Interview with Kaily Hart and the Writing Process

I just had the chance to talk about writing and publishing with Kaily Hart. Kaily is published with Ellora's Cave and her first pub, a contemporary quickie called Picture This, has been receiving great reviews. Way to go, Kaily!

I had a lot of fun answering Kaily's questions because she's as interested in the process of writing as I am. It's fascinating to discover just how many ways there are to write. Some writers start at the beginning and write through to the end. Some (like me) are all over the place. Some plot and outline. Some just sit down and let the characters and story take them for a ride.

I think it's important to realize that there's no one right way to write. (There is, however, a right way to spell and construct sentences!) Don't feel as though you have to outline if it's a struggle. And don't feel that you have to just sit down and "create" if you feel that you need to work out a plot first.

Do experiment. Give yourself the freedom to try new ways of getting words on a page. Don't be constrained by the way you were taught in a workshop or an English class. But don't mistake my advice as a recommendation to spell creatively or to make up your own grammar rules. I've had students tell me that their bad grammar was their personal writing style. That's utter nonsense. There's a difference between the writing process and the writing product. The way you write is up to you, but the prose product has to adhere to certain rules.

If you feel that such rules cramp your "style," then by all means, break them. Just don't expect anyone to read or publish what you write.

Writing with Cats

Looks innocent, doesn't he?

I recently went for a massage because my neck was really bothering me, presumably because of all the time spent at my desk writing. The massage therapist asked whether there was anything else that could be aggravating the problem.

At that point, I sheepishly admitted that my cat, Cyrus, likes to sit on my lap while I write--which requires me to lift my left elbow at an awkward angle so that it doesn't rest on his head.

The massage therapist said, "I get a lot of clients with the same problem."

I wisely kept my mouth shut and did not mention the contortions I engage in while trying to reach the phone/remote/drink/snack item, but not disturb Cyrus's nap.

Cats are a menace to proper posture and generate untold thousands of visits to massage therapists simply by sitting on our laps. Who knew?

I am hoping that all the time petting Cyrus (and supposedly lowering my blood pressure and extending my life) will offset the adverse effects on my ergonomic well-being, but I suspect it will be a near-run thing.

Alien Sex

I've been really lax lately about posting on my blog. My excuse is that I just bought myself an ebook reader for my birthday and I've been reading it virtually non-stop since it arrived. I got a nook and I've discovered how very, very easy it is to buy books with one click of the mouse. I've never been one to make impulse purchases, but that's changing. And instant gratification can become addictive.

Since I'm working on a sequel to The Antaren Affair, I've been reading a lot of SF. In short order, I read Doubleblind, by Ann Aguirre and Lost Star, by Morgan Hawke, both of which I recommend. I've also tried some new-to-me authors, with varying degrees of success. I'm currently reading The Short Victorious War, by David Weber, and Ender in Exile, by Orson Scott Card.

One of the things I've been thinking about is what does and doesn't work in cross-species romance. Where does one draw the line between alien sex that's hot and alien sex that's icky? I've read some of both, but I certainly only intend to write the former : )  Part of what makes alien sex "work" is the skill of the author.

A good author can make just about any sort of pair appealing, no matter whether it involves blue skin, reptilian DNA, or alternative equipment. At the risk of giving readers a TMI reaction, I confess that by the end of Doubleblind, I was willing to take Vel home with me. Vel is an insectoid bounty hunter who also happens to be smart, empathic, and resourceful. I'm usually not into insects, but I'd make an exception for Vel. Aguirre made his character so appealing that his alienness became all but irrelevant (though the, uh, alternative equipment is still an issue).

Paradoxically, the key to successful alien heroes or heroines is in humanizing them. It's that sort of challenge that makes SFR such an attractive genre to me.

My Sister as a Writing Critic

My younger sister Fernie (name changed to irritating childhood nickname to protect the innocent) is one of my favorite people in the world. She is also my biggest fan, which is part of her job as my sister. I send her work-in-progress constantly, harass her unmercifully until she reads it, dissect her comments ("So, exactly what parts of that sex scene did you like?"), and pummel her with challenging questions ("Do you think they could do it on a spiral staircase?" "If a horse is watching them, do you think it counts as voyeurism?")

As a small tribute to my sister, I'd like to share a couple of one-liners that make me howl with laughter and keep me from taking myself too seriously:

Me: "So, do you think the hero is hot enough?"
Fernie, thinking carefully: "Well, I wouldn't kick him out of bed."

"I like the new stuff. I even forget it's you writing it cause it's that good."

"Look! Another comment! Someone besides me and mom bought it!"

So, thanks Fernie. I'm dedicating the next one to you.

