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Susan Santangelo – Writing what she knows best

By Cindy on August 8, 2012

Thanks for stopping by the blog today! I’ve got Susan Santangelo on the blog talking about Baby Boomer Mysteries.

Here’s Susan!

I’m frequently asked at book talks, “Why do you write a Baby Boomer mystery series?” My answer is, “Why not?” There are 78.2 million Baby Boomers in the United States, according to the latest census figures. And many “senior” Boomers, myself included, are starting to hit the magic age of 65. There’s so much written about the financial piece of growing older – taking care of your IRAs, 401Ks, etc. – but nobody seemed to be taking a look at the emotional piece. By that I mean, how do couples who have been married for years, raised a family, and been leading fairly independent lives, now cope with the fact that the husband and the wife are no longer going out to a 9 – 5 job every day? Instead, they often get into each other’s way as they struggle to re-define their roles. Of course, nothing like that ever happens in my house! 🙂

I’ve always loved the mystery genre. I was hooked on Nancy Drew books when I was a child, then I graduated to Agatha Christie, and I’ve just keep on going. I love what is traditionally called the cozy – no blood and gore for me. I like to be entertained. And, especially, I like to laugh!

I was diagnosed with breast cancer years ago, and that was a real wakeup call for me. I’ve been a freelance writer, editor and drama critic for years. I’ve also had my own p. r. company and done special events for a variety of clients, including Carnegie Hall. Writing press releases, articles, brochures – I did it all. But I’d always wanted to write a mystery. After the cancer diagnosis (I’m fine now!) I thought, why wait? Who knows what other curve balls life might have in store for me?

The original idea of the series was that my husband and I would do it together. He’s been writing non-fiction professionally for years. But it didn’t work out that way.

The series deals with typical Boomers Carol and Jim Andrews as they navigate the rocky way toward their golden years. In the first book, Retirement Can Be Murder, released in April 2009, Carol dreads Jim’s upcoming retirement more than a root canal without Novocain. She can’t imagine anything worse than an at-home husband with time on his hands and nothing to fill it, except interfering in the day-to-day activities and driving her crazy. Until Jim is suspected of murdering his retirement coach. The second one in the series, Moving Can Be Murder, was released May 1 2011. This one deals with Carol and Jim selling the family home and downsizing, with one dead body thrown in to keep things interesting. Book 3 in the series, Marriage Can Be Murder, includes a destination wedding on Nantucket, and was released in July 2012. There a total of 7 books planned for the series.

My books are written in the first person, so many people think I’m Carol. I’ve even been introduced at book talks as Carol! We’re both sarcastic and like to be in charge. We value our family and our close women friends. Oh, one more thing – we both love English cocker spaniels. There are two English cockers in the books, Lucy and Ethel.

My characters have become my best friends. The more I write about them, the more I want to write about them. And I have a sneaky suspicion that when I’m not keeping an eye on them, they get into trouble. Or, maybe it’s the other way around?

The subhead for each book title is, “Every wife has a story.” The more women I connect with, either at book talks or via the Internet, the more I realize how true that is!

The books are available on Amazon and a number of independent book stores, as well as on Kindle and Nook. And through the website: www.babyboomermysteries.com.

Thanks for the opportunity to make some new cyber friends. I always love to hear from readers. I can be reached at ssantangelo (at) aol (dot) com

Susan Santangelo

Me again!

Thanks for being on the blog today, Susan! The series sounds great. Love that the cocker spaniels are named Lucy and Ethel! I’ve wondered about that first person issue. I only write in third so I’ve never thought anyone would call me by a character name.

Happy writing!

Cindy

Your story’s logline – will you be ready?

By Cindy on August 2, 2012

If someone asked you what your story is about would you know the answer? Really know the answer? The logline isn’t plot, twists, sub plot, dialogue. It’s your concept. At the most basic level, it’s the spine of your story. It’s what holds everything together. Okay, now what is your story about? A lot of writers don’t. If you’re writing to publish, whether that’s through a traditional publisher or self-publishing you need a logline. They don’t just grab an editor’s or agent’s attention. They can entice readers.

