The Wickedly Wicked Life of Women: From Classic Lit to Chick Lit

     While I’ve been working on a novel for NaNoWriMO, I’ve found myself doing research on evil mothers and evil women, in general in literature. What is it about fairy tales, fiction and chick lit that readers love a good female villain? Some people call them strong, diabolical or jealous and probably, most recently, “bitch” captures all these words into one modern meaning of the femme fatale. Just for fun, I thought I’d compile a liset of all the Evil Women who we love to hate (and some we’ve even grown to love) from Grimm’s Fairy Tales to contemporary Chick Lit:

Wicked Witch of the West - The Wizard of Oz by Frank Baum

The Stepmother – Hansel & Gretel; Cinderella; Snow White all by Brothers Grimm

Maleficient – Sleeping Beauty by Phillip Margolin

Lady MacBeth – MacBeth by William Shakespeare

Goneril & Regan – King Lear by William Shakespeare

Nurse Ratched – One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey

Corinne Dollanganger – Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews

Cruella de Vil ¬– 101 Dalmatians by Dodie Smith

Queen of Hearts – Alice in Wonderland ¬by Lewis Carroll

Miss Trunchbull – Matilda by Roald Dahl

Miranda Priestley – The Devil Wears of Prada by Lauren Weisberger*

Vivian Grant – Because She Can by Bridie Clark*

Mrs. X –The Nanny Diaries & The Nanny Returns by Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus*

Sidra DeSimon – How to Sleep with a Movie Star by Kristin Harmel*

*Chick Lit “Evil at Work” characters adapted from the Chick Lit Club, Retrieved at http://chicklitclub.com/top10evilatwork.html on November 19, 2010

     Fascinated by the concept of the evil female villain, myself, I am working on adding my own femme fatale to the growing list of chick lit antagonists. Taking key components from many varieties of the story of Cinderella and modern elements of chick lit and contemporary fiction, I hope one day Ms. Marguerite of The Cinderella Complex will one day make it on one of the lists. She is an evil woman, not unlike the evil stepmothers of preceding literature who antagonizes my leading heroine at every step of her journey to independence.

Who did I forget? Let me know. I’d love to hear it! Post your favorite evil women from chick lit or anywhere in the media.

See Jane Write: 30 Days of Plotting, Typing, Writing and NaNoWriMo-ing?

I'm taking a little break (I'm sure you may have noticed) from writing in my blog. Be sure to check out any of the past book reviews, links, blog posts or any of the great sister sites I love to read and follow on the right.

Wish me luck....This is my very first year attempting to NaNoWriMo. That's 30 Days and Nights of Writing and writing and writing...and, you get it. Hence, the break from my blog. I'm trying to write a rough (very rough) draft of a chick lit manuscript by November 30. It's a race against the clock as I up my word count. Goal: 50,000 and a completed (NOT finished) novel in the chick lit fiction genre.

Here I am at Day 15, halfway there and I miss blogging so I just thought I'd check in.  I might not be blogging but I'm still reading, writing, listening to, dreaming and breathing chick lit (Okay that might be going a little too far!) So check back December 1st (okay, maybe December 2nd to give my little typing fingers a rest!) for more Chick Lit Reviews and Blog Posts, Ideas and Thoughts on Writing, Fun Links for all the Chick Lit you wanna know.

In the meantime, I thought I'd share a great offer I found on Twitter today. If any of you have dreams of writing, check out this great link from Women on Writing to get three FREE ebook copies of these helpful books on writing: http://womensmemoirs.com/free-ebooks/:

“Writing in Five: Prompts to Get You Moving”

“Journaling Essentials: Everything You Need to Know to Start and Keep a Journal”

 “Top 10 Reasons to Write Your Memoir” (Bonus: Extra Writing Prompts)

Don't Forget MAY 2011 is CHICK LIT INTERNATIONAL MONTH joining the United States' Chick Lit is Not Dead, Australia's Chick Lit Club and Britain's Novelicious....."Because Every Woman Deserves Her Happy Ending"...

Once Upon a Drama: Writing an Unforgettable Chick Lit Novel

     I realize (and profusely apologize) that I have not written a Writer’s Wednesday post in some time. Not to make excuses, but I just wrapped up school for the summer, it’s been Annual Budget and Start of Repair time at work and finally, my fiancé and I just adopted a baby, feral kitten (who, every time I open my laptop, feels the need to walk all over the keyboard, either changing the current webpage I’m on or writing all kinds of gobbledy-gook on the page). But anyways, I missed my blog. I missed writing, reviewing and especially, reading the feedback from loyal readers like you.

