Getting through writer's block

I've been struggling for awhile now as to where to take my story. I had the beginning done (about 80 pages), and I knew the ending, but I had no idea what went in the middle...I had no idea how to get my characters from the beginning to the end.


I tried outlining, but that doesn't work for me. I brainstormed a bit, and came up with a rough guide for the next three or so chapters. Here's a sample:

Chapter 10

-Adventures with wands! --Note: only elements

-Flower storm from cherry trees

-Belle changes self, room, etc. at home

-Discuss with others

That's the extent of my outline for that chapter. As you can see, not very detailed, but the best I could do. Then I just sat down and stared at the screen.

The result? I realized that some of the mythology linked with my world matched mythology and images I'd learned about during my college trip to Malta. OK, then, I took my characters to Malta. By doing that, I discovered more links, more ways to connect the real world and the world I'd invented. It didn't work perfectly. I had to do a lot of image and map searching to make sure my memory matched real life. And I had to change that outline, skimpy as it is, as I went--I had to change the order of things, add in clues about the ending, etc., that made one line of my outline into a whole chapter by itself, or merged two chapter outlines into one chapter. In the end, I've got nearly 10 pages written, and a clear idea of what else I'm going to write. That old inspiration is back; a Maltese carving at Hagar Qim led me to a three page description and connection to my characters that I thought of while driving home from my mother's birthday party.

Lesson learned: when writing gets tough, just keep going. Do whatever it takes. If you've got to make short-hand outline sketches and then ignore them, do it. Whatever it takes, as long as you've got your butt in the chair and your hands in the writing!

When Writing Kinda Sucks

...I'm at that point in my current WIP where I kinda have figured out where the story is going, but I'm just using the Internet as an excuse not to actually write because right now, it's hard and I'm lazy.

So I'm going to go get back to work.

Meanwhile, The Rejector has a great post on whether or not this blog (or any writer's blog) is actually worthwhile, and the comments have led me down the hyperlink trail to a couple of great new blogs.

And now I'm really going to get back to work. I've got to somehow figure out how I'm going to trap my main characters on an island in the Mediterranean inhabited by evil alchemists...

5 Things I've Learned in 5 Years

So I was adding it up this morning, and I've been writing novels for five years. There's a big difference between the writer I was in 2003 and the writer I am now. Here's what I have learned in 5 years:

1. Just because you wrote 200 pages doesn't mean you wrote a good book.
2. Nothing is ever as good as it can be in the first draft.
3. You cannot revise alone.
4. If you still can't sell your book after revisions, rewrites, and a spit-polish, write another one.
5. If you ever get to the point where the writing isn't worth it, just quit.

Let's hope I learn a little bit more about actually publishing something in the next five years!

Good Article

I will probably write something a little more on this article later, but right now I just found it so brilliant that I don't have any comments--I just wanted to share.

Rachelle Gardner's Blog Article on Creativity vs. Production

Voice

Voice can be the most important thing in a written work. Recently, I talked about voice when I reviewed Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series, and I've postulated before about how important voice is and yet how it cannot be taught (whether it can be learned, however, is a different matter).

One reason why Percy Jackson's voice shines through so well in Rick Riordan's books is because the book is written in a first person point of view. Because of the first person POV, Percy's phrases and attitudes can shine through even in the narrative and description.

However, in a third person POV, especially an omniscient third person POV, it becomes much more difficult to show voice. Voice is limited to dialogue (internal or external) and it becomes tricky trying to put the character voice into the description and narrative without having author intrusion.

So here's my question: What is a good book that shows voice but is told in 3rd period?

Finally--Some Good News!

OK, so my title makes it sound like the world's depressing (gas hit $4 a gallon in Charlotte today and my sprained ankle still hurts), but there's plenty of good in the world, and this article in Newsweek is just icing on the cake.

Contrary to the depressing proclamations that American teens aren't reading, the surprising truth is they are reading novels in unprecedented numbers. Young-adult fiction (ages 12-18) is enjoying a bona fide boom with sales up more than 25 percent in the past few years, according to a Children's Book Council sales survey. Virtually every major publishing house now has a teen imprint, many bookstores and libraries have created teen reading groups and an infusion of talented new authors has energized the genre.

And as if that's not enough, David Leviathan says that we're living in "the second golden age for young-adult books."

This gives me hope for the future!

Book Review: Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson Series

Since I've spent the past few days with my ankle elevated (as well as my anger--I hate being limited!), I've had little to do other than read or watch TV, and TV got pretty boring pretty fast.

Fortunately for me, I'd just received a big box of books from Scholastic--including the first three books of Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series!

I'd been holding off on reading this series. I know they're wildly popular and have reached the almost-impossible-to-reach MG/YA boy audience, but they didn't seem that interesting to me. The covers didn't grab my interest, and I had a hard time figuring out how a modern re-telling of Greek gods could be worthwhile. Retellings of fairy tales--I love them--but Greek gods?

Which just goes to show how wrong I can be.

This series is fantastic. I loved them so much, I've read one book a day for the past three days. They made me forget my throbbing ankle. They made me forget lunch. They made me forget to sleep. All I've done is read these books. I didn't want to put them down! You should have seen me hobbling down the hallway, one hand on the wall so I wouldn't fall over, the other holding the book in front of my face.

As a reader, I loved this book. As a writer, I wanted to know why--and how I could emulate that in my own writing.

1. Voice. Agents and editors talk about it all the time. It's something I struggle with, and something I suspect that all authors struggle with. Here's my conclusion: When I read these books, it wasn't just some random person telling me a story. It was the hero, Percy Jackson, telling me the story. Everything--from description to dialogue--was in his unique voice. He could write an essay on Steinbeck, and I could still tell it was his voice.

2. Layers. This book had a great story in and of itself. However, if you knew something about Greek mythology (and as a world lit teacher, I credit myself with knowing quite a bit) it added a whole new layer of fun to the book. If you didn't know all the backstory about the Greek gods, the story was still fun and nothing was really taken away (it wouldn't be confusing for someone not familiar with mythology)...but if you did know it, there was some laugh-out-loud moments.

3. Genre. I have long believed that the best kind of books are the ones that can make you laugh and cry. An adventure story doesn't need to be--and shouldn't be--all adventure. Through in something to make the reader laugh, through in a taste of comedy. Mixing things up keeps it real--and interesting.

ARGH!

I've sprained my ankle. After the flu, and finals, and now this....ARGH! How am I supposed to do what I want, write, when I've got to worry about elevating my stupid ankle and get an ankle brace!

Don't Be a Nitwit

I'm from the School of Snark.

A year ago, the best thing to ever happen for struggling writers ended when Miss Snark put up her pointy high-heeled shoes and retired from the blogosphere. Still today, I wish there was a Snark Badge or Code Word or something to let editors and agents know that my skin has been thickened with gin and bites from Killer Yap. A year later (has it only been a year?!), I still know her website by heart.

The official tribute is here. I say, the real tribute is here, in the archives.

Long Live the Silent Snark.

A Sign of Changing Times

I began re-reading Doomsday Book by Connie Willis last night. Willis writes with a wonderful blend of science fiction, fantasy, and Jodi-Picoult-esque mystery. Doomsday Book was the first book of hers that I read, back in the days when I was in junior high and couldn't afford books, so I'd sign up for book clubs under different names just to get the "8 Free Copies!" for joining.

I digress. I've loved the Doomsday Book for a long time, but I loved it in the same way I love King Lear, not the way I love The Hero and the Crown. Let me explain. I read King Lear once, knew I loved it, and loved it so deeply I never had to read it again. The love was in me, and it remained in me, and every time I look on that bookshelf, I always remember that love for the book and don't need to pick it up and re-read it. A lot of the classics and more epic fantasy books are like that for me. On the other hand, there are some books, like The Hero and the Crown that I can read over and over again and never have my fill. I read The Hero and the Crown almost every year on my birthday. When I finished the third Harry Potter book, I flipped to the front and started again. It's like the difference between fine chocolate and cheap chocolate. I can savor a single Swiss truffle, or I can gorge on a pound of Easter candy.

So I hadn't read Doomsday Book since I bought it, which might have been a decade or more ago. I still know the plot: a girl from the future is sent to the Middle Ages, witnesses the Black Plague, and has trouble getting safely back. Meanwhile, in the modern world, a whole new kind of plague has broken out.

