I’ve got plenty!

We’re closing in on 2009, and I think it’s going to be a good one for me, and I hope for all of you as well.

I know many people pooh-pooh New Year’s resolutions, but I love them. I love that “fresh start” each year. So I’m going public with mine, in the hope that will help me stick to them. Here we go.

In addition to maintaining my weight loss (18 pounds in ‘08!), getting to the Y at least three times a week, and making time to stay spiritually centered, I have a book to write! Yep, after all the angst of the past couple of months, my publisher has approved my new proposal — well, I still have some changes to make, but it’s almost there. All I’ll say right now is that it’s about two estranged sisters. I plan to keep you abreast of the writing, as I did in my “creating a story” posts that began back in October. Without giving anything away, of course.

As a matter of fact, I have three books to write. My new contract is for three books, nine months apart. Yikes! I won’t be taking any non-working vacations for the next twenty-seven months, that’s for sure. I’m looking forward to the challenge, though.

How am I attacking Book One? I’ve created a schedule that looks something like this: between now and January 5th, I’ll re-write the proposal/synopsis, adding new layers to the story, changing the locale (right now it’s a foreign locale, and my publisher wants at least the bulk of the story in the US). Then for the rest of January, I’ll do my basic research and fully outline the story. That will mean lots of colored notecards on the dining room table. This will be a dangerous time, as “research” and “outlining”, as opposed to actually writing, are amorphous tasks that can get away from me unless I exercise more discipline than I usually have.

Beginning in February, I’ll write fifty pages a week. This should allow me to produce three drafts. The first will be a total mess. The second, much better. And the third, nearly perfect. In between drafts, I’ll take a week for review and any needed research. 

In the midst of all this, I’ll have a new book, Secrets She Left Behind, to promote in June, and other promotional duties throughout the year. I need to do a major update on my website: I hope to add some video interviews (of myself) and descriptions of my older, currently out-of-print books which will be reissued in ‘09. But if I can stick to my schedule, I should have a complete book in good shape by my deadline, August 1. Wish me luck on that!

Unfortunately, I’m losing my fantastic editor at my publishing house. I’ve worked with her for years and she is dynamite, but she’s about to have a baby. This must be the only business in which, when someone calls to tell you she’s pregnant, your first reaction is “Oh, $#^%!” She’ll be a fantastic mom. And I know my new editor is sure will be another winner, since my publisher is full of them. Change is always a little scary, though.

So, that’s my agenda for 2009. What resolutions have you made?  

In my last post, I was celebrating. My editor had emailed me with the news that The Midwife’s Confession was a go. My celebration was premature, I’m afraid. A couple of posts before that one, I wrote about some of the reasons a synopsis might not be accepted, remember that? One of the reasons was that the publisher may have a book in the pipeline that’s similar in some way to the book being proposed.  Well, Friday I received the apologetic email from my editor with exactly that news. As she spoke with the editorial team, she realized that the “hook” for my book is similar to the hook for another book due to be published around the same time. The stories are not at all alike, but the hooks would be. Believe it or not, that’s enough to negate the acceptance of this synopsis–at least as the first book in this three book contract. They still want me to write The Midwife’s Confession, just not now. You can imagine my frustration/depression/agony/anger/sorrow/annoyance! I haven’t completely given up on being able to write this book now. My heart’s in the story, and I’m itching to get at it. I know from past experience that these things often work out for the best, though, so I’m not leaping from the top of the roller coaster yet. . . but this is turning out to be a mighty nauseating ride!

One of the things I’ve been going back and forth on in this story is whether the one adolescent character is a devil or angel. I keep remembering a reader who told me she loved The Bay at Midnight, but was tired of reading about rebellious teens like the daughter in the book, because “all teens aren’t rebellious.” I agree with her, and the last thing I want to be is trite, but I think there’s a balance between devil and angel. Unless I change my mind in the next few hours, I think this teenaged girl is going to be a good kid going through a rough time that brings out the normal, hormonally-induced rebel in her. That will make her more sympathetic and more complex. And of course, harder to write. It’s always easier to write in black and white. For the purpose of a synopsis, I only need vague statements about her behavior and attitude because I’m doing more telling than showing. When I write the book, showing will be far more important and that’s when the challenge will really begin.

So I’m going to get back at it, now. I hope you all have a great weekend, and I’ll see you refreshed–and finished–on Monday.

After taking a break for the election and to talk about my cute new UK cover, I’m following up on my recent posts about creating a story.

You may recall that I hadn’t quite finished the synopsis for my next book while in the Outer Banks. Once I got home, I whipped through to the end. . .well almost to the end. My last sentence reads: Brilliant last sentence goes here. LOL.

So I emailed the synopsis and its lame final sentence to my agent, who quickly got back to me with the news that she loved it. Since she loves it and I love it, this is the synopsis we’ll take to my publisher. . . soon. My agent and I both recognized what is missing from the synopsis: suspense. That’s the element I’m building into the story this weekend.

I don’t care what kind of story you’re writing, it needs an element of suspense to keep the pages turning. Those of you who’ve read my books know that, even though my stories may not fit the definition of “suspense novels,” in the usual sense of the term, they are suspenseful. Even the books that are focused on relationships have elements of suspense in them. The reader wants to know what’s going to happen next. This doesn’t occur by magic. It takes planning and the sort of thinking that makes your head ache, but it’s oh so worth it in the end. 

So how does a writer add suspense? One tried and true method is the ticking clock. The reader knows that, if a character doesn’t do X by a certain time, Y will happen, and that will be devastating. Many other conflicts can create suspense. In Before the Storm, will a special needs boy go to prison for something he (probably) didn’t do? And how far will his mother go to protect him? In The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes, will a woman tell the truth about what happened even though it will cost her her family and her freedom? 

One of my favorite ways of adding suspense is to give each character a secret. I may not use them all, but in the “thinking stage,” I actually write down what each character’s secret is–we all have them; don’t try to tell me you don’t! Then I see whose secret can tie into the storyline. And then I drop hints to make the reader sit up and take notice. In Before the Storm, for example, I continually allude to the fact that Laurel distrusts her former brother-in-law, Marcus, but the reader doesn’t know why. I reveal this fact from both their points-of-view, over time, increasing the curiosity of the reader to find out what led to the serious rift in their relationship. (Then, of course, there needs to be a pretty powerful reason for the distrust, or the reader will be quite annoyed with me, but that’s for another post.)

So today, I’m adding suspense to my synopsis in several ways: 1) I’m changing the order of how I reveal what happens, so that the reader (editor, in this case) will want to know what’s going to happen next. In other words, I’m taking care not to reveal too much up front; 2) I’m “mystifying” one of the major revelations so that it’s unclear to both the reader and the characters what is really going on; and 3) I’m giving at least one significant character a juicy secret that ties beautifully into the central storyline and that will give me a nice subplot at the same time.

And finally, I hope to come up with that brilliant last sentence!