RomanticFridayWriters

Featured Writer for Challenge No 32 for Friday Feb 24 - The Perfect 9.5. A critique of each entry. And Challenge No 33, 'I Love You Because...'

2012-02-28T16:56:00.004-08:00

It's that time of the week again! It was great to have our usual amount of entries for such a difficult prompt.

I confess I struggled for weeks thinking about this one, but I finally got an idea and my story grew from there. Thank you everyone who commented favourably on my hot little passionate flamenco dance number, especially for those who thought I could/should be the Featured Writer. I like to hear that, but I'm not in the competition.

Like most of our 400 word stories and poems, there is room to extend my story. I find it helpful to read the comments then take my story away and improve/extend on it, as I plan to e-publish a book of my flash fiction before the year is out, and they can be any word count under 1,000.

If I manage to work out the e-pub system, I'll also be asking for your best stories to be considered for a Romantic Friday Writers e-book, and looking for a tres clever arty person to design our cover.

And thank you everyone for making the time to visit more stories/poems this week.

No glitches this week that I know of, just some imaginative treatment of the prompt. Not surprisingly sport (including dancing) was featured, as for this numbers game we often think of competitions.

Now, apologies for the length of this post. I want to demonstrate to you how thoroughly your stories are considered for FW and RU.

I colluded with Donna Hole again this week. Donna does a lot of critiquing for her fellow blogger/writers so I respect her expertise. She read every story/poem and sent me her ruminations. This week I'm going to reveal Donna's summations, then give her her head with the decisions. I think she deserves this after all her hard work.

Over to you, Donna...

Ms Queenly has a great sniping story of competition, and I liked that the love interest stood in the sidelines to encourage her through the difficult task of admitting faults.

- Roland's characters are flawed by nature; the excerpt didn't show a distinct flaw that showed devotion despite the flaw. They state they love each other and that is all there is to the relationship, at least in this excerpt.

- Andy's poetry is a celebration of women. There is no specific "relationship" there; women are loved because they are women.

- Denise's setting and dancers were exquisite. Based to set the heartbeat, the sweat of exertion, the love of a man for a talented beauty. I can see passion igniting at the end of the night. An excellent emotive vignette, a flash fiction worthy of publication for its heart and passion.

- Anna's story of sibling love was beautiful, and I hope she develops that into at least a flash fiction piece; it would take very little tweaking to evoke more passion. But again, they are together because they are siblings and already share a bond.

- Nancy's blind date really captured me. I loved it. But it was in all essence, a perfect date.

- Weissdorn was truly inspired. I loved how she showed a relationship building around the sporting event. Phillipe was perfect for her, I could really see why that relationship would work. But, the 9.5 was for the competition, not the relationship.

- Linda's "gossipy" take was so much fun. I about p***d my pants laughing at the twisted ending. I liked how the imperfections of the showcased relationship were witnessed by an outside party. Made it that much more juicy. But what I was looking for in this excerpt wasn't there at the end: why would the wife stay with a such a lout?

** Laura's love letters were funny and heartfelt. I could see myself as this wife, frustrated but not at all ready to give up. What is love without conflict to make up :) And his response had me crying with joy that he took it all in stride, and eloquently blew kisses back at her. Truly, who could resist such a strong relationship?

* Adura's about tore my heart in two. And I liked the almost flat, matter-of-fact voice of the narrator. I wasn't sure how to leave feedback to Adura; but if the paragraphs had been rearranged just a little so the story did not start in flashback, but followed from meeting, to dating and uncertainty, to his untimely death just when they were getting comfortable, this would have been even more powerful.

*** Janu's was poignantly nostalgic; it captured the essence of lifetime commitment, from both perspectives. She loved him by caring for his needs while he loved her by providing for their family and future. Then the tables turned, and he loved her by repaying all her care and selflessness. This was a complete history of love, endurance, and sacrifice.

So there we have it. I may/may not have chosen the same two winners but it is so difficult to decide.You may/may not agree with Donna's POV, so I'd ask you to have your say next challenge - (only if you read ALL the entries.) Please leave in the comments who you think should be FW or the RU for the prompt. I'm giving you notice so you can think about this while you read next week.

So after much rumination, the runner up this week is Adura Ojo! Congratulations on your prose Adura. Please display the harlot on your blog!

FW this week is Janu. I don't know how you were affected by Janu's poem this week, but it had a great impact on me, more so when an email from Janu revealed this is a true story.

SO NOW TO OUR NEXT SERIES OF PROMPTS!

For the next few prompts, I'm going to do a song series. All prompts will be titles of songs (there's no copyright on song titles.) Starting with 'I Love You Because...'

What do Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and Jim Reeves have in common? They all recorded 'I Love You Because...' I like all versions, but the one I recognise is the Jim Reeves version from the '60s. Go to youtube and listen to each if you want further inspiration for this prompt. I think these words really suggest poetry to me. I might have a go at some more prosetry or I may stick to prose. I think the prompt speaks for itself and shouldn't need further suggestions...

FURTHER SPECIFIC GUIDELINES FOR ENTRIES - THESE MUST BE PRESENT TO BE CONSIDERED A FW or RU:

The words 'I Love You Because...' must feature in the poem/prose at some point - be as imaginative as you wish with this. It doesn't necessarily have to be in first person (I know some writers hate first person, I'm sure I don't know why.) Make it whatever person you wish. Just write us a lovely poem or story. Don't forget to include a romantic element...hmmm, can't wait to get started...

L'Aussie Denise

#RomanticFridayWriters - Linky Sign Up for Challenge No 32 - The Perfect 9.5.

2012-02-22T15:24:00.001-08:00

get the InLinkz code

Featured Writer for Challenge No 3, Friday Feb 10 - The Long, Cool Aphrodisiac.

2012-02-15T18:35:00.000-08:00

Hi fellow RFWers and new followers. It's great to see new names on the member list and new followers each week. It's even better when the new writers post stories for us. Two new writers participated in this fortnight's challenge - Erin Kane Spock and Weissdorn (aka Celeste.) Due to my not having updated our Submissions page since the beginning of the year when we trialled a 400 - 600 word limit, both our new writers were over the limit. Remember how hard we all thought it was to keep to 400 words, but now we take it in stride most of the time.

In the Submissions page it's clearly stated that you have to be a member to be in the running for Featured Writer and Runner Up - you submit your link in the right sidebar (the one with thumbnails) and hopefully post for us on a regular or semi-regular basis.

We had a couple of delays this week - Nancy Williams had an Internet glitch. When she tried to publish her story the net crashed. She only got it up a couple of days ago. Some of you have seen the late link and been to read Nancy's story. That's great and it gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling to see your heartfelt comments on Nancy's story. Weissdorn's been having google problems and her comments had been disabled. At a late hour she reinstated it, but you had to be in the know and click on the time of posting to comment. Tricky. I've come across that before. Weissdorn was wondering why she'd received no comments, but I assured her there were comments on our site as you couldn't leave your comments on hers. I hope you read them Celeste!

I collaborated with Donna Hole once again this week for help in choosing which we considered the best stories. I'm sure you'll all agree that the standard is improving and there were several possibilities. To be FW there must be a romantic element and appropriate response to the prompt - there was no problem with that this week. You also need to be only slightly over the word limit.

So to Runner Up this week. This goes to two of our members - Andy, for capturing the essence of the aphrodisiac - a single thing that makes the heart quiver with desire. For second Runner Up, after much discussion, we're going to award Anna. Her concept of a whole country as an aphrodisiac (France of course) was charming. Anna's prosetry may need a little more tweaking, but the sentiments were heartfelt. Considering Anna is learning to write in English, we think it's time she was awarded for her amazing improvement.

Andy and Anna, copy the badge to your site and link to your story!

Featured Writer this week is a double whammy also. Madeleine Maddocks captured us all with her perfectly-structured flash fiction. As Donna said: 'She told the whole story in one circumstance. There was character and plot growth and a romantically-satisfying ending.' I was also blown away by new member, Erin Kane Spock. I loved Erin's story so much - I went back for several reads (as did others). I didn't have her in the mix for a FW due to her 600+ words, but when I realised that was still in our guidelines I couldn't disqualify her. So Erin, please consider yourself a FW this week. What a great entry!

Madeleine and Erin, please take the badge for your website and link to your story.

