Welcome to my writers' page. Here, you will find interviews, articles on the writer's life, craft and the romance publishing industry and don't forget to check out the Links page for useful links for aspiring writers. I am always happy to chat about the craft of writing so don't hesitate to contact me via my contact page if you have a burning question you'd like answered.
Go to...
- FAQs
- 5 minutes with... Christine Wells – an interview with RWAustralia
- Writing the Emotional Body Blow
- Romance Writing Contests – One Path to Publication – article
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do you get your ideas?
This is a question writers are frequently asked, and often find the most difficult to
answer. My novels tend to grow from snippets of interesting detail I find in the course
of my research. Other times, I find a particular character or type of romantic
relationship interesting and wish to explore it in my own way. You can read how I came
up with the premise for SCANDAL'S DAUGHTER on the Books
page.
How do I get published?
There is no easy answer to this question (it will be a topic for a future article on
getting your romance published) but one thing is for certain – you need to write!
No one gets a book published by wishing. It takes hard work.
And for any type of fiction, but particularly commercial fiction, you need to be aware of what the market wants. That means reading a lot, especially the new releases of new authors in your genre to see what publishers are buying. While it is possible to write a book so brilliant it sets its own trend, unfortunately this does not happen very often.
Learn your craft and research your market, then submit your work. That's how to get published.
How did you get published?
Ah! Now you've caught me. I did all of the above, but I had an added boost –
contests. Many chapters of the
Romance Writers of America
run contests with acquiring editors and agents judging the finals. My first novel,
SCANDAL'S DAUGHTER, made it to a few of these
finals, including the prestigious
Golden Heart
award for unpublished writers. Two editors who wanted to buy SCANDAL'S DAUGHTER had
requested the full manuscript as a result of the final. One of them made an offer, I
then brought a literary agent on board and she negotiated the final deal with Berkley.
However, I did learn my craft (five years' apprenticeship) and research the market before I sold. SCANDAL'S DAUGHTER was my third completed manuscript.
Five Minutes With...
An interview for Heart's Talk, the Romance Writers of Australia magazine
Are you a pantser or a plotter? How does this help you write?
I'm a pantser. I've tried hard not to be, but I get bored with the story if I plan it
in too much detail. I generally know the hook or premise and some of the highlights
further into the book, but I don't know how or if I'll get to those highlights. I never
know my characters until they're on the page, no matter how much I try to do character
outlines and so forth. All that goes out the window when I start to write anyway, so
I've learnt not to waste time doing them. I think, like anything else, characters and
their arcs can be tweaked at the editing stage. Some of my characters are clear in my
head so they need very little tweaking. They seem to know what they're doing without
my help! Other times, it becomes clear later in the book exactly what that person's
problem is, how it's manifested by their actions and reactions, and how I can heighten
those aspects and develop the character as the book progresses. That's when I go back
and fiddle. I don't know how being a pantser helps me write! I only know I do my best
writing when I have very little idea what will happen next. Perhaps it's the element
of surprise.
How do you deal with rejection letters?
I give myself 24 hours to stew and then I make myself forget about it and move on. I
think allowing yourself to be unhappy about a rejection for a little while helps you
get over it more quickly. I also found entering contests a boost because it was nice
to punctuate the disappointments with small successes.
What keeps you going through the 'mid-novel slump'?
Chocolate. No, seriously! I think there is some secret ingredient in chocolate that
makes me write better. At least that's what I tell myself when I broach the hazelnut
Lindt balls! Also, I try to have some kind of turning point in the middle of the story
and that seems to keep the momentum going. If I'm stuck for inspiration, I often read
or re-read writing craft books. Most of the things they say I've heard before in one
form or other, but thinking about techniques often sparks ideas for me. Further research
can do that, too.
What is the first romance you remember reading?
Probably PRIDE AND PREJUDICE. My mother took me to the play when I was eleven and I was
enthralled.
Who's your favorite author?
Georgette Heyer.
She is responsible for my enduring love of the fictional Regency world.
I love her wit and her magnificent characterisation. My favorite of hers is probably
THE GRAND SOPHY, but it's difficult to choose just one.
What is your favorite time-waster?
Without a doubt, author, agent and editor blogs. I'm an industry gossip junky!
What's the most helpful piece of advice you've been given?
Let yourself write badly for the first draft. Getting the story down is the aim. Things
like better word choice and adding sensual detail can wait until subsequent drafts. If
I don't keep stopping to edit, I find I end up with a better flow to the story. Often,
when I look back at what I've written, the quality isn't as terrible as I might have
thought.
