"What's in a Name?"

What's in a name? That which we call a rose

By any other name would smell as sweet.

~William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

The act of naming a character has its pros and cons, much like everything else in life and especially in writing.  It's been known to bring on as much angst as naming a new baby.  Both of the two names I suggested for my first daughter were names that were immediately vetoed by her dad.  One he just didn't like, the other was the name of someone he knew and just didn't like.  Three days after she was born, we finally agreed on a name (and a middle name!).  With luck, I don't think I've ever heard her say she hated it, but there was a time she liked her middle name better.  BTW, She was not named after a TV witch, the sister of a TV witch or a comic book witch that later appeared on TV, as everyone has often thought, but after a heroine in a romance novel.  Was that a sign?

And so it goes.  Some names remind us of people we know, while others just don't work for us.  We don't like the sound, or names that start with B or any hundred of other reasons.  So imagine what it's like to name a book full of characters.  And not only first names, but last names, as well!

Some people like old fashioned names for their characters.  Some people name their characters the names they didn't (or weren't allowed!) to name their children.  Sometimes, after naming a character, we learn that the name won't work for the editor.  That's happened to me with three heroines.  It wasn't easy at first to adjust, but eventually, after writing fifty-five thousand words where the name is used hundreds of times, the new name settles in and becomes the character.

But what if you just can't come up with a name?  Websites with nothing but baby names are available, sometimes dividing the names into origins.  Behind the Name is one I like when looking for something a little more ethnic.  Or what if you write historicals and want to use a name more fitting to a specific time period?  I've heard some people check genealogy records or even cemetaries.  I don't write historicals, but when I have an older or even younger character, I use the Social Security Administration Popular Baby Names site, where names are broken down into popularity by each year from 1880 to the present.  (My government at work for me!)

Maybe you think the name of secondary characters isn't important.  Not necessarily.  When I needed a heroine for a new Desperation book, I looked at my list of minor characters who had appeared in one or more books and found one who had never been described by her age.  While the name wouldn't have been my first choice for a heroine, it's grown on me and fits this particular heroine to a T.

When the naming gets tough, don't give up.  Popularity of names changes with the wind.  What might have been popular decades ago, isn't today, but it may have prompted a new one that is.

Do you know from what name the currently second most popular name Emma derives?  You might be surprised!     

It's Not the Heat, It's the...

My mother would've ended the saying, "It's not the heat, it's the..." with "humidity," but our humidity here in the middle of the country hasn't been as high as others are dealing with.  Still, our official high today was 110 degrees.  As far as I'm concerned, humidity or no humidity, that's just too hot.

Whether it was the high temps or just one of those things, my internet was down for a while today.  When that happens, my whole schedule--even if it was blank--is screwed.  Because of it, I'm writing this blog at 10 p.m. instead of a.m. or even last night.  Oh, wait.  Downed internet today didn't affect last night.  Hey, I'll try any excuse if I think it might work. ;)

The lack of one communication device affected my phone, since I'm a VOIP user.  And it happened right in the middle of some very serious brainstorming.  I'm very lucky and thankful that my brainstorming buddies took time away from their writing time to give me some help.  If I had my choice, I'd rather been on the end of the giving, not the receiving, especially because this time it was a very needed receiving.  My editor wasn't all that crazy about my most recent submissions and wanted me to give them a punch, here and there.

So that's what we did.  Or they--those buddies--did today.  I simply listened and scribbled notes.  And since we weren't able to finish, we'll be at it again tomorrow, at least for a while.  The time will come when the tables will be turned, and I'll be on the giving end.  Until then, I can't say enough how much I appreciate my buddies.

Defining Romance

"There wasn't enough romance."

Romance is all about love.  But what is it that shows or represents the romance?  Do each of us as writers or readers have our own expectations, completely different than those of others?  Are there general things that characters do or say that tells us there is a romantic link between these two people or are those things specific to each of us?


As romance writers and readers, we should be able to easily define romance or give examples.  So speak up and share your thoughts on romance.

As a reader, what, for you, shows romance in the making between two characters?

As a writer, how do you show romance between two characters who are in conflict with each other?

Read, Read, Read

We're writers.  We read.

