The eHarlequin hosts visit Toronto for the Harlequin Christmas party! Read their tales here, but please, DO NOT consume any liquids while reading, for your own safety!

Description is a storyteller's art of making unseen objects visible to a "blind" reader or hearer to allow for people to see in their imagination what our writer-selves have either actually seen or imagined. Readers are said to be blind because most descriptions are visible objects. But of course the reader is equally unable to hear, touch, taste and smell. Therefore, writing descriptions is also the art of communicating perceptions of sounds, smells, smooth and rough surfaces; of depicting those qualities of material things which we discover not only by looking, but by listening, touching, tasting, and smelling. Last but most important, it is the art of creating or communicating emotions or moods.

Descriptive writing is often very personal. The writer selects the object or scene to be described, and the particular view described also includes a perception--the mood the writers wishes the reader to experience. When we describe through perception we color our objects with the emotional perception of our point of view characters.

Words that label emotions--sad, happy, excited, upset, jealous, anger--never create a graphic picture of the emotion itself. You want your readers to feel your characters' emotions and experiences. Showing strengthens the reader's fantasy and creates the reader's involvement. When you show the readers your character's sensations, through the windows of your POV character's senses, you evoke the readers own imagination.

The deciding factor of which POV character to step into in a given scene or passage is based upon which character has the most at stake at that given time.

The measure of the depth of descriptions do very with a given line and have changed over time but as a rule of thumb, writers don't have to fill in the whole picture. Give the reader just enough details to form their own opinion. Different readers will form different opinions and by not giving it an abstract name--anger--you'll leave the readers free to label it themselves. To form an opinion, the reader will have to use their imagination--their own experience and that's what will gets them into your fantasy.

To show you reader what is happening in a scene, focus your attention on the point of view character's perspective senses, using the sensory cues: eyes, nose, mouth, skin. Showing words and phrases describe physical sensations experienced by a POV character. Touch, taste, sight, smell, hearing, or the lack of them, these avenues of sensory cues evoke graphic, realistic images and draw readers into a given scene.

Readers need to feel important events in your story, through you POV character--first kiss, danger, fear, hate, anger, the emotional turmoil of leaving a love and the rising conflict between characters. But showing evokes powerful responses and a readers can become overwhelmed if you show them everything.

Minute details that just move the story along should be kept short and simple. If your heroine drove from her ranch into town and the only real purpose in this was to get her logically from scene A to scene B, then avoid a long drawn two pages of description, thereby wasting your space and your readers time. Keep it simple. Have your reader tell in dialogue or her thoughts; she drove into town.

These allow for breathing spaces which are sometimes referred to as narrative bridges. And it usually comes in the form of the POV character reflecting. She may be by herself/himself or with somebody, but distracted.

Readers are always prepared for a transition from one scene to another or from one scene to a chapter. And these do not have to be logical. The heroine might have fallen asleep in the hero's arms at the end of one scene, and in the next scene, tell us she is at work a week later.

It is however important to open each chapter or scene with an immediate signal of time, place and identification of your POV character. This tells your reader about a transition or tells them there was a transition. Within a chapter you can break between paragraphs to signal a transition from one time, place or viewpoint character. There are two ways to do this. In a double spaced manuscript form it is either signal by an extra space between the paragraphs, for a total of four spaces or with an extra space, four a total of four spaces, and three asterisks. The important thing here is to remain consistent. Choose your form and stick with it.

This transition form often takes advantage of a word picture, in the form of an object or a plan that has already been introduced to the readers in the last scene. It is called a word picture because it has already been mentioned therefor the reader has already formed a mental picture. This offers a smooth transition through a lapse of time and space.

A simple example:

Scene one ending : "All right," said Lori. " I'll pick you up at the airport Friday."

The next scene begins with: Lori implicating she'd arrived at the airport signifying to the read there has lapse of time.

If a lot of time has elapsed then you'll need to have your POV character tell your readers what they have been up to. Even if it is in a general summarizing-tell form. If anything occurred that was actually important, then the lapse of time shouldn't of passed it by. In these narrative bridges, you want to create a feeling of transitions by focusing on the atmosphere and or your POV character's mood, so that your bridge reflect this. If a heroine has been mooning about hero then the narrative bridge getting heroine and hero back to together would be different than if the heroine is of a agitated mind to drag her heels.

