Once you’ve written several books, you can look back and begin to notice the different stages you go through from the start of a book to the completion of it.

Here are mine:

Idea – either I spontaneously get an idea or a manufacture one, either way, pretty exciting stuff.

Brainstorming – this is just the rudimentary brainstorming, not really specifics, just possibilities, again exciting.

Character work – while this part can be challenging, it’s also fun, it consists of finding the right picture to use as my inspiration, and filling out my worksheets (archetype, Myers-brigg, GMC, conflict and connection b/w hero & heroine, character arcs).

Plotting – this comes right out of the worksheets I filled out for the characters so that the story rises from their GMC, their relationship and their growth, again, this part can be challenging, but is also in the fun category.

Proposal – this is the three chapter/synopsis stage and this is where it becomes painful. While working on the synopsis, I’m never more aware of the fact that I’m just making stuff up (I realize that is the case ALL of the time, but it doesn’t always feel that way). The synopsis is certainly not easy, but I find this exercise so useful because it takes the jumbled mess in my head and it puts it into a semi-organized state. It also forces me to look at the external plot a bit more – I tend to build from the internal stuff and forget there has to be action going on. When I hit the chapters, sometimes the opening scene is clear in my head and flies onto the page, but frankly this is rare. Most of the time it takes me much longer to write these first 3 chapters than it does any other chapters in the book. They are daunting to me. I know the characters, or at least I know things about them and I know how I want them to come across, but I haven’t yet let them loose to walk and talk on their own. And with the series, it adds even more complexities of taking a secondary character who thus far has only had dialogue and digging into their internal thoughts. I often call my critique partner to whine about the fact that I’ve forgotten how to write a book, I’m a total hack and I’ll never get done. This stage is hard, and painful and really not all that fun.

Rough draft – the pain from the first three chapters usually lasts until chapter 5, possibly 6, and then I begin to hit my stride. I get into the fun part of the book, the middle. I know, some people call this the sagging middle, but for me, it never sags, it flies. Not to say it’s easy, hardly, but I tend to know more of what’s going on, I get to really get that relationship going and it’s just the best part of the book. And then I hit the ending, the last 2 chapters for me usually go at lightening speed during this draft, sometimes only ending up 10-15 pages worth of material. I rush it, I admit it. Because by now I’m just ready for it to be over with and I know the ending will probably have to change. I should mention that at some point during this rough draft (possibly more than once) I make a frantic call to my critique partner for emergency brainstorming because I’ve realized that I’m missing something huge (almost always my big, black moment, which I swear I had at the time of synopsis writing, but it has since shrunk to a small, slightly grey moment). I should also note that I do not revise as I write, so the rough draft is full of notes, questions and blanks for me to catch during the next round. This used to be my favorite part, but not so much anymore, but it has its moments.

Read-through – this is what happens after I’m done with the rough draft and usually ends up with another phone call to the critique partner where I whine and complain that the book is total crap and I won’t be able to fix it. But during this read-through, I make notes to myself on everything, big (new scenes) and small (punctuation or word choice). Then I write a revision letter to myself. This part is not fun.

Revisions – these are my revisions, not those from my editor. This used to be my least favorite part, but I think that’s because I didn’t know what I was doing. Now I kind of like it, but I’m only just getting used to saying that, so don’t make me repeat it. I’m a layer-er – which means that I go through the manuscript 4-5 times at this stage. The first two being the biggest moves. I add new scenes, I delete stuff, I fix all the things that are inconsistent with character, because now I really know them, I layer in emotion and texture and make sure I’ve been clear about all the elements of each character’s GMC, I look up research questions that I left blank in the first draft, sometimes I rearrange stuff. It’s major surgery. My rough drafts are often 100+ too short, so the layering really is significant. So begrudgingly I say this is the fun part.

Critique – I have a few readers that get the whole thing at this point, the first time they’ve seen it and they give me feedback. I sometimes take it and sometimes ignore it, but it gives me reassurance having other eyes look at it before I turn it in. This part is just fine.

Finished - And then I’m done and can turn it in. At this point, I know it’s the best I can do, but I’m still nervous as hell that it’s awful. But I’m still feeling happy that it’s over with and I’m beginning to fall in love with my next idea which is sure to be easy and wonderful…

So why am I writing all of this? Well, I’m at the Proposal stage right now and blogging is much easier than facing the fact that I’m still on chapter 1 and I don’t know my characters very well. So it’s hard. Whine!

