Ink Tip: Clean Vs. Dirty Romance

Labels can be good.  They are a way to pass on information quickly.  For example, if I describe a story as gritty noir, the person I’m talking to can safely assume that it will deal with dark subject matter, be graphic in describing suffering and violence, and there’s almost certainly going to be deaths within the story.  On the other hand, if I describe something as a beach read then they know it is relatively light in terms of subject matter, happy endings are guaranteed, and the pacing will be quick but not intense. 

And if I describe it as a George R.R. Martin read, then you know to buckle in for a long ride.

Sometimes the terminology used for labels brings its own baggage and issues.  And one of the most problematic examples of that is describing romance novels with no sex (or only closed-door/fade-to-black sex) as clean.

Our society already has a challenge with sexuality, particularly women’s sexuality.  There is only a narrow window where it is accepted: when a woman is young, attractive, and thin.  (And there’s a corresponding issue that women who do fall into that category are excessively sexualized and are therefore made vulnerable to sexual predators.  And for those who aren’t sure what I mean, take the usual drunken rape scenario and imagine it with a grandmother in her mid-sixties instead of a college girl in her early twenties.  The level of societal outrage would be much higher.)  Women who are older, not conventionally attractive, or overweight are not expected to be sexual beings and are often mocked if they defy those expectations.  Luckily for all of us outside-the-mold gals, we have romance novels with a wide variety of heroines who get happily-ever-afters in all walks of their lives.

To be clear, I don’t have an issue with whether or not a story graphically portrays sex.  I’ve read wonderful novels where everything after a kiss fades to black.  I’ve read wonderful novels that were about the hero or heroine’s erotic adventures and were 90% or more graphic sex scenes.  In the interest of bias disclosure, I’ll admit that my preference falls in between those two extremes: where there are some steamy sex scenes but they don’t dominate the plot. 

But I do have a problem with using the term “clean” to describe the fade-to-black end of the spectrum.  Because it implies that the other end is “dirty” and that is an unfair designation and perpetuates the stereotype of women’s sexuality as unnatural and undesirable.  I much prefer the term “sweet” romance or using the same system they would use for films.  A G rating would be a book with no sex.  PG would be some implied, but not explicit (closed door/fade to black).  R would be explicit and X would be a sex-dominant plot.  We’d need something between PG and R for books that were steamy but not necessarily explicit.  Maybe an S for sexy or steamy?

At the end of the day, quibbling over a single word is a small thing.  But small things have a habit of building up, especially where labels are concerned.  Because labels are verbal short-hands, which means that they carry baggage by definition.  I think it’s worthwhile to make sure that they’re only carrying the baggage that we intend to convey and aren’t loaded down with things that are unnecessary or potentially harmful.

If you like steamy romance with a strong action-adventure plot, you can try my lalassu series about a secret society of superheroes living among us.  Book 4 was just released and Book 1 is now available for less than the price of a cup of coffee.

Previous blog post: Strangling My Evil Little Voices

Blog homepage

Ink Tip: Writing Influences

I was speaking to some other authors recently and one of them made a comment to the effect that they didn't watch or read anything in the genre that they write because they didn't want to be inadvertently influenced into copying anything.  At the time, I had a strong "But..?" reaction but let it go since I couldn't articulate why I was having such a negative reaction.

Since then, I've been doing a lot of thinking about that statement and now I can articulate why I vehemently disagree with it.  There are a couple of over-all reasons.  First, I write what I love and therefore not watching or reading stories in that genre would deprive me of a huge source of pleasure.  Second, it's way easier to avoid copying someone else's work if you know what's out there.

I know!  I could have a cop who's part robot!... Already done.  Okay, back to the drawing board.

But it also got me thinking about the writers who have influenced my writing.  The ones I aspire to match.  And so for this month's Ink Tip, I'm sharing my learn-by-example authors and I'd highly encourage people to check them out.

The first one on the list is a fellow Canadian gal: Tanya Huff, who writes in a wide variety of genres: high fantasy, urban fantasy, science fiction.  One of her series is about a vampire living in Toronto, the son of Henry the VIIIth and it was made into a television series, Blood Ties.  But my favourites of hers are the Keeper and Gale Women series, though I am also really enjoying her Peacekeeper series.

Tanya Huff was the first author I read who wrote the kind of stories that I wanted to write: fast-paced action, elements of humour that didn't undercut the characters or plot, and with strong female characters who weren't always taking time out to be kidnapped, rescued or threatened.  When I read her books, I'm not even aware of the process of internalizing the words: I'm living the story along with her characters.  She is also absolutely brilliant at creating diverse casts of characters.  She's stated that readers should assume that all of her characters are bisexual, unless otherwise made clear in the text.  And unlike many authors who have claimed that their characters are diverse but haven't included actual references in the text, there are plenty of examples to cite from within the books.  The most powerful people in her Gale Women series are the aunties, who come into their true power once they are post-menopausal.  Older women aren't sidelined, they're the magical equivalent of thermonuclear weapons.  

The next one on my list is JMS (J. Michael Stracynski) who has a long list of writing credits on various shows over the last forty years.  My favourites are the television show Babylon 5 and the comics, Midnight Nation, the Amazing Spider-Man and Rising Stars.