If your object is merely to move your characters and your story through time and space, and nothing important in the story has happened then use as few words as possible. As simple as "two days later", or "that weekend".

If the only reason you have for writing a scene is to convey information or to move a character and neither primary character will be deeply affected--neither will your reader. Skip and filter the missing information into another scene.

The rule for viewpoint depth is simple. The more impact the scene/event has on the character, the deeper the writers should be in the character's POV. When you want your reader to feel intensely close to the action, you zoom in for a close up. The reader falls deeper into your character's view point by seeing close up through your character's eyes, touching with your character's fingers etc. In doing so, the reader reads faster, thinks less and feels more.

If you want to slow down and give your reader to characters a break from the tension, back up by changing to a wide angle view, The details aren't so clear now. The view point exists as always, but is shallower. There is more in the picture, more events captured in fewer words. The description is limited, it doesn't involve your POV character's senses as deeply or as widely as a deeper close up.

The close up, deeper penetration should be used for events important to your character(s) and/or story. In these events you need to show instead of tell your reader from the perspective of your POV character. They should also be used when a passage has a deep emotional significance. Then a reader should be moved deeper into the character's POV by using your POV character's sensory cues and experiences.

Telling slows the pace and distances the reader. Pacing a book involves a balance between show and tell. It is true that most of your scenes should be show, but there will be times when your characters will tell, will summarize.

In deep POV, you show. You don't allow your character to evaluate what she is feeling in the conceptions of thoughts, regrets, hopes and evaluations at that point. Your character's perception is instant to instant, there is no time for her to reflect. The situation is so intense that there isn't time for her to dwell on anything.

Deep POV is appropriate for portions of a scene where your character is overwhelmed by the moment. It is at its best in love scenes and moments of danger and emotional crises.

Remember the depth of your connection to the events of a given story and the number of words you give each event must be in proportion to the importance of the events to the story and the characters. Don't spend a lot of time on the simple and the obvious.

Ideally, your readers should feel the pov character's emotions as if they were their very own. For emotional intensity to be present in your story, your character must have depth and intensity. They must be well developed--whole people who care deeply about life and feel things deeply. Use your own joys and hurts to feed these emotions to your characters.

Remember how nervous you were before that first kiss?

Remember how much it hurt when you were rejected?

Remember how tired you were after a long day of travel?

Remember how scared you were when you were in the hospital?

Remember how thrilled you were at coming in first, or winning a prize?

Remember how you sweated that job interview?

Remember the pain of losing someone you love?

Remember the pain and helplessness of watching someone you care for suffer and being unable to do something about it?

Remember how ashamed you were when someone made fun of you, when you really understood what it felt like to want the ground to open up and swallow you up?

Remember. Remember. Remember.

The situation of your memory does not have to fit the scene that you are writing-just the mood. It make for the difference of imagining how your characters would feel and knowing. Strain the emotions out that you need then use them as a reflection of the emotions your character is going through.

Brand-New Heartache
Maggie Shayne
Silhouette Intimate Moments #1117 - December 2001

After being stalked by an obsessed fan, Edain Brand leaves her job as a successful lingerie model and her home in Los Angeles to return to her hometown, Big Falls, Oklahoma. Edie hopes that in Big Falls she will finally be able to lead a normal and peaceful life - a life that doesn't include Wade Armstrong. Wade's had a huge chip on his shoulder since he and Edie were in high school together and when Edie runs into him she discovers that time has only made him worse - now he's a sexist pig as well.

For his whole life Wade Armstrong has been out to prove that he's better than - or at least just as good - as every body else. He was just about to accomplish this goal by buying the best house in Big Falls when Edie Brand shows up and ruins his plans.

Although Edie and Wade's renewed acquaintance starts off rocky, the reappearance of Edie's stalker forces the two to reconcile their differences and their past so they can work together. With Wade's help Edie is able to start healing from the terror that she's been a victim of and to learn to trust and love again.

It is not an easy job to make a sympathetic heroine out of an extremely successful lingerie model, but Maggie Shayne does an excellent job. In Edie Brand Ms. Shayne has created a likeable and relatable character and also addressed a key dilemma that most women face - wanting to be seen as something other than a just sex object and/or for more than just their looks. I especially enjoyed Ms. Shayne's quirky and fresh writing style and look forward to reading other books by this author.

