Shayda Writes

Obligatory I'm-still-alive Post

2011-05-28T23:38:00.000-07:00

So yeah. I've been woefully absent from Bloggerland. Also, I wish I had something cool to say or some sweet blog series to introduce to you wonderful few who still take a peek at my blog now and again.

Buuuuut I don't. I do have some fun reading stats and recommendations, though! Here, I'll show you:

I've read:
28 novels so far this year,
8 of which were YA,
19 of which were MG, and
1 of which was a classic steampunk novel (Jules Verne, anyone?)

I've also read:
30 picture books and
1 chapter book

Favorite YA thus far?
Definitely ICE by Sarah Beth Durst. Beautiful. Everyone should read it.

Favorite MG?
THE GRAVEYARD BOOK. Neil Gaiman is a god among writers.

Favorite PB?
Uuugh. Just one? Because I have like ten from my childhood alone, including ALEXANDER AND THE TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE, NO GOOD, VERY BAD DAY. Neil Gaiman also gave THE GRAVEYARD BOOK a run for its money with INSTRUCTIONS, and I absolutely adored THE SECRET LIVES OF PRINCESSES.

But you want one. Okay. I'll give you one. It's teenie and tiny and gory and Gorey. It's awesome. Edward Gorey's GASHLYCRUMB TINIES. I love how macabre Gorey renders an innocent abecedarium. Pure literary heaven.

ALSO. I've been writing. You know, that thing we writers do. I'm usually open with my progress and word count--even though pretty much everyone can live happily without that information--but this project...I don't know.

This project is secret. I don't want to jinx it. I don't want to kick the hive or stir the cauldron or even breathe too loudly around it.

And that's kind of exciting. That's kind of cool. That's kind of how writing used to be, when I was a kid-writer and had no idea what I was doing. Sometimes it's invigorating to be a little scared.

What about you? Working on projects? Reading good books? If there's anyone still out there, let me know what you're up to! ;)

The List

2011-04-03T12:24:00.000-07:00

Part of my graduate work at VCFA involves lots and lots [and lots and lots and lots] of reading. Which is awesome! But as I enter the realm of mid-semester, I realize that I've read twenty-one picture and chapter books and eighteen MG/YA novels. These numbers grow daily.

And I'm losing track.

So I made two spreadsheets, one for each cluster of age groups. It's a great thing to do, especially if you're doing a reading challenge this year. My personal goal is to read at least one hundred novel-length titles this year. And, if you'll take a gander to the right of the screen, you'll see I've added a new feature: What I've Read This Year. (I'm pretty much a genius when it comes to naming things, as you can tell.)

Here, I'll continue to list all the books I've read, most recent at the top. As of this post, WITHER's perched on that top spot. Allow me to trip over myself as I can't recommend this book enough. Haunting, creepy, beautiful. Terrifying. Completely dashed my early bedtime plans--I stayed up until three because I had to finish it.

So. If for some reason, you're interested in seeing what I've been reading, check the sidebar. AND, if you're doing some crazy-awesome reading challenge this year, tell me about it! I want to see what you're reading.

Why Do You Write?

2011-03-17T20:40:00.000-07:00

I read an interview with Garth Nix years ago where he was asked why he wrote for young adults (this was in regards to SABRIEL). He said he didn't; he simply wrote the story that spoke to him. How it was categorized by the industry was circumstantial. He wrote what he wanted, and that stuck with me.

I identify myself as a children's and young adult writer, but I don't feel beholden to children or young adults to create something specifically for them. Rather, literature that speaks to children and young adults speaks to me, too.

It boils down to this: I want honesty. There is nothing more honest than a masterful children's or young adult book--or picture book, for that matter. When the writer is generous and the prose is open--no matter what style or tone or mood the book is written in--the literature just envelopes me.

I write for this. I write for honesty and immersion. I write what speaks to me. I write children's and young adult literature.

What about you? Why do you write? Do you identify yourself as a certain kind of writer?

Getting Noticed in the Slushpile

2011-03-08T23:33:00.000-08:00

After many weeks of trudging through the slushpile, I've gotten really good at recognizing the mechanics of what an agent is looking for when they're reading your query.

They're looking for:

1) A solid, concise query. 200-250 words. Maaaaybe a bit more. If it's totally necessary and engaging. But certainly no trimmings or trappings, or personal anecdotes. Personal anecdotes scream amateur. It's wonderful if you wrote your manuscript for your daughter, or parent, or what have you, but keep it to yourself. It's helpful to keep in mind that this is a business letter.

2) They want to see that you've followed their submission guidelines. Don't make it easy for an agent to reject you; you deserve their full consideration. If they ask for sample pages and you don't put the sample pages, chances are, unless they're completely enthralled by your query, that's a form rejection.

3) They want immediate reassurance that you know what you're doing in your sample pages. This can be broken down as follows:

Voice. A good one. One that gives the pages life and texture and compels the reader to keep reading.
Fresh writing. I've seen many sample pages where the writing is technically and mechanically proficient, but so stale and lusterless, I don't want to keep reading. This has a lot to do with voice. It also has a lot to do with
Avoiding cliches. This goes back to "jet-black hair" and the like. Purge your manuscript of cliched words, phrases, situations, characters, etc. Not only are cliches, well, cliche; they also send the reader the message that your prose as a whole, even outside of this project, isn't mature enough yet for publication.
No clutter. You know what I'm talking about. And we're all guilty of it--adverbs, darlings, sentence beginnings such as "I thought..." and "I felt...", when the sentence is just as strong (if not stronger) without them. This is a matter of purging. Of telling your story the most elegant, efficient way possible. You may think you need that darling adverb, but you don't.

Basically, present yourself like the awesomesauce you are. And having said that, if you've entered the realm of Query Hell, consider this: if you're getting requests for material, you're doing something right. Something brilliantly right. You may have bumps along the way--maybe your first 30 pages shine but the rest of your MS needs a little tough love, or something similar--but you deserve a serious pat on the back. And chocolate. And various feel-good things.

And sometimes, you can do everything right and still get a rejection. It's hard to know when this is happening, but if it is, don't take it personally. Your work is just not a good fit for that agent. But never fear; you'll find your literary soulmate!

Good luck to everyone! If you have any questions you'd like me to address regarding queries (that are in my realm of knowledge and jurisdiction), feel free to leave them in the comments or email me!

In Defense of Bella

2011-03-07T19:49:00.000-08:00

At risk of trodding on toes, I admit I’m not a TWILIGHT fan. I borrowed them from my mom, and after a battle with the first book (a stylist Ms. Meyer is NOT), finished the whole series. (For the record, I liked the birth scene. Finally, SOME BLOOD in a vampire novel.)

Writing and plot aside, the biggest complaint I see about these novels is as follows:

BELLA.

Common complaints:
-She’s spineless
-She has no personality
-Her life revolves around boys
-She lets Edward (and Jacob) control her
-SHE’S NOT A GOOD ROLE MODEL

Now, before I delve into the meat, I’m going to break off a bit on a tangent:

I was a precocious reader. Because I was a precocious reader, I went straight from THE ANIMORPHS to THE WHEEL OF TIME series. I totally skipped YA literature during my YA years. And, as most folks know, adult commercial fiction is, well, adult. Sexy, indulgent. Violent. Sometimes lurid and badly written. So, from the age of ten and through my teenage years, I was reading about all different kinds of folks doing all different kinds of things.

For example, I read Tanya Huff’s CHILD OF THE GROVE when I was about thirteen. Heroine: Crystal. Rockin’ hot bod. Princess. All-powerful.

Not really. She was irritating and reactionary. She never made anything happen. The closest thing to some proaction from Crystal was during dream-delirium induced by her nemesis Kraydak, where she nearly sleeps with the guy because he’s hawt. The novel is resolved via deus ex machina in which Crystal is only a conduit for a power that uses her.

Things like that.

An example I DON'T despise: One of my favorite novels, GONE WITH THE WIND (which I first read at age eleven), features one of the most brilliant unlikable female characters ever: Scarlett O’Hara. (Tangentially, I fangirl about her here.) Strong? Yes. Gorgeous? Yes.

Total conniving bitch? Hells YES. She is ruthless. She marries men she doesn’t love out of spite and for money. Her friends are disposable. She wishes Melanie—her sweet, brave, pure-hearted sister-in-law—were dead because Melanie is married to the man she wants to be with. She also revels in the ravishing a drunken Rhett gives her one bleak, effed-up night. In short, Scarlett is human--and far from the heroine people seem to want young girls to read about.

Any role models amongst these characters? Not really. "Age appropriate" for a teen reader? Probably not. But—and I’ll tip my hat towards Nora’s awesome post about sex in YA literature—my parents never censored what I read. And I’d like to think my psyche is marvelously intact (and, dare I say, enhanced?) after such a childhood.

Which brings me to my point: I read for story and character. Not for “role models”. A role model is a teaching tool, a crowbar in the thread of human experience. Nothing smacks of pedagogy to a young reader like a Role Model.

Hermione Granger is often brought up at this point in the argument. Let me be the first to say that I love Hermione. LOVE. HER. And yes, she’s a “good role model.” But she’s a character first and foremost. The fact that she’s brave and loyal and good and a freaking awesome genius are part of HER, not some didactic ploy to get twelve-year-old girls to do the Right Thing or approach life situations the Right Way. The fact that she’s someone we all admire is completely incidental.

So back to Bella. Yes, she’s spineless. Yes, she’s about as interesting as a crumb. Yes, she has no life because she’s dedicated her entire brain (not that there was much to begin with) and heart and soul to Edward. And yes, she arguably lets herself be controlled by said boys.

But that’s just who she is.

TWILIGHT isn’t trying to preach about how young girls should act around first loves, nor respond to controlling partners. It’s not trying to preach Mormonism or teen marriage or subsequent pregnancy.

TWILIGHT is just conveying a story. With characters. Maybe they’re stupid and useless; maybe they’re great. But whatever they are, they remain CHARACTERS.

Is Bella a great role model for young women? No. But she doesn’t have to be. And if there’s one thing I admire about Stephenie Meyer, it’s for sticking to her guns and letting her characters be who she knew them to be, rather than letting others dictate who they wanted them to be.

While I may not be fond of the series, I’m even less fond of this strange, insidious form of censorship we’ve got going on. Not every main female character has to be a role model. I think that’s vastly underestimating our readership; kids are smart. And I think reading about characters like Bella (or Scarlett, or Crystal) informs their humanness. They’re exposed to different types of women, women they can talk about amongst each other. Women they can puzzle out for themselves, and decide if they want to emulate her or not.

It’s not our job to pump out that Role Model character for kids to emulate; we’re writers. We’re about words and story and character, about intuition and studying the human condition. We’re about honesty and being generous to the reader, letting them draw their own conclusions about our stories and our characters.

So I think, when it comes to Bella, she deserves a little credit.

I HAVE RETURNED.

2011-02-17T21:00:00.000-08:00

It's been a long while. Awesomeness at VCFA, then mad scrambling to get that first packet completed. I've started a new project, am trying to write a picture book (so hard!), and I've started an internship with Agent Made-of-Win.

Now, I won't be sharing details about the agent, but I will definitely share random and sundry querying advice with you folks. Like so:

(1) I don't care how awesome a descriptor it is; "jet-black hair" is out. Do not use.

(2) If an agent doesn't represent picture books (or fantasy, or adult projects, or nonfiction, or whatever), they probably don't want to see a picture book query. Just a hunch.

(3) "Dear Agent" is the kiss of death.

(4) Grammar. Know it. Use it.

(5) I'm going to assume that you're querying your first novel. There are rare and notable exceptions, but usually it's your first. You're wasting space by including this line, and you don't even need to tell me. In fact, I don't want to know. La la la *ears plugged*.

(6) Be professional.

(7) Be brief.

(8) Best email subject heading: "Query: PROJECT".

Nothing earth-shattering, obviously. Just some food for thought. In other news, here's a challenge for you this week:

WRITE A PICTURE BOOK.

(I dare you.)

Inspiration versus Butt-in-Chair

2011-01-26T08:02:00.000-08:00

Everyone, please get thee to Nora's blog and check out this awesome post she's got on being a writer--even when inspiration eludes you.

WHATCHA THINK? Parents in Children's Lit

2011-01-24T08:32:00.000-08:00

A few months ago, there was a pretty big discussion about the dead/absent parent in children's literature. I want to know what you folks think. Are your main character's parents dead? Gone? Present but antagonistic? Or are they loving and supportive?

Nathan Bransford also posted this fabulous entry about the phenomenon of the dead/absent parent. I'm inclined to agree with him. When done well (i.e. the parents are dead/absent for a good reason and not because of lazy writing), I think the absent parent can be a very good thing; it can give direction and meaning to the emotional arc of the story (Harry Potter, anyone?) and sometimes begs the plot (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Oliver Twist).

So what are you doing with your MC's parents? Do you think the dead or absent parent is a cop-out?

VCFA!

2011-01-10T20:30:00.000-08:00

As most of you know, I'm working on my MFA at Vermont College of Fine Arts. I'm at my first ever residency, and it is seriously awesome. Things that make it awesome are as follows:

The faculty.

The low-residency setup.

Our residency schedule.

The people are awesome, the environment is so supportive, and we're all writing for children and young adults. It's just fantastic.

Another interesting addition is my cold-turkey Coke quit. I told myself I would not have Coke at residency, and I'm doing really well. But it was less about not having Coke and more about drinking water, so for a few days, I totally forgot about the fact that I drink Coke way too much.

So when the headaches started, I thought I was dying at first.

Needless to say, there's been some coffee-drinking, some pill-popping, and a lot of water-consuming.

I've also realized that my body starts to FREAK OUT when I don't snack between meals. I started shaking a while ago and thought, "Huh, that can't be good." Then I realized I was starving. So I have two extremely unhealthy snacks from the vending machine.

But again, aside from my oh-so-interesting bodily reaction to food and lack thereof, my time at VCFA is rapidly turning into something wonderful.

