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In case you wondered what the protagonist of Leather Bound looks like…
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(Not sure what this is all about? Start here Leather Bound: The Making of an Erotic Novel. Reading along, but missed a day? Play catch-up here.)
Project: Leather Bound, an erotic novel
Deadline: September 15, 2012 (Meep!).
Words Written/Rewritten Today: 5003 (mostly rewrites)
Total Word Count:
Writing Notes: Rewrote two sections and made it most of the way through a new scene in the male protagonist’s point of view. Sometimes writing sex is the hardest part of a story for me, so there are a lot of [sex scene goes here] notes. I need to read up on some really strong male masturbation scenes in order to write this one properly. I’ve a fan of Emma Holly in that regard, so I’ll probably dip into one of her novels for inspiration.
I’m also having a bit of a plot hole with my large plot, but at the moment, I’m just going to keep writing through it and see if a solution appears. It will mean I’ll have to go back and do a fair amount of reworking once the problem is solved, but that’s okay for now.
Excerpt:
Without answering, he opened his briefcase, two copper toggles that slipped with ease through a rich, dark leather, and scanned through the contents. While he did so, I found my gaze traveling the length of him, from the single dark curl that fell across his forehead to open neck of his button-up shirt, to his broad shoulders and slim hips. I liked the way he took up a space. The fold of his body had a presence that felt solid and real, without needing to make more of itself. Even his fingers, shifting the papers as he looked through them, contained a quiet strength that I found appealing.
Davian pulled out a small rectangle of vanilla-hued paper and held it out between two fingers. Even before I took it, I knew what it was. What I didn’t know was how he had gotten a hold of it.
I turned it over, face-up, and stared down at it. Leather Bound, hand-written by in red with Lily’s calligraphic swirl of writing. Another brilliant idea I’d had that had turned out to be not so brilliant after all. Before we opened, I decided we were going to hand-ink all of our business cards, to give them a personal feel. I made one, realized my hand writing sucked, and then handed the project over to Lily, who’d studied art in college. She’d gotten through about twenty of them before we both decided it was my worst idea ever. Lily hadn’t even offered her usual I told you sos. She just went out and had some real ones made by an actual printer.
But we’d never given these cards out to customers and definitely not to strangers. Only to a few close friends and supporters, the people who’d helped up get Leather Bound off the ground, either financially or legally or emotionally.
“Where did you get this?” I asked.
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Kiss kiss bang bang, s.
You’re writing this book pushing all my favorite fetish buttons. Paper, calligraphy, leather…
I love the writing process. I love seeing how writers roll up their sleeves and dig in. So thanks for all this. Question: How often are visual and audio cues important in your writing? I, too, use photos of people, especially when I write dialog. dana
Oh, that’s a good question. Visual cues are very important for me, because I like to use small details from photos for my characters (and because they help me remember which details go with which). I also look for images that convey not just physicality, but the presence of my characters. And a variety of outfits and moods.
I also use images of places and important objects a lot!
How about audio cues? Do recorded voices help? Especially with dialog. (I had a character in my first novel, CRASHERS, who wouldn’t come alive until I heard the actor Billy Bob Thornton. The character, Tommy, didn’t look or act like him. But that voice made my dialog jump.)
I never have used audio cues, but now I’m thinking about it, because it sounds like a great idea. Characters’ voices are the easiest part of writing for me, though (internal and external); I often can’t start a story until I have the character’s voice in my head.
Plot, on the other hand, if I could have a cue for that, I’d be on easy street!
My sweetie –you’ve met Katy– starts most days with a written note to herself asking: “What one thing should I do next to move the plot forward? Or, to develop character?” Then she goes to work and forgets about it. By that evening, the answer’s often waiting for her. I love the simplicity — the brick-laying, this-thing-first-then-this-thing aspect — of it. But then again, as you know, she’s a couple dozen feet smarter than I am.