A challenging POV rewrite!

A Challenging POV Rewrite! by Maree Anderson for Writers Gone Wild

Do you remember a while back when I was in fits because I was writing a novella and the characters just wouldn't let me to write The End? (See my July 23rd post.) A few you you -- me, included! -- came to the conclusion that my characters demanded a longer story and I was just gonna have to suck it up and play the game.

Well, I did eventually manage to find a satisfying way to wrap things up and still miraculously keep to the intended word count, but that's not the end of the story. I submitted it for an anthology and it eventually got rejected. Oh well. Them's the breaks. And because it was written specifically for that one particular market, it wasn't really suitable for submitting elsewhere.

I figured it was just one of those unfortunate set-backs and I'd move on. Except I haven't.

I decided that I really did love the characters far too much to give up on them and leave them languishing on my hard-drive. And as I'd written the original story in 1st person heroine's point of view, I figured I may as well challenge myself a bit and treat it like an official revision. By that, I mean pretend that an editor liked the concept and the plot but just couldn't find a market for a 1st person POV story. I would pretend that this fictional editor asked me to rewrite it in 3rd person and re-submit.

Nothing like playing "let's pretend".... You always suspected that I live in a fantasy world, right?

Seriously, though, I like a challenge and I haven't tried to do anything like this before with my previous manuscripts. So first things first: change every single relevant "I" and "my" and "me" (etc) to "she" and "her" and... whatever. Not as easy as it sounds because I couldn't do a global Search and Replace without screwing up all the conversation excerpts. So manually it was. And I must admit, I'm still finding the occasional "She wrinkled my nose" and other delightfully incomprehensible bits and pieces, LOL. Hopefully I'll winnow them all out when I do the final edit.

The next challenge is of course writing in the hero. I mean, he's there in part, because obviously the heroine was already interacting with and reacting to him, interpreting what he might be feeling at any given time from his words, tone of voice, facial expressions and actions. But the reader would only know him through the heroine's eyes so at this stage he's pretty flat and one-dimensional. He's not his own man--or in this case, alien!--quite yet.

So now I'm fleshing him out, giving him his own thoughts and emotions, allocating him his own scenes. And the wonderful thing about it is that I'm learning more about him with each new excerpt from his POV that I write. (Or steal from the heroine and give to him, for that matter!)

I'm not saying that I'd want to write another story this way but it's a fun process for the most part. Even more interesting, since the novella had to be pretty tightly plotted, giving the hero his own voice is adding not only a new dimension to the story, but the wordcount is now edging toward novel-length and I'm only three-quarters done with it.

Yeah, yeah, I know. You guys were right all along: seems this story really didn't want to end, LOL.

Hey, any of you done this kind of POV revision for real? Would love to know how it turned out.... And if it's something you would ever want to tackle again!

Cheers,

Maree

As a Reader...

Over the past two weeks I've run across a lot of questions that start like this 'Can I do (insert whatever here) in writing?' There are obviously some basics, like grammar, spelling, and a strong grasp of the English language that are needed if you want to sell your book. That aside, as a writer, I worry about telling an entertaining, engaging, and hopefully sensual story that sticks with the reader once they've put the book down. Why? Because as a reader, that's what I want. When I read romance, I want to be entertained and forget about bills and other crap in my real life. I read to escape. When I'm reading, I'm not worried about if the first page says Prologue or Chapter One. I just want the story to suck me in, I want to care about the characters, and I want my HEA.


When I was 'simply' a reader, I didn't know what POV or head hopping was. Of course, I actually knew what point of view meant, I just didn't know that writers weren't supposed to switch too often. Now, I absolutely hate that I notice POV switches. There's one author I can't read anymore b/c my 'training' as a writer pulls me out of her stories. Luckily, that author isn't Nora Roberts b/c even though she head-hops, I still LOVE her :) As far as prologues, writers are the only people I've ever heard say they don't like them. This, I don't understand. As a reader, I start on page one and hope I love the story enough to keep reading. Sometimes prologues probably could have been woven in later, but who cares? If it sucks me in and entertains me, then the author has done her job. I totally get that there are some guidelines (I don't like the word 'rules') that should be followed if you want to land an agent or editor, but I find it odd when people use words such as NEVER or ALWAYS when it concerns writing. What works for one person, doesn't work for another. Writers are artists and to try and pigeonhole an entire group of people is crazy.


Look at Sherrilyn Kenyon. She breaks all sorts of 'rules', and with all her elaborate world-building, she doesn't confuse the reader and her writing is practically seamless. She's one of my favorite authors and she pretty much has a cult following so obviously she's doing something right. As a reader (not a writer) what do you want in your stories?

