No Mary Sues Allowed

Since I was talking about heroes last week, I thought it only fair to include heroines as well.

One thing we've all been warned against is the TSTL heroine. (Too Stupid to Live, should you not be up to speed on all the acronyms.) This is the heroine who goes down into the dark basement to see what the noise is—when she's aware there's a killer in the neighborhood. How to avoid this syndrome has been discussed at length, and I'm not going into it again today. Instead, I thought we'd look at the perfect heroine.

The romance heroine of days long past was dependent upon the hero. She was subservient, and if in peril, had to wait for the hero to come to her rescue. The pendulum swung the other way, and today you're more likely to find the heroine as a no-nonsense, kick-ass character who can handle herself.

Back in my early writing days, when I was learning the craft via fan fiction, there was a great deal of discussion about not creating a Mary Sue. In fact, there was even a test to make sure you didn't have one of these unbelievable heroines (or, in fact, any character) in your books.

Is this to say that you can't have a heroine who is fully competent? Of course not. But you can't just plop those convenient skills in front of the reader when it becomes convenient for her to have them.

The Winner Is..

The winner of Grace Elliot's book, A DEAD MAN'S DEBT, is Patricia Stoltey. Congratulations, Pat. Grace will be e-mailing you your prize.

Thanks to all who left comments. My guest next week has another giveaway, so be sure to check back.

Friday Field Trip - USAF Academy Cadet Chapel

I'm welcoming Jason Odell back to host this week's Friday Field Trip. Click to enlarge the images. I know you won't be disappointed.

The Cadet Chapel is probably the most recognized architectural work in the Colorado Springs area. Its spires are visible from the freeway as you drive past the Academy grounds. The chapel was completed in 1962, and is open to the public. Its unique design is constructed from aluminum tetrahedrons. Between each segment, the gap is filled with stained glass panels. The chapel has seventeen spires that reach 150 feet in the air. The chapel actually houses three separate worship areas: the Protestant Chapel is the main floor, and on the lower levels you'll find Catholic and Jewish chapels.

I have visited the Cadet Chapel several times since moving to Colorado Springs, but only recently had the opportunity to go inside. I went on a late Monday afternoon and was rewarded with spectacular light and the good fortune to be the only one inside. The staff did not object to my tripod and they liked looking at the photographs, too.

Love and Heroes

Yesterday I talked about what makes a hero someone both the reader and writer loves. There were some great comments, and one of the frequent ones was that he had to love the heroine.

When writing a romance, there are some reader expectations that have to be met. When we write a romance, we're promising the reader that we're going to address them. One of the "requirements" is to show that moment when the hero realizes he's in love with the heroine (and vice-versa, of course). There are others, but this is a blog post, not a workshop.

I seem to have a theme for my heroes that they're all career consumed, and their careers don't lend themselves to family lives. With the exception of Blake Windsor in What's in a Name?, they're all either cops or covert ops specialists, and don't think their jobs can mix with relationships.

My preference is for that moment to sneak up on the hero. None of mine have been actively seeking a life partner. And, like with all writing, you can't just dump these things on the reader. They need foreshadowing and setups.

And of course, taken out of context, these 'aha' moments aren't as meaningful, but I thought I'd share a few examples from my own work (no issues with copyright that way).

So, here they are:

Hero Worship?

What I'm reading: RITA entry #5

Thanks to Grace for her cheerful post yesterday. There's still time to leave a comment to be entered in the drawing.

The other day, I went to our local RWA chapter meeting. There were several 'early birds' and one of the members said she was bogged down in her writing because she wasn't "in love" with her hero, so we had a brainstorming session to see what her hero would have to be in order for her to love him.

As romance writers, we expect our hero and heroine to fall in love. And I think some of the same qualities that work on the page for these characters also help us connect with our characters, and I think we do have to be at least a little in love with them as we write the book. Of course, we're fickle—we're going to have to fall in love with the hero of the next book, which probably wouldn't work well in a real life monogamous relationship.

So, what makes the reader fall in love with the hero? Not (at least I hope not) because he's too good looking for words. Not (for me, anyway) because he's all alpha and can master any situation. I want to see how the hero thinks of the heroine. Not because she's too good looking for words. Not because she needs him to rescue her, although that might be one of his goals.

Hooked on Happiness

Grace Elliot is a veterinarian by day, and author of historical romance by night. Grace loves the personal nature of Terry’s blog and has decided to share with you the things that make her happiest. And she's giving away a book to a lucky commenter, so be sure to read through to the end.

My family make me happy. I’ve been married 22 years this March and have two fabulous sons, who despite being teenagers, still love hugs with their mum (although don’t tell them I told you that!) My boys are chalk and cheese; from artistic Thomas with his nail polish, piercings and tattoo, to John who considers wearing a shirt without a tie to be dressing down. LOL, wouldn’t life be dull if everyone was the same!

