Romance novels rock. Romance readers rock. Romance writers rock.

Look through The New York Times and USA Today best-sellers lists. Do you see a disproportion of genres? I thought there would be a stronger representation of romance books on the weekly lists considering the number of romance books sold.  Statistics, available on the RWA website clearly indicate romance fiction is popular has the largest market share of all genres (in the US consumer market), and when compared to other genres makes twice as much as the next genre (religion/inspirational).

I thought I would see a different mix of genres when The New York Times added a separate ebook listing. Everything I’ve read said ereaders were a boon to romance readers who no longer had to hid their lusty covers from on-lookers. Sales of romance ebooks were going taking off and even non-romance proponents, Barnes & Noble, were embracing (every pun intended) the genre.  Julie Bosman had a great article in the December  9th New York Times.

This past Tuesday, I read an article in USA Today that gave me hope for our genre. Joyce Lamb, a copy editor for the news service as well as a well published romance writer, convinced the powers that be to begin a new column, Happy Ever After. You got it, a romance book column. Here is a link to her first blog. I have it from a very reliable source that USA Today will officially announce HEA this Thursday.

According to Ms. Lamb,  the blog will “shower” us with book reviews and author interviews to help us get to know the authors better and isn’t that what we really want.

Here is an excerpt from Joyce’s post:

Joyce Lamb

To kick things off, I thought I'd share with readers some things you might not know about romance writers:

Romance writers come in all shapes, sizes and flavors, and here at Happy Ever After we're going to meet as many as we can, even the ones who write really hot erotica. (Wait, is that redundant?) In other words, HEA is an equal opportunity blog.

Romance writers are incredibly supportive of each other. Seriously. We do virtual high-fives daily as one of us finishes her first book, lands the literary agent of her dreams, makes her first sale (also known as "getting The Call"), holds her book for the first time, buys her first Italian villa, and so on. We just can't get enough of encouraging each other.

Romance writers are fun. If you don't believe me, then take one, or several, out for drinks.

Romance writers, many of us anyway, have a deep and abiding love for Joss Whedon. The TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer embodies everything that romance novels aspire to be. If you're sneering again, get lost. We'll wait while you gather your things. Don't forget to take that judgmental look on your face. (Hums Jeopardy theme song.) OK, now that the unenlightened are gone, where were we? Oh, yeah, why Buffy is so great: Vampire slayer in love with a vampire. Best. Romantic. Conflict. EVER. I love me some Bella and Edward, but Buffy and Angel won my heart first.

Romance writers, some of us anyway, are at least somewhat like the characters in our books (not the villains, of course. Well, OK, maybe just a teeny weeny bit). You know how funny Susan Elizabeth Phillips' books are? She's just as funny in person. You know how Nora Roberts' heroines are kind and passionate and wield a wicked sense of humor? That's her, too. I could go on, but you'll see what I mean as HEA gets going and you get to meet authors you might not have met before.

Romance writers don't sleep much. Many have full-time jobs and families on top of their writing careers. That makes for some late … (soft snoring sounds) … wha? Oh, hello. I think you get the picture.

Romance writers are Smart, with a capital S. And I'm not just saying that because I want you to THINK we're smart. Writing a novel, any kind of novel, is HARD. (I'm not yelling, I'm just emphasizing.) Writing a romance novel isn't any easier just because it's a romance. You know how hard it is in real life to have a balanced, loving relationship while dealing with all the chaos of life? It's no easier in a romance novel. In fact, it's WAY harder, cuz our characters often are totally messed up, in life and in love. At least in the beginning. Another reason we're really smart: We have to know stuff. For example, Suzanne Brockmann could probably, in one glance, identify the make and model of the assault rifle hidden in the back of my closet, just waiting for the apocalypse. (Kidding.) Lisa Gardner could probably profile a serial killer. Jane Graves could probably bake the perfect cupcake. Linda Howard could probably lead you out of the wilderness alive. See? Smart. And if you don't believe me, go visit the awesome Smart Bitches, Trashy Books blog, run by the awesome Sarah Wendell. I'll wait. (Hums theme of I Dream of Jeannie. I don't know why.) Back already? I hope you remembered to bookmark, though I'm sure many of you have already spent many hours there. And, heck, while we're pimping out SBTB, for no other reason than I'm a fan, you might want to check out Sarah's upcoming Everything I Know About Love I Learned from Romance Novels. VERY smart. (Sarah, you're my snark idol.)

