Writers in the Storm

Please Welcome Mario Acevedo to WITS - he's a best selling novelist and instructor over at the Lawson Academy, so you know he knows what he's talking about! Here he is:

Mario here: I’ve been invited to share a little of what I know about writing tension and conflict.

Let’s first ask ourselves why we read fiction? For a vicarious kick, to get what we usually avoid in our lives: DRAMA.

When we say a story was good drama, that means we got a lot of entertaining tension and conflict.

Tension and conflict, what’s the difference?

Tension arises from apprehension and expectation. We’re given details to set our nerves on edge. For tension to work, there must be a set-up. If you want to scare your reader, there must be a build-up of emotion. Otherwise, when you unleash the fright, there is no context. It would be like randomly mentioning the punch line of a joke and expecting a laugh.

Conflict is the discordance between competing agendas. Notice I didn’t mention ideas. It’s not enough that your characters have different ideas, they must act on them, through an agenda, a plan of action.

TENSION

A great way to show tension is through descriptions using scene-based imagery. This means that you describe the scene in a way that presents the emotion you want to project.

For example: A woman wears red lipstick. In a comic narrative, you might say her lips were clown red. In another scene, the same woman wearing the same lipstick, the color could be described as blood red. Those simple adjectives can dramatically change our expectations of the scene. One is funny, the other, filled with malice.

Check out this great example of creating tension in The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler. Here his detective Phillip Marlowe enters the greenhouse of his millionaire client.

The air was thick, wet, steamy and larded with the cloying smell of tropical orchids in bloom. The glass walls and roof were heavily misted and big drops of moisture splashed on the plants. The light had an unreal greenish color, like light filtered through an aquarium tank. The plants filled the place, a forest of them, with nasty meaty leaves and stalks like the fingers of newly washed dead men. They smelled as overpowering as boiling alcohol under a blanket.

Pick out the descriptors: Thick. Wet. Steamy. Larded. Unreal greenish color. Nasty, meaty. Fingers of newly washed dead men.

I don’t know what boiling alcohol under a blanket smells like but I’m sure it’s not pleasant.

What sensation do we get? One of dread. A foreshadowing of danger. It’s a brilliant allegory to the moral cesspool that Marlowe is immersing himself into. We know this is not going to be a nice story with nice characters.

CONFLICT

As I had mentioned, conflict implies action. The characters need to have competing agendas. Notice I didn’t say opposing agendas. You could have two characters on the same side (police buddies, for example) and while they may be striving for the same goal, they both have different ideas and methods getting there.

Although I said characters, conflict can be between the internal desires of a character, or between the character and nature (or God or society).

Conflict manifests itself when the opposing characters reveal their agendas, often through dialog. Let’s look at this excerpt from Fated by S.G. Browne.

In cases like this, it helps to get some good advice, and I know Honesty will always be candid and confidential. She’s kind of like a therapist for immortal entities.

Honesty lives on the Upper West Side in a three-thousand square-foot, two-bedroom flat on the top floor of a six story building with a view of Central Park. From the couch in her living room, I can see the North Meadow through the picture window.

“But if I talk to her,” I say, “won’t that encourage a relationship?”

“Is that a problem?” she says.

“Well, isn’t fraternizing with human women against the rules?” I ask.

“Whose rules?” says Honesty. “Your rules? Jerry’s rules? The rules of emotionally unavailable men?”

“Is that a multiple-choice question?” I ask.

Honesty lights up another cigarette, then takes a long drag, leans back in her chair, crosses her legs, and says, “Are you afraid of intimacy?”

The thing about Honesty is that she’s passive-aggressive.

What are the competing agendas? Fate wants permission to have a relationship with a mortal human. Honesty wants Fate to admit to his desires and act on them. We can tell that neither character cares very much for the other.

Here’s a simple exercise that uses internal conflict to establish tension. Write two complementary sentences, one as the set up and the other as the twist that establishes tension.

For example:

I am an honest man. But I need this money.

What is the conflict? The collision of two different agendas. One is to maintain your integrity, the other, for whatever the money may bring: food, medical treatment for a child, payoff extortion, etc., What is the source of tension? Our expectation that you are doing something against your principles and that will lead to trouble.