I don't have time for a rundown on all of your stories this week. Suffice to say, all entries were of a ripping high standard! I appreciate the time most of you take to visit each other and comment and critique. I saw Celeste (Tales From the Rhoen) everywhere. It's great to follow each other's blogs, twitter and FB etc...

Looking forward to what we come up with for Challenge No 32, 9.5. Check the Challenges page for extra ideas. Really, it's whatever you make of it. Keep the romance element coming!

Don't miss Challenge No 33, 'I Love You Because...' for March 9th. I'm sure this prompt needs no extra help.

No entries over about 420 words next week o writerly ones.

Denise (L'Aussie)

Linky is up for #RomanticFridayWriters challenge no 31 for Friday February 10 - The Long, Cool Aphrodisiac.

2012-02-08T03:44:00.000-08:00

get the InLinkz code

Featured Writer - Challenge No 30 - Learning to dance when it's over...Update on next two posts!

2012-01-31T17:32:00.000-08:00

Hello fellow RFWers!

The entries this week were full of life and hope. I loved reading them all and am doing the judging alone this week as I wanted Donna in the mix with her online dating story, well, it was a lot more than that!

I always find it terribly hard to choose winners and this week was no exception as even though there were only 10 entries the quality was high. Going back for multiple readings was no chore.

I know not everyone gets around to read all the entries, so I'll give everyone a shout out here and perhaps if you haven't read some, you'll take the time to pop on over, read and say hello. We all crave encouragement, don't we?

So, in no particular order:

Janu's poem, 'No Regrets' was powerful with her message of 'I learn to walk, then dance.' I loved 'After the night is a promise of a New Dawn.' Janu has just started writing for us and was the recipient of the Encouragement Award last week.
Roland went over the word limit, rebel that he is, but his 'Danse Mardi Gras' was gripping, as is all of Roland's work. Captain Sam has Mellori back in his arms at the haunted jazz club in New Orleans. Alice is flowing by in a black sleek dress with a tango slit (tango was a popular dance this week!). She was surely 'dressed to kill.'
Anna's entry was an endearing sweet piece. The message was that love is eternal and who can argue with that in any language? Anna received many complimentary comments on her prose. Considering Anna is Swedish we are all amazed at her swift improvement in writing in English.
Donna gave us something different this week, with her (or Brenda's) foray into online dating. That's what a lot of people do nowadays 'after the dance is over' so very up to the minute. Donna portrayed Brenda's anguish, indecision and uncertainty throughout the piece. I hope Donna works on this story as there's a lot more I'd like to read about.
Laura melted me this week with her hot chilli-chocolate tango and her killer last line - 'It seems that a broken heart dances the perfect tango.' Wow! Laura received several in-depth comments and suggestions to make a great story even better.
Kiru touched a chord with her extract from her new book, A Valentine Challenge with her two endearing characters Kaisie and Michael. She raised the issue of family estrangement which many of us could relate to. Families need that central character to be the 'glue' but when that 'glue' is no longer there, how do families co-exist?
Adura had us all amazed with her 'Auto Tango' poem. Adura said in a comment - "Auto Tango" is probably one of the most technically difficult poems I've ever written. Each stanza is linked - starts with seven syllables which reduces until it becomes one and then it starts with seven all over again and repeats the process until one word at the end of the last stanza." It was high energy poetry reflecting the tango as a high-energy dance - the stanzas dance within the poem.
Scherherazade delivered romance, conflict...then murder! Pow! She caught us all! What an ending! I'm still not sure whose severed head was left lying at the end of the story, so I'm hoping there's a follow up to this! What's going to happen at the cabin?
Andy's 'Like a Harlot' was quite different from what we've come to expect from Andy, and that's great. Mix it up friends! Surprise us! This vision in Andy's poem becomes 'like a dying flower she withered before my eyes.' His last line was full of humor - 'Perhaps tomorrow I will try Ballroom Dancing instead.'
Well I guess I should mention mine...I loved writing this positive piece about a woman who's been downtrodden but is finding her feet again. Love the idea of belly dancing. Not that I've ever tried it, so a bit of research went into the story and it must have convinced those who read/commented. Ah, I love the reality of hope!

So you can understand my problem in choosing a winner. I want to award you all. You are all superstars!

This week I'd like to award Anna the Encouragement Award again for the vast improvement you are making in your English, Anna. We all loved your story. I'm excited to see what you're going to write in the future. You just get better and better.

Runner Up? I loved Janu's 'No Regrets.' Beautifully crafted, beautiful heart-felt message - walk, then dance.

Featured Writer? Oh, I'm torn. I had to keep going back and forth between so many of you but I couldn't settle on just one. I'm awarding the accolade to Adura for 'Auto Tango' and Laura for her heart-breaking story of the broken hearted still able to tango.

So if you didn't get awarded this week, I hope writing is reward enough. The bar was raised this week and I hope we can keep producing such high-quality entries.

Thank you!

Now on to the next two challenges!

Apologies to those of you who had already taken the badge for the next challenge (9.5) and posted it on your blog. That was tremendous and I'd love it if more of you would do that so we can spread the word. But I had the wrong date on it - forgot momentarily that it's not weekly any more, lol! I'd also overlooked the fact that it's Valentine Day on February 14th, and our next challenge is just before that. I thought The Long, Cool Aphrodisiac would be more fitting if any of you lean towards a Valentine Day's type story/poem.

So members and friends, take the two badges and post them on your site and spread the word for our next two challenges. Don't forget to check the Challenge page for that little bit extra to get you thinking...

Welcome to new followers and members. I hope you will throw aside the curtain and join us! We want to read your stories or poetry!

Happy writing!

Denise (l'Aussie)

#RomanticFridayWriters challenge no 30 for Friday January 27 - 'Learning to dance when it's over...'

2012-01-26T14:55:00.000-08:00

Challenge No 30 for January 27- Learning to dance when it's over...

2012-01-23T19:14:00.000-08:00

Don't forget our next prompt which goes live on Friday January 27th.

Prompt created by Jules Preston, partner of Laura.

Further to the challenge:

Picking yourself up again when it's all gone wrong can be a daunting task. Maybe a few favourite old tunes will help? This is a challenge where the sky's the limit. Let's have setting, music and dance. Will it be strictly ballroom, the charleston, the twist, or will your characters be thoroughly modern at a rave club? Can't wait for this one...

Linky list will go up on Thursday January 26th

Meanwhile I'll continue quaffing wine at Margaret River!

I wrote my jazzy little story before I left!

Denise (L'Aussie)

Featured Writer for Challenge No 29 for Friday Dec 13 - New Year's Resolution.

2012-01-17T19:03:00.000-08:00

STOP PRESS! Because I was going away I organised the judging on Monday so therefore two late entries were not in the lineup. Sorry Maddy and Kiru, but I'm sure you'll understand! Thanks so much for your late entries. I'm not going to be able to read them for a few days...

Hi fellow writers!

I was surprised at the low number of entries this week but thank you for all who were able to take the time and share with us. I'm so glad we had Janu pen her passionate poem, Dream On, or otherwise the only poetry you would have had was from me.

As always I was touched by the entries. Roland's paranormal take on the theme was unique as usual, Anna's diary entry format was lovely, Francine spoke through one of her Regency characters, Christina, and Donna apologetically presented us with Josh and his Corona. Great tales (for which she needed not apologize.)

I asked Donna to help judge this week as it is a difficult task for one person. As usually happens, both judges chose the same people. By now you'll realise I haven't mentioned Joy or Laura, so it's just a matter of who is what.

Laura gets a prize this week for her stories on resolutions, chocolate and thighs...and Bob being sweet. A lovely mix. So Laura, we applaud your story and ask that you take the Runner Up badge this week and post it on your blog if you wish!

Featured Writer this week is the uber talented Joy Campbell. Publishing all those books has indeed made her a sharp writer and I'm sure if you read it, you loved the snippet with Celeste and her sister building bridges and sharing pregnancy philosophies. Thanks for sharing with us again Joy. I hope you'll take the badge again!

This week I'd also like to award the Encouragement Award to Janu for her wonderful poem. Please take the badge, Janu, and post it on your site.

So dear RomanticFridayWriters, I for one have already written my story for Jules' prompt - Dance...as it intrigued me so much. I hope you can spread the word so we can have many more entries on Friday January 27.

Have a great week of writing!

