This blog was submitted by Lane Stone:
Panels
at C3 reflected the casual, inclusive spirit of the conference. By way of follow up, I thought I’d inflict the
notes I had prepared for my panels on you now.
Here
are the bullet points from my remarks in the “What’s so funny about…?”
According to my informal survey people preferred the first
Sex in the City movie to the
second. In the follow on, there was too
much ‘set up for a joke, joke.’ Humor in
your novel should be organic to the plot and the characters. Next, consider
your genre. In mysteries, you can use
humor to give your readers a break from the tension you've created. Whereas, in romance, including romantic
suspense, editors tend prefer your heroine have very few funny lines. Her best
friend can cracks jokes all the time. Last, and you’ll have to trust me on this, after
you read your funny lines a couple of hundred times you’ll question them. Rely on your critique partner.
“The morals of heroes & heroines.”
In this
post-Breaking Bad world, we need to think of our protagonist’s moral code, rather than his or her
morals. In my Tiara Investigations
series, the three sleuths start a detective agency and don’t tell their
husbands, which forces them to meet clients at a local Cracker Barrel. Sure, this deceit might look immoral to some,
but it is consistent with their code of sisterhood. Consistency is key – until it’s not. Again, consider your genre. In romantic suspense, characters are expected
to change. They work their way through some internal conflict and are different
by the end of the book, so they can – you guessed it – love again. In cozy mysteries, the sleuth changes very
little. Think Hercule Poirot and Miss
Marple. Your sleuth’s life might change
(or not) but not her moral code. And
remember, show don’t tell your hero or heroines moral code.
Loved
the conference!
