How to win a RITA…or two…or three by Irene Hannon

Irene Hannon

Hey, friends, you're in for a special treat today. Irene Hannon graciously accepted my invitation to guest post on Seriously Write! Irene is a master storyteller and you are guaranteed to learn from her expertise. - Terri

As a three-time RITA award winner, I’m sometimes asked to speak on the topic of how to write a winning book. And what I have to say often surprises people.

Of course, a gift for storytelling, hard work, perseverance and an element of luck all play a role.

But beyond that, I believe the secret is focusing on the details—the basic building blocks of good writing that make your work shine…and stand out.

So here are 12 tips that can help you put the final polish on your writing and give it a winning edge.

1. Start in the right place, i.e. right in the middle of the action. Create a high-impact opening that immediately lets readers know something big is at stake. Begin with a bang—sometimes literally in suspense, but figuratively in any book. The opening must also leave readers with a question that makes them want to read on to find the answer.

2. Pay attention to chapter and scene endings. Leave the reader with a question or make the reader curious about what’s coming next. Give him or her a compelling reason to keep reading.

3. Establish time and place quickly in a scene. Ground the reader. Weave this information in as part of the story, not by stepping back in a narrative voice and telling the reader.

4. Never take the reader out of the story. This happens a lot when authors try to work in backstory or other technical data the reader needs. I find this a lot in suspense books when the action stops while some piece of equipment or a government agency is explained in the form of a data dump from a disembodied narrative voice. Anytime you slip into the narrative voice, you interrupt the action and slow the story down. That’s jarring to readers and pulls them out of the story—huge no-no. You want your readers fully engaged with your characters every minute.

5. Don’t head hop within a scene. It’s disruptive to story flow. Far better to let the reader, along with the point-of-view character, try to figure out what the other players are thinking by viewing their actions, inflections, and gestures through the eyes of the viewpoint character.

6. Pay attention to rhythm. For example, short, choppy sentences convey tension and urgency. This is a good technique for a highly charged scene in any genre. So use sentence length and construction to help convey mood through rhythm.

7. Cut adverbs. Eliminating adverbs strengthens writing by forcing us to choose better words. Don’t say she walked slowly; pick a stronger verb. She ambled. She crept. She limped. She trudged. 

8. Make limited use of dialogue tags (he said/she said). Most of the time you don’t need them and they bog down the pace. When you do need to clarify who’s speaking, use that as an opportunity to give readers an insight into the speaker’s character rather than just saying he said or she said. “No way am I getting anywhere close to Heather Callahan,” Jake declared.  How to improve that? “No way am I getting anywhere close to Heather Callahan.” Jake shoved the leftover chili in the microwave and slammed the door, stroking the yellow lab at his side when the dog flinched. Both examples tell us Jake isn’t a fan of  Heather Callahan, but in the second version, we also learn he has a kind heart because he cares about his dog.

9. Use as much dialogue as possible vs. narrative to advance the plot, deepen characterizations, and share background. People love to read dialogue. It keeps the story active and immediate and the reader feels engaged and in the middle of the action. It’s also a more natural way to add in backstory or important information.

10. Write tight and cut ruthlessly; if something doesn’t advance the plot or offer new insights into a character, cut it—no matter how much you love the words you’ve written.  Author Elmore Leonard, who was noted for writing tight prose, was asked once how he did this. He said he just left out the parts readers skip. That’s a great rule. Everything must be deliberate and there for a purpose or it should be cut.

11. Always take the time to choose the right word; Mark Twain said it best: “The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug.” The power of using the right word is amazing. Walked conveys a whole different meaning than sauntered. Take the time and make the effort to choose the perfect word.

12. Don’t overuse pet words. We all fall into this trap, and new ones keep cropping up. Consider making a list of your own overused words, then search for them after you finish a chapter.

Dangerous Illusions
by Irene Hannon

That’s it! I hope you find a helpful nugget or two in this list. I didn’t learn many of these tips until long after I’d published my first book—and every one I’ve applied has made me a better writer. Thanks for having me today, and happy writing!

Dangerous Illusions by Irene Hannon
Trish Bailey is on overload trying to deal with a demanding job, an ailing mother, and a healing heart. When a series of unsettling memory lapses leads to a tragic death--and puts Trish under police scrutiny--her world is once again thrown into turmoil.

