Plot Monkeys

As you all know, I’m good friends with the amazing writer, Diana Peterfreund, who has guest blogged at Plotmonkeys before. The first two books of her Secret Society Girl novels, SECRET SOCIETY GIRL and UNDER THE ROSE are in bookstores now.

If you don’t know this, Diana herself has a very successful blog at Diana’s Diversions. She covers just about any topic under the sun–whatever interests her at the moment–but she sometimes talks about the writing business and writing craft. Honestly, I think all new writers should check the blog out regularly. There’s a lot to learn there!

I asked Diana if I could copy one of her blogs for re-run here, in case some of the Plotmonkey aspiring writers who come here on Saturday could be exposed to her brilliance. She agreed!

This is a post she made last month…Read on!
—————-
“Protect the Work”
I’ve been thinking a lot about this advice recently. It’s a favorite in my writing circles. Bad review making you question your skills as a storyteller? “Protect the work.” A lot of outside commitments eating into your writing time? “Protect the work.” Industry changes or news getting you down? “Protect the work.” (I think it’s Susan Elizabeth Philips’s mantra, but I may be wrong about that.)

Like all advice, it’s easier said than done. And like a lot of advice, it’s possible to convince yourself that you’re following it when there is nothing further from the truth.

What does it really mean? “Protect the work?”

It means ignoring bad reviews. Just because someone didn’t like a particular aspect of your book doesn’t mean you did it poorly. Nor does it mean it’s your job to fix that aspect. It’s their problem. I read on a blog the other day about a speech that writer James Rollins gave at Thrillerfest (pardon the hearsay, but the lesson is there, even in parable form): “He’d read the reviews for his first book and noticed that many of them commented on lack of characterization. So he was trying to work on the characterization. He submitted the manuscript to the editor, who saw some of the characterization attempts and asked him what he was doing. He told her, and she said that his great strength was making a book a page turner and to stop worrying about what the reviewers were finding wrong.” That’s protecting the work. Do what you do best. What one person hates about your work will be another person’s favorite part. Don’t try to be all things to all people, or you won’t please anyone.

It means finding a way around the industry “rules.” Ignore the rules, if that works for you. Or use them to your advantage. Or find a way to bend them to your will. But realize that the work comes first. What do you write? What do you write well? Those should be your first questions. After that should come the question of what the industry wants and how best to give it to them. You may not have an answer to that question. That’s okay. Because it’s more important to write something you love that the industry doesn’t know it wants yet, than to write something you don’t love — because, trust me, the industry won’t want that. They can smell it, and they stay away. Protect the work by putting it first, and then finding a way to bend it to the industry’s needs second. This is the best article I’ve ever read on the subject. It’s what the “branding” folks are always going on about. Find out what really speaks to you about your work. Chances are, you’ll find a way to fit it into the industry’s flavor-of-the-month.
It means taking the tough route for the sake of the book. Even if it means waiting a little while, or turning down a chance to do those revisions because it would mean turning your book into something you don’t want it to be. Not taking the contract because it would put your work in the hands of someone who doesn’t deserve to have it. Sticking it under the bed until you have the ability to do the premise justice. Take heart. You aren’t the first writer to do this, and you won’t be the last.

It means a dozen flavors of these things, but they all boil down to the same point:
PUT THE WRITING FIRST

Don’t write to market. Don’t write to sell. Don’t rush. Don’t sell yourself short. Don’t skimp on something that needs to be in a story because some reader blog has decided they hate this aspect. Don’t pay attention to reviewers who talk about how disappointed they’ll be if you decide to take your series in one direction. Don’t listen to an agent who says such-and-such is dead. Don’t listen to an editor who tells you you’ll never make it. Don’t listen to a critique group who tells you you “can’t” have XYZ in a story or it will never sell.

They are lying. They are all lying because if you put what you want in your story, if you put in your story what it needs, if you dig deep and write honestly and make it work, then you’ll find that it does — that people who claimed they’d “never” like XYZ in fact do, that a market that didn’t seem open to ABC in fact is, and that those reviewers/readers/agents/editors will actually surprise themselves.

I’ve been in several conversations with several writers over the past few days and all are questioning their careers, the state of the industry, the words of critics, their future steps. And as I’ve listened and responded and tried my best to give advice, I keep hearing the same words over and over again in the back of my head. Protect the work. Protect what makes your writing your writing. Does that mean not signing the contract? Not making the revisions? Not going online? Does it mean regrouping? Retracing? Starting over? Accepting a setback? Well, no one said this would be easy.

