Popular Post for 2014 - What's in a Name by Karen Witemeyer

Author Karen Witemeyer

Each year we take the last week of the year to post our favorite or the most popular post of the year for the day we host. Karen Witemeyer's post, originally published on January 28, 2014 was the most popular Aspiring Tuesdays post for 2014. I hope you enjoy it again. ~ Angie

For those of you who have children, do you remember the excitement (and perhaps the anxiety) that filled you as you began selecting names? It’s a weighty responsibility, knowing your child will be saddled with whatever you choose for the length of his/her life. No pressure. Ha!

Names are so important. We want our girls’ names to be beautiful and our boys’ names to be strong. Yet more than that, we want them to have meaning. Perhaps you chose a name because of the meaning inherent in that name’s origin. Or maybe you selected a name from your ancestry that carries significance for your family.

As an author, I’m faced with the same dilemma when selecting names for my characters. Not only do I want the names to sound good and roll easily off the reader’s tongue, but I love to give extra meaning to the names, perhaps a meaning that no one else will ever pick up on besides me.

A Tailor Made Bride
by Karen Witemeyer

For example, in my debut novel, my main characters are Jericho Tucker and Hannah Richards. Yes, I love using biblical names. They fit the historical setting perfectly, but in my hero’s case there was extra meaning involved. Jericho’s name was symbolic. Like the biblical city whose walls came tumbling down, Jericho or “J.T.” had built walls around his heart that needed to come down in order for him to open himself to the heroine’s love. And Hannah Richards? Well, her name had personal significance to me. You see, my dad died when I was only 16, and I wanted to honor him in some subtle way in my first published novel. His name was Richard, and it seemed fitting to let my heroine carry his name.

Head in the Clouds
by Karen Witemeyer

Gideon Westcott and Adelaide Proctor from Head in the Clouds had some teacher is often synonymous with the term proctor.

play on their names that probably only I cared about, but they helped me relate to the characters as I wrote. Gideon Westcott was a British nobleman who came to Texas to run a sheep ranch. Gideon from the Bible used a sheep’s fleece to ask God for confirmation of his mission. Adelaide Proctor was a teacher and

Short Straw Bride
by Karen Witemeyer

Stealing the Preacher
by Karen Witemeyer

Of course, the Archer brothers from Short-Straw Bride and Stealing the Preacher were named for heroes from the Alamo – Travis, Crockett, Bowie (who went by Jim), and Neill. I had fun tying those into Texas history since my books are all set in Texas. But did anyone notice that the heroine who paired up with Crockett – Joanna Robbins – had a play on her name as well? Her father was an ex-outlaw who robbed stage coaches and trains. (Yes, I see your eyes rolling.) One of my favorite sources for names is the Social Security website. You can search the most popular names by year as far back 1880 – ideal for a historical writer. You’ll find timeless names like Charles and Michael, Elizabeth and Mary. But then there are the names that make you wince like Elmer and Rufus, or Gertrude and Bertha (yes, all these made the top 100 in 1880). But what is really interesting from a historical perspective are the popularity of cross-gender names. Now, girls have worn boys’ names proudly for years, but back in the day, it’s a little scary how how popular girls’ names were for boys. Here’s a few from the 1880-1885 lists – remember these are boy’s names: Marion    Leslie    Pearl    Lynn    Pink    Mary    Loren    Madison    Cary   Fay   Allie    Sandy    Dee    Jean    Jules    Anna    Clair    Minnie    Kelly    Shirley. Now, just because a name is historically accurate, does not mean it would make a great character name. I just can’t imagine naming my rugged cowboy hero Minnie or Shirley. And calling him Anna or Mary would just leave readers scratching their heads. Especially if the heroine was named Lou or Johnnie (popular female names during that time). Although ... I have dear friends named Lacy and Jaye. Lacy is a very masculine Texas game warden while Jaye is his lovely wife. When they were first introduced at church, however, it took me weeks to get their names sorted out. What kind of names do you enjoy most when you are reading novels? What weird names have you run across in books or real life that make you cringe?

