Choosing Novel Settings

It's Tuesday which means the Romance Writers' Weekly blog hop is hopping away. This week's question was posed by the lovely and talented Brenda Margriet.  http://www.brendamargriet.com/blog/romance-writers-weekly-whats-up-with-settings-lovewritechat 
Brenda asked her fellow writers how we choose our settings and whether they are real or fictional, no matter the genre. I hope you made it over here from Elizabeth's blog http://elizabeth-janette.blogspot.com

In THURSDAYS AT COCONUTS, my characters live in a town called Crystal City (fictional) and is set in Missouri (real). Crystal City is mid-sized and loosely based on my home-town of Springfield. Side note: Since I have cops in my novel, I tried out different names to make sure the abbreviated version of Crystal City Police Department (CCPD) would sound okay over a police scanner! I do enjoy the familiarity of writing about places I know but also like the challenge of creating entirely new worlds, people, and places.

As far as my three main characters' job settings, they're all very different and only one is similar to my real-life experience.

Alexandra (Alex) is a bank marketer who gets involved with a sexy bad-boy cop who may be stalking her. I was a bank marketer and did date a cop (cough, cough). Many of her duties such as creating branding campaigns, chairing 8 o'clock Monday morning marketing meetings, writing television scripts, and getting promoted to VP all happened to me.

Hope is a high school counselor. Of course, we ALL went to high school but I've never been a teacher nor a counselor, so Hope is completely fictional. She has hippie parents (I didn't have those either) but I loved the seventies and wanted to incorporate that decade. Hope also hates her looks, hair, and compares herself to her gorgeous girlfriends. Who doesn't do that?!

Suzy is a single mom who is a wedding planner. I, too, was a single mom for many years. As far as Suzy's company, Weddings By Suzanne, I've never been a wedding planner but discovered I thoroughly enjoyed coming up with themed weddings--and creating neurotic brides and a nasty, pretentious mother of the bride was icing on the ol' wedding cake.

So, the long answer to the question posed is a little of both--I used a few real-life experiences and settings but the vast majority of my novel is fictional. I hope you'll comment and then head over to Gemma's blog at http://gemmabrocato.com/blog I was lucky enough to meet Gemma/Heidi when we both went to Kansas City to hear Stephen King talk. What a great time. Meeting the fun, sweet, prolific Gemma and hearing SK on the same day! Wow. It's not often that authors who live in other cities, states, and countries get to meet, so this was a big deal. I'll never forget her first words when I walked into the B&N coffee shop. "I'd know you anywhere." Sweet.

Please follow the fun, quirky, talented RWW writers on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/RomanceWritersWeekly?ref=bookmarks or Twitter at #lovewritechat.

Flash Fiction with Romance Writers Weekly

It's time for the RWW Tuesday weekly blog hop! Hopefully, you found your way from Author Sarah Hegger's blog http://sarahhegger.com/sarah-hegger. This week, Author Mishka Jenkins https://awriterslifeformeblog.wordpress.com/challenged us to write a 400-word flash fiction love letter with these three words: Sweet, pumpkin and brush. Be sure to check fellow RWW writers' blogs. Many went the humorous route, but I get sentimental around the holidays. Here's my offering:

Dear Grandma,

I miss you. We were incredibly close and I spent most of my childhood weekends with you and Grandpa, but I wish I could have more of your time. I’d give anything to see you again. I'd love to brush your hair and hear your sweet voice.

When I was a child, I remember the times you said, "Move over fat lady" when I purposely slept on the edge of the bed just to hear those words. Again and again. I giggled every time like it was the first time. I loved how you called me (and your other grandchildren) "Sugar Plum." You were the most unselfish, patient person I've ever met.

I remember many weekends when you tied a rope to the door and held the other end for an hour straight while I jumped endlessly. Never once did you complain or say your arm hurt. You made me feel all grown up when you took me to your hairdresser to get my hair done. I fondly remember when you and Grandpa would drive in the wee hours to arrive at our home by 5 a.m.  on Christmas morning so you’d be there to see our happy expressions. I loved going to the Five and Dime and getting an armload of comic books once a month. That was a thrill thanks to Archie, Veronica, and YOU.

When I was diagnosed with hypoglycemia as a teen, it bothered you, so you learned how to make a delicious sugar-free pumpkin pie. Banana nut bread, too. I remember you brought it still warm in the baggy with a paper towel on top to absorb the moisture. You worked hard as a cook at hospitals, schools, and later as the head cook at a senior citizen center. You made everything from scratch, which is unheard of today. You said the two most popular days were fried chicken day and meatloaf day and recalled people lined up around the block. I’m not surprised. Your fried chicken was the best I’ve ever tasted. I wish I had your recipe. I wish even more that I had you.

If every woman were half the Grandma you were, the world would be a happier place. Thank you for the life lessons you taught me. Thank you for not being afraid and holding me when my sister and I had a horrible case of chicken pox. Thank you for letting us bang pans on the floor on New Year's Eve and never complaining about the noise or having to wash them afterward. Most of all, thank you for being the best grandmother ever. I wish we had had more time. I miss and love you.

Love,

Sugar Plum xoxo 

So, I went over by 53 words. Also, Grandma's fave color, by far, was PINK. This is the closest I could get to pink while still being readable. Tell me about your grandma, then head over to author J.J. Devine http://definingjjdevine.weebly.com/ramblings-of-a-writer

Romance Writers Weekly Blog Hop

It's time again for the Romance Weekly blog hop. Every Tuesday several authors from around the globe get together to answer the same three questions. This week, I posed the questions so I had better answer them.

Which type of character do you prefer writing about: Sexy, romantic, sweet, quirky, mean, old, young, smart, silly or other?