To say that JMS changed how television works is a fair statement.  He wrote the vast majority of the individual shows for Babylon 5 and rather than finish each episode by effectively re-setting, he allowed the characters to grow and change.  There wasn't a Big Bad each season to defeat, instead the characters dealt with a complicated world that felt real.  And that's one of the aspect of JMS's writing that I strive to recreate: how real both his characters and his world felt.  An episode might focus on the search to catch a killer, but then a newspaper headline in the background will give the result of the trial ten episodes later.  I have to remind myself that Londo and G'Kar are not real people because they were presented as such solid, three-dimensional, shades-of-gray characters that they felt absolutely real.

The other aspect of his writing that inspires me is his ability to evoke powerful emotions through his words.  In the aftermath of 9/11, the Marvel writers were trying to decide if the Marvel superheros (most of whom live in New York) would acknowledge the tragedy or if their stories would pretend it hadn't happened.  JMS wrote an incredibly powerful and moving story about Spider-Man and the other heroes dealing with the tragedy and coming to terms with not having been able to stop it.  The Declaration of Principles from Babylon 5 is still recited around the world.

That leads me smoothly to the next example on my list and this one isn't a single author, but rather an entire company: Marvel Comics and the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe).  I've been a comic book geek for a long time and enjoy both the Marvel and DC Universes (among others).  But Marvel has done something extraordinary throughout its seventy year history.  They created individual worlds and stories that overlap and connect, giving their "fantastic and amazing" stories a sense of grounded reality.  Daredevil lives in the same world as Tony Stark or Wolverine and they are all effected by the same events.  

It makes for harder writing, since writers must come up with reasons why characters in one series wouldn't call for assistance from characters in another.  And I'm sure there have been many tooth-gnashing meetings as someone realized that what they were doing in one storyline would affect those in other storylines.  But for the most part, the different characters and stories have come together smoothly enough that I believe Marvel when they say they are plotting the key points out in advance (not all of them, but enough major plot points to keep everyone moving in the right direction).  That sense of interconnected realism is something that I strive for in my own stories, though it's much easier to keep track with only one brain doing the plotting.  They are why all of my novels and short stories are set in the same universe, even though they focus on different aspects of it.

The next favourite writer on my list is another Marvel alum, Joss Whedon, whose Astonishing X-Men series is still a favourite re-read of mine.  And of course, he is also the writer behind several of my favourite television series: Buffy, Angel, and Firefly, not to mention the Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron movie.

Joss is known for his clever dialogue which tends to be full of pop-culture references.  But his ability to play with language doesn't always rely on common experience.  For Firefly, he created a new vernacular for the show, one that was still comprehensible to us but was believable as how the language could have evolved over the next few centuries.  As a language geek, I enjoyed figuring out how "shiny" became the new "cool" almost as much as the stories.  But he is also highly skilled at including humour that works to accent the horror and thrills of his stories.  The tiny breaks in the tension keep the stories from becoming overwhelming and depressingly dark, but also don't distract from the emotional impact.  They endear his characters to the audience and keep us coming back to his worlds.

And last (because I have to end this post at some point, though I could keep on citing more and more writers) but certainly not least is a relatively new (at least to me) writer, Sherrilyn Kenyon.  Her Dark Hunter and League series are both great reads with strong characters and fast-paced plots.  But the aspect of her writing that impresses me most and that I strive to emulate is her ability to take villains from one story and show them as heroes in another.

"Your villain has to see themselves as the hero of their own story" is a fairly common piece of writing advice, mainly intended to curb the tendency to treat villains as only being interested in Evil, rather than being developed characters in their own right.  But what Sherrilyn Kenyon does is more that that.  She uses her characters to show that too often, we only know small pieces of someone else's story and we judge them for it as if it was the whole truth.  The best example of this occurs in her two books: Acheron and Styxx.  Though they are number 14 and 22 in her Dark Hunter series, they can be read independently.

I could keep fan-girling on about all of these writers and their work.  And hopefully if you're not familiar with them, you'll give some of these examples a try.  But I'm also hoping that I've made my original point: to cut yourself off from any genre is to deny yourself the chance to learn from the writers in it.  There are all kinds of amazing examples to learn from out there.

For those interested in seeing how well I incorporate these examples into my own work, you can check out my Lalassu series about a secret society of superheroes.  Book 1: Revelations is on sale for 99 cents US (or local equivalent) and Book 4: Judgment just released a few weeks ago.

Previous post: The Stages of Social Awareness.  As we move through life, we can only experience our own version of the world directly, but there are lots of worlds to become aware of.  I used the process of learning about these worlds as part of the structure of Judgment.

Blog homepage

Ink Tip: But That's Not What I Meant! (Working With An Editor)

There are days when I wonder how anyone is able to communicate with one another... most of those days happen when I'm doing edits. 

Maybe I meant to say he grabbed a bear and took a drink!  It could happen!

Words are supposed to be straightforward.  Say the right ones and other people will grasp the information you are conveying.  This is the myth that we cling to and it's probably the basis for all civilization and culture.  But it's not quite entirely true, as is obvious to anyone who takes half a minute scrolling through the arguments on social media.

