Drama Karma with Anna Campbell

Firstly, thank you, Sandra, for asking me to run this workshop at your blog! Love talking to other writers so come on, don’t be shy! I’ll choose a random comment and that person will win a signed copy of my new release UNTOUCHED which comes out on Tuesday. Whoo-hoo!

Actually in a lot of ways, I’m hoping this turns into a discussion rather than a formal workshop. I’d like you all to share your thoughts on the subject and perhaps our discussion might lead to some conclusions about the problem I want to talk about.

Anyway, on with the workshop! Let the drama begin!

I regularly judge writing contests and I also do some mentoring which means I read a lot of AYU work. Do you know that term? It’s a fantastic one my friend Ruth Kaufmann coined at the Atlanta RWA conference – it means ‘as yet unpublished’ which I love. It’s so hopeful and for a lot of people, it’s not soft soaping, it’s true! When you start out, you’re in the chrysalis stage. Transformation into a butterfly is on the way!!!

A problem I consistently find with a lot of this AYU work isn’t the basic premise for the story. Often, the premise is fantastic, original, emotional, full of potential for conflict. AYU writers have wonderful imaginations and they come up with great characters and great situations.

But having come up with this fantastic premise, many of these AYUs then spend the next 50 pages or so running as far and as fast away from the dramatic implications of that premise as they can.

It’s like the great premise with all its dramatic possibilities scares them silly so they try as hard as they can to squash it down, make it bland, drain all the juice from it.

So I’m saying BE DARING!

When you come up with your premise, sit down and brainstorm. Doing this with another writer is a fun way to pass an afternoon. Start thinking about worst-case scenarios. Doesn’t matter if they’re silly. Anything you come up with will help you cross your ‘I’m scared of this’ barrier. Good books thrive on worst-case scenarios. Start thinking about how to make the stakes higher. Emotionally. Physically. Take everything to the limits! And don’t stop until you’ve got your heroine about to be eaten by a starving tiger as a train rushes down the tracks towards her. Well, whatever the equivalent of that is in your story.

I’ve often heard New York editors quoted as saying they don’t want a ‘quite’ scary book or a ‘quite’ sexy book or a ‘quite’ funny book or a ‘quite’ dramatic book. They want everything to be REALLY scary, sexy, funny or dramatic. They want writing that pushes the envelope. And so do readers. Readers want to care and they’re not going to care about something that just rolls along at a nice even pace and doesn’t give them anything to worry about.

There’s a few techniques you can use to lift the drama.

1. Keep the focus on your principal characters. If your heroine’s in danger, don’t have her sitting down and telling her best friend about it over a cup of coffee. In fact, any scenes in your book that involve the making or drinking of coffee need to GO! Have her running from the bad guys, preferably as the hero saves her skin! Or as she saves the hero’s skin. Think how you can you present your character’s dilemma as vividly as possible. Action and dialogue are always sure bets for this. Readers like to see your characters doing things. In a romance, they particularly like to see your hero and heroine doing things together (and not just THOSE sort of things either ).

2. Try to avoid scenes where the hero/heroine remembers something that happened in the recent past. To give you an example, if your characters have ridden all day to get away from the baddies, don’t have them sitting around the campfire reminiscing about escaping the stray arrow aimed in their direction around about lunchtime. Show me the scene of the arrow coming their way. Remember, characters in action = excitement. Characters remembering stuff = reader turning of the light and going to sleep and maybe not picking up your book again. The aim is for the reader not to be able to put your book down until she gets to that blissful ending on the last page!

3. Get your characters to make mistakes then face the consequences. This is really important. Don’t be afraid of hurting or upsetting your characters – although perhaps killing them outright might bring an early end to your story. If your hero tells a lie, make him suffer for it. If your heroine does something really stupid and puts the whole enterprise in danger, make her pay. Your reader has a very finely tuned ethical compass and if she feels you’re going easy on your characters when they don’t deserve it, she notices. I know you love your characters, that’s why you’re writing about them. But make them suffer! Happy people don’t make for a great story. Put your characters in jeopardy, emotional or physical or preferably both, and then take that scenario to its end. Don’t wimp out on the way because you hate to think of someone being nasty to your poor heroine. Wonderful Robyn Donald who writes for Harlequin Presents says the secret to a great romance is putting your heroine up a tree and throwing stones at her. Well, I’m saying make those stones great big boulders!

Remember, fortune favors the brave! And may all your fortunes hold big fat publishing contracts! Happy writing.

I’d love your thoughts on drama and how to build it in a romance novel. How do you build drama in your own work? Are there elements of the drama in your own work that you’d like help with? Can you think of writers who build drama so well that you’d sit in a burning house to find out what happens next? I can list a few examples! Let’s talk DRAMA!!! And don’t forget the copy of UNTOUCHED for some lucky commenter!

Craziness On Top of Craziness

Well, hello, everyone. No, I have NOT fallen off the face of the earth. Though it does feel that way sometimes.

No worries. I'm here and things will be hopping around Sandra’s Goings On in no time.

Due to a scheduling snafu, I have decided to run the uber-fantastic workshop by one of my favorite new authors, Anna Campbell, this Monday, November 26th, instead of today, which is when we'd originally scheduled it.

Why? Well, I completely spaced and forgot that my regularly scheduled month end guest and good friend, Sharon Cullen, is set for tomorrow the 24th.

