Note: This piece originally appeared on the ACFW blog, 3/16/17.
I’m a details person, which translated well into my chosen profession of writer and editor. I notice things like misplaced commas, wrong usage of apostrophes (don’t get me started on how years can’t be possessive!) and subject/verb disagreement. It used to drive me crazy when I encountered grammatical or word choice mistakes in the real world, like church bulletins, business signage or political campaign literature.
But I’ve largely been able to turn off my inner editor—or at least hit the pause button—for most of those instances (with the notable exception of school communication…the people teaching my children should certainly understand the proper use of its versus it’s, but I digress). And lest you think I’m an overly strict grammarian, I mostly point out these missteps to my husband (who’s also an editor) and don’t call out the grammar hounds on the culprits.
However, I’m sure I’m not alone with how much it bothers me to uncover multiple mistakes in books. The hair color for the heroine started out blonde but ended up brunette, with not a whisper of a dye job in between. The hero had vivid blue eyes on page 16, but deep brown ones on page 230—and he wasn’t undercover with tinted contacts. A major secondary character undergoes a name change that was unintentional.
If a reader is pulled out of the story because of simple errors, then we run the very real risk of losing that reader. And the reader might not abandon this book only, but could decide not to bother picking up other books we’ve written (or will write) too.
Take heart, gentle writer! There are ways to avoid the pitfalls that have befallen many an author before you (and probably many after you too). Here are some common mistakes and how to correct them.
The Switcheroo. Eye or hair color are the easiest ones to mix up with a character. Word processing tools like Scrivener can help you have easy access to character sketches. One trick I use when writing a rough draft and I don’t want to slow down to look up those things is to write something like this: Sally Smith gazed into Burt Brown’s COLOR eyes and sighed. Then when editing, I can easily insert the correct color.
The Lost Time. This one I struggle with because I have a hard time creating timelines when writing, but I’m finally figuring out how to keep track of where my characters are in relation to months and days of the week. For example, some writers have a file with chapters listed and dates/days next to them. If you don’t keep it straight, you can bet sharp-eyed readers will notice!
The Pet Phrase. We all have them—those phrases that keep popping up in our books, sometimes within the same chapter, but the phrases are unusual enough that you notice. For example, the character “hits the [car] gas” not once, not twice, but three or more times (Lisa Scottoline, I’m looking at you!). I’ve found that my online critique group provides a much-needed service in this area—they are never slow to point out when I’ve overused a particular word or phrase.
The Missing Info. This one’s harder to pin down, but it can be so annoying when a character walks into a room with a brown bag, but then is able to gesture and hug and do all kinds of things as if the brown bag had never existed. This kind of magic isn’t going to endear your readers. Pay attention to what your characters are wearing, doing, taking or leaving. Beta readers can be invaluable in helping to point out these inconsistences.
Remember, editors are wonderful and they catch many things, but the cleaner we submit our manuscripts, the more likely the finished product will have very few errors. We don’t want our readers tripped up by these small mistakes in our writing—we want them entranced by our storytelling.
H. L. Wegley served in the U.S. Air Force as an intelligence analyst and a weather officer. In civilian life, he worked as a research scientist, then developed Boeing computing systems before retiring near Seattle with his wife of 50 years, where he has published seven novels and has more on the way.
What’s the hardest part of writing romantic suspense?
H.L.: My romantic suspense stories are high-stakes, high-action with near thriller-level intensity. The most difficult aspect of writing these stories is splicing in a romance that fits naturally into the thriller plot. The only way I’ve found to make this work is to integrate the romance into the thriller-level plot such that one could not exist without the other. If the romance dominates the thriller plot, or vice versa, the story can lose believability. It’s a tightrope that can only be walked by careful plot and character construction. Susan May Warren helped me do this integration for Voice in the Wilderness and I think it turned out well.
What is your favorite spot for reading or reflecting on your current work-in-progress?
H.L.: My favorite place to write, or do anything creative, is in the warm sunshine. Add some pink noise, like on an ocean beach in Maui, and my writing productivity goes up by a factor of 10. I wrote my first draft of my first novel in seven days while sitting on the shore of Lake Havasu drinking iced lattes. During the gloomy Seattle winters, I shine a grow light on my work area—just one light, don’t want any raids on my house!—and I drink a lot of coffee.