There's a lot of variation in interpretation of the words we use to communicate.  And often what we think we've said is not what we've actually said.  Editors and beta readers can help an author to narrow that gap, but it is an ego-shredding process.  

My rule of thumb is that I will not argue with my editor about a problem that she has identified, though I may not agree with her about the way to fix it.  This has saved a lot of headaches and arguments on both sides.  If she is asking why a character isn't jumping through the window to save the day, then I can't argue that I've laid out a dozen reasons already.  Either potential readers aren't making the connection with the previous reasons or those reasons don't seem like a sufficient excuse to avoid window-jumping.

That brings me to a choice: I can take out the window-jumping scene, I can tweak previous scenes to emphasize the reasons, or I can add a direct thought about why they're not window-jumping.  There are lots of options, I just need to figure out which one works best for my story and my style.

Sometimes there are other issues which can start to infringe on an author's voice.  Personally, I love using unusual words and descriptions but I know it can become off-putting for a reader to constantly have to guess what I mean.  So when my editor starts indicating that I need to take them out, it can feel like a personal sting.  But it forces me to consider each one: do I really need this? does it match the pacing of the story or am I slowing the reader when I shouldn't be?  I fight for the ones I really want and that I think are critical, but the vast majority get simplified.  By making me face how many times I've used the word "eeled" in a manuscript, I'm forced to hone my writing and avoid repetition.

One of the biggest reasons I use an editor is to ensure consistent writing style, i.e. use of commas, tenses, and italics.  There's a fair amount of variation in what is actually "right" in the English language (I have friends who will live and die in their defense of the Oxford comma) but it's inconsistency that makes most readers cringe.  My editor keeps my style consistent and I am eternally grateful, even if I sometimes go wide-eyed at the number of commas that I apparently missed.

None of these things are easily handled by an author on their own.  I know some authors who pay for three or four editors in the developmental stage, just to make sure they get a variety of viewpoints looking at it.   I know authors who do multiple line edits to make sure all of the typos, grammar and punctuation errors get caught.  (Though if you are going to do this, make sure that each line editor is familiar with the style that you have chosen: Chicago, Strunk and White, etc.)  An editor isn't your friend, but he or she is absolutely necessary if an author wants to move past the amateur stage.  It is a partnership and both sides have the same goal: to make sure a book is the best possible book it can be.  

My next best possible book, Judgment, will be coming out on May 14th and you can pre-order it now.  Sometimes the most ordinary people are capable of extraordinary things and you should never underestimate a mom with a mission.

Previous Post: Romance vs Reality: What Makes a Great HEA?

Blog homepage

Ink Tip: Dos and Don'ts of Accountability Buddies

Writing is solitary.  No matter how many voices and worlds live inside a person's head and how real they feel, in the end it's just the author and a keyboard (or paper and pen if they prefer old school).  Add in the fact that most authors also have jobs they need to pay the bills, and all the other things that can complicate life and it becomes clear why sometimes letting the words flow isn't as easy as it sounds.

Inspiration is going to strike any second now.
Or maybe now.
How about now?

One of the ways to overcome life-induced inertia is to pair up with an accountability buddy.  It's a fairly simple concept: pick someone and then each day or each week or each month, you have to tell them how much you've written.  But setting up your accountability buddy can be more complicated than it sounds.  The wrong type can actually end up discouraging an author instead of encouraging them.  So here are some suggestions from my own experience with accountability buddies.

First question to look at: do you actually do better if you have someone to be accountable to?  

Not everyone likes having to share their successes and failures with another person.  If the idea of having to tell someone that you've failed to meet your writing goal is something that is going to gnaw at you, casting a pall over your writing time, then an accountability buddy isn't the best system to get your fingers moving.  But if admitting failure lights a fire under you, then the next step is to find the right accountability buddy.

Second question: how competitive are you?

I've had a few accountability buddies over the years and I've discovered that I have to be careful.  If my buddy is too productive, I feel discouraged.  My first buddy regularly wrote between 5000 and 10 000 words a day, at a time when I was doing amazing if I wrote over 500 words in a day.  My second buddy didn't write more days than she did, and so it didn't drive me.  Because she wasn't writing, it was easier to tell myself that I'd write tomorrow.

If you're competitive then you need to make sure that you don't feel like you're losing to your accountability buddy.  If you're more on the congratulate and celebrate side of the spectrum, then your buddy's output isn't as critical.

Which leads to our next step: what are the rules going to be?

Do you want your buddy to kick your butt if you don't make your writing goals?  Or would you rather have encouragement and pats on the back?  How often do you want to share?  Daily?  Weekly?  Monthly?  Do you have to share if you have a 0 word day?  Do you share privately or on a public forum?

Having a buddy should feel good.  It can be a great feeling to be able to tell someone "I did it!" and know that they will understand how good that can feel.   Having someone to celebrate with can make this solitary profession a little easier.  

Big thanks to my accountability buddy @LBoota and her amazing gifs of encouragement that keep me going.

Previous Ink Tip: Punctuation and Grammar (Comprehension vs Consistency)

Previous Post: Please take time to think (How we can all work to prevent online bullying)

Blog homepage

Ink Tip: Punctuation And Grammar

So which category do you fall into?  Are you a flexible whatever gets the job done?  Or do you have strong opinions about the proper usage of an Oxford comma?

