My first live interview!

I've been interviewed on Blog Talk Radio! Don't go away when the line goes dead. It's only temporary. Canda Mortensen gets me back on line and I babble a little longer about writing, research, and more.

Listen to internet radio with iWriteNetwork on Blog Talk Radio

Are you a Creator or a Discoverer?

So I’ve bee wondering, lately. Is writing really an act of creation, or is it actually an act of discovery? My hero and heroine, Rob and Marguerite, in The Lady and the Minstrel caused me to ponder this as I struggled to write their second kissing scene last week. I have a sparse draft of the scene from the original novel. All I thought I needed to do was to punch it up a bit. Easy, right? So this was my original, punched up version.

He lowered his head very slowly and saw her eyes drift shut just before his own did the same. The trap did not slam around him until his mouth found hers. This time her arms did not creep, but flung about his neck. She kissed him back with a desperate fierceness and he sank helplessly into the swirling tempest of pleasure that stormed through his veins. One kiss. Just one. But he could not keep this vow any better than he’d kept his first. Again and again their lips snatched together until she finally pulled away with a gasp. He darted a quick kiss to her forehead before she hid her face against his shoulder.

Her voice came muffled against the cloth of his homespun. “So this is what it is like, then.”

He moved a hand to stroke her dark curls. “What, my heart?”

“Love.” And her arms tightened around him.

I wrote the rest of the scene that followed and went to bed convinced that all was well and that I would be ready to move on with their story the next day. But when I sat down to write again and reviewed the above paragraph, a strong feeling came to me: "No, that’s now how the kiss happened."

Now, there was nothing really wrong with the paragraph. It didn’t make what followed any more or less effective. Why did I need to rewrite it? Nevertheless, my characters were stubborn in their insistence that I do so. So after some wrestling, I came up with this instead:

Her smile was the final nudge he needed. He saw her eyes drift shut just before his own did the same. He did not hesitate as he had in her chamber, but settled his mouth warmly and firmly over hers. Her arms slid around his waist and her body leaning into his reminded him how small she was. Just once more? How had he ever thought one kiss could be enough? He had lied all these weeks to himself. It had not been enough that night in her chamber, and it was not now, not when she met his lips again and again with this snaring fervor. Because Robert had chosen to tamp down his passion with the many women who had tried to entrap him through the years did not mean his hot nature was immune to temptation, and this little ball of fury tempted him as no other ever had.

How long he would have stood there drinking from her nectared lips like a man parched he did not know. When she finally pulled her mouth away, gasping, he continued to press kisses to her cheeks and brow until she hid her face against his shoulder.

Her voice came muffled against the cloth of his homespun. “So this is what it is like, then.”

He moved a hand to stroke her dark curls. “What, my heart?”

“Love.” And her arms tightened around him.

Again, there was really nothing wrong with this. The rest of the scene would have worked just fine with this scenario. And yet this time, even before I shut down my computer for the night, again I heard Rob and Marguerite say, “That was not our kiss.” And I knew I’d have to tackle it again yet a third day.

After more mental and emotional gyrations, the next day I came up with this:

He cupped her face in his hands and lowered his head very slowly. Her eyes drifted shut and she leaned her body into his, leaving him no doubt of her anticipation. The hesitation that had checked him in her chamber, the fear of how she might react to his kiss felt like a distant, illogical dream. His mouth settled now over hers with warm confidence and found an eager welcome. He felt her arms weave around his waist, reminding him how small she was as she nestled still closer against him. Small, but surprisingly vigorous, for her mouth quivered swiftly from candid acceptance to a clinging fierceness. His blood surged and his kiss deepened. All the careful caution that had guided him o’er the last five years swirled away as he sank hopelessly into the eddy of pleasure.

How long he would have stood there drinking from her nectared lips like a man parched he did not know. She pulled away at last with a tiny gasp. He caught one more snaring kiss before she hid her face against his shoulder. Deprived of her lips, he took what comfort he could in pressing his mouth into the soft cloud of hair atop her head.

Her voice came muffled against the cloth of his homespun. “So this is what it is like, then.”

He moved a hand to stroke her dark curls. “What, my heart?”

“Love.” And her arms tightened around him.

“Ah, yes,” Rob and Marguerite said with beaming smiles. “Now you have it.”

Again, what amazed me was that technically, any of these versions should have “worked”. And yet, my characters insisted that only one of them was “right.” As fanciful as it sounds, it was as though somewhere out there in the ether, their “true” kiss existed. My challenge, after all, was not to “create it”, but to “find it” as it had already occurred.

So I’m curious. Am I the only one who has experienced this with their characters? I would love to hear from you! When you write, do you feel like you are creating a story out of thin air? Or like you are “discovering” a story that somehow already exists and you only have to find it? 

What Am I Writing Now?

