Contracts (and the mystery that goes with them.)
　

What does a contract do for us writers? With DC Thomson, it seems to be an acceptance of the book followed by a remittance advice. With large print buyers, there is a contract that spells out the payment, the length of licence to publish and the number of copies they plan to publish. As they are a charity, Ulverscroft also state their plan for publication in large print and details of the writers name and where it will appear.

With other companies, contracts can be extremely long and detailed, running into numerous pages. The details include such things as guarantee that the work does not contain anything that can cause problems to anyone ... nothing libellous or obscene and a whole lot more besides. Reading through the fine print is important before signing but I must admit, reading it once was enough for me! With this company, I now give it a quick glance and then sign. One important detail however was a list of countries in which they intend to publish. As I wanted to publish in USA, it was important not to sign away those rights.

Some companies are happy with electronic contracts, with the facility to sign digitally. It certainly is very easy but once more, these contracts may hide something you don’t want to sign away.
　

There is a great deal of discussion about changes that may be made in our contract by DC Thomson. It may be just rumour but it is now looking more certain. They are forbidding us to sell our actual pocket novels on for large print. As the large print publishers don’t seem to have editors on their staff, it looks a bit like the end for us. I can sort of understand DCT not wanting their work to be sold on but it puts us in a difficult position for the future. They do not pay enough for this to be the only income we get from our sales and large print and subsequent PLR make it much more worthwhile. It may well be that large print companies will take manuscripts directly but we shall have to wait and see.

Watch this space!

Writer's Block

It is disputed whether this insidious condition exists at all. We have all experienced moments when the writing muscle appears to have gone on holiday and we must all have felt our writing is not up to scratch at times. Is a short break from writing considered to be ‘writer’s block’? Often writers torture themselves if they do not reach certain word count targets each day and feel they have failed. Some people say just write anything, whatever comes into your head. It can be thrown away, just as long as you write. Surely it’s better to have written something rather than nothing.

So what really stops us from writing? For Ruth it’s the thought of not being able to write something that satisfies her because it won’t be good enough. One solution is to write, but when you come to a difficult word, phrase or idea, leave it and come back later. Ruth often leaves a blank space for Mary to come up with the ideal word, sentence or paragraph. So the barrier is removed and the rest of the writing can flow. Frequently a fresh look solves the problem. But we always try to remember, ‘The best way to get something done is to begin’.

Mary nearly always finds it difficult to start writing because she knows that what comes out on the screen in front of her will not be what was in her head when she thought of the story. However, if something has a plan to it, it's much easier. It's important to remember that 'writing' isn't just about putting sentences and paragraphs together, it can also involve a development stage in which ideas are noted and then put into some sort of order.

Facing a blank page can be very off-putting. Therefore rather than finish a day’s work at the end of a chapter or scene, why not stop while ideas are flowing and make a note of them. This can make it easier to start the next day.

A change of environment can help too. For example if you usually sit at a computer, why not take a notebook out into the garden if it’s a lovely day and be inspired by your surroundings. Or, as has been said on this blogspot before, go to a coffee shop. Being close to people can be stimulating. Rest assured, writer’s block is a temporary blip which every writer experiences.

Location, Location, Location

Locations in novels. Hmm. Have I possibly been restricting myself to using solely Australian settings in my novels because that is where I live? But my outback novel is my bestseller. And as a reader I love learning about other countries and places.  So this certainly challenges the mould I have settled myself into.

Should a writer set a novel in a place they've never been? The logical answer is probably "Of course" because as writers we should extend our imagination and writing muscles. I recently read that write what you know is out-dated and that we should reach beyond what we know and grasp for what is beyond reach. Do we all do this? Perhaps I'm not.
 

So, what settings do you love to read about in novels? Please tell me. Me? I love anything English/Scottish/Irish. Probably a hill village in France or Italy. Something along an English or French canal in a houseboat. Japan in cherry blossom time. Cara's forthcoming serial The Lemon Grove set in Italy sounds wonderful.

 

I'm heading for Russia, Switzerland and the Italian lakes in May; the latter has been on my bucket list and I can't believe I'm actually going there now. It looks to be magical scenery among the mountains so I must think romance while I'm there, people watch, and see what stories I can imagine. 

 

    

These are romantic settings, right? So maybe I should broaden my location horizons and think foreign.



My current outback novel WIP has an Irish heroine and in the process of writing and her character's evolution besides doing some background research on Ireland, I discovered she loved cooking. So I googled some Irish recipes and found things like a Guinness chocolate cake. Have a can of the black stuff in the refrigerator to try that one! Already had a Barm Brack in my recipe book so I've just made that and, since its aroma is wafting into my study from the kitchen, I think I need to go test a slice with a cup of tea. Lots of positives in researching settings.

