How Those Favorite Gifts Become the Basis for Your Story!

Merry Christmas, everyone! Mia here, stopping in for some egg nog and a few Christmas carols. You’ll have to forgive my singing—I have a decent voice but a tin ear.  :)

Anyway, Ruthy and I thought it would be fun to share our favorite gifts with you today and then open up the comments for yours. They can be tangible things or precious memories, whichever you treasure most. We’re going to get things started, and then if you join in, you’ll be entered in the drawing for our Love Inspired Christmas books.

For me, this was an easy one: my kids are the best gifts I’ve ever gotten. I really enjoyed my wedding day, but when I became a mother my life changed in ways I never could’ve imagined before. I learned how to be more patient, how to plan for more than myself, and how to survive on VERY little sleep.  Now that our kids are older, I’ve discovered how inspiring it is to watch them grow into the people they’re going to be. Life with young adults isn’t always easy, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.

For anyone who’s not familiar with my background, we have a daughter in college and a son in high school. Looking back, I see how they and their friends have helped make me a better writer. They didn’t mean to do it, of course, but their many dramas—large and small—provide me with endless fodder for the characters in my stories. Giving them real problems to solve makes them feel more real to me and hopefully to readers, as well. Without the unwitting contributions from my kids, I’d have only my perspective to draw from. I have a pretty good imagination, but left to my own devices, I’m afraid it wouldn’t take me long to run out of decent material.

Before Ruth comes in and takes over, I want to wish everyone a warm, wonderful holiday season!

Oh, Mia has me laughing, because I’m snarky enough to raise a brow when folks try to write kids and blow it! You know the original rule we all learned, to write what you know? Not a bad idea, LOL!  That doesn’t mean there aren’t different ways to approach kids, because anyone who’s got more than one kid knows they’re unique… some are bratty. Some aren’t. Some are outgoing. Some aren’t. But you know what shows me an author’s lack of experience with kids more than the kids’ behaviors, speech patterns, and actions?

 The way other characters REACT TO THE CHILD. Oh, that’s like raising a big red flag that says, “I don’t have kids, I haven’t had kids in decades, and I have no idea how they sound, or what they say, do and like!”

I agree with Mia, life is the best scene-coach of all. If you’ve lived, you have story fodder. Just change the names to protect the innocent. And the guilty!

Best gift… Well, there’s a bunch of dust collectors around the Blodgett farm that I could tease about, but youse know what I’m going to say… my faith.

My faith has moved mountains. My faith has sustained me in times of darkness and uplifted me in times of light! That sweet gift, that faith of a child bolsters me in everything I do. It puts a smile on my face, I’m like a grinning idiot!!!! And all because I truly believe God shaped me… created me…. And offered me life to the full! Thank you, God, because honestly, that gift of faith, a gift that whispered to me as a child but came to me fully as an adult.

The kids get to lay a piece of yarn on baby Jesus's manger every time they do something kind and good without being asked! They warm a baby, born to the poor, by their good deeds. By Christmas, the manger will be alive in colored yarn!

 That faith, a faith that began in a childhood hovel, is what I cling to when we lose those we love. It’s what I profess when danger looms. It’s what I teach to small children with messy faces as we make sugar cookie crosses and put yarn on Baby Jesus to keep him warm in that drafty manger... our good deeds warm that baby's heart!

Simple. Pure. Free.

It has cost me nothing and given me everything!!!

I try to infuse the blessed warmth of that faith into each story I create. Faith or lack of faith can underscore character growth and bind or sever healing threads of forgiveness and acceptance and romance. Like writing children and their foibles, the best way to write faith is from the deep emotions faith evokes within us. You and me. Simple folk of the race that knows Joseph.

And speaking of gifts!!!! Mia and I are each giving away copies of our books, so wonderful commenters are going to have their names yanked from the cat dish tonight! A copy of Her Holiday Family (Ruthy’s version, the contemporary!!!!) and “Sugar Plum Season”, Mia’s latest Love Inspired will find their way to your door! And I've thrown in complimentary copies of "Hope for the Holidays", one historical and one contemporary set for your Kindles! Let us know in the comments what you'd like!!!