I give Book Title 4 1/2 Beez.

-Jenny Nolan

Do You Hear What I Hear?
Holly Jacobs
Silhouette Romance #1557 - November 2001

Libby McGuiness has a full life with her friends, her hair salon, and her ten year old daughter Meg. She certainly doesn't need to be fixed up with Dr. Josh Gardner who opened his new practice next door. But the matchmakers's scheme throws Libby and Josh together to plan the business association's Christmas party together, and despite Libby's mistrust of men, she realizes that Josh is actually a nice guy.

Josh is still recovering from a failed marriage and is determined not to make another mistake. But behind Libby's prickly exterior, he senses a warm and loving woman that he'd like to know better. Josh and Meg bond over video games and algebra homework, even though Meg's deafness is a communication barrier.

Holly Jacobs creates lovable, realistic characters--including the unforgettable Pearly Gates--who will win your heart in this sweet tale of second chances. This is her first Silhouette Romance, but hopefully not her last!

Holly has also published under the name Holly Fuhrmann, and has a January 2002 double Duets Ready, Willing... and Abel? and Raising Cain. You can visit her website at http://www.hollysbooks.com.

I give Do You Hear What I Hear 4 Beez.

-Shell Efird

Unexpected Marriage
Anna Adams
Harlequin Superromance - November 2001

Caroline Talbot Manning knows that family matters most, because her family the Talbots were always there for her and her daughter, Shelly.

Caroline is upset when her nineteen year-old, daughter announces her unplanned pregnancy. To top that off Shelly tells her mother she will be marrying her boyfriend as soon as possible. Caroline has been there and done that and in the end wound up raising her child alone. Therefore seeing her daughter in the same situation is a big pill for Caroline to swallow. Lt. Commander Matt Kearan, the father of the groom, helps Caroline comes to terms with her daughter's plans for her future. Along the way sparks between Caroline and Matt. Eventually leading Caroline to realize that family does matter - but need not stand in the way of true happiness. The story takes you into the hearts and souls of a wonderful quirky southern family. Their idiosyncrasies add to the spice of the story. Matt and his son both finally find true happiness and true family ties to last a lifetime inside the Talbot family.

The book is well written, taking you in and out of the plot and sub-plots with easy allowing you to enjoy the full array of this wonderful family.

I give Unexpected Marriage 4 1/2 Beez.

-Rhonda McKey

My Heart Remembers
Patricia McLinn
Silhouette Special Edition

Honky-Tonk Cinderella
Karen Templeton
Silhouette Intimate Moments

...And More!

If you wrote a review for The Buzz, consider posting it on Amazon or Barnes and Noble.

November 5: Rae finishes her wonderful class on Elizabeth Sinclair's book Writing the Dreaded Synopsis. Chat transcripts can be found here.

November 12: Despite Yahoo's general crankiness, Rhonda teaches an excellent class on preparing a professional query letter. Read the chat transcript by clicking on Queries.rtf in the Helpful Hints folder of the Gonna-beez files.

December 22: Happy birthday, Janie!

December 23: Sharlene and Scott celebrate their 10th anniversary!

December 26: Shanae and dh celebrate their wedding anniversary!

There have been too many queries submitted and manuscripts requested for me to list everyone, but Dream has created a list which can be found in the GB files.

What's next for the Monday night chats? Starting in January will be a monthly class on Plot, taking place on the first Monday each month. What about the other weeks? Do you have requests? Would you be interested in teaching a class either one time or several? If so, please email our beloved group host Rae at marrae@nb.net.

RWA Nationals: Gonna-Beez Swarm

This year, RWA Nationals are in Denver, Colorado July 17-20. As most of us have never met face to face, this is the perfect opportunity for us to swarm, er meet. I am in the process of planning a gathering where we can all get together, buzz, and be merry…If you have any suggestions, please email me at dreamenint@yahoo.com. Look for more details in coming editions of the Buzz.

Upcoming Contests

The First Gonnabeez Contest
Attention all Gonnabeez, (and Beezkneez, too!)

