WITH A PASSION FOR HISTORY
Snakebite Scenes and Hollywood Plots:
Writing Action with Heart
You have the beginning. You know how it should end. But what to do with those hundreds of pages in the middle? Use my so-called "snakebite scenes" to help characters acknowledge their deeper passions and bond over moments of danger--even when surviving everyday dramas--and analyze movie classics to see how Hollywood tells a rip-roaring story. For plotters, pantsers, and everyone in between, this course can unblock your creative process and help you add action and heart to every page.
(Online Workshop)
May 2010
Fantasy, Futuristic & Paranormal RWA
(Online Workshop)
January 17-30, 2011
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The Tiny Art of Elevator Pitches
How to Craft Them & How to Use Them
Every word counts! If you've ever considered attending a conference, you've probably heard the term "elevator pitch," which is nothing more than a bare-bones summary of your novel. But reducing tens of thousands of words down to 30 or less can be difficult, daunting, and confusing. What to leave in? What to ignore? How to give it punch and drama?
I'll share the elevator pitches that got me in the door, as well as techniques for making them both concise and effective. Each student will be encouraged to share his or her pitch(es), and to identify the most important themes, details and character traits--the good stuff that will set your work apart. We'll also discuss how elevator pitches can help your career: from query letters and off-hand conversations, to finding your hook and focusing your writing before you even start!
I'll share the elevator pitches that got me in the door, as well as techniques for making them both concise and effective. Each student will be encouraged to share his or her pitch(es), and to identify the most important themes, details and character traits--the good stuff that will set your work apart. We'll also discuss how elevator pitches can help your career: from query letters and off-hand conversations, to finding your hook and focusing your writing before you even start!
(In-Person Workshop)
Des Plaines, IL
7PM, February 8, 2010
Elements of RWA
(Online Workshop)
April 5-16, 2010
Orange County RWA
(Online Workshop)
November 15-December 11, 2010
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Beyond Research:
Stronger POV & Effective Use of Detail
Everyone knows that a good author does her research homework, but a heap of trivia doesn't make for a steamy, sweet, compelling, tear-jerking, rip-roaring novel. How much detail is enough? What to keep and what to ditch?
And what the heck is "deep point of view" anyway?
Join us as we look at how to meld research and fiction, with the goal of selecting and integrating the best details to enhance character point of view. Although designed and taught by a recovering historian, this workshop is geared toward the use of any detail, from historical facts to paranormal and fantasy worldbuilding. See how using character-specific details can make your fiction more memorable, endearing, emotional--every writer's goal!
And what the heck is "deep point of view" anyway?
Join us as we look at how to meld research and fiction, with the goal of selecting and integrating the best details to enhance character point of view. Although designed and taught by a recovering historian, this workshop is geared toward the use of any detail, from historical facts to paranormal and fantasy worldbuilding. See how using character-specific details can make your fiction more memorable, endearing, emotional--every writer's goal!
(In-Person Seminar)
Bloomington, IL
April 10, 2010
Chicago North Spring Fling
(Conference Workshop)
Deerfield, IL
April 23-24, 2010
Fantasy, Futuristic & Paranormal RWA
(Online Workshop)
June 7-July 11, 2010
FTHRW
(Online Workshop)
July 5-18, 2010
Dunes & Dreams
(Online Workshop)
October 18-28, 2010
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Looking for Something Different?
Carrie joins panelists
Zoe Archer, Blythe Gifford,
Jade Lee, Sherry Thomas, and Kensington editor Megan Records to discuss how to write, sell and promote unusual historicals in today's romance market.
(Conference Workshop)
Columbus, OH
5PM, April 28, 2010
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Originally printed in Heart of Iowa, the newsletter of HIFA RWA, April 200.
I am obsessed with "So You Think You Can Dance," where enthusiastic dancers get a shot at achieving their best under intense circumstances.
Although I was a bellydancer and completed in amateur college ballroom competitions, I simply love watching those dancers progress. They work hard, put their hearts into every performance, and battle inner demons. A dancer who messes up a step will dwell on that fault much more intently than on any applause or praise. Sound familiar?
Even if you can't tell your pas de deux from your samba, you know, as a writer, what that creative struggle feels like. We try to progress and learn and appeal to the market, while also remaining true to that ever-elusive "voice" that makes us unique. But we also tend to dwell on the negatives, which does us no favors when trying to craft beautiful happily ever afters!
We as authors must develop a strong core. This term is used in dance and fitness to indicate a well-developed core of abdominal muscles, from which most movement originates. Core strength is essential to control, endurance and the craft of dance, but the same idea can be applied to writers. Without a central core of self-belief and a strong sense of our worth as storytellers, we can be pummeled by negative reviews, harsh comments, yet another rejection, unsupportive family members or friends, or any number of mean inner whispers that say we should never try again. Those of us who can mature a strong core of self-confidence and worth will persevere against untold trials and become successful.
Geez, I sound clichéd…and that isn't my self-doubt talking. But the point remains that we say these things to each other because they're true, and because we need to protect each other from the rigors of a business that is, after all, based around two incompatible things: money and art.
Strengthen your core beliefs by identifying what triggers the most stress and what works to relieve it. Personally, I've discovered that waiting is the most damaging. We wait for feedback, wait for The Call, wait for news about a contest or a new contract. The more time between successes, the more time I'm able to dwell on those negative demons.