Retro Post: Character!

2011-01-04T21:52:00.000-08:00

I posted this almost exactly a year ago! Weird, huh? Anyway, here it is! Enjoy--and ignore my BRILLIANTLY ORANGE eyeshadow.

Alternatively, hook 'em horns. I am a good alumnus, and I do indeed bleed orange.

Alright folks. As promised, I've got lots of questions for you to ask of and about your character. Feel free to expound on what I've given you; there are always more questions to ask.

CHARACTER QUESTIONS:

If your character had to lose a sense, which would it be: vision or hearing? Why?

Which would your character rather lose: an arm or a leg?

Is your character sporty or a couch potato? Are they somewhere in between? Are they the type of person that hates the idea of exercise, but actually enjoy themselves on the treadmill once they get going?

How does your character feel about piercings?

Is your character easily influenced? Are they gullible? Are they weak-minded? Are they strong but easily hoodwinked?

Who do they look up to?

Do they have trouble sleeping?

What are their morning rituals? Do they floss as much as they should?

How do they feel about their neighbors? If they have a lawn, do they keep it neat, or does it look like a jungle?

If your character is a child, what do they want to do when they grow up? What do you think his or her biggest obstacle will be growing up? What are his or her strengths?

If your character were sucked into a painting (assuming this is definitely not the norm), how would they react? Would they deal with it, or break down? Or would they just wallow in confusion until something happened?

Are they proactive or reactionary? Do they need to be kicked in the rear to do something or will they do it themselves? What bearing does their attitude have on their daily life and activities?

If your character has a group of friends, what role do they have in the group? Are they the whiner or the gossip? Are they the shoulder to cry on?

If your character won the lottery/stole a dragon’s hoard, what would they do with their riches?

If your character were tortured, would they talk?

If your character learned suddenly that they had magical powers, how would they react?

If everything your character touched died (or turned to gold or ice or falling snow, etc.) how would they cope?

If your character could never die, would they be pleased or upset? What about when all those they love are dead?

How would your character react if they learned they were adopted?

What would your character do if they were ordered to kill their best friend or be killed? What if it had to be their family?

If you sat down next to your character on the bus/in a bar (would s/he be in a bar?)/next to a campfire and had a chat, would you like them?

Happy New Year! Let me steal your purse.

2011-01-01T02:28:00.000-08:00

This is completely non-writing-related. But. I work at my dad's wonderful Italian restaurant as a hostess.

In the craziness of New Year's Eve, a guy comes in and asks the other hostess for change. She's too busy. He hangs around the hostess stand. I catch him peeking BEHIND the hostess stand, in the bar area, where the purses are. Now, this sends warning signals off. But (1) we're super-busy and (2) we've had several people do that, trying to peek at the cool novelty wine bottles my dad keeps on the shelves. And he flashes a five-dollar bill at me, which I figure means he's waiting on someone.

I go do my job--i.e. greet and seat people, run around making sure I haven't double-sat anyone, assigning big parties to certain servers, etc.

I come back to the hostess stand. There's a woman with this guy. Asks me for change for a ten, and says she's meeting her son and his wife and wants to get money for the tip. Which seems weird to me, because our restaurant is nice. We're Austin, so we're casual, but these people looked dumpy. Not homeless; dumpy. And...you want to get change now? Do you know exactly what fifteen percent of what you HAVEN'T ordered yet will be? And usually people are dressed up meeting their families. So...wtf, lady?

But. BUT. I've been taught that it is BAD to judge people based on appearances. Also, I'm busy. So aside from the fact that something is seriously off about these people, I run around trying to get change for this lady. I come back, count it out for her, and realize I've only gotten nine bucks from the server I traded with. "Oh, I'm so sorry!" I say. "I'll be right back!"

"No, no, no, keep it!"

Huh?

She insists I keep it, gets really weird when I ask where she'll be sitting, and then "leaves to call her son" with that dude.

Long story short--they lured us away from the hostess stand to grab my cousin's purse and the other hostess's purse. My cousin isn't even from this country--her purse had EVERYTHING--permanent resident card, social security card, driver's license, debit card, student ID, and car keys. My friend, the other hostess, had her phone, credit cards, cash (luckily not much), state ID and her sister's iPod.

Cards were canceled. Belligerent texts were sent [by me to my friend's phone--the phone was the most expensive thing in her purse, which means they'll probably sell it, which means they'll see my plans to boil the guy's testicles in a soup.]

And did you know that you can't report identity theft over the phone during non-business hours?

So basically, I was at the restaurant until about 3AM this morning; my dad was trying to get in and start my cousin's car--without the key. My friend's dad is a great mechanic, and when he came to pick her and her sister up, my dad goes, "So can you hot-wire a car?"

"No." Pause. "What year is the car?"

They aaaalmost got it started.

But seriously. Who the hell steals two girls' purses on NEW YEAR'S EVE? I was lucky that I kept my purse in the office, but I was absolutely fuming I didn't pick up on the weirdo-freak signals. That's what I get for being a nice, benefit-of-the-doubt type of person.

At least it happened last year.

So here's to New Year's, new purses, and new beginnings. And eunuchs. Because seriously. That guy's balls? Totally gone if I catch him.

2011 Writing Resolutions!

2010-12-23T14:14:00.000-08:00

1) Write this MG novel that's clamoring for my attention. I've never written a MG novel before, but they were my first book-loves, so I'm totally looking forward to it.

2) Work with two awesome faculty mentors at VCFA. I'm cheating, here. This is already done in theory because (a) they are all awesome and (b) I will work with two of them this coming year de facto. But it just feels good to say it, you know? I've never had a writing mentor before, let alone in a serious, scholarly environment, and I'm so excited about it.

3) Write two novels in 2011. Which, honestly, may not happen. As much as I love the Nanowrimo approach (and you should, too!), my writing habits have evolved to the extent that I can be productive and neurotic. My neurosis slows me down, though. I've gotten to the point where when I'm done first-drafting a project, it needs to be revised. NEEDS TO BE. The starriness goes out of my eyes a few days after first draft completion, and I'm ruthless. So...maybe I should amend this to: Complete one novel and begin drafting another in 2011! There. Much better.

4) Nurture my writing group. I have several awesome, totally priceless critique partners, but I've recently formed a very serious we-will-crit-regularly-so-you-must-prepare-work-every-two-weeks critique group with some fantastic ladies (check 'em out: Nora Coon and Heather Trese). I've never done this kind of thing before. It's already incredible, though--supportive, honest, thoughtful. And I think we've got what it takes to be absolute titans of industry. (Also, yes; I sort of just really wanted to use the phrase "titans of industry".)

So what about you? What are your writing goals and resolutions for 2011?

A Brief and Blushing Aside

2010-12-22T13:32:00.000-08:00

I recently decided to take my own advice and practice writing flash fiction. Then I upped the ante and entered an awesome flash fiction contest hosted by Vic of Hairnets and Hopes and Lindsey of Dangerous with a Pen. To my incredible delight, Vic chose me as one of her winners!

The theme was Truth is Stranger than Fiction, where the entrants took a bit of truth and created a story in 1K words or less. I swiped my idea from an episode of National Geographic's Taboo, which featured taboos in child-rearing. One of the strangest--and strangely touching--ones occurs in India, where women sent to prison are allowed to keep and raise their children, so long as they're under six years old.

You can read my flash fiction story here at Vic's blog. Be sure to check out the other winners' stories, as well! Links below:

Naomi Ruth
Sarah Ahiers (Falen)
Donna Hole
Emily White
Donea Lee

Thanks again to Vic and Lindsey for hosting!

Shaping a New WIP (Part II)

2010-12-21T14:18:00.000-08:00

Scene Phasing, or, How to Outline without Really Outlining (sweet, huh?)

Like I said in Part I, I'm not really sure why I call it this. I got the phrase from Lazette Gifford's insanely complex--and basically unrelated--outlining method. But I like the idea of phasing as rolling from one thing to the next, fluidly and without a whole lot of architectural restraints on what you're writing.

Now, you can do this on notecards (as I detail here in this embarrassing video), or on paper, or in some sort of word document. The best tool for me is Scrivener.

I like to start my scene phasing with an image or snippet of something I imagine happening in my yet-to-be-written-or-plotted-MS. You don't even have to start at the beginning; you may have this epic climactic sequence in your head, already--something that happens near the end, or in the middle. That's totally fine. Now, in a brief line, summarize that scene in a way you'll remember. For example:

Mattie kicks some serious @$$.

Simple, right? And for me, an entire scene is conjured up by that line. You can also make notes about what's happening during this scene (and the mood/tone/what have you) if you want:

Lots of fire; take-no-prisoners; do or die; X character gets injured. Y character learns about major-plotpoint-here.

I'm probably more cryptic than your average plotter, but you get the idea.

And from here, you just build! Come up with several lines. I like to start with those I'm most excited about writing, and those tend to spark other lines--especially logistically. How does my MC reach this point? What's s/he been doing beforehand? How will this affect their life (and my plot) after? I ended up with about sixty little lines for SPITFIRE.

Sometimes, you'll think of a wonderful scene, but you're not quite sure where to put it in relation to the rest of the novel. That's totally cool. The beauty of phasing is that you can move the scenes around. Click-and-drag is your friend. Notecard-and-corkboard is also a good buddy. It gets tough on paper and Word, but you can still do it.

Rearrange, change, add, remove--whatever!--even while you're writing. Maybe I should call this a fluid outline--that's basically what it is, because instead of feeling shackled to the rigidity of an outline, you're in control. There's not so much detail that you're bogged down, but neither are you grasping at straws. Scene phasing sets you up directionally, but gives your WIP room to breathe and grow.

I'm a major advocate for the organic development of literature, but pantsting (that's a word now, folks) wasn't working for me. This does. And feel free to develop or deconstruct it however you want! If you want more detail, go for it. If you want less, that's fine, too.

What techniques do you use for plotting? Are you a pantster? And if you try phasing, let me know it works for you!

Shaping a New WIP (Part I)

2010-12-20T13:00:00.000-08:00

It's tough starting a new project; you want to start writing immediately, but sometimes, you just can't. Or at least I can't--I need to spend a few weeks seriously developing the project before it's ready to be written. This boils down to a few key factors:

(1) Getting your characters' motivation down. You may not know their story, but you may have an inkling of their past. Usually, this past suggests a motivational arc that you can weave into your story.

Example: Harry Potter--orphaned, grew up in a loveless household. His motivational arc is complex, but at the end of the series, he's achieved a family, both surrogate and blood, lifelong friends, and a deep understanding of what it means to love and be loved.

It doesn't have to be as neat and tidy as all that, especially in this stage. But as you develop your WIP, keep in mind where your character has been so you have a greater understand of where you want them to go.

(2) Getting a serious sense of story. This is a bit amorphous--sense of story could mean anything, I know. But what it usually means is this:

Building conflict that will directly shape your MC's growth. Jot several ideas down.
Stakes that are directly related to your MC's motivational arc. Ditto the jotting of ideas.

Sometimes, these things just come to us, but it's usually a grueling process. The best way to pinpoint these is to go through your favorite books and see how the author structured their own stories. What about the stakes and the conflict affect the MC? How do s/he cope (i.e. drive the plot forward)? Does s/he go through a regressional period? And it's also helpful (and fun!) to construct the world and mood of this next project. For my new WIP, this came with the character--a sort of dark, victorian steampunk-gothic ambience.

So decide on a tone and a mood you want to covey for this WIP. You may decide later that another tone/mood is better suited to your story, but this will give you someplace solid to start.
World-build, even if your story is contemporary. It helps to have a strong grasp of the places your character will occupy. (But don't world-build too much! I know from experience--it's the main reason why I never wrote anything until after high school.)

(3) Lastly, give yourself room to grow. You may not be entirely satisfied with what you come up with right off the bat--which is partly why this process takes so long. That's okay, though. Leave yourself some wiggle room. When Part II rolls around, we'll talk a little about something I call "scene phasing". I'm not sure why I call it that, but it's fun, and gives you a LOT of room to grow and shape your WIP.

Honing Your Skill (Part 3)

2010-12-14T02:14:00.000-08:00

Today, I bring you a few things you can do with your own (and others'!) work-in-progress. WARNING: I use super-awful cholesterol analogies in this post.

(1) Cut. (Feed your WIP Cheerios.) Cut extraneous words, sentences, and scenes. Make a game with yourself. Pretend that your novel has super-high cholesterol, and your cuts are Cheerios, slowly lowering that bad cholesterol. Example--SPITFIRE was at 118K words when I finish the first draft. BAD. So I made a game; the slimmer the novel, the better. I cut a few big things, but getting down to 95K was more about intensive line-edits and tightening the prose than anything. Now, SPITFIRE is healthy!

Another way to do this is to set yourself a page limit. Example--I wanted to send a certain amount of plot to my VCFA workshop. Workshop submission can be up to twenty pages. Unfortunately, that point in the plot was situated neatly at about page thirty-two. Now, I would never suggest sacrificing the integrity of your piece to get to a certain word- or page-count, but I knew I need to cut that section down, anyway. And with that goal in mind, I did just that.

Cutting prose down is all about effectiveness and efficiency; it's creating the best way to convey what you want stylistically in the most compact way possible. This is definitely akin to the types of skills you use while writing queries and short fiction. (And, if you've given those things a whirl, you'll find that your prose is already more efficient!)

(2) Beta-read.* (Feed your buddies' WIPs Cheerios.) Sometimes it's hard to kill our little darlings. It's a bit easier with other folks' work. Keep an eye out for places where the pacing bogs down or where the writing feels clunky and muddled. Maybe there's a scene you think could use some trimming, or be axed altogether. Not only are you helping your critique partner shine and streamline their work; you're training yourself to spot the same clunky writing in your own WIPs. Beta-reading is a win-win. (When you have the right people, of course--but that's another post!)

