Wednesday Writing Challenge: Headlines

Welcome to the Wednesday Writing Challenge!

Every Wednesday, I pose a new writing challenge here on the blog. 

The Wednesday Challenges are open to all readers. In order to participate, simply comment on the challenge post with your response to the exercise. Not only is it good practice, but you could win something nifty and fun!

 

September Prize: Free Copy of Satin and Steel

(You may request Blood and Fire Book 1 instead)

The Books of Blood and Fire, Book 2!

~ For Full Contest Details, See Here ~

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In The Headlines: Redefining the Genre with "Maggie's Song"?

I think every author would love to hear their work described as "redefining the genre". Last week, Lee Bailey's Electronic Urban Report published an article on Marcia Ware's book, Maggie's Song, claiming exactly that.

According to this article, Maggie's Song relates the tale of a curvy, "plus-size" African American woman, working hard to become a country music star and navigating the waters of an industry telling her she must be skinnier, sexier, and more conforming to societal standards of beauty, in order to succeed. Along the way she meets a man with whom she falls head-over-heels in love, but the man she adores turns out to be only interested in her for her success.

I have to say, based on the synopsis presented in this article, I have mixed feelings about this story. First off, I'm excited for a romance title with an African-American lead, and excited to see a plus-size woman taking not just a romantic part, but a motivated career story-line against an industry well-known for it's aggressive pursuit of unrealistic body standards.

However, I can't say the synopsis or romantic plot involving Richard, the opportunistic love interest, seems all that original. Is this really redefining the genre?

One quote in the article claims the story "cuts to the heart of women's insecurities". Perhaps this is the keystone idea to the book becoming a genre-smashing juggernaut?  Personally, I think a lot of romance features plot points of women (sometimes needlessly) struggling with insecurity. The idea of a romance centering on a woman's struggle with her own self-esteem (directly as a result of a man in her life) is even a bit insulting, to my mind, perhaps because it's so prevalent, even in story-lines which don't seem intended to focus on it. Romance, I think, is far more "genre-redefining" when it doesn't highlight a female feeling bad about herself in relation to how a man views her. 

Have you read Maggie's Song? What do you think about the article's claim that it "redefines" the romance genre? What sort of elements do you believe are truly necessary to redefine romance?

Talking Shop: Taking on National Novel Writing Month

I participated in NationalNovel Writing Month for the first time in 2006, and I really never expected to finish. At the time I was just out of college, working part-time at Starbucks, and had just discovered a love of tabletop roleplaying.

I don’t recall exactly what motivated me to finally undertake the challenge of writing 50,000 words in 30 days. I’d heard of NaNoWriMo before and even been encouraged by friends to try it out, but I’d never had the inspiration—i.e., courage—to give it a try.

Wednesday Writing Challenge: Showing, not Tellin

Welcome to the Wednesday Writing Challenge!

Every Wednesday, I pose a new writing challenge here on the blog. 

The Wednesday Challenges are open to all readers. In order to participate, simply comment on the challenge post with your response to the exercise. Not only is it good practice, but you could win something nifty and fun!

 

September Prize: Free Copy of Satin and Steel

(You may request Blood and Fire Book 1 instead)

The Books of Blood and Fire, Book 2!

~ For Full Contest Details, See Here ~

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In The Headlines: Nicholas Sparks

This week, the Charlotte Observer brings us an interview with Nicholas Sparks, famous author of The Notebook and upcoming book, See Me.

Among readers I've found Nicholas Sparks to be a polarizing figure. To many, his love stories are golden: deeply moving tales of true and abiding romance. To others, though, his work is called schlock, sappy, and monotonously repetetive.

My personal opinion? I've seen The Notebook and I thought it was pretty boring. But I admit I've never actually picked up a Sparks novel and given it a read. (His genre just doesn't call to me).

What say you? Have you read his work? What do you think of it? If you haven't read it, do you have an opinion based on things you've heard or on trailers or news of his movies and upcoming TV Shows?  Agree or disagree with his popularity? Tell us what you think in the comments below.

Talking Shop: POV ~ Keeping it in Your Head

I recently did some beta reading for a young writer hoping to submit her first manuscript for consideration. I thought the story had some great potential, but of course as this young writer is still testing her wings, there were definitely a few things she needed to learn about the craft.

