romance novels

What Is the Goal of Ranting?

January 26, 2012 Writing Stuff
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*sigh*  It’s happened again.  An author has insulted other authors and a huge percentage of readers.  Why do people do this? Between social media, the interrelationships of the publishing industry, and the permanent nature of the internet, news of negativity travels far and wide.  Sure, we can’t spout unicorns and rainbows all the time, but [...]

Tagged as: advice for writers, Jami Gold, Jami's rants, paranormal author, professionalism, romance fans, romance haters, romance novels, social media

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Do You Enjoy Fantastical Stories?

November 29, 2011 Random Musings
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We’ve talked about the importance of keeping our stories believable, but the fantasy genre (and all its subgenres) require certain aspects to be unrealistic. Character types and plot points involving dragons, superheroes, vampires, etc. are all beyond the reality of our world.  What does that mean for the reader? A few weeks ago, my friend [...]

Tagged as: genre, Jami Gold, non-fiction, paranormal author, romance haters, romance novels, Wendy Sparrow

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What Makes a Story Feel Unrealistic?

November 10, 2011 Writing Stuff
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With fiction, a fine line exists between stories we can relate to (no matter how fantastical the setting, characters, or plot) and those we can’t. We’ve all heard the phrase “suspension of disbelief” in relation to movies and books to explain how we accept the impossible. Every genre has different “But that’s impossible!” hurdles to [...]

Tagged as: advice for writers, genre, Jami Gold, love, page turning stories, paranormal author, romance haters, romance novels

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Religion in Novels: Terrific or Taboo? — Guest: Jody Hedlund

September 22, 2011 Writing Stuff
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I’m excited to share today’s guest post with you because in addition to being a lovely person, Jody Hedlund runs a fantastic blog for writers.  As if that wasn’t enough, she’s also graciously arranged for a book giveaway of her latest release, The Doctor’s Lady (see bottom of post for details). Jody writes historical romance stories that touch on [...]

Tagged as: advice for writers, authors, book giveaway, genre, guest blogs, information dump, Jami Gold, Jody Hedlund, paranormal author, professionalism, romance novels, social media

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Where Do You Get Your Ideas?

September 15, 2011 Writing Stuff
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Artists of every type find inspiration all around them, and writers are no exception.  Ideas might come in the form of a dream, a “what if” question, an overheard conversation, etc. Those are all fairly normal sources of inspiration.  Personally, I’ve been inspired by dreams, “what if”s, an 80′s music video, a mutation of another [...]

Tagged as: feedback, Jami Gold, Jami is insane, listening to characters, muse, page turning stories, paranormal author, romance novels, story openings, story seed

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What’s the Hardest Scene You’ve Ever Written?

September 1, 2011 Writing Stuff
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(Note: I am not Tawna Fenske, so that title is not a euphemism for anything.  Sorry.  However, this post might include a reference to a shower scene of one woman with two guys.  Or not.) I mentioned last time that one day of the weekend was taken up by writing-related stuff.  What I didn’t mention [...]

Tagged as: advice for writers, feedback, Jami Gold, Jami is insane, listening to characters, muse, paranormal author, plotter vs. pantser, risk, romance novels

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How Do You React When Strangers Read Your Work?

August 4, 2011 Writing Stuff
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I have a strange confession for you all: It freaks me out when strangers read my work. I’m not talking about how I’m surprised that any of you read my blog.  I mean, I am still surprised by that, but we talk on Twitter, we comment on each other’s blogs, we Google Friend Connect each other, [...]

Tagged as: authors, beta reader, blogging, branding, Jami Gold, Jami is insane, paranormal author, professionalism, romance novels, Twitter

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A Rating System for Books, Part Two: How Can We Include Context?

August 2, 2011 Random Musings
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Thanks once again to all who responded to my last blog post about whether books should have a rating system.  And I say that not just because I didn’t need my flame-proof jacket.  *smile* Many shared thoughtful ideas here on my blog, Google+, and Twitter that helped me refine my opinion.  If you haven’t read that article [...]

Tagged as: antagonist, beta reader, book ratings, feedback, head-hopping, Jami Gold, omniscient, paranormal author, point-of-view, romance novels, Twitter

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Are Romance Heroes Good Role Models?

February 8, 2011 Random Musings
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In preparation for Valentine’s Day, a recent USA Today article gave the relationship advice that a man should: “look into her eyes, focus on what she says and really talk to her.”  Wow, earth-shattering ideas. Or not.  The suggestion to treat a woman like a person and not just a collection of body parts is nothing new. [...]

Tagged as: character archetypes, character flaws, Jami Gold, Jami's rants, love, paranormal author, romance fans, romance haters, romance novels, romance novels are not porn, strong characters

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How to Avoid Head-Hopping

February 3, 2011 Writing Stuff
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We’ve learned that head-hopping should be avoided if we want to maintain a strong connection between the reader and the characters, and we’ve learned that just calling something omniscient doesn’t solve the head-hopping problem. This brings up the obvious question: How do we avoid head-hopping? The answer might be different for each story we write. [...]

Tagged as: advice for writers, genre, head-hopping, Jami Gold, omniscient, page turning stories, paranormal author, point-of-view, romance novels, Simon C. Larter

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