About the Author

A Match Made in Texas
by Karen Witemeyer, Mary Connealy
Regina Jennins & Carol Cox

Winner of the ACFW Carol Award, the HOLT Medallion, and two-time RITA finalist, CBA bestselling author, Karen Witemeyer, writes historical romance for Bethany House believing the world needs more happily ever afters ... and hunky cowboy heroes. She's an avid cross-stitcher, shower singer, and bakes a mean apple cobbler. She makes her home in Abilene, TX with her husband and three children. Visit Karen Witemeyer's website

A Match Made in Texas: A Novella Collection

There's a secret matchmaker at work in frontier Texas! In the small town of Dry Gulch, Texas, a good-hearted busybody just can't keep herself from surreptitiously trying to match up women in dire straits with men of good character she hopes can help them. How is she to know she's also giving each couple a little nudge toward love? A Cowboy Unmatched Neill Archer isn't sure who hired him to repair Clara's roof – he only knows Clara desperately needs his help. Can he convince this stubborn widow to let down her guard and take another chance on love?

What's in a Name? by Karen Witemeyer

Author Karen Witemeyer

For those of you who have children, do you remember the excitement (and perhaps the anxiety) that filled you as you began selecting names? It’s a weighty responsibility, knowing your child will be saddled with whatever you choose for the length of his/her life. No pressure. Ha!

Names are so important. We want our girls’ names to be beautiful and our boys’ names to be strong. Yet more than that, we want them to have meaning. Perhaps you chose a name because of the meaning inherent in that name’s origin. Or maybe you selected a name from your ancestry that carries significance for your family.

As an author, I’m faced with the same dilemma when selecting names for my characters. Not only do I want the names to sound good and roll easily off the reader’s tongue, but I love to give extra meaning to the names, perhaps a meaning that no one else will ever pick up on besides me.

A Tailor Made Bride
by Karen Witemeyer

For example, in my debut novel, my main characters are Jericho Tucker and Hannah Richards. Yes, I love using biblical names. They fit the historical setting perfectly, but in my hero’s case there was extra meaning involved. Jericho’s name was symbolic. Like the biblical city whose walls came tumbling down, Jericho or “J.T.” had built walls around his heart that needed to come down in order for him to open himself to the heroine’s love. And Hannah Richards? Well, her name had personal significance to me. You see, my dad died when I was only 16, and I wanted to honor him in some subtle way in my first published novel. His name was Richard, and it seemed fitting to let my heroine carry his name.

Head in the Clouds
by Karen Witemeyer

Gideon Westcott and Adelaide Proctor from Head in the Clouds had some teacher is often synonymous with the term proctor.

play on their names that probably only I cared about, but they helped me relate to the characters as I wrote. Gideon Westcott was a British nobleman who came to Texas to run a sheep ranch. Gideon from the Bible used a sheep’s fleece to ask God for confirmation of his mission. Adelaide Proctor was a teacher and

Short Straw Bride
by Karen Witemeyer

Stealing the Preacher
by Karen Witemeyer

Of course, the Archer brothers from Short-Straw Bride and Stealing the Preacher were named for heroes from the Alamo – Travis, Crockett, Bowie (who went by Jim), and Neill. I had fun tying those into Texas history since my books are all set in Texas. But did anyone notice that the heroine who paired up with Crockett – Joanna Robbins – had a play on her name as well? Her father was an ex-outlaw who robbed stage coaches and trains. (Yes, I see your eyes rolling.) One of my favorite sources for names is the Social Security website. You can search the most popular names by year as far back 1880 – ideal for a historical writer. You’ll find timeless names like Charles and Michael, Elizabeth and Mary. But then there are the names that make you wince like Elmer and Rufus, or Gertrude and Bertha (yes, all these made the top 100 in 1880). But what is really interesting from a historical perspective are the popularity of cross-gender names. Now, girls have worn boys’ names proudly for years, but back in the day, it’s a little scary how how popular girls’ names were for boys. Here’s a few from the 1880-1885 lists – remember these are boy’s names: Marion    Leslie    Pearl    Lynn    Pink    Mary    Loren    Madison    Cary   Fay   Allie    Sandy    Dee    Jean    Jules    Anna    Clair    Minnie    Kelly    Shirley. Now, just because a name is historically accurate, does not mean it would make a great character name. I just can’t imagine naming my rugged cowboy hero Minnie or Shirley. And calling him Anna or Mary would just leave readers scratching their heads. Especially if the heroine was named Lou or Johnnie (popular female names during that time). Although ... I have dear friends named Lacy and Jaye. Lacy is a very masculine Texas game warden while Jaye is his lovely wife. When they were first introduced at church, however, it took me weeks to get their names sorted out. What kind of names do you enjoy most when you are reading novels? What weird names have you run across in books or real life that make you cringe?

