General Writing

Crystal Chandeliers And Marble Halls

September 13, 2012 by scarletdarkwood

Mead Building — Inspiration for the Marble Staircase in Pleasure House

When I first saw this photograph by Christopher Payne, I was smitten like a starry-eyed schoolboy catching a glimpse of a pretty girl. This lobby of Yankton State Hospital was once pristine and beyond beautiful, I imagine. It’s so hard to believe that the old asylums for the mentally ill are dilapidated and condemned buildings now. Oh, it’s true that some of them are still in use, but many have been torn down or left to their doom, rotting away for all eternity, it seems. But back to why I love this photograph: it showed me long-lost beauty. It also provided me with the inspiration for the marble staircase I mentioned so much in Pleasure House. If you read my last installment snippet, you’ll remember that Rose had just been admitted into the lobby of The House, and was stunned by its magnificence.

Of course, I took the liberty of adding statues on the landing, portraits on the wall, and a crowning, sparkling crystal chandelier that hung from the ceiling. When I look down the hall of this particular photograph, I imagine John’s office at the very end on the left. I have no idea what’s beyond the archway, but that’s what makes it all so much fun. I used this photograph to map out a lot of things in my asylum world. I also tried to imagine what I didn’t see, like what did the opposite hallway look like? When I’m writing, I can find all kinds of inspiration for my scenes by looking through photographs and seeing if any elements catch my eye. Many of my scenes in Pleasure House were gained from photographic images of old mental health hospitals. Even through the chipped paint, broken windows, and tattered furniture, you can see an old beauty that refuses to die. I chose to use the elements in my novel and make them come alive once again!

Getty Images Has Nothing On Me!

August 4, 2012 by scarletdarkwood

If you’re a character in a novel, I’d be willing to bet my last Godiva chocolate and a hot, steamy kiss that Getty Images, Big Stock Photo, and iStock will not even begin to have a picture that replicates the vision of you in your author’s head. I know this is true because I had a hard time finding photos, and the ones I might have selected barely came close. *Sigh* Did I really create someone so unique that no one on earth looks like them–even just a teeny, weeny, little bit? Appears so, sad to say. Though I must say *perking up* I marveled at the discovery. Part of me even felt a twinge of pride. Containing a vision of someone so unique that nobody even came close made me feel rather smug. It’s like I broke the mold after I birthed the person. What I found even more strange is how I saw the features of some characters more strongly than others. In Pleasure House, I see John, Daren, and Joe with much more clarity than I see Thomas or Rose–and Rose is, like, the MAIN character! Actually, she reminds me of a friend I met on my first orientation day in college. *Shudder* Okay, I must admit I hate to see a friend in that light, but it’s been such a long time ago. So Susan, if you’re out there, just disregard this post.

Now on to the next part: Voices. No, I’m not hearing voices in the way you think, but I did hear my characters’ voices. Their sounds were just as unique as their faces. Take my character, Ramon, for example. When he spoke in my head, he sounded like Antonio Banderas, though the didn’t look like Antonio Banderas. And the fact that Ramon is a cross-dresser in my novel made the comparison even more weird. I don’t know about anyone else, but I have a hard time imagining Antonio Banderas in a red gown. *Sudder, again*

And would you believe it, even though I’m now working on the re-edits of my book, I still think about my characters from time to time, especially the two characters in my ending (which broke my heart to write, I must say. The “good-bye” of it all made my heart heavy at the time. I nearly felt like crying, and trust me, I’m not one for crying). But some of these characters stick with me. Yeah, I hate to admit this, but between you and me, I once had a dream of Daren and me–together. Well, enough about me . . .

But there are writers who model their characters after their neighbors, family, strangers they see on the street. I find myself starting to do that too. I’ll get a whiff of a personality here, and good bit of juicy “can you believe . . . ?” there, and then my mind starts to turn. These people make great fodder for novels. I have a neighbor right now who has been brewing in my mind, just dying to hatch out in a story somewhere. The problem is I just haven’t worked out the details yet. So don’t worry if your character comes up missing on Getty Images. It’s all right, just keep creating and enjoy the satisfaction of having one-of-a-kind.

