IWSG; February 2018

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Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds! Co-Hosts: Stephen Tremp, Pat Garcia,Angela Wooldridge, Victoria Marie Lees, and Madeline Mora-Summonte!

Question: 

What do you love about the genre you write in most often?

Short Answer: What's not to love? ;-)

Long Answer:

I write Women's Fiction. And before you groan, I'll ask if you've ever read Jodi Picoult, or Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre? Truly, all books could be classified under this genre if one of the MCs is a woman. The Women's Fiction Writers Association defines the genre as "layered stories in which the plot is driven by the main character's emotional journey." Many classics fall under this definition. Nearly all of the book club choices do, too. So, again, I ask, what's not to love? I enjoy the twists of fate, choice, and connections that fill the pages of much of publishing today. So if you haven't sampled one of these books (and they include Christian, SF, Fantasy, Suspense, and elements of Romance), check out these lists on Goodreads or Pinterest.

Links: (er...make that one link...Real Life has been real. lately.)

• "Radical Freedom: Writing, Walking--and Exploring the Wilderness Within" is a fabulous article that says truth that we all know

Next post: The Book Pusher, of course!
And just because I have a recent picture from Jamaica, I'll leave you with a sunset in Negril. ;-) 

What Is Women's Fiction and Why Is it Needed?

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What is Women’s Fiction for The Thursday Night Book Club at

Neva Lomason Memorial Library, Carrollton, GA--July 21, 2016

I loved sharing my genre with the Thursday Night Book Club. Ladies, your questions and discussions were delightful. The fact that you meet month in and month out to read, share, and discuss good books is something I wish more people did. After all, books are food for the soul.

Here's what I shared with the group. The library provided copies of Diffenbaugh's The Language of Flowers, Kibler's Calling Me Home, and Meissner's A Fall of Marigolds.  Many of them had read more than one of the books. To be able to share some of the best in Women's Fiction with astute readers was a treat.

Why have the genre?

·        If I want to get my good story in front of your eyes, I have to find an agent.

·        Once I find an agent, they need the genre specifics to find editors and publishers.

·        Without a genre classification, you can’t narrow down the hunt.

·        Even if a writer self publishes, they must have the genre clear to find readers.

·        The term WF isn’t denigration. In fact, publishers are actively seeking it. It’s one of the fastest growing genres with a wide-open market.

What is Women’s Fiction?

• First of all, remember, that books that could be classed as WF have existed for a long time: Jane Eyre, Ann Tyler, Gail Godwin, Anita Shreve, Anna Quinlan for example.
• Women’s Fiction Writers Association's definition: “…layered stories that are driven by the main character’s emotional journey.”
• Romance Writers Association's definition: “a commercial novel about a woman on the brink of life change and personal growth. Her journey details emotional reflection and action that transforms her and her relationships with others, and includes a hopeful/upbeat ending with regard to her romantic relationship.”

• RWA ceased allowing Women’s Fiction with Romantic Elements as part of their association in 2012. This was the reason that writers who felt disenfranchised created the WFWA
• “We began this organization in 2013 with the idea to create a safe, nurturing place for male and female writers of women’s fiction. The publishing industry is morphing – with new opportunities and, as yet, unknown futures. Some of us came from the Romance Writers of America, where a shift of focus left many of us out in the rain. The founders of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association wanted somewhere to amass and disseminate information to and about our chosen genre”. The current membership is 791 as of June 29, 2016.

My personal working definition of WF is a story that pulls back the character’s outer layer to find the vulnerable core that makes them tick. In fact, much of what people do is because of the view of our inner core and how it doesn’t stack up to others who are only showing their outer layers. WF works when the core vulnerability creates the tension of the story.

Tropes for Romance vs. Women’s Fiction

Romance Tropes:

o   Heroine and Hero meet early and “cute” or at least in the first few pages.

o   Obstacles must abound to keep them a part making both doubt the outcome.

o   End with Happily Ever After—ends when courtship comes to end. What comes next is out of the Romance parameters.

Women’s Fiction has but one—the emotional journey of the protag(s) with both internal and external conflicts.

Because WF is such a large, general group, we have many subgenres.

·        The first distinction is on this continuum: Literary with the emphasis on character over plot, Upmarket with character still strong, but plot growing to equal importance, and Commercial in which plot is more important.

·        All of them are marketed for book clubs, usually with readers’ discussion guides in the back.

