Her latest title, Passion's Magic, is the fourth in her Doms of Passion Lake series. Speaking of taking it away...here's Julie!
WRITING TIPS
by Julie Shelton
by Julie Shelton
One of
the things my writing has been universally praised for is the realism of my
characters and dialogue. So I will be sharing a few tips on creating realistic,
well-rounded characters and writing realistic dialogue.
1.
Before you start writing the actual story, jot down notes about
each of your characters. Something more than just the color of their eyes or
hair, although that’s important, too, especially if your characters are going
to show up in more than one book. Write down things that have happened to them
that have made them the way they are. Get to know them before you introduce
them to your readers. When I first thought of Jesse Colter, my hero in the
three Sarah books, all I had was a name. Over the next four months I created
his whole persona, what he looked like, what his background was, how he walked,
how he talked. But even though I had complete control over Jesse and felt that
I knew him inside and out, he still managed to surprise me. By the time I
started writing the first words about him in the actual book, I suddenly found
myself typing “son of an alcoholic father and a Native American woman who
abandoned him at birth.” Nowhere in my original profile of him was he Native
American. Nor had I known that his mother had abandoned him at birth. But I
went with it, because that one detail just all of a sudden explained
certain aspects of his appearance, personality, and behavior. So know your
characters, but be aware that they can still surprise you. And if they do, let
them. They have a habit of knowing what’s best for them and taking over from
time to time.
2. Mention the most important things that have affected how they live
their daily lives at least three times during the course of the story, but
don’t just list them. And don’t keep mentioning the same details from one
retelling to another. Add new information. Leave other bits out. In one
instance, you might describe the characters thinking about a particular event,
how they felt when the event happened, what they did as a result of the event,
and how it has affected their decision-making processes and the impact it has
had on their lives. In another instance, have the character tell all these
things to another character, but don’t just make it one long narrative. Show
how the teller reacts as he/she is telling the story. And how the listener
reacts as well. Have the listener asks questions, make comments. Another time
you might consider recounting the entire scene or series of events in a dream
or a flashback. By the time the last mention of the event has occurred, allow
it to be an example of how much the character has grown by contrasting how
he/she reacted to the event when it happened and how differently he/she is
reacting to it now.
3. Listen to the way real people talk. They rarely speak entirely in
complete sentences. They use slang. Use the way a character talks to help
define him as a person. For instance one of his personality traits could be
that he always uses big words and sounds very professorial. Or uses the latest
street slang. But be consistent. Don’t just have him talk that way once or
twice, but every time he opens his mouth.
4. Don’t add “he said” or “she said” after every sentence. Instead
put an action in its place. Something that avoids the over-use of adverbs.
Something that helps reveal how the character is feeling or what he is thinking
without actually saying what he/she is feeling or thinking. For instance,
instead of this:
“I have
plans for you,” he said teasingly. “Plans you will like.”
“What are
they?” she asked nervously.
“Don’t
worry. You’ll find out soon enough,” he said cryptically.
Try something like this:
“I have
plans for you. Plans you’ll like.”
“Oh,
yeah?” She gulped as her stomach started to twist into knots. “What are they?”
He gave
her a wolfish grin. “Oh, I wouldn’t worry my pretty little head about that.
You’ll find out soon enough.”
In the second example it’s still clear who is speaking and you are
also showing their state of mind without the over-use of adverbs or “he/she
said”. It also shows that he is playful and likes to tease and she is more
serious, and it reveals that without actually saying in so many words that he
is playful and likes to tease and she is more serious.
5. Like all writers, I get
writers block. I have two ways to work through it. I go back and edit the
previous day’s work, which is usually all I need to do to get back into the
swing of the scene. I always try to end in a place where I know what’s going to
happen next so I can pick it right up the next day. But that’s not always
possible. If I’m really stumped, I have a wonderful beta reader and critique
partner with whom I can brainstorm ideas. We email them back and forth and all
those emails get copied and pasted into an idea file for each book. We’ve come
up with a lot of really wild things, some of which have actually made it into
my books. But it always gets my creative juices flowing enough to at least give
me a place to start and I can usually take it from there. Brainstorming is an
invaluable tool for me.
6. A lot of my characters are southern, so they drop their g’s at the
end of most words, like askin’ instead of asking, goin’ instead of going, etc.