     I just finished an excellent novel (and my first) by author Jane Fallon called Getting Rid of Matthew. Although it was about the darker side of marriage, elaborating on the topic of affairs, lovers, wives and best friends who may not always be who they seem, it was a thoroughly enjoyable, exciting and entertaining story. The dramatic flair with which this story was written and narrated in made for a highly enjoyable and memorable read. (And the older I get, the less room there seems to be in my brain for things like books and movies so if I can remember mundane details weeks or months later, then I figure it must have been authored more than proficiently.)

     Anyways, it got me to thinking about my own writing process and writing in general and how authors must have to use certain techniques and tactics to truly engage their readers in the dialogue, plot and tone of their stories. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if there were a few choice or exact ingredients that someone could tell you to use to create a Bestselling Chick Lit Novel that went all the way to #1 on the New York Times Book Charts and then Sony came along to request the rights to make a movie out of it starring Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie? Unfortunately and luckily all at once, there is no set recipe for success in writing or producing a book. I say unfortunately, because if there were such a recipe, anyone and everyone who wanted to write a book could do so with great ease. From a similar vantage point, I say luckily, because without such a recipe to write a bestselling book, the whole process and creation of your novel becomes such a wondrous accomplishment that no one can take away from you, being unique to you and you, alone.

     For example, Jane Fallon took a risk with Getting Rid of Matthew by depicting the classic dilemma of an illicit love triangle from the perspective of a mistress who doesn’t want her lover once he leaves his wife (for her, no less!). Not only does this unique plot twist engage the reader a thousand times more so than the usual drama of the married man who won’t ever leave his wife for his lover, but this is only the beginning of the risky plot layers that unfold. First, married and successful business man, Matthew shows up on the doorstep of his mistress, Helen. Despite the fact that she’d been begging him for four years prior to leave his wife for her, she had finally reached a place in her life where she was “all set” with him and so when he shows up with all his belongings in tow, Helen is speechless, to say the least. The guilt at being the reason for his pending divorce is enough to drive Helen mad and at least to keep her from denying Matthew a place to stay. The story continues as Helen develops elaborate scheme after elaborate scheme in her attempt to be rid of Matthew once and for all. In the midst of her zany efforts, she loses her job (as well as the respect of her coworkers), befriends Matthew’s wife and falls in love with his son. While trying to juggle all the (secret) parts of her life and be rid of Matthew in the least hurtful way possible, Helen somehow manages to find herself in the midst of this wondrous little mess she’s made for herself. All in all, Jane Fallon took an expected premise to a chick lit novel and turned it upside down and inside out, making for an unpredictable, roller coaster ride of emotions, friendship, love, marriage, affairs and of course, ensuing hilarity. I was utterly fulfilled by the story’s end and sadly disappointed to say goodbye to the trio that brought life to this chick lit novel.

     What kinds of elements do you hope for or look for in a chick lit novel (or any novel for that matter) that give it that extra edge of mystery, drama, seduction, excitement or something else that makes a novel outstanding? Is it something about the climax or the climactic build up? Is it some sense of dramatic flair? What makes one plot or one character stand above the rest? Share with me and everyone else here!

Save Cathy: One Writer's Journey to her Blog and Back

     Welcome Back to My Blog. If you have been as absent as I have, I thought I might take a little bit of time out of my day to tell you where I have been and what I have been doing.

     All summer, my fiancé and I have been feeding a colony of feral kittens and cats that live in our backyard. One day, early in August we discovered that one of the kittens, maybe 4 or 5 weeks old at the time, was not breathing easily. It became painfully obvious that this tiny little kitten had a respiratory illness and if we didn't do something about it, who knows how long she would make it out in the wild. Complicating issues further (if you have never seen or dealt with feral cats), she was absolutely 100% terrified of us!! But, with a strong desire to play and eat and the sweetest most innocent face you've ever seen, we couldn't possibly imagine leaving this poor creature out on her own. We talked about how we could care for her and find her a good home and whether or not we thought we would be able to trap her. Over the next 48 hours, she let us know, herself, exactly how this was all going to play out. Every day I would find her hiding behind or under the grill on our deck, directly in front of our sliding door. She no longer went upstairs to sleep with her Mama and her brother. She no longer ran about in her crazy zig zag way that she did when we first saw her. In her own, timid way, I truly believe, she was trying to tell us that she was sick – she was too sick to move – or at least too sick to climb the stairs – she was too sick to protect herself from predators which is why she hid in the protection of our grill – but as sick as she was and as scared as she was, she was brave enough to come out from under her little shelter to let us know that she still wanted to live. She would come out from under her little shelter just long enough to let us know that she still wanted to live. She would eat little ripped up pieces of lunch meats and cheeses with the most innocent delight from our hands. She was so sweet. I think she chose us. In fact, ask any cat owner ore person who works with cats in any aspect of their lives and they will likely tell you the same thing – you don’t get to choose your pet cat – they will choose you!

