Tag: writing

writing

My Process: How I write fiction

Julia Bennet
Full disclosure: This isn’t my typewriter. I don’t know whose typewriter this is. I bet it’d be a pain in the arse to write a whole book on it.. Nonetheless, it’s pretty. I use a Desktop, which is nowhere near as photogenic.

Let’s be honest, there’s no one right way of doing this. We find what works for us and whatever it is becomes our process. We’re always refining it. But if you’re just starting out and/or struggling, it can be useful to hear what other writers do. Like finding a map when you’re hopelessly lost.

Step one: Have an idea

Honestly, this is easier said than done. No one knows where ideas come from because they come from everywhere. Books we read, films we see, song lyrics, dreams, a random comment someone makes. I have lots of ideas, but I can’t always see how to develop them into a full-length novel. What works for me is to pick whichever idea has the most details sticking to it. For me, that means I see an image on Pinterest (or somewhere else) and it makes me think about my story. Maybe it’s the face of a character in an old painting. Maybe it’s an antique chair I can imagine them sitting on. If details start to stick to your idea, it’s a sign it might be the one to focus on.

Step two: Start writing

Full disclosure: These are not my writing implements. Mine are like this but imagine more mess and dirt.

I write two drafts at once. Sort of. For example, I write the first draft of scene one in longhand. When it’s finished, I type it into Word, developing, expanding, and fixing as I go. The end result is the second draft of scene one. I repeat this process for every scene.

What happens if you get blocked?

If I’m stuck and the words won’t flow, I make myself write 100 words every day. 100 is hardly any but, by the time I get that far, I often find I can keep going. If I can’t, I let myself stop for the day, patting myself on the back for hitting the minimum amount. I keep doing this until the block goes. I use the free time to work on marketing, research or just reading.

But what if you’re still stuck with no idea how to progress the plot?

I print off the entire manuscript so far and go through it with a red pen. Usually by the time I’ve typed up the changes and rewritten sections, I’ve figured out how to go on. If not, I go through the entire document again. And again. And,if necessary, again.

Step three: Revising

Once I have a complete second draft, I reread the entire thing. Sometimes I print it out and use red pen. When I have a complete draft I can read out loud to myself without wanting to change anything, it’s ready to show my agent and my editor.

Feel free to ask any questions in the comments.

Rants

Julia vs the Facebook Advertising Policy

Julia Bennet

I don’t do rants often, but I’m feeling a little irritated.

GIF of Sister Michael from Derry Girls, via tenor.

As you probably know by now, I just released my debut novel, The Madness of Miss Grey. It’s hard to get a book by a brand new author noticed, so I’ve been trying a bit of everything including (and despite hearing decidedly mixed opinions as to their effectiveness) Facebook ads. The Madness of Miss Grey is an historical romance with the sort of cover most historical romance covers have. In case you’ve forgotten (as if I’d let you,) here it is:

The Madness of Miss Grey cover

Not exactly Caligula, is it? In fact, let’s compare:

Caligula (1979) Blu-ray cover, via imdb.

Nope, not Caligula.

Nevertheless my ad was refused because “it includes an image or video depicting people performing seductive or implied sexual acts.”

Which sexual act? Kissing? Both people are fully dressed (okay, his shirt is unbuttoned, but she’s shielding his modesty with her body). Her back is to him. Surely there must be some mistake, right? So, I appealed and was once again denied.

GIF of Emperor Commodus ( Joaquin Phoenix ) from the movie Gladiator (2000) , via tenor

Let me tell you, it’s going to be tricky advertising this book without showing the cover. So, for the first time in my life, I bothered to read Facebook’s advertising policy with regard to sexy content. You too can partake of this joy:

No artistic nudity even if it’s only implied. No hot women in bed even if they’re alone and covered in a sheet. No cleavage because women’s bodies are just too inflaming. Won’t someone think of the children? Won’t someone think of the poor men (for they cannot control themselves)?

And that’s not all.

No eating a banana! That banana is clearly meant to imply something! No couple in bed even if we mostly see just feet. We know what’s going on under that sheet and it’s something dirty! No bare man chest. (Actually, that one took me by surprise. There was me thinking only female bodies are rude.) Oh, but artistic nudity is fine after all, as long as it’s a statue or a painting. Put a woman next to him and I’m thinking it’d be a different story because then they might be about to do…stuff. Not sure what would happen if it was a statue of two naked men. Facebook might put a red x by it or they might take the view common to so many elderly male historians that two naked men in art are always and only best buds.

Sister Michael from Derry Girls, via tenor

No, Sister Michael, this isn’t hell. This is 2019. Hard to believe, I know.

history

History as a Moving Target: Did Victorian doctors really use clitoral stimulation to treat hysteria?

Julia Bennet

As a history geek who also writes historical romance, I do a lot of research. One of the things that strikes me is how our image of the past is less fixed than we think. The 19th century as written by Jane Austen differs drastically from the version we find in a primary document like The Maiden Tribute of Modern Babylon. And, contrary to what I’ve read in romance novel reviews over the years, members of the ton occasionally married sex workers (e.g. Elizabeth Armistead, Lady Meux etc.), trans people existed, and same sex couples occasionally lived together happily and even occasionally *gasp!* openly.

