On The Nose Dialogue & How Fiction Writers Can Avoid It #MFRWauthor #WriteTip #MFRWorg #Writers #Authors

Today I’m looking at On-The-Nose dialogue (OTN). 

This isn't a problem for Scriptwriters alone. Fiction writers need to avoid this trap as well. 

On-the-nose dialogue will ensure readers drop your book faster than a red-hot ember. 

You and I both know that nobody wants to read dialogue that isn’t close to the way people really talk. Otherwise it’s boring, tedious and not worth reading. 

Yet, writers are still falling into the trap, not realising that the ability to avoid writing on-the-nose-dialogue sets great writers apart from so-so writers. It shows editors, agents, readers, reviewers and the like that you have the skill, understand and know-how to implement the numerous other fine distinctions of the craft of writing and storytelling.

So what is on-the-nose dialogue, and how can we avoid this hazard?

What is On The Nose Dialogue?

OTN dialogue is obvious dialogue. It’s bland, boring to read, and tells the reader exactly what the author needs the reader to know, or requires the scene to convey. Plus it’s nothing beyond filler. 

An example of on-the-nose dialogue would be...

“Hi, Jim, it’s really hot today.” Pete tugged at his tie. 

“Yes, Pete, but they say it’s going to rain later.”

Pete glanced out the window they were passing. “I can see some rain clouds coming in overhead.” His tie was still choking him and his loosened it. “So I saw you with Carol, your wife. Are you two getting back together?”

“Maybe... I think so... We’re working on it. Why do you ask?”   

“I was wondering because she cheated on you with your brother and all.”

“I really shouldn’t take her back, but I still love her.”

Okay enough! I can’t take anymore, and I’m sure you’re ready to stop reading by now. 

Do you see how utterly uninspiring and dead boring OTN dialogue is? Did you notice anything else? Not only did I show you OTN dialogue, I also threw in some OTN action as well—just as a treat :). 

Pete tugged at his tie. Why is Pete tugging his tie? Not because he’s nervous, but because it’s a hot day. 

Pete glanced out the window they were passing. Why? Just so he can see the rain clouds closing in.

This is all obvious action to go along with his obvious dialogue, and that’s what makes it OTN action. 

Another obvious statement coming from old Pete is: “So I saw you with Carol, your wife." 

I'm pretty sure Jim already knows who his wife is! And that she cheated with his brother.

Rule of Thumb: anything that is obvious is On-The-Nose, whether it’s dialogue or action. Think subtle. Think show don’t tell. Think mystery (not of the whodunit, but of the I-wonder-what’s-really-being-said-here variety). 

The next part of the above scene, which leaves the reader cold, is the lack of any real point of view character. Through whose eyes are we viewing the story? These are all hazards of the OTN dialogue. 

How Do We Avoid This Hazard?

The trick, my friends, is to use subtext and deep POV. We say things all the time that we don’t know we’re saying. As authors, we can use this to great advantage. I spoke about subtext in my Pull Up a Chair With Mon series over on my blog a while ago, so I won’t delve into it again too deeply here. 

What I’d like to do is try and see if we can make the above scene any better. Let’s hang out in Pete’s head to see what's going on...

“Hey, Jim, wait up.” Pete jogged the few paces to catch up with his buddy. Even at this early hour in the day, sweat trickled down his back. Snagged his dress shirt and plastered it to his back.

“Just leave it, Pete, I’m warning you.” Jim’s dark, narrowed gaze sliced into him. But what sort of buddy would Pete be if he didn’t make his friend realise he was heading down the same road to destruction as before?

“You know I can’t do that, bud. Just hear me out, and if you still want to take Carol back, I'd be first to raise a toast to your happy future.”

Jim skidded to a halt. Spun on Pete like he had murder on his mind. “What is your problem with my wife?” 

The clenched fists and steam shooting from Jim’s nostrils let Pete know his friend of ten years was close to outing his lights. Pete loosened his tie. Maybe the god-awful heat had gone to his head, but Pete was ready to duke it out with Jim right here is the hallway of TTNT—in front of all their work colleagues—if it meant Jim would finally listen to what he had to say.

“The only problem I have is that she’s a liar and a cheat, and she doesn’t deserve all the chances you keep giving her. What second chance are you on now? Fifth?”

Fist balled tight, Jim drew his arm back. 

Pete knew what was coming and he welcomed it. What he didn’t expect was the force of the punch that connected with his jaw, and knocked half a day’s memory out of his brain.

This is a rough example. It needs more subtleties added. The senses, for starters, and a deeper understanding of who Pete and Jim really are, but I’m not writing a story here, just giving you a quick example. 