Meanwhile I'm having my first holiday of 2012, flying right across Australia from the East Coast to the West Coast (over 5 hours). After a few days in Perth and a cruise to Rottnest Island, we'll (hubs and I) be driving to Margaret River, where this ex-surfie town has reinvented itself as an organic paradise of vineyards and premium wines. Hmm. Just as well I made no New Year's Resolutions about wine!

Cheers!

Denise (L'Aussie)

#RomanticFridayWriters - Challenge No 29 - New Year's Resolution!

2012-01-11T18:56:00.000-08:00

#RomanticFridayWriters are a talented bunch! Check out who got published in 2011 and 2012. Do you know more?

2012-01-08T19:59:00.000-08:00

I've wanted to do a post about the exploits of our RomanticFridayWriters members for some time and now seems to be a good time, in between challenges!

Many of us, when we're not honing our craft by writing our 400 word poems or prose, are writing with the goal of publication, whether e-publishing or traditional publishing. I will give you the success stories I know and I'll ask you to update us all on applause-worthy successes I didn't hear about. I have used members currently posting or who have been absent whilst preparing to publish and I'm hopeful will return to posting on RFW. Some have been in touch.

So here in no particular order, is what I know of your publishing exploits. I'm not going to go to the trouble of linking them all. You can click on their link in the member's linky on the right.

Ms Queenly has been extra busy finishing/editing her WIP. I happened to trip over her on twitter so asked for an update. Her mss has now been submitted. Good work Ms Queenly! We applaud you and wish you every success!
Francine Howarth e-published 3 stories in 2011 and has a traditionally-published book out in July 2012. Her most recent e-book Regency Romance, Scandalous Whispers, is set in England. It is replete with officers and gentleman still! Read more about Francine's publications here: http://francinehowarth.blogspot.com/. You will also find the full list if you click the Indie Lair badge on our right sidebar. Any indie author is welcome to promote their book at Indie Lair.

Marsha A Moore is currently doing promos for her marvellous short story, Le Circe de Magie, out in January 2012! The artwork on the cover is Marsha's own, so she is one super-talented lady. It is currently available free on Smashwords. Every success for your story, Marsha. I enjoyed your snippets from The Tranquil Lake when you shared them on RFW.

Kiru Tyre has been super busy. She's an author of passionate romance novels. She has already published His Treasure through Breathless Press. It is also available as an e-book through Amazon. We haven't heard from Kiru for awhile as she was busy preparing her second novel for publication. So now we have A Valentine Challenge coming soon - out on January 30. On February 10 she releases His Strength. Kiru is currently asking if any RFWer members would like to host her on her up-coming blog tour. Contact Kiru directly if you'd like to help out.

Roland Yeomans is the most prolific member I know. At last count he had published about 11 e-books in 2011, most of which I've read. One of my favourites is The Legend of Victor Standish. You know by reading Roland's RFW entries that his prose is darkly lyrical and mesmerising. What on earth (or in hell) has he got in store for readers in 2012? Well, I just nipped over to his blog again and see he has Last Exit to Babylon on today's post. Go have a read. It's scary/awesome, and that's just the cover.

Joy Campbell is another member we've not heard from for awhile. She too has been busy publishing books/stories. I know of two - Hardware, which I was lucky enough to win, and Don't Get Mad, Get Even. Now I see she has another coming out in 2012, Distraction. Go Joy! But please come back and share with us!

Donna Hole likes to write short stories, but she is also working on a novel, Not Her Mother's Fate. Donna had a short story published in 2011 for Open Heart Publishing, an Honest Lie and probably others I don't know about. Donna is busily submitting more and more short stories and I wish you every success in 2012 Donna! I'm sure we'll be jostling for position in many anthologies.

Denise Covey (ahem, that would be me), like Donna, is primarily a short story/flash fiction writer even though I have 3 novels in various stages of dress/undress. I've had success publishing in Australian Women's Fiction Magazines and various online anthologies. The latest was Vine Leaves Literary Journal which I'd encourage you to submit to. They take prose/poetry/art works. On my L'Aussie Writer blog I have several places to submit in my right sidebar. Don't forget RFWer though.

Kittie Howard is another RFW member we haven't heard from for some while, due to her penchant to take trips with her husband and her determination to get her Christmas story e-published in 2011. She met that goal and I was delighted to download and read Remy Broussard's Christmas over Christmas. What's next Kittie?

So there you have it. I know at least one of our super talented poets is published or about to be, but I couldn't find any reference when I was searching your blogs for this information. I think our dear Adura Ojo is about to spring some good news on us. I may be wrong. I know Adura keeps up with the posts, so please update girl!

DISCLAIMER:

Now if anyone has been missed out by my lack of knowledge or lack of memory (rather a lot going on in this head of mine ATM) please leave a comment, tell us all about it. Anyone I have mentioned and have printed misinformation, please set me straight. I just wanted to laud your efforts in the publishing world and look forward to hearing more successes.

You can tell us about your rejections if you want. We all have those. Helps us not to feel like we're the only ones wallpapering our office with the R slips!

Don't forget to post this Friday for New Year's Resolution prompt!

Denise (L'Aussie)

Featured Writer - Ties That Bind - Challenge No 28.

2012-01-03T13:42:00.000-08:00

Hello All! Happy 2012!

I was surprised and gratified to see so many entries over the holiday period! You're a wonderful group!

Thank you to our new followers. I hope you may decide to post to a prompt that catches your eye in the future. New Year's Resolutions coming up, followed by a prompt by a guest prompter, writer Jules Preston, partner of our own Laura Bambrey. Jules has sent me several, so I'm so excited to have fresh input. Keep those poems and stories coming!

Don't forget to support each other. RFWer posts primarily for each other to read the different takes on the prompts. Make sure, as time allows, you get around and read each other's entries and leave a comment. It's nice to follow each other's blogs, twitter and facebook etc. It is good to tweet entries if you like them, so make sure you have a twitter button enabled at the end of your post. I am still trialling the Vote system, mainly as a back up for me not having Francine's input any more. This poll lacks truth if voters haven't read all the entries. By going around to read up to three times for my own benefit in choosing the FWer I see that some entries have only been visited by two or three RFWers. Can we improve on this?

The Ties That Bind challenge brought forth some great writing, prose and poetry. One of the beauties of writing in this group is that you are encouraged to challenge yourself. Both Anna and I tried a little poetry this week. It is refreshing to have a go. I warn you that my next entry is all poetry.

This week we had visits from other-worldly figures, we had humour, we had heart-pumpingly beautiful poetry. We have some stupendous poets in the group, and hats off to Andy who's often the first to post each challenge!

This week Andy didn't make Featured Writer, but I'd like to award him the Encouragement Award. This is because Andy exemplifies the word encouragement. I see his generous comments to you all, he encourages me by posting to every challenge (except for when he was very ill), and he's a great roving ambassador for RFWer. Thank you Andy. Please accept this award and display it on your blog.

Runner up this week goes to two gifted writers. Firstly, Heaven, who's poem made me tingle. What a great use of the prompt. That line: 'your lips bend close and savor my red wine lips' got a lot of well-deserved comments. Sharing Runner Up is Donna Hole, with her creepy blood-oath tale.

Which brings me to, tada! Featured Writer. I could have chosen Heaven, Donna or...Laura. I went with Laura as she SO cleverly used the theme to the extent real 'ties' were involved and this worked in a perfectly circular story. The romantic element was present, alongside a very annoying character to add interest. Congrats Laura. I hope you write a lot more for us in 2012. Please take the badge and display it on your blog as you wish.

Let's congratulate all the winners. I hope you enjoyed this challenge as much as I did.

As I am running RFWer alone now I'd really appreciate any suggestions you have to improve it. Feel free to drop me an email if you have something constructive to say, or you can offer suggestions in the comments which might lead to an interesting discussion.

My main aim for the group is to practise our writing, to improve our writing, and to help each other. What is your main aim?
I'm enjoying the fortnightly postings. It gives me more time for other ventures. Is it working for you?

My email is: den.covey@gmail.com

May New Year's happiness continue!

Looking forward to your comments/emails:

Denise (L'Aussie)

#RomanticFridayWriters - Challenge No 28 - 'Ties That Bind'

2011-12-28T13:34:00.000-08:00

Featured Writer - Challenge No 27 - Sparkle!

2011-12-20T13:16:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! No doubt due to Christmas preparations our entries were down this challenge. Some have told me that they won't be able to post til the New Year, but I'll be keeping RFWer operational for those of us who are getting back into the swing of it!