This provided an excellent opportunity for she and I to discuss elements of writing, common concepts which all writers run into at some point or another. One concept in particular, which has been my own bane and can prompt my editor to bring out the riding crop, is the infamous problem of "head-hopping".

Friday Free Read: Playing Hard to Get

Dear Ms. Robyns,

Sincerest greetings from us all.

It has come to our attention that you've been doing some really extraordinary things in our city. You've impressed several of our governing members. We are currently seeking to fill certain positions in our establishment, and we believe you have the skills and determination we're looking for. We invite you to contact us at the number provided to schedule an interview with our recruiters.

Please be assured, Ms. Robyns, we seek only the best to join our growing team. We look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely Yours,

Daniel Nebuchadnezzar

Chimeran Protectorate League

Wednesday Writing Challenge:

Welcome to the Wednesday Writing Challenge!

Every Wednesday, I pose a new writing challenge here on the blog. 

The Wednesday Challenges are open to all readers. In order to participate, simply comment on the challenge post with your response to the exercise. Not only is it good practice, but you could win something nifty and fun!

 

September Prize: Free Copy of Satin and Steel

(You may request Blood and Fire Book 1 instead)

The Books of Blood and Fire, Book 2!

~ For Full Contest Details, See Here ~

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In The Headlines: The Popularity of Erotic Fan-Fiction

This week, The Huffington Post featured an in-depth article about the prolific world of erotic fan-fiction.

Talking Shop: Queer Voices in Paranormal Romance

Writers, have you ever wanted to try your hand at queer romance? It's a very passionate subject to me. I feel strongly that the Romance genre as a whole, and especially it's speculative sub-genres like paranormal, fantasy and sci-fi, could do with a good deal more queer voices and stories.

But writing queer romance comes with a hefty research cost, especially if you're not queer yourself. This is not an area in which to charge blindly forward. The LGBTQ spectrum, like any medium for relationships, is a lot more nuanced than pop culture and mainstream media tends to express.

The following are some beginning points to research and writing LGBTQ romance, based on my own research and reading experience. I don't claim this post to be a "cheat sheet" so much as an introduction, for those who either haven't written queer romance before or want a little insight to different areas of it. I can't include all the details I'd like to include about each identity that makes up the queer community. I can, however, offer up what I've learned so far in writing the genre myself.

Friday Free Read: Once Bitten

 This week's free read comes once again from the world of Blood and Fire. This story serves as part of the prequel material for Lotus Petals, telling a little bit of what came before the novel.

She sat beside the window of her small room, the humble cell she had occupied in the boarding house since she was a very, very young girl.  It was raining outside, a steady rhythm of autumn song, turning the whole pleasure quarter into a gleaming wet jewel in the night.  It was cold outside—she felt the night breeze tickle her arms underneath the fabric of her kimono, sending a shiver down her spine.

Wednesday Writing Challenge: Flowers Again

Welcome to the Wednesday Writing Challenge!

Every Wednesday, I pose a new writing challenge here on the blog. 

The Wednesday Challenges are open to all readers. In order to participate, simply comment on the challenge post with your response to the exercise. Not only is it good practice, but you could win something nifty and fun!

 

September Prize: Free Copy of Satin and Steel

(You may request Blood and Fire Book 1 instead)

The Books of Blood and Fire, Book 2!

~ For Full Contest Details, See Here ~

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the Headlines: Why do We Love Romance?

There's no denying romantic fiction -- especially genre romantic fiction -- has been enjoying a rise in popularity recently. We've seen the powerhouse romantic titles making news across the board: Twilight, 50 Shades, and Beautiful Bastard. Are these titles at the heart of the new craze? Or are there other reasons we are seeing such a noticeable increase in popularity of romance literature?

In this article, psychologist Nancy Harris gives her thoughts on the appeal of romantic fiction, and offers some suggestions for good titles to pick up. What do you think about her proposals on the genre? Have you read any of her suggested titles? If so, did you like them?

Friday Free Read ~ Satin & Steel, Chapter 12, Audio Excerpt

This recording is NC17 and contains graphic sexual content. You may want to listen with headphones!

(If you aren't able to listen to the audio, the text version is posted below)

Satin and Steel will be released this Monday, October 6th.

Champagne  ~ Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble