September 2008
Getting Cozy with Karen.
September Musings
"Creative minds have always been known to survive any kind of bad training."
~ Anna Freud ~
It never ceases to amaze me when I hear someone slam romance novels, the entire genre for that matter, without cracking open even one book. Many of us have heard variations of, "Oh, I've never read one of those books. They're nothing but bodice rippers. It's all sex and purple prose."
We expect our children to be afraid of new things. I know I'm not the only one who has exposed a toddler to food they've never tasted and have them promptly say, "I don't like it. It's yucky!" Their mouths slam shut tighter than a vacuum-sealed vault and you're left chasing three baby peas across the kitchen table. You're certain the little darlin' will love peas as much as you do. You just need to get those first two or three past her emotional response long enough to let her taste buds make an informed decision based on facts.
It is our job as adults to teach children to try something before they make a blanket statement with such disdain. If they still don't like something after giving it a shot, hey, no problem. A simple, no thank you will suffice. We'll keep trying because they could just as easily decide they like it the third or fourth time. The point is they tried it.
Too bad we can't do the same thing with grownups. Or can we?
The temptation to immediately shoot back from the hip can be overwhelming when faced with an attack on the novels we work so hard to write. The truth is some people simply can't or won't see past their emotional preconceptions, no matter what you say. However, I've learned to pause long enough to cringe inside and bite my tongue until I've curbed the first words to come to my mind. Then I show the reader exactly what they're missing by handing them one or two wonderful novels written by my favorite authors. Or I hand them a book and have them skim pages to argue their point.
Hey, I can be convinced! :-) Show me all of the sex and purple prose in the book sitting on my coffee table. Most of the books I read have love scenes in them but three to seven pages behind the bedroom door once or twice, or even [gasp] three times in 300-400 pages, doesn't translate to "all sex"! If I accomplish nothing else with this exercise, I at least make the point that all romance novels are not created equal. I can love peas, while someone else prefers carrots. That doesn't make either of us wrong. We're making an informed decision though.
Thanks to a game we played at one of my RWA chapter's Christmas parties, I learned another way to address accusations of purple prose and I've used it more than once. We read quotes taken from various sources and had the players guess if it came from a romance novel or from somewhere else. It was fun, but it was also enlightening. We were as likely to be wrong, as right.
Just for fun, I'm going to share six quotes here without revealing their source. I'll let you decide whether it came from a romance novel or not. If you feel compelled to take all or part of the test, go to the bottom of this HOME PAGE and sign into my guest book. Just type the numbers, one to six, then ROMANCE NOVEL or NOT ROMANCE NOVEL next to the corresponding number. I'll post the quotes and answers to my guest page on September 14 so you'll have time to play the game. [I'll post one quickie email to tell you when the answers are up.]
Ready? Set? Go!
ROMANCE NOVEL.or NOT?
1. "She was made in heaven, every god contributing something to perfect her."
2. "What appears to be love at first sight is actually a subconscious recognition of a potentially compatible mate, a premonition, so to speak, of what could be. Only time will tell if the premonition comes true."
3. "Many a man has fallen in love with a girl in a light so dim he would not have chosen a suit by it."
4. "Oh, lighten up! Where's your sense of humor? They're just tiny little rumors that I started 'cause I'm lookin' out for you."
5. "Love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get - only with what you are expecting to give - which is everything."
6. "She was a whimsical one, that much was for certain. And dangerously beguiling."
Hmmmm. Decisions! Decisions!
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What else is happening in my writing world?
I finished a "W" plotting class with the great folks at Hearts through History Romance Writers on August 29th and promptly launched into another one with the equally great folks at Indiana Romance Writers on September 1st. Only one plotting workshop left this year in October for NEORWA. Then I'm taking a break until 2009! If you have friends who would like to take the class yet this year, have them check the schedule on my NEWS page. I also have the entire lecture course available to purchase on the website but, in all honesty, having the class time to get your questions answered is always helpful.
As you can tell from my tardiness with September's musings that I'm still running fast, trying to catch up. There doesn't seem to be enough hours in a day! I'm keeping extraordinarily busy with two many "To Do" items to list, so my writing project is on temporary hold until I can get my head above the waterline. I'm really looking forward to my chapter's Fall Retreat. Less than two weeks and I'm going to stick my nose in my laptop and focus on me for two entire days! Yeah, yeah, sounds selfish but.yippee! [g]
As always, if you'd like to comment on this newsletter or anything else, please feel free to sign into my guest book at the bottom of this HOME page. Looking forward to hearing from you! If you're on MySpace, you can find me at http://www.myspace.com/authorkarendocter. If you're on Shelfari, I'd love to be friends and share what we're reading. If you're not and would like to be, contact me at karendocter@yahoo.com. All I need is your email address to invite you. And, by all means, if you enjoy reading my newsletter each month, please tell your friends. They can sign up for their own copy easily at the bottom of this page.
See you in October if you'd like to Get Cozy with Karen again. In the meantime, feel free to check out the rest of my website at your leisure.
I wish you a month overflowing with creativity and confidence. May you realize all of your dreams!
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Articles
Plotting.Beauty or Beast?
First Print - savvyauthors.com blog, June, 2010
Born to Write
Colorado Romance Writers Romance in the Rockies newsletter - February, 2006
The Big Kids Clubhouse Secret Handshake.Finally!
Colorado Romance Writers Romance in the Rockies newsletter - August, 2006
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