I'm currently about 35K words into the draft of my sequel. Truthfully, I'd hoped to make more progress this month. But I've caught myself stumbling around. Not on the big things. On the littlest of things. My main character needs to make a small movement. Something simple. Routine. For example, say Tanzy needs to move from one room, down a hall, and into another...
45 minutes pass
...Tanzy still needs to move from one room, down a hall, and into another. By now I've pulled out an unhealthy amount of hair, gone to the kitchen for some cookie dough, made hot chocolate, stared at my empty photo frame for inspiration, tried to get inside Tanzy's head (how does she FEEL about going down said hallway?! What color is it? What does she notice? What is she thinking about?) And then my head does somthing like this:
I can't get her down the damn hallway and in the next scene she's supposed to storm the castle/stop an anstroid from striking earth/save a basket of puppies adrift in shark infested waters?!
And then I get psyched out to the point of paralysis and Tanzy's feet root to the proverbial floor, which turns into quicksand and sucks us both under. And then my brain goes something like this: what the heck am I doing? I'm not a writer. The plot has gone to hell in a handbasket. I have no idea what I'm doing. The astroid hits, the princess is toast, the sharks are full.
Then, before I completely self destruct, I remember a helpful hint I got from my editor when she polished Tanzy's first adventure in preparation for publication: why not just let her walk down the hallway?
Huh?
"Try this," she says. "I walk down the hallway."
I walk down the hallway.
Simple. Tidy. Perfect.
As writers, we know how important it is to develop our characters emotionally. We also know how important it is to paint a whole picture. When done correctly, we allow our readers to live in our stories. It's a beautiful thing. You know what else is beautiful? Our readers are smart. We don't have to fill every sentence with physical description and emotional reactions. Too much, and our writing becomes so bloated that the story gets lost in the flab. And that's what most people want in a book: a good story.
So if you have a moment when you can't get your character from point A to point B, remember what they taught you in geometry: the shortest distance between two points is a straight line.
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Can you vague that up for me? A quick lesson from my favorite little person.
I have a twenty month old daughter. Among her favorite current activities: coloring, collecting acorns, and - for better and for worse - repeating everything I say. My husband and I have learned a lot about ourselves as she demonstrates new skills: while she pretends to talk into the remote control like a cell phone, she paces in tight ovals and throws her other hand in the air. That's when she's mimicking my husband. We know when she's mimicking me when she hastily concludes with: "kay, bye!" and tosses her makeshift phone on the closest available surface.
She's also shown me that I've been a little lazy in the word department. Several months ago, she started pointing at objects when she wanted them. And apparently, I responded by asking: this? this? So now, when she wants something, no matter how big or small, no matter how many knick-knacks and doodads surround the desired object, she points and cries: "this! this!" Her little cheeks flush and she makes fantastically pudgy fists as I helplessly touch one object after another. This? No. This?!
The problem is obvious: instead of using descriptive, decisive words early on, "this" became the assigned word for anything my daughter wants. Oiy. Then it dawned on me: "this" can also happen in my writing.
I catch myself doing "this" from time to time, vague sentences that limp the bridge from the sentence before it to the sentence after. Or, on a larger scale, vague and "this-y" transitions that adhere two scenes together with little more than bubblegum. Unfortunately, guilt by association can apply, and those "this" moments often weaken the writing that directly surround them.
If you have a "this" moment in your writing, I have a feeling you know exactly what I'm talking about, and exactly where it is. That page or chapter you've been avoiding. Don't let it psych you out! As my editor said about a stumbling "this" sentence, pick an action and own it. Believe that it's not just the best thing to do - it's the only thing to do.
p.s.
I want to stand up and cry "objection!" against myself for just a moment, as I am now in day 17 of NaNo. First drafts can be chock full of "this." But the first draft is simply the map that shows your characters how to get from the first word to the last. Once they learn where they're going, they'll show you how they want to get there.
She's also shown me that I've been a little lazy in the word department. Several months ago, she started pointing at objects when she wanted them. And apparently, I responded by asking: this? this? So now, when she wants something, no matter how big or small, no matter how many knick-knacks and doodads surround the desired object, she points and cries: "this! this!" Her little cheeks flush and she makes fantastically pudgy fists as I helplessly touch one object after another. This? No. This?!
The problem is obvious: instead of using descriptive, decisive words early on, "this" became the assigned word for anything my daughter wants. Oiy. Then it dawned on me: "this" can also happen in my writing.
I catch myself doing "this" from time to time, vague sentences that limp the bridge from the sentence before it to the sentence after. Or, on a larger scale, vague and "this-y" transitions that adhere two scenes together with little more than bubblegum. Unfortunately, guilt by association can apply, and those "this" moments often weaken the writing that directly surround them.