Here's the thing. The "future" of the book is the year 2054, which seems a lot closer this side of the millenium. And within the first 50 or so pages, the sub-plot of the modern plague is just starting, and the main character keeps going around trying to find phones so he can call people. It was so disjarring I had to stop reading. When I first read the book, I didn't own a cell phone, had never seen one outside of TV. Now, my high school students all have cell phone and there's lot of technology indicating that cell phones will continue to grow. But here in this 2054 world where time travel is real, cell phones aren't.

To me, it's a sign of how difficult it is to write in sci-fi. You can imagine the future the way you want to, but there will be elements of it--simple elements, like cell phones or iPods or DVD players--that are impossible to predict. When I create a world for one of my fantasy books, I have the luxury of making my own rules. Part of sci-fi is prophetic: given the world now, how can it be in the future? It takes thought, and good thought makes a better book. In Joss Wheedon's Firefly and Serenity worlds, the characters speak a combination of Chinese and English because at the apolcalypse of Earth when the people of the world flew off to different planets to live, those were the superpowers. That's taking today's real life--China and America being so powerful--to a possible future--Chinese and English merging into one accepted language. Now it seems innovative and clever...fifty years from now, China and/or America could fall from power and it will seem laughable. Or, more likely, there will be some new form of technology that will make the whole premise laughable. Maybe Al Gore will save the world of carbon dioxide emissions, world peace will be found, and we'll be living happily ever after on a perfect planet that will never be broken apart.

Who knows? All I'm saying is, enjoy your sci-fi now, while the possibilities presented in it are still possible.

Another Contest

Just your friendly contest announcer, adding that Nathan Bransford is doing a dialogue contest on his blog.

Pitching

For the pitch contest I mentioned earlier, here are some ideas for pitches:

For Babbletongue: Mina's not an ordinary teenage girl, but she finds out how un-ordinary she really is when she learns she has hidden magic...magic that might be enough to save the universe from an evil megalomaniac, but won't be enough to save the person she loves most.


For The Red Thread: When Chloe finds herself on another world, she realizes that the hardest thing won't be finding a way home...it will be convincing her brother to come back home with her.

What are your ideas for pitches?

Pitch Contest

Donna Earnhardt, a fellow SCBWI-Carolinas member is holding a Pitch Contest at her blog. I'm going to enter...why don't y'all? :)

The Future of Publishing

As an unpublished writer who works diligently to become published, I keep my ears open to any important things in the market. Having been working on writing and developing professionalism for over 5 years, I am fully aware that, at this point in the publishing industry, self-publishing is not a viable option for me, someone who wants to be a successful writer.

However, this article at Galley Cat is intriguing.

It's about how Sramana Mitra (what a great name!) believes that Amazon will shape the face of publishing. Basically, she says that the way publishing currently is, is unfair (i.e., the author does all the creating, but gets a small slice of the profit pie). Amazon, she believes, will change all that.

"Let's say, in the new world, Amazon becomes the retailer, marketer, publisher and agent combined and takes 65% of the revenues, offering 35% to the author--we end up with a much better, fairer world."

This interests me. It sounds great...but in the same way that communism sounds great (it's brilliant on paper but fails in real life). It would be wonderful if there truly was one source for publishing and publishing was streamlined enough to provide a direct connection between author creation to publishing to the consumer.

But that can't work. First, the entire reason why self-publishing fails as a viable market for novels that want to be a part of mainstream America is because there is no filter between author and publisher. As much as I hate to say it (because it's kept me out of publishing), there's a very important filter between the author and the published book: an editor. Even if Amazon were to take over the publishing world, all that would happen is either a) a massive number of crappy books flood the site, making it impossible for the reader to find anything worth reading except for the few books that Amazon marketing pushes on you, or b) Amazon will develop a system of acquisitions, editors, etc., that will make it essentially the same as current publishing.

The long and short of it is that there is a surplus of writers. Everyone and their momma wants to be a writer...and self-publishing means that once Joe Schmoe actually puts the words on paper, he can immediately put it in print. If I'd put my books into print before revisions, they'd be worse than they are now--and so would anyone else's. Revision is part of the business.

Here's another scary quote:

Over the next few years, Amazon likely will use its power to build direct relationships with authors and gradually phase out publishers and agents. It will first go after the independent print-on-demand self-publishers and get the best authors from that world. Amazon will then take on the large publishers.

Amazon has already done this by requiring any self-pubbed book to publish through their company, BookSurge. And Amazon's already taken the first steps in building "direct relationships with authors" in their ABNA contest...which heavily promoted the BookSurge company as well. Whether or not it Amazon really will try to paint the big-house publishing world a bright, shiny communist red, it does seem to be taking over the independent (read: vanity) publishing world quite efficiently.

Don't get me wrong: I love Amazon. I try to buy from my local book seller, but they close at 7 (who closes at 7?!) and their books are over-priced. Most of my purchases are from Amazon or Scholastic (I love being a teacher). But the idea that Amazon is trying to take over the publishing world is crazy...so crazy, it just might happen.

Creative Writing 101, part 4

The last section on what I learned from Kurt Vonnegut, in which I analyze his 8 Basic Rules of Writing and how that can be reflected in my own writing goals.

Here's something that I never knew about Vonnegut's writing tips, until I started doing some research. He had a corollary:

The greatest American short story writer of my generation was Flannery O’Connor (1925-1964). She broke practically every one of my rules but the first. Great writers tend to do that.

And here’s the most important thing to Vonnegut’s rules. Great writers don’t need rules—they just write. If, in the end, the reader enjoys and values the work, nothing else matters.

My goal in writing: Forget about the rules...just write the best possible thing I can ever write.

A little good news....

In my day job, I'm a high school English teacher. Part of that job is teaching kids how to write, and they're tested by the state yearly.

We got the scores today.

Out of roughly 110 kids who I taught this year, all but 14 passed the writing test!

As someone who wants to be a published writer, it makes me smile a bit to know that I helped teach these kids become better writers themselves.

Creative Writing 101, part 3

Continuing with what I learned from Kurt Vonnegut, in which I analyze his 8 Basic Rules of Writing and how that can be reflected in my own writing goals.

8. Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To heck with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages.

If I was going to argue with Mr. Vonnegut on anything, it would be this one. M. Night Shyamalan doesn’t do this. Wicked, Lovely didn’t do this. The Princess and the Hound didn’t do this.

But the above examples also prove Vonnegut’s point, in a way. People don’t go to see Shyamalan’s latest movie because of the story—they go for the twist. I will never count Wicked, Lovely or The Princess and the Hound as one of my all time favorite books...because there was a point, near the end, with each of these book when I was only reading in order to find out what happened. I didn’t care about what happened to the characters, I didn’t have an emotional relationship with the story. I was waiting for the other shoe to drop. I wanted to know the answer to the question, but I didn’t feel anything. I had as much attachment to these stories as I do to a crossword puzzle.

Then look at almost every cheap romance novel out there. I’ll admit they are an occasional guilty pleasure for me. When I pick up a romance, I know that Girl will, by the end of the story, be with Boy. A good romance doesn’t keep me wondering if that will happen, it makes me so involved with the story and characters that I can’t wait to just witness the inevitable. You know every Disney movie will end happily, but part of the happiness you feel is in watching that happy ending you already expect. You don’t have to be obvious (that would be boring), but it does help if the plot isn’t driven by the question, what will the resolution be, instead of the desire to witness the characters within the resolution. My goal in writing: Tell a story that people want to read not to find out the ending, but to satisfy a desire to witness the ending.

Creative Writing 101, part 2

Continuing with what I learned from Kurt Vonnegut, in which I analyze his 8 Basic Rules of Writing and how that can be reflected in my own writing goals.

5. Start as close to the end as possible.

This is the easiest of all the rules for me. I’m a big fan of starting in media res and jumping straight into the action. By the end of my first chapter in my revised novel, the heroine has found out about her magical powers and has begun her quest. In the first sentence of the novel I’m currently revising, the heroine is in a strange new world and figuring out how she got there. My problem isn’t starting near the end. My problem is making the facts clear. Maybe I start too near the end, but sometimes my readers get lost, wondering how my characters got there, who they are, what they’re like. My goal in writing: Start the novel with action, but don’t forget about establishing sympathetic characters so the reader actually cares about what happens.

6. Be a sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them—in order that the reader may see what they are made of.

I’ve got to up the ante on this one. I’ve had my sentimental book*, and now I’m ready for real writing. My problem stems from the characterization versus plot problem. I have a story in mind, but in my current work in progress, I’ve not got real characters. So, when writing, I think about how to get to the end result of the plot, without thinking about how everything directly reflects on the characters. My goal in writing: Focus more on the characters—let the characters drive the plot, not the plot drive the characters.