Sometimes too much writing can exhaust our creativity. The well just seems to dry up and writing becomes difficult.  Even painful.  The best thing a writer can do to refill that well of creativity is to read.  It doesn't matter what's read.  In fact, reading outside of a writer's chosen genre or something completely different such as non-fiction or even poetry does the trick for many writers.

Writers have always been readers first, beginning with picture books in childhood, then stepping up to simple words on a page, followed by short chapter books and finally to those real books that have no pictures, just page after page of story.  Once we've moved on to the next tier, we forget how exciting it was to take that step up.  Think back to the books you read as a child.  If possible, take it one step farther and get a copy, maybe from the library or one you can keep for yourself.  Try a book you read later in grade school, one of those short chapter books.  Remember again the joy of reading that led to wanting to create something that others might enjoy as much as we enjoyed those books from our past.

Refill that well.  Try a new author.  There are new ones popping up every day.  It only takes a short trip to Amazon or Barnes & Noble or any online bookstore to find someone or something that might fit the bill.  Or try a trip to the library.  If you're not sure exactly what it is you're looking for or nothing catches your fancy, try the new book of a favorite author, or even re-read an older story. 

Too often when we write we forget that we were once readers.  I know I don't read as much as I'd like to or even as much as I did a few years ago.  Lucky for me, one of my favorite authors comes out with a new book about every year.  That new book becomes the carrot on the stick, keeping me on target and tempting me to make my goals or even to meet a contract deadline.  Reading that book is my reward.  And often that one book will lead me to another.  I'll try a new author and discover more magic.

We're writers, we read.  What are you reading?

Just Write

Although I have a Twitter account and tweet now and then, what I've found that I like best about it is the links that are posted by people, entities and groups I follow.  Or re-treeted links by people I follow that were originally tweeted by people I don't follow.  Do you follow me on that? ☺

Today was a goldmine that hit me right between the eyes.  Oh, I've been thinking about this, but kept skirting around the edges of the topic and have finally broken it down into two words:  JUST WRITE.

First, here's the link to M. Molly Backes' blog post on How To Write.  She said so much in her blog post that's rarely said by writers who are asked how to write.  She got down to the nitty gritty and explained those two words.  JUST WRITE.

As writers, we tend to overthink things and to complicate the simple things.  Why not?  Words are our business, our career, our love.  We use them, and sometimes we even abuse them.  But the one thing we don't do is run out of them.  According to The Global Language Monitor, there are 1009753 words in the English language.  Yes, that's 1 billion and counting.  And we have the pleasure of using and re-using all 1b+.  So why is it that we too often say that we can't think of anything to write?  Kind of silly, isn't it?

As M. Molly Backes points out in her delightfully insightful answer to a mother's question, writers need to write.  It doesn't matter what we write, we just write.  Remember diaries?  If you had one--or two or twenty--think back about what you wrote in those.  Little things, right?  More than likely, you wrote about something that happened and how you felt about it.  You wrote about people you met.  You wrote observations on all sorts of things.  Try it again.  If you don't enjoy journaling, simply look out your window and describe what you see.

When should you write?  The best answer would be always, but of course that isn't possible.  The next best answer is to set aside a particular time to write and do it each and every day.  Again, write what comes to mind, even if it's gibberish and makes no sense.  The simple act of doing that may slide right into writing something that makes perfect sense.

Once you're writing regularly again, don't forget to READ.  There's nothing like reading that can kickstart your own itch to write.  And who of us can say no to that?

Writers must write. ;)

P.S.  Last Friday I posted that I'd made no forward movement with my writing goal for the week.  By the end of the day, I'd caught up the two days I was behind and also made Friday's goal.  It goes to show that persistence and downright stubborness can eventually produce results.  Now to catch up on today's goal...

If At First You Don't Succeed...

'Tis a lesson you should heed,
Try, try again.
If at first you don't succeed,
Try, try again. - Thomas H. Palmer (1782 - 1861) Teacher's Manual (1840)

Like everyone else, I'm more familiar with the trying than the succeeding.  But without the trying, there wouldn't be any succeeding, so if I want to experience SUCCESS, I have to pay my dues.

