Bringing Back The Spark—Writing Three-Dimensional.

~Sia McKye~


To me, the connotation of “spark” is putting life in your writing. I think you can have a distinct voice and still not quite have the spark there. For me, it’s that moment when my characters become real, or come to life on the pages. They act and react realistically, and not always as I may have originally envisioned the situation. It’s not so much you, the author, writing their lines…more like you as the author are channeling your character’s lives on to the pages of your story.

One of the ways I know I haven’t gotten the spark is when I’ve written something and there is that niggling feeling that tells me something isn’t right or something is off in this scene. It feels …flat. It might be that I’m trying to force my characters into a situation, or plot area, they wouldn’t be in, or have them reacting in a way, given their backgrounds, they wouldn’t. Or I’m trying to take the easy way out in solving their problems.

I think about how an actor approaches a role. As an actor, you have to step into your character, see who they are, how they react, understand what their goals are, what their motivations are, and what their conflicts are. Once you understand those things, then you know how these characters will act and react in pretty much any situation. You have to be able to do that to portray them in a play or on the screen. An actor can know the character they are depicting so well, that if a scene is rewritten they can and will argue it isn’t right, the character wouldn’t do this or that.

I think as a writer we need to do the same. We have to know our characters well to do justice to them. Some writers put together elaborate files on each character, likes, dislikes, favorite colors, etc. My files aren’t that elaborate. Many times I don’t have the character file when I start my story. I do by the end of the story. I usually write the beginning of the story. My file grows as I write. This is also where I dump exposition edits I’ve done that define my characters, things I need to know, but my reader doesn’t.

There are times when something doesn’t feel right but I can’t put a finger on it, other than my characters are feeling like one-dimensional paperdolls. It’s time for what I call Dr. Sia’s couch time. I put my characters on the psych couch and start analyzing them. I will sit down and write out each main character’s goals, motivations, external and internal conflict. I do this with the villain too. By the time I’m finished, sometimes before I’ve finished, I usually have that ah-ha moment and I can see clearly where I went wrong. The black moment is in the wrong place, or I’m making it a soft gray moment rather than black, maybe my hooks to draw my reader forward are dull or indistinct—not good. Seeing what’s wrong may also mean some rewrites but it puts me back on track and my characters and story again become three-dimensional. It makes their reaction to conflict sharper. Reaching their goals sweeter. It makes a better story.

Life is good again because my characters are back to being real people acting and reacting realistically.

The spark is back and the one-dimensional paperdolls are gone.

***

Sia McKye has spent over twenty years in marketing and promotion. She's written and published various articles on writing, marketing, and promotion. She's a Marketing Rep by profession and also writes fiction. Sia has completed a single title romance trilogy and is busy at work on a fun paranormal series.

Sweet Justice Is Coming

A frequent question readers, and often—other writers, ask a Best-Selling author, is where do you get your ideas? How do you develop the idea into a story? How do you research it? What is your motivation for using certain topics?

Best selling author, Jordan Dane, answers some of these questions and explains the reasons behind her Sweet Justice Series.

Imagine the horror of going to your teenager’s bedroom one morning only to find her missing. Her bed hadn’t been slept in and her clothes are gone.

In 2000, that’s what one mother in Florida faced. Her only child had conspired against her and ran away. And worse, she later discovered that her daughter had left the country—without having a passport. From the moment I read this news story, I was hooked and had to know more about how such an atrocity could happen. The teen’s trail might have gone ice cold, but her mother pushed authorities in a direction.

She knew where to start looking.

Only six months earlier, the girl had received a computer for a gift—a thoughtful present from a mother who wanted the best for her child. But this gift soon brought a virtual menace into their home. A charming and anonymous stranger lured the 14-year old girl to Greece—a man she’d met in a teen chat room. We’ve all heard stories like this. But after researching the facts behind this case, I was amazed at the audacity of this Internet predator.

And I wanted to shed light on the shrewd tactics of online predators in my upcoming book—Evil Without A Face (Feb 2009, Avon, $7.99)—the first book in my Sweet Justice series.