Detective Colin Flynn isn't certain what to think of the facts he uncovers during his investigation. Did Trish simply make a terrible mistake or is there more to the case than meets the eye? As he searches for answers, disturbing information begins to emerge--and if the forces at work are as evil as he suspects, the situation isn't just dangerous . . . it's deadly.
  Irene Hannon is the bestselling and award-winning author of more than fifty contemporary romance and romantic suspense novels. In addition to her many other honors, she is a three-time winner of the prestigious RITA Award from Romance Writers of America (the “Oscar” of romance fiction) and is also a member of that organization’s elite Hall of Fame. In 2016, she received a Career Achievement award from RT Book Reviews magazine for her entire body of work.

Bullet Journal for Writing Novels by Heather Woodhaven

Author Kristine McCord gave one of my favorite Christmas gifts to me. She handed me my first ever Moleskine lined notebook. “Trust me. Just try it,” she said. “The more you use it, the more you’ll love it. The feel of it changes with use.” 

 

I took her word for it, but I was skeptical.

 

She was so right. I loved carrying it around. No other notebook would do. 

 

And it was perfect timing, because Lisa Phillips had just challenged me to free write, by hand, any thoughts I had on a scene right before getting on the computer. I thought this was a waste of time. I could just type out the scene as I thought of it and edit later. “Trust me,” she said. “Just try it.”

 

Initially I hated it, but my daily word count soared. Now, I can’t write without jotting down some notes first.

 

There was just one problem. When I wanted to find something, my notebook was a giant mess of notes. If I tried to make my notes neater, though, it hindered my creativity. When I daydream, my notes resemble my thoughts, which both look like scattered clouds.

 

Another author friend, Becky Avella, told me to come over because she couldn’t wait to show me how to bullet journal. I went over and learned the process of indexing my daily to-do lists as well as anything else my heart desired for daily living like: goals, workout diary, prayer journal, etc. We even added pretty stickers and pictures to our notebooks—Becky said, “Trust me. Just try it.” 

 

I used one of my trusty Moleskine notebooks and my new favorite pen (Ink Joy gel pen by Papermate. My husband said to trust him and just try it.)

 

I enjoyed dumping everything that was on my mind into my handy-dandy notebook so much that I wondered if the system could be used for fiction writing. 

 

Since I started my own bullet journal for my work-in-progress, I’ve found that this isn’t such a novel idea. (Hehe. Didn’t mean to do that, but now I’ve cracked myself up.)

 

Other writers have been using bullet journals with great success, but every one of them looks completely different. Essentially, you pick and choose what to keep in your notebook based on what works for you. 

 

I still consider myself a “pantser” because I don’t have everything figured out when I start writing a book. I do have to know my characters like the back of my hand as well as research the careers and problems they might encounter. Here’s what my bullet journal index looks like:

 

 

I have places for pretty pictures of my setting and characters, plus notes, research, and a page set aside to free-write each scene right before I’m ready to write it. I even have a spot to jot down future revisions so it doesn’t slow down the pace of my first draft. It’s helped me so much. 

 

Bottom line: If you have trustworthy friends, listen to them and try new writing techniques once in a while. Who knows? It might help your word count.

 

Trust me. Just try it. 



Countdown http://a.co/2uOLKPc

 

BORROWED TIME 

When Rachel Cooper witnesses the abduction of her neighbor's young twin sons, she springs into action to save them. But now the thwarted kidnappers are after her…and her only hope of survival is relying on their widowed single father, James McGuire. A weapon has been planted on a satellite James's company is ready to launch, and as the systems specialist, it's his job to stop it. But someone is set on keeping James from preventing the scheduled takeoff—and they'll use anyone close to him as leverage. Now he must find a way to protect his boys and the woman he's beginning to fall for…before the final countdown can even start.

 

 

Heather Woodhaven earned her pilot's license, rode a hot air balloon over the safari lands of Kenya, assisted an engineer with a medical laser in a Haitian mission, parasailed over Caribbean seas, lived through an accidental detour onto a black diamond ski trail in the Aspens and snorkeled among sting rays before becoming a mother of three and wife of one. Now Heather spends her days celebrating laughter, adding to her impressive list of embarrassing moments, and raising a family of aspiring comedians who perform nightly at her table. She channels her love for adventure into writing characters who find themselves in extraordinary circumstances--whether running for their lives or battling the insanities of life.