Accepting a Romantic Challenge

by Paula Gail Benson

Maybe you’ve been hearing a lot of controversy about the Romance Writers of America lately. At this writing, the national organization has many issues to address; however, good things are happening with the local chapters. The opportunity I had to write “Wisest, Swiftest, Kindest” is one of them.

I’m not a reader of romance and I never planned on being a writer of romance, but I joined the Lowcountry Chapter of the Romance Writers of America (LRWA), based in Charleston, S.C., because of its craft programs and writing retreats. I very much appreciated all the good writing and marketing information I received at the meetings and through the online classes. Following a trip to Charleston, I always rode back to Columbia energized and ready to work even more diligently telling my stories.

This past year, I almost let my membership lapse. South Carolina now has many more groups that provide writing programs, ones taking place where I live rather than requiring travel.

But, I decided to re-up one more time and I’m truly glad I did.

The officers and members of LRWA decided to put together an anthology. Everyone in the chapter was encouraged to contribute. The organizers set up a rigorous process, including two beta readings and detailed submission of “collateral material” (read that as marketing tools including author bio and publication list, character bios, character photos available from royalty free sites or purchased for use, story excerpts, and tweets).

Here were the story requirements: they had to occur in Charleston, S.C., during any time-period, but set during the winter holidays (from Thanksgiving to New Year’s) and they had to be 7,500 words or less. Later, the 7,500-word-limit was extended to 10,000.

Okay, I tell myself. I can write short stories. Mostly I write mysteries in the 3,500 word range, but 7,500 is just two of my stories put together. And, I know the basics of a romance: attraction, conflict, HEA or HFN (“happily ever after” or “happy for now” for those uninitiated). How difficult could it be?

What’s the answer whenever that question is asked? Much more than expected. In my case, it was an eye-opening experience. My respect for romance writers, their craft, and their marketing skills has grown. I’ve learned so much that I can apply to any type or length of writing. I’m so incredibly glad I took on this challenge and had this group of dedicated women to walk me through the process, which included independent publication, another area about which I now have better knowledge.

Here’s some information about our anthology, Love in the Lowcountry (available on Amazon), the stories you’ll find there, and the authors who wrote them. Where available, please check out the links to the author websites.

Romance is heating up the winter holidays…

From paranormal to contemporary, from sweet to sultry, from first time love to love revived, discover both dark and deLIGHTful tales of romance amidst the intriguing backdrop of Charleston, South Carolina.

Best-selling authors join exciting new debuts in fourteen original stories of Love in the Lowcountry…

The Stories

Amy Quinton… – Hoodwinked for the Holidays – Wanted: Ghost with good reviews for special holiday tour. Team Player a must. Matchmaking skills NOT required.

Angela Mizell – Mistletoe and Mayhem – In the Unholy City, everyone has a secret.

Carla Susan Smith… – The Snow Leopard – What could be worse than being born into a family of shifters? Not being one.

Casey Porter… – The Illusion of Control– Having it together often means you don’t.

Elaine Reed… – Champagne Supernova– With everything going wrong, can she make New Year’s Eve go right?

Gracey Evans… – A Secret on Gillon – Bax’s fiery will and Raziel’s divine license to sin ignite trouble before fate steps in.

Jen Davis… – Hitman’s Holiday – His job is to kill her. But how can he take her life when she’s stolen his heart?

Jessie Vaughn – Kisses on King Street – It’s never too late to reclaim a lost love. Can rekindling a past romance yield later life love?

Michele Sims… – Poinsettias for Carly – A past unresolved is never the past.

Paula Gail Benson… – Wisest, Swiftest, Kindest – Two grad students connect though time travel to Charleston’s literary past. Is love enough to bring them home for Thanksgiving?

Rebecca A. Owens – A Charleston Christmas—Love Finds a Way – Is Chance and Wynona’s love strong enough to overcome a devastating loss and a deep secret?

Robin Hillyer-Miles – West End Club – Membership in West End Club is pure Charleston tradition. And marriage is the only way out of the December gathering.

Savannah J. Frierson… – A Silver Holiday – There’s better, there’s worse, then there’s spending the holidays with in-laws you can’t stand.

Zuzana Juhasova – Ghosted Home to You – She doesn’t need dating apps to get ghosted.

Wouldn’t you like to take a virtual vacation to Charleston, S.C.?

A 280-Character Theme-Based Writing Exercise

by Julie Tollefson

A few days ago, I searched my work in progress for any line that mentioned "rain." Nothing. My previous WIP? Nope. How about a recent short story? Uh-uh. Apparently, it does not rain in my fictional worlds.

Why so obsessed? I was looking for a line to fit the week’s theme for #1lineWed, a writing game on Twitter sponsored by the Kiss of Death Chapter of Romance Writers of America (Twitter handle: @RWAKissofDeath).

Writers of all genres are invited to play along, sharing a passage from their work that relates to the theme word. The catch is the snippet of work must fit within the 280-character limit of a tweet, with enough room left to add the official hashtag (#1lineWed) that helps others find your contribution to the game.

Some weeks are easier than others, I’ve found. On March 14, when the theme was “wind,” I had enough characters left in my entry to add a couple of other popular writing hashtags—#amwriting and #amwritingmystery:

She laughed, a music so light and bubbly the wind might carry it away. #1linewed #amwriting #amwritingmystery

The same for February 28 and its theme, “heavy”:

The owl called again, this time closer, more urgent. The beat of its heavy wings disrupted the air over her garden. #1linewed #amwriting

And February 21, “light”:

Early morning light, weak and tentative, filtered through branches still barren of leaves, though the swollen buds at their tips hinted at the coming spring. #1linewed

Other weeks take more thought and a bit of creative license to find a sentence or two that works with the theme word. For the March 7 theme, “earth,” I couldn’t find a single reference to earth that worked as an outtake for the game. But I stretched and found this passage:

Its architecture mimicked the limestone-capped bluffs of the region and created the impression that forces of nature—not man—had carved the castle on the hill, as it was known, from the land itself. #1lineWed #amwriting #amwritingmystery

Beyond the fun and challenge of playing the game, #1lineWed can turn into an exercise in revision. Though my search for “rain” turned up empty, the opening scene of a recent short story described a distant storm. The problem? No way would I be able to fit the 630-character passage into a tweet.

So I rewrote it a bit, lost some of the details that are important to the story but not for the tweet, simplified, deleted extraneous words, and came up with 277 characters that have the same flavor as the original passage but fit in the limited space of Twitter:

Far to the south, lightning writhed between & around black, anvil-topped clouds that towered over the High Plains. The storm promised a wild ride for anyone in its path. Here, though, she inhaled deeply, the scents of sagebrush & cattle, of heat & dust. Of childhood. #1lineWed

Though I’d revised and tightened the original passage a dozen times, I still found ways to streamline it for the #1lineWed exercise, and that’s valuable practice any day of the week.


If you’re a writer, how do you hone your skills?

If you’re a reader, do you follow Twitter games like #lineWed? Have you discovered new authors because they talk about their work online?

---

Find Julie on Twitter (@jtollefson) and Instagram (julie.tollefson).