Come on inside, Helen’s got the coffee waitin’ on us and there’s a whole tray of custard and strawberry stuffed croissants. You. Will. Love. Them.

I promise!

OH, WAIT!!! THIS JUST IN!!!! GUIDEPOSTS IS OFFERING THIS BEAUTIFUL BOOK FOR .99 FOR KINDLE, NOOK AND APPLE!!!!

LINK TO AMAZON

LINK TO NOOK

Romantic Times called these stories a compelling read... and they're filled with joy! "Red Kettle Christmas" by me.... and "Manhattan Miracle" by Anna Schmidt!!!!  Yes, jump over there now and get your .99 book... and then come on back and we'll toss your name in the cat dish for some more fun Christmas reading!

Because we love youse that much!!!!

Ruth Logan Herne lives in a rabbit hole in upstate NY and pokes her head out as needed because she loves being denned in for the winter, writing stories of faith, hope, humor and love! With some cute kids sprinkled in, of course! Hang with her on facebook or visit her at http://ruthloganherne.com

Her buddy Mia Ross is also an upstate NY native who loves telling stories!

 Visit Mia at www.miaross.com, friend her on facebook, 
and enjoy her stories from Love Inspired books all year round!

Trim Your Novel Like You Trim the Tree!

Merry Christmas, Seekerville!

 Ruthy here, with my buddy Mia Ross and yes, we've got yet ANOTHER writing analogy for you! 

(cue the applause and the tinned laughter!)

I prefer to think of it as a parable, I mean what's good for Jesus is surely fine by me, but any way you want to cut it, I love laying out the principles of writing for folks to see.  You never know when some little thing will be that light bulb moment, that AHA!!!! experience. 

We are surrounded by the beautiful images of Christmas in December. And often we talk of "keeping Christmas with us" throughout the year. If we take those same principles of beauty and joy and apply them to our novels, we can deepen our stories and offer those "Reader Rewards" our friend Vince Mooney talks about. Here's Mia to start us off:

 Merry Christmas, Seekerville! Since this kind of thing is always more fun with a friend, Ruthy and I are doing a tag team this morning. We were chatting recently and came up with the crazy notion that writing a book is a lot like putting up a Christmas tree. Don't believe us? Read on.

In the Ross family, we go for real trees. I know they're expensive, and they need water and drop needles, but we do it anyway because we enjoy the tradition. The first step is to find the right kind of tree. It takes us awhile because this is our main Christmas decorating project and we're VERY picky. We tramp through the tree farm, searching for one that's the perfect shape and fullness, and won't blow through the ceiling. Then we cut it down and bring it home to stand in the living room. Mmm...I can almost smell those fresh pine boughs and hear Charlie Brown Christmas in the background.

Right now, you're probably thinking, "Sure, Mia. Whatever. There must be a metaphor in here somewhere." And yes, there is. When you start thinking about a new story, the first thing you do is figure out what kind it will be. Romance? Thriller? Mystery? That's like picking out the right species of tree. Once you decide on that, you need to find the right shape for your idea. Will it be set in a big city or small town? That choice not only sets up your cast of characters, it also drives the plot. For instance, a murder in a quaint village has a different vibe than one that takes place in Manhattan. Similarly, a towering ten-foot blue spruce is okay in a great room with a cathedral ceiling, but if your ceiling is like ours, a six-foot one is better.

Fullness comes next. Novella or epic novel or something in between? You also need to figure out if it's going to be a taut, intense story with lots of action, or more hearth and home. Even when you've got all that together, the original tree might not be quite right for your living room, so you'll have to do a little trimming here and there to make it work. That's a lot like revising your draft to make sure it's the best book you can possibly write. No matter what anyone tells you, you can't really cover up flaws with garland, no matter how sparkly it is ;)

When you're done with the basics, it's time to make that tree the centerpiece of your holiday decor. That's where Ruthy the decorating elf comes in!