Remember, your readers want drama. Give it to them using tension and conflict.

Twist that emotional knife.

I’ll be teaching a class with the fabulous Lawson Writer’s Academy, Fang It To Me: Writing Vampires, Fantasy, and the How-to’s of World-Building, June 4 - 29, 2012.

The curriculum includes material prepared especially for this workshop by some of the best fantasy writers in the business today: NYT bestsellers Carrie Vaughn and Kevin Hearne; Colorado bestsellers Carol Berg, Jeanne Stein; horror master Stephen Graham Jones; king of the dystopian sci-fi thriller Warren Hammond, plus Jaye Wells, Michele Bardsley, Diana Rowland, Nicole Peeler, Carolyn Crane, Kat Richardson; plus YA authors Jackie Kessler and Mark Henry. This much knowledge might make your head explode!

Thanks for the opportunity. Remember: nothing gets written until you BICHOK--Butt In Chair, Hands On Keyboard.

Mario Acevedo is the author of the bestselling Felix Gomez detective-vampire series and his most recent novel is Werewolf Smackdown. You may find Mario at his website, his blog (with Jeanne Stein,) and at Facebook.

Stop by and say hello.

We're so excited here at WITS. The amazing teacher and writer, Shannon Donnelly, has agreed to be a monthly contributor! Read on - you're going to be excited too! Here's Shannon:

The great thing about ebooks is you can keep changing the cover. The bad thing about ebooks is you can keep changing the cover. It becomes a lot like putting on a new outfit--you're not really sure if the new one is a favorite because it's great, or just because it's new. I'm hoping this evolution for my book, Paths of Desire is heading forward.

The first cover was very much an experiment in making something from other things. I love the pose and the sunset, but while I also love silhouettes, these didn't "read" well to readers. The ship is also a touch out of period, and that bugged me.

The dress is also a little out of period. While it's not all that obvious, the waistline is low, meaning this reads as more of a Georgian era, which doesn't work for a book set from 1813 to 1817.

The fonts, here, too, were used to copy those on my other Regency romances. While the fonts read as "romance" I'm not sure they really gave me as much polish to the cover as I wanted. There's a whole art to fonts, and there's also a style--certain things come in and out of fashion. As with any other fashion, you can get too trendy and end up dating your cover (just look back at covers from the 1980's...or the 1960's!) You can also get too fancy. When in doubt, go with readable.

But you also need something that really sells the book. This wasn't it.

So it was on to the next draft.

For version number two, some elements stayed, some changed. Mostly it was about changing the couple. Again, silhouette was used--I had the idea that the suggestion of the couple would be cool. And, yes, it's nice, but still not as eye catching as I wanted.

Notice the pose is different--this is what I call the almost kiss. The dress is now period for the woman. And I really liked that moment before the kiss--that's what I think is always the best moment...the anticipation.

I'd call this a good cover, but it wasn't quite as slick as I wanted. It was low cost, so that let me get the book for sale so the book could actually finance how things went.

The silhouettes, however, while they were something I liked, did not really catch the eye. There's nothing here to really pop out. I also think the ship sent the wrong idea--it's a little too "piratey". I wanted the sense of a journey (as in paths, as in the story is about two folks and their journey into a relationship), but the ship is just too much Captain Jack (yes, Disney influences us all.)

And, yes, it was time to go onto the next version.

For the next cover, I went hunting and found Della Jacobs, who does great covers, as well as writing great books. The goal here was to get a stronger pose for the couple. I also wanted to keep the path/journey theme going on the cover, since that was the heart of the book. So this cover was born:

The outline on the lettering helped the text stand out, and the two different fonts also add a little more style. We still have that moment before the kiss on the cover. So I really liked this. But there was one problem.

When this cover is very, very small, the faded out couple tends not to read well (not a great thing for an ebook). It still looks good here, but on a page with a lot of other colors and art and text, the cover does tend to get lost. Sometimes understatement is great for your personal style, but not for a book cover.

What matters with an ebook is the sales numbers, and while the trend was upward, this cover wasn't giving me the numbers I wanted. So back on the hunt.

