Hits and Misses

Thanks to a 24+ hour power outage, due to a storm on Thursday, this blog post is late.  It is what it is. :)

One thing we all have to accept is that everyone has an opinion.  Everything in life is subjective.  One person likes blue, another doesn't, and yet another likes a different shade of blue.  Some people like broccoli, some don't.  Some people like to read, and some don't.  Those who do don't always agree on what they like to read.  It's the same all over the world.  We are individuals with different likes and dislikes.

Writers feel this difference even more.  We write the kind of stories and characters we enjoy writing.  Other people may like them, but there are those who won't.  Readers aren't any different. There are historical fans and contemporary fans.  Some like comedy, and there are readers who choose dark and dangerous mysteries.  When it comes to romance, some enjoy quirky, sassy heroines, but others think that kind of heroine is offensive.  And when it comes to heroes, they really have their favorites.  Bad boys, charmers, boy-next-door, tortured by the past...  The list is as endless as the likes and dislikes.

So what's a writer to do?  We write what makes us happy, and sometimes we write something a little different.  What we don't do is write a character who displeases us.

I happen to like those quirky, sassy heroines.  Whether reading or writing, I like strong heroines, who are able to stand up and be an equal to the hero in the story.  She may not be strong in the beginning, and her strength may not appear until mid-point or even the black moment, when she realizes that deep inside, she really is strong.  After all, a character needs a happy-ever-after as much as the story does.

When it comes to heroes, my favorites are what my friend Kathie DeNosky calls "stinkers."  These are charmers, often with a touch of bad boy.  They like women.  They love women.  But "love" for them isn't wedding bells and a lifetime with one woman.  They like them all.  It takes a strong heroine to bring them to their knees.  Much like a heroine, this fall they take for that one woman can happen at any point in the book, and even then, they'll often try to tell themselves that their hearts are still untouched.

What does this have to do with hits and misses?  Quite a lot, when it comes to things like contests, editors and especially reviews.  We all get our share of good and bad.  What hits with some readers may miss with others.  Does one bad review mean your story and characters are bad?  It's all in how you look at it.

When it comes to contests, we're not only looking for great scores on our writing, but we're also hoping for feedback.  Yes, a winning or even a finalist entry is a big plus, but reading the comments/scores can often tell us what works and what doesn't.  Again, it's subjective.  People like different things. (For more on contests and how to use them to your advantage, use the search box in the right column.)

Editors?  Well, yeah, they'll turn down a book that has weaknesses they don't feel can be fixed.  If you're lucky enough to receive a rejection that includes comments, pay attention.  Are you way off base for the type of books that editor/line/or publisher is buying?  Are your characters' conflicts not strong enough?  Maybe you need to do a little more research and reading.  Let's face it, editors are looking for a great book.  Make yours a great one.  If you're indie or self-publishing, before you make it available for download, find a reader--two are even better--to read it and give feedback.  Readers, too, are looking for a great book.

And then we come to reviews, which are seriously subjective...for all the reasons above.  I read the reviews of books I'm thinking of buying, and even free ebooks I think I'd like to add to my ereader.  Not only do I read the good reviews, but the not so good ones.  I recently saw the description of an ebook that grabbed me, then read the reviews, which were mainly good.  But when I saw some of the not-so-good reviews that said the writing was confusing and riddled with bad punctuation, sentence structure and spelling, I passed on getting it.  Indie and self-publishing are great, but a read by someone other than Aunt Susan would be a good idea.

As writers, we need to grow thick skins.  We have to learn to take the good with the bad and learn from both.  We need to learn how to use those subjective comments.  Some readers will love your book, some won't.  And by won't, I mean not at all.  One of my recent books received several reviews.  The majority of the readers liked it.  Another found it boring and bland.  Did I get upset over that 1 star review?  No.  That reader obviously didn't like my kind of story.  Or maybe there was another reason.  Whatever, she didn't like it, and although I'm sorry she didn't, I have to chalk it up to that subjective thing.  Let's face it. We all can't love everything.  Someone out there is not going to like it.  That's life.

Writing is a tough business and it takes being tough to be a part of it.  Enjoy the highs and build stamina to make it through the lows.  Never take it personally.  That isn't easy to do, but in time, it can be learned.  Whatever it is in this crazy writing and publishing world that we live in that gives us both ups and downs, let's make it the best we can.  Hit or miss, always keep learning!

I wish I could be like Shaw who once read a bad review of one of his plays, called the critic and said: 'I have your review in front of me and soon it will be behind me.' - Barbra Streisand 

The Perks of Writing a Series

Why would a writer consider writing a series?

