My New Favorite Writing Book …

I recently picked up the book, THE FIRE IN FICTION, written by long time agent, Donald Maass.  This is a follow-up book to his best-selling book and workbook, HOW TO WRITE THE BREAKOUT NOVEL.

What I really enjoyed about the book is the focus on the small things, the nuances of character and plot that can take a book from good to great.   He talks a lot about character, the protagonist, the hero, the villain.  At the end of each chapter are some thoughtful questions that you can ask yourself about your own work.  I found the questions provocative and made me rethink some of my decisions.  One of his practical tools worksheet suggests that the writer pick a scene, identify its outer turning point, the exact minute when things change for the protagonist or the point of view character.  Then he suggests winding the clock back ten minutes, and write a paragraph as to how the point of view character sees herself before that turning point.  Then wind the clock ahead ten minutes and think about how the character feels now.  These kinds of exercises really break down the writing to small details and allow the writer to really craft the story instead of just coasting along and occasionally getting lucky with some great scenes.

He talks a lot about having the passion for the story, which I also think is so important.  You can always tell when the writer really believes in the world he/she is creating and those that are just going through the motions.

Maass’s other book is also really good – I must say he analyzes some passages from my novel, SUMMER SECRETS, in his book, HOW TO WRITE A BREAKOUT NOVEL, and I really enjoyed his analysis.

So if you’re looking for a good writing book, I highly recommend this one.

New Cover – On Shadow Beach

Here is my new cover for the next book in my Angel’s Bay Series.  ON SHADOW BEACH will be in stores April 2010.  And I’m thrilled to say that book three, IN SHELTER COVE,  will be arriving the following month, May 2010.   So no waiting in between stories – yay!

On Shadow Beach features a new central story line  … here’s a blurb from the back cover:

Lauren Jamison hasn’t been back to Angel’s Bay since she was a teenager … when her sister Abby was murdered and Lauren’s boyfriend, Shane Murray, was accused of the crime.  When Lauren reluctantly returns home to assist her ailing father, the old attraction flares between Lauren and Shane.  But the terrible days after Abby’s murder still stand between them as well as the secrets Shane has yet to unveil.  Finding the truth could bring closure … but at a cost.

Also featured in the story are continuing characters and secondary story lines … Kara is desperate for her husband Colin to awaken from the coma that resulted from a shooting… Charlotte finds herself in the middle of a growing love triangle between Joe and Andrew and rumors about the unnamed father of Annie’s baby continue to swirl.

You won’t want to miss the second installment in Angel’s Bay …

So tell me  - what do you think of the look?

Mondays and Beginnings …

I actually like Mondays — something about all the possibilities of the week ahead of me, all that I can accomplish …  the same is true of writing the beginning of a book.  There is so much potential, so much story to mine, so many characters to get into.  And yet the beginning of a book is also the most difficult for me.  Some of my friends dive into writing chapter one and don’t stop for air until chapter three or four.  For me, I have to find just the right opening scene, just the right tone, just the right first line, and it’s never easy.

While I’ve always been a writer who tends to just write more than outline, I find it impossible to get the book going until I know the opening scene.  And in that scene I want to suggest the ultimate problem as well as set the tone for the story.   In my book SILENT RUN, my heroine is in her car driving along  a dark highway when the headlights behind her begin to draw closer. Every mile brings the car behind her closer and closer.  She speeds up.  So does he.  The chase is on.  We know she’s running, but not from who or from what.  And when the first scene ends, her car flies off the side of a mountain.  In Chapter One she awakens and has no idea who she is or where she’s been.  But what’s even worse is that the police want to know where her baby is, and she has no idea … From there the story takes off.  It took me awhile to get the beginning where I wanted it, but hopefully it draws you into the story.

Today I’m working on the opening to the third book in my Angel’s Bay series which begins in July of this year.  In this book, I’m wrestling with how to start a story that has some very strong roots in the past.  I could do a prologue or start in the present and weave the back story in… I’m still debating. 

So my question for you is — what do you think about prologues?  I personally do like them if they’re short and to the point.  I like the tease of something important from either the past or even the future … and then I’m more invested in the current story.  But what I don’t like are prologues that just aren’t that compelling.    Sometimes I’d rather just jump into the action and figure out what happened to get us there later.

One thing I do know about beginnings is that they can be paralyzing and the only way to get over the fear of starting is to dive in, and keep in mind that I can always go back and do it again.