All About the Writing

Taking a Chance on a New Author

It's thrilling when someone who doesn't know me decides to give my books a try.

Everyone's reading time is limited, and thus extremely valuable, so we all want to make sure we can sink into a book and enjoy every minute of that story.

I think many of us do what Alex Sokoloff described in her post, The Central Action of a Story, on the Murderati blog.

Ms. Sokoloff says she does a "read-and-discard" to find a book she wants to finish reading. If she likes the first couple of chapters, she needs to know where the plot is headed if she's going to keep reading.

She says, "So much of storytelling is about you, the author, reassuring your reader or audience that you know what you’re doing, so they can relax and let you drive."

This requires a certain amount of trust between the author and the reader. If it's an author I've read before, we've already established a relationship of sorts, so there's a fairly high amount of trust involved. This means I can lean the seat back, and even unbuckle the seat belt, knowing we'll get where we're supposed to, and I'll be happy with her driving skills along the way.

With an author that I'm reading for the first time, it's a bit like taking a ride with someone who's just gotten their learner's permit. I'm debating if I really want to do this, nervously trying to figure out whether to take that leap of faith.

I typically make up my mind after reading the back cover, the first line, and maybe even the first couple of pages. Even after going through this pre-drive checklist, I've still been disappointed on occasion, but so far there haven't been any fiery crashes, although a wheel has flown off once in a while.

Still, the author is promising a certain kind of story in those first few chapters, and the reader has certain expectations, which hopefully are going to be met during what is essentially a cross-country road trip.

How often have you seen this movie blurb: "Joe Schmo is a car thief/cat burglar/petty shoplifter who is ready to retire, but he is pulled into ONE. LAST. SCORE."

Yeah, it's been done about a zillion times, but you never hear anybody say, "I've already seen that. I don't want to see it again." Moviegoers like that scenario, so you'll see it get made a zillion times more.

There is a certain expectation of where that plot will go, based on implicit promises made at the beginning, even if the viewer can't predict what will happen during the heist. But if all of a sudden zombies jumped out and devoured the protagonist's brains while he's cracking open a safe. . . well, the writer has pretty much lost their driving license, right?

Whenever I read a review of a book that has gotten a low ranking, it's generally because the reader feels it didn't live up to their expectations. This could be because of misleading back cover copy, or from a plot thread that was left dangling or even unexplored. Readers like to be surprised, but not in a way that makes them feel foolish, or angry, for agreeing to let you drive them around in circles without a map for hours on end.

I highly recommend you read Ms. Sokoloff's entire post. She has really great information on having a PLAN that readers can, and will, follow during your thrilling car race of a story.

Next thing you know, you'll be on readers' auto-buy list. I'm hoping to be on that list one day too.

What makes you decide to read a new author? What makes you put someone on your auto-buy list?

The Worryland Express

Writers are blessed with hyperactive imaginations.

It is an incredible gift, one that allows readers to dive into our words and immerse themselves in the world we created.

Yet that exact same imagination can sometimes feel like a curse.

Other writers understand this, because we're constantly talking each other off the ledge, all because we have the ability to twist a harmless everyday scenario into something of catastrophic proportions. With record speed. And multiple horrendous outcomes.

It's great that we can use this skill in our writing. To be honest, there isn't a lucrative career path for professional worriers. Raise your hand if you saw a table for that particular job at the latest career fair.

And worrying isn't exactly the most lauded of accomplishments. If it was, we would be called "Worry Wonders". Instead, we're labeled "Worry WARTS". Yeesh.

We're always analyzing, even if we don't mean to. Our brain takes all kinds of detours, preferring the dark corners and crooked paths to the easy, straight-and-narrow one.

For instance, this post was supposed to be something else. I was in the kitchen, checking on the bread pudding in the oven. I was pondering how I'm not a cook, but I really like cookbooks, and I decided to write a post about that.

But somehow my mind meandered into Worryland. You think you're headed for Wonderville, but it's the neighboring town, and the borderline is not clearly delineated. One minute I'm wondering if the oven thermometer is actually set correctly, displaying the right temperature, and the next I'm worrying what will happen if the eggs aren't cooked enough, because I could possibly get sick from undercooked eggs, but if I keep baking it, the bread will get too hard, or burnt, and. . .

