Q&A

Q. Thanks for being here to answer questions. Mine is about character growth. I've read where your characters should grow/change in your story. I realize this is an important factor in development and satisfactory endings, but how important is it for both hero/heroine to have this change?

A. I fervently believe a strong character arc is indeed crucial to creating a story that satisfies the reader, at least a reader of romantic fiction.  Without that all-important life change between point A and point B, the story will seem flat, its happily ever after ending far less compelling.  From my own experience, when I’ve read a book or seen a movie without a definite character arc for the main character, it seems as if the story went nowhere.  I’m left with a sense of disappointment.

Q. I have a tendency to create too many (and too vivid) visual images of my characters.  Is there a set rule on how much to reveal?  One sentence per scene?  Six?

A. If by “visual images” you mean describing your characters’ physical characteristics, the adage “less is more” applies.  Your readers will want to know their eye color, hair color, hair length/style and body type.  I generally try to get all those details in the first time I’m in the other character’s POV.  I avoid using language so flowery it would distract the reader (e.g., her eyes were the emerald of a verdant Amazonian jungle in spring), while still locking in that mental picture.

Here’s an example from HIS MIRACLE BABY when the hero first sees the heroine.  He’s known her for some time, but hasn’t seen her in a year.  This excerpt is from the second page of the book.

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Despite his better judgment, Logan stared at her, at her lush mouth, her high cheekbones, her exotic, light brown eyes.  She was so slim he could span the waist of her cream colored slacks with his hands and his palms itched to do just that.  Her arms, bared by her sleeveless v-neck, were faintly sun-kissed, their warmth another temptation to touch.

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Later in the book, while in Logan’s POV, I mention her eye color occasionally and her hair when it adds a sensual element.  The same as regards to what she is wearing, although I make clothing descriptions as brief as possible.  Certainly I describe her skin and the curves of her body during the love scenes.  But once I’ve put that mental picture into the reader’s mind, I leave it up to them to remember and fill in the details.  If nothing else, they can flip to the cover of the book. ;^)

Q. Karen, do you believe in doing interview chats with your characters? If so, any tips for making the non-communicative ones TALK?

A. First of all, I want to make it clear I do not talk out loud to my characters (nope, not me...that’s not my voice you hear drifting from my office).  I do however fill out a lengthy questionnaire for each character (my hero and heroine, anyway).  The questionnaire starts with the physical stuff, then gets into the internal issues--family background, moments in the character’s life that had an impact on them.  I also tend to keep a “notes” document where I keep tabs on certain story and character details.  So in a sense, I interview my characters.  But never out loud.  That would be crazy, right?

 As far as non-communicative characters go, my antenna immediately go up.  So, why don’t you want to talk, I ask (silently, of course)?  What about your background keeps you mum?  Problems with your mother, your father?  Your ex-wife cheated on you?  You lost your child?

No one in this world is a blank slate and your characters shouldn’t be either.  Something made them what they are at the moment your story starts.  You have to create that past life for them

Q. Any suggestions for what to do when editors say "I didn't find the characters sympathetic enough to fully engage with" and "characters weren't as  dynamic as I'd hoped." 

A. I've received this feedback myself from editors and it's a bit maddening, because it seems so vague.  As a consequence, it's difficult to put a finger on what it is about your characters that didn't pass muster.

Time and experience have taught me that what is likely missing in your characterization, where it is lacking the "zing" that the editor is looking for, can be found in your characters’ backstories and conflicts.  While judging contests, I've read so many promising, well-written manuscripts that fizzled because the hero and heroine lacked powerful internal conflicts that should keep them apart.

What is an internal conflict?  It’s a problem within the hero or heroine that only he or she can solve.  Something so deep-seated, it informs every choice the character makes.  Something so enormous, it should seem to your reader that nothing will ever heal that wound.  Of course, love for the other person in your story will prove to be the magic key, but even that should be hard-won.

I like to use as an example my hero Lucas Taylor in my first Silhouette Special Edition, THE BOSS’S BABY BARGAIN.  His mother was an alcoholic and he spent his childhood in and out of foster care.  His mother let him down countless times, getting sober long enough to regain custody of her son, then falling off the wagon and losing him again.  Then, when his mother finally seemed to have her act together, was staying clean and sober, their apartment caught fire.  Lucas burned himself trying--and failing--to save her life.

Think about the load Lucas is carrying.  He fears caring for anyone--they might disappear from his life at any time.  He doubts the power of love--it neither kept his mother from drinking nor saved her life.  And guilt over his inability to save his mother from the fire is a thousand pound weight on his heart.