I've already blogged about what a series involves and how to keep track of the information involved in writing that series.  Now let's see why a series can be a plus for a writer.

Throughout the ages, series have been written, read, and reread.  Many of them have been written for children.  The most popular include Anne of Green Gables, Harry Potter, Little House on the Prairie, The Babysitters Club, The Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, and Trixie Belden.  Adult series include Sherlock Holmes, A Song of Fire and Ice, and too many in-between to list.  Everybody has their favorite. :)

What is a series?  According to Dictionary.com, a series is a set of successive volumes or issues of a periodical published in like form with similarity of subject or purpose.

CONNECTIONS MAKE IT EASIER

The "similarity of subject or purpose" can also be called "connections."  It only takes one book or idea to spawn more.  In that one book or idea, a writer has a variety of connections from which to create a series.  If you're looking for one, the following are a start.

Theme
Because series books already contain some type of connection, there's a huge chance you have a theme.  Whether it's family, a town/city/area, shared backgrounds, fighting the bad guys, weddings, saving a marriage, sheikhs, cowboys and ranchers, babies, good vs. evil, and more, there's a basic theme or thread that runs through all of books.

Characters
Most books don't involve only one, main character.  In fiction there are two: the protagonist and the antagonist.  In romance, there are also two:  the Hero and the heroine (H/h).  These second two may switch roles as protag and antag.  Whatever type of book you're writing, each of these two characters has:

• Background - Friends or a acquaintances, occupation, hobbies/interests, training, school(s), life experiences, and more.
• Family - Bothers, sisters, cousins, parents...
• Conflict - What keeps them from getting whatever it is they want

Setting

• City, small town, apartment complex, neighborhood, office, armed forces, jungle, desert, distant planet, the future, the past, alternate reality
• Seasons or weather related.  For instance, three books could be three different stories about surviving the same natural disaster.

MINOR CHARACTERS

The role of a minor character can lead to the role of a major character (protag/antag) in the next book.  This could be a friend, relative, or any other character that appears or is mentioned (introduced) in the first book. The latter can be used especially for longer series that isn't necessarily based on a family.  At least that's what I discovered when 2 related books became an 8 book series.

Summary aka let me confuse you:  After the line I first published with closed, I sold a book to Harlequin American.  I needed more and wondered if anything I'd considered writing in the past would work for this new-to-me line that focused on Home and Family.  I had two stories that were interrelated by the two heroes being friends (1st connection-friends).  These were stories and characters I'd always liked and had hoped that some day they would be published.  They were originally set in two different areas, so to help tie them together a little more, I decided to move the second book to the same setting as the first.  Desperation, Oklahoma (2nd connection-town) was born.   The heroes were both rodeo cowboys (3rd connection-occupation), although they didn't compete in the same events.  One was a bronc rider, the other a bull rider.

So now I had two heroes, Hero1 and Hero2.  While working on those, I discovered some old notes on a story about Hero1's younger brother, who had run away and vanished when he was in high school.  Their father had died, their mother had deserted them, and little brother had picked up and left, early on.  My editor, however, wanted to see a story about the sister of Heroine2 (1st connection for bk3) .  Okay, that was doable.  Enter Heroine3.  Add Hero3, the town's sheriff, and there was the story's 2nd connection: the town.  I adjusted Book 2 to add in a mention of a secret relationship between what would become Hero3 and Heroine3, and decided not to go with the younger brother quite yet.  I had an idea.  Why had the mother of Hero1 deserted her husband and two sons?  Answer:  She was pregnant and too young to be the mother of three.  Of Native American heritage, she wanted to join the rodeo and did.  Aha!  A secret sister!  Heroine4 was created, the unknown sister of Hero1 (1st connection-family, and a new character).  Heroine4 knew who her brothers were and she arrived at her brother's ranch, looking for a job as a wrangler for Heroine1's boys' ranch.  (H/h1 were, by this time, married with a young son).  A revisit to the setting in the first book created the 2nd connection of both ranch & town.  Hero4 was the head wrangler, and of course the two butted heads.  And he was a new character.

Still with me?  Yes, it can be confusing. 

PIotting for future books, if there might be chance there might be some, I'd added a new female doctor to the town.  Hero5, Hero1's younger brother, (1st connection-family) arrived at the ranch in the epilogue of Book 4 (2nd connection-ranch & town).  Yes, his story was next.  Because of a debilitating injury, Hero5 was tended to by the female doctor (Heroine5).  As it turned out, the doctor had a brother, who had moved to town to become the city attorney a few years earlier and was introduced briefly in Book 5.  We're on to Book 6 with the brother (Hero6) of Heroine5.  Confused?  I am.  Heroine6 had appeared briefly in several of the books, so now she had her own story.  Several tries later, a new set of old characters never mentioned before, stepped forward for the telling of their stories.  Hero7 and Hero8 were brothers (1st connection-family), and another duo of old stories begun, but never told.  The location of their setting was moved within the state, so they could now friends with earlier heroes and heroines (2nd connection-town), they fit well in Desperation.  Heroine7 and Heroine8 were both new characters.