How do you pick the location/setting of your romantic suspense novels? H.L.: For me, loving a location and knowing it well are my primary criteria for selecting a story setting. My thinking is that if an author loves a place—e.g. Crooked River Ranch in Central Oregon, a place I love—it adds more passion to the writing. Knowing the place well helps remove fear of misrepresentation, and that frees one’s creativity, enhancing the vividness of story world description. Remember, readers local to the setting don’t take kindly to writers messing up their home town and local scenery.
Something else I sometimes do when selecting the setting—for example, using the Deschutes River for a battle scene in Voice in the Wilderness—is to choose a beautiful setting to contrast with the ugly deeds done there. Bad seems even more evil when it happens in one of the most beautiful places in creation. And good seems even better in a beautiful setting.
Current book: Voice in the Wilderness A political thriller with romance about an American president plotting tyranny and the young couple who risk their lives to stop him.
Reunion at Crane Lake by Robin Bayne — Colt’s memory is returning after the accident that ended his career. Now he wants to take over his family’s inn, but he’ll have to partner with his former fiancée to be able to afford it. He’ll need forgiveness to make that happen. Tia’s goal is clear: to return the inn to its former grandeur. And she’ll even work with Colt to do so. But like the inn, their relationship needs a lot of work. He broke her heart…can she ever trust him again? (Contemporary Romance from White Rose Publishing [Pelican])
Hope by Fay Lamb — She’s a starving artist facing a serious illness; he’s the doctor who’s her only hope of survival. If only she hadn’t caused his sister to die. (Contemporary Romance from Write Integrity Press)
Muffins & Moonbeams by Elizabeth Maddrey — Malachi Baxter is happy to hide in the background and manage the business-end of the family bakery. He’d much rather live in the online world of computer games where he can explore the galaxy and no one has to know he’s deaf. Ursula Franks designs websites during the day and spends her evenings battling alien races online where relationships are easy and uncomplicated. When she agrees to design a website for the local Community Supported Bakery, she has no idea that Malachi is the real man behind her online persona’s best friend and her own secret crush.As the two work together on the website, they uncover an attraction, but will they be able to put aside past hurt and insecurity to find love? (Contemporary Romance, Independently Published)
Then Came You: A Bradford Sisters Novella by Becky Wade — Garner Bradford, heir to the troubled Bradford Shipping empire, doesn’t know much about babies. But he’s going to have to learn fast because he’s just become a single father to his newborn daughter. Career girl Kathleen Burke is wholly uninterested in settling down. She has big dreams, and none of them include Garner and his small hometown in Washington State. Yet she can’t seem to get her handsome boss out of her head or her heart…. (Romance Novella, Independently Published)
General:
When the Bough Breaks by Ane Mulligan — Her dream job has a Catch 22—and time’s running outRookie lobbyist Sienna O’Shea is determined to make a name for herself in New York’s capitol city and use that influence to gain easier access to her birth records. For years she’s searched for her birth mother, but when she’s handed her first assignment—to lobby support for the permanent sealing of all adoption records—her worlds collide. Swept up into the intrigue of backroom politics, falling in love was not on Sienna’s agenda, but the candidate for Lt. Governor runs a formidable campaign to make her his first lady. When an investigative reporter discovers foreign money infiltrating political campaigns, the trail leads to Sienna’s inner circle. (General, Independently Published)
The Memory of You by Catherine West — Thirteen years ago, Natalie lost a part of herself when her twin sister died. Will traveling back to the family winery finally put the memory to rest, or will it completely destroy her? (General from HarperCollins Christian Publishing [Thomas Nelson and Zondervan])
Cozy Mystery:
Murder Is No Accident by A. H. Gabhart — When murder comes to call at a stately Victorian house, the town of Hidden Springs looks to Deputy Sheriff Michael Keane to solve the crime before anyone else dies. (Cozy Mystery from Revell [Baker])
Historical Romance:
A Rocky Mountain Romance by Misty M. Beller — When Zeche takes shelter from a blizzard in a remote cabin, he doesn’t expect to find a beautiful woman and her father, a disturbed Civil War veteran. Zeche’s instincts tell him Greta is endangered and he should stay and protect her, but his own presence aggravates her father’s condition. With a dangerous snowstorm outside and growing hostilities inside, can he find a way to keep them all safe from harm? Or will it be to the detriment of his heart? (Historical Romance, Independently Published)
A Stolen Heart by Amanda Cabot — From afar, Cimarron Creek seems like an idyllic town tucked in the Texas Hill Country. But when former schoolteacher Lydia Crawford steps onto its dusty streets in 1880, she finds a town with a deep-seated resentment of Northerners–like her. Lydia won’t let that get her down, though. All will be well when she’s reunited with her fiancé. But when she discovers he has disappeared–and that he left behind a pregnant wife–Lydia is at a loss about what to do next. The handsome sheriff urges her to trust him, but can she trust anyone in this town where secrets are as prevalent as bluebonnets in spring? (Historical Romance from Revell [Baker])