     So we made a plan Friday night, August 6th to find a way to get the little girl (who at the time we thought was a boy, who we called Lil Tiger because of the Calico coloring of her fur in gorgeous patterns of orange, black and white) and bring her to a vet. The first vet we had picked out to take her to closed at 5pm but as time kept ticking on and we realized just how difficult the task of getting her was going to be, that vet quickly was crossed off our list. With the vet nearest our house closing at 6:00pm, we finally caught her at 5:45pm! Of course, at this point my fiancé’s arms had been clawed at and scratched to no end and the little girl was writhing and rolling in a little clothes box that I had made numerous holes in to ensure plenty of oxygen (The shelter I was referred to to borrow a carrier was closed when I went by). Every time I peaked in or removed the towel that was covering the holes (I read you are supposed to help the feral kitty feel like she is hiding from you – then she will be less scared), she made quick attempts to get out or to at least let me know she was not happy to be in such a small space or in for a bouncy car ride and she spat at me! (I don’t’ know why kittens and cats think spitting is so threatening – it is really the funniest thing to see them do to you) The next vet on our list closed at 6:00pm but luckily, it was practically just across the street because I was really not sure how long I was going to be able to keep this kitty under the lid of this makeshift kennel. We arrived at the vet’s door at 5:50pm; 10 minutes before the closed, and I breathed a sigh of relief – Apparently, I let out my breath too soon, though, because when I pulled on the door, it was locked!! I could see the receptionist in the window doing (what I imagine to be) her nightly paperwork and she began mouthing the words “We’re Closed”. Closed?!?! But it’s only 10 of 6:00pm, I pointed to my watch. She came outside to (very rudely, I might add) let us know that there was no doctor on site and that there was no way we were going to be let into the facility. She was angry. She was unsympathetic and she was very curt with us. I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes. We had just spent the past 2 and a half hours trying to capture this little kitten to bring her back to health, and we were about to be denied services! I moved the box up closer to my face and the receptionist’s and said, as calmly as I could contain my emotions, “But I have a feral kitten in this box who is very sick. I can’t just bring her back and….what am I supposed to do.” The receptionist had no words for me, only a very agitated and annoyed eye roll that was directed towards me and my fiancé. During this exchange another customer had begun walking towards the vet’s entrance and without another word to us or the new person walking up the path, the receptionist hurried inside (to lock herself in?). In what seemed like an eon of time later, she finally came back out with a postcard in her hand and told us “that’s where we could go”. I started to ask her a question about her reference and she gave me the hand! The hand!??!! As in, “not another word; that’s all you’re getting out of me.” Thankfully, this experience was a blessing in disguise as her “referral” (if you can justly call it that) turned out to be a 24-Hour Pet Clinic that staffed the nicest, most understanding, educated and knowledgeable persons. (I don’t know hwat ever happened to the woman who “dared’ to walk up to the facility that closed at 6:00pm (at 5:55pm)…she was apparently just coming to pick up a specially ordered prescription assigned by the doctor at the vet. Now come on, tell me, if a place advertises on their website, on their door and everywhere else that they close at 6:00pm, would you assume they close at 6:00pm or ten of 6:00pm!?!?!?

     All in all after that first hour, however (and very luckily, I might add), our little girl has been nothing but a doll ever since. She was treated for her respiratory infection and dewormed by the most caring staff of doctors and nurses aids at the 24-Hour Animal Hospital at the Buzzards Bridge Rotary. We took her home and let her hide for as long as she wanted to (which was no more than the first 12 hours). She still has a very (very) healthy appetitive and desire to play and practice honing her hunting skills, pouncing, chasing, swatting, jumping, thrashing around on the floor and running through her favorite tunnel. We decided to change her name to Honey and really, I have never met a little kitty that was so brave and so tough and sweet all at once. I read that Calicos are lucky in many cultures but always tell her that we are the lucky ones to be so blessed to have such a little sweetheart in our lives. There’s nothing like having a little girl to come home to, who runs over to greet you because she’s been waiting for you to get back from work all day, and then stretches out in your lap as she gets herself ready for a night of double loves and play!

     So other than our new kitten (who takes up a good 75% of my time), all the regular stuff has been filling up my day, school work, the regular 9 to 5, tennis, friends, my fiancé and family and of course, reading, listening to audio books and writing reviews. I’m hoping to start a new writing class next Saturday for a few weeks (to maybe get that spark going to really make writing my own fiction part of my everyday routine) and I also have my annual charity tennis tournament the same weekend.

