Anna DeStefano's Blog

HoWW is an amazing place today, thanks to Jenni’s and my guest blogger, Joanne Rock. Joanne’s skill as an author is equalled only by her excellence as a teacher, a friend, a mother, and an amazing human being… Yeah, she’s a really good friend. And my “date” to publisher parties. And a beautiful person. But check out her bio below. She’s published fifty novels. 5-0. When this woman talks about voice, listen. Soak in every word. Try the exercises she suggests. Do it. You’ll be amazed what you’ll learn.

Voice is every writer’s bread and butter, and Joanne has nailed how to encourage and challenge and inspire the very heart of what you do. I’m so excited to have her join the How We Write guest blog family!

Check back with HoWW next Wednesday, for Kara Lennox’s take on
your novel’s Black Moment!

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In your writing journey, you may have come across books that say there are thirty-two basic storylines throughout fiction.  Or twelve master plots.  Or five core stories that we retell over and over.  One of those storylines is always “Boy Meets Girl.”  It’s the story that I tell along with a thousand other authors every year.  What makes one thousand different versions of “Boy Meets Girl” interesting?  The same thing that has made it interesting for centuries.  Voice.

A writer’s voice is her single most powerful tool.  Without it, your story is flat and lifeless, destined for the rejection pile.  With it, your work comes alive.  Voice makes your story sing or weep.  It is the indelible stamp of the author on each and every page.  You can remove some characters and story threads from your book and still sell your manuscript.  Remove voice and you’ve committed the cardinal sin of writing.  You haven’t been true to yourself.

Knowing voice is such a valuable tool, how do you find yours?  I recommend a few simple writing exercises to aid in the search. (more…)

Jenni and I have created an encouraging HoWW writing home to share craft and writing journey experiences, both our blogs and our #weWRITE Twitter hashtag. Candace Havens is a writing coach, among many other things, too. We’re thrilled to have her with us this week, talking about how she does all that she does and how you can create the same momentum in your life.

So settle in for a great HoWW guest blog, then come back next week, when Joanne Rock (author of over 50 novels) teaches us about voice!

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I’m busy. I’m a full-time television critic (3 columns a week) and film critic (radio). I write three books a year for Harlequin and short stories/essays for various publishers. I’m the president of the Television Critics Association and I’m finishing graduate school this fall. I’m also married with children. There are days when I’m so tired the idea of writing one more word makes me want to cry.

But I do it.

People ask me all the time how I do all that I do. My standard answer is that I do it better some days than others, and I take it day-by-day. That’s true. Every day brings new challenges for me, and I often have to wear many hats in an hour. That’s why I have to make the most of my minutes.

There are days when I’m so busy that I have to really take advantage of the minutes I do have. While I’m at my desk waiting to interview some celebrity, I’ll take 20 minutes to see how much I can write on a chapter. (Most celebrities call late. It’s a power thing, so I can usually get 30 mins in.) When I’m at the doctor’s office, I always take a notebook so I can write. Even though we are press, if you don’t get to a movie preview early you get crappy seats. I go early and take that notebook with me to write. If I can’t sleep (I’m an insomniac), I make myself get up and write.

What you see in the above paragraph are choices. I choose to write. If you want to be successful and productive, that is what you must do. You must choose to write. That means turning the television off, getting away from those awful Farmville, Mafia and Jewel games and generally keeping yourself free from all the time sucks of the world.

The first thing you need to do is make a list of priorities. What do you have to absolutely get done in the real world? How long is that going to take? Do you have 30 minutes to spare in a day? You would be amazed what you can do in 20 to 30 minutes a day if you are focused and prepared. (more…)

Susan Meier talking plotting is like Christmas in August for writers. She’s the author of over 45 novels and is in high demand across the country as a workshop speaker and columnist for publications like Writer’s Digest and Short Story Markets. Susan knows plot. She writes it brilliantly and teaches it well. Everyone, plug in because Susan’s in the HoWW house!

And next Wednesday, come back to learn “How to Write When You Don’t Want To” with Candace Havens.

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A thousand words about plotting…well, maybe fifteen hundred.

I love to plot. Seriously. Some of us are just born with analytical minds. I love the details. I love being tricky. I love knowing that when someone reads a certain scene they’re going to gasp. Maybe I’m analytical AND devious? LOL!

I have to admit I was born with the ability to analyze, but even people who aren’t born wondering about every darned step in life, or born wondering how everything works or why people do things, can learn to plot. And easily. Because there is a magic formula.

But before we get to that, let’s make some distinctions.