There was a time when a logline was associated only with scripts. Hollywood uses them to gauge potential projects. To hook people. A good logline will prompt the listener to ask questions and want to see the movie. More and more editors and agents want to see a logline for your book. In queries or in person or online pitches they want you to condense your story down to 25 words that allows them to envision the whole story.

Why do editors and agents want loglines now? Because if you can boil your concept down to 25 words or less you know your concept. Really know it. And knowing your concept can help you stay on track when you’re writing the story. Oh, yeah, I recommend coming up with the logline BEFORE writing any of the story. When you’ve finished writing the book it’s actually a lot harder to figure out what that spine is. Boiling it down to a succinct logline is hard. You want to put in everything you think makes the story great. But you have to pick out the basics, just enough to catch someone’s interest and get them asking questions.

The general consensus is the logline should be twenty-five words or less. If you go over by a few words that’s fine. But the twenty-five word limit forces you to be as precise as possible. Trim the excess words and get right to the point. The logline should tell us WHO the story is about, WHAT he wants (Goal), and WHY he can’t have it (Conflict). A good logline will have the GMC. I like to start my loglines with the inciting incident or character motivation. Why does the protagonist need to go through this story? What prompted him to take action?

Loglines should, usually, use generic characters. A sexy librarian, a happy go lucky cop, a cursed witch. The reason for the descriptor and then noun for the character is impact. It tells you more about the character then just the name.

To stop a murder, a sexy librarian must deliver a rare first edition from the library to the man holding her sister hostage, but the library burns down.

That tells me more then: To stop a murder, Lexa Tome must deliver a rare first edition from the library to the man holding her sister hostage, but the library burns down.

Need help coming up with your logline? You’re in luck! There’s a Loglines class at Savvy Authors starting August 6th!

If you sign up for class be sure to say hi and let me know how you found out about the class.

Happy writing!

Cindy

H is for…High Concept

By Cindy on April 9, 2012

So much has been written and debated about high concept. Do you need it? Does it matter if your story isn’t high concept? Will it still sell? Who cares if it’s high concept? And the most important questions – what the heck is high concept? And how can I get it?

So, first, do you need it? Depends. If you’re submitting to agents and editors then I would say probably. They’re always saying they want the same but different. Translation – high concept. They want something with inherent marketability. Does it matter if your story isn’t high concept? Will it still sell? Yes, it can still sell. Just because editors and agents are looking for the same but different doesn’t mean they always get high concept stories. Stories have sold and continue to sell that aren’t high concept. Who cares if it’s high concept? You should. It’s easier to sell if it is.

What the heck is high concept? People tend to think if they can boil their concept down to that twenty-five word logline they have high concept. That’s not what makes it high concept. I can do that with a lot of my stories but only a handful are actually high concept.

So then what is it? From my workshop on loglines:

The concept must be unique

The concept must appeal to a wide audience

The concept should have a likeable protagonist (though this isn’t always the case)

The there should be high stakes

The concept can be told in a single sentence and you see the whole movie (or book)

High concept pitches can make it easier to communicate up through the chain of command. If your idea is too complicated, by the time it reaches the top, it may sound like a totally different idea. Anyone ever play telephone as a child? It also forces you to determine what the story is really about. What the core of the story is.

How do you get high concept if your story isn’t already there? First step is to not be married to your concept. All too often writers will get an idea and start running with it. Developing plot points, characters, dialogue. At that point they are reluctant to change the idea, even a little bit, to make it better. Me, I don’t get married to any of my concepts. I have a book that I’ve completely rewritten once and now I’m thinking of rewriting it again to add another element that will make the story better. Probably half the pages will need to go to accommodate the new story element. That’s a rare instance. I usually don’t even start writing anything for the story until I narrow down the concept line. Once I’m happy with that I move on to the story.