I didn't think it fair to have Anna's work-shop up for only a day. So, I asked her if she minded if I bumped her to Monday and, lovely person that she is, she gave her go-ahead.

So, please, stop by for Sharon on Saturday and for Anna on Monday. There is sure to be a wealth of information to be had. And, I know Anna Campbell is offering a copy of her newest release, Untouched, to one lucky commenter.

Thank you all for your patience and understanding in this little scheduling change.

Sandy :-)

Anna Campbell is a doll!

I would like to send a warm thank you out to Anna Campbell, who has graciously offered to add a signed copy of Claiming the Courtesan to my prize pot for the Starks' bid for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Marathon in Disney.

Thank you, Anna!

I'd also like to thank Caren Crane for being the first to donate to the cause. Your support is much appreciated.

For more information on this contest, go to my contest page.

In other news, I have some good stuff planned in the workshop segment. Up in November, are Anna Campbell and Gemma Halliday. Anna's workshop is scheduled for November 23, 2007. Gemma and I haven't worked out a date yet, but I'll keep you all posted.

I'll be on the road for work tomorrow, however, I'll try to get online from the hotel after work and post something a little more interesting than updates.

See you all then!
Sandy :-)

*September 29, 2007 at Sandra's Goings On - Guest Blogger, Frankie Y. Bailey ~ You Should Have Died on Monday

Nalini Singh - World-Building: Laying the Foundations

If you’ve ever been in a live workshop with me, you’ll know that I’m not one for standing and lecturing. For me, a good workshop is all about interaction. So, here’s what I’m going to do. First, a short bit of cyber-lecturing to set the framework of the discussion, then I’ll open the floor up for questions/discussion. But before I begin, I want to say that nothing I say is gospel. Each writer is different, so if you disagree with me, that’s absolutely fine. Take what works for you and run with it.

Now, some quick notes.

What is world-building?

The term “world-building” tends to scare people. Often, folks will run screaming for the hills, saying that it’s too hard, too complicated. Guess what? It’s not. It simply requires a degree of organization and logic.

Of course, the level of interest, in your world will depend on the world itself. But today we’re not talking about how to create an interesting world. Instead, I’m going to focus on laying the foundations of your world, whatever that might be.

World-Building: A Rough and Ready Definition

First, a definition. Roughly speaking, world-building encompasses the vivid and realistic creation of the environment where your story takes place. It doesn’t necessarily have to be an alternate reality or a futuristic world—a regency romance involves world-building. So does a story set in the environs of Formula One racing. The critical factor is this: your reader must believe in the reality of the book, whether that reality is manufactured, present day, or in the past.

So, how do you achieve this reality?

Logic. And if you think you’re not logical, learn. I’m a very organic writer – I do complete first drafts before I know what’s going on. You don’t have to do flowcharts and spreadsheets, either. Some people do collages, others make brainstorming diagrams—find a method of keeping track of your world that works for you.

What do I mean by logic in relation to world-building?

Let’s use an example. Say in my world, all the dogs are blue. If you suddenly have a yellow dog, you have to explain why. Is the yellow dog a spectacular new breed? An unfortunate genetic experiment? Dipped in paint?
Everything must have a reason.

The example above is a silly one, but it serves to make another small but very important point—it’s not world-building if you simply rename things. I.e. If it walks like a duck, talks like a duck, it’s a duck. Every time you rename something, consider this question: What’s the point of difference? What makes this duck unique enough to no longer be considered a duck?

My next point is honesty.

Keep the faith with your readers. If you were writing a contemporary and your hero was in a wheelchair, you wouldn’t have him be miraculously healed just because the heroine needed rescuing—instead, you’d have your hero find another way to achieve his goal. The same reasoning should apply to your world.

If, for example, in your world, men can’t be soldiers, then you can’t suddenly have a male soldier because you need one to get out of a story corner. If you write yourself into a corner, find an honest way to get out of it. Don’t ever cheat a reader. They’ll remember. And they’ll come get you. ;)

But having said that, it’s okay to keep some stuff secret and expose it later. So long as the logic fits, so long as—once they know the secret—the reader is able to see how it slots into the plot. Also, a related point: maintain internal continuity in the book, and in following books if writing a series. It’s all part of keeping the faith.

What is internal continuity?

Quite simply, it’s formed by the parameters of your particular world. A very simple example: if in book 1, there’s an earthquake in the city where you set your story, you can’t have a pristine, unbroken city in book 2. The earthquake has become part of your world and must be carried through.

Romances & World-Building

And last, but definitely not least, a point that applies specifically to romances, paranormal romances in particular. While the love story is the central core of a paranormal romance, the world/paranormal element should be integral to your story.

For example, in Slave to Sensation, the fact that Sascha is Psy and Lucas is changeling is the source of the initial conflict. If we removed those aspects of their character profiles, the book would unravel.

Ask yourself if the same applies to your story. If you can delete the paranormal element and still have basically the same story, then it’s not a paranormal. It might be something else equally good, but if you want it to be a paranormal, the world has to be woven into the very fabric of the story.

That’s the lecture over. Hope you found it of some help. Any questions/comments?

For excerpts, more writing articles and other good stuff, check out my website at www.nalinisingh.com. Also if you’d like to go into a draw to win a $50 Amazon voucher, check out the fun quiz competition I’m running over at my blog www.nalinisingh.blogspot.com (look for the quiz link in the right hand column). It closes Sunday, so be quick!