The good thing is I got a blog post out of it, a completely unexpected one.

I'm not complaining about the way my writer brain works. Now that I understand how it operates, I actually appreciate its wandering eye and packrat tendencies. It's like Evanelle, the character in Sarah Addison Allen's wonderful book, Garden Spells, who brings people something they'll need down the road. She doesn't know WHY they need it, or WHEN, but she's compelled to bring some oddball thing to them, and of course it's always the perfect solution to their situation later.

My brain does that too. I'm frowning and cogitating and huffing and puffing, fretting over which direction a scene should go, and poof! A great idea bursts open in my brain, and there in the midst of all the smoke and hoopla is just what I needed, something my brain collected and stored while I was busy doing something else.

It may be impossible to determine which came first, the worrying or the writing. They're interconnected, intertwined, evil twins from separate demon mothers. The best part is that writing is a sanctioned form of worrying, and it gives us a chance to wrestle with things that concern or puzzle us, all while we're producing an unputdownable story.

And then we can start worrying about the next story.

Six Sentence Sunday Part 3: I Do. . .or Die

Thanks to everyone who read and commented on the previous two Six Sentence Sunday snippets from I Do. . .or Die. The first one can be found here, and the second one is here.

Here's the next bit, which happens right after gunshots ring out during the marriage ceremony. Hope you enjoy!

"Sonofabitch!" I tossed the bouquet over my shoulder, as I'd seen Alexa do millions of times, and darted towards my best friend, knocking her to the floor to prevent any further harm.

I looked up and saw the minister cowering under a pew, tugging at the tulle swag that moments ago had been decoration, not flimsy protection against wayward bullets. My heart pounded while my brain struggled with two wildly different thoughts.

One, the blood spurting from Alexa's shoulder ensured I would never have to wear this peach-yogurt-colored dress again.

And two, who could possibly hate weddings more than I did?

Lucky Seven for Me

This is a fun thing going around the writer community this week. You open up your manuscript to page 77, and after you find line 7, you post the following seven sentences. (That is a heckuva lot of "s" words. I'm not even going to try to say that sentence out loud.)

I was tagged by Serena Bell and Raine Patton to be a part of this, so I want to thank them for including me.

This is from my romantic comedy, I Do. . .or Die, featuring my heroine Shelby, who has been starring in the Six Sentence Sunday snippets (even more "s" words!). She is a commitment-phobe who keeps getting talked into being her best friend's bridesmaid, and at the latest wedding, she was shot at.

Shelby is gunshy, in so many ways, and for so many good reasons. She's trying to fight off her attraction to Ryan, the detective who is also her bodyguard, while they try to find the shooter. In this scene, it looks like they might have found another gunman who has just taken a shot at her:

I lowered the gun to my side, as naturally as if I’d done it all my life. My brain struggled to find answers that would fit all the questions this situation brought up. Why would a gas company employee want to mow me down? I hadn't paid my bill late, at least not last month.

I just couldn't see the gas company sending out assassins as a collection strategy.

"You're so lucky I didn't shoot you," I said, and my legs trembled at the thought.

"That's why I took the clip out first," Ryan said.

So there you are. If you'd like to post your own Lucky 7 sentences, you can do it on your blog, and leave a link in the comments here. Or if you don't have a blog, feel free to leave your sentences in the comments instead.

I'm looking forward to your Lucky Seven!

Finding Me on Facebook

I am on Facebook now.

Technically I joined in January, but I managed to do it slightly backwards. All I wanted was a Page, not a Personal Timeline. So I created an Author Page, with the hopes of interacting with other writers and readers, and then found out I have to have a Personal Timeline in order to "like" other Pages.

This all sounds like another language, doesn't it? Which is probably why it took me a while to figure out why I'd done things the wrong way initially.

I'm trying to get used to being on Facebook, which is why today's Monday Mojo post didn't get done earlier. But if you'd like to see my fledging little outpost, this is the link that should get you there: http://www.facebook.com/Donna.Cummings.Author

I'm looking forward to staying connected with people who love Facebook. After that, who knows where I'll be? It feels like I'm everywhere lately. I might bump into myself someplace I'm not expecting to see me.