What's your favorite thing about being a writer?
Apart from the immense satisfaction of pursuing my obsession, I'd have to say the
friends I've made through writing and through
RWA
in particular. People I would never have met in the ordinary course have become dear
friends who share all the ups and downs of the writer's life with me. I was on the
phone to one of them for three hours the other night. We both should have been writing,
of course!
Writing the Emotional Body Blow
One of the most important tasks of any romance writer is to evoke emotion in the reader. Today, I'm going to talk about the mother of all techniques for evoking emotion-the emotional body blow.
This is a crucial moment in your story where an event floors your hero or heroine emotionally. There are many ways to set up an emotional body blow. WARNING some of the examples below might be SPOILERS:
The character longs desperately for something they can't have and then has to stand by and watch someone else get it.
Examples:
- In WICKED LITTLE GAME, my heroine, Lady Sarah, desperately wants a baby and can't have one, then finds out her blackguard husband has fathered a child with another woman.
- In SENSE AND SENSIBILITY, Elinor is in love with Edward, then not only does Lucy Steele tell her she is engaged to him but she treats Eleanor as a confidante.
The character has a secret fear about themselves confirmed by someone else.
Examples:
- In Georgette Heyer's DEVIL'S CUB, Mary, who believes she is not good enough by birth and breeding for the Marquis of Vidal, hears Vidal's mother say exactly that.
- In Susan Elizabeth Phillips's LADY BE GOOD, Kenny Traveler lets everyone thing he is lazy and irresponsible, but when Emma jumps to the wrong conclusion about him abandoning his own child, it cuts him to the core.
Something the character fears and anticipates actually comes to pass.
This often precipitates the 'black moment', where it seems that all is lost.
Example:
- In PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, while Lizzie defends her family against Mr. Darcy, she is secretly afraid he's right about their vulgarity. Her fear is realized when Lydia runs away with Wickham.
Someone they love sees them as they truly are
When a love interest zeroes in on the truth of a hero's character-what Michael Hauge calls their "essence" as opposed to the "identity" they've built for themselves, this can come as a severe blow. You would think it would be a good thing, but for a character who has repressed his or her essence for so long out of a need to protect themselves, it can be terrifying.
Examples:
- Dain in Loretta Chase's LORD OF SCOUNDRELS. When Jessica tells him she loves him despite every effort he makes to push her away, Dain cracks open inside. It's a very powerful scene because it leaves this big, hard man totally vulnerable.
- In Georgette Heyer's VENETIA, when Damerel tells Venetia the story of his disgrace, she strikes at his heart when she takes his side.
The hero or heroine reverts to their identity when the going gets tough, dealing their love interest a body blow
Example:
- In VENETIA, Damerel has shown Venetia in a thousand ways that he's a rake and not to be trusted but she has seen beneath that exterior and falls in love with him. When the outside world closes in and tells him it would be a disgrace for her to marry him, he pushes her away, resuming the persona of the heartless rake. The devastation Venetia feels is underscored by a sense of unreality. She knows the real Damerel. Why is he behaving like this?
A great technique to use when delivering the body blow to your character is to do it when it seems the character is making progress toward their internal or external goal. In the PRIDE AND PREJUDICE example, the blow comes at the point where Darcy and Lizzie begin to understand one another during her visit to Pemberley. It's like that technique actors use when they answer a phone on television. If the news on the phone is bad, they are smiling when they answer it, so the viewer can experience that powerful change in emotion when suddenly, the smile slips from the actor's face.
As an exercise, try writing a scene where your character is dealt an emotional body blow. Ask yourself what they want most and show someone else receiving it. Ask who they want to be inside and have another character confirm to them that they can never be that way. Give them a disaster that strikes at the heart of who they are. This will often be a turning point in the story, the time when your character decides to be brave and take a step toward their goal, or thinks that it has all become too much to deal with, and retreats.
This isn't an easy technique to do well, but it is enormously satisfying when you do!
Romance Writing Contests - One Path to Publication
Something all unpublished romance writers should be thankful for is the proliferation of contests run by chapters of the Romance Writers of America and their counterparts in other countries, including Romance Writers of Australia. The finals of these contests are judged by agents or acquiring editors and they are a great way to avoid the slush pile or slip under the 'no unagented submissions' rule many publishers have now.
The sale of my first book, SCANDAL'S DAUGHTER, to Berkley Sensation in a two book deal was the direct result of my entry reaching the final in two different contests.
Why enter contests?