*sentimental book: a writer’s first book, or most personal book, or the book they first thought might actually get published. Either way, it’s a book that the writer feels so connected to, he’s not willing to do to many structural changes to it. The writer is blind to criticism on this book. For me, it was Babbletongue. I loved it so much, I wasn’t willing to change anything, even the character’s names...and it took writing another book that I wasn’t emotionally attached to for me to set aside my feelings.

7. Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.

This is another one I don’t have trouble with. If nothing else happens in my writing career, I will know that at the very least I have written something that pleases one person. My momma.
My writing goal: I don’t have to try to please the world, but a little marketability would help.

Just a Thought...

In reading Pub Rants, Agent Kristin Nelson had this to say about how she edits her client's work:

Sometimes it needs a bit more work (in plot or character—never in voice or in the quality of the writing)...

I've been contemplating this for a while, and here's my conclusion:

1. A writer must write a story that focuses on a combination plot and character.
2. If plot/character needs to be fixed, that can be fixed with critique groups, editing, etc.
   
3. A high quality of writing is necessary to be published.
4. Writing quality can be fixed by a good class.
   
5. A writer's viability comes from voice.
6. Voice cannot be taught.

Creative Writing 101

You know a quote has power when you read it once and it stays with you for years. That’s how Kurt Vonnegut’s Creative Writing 101 stuck with me (especially rule #3). Because I’m having such trouble with my story, I decided to look up these rules again. I'm going to reprint the "rule" he had, and how that changes my goals.

So here’s what I learned from Professor Vonnegut.

1. Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.

Obviously, the stranger is my reader. How can I ensure that I’ve not wasted my reader’s time? To answer this, I asked myself, as a reader, which books I felt not only didn’t waste my time, but enriched my life...and which books were the exact opposite. The answer is simple: if a book made me think, I enjoyed it. If it was too obvious (read: cliched) or if I didn’t care about the characters (read: the characters did stupid stuff no one would ever really do), then I felt as if it were a waste of time. My goal in writing: make characters the reader cares about, and make a story the reader thinks about.

2. Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.

Believe it or not, I struggle with this one. Silly, I know...it’s the easiest one on the list, but one I struggle with. In many of my works, my female leads aren’t just straight-forward and blunt, they’re downright snarky. Recently, my critique group led me to the realization that I was trying to give my readers House, but they were getting Hitler. So my goal in writing: give my lead characters more depth down so they’re not hated.

3. Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.

This is one that I think I—and every writer—should focus on. Motivation is so often lost. When a writer wants to show something dramatic or give a hilarious one-liner, they often forget about the character. It’s the dance of plot versus characterization, and usually plot wins. Even with minor characters, there should be some sort of desire. The key is not to tell the reader “He wants this,” but to show it. My goal in writing: Have characters whose actions, reactions, and choice of speech are so strong that the reader knows what the character values and desires.

4. Every sentence must do one of two things—reveal character or advance the action.

This is the idea of plot versus character again. Stating it in this way makes you tighten your focus more. Every sentence must have purpose: plot or character. So when you describe the setting, there should be a purpose to it based on these. In a recent revision, my main character is outside and observes the nature around her...and then reacts to the nature in such a way that her feelings about her situation in life are revealed. The nature description serves a purpose. (This, by the way, is where I think Tolkien and Hawthorne and Melville failed.) My goal in writing: Cut away all fluff, and make sure relevance is in every passage.


...more on this tomorrow, as I explore Vonnegut's other rules of writing.

3 Good Men: Characterization

First of all, just a question to the universe: how am I supposed to get anything done now that I have a Wii? It is brilliant and fun!

So anyway....

This mother's day, we actually did something for my father: We watched the 1997 movie Tombstone. It's awesome. Afterwards, I was talking about it with my husband, and realized that my favorite character in the movie, Doc Holiday, reminded me of my favorite character in another TV series, Firefly, Captain Mal Reynolds. And they both reminded me of another character, Dr. Who.

Why do I love these characters so much? What do they have in common?

All three of them are men who do the right things for the right reasons...but they're not afraid of doing the right things for the right reasons in the wrong way. Example: Captain Mal's friend is being held hostage. The criminal has a gun to his friend's head, and says if Mal doesn't drop his weapon, he'll kill the girl. Without blinking, Mal draws his weapon and shoots the bad guy in the head. Quick as lightning. He knew the right thing to do was save his friend...and he did so without hesitation.

All three of these men are funny, but serious. Dr. Who is sometimes slapstick funny; all of the characters are clever and witty in conversation. But when things turn serious, they all have powerful, strong emotions. They easily shift from funny to serious. After a few one-liners in the last episode of Dr. Who, the Doctor turns to his companion, Donna, and clearly explains why he has to let thousands of people die--in order to save generations of people in the future--and how he has to live with that decision. Doc Holiday jokes with everyone, even his enemies, and has the ability to break up a fight with a few funny lines, but when his friend is in danger, he rises to the occasion and fights with him, despite the pain of his fatal illness, TB.


All three of these men are human: they try to be good, they're sometimes bad. They make mistakes. There's little wonder that all three of these characters have had episodes or scenes in which they make the wrong choice and are miserable about it. They create their own misery through pushing others way, making bad choices, or living with a guilty conscience.

This is what defines a good character. Even if these men are different--a Western hero, a space captain of the future, and a guy who's not even human--but all three of them have similar key traits that make them memorable characters. It's been years since I saw Tombstone, but I could still quote the line: "I'll be your huckleberry." I've seen Firefly and the accompanying movie Serenity many times, but I still gasp when Mal shoots the criminal, or laugh when Mal messes up his relationship. I'm continually on my seat when watching Dr. Who every Saturday on BBCA--I can't wait to see what dramatic situation he'll get in, and how he'll handle it was blase wit and heart-wrenching drama.

A good character is memorable. A good character is human. A good character makes us want to make our characters like him. I wish I knew Mal; I wish I was best friends with Doc, and I wish Dr. Who would land in my front yard and take me on an adventure. And I wish that when I write a character, I can make someone as wonderful, mysterious, witty, and complex as these.

Making the Hero's Journey Work for You! (and by you, I mean me)

You'd think that, considering I'm an English teacher who has taught her students about the Hero's Journey and how it applies to Gilgamesh and Theseus for, oh, 8 semesters and roughly 700 students, I'd have thought about how it applies to my own novel.

But noooooo.

Thanks again to PJ Hoover for putting her version on the web. I've been stuck around page 80 in my current WIP for awhile now, so I've decided that I need to do some sort out outlining or something in order to get it going! I've invested too much time, thought, and energy to abandon these characters (and I'm dying to find out what happens to them!).

So I'm trying out the Hero's Journey outline.

I realized that I've gotten all the way through Act I, with a tentative doorway of no return.

ACT ONE:

• Introduce the Hero's World: Check. Regular teenage world with a magical twist.
• Call to adventure: Check. Regular teenage girl wants in on that magic thing.
• Hero may ignore call...but she won't.
• Hero crosses threshold into a dark world: Check. Girl realizes that magic has a price.
  

DOORWAY OF NO RETURN: Lead is thrust into main conflict in a way that keeps him there.

• Maybe. Kinda. My girl becomes determined to participate in magic in order to help someone else, and she's not going to give up and forget about this goal. So, yeah, I've got a doorway. Sorta.
  

So onto the real work.

I've got some vague ideas for Act II, the second doorway, and Act III. But they are very vague. I'm having the most trouble, I think, with Act II--various encounters with forces of darkness. I kinda-sorta know that the girls is going to be gradually exposed to darker and darker magic, but how I'll show that...that's where I'm lost.

Even if this hasn't completely solved my writer's block, it has at least helped me identify what I need to focus on. I've got my heroine a good third of the way through the journey--I've just got to figure out how to torture her and raise the stakes a bit more :)

Revising and Outlining

Seems like everyone's doing it now. All of my critique group is in the midst of it, and many of the writers on the blogs I read are doing it, too.

After eating gallons of chicken noodle soup and finally starting to feel better, I've turned my thoughts to revising as well. For my finished ms., The Red Thread, it's just a matter of work. But in my current WIP, I'm stuck at about page 80.

After reading about outlining from hipwritermama, and seeing PJ Hoover's Hero's Journey outline that she used, I decided that the only way for me to become unstuck was to try out an outline.

