Three Things Thursday

from Brenda Bensch

Want some good exercises for working on dialogue?  Try these:

1. Take an old favorite book. Reread it now, but only the parts which are dialogue. Even try to ignore the tags like “he said,” etc.

2. Watch an old familiar movie. With the sound turned off. Make up what they could saying, even if you know it has nothing to do with the plot. If you have a spouse or good friend, do it together, each of you supplying the dialogue for a different character or characters. (OK — there will probably be a lot of laughing too — but try to concentrate on making the words actually communicate something, even if it’s nonsense.)

3. Sit in a food court at the mall, or a restaurant at a busy time of day, like lunch. Try to look like you’re writing a letter or doing homework, but really listen to the broken and half-sentences, interjections (remember? Oh! Wow! WTF??? etc.) If you can, keep your back turned to a couple or small party, listen and try to imagine what they all look like, what their relationships are, etc.

Which one did you learn the most from?  Which things you learned could be included in a current or new writing project?

from Cheryl Van Eck

When I first started writing, I had trouble with my character’s days. I wanted to begin each day with her waking up, and end each day with her going to sleep because that’s how my days start and end.

But in a novel, that structure doesn’t work well.  It becomes repetitive and boring. Even if you fill those mornings and those evenings with conversations and action, the pace still feels like it just plods along.

Here’s a week-long assignment: Try to focus on the most interesting moment of your day. Pick just one, every day. There are tons of Instagram and Facebook fads that follow this idea, where you post a picture or video of something each day, and you’re welcome to try those if you want, or you can just write it down in an impromptu journal. And it’s okay if the most exciting part of your day was the French toast you had for breakfast or the hangnail that finally broke off after a week. What’s important is that you fine-tune your ability to find the most writeable moment.  If you find enough of those moments, BAM! You have a novel.

 from Carol

Here is a video my daughter showed me.

(You can  watch a much longer version of this. With sound. Chatting.)

The worst kisser? The actress! She was awful.

Which was the best kiss?

Almost every book for middle grade and young adult readers should have  a bit of romance in it.

And maybe even a first kiss.

 

Another Romance Novel Prompt

Yesterday I read through my novel Signed, Skye Harper which has LOTS of kissing.

I mean, lots. And nekkidness. And a dog and a one-legged rooster.

So.

Remember that almost kiss that came before the three planned kisses?

Well this goes with that. 😉

What happens after they almost kiss?

Is it awkward?

Do they avoid each other?

What does she/he decide is more important? Kissing or lunch?

 

Happy Valentine’s Day. Get your chocolates, find a quiet place to write, and yippee ti yi yo, keep collecting notes for your amazing romance novel.

Kissey Kissey

Another prompt.

We’re still with that cute boy.

(He is so cute!)

He’s getting closer to the main character. Standing closer. Moving nearer. His breath smells like spearmint (or nachos or blood or jasmine). His eyes are closed (or open or gone or one blue/one green).

And now–the kiss.

It’s time to write kisses.

Three of them.

The first kiss.

A hot and passionate kiss.

A goodbye kiss.

That is so sad. Or happy. Or sexy.

A Little Bit of Love

So I was thinking about my Chicken Book–the book I loved writing–and I think I loved it so much because it had ROMANCE in it. In fact, it’s all about Drugs, Sex and RockandRollBaby. No, really.

I think every young adult novel needs to have a nice dash of romance in it.

And middle grades needs to have a bit of spice, too.

So it’s that time of year when I look in my SPAM box and see what I can glean from the cool stuff there. This time I will think about LOVE. And one can ALWAYS find LOVE in the SPAM.

And since I am thinking of putting a lot of kissing and stuff in the YA I’m working on, well, maybe some of these will inspire me. Or you! Please feel free to take any one of these. In fact, if you need a link, let me know.

1. Single Christians in your area are looking for YOU.

2. Meet singles over 50–It’s FREE TO LOOK.

3. Penis Growth Sample–Your package is set to grow.

4. Last more than an hour today

5. Force Factor–Free Testosterone Booster has Explosive Results

And my favorite:

6. Life is Short. Have an affair.

What makes A Perfect Romance for you?

I looked this up online because the internet has tons of great stuff, right?  There’s a book out there called A Perfect Romance, which is an adult novel that’s supposed to be funny (mixed reviews). There’s also a TV movie called Perfect Romance where a mom uses a dating service to help her–well, I couldn’t read any more than that and when I pressed on the link is said ILLEGAL stuff was happening.

Here’re some of the things I like in a perfect romance. And this is not mentioning terrific language and strong plot. Those are a given, right?

a perfect partner–there has to be some tension

a perfect kiss–there has to be lots of these

some hilarious stuff–and even more of this

some sad-ish stuff–but not like that one Louise Plummer lady writes!

Some naughty stuff–and don’t put your naughty stuff off-screen. Let us see it. Plus–naughty stuff depends on YOU. It doesn’t  have to be sex. Or even related to sex. Naughty stuff to me is sometimes a touch. Or a stolen vehicle.

Here are some links to check out to help you with your romance writing.

http://www.millsandboon.com.au/perfectromance

http://voices.yahoo.com/five-tips-writing-romance-novel-editors-1048153.html

And then there’s this. All you have to do is fill in the blank.

http://www.healinglovenotes.com/perfect-love-letter.html

And don’t you think we should all take a month–the same month (February????)–and all write our own romances? There probably IS a Romance Writing Month. But think of all of us writing our Fantasy, Contemporary, Dystopian, Mystery, etc together and then celebrating at a romantic restaurant. Yes, that writing marathon would be fun.

I’m off on my morning walk and to think about what sexiness to add to this latest ghost story.

One last SPAM help me.

You Got What I Want and Baby it Ain’t as Cheap as I Need but it is Way Bigger.

(Okay, I made that up.)