     So summer may be officially coming to an end for us here in the states but I always look forward to cozying up with more books come fall and winter (When I don't have to justify being such a homebody anymore). I won’t have (too much) school looming over my head every waking minute so I hope to get much more reading and writing done. I have already embarked on a Revamping Project of my blog. I added a Book Review page where you will be able to find ALL my book reviews ever posted on my blog as well as links to the individuals reviews. Basically, I just want to make my site as user friendly as possible. I also want to make it more “for-the-user”, if you know what I mean. It is my goal to get more pages posted, including a writing tips section that would ideally be divided by things like Character, Plot, Setting, Dialogue, etc. I would also love to be able to get some Interviews up and running, especially some duo interviews for all the audio books that I listen to and have reviewed here. Who knows, maybe I can even include some audio interviews, reviews or clips form actual unabridged books (just to shake things up a little this fall!) Finally, there may be some additional small changes to the scenery and background that you see around here. I’d like to add a spinning logo to give tribute and thanks to all those who’ve nominated me for a blog award. I really cannot extend my appreciation and gratitude to any and all persons who take the time to read what I have to say. It makes me feel so good to know that someone is even glancing at my page! Overall, I just want my blog to stay in line with its original purpose – to follow my dreams and maybe to match up with a couple of somebody else’s wishes, hopes or dreams, too.

As always, Happy Writing and Keep Reading. Love, Cathy

The Intimate Adventures of a Chick Lit Writer on Cape Cod

Writer's Wednesday

Okay, I know I'm always promising to share a little bit of myself and my own writing process so here goes (and have at it!):

In sixth grade we learned about makjing outlines. I'm not kidding you, my teacher, Mr. Hildebrand, was so thorough about this lesson that we not only made outlines with I., II., III., IV., A., B., C. and D., a., b., c., d. and so on headings but we went as far as to include i., ii., iii., and iv. For anyone who had a similar lesson in the "art" of creating an outline, you know what I mean. At the time, it was tedious, time-consuming, difficult and I couldn't foresee where this was going ot be useful in my life. Well, sure enough, I've come to find out that outline writing has been one of the saving graces of my late adolescent and adult life. I wrote my notes in college in outline form. I take notes at work in outline form and now, I plan to write my stories in outline form. I'm so grateful that I had a teacher that spent so much time, thoroughly explaining the way to compose an outline from start to finish (and everywhere in between) because especially in fiction writing, the outline has become one of my most valued planning tools.

When I first got back into Chick Lit, not that long ago, after being on a “hiatus” from it for a few years (I still can’t believe I left the genre for so long!), I came across a book called, See Jane Write by Sarah Mlynowski and Farrin Jacobs (Referred to from here on out as SJW). Basically an A-Z guide on all things Chick Lit Writing, SJW soon became my bible for character inspiration, lessons in writing, practice exercises, planning guides, self-publishing tips, basic writing how-tos and and a whole lot more. I actually took notes on this book to turn back to whenever I need it. One of the “lessons” I recall, was about writing an outline before you put your idea to paper draft. According to SM and FJ, the outline should include all major events, dialogue with detailed shorthand and any other pertinent information related to plot, character, story pacing and the flow of scenes.

For instance, SJW delineates several important points each main character goes through in any Chick Lit novel, including:

 

The Drop: She needs something to upset her life so that she can GROW.

The Climb: She needs to move up, whether it’s a true or false high she’s striving for.

The Blips: All the conflict along her path.

The Ultimate Low: Rock bottom – when everything falls apart.

The Final Climb: When she finally figures out how to solve her problem.

The Satisfied Ending: She’s happier than ever before with her life – or at least getting there.

Taking from SJW's suggestions for an outline, events and character interactions and the teachings of my fabulous sixth grade professor, I began to write my own outline (which has since been revised numerous times). I am definitely a prime example that there is no "right" way to write an outline (or any part of your novel for that matter.) I have written an outline for my novel at least three times; sometimes I start from beginning to end; other times, I start in the middle and work my way out and other times, I just fill in what I know at the time and leave the rest blank. I have toyed with the prospect of following the classic, cookie-cutter Chick Lit novel layout. I have played around with the idea of making my Chick Lit novel into a modern-day retelling of Sleeping Beauty. In all my efforts, however, I try to keep at the forefront of my writing a little piece of me (or as much as I can muster the strength to put on paper without feeling totally and utterly humilated - being humbled is good, but being completely mortified? Hmmm....thoughts for another day.