I've not done an outline since my second ms. I used to outline everything...but then I found out that the thing I like about writing is discovering what happens to my characters...and if I outline, I figure it out without writing it...so then I don't write it.

But I'm hoping that a looser strategy than point A leads to point B leads to point C will enable me to think through this writer's block without making me bored with my own story.

Here's hoping!

sick

blegh. flu for the past four days. so sick, not only do i miss work (yay!) but i've not been able to string together a coherent thought.

i'm going to crawl back into bed now.

Getting it right...

I haven't a clue who said it, but I remember reading somewhere that when dealing with SF or fantasy, you've got to show differences instead of tell them, i.e. say the door slid open with a whoosh instead of saying that the electronic door opened. It comes down to presenting the details as common, every day facts instead of announcing how brilliant and clever you are with description that, if the world was real, would not be necessary at all.

I kept that in mind with my most recent revisions. I gave the fantasy world a small, red sun and told how the whole planet is smaller.

Then I stopped. What if a small red sun means the sun's about to go supernova or a smaller planet means the gravity's all whack? I immediately emailed a physics expert friend and asked, and checked my email about a dozen times until she replied. Fortunately for me, a smaller sun would just be a little colder (and can be fixed by making the sun be closer to the planet) and a smaller planet would be OK as long as the core is denser. In order to be accurate, I feel as if I should at least mention the core, and my friend had a great idea in linking the core to the magic of the world.

Which just goes to show, you've got to do some research, even if you make the whole world up!

My new favorite quote about YA

From the Publisher Weekly's "Think Future" Panel Debate:

Writing for teens involves a stripped-down technique, Alexie said. “You tend to write more like Hemingway than Faulkner. More like Emily Dickinson than T.S. Eliot. It’s not a matter of more complex thoughts, but the number of adverbs and adjectives. In the adult world, the number of adverbs and adjectives can be confused with great writing.” Martin put it another way: “Teen books are like adult books, without all the bullshit.”

Naming Magic

As I revise The Red Thread, I put some serious thought into naming magic. This was also a topic of much debate in my critique group. Some felt that magic is magic is magic and should not be renamed to be anything else. Some felt that there is a fine distinction between, for example, magic and magyk. I believe magic can--and in some cases, should--be renamed.

There is, to me, a difference between fairy and faerie. I know faerie is just a twisted spelling on fairy, but it seems more grown up to me. I associate fairy with Tinkerbell and fairy tales; I associate faerie with darker stories like Wicked Lovely or Tithe.

Likewise, I see a difference between magic and magyk. Different spelling, but different connotation, too. Magic makes me think of men in capes sawing women. Magic seems fake to me. In fact, the only time I've ever liked "magic" was in Harry Potter...where spells with unique names take precedence over the word "magic."

In my story, I used alchemy because I was going for a similar idea as Full Metal Alchemist, where magic has a price--there has to be an exchange (for example, of elements) to make it work. This is crucial to the story, because what Chloe doesn't know is that there was an exchange involved with her. So I have a specific set of rules for my magic--you have to exchange something for something else. You can't just wave a wand a poof! it happens.

Technically, it is still magic. I'm going to argue that magic in Baloria is very similar to science. That's where the "scimancy" word came up for me. If I use the word magic, I'm going to have Bo explain how magic = science in their world.

But...the term does not appeal to me. When I hear "magic" I think of easy, wave your wand stuff, and I don't want that connotation. The lesson Chloe must learn is that everything has a price. There is no one simple, easy answer.

And there is no one simple, easy name for magic.

Caring

I've decided that the single most important issue in writing is making the reader care. It's not something I've put a lot of thought into, to be honest. It came about through working in my critique group.

I've never worked in a crit group before...and boy, do I wish I'd started sooner. I don't know why I didn't before. Guess I couldn't really think of how to find one, and didn't bother looking to hard for one. As it is, Wunderkin sort of fell in my lap, and nothing--not my mama saying nice things about my writing, not my college professor saying mean things about it--nothing has been as beneficial as swapping 50 pages with 5 other people of all ages and tastes and seeing what they think.

I sent them Babbletongue first. I've had issues--it's a pretty unique, creative idea, but people either love or hate the MC, Mina. My crit group was mostly on the hate side--they didn't "get" why Mina was acting the way they did. When my turn came around again a month later, I sent the first fifty of The Red Thread. They had trouble with the in media res beginning.

To be honest, though, I didn't really get what was wrong with my writing, until I started analyzing theirs. I'd read one of their works and write in a comment--"Why's this character acting this way?" or "This is too random!" or "I hate this character!" These characters were doing such random things for no apparent reason...and when things happened to them, I didn't care one bit!

...and then I realized what was wrong my characters. I had them doing random things for no apparent reason and had yet to realize that the reason was because I'd not made my reader care yet. This may be something all writers struggle with, I don't know. For me, I knew my characters, I cared about them, I knew why they acted the way they did. But I forgot about making the reader care. I forgot that just because they were on paper, they weren't alive. I had to show my reader what made my character special, or they would never care what happened to her, never understand why she acted--or didn't.

My problem was that I focused on the action of the plot (I love a fast pace), but I let the characters be left behind. It's just as easy to lose readers by focusing on the characters and ignoring the plot. This isn't really an issue of character or plot--it's an issue of creating sympathy--or at least empathy--within the reader for something in the text. Whether the reader cares about what will happen or cares about the character, the important thing is that the reader cares.

Pitching

Inspired by the workshops by Kristin Nelson on Pub Rants, I challenged my crit group to come up with a new pitch for their books, something that could be the back cover copy when their book gets published. Of course, that meant I had to do one for mine, too. Here it is...and I like it so much, I might put it into my new querries...

When Chloe gets sucked out of her normal teenage life in America and lands in a magical world where monsters are real but indoor plumbing isn't, she has no idea that the biggest challenge she'll face isn't getting home: it's convincing her brother to leave behind the addicting magic of the new world and come home with her.

There's way too many complications in this new world for Chloe. The knight she's falling in love with is a berserker who goes mad with bloodlust—and is in love with someone else. The Prophet Monk whose power in magic may be the key to sending her home is an eight-year-old smart mouthed boy. And her brother, who should be the one person in this new world she can trust, has joined an evil demon lord. As Chloe begins to see eerie connections between this new world and Earth, she realizes that sometimes you can't save the people you love...especially if they don't want to be saved.

Selling what you advertise

I'm reading a book right now based solely on an editor's recommendation on her blog. I respect the editor and her tastes.

But I wish the book was what I thought it was.

I blame marketing. I'm not going to list the book here, because the way I see it, it's not the author's fault its marketing is misleading. I don't hate the book, I hate the way it was marketed.

So, here's how it got sold to me. A juvenile love story. On the cover, lots of bright colors like pink and yellow; a girl in very fashionable clothes, fashionable in that new retro-hippie but still super-cool way. On the back cover copy, a description of how two kids maybe sorta fall in love.

So I'm thinking, this is just a cute, modern love story, right?

Wrong. Oh, so wrong.

It's Southern. REALLY, really Southern. I'm from the South. I teach in a school where there are goats. There's a whole farming thing at my school. My closest neighbor is a cow. I was raised in the Appalachian mountains, I went crawfishin' down at the creek as a young 'un, and I know the proper way to spell y'all.

This book is more Southern than me.

I wouldn't mind, if the book had been marketed as Southern. It doesn't look Southern, it doesn't sound Southern on the back cover copy. And, to be honest, it sounds too Southern in the text...to me, it sounds like a gross exaggeration of the South, like redneck jokes. The kids talk like my granny used to talk (yes, I called her granny. I told you I was from the South). The kids in the story are obsessed with a sausage festival, go to a school with combined classes, and one kid has a leg brace. It sounds like a story from the deep South...in the 1950s. You know, with polio and stuff (hence the leg brace). Southern kids today do not want to associate themselves with the South, not this much. There are Goths and emos and yes, even scene kids at my Southern school, right next to the goats. There are not kids in leg braces saying things like "them skeeters are havin' a sit-down dinner on my back, let's go to da sausage festival y'all."

So, basically, that's how a pink and yellow book that claimed to be a romance novel for kids ruined a perfectly good Southern historical novel. If the book hadn't tried to dress up as something it wasn't, I might actually have liked it.

An agent's tributes to writers

Just when you think agents are really just little devils who torture writers by poking pitchforks in their queries....an agent comes along with something like this. That makes me feel like I might have a chance...and it makes me wish Janet Reid rep'd YA!