Hello! It’s me, the fabulous Jaunty P. Quills, Porcupine Extraordinaire. I’m here with guest blogger Shana Galen to—

Shana: Um, Jaunty. Excuse me.

Jaunty: Shh! I’m trying to introduce you.

Shana: I know, and that’s great, but I’m not a guest blogger. This is my blog—well, mine and the other Jaunty Quills’.

Jaunty: Of course it is, Shana (patting her shoulder). You keep believing that.
But, as I was saying, my guest today is Shana Galen. We’re here to talk about her new book, GOOD PORCUPINE HUNTING.

Shana: Jaunty, that’s not the title. It’s GOOD GROOM HUNTING. See, here’s the cover.

Jaunty: Right. So tell me a little about the book.

Shana: It’s the second in my Misadventures in Matrimony series. The first was NO MAN’S BRIDE, and it was about Catie. This story is about Catie’s cousin Josie. She’s the one who always wanted to be a pirate. Her grandfather was a pirate, and she has half of a treasure map he gave her—

Jaunty: No, no, no! Not that boring stuff! Tell me about the parts with the porcupines.

Shana: What parts with porcupines?

Jaunty: Wait a minute! Are you saying you’ve written another book without any mention of porcupines in it? (quills stand menacingly on end) You promised me that this book had porcupines!

Shana: Okay, okay! Don’t get so close with those quills. The book does have porcupines. Yeah. It does. See, the porcupine heroine, Josie, has half of a treasure map, and her arch-enemy Stephen, the porcupine hero, has the other half.

Jaunty: What does this Stephen look like? Anything like me?

Shana: Um—exactly like you, Jaunty.

Jaunty: Really?

Shana: Sure.
So anyway, as I was saying, Josie decides the best way to find Stephen’s half of the treasure map is by becoming his mistress. That way she can search his house. Plus, their families are enemies (her pirate grandfather allegedly shot his pirate grandfather), so she won’t have to worry about marrying Stephen and losing her independence. Josie doesn’t count on him telling her that he doesn’t want her for a mistress.

Jaunty: How humiliating! Did her quills droop?

Shana: Her quills were very depressed—for about 5 minutes. Josie’s pretty spunky, so she comes up with another plan, and before you know it, she and Stephen are running around London and then on their way to Cornwall in search of the treasure.

Jaunty: Do they find it?

Shana: I can’t tell you that, Jaunty. I can only say that they find something far more precious.

Jaunty: (gasps) The golden quill?

Shana: The what?

Jaunty: Oh, oops. Forgot I’m not supposed to mention the golden quill—bit of a porcupine secret. Erase that when we edit this, okay, Shana?

Shana: Sure, Jaunty.

Jaunty: So this is Jaunty P. Quills signing off. Thank you to Shana Galen for being my guest—

Shana: Jaunty!

Jaunty: —and don’t forget that her new book, GOOD PORCUPINE HUNTING—

Shana: GOOD GROOM HUNTING

Jaunty:–goes on sale today!

When I was a little girl, my most favorite thing in the world was Barbies. I loved them. I loved dressing them and fixing their hair. I never had one of those big Barbie houses, no, that was too limiting for me, I needed more space, more options than the doll house would provide. No, I made furniture by stacking paperbacks and covering them with washcloths (perfect sofa!), and I had a great bed and using all the space in my room, they always lived in a sprawling mansion. My friends loved playing with me because I would always create elaborate story lines and sometimes these games would last well into the night. There was always adventure and danger and romance. With lots of kissing.

It was a sad day when I had to put up those Barbies. Much later than all my friends I had tried to keep playing, but somehow the magic had died for me in between elementary and jr. high. I still have all my Barbies, tucked away in my big, red suitcase, and someday they’ll be played with again.

I learned a new way to play Barbies though. A new way to create those adventurous and romantic storylines with lots of kissing. And now I get paid for it. It took me a while to realize that’s what years of Barbie playing was for me, I was cultivating myself as a romance reader and writer, learning the rudimentary steps of story and character creation. Luckily some things have changed. I no longer have to name my Barbies (uh…characters) Toni or Ashleigh. Not that those are bad names, but they don’t really fit into Victorian times. And my heroes, unlike Ken, aren’t plastic everywhere and have more than just a subtle bump.

I think about those times though. Staying up way too late, listening to New Edition’s remake of Earth Angel or Lisa Lisa and the Cult Jam’s All Cried Out, and playing Barbies who would dress in their costumes and go to Masquerade parties and dance and laugh and, of course, kiss. I had no idea then that those times were building on something bigger for me, no idea that I was rehearsing for the coolest job on the planet.

