Larissa blogged about starting out a novel in her hero’s POV and how when she plots a novel she sees it as “the heroine’s story”. That got me thinking, as Larissa’s posts usually do. (Thank you, Larissa!)

Later, I received a crit back from one of my cp’s. She’s been pointing out to me how in this particular story, the hero is pretty much running the show. (Lord, he’s so yummy though, you just have to forgive him. ) Her exact words were, “OBVIOUSLY {hero} ?owns? the story.” And I have to admit that he does. My heroine is just hanging on tight for the ride. Not to say that she’s wimpy, far from it, she’s awfully bold, but this story is definitely the hero’s story. Then I started thinking. Are all of my stories like that?

Sapphire’s Worth is definitely Sapphire’s story.

Lucien’s Gamble is definitely Lucien’s story.

And I realized that when I conceive a story I start out with one character and then build the tale around them. I flesh out one individual entirely and then create their perfect match. But it’s almost always somebody’s story, not both of them. The exception to this is my first ever manuscript where both the protagonists have an equal share of the limelight.

I’m not sure what this revelation means, but it sure got me thinking. :confused:

I began to think of books I’ve read where the story was OBVIOUSLY owned by one of the protagonists. Lisa Kleypas‘s RITA winning Worth Any Price was definitely the hero’s tale, as was her breakout book Dreaming of You, while her Then Came You was definitely the heroine’s story. Loretta Chase‘s Lord of Scoundrels was the hero’s tale, while Kathleen E. Woodiwiss‘s Shanna was the heroine’s tale.

How many of your favorite books are owned by one character? And how do you write your stories? Are they hero’s tales, heroine’s tales, or joint ventures?

I’m waiting on critiques to come back to me before I can go any further. So today I decided to write from scratch. I haven’t done that in few weeks so I decided to tackle a short story, just 20 pages. I’m having so much fun with it!! Sometimes, when I’m mired in the editing and revision stage of a finished work, I lose sight of how much I enjoy writing. I truly love it, it brings me joy. I hope I never lose that excitement. I hope it never becomes just a job to me. And I’m glad my burnout didn’t last for long!

Looking forward, I’m sorry to say that I foresee the rest of the year being spent mostly on edits and revisions. Everything I have is earmarked to go somewhere and I’ve got this thing inside of me that says a ms has to be perfect before it leaves my hands. It may not be perfect per se, but in my mind it has to be the best it can possibly be. That way, if it comes back (which I hope doesn’t happen, of course), I can tell myself, “You couldn’t have done any better.” There’s no regrets, no self-recriminations.

So to ward off edit burnout and writing withdrawals, I think I’ll have to write a short story every now and then, just to keep everything smoothly oiled. Also I’m taking off for a writer’s retreat in November. Author Jane Porter wrote a great article about having a productive writer’s retreat. It’ll be my first attempt, so we’ll see how it goes, but I have high hopes that the experience will galvanize my creativity. Jane has a lot of great articles on her site that you might want to check out.

Also, Nicole Jordan‘s new step-back cover is yummmmmmy!!! Visit her site to check it out. It’ll take a little bit to load, so be patient. I think it’s worth it. :hehe:

I’m writing again!!! LOL

In the last few days I’ve been getting critiques back. Lord, how I love critiques! It amazes me the things that an objective eye can pick out. I’ve yet to receive a crit that did not improve my work. There’s nothing in the world like a great tear-it-apart critique. I don’t mean that negatively, I mean a critique where such detailed attention is paid that little things are corrected. Changing a word or breaking up a paragraph. I think I could become a critique junkie. (Is there such thing?) I’ll have to restrain myself. :blush:

Just as wonderful as a great critique is brainstorming. I love that too! Bouncing ideas back and forth, getting opinions and solutions before you write, can save you so much time!! And it’s a lot of fun too!! :laugh:

The Golden Heart and RITAs are going again. Are you entering? I’m looking forward to Nationals next year and getting to meet those of you who are attending.

I’ve been devouring the latest RWR. I just dig that magazine. I haven’t digested the whole thing yet, but I liked the article on critiquing and the interview with Diana Gabaldon had some interesting stuff in it. I’ll finish it up tomorrow.