(In comes the elf!!!!)

Mia's anal about her tree... With me, it's the lights. Yes. I am "that person". The person who strings thousands of lights on innocent trees so when they're plugged in they sparkle from within. And when I see this effect in a novel, it makes me smile. 

As you can see, I was not afraid to use the sparkling elements of small children and twinkle lights to sell PUPPIES!!!  How stinkin' cute are these guys????? Yes, shamelessly exploiting kids and small animals is my forte!

A good story sparkles regardless of genre. A great story shines from within, those tiny, intrinsic rewards of poignancy, warmth, sadness, joy and hope. Equate plot-thinning or rushing to leaving off two or three-hundred lights. Out of 1200, it might not seem like much, but the slightly dimmer tree can't light up your characters' paths the same way.

Plot points are our ornaments. Are we going total 5th Avenue glitz... (and I was there last week but my phone died so I couldn't bring you pictures, but just so you know: the lights and displays were GORGEOUS, darling!!!)

Or country barn theme simple? Are they paper like so many of the ones we use on our tree? Precious items my kids made thirty some years ago? Or are you a Hallmark writer, looking for the quaint, cute and quintessential all in one?

As we layer in plot points, each one distinct, we have to thread the characters through, like cranberry and popcorn garland.

 If you drape the garland carelessly, the tree isn't as pretty from across the room. But if you let it rise and fall with the flow of evergreen branches, the red and white pattern offsets the green perfectly. And that's how your characters' journeys need to flow, smoothly.... in an understandable (but not necessarily predictable) line. If you keep them in character, the garland stays where it belongs. But if you suddenly insert a hissy fit into a calm, rational heroine, then you should either make it Mary Connealy funny or Tina Radcliffe cryptic. Jarring the reader out of their comfort zone without the proper tree skirt padding is gonna' hurt someone! 

We don't want readers mad at us or our trees. Wait. Do we want the trees mad at us? 

NO!

We want everything just so, scenic and pretty, a range of emotions rising and falling with evergreen branches. 

Of course around here then a dog or a kid is going to come along, snag something on the garland, jump and run when I yell and knock the whole kit and caboodle down.  Which is why I re-enforce the trees with fishing line and cleverly disguised nails in the window frame because Ruthy trees must withstand an activity level just shy of nuclear holocaust. 

I buy REALLY STRONG fishing line. It works!

And when all is said and done, cozy-ing up by the fire, the tree winking at us from its special spot of honor, the feeling is very much like polishing a novel, giving it that last tweak and trim. Satisfied, happy and a little tired.

Hey, we've got some sweet Christmas reads for youse today! 




Mia and I are giving away copies of our December Love Inspired releases!!!

 "Jingle Bell Romance"  (note the CLEVER link for those of youse who simply cannot wait to buy this delightful four-star read!!!!)

and "The Lawman's Holiday Wish"!  (DITTO!!!!!)

Come on in, set a spell, grab some punch or some eggnog and be sure to try the pumpkin roll... it's to die for!  Leave a comment to have your name tossed into the cat dish (freshly cleaned for yesterday's Herne Family Christmas Party!).

Merry Christmas, Village!!!! We love you!

About Mia Ross: I love great stories. Whether the characters are fictional or real, I enjoy getting lost in a different place and time, but only for a little while.  Because my reality is pretty sweet.

My hubby and I met in college and now have two fabulous kids who keep us hopping. We live in Upstate New York where summers are short, winters are long, and the crocuses remind us that, yes, spring is coming. Eventually.  Visit me at www.miaross.com 

Ruth Logan Herne has over half-a-million books in print, she's anything but reclusive although she's tucking in

for a long upstate New York winter with over a foot of snow the past two days! She loves God, her country, her family and dogs and she spends the middle of the night hunched over her laptop, spinning heart-warming stories of faith, hope and love.... Visit her at her website http://ruthloganherne.com or on facebook where she is unafraid to shamelessly exploit small children and pets to sell sweet books!