Yes, that’s “writing”, not “reading”! The rumors are true. Acelet is going on hiatus for awhile. I’m a little sorry to see him go, as I was especially looking forward to introducing you to his new friend, Bricot the jongleur! But that will have to wait. For a little while, anyway. I do intend to come back to the story and finish it someday.

And speaking of “somedays”… Some of you know that Gunthar and Heléne, the hero and heroine of Loyalty’s Web, had their origins in an early college novel of mine. They were an elderly couple in that unpublished story who helped my much beleaguered younger hero and heroine achieve their “happily ever after”. I called that early novel—the first novel I ever wrote—The Lady and the Minstrel. I loved the characters. I loved the plot. I even have a few nicely encouraging personalized rejection letters (if rejection letters can ever be viewed as “nice”) from some major New York publishing houses for it. Here’s a little sampling:

Dell Publishing: “This is an intelligently written novel with well-drawn characterizations, but ultimately it lacks the passion and romance—despite the protagonists’ enduring love—required in a historical romance.”

Bantam Books: “The novel is well written and the author shows a nice feel for time and place.”

Avon Books: “While the historical plotline is very interesting, I’m afraid the romance theme does not figure largely enough in the story to make it appropriate for our list.”

Berkley Publishing Group: “Thank you for sending [The Lady and the Minstrel]…it’s a good read, a notch above most published historicals, but just not totally spectacular enough for us to take on.”

Only one publisher actually came out and admitted that the biggest drawback was that my heroine wasn’t “lusty enough”.  (Although perhaps that’s what Dell was hinting at with their “lacks passion and romance” remark?)

Yes, even then I was writing "sweet" romances in a not-so-"sweet" romance world. And even then I had trouble sticking to the romance “formula”, because although at the time I thought I was simply writing a love story, in hindsight I can see that I had some other “non-romance” themes going on that probably ultimately shot me in the foot with romance editors. (In other words, yes, it was about the hero and heroine falling in love, but it wasn’t all about the hero and heroine falling in love.)

The point of my sharing the above comments with you isn’t to boast. It is simply to explain why I have always continued to have faith in this story. I’m actually grateful to those editors who rejected it at the time. Yes, it’s true! Although utterly heartbroken at the time, in later years I have in very truth often thought that they did me a huge favor. Why? Because if The Lady and the Minstrel had been published in its original form, I would very likely have thought my writing abilities were “good enough” and become trapped in a truly inferior writing style. Honestly, I write much, much better today than I did then! (I’d give you an example, but I’m too embarrassed.)

I have always told myself that someday, when my writing skills had improved, I would go back and rewrite The Lady and the Minstrel (along with its sequel, Knight’s Folly). I have told myself, and even a few other people, that for years and years. So when for reasons I won’t go into here, I crashed and burned with Acelet’s story at the end of 2010, I found a little voice whispering to me, “And just when is ‘someday’ going to come around for The Lady and the Minstrel? When you’re 70? 80? 90???” (Or in other words, “You’re not getting any younger, you know!”)

And so I’ve once again pulled out The Lady and the Minstrel. I still love the characters. I still love the plot. I’m keeping the story’s roadmap. But the scenes themselves…oh, my! The scenes themselves I’m rewriting from the bottom up, using all the improved, matured skills I can muster. (We're talking something like 98% "new" writing. Though compared to a book I’m currently reading “for fun”, my "improved, matured skills" still seem sadly lacking. :::sigh:) Still, I promise the end result will be MILES above the original version!

Now the question: Once finished, will anyone really want to read this book except me? It’ll still be "sweet". I hope it’ll be better written. But it still won’t be a “totally spectacular” story and the “romance theme” still may not “figure largely enough in the story” for many readers looking for a traditional romance. I don’t know that answer, but I do know this one: Since I’ve begun my rewrite, I feel at greater peace with my writing than I have in a good long while.

And so, at least for now, it’s The Lady and the Minstrel…and me!

An extract from "The Kiss", by Francesco Hayez (1859)

Some of the clothing is wrong, their hair isn't quite right (though both are the right color), and yet this painting has always made me think of Rob and Marguerite, the hero and heroine of  The Lady and the Minstrel

Guest Blogging at LDS Writers Blogck

I was a guest blogger today over at LDS Writers Blogck. Click here to read my reflections on the relationship between writing and faith.

Decluttering

I've discovered that, when decluttering, it's easier to let go of some of those little snippets I've clipped from the paper if I share them on my blog first. That way I haven't actually tossed them out, rather I've recorded them for infinity! (Or however long the internet decides to last.)

So, for your reading pleasure (or not), here is a little anonymous ode to the Spell Checker:

TO BEE OAR NOT TWO BE

I have a Spelling Checker,

It came with my PC,

It plainly marks four my revue

Mistakes witch I can not sea!

