Writing Out of Order

Hello Fellow Writers!

I have some exciting news - my advice column for The Mahopac News is now available online! I've written about 17 columns so far, and they have my column listed here. I'm happy that now I can point people toward my column online when they ask about seeing a copy of it. They even have PDFs of the paper, so I can go through them and print them out. I should really do that so I have a hard copy portfolio of my work, since I don't have a subscription to the paper.

I find it interesting that I've written (and been paid for!) a column each week for the past 17 weeks, but they've only run like eight of them. Hmm. Well, as long as I'm getting paid I certainly won't complain! My full name isn't even in the byline (for privacy reasons) so it's not like I'm doing it for the fame :)

As for my fiction, I sent "Hollywood Spank" to one of my beta readers to try and figure out what else needs to be fixed before I resubmit it to my editor at Ellora's Cave. In the meantime, "Chastity Belt" is on hold and I am writing a Christmas story. When I first thought the story up I was very excited and gung-ho about it, but now I'm slightly stuck. The answer to how to get unstuck came to me today as I sat here thinking about it: I need to write out of order.

Normally I'm a very chronological type person. I start with chapter one, page one. I finish with "The End". But in this case, I need to stop worrying about how to build up to what I consider The Big Scene, and just write The Big Scene. Once that scene is written, I can fill in the blanks as to just how the Hero and Heroine got themselves into that position. Literally, how they got themselves into that position - it is an erotica story, after all.

I have a feeling that once that scene is done, I'll feel more connected to my story and my characters, and I will find it easy to wrap up the story. Since this is going to be only about 8000 words or so, I have a limited amount of space to write something compelling. I don't want to waste it on build up. Who knows, perhaps what I consider to be the middle of the story will turn out to be the beginning. We'll see.

So that's the goal for today - to write out of order and not care. To write The Big Scene. Wish me luck!
Yours Truly,
Shoshanna Evers

My Advice Column

Hello Fellow Writers!

I had a grand old time at the Hudson Valley chapter of the RWA monthly meeting last weekend. I read a five page excerpt from "Snowed in With a Millionaire" and got some great feedback - most importantly, that those five pages should be the first five pages of my novel. The opening scene I had can come later, after we see the hero and heroine's first meet. Good stuff!

It's too bad that I'll have to miss next month's meeting since that's my 'on' weekend at the nursing home. One of the published authors from Hudson Valley RWA, Janet Lane Walters, offered to read the first chapter for me, which I think is very nice if her.

I also got my contract for the weekly advice column I will be writing for a new local paper, The Mahopac News. The column will be called "Ask Shana". I've already written the first column and sent it to the editor, and he approved it. I got the job by writing a spec column and pitching the idea to the paper!

On that note, I want to offer some advice from an article about writing for a newspaper. If you ever decide to write the news to supplement your fiction career, this information will come in handy. Check out the whole article at NorthernStar.info.

First five pararaphs
All the work of producing a news story is futile if the story does not engage the reader immediately. Writing coaches have identified four key elements that should be present in the first five paragraphs of any news story (not necessarily in any particular order). They are:
News
The newest information: the basic facts of who, what, when, where, why and how ... the most relevant information.
Impact
What a situation means and who is affected. Tells readers what the news changes about their lives and, maybe, what they should do.
Context
The general perspective that frames the background of the news. It addresses the relationship of things around the news. Context helps readers understand whether something is normal or surprising.
Emotion
The human dimension. Takes a story from abstract to reality. Offers personal elements that help readers understand the story. This is not necessarily a quote, but it could be.

I also submitted my romantic erotica story to Ellora's Cave for one of their theme submissions.
Wish me luck, and good luck to you too!
Yours Truly,
Shoshanna Evers