This made me laugh. Out loud. Watch the video. You’ll be laughing too, in less than a minute. Have a great weekend! I’m working. That whole NaNo catch up on words thing. Plus RWA Chapter meeting. And maybe babysitting the Sprout. 🙂
Edits done. Life moving on. Back to work catching up my word count for NaNoWriMo. Which made me think about this little gem from the Universe. While the Big U was speaking to a more omnipresent and philosophical vein, I took it much more personally. Because, when I exam my process, this is pretty much what I do when I create a world in which I set my characters, turning them loose to live their stories.
Ain’t it grand? Doesn’t it boggle your mind? The harmony, the splendor, the beauty, the intricacies, the synchronicities, and the staggering perfection? Silver, do you ever wonder how it all came about?
Do you think I studied quarks, atoms, and molecules? That I drew schematics for the sun, the moon, and the stars; the otter, the Gila Monster, and penguin? Do you think I painted every zebra, flower, and butterfly?
Or… do you think… I simply imagined the end result?
And that’s all you ever have to do!
Yeeeeee-ha!
The Universe
© http://www.tut.com ®Silver, I hated school.
And yes, it does boggle my mind. While I not a physicist, each of my worlds is made up of quarks, atoms, molecules, schematics, places, things, people. And yes, I simply imagine them all and they come into being as alive and real to me as the desk I’m sitting at typing this. Building a world when I write is just as easy–and just as difficult–as simply imagining it into being.
It’s all magic.
Please welcome my guest blogger today, Suz deMello. She’s got some words of wisdom about writing sex scenes and other tips. 😀 Take it away, Suz!
A few words about writing sex scenes (#NaNoWriMo #iamwriting #writingcraft @MFRW_ORG) from my writing treatise, Plotting and Planning, available at HERE and my first writing treatise, Write This, Not That! is free through 2014 at KOBO and GOOGLE.
Scenes are the building blocks of your story, for acts are comprised of scenes. They’re nothing more than events, most often interactions between your characters. Scenes should fulfill at least one or two of the below purposes—best if you can include all four.
•Advance plot
•Reveal or develop character
•Complicate or resolve conflict
•Express setting, mood, theme
Everything in your manuscript should have a function, even every comma or em-dash.
How does this apply to the writing of erotica?
Too often, sex scenes are shoehorned into a story to increase the word count or the heat level, while those scenes don’t fulfill any other function. To quote from Plotting and Planning again, Everything in a story should contribute to it, from the biggest monster to the tiniest comma.
If a scene doesn’t contribute to the story, it doesn’t belong there. It doesn’t matter how well-written it is. It doesn’t matter how hot it is. It doesn’t matter how much you, the author, may love the beautiful prose or the scorching hot, kinky sex.
There’s a piece of writerly advice out there: Kill your darlings.
No one’s quite sure where this phrase originated, but it’s been repeated often, by such notable authors as William Faulkner and Stephen King. (Find the article HERE.)
But it doesn’t matter who originated the phrase–it’s great advice. We often fall in love with our prose and are loath to cut it, especially when we may have slaved over a particularly well-turned clause or exhaustively researched, say, the eating habits of the lesser lemur of Madagascar.
But fiction is no place to be a smarty-pants. Leave that for term papers, book reports and theses.
In terms of writing sex scenes, what do we leave in and what to we cut?
We leave in those scenes that fulfill at least one of the above purposes. Ideally, a well-written, thoughtfully planned encounter will fulfill more than one purpose.
Here’s a brief example, from a story I wrote called Gypsy Witch. The backstory is that the heroine is dating a cop.
Ben propped himself up on his elbows to better see the naked woman beneath him. Sheened with sweat, Elena’s lush curves glowed in the reddish half-light of her bedroom, curtained in exotically patterned swaths of gauze and silk. A curl of smoke from a lit incense stick scented the air with sandalwood. Otherworldly New Age music flowed out of a boombox in the corner, irritating the hell out of him.
Though the paragraph is very sensual, there’s quite a bit of characterization and even a little conflict—and this is only the first paragraph of the story. We see that Ben is very “feet-on-the-ground” while Elena, his lover, is exotic and New-Agey. So character is described, setting is related and the romantic conflict is shown.
If you like what you read, find the story HERE.
As a romance novelist, I believe firmly that erotic scenes should never be gratuitous. If a writer keeps the purposes a scene must fulfill in mind while writing, the sex is never out of place but is a seamless part of a well-written story.
About the Author:
Best-selling, award-winning author Suz deMello, a.k.a Sue Swift, has written seventeen romance novels in several subgenres, including erotica, comedy, historical, paranormal, mystery and suspense, plus a number of short stories and non-fiction articles on writing. A freelance editor, she’s held the positions of managing editor and senior editor, working for such firms as Totally Bound and Ai Press. She also takes private clients.
Her books have been favorably reviewed in Publishers Weekly, Kirkus and Booklist, won a contest or two, attained the finals of the RITA and hit several bestseller lists.
A former trial attorney, her passion is world travel. She’s left the US over a dozen times, including lengthy stints working overseas. She’s now writing a vampire tale and planning her next trip.
Just a couple of reminders…CONTEST! *points to the blue graphic on the right* Free stuff! And uhm…I have a new release, in case y’all had forgotten. FAERIE FAITH. Read it. Review it. Please? *makes big puppy-dog eyes*
I have a quote included in this new release, PLOTTING AND PLANNING. Written by Suz deMello, this handy-dandy little reference book on writing process is informative and entertaining. Suz has a breezy style with some great information and quotes from other authors defining their style. It’s $2.99 and worth the price if you need some writing inspiration and are looking to define your process.
On the reading front, I finished off Shelley Laurenston’s PRIDE series. They. Are. Hysterical. I highly recommend the series if you’re looking for lighthearted, sexy paranormals with an interesting overall story arc. First book in the series is THE MANE EVENT. I didn’t realize that Laurenston also writes dragon shifter books (Dragon Kin) under the pen name G.A. Aiken. I’m currently reading, Nalini Singh’s SHIELD OF WINTER, in her Psy-Changeling series. There’s another one in that series coming out soon, which title escapes me at the moment. Deadline Brain. It’s a real syndrome! 😉
What are y’all reading these days?
It’s November. Thanksgiving is two and a half weeks away. But it’s time to CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS!!! Well, the Twelve Brides of Christmas, anyway. FAERIE FAITH is live in the world today. You can click HERE to go to the Faerie Reign page for information. I only have the Amazon link listed there because I haven’t had time to locate all the rest. I know. I’m a lazy marketer. If you enjoyed the other three Faerie books, you have to read this one. Abhean gets his and the reader gets a chance to visit with Becca and Ciaran, Moira and Duncan, and Delaney and Rory as the series wraps up. It’s only $2.99. 🙂
To help celebrate, I’m participating in a FACEBOOK PARTY. There’s eight BRIDE authors participating and each of us are giving away Christmas ornaments. Something new and different! There will be snippets, and I’ll post the model I used for Abhean. And maybe the other three heroes too. Who knows?!? It’s a PAR-TAY!!! From 2:30 to 7:00 EST. My slot is from 4:30 – 5:00. Again, that’s Eastern. That’s 3:30 for those of us in the heartland. 🙂
And speaking of parties! Be sure to click on that big blue graphic over there on the right. Today starts the Night Owl Reviews Celebrate the Season Book Lovers Blog CONTEST! Go forth and click for many, MANY prizes, including gift cards. For books! *nods*
In other writing news, I finished line edits for THE COWGIRL’S LITTLE SECRET. They are back in Mr. HEd’s creative hands. It’s set for an April 2015 release. I’ve seen the first “proofs” of the cover and it is just as awesome as COWGIRLS DON’T CRY’s! Speaking of, COWGIRLS will have a Goodreads giveaway in December. More details as I have them. Plus, it’ll be in a digital anthology with two other Desire authors and there’s cool stuff happening with the Great Britain and Australian releases, too! *squee*
Still with the writing news, MOON SHOT has taken an interesting turn–one I did NOT see coming. That said, I think readers will be happy with the direction. I’m a couple thousand words behind on the project for NaNo, but I’ll catch up in no time. All I have to do is add a couple of hundred words per day to my word count total.
Jiminy but my life seems to be one dimensional lately. “Writing, writing, writing.” *delivered in my best Brady Bunch voice*
I’m not discussing college football anymore. I picked up my marbles and went home. 😉
Weather has been GORGEOUS! But again with the writing, writing, writing. That said, the forecast for this weekend includes a winter mix. Dude! Snow and sleet BEFORE Thanksgiving? What global warming?!?
Aaaaand…that’s all the news that’s fit to print. Except I apologize for being all anti-social media last week. I fully intend to get back into the swing of things this week. 😀 So…what have the rest of you been up to while I’ve been hiding under my editing rock?
Ya know? My dad pretty much said this same stuff to me. Over and over. And over again. At some point, I think it sort of stuck with me. Until doubts would set in. Dang but those suckers can sure scream loud in my ear. I have to concentrate to make them go away, nasty little devils. But you know what? The older I’ve gotten, the more I realize the Universe is on to something here.
Practice, Silver. Study. Prepare yourself. Think. Act. Face the beasts. Pay the piper whatever dues you think you have to pay. Do the dance, walk the fire, wait in line. Plant the seeds, hoe the field, go to market. Because on the day that you become all that you now dream of becoming… Oh my gosh, there is simply no price that would seem too great.
It’s going to be that good, you’re going to be that happy, and it’s going to be for so, so long, Silver. Guaranteed.
Tallyho,
The Universe
© http://www.tut.com ®Is “hoe” what they do out there, Silver?
Not sure what the answer to that last question is, but it doesn’t matter. I’m getting ready for the good times. How about y’all?
Weapons come in all shapes and sizes. Today’s #1lineWed on Twitter is all about weapons. So, I thought I’d share some of my weaponry snippets today.
From BLUE MOON:
The concussion from the explosion knocked DJ on her butt. Antoine was on his feet—all four of them—and howling. He nosed her back into a corner and stood between her and the bars on their cage. Acrid smoke drifted in, smelling of ammonia and concrete dust. Human and wolf both sneezed. DJ pulled the neck of her T-shirt up over her nose to act as a filter. It didn’t help much, but was better than nothing.
“Grenade!” Danny reacted first to the metallic thunk of the explosive device hitting the concrete floor and rolling their direction. He leaped toward it and when he couldn’t scoop it up, he fell on top of it, scrambling to get control of the device to throw it back.
“Idiot.” The chide did nothing to slow her racing heart. Why should a wolf freak her out so much? That whole city girl thing notwithstanding, she was armed. With a big-ass 9mm Glock pistol. Loaded with a fifteen-shot magazine. She could take down a wolf with it. Even so, she was inordinately happy to break into clear air with the lights of a town shimmering on the horizon. She gunned the car and headed away from whatever waited for her back in the swamps.
If I had more time, I’d go through some of the other books looking for passages dealing with more “unconventional” weapons–like smiles. Tears. Sexy expressions. 😉
Okay, I lied. I want to include this snippet from FAERIE FAITH, coming out in SIX DAYS!!!!
The “feckin’ fae,” as Kieran called him, held his
audience on the tip of his bow. Unease pricked at her
scalp when his gaze met hers. Something flickered in the
muddy depths of his eyes, something sharp and
dangerous, and oh so terribly familiar.He advanced on her, playing like the very devil
lived in the fiddle. If there was such a thing as the Wild
Hunt, Abhean would surely lead it. But this was the
mortal realm, and Abhean was no longer magic. Becca
breathed against the pressure building in her chest.
Happy Hump Day. And this guy STILL has a secret weapon in his smile…
This is really healthy. No. Really. It’s a bit of a pain to set up but then you forget about it until dinner time–which means most of the day to get your NaNoWriMo word count done. 😉
Slow Cook Mexican Lasagna
4-6 Quart slow cooker
2 Tablespoon olive oil
1 lb ground turkey or 93% lean beef
1 diced onion
1 clove garlic, minced (or 1 Tablespoon processed minced garlic)
1 package taco seasoning mix
2 15 oz cans tomato sauce
1 15 oz can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
16 oz. low fat cottage cheese
8 oz bag shredded Mexican cheese blend, divided into 2 oz. portions
1 cup fresh spinach, chopped
9-10 whole grain lasagna noodles (I use just regular ones because I’m a rebel like that 😉 )
Brown meat in oil, add garlic, seasoning, tomato sauce, and pinto beans. Stir well and set aside. Combine cottage cheese with half of the Mexican cheese and all of the spinach.
