Alison Kent

Has anyone anywhere heard anything at all yet about the GH and RITA winners? It’s almost 10:00 in Dallas; the ceremony should be over or close to by now, yes??????

UPDATE

Here’s the list!

Point Of View Tip #2 - Descriptions born inside a character’s head are the most effective, and give the reader the opportunity to see the stage as well as see more deeply into the viewpoint character.

What’s that, you ask? Eh? :laugh:

Okay, here’s a test. Read this and tell me what’s wrong with this paragraph and I’ll be back later to explain!

     Kendra walked into her bedroom, swearing if she had another day like today she was turning in her resignation posthaste.
     The quilt on the queen-size bed was a soothing combination of greens and blues, the carpet beneath her feet a dark navy.
     She headed for the master bathroom, dropping her clutch on the surface of the rolltop desk that sat on the wall at the foot of the bed with a print of Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” hanging above.

:):) :) :) :)                           UPDATE                           :) :) :):):)

Now that I’ve thoroughly confused everyone with my questions *g*, let’s try this again. Read the paragraph this way and see if it resonates more fully.

     Kendra walked into her bedroom, swearing if she had another day like today she was turning in her resignation posthaste.
     The quilt on the queen-size bed was a soothing combination of greens and blues, the carpet beneath her feet a dark navy. Her decorator had told her at the time that the overall look of the tropics would give her bedroom the feel of a permanent vacation. All she could think about right now was how much she missed her grandmother who’d willed her the quilt. Her grandmother, who would’ve stood up to the suits in the office and given them a huge “what for”. Her grandmother, who’d been the only person at her side telling her not to let the bastards get her down.
     Having a whole lot of trouble holding back tears, she headed for the master bathroom, dropping her clutch on the surface of the rolltop desk–another reminder of the emptiness in her heart. She’d placed the desk against the wall at the foot of the bed and hung a print of Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” hanging above. The painting had been her grandmother’s favorite, the desk the hub of all activity the years it had been in her kitchen, the very place from where advice had been dispensed along with Jack Daniels.
     And right now, Kendra couldn’t think of another place she’d rather be, or another person she more needed to hold her.

Okay. Now. Ask yourself this. When you walk into a room that’s yours, that you see every day, do you describe it to yourself? No, and there’s no reason to. You’re going to do one of two things. Notice what’s out of place - not what’s *in* place. Or FEEL something about it related to the moment in time. Having a viewpoint character describe her bedroom so that the reader can see it is a cop out. (Hate to be mean, but there ya have it, LOL! Oh, and I’ve been known to do it more than a few times!!!) I won’t say it’s lazy writing, but it’s not dig-down-hard writing. On the other hand, if a person who has never seen the bedroom walks in, it’s perfectly understandable that they would take in the room’s decor and describe it.

Just don’t take the easy way out to get a description into the reader’s head. Make the description work as part of your character’s viewpoint!

Before getting to work this morning, I did my usual coffee-drinking, web-surfing and ran across two short threads on the AAR Potpourri Message Board. The titles are What authors are you loyal to? and What’s on your keeper shelf? Scanning through the lists, nodding my head at some, frowning at others, it occurred to me that there were only a handful of category offerings listed - most by Linda Howard (totally understandable!) and then a few Lori Foster and Suzanne Brockmann.

Why is this, do you think? Do readers not *think* of series books as keepers? Does the thought-process automatically veer toward “big” books? Thinking of my own keepers, I have series faves by Kathleen Korbel (oh, The Ice Cream Man & A Rose For Maggie!), Karen Keast (oh, A Tender Silence & Once Burned!), Elizabeth Lowell (oh, Too Hot To Handle & Valley Of The Sun!), Sandra Brown, (oh, Honor Bound & Two Alone!), Barbara Delinsky (oh, Heat Wave & Montana Man!), Mary Kirk, (oh, Phoenix Rising & Miracles!), Dana Warren Smith - I think High Stakes is my favorite Silhouette Special Edition ever written!

Wow . . . and if that wasn’t a fun trip down memory lane! I think I truly do have as many category keepers as I do “big” books!