With any luck, you see the difference between the two scenes. The first is out and out OTN. The second is a little more subtle. Giving the reader info while keeping her/him wanting to know what’s going on by dripping in the relevant facts. I achieved this by letting the reader see what’s happening inside my POV character through action, internal narrative and emotion. 

Have you ever been snared by the dreaded on-the-nose dialogue trap? Do you have any neat tricks or ways to avoid it? I'd love to hear what you think. 

Until next time... let's avoid the nose.


Monique

Author/Screenwriter Monique DeVere currently resides in the UK with her amazing hero husband, four beautiful grown-up children, and three incredible granddaughters. 

Monique writes Romantic Comedy stories some call Smexy—Smart & Sexy—and others call fluff. Monique makes no apologies for writing fun, emotional feel-good romance! She also writes Christian Suspense with a more serious edge.  

Monique loves to hear from her readers. You can contact her by visiting her http://moniquedevere.blogspot.co.uk to learn more about her and check out her other books.

Author-to-Author: On Writing Erotica @SuzDeMello #MFRWauthor

Scenes are the building blocks of your story, for acts are comprised of scenes. They're nothing
more than events, most often interactions between your characters. Scenes should fulfill at least one or two of the below purposes—best if you can include all four.

•Advance plot
•Reveal or develop character
•Complicate or resolve conflict
•Express setting, mood, theme

Everything in your manuscript should have a function, even every comma or em-dash.

How does this apply to the writing of erotica?
Too often, sex scenes are shoehorned into a story to increase the word count or the heat level, while those scenes don't fulfill any other function. To quote from Plotting and Planning again, Everything in a story should contribute to it, from the biggest monster to the tiniest comma.

If a scene doesn't contribute to the story, it doesn't belong there. It doesn't matter how well-written it is. It doesn't matter how hot it is. It doesn't matter how much you, the author, may love the beautiful prose or the scorching hot, kinky sex.

There's a piece of writerly advice out there: Kill your darlings.

No one's quite sure where this phrase originated, but it's been repeated often, by such notable authors as William Faulkner and Stephen King. (SOURCE)

But it doesn't matter who originated the phrase--it's great advice. We often fall in love with our prose and are loath to cut it, especially when we may have slaved over a particularly well-turned clause or exhaustively researched, say, the eating habits of the lesser lemur of Madagascar.

Fiction is no place to be a smarty-pants. Leave that for term papers, book reports and theses.

In terms of writing sex scenes, what do we leave in and what to we cut?
We leave in those scenes that fulfill at least one of the above purposes. Ideally, a well-written, thoughtfully planned encounter will fulfill more than one purpose.

Here's a brief example, from a story I wrote called Gypsy Witch. The backstory is that the heroine is dating a cop.

Ben propped himself up on his elbows to better see the naked woman beneath him. Sheened with sweat, Elena’s lush curves glowed in the reddish half-light of her bedroom, curtained in exotically patterned swaths of gauze and silk. A curl of smoke from a lit incense stick scented the air with sandalwood. Otherworldly New Age music flowed out of a boombox in the corner, irritating the hell out of him. 

Though the paragraph is very sensual, there’s quite a bit of characterization and even a little conflict—and this is only the first paragraph of the story. We see that Ben is very “feet-on-the-ground” while Elena, his lover, is exotic and New-Agey. So character is described, setting is related and the romantic conflict is shown.

If you like what you read, find the story here: http://www.ellorascave.com/gypsy-witch.html.

As a romance novelist, I believe firmly that erotic scenes should never be gratuitous. If a writer keeps the purposes a scene must fulfill in mind while writing, the sex is never out of place but is a seamless part of a well-written story.

From my writing treatise, Plotting and Planning, available at http://tinyurl.com/deMelloPlotting.

ABOUT Suz deMello
Best-selling, award-winning author Suz deMello, a.k.a Sue Swift, has written seventeen romance novels in several subgenres, including erotica, comedy, historical, paranormal, mystery and suspense, plus a number of short stories and non-fiction articles on writing. A freelance editor, she’s held the positions of managing editor and senior editor, working for such firms as Totally Bound and Ai Press. She also takes private clients.

Her books have been favorably reviewed in Publishers Weekly, Kirkus and Booklist, won a contest or two, attained the finals of the RITA and hit several bestseller lists.

A former trial attorney, her passion is world travel. She’s left the US over a dozen times, including lengthy stints working overseas. She’s now writing a vampire tale and planning her next trip.

