Sunday, April 14, 2019

What We're Writing: Jenn and the dreaded copyedits.

JENN McKINLAY: I'm plugging away, cranking out ten pages a day on a brand new venture that I'm enjoying immensely  It's been sold and I'm quite thrilled by the enthusiasm of the publisher, but while the contracts are still being drawn up, I can't say anything about it as yet. Bummer, I know.

In the meantime, because writing four books per year is a juggling act, I'm also doing the dreaded copyedits for October's book, The Christmas Keeper. It's a rom-com that features cranky horses, romance writing divas, and ugly Christmas sweaters. What's not to love, right?

A popular phrase in publishing these days is "meet cute", which describes how a heroine and hero meet. This is not the case with these two characters: Joaquin (Quino) Solis and Savannah (Savy) Wilson. In fact, I believe "meet snark" would be more apt, which could be why I love them so. Here's the scene from the perspective of Joaquin's friend Ryder:


Savannah charged into the office, carrying two mugs of coffee. She saw Joaquin standing there but didn’t slow down. She just plowed past him into the room. Ryder caught Quino’s look of surprise and almost laughed.
    “Here you go,” Savannah said. She thrust the mug at Ryder. Then she scowled at him. “What did you say to Maisy?”
    “Nothing, why?” He took the mug and tried to ignore how his pulse jumped at the sound of her name.
    “Liar,” Savannah said. “She’s with her kitten right now and she’s—,”
    “Crying?” Ryder asked in alarm.
    “Singing.” Savannah gave him a dark look.
    Oh, singing was bad, very bad, for a variety of reasons. “Over the Rainbow?”
    “Worse, Tura Lura Lural,” she said.
    “The Irish lullaby?” Quino asked. “What’s wrong with that?”
    Savannah and Ryder shared a look and then Savy said, “I’m sorry, this is your business why?”
    “Because Ryder is my friend,” he said.
    “Well, Maisy is mine,” she countered.
    Ryder glanced between them. If ever there were two people who should not be in the same room together, it was these two. Both were fiercely independent, stubborn, and frankly, mouthy.
     “Here’s a thought, if you don’t want me knowing your friend’s business, maybe you shouldn’t talk about it in front of me,” Quino said. He crossed his arms over his chest, doing a fair imitation of a wall.
    “If you had any manners, you wouldn’t have listened in on what was obviously a private conversation,” Savy said. She ended it with a hair toss and Ryder saw his friend’s pupils dilate. Quino had always had a thing for gingers.
    “Steady, you two,” Ryder said. “We’re all friends here.” He cast a glance at Savy. “At least, I hope we are. Joaquin Solis, this is Savannah Wilson. There you’ve been introduced, now play nice.”
    Quino’s eyes moved over Savannah’s tall, curvy frame. She was dressed for success today in a skirt and blouse with spiky heels. Her long red curls were loose and framed her face becomingly while her green eyes blazed provocatively. Ryder would have felt sorry for his friend if he wasn’t all consumed by his own female based misery right now. 
    “You’re a city girl, aren’t you?” Quino asked.
    “Woman. I am a woman, not a girl,” Savannah said. “And, yes, I’m from Manhattan, or as we like to call it, civilization.”
     A slow smile spread across Quino’s lips. Ruh roh. Ryder knew that look. It practically shouted “challenge accepted”.
    “Well, woman, since we’ve established that I lack manners, I’m going to say exactly what I’m thinking,” he said.
     “That should be a short sentence,” she retorted.
    This time Quino laughed and it hit the room like a sonic boom of warmth. Ryder noticed that even Savannah responded to it by relaxing her posture a bit. She turned to face him and Quino moved forward until they were an arm’s length apart.
     “I think you should go on a date with me,” he said. Tall and muscular, with movie star good looks and a friendly personality, it had long been established that Quino could have any woman he wanted. In fact, in all the years Ryder had known him no woman had ever refused a date with him.
    “That is never going to happen,” Savannah said. “But thanks for the offer.”
    Ryder was pretty sure his jaw hit the ground. He tried to cover it up by taking a long sip of coffee, but seriously -- Holy Shit! – no one ever said no to Joaquin SolisHe thought his friend might be embarrassed to have crashed and burned in front of him. 
    Nope. Quite the opposite. Quino looked at him as if to say Her. I’ll take her. Ryder had the abrupt epiphany that his world had just gotten infinitely more complicated. This had to be nipped. Immediately!

October 2019

So, how about it, Reds and Readers, how do you prefer your meets between characters - cute, snarky, or other?


37 comments:

  1. I don’t know as I have a preference between cute or snarky. . . I think it depends on the way the two of them meet. Sometimes cute is annoying and snarky can come off as being mean-spirited . . . I think it really depends on the personalities of the two characters. Your Savannah and Joaquin had me chuckling at their sniping! I’m sure I’ll enjoy the rest of the story as much as I enjoyed this little snippet . . . .