I've been feeling lower than complacent lately and unable to concentrate on the things I need to be doing.  Okay, not just concentrate, but even give a damn.  So a couple of days ago, I convinced myself that this inability to make any progress that I've been having is bad, and I proceeded to give myself a quick, hard kick in the you know what to get me going.  I needed motivation.  It helped.  At least a little.  I haven't found all the motivation I need, but I'm slowly getting there. 

It appeared that I was on the right track.  However, it would be easier if I was able to at least give some time to the small goals I set.  That doesn't seem to be happening.  Story of my life.

That calendar I created with Word to keep me on the straight and narrow and also so allow me to track my progress looks exactly the same as it did two days ago.  Nothing has been done that was scheduled, nothing has been marked off as Finis.

There are times when we feel like throwing in the towel and giving up.  Must of those times are because we've fallen off the ladder of success and maybe have lost sight of where we were headed in the first place.  Or at least it seems we have.  A good hard shake of our 'selves' will probably put us back on the road, if not a foot up on the rungs of that ladder, and we can give moving forward or up a try again. 

If at first you don't succeed...

So in spite of the fact that I'm already two days behind on my first goal--I make them small and then chop them up into even smaller mini-goals--that doesn't mean I should throw in the towel and forget about it all.  No, that's not the way to succeed.  Success can only happen at this point by taking a deep breath and the steps necessary to to move forward, if only an inch.  One step at a time.  And if that means spending time over the weekend that I hadn't scheduled for anything except vegging out--something I don't do a whole lot of--then so be it.

Success can be measured by attaining a life goal.  It can also be measured by those small, almost infintesimal things that we tend to ignore.  While it's true that we shouldn't sweat the small stuff (like my two unproductive-toward-my-goal days) we should celebrate the small movement we make in a foward direction toward our goals.  Or any other accomplishment, even when not goal-related.

Success, no matter how small it is...celebrate It!

Know Your Species

Most of us started out writing without knowing much about the world of publishing, and that's okay.  I started writing romance because I thought it would be fun.  One led to two, three, and more, and then came wondering about whether it just might be possible to actually send it to an editor with the idea of getting it publish.  That moment when we think about having our work published is very defining.  At that point, we become serious about writing.

If someone had asked me during those early days what kind of romance I was writing, my answer might very well have been, "HUH?"  Of course I knew that within romance there were long books, short books, shorter books combined with others.  I also knew there were contemporary books and historical books, and even otherwordly books.  But I wasn't yet familiar with sub-genres.

If you're like I was and you've begun writing, whether for the fun of it or with an eye on selling to a publisher, becoming familiar with the types of books within the romance genre known as sub-genres should be at the top of your list of things to do.  When the time comes to send your baby off to an editor, you don't want to waste time by sending it to the wrong place.

A quick list of the major sub-genres of romance would include:

• Contemporary
• Historical
• Paranormal
• Young Adult

Those four contain numerous sub-categories, such as Romantic Suspense, Inspirational, and others, which are sometimes combined with and included as sub-genres.  Sub-categories can also be mixed together for cross-genres.  To make things even more complicated, more sub-categories are popping up every day.  Simplify at first by focusing on where you feel your writing reflects and belongs.  For more information on sub-genres, do a search (Google works well) for romance sub genres.

Knowing where your writing fits will make it easier when you've decided it's time to start submitting to publishers.  And if you've been doing your homework and keeping current on what kind of books are being published by which company, you're ahead of the game.  It's all about the market, what's selling, whose buying, and how to get your book in on it, too.

Say What?

Writers, like any other group of people who share a profession or a passion, have their own language.  An non-writer can often have that glazed-eye look about them when caught in a group of writers.  We do tend to let those words and acronymns roll off our tongues without thinking about who might be wondering what in the world we're talking about.  Even new writers who are learning the jargon still sometimes have to swallow their pride and ask what something means.  There's no reason to be embarrassed.  We were all new to it at one time, and have all felt totally lost at times.

Instead of trying to list some of the more common terms, it might be better to tackle them a few at a time.  Let's start with three of the more common acronyms:  GMC, POV, and WIP.

GMC
No, it has nothing to do with General Motors.  In the world of stringing words together to build a story, it stands for Goal, Motivation, and Conflict.  It's been made famous in our little world by writer, publisher, speaker (and more), Debra Dixon.  GMC is what we (try) to use when creating our characters and planning/plotting a book that will make readers never want to put it down.  If you can have only one book in your writing library, this needs to be it.  Because GMC is crucial when writing, we'll take a closer look at it down the road.