Thanks to each and every one of you for your entries this week. Glad to see such powerful poetry packing a punch again! All entries so different but each so unique for our Sparkle theme.

A warm welcome back to Ruth. It was great to be reading about Stewart again. An excellent snippet. I'm sure we all enjoyed reading Anna's unique entry, complete with personal photos of her charming children. Simran wrote a heart-warming story whereas Francine entertained us with her twisted fairy tale. Roland managed to weave some more sparkle into his characters Victor and Alice while I had a smile on my face the whole time I was writing my Christmas Lights story.

So you've probably worked out by now that I can't help going with our powerful poets this week. All three stole the show with their sparkly imagery.

Tie for Runner Up. Andy, whose 'words are like music on a battlefield' is our first Runner Up, and Adura's poem which was inspirational as she penned a poem based on a real-life experience of keeping the spark alive, shares second place with Andy. Congratulations to Andy and Adura for such wonderful words this week. Both contained that romantic element.

Our Featured Writer this week could be none other than Heaven whose poetry, or prosetry as Adura called it, absolutely sparkled with romance and tragedy. Her Christmas Star poem blew me away with its story of deep love and 'hope...fluttering, sparkling in his chest.' So a big round of applause to Heaven! Her poem can be found on the Featured Writer page. I see two other people as well as myself have voted for Heaven as FW this week.

Please keep those poems/stories coming each fortnight.

Looking forward to reading about those Ties That Bind on December 30. By then your fingers should be twitching to get back to writing.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Denise (L'Aussie)

My little Christmas tree at my apartment.
A much bigger one awaits at the beach.

#RomanticFridayWriters Challenge No 27 - Friday December 16 - Sparkle!

2011-12-14T13:02:00.000-08:00

Challenge No 27 for December 16 - Sparkle! Challenge open to all!

2011-12-10T16:36:00.000-08:00

Our current challenge is Sparkle! There's lots of sparkly things around at the moment so writing to this theme should be a delight. That doesn't mean your stories have to be all sweetness and light - there could be more to the sparkle than meets the eye.

As I've written on the Challenges page -

What sparkles in your life? What sparkles in your WIP? How many sparkly things can you think of? How can you make your story unique? What wouldn't you expect to sparkle, yet it did? Come on, challenge yourself! Sparkle us all with your 400 words of fairy dust!

http://www.wattpad.com/965811-poems-and-short-stories-sparkle-eyes

An interesting little Sparkle poem can be found at the above link.

I got my idea for my Sparkle! story from a newspaper article (well, actually I often get ideas there!) Where do you get your ideas from? We know Nancy Williams dreams hers up when she's ill, Francine sees movies in her head, I get my ideas from a first sentence here or there or a photo, painting - newspaper, magazine, book, film...What about you? Leave a comment and tell us...

Linky will be up this Thursday December 15th so have those works of art ready!

Denise (L'Aussie)

Featured Writer - Challenge No 26 - Response to Image - The House in the Snow

2011-12-07T13:19:00.000-08:00

Hi all! Great to be back and writing stories/poems for RFWer isn't it? Just finished my second sweep in quest of a winner for Featured Writer. I heartily plead with you if you have not disallowed 'Word Verification' please help your readers out by getting rid of it. It really serves no purpose other than to slow down your speedy commenters.

Welcome to our new followers. I hope you tippy toed around and read some entries and gained enough confidence to join us for our theme Sparkle! on December 16. I'm polishing my baubles in readiness!

I'm trialling a poll this week. It may be a bit of a dud as I didn't get the word around early enough, but I hope to poll you all on your choices in future. I know it's tempting to just vote for yourself, and that's okay if you really think yours was the best story. To overcome that I've been researching different polls and found one where we can have two votes. The Blogger Poll is very basic - allows one or multiple! (Postscript: Yes, a bit of a dud as only half voted when I went to air and no doubt some self votes there).

So, to our entries this week. The image conjured up largely atmospheric pieces. It was great reading the many and varied descriptions, along with misty characters. Thank you all so much for hours of reading pleasure. Being an Aussie from Queensland in the north/east of Oz, snow is strictly reserved for trips to Europe in the northern winter, of which I've had a few. Even been in a blizzard from Brussels to Luxembourg. Will never forget that! Magical! Whoops, sidetracked. Most of you are quite familiar with snow, especially at Christmas.

As always, it was terribly difficult to narrow down the wonderful entries to two sparkling ones. Most entries had atmosphere, great characters, some romance, some nostalgia, er, and some ghostly apparitions.

I must give an honourable mention to Anna, whose story this week was so great. Anna, participating in RFWer has improved your writing remarkably. I'd be enchanted if you took the Encouragement Award again this week for your sweet and mystical story of Jakob and Jenny.

Now to runner up. Maybe because it resonated with me with the idea of experiencing a different kind of Christmas, yet hot and steamy in the cold clime. I loved the sensual goodness of Kerrin Hearfield's Snowed In. Congratulations Kerrin for a wonderful response to image. Please take the Runner Up badge for your blog.

Featured Writer this week goes to a traditional story of mistletoe, the heart-rending yet heart-warming story of two lost souls finding each other. Yes, Nancy William's story of Jane and Martin touched me. Nancy is a fine writer and her story zoomed to the top of my chart. Nancy, please take the Featured Writer badge for your blog. I'll be adding your story to our Featured Writer page.

I thought the quality was very good this week, maybe because there was more time to think about our stories/poems. I won't forget Adura's 'misled toes' for awhile, or Li's poignant story of homecoming, the romance of a place. We saw Andy speak with a somewhat different edgy voice this week with his cruel lover. And Donna's creepy ghost story will have me looking over my shoulder should I be renting a Christmas Cottage, lol. Everyone, you are such a great group of writers. I can't mention you all, heck, why not - Marsha, your story enchanted me, Roland, loved your Inn at the End of the World, Ballerina's Smile, a beautiful sensuous poem, Francine, as always your historical romance sweeps me away and I quite liked my little girl and her Dada. There were many potential winners this week! Can't wait to see you Sparkle!

Have a great writing week.

Looking forward to your entries for Sparkle! on December 16!

Denise (L'Aussie)

Challenge No 26 - Response to Image - House in the Snow

2011-11-30T14:17:00.000-08:00

Don't forget to read the post on critiquing below!

Guest Post No 5 - Nancy Williams on Critiquing - are you a 'blaster' or 'respectful?'

2011-11-29T13:47:00.000-08:00

Hello! Today we have our final guest post before we begin our writing challenges. I know most of you have been super busy. I've been visiting many of your blogs and been inspired by the body of work.

Welcome to new followers. You're most welcome to post to the challenges, but you need to become a member to be eligible for the Featured Writer, Runner Up or the Encouragement Award. Becoming a member is easy, just read the Submissions Page then join up using the linky in the right sidebar.

I hope you're ready to post to the first challenge for this Friday, December 2. On Thursday linky will go up, ready to receive your fabulous prose or poems in response to the image in the left sidebar. Don't forget to click on the image for further inspiration. This challenge is open to everyone as are all our challenges! I'll be asking for help in choosing a Featured Writer so the award system will continue.

I'm also putting up the next challenge, Sparkle!, for two-week's time, Friday, December 16. This is my response to those who thought a month was too long between challenges. Will be great to have another challenge before the holidays.

So over to Nancy, a RFWer member from Denver, Colorado. Nancy has been very ill and I wish her a speedy recovery. Thank you for rising from your sick bed Nancy, and posting for us...

Critique: What works and what doesn't.

Hi everyone:

Denise has asked me to put together a post on critique. I hope this is helpful.

I have been a member of a local writers group for over eighteen years. In those years I have been a member of an in-person critique group and after only a few years I became the moderator of that group. That said I know a little about critique.

There are two types of groups. One that is hard core, nothing withheld, blasts you out of the water with their comments. The other type is respectful.

The 'blasters' believe that only this type of group will benefit a writer. They give no positive feedback. They tell it like it is. What's wrong with that? Critique is opinion. Many of the 'blasters' are not published. Often, they don't know what they are talking about. For example, I had a friend who was advised to change her voice. What is our voice; it is who we are and what we present our characters as. Why? Because she is an Italian American and thinks and talks in that kind of lingo and her series is a suspense drama featuring mob bosses. But they are misguided and totally hilarious. Not the average mob story. However, after reading only one chapter to the 'blasters,' she was told to change her voice. None of them knew what the story was about. (An editor has requested her book.)

