Congratulations 2012 Whitney Award Winners!

I know this has been posted elsewhere today—I’ve seen it all over Facebook. But I wanted to congratulate the winners on a job well done! And also to offer my personal thank you to all those behind-the-scenes people who make the Whitney Awards and Gala possible.

Also, my candy dress was a hit with my table mates! (But it’s a good thing I wore a  jumpsuit under it. They were hungry!)
 
 

Everneath

EVERNEATH
By Brodi Ashton
Best Young Adult Speculative Novel

 
 

AfterHello

AFTER HELLO
By Lisa Mangum
Best Young Adult General Novel

 
 

FalsePrince

THE FALSE PRINCE
By Jennifer A. Nielsen
Best Middle Grade Novel

 
 

RentCollector

THE RENT COLLECTOR
By Camron Wright
Best General Novel

 
 

MyLovingVigilKeeping

MY LOVING VIGIL KEEPING
By Carla Kelly
Best Historical Novel

 
 

Edenbrooke

EDENBROOKE
By Julianne Donaldson
Best Romance Novel

 
 

CodeWord

CODE WORD
By Traci Hunter Abramson
Best Mystery/Suspense Novel

 
 

HOllowCity

THE HOLLOW CITY
By Dan Wells
Best Speculative Novel

 
 

FalsePrince

THE FALSE PRINCE
By Jennifer A. Nielsen
Best Youth Novel of the Year

 
 

Edenbrooke

EDENBROOKE
By Julianne Donaldson
Best Novel by a New Author

 
 

RentCollector

THE RENT COLLECTOR
By Camron Wright
Best Novel of the Year

 
 

Littke_Lael

Lael Littke
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

 
 

Carol-Lynch-Williams-190

Carol Lynch Williams
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

 
 

Help Me Pick a Dress!

The Whitney Awards Banquet is this weekend! And after working with hundreds of top-notch, internationally renowned, elite fashion designers, I’ve narrowed it down to three.

1. The Blue Fairy

A_a5-1332238470

I like this one because blue definitely sets off my hair, which is my best feature. And I already have glasses frames to match. I would wear this outfit exactly as is, but with my hair flowing down below the absolutely striking hat.

2. The Green Dream

B_00190m

I like this one because my eyes are green. And also it has a fashion-forward feel to it. Plus, if anyone annoys me, I can turn my head quickly and smack them with my hat—then pretend it was an accident.

 

3. The Blood Sugar Booster

C_Unusual-Couture1

This is the one I’m sort of leaning toward because I lurve the colors. Plus I have trouble with my blood sugar so if I get hungry, I can have a snack.

But I’d wear these shoes.

crazy-ballet-shoes

So what do you think??? Please give feedback and tell me which one to pick in the comments below. I NEED your help because the last thing I want is to look like a fashion fool at the banquet!

 

Storymakers and Whitney Awards—Oh My!

This weekend is probably my favorite weekend of the entire year! It’s the LDStoryMakers Conference and the Whitney Awards banquet!!!!!!!!

Yes, they deserve all those exclamation points—and more!

Seriously. I’ve been going to Storymakers for years in my alter ego persona. I’ve missed a few—and that always makes me sad—but I’ve really loved watching it grow and change to become what it is today. I love the supportive atmosphere and the great fun. I always come home inspired to write more.

Click here to see a few photos of me at the conference in previous years.

And then there are the Whitney Awards! I simply can’t imagine the Oscars being more fun. (Unless, of course, I got a seat next to Robert Downey Jr.)

Click here for photos of me at the 2011 Whitney Awards Banquet.

I’ll be posting some pictures of this year’s outfit later this week.

But today, let’s talk about the finalists. Here are the finalists for two of the Whitney categories.

Young Adult—General

After Hello Finding June The Space Between Us The Ugly Stepsister Strikes Back V is for Virgin
Lisa Mangum Shannen Crane Camp Jessica Martinez Sariah Wilson Kelly Oram

Middle Grade

Case File 13: Zombie Kid Epic Tales of a Misfit Hero Freakling Palace of Stone The False Prince
J. Scott Savage Matt Peterson* Lana Krumwiede* Shannon Hale Jennifer A. Nielsen

 

In the comments, tell us:

• How many of these 10 finalists have you read?

• Which ones did you really, really love?

• And if you had to pick just one from each category—like, if you were at the bookstore and you only had enough money to buy ONE book—which is your winner and WHY?

Remember, these comments enter you to win one of the books featured in sidebar!

Who’s Going to Storymakers?

