Category: Writing

Posts in which we talk about the writing craft and process

On Going Home

Updated on February 13, 2015 by Elena Greene

I’ve been trying to keep showing a cheerful front to the world here in this blog, Facebook and elsewhere, but it’s time for a confession. I haven’t done any creative writing in many months.

I’m not ready to go into the reasons at this point. I can only say that I’m facing a challenge bigger than any I’ve encountered thus far, including my husband’s stroke. The good news is that I have learned a lot from that crisis and am using it all now. I am no longer looking for a light at the end of the tunnel. I’ve also discovered that I can light my own way.

My instincts (which have been serving me very well lately and I should have listened to before) are telling me to focus my energy on solving the current crisis and that it is OK to take a break from writing. Sometimes writing is a solace, but pushing myself to write now—even if I had time—would be like a runner trying to train on a broken leg.

I am doing is letting go of the guilt imposed by internal and external critics and trusting myself. I know how to be mindful, how to tell I am being too hard or too easy on myself, how to ask the right questions and find out what I need more of, what I need less of, not only to get through the crisis but to thrive afterwards.

I think we all can do this. As Jane Austen wrote, “We have all a better guide in ourselves, if we would attend to it, than any other person can be.”

In order to learn to attend to that guide, I’ve been rereading Women Who Run with the Wolves, by Clarissa Pinkola Estes. She writes about women’s need to “go home”, where “Home is a sustained mood or sense that allows us to experience feelings not necessarily sustained in the mundane world: wonder, vision, peace, freedom from worry, freedom from demands, freedom from constant clacking. All these treasures from home are meant to be cached in the psyche for later use in the topside world.” One can “go home” many ways, including going into nature, praying, meditating, making art.

She also writes “if a woman doesn’t go when it’s her time to go, the hairline crack in her soul/psyche becomes a ravine, and the ravine becomes a roaring abyss.” I know from experience that this is true. So while I’m dealing with some crazy-making issues, I’m also doing my Morning Pages (a type of journaling taught in The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron), meditating at every day and finding pockets of time to do smaller projects that sustain my creativity while demanding less time than the writing.

I am not leaving the Riskies, as our new schedule of posting just once a month allows me enough time to do the rest of the work I must do before I can write again. And I will get back to writing. The river hasn’t dried up; it’s only gone underground for a while.

Do you “go home”? How?

Elena

Posted in Writing | Tagged Clarissa Pinkola Estes, creativity, Julia Cameron, The Artist's Way, Women Who Run With the Wolves | 15 Replies

Oh What a Circus … er … um … or Not

Updated on February 4, 2015 by Sandra Schwab

When you’ve spent more than a decade reading books from the 19th century, reading books set in the 19th century, writing books set in the 19th century, and researching everyday life in the 19th century, you’ve got a fairly good idea what life was like in the 19th century. Or at the very least, you’ve got a fairly good idea where you can look stuff up, and chances are, you have the relevant research books somewhere on your bookshelves.

You are familiar with all the itty-bitty details: ice cream from Gunter’s, betting book at White’s, weak punch at Almack’s, circus at Astley’s. You also have a fairly good idea what kind of clothes your characters would have been wearing, from what kind of tableware they would have been eating, and what their homes would have looked like.

But one day you let yourself be persuaded by a bunch of people on Twitter that it would be an awfully good idea to write a book set in a time period you’re only superficially familiar with (let’s say … um … how about the time of the Roman Empire?). You’re suddenly faced with all these questions about things like underwear (what the heck did a Roman legionary wear underneath his tunic??? a loincloth or the kind of thing that real men wear under a kilt?), normal everyday clothes (to wear a toga or not to wear a toga, that is the question!), food (fried dormice – really????), about tableware (glass – thumbs up or down?), sexual practices (eh … um …), or names (yes, that’s right, names; the naming problem alone would justify that I hide behind my couch sobbing quietly).

And then there are the things that you think you know (haha!) like, say, gladiators. After all, everybody knows that the Romans loved going to the circus in order to watch guys kill each other in interesting ways and people being torn apart by wild animals, right? We have seen Spartacus, after all! (Well, as far as the TV series is concerned, one might have at least watched a few bits and pieces – not all the ugly, bloody fighting stuff, mind you! – but the romantic bits. They had some truly great romantic subplots in that show!) (Unfortunately, nearly all of the romantic couples died in gruesome ways – except for the cute gay couple. Yay for the cute gay couple!!!)

So there you are, thinking you know all those wonderful things – until you decide that it wouldn’t hurt to properly check up on them, say, one or two days before you’re supposed to send the manuscript to your editor.

