book's release. (You can click on the pic to see a bigger version. It's not as crisp, but you'll be able to read the copy.)

I think it looks great! It comes in handy to work in an advertising agency -- one of our designers (who's also a SciFi Fantasy fan) did this for me. Thank you, Jon!!

You may notice some slight differences in my website. Webmaster Todd and I did a little updating this weekend to let everyone know that A&M is available for pre-order, and to make buying either MLTF or A&M an easy one-click operation. I also updated the Home, News, Books, and Events pages. I'll be doing a more comprehensive update in the next two months.

Tomorrow I'll tell you how I wrote my synopsis copy for the all-important query letter.

Have yourselves a great day (we're halfway to the weekend)!
Lisa

Books for writers that inspire me

Over the years, I've read tons of writing how-to books. Four books left a real impression, either for their usefulness, or for their inspiration.

For sheer usefulness, there are two written by Donald Maass, literary agent extraordinaire: The Career Novelist, and Writing the Breakout Novel. The Career Novelist is a thin, quick read but packed with insight on the dream versus the reality of being a published author. Writing the Breakout Novel is Don's insider advice for taking your fiction to the next level. He gives seminars based on this book around the country. If he's offering one near you, go. It's worth it. This is the most useful and helpful writing book I've ever read. The lightbulb went off in my head while reading this one -- I wrote MLTF after soaking up this book. I could see so clearly what I wasn't doing and what I needed to do to get my words and story to jump off the page. He covers things such as: finding the premise of your book, raising the stakes, forging advanced character relationships, digging for the depth in your characters, building a compelling and page-turing plot, and the importance of putting tension on every page.

For writerly inspiration, and for just making you feel that being a writer doesn't mean that you're a freak of nature -- or if we are freaks of nature, that we're not alone ; ) there is On Writing by Stephen King, and Sometimes the Magic Works by Terry Brooks. Stephen King's book is an inside look at the creative process of a master. Fabulous book. Terry Brooks goes more with his experiences as a writer starting at the beginning of his career up until the present. Great and fun reading for those of us just now dipping our toes in the publishing industry pool. Some of my favorites: Terry's first book signing (let's just say he didn't have a happy experience), and some tough love from his editor. Terry thought that he was just having problems with the ending of his second Shannara novel. Lester del Rey was there to inform him that the entire book was a mess and he needed to ditch it and start from scratch. If things like this happened to a fantasy master, kinda makes me either feel good about my own experiences, or completely identify with his pain and suffering. ; )

Tomorrow, I'll post the ad for Armed & Magical that will be appearing in Realms of Fantasy magazine. I'll be running it in the issue right before A&M hits the bookstores, and in the issue after. It comes in handy to work at an advertising agency. Our senior designer (also a SciFi/Fantasy fan) did this one for me. I think it's great! ; )

Lisa

Absolutely priceless MLTF review

Update on The Trouble With Demons: I finished Chapter 19 late yesterday, and the goal is to do 20 and 21 this week. In reaching Chapter 20, I'm officially 2/3 of the way through the first draft. There's light at the end of the tunnel -- let's hope it's not an oncoming train. I do not have time for a trainwreck.

I know I said that I was going to blog on writing books that most inspired me, but I read a review of Magic Lost, Trouble Found yesterday that is absolutely priceless. You all have to go read it. It starts with the most hilarious trashing of my cover that I've ever read. I laughed out loud and I LOVED IT! ; ) I've found when it comes to MLTF's cover that people either adore it or dispise it with an unholy passion. ; ) I just love hearing everyone's opinion.

The rest of Felicia's review is precisely the reaction I hope readers will have when they read MLTF. She LOVED the book, and she says why.

I emailed her to say how much I enjoyed her review, and hopefully I'll hear back from her.

Her name is Felicia Day, she's an actress ("Vi" on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, among many other roles), and here's the link to her blog.

http://feliciaday.net/blog/

Scroll down past the Obama blog to her January book reviews, read, and enjoy. There's also a great review of Joe Abercrombie's The Blade Itself (it's in my TBR stack).

And here's Felicia's page on IMDb (The Internet Movie Database). Check out her photos -- I think she'd make a great Raine. ; ) In addition to the red hair, she even has gray eyes.

Tomorrow I promise I'll blog on my fav and most inspirational writing books.

Try to have yourselves a great Monday!
Lisa

The towers of unpublishable manuscripts

As promised, here they are -- manuscripts I've written that didn't make it into print because they stink. Well, not exactly stink, but I'll be nice to myself and say that I was learning. These are my practice manuscripts. And without writing them (and learning from my mistakes), I wouldn't be published now. Yep, some of us have to kill a lot of trees before we get published.

Drop back by on Monday, I'll tell you what books for writers inspire me.

Have a great weekend!

Lisa

Vegetable Beef Stew -- Recipes to feed your family while you're on deadline

Happy Friday, everybody! It's been another long week. Continuing with my Friday Food Blog is my recipe for Vegetable Beef Stew. This one is my own creation. ; ) This recipe can also be doubled to make extra stew for freezing, which is great for those nights when all you have time to do is re-heat something.

Vegetable Beef Stew

2 lbs. extra lean stew beef
3 tbsp. butter
1 medium yellow onion (chopped)
8-oz. pkg. fresh mushrooms (chopped)
1 pkg. McCormick Beef Stew Seasoning Mix
1 small can corn (drained)
1 small can lima beans (drained)
4 red potatoes (skins on & sliced bite-sized)
1-1 1/2 cups sliced carrots
1-1 1/2 cups chopped brocolli
2 (10-oz. cans) Rotel Mexican Festival Diced Tomatoes (with Lime Juice & Cilantro) or if you don't want as much kick, you can use two cans of Hunts Diced Tomatoes with Balsamic Vinegar & Olive Oil.
6 cups of water

You're using extra lean stew beef, but if there's any fat, slice it off before cooking. Brown beef in a skillet (do not drain any drippings). Put meat and drippings in a large stew pot. Melt 3 tbsp. of butter in the skillet and saute chopped onion and mushrooms. Add onion and mushrooms to stew pot with the beef. Then add contents of seasoning packet and 6 cups of water. Stir until blended. Cut up remaining vegetables and add to the stew pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for two hours, stirring occasionally. Enjoy!

FYI -- This stew goes great with sourdough bread or cornbread.

