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Sew Up Your Novel

June 15, 2014 by in category Archives tagged as , , ,
It is true. I began writing on a crazy dare.
I was an account supervisor in a large advertising agency in San Francisco. My client was married to Danielle Steel. When I was told she was one of the most successful, most prolific authors of the day I uttered those ridiculous words, “I bet I could do that – I bet I could write a book.”
Well, my colleague dared me to do it so I dug in with both heels. At the very least, I would get a rejection and prove that I had tried. Maybe then she would stop laughing at my ridiculous boast. I tackled this challenge in the same way I tackled a marketing plan: by asking questions. How was a book published? Who did I have to talk to in order to get a book published? What kind of book had the greatest chance of being published? Finally, does one actually write a book?
The first three questions were easily answered. Even without the Internet (or computers) I was able to find out exactly how, who, and what. All the answers led to Harlequin. No agent needed, a synopsis and a partial submitted to editors directly and editorial guidelines were offered for each line. The only problem was that I had no idea how to write a book even though I had read hundreds. I could think of only one thing to do.
I would learn to write a book the same way I learned to sew – by studying and following a pattern.
It seemed appropriate that the pattern would be based on one of Danielle Steel’s novels. I can’t remember which book I chose, but I clearly remember three nights spent in front of a fireplace with that book, wine and a yellow marker. I read each page and highlighted the ‘seams’ of her work. 
  • ·      When was the reader introduced to the main characters
  • ·      Where were the dramatic plot points
  • ·      When and where were the emotional reveals
  • ·      How many pages were there of expository
  • ·      How many pages were there in the book, for that matter
  •      What role did secondary characters play and how often were they mentioned

When I was finished I had a simple, working plan – a pattern, if you will – and I was thrilled. I wrote for months and when I was done I had exactly the right number of pages, all the characters came in on cue and the plot was revealed appropriately.
Yawn!
Writing my book was like making a plain dress. Even I knew that, while I had meticulously followed the pattern, my work was lacking. My book was in dreadful need of buttons and bows to make it unique, to make every editorial head turn when I walked into the room via my novel.
When I understood this, I had the final piece of the pattern. Every book needs the right foundation – the proper pacing, a solid cast of characters, the right setting – but it also needs style. Style is what sets an artist apart from a painter, a fashion designer from a seamstress and a writer from an author.

I am writing my twenty-ninth book and I have learned a great deal but I still follow the pattern I created years ago after analyzing one of Danielle Steel’s books. Now I add on my own unique buttons and bows that are expressed through my voice, my observations and my personal inspiration. I can only hope that someday a writer will take one of my books, sit in front of the fireplace with a marker and ask, how did she do that? If she pays close attention, she will be able to see my pattern and then she will add her own buttons and bows.
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2014: Why haven’t you finished that book yet? by Jina Bacarr

January 11, 2014 by in category Archives tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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The clock is ticking…

Tick tock…tick tock…

How many words did you write today? Why haven’t you finish that book yet?

We all torment ourselves with these phrases and then blame our lack of productivity on…

Twitter…Facebook…Instagram…kids…family…the Internet…not enough coffee.

It’s all about focus.

And finding that beautiful space in our minds where we can run free and create and write and write and write.

It can be as elusive as a butterfly.

But well worth going after, no matter what gets in our way.

According to experts, interruptions can put a big damper on our concentration and it can take about ten minutes to get the writing flowing again.

So the next time an email pops into your Inbox, or the phone rings, or someone yells, “Hey, Mom, are you busy?” know that it’s not your fault if it takes a few minutes to get back into the moment.

Then let the butterfly in your mind run free…

Best,
Jina

www.jinabacarr.com  
www.facebook.com/JinaBacarr.author
https://twitter.com/JinaBacarr
http://www.pinterest.com/jbacarr

In case you missed it, here is an 11-minute video with an excerpt from Chapter One in my novella, “A Soldier’s Italian Christmas” available on Amazon Kindle.

