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Have you ever noticed how many romance authors
are former journalists? No one's suggesting you
have to sign on with the National Enquirer
for a stint before you can write a romance novel,
but some of the tools of the reporter's trade
can come in very handy when writing your novel.
My first job out of university, with my English
Literature degree still wet, was with a community
newspaper. I was the newsroom gopher -- answering
phones, proofreading, and writing articles. This
happened a while ago, you understand, before everything
was computerized and our articles had to be waxed
and pasted down onto flats that were driven to
the printers. We wrote by column inches. If you
had fifteen inches and came in at sixteen, a paste-up
person (okay, we called them monkeys) would take
their exacto knife and slice off the final inch.
If you were lucky, they'd do it at the end of
a sentence. Ditto if you thought you had fifteen
inches and an ad came in larger than expected.
Ads pay for space, articles don't. Slice.
I forgot my essay-style writing of building
up to a stunning conclusion and learned to reverse
the process. In fact, I learned a lot of things
in that job. Here are just a few.
Get the important information right
up front. In a newspaper article it would
be the lead paragraph; in a romance it's the first
sentence, the first scene. Who, What, When, Where,
Why? Those famous five questions of the journalist
must be answered, or at least alluded to, in order
to pull the reader into your romance. Who is this
story about? What's going on? What's the problem
they are facing? When is this happening? Where
is it located? Why is the most critical question.
Why should the reader care? Why should they read
on?
Make every word count. This
is especially true in freelancing where writers
are paid by the word. In novels, where there are
so many words, it's easy to let freeloaders jump
on board. Ask yourself, would you pay for this
word? This sentence? This paragraph?
Respect deadlines. In a newspaper
a missed deadline often kills the story and doesn't
do a journalist's reputation any good. Romance
editors work on schedules, too. Meet your deadlines
and if for some reason you can't, let your editor
know as soon as possible. Deadlines can also be
your friends. I admit to being a bit of a deadline
junkie. I produce a lot more when I know I must.
Get into the deadline habit even if you're not
yet published. Contests are great. You can also
commit to your own deadlines. Write them down.
Challenge a fellow author to complete a novel
by a certain date. Writing goals down and making
them public really does help.
Choose your quotes carefully.
Journalists will condense an interview that may
have lasted fifteen minutes or an hour into a
few words or lines. The quotes they choose are
those that best represent the character and point
of view of the person being interviewed—and,
of course, the words that make the reader want
to find out more. This is a great skill for romance
dialogue. Don't let your characters ramble on
the way people do in real life. Get to the good
stuff. Journalists also pay attention to body
language, facial expression, and listen to what's
not being said as well as what is. Start paying
attention to unspoken communication, especially
when someone is in conflict or under stress.
Write the right word. Words
are the tools of our trade. Keep your vocabulary
in top working order and try to choose the best
word for the context. Also, remember, these are
words not the crown jewels. Editors will edit
them, and this is a good thing. Nothing improves
a good writer like a good editor.
Research pays off. Facts and
significant details add enormously to the authentic
feel of a novel. And don't overlook the local
newspaper for story ideas.
Nancy Warren (who), a former journalist
(what), went back to the newsroom for
a Temptation, Duets trilogy set in rival newspaper
offices. HOT OFF THE PRESS is a February (when)
Temptation, and will be followed in April by A
HICKEY FOR HARRIET and A CRADLE FOR CAROLINE,
a Double Duets. Visit Nancy on the web at www.nancywarren.net
(where) for excerpts, contests and news
updates (why).
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