The online predator not only manipulated the teenager in Florida, but he also convinced law-abiding adults to cooperate with his schemes. These people thought they were helping an abused kid, but they didn’t know the facts, check with her family or contact local law enforcement. This stranger duped an employee of the local phone company into arranging for a private cell phone to talk to the girl directly. His slick manipulation scored him a purchased airline ticket (without a direct connection to him) and a clandestine ride for the girl to the airport. But after he bribed a child pornographer to acquire an illegal passport for her to leave the United States, the girl was out of the country before her mother knew she was gone.

And the chase to save the girl was on—a mother’s worst fear.

Now I know what some of you are thinking. This happened in 2000, before the added airport security measures were implemented after 9/11 in 2001. The girl would never have been allowed on a plane without proper ID. But after contacting a source in the airline industry, I was shocked to learn how many children travel unaccompanied and without a valid ID on domestic flights these days. So this extraordinary Florida case became the framework for my novel, Evil Without A Face. And I chose to set part of the story in the unique venue of Alaska where I had lived for ten years.

My novels have the feel of being ripped from today's headlines because real crime inspires me. Who says crime doesn't pay? Violence is like the ripple effect on the surface of still water. The wake radiates out from the victim and touches many people. In my books, I give a voice to the many victims of crime.

In Evil Without A Face, an illusive web of imposters on the Internet lures a deluded teen from her Alaskan home and launches a chain reaction collision course with an unlikely tangle of heroes. A new kind of criminal organization becomes the faceless enemy behind an insidious global conspiracy. And the life of one young girl and countless others hang in the balance. This is the initial driver to my new series. With an international setting, these thrillers will focus on the lives and loves of three women—a bounty hunter operating outside the law, an ambitious vice cop, and a former international operative with a mysterious past. These women give Lady Justice a whole new reason to wear blinders.

And their brand of justice is anything but sweet.

After researching the case in Florida, I became more concerned for naïve kids socializing in cyberspace—young people like my nieces and nephews. Savvy online criminals lurk in anonymity and carry on without fear of repercussion. I’m an active member of MySpace and Facebook and know how they operate. But these social networks aren’t the problem—the criminals are. And as you’ve seen in the headlines and on TV, the online community has become a real hunting ground for predators.

Why not? It’s easy pickings.

For the most part, the Internet is an invaluable tool. And it breaks down the barriers between countries, allowing many of us to have international friends. But the anonymity of cyberspace attracts all sorts of users with criminal intent. Terrorists have found new high-tech ways to recruit online and they have duped some Internet users into funding their activities or have resorted to outright stealing through subterfuge. And since crimes that cross over jurisdictions and international borders are harder to prosecute, offenders often get away with their schemes. That's why I wanted to write Evil Without A Face and dole out my brand justice. After all, who couldn’t use a liberal dose of ‘Sweet Justice’ when reality becomes stranger than fiction?

How has your use of the Internet changed over the years? Have you become more suspicious of certain behaviors from online strangers? And if you have children who use online resources, can you share some tips on how you keep them safer?

***

Avon/Harpercollins launched Jordan Dane’s debut suspense novels in a back to back publishing event in Spring 2008 after the 3-book series sold in auction. Ripped from the headlines, Jordan's gritty plots weave a tapestry of vivid settings, intrigue, and dark humor. Publishers Weekly compared her intense pacing to Lisa Jackson, Lisa Gardner, and Tami Hoag—romantic suspense that “crosses over into plain thriller country”. Pursuing publication since 2003, this national best selling and critically acclaimed author received awards in 33 national writing competitions. And recently, her debut novel NO ONE HEARD HER SCREAM was named Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2008 and Romantic Times Magazine nominated NO ONE LIVES FOREVER as Best Intrigue Novel of 2008. Formerly an energy sales manager in the oil and gas industry, she now is following her passion to write full time. Jordan and her husband share their residence with two cats of highborn lineage and the sweet memory of an impossible to forget canine. For more, visit www.jordandane.com.

Coming in November, 2009: THE WRONG SIDE OF DEAD

Mining Personal Gems

Award-winning author of The Chameleon Chronicles, Beth Ciotta, is my guest Over Coffee today.


Readers and writers both often wonder where an author gets their ideas. How to build believable characters that ring true and resonate with their readers. Where does a writer get the needed inspiration for realistic characters?

Today, Beth shares with us how she finds her inspiration for believable characters.


