Every sex scene should include...

 Some people find writing sex easy some find it difficult.
Things I need to remember or: every sex scene should:

a) advance the story

b) be a point of change for at least one of the characters.

c) Show the mind and heart set of the characters as well as what they see and do.

d) Actions reveal personalities and personalities can be revealed via actions.

e) What they seek must fit in the drive of the story as a whole

f) Sex is a dialogue between two minds.


Sometimes it helps to outline the same scene from the other person's point of view.
Always keep the tone and style of the story.

Be sure you know:

a) what each of your characters wants as they go into the scene,
b) what their point of change is, and
c) where they are at the end of said scene

I must remember to think of a sex scene as a point of mental and emotional change explained in physical terms. The action may well be similar to every other sex scene ever written, but the difference should be in my explanation of the character’s experience. And, of course, my writing style will also have a part to play.

Can you build a character?

This is my little memo to self on How To Build a Character. Read at your peril!

What makes a character unique?

Observable qualities ~ This includes physical appearance, mannerisms, speech style, gestures, sexuality, age, IQ occupation, personality, attitudes, values, where and how she or he lives.

That’s the simple level. True character lurks behind this mask. Only time will tell if they are loyal, honest, loving or cold-hearted or even downright cruel, cowardly and weak.

How do we tell which they really are? True character shows in the actions and choices made at a time of dilemma or danger.

The key to character is Desire. What does the character want? Now, and in the future? Does the character even recognise this need?

Then there’s motivation. Why does the character need this thing? Can it be attributed to parental upbringing, culture and or genes?

Physical image and setting says much about a character, but could be a lie or a mask. Other characters may and probably do comment on them, but they might have a hidden motive for what they say. 

What the character says of himself may or may not be true.

The trick is not to muddle readers. Your character may be a guilt-ridden ambitious person but must be consistent in oth his guilt and his ambition. Focus on the main character and fit the rest around him – they must bring out his contradictions and his values, his sadness and his wit. Always assuming he has any. Your character may have other values.

Writing Styles

As a boost to my writing I've been reading authors who write outside the historical fiction zone thinking that  I shouldn't get in a rut. Which is why at the weekend I brought home The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown.

The only other book of his I have read is, inevitably, the Da Vinci Code. I remember it had fast pacing and numerous short chapters. Well, his style has not changed. In 53 pages I have reached chapter 14. The plot set up is fine, but I find I am weary of bad guys who appear to have every attribute - fine physique, brains, confidence - you name it, they've got it, but they use them for world domination. In other words, a typical James Bond villain. Of course, I may be wrong. 53 pages is not an awful lot to judge by when the whole thing is 500 odd pages.

I have nothing to complain of in his actual writing. It flows by with ease and nothing stands out as awkward. I hardly notice it as my eyes travel the page seeking the story. It is very similar to Lee Child's style - straightforward, correct, short sentences.

At the same time I'm reading Ian Rankin's The Black Book on Kindle. Before that it was Peter James, the House on Cold Hill., Adele Parks Stranger in my Home. All very different, all very readable. Will I come out of this splurge a better writer? I doubt it, but it cannot do me any harm, and subconsciously it may do some good. A lifetime of reading has got me this far and I shall continue to read widely. I tried Val MacDermid's Skeleton Road, made no conscious decision to leave it and go onto Rankin, but that is what happened. I shall probably go back to it at some point. She must have something to offer me!

I've written reviews over the last couple of years for the Historical Novel Society and that has introduced me to many different styles, some of which I liked and some I didn't. What has it taught me? In no particular order, that the story line is as important as the style, adverbs are usually not required, that voice can be many things; pacing is important and a good, sensible conclusion is a must. It has taught me that I dislike what I call the the grab and snag style of writing where every verb is racked up to maximum; no one ever "takes" anything, they "grab" or "snag" it. They don't kiss, but "devour" each other, don't walk but "sashay," "tramp" or "traipse" across a room.  Sometimes plain English is good, if not best!

PS - I got myself in the picture this time!