And there are other benefits to beta-reading; you start to understand story structure in an implicit, indescribable way. You develop an "ear" for written dialogue. Just like reading published novels, you expand your writerly horizons by reading WIPs--even more so than reading published work. You have before you something that usually needs substantial work, so your brain is contantly analyzing everything you're reading--"How can I make this better? What makes this particular part so outstanding? How do I get X scene to have the maximum impact? Is character Y doing the job the writer intended? Etc."

That's it for today! Really nitty-gritty, not-so-much-fun stuff, but it's good for you. Like Cheerios.

*If you don't have a crit partner, there are several places you can find one (or many!). I've had the most luck with the Absolute Write forums. Signup is free and they offer tons of resources for writers. I also found one very awesome crit partner, the lovely Nora Coon, via the Nanowrimo forums, but I'm not sure how active those are outside of November. And if anyone would like to share how they found their crit partners, please do so in the comments!

Honing Your Skill (Part 2)

2010-12-10T13:04:00.000-08:00

We're talking about writing. About how to keep yourself sharp. There's nothing for learning how to write a novel like writing a novel, but sometimes, we get stuck in ruts. Heck, sometimes, we just want to exercise our writing muscle differently. Today, I bring you some query-themed advice:

(1) Drafting queries. I will freely admit that I'm very not-quite-good at writing queries. But in the same spirit of flash fiction, you've got virtually no wiggle room and the challenge of distilling all the complexities and characters and voices of your novel into about 300 words.

Epic? Definitely.

So practice. Practice, practice, practice. You'll be pleasantly surprised to see how your actual prose starts to develop into a more efficient, word-mincing machine. Lean, mean, and awesome. But don't stop at your novel; if you're having difficulty with your own work, pick someone else's. Write a query for your favorite book. Try a couple. Experiment with the best ways of structuring stories you're familiar with into super-awesome queries, then apply those structures to your own work. (I know, totally easier said than done--but practice makes pretty darn good!)

(2) Reading book blurbs. This is brought to you via the amazing Heather Trese, who suggests hitting up your local bookstore, grabbing about twenty comparable books in your genre, and just reading the blurbs (you can also do this on Amazon with most books, but the bookstore is definitely more aesthetically pleasing). Soon, the rhythm and cadences of these blurbs (which are essentially queries) will start to sink in, and give you fantastic ideas about how to create your own.

Personally, after drafting about twenty different queries for the same project, I was stuck. Totally stuck. But this unstuck me; it was almost liberating. There are great sites like Query Shark and Evil Editor for query advice, but there's nothing quite like seeing the golden bits of a query on the shelf. When you're reading the blurbs of published books, you're reading something that works.

That's it for today, but there's more to come! If you missed Part 1, you can find it here (and probably just below this post--but hey, links are fancier ;) ). Happy writing!

Honing Your Skill (Part 1)

2010-12-09T01:45:00.000-08:00

For the next few days, I'm going to be doing a series of posts with ways you can exercise that writerly muscle--aside from just plugging away at your WIP.

Today, we've got:

(1) Writing challenges. The coolest one I've seen in a while is over at Lynda's blog--flash fiction. Give yourself a word limit and write! Flash fiction forces you to mince your words with incredible precision, and develop and resolve a story arc within that limit. It's tough, folks--but there's nothing like a little sweat and strife to get your creative muscle pumping.

Set character quotas in your flash fiction. Two? Three? Forty-five? It's up to you. Choose a style. Maybe you're a lyrical writer by nature, but you want to experiment with short, punchy sentences. Maybe you want to play with a different tense or POV. You can adapt this writing challenge any way you want.

(2) Blogs. Lots of writers offer fantastic writing advice. One of my favorite blogs in Janice Hardy's personal writing blog--she's always got great, craft-intensive advice, from writing queries to innovative, dialogue-based revision. Kristin Cashore has some posts about her writing process, which can help you begin to define your own process. Jill Hathaway is offering weekly query critiques over at her blog and writes great posts, like why revision is important.

These blogs are supportive and can serve as wonderful writing mentors; the blogsphere is all about connecting and sharing information. I personally got a lot of help from blogging writers when I was younger, enough to give me an extra leg up when I was in grade school and definitely not learning about creative writing. Blogging writers are invaluable.

That's it for today, but don't worry; I've got more. Happy writing!

Thinkin' Thursday

2010-12-02T19:24:00.000-08:00

[Note: Yes. From now on, all posts must be themed and alliterative. And suggest a southern accent.]

So. I want to talk about outlining. Some people are outlining gods. I'm not one of them. I'm not a panster, either, but I know people that can't start writing until their outline is glowing. I do this thing where I write a snippet of what I want a scene to contain (Meeting the Ledbetters), a few words about that scene (Ledbetters come to dinner. Things happen.), and then put it in some sort of rough order with the other one-liner scenes I've thought of.

Inevitably, I add things. I cut things. I rearrange things.

But that serious outline? It's still a part of my process. For me, outlining is a revision tool. When I finish a novel, I bust out the outlines! If you're a panster, that's great, but I encourage you to try this during your revisions. You can adapt this however you want. This is what I do:

Micro-plotting (Spot Outline)--The scene I was having trouble with last week was resolved by my story map, which turned into a detailed outline. Nearly three pages of handwritten outlining for eight pages of manuscript. A great organizational tool for the real nitty-gritty bits of information you need to impart believably.

Macro-plotting (Big-Picture Outline)--Over the course of any novel, you'll want to present major plot points in a gradational way; building tension, raising the stakes. With SPITFIRE, the backstory builds on itself, and the more the characters learn, the more dire they realize the situation is. So. In one page, I wrote BIG THINGS. Things like Beginning, Elfame, Luminaries, etc, until I reached The End at the bottom of the page. Then I picked points VISUALLY on the outline where I wanted to introduce key pieces of the backstory. Wrote those in. Made notes; who will say this? How? And what happens next? (And sometimes--why WON'T that person tell them everything right away? What prevents them from learning certain details? Why?)

I'm really more of a touchy-feely writer than anything. I need time with my characters--fully in action--to truly understand what I want to do with a project. I can't do that with a serious outline right out of the gate.

But revision outlines help me immensely. The revision outline lets me see the forest despite the trees (and helps me figure out good places to sling the backstory hammocks between them. Oh, there's a nice sturdy plot-tree! There!)

Overused analogies aside, I've learned that outlines are my friend. And they can be yours, too.

Fixin' Friday

2010-11-26T21:17:00.000-08:00

Every Friday, we're going to spot-check our WIPs. It'll be low-stress, letting-solutions-stew kind of stuff. Let's get to it!

Think about your WIP. Maybe you're halfway done. Maybe you're in the throes of revision hell. Maybe you're feverishly brainstorming your yet-to-be-written project.

Wherever you are in the process, think about one thing you've been having trouble with. Then:

1) Identify that thing. Is it plot-related? Character development? Pacing? Word count? A particular scene that's not doing it's job? Once you've got that thing, write it down.

Example: I had a particular set of scenes concerning backstory that my crit partners were telling me were cluttered and rushed. They weren't getting anything out of those scenes because I was info-dumping. Also, the scenes were way too long.

2) Why is this an issue? Look at the issue you're having. Really look at it. Think how you can fix it, of course, but try to think about why it's a problem--especially if you haven't got any ideas right away on how to remedy the issue.

Example: Though the backstory is essential, these scenes hurt more than they helped because they were disorganized. There was no real narrative structure to these scenes.

3) Plan your attack. You know what's not working, and why. Now it's time to use those pieces to come up with some solutions.

Example: I knew I needed narrative structure, and I knew I needed to cut out a lot of words while I revised. So plotted out what I had so far via a cause-and-effect story map, starting from a base scene, one right before the section I needed to revise. Right away, I saw things--extraneous scenes, out-of-character reactions leading to those scenes.

I went back to the top of my story map. I had a basic idea of what backstory the next scene would impart, and why it would be imparted. Then, based on my characters' reactions, I plotted the scene after it--and so on until I'd cut a much smoother [revisory] path to where my WIP picked back up.

So give yourself this week to focus on that issue. Keep writing, keep plotting, but start engaging in one of your WIP's weaker points--what the issue is, why it's an issue, and what you can do to make it work.

Happy writing! (And a belated Happy Thanksgiving!)

Teaser Tuesday

2010-11-23T13:43:00.000-08:00

From SPITFIRE:

The Ledbetters went through the adoption process with my parents. They each got a baby girl. I’m one of them; the Ledbetter’s daughter is the other. Aside from a few pictures each year and a phone call, though, they’re strangers to me. And I want to keep it that way. I have nothing against them, but they remind me that I’m adopted—and I don’t feel adopted; not at all. Lots of people think, aside from my red hair, that I look exactly like my dad. It used to make me puff up with pride, especially when Dad would say, “Doesn’t she, though?”

But the Ledbetters…that girl and I came from the same orphanage. From the same mystery that I don’t want anything to do with. I know who my parents are. They’re Jackson and Grace Bower, and I love them even though they made me move to Canada. No one’s going to threaten that.

Then Dad tells me they’re coming for dinner tonight. “Won’t that be great, Matt?”

Super.

“Cool-down walk home?”

I nod and he claps me on the back with a smile. As we turn back around, I glance over my shoulder at the Ledbetter’s house. I start for a moment when think I see a tall man melt into the shadows—but no. No. That’s just the wind rushing through the trees. That’s just me being sad and crazy and angry about the fact that I’m in freaking Canada and the Ledbetters are coming for dinner tonight.

That’s just me.

Snow? What do you mean, snow?

2010-11-21T19:09:00.000-08:00

Um. How do you dress for snow? Suggestions would be great. Seriously.

Sunday Love (3)

2010-11-21T11:04:00.000-08:00

Led Zeppelin. I encountered them at age 15, had never heard anything quite like their music, and ran headlong into love.

Why is Led Zeppelin so awesome? Musicality, for one. Epic classic rock doesn't work without musicality, without musical integrity. Led Zeppelin had that.

Also, Jimmy Page. He is a god.

He described Led Zeppelin as an exploration of "light and shade", which I think is brilliant.

I feel that way about writing--writing is less about illustrating something (like "good and bad") and more about exploring. "Light and shade" is the perfect framework for that exploration, and the phrase is innocuous enough to be a blank slate for the creator's mind. There are no preconceived notions about light and shade--it's up to the you, the writer, to brighten the light and darken the shade, to transmute these those into a vision all your own.

So I leave you with this--a bit of light and shade, and a whole lot of awesome:

Updates!

2010-11-19T22:11:00.000-08:00

Writing update:

Another round of revisions! I have a few major things I need to add and streamline. Major...tweaks. I'm not sure if that's a thing, but that's what I need to do. Also, cutting. I'm forever hacking at SPITFIRE'S word count--which is going to be difficult when I add things. But such is revising/life.

Reading update:

So I've got thirty-one books on my to-be-read list. Thirty. One. Which is amazing and daunting all at once. Don't get me wrong; I like to read. I'd better like to read, of course, but if that's approximately one book a week, I'll be at it for about eight months.

Luckily, I read fast.

What about you? How's your writing going? What are you reading right now? Is your TBR list incredibly long, too?

The Boy Who Lived

2010-11-19T13:59:00.000-08:00

It's fall of 1999. I'm eleven, and I'm sitting in math class next to my best friend. And she's ignoring my attempts at conversation. Why? Stuck not-so-slyly underneath her spiral is a book called HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE. I catch a few words, the first of which is Dumbledore.

I'm slightly intrigued, but mostly annoyed. Even more so when, on the bus home, she tells me how I HAVE to read these books, blah blah blah blah blah. Whatever. (Which was not to say that I wasn't already a voracious reader, but I didn't want to hear an "I told you so!" from her if I read them. My fragile 11-year-old ego could not have taken that.)

Fast-forward to the Christmas holidays. I'm at my grandparents' farm, and my uncle lives there, too, in a house on the edge of the property. When I visit, he tells me about this book that's all the rage, and that he read it himself and he thought I would enjoy it. Yep, it's HARRY POTTER.

Obviously, I didn't want to insult my uncle's generosity, so I dutifully began to read. And read. And read. And my whole world filled with joy and wonder and awe, and I'd never loved anything so much. I called my parents the next morning, after I'd finished the book, and insisted on getting the second and third books, which were already out.

A few days later, I got them for Christmas. I devoured them, and so began a love affair that would last forever.

And I feel lucky--I was 11 when I started reading them, same age as Harry when he begins his adventures. These books will always remind me implicitly of Christmas and family and warmth, crackling fires, and a magic completely separate from Harry's kind. When I'm dispirited or feeling particularly alone, I read them. They comfort me. And each time I open them, it's like visiting old, unconditionally loving friends; the bindings crack, huge chunks of pages long-since unhinged threaten to fall out, and I'm enfolded into a familiar embrace.

I grew up with Harry. I've always felt like my generation should be called the Harry Potter Generation, because that's what I am. When DEATHLY HALLOWS came out, I was 19--a fledgeling, a young woman, a half-child quivering on the edge of adulthood. I was afraid.

But I was strong because of Harry--he'd come of age, and I had, too.

I'm indebted to JK Rowling. She gave me one of the most important and enduring elements of my childhood, and allowed me to grow up in a world with Harry Potter.

What about you? Has Harry Potter had an impact on your life? What do the Harry Potter books mean to you?

Chapters?

2010-11-17T22:41:00.000-08:00

Chapters, I've begun to realize, are deeply personal things; where do you put them? How often? Are they all they same length?

Here are two somewhat comparable books, length-wise:

Donna Tartt's THE LITTLE FRIEND is 555 pages and has seven long, thematic chapters and a prologue.

Garth Nix's SABRIEL is 491 pages and has 29 unnamed chapters, a prologue, and an epilogue.

Two awesome writers (which I often fangirl about); two completely different ways of structuring large bodies of text. But both ways work equally well.

Personally, I can't even write in chapters--at least not with SPITFIRE. I had rough scene ideas, and things I want to accomplish within those scenes, but I usually leave structuring the chapters for later. And even then, I'm not always sure I've broken things up the way I want them. I have to have my chapters just so. I'd actually like to have none at all, with asterisk breaks between scenes. Weird, huh? But that's just me!