My Heart Belongs in the Superstition Mountains: Carmela’s Quandary by Susan Page Davis — Experience the Wild West as Carmela seeks freedom of body and soul. Forced for years by her uncle to pose as a survivor of an Indian kidnapping so he can profit on the speaker circuit, she longs to end the lies. On a stagecoach in Arizona Territory, Carmela and her uncle are fellow passengers with a deputy US marshal and his handcuffed prisoner. When the stage is attacked, will Carmela’s wish come true, or will she forever be branded by her past? (Historical Romance from Barbour Publishing)
Desert Moon & Honor Bound by Susan Page Davis and Colleen L. Reece — Enjoy an Old West romance adventure from author Susan Page Davis. Julia Newman looked forward to moving home to Arizona, then she got word that her mother has died and Julie’s stagecoach is robbed. If that wasn’t enough, the first person she sees in town is Adam Scott—the man she always loved but could never have—and now he is accusing her brother of criminal activity. Also includes a bonus historical romance, Honor Bound by Colleen L. Reece. (Historical Romance from Barbour Publishing)
Her Motherhood Wish by Keli Gwyn — En route to the Double T Orphanage to work on its expansion, carpenter Chip Evans and Caroline Hunt discover two orphaned children—and become their caregivers. But Chip’s determined not to let himself get too attached to the children who just lost their widowed father…or to the lovely woman helping him care for them. Especially since Callie and the little ones just don’t fit into his detailed plans for the future. Callie can’t help but fall in love with the orphans, and despite her better judgment, she’s falling for Chip, too. Her dreams of being a wife and mother were not quite like this. But Callie believes a plan bigger than Chip’s brought them all together…and now she just has to help him see it, too. (Historical Romance from Love Inspired [Harlequin])
The Planter’s Daughter by Michelle Shocklee — When her father’s Texas cotton plantation faces bankruptcy, Adella must choose between the man who can her family’s land and the man who can save her! (Historical Romance from Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas)
When Tides Turn by Sarah Sundin — When Quintessa Beaumont learns the US Navy has established the WAVES program for women, she enlists, eager to throw off her frivolous ways and contribute to the war effort. Lt. Dan Avery employs his skills in antisubmarine warfare to fight U-boats at the peak of the Battle of the Atlantic, but the last thing he wants to see on his radar is fun-loving Tess. As Dan and Tess work together in Boston, the changes in Tess challenge his notions–and his heart. (Historical Romance from Revell [Baker])
Medical Suspense:
Dcotor’s Dilemma by Richard L. Mabry M.D. — Young surgeon Tyler Gentry thought the offer to join the Hall Group of surgeons offered the answer to his problems, but things changed when he received a 3 AM phone call that told him such a move would be hazardous to his health. (Medical Suspense, Independently Published)
Romantic Suspense:
Her Baby’s Protector by Margaret Daley and Susan Sleeman — Saved by the Lawman by Margaret Daley: As an unknown assailant attempts to kidnap family-court judge Kate Forster’s infant son, police officer Chase Walker thwarts the attack—and vows to keep the pair safe. But who will protect the ex-marine’s heart when the widowed mother and her little boy make him long for a permanent spot in their family? Saved by the SEAL by Susan Sleeman: The tragedy that killed Bree Hatfield’s best friends–and left her with custody of their young daughter–has been ruled an accident. But Bree knows it was murder. Scared and alone, she turns to her ex-boyfriend, navy SEAL Clint Reed, who’ll risk everything to protect baby Ella and the woman he never stopped loving. (Romantic Suspense from Love Inspired [Harlequin])
Agent-in-Training by Terri Reed — FBI intern Zara Fielding and her K-9 partner, Radar, stumble across a robbery gone wrong and put themselves in the criminals’ crosshairs. Her childhood friend FBI computer guru Dylan O’Leary works for the secretive FBI unit she longs to join, and he vows not to let anything happen to her. As they work to stay one step ahead of the bad guys, new feelings ignite. When she goes missing, it’s only Dylan–and Radar–who can track her down. Will they arrive in time to save her and the future she and Dylan have started dreaming about? (Romantic Suspense from Love Inspired [Harlequin])
Speculative Romance/Fantasy:
Ingrid’s Engagement by Kristen Reed — When King Viggo marches through the kingdom of Schlagefilde in a relentless quest for retribution against its wicked king, the Count of Anselm attempts to make peace with him. As the two strike a deal that will protect the people of Anselm, the King of Villriket becomes enthralled with a portrait of the Count’s oldest daughter, Ingrid. The vengeful king vows that he will leave Edmund’s county in peace if he will allow him to marry Ingrid. To prevent her father from incurring the sovereign’s wrath, the young lady hastily agrees and enters into an unforeseen engagement with the grim ruler. Ingrid’s Engagement tells the enchanting tale of a beautiful young woman who softens the hardened heart of a beastly king with nothing more than her quiet wisdom and gentle spirit. (Speculative Romance/Fantasy, Independently Published)
Sarah Varland lives in Alaska with her family. Her passion for books comes from her mom, and her love for suspense comes from her dad, who has spent a career in law enforcement. When she’s not writing, she’s often found reading, baking, kayaking or hiking.