It's loves bedsheets, sales, and fireflies!  Not bedsheet sales and fireflies!

I've seen several articles over the last few days talking about how being rigid about spelling and grammar can actually form barriers to diversity and multiculturalism in publishing.  I've also seen some thoughtful commentaries about how English is a rapidly evolving language that accepts variants (exhibit one: Shakespeare's entertaining spelling choices).  And finally, there have been the articles decrying the dumbing down of North American culture.

I'll admit to having mixed feelings on the subject.  On the one hand, poor spelling and grammar drives me nuts.  I don't even like the LOL Catz.  But I also recognize that the rules are inconsistent and vary quite a bit.  That's why there are different rules for grammar styles. (my editing house uses the Chicago Manual).  And for the most part, the minor variations between them don't affect comprehensibility.

I think that there is room to be inclusive and different voices make stories interesting.  So I don't believe that anyone needs to be particularly difficult about sticking to any particular style.  And frankly, in a world of autocorrect and touch-screen typing, none of us are living in glass-free houses when it comes to throwing error-rocks.

But I also don't think it's ridiculous or overly fussy to expect a certain level of professional language from a writer for a published work.  Nothing will throw me out of a book faster than a mis-used homonym like "the reign came down in soft fat waterdrops."  I don't attack people for mispellings or odd grammar choices in their social media posts or even day to day writings, but if they have asked me to pay for something they've written, I expect not to be jolted out of the story.

So how can we find a balance between making sure that there is room for everyone to tell their stories and no one group is dominating publishing, and making sure that readers have enjoyable reading experiences?  I don't know the answer to that particular riddle but I've heard some good suggestions, like offering free spelling and grammar editing for aspiring authors who might otherwise be barred from submitting to publishing houses.  

Because the thing is: people do care about grammar and spelling.  It's not just about being understood and everything else is a bonus.  Properly written, the words become invisible to the story, flowing directly to the reader's mind to create a fictional world that can become more real with every chapter.  And that's how it should be.

Previous post: The Myth of High-Maintenance vs Low-Maintenance Women

Blog homepage

Ink Tip: Finding The Reason Behind The Story

Stories don't happen in a vacuum.  They grow out of a desire to say... something.  Everyone has something different that they want to share.  Sometimes it's as simple as a cool bit of dialogue or an awesome character or an amazing scene.

And sometimes its more.  Sometimes there's a message that an author wants to send.  One of the questions that I usually end up exploring in my novels is balancing responsibility and personal choice.  Nathan Burgoine often explores the concept of chosen family in his stories.  Lucy Farago looks at the implications of keeping secrets and the consequences of telling the truth.  Sherrilyn Kenyon usually deals with the aftermath and recovery from abuse.  

Finding the thread that runs through your story can be a big part of finding your voice as an author.  And it can also help to guide you through some of the pitfalls.

The #OwnVoices movement is getting stronger (as it should) but it means that an author writing outside of his/her own personal experience is more likely to face challenges.  Research is important but it's only part of the work.

The other part was summed up very eloquently in Nathan Burgoine's post on the Spoonie Author Network: Why You?  Before deciding to tell a story which isn't your own, take the time to think about why you want to do so.

I struggled with this decision for Metamorphosis and Judgment, both of which have Native American main characters.  I knew I wanted to place the stories in an isolated community up North and the vast majority of the population up there is native.  To have non-native characters felt like whitewashing but at the same time, I knew I was going to have to be very careful and make sure I did my homework.  But it was critical to the story that I wanted to tell about those who can't hide from prejudice (in my case, people with visible signs of their talents).  So I've done my best to represent them in a respectful and accurate way.

But I think the message behind the story is important to find out even if an author isn't treading on OwnVoices territory.  Why do you want to tell this story?  What is the one piece that could never be compromised on, that would gut the whole reason why the story needs to be told in the first place?

When you know the answer to that question, then you'll be able to craft something more powerful than you can imagine.

Previous Ink Tip: All the 2017 Ink Tips

Previous Post: Separating the Artist from the Art

Blog Homepage

2017 Ink Tips

For the last Ink Tip of 2017, I thought I would do a look back at all of the Ink Tips from this year.

1) Accepting Criticism and Edits

Writers tend to flip back and forth between two modes: feeling brilliant and feeling like a fraud.  This can get even worse during the editing process, which can bring up a lot of insecurities.  But a few simple questions can help to get an author through the worst of it and that ensures that their book gets the work they need.

2) Writing What You Don't Know

These days it's pretty easy for an author to step on someone's toes.  And the key to that is research.  There are three areas where imagination is not quite enough: creating the impossible, the learnable, and the researchable. 

3) Chasing the Shiny

I love exploring new ideas.  Sometimes when I should be working on finishing up the old one.  On the other side of the coin, I know authors who get bogged down in eternal editing.  So I put together suggestions for both groups on how to keep from getting trapped.

4) How to Say Goodbye

Sometimes, no matter how awesome a scene, or a phrase, or a character is, an author has to let them go.  So I put together my steps for letting go of what I love when it doesn't fit the story.