About the Author

A Match Made in Texas
by Karen Witemeyer, Mary Connealy
Regina Jennins & Carol Cox

Winner of the ACFW Carol Award, the HOLT Medallion, and two-time RITA finalist, CBA bestselling author, Karen Witemeyer, writes historical romance for Bethany House believing the world needs more happily ever afters ... and hunky cowboy heroes. She's an avid cross-stitcher, shower singer, and bakes a mean apple cobbler. She makes her home in Abilene, TX with her husband and three children. Visit Karen Witemeyer's website

A Match Made in Texas: A Novella Collection

There's a secret matchmaker at work in frontier Texas! In the small town of Dry Gulch, Texas, a good-hearted busybody just can't keep herself from surreptitiously trying to match up women in dire straits with men of good character she hopes can help them. How is she to know she's also giving each couple a little nudge toward love? A Cowboy Unmatched Neill Archer isn't sure who hired him to repair Clara's roof – he only knows Clara desperately needs his help. Can he convince this stubborn widow to let down her guard and take another chance on love?

Creating Catchy Titles by Karen Witemeyer

Karen Witemeyer

With jazzy titles like Stealing the Preacher and Short Straw Bride, how could I not ask Author Karen Witemeyer for her tips to share with you? Be prepared to take notes! Enjoy, and I'll see you on the other side!!  ~Dora

Whether you are hoping to catch an editor's eye with an unpublished manuscript or a reader's eye as she browses for a new book, the first impression you make is with your title. 

The split-second it takes a potential reader to scan your title can be the determining factor in their decision to pick up your book and examine it more closely or to move on to something else. A strong, catchy title can make the difference between a sale and a pass.

A successful title reflects a manuscript's genre, tone, and possibly a key story element. For example: romance titles often include words like bride, love, and heart; suspense titles, on the other hand, favor words like dark, danger, and death. These words create an expectation in the reader. They create a mood.

Don't follow the formula too closely, though. Your title still needs a unique twist to set it apart from all the others. Since I write light-hearted historical romance, I try to create titles that reflect that humorous/romantic feel. With my debut novel, I came up with a title that played on words. In Tailor-Made Bride, my heroine is a seamstress or tailor yet despite the hero's resistance, he eventually realizes she is tailor-made for him.

Titles should intrigue the reader and make them want to find out more about your story. My most recent two titles play on this idea. Short-Straw Bride and Stealing the Preacher leave questions in the reader's mind. What is a short-straw bride? Did men really draw straws to see who would marry her? Why would someone steal a preacher? How does that even happen? Both titles also hint at possible humorous scenarios or shenanigans going on and when paired with the right cover, create a vivid impression on readers.

My other two titles did not originate with me. My editors actually came up with the ideas. The title for my second book, Head in the Clouds, plays on a key story element as well as highlighting my heroine's dreamer personality. She always had her nose in a book and her head in the clouds. But what made this title so perfect was that throughout the story, clouds were used to symbolize ambiguity as well as God's leadership of his people, like the cloud by day he used to lead the Israelites through the wilderness.

My final title, To Win Her Heart, is probably the most generic of the five, but it fit my genre as well as my story and was well-received by readers.