I've run this poem threw hit,

I'm sure you wood bee pleased too no,

Its letter perfect in it's weigh,

My checker tolled me sew!

Okay, thanks for letting me share! I can let go of this one now. :-)

Is it or isn't it a romance...and would you read it anyway?

So you see, it's like this. Although in my own mind, all my stories are romances, the "story" part always comes first with me. So suppose...just suppose...that the hero and heroine of my new WIP have a brief interaction in Chapter 2 (not necessarily a positive one), then don't meet up on the same page again until, oh, say, around Chapter 8 or 9? Would you still consider this a romance? (Even though they do ultimately reconnect and fall in love.) If it's not a romance in the strictest sense of the formula, would you still be interested in reading it?

(Not that I'm saying I'll change it if your answer is "no". Just wondering how many potential readers of Loyalty's Web and Illuminations of the Heart I stand to lose if my characters continue on their current merry way. :-) )

From Reader to Writer

Presented by Joyce DiPastena 

at the Kearny (Arizona) Public Library on April 7, 2010

(Delivered in my new haircut to the right. It's one of the few times you'll catch me with straight hair. I'm washing all the curls back in tomorrow!)

I had an exciting year last year! I did a lot of traveling and visited both new and familiar places.

One stop I made was in England! I saw so many exciting things there, my head still spins when I try to remember them all. As some of you might know from the kind of books I write, I love the Middle Ages. So I was especially thrilled when I got to stand on the battlefield of Hastings (1), where William the Conqueror defeated the Saxons in the year 1066 and united two races that would eventually merge into the people who would become some of my ancestors. From there I visited a cold and drafty medieval castle where a young girl named Catherine once lived. (2)

After my tour of medieval sites, I visited the town of Bath, a popular resort in Regency England. While there, I learned to dance two popular Regency dances called the cotillion and the quadrille. I visited some of the magnificent Regency-style houses in London, watched the fireworks at Covent Gardens (3), and had the privilege of attending the great concert hall where a performance of Handel’s oratorio, Messiah, so moved King George II that his excitement drove him to his feet during the Hallelujah Chorus (4), beginning the tradition of standing during that chorus that continues to this day.

I saw some exciting things in America last year, too! I got to follow the Underground Railroad that helped slaves escape from the South to freedom in the North during the American Civil War. From there, I joined a company of covered wagons and crossed the great plains back to the American West. (5)

By now you may have guessed that I did not actually visit any of these places physically. So it probably won’t surprise you that, in addition to the experiences I just mentioned, I also lived life for a week as a dog (6), visited the palace of Sushan in Persia where Queen Esther saved the Jews through her courage and faith as recounted in the Bible (7), and made a stop in Germany where I helped that famous detective, Adrian Monk, solve a murder case (8).

How did I do all these wonderful things? Through the magic of books, of course!

Every writer, before they become a writer, starts out as a reader and lover of books. But every reader does not turn into a writer. Since all of us sitting here tonight love to read (or we wouldn’t be sitting in a library, right?), what, I wondered, tipped the scale for some of us from being contented readers of words to becoming crafters of words?

I knew some of the things that had personally tipped that scale for me, but I wondered what had tipped them for other writers. So I did a mini-survey last week and asked some of my writer friends this very question. The first thing I learned from the responses I received is that fiction and non-fiction writers come at their writing from two very different directions. Since I’m a fiction writer, those were the answers I most related to and the ones I’d like to share with you.

As I read my friends’ responses, I identified two defining quirks in the brain of a fiction writer. I call these the “What If? Syndrome” and “The Dissatisfaction Syndrome”.

Joan Sowards, author of Haunts Haven and Chocolate Roses, said in answer to my survey question: “You can’t write fiction into [an] ancestor’s story, but I kept feeling prompted to sit down and write what she would say if I got a chance to interview her. When I did, it blossomed into a short story, then a novel. That book isn’t published, but through it, I learned that I love to write.”

And Anne Patrick, author of Lethal Dreams and Reservations for Two, said: “I may be strange, but as a kid after I’d read a book, and sometimes even as I was reading it, I would start imagining how I would have done a scene differently. And I still do this often, especially with mysteries/thrillers. It never fails, before I’m done with the book my mind is going haywire with ideas and possibilities.”

Both of these authors suffer from the “What If? Syndrome”.

In Joan’s case, it manifested itself a bit more subtly. Somewhere in her subconscious lay the thought: “What if I were to sit down and interview this ancestor. What might she say to me?” And from that “What if…?” question grew the interview that turned into a short story that turned into a novel.

The “What If? Syndrome” manifested itself much more glaringly in Anne. When her mind goes “haywire” with imagining different twists and turns that a scene she is reading might have taken instead of the way the author wrote it, she is basically asking herself: “What if this happened in this scene, instead of that? How would the characters have reacted? What if the author had thrown in this twist instead, how would the characters have dealt with it? Oooo, wouldn’t it have been fun to see how the story might have ended if such and such had happened instead?”