--Find her books at http://www.suzdemello.com
--For editing services, email her at suzdemello@gmail.com
--Befriend her on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/suzdemello
--She tweets @Suzdemello; https://twitter.com/SuzdeMello
--Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/suzdemello/
--Goodreads: http://bit.ly/SuzATGoodreads
--Her current blog is http://www.TheVelvetLair.com

The Importance of a Target Audience for Authors #MFRWauthor #mfrwblog

By now, we’ve all heard of the “long tail” in sales, from music to television shows to books. With the advent of the digital age, no longer are we all resigned to watching “Leave it to Beaver” together. Instead, we can download a mermaid ménage story or a YA fantasy romance, as we choose.

But what that means is that our marketing efforts are also more spread out. From genre-specific blogs to niche groups on Goodreads, from Pinterest boards to Youtube channels, there is a marketing avenue for all of us.  The problem, though, is that we all have limited time and resources. So we have to determine where our specific audience hangs out the most.

Where is my target audience?

Broad audience better?

Many of us write our books and hope that they appeal to a broad audience. But in all likelihood, we do have a targeted audience in mind already. For instance, if we write slightly steamier or erotic romance, we are probably not expecting the inspirational crowd to pick up our book, or vice versa.  And, we all know the feeling of having picked up a book that we thought was something else, only to be disappointed by its contents. (Will we ever go read that author again?)

However, if we have defined our audience, then everything from our cover to our taglines will reflect what the reader wants, and our readers will be happy to have their expectations met!  

So here are some ideas for determining our target audience:

Do a survey, either on Facebook, or better yet, through your newsletter subscriptions. Keep it simple – no more than ten questions – and, along with demographics like age and nationality, ask deeper questions about preferences and themes.  Ask what their favorite social media is, too.  

Your ideal readers:

Think hard about the type of person that you would want to read your books.  If you could dream up a reader, what would he or she look like? Define these:

• Personality
• Attitudes
• Values
• Interests/hobbies
• Lifestyles
• Behavior

Once you have those people in mind, it is easier to determine where they hang out, and then, market accordingly.

Ways to Market:

 Search blogs on your topic of interest (even if they are not romance-related), and ask to guest blog. For instance, my latest novels are set in the Paelolithic. I will be heavily targeting all of the Paleo lifestyle sites, too. (And loving that Paleo hashtag!)

Most people would normally recommend, too, that we buy more targeted ads on Goodreads or Facebook, however I still cannot find convincing data that says that these ads generate great sales. As many have said before me, the most important thing an author can do is 1. Write a great book and 2. Engage with readers on a personal level.

So finding your target audience will allow you to find those readers, and then engage with them where they are.  (Of course, like most things, this is easier said than done…)

What about you? What sort of target audience have you defined – or not – for yourself, and how has that helped your sales? Love to hear any and all comments!

About the Author:

Erin writes sensuous paranormal romances set in exotic locales. Her latest book is a sexy minotaur shifter story set in Crete.  A regular blogger for Marketing for Romance Writers as well as Heroes and Heartbreakers, Erin lives in Atlanta with her two little paranormal beings and one unruly husband.

Erin also now offers editing services, including help with bios and queries, on her website.  She's giving away a critique of a first chapter with a subscription to her newsletter! 

Make It Easy...For Everyone #MFRWOrg

MFRW
Marketing For Romance Writers.
Created to help educate and elevate writers of all genres, though often thought of as Marketing for ROMANCE Writers.
In full truth, MFRW is also about helping each other. Reaching a hand out to boost fellow writers up, knowing they'll do the same for us.  We all see the requests. ReTweet, click here, support there. And we're happy to take a few seconds from our busy day to do just that.
Except...the petitioner has forgotten to let us know where...when...how. And after far too long spent floundering, looking for answers, we sign off, disgruntled.
Has this happened to you? I know it's happened to me. And all too often if I ask for more information the questions echoes in an empty room. Crickets chirp in the vast nothingness. Being of scattered mind and not near enough time I soon lose the ambition to help out, and turn to my next project.
Make it EASY for us to help you.
If you want someone to read your blog, give a link to the blog, NOT just to the first page of your website.
If you want an opinion on your cover art, link to the art itself.
You want participation in a group event don't just give the link to that event. Explain about the participation, what it means, how to join in. Is it enough to just sign up or will we need to do something else when the magic day arrives? Not everyone is up to date on every promotional opportunity and often we (okay I) get confused with all that can be done.
Even when I sort of know which button to push when, I don't always know why and sometimes not even where. If you set up a reTweet day, take a minute to explain what we're going to be doing once we're on Twitter, finger poised to punch something somewhere. Because we do want to help but we also really do need to know how and what we need to do. Make it easy and it will be fun for everyone, and we can help fulfill the MFRW goals:

Seek, Teach, Share, Learn, SUCCEED

thoughts shared from  Mona Karel

Blog Hop Coordinator

In addition to occasional curmudgeonly outbursts, Mona writes Romance both normal and paranormal as a way to share her daydreams with the rest of the world. When not writing she wraps her world around her Salukis, her home in the New Mexico high desert, and photographing the quirky, the unusual, and the just plain gorgeous.