Keep your titles short, usually not more than 3-4 words. Remember, it needs to look good on a cover and not take up too much real estate. Give it punch so it lingers in a reader's mind. And after you pour your heart and soul into crafting the perfect title, don't marry yourself to it. Editors are notorious for changing titles. After all, a title's job is not just to represent your story but to sell your story to readers. It's all about marketing.

Question from Karen: What are some of your favorite book titles?
And from Dora: How do you come up with your titles?

Stealing the Preacher
Purchase Link

On his way to interview for a position at a church in the Piney Woods of Texas, Crockett Archer can't believe it when he’s forced off the train by an outlaw and presented to the man’s daughter as the preacher she requested for her birthday. He's determined to escape—which would be much easier if he could stop thinking about Joanna Robbins and her unexpected request. 

For months, Joanna had prayed for a minister. A man to breathe life back into the abandoned church at the heart of her community. A man to assist her in fulfilling a promise to her dying mother. But just when it seems her prayers have been answered, it turns out the parson is there against his will and has dreams of his own calling him elsewhere. Is there any way she can convince Crockett he ended up right where he was supposed to be?

About Karen Witemeyer:
Two-time RITA® Finalist and winner of the coveted HOLT Medallion and ACFW Carol Award, CBA bestselling author, Karen Witemeyer, writes historical romance fiction for Bethany House, believing that the world needs more happily-ever-afters. She is an avid cross-stitcher, shower singer, and bakes a mean apple cobbler. Karen makes her home in Abilene, TX with her husband and three children. Learn more about Karen and her books at: www.karenwitemeyer.com.    

Deep POV: Lesson Four by Karen Witemeyer

We've been enjoying a great series here this month with award-winning author, Karen Witemeyer on deep POV. Here's her final installment this Mixing-it-up-Monday. Enjoy!

Deepen POV by Creating Fresh Comparisons

One of my favorite ways to deepen POV is to create fresh comparisons that are unique to my POV character's personality and background. 

If your hero is a western cowboy, the comparisons that mean something to him will be far different from those of a British nobleman. Similes, metaphors, analogies—all can be given a fresh spin that enhance your character's voice.

This is another aspect of craft that keeps you from getting lazy. Clichés are nearly always the first comparisons to come to mind when we write. Don't accept that easy road. Work to make your analogies unique to your POV character. In doing so, you will deepen the POV and create memorable moments for your reader.

Example:

In my latest release, Short-Straw Bride, there is a scene where my rancher hero is admiring the heroine's determination and gumption. Instead of having him observe that determination "stuck to her like glue" (cliché), he instead observed that determination "clung to her like a grass burr to a pant leg."

In my current work in progress, I have three POV characters: the hero, the heroine, and the heroine's father. In one scene, the heroine is racing on horseback to reach her father who is out with the cattle. We are in the father's POV, and as he notes her racing in, he makes a comparison.

Now, as I wrote this scene, the first comparison that came to mind was that she rode as if a pack of wild dogs were on her tail. This, of course, is a cliché. I searched and searched for a better simile. I came up blank. Finally, I dug deeper into who my POV character was. He is an ex-outlaw who's eluded the law for two decades. He's gone straight, but that outlaw blood still runs through his veins. 

As I pondered this character trait, the perfect comparison finally came to mind.

He twisted his neck to the side to work out a kink, and caught sight of his daughter riding down upon them as if a hangin' posse were in pursuit.

Not only does this analogy capture the POV character's personality, but it deepens the POV because that isn't something I as the author would say in narration. But it is exactly what an ex-outlaw would use as a descriptor were he relating the story.

You can practice this on your own. Take a clichéd comparison and rework it with your own character in mind. Here are some to choose from:

Light as a feather

Strong as an ox

Melted like butter

Stubborn as a mule

~~~~~ 

Short-Straw Bride released June 1, 2012.

No one steps on Archer land. Not if they value their life. But when Meredith Hayes overhears a lethal plot to burn the Archer brothers off their ranch, a twelve-year-old debt compels her to take the risk.

Fourteen years of constant vigilance hardens a man. Yet when Travis Archer confronts a female trespasser with the same vivid blue eyes as the courageous young girl he once aided, he can't bring himself to send her away. And when an act of sacrifice leaves her injured and her reputation in shreds, gratitude and guilt send him riding to her rescue once again.

Four brothers. Four straws. One bride. Despite the fact that Travis is no longer the gallant youth Meredith once dreamed about, she determines to stand by his side against the enemy that threatens them both. But will love ever be hers? Or will Travis always see her merely as a short-straw bride?