Dominance and Submission: Reader Critiques

August 2, 2012 by scarletdarkwood

Let’s talk about dominance and submission, and no, I don’t mean in BDSM play, either. There are all kinds of situations where you can experience being in charge–or not. One situation where you definitely do not feel in charge is when you submit your work to readers who critique what you’ve written. I admit, I’ve been somewhat lucky. I got a professional article published on my first submission. When I was writing my first novel, most readers who critiqued my work responded in the affirmative, liking what they heard/read. But that doesn’t mean my work stood alone, written to perfection, the first time around. Oh, no! Each critique person had their own perspective on what needed to happen or what needed a tweak. Now, I must admit that I’m not too attached to what I write because of this one thing: I LIKE THE CHALLENGE OF WRITING–PERIOD! That being said, I found that listening to my beta readers and editors only made me a stronger writer. Did I follow every piece of advice? Not always. If I believed the suggestion changed the story too much or wouldn’t make my tale or characters better, then I held my ground. On the whole, much of the suggestions I received did, in fact, make the story better. Incorporating the re-writes added more depth to the whole picture I was trying to present to the reader.

The sad part is, I find many writers don’t really care to hear feedback. They’re so in love with their stuff, they can’t be objective. That’s too bad, and for the reasons I mentioned earlier. But the truth is, I want someone to tell me how to improve, especially if they enjoyed my story and might purchase more of my work. I personally believe that my writing is for me first, but it definitely must be created for my audience too. So I’ve learned to submit myself to the pleasure-pain of reader critiques, because the beauty of the experience is feeling writer’s orgasm: strong waves of pleasure and deep satisfaction in knowing I’ve created a much stronger piece of work, suitable and more enjoyable for my audience. The last thing I desire is to feel the lash of disapproval from those who read my stories simply because I didn’t take the time to make my characters, plot, and overall writing the best they could be. And and let’s face it, we all know the whip-wielding reviewers on Amazon can bring you to your knees!

First Experiences In Writing Erotica

July 31, 2012 by scarletdarkwood

I thought I’d never be the one to do it, but I fooled myself! Yes, I’m actually a new author who managed to complete a full-length novel in the erotica genre, of all categories! Hooray! Why erotica? Yes, sex is such a taboo subject, and in the category of fiction, one dare not consider it mainstream reading. I remember my first time reading an erotic novel! I picked up Anne Rice’s Sleeping Beauty trilogy, thinking I was going to be reading a true fairy tale. Boy was I ever fooled! But I kept reading because the whole idea of an author writing about nothing but sex intrigued me. How could someone do that and yet, create an enjoyable story at the same time?

Well, I got to try my hand at it, and I must admit the experiences I gained in the writing process were of such great magnitude, that I wouldn’t trade them for any other in the world. The work, the revisions, the thought processes behind all the scenes, character creation, plot development–made me work and think harder than I’ve ever had to do before. Because I’m not a practitioner of the activities included in my first novel, I had to do quite a bit of research on different subject matters. I found myself hanging out and reading sites I’d never dreamt of viewing! I also learned about some highly kinky sexual activities that made me cock an eyebrow. But the research material made for great action, and the subject matter seemed to be unique even for this genre.

How did I first decide I was ready to dip my toe (or my pen, rather) into the well and begin writing? Honestly, I just went with my gut. I’d spent hours learning the craft of writing, and I must say I’m not done yet. Not by a long-shot! But at some point, I believed I had learned enough about character development and plot creation to go ahead and begin putting words on paper. As I learned more about word choices and associated do’s and don’t’s, I revised my work to flow much better. Studying some self-editing books forced me to take an even harder look at my work, so I revised again.

At some point I decided I had done all I could do with the first draft, and so I submitted parts of my writing to people in critique groups, and finally I graduated to submitting my manuscript to an editor and a couple of beta readers. These people did wonders for my first draft, pointing out flaws in flow, placement, or relatability issues. Luckily, they all liked my work, and incorporating their suggestions into my revisions will only serve to make the story even stronger. So it’s off to work I go, revising what I hope will be an even better story than I started out with!