If you have a "this" moment in your writing, I have a feeling you know exactly what I'm talking about, and exactly where it is. That page or chapter you've been avoiding. Don't let it psych you out! As my editor said about a stumbling "this" sentence, pick an action and own it. Believe that it's not just the best thing to do - it's the only thing to do.
p.s.
I want to stand up and cry "objection!" against myself for just a moment, as I am now in day 17 of NaNo. First drafts can be chock full of "this." But the first draft is simply the map that shows your characters how to get from the first word to the last. Once they learn where they're going, they'll show you how they want to get there.
Monday, November 5, 2012
Riding a dead horse - the hard truth
Gory title, I know. I'm referencing a tongue in cheek comment I made in a previous post about word count. But here's the difference between beating a dead horse and riding one: you could beat a dead horse for all kinds of crazy reasons: anger issues, severe mental breakdown, or maybe you have an odd way of coping with grief. But to hop aboard and think that the poor lifeless creature is actually going to take you somewhere - anywhere - that's a different story all together.
Ok, time to cut the metaphor and get down to brass tacks (hehe.) The hard truth is this: sometimes your first book - or your fifth - or your twentieth - is just a practice run. But let's focus on that first book, because it's like a first love. It matters in a way that you've never felt about anything else before. You doodle about it when you daydream, talk about it until people start turning the other way whenever they see you coming, cover your wall with pictures of it, stop spending time with friends and family because this first true love consumes you on a soul level. And that kind of love is blinding you to its faults.
I want to interject here and say that I'm not writing this post because I've never ridden a dead horse. Boy howdy have I. The first book I wrote dove deep down into the bleakest recesses of my heart and dredged up all kinds of feelings. I poured them out onto page and page, bleeding words like a stuck pig. It was my truth. My story. So it had to mean something to someone else. Right? I shopped that story all over the place. I even went so far as to print the whole thing out and mail it to a professional connection I'd made at a women's magazine. This is ALL of what she ever said about it: thanks for the notepad (a gift I'd included in the package.) Ouch.
I had to admit to myself that the book, worn out and floundering, had run its race and come up short. But I still won. I learned so much about arc and pacing as I toiled over that first love. I learned about developing my characters and letting them have minds of their own. The hardest lesson of all: I realized that 99.9% of the time, my manuscript is not nearly as ready to run as I would like to think. Patience is a virtue - and one I still have to chase down with a stick from time to time.
That first book was my first true education as a writer. I penned a first word, and made it all the way to the last. I wouldn't trade a thing for all the mistakes I made between them. But I also no longer expect it to get up and run. I've stopped trying to edit and rewrite it into something that will sell. It is my teacher, plain and simple. And at last I've let it retire to a lush, green pasture. Its work here is done.
p.s. As soon as I get my house unpacked, I'm going to jump into the NaNoWriMo universe! So I probably won't have a chance to blog much this month. I will definitely do a little diddy at the end of the month to let you know how my first NaNo attempt turns out. I'm already starting a week behind... but I work best under pressure.
Ok, time to cut the metaphor and get down to brass tacks (hehe.) The hard truth is this: sometimes your first book - or your fifth - or your twentieth - is just a practice run. But let's focus on that first book, because it's like a first love. It matters in a way that you've never felt about anything else before. You doodle about it when you daydream, talk about it until people start turning the other way whenever they see you coming, cover your wall with pictures of it, stop spending time with friends and family because this first true love consumes you on a soul level. And that kind of love is blinding you to its faults.
I want to interject here and say that I'm not writing this post because I've never ridden a dead horse. Boy howdy have I. The first book I wrote dove deep down into the bleakest recesses of my heart and dredged up all kinds of feelings. I poured them out onto page and page, bleeding words like a stuck pig. It was my truth. My story. So it had to mean something to someone else. Right? I shopped that story all over the place. I even went so far as to print the whole thing out and mail it to a professional connection I'd made at a women's magazine. This is ALL of what she ever said about it: thanks for the notepad (a gift I'd included in the package.) Ouch.
I had to admit to myself that the book, worn out and floundering, had run its race and come up short. But I still won. I learned so much about arc and pacing as I toiled over that first love. I learned about developing my characters and letting them have minds of their own. The hardest lesson of all: I realized that 99.9% of the time, my manuscript is not nearly as ready to run as I would like to think. Patience is a virtue - and one I still have to chase down with a stick from time to time.