Guest Blogger Mia Ross with the Top Three Things She's Learned Since Leaving the Island!

Happy Birthday, Seekerville! It's Mia Ross, stopping by with streamers and party hats to help with your celebration. It feels like you've been around forever, connecting authors with readers, with a large helping of writerly advice thrown in for flavor. I'm not an original Seeker, but Ruthy invited me here years ago, assuring me I'd find some kindred spirits on Unpubbed Island. Boy, was she right!

As my contribution to the party, she asked me to share some of the things I've learned since leaving the island 2 years ago. There are s-o-o many, but here's a countdown of my top 3.

3. When an editor starts working with you on your book, it's not your book anymore.

This hint might seem obvious, but we're talking about your baby, the project you've spent months or years polishing. So it can be tough to hear things like, "We need to pick up the pace," or, "Take out the first 3 chapters and start with the funeral." Yup, heard 'em both on my first Love Inspired book, and it wasn't easy, let me tell you. Neither were the other 10 pages in that revision letter. I found myself wondering what Melissa Endlich saw in this story that was such a mess. We went back and forth twice before I got that first contract, but I learned a lot, so the next revision letter was only 4 pages. Definite progress!

2.  Ignore the noise.

Actually, this was the motto for the rebuilding Houston Astros baseball team this season, but I recently adopted it for myself. When I start feeling overwhelmed, it's never my writing that does me in--it's everything else. When you're an author, your product has two parts: the books and you. That means you're responsible for things like websites and media postings, and if you pay too much attention to reviews and how many people mention you on Twitter, your writing will suffer and you'll go nuts. Find a level of connectedness that works for you and stick with it. Keeping your emotions on an even keel helps you not just professionally but personally as well.  

1.  Life first.

For me, this means family first. Kids only grow up once, and I want to enjoy those years because once they're gone, you can't get them back. Also, I still have my original husband, and I'd like to keep it that way ;) When I realized I was at the bottom of my own priority list, I revised it so it went like this: family, me, work, writing. That approach to life suits both my professional needs and my personal philosophy, so it's a much more comfortable situation for me.

Okay, now it's your turn. We learn a lot throughout our lives, and I know lots of you must have other lessons to add. They can be writing-related or not, your choice. Post your favorite and you'll be entered in the drawing for one of 3 copies of Rocky Coast Romance, the first book in my new Holiday Harbor series for Love Inspired. Have a great day!

I love great stories. I enjoy reading about fascinating people, long-ago times, and exotic places. But only for a little while, because my reality is pretty sweet. Married to my college sweetheart, I’m the proud mom of two amazing kids whose schedules keep me hopping. Busy as I am, I can't imagine trading my life for anyone else's--and I have a pretty good imagination. You can visit me online at www.miaross.com.

Hitting the Wall with Guest Blogger Mia Ross

Hitting the Wall...

Good morning, Seekerville! Mia Ross here with a high five for all those brave souls tackling Speedbo this month. I chickened out this year, so I admire your dedication :)

But for right now, take your hands off the keyboard, stretch out those weary fingers, and relax for a few minutes. I know you've got a writing goal for today, and I promise not to mess up your schedule too much. For those of you who are on target--fantastic! You don't need any help from me. But if you're not quite on track, this post is for you.

You see, I've been there. In truth, I get there with every book because I'm an unapologetic pantser. I have to write a synopsis ahead of time for my editor, but beyond that I don't have a strategy. My creative self just doesn't respond well to outlines, storyboards, and character sketches. Anything resembling planning sends my muse into hiding, because she likes to do things HER way. Now, that doesn't mean she runs the show, but when I try to force things, the story falls apart and I--yes---hit a wall. Not just any wall, but one that's way taller than me, extending out into the fog so I can't see where it ends.