 

So bring it on. Fantasize. Let me hear where you would love to read about a romance.

 

Love The Machine

It wasn’t until my almost-new computer broke down that I realised how much I personify my machines. My Kindle Fire stepped into the breach very nicely. She’s a girly little thing, bright and pretty, who will only respond to the lightest touch. Poke her too hard and she goes into meltdown. She is handling my email quite well, but she does have her limitations. After all, she is only a tablet and can’t quite compete with the big guys.

Sadly, I watched them take my six-month-old computer away. A nice man handled him gently, putting him into a case lined with foam, but I still felt bad. He had tried his best, but I think he was sick right from the start. Over the last few days he had only managed to boot up occasionally, most of the time he was too weak to even light up my monitor. When I turned him on he made a sound very much like a human moan. He was obviously in pain, and every time I pushed the on-button I was making it worse. The diagnosis is bad. A faulty motherboard, the very heart of the machine, and they will probably have to totally wipe his memory. The computer equivalent of death.

Desperate to get some writing done, I rescued my old computer from the shed. He booted up first time with a very audible sigh. ‘Not good enough for you, was I? Too old and too slow, so I got put in a box and left to rot. But now you need me again you expect me to go straight back to work.’ I had to apologise, otherwise he would probably have shut down out of pique.

My main computer is always male. The big machines scare me a little, and I would never admit to being scared of a woman. Besides, my new computer is obviously male, a beautiful, glistening black with hard lines and a look of absolute power. I can’t wait to get him back. He may not remember anything I downloaded, but I’m sure he’ll still remember me.

How to write a serial

This is the second of my blog posts on how to write a serial. Last week I posted on my own blog at www.caracoopers.blogspot.com about writing my serial, The Lemon Grove. This week I am posting both there, and here about:-

CHARACTERISATION - characters are important in most stories but they play a special part in constructing compelling serials. This is because these are magazine stories particularly aimed at women. Now, women like a cracking good plot as much as anyone. But women on the whole have a higher emotional IQ than men. True, like men they enjoy car chases, action scenes, a stirring war tale but very often for a story to make a lasting impression on a women's magazine audience, they want to know how people feel and what motivates them. Romance is a big seller and that's no coincidence - it's because people read romances in order to feel something. Now I know this is a huge generalisation and I don't want to annoy any feminists - I guess I'm one myself - I make my own decisions and have always made my own way in life. But I have often put down a book and not turned the next page, or lost interest in a film mainly because I feel nothing for the characters or have lost sympathy with them.
In women's magazine serials the way to keep someone coming back week after week, pennies in hand, to buy the next episode is if they care about the players. They have to sympathise with them, or perhaps feel these are people who would be their friends if they met them in real life. Not to say that all your serial characters need to be likeable. They can be villains, but your villains must be compelling and believable.
One of the best ways to reveal your characters is through dialogue and this is an essential element of most serials. If there is something you can reveal through your characters' conversation, then do it, make sure we literally hear their voice. Think of all the TV series that are popular - the soaps, Morse, Downton Abbey - the characters constantly verbalise their feelings and their observations of others.
In my serial, feelings run high. It is after all, a family tale with all the dynamics and difficulties experienced by any family. Had it been about business though, or a quest to solve a mystery, feelings would still run high. In fact the only sorts of serial I think where perhaps there does not need to be so much emotion is perhaps a comic serial where the reader is kept engaged by the humour. If you can write humour well, good luck to you. It is hugely popular and there is a humourous serial running at present in one of the women's mags about a group of retired amateur sleuths which is part of a series which has obviously been well received.
In my story, I had an irascible patriarch father, Salvatore, who runs a family hotel and who his staff fear. He had to be a rounded character though. His children and his wife love him, he is not a baddy, so he had to have redeeming features. After all, he has his son's respect. Antonio (our hero) wants to honour his father and do his duty by helping to run the family business even though his dearest wish is to be an archaeologist. In order for Salvatore to be credible, I had to make him lovable as well as somewhat dictatorial. The way I demonstrated this was that he is very much the protector of his children and his wife. Everything he does, he does with the best of motives. He's flawed but he means well. The trouble is, he's old fashioned. So, when his beautiful but wayward teenage daughter Louisa who fancies herself as a bit of a model and a flirt with the local boys angers her father, sparks fly. And there you have another key to characterisation for a serial. There has to be conflict. Have you ever seen an argument in a public place, in the street, or a shop? I'll bet people stopped and looked, wanting to know how the conflict was going to play out. Conflict is the life blood of a serial. For through conflict comes suspicion, people behaving badly, worry, anger all those things which make a story interesting. Through the resolution of conflict comes love, redemption, forgiveness, reconciliation - all those things which make the ending of a story satisfying.
Finally, I had a wealth of different characters. They ranged in age from 14 to very elderly, they ranged from wealthy to having problems with money. They ranged from business people to lovely Italian nanas who stayed at home and did lots of cooking (just like my Italian nana did although she ran a successful catering business for many years when she was younger!) I had a fabulous looking Italian detective and a peaches and cream English nanny. The supporting characters, the people working at the hotel, the visiting relatives, a difficult neighbour - were all in their own way as important to the plot as the leading characters. That's not to say their stories overtook the leading characters, your hero and heroine are always most important and they must remain centre stage if you are writing a romance. If you are writing a police story like a recent shorter magazine serial I read, the detectives must always remain centre stage and not be upstaged by the supporting characters. That said, supporting characters have to be painted crisply and completely and to have their own individual personalities and distinct looks or mannerisms. Never forget that your readers have to wait a whole week to get reacquainted with your characters. It is much easier if they have something specific to remember about each person. That was true in my serial, The Lemon Grove, whether they were a wine drinking blustery Professore or a kind compassionate nana who showed them how to make homemade pasta. However small a part minor characters played, they had to be written large so we could fix them in our memories and we sympathised with their motivations. Then readers can feel for them and want to know what happened next.
Good luck with your characters. Next week, I shall be doing a post at www.caracoopers.blogspot.com about the importance of the setting for serials.