Protect the work means to be honest about what you are writing. Be honest with yourself, with your audience, and with your story. Everything else comes later. Protect the work.

(Yes, this was another self-slap.)
—————————–
Julie again. Just want to point out to our newest writers that protecting the work is a habit you should make early on. The first person you have to protect the work from is yourself. If you want to write–if the dream is in you, then give the dream its due. Write. Carve out time for yourself. Don’t let other obligations or responsibilities take you away from pursuing that dream. How do you know if you’ll be successful until you try?!

If you have questions, feel free to ask. Diana promised to try and stop by and answer and I’ll do the same. Hopefully, the other Plotmonkeys might have something to add as well!

Everyone who posted last Friday mentioned how much they LOVE ARC’s …
Advanced Reading Copies of a book before it hits the shelves …
Everyone also mentioned how much how much they LOVE series …
AND back to basics, EVERYONE loves chocolate

So guess what? I’m giving you a chance to win ALL of the above!
1. a signed ARC of SEALED WITH A KISS - Hunter and Molly’s story in stores SEPTEMBER 25th
and
2. a signed copy of CROSS MY HEART
3. a bag of milk chocolate Hershey’s Kisses

You know the drill! Just comment for a chance to win!
HAPPY FRIDAY!

Only a few more weeks until Joel and BORN TO BE WILDE makes it way into bookstores! Or, you can already pre-order a copy at Amazon.com! I’m getting so excited! The reviews for this story are coming in, and they’re very positive. A few people have said this is my best Wilde book yet, and I’m hoping you all agree when you get the chance to read it!

So, if you all are done passing Joel around and having your way with him since his last visit here, (he does look a little worn out in that picture, doesn’t he? ) I think it’s time that he return home so he can rest and recooperate for Lora.

And now, for some FUN STUFF! For the release of BORN TO BE WILDE, I had some gorgeous, full-color, glossy promotional items made up: a bookmark, tri-fold flyer, magnet, and a beautiful bookplate that I will personally autograph, so you can peel and stick it inside your copy of BORN TO BE WILDE when it arrives in bookstores! It’s the closest you can get to having your own signed copy of the book!

Would you like your own set of goodies? All you have to do is send me a self-addressed stamped envelope to the address below (regular business sized envelope of 9″ long x 4″ high, and 1 stamp on the SASE envelope), and you’ll receive your own personal set of promotional items in return!

Janelle Denison
Plotmonkey Fun Stuff Freebies
P.O. Box 1102
Rialto, CA 92377

And now, more fun stuff! As most of you know, Jeannie got a new Yorkie, Zoey, and she sent me a picture of her ADORABLE new puppy to share with you all! She’s 11 weeks old and not quite 2 lbs! Isn’t she just the cutest thing?

Nope, not a typo.

This blog is inspired by the Charm’s Blowpop. Sour Apple. I have one in my mouth right now. I’ve been sucking on these suckers for about a week now. They are, after all, fat free. I picked on up at Nationals…someone had used them for promo…sorry that I can’t tell you who because I ripped the little label off before I unwrapped it, but the flavors instantly transported me back to my childhood.

It’s funny how we all have our favorite candies from childhood. My sister in law loves Milk Duds. Before her diet, she would steal them all out of the kid’s bags at Halloween. Me, I’m going after the $100,000 bars. And don’t get between me and my Hot Tamales.

Not that I have a horrible sweet tooth, but sometimes, it’s about the memories more than about the candies themselves. To say I was raised in a strict household is a huge understatement. We lived in a mostly hispanic/Italian neighborhood, next door to my grandmother’s house. My grandmother lived with one part of her house on a relatively busy road. Behind her was a gas station that my grandfather owned at some point before I was born, but was now owned and operated by some cousin of his that we didn’t talk to. (No, I have no idea why.) Anyway, catty-corner from the gas station was a Little General Store. Did you have Little Generals? It was like a 7-11, only with no gas (which, clearly, was across the street.)

My grandmother used to let my best friend, Denise, and I cross the busy intersection to go the Little General to get banana slushies.

Did you ever have banana slushies? They serve them now at 7-11. They aren’t quite the same.

I think it was the freedom. The fact that my Nanie stood on her porch and watched us walk, watched us cross and timed our stay inside the store, didn’t matter. We were free! Our pockets filled with nickels so we could load up on a big slushie and pick up a pack of Adam’s Sour Orange gum (my favorite!) or those really, really long Pixie Sticks (Denise’s favorite.) No one cared about sugar rushes. No one cared about empty calories. There was mild concern about tooth decay, but we brushed, so hey, no biggie.

