#WriteTip - Studying Butts and Eyes by @MarianneRiceAut, spotlighting her @LimitlessBooks #Romance
/One of the wonderful perks of being a romance author is the ability to mix business with pleasure. As such, I can totally get behind this writing tip from Marianne Rice. Not only do I have a slight TV addiction, I also have a thing for Henry Cavill (by the way--The Tudors = a delicious selection of man-candy in costume).
Before I get too side-tracked, allow me to present....
Studying Butts and Eyes
by Marianne Rice
We writers tend to watch a lot of television and movies (since I have a nine year-old son I find myself forced to watch a lot of action movies: Chris Hemsworth, Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Chris Pratt, Chris Pine and Henry Cavill are often filling my screen) and do a lot of lurking (some may call it stalking, but I think that's a bit harsh), whether it be on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, or heck, in real life. We're not trying to be creepy, we're studying people, watching how they interact and what they do with their body when angry, sad, happy, turned on. We're studying how a hot guy's butt looks in a pair of Levis. For research. Strictly for research. Or how Chris Hemsworth's blue eyes tend to twinkle and sparkle when he smiles at the camera, as if he knows I'm going to be staring deep into his eyes for days. Weeks. Months. Years. Sorry...I'm rambling off topic now.
This kind of research takes a lot of time, but it helps us make characters more human and less robotic. Instead of adding an abundance of tag lines during a heated conversation, write about how the hero clenches his jaw and flares his nostrils, and the heroine narrows her eyes and crosses her arms across her chest, tapping her foot and huffing out a sigh when ticked off.
Take some time to lurk, study, research and show us what your characters are doing in the novel. Or you can go to this quick cheat-sheet - http://writerswrite.co.za/cheat-sheets-translate-emotions-into-written-body-language
Happy writing!
Sweet on You
The Wilde Sisters #1
by Marianne Rice
An extravagant cake design brings small town baker Trent Kipson to fame…
After gaining social media exposure of his culinary art, Trent’s cake design goes viral. Soon he’s contacted by the Cooking Network to host a new show in California. It’s the opportunity of a lifetime for the owner of a modest shop in Portland, Maine, and the financial freedom the network offers could be the answer to all of his monetary problems.
Fitness instructor Rayne Wilde wants the life every small-town girl dreams of…
Rayne wishes for a future full of romance and the pitter-patter of little feet. She wants it all, including a white picket fence and a dog named Spot—which is exactly why she refuses to sleep with Trent, the sexy man who attends her Zumba classes. After a series of dead-end relationships, this time she really is in love. Trent is special, and the fear of letting him slip through her fingers keeps her advances at bay.
Life is waiting—all it takes is a leap of faith...
As their friendship grows and skeletons creep out of their closets, their relationship is put to the test. Stakes get higher, and the spark between them burns hotter than ever before.
Can they handle the heat when life-changing secrets are exposed, or will the fear of being burned send them on two different paths?
About Marianne Rice
Marianne Rice writes contemporary romances set in small New England towns. Her heroes are big and strong, yet value family and humor, while her heroines are smart, sexy, sometimes a little bit sassy, and are often battling a strong internal conflict. Together, they deal with real life issues and always, always, find everlasting love. When she’s not writing, Marianne spends her time buying shoes, eating chocolate, chauffeuring her herd of children to their varying sporting events, and when there’s time, cuddling with her husband, a drink in one hand, a romance book in the other.