·        Then there are the elements of other genres—the most prominent are Romance and Chick Lit, but you can find mystery, SF, fantasy, and suspense.

How I found this genre:

·        I found my current main story during a dream and began writing. Then I looked into finding an agent and hit a wall. Agents had specific genres that they represent. It’s about a retired teacher and an abused foster child.

·        My story wasn’t mystery (though there is a bit of mystery about why the foster child looks like the MC’s deceased husband), romance, SF, fantasy, Historical, Suspense, or Horror (though some people think abuse fits this category). I knew I didn’t write Literary.

·        That left me with Mainstream. How could I sort through the hundreds of agents?

·        Then I came across Amy Nathan’s blog—Women Fiction Writers—and found my home.

·        When people ask me what I write, I say Women’s Fiction. Let me tell you about my story.”

Here are some Women's Fiction titles that I wholeheartedly recommend!

(In alphabetical order by author:)

Kathryn Craft:

--The Art of Falling

--The Far End of Happy

Vanessa Diffenbaugh:

--The Language of Flowers

Margaret Dilloway:

--The Care and Handling of Roses with Thorns

--Sisters of Heart and Snow

Julie Kibler:

--Calling Me Home

Sue Monk Kidd:

--The Secret Life of Bees

--The Invention of Wings

Susan Meissner:

--Secrets of a Charmed Life

--A Fall of Marigolds

Amy Sue Nathan:

--The Good Neighbor

--The Glass Wives

Barbara O'Neal:

--The Garden of Happy Endings

Barbara Claypole White:

--The Forgotten Garden

--The In-Between Hour

--The Perfect Son

Coming in September: Echoes of Family

I'll be taking a break next week. See you on August 9 with the latest edition of The Book Pusher.

Women's Fiction: Again

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Source

This image of a red rose holds a dear place in my first story. May it honor all the good--biological, foster, and adoptive--mothers out there who dry tears, clean up messes, and hug the pain away. Thank you!

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Here are a few definitions of the genre I write.

. . . layered stories that are driven by the main character’s emotional journey.

 Women's Fiction Writers Association

I'm just happy that I can parse agents by the term.

There are no other tropes than this. Some are light--Chick Lit--some have romantic elements, others, like mine, have deep social issues running through the stories. WF is the fodder for book club selections. (Truth in advertising : I'm a program coordinator with the group.) It's an up and coming association that agents are joining to find WF writers.

The beauty of WF for me, is that it is just fiction, but fiction that recognizes the inner life of the characters while not eschewing plot. I've ever found no more perfect connection of the poles of character-driven stories and plot-driven stories than WF.

Here are some other definitions.

At the top of “commercial” pyramid is Women’s fiction—big bestselling books like The Help, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society, etc. Women’s fiction doesn’t mean that male writers are excluded from the category. But rather that the books written by men must have themes, characters, or plotlines that women enjoy.

Literary and Commercial


“A contemporary romance’s plot revolves around the love/romantic element, whereas women’s fiction tends to revolve around women’s issues and the growth and empowerment of the female protagonist. Women’s fiction can have romance, but it’s not the driving force of the plot.”
—Kathleen Ortiz (New Leaf Literary and Media)

“Women’s fiction novels are not simply stories with female characters, but stories that tell us the female journey. Women’s fiction is a way for women to learn and grow, and to relate to others what it is to be a woman.”
—Scott Eagan (Greyhaus Literary Agency)

Another link to check out:
from "Agents Explain Book Genres" 

That's why I write Women's Fiction. My characters take an emotional journey on the path to reinventing themselves. If I can see what's at stake in the heart of the main character, I know I'm reading Women's Fiction. There are an infinite number of paths to travel and an infinite number of travelers on them. No two characters will take the exactly same path, even if they start at the same place. Their past and their present is made up of all that influences their lives. If you're reading Women's Fiction, buckle up for a bumpy but fulfilling ride. ;-)

And a few links you might like.
Genre Map
Wikipedia on Genre (note the lack of WF)
Charlotte Rains Dixon's take on genre (psst! She writes good books!)

 Next Week: IWSG: Golden Quotes

May Author Interview: Samantha Bryant

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I met Samantha Bryant through the Women’s Fiction Writers Association and the Insecure Writers Support Group. It’s a delight when you get to know someone and find that they have a book for you to read. Check out her website HERE. Believe me, I love Going Through the Change.

