Heidi Ruby Miller - Many Genres, One Craft: Lessons in Writing Popular Fiction

Many Genres, One Craft:

Lessons in WritingPopular Fiction

Edited by

Michael A. Arnzen and Heidi Ruby Miller

Headline Books, Inc.

Terra Alta, WV

Many Genres, One Craft: Lessons in WritingPopular Fiction

Edited by Michael A. Arnzen and Heidi Ruby Miller

copyright 2011 Michael A. Arnzen and HeidiRuby Miller

First Electronic Edition

copyright 2012 Michael A. Arnzen and HeidiRuby Miller

All rightsreserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in anyother form or for any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy,recording or any information storage system, without written permission fromHeadline Books, Inc.

To order additional copies of this book orfor book publishing information:

Headline Books, Inc.

Terra Alta , WV 26764

www.headlinebooks.com

Tel/Fax: 800-570-5951

Email: mybook@headlinebooks.com

www.headlinebooks.com

Michael A. Arnzen

arnzen@gorelets.com

www.gorelets.com

Heidi Ruby Miller

heidirubymiller@gmail.com

http://heidirubymiller.blogspot.com

http://manygenres.blogspot.com

ISBN-13: 978-0-938467-08-3

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-PublicationData

Many genres, one craft : lessons in writingpopular fiction / edited by Michael A. Arnzen and Heidi Ruby Miller.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 978-0-938467-08-3

1. Fiction--Technique. 2. Popularliterature--Technique. I. Arnzen,Michael A. II. Miller, Heidi Ruby.

PN3365.M265 2011

808.3--dc22

2011006932

Printed in the United States of America

Acknowledgments

From Mike:

Many friends, one thanks. One big, honking thanks. Toyou all!

I especially appreciate all the energetic work of co-editorHeidi, who was always speedy, passionate and wise on every task with thisproject, and was incredibly accommodating to my crazy teaching schedule andwild ideas. Heidi has been a dynamite collaborator on this projectshe is anamazing editor, and I have learned much from her skill and drive. I also haveto thank her husband, Jason, for his uncredited role as Sounding Boardthroughout the process. Much gratitude to Cathy Teets for seeing the promise ofthis book and working with us so generously in bringing it to readerseverywhere. Gratitude to Rita Rosenkranz who helped us along the way. A big textual hug to my long-suffering wife,Renate, who is out shoveling snow right now while I type this under deadline(Writers, pay attention: you will needRenates in your life! But you cant have my Frau!)

All the contributors in this book bent over backwards with asmile to help make it a realitythank you! It is astounding to me how amazingall the students, alums, faculty, administrators and guest writers from Seton Hill UniversitysMFA program in Writing Popular Fiction havebeen with this project. What a community of advocates for the serious study ofgenre fiction you all are! This book is a testament to the sheer drive and loveof literature that you have, and it really is something special. I cantexpress my gratitude for your unconditional generosity, professionalism, adviceand passion, and I feel very lucky to know you all. I particularly want to senda note to the SHU students, alums, andadjuncts from WPF who are not included in these pagesthis is as muchyour book as it is the work of those on the contents listing, and I really hopewe did you proud.

To the writers and students everywhere who are reading thisbook, looking for advice: thank you,too, for caring. We wrote this because the world really needs more goodstories. The ball is now in your court. Slam dunk it!

From Heidi:

Thank you to all the wonderful writers who contributed to ManyGenres, One Craft. I was constantly impressed by your professionalism andenthusiasm throughout every stage of this process. And, not once did youcomplain about the dozens of emails we exchanged.

Thank you to Mike Arnzen who first approached me with thisambitious idea back in 2007 after a group of us went to see Grindhouse.You made this collaboration fun and mostly painless. You are a dearfriend and mentor.

Thank you to Cathy Teets of Headline Books for believing inthis concept from the startand for all of those brownie sundaes at Bob Evans!

Thank you to Rita Rosenkranz for her support of the book.

Thank you to Seton Hill University for their blessing toput this book together and for the excellent education I received from theWriting Popular Fiction program. And, thank you to WPF alumnaeI am so proud tobe a part of this community of writers!

Thank you to all the bloggers, podcasters, reviewers, andradio hosts who made our Virtual Book Tour the best Ive ever seen.

Thank you to my mother, Sharon Ruby, for spending two dayscopyediting parts of this book with me. And, thank you to my father, AlbertRuby, for cleaning up my basement when it flooded during one of those majorediting days.

Thank you to my husband, Jason Jack Miller, for always beingeverything I need whenever I need it.

Publication History

The following articles arereprinted here with the authors generous permission:

You Have To Start WithSomething, So It Might As Well Be Something Like This by Gary Braunbeck.Revised version of a chapter first appearing in Fear in a Handful of Dust:Horror As a Way of Life by Gary A. Braunbeck (Wildside Press, 2003).

Dont Be a Bobble-Head,and Other Bits of Guidance by Timons Esaias. Revised version of an essay firstappearing in Fantastical Visions Volume II (Fantasist Enterprises,2003).

Tuning Up Your Writing byMichael A. Arnzen. Original appeared in Gila Queens Guide to Markets (2009).

Readers Resent Change byTess Gerrittsen. First appeared online at Tess Gerrittsen: Blog ( 15 Jan 2009 ). http://www.tessgerritsen.com/blog/

To Thine Own Self Be True:Five Pieces of Advice for Potential Thriller Writers by David Morrell. Firstappeared in Romantic Times (Dec 2008).

Lessons from the VampireSlayer by Catherine Mulvany. First appeared online at Catherine Mulvany:Writers Corner (July 2007). http://www.catherinemulvany.com/writersc_archive.html

Working the Workshop byMichael A. Arnzen. Revised version of an essay first appearing in The HandyJob Hunter for Writers (2003) and Gila Queens Guide to Markets(2004).

Nearly Finished by NicolePeeler. First appeared online at Dr. Peelers Urban Fantasy Emporium ( 15 Oct 2010 ). http://www.nicolepeeler.com/

Where Do I Go from Here?Being Orphaned by Leslie Davis Guccione. An earlier version first appeared inthe Childrens Writer Guide from The Institute for ChildrensLiterature.

Contents

Putting OurHeads Together: An Introduction to Many Genres, One Craft by Michael A.Arnzen

CRAFT

Style and Process

You Have toStart with SOMETHING, So It Might As Well Be Something Like This by Gary A.Braunbeck

Dont Be aBobble-Head, and Other Bits of Guidance by Timons Esaias

Tuning Up YourWriting by Michael A. Arnzen

Dumping theInfo Dump by Maria V. Snyder

PowermanWrites Womens Fiction: On Writing What You Know by Matt Duvall

Your VeryFirst Editor by Lee Allen Howard

Make RevisingWork for You, Not Against You by Adrea L. Peters

PerfectDisaster: Dont Let Perfectionism Squash Your Creativity by Anne Harris

CHARACTER AND DIALOGUE

M&Ms forCharacters by Sharon Mignerey

Tough Love:Make Your Protagonist Suffer by Randall Silvis

BE AN ARCHETYPE, NOT A STEREOTYPE by Heidi Ruby Miller

Going Deeper:Point of View Beyond the Basics by W.H. Horner

A HELPFUL TACTIC: THE TEMPLATE TEXT by TimonsEsaias

EmpoweringFemale Characters by Barbara J. Miller