The LDStorymakers Conference is this weekend! I am so excited I can hardly stand myself. I have to say that as far as writing conferences go, this is one of the best. It’s well organized, has great presenters, and the atmosphere is positive and supportive. I have so much fun at these conferences. I love it!

Unfortunately, if you haven’t already registered, it’s too late. (Sorry.) But there are zillions of writers conferences going on this summer, so I’m sure if you’re determined you can find one.

But back to Storymakers. To get us in the mood, I’m dedicating the rest of this week to getting us excited. And what better way to ramp up the enthusiasm than to reminisce about past Storymakers conferences.

Here are a few snapshots from previous years of me with just a few of my favorite peeps.

These are some of the long-timers at Storymakers.
Rachel Nunes, Tristi Pinkston, BJ Rowley, Me,
Julie Wright, Jaime Theler, Crystal Liechty, and Jeff Savage

The Walnut Springs Gang
Front Row: Tristi Pinkston, Theresa Sneed, Betsy Love
Middle Row: Rhonda Hinrichsen, LC Lewis, Amy Orton
Back Row: Linda Mulleneaux, Me

Here is a bunch of us. I think it’s the Authors Incognito group.
I’m the one with the red arrow.

This is me with Howard Tayler. He’s hilarious.
If you get a chance, go to his class. He doesn’t always stay on point,
but he has lots of good information.

And here I am with Whitney Award Winning author, Dan Wells.
Also in the pic are Bron Bahlmann (when is that next book coming out, Bron?)
and James Dashner (umm, I think he might have written a book or two…)
and a future author, I suppose?

More photos to come!

 

*Photos provided by Tristi Pinkston and LDStorymakers.
**Special thanks to my lovely assistant for collecting and “polishing” them.
***Photos were chosen based on compatibility with me. 🙂

Whitney Reading Counter Widget

It took a lot of Googling to find this. Good thing I have mad googling skillz…

I found a free word count widget that is easily adjusted to count the number of Whitney finalists you’ve read.

It’s simple, elegant and you get to control a lot of the various options, like color, font, and size.

Just go to CritiqueCircle.com and use their word meter builder. It’s really easy and has instructions for each element of the widget.

Paste the code into an HTML widget box on your blog.

As you read, you’ll need to open the widget box and adjust the first set of numbers in the code, but that’s really easy to do.

Let me know how you like it. 🙂

2010 Whitney Winners!

The 2010 Whitneys were awarded last night at their annual gala. The winners are…

Outstanding Achievement Award
Rick Walton

Lifetime Achievement Award
Susan Evans McCloud

Best General

Best Historical

Best Mystery/Suspense

Best Romance

Best Speculative

Best Youth—General

Best Youth—Speculative

Best by New Author

Novel of the Year (Tie)


Congratulations to all the winners!

And a HUGE thank you to the Whitney committee, sponsors and volunteers who make these awards possible!

Which Book Would You Pick as the 2010 Best Fiction Book by an LDS Author?

The last vote: Which Book Would You Pick as the 2010 Best Fiction Book by an LDS Author?

Go HERE to see the entire list of 2010 Whitney Finalists

In the comments section, state which book you think should win 2010 Best Fiction Book by an LDS Author and why.

or

Go HERE to see the complete list of 2010 fiction titles by LDS Authors*


Feel free to cast your vote for any book on this list—but remember to tell us you think it was the best.

(I’d love it if you’d repeat your comment over on the LDS Fiction post for that book. Just click on the link below the book cover. Your comment will also enter you in the drawing for a free book at the end of May!)

*This list is as complete as I have been able to make it. If you know of a fiction title by an LDS author that was released in 2010, and it’s not on this list, please let me know. Thanks!

Which Book Would You Pick as the 2010 Best Book By a New Author?

The Forbidden Sea
Meg’s Melody
Paranormalcy Wolves, Boys & Other Things That Might Kill Me Wrong Number
Sheila Nielson Kaylee Baldwin Kiersten White Kristen Chandler Rachelle Christensen

In the comments section, state which book you think should win 2010 Best Book by a New Author and why.

Or, if you have another favorite that didn’t make the list, you can go ahead and tell us about it too.

(I’d love it if you’d repeat your comment over on the LDS Fiction post for that book. Just click on the link below the book cover. Your comment will also enter you in the drawing for a free book at the end of May!)

Come back this afternoon to vote for BEST BOOK OF 2010!

Which Book Would You Pick as the 2010 Best Youth General Fiction?