They also say gonna, wanna, and y’all. That’s the way we southerners talk, so I
use phonetic spelling for a lot of their dialogue. But only in their dialogue.
Not in the narrative part of the book. It makes for a more realistic portrayal
of each character if they say “dontcha wanna go?” instead of “don’t you want to
go?” Or when someone says “Have a nice day,” it’s much more realistic to have your
southern cowboy reply, “Right back atcha, sugar,” rather than “Right back at
you, miss.”
7. If a scene really isn’t going well, to back to where it began and
take the character in another direction. Say, for instance, a character who is
brooding over some problem fixes her lunch and eats it alone at her kitchen
counter, while trying to come up with a solution to the problem. If that’s not
working for you, have her decide she needs a change of scene. Have her go out
for lunch and meet up with a girlfriend who insists on knowing what the problem
is and who provides suggestions for how to solve it. Not only is this a much
livelier scene, but it also adds dialogue, as opposed to being straight
exposition. But don’t delete the original scene. Put it into the idea file or a
deleted scenes file. What doesn’t work for this particular character in this
particular book might be just the thing for another character in another book.
These are
just a few tips that might get you looking at things in your own books and
seeing different ways of approaching them. Have fun and Happy Writing!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
From fairies in the garden
to handcuffs in the boudoir, Julie’s writing has run the gamut. In between she
managed to graduate cum laude with a B.A. in French from Georgia State
University followed by a Master’s Degree in Library Science from Emory University.
Having thus procured these two necessary but ultimately irrelevant pieces of
paper, she launched a successful career as a children’s librarian, followed by
an even more successful career as a professional storyteller and puppeteer. She
published Kidstuff, an award-winning, monthly newsletter, as well as Puppets,
Poems and Songs, both major language arts resource for early childhood
educators.
At various points in her
life, if asked what she would like to be, her answer would have been (in rough
chronological order, since some of these lofty ambitions overlapped): a fairy,
a princess, a ballerina, Nancy Drew, Cherry Ames, a paleontologist, Scarlett
O’Hara, thin and beautiful, an actress, and a writer. Now, at age 73, her
answer to that question would most likely be, “younger”.
Followed closely, of course
by a writer. Oh, and a princess. Some dreams die hard.
Now retired, Julie lives in
a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia.
Connect with Julie:
Website: http://bit.ly/Nn2gPE
Amazon author page: http://amzn.to/IEAADL
Global Link: viewAuthor.at/JulieShelton
Facebook Fan Page: on.fb.me/19nGsh2
Twitter: @JulieCShelton
Google+: http://bit.ly/1FUYbdZ
LinkedIn: http://linkd.in/1gYBG9p
ABOUT PASSION'S MAGIC:
Passion's Magic
by Julie Shelton
Book 5 of the Doms of Passion Lake
Molly Duncan, forty-one,
has come to Passion Lake for three things. A new job. A new life. And a new
Dom. Her Dom husband has been dead for four years and she desperately wants the
closeness of a loving D/s relationship. So she accepts a job at the Passion
Lake library and buys an old semi-run-down farm suitable for boarding horses.
Horses were a huge part of her life growing up, until she met and married Tom
and entered his world of BDSM. Now she hopes to combine both of her passions.
Enter Jared Thompkins,
seven-time World All-Around Rodeo Champion and circuit heart-throb. His career
ended by injury at age twenty-eight, he’s ready to settle down and find a
submissive of his own. A woman he can love and cherish and dominate the hell out
of. On the recommendation of his older brother Mitch, he applies for the
position of stable manager.
Molly sees a handsome,
cocky, young cowboy with a swagger for a walk and a panty-melting grin. Jared
sees a lusty, voluptuous, mature blond who’s ready for what he can give her.
The attraction between them
is instantaneous and explosive. Each is exactly what the other has been
seeking. Now all Jared has to do is prove to a wary Molly that it’s not just
sex. He’s in it for the long haul. And a thirteen-year age difference is not
the insurmountable obstacle she seems to think it is.
Until something happens
that could destroy everything.
~*~*~*~
J. Rose Allister is the author of more than twenty-five books, primarily romance and erotic romance. A former editor and submissions director, she now works as a mild-mannered hospital secretary by day, naughty writer by night.
Thanks for being here today, Julie! I got a lot out of your writing tips.
ReplyDelete