| Jolts of inspiration
often hit when you are at your most relaxed. People interaction can spark thoughts
for a new storyline. Most of my best and most creative ideas percolated under
a warm shower or when I was simply out walking. Remember
the old adage all work and no play makes Jack (substitute Janet) a dull boy? Well
it’s true. Consider it stimulating time rather than wasted time and if you use
that hour for personal reflection so be it. Go
out and take a brisk walk, jump into the pool, and frolic like you’ve never frolicked
before. Indulge your inner child and let your creativity shine through. The
end result is even better writing! Romantically
Yours, Marcia King-Gamble
Editor -- Romantically Yours
http://www.lovemarcia.com/ Tools
of the Trade Putting
Passion on Paper Passion
has been defined as having or showing strong feelings. It’s also been considered
the driver of compelling emotions. It’s a fire burning deep within your soul,
an itch that only you can scratch. It is an intensity of emotion that bubbles
up propelling you to action. At times it can be a palpable and all consuming thing,
and often the difference between putting one foot in front the other and living.
Passion can be the thing
that keeps you up at night, and if channeled right it can be the driving force
that helps you to create page turning books. It can be your reason for living,
and the difference between writing a so-so book and one that readers can’t put
down. Passion
incites and ignites thought, compelling you to write the story swirling around
in your head, enabling you to bring to it your unique voice and style. So
why are we so afraid of giving in to this unbridled emotion? Why are we conditioned
to think that exposing raw feelings makes us vulnerable? Writing is about being
open enough to sharing your feelings and making yourself vulnerable. It’s about
getting into someone else’s head and telling the story from their point of view.
It’s about engaging all the senses so that we can feel, taste, hear, see, smell,
and touch. Here is an
exercise that can help you put that passion into your writing. Take
the word Romance and write all the words that come to mind when you think of it.
Don’t censor yourself. Romance
Hot, passionate, steamy, sizzling, a soul connection, love, dreamy, special,
bond, etc. We’ll
do the same with Beach. Beach
Sunset, romance, soothing, inspiring, relaxing, hot, waves lapping, seagulls etc.
Now jot the
sights, smells, sounds, tastes and touch associated with each word. Reach deep
within yourself. Nothing is too silly or too far out there not to be considered
Let’s go with
Romance again.
When I met Marianne it was an immediate connection. I
was lost in those beautiful brown eyes. That curly, bouncy hair made me want to
thread my fingers through it and inhale the wonderful strawberry scent of her
shampoo. I can still taste the tanginess of her in my mouth. I can hear her voice
with the slight inflection way after she’s spoken and I can feel the velvet of
her skin. Can
we see Marianne? Can we hear her, touch her, taste her, and smell her? Does Marianne
exude sensuality? Is there any doubt how her lover feels about her?
Now let’s try Beach.
Sand
sifts through my toes, the salty taste is on my tongue, a soft breeze kisses the
golden hairs on my forearms. All around me is a sea of blue. I pause to scoop
up a handful of black sand. It feels like grain. Smells converge: cotton candy,
popcorn, hot dogs. I realize I am starving. The bark of a seagull gets my attention
as it dips down to feed. Does
this scene make you want to go the beach? Does it bring a memory or two back?
If you’re at a point
in your writing where your scene doesn’t feel right, or isn’t moving, why not
take the time to scribble a few words and engage the senses. Let your imagination
go wild. Go to it and
put the passion back in your writing!
Happenings:
September
20-23, 2007
National ACFW Conference
Marriott
Dallas, TX.
For
Christian Writers
http://www.acfw.com/
September 28-30, 2007
Moonlight
and Magnolias Conference
Location: Hilton Atlanta Northeast
Keynote: Linda
Howard
To register visit:
ww.georgiaromancewriters.org
October 5-6, 2007
Put A Book
In Your Heart
The Sheraton at Woodbridge Place Hotel
New Jersey
Keynote:
Karen Robards
For details: mailto:njwconfchair@yahoo.com
October 26-28,
2007
Emerald City Writers’ Conference
Bellevue Hilton
Bellevue, WA
Keynote: Jayne Ann Krentz AKA Amanda Quick
October 26-28
South Carolina
Writers Workshop Conference
Hilton Myrtle Beach Resort
Contact: Susan
Boyer, 20 Howe Street, Unit 6
Greenville, SC 29601
864 370 9262
conference@myscww.org
Marisa
Carroll is a collaboration between sisters Carol Wagner and Marian Franz. Are
you fascinated by how these creative partnerships work? I know I was curious to
find out how professional disagreements are settled. The two sisters, one an ex
nurse, the other employed by a university, have set the ambitious goal of writing
fifty books. They are also the authors of Breaking all the Rules, the fourth in
the Mediterranean series. Gain some insight into this mutually rewarding partnership
by reading the interview below. Interview
with Marisa Carroll RY:
Marisa Carroll is a
partnership. How did the writing team Marisa Carroll come about? How did you come
up with that name? MC: I
(Carol) started writing with a high school friend as a lark. We published two
books with Dell's Candlelight Ecstasy line in the early 80s. After that my friend
decided to take her career in a different direction. Marian had been our proof-reader
and typist and it seemed natural for her to move into the partnership, which she
did. Marisa is a conjunction of Marian and Lisa, her daughter's name. And Carroll
is self-explanatory, I guess. RY: What
happens when one partner disagrees with the other about the storyline or a character’s
motivations? How are disagreements settled? MC: After
this many books we have remarkably few disagreements. When we do have differing
opinions on motivation or behavior we settle it like everyone else by discussion
and compromise. RY: Did
you always feel you were destined to be writers? If not what did you do before
the writing bug bit? MC: No.
