W00T!! My Book is Out!!

Okay, enough of the exclamation marks. My book, A Perfect Bride for Christmas came out November 12th. It's published through The Wild Rose Press and you can find it on http://www.thewildrosepress.com/a-perfect-bride-for-christmas-p-4310.html or Amazon.com and Borders Books. Check it out.

Now that the commercial is over, let me tell you, I'm flying high right now. There may be a time when I fall to earth, but for now, I'll spend a few days soaring. The reviews have been positive for a first time author. I still can't believe it when I see the cover and know it's out there for the public to read. Wow. I've been holding my feelings close to my chest for so long, and now, all I can do is a little happy dance.

What happens when the dance is over? Work, lots of work. Marketing and promotion of the book, plus writing the next book and the next.

I'm getting ready to submit my paranormal after the first of the year. My beta readers will read my manuscript and give me an honest opinion. I don't expect them to o-o-o and ah over it. They will make me bleed. There will be lots of comments and suggestions on how to improve the story.
There must be a bit of a masochist in every writer. If there isn't, you'll never be able to stand the heat. That sounds kinky, but it's not. Maybe masochist is too strong a word. A writer has to be able to take criticism and roll with the punches. Once the beta readers are done, I look through their comments and assess what they've written. If one if them points out an inaccuracy in my facts, I'll change it. A couple of them might say my character needs a deeper point of view in a certain scene. I'll fix it. However, if only one of them dosen't like the color of my hero's hair or think the heroine is being silly-- well, I'll have to politely disagree and leave it as written. That's my prerogative as the author. Only time will tell who was right.

So, on top of soaring, writing a current novel, revising the older book, coming up with an outline for the third book in the series, and marketing, I'm trying to fit in a normal life. I'm coming to believe that this is a normal life for an writer. Whoever said being a published author was a piece of cake never got a book published. I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Dyann Love Barr

The Voices in My Head

"I killed Ash today." I picked up one of my fries and popped it into my mouth. "It made me sad but I had no choice. He had to go."

Dennis just nodded. "That's too bad. I know how much you liked him."

It's not unusual for me to tell my husband about my writing over the evening meal. Tonight it was Mickey D's. The person in the next booth gave me a wide-eyed look before they gathered up the last of their meal and scurried away to dump their trash.What had to be going through their minds as they pulled out of the parking lot?

So, yes, the characters in my books have a tendency to use my head as their personal playground. The craziness hits when I'm so into the story that they become real. They aren't just little cut-outs to move around in my busy brain. They have goals, motivation, and conflict-- just like the rest of us. That's the most important thing to remember when writing--give your characters life. Make them well-rounded, even the villains. They are as important as your hero or heroine. Use a deep point of view whenever possible to get the reader inside the character's head.

I like to think of my books as character driven but with a strong plot line. I chart my characters well before I ever sit down to write the actual story. I make out a list of their history, their likes, dislikes, their goal, motivations, conflicts and even little quirks they may have. This way I know if something doesn't feel right. Is the motivation too weak, are the conflicts enough to carry the story? So do I even care if this character lives or dies? Are the stakes high enough?

The next thing I do is an outline. Yes, I used to be a pantser but my current and former critique partners have shown me the light. I can write much faster if I know where I'm going and what my characters are doing at any given point. I still allow myself wiggle room for creativity. One critique partner keeps a firm rein on her characters at all times. She doesn't allow them out to play. This is the way she works. Everyone is different. Another critique partners has a list of high points and where her characters intersect but she still has a steady hand at the wheel. My outlines tend to be more like a ten to fifteen page synopsis with the character chart attached. This is when I sit down to write the book.

And then it happens.

Regardless of all my fine planning, my characters let me know if I'm trying to make them go in a direction they shouldn't. I can almost see them with their arms crossed over their chests with a belligerent look on their faces. I created them one way and if I try to write them into a situation that doesn't fit, the book comes to a screeching halt. Like people everywhere, they have to be true to themselves.

So, yes, your characters can drive you crazy, you fall in love with them, and when you really love a secondary character--that's the time to kill them off, or save them for another book. Either way, they have to fade into the sunset.

I know every writer approaches their books in different ways, but I don't know of one that hasn't had a character stop them dead in their track at some point. It happens. And when it does, listen to the voices in your head. They are your friends.

Dyann Love Barr

Revison Horror

I love writing 'The End'. It's a bit sad and I know I'll miss my characters. No, let me rephrase that, I'll miss discovering all the little things about my characters that I didn’t know when I started the journey. Especially their quirks, sense of humor, and the unexpected lines that sometimes pop out of their mouths. It's always a sad goodbye. Think of Joan Wilder in ‘Romancing the Stone’.

That is until I realize I'm headed for, as one of my friends calls it, 'the suck from hell'. Yes, I'm talking about rewrites, revisions, edits, whatever you want to call it. I can hear it pulling in my time and at my brain like a black hole. I put it off as long as possible because I want to remain in love with my characters. They are my children and I hesitate to take them to slaughter.