How do you chapterize your work? (Yep. Chapterize is a word. Since...now.)

Teaser Tuesday

2010-11-16T01:17:00.000-08:00

SPITFIRE opening.

I wake up suddenly, like someone just screamed in my ear. It’s still pitch-black, and I’m sure this isn’t natural. Not just because this is a strange new room in a strange new country—something woke me up.

Smoke. Everywhere. It burns my eyes when they fly open and I scramble off my bed, which is smoldering. My pajamas are half-gone. I trip over a moving box trying to get to the water bucket on the dresser, crash into the floor, and hear the fire alarm start blaring on the staircase. In ten seconds flat, my parents are thundering up the stairs. The door flies open and the light flicks on. Mom whips the water bucket off my dresser and flings the contents over my bed. It hisses.

Dad helps me up. Mom puts the bucket back on my dresser and brushes soot out of my face. “Are you alright, Mattie?”

I nod.

“Nightmare?” asks Dad.

I shrug. “I don’t know. I can’t remember.” But I bet it was. I haven’t sparked in my sleep since I was ten, when I’d insisted I was old enough to watch the Friday Night Horror Special with Dad. Nearly burnt the house down. My parents laugh about it now, but I could’ve killed them.

Genre: Why It Sort of Doesn't Matter

2010-11-11T21:15:00.000-08:00

Those of you that know me well know that I love ANNE OF GREEN GABLES*. Anne Shirley is one of those beautiful heroines that captures the mind and the soul of the reader.

L. M. Montgomery also wrote about another, lesser-known heroine, EMILY OF NEW MOON**. These books are pretty hard to track down, at least in the flesh, so I haven't read them yet. But I recently started watching the series, which purportedly follows the books pretty closely. While watching, I caught myself thinking this:

"I love this time period."

Wait.

When L. M. Montgomery wrote the ANNE books, the EMILY books, and all her others, they were all contemporary fiction. Now, we'd call them historical fiction, which they absolutely were not when they were published.

And think about it: science fiction may not always be science fiction (technology, anyone?). Dystopia may not always be dystopia (which is terrifying). Contemporary is elusive, and history repeats itself. Fantasy may always be fantasy, of course, but that's a genre we built in our minds. We shape it, we change it--all the time. Genres are constantly morphing.

So forget about genre. Write what you want to write, what makes you think and what moves you. The label-slapping comes when you're trying to market, but your book is its own unique species--a solitary creation from your mind, as varied and rare and beautiful as any other out there.

Don't worry about genre at all--just write.

*I grew up watching the Sullivan Entertainment version of ANNE OF GREEN GABLES and ROAD TO AVONLEA. They are awesome and I recommend them to everyone. Also, they've made me fall completely in love with Prince Edward Island.
**I've only seen the first few episodes of EMILY OF NEW MOON, but it's absolutely beautiful. Definitely darker than the ANNE chronicles, but just as amazing.

Teaser Tuesday

2010-10-26T21:20:00.000-07:00

So I've got my own gimmicky little SPITFIRE cover *coughnotreallycough* I made on Picnik. Feel free to make fun, but I though I needed some sort of mildly interesting visual to go with Teaser Tuesday. Obviously, from SPITFIRE:

It’s kind of funny when you get the wind knocked out of you. By funny, I mean scary. I guess your lungs collapse, or something, and then you’re suspended in this alternate reality that feels like it lasts forever, even though it’s only a few seconds. All the while you’re struggling to breathe, you see things like they are--stark reality. Swords flashing in the dark above my head. Mom’s face. Dad’s smile. Lips that look like mine. Will Mrs. Quigley tell them how I died? While I lie in this world that shouldn’t exist, will they worry about me? Think I ran away? Think I started drinking or smoking pot to hide my sorrows and fell off the face of the earth to die in some hovel in the Canadian north?

Will they replace me?

Sunday Love

2010-10-24T20:55:00.000-07:00

Gone with the Wind is my favorite movie, hands down. And three cheers for Scarlett O'Hara, the most impetuous, conniving, courageous heroine in modern literature. Don't get me wrong--I love me some Katniss Everdeen, but if they were to go head-to-head, my money'd be on Scarlett.

For those of you who haven't seen the movie or read the book, you should. Rhett and Scarlett are the absolute perfect literary couple, and Scarlett--with all her faults and schemes--is the ultimate heroine. I think Margaret Mitchell (author of Gone with the Wind) sums her up perfectly:

"If the novel has a theme, it is that of survival. What makes some people able to come through catastrophes, and others, apparently just as able, strong and brave, go under? It happens in every upheaval…. I only know that the survivors used to call that quality ‘gumption.’ So I wrote about the people who had gumption, and the people who didn’t."

Scarlett may be mean. She may be money-hungry and ruthless and ungrateful. But she has gumption. It makes her compelling. It makes her strong. It makes her my favorite heroine ever.

Your MC and things you JUST KNOW

2010-10-23T14:39:00.000-07:00

There comes a time in every writer's project where your main character becomes autonomous. Suddenly, they're calling the shots, telling you what to write, and flatly refusing to do things the way you'd planned. It's annoying, but also fantastic.

And around this point, you realize you just know random and sundry things about your MC.

Mattie's favorite food is Tex-Mex. I didn't decide that. But if you sat me down and asked me what it was, that would pop out of my mouth.
Her favorite color is orange.
Her favorite band is Led Zeppelin.
Her favorite flavor of ice cream is vanilla. (VANILLA. What?!)
She's not quite a health nut, but pretty close. However, she has an extreme weakness for Chinese takeout. The greasier, the better.
She has a bad habit of sticking her feet in the [roaring] fireplace around the Christmas holidays--especially when guests who don't know about her gift are around.
She is an expert tree climber.

I just know these things. What about you? What things about your main characters do you just know?

Who's Doing Nano?!

2010-10-21T20:30:00.000-07:00

I wasn't going to. I SO wasn't going to. But I am. Planning to add 50K to the extant bulk of THE FOREVER DARK in a frenzy of words and pages and I'm SO EXCITED AHHH CAPS LOCK.

What about you? Got a project lined up? Maybe you don't. Maybe you'll just sit down on November 1st and start writing. Whatever the case may be, let me know! And if you register on the site, you can add me as a buddy (if you're so inclined, of course)!

Jill Hathaway!

2010-10-21T11:10:00.000-07:00

So it's come to my attention that no one can see Jill. Which is sad, because guess what? Straight from Publisher's Marketplace:

Jill Hathaway's SLIDE, a debut in which a girl's narcolepsy makes her slide randomly into other people's heads, witnessing events she'd rather not see; but when she finds herself in the head of a killer, standing over the slashed and murdered body of her sister's best friend, she becomes enmeshed in a web of secrets, lies and danger where the past has returned to haunt the present and where she can no longer trust even the friends and family she thought she knew, to Donna Bray at Balzer & Bray, in a good deal, in a pre-empt, in a two-book deal, for publication in Winter 2012, by Sarah Davies at the Greenhouse Literary Agency (NA)

Jill Hathaway is an awesome crit partner and an amazing writer. I know firsthand! So check her out, yo.

Teaser...Not-Tuesday?

2010-10-20T20:28:00.000-07:00

I'm not really sure how to feel about Teaser Tuesday. I think it's a really cool idea, but too often, I find myself skimming or skipping or saving Teaser Tuesday posts for later. Especially if the posts are longish. I do think that Teaser Tuesday is a potentially awesome thing in moderation, though. Thus, I leave you with a brief excerpt from SPITFIRE--and the history of forks.

“You won’t get water here unless you pay extra for it,” says Tal, ripping into part of the lamb. Blood dribbles down his chin. “We’re too far away from the river, and the well is a good half a mile away.”

“What about a fork? Is that too much to ask for?”

“Fork?”

“Fork.”

Tal just stares at me. “You mean a pitchfork?”

I sigh, a little exasperated. “Yes, that’s exactly what I mean. It would obviously be really helpful while I’m trying to eat this—of course I don’t mean a pitchfork! I mean a regular fork. Like a tiny pitchfork. One I can stab my food with and put it in my mouth so my hands don’t get all greasy and bloody.”

He’s looking at me like I’m crazy. Beth’s just resigned herself to holding a dripping piece of lamb over the table while she nibbles gingerly at it. Tal gets the girl’s attention, and asks, with a confused backward glance at me, for a knife.

Sunday Love (on Monday...)

2010-10-18T11:17:00.000-07:00

Whoops-a-daisy!

Today's Sunday (on Monday) Love post goes to Donna Tartt. I may not be very good at literary Southern Gothic, but I sure love reading it, and Donna Tartt's novels are as good as they come.

I read THE SECRET HISTORY as a sophomore in high school and I couldn't--wouldn't--put it down. I was a wistful teen, constantly combing through the fantasy section at Barnes & Noble, and to no avail. My English teacher at the time recommended this book to me and this was my first breath into the "literary" world. I was surprised and delighted to realize that books without magic could be just as cool, just as dark. Just as mind-warping and incredible. I was hooked.

Luckily, even though she only publishes a book every ten years or so, I managed to hit it just right to where her second novel, THE LITTLE FRIEND, was already out. For those of you who've seen my Books I Love! (Part I) video, you know that I love this book. Ten shades of love. Despite it's dismal rating on Amazon (what's wrong with all those people?!), I can't recommend this book enough. It's slow and stately and eerie and crumbling--magnificent prose. Beautiful faded glory backdrop. Unlikely heroine, in the grand tradition of Harper Lee's TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (also one of the most amazing books I've ever read).

THE LITTLE FRIEND is, to me, is literary Southern Gothic at its best.

If you haven't read either of these books, you should. Now. I also feel compelled, in part, to clarify that while the pretensions of the literary world are sometimes soul-crushing, I love literary fiction. Love. And it all started here.

The Writer You Are

2010-10-15T01:43:00.000-07:00

So, Hannah Moskowitz has an amazing post at her blog here that really resonated with me--embracing the writer you are.

And I left a comment there that, frankly, was long and blustery enough to be a blog post by itself. So, at the risk of being redundant, I'd like to share that with you, because this is something I've held near and dear to my heart for a long time:

I went through a real writing identity crisis in college. I got my degree in English, mainly because UT doesn't offer creative writing as a major. But I took three creative writing courses, all of which consisted of professors that looked down on anything but "literary fiction". One of these professors was amazing, albeit closed-minded about "genre fiction", and I'm indebted to her for shaping my thought process about writing.

But. The kids were snots. Those that weren't taking it just for the writing component were full of it, were way too opinionated about what constituted "art", and how tons of books I loved were trash. (Don't you talk about Harry Potter like that. I will kill you.) The professors didn't really help much, either. Or at all. There was an unspoken rule of utter snobbery that had to be adhered to in those classrooms, and it was stifling to the point of brainwashing.

I applied to a bunch of equally snobby creative writing MFA programs this time last year. I was totally convinced I needed to write strange, emotionally nebulous, hard-hitting literary fiction to become a Real Writer. I don't know why. I don't know what happened. After I finished my first novel (an attempt at Southern Gothic with an abnormal dose of GONE WITH THE WIND-influenced prose), I wrote nothing but dark, lyrical short stories for the remainder of college, building my portfolio of bullshit and hackery for those MFA programs. My first loves--YA, MG--were completely lost for a time.

But I didn't get in. Thank God--I didn't get in.

And it was about this time that I reintroduced myself to YA and MG fiction. My amazing fiance took the time to point out a few MFA programs in writing MG/YA, which I'd actually no clue existed.

I reapplied.

And I'm going to start in January at Vermont College of Fine Arts. I'm going to get my MFA in writing for children and young adults. And I'm stoked. I'm going to be around people who love the same things I love, who write the same things I write.

This is who I am. I write what I love. And I write for kids.

What about you? Was there a defining moment in shaping your thoughts towards your own writing? Did you ever have a crisis of faith in who you were as a writer?

Revising

2010-10-14T16:59:00.000-07:00

I've got a post on the way I do my pre-revision (nicely packaged in first-draft frenzy) here at Book-Bound. But we're not here to talk about pre-revision, are we?

Let the games begin.

There's no sure-fire way to do this; even the best-laid plans get thrown by the wayside (as I'm rapidly discovering).

But here's a broad methodology for you to hang your coat on:

Print out a copy of that sucker. You can do this however you want--page-for-page, two or three or four pages to a sheet--whatever. I personally like to have a gigantic master copy which, while unfriendly to the environment, I will use for pretty much all of my major revisions and note-taking.
Read the novel. Make notes on the manuscript. If you feel the need to make line-edits or small grammatical fixes and typos, that's cool, too. But nothing too big; this is just a readthrough.
Big things first. You know those scenes you wrote and knew immediately weren't going to work? Cut. Major plot holes? Fix. You may need to do a bit of replotting, too. That's fine. Get out a notebook or open up a new document and sandbox plot issues for a while. Resist the urge to freak out because you feel like you should've noticed/confronted these issues sooner--it's okay to give yourself multiple options. It's okay to make this novel better. Other things to look at: character development arcs, relationship growth and believability, and overall conflict. Real? Juicy? Plot-propelling?
The little things next--OR--Cohesion. Are the elements you added and cut working together? Transitions? Mood? Pacing? Cohesion is key. Look for places in your narrative where you feel like something is off. These places are more difficult to spot, but will leave you with a certain amount of dissatisfaction after reading. It may be a bit of dialogue, or something as small as an incongruous word that just doesn't fit. It may be a scene that, while effective enough, could be even better in moving your plot forward or conveying mood you want. It may be that your character says something that you realize, upon rereading, s/he just wouldn't say. And I'd argue that these small elements, the cohesive workings of all the tiny wheels of your novel, are the most important aspects thereof. Yes, I said "thereof". But seriously--how often have you read a novel that has a fantastic premise but shoddy substance? It all boils down to the details. The details resonate--the mood and magic and movement of your prose are all-important (and alliterative!). These are the things that make your novel truly compelling.
Another readthrough. I admit, once I get to this point, I'm really skimming. But I'm checking for any silly errors, making sure the technicalities of my edits are sound (i.e. I haven't copied the same scene into my novel twice), and doing any final line-edits that have escaped me.
Betas. I send it out, with instructions to take no prisoners. And I wait.
Lather, rinse, repeat. I have lovely, honest betas, people I trust will give me the best feedback on my work so that I can make it better. Once I get their feedback, I'll do one final revision pass, steps 1-5 (okay, maybe not so much 1, because that's a lot of paper).
Go forth and query.