Glimpse Missing In Action My Double Life The Healing Spell Wolves, Boys, and Other Things That Might Kill Me
Carol Lynch Williams Dean Hughes Janette Rallison Kimberly Griffiths Little Kristen Chandler

In the comments section, state which book you think should win 2010 Best General Fiction and why.

Or, if you have another favorite that didn’t make the list, you can go ahead and tell us about it too.

(I’d love it if you’d repeat your comment over on the LDS Fiction post for that book. Just click on the link below the book cover. Your comment will also enter you in the drawing for a free book at the end of May!)

Which Book Would You Pick as the 2010 Best Youth Speculative Fiction?

Fablehaven 5 Matched Paranormalcy The Forbidden Sea The Fourth Nephite
Brandon Mull Ally Condie Kiersten White Sheila Nielson Jeffrey Savage

In the comments section, state which book you think should win 2010 Best Youth—Speculative Fiction and why.

Or, if you have another favorite that didn’t make the list, you can go ahead and tell us about it too.

(I’d love it if you’d repeat your comment over on the LDS Fiction post for that book. Just click on the link below the book cover. Your comment will also enter you in the drawing for a free book at the end of May!)

P.S. One more category to vote on today. Come back later!

Which Book Would You Pick as the 2010 Best Speculative Fiction?

Imprints Mr. Monster Pathfinder The Scorch Trials The Way of Kings
Rachel Ann Nunes Dan Wells Orson Scott Card James Dashner Brandon Sanderson

In the comments section, state which book you think should win 2010 Best Speculative Fiction and why.

Or, if you have another favorite that didn’t make the list, you can go ahead and tell us about it too.

(I’d love it if you’d repeat your comment over on the LDS Fiction post for that book. Just click on the link below the book cover. Your comment will also enter you in the drawing for a free book at the end of May!)

P.S. We’re voting in three categories today, so come back this afternoon!

Which Book Would You Pick as the 2010 Best Mystery/Suspense Fiction?

Cold as Ice Crossfire Murder by Design A Time to Die Wrong Number
Stephanie Black Traci Hunter Abramson Betsy Brannon Green Jeffrey Savage Rachelle J. Christensen

In the comments section, state which book you think should win 2010 Best General Mystery/Suspense and why.

Or, if you have another favorite that didn’t make the list, you can go ahead and tell us about it too.

(I’d love it if you’d repeat your comment over on the LDS Fiction post for that book. Just click on the link below the book cover. Your comment will also enter you in the drawing for a free book at the end of May!)

Which Book Would You Pick as the 2010 Best Romance Fiction?

Courting Miss Lancaster Cross My Heart The Legend of Shannonderry Luck of the Draw Meg’s Melody
Sarah Eden Julie Wright Carol Warburton Rachael Renee Anderson Kaylee Baldwin

In the comments section, state which book you think should win 2010 Best Romance Fiction and why.

Or, if you have another favorite that didn’t make the list, you can go ahead and tell us about it too.

(I’d love it if you’d repeat your comment over on the LDS Fiction post for that book. Just click on the link below the book cover. Your comment will also enter you in the drawing for a free book at the end of May!)

Which Book Would You Pick as the 2010 Best Historical Fiction?

Alma The Younger Oh Say Can You See? The Sheen on the Silk The Silence of God Trespass
H.B. Moore L.C. Lewis Anne Perry Gale Sears Sandra Grey

In the comments section, state which book you think should win 2010 Best Historical Fiction and why.

Or, if you have another favorite that didn’t make the list, you can go ahead and tell us about it too.

(I’d love it if you’d repeat your comment over on the LDS Fiction post for that book. Just click on the link below the book cover. Your comment will also enter you in the drawing for a free book at the end of May!)

Which Book Would You Pick as the 2010 Best General Fiction?

The Whitney Awards will be announced this coming Saturday! I always look forward to their Awards Gala. This year, I’ll be wearing the absolute latest in cutting edge fashion!

Cool outfit, huh?

To increase the anticipation, we’ll be voting for our own Whitney winners here, starting with the finalists for the General Fiction category. We’ll be voting on two categories per day, so check back this afternoon for more.

Band of Sisters Blink of an Eye The Cross Gardener Finding Mercie Lucky Change
Annette Lyon Gregg Luke Jason Wright Blaine Yorgason Susan Law Corpany

In the comments section, state which book you think should win 2010 Best General Fiction and why.

Or, if you have another favorite that didn’t make the list, you can go ahead and tell us about it too.

(I’d love it if you’d repeat your comment over on the LDS Fiction post for that book. Just click on the link below the book cover. Your comment will also enter you in the drawing for a free book at the end of May!)