5) How to Sell at Conferences

As the digital landscape gets more and more crowded, conferences are becoming one of the best way to get an author's books in front of a new audience.  Yet most authors will readily admit that they don't make their money back at conferences.  But there are ways to increase your chances of making a sale.

6) Style and Voice

What is an author's voice?  It's hard to define but easy to recognize.  Take a random paragraph from your favourite authors and it'll be easy to pick out one from another even without the cues of identifying names or settings.

7) The Tyranny of Daily Writing

"Write every day or else you aren't a writer."  There are dozens of variations of this advice and while it's usually aimed at overcoming impostor syndrome or writer's block, the second half makes it a dangerous assumption.  There are all kinds of ways to be a writer and everyone has to find their own path.

8) Is "Show, Don't Tell" False Advice?

"Show, Don't Tell."  It's one of the first pieces of writing advice that we hear.  But it assumes a common experience that can exclude a wide range of minority experiences, creating a barrier to understanding.

9) A Look At Romance Tropes

Romance has a shorthand for describing books that can get confusing for the uninitiated.  So I put together a quick reference of the most common options.

10) Tortoise Victories: Writing Slow

These days all a prospective author hears is "publish, publish, publish" as a career path, but the truth is that writing slow can be just as effective, if you do it right.

I hope you enjoyed the posts.  I'll be starting up with new Ink Tips on January 25th and then the last Thursday of every month.  Happy New Year!

Ink Tip: Tortoise Victories: How to Win While Writing Slow

We've all heard the story about the fast, but lazy rabbit and the steadfast and trusty tortoise.  It's one of those great early childhood morality tales about finishing what you start and not being overconfident.  But in the publishing world, it seems that it's the hares who always win and tortoises are encouraged to invest in some jet-packs to keep up with the pace.

Ready for a word sprint?

Last month, Susanna Kearsley came to speak with ORWA about how to weave multiple-story lines into a single novel.  That was fascinating, but what really connected with me was when she talked about writing slow.

She shared that she is not a fast writer.  It usually takes two years for her to publish her next book and she usually only writes a page or two at a time.  But she is still a bestseller, proving that the publish, publish, publish strategy is not the only route to success.

There are so many messages and articles out there about how to write faster.  New authors are confronted with expectations of publishing three or more books each year, sometimes as many as one each month.  The message is: if you don't have something new out, you'll disappear into the void of constantly churning content and readers will forget about you in their search for something else.

But that's not necessarily true.

Yes, it may take longer.  After all, if an author is only putting out one book every year or two, then it takes much longer to set up a backlist that fans can discover.  No matter how brilliant a writer is, if there's only one or two books available, then that is all that fans can buy, even if they are super-enthusiastic.

And yes, it is important to stay visible.  Readers have their own lives and don't just sit breathlessly by the computer waiting for announcements that their favourite authors have released a new book.  It's important to try and keep yourself in their awareness, so that they remember that they loved your book and will be excited when the countdowns begin for the next one.  Regular social media and blog posts, attending events and sharing bits from your work in progress can all keep an author from disappearing.

There are ways to make that kind of online presence easier:

- Find something you're already excited about that can be tied into your book.  Are you great in the kitchen?  Maybe do a regular recipe connected with your stories.  Do you travel a lot?  Post photos and reviews of your adventures, emphasizing the parts that inspire you to keep writing.  We all have passions and those passions usually tie into our writing, so drawing in people who share those passions means a much larger crowd of potential readers who will learn about your next book.

- Get a posting routine.  I have two monthly blog features (Ink Tip and Heroine Fix) as well as my weekly writing update.  That leaves me two blog posts each month that can be spontaneous or reflective of what's going on in my life and the world, which I find is a good balance for me.  For social media, I participate in #1LineWednesday, sharing a quote card from my previous books and a line from my work in progress.  I also share a quote about either writing or reading each Monday, a romance-inspiring song lyric on Tuesdays, and a quote about characters, superheroes, or different genres each Friday.  There's also a floater post each week, where I post a picture of a hot hero in connection to various Internet holidays (like Tell A Fairy Tale Day, February 26).  I call that one my Hero Worship post.  I still tweet and facebook about my life and my thoughts on a spontaneous basis, but these regular postings cover me when I'm swamped or uninspired or otherwise not in a social media mood.

- Schedule your social media and blog posts in advance.  Its a lot of work coming up with posts, so blocking out some time on a weekly or monthly basis makes sense.  There are plenty of programs that let you schedule things in advance (I use Hootsuite) so I can take an hour or two once a month to schedule my Hero Worship and #1LineWednesday quotes, and about a half hour each week to schedule my quotes and lyrics.

- Pictures can be good branding tools.  Humans are visual and we're far more likely to take in a picture while scrolling (thus prompting us to stop) than we are to read text.  By finding an image which you can use to mark your different kinds of posts, you can create a visual shorthand, making it easier for readers to catch the posts they're interested in.  And if you can't create a shorthand, then a picture still makes it far more likely for your post to be noticed.

The real caveat behind all publishing advice is that readers don't like being disappointed.  So if you're a slow writer, then be honest about that.  Forcing the writing process into a breakneck pace can lead to trite and repetitive stories, which readers will quickly saturate on and move on from.  Be honest about your expected deadlines (whether self- or editor-imposed) and if there are life delays, be honest about those, too.