Pop back by tomorrow for the Saturday Fun Pic; I'll be posting my own Leaning Tower of Unpublishable Manuscripts. And on Monday, I'll tell you what books for writers inspire me.

Have a great weekend!
Lisa

Write for yourself, not the market

If you're like me, it can take years to get published. During that time, it's important to write what you love, or in my case, what I wanted to read but couldn't find. If you write a Young Adult novel because they're hot sellers right now, but you don't really like YA, it will show in your pages. Not to mention, by the time your book hits the shelves, YA probably won't be so hot anymore. Write for your passion, not for market popularity.

That love for what you're writing, the fun, the passion, the "I can't wait to get back and visit with my characters" will all have to be strong enough to keep you going day after day, week after week, month after month -- you get the picture. And when your book is in your local Barnes & Noble, your readers will sense the passion you had while writing it.

Your passion has to be strong enough that you want to write every day -- that you have to write every day. The difference between a writer and someone who likes to talk about being a writer is that you're compelled to write, they're compelled to talk. Your day isn't complete unless you write. It's like an obsession. Writing isn't something you do; a writer is what you are. And published or unpublished, nothing will change that.

If MLTF hadn't been published, I'd still be writing Raine stories for myself -- or that Urban Fantasy that's clawing for my attention. ; ) I wouldn't have stopped trying to get published, but not getting that contract wouldn't have stopped me from writing.

Fun News: After my booksigning last week at the Barnes & Noble at The Streets of Southpoint in Durham, NC, they graciously offered to host a Book Release Party for Armed & Magical on April 29 (the day it hits the shelves) at 7:00 p.m. There will be cake, balloons, reading, signing, talking, mingling, and lots of fun. It's my first Book Release Party, so I'm really excited. So. . .if you live in central North Carolina, or will be in the area on April 29, come to my party and buy your copy of A&M there. I'll sign it for you and we'll chat and eat cake. ; )

Tomorrow is Friday and that means another "Recipe for feeding your family while you're on deadline." I'll post my recipe for Vegetable Beef Stew.

And for the Saturday Fun Pic, I'll be posting my own Leaning Tower of Unpublishable Manuscripts.

Have a good one!
Lisa

Future writing projects that I'm considering

Update on The Trouble With Demons: I finished Chapter 18 last night. Whew! That one was tough. Now I have to put Chapter 19 to bed before Sunday evening to get my two chapters for the week. It'd be fabulous if I could finish 19 and get a headstart on 20, but that'd be icing on the cake. Right now, I'm just happy to get the cake.

Today's topic is something that's been stewing for quite some time now. Yeah, I know I've just started the Raine Benares series, but my writing brain has started gathering ingredients for future projects. They're not simmering on my brain's back burner quite yet, but they're close. I'd also like to know what you guys think. Would you like to read any of these?

• A Raine Benares novelette (definied as between 7500 and 17,500 words) or maybe a novella (17,500-40,000 words) because I'm long-winded. It would take place when Raine first met Tam. That plotline wouldn't be the main core of the story, but it would be an integral part. It would be Raine at work as a seeker, she'd be on a case, and Tam would become involved. Ideas are starting to come to me and I'm writing them down I think it'd be a lot of fun.
  
• As more of a Young Adult novel, I think it could be fun to do a book (or books) with Raine and Phaelan as teenagers growing up in Laerin. Phaelan's getting a start on his career as a pirate, and Raine's magic/seeking skills are beginning to manifest themselves. She signs on as an apprentice with Rami Perrin (who will be mentioned in Armed & Magical). He's one of the best seekers there is--but not exactly what you'd call an upstanding, law-abiding citizen. The young Raine stumbles onto her first case, and naturally gets in over her head.
  
• A modern-day urban fantasy. I actually have some of the plot, backstory, and characterization already written for this one. I'm not ready to talk about the plot yet, but every time I read over my notes, I get a little thrill of getting this one started. ; )
  

Of course, all I could do for any of these is take notes at least until I'm finished writing Bewitched & Betrayed (aka Raine Benares Book 4). And I'm hoping that Raine's adventures will be able to continue -- I already have sections written for Books 5 and 6. So if there's someone you know who you haven't told about Magic Lost, Trouble Found or mentioned that Armed & Magical will be out in April and is available for pre-order now -- please tell them. The more books I sell means the more books my publisher will want to contract me to write. So if you haven't, please spread the word. ; )

Tomorrow's topic: Why you should write for yourself, not the market.

Have a great one!
Lisa

Creating real dialogue for real characters

Update on The Trouble With Demons: I'm soooo close to finishing Chapter 18. I will finish it today.

The writing I've been doing over the past few days ties right in with today's blog topic. I'm calling it "Creating real dialogue for real characters" -- but a better title for me would be "Shut up and listen!"

Unrealistic (or more often, uncharacteristic) dialogue is one of the top reasons why I get stuck while writing a book. It means I don't feel comfortable with the scene that I'm writing, and if I'm not comfortable, my characters aren't comfortable. All this discomfort boils down to one thing -- I'm writing the wrong scene for the wrong time, or the scene doesn't belong in the book. Period. And the only thing force-feeding words into my characters' mouths is going to get me is more bogged down.

But what if you know it's the right scene at the right time, and the words still aren't flowing? When I'm in "the zone" it's like I'm eavesdropping on my characters and typing what they're saying as fast as I can. It's like the "runner's high" for writers. It's those brief flashes of magic that get us through the boggy swamp parts (and believe me, there's plenty of those). To get into the zone, I have to do two things -- shut up and listen. I'm a bit of a control freak and that control seeps onto the page/screen. It sounds like such a simple thing, but it ain't easy to do. Writers on a deadline want to control the direction the book takes, the pace at which it is written, and the schedule we want it to stick to. I'm on my third book (actually my fifth if you count the ones that aren't published -- and never will be) and it's just now starting to sink through my thick skull that I really don't have much control over these things, and I never will. A book is a creative work, and creativity refuses to punch a time clock.

The solution for me to getting the words flowing is to sit quietly (and not to freak out because I'm wasting precious writing minutes), and put your character(s) into the scene. I've been with my characters a long time and I know them well. I ask myself, "Okay, this is the situation Raine is in -- she knows how she feels about it and ain't shy about telling everyone precisely what she thinks. Listen and write it down (knowing that I can edit out any excessive four-letter words later). ; )

And you will find that in getting to know and truly listening to your characters is that none of them express themselves in the same way, be it physical mannerisms or speech. For example, Raine is straightforward and doesn't mince words; she uses short sentences to get her message across to others. Sarad Nukpana is formal, uses longer words, longer sentences, and more elegant turns of phrase.