Return to Barradale

My latest Linford Romance has been published - available from Amazon and other online booksellers and from your local library:

Melody has sworn never to return to Barradale, the island where she grew up and had been so unhappy. Now, living in Glasgow, she has forged a new life for herself. But when the gorgeous Kieran Matthews turns up on her doorstep demanding she return with him to see her sick sister, she finds she cannot refuse. And for Melody, family secrets must be unravelled before Kieran's love can help to resolve her past.

Hope you enjoy it!

Art mirrors life......

Sometimes, very rarely, you are lucky enough to have something you put in your soon-to-be-published book occur in real life. That has happened to me in respect of the serial I have just written for People's Friend. This serial was started two years ago. Writing a serial is a long drawn out process as each 5000 word episode has to be agreed (often with two or three revisions) which results in a lot of to-ing and fro-ing between the writer and editor. When I began the serial all that time ago, I set it in Sorrento as I had just spent a holiday there. Our hotel and the deserted bay a short walk away were the perfect setting. Vesuvius, the harbour and Pompeii were perfect backdrops for interesting scenes which I knew would chime with many readers who had been to those places or always wanted to go.

One of my characters is an archaeology student and when we visited Pompeii there were stories in the news about the fact that there are still artefacts on the site waiting to be dug up. I therefore made it my hero Antonio's dearest wish to be chosen by his Professore to help with those digs. This became an absorbing storyline and conveniently created tension between his heart's desire and his need to honour his father by helping him run the family hotel. As I was writing the last two instalments, low and behold, my Sunday paper plopped on the mat with a two page article about the Life and Death Pompeii and Herculaneum exhibition at the British Museum. I immediately wrote into the last instalments a scene explaining how my hero Antonio had been part of the team which packaged the artefacts to be displayed. The exhibition goes on till September and therefore will be on when my serial comes out in People's Friend plus there have been fascinating programmes on the television. I was delighted that purely by chance my fiction had mirrored real life.

Purely by coincidence, a similar thing has happened to me in the same week. About a year ago I wrote a novella about a female scientist who finds herself a job on a deserted island in the Indian Ocean. My heroine had a child who died as a result of her not taking her baby to be vaccinated about which she feels terrible guilt and shuts herself off from the world. Unfortunately it was not accepted as a pocket novel because the editors felt the death of a child was too raw for the pocket novel world. I shelved the story and only recently, thanks to our own lovely Sally Quilford learnt that Harper Impulse are looking for new romance authors. I duly submitted my story (and am waiting stomach knotted, for their response) but lo and behold in the news came the story about the threatened measles epidemic in Wales due to people choosing not to vaccinate their children. Suddenly my novella was topical! Whether that will give it more chance of being accepted or not I don't know. I wonder how often these sort of coincidences have been visited on other writers, do tell if you've had anything similar. I think now I ought to zoom off and write a novel about a woman, of a certain age who wins the Euromillions lottery and lives a life of unparralelled luxury endlessly cruising the world. Might do that before I check my tickets for yesterday which are languishing in my purse....., you never know your luck! Cara.