The Mysterious and Maddening PREMISE

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Haunted ~ The Writer's Vision

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The Filthy Truth about Sex & Love ~ In Fiction

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The Villain's Point of View?

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STORYCRAFT - by Lynne Connolly

-----Original Message-----

"...I like to write in an organic sort of way but I'm thinking I should put more energy into creating a conflict of some sort to drive my tales even though they are short. The problem is, when I think too much, it gets contrived and I hate that.


"I am looking for the way other people think about this issue rather than advice. How do you keep things moving? Do your conflicts and points of tension emerge naturally out of your stories or do you really think hard about what they will be? Can just painting a picture of something beautiful be as worthy of reading as a full blown plot arc?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(from Ms. Connolly) - Are you writing purely for your own pleasure, or are you writing to sell your work to a publisher or magazine?

If you're writing for yourself, the only person you have to please is yourself. You don't have to finish anything you get bored with, you don't have to worry about tension and conflict.

Writing to sell, or even to encourage other people to read your work, you have to take other matters into consideration. Your first customer is your publisher, so you have to study what is popular, what is selling, and what is not.

Know What the Publisher will Publish.

Publishing is a business like any other and if you want to sell you have to live by (the individual publisher's) rules. That's just the way it is. It's only courteous not to waste (a publisher's) time by, for instance, by sending an erotic story to a Christian publishing house.

In a recent WIP, (Work in Progress) I wrote a serial killer. I wanted to ratchet up the tension by making him a child killer, but my publisher doesn't allow child killing, so I redrafted and rewrote.

In the field of erotica, you have to take note of taboos. Most mainstream erotica publishers ban; 'real' rape, bestiality, pedophilia and sex involving bodily waste. There are some rules I choose to break, and some publishing houses that will not accept them. But I know what I'm doing.

Fill your Writer's Toolbox...

In order for any publisher to take your work seriously, ie that your manuscript is sellable, you have to take note of certain conventions. Lets not get into what (writing) rules you can break and what you can't. A lot of that depends on the story you want to tell, and your skill. All writers have things they are good at, and things they need to work at.

Learn your strengths and weaknesses.

Read books on plot, characterisation, pov and the rest, attend classes, online or off. It is important that you know the rules before you decide to break them.

For story arcs, try reading Vogler, Campbell and Evan Marshall. All great discussions, and very well illlustrated. Watch "Star Wars" because Lucas admitted he followed Campbell's model very carefully when he made the film. It's a start, and it might give you the 'spark moment' you need.

Suggested Books on Writing

• 'The Writer's Journey' by Christopher Vogler
• 'The Marshall Plan for Novel Writing' by Evan Marshall
• 'The Screenwriter's Workbook' by Syd Field

Tension and Conflict.

Tension and Conflict are vital to a publishable novel, and to many short stories. When you set up your characters, set them goals, and make sure those goals conflict in some way with someone else's. With a romance, it should ideally be the Hero and Heroine who are in conflict. That's why I've moved from romance to romantic suspense. Very often my conflicts come from outside the central relationship. I really don't like my central couple fighting all the time.

Go to: Motivation and Conflict, an article by Patricia Kay

Before I start to write...  

...I've (already) been through a process that takes from a week to a month. I know my characters, (Character sheets) and I have a chapter by chapter outline to work from. (Also known as BLOCKING.) This method might not work for you, but I've tried other methods and this is the one I'm comfortable with. Obviously the pantser method (writing by the seat of your pants) is only working so far for you, so you may need to develop your prewriting technique.

Go To: Assorted PreWriting Exercises by Vickie Kryston

Lynne Connolly
GSOLFOT, Author of urban Gothic romance

Vanity Presses and Self-Publishers are BAD ~ Okay?

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The BIG Secret to Marketing Erotic Romance

The Trut

h is: When it comes to Erotic Romance PR doesn’t do diddly-squat
for sales.

Posting announcement after announcement, after announcement, after announcement,...etc, will NOT get you buyers ~ it gets you BITCHING: "Quit Spamming me!"

Seriously Hot, Well-written, Erotic Romance
Sells Itself.

Put juicy excerpts on your website, post juicy excerpts on readers' email lists and, put excerpts in your release announcements – THAT sells books.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Victoria stepped out of the forward lift and followed Ravnos down the hall. At the command lift her worry deepened. They were definitely headed back to the captain’s quarters. She bit her lip as the lift doors closed behind them. What the hell was he planning now?

Ravnos turned to the keypad and the lift suddenly stopped between decks. He turned back and focused on his executive officer. “Seht, do it now.”

Seht’s head came up in a froth of long white hair. “What? Here?”

Ravnos nodded. “The yeomen have dinner set. I don’t want you shocking them, should you snap.”

Seht flashed long incisors. “I’m not that far gone!”

“And I need your brain back online to make plans,” Ravnos continued smoothly. “We both know you can’t think when you’re in this condition.” He held out his hand. “I’ll hold the coats.”

Seht backed up a step and eyed Victoria. He spat out a vicious oath that Victoria’s internal translator refused to register, and jerked out of his coat. He dug at the buttons of his waistcoat.

Ravnos looked at Victoria. “Take off your coat, and remove your waistcoat.”

Victoria unbuttoned her coat. I really hope this isn’t what it looks like. She shrugged out of it and handed it to her captain. Her fingers fumbled on the buttons of her long waistcoat.

Seht pulled off his cravat, baring his pale throat. He handed everything to the captain, then turned to Victoria. His expression bordered on pain, but his eyes were nearly white-hot with leashed passion. Lust was almost a scent in the air.

Oh, shit -- it is what it looks like. Victoria could not stop her instinctive reaction. She took two quick steps back and pressed against the lift wall.

Seht moved in a blur of speed, his palms flattened against the steel behind her, trapping her against the wall without actually touching her. Heat rolled off his body, and he seemed to tremble. His mouth brushed her ear. “This is not quite what I had planned,” he whispered.

“Then let’s not do this.” Victoria shifted to slide away only to find him pressing full-length against her. His hands slid down the wall to frame her hips.

“Do you want to argue with him?” Seht tilted his head a fraction toward their Captain.

She looked over at Ravnos.

He watched them with cool eyes and a slight smile.

She bit her lip. “No, not really.”

“Neither do I.” Seht’s nod was barely discernable. “Our captain is a little too clever when it comes to retribution.” His hands closed on her skirt, pulling it up her thighs then over her butt.

She sucked in a breath and discovered that lust did indeed have a scent, and it rolled off of Seht, rich, thick, and heady. And exciting.

“Please don’t fight,” he breathed. His lips brushed her throat. “I am closer to the edge than I want him to know. If you fight, I may not be able to control my … appetites.”

From VICTORIOUS STAR
Why do excerpts work so well?

Because Sex - like Food – is a Physical need. Erotica is a snack that feeds the physical need for sex. Excerpts show the readers a taste of what you have to offer and this builds an appetite for more.

All the best marketing ploys for erotica operate under the same philosophy:

“Make them HUNGRY.”

-----Original Message----- "And leave them wondering what happens next. I have seen excerpts that were as erotic as all get out, but told me the entire story, so I had no need to buy the book--especially when the excerpt followed the blurb." - Jackie
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Be CHOOSY about your excerpts.

The LAST thing you want to do is give away the PLOT! If you can't post an excerpt without giving away the plot in your story - then you have one of two Serious Plotting Problems.

- Plot Problem ONE -
ONE sex scene in the entire book.

If your Erotic Romance only has one sex scene, then that story had better be under 20k. If the story over 20k then it's not an Erotic Romance. It's a romance with an Erotic Bit.

Having only ONE sex scene does not mean that the story isn't worth reading or even Erotic, especially if the sexual tension is there throughout. But the bulk of the Erotic Romance buyers are looking for Sex first.

There ARE top-selling authors whose stories Do Not rely on Sex.

Mary Janice Davidson writes spectacular romantic paranormal comedies and Brenna Lyons weaves epic adventures, for example, but they are VERY GOOD, and these authors are Very Established. If a newcomer wants to compete with them, they had better be good enough to tempt the readers who are shopping for sex-books if they intend to sell a Second book.

There ARE readers who prefer Story to Sex.

But they do not represent the largest ratio of BUYERS. If you want to make decent sales numbers, catering to the smallest denominator of buyers is NOT the way to do it. If you want to make Big Sales you have to catch the attention of the largest ratio of buyers - and they want hot, juicy, and Detailed SEX. It's ugly, but it's the TRUTH.

Sexual Tension is NOT enough. 

A book over 20k with only one sex scene (no matter how much sexual tension is in the rest of it) is NOT what the largest ratio of buyers in this market are Shopping for. The biggest ratio of Erotic Romance buyers are Shopping SPECIFICALLY for Sexual Adventure Stories. A story over 20k should have at least 2 sex scenes.

Adding Sex to an existing story is a BAD IDEA. 

You should never put anything into a story that does not belong there -- ESPECIALLY SEX! Even I don't write that way. Every sex scene in each of my books has a reason to be there.

Don't know where to put the sex?
Go To: "Steam 101" by Angela Knight

- Plot Problem TWO -
Boy Gets Girl - IS the plot.

If boy and girl getting together IS the plot, then that story had better be under 20k. If it's over 20k then you've got a problem. If it's over 40k you have a Serious problem - NO PLOT.

If all you have is two people falling in love and nothing else, your story lacks MEAT. Sex alone does not sell to this market; they want a Good Story too!

In this jaded market, boy and girl STAYING Together --not Getting together-- should be the plot IN ADDITION to the story's actual plot-line. Technically, the Romance should be a Sub-Plot with the rest of the story trying to keep them apart.

This is a Choosy market and there are too many really talented authors that know how to weave a STORY with their Erotica and Romance. If you expect to compete for those buyers, you had better have a Meaty Plot - in addition to Love.

EXCERPTS Sell books.

Trust me; I know what I’m talking about.
You wanna do Press Releases anyway?
Then do it right.
Go To: Getting Good Press by Robert J. Sawyer

Morgan Hawke
www.darkerotica.net
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Keeping Count ~ Tricks for Controlling Word Count

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