The key to writing real dialogue is to get to know your characters just as well as you know "real" people. You know what your wife/husband/significant other/best friend would say or do in any given situation -- because you know them that well. Apply the same principles to your characters and the magic will happen.

For tomorrow's blog, I'll share with you some projects that I'm thinking about doing in the future. I'd love to have your feedback.

Lisa

Updates and upcoming blog topics

Update on The Trouble With Demons: I'm on Chapter 18 and picking up momentum. Finally. If I can do two chapters a week (and I have to at this point), I'll have a completed first draft by March 1st. That'll give me two months to revise and polish before my due date to my publisher of May 1st. Wish me luck; I'm gonna need it. ; )

Some upcoming blog topics for the next two weeks:

• Creating real dialogue for real characters
• Writing the right synopsis for a query letter
• The book synopsis: What to include, what to leave out
• Write for yourself, not the market
• Got stuck? Time to brainstorm
• Books on writing that inspire me
• How to keep those pages turning: Begin with a hook, end with a cliffhanger
• Future projects that I'm pondering
• And of course, Friday recipes for feeding your family while you're on a deadline, and the Saturday Fun Pic
  

For tomorrow's blog, I'll tell you what works for me when creating realistic dialogue.

Try to have yourselves a great Monday!
Lisa

Kitty love & snow supplies

This is Boris & Natasha on their quilt in my office. Boris is the short-haired one, Natasha is the fluffy one with her front paws and back legs wrapped around Boris. (The shameless tart.) She's in the process of grooming the top of his head. Our kitties are almost 17 years old, but from the way they run up and down the stairs, you'd never know it.

Derek and I (and the pups and the kitties) are inside for the day. Supposedly, we're getting our first snow of the year here in central North Carolina today and tonight. Derek & I are of the opinion that we'll believe it when we see it. Nevertheless, like 90% of the county, we went to the grocery store last night (our normal shopping time is Saturday morning. We just moved it up a bit.) When Greg Fischel (our local weather guy) calls for one flake of snow, everyone knows that their presence is immediately required at Harris Teeter (our local yuppie grocery store). When we went last night, the soup, pasta, lunchmeat, bread, and milk sections had been completely decimated. LOL!! Being the ultra organized, control freak that I am, I start putting away extra canned goods and storm supplies at the beginning of hurricane season and keep it stocked through winter (or as we call it here "ice storm/lose power season"). So last night was just our usual weekly trip to the grocery store. It's so funny to look in other people's baskets to see what they consider to be supplies for "I'm gonna be stuck in the house for three days." Though I'm one to talk. To keep me happy, I bought myself an extra special treat: a good bottle of Riesling and a bag of Krispy Kreme doughnuts. I'm officially ready for any weather eventuality. Bring it on! ; )

Today I get back to work on The Trouble With Demons. I finished the page proofs for Armed & Magical yesterday. But first, Derek & I have to take down the Christmas tree. Yep, I think we're the last ones on the planet with our tree still up. When you're on deadline, some things just have to wait. ; )

Have a great weekend!

Lisa

P.S.: Be sure to drop by next week -- I've got some fun stuff planned.

Recipes for when you're on a deadline -- Cincinnati Chili

Before I get to the topic of today's blog -- I had a wonderful time at the book signing/discussion at the Barnes & Noble at The Streets of Southpoint in Durham last night. Despite some truly nasty weather, we had a really impressive turnout. Thank you to Angela, the Community Relations Manager at B&N for making all the arrangements! And it was great to see James Maxey again, and to meet Warren Rochelle, and Debra Killeen.

I'd like to start doing regular contests. So if anyone has an idea for a fun contest, email me or respond to the blog.

We now return to our regularly scheduled blog: How to stay fed while on deadline. I didn't used to mind cooking, back in the days when I had free time -- but now it's simply a major (but necessary) pain. I usually cook every other night, with enough for leftovers the next night. But I have several recipes that I'll make when I know the writing is gonna get hot & heavy, and I double the recipe so I'll have plenty to freeze. That way on those nights when I simply don't have time to cook, there's good eats waiting in the freezer. Last weekend, I made a double batch of Cincinnati Chili. I found the following recipe online, but have made quite a few changes to it. Here it is:

Cincinnati Chili
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 pounds ground beef
1/4 cup chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 bay leaf
Half of a 1 oz. square of unsweetened chocolate
2 (10.5 oz.) cans beef broth
1 (12 oz.) can of tomato paste
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring frequently until tender (about 6 minutes). Move onions to a separate bowl.
2. In the same pot, brown the ground beef. When done, drain the grease.
3. Add onions back to the pot with the beef. Then add chili powder, cinnamon, cumin, allspice, cloves, bay leaf, chocolate, beef broth, tomato paste, cider vinegar, and red pepper. Stir to mix well. Bring to a boil (Important safety tip: when this stuff starts to boil, it pops like molten lava. Have a lid ready.) Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. (At this point, you can go and get some more writing done, and take breaks to stir the chili.)
4. You can serve it when it's done, but the recipe says it's best to refrigerate it overnight (I guess to let the flavors merge & mingle). I don't do this. If I've cooked something, I'm eating it. Now. Though if you're going to refrigerate overnight, leave the bay leaf in (for more flavor mingling). If you're eating it now, unless you want a crunchy surprise, remove the bay leaf before eating.
5. I serve it over Jasmine rice. The recipe suggests spaghetti. Heck, this stuff is good on a baked potato, too. The recipe says you can top it with shredded cheddar cheese. We don't. Don't get me wrong, I love cheese; but this stuff tastes so good that I don't want to cover it up with anything.

Enjoy! (Next Friday, I'll give you my recipe for vegetable beef stew.)

Don't forget to stop by tomorrow for the Saturday Fun Pic.

Happy Friday, everyone!
Lisa

News, events and assorted stuff

We have a winner for yesterday's mini-contest! Laurie found where "Tam" had typo'ed itself into "Tom." On page 115 of MLTF, it says "Tom had commissioned the doors from a local artist." I'll be sending Laurie a postcard-sized magnet of MLTF's cover. It works great as a fridge magnet. ; ) And since I just got them in, I'll send her a magnet of A&M's cover as well. Congrats, Laurie!!