One of the main reasons my outline has changed at least three times is that I often allow myself to get easily distracted and I am prone to procrastination and indecision - all three, of which are very bad influences in my writing habits. In fact I saw two of the best quotes for writers the other day on Twitter from AdvicetoWriters that read:

"Being a good writer is 3% talent and 97% not being distracted by the Internet" by Anonymous" and second,:

"Don't get it right, just get it written" by James Thurber

How true is that? I know procrastination, the Internet and all other non-writing activities are the main things that preclude me from writing. Before I get too far off topic and avoid showing you my writing any longer.....without further ado, as promised, here is the latest sample of the thoughts behind my writing, the basis for my chick lit novel-to be (For the purpose of my blog to esae the reading of my ideas, I have summarized my outline below):

Main character/Leading Heroine: Emmaline (Em) Burgess, 24

Secondary Characters (in relation to Emmaline): Abigail (Abby), sister, 28; Isabella (Izzy), bff, 25; Merilyn (Meri), bff, 27; Chris, guy bff, 26; Ramona, evil co-worker, 27; Karla, boss, 38; Bruce, sister's bf, 46; Frederick, ex-boyfriend, 27; Ethan, love interest, 26 

Setting: Somerville, MA (Outskirts of Cambridge) & Boston, MA

Act I: The Inciting Drama

Frederick breaks up with Emmaline the night before her first business trip with Glass Ceiling, Inc. to Las Vegas, NV. In an unexpected turn of events, Emmaline's dreams of a husband, house (Okay, an apartment that's not even hers), dog and 2.2 kids is dead and gone. Despite her shattered dreams, she's determined not to make a scene in LV - but to no avail, she barely gets through the work week without crying on every shoulder of every poor passerby, including best friends and coworkers, Chris and Izzy. Finally on her last day in Vegas, she's trying to relax by the pool when the most gorgeous man walks right in front of her. Even when he turns out to be gay, he renews Emmaline's hope that like and her mission to marry does not have to end so soon - at least not on Frederick's terms. Emmaline vows to go home and find the man of her dreams.

Act II: Reversal of Tone from Act I

Emmaline goes home to an empty apartment and even though she knows bff, Meri is still at work, and bff, Izzy took a later flight home, wrapping up her share of the LV show, the emptiness is still an uncomfortable reminder of the hole in her broken heart. Soone nough, friends and family keep Em busier than she could ever even want to be as her friends and family set her up with every type of man possible (or so it seems) in Boston. She starts off by doing a Speed Dating game called "Lunch Dates" but come on, who can realistically meet their match in less than 7 minutes? She meets Mr. Holier than Thou Spiritual Guy at a Buddhist temple; Mr. "It's 5 O'Clock Somewhere" at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting; Mr. Wii Fit at the Gym; the Gaming Techie at her local bookstore and then finally, Mr. Over-Caffeinated at the local coffee shop. 

One day, after she can't take any more blind dates, fix-ups and disappointments, as she's walking home from work, through the Boston Common greens to the Red line T Stop at Park Street, she's just about to give up she comes up with her own Plan - seeing everyone walking their little dogs through the common, some playing Frisbee, some relaxing on a blanket and others just watching their little pups play, it finally dawns on Emmaline that she doesn't need a guy to be happy. She doesn't need a guy to see through all her plans - and with that, she practically runs home and starts her search online, for the perfect mate - a little mixed breed puppy.

Act III: The MidPoint

Being a dog owner in the City of Boston and Somerville is the best. Em can't believe she didn't think of this a long time ago. She has someone happy to see her when she gets home from work, a buddy to jog through the park with or play Frisbee and she has a warm (and furry) body to curl up next too during scary and sad movies on her couch. She's practically forgotten all about her mission to marry, when one day she's back in the Common walking with her puppy when she gets loose and runs off away from Emmaline. Em sprints after the little puppy, terrified she'll dart off into traffic and be gone forever. With all the walkers, joggers, sightseers and other dog owners in the park, however, it doesn't take long for Em's puppy to get tied up with another fury friend. As she's scolding her puppy for running away, she looks up to see a familiar face almost mocking her as she tries to untangle her puppy from the stranger's dog. Almost instantly, Emmaline recognizes the man and feels her face shift from a flushed pink from her run to a scarlet red from embarrassment. It's the gorgeous man from Las Vegas she'd seen on her last day at the pool. How could this be? What was he doing in Boston?

Emmaline forms a brief and quick bond with the man from the Pool in LV as they finish their dog-walking on the Common and by the end of it all, he asks her out to dinner that coming Thursday night. Unfortunately, Em has another blind date that night and as much as she wants to get out of it, her friend, Chris would kill her if she backed out so last minute. With the fear she will never see him again, she gives him her number, knowing he will probably never call her or see her again. After all, how many chance meetings does a person get in a lifetime? Let alone two months? Em goes home and immedialtely calls Chris to tell him the whole story. She realizes that the guy from the LV poolside is not gay, that Chris must have been pointing to another man in the background that day.

