Comments on: Sophia Nash: The Importance of The Reveal

By: Maya M.

Maya M. — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 17:14:01 +0000

Well, the first thing ‘revealed’ in this post is that the cover heroine looks like the author! Imagine the double-dipping potential for people who can collect royalties on the words and model fees on the cover art.

By: Robyn B

Robyn B — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 22:09:25 +0000

Hi Sophia, I love your books! I cannot wait to read this one!

By: Sophia Nash

Sophia Nash — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 16:05:41 +0000

Hi Laurie–
Thanks for stopping by.

And thank you to everyone on the Romance Vagabonds site for inviting me here!

By: Sophia Nash

Sophia Nash — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 16:04:28 +0000

Tracey–
I feel for you. Good luck on your “reveal” — and re that elusive magical answer, maybe this will help: Mary Jo Putney says it take a little arrogance to be a good writer. So sometimes when I’m really stuck I gulp down a triple shot of expresso and pretend that that adrenaline rush is really an infusion of Putneyesque arrogance which forces me to pull up my big girl panties and pretend I know what I’m doing–for at least 30 minutes .

By: Sophia Nash

Sophia Nash — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 15:57:57 +0000

Kirralee,
How do I keep my interest/excitement going when I’m making the everyday mistake of going back and editing instead of pushing forward? Two things: First, never underestimate the power of a deadline. I give myself 3 to 4 months to craft a complete first draft (i.e. 5 to 7 pages a day Mon-Fri). So even if I want to fritter away half the day on editing back portions, at some point during the day I HAVE to craft 5 to 7 new pages. I remember the goal for my first story was entering the Golden Heart contest because it had a firm deadline date. Second–for me, the worst thing I can do is leave a ms to molder for a few days. It starts to smell if I don’t keep poking it. The worst thing I ever did was go away on vaca for a week once and when I came back it was really hard to get back into the rythm of the story.

By: Lara Lee

Lara Lee — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 05:02:02 +0000

Hi Sophia! I enjoyed your blog today – sorry to get here so late. I was actually getting a lot of writing done today, and then President Obama’s speech.

To answer your question, I think it depends on the book. Sometimes the author does such a good job of building the tension and mystery, that I love the surprise of finding out. But for the most part, I think I like the villain’s pov or clues that build up the tension throughout the book. So I can yell at the hero and heroine to “WATCH OUT” or “DON’T GO THERE”. lol.

Fun blog! And great site, Vagabonds!

Laurie

By: Kirralee

Kirralee — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 03:39:19 +0000

Sophia, ‘write forward’ means plow on with your story, ignoring any corrections you are tempted to make (just make notes for yourself so you don’t forget important parts you may want to add, change or delete) and keep going until you have finished the entire first draft. Once you have done this, you can give yourself permission to critique your own work and make those changes you were itching to do.

However, I’m like you. I have re-written my first chapter dozens of times and I’m still only up to chapter 5. I just keep thinking of new and wonderful ways I could jazz up my opening scene to make it fresh. Because I have been working on the same story for about 6 months and I’ve only reached Chap 5, it’s lost that new car smell.

Sophia, what do you do to keep your interest and excitement going with the story you’re working on?

By: Tracey Devlyn

Tracey Devlyn — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 03:06:50 +0000

Hi Sophia! I’m experiencing a reveal problem in my current manuscript, too. It’s nice to know I’m not alone in having this issue. Although I’m crushed you don’t have the magical answer.

By: Sophia Nash

Sophia Nash — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 03:02:12 +0000

Hi, Amy.

I think you’ve got it when you said: “As a reader, I like the emotional cost the reveal gives. I like it when it forces the character to question motives, trust, etc.”

What I love is when a character finally has the courage to reveal something deeply important about him/herself–something that could make the other character walk away — and yet he/she doesn’t.

So delighted you enjoy my books. Thank you!

By: Sophia Nash

Sophia Nash — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 02:57:44 +0000

Tiffany and Beth R!
Great to “see” you here. I’ll be curious to hear what you think of the one or two reveals in Love With the Perfect Scoundrel… So far the advance reviews have been very kind. My favorite included this line: “This book is a gift of emotion wrapped in sensuousness and tied with a bow of hope.” That took my breath away…It was exactly how I would wish for someone to feel while reading this book!