But like a dancer who keeps her core muscles strong and ready for anything, the only balm for all these doubts is to keep at it. This may seem counter-intuitive, but take a few days off if the stress gets too overwhelming. I tend to watch TV just long enough to get bored out of my skull. Then the ideas start pounding, demanding to be let out, and I'm back at a keyboard. The solution is to keep working, keep dreaming, and keep strengthening that core belief in your worth as a storyteller.
Speaking of TV, I'm going to go watch the SYTYCD Australia Top 8 results. I need help....
Critique Groups: Part 1 & Part 2
My Editing Process: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
"A Writer's Core" for Heart of Iowa Fiction Writers RWA's April '09 newsletter
"Are You a Fiddler?" on Word Magic
"Adding Deep Point of View" on Examiner.com
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For a list of the workshops or talks Carrie is available to give throughout the Midwest, see her list of topics on the PASIC Speaker Connection.
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Originally printed in The Bard's Scroll, the newsletter of the Hearts Through History RWA chapter, September 2008.
As authors of historical romance, we strive for accuracy. Most of us revel obsessively in the quirks of history, and we preach that quality research gives heft to our love stories and credibility to the genre. But more than this, we recognize that readers of historical romance are far more knowledgeable than society gives them credit for. Particulars of tradition, locale, and political intrigue help create an authentic world, one that transports readers to another place--an author's primary task. Research missteps run the risk of yanking keen-eyed readers out of the story.
But when writing an original work of fiction by blending or expanding a well-known tale--from the ancient myths to Grimm's fairy tales--the rules blur. What does the reader expect from this new version? An homage? An unexpected twist ending? A stripped down narrative based on pure fact? Breaching those expectations can be as damaging to the story's appeal as putting a vacuum cleaner in the hands of a 14th century housewife. And in the case of Robin Hood, sticking to "just the facts" leaves us with this:
A wily medieval troublemaker once lived in the north of England.
Historians have come to no other unanimous conclusions about who inspired his legends. He may have been a thief or an aristocrat. He may have led a band of outlaws, but they never called themselves the Merry Men--not in the written record, at least--and no evidence suggests that they wore tights, green or otherwise. He may have tangled with the Sheriff of Nottingham, but most Robin Hood primary sources put him in York or in the forests of Charnwood and Barnsdale.
Sherwood Forest? Afraid not.
When I began researching What a Scoundrel Wants--with Robin's nephew, Will Scarlet, as the hero--I looked forward to writing an historical romance that continues where the legend leaves off. But after months of trying to reconcile legend and history, I had to choose where the story required the basic facts of day-to-day life in the late 12th century and where the legend took precedent.
I kept iconic elements: Nottingham; the longbow; Richard the Lionheart's Crusades; the Sheriff, Marian, Little John, and Friar Tuck; and Robin Hood's bravery in the face of injustice. Ever since Robin evolved from a commoner to a nobleman who fights for commoners, his legend has inspired us. What would he be without a reputation for robbing from the rich and giving to the poor? Probably a more realistic man but a less interesting icon.
Had I faithfully re-created northern England in the year 1199, What a Scoundrel Wants would have been very different. For example, the term "Robin Hood" could have been shorthand in law ledgers to indicate unnamed criminals, not an actual person. The earliest use of "Robin Hood" was in 1228 and continued throughout the 14th century, and these tricky fellows popped up all over England. Any man identified by such a moniker--a medieval John Doe--was unlikely to have been an aristocrat. (Unless he was in disguise!) In addition, the English longbow did not come into prominent use until the mid-13th century, well after Richard the Lionheart's death in 1199. And the "High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and the Royal Forests" could have been an evil foe, to be certain, but one rather more pompously titled.
To contradict iconic features with historical fact would've required a complete re-imagining of the Robin Hood legend, one I was not prepared to undertake within the bounds of a fun and sexy romance. And anyone expecting to read a rip-roaring tale of justice, where good guys smile as they triumph over evil, would've come away dissatisfied.
Then there's Will Scarlet, the hero of What a Scoundrel Wants. I wanted to ground Will within his legend, but it turns he was the easiest part of my task. Remarkably malleable, he first appeared in the fifteenth century ballad A Gest of Robyn Hode. Over the centuries, he's been a fighter, a lover, a dandy, a thug, a moron, and a boy on the verge of manhood--whatever storytellers require. Fantastic! He's been a random outlaw, yes, but also Robin Hood's nephew or brother. Only their manly-man relationship remains the same: tempestuous, occasionally violent, and grudgingly loyal. I just took him one step further and made him a hero.
The advantage of a legend is its malleability. In the early years, Robin Hood was simply good. Now, we're fascinated with realistic characters. We ask, "Who was the man behind the legend?" But we also want to read about sword fights, rescues, and derring-do, preserving that gentle touch of the impossible. Robin Hood allows for both. Is it historical? Not exactly. Is What a Scoundrel Wants the most faithful portrayal of late 12th century England? I'd never make that claim. But these old legends make for some amazing stories.
For Carrie's hot-and-dirty apocalyptic paranormal romances, co-written with Ann Aguirre, visit:
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