I'll be the first to admit that sometimes it took some thinking and brainstorming to keep the series going.  But I'll also admit that it was fun.  Books 1 and 2 led to books 3 and 4, which led to 5 and 6, and now 7 and 8-- with a bit of new, yet staying with the town, family and friends...and even occupations as ranchers, it worked.

Why did it work?

REVISITING FORMER CHARACTERS

One of the things I enjoy reading the most in a series or connected stories is learning what's been going on with former main characters or simply seeing the mention of former minor characters.  Having those minor characters or even briefly introduced characters take on a major role is just as good, if not better.  That's also why I've enjoyed writing a series.  People grow, their families grow, and so should fictional characters, whenever possible.  Stephen King, even when not writing a "series," will mention a place or name from previous novels.  It always brings a smile to my face.


PERK SUMMARY AND THE BIGGEST PERK

Readers Love Series

With the Desperation series (Hearts of Desperation, if you like), the connections are many.  Theme is much the same as Harlequin American Romance.  Home and Family.  Setting?  A small town.  Characters are connected in many ways, including friends, family, and occupations.  One grows out of the first and so on.  But first and foremost, I'm a reader.  I enjoy seeing "old friends" in a series, meeting new ones, and knowing that in a series I will have my favorites, whether reading OR writing.  That's the biggest perk of all.

As a writer, are you a reader?  Do you enjoy reading books in a series?  If you do, why aren't you writing one?  Yes, it takes work, and sometimes it might seem that there's nothing more to tell.  But in fiction, as in life, there's always more.  Give it a try.  The first book lays the groundwork, the second and subsequent books build the series.  Just remember to have fun!

I'll be a guest blogger at Tote Bags 'n' Blogs on Monday, June 24th.  I'll be delving into the setting of small towns, so stop in and say HI.  There may be some free books available for lucky visitors, too!

The greatest gift is a passion for reading. It is cheap, it consoles, it distracts, it excites, it gives you knowledge of the world and experience of a wide kind. It is a moral illumination. – Elizabeth Hardwick

Hearts of Desperation Main Characters and their Connections 
THE RODEO RIDER, Book 1 - Tanner O'Brien and Jules Vandeveer
 BACHELOR DAD, Book 2 - Dusty McPherson (friend of Tanner) and Kate Clayborne
 THE LAWMAN'S LITTLE SURPRISE, Book 3 - Morgan Rule (town sheriff) and Trish Clayborne (Kate's sister)
 THE RELUCTANT WRANGLER, Book 4 - Mac MacGregor and Nikki Johannson (Tanner's sister)
 THE MAVERICK'S REWARD, Book 5 - Tucker O'Brien (Tanner's brother) and Paige Miles (new doctor in town)
 BACHELOR DAD, Book 6 - Garrett Miles (Paige's brother and city attorney) and Libby Carter (works in the  local tavern, where Kate Clayborne McPherson provides her famous barbecued beef sandwiches)
 A NANNY FOR THE COWBOY - Luke Walker (friend to many in and around Desperation) and Hayley Brooks
 DESIGNS ON THE COWBOY - Dylan Walker (Luke's brother) and Glory Andrews

Taming the Series Beast

There's a lot of information to keep track of while writing.  Characters (description, age, major life events, family, etc.) and settings (houses, towns/cities/countryside with names, buildings, even streets) and plot.  Oh, that plot! And that's a whole other animal.

When a story revolves around a character--or two when it's a romance--it's important to know as much about him and/or her as possible.  Characters, like the story itself, grow from the time we first have an inkling of the person we want to create to the end of the story.  Because all but a very few have more than one character, we have a lot of information to sort through, choose, and use.  And although those characters stay with us in our minds, it's easy to forget details, as time goes by.  There have been times when I haven't been able to remember a past character's name, so obviously there are far too many living in my head. ;)

After the first couple of books, I realized that there were so many things to remember and so many times when I had to search for a small detail that was important, even in a stand-alone book, that I needed to do something that would help.  I started looking for the best way to keep track.  It took some time, but I found it, and I still make small changes to my method when needed.