That first book was my first true education as a writer. I penned a first word, and made it all the way to the last. I wouldn't trade a thing for all the mistakes I made between them. But I also no longer expect it to get up and run. I've stopped trying to edit and rewrite it into something that will sell. It is my teacher, plain and simple. And at last I've let it retire to a lush, green pasture. Its work here is done.
p.s. As soon as I get my house unpacked, I'm going to jump into the NaNoWriMo universe! So I probably won't have a chance to blog much this month. I will definitely do a little diddy at the end of the month to let you know how my first NaNo attempt turns out. I'm already starting a week behind... but I work best under pressure.
Friday, November 2, 2012
Happy Release Day to "New Pride" by Laura Diamond
I am so excited to host my very first guest post! Laura Diamond is dropping by Tanzy Hightower's stomping ground to tell us all about her new Novella, "New Pride," which releases TODAY! Happy release day, Laura! Tell us about New Pride.
YouTube interview: In The DM Zone—Talking about SHIFTING PRIDE
New town, new love, new
terror... It’s here! My
prequel novelette, NEW PRIDE, releases today. I’m SO stoked for it to run wild
in the world.
NEW PRIDE was
born from my upcoming novel, SHIFTING PRIDE (coming December 7, 2012!). In
SHIFTING PRIDE, the main character, Nickie, searches for her missing father,
Richard…and NEW PRIDE is all about Richard’s journey to independence and new
love.
NEW PRIDE Blurb: A shape-shifter
without a pride, Richard Leone strikes a tenuous friendship with power hungry,
Derek, from an unstable, rogue group. On a hunt in the forest, they encounter a
gorgeous brunette, Molly, partying with friends around a campfire. Derek tells
the rogue pride and they bristle at humans trespassing on their territory.
Richard risks life and tail to protect his secret and the humans—especially
Molly—while simultaneously trying to win her heart. When Molly is kidnapped, he
faces taking on the rogue pride alone, but quickly finds he has to put his
trust in Derek, not only to rescue his new love, but to ensure the rogue pride
doesn’t wreak havoc on his new town.
Author Laura
Diamond: Laura Diamond is a board certified psychiatrist and author of all things
young adult paranormal, dystopian, horror, and middle grade. Her short story, City of Lights and Stone, is in the Day of Demons anthology by Anachron
Press (April 2012) and her apocalyptic short story, Begging Death is in the Carnage:
Life After the End anthology by Sirens Call Publication (coming late 2012).
Her debut young adult paranormal romance, SHIFTING PRIDE, is coming December
2012 by Etopia Press. When she's not writing, she is working at the hospital,
blogging at Author
Laura Diamond--Lucid Dreamer
, and renovating her 225+ year old fixer-upper mansion. She is also full-time
staff member for her four cats and a Pembroke Corgi named Katie.
How to find
Laura Diamond on the web:
Twitter: http://twitter.com/diamondlb
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/laura.diamond.52
Facebook Author
Page: http://www.facebook.com/AuthorLauraDiamond
Amazon.com
Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Laura-Diamond/e/B009Y7L432/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_8
Website: www.AuthorLauraDiamond.com
YouTube interview: In The DM Zone—Talking about SHIFTING PRIDE
*GROUP HUG* Thank you, everyone, for taking the
time to celebrate with me and for helping me spread the word. This wouldn’t be
happening without you. Yes, you! Without you, I’d have given up a long time
ago. ;)
I hope you enjoy
NEW PRIDE and SHIFTING PRIDE.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Bridging the gap between a first book and its sequel
I'm currently drafting the second book in the Tanzy Hightower series. As I have it now, the sequel picks up twelve hours after the first book concludes. The writing is easier in some ways and harder in others. The characters' voices are strong and their opinions are solely their own, leaving me to do what they tell me. And they've driven the plot forward at warp speed. I took the time to reread the first 100 pages, and for a first draft, I found the structure to be sound. Until I had this thought: what if I never read the first one? Would this story make any sense? Heck no.
Here's my hang-up: one of my reader pet-peeves is when an author recaps the previous book in the first couple of chapters. The rhythm is usually sluggish and passive. I scan these parts as fast as I can until I find a tempo I recognize. Sometimes this means I've missed some gem of new information buried in the rehash, and I pay for my skimming ways later on. But it's very unlikely that all readers feel this way. So I asked a couple of writer friends if they had any words of wisdom as per how to weave the first book into the second - is it even necessary? Their answers were so fantastic that I wanted to do this blog post just to spread their very generous knowledge. Here's what they said:
From Mel Smith (www.mlfalconer.blogspot.com): We have to assume that there will be a significant amount of time between readers finishing the first book and beginning the sequel. In that light, I think you would have to do some physical description of the reintroduced characters but not as in depth as what would have been covered in the first book. A third book in the series could stand to have even less physical description because your fans would, by now, have a strong mental image of your characters. On one hand we assume our readers have read our first book, but on the other we have to make the sequel able to stand on it's own somewhat in the case a reader picks it up first. Many times I’ll start a second or third book in a series just because the first or second wasn't available at the time; that one, in turn, will urge me to seek out the earlier books.