I discovered in my debut novel, THURSDAYS AT COCONUTS, that I really, really LOVE creating nasty and/or quirky characters. Mrs. Biltmore is a pretentious, racist, horrible mother of the bride who drives my poor wedding planner, Suzy, crazy. I also liked creating a bad-boy cop and writing in a male POV. My hippie parents are quirky and were a blast. Plus, I loved the seventies so it was a fun throwback for me to reenact some of those memories.

 Have you ever killed off (or gotten back at) an ex in your writing? On paper, of course.
 
YES! I won't say who exactly but it was someone I dated. And he deserves it! So far, this character is in a yet-to-be published novel. I did change his name and profession to avoid a lawsuit (yes, he'd do that!) and it was quite fun to give him his due. So, there!

What hobbies do you have that you incorporate in your writing?
Decorating, gardening (especially planting flowers), dancing, and shopping. Also enjoying wine with friends just like my characters do every Thursday at Coconuts. My characters also do crazy things that I wouldn't do and I can't wait to get them into trouble in my sequel.

Romance Writers Weekly Blog Hop

It's time again for the Romance Writers Weekly blog hop from romance writers from all over the globe. Each week, many of us answer the same three questions so you can get a fun peek into a writer's mind. I submitted this week's questions. Here they are:

1.What’s your favorite aspect of novel writing? Dialogue? Setting? Conflict? Narration? Explain.

By far, my favorite aspect of novel writing is dialogue. I write character-driven and dialogue-driven novels. I especially love creating nasty characters and have a lot of fun writing from a male point of view. I get bored when a novel is too flowery, has a lot of backstory, and narration. I like to get right to the action. I want readers to feel like they are in the scene and to have a hard time putting my book down. That said, I also adore throwing conflict at my characters. I say the more plot twists the better!

 2.How do you choose the setting for your plot? Are they always similar settings or does it vary? (i.e., small town, big city, castle, etc.)

I write contemporary novels--women's fiction, romantic suspense and contemporary romance. My debut novel, THURSDAYS AT COCONUTS, is set in a fictional town, Crystal City, and is modeled after a mid-sized town in Missouri where I grew up. However, my sequel will have several chapters devoted to small-town life. I've never written about a small town before, but my grandmother lived in one and my parents do now. Life is a much slower pace in my yet-to-be-named tiny town, and some of my characters need that, believe me. Others are going to hate it, however. Fair warning!

3.I’m a big six-word memoir fan. (Hemingway even wrote one.) Describe your writing day using just six words.

Coffee. Facebook. Email. Coffee. Facebook. Write.

What it should be:

Trudge to coffee pot. Start writing.

If you haven't tried six-word memoirs, you should! My memoirs are in three six-word memoir collections--two books and one calendar. It's great fun. Celebrities and famous authors get involved. Warning: They're highly addictive. http://smithmag.net

So what is your favorite aspect of novel writing? Which settings do you prefer? Tell me and then be sure to visit other RWW bloggers, Leslie Hachtel http://lesliehachtelwriter.wordpress.com and Eden Ashe http://edenashe.com.  

Romance Writers Weekly Blog Hop

It's Tuesday which means it's time for another installment of the Romance Writers Weekly blog hop! Each week, an author from the group poses three questions for several romance authors to answer. Follow us and you'll get insight into our writers' minds! Be sure to like our page on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/RomanceWritersWeekly and stay tuned. There's going to be a HUGE give-away toward the end of this month!

This week's great questions come from author Tessa Gray. Thanks, Tessa. I enjoyed these.

1.   Do any characters you've written into your books remind you of yourself? Explain which ones and why.

It's sometimes hard to keep bits of ourselves out of our writing. Sometimes we do it purposefully and other times, for me, it sneaks in. In my August debut, THURSDAYS AT COCONUTS, I have a character named Alexandra (Alex) who is quite a bit like me. For instance she has a "touch" of OCD (some days I have more than a "touch") and she loves T.J. Maxx (so do I). Alex also occasionally falls for the bad boys and likes men in uniforms, especially cops. Enough said.
 

2.   Was there a teacher or mentor in your life who helped nurture your writing?

 

I had three--one in junior high, one in high school and one in college. Don Sharp was my English teacher at Pipkin Junior High. Mr. Sharp was entertaining, nurturing and pushed me to become a reporter for the school newspaper. Several of my articles were published and I was hooked.

 

In high school, Laura Fleetwood was my English and literature teacher. She had a lovely, easy, conversational way about her with an ability to draw the students in. I remember she had us put our desks in a circle which I thought was cool. Mrs. Fleetwood also had a section on mythology which I loved.

 

My college professor, Jo Van Arkel, was amazing. I told her once that she could make a rock creative. She gave us several observation exercises which were very helpful and she had us write and write some more. I always made "A's" and received encouraging comments on my papers. During one of my expository writing classes, she made a comment that I remember almost verbatim. "I'm not exaggerating to suggest that this article could be published in a major women's magazine." I've never forgotten that. I was in my mid-to-late twenties and a single mom. I just held onto her encouragement--and that essay--for years but never sent it in.

 

3. Every author has that moment when they doubt their ability to write. When that happens to you, how do you pull yourself up by the bootstraps and continue? What do you do to inspire YOURSELF?    

 

I think this happens to every author. On many days we're filled with self-doubt. Isn't that why Hemingway drank?! What I usually do is either reread things I've written in the past to boost my confidence or I'll read a book. Reading others' work always gives me confidence and courage. It's not that I think I'm better than those authors, but I see exactly how they string sentences together to create a story and reading someone else's book always makes me ready to get back to my own storytelling.

 

Please leave a comment, and after you're finished, be sure and check out answers from the next writer on the hop. She's the lovely, talented actor-turned-writer Kim Handysides  http://kimhandysides.com