Romance writers almost always will tell you the same thing when you ask this question: Why do you write romance? Answer: Because we live for the happily ever after. Life is often hard and sad and depressing, and romances are the great escape. That's why romances are the best-selling novels on the planet. No, make that "in the universe." Why try to spare the literary writers' feelings? They need to accept the fact that without romance writers to support the bottom line, literary writers wouldn't be basking in the glow of their New York Times book reviews. Is that 'tude you detect in my tone? (Shrugs slightly.) Maybe. Earned it, though. And that's why we're here.

Here's some of what HEA has coming up in the next few weeks:

Interviews with Lavinia Kent (Regency author), Jane Graves (contemporary), Virna DePaul (paranormal and contemporary), Jill Shalvis (contemporary), Erin Quinn (paranormal), Shawn Lane (gay erotic romance), Christy Reece (romantic suspense), Desiree Holt (erotica), Keri Arthur (paranormal), Ann Christopher (African-American romance) and Mariah Stewart (contemporary) — and that's just in the next few weeks.

HEA will also have reviews of the latest releases by all the authors above, as well as lots of other reviews and features, including introductions to debut authors you might not know yet and sneak peeks at upcoming new releases.

Let the romance novel love begin.
****

Great, right? Leave a comment here and please, if you can, leave a comment on Joyce’s blog, Happy Ever After and tell her Ruth A. Casie sent you!

Getting People to Buy Your Book

Not too long ago I was researching ways to promote Knight of Runes. Many of my author friends have been helpful in giving me ideas (thanks to all of you) and pointed me to wonderful sources. I don’t want to leave any stone unturned in this quest, a personality trait that makes my kid’s eyes roll, but that’s a story for another time. My search led me to the March 2010 post by author Derek Haines.

I knew my search was a success when I read the blog title, Ten Golden Rules For Successful Writing And Getting People To Buy Your Books. Now I either had the answer to my search or a clever hook to entice me to buy someone else’s book. I knew a little bit about Mr. Haines but not much. I read on and wasn’t disappointed. I’ve included his post below. If you’d like to read his other words of wisdom for authors, here is Derek’s original post.

For those of you who are either contemplating becoming an author, or those writers who want to get to the bestseller status fast, I thought I would share what I believe to be the ten prime factors for success. Some are highly technical while others require hours and hours of practice and perfection, but I am sure you will see the benefits very quickly from following my Ten Golden Rules For Successful Writing And Getting People To Buy Your Books.

1. Always include blank pages at the back of the book. This makes the book thicker, so looks like better value.

2. Be consistent with spelling mistakes. The reader’s brain will adjust.

3. Always dedicate your book to your mother. This increases the ‘Awwww’ factor, and also gives you an opportunity to include another blank pager after it.

4. If you have a long name, change it. Bestselling authors must restrict both their names to five letters or less.

5. If you are under fifty, do not put a photo of yourself on the back cover. Writers must look mature.

6. Use a lot of dialogue. It takes up more page space. (Helps point one) Narrative tends to be in good solid paragraphs, so stay clear on neat economical space saving paragraphs as much as possible.

7. Get your very best friend, wife or sibling to write the blurb for the back of your book.

8. Use short and simple words. Long words reduce your market potential to only those readers with high IQs.

9. Always start a sentence with a Capital Letter, and try to remember the full stop at the end. It helps readers navigate better.

10. Make sure you have some sort of story to tell. Three hundred pages of:

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, sapien platea morbi dolor lacus nunc, nunc ullamcorper. Felis aliquet egestas vitae, nibh ante quis quis dolor sed mauris. Erat lectus sem ut lobortis, adipiscing ligula eleifend, sodales fringilla mattis dui nullam. Ac massa aliquet Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, sapien platea morbi dolor lacus nunc, nunc ullamcorper. Felis aliquet egestas vitae, nibh ante quis quis dolor sed mauris. Erat lectus sem ut lobortis, adipiscing ligula eleifend, sodales fringilla mattis dui nullam. Ac massa aliquet

has proven not to sell very well, even though it does speed up writing a lot.

