Tag: Reference

Review: On Writing Romance by Leigh Michaels.

Posted January 31, 2009 by Rowena in Reviews | 1 Comment


Grade: 4.5 out of 5

In On Writing Romance, award-winning romance novelist Leigh Michaels talks you through each stage of the writing and publishing process. From the origins and evolution of the romance novel to establishing a vital story framework to writing that last line to seeking out appropriate publishers, everything you ever wanted to know about writing a romance novel is here.

In addition to a comprehensive breakdown of more than thirty romance subgenres, including such categories as historical, inspirational, Regency, and sweet traditional, you’ll discover how to:

* Steer clear of clichés and stereotypes by studying the genre
* Craft engaging and realistic heroes and heroines readers will adore
* Convincingly develop the central couple’s blossoming relationship
* Add conflict by utilizing essential secondary characters like the “other woman”
* Use tension and timing to make your love scenes sizzle with sensuality
* Get your characters to happily-ever-after with an ending readers will always remember

Plus, read a sample query letter, cover letter, and synopsis, and learn how to properly prepare your romance novel for submission to agents and editors. On Writing Romance has everything you need to leave readers swooning!

I think of all the books that I’ve read on writing, this one is my favorite. It’s not cute and it’s not funny but it’s very informative and even though it’s packed to the brim with information you need to know about the romance genre, the market and everything else, it’s not a boring book. I found myself marking this book like I would a text book, wanting to remember key notes and things like that.

It was a very good writing tool to have. It’s got all sorts of information that some of the other books had as well but this one was just easier for me to get into. It’s got everything you need to know about writing a romance novel, building a plot, finding out which sub genre of romance you’re most suited to write and everything else you could ever dream of knowing and it’s all written in a way that you don’t have to have a dictionary handy to understand what the hell the author is trying to say.

If ever there was a book on writing romance that you must have, it’s this one. You’ll learn so much and get so fired up to start writing because Leigh Michaels does that great a job of teaching you everything you should know about the romance genre, everything you need to know to help you write a fabulous heroine and a swoonworthy hero. Everything is in this book so if you’re trying to write that fantastic romance novel and need a few pointers….this is the book for you.

This book is available from Writer’s Digest Books. You can buy it here.

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Review: No Plot? No Problem! by Chris Baty.

Posted December 5, 2008 by Rowena in Reviews | 5 Comments


Grade: 4.75 out of 5

At midnight tonight the train departs. Fifty thousand words. Thirty days. An unforgettable ride.

You’ve always wanted to write, but….just haven’t gotten around to it. No Plot? No Problem! is the kick in the pants you’ve been waiting for.

Let Chris Baty, founder of the rockin’ literary marathon National Novel Writing Month (a.k.a. NaNoWriMo), guide you through four exciting weeks of hard-core noveling. Baty’s pep talks and essential survival strategies cover the initial momentum and energy of week One, the critical “plot flashes” of Week Two, the “Can I quit now?” impulses of Week Three ,and the champagne and roar of the crowd during Week Four. Wether you’re a first-time novelist who just can’t seem to get pen to paper or a results-oriented writer seeking a creative on-ramp into the world of publishing, this is the adventure for you.

So what are you waiting for? The No Plot? approach worked for the thousands of people who’ve signed up for NaNoWriMo, and it can work for you! Let No Plot? No Problem! help you get fired up and on the right track.

As you can probably tell by now, the only books that I’m reading right now are the reference books on how to become a great, fantabulous writer, I’ve also been reading some romance books so I’ll get to those reviews in a little bit, I promise.

I’ve never been much of a reference book reader. I usually just google shit up and learn about them on the internet but as I got ready to buckle down to start some major writing for NaNoWriMo, I started getting books from my friends at work on writing. I got The Everything Guide to Writing a Romance Novel, On Writing Romance, See Jane Write, Will Write For Shoes and then I walked into the bookstore one night and walked out with this book, No Plot? No Problem!

I signed up for NaNoWriMo in October and really got into things on the NaNoWriMo website, I signed up for the Los Angeles Region, I made some really awesome friends and writing buddies and then because I saw messages being passed on our region forum that there were going to be people writing at my local Borders, I decided to show up and check things out.

