Although I've joined the Twitter set, I haven't really found that it's something I want to spend hours a day tracking. I've yet to figure out the nuances. I have under 200 followers, and even filtering for those who I find have useful or interesting things to say, I can't imagine reading all those tweets. What do the people with thousands of followers do? Aside from finding some interesting blog posts and articles that were tweeted by others, I spend very little time with the application. But I checked out a tweet by Sarah of Smart Bitches and found a recipe for a Red Bean and Barley soup that sounded good enough to send me to the store for the ingredients I'd need to make it. Yummy.
And it was via Twitter that I found out, sadly, that Robert B. Parker died. I went to my first SleuthFest conference because he was the keynote speaker. He was funny, friendly, and SleuthFest became one of my 'must go' conferences from then on. Indirectly, he connected me with a fantastic group of mystery writers and because of SleuthFest, I've continued to pursue writing mysteries as well as my romantic suspense books. I highly recommend it as a small conference with some big opportunities (I met the editor who bought When Danger Calls at SleuthFest).
What I'm reading: Long Lost, by Harlan Coben, RWA chapter contest entries.Saturday, author Julie Elizabeth Leto was a guest speaker at our RWA chapter meeting. She spoke about "The Art of Layering: How to Write Faster AND Better." I'll share my notes here, interspersed with some of my own reflections.The technique came about, she explained, when she was working full time and had only a short window available in which to get her writing goals accomplished each day. Rather than flounder, especially when she'd see the clock ticking away and anxiety interfered with getting the words down, she started writing only the dialogue. That way, she had a framework for her next writing session. 
Her system covers four different layers, and particularly resonated with me because I find that system works for me, even though I'm not writing in a controlled amount of time. As a matter of fact, her handout resembled my own Dialogue Basics handout (still available on my website), although hers takes the 'whole book' approach, rather than only the dialogue portions. Then again, there's more to dialogue than the words the characters say.So – her system: First -- get the dialogue down. Keep Reading...
Second – add setting details. Don't start the book with lots of description. Work it into the scene as needed.
Or, as Elmore Leonard said, "Never Open a Book with the Weather."
Next – write the action. She stressed that in a romance novel, the most important part is REACTION. Reacting is where you can show emotions and trickle in back story. Show it when it's relevant, and when it will heighten the emotional level, for both the character and the reader.
And the last layer – this is where she'll add the sexual tension, the sensual aspects, and descriptions.
Leto also talked about the editing, which is where she says one adds texture to the book. This is where the author's voice shows through. And where you have to be able to step back and trim what's not needed. Her hint: Look at the last sentence of your paragraph. Is it needed. Too often, it's merely a recap -- telling what you've already shown.
As she puts it, Write Hot, Edit Cold. The editing process needs to be ruthless.
And her three "Rules" which she says are posted above her computer:
1. Don't get it right, get it written.
2. You can't fix a blank page.
3. Give yourself permission to write crap.
(Note: these are Julie Leto's versions, but most likely can be attributed to 1) a city editor for a NY magazine, 2) Nora Roberts, 3) Anne Lamott.
Her parting words: Writing should be hard. If it isn't, you're not doing it right. She said any author who tells you her editor rarely requires edits or revisions is either lying, or has a lazy editor. There's always a way to make it better.
Come back tomorrow when author Linda Swift has fun with the language barrier between English and American.
What I'm reading: Tempt the Devil, by Anna CampbellFirst, thanks to Maris for sharing her experiences in the world of a writer. This is a short post today--I'm way behind in SleuthFest prep. 
Some surprises: I got an email saying that HIDDEN FIRE was now available in print from the publisher. No advance warning, other than they'd told me it would be out in time for the book signing at the Romantic Times conference in late April. Thus, I spent much more time than I'd planned trying to put together an excerpt booklet so I could have them ready for SleuthFest.In other news, I got an email from Night Owl Romance saying a reviewer had read What's in a Name?, loved it, and wanted to know what else I'd written. I haven't seen the review yet, but ego-stroking is always a good thing. I'm going to be busy with SleuthFest preparations. We leave tomorrow, so I might be putting the next installment of Homicide- Hussey up a day early.In the meantime, here's a quick peek at the opening section of my dialogue handout. Time permitting, I'll figure out the most effective way to share it.Keep Reading...
Some Dialogue Basics
First, the absolute nitty-gritty. If you don't understand these first four rules, your work will probably never get beyond the form rejection letter. If any of these aren't automatic, you should take a refresher course in basic writing.
1. Use quotation marks to indicate words which are spoken by characters.
2. Always start a new paragraph when changing speakers. You cannot have two people speaking in the same paragraph.
3. Make sure the reader knows who is speaking.
4. Use correct punctuation, capitalization and spacing.
Assuming you've got those down, what next? I suggest the following two books as handy references, not only for dialogue.
The First Five Pages, A Writer's Guide to Staying Out of the Rejection Pile, by Noah Lukeman
Self Editing for Fiction Writers – How to Edit Yourself into Print, by Renni Browne and Dave King
Elaboration and examples later ... please come back.