Creating a Newsletter--The Body by Rochelle Weber, Publisher #MFRW Newsletter

Last month, we discussed creating the first page of a newsletter. For some authors, that’s all you’ll need. Others may go further. You may want to add another page with a blurb and an excerpt of the book your guest author’s promoting. And, of course, you’ll want to include buy-links for the book. I don’t think I mentioned this before, but I always work with both rulers visible. I use them as guides when placing text boxes and artwork.

In the MFRW Newsletter, we have headers at the top of each page. You can use your banner. All of ours have our logo, and since we showcase numerous books in various genres, we have banners for each genre, as well as some that just have our logo. Once you’ve designed a basic banner, it’s easy to adapt it if you wish to do so. Maybe you’ll just want to use a slightly shorter version of the header you created for your first page. All you need to do is go into IrfanView (or whatever photo editing software you’re using), pull up the jpg of your header, and resize it.

To resize artwork in IrfanView, click on the Image menu, and then Resize/Resample. You’ll see “Change Size Here and Width and Height boxes. Choose “pixels, cm, or inches”—whichever you’re most comfortable working with. Be sure to click “Preserve aspect ratio (proportional).” I also like to click “Apply sharpen after resample.” Then adjust your height. I suggest using headers that are no more than 1.5 inches tall. You may have to stretch it out a bit to fit it across your page. If that’s the case and the text and artwork appear stretched, you’ll want to go back to IrfanView (or whatever photo editing software you’re using) and shorten your artwork a bit more (maybe down to one inch) so you can catch it at the corner and stretch it out symmetrically. I prefer 150 dots per inch (dpi). It’s dense enough to post on the web, but doesn’t take up as much bandwidth as 300 dpi.

Next, I add a box for the page title. That can be the title of the book, the author’s name with (Cont.) or (Cont. from Page 1), etc. I use a short box, about a half inch tall, as wide as the page, or at least from margin to margin. I use a font like Arial Rounded MT Bold in about 18 points in this box. For MFRW, we use pink text in this box, but you can play with your text. On the left side of the screen, there’s usually a toolbar with an icon that shows a skewed capital A. If you click on that, it will give you a bunch of special text formats to choose from. Or, you can highlight the text and click on the icon in the Home ribbon that shows a capital A underlined in red. You can go in there to change the color of your font. If you click on “more colors,” you’ll get a palette of colors, and you can also click on the Custom tab at the top to tweak the colors to your own taste. I keep a list of the color formulae for the header/URL Link/box line pink; the rusty/brown for the in-text titles, and the gold for the artwork frames.

Once I have the artwork prepared, I create text boxes for the writing. I do my writing in Word and then I can just transfer it to the text boxes in Publisher. My preferred font for text is Garamond 11, and I use the ruler in Word to set up my indentations. I inherited a Mensa newsletter that used Garamond 11 and I liked it, so it’s become my standard.

After I’ve transferred the material to Publisher, I hit Control/A to highlight everything in the text box. Then I go to the Format menu and click on Paragraph. In that menu box, I can set my justification (usually justified), set the spacing I want above and below each paragraph and between lines. I use 1.15 spaces between lines. It gives just a smidge extra space there. You want to put a lot of information into a small space with a newsletter, so you probably don’t want to go with double spacing or even 1.5 lines’ spacing. I suggest spacing your lines no larger than 1.25 lines.

Finally, place your cursor where you want your artwork to go, and go to Insert Artwork from My Computer. There’s an icon for it that has what looks like a photo of a mountain on it, but I’m not sure if that’s a regular part of the toolbar, or if I added it when I customized the Publisher toolbar to suit my needs.

That, I think, takes care of the body, unless you want to add a Masthead. We can discuss that next month.