Killing my Darlings

The big changes--fixing the POV, adding pages more of description...that was easy. Then I got to the part in my story, The Red Thread, where Heath kills the dragon and "a rainbow of black blood pours over him."

And everyone--everyone--in my critique group hated it.

I can see why. I wrote "rainbow" as an arc, but everyone read it as colors. It doesn't make sense. But it still feels so beautiful, so poetic to me.

But I cut it.

I finally understand that old quote about killing your darlings. I slashed away phrase, hacked off whole paragraphs, massacred pages...but this paper-cut of an adjective hurts worse than any of the rest!

*sigh* I haven't got the heart to edit any more tonight!

Inspiration

I'm going to post more on my favorite books like I said I would, soon, but...

I've got a lot of irons in the fire now. A manuscript revised by an editor that I'm shopping around. Another manuscript I'm working on revising. And a work in progress that I can't get out of my head.

Thing is, I'm loving revising right now! I usually hate revising, but this time around, I'm actually enjoying myself. I think it's because of my new critique group. The little comments--both good and bad--have been very inspiring. One comment from a critiquer about a voice sparked a whole new page of text...another about motivation made me cut two pages. A plea for more description of the scenery gave me a flash of inspiration to add a little bit of foreshadow to the background. A comment about a character's reaction made me explore her thoughts for a whole new paragraph.

When I revised before, I paid a sharp eye to grammar (I am an English teacher, after all) and consistency, but I had trouble identifying my own plot problems--I know how my characters feel/think/act, why doesn't everyone else?! Seeing my work through others' eyes has helped me see new ways to improve it...and helped me be so much more creative and happy with the finished product.

Hold Up!

I'd intended to right out a few more of my favorite things...and add a few more books to the list (how could I have left you out, Harry Potter?!)...

...but for once, I'm actually enjoying doing a revision on my work, and I'd better not stop the muse now!

A few of my favorite things...

It started off as a simple idea. Add a list of my favorite books to my blog. A lot of the author/agent/editor blogs I read do the same thing, so why not me?

So I go check out my 3 floor-to-ceiling bookshelves.

How to pick? I limited myself to ten...but which ten?! Should I only have YA? Just fantasy? What about other books that influenced me?! There were too many to count...so I went to the old stand-by. If I could only have ten (or, er, eleven) books for the rest of my life, which would they be (and I cheated, haha, and chose several book series)?

1. Chronicles of Narnia, by CS Lewis. As I said yesterday, this is the most influential set of books I've ever read. They changed me--they made me want to create similar books as a writer, want to explore literature professionally as an English student, want to show others the power of literature as a teacher, and want to make myself a better person as a Christian.

2. The Hero and the Crown, by Robin McKinley. I saw the move Becoming Jane when it came out. In it, James McAvoy tries to explain to Jane why he did what he did, and his blue eyes shone while his lips quivered an inaudible "please." I wept. That was a moving scene, and image I cannot forget....but still, not as powerful as when Aerin meets her father after fighting the dragon and her father sees just how damaged she is after saving the kingdom.

3. The Enchanted Forest Chronicles, by Patricia Wrede. They're hilarious. They challenge the norm. They're just pure entertainment, brilliantly done.

4. A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeline L'Engle. Another influential book, found shortly after reading Narnia as a child. I don't like them for the same reason why everyone else does--I like the possibilities that L'Engle doesn't write about. The subtle hint of growing love between Meg and Calvin. The power in Charles Wallace. The possibilities presented by a world where tesseracts are real. This book was one of the first that made me wonder about what wasn't written...and inspired me to start writing my own.

5. King Lear, Shakespeare. I wouldn't be a nerd without love of Shakespeare. But Lear's the best. I read it in college, and immediately thought of the old Appalachian tale "Like Meat Loves Salt," a Grandfather tale I'd loved as a girl and how I always interpreted real love to be. Love is more than just male and female, and Lear and Cornelia (even her sisters) show many different aspects of the power of love. That, and the crazy-guy scene is just great!

...read on tomorrow for the rest of the list!

Religion in Books

I am considering submitting Babbletongue to a Christian agent (not an agent who's Christian, but an agent who reps only Christian works, obviously).

I'm worried that she won't think it "Christian enough." All of my works are Christian, although none of them are overtly so. CS Lewis changed my life in more ways than one. Because he wrote a story within a story, I realized that literature is fun and intriguing, and part of my life became dedicated at a very early age to the exploration of books...which lead to a career as an English teacher and a soon-to-be (notice the hope?) career as a published author. More importantly, it helped me understand more than any sermon or pamphlet ever could about the real meaning of Christ's sacrifice, and the love He had for us despite our sin. I have made it my life's endeavor to emulate not his work, but the feeling he evoked in me because of his work.

...which is saying something, considering my heroine in Babbletongue is a snarky girl who kicks cats.

But the correlation is there. In Babbletongue, Mina learns about True Names (the soul) and their importance. She learns about how important it is to protect your soul from temptation. That power isn't as great as truth. That loving someone can mean letting go. That the best decisions in life are the hardest...and often involve sacrifice.

That a snarky girl who kicks cats can still have a Christian life.

Other Books...and TV, too

Janet Reid pointed out this awesome quote:

If authors have to write a half a million words before getting published,
I'd venture they might have to read ten million.
--Julie Kramer, Stalking Susan

I think that reading is an integral part of writing. I've already blogged about why I keep on top of my genre, but I think it's important to branch out into other genres. I've found, when I read books in my genre, I tend to be focused on story, and if I'm not, I'm focused on genre-specific craft (i.e. what new twist is there to the genre). With other books, I can learn more about more general craft. For example, I'm currently reading The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult. It's brilliant, as is most of her work. But, since I'm working on revising POV and voice, I noticed how wonderfully she crafted the POV switches.

But if Julie Kramer says I need ten million words, then I'd like to add that TV counts! I know TV makes us lazy, but there're still some shows out there that inspire and focus on story. My new favorite show is Eli Stone. It's the best thing I've seen on television in a long time...it's a borderline favorite. This show crafts a story with comedy, tragedy, and an important message all at once! If I can write something that can make my readers laugh and cry as quickly as I do for an episode of Eli Stone, then I will know that I've made it as a writer.

Loving Your Profession

My day job is as a teacher. I enjoy my job. I work with teens and am still young enough to relate to them (I'm only a decade older than they are; many of them have brothers/sisters around my age). Anyway, I like English and I enjoy my job. I basically spend all day talking about literature and writing and helping others find the joy in it that I do.

But here's the thing. I enjoy my job...but I don't love it. Not the way I love writing.

I realized this because I am having to work closely with a new teacher, helping her to get the hang of things. Within five minutes of my meeting with her, in the middle of me suggesting lesson plan ideas for African literature, she burst out crying.

Me, I don't handle tears well.

But I realized, to her, she's in a job she loves. It's not working out for her, and that's driving her crazy. She can't stand the fact that she's not inspiring the kids and they don't listen to her and that they (honestly) think of her as a bit of a joke. She's miserable...not just because she's working with kids who are making her miserable, but because the job she loves, the job she wants, the profession she wishes to be a part of...it's not working for her.

Teaching isn't that way for me. I enjoy it, but I could quit tomorrow and have few regrets. I've never cried over the job.

But I've cried over writing.

That's the difference between a profession you can do and a profession you long for. I'm a better teacher than this girl is--I maintain my professionalism and I'm excellent at what I do. I'm better because I don't care about it as much as she does. But that's the same thing that makes me a worse writer. Because I long for a profession at writing, because that is what I care about more than anything else...I'm not as good at it. I'm too emotionally attached sometimes. I have to work harder because I care more.

But if that just means that I work harder, and more, and with more care on the thing I love to do most...then it's worth it.

Inverting the Cliche

I was reading a contemporary review of ET when the author of the blog mentions this:

"Invert the cliche" is Bob Dylan's advice to the writer. ... If you're making a flying saucer movie, make the saucer-men friendly. If you're making a WWII movie, take the most irreverent approach possible to the war and its causes. If you're making a haunted house movie, make the house an anonymous suburban tract house. ... In the case of E.T., if you're making a movie about contact with an alien, start by telling the story from the alien's point of view.