OMG! *breaks down*

And suddenly you have a host of horrible problems at hand:

Nope, gladiator fights were not held at the circus. (Duh, Sandy, duh! You’ve seen Ben Hur! You’ve read Ben Hur!) (Okay, so the latter was when you were 12 or 13 and you were mostly impressed by the intriguing bits about Ben Hur’s manly beauty.) The Circus Maximus was a purpose-built building for chariot races. If you wanted to see gladiator fights, you needed to go to the Colloseum.
In Imperial Rome, the staging of gladiatorial games was actually quite rare (in contrast to how such things were organized in the republic) and typically happened on specific holidays (*frantic googling for exact dates ensues*)
Trying to find out on which days of the year (or at least around which time) the gladiatorial games were held, you stumble over a lot of extremely vague info as well as a lot of conflicting info: gladiatorial games happened only during the Saturnalia in December – happened during the Saturnalia and in March – were put on as often as possible!!!!! (*sobs quietly*)

Why exactly did I think it would be a good idea to write a romance set in ancient Rome????? That book is killing me!!!! And it’s still not finished!!! I’m still working on one scene that seems to go on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and…. *runs out of breath*

In happier news: the digital art experiment is progressing nicely and apart from the occasional guy with skin made of green brocade, I’ve actually managed to produce a number of pictures with people who look like real (!) people. I’ve already put together one new cover that I rather like. It’s not live yet, and you’re the first to see it. I hope you like it! Also, please wish me luck with that dratted manuscript!

Edited to add: I’VE FINISHED THE BOOK!!!!!!!!!!! FIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNIIIIIIIISHHHHHHHHHD!!!!!!!!! And it’s already with my editor! Woooohooooo!!!! *hops around the room waving her arms*

(Of course, as always, I now worry that the book is utterly horrible and that reading it will probably kill of my poor editor. *sigh*)

Posted in Rant, Writing | Tagged Sandy in Deadline Hell | 6 Replies

Tired Tropes I Could Do Without

Updated on January 23, 2015 by Elena Greene

This year I received NINE books to judge in RWA’s RITA contest. It appears, from online discussions, that people who are open to judging a broad range of categories can get swamped, as I have. Unless there are changes in how they do things, I may have to opt out of more categories next year, because this is going to be a challenge!

Anyway, judging the RITAs is always a mixed pleasure. Usually I find some new authors to follow, but almost always, I also run into books that use some tired old tropes I don’t see in my favorite authors’ books. Here are a few I’m braced to expect:

Tired Trope #1 – The Feisty Redhead

Red hair is gorgeous, and I understand why authors might use it in a symbolic sense, to connote passion (although I’d also argue that blondes and brunettes can be just as passionate). I do wonder about the idea that redheads are naturally short-tempered.

When I googled around, I found some historical background for this idea of the “fiery redhead” and also some articles suggesting that the gene that produces red hair may also cause an increased sensitivity to pain. So perhaps a redhead might react more strongly if one accidentally stepped on her toes? It still seems like a stretch to assume that redheads have a short fuse about everything. It’s not borne out by the ones I know. They aren’t wimps but also aren’t at all the sort to jump to erroneous conclusions or blow up at trifles.

The stories that really rub me the wrong way are the ones featuring a redheaded heroine who blows her top easily and a hero who somehow thinks this is cute. Taken to this extreme, it’s infantilizing women’s anger. I prefer to read about a heroine who can be angry with real reason and a hero who, even if he disagrees with her, will take her seriously.

Tired Trope #2 – The Rich, Handsome, Alpha Chauvinist

Sadly, in most of the batches of RITA books I’ve judged, there’s at least one book with a hero who crosses the line from alpha to abusive. He shows a consistent lack of respect for the heroine, disregards her ideas, needs and desires, and may judge her sexuality using a double standard.

In a historical romance, I can imagine a hero whose upbringing and experiences may not have prepared him for a heroine with untraditional abilities or strong passions. I still want him to be intelligent enough to recognize, accept and eventually be delighted by what he learns about her true nature.

However, I actually see as many or more chauvinistic heroes in contemporary romance. Seriously, have we not gotten past the modern hero who’s surprised when a heroine proves to be intelligent and competent? Or one who slut-shames her for having as strong a libido as his?

Even if there’s some good grovel at the end, I can’t believe in a happy ending for these couples. I see the heroine ending up in what amounts to a luxurious cage and the “hero” eventually replacing her with either a younger wife or a mistress, depending on the setting.

I want to read about a hero who loves the heroine in all her complexity. One who does not see her as a static, desirable object but a living woman, who will change and acquire new wisdom and power as she goes through various phases of her life. Because he loves her, he’ll be excited to be her companion for that journey.

What do you think? Are there other tropes you’d like to see retired?

