Chapter length; pen names

I have a couple of interesting questions to answer today, but first I want to announce that there will be a new contest up next week. So check back on Monday!

Now, on to the questions. And answers.

From Renee:

You appear to effortlessly budget 3,000 words or so per chapter. Daily word
goal: 3,000 words. Daily writing goal: One chapter. I get those two, separate
goals. How do you make them come together so reliably? My chapters are different
lengths and I don't have any idea how to plan for a chapter word count in
advance, since I often don't know how many words it will take me to write a
scene.

Hi Renee!

Effortlessly, huh? I wish it were effortless. ;-)

Actually, 3,000 words is my very minimum daily goal. I actually shoot for 3,500 a day, and now that I’m back into my groove, I seem to be surpassing that consistently. Thank goodness. Because little else stresses me out worse than watching a deadline approach while my wordcount meter refuses to move. ;-)

As for how I seem to write my chapters at such a consistent length… Well, the important word there is “seem.” What you guys don’t see is that sometimes, some of the words I report the next day went into the previous chapter. I typically read through what I wrote the day before, not to edit it, but to get back into that place. But if I see that something’s obviously missing, I’ll add it then.

Also, this is my eleventh book. I wouldn't dare to say I truly know what I'm doing yet, but I know myself well enough at this stage in my career to know approximately how much plot I can fit into a chapter. The hard part is finding a good ending line for each one. Something that makes the reader want to start the next chapter immediately. I don’t do that with every one. After all, sometimes the reader needs a break, right? But I try to end most of the chapters leading directly into the next.

However, after the rewrites, my chapters will grow. Almost all of them. How much they grow depends on how much detail they each got in the rough draft. The roughest ones may grow as much as eight hundred words.

In the finished product, my chapters (in my adult books) run between 3,500 and 4,500 words.
Does that help?

And, from Jennifer:

I noticed that you are using the same name for your Shifters series and for your
upcoming young adult work, and I'm hoping you could take a few minutes to talk
about the reasoning behind that decision.

Why did I decide not to take a new name for my young adult books? Several reasons…

First of all, my YAs are not really in a different genre. They’re still urban fantasy; they’re just geared toward a slightly different audience. And only a very slightly different one. I get lots of mail from teenagers who read my adult books, and I’m an adult who enjoys a well-written YA. So there’s really a lot of crossover.

Second of all, I don’t feel like high schoolers who stumble on to my adult books through my YAs will be in for that much of a culture shock. I don’t write graphic sex in my Shifters books. I will only write one sex scene per book, and not at all, if it doesn’t affect the story in some important way. And I always try to focus more on the emotions than the body parts. ;-)

Now, I do have graphic violence in my Shifters books. But while my YAs aren’t very bloody, they deal with subject matter that’s often even darker than what Faythe deals with.

And lastly, I’ve built up a little bit of an audience (and am looking to increase it!) with my adult books, and while I very much want to attract a teenage audience with my Soul Screamers books, I’d love for some of my adult readers to follow me to that world too.

I hope that answers your question, Jennifer!

Writing Progress: Chapter thirteen is complete! And it ended on quite a cliffhanger. I love end-of-chapter cliffhangers.

46,784 / 115,000 (40.7%)

Unfortunately, I have a personal obligation today and won’t be able to write. But I’ll dive in again on Monday, and am hoping to wrap up the rough draft in the next 2.5 weeks or so. ;-)

The Making of a Cover

[Edit: Stephanie has posted an interview with me at Juiciliciousss Reviews, and she had some great questions! So to find out who my favorite characters are, and which werecat is hardest to write, go check it out!]

Yesterday, my editor showed me the cover concepts for all three of the Soul Screamers books. I'd already seen the first one, but she sent all three in one document, and they are stunning.

Seriously. Stunning. And these are just the concepts.

In case you don't know what a cover concept is, it's a mock-up of the actual cover. My publisher's art department designs the cover using stock photos and art before it hires either an artist or photographer to make or take the images they want. My concepts show the general pose of the main figure and the title and name placement, and they give an idea of the colors they're going for. The fonts might change, but I hope the title font stays the same. I love it!

There's also a series emblem and title (The Soul Screamers, of course), and I'm pretty sure that part's final.

Along with the concepts, my awesome editor also sent me casting photos of the two models they're looking at to "play" Kaylee on the cover. Fascinating! Once they've cast the model, they'll do the photo shoot for all three covers at once (since they're all three already designed, and the novels are all written--yea for working ahead!), then put the final covers together.

I can't wait to see them! My editor thinks we're talking about, maybe, three more weeks.

It's gonna be a loooong three weeks. ;-) And these concepts are so beautiful that I'm having to try really, really hard not to get too excited until I see the final products. Because things do change. Still, I'm delighted to have been included in so much of the process. It fascinates me!

Writing progress: Yesterday went well, in spite of the enormous amount of time I spent ogling my new cover mock-ups. ;-)

43,138 / 115,000 (37.5%)

Chapter twelve is done, and I hope to hit the 40% mark today, regarding wordcount, and the half-way point of the plot.

Wish me luck!

A novel is like an ogre...

I was actually pretty productive yesterday, which I consider to be quite a feat, considering everything else I have going on right now.

39,353 / 115,000 (34.2%)

According to the word-count meter, I’m just more than a third of the way done, but according to my synopsis, I’m actually closer to half-way through the story.

What does that mean?

That my writing is pretty sparse in this one. But I’ve known that all along. Shift will require quite a bit of layering in the second draft.

People ask me fairly regularly what I mean by “layering” and I think I may finally have an answer that makes sense, even if you’re not a writer.

I’m on a bit of a time crunch with this book. In fact, back in January, I turned in the book that will be released three months after Shift, because the release dates for my YAs were shuffled around. Since the due date for Shift kind of snuck up on me, I’m trying to write a quick-n-dirty first draft of Shift between rounds of edits on my YAs, promo for Pride, and brainstorming for a short story teaser for my YAs. This first draft contains little more than the main plot, and the romance sub-plot.

During the first round of rewrites, before the book gets sent to my CP, I’ll have to go back and layer in the other elements, some of which are there in brief patches, and some of which haven’t yet been written at all. These layers include:

• Character description and reminders of who everyone is and how they connect to Faythe. I have to give enough so that people who didn’t read the previous four novels will still be able to understand what’s going on, but not so much that the regular series readers will be bored.
• The secondary romance subplot (budding romance between two secondary characters). I know this needs to be in there, to weave in threads left dangling in previous books, but I honestly haven’t written much on this yet. When the first draft is done, I’m hoping that I’ll be able to look at the big picture and see where best to drop in small snatches of this romance. The parts that Faythe would legitimately have a chance to observe. Because we don’t see what she doesn’t see.
• Setting. Right now, most of the book is missing those concrete details that anchor the story to the real world. References to time of day, time of year, temperature, and any number of physical “props” the characters should be interacting with. Without these details, several scenes are basically just people talking/fighting/interacting in other ways. Setting is crucial.
• Miscellaneous details. (Ha! I spelled "miscellaneous" right, first try!) These are the things I’ve left myself notes about in the margins, reminding me to look up later. Does this particular car have electronic locks? Is it standard or automatic? What time does the sun set in mid-February, in the central time zone? Look up a good recipe for chili, so the ingredients are authentic.
• Oh, and there’s one plot-thread left dangling from Prey that I completely forgot about. Twice. This one must be woven in very carefully.

All of these things will add a lot to my word-count, so it’s actually fortunate that the rough draft is coming out so sparse. And I really look forward to the rewrites. Rewrites and revisions are where the magic happens. ;-)

Weird werecat facts

I'm guest blogging today at the Harlequin paranormal romance blog, with Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Werecats (and a few things you probably didn't). This post was inspired by actual questions I've gotten, and it was a lot of fun.

Also, today, White Witch, Black Curse comes out! I tried to buy a copy at Target this morning, but they didn't have it. I may have to hit the bookstore tomorrow.

Writing Progress: Chapter ten went somewhere unexpected yesterday. But I like it! It's still rough, of course, but I think it has the potential to be really good.

35,399 / 115,000 (30.8%)

Up for today, chapter 11!

A space of my own

We didn't find exactly what I wanted in a desk, but, as a wise blog reader pointed out, I was looking for an awful lot. This desk doesn't have the storage I'd hoped for, so for now, my old line edits, AAs and manuscripts for books I've been asked to blurb are still in a storage cabinet, on top of which sits my printer/fax/copier combo monstrocity. However, I love the dark colors of this desk and it has cubbies! (One of my requirements.) And, there was a coordinating bookshelf.

These represent just a fraction of my books, of course. I have many, many more paperbacks, and haven't even begun to unpack most of the hardbacks.

I think in this shot you can kind of see the size requirements I was burdened with. This is one small corner of our den, and as you can see, the ceiling starts vaulting at five feet, so I needed a short hutch.

Anyway, I'm very pleased with it. Especially considering that I don't actually write at a desk. (I write on my laptop, in my recliner.) But I will probably be doing hard copy edits here.

If you look closely, you can probably see my Easy Button, as well as both the last ARCs of all three Shifters books and a final copy of the Mammoth Book of Vampire Romance, Stray, Rogue, and Pride. What you can't see is the huge stack of Post-Its, hidden by the camera angle. ;-)

Writing Progress:

32,018 / 115,000 (27.8%)

Chapter 10 of Shift is up for today!

Randomness

Interview: First, there's a short interview with me posted at Star-Crossed Romance today. I think we're giving something away, but I'm still waiting on clarification on that, and will update this when I know for sure.

Writing progress: I made pretty good progress on Shift yesterday, after a week spent working on edits for My Soul to Take and a few other things. Chapter eight is done, and chapter nine is up for today. And I'm now a quarter of the way through the manuscript. Yea!

28,587 / 115,000 (24.9%)

Dork Moment: So, I rewarded myself last night with a little leisure time. Speaking of which, #1 and I now have both Pat Benatar and White Zombie on Rock Band! I sang Hit Me With Your Best Shot and More Human Than Human last night. A strange combination, I know, but surprisingly satisfying. And oddly enough, I'm actually better at the White Zombie. ;-)

Also, have I mentioned my quest for a desk here yet? No? Here goes...

Other Randomness: Some of you may know that I don't work at a desk. I write in my recliner, with my laptop and a lap desk (a finished slab of wood on a squishy pad). We do have a desk, but #1 uses it for website design and maintenance, as well as internet access on the desktop. But I've finally come to realize that I need a desk of my own. Some place to store my stuff (all together), so that next time I'm in need of an office supply, I won't have to hunt through his desk, my storage cabinet, and the downstairs junk drawer for printer ink, post-its, red pens, white-out, or reference books. Or reference copies of my own books.

But I do not want to spend good money for a desk I don't love. Thus the never-ending quest for the perfect desk. Which does not seem to exist.

We have space restrictions. The ceiling in our combination office/den is vaulted, beginning five feet up the wall. But I want a hutch, for additional storage and to show off my growing shelf of published books. I also want a built-in file cabinet, several drawers, and cubbies. Yes, cubbies. And a deep workspace

Alas, such a thing does not seem to exist. At least, not in a physical store in my area. I could order one online, but then I'd have to pay an additional $200 in shipping! We're frustrated with the fact that you can't walk into an actual furniture store, pick out what you want, then have it loaded onto the back of your truck. Around here, it seems, everything must be delivered (several days later) from a warehouse not co-located with the actual showroom.

Infuriating! What's the point of having a truck if you can't haul stuff around in it?

Anyway... Furniture rant over. For now, my office supplies remain homeless. ;-(

Off to work!

Go look!!!

My Soul to Take is up for pre-order on Amazon!!!!

And no, I'm not over-using exclamation marks. There are not enough exclamation marks in the world to adequately express my joy. When I saw it (I've been looking for it for weeks...) I nearly flipped my laptop over in excitement.

Seriously. My chest hurts. That's probably a bad sign, right? If I'm this worked up over the pre-order capability, I'm afraid the actual release might kill me.

Unfortunately, there's no cover up yet. Because there's no cover to put up yet. But I check my email about a thousand times a day (literally every couple of minutes), hoping to see that tell-tale PDF attachment from my editor. I've seen the concept, and it's amazing. I hope the cover lives up to it.

But I've probably just jinxed myself by writing that in public.

There's no back cover blurb up yet (mental note: get paws on the official blurb) and the book is $9.99 (U.S. dollars) because it's a trade paperback, and that's my first ever book in non-mass-market format, and...

And now I'm just babbling. That's how excited I am.

Celebrate with me!

I think I'm going to pre-order one... ;-)

Links

Rogue is a 2008 PEARL finalist, in the Shapeshifter category! Considering the competition, I have little hope of actually winning, but I'm so tickled to be included that right now that hardly matters. ;-)

Many, many other great authors have also been nominated, including Jocelynn Drake (New Author) and Jeaniene Frost (One Foot in the Grave, for Best Paranormal Romance). So, yea!

