Happy Holidays,

Claudia.

Yes, a prologue is acceptable as part of the 5,000 word count.

Some authors find prologues very effective as a way of whetting readers’ appetites before jumping right into the relationship and the story.

The only thing to remember is, prologues should be no more than 2 – 3 pages long. Shorter, if possible.

Thanks,

Claudia.

I’m also enjoying the hints and tips related to the Instant Seduction competition and am now seriously tempted to dust off the keyboard and see how far I can get with my own Romeo and Juliet….

Miss Marton, I would like to ask if you use any form of outline or do you just get it out and edit and rewrite? How long does it take for you to finish a novel? Do you flesh out characters in the beginning or plot first then fill it with characters?

Personnally I find myself playing out scenes in my mind complete with blockings (just like watching a movie) then putting them down on paper. but I find this a bit ineffective. I kept going back and putting in so much details that I find my story drowning in details.

English is my second language and I find myself watching tv and movies to catch witty dialogues that I might use in my stories. Would Presents accept heroes and heroines from the Orient?

Comments, tips and suggestions would be much appreciated.

Thank you!

The qualities you mentioned: passion, high octane story, engaging characters, good pacing, are all qualities I look for as a reader and are also the ones I always try to deliver as an author.

Same as you, I love dialogue that moves the story forward. I always figure that if I hear the dialogue in my head as I’m writing it, if I can ‘see’ my characters speaking it, I’m on track.

One thing I’ve always done with dialogue is not worry too much if I’ve gotten the syntax right. I once had a reader write to tell me, very politely, that a line I’d written: “It’s me,” was wrong. Should have been “It’s I.” Well, sure. Any grammarian would agree, but writers write the way people talk and I have never known anyone to say “It’s I” except one of my college English profs.

Presents deals in romantic fantasy but I love to give my characters conflicts that have a grounding in reality and that, I think, is one of the elements that takes the pregnant mistress, secret baby, etc. and elevates them to something special. The one kind of conflict that makes me grind my teeth is the kind that could have been eliminated if hero and heroine had ever had even one brief conversation.

By the way, I keep meaning to wish everyone good luck in this fantastic contest.