A respectful group is the best. Why? Many of us are sensitive people. When you read our writing, you have a window into our hearts. It is hurtful to leave comments that are over the top negative and it isn't necessary. All of us had to start writing at some level. I trust that no one here is perfect, I certainly am not. A 'blaster' may easily harm a new writer, even a seasoned writer making it hard for that person to continue to write. I know several talented writers who put away their stories after being 'blasted' never to write again. A tragedy.

Examples: In my group I once had a married couple and the lady would start her comments with; "I would never buy this book, but…" Hello! Don't tell someone that. You're not looking at the final product. I repeatedly had to correct her and finally they left.

I was once told that my characters, (not in a current published book), were spoiled and he didn't want to read about that. Guess what, I couldn't work on that book for over a year. The argument for such a comment is; I need to show the characters change and grow. This person wasn't into fantasy and had a journalist background. His mistakes were always the same because he brought a journalistic style of writing to a fictional piece. This is different than voice, since it is dry and concise writing.

How to give feedback:

Our comments to each other are limited because of the blog structure.

The most important thing is to start with praise. What works? There is always something that the writer created that stands out.

Next, find one or two mistakes unless the writer has asked for more. If I have come across a 'blaster' comment for one of you all, I try to say something that helps elevate what that person has said. Remember, 'blasters' do not know everything even though they pretend to.

Don't touch a person's voice. We all have our own unique voice, if it doesn't work for you leave it alone.

In the blogging world, we come into contact with people from all over the world.

Don't assume they share the same writing rules. If you don't understand a reference, you’re a writer, look it up, increase your vocabulary.

I hope this will help. In January, 2012, I will add a critique post to my blog and take your questions. I believe examples are the best tools we can provide.

To all my RFW's friends, I look forward to reading your stories.

Thanks for having me Denise.

Nancy

http://nrwilliams.blogspot.com/

Thank you Nancy for your informative post. Critique can be problematic so we need all the help we can get.

Madeleine has made a checklist for us to consider when commenting on each other's writing. In conjunction with Nancy's post, this should prove very helpful, along with the critique postcard that is available to use with your posts.

Now, let's get our stories and poems ready for linky on Thursday. Have a great weekend reading each other's stories. Don't miss Sparkle! the challenge for Friday, December 16...

RFW challenges are back!

Denise (L'Aussie)

No 4 Guest Blogger & Bad Book Reviews - Francine Howarth

2011-11-22T13:16:00.000-08:00

Today's guest needs little introduction, so I give you Francine Howarth, writer of Regency romance. Today she is sharing her take on bad reviews. Have you had one or two? If you're as yet unpublished, gird up your loins, because not all reviews are good! But Francine says they can work in your favour...

Hi RFWers and followers!

Well you can relax, the last thing I’m going to do is promote myself or my writing. Nor is this meant as a sympathy vote post. Hell, you must all know where my serious-writer blog is located and, that updates on latest releases are posted as and when along with book trailers. If you don’t, it’s here. ;)

Here at RFWers we’ve had guest bloggers who’ve talked about “how-to write romance, how-they write and what inspired them”. So, I thought I’d talk about something a lot of writers think won’t happen to them and when it does it comes as a shock. Now the sad fact of life is, that as soon as your book goes public it’s open to scrutiny from readers who are neither family, friends, fellow groupie writers nor critique partners. You are now fair game to raw critique and social graces of some reviewers leaves a lot to be desired.

Fear of a bad book review is something all published authors learn to live with, yet nonetheless dread them. In fact, some authors within our blogosphere have received the odd one or two since their books hit Amazon, and the bad reviews knocked them for six. Yeah, it’s not nice if a bad review pops up, but the best way is to ignore it and never respond by comment to the reviewer. If you do you fall into the trap of making that reviewer feel even more self-important, and said person will feed off the attention granted them.

Now let’s assess outcome of a bad review.

Can a bad review of a book be detrimental to sales of said book, more especially if the reviewer declares your book to be crap? The answer to that is NO. A bad review is likely to draw more attention to your book than dozens of good reviews. So don’t panic and don’t fret if a bad review surfaces. Books reviewed by professional reviewers, as in Sunday Newspaper supplements and magazines, will consist of overall summary and no spoilers. It’s rare in today’s newspaper or magazine review columns to see a bad review, yet in the 1960s and long before scathing reviews of books were quite common and some critics were infamous and dreaded by all authors.

With the coming of Amazon, Smashwords and Goodreads etc., has come the every “wo/man and their dog/cat” who thinks themselves a book reviewer. But, where a “professional book reviewer” now has a publisher remit of “just give a summary, no spoilers for God’s sake and don’t kick up a storm of protest to vile reviews” your average Amazon reviewer seems to have no concept of what a spoiler is (reveal of plot inclusive ending), and most reviews blow the gaff either as glowing or vile reviews.

But a BAD review can up your book sales. Strange as it may seem, people are curious creatures and BAD draws out the GOOD in most of us and what do we do when a bad book review pops up, we want to know for ourselves how BAD it is and more often than not the book is stunning for all the right reasons, in that it likely make us stop and think! I would imagine Sara Craven (Mills & Boon) author who dares to push boundaries has adopted elephant hide, because poor Sara has had more than her fair share of stick from Amazon reviewers. First off she was slammed for having a rape scene, and for having a heroine whom fell in love with the rapist. And, ever since that book it seems some reviewers purposely go out of their way to criticise her and ridicule her plots. Yeah, it’s a tough call to carry on writing when knowing malicious anonymous persons are lying in wait for your next book.

Luckily I have elephant hide, and I laughed like crazy when my latest “Scandalous Whispers” received the following review:

“The hero and heroine are apart because of her mother's desire for Christina to marry a mean rake earl. Why Christina doesn't tell her silly mother she wants to marry Robert instead of the creepy earl and tell what the creep tries to do to get her alone and force his intentions on her is ridiculous! I love romance stories but this one just really misses the mark”.

Now bear in mind this reviewer titled the review thus: “Insipid”.

Did this review upset me? No.

Why not? Answer: I don’t do “Insipid”.

As RFWers you all know that to say I write “Insipid stories” would be like saying I have a penchant for wearing pink, have fluffy pom-pom slippers and have a rose-tinted view on romance and adore stereotypical characters and mushy plots. As if – when in real life I love the waft of horse sweat, and don’t take kindly to horse shit from swanky dudes. The latter, fortunately, characterisation or caricature if you prefer, is moi, who loves a bit of romancing whilst able to smell a rat at fifty-paces. On the other hand, my character Christina is a young lady of the Regency era, and well brought up young ladies at that time were swayed by parental influence and often faced with arranged marriages.

Damn it all a 21^st century chick-lit female is more than likely to knee a jerk / rake in his jewels and deflate all the tyres on his Porsche if he came on too strong. While a Regency Miss is far more likely to conceal immoral advances from a rake she despises for fear her parents think the worst and, get her wed to him quick sharp. After all, parental intention will be to prevent any scandal and save her from consequences out of wedlock despite protests that her chastity remains in tact. BTW: the latter is not my plot, there’s more to it than that simple equation. That said, there are 21st century women who can be pushy executives and high-flying businesswomen, yet become putty or simmering wrecks if a guy breaks through their defensive shield and embeds a twisting screw! Same can be said of dude counterparts when temptation leads and things don't go his way!

Let’s be honest, here. Stand a 21^st century young lady alongside one from the early 1800s little comparison can be drawn between them, beyond that of pent up emotions, raging hormones and young love exposed along with despair when things go badly wrong. So, what I’m saying is that the above review is written by a 21^st century female who has little or no knowledge of life in Jane Austen’s era or, chooses to ignore it. And, the strange aspect to the above review is that the heroine doesn’t even know if the hero is interested in her when the rake makes immoral advances, so why in hell should she tell her mother she loves Robert? I’m fairly sure this reviewer hasn’t even read the book, and has set up her review on the basis of info from the blurb alone and from reading the sample pages.