Some writers can produce a book that readers love in an incredibly short period of time.  Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde were both written in what amounts to a weekend writing blitz, according to their respective author's memoirs.  I'm in awe of authors who can produce 70 000 to 100 000 words each month, allowing them to put out well-edited and exciting books every two to three months.

Until Ms. Kearsley's lecture, I was harbouring a growing doubt about whether or not I would ever truly be able to succeed.  I am a fast writer, but I have very limited time in my life for when I can write, which makes me a slow writer in reality.  She was a welcome reminder that there are all kinds of paths which lead to being able to call oneself a successful author.  It's a matter of stubbornly sticking to it, even in the times that we doubt ourselves and our talent.  The lesson of the tortoise and the hare isn't about their relative speeds, it's about who never gives up.

Ink Tip: So What Do These Romance Tropes Really Mean Anyway

Romance readers and writers have their own shorthand.  If a romance reader comes up and says "I like MC, secret baby, friends to lovers type books" then we know exactly what books to recommend to him or her.

But sometimes, we forget that these tropes aren't universally understood.  And after participating in the romance tropes panel at Can-Con, (and fielding several questions afterwards), I thought I would put together a common romance trope primer for this month's Ink Tip.

All of these tropes will end in a happily ever after with the hero and heroine falling in love and getting together.  (And for the record, these tropes also appear in LGBTQIA+ stories as well.  I use hero and heroine to describe the two characters in the central relationship but they can be of any and all genders.  And there can be more than just two.)

Accidental pregnancy/Secret baby: this trope requires the heroine to be pregnant and the pregnancy either forces the heroine and hero into proximity (think Fools Rush In) or the heroine tries to hide the baby, creating additional conflict (and the best film example I can think of for this is Superman Returns).

Alpha hero/Protector: the hero is a take charge, shoot first man of muscle and action.  There are lots of variations on this trope: MC (motorcycle clubs), military, billionaire, police, monster (usually vampire or werewolf), and more than I can easily list.  There are two main types of alpha hero, the broken hero dealing with damage from his past (Wolverine) and the protector hero who will do anything to save others, particularly his love interest (Die Hard).

Arranged marriage/Marriage of convenience/Faked relationship: this could be seen as a variation of the friends to lovers trope, but I feel it deserves it's own entry.  For some reason, the hero and heroine must get married, either to each other or just in general.  Once they are married, they discover their affection and love for each other growing into true love.  An example of the arranged marriage trope would be The Princess Diaries 2, while marriage of convenience would be The Mirror Has Two Faces, and Just Go With It exemplifies the faked relationship trope.

May/December: one of the characters is in the "December" of their life while the other is in the "May" of their, i.e., there is a significant age gap between the two characters.  Usually the hero is the older one but we're seeing more with women snagging younger mates, like How Stella Got Her Groove Back.

Disguise/Mistaken Identity: one of the characters is misrepresenting him or herself in a way that threatens the developing relationship.  While You Were Sleeping is my favourite example of this trope.

Cyrano: the hero or heroine helps the other to woo another, only to realize that they are falling in love instead.  The Ugly Truth is a great one for this, if you don't want to go with the classic play.

Enemies to lovers/Friends to lovers: the couple starts out either as platonic friends (When Harry Met Sally) or on opposite sides of a conflict, like Beatrice and Benedict in the classic Shakespeare Much Ado About Nothing.  (And for the record, Romeo and Juliet is not a romance.  Unless there's a post-credit coda showing the two of them happy and in love in the afterlife.)

Forbidden love/Opposites attract: the characters are separated by social, economic, cultural or other taboos for forbidden love but just on opposite sides of their points of view for opposites attract.  If Romeo and Juliet ended happily, they would be an example of the forbidden love trope.  And actually, for the life of me, I cannot think of a movie where they use this trope and allow the characters to be together at the end.  But Dharma and Greg did opposites attract over five seasons. (If you can think of a movie for forbidden love, please let me know in the comments so that I can smack my head and say "why didn't I think of <title>?")

Jilted/Runaway: these are two sides of the same trope.  For jilted, we start with a character who has been abandoned at the altar and rebuilds their hopes, like Meg Ryan in French Kiss.  And runaway is where the character realizes that he/she is marrying the wrong person and finds love (like Paula Marshall in That Old Feeling).

Return to hometown: a character returns home and finds love in the last place they ever thought they'd come back to. (Sweet Home Alabama)

Reunited love: the couple used to be married or dating but broke up sometime in the past.  Now those feelings are coming back.  I could use Bette Midler's character in That Old Feeling as an example but Did You Hear About the Morgans is another good one.

Heart of Gold/Redemption: in heart of gold, one character is "bad" but is also a generous and caring person (Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman), leading the other character to fall in love despite the stigma.  This is often paired with a story of redemption where one character is trying to atone for past actions (like Black Widow in The Avengers)

This isn't an exhaustive list.  There are hundreds of variations out there, but it does cover the common ones and my own particular favourites.  And gave me an excuse to run through some of my favourite movies and characters.

Ink Tip: Is "Show, Don't Tell" False Advice?

