Join me in welcoming Tawny Webber to the blog today, to chat with us about "the spark." What's that, you ask? I'll let Tawny tell you all about it.
USA TODAY Bestselling author of over twenty hot books, Tawny Weber has been writing sassy, sexy romances since her first Harlequin Blaze hit the shelves in 2007. A fan of Johnny Depp, cupcakes and color coordination, she spends a lot of her time shopping for cute shoes, scrapbooking and hanging out on Facebook.
Readers can check out Tawny’s books at her website, www.tawnyweber.com, or join her Red Hot Readers Club for goodies like free reads, complete first chapter excerpts, recipes, insider story info and much more.
You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest.
Take it away Tawny...
As a reader and a writer, there’s nothing I love more than reading something that sparkles. Not with glitter, ala pixie dust (although that would be cool). I mean that special something that brings the words to life, makes the characters seem real and gives the reader that sense of Wow connection. I call that spark. Some writers do it with intense plots that have the reader holding their breath in anticipation of what comes next. Others create characters that touch hearts and live in the minds of readers long after the cover is closed. There’s suspense spark, humors spark, sexy spark – the list could go on forever. For me, because I’m not an analytical reader, it’s never easy to pinpoint just what creates spark on a page. I just know it when I feel it.
As a writer, it’s a little easier. I know when my writing seems to spark – it’s that special feeling that the words just work. It all comes together and has an edge. It’s not comfortable, it’s not that “oooh that was easy to write” feeling, although its wonderful when that does happen. If I had to give it a label, it would be love. Loving something about the story, for me, gives it life-or spark. If I fall in love with the characters, or I’m so intensely connected to the story and how it plays out, that shows in my pages. If I believe in the story, if I’m emotionally invested, that comes through on the pages. That’s how I felt writing FEARLESS – the characters, the interaction between them simply sang out to me. The friendships between the girls, and the heat between Gia and Luke, those hooked me.
To all the writers out there, when you write, what’s going through your head as you put words to page. Yes, I know the story is there in the forefront –that’s what you’re typing, right? But what’s happening in the background? Doubts? Irritation or apathy? Are you thinking ‘this one is it’? Or are you rereading your latest rejection letter or bad review? IMO, nothing’s better at smothering spark than negativity. Some tools I use when I wrote to keep my focus on the story and not the chattering background voice is music. It just drowns them out *g*. Other ideas are to write down all the worries before you start writing, then rip them to shreds. They have no place in your writing time. Hey, there are plenty of other hours during the day to worry, right? Just not while you’re writing.
Another spark killer? Feedback. Oh, don’t get me wrong, I love feedback as much as the next person (especially good feedback LOL). But there was a time that I entered a lot of contests looking for feedback and I learned fast that if I took everyone’s advice/comments and changed my story to suit those, it would be a sparkless as a glass of tepid water. As much as I respect other’s opinions, the bottom line is the story has to resonate for me. I take two opinions into account when I write – two people that know my writing, know my voice and totally believe in my stories. My CP, and my editor. That’s not to say that I don’t respect reviews and feedback – I do. I store it all, I consider what clicked or didn’t click for readers, and try to keep that in mind as I work on my next story. But the bottom line is it always has to spark for me first.
So how about you? Do you recognize spark when you read? Are there stories that just jump to life off the pages for you? How about in your writing? Can you see when it’s there? Do you have ideas for bringing more spark to your pages?
About Fearless
Promising career: check Amazing apartment: check
The best of friends: check
Sex life: MIA
There’s just one thing missing from Gia Renyard’s life: sexual adventure. And the one man she’d like to have it with is her hot co-worker, Luke Monroe. If only company rules didn’t prohibit her from asking him out. So Gia comes up with a plan: make herself over into a fantasy seductress, follow Luke to a convention in Sin City, and have her way with him for one erotic weekend. The man will never even know who did him.
Everything is going according to plan—until Gia discovers that Luke is perfect for her outside the bedroom too. And suddenly she’s no longer content to let what happens in Vegas stay in Vegas…
Buy Fearless at:
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I know I have a good story when it becomes an obsession. Given my ADD and the fact that I usually have half-a-dozen stories playing in my head any given day, that one story that can outshout all others is the one with spark.
ReplyDeleteI love the classics! Of Mice and Men, Harry Potter, LOTR, all these sparked for me tremendously.
Ooh, the spark! One thing I've noticed is that it can be a little subjective -what sparks for me when I read doesn't always spark for my friends. I read every Gillian Bradshaw book I could get my hands on after I discovered her children's book, `The Dragon and the Thief.' Her hero is smart and awesome, his encounters with the villain gave me delicious suspense shivers, and the book is a fantasy set in ancient Egypt. How cool is that?
ReplyDeleteMy mom (who I forced to read it by shoving the book into her hands) still can't figure out why I'm so crazy about it. She thinks it's `an okay book.' (Sigh.)