The example I use in my high concept lesson for the loglines class is:

Original: To prevent an assassination a delusional hooker must get married but her cover is blown and her fiancé becomes a target.

Rework one: To prevent the assassination of the president a delusional hooker must get married but his cover is blown and his fiancé turns out to be the enemy.

The first rework isn’t great but it’s higher concept than the original.

So, anyone want to share concepts so we can brainstorm ways to elevate them to something higher concept?

Happy writing!

Cindy

G is for…Genre

By Cindy on April 7, 2012

In the writing world, what genre is your book is the equivalent of the singles scene what’s your sign. At every writing meeting I’ve been to one of the first questions that gets asked is – What do you write? That translates to what genre is your book. The answer to that question is easy when you only write in one genre. A recognizable, defined genre.

I write in more than one genre and some of my books combine two or more genres. Why do we even care about genres? I think we shouldn’t worry about them when writing the book. Some say you shouldn’t care about them at all even when submitting. It’s the agent’s job to figure out what genre your book falls into and which editors take what genres. But I do think it’s important for the writer to know what genre the book is. On the agent’s submission page they list the genres they accept. If you don’t know what genre your book is how will you know if it’s one of the genres the agent accepts?

Say you don’t want to submit to an agent or an editor. Say you’ve been there, done that and it got you nowhere so you’re going to self publish. Great! But you still need to know where your book fits on the virtual bookshelf. Readers search by genre. At least this reader does. If your book has more than one genre, which genre is more prevalent? With the exception of my erotica (under a different name) all of my stories contain some sort of crime or suspense aspect. I would then have to figure out if I should put my book in the suspense/thriller category or the paranormal or urban fantasy.

So think about your book and see which of these genres it might fit into. These are probably not all the genres out there.

Romance

Science Fiction

Fantasy

Horror

ChickLit

Suspense

Thrillers

Western

Historical

Urban Fantasy

Young Adult

What’s even more confusing are the sub-genres. I won’t get into all of them here but in the romance genre alone there are no less than ten sub-genres. So keep the genre at the back of your mind as you write. One day you will need to know the genre one day.

I might actually get some writing done now before bed.

Happy writing!

Cindy

F is for…Flash Fiction

By Cindy on April 6, 2012

Flash fiction is not just short fiction. It’s stories that are 1,000 words or less. How on earth can you tell a whole story, beginning, middle and end, with characterization in under 1,000 words? I found it hard enough switching from 85,000 word novels to 2,500 word short stories. There was no way I could write a flash fiction piece. All the flash fiction pieces I write, though under 1,000 words, could be turned into more. The endings aren’t really endings. You be the judge. Here’s one I wrote based on a sentence I found somewhere.

“Not many people would have required stitches after washing the dishes, but then again I’ve always thought of myself as special.” Fiona Scott held up her middle finger to show off her war wound.

“No! What did your mom say?” Karen’s wide eyes stared at the stitches. The grimace on her face made Fiona smile.

“She practically fainted,” Fiona said.

“She’s a nurse.”

Fiona shrugged. “She said it was different when it’s your own kid.”

“Does it hurt?”

Fiona wiggled her fingers and plunged her hands into the dishwater again. “Nah. Hurt like hell yesterday though.”

“And she’s making you do the dishes again?

“It beats having to take my brother shopping.”

Fiona sighed, enjoying the relative quiet of the house. With her little brother there she never had any quiet time. She cherished the moment.

“Why doesn’t she get a dishwasher?”

“I’m cheaper, apparently.” Karen jumped off the kitchen chair and grabbed a tea towel. “You know you don’t have to help me.”

Karen grinned. “I know but the sooner you finish the sooner we can get out of here.”

Fiona swooshed her hand around in the water to see if she’d missed anything. There was always a fork or a spoon languishing at the bottom. A sharp pain in her finger made her jerk her hand. But she couldn’t get it out of the water.

“Ouch!”

“What is it?”

“I think I cut myself again and now my finger is stuck.”

