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Writing The Romance with Cynthia Joy Her blue eyes...or were they green? - Keeping Track of Your Story Details August 31, 2000
HOST WRTR Cynth: ***Tonight's special guest is... HOST WRTR Cynth: Gail Martin! HOST WRTR Cynth: Welcome Gail! MartinGA: Thanks HOST WRTR Cynth: <><><><clapping wildly><>< MartinGA: Always nice to be here. HOST WRTR Cynth: Gail has graciously agreed to address... HOST WRTR Cynth: Her blue eyes...or were they green?" : HOST WRTR Cynth: How to keep track of story details! HOST WRTR Cynth: Gail, would you like to begin by sharing about yourself for us? ga MartinGA: A great deal has happened career-wise since I was here last!! HOST WRTR Cynth: Do tell! MartinGA: I have two published Barbour novels - and this year I added one novella and then had the unexpected opportunity - due to an emergency situation to submit another which is also out this year - December. 12 people submitted and I was offered a contract for a novella called "Better To See You" in Once Upon A Time - contemporary fairytale. My other novella just came out. Last year, I sold my first Steeple Hill Romance -- and I began to wonder if I'd sell another. Suddenly, I sold my second and then a couple months later, I sold my third - plus I sold my first Silhouette Romance - on proposal. Since Silhouette Romance is a "sweet' line - I'm able to continue writing my inspirational romances and still write for the secular line. HOST WRTR Cynth: Wow! MartinGA: I said the same! HOST WRTR Cynth: Congratulations! MartinGA: Thanks. HOST WRTR Cynth: Would you like to begin our topic? ga MartinGA: Sure - I thought I'd begin with some info and then I'd like others to share some of their ideas as we go along. We're all writers here - and how many times have we forgotten a major detail of the novel -- and to search for eye color, name of a character's friend, the make of a car, father's name, or the small cafe in town. MartinGA: It's vital to keep track of all these things as we write novels for many reasons - and I'm sure you’ll have some of your own. First, you don’t want your heroine to have green, then blue eyes. You don't want that type of error in your work. Also - times when a novel is rejected - and you might have to lengthen it or shorten it for another publishing house - add scenes or changes things around. It's terribly difficult when you have to search for facts that you should know. Also once a novel is sold - you will be involved in the cover art. You'll be asked for the hair coloring and body shape, hair style, etc. of the hero and heroine If you wrote the novel one year and have to write this cover art info a year later, can you remember? Probably not - especially since you're working on another novel. Also - an opportunity for a sequel is a possibility and all those things are needed. MartinGA: Here are some tips that I do - that might help you in your writing. Many people keep their info in a 3 hole binder - then remove the page of info, facts, etc. as they need them. Others keep their story material in an envelope - I personally keep mine in a file folder - in that folder I have all of the character sketches, floor plans, city plats, research, etc that I would need. MartinGA: Here's how I begin. First - for inspirational - I write using a Bible Verse to help keep the story in focus. That verse is the theme of the novel usually. MartinGA: I use Quick Verse - and I copy out all the verses I like - put the main one or two on my cover sheet but I hang on to the rest - in the folder MartinGA: Next - you can work with a character work sheet. I hope all of you do this. Some of these sheets are very long and others are shorter. I keep track of things like physical, emotional and psychological traits of my two main characters - eye color, hair and style, height, weight, shape, mouth cheekbones -and things like dimples. MartinGA: I also include a list of main goals, motivations and conflicts, dreams, fears, dark moments, weakness and strengths - family names - like parents and sibling, ages, car, pets and names, hobbies/talents, friends' names and how they know each other, place of employment & job, restaurants & locations. MartinGA: I also keep track of any idiosyncrasies - things like hand through hair, biting lip or nails, pinching lip, tapping fingers, wiggling legs, rattling keys in pocket, etc. You get the point. MartinGA: On the back of my sheet, I write out a backstory. Things that happened before the story begins - details and how this affects the character. You may not need all this info, but if you do it's there. Never give your backstory out in the beginning of your novel. Hang on to it - only let the facts go that are totally needed. Hint at problems without details - it keeps the reader interested and wondering. I think this is