Face it. Most of us do not have unlimited funds to attend workshops and conferences on a regular basis, especially those of us who are yet pre-published. So what do we do to improve our technique and therefore increase our chances of getting “the call?”

I’ve recently finished two incredibly helpful books on writing. The first is Syd Field’s The Foundations of Screenwriting. I know what those of you who haven’t read his book are thinking. You write novels, not screenplays. Mr. Field is a plotting genius. He lays out the foundations for a story so simply, in such a plotting-for-dummies kind of way that the only thought running through my head as I read his book was “duh.” Why didn’t I see that before? So that’s where my book should really begin or end or climax or whatever.

After this epiphany, I started on Debra Dixon’s Goal, Motivation & Conflict. Where Mr. Field’s book shines on overall story structure, I found Goal, Motivation & Conflict to be most helpful in developing individual characters and scenes. As in do I need that scene? Or darn it! I spent four days on that scene and it stinks. How do I save it? What is my character doing in this scene and why?

Does anyone else have recommendations for excellent books on the craft of writing? What do you like about them?

Melinda Leigh is an award winning pre-published author of romantic suspense.

http://www.melindaleighauthor.com

Lately I’ve done a lot of thinking about the shifting popularity of fiction genres. Do they reflect the current social condition? Or do people simply need a change now and then?

Are paranormals popular because people are seeking an escape from their whole world? Does it take more of a fantasy element for people to get out of their own heads during stressful times? I’ve also heard on various loops/blogs that comedy is making a comeback. I assume in tough times, people have a harder time getting a good laugh. I

I’ve always loved comedy, even the most inane. My mother-in-law loves movies and books about people dying of diseases. You’d have to duct tape me to the chair to keep me in the same room.

In horror, I’ve always chosen movies and books with supernatural, bordering on silly, creatures and villains. My brain thinks it’s okay to be scared by things that don’t exist. My favorite is Lake Placid. Gotta love a forty-foot crocodile that takes a wrong turn and accidentally migrates into a lake in Maine. But Friday the 13^th? No way. That could actually happen. I don’t need anything else to keep me up at night.

Does anyone else have rationality for the type of entertainment they like best? And does it change based on your personal situation?

Melinda Leigh is an award-winning, yet unpublished, writer of mainstream-leaning romantic suspense novels.

http://www.melindaleighauthor.com/