I love creating stories. I love coming up with characters that are unique and special in their own way, yet so familiar, you could swear you know them. I love watching these characters hit obstacles and grow and change and become stronger, better people. And I love making them fall in love.

Can you look back into your past and see tells of the adult you were meant to become? And the real question…did you love Barbies as much as I do…uh did?

A moment of silence please. Sniff-sniff.

This past week on Guiding Light, the show’s writers saw fit in all of their infinite wisdom to kill off one half of my favorite soap couple, Jonathan and Tammy. (Wah!) In an attempt to rid himself of Jonathan for good, GL’s resident villain paid an assassin to try and mow Jon down with a car. Of course, in true soap opera fashion, Tammy pushed the love of her life out of the way at the last minute and was hit instead. She died in the hospital with Jon at her side, and I bawled like a baby. Watching him climb up onto the gurney with her, crying and begging her to come back, was utterly heartbreaking and just about wrecked me. This star-crossed duo just got married after ten months of misery, and they got two days of happiness before tragedy struck.

Now, never mind the fact that both of these actors were leaving the show and the powers that be had the perfect opportunity to write them off together with a happily-ever-after ending. Given Jon and Tammy’s status as a forbidden, Romeo-and-Juliet-type pair, I can understand why the writers believed this was a more suitable farewell for this couple. But you know how much I crave my happy endings, and this reminded me of all the reasons I quit watching soaps the first time around. Grumble grumble. That’s a rant for another blog, however. Instead, I want to focus on the one thing that I feel like the writers succeeded in doing well with this storyline: They created characters that truly made me care. And because I care, Tammy’s death scene affected me on a personal level. So much so that I feel as if I have lost a real friend with her passing.

In the past two years, I have come to know these characters almost as well as I know the members of my family. I’ve laughed with them, shared the good times and the bad times with them, and have rooted for them to be together every step of the way, despite the controversy brought about by the fact that they were half-cousins. Partly, it is a testament to the acting skills of Tom Pelphrey, who played Jon and who is destined to go on to bigger and better things, IMO. But it is also because the writers know that it is human nature to root for the underdog. The more the characters suffer, the more road blocks that are thrown in their way, the more we identify with them and want to see things work out for them. And the more we care.

It made me think about the writers who have succeeded in writing characters that have truly touched my heart though the years. Characters who have overcome great odds and major road blocks in order to be together. Who have brought my emotions to the surface and made me cry when I usually don’t cry very easily at all. Sharon Sala is one author who does this well. Catherine Anderson is another. Both of these ladies are experts at tugging at the heartstrings and delivering a deeply emotional tale.

What about you? What books or authors have touched your heart? Have succeeded in making you cry your eyes out? Tell me all about it, and don’t forget to pass the kleenex please!

It’s crazy…it really is….everytime I get close to the end of a book I seem to come up with a song that is “the song” for the book I’m finishing. For When She Was Bad–coming out in July–it was Keith Urban’s “Tonight I Want to Cry” No, the story doesn’t have an unhappy ending It was around the time that I was writing the black moment that I played that song over and over and over.

Now I’m getting to the end of When She Was Good, the sequel to “Bad” and I’ve finally found my song for this book. Surprisingly it’s by a Christian artist Toby Mack (not sure if I’m spelling that right) and it’s called “I Was Made to Love You.” Of course the song is supposed to be that we were made to love God, but I’m using it as my hero was made to love my heroine. Now I just have to burn a CD of that song on all tracks, so I can just play it over and over and over.

Music really affects my mood. Upbeat songs make me walk faster on the treadmill. Soulful ballads help me get in touch with my own emotions. Fun, lighthearted songs can lift my spirits.

What about you? Do you have any favorite songs you listen to?

