Wow, morning already

I was up before the little racoons at the top of my igoogle page this morning. That's early! I'm still feeling a little frustrated at having to do everything with one hand tied behind my back - nearly literally - but I'm trying to see it as a reminder of how good I normally have it with two functioning hands. Let's just hope the right hand returns to being fully functional eventually.

Also, I'm taking an online class from RWA (Romance Writers of America) through their Kiss of Death division - apparently for Romantic Suspense writers, but we have many different genres represented in the class. I write more straight mystery, but I can't conceive of a story without some romance, so it fits me just fine. So far, I love it! It's supposed to help with pacing which is so, so important in mysteries.

An interesting thing has come up - she talks about pacing as having as much to do with characters as plot. I love this idea, because many of my favorite books are favorites because I just love being with the characters, not just endlessly moving forward. I feel like a really good book can make scenes with their characters fun in and of themselves - yet a lot of writing advice says you have to move forward or die, like a shark. What do you all think?

Some examples for me are: Harry Potter - honestly, it's most fun for me when they're in class just being wizards at Hogwarts, Pride and Prejudice, Anne of Green Gables, Gone With the Wind, the Amelia Peabody books - I'd love to hear your thoughts on pacing and characters.

OK, off to ice my wrist!