Folks much smarter than me recommend writing through a block, others suggest taking some time off to reset. The problem is, if you're trying to write a book in a month, you don't have the luxury of taking even a day off. This is actually great practice for later on when you have an editor waiting for your next book so she can get it into production for its release date. If you can learn to handle this kind of problem now, later on you'll know which approach works for you.

Me, I can't go through a wall, because if I could I wouldn't have hit it in the first place. I've tried digging under it, but that gets messy :) What works for me is to skirt around it. If you're in a bad spot, leave yourself a note and move ahead in the story. When you get farther on, it may become obvious what's not working and you can go back to fill in the trouble spot. Or you may decide the block came from a thread that doesn't fit the way you thought it would--or where you thought it would.

If you're still frazzled, that's okay. Spinning stories out of thin air is fun, but it's not easy, and you're bound to run into obstacles now and then. Remember: the point of Speedbo--or any writing for that matter--is to end up with a DRAFT, not a polished manuscript. The important thing is to get the story down, not sweat every little detail. So put aside the knot for now and start edging along that wall. Chances are, it's not as wide as you thought :)

Today, I'm giving away 3 copies of A Place for Family, the final book in my Sawyers series. It's my fourth novel for Love Inspired, which proves you can hit lots of walls and still keep on truckin'. 

Speedbo Prizes Listed Here.

Building That Gingerbread Story, Heart and Soul with Guest Blogger Mia Ross and our Very Own Ruthy!

Merry Christmas, Seekerville!

 Mia here, with an insight I had while the kids were decorating their gingerbread house last year. It's a lot like writing a book. No, really--it is! Let me explain.

First, you need the right ingredients to make the dough. Flour, spices, you know the drill. Well, for writing you need an idea, then some way to get it down (paper and pen, computer, stone and chisel--whatever you use). Mix them together and toss them in the oven for a while to make them solid enough to work with. Okay, don't toss your computer in the oven, but the concept is the same. Once you've got your writing ingredients are together, you have to let them cook for a while.

When the gingerbread (or your basic idea) is ready, design and cut out the pieces. Carefully put together the walls and then the roof pieces, making sure each section is solid before moving on. It's the same with a story, where you need a structure with vivid characters and plenty of conflict to keep things standing straight. If one of those things isn't strong, everything will fall apart...just like the first gingerbread house we made many years ago ;)

A strong beginning structure helps ensure a successful result!!! 

Once your house is together and standing on its own, you get to pick out the candy and other goodies that will make it pretty. If you're like my family, we use stuff we like to eat, 'cause that makes it more fun. Anyway, in your book, the candy is secondary characters, the setting, and the unique elements you've chosen to make your story special. You don't decorate your house just like the one in Betty Crocker's picture, do you? Well, your book shouldn't be like anyone else's, either. Your personal spin is what separates your work from other people's, and that's just as important as the structure.

For more on making your story distinctive, I give you Ruth Logan Herne, who's one-of-a-kind herself :)

One of a kind????? 

Oh, I love that description! It pairs nicely with my wish to grow older and be considered eccentric...

Instead of crazy, LOL!

When Mia first suggested this, I grabbed onto the idea and pretended it was mine, then my stinkin' conscience made me own up and say it was her idea, but you get the point, right?

We use the basics.... Add some spice or your gingerbread is tasteless.... and then embellish!

Candy cane-lined walkways approaching the house?  

That's your character's journey, and all the better if you use ROCK CANDY for the path. An easy journey makes for a boring book....

Snooze.

Yawn.

Zzzzzzzzz..........

You get it!  ;)

The peppermint shingled roof can be all of the stuff weighing the hero and heroine (or protagonists if this isn't a romance) down... a heavy roof needs a great deal of support, so there's your faith element, in the strong sides you give your story and your house.... 

Or envision your "house" as a welcoming church, a mansion of God's presence:

How stinkin' cute is that??????

Gumdrop bushes add whimsy.