There are a few reasons put forward for entering contests. One is to gain feedback from
disinterested third parties. I'm skeptical about this. I've received some great critiques,
especially from published author judges, don't get me wrong, but if you want feedback you
should invest time and effort into finding one or two critique partners who will read all
your work, not just the synopsis and first three chapters. Look for those rare individuals
who not only appreciate your writing, but are willing to be honest about your shortcomings
and prepared to spend time helping you make your work better. Such writers are rare and
precious. Treasure them! Don't pay your $30 entry fee plus postage for 3 anonymous
opinions on your partial and synopsis. Your money is better spent in other ways.
Another reason for entering contests is to see how your work stacks up against your competitors'. This is a perfectly good reason for entering one or two contests but be careful never to treat contests as the only arbiter of good writing. Many writers sell books which have bombed repeatedly in contests. Many writers can't sell books that consistently win.
Some enter contests to build up credits for the bio sections of their query letters. I've heard a number of agents say they don't take much notice of contest credits unless it's the Golden Heart. Long lists of credits can even affect their opinions adversely. Does this writer spend more time entering contests than writing? Why have so many judging editors seen her work and passed? So when you are querying, my advice is to be selective – just mention one or two credits, preferably wins.
My experience with finaling in the Golden Heart was very revealing. It probably got me past the query stage, which I had already managed consistently without the GH final, but no further. Once you're past that stage it's the writing and the writing alone that counts. Miss Snark says this time and again. If you haven't read her blog, you should. It's a gold mine of inside information about how agents operate. I have a respectable list of contest finals but in my query letters I only mentioned the Golden Heart and the ones that led to full manuscript requests. I also restricted the list to credits for the manuscript I was pitching at the time.
The best reason, and for me, the only reason to enter contests is to get your first three chapters and synopsis in front of an acquiring editor. This is how I sold my first novel, SCANDAL'S DAUGHTER. I finaled in 3 contests that resulted in the judging editors requesting the full manuscript. One of those editors read the manuscript quickly and came back with an offer to buy it.
As so many seasoned writers advise, I didn't immediately agree to sign. I involved an agent, the fabulous Jessica Faust at BookEnds Literary Agency (read the agency blog here) who read the full manuscript the same day and offered me representation. I liked the fact that she responded quickly, but didn't immediately jump at the chance of a sure sale. She made sure she believed in the project first. Another agent offered representation having only seen the partial, which might well have meant that she loved the writing, but I was more comfortable knowing Jessica had read and considered the full manuscript before making the offer. Jessica then approached a few other houses, and the end result was a sale, but not to the first editor who offered. Leis Pederson at Berkley, who had requested my manuscript after placing my entry first in the historical category of the Emily Award, bought the manuscript in a 2 book deal. You can read Jessica's side of the story on the BookEnds Agency blog here.
So, my advice is to target contests judged by editors at houses where you think your work will fit. Make sure you enter when you have completed a manuscript or at least have written the first draft. There's nothing worse than receiving a request for the full with only one chapter written!
I should also qualify this by saying that I still think the optimum path to publication is to sign with a reputable literary agent. While writers can do a lot of research on the type of book certain editors are buying at the moment, an agent will know the editor's tastes more intimately. She knows not to send a marriage of convenience story to editor B at House X, but editor A at the same house loves them, or that the tone of your novel is exactly what editor C is seeking this week. However, good agents are very difficult to snare, so always keep the contest path in mind.
What about targeting agents through contests? Having seen how the submission process works with agents, I'd save my money on entrance fees and submit to them directly. Agents I queried all responded within about 48 hours to my email queries, within a week or so to snail mail queries, and within a couple of months to partials. You won't speed up that process by entering a contest--they often take around three months for the first round to be judged and a further couple of months before finalists are announced and you receive any request for the full manuscript. And then, sadly, there's the possibility that you might not final at all.
For more information about upcoming contests and deadlines, visit the Contest Divas site.
Awards
* the editor judging requested the full manuscript
Scandal's Daughter
2004
2nd - Harlequin Mills & Boon Opening Chapter Contest *
2005
2nd - Romance Through the Ages *
1st - Single (Title) and Loving It *
2006
1st - The Emily Award *
1st - The Golden Heart Award *
2nd - Sharp Synopsis*
3rd - Golden Acorn *
3rd - Fire & Ice
1st - Indiana Golden Opportunity
1st - Indiana Golden Opportunity, Best of the Best *
Indecent Proposal
2006
1st - Romance through the Ages *
2nd - Stroke of Midnight *
1st - Golden Gateway *