Writing came along as a challenge and neither of us ever planned to make a living
at it. It's just happened one book at a time. Marian is employed full time at
Bowling Green State University and Carol is a former nurse. RY: Tell
us about your favorite storylines? What keeps you inspired and what keeps you
going in a sometimes tough business? MC: We
love stories with small town settings and family dynamics interacting with the
emotional risks two sometimes lonely and scarred people must take to find true
happiness. We know there are thousands of women out there who want to read the
kind of stories we enjoy writing. RY: Breaking
All the Rules is a September release and the fourth in Harlequin’s Mediterranean
Series. Give us a sneak peek of this intriguing story. MC: Recently
divorced, Lola Sandler is a sports journalist. Along with her two sisters she's
given her mother a cruise aboard the luxury liner, Alexandra's Dream, as a 65th
birthday treat. Her sisters are having relationship problems of their own and
her widowed mother is turning into the ship's social butterfly. Lola can handle
all that. She's even finding romance for herself with Eric Lashman, the ship's
reclusive South African golf pro. But Eric has secrets and Lola's a reporter.
Can she break all her own rules and write a career-making expose about him? Will
her developing attraction to him force her to make a choice: write a news story
or live a love story? RY: In
terms of character development, how do you flesh out your characters before sitting
down to write? Do you let them develop as you go along? MC: We
have a very good idea of how our characters will behave in a book, but they sometimes
surprise us and we find the book going in a slightly different direction than
we'd planned, but always returning to a happy-ever after-ending. RY: On
that same note would you describe yourself as a seat of the pants writer, or does
every scene have to be meticulously planned out? MC: We
usually work from a detailed synopsis but we do allow ourselves to let our characters
have their heads in scenes--within reason. :) RY: Do
you have a website? What do you do to promote yourselves? MC: We
don't have a website. We've come to the realization that while many authors can
spend time on promotions, blogs and websites we need to concentrate on our writing.
RY: How
about fun? Are their activities you recommend to help spark creativity? MC: We
have many and varied interests. We spend a lot of time just talking over ideas--when
we don't have grandchildren visiting or we aren't busy with our other business
partnership, a Long-arm, custom quilting business that we started last year. RY: I
read somewhere that you also write historicals. I admire your versatility. What
kind of mindset do you need to be in to move back and forth between contemporary
life and that of yesteryear? Is it a quick switch off? MC: I'm
afraid that information is incorrect. Marian and I are both history and genealogy
buffs but we've never written a historical romance. We have great respect for
authors who can move between genres and time periods in this way, but we don't
number ourselves among them. RY: Many
authors subscribe to not putting all of their eggs in one basket. Have you always
written for Harlequin, or do you write for other publishers as well? MC: We've
published exclusively with Harlequin since 1983. RY: Finally,
tell us about your publishing goal? Fifty books seems a mighty tall order. What’s
the plan to get you there? MC: To
just keep creating strong love stories with believable characters that editors
want to buy and publish.
Did you know? Misssnark.blogspot.com provides a hilarious take
on the publishing world. Miss Nark is an anonymous agent answering readers’ questions.
Harlequin will publish
nonfiction books next fall, focusing on self-help, relationships, health, diet
and fitness, memoir, biography and inspirational. This could very well open up
new writing opportunities for you. *
ABOUT Marcia’s ROMANTICALLY YOURS * Romantically
Yours is a FREE monthly newsletter. I would love to hear from you. Please send
comments, news, research, or story ideas directly to Marcia King-Gamble at mkinggambl@aol.com. | 