A few weeks ago, I read an article by Cecilia Tan which tore apart the most well-known piece of writing advice: show, don't tell.  She pointed out the inherent assumption behind it, namely that the writer's experience is universal.  But we know that isn't true, even within North American culture.  Tan makes a convincing argument that "show, don't tell" is actually an exclusionary tactic, used to regulate genre fiction as less than literary fiction, and silence diverse voices.

I've experienced genre-shaming first hand on several occasions since I began to write.  After all, I write romance, which everyone knows is trite, formulaic and done to titillate bored housewives, and I write speculative fiction, which is only read by nerds who can't hack the real world.  (Everyone got the sarcasm?  Okay, good, we can move on.)  

However, I hadn't thought about how "show, don't tell" assumes a false universal experience, one that shuts out diverse stories.  After all, if someone doesn't fit into the accepted box (which sadly tends to be white, male, cishet, and middle to upper class), then they have to "tell" in order to give the reader context.  That "telling" can then be used as an excuse by publishers and editors to refuse the manuscript, citing that it's bad writing.

But is the advice itself actually bad?  Like most writing advice, the short form is incomplete.  The full advice should actually be: "Show, don't tell, except when telling works better for the story."  Showing something is more emotionally impactful to the reader, but telling speeds up the pacing.  So there are times when telling the reader something is actually the right choice for a narrative, just as there are times when showing is the preferable choice.

For example, if I want to establish a character as cruel, then telling the reader that the character is a "bad guy" won't have the same gut-instinct as showing him/her doing something cruel.  But if I'm establishing why the stakes are high for an intergalactic conference, that's something that I need to tell the reader because showing it would require a couple of Tolkienesque bulky appendices detailing the history and interactions of the various cultures.  

Good writers are able to tell the reader information in a way that feels natural and doesn't interrupt the flow of the story.  That's an important skill and one that shouldn't be dismissed.

I'll admit that I'm used to dismissing literary fiction, which I generally find to be dry, patronizing and thinly-disguised commentary.  I like genre fiction of all types because I find well-written genre fiction to be engaging, character driven and thought-provoking.  So I'm not particularly bothered by the idea that "show, don't tell" discriminates between genre and literary fiction.  I'm also not bothered by the idea that the creative writing courses and Masters of Fine Arts programs focus on literary fiction.  If that's what a person wants, go for it.  If you want the other stuff, there are plenty of other groups that will help to teach an aspiring author the necessary craft.

But if "show, don't tell" is being used to shut down diversity, that makes me angry.  Because publishers should be encouraging diverse voices.  It should be something that they actively seek out and promote.  Now, I don't have the personal experience in the publishing industry to say one way or another if that is the case, but given that people of colour, LGBTQ+, and those with disabilities have repeatedly shared that they have trouble getting contracts, I suspect there are challenges that need to be addressed.

Show, don't tell is still a valid piece of advice (if overly simplistic).  Like all writing advice, it's one that writers have to learn when to ignore.

Ink Tip: The Tyranny of Daily Writing

There is a tiny piece inside of me which shudders whenever I talk about how difficult writing is.  It's a loudmouth, reminding me that making up stories is something I have always done for fun, so how dare I complain about any aspect of it.  But, there's another part, larger and more sober, which reminds me that there's a difference between imagining a story, writing it down, and creating something which other people want to read.  All three are very different.  (And yes, I have many voices in my head, but that's between me and my court-appointed psychologist.)

Writing a book is hard and takes a lot of work.  It takes me a year to write and edit a book that someone can read in a few hours.  Don't get me wrong, I love it and it's what I want to do, but like anything else, there are days when I'd much rather veg and watch TV than haul out the computer.

This is where writing advice people will talk about the importance of making yourself write every day.  Even if all you pen is a measly 500 words, that's 500 words further ahead than you were before.  And after (pause for calculator) 200 days, you have 100 000 words, which is a decent size novel.  It sounds like a no-brainer, doesn't it?

Except that this approach doesn't always work.  Especially if the author is still juggling other commitments (like a job, for example).  Sometimes those little patchwork pieces of 500 words don't come together into something coherent and exciting, because the author has been pushing his/herself instead of taking the time to recharge.

Writing advice is like any other advice.  It's well-intentioned but it's not going to work for everyone.  My parents encouraged me to throw my time and effort into climbing the career ladder, which would have required 80-100 hour weeks, because that's what worked for them.  I was capable of it, but it wasn't what I wanted, so I chose work that I knew wasn't going to follow me home at night or on weekends, giving me predictable space for other pursuits that I felt more passionate about.  In other words, I went with what worked for me.

Self-awareness is the real key to success.  Do I do better writing in two or three large blitzes or in steady, small doses?  Am I a plotter or a pantser?  How much prep work is too much?  And sometimes those answers aren't always immediately obvious.  I enjoy doing character studies and writing out backgrounds, which helps to create interesting characters but can also end up taking away from time actually writing the story.  I need regular breaks in my writing, but if I take more than two days off, I have trouble getting back into it.

The only way to find what works is to push yourself to try different things.  And then be honest with yourself about what works and what doesn't.  I'm a big believer in writing things down, because otherwise I evaluate success emotionally.  I might feel like I've succeeded or failed but it's the numbers that tell the objective story of daily wordcounts or books sold.