Layer in the slow cooker like this:
1/4 of meat mixture
1/3 noodles, broken where needed to cover meat
1/3 cheese mixture
Repeat two more times, ending with the remaining 1/4 of meat mixture
Cook on low for 5-6 hours, until noodles are soft. Sprinkle remaining shredded cheese on top, cover, and allow to melt.
You can serve with sour cream, chopped green onions, and/or chopped cilantro.
Yes. It is that crazy time of year when writers and would-be novelists all go a little bit crazy. I’m behind. For the first time ever. But that’s okay. I fully intend to catch up but expanding my daily word count until I’m back on track. This is my month for multi-tasking. I have line edits due by November 10th. So…not much time for social media for me until later in the month. I’ll be here. There will be NaNo inspirations posted to my Facebook. I’ll still be doing #1lineWed on Twitter on Wednesday. Maybe. If I can find some good lines about weapons. 
Also, I’m at Avery Flynn’s Facebook party celebrating the release of her new book, HOLLYWOOD ON TAP. Click HERE to join the party. I’m hosting between 1:30-2:00 EST, which is 12:30-1:00 CST, 11:30-12:00 MST, and 10:30-11:00 out there on the left coast. 😉 The party starts at 10:30 eastern and there are a LOT of authors gonna be there throughout the day with lots of swag and books being given away. Warning, there will be major doses of mancandy, too. Just sayin’…
So…weekend wrap up. The James Gang minus Baseball Boy, who was working, roadtripped to my hometown where I was the featured author at the 4th Annual Duncan Public Library’s Local Author Festival. My little friend Blue helped us find the new library. He was all dressed up for the occasion because he wanted to celebrate the upcoming release of COWGIRL’S DON’T CRY so he was wearing his Red Dirt Royalty costume. I was really lucky. The lovely librarian in charge of the event, Amy, put me at a large round table by the front door. I had lots of room to spread out.
I sold and signed several copies of SEASON OF THE WITCH, visited with a very nice lady who put her name down to be the first to check out the Faerie Reign books once the library put them into circulation, and I visited with several young people who want to be writers about fan fiction, sparkly vampires, dragons, and witches. They’d not heard of Anne McCaffrey’s DRAGONRIDERS OF PERN so we talked about them and Andre Norton’s Witchworld series. I hope they’ll check those series out. I also visited with an old high school buddy and got to meet his lovely wife. That was fun! We reminisced, talked about the directions our lives had taken, and wondered where old friends we’d lost track of might be. I also visited with a nice gentleman who was interested in my Wolves but he doesn’t read digitally. I promised once I got them into print, the Duncan Library would receive a copy so he could read them. In the course of our conversation, I suggested he give the In Death series a try. Have I mentioned that I love talking about books?!? Yeah. I really, really do.
Since we were on the road, and I napped for several hours after we got home (since I couldn’t stand to watch OSU get slaughtered–it IS a rebuilding year, dammit!), I didn’t get one word written for NaNoWriMo. I had very good intentions of catching up on Sunday. I…didn’t. I did get words done but I found myself procrastinating by researching the damn Navy SEALs. I know, I know. *hangs head in shame* I broke my own cardinal rule of NaNo. I’ll do better!
I’m off for a quick coffee meeting with my CP and then it’s home to spend the rest of the morning on line edits and the afternoon on MOON SHOT, my NaNo project. I leave you with one last pic from the weekend. Blue is doing his best Chance Barron imitation in that black Stetson and bandanna. Don’t forget you can click on the pic to get a blow-up. 😀 So tell me, how was your weekend?!?
Best. Airline. Safety. Video. EVER!!!! Even though it’s Halloween. This is a much better video to be watching and…and…COSPLAY! 😉
Now I REALLY want to go to New Zealand! Not that it isn’t already on my bucket list as soon as I win the lottery. Where do you want to visit?
Have a great weekend! *heads out to buy lottery ticket*
NEW RELEASE
NEW RELEASE
NOW AVAILABLE
Silver James 