the main error of a new writer - trying to tell too much too soon. MartinGA: Now - for physical description - I keep a file on photographs, magazine pictures, catalogue pictures, different poses with different clothes and in different positions. I cut these out and glue the pictures of one character on the sheets - and I do this for many different people whose looks appeal to me. Before I begin a story, I find the picture that I think most looks like my character. As I write, I keep that photo in front of me so I can see them moving and talking. This helps make your characters more believable. MartinGA: For setting which is important whether it be a town or a room. I use a lot of different techniques. First in finding an area that I want to use for a story, I often work with places that I've been - and know fairly well. My own hometown and state. But I like to write about different places too - so if I can I travel to that place, I take photographs and collect travel brochures so that I can recall the feel of a place. If I've never been there, then I use things like AAA booklets and a wonderful resource is the cities chamber of commerce. They are great about sending out tons of info. MartinGA: My novel coming out in October - Upon A Midnight Clear - is set in Bedford Illinois - I wanted to use the area because of the lime quarries there. I gathered lots of info and wrote about the place. This summer on the way to a conference, I had the opportunity to go there - and to drop into the bookstores. They had 4 bookstores in the city - and I also visited the chamber of commerce. They were so excited to know that a novel was in their tiny city. And my descriptions were perfect. I was so happy. MartinGA: I also use - house floor plans from magazines or draw my own to keep track of rooms - especially if it's a big house. MartinGA: The layout of cities and rooms in a house is so vital to keep them fresh in your mind so you don't have someone go in the wrong direction. <gg> MartinGA: I have some other examples, but I'd like to have some of you share ideas that you use to keep track of your information and story details. HOST WRTR Cynth: I did the embassy phone call. Anyone else? TFowler277: ! HOST WRTR Cynth: ga, TF TFowler277: I pretty much do the things Gail mentioned and I also own Carolyn Greene's Plot Doctor. It's an excellent reference tool for gathering info. ga MartinGA: Share some ideas, Terry. ga TFowler277: You did a great job of covering them. MartinGA: Ah-ha - TFowler277: I will say the photo is key. It's very difficult to describe your character to a cover artist. MartinGA: Yes, you're right about that! HOST WRTR Cynth: I often role play my characters while driving in the car. I practice the conversation. MartinGA: That's fun. Many people do role play to get a natural sound in their characters’ dialogue and to learn more about them, too. HOST WRTR Cynth: <I'm sure I look quite silly> Rdpelleg: ? HOST WRTR Cynth: ga, Rd Rdpelleg: I have a problem with letting my characters control me and its like I have no say in the matter, even after I have wrote down an outline, are there any suggestions? MartinGA: An outline is only as good as you need it to be. It is a guide but sometimes you find - just like on a trip - that you can get to a destination going in a different way. You cannot let characters get out of control - unless they stay within the bounds of your major purpose in writing the novel and that they will lead you to the same destination. My characters will often do things and sometimes I'm thrilled to have them set up something that happens later or lets me see a different part of their personality that I hadn't thought about. But if they get too out of hand - then you have to slap them back into submissions! You can't let a runaway character run the story. When it happens, stop and ask yourself does this follow your basic idea TFowler277: ! Rdpelleg: mine threaten to go on strike MartinGA: Is their behavior believable and realistic to the characterization? If so, then let it go -- you can always go back and change the scene if necessary. ga HOST WRTR Cynth: ga, TF TFowler277: But when I try to get them back in line, they remind me they're only letting me write their story. :) MartinGA: Some tips on keeping track of plot - especially when you have wayward characters. I work from a detailed synopsis, but I find that I work well if I begin to outline my scenes within the chapter. I give a few word scene description - and whose POV the story is in. This helps me see if one character is taking over too much and I can also make sure that the scenes are following logically - and that I don't have too much action along with too much slower plot - you want a balance. Ddilcher77: ? HOST WRTR Cynth: ga, Dd Ddilcher77: I'm doing my first novel and writing the first draft. I'm