Blog Talk Radio

Madison Scott for Writers Gone Wild

I'm doing something a little different this week. On Thursday, November 12 at 9:00 PM Eastern I will be on Blog Talk Radio along with authors Anne Rainey and Regina Carlysle. I'm a little nervous....I've never done anything like this before, but excited too!

I know we have a whole bunch of questions to answer and readers will be able to call in and ask some of their own. That's the part I'm really excited about. I'm really looking forward to chatting with readers so I hope some of you will stop by!

Gimme Some Strange, Baby!

Books and shoes.

Honestly, can a girl ever have too many of either?

Although my TBR stack could easily warrant its own zip code, and I have enough shoes to shod the Rockettes--twice, I'm making like a man and looking for something new. Something sexy. Fun.

But I'm finding that my TBR pile and my shoe rack have something in common. They're lovely to look at, delightful tempations, but chances are, many of them may go unread/unworn for some time.


Because lately, I'm wanting something that's not in either.

Comfort.

Granted, I'm a paranormal girl through and through, but also I'm longing to read a bit more about home-grown heroines than the kick-ass, demon chasing, vampire slaying bad girls I've leaned toward in recent years.

The magic I'm longing for right now is simpler, more heart felt. Kitchen magic, like that in Tracey Madison's Taste of Magic and the homespun magic protrayed in ensuing novels in the series. I like this series because while there's yummy romance involved, her books have the flavor of good women's fiction. Large stories with heart, if you will. Ordinary women in extraordinary circumstances. Women like you and me.

I also want to laugh. A lot. So I'm captivated with Dakota Cassidy's books right now for all the aforementioned reasons combined with Dakota's ability to make me giggle-snort until my Kindle shorts out from all the tears falling on it.

So comfort, laughter, and of course, magic. :) That's what I'm looking for. With that in mind, help me go shopping.

Who else should I add to my TBR pile?

My kick-ass heroines and uber-alpha heroes will stay with me. But for right now, I want simpler. Quieter. Bigger stories that feel like home. That and a really comfy, yet sexy, pair of shoes that I might actually wear.

Are you finding your reading tastes changing? Is it a sign of the times, or is it just that my feet are killing me? ;)

***

On an aside, I am officially in the semifinals for Dorchester's America's Next Best Celler contest at textnovel. Thanks to everyone for their reads, reviews, comments and votes. MUSE STRUCK would not be the book it is today without all the amazing reader input.

Here's hoping I make the top ten finalist list on or around Nov. 16. All of the top twenty stories are simply amazing. Ya ought go check 'em out.

Is He Really That Into You?

Is He Really That Into You? by Maree Anderson, for Writers Gone Wild

Okay, so I don't usually talk about books that I've recently read on Writers Gone Wild -- usually leave that for a monthly post on my own website. But this book kinda cries out to be talked about.

It's "He's Just Not That Into You" by Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo, a "no-excuses truth to understanding guys".

I had my doubts when a Ceroc dance friend of mind lent it to me last week. Oh noes, I thought. Another "dating" book to teach women how to understand men -- and co-written by a guy? Hah! How lame is this gonna be?

But I flipped through it and it was like, "Oh my God, that is soooo true!" and, "Crap! This guy is right on the money!" and, "Sheesh. How could I not have picked up on that???"

And then I read the book in one sitting. Afterward, I wiped tears of laughter and commiseration and sympathy from my cheeks, read a few excerpts to my husband.... And knew just what this week's post was gonna be about.

First, some info about the male co-author, Greg Behrendt. Aside from his obvious qualification -- duh, he's male! -- he was a consultant on the popular tv series, Sex and the City, for three consecutive seasons. And in a nutshell, or in this case right at the end of the book, he has this to say to all women in his closing remarks:

"Why do I care about you? Because I have a sister and many women friends whom I love dearly, despite their unwillingness to hear the clanging bells of a crappy relationship. Because I have a wonderful sister and so many amazing women friends who still don't have the confidence to believe that they deserve better and will only find someone better after they unload the deadweight of an inadequate suitor. Because I have an incredible sister and so many brilliant women friends who don't yet truly accept that profound love is uplifting, joyous, inspiring and intoxicating, and that they should never settle for anything less. Shitty relationships make you feel shitty, and that's not what you were put on this earth for."

So after reading that, you get that I do truly believe this guy has our best interests at heart, right? Anyway, let's get to the interesting stuff. For example, this chapter:

"He's just not that into you if he's not having sex with you: When men like you, they want to touch you, always."

Oh yeah. Amen to that! Hmmm. Just like the gorgeous heroes we all love to write or read about, eh, girls? Our heroes want the heroines.... bad. And even if our fictional guys haven't quite yet figured that she is The One, then there's all that lovely sexual tension between the two of them that we can lap up on every page. Which generally includes touching, in one form or another. Sigh.....