So let’s take a look at the differences in social behaviour 21^st century Vs 1800s. Most young ladies born to gentry in the 1800s had little chance to rebel, their allowances ad dowry were subject to parental hand out, and if a young lady chose to run away she would have forfeited her allowance and her dowry. Young ladies of rank in the 1800s were very much under the control of parental persuasions, and I doubt many ran away for how were they to raise funds? That aspect I shall leave to your imaginations. And yes, some great storylines could come out of this kind of situation, but most would no doubt - in real-life 1800 mode - end in tragedy unlike the rosy-glow endings of your average historical romance novel. On the other hand a 21^st century young women has every opportunity for independent living, and to make something of herself no matter her background. Success boils down to good manners, self-confidence and go-getting what it is you want from life. Sitting on your arse criticising others because they’re getting on with success is pitiful.

So, chins up, and if you ever get a bad review, look on it as your having arrived on the book scene. Because hey, (a shout-out) someone other than a friend has gone out of their way to post up a shit review, which in itself says more about the reviewer than it does about your book. ;)

And so I say to my wonderful anonymous book reviewer (just in case you’re reading this): thanks for stopping by to post up your review. You did me a great service! Because, in essence, I was stuck for something to write about for this guest post and you provided the inspiration for a sufficiently long post to bore the pants off RFWers! :)

Have a lovely day

Francine X

Thanks Francine. Now let's hear what you think. Drop us a comment - do you agree with Francine's take on bad reviews? Do you have a story to share?

Don't forget our Dec 2 Writing Challenge - see sidebar/challenge page for details!

Denise (L'Aussie)

Guest Post No 3 - Kate Walker on romance writing - Training Yourself as a Plotter. Reminder - Dec 2 Challenge!

2011-11-15T14:31:00.000-08:00

Hi RFW members and guests. First, a message for all! Our December 2 Challenge is not that far away, so I'm reminding our members to get those stories/poems underway, and invite anyone who'd like to participate in the challenge to take the image for your sidebar, prepare your post, then sign up with the linky here on December 1st!

Challenge - December 2nd. Respond to this image in story/poetic form. 600 words maximum. Check out our Challenge Page above for more stimulus/details.

Now, over to our guest Kate Walker.

TRAINING YOURSELF AS A PLOTTER

Today I'm taking a brief look at one of those questions - the one that every writer gets asked (often more than once) at every stage of their careers. And the question is:

Where do you get your ideas?

The honest answer is 'Life' - I have often tried to persuade my accountant that life is a claimable expense for a novelist but sadly I haven't yet managed it. But every day I see, hear or read something that interests me, intrigues me, amuses me and I often spend time wondering how I can work it into a novel.

So here are some of the tips and techniques I use when trying to come up with a new idea. Because, believe me, after 60 books, it can be difficult to think of something fresh and interesting - and something I want to write. I always work from the characters and their motivations, but I have to have some ideas as a ‘setting’ – a place to put them and a reason to start them off on their journey.

Filling the imagination ‘well’

Read Read Read – learn the plots that make successful romances – or any other type of story - in the past and in the present – and the ones that have failed

Think about them – which ones can you still use?

Which ones will need changing to make them work today?

How? In my own line, things like the use of condoms – for sexual health as well as contraception, scans, DNA tests have all changed the so-called ‘secret baby’ story from the way it used to be when I first started writing.

So if you take those changes into account to make it more believable for today – how does that change the story and change the characters’ motivations and actions?

How could you turn a plot on its head?

For example -

Have her kidnap him instead of having him kidnap her? (I did this in Captive Lover 1987)

She wants the marriage of convenience and sets the terms for it – or thinks she does. ( The Hired Husband 1999). Changing the person who initiates the action changes the whole perspective, the balance of the set up and so makes everything develop along a very different path.

But of course you will always have to consider that most important question of all – the question WHY – why would this happen? Why would your character do this?

Take a different fork in the road

Watch soaps/dramas/films – stop it halfway – or at the end of the episode – ask yourself:

Where is it going?

Who will end up with whom?

Why?

What conflict/problem/sudden revelation/black moment is the writer going to bring in?

How could you do it differently?

What twists could you bring in?

Who could they end up with instead?

What if . . .?

People watch – in reality and in print

Read newspapers/magazines/watch people stories on TV – use them as your characters - see if you can see what will happen – check it against reality.

I once switched the radio on when I was about to do some ironing and I heard a man say ‘when I first held my son it meant so much because I was an abandoned baby and never knew my parents. So, alone of everyone in the world, he was the only other person who had my blood in his veins.’ I just switched off the iron(No hard decision there!) and went to write down that line and all the ideas that it had sparked off in my head for a story that would involve all those emotions he was talking about.

How could you rework a fairy story –

Gothic Cinderella?

Cinderella?

Beauty and the Beast?

Or a classic ?

Jane Eyre?

Pride and Prejudice?

I just reworked Wuthering Heights for my new novel The Return of the Stranger and it was an amazing challenge. There are no truly original plots in the whole of fiction so you can’t hope to be desperately original – but you can be authentic and put your personal spin on an old story so making it fresh and new.

With every story you read, watch, hear - think about what was behind it, who is involved, why it happened - and consider what will happen next. Very soon just a phrase or even a name can spark you off. I know. I once wrote a book (long ago) simply because I was determined to get into the story the line 'I don't know who the hell you are, but you're certainly not my wife!' I did it too. That was in a book I wrote years ago - way back in 1988 - Chase the Dawn and I still get letters about that novel.

And the winner of Kate's novel from last week's post is Madeleine Maddocks! Congratulations Madeleine, and would you contact Kate via her website? Enjoy!

Thank you Kate. I learnt so much and I'm sure you have too. Thanks for sharing. Also thanks to my good mate Nas Dean from Romance Book Paradise in Fiji who answered my call for a guest poster. I think Nas has done us proud.

Denise (L'Aussie)

Guest Post No 2 - Kate Walker on romance writing...and a book giveaway!

2011-11-08T13:05:00.000-08:00

Hello Romantic Friday Writers, members and guests. Today I have another special guest for you, this time to speak to us about romance writing, because that’s what we’re all about. I’ve tried to stress that romance writing doesn’t have to be all hearts and flowers and Kate Walker feels the same. Whether you’re writing a full-length romance novel, a novella, romantic poetry or romantic flash fiction, you will learn something today that will enhance your writing.

When I did a library catalogue search at my local library on Kate, there were 39 titles available. So Kate knows a thing or two about writing and publishing romance. We're not turning into a book giveaway blog but Kate is just so sweet she insisted on offering a free book to a commenter. I'll draw your name using random.org...You may choose from any of Kate's books at the end of this post.

Take it away, Kate.

Why I Write Romance

I’ve been thinking about writing romance - going back to basics and starting right from the beginning. This tied in with the fact that whenever I do a workshop - as I’ve been doing for the Mills & Boon New Voices Contest – or other events like talking at a Festival of Women's Writing about my latest book 'The Return of The Stranger' then someone - usually a reporter or radio interviewer has asked me the question 'Are you a romantic person?' I usually answer yes, but add 'if being romantic means caring deeply about things and about the other person - it doesn't necessarily mean hearts and flowers and all those things that the stores would like us to BUY to show how ‘romantic’ we are.' The problem is that then when the quote appears the second half of it is usually missed off.

Then recently, in a Q&A I was doing, I was asked what was the most romantic thing that has ever happened to me and I found that incredibly difficult to answer. I couldn't think of something that would sound romantic - to other people - and that was when I realised that, deep down, the most romantic things are often not the ones that people might really expect - and that got me thinking about Romance and what it means to me and why I write it.

You see, I think one of the reasons why I ended up writing for Harlequin Presents is that I don't find hearts and flowers and boxes of chocolates truly 'romantic'. Don't get me wrong - they're all very nice in their place and I'm never going to turn down a beautiful (though I’ll pass on the chocolates – I struggle enough with my weight!) gift, but they are not at the heart of romance.

Let me tell you a story - a real life story - a real life romance story.

Once upon a time there was a lovely lady - she was beautiful, intelligent, generous, hard working - and very lonely. She had married young to a man she adored but the marriage had broken down irretrievably and they had parted very bitterly. She had young children to care for and she focused her life on them. She was a deeply committed Catholic and never thought of divorce - it just wasn't possible for her. But she got on with life, she bought a little house, she had a tiny garden and in that garden she grew roses.

She'd been brought up in Ireland, in the countryside and she always said that the best thing to fertilise roses was donkey manure. So if anyone ever asked her what she wanted for her birthday, she would always say she's love a load of donkey manure for her roses. But because she was a lady and elegant and stylish, everyone laughed and thought she didn't mean it– she couldn't want donkey poo! - so they gave perfume or chocolates and that sort of thing as gifts.