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    1. Thanks, Joan. I always love hearing couples origin stories - the funnier the better!

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  2. Oh, this one is definitely going on my Christmas books list, Jen. I can't wait to see Savannah and Joaquin get to the point of admitting they are attracted to one another. That's going to be some stand-off. I think I actually prefer snarky, or maybe your excerpt had unduly influenced me right now. But, I like for there to be a challenge of strong personalities in the mix. Of course, I want the snarky meet to eventually result in a mutual consideration of each other's feelings, after realizing that they actually think the other person is special.

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    1. Same here! I love witnessing the evolution of a relationship.

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  3. Whatever this was, I'll take it! Nice job, Jenn.

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  4. I noticed this passage when I read "The Good Ones," and enjoyed it as the set-up for the next book in the series. I think I like it best when characters "meet smart," and this meeting qualifies in spades. Savannah has already been established as a smart and caring friend to Maisy, and Quino has already been introduced to readers as Ryder's best friend and wingman. We know them and like them both before this moment happens. As this scene unfolds, each of them has an agenda and each interrupts what the other is doing. Some irritation is expected, and the fact that it goes to snark, rather than a flame war or flat-out rudeness makes it fun. It's even more fun to watch the chemistry slowly but surely sidetrack each from the original agenda into a here-and-now realization that . . . oh. Oh! Well done.

    What I don't like are characters who are rude to each other arbitrarily, just because the author thinks it's mandatory somehow. You always seem to navigate this fine line with finesse.

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    1. Yes! Manufactured hostility is too manipulative. Thanks for the kind words, Gigi!

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  5. great scene! I prefer matter of fact meetings, walking the dogs or while attending a soccer game.

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    1. Or how about if one of them is being interrogated as a murder suspect?

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    2. LOL, Lucy, you’re such a mystery writer!

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  6. I think there's a very fine line between "meet cute" and "gag me." A cute meet can work if it is extremely well written, but too often they are not. Of course, I suppose that's true of any other kind of interaction, too. When you mentioned "meet snark" my defenses went up a bit, because it sounded like it had similar potential to annoy. But your excerpt charmed them back down.

    Perhaps my real problem is with any plot point that feels forumulaic. All I want is to see real humans interacting in ways that seem consistent with their character. You know, like the things all the Reds write!

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    1. I agree Susan! The characters have to feel real or I lose interest...

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    2. Perfectly said, Susan. I read a book the other day where a heroine meets the hero in an elevator when it breaks down but the premise was that she didn’t notice him in the elevator with her until it broke down - huh? What woman gets into an elevator without noticing who’s in there? Kind of ruined it for me.

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  7. Jenn, my sister gulps down rom-coms like peanuts--insatiable! And I think she's going to be happily devouring this one! And I so agree with Susan. I don't care how two characters meet, as long as it seems true to those characters. I detest those formulas that dictate a 'meet-cute' or other scenario in a book and it comes across as just that--a formula.

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    1. I love a meet that feels authentic and if it’s original that’s a double bonus!

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  8. Love it, Jenn. The perfect mix of snark and sass. Can't wait to read it.

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  9. How characters meet doesn't matter to me as much as how well it is written. You know - like Jenn writes it!

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  10. Jenn, I don't normally read romances but this looks like fun! Good luck with your editing.

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  11. Such fun! Because this is so full of what is not said, and readers are imagining what might happen next, and that is part of the enjoyment of reading these. The reader gets to be like an invisible friend in the room, and that is terrific. Jenn, you are the best at this!

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  12. And it’s difficult to write, isn’t it? Because readers know: here comes the love interest! So you have to make it clear, but not hitting you over the head obvious.

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    1. Thanks, Hank! It the best sort of challenge - to me!

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  13. Oh, this IS meet cute... I love it. Conflict makes it spicey.

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  14. Jenn, this is such fun! Can't believe I have to wait until Christmas to see what happens. What about the kitten??

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    1. Oh, he’s there! King George is always there...much like my life!

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  15. Four books a year? Wow!

    I don't have a preference. It depends on the characters. The meet has to match their personalities.

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  16. I'm sorry, Jenn, my brain shorted out when I read, "cranking out ten pages a day" and I was unable to continue. :-)

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    1. LOL - I am in the homestretch of a book due May 1 - the biggest book of my career to date - and I am a hot mess! Don’t let the page count fool you. There is much wailing, sweating, bloodletting, and angst happening.

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  17. Looks good Jenn! Where does this story take place? As for meetings, I like a variety of situations. Otherwise it'd be the same old same old, wouldn't it?

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  18. I'm with you, Pat D. Variety is good. However, I loved this snippet of story. Will definitely read this.

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