Right up there with things that make me happy, are cats. I adore cats for their independent spirits and their gorgeous furry faces. They are a miracle of design! One of my cats, Pilchard, is a beautiful study in whorls and strips, her pattern perfectly symmetrical and more – each hair changes tone from root to tip. I could spend hours studying her! I’m a cat-a-holic and share the house with five moggies, each with their own foibles; from Widget with her TV watching habit to Gromit waiting on the street corner to welcome me home from work.

How Do You Read?

What I'm reading: RITA Contest entries, #4 of 8

Only a day apart, the UPS man delivered the eight books I'm supposed to judge for the Romance Writers of America RITA contest, and the ARCs (Advance Reader Copies) of WHERE DANGER HIDES. I've got a lot of reading to do.

I'm a first round judge. While it's required that I read the entire book, I can read these as a reader—an educated reader, but still, I read them to see if I think the authors have created believable characters, plots that aren't forced, have met the expectations of the sub-genre, and if the author's voice shines through. These are all published romances, so one assumes there's a basic level of quality that got the book past the editorial gatekeeper to begin with. However, there's no denying that there's a vast range of quality in published books, and that the same book will be a great read for someone, and a chore to get through for someone else.

My bottom line, when assigning my score, will be influenced by how I felt about the characters. Was I glad to reach the last page, or did I want the book to keep going. Even more, did I want to spend more time with the characters. Will I be looking for them at the checkout line at the grocery store?

It's also a commitment to read books that I might not have picked up on my own. Sometimes, I'm pleasantly surprised to find a new to me author, in a genre I don't normally read. Sometimes I have to remind myself that there's obviously a market for these books, and take a deep breath to find the objectivity I promised to use when reading. These books, I read as quickly as I can, keeping the story in mind. I can usually finish a shorter book in under a day, so I'm starting with those, saving the meatier ones for my final reads.

Friday Field Trip - Back to the Basement

OK, here's the 'almost done' basement remodel. Once we get some furniture down there, maybe I'll schedule another trip. Meanwhile -- Send Pictures!

And a reminder - last day for the discount price of What's in a Name? is Saturday, Jan. 22.

The new stairs.



An overview of the main space

Types of Scenes

What I'm reading: Love is All Around, by Lori Devoti

A reminder - the introductory price for What's in a Name? will expire Saturday. See the sidebar for links and the Smashwords coupon code.

Yesterday I talked about making sure scenes had earned a place in a book, and promises to the reader. Since I told you I'd give some examples today, I'll make good on that promise. The following list shows the various types of scenes you might be using in your book. And remember, a scene might show more than one of these--which is a good thing.

Prologue – not required. In fact, unless there's a huge time gap between this and the opening, it should probably be Chapter One. There's also a difference of opinion as to whether agents want to see prologues when you're submitting.

Opening – should draw the reader in, giving hints of things to come.

Set-up -- foreshadows something to come. These scenes can occur throughout the book.

Scenes and Promises

Thanks to Gretchen for sharing her recipe yesterday. Anyone try it yet?

Basement update: We're waiting for the final inspection. The contractor hired someone to come clean, and it looks very nice, even if it's empty. The laundry room is set up (a mixed blessing), and we're looking forward to getting some furniture down there. We don't have much yet—a bed for the guestroom, and a futon which we brought with us from Florida. It'll serve as seating until we decide whether or not we want to move our old living room furniture down there and get new for upstairs.

When I'm writing, since I don't really plot much in advance, I think more in terms of scenes when I start. Just like I know I'll need to put a bed in our new guest room, I know I'll have to have certain kinds of scenes in my book. I might have a specific scene in mind, or a vague idea. Maybe I'll hear a song on the radio, and I know I want my characters to dance to it. But, like the furniture that might end up upstairs, downstairs, or not be used at all, but rather replaced with something new, I don't really know exactly where my scenes will end up.

If a scene is going to stay in the book, it needs more than one reason to be there. So, if we put the futon in the tv room, it can also do double duty as a bed should we have extra guests. I like to think of Alton Brown on Good Eats who campaigns against kitchen gadgets if they're uni-taskers. The same goes for scenes.

According to author Kathleen O'Brien, to justify a scene, the POV character must have something happen to alter the course of the story. There should be a change in behavior or attitude, or the scene should be there to set up the change.

And you owe it to your readers to follow through with scenes that deliver "promises", whether they're consciously made on your part. I touched upon this a bit in last Thursday's post. When you put anything on the page, the reader expects it to mean something. The classic example is Chekov's gun—if you show a gun in act 1, you'd better use it before act 3.