Writing Style

69 Pages of edit done. Don't know how many more to do, but I'm less than half way through. Interesting to see how many small duplications there are, usually between the end of a chapter  the beginning of the next. Writing the story I tend to write in chapters, and so I have a sort of mental break between ending one and starting the next. That's where the duplication creeps in as I don't recall precisely how I ended the chapter and begin the new without checking. There's a lesson there somewhere!

I'm reading Extraordinary People by Peter May at the moment. It's an Enzo MacLeod story set in France and the story visits Paris, Cahors, and the Correze - all places I've visited, which always adds an extra frisson to a read. But I am astonished at the amount of location description I'm reading. My critique partners would be telling me to cut some of it. They often highlight my use of -ing endings, too, and yet Mr May uses them such a lot. One sentence stopped me dead because he had used two, one following the other. I am enjoying the story and don't mind his writing style. It is just interesting how often a successful writer's style contravenes what the writing gurus on the internet say we should do to achieve success. I think it is a little like a healthy diet - in spite of all the experts telling us to eat this and avoid that, eating everything in moderation is probably the best route. Likewise with gerunds and adjectives.

Spring is beautiful this year. We still have primroses in shady places among the trees, daffodils are dancing in the wind, and the cherry blossom is coming into bloom. Gorse is vibrant with yellow flowers and the leaves are bursting open on the trees and presenting a soft bloom of various shades of green. Garlic is rampant and green among the bluebells, neither of which have produced flowers yet, but it won't be long now.

Style v voice

Someone in the audience on Friday night asked if authors read books. I have heard authors say they won’t read in their own genre because they fear losing their voice, perhaps picking up another’s style. (I used to wonder what the difference was between style and voice. I’ve since discovered that readers and aspiring writers talk of style while agents use the term voice. They are often used to mean the same thing, but a good distinction is this: style is choosing words to fit character, genre and the effect the author requires. Voice is the author’s natural use of language to create the characters and story. Lyon)

I read widely in the historical genre, along with whatever interests me at the time, and I think it does me more good than harm. Perhaps I have become a little more critical of the writing, in that I pause now and then to admire, or wonder why a piece of writing does not give me the pleasure I expect.

It would be wrong of me to list books in either category, but we all know we like some things more than others. I have recently put aside a novel with a blurb that talks of stunning Regency romance by a best selling NY Times bestselling author. I picked it up last night and began to read. Then kept stuttering to a halt, and asking myself why….my feathers were very early ruffled ~ right beneath Chapter One, I was told the setting was London, Winter, 1848. Now to my mind 1848 is not Regency, but nearly thirty years later. Flipped back to re-read the blurb, where I note that it does not actually say this particular book is one of the stunning Regency series. A trap into which this unwary reader fell with an alarming thump.

That Winter tag began to irritate, for it could indicate any of seven months between October and April. The character names sounded, to my ear (perhaps uninformed, and I’d be the first to admit it, but then I’m the reader here) so un-English, particularly un-Victorian English. The dialogue and descriptions are also off-key somehow. I cannot rid myself of the feeling that I am reading of modern day Americans plonked down willy-nilly in a London that says it is 1848 but gives me no feeling for such a place and time. The lack of grounding intruded between me and the story until I sighed and put the book aside. I won’t go back to it.
In case you're wondering, the pic is of me dressed to go to the author panel. I finally shed my sweats for an hour or two! Yay!

Style

So many things go to make a writing Style. Each one of us must find our own and not allow anyone change it.

It is probably the hardest part of writing, for anybody can string words together. But do they tell the story in a good way? Here are a few snippets to help get it right:

-do not misuse long words;

-don't use cliches;

-use the best word to express the idea;

-do not abuse commas, em-dashes and exclamation marks - use them correctly. For example use an exclamation mark in dialogue only when your character is shouting.

-description should be unobstrusive and lend substance to a novel;

-description is not and never should be an inventory;

-don't focus on the generic but give us the specific;

-do not reiterate something you've already mentioned;

-treat time carefully;

-use appropriate metaphors - a comparison must be accurate;

-The larger ideas in a paragraph should lead from one to the next so the text is not jerky.

-don't flaunt your vocabulary unnecessarily.