Frosting-scalloped clapboard draws the reader (or Hansel and Gretel, poor dears!!!) into the story.

Or the cauldron!!!  :)

Now you see my buddy Mia is carefully building her walls..... SIGH.... Because you know I have to go back and re-caulk mine because I don't do a ton of pre-planning.... and most folks use that awful-tasting royal icing for their construction...

I refuse to ruin a good cake with that stuff, so I make a stiffer buttercream, melt-in-your-mouth good but NOT AS STURDY... which means I have to come up with strength in other ways, right?

But whichever way you're wired as a writer, the balance of steady-to-sturdy-to-whimsy-to-romance-to-faith is very much like building a house.

The plus side with Gingerbread homes?

Some lucky person gets to eat them!  

Today, we're serving "Haddon Hall Gingerbread" inside! The famous boys' school lemon sauce is the perfect embellishment for the spiced cake made famous generations ago! This original recipe was originally called "Fort Atkinson Gingerbread" and was made famous in the 1870's.... a bride's dream was to get this old brown-covered Gold Medal Cookbook.... Yes, this cookbook was the precursor to the Betty Crocker versions we use today!

And.... Mia and I have three two-packs of books to give away today: Delightful Christmas stories, guaranteed to have an off-the-charts "Awwww..." factor! Because that's how a good Christmas story should strike us.

Grace. Joy. Peace on Earth.

Leave a comment and we'll toss your name in the cat dish.... (Mia does not use cat dishes, she's much more refined than I am.... but we KNEW that, right????)

Preparing Your Product by Guest Blogger Mia Ross!

Good morning, Seekerville! Mia Ross here, cruising in from Upstate New York, ready for some writing stuff.

With the ACFW Conference coming up, you’re probably all getting LOTS of advice on what to do while you’re there. Don’t approach editors and agents in the bathroom. Don’t talk with your mouth full. And, for goodness’ sake, sit up straight so everyone can read your nametag. As with most things, though, preparation is the key. I’m not talking about practicing your elevator pitch so you can recite it in your sleep, or about making sure you can pronounce the name of the editor or agent you have an appointment with. I’m talking about your product.

Whether you’re an established author or trying to break into the business, there’s a basic idea you have to wrap your head around at some point. Your eventual success (or failure) depends mostly on the quality of what you have to offer. Think of yourself as an inventor who’s come up with a great new idea. The concept isn’t enough. You have to design and make whatever it is, introduce it to consumers, and then hope people want to buy it. Because failure is expensive, companies test the market for their new wingding ahead of time. If it’s not immediately popular, they tweak it to make it more appealing.

For writers, our product has two facets: our book and ourselves. Nobody has a sure-fire formula for making that work, but there are some things we can do to improve the chances that editors, agents, and readers will like what we’ve worked so hard to create.

1.      Before you submit your work to a pro, ask critique partners and writing friends for feedback. Just be careful to take their comments with a grain of salt and blend them with your own instincts. Too many cooks can spoil the unique soup you’ve put together.

2.      Go the contest route to get unbiased input. Brace yourself for this one, because unlike your friends, many anonymous judges won’t try to spare your feelings. But if you consistently get low marks for grammar, figure out why before you send your book to a pro. You’d hate to see your wonderful project get rejected because the manuscript required too much effort to fix its basic grammar.

3.      RWA’s Golden Heart Contest might be perfect for you because you’ll be up against the best unpubbed writers in the business, and only the highest-caliber manuscripts get through to the editors in the final round. You don’t have to worry about judges’ comments because there aren’t any, just a rank of 1 to 9. For these exact same reasons, the Golden Heart might not be your cup of tea. As Obi-Wan told Luke Skywalker, it all depends on your point of view.

4.      Finish your book. I know about the whole 3 chapters and a synopsis thing, but you just might have a stellar interview with an editor who says, “Send me the full when you get home.” So, really, finish your book. You’re going to have to do it eventually--why not now?

