Writers in the Storm

Writers In The Storm is delighted to have Janice Hardy back. We love her and the fabulous writing resources on her blog, The Other Side of the Story.

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Decades ago, a detached, omniscient point of view was all the rage. Readers wanted to be told a story, so the stories read as if someone was indeed telling them. That style faded as readers sought a more immersive read, and tight points of view became popular.

Regardless of who the narrator is, that's the person the reader experiences the novel through. A tight first person narrator, an omniscient third, a limited third, it's all filtered through somebody's eyes. Sometimes this filter is invisible and the reader doesn't feel any distance between her and the point of view (POV) character. Other times the filters are obvious and the reader feels the wall between her and the characters. One style looks through the eyes of the POV, the other looks at the POV.

What adds this layer?

Filter words.

Filter words distance the reader from the POV character. They remind readers they're reading, explain things that are obvious, and often lead a writer into telling. Even worse, filter words are frequently found with their passive, telling cousins, pushing the reader even further away.

If you're after a tighter and more immersive POV experience, you might try looking for and eliminating these filter words.

Redundant Filter Words

The easiest fix is to get rid of words like, saw, heard, felt, knew, watched, and looked. What makes these words feel detached is that they're explaining that a character saw or heard something, and then the narrative goes right ahead and shows it anyway. POV characters by definition are relaying everything they sense, say, and think. If it's described, readers know the character experienced it in some way. It's like saying, I'm going to look at something, and now I'm telling you what I looked at.

Let's look at some examples:

Lisa wandered through the field and saw three crows sitting on the fence. Their black feathers glistened in the morning sunshine. She heard them caw the way crows do, and watched them take flight and soar across the bright, blue sky.

I could hear cars whooshing past. The sound of horns blared against my ears, muffled by the morning fog. It felt cold and clammy, sticking to my skin like a layer of wet cloth. It smelled musty, though I knew fog couldn't possibly be musty.

Notice the extra layer. The character is relaying information in a detached, after the fact, watching-me-do-this tone. There's a feeling of an outside person describing what the character sees and hears rather than experiencing the same things through that character's senses.

Look at these same paragraphs without the filter words:

Lisa wandered through the field. Three crows sat on the fence, their black feathers glistening in the morning sunshine. They cawed the way crows do, then took flight and soared across the bright, blue sky.

Cars whooshed past, their blaring horns muffled by the morning fog. It lay cold and clammy against my skin like wet cloth. Musty, though fog couldn't possibly be musty.

Now the POV character is describing what they experience without telling the reader that they're looking or hearing or smelling. The reader feels closer to the POV, and can imagine themselves in the story instead of watching the story from afar.

Revising to eliminate filter words is an easy way to achieve a tighter POV, and even fix any told prose in the process.

Do you prefer a tight or a distant point of view? Why? What about it captures you as a reader?

BIO:
Janice Hardy always wondered about the darker side of healing. For her fantasy trilogy THE HEALING WARS, she tapped into her own dark side to create a world where healing was dangerous, and those with the best intentions often made the worst choices. Her books include THE SHIFTER, and BLUE FIRE. DARKFALL, from Balzer+Bray/Harper Collins. She lives in Georgia with her husband, three cats and one very nervous freshwater eel. You can visit her online at www.janicehardy.com, chat with her about writing on her blog, The Other Side of the Story, or find her on Twitter @Janice_Hardy.

Links:

The Shifter                     Blue Fire                        Darkfall

Writers In The Storm is pleased to welcome a new guest blogger. I have the incredible pleasure of being in a local chapter with Kimberly Kincade and cheering her on as she swept the contest scene and then secured a fantabulous contract for her foodie novels. She obviously has a winning recipe so who better to talk about overcoming writer's block? Help me welcome Kimberly to WITS! - Orly Konig-Lopez

As writers, we all know the scenario: You sit down in your trusty chair. It’s quiet, all the chores are done, you’ve got nothing on the agenda but to write. You’re all ready to go, fingers poised over the keyboard, and…nothing. Nada, zip, zero, nothing comes out. Writer’s block can strike swiftly and be oh-so cruel, but don’t worry! While they’re different for every writer, there are ways to jump-start yourself back into the zone. Here are a few things I do when The Block strikes.