Searches led me to Hot Damn Designs. I browsed the covers and the stocks. And I liked the covers. The cost was within budget, too (always a consideration.) So I sent them information and selected some stock that I liked.

Kim, the main designer, sent back two options, and both were great.

The red automatically appealed to me the most--but then I like to wear red a lot, too. However, the pillows and the background had kind of a Belle Epoch feeling, which wasn't quite the historical tone I wanted. The hint of red hair also did not suit the dark haired heroine. So version 3B it was.

This also added in the tag line (not something you can see in the small version, but it's hinted at enough that someone might click to see a larger version of the cover. We still have, too, the anticipation of the kiss.

I also thought this gave the idea that the book is a hotter Regency historical. Since I've written shorter, lighter Regencies, some folks may expect that and may not like the sex in the book. But it's vital to the story and the characters, and so it's there. The cover had to say that.

It's too early to tell, yet, if the cover will do great. It's already doing better than the other two covers. But is it too much in fashion? We've lost the path feeling, so is that bad?  Does this now look like too many other book covers? Does it do enough to tell the reader what the book is about (other than two folks in bed?)

Covers have limited space, and an author always wants more--can you put in the travel, and the couple, and oh, yes, there should be a London stage (she's an actress,) and he's an explorer, so a map or compass would be cool. And with that you now have a cover with so much going on that it's impossible to see anything. But does this need more?

Time will tell. And maybe another cover will appear in a few months.

Shannon Donnelly's writing has won numerous awards, including a RITA nomination for Best Regency, the Grand Prize in the "Minute Maid Sensational Romance Writer" contest, judged by Nora Roberts, RWA's Golden Heart, and others. Her writing has repeatedly earned 4½ Star Top Pick reviews from Romantic Times magazine, as well as praise from Booklist and other reviewers, who note: "simply superb"..."wonderfully uplifting"....and "beautifully written."

Her latest Regency Historical Romance, Paths of Desire, can be found as an ebooks on Kindle, Nook and at Smashwords, along with her Regency romances, and her free novella, Cats Cradle. She has had novellas published in several anthologies, has had young adult horror stories published, and is the author of several computer games.

She lives in New Mexico with two horses, two donkeys, two dogs, and the one love of her life. Shannon can be found online at sd-writer.com, facebook.com/sdwriter, and twitter/@sdwriter.

By Susan Squires

What a crazy, confusing and possibly wonderful world publishing is today. The traditional publishing world is under duress and their business model depends more and more on writers who are already selling a zillion books. While they may still be looking for the next big thing, just like in other mediums, the next big thing must hit quickly or it’s discarded. The continuing niche for a mid-list writer with respectable sales is disappearing. Many traditional publishers are getting into digital publishing to compete with the e-publishers who established themselves while New York wasn’t looking. And it has become really easy to publish yourself. The number of self-published titles is growing exponentially, but many of those books are not of professional quality. Readers are becoming wary of spending money on what I’ve heard one reader call “books only the author could love.”

What all this means is a lot of choices for an author, which should be a good thing. But since when has having a lot of choices made things easier?  In the recent Romance Writers Report, there was an excellent piece by Marliss Melton on the pros and cons of self-publishing. Everyone writer should read it. But I thought I’d put a personal spin on those pros and cons, because just recently I had to make that choice.

I was at an interesting time in my life. I was burned out on writing because I’d had both a hefty day job and deadlines from my publisher for almost twelve years. After seventeen novels, frankly, I wasn’t sure I wanted to write anymore. But I did have an idea I liked for a series (The Children of Merlin) so I sent it in to my lovely editor at St. Martin’s Press. I knew something had to change though. I did the numbers, and found that I could finally retire from the day job.

Here’s where it gets tricky. St. Martin’s passed on my series. My agent thought he could sell it elsewhere, but I told him to hold sending it out. I had to find out whether I still wanted to write. It took a while, but the joy came back. I completed the first novel in the series, DO YOU BELIEVE IN MAGIC? I gave my agent the go ahead to try and sell the series.