I didn’t bring my laptop with me because I couldn’t stay very long but I wanted to see how these little write in’s were and I wanted to see if anybody actually showed up to it and even though I walked around and didn’t see any hot dang body writing away on their laptops, I did come across this little bad boy of a book here. I opened it up and began reading and about 3 chapters in, I decided to purchase it.

This book was a great one. It had me laughing and nodding right along with it throughout the entire book. Everything that goes through your mind when you’re trucking along with NaNoWriMo is all in this book. Everything you need to know to keep you on track is in this book. It was funny, it was insightful and I just really enjoyed all of it. Chris Baty has a way with words that keeps you turning the pages and it took me no time at all to finish this and it’s funny because as probably any NaNoWriMoer would say, it was like this book was written just for me. That’s how I felt about it anyway, I started this book and thought, oh wow, I know exactly how that feels and it was just great to read this book while I was writing because it had a lot of great advice on how to keep on keepin’ on and it was just a great motivator for me.

I recommend this book to any of those writers out there participating in NaNoWriMo and need a swift kick in the ass to meet your word goals for the week, day, whatever. This book speaks to all writers out there on how to get your novel written and it makes you laugh while you learn what you need to, to get that book written.

If you haven’t participated in NaNoWriMo but you enjoy writing, I strongly urge you guys participate next year, I had a blast and can’t wait!

This book is available from Chronicle Books. You can buy it here.

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Review: See Jane Write by Sarah Mlynowski and Farrin Jacobs.

Posted November 26, 2008 by Rowena in Reviews | 2 Comments

Grade: 4 out of 5

With chick lit novels popping up on every bestselling list, millions of readers are all thinking the same thing: I could write this stuff. I could write a bestseller and never go back to the office again! and here’s the guide that will show you how. Bestselling novelist Sarah Mlynowski and veteran chick lit editor Farrin Jacobs cover every stage of developing and selling your soon-to-be bestselling novel, with information on -developing an idea -deciding on a point of view -making your characters likeable -learning the basics of plotting, pacing and conflict -finding an agent -and much more, including humorous tips and advice from scores of established writers (from Meg Cabot and Marian Keyes to Emily Giffin and Sophie Kinsella). If you’ve got stories to tell, See Jane Write will take care of the rest!

I know that this book isn’t a romance novel or even a book but I’ve always reviewed all of the books that I’ve read and I wanted to keep up with that so because I read this book, I will be reviewing it…and now on with the review.

I like to write.

Will I ever become a published author? Meh, I don’t know but even if I never did it wouldn’t stop me from writing. I write because I just feel like it. But I wanted to get serious about writing a really good story so with the help of my awesome friends, they’ve gotten me some really great How To guidebooks and this was one of them.

So far, this is the prettiest book that I’ve read about writing. I’ve always thought about writing a chick lit book and I’m thinking that maybe I will after I’m done with the story that I’m writing now. This book had a lot of great advice for a young writer like myself (and I’m still young dammit) and I really enjoyed reading this book. It wasn’t filled to the brim with boring tid bits of what to do and what not to do. This book kept my attention and it gave me a lot of insight to what works for well established chick lit authors like Meg Cabot, Sophie Kinsella, Melissa Senate and you know, authors like that.

Writing is not an easy hobby and finishing a story takes a whole lot of dedication and this book helped me through some of the things that I struggle with in my own writing so I’m really glad that I read it. It was fast, fun and definitely insightful. What made this book great was that it was written by both a chick lit author and a successful chick lit editor so we got to see how things are done, what editors/pubs are looking for in a great chick lit book.

I really enjoyed the little “It Happened to Me” tid bits added by random authors and all of the little character sketches were a really big hit with me since I do something similiar to this and as a whole, this book was just a fun read, at the same time that it was very informational and got me inside the collective brains of some of my favorite chick lit authors.

I’m glad that I read this book and will look forward to seeing how things turn out for me. Should you read this? If you want to get serious about writing chick lit books then by all means, handle that scandal…this book helped me out some, so I’m sure it’ll help you out. It’s got a pretty cover and great font, so that was a big hit with me too!

This book is available from Quirk Books. You can buy it here.

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