Step Away From the Keyboard. Yes, I know this sounds counter-intuitive. You’re supposed to be writing! But that blank screen can give your mind the same idea sometimes, so don’t be afraid to do something else that will engage you. Watch an episode of your favorite show and watch how the characters interact. Go to Starbucks and eavesdrop a bit on people interacting. Or get out and do something solitary that will let your mind wander, like gardening or taking a walk (I have one writer-friend who swears she gets the best ideas ever while in the shower. Mine tend to hit while I’m behind the wheel). Whatever you choose, allow yourself permission to think freely. The sparks will follow.

Read. Read some more. Books by others aren’t just a source of oh-yes in the down-time department. They can be an incredibly valuable resource in getting our creative juices going. You might choose someone who writes very differently than you, just to see what options are out there. Or you might feel better reading someone similar to you, to “remind” yourself of your path. Whatever you pick, reading can be a great bribe for your muse!

Talk it Out. Some of my most inspired ideas have come from conversations that started with the phrase, “I need an idea for a book!” I’m fortunate enough to have five incredible critique partners, all of whom have said this, and heard me say it, at some point or another. Noodling things out with another person can flesh out ideas, and often offers up surprises as well as sparks. Sometimes I have no idea my hero had a dark past or my heroine wanted to open up her own cooking school until I hash out threads of ideas with my CPs. And once I figure it out, I’m off to the races.

Let’s Get Visual, Visual! Like many people out there, I am a very visual creature. I write foodie romance, and so the grocery store is a hotbed of inspiration for me (I’m reminded of the time I wrote half a scene in the middle of Costco because the bunches of bananas sparked a whopper of a story idea. Always keep a pen and notebook in your bag, people!) But your visual inspiration can come from anywhere. Magazine pictures, people in their cars at stop lights, stories on the news, all of these things have the potential to get your brain un-blocked if you really look at them.

Toys. My inner kid loves this one, and chances are, yours will too. Whether they’re designed specifically to shatter your writer’s block or they’re just plain fun to play with, toys can get your creativity out of a lurch. I won a set of Writing Blocks Idea Dice from the lovely Mia Zachary last year, and they are a fabulous writing tool when I’m stuck. They’ve got possible plot elements, conflicts, and character tropes on them, and you essentially roll them to come up with the framework for a story. You can use all of them if you’re just starting out, or just one or two if you’re stuck on a particular element. They’re tons of fun, and I’ve surprised myself more than once playing with them.

So tell me, writer friends! What methods do you employ to banish The Block? What works best for your style? And how do you keep those ideas flowing?

Bio

Kimberly Kincaid writes contemporary romance that splits the difference between sexy and sweet. When she's not sitting cross-legged in an ancient desk chair known as "The Pleather Bomber", she can be found practicing obscene amounts of yoga, whipping up anything from enchiladas to éclairs in her kitchen, or curled up with her nose in a book. Kimberly is a 2011 RWA Golden Heart® finalist who lives (and writes!) by the mantra that food is love. She is thrilled to have collaborated on a Christmas anthology with Donna Kauffman and Kate Angel, titled The Sugar Cookie Sweetheart Swap, to kick off her Pine Mountain foodie series with Kensington this October. Her first full-length novel, Turn Up the Heat, will follow in February 2014. Kimberly resides in northern Virginia with her wildly patient husband and their three daughters.

You can find out more about Kimberly on her website - www.kimberlykincaid.com

On Twitter at @kimberlykincaid

And on Facebook.

Writers In The Storm is pleased to welcome Tara Lain back (you can see her previous post Attack of the Blog here). Pour yourself a cold drink (you'll need it) and get ready to learn a thing or two about spicing up those love scenes.

Hi everyone--

I’m delighted to be back at Writers in the Storm. The ladies asked me if I would write about building heat in a love scene. Why would they choose this topic for me?  Aha! Because I’m a writer of erotic romance! Good erotic romances are certainly famous for their love scenes. Want to know why? That’s my topic.