5.      Finally, and most importantly: Be nice. Online, in person, on the phone, at the grocery store. In this hyper-connected world, you never know who’s listening or watching or reading what you’ve put out there. A consistently positive message will reflect well on you, now and always. Negative things will come back to bite you at the worst possible time. Follow the Golden Rule while you travel the high road, and you’ll have one less thing to worry about.

Okay, I kicked things off, and now it’s your turn. Help us all out by adding your own items to this list, asking questions, whatever. Three commenters will get a free autographed copy of Circle of Family, the second book in my Sawyers series for Love Inspired. If you’d like a peek first, head over to http://www.miaross.com. Have a great day!

Seekerville Welcomes Guest Blogger Mia Ross

Good Morning, Seekerville! Mia Ross here with party hats and streamers, to celebrate all those completed Speedbo books with you. What did you do after you typed in those last few words? Me, I went out and got a gooey butterscotch sundae with LOTS of whipped cream. Then I got back to work, because I’ve learned that when you get to the end of a project, you’re really only half done.

I want to mention one thing before I really get going. I don’t have a critique partner. Yes, you read that right. So for all you folks who think that’s an excuse for less-than-thorough editing, guess again. There are plenty of techniques to make self-editing just as effective as trading pages with a friend. Not as much fun, but they work fine. And to prove it, here’s my story.

My Love Inspired debut Hometown Family came out last week, but its long journey started almost 2 years ago. I began writing it after meeting Melissa Endlich at the RWA conference in July 2010 and finished it that November. Yay! Or so I thought. My agent went through the manuscript and found more problems than I care to recall. It had likeable characters and a beginning, middle and an end. Aside from that, it needed a lot of TLC.

With her help, I started revising. That version wasn’t quite there, but it was closer. Yup, you guessed it-- ANOTHER round of edits. Just after Christmas, we sent it to Melissa. She liked it well enough to email a revision letter (4 pages!) and I made those changes, too. Working with these two pro’s, I learned that I needed some practice with self-editing. That way, they wouldn’t have as much to do at the other end. So I paid close attention to what they told me and discovered most things revolved around my 3 C’s: Character, Conflict, and Consistency. Not as fun as Clarity, Cut, and Carat size, but just as valuable to me as a writer.

Think about your all-time favorite book. Got it? Okay, WHY is it your favorite? Chances are the plot is funny or exciting or thought-provoking, maybe even all three. But the events wouldn’t stick with you if you didn’t like the characters. They’re the people you come to love, or sometimes despise, and they drive your attachment to the story. If you didn’t care about the characters, you wouldn’t care about what happens to them. So how do you build solid, vivid characters that rise up off the page and connect with readers?

One layer at a time. You don’t have to nail everything on the first pass, because—trust me—it’s impossible. Start with a description, since that’s fairly easy. Then ask yourself how does this blond former cheerleader FEEL about herself? Does she appreciate being born gorgeous but wish people would look deeper to find out she’s an accomplished artist? Is the successful businessman really as self-assured as he seems, or is he terrified that people will discover he’s dyslexic? An added bonus to this layering is you’ll uncover some things that will help you in the next step.

Conflict. I’ll be honest--this is my downfall. I’m a sensitive person, and I don’t like delving into negative things because it makes me sad. When someone has a tragic history, or is struggling to make their life work, my heart goes out to them. Then again, that’s exactly the reaction you want to elicit from your readers. Because you’ve allowed them to identify with the characters, readers will care about what happens to them. In romance, internal and external conflicts are wrapped together like a pretzel. The characters’ internal conflicts drive their behavior, which affects the way they deal with each other.

For me, the best stories have a level of conflict that won’t go away. She’s shy and hangs back, he’s outgoing and friendly. She had a bad marriage and doesn’t want to risk it again, he’s someone who’s had the best relationships imaginable. Her family’s farm was just auctioned off by the bank, and it turns out he’s the big-city developer who bought the land. These things won’t resolve themselves, and despite their attraction to one another, these two people will have to do a lot of compromising to form a lasting relationship out of this mess.

