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| One Enchanted Evening |
Then
I got the chance to write One Enchanted
Evening
for a series.
Writing
for a pre-existing series has a special set of challenges. Writers do not
necessarily play well with others. We are pasty-faced individuals, bereft of
social skills. Banished to unheated garrets with quills in hand, we battle
wasting upper respiratory ailments. Writing for a series requires unprecedented
cooperation and no small amount of patience. Coughing delicately into our lacy
handkerchiefs, we must scurry from the garret to interact with real people.
It’s hard.
Build from the
fictional ground up.
The
first step in the development of the Lobster Cove series for Wild
Rose Press was to appoint a coordinating editor. Rumor has it she didn’t duck
fast enough and got slapped with the job. Lord knows, it’s not for the faint of
heart. Her responsibility entailed devising the original platform; in this case
a small town on the coast of Maine. Stories would cover all time periods; past,
present, and future. Full length novels, novelettes, and even short stories
were welcome along with an array of fiction genres such as contemporary,
historical, suspense, paranormal and, yes, even naughty bits of erotica. Like a
real town, Lobster Cove would have diversity in spades.
To
rough out descriptive details, the editor solicited suggestions early from
those who had an interest in writing for the series. Decisions had to be made concerning
the size of the town in both area and population. What were the most logical major
and minor industries in a Maine coastal resort area? What were typical
occupations? The editor created a master spreadsheet with categories and
descriptions of places and occupations, male and female characters, town events,
and other reference items writers might need. With the basics laid out, next
came an actual town map highlighting streets and locations of buildings and
service organizations such as the police department, hospital, and public
schools. Local landmarks were chosen and situated. Lobster Cove now had a lighthouse,
a centrally located park with gazebo, manmade lake, beaches, and an offshore
island.
Submissions
opened up. Publishing contracts were signed. New businesses and characters were
added to the spreadsheet. The map filled in even more. Slowly, Lobster Cove
began to resemble a real town. Places, however, need more than people and
buildings. Dozens of other details had to be worked out such as festivals, town
events, flora and fauna, and the high school mascot. World-building is a pain.
No wonder gods are so cranky.
What do you mean
there’s no room for Ye Olde Donut Shoppe? Not even a lousy kiosk?
When
creating a world from scratch, the author controls the population. Not so in a
series. As far as story ideas, it’s first come, first served and all subject to
the coordinating editor’s approval. The first person to use a character defines
a character. If a contracted story states the mayor is a cross-dressing, Irish-Argentinian
cat fancier with irritable bowel syndrome than that’s what goes into the
spreadsheet. Anyone else wanting to use the mayor has to take Pedro O’Toole and
his kittens, gastroenteritis, and feathered boa as is. Either that or its back
to the storyboard.
Lack
of control can be a royal pain especially when it comes to the major setting
for your story. Food venues seem to be the first to go. It makes sense. Coffee
shops, restaurants, or bakeries are all perfect places for social
interaction—great venues for story arcs. You may have written a moving, charming,
brilliant, and gripping tale about the owner of a donut shop, but if another
writer beats you to the punch, and the editor decrees Lobster Cove has enough donut shops, you’re out of luck. Back to the rewrites.
There
are additional considerations when coordinating details with other writers.
Want your characters to have a romantic walk along the pier on the third
Saturday in June? Oops, too bad. Another author has a storm scheduled that day.
Have a big denouement in the police chief’s office the last week of September?
Pity, another author is having it fumigated.
One sticky problem I had was the name of a particular character. He was
a minor, but necessary addition to my story. I couldn’t write around him, but
he was not my character. His role had
already been defined by another. That meant his name had been selected and it
happened to be a name I detest. This is not the name for someone who is an
asset to a community. This is the name of a kid who sat next to me in
kindergarten, grabbing his crotch and making airplane noises. Seriously, I
wouldn’t give a gerbil in one of my stories this name, but I was stuck with it.
I gnashed my teeth each time I typed it in.
Another
problem is time limits. Writing for a series is not for someone who needs two
years to crank out a story. Submission dates are firm. If you can’t finish by
the deadline, than you need to shop your work around somewhere else.
Give it up for the team.
I
had reservations about working on a series. Writing for me has always been a
solitary art and I wasn’t sure I could be a team player. I was wrong. Despite minor
irritations, working on One Enchanted
Evening
was a blast. It’s good to step out of your comfort zone. It stretches those
literary wings.
The
foremost pleasure comes from the collaboration with other writers dedicated to
infusing life into a fictional town. Lobster Covians (yeah, we had a discussion
about what to call inhabitants, too) are an eager talented group ready to share
ideas and research. An innocent query into the writer’s loop about a character
or place brings a plethora of links, pictures, and helpful hints. Need someone
to read a passage from a work in progress to see if it rings true? Just post a
query. Someone will answer and give you the benefit of their experience. It’s a
warm, supportive community with an enthusiastic cheering squad. I’m proud to be
an honorary citizen of the Cove.
Click on the Rafflecopter Giveaway link to enter for a $25 gift certificate to Red Lobster and a $50 gift certificate to Wild
Rose Press. Hurry! Giveaway ends Tuesday, September 30.