After all the excitment of their chance encounter dies down, Thursday finally comes and of course no phone call from the Poolside mystery man. Emmaline gets herself ready for her dinner date, calls a cab and heads downtown to meet Mr. Blind Date Number Infinity (or so it seems like that many dates have gone by at this point). The hostess seats her at a table for two in one corner of the restaurant and the minutes start ticking away. 20 minutes, 30 minutes....after enough humiliation, Em asks for her check and begins to get up from her seat. As she stands up, she draws the attention of a man at a nearby table, also seated alone - it's the guy from the dog park, the guy from the Pool in LV!! Thinking they've both been stood up, they finally realize they are each other's blind date. Emmaline cannot believe her dream guy is her date tonight, now more nervous than ever. She learns his name is Ethan.

The Black Moment/Climax:

Things start off slow and steady with Ethan. Sure enough, just as she's feeling like can't remember a time in her life when she was happier, Frederick comes waltzing back into her life. He knocks on her door as she and Ethan are cuddling up ont he couch watching a movie and causes a scene, as if he "owns" her - as if they never broke up - as if he never left her. Ethan leaves, saying things must be more complicated than he realized. Emmaline is of course infuriated and kicks Frederick out, not without telling him first that he has no right coming back to her like this, at this time in her life and she makes it very clear where exactly she thinks he can go. Em tries to call Ethan to explain but he won't have it and now Em finds herself in the same spot she was months ago, alone and confused at no doing of her own will.

Ending:

Will Emmaline work things out with Ethan? Is it over for good between her and Frederick? Find out in this coming-of-age tale of one woman's search for self as she finally figures out what's she's looking for with the help of friends, family and her new little furry best friend.

Please let me know what you think of my summary of my chic lit novel-to-be. I am open and interested in any and all feedback, constructive criticism and honest and genuine opinion. If you hate it, tell me (and tell me why, please). If you love it, tell me that, too. If you think it's too cliche and overdone, tell me. You get the point. Thanks for reading. Look out for more book reviews to be posted shortly for The Big Love by Sarah Dunn and Hollywood Car Wash by Lori Culwell.

My Fair Book Cover: or Don't Judge a Book by Its Cover (Or its Title)

How do you decide how to title your book or make a cover? There must be a lot of marketing involved in these plans because covers, and even titles, sometimes, change depending on which country the book is going to be released in. For example, if you look at the Shopaholic series by Sophie Kinsella, I noticed that the US released books are very bright, colorful and cartoonish. This is in contrast to The UK released editions which are still cartoonish but dimmer in color hues and more emphasis is placed on the words in the title. (Se below):

UK (Left)     Vs.     US (Right)

As you can see the UK versions of Sophie Kinsella’s Shopaholic series all conformed to the same style of cover. The US also had unity in their covers, however, by the 5th book in the series, Shopaholic and Baby, they no longer maintained the Shopping “tag” look and instead, conformed to the Shopping “bag” covers which were created for a second release in the US. The latest Shopaholic novel, Mini Shopaholic has deterred from the convention of both the UK and US art work (as you can see below). However, the UK edition still maintains a “duller” appearance using softer colors, whereas the US edition maintains its vibrancy:

     UK (Left)  Vs.  US (Right)

An even more obvious example of the difference between the UK and US editions of a book’s release is evident in Lindsey Kelk’s debut “I Heart” series. The UK books have more emphasis on the words in the title and the color palette of the novel is much plainer. This is in stark contrast to the US released “I Heart” novels in which the covers portray a cartoon woman with luggage in tow, staring off into the distance of the city of the book’s title. In fact, I recently ordered the first novel of the series, I Heart New York, and was somewhat disappointed that I received the more “bland” UK edition (See the difference below):

UK (Left) VS. US (Right)

Having received this book, it really got me thinking about what makes a cover so much more appealing to me than others? You know when you walk into a bookstore, solely to peruse the shelves and you don’t really know exactly what you are looking for but there is a brilliantly colored book (or two) that catches your eye like a diamond shining brightly in the middle of the masses of other books in the room. Or you keep taking books out by their spine to see what they are called, maybe they are written by a familiar author or maybe it was because that flashy cover caught your attention – either way, something about the title either grabs you and keeps your attention or causes you to gently place it back on the shelf (or maybe not so gently if it arouses something displeasing in your mind). So what is it that makes or breaks these books? Is it the bright cartoon characters on the cover or lack thereof? Is it the alliteration, irony or satirical nature of the title? You know the phrase “don’t judge a book by its cover”? Do we really live up to this demand on readers? Is it really possible not to form a preliminary opinion on a book, its author and/or its content based on our first glance impression of its cover page? I’m sure if you ask the marketing team that created that cover, they would most gladly (and proudly) shake their heads, “no”. After all, if we did not all make an initial judgment on the book, they would be out of a job!