So that's what I've got. What about you? Tell me how you revise.

Sunday Love

2010-10-10T01:07:00.000-07:00

Yeah, you heard me. Sunday Love. A new blog feature. (See how I used the phrase "blog feature"? Sounds beautiful and shiny, huh?) Every Sunday, I'll feature something I love. Today, it's:

(The Heaney version, of course.)

Beowulf is one of those things you need to read. At least once. Don't watch the movie--it was crap. Read it. Seamus Heaney's translation is absolutely breathtaking. It's also, for all you Old English buffs, offered in a bilingual edition. Pretty sweet.

Now, I've taken two courses on Viking literature in college. Had to read Beowulf for both. I've also taken an Old English course and a History of the English Language course. Beowulf was completely integral to all of these courses. Lots of people like to say it's the earliest extant poem written in what was once English.

As far as I'm concerned, it's badass.

I'm not a crazy-freak worldbuilder like I used to be when I was younger, but I like my worlds to have solidity, to have a mythology to them. And I'm constantly and forever diving back into Beowulf for those things. The astute reader will see shades of Beowulf in SPITFIRE, even though it's narrated by a tomboy teenage girl with better things to do than save the world.

In fact, Beowulf shows up in all of my writing. I fell completely in love with Viking literature in college, and it seeps into all my projects--in names, in mythos. In attitude. In badassery.

So. This week's Sunday Love goes to Beowulf and, by extension, all those Icelandic sagas I read in college. And let's not forget the Prose Edda, penned by the magnificent and unfortunate Snorri Sturlusson, nor the Poetic Edda. (Fun fact: Nearly everything we know about Norse mythology comes from these Eddas. Pretty awesome, huh?)

So what about you? Have something that you turn to for inspiration? Something that keeps cropping up in your writing? Tell me about it--I want to know!

JKR on Oprah AND Awesome Contest!

2010-10-04T19:34:00.000-07:00

HARRY POTTER is one of those things that I can never disengage from my life--not from my childhood, not from my brain functioning, not from anything. I love HARRY POTTER.

Oprah's interview with the amazing, genuine, absolutely heroic JK Rowling is up on YouTube, in case you missed it. The first part is here:

ALSO! Exciting Halloween Contest ALERT! Courtney Allison Moulton, author of ANGELFIRE, is hosting a contest over at her blog. She's giving away awesome prize packages, including signed ARCs--and Casper! (I love Casper. LOVE. Remember that dance scene where he's living again for a few minutes and dances with Christina Ricci? I totally had a crush on him.)

I'm entering. So should you!

Austin Teen Book Fest RECAP!

2010-10-03T23:26:00.000-07:00

Lots of authors. Lots of books. Lots of awesome:

The Multicultural Perspective

2010-10-01T12:57:00.000-07:00

So, I'm going to preface this whole post by giving you some background: my mom's American and my dad's Iranian.

I once had a creative writing professor who wanted me to play up my heritage. She said I had a wellspring of cultural knowledge to tap into, being a child of two worlds.

Another aquaintance of mine told me I should write an historical fiction about the injustices of the politics between the US and Iran. "You'd be so good at it, Shayda! You have that multicultural perspective!"

Umm. No, actually.

There's this huge push for multicultural voices in fiction, and I think that's really cool--I'd love to see that kind of thing. But here's the deal--I'm much more interested in the character than the race or ethnicity of that character.

I'm also flabbergasted when people suggest I write about my multicultural experiences. See, I don't really have any. Aside from knowing that Persian new year falls on the first day of spring (which totally makes sense), knowing that Muslims are, as a whole, wonderful people, and knowing a few key words in Farsi, I don't have any grasp of my supposed "multiculturalness".

I was born here in the great state of Texas. I was raised in this fully American atmosphere. My dad would sing me little songs in Farsi occasionally (about a cute little mouse, I think, but again--I don't know Farsi), but that was about it.

I also don't really look foreign. If anyone thinks I'm something else, it's Mexican or Italian--and then it's, "Oh, you must be half!"

I don't sound foreign. I don't act foreign (whatever that means).

And that's all because I'm not. As much as I wish I could speak Farsi, I never picked it up. As much as I wish I knew more about Persian culture, I don't. I'm proud of my heritage, but I don't know anything about it.

Of course, I could learn, but I'll still never be "multicultural" in the sense that I've lived it. My dad has--he's an awesome person that's dealt with adversity and prejudice and strapped-for-cash-making-it-on-his-own hardship.

But not me.

I can't write about that kind of thing. I haven't lived it. I haven't even seen it, really. People don't judge me for being part Iranian--they can't even tell.

So my thoughts about this want for multicultural voices are mixed: I definitely like to hear about different kinds of people, different parameters of life and thought. But I also don't like the fact that lots of people, including incredibly educated ones like my professor, seem to think that being of mixed and/or minority heritage defines you as a writer. Defines the characters you create and the stories you tell.

Because, folks, it doesn't. You do.

Austin Teen Book Festival!

2010-09-30T22:46:00.000-07:00

I am going to THIS on Saturday and am super-excited! If anyone lives in the Austin area, you should totally join me.

Finish Line of Awesome

2010-09-28T23:16:00.000-07:00

SPITFIRE is done! At least the first draft.

Look at how lovingly I caress it! (With the goofiest expression possible, of course.)

Weighing in at nearly 110,000 words, SPITFIRE is a hulk of a novel and will likely take two weeks of solid revision.

But! I can't tell you how excited I am. I'm starting work on THE FOREVER DARK again while I take some time away from SPITFIRE so the prose is a bit fresher when I revise. I'm going to read some books. I'm going to exercise more--and then ruin it all by nomming some chocolate.

I'm going to celebrate!

What about you? Where are you in your WIP? Got any projects lined up? Maybe you're querying! Whatever stage you're at in your writing process, good luck and happy writing.

. . .Wait. Did I say two weeks of revision?

The Trunk Novel

2010-09-22T18:06:00.000-07:00

So I did a post on the joys of trunk novels over at Book-Bound, but I never got to share a picture of said lovingly bound book. (I made a punny!)

Here it is in all its trunked glory.

I found this absolutely gorgeous piece of art on DeviantArt. It's called The Goose Girl, and is the work of the amazing Stephanie Holmes--and as soon as I have some spare change, I'm buying a print of this via her Etsy shop. Heck, I'm buying all of her stuff! It's so beautiful and awesome! Check it out!

Books I Love (Part 2)

2010-09-20T20:14:00.000-07:00

So in this segment of Books I Love, I bring you two middle grade novels by Bruce Coville. These novels are near and dear to my heart, and were absolute staples of my childhood. I hope, if you haven't read these, that you'll go out and get them and enjoy them just as much as I do!

We Stick Together

2010-09-17T21:32:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, I saw something that pulled at my heartstrings--an author, sitting in the foyer of Barnes and Noble with a stack of copies of her new book, and absolutely no traffic at her table. She caught my eye once or twice while I was trying to read the banner next to her, and I confess, I wheeled out of sight. I figured her book was something inspirational or a mystery cozy, based on the glimpse I got of the cover.

But I retreated into the children's section with my laptop and looked her up anyway, and her book wasn't any of those.

It was a middle grade contemporary. And no way in hell am I leaving my fellow childrens/YA authors out at sea like that. So I plucked up my courage and swallowed my pride, considering how stupidly I ran away earlier, and went over. I introduced myself and told her that I was a fellow writer and going to VCFA for writing for children and young adults, and that it was so nice to meet her. I bought her book.

I don't know if her book will be any good. I may hate it. I may love it.

But however I feel about the book, I don't want to see my fellow writer sitting alone and looking miserable at their very first signing. Or any signing. And I'd like to think that if it were me sitting there, she'd come up and talk to me, out of the sense of camaraderie I think we MG/YA writers feel for each other.

Really, we're all in the same boat, and we're all our own fiercest competition. We're in this together, so we stick together.

Moments You Write For

2010-09-16T11:45:00.000-07:00

Last night was, word count-wise, horrible for me. Less than 1K, and I only managed to eek that out around 3:30 in the morning, right before I passed out.

BUT. Something amazing happened. From all the frustration of struggling to find words, to find direction, to find meaning in what I'm writing, came this absolutely beautiful, heartbreaking moment. The scene is only a few lines long, but I think it's the first time I've nearly moved myself to tears.

It was painful. I didn't want to write it. I was actually kind of furious with Mattie for doing what she did--the line came to me before I wrote it, and I almost refused. But the reality of the story--and of Mattie--overcame me. And it's a moment I'll remember for a long time.

What about you? Have you had moments like this, where your characters steal away your autonomy and make you write things you don't want to? It's amazing and terrible all at once. What kinds of things do you write for?

The Importance of Voice--A Practical Study

2010-09-10T21:47:00.000-07:00

Alrighty. You've got two voices, but only one line, and it goes like this:

Best of both worlds.

Voice 1. Not so good.

Voice 2. Much, much better.

Empathy, OR, Protagonists Can Be Stupid

2010-09-01T19:47:00.000-07:00

I think it's a common misconception, especially among younger readers (because I was this way as a ten-year-old) that the hero in the books we read does everything right, and that the evil baddie's just always foiling the hero. Sometimes, the hero can be just as much of a foil to himself as the baddie is. And sometimes, you just want to shout at him for being an idiot.

But then there are other times, special times, where as stupid as he was, you've got his back. You know exactly where he's coming from and as inane and idiotic as everyone else thinks the character's acting, you're right there with him.

And that's what I want to talk about. A small but loud group of people did NOT like MOCKINGJAY, and the vast majority of them complained that Katniss had just turned into a spineless nothing.

Um, wrong.

That girl went through some serious physical and psychological damages. And I mean serious. To be honest, I was surprised she held together in books one and two as well as she did.

So when I saw her breaking, I was not surprised. I was not angry at her so-called passiveness, and I as much as I'd wished she'd heal a little, I was still right there with her.

I understood her.

That's the mark of a really special writer, at least to me. Not that when you're yelling at a character for being stupid means the writer hasn't done their job--sometimes that's exactly what they want you to do. But with Katniss, everything she did--everything she didn't do--made perfect sense. And it was absolutely heartbreaking.

This whole thing has a lot to do with empathy; that maybe you wouldn't do it that way if you were Katniss (or whoever), but you completely get it.

And that's the kind of thought and feeling I'm trying to elicit with SPITFIRE--because neither Mattie nor Beth are perfect, and they're going to make mistakes. But rather than scream at them for being morons, I'd like you as a reader to take a step back. To put yourself in Mattie's shoes. To imagine the world from her perspective, and to think like her, to breathe like her, to hurt like her--for just the barest of moments.

And ask yourself this: Do you still want to scream?

Dreams

2010-09-01T11:41:00.000-07:00

I had some pretty weird ones last night. I can't remember all of what they were, but I think my mom was some sort of deadly antagonist in a dystopian world (Freudian much?), and while she was busy ruling the world with an iron fist, I was watching The Tudors on some jumbotron in the middle of a metal stadium and trying to keep my brother from seeing the sexy parts. Weird dream. I know.

But during that whole thing, something happened.

While I was watching The Tudors--in my dream--I kid you not: A certain high-concept plot arc came to me, one of those great and resounding "what ifs", and while it doesn't really sparkle now that I'm awake, it's intriguing enough for me to want to give my dream-self a pat on the back.

So after SPITFIRE and possibly THE FOREVER DARK, I've got a really, really cool idea for a novel. Nothing more than that, of course, and it may not even work once I sit down to write it.

But I'm excited.

Double-Post: First Drafts

2010-08-25T20:42:00.000-07:00

I just posted this on Book-Bound, but the sentiments I have about first drafts really resonate with me, so rather than just post a link to the other post, I'll slap it right on my blog, as well:

First drafts are kind of amazing.

Imagine this: It’s like being given three hundred sheets of blank paper and told to fill them—daunting, overwhelming, and powerful all at once. You get to create. You get to mold and reshape and mold again. You get to know your characters, to thrust them into all kinds of trouble, and pull them back out again.

You get to make mistakes.

Here’s how I do it—I have a rough outline. Very rough. I usually imagine certain stand-out scenes and add those first. I move them around, try to see where they fit, and add more as I go. It actually takes me a while to get writing, but when I do, I wrap myself up in that world that I’ve created, into those blank sheets that are suddenly alive with color and emotion and people.

And I write outwards from that feeling of immersion, because it’s so exhilarating to feel the story as I write it.

And I can’t stress this enough: You get to make mistakes.

First drafts aren’t meant to be perfect. They aren’t even meant to be fun, really. They can be, of course, and they usually are. But what I really think first drafts are for is authorial enrichment. Learning who your characters are. What their story is. Sometimes what their story isn’t.

And I think, to some extent, first drafts help you learn a little about yourself. How you relate to this thing you’ve created. This beautiful, reckless thing. Because while it may not be ready to be seen by any eyes but yours, it’s all you. It’s you when you’re sick and tired. It’s you when you’re brilliant. It’s you when you’ve had the shittiest day at work or school and you want to quit everything—even the writing.

That first draft is imperfect and glorious. Embrace it.

Book-Bound!

2010-08-12T18:12:00.000-07:00

This week at Book-Bound, we talked about discipline, that fickle friend and fiend. Check out my post here, and Nora's post here.