I'd like to start having contests with giveaways; I think it'd be a lot of fun. But being new to all this, I'd love to hear your contest suggestions. Just respond to this blog or email me (lisa@lisashearin.com).

For those of you who are in the Raleigh/Durham area I'll be signing and reading and taking questions about Magic Lost, Trouble Found tonight at Barnes & Noble at The Streets at Southpoint in Durham beginning at 7:00 p.m. Joining me will be fantasy authors James Maxey (Bitterwood), Warren Rochelle (Harvest of Changlings and The Wild Boy), and Debra Killeen (An Unlikely Duke). If you can make it, I'd love to meet you, so please drop by and introduce yourself. It promises to be a fun evening. ; )

Feel free to ask me any specific questions on Tuesday and Wednesday's blogs on what's involved in the book editing process. I only covered the main points. I'd be glad to answer any questions you have. Don't be shy. Either respond to today's blog or email me.

Coming up tomorrow: When I'm on deadline and cooking dinners, I always make a double batch so I can freeze part of it. That way, Derek and I can have a good (but quick) meal when I need to get up to my office to work. So every Friday for the next month or so, I'll post "Recipes for feeding your family while you're on deadline." I'll post my favorites. And even if you're not a writer on deadline, having something that you can cook and freeze some for later is great time-saver. Tomorrow I'll give you my recipe for Cincinnati Chili -- or as Derek and I call it, Chocolate Chili. Yep, it's got chocolate in it, and it is gooooood. ; )

And of course, stop by on Saturday for the Saturday Fun Pic.

Have a good one!
Lisa

Working with your publisher's copyeditor on book edits

Before I get to the topic of today's blog, I'd like to tell you what I did yesterday afternoon. I was invited to speak to the Writers' Guild and the Fantasy Book Club at Davis Drive Middle School in Cary, NC. It was an honor, a pleasure, and so much fun to talk to and answer the questions of this amazing group of fantasy fans and future authors. I loved it! Thank you so much for inviting me!

Since I'm doing the final proofing on Armed & Magical this week, I thought I'd tell you about the book editing process from my point of view. In yesterday's blog, I talked about working with my editor Anne Sowards to edit manuscript content. Today I'll tell you what happens in the final two steps of the process -- copyeditors and proofreaders. Thank you, Tia of Fantasy Debut for the topic suggestion! ; )

Once I've finished any manuscript revisions with my editor Anne, a printout of the book is sent to me and to my publisher's copy editor. This gives me a chance to read over it not only for typos, but to make any final tweaks to the copy. For example, in Armed & Magical, I needed to tweak a paragraph to more clearly explain a subplot point (thank you Savannah for catching that one!). This is the last chance an author gets to make big changes like that in the copy, because the next step for the book is typesetting. Once a book is typeset, it is very expensive to the publisher to make changes that could cause copy to reflow. Needless to say, your editor will encourage you to do anything you want to do before the book is typeset.

The copyeditor is also checking for inconsistencies in the copy For example: I referred to there being six Khrynsani shamans in an alley fight on page 36, but when Raine is recalling it later on page 147, I said there were five. (What can I say, I'm a word person, I'm horrible at math.) Book copyeditors are incredible; they catch inconsistencies, logic, when something is unclear, confusing, or contradictory, and yep, they catch a writer's bad math. ; ) This is also the point where you include your Dedication, Acknowledgements, and About the Author information.

Once the corrections/changes are made, the book is typeset. The final step in the editing process is the page proofs. The book is typeset, so it makes it so much easier to find the last of the typos. And since I'm an editor/proofreader in my day job, I'm also looking for bad word breaks, etc. Ideally at this stage, the only changes made should be corrections: spelling, wrong word, character name missing a letter. And as was missed in MLTF, Tam was called "Tom" in one place. Hey, we're professionals, but we're only human. Mistakes happen. ; ). Brownie points to whoever is the first to tell me what page that mistake is on. ACTUALLY, let's make it a contest. I'll send the winner a MLTF cover fridge magnet. It's the same size as the postcards.

Feel free to ask me any specific questions on today's and yesterday's blogs. I only covered the main points. I'd be glad to answer any questions you have. Don't be shy. Either respond to the blog or email me (lisa@lisashearin.com).

Coming up on Friday: When I'm on deadline and cooking dinners, I always make a double batch so I can freeze part of it. That way, Derek and I can have a good (but quick) meal when I need to get up to my office to work. So every Friday for the next month or so, I'll post "Recipes for feeding your family while you're on deadline." I'll post my favorites. And even if you're not a writer on deadline, having something that you can cook and freeze some for later is great time-saver. This Friday, I'll give you my recipe for Cincinnati Chili -- or as Derek and I call it, Chocolate Chili. Yep, it's got chocolate in it, and it is decadent. ; )

Lisa

Working with your editor on book revisions

Since I'm doing the final proofing on Armed & Magical this week (and probably into next week), I thought I'd tell you about the book editing process from my point of view. Today I'll talk about working with my editor Anne Sowards to edit manuscript content. Tomorrow I'll tell you what's involved with copyeditors and proofreaders. Thank you, Tia of Fantasy Debut for the topic suggestion! ; )

The Editorial Letter: Those words are guaranteed to strike fear into the heart of a new novelist. It did me. Mainly because I had no idea how extensive her suggestions were going to be. After I'd turned in MLTF, my editor (the gracious and ever-diplomatic Anne Sowards) read it again. The first time she read it was to decide if she wanted to buy it (she did). The second time was a slow read with her "editor hat" on. This is when she complied the "editorial letter" in which she suggested "big picture" things to tighten up the book and basically make it better. Then she did a list of questions referencing specific pages. The editorial letter for MLTF was six pages, single spaced. BTW -- Before MLTF was even sent out on submission, I got the same thing from my agent Kristin Nelson. So I went through this process twice -- and the final result was more than worth it. These ladies know what they're doing.

Something to know about your agent or editor's suggestions: they told me that I was the author and that the final decidion was mine. HOWEVER, I knew that these ladies knew what they were talking about. Anne Sowards isn't a Senior Editor at Ace Books because she's cute (and she is). The lady works with some of the top authors in the fantasy field; she knows what she's talking about, and she is GOOD. I'd be five times an idiot not to take her suggestions.