These are big, big issues that will require a novel-length story to resolve.  The trick is to make a sympathetic character out of this harsh and hard-edged man.  I had to make sure there were moments of generosity and kindness that demonstrated his true nature, showed us the Lucas that might have been if his life had not been so tragic.

So think hard about your characters’ backstories, what in their past has built the walls around their heart.  Make those conflicts seemingly insurmountable, show glimmers of their true selves through the chinks in their armor.  Love may conquer all, but for an interesting, engaging story, love needs a worthy opponent.

Q. What do you like best about being a writer?

A. I don't know if I have one absolute favorite. If I had to make a list, flexibility would be near the top--the fact that I can set any work schedule I want. With two busy teenage boys and a husband who likes a little attention once in a while, it's nice to have a job I can fit in anywhere, anytime. Making up characters and telling stories is a lot of fun, too. I also enjoy the excitement of seeing my name on the cover of a book.

Q. When you write a book, do you edit as you go along or wait until you're finished?

A. What's worked best for me is to just write, without stopping to edit, without looking back over what I wrote the day before. I keep reminding myself I can fix problems later; there's no need to spend time on them now. That way, I'm always adding pages, always moving forward. For me, going back to edit would bring my creative process to a grinding halt. So I don't dare start re-writing until I've finished the book.

I will go back sometimes if I have a new idea that needs to be added to previously written pages. But I generally do the minimal re-writing to add the new material, then continue on.

I know there are published authors out there who edit as they go along and that works great for them. But for a beginning writer, I always suggest you write first, edit later. Because you've got to finish that first book before you can expect to make a sale.

Q. How do you manage to finish a book? I work all day and am just too tired to write at the end of it.

A. It is difficult to find the energy to fit writing around a "day job." I'm lucky enough to be able to write full time, but that wasn't always the case. When I was working, my writing time was very sporadic and it took me a long time to finish my first book.

The trick is to write every day. How much? You have to decide for yourself what's a reasonable expectation. There's no point in setting yourself up for failure. If you can only commit to writing one page a day, then that's your goal. If the creative juices are really flowing and you get three pages done, that's great. If the next time you only get one page finished, you've still reached your goal. Yes, one page a day means nearly a year to finish a book. But that's one more book than you'd have finished if you wrote no pages.

So, set a reasonable expectation, then stick to it. You can cut yourself a little slack if there's a family crisis or if you're so sick you can't get out of bed. But "I don't feel like it" isn't a good enough excuse. "I'm tired" won't fly either. You have to ignore that impulse to park yourself in front of the TV. Park yourself in front of your computer instead.

Write that page. And eventually, you'll finish that book.

Q. How long does it take you to write a book?

A. That's a tricky one to answer. For me, there are several phases to writing a book. First, the initial germ of an idea takes root in my head. I think a bit about the characters, how the idea can be expanded into a story, where it will take place. That germination can last for quite some time (weeks or months), although it won't be the only project I'm working on. Let's say it takes me two weeks to finish this phase.

When I know enough about the story/characters, I write a 1-2 page synopsis. I can usually do that part in a day. If I decide to go ahead and write a proposal (3 chapters and a more detailed synopsis), that can take about a month. Included in the proposal process are very detailed character outlines for the hero and heroine.

Once I get the go-ahead from the editor, I write the rest of the book. My first three chapters (already complete) comprise about 50 pages. So if I'm writing a 300 page book (i.e., 300 manuscript pages), that leaves 250 pages to write. I try to write a minimum of 5 pages per day. In a 5-day work week, I write about 25 pages, so those 250 pages would take me about 10 weeks (can you tell I used to be a math major?).

Two weeks, plus one month plus 10 weeks is about 4 months total. Of course, a few days I might not get 5 pages done and some days I'll write more than 5 pages (especially near the end). The four months also doesn't include any re-writing time, nor the waiting time between when I turn in the proposal and when I get my editor's go-ahead. But 4 months is a pretty good estimate of the time it takes me to create and write a 300 page book.

Q. Where do you get your ideas?

A. Ideas are the easiest part of writing because they come from everywhere. Sometimes, a newspaper article catches my eye. Sometimes it's something I hear someone say that sparks inspiration. Occasionally I meet someone who starts me on the road to a story. For my book UNFORGETTABLE, it was a location (an auto wrecking yard) that kickstarted my brain. The hard part, of course, is to take that idea and expand it into a story, complete with interesting, believable characters. But without the initial idea, the story can never happen