Bonus Rule: Always include a 404 page not found link to help readers get back to where they were.

*** End of Post ***

Speaking of buying your books, Knight of Runes is now available for Pre-Order at Barnes & Noble.

What are some of your golden rules for writing and getting people to buy your book? I would really love to know.

It Started with a Whisper

It started when my friend Denise whispered, “I’m going to write a romance novel.” Story snippets of dashing men and valiant women have always raced through my mind only to fade when the phone rang, the traffic light changed, or the kids got loud. I thought I was a real Walter Mitty. But Denise’s whisper made me stop and think. Could I write a book, I mean really, write a story and get it published?

How many times had I enjoyed reading a story so much that when it was over I would ‘write’ the epilog. I wasn’t willing to say good-bye just yet. Just one more … well, just more. My friend’s whisper raced around my head for days. My romantic daydreams have plots and my characters have their goals, motivations, and conflicts. Dare I commit my story to paper? I didn’t decide to write. I needed to write, a compulsion that turned into liberation. How empowering for my stories to come alive, to give my characters breath, and watch the words fill page after page. But that’s only part of my adventure. The genre surprised my family but oh how well it fit.

For me the lure of time travel has led to many wonderful stories filled with adventure and romance. My early favorites included Rip Van Winkle, A Connecticut in King Arthur’s Court, The Time Machine, Outlander and Knight in Shining Armor and, as I read more, I’ve added others to the list. What is it about time travel that readers find it so compelling? Time travel stories provide a unique writing devise where characters can reunite with someone they’ve lost, they can fix a past mistake, or they can look into the future. I was interested in looking at the past. Contemporary really didn’t interest me but the past was a treasure trove to me. My debut story, Knight of Runes, is a historical time travel.  

In my time travel story, the conflict centers around the very different attitudes of a woman’s place in society, the disenfranchised woman of the 17^th century juxtaposed against the liberated woman of the 21^st century. How she faces the attitudes and how she and the people she meets learn to deal with each other are a big part of the story as well as adventure and romance.

What genre do you like to read? What are your favorite stories? Wait, let me get a little closer. Whisper it in my ear …

The Romance of Time Travel

I was doing research for this week’s blog on time travel and found a wonder post from Jody Beck’s Women’s Forum. I was excited to see authors that I know and admire on Jodi’s lists.

Here is her post. I've added it here below for your convenience.

Time travel romance novels writers have carved out their very own genre of romance novels. These splendid stories are romance at the core and they appeal to a wide variety of people because they carry aspects of a few other beloved genres. Some people think of time travel romances as historical romances because time travel means going back in time.  In reality they are far more variegated than that.  Time travel romance novels are one of the more exciting genres within the romance genre. Time travel books can also be part of another genre such as futuristic, science fiction, Dungeons & Dragons, or paranormal romance. Women who like other aspects of romance novels beyond just the romance typically love time travel romance novels.  You'll be hooked before you know it.  The following novels come highly recommended for a "far out and away" trip to anywhere. The following novels come highly recommended for a "far out and away" trip to anywhere.

Take a little trip this summer, the options are many...

Books That Time Travel to Old England

There are many time travel books that take either the male or female character back in time. It seems that traveling back to England in the 15th century or later is the most common location of time travel romances. A few of these books are listed below.

• The Queen's Man by Terri Brisbin
• What would Jane Austin Do? by Laurie Brown
• Gallimore by Michelle M. Griep
• Awaken, My Love by Robin Schone
• A Knight to Cherish by Angie Ray

Books Within a Series With Time Travel

Some book series have characters that time travel in only a couple of books. This is perfect for the reader who is wondering if they would enjoy time travel romance novels. A couple of different series and the time travel books within them are listed below.  From the Dark-Hunter series:

• Dragonswan by Sherrilyn Kenyon
• Night Play by Sherrilyn Kenyon
• Unleash the Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon

From the Viking series:

• The Reluctant Viking by Sandra Hill
• The Outlaw Viking by Sandra Hill

Time Travel Series

There are also full series of books that are considered time travel romance series. These books are for people who love the time travel romance genre. The nice thing about reading a time travel series is that the author is familiar with switching time periods and it is often easier to read than authors who write a time travel novel once. A few different time travel book series are listed below.