Whitney Finalists Announced

I’m a day late, but here we go…

General

Band of Sisters Blink of an Eye The Cross Gardener Finding Mercie Lucky Change
Annette Lyon Gregg Luke Jason Wright Blaine Yorgason Susan Law Corpany

Historical

Alma The Younger Oh Say Can You See? The Sheen on the Silk The Silence of God Trespass
H.B. Moore L.C. Lewis Anne Perry Gale Sears Sandra Grey

Romance

Courting Miss Lancaster Cross My Heart The Legend of Shannonderry Luck of the Draw Meg’s Melody
Sarah Eden Julie Wright Carol Warburton Rachael Renee Anderson Kaylee Baldwin

Mystery

Cold as Ice Crossfire Murder by Design A Time to Die Wrong Number
Stephanie Black Traci Hunter Abramson Betsy Brannon Green Jeffrey Savage Rachelle J. Christensen

Speculative

Imprints Mr. Monster Pathfinder The Scorch Trials The Way of Kings
Rachel Ann Nunes Dan Wells Orson Scott Card James Dashner Brandon Sanderson

Youth Fiction—Speculative

Fablehaven 5 Matched Paranormalcy The Forbidden Sea The Fourth Nephite
Brandon Mull Ally Condie Kiersten White Sheila Nielson Jeffrey Savage

Youth Fiction—General

Glimpse Missing In Action My Double Life The Healing Spell Wolves, Boys, and Other Things That Might Kill Me
Carol Lynch Williams Dean Hughes Janette Rallison Kimberly Griffiths Little Kristen Chandler

Congratulations everyone! Looking forward to reading every one of these books!

Judging for the Whitney Awards—part 2

Guest blog by Michele Paige Holmes, author of Counting Stars and All the Stars in Heaven. Michele blogs at My Paige. I saw Michele’s post and thought you might find it very interesting. I did!

As promised, here is a little more information on the criteria I personally look for when judging for the romance category of the Whitney Awards. Be forwarned, this is likely to be a long post, as each of these subjects could be a blog—or three—by themselves. I’ll do my best to give concise examples of each. Feel free to leave a comment if you disagree or have another opinion. Feel free to take a nap if I’m boring you.

But romance, for me, is a passionate subject.

As I mentioned previously, there are no specific guidelines given to judges of the Whitney Awards. First, to answer Stephanie Black’s question about the process, what it comes down to is having a ranked list (from 1-20 in romance this year) of the books from best written to, well, the not best written. It would be more gentle, perhaps, to say favorite to least favorite, but the Whitney Awards are not about favorites—regarding authors, subject matter or anything else. Case in point being the general category last year. Jonathan Langford’s book, No Going Back, dealt with a subject matter—a teen boy’s struggle with same sex attraction—that I didn’t particularly want to delve into. As a mother of a teenage boy, this pretty much sounded like one of my worst nightmares. Based on that, one would think that there was no way this book was going to be my “favorite” or anything close. I began reading, and I wasn’t very far into the story before I found myself really caring about the main character and his plight. I’m happy to say I was one who voted it into finalist status. It was well-written and very deserving. And while I don’t count it as one of my favorite books—the subject matter just isn’t something I want to dwell on—it was definitely one of the best general fiction nominees last year.

I hope, in some small way, this reassures all whose books have been nominated. I believe the judges really do try their best to be fair, impartial, and accurate. Being a writer myself, I understand that to some extent we hold your heart in our hands. I want to treat it gently—but I also want it to get stronger!

One thing more about the process, and then I’ll get to the details. The judge’s ballot is different from the ballot that the academy receives. Judges are asked to compare every book to every other book in that category (as in, is book XYZ or book ABC more deserving of the Whitney Award?), so it is easiest to complete voting with a ranked list. Formulating that list is the difficult part. As I read, I don’t make any permanent decisions about where I will rank each book (though I have a pretty good idea with some). I do take notes about each nominee and record these on index cards. Then, as I progress with my reading, I am able to arrange those cards in the order I feel they belong.

Here is a small sample—the good, bad, and ugly—of some of the notes I’ve made while reading the romance nominees this year.

intense, realistic voice
Knew the end from the beginning, with no surprises along the way
Though the main characters were well developed, the secondary characters were flat and that made the storyline unbelievable.
Telling, telling, telling—so frustrating, because this plot could have been awesome.
Beautiful writing, right on for the time period.
Great romantic angst and emotional build up.
laugh out loud funny
This was a romance?
Couldn’t stand the guy . . . not buying that the protagonist could either.
Fantastic voice. Different and so fun.
So much head hopping, I am dizzy.