How about:

"He's just not that into you if he's married (and other insane variations of being unavailable): If you're not able to love freely then it's not really love."

Whether or not you agree with that statement at face value (i.e. without reading the whole chapter), I really liked the "Super-Good Really Helpful Workbook" at the end of this particular chapter. Readers are asked to list all the things that they want or have ever wanted in a man. Now comes the smack upside the head -- just in case you haven't "got it" yet after reading the chapter:

"Now look at your list. Did 'married' or 'emotionally unavailable' make that list? Yeah, we didn't think so. You're far to classy and smart for that."

Riiiight. Kinda says it all, doesn't it? And I have to admit, I don't think I would want to read a book where the hero and heroine can't ever truly be together because of one or both of these issues. Dammit, I want -- no, insist! -- on my Happily Ever After when I'm reading. And writing, for that matter!

And this:

"He's just not that into you if he's a selfish jerk, a bully, or a really big freak: If you really love someone, you want to do things to make that person happy."

Whoa! Sure not pulling any punches here. And at the end of each chapter there's a summary of what you should have learned, so here's a few of my favorite summary points for this particular one:

• Life is hard enough as it is without choosing someone difficult to share it with.
• You deserve to be with someone who is nice to you all the time. (You have to be nice to them, too)
• You already have one asshole. You don't need another.
• Make a space in your life for the glorious things you deserve.
• Have faith. What other choice is there?

That's sooo very true. Hands up who's been with a guy who puts you down -- either overtly or subtly, privately or publicly? It's soul-destroying. Who wants that kind of man in your life? Why do we put up with it?

I've written about a guy like that -- didn't actually intend to write the character quite so nasty, but hey, he just wanted to be a complete asshole, so I let him go for it. And every single reader whose read that manuscript hated that character (with a vengeance!) for what he put the heroine through, and how he made her feel about herself. I reckon if they could have brought him to life, they would have skewered him and done things to him I can't write about here, LOL. Biiiig emotional response about that character. Go figure.

Anyway, although this book gave me many, many laughs because of the up-front and witty way that the topics are dealt with, it doesn't treat the subject lightly. It was also a very sober read, which truly made me think and count my lucky stars that I'm happily married.

Bottom line? We're all looking for The One. And often we're so desperate not to be alone that we'll grasp onto something that doesn't truly give us what we need, and hold onto it with all our might. We'll make excuses for our partners -- let them get away with all sorts of hurtful behavior. Perhaps we'll settle for someone because we're afraid that the soul-mate who will truly fulfill us a myth. He or she doesn't exist.... And we just don't want to be alone.

I'm not making any judgements. But I would recommend that you read the book, because at the very least, it'll prove to you that you're worthy of love, worthy of being happy -- hell, to paraphrase that cosmetic company ad, just "because you're worth it"!

As Greg says in his final word:

"We think all people -- men, women, gay, straight, or otherwise -- are entitled to aswesome relationships while they are enjoying their here on Earth. And we hope that this book was helpful, but if not, take what you need, leave the rest, and go find a way that works, so you too can have what you so richly deserve -- love."

Thanks, Greg. I couldn't say it better myself.

:-)

M

Eye Candy for You

I'm grossly unprepared to blog today so I'm taking the easy way out and posting pictures of Ryan Reynolds. Despite his lighter hair color, he's been the inspiration for my current WIP. I swear, God created this man as a gift to women. *Sigh*







Enjoy!! I'll be back next Wednesday with an insightful or at least entertaining blog :)

Celebrate good times, come on!

Madison Scott for Writers Gone Wild.....

I have big reason to celebrate. I just finished a book! I love this feeling with each and every books. It's such a wonderful feeling of accomplishment to write 'The End' on a book that you've put your sweat, tears, and heart into. This one is especially great for me for a number of reasons. First of all, this book as plagued me for a year! LOL. Seriously, I never thought I would finish. I started it and then hit brick wall after brick wall before putting it aside to start something different. Then, when the time was running out to finish by my deadline, I picked it up again. I still struggled. I don't know what it was about the book, but I just didn't feel like I was getting it right. After read throughs, changes, more changes, and more read throughs I think I FINALLY got it right. At least I hope so. LOL. It's still with my beta reader so finger are crossed she doesn't tell me it bites.

The next reason finishing this book was such a big milestone for me is because its the third and final book in a series. This is the first series I've finished off. It was bittersweet for me. Part of me jumped for joy because I'd struggled so much with this book, but the other part of me was a little sad because I will never be visiting these characters any more. They became like friends to me and now its like I closed the door on that chapter of my life.

So, I broke out a bottle of champagne and celebrated what to me felt like a huge accomplishment. Then ran a hot bath, lit some candles and relaxed by reading a good book. To, that's the perfect way to celebrate.

What do you do to celebrate a big accomplishment?