Some excellent thoughts on writing

I'm reading THE FOREST FOR THE TREES from Betsy Lerner. Older book on writing, not a how-to, just general writer's life. She's a lit fiction editor, so not completely applicable to my genre writing, but I did find some gems in the book that I think are worth sharing.

"...it doesn't really matter if you've got natural talent. Your job is to marshal the talent you do have and find people who believe in your vision."

‎"Great writing is meant to crush us, entertain and move us, return to us to ourselves with some greater understanding of the world and its workings."

"You must give yourself permission to tell. Most important, give up the vain hope that people will like your work. People like vanilla ice cream. Hope that they love your work or hate it. That they find it exquisite or revolting."

"Judging one's own writing is like looking in a mirror. What you tell yourself about what you see in the reflection has far more to do with how you feel about yourself than with how you actually look."

And one more, from J.D. Salinger:

"Some day, there will be a story you want to tell for no better reason than because it matters to you more than any other. You'll stop looking over your shoulder to make sure you're keeping everybody happy, and you'll simply write what's real and true. Honest writing always makes people nervous, and they'll think of all kinds of ways to make your life hell. One day, a long time from now you'll cease to care anymore whom you please or what anybody has to say about you. That's when you'll finally produce the work you're capable of."

decisions

While trying to come up with a plan on how to write a bestseller, I realized that I have some decisions to make. First off, what do I want to write? I read just about anything. I also enjoy writing just about anything. So far, I've written: inspirational romance, historical fiction, epic fantasy, single title romance, women's fiction, urban fantasy, romantic fantasy and romantic suspense and series romantic suspense. Out of all of this, series romantic suspense was all I ever published. Thing is, once you publish something, the publisher puts money into promoting your name in that genre and they want to keep you publishing in that genre to get the most bang for their promotional buck. Also, you'll develop a readership in that genre and they'll be expecting your next book, and sometimes they don't like it at all if they get something other than what they expect. Speaking in generalities, the best way to increase sale numbers is to pick a genre and stick with it.

I've been writing romantic suspense so that would seem to be the easiest path. However, writing romantic suspense long-term can be difficult. It might take a reader a few hours to read my book, but I spend months writing it. That means many hours per day spent in the head of a serial killer or terrorist mastermind, visualizing torture and murder in great 3D detail so I can write about it in a way that the reader feels "right there." For that, I have to feel "right there." For one of my books, I spent almost a week reading autopsy reports. Not the funnest week I head. I've written 25 romantic suspense novels in the last 7 years. I love writing them and love the publisher I write for, but I'd be lying if said I never wished for something lighter. Sometimes I catch myself with a huge frown and all my muscles tense as I write. It's hard to be in that frame of mind day after day.

So other than Intrigues, here is what I like the most:

Urban Fantasy: Because anything goes. Magic is possible. No idea is too far out there.
Women's Fiction: Because it touches my heart. I love books written by women for women. It's like having a long talk with a friend.

Of course, Urban Fantasy is the great trend right now. Werewolves and vampires everywhere! I'm just afraid that with my luck, by the time I wrote one, the trend will be over :-)

Decisions, decisions...

Of course, if writing a bestseller was easy, everyone would be doing it.

Dirty Dozen

TCM was just running the Dirty Dozen the other day. I'm a sucker for a good redemption story. Anyone else? I think everyone deserves a second chance. What are your favorite second chance/last chance movies and/or novels?

I like this theme so much that I even wrote a 4 book mini series on it, called MISSION: REDEMPTION. It's about four women with a checkered past who receive a "get out of jail free" card from the government in order to bring down a dangerous international criminal. They all have special skills needed for the mission. If anyone is interested in watching a trailer for the first book or reading the excerpt, just hop over to my web site, www.danamarton.com.

I'm currently line editing book 3 of the mini series. While planning a major move. I hate moving. Yet, I do it about every other year. The next house we are moving into, I'm chaining myself to. Seriously. Well, hopefully our jobs will settle down and we can stay in place for a few years. On the other hand, all the traveling gives me lots of story ideas.

Anyone likes international locations in books? Are there locations that turn you off if you see them in the back blurb? Just curious.

Happy Spring, Everyone!!!
Dana