Ch-ch-ch-changes!

(Now I'm going to have that song stuck in my head. Sorry if you do too!)

I've pulled out that older story I spoke about the other day. It's been marinating for over a year on my computer. It's a lot of fun revisiting this world and the characters in it. I've noticed a few interesting changes though.

I'm a better writer!

I write in past tense. I rarely use 'ing' verbs. I prefer 'ed'. To me it adds more action to the scene - makes it more immediate, less distant. I didn't have tons and tons of 'ing' verbs in the ms, probably one every couple of pages or so, but it felt good to change them out! Progress.

I also did some accidental head hopping during scenes. I love Nora Roberts' books - she's a very experienced, popular romance/romantic suspense author. She head hops all the time. BUT, she's a highly successful writer and is allowed to. As a newbie, I know this can be a deal breaker. Even though I don't think any of the scenes with the head hopping were confusing (I actually think I hopped pretty well thank you very much!), I'm changing up all those scenes. Now, each scene will have a single pov.

I've noticed technology changes too. In the story, one of the characters buys a cell phone that has email. Very high tech and new in the story. Yeah. Not so much now. So that required a change up too. It's amazing how quickly the technology has changed in just over a year!

What changes have you noticed when you've gone back to look at an older project?

With a Splash of Romance

My mom has always called romance novels trash. She loves to read, but doesn't enjoy stories with much romance at all. She loves mysteries - she introduced me to Agatha Christie in grade 6 or 7. She just doesn't understand why anyone would want to read about private lives in books.

Needless to say, I haven't told her I'm writing trash yet! :)

One of these days I'll have to ask her what it is that bothers her about the romance aspect. Her feelings aren't uncommon.

From the responses to my question the other day, most of you don't want the romance to be the central plot to the book, but you enjoy watching relationships develop as a side aspect to the story. A big shout out to the guys btw - not only did you NOT run from the post, but your responses were awesome. Not that I'd expect anything less!

I think most romance books are like that - at least the ones I read. Obviously I don't read them all. For my part, I like a mystery or a suspenseful plot to be added into the mix.

Some people who do this really well in my opinion are Terry O'Dell, Nora Roberts/JD Robb, Julie Garwood, Suzanne Brockmann, Carla Neggers... There are a lot out there. Some of their books sell as romance, others as romantic suspense. Terry's catch phrase on her blog is Romance with a Twist of Mystery. I love that!

The reason I'm thinking about this lately is I'm trying to decide how to classify my ms in a query. It's definitely got a romance & a HEA. There's one sex scene. There's a mystery. There's some violence. There's suspense in the last third. It's set on a ranch.

My options. Romance. Romantic Suspense. Romantic Mystery. Mystery with romantic elements. Western Romance. Contemporary Romance...

But, trash?  I think not! :)

So sorry, mom, but I'm not writing trash. I'm writing about two people who have some tough stuff going on in their lives and who find they are stronger and better together.

Do you have any troubles classifying your genres?

In Death

As a writer, my A to Z challenge is going to be about books, characters, TV shows and movies that have impacted me somehow. Enjoy! Be sure to check out Lee’s blog to find more bloggers taking on this challenge!

In Death series

(source - JD Robb's site)

I talk a lot about kids’ books. They really are a passion of mine. But, my favourite books to read for myself are romantic suspense. Nora Roberts/JD Robb does this extremely well. I love the Eve Duncan In Death series. Eve’s one of the most complex characters I’ve ever met. I also love the setting – 2060ish in New York City. Robb has created a very realistic near future – neither utopian or dystopian. I wouldn’t be in the least surprised that many of her predictions turn out to be right on.

What book or show do you think portrays a realistic vision of our future?

Writing What you Read

"I don’t believe for one moment you can write well what you wouldn’t read for pleasure"
-- Nora Roberts

Nora Roberts is an amazing author. She's sold a bazillion books and is probably the first author who comes to mind when you think of romance.

This Nora Roberts quote applies to me. I read a lot, and always have. I enjoy many genres: mystery, romantic suspense, romance, fantasy, and sci-fi being the most common. I write mysteries with a romantic edge - a natural fit for me. I can see me (way far in the future) branching out into the fantasy and sci-fi realms, but not for a while. I really, really like the genre I'm writing now and just can't see it changing for a very long time!

How about you? Does the genre you write match your favourite reading genre? Or do you like to mix it up a little more?