Rochelle Weber is a Navy veteran and holds a BA in Communications from Columbia College in Chicago with an emphasis on Creative Writing. “Would you like fries with that?” Her novels Rock Bound and Rock Crazy are available in both e-book and print. Her third novel, The Thin Person Inside, will be available in multiple digital formats from MuseItUp Publishing, Inc., in May, 2015. She edits for Jupiter Gardens Press, and is the Publisher of the Marketing for Romance Writers Newsletter, winner of the 2013 Preditors & Editors Readers’ Poll for Best Writers’ Resource.

Rochelle battles bi-polar disorder, quipping, “You haven’t lived until you’ve been the only woman on the locked ward at the VA.” Her song, “It’s Not My Fault,” won a gold medal in the National Veterans Creative Arts Competition. She lives in Round Lake Beach, Illinois. She has two married daughters, four grandchildren, three step-grandkids, and one step-great-grandkid. Two cats allow her to live with them and cater to their every whim.

You can access the MFRW Newsletters at:

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/MarketingForRomanceWriters/files/MFRW-Newsletters/

Or:

http://issuu.com/mfrw/docs

#MFRWorg BLOGSforWRITERS @LiveWriteThrive

Authors don't have endless hours to read every blog out there on the world wide web. Still, there are some blogs out there that are not to be missed. In our BLOGSforWRITERS feature, MFRWorg highlights blogs definitely worth your time.

CS Lakin is a novelist, a copyeditor, a writing coach, a mom, a backpacker, and a whole bunch of other things. She teaches workshops on the writing craft at writers’ conferences and retreats. She also has one of the best resource blogs for fiction writers, Live Write Thrive. Categories for her posts include the 12 Key Pillars of Novel Construction, Say What? Grammar Tips, the Fatal Flaws of Fiction Writing, the Heart of Your Story and Writing for Life. Check it out HERE.

Hook Me, Baby! You Have A Great Opening Hook, but Then What? #MFRWauthor #WriteTips #Writers #Authors #MFRWorg

Hello friends, 

If you haven't met me, my name is Monique DeVere. I write Romantic Comedy, or, as some like to call it, Fluff. I also write Christian Suspense and I'm a screenwriter. I live in the UK and have well over twenty years experience in the writing world. I like to think I have a lot of writing experience that I can bring to the table and share, which is why I'm delighted to join the talented columnists at MFRW. When the MFRW Blog Director invited me to join the team, I was more than sure she'd emailed me by mistake! When a few days came and passed and she didn't email me again to apologise for the mistake, I  cautiously accepted that the invitation was indeed meant for me. So here I am, writing the Writing Tips column, which goes out on the 26th of the Month. I'll be helping you to take your writing to the next level. Do make a note and pop back to visit with me, won't you?   

Enough with the intro, let's get on with the column. This month I'm talking Hooks.

Story Hooks

Hooks are little magnets we use throughout our books to keep the reader glued to our stories. 

When it comes to novels, there are all sorts of hooks. These are all designed to force the reader to keep turning pages.We have the opening hook line--created to grab the reader's attention. The opening hook scene--devised to snag the reader's interest and desire to continue reading. The story hook or story question--planned to make the reader keep turning pages in order to discover the answer. And the end of chapter hook--to persuade the reader to forgo sleep in preference of reading "just one more chapter". 

I think we can all agree that a great opening hook line is important. Over the years, I've seen really cool opening lines only to find myself disappointed by what follows. It seems to me some authors forget that the reader will read beyond the dazzling opening hook and will expect the rest of the book to be as sparkling. I believe the problem arises when the author falls into the trap of loading up the reader with back story or scene setting or some other equally unimportant-for-the-moment craft props instead of letting the reader live the scene as it unfolds. If I may, I'd like to use an example from one of my stories in order to demonstrate what I mean.

This is the first line/opening hook from Zach's Rebound Girl.

Dear, Diary, Zach's back!

(The opening hook line)  “MMM ... oh, yeah. Right there. That’s it ... just there.”

When I wrote this, I wanted the reader to sit up and take notice. I wanted to hook her/him with my naughty opening line. 

(The opening hook scene) 

Zach and his buddies are eavesdropping on his neighbour and things are sounding pretty naughty next door. Then Zach hears the name of his neighbour and remembers his old uni friend. He then switches his attention to trying to decipher the different voices. Could the Maddie he knew in uni be the same Maddie he's eavesdropping on? 

Then the fun begins...

What I'm saying is this: create an amazing opening hook line, but don't stop there. The opening hook of your story has two parts. 

Part A: The amazing hook line. 

Part B: The amazing hook scene that follows. 

Think first few pages and not just first line.

Until next time, let's hook them, baby!

Monique 

Author/Screenwriter Monique DeVere currently resides in the UK with her amazing hero husband, four beautiful grown-up children, and three incredible granddaughters. 