But at the same time, Anne (if she weren't an editor, she would have made a fine diplomat), called her proposed edits "suggestions" and said that if she was off base or had misinterpreted something, that we could work together to find the solution that would be best for the book. That's the kicker right there: what is best for the book, what would put the best possible book on the shelves. It wasn't about us, it was about the book. Of course, Anne hadn't misinterpreted anything, she was right on target (and she knew it). I think there were only two points that I disagreed with. I detailed my reasoning and she was cool with leaving it the way it was.

Her main suggestions revolved around shortening the book to about 90-100K words. To do that, she suggested cutting a subplot or two, to not only shorten the book but to make the main plot tighter. And in cutting subplots, I eliminated some characters, and strengthened the roles of others.

I've generally gotten my editorial letters on a Thursday or Friday. I think editors do that on purpose. It gives the author the weekend to absorb and ponder the suggestions -- and to get any freaking out done by Monday morning, so they can respond in a sane and professional manner when they send that email or make that phone call. When I got the MLTF editorial letter, I thanked Anne, thanked her for the detailed suggestions (and she left no stone unturned, believe me. Like I said, she's GOOD), and told her that I'd get back to her on Monday morning with any questions. It's important not to dawdle on revisions. Your editor will want a pretty quick turnaround. But it's also important to take a few days to let your subconscious absorb it all before you get to work.

And not every book is the same. The editorial letter for MLTF was six pages. For Armed & Magical, Anne had two questions which I was able to answer by adding a sentence and tweaking a paragraph. Those were the ONLY questions. No changes whatsoever. Yep, my jaw stayed on the ground for a day or so. She sent the book directly to the copyeditor. That'll be tomorrow's blog: the next step in the editing process -- what your publisher's copyeditor does.

Coming up on Friday: When I'm on deadline and cooking dinners, I always make a double batch so I can freeze part of it. That way, Derek and I can have a good (but quick) meal when I need to get up to my office to work. So every Friday for the next month or so, I'll post "Recipes for feeding your family while you're on deadline." I'll post my favorites. And even if you're not a writer on deadline, having something that you can cook and freeze some for later is great time-saver. This Friday, I'll give you my recipe for Cincinnati Chili -- or as Derek and I call it, Chocolate Chili. Yep, it's got chocolate in it, and it is decadent. ; )

How I name my characters

When I'm writing and including a new character, I'll very often leave a blank, or put the person's title in parentheses as a placeholder. I work on the names later. Yes, they're that important. I like to sit down and take my time to come up with just the right name. Two of my favorite name sourcebooks are: The Writer's Digest Character Naming Sourcebook by Sherrilyn Kenyon, and The New Age Baby Name Book by Sue Browder.

I name some of my characters for the meaning of the name (but the sound of the name also has to fit the character's personality). For others I ignore the meaning completely because I love the sound of the name so much. For example, for my goblins I lean toward Egyptian, Indian, and Native American names. For Tam, I threw all that out the window. "Tamnais Nathrach" are both Scottish names, and I obviously chose them for the sound because in no way to I see Tam as a "twin snake", which is what those two names mean.

Other goblin names:
Chigaru Mal'Salin -- "Chigaru" is Egyptian for "hound". And for "Mal'Salin" , I reversed the Hindi name "Salmalin" which means "claw", and added the apostrophe for fun. I liked the reversed version because "Mal" is French for "bad" (I think). Yeah, four years of French, and I can't remember a danged thing. ; )
Sathrik Mal'Salin -- I think "Sathrik" was a combination of names that I toyed with to come up with something that seemed to fit him perfectly.
Sarad Nukpana -- "Sarad" is Hindi for "born in autumn", so I obviously chose his first name for the sound (I like the "S" sound; it's serpent-like). "Nukpana" on the other hand, not only sounded great, but it's Hopi Indian for "evil." How perfect is that?
A'Zahra Nuru -- I went with Swahili for her. "Zahra" means "flower" and "Nuru" means "light". I added the "A" and apostrophe for fun. The apostrophe in some names is becoming a "goblin thing" for me.
Magh'Sceadu -- I have no clue where I got "Magh", but "Sceadu" is Anglo-Saxon for "shade." The combination really fit the Khrynsani's soul-sucking, nightmare creatures. BTW -- Khrynsani . . . I must have made that up. I just take pieces and parts of words and names and play with them until I get what I want.
Ocnus Rancil -- I just love this name. "Ocnus" is Greek for "incompetent" -- what Greek parent would actually name their child that?? (I used Greek, which is usually what I use for mages, because in first drafts of MLTF, Ocnus started out as a human mage). "Rancil" is a play on "Rancid." I thought it fit. ; )
Talon Tandu (Talon is in Armed & Magical) -- "Talon" is French for "sharp" and "Tandu" is the Indian god of dancing. It fit my smart-ass, sultry caberet spellsinger perfectly.

For my mages, I tend to go with Greek or Latin names. The sound of those names work wonderfully for mages.
Nigel Nicabar -- "Nigel" is Latin for "black" or "dark", perfect for a necromancer. And the term "Nachtmagus" , I think I put together myself. "Nacht" being German for "night" and "magus" for "mage". Nachtmagus = nightmage. It worked for me.
Justinius Valerian -- both names are Latin. "Justinius" means "upright and just" and "Valerian" means "Valiant."

For my elves, I went with Hebrew, Celtic, or Gaelic -- for the most part.
Raine is Teutonic for "strong." And I have no idea where I got "Benares" from. It just seemed to fit. I found out later that it's a sacred city in India.
Phaelan is Celtic for "wolf." Great for a pirate.
Piaras is Gaelic or Greek for "rock." I loved the sound of it and through subsequent books, Piaras does grow up and mature to become his namesake. "Rivalin" is a tweak on a couple of names.
Mychael Eiliesor -- I went with a slightly different spelling of "Michael" for my elven paladin. I chose it because of the archangel qualities he has. "Eiliesor" is made up by me (I think).

Any other names I either made up, or I couldn't find their meanings. But that's a peek into how I come up with my character names.

Coming up tomorrow: Since I'm doing the final proofing on Armed & Magical this week (and probably into next week), I'm going tell you about the book editing process from my point of view. There are three stages: working with my editor Anne to edit content, working with the copy editor for grammar, style, and copy inconsistencies, and working with the proofreader to proof the final galleys to catch (hopefully) the last of the typos and make any final corrections. This will probably be a two or three-part blog.