There’s a saying: Write what you know. Writing about something you’ve experienced—a job, a tragedy, a thrill, an encounter with certain personality types—lends authenticity to your tale. That’s not to say you shouldn’t research and write about what you don’t know. Why box yourself in? But if you’re ever stuck for an idea or material, consider the value in mining your own buried gems.

Evie Parish, the featured heroine, ALL ABOUT EVIE, EVERYBODY LOVES EVIE, and EVIE EVER AFTER, is a veteran performer—like me. Her struggles and triumphs within the entertainment industry ring true because they’re based on my own experiences and emotions. The same goes with her body-image issues as an over-40 woman living in a youth obsessed society. Because I’m personally keyed into these subjects, I write about them with an honest passion.

No matter your occupation, age, or personality there’s something within you and your history that will strike a chord with readers. I wasn’t always over forty and I couldn’t always support myself on performance gigs. The other day I thought about some of the odd jobs I've picked up over the years to make ends meet. Each one of these inspires an idea for a story or at least a character within a story.

1. Car hop waitress at a hot dog stand (developed an addiction to root beer and chili-cheese dogs)

2. Front desk clerk at a dry cleaner (Man, it's HOT in there! All that steam. Hmm.)

3. Sales-person at a men's clothing store (That employee 40% discount killed me. Spent more than I made. Although I did learn the 'correct' way to fold clothes)

4. Music teacher at a Catholic School, K-8 (Love kids. LOVE 'em. Except for that one out-of-control 5th grade class that made me cry.)

5. Entertainment Coordinator at Resorts Casino (My first taste of being on the supervisory end of entertainers. Whoa.)

6. PR Coordinator at Tropicana Casino (Perks? Learning how to write a press release, and escorting VIPs around the casino. Gary Sinese comes to mind. What a doll!)

7. Secretary/Assistant at two different entertainment-booking agencies (Something I was really good at, but didn't feel it was I was meant to do.)

On the subject of writing what you don’t know, I also have some dream jobs.

1. An ongoing job as a character at Disney World (Snow White's my first choice. Although I'd be happy with Cinderella.)

2. A travel writer (Getting paid to write about exotic foods and locales? Come on!)

Now it’s your turn. Name one real job and one dream job. I’m betting one
or both could inspire a fascinating tale or character. We’re all brimming
with personal gems. Sometimes you just have to dig.
***

Storytelling comes naturally to award winning author, Beth Ciotta. Limiting herself to one sub-genre does not. Dubbed “fun and sexy” by Publisher’s Weekly, Beth specializes in writing Romantic Comedy with a Twist of Suspense and is published in contemporary, historical, and paranormal romantic fiction. Beth’s latest release, EVIE EVER AFTER, is the third in a series with HQN Books and is currently earning rave reviews. Into the Wild, a romantic jungle adventure, is set for release in 2010. Look for these connected stories from HQN Books.

Beth lives in New Jersey with her husband, a zany dog and one crazy cat. To support literacy, Beth works at her local library where she enjoys hawking books almost as much as writing them. To learn more about her chaotic life visit her website at www.bethciotta.com and her blog at http://bethciotta.blogspot.com/

WRITING: DON'T TRY TO CONTROL THE UNCONTROLLABLE

~Sia McKye~

"Writing a book is an adventure. To begin with, it is a toy and an amusement; then it becomes a mistress, and then it becomes a master, and then a tyrant. The last phase is: you kill the monster, and fling him out to the public." Winston Churchill

One of my favorite blogs was discussing the attitude of some aspiring authors and how critical they were of books on the market today. I do read many blogs and the comments as well as discussions on writer’s forums. There is a worry that the writing market is being flooded with wannabe authors. Frustrated writers trashing, not only the books that are being published when theirs are not, but also agents and publishers and the horse they rode in on, because they have passed on their manuscript.

They curse the market that’s buying books that aren’t in their genre. I’ve seen a lot of scrutiny on what is being published. Questions and opinions on formula writing to the market, thrillers and suspense, romance and various sub-genres of romance. Are there too many types of Regency novels flooding the market? Is erotica another word for porn and is it a valid genre? Are Vampire stories a dead end now? Are paranormals on their way out?

I happen to think any idea, if presented in a fresh way, will still sell. I’m a selective reader and will say I do think twice about reading a book or series written about vampires. I’m the same way with Regencies and to a certain extent, paranormals. It has to have that certain something that makes it stand out. Say what you want, but paranormals are still hot and I don’t see them declining in popularity any time soon and I think it’s the same with genres of erotica.