In other news, I'm tired and tan and ready to write. I don't know if Mattie's ready for me, though. I'm about to throw this girl into some serious plot.

5K-a-day-athon starts now.

Graduate School!

2010-07-31T12:50:00.000-07:00

Finally, after about a year of applications and rejections, I'm going to graduate school.

But here's the really cool part--instead of getting an MFA in plain old pretentious "fiction", I'm getting an MFA in writing for children and young adults.

Can we say awesome?

So, it's kind of brilliant that I was rejected during the first round of applications--I didn't even know I could get an MFA in writing for children and YA last year. If I had been accepted to any of those programs, I'd be writing that kind of post-modern, nihilistic drivel that people like to call "art", and while I'm a huge fan of literary fiction, I'm not a huge fan of cavorting with so-called literary writers.

This is probably because my academic experiences* with the literary fiction community have been, um, awful.

Basically, it would have been a soul-sucking endeavor to get a master's degree.

But because I was rejected by those places, I had the chance--thanks, in part, to my wonderful fiance for doing research I was too bereaved to do--to apply to these programs in the creative genres that I'm interested in. I couldn't be happier.

As for the schools themselves, I've been accepted to two different programs. I'm pretty much decided, but I don't want to say anything yet until I've gotten my acceptance letters in the mail. Call me superstitious, if you must, but that's just the way I roll.

*Links to a post I did on critique groups at my co-authored blog, Book-Bound, with fellow author Nora Coon.

It's like riding a bike

2010-07-22T20:00:00.000-07:00

As most of you know, I'm trying to eat and act more healthfully. (Yes, "healthfully" is a word.)

Well, my mom asked me to go on a bike ride with her, and I did. Now. Folks. Let me explain a few things:

1) I hadn't ridden a bike in about six years.

2) I'm about thirty pounds overweight.

3) This bike ride was THREE MILES long.

So what happened, you ask? Well, I expected to have a bit of a rough go on my bike. At least for the first 30 seconds or so. But I was absolutely terrified I was going to fall off the first ten minutes.

Then my left butt cheek started to hurt.

Then I started to wheeze.

Every once in a while, we'd reach a slope, and the wind rushing through my hair and against my skin was incredible, but other than those few short, glorious moments, I felt like I was going to keel over.

By the time we got back to the house, I was practically drooping off of my bike. My legs felt like jelly, my lungs felt two sizes too small, and my heart felt like it was trying to punch a whole in my ribcage.

That's kind of how writing is, sometimes--it's painful, it makes you sweat, it makes you work.

But there are those moments of sheer, undiluted delight--where everything feels breezy and exhilarating and enchanting. The kinds of moments that make you think, "If I make it those three miles, it will have been worth it."

And I'm not necessarily talking about the kind of dedication that will make three miles easy-peasy if you work at it, nor the kind that will make your daily word count goal a cinch. Because sometimes, no matter how conditioned you are, no matter how much water you drank or poured down your neck before racing across the neighborhood, there will be those days where the breeze doesn't come. Where it's too damn hot and the air is completely stagnant and you don't feel any breeze at all--or it's freezing and the wind just tears your skin apart and you think you may have to have your face amputated.

No amount of training or words or preparedness can snag you those breezy moments. You just have to keep plugging at it, keep enjoying the journey that you're on, and hope for a fair wind against your face every now and again.

Momentum!

2010-07-20T13:43:00.000-07:00

As soon as I blog ecstatically about this, it's all going to go away, but in the meantime:

I've got MOMENTUM!

And assuming that this MS will be about 60-70K words, I'm about fifteen percent of the way there! In retrospect, it doesn't sound like much, but compared to SPITFIRE, this is flying by.

Of course, as always, I know I'll have lots to go back and beat into shape once I'm finished with the whole thing, but it's thrilling to write something at this sort of pace!

Swords and Creepy Men

2010-07-14T23:15:00.000-07:00

I just sent an email where I put the blurbs of both SPITFIRE and THE FOREVER DARK side-by-side. I did this, and then I felt incredibly stupid.

Both projects revolve around swords. I mean, I don't think they do, actually, but they feature heavily enough in both projects to make me look like I can't write anything else.

Also, even though only one query mentions this, both projects have a token "creepy-man-staring-through-the-window" character at the beginning.

I've never thought of myself as a formulaic writer, but I'm headed down the path of evil, apparently.

In all seriousness, though, I was really shocked by the similarities between my projects--and that's saying something, because I thought them both up. I think the biggest thing to take away from this realization is that your work is what you make it. I will swear up and down to whoever asks me that both SPITFIRE and THE FOREVER DARK are fundamentally about kids growing up. About kids losing their way, and finding it again. They're different stories in and of themselves, too. They look at different issues, both hypothetical and real. They may even speak to different people, and in different ways.

The point is, my projects aren't about swords. Or creepy men. They are about people learning, growing, and shaping their lives.

Have any of you ever realized something like this about your own work? What did you think? How did you deal?

The Soda Wars is LIVE

2010-07-01T20:41:00.000-07:00

So it's kind of ridiculous, but if you'd like to follow my weight loss adventures and watch me ween myself of soda, check out my spiffy vlog here.

A Quirk and a Query

2010-06-30T16:57:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned yesterday, I beta, and I have some folks that beta for me, as well. I'm pretty new to the whole thing, though, aside from serious critical readings and papers in the university setting. (Although I think that makes me a decent beta.)

So, in order to give my betas a little scope for the novel they're about to read, here's what I've found myself doing:

I write a query while my novel is still in its inception. I write it once I've figured out all the major plot points and the feel of the piece, but my first query draft usually comes before I've written anything substantial.

I cannot stress how amazing this exercise is. First off, I'm kind of horrible about writing queries, so there's nothing like the present to get practicing. Secondly, if you can distill your novel into 300 words or less, it's a good sign that your ducks are all in a row and you know where you're going. If you can't, that's an equally good sign that you need to revisit your outline and tighten some things up.

Of course, all of this is operating under the assumption that you're like me and outline before you write. If you don't, that's fine, too. But once you know where you're going, give the query a whirl. You might even surprise yourself.

Guh. Internet.

2010-06-29T21:39:00.000-07:00

Yeah, that thing I'm always on? I don't have it on my laptop right now. After six years of, um, borrowing my neighbors' wi-fi, they finally set up a password. My family has internet, of course, but no wireless to go with it.

I'm going router shopping.

Also, shiny new names for my [holy goodness are you kidding me?!] new trilogy. I'll only tell you one, because I've attached some pretty hefty monikers to these kids.

That which as formerly SHADOWLESS is now THE FOREVER DARK. It just sounds cooler. I'm about 4k in. I'm beta-reading a LOT, but the ladies I'm supposed to be sending these to haven't received them yet because of the aforementioned password on the wi-fi.

(By the way, one of them has a nifty blog, and you should check her out here.)

IN NON-WRITING-RELATED NEWS:
I've also started something I think I'm calling "The Soda Wars," a chronicle of my battle with Coca Cola and all its inglorious calories. Watch me lose weight at a URL coming to you soon! :)

It's been a long time

2010-06-21T14:17:00.000-07:00

Let me tell you why:

There's no good reason. It's guilt, plain and simple. When it takes you nearly three weeks to squeeze out 10K, you feel kind of like maybe you shouldn't flock to the blog and preach about how everyone should write every day and adhere gallantly to their daily word count goals.

But, alack. (Yes, alack. I like it better than alas. Get over it.)

On top of that, I hit a pretty huge stumbling block with SPITFIRE, and I've been applying like mad to schools that have summer deadlines, so all the writerly enthusiasm I usually have was just sucked out of me.

S'okay, though. I've picked up a new project, one that should fly by pretty quick, and I think that it'll be a nice break from SPITFIRE. I already miss Mattie and Beth.

I'm giving myself four weeks on this new project, and that's it. Then it's back to SPITFIRE.

Working title is SHADOWLESS, although I kind of hate it. *sigh*

IN OTHER NEWS:

I got a book called SALT: A WORLD HISTORY.

For those of you that don't know my personal seasoning habits, I LOVE salt. I saw this book from across the aisle, and a chorus of angels started to sing. I'm only a few pages in, but it looks like it's going to be one of my favorite non-fiction books ever.

First Drafts and Revisions

2010-05-02T00:16:00.000-07:00

Multitasking and Vampires

2010-04-30T13:40:00.000-07:00

MULTITASKING:

Alright. I know I've touched on this kind of thing before, but it's seriously agonizing:

So many things going on at once! And again, the best way to write these confusing, uber-packed scenes is to prioritize. What's more pressing in your character's brain right now? The fact that she's been forced to escape into a world she never new existed, or the fact that her nose is swollen and her right hand is short some fingernails? Or is all of that overshadowed by the fact that she's able to sit next to a roaring fire?

Well? Tell me!

Mattie is the type of person that can take things in stride, but really, there's only so much she can take before she loses it. It's my job as her "writer" to recognize when she's at that point. It's my job to know her like the back of my hand.

I've taken a lot of time to sit down with Mattie and ask her questions. It helps me prioritize her thoughts, and what should come across on the page when I hit really intense scenes.

Talking with your character is amazing. It's a fantastic exercise that I think is the most valuable for fiction writers (unless you happen to be Borges--yeesh, that man was brilliant, but he had no use for characters).

VAMPIRES:

Yeah, yeah, they're overdone. I've never really been a fan of vampire novels anyway, but even I'm feeling vampired-out.

And yet. . .

I have this Idea (with a capital "I"). And as weird as it sounds, I'm kind of imagining the whole thing as a middle-grade novel. It'll probably mature a little, provided I do anything with this Idea, but still.

Just don't hate me for it.

This Week at Book-Bound

2010-04-21T22:55:00.000-07:00

Constantly struggling to find time to write? Welcome to the club!

This week, Nora and I are tackling that very issue--making time to write. Check out my post here; Nora's is soon to follow.

In other news, I'm really, really trying to get a young writers' program going at at least one school around my area. It looks promising; I'm devoting a lot of time to writing up itineraries for both a high school and middle school program. As long as everything goes well, I'll expect I'll be devoting a lot more time to this whole endeavor, so it's really important that I start managing my time, as well.

Hope your writing's going well! SPITFIRE is at 23,013 words (I swear I've been hovering around 23K for the past three weeks--but I've written at least 5 or 6K. . .hmm). Anyway, still going semi-strong!

Llamas!

2010-04-21T12:55:00.000-07:00

On a completely non-writing-related note, I found this. Check it out.

Books I Haven't Read

2010-04-15T23:21:00.000-07:00

Seriously, folks. I need to get on this.

Book-Bound

2010-04-15T12:27:00.000-07:00

I realized a while ago that I've pimped out my new blog project to every other web medium (Twitter, Facebook, FB messaging, AW Forums) I'm a part of. Except for my actual blog.

So here it goes:

WHAT: New, awesome co-authored blog with published author Nora Coon. Yeah, you heard me: published. And, to top it off, she's awesome.

WHY: To make us (and you!) better writers. Check out our mission statement. (Alright, it's not really a mission statement. But I've been to way too many leadership camp/program-y thingers to call it a plain ol' "About Us" deal. Sorry.)

WHERE: Book-Bound. Check it.

We'll cover at least one topic a week dealing with something--anything--in the writing universe. Got questions? Subjects you want us to tackle? Let us know, and we'll be happy to get you some answers!

That's not to say I won't still be poking around here. I definitely will.

Guess What?!

2010-04-13T21:42:00.000-07:00

FAE/MATTIE/GOF has a new title!

I know none of you are as thrilled as I am, but I'm going to give it to you anyway: SPITFIRE.

Yup. Spitfire.

So there you have it, folks.

Check This Out

2010-04-12T22:27:00.000-07:00

This post is from the blog Old People Writing For Teens, and I absolutely love it.

Publicity Poster Girl: Jackson Pearce

2010-04-10T01:04:00.000-07:00

I'm definitely jumping the gun here (I'm jumping all over the place lately), but I've been doing a lot of research about book promotion and publicity. Most folks say that if you want publicity for your book, you need to go that extra mile and work alongside your publishing team.

No one is better at this, in my humble opinion, than Jackson Pearce, author of As You Wish and the upcoming Sisters Red. Case-in-point:

(1) Her YouTube channel is awesome. She gives her readers and fans and fellow writers lots of food for thought. Her videos are informative, creative, and hilarious--a winning combination. She's not preachy about the writing process, and everything she vlogs about is fun and inventive. Not to mention, she sometimes gives away monthly prizes (ARCs of yet-to-be-published books, signed copies of some of her favorites, and all-around awesome bookish things--these prizes make me swoon) in exchange for subscribers. Brilliance in a nutshell.

(2) She's anchored firmly in social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. I can't tell you how many times I've heard established writers push the importance of "web presence" and "platform." I'm sure being technologically challenged has never been a deal-breaker in the publishing industry, but if you've built yourself a network of followers before your book hits the shelves, you'll make your publicist's job a lot easier.

(3) She's got a lovely, readable blog. (My fiance recently told me that he can barely read the font that I'm using, which crushed me, because it looks great on MY computer. . .back to the drawing board. . .) Jackson's blog, like her YouTube channel and FB/Twitter pages, is updated frequently, and with thoughtful, relevant posts (like this one, in which she reflects on her querying process). Too often, I come across author blogs that really alienate a casual reader, the type of blogs that are only accessible if you've been following the author for a decade or so, and will forgive them of their sporadic and angry-sounding posts. (Not that we don't all need to let off steam now and again, but it gets old quick, and it's--at least for me--a way to get me to stop reading your blog.)

Basically, Jackson's blog is accessible and friendly, one that I enjoy reading, both as a fan and a writer. She appeals to two tiers of folks; those that read AND those that write. That kind of appeal is just golden.

(4) She connects with her followers. This is a biggie. She has a weekly live show here at Livestream where she encourages folks to ask her questions, random and sundry, and chat amongst each other while she answers them and imparts little nuggets of what she's learned as a writer and a reader over the years. She also just plain gets people excited. Monthly prizes? Yes! Live chats? Yes! Harry Potter in less than twenty seconds? OMG YES!

