It’s the day of love. Cupids abound, hearts of every shade of pink and red, and people buying their special ones loads of chocolate in an attempt to prove their love through excessive caloric offerings. Those out there with no one to buy them chocolate do it for themselves – or should – resulting in the majority of us being edgy and sleepless this evening from too much sugar and caffeine. Harness that energy as you will, dear wenches.

There are mixed emotions about Valentine’s Day. Not just among the population at large, but here on the boat as well. The range of course runs from “awh, it’s sweet” to “if I have to see one more red paper heart I’ll stab my eyes out.” (Feel free to try and figure out where each of the pirates fall on that continuum. Could be entertaining for all of us.) *g*

My husband despises Valentine’s Day, claims that if you love someone that you shouldn’t need the day exploited by Hallmark to “prove” it to them. This might sound like he’s just trying to get out of buying me a gift, but this is the same guy who never let me run out of my favorite ice cream while 8 months pregnant (Turkey Hill Mint Choco Chip), remembers to scrape my car off if it’s snowing, does the vacuuming and laundry (though admittedly doesn’t fold well), and has scaled back on his snoozes from 6 to 1 – on most days – because he knows I sleep so lightly. So, while he makes a fuss and boycotts Valentine’s Day, I let him happily, knowing that he’ll do plenty of things all year long that show me he loves me best.

*A skirmish breaks out aboard the ship as pirates equal parts retch and threaten to throw their gunner overboard. Gunner Marnee attempts to hold them at bay, tossing the crew a bag of truffles and a fifth of rum as a distraction.*

Gimme a second wenches! I swear I’m not trying to touch any nerves today. *The testy pirates settle into the chocolate and liquor, placated for now but casting suspicious glances in GM’s direction.* Let me just get to the point. *Captain Hellion, mouth full of chocolate, gestures a grudging go-ahead with her pistol.*

*GM continues quickly before they change their minds.*

One of the reasons so many hate Valentine’s Day is because it can tend to feel fake. Grand gestures one day that aren’t supported by the day before or the day after and plenty of empty words.

This is a huge case of show don’t tell if I’ve ever seen it.

When heroes, or heroines for that matter, act uncharacteristically in novels, our mind and our hearts rebel against them. For example, we mentioned yesterday that we doubt the happy ending when a hero and heroine who fight the entire book have a miraculous make up at the end. Without enough support, enough characterization, we don’t believe it –just like at Valentine’s Day.

Characterization has to be built in the little things characters do quietly, even when no one else is watching. We can believe a rough-around-the-edges man with a soft spot for a stray dog would develop a similar soft spot for our heroine. We can believe a tortured widower who’s afraid to love again, but is tender and loving to his children can eventually find room in his heart for our heroine. Because if we build their characteristics appropriately, their grand profession of love isn’t a stand-alone moment; it’s the culmination of many smaller moments.

Just like Valentine’s Day’s grand gesture should be a culmination of a year’s worth of small loving gestures.

So, wenches, what authors do this creation of character through small acts well? Any practical ways to help build characters? How does everyone else feel about V-Day? Any big plans today?

There's something to be said for pulling into port every once in a while. This weekend I attended my second conference in less than two months. (My local chapter conference and it was great!) With each of these excursions into Romancelandia, I become more excited about pursuing the dream of publishing. I've worked in many fields (besides being a Pirate, of course) and I have to say authors are some of the most gracious, genuine and generous people.

As was pointed out Saturday, publishing is a competitive business with a large number of writers vying for a small number of slots. Publishers have thousands of manuscripts to choose from. It would be understandable for authors not to offer advice, not to help new aspiring authors who could eventually take their spot. But that's not what writers do. They help. They counsel. They support and encourage.

Also talked about was how getting published, like most anything else, can be a matter of luck. For instance, your manuscript may be the best one that showed up in an editor's office that day, but if it doesn't get to the right person or perhaps the manuscript two before yours caught the editor's eye and she stopped there, your talent as a writer had nothing to do with you not getting chosen. Being in the right place at the right time can make all the difference.

So, what does this babble all mean? One, understand the competitive nature of this business but never let it change how you treat people. As Sherrilyn Kenyon said during a speech at the New Jersey conference (and I'm paraphrasing here), get to know the person next to you because that person could be unpublished today but a number one best seller tomorrow. And you could be a number one best seller today, but never sell another book. In other words, treat people the way you want to be treated – always. I think that's a necessary philosophy for life in general but let's keep this on writing. *g*

Two, never pass up a chance to network, to talk to other authors or professionals in the industry, to learn about your craft. You may write five fantastic novels that could fly off the shelves and make everyone say "JK who?" but if no one ever sees them, they'll live for eternity under your bed with all those dust bunnies and that Playgirl magazine you shoved under there and forgot about. Take chances. Pitch and submit as often as possible. Get feedback whenever you can, take what works and ignore the rest. But most of all, don't expect an editor to show up at your door with a contract saying they smelled a best seller and tracked it to your address.

What have you learned since jumping on this roller coaster ride? Have you taken chances, put yourself and your work out there? If not, what are you waiting for? If you’re a reader, have you met your favorite authors and if so, what did you take away from the experience? Just to be fair – if it was bad, let's not name names. LOL!

PS: I have to say Cathy Maxwell is wonderful. I was fortunate enough to not only get to hear her speak this weekend but to hang out and talk with her. She's funny, warm and a font of information when it comes to writing. I only caught twenty minutes of her workshop before I had to attend to something else, but I still learned a lesson I desperately needed regarding conflict. I'll be sure to share that in another blog. *g*