• The Highlander Series by Karen Marie Moning
• Viking Series II by Sandra Hill
• Time Hunter Series by Angela Knight
• Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon

Time Travel to Modern Times

Although time travel romance novels typically travel backwards, some of them bring a character forward in time. These books are set in today's world but one of the main characters will have to learn to deal with things like cars, TVs, and other modern inventions. The fun thing about these books is that the time traveling characters have to deal things that they never even imagined could be invented. A few different romance novels that bring characters ahead in time are listed below.

• Night Games by Nina Bangs
• Beloved Warrior by Judy Di Canio
• It's About Time by Charlotte Douglas
• Timeswept Rogue by Amy J. Fetzer
• Quinn's Way by Rebecca Flanders

Futuristic Time Travel

Futuristic time travel books take the reader to new worlds that are created completely from the author's imagination. These books are exciting because the reader gets to learn about the characters as well as the new world. Some futuristic time travel romance novels are listed below.

• Never Love a Stranger by Ellen Fisher
• All Our Tomorrows by Eden Robins

What’s your favorite time travel story?

Never Forget

       My tradition encompasses all of life, day and night, light and dark, even in the most difficult of situations--the imminent and then actual loss of a loved one. My beliefs are there to give me strength, to guide me, and to help me grow and see beyond the loss.

       It is my hope that you use whatever words and ideas are helpful to you as we pay honor to all those lost on September 11 and to their survivors who need our support. 

       If you would like, please share your thoughts, feelings, where you were ten years ago. Sometime the burden is just too heavy to shoulder alone.

Romance Over the Centuries

This week I found a great post on Sapphire Phelan’s Passion Center. She had a great overview of the history of romance over the centuries. She provided insight into the etymology (origin) of words, history of romantic practices, and how love and marriage has changed over the centuries.

The need to procreate and to be close to another person hasn’t changed over the centuries. It's part of who and what we are. What has changed is how we go about it. The romance of it all.

Sapphire’s post starts with the Greek explanation of the four types of love, philia, brotherly or familial love, eros intimate or romantic love, storge an affection or fondness and agape a selfless or spiritual love.

The definition locked down, she begins her march through time. This is what I found so intriguing. She acknowledges the brutality of the ancients raiding villages to capture wives, and moved on to the Medieval custom of arranged marriages for property, monetary and political alliances. She also provided the origin of honeymoon.

I hadn’t realized that today’s courting rituals was rooted in medieval chivalry. “The importance of love in a relationship emerged as a reaction to arranged marriages. Still, it was not considered a prerequisite in matrimonial decisions. Suitors wooed their intended with serenades and flowery poetry… Chastity and honor were highly regarded virtues. In 1228, women first gained the right to propose marriage in Scotland, a legal right that then slowly spread through Europe.”  This era saw the rise of romance in literature and on the stage, albeit only men performing.

Loves spoons were all the rage in 17th century Wales as a way for a suitor to state his case. In England, chivalrous gentlemen sent a pair of gloves to the object of their affection hoping they would wear them to church on Sunday as a sign of their acceptance. The Renaissance had its own customs keeping in mind that the main goal was to produce children.

During the Victorian Era courting was very formal and controlled. As Sapphire mentioned, “It became a sort of art form among the upper classes.” There’s a great web site by Michelle J. Hoppe that gives all the particulars for Courting the Victorian Lady.

Today, romance still blooms. Many of the traditional methods of dating are no longer of much use to either sex these days. Though some of even the oldest ideas are still considered romantic in our times, many are not practiced simply because they do not seem to fit in our modern world. 

To me romance is soft and tender quiet words spoken, small things done without asking, it’s time alone as well as time with friends. It’s a touch, a kiss, a whisper, and sometimes even silence.

How do you like your romance?

Hurricane Preparedness

Every year we go on a family vacation. This year we all went to North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Needless to say we’ve been watching the weather channel and checking the airlines to keep on top of the hurricane situation. We leave this afternoon to travel back to New Jersey and will get home ahead of the storm.