I’ve gotten over my Brava jitters. For now. They hit me every Monday morning when I read the really fabulous entries. It’s an honor to be among such talented company, but a bit intimidating too. You can’t help but wonder how your entry compares. But the truth is, the whole thing is out of my hands. Worrying myself sick over it won’t change the outcome, whatever it is. I’ve always been a strong believer in the adage ~ Everything happens for a reason. Many times I’ve been disappointed only to reflect later that missing the originally-hoped-for opportunity turned out to be a good thing.

Not that I’m hoping to be disappointed!!
Oh hell no!! :O
I’m looking to be thrilled. :hehe:
Hopefully, my mojo holds out a little longer.
Oh what the heck! I hope it holds out forever. :rolleyes:

A reader, Linda, who visits my site regularly, sent me a career suggestion today. I really appreciated that she thought of me! Thank you, Linda!

Click here to see the {{popup Brewzer.jpg Brewzer 400×300}}puppy picture!

You know, I was thinking after Ellen and I made the finals in the Brava Contest that it wouldn’t surprise me if all of us in our little blog group who entered made it to the finals. And now that Larissa has finaled (with an awesome entry!), I’m sitting here thinking how lucky I am to know such talented writers!!! I mean out of two hundred entries, what are the odds? They’re long, I’ve no doubt. I’m feeling pretty blessed this morning to have found you all.

4 more weeks to go… I’m fairly certain we’ll be seeing more familiar names cropping up in the finalist picks!! I’m off to post this on the message board, where I can gush over Larissa’s fabulous entry in more detail!

Well, I’m back from Vegas with our new puppy. He is so unbelievably adorable!! He’s a mix–half toy poodle and half shitzu, so he’s super tiny. He’s a shiny, inky black puff ball with the face of the cutest teddy bear. I took some pictures on my cell phone, but I’m having trouble sending them to my computer. My mom left her digital camera here, so tomorrow I’ll take photos and put them up. He’s just a doll.

Tonight, I finally backed up my mss to disks. I’ve been thinking about doing it forever and just never got around to the task, even though I acknowledged how screwed I’d be if my crappy computer finally died, which I believe it’s close to doing. I feel sooooo much better now that I know they’re safe. I’ll have to keep up the habit.

I had two crits returned to me this weekend for two different mss, so I’ve been working on those since I got back. This past weekend I didn’t have that overwhelming itch to write, write, write. I’m fairly certain I was pushing serious burnout to be so lackadaisical about the whole thing. Lucky for me, everything I’m working on right now is finished and only needs to be critted. Hopefully by the time I’m done with those, I’ll be more inclined to write. :rolleyes:

I hope everyone had a great weekend!! :satisfied:

In my town, there is a wonderful little shoppe that caters to low-carbers. They have bagel sandwiches, wraps, salads, hand-tossed pizza, shelves of dry goods, and four different flavors of low-carb soft-serv that changes daily. Yummy…

I am a huge chocoholic. I just love it. LOVE IT! My long-suffering hubby is constantly driving over there to buy me some treat or another. We frequent the establishment at least 3 times a week, mostly for ice cream and Chocolate Brownie Overloads.

Tonight, I went instead of hubby since I am not writing at the moment. I walked in, checked out the flavors, and called hubby to see which one he wanted. After I got off the phone the girl at the counter says, “You’re the one whose husband comes in here all the time.”

Me: Wary look. “Yep.”

Shoppe girl: “You’re the one who always gets the Chocolate Brownie Overloads.”

Me: Blushing furiously while 5 yr old son laughs. “Yep,” I say sheepishly. “That’s me.”

Good grief. So I get my Peppermint Patty ice cream with chocolate chips sprinkled over the top and leave. I get home, share ice cream with son. (Hubby has Toasted Almond) Ten minutes later, I’m running around the house laughing and giddy on my chocolate high. (No sugar, just chocolate.) I tell hubby, “Hey, I just realized that chocolate makes me very happy.”

Hubby nods with a sage expression. “Yes, it does.”

:O Lightbulb Moment. Now I know why he is always so ready to run to the shoppe and buy my chocolate treats. :blush: