What’s your medical know-how and do you know how? by Bonnie R. Paulson

Well, HELLO! And thank you so much for having me!

Let’s get started by taking a fast quiz. (Do you hate me?)

1. A humerus is:

1. An arm bone.

2. A leg bone.

3. Something at a Greek restaurant.

4. Something your boyfriend likes to bring home and gnaw on while he watches sports.

2. Blood is made up of:

1. Red cells, white cells, and plasma.

2. Red cells, white cells, and water.

3. Red food coloring and that sticky corn-starchy stuff.

4. Something your boyfriend likes to sip on while he watches sports.

3. Cranium refers to:

1. The brain or head.

2. The butt or tail.

3. A game you can play with two or more people.

4. Something your boyfriend likes to eat out of.

4. DNA stands for:

1. Deoxyribonucleic acid.

2. Di-nucleic acetaminophen.

3. Dude, nobody argue with me.

4. Something your boyfriend has a serious mutation in.

5. Bones are made of:

1. Calcium predominantly.

2. Chalk and rocks.

3. Puppy dog tails.

4. Something your boyfriend beats on the drums.

If you chose mostly As, you have a basic grasp of the medical information you might need for writing everyday characters. This could come in handy, especially if your characters break a bone or need a surgery.

If you chose mostly Bs, um, there’s no nice way to say this… I have a feeling you second guessed yourself. It’s common, but it’s the last thing you want to do when you’re a writer and trying to get in good with the readers. You never know how educated your reader is. You need to sound like you know what you’re doing.

If you chose mostly Cs… I have nothing for you. Seriously.

If you chose mostly Ds, holy crap! RUN! Because your boyfriend is most likely a zombie, a vampire, or a werewolf! Or a cannibal. Whichever one, you’re not safe and I suggest running like crazy! Go now! Unless of course he’s Predator and that’s just hot. (He’s my main crush).

The most important thing to remember when writing anything scientific or medical in your work, whether it be fiction or nonfiction or even journalistic in approach, you need to make sure you have your spelling accurate and the context correct.

Nothing is worse than reading a great love scene, you’re into the moment and enjoying the tension and chemistry of the characters when out of the blue, you see this line, “Perspiration glistened on his iris.” Uh. Right. Do you know what an iris is? Yeah, it’s the black part of the eye. If you’re perspiring on the iris, you better get to the doctor right away, ‘cause something isn’t right and you have no business doing it in a romance novel. I shuddered when I read this line in a real book. Shuddered and didn’t read any further.

Inaccuracies can cost you readers and might even kill your characters. I also read a book once where at the end of the romance – a love story between two doctors, one of which had cancer – on the last page, the hero says to the heroine, “I’m so glad the tumor was malignant.” And that was it.

ARE YOU SERIOUS? Malignant means death – or at the very least lots of treatment. I sat there and stared. Reread that line. Reread it again. I just went and looked up that book and reread it again! Seriously. That author just killed their character. At the end of a romance. No HEA there.

My point? Do a titch of research and you’ll do fine. Science can be rewarding and awesome to read, especially if the author sounds like she/he knows what they’re talking about.

BIO:  Bonnie R. Paulson mixes her science and medical background with reality and possibilities to make even myths seem likely and give every romance the genetic strength to survive. Bonnie has discovered a dark and twisty turn in her writing that she hopes you enjoy as much as she has enjoyed uncovering it. Dirt biking with her family in the Northwest keeps her sane.

Links:

• Facebook:  www.facebook.com/bonpaulson
• Twitter: @bonnierpaulson

• Www.bonnierpaulson.com
• Goodreads: Bonnie R. Paulson
• Amazon buy links
• Barnes and Noble links

 

Writing Between the Sexes by Leigh Michaels

Let’s say you’re wandering through the bookstore, you flip open a book by someone called Chris Smith, and you read this:

Joe had spiffed himself up by putting on a tie, a silly one decorated with the Three Stooges. Elizabeth was still wearing her tan suit, but she’d removed her jacket, revealing a holstered .38 and two holstered 36 D’s.

Now from the name our author calls himself, Chris Smith could be either sex. But I’m betting that from those two sentences you have a pretty clear picture of Chris Smith – and a strong opinion on whether Chris wears boxer shorts or underwires.

How about this one? Is the author male, or female?

Reluctantly turning off the tap, she reached for a thick amethyst towel, winding it around her hair, turban-style. Wrapping another around her torso, she stepped from the shower and surveyed her steam-filed bathroom with a sigh. In the mirror, she saw the blurred reflection of a tall, slender redhead with very pink skin. I look like a lobster, she thought.

Or maybe this one?

Her eyes narrowed. “Does this have anything to do with my being sick?”

Warily he asked, “What do you mean?”

“Are you trying to get me to rest more?”

“If I am, do you have a problem with that?”

Men and women think, act, and talk differently -- and vive le difference! But when women write the actions and dialogue of male characters, those guys often come off sounding like gal pals. And when men write the actions and dialogue of feminine characters, those gals come off sounding like tough guys.

Why is that a problem? Because when readers encounter a guy who doesn’t sound masculine, or a woman who doesn’t sound feminine, they stop believing in the world the author is trying to create. You might get by with that if your audience is the same sex you are – but if you’re aiming to broaden your readership, here’s a place to sit up and pay attention.

I hope you’ll join me for WRITING BETWEEN THE SEXES. In this four-week workshop, we’ll look at the behaviors and traits which most commonly lead us to tag someone as feminine or masculine, and how to use those behaviors and traits to create realistic -- but not stereotypical -- characters of the opposite sex. I hope you’ll come along for the ride!  Here's the link to sign up:  http://my.rwa.org/e/in/eid=23

About the Author: Leigh Michaels is the author of more than 100 books, including historical romance novels, contemporary romance novels and non-fiction. She is the author of On Writing Romance (Writers Digest Books) and teaches romance writing at Gotham Writers Workshop. Her next Regency-period historical romance, The Birthday Scandal, will be released in September 2012 by Montlake Romance.

What the Heck is Deep Point of View? by Carrie Lofty

So often when receiving critiques from peers, editors or agents, the subject of “deep point of view” can rear its head. What, exactly, does that entail? How can we add depth to characters--and therefore depth to our stories--by immersing readers into unique, powerful points of view?

My upcoming course for FF&P is title “Beyond Research: Stronger Point of View and the Effective Use of Detail.” I initially approached the topic from the perspective of a historical romance writer--hence the workshop title "Beyond Research." Originally, I wanted to convey to workshop attendees that research was not the be-all end-all. It's not about how many obscure details you can cram into a book, but how meaningfully those details create individual characters who resonate with the reader.

I accidentally stumbled on this idea for myself while teaching an introductory creative writing class for senior citizens. We were in a spare, industrial room, where florescent lights glared down on long gray desks--a wholly uninspiring space. But as I looked out across the room, I noticed that all of the chairs were brightly colored plastic. My daughters, then age three and four, would've loved that room. They would've run along the four tiered levels, probably skipping back and forward along each one, and most certainly counting the number of blue, red, yellows, and green chairs. They would've used the chalkboard to keep track of each color.

To write a description of that room from a non-parents' perspective might have been a dull affair, but to describe it from my POV would've demonstrated a mother's affection for her blossoming children. To write it from a child's POV would've been to create a place nearly as much fun as a playground. Perspectives make the scenes, the characters, and the story as a whole.

Grounding any information--from historical details to paranormal world-building--within POV not only provides the reader with a sense of location, but helps her connect to the characters. Details that do not contribute to this goal are expendable. 

With that in mind, consider the following passages. One is from my June 26 release from Pocket Books, STARLIGHT, and the other was taken from Wikipedia. Both describe the Northern Lights.

Being able to name each star held nothing to way he saw the aurora anew. Through her eyes. He had wanted to show her a natural marvel. Instead, she had given him a gift. He saw color like a field of flowers and movement like a dancing angel. Science fell away to reveal only beauty. Now, this moment with Polly wove into each of his veins and promised to remain just as bright.

Auroras seen near the magnetic pole may be high overhead, but from farther away, they illuminate the northern horizon as a greenish glow or sometimes a faint red, as if the Sun were rising from an unusual direction. Discrete aurorae often display magnetic field lines or curtain-like structures, and can change within seconds or glow unchanging for hours, most often in fluorescent green.

The second, factual description is pure research, but readers would be disappointed if that was the full extent of how information was relayed to them in fiction. The description as seen from Alex Christie’s point of view is more personal. He’s a scientist who’s suddenly looking at a familiar sight in very new ways.

That is deep point of view. Take research. Make it personal. Use it to enrich characters and further the plot or romance.

I hope you’ll come along with me as we further explore the concept of deep point of view, and how little tricks and details will enrich your writing. Once you start to see through the eyes of your characters, you’ll never see research or your writing the same way again.

Next up for Carrie:

STARLIGHT, the second full-length romance in the Christies series, is set in Victorian Glasgow. It just received a 4½ stars Top Pick from RT Book Reviews. Then comes Pocket Star digital original, HIS VERY OWN GIRL, an honest to goodness historical romance set in WWII! Available September 4.

Carrie on the internet

Twitter: @carrielofty

FACEBOOK  

 

I hope you will join my class

Beyond Research: Stronger POV

& Effective Use of Detail

Hosted by

Fantasy-Futuristic & Paranormal

Romance Writers

This 2 week class starts July 2nd

For more information click HERE.