My daughter received an email from her former boss, an environmental specialist. It included a link to a blog. It has great emergency information and I've reprinted the blog here. 

Everyone, stay safe!

Hurricane Irene Aug 24, 2011

Hurricane Preparedness 2011: Smartphone Up!

The smartest thing you can get for hurricane preparedness is an off-grid charger for your cell phone.  A cell phone — particularly a smartphone — can serve as “find me” whistle, flashlight, information channel, family finder, and so much more.  Remember that smartphones especially have a short battery life.  This cannot be over-emphasized.  Nokero’s solar charger is good, see details here.  Or go to your nearest Sprint store or Whatever store or go to Best Buy and see what they have.

A serious hurricane in New England?  My father sat through a hurricane in 1938 that took down almost all the trees around Lake Sunapee, New Hampshire — where the family had a summer house.

EMERGENCY KIT From experience, then, the Sensible Yankee hurricane emergency kit includes basics.  You can get through just about anything with: 

-  two gallons of water (supermarket) 

- your eyeglasses/contact lenses/sunglasses/reading glasses 

- your meds 

- a sleeping bag or blanket or warm winter coat, pillows are nice 

- non-perishable food (eg, canned food with can opener, Twinkies, Powerbars) 

- extra flashlights and batteries 

- Swiss Army Knife

Online, it appears the government preparedness instructions haven’t changed much since 1938.

FEMA has you storing up “moist towelettes” (?), a dust mask (?), a NOAA Weather Radio (no one under 40 knows what that is) and traveler’s checks (what?).

Suggestion: start with phone and off-grid charger and our Sensible Yankee list, above.  Then add stuff from their list if you have an encyclopedia, historical reference guide, and a lot of time to identify dated items and shop at 12 different stores and wait in line at a bank for traveler’s checks (again, what?).

OVERNIGHT BAG: Pack, because you may need to evacuate or you may not be able to find your stuff under stress.  Pretend you’re going camping for 3 days and pack accordingly.  Include toothpaste, toothbrush, medications, vitamins, clothes; all the things you normally need.

If you’ve never been camping, pack as if you’re going to the wrong side of Detroit for three days and staying in a half-star motel with no fridge or running water.  Bring your own blankets, sheets & pillow.  Leave your strappy high-heeled sandals behind.

CHILDREN: If you have small children, and it’s not possible to travel to a safe place, then collect your gear and put it all in one place:  a safe, windowless room, as if you’re about the load the car for a 3 day camping trip.  Now you’re ready to evacuate if you need to, and you know where all your stuff is either way: your clothes, water, food, cookstove, candles or lanterns, etc. are all in one place.

Treat it like a fun camping-trip sort of adventure — kids often react to these things the same way you do.  For details and (you guessed it) a more extensive list of obscure stuff, see www.ready.org.

FLYING GLASS: Most injuries in a serious storm come from flying glass and debris, usually puncture wounds.  This is one of those incredibly obvious things we don’t think of.  So:  during the actual storm, keep away from windows and exterior doors.  This is for real.  The basement or closet or bathroom is likely safest, e.g., rooms with fewest portals to the outside.

PETS: Put pet food, leash, an extra gallon of water, their favorite blanket, and their favorite chew toy in a plastic garbage bag — put it in the trunk of the car — with their crate — now or as close to now as you can.  We emphasize now because pet care is the easiest to ignore in an urgent situation and as a result causes the most heartache.  Don’t even flirt with it.  Here’s more from FEMA on pets — but we didn’t have time to read all that.

UTILITIES: If a serious hurricane is coming your way and you own your home or are responsible for your home, shut off your utilities.  Here’s how.

If you’re like most people under 40 who only read 40 words of any given web page and never read the manual:  get a neighbor to come over and show you how to shut off utilities.  People like to show off what they know and you get a custom lesson — you also get to find out what a monkey wrench actually is, and how to use one, which is kind of fun.

Junk in the trunk: On a preparedness note, if you’re not a New England native, you may not know this:  in northern winter months from September –> May it’s imperative to always have in your car anyway:

•         a blanket or sleeping bag
•          old but still functional hat, mittens, gloves
•          old wool sweater, just in case
•          an old (super-warm) coat you wouldn’t wear unless you had to
•          at least one flashlight, loaded with good batteries, preferably two flashlights
•          Swiss Army Knife (canopener, screwdriver, knife)
•          water bottle (you may need to fill it)
•          off-grid smartphone charger

Believe me, you’ll feel better having these things.