Rejection

Agent Nathan Bransford, who maintains one of the best publishing blogs on the internet IMHO, posted a link to a list of 50 famous writers who were rejected multiple times before experiencing publishing success. For those of us still struggling to publish, such a list is a reminder that we're not alone.

I doubt that I'd persevere through as much rejection as some of these writers have suffered. This list goes to show that for many works, it's a matter of finding the right combination of editor and author. I also like to think, however, that most of these authors worked through those long years of rejection to improve their writing, polish their manuscripts, and become as adept with the written word as they possibly could. That's something that we all need to do. All the time.

Here's hoping you find some encouragement here if you're an aspiring writer.

Purple Prose

Ah, purple prose. Those ornate, over-the-top descriptions that stop the reader mid-sentence. Romance writers have, in the past, been offenders, though they are certainly not the only ones. Writing about sex does seem to bring out the worst in writers, even those who are otherwise perfectly decent wordsmiths.

The truth is that it’s difficult to write good sex scenes. Our anatomical vocabulary is somewhat limited, ranging between the clinical and the outright offensive. So it’s understandable that writers would try to vary their prose by providing more creative descriptive passages. Thus we have ‘throbbing manhood,’ ‘love cavern,’ and ‘pulsing pinnacle of desire.’ You get the idea.

All About Romance used to run the annual Purple Prose Parody Contest, which was replete with cringe-inducing howlers. One of my favorites is “The Spinster's Tutor" by Tina Engler, which spoofs Robin Schone's style. To fully appreciate the parody, you have to have read Schone. But even if you haven't, you can still appreciate phrases describing the hero's manhood as "an avenging one-eyed god" or the hero himself as an "excellent marksman...[her] maidenhead as his target."

N.B. Don't try to drink coffee and read the parodies at the same time.

Synonyms

I have been struggling the last few days. Struggling to find synonyms for @ss. In editing my work-in-progress, I've found that the word '@ss' is appearing with alarming frequency in paragraph after paragraph. Okay, maybe not that frequently. But there is some, uh, admiring going on between the hero and heroine. Being a very careful self-editor, I'm trying to avoid repeating myself. Thus, the Search for Synonyms.

I've discovered a number of words that refer to that portion of the anatomy. However, for various reasons, none of the synonyms are quite appropriate. For example: I do not find the word 'buttocks' to be in any way erotic. Ditto 'cheeks.' 'Rear' reminds me of car parts. 'Fanny' is out because it means something, er, more intimate for British readers.

My sister, who missed her calling as a stand-up comedian, suggested 'fundament.' Is it just me, or is 'fundament' Not Hot? Furthermore, I suspect (without checking the Oxford English Dictionary) that 'fundament' refers to something rather more specific than 'buttocks.' Sigh.

I've always been a great believer in the versatility of the English language. I am finding as an erotic romance writer, however, that English is comparatively impoverished when it comes to human anatomy. Our choices generally seem to be either clinical terms or insults. I try to avoid the clinical, as it creates distance between hero and heroine. One wouldn't expect the hero to be musing lustfully upon the firm suspensory ligaments of the heroine's breasts, for example.

'Purple prose' is another alternative, but I can't write it without howling with laughter. More on purple prose in another post.

Ebooks

This is a great time in which to be a writer. There are more options than ever for publishing, and I've taken advantage of some of these options, including ebooks, which I both purchase and write.

Ebooks are the future of publishing. Period. Let's not waste time protesting or lamenting the loss of paper-printed books. While I'm not willing to make any predictions about when tree books will disappear, we're in the midst of a major sea change in how books are produced and consumed. The arrival of Carina Press, a digital division of Harlequin, is a landmark in romance publishing, and I foresee a highly successful future for them.

One great advantage of ebooks is flexibility in length. This means that short stories, novellas and short novels--notoriously difficult to turn a profit on in traditional publishing--are now feasible to write and publish. Tree-book publishing has long privileged novel-length works of at least 80,000 words or so.

And I have slogged through such writing projects. But I find them painful. And boring to write after about 50,000 words. This is due to a congenital inability to focus on a single topic for an extended period of time. I couldn't write a Diana Gabaldon-length novel if my life depended on it. I'm happy to read long novels, but I can't write them. At this stage in my career, I'm happier working at around 30,000 to 40,000 words--roughly 100 manuscript pages.

Shorter lengths allow me to pursue a new idea, spend some time with it, and then move on. Ebook publishing makes this sort of writing economically feasible. And allows me to avoid that killer of creativity, boredom.

Editors and Editing

I am really, really lucky. I have a great editor, Grace.

