Characters in Your Stories--Back Story and other Secrets By Connie Vines #Round Robin, #HEA, #Romance, #Writing Tips, #Character Motivation

 Round Robin topic, July 2022:

What aspects of your characters were cut from the story? 

 Thank you, Connie (me), for this month's topic 📓

💭👩

While the others in our RR group may respond to all six topics, I am choosing one or two (depending on how wordy this post becomes 😉).

 

• Aspects of your characters that were cut from the story. (part of the backstory/ character motivation).
• Characters not in your book(s.). 

"Lynx" Book 1 of my Rodeo Romance Series, takes place in a small Montana town. The locals: Rachel, Charlene, and Wes (the owner of the coffee shop) are the core group of characters.  The locals of course appear in scenes, but in cameo roles. Rachel speaks of her father (late), mother (not in the picture), and the grandmother who raised her.

Lynx and Dan are related and travel the rodeo circuit together. Lynx is from Texas and often mentions his family. Lynx is close to his sister, Amberlynn, and his parents.

What did I cut from the story?

Charlene was toned down.  Charlene was wild-- AKA: a 'Buckle Bunny".  I realized this would not mesh with my heroine's hang-ups.  So, I toned her down to a sassy, brassy, side-kick.

By mentioning Lynx's sister and his family, I had the perfect tie-in to the second book in the series, "Brede".

Whereas 'Lynx' was a romance novel; 'Brede' is a romantic suspense novel.

What did I cut from the story? Since it is romantic suspense, I did have my core characters: Brede, Kate/Amberlynn, Caldwell, Dwayne (supply the comic relief), and, of course, the mysterious and elusive bad guy.

What did I cut from the storyline? 

 My original draft had a more violent tone.  Since I'm prone to nightmares after watching "MeerKat Manor" I kept most of the violence 'off set', so to speak.  I also amped up the humor with my secondary characters.  I even gave cranky old Caldwell a love interest. 

• Topic 2, Characters not in your book(s.). 

I never have Rachel's mother appear in the book. Nor do I attempt to resolve the rift between them. Why? Because this is a romance between two people. Unfortunately, some relationships cannot be mended. (Perhaps at some later point in time). 

Nor, do I have ex-husbands or ex-wives appear in my stories.  I suppose it would work in a Rom-Com romance. Still, even though it's not true to life--I don't find jealousy,  undermining, or third-person interference appropriate in a romance novel.  (Yes, I know Cinderella had an evil stepmother and two stepsisters in her story.)  👠🕛🐴🧚

I'm not making a judgment call. 

Each writer has a personal interpretation of what defines HEA (Happily Ever After).  This is what defines 'the writer's voice".

Please visit these fabulous authors. I'm certain they have delightful stories to share! 

Happy Reading, 

Connie

XOXO

Skye Taylor http://www.skye-writer.com/blogging_by_the_sea

Connie Vines http://mizging.blogspot.com/

Marci Baun http://www.marcibaun.com/blog/

Anne Stenhouse http://annestenhousenovelist.wordpress.com

Dr. Bob Rich https://wp.me/p3Xihq-2Gt

Rhobin Courtright http://rhobincourtright.com

Judith Copek http://lynx-sis.blogspot.com/

We All Have Problems--What Irks Me About Editing by Connie Vines #RoundRobin RR#84

 All books go through multiple edits. What have you learned are your problems, and what irks you about editing?

While writing my first two novels (yes, I write 2 or 3 novels at the same time), I belonged to a critique group. Fortunately, the members caught the usual problems:  Leaving out key items after several revisions:  either the heroine has new contact lenses, or I forgot I changed her eye color. I removed too many details, leaving my scene too lean; I added some many details, and reader is going to say, "get the point, already!"  

What I discovered on my own (I should keep this to myself because everyone will watch for my personal 'quirk'.), is that I bless my characters will my habits, repeatedly.

I like coffee.   

My hero and heroine like coffee.I realized several chapter openings had my hero and heroine; heroine and her best friend; or shoot, two strangers (I'm exaggerating here) are drinking coffee.  

When I brought this up to another published author friend, she grinned and said, "Oh, I never..."

I grinned.  She gasped, "What? What did you notice?"

"I doubt anyone else has ever noticed--I'm hyper vigilant because of the 'coffee thing'.  
Ah, you like to open chapters with the a weather reports. Not, like a televised weather report, but you know--."

"Yeah. Weather reports."

So, we all have our personal little repeats.  The trick is to catch them before they make it into print.  

What irks me about editing?  I'll break this down into two categories: my personal editing, and a publisher's editing.

I don't mind the first or send go-round of edits.  I know when a scene is too long/too short.  I can have another author read a chapter and tell me 'why it doesn't work'.  I fact check, run a grammar-punctuation program, I highlight areas I believe need more detail, I blue-line what I think needs to be removed. I make my changes.

Then I read the entire novel, again, before sending it to the publisher.

I receive an edited draft from the publisher.  I will make revisions (If I agree) and leave as is, if I don't.  I will usually explain why I'm not changing the word/ sentence etc.in the comment area.

The book comes back as a ARC/PDF copy.  I read this and notate errors (spacing/typos, etc.).

So, when this goes back to the publisher, there are no errors (though I admit I'm not perfect).

Now, I've worked as a acquisitions editor. I know how difficult it is to copy-edit hour after hour; day-after-day.

However, (this hasn't occurred with every publisher, or with every book) but. . .the book goes to print and I receive my copies for a scheduled signing.  I thumb through a book, skim the pages, mostly looking for page breaks etc.  They I see it: a typo, or a missing word, or a missing paragraph.  