Once upon a time I dared to want something big, I wanted to be a writer. I went to college, got a degree and eventually got a job. And still I had this dream; someday I will be a writer. It wasn’t an arbitrary dream, it was one I was working towards, one I strived for on a daily basis. At first I just talked about it – I met other writers and would-be writers and we talked books and reading and stories and that little writing bug burrowed deeper under my skin. Eventually I started studying it – I bought one craft book after another, I went to conferences, I listened to workshop takes, I found every article on the internet about writing and I printed it out (let me tell you, that’s a lot of paper!). And then I applied what I’d learned – I wrote. For seven years I toiled amidst day jobs that I hated, day jobs that were often so terrible, they’d suck the life and the energy right out of me. The business end of the dream I’d chosen was hard, very hard, there were plenty of days when I was certain I’d never make it, certain I was kidding myself. Afterall, I knew everything there was to know about the craft of writing – that’s not to say I’d mastered it, but had there ever been a test given on craft subjects, I would have aced it! Still, I got one rejection after another. And you know those “good” rejection letters you hear about? The ones they say means you’ve graduated up a level and that you’re getting close? I never really got those. And I never stopped receiving the dreaded form rejections. Maybe I was kidding myself. Dreaming too big. And here I’d quit a career-track job to take a lesser paying, lesser responsibility position so that I could focus on my writing career. What career? Seven years and five books. Surely if I hadn’t gotten it by then, I never would.

I remember in January of 2004, I was ready to quit. In one day I received three rejections, that week a total of six. Then in February I had a conference to attend. I was miserable. What was I doing spending money on a conference, on this dream, when it was never going to happen? I had scheduled an appointment with an agent and an editor and had already received rejections from those very people shortly before the conference. What was the point? Needless to say, I was a bit of a downer on this trip. I was just lost. I’d received revision requests before I left from a high-powered agent, but her suggestions just didn’t feel right to me. The conference turned out okay. I heard some things that lifted my spirits and gave me the will to keep going, at least a little bit longer.

And then in June of that same year, it happened. One day out of nowhere, my cell phone rang. It was noonish and I was on my lunch break, visiting with my mom and I glanced at the phone to see who was calling. Area code 212….um, that’s NYC! So I cautiously answered the phone and then the rest of the day is a bit of a blur. All I know was that the dream I’d been chasing for seven long (and sometimes painful years) had happened and not just in a kinda way, where I had a book deal. No, I sold to my dream publisher, the house I thought was somewhere I might end up after a few years of publishing, never right out of the gate, but there they were. Avon calling. (HA!) I was an Avon lady. How did that happen?

Let me tell you a few things about my situation when I sold…
-the historical market was dead (even publisher professionals had been saying it)
-I was unagented, despite years of trying to get one, I just couldn’t get an agent willing to go out on a limb for an unknown historical author
-I had won ZERO contests. In fact, the year I sold was the first year I entered the Golden Heart and I did terribly.
-I sold a historical that wasn’t a Regency. Granted Victorian feels somewhat like a Regency, but there are significant differences.
-My first heroine was more than a little chubby and she stays that way and it’s a big part of the book

So why am I telling you all of this? Primarily because I don’t think people have the courage to dream big anymore. I was fortunate enough to have the kinds of parents who nutured my dreams and never once questioned my goals, not everyone is as fortunate. Some people have parents or sisters or husbands or children who don’t support them. It’s not always out of meanness, but can just be out of fear or caution. But don’t let people stop you from dreaming. It’s powerful, it’s courageous and it’s contagious, it breeds optimism and determination and discipline. So don’t be afraid to dream, it’s good for you and the people around you.

You know what? I’m still dreaming. So what’s your big dream?

In the next few weeks I have several TV and radio interviews where I’m the “romance expert.” I’m giving the male listeners/viewers tips on how to plan the perfect Valentine’s Day, and on one TV show, I’m giving a list of 5 Things Men Can Learn from Romance Novels.

Here it is for you…

What Men Can Learn from Romance Novels

5. Fidelity is sexy. (Once a romance hero finds his heroine, no other woman exists for him.)
4. It’s okay to be sensitive. (Romance heroes are always kind to children and animals.)
3. Pay attention! (Romance heroes focus on their lady. When she speaks, they give undivided attention—even if the playoff game is on.)
2. Love scenes are about emotion. (The emotional is just as important for a romance hero as the physical—well, okay, almost as important.)
1. Express your feelings. (I know. It’s hard for the romance heroes, too. That struggle is why women love it so much.)

So what would be on your list? It doesn’t have to be 5, just let me know whatever you come up with.

A few years ago Jenny Crusie did an article in the RWR (Romance Writer’s Report) about building collages for books in the early brainstorming/prewriting stages. I’ve done this a few times, once for A Study in Scandal, once for Tempted at Every Turn and just this weekend I made one for Charlotte’s book (which has no title yet.) The point of this exercise, other than indulging your cut & paste tendencies from childhood, is that it taps into your subconscious and pulls out potential ideas for the characters or story that might not have thought of before.