I was a nonfiction editor for five years, so I have some idea of what it's like on the other side of the writing fence. Unfortunately, editors rarely receive the sort of recognition or appreciation that they deserve.

Their jobs are tough--they're supposed to point out everything that a writer's doing wrong. Few of us like to hear that. They get the thankless job of rejecting, correcting grammar, educating writers on the use of the semicolon, and responding patiently and repeatedly to plaintive emails from authors, each of whom has the most important manuscript in the entire world.

But editors also advocate for writers; they can and do make the difference between acceptance and rejection. They're an objective set of eyes on your manuscript, which is especially helpful if you've been working on it for so long that you can virtually recite it word for word. Plus, a good editor can make you a better writer.

I'm not talking about learning the correct way to punctuate dialogue--any decent paperback novel can show you how to do that. I'm talking about the more subtle aspects of writing. For me, it turned out to be point-of-view. Grace must have some hypersensitive point-of-view error detector, because I can't get away with a single sentence that even hints that POV has shifted.

Grace has made me a better writer by helping me to dissect the perspectives of my characters. No more diffuse scenes in which POV moves back and forth between hero and heroine diluting their thoughts and feelings. I'm slowly learning to remain focused on one character and convey her experience of the situation with greater intensity and emotional impact.

Now think about how your editor has helped you improve your writing. Write her a nice email and say thank you.

Ten Rules for Writing Fiction

The Guardian--a great source of news and opinions on writing, reading and publishing--recently asked successful writers for their dos and don'ts of writing fiction. Here's the link.

Most of the advice boils down to this: just do it.

Writing Erotic Science Fiction

So yesterday I submitted my first erotic science fiction novel to my wonderful editor, Grace. Since my first short novel was set in the 19th century, science fiction is quite a departure for me. I've been reading it for as long as I can remember, though, and my favorite books are always those that combine science fiction and romance.

Lois McMaster Bujold is an author of space opera who always injects some romance into her stories. I've read her entire Miles Vorkosigan series and love it. Start with Cordelia's Honor if you aren't already a fan. I also like Orson Scott Card and David Weber's Honor Harrington series. All of these authors also create strong female protagonists.

I've tried to write the sort of science fiction that I like to read, so my story features a military hero (gruff, battle-scarred, and devoted to duty) and a heroine who comes from a world where women are no better than chattel. There's a feminist subtext here as well, which I hope readers will recognize and enjoy.

My favorite part of writing SF is the chance to "world build"--create another species or world with its own rituals, language, and social organization. This is where my background in anthropology comes in handy. The novel I've just submitted revolves around language and the idea that language structures thought. In the Antaren language spoken by the heroine, it's impossible to think of herself as a subject. In other words, there is no first-person I or me or my, so the heroine is incapable of putting herself first, asking for what she wants, or asserting authority.

The hero, Avar Rákōsy, is a linguist and he literally gives the heroine the language to express herself. I hope readers will enjoy the exploration of language and self that I've tried to work into the story.

My editor has promised a four-week turnaround on the manuscript, so I'll be counting the days until I hear from her. In publishing time, that's the blink of an eye. But right now, it seems like light years away.

Romance Reading for Writers

One of the things that I find most inspiring as a writer is reading. I don't think it's possible to improve as a writer without reading, both for pleasure and with a critical eye. Right now I'm reading The Queen's Lady by Barbara Kyle. It's historical fiction set in the Tudor era with a healthy dollop of romance. I've been really impressed by the author's research and how she's developed the relationship between the hero and heroine. But as I read, I also realize that it's not the sort of book that I could write. At over 500 pages, it has a complex plot and follows the characters for several years. What keeps me reading is the pace. (Though I have to admit that I skipped ahead to make sure that it had a happy ending--it does!)

As a writer, I feel most comfortable working on much shorter projects--novellas or short novels. I've written two (unpublished) novel-length romances, but in both cases I lost a lot of steam after the first 100 pages. I also felt as though I was losing control of the characters and the plot. This is probably in part because I don't write using an outline. For me, outlining seems to lead to mechanical, rather than organic, plotting. That certainly isn't a problem that Barbara Kyle seems to have.

If I do eventually move on to writing novel-length romance, there are a few authors that I would like to emulate. I await their new releases eagerly and always buy them new (as opposed to getting them from the library or buying them used). Three romances that I can't wait for are:

Wicked Becomes You by Meredith Duran (April 27th)
His at Night by Sherry Thomas (May 25th)
Wicked Intentions by Elizabeth Hoyt (August 1st)

These three writers consistently deliver stories with great characterization, strong plotting, and swift pacing. I'll be reading their new releases in order to enjoy great romance, as well as to improve my own craft.