Okay, so some of those were pretty harsh. Blame it on my critique group. We’re kinda brutal, but it’s all in the name of improvement. And that’s the whole point of this post. I want every single romance nominee to be amazing. I want my decision, as a judge, to be nearly impossible because there are so many great choices. And more than that, I just want more good romance reads out there!

Here, once again in my opinion, are the things that make a wonderful, unforgettable romance.

A story that grabs my attention and pulls me in—
The first time I attended my critique group, I’d just finished reading what I was sure had to be a brilliant chapter, when a member of our group said to me, “I don’t know where your story begins, but it isn’t here. Go home, throw this away, and start over.” I remember swallowing a big lump of emotion and nodding like I understood what she meant. In reality, I had no clue, and it was quite a few months before the light bulb went on and I understood that my first chapter, while sweet and lovely and all that, was nothing that was ever going to capture a reader’s attention—much less a publisher’s. Readers these days are busy people. The only way I have time to read is when I choose to give up sleep. About once a week, I make that choice and begin a new book around 9 pm. If that book doesn’t grab me in the first chapter, forget it. I need my sleep.

So what is it that pulls me in? Voice (whatever the heck that is, right? Good Grief by Lolly Winston is an example that comes to mind), a unique situation, or an immediate problem. The place a story needs to start is in the middle of the action. But don’t tell me what’s going on (as too many nominees did this year) show me. Set me squarely in a setting that pulls me from my room into the main character’s world. Let me see her in motion, and quickly see the type of person she is. For some excellent examples—see the finalist list next week.

Characters I care about—
This one is critical. They all are, but if you don’t have this one . . . your romance isn’t going to get off the ground. In a female character (assuming here that most of your readers are female), readers want someone they can, on some level, identify and empathize with. I really didn’t think I would like The Hunger Games (why would a forty-year-old mom want to read about teens killing each other? We have enough of that at our house already . . .), but in that very first chapter, I began to identify with Katniss, her love for her sister and her desire to provide for her family. When she traded places with her sister and put her own life in danger, I was hooked.

That isn’t to say that readers have to identify with everything in a character. Nor do we want a character to be perfect. This happens more often than not in romance, and it is very irksome. Female protagonists who are beautiful, slender, excellent cooks, good tempered, patient, kind, etc. aren’t realistic. A character should be just that, someone with a unique set of qualities (and flaws) that make her human—like the rest of us. But a word of caution here, please don’t create flaws in your character just to fill this requirement. This also happens far too often in romance, and readers see right through it. Instead, think hard about your protagonist’s life, where she’s come from and what experiences have molded her into the person she is.

Unfortunately, when it comes to the leading men in romance novels, often readers see more flaws than good. Word of warning: If the guy is a complete jerk at the beginning of the book and does something pretty unforgivable, or acts in a way that is immature, egotistical, promiscuous etc. then your reader is going to have a difficult time liking him. He’ll have to change, and the reader will have to see that change (and the motivations behind it) in a believable, realistic way. If the guy is not likable or lovable, but the girl loves him anyway, the reader then loses respect for her too. So ask yourself, what is it about this guy that makes the main character love him? And does that tip the scales on any baggage he might be carrying?

A couple of things to watch for with male characters—It’s all right for them to cry—once in a while, if something really drastic and awful happens. But when a guy cries, gets misty-eyed etc, all throughout the story, it’s not believable or desirable. Yes, we want our men to have feelings. But we don’t want them to be like us!
One other thing that the guys in my critique group have called me on a time or two—men don’t over think/over analyze/over discuss stuff like women do. If you’re in your guy’s POV, make sure it is a guy’s POV.

A believable plot— (and I’m going to add here, an interesting plot, as well)
There are only so many romance plots out there, right? And they all keep getting recycled. To some extent this is true. And in some ways, I think the job of the romance writer is more difficult than that of those who write other genres. In a mystery or suspense novel, the reader keeps turning pages, trying to discover who did what, who is good, who is evil, what clues add up to solve the mystery etc. If it’s a good suspense, often times all the threads don’t tie up neatly until the last few pages. Readers are given thrills along the way and some real satisfaction for having stuck it out so long.

In a romance, boy meets girl, boy and girl fall in love, some difficult stuff happens, they overcome it, and they live happily ever after. As Jeff Savage would (and has) said, “bor-ing.” But by definition, a romance must end with the two main characters in a committed relationship, so really, the reader knows from the get go what the ending will be. Why even bother reading a romance? Because the ways to get from A-Z are infinite. Because reading (recreating, if you’re the writer) that wonderful, heady feeling of falling in love is so much fun!