Reading some of the blogs and writer forums is a lot like walking into a room filled with chaos and loud opinions. I tend to do one of two things when that happens, walk out or start watching for the patterns. Make sense of the chaos and find my own path.

There are a lot of opinions and strong feelings on what’s selling today. Speaking as a writer, I am more critical of the quality of writing in books I read, this is true, but not so much that I pan most of the books published today as drivel. I don’t think they are.

I suppose some of the attitude among writers’ stems from the feeling that most books published today are tripe. It may also depend upon the genre of books a person reads. Various genres wax and wane in popularity. When they wane, it’s hard to find a book to read in that genre. I love a good romance but I read several genres, so I usually find something worthy of reading. Right now, I’m reading and enjoying a thriller by Stephen Coonts, called Deep Black: Arctic Gold.

I think some of the attitude among writers might also stem from having their work passed over while others seem to get published. They compare their book ideas or those of their friends with what’s out there and finding it lacking. Some feel that their writing is as good as or better than what’s being published—and that may well be true. I’d say this attitude is both frustration with a highly competitive market and plain jealousy. One you can’t do anything about and the other you can.

I have a good friend who says getting published is like a lightning strike. You need to be in the right place at the right time. Lightning strikes happen more times than we realize. So, following analogy if that’s the case then I am going to be the one out in the storms carrying the lightening rod and trying to draw the lightning.

While I'm ambitious, determined, and success oriented, I've never been a type A personality. I feel that yes, there is some luck involved—being in the right place at the right time. I watch the patterns I try to place myself where I can take advantage of the thread of luck, such as it is. I also feel there is a good deal of work involved. I can’t control the market. I have no control over readers' taste in books. I realized a long time ago, there are few things in life you are able to control, so why waste the energy trying to control the uncontrollable? I can control the quality of my work and improve it so I’m more competitive in the existing market. So, I work.

The thing about jealousy, aside from making you bitter, is the fact that while you are so busy bemoaning another's success you don't have the time to work on your own. I don't begrudge someone his or her success being published and I’m not. Good for them and I’ll have my own soon enough unless I give up—which is not my style.

For me, success has always been about applying myself, believing in myself, getting knocked down but getting back up. I don’t have time to sit in the middle of the road crying over whether something is fair or not, or worry about the market, agents, or publishers. There is one thing about all those writers trying to break into the business though, if I fall and skin my knee, or have hurt feelings from a rejection? I sure as hell better get up quick or I’ll be trampled or left behind. Footprints and dust aren’t the fashion statement I want to project.

So, regardless of the market, the opinions of agents and publishers, my philosophy is: Don’t get caught up in jealousy over another’s success. Don’t try to control the uncontrollable, like readers' taste and what is or isn’t being published. Control those things you can and if you want to be published, be willing to work hard to perfect your craft. If you get knocked down, get back up. Writing is a business so learn the business to the best of your ability. Carry a lightning rod and always keep your eye open to look out for your own luck.

“Opportunity dances with those already on the dance floor.”

What do you say? Shall we dance?

***

Sia McKye has spent over twenty years in marketing and promotion. She's written and published various articles on writing, marketing, and promotion. She's a Marketing Rep by profession and also writes fiction.

OVER TO THE DORK SIDE—WRITING IT FUNNY.

My guest is Tina Ferraro, author of The ABC's Of Kissing Boys. A story about a girl who didn’t make varsity soccer with her teammates, and comes up with a crazy-but-just-might-work scheme to get promoted that involves learning everything she can about the art of kissing.

Some authors seem to have the knack of being able to write humor. One would think its inborn gift and one that requires little effort on the part of the author. So receiving a note from your editor with the suggestion to make it funnier should be an easy thing to fix, right? Tina discusses how she handles those sort of suggestions:

I once read an interview with the witty actress/author, Carrie Fisher, where she recounted how painful it was for her to go on talk shows. For not only did she need something interesting to say, she was expected to be funny. And while she knew she was capable of making people laugh, she simply could not count on her sense of humor walking out from behind the curtain with her.