Here’s FEMA’s take: http://www.fema.gov/help/widgets/prepared_hurricane.html

The truth is that if you have a cell phone and an off-grid charger, you can just call for help, company, or pizza delivery.

Summer Vacation

The end of summer is quickly approaching. I had so many books, none of them were about craft, I was looking forward to reading but one thing lead to another and, well my to be read pile is towering next to my desk. I have one last chance. We go on vacation to the beach next week. Perhaps I can laze by the pool or on the beach and read, read, read. What do you do on vacation?

Several people guessed the authors and titles of the opening lines I posted last week. I hope you enjoyed the challenge. Did you guess which one was mine? 

1.    “As their elegant traveling chaise rocked and swayed along the rutted country road, Lady Anne Gilbert leaned her cheek against her husband’s shoulder and heaved a long, impatient sigh.”

     Whitney, My Love by Judith McNaught

2.    “How does a person reenter a life she left behind years earlier?”
     Summer of Roses by Luanne Rice

3.    “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”
     Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

4.    “It wasn’t a very likely place for disappearances, at least not at first glance.”
     Outlander by Diane Gabaldon

5.    “The noon whistle blew and the saws stopped whining.”
     Morning Glory by LaVyrle Spencer

6.    “I should not have stayed away from the Manor so long. Something stirs.”
     Knight of Runes by Ruth A. Casie

7.    “Who am I? And how, I wonder, will this story end?”
     The Notebook by Nicolas Sparks

8.    “Douglas Montgomery sat in the back seat of the rental car, Robert and his pudgy thirteen-year-old daughter, Gloria, in the front.”
     Knight in Shining Armor by Jude Deveraux

9.    “Cam called in markers, pulled strings, begged favors and threw money around in a dozen directions.”
     Sea Swept by Nora Roberts

10. “They said he killed his first wife.”
     The Bride by Julie Garwood

11. “Come to me.”
      A Dance Through Time by Lynn Kurland

12. “There were pictures in the fire. Dragons.”
     Valley of Silence by Nora Roberts

13. “Fae archers stood at the Sidhe wall and trained their arrows toward the tree line as a slow, unseasonable frost overtook the branches.”
     Left for Dead: A Crimson Moon Novel by L.A. Banks

14. “When the rumbling Cessna heaved into the sky, Kate Jansen completely lost her nerve.”
     The Proper Care and Maintenance of Friendship by Lisa Verge Higgins

15. “As darkness slowly fled from his eyes, the boy woke, his head aching and his body sore, as if he had been beaten.”
    The Lost by Caridad Pineiro

16. “It is always a mistake to underestimate the possibilities of a train compartment.”
    Tears of Pearl by Tasha Alexander

The Hook

I wrote a wonderful forest scene. The description was spot on.

The full branches of the maple trees created a cool green canopy over the neglected trail. A gentle breeze played through the leaves and made them dance ever so gracefully. The sun light, falling in broad shafts, pierced through the trees and bathed the ground in great golden pools. The fragrance of wild flowers and herbs filled the early spring air with a delicate perfume.

My critique partner, and several other readers, said it put them there but, it didn’t put them in the story. They didn’t like it, well, not for the opening paragraph. I thought it set the stage for the following action which was in contrast to the calm idyllic setting. Wrong. It didn’t grab them.

They pointed me to Noah Lukeman’s book, The First Five Pages. The sub-title was compelling, a writer’s guide to staying out of the rejection pile. Dutifully, I did my assigned reading. The essence of one point he made – the hook is more than a marketing tool to draw the reader in. It sets the tone of the story, the characters, the setting, the mood, and more. The care you take to the opening line should be the same care you give to the first paragraph, page, and chapter all the way through to the last sentence. But let’s get back to the opening sentence.

According to author, Barbara Dawson Smith, the common thread in most opening lines/paragraphs is change. Your hero or heroine’s current situation is about to change. Something has happened, or will happen that will result in dramatic consequences.  The author’s goal is to pique the reader’s curiosity, give them the promise of what they will find when they read your story.