. . . and I have made an entry of sorts every day! Quite an accomplishment, I must say! After writing the 3 - 4 pages I managed yesterday (handwritten in a notebook - not yet typed out - new special paper and the fountain pen that was a Christmas gift from my agent), I realized I had to rethink a plot point regarding my hero and his cover story. I brainstormed that on paper, too, and I *think* I have it worked out now.

It’s funny, but I sold this entire Smithson Group series on a 3 page pitch (which I’ll have to find and share here soon) and was clueless as to the plots of the novellas. I did have to write mini-synopses for each in order for the back cover copy to be written - and I managed to stick pretty close to what I’d planned out for Shaughnessey and Samms. When I got to Beach, I realized I didn’t have enough real external plot. That one did end up being the most character intensive - not surprising considering the span of time the story covers.

Now I’m getting into McKenzie and realizing my synopsis (which I’ve read like ten times) is nothing more than a backstory explanation with a paragraph or two of plot. Sigh. Lots of work ahead of me on this one. A fun thing though when writing yesterday. I created a new antagonist who will carry over into THE SAVIN ASCENT - the next single title I’ll begin in another 2 - 3 weeks - after I write my Blaze proposal chapters. Such a viscious circle, eh?

One thing I do want to do today is hang my white board (which has been in the closet since we moved bedrooms 2 1/2 years ago) and put up my foam board, too. I have my post-it board where I put the photos of my characters, but I’m going to use the white board (as I have in the past) to draw out my storylines. And I’m going to use the foam board for a story collage. THE SAVIN ASCENT is going to be even more ambitious than was THE BANE AFFAIR (and I’m already shaking in my boots!) and requires that I develop more characters. I’m really looking forward to getting into it. Right now I see my hero, the heroine’s home, and the town where the story takes place. I’m hoping to find photos closely resembling all the external settings so I can really zone in when the time comes to write!

I’m rethinking the message board contest I put up last night. I realized after I posted it that it was too ambiguous, but I haven’t yet come up with something to replace it with. I’ll think on that today!

Another chance to win both THE BANE AFFAIR and THE SHAUGHNESSEY ACCORD. (If you’ve already received one, you’ll be eligible for the other.) Details here! :P

Amazon halts tit-for-tat critics

The world’s biggest online bookseller, Amazon, is to clamp down on anonymous reviews of titles on its website in an attempt to curb excesses of back-stabbing in the competitive world of publishing.

After mounting concern about abuse of its open door policy regarding feedback, Amazon has begun a new system, Real Names, which requires reviewers to provide their credit card details before posting a comment.

So, is anyone finding on-the-scene reporting from the conference? I’ve found nothing - not that I’ve really looked, LOL! I did read one post that said everyone was bummed about the HQ news. I’m assuming they mean the earlier news of the lines closing, and not the recent news about the stables needing to be filled with fresh blood.

Yesterday, I could’ve sworn I’d forgotten how to write. Actually, I’ve felt that way since turning in THE BEACH ALIBI last Wed/Thurs. Every time I’d sit to get out what words I could, nothing. Just boring. I’ve done 4 pages since then. Until today! It’s 2:00 p.m. and I’ve done 4 pages already! Whoo-hoo!

Part of it was getting back out on the patio. The rain is gone, though the heat did drive me inside already. And part of it was writing by hand. My RSI shoulder crap felt awesome when I got up today, though it’s killing me again now. I’d thought maybe hand-writing would ease the stress. Alas, it appears NOT!

So, in an effort to stroke my own ego, I found this and this online today. Two recommendations for THE BANE AFFAIR, yahoo!! I suppose one of these days my Amazon numbers will come up out of the gutter. :(

I’ll come back later and respond to some of the comments left since last night, but I need to see if I can manage a few more pages before my shoulder completely falls off. Oh, and I need to give away another ARC of THE SHAUGHNESSEY ACCORD to close out the week. (Hopefully, I’ll have ARCs of THE SAMMS AGENDA in another couple of weeks!) So, let’s see. A trivia question. (Same rules. Previous ARC winners/recipients ineligible. Answer found within website.) First person to Click To Comment with the correct answer wins.

What was the original working title of the book that became PLAYING LOVE’S ODDS?