So what I want to know is: what draws you to pick up one book over another? What kinds of titles make you think “Now that’s a book I’d like to read?” And if you are an author (aspiring, published or otherwise), please share with me how you chose your title and what kind of input (if any) you had on your book’s cover? As a psychology major, I am always curious about the inner workings of the human mind and spirit. So what makes a book signal out to the brain that feeling of happiness and glee that comes when we make our final purchase and bring it home to place amongst the rest of our collection on its proper shelf? I know for me, I love bright, nail polish colors, I love the cartoons and I love the vibrancy I see on each chick lit cover. As far as titles go, I also really love books that make a play on words, like a double entendre, or those that use alliteration, irony, an allegory, historical or other reference. For example, even when I create blog posts, I often try to make my titles a play on words by using the existing title of a book I'm currently reading and twisting it up to reflect the post's content. Now your turn: What books draw your eye?

The Seven Year Speech: Tips for Writing Dialogue in Fiction

I have a love-hate relationship with writing dialogue. Some days I skip over it and other days it's all I want to write. I've been looking for some tips on writing and improving my dialogue and this is what I've gathered so far. Hope some of you find it helpful and please, share any tips you may have too!

Read it!

Always read your writing aloud – you want to make sure that it sounds realistic. Would you actually say something like this in real life? Try to make dialogue sound as natural as possible. Watch out for clichés and oddly archaic sounding conversation bits. Delete unnecessary dialogue, superfluous or filler words, phrases, descriptions, repetitive information that a character may say to clarify a scene or setting (The action in your story should be sufficient to fulfill the imagination of your readers so that they can visualize the scene at hand.) On a similar note, when in doubt, use a VERB. “Verbs are our friends.” Ask yourself: Do my characters sound natural or forced? Are they coherent or all over the place?

Read More!

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, reading can be a great research tool. Look carefully at the dialogue used in other works of fiction and how it effectively fits into a scene, character description, relationship, etc. Ask yourself: Why was it used where it was placed in the story? What was effective about it? What was not effective about it? Could you have written it any differently?

 

Vary word choice.

You don’t want your dialogue to read like this: He said. She Said. She was going to say. He’d said out loud by accident. If he hadn’t said that, he would have said this. Use profanity and slang as little as possible – also be wary of stereotyping. Ask yourself: Is my dialogue active or passive? What makes this word choice better than another? Can I replace any of my dialogue with description? Or a more concrete statement/question/exclamation, etc.?

Congruency

You also want to be cognizant of the relationship between what your character is saying, their personality and the situation. Would your character truly say something like she just did? Or would it be better fit for another character to make such an exclamation? Ask yourself: Does my dialogue have fluency? Is it varied in its rhythm in accord with the story’s tone and setting?

Punctuation

Be wary of punctuation! Don’t go comma crazy. You almost never need exclamation points – the dialogue should infer the expression on its own (and if it doesn’t, think about revising.) Delete any (and ALL) unnecessary dialogue tags. Also, beware of excessive dialogue modifiers (many times you can just put dialogue in quotes with no “she said, he cried, she exclaimed, he pondered,” etc. etc. Ask yourself: Am I punctuating my dialogue correctly? Or am I confusing my reader with commas, apostrophes and tag lines all over the page?

Naming

Do you ever notice that you almost NEVER say another person’s name back to them in casual speech? Try not to have characters use another character’s name in speech to establish identity. If this is necessary in your dialogue, remember, it is most often typical of characters, such as car salesmen. When editing (see below) ask yourself: Are your characters are so individualized by their speech that you don’t even need to use things like “Joanne said.”?

Edit, edit, edit!

I have read over and over (and over) again that the delete key on your computer’s keyboard is your friend. Simplify, combine, make more concrete and clean up your dialogue. You will likely be surprised to find that you can say the same thing in half the amount of words you originally wrote. Ask yourself: What is the purpose for the dialogue here? Does it advance my story? Reveal something new about a character? Does it provide other important information? (Hint: Here are four reasons for dialogue: To convey exposition - to tell us, through the conversations of the characters, what we need to know to make sense of the story; to convey character - to show us what kinds of people we're dealing with; to convey a sense of place and time - to evoke the speech patterns, vocabulary and rhythms of specific kinds of people; and finally, to develop conflict: to show how some people use language to dominate others, or fail to do so.)