If you haven't already visited, please stop by the website for the First Ever Gonnabeez contest. Be sure to see the gift that Janie has so generously offered. If there is anyone who has an item to donate, or an idea for one, please contact me, Mel, wanna_b_writer@hotmail.com.

I have tailored the contest along the lines of eharlequin's Round Robin contest. The rules and the begining 'chapter' have already been posted. The deadline for entries is January 15th, so there is no excuse for anyone not to enter! I've given plenty of time! ~And this could be an attainable New Years' Resolution!

If anyone has any comments or questions, please do not hesitate to drop me an email. This is a practice session for us, the writers. We can all be winners! Let's make it fun!

-Melissa Cox

In honor of the dolls Rae has made for us all, I thought it would be fun to have a "Name that Doll" contest. I have put together a group of dolls, all designed to represent certain GB' s. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to correctly identify all of the dolls. Note: While some of them may be similar to Rae's dolls, don't be fooled…there are more to these dolls than meets the eye. And to help you, I will be sending out a clue once a week, as well as posting the occasional clue in the Teahouse and Club Red. Check the GB photo files for the doll folder to see the contest dolls. Email your guesses to dreamenint@yahoo.com. Final entries are due by noon on Friday, January 18, 2002. Winners will be announced in the next edition of the Buzz.

HOLT Medallion Award for Published Authors
Virginia Romance Writers
Received before December 31, 2001
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Museum/2164/Contests/holt.html

Eighth Annual "From the Heart" Contest
Heartland of Georgia Romance Writers
Postmarked by December 31, 2001
http://members.aol.com/HGRWriters/hgrwcnt.htm

Annual Erma Bombeck Writing Competition
Deadline January 7, 2002
http://www.wcpl.lib.oh.us/adults/erma.html

Golden Quill Contest for Published Authors
Phoenix Desert Rose Chapter of RWA
Postmarked by January 10, 2002
http://www.desertroserwa.org/

2002 Marlene Awards
Washington Romance Writers
Postmarked by January 12, 2002
http://www.wrwdc.com/contestrules.html

Winter Rose Contest
Yellow Rose Romance Writers
Entry Deadline January 15, 2002
http://www.geocities.com/yellowroserwa/winterosecontest.htm

Year 2002 Write Touch: Readers' Award Contest
Wisconsin Romance Writers of America
Received by: January 15, 2002
Contact: Jude Higgs at higgs@mhtc.nethiggs@mhtc.net

Spring Into Romance Contest
RWA San Diego
Received by January 31st
http://www.rwasd.com/

Booksellers' Best Award (Published Authors)
Greater Detroit RWA
Postmark by January 31, 2002
http://www.gdrwa.org/

Fourth Annual Merritt Contest
San Antonio Romance Authors
Received Deadline: February 1, 2002
http://www.sararwa.com/merritt.htm

2002 Inspirational Reader's Choice Contest
Faith, Hope, and Love, RWA Chapter
Application Deadline: February 1, 2002
http://www.robinleehatcher.com/FHL/ircc_rules.htm

The Seventh Annual Confluence Science Fiction and Fantasy Short Story Contest
Received deadline: February 2, 2002
http://trfn.clpgh.org/parsec/conflu/contest.html

2002 Laurie Contest
Smoky Mountain Romance Writers
Postmark Deadline: February 8, 2002
http://www.smrw.org/contests/laurie/laurie.html

2002 Annual Award of Excellence Competition (Published Authors)
Colorado Romance Writers
Receipt Deadline: February 8, 2002
http://www.ecentral.com/members/crw/EVENTS.HTM#AOE

2002 Heart of the Rockies Contest
Colorado Romance Writers
http://www.ecentral.com/members/crw/EVENTS.HTM#Heart of the Rockies

Between The Sheets Contest
Greater Detroit RWA
Postmarked by February 11, 2002
http://www.gdrwa.org/

Romance Through The Ages Contest
Hearts Through History Chapter
Receipt deadline: February 15, 2002
http://www.dm.net/~hhrw/contest.html

PRISM 2002 (Published Authors)
Futuristic, Fantasy and Paranormal Special Interest Chapter RWA
Entry Form and fee deadline: March 1, 2002
http://www.romance-ffp.com/prism_contest/prism_rules.htm