And here we thought we only had to write! Now we have to “stanch”, too!!!
From The Globe and Mail:
Sagging Harlequin romance sales overshadow stronger newspaper results

What’s more, there is no sign of a fast turnaround, with Mr. Prichard forecasting a much softer third quarter and a flat fourth quarter for Harlequin. The company is striving to develop a new team of best-selling writers who can bolster sales in the future.

Boy, I sure hope that new team of best-selling writers does a better job! :confused:

First of all, the pukey feeling is better, YAY! Secondly, the RSI in the shoulder is worse than ever. Thirdly, you know that schedule I mentioned? Up till 1:00 or 2:00, sleeping till 10:00 or 11:00? Doesn’t happen when the next door neighbor’s roofers start pounding at 7:45, grrrrr. So, I got up to do some early writing and surfing and blogging, and ran across an excerpt written by an aspiring author. It wasn’t bad, but it pushed one of my biggest hot buttons about point of view - which I will now share, explain, and demonstrate! :)

Point of View Tip #1: Do not use a point of view character’s name repeatedly when in narrative. The reader knows who the point of view character is the first time he or she is mentioned. By using the name over and over, many readers will be jolted out of the scene into which the author wishes them to be involved. It’s an unconscious thing, but the reader will often times stop reading for a nanosecond in order to identify if the name belongs to another character who has come onto the scene. No author wants a reader to stop reading or feel lost. Once a viewpoint character is established, it’s unnecessary to name her again and again and again - especially when there are only two characters, your two protagonists, in the scene. For example:

This snippet is taken from my book LOVE ME TENDER.

   Eden shook off her trance. How bad could it actually be to have Jace undress in her house? She’d seen him shirtless just last week. Then they’d been outdoors, with acres of breathing room. Now they were in her house. Alone. With gloomy skies increasing the intimacy.
   ”I have time,” she assured him, then held out her hand and held her breath. He slipped out of the shirt and, before she allowed herself more than the briefest glimpse of male belly dusted with black hair, she headed for her workroom.
   His moccasins whispered over the hardwood floor behind her, the sound a gentle coaxing of her senses, a sweet song to her ears. She felt his presence like a wildness inside her. His shirt grew warm in her hands.
   Shoving back the curtained partition, she tossed the shirt on her sewing table, gestured for Jace to sit in the rattan side chair and headed for the cherry cupboard in the corner.
   The top drawer held hundreds of spools of thread and, in her state of klutz and nerves and hormonal melancholy, she nearly toppled the contents to the floor.
   Especially when she sensed Jace move to the window behind her. Eyes closed, she took a small backwards step his direction, close enough to indulge herself in the warmth of his bare skin, the scent of naked man and the subtle need to be near another human being.
   It was crazy, this weakness shifting through her. Crazy. Insane. A gut awareness she hadn’t counted on. She’d never expected to come up against a man who’d make her want this way again.

But what if I’d written it like this?

   Eden shook off her trance. How bad could it actually be to have Jace undress in her house? She’d seen him shirtless just last week. Then they’d been outdoors, with acres of breathing room. Now they were in her house. Alone. With gloomy skies increasing the intimacy.
   ”I have time,” Eden assured him, then held out her hand and held her breath. He slipped out of the shirt and, before Eden allowed herself more than the briefest glimpse of male belly dusted with black hair, she headed for her workroom.
   His moccasins whispered over the hardwood floor behind her, the sound a gentle coaxing of her senses, a sweet song to her ears. Eden felt his presence like a wildness inside her. His shirt grew warm in her hands.
   Shoving back the curtained partition, Eden tossed the shirt on her sewing table, gestured for Jace to sit in the rattan side chair and headed for the cherry cupboard in the corner.
   The top drawer held hundreds of spools of thread and, in her state of klutz and nerves and hormonal melancholy, Eden nearly toppled the contents to the floor.
   Especially when she sensed Jace move to the window behind her. Eyes closed, Eden took a small backwards step his direction, close enough to indulge herself in the warmth of his bare skin, the scent of naked man and the subtle need to be near another human being.
   It was crazy, this weakness shifting through her. Crazy. Insane. A gut awareness she hadn’t counted on. Eden had never expected to come up against a man who’d make her want this way again.

See how the repetitive use of Eden’s name takes away the immediacy and intimacy from the scene?