You can be sure I had a lot of interruptions putting this together, but I finished it!


A Soldier’s Italian Christmas: Excerpt from Chapter One from Jina Bacarr on Vimeo.

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emaginings: Indie Challenges and Rewards

November 17, 2013 by in category The Romance Journey by Linda Mclaughlin tagged as , , , , , , , , ,

This has been a year of challenges for me, since I started seriously indie publishing. I’ve learned it’s a lot harder to do everything myself, even though it has been rewarding. The one thing that has got me through it is the support and camaraderie from the romance community, including OCC.

Two of the challenges and rewards have involved group projects. Being part of the Romance Super Bundle brought me together with a group of wonderful indie authors: Amy Gamet, Dale Mayer, Donna Marie Rogers, Edie Ramer, Kate Kelly, Pamela Fryer, Lois Winston, Barbara Phinney and Wendy Ely. I’ve learned a lot about marketing and promotion from these ladies, including my first ever Facebook Launch Party.

Monday, Nov. 18, is the Facebook launch party for the other project. I was honored when Debra Holland invited me to be part of her second holiday anthology: Sweetwater Springs Christmas: A Montana Sky Short Story Anthology (Montana Sky Series) by Debra Holland and Friends, namely E. Ayers, Linda Carroll-Bradd, MJ Fredrick, Paty Jager, Jill Marie Landis, Trish Milburn, Linda McLaughlin, Bev Pettersen, Tori Scott, and Cynthia Woolf.

Writing my story, The Best Present, was both challenging and rewarding. It’s not easy to write in another author’s story world, plus I was unfamiliar with Montana in 1895 (or any other time.) Some research was required. (That was okay since I love research.)

For once, I shed my romance persona and wrote about a ten-year-old girl having the worst Christmas of her young life. I drew on some personal experiences, including my memories of my tenth Christmas, which took place two weeks after the death of my grandmother. Allison’s story has a different ending than mine did, but it’s the most personal work I’ve ever written, and it was an emotional experience. I was reminded of the old saw about opening a vein.

Sweetwater Springs Christmas: A Montana Sky Short Story Anthology releases Nov. 18 on Amazon but is available for pre-order now.

I hope some of you will join us on Monday to celebrate the release of the anthology at Facebook. It runs from 9AM to 6PM, Pacific time, and I will be there alone (gulp) from 10-11AM.

Happy Thanksgiving and happy writing!

Linda McLaughlin

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emaginings: Had To Write Today

May 17, 2013 by in category The Romance Journey by Linda Mclaughlin tagged as , ,

As usual, I had trouble coming up with a topic for today’s blog. You’d think I could plan ahead, but no. Couldn’t think of anything yesterday so I procrastinated. Then today it hit me. I HAD TO WRITE!

I’ve launched two reissues in the last couple of months, ROGUE’S HOSTAGE and LADY ELINOR’S ESCAPE. There’s a lot of work involved in self-publishing, revisions, edits, cover art, etc. And more work involved in a book launch. It seems like all I’ve been writing lately is blog posts and I just couldn’t stand it any more. Today I had to write.

I’ve been half-heartedly working on two projects, trying to fit them in in between blogs and tweets and what not. One is a sexy novella as Lyndi Lamont, and the other is a Western historical romance set after the Civil War that I started and abandoned years ago when conventional wisdom said Westerns wouldn’t sell. That’s no longer true, if it ever was, so…

Today I delved back into the Western, and it felt good to get reacquainted with my characters. I’m doing some revisions, but the story seems sound, at least so far. The main thing was, it felt good to write again, even if it is just revising. Promo can suck up so much time, esp. when you don’t have a big publishing house behind you. It’s easy to get caught up in the minutiae and forget to write.

So my apologies for this rambling, possibly incoherent blog post. But you see, I had to write today.

Linda McLaughlin

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