New scenes

I spent the weekend revising the first 100 pages of Lingerie Addict and inflicting them on my critique partner (moo ha ha ha). The book is shaping up to be pretty good. My first romantic comedy! (contemporary, that is; the historicals are also pretty much comedy/romance.)

Back to writing Murder in High Places for next year. I started telling the story in a different way, and already it's much better. Note to aspiring authors--if you are stuck in a scene (or scenes) and it just isn't working, consider throwing away what you have and depicting the scene from another point of view, or in another setting, or with different characters present. Don't force it.

In The Pirate Hunter, I agonized over a scene that was supposed to be the first love scene. I wrote it and rewrote it, but the dialog was stiff and the narrative, clunky, no matter what I did. So, I dumped it (weeping copiously), started again and let the characters take over. What they told me was that it wasn't time for the first love scene. The scene turned out to be an intimate one, but much subtler and more emotional. It started breaking down James Ardmore's barriers and making him question what he intended to do. The scene flowed right back into the story, better and stronger.

Don't be afraid to start again (and again) in order to make your story the best it can be. What I do is write the rought draft to please myself. Then when I revise, I try to do what's best for the story, not for me.

Happy writing!
Jennifer
www.jennifersromances.com