Also, today Smart B**** Sarah is guest blogging at the Deadline Dames, discussing getting paid vs. giving it away. Writing, of course. ;-)

Swamped--in a good way

Wow, sorry for the silence. I'm pretty swamped at the moment. I had to put aside Shift to do a combination line edit/copy edit/one-last-revision on My Soul to Take. I plan to turn that in tomorrow, then all I'll have left of it is the author alterations (galley), which is a simple proof-reading run-through.

Because of time constraints, we're doing this final combo edit in Word, rather than in hard copy (can you hear my joy?!), and I could not be more pleased with that. I hate working in hard copy. This way, I have comments from my editor, the CE, and myself, each in a different color. I simply accept or reject the changes, address all the comments, and add whatever I still think it needs. Simple. Beautiful. Smooth. ;-)

I hope they decide to do them all this way. It would certainly save paper.

I'm pleased with this first YA. It's been a lot of work, but well worth it.

As for Shift, I believe I'm ready to write chapter 8 tomorrow, and am really hoping I can get through the rest of the rough draft with minimal interruptions. Working on other projects during edits doesn't bother me, but during a rough draft, it tends to derail me.

I need to get the rough of Shift done by the end of March, to give myself time to get it polished and critiqued before it's due on May 1st.

A few more answers

Note: I have not been contacted by the winner of the blog tour contest. Alayna Raquelle, if I haven't heard from you by Monday, I'll have to choose a new winner. So please email me!

Now for a few more answers...

Amanda: Are you going to write any books in Kaci's POV? I'd love to know how she progresses from her eyes after what happened in Pride.

I would like to do that, but it all depends on how well the series itself does. If the sales show demand, anything’s possible. ;-)

Kyra: A few writers such as yourself write multiple series with
completely different characters at a time and I was wondering how hard that is to do. Do you ever seem to "loose the character" or write 'out of character' by switching back and forth between series?

Um… Not really. But it is easier to write a new novel in either series if I’ve just done edits on a previous novel in that series, because I’m already in that place. But for me, it’s actually easier to write two completely unrelated series than I think it would be to write from another character’s POV in Faythe’s world, because Kaylee’s world is so very different from Faythe’s that there’s no crossover, thus little opportunity for confusion. Does that make sense?

Tatyanna Rose: are we getting that back cover blurb anytime soon?
Please, please, please?

Yes! In fact, I was thinking of posting it today in my discussion group. They get everything first—membership has its privileges! And we like new members. ;-)

Writing progress:
Chapter six down, and I'm a fifth of the way there! Up for today: chapter 7.

21,896 / 115,000 (19.0%)

Crossing lines

Today I'm posting at the Deadline Dames, about out-aging your characters, a bizarre phenomenon which is the result of time moving slower in (most) books than it does in our world. It's seriously creepy. ;-)

Also, I'm still answering questions here. I'll get to the ones people have left in the blog comment soon, I swear. But you should really check out what they're asking in this discussion, because I've already answered questions about Ryan's future in the novels, his past with Marc, Marc and Faythe's potential future children, Karen's past on the council, and several other things. And there will be more answers today, during my short breaks from writing Shift.

Speaking of which...

Chapter five went very well yesterday (if not exactly quickly), and in the course of writing it, I got an awesome, creepy idea for a later scene. I love it when that happens!

18,456 / 115,000 (16.0%)

And (Bonus!) Faythe hasn't done anything that could possibly be considered dumb yet. Not even for a very good reason. ;-) She's actually quite formidable now, and has even made Marc nervous once. Which is interesting. He definitely crosses lines she wouldn't in the line of duty. But she's crossed one now that makes him uncomfortable--yet makes him respect her.

I can't wait for you guys to read this one! Of course, you probably want to read Prey first... ;-)

And now a question for you, oh blog readers: Is there a line you don't want to see (sympathetic) characters cross? (Bad guys and anti-heros don't count.) Has anyone ever crossed that line, but not lost you as a reader?

Appearances; writing; TV

This past Saturday, I spoke at the Valley Ranch Library, in Irving TX. It was my very first appearance alone (in which I was the only draw) and I was afraid no one would show up. So I brought #1 and my grandmother to pad the audience. ;-)

Actually, they came for moral support, and because my grandmother was curious. ;-)

But we actually wound up with a bit of an audience, who seemed mostly content to listen to me prattle on about my books. They even let me ask them some questions!