But since Twitter will always be my first love, you know you can find me there.

Another Six Sentence Sunday: I Do. . .or Die

I posted last week about Shelby, the perennial bridesmaid with commitment issues, who encounters gunfire at the latest wedding she's part of.

Her best friend Alexa is as devoted to marriage as Shelby is leery of it. Still, Shelby's agreed to be part of Alexa's latest wedding. . .

In the end, I gave up trying to make Alexa see the multiple incredible benefits to staying single. I’ll probably be her bridesmaid when we're bunkmates in the nursing home, although by then I’ll be adjusting the tapes of her adult diaper, rather than the tiers of her lace-edged wedding veil.

I agreed to be her maid of honor—just this one last time.

Of course, I didn’t realize when I made the promise this would be Alexa’s final chance to stand at the altar.

Reverend Deering asked Alexa to repeat after him the vows she most likely had memorized many ceremonies ago. I had heard them often enough that I could have stepped in to recite the words if either of them were prevented from completing their duties.

Thank You For Reading

There are a lot of differing opinions about whether a writer should acknowledge the reviews they receive.

Some readers feel like it has a chilling effect on open discussion about a book if they know the author is reading their comments, or waiting in the wings to say something.

Others feel it is rude of the author to NOT comment.

It is difficult to know what to do. No writer wants to alienate readers. Nor do they want to ignore bloggers and reviewers.

It's hard for me to not thank someone, so I typically send reviewers a private email, and let them know how much I appreciate their review. I've received some wonderful ones lately, and it truly makes my day to see bloggers describing what they liked about my book, as well as the areas where they had hoped things might have been done a little differently.

I also click on the "like" button for the reviews of my books when they are posted on Goodreads. It's an easy, non-intrusive way to let the reader know I appreciate their review. If I ever conquer Facebook, I'm sure I'll do some "liking" there as well.

I've recently added a page on my blog where I have links to all of the book blog reviews.

Still, it doesn't seem like enough to me.

I know how challenging it is to get enough reading time in to the daily schedule. (Oh boy, do I know that challenge.) I also know that when a person's hobby becomes more like a job, it can squeeze the fun out of the whole process. (Been there, done that, wrote the book.)

I'm also in awe of reviewers' ability to write such a great synopsis of my story. I wish I could hire all of them to write my next synopsis, before I tackle the book.

So I want to say a public thank you here to everyone who reads me, whether it's my books, my blog posts, my guest posts, or even my tweets. It means a lot, not only that you take the time to fit my words into your reading schedule, but that you also reply and comment and review and express your thoughts in response to mine.

I still haven't decided what to do yet about commenting publicly on bloggers' reviews, so this is where your thoughts would be very helpful.

What goes through your mind when you see an author replying--or not replying--on a review of their work?

Lunar Love Giveaway Winner

Thanks to everyone who stopped by from the Lunar Love Blog Hop, and thanks to those who entered the contest by leaving a comment. It was wonderful to see so many people, and to hear such nice things about Lord Midnight.

The winner of the e-book is Lisa. Congrats!

March Madness and Lord Midnight

I'm guest blogging today at Elise Rome's 2nd Annual March Madness celebration. She's added a category this year for indie writers, in addition to historical, contemporary, and paranormal authors, so I'm chatting there about Lord Midnight, and our favorite kinds of heroes.

So stop by and leave a comment. I'm giving away one e-copy of Lord Midnight AND one e-copy of Summer Lovin'. Twice the e-book goodness!

Six Sentence Sunday: I Do. . .or Die

This is my first time participating in Six Sentence Sunday, where writers post six sentences from one of their stories.

I have included the first sentences from my romantic comedy, I Do. . .or Die, which stars Shelby Atwood, a woman who has commitment issues. Or as Shelby likes to say, she has had colds that lasted longer than her relationships.

Hope you enjoy.

You just don't expect to see gunfire at a wedding.

I know, because I've been in a lot of weddings, despite my well-known aversion to them. "Always a bridesmaid, never a bride" is not just a cautionary adage. It's my personal credo.

Having a gigolo for a father might have contributed something to that philosophy. Who really knows for sure?