But the changes in publishing were becoming more evident. I had writer friend who was doing very well publishing herself, and loved the fact that she could choose her own covers, write her own copy and set her own deadlines. She was producing lots of quirky cozy mysteries that sold well. She encouraged me to strike out on my own. Choose your cover? Write your copy? I found that intimidating. (If you want to check her out, her name is Melanie Jackson and her newest series is Miss Henry Mysteries)

As my proposal ran through the levels at some print houses, and digital first presses expressed immediate interest, I felt like a deer in the headlights. What did I want to do?

The moment of clarity for me came when Angela James, editor at Carina Press, Harlequin’s digital division, spoke at the Orange County Romance Writers of America meeting. She did a great job answering the question, “Why you should write for Carina rather than self-publish?” Here’s my recollection of her checklist:

1) Write for Carina if you aren’t familiar with the editing and publishing process to gain experience.

2) You can get an advance at Carina and some digital presses like it (though not a large one.)

3) You have the backing of a big publisher.

4) Publishing your book in the various formats requires time and skill.

I think that afternoon in January was the point where I truly considered publishing my series myself.

1) I had twelve years of experience publishing with NY and felt I knew the process pretty well. I could hire copy-editing, cover art, and even content editing if I wanted.

2) I was at the time of my life where advances weren’t as important. Would I make more money with a NY contract? Or a small press contract? Unclear. NY gives (usually) 10% royalties and 25% on e-books. Carina gave 40% royalties but didn’t do print. Self-publishing yields 70% royalties, though with very few exceptions you will sell far fewer books. I know authors who are doing financially very well publishing themselves, and authors who aren’t. However, if ever I was going to take the risk, it was when I was no longer dependent on advances.

3) Publishing houses have provided little support for authors for years, except if you happen to be Nora Roberts or Charlaine Harris. You are expected to promote your books, manage contests and websites, etc., for yourself. I had a healthy mailing list, of 37,000 names and was willing to take time to promote the book.

4) I had friends that said that publishing yourself wasn’t that hard. And if I couldn’t do it myself, I could hire it done very cheaply.

So what would I be losing, making a leap to self publishing? Well, I’d be saying goodbye to contest wins. No Rita in my future. My work would not be reviewed by the mainstream press. I wouldn’t be getting the respect of writing for a NY house. And that was the final decider. I actually started to laugh.

Was THAT why I was writing?

For contests and reviews and respect? Or was I writing to give people a good ride, to tell the stories I had inside me, to progress in my craft and have the satisfaction of earning money for my work? Besides, I’d done all that.

Suddenly it was all clear. It was time to take a risk and go into business for myself. So I had my agent retract the work from consideration at both print and digital-first publishers. Publishing my book turned out to be very doable, with a little coaching from my friends who had already figured it out. I published DO YOU BELIEVE IN MAGIC? in April. And I’m two- thirds through writing the second book in the series. Sales are coming in, and I feel good about my decision.

Now, here’s the million-dollar question. Would I have wanted to self-publish if I hadn’t already been published in print by NY houses? No. I have to say I would have tried as hard as I could to get published in traditional print. Here’s why:

1) I think it’s much harder to have significant sales if you are currently unpublished, and I wanted my books to have as wide an audience as possible.

3) I needed an editor, and experience, and time to build that mailing list, and learn how to promote.

4) I needed to demonstrate to myself that I could produce on time, on a deadline, and be sure that I was motivated enough to make writing a career.

5)  Though I hate to admit it, I needed the validation of people telling me that I was writing at a professional level. I’m not especially proud that I needed that, but it’s no use in denying that psychological factor.

My risky venture may not pay off. But I’ll never be sorry I tried. I’m just glad that the confluence of burnout, rejection, and a turning point my life combined to help me decide to give it a shot.

So, have you made a choice yet? What did you choose, and why? Your logic may help others in their decision!

Susan Squires is New York Times bestselling author known for breaking the rules of romance writing. She has won multiple contests for published novels and reviewer’s choice awards. Publisher’s Weekly named Body Electric one of the most influential mass market books of 2003 and One with the Shadows, the fifth in her vampire Companion Series, a Best book of 2007.

Susan has a Masters in English literature from UCLA and once toiled as an executive for a Fortune 500 company. Now she lives at the beach in Southern California with her husband, Harry, a writer of supernatural thrillers, and three very active Belgian Sheepdogs, who like to help by putting their chins on the keyboarddddddddddddddddd.