Elena
www.elenagreene.com

Posted in Rant, Reading, Writing | Tagged alpha hero, feisty redhead, stereotypes, tropes | 7 Replies

Welcome to the Self Publishing Rookery

Updated on November 20, 2014 by Janet Mullany

(Only) historical note: The Rookeries were the notorious, filthy, crime-ridden slums of London, cleared by the Victorians, whose notorious, filthy, crime-ridden slums were cleared by the Blitz and mid-late 20th century city planners.

Keep a careful eye on your billfold. You will be assaulted by various crooks and villains intent on getting your money.

Hundreds of brilliant reviews? Certainly, follow me into this dark alley.
Make the amazon/NYT/USAToday lists? Absolutely, just let me look after your cash for a moment, be right back.
Copyedit your book? I’m fully-qualified, but what does it have to do with Chicago?

But here is some real advice I have received from experts who shall remain nameless (and who’ve sold much better than I have)**:

Write a series with at least three books every year. What they’re about doesn’t really matter, but for heaven’s sake, don’t try to be original or complicated or funny.
So long as one or more of the words duke, Navy Seal, alpha male spring to mind, you’re fine.
You don’t need to have your book copy edited or line edited or have a professionally-designed cover. You have spellcheck and photoshop, you’re ready to go.

I take the view that readers deserve better. Have we really been brainwashed to that extent by the big however-many-are-left NY publishers that that’s all we’re worth? It seems that there are writers (notoriously EL James) who have somehow tapped into the zeitgeist and who sell and sell and sell. It has nothing to do with the quality of the writing or the storytelling (or notoriously, the editing or lack thereof).

[**Yes, my sales suck. But I’m also very disappointed as a reader too, and I don’t think I’m the only one.]

I’m ending this rant with a word from the great Ursula K. LeGuin, who was honored recently at the National Book Awards. (You can read a whole transcript of her speech here):

Right now, I think we need writers who know the difference between the production of a market commodity and the practice of an art. Developing written material to suit sales strategies in order to maximize corporate profit and advertising revenue is not quite the same thing as responsible book publishing or authorship.

Thoughts?

Posted in Rant, Writing | Tagged self-publishing, Ursula Le Guin | 3 Replies

How Did You Get Hooked? The Origins of Our Addiction (to Historical Romance)

Updated on November 7, 2014 by Gail Eastwood

How did you fall in love with historical romance stories, as a genre? Last weekend’s “Fall Back in Time” campaign had a lovely nostalgic twist to it when people posted photos of beloved old historical romances that set them on the path to addiction –oh, wait, I mean, that introduced them to the genre.

Those included Jane Austen novels and the now-classic Kathleen Woodiwiss romances like The Flame and the Flower, as you might expect, but also a huge range of other books and authors. We writers never know when one of our own stories may serve as the “gateway” book for a new historical fiction fan’s addiction. Of course, we take a kind of evil delight when that happens. Hooked another one! Heh-heh. It’s a lovely validation of what we do.

Readers seem to fall into one of three camps with how their interest started. Where do you fit? Did you discover historical fiction first, perhaps in childhood? Or did you discover romance novels first, then the historical ones as a subgenre? Or did you find historical romance as a new type of story to love, all at once?

I fit into that first category, hooked on historical fiction very early. As a young reader I devoured the “Little Maid” series written by Alice Turner Curtis (American history). Originally published in the 1920’s, those fired up my imagination and influenced some of my early attempts at writing. I was lucky to have a mom who knew about them. Despite how dated the writing seems now, I would still buy the reissues on Amazon if I had any young girls in my family! From there, I loved to read any story that was set before the 20^th century.

Then there was Earthfasts by William Mayne. It mixed contemporary and historical time, fantasy and reality and the supernatural, and it is set in the Dales in England –who could resist a book like that? I still take this book out and re-read it from time to time, still plunged right into the story by Mayne’s vivid writing.

I stumbled upon Pride and Prejudice on the library shelves (I do so miss browsing, don’t you?) in 7^th grade. Even though I didn’t understand half of it at the time, I couldn’t get enough. The combination of historical setting with romance mixed in was intoxicating. I started reading my mother’s copies of Mary Stewart and Victoria Holt/Phillippa Carr, and then I discovered Barbara Cartland. (I know.) I read everything. I was on a quest. But the Regency time-setting very quickly became my favorite, along with authors like Edith Layton, Mary Jo Putney, Joan Wolfe and Mary Balogh. Now my list has too many authors on it to name them all!

So, what authors got you started, and how did you start? Who were your favorites? I’d love to know. If you want to post pictures, we might be able to have some of the discussion over on our Riskies’ Facebook page, which I tend to forget about. But please comment here first, and then let us know if you are going to post there! In the meantime, happy reading!!