Is my #amwriting “voice” schizophrenic? by Leah St. James

In my continuing saga of hoping to someday finish my current work in progress, I took a half day off from work on Monday, determined to make some progress. I  got up  about an hour later than usual, and basking in the luxury of not having to go into the office, lolled about in my pajamas, working on the Sudoku in the day’s paper, until TPM (The Plot Master a/k/a hubby) went off to work for the day. 

After exercising and showering, I got down to work. It was only 10 a.m., and I felt like I’d been released from bondage—hours and hours of free writing time  before me.

I think I reported in a recent post that I’ve been making decent progress, averaging about 250-500 words in the morning before work (which is incredible for me). But something happened that morning that slowed my progress.

I’m working on the sequel to my first  book—a dark and gritty look into the world of sexual slavery, with some consensual BDSM mixed in there. The sequel, which picks up the story about six weeks after the end of the first, is supposed to be a suspenseful, thriller-esque story with a continuing romance. 

But on Monday, everything I wrote was just awful, or lackluster at the best. No emotion. No grit. No suspense. In fact – help me, please – everything came out kind of slapstick-y! 

In my quest to diagnose this condition, I put the laptop aside and did another 30-minute workout, figuring maybe increasing the blood flow to my brain might bring an epiphany. It did not (although I burned calories!), and I struggled to write for the rest of the day.

When I went to bed that night, though, and settled in with my Kindle for my pleasure reading, it hit me.  My writing that day was similar in style and tone to the book I’m reading! It’s a contemporary romance by a national best-selling author with probably 30 published books in several series. She doesn’t write slapstick-y by any stretch, but she does use physical situations in humorous ways. I do believe I  was channeling her tone and voice while writing that morning. (If only it were as good as hers, I’d switch genres!)

It reminded me of a trip to Disney World when I was 16. I’m a native northeasterner with no discernible accent. I encountered a lot of southerners at the park, and at some point, I started subconsciously mimicking their accents. I forced myself to stop when I unintentionally offended one of the performers, a really cute teenage guy from Georgia (blond, blue eyes, nice muscles...I’ll bet he grew up into a fine looking man...).

Anyway, either I’ve transferred that tendency to my writing voice, or my overall mood (happy, relaxed) prevented me from going to the dark place the story calls for. Or maybe it’s a combination of both.

So now my question is, how do I turn off these subconscious voices in my head? Am I destined to finding my own voice only in the pre-dawn hours, when the world is dark and I’m exhausted from the drains of my every-day life?

Is my writing voice hopelessly schizophrenic, helplessly bound by the time of  day or by mood?

Disgusted, I told myself that “professional” writers are supposed to be able to power through these glitches and make it work, and that’s what I’ve been doing—at least the powering through part. I can’t say I’m making it work, but that’s what second and third and fourth drafts are for. Right?

Eventually I’ll be in a dark enough mood, I’m sure, to get back to normal.

If any of you have experienced this phenomenon and figured out a way around, I’d love to hear your tips!


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Leah writes stories of mystery and romance – or goofball slapstick, depending on her mood – and the power of love. Learn more at leahstjames.com.

Subtle Distinctions in Romance Sub-Genres by Jannine Gallant

I've been doing a lot of thinking about subtleties. I know, hard to believe coming from me. I generally use a sledgehammer rather than kid gloves to make my point... However, I've been editing, and I've come to a few interesting conclusions.

What determines the sub-genre of a book? I used to think it was the content of the story. Does the plot have a strictly romantic conflict, or are there bad guys to contend with? I always maintained I couldn't write straight contemporary (except novella length) because I needed the suspense to fill out a full-length book. But, I'm starting to think content isn't the deciding factor in determining sub-genre.

I'm using our own Margo, my beleaguered CP, as my case in point. I'm approaching the end of her latest WIP in a frenzy of editing. This is book two of her Brothers-in-Blue series about cops who protect the women they love from creepy villains. Now, I've also had my grubby little mitts all over book one. My constant comments were that she needed more suspense elements to make these books true romantic suspense because something just felt off. Reading book two, I realized the number of bad-guy encounters wasn't the actual problem.

Why didn't these books feel like suspense? I finally came to the conclusion it's not plot but voice, tone, style--or maybe all of the above. It's the same reason I can't write straight contemporary, I don't have the right style. Margo delves into the romance and the deep emotions of her characters. She takes her  time telling their story. Me, I make people tired when they read my books because my pace is fast and furious. I don't delve. Neither style is wrong. They're just different. However, a quick pace lends itself to romantic suspense because it keeps the reader on edge. On the other hand, deeper emotions feels more contemporary.

So, despite the fact Margo is writing about cops and bad guys, my suggestion was she shop her series as contemporary with suspense elements. The only downside, she needs to add more S-E-X to make them really appealing as contemporaries. Always a downside... LOL

What do you all think? Does the content or the tone determine the sub-genre of a book? Is my theory out to lunch, or am I on to something? Please chime in.

And while we're on the subject of the second book in a series...Every Step She Takes, book two in my Who's Watching Now series is on sale for 99 cents. Get your copy on Amazon now. Or check out all my books on my Website.