I understand what Anne is saying and thinking and feeling, because I have said and thought and felt those same things when reading a book. In fact, the first book I ever wrote (still unpublished) is filled with characters and plot points that I consciously took from other books I had read and sought to twist and turn. Keeping in mind that I’m referring to plots that were popular in romances in the late 1970’s/early 1980’s: “Why,” I remember asking myself, “is the hero in romances always portrayed ‘like this’? I hate those kind of heroes! What if I took all those cookie-cutter hero-characteristics and poured them into my villain instead? And why is that, when what stands between a hero and heroine is the humble birth of one vs. the aristocratic birth of the other, the one of humble birth always turns out, in the end, to be as highly born as the other in order for them to have their happy ending? What if the one of humble birth never turned into an aristocrat at all, but remained humbly born from the beginning to the end of the story? How would such a story be resolved?”

These are the kinds of questions—What if? questions—that dig and nag and finally burn themselves through a writers brain until the writer finds herself compelled to sit down and try to answer those questions with pen and paper or computer keyboard and screen.

The second syndrome—the “Dissatisfaction Syndrome”—is described by two other friends of mine.

Carmen Ferreiro Esteban, author of Two Moon Princess, said: “For me [what tipped the scale] was that nobody seemed to get it right. So I decided to write it myself, the book I would like to read.”

Rachael Renee Anderson, author of the novel, Divinely Designed, said: “For me it was because I couldn’t find enough books written in the style I liked to read (that were clean, that is). I was a voracious reader and the authors I enjoyed reading couldn’t keep up!”

Again, I remember a time in my life when I haunted the bookstores, desperate to find a book already written that told the story I had swirling around in my mind at the time. I was certain the characters and plot I was thinking of couldn’t be that unique, and that surely someone else had thought up the same characters and plot and published it in a book. But every time I thought I’d found a book that was at least close, I’d buy it and take it home and read it, only to be disappointed, not only because it didn’t quite tell the story that I was looking for, but because it was filled with graphic sex scenes that I didn’t want to read. And so, just as my friend Carmen said, I finally came to the conclusion that if I were ever going to get to read that story I had in my head (without the graphic sex scenes), I was simply going to have to sit down and write it myself. Which is what I finally did.

For one reason or another, Carmen and Rachael and I were all dissatisfied with what we found on the bookshelves. Not that there aren’t a lot of wonderful books to read! There are and we still read them. But none of them quite tell the stories we envision in our own, unique heads, and for that, each of us has learned that if we ever want to read that story, we are simply going to have to write it ourselves.

There is one last syndrome that I just remembered that every author suffers from. I’m not quite sure what to call this one. It may sound like pride or arrogance, but it really isn’t, and without it, there would be precious few books to read in the world.

Marsha Ward, author of The Man from Shenandoah and two sequels that make up her Owen’s Family Western series, put it this way:

“Back in the 80s, I enrolled my children in a library summer reading program. Since we spent a lot of time there, I naturally increased my reading list. For some reason, I picked up a couple of Western novels. One was poorly written [NOTE: SHE ONLY SAID “ONE”!], leading me to say to myself, ‘I can write better than that!’

“The truth is, for years I had dabbled in writing for my own pleasure. This occasion spurred me to get serious and study the craft.”

Whether they will admit it out loud or not, every writer has read at least one book that has lead them to shout, “I can write better than that!”

As I said, this may sound like arrogance, but if it weren’t for such moments of cockiness, self-confidence, whatever you want to call it, writers might write until they were blue in the face, but none of us would have the courage to ever send our writing out to those all-powerful people called “PUBLISHERS”, and without Publishers, readers, as I said, would have precious little to read.

So the next time you pick up a book, remember that behind the words you are reading stands a human being who is badly smitten with three diseases:

The “What-If? Syndrome”. The “Dissatisfaction Syndrome”. And the “I Can Write Better Than That! Syndrome”.

And if you love books and reading, then just smile and say, “Thank you.”

Thank you for coming and listening tonight.

Footnotes:

1. The Conqueror, by Georgette Heyer

2. Catherine, Called Birdie, by Karen Cushman

3. Various Regency romances by Georgette Heyer, Heidi Ashworth, Jaimey Grant, and Donna Hatch

4. Messiah: The Little-Known Story of Handel’s Beloved Oratorio, by Tim Slover

5. Martha’s Freedom Train, by C. LaRene Hall; Trail of Storms, by Marsha Ward

6. Dogsbody, by Diana Wynne Jones

7. Esther, by Norah Lofts

8. Mr. Monk Goes to Germany, by Lee Goldburg