Heart palpitations increase and my ears ring like church bells, as I grope for the arm of a chair and sit down.

In one book it wasn't too bad.  Only two problems: a missing sentence, and the intro to the hero.  My heroine said: "Hell", instead of, "Hello."

With a former (now defunct) publisher, I wanted to sit down and cry.  The final 1/3 of the novel was one problem after another-- typos, missing words, extra spaces. Missing paragraphs! 



Once a book goes to print, or is uploaded to an e-book retailer, it's too late to correct a problem.

You can complain to the publisher, you can state you won't work with the editor again, you can demand to know what exactly happened.  However, you are still the one dealing with the problem. 

Readers blame the author.  Reviewers, if they are kind (or know this 'quirk' is the publisher's major fault), will make a reference to address the' typos', but will still give you 4 out of five star review..

Reader Reviews will state it was a wonderful story.  Too bad the book had so many typos, missing words (whatever) making the story difficult to follow.

The only consolation, if there is a consolation in this--every author I know has a similar story to tell.

Is there a solution?

Yes.

Yes, you can prepare for battle.  It's not practical, nor am I leading the charge!

I'm going sit down to begin my next novel.

When my contract is up for renewal, I'll negotiation the corrections/changes. Or, if the gods have smiled upon me, the publisher will mention in passing, "Since you are submitting the 2nd, 5th, or 80th book in this series, we should go back and polish-up that first book to prepare for the expected uptick in sales."

After all, it's all about the story.  The HEA (Happily Every After). 

That's what the readers want and it's the hook into the next book in your series.  Still, everyone (reader and writer) would appreciate a HEA without any typos!

Happy Reading and Happy Writing,

My cohorts have editing 'Irks' they'd love to share with you, too.

Skye Taylor http://www.skye-writer.com/blogging_by_the_sea
Diane Bator http://dbator.blogspot.ca/
Beverley Bateman http://beverleybateman.blogspot.ca/
Dr. Bob Rich https://wp.me/p3Xihq-1Tb
Anne Stenhouse  http://annestenhousenovelist.wordpress.com/
Margaret Fieland http://margaretfieland.wordpress.com
A.J. Maguire  http://ajmaguire.wordpress.com/
Victoria Chatham http://www.victoriachatham.com
Rhobin L Courtright http://www.rhobinleecourtright.com



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Unique Situations by Connie Vines

The best stories connect with readers on a visceral level. They transport us to another time and place and put us in a different “skin,” where we face challenges we may never know in life. And yet, the commonality of the story problem draws us onward and, in solving it vicariously through the

protagonist, changes us.

This Month's Topic:

Unique Situations.  Your story/characters changing direction.

What happens when a story or your character(s) take a different direction?

What happens when characters that take over your story? t One of the highest compliments I’ve never received for my novel “Lynx”, Rodeo Romance came when one reader told me she thought about my story constantly. She said that Lynx and Rachel’s story seemed so real, so heart wrenching, and their love so very enduring.  She said that she was going through a difficult time in her life and my story gave her hope.  Hope.  Hope for someone during a desperate time—I felt blessed that she shared her story.  I was also humbled.  It is moment such as this that I know just how powerful worlds and stories are to our readers.

While I never sit down at the keyboard and say, “I think I will write a powerful, life-changing story today.”  What I do, by nature, is select a social issue for the core of my stories.  Since my stories are character driven and often told in the first person, the emotion has a natural flow.

How do you create this type of engagement with your story?

Go beyond the five senses.  Your reader must feel your character’s emotions.  Your reader must forget there is a world outside of your story.

Embrace idiosyncrasies.  As teenagers everyone wanted to fit in, be one of the crowd.  Your character isn’t like anyone else.  Give him an unexpected, but believable trait.  In “Here Today, Zombie Tomorrow”,  my heroine, a Zombie has a pet. Not a zombie pet. Not a dog, or a cat.  She has a teddy bear hamster named Gertie.

Make them laugh. It doesn’t need to be slap-stick.  Just a little comic relief when the reader least expects it to happen.

Make them cry.  Remember the scene in the movie classic, Romancing the Stone, where Joan Wilder is crying when she writes the final scene in her novel?  I find this is the key.  If you are crying, your reader will be crying too.

If you are writing a romance, make them fall in love.  Make the magic last.  The first meeting, first kiss, the moment of falling in love.  These are the memories our readers savor, wait for in our stories.

 Don’t disappoint them.

As Emily Dickinson, said so well:
There is no frigate like a book
To take us lands away,
Nor any coursers like a page
Of prancing poetry.
This traverse may the poorest take
Without oppress of toll;
How frugal is the chariot
That bears a human soul!

And when you character decide to take over your story-line, or create a persona of his or her making, step out of the way!

Enjoy Halloween, my lovelies!

https://books2read.com/

Here-Today-Zombie-Tomorrow
Connie








Round Robin Blog Hop Members: 

A.J. Maguire  http://ajmaguire.wordpress.com/

Skye Taylor http://www.skye-writer.com/blogging_by_the_sea

Judith Copek http://lynx-sis.blogspot.com/

Margaret Fieland http://margaretfieland.wordpress.com

Helena Fairfax http://www.helenafairfax.com/blog

Dr. Bob Rich  https://wp.me/p3Xihq-1JS

Diane Bator http://dbator.blogspot.ca/

Rhobin L Courtright http://www.rhobincourtright.com