Some years later she met a lovely man - he came to work where she did and they fell for each other. But the lady's husband was still alive, and she still believed that she couldn’t get a divorce. And the new man was a Catholic too so he understood. Eventually there came a time when he couldn't bear staying and not being able to be with the person he loved. So he applied for a job a long way away and he got it and prepared to leave. But just before he left it was the lady's birthday and on the day he left he came to her house in his car - and in the car were sackloads of donkey manure for her roses. Those roses grew beautifully ever after.

That's romance. That's caring for the other person more than for yourself. It's giving the person you love what they need - what they want - not what you think they want. It's understanding that, no matter how much you might want something for them, it will not necessarily be right for them and it will make them unhappy even if you make them go along with it. True romance finds a way to love the person as they need to be loved.

So when I'm writing a romance, I'm not writing the sort of book that people describe as ' a soppy love story' or 'hearts and flowers' or 'chocolate box' romances where the heroine is moping around without a man in her life and then when she meets the hero she 'swoons away' or her heart races in her 'heaving bosom'. I try to write real relationships between people who really could exist. (Okay in a Presents novel the hero is usually a billionaire - but take away all the money and the power and the success and he's just a MAN underneath it all - and it's that man's problems I like to deal in.)

When I think of romance, I think of the way it originated as stories in mediaeval times - when knights of old used to court ladies - and act as her champion and fight for her honour at a tournament or in a duel or in battle. That meant really fight. A knight could be injured, maimed, killed - he took great risks for his lady and often she took them for him too - because women had very little choice in who they could marry and dreadful things could happen to her if she fell in love with the wrong man. Modern romance (or Modern Romance if I'm thinking about the books in the UK! ie Presents) is very different and yet very much the same. The heroes and heroines I write about today aren't likely to be executed or killed in a hand to hand fight (though there might be a risk of that in some suspense story) so perhaps the physical risks are less violent.

But the emotional risks are every bit as dangerous - the emotional stakes every bit as high - or they should be.

Love is something we all crave - something we all hope for, dream of, work towards. It's what adds a special value to life and puts a whole new light onto each day. But love can bring those dangers as well - the loss of someone you love is the most devastating blow you can suffer. And the moment we accept that we love, we are also forced to accept the possibility of that loss. But often love also gets trivialised - 'If you love her buy her XXXX chocolates' or 'show you care - with a bunch of red roses . . .'

Anyone can put on the trappings of romance these days - there are cards for every event, flower arrangements you don't have to think about, perfume or jewellery advisors in every shop. The ‘soaps’ are full of characters who say 'I love you' and then move on to someone new when the script writers believe that the story has got boring - because happiness is boring! It's when the chips are down, when the hard times come, when loving is a struggle, that real romance shows itself. And that's why I write Presents. I write about characters who are faced with difficulties, with problems that could destroy their love- and they hang in there, fighting for what's important. For their love and the love of the other person.

And all the clichés in the world - all the money, power, red roses, perfume . . . can't solve those problems for them - it's only by going into their own hearts and having the courage to be honest and open that they can win this particular battle. They might not risk death like those knights of old - but they do risk the death of their hearts and that's the real danger for a human being, no matter what century they live in.

So romance isn't in the things that can be faked - it's in staying with someone through good and bad 'for richer, for poorer. In sickness and in health.' It's in working at it and dealing with the hard stuff and caring enough for the other person to find ways through the darkness to the light.

Okay, I'd better get off my soapbox now,

But this is what is in my mind when I'm writing - that I need to show that this particular heroine is the love of this particular hero's life - and if I don't convince my readers that they're right for each other then I've failed. If they are going to be blown apart by some trivial problem or bicker so hard all through the story and then say 'Oh, I'm sorry - I love you' - it doesn't convince me - so how can it convince any reader? And if he treats her appallingly and doesn't have very good reasons for it - and she lets him walk all over her without a protest - then what sort of future would they have together? That's not love - and it's certainly not romantic, not in my book. My heroes sometimes make terrible mistakes and behave badly as a result -but the heroines fight back. And when whoever made the mistake ( because it can so often be the heroine as much as the hero) realises what they've done they do the best thing they can to put it right - because all the grovelling and apologising in the world is really pretty self indulgent - it not saying I'm sorry/I love you/I'll change over and over and over again - it's doing it. Or refusing to do something if you know it's wrong. Sometimes the hardest thing you have to fight for love is the person that you love!.

That's what I try to put into my books - strong passions, strong characters, strong love - which I hope creates a strong romance That's the main reason why I write Presents because the books offer me the chance to write about the things I believe in.

Kate

Thank you Kate. It was such a pleasure having you with us today.

So what do you think?

Did Kate inspire your romance writing journey?
Do you struggle with writing romance?
Are there any further questions you have on the topic?

If you'd like to read one of Kate's books, please leave a comment to see if it's your lucky day! I'll announce the winner at next Wednesday's guest post.

The Greek Tycoon’s Unwilling Wife

Bedded By The Greek Billionaire

Sicilian Husband, Blackmailed Bride

The Sicilian’s Red-Hot Revenge

The Good Greek Wife?

Kept for Her Baby

The Konstantos Marriage Demand

Cordero’s Forced Bride

Spanish Billionaire, Innocent Wife

The Proud Wife

Have a great week!

Denise (L'Aussie)

Inaugural Guest Post - Cathy Olliffe-Webster - on writing Flash Fiction and a link to a fabulous flash story!

2011-11-02T14:53:00.000-07:00

Pull up your laptop and write!

Hi all, Denise here!

I got the idea for RomanticFridayWriters from my weekly participation in #Fridayflash. It is where I cut my flash fiction teeth. However, the stories are usually quite dark at #ff, so I was having a discussion with my Pommie mate Francine and ran the idea by her – why can’t we start a weekly flash fiction group for romantic writers? So, we sprinkled a little fairy dust and RFWer was born!

I met some absolutely awesome writers in my weekly forays into #fridayflash. (I still participate when I can! It’s where I practise my paranormal, weirder stuff!) The flashiest writer I’ve ever met lives in the woods on the Muskoka River in Canada. Her stories taught me a lot, so I’ve asked her to guest post for us this week. And she’s indulging me by linking to my requested favourite story by her, Ruby Tuesday. She posted it maybe two years ago and it’s still ringing in my head, so that means it resonated with me big time! And it has a romantic element!

So take it away, Cathy Olliffe-Webster!

Hi there! I'm here today to talk about how Friday Flash changed my life.

Really, it might sound a bit cliched, but I can’t put it any different than that. Before Friday Flash, I was an ex-reporter who missed writing and dabbled in blogging. Since Friday Flash I actually have the cojones to call myself a Writer, with fifty-plus short stories to my credit and a novel in progress.

I now have friends all over the world, including Denise who so kindly asked me to write for her – friends who mean as much to me as my childhood friends, as much as family members and colleagues.

Writing flash fiction in a like-minded group can be a life-changer and, if you have any kind of a writer’s soul at all, you’d be daft not to try your hand at it.

Jon Strother, the founder of Friday Flash, is a talented writer who blogs at Mad Utopia. He dreamt up the Friday Flash concept as a way for writers to showcase their work, to meet other writers and encourage the writing of flash fiction, much as Denise and Francine dreamt up RomanticFridayWriters to encourage romance writers to hone their craft and have fun doing it in a like-minded group.

What is flash fiction? ‘Flash’ has nothing to do with taking your clothes off in public. It’s simply a short story, 1,000 words or less. It needs to be a complete story with a beginning, middle and end but other than that, you get an idea and run with it. Being given a weekly theme or prompt as at RFWer gives you a starting place, but that’s all! The rest is up to you to make of it as you will.

I must tell you, though, writing flash fiction is addictive. Have you found that? I wrote a story almost every week, for an entire year. I wrote one the week I got married. I wrote one on my honeymoon. I wrote when I was sick. I wrote when I was tired. Nothing would dissuade me from meeting the weekly #Fridayflash deadline.

Some people take an entire week to write their Flash. How about you?

Not me.

With a full-time job, two kids, a husband and a great love for the outdoors, I don’t have a heck of a lot of time for writing during the week. Thursday is my Flash night. I start thinking about a story idea on my way home from work on Thursday night. Sometimes I come up with an idea on that drive. Sometimes I don’t. After dinner and dishes I disappear into the bedroom with my laptop, close the door behind me and stare at the blank screen until the first line pops into my head.

