Finished My Workshop!

Today is the first day of the Romance Slam Jam and I did my workshop this morning. It's great to go first and get it over and done with. Because now I can relax until I do a panel on Saturday with A. C. Arthur. I'm supposed to be having lunch right now. But I thought I'd post first because I'm trying to be nice and make you all feel like you are here with me. :-)

Anyway, my workshop was geared toward readers but I think it was useful for writers and aspiring writers as well. The workshop was titled, "Couldn't Put It Down: What Makes a Compelling Romance Read?"

Here's the blurb:

This workshop will explore the question, what makes a romance novel good. We have all had the experience of finishing a book and smiling, sufficiently satisfied with money and time well spent. We have also had the experience of finishing a book (or not finishing a book) and wanting to throw the book against the wall. The reasons for these experiences are as varied as the personalities of the readers. But I believe that there are certain elements that we can point to in a particularly great book and pretty much all agree on. Things that say to us all, this was a good read! In this workshop we will share some of these using examples from contemporary romance and encourage lots of interaction from the audience as we all try and figure out: what makes a compelling read?

I had them think and free write for a few moments at the start of the workshop just to get us all thinking about our likes and dislikes. Here are the three things I had them free write on:

First, list five traits that any good romance novel should have, in your opinion.
Second, come up with your own short definition of what makes a page turning read, what makes a book one that is hard to put down.
Third, give us the names of five romance novels that you have read that fit your qualifications.

The workshop had about ten women in it and we really had a great discussion and it felt like a really good book club discussion. I had a great time. And I feel like we had a nice exchange.

I talked about the things that I feel make for a compelling read and most of them agreed with me and had wonderful things to add.

I came up with a brief list of must-haves for the compelling read.
~ The "You had me at hello" factor: Have you ever noticed that most books that you can't put down usually grab you from page one. You start reading it at the characters, the language and the plot, all come together on that first page in such a powerful way that you are immediately captured in the prose. This doesn't always happen from page one. But when it does... wow...
~ Characters, Characters, Characters: When a writer gets me emotionally invested in their characters in anyway, I'm there until the last page and sometimes even after. All of the women noted the importance of characters and they had a variety of qualifications. But characters were high on the list. I talked about the fact that for me, I don't have to like or love the characters immediately. But I have to feel something, even if it is dislike and I'm reading and waiting for said character to get what's coming to them or the wake-up call. If I feel something for the characters then I will keep turning those pages.
~ Plotting and pacing: The whole point of "I couldn't put it down" is based on the fact that you don't want the reader to put the book down. If the plot starts to drag or it get off track and veers off then the read may put the book down and not pick it back up. For me plotting and pacing is important. You want to keep upping the ante adding to the drama, emotion and tension so that the reader is constantly feeling as if she can't wait to see what will happen next.
~ The "When the Stuff Hits the Fan" or "When All Hell Breaks Loose" Factor: This is important and goes along with pacing and plot. Usually books that keep us turning the page keep us hooked because we are in on a big secret that the character has yet to find out and when they find out, oh boy. And we keep reading because we know that when it unfolds, oh boy. Or writers who are really good will have the big secret hinted at, giving the reader clues and just enough information to keep the reader guessing. And then when everything comes out, wow! These are all things that have to be navigated carefully, because you don't want to have the reader continue to turn the pages thinking something huge is going to happen and then it fizzles or the reader says, is that it?! The pay off has to pack a punch.
~ The "Don't be a Spike Lee Flick" factor - The final part of creating the compelling read for me is knowing that perfect place to end it. Have you ever noticed that no matter how excellent a Spike Lee film is he always seems to drag them out just a tad too long? I find myself watching his films and thinking, he could have ended that movie right there and it would have been perfect. And then there is usually a half hour or so left on the film. Writers don't want readers thinking, dang when is she going to end this. You don't want readers thinking, okay, she's just adding stuff to be adding stuff now. Or the dreaded, dang, are we there yet. We want readers to close the book and say "ahhh, perfect."

So that was my workshop. There are more workshops at 2:00 and then a 70s party! I will try and check in on Friday. But I can't promise. I might have too much fun at the 70s party.

much love and peace,

Gwyneth