I totally related. While no one’s going to ask me onto a talk show, the young adult novels that I write for Random House are considered by my publisher and reviewers to be humorous. I admit that I have an eye for the absurd, and have been known to “crack up” my fellow airport shuttle bus riders or the back row of a PTA meeting with LOL one-liners. But like Carrie Fisher, my humor is not something I can control.

So imagine my horror when I got the line edits back on my 2008 release, How to Hook a Hottie, and saw notes from my editor that said things like, “Good, but make this funnier.”

Make this funnier? Make this funnier?

Would if I could!

I went into a total tailspin--including taking a dive for cover underneath the nearest bed. Only to find the space crammed. With the workout clothes. Dust bunnies. Tooth fairy teeth. Which meant in order to complete my breakdown, I was going to have to clean. And sorry, but that was a deal-breaker.

So back I went to my line edits. Make this funnier.

Heaven help me.

Next up: I grabbed a carton of ice cream and my Sienfeld DVD’s, and began my own private marathon. Trying to immerse myself in the obsessive, zany, and over-the-top humor that makes me laugh.

Eventually, I had no choice but to return to the manuscript. With a heavy heart and even heavier stomach, I flipped to those scenes and addressed my editor’s concerns, and tried to make them funnier. Whether or not I hit the high notes is a subjective call. But I must have done “well enough” because the American Bookseller’s Association named it one of their top teen picks of the season. And it was recently named a finalist in the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence contest. I’m proud of those accomplishments, and of the book.

But here’s the thing. If we ever meet face-to-face (and I hope we do), and you want to see a glimpse of my humor? Don’t mention this blog or my books. Don’t ask me about my writing process or my kids’ teeth.

Tell me I have leaves in my hair. Or better yet, that I sat in something that looks like melted butter. I can pretty much guarantee, in the throes of my utter embarrassment, I’ll be funny. Because I’m starting realize...that’s where my humor goes when I can’t find it.

Over to the dork side.

Hey, think this revelation could help Carrie Fisher?

Tina Ferraro is the author of three young adult novels, Top Ten Uses for an Unworn Prom Dress, How to Hook a Hottie (2009 RITA finalist), and The ABC's of Kissing Boys. Her fourth book, When Bad Flings Happen to Good Girls, releases summer of 2010.

She lives behind a computer screen in southern California with her husband, their cat, and whichever kids happen to be home.

Some of Tina’s favorite things include reading, drinking lattes, hanging with her family, watching the TV show Lost, and chatting with her readers through her Website, www.tinaferraro.com

and her blog at www.yafresh.blogspot.com.

Finding The Spark

Today my guest is Tawny Weber, a woman who loves romance, happily ever after, hot love scenes… all the good things in life. She writes romance hot and sizzling. Her newest release, COMING ON STRONG, was awarded four stars by Romance Times.

Today she talks about what brings our words to life and makes our characters real to our readers.

As a reader and a writer, there’s nothing I love more than reading something that sparkles. Not with glitter, ala pixie dust fun (although that would be cool, huh?). I mean that special something that brings the words to life, makes the characters seem real, and gives the reader that sense of Wow-connection. I call that spark. Some writers do it with intense plots that have the reader holding their breath in anticipation of what comes next. Others create characters that touch hearts and live in the minds of readers long after the cover is closed. There’s suspense spark, humors spark, sexy spark – the list could go on forever. For me, because I’m not an analytical reader, it’s never easy to pinpoint just what creates spark on a page. I just know it when I feel it.

As a writer, it’s a little easier. I know when my writing seems to spark – it’s that special feeling that the words just work. It all comes together and has an edge. It’s not comfortable, it’s not that “oooh that was easy to write” feeling (that usually means I didn’t work hard enough *g*). If I had to give it a label, it would be love. Loving something about the story, for me, gives it life-or spark. If I fall in love with the characters, or I’m so intensely connected to the story and how it plays out, that shows in my pages. If I believe in the story, if I’m emotionally invested, that comes through on the pages.

To all the writers out there, when you write, what’s going through your head as you put words to page. Yes, I know the story is there in the forefront –that’s what you’re typing, right? But what’s happening in the background? Doubts? Irritation or apathy? Are you thinking ‘this one is it’? Or are you rereading your latest rejection letter or bad review? IMO, nothing’s better at smothering spark than negativity. Some tools I use when I wrote to keep my focus on the story and not the chattering background voice is music. It just drowns them out *g*. Other ideas are to write down all the worries before you start writing, then rip them to shreds. They have no place in your writing time. Hey, there are plenty of other hours during the day to worry, right? Just not while you’re writing.