~~~~~

Two-time RITA® Finalist and winner of the coveted HOLT Medallion, CBA bestselling author, Karen Witemeyer, writes historical romance fiction for Bethany House, believing that the world needs more happily-ever-afters. She is an avid cross-stitcher, shower singer, and bakes a mean apple cobbler. Karen makes her home in Abilene, TX with her husband and three children. Learn more about Karen and her books at: www.karenwitemeyer.com.

Deep POV: Lesson Three by Karen Witemeyer

It's a challenge to include emotions in our stories. We have to be vulnerable. And we not only want to include our characters' emotions, we want to evoke our readers' emotions. Karen Witemeyer has returned with part three of her great series on deep POV. Read on for more great tips!

Deepen POV by Deepening the Portrayal of Emotion

One of the points we made last week about deepening POV, was about how important it is avoid the use of head words like "he thought," "she knew," etc. The same principle can be applied to portraying emotions.

Do your best not to name your character's emotions.

I won't lie to you. This is the hardest part of writing deep POV. An author has to dig deep to evoke emotions instead of simply naming them. It requires more words, more effort, and more editing. But the payoff is huge. 

If your heroine is afraid, we want the reader's heart to race. If the hero's been brutally wounded, we want the reader to wince. If the heroine believes she's lost the man of her dreams, we want a tear to slide down the reader's cheek.

Just as there are times to tell instead of show, there will be times to name emotions instead of showing them, but do this as little as possible. Showing emotions through direct thought, visceral responses, and active behavior creates a much greater impact on your reader than simply naming the emotion.

Example:

Stephanie eyed her rival, jealousy burning within her as the woman's manicured hand stroked Jason's sleeve.

Re-write:        

Stephanie eyed her rival, her throat constricting as she fought to keep her hostess smile from contorting into a snarl. That tramp! How dare she show up tonight on Jason's arm? And with her talons sunk into his sleeve like some medieval war bird. Where was a cat when you needed one?

You can feel the jealousy in the re-write can't you? And isn't your reaction stronger? Don't you relate more fully to Stephanie's emotions in the second version? 

Notice the visceral response: …her throat constricting

The action: …she fought to keep her hostess smile from contorting into a snarl

The direct thought: That tramp! How dare she show up tonight on Jason's arm?

The personality: And with her talons sunk into his sleeve like some medieval war bird. 

Where was a cat when you needed one?

Take a look at some of the emotion-packed scenes in your own manuscripts. Are you naming the emotions instead of evoking them? Look for ways to deepen your portrayal of emotions in those scenes and you will end up deepening the POV at the same time.

Next week: Deepen POV by creating fresh comparisons.

~~~~~ 

Short-Straw Bride released June 1, 2012.

No one steps on Archer land. Not if they value their life. But when Meredith Hayes overhears a lethal plot to burn the Archer brothers off their ranch, a twelve-year-old debt compels her to take the risk.

Fourteen years of constant vigilance hardens a man. Yet when Travis Archer confronts a female trespasser with the same vivid blue eyes as the courageous young girl he once aided, he can't bring himself to send her away. And when an act of sacrifice leaves her injured and her reputation in shreds, gratitude and guilt send him riding to her rescue once again.

Four brothers. Four straws. One bride. Despite the fact that Travis is no longer the gallant youth Meredith once dreamed about, she determines to stand by his side against the enemy that threatens them both. But will love ever be hers? Or will Travis always see her merely as a short-straw bride?

