And So It Goes
First and foremost, I want to give a shout out to two of my fellow friends and writers who have been picked up by publishers. Marcia Colette was contracted by Parker Publishing for her paranormal romance Unstable Environment, which is due out next April. You go, girl! And Alix Rickloff just cut a 2-book deal with Kensington publishing for her paranormal Regency romances. Whoo hoo!!!! I'm so excited for both of them. They've worked so hard and really deserve this amazing opportunity. Honestly, it couldn't have happened to two better people. Break a pen (or would that be keyboard?), ladies! I'll have more about their releases when the dates draw near.
I'm prepping Dark Earth this week to submit to the Golden Heart contest. Last year, I spoke with someone who had forgotten one minor detail in the document set up and was disqualified and lost her contest fee. Ugh! So I'm being really picky. I have a few minor things that a friend noted. I have some major things another friend noted, though I don't think I'll be able to fit all in before the deadline which is in two weeks.
On my latest, Project Albuquerque, it's slow but sure. I've been researching Aztec and Mayan histories and myths and trying to gather a clearer picture of where I'm taking it. But I'm making some progress (which is better than none). Now that the latest version of Billion Dollar Graphics is at the printer, I can finally get back to my own writing schedule. Yeah!
I saw Michael Hauge speak this past weekend with Karmela at an event sponsored by the WRW. Absolutely amazing! He spoke for nearly 8 hours and never a dull moment. He disseminated the story structure and broke out what makes a story successful. Major point: You need to establish an emotional tie between your audience and your protagonist IMMEDIATELY (within the first 10% of your story before you show any negative traits)! You need to apply at least 2 of these 5 techniques to do that:
I'm prepping Dark Earth this week to submit to the Golden Heart contest. Last year, I spoke with someone who had forgotten one minor detail in the document set up and was disqualified and lost her contest fee. Ugh! So I'm being really picky. I have a few minor things that a friend noted. I have some major things another friend noted, though I don't think I'll be able to fit all in before the deadline which is in two weeks.
On my latest, Project Albuquerque, it's slow but sure. I've been researching Aztec and Mayan histories and myths and trying to gather a clearer picture of where I'm taking it. But I'm making some progress (which is better than none). Now that the latest version of Billion Dollar Graphics is at the printer, I can finally get back to my own writing schedule. Yeah!
I saw Michael Hauge speak this past weekend with Karmela at an event sponsored by the WRW. Absolutely amazing! He spoke for nearly 8 hours and never a dull moment. He disseminated the story structure and broke out what makes a story successful. Major point: You need to establish an emotional tie between your audience and your protagonist IMMEDIATELY (within the first 10% of your story before you show any negative traits)! You need to apply at least 2 of these 5 techniques to do that:
- Put your character in jeopardy such as a threat of loss (job, life, love, money)
- Create sympathy by making hero part of horrible/depressing situation (we see them destitute or running for their lives)
- Make the character likable, good-hearted, kind by showing other characters enjoying their company or them saving a life
- Make the character funny
- Make the character powerful/strong such as a person with superpowers or a small-town lawyer defeating an evil corporation.
posted by J.T. Bock at 3:33 PM
2 Comments:
You're just too sweet, girlfriend! I've still got my fingers crossed that we'll get the chance to work together. Wouldn't that be awesome!!
I heard Michael Hauge was good. You lucky stiff. We had Deb Dixon this week at our mini-conference and that woman was just as amazing as her book. She said something similar to Michael Hauge when it came to creating likeable characters, although she related it to digging deeper in terms of making character motivations believable. Awesome stuff!
Deb Dixon is awesome! I first saw her at Nationals in Reno and was totally blown away. It really helped me become a better writer by focusing on the elements of a good story. There are so many layers to writing that people don't realize.
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