I realize there are a lot of assumptions going on there. It's redundant, though I think we have to write for contingencies. The largest bane in my writing is that I assume my reader knows what I know of the story or sees what I see in my mind and due to this it may be best to purposely be heavy handed on the descriptions when reintroducing characters and plot points. (there is a fine line to do that for aesthetics and not insult our readers intelligence. This falls to craft and how we present the description.) For me I want to have a good balance. Authors like Stephen King take pages to describe something while others do so piece meal in small paragraphs throughout the novel. Something between those extremes is what I strive for. And I think you can lighten the descriptions for each subsequent book in the series.
A wonderful series to research ways of doing this is Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time series and Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series.
From Justus Stone (www.justusstone.com) I wouldn't duplicate, but whatever happened in the first book is going to influence the 2nd, so some recap is probably not a bad thing. Unless it's a tongue in cheek thing that becomes a trope of your series (like there's always a new Defense against the Dark Arts teacher, etc)
Thanks again, Mel and Justus! I'm inspired, and I have a plan. A dangerous combination for my characters...
Here's my hang-up: one of my reader pet-peeves is when an author recaps the previous book in the first couple of chapters. The rhythm is usually sluggish and passive. I scan these parts as fast as I can until I find a tempo I recognize. Sometimes this means I've missed some gem of new information buried in the rehash, and I pay for my skimming ways later on. But it's very unlikely that all readers feel this way. So I asked a couple of writer friends if they had any words of wisdom as per how to weave the first book into the second - is it even necessary? Their answers were so fantastic that I wanted to do this blog post just to spread their very generous knowledge. Here's what they said:
From Mel Smith (www.mlfalconer.blogspot.com): We have to assume that there will be a significant amount of time between readers finishing the first book and beginning the sequel. In that light, I think you would have to do some physical description of the reintroduced characters but not as in depth as what would have been covered in the first book. A third book in the series could stand to have even less physical description because your fans would, by now, have a strong mental image of your characters. On one hand we assume our readers have read our first book, but on the other we have to make the sequel able to stand on it's own somewhat in the case a reader picks it up first. Many times I’ll start a second or third book in a series just because the first or second wasn't available at the time; that one, in turn, will urge me to seek out the earlier books.
I realize there are a lot of assumptions going on there. It's redundant, though I think we have to write for contingencies. The largest bane in my writing is that I assume my reader knows what I know of the story or sees what I see in my mind and due to this it may be best to purposely be heavy handed on the descriptions when reintroducing characters and plot points. (there is a fine line to do that for aesthetics and not insult our readers intelligence. This falls to craft and how we present the description.) For me I want to have a good balance. Authors like Stephen King take pages to describe something while others do so piece meal in small paragraphs throughout the novel. Something between those extremes is what I strive for. And I think you can lighten the descriptions for each subsequent book in the series.
A wonderful series to research ways of doing this is Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time series and Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series.
From Justus Stone (www.justusstone.com) I wouldn't duplicate, but whatever happened in the first book is going to influence the 2nd, so some recap is probably not a bad thing. Unless it's a tongue in cheek thing that becomes a trope of your series (like there's always a new Defense against the Dark Arts teacher, etc)
Thanks again, Mel and Justus! I'm inspired, and I have a plan. A dangerous combination for my characters...
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Review: "The Dragon's Call" by K.W. McKabe
I have to admit, I was hesitant to read and review this book - only because I've never read a dragon-based fantasy book before and worried it might fly to the peaks of high fantasy, losing me somewhere among the clouds. However, the fire-breathing (not-so-mythical) creatures were introduced and crafted in such a way that grounded the story in a great way.
Overview: (supplied by author on Amazon.com) In a thoughtless final act of destruction, humans wake the one creature of
legend they have no protection against. Years after the complete
subjugation of the human race, Derek, heir of the Dragon Queen, and Cecily,
create a tentative friendship. But something or someone is stalking the
human enclave. Cecily and Derek must find out who and why before she's next.