~~~~~

Two-time RITA® Finalist and winner of the coveted HOLT Medallion, CBA bestselling author, Karen Witemeyer, writes historical romance fiction for Bethany House, believing that the world needs more happily-ever-afters. She is an avid cross-stitcher, shower singer, and bakes a mean apple cobbler. Karen makes her home in Abilene, TX with her husband and three children. Learn more about Karen and her books at: www.karenwitemeyer.com.

Deep POV: Lesson Two by Karen Witemeyer

Welcome to the second post in Karen Witemeyer's Deep POV series. Hasn't this been helpful? Read on!

How to Capture your POV Characters' Voices

Here are a few basic guidelines for writing in deep POV.

·         Keep POV pure – one per scene.

Head-hopping kills deep POV. The whole point of writing in deep POV is for your readers to experience the story vicariously through your POV character. If you jump into another character's head you break that bond. Yes, there are best-selling authors who head-hop, but I would argue that they aren't writing with deep POV.

·         Get to know your character so intimately that you can easily take on their thoughts and emotions.

When you are first learning how to do this you might find it helpful to interview your characters or journal as if you were the character. You might write a scene in first person then change the pronouns to make it third person. Delve your own thought and emotions for inspiration.

·         Reduce tags and limit use of character's name.

There are certainly times where a character's name needs to be used for clarification in a scene or when the writing flow needs something different than the repetitive use of a pronoun. However, since people don't naturally think of themselves in the third person, limit the use of names to help deepen the POV. 

·         Eliminate head words.

He thought. She wondered. He noticed. She knew. Watch out for variations on these head words and kill as many as you can. They distance your reader from your character by telling instead of showing. There are times when these words are appropriate and can be used to great effect, but for the most part, get rid of them and express the thought directly.

She gazed at the door and wondered if John would show up like he'd promised or leave her stranded again.

vs.

Her gaze swung to the door. Where was he? John had promised not to leave her stranded this time. Why couldn't the boy act responsibly for once in his life?

After you get the basics down, you can move into the more advanced stages of deepening your character's POV.

Infuse the narrative with your POV character's personality and speaking style.

·         Use the same style in your narrative as you use in your POV character's dialog.

If your hero tends to talk in clipped sentences, sprinkle a few sentence fragments into the narrative. Use language in your descriptions that he would use. Throw in one of his pet phrases once in a while.

·         Add humor, sarcasm, prejudices, attitudes, misconceptions, etc.

Use the character's personality to flavor the narrative. This is a great way to add humor or demonstrate misconceptions. Perhaps your heroine would think something catty about the woman who fired her even though she'd never utter the words aloud. Have fun with this. Show us her thoughts. Make her human and relatable.

·         Each POV character's voice must be distinct.

We've all heard that a reader should be able to identity which character is speaking simply by the way the dialog is crafted. It is the same principle for narrative voice. Scenes written in the heroine's POV should feel different than those written in the hero's POV.

Next week: Deepen POV by deepening the portrayal of emotion.

~~~~~ 

Short-Straw Bride released June 1, 2012.

No one steps on Archer land. Not if they value their life. But when Meredith Hayes overhears a lethal plot to burn the Archer brothers off their ranch, a twelve-year-old debt compels her to take the risk.

Fourteen years of constant vigilance hardens a man. Yet when Travis Archer confronts a female trespasser with the same vivid blue eyes as the courageous young girl he once aided, he can't bring himself to send her away. And when an act of sacrifice leaves her injured and her reputation in shreds, gratitude and guilt send him riding to her rescue once again.

Four brothers. Four straws. One bride. Despite the fact that Travis is no longer the gallant youth Meredith once dreamed about, she determines to stand by his side against the enemy that threatens them both. But will love ever be hers? Or will Travis always see her merely as a short-straw bride?

~~~~~

Two-time RITA® Finalist and winner of the coveted HOLT Medallion, CBA bestselling author, Karen Witemeyer, writes historical romance fiction for Bethany House, believing that the world needs more happily-ever-afters. She is an avid cross-stitcher, shower singer, and bakes a mean apple cobbler. Karen makes her home in Abilene, TX with her husband and three children. Learn more about Karen and her books at: www.karenwitemeyer.com.