If you're looking to make the jump between writing for fun and being a published author, then start your homework now.  Join a group, read the magazines and blogs, try different approaches until you find something that works for you.

Ink Tip: Style and Voice

One of the more confusing things for a new writer is trying to understand how to find the line between accepting corrections and staying true to your own voice.  I certainly found it frustrating as I sorted through critiques and suggestions on my first manuscript.

So let's start with the basics.  A writer's voice is hard to define but easy to recognize.  It's a combination of word choice, sentence structure, storytelling technique and description that comes together to create a unique way of telling a story.

Here's a demonstration.  These are the first paragraphs of some of my favourite books:

"Shadow had done three years in prison.  He was big enough and looked don't-fuck-with-me enough that his biggest problem was killing time.  So he kept himself in shape and taught himself coin tricks, and thought a lot about how much he loved his wife."

"I parked the bike in front of the restaurant, wiping perspiration from my upper lip.  It was unseasonably warm this January, but sweating during a Florida winter was better than freezing in a Northern one.  I twisted my hair into a knot, my neck cooler once the long back swath was off it.  With a final swipe at my forehead, I entered the restaurant, ignoring the tables in favor of the patrons seated at the bar."

"Shoot the moon was considered to be one of the more dangerous yoyo tricks.  Not particularly complicated -- nothing like the crossovers of a Texas Star -- but a moment's inattention and the odds were good that 35.7 grams of hardwood would be impacting painfully off the front curve of the human skull.  There were rumors that, back in '37, Canadian and World Champion, Joe Young, had once bounced a Shoot the Moon and continued to ace the competition with no one the wiser until the next day when the bruise began to develop.  She didn't know about that, and she didn't put much trust in rumors, but she did know that when Joe Young died in the war, the sport lost a master."

All three of these are obviously very different stories.  The first has short sentences and short words, creating a sense of action and movement.  In a few short sentences, we get a clear idea of who the hero is.  The second is very focused on the senses, creating an immediate and intimate connection between the reader and the character.  And the third brings in humour by talking about the danger of yoyos, but is also very specific and precise.  Again the words are shorter but the sentences are longer, creating a flow of language.

For the curious, the first example is from Neil Gaiman's American Gods, the second is from Jeaniene Frost's Once Burned and the third is from Tanya Huff's The Enchantment Emporium.

Neil Gaiman has a dark whimsical twist to his writing and that comes through in the first paragraph.  We start with the hero being in prison and then make it clear that no one messes with him (dropping an f-bomb along the way) and finish with learning coin tricks and loving his wife.

Jeaniene Frost's writing tends to be very sensual and intimate.  She uses the first person and puts in a lot of sensory detail but does so in a way that it doesn't become overwhelming.  We follow the heroine through just a few seconds of her life but already feel as if we're part of it.

Tanya Huff mixes humour and eccentricity but also brings in backstory in a way that sets the stage and tells us about the characters.  The few lines about the adventures of Yoyo Master Joe Young establish the tone as quirky but also reveals the character's admiration of perfection and skill.  

Finding your own voice as a writer is an ongoing process.  Some core elements will always remain the same and become more refined over time, but others may change over a writer's career.

My rule of thumb is: if I took this out of the story, would it also take out the fun?  If I feel removing a detail is going to suck the life out of my story, then I know I'm touching on something inherent to my voice.

Ink Tip: How To Say Goodbye

Every writer has that sentence, scene or character that they absolutely love.  They know in their hearts that it's brilliant, entertaining and wonderful.

And sometimes, it doesn't work.

So what's a writer to do with their wonderful square peg and nothing but round holes to stick it in?  When the brilliant line of dialogue sounds forced?  When the heart-felt scene doesn't make sense?  Or the engaging character ends up feeling like a distracting extra?

First, (and this can be the hardest step) accept that it's not going to work.  It doesn't matter how great it is, if it doesn't fit into this story, then forcing it to stay will only diminish both sides.  When I went to see Logan, I was surprised when they put the Deadpool 2 teaser scene at the front of the movie instead of in the credits like they normally do.  But after I watched both, I understood.  Without giving any spoilers away, the Deadpool teaser is funny and irreverent while the movie Logan was powerful and intense.  If the Deadpool scene had happened after, it would have struck the audience as disrespectful and it would have taken away some of the impact from the finale of the movie.

In this case, some timeline editing allowed the audience to see both but that's not always going to be a possibility.  Sometimes, a writer just has to surgically remove the awesome, yet troublesome piece.  But then what?

The second step is to save it.  I always find it easier to edit out my favourites when I know that I'm not getting rid of them, I'm merely putting them aside to feature at a later date.  Sometimes that brilliant character can become the hero or heroine of his or her own story.  Or the scene can become the dark moment or highlight in the next book (or the one after that).  You can always remind yourself that this is not the last story you will ever write, so there will be other opportunities down the road.

But there will be times where no matter the intention, it's just not going to come together.  If that is the case, then sometimes it's necessary to just bite the bullet and consign something to the "wish it could have been" drawer.  It can be a hurtful event, so give yourself time to emotionally process it.  Call a friend, have a glass of wine or emergency chocolate bar, whatever it will take to let you emerge on the other side, ready to battle the blank page once again.