When we were at Denise’s grandmother’s house (she lived six blocks away from the big intersection) we did our sweet’s shopping at a bodega smack down in the middle of our neighborhood. Right down her street. We didn’t call it a bodega, but that’s what it was–a small, hispanic-run store that sold bread, milk, some produce, fabulous deli sandwiches, deviled crabs and other latin delicacies…and candy. We called it the corner store. I’m quite certain the proprietors spoke no English, but Denise was bi-lingual, so it wasn’t a problem. We’d still spend our nickels on our favorite sweets while picking up a gallon of milk for her Nene. We were all of 10 years old.

The idea of me letting my daughter walk out of my SIGHT beyond the circle of our cul-de-sac gives me nightmares. It was a different world, then, I guess…but damn, it doesn’t seem like that long ago. And as much as I love my neighborhood now, there isn’t a store anywhere near that the kids can go to to get candy. I think now that’s a shame.

To think this whole blog started with a Blow Pop.

Which, by the way, makes me miss those big, flat lollipops that Charms used to make–the sweet and sour ones. Talk about addictions.

Anyone else like dipping their lollipops in really cold water before sucking on them, or is that just a Florida thing?

So…what were your favorite childhood indulgences? What sweet is it hard to pass up when you see it now, just because it reminds you of days gone by?

Happy Birthday, today, to my Dad. He likes nonpareils. The chocolate ones. And a Hershey’s Candybar with Almonds. The big thick ones you have to break the chunks off of!

It’s been awhile since I’ve updated you all on the furry ones in the family, so here we go: (please read to the end because I have an unrelated question I need some help with at the bottom of this post!)

BUDDY

Buddy had surgery (again) and (again) it was to remove a growth, but they think it’s benign. I, personally, am glad it’s out. It was getting bigger and I was worried about him. No cone this time. If he turns around, he can’t reach the stitches with his mouth. That’s the good news. The bad news? He can scratch the itch with his foot.

So what does the vet suggest? That we put a man’s shirt over his head and tie it – seventies style.

Do you have any idea what this did to my poor boy’s ego? Not to mention the fact that his front paw kept getting stuck in the armhole. They also suggest a sock over his back paw. Do you think that lasted long before he pulled it off? It was difficult enough getting the sock on without Bailey getting into the act, wanting to play tug of war with the sock.

Not to worry though. I’m a good mommy. I went out and bought my boy his very own doggie shirt so he can be comfortable, safe and stylish while he heals.

The amazing thing is that Bailey seems to sense, as my youngest daughter said, that Buddy’s red shirt isn’t just so he’ll look good for the ladies. She isn’t jumping on him or causing him trouble. She just loves him.

SPEAKING OF BAILEY …
She’s training … and she isn’t. 98% of the time she doesn’t pee or poop in the crate. She holds both overnight from 9:00 PM – 5:45 AM. Then she holds it until I let her out for breakfast at 7:40 AM. She eats, then she pees and she poops. Then she has some out time to play then back in the crate. I’ll let her out a few more times in the morning/mid afternoon and only sometimes will she poop, but then around 2 PM she poops again. At 4 PM, she has dinner, she goes out to pee and poop; and then she has some more out time. The back in the crate. Then she goes out again an hour or so later and only sometimes will she poop. (Last night she ate at 4 PM and pooped after; we went out at 5 and she peed only right before we left) came home at 9 PM and she’d pooped IN the crate). She gets her last walk around 9 or 9:30 PM and she’ll usually pee and poop. Then we’re good until morning.

This works if she gets NO real freedom. In other words, if her play time she’s on a leash and the leash is hooked to the leg of a chair. She’ll play and be good. But if we put gates up in the kitchen, so she can have confined “real out play time”, she will immediately find a place to poop as soon as I blink. Seriously.

Nobody can be as routinized as I am with this puppy and yet … nada. She’s 21 weeks old exactly. Here she is with her favorite toy squirrel - we call it her “Squirrelly- face”

I’m frustrated but I’m determined to house break her! (I took her to the vet yesterday and she said that though Bailey is five months old, she isn’t maturing all that quickly, so maybe that’s why she isn’t “getting” the housebreaking yet. And that if she stays this way in a month, they’ll put off spaying her for a little while longer. So perhaps there’s a reason - which makes it easier to deal with. And when I mentioned all this to her breeder, she said her mother matured more slowly too. Interesting stuff.)

Why do pets make us willing to put up with anything? This one has me wrapped around her finger.

With this face is it any wonder why?
****
I’m going on vacation on Sunday … can you all recommend LIGHT romance for me to read?????