Troubadours' 7th Annual Short Story Contest
Deadline: March 1, 2002
http://home2.owc.net/~mason/Guidelines.html

The Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest
"It was a dark and stormy night..."
I kid you not...read the past year winning entries...what a hoot!
Deadline, what else but April 15th of each year.
http://www.bulwer-lytton.com

71st Annual Writer's Digest Writing Competition
Deadline May 15, 2002
http://writersdigest.com/catalog/contest_frame.html

2002 Backwaters Prize
Sponsored by Backwaters Press
Postmark Deadline June 4, 2002
http://www.thebackwaterspress.homestead.com/bwprize.html

If you have read the "Emily Support" thread in eHqn, you are probably aware that Dee Tenorio and Heather Rae Jenkins, two of our hosts, have been disqualified from the Emily on a technicality. To read more about the situation, please visit http://www.petitiononline.com/emilyrwa/petition.html and consider signing the petition. The letter and signatures will be sent to the Emily contest coordinators, the RWA President, and the Board of Directors. We are hoping to get Dee and Rae re-entered in the contest so they can have their manuscripts returned to them.

I regret to inform you that, effective immediately, I will no longer be able to serve the Southern United States on Christmas Eve.

Due to the current, overwhelming population of Earth, my contract was renegotiated by North American Fairies and Elves Local 209.

I now serve only certain areas of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan. As part of my new and better contract, I also get longer breaks for milk and cookies and am not required to lift packages weighing more than 28 pounds 13 ounces, so keep that in mind.

However, I'm certain that your children will be in good hands with your local replacement, who happens to be my third cousin, Bubba Claus. His side of the family is from the South Pole. He shares my goal of delivering toys to all the good boys and girls, but there are a few differences between us.

1. There is no danger of a Grinch stealing your presents from Bubba Claus. He has a gun rack on his sleigh and a bumper sticker that reads: "These toys insured by Smith and Wesson."

2. Instead of milk and cookies, Bubba Claus prefers that children leave an RC cola and pork rinds (or a moon pie) on the fireplace. And Bubba doesn't smoke a pipe. He dips a little snuff though, so please have an empty spit can handy.

3. Bubba Claus's sleigh is pulled by floppy-eared, flying coon dogs instead of reindeer. (I made the mistake of loaning him a couple of my reindeer one time, and Blitzen's head now overlooks Bubba's fireplace.)

4. You won't hear, "On Comet, on Cupid, on Donner and Blitzen" when Bubba Claus arrives. Instead, you'll hear, "On Earnhardt, on Wallace, on Martin and Labonte. On Rudd, on Jarrett, on Elliott and Petty."

5. The traditional "Ho, ho, ho!" has been replaced by "Yee Haw!" And you are also likely to hear Bubba's elves respond, "I hear'd dat!"

6. As required by Southern highway laws, Bubba Claus's sleigh has a Yosemite Sam safety triangle on the back with the words "Back Off." The last I heard, the sleigh also had other decorations on back as well. One is the Ford logo with lights that race through the letters,and the other is a caricature of me (Santa Claus) peeing on the Tooth Fairy.

7. The usual Christmas movie classics such as "Miracle on 34th Street" and "It's a Wonderful Life" will not be shown in your viewing area. Instead, you'll see "Boss Hogg Saves Christmas" and "Smokey and the Bandit IV" featuring Burt Reynolds as Bubba Claus and dozens of state patrol cars crashing into each other.

8. Bubba Claus doesn't wear a belt. If I were you, I'd make sure you turn the other way when he bends over to put presents under the tree.

9. And finally, lovely Christmas songs have been sung about me, like "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and Bing Crosby's "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town. "This year, songs about Bubba Claus will be played on all the AM radio stations in the South. Those song titles will include Mark Chestnut's "Bubba Claus Shot the Jukebox," and Garth Brooks' "Grandma Got Run'd Over By a Coon Hound Wearing Antlers."

Merry Christmas y'all,
Santa Claus
(Member, North American Fairies and Elves Local 209)

*** The Buzz comes out on the third Monday of the month. The submission deadline is the previous Friday. If you would like to contribute to next month's newsletter, use the easy form or email me at gonnabeez@lycos.com .