Another spark killer? Feedback. Oh, don’t get me wrong; I love feedback as much as the next person (especially good feedback LOL). But there was a time that I entered a lot of contests looking for feedback and I learned fast that if I took everyone’s advice/comments and changed my story to suit those, it would be a sparkless as a glass of tepid water. As much as I respect other’s opinions, the bottom line is the story has to resonate for me. I take two opinions into account when I write – two people that know my writing, know my voice and totally believe in my stories. My CP, and my editor. That’s not to say that I don’t respect reviews and feedback – I do. I store it all, I consider what clicked or didn’t click for readers, and try to keep that in mind as I work on my next story. But the bottom line is it always has to spark for me first.

So how about you? Do you recognize spark when you read?

Are there stories that just jump to life off the pages for you?

How about in your writing? Can you see when it’s there?

Do you have ideas for bringing more spark to your pages?

***

Tawny Weber is usually found dreaming up stories in her California home, surrounded by dogs, cats and kids. When she’s not writing hot, spicy stories for Harlequin Blaze, she’s shopping for the perfect pair of boots or drooling over Johnny Depp pictures (when her husband isn’t looking, of course).

Tawny’s most recent Blazes: COMING ON STRONG and GOING DOWN HARD are out April/May of 2009. Come by and visit her on the web at www.tawnyweber.com

Available May 2009

Did you know? One in ever six mass-market books sold in North America is a Harlequin or Silhouette Novel

HOW CAN YOU BE A WRITER IF YOU'RE NOT A READER?

~Sia McKye~

I read a number of blogs. One blog I regularly read is written by an agent. On this particular occasion there was an informal discussion going on between several agents and editors, chatting about a dichotomy between readers and writers. The gist of it was that there were a whole lot of writers out there that weren’t readers. People convinced that they had a “book or two in them,” but they weren't readers. Then there were the writers who felt you shouldn't read other’s work in your genre because it would interfere with your "voice".

To me, the question has always been how can you effectively write a book if you don't read them? Base it on TV? Your fascinating life? Because you're a professional writer on the job?

I write many things professionally, articles, seminars, notes, and lots of reports. I'm writing something every day and while I don't have the time to read six or more books a week anymore, I do read something everyday. I read for pleasure. I also read to keep an eye out for what is selling, what’s not, styles of writing, and premises used.

I write creatively and have completed two 90k contemporary romance manuscripts of a trilogy and I'm working on a paranormal trilogy. So, I'd say I had “a book or two in me”. I’ve told stories all my life. I come from a very creative family of oral storytellers and published authors.

My love of books came from reading voraciously throughout my life. As a child my parents and grandparents felt to be well read one must read classic literature first. I was also encouraged to branch out and explore various genres, not just one. Consequently, I regularly read various sub-genres of romance, paranormals, suspense and thrillers, and I love Sci-fi. You could say I'm a mood driven reader. I'm the same with music for much of the same reasons--my parents and grandparents.

There is a perception out there that you can't read another’s words when formulating your stories--something nonsensical about copying the voice or premise, yada yada. To me, that's BS. My voice is mine and doesn’t change just because I read someone’s work.

I often think about how coaches train their athletes. It isn't by ignoring the competition. To the contrary, they watch recorded games of the competition so they can be better. Actors know the style of other actors--they watch them. You don't think musicians aren't aware of those who produce the same style of music? Or artists aren't aware of whose style is similar?

As an author, to know what’s marketable you have to read it. Analyze it. That’s keeping your finger on the pulse of market.

I’m a marketing/promotion rep by profession, to sell my products and people; I have to be familiar with what’s out there. Is their product comparable? Better? Worse? How is it packaged? Any book I write is my product and to market it effectively I have to know what’s selling, what my target demographics are and why.

So, you want to be a author? Read. Particularly in your genre. Know what’s selling out there and why.

Sia McKye has spent over twenty years in marketing and promotion. She's written and published various articles on writing, marketing, and promotion. She's a Marketing Rep by profession and also writes fiction.