I have a very shameful secret: I am an end reader. Did you know that about me?

I know, I know, as a writer I should be absolutely ashamed of myself. But I can’t help it. Even though I am a very fast reader, I simply cannot make it through a book without reading the end. I think it’s because I am always “solving” plots and am therefore very anxious to see if I’m right in my suppositions about what’s going to happen with the story.

I’m a pain in the butt to watch movies with (ask Bruce or my kids!) because I’m always speculating on what’s really going on.

Anyway, there was a reason I brought this up today. You see, because I am an end reader, I have almost NO patience with waiting for the whole story. I remember when Stephen King released The Green Mile in six monthly (or was it bi-weekly?) segments. I absolutely went crazy waiting for the next segment and would be racing off to the store on release day to gobble up the next installment. I remember telling myself at the time that I should never have started the first section until after all six had been released so I could read them one after the other. But it was too late…I was hooked from the start and had to wait like everyone else.

I did not make the same mistake with the Harry Potter books.

My family–Bruce and the girls–have been Potter fanatics for years.
They were always in line at the bookstore at midnight on release day and nearly chewed their lips off waiting between installments.

I never read a word.

Oh, I saw the movies–for some reason, movies don’t affect me quite the way books do. So I kept up on the movies and was just fine waiting a couple of years between each. There was never any mania to know NOW what was going on with Harry’s epic
struggle against you-know-whoo.

I told myself, and them, that it was because it was “their” thing. Something special that the kids shared with their Dad, that I wasn’t a part of. And you know, in some ways, that’s very true. I like that they had something special just with him.

But I also know myself well enough to know it would drive me utterly INSANE to be reading the books like the rest of the world, in bits and pieces, waiting years between each. So I have been telling them that when the 7th book came out, I’d read them all right in a row.

I meant it. The last book came out, I lined up alllllll seven volumes, prepared to pluck them off one-by-one.

I’m sure you can guess where I started.

Ahem…go back to sentence # 1 and you’ll get it.

Yes I read the end first. Felt satisfied with the way it all came out–satisfied enough to give over my time and energy to wading through all the books, THEN I started book 1.

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the journey. I’m now in the middle of book 6…and this is the first one that’s completely new to me. Haven’t read it, haven’t seen a corresponding movie, so it’s very fresh. Yes, I know how it ends (duh!) Even if I didn’t read it, I won’t soon forget the sobs and whimpers of my daughters when they read the book and told me who dies in this one.

Still, knowing that I am okay with the ending is making the trip through the stories thoroughly enjoyable. And maybe this time when I read book 7–after reading all those that came before it–I’ll catch new things, nuances, themes, etc., that I didn’t notice before. Or maybe not…maybe I’ll just like it again. Either way is okay with me…I’ve enjoyed the ride, because I already know I like the destination.

How about you? Any other end readers–or even just “end knowers”– out there? (By end knowers: when my hubby told me how the original movie “The Wicker Man” ended, I HAD to know if the remake with Nicolas Cage ended the same way before I would even think about watching it. So I researched, checked out IMDB…and then managed to sit through bits & pieces of the movie. It still ticked me off…but not as much as it would have if I hadn’t known how it ended!)

So come on, fess up…am I the only complete cheat in the room?

PS: I suppose I’m J.K. Rowling’s worst nightmare. I hear she hates end readers. Sorry…what can I say? I’m a weakling!

TYNE! Message # 36. Sounds like you really had a good weekend and I’m thrilled to think this just made it even better.

Drop me a note at author@lesliekelly.com with your snail mail addy and I will get your books out to you asap.

CONGRATS!

Now, just for grins…(and because I’m kinda warped…

In keeping with Saturday’s theme of writing related business - here is a question JODIE asked: What are the pros and cons for starting out writing category or single title?

CP: I had corresponded with Jodie and my take on this initially was: write what you love instead of writing to market. If you love reading category, write it. There is no better place to hone your craft than to have to write a story within the confines of a set number of pages. BUT if you are writing category because you think it’s an easy in to sell, don’t do it. Sure you might not need an agent to sell category, but editors can sense someone who isn’t in it for the love of category romance. The same with single title. It’s equally challenging to write a long single title and sustain a story, not have a sagging middle, etc. It all comes down to writing what you want to write.