I write for about an hour and a half. Sometimes less, if it’s a short piece. Sometimes more if I have extra words. (The word limit at #ff is 1,000). Generally, though, it isn’t a long time. When I finish I announce, loudly, “ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST!” and haul my laptop into the kitchen where I read it out loud to Dave, my long-suffering husband.

This is how I edit. By reading to Dave.

Reading anything out loud is the best way I know of to find mistakes in your flash fiction. They pop off the page when you read them orally. When you read a story to yourself, the mistakes stay hidden because you see only what you want to see. I can’t overstate the importance of reading aloud. Even if there’s nobody else in the house, it’s important to hear the words.

But having a husband willing to listen and say nice things is very, very nice.

When the quick edit is done I post it on my blog with the Twitter hash-tag #fridayflash. I see you have similar options at RFWer. Social networks are the stuff of dreams for memes! (Yes, we have poets at #ff just as you have at RFWer, but I'm not one!)

It’s important to travel around the blogosphere to read other writers’ stories after you've posted you own. I comment, then I hype their stories on Twitter. This cross-promotion is also important to the group process. It helps your work, it helps other people’s work. It’s just win-win all over the darned place.

If you write to a regular flash meme as at Fridayflash and RFWer, you will eventually begin to see a group of writers whose tastes are similar to your own. You will naturally gravitate to them and eventually you will find yourself in a supportive, friendly circle of people who are just like you.

I haven’t written a flash for a few months, only because I’m in the middle of writing a novel. I miss it though. Miss the excitement of reading people’s comments about my stories. Miss reading other people’s stories. Miss the camaraderie and party-like atmosphere of Friday nights, a flurry of Tweets and woots and exclamation marks.

The absolute best thing about being in a group like Friday Flash or RFWer? It hones your ability as a writer. My stories aren’t always fantastic – sometimes they are downright embarrassing. But the steady business of writing every week makes me a better writer. Gives me confidence. And besides, two or three of those stories I wrote were pretty darned good. If I do say so myself.

And, of course, I do.

Cathy Olliffe-Webster is a writer and graphic artist living in a log cabin on the Muskoka River in Bracebridge, Ontario, Canada.

Thank you Cathy for sharing with us today. I wish you all the best for your novel and the NaNoWriMo experience!

Here is the link to Cathy’s amazing story, Ruby Tuesday.

What do you think? Did anything Cathy shared resonate with you?
How do you go about writing your flash fiction?
Has writing for RFWer made you a better writer?
What is the best thing about RFWer for you?

Please share your thoughts...

Denise (L'Aussie)

Featured Writer - Challenge No 25 - Haunting! And what's happening at Romantic Friday Writers. New Challenge December 2!

2011-10-31T14:02:00.000-07:00

This post has to be long, so I've divided it into sections with our blood rose.

Haunting! was a great challenge to have around Halloween. A warm welcome to 7 new participants - sHoNA, Simran, Deniz, Priyanka, The Solitary Writer, Leo and Michael. I hope if you haven't already, you'll join our membership and post on a regular basis. Please read the Submissions Page then sign up using the Linky in the sidebar. It's free and it puts you in the running to receive awards. Thanks to those of you who publicised the theme and invited your blogger friends to join us.

The stories and poems were entertaining as always, and it made a change to have a dash of blood and paranormal amongst the mix. Most of your offerings maintained some element of romance which is sometimes a bit harder to do when you go a-haunting.

Due to gremlins at work we had to relocate RFWers here. The old site has been practically demolished. All that's left is the 91 Followers, most of whom haven't yet joined this site (well, I just checked and now this has been removed so I cannot contact the rest of our members!) If you haven't joined this site, please do or you'll miss updates!

The biggest change around RFWer is that Francine Howarth, my co-co-ordinator has already relinquished admin duties but will be submitting to themes as other commitments allow. In recent months Francine's writing projects have really taken off which is so exciting.

Francine, thank you for sacrificing so much of your time in helping me get RFWer operational. Your input has been invaluable. You put the site together, saw to the interior decorating features (you know where to find great stuff!) and wrestled with me as we tried to discover the best ways to run our burgeoning group.

Francine and I took turns in coming up with themes each week. She was the one filling the sidebar with the theme and adding stimulus to the Challenges Page and so many other tasks. She ran the group single handedly while I jaunted around overseas for a month and she didn't have an easy time of it with critiquing blues happening that were never resolved satisfactorily due to my absence.

So Francine, please accept this bunch of roses from me and those at RFWer who will miss your jaunty presence. RFWer would not be as successful today if not for you, so my Pommy friend, it's been great working with you and I wish you every success in your e-publishing career and in traditional publishing.

RUNNER UP, FEATURED WRITER

As usual it was excruciating to have to choose a Featured Writer and Runner Up this week. It's taken up to three readings to make a decision.

There are many writers who need an honourable mention - Nancy for taking us on a Zombie Crawl with Tod, who manages to find romance, Marsha who treated us with an excerpt of Anson's life of bondage to the witchy Zandra, Deniz' sweet, yet spooky tale of Devran, Andy's Unknown Spirit...so many good stories. I can't mention them all! We are blessed at Romantic Friday Writers. But I had to choose...

So, ta dah! There were so many different things happening this week, but reading Adura's prose rather than poetry was an unexpected treat. Thank you Adura, our Runner Up this week, for prose as soulful as your poetry. Didn't we all enjoy Grandma and Grandpa's waltz?! The Runner Up badge is yours to display on your blog.

Our Featured Writer for the Haunting theme must go this week to Madeleine for her Bewitching Hour. Who wasn't shaken to the core by Madeleine's carefully-crafted tale of Jack and Rosie? As Francine said in comments - 'stunning, simply stunning...' It was a heart-breaker, yet oozing with romance. Congratulations Madeleine. There is a special badge this week to display on your blog. I loved the image for Haunting so much I didn't want to say goodbye.

So everyone, I hope you agree with my choices. Huge applause to our winners this week.

WHERE DO RFWers GO FROM HERE?

You may have noticed that RFWer will be on hiatus until December. What this means is that I need time to regroup, as well as time to participate in NaNoWriMo, which I find very beneficial. Are you in? I have plenty of on-going themes waiting in the wings for RFWer, but don't have the time to be writing/reading/posting etc...

From now on I'll be running RFWer alone. It's a huge task, yet lots of fun. However, looking at the long-term, I feel weekly posts are too much for me to sustain if I want to achieve other writing goals. I want RFWer to continue, so this is what I've come up with:

For a trial period, at least until the end of this year, Romantic Friday Writers will become a monthly, rather than weekly blogfest. There may be special themes from time to time as well.
There will usually be guest posts on Wednesday each week during November, so check in. I'm asking guests to give us tips on writing flash fiction and romance.
Because we only have to write one story or poem monthly, the word limit can be upped to make it 400-600 words temporarily. You can of course submit 200 words if you so choose!
The challenges will be broadened - to include response to a photo, an image, or you might be given phrases to begin your story with. There may or may not always be a theme.

OUR FIRST MONTHLY CHALLENGE:

Here's our first challenge - responding to an image. Christmas is big at our house, but I know not everyone celebrates, or celebrates this holiday in different ways. So rather than making a Christmas blogfest, I'm giving you the opportunity to respond to this image in whatever way you wish - it reeks of a ghostly romantic tale to me, or we could have a 'lost in the woods' poem or story, or it could be a Christmas story (obviously not an Aussie Christmas!) Over to you! Stun us with your masterpiece. You have a whole month to write your piece, and you have extra words to play with. Don't forget we are Romantic Friday Writers.

How about posting the challenge on your blog? All the more fun to read.

I'll be looking forward to reading your December stories.

Let's get writing people!

I'd appreciate any comments/suggestions on this post.

Denise (L'Aussie)

(I'll be adding the First Monthly Challenge section to our Challenge page.

Weekly Linky Sign-up - October 28 - Challenge No. 25 - "Haunting!"

2011-10-25T19:09:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the new RFW blog platform!

2011-10-25T09:12:00.000-07:00

As you can see nothing has changed! It's a mirror image blog.

As soon as Denise is up and about the "Haunting" linky will go live

and we'll be hard-pushed to get writing for Friday!