I was most impressed with how the author seamlessly integrated a fantastical overtaking by dragonkind into a very plausible outcome. She uses two POVs, and it's interesting because one is a man who survived through the war and the other is a girl who's never known anything else. So it's fun to see how differently they react to the same situation. And she does a great job of giving each POV a very clear voice. My favorite character is Derek, the love interest and heir to the dragon throne. I am also particularly fond of Cecily's father. His decisions and reactions feel very authentic, and even when they make me mad, it's so well done that it makes me feel like a teenage girl holed up in my room in my parents' house again. My one gripe is that the tempo of the writing changed a bit towards the end of the book. But I'm definitely interested in seeing what happens next! I give it four stars :)
I was most impressed with how the author seamlessly integrated a fantastical overtaking by dragonkind into a very plausible outcome. She uses two POVs, and it's interesting because one is a man who survived through the war and the other is a girl who's never known anything else. So it's fun to see how differently they react to the same situation. And she does a great job of giving each POV a very clear voice. My favorite character is Derek, the love interest and heir to the dragon throne. I am also particularly fond of Cecily's father. His decisions and reactions feel very authentic, and even when they make me mad, it's so well done that it makes me feel like a teenage girl holed up in my room in my parents' house again. My one gripe is that the tempo of the writing changed a bit towards the end of the book. But I'm definitely interested in seeing what happens next! I give it four stars :)
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Is sex appropriate in YA books?
Now that my debut novel is headed for the copy editor - and out of my hands - I'm outlining my sequels for Tanzy's next two adventures. Things will certainly heat up between her and her love interest, but how hot should they get?
Romance and physical relationships run the gammet in YA books: some climax with the two love birds finally, slowly, kissing each other, and another has two teens we've just met rounding third base and heading to home plate before the end of the second chapter. The popular Twilight series has Bella and Edward get hitched before slipping beneath the sheets.
So what's appropriate? My opinion is this: exploring sexuality in some form or another is an integral part of our teenage years. Whether we did it, didn't do it, talked about, read it, whatever - it's a time in your life when you start feeling things that you haven't before, that you don't completely understand, and can't always control. And when a YA story features a budding love, the sparks would feel a little chilly if these feelings weren't addressed one way or another.
On the flipside of all of those feelings, I do think that whatever our characters decide, we have a responsibility to make the experiences and consequences authentic. Glorifying the moment and coming out of it unchanged doesn't do anyone any good - neither for your characters nor your younger readers. As writers, we have to recognize that our characters are showing our readers what kind of treatment is acceptable and what is not. To be frank: Bella and Edward could've had sex before they got married and it wouldn't have bothered me in the least bit. What DID bother me was that it didn't bother Bella that sex with Edward left her covered in bruises. That is not acceptable treatment in my book.
To be completely honest, I've already written such a scene between Tanzy and her main squeeze. This scene is in a separate file, waiting to be dropped into the plot should Tanzy and her love interest arrive at this moment and the fire won't quiet. I'm not positive I'll use it, but I do know how the entire plot will change if I do. Because sex DOES change things - whether in real life or on paper. And if we go down that road, we owe it to everyone involved to see it through to the end.
What are your thoughts? Please leave them here, and include links to your blogs/sites/etc. And please feel free to disagree!!
Romance and physical relationships run the gammet in YA books: some climax with the two love birds finally, slowly, kissing each other, and another has two teens we've just met rounding third base and heading to home plate before the end of the second chapter. The popular Twilight series has Bella and Edward get hitched before slipping beneath the sheets. So what's appropriate? My opinion is this: exploring sexuality in some form or another is an integral part of our teenage years. Whether we did it, didn't do it, talked about, read it, whatever - it's a time in your life when you start feeling things that you haven't before, that you don't completely understand, and can't always control. And when a YA story features a budding love, the sparks would feel a little chilly if these feelings weren't addressed one way or another.
On the flipside of all of those feelings, I do think that whatever our characters decide, we have a responsibility to make the experiences and consequences authentic. Glorifying the moment and coming out of it unchanged doesn't do anyone any good - neither for your characters nor your younger readers. As writers, we have to recognize that our characters are showing our readers what kind of treatment is acceptable and what is not. To be frank: Bella and Edward could've had sex before they got married and it wouldn't have bothered me in the least bit. What DID bother me was that it didn't bother Bella that sex with Edward left her covered in bruises. That is not acceptable treatment in my book.
To be completely honest, I've already written such a scene between Tanzy and her main squeeze. This scene is in a separate file, waiting to be dropped into the plot should Tanzy and her love interest arrive at this moment and the fire won't quiet. I'm not positive I'll use it, but I do know how the entire plot will change if I do. Because sex DOES change things - whether in real life or on paper. And if we go down that road, we owe it to everyone involved to see it through to the end.
What are your thoughts? Please leave them here, and include links to your blogs/sites/etc. And please feel free to disagree!!
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