JD: I think, for me, writing category romance (Harlequin) before taking the leap to single title was a huge help. With category, I learned how to really construct a story and develop plot — in smaller, baby steps kind of way. Plot has never been one of my strong suits — I’m more of a character writer –and writing single titles require so much more plot development than a shorter category. So, category was the perfect stepping stone to writing single titles and enabled me to take the time to learn how to plan and develop a bigger plot. I think if I had started out writing single titles FIRST, I’m pretty sure I would have spent many years struggling to plot out 400 pages of a story, and do it successfully. Writing category gave me the tools to be able to do that in a clear, concise way. But, as Carly said above, it does come down to writing what you want to write — this is just my personal experience!

JL: I agree with Carly when she said you have to love category. That’s because you have to read it to understand it. Really read it. I know authors who have sold one or two books in category and then can’t do anymore and most of the time, it’s because they really don’t understand the line they are writing for–and by not understanding the line, they don’t understand reader expectations. Category is a wonderful thing. It’s a romance novel just like single title…with great characters, great plot, great everything…but in a shorter, concentrated form and with a particular theme. The pros of writing category first is that you have built-in distribution for your books and automatic publisher support. In single title, each book is sold in to the stores individually and Borders, let’s say, might take a small order on a brand new author with no track record. Category is sold in as a group, so it doesn’t matter if you’re new, you get the same support as all the authors in the line. Category guarantees pretty darned good distribution, depending on the line. There’s more…but bottom line is you have to love category. If you don’t, you won’t succeed–at least, not in the long run.

LK: Sorry for not being here early…totally forgot to check and I’ve been busy celebrating my m-i-l’s departure all morning. I don’t have much to add to what the others have all said. I started writing category because I loved to read it…just like everyone has said. You can’t just decide to write “one of those little books” because you think it’s easy–I know people who’ve done that and who are shocked when they can’t sell. An editor can spot someone who doesn’t know/like/respect her genre.

Well I’m counting down the weeks until the release of my next Harlequin Blaze, which will be the last “full-length” story in the Santoris of Chicago saga. And I’m sad. Very sad. Leaving this family behind is SO tough! (That’s why I cheated and extended it a little by basing my January Blaze, ONE WILD WEDDING NIGHT, around the family, even though only one short novella actually inclues a Santori couple!)

Anyway, the Santoris are super special to me and I thought I’d use this week’s Jungle Madness Friday to introduce them to one of our Plotmonkeys visitors. So this week’s winner will receive the entire Santori family series, including the not-yet-released OVEREXPOSED (coming next month from Blaze… AND a home-made ARC of ONE WILD WEDDING NIGHT, my January Blaze, which hasn’t even gone out to reviewers yet! (I have never given away a copy of a book this early but I figure it’s only fair to include the whole series for somebody.)

As a bonus…there’s a pretty big continuity error in the series, specifically involving the family. After the winner reads the books, he/she can write to me and tell me the error. If they find it, they’ll get a fun tin of Italian Pizelle cookies! (And I’ll even tell the winner the “secret” about why the “error” happened!)

You know what to do…just leave a comment and you’re entered.

PS: OVEREXPOSED is the cannoli book. And ONE WILD WEDDING NIGHT is the threesome book.

Just so you’re warned…

A few weeks ago I did a blog on the Food Network channel, and it sparked an idea for this blog. :idea: A lot of you posted on that Food Network blog about how much you love to cook, and others, like me, posted about how we hate to cook. So, I thought it would be fun to do a “potluck” recipe swap, and share with each other some of our personal favorite recipes! The only request I’m going to make is that the recipe has to be quick and fairly easy to put together (nothing gourmet, because we want the ones who hate to cook to WANT to cook your recipe!). You can post a recipe for a dessert, a main dish, a side dish, appetizer, soup, or whatever else you’d like. And feel free to post more than recipe if you’d like!

Phyllis – if you’re reading this today, you mentioned a “pecan crusted salmon with spinach sauce” during that Food Network blog, and I’d LOVE to have that recipe! I love salmon and spinach I’m always trying to find ways to spruce it up.

So, for our potluck Thursday, I’ll be bringing a Tater Tot Casserole. This is a quick and super-easy meat and potatoes casserole, and it’s a big hit with the kids, too!

TATER TOT CASSEROLE

1 lb. Lean Ground Beef
16 oz. Bag of Tater Tots
2 Cups Grated Cheddar Cheese
1 Can Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 Cup Sour Cream
1 Small Can French Fried Onions (option, but gives it great flavor!)

Cook ground beef, drain, and place into a non-stick casserole dish. Mix together the cream of mushroom soup and sour cream, and pour over the ground beef. Sprinkle grated cheese on top of that, followed by the french fried onions. Lastly, place tater tots over entire dish and cook/bake in oven for 25-30 minutes (or until tater tots are crispy) at 350 degrees.

So, what would you like to bring to our potluck today?