Master Class #70: Romance Author Carolyne Aarsen
On this recording of our seventieth Master Class session, Jerry introduces romance author Carolyne Aarsen. Together they discuss and dive into topics such as:
-Daily life inspiring writing
-Character development
-Writing setups & much more
(00:39): You grew up in the city but now live in the country. Now how have those two disparate venues impacted your writing if they have?
(01:38): Tell us a little bit about your family. You’ve raised some homegrown and some foster kids, right?
(02:55): What were you doing before you broke into publishing and what drew you to write inspirational romance?
(05:00): How did that first book contract come about for you?
(09:22): Your Sweet Hearts of Sweet Creek is a series of standalone novels, which sounds like an oxymoron. Talk about what makes these titles both standalones and part of a series.
(11:37): Why are such strong emotions so important in a story, and how should our members go about including them?
(13:31): Any advice with coming up with a great opening line?
(16:35): Where do you get all those ideas?
(18:56): Do you consider yourself an outliner or a plotter or a some call it a pantser?
(20:54): So how much and what type of research goes into writing Western romances?
(22:23): What would constitute the perfect story for you?
(24:08): The most common criticism of the inspirational market is that the novels can become preachy. How do you avoid that?
(26:29): How important is a great character arc to a compelling novel? And how do you accomplish that?
(29:20): And that idea of the two protagonists being the best and the worst for each other,… One element of your website is what you call quotables, where you share some of your favorites. Has there been one that most inspires you?
(31:09): How much of your own life makes its way into your stories?
(32:23): Talk a little bit about your process. Do you keyboard from the start, or do you begin with pen and paper?
(33:57): Is there a specific place that you write and a certain time of day?
(35:25): Is there one piece of writing advice that you wish you’d heard before you began your career?
Tags: romance, outliner, character arc, character development, internal/external conflict, family, job, writing space, preachy, first lines, research, real-life inspiration, creativity, curiosity, networking, book contract, website, email lists, writers group, writers conferences
Categories: Publishing, Inspiration, Writing process, Character, conflict