POV
Heaven forbid that we would say something, instead of condensing it into something smaller that really isn't shorter when said.  POV simply stands for Point Of View. Every reader understands POV, they just don't know what it's called or how it's used.  POV can be described as being in the mind of a character.  Hearing, feeling, touching, tasting, smelling, thinking, speaking, moving as that one fictional person. It's definitely important and, again, we'll delve deeper later.

WIP
This is an easy one and is pretty much self-explanatory.  Work In Progress.  It's what a writer is currently working on.  It can be put aside while another piece of work becomes the WIP, and then can be brought out again, to take center stage in the writer's writing life.

Not bad for a start.  The three bits of jargon are among some of the most often used, so if you're a new writer, find a way to work them into a conversation with other writer friends to show that you're one of them.  Or even better, use them (sparingly) while talking to non-writer friends.  Will they ask what these new words mean?  Will they stare, befuddled, while you continue to talk?  Whatever you do, start learning all you can about GMC and POV, while working on your WIP.  You'll be glad you did!

Get Educated About Writing

Two things happened recently that have caused me to think about the issue of whether a writer needs to attend college classes on writing and literature or even take writing courses.  The answer is...maybe.

An English degree isn't a guaranteed book deal nor is a certificate for finishing an online course. In fact, there are people with degrees who have trouble stringing words together to make a coherent sentence.  On the other hand, there are people who have been teachers and later become some of the most beloved authors.  As for me, I'm horrible at math. Anything beyond simple addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, and I'm totally lost. I admit it. But I don't work at anything that requires it.

Below are a few questions a people interested in writing might ask themselves.

• Are your spelling, grammar and punctuation skills fairly good?  If you're planning to write, they should be.  But there's always online help for grammar, not to mention dictionaries.  (More on this at some point in the future.)
• Do you understand the basic structure of a good story?  Even when my youngest was in third grade she understood that a story has a beginning, a middle, and an end.
• Do you have an idea of what type of stories you want to write?  What genres and/or sub-genres?
• Have you read a lot of books, meaning all kinds of books, but especially those in the genre in which you'd like or do write?
• Are you willing to take the time to learn the craft of writing?  Publication doesn't necessarily come easy or instantaneously.  It often takes years.
• Are you willing to learn how to keep current on trends and marketing?  Both are changing at lightning speed.
• Have you grown a thick skin?  Comments from other people and rejections from editors can be hard to take.  Growing a thick skin and understanding that it isn't personal, just part of the business, will keep you from the doldrums of writing.

The first two can be learned in school.  The rest are learned more by doing than anything else.

While there are basics that everyone interested in writing should know and have, some things that need to be learned aren't taught in a college course or even in an online course.  Traditional education channels might very well point you in the right direction and at least let you know where and how to find the information you'll need, but they won't create the story idea, and they sure won't write it for you.

None of this means that a person shouldn't take college classes, get a degree, or take an online course.  Just don't expect any of those things to be the magic key to publishing a book.

What can you do to help you with your writing and the chance to be published?

• Write.  Then write some more.
• Read, and keep reading.
• Find a group of like-minded people who share your goal.
• The internet is a gift.  Learn to use it to your advantage.
• Don't give up.

Be knowledgable about writing.  Seek answers to your questions, not just from one person, but from many.

There is no magic key.  Only hard work, the desire to create a story and the opportunity to share it with others is what's needed.

So You Want to Be a Writer

Just a few days ago, an acquaintance and reader told me she wants to be a writer.  Not only does she want to, but she's working toward that goal.

It isn't surprising that both men and women aspire to write.  Many people who enjoy reading would like to share their own stories with others.  I say, Hooray!

And then I'm asked for advice.

Who?  Me?!  Who I am to be giving advice?  While it's true that I've been writing for more than fifteen years, I still have a lot to learn.  A lot.  But I'm happy to share what I've learned and what I'm learning.  If it hadn't been for the hundreds, even thousands of writers who have guided me along through those early years and continue to do so as both friends an fellow writers, I would've given up, long ago.