Which is sound advice for a writer. Inverting the cliche...taking what is common and twisting the idea into something unique. It's something I've striven to do in my writing for many years. Whether or not I've achieved that goal...we'll see. But in Babbletongue, I made the "normal girl saves the universe" less of a cliche by adding in a desire--a cure for her grandmother's Alzheimer's--that is unachievable for the heroine. It's not that there's no happy ending...it's just that there's no cure, and that's life. Also, I added in a blue penguin. Bit random, that. In The Red Thread, the heroine's brother turns to the side of evil to feed an addiction that is paralleled to drug abuse in the real world. It's not preachy--as a sister to someone who died of an overdose, I don't intend to preach but to show reality.

So there you have it. If I've succeeded in my job as a writer, I've inverted the cliche. If not, I've simply got to keep trying.

Oh, crap!

Of course, after I send a requested partial out to an agent, I have a flash of inspiration to add in another scene in Babbletongue that shows more of Mina's past in the first chapter and shows how she was using her power without realizing it in order to get her strange living conditions. I explain later, around page 70 or so, but it will work so much better sooner on.

Just when you think you've got something polished to perfection, there's always something new to add!

An ID Badge of Professionalism

I wish there was some way to let editors and agents know that you're a serious writer. I know, the writing is what counts, and a serious writer is willing to invest the time to make the writing and professionalism be what matters most. On the other hand, it would be wonderful if there was a secret code or symbol or handshake or something that would bump us up from the rest.

On thing I've noticed is that if you let others know you're a writer, then there are all kinds of hidden writers that come to you. People who've always thought of writing that one book, or who have a great idea for a novel if they just had the time, or who expect to make it a second career after retirement or during the summer or something. Sometimes they even write those books (thanks NaNoWriMo)...and then the slush pile at agency and publishing houses are filled with crap from people who think that because they've written a book, it deserves to be published because, you know, it's a book. Doesn't matter if it's good or not, it's written.

I have to admit, I used to be that person. I thought the hard part was the writing. But since I've been in this publishing game for awhile, and kept track of publishing news, and learned more about the business and about writing, I wish there was some way to separate myself from the casual writers who don't really know what they're doing, to the people who are really trying to be published and have a fairly decent idea of what it takes to be published and are willing to go the extra mile to get their book publishable. I've wondered, in going over some of my really nice rejections, that if the agent knew that I would be perfectly happy and willing to make revisions and work with them and not be that psycho who gets affronted when you insult her "baby," if that agent would have considered me more seriously. If there was a badge or identification card or something to prove I'm a serious writer...would an agent be more willing to sign on an author they knew needed some tweaking, but was willing to do what it took to get their manuscript better? I've tried hard to perfect my manuscript, and it's evolved since I first wrote it, but I know that a professional would have a better idea of how to make it even better...if the professional only knew how willing I was to do that.

There needs to be something to separate those who care and work from those casual writers...if only!

Revisions, revisions, revisions

Still revising. I'm pretty sure revisions will be going on until the book is published...and even then, probably some more revisions.

For the first time, though, I'm really enjoying revisions. I think it's because--due to a couple of contests that tied my manuscript up--I've been a little detached from my work. Coming back to it now, it's a bit easier to slaughter my babies with my mighty red pen. The comments from my critique group are great and really on point, and coming back to the ms. after so long has helped me see the work more as a whole in a visual, holistic way and helped me to develop a better organization for the ms.

Of course, this means endless work, no sleep, and my husband better not even mention the fact I've not done dishes in a week...but it also means a better book, so it's worth it.

...and this is how I want a reader to feel

Awhile ago, I posted how I wished an editor would think of my book. This is how I wish I could move a reader....

The Problem with Revisions

The Red Thread is currently going through my critique group, and already their comments are so spot-on that I can tell that I'm going to have to do some heavy revisions, especially to the first chapter, where I've got some POV problems.

I dislike revisions in general, just because now I'm working with a book where I know the ending and usually (as in this case) I've already started another book where I don't know the ending and cannot wait to finish it and see how it is. Problem is, I've got some new great ideas of how to revise The Red Thread, and now I want to do both at the same time! Day-job, schmay-job...I wish I could spend half the day working on The Red Thread and the other half working on the new WIP! Right now it feels as if my brain is split in half--part thinking about how to revise The Red Thread (I came up with an entirely new opener last night, close to midnight), and part still trying to puzzle through the problem I've given my kids in the new WIP.

Maybe revisions are good for me right now...bit stuck on that problem in the WIP...

Revisions

Blegh. Blegh, blegh, blegh! I dun wanna revise! I wanna write a new story!!!

OK, whine over.

(but writing's just so much more fun than revising!)

SCBWI

I joined the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators earlier this year. There were several reasons for this. Many authors said it was helpful, a few agents listed it as a requirement for submission, and this seemed to be the only organization that was consistently, across-the-board, considered to be a mark of professionalism in writing.

I've got mixed reviews since joining though. Some of the printed information is brilliant...some of it seems rather obvious or inapplicable to me. I can take that with a grain of salt--if you're trying to please everyone, there's got to be compromise. It just seems to me to be a little over salted by this point. The website design is great! ...but there's hardly ever any good new information that I can find. There's a message board for writers across the nation! ...but no one's on it (look at the log dates--there's months between posts in threads). The state chapter seems very active! ...but not in my area (the active part is a 4 hour drive for me, from the mountains to the center of the state).

So at this point, I'm still in the trial stage of SCBWI. I'm considering a national workshop, maybe next year, when I'm more ready to present my novel. I'm hoping that there will be more local stuff for me, or at least something within a 2 hour drive. If nothing else, the publications have kept me up to date on the publishing world, and it's always good to be a part of a professional organization.

Besides which, I have to consider my position--I live in a rural area, so I have to expect to drive to others to get what I need.

Correction

In my previous post, I talked about Amazon creating a monopoly on ebooks...I meant, self-pubbed books. I have no idea why I spaced on that one.

...and also...

A PS to my previous post on new technologies.... I am thrilled about this: vending machines for books! This is what I'm talking about... this is the kind of change and innovation in technology and means of publishing and distributing that I want! Now if they could only add easy jump points in bookstores for me to download a book*....ah, perfection.


*In my mind, I'm imagining bookshelves that display the hard copy of a book. I can buy the hard copy if I want, but I could also plug my iPod directly into the shelf and dl the book instead, if I'd rather do it that way. Wouldn't that be amazing?!

The Changing Publishing Industry

Over on Nathan Bransford's blog, he talks about a recent change in a publishing house:

Some big news afoot in the land of publishing, as Hyperion founding publisher Bob Miller is embarking on a project that is so futuristic and groundbreaking it just may involve flying cars and robot vacuum cleaners. Miller is moving over to HarperCollins to launch a publishing group that will involve a profit-sharing model for compensating authors rather than the advance/royalties model, and will attempt to find new avenues for books in electronic media.

And, of course, SCBWI (at least the Carolina branch) is up in arms over Amazon's upcoming policy about only allowing their inhouse e-publisher sell e-books on Amazon (as opposed to allowing any e-pub sell e-books via their site). This move will obviously increase profit for Amazon's e-pubilisher, BookSurge, but at the same time does seem as if Amazon is dressing up in a little suit and top-hot in order to collect $200 every time they pass "Go."

All of this is indicative of the changing face of publishing. Publishing is going to change--perhaps not as rapidly as the music industry has had to (Napster and iTunes speeded that up nicely), but there will be change. Look how efficient the audiobooks feature is in iPod. Look at the advancements and obvious interests in Kindle and other e-readers. Heck, just look at how thin and portable laptops are--to say nothing of internet capable phones. Despite what the educational and publishing professionals are saying, people read. We just read differently. I've listened to the Harry Potter books on my iPod more than I've read them. I've purchased e-books and enjoyed them. I read blogs instead of newspapers or magazines. The method is different, but I don't read less than before...in fact, I probably read more.

Which is why we have to change the way we market and sell in the publishing industry. While I do think that Amazon is being a bit monopolisitc (it's my blog, I can make up my own words!), I do think Miller's idea of "profit sharing mode" (which does sound like "no advance, but bigger royalities") is at least worth a try, and I applaud any effort that explores new methods to publishing.

As a teacher of teens, I see it all the time. They're one step ahead of adults as to the next big thing. If publishing professionals are more willing to explore different avenues of publishing (online, electronically, even via cell phones or new forms of media), then the publishing industry will grow and change--and may one day rise to the point of appreciation that is currently being enjoyed by the music industry. Yes, music can be downloaded illegally...but I don't see how that's had a negative effect on music labels, especially now that musicians are releasing their music directly to the public--and profiting from it. For real change, publishing will need to follow in the music industry's footsteps: develop technology to support the changing times (like a book version of the iPod--perhaps the Kindle), develop new ways to publish (ebooks, audiobooks...something new?), develop easier access to release new published items (like a publishing version of iTunes)...and even if there is a Napster-style theft that crops up, more profits--and more audience--will roll in.