I’ve always been fascinated by Victorian sexuality, probably because it diverges so widely from the stereotype promulgated by nineteenth century novels. The idea that Victorian doctors used clitoral stimulation to treat female hysterics has long been accepted as fact. There’s even a book about it written by an actual scholar and published by John Hopkins University Press. So it must be true, right?

EPSON scanner Image

There’s even a (very fun) film about the invention of the vibrator. Here’s the trailer in case you’re interested. Which you should be because Rupert Everett is in it.

When I started writing The Madness of Miss Grey, I certainly believed Maines’s research to be solid. There was never a draft of my story where this particular treatment was practiced; I was writing historical romance, not historical fiction, and I decided including scenes (in which inmates of a lunatic asylum are masturbated to orgasm to relieve hysteria) presented too much of an ethical minefield.

How could such a thing have been true given what we know (or think we know) about Victorian society? According to Maines, the medical profession didn’t view clitoral stimulation as sexual because they had a woefully penis-centric attitude to intercourse. This didn’t jibe well with what some primary sources had to say regarding the Victorian belief that female orgasm was necessary for procreation, but I reasoned that, then as now, different doctors held differing opinions. I wonder if, on some level, I wanted to believe it because it’s so titillating (see the trailer above) and because the artwork is seductive:

CURE (2)
Cure

I came across opposing opinions, particularly Dr. Fern Riddell and Oneill Therese, but it wasn’t until I read this article that I realized I was going to have to reassess my beliefs. Maines responds to criticism of her book by declaring her ideas only an “hypothesis,” adding :

“I never claimed to have evidence that this was really the case.”

As the article states, “she was a little surprised it took so long for other scholars to question her argument, given how admittedly “slender” the evidence she gave in The Technology of Orgasm was. “I thought people were going to attack it right away. But it’s taken 20 years for people to even—people didn’t want to question it. They liked it so much they didn’t want to attack it.””

As someone who has read The Technology of Orgasm, this may be true, but her tone was certainly authoritative.

So, can we definitively say that Victorian doctors didn’t use clitoral stimulation to treat hysterics? Well… not really. As with so much of history, we can’t be absolutely sure. Maines includes a lot of very suggestive stuff. But if we can’t be 100% certain, it’s still fair to say there’s little to no evidence.

Fortunately, it wasn’t hard to remove and adapt the few references in The Madness of Miss Grey. It just goes to show that, even when you’ve done the research, even when you think you know what the past was like, you really don’t. Whether its historical fiction, historical romance, or even non-fiction we’re writing or reading, we’re all imagining our own versions of the past.

Writer's Life

The Query Letter That Got Me My Agent (with commentary from Jessica Alvarez of Bookends Literary Agency)

Julia Bennet

Snoopy

(Image via Pinterest.com)

When I wrote my first query letter, I was deeply grateful to all the authors who’d shared their successful letters on the internet. It would seem wrong somehow if I didn’t share mine. This wasn’t the first manuscript I queried. Although I got very lucky (as you’re about to see) I’ve spent quite a bit of time in the query trenches, and I know how frustrating the process can be.

Here’s the query for The Madness of Miss Grey, then titled Heart of Ice:

Dear Ms Alvarez,

Everyone thinks Helen Grey is mad. She certainly causes plenty of trouble at Blackwell, the crumbling asylum where she’s been imprisoned for the last ten years. New doctor William Carter seems decent, honorable, and eager to help. Just the sort of man she can trick into helping her escape.

Will knows he’s being manipulated, but he also realizes Helen doesn’t belong at Blackwell. Getting her out won’t be easy, not for a mere housekeeper’s son educated above his station, and not when her mysterious benefactor is determined to keep her locked up forever.

Helen and Will need to work together if she’s ever going to be free. As their uneasy partnership turns to tender friendship, neither foresees the passion they’ll find in each other’s arms or the love that will save them both.

Heart of Ice is the first in a series I’m calling Dysfunctional Dukes about a family so messed up I call them the anti-Bridgertons. I am currently working on the second installment which is about Helen’s brother.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Best wishes,

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying it’s perfect. Not by any means. For one thing, I didn’t personalize it. Though some agents prefer you to get straight to the pitch, just as many say they appreciate when an author includes why they’ve chosen to query that agent/agency in particular. If I could go back in time, I’d probably start with something like:

Dear Ms Alvarez,

I’ve been following you on twitter for a year or two. Earlier today, I spotted your #PitMad tweet which said that, though you weren’t taking part, you were open to queries.

Almost the first thing Jessica asked when she contacted me was why I queried her, so I certainly should have included the information.

An interruption from Jessica: It’s funny; I don’t remember asking you why you’d queried me. I actually normally don’t care too much about that or whether a query is personalized to me, though I know there are those agents who do care. I may have been trying to figure out if you were a #PitMad submission, but no matter now, it all worked out.