Why do you like writing romantic suspense? Sarah: I love romance but I like what suspense adds to it. I think it’s fun to confront the challenge of having people fall head over heels in love while they’re also trying to avoid being killed. My favorite part of writing romantic suspense is the way I get to have my characters, especially my heroines, confront their fears. They are always so much braver than they believe they are, and I love them coming to that realization towards the end of the book and truly being brave as they learn to trust God more. I love the lessons that teaches me and hopefully my readers as well.
What did you want to be as a child (and did that dream come true)? Sarah: As a really young child I wanted to be a veterinarian. That was before I realized how much science was involved and that science wasn’t my strong suit. When an aptitude test in middle school reminded me of that but showed up with writing as one of my strengths, I was intrigued. I started stories for fun sometimes, just to entertain myself, but until then I’m not sure if it had ever occurred to me I could do that for a career. My mom encouraged me, and when I was in college, my dad took me to a writing conference and the dream just kept growing from there. I still can’t believe sometimes that I’m really an author, that God really did give me this dream along with all the others He has given to me, but I am extremely thankful.
What does your family think of your writing romantic suspense? Sarah: Ha! I love that you asked this. My family is very proud of me for my writing, which I appreciate, but the idea of suspense in my stories cracks them up occasionally. I’m that person who would rather have a nightlight somewhere in the house than pitch dark, doesn’t like to go outside alone at night, hears a noise and wonders what creepy thing it could be.
I don’t have a track record of extreme bravely like my heroines do, though I aspire to be like them one day, but I guess you could say that while my family laughs a bit we all admit that my overactive imagination has finally come in handy?
Current book: Perilous Homecoming
A former police officer teams up with her high school rival to try to find the modern day pirate responsible for a murder.
Award-winning author, V. B. Tenery lives in East Texas. Her passion is writing inspirational fiction with shining characters, settings, and plots so exciting readers come away feeling delighted with the experience. When not writing she enjoys reading, hiking, and tubing down rivers in the Texas Hill Country.
What’s the hardest part of writing romantic suspense? V.B.: The most difficult part of writing romantic suspense for most authors is to keep the characters real and the story from being trite. I personally dislike mushy romantic plots. By mushy, I mean where the male/female protagonists are always thinking how sexy the other one is and how they can’t keep their hands of each other. I try to have natural interactions between the two that fits the scene. If someone is trying to kill you, I don’t think reactions would hormonal. As Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes, “There is nothing new under the sun,” and that is especially true in fiction. Finding a fresh approach to the plot is always a challenge.
How do you connect with your characters? V.B.: That’s a good question, and I don’t always make a connection immediately. I have a romantic suspense series, and as the storyline has developed through multiple novels, I’ve gotten to know them intimately, but the connection didn’t happen right away. The deeper I went into their feeling and goals, the more I began to know them inside-out. In a couple of my standalone novels, there has been an immediate connection that I can’t explain. The young genius, Grace Sullivan, in Deathwatch, was such a connection, as was Mercy Lawrence, a kidnap victim, in Dead Ringer. When that happens, I find the writing flows easily and I finish those novels much faster. When I struggle to know who my characters really are, it slows down my muse.
Current book: Deathwatch In Deathwatch, an MI6 agent, Scotland Yard inspector, and a young American genius search for a killer during the London Blitz.