Coming up on Friday: This is something that came to me yesterday while I was making a double batch of Cincinnati chili. When I'm on deadline, I always make a double batch of what I'm cooking so I can freeze part of it. That way, Derek and I can have a good (but quick) meal when I need to get up to my office to work. So over the next month or so every Friday, I'm going to post "Recipes for feeding your family while you're on deadline." I'll post my favorites. And even if you're not a writer on deadline, having something that you can cook and freeze some for later is great time-saver. This Friday, I'll give you my recipe for Cincinnati Chili -- or as Derek and I call it, Chocolate Chili. Yep, it's got chocolate in it, and it is decadent. ; )

Yeah, it's Monday, but try to have a great one anyway. ; )
Lisa

Finally -- posters of my book covers!

I have waited for years to have posters of my book covers hanging in my office. (Heck, I've waited for years to have an office.) Way back when I first started writing, I used to think how incredibly cool it would be when I was finally published to have an office of my own (with a door to close) and posters of my book covers on the walls.

Thanks to a commercial photographer friend of mine (thank you, Jimmy!!!) I have 20" x 30" posters of both of my book covers with just enough space left on the wall for posters of The Trouble With Demons and Bewitched & Betrayed. *huge grin* Below the posters are flats of the actual covers. The wall is right in front of my desk and laptop, so I can glance up at my posters while I'm writing. *big sigh of contentment*

The galley proofs for Armed & Magical were waiting for me on the front porch yesterday when I got home from work. Galleys are the typeset version of a book. It looks just like the book, but isn't bound, just flat pages. I'm going to polish off two chapters of TTWD this weekend, and then stop writing for a week to concentrate on the reading/proofing the A&M galleys. Let the final typo hunt begin.

On Monday's blog, I'll talk about how I name my characters.

Have a great weekend!

Lisa

News and an update on The Trouble With Demons

Happy Friday! Whew. Has it been a long week, or what?

For those of you who are in the Raleigh/Durham area (or will be in the area next Thursday, January 17), I'll be signing and reading and taking questions about Magic Lost, Trouble Found at the Barnes & Noble at The Streets at Southpoint in Durham beginning at 7:00 p.m. Joining me will be fantasy authors James Maxey (Bitterwood), Warren Rochelle (Harvest of Changlings and The Wild Boy), and Debra Killeen (An Unlikely Duke). If you can make it, I'd love to meet you, so please drop by and introduce yourself. It promises to be a fun evening. ; )

What I'm reading now:
The Bible (I'm up to the book of Acts)
Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch (I am in love with this man's dialogue and characterization)
The Down Home Zombie Blues by my author mentor/mom Linnea Sinclair

I'm expecting the final galleys on Armed & Magical next week, so I'll have to stop writing and take care of those. It's the final hunt for typos; it'd be nice if I could catch them all this time. ; )

Things are going much better on The Trouble With Demons. I'm finally getting under my characters' skins and into their heads (not that I wasn't there before, but now I'm really digging in). Which essentially means that my writing engines have finally warmed up and I'm up to speed. It took me three months and 17 chapters to get there, but hey, at least it happened. I am one more grateful girl.

And as a result of what I've written over the past few days, I have a music suggestion for writing romantic scenes -- The Symphony Sessions by David Foster. It's an oldie, but a goodie -- wildly, scrumptuously romantic. All but two of the tracks are perfect for writing those kissy/huggy/steamy scenes. I just finished writing one with Raine and Mychael. (And don't worry, Raine and Tam have already had one.) And I still have a couple more to write. One of my goals is to up the "steam factor" in each book. I didn't think you all would mind. ; )

And stop back by tomorrow for the Saturday Fun Pic -- I want to show you all something I've just gotten that I'm really proud of.

And on Monday, I'll talk about how I come up with names for my characters.

Lisa

How to set a schedule for writing a novel

Today I'm going to talk about how to set a schedule for writing a novel, and what to do when the book doesn't cooperate with your schedule -- and most times it won't.

This week SciFi Romance author Stacey Klemstein and I were emailing back and forth on establishing writing schedules and resolving a greyhound question (Stacey and I both adopt retired racers. They're the best dogs you'll ever have.) BTW -- See Stacey's link to the right; the new book in her series (Eye of the Beholder) is due out next month.

We arrived at several conclusions. Now if anyone should be able to schedule writing a novel and make it stick, it's me. I write very thorough plot outlines, and I'm an obsessive-compulsive, overachieving control freak. I thought that would be enough. I was wrong. And I don't necessarily mind being wrong (I can hear my husband laughing now), but I'm arriving at the conclusion that novel writing -- like any other creative endeavor-- refuses to be confined to the schedule of a mere mortal.

Before I started Chapter 1 of The Trouble With Demons, I sat down with a calendar and mapped it out. I started the actual writing during the first week in September. My deadline to my publisher is May 1. Eight months. Should be completely do-able. I figured if I did two chapters a week (given my usual 28-30 chapter book length) that I'd have a completed first draft by February 1st. That'd give me three months to revise and polish.

Then life got in the way, and two colds, and holiday travel, but most of all TTWD is just taking its own sweet time coming out of my head. February 1st is out, and my new revised deadline is March 1 for that finished first draft, with two months for revisions. Tight, but still do-able.

I plotted TTWD out completely. But a chapter that I think will go quickly, doesn't. In other chapters, characters refused to talk to me. Which as I've told you before means that I'm trying to put words in their mouth, rather than me shutting up and listening to what they have to say. (I'm sure my husband's laughing really hard reading this part.)

So what I've discovered about scheduling a novel is that you can try, and if you succeed consider yourself blessed -- just don't go into a project expecting it to cooperate. And don't freak out when it happens (however, anger is perfectly acceptable).

Armed & Magical came in a white-hot rush; TTWD. . .uh. . .not so much. There is no rhyme or reason to scheduling a book; each book is different and it's got it's own schedule and if I don't like it. . . well, tough. I'm an ultra-organized control freak; so needless to say, the whole process makes me nuts. I like for everything to go in a nice, orderly, and time-considerate fashion. Doesn't happen. So if you're writing a novel and trying to keep it on schedule, you're probably finding that it's like trying to herd kittens. Can't be done. Take comfort in the fact that you're not alone. In fact, welcome to the club. ; )

For tomorrow's (or Monday's) blog, I'll tell you how I go about naming my characters. I'll also catch you up on my TTWD progress (and contrary to what I wrote in the blog above, I am making progress). I'll also let you know what's coming up in book-related events and news. On Saturday is the usual Fun Pic. I've got something that I'm really proud of to show you. ; )

Have a great one!
Lisa

Actors to play MLTF characters -- Tarsilia, Garadin, Eamaliel, and Riston

Today is the final day of the name the "dream cast" for MLTF. The casting choices for today are for Tarsilia, Garadin, Eamaliel (Raine's dad), and Riston Kirkwode. As always, let me know what you think.