First let me say that I'm an organized disorganized person.  Or is that an unorganized organized person?  I've never figured that out.  Yes, my desk is often a mess.  I like having things near me so I know where they are and can grab them at a moment's notice.  The same is true for writing.  I need that basic information about characters and story close at hand, so I don't have to stop and hunt through pages and chapters for the name of a minor character or if it was morning or afternoon when an incident occurred.  With a series, it's needed even more.

So what has helped save my sanity and time?  3-ring notebooks.
One notebook for each book.  For a series, there's also one small notebook to hold master lists.


BOOK NOTEBOOK

Each individual notebook includes:
*indicates in plastic sheet protector

• *Photo of Hero & Heroine and child/children if applicable. 
• *Age chart of main characters that includes major life events, especially those that pertain to the story.  This includes a column for years (2013, 2012, 2011,etc.), beginning with the year in which the story is following through to birth of character.  (spreadsheet)  This makes it easy to check their ages for high school graduation, a move or job change, or any other major event.
• *Storyboard  Yes, I plot before I write.  (You can see a photo of my plotting boards and the printed storyboard here.)  Quite often I write the first three chapters to get to know the characters better, before I go on to plot the rest, although I usually know main turning points, the black moment and the resolution, before I start writing.
• *List of Characters  This includes any character appearing in the story, even the grocer, parents, siblings and anyone who doesn't appear but is mentioned.  It's much easier than looking back through written chapters.
• *Calendar  I use a blank calendar sheet template for each month in which the book take place.  Month, dates, years.  Then I add a snippet of each scene in the blank date when it happens. This helps me know what happened two weeks before, and I don't have to go back through the written chapters and scenes to find it when needed.
• Other photos I might need, including floor plans I find online, so I can move the characters around without forgetting the master bedroom is on the first, not the second floor.  I'm working on a story that includes a sailboat, so I have photos of that.  It's also nice to have photos of the area, either from doing a quick Google search or using the Earth option on Google maps.

After the above, I have tabbed dividers for each chapter, where I keep the most recent printed copies of the story.  As a rule, I do edits and revisions on hard copy, and this keeps everything in one place.  Any other notes or information are slipped into the pockets in front and back.

Because I'm paranoid, the above files are kept on my computer.  I can always pull up a file, if I haven't added it to the notebook.


SERIES NOTEBOOK

One, smaller (as in thinner) notebook holds master lists that cover all the books in the series.  These include:

• Age chart for all main characters in the series i.e heroes and heroines. No major events noted, except year of birth and ages up through the latest book. (spreadsheet)
• A companion age chart for the main characters, their children, some family members and, in the Desperation series, two other minor characters who appear in nearly every book. (spreadsheet)
• Complete character list that includes character name, role, and which books in which each appeared.  Yes, that can be a lot of names, especially if townspeople are included often in the stories.  At last count, there were 16 main characters and 140 minor characters.  7 minor characters have appeared in all 8 books in the Desperation series.
• General Timeline that includes book title, month and year of each book's setting, first name and age of main characters and their children.
• Yearly Calendar (created with MS Publisher) that includes dates of the beginning and end of each book and dates of babies born or added to main characters.  (helps keep the ages of children at my fingertips ;))  The Desperation series at present spans 6 years, from 2008 thru 2013.
• Character Name List, alphabetized, keeps me from using the same name twice, whether first name or last.  (MS Excel can sort and filter any way you choose.)

With a little thought, I manage to keep the series beast under control.  Please note that it isn't tamed.  Using my method keeps me from hunting for notes in odd places, such as in the cutlery drawer in the kitchen, or the unmentionable drawer in my bedroom.  Then there's the bathroom cubbyhole...  My notebook is portable, if needed, especially when writing longhand in the car while waiting on grandkids to explode from school.  It might take a little time to put together, but, hey, it's time well-spent!

Still, my way isn't THE way.  THE way is YOUR way.  To help you find it, here are a few links a writer friend posted on our writers group page.  Check them out, see what might suit, then pick and choose your favorites to create YOUR VERY OWN WAY.  Don't worry.  Nothing is set in stone and can be adjusted or thrown out.  To paraphrase Old Blue Eyes (Frank Sinatra, for you youngsters), do it your way.

• Love Inspired® author Debby Giusti shares her thoughts on The Continuity Challenge
• Some great tips from author Dame Jenna aka Jenna Black: Creating a "Series Bible"
• Author Angelique Armae shares Easy Tips for Creating a Book or Series Bible
• H.V. Long discusses How to Write the First Book of a Series
• Best-selling author Kate Douglas on Ending a Series  (Yes, they do have to end...sometime.)
• Author Misty Evans explains Series Business - Three Types of Series
• Paranormal author Mima explains that readers love series books and shares how to make it easier with her Tips for Building a Series

Now you have many different ways to tame your series.  But the fun is in writing the book(s), isn't it? ☺

Not convinced you're ready to write a series?  There are many reasons, but one of the main ones is that readers LOVE series!  I know I do. :)  We'll look at other reasons and delve deeper into why readers love them next week.  