The main way that an erotic romance differs from a traditional romance is -- the erotic romance is NOT so much about sex.

Not what you expected? Think about it. In most traditional romances, one of the main plot points is “will they or won’t they?” Many scenes are driven by this question, sometimes up to the end of the book. In erotic romances, that question is off the table -- sometimes in chapter one and for sure by the middle of the book. The answer is they do and they did and so what’s next? After that question is gone, the erotic romance has to be about something else. Will they or won’t they be able to overcome the obstacles that keep them apart?

• So, the first rule of creating heat in a sex scene? A sex scene is almost NEVER about sex.It’s about revealing something important about the character or forwarding the plot in some particular way. If the reader skips the scene they miss a lot. So they don’t skip it.I wrote a romantic suspense in which an investigative reporter believes that a billionaire art collector is a thief. (I write gay romance. They’re both men.) Through many machinations, they end up as lovers but the reporter doesn’t come clean. Imagine the guilt and suspicion that plays through the passion. My reporter goers through every phase of self-loathing challenged by his desire for the big story.If you craft your love scenes around plot development and character revelation, you’ll create a lot of great love scenes.
• If you have multiple love scenes in your book as I do, you need to “orchestrate” them. Each scene has a different purpose and each one escalates so that you’re peaking your romantic intensity at the right time in the book. You have the passion of a first kiss, the wonder and discovery of first sex, the hunger of love denied.Consider each scene and ask “what will the scene do?” How do I hook the reader in and leave them wanting more?
• Advancing character and forwarding plot is great but when you have a number of love scenes in your book, you need to be creative. So within the context of what we discussed above, think about what kind of fun and freshness you can bring to a scene.I’m currently writing a book in which one of my heroes is an exotic dancer. So I set a love scene in the forest where he can swing on branches and do all kinds of sexy contortions. You can use setting, costume -- the act of disrobing can be very sexy and fun if made an end in itself -- or the sex itself. Certain sexual acts suggest an escalation of passion or commitment. Think about your character. Would he be reticent to do certain things? Would finally doing them represent a huge change of viewpoint? That makes a sex scene memorable and it advances your story.
• And deep point of view is essential for a great love scene. The reader wants to know how everything feels, tastes, smells.Don’t tell me they were ecstatic. Show me! What is a climax like? Find the words and use them. Obviously, you won’t use the same kinds of words I do unless you’re an erotic romance writer, but don’t over-euphemize me. Readers will get bored.Lock into your characters POV. How would he feel about each thing that’s happening? Sometimes I layer a scene. I go in and describe the action. Where are the hands, the lips, the body parts exactly? Then I layer in feeling and emotion. And finally, I add another layer of more detailed feeling.

Writing a great love scene is like writing any great scene. It has a reason to be and you need to use all your power to fulfill that promise to the reader.

Think about the scene. Plan it. And don’t write it when you’re tired. Great love scenes take great energy. And get involved. If at the end of your scene you’re gasping for breath, your reader will be too.

Bio

Tara Lain’s first erotic romance novel was published in January of 2011. She’s now on book 17. Her best-selling novels have garnered awards for Best Series of 2011, Best Contemporary Romance, Best Ménage, Best LGBT Romance and Tara has been named Best Writer of the Year in the LRC Awards. In her other job, Tara owns an advertising and public relations firm, and she carries her promotional instincts into her writing career as well. She lives with her soul-mate husband in Laguna Beach, California, a pretty seaside town where she sets a lot of her books.  Passionate about diversity, justice, and new experiences, Tara says on her tombstone it will say “Yes”!

NEWS: Tara has a new release, Hearts and Flour, coming out on Monday February 4 that promises to be a deliciously quirky gay romance filled with heartbreak, cupcakes, love, and a little blackmail.

How to find Tara:
Website:            http://www.taralain.com
Author blog:     http://taralain.blogspot.com
Book blog:         http://beautifulboysbooks.blogspot.com
FB Page:            http://www.facebook.com/taralain
Twitter:              http://twitter.com/taralain
Amazon:            http://www.amazon.com/Tara-Lain/e/B004U1W5QC/