Further Revisions on Queries

I posted my new query (the longer version) on my critique group's website. I'm going to continue to revise based on suggestions. So far, the biggest problem I have is with the end of the first paragraph.

Soula, one of the crit group members, pointed out that it's unclear that the knight and berserker are the same. So, revise to this:

Sixteen-year-old Chloe felt no shame about sitting in the middle of the street, crying. Wouldn’t anyone who was plopped naked into a world where monsters are real and indoor plumbing isn’t? The Red Thread, a 70,000 word YA Fantasy for teen girls, shows what happens to Chloe when she's jerked abruptly out of her modern New York life and into a world where she must challenge all she used to believe in. On her search to save a brother who doesn’t want to be saved, Chloe meets with a knight who tends to go mad with bloodlust at the most inconvenient times. She finds herself falling in love with him, but he's more focused on saving a kidnapped princess. In the end, Chloe discovers that in order to have the life she wants, she must learn to accept the knight for who he is, and to do all she can to change her brother.

I believe you'd like The Red Thread because of your work with _____. The Red Thread is funny and entertaining, but there is a serious undertone that would appeal to modern teens: a connection is made between Chloe's brother's magic use in the new world and his drug use in his old one.

McQuery

Nathan Bransford recently blogged on the simplest form of a query letter. His outline is this:

Dear [Agent name],

I chose to submit to you because of your wonderful taste in [genre], and because you [personalized tidbit about agent].

[protagonist name] is a [description of protagonist] living in [setting]. But when [complicating incident], [protagonist name] must [protagonist's quest] and [verb] [villain] in order to [protagonist's goal].

[title] is a [word count] work of [genre]. I am the author of [author's credits (optional)], and this is my first novel.

Thank you for your time, and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Best wishes,
[your name]

That would make my query look like this:

Dear [Agent name],

I chose to submit to you because of your wonderful taste in YA Fantasy, and because you [personalized tidbit about agent].

Chloe is a normal teenager living in New York. But when she is sucked out of her world into another, Chloe must work with a knight who considered a monster by his peers because of a disease and fight a demon lord in order to go home and save her brother who has joined the demon lord's side.

The Red Thread is a 70,000 word YA fantasy for teenage girls. This is my first novel.

Thank you for your time, and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Best wishes,



...So, is that better than my other one?

Evaluating Critiques

Recently, I submitted my pitch for The Red Thread on the BookEnds pitch critique. The agent wasn't a YA agent, but she had great comments:

The Orginal Pitch:
YA Fantasy, THE RED THREAD.
There is a perfect good reason for sixteen year old Chloe to be in the middle of the street, crying, and naked. You would be to if you (but not your clothes) were plopped into a world where monsters are real and indoor plumbing isn't.

The knight in shining armor Chloe thought would save her turns out to be a berserker who tends to go mad with bloodlust at the most inconvenient times. The knight, Heath, is on a quest to save a kidnapped princess and defeat an evil tyrant. After Chloe joins Heath, she learns that the enemy Heath is fighting is linked to her own brother. In THE RED THREAD, Chloe must figure out how she can save her brother, even if he doesn't want to be saved, and how far she is willing to go for the knight she's falling in love with...even if he doesn't love her back.

Jessica Faust, Literary Agent: Critique:
Too long and a little messy. It’s definitely a case of trying to be too clever and give too much information all at the same time. I’m not a big fan of pitches (or books) that talk to the reader. In other words, I don’t like the phrasing “there is a perfect(ly?) good reason . . .” I think I would like it better if it was something more along the lines of, "Sixteen-year-old Chloe felt no shame about standing in the middle of the street crying. Wouldn’t anyone who was plopped naked into a world where monsters are real and indoor plumbing isn’t? On the search to save a brother who doesn’t want to be saved, Chloe meets with a berserker who tends to go mad with bloodlust at the most inconvenient times and finds herself falling in love with a knight who is more focused on saving a kidnapped princess . . ." (you need one final closer here). And then I think you’ve got it. This one is close, very close, and I suspect any good YA agent would request at least a partial.

My Thoughts on Jessica's Crit:
I guess here it is long and messy. Generally, I give one sentence or so in the opener of my letter to capture the agent's interest. So that first paragraph would really be there as the hook, I'd follow that up with info on the book (genre, length, etc.) and then the middle paragraph of my query would be that last one. I'd never thought about the whole tone of the pitch that Jessica mentions, so I'm really glad she did.

Revised pitch:
Actually, I was going to try to be creative and completely redo it, but I really like the way Jessica's got it structured at the beginning...so...I think I'm going to use it. Here's how I'd do t for a query:

Dear Agent,

Sixteen-year-old Chloe felt no shame about sitting in the middle of the street, crying. Wouldn’t anyone who was plopped naked into a world where monsters are real and indoor plumbing isn’t? The Red Thread, a 70,000 word YA Fantasy for teen girls, shows what happens to Chloe when she's jerked abruptly out of her modern New York life and into a world where she must challenge all she used to believe in. On the search to save a brother who doesn’t want to be saved, Chloe meets with a berserker who tends to go mad with bloodlust at the most inconvenient times and finds herself falling in love with a knight who is more focused on saving a kidnapped princess. In the end, Chloe discovers that in order to have the life she wants, she must learn to accept one for who he is, and to do all she can to change the other.

I believe you'd like The Red Thread because of your work with _____. The Red Thread is funny and entertaining, but there is a serious undertone that would appeal to modern teens: a connection is made between Chloe's brother's magic use in the new world and his drug use in his old one.

I am currently a high school English teacher and a working writer. This is my first novel. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,
Beth Revis

Keeping it Fresh

My last post on seeking out new YA works to check out the "freshness" of the genre prompted me to think about how I try to keep my own work fresh. It's a difficult thing to do; I love more of the older writers (Lewis, Adams) and even the more contemporary works that I like are more than a decade old (McKinley, Wrede). Even when dealing with the same author--like Robin McKinley or Gail Carson Levine--I like the early stuff better than the new stuff (The Hero and the Crown and Ella Enchanted were miles better than Sunshine or Fairest).

So what to do? First, I make an effort to focus on characterization. Keeping my characters fresh helps keeps the whole work fresh. For example, the Pevensie children are much different from children from this age. Not just in the obvious, like fashion and technology, but also in attitude. The Pevensie children would never curse, and the comedy (and I'll admit there is little in Narnia) is subtle, not sarcastic. So injecting my characters with modern attitudes makes the entire book more modern. This applies even to period works. My most recently finished book, The Red Thread, takes place, for most of the time, in a medieval-style alternative world. But the characters from that world don't talk with thees and thous. Instead, they talk in as modern a voice as the two characters from New York--and I don't see a fallacy in this. My characters didn't really go back in time, and even then, it's more important in YA to have the tone right than the words, if that makes sense.

In keeping my work fresh, I also make an effort to avoid the same ol', same ol'. This has led me into trouble before--Babbletongue is probably too different to be marketable at this time. But at least it's different. And The Red Thread may have a typical adventure of girl falling through portal into a world of knights in shining armor, but the overall plot is about her relationship with her drug-addicted brother. This is the sort of thing where I make a distinction. After all, Lucy may have had trouble with Edmund, but Edmund's drug was just Turkish Delight.

If Only...

It is my dream to one day have an editor who feels like this about my work.

Inspirations...of the writerly kind

One of the most important things that a writer must do to be a writer is read (the other is write. In my opinion, that's basically it.). I am constantly shocked by my friends who are "writers" who do not read the books in the genre they write in. For example, I have a friend who is convinced that her life story would make a good memoir. Because people just love to have a real slice of Southern American life! But there's nothing really unusual about her life, and she has no real concept of the memoir genre. She's read one--count 'em, one--memoir in her life, and it was a memoir written about fifty years ago that has nothing to do with Southern America.