P.S.  This blog was started around 10 a.m. on Thursday and is finally finished at 10 p.m..  Wow!  Have I learned a few things!

“Every secret of a writer’s soul, every experience of his life, every quality of his mind, is written large in his works.” — Virginia Woolf

Serious About Series?

The idea had never been to write a series, much less an 8-book series.  It started long ago with two books that were related only by the two heroes who knew each other and shared a common profession:  both were rodeo cowboys.  Neither had ever been submitted to a publisher, although they had been entered in a contest or two.  Then along came the need for a new proposal, and because I'd always liked the characters and stories, I dusted off the old manuscripts, made massive revisions, especially in the settings, and sent them off to my editor.  To my surprise and joy, she liked them!

Desperation, Oklahoma was born.

Tucked away in my manuscript folder was the start of another story about the long lost brother of the hero in the first book, but it received a thumbs-down from my editor, who wanted to see a story about the sister of the heroine in book two.  Okay.  Book three.  Then I realized the first hero had a sister he'd never known about.  Enter book four.  When I finally found a story for that long lost brother of hero one, book five took life.  Still with me?  The heroine of book five had a brother, and he became the hero of book six.  Having run out of family connections, I pulled out two more old stories about two brothers of a heroine from my second Silhouette Romance.  Neither had seen the light of day for years, for no reason other than I'd never gotten back to them or even knew what to do with them.  Originally set on a fictional ranch near Tulsa, Oklahoma, I moved their stories to a ranch near Desperation and made changes to the two rancher-brothers' names, backstories and more.  Books seven and eight.  A Nanny for the Cowboy was released in March this year, and Designs on the Cowboy hit bookshelves (print and digital) this week.

Two books at a time, often with no idea who or what might be next, until I started to know the characters well.  No planning ahead.  There isn't even what's called a flash on the covers to designate that the books are part of a series.  But readers have picked them up, sometimes in odd order, and decided they like the people in Desperation, Oklahoma.  I do, too.

What's needed to create a series?
A common thread.  Whether it's family or setting, professions or friendships, there needs to be something that connects each of the books.  The connection for Hearts of Desperation is the town, even though some of the characters are related.  It's all about a group of something, whether it's Navy Seals, brothers, cowboys, shared paranormal gifts, you name it.

How many books are needed for a series?
Obviously more than one. ☺ Three is often good to start with.  But, like mine, that can grow...and grow.  New characters appear that sometimes need their own stories told.  Threads sometimes continue through a series, not necessarily about major characters, but sometimes minor characters.

Why do readers like books in a series?
For me, it's revisiting former main characters, and I believe other people feel the same.  Susan Elizabeth Phillips' Chicago Stars series is one of my favorites.  Of course I have favorites within the series, but I loved how the mention of a character later became a book about that same character.  Did she plan them that way?  You'd have to ask her. :)  But the common bond of the story characters revolves around a professional football team.  Wynette, Texas, is another series, connected by both setting and a variety of characters that appear or are mentioned in earlier books.

When it comes to Stephen King, anyone who's read some (or all) will recognize the names of the two towns where many of his stories are set...or are mentioned.  According to Wikipedia, nine of Mr. King's works (novels and novellas) are set in Castle Rock, Maine.  Twenty-two of his works refer to Castle Rock.  Then there's Derry, Maine, which appears in twenty of his works.  It doesn't hurt that he lives in Bangor, Maine, and knows the region well.

How does a writer start a series?
Sometimes by accident, as I did.  Sometimes the connection of a series comes first.  Some are planned from the start, some grow from one or two books.  Choose wisely and always keep those connections in mind.

Why do writers like to write series?
For the same reasons readers like to read them.  Then there's the plus of good sales if the books are well-liked.  A series can keep a writer going for several years.  Yes, new stories must be created, but because many books are character driven, finding a new character isn't as difficult as created a new one from scratch.


Do you think you might like to give writing a series a try?  Great!  There's an abundance of information online, although reading series by other writers is a good start.  Take care, though, that the introduction of minor characters doesn't take over the main story!  Focus on the main characters, their conflicts and resolutions, and leave the next major characters for a new book.

Next week I'll be back to share how to handle the hardest thing about writing a series: Keeping track of characters and details.  I'll explain my own method and links to those of others, so if you're interested, stop by!

"The easiest thing to do on earth is not write." ~ William Goldman