The amazing thing about rewrites is that I find out how good I am, and how bad. Now my friend Claire Ashgrove will tell you that I spray commas all over the place, much like a boxer's spit when he's hit with a good right hook. My grammar needs a lot of work. I notice some of the stimulus/response is backward. Sheesh! But then, in the midst of all this mess, I find gems that I can’t believe I wrote. They make me laugh, cry, and sigh as the romance goes forward.

So, now I’ve fixed the most egregious mistakes and send the work out to my critique partners. I’m confident they will say it’s great and send it out for submissions. The poor thing comes back bleeding. I look over their comments and decide which areas of the story have to be reworked. Poor baby. This means I have to start from the beginning and reread, fix it, and send it back. More revisions. By now I’m getting a little tired of my characters. I know them backward and forward. Sometimes they even begin to annoy me – like my least favorite aunt with the grating voice. It’s one more time around the revision block.

I send it off and it sells. Yay!! Now the editor takes a whack at it. Three more edits later, I’m ready to kill every one of my beloved characters in the most bizarre and satisfying ways. I’m itching to go on to the next book. The creative fires are burning bright and I’m stuck in revision hell.

There is a happy ending to this horror story. The first time I saw my book cover and it’s love all over again. Yes, found find things I wished I’d changed, things even my critique partners and my editor missed but it’s done. Now all that’s left is wait for the review—but that’s another story.

Dyann Love Barr

Amen to That!

I originally intended this to be a comment to Claire Ashgrove's blog on the business end of writing. As I wrote, I realized it had turned into a blog.

The first thing most people say to me when they find out I'm a published author is, "Oh, how fun. It must be nice to stay home all day and play." It's clear they've never tried to tell a story, work with goal, motivation, and conflict-- to create a riveting tale that will make an agent sit up and take notice. Or how about trying to balance writing time with family time, running all those errands people ask you to do because "You're home all day, right?".

The first word in an author's vocabulary needs to be NO. I learned that from my former critique partner, Shannon K. Butcher. This will preserve your sanity-- believe me on this.

The notion that an romance author sits on the couch with bon-bons to the side, while writing with a quill pen and parchment paper, seems to persist. They've never gone through revision hell.

Claire is right. The business end was a staggering revelation that still has this newbee perplexed and a bit overwhelmed. Somewhere in there, between edits and marketing, you have to work on the next book. Days that you used to spend eight hours in writing might turns into only three or four hours. Granted, there are those who have Super Sonic fingers and live on fumes-- I'm not naming names here, but I'm not one of them. It takes me a good two and a half to three months of solid writing to finish a book. So each hour taken away from my writing for the business end of the profession makes me have to work harder and become more focused. Maybe that's not a bad thing in the end.

I am just lucky to have several published authors who I can contact if I need advice. Thankfully, they leave bread crumbs along the way to guide me to the right paths.

Dyann Love Barr

Stumbling Into the 21st Century

What do critique partners, blogging, and putting on my 'big girl panties' have in common?
I've been dragged, kicking and screaming, into the the 21st century. I'm one of those people who are computer illiterate. No, that's wrong. I know just enough to be dangerous. Until now, I've refused to see my computer as something more than a glorified typewriter.Besides, my husband is the IT officer at his office-- he'd do all that 'stuff' for me. Why should I have to know how to do anything? Who cared?

Let me tell you.

My first book, A Perfect Bride for Christmas, is coming out on November 12th from The Wild Rose Press. I thought, okay, that's done-- on to the next book. Ideas are flowing and I'm ready for my characters to hit the page. Not so fast my friend. Did you know there was a business end to this whole getting published gig? I had a vague idea, some abstract notion that I might have to do 'something'. Marketing hit me in the face like lemon meringue pie.

Website construction is the first. Now that has been a dozy. My critique partner generously offered to help me tidy up my website and make it look presentable to any agents that might take a peek. I actually had to have content. My brain was ready to burst. Then there's the whole bookmark thing which again, my overworked critique partner guided me through the rocky shoals. This went above and beyond.

There's more. One friend strongly suggested I get on Twitter. Another Facebook. Yikes-- then blogging. I began to feel overwhelmed and relied on everyone to do these things for me. At one point, both my critique partner and husband stopped holding my hand or refused to listen to my whines of "But I don't know nothin' about doing a blog, or how to do a book trailer." Their look said, "Frankly, my dear. I don't give a damn." Don't get me wrong, it was more an nudge in the right direction than a complete refusal to help. They gave me some tools and told me to go for it but they wouldn't do whatever I needed. I had to learn to do them for myself.

I'm still shaky on a lot of this stuff. All my critique partners will offer helpful hints if I get to the point of banging my head against my desk but I know I have to man up and do things myself.
Now I'm working on a book trailer, stumbling and falling along the way, but I'm finding myself enjoying the experience.

It's baby steps but that's what it takes.

~Dyann