This will be a short, simple post.

I’m basically just asking for an opinion—however long or short you wish to make it—on a subject that came up in my own writing, but might prove valuable to other authors or readers.

In other words…input, please?

At one point in my latest manuscript, my hero suffered a devastating loss, something he felt personally responsible for.

I toyed with the idea of doing something with the character, and just couldn’t make up my mind.

The question?

Do you have a problem with heroes who cry?

Whether they’re Alpha, Beta, Gamma, whether it’s a misting of the eyes or flinging the forearm across the face weeping—how do you feel about it?

I recently rented the first three episodes of AMC’s award-winning show Mad Men. It’s titled after the self-ascribed nickname given to Madison Avenue marketing execs during the golden age of advertising. Set in the early ’60s, the series chronicles the politically incorrect shenanigans of the men and women at Sterling Cooper, a fictional ad agency.

FWIW, Mad Men is a GREAT show. It’s beautifully shot. The costumes, hair, makeup and scenery are gorgeous. Not only that, the snappy dialogue shines, and the acting is first rate. Given all these pluses, I’d be crazy not to like this show right? Well, call me crazy because I just love to hate it.

(more…)

. . . on what I wrote last week, I have still been thinking: Rules. Are they neccessary? Needed? Important?

I think they are to a degree. Sure you can break them. But the thing is, you still have to know the rules in order to break them.

Driving home the other night, some SOB shot out in front of me and I had to lay on the brakes and the horn because the dumb f*&#*er apparently didn’t know what the red octagonal sign in front of him meant. My mind flashed to my 13-y-o and all the talks about “when you take driver’s ed” and how he would understand some of the road nuances once he learned the rules. If he then chooses to ignore them he has to face the consequences that come with it–like say the red and blue flashy lights that raced after the SOB . . .  hehehe.

If you don’t take driver’s ed, you may follow some rules, but you will also break rules, even if by accident. You will see other drivers doing certain things and you will follow their lead, so to speak, and use your common sense as to how and where the appropriate roadways, directions or even parking spaces are. But you may not neccessarily know why these things are important–like turning your tires the correct direction when parking on a hill–trees are not very forgiving to bumpers once that baby picks up speed!

Same goes for writing. You may happen to do some things correctly–common sense is a wonderful thing, but some of the “rules” per se, are particular nuances of writing such a POV/head-hopping, show don’t tell, even something as simple as “filter” words (knew, thought, saw, figured). But you have to know what is what BEFORE you can actually break it. Shoot even something as simple as formatting can be a nightmare if someone doesn’t know to double-space and to use fonts that are readable–my first typed WIP was single spaced and I found the “funnest” font I could–OMG!

Then I learned the rules.

Side note: POV is truly my biggest pet-peeve, mainly because when I joined a critique group years ago, it was the very first thing I was called out on. I was all over the place w/ my POV. Once I understood how dizzying it could be to jump from one person to the other and back and back, I learned how to write scenes from one person, do a page break and go to the next character.

Writing rules are a good jumping off point I think. Many, many people when they hear you’re a writer say, “I want to write a books some day.” (because we all know it is SOOOOO easy) I often tell them, that’s great, read up in the genre you’re interested in and make sure to get really craft books to learn what’s what.

But at the end of the day, the only true, steadfast rule for writers is: The story must be good. If you have a good story/stroy telling ability the other things are easy to fix.

Since I have absolutely NOTHING positive to blog about at the moment, I thought I’d take you, my friends, to one of my favorite dark little hideouts.

Here, the drinks are free, but deadly.  That guy in black leather isn’t waiting to pick you up, but to put you down.  Permanently.  The music is required to be loud enough to mask a scream or two, and you want to be very careful about what you put in your mouth.  Those peanuts smell like almonds?  That “Suggestions” envelope you licked had a powdery residual taste?  And is the sexy blonde at the end of the bar wearing a pair of stiletto heels that look like they’ve been pared to the sharpness of an ice-pick?

Welcome to one of my favorite places to visit when I’m looking for a certain kind of information:

THE WRITER’S MEDICAL AND FORENSICS LAB, by D.P. Lyle, M.D.

Dr. Lyle is, apparently, a consultant to many top-notch mystery authors and criminal procedural television shows.  He will consult with you for a “fee”—but he also answers questions and posts a lot of information on this website.
I suggest checking out the Forensics Community site there.  Fascinating stuff.

A few odd questions Dr. Lyle has received from authors?

What happens when someone is shot in the heart with an arrow?
How does the so-called “Flesh-eating Bacteria” harm humans?
What duration of exposure to high environmental temperatures would prove lethal for a pregnant woman?
Can the injection of air into a vein cause death?
What are the physical findings and mechanism of death in a victim whose face is held beneath boiling water?
Can a condom be used to save the life of someone suffering severe lacerations from  shattered glass?
Could my character use cyanide added to a contact lens solution to kill another character?
Can the fingerprint of a perpetrator be lifted from the victim’s severed finger?
Do zombie killers leave behind forensic evidence?
Would a corpse decay on Mars?
Could the ME determine that my character had been eaten by a werewolf?

