Barbara Dunlop

Dear Barbara,

I love your column and hope you'll find time to answer one of my questions. :)

I've been told my story needs more "plot twists" and the ones I do have are very weak and need to be strengthened. I was wondering if you could explain in detail what a plot twist is and also give some examples from a few of your books. I've read almost all of them and am a huge fan of your humor.

Dear Barbara,

I finished my first manuscript just after my first son was born and have been fielding rejection letters ever since. My game plan was to find an agent first, but that is proving difficult. Agents normally ask for more of my manuscript upon reading my query letters, but I can't seem to get them to ask for much more after that. I've had some in the industry point to a little POV problem throughout the chapters, but that's about it. Many say I have a strong voice and should keep pursuing this but it's discouraging. Should I continue working on this particular manuscript and resubmit or should I chalk it up to my first go and work on another piece? I'm very excited about the book and want to keep trying, but I'm afraid of annoying agents by resubmitting my material. Please give me your advice.

Dear Barbara,

I am a new author, under contract for my first novel to be published early in 2007. My publisher is interested in my second novel as well. I am a wife and mother to twin toddlers aged three. My question is this, how does one find their flow and balance between all of life's obligations? I have reprioritized my responsibilities over and over to the point that I've become frustrated. What's your advice on juggling life's interruptions?

Dear Barbara,

I've heard many horror stories about writers who entrusted their work to agents, only to have the manuscript left sitting on a shelf, or the royalties stolen. In fact, I once signed a contract with an agent who did almost nothing to market my book, and finally she disappeared without a word. She never did return the manuscript to me. After spending years working on my novel, I think it seems unwise to place an unpublished manuscript in the hands of a stranger who doesn't even live in the same state as I do. Since I write genre fiction, I wonder if it would be better to deal directly with publishers. Is an agent really necessary? If so, how can I protect myself from being victimized by an agent who is unscrupulous or just too lazy and disorganized to market my book?

Dear Barbara,

One of the most common pieces of advice I've heard since I started writing a few months ago is to 'Show Don't Tell'. I've also heard some say this means we should write the scene like it's a movie playing out in front of us. Unfortunately, I'm not very good visualizing cinematics, nor do I understand the concept of Show Don't Tell completely. Could you shed some light on what it means and examples of how one might go about doing this?

Dear Barbara,

My first book was published last year and since receiving The Call, I've gone on to sell four more stories to my publisher. I'm planning to attend the National conference in Atlanta this year and have started net-working with various writing groups and RWA Chapters. Several requests have come in, asking me to give talks or workshops on specific topics in the writing field. Unfortunately, public speaking makes me very apprehensive and I also have no idea how to plan for workshops.

Dear Barbara,

A few weeks ago, I decided to get serious about writing the romance novel that burns inside me. I made an outline, worked out my characters, got an idea of the various scenes I want to include, did my research and made heaps of notes. The problem is, now that it's actually time for me to sit down and get to the actual writing part, I can't seem to figure out where to start.