Another level of conflict that works for me as a reader is when characters have to confront something together. Despite their misgivings or initial dislike of each other, they’re thrown into a situation where they have to find a way to defeat the nasty ex-husband or raise enough money to put a new roof on the school. Working together, they develop a grudging respect for each other’s good points, which blurs the bad points they saw at first. Because real people have both, and it takes some wrestling to work it all out.

That leaves us with consistency. In movies, sometimes you’ll notice that at the beginning of a scene it’s morning, then by the end of the meal it’s dark outside. Hmmm…Whose job was it to catch that? As a writer, that’s YOUR job. I get tripped up with that kind of thing when I start moving scenes around in the story and things get out of sequence. For instance, let’s say that by halfway, your heroine doesn’t know who her real father is. Then you pull a section from near the end to the beginning. Now there’s a reference to her father BEFORE she even knows who he is. Sigh.

A good way to avoid this is to set the manuscript aside for a few days after your “final” edit. Read a book or do some yardwork so your brain isn’t fixed on your last project. Then pick it back up again. If you’re like me, errors will jump out at you, giving you a chance to fix them before anyone else sees them. You’ll also find spots where you can add in some details that make a so-so scene into one that will grab people’s attention and contribute more to the story than it did originally.

Finally, a bit of advice about revision letters. First of all, if you get one, CELEBRATE! Don’t read it in detail, especially if it’s long, because it will dim the joy you have every right to savor. Read the part that says “I really like this story” over and over until you believe it’s for real. You’ve probably gotten a few rejections, so that “maybe” is a huge accomplishment. For one day, just enjoy the feeling because as with the first of anything, it only comes once. Then, during your next work session, pick that letter up and get a few highlighters. You’ll need them J Read the letter through for the gist. Are the comments mostly about the characters? Conflict? Setting? Get a general idea of what the editor wants changed. Then mark the things that go together with the same color. That’s how I discovered my 3 C’s so I could improve on them for next time.

Because I really wanted a next time. I carefully went through Melissa’s notes and learned what she’s looking for and how to make sure she—and the readers—end up with a book they’ll love. It’s a good process, as long as I remember that when I’ve reached “The End,” my work has only just begun.

To give you an idea of what can happen when you keep revising, I’m offering 3 autographed copies of Hometown Family to today’s commenters. If you’d like to read an excerpt or learn a little more about me, visit www.miaross.com. Have a great day!

Tell Me a Story with Guest Blogger Mia Ross

Good morning, Seekerville! Mia here. Ruthy’s in St. Louis schmoozing, so she asked me to come by and have breakfast with you today. I brought barista Jack and a virtual chef named Claude with me, so you can have anything you want. But there’s a catch.

You have to tell me a story. More specifically, what—or who—got you started writing? To break the ice, I’ll go first. Then I’ll step aside and let everyone else take over. I’ve got no problem sharing the stage.

One day when I was about 8, I checked Little Women out of the school library. From the very first page, I was hooked. The March girls felt completely real to me and when I was done, I devoured Little Men and Jo’s Boys. Sadly, there were no more books in the series, and I was bummed. Then I had a great idea.

I wrote my own story. It was very short and probably not very good, but I LOVED it. Figuring out which words best described the pictures in my head was so much fun. It still is, actually, and I’m grateful to Louisa May Alcott for showing me the way.

So what’s your story? If you’ll share it, you’ll be entered in a drawing for Ruth Logan Herne’s fabulous new release Mended Hearts. Generous as she is, she’s donated 2 of them, and you can have your pick of print or e-book.

Mia Ross’s contemporary inspirational romance Hometown Family will be released by Love Inspired in May 2012. Set in North Carolina, it’s the story of a disillusioned lawyer who returns to her hometown and finds love in the very last place she expected. To read an excerpt, stop by www.miaross.com.