Make A Living Writing Romance

I’ve recently finished reading another Ilona Andrews novel. The husband and wife writing duo has one of the most enjoyable writing styles I’ve ever come across. They’re particularly talented with their ability to describe a scene perfectly. Metaphors and vivid imagery help the reader envision the unique worlds the characters live in.

I have a more dialogue heavy style which doesn’t rely on too much description unless it’s part of the dialogue. However, I believe that everyone can benefit from practicing and improving their descriptive skills. Imagine your readers being able to become gracefully enveloped into your story and forget their reality for a short while. That’s what we all want, right?

So here’s a fun way to broaden your descriptive skills and step outside of the sensory box.

http://www.bluecatsandchartreusekittens.com/Blue_Cats_and_Chartreuse_Kittens_Rel.html

Are you familiar with the concept of Synesthesia?

It’s actually a condition where the senses mix up.

According to Synesthete.org  “Synesthesia is a perceptual condition of mixed sensations: a stimulus in one sensory modality (e.g., hearing) involuntarily elicits a sensation/experience in another modality (e.g. vision). Likewise, perception of a form (e.g., a letter) may induce an unusual perception in the same modality (e.g. a color).”

For example, a person may hear a color or taste a sound. Interesting, right?

So here’s the fun exercise:

Write down the colors of the rainbow on a piece of paper. ROYGBIV, right?

Then next to each color write down what the color would taste like? What would it smell like? How would it sound? Have fun with this exercise, let your imagination go with this.

Once you’ve covered the basic colors consider broadening your horizons. Get out one of those 64 boxes of crayons. Pull a crayon out of the box and imagine what the color would sound, feel, smell and taste like.

Your brain is a marvelous organ!

And like the rest of your body, you don’t want to take it for granted. In fact, if you exercise your brain you’ll find that it’s easier to write and to tap into your creative side.

So how do you exercise your brain?

Well there are the common ways. They’re quick, easy, usually fun, and they work. For example, spend some time doing a crossword puzzle or playing word games. If you’re a social person then Words with Friends is fun.

But what about brain exercises beyond basic word games?

The other day I thought I may have broken my hand while at the rock climbing gym. I’m right handed and it was my right hand. It swelled up and hurt tremendously. But I still had work to do, children to pick up and errands to run. Thus, I turned to my always present and frequently underused left hand.

Everything I did for the rest of the day was done with my non-dominant hand. It was a real challenge and extremely slow. But it did exercise my brain. It forced me to think about how I move and use my hands. Try it. Try brushing your teeth, pouring a cup of coffee or writing with your non-dominant hand.

Challenging your senses is another way to strengthen your brain.

Pay attention to what you see, hear, feel and smell. Engage your senses and use them in different ways. Instead of tasting a strawberry, try to hear it or feel it. Instead of listening to music, think about what a song might smell like.

Find different ways to look at the world around you and to experience it.

Yes, word games and puzzles are good ways to strengthen your brain but consider taking it a few steps further. Really challenge your brain to create new associations and connections. You’ll change the way you look at the world and you’ll open up a world of possibilities in your writing.

When working on a new story or developing your characters sometimes a token can help.

By token I mean something tangible that your character would wear, eat or use.

For example a fedora, Peanut M&Ms or maybe they’re addicted to checking their horoscope.

Getting into character and creating a consistent persona can be easier if you gather beside you a token or two. For example, if your character eats Peanut M&Ms all the time then you too may start eating them when you’re writing.

It’s not crazy, I promise! And it really works. It helps you relate to the character. The trick , of course, is identifying a token that you can adopt safely and consistently. For example, if your character is always slamming tequila shots then you probably don’t want to adopt that habit! But you could try a tequila shot or two if you’ve never had one.

I tend to appreciate jewelry. For Cheating Time (currently under review by The Wild Rose Press) I acquired a watch much like the watch my protagonist found in the first pages of the story. It worked a bit too well and I had some kinda creepy experiences. (Perhaps I’ll share my ghost stories another time.)

For the current series that I’m working on my character is quite tough. She drives a jeep, her “uniform” is a white t-shirt, jeans and cowboy boots, and she doesn’t take any grief from anyone. However, she’s also a woman and not afraid to express that side of herself.

I wanted to find an extremely feminine yet powerful necklace or charm that represented her. Thus, Nike  the goddess of victory. A quick trip to Etsy and I found a beautiful necklace that was perfect for my character. I purchased the item and three days later it’s sitting on my desk providing inspiration. (and of course it’s much cheaper than buying a yellow jeep!)

The next time you’re creating a character or if you’re having difficulty maintaining a consistent connection with your book’s primary characters consider adopting a token to keep you on track.

Happy Writing!

I’m heading to NY and Washington DC soon. Taking a trip with the family. In addition to enjoying the time exploring with my family I’m really looking forward to embracing the city. You see, I have a book that partially takes place in DC and one that partially takes place in NY.

Now, I’ve been to both cities several times. However, I’m looking forward to visiting again. I can take mental notes while I’m there and use them to create better scenes in both manuscripts.

How Do You Take Mental Notes?

I try to remember the five senses when taking mental notes. What am I seeing? What am I smelling? Hearing? In terms of the sense of touch I think more about the weather and how the air feels or how the city feels. For example, hurried, stressed, anticipatory etc… I’ll leave taste out of it:-D.

I do carry a notebook with me and use it from time to time, however I’m more likely to journal at the end of the day and document my observations of the day. Photographs help capture a scene too.

Next time you’re out and about practice taking mental notes. Stop and take a look around you. What do you hear? Smell? See and feel?

Write sentences in your head that describe the scene.

I love love love Elmore Leonard. When I lived outside of Detroit it actually gave me a little sense of pride to know that I was living near him. (Now I get that same giddiness when I see Jon Krakauer. Yes, I’m a goof.)

If you’re not familiar with Elmore Leonard he wrote the books that Get Shorty, Out of Sight and so many other great movies and TV shows were based on.

He started his career writing pulp fiction westerns, he saw a market and jumped in with both feet. His books are dialogue rich and truly entertaining. If you want to study how to write better dialogue, read Elmore Leonard.

I came across a book titled “Elmore Leonard’s 10 Rules of Writing.”

It’s heavily formatted and illustrated – one of those little books with five words on a page. However, it does hold a several tidbits of writing wisdom.

My Favorite….

Never Use An Adverb to Modify the Verb “said.”

as in, “she said quietly.”

he said earnestly.

he yelled loudly.

I’d go on to say that you should try to skip adverbs all togehter. When you do use them, make sure they are 100% necessary – she stated emphatically!

It’s a good book for beginners and advanced writer’s alike. It’s entertaining and you can use it to keep you on track or to fine tune your editing process.

You can grab the book at Amazon. (This isn’t an affiliate link. Just a nice link so you can buy the book if you’d like:-D).

Happy Writing!