Now the way Jenny goes about it is a bit different from me, she collects things for a while, and not just pictures, but objects and so her collages probably have texture as well as being multi-dimensional. Mine consist (at least so far) of just pictures. I’m so visual anyways, that this makes sense to me.

So without further ado….here are two of my collages to share with you. Sorry about the glare in them – I couldn’t seem to take a picture without one.

Now, I don’t want to give too much away from this by detailing what I did or didn’t use in the book – you’ll have to wait until August for that. But as you can see I have images of gardens with water, some glasses, a writing desk, yummy Josh Holloway from LOST (I did use him!), and shelves of books.

I don’t even know at this point what I will or won’t use from this one since I’m just starting the book. I used more words on this one and lots of items of beauty, lots of jewelry and stockings and you can’t miss the Jack of Hearts right in the center…

So what about the rest of you? Do you do anything different for getting in the mood to write your books? Do you make collages? Or perhaps a soundtrack with songs that remind you of the characters? Do you draw pictures of the houses or configure elaborate timelines? Come on Jaunties, gives us the inside scoop…

What comes first? Characters? Plot? A snippet of dialogue?

The inspiration for every book I’ve written has come to me differently. Sometimes it’s a character. The heroine in Dryden’s Bride was such a one. She was Sîan Tudor, the sister of Owen Tudor (the Welshman who married the widowed Queen Katherine and fathered Henry VII). She was completely fictional, but her connection to Tudor added a lot to the plot. I made her a poor relation who had no prospects, but I gave her spirit and a lot of temerity …

Sometimes, it’s a historical situation or question that inspires me. A few years ago, I saw a History Channel program on a holy cloth called The Mandylion. It was said to be the piece of linen used to wipe the face of Jesus as he carried his cross. According to legend, it was hidden away in Bysantium until the city was sacked by Crusaders, and then the Templars got hold of it and hid it. Some historians believe the Mandylion was actually the Shroud of Turin, others say it’s a completely different thing. After a good bit more research, I decided to go with the second school of thought, and wrote two books about it. And I added paranormal elements to them. They’re Scoundrel’s Daughter and its prequel, The Virtuous Knight. In the first, the American hero (an Indiana Jones-type) drags the very proper, Victorian heroine all over the UK looking for the Mandylion that her crooked father has stolen. In the second, a knight returns from the holy land with the Mandylion and has to find a safe place to hide it from charlatans. Each of the heroines has a physical disability and when they come into contact with the Mandylion …

My first book The Bride of Windermere started out with my interest in King Henry IV. In this book, I gave him an illegitimate daughter who was sent off to live with her mother and step-father. After she’s all grown up and Henry IV is dead, her half-brother (Henry V) learns of her existence and realizes she will be in danger if any of his enemies learn of her. He sends his most powerful, trusted knight to take her to safety, unaware that the knight has a huge secret of his own.

Sometimes an idea strikes that just won’t go away. For example: What if a young woman had the ability to make things happen by magic, but every time she did it, something unexpected occurred along with the magic that was intended. In my Victorian novel, Not Quite a Lady, the heroine has this ability, but she can’t really use her power very much. If she uses her power to make a loaf of bread appear, lightning might strike the house. Or a tree might fall across the road and hurt someone. In spite of that, she uses her power to increase business at her country inn. She makes “ghosts” appear at the inn, and they cause quiet a furor. Enter the scientist hero who is sent to disprove these strange happenings …

My next books for Avon are based on a premise. I wanted to create a world of sorcerers and magic, and have them interact with plain humans. This required a lot of brainstorming … Exactly who are these people and what are their powers? Why would they want anything to do with humans? What sort of heritage do they have? How will they react to humans when they’ve been away from them for centuries?

I think I’ll save these answers for my next blog …

Recently I’ve been watching a terrific show on the Sundance channel called Iconoclasts. The premise is that two icons sit down for a conversation. The first show involved Robert Redford and Paul Newman (since Sundance is Redford’s channel) at Newman’s home. They talked philanthropy and food and theatre and life. Since then, there have been some wonderful shows. The one we watched last week was Maya Angelou and Dave Chappell (of all people). And it was utterly fascinating from an artistic point of view and a human point of view.

Anyway, so I have been thinking about this idea since then. Who do you think are the iconoclasts of romance? I’m not talking about authors you like or even love. I’m talking about authors who defined and redefined the genre.

I have a short list of my own and I invite you to add to it:

Nora Roberts
Jayne Ann Krentz
Maggie Osborn
Julia Quinn
Teresa Medeiros
Lisa Kleypas
Carly Philips