And when Armed & Magical comes out on April 29th (it's available on Amazon for pre-order now), we'll do the "dream cast" thing again with all the new A&M characters. ; )



Meryl Streep as Tarsilia Rivalin


Olympia Dukakis as Tarsilia Rivalin



Nicol Williamson (without the chrome dome) as Garadin Wyne


Liam Neeson as Eamaliel Anguis (Raine's dad)


Liam Neeson as Eamaliel



Rutger Hauer as Riston Kirkwode (one of Mychael's Guardians)

I'll be updating my website in another month or so. Is there anything that you think I should include? Let me know. I'm always open to suggestions to make my site a more fun place to visit and hang out.

On tomorrow's blog, I'll talk about how to set a schedule for writing a novel, and what to do when the book doesn't cooperate with your schedule -- and it won't. ; )

Lisa

Actors to play MLTF characters -- Chigaru, Sathrik, and Vegard

And in today's "dream cast" for MLTF, we have Prince Chigaru and King Sathrik Mal'Salin and Vegard Rolfgar. What do you think?

Tomorrow I'll post your casting choices for Garadin, Tarsilia, Eamaliel, and Riston Kirkwode.



Alan Rickman as King Sathrik Mal'Salin


Alan Rickman as Sathrik


Alan Rickman as Sathrik



Dennis Storhoi (in The 13th Warrior) as Vegard Rolfgar


Stephen Caudill (Indy film actor End of the Spear and The Other Side) as Prince Chigaru Mal'Salin. (Stephen's a great guy, and is also the brother of my fencing coach, Wes Caudill.)



Rhys Meyers (HBO's Henry VIII) as Chigaru

Gary Sinise as Chigaru

Actors to play MLTF characters -- Piaras, Phaelan, and Sarad Nukpana

And in today's "dream cast" for MLTF, we have Piaras, Phaelan, and Sarad Nukpana. What do you think?

Tomorrow I'll post your casting choices for Chigaru Mal'Salin, Sathrik Mal'Salin, and Vegard Rolfgar.

As Piaras -- Josh Groban. Big brown eyes, dark curls, killer set of baritone pipes. Sign this kid up.

As Phaelan -- Johnny Depp. Give this devilishly handsome man some pointed ears, and he'd be good to go. Yum. ; )

As Sarad Nukpana -- Richard Armitage/Sir Guy of Gisborne in the BBC's Robin Hood. Claire, he makes a great Tam AND Sarad Nukpana. ; )

As Sarad Nukpana -- Jason Isaacs/Lucius Malfoy in HP (just give him black hair, silver skin, and fangs)

As Sarad Nukpana -- Craig Parker/Haldir in LOTR (just give him black hair, silver skin, and fangs)

Actors to play MLTF characters -- Mychael

As promised, here are the candidates for actors to play Mychael (should MLTF ever be made into a movie). Who do you prefer?

And tomorrow, I'll post the actor choices for Piaras, Phaelan and Sarad Nukpana.

Gerard Butler (but without the beard)

Clive Owen

David Wenham as Faramir in LOTR

David Wenham

Martin Henderson

Jacob Young

Orlando Bloom


Orlando Bloom

Actors to play MLTF characters -- Raine and Tam

Miranda Otto as Raine

Okay, I know I said I was going to post ALL of the actor choices to play the characters in MLTF, but Blogger, my computer, and/or the angry technology gods are conspiring against me something fierce. I won't go into the gory and frustrating details, but what I wanted to do is apparently impossible (at least for me). So what I'm going to do is post a couple of character/actor pairings per day throughout this coming week. Today are the actors you said would make a good Raine and Tam. Tomorrow, in a special Sunday blog, I will post the actors you said would best portray Mychael. Voice your opinions and let me know which ones you prefer.


Alicia Witt as Raine

Other choices for Raine: Jodie Foster, Meg Ryan



Vincent Irrizary as Tam



Richard Armitage as Tam



Benjamin Bratt as Tam

Stop back by tomorrow for actors to play Mychael.

Have a great Saturday!
Lisa

Things I've Learned About Writing -- Momentum matters and persistence pays

Momentum matters and persistence pays -- no truer words were ever spoken (or written) for a writer.

As I discover every day, no daily writing session stands alone, each hour of work, each day of work ties to the one before--and connects to the one to come after. Writing builds on itself.

With everything we all have going on in our daily lives, brains can only be expected to hold on to a plotline for so long. Let's face it, life gets in the way of writing. I'm a walking/talking example -- I'm about a month behind my personal schedule as a result of real life (and two colds) keeping me from writing. Life has an annoying tendency to take our minds away from our characters and make us talk and actually interact (gasp) with living, breathing people. When this happens and I get back to my writing, what momentum I'd built up has gone bye-bye. Dang it! Then I have to take valuable writing time to go back over what I'd done before to bring myself back up to speed.

And it's not just the words that we lose our grasp on when we don't (or can't) write every day. A particular character's emotional state, the emotions they had in the scene where you stopped were right there, bubbling on the surface of your consciousness, ready to be tapped again. If you lose a day or two, needless to say, the bubbling has stopped. Mychael was having some really strong emotions in the scene I was writing last night in The Trouble With Demons. I knew it was going to happen at some point, but I didn't expect it then -- one of Mychael's Guardians has betrayed him. (insert big, spooky organ chord here). Problem is, I won't be able to write tonight (Derek & I are going out to dinner with some good friends we haven't seen in far too long), so I'm going to pound out the rest of that scene during my lunch break. I'm due to have the chapter finished by Sunday evening.

And to write every day (or every day that you can) takes discipline and persistence. Discipline to do it, and persistence to see it through to the end of the book and beyond (to getting an agent and publisher). For those who want it badly enough, the thoughts and dreams of reaching that final goal are enough to keep us moving forward. And there are plenty of roadblocks: life, family and friends who don't understand (or worse yet, who don't believe in you), and just the cold, hard truth that writing is hard work. It's lonely work. And if you want to be a published writer, you have to trudge on dispite all of this.

