And at the beginning of this month, as I begin not one but two books (as they are planned to come out as a duet, I need to work on both at this stage so they link together well) that thought about the beginning of March seems to fit there as well. Because in a Modern/Presents romance novel, the hero has to ‘come in like a lion and go out like a lamb.’ He has to stride on stage, if not actually roaring from the start then certainly shaking his ‘mane’ and making his presence felt. And when he learns to love then he becomes as gentle as a lamb to his beloved. Not that he ever loses his leonine qualities - a real hero stays strong and powerful to the end but he uses that fierce strength and power in a very different way – to protect and nurture, as the Alpha lion in a pride has to defend his family from other predators.
Which of course makes me wonder if the natural astrological sign for any Alpha hero is obviously Leo. But there are many different ways for a man to show his power and strength, that Alpha Leo pride being only one of them and perhaps one that is overused in many romance stories. The major problem I have is when people will describe an Alpha hero as ‘arrogant’ when the truth is that because he has such supreme self confidence (until the realisation that he isn’t all that well qualified in handling matters of the heart hits him in the face) he can appear arrogant to someone who is feeling hostile towards him and who doesn’t yet know quite why he is acting that way.
Which brings me to my favourite word of all tine when it comes to writing fiction – that all important WHY things happen, WHY someone behaves in a particular way.
Months don’t have to worry about things like that – they just begin how the forces of nature have programmed them to begin and get on with it. And we have to take what we get. But with a hero I have to know precisely WHY all that roaring and mane- tossing is going on. Any man who indulges in it for no good reason and without any justifiable background to it is going to appear just a jerk, not anyone’s hero.
So yesterday I spent a lot of time writing in the old-fashioned way, with a soft HB pencil (the sort my mother always used to call a ‘thinking pencil’ ) and a note pad. I roughed out the ‘backstory’ to both these books – all the stuff that will (mostly) not be included in the book I actually write but which I must know all about if I’m going to write that ‘what as well as the how. And today I think I’m ready to let at least one her move on from his opening ‘like a lion’ to begin his journey to the point where, if not actually becoming a lamb, he’s certainly ready to lie down with one.
March 1st seems like a good day for such a beginning.
Happy St David’s Day!
PS I have a contest running onmy web site that officially closed at midnight Feb 28th - but if you're reading this blog on March 1st and you'd like to enter for a chance to win your very own Mr Wonderful the mini hunk like the one above, who can be relied on to say all the right things- just check out my contest page and send me an answer - put 'Blog Contest entry' in the title of the email - and I'll let you have a day's grace to enter.
3 comments:
I always enjoy hearing about how other people start their manuscripts. For me, the planning stage is a little frightening because I'm itching to start the actual writing. Now I'm learning that I have to budget in the time for "thinking" and not just writing. How long does it take you to plan before you start writing, or do you work on both?
Thanks for an interesting post. I've recently had a spell in hospital and discovered just how much of my book I could 'write' just by making notes. As you say, most of it will probably never make it into the book but I've learned a lot about the characters, their lives, and WHY things happen to them.
~Sharon J
Michelle – you raise an interesting point. I’ve often said to people that the point before I start a book and I’m wandering around, just doing the housework or the shopping or whatever can really be the time when I’m working hardest – doing all the thinking and planning of the story that I’m going to work on. When my son was small and I couldn’t get to my desk when I wanted, the thinking time I had when I was looking after him meant that when I did sit down to work, the writing usually flowed because I had had lots of time to plan. Being a full-time writer means I have more time to sit at my desk but unless I’ve done the thinking and planning, the time isn’t always productive in writing.
The way I work now is conditioned by the fact that I’ve been doing this for 20 years – and I have trained my mind to work on the details I need. In the beginning I would do a lot more actual physical note taking and writing down plane. My 12 Point Guide To Writing Romance has, for example, a character assessment questionnaire that I used to follow religiously. These days, I have short cuts and can work more from instinct than analysis. I’ll have fewer notes, but more information in my head. But when I’m actually working on a keyboard I always have a notepad and pen beside me so that if some idea or piece of information comes to mind I can note it down.
I don’t plan out a full book. I have a strong knowledge of my characters, and of the cause of conflict between them and why that has happened. Sometimes I’ll have an important scene or two that I know must go into the story. Then I start . After that I plan as I work – when I’m not at the keyboard, I’m letting the story develop in side my head, thinking of how my characters will react n ow they’re in this situation . . .I often fall asleep with scenes in my head, working out what will happen, where my characters will go – and why.
It works for me. I know it terrifies some hard and fast detailed planners – but this is how I’ve always worked.
Hello Sharon and welcome – sorry to hear about the time in hospital. I hope you now feel so much better and will recover fully. Take care.
And you are so right – that’s the wonderful thing about writing. You can use all the high-tech equipment of you can use the old-fashioned pen and paper. It all depends on where you are. I always have a notepad and pen with me so that I can scribble down ideas.. It means that you’re never bored if waiting for a train or a doctor’s appointment. I often use a pen and paper in the middle of a story when I need to sort out exactly where I have to go next, what things I must remember and important things about my characters. And you used my favourite word – WHY – that’s what I ask myself when I’m planning and scribbling. Then when you know WHY a character is like they are or WHY something happens, you can write about it with strong conviction and sureness.
Good luck to both of you with your writing.
Kate
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