Karen reached her hand into the water. “It doesn’t feel like it’s stuck on anything.”

A tug on her finger sent fresh pain up her arm. “Something’s wrong.”

Before she could say anything else the tug on her finger changed to something yanking on her arm. As she was pulled closer to the sink all she could think was it’s not big enough for me to fit. But a splash echoed in her ears, water surrounded her, her lungs hurt and everything went black.

“Fiona, wake up.”

Karen’s voice pulled Fiona out of what had to be the weirdest dream she’d ever had. She opened her eyes and groaned. When had the sky turned purple? Where was the kitchen?

“Where are we?”

Fiona looked around, a chill running up her spine. “I don’t know.”

Happy writing!

Cindy

E is for…Editing

By Cindy on April 5, 2012

Every writer knows (or should know) that once you finish writing the book, it`s not done. You need to edit. A lot of writers I know hate to edit. But I love it. For me, that’s where I find most of the gems I my stories. The really great turn of phrase. The excellent description. The better solution to a plot problem.

What should you look for when you edit? Depends on how you edit. I like to leave the book for at least a few weeks before I even look at it again. I do a general pass, reading through the story to find plot problems. Then the meat of the edits begin. I dig out my Margie Lawson class notes and start applying her classes to my work. I highlight all the main components (plot, character, dialogue, action, introspection) with different colours to see if I’ve over used one. Under used one. Once I fix those I go back and really edit for the rhetorical devices, the dialogue cues, the cliched phrases. I’ll read the whole thing out loud, not just the dialogue bits. You can always tell when something sounds clunky if you read it out loud. And I should say, that’s the process I’m GOING to do when I finally finish this NaNoWriMo 2010 book. By the end of it the novel should sparkle.

Wish I could say I’m going to write now. But it’s late so it’s bed for me.

Happy writing!

Cindy

D is for…Dialogue

By Cindy on April 4, 2012

There are so many parts to a novel that make it memorable. The use of words. The description. The characters. And the dialogue.

Dialogue is so important to both novels and movies but it’s one of the hardest things to get right. It has a big job. Not only must dialogue give the reader or viewer information they wouldn’t get in any other way, it also has to reveal character, foreshadow events, provide conflict. Help with resolution. Contrary to what some might believe it should not be responsible for telling your story. The action of your movie or book should do that. Dialogue should enhance what’s already there.

So what can you do to improve your dialogue?

There are a lot of books out there on writing dialogue. There are even some workshops. And I’m sure you’ve all heard the advice about listening to how people talk. All of those are good ways to improve your dialogue but please don’t write dialogue the way people actually talk. People tend to add a lot of unnecessary pauses, ums, no, yes etc., when they talk. We also don’t constantly repeat the name of the person we’re talking to. Example:

“What do you mean by that, Cindy?”

“Well, um, Fred, I mean you shouldn’t do, you know, what I’m doing now.”

“Cindy, I still don’t get it.”

“Fred, seriously? You don’t get it?”

“No, Cindy I really don’t.”

The best advice I ever heard about improving my dialogue was to keep the character in the dialogue. So know your character and make each piece of dialogue that character says reflect one of their characteristics. Another awesome piece of advice that I don’t use just for dialogue was to read it aloud. I read my dialogue aloud to make sure it sounds right, doesn’t feel forced or stiff.

Remembering killer lines of dialogue from movies is easy. But can you think of a great piece of dialogue from a book? What’s the line and name the book.

Happy writing!

Cindy

C is for…Conferences and Conventions

By Cindy on April 3, 2012

Writing is a very solitary endeavour. It’s important to get out of the writing cave and talk, in person, with other writers. If you belong to a writing group that’s great. Small groups of writers chatting is always great. But what I love is the conference or convention. You can talk with hundreds, sometimes thousands, of people just like you. And if you go to genre specific conferences they’re really like you. Okay, not just like you as in clone, but you get the idea.