Writing can be a lonely endeavor.  In fact, writers and other artists are at a high risk for things like depression.  But it doesn't have to be lonely when there are others out there to share.  The Internet has given us the opportunity to break out of what used to be isolation and meet others who share our dream.  So join me on the writing journey and let's see where it takes us.

Happy Independence Day!

As Ellen DeGeneres put it so well on Twitter, "Happy 4th of July! Today we celebrate the Declaration of Independence, which commemorates the day Will Smith saved our planet from aliens."  Perfectly said, Ellen. :)

Yes, it's the mid-summer holiday we celebrate by re-enacting the sights sounds of war. (Think about it.)  I've been spending my day working on a client's website, breaking down old, used, empty cardboard boxes that are taking up room in my kitchen, and fighting the ants that have invaded my living space.  Later I'll be wishing this day and the next was over, thanks to the neighborhood fireworks noise that went on until after midnight last night.  Okay, I get the message.

It wasn't the fireworks that kept me up.  It was Sunday night, the night Mallory and I watch Buffy on the Chiller network, beginning at 11 pm and lasting until I can't keep my eyes open any longer.  We have the complete series on DVD, so it's a bit nutso to stay up until the wee hours.  Chiller runs 6 shows on Sunday nights.  I often make it through the first 3.  Mallory has watch the DVDs so many times that she's a walking, talking Buffy Encyclopedia.  She knows what happened in each season (there were 7), and all the little tidbits there are to know about the characters and the actors who play them.  I consider myself doing well to remember my name in the morning.  We even have my oldest daughter hooked on re-watching.

My favorite characters are Giles (Anthony Head, who I loved from the old Taster's Choice coffee commercials), Spike (James Marsters, the best vampire ever), and Glory (Clare Kramer, because she made evil fun).  That's just the top of the list.  It's been great to see Nicholas Brendon on Criminal Minds, and we're always able to recognize Marc Blucas (Captain Cardboard/Riley Finn) when we see him acting in something.  It wouldn't be fair to leave out Seth Green.  Or David Boreanaz (of Bones, which I've been watching with Mallory on Netflix).  Wow, what a cast, and that's only scratching the surface.

Mallory is the Buffy aficinado.  I'm just a fan.  Am I the only one?  Anyone else want to share about Buffy?  I could do a whole month. ☺

Have a happy, fun and safe 4th!

Taking the Heat

We're having a heat wave...  A tropical heat wave...  (Marilyn Monroe did it best!)

So what does a writer do when July hits with hot, hot, hot temps?  It's the perfect time to stay inside and make some progress.  Whether it's working on a current WIP or just making the writing life a little neater and easier, this is the perfect time to do it. 

Yesterday I worked on an old story that didn't fit the parameters of a specific line, so it's never seen "print."  It's always been one of my favorites, so I'm hoping I can do something with it.  There are others to follow, and I'm currently trying to work out a system of how best to keep track of what I want to do with them, how I'll do that, and then actually getting them ready to share.

Today I'm purging my office of paper to be taken to the recycle center tomorrow, along with getting ready to shred old bills and other things I'd rather do myself, and just doing an overall getting-it-together sorting and shifting.  It's an ongoing battle.  Paper seems to breed around here, no matter how much I recycle, shred, or simply throw away.  Just looking at the boxes of paper to recycle makes me cringe.  There's no denying that I've killed a lot of trees in my lifetime.  I try not to.  I've been teaching myself to edit on screen.  It's getting better, but I still need a hardcopy on paper for a lot of things.  Having a Kindle for book reading at least makes me feel a little better.  None of those books will end up in a landfill somewhere.

Because summer Fridays are library days with the grandkids, I'll take three of them to return last week's books and get new.  I'm a sucker for books, so I'll check out one for myself, too.  I'm hoping Inkheart will have been returned (it's due back today).  If so, I'll check it out and set aside some time to read.

Even though tomorrow begins a three-day weekend, it's still working time for me.  Because I'm between contracts, I need to take a look at what I want and need to do to make the best use of this time.  Thanks to experience, I'm learning that I need to keep writing.  Now to decide what to write! ☺

It may be hot out there and forecasted to stay this way far into next week, but life and writing goes on.

Have a fantabulous Independence Day weekend!