just going with the flow right now. Is that generally normal for a first draft? ga MartinGA: Yes, I think that you go with the flow as you begin as long as you know how to keep the story moving and keep it interesting. Personally, I never really have a first draft story. What I do is write for one day - periodically going back and checking what I write and editing - I do this for the day. The next day - I go back re-read what I wrote the day before - and I do more edits. Then I continue the story adding the new scenes. Periodically I stop and go back and edit - and I work on this pattern, so by the time I type THE END - my novel is nearly in final form. Ddilcher77: This is my first book so I really don't feel comfortable right now with structuring. I'm really having fun with it now, and plan to get serious with it later. MartinGA: I know that won't work for everyone though. That works well for me, and as I go back and reread I know that I'm keeping the same tone and flavor of my characters and the direction of the plot. HOST WRTR Cynth: I had to reprimand a character once--framed him and wrote him his own book to control him. ga MartinGA: You have to work the way it is comfortable for you - so don't use my style - yours isn't wrong at all. Ddilcher77: Thank you. ga MartinGA: Many people prefer to work the first drat and think it's best. MartinGA: Another method of helping with plot structure is putting scenes on 3 X 5 cards or note cards of some size only a sketch of the scene - and that way you can shuffle the scenes around and see the best way they flow. MartinGA: That's a very effective way to organize the plot. MartinGA: Right now, I'm doing some edits and decided I need to move scenes around - because I have my H & H apart too much in one area. So I started shifting things without a plan - and guess what! Do I have a mess! I have no idea what I'll do - I should take my own advice. I think I'll use the note card situation - and see if I can solve my problem. MartinGA: Any other questions or comments? ga TFowler277: ! HOST WRTR Cynth: ga, HOST WRTR Cynth: TF TFowler277: I was going to say that organizing your facts in a small binder sometimes makes them easier to access. I often use the 1" binders and gather the info. Later I stick it into a folder with the completed manuscript. MartinGA: Binders work well. I also put scenes in another file within my computer. I literally cut it form the story and put it off the page - and then decide where it fits best - that way I can pop it back in with transitions wherever it seems to work better. I have lots of page called - Piece of ??? I literally draw floor plans of my houses, especially ones that are elaborate. In my first novel, Seasons, the heroine goes to a lovely old captains house on Cape Cod. Because the house is so vast and has so many nooks, etc, I drew a floor plan so I could see the characters moving in the house. MartinGA: My second novel was set in Heidelberg Germany - Dreaming of Castles - and that novel, I had to do a lot to keep the flavor of Germany. There, I used photographs from trips and brochures from traveling to help me along. Always pick up travel brochures on all your trips. You never know when you'll need to use them - and they come in so handy. ga Ddilcher77: ! HOST WRTR Cynth: ga, Dd Ddilcher77: In my children's fantasy story I've done a map of the kingdom that I put my two children in. MartinGA: Yes, that's a great idea - very necessary to keep things straight. Ddilcher77: It really helps me when writing the story to know what direction they're traveling in. ga MartinGA: Absolutely HOST WRTR Cynth: ***Well, it's getting to be that time once again. Gail, do you have some parting advice for us tonight? ga MartinGA: Always think that someday you'll sell that novel and the editors will love your characters so much that they'll ask for a sequel. That will sure motivate everyone to keep good records on every aspect of their novel. MartinGA: I'd love you all to stop by my web site www.gailmartin.com. My novel coming out in October is on the home page - and you can see how beautiful it is. I was thrilled with that cover - UPON A MIDNIGHT CLEAR. CatWhoWalksAlone: ! HOST WRTR Cynth: ga, Cat CatWhoWalksAlone: I called AAA for a trip tik when my hero was driving across country! MartinGA: Great idea - and then get the books to go with it. That's how I found the little town of Bedford for my October novel. HOST WRTR Cynth: ***Thanks Gail Martin!!! <><><><clapping wildly><>< MartinGA: Thanks so much. It was a pleasure. TFowler277: Thanks Gail. Great workshop. HOST WRTR Cynth: ***Thanks goes out to Kim and Alice and EVERYONE!!! HOST WRTR Cynth: ***This has been... HOST WRTR Cynth: ***Writing the Romance... Flutterz: Thanks Gail! Great ideas!<><><><><><>
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