I found a web site that has some great (and fun) exercises that are applicable to the art of writing dialogue for fiction. My personal favorites are #1, 2, 4 and 10. If you happen to try any of these, feel free to post the exercise in my comments section. I’d love to see how your interpretation of the dialogue practice turns out!

Please see below for details of refer to their site:

http://www.poewar.com/12-exercises-for-improving-dialogue/

1 Write down the things you say over the course of the day. Examine your own speech patterns. You don’t have to get every word, but you may find that you say less than you think and that your statements are surprisingly short. You might also find that you rarely speak in complete sentences.



2 Find a crowded place such as a restaurant, a bar, or a shopping mall and write down snippets of the conversations you hear. Avoid trying to record whole conversations, just follow along for a brief exchange and then listen for your next target. If you are worried about looking suspicious, you might want to purchase a Palm Pilot, Handspring Visor or other hand-held PDA device. These handy spy tools make it look like you are conducting business or playing with your favorite electronic toy rather than eavesdropping.



3 Test responses to the same question. Think of a question that will require at least a little thought, and ask it of several different people. Compare their responses. Remember that you are focused on their words. Write them down as soon as you can.



4 Record several different TV shows. Some choices include: sitcom, news, drama, talk show, infomercial, sporting event, etc.). Write down a transcript using just the dialog and people’s names. If you don’t know the names, just use a description such as announcer or redheaded woman. You can also transcribe two shows of the same genre, using one show you like and one you dislike. Compare dialog between the fiction and non-fiction programming you recorded. Look for such things as greetings, descriptions of physical actions, complete sentences, slang, verbal ticks (Such as like, you know, uhhhh, well, etc.). Compare how these dialog crutches change according to the show format and quality.



5 Rewrite one or more of the shows in exercise 4 as prose, trying to recreate the show as accurately as possible. Note how easy or difficult it is to work in the entire dialog from the show. Does it seem to flow naturally and read well or does it get in your way. Rewrite again eliminating any dialog you feel is unnecessary. Try not to change any dialog though until your final draft. Work with what you have. Remember that you don’t necessarily have to rewrite the whole show. Do enough to be sure you have the feeling for it.



6 Rewrite one of the transcripts from exercise 4 using as much of the dialog as possible, but changing the scene in as many ways as possible. Change the setting, change the people’s intent, and change the tone. See how easy or difficult it is to give the same words a different intent. Again, do enough to be sure you have the feeling for it.



7 Write the dialog for a scene without using any modifiers. Just write down a conversation as it goes along naturally. After you have completed the dialog, add narrative description, but not dialog tags such as said, shouted or ordered. Instead, try to work the dialog into the action as a logical progression of the statements. Finally, add any dialog tags that are absolutely necessary, and keep them simple such as said, told, or asked. Again, only put them in if you can find not other options. Compare this to the previous dialog you have written and see what you like or dislike about the changes.



8 Write a scene in which one person tells another person a story. Make sure that you write it as a dialog and not just a first person narrative, but clearly have one person telling the story and the other person listening and asking questions or making comments. The purpose of this scene will be both to have the story stand alone as a subject, and to have the characters’ reactions to the story be the focal point of the scene.


9 Write a scene in which one person is listening to two other people have an argument or discussion. For example, a child listening to her parents argue about money. Have the third character narrate the argument and explain what is going on, but have the other two provide the entire dialog. It is not necessary to have the narrator understand the argument completely. Miscommunication is a major aspect of dialog.



10 Write a conversation between two liars. Give everything they say a double or triple meaning. Never state or indicate through outside description that these two people are lying. Let the reader figure it out strictly from the dialog. Try not to be obvious, such as having one person accuse the other of lying. That is too easy.



11 Write a conversation in which no character speaks more than three words per line of dialog. Again, avoid crutches such as explaining everything they say through narration. Use your narration to enhance the scene, not explain the dialog.



12 Write a narrative or scripted scene in which several characters are taking an active role in the conversation. This can be a difficult aspect of dialog to master, because with each additional character, the reader or audience must be able to keep track of the motivations and interests of the individuals involved. This can be especially difficult in prose, where the time between one character speaking and the next can be interrupted by action or description. See how many characters your can sustain within the scene and still have it make sense and be engaging.



I will be looking more closely at the dialogue written in the books I am currently reading and I plan to provide a follow-up post to this one on dialogue soon thereafter. If you have any suggestions for books that you’ve noticed to be extremely well-versed in the art of writing dialogue, please let me know here (either with, title and/or author, or even better yet, with an example of some of the dialogue written).






As always, thanks for reading and Happy Writing!