Tag: writing advice

What’s ‘that’ all about?

~ Meg ~ 47 Comments

Adventures in editing. [Revisiting this and that]

One of the words we writers tend to overuse is the word ‘that’. If you don’t believe me, use your search/find option in your word processor’s editing tool and see how many times you find it in your work. Obviously, it is sometimes appropriate to use ‘that’ in your sentences, but other times it can be eliminated. Here’s an example:

“I think that this gives you a chance to start over,” Vince said. 

It’s not grammatically incorrect, but it isn’t necessary, either. Instead, say:

“I think this gives you a chance to start over,” Vince said.

Here’s another example:

He arranged to add his name to the multi-business sign that graced the front lawn at the office building, and bought paint to cover the walls of his new space.

In this instance, ‘that’ should be replaced with ‘which’ (…which graced the front lawn…) but it sounds even better when written like this:

He arranged to add his name to the multi-business sign gracing the front lawn at the office building, and bought paint to cover the walls of his new space.

When I did a search for ‘that’ in Three Empty Frames, I found 806 of them!!! I’m in the process of finding all those ‘thats’ and eliminating or replacing them.

Genre Bending

~ Meg ~ 26 Comments

An older post revisited.

One of the things that catches me up at the end of a project is selecting the best genre for the book. Seems like it should be a no-brainer but it isn’t really. Of the five complete novels I’ve written in The Bucks County Series, all of them have a romantic component, so I’ve listed them under the romantic suspense genre. Nevertheless, all but one are crime stories: mysteries with clues to be followed and criminals to be apprehended. The one exception —Run For It— is even more hard to define; there are elements of suspense and romance, but no crimes get committed nor are there secrets to uncover. What is that? Realistic fiction, maybe? The thing is, I feel like I might be misleading the reader by including the ‘romance’ part in describing the genre.

Do romance readers expect steamy sex scenes? Or is that now classified as erotica? While the stories I write include the development of romance/relationships between my main characters, I abstain from depicting any sort of physical relationship beyond kissing. I think a romance reader might be a little disappointed. In any case, writing romance was never my objective, it was to write a good story in which a relationship might develop. In fact, I have nearly removed the romantic components from two of the five books because I felt the stories could stand on their own without it. I just liked the books better with the relationship left in.

I’m not a good, traditional romance writer and I know it. And perhaps that’s because I’m not particularly traditionally romantic myself. Candlelight dinners? I like to see what I’m eating. Chocolate? Ok, I’ll take the chocolate but not one of those samplers – half the stuff is inedible in those things. Flowers are nice but eventually they will dry up and all the petals will fall off and make a mess. I can never remember where I keep the vases anyway. New jewelry is lost on me – I always wear the same favorite pieces every day. You see what I mean… I feel like a hypocrite writing those sorts of things into my books. My characters feel as silly as I do in traditionally romantic situations.

So how does a romance go in a book by Meg Sorick? Most of my female leads are self-rescuers – they don’t actually need their men to bail them out of their crises. That is not to say my male leads are not capable of rescuing; I like strong male characters, just not Neanderthals. No offense Neanderthals (I hear that’s actually a thing … Neanderthal DNA showing up in all the ancestry testing everyone is having done to find out your real lineage, not the one your grandma lied about. But I digress…) Anyway, except for the non-mystery in my collection, the women find themselves as the target of some sort of criminal activity: burglary, stalking, attempted murder, and finally vandalism/arson. The men are there to help follow the clues, discuss possibilities and ultimately assist in solving the mystery. This is how I like the relationship to develop — the couple works together to overcome an obstacle or withstand a series of terrible events. They will genuinely like and respect each other, they will definitely be attracted to one another and they will learn to trust each other with their very lives. Not a bad formula, I would say. But then I arrive back at the original issue: how to classify the stories I write. I have some thinking to do. And I may give romance a rest altogether after I finish my next stand alone book —a historical novel set partly during World War One. I have plans for a sweet romance in that story, but after that? I think I should part ways with love…

When you have all the time in the world…

~ Meg ~ 19 Comments

This writer’s life.

I haven’t got a “real” job at the moment, I have all the time in the world and yet, I am having trouble focusing on the task of writing. While taking a break can be healthy and restorative, there is a risk of losing momentum, sometimes forever.

This must sound indulgent, but I really hope it doesn’t come off that way. Most aspiring authors are trying to fit writing in around work that pays the bills. I have the ‘luxury’ of being at home for the time being. Nevertheless, I’ve been a very busy woman for a very long time. I’ve been secularly employed from the age of 16 and this is the first time in all those years, I haven’t earned an income [aside from very modest book royalties, which only amount to the cost of an occasional dinner out]. Anyway, my plan has been to use this time to concentrate on the next novel. I just can’t seem to get going. I have lots of excuses: taking care of the business of the international move, my office isn’t set up yet and my writing space is important to me, the house is too empty and I need to get a cat… Even writing blog posts instead of working on the novel! Doh!

I suppose it’s easy to procrastinate, knowing you have all the time in the world. Creative pursuits, unless of course, you have been commissioned to complete a project, and are on a deadline, tend to be more fluid. The book always needs further revision, the painting needs just a little more touching up or the drawing needs a slight adjustment. These things can become forever incomplete or unfinished. Even creativity needs to have a certain amount of discipline imposed upon it. It’s time I made a schedule and stuck to it. Plan my writing time and prioritize. And even if the writing isn’t good, developing the routine will be. Mediocre writing can always be revised. But first you have to write it. I really don’t have all the time in the world. It is a commodity that once expended is gone forever. Best get back to work!