God love the writers, lol.

If you’re looking for forensics information, or just a good time, hang out at The Lab for a while.

And pay no attention to those creative little sketches on the floor…

My daughter went away for an internship program. She’s been going to community college and staying home, but she flew to Florida (HURRICANE CAPITAL OF THE EARTH!!!!) on August 10th, and I’ve been a nutcase ever since. Writing? What’s that? My muse is just as wrecked as I am.

At least when I went away to college, it was an hour and a half drive from home. Now she’s two hours away—–BY PLANE. I can’t stop worrying. I can’t stop thinking. I can’t stop obsessing. Somebody please put me out of my misery!

Not only is she the first to leave the nest (if only temporarily since she’ll be back in 4 months) but it’s also the first time she’s gone away. I’m having serious coping issues. Look, I know every parent has to go through this eventually, but it feels like it just snuck up on me. I have two other kids at home, which helps, but I’m still dangerously close to going batsh*t crazy.

The day before she left (Aug 9th) I had insomnia, so I stayed up all night, then I called my mother at six in the morning blubbering and whining. Believe it or not, she laughed. Of course she said ‘this too shall pass,’ but it doesn’t feel that way at all. It seems like this … um … empty, gnawing feeling will NEVER go away.

I have to RESTRAIN myself from calling my daughter every day. And believe me, it’s hard. I worry that she’s not eating right. I worry about the people she’s hanging around. Even though she’s staying in a gated/secured complex with other kids her age (5 other girls share her suite), I’m still worried about her safety. The building is coed and there are boys in the room across from hers. Thankfully, most of them are gay.

(Yeah, I said it!)

Look, I know I sound like a wackjob, but I can’t help the way I feel. What’s got my stomach in even more knots is that I’ll have to go through this empty nest thing at least three more times. My youngest is only eleven, but I’m already having nightmares about him tramping off to Europe for a year with some nasty skank he’ll meet one drunken night (having unprotected sex, of course) during his senior trip to Cancun….

Any advice? I’m all ears!

Colleen Thompson Dishes on the Hero of Triple Exposure

I could tell you that my latest romantic suspense, Triple Exposure (Leisure, Aug. 2008), began with a visit to the gorgeous landscape around the tiny town of Marfa in West Texas. Or I could say it started with my husband’s stories about the famous mystery lights there that seem to rise up from the desert plains some evening. Or I could say I was inspired by the Academy Award-winning films Giant, No Country for Old Men, and There Will Be Blood, all of which were shot in and around this beautiful location.

But that would be lying because the true inspiration for the story came from an image of its hero, one extremely sexy man. I have no idea where the character of Zeke Pike came from, but one day he was simply there, a huge and brawny hermit of a desert craftsman, with his shirt off (with the heat, of course, completely unaware that anyone was watching) as he polishes an incredible table he’s just hewn of desert mesquite inlaid with turquoise rivers. And though I immediately wanted that table for my own, it wasn’t the furniture that had me drooling.

Although a couple of years passed between the original idea and the time I actually sat down to write it, the image was so strong that the scene where fine art photographer/heroine Rachel Copeland stumbles upon and captures it was the easiest part of the entire book to get on paper.

Here’s a snippet from it, where Rachel is torn between the knowledge that Zeke would never allow her to take the shot (though she has no idea his reclusive ways protect a dangerous past) and what she sees as she approaches the open door of his workshop:

Inside, working on a piece of furniture, was a sight to make a nun weep. Even Rachel, who would rather have a root canal than a naked man in her life at the moment, gaped dry-mouthed as she watched the shirtless Zeke lean forward to oil a heavy tabletop. As the sun’s rays gilded him in profile, the cloth in his hand glided like a lover’s over curves and natural imperfections. While muscles moved beneath the surface of his skin like restless spirits, he expertly stroked the brilliance from the reddish wood.

Knowing she could never reproduce this moment — that the instant he saw her, he would don his shirt and growl another warning to stay clear of his private rooms — she lifted her camera and clicked away, losing herself in the play of light and shadow filling her frame.

Even as she took the photos, she knew they would be special. Just as she sensed that Zeke Pike would pitch a fit if he had any inkling she was photographing him and not his work.

He did say you could take pictures of anything inside the workshop or the showroom. Lame or not, the excuse got her through to the moment she recapped her camera lens and cleared her throat loudly to be heard over Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire.”

Sure enough, everything changed as soon as Zeke looked up. Grabbing a denim shirt off of his workbench, he said, “Sorry. Gettin’ a little hot in here.”

You ain’t whistlin’ Dixie, she thought.