Thanks to Jennifer Shelley for setting that up. She had Rachel Caine in a couple of months ago, and will have Richelle Meade next month, so if you live in the area, definitely check that out. Valley Ranch is the most awesome library I've ever been in, and the author programming is free! And if you have kids, bring them. There's a giant pirate ship, with portholes they don't want you to climb through, but you're gonna climb through anyway!

Appearances:
I registered for the RWA National conference yesterday, so I guess I need to update the appearances page on my website. This year I'll be at RT in Orlando in April, and at RWA National in D.C. in July. And that's it, unless I get an invitation I just can't say no to. ;-)

Writing Progress:
Chapter four went really well yesterday, which is a huge relief, because it's been pretty hard for me to concentrate lately. All I really want to do is read and watch TV. Which is odd for me. (The television, not the reading). And terribly tempting, because Netflix will deliver entire seasons of whatever series you want, and I have a whole stack of books (including three I've already started) on my nightstand.

So, after I finished chapter four last night, I treated myself to some popcorn and yesterday's episode of Heroes. I'm not as in love with it as I was during the first season, but I'm still watching. ;-)

15,151 / 115,000 (13.2%)

Up for today is chapter five, in which another werecat gets hurt, his fellow werecats demand answers, and Faythe does something really, really smart. (She did something smart yesterday too. Come to think of it, I was impressed with her in Prey too, as was my editor. Faythe's pretty bright lately. ;-))

More answers and discussion

[Warning: this entry includes minor Pride spoilers. Proceed at your own risk!]

For the rest of the month, I'll be checking in here for a discussion on worldbuilding in my Shifters series. If you have questions or comments feel free to post them there. I'll gladly talk about Pride structure, politics, characters' personal relationships (social, intimate, familial, or political), characters' backstories (Karen on the council, Ryan's grudge against Marc, Jace's childhood with Malone as a stepfather, etc...), Pride geography (who lives where, and in what Pride) or anything like that. This is your chance to have all your Shifter-world questions answered.

And my chance to talk about my books. Yea! ;-)

And here are the answers I meant to post earlier. They've been answered for a week, but I haven't had a chance to post them before.

Jheffry Hsu: Ummm...can you tell us anything about Prey and Shift without
spoiling anything?

What can I say about Prey without spoiling anything…? Not much, really. The plot for Prey hinges around what happened in Pride, and I don’t want to spoil things for those who haven’t had a chance to read Pride. But I’ll be posting the back cover blurb for Prey on my discussion group soon, with a spoiler warning. And there are a couple of tidbits further down on this page, but be warned, they contain Pride spoilers.

As for what I can say about Shift… I need to write it. Now. It’s due very shortly, and is so far my tightest deadline ever. ;-)

Hows the process of writing both of your series?

Um… I’m not sure how to answer this. They’re both going very well, thanks. I have to plot all the books in advance, to get approval from my publisher before I actually write the books, and that usually keeps things running pretty smoothly.

How do you think of your plot? or where do you usually gets the idea for your
plots?

My plots are almost always drawn from the worlds the books are set in. Meaning that the world-building itself provides limitless possibilities. Conflict. Problems to be overcome. Stuff like that.

Catalysticmind: [In Prey] Is Manx going to have her baby and has her "fate" been
determined?

When Prey opens, Manx has very recently given birth. Her own trial happens during the events in Prey, but it is not the focal point. In fact, Faythe won't be present for it. I didn't want to write the same book twice, after having just shown Faythe's own trial.

How will Kaci interact with her family?

If you mean her human family, she won't. That's become nearly impossible to do now, without revealing the existance of werecats. Kaci has a rough life ahead of her. ;-(

And will there be any new toms in the mix as "suitors", and will Calvin try
to have any of his sons try?

New suitors? Hmm... Faythe represents quite a challenge to potential suitors, and it would take a brave tom indeed to turn her head from Marc, and I'm not sure anyone is quite prepared for that challenge. Now, will anyone try? You'll have to keep reading to find out... ;-)

As for what Calvin's up to... Let's just say that man doesn't know when to quit...

Writing Progress: Writing was slow last week, but hopefully it'll really pick up now. I'll be writing chapter four of Shift today.

11,763 / 115,000 (10.2%)