Tips & Answers to Qs

Up and Off

Word placement matters.

IRL, when we talk, often we aren’t grammatically correct,

and frequently we’re colorful with our speech.

When we write, we don’t always have to be grammatically correct,

but we have to say what we mean.

“He threw his guts up,” or “He threw up his guts?”

Visualize him throwing his guts up as opposed to throwing up his guts. While one is often the unpleasant aftermath of ten tequila shots, the other means the guy is as good as dead.

Say exactly what you intend.

“He waved the men off,” or “He waved off the men?”

The first begs the question: Off what?

In the second, he is dismissing or ignoring the men.

Be clear.

From the Editor's Desk

The Dance

For those of you living under a rock, or have vowed to eschew period dramas, we will be referencing a popular series on Netflix developed from Julia Quinn’s Regency stories: Bridgerton.

The dance. Not only the literal, beautiful, formal dancing that takes place in Bridgerton ballrooms belonging to Duchesses, Baronesses, and the like. Or the noisy, thumping club music (remember going out to clubs?) where people cling, glide, and are busy sweating out the alcohol they consumed for courage, but also the emotional dance between two people who are circling each other looking for the “in.”

On the actual dance floor, even when being “proper,” people are touching. Some, fearful of a misstep, look down while circling the room, but most look at each other, sizing up their physical attributes, hoping for a subtle sign of interest. It’s no different when people are bumping and grinding on a crowded club floor where there’s barely enough space to express one’s inner Shakira. Regardless of being elbowroom challenged, dancers signal their intentions with their bodies, moving closer to their partners when they want to communicate I’m into you.

Frequently, sending out those cues seems easier than saying it out loud.

Which brings us to the emotional dance, where the real fun begins. Intractable characters who refuse to acknowledge their need for love and affection are the best “dancers.” They dip and twirl, say all the right things, and tell themselves it’s only to get into their partner’s pants. But we know better, and watching them stumble over their own feet on the way to opening their hearts is a great pas de deux.

Touch and let go, as many of the dances during Regency times require, are part of the emotional dance. For a moment, or a week, things look great. Our H/H are getting closer, they’re beginning to understand each other. They’re almost ready to admit how they feel. And then...they let go. Every time this happens, the emotional intensity ramps up, which makes each separation that much more profound.

After an exceptionally good use of a staircase, when Simon tells Daphne they would still go their separate ways, well, who didn’t want to smack his magnificent face?

That’s the emotion you’re going for as an author, and the torture of making us believe there is no hope for a happily-ever-after is the best part of constructing a dance that actually ends with the H/H in each other’s arms spinning around the kitchen or courtyard of their home, loving each other and the life they are building.