Here are some opening sentences from some romance novels. One of them is from my debut novel scheduled for released on November 14. Does it hold up with the others?

1. “As their elegant traveling chaise rocked and swayed along the rutted country road, Lady Anne Gilbert leaned her cheek against her husband’s shoulder and heaved a long, impatient sigh.”
2. “How does a person reenter a life she left behind years earlier?”
3. “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”
4. “It wasn’t a very likely place for disappearances, at least not at first glance.”
5. “The noon whistle blew and the saws stopped whining.”
6. “I should not have stayed away from the Manor so long. Something stirs.”
7. “Who am I? And how, I wonder, will this story end?”
8. “Dougles Montgomery sat in the back seat of the rental car, Robert and his pudgy thirteen-year-old daughter, Gloria, in the front.”
9. “Cam called in markers, pulled strings, begged favors and threw money around in a dozen directions.”
10. “They said he killed his first wife.”
11. “Come to me.”
12. “There were pictures in the fire. Dragons.”
13. “Fae archers stood at the Sidhe wall and trained their arrows toward the tree line as a slow, unseasonable frost overtook the branches.”
14. “When the rumbling Cessna heaved into the sky, Kate Jansen completely lost her nerve.”
15. “As darkness slowly fled from his eyes, the boy woke, his head aching and his body sore, as if he had been beaten.”
16. “It is always a mistake to underestimate the possibilities of a train compartment.”

Contest: I love trivia. Guess the book title and author for each of these opening lines. See if you can guess the book title and author. I’ll post the answers next week. Have fun!

5 Essentials For Creating a Great Story

I read an article in Writer’s Digest written by Steven James, The 5 Essential Story Ingredients. Mr. James wrote that writers think that stories are just a beginning, middle, and end but it’s much more than that. A story must emotional engage the reader so they invest in the heroine’s outcome.

Aristotle claimed stories must have an origin, an escalation of conflict, and a resolution. The resolution must transform either a situation or a character. The very heart of the story is how the character deals with the tension created by the conflict. Without tension, conflict, and crisis there is no action.

The tension in the story must build as the story unfolds. There are 5 essentials that make a good story. Using them will draw readers in and keep them turning pages. How these essentials are developed make the story unique.

1.     Orientation

Grab your reader’s attention from the very start through the setting, mood, and tone and with a heroine they care about. If they don’t care about the heroine, they won’t care about the story. The reader already knows that something will change (after all it’s a story). The orientation is the baseline, starting point, from which the change will take place. It’s the standard by which they will judge the success or failure of the story.

2.     Crisis

Introducing a crisis, usually internal and external, that tips the heroine’s world out of kilter must be one she cannot immediately resolve. This is the challenge that sets the story in motion. Her life will change and will never be the same. There are basically two ways to introduce the crisis, begin with the heroine having what she wants and take it away or desiring what she wants and have her pursue it.

3.     Escalation

According to Mr. James, there are two types of characters – pebble people and putty people. One is rigid while the other is malleable. The main character needs to be a putty person. She is the one that has to change. She will struggle to get back to ‘normal’ but she is forever changed. The more intimate, personal and devastating the struggle the more the reader will keep reading.

4.     Discovery

At the climax of the story, the heroine realizes that her life has changed and will try by wit (cleverly putting the pieces together) or grit (showing perseverance or tenacity) to get back to ‘normal.’

The irony of storytelling is that the reader wants to predict the outcome but he wants to be wrong. The resolution of the story is more satisfying when it ends in a way that is inevitable and unexpected.

5.     Change

Here the heroine either transforms or dies. Whatever happens, she will never be the same. The change marks the resolution of the crisis and culmination of the story, moving the heroine to a new normal.

“If you render a portrait of the protagonist’s life in such a way that we can picture his world and also care about what happens to him, we’ll be drawn into the story. If you present us with an emotionally stirring crisis or calling, we’ll get hooked. If you show the stakes rising as the character struggles to solve this crisis, you’ll draw us in more deeply. And if you end the story in a surprising yet logical way that reveals a transformation of the main character’s life, we’ll be satisfied and anxious to read your next story.” … Steven James.