The 3 Most Important Letters to a Writer
While working on my current release, SNOWBOUND WITH THE SOLDIER, I noticed that the same three letters kept revolving around in my mind. Are you trying to guess what they are?
Do I hear W- I-P (work-in-progress)?
Nice guess. And it’s always wonderful when a writer has WIP, but that’s not it. Try again.
What’s that? E-N-D?
Oh, that’s a wonderful guess. And though it is very important to a writer, there’s something they need before they can type “END”.
Okay, you’ve either figured it out or are tired of guessing, so I’ll tell you…
W-H-Y
It doesn’t matter if you’re writing a character-driven story like the Harlequin Romances that I pen or plot-driven books, as a writer you have to constantly ask yourself “Why?”.
With my current release, SNOWBOUND WITH THE SOLDIER, I know that I asked myself “why” about a million times. And when my revisions hit, my editor was asking “why”. It is a word that gets used daily in this writer’s life.
Why has my hero picked now to return to his family’s ski resort?
Why does the heroine still work there?
Why has the hero been gone for seven years?
Why wasn’t anyone able to contact him?
Why is the heroine so angry with him?
And those were just a few of the “why” questions I asked myself as I started to write the first page. Basically my stories are a series of answers to “why” questions.
Because “why” in a writer’s world is shorthand for motive. And that’s what drives a story. If the reader understands a person’s motive, they’re more willing to understand the character’s faults.
The more I ask “why” the more I know my characters, the more exciting story threads present themselves, and the deeper the story.
Now, please excuse me, I’m off to pose a question to my current hero. He’s the tall, dark and silent type so this might take a while. 😉
In the meantime, you might want to check out the book that had me asking “why” at every turn.
Maybe this Christmas…?
It has been seven long years since Kara Jameson last saw Jason Greene. Returning home as a wounded war hero, Jason looks a shell of the man she once knew. Yet her heart still skips a beat as if it was yesterday….
Stepping back into civilian life, Jason looks to Kara for help. But there’s too much water under the bridge—not to mention too much lingering attraction.
But it seems that the mountain weather has other ideas, and when Kara and Jason end up snowbound together they are forced to confront the ghosts of Christmas past.
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Want to find out more? Pop over to Jennifer’s Website. Jennifer is also running a Contest HERE. Best of luck.
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Author Bio
Jennifer Faye is a two-time RT Book Reviews TOP PICK author. Maybe that’s partly due to the fact that she has spent most of her life with her nose in one book or another. It was only natural that she dreamed of becoming a romance writer and spinning the tales of the imaginary people running around in her mind. But first life took her on a couple of detours. Refusing to give up on her dreams, she finally succeeded in getting her name on a book cover. She currently resides in Pennsylvania with her very, very patient husband, one amazing daughter (the other remarkable daughter has flown the coop to chase her own dreams) and two spoiled rotten cats. When she’s not glued to her laptop writing another contemporary romance (which isn’t often) or enjoying some family time, she loves to get lost in a good book, cross-stitch, embroider, quilt, knit, watch hockey (go Pittsburgh Penguins!), and garden. Jennifer loves to hear from readers–you can contact her via her website.
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