Furthermore, I also feel it is important to have not only the classics of a genre, but also the newest works. In my area, YA Fantasy, I see too often aspiring writers who jump to Narnia as a fav, without thinking of more recent books. I have to admit, I'm guilty of that, too...Narnia is my favorite books, ever. But I have to resist the temptation to read and reread them over and over again (as well as resist the temptation to emulate them). I make a conscious effort to buy new books from established authors (like Fairest by Gail Carson Levine) and new books from new authors (like The Princess and the Hound by Mette Ivie Harrison). In reading these, I don't look for trends or try to analyze what the market is/will be...I don't see how that would really help me. Instead, I try to see how these authors are keeping the YA Fantasy genre fresh, because that is part of my goal as a writer.

Schedules

I wrote my first novel in college. I thought I was busy then, you know, between sleep, beer, and the occasional class.

I thought life would be so much easier after work began. When there was no more homework.

I was so stupid.

I work more now than I ever did in college, and my writing time competes with the few hours of sleep I need to live, to say nothing of dishes or dusting or laundry and the myriad of things I'm supposed to do as a housewife.

I remember hearing somewhere that JK Rowling said she finished her last Harry Potter books so quickly because she didn't clean her house for a year (*snort* like she doesn't have maids in the castle!). That's a daily reality for me, though. I get home at five, cook supper, eat, talk to my husband, get ready for my paying job the next day....and then I've got maybe an hour in which to choose: wash the dishes, watch TV, take a shower, or write. The time crunch has literally meant that some days I have to chose between hygiene and creativity.

And some nights, I smell.

When bathing is a luxury, when you're willing to eat out of Tupperware because the bowls are dirty....maybe that's the definition of a writer.

Writer's Block

Recently, I've been experiencing a bit of writer's block. Thing is, I've got a great concept for a novel, a new spin on YA fantasy that I think has never been done before. Putting it on paper...a whole other thing entirely. I have the idea, and the characters, but combining the two is killing me!

Some people walk away and leave it until inspiration hits, but I can't do it that way. I obsess...I think about it constantly; I don't feel right unless I'm at my computer at least staring at the screen.

Some people outline, but I can't do that either. If I know how the story ends (i.e. through an outline) I canNOT finish the book. I get bored with it! Half the fun of writing is figuring out how to tell the story and how it will end!!

For this novel and this case of writer's block, I'm still struggling. I do outline a bit--I know enough about my story to know the broad outcome (i.e. who lives, who dies--but not how). For this story, I've had to change around the plot so much I'm more confused--and anxious about--the ending than ever. I want to know what happens, because I have no idea! So I just stare at my screen, waiting to figure out my character's problems....

On Editors

From Meg Cabot's blog:

I get a lot of letters from aspiring authors asking if you HAVE to do what your editor tells you, and the answer is, yes, if you have a good editor, you pretty much do. Not only that, but if you have a good editor, you should WANT to.

These words mean a lot to me. When I first started seriously writing, I thought that since I wrote it, it was good enough. I thought that editors fixed grammar, that was all. I thought that the hardest part was just writing something long enough.

Then I wrote something long enough, and realized for it to be any good, I'd have to cut it down by half (or more)...and even then, it would take a shot of gin and a miracle to make it salable.

When I submitted my work for contests or critiques, I thought everyone who didn't instantly love it was jealous.

Ah, naivety.

I have actually learned since then. I've realized that if the reader doesn't "get it," it's my fault. That I don't have to take all advice, but I should at least consider it. And that if you find someone good at reading and critiquing--editor or otherwise--you really should be eager to change your work, because if you trust them, then you trust that they're making your work that much better.

A Review of Works in Progress

As far as I'm concerned, a ms. is a WIP until it's pub'd. (ooo, look at me with the abbreviations!)

My first pub-worthy WIP is a YA Fantasy called BABBLETONGUE. It's the closest to publishing as I've gotten so far, too; a Random House editor read and did a first round editing with it before backing out. I've got another completed ms., THE RED THREAD, and am currently working on a new project that isn't close to being finished yet.

WIP: BABBLETONGUE, YA Fantasy aimed at teen girls; 65k words

Synopsis: Fifteen-year-old Mina Hawthorne is blunt, temperamental, and has the housekeeping skills of the average frat boy. She could care less about a quest to find and capture an evil megalomaniac who threatens the universe, and a talking cat on her doorstep certainly isn't going to change her mind. However, when that talking cat informs Mina that she can speak a rare magical language--and that if she doesn't help the forces of good fight the evil Unnamer, she'll be placing her beloved grandmother in danger--well, that's enough to convince her to join the good side. That is, until she discovers that she can almost sympathize with the Unnamer's motives...and that he may be the only one who can cure her grandmother. Saving the universe just doesn't seem that important anymore.

Evaluation: This is the first thing I ever wrote worth publishing (something like the third book I wrote; but the others are under the bed, so they don't count, right? Right?). Anyway, it's different and funny, but it may be too different...not quite the thing for a break-out novel. I get lots of agent and editor nibbles from this one--lots of requests for partials and fulls, but I think it's ultimately turned down because it is a bit random (I was going for a Douglas Adams kind of humor) and it's certainly not a safe bet.

Status: On hold. After a close look at the first fifty pages from my crit group, I know I need to tone down the opener and focus on establishing the plot in a way that doesn't leave my readers banging their heads on the table. So this one is on hold, and will be edited and revised even more.

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WIP: THE RED THREAD, YA Fantasy, aimed at teen girls, about 70k words

Synopsis: In THE RED THREAD, sixteen year old Chloe has been unexpectedly dropped into a world where monsters are real and indoor plumbing isn't, and the knight in shining armor she thought would save her turns out to be a berserker who tends to go mad with bloodlust at the most inconvenient times. The knight, Heath, is on a quest to save a kidnapped princess and defeat an evil tyrant. Chloe joins Heath, but her fairytale perception of his world is skewed when she realizes that the enemy Heath is fighting is linked to her own brother. In THE RED THREAD, Chloe must figure out how she can save her brother, even if he doesn't want to be saved, and how far she is willing to go for the knight she's falling in love with...even if he doesn't love her back.

Evaluation: This book is, in my opinion, much more marketable than BABBLETONGUE. For one thing, I wrote it based on some of the positive comments that the editor at Random House said about BABBLETONGUE (i.e. she liked the will-they/won't-they romance, she liked the action). Also, I kept in mind what I'd learned about the market and what would sell when writing this one. It's not to say it's formulaic--far from it. I just kept a better mind of what readers would want, not just what I wanted in this one.

Status: After one more edit, this is the ms. that will go out on the query round next. I'm focusing on this one for the time being, as I do think it more marketable than BABBLETONGUE.

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WIP: THE AMNESIA DOOR

...wait and see for the rest!

Getting the ball rolling...

I posted this on my critique group's blog, The Wunderkin, but as that's a closed blog (and as I've got nothing here yet), I thought I'd add it here, too.

I was reading Pub Rants when I came across this: what an agent and editor think are tired YA fantasy themes. Essentially, you know you might have a tired YA fantasy theme when:

1. Your main protagonist is the “chosen one” and only he or she can save the world.

2. You have a lost magical amulet and that search alone is driving the story.

3. When your main protagonist is waking up and getting ready for the day in the opening chapter.

4. If you have to go through the portal to actually begin the story.

5. If your Mom & Dad are dead (and on top of that, they are dead wizards or something similar) that the protagonist must live up to.

This isn't that different from the cliches list, really... In fact, it got me thinking. When the cliche list came out, I was kinda mad. I mean, is it really that much of an issue to have a red-headed sidekick or an occasional eye-brow raise? But there's something about this list that struck a cord with me. When I think about my favorite YA fantasy books, either they're old (like Narnia) and follow the category, or they're new and don't. I guess the stuff above really is the stuff that's been done before, and we as writers need to challenge ourselves to find something new and entertaining to write that is different. Right now, I think my first ms. definitely falls under 1 (only she can save the universe!) and maybe number 4 (I do rely heavily on portals). And my other finished ms. absolutely requires number 4 (whole point of the book is that she falls into another world and wants out). However, my new work in progress has none of the above, in part because of a conscience effort on my part to NOT use any portals or make the kids be the saviors of the universe. Part of my problem is that I LOVE the old books that wrote that way (Narnia especially)...and I need to break away from emulating them.

Welcome to the Blog!

So...what's this thing? It's my new writer's blog. All the cool kids have one.

This is a place for me to muse about writing, share ideas, and develop myself professionally. It's also a way for me to write through writer's block sometimes. Writing is important, even if it's not on my latest work in progress, and if I can just write about, er, writing, then hopefully I'll be more practiced for when it comes time for me to really write on my novels.

So I know it's simple, a bit of a cliché, and the lay-out's tacky...but bear with me :)