What are a few ways to make that basic formula and those recycled plots believable and interesting?
-flip it around (using my own example here. In Counting Stars I based the plot loosely on a familiar rhyme—backwards. “the babies in the baby carriage, then comes marriage, last comes love”)
-Consider more than one love interest (Jacob and Edward, anyone?) One of the books I think should be a finalist did this extremely well, and for much of the book, I really didn’t know who the main character would end up with. What made this work is that both guys were viable choices. Sure, they weren’t perfect, but there were some pretty good things going for each of them, and she had feelings for both—ahh, angst. LOVE IT!
-Assemble a good supporting cast. This really is important. I remember reading somewhere (probably in the Romance Writer’s Report years ago) that every heroine needs a best friend to whom she can confide important feelings and events that move the plot forward. When a protagonist does not have this, then the reader is forced to rely on what is in the main character’s head (not always bad, esp. if the book is in first person) and any action we see. Along with this, well-developed secondary characters give the story depth and make it much more believable. If the people and world around your main characters fall flat, then the story will too.

A believable love story that builds in a natural, realistic way—
Years ago, Jeff Savage taught me about a common writing mistake called, “unearned emotion.” Basically, this is when a character is displaying emotion (in romance, it’s usually crying) before the reader has seen the cause of that emotion or when the character really has no cause to behave that way. Even more bothersome to me than unearned emotion, is unearned intimacy. Romance is about love, not lust. But when characters are throwing themselves at each other in chapter two, it makes the reader wonder. Fortunately, we don’t get much bodice ripping in the LDS market, but a passionate embrace and lengthy kiss that comes out of nowhere (as in, when the main characters have hardly spoken to each other for three chapters) is NOT believable. Worse than that, it cheats the reader of genuine, romantic tension and build up. Make us wait for that kiss, dang it. And then make it good.

Believable dialogue—this is the romance writer’s greatest tool. Please make it real. Silly, flirty, and redundant conversations aren’t how most people (or people we want to read about, anyway)speak to one another. Continuous fighting between characters makes a reader weary. Sure, they can start off on the wrong foot, but at some point fairly quickly in your story, that needs to change so the characters connect with each other.

Avoidance of head hopping/Point of View changes—Bless Angela Eschler for teaching me how important this is. When I turned in my first manuscript, it had several chapters with frequent POV changes. Angela (my most awesome editor at the time), said I had to fix them all. I pointed out that this is common in romance novels, and readers are smart and can easily follow POV changes. She pointed out that it was lazy writing. She was right. I was also right. Head hopping is sinfully common in the romance genre (where are all the editors, I say???), and yes, readers are generally smart enough to follow along. The problem is that it continuously pulls them out of the story. Our main job as writers is to pull the reader so thoroughly into our story that she forgets she is reading. This becomes impossible when the reader has to pay attention and is constantly jumping from one character’s thoughts to the other.

I think romance writers often feel the need to show both points of view. We feel the reader needs to see both sides, right now. They don’t. Josi Kilpack taught me that a scene should be placed in the POV of the character who has the most to lose. I’ve never gone wrong sticking with that advice. And it really is okay for the reader to wait until the next chapter to find out what the guy (or girl) is thinking.

An exercise I always do when I finish my first draft is to go back through the story and make a list, chapter by chapter, of whose point of view it is in. This helps me catch any head hopping I’ve done, and it also tells me if I’ve got the right balance in my story. Unless I’m writing in first person, I need to give a fair amount of time to the man in my story as well as the woman. A 2/3 (girl) to 1/3 (guy) to 1/2 and 1/2 ratio seems to work well.

A plot that moves forward instead of backward—Yes, you have to start your story in the action, but please don’t flashback to everything before that! Flashbacks, like head hopping, are a writing sin. Especially when they are long, complicated, and frequent. There are better ways to weave important back story and information into your plot (remember that best friend?). Like head hopping, the big problem with flashbacks is that it pulls the reader from your story. Do that too many times, and she drops it permanently.

Instead, move your plot forward. Every single scene must do that. This is one I struggle with. I’m happy to let my characters linger longer. Reader’s aren’t. So while a chapter may show a relationship building, it also needs to have something about it that is propelling your plot toward the final crisis and conclusion.