Back to Julia: Bookends uses Query Manager, which is why the original query doesn’t include word count, setting, and genre. I entered that information as part of the online form. When querying agencies by regular email, I’d add a line to the above paragraph, something like:

Please consider my 80,000 word historical romance set in late-Victorian Yorkshire.

Still, despite its imperfections, this query had a 100% success rate, (something that would be more impressive if I hadn’t only queried three agents).

Another interruption from Jessica: There were several things that grabbed me with your query. I love the idea of a tortured, possibly mad heroine, and the entire concept struck me immediately as a fresh spin on Laura Kinsale’s Flowers from the Storm. That’s one of my all-time favorites and quite possibly the greatest asylum romance to ever exist, imho. And right away I could tell there was going to be some juicy conflict with the doctor/patient relationship and him coming from humble beginnings. To top it off, I loved the way you described your series as being the anti-Bridgertons—any historical reader will immediately get that, and I can’t get enough of dysfunctional families. So, maybe there are a few things to quibble with, but really, I think the query was spot-on and it hooked me. Plus, it was so good that I basically stole your entire query, so I think you can claim more wins than just 3 for 3

Back to Julia: However, months later, when we pitched the manuscript to Entangled, Alethea Spiridon, the acquiring editor, requested a refined version more in keeping with their brand. I worked with Jessica and the rest of the Bookends team to produce this:

Everyone thinks Helen Grey is mad but, despite ten years imprisoned in Blackwell, a crumbling Yorkshire asylum, she’s managed to cling to sanity. When a new doctor arrives, she sees an opportunity. William Carter is honorable and eager to help. Despite his rigid moral code, desire burns in his eyes. Her pretty face and generous curves are her best weapons and she knows he’ll be a pleasure to seduce…and trick into helping her escape.

Will knows he’s being manipulated, but he intends to help Helen no matter what. She’s no more mad than he is. Though he would never bed a patient, his yearning for Helen torments him. The more time Will spends in this beautiful schemer’s company, the harder it is to resist temptation.

Helen and Will need to work together if she’s ever going to be free. It won’t be easy, not when her mysterious benefactor is determined to keep her locked up and hidden from society forever. When Helen is entangled in her own trap and begins to fall for Will too, she must fight not only for her liberty but for her right to love.

The first one is more restrained (restrained is my comfort zone), but I think the new version does a better job of selling the book.

So, keep working on your query, listen to advice when advice is given, and with luck, you’ll find an agent and an editor who are right for you and your manuscript.

 

Writer's Life

Writing Contests and Their Wily Ways.

Julia Bennet

All You Need

Contests are funny things. Writers differ as to how useful they find them. Personally, I think they’re a good way of getting feedback. It’s a way of testing yourself against other writers and their work. How good am I compared to my competition? Obviously they’re subjective … but then so is reading.  You’re never going to write something that everyone loves, so with contests there’s an element of luck of the draw. If I have the good fortune to be matched with judges who like my voice, I’ll do well.

Recently I was a double finalist in the 2017 Romance through the Ages contest. As if that wasn’t thrilling enough, when the preliminary results came back, I found that I was entering the next round with a perfect score. Which meant that at least three people (who are not my mum, husband, or friend) absolutely loved what I’d written. This was prize enough in itself, to be honest.

Unfortunately for me and despite how much the initial judges loved my story, the final round judge liked it least of the three finalists, and I came in third. You would think I’d be disappointed and I was (because who doesn’t enter a contest hoping to win?) but only a little bit. That particular judge had truly loved my first manuscript and so I’d had high hopes she would connect with my second, but them’s the breaks. I reasoned that, even in the case of my absolute favorite author, I don’t love every single thing she’s written.

So I didn’t win and the world didn’t end. The fact is, rejection can be good for you if you use it to help toughen your skin.

Anyway, months prior, I entered the Golden Heart contest. While of course I’d love to win the Golden Heart, the competition is so fierce that I didn’t expect to final. And I didn’t. I shrugged that particular defeat off instantly, but then, a few weeks after the Romance through the Ages results came out, I got my Golden Heart scores back. It’s such a massive contest that it takes them a very long time to get the results back to everyone and I’d honestly forgotten that I was supposed to be waiting for them. I opened them up with only mild curiosity.

Oh my god, you guys. My preliminary round score was 9.166666667. Out of 10. Which put it well into the top quarter. Hats off to the ladies who actually finalled. They must have got perfect 10s or near enough. I was absolutely thrilled. Ironically, the contest I didn’t final in was the one that left me elated in the end.

But I’m glad I entered both.

With the Golden Heart, you don’t get feedback from your judges, but with the Romance through the Ages, I got three critiques which were helpful and also full of some truly lovely compliments, both of which are extra fuel to keep you writing.

Entering a contest is like getting on a roller-coaster. There are highs and lows and there’s a chance you’ll spew. Yet ultimately the experience can toughen you, and help you improve your craft. (Okay, that last bit isn’t true of roller-coasters but I think the metaphor stands.)

(Image found on Pinterest.)