What’s great about conferences and conventions is the common bond. The learning experiences with the workshops offered. The networking opportunities (you never know who you’re going to be eating lunch with). The pitching opportunities. And don’t forget the free books. If we didn’t like books we wouldn’t have decided to be writers.

Conference and convention season is approaching. So, some random pieces of advice for those planning on attending a conference:

1. Check out the workshop schedule in advance and have a plan.

2. Get business cards printed and be prepared to hand them out.

3. Have an elevator pitch ready – you never know who’s going to ask that question all writers get asked – So what’s your story about?

4. Get there early (a few days if possible) and learn the layout of the hotel, find the rooms for your workshops.

5. Pack business casual attire that is comfortable for workshops, meetings, pitches.

6. At the banquet lunches or dinners sit with strangers if possible. That way you meet more people.

7. Have fun.

Some upcoming conferences:

Bloody Words – Canadian Mystery Conference – June 1 – June 3

New York Pitch Conference – June 21 – June 24

ThrillerFest – July 11 – July 14

Romance Writers of America Annual Conference – July 25 – July 28

70th World Science Fiction Convention – August 30 – September 2

A place with more listings – The Shaw Guide to Writers Conferences and Workshops

There are far too many to mention here but if you know of other conventions/conferences let me know.

Who’s going to a conference this year? I’ll be at ChiCon 7 in August.

Happy writing!

Cindy

B is for…Brainstorming

By Cindy on April 2, 2012

Brainstorming is a great way to come up with a lot of ideas fast. As a writer I find I frequently need brainstorming help for plot points, situations. For some reason I can’t come up with the ideas for myself but I’m great at brainstorming for other people. When it’s your own story it’s a little too close to you and you find it harder to think outside the box.

I completely forgot Script Frenzy started yesterday so I’m deep in brainstorming mode for my script. While I have a general idea for the story I need to work out the beats of the script so I can start writing pages. Brainstorming in person is the best way to brainstorm for me. But I might have to visit an online chat room with other writers to help with the story. One of my favourite tools for brainstorming is The Writer’s Brainstorming Kit by Pam McCutcheon and Michael Waite. I love it. It’s very helpful for coming up with ideas. Situations.

If I can’t figure most of this stuff out by the weekend I will be in the WritingGIAM chat room to get help from my fellow GIAMers. They’re awesome at brainstorming. I also have a local writing meeting tomorrow.

How do you brainstorm?

Useful links for brainstorming:

What is brainstorming?

25 Useful Brainstorming Techniques

Brainstorming Techniques from MindTools

Haven’t had a chance to blog hop yet but I’ll do some of that tomorrow after my meeting.

Happy writing!

Cindy

A is for…Adoption Society

By Cindy on April 1, 2012

Today is the first day of the A – Z Blog Challenge. I hope to provide lots of useful writing information during the challenge and beyond. I guess you guys will be the judge of that. 🙂

The adoption society in the post title is not about children or pets. It refers to the forum topics in the NaNoWriMo website and the ScriptFrenzy website. Ever wanted to write something but didn’t know what to write? Ever known you’d never write a story idea you had but you didn’t want it to go to waste? That’s what the adoption society is for. Ideas/story concepts available for anyone who wants them. If you’ve never checked them out you really should. You don’t need to be a member to view the posts but I highly recommend joining if you’re a writer.

What I love about the adoption society is how much choice there is. You can adopt almost anything from a story idea, a useless talent, a magical power, a fear, an opening line. There are probably hundreds of things you can adopt. I have no problem coming up with ideas but I’ve procrastinated a lot going through the adopt a plot threads. Some of those ideas are awesome! I can’t believe the people who came up with them didn’t want to write them. I found a few I’m going to eventually write.

Stay tuned for B tomorrow!

Cindy

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Susan Santangelo – Writing what she knows best

Your story’s logline – will you be ready?

H is for…High Concept

G is for…Genre

F is for…Flash Fiction

E is for…Editing

D is for…Dialogue

C is for…Conferences and Conventions

B is for…Brainstorming

A is for…Adoption Society

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