An overall package the suspends disbelief and evokes emotion—
If you meet all of the above criteria, there’s a good chance your story will suspend disbelief, but creating a story that evokes emotion can be even more difficult. At the Whitney Awards Banquet last year, when it was announced that Liz Adair’s Counting the Cost won the award for best romance, I leaned over to my husband and whispered knowingly, “her book made people cry.” I think books that make people feel succeed on a whole different level than books that simply entertain. That isn’t to say you have to write a tear jerker romance to win a Whitney in this category. But if you’re fortunate enough to have the voice, characters, plot, and romantic angst come together in a way that makes people laugh or cry, so much the better—for me as a reader! This is where writing really becomes an art form, and a practice in patience. Rewriting, editing, cutting dialogue and scenes, adding others in their place, really taking the time to play with words until they fit together magically is what being a writer is all about. Honoring those writers who have done that, is what the Whitney Awards are all about.

A sincere congratulations to each and every nominee this year. You wrote and published a book! What an amazing accomplishment. If you are a finalist, thank you for writing an outstanding book, for entertaining, inspiring, and moving the rest of us. As I said in my previous post, may we all continue to strive for excellence.

Judging for the Whitney Awards—part 1


Guest blog by Michele Paige Holmes, author of Counting Stars and All the Stars in Heaven. Michele blogs at My Paige. I saw Michele’s post and thought you might find it very interesting. I did!

For the third year in a row I have the privilege of being a judge for the Whitney Awards. In 2008 I judged the romance category; last year I read for both the mystery and general categories (INSANE!), and this year I am happily back in familiar territory reading romance once again.

It is a privilege to be a judge for these awards. For me, being asked to judge means that someone, somewhere must think I know something about writing. I hope, that after over a decade at it, I do. To be certain, I’m still learning and growing as a writer myself, and during the years I’ve judged I have come across more than a book or two that was way out of my league (like last year’s general fiction winner, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet).

Unfortunately, I’ve also come across books that have disappointed me—especially in the romance category. Romance has and probably always will get the bad rap as a genre of fluff and bodice ripping. This bothers me—a lot. I enjoy romance novels. I’m not embarassed to say I write them. After all, what could be better than writing about love, the greatest of human emotions? Writing those emotions, showing characters discovering love for the first time, working to keep that love, and overcoming obstacles to make it happen, is a wonderful thing. It’s also not an easy thing to do and do well.

In a suspense or mystery novel, if the bad guy isn’t all that bad (ie. truly, believably evil) and the plot is not mysterious enough to keep the reader guessing and turning pages, then things really don’t work well. And most stories in this genre that don’t work well, don’t make it to press. The same principles apply to romance. If the characters are not loveable (to the reader and each other), and the relationship isn’t shown growing (but the characters are suddenly thrown into a passionate embrace), then the story fails to be believable. And for the reader eagerly anticipating being swept away into an uplifting, romantic story, it is horribly disappointing. Unlike suspense, however, it seems there is more publisher leniency in the romance genre, and so we end up with fluff and bodice rippers. Both of which make me crazy 🙂

To that end, I’ve decided to do a couple of posts about what I personally look for in a book when judging for the Whitney Awards.

First, let me say that Whitney judges are not given a specific set of criteria to look for in a book. There are times I wish this were different, as I have judged contests with specific elements and point systems, and in many ways this makes the job of judging much easier. But because of the volume (entire books, and many of them!) that Whitney judges read and the limited time which they have to read them, the current system works best. It is not perfect—we’re dealing with humans here—and it is very subjective. But I do believe those in the position of judges take their jobs seriously and work hard to treat all entries equally and fairly.

Second, I’ve been on the other side of contests enough—with both the Whitneys and local and national writing organizations—to know how it feels to have a beloved manuscript (or in the case of the Whitneys, a beloved book) in the hands of others to be judged. Quite honestly, it can be a terrifying, frustrating, heartbreaking experience. With all that in mind, I tread with care, hoping to shed positive light on the Whitney experience for all involved.

Here, in a nutshell, are the top five things I look for when judging the romance category. In a forthcoming post I’ll talk more specifically about each of these.

  1. A story that grabs my attention and pulls me in.
  2. Characters I care about.
  3. A believable plot.
  4. A love story that builds in a natural, realistic way (see #3).
  5. Good writing—believable dialogue, avoidance of head hopping/POV changes, a plot that moves forward, not back (as in continuous flashbacks), and an overall package that suspends disbelief and evokes emotion (laughter or sadness—love them both).

