Perfect Sunday and Sending to Mom

I've been having a rocky time writing lately, but Sunday was the best day ever.

The boyfriend had to work, and I had nothing to do - the housework and groceries were done (that's what Saturdays are for.) So with a clear conscience and a fridge full of food, I sat and wrote all day. ALL DAY - from 9 to 5. I just got started, and the next thing I knew, it was 5 o'clock. Wonderful.

I did a complete rework of some of my early chapters - not something that's recommended, but in this case it was crucial. I was totally on the wrong track with one of the most important elements of any romance novel: the hero.

You see, my heroine is confident and strong-willed. (she's also shallow and selfish - boy howdy, is she going to learn a few lessons by the end of the book.) I also started with a hero who was confident and strong-willed. But as I wrote it I realized that two confident people would just get together, and the book would be over by page 10.

So I rewrote and made him a little more interesting. And when you change your character, you change your plot (don't know what I mean? Read your Robert McKee.) So I had to change my plot.

I think it's better now, but I've reworked it so thoroughly that I'm not objective anymore. So it's time for the big guns.

That's right - my mother.

My mother is a voracious reader, but a picky one. She's a busy woman. Give her a good book, and she'll rave about it for years. Give her a story that annoys her, and it hits the wall in two chapters with a decisive "Bah!" Things in stories that annoy my mother: 1) jerky asshole men, 2) wimpy pushover men, 3) men that act like idiots without being charming about it, 3) women that act like idiots, especially over men, 4) big misunderstandings, 5) boring writing, 6) sucky plots.

This makes her sound like a terror but it actually makes her a good sounding board. If you ask for her opinion, she'll not only tell you whether it sucks or not, but why, and that's the important part. She's good with specifics.

If it can get past my mother, I have hopes. If not, it's back to the drawing board on Sunday.