Here’s my Goodreads review:

Going Through the Change is chock full of black humor that skewers the twin notions that menopausal women aren't as good as younger women and that menopause is a disease that must be treated. Bryant's ladies are superheroes. Read this one if you are postmenopausal, peri-menopausal, or a long way from "the change."

ZM: It’s a delight to welcome Samantha to The Shade. ;-)
Tell us, Samantha, where did the idea come from to make all these wonderful menopausal characters so heroic and funny?

Samantha: Thanks so much for inviting me. I enjoy your blog and am excited to be here.

This novel started as a conversation with my husband. We're both superhero fans, the kind of folks who read comic books and graphic novels and watch superhero shows and movies. I don't remember why now, but we were talking about how so many superhero stories are about teenagers, the implication being that hormones and superpowers are intertwined. So, I said that if hormones caused superpowers, menopausal women would be the most powerful people on the planet. He said, "Write that down!" And I did.

Once I started talking about the idea with my writer friends (mostly women), the story really started to take shape in my mind and I fell in love with the characters. I'm working on a sequel with them right now, and I still love these women. I think they are heroic and funny, too, just like many of the women in my life.

ZM: How did you start writing? Tell us a bit about your journey to publication.

Samantha: My love of writing is life-long, starting with poetry in first grade. There's never been a time in my life since when I didn't write, though my level of dedication really varied, and what I wrote changed over time, from poetry and plays to stories and essays to journals to blogs and novels. I first took myself seriously as a writer though, starting about two years ago. That was when I committed to a daily writing habit and starting finishing, polishing, and submitting my work to publishers.

When Going Through the Change was ready to be submitted, I had already been shopping around another novel (which still hasn't found a publishing home) for about a year and a half. I was frustrated with the glacial slowness of the business, where you can wait six months for a simple "no", and was researching indie publishing, thinking it might be a good fit for me. Somewhere in that process, I ran across the idea of an "independent small publisher."

The idea of working with a small publisher really appealed to me, and the more I looked into it, the more I liked what I saw. You don't generally get advances with small publishers, but you get a higher percentage of the sales in royalties. Depending on the particular publisher, you can still get some of the advantages of traditional publishing, too, like having marketing experts to help you and professional cover design and editing.

I found Curiosity Quills in particular through an online connection with another writer who had published a book with them. So far, I've had a very positive experience working with CQ and am hopeful for the future.

ZM: You and I are both in the Women’s Fiction Writers Association. What’s your definition of the genre? I know my stories are more social issue focused. There’s historical WF and literary WF. I could go on and on listing the various flavors. Why do you think Women’s Fiction is such a “big tent”?

Samantha: It really is a tricky genre to define! It includes serious literary work, issues driven dramatic stories, and lighter fare you might call "chick lit" as well as historical stories. I consider my superhero novel women's fiction, too, though some don't agree, since it is also speculative fiction (yet another nebulous category!). I think what really makes a story women's fiction is that it features female characters with a strong growth or change arc. Going Through the Change, by that definition, is assuredly women's fiction.

In my more feminist moments, I am troubled by the need for women's fiction as a category at all. After all, there isn't a parallel category for men. I waffle though. Genre designations are really intended to help readers more than writers.  It's a way of defining what kinds of books you like to read so you can find more of that kind of book. So, if these categories help us find readers, then writers probably shouldn't complain about them.

ZM: Many craft books stress that writers must read and read a lot. Who is your favorite author, or what is your favorite genre? What draws you to a book you read for enjoyment?

Samantha: My favorite author these past few years has pretty consistently been Neil Gaiman. I love the magic wonder of the worlds he writes in and his unflinching honesty in the face of all the ambiguities of his characters and their decisions. It doesn't hurt that he also just has a lovely turn of phrase. in all his work. He's the only writer I automatically order every new book from.

I'm not sure I have one favorite genre, though. I'm a pretty omnivorous reader. For instance, some of my most recent reads are Wilkie Collins's gothic melodrama The Woman in White, the science-fiction classic Ringworld by Larry Niven, Thomas Hardy's Far From the Madding Crowd, Cary Elwes's memoir As You Wish and a collection of apocalyptic short stories called The End is Now. Right now I'm reading The Invisible Woman by Claire Tomalin, which is a nonfiction biography of Nelly Turnan, the long time lover of Charles Dickens and a collection of superhero short stories called The Good Fight. Sometimes I don't even know what drew me to a book. I find a lot of them through serendipity or the recommendation of friends. I'm in two book clubs because I love being led to books that I wouldn't otherwise find on my own.