While reading Whitney nominees this year, I’ve come across books that failed at many of these. Happily, I have also read others that hit every one right on. To those writers, I say a heartfelt thank you for making my job so enjoyable. It is my hope that as the Whitney Awards continue to grow, being a judge becomes more difficult, as more and more of the nominees will consistently meet the above criteria. The Whitneys are all about reaching for, achieving, and recognizing excellence. May all of us who write continue to strive for it.

Plan Ahead for Awards

Last year, one of my favorite LDS authors was published the end of December. She should have won a Whitney (or at least been a finalist) but no one knew about her book until too late. Now, I’m facing the same issue. My debut novel is scheduled for release in December. I don’t know if it will be considered Whitney worthy, but I’d sure like it to have a chance. Any ideas for that?

That happened last year to an author I quite liked. I would have nominated The Dark Divine by Bree Despain for Whitney consideration, but it was released just before Christmas and I didn’t find out about it until January. Her second book, The Lost Saint is scheduled for release on December 28th.

Why do publishers do that? I don’t get it. It doesn’t make marketing sense to me. Maybe they don’t want it lost in the glut of pre-Christmas releases, but December releases often gets lost in the post-Christmas/January doldrums. My advice is to save it for the next year.

But whatever.

As an author, you have to work with your publisher and plan ahead. If there’s a specific award you’re interested in, such as the Whitneys, you have to come up with a placement strategy.

To be considered for a Whitney, you have to have five nominations (minimum) during the calendar year of your release. That means you have to have enough advance readers to ensure that five of them will nominate you.

Of course, you could have your mother and 14 sisters nominate you. Even if it’s a bad book and they’re the only ones that like it, it will get you on the list for consideration.

However, I recommend judicious use of ARCs and/or ebooks (pdf files). Make a list of LDS readers and book bloggers. Contact your top 20 favs. Let them know that your late release means you may be overlooked for Whitney consideration. Ask them if they’d be willing to read the book and nominate you if they like it. If at least five out of the twenty don’t nominate you, then you probably wouldn’t have made the final list anyway.

IMHO, asking for nominations and/or online reviews is a good idea for all books, not just end of year releases. Authors, if you do a virtual book tour or give away freebies from your blog, send a note with the book asking the bloggers/winners to nominate you for awards or to leave positive reviews at online bookstores, if they feel you warrant it. If they liked your book, I’m sure most would be willing to help you out—you just need to remind them. Make it easy for them by including a list with URLs of 4 or 5 places you’d like them to nominate or leave reviews.

Whitney Winners!

The 2009 Whitneys have been awarded. The winners are…
Best Romance

Best Mystery/Suspense


Best Youth

Best Speculative

Best Historical

Best General

Best by New Author (Tie)

Novel of the Year

Congratulations everyone!

A big thank you to the Whitney committee and all those who make these awards possible.

Which Book Would You Pick as the 2009 Best General Fiction?

Last Whitney voting category today and the last chance to catch up on the past weeks to state your opinion before the winners are announced tomorrow.

The nominees for best GENERAL FICTION are:

In the comments section, state which book you think should win 2009 Best Romance and why.

Or, if you have another favorite that didn’t make the list, you can go ahead and tell us about it too.

(And I’d love it if you’d repeat your comment over on the LDS Fiction post for that book.)

Which Book Would You Pick as the 2009 Best Historical Fiction?

Another Friday — another chance to state your opinion on which book YOU think should win a Whitney on April 24th.

The nominees for best HISTORICAL are:

In the comments section, state which book you think should win 2009 Best Historical and why.

Or, if you have another favorite that didn’t make the list, you can go ahead and tell us about it too.

(And I’d love it if you’d repeat your comment over on the LDS Fiction post for that book.)

Which Book Would You Pick as the 2009 Speculative Fiction?

Another Friday — another chance to state your opinion on which book YOU think should win a Whitney on April 24th.

The nominees for best SPECULATIVE FICTION are:

In the comments section, state which book you think should win 2009 Best Speculative Fiction and why.

Or, if you have another favorite that didn’t make the list, you can go ahead and tell us about it too.

(And I’d love it if you’d repeat your comment over on the LDS Fiction post for that book.)

Which Book Would You Pick as the 2009 Best Youth Fiction?

Another Friday — another chance to state your opinion on which book YOU think should win a Whitney on April 24th.

The nominees for best YOUTH FICTION are:

In the comments section, state which book you think should win 2009 Best Youth Fiction and why.

Or, if you have another favorite that didn’t make the list, you can go ahead and tell us about it too.

(And I’d love it if you’d repeat your comment over on the LDS Fiction post for that book.)

[If you’re on the Whitney Academy, your vote is due NOW!]