Susan Lute
Stories For Today's Woman

UPCOMING EVENTS

April 26, 2008. Rose City Romance Writer's Annual Reader's Luncheon
Benefits Oregon Literacy. Keynote speaker: Suzanne Macpherson.

Place: The Governor Hotel. Portland, OR.
Time: 10am - 2pm.

Go to: www.rosecityromancewriters.com for details.

July 29 - August 2, 2007. RWA Annual Conference, San Francisco, California.

CURRENT PROJECTS

Summer 2008. I just finished a proposal for a short contemporary romance that will go off to the editor soon. So, for the first time in awhile, I'm working on something new, a fresh idea I'm very excited about. Details will come later . I'm also working on a non-fiction book, titled MY GARDEN. This is a step into the unknown for me. Wish me luck!

Spring 2008. Winter flew by. DANA is finished and off to my agent. It's time for a little break, but won't be able to hold out long, before diving into the next women's fiction, MARY.

Winter 2008. I've been doing a lot of revisions this winter. First, on my women's fiction project, started in the fall, which I affectionately call DANA, then requested revisions from an editor on the contemporary romance proposal I wrote last summer. Now, I'm back to finishing the last hundred pages of DANA, while I wait to hear from the editor.

Fall 2007. What happens when a doctor finds out she can't be a surgeon anymore? And, what happens when the comfortable, safe life she's built for herself begins to unravel at the seams? We're about to find out.

You can learn a lot walking a 126-mile relay. What I learned is that love…and writing a book about that elusive emotion…is about more than romance. It's about more than pheromones. It's about commitment. Just like when I compete in the Portland To Coast Relay.

Portland to Coast Day. 2:30 am "Su, it's time to get up." Startled, I sit straight up in bed, awaked from a sound, deep sleep.

The Book. I start working on a new story.

The Race. 4:15 am. I meet my team mates at the van driver's house and load up the van.

The Book. When I start playing with a new story, the first thing I think about is the characters ...what they do...who they are...what their names will be. Sometimes it's an interesting career that gives them life. Sometimes it's a comical circumstance. This time it was an idea. How can two people who view love from opposite ends of the spectrum ultimately find it's true meaning?

The Race. 5:00 am. We pick up the rest of the team at a prearranged meeting place and head for the starting line.

The Book. I have a hero and heroine. One believes in the science of mating. The other in romance. Sooo…is there a snowball's chance in h-e-double-hockey sticks these two are going to find their way to happy-ever-after?

The Race. 6:00 am. I'm standing on the starting line, a flashlight in one hand, a bottle of water in the other. My teammates are cheering from the sidelines. The countdown starts. Three…two…one! The race is on!

The Book. Now that I have the story question, I start to write using free form scribbling as a brainstorming tool. Using every trick I've learned since joining RWA© to create a compelling story, I write down everything I know about the hero, the heroine, and the story arc. I make lists…and columns of information. I play with premise and log line. I write Goals, Motivations and Conflicts. I dig deep into character back story. And then, I email it all to my writing pals to see if they can see any holes in my heroine and hero's story.

The Race. 6:10 am. S…T! The muscles in my calves and shins are burning like fire! I'm not going to make it is screaming through my head. Seconds later I think about the last time I walked in preparation for this race. More than a week and a half ago! I wallow in the admission that I'm not as prepared as I thought I would be for the toughest race walk I do!

The Book. Drats! There's trouble in Paradise! My character's motivation is too complicated! There's too much back story! And too little plot! AAGH! There's got to be a better way to tell a story than one step forward and two steps back!

The Race. 6:32 am. The pain is going away. My leg muscles are stretching. I can take a breath without gasping in tune to the mantra in my head… I can do this…I can do this…I can do this…I can do this…I can do this…I can do this! Unexpected, big squishy rain drops plop on my head, soaking me in a matter of minutes. And out of the deluge races one of my teammates to bring me a rain parka.

The Book. Stubborn, I make a call to a fellow writer. Why doesn't this story work? Brainstorming begins in earnest. Ideas flow back and forth. Some are acceptable. Some are tossed. Goals and motivations are revisited. The story question is redefined.

The Race. 7:00 am. I'm in the zone…leaning into the race. My blood is pumping. I'm workin' it, baby!

The Book. I go back to the beginning. Look at all my notes. Integrate the trimmed down motivation, clearer story question and new plot points. I'm on a roll!

The Race. 7:23 am. I can see the exchange point up ahead. There's a large crowd cheering as each walker hands off their team bracelet to the teammate who will be doing the next leg. One last burst of energy…concentration; I know I can make a fifteen minute mile! Amidst welcoming cheers from my own team, I push through to the last second and hand off my bracelet.

The Book. I pursue every loose thread…ask why…and seek out the most simple character motivation, until my story is honed down to it's most simple common denominator…how this man and woman find love. The cogs fit. I'm perched on the edge for the next step…the dreaded synopsis!

The Race. 8:30 am. My van has completed the first part of the race, and our alternate van is just finishing up their last leg. While we've waited, I've gotten a good three hours of sleep in a farmer’s field. It's time to start my second leg. I'm ready and raring to go.

The Book. It's time to start the synopsis, but there is something-I can't quite put my finger on it-that doesn't quite gel. Still, I'm jazzed; and while staying true to my characters, I try one or two more story threads before pushing forward.

The Race. 9:02 am. The discomfort at the beginning of my first leg that morning is a distant memory as I set a mile-eating pace and stick with it. I'm pumped. I'm moving. Then I get it! What writing a book is all about! What this race is about! What life is about! COMMITMENT! It's all about commitment!

The Book. I tell stories about men and women who set out on a journey to find love. But my current hero and heroine know nothing at all about commitment! That is the illusive ingredient that has been missing all along!

The Race. 9:24 am. My part of this race is almost done. And as I pass my bracelet off to the next walker, I realized that I've learned a thing or two. Like I support them, my teammates have supported me throughout this tough race. Once in a while I have to stop and take a rock out of my shoe. And when I'm stubborn, I get lucky and get my second wind.

The Book. When the light blub comes on, it beams! I start the synopsis and it pours out of my pen onto the paper. I've gotten my second wind.

Fourteen hours later I crossed the finish line. I know I can finish the book. Life is good!