As most of you know, I have a full-time job, so carving out time to write wasn't (and still isn't) easy, but I really wanted to be published, so I found the time. I started writing on a more regular schedule, and I could see the improvement. And when I saw the improvement, I wanted to write more. With that came confidence and a determination to reach my goal.

I'd still be writing even if I wasn't published, because writing isn't just what I do -- writing is who I am. It's like an addiction, you can't stop, and you don't want to. When I'm not writing, I'm thinking about writing. When I'm writing, I'm happy. When I'm between projects, I can get a little cranky. Just ask my fabulous (and patient and supportive) husband.

Writing for publication is like any other goal worth working and fighting for -- you have to put your nose to the proverbial grindstone and just do the work. Believe me, after struggling for it for over 20 years, it is SO worth it. ; )

Reminder: You have the rest of today to send in your suggestions and photos (if you have them) for actors you think could play the characters in MLTF. Tomorrow I'll post the pics/names and we can all make the final casting choices.

Have a great Friday!
Lisa

Updates, news and stuff

Name that character/actor: This game will run through Friday. You guys have sent in some great photos to go with your suggestions of what actor could best play characters in MLTF. There's still today and tomorrow to send me your suggestions and photos. If you can't find a photo, that's okay, just send your actor suggestion. Who do you see as Raine, Mychael, Tam, Piaras, Phaelan, Sarad Nukpana, Prince Chigaru, Garadin, Tarsilia, etc.? On Saturday's blog, I'll post the choices along with the photos (at least that's the plan -- hopefully Blogger will be cooperative with that many pics). And in my next website update, I'll see if Webmaster Todd can make the final choices a permanent part of the site.

And as an FYI, I have two appearances coming up:

I'll be signing and reading from Magic Lost, Trouble Found at:
Barnes & Noble
The Streets at Southpoint
8030 Renaissance Parkway
Durham, NC
Thursday, January 17 at 7:00 p.m.

I'll be there along with fantasy authors James Maxey (Bitterwood), Warren Rochelle (Harvest of Changlings, and The Wild Boy) and Debra Killeen (An Unlikely Duke). If you're in the area, please stop by and introduce yourself. There will also be discussion and a question & answer session. It promises to be a fun evening. ; )

I'll be at the Romantic Times Booklovers Convention
The Hilton Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA
April 16-20, 2008
I'll be a panelist on the "Futuristic, Fantasy and Fun: Exploring Today's Hot SF/F Romances" session, as well as selling and signing copies of Magic Lost, Trouble Found -- and hopefully debuting Armed & Magical at the Giant Book Fair on Saturday, April 19 from 11 am-2 pm. Over 300 authors will be participating. If you're in the Pittsburgh area, the book fair on Saturday is open to the public. Stop by and introduce yourself!

Tomorrow's blog will be "Persistence pays and momentum matters."

Lisa

Things I've Learned About Writing -- Keep your characters up to their eyeballs in trouble

I'm past the halfway point on The Trouble With Demons, and I thought I'd pass on something that I've learned over the years -- Always keep your characters up to their eyeballs in trouble, especially your main protagonist, in every chapter, and on every page.

I constantly ask myself the question: "How much worse can I make it for Raine?" I've found that if I don't need a yardstick to measure the crap, then Raine isn't in it deep enough. And since I have an ensemble cast: Mychael, Tam, Piaras, and Phaelan -- I try to keep the boys in just as much deep doo-doo.

Of course, I know that I have to find a way out for everyone, and that the way out can't be easy for them either. I've got a rule for Raine getting herself out of any sticky situation -- if she uses magic, it can get her out of that particular situation, but it gets her into more trouble down the road. I prefer for Raine to rely on her brain, not her magical brawn. And in each book, she's getting more magical mojo courtesy of the Saghred. There's the temptation (and need) to use it, but there's the greater need to not use it, and of course to get rid of it. And when she goes up against those who have more magical power/experience than she does, it's a blast to figure out a way for her to use brains and street smarts to defeat them.

So in every book/chapter/page, I'm going for the same thing with Raine (and my other main characters as well):
1. Get them in trouble.
2. Having them try to get out of trouble, find a solution to the problem, solve the crime, etc. propels the story forward. Each page must propel the story forward. I try to start each chapter with a hook, and end it with a cliffhanger.
3. The characters grow and change as a result of all of the above.

And a reminder of what's coming up for the rest of this week:

Name that character/actor: This "game" will run through Friday. When you all read MLTF, you probably thought of an actor or actress who would be great as that character. And as a writer, it helps me to visualize a character if I can put an actual face to the name. So if MLTF was ever going to be made into a movie, I already have some actors in mind for specific parts. Who do you see as Raine, Mychael, Tam, Piaras, Phaelan, Sarad Nukpana, Prince Chigaru, Garadin, Tarsilia, etc. ? Send your character/actor pairings to me all this week, and on Saturday, I'll give you my list. I've gotten some great ones so far. ; ) And if you can, when you send in a character/actor name, email me a pic to go with it.

Tomorrow or Friday, I'll post another "Things I've Learned About Writing." It's "Momentum matters and persistence pays."

And for those of you who have taken a holiday break from all blog reading, as a Christmas present to all of you, I posted Chapter 3 of Armed & Magical. Enjoy!

Lisa

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year, everyone! I know I said I wasn't going to blog today, but I changed my mind. ; ) I'm on lunch break right now from my writing and wanted to pop in and wish you all a happy, healthy, safe and prosperous 2008!

And a reminder of what's coming up this week:

Name that character/actor: Since it's a holiday week, I think I'll run this "game" all week. When you all read MLTF, you probably thought of an actor or actress who would be great as that character. And as a writer, it helps me to visualize a character if I can put an actual face to the name. So if MLTF was ever going to be made into a movie, I already have some actors in mind for specific parts. Who do you see as Raine, Mychael, Tam, Piaras, Phaelan, Sarad Nukpana, Prince Chigaru, Garadin, Tarsilia, etc. ? Send your character/actor pairings to me all this week, and on Saturday, I'll give you my list. Let's have fun with it. ; )

And this week post I'll another "Things I've Learned About Writing." This week's topic is "Momentum matters and persistence pays."

And don't forget that Armed & Magical is now available for pre-order on Amazon. So if you're in the mood to click and buy -- go for it!

And for those of you who have taken a holiday break from all blog reading, as a Christmas present to all of you, I posted Chapter 3 of Armed & Magical. Enjoy!

Lisa