Monique writes Romantic Comedy stories some call Smexy—Smart & Sexy—and others call fluff. Monique makes no apologies for writing fun, emotional feel-good romance! She also writes Christian Suspense with a more serious edge.  

Monique loves to hear from her readers. You can contact her by visiting her http://moniquedevere.blogspot.co.uk to learn more about her and check out her other books.

Author-to-Author: #Thursday13 Benefits of Collaborative Writing @ErincMcRae @Racheline_M #MFRWauthor

Racheline Maltese & Erin McRae talk about COLLABORATIVE WRITING.

Erin McRae and Racheline Maltese’s gay romance series Love in Los Angeles, set in the film and television industry, is published by Torquere Press. The first novel, Starling, was released September 2014; its sequel, Doves, is scheduled for January 2015. The release date for book 3, Phoenix,will be announced soon. Racheline is a NYC-based performer and storyteller focused on themes of sex, gender, desire and mourning. Erin McRae is a writer and blogger based in Washington, D.C.

Joint Blog: http://Avian30.com
Joint Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Erin.and.Racheline

13 Reasons We Love Collaborating:
1. Two brains takes writer's block off the table.
2. Having an audience from day one.
3. Knowing someone loves the characters as much as you do.
4. Someone to argue about commas with before the copy editor gets involved.
5. The work always gets done. If one of us can't, the other can.
6. Division of labor!
7. Saving our spouses from having to read first drafts.
8. Always having someone to say ""Don't read the comments!""
9. Making each other laugh while editing.
10. Always having someone on continuity.
11. Winning NaNoWriMo is so much easier!
12. Being able to do more events in more locations!
13. Sometimes it's spooky.Synchronicity, mind reading, coming up with the same story at the same time -- it's all best sort of writing magic.

Thier latest book, STARLING, is with Torquere Press.

Be careful what you wish for...

When J. Alex Cook, a production assistant on The Fourth Estate (one of network TV’s hottest shows), is accidentally catapulted to stardom, he finds himself struggling to navigate both fame and a relationship with Paul, one of Fourth’s key writers. Despite their incendiary chemistry, Alex’s inexperience and the baggage they’re both carrying quickly lead to an ugly break-up.

Because the stars aren't benign

Reeling from their broken hearts, Alex has an affair and Paul has an ill-advised reunion with an old flame. Meanwhile, the meddling of their colleagues, friends -- and even the paparazzi! -- quickly make Alex and Paul’s real life romance troubles the soap opera of the television season.

But while the entertainment value may be high, no one knows better than Alex and Paul that there are no guarantees when it comes to love in Los Angeles.

Can J. Alex Cook find his own happily ever after with the man of his dreams when the whole world is watching?

Amazon BUY LINK

"STARLING is a reader's treasure that completely engaged me from the very beginning. I found myself talking to my kindle, offering advice, yelling, cringing, cheering and processing each emotional experience as if it was my own. The realities of life, love and self discovery that are presented in this highly character driven story are exceptional. STARLING is well written and develops at a slow but steady pace that perfectly complements its raw emotionalism. I was thrilled with this first offering in the Love in Los Angeles series and am eagerly anticipating further additions by this exciting writing duo!"" - Carly's Book Reviews

EXCERPT

Alex finds him alone, eventually, in the kitchen.
“I‘m glad you came,” Paul tells him and offers him another beer.
Alex shrugs. “Thanks,” he says, both for the drink and for Paul actually meaning it.
Paul regards him in silence for a moment. “How are you?”
“Here,” Alex says, because it’s the simplest summation of his current state of being in all its forms.
Paul laughs, loud and surprised like he sometimes does. Alex grins back at him. When Paul’s smile stays and his eyes meet Alex’s and then linger, Alex knows he’s doing the stupid squinchy-eyed thing again. He turns his head away a little, because Margaret has told him what that look can do. He’s not sure what he should be expecting or wanting out of tonight yet.
“Hey, no.” Paul raises his hand and presses two fingertips, damp and cool, against Alex’s temple. He turns Alex’s head back until their eyes meet again, and then he drops his hand slowly. Alex knows it’s to give him a chance to stop him if he wants.
He doesn’t, and Paul’s hand settles on his waist. “Party’s out there,” he says, and tips his head back towards the living room.
“Wanna go join?”
It’s not an invitation Alex has any interest in saying no to."