Jackson Pearce is a titan of industry. I know, because I found her YouTube channel a few weeks ago and suddenly decided, "Wow, I should really get my hands on As You Wish." After a frustrating round at a particular bookstore that's no longer carrying the hardback version, I decided to pay shipping and handling, because gosh darn it, I'm not going to wait for the paperback! It's on its merry way to my home as we speak.

And I've already got Sisters Red pre-ordered. I unfortunately have to wait until June, but I'm already super-excited! Sibling bonds, wolves, axes, badass Red Riding Hood--what more could you ask for from a book?

Jump-jump-jump Jump Around!

2010-04-08T23:12:00.000-07:00

I'm what I'd call a linear writer. I like to start at the beginning and end at the end, no matter how badly I want to write that awesome scene halfway through the outline while I'm still plugging along on chapter one.

The main reason is because I want to be able to feel the mood and the tension, both at just the right timbre, in every scene I'm writing. I feel like if I skip around while I'm writing, especially to those important scenes, nothing I write will have the emotional weight or clarity that it needs to have.

That having been said, this IS a rough draft, so I'm probably going to change a good third--if not more--of what I write, and some of those changes will be substantial.

And I found myself stuck the other day. So what did I do? I jumped around.

Pack it up, pack it in,
Let me begin. . .

In all seriousness, it helped. It really, really helped. I jumped to a very particular scene and wrote a lot. It turned out very. . .distinctively not how I'd planned. I'll probably end up changing that whole scene, but man, it was fun, and it managed to unstick me and let me go back to the natural beginning-to-end progression of my novel-writing stratagem.

So if you find yourself stuck in a linear rut (cheesy!). . .jump around.

No More Strict Outline

2010-03-27T01:24:00.000-07:00

I've deviated. (By that, I mean I just condensed all of what I thought would be three scenes into one. But that still counts. I say so.)

WC: 11,177

WOTD: (I may or may not have already done this one) ABSCISSION--(n) act of cutting off or removing

Um, I'd like to point out that the "example sentence" this book gives is as follows:

"Dr. Carter recommended an immediate ABSCISSION of the abscess [. . .]" (Curtis et al, 31)

Way to go, Princeton Review. Way to go.

Things You Wouldn't Expect to be Annoying

2010-03-24T21:14:00.000-07:00

Or maybe you would.

Either way, I've run into a curious phenomenon, one which I actually run into quite often, but then forget I ran into it at all.

And it goes a little like this:

My character has an injury on her foot. It's a very minor injury, but one that hurts a lot. I believe she sustained this a good two or three [writing] days ago, though, and those two or three days have really messed with my head--I forget she's got this thing, so I had her stomping moodily up stairs and doing hardcore lunges and all that until I remembered that half her leg was wrapped in an Ace bandage and it hurts her to put any weight on it.

So, obviously, she can't stomp up the stairs. Instead, she gripes about not being able to sufficiently stomp her moodiness out, and has to instead grumble about how much her foot hurts.

But not too much, because then that just bogs the whole flow of the story arc down and the reader gets bored and the writer (*cough*) gets bored, too, and then no one, not even the characters, wants to finish the scene. (Never mind the annoying dramatic tension that isn't happening like it should, either.)

Seriously, though. This character-has-an-injury thingy is tough stuff. It has to be integrated enough to be believable, but not too much. It also has to fit in with your character's physical actions (no moody stomping) and with the rest of the plot until that sucker heals. And, of course, the worse the wound, the longer it takes to heal.

So with your character out of commission physically (especially if you have a very mobile-oriented plot), you as a writer need to be really engaged with your material so that you can still engage your audience. I've read a lot of plot-heavy novels in which the hero is injured and then there's a really boring, psuedo-romantic nursing-back-to-health sequence that takes about fifty useless pages, and then when the action finally picks up again, you realize how useless the "injured hero" segment was.

Kind of like that paragraph.

I think the real trick is, if you're going to put your characters out of commission for a while, the stuff that goes on around them needs, needs to contribute to the forward motion of your plot. And I think the majority of this magic plot-driving stuff is character. It's fake downtime. The reader is getting to know a bit more about the facets of this character, or the machinations of the story machine.

Case-in-point (watch out--Harry Potter reference coming your way):

How many times has Harry ended up in the hospital wing? That could get really boring really fast. But Rowling utilizes this time to have Harry overhear tantalizing plot details he shouldn't.

Now, if I go back to what's happening right now in my novel, Mattie isn't laid up in some hospital--she just tore some skin off her foot and she has a bit of a limp because of it. But this injury is going to color all of her actions, however minutely, until it heals. And it may not sound like much, but that's a lot to think about when you're writing.

So bear that in mind, and happy writings!

WOTD: BEDIZEN--(v) to adorn, especially in a cheap, showy manner; festoon, caparison

Ultimate Poet

2010-03-11T01:07:00.000-08:00

I don't care what you say: hands-down, the best poet in the world is Roy Harper. Second to no one.

And you all need to check out his albums. Like, now.

I've got this constant, latent love for Roy Harper and sometimes it just explodes out of me and I need to tell people. Consider yourselves told.

O Glorious Day!

2010-03-09T21:52:00.000-08:00

So, got 2328 words added. You bet I did.

And for some reason, I'm exhausted at a reasonable bed-time hour. So I think I'm going to capitalize on this.

Day of Reckoning

2010-03-09T00:17:00.000-08:00

Starting at 1000 words. 89K to go.

Eye of the Tiger, kids. Eye of the Tiger.

Things I Call My Dog

2010-02-26T14:04:00.000-08:00

My dog is special, and as such, she deserves special nicknames. But it recently occurred to me that these nicknames might be a little more than just "special." I've gotten some weird looks from folks who hear me call her these things:

Muchacho
Choo-choo Train
Princess Pat
Machu Picchu
Chupacabra
Little Bear
Stinky-butt

And collectively:
Boobies
Boo-boos
Boo

So yeah. I guess they're just flat-out weird. But I like them, and they fit her.

Win.

The Way of Things

2010-02-25T15:29:00.000-08:00

This is how it goes. No matter what I decide, no matter what I resolve to do, there's always a reason I can't. At least in time enough to be like, "HOO-HAH! Did you see me go?!"

So, no, I'm not saying I'll never get this novel finished.

What I'm saying is something more along the lines of I REALLY HATE ALLERGIES. They set me back. And I'm not happy.

Anyway, what I'm also saying is that after my rousing 2K-words-a-day-no-excuses spiel, I'm a little embarrassed and definitely won't finish on April 5th.

Maybe April 6th. But definitely not the 5th.

And WOTD be damned today, because all my dictionaries are upstairs, and I am not.

2000 Words

2010-02-20T12:41:00.000-08:00

2000 words a day. That's what I'm going for. I've still got a few minor kinks in the overall story arc, but it's time to start writing. The kinks are far down the line, and while I'd like to know exactly how I'm going to work those elements out, I'm secure enough to leave them for now.

Like I've said before, the complexities in this project--both backstory and actual story--are particularly tangled, and sometimes convoluted. I'm used to writing mainly short stories, the kind where complexity is implied, but not conveyed through the plot at all. So as much as I love reading fantasy, I've very little practice actually writing it, and I'm somewhat out of my element.

But I say again: 2000 words a day, starting now. I'm going to use my old estimate of 90K words, so that'll put me at 45 days. By April 5th, I will have completed this novel.

And it will be messy. But I'll be done with the hard part, and then I can revise.

WOTD: SLAKE--(verb) to satisfy, quench, lessen the intensity of

Biased Book Reviews

2010-02-20T00:15:00.000-08:00

I decided a while back that I'm in no way going to do book reviews. Not here, and not on YouTube. It's not my job and not what I want to spend my time doing.

That having been said, I definitely do want to fangirl at you folks about books I really like.

Hence, I'll essentially be doing book reviews. But only good ones.

And there you have it.

Also, WOTD. Jeebus, I'm horrible about remembering.

WOTD: (This is another one for all us Harry Potter fans.) UMBRAGE--(NOUN) offense, resentment
Suspiciously like "Umbridge," no?

Letting it Stew

2010-02-19T23:20:00.000-08:00

I love slow cookers. The crock pot is probably one of the most amazing inventions to date. And yeah, I guess you could get the same results from letting one of your standard pots simmer on the stove all day, but it's just not the same.

Writing a novel is a lot like cooking something in a crock pot; you've got all these separate ingredients that you want to give cohesion and flavor. What better way than to let it stew? The juices of the meat give the onions a tangy, wild flavor; the vegetables sweeten the broth. Everything in the stew imbibes a bit of everything else. Perfect harmony.

When you read something that just doesn't fit, it's jarring. You snap out of the story. It's as if the author decided to throw in raw potatoes at the last minute, hoping they'd soften a bit. I'm all for shaking things up, but when you've given your project and its respective elements time to meld together, you can create a dish so impeccably orchestrated that people will hunger for more.

Yes, I'm aware I'm taking this analogy too far, but bear with me.

I think it's important to note, though, that stewing can only go on for so long. If you leave your stew in your crock pot for more than 12 hours or so, it starts to stink. It stagnates and coagulates and turns to mush. Unappetizing. Maybe even moldy.

Stewing is a good thing. Procrastination under the guise of stewing is not.

So I encourage you to make a list of all the ingredients you want your project to have. Let them stew in your mind. Decide how these things all fit together, and how they flavor and color all the other aspects of the novel. Season them, if you will, with herbs and spices. Make everything tangy and alive, or sweet. Or savory. Just play around with this idea and see what you get.

Lillian Cosworth

2010-02-19T14:05:00.000-08:00

If for some reason I had to have a pen name, I think I'd call myself Lillian Cosworth. Doesn't it sound writerly?

We have Ms. Cosworth on the panel today. Yes, thank you for being here, Ms. Cosworth. Please, give us your worldly opinion on the decay of modern literature, Ms. Cosworth, that is, if you'd be so kind, Ms. Cosworth. My, you are rather robust and swarthy-looking for a Lillian, aren't you, Ms. Cosworth? Oh, excuse me; that's not appropriate.

That's more or less how I'd imagine my interviews going.

But I think I'm going to stick with my name. Lillian Cosworth will always be in my heart, though. Lillian with a double "l", of course.

Are any of you decided on pen names?

The Man Your Man Could Smell Like!

2010-02-19T11:42:00.000-08:00

No. This has nothing to do with writing. But wow, is this commercial the best I've seen, ever? Yes.

Flip!

2010-02-17T19:51:00.000-08:00

I have a very new, very beautiful video camera with which to record my WriteNowBlogger videos. It's a Flip, and it looks like this. I can record anywhere I want! This is a magical, wonderful thing. Look for more videos soon!

WOTD: MULTIFARIOUS--(adj) having many different parts, elements, or forms

WOTD

2010-02-08T23:29:00.000-08:00

I swear, I always forget the WOTD. Forgot it today and yesterday! So here are two for you:

MUSICOMANIA--(noun) a love for music so excessive that it can cause mental instability

MYTACISM--(noun) using the letter M incorrectly or to an extreme

I'm seriously not making these up.

Valentine's Prep!

2010-02-08T14:52:00.000-08:00

Mom and I made cookies the other day, and frosted them this afternoon. And yeah, they look a bit Easter-y, but they're still pretty! Behold!

Also, folks, big news: I think I've figured out that nagging thing I hadn't figured out yesterday. Figuring is amazing! I'm figuring the heck out of this thing, so look out!

And back to those cookies: I'd like to point out that one of my favorite, favorite things in novels is reading about feasts. Things like "glittering pink wedges of iced coconut candies" (badly paraphrased from one of the Harry Potter books); succulent roasts flavored with honey and spices; soft, melty cheeses sprinkled with herbs; warm, spiced wine that slips like silk over the tongue--I just love it. I love all. I love it, and it's one of those things that took me a while to realize I loved. But I do. If you're like me, then this exercise is for you: Write a passage describing a feast one of your characters is attending. If you want, you can flesh it out and make it an entire scene, complete with intrigue, fancy dresses, and the scent of woodsmoke wafting from the kitchens.

And then indulge in something delectable!

Happy eat--um, I mean, writing.

The Hunt

2010-02-07T15:25:00.000-08:00

WARNING! BRIEF ASIDE! BRAIN CELLS MAY ATROPHY:

I kind of made a deal with myself that I'd post here at least every other day. I haven't been so good lately. But in my defense, the most exciting thing that's happened in this last week, hands down, no joke, is that my sims had triplet girls.

Yep.

REAL POST [SAFE TO READ]:

Okay, maybe that's not the most interesting thing that's happened. I managed to figure out a few of the more pressing issues in my novel. Now I only have one major (and I mean major--like, I-can't-write-this-until-I-figure-this-part-out) issue, which I've been mulling over for the past week. The others were matters of making plot elements work within the story arc; this is just deciding the nature of an aspect of the novel. Much more ambiguous, no real constraints. So much more difficult.

The moral of the story is this: I really have nothing to show for my brief hiatus. I'm sitting at Barnes and Noble, waiting for inspiration to strike, and wondering what to use my coupon on.

And I think this is as good a point as any to point out that inspiration strikes a person about as often as lightening. I say I'm waiting for it, but I know that's wishful thinking. Inspiration is one of those irritating buggers that you have to go out and hunt for. With a bow and arrows. And it's a fast bugger. And I'm so not built for hunting.

But like any other sport or skill, the more you work at it, the better you get. Hunt daily. Write as often as you can. While I'm plotting, before I actually WRITE write, I write bits and pieces of dialogue I imagine, thoughts I imagine my characters having, and little snatches of the beginnings of scenes I may never write. This, for me, is part of the hunt. I immerse myself in the world, even if I end up trashing everything I've written, and that helps me understand those things that I'm working towards.

I'm a May Baby!