First, it takes three very different abilities to be able to write a book. You must be able to COME UP WITH A STORY. You must be able to CREATE SCENES that manifest that story. You must be able to use WORDS to create those scenes.

Pause for a second and think that through. Lots of you probably began writing because a teacher told you, “You have a way with words.” But when you tried to write a book you might not have been able to think of a “story” for which to use those pretty words. Or maybe you could think of a story but didn’t know how to come up with scenes. Or maybe you’re one of those people who can create scenes but isn’t quite sure how to line them up into a story.

When you accept that you need three distinct skills, you can separate them out, go to workshops designed to teach you each skill and then practice putting them together.

Okay…so in Susan Meier World…plotting isn’t coming up with a story. A story is more like a sentence or a paragraph. i.e. A hero and heroine must catch a killer but she’s already been arrested for the murder and he’s the DA prosecuting her.

That’s your story. Plotting is figuring out how you’re going to tell that story. And how do you tell a story? With scenes. (more…)

Summer, when writers scatter to indulge in their favorite, sunny pastimes, is the perfect setting for gathering weekly, to chat about craft with a team of fabulous guest bloggers. Through September, each Wednesday, turn to HoWW for inspiring topics and discussions from some of our most hard-working friends!

August 10th         Susan Meier           Plotting

August 17th         Candace Havens   Writing When You Don’t Want To 

August 23rd         Joanne Rock         Voice

August 31st          Kara Lennox         Black Moment

September 7th     James Scott Bell   The 1st Doorway of No Return

September 14th   PW Creighton       Setting Moods

Jenni and I are as busy as you are, but let’s not forget to work on our craft, and to inspire one another, and to keep our eye on getting better at what we do, every chance we get.

For now, the guest blogs will find their homes here at my place, so get your comments and questions ready and join our amazing guests each week. Jenni will be helping me in lead discussions every Wednesday on our Twitter hashtag #weWRITE, while she chases her kids around (my teen’s, thankfully, heading back to school Monday!).

And…we’ll be looking for HoWW blog and Twitter friends to keep the blog conversation going through the end of September and beyond. That’s been our goal all along. For this to be your Wednesday craft destination. We want to know how you’re writing. How you’re getting it done. What’s causing you the most difficulty and what’s working and what you want to talk about as you write your next story.

This is your space, your craft. It’s always been about you. You’ve taught us so much, while you’ve hopefully learned a little about your process. Now it’s your turn to make HoWW work even better–for you.

Come visit our guest teachers each Wednesday. Let us know what you’d like to talk about next. And don’t be surprised if you get tapped to do your own guest blog one day soon… ;o)

See you on the 10th!

Everyone shout out a HoWW welcome to USA Today bestselling author Catherine Mann as she adapts one of her most popular workshops for our How We Write edification–High Octane Heroes–and kicks off our Wednesday guest blog series. 

Jenni and I will continue to alternate posts through August and September, but for the next two months we’re bringing you an exciting schedule of guest authors to keep us all focused on craft through the steamiest part of the summer! Keep an eye out for a schedule any day now ;o)

This week, Catherine’s talking about how she hones appealing facets of the military archetype to power up her heroes.  And whether you write romance, other genres of novel-length fiction, or even short stories, we can always learn new and innovative ways to hook readers with our protagonists. So, sit back and enjoy as a master of the craft puts us through our paces ;o)

Catherine, take it away!

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Cops, Firefighters, Secret Agents, Spies and yes – dreamy sigh – a military man in uniform!  These kinds of heroes have me on the edge of my seat.  They set my heart racing. 

But what about stories that feature the man next door, the lawyer, the accountant, the preacher, the businessman?  Can they be edge-of-the-seat, heart pounding heroes too? 

Of course they can! 

I started out writing military suspense – then began writing for Harlequin Desires as well.  As I branched out, I decided to watch a ka-zillion military movies and analyze what it is about the military archetype that so intrigues viewers and readers.  By pinpointing those qualities, I would instill them into any hero I penned, whether he’s an Alpha, Beta, Gamma.  A Swashbuckler or a Professor.  A chief or the best friend.  

Here are the elements I found traditionally included in the most memorable military heroes, spanning multiple genres and time periods.  The more of these qualities the military protagonist possessed, the more multidimensional – and memorable – he (or she) became.  

I. PROWESS: Daring, Bravery, Charisma

I watched movies like Sgt. York, To Hell and Back, Flying Tigers and the machismo can’t be missed in these classics.  That warrior spirit, however, transcends time in a personal favorite movie of mine, Braveheart.  William Wallace’s shout of “Freedom” still sends chills up my spine. 

II. FOCUS: Determination, Drive, Pride (more…)