ZM: What are you working on now? Any plans to let us read it soon? I know we can all do with a bit of humor or any story you want to tell.

Samantha: I've got a few irons in the fire right now. I've got short stories slotted for two upcoming anthologies. I'm working with an acquisitions editor on Cold Spring, the first of a historical fiction trilogy about two sisters at the turn of the twentieth century and am hopeful that we'll have a contract soon. I'm on the final rewrite of Change of Life, the second book in the Menopausal Superheroes series, and hope to send it off to the publisher by the end of this month.  I also have a middle grades novel, Rat Jones and the Lacrosse Zombies, that I'm planning to get back to this summer, along with some short stories and a novella for my superheroes. I've got so many stories I want to tell!

There's a movement on Google Plus under the #saturdayscenes hashtag that I participate in every Saturday, sharing a piece of what I've written during the week before. Following me there is a great way to see what I'm working on as it progresses. I post the pieces on Google Plus, on my Facebook author page, and on Twitter.

ZM: Thank you for dropping by Into the Shade of the Cherry Tree, Samantha! I can’t wait to read some more of your stories.

Samantha Bryant is a middle school Spanish teacher by day, and a novelist and wife and mother by night. In other words, she's a superhero all the time!

Samantha Bryant believes in love, magic, and unexplainable connections between people. Her favorite things are lonely beaches, untamed cliff tops, sunlight through the leaves of trees, summer rains, and children's laughter. She has lived in many places, including rural Alaska, Kansas, Kentucky, Vermont, England and Spain. She is fierce at heart, though she doesn't look it.

She's a fan of Charlotte Brontë, William Shakespeare, Emily Dickinson, Neil Gaiman, Nicole Perlman, and Joss Whedon, among many others. She would like to be Amy Tan when she grows up, but so far it doesn't look like she'll be growing up any time soon.

Samantha writes blogs, poems, essays, and novels. Mostly she writes about things that scare or worry her. It's cheaper than therapy. Someday, she hopes to make her living solely as a writer. In the meantime, she also teaches middle school Spanish, which, admittedly, is an odd choice for money-earning, especially in North Carolina.

When she's not writing or teaching, Samantha enjoys time with her family, watching old movies, baking, reading, and going places. Her favorite gift is tickets (to just about anything).

What Is Women's Fiction? (Part 1)

If a romance should convince the reader they are falling in love…
If a thriller should convince the reader they are in mortal danger…
If a fantasy should convince the reader they are in a world of wonder and magic…
What should women’s fiction do?

~~It’s a valid question; one I’ve asked often as I write FRIENDLY FIRE and its sequel, LINE OF FIRE.

~~Here’s some definition of the genre:

Katie Shea, agent with Don Maass, at Writer Unboxed
My definition of women’s fiction: An extraordinary story relating to women involving in-depth characters, emotion, struggle, and uncovering life’s unexplainable joy.

Nora Roberts quoted at Ampichellis Ebooks
Women's fiction is a story that centers on a woman or on primarily women's issues, not necessarily the romantic relationship-based books I do, but the woman's story.

Micki Nuding, HarperCollins/Avon senior editor quoted by Lisa Craig
Women's Fiction can be commercial (and usually is) or literary; it can be here-and-now contemporary or a multigenerational saga, like Rosamund Pilcher's books. The woman is the star of the story and her changes and emotional development are the subject.

Also quoted by Lisa Craig:
Susan Elizabeth Phillips: Women's Fiction is about women's empowerment.

Jane Heller defines women's fiction as novels written with any relationship at the core of the plot.

Linda Hyatt of Hyatt Agency: Good women's commercial fiction usually touches the reader in ways other fiction cannot. Relationship stories, generational sagas, love stories and women's commercial fiction must touch on subjects women can relate to in their real lives. Whether there is a happily ever after ending, or a bittersweet one, whether the reader laughs or cries, women love reading stories that touch their emotions-and tug at their hearts.

Find Me An Author adds this about women’s fiction: Women's fiction taps into the hopes, fears, dreams and even secret fantasies of women today.

~~So, what’s your definition of women’s fiction?

~~My next post will list some authors whose work is considered women’s fiction.
Part three of my three part Women’s Fiction discussion will let you into why I think my current WIP are part of this growing genre.