2010-01-31T18:10:00.000-08:00

Alright, folks. I've more or less finished re-outlining everything and started writing again. There are three or four really big kinks in my plot that I need to iron out, though. I hate it when that happens. You know that game Whac-A-Mole? As soon as I fix one problem, another one pops up.

So alas, and woe is me, and all that jazz.

Anyway, I've got another exercise for you. Using one of the following opening lines, free-write for ten minutes without stopping. Don't let yourself stop. If you have to write gibberish for a few seconds while you're thinking what to write next, do it. But here's the catch--you can't pick the line; I'm going to pick it for you. And I do this for two reasons: (1) it's nice to see what you can make out of something someone else has given you and (2) sometimes those things are things your characters have given you, and you need to write yourself into an understanding of what, exactly, you've been given. Characters are feisty, donchaknow! (Bobby's World, anyone?)

So here we go:

If your birthday is in January or February:
When I looked in the mirror today, my eyes were purple.

March or April babies? Here you go:
Frank could do just about anything, and I hated him for it.

May or June:
Four islands hugged the coast.

July or August:
Reflections are funny things.

September or October:
Dog whiskers look exactly like roach antennae, and it freaks me out.

November or December.
When there's no one left in this town, I don't know what I'll do.

So there you have it. Six really odd, cryptic sentences to rev your imagination engines! (Yes. Imagination engines. You're all five.)

WOTD: SHAHZADAH--(noun) son of a shah
Woot! Persians! :)

Write Me a Scene

2010-01-30T14:19:00.000-08:00

So I'll buck up and consent to use the word scene. Now here we go:

Write me a scene that includes the words

dour
opulent
machination
ramifications
story

Five hundred words max. You can have as many or as few characters as you'd like, any backdrop you'd like, any timeframe and/or world you'd like. Just write something.

WOTD: GOETY--(noun) black magic

Joyce Carol Oates = Awesome

2010-01-30T01:22:00.000-08:00

Every writer must watch this video:

If you're reading this via Facebook, I don't think you can see the video. If that's the case, click here.

And in case you folks didn't know, Joyce Carol Oates is a genius. Go read her short stories. Go. Do it now.

WOTD: SCAPULIMANCY--(noun) fortunetelling by studying a charred or cracked shoulder blade
Three things: (1) Have I done a -mancy word already? (2) Where do you even get a charred or cracked shoulder blade (or do I want to know)? (3) What's the difference?

Video: Books I Love (Part I)

2010-01-27T01:19:00.000-08:00

I know. Another video. But I couldn't resist!

And just in case you missed it:

Sabriel by Garth Nix

The Little Friend by Donna Tartt

WOTD: VLEI--(noun) [apparently, this sucker is pronounced "FLAY"] a temporary lake; a swamp

Video Four: Outlining!

2010-01-25T23:36:00.000-08:00

Links galore!

Here's the link to Lazette Gifford's article on phasing.

And here's the link for Holly Lisle's article on notecarding. It was the first I came across years ago, and I think it's a nice supplement to what I've given you. She goes a bit more in-depth and has a solid system for notecarding.

Here's the link to an interview with Garth Nix. You can see the notes he's made (chapter names, whatnot). Pretty cool stuff.

WOTD: FUSTILUGS--(noun) a fat, unwieldy person
(Boy oh boy, do I love my Word Lover's Dictionary.)

Infodump

2010-01-25T00:53:00.000-08:00

So sorry, folks. I know it's odd and sounds extremely narcissistic and self-serving, but as I failed to create general info post links earlier in the game, I figured I should do it ASAP. So you'll notice I've got a whole post about me and another whole post about the purpose of this blog. Try not to look too closely if you already know all that. They'll head into the "links" section of the sidebar, to be swept away into voluntary readership as I continue to post.

Eventually, once I'm published, I'll have a nice section on my book(s), as well, and a FAQ page (provided I have enough kind and interested readers to substantiate a FAQ page).

So in the spirit of getting one's work published, write a front-flap/back cover summary of your current project. Sum up your main story arc. Get it focused. It's okay if you don't know exactly where you're going with your project, because (obviously) the backs of books don't ever give the story away. But they hint at what's to come. Try writing a few different back cover blurbs. Drop these portentous hints to yourself, even (and sometimes especially) if you don't know what exactly your getting at. Then guess. If a guess intrigues you, explore that idea. Flesh out those hints. It'll get you thinking.

WOTD: OXALM--(noun) a sour sauce

Bio

2010-01-25T00:29:00.000-08:00

Well, let's see. That's me, on the left. The picture is a bit dated, but you know what I look like anyway if you watch my videos.

I was born in Austin, Texas some years ago. I still live in the area. It's nice. I like it.

I have a BA in English from the University of Texas at Austin (hook 'em!) I've applied to several MFA programs in creative writing. I'm waiting to hear back from these folks. I think I'm a pretty decent writer; I hope they think so, too. So hopefully I'll be expecting to head to college again this fall, preferably somewhere that'll give me lots of funding.

In the meantime, I write, I work part time at my dad's restaurant (which is delicious, by the way--stop by if you're in the greater Austin area and say hello), care for my crazy puppy Giada (lounging on the bottom right), and am leisurely planning my wedding to my wonderful fiance.

I like to read quite a bit, so much so that I'm in dire need of yet another floor-to-ceiling bookshelf. I read a spicy variety of books--so-called literary, mainstream fantasy, YA fiction, children's fiction, biographies, classics. I'm always on the lookout for more.

Some sundry facts:

I know how to knit, but I can only manage scarves.

I'm really bad at riddles, but I love word games (Taboo, anyone?).

I like classic rock and soundtrack scores.

I can play the flute. I used to be pretty good.

I had braces in college.

I love Build-A-Bear.

Brie is absolutely divine. Especially on crackers. With wine. Mmmm, cheese and wine! Bliss.

Contrary to popular belief, I really don't like it when things are messy. Things are messy, though, because I'm lazier than I am bothered by the mess. (And let it be known that messy does not mean dirty. I draw the line at dirty.)

About "Write Now"

2010-01-25T00:05:00.000-08:00

That's exactly what I should be doing. Writing. Right now. But instead, I'd like to tell you a bit about this blog. It's a little about me and a lot about writing. I'll offer exercises and writing strategies for other writers, so check back often for new material.

I've also got a Write Now video series here called WriteNowBlogger. It will feature writing advice and exercises, with extras here on the blog.

But in the meantime, I need to write. Now.

Word of the Day!!

2010-01-24T16:41:00.000-08:00

Yikes! WOTD is probably my favorite part of this blog, and I forgot! To make up for that, I'll give you a really good one.

WOTD: TRISKADEKAPHOBIA--(noun) fear of the number thirteen

Any sufferers?

Woe

2010-01-24T00:43:00.000-08:00

I'm not one to have trouble sleeping. I can sleep the day away. I can, provided I'm not interrupted, sleep for a good fifteen to sixteen hours a day.

But when I can't sleep, man, can't I sleep. I've got so much going on in my head. Half of it is stupid and useless (annoying customers at work, how hilariously unfortunate it was when I slipped in front of the bar), and the other half are things I just have to wait for and deal with as they present themselves to me (vet bills for Giada, graduate school acceptances, etc.).

And the writing. (Yes, half and half make a whole, but writing deserves it's own woeful category.) The writing has stopped. My writing brain went on a bit of a hiatus these past few days. I'm wrangling it back.

You should, too. I know you haven't been as good as you could be. Challenge yourself to write at least 1,000 words today. If you find yourself writing more, then write more. Don't let petty anxieties drain your enthusiasm for your writing. That sucks.

Girl on Fire

2010-01-18T10:24:00.000-08:00

This is dangerous. Possibly the most dangerous thing I've ever done.

I took my own advice. I thought it was just a passing fancy, but when I began to write MATTIE from Mattie's own voice, the story just seemed to click.

Along with the fact that I've shucked about 30K words (only nominally, because hell if I'm going to actually trash all that work), I've changed not only the person, but the tense and structure of the narrative. Things are going to move a lot faster where they need to (namely at the beginning). And along with this sexy new look, this novel has a title! (In case you were wondering, "title" was typed with a lot of feeling and a grandiose sing-songy voice. TIIII-TULLLL! Because I type with my voice. . .)

Drumroll!

Spotlight!

Title!

GIRL ON FIRE! (sans exclamation point. . .)

Now, it's not great, but like all things that aren't that great, it fits. And because it fits, I'm going to keep it unless I--or an agent or editor--can think of something better. (It also kind of doesn't fit because it sounds a little chicklit-y to me, and it's so not going to be a chicklit. Please tell me it doesn't sound chicklit-y and that I'm crazy and it sounds wonderful. Please.)

For typing ease, henceforth, GIRL ON FIRE shall be known as GOF! (Goblet. . .of. . .?)

So that's about it for today, and I keep telling myself that this is a good thing. I hope it is. I really, really hope it is.

So, in parting, I've got a little exercise for you:

Take a few pages of a book you like and completely rewrite it. Change the style, change the voice, change everything. It might not yield great results, but I think it's a fun exercise (and maybe you'll reconnect with an old book you love!).

Today's WOTD is in the spirit of Harry Potter and was taken from The Word Lover's Dictionary (Josefa Heifetz): MUNDUNGUS--(n) stinky tobacco; garbage

Progress...Sort of

2010-01-16T13:47:00.000-08:00

The words are coming, but not the way I'd like them to. I think, subconsciously, I'm waiting for something exciting to happen in the scene (for lack of a better word) I'm writing, so I keep writing myself in circles until this "exciting thing" happens and I can move on.

Oh, the joys of first drafts.

Also, if you're reading this (or any other of my blog posts) via Facebook and would like to leave a comment, please do so on the actual blog by clicking on "View Original Post" at the bottom of the page. Can't have too much blog traffic! :)

WOTD: NATTY--(adj) trimly neat and tidy; dapper

Cheese Balls and The Problem with POV

2010-01-14T23:25:00.000-08:00

Attention! Before we continue with the scheduled post, we have an urgent announcement to make! It is:

HEB makes amazing cheese balls. Yes. Cheese balls. My mom and I were so thrilled with the sample they had set out that we bought two of them. And they are deeee-lish! This wonderful little ball is make of spreadable cheese, packed with shallots, and encrusted with snipped chives. So heavenly. Observe all the chive-and-shallot goodness.

POV, however, is less than heavenly. For the one or two lone rangers that don't know or aren't thinking properly as they read this, POV stands for "point of view," and it's pretty important stuff. Although it's one of those things that, unless you're using it as a particularly thoughtful or progressive plot/narration gimmick, you just don't think about all that much.

Until you get to writing, that is.

Like me. I'm actually okay with how things are going in my novel so far. I like the so-called "person" I'm using. (It's third, in case you were interested.) But maybe I should've gone with first person. Maybe the narrative would be stronger. In fact, as I'm writing this to you folks now, I'm thinking, "Yeah, yeah--Definitely stronger. Man, I think I need to go back and change about 30K words' worth (har har) of novel and shape this sucker into a first person narrative."

And I think that today, I may have hit upon an important point that I, and I'm sure many others, tend to overlook. Of course, there is no narrative without the narrative voice, and there's no narrative voice until you've decided upon the person (first, third, the character his- or herself), so it's of paramount importance.

But, as I said, we tend to ignore those things that are staring us in the face. Or at least I do.

So here's what I've got for you today: I'd like you to take an excerpt from your work-in-progress, one that has a few characters and some interaction, and play with the POV. Try it in first if it's in third, and vice versa. Try it in second person, just for the fun of it. Try it from Bob's POV if it's in Joe's. Try it from Sally's if it's in Sue's. Or Hepzibah's or Azad's or Chachi's. Just shake it up. Who knows? Maybe you'll find that your piece would function better with a POV change.

Tell me how it goes. Happy writing!

WOTD: YE (archaic; definite article)--Not to be confused with the archaic form of you, this ye is the one you see in things like Ye Olde Pub, and is an archaic spelling of the definite article the. Most people in the present-day erroneously pronounce it YEE, but, as this awesome little book, 100 Words Almost Everyone Mispronounces, tells us, it's pronounced exactly like the in front of a vowel (THEE). Apparently, the top portion of the loop in the letter thorn (þ) wasn't connected in most handwriting, making it look like a Y, so typesetters generally used Y in place of the thorn and the TH construction. Interesting stuff. At least for nerdy folk like myself.

A Bit About Scenes

2010-01-13T20:03:00.000-08:00

Scenes are funny things. When I think of scenes, I think of movies. Simple word association. But, of course, novels and short stories have scenes, too.

I've never thought myself as a very good "scene writer," which is stupid, because then I'm essentially saying that I don't think I'm much of a writer, period. I suppose the crux of the matter is that because I'd never encountered the term as it applied to literature in my "formative years" (Can I say that? I guess I can say that. Don't think I'm too stuffy, please), I never allowed myself to structure things that I read as scenic. Episodic, maybe, but not scenic. (I know, I know--semantics, right? But just here me out.)

I've tried to distill the reasoning behind my own reasoning, and what I've come up with is this: Writing, for me, is organic. I like an outline, but it's a loose one. I like a story arc, but it's a broad one. I like knowing what's going to happen, but also being surprised.

And for these reasons, whether warranted or not, I hate the idea of scenes.

Blame it on my own associative ideas about the word itself, but to me, writing "scenes" is about as organic as plastic. It makes me think of cutting and splicing things together, taking bits that don't work and adding bits that do. And yeah, that's called revision. But it's also about constraint; when you think about scenes (or at least when I do), you're presented with a very rigid frame. There is no rigid frame within literature (iambic pentameter and all its ilk aside). Rigidity is not conducive to growth; it's stifling and overbearing.

I can reconcile myself to episodic writing, though. There are high and low points, tension, and a filled-out sort of feeling that, while it doesn't resolve the overall conflict of the piece, allows a sense of wholeness and movement that I think scenes just chop to bits.

But then again, maybe this is all semantics and I'm just annoyed that I can't do something that most people can. What do you think?