So what about you? Do you appreciate the strong, silent type as much as I do? And what about a man who’s really good with his hands? J

To learn more about my romantic thrillers, please stop by my website at www.colleen-thompson.com or POP in at my blog at www.boxingoctopus.blogspot.com. Meanwhile, thanks so much to the Chicas for inviting me to play! It’s fun to be here.

…scary thought, I know. (must be why I am late this morning posting–my brain can only handle soooooooooo much!)

Anyhoo ~

I think I mentioned a while back that I have been judging many, MANY contests lately (paying my contest dues!) and it has been astounding how many folks have the SAME mistakes/quirks. Can’t tell you how many times  I have noted “show don’t tell” and how many many times “felt” peppered the story. I realized some of the entrants are failry new writers, but I was stiill confused by the amount of similarly needed comments. (and don’t get me started on the “filler” words as my editor calls them–sure I am guilty of these–*cough*300-thoughts-in-one-book*cough*)

Jump to the last few weeks . . . I have been reading many of the romance writers who brought me to the desire to write (I typically read newer writers as I am ever-afraid of picking something up in the middle of a series–I’m neurotic, what can I say?). What do you imagine I have found with these well seasoned writers? Hmm . . . . The same EXACT craft quirks I have been commenting on in contests. Coincedence? I think not.

Maybe I am in the wrong here and grading too harshly on some of these issues. A good story is a good story. But when it pulls you out of the story with a laundry list of “she felt this, this and this” and “he felt this, that and the other” I do think it needs to be addressed–but as I said it almost mirrors some of the well established writers. And is this a good thing? Or bad?

Or am I way over thinking this (which isn’t out of the norm for me)? :rasta:

Because if I think too hard my head might exploze (I’m grateful for the rain but not the headaches it’s delivering along the way).

1. Have you ever read a self-help book and if so was it useful to you? yes at least one and yes it was helpful. funny i never finished it though
2. If you could have one thing made out of pure gold,what would you choose? an artistic rendering of Mt. Rushmore — It’d be HUGE, so I could have all that gold melted down and sell it.
3. What one word do you overuse the most? F*ck and like though I’ve fallen out of the habit of saying like a lot after watching The Baby Borrowers. There was one girl on there who said “like” every other word and I wanted to abuse her.

4. Who is the least charming person you have ever met? Hahahaaaaaaaaa this year … or when?

5. What article of clothing that you either gave or threw away do you wish you could have back?  I once had these panties….  :lmao: 

Ur turn!

see Obama pictures

No one can really explain the laws of attraction.  Oh, we make feeble attempts to do so.  Like attracts like, opposites attract, whatever can hurt you the most is what you’re sure to want most, etc.

And if the reason for the attraction isn’t obvious, we’ll just make something up.  Often if we see a couple that seems ill-matched…

“He’s paying for it.”
“She has a father complex.”
“He’s paying for it.”
“She must have a great technique.”
“He’s paying for it.”

But if I’m reading your story, I want to know what the attraction is between your H/h (and I don’t mean just the purely physical).
Seriously.  If you can’t convince me that these people could really be attracted to each other, I’m less likely to believe in them—or to care what happens to them.

Here’s an example from a romance I recently read that made me take a look at my own characters-in-progress.

HEROINE’S ATTRIBUTES:  She’s an attractive, proud, strong-willed redhead who is very devoted to her family.

HERO’S ATTRIBUTES:  He’s attractive and a very open person.  Startling eyes.  Single.  Multi-millionaire who has (somehow) managed to remain unspoiled.  Open-minded, even-tempered, finds joy in helping those who are less fortunate.

HEROINE’S LIABILITIES:  She’s a cop.  Has a precocious kid.  Lives with semi-invalid mother.  Very poor finances.  Emotionally shaky.  Job troubles.

HERO’S LIABILITIES:  His attentions tend to interfere with her job performance.

No relationship is going to be perfectly balanced, of course.  But I spent a good part of this book wondering “why is he chasing after this woman?”

Even more puzzling was the first-person pov YA novel I just finished.  The heroine, self-described as awkward, subject to fainting, coltish, accident-prone and constantly in need of rescuing, spends 85% of the book wondering why the paranormal hero, perfect and godlike in every way, is interested in her at all (the only answers came via his dialogue, when he mentioned that she was attractive, smelled good, and he couldn’t read her mind).
She was sympathetic enough, but I must confess…I spent 85% of the book wondering the same thing.

Is it his gruffness?  Her innocence?  His inner strength?  Her independence?  Or maybe the fact that the feeling doesn’t seem mutual?  If I’m wasting time wondering what the attraction is, I’m not enjoying the story.  I’m just frustrated.  Throw your reader a bone or two, and put some meat on it.

Out of all the possible couples combinations on the planet, your hero and heroine have chosen each other.  I don’t think anyone expects an in-depth analysis, but it’ll definitely help your cause if you can give your readers some insight into the mystery of why they’re attracted to each other (even if the characters themselves are confused about it).