Author-to-Author: Staying Motivated @RuthACasie #MFRWauthor

10 Ways to Stay Motivated While You Write
Writing is difficult. Don’t let anyone tell you it’s not. My stories start in my head. I hear dialogue, I see scenery, I even hear the exposition. Getting it down on paper and keeping my tushy in the chair is another thing entirely. It can be downright challenging. Here are some ways that may help you to stay motivated.

1. Take a short time to organize. I’m a ‘plotzer’ – cross between a planner and pantzer I use a basic story outline to know my story’s direction. For me, detailed planning prevents my characters telling me where things are going. I know that sounds strange, but detailed planning for me (and I stress for me), interferes with some of my creativity. So, I use a basic outline and character study (index cards or notes). It’s the character study I find most valuable and where I spend my time. I get close with my characters.  Once I know them well writing flows easier and easier writing keeps me motivated. If I get stumped, I go back to my outline, character study, or do some ‘what if’ scenarios. It recharges me and keeps me writing.

2. Set Deadlines. Deadlines work for some people. For me, they definitely are part of my day job and I had aggressive ones with my editor. I know the punishment for missing these deadlines but what would really happen if I missed a self-imposed writing deadline? Move the date? Besides, I’m a real softy. Ask my kids. So to quote Nathan Bransford “The trick is setting a deadline with teeth. If you secretly know that the deadline you’re setting for yourself is a soft one, it’s not going to have its hair-raising, stress-inducing maximum effect. So either you have to learn to be scared of yourself and your own punishments or you may need a partner in crime who can help you keep to them.”

3. Daydream a Little. Picture what it will be like when you book is completed and you ship it off for query to an agent/editor. Dream about the possibilities of a successful novel, keynote at RWA, Pulitzer (when they have a romance category), and movie option. It all depends on completing what you write. Tuck the daydream in a nice cozy place and come back to the present and make it happen.

4. Journalize. Writers usually keep a journal or pad handy for jotting down story and character ideas. Use your journal to clarify your obstacles, then think of ways around writing problems, like plot difficulties or difficult decisions about how to organization your story. Perhaps solving these difficulties will motivate you to keep on going.

5. Just start typing. Momentum can be invaluable in making progress. Even 10 minutes of uninterrupted writing can be helpful. Find time during the day to write, at lunch, commuting, waiting in line at the grocer, at soccer game practice, you see what I mean.

6. Skip ahead. I tell you this technique but admit I do not follow it myself. I am a linear writer. I find it very difficult to write ‘out of order.’ However, just because it doesn’t work for me doesn’t mean it won’t work for you. So, if you’re stuck about writing the next thing, skip it for now and try jumping ahead to the next piece you’re excited about. You can come back to the part you skipped later.

7. Talk with your critique partner or someone who supports your writing. For me, talking about my work in progress gets me excited. Sometimes that is all I need to stay motivated. I was stuck on a fight scene and spoke to my son (he’s grown) and Rayna Vause (a writer who is also a martial arts expert). Both gave me the support I needed and valuable insight. And while it’s not true of everyone, a lot of people—both writers and readers—are flattered to be asked to talk with a writer about a work in progress.

8. Move Around. Sometimes you need to move out of your space, physically, to reset your mind. I get up and go downstairs to the kitchen for a glass of water or cup of tea. (Sometimes even chocolate.) I come back to my desk renewed.

9. Write what You Love. Don’t try to catch a fad. It may be tempting, but most times it doesn’t work. You need to love your novel unconditionally if you’re going to finish it.

10. Chocolate. Need I say more?

Your turn. What about you? What motivates you?  

This post written by MFRW Author Ruth A. Casie.
Ruth writes historical fantasy romance. KNIGHT OF RUNES and THE GUARDIAN’S WITCH, for Carina Press and Harlequin. She also self-published a short story in the author led TIMELESS TALES anthologies for Timeless Scribes Publishing. Formerly from Brooklyn, New York, she lives in New Jersey with her very supportive husband Paul. Ruth and Paul have three grown children and two grandchildren.  They all thrive on spending time together.  It’s certainly a lively dinner table and they wouldn’t change it for the world. For more information about Ruth’s books, please visit www.RuthACasie.com.

Timeless Treasures: Stories of the Heart,
Mainstream Contemporary, Historic, Paranormal, and Military, Timeless Scribes Publishing

A special wish of hope, strength, and love brings five couples what they treasure most in this heartwarming collection of 5 short stories by Ruth A. Casie, Lita Harris, Emma Kaye, Nicole S. Patrick, and Julie Rowe

Five Short Stories of the Heart

#MFRWorg Newbie's World: Does Social Media Help to Sell Books?

And by work, I mean, does it actually sell books?

There are many different theories out there about what actually sells books in terms of social media, but as far as I can determine, there is no direct correlation between numbers of social media followers and book sales.  For instance, even if you spent time to amass 20,000 Twitter followers, how many of those will actually buy your book? Perhaps 1%?

We tend to look at the followings of best-selling authors and think "wow, they have a lot of followers, they must sell a lot of books that way." But really, when do we usually follow other authors? After we have already read (and liked) their books.

There are always exceptions, of course, but pinning our energy (and hopes) onto gaining a large following will probably not get us where we want to be.

There are few who will  stand up and say:  don’t waste your time on social media. And far be it from me, either, to say that it is a waste of time. Social media is a good way to make ourselves available to our fans, to communicate with other authors, and to find like-minded individuals. As a social tool, it is invaluable.

But as a book marketing tool, we would be better off applying ourselves to the tried and true methods of marketing.

Find Your Mavens:

Find influencers to promote your work for you. If you’ve ever read the Tipping Point, or heard about how Stephen King’s tweets sent asldjf onto the best-seller lists, then you know what I mean. Use (in the nicest possible meaning of the word) other people’s networks to promote your work.

How to do it? Well, by being social, of course. The first approach is always email, of course, and should consist of the following:

1.      A reason you are writing – what does this person mean in your world – do they write the same genre, share an affinity for hat-wearing cats or gnomes, let them know whatever it is that connects you.

2.      Brief (incredibly brief) intro of you and your work

3.      Call to Action (what would you like the influencer to do? Review? Tweet about the work?)

If you don’t get anywhere with email, though, try social media. Reach out via Twitter or Facebook and be relevant.

Making your book(s) as awesome as possible:

Of course, the other part of marketing is having a product that people really, really want. Your book, in all of its facets, has to be as awesome as possible (writing, cover, and editing.)

Another thing to consider here is the power of a series, and the power of free. Putting out a series in rapid succession, including a free novella, can be a great way to garner sales.

What do you think? What ways have you used social media to garner sales (or not)? What do you think has helped you to sell the most books?

Erin writes sensuous paranormal romances set in exotic locales. Her latest book is a sexy minotaur shifter story set in Crete.  A regular blogger for Marketing for Romance Writers as well as Heroes and Heartbreakers, Erin lives in Atlanta with her two little paranormal beings and one unruly husband.

Erin also now offers editing services, including help with bios and queries, on her website.  She's giving away a critique of a first chapter with a subscription to her newsletter! 

Priming the Pump #MFRWAuthor

The expression “prime the pump,” comes from the necessity to move water from one location to another, using a pump, whether manual or powered. Prior to actually transferring the water you need to put water into the pump itself, so the introduced water moves with less effort

Lenticular Cloud in the Morning...almost looks like an alien vessel. Hey, it's New Mexico

Thinking of writing, the activity of writing as a well of ideas moved along by the effort of creativity, it’s easy to relate the concept of priming the pump. Living in a drought prone environment encourages that parallel. The parallel is even more relevant when I find my creativity well has run as dry as the well out front of my house.

To prime that pump, I go to my personal inspirations: David Farland, the ever so irreverent Chuck Wendig, and marketing guru Seth Godin.

During NaNo month, Wendig’s blog was a non stop cheering section for those racing toward word count Finish Your Stuff Once November was behind us he put it in perspective. The very act of writing is a win no matter how many words made up your final count.

Lost Civilizations? Mountain Refuge?

David Farland’s Be Excited provided a great kick in the rear for those coming off the NaNo WIN high or the Didn’t Make It low. We must remember our passion for what we write.

You might wonder about using Seth Godin for inspiration unless you follow his pithy blog. As writers we are marketing our words and ourselves constantly. Doing so in a sane and constructive manner saves wasted time and avoids losing readers (customers) to poor communication. Where To Start ... You don't have to wait for perfect or large or revered or amazing. You can start.
On occasion I've primed that pump with the books of writers I admire. What a great reason to read instead of mopping the floor!

That Lenticular cloud at sunset. How many ideas can this spawn?

For other creative encouragement I walk outside and fill myself with high plains beauty. Not everyone appreciates wide vistas and lack of close neighbors, but it soothes my soul.
Unrelenting sunshine, no matter what the temperature, not to mention a vast array of stars at night, more than makes up for that long trek into Agility class. We have a bakery, a library, a great restaurant. What more do we need?

In fact I’m sitting at the back of that restaurant